#not HELP 101 I NEED A HERO

[ryoalouette]

So there's this one moment when... (DP x DC)

(insert someone) forgot the taboo word ("I wish") when contemplating an issue quite seriously. Hey, human error is still a thing alright. Don't go and push that person for forgetting, especially since it's a recent thing.

Maybe it's Jazz, wondering how to remove her brother from their parents' custody considering how neglectful they are. "I wish I can consult someone about this situation," she mused.

Ofc, "wish granted," said by a certain genie.

Poof! One Batman (or maybe it's Two-Face; I'm not quite well-versed in DC but he's a lawyer at some point right?) appears so suddenly while Batman (or enter hero/villain/vigilante) was fighting.

My brain just wanna go to Two-Face route of which he'd learn the Fenton Situation(TM) in a roundabout way, and as a villain he is, offers to her pointblank for him to just straight out murder her parents and adopt Danny (and her), use his lawyer (cough villain cough) powers to summon a damned CPS here, etc, etc.

Coz he might be a villain, but he at least have SOME standards (as in, not going to hunt child-looking ghost without a PROPER RESEARCH, what the hell). And Danny honestly seems like a Bruce bait. And have that half-and-half thing. Certainly seems like a son between Dent and Brucie lol. Adoption for fuckery to Bruce, yes.

OR

It might be ANY of the students, wanting to know what to do with their future.

Sam, wanting to be activist for plants, wishes some guidance and Ivy appears. Paulina, Killer Croc. Tucker, Red Robin. Danny, freaking Al Ghul. Honestly, it can be anyone and any hero/villain. Up to you.

AKA

This is how Amity Park gets known by the US by large. And how the government employs lunatics to hunt down their hero-that's-slandered-as-a-villain gets known to JL. You really should thank Desiree. Two birds, one stone!

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dc x dp #dcxdp #prompt #alou tweets #hero/villain consultant au #but it's really for job or future #not HELP 101 I NEED A HERO

[linwritesif]

A List of Prompts

because yeah i think it would be helpful if there was a comprehensive list of those, so

ANGST. want to cry? here's some onion for you.

fighting/intense

someone is injured

protective

reluctant allies

shedding a tear

secret relationship--getting caught and confronted

enemies to lovers

corruption arc

sentence starters

forbidden love

101 ways to break the characters (and readers) heart

broken trust

hit em where it hurts

for the damaged

short angst sentence starters

soft angst sentence starters

high pain tolerance

dark and angsty sentence starters

from the villain

SMUT / NSFW. having horny thoughts? endulge.

action prompts

subtle intimacy

sexual tension

kissing starters

smut dialogue prompts

sfw friends with benefits

types of kisses

soft dirty talk sentence starters

consent is sexy

spicy actions

subtle smut sentence starters

nonverbal sexual situations

bdsm and dom/sub prompts

build the tension

love and leashes

FLUFF. for when your heart needs healing.

simple actions.

forehead touches.

things done while spooning

things done while dancing

oblivious idiots in love

idiots in love

dancing prompts

dialogue prompts

simple touches

casual affections

soft and sweet sentence starters

types of hugs

comforting

domestic intimacy

comforting actions

soft touches

BITTERSWEET. for those who like to hurt and then soothed.

reassuring your lover

reassuring your lover pt. 2

sacred moments

hurt/comfort prompts.

hero x villain prompts

lovers in denial

comforting a lover after a nightmare

grumpy x sunshine

enemies with benefits

noticing trauma

all about the yearning

found family

nightmares and sleeping

reassuring

reunion after (physical) trauma

possessive/territorial

for the heavy hearted

enemies to lovers

hero x villain sentence starters

dissociation starters

intervention

enemies to lovers and lovers to enemies

#prompt list #writing prompts #angst prompts #hurt/comfort prompts #fluff prompts #dialogue prompts #interactive fiction #for safe keeping #i always lose those so decided to make a semi comprehensive list #of prompt posts i love and adore

[boydepartment]

yk how sunghoon said he didn’t have much friends when he was younger? imagine his gf healing his inner child, playing childhood games that required more than one player (foul i know i’m sorry😭)

EUSBDJD SJ D GELP honestly real

i think it’d be cool to introduce him to like the lego games where you can have 2 players. sometimes it’s irritating with split screen but working together would be so fun. especially if you decide to goof off a bit during it. def really likes lego marvel super heroes that was released in 2013, he likes playing as the hulk and completing the missions around the city with you.

OR LIKE THE WII SPORTS BOXING WITH HIM THAT WOULD HE SUPER FUNNY. sunghoon would DEF forget to put the strap on which leads to something in the living room shattering but no one needs to know it was him.

i’m even thinking like PC games too, like wizard 101 you can play by yourself but it’s way more fun with other people. especially if he decided to teleport to you so he can help you with the card battles.

i think toon town would freak him out tho

mario kart is a classic to play with other ppl but i think super mario 3D world would peak sunghoon’s interests a little more bc he can help you in that game. once you introduce him to games like this he always wants to work with you

anon i wish i could give you more outdoor games but tbh i am in the same position as sunghoon here

#enhypen park sunghoon #enhypen sunghoon #park sunghoon x reader #park sunghoon imagines #sunghoon fluff #sunghoon x reader #sunghoon imagines #park sunghoon #sunghoon #enha park sunghoon #enhypen #kpop #enha #enhypen imagines #enha imagines #enhypen x reader #enhypen scenarios #enha scenarios #enha x reader #enha fluff #enhypen fluff

[suguru-getos]

could u do denki or hawks head canons?? it can be sfw or nsfw i dont mind! also your rules page is broken😭😭

ikrrr i just fixed the rules page !! thankyou for reminding me nonnie 🤗

୨・┈﹕✦﹕ hawks headcanons (sfw)﹕✦﹕┈・୧

-> keigo is a safespace, for you, for the civilians of tokyo, for anyone who’s fortunate enough to be with him. some might say it’s because of the stern and detailed training he had been given by the hpsc. how to behave, how to interact with civilians, how to make people essentially trust you. it’s partly that — but mostly keigo’s behavior. he wants people to feel safe around him. he wants to be approachable & he wants to help people. before that; he should be someone approachable enough so people come and ask for help. which is exactly what he does.

-> he can be quite vocal about everything especially if it’s you. don’t get me wrong he takes a lot of time to actually open up. but when he does you’re thankful to have someone like him in your life. he would never ever let you go! random texts of him saying the cringiest pick up lines, i love yous, asking if you’d like the random piece of jewellery he loved. he’s a baby. okay? okay.

-> he praises a lot! okay? imagine it being like an aftercare for everything. you worked out? wow — his baby’s so strong? gasp! you’re such a good girl, you bought something for yourself yay! you deserve to be spoiled. i’d say he’s the best you can have even on his bad days. ;)

-> loves collecting little trinkets, bird instincts you know? you’d get silly random gifts from him which can range from a pretty stone he found while he was patrolling, to a new diamond necklace which just shined better. takami keigo sugar daddy supremacy!

-> he usually tries to be as human as possible but sometimes his wings talk more than he does. they’d inflate, they’d falter, they’d puff up with excitement seeing you in his favorite red lingerie. keigo’s wings are a doorway to his emotions. you could always make out what he likes/not with them.

-> he has a selfcare routine and would force you to have one if you don’t have it already. don’t be surprised if keigo’s standing next to you washing his face and cleansing it, applying serum and whatnot. he has a lot of modelling contracts and has to be in debris, fly in the dust, be exposed to the sun a lot! he needs to take care of his pretty face

-> keigo’s spice tolerance is not much, but if you love eating spicy, you’d find him trying his best to accompany you, panting like a rabid dog. would 101 eat a pint of ice cream to soothe the burn in his mouth. :p

-> keigo works out every day and trains everyday, its a given since he is the number 2 hero of japan. there are days when he uses the gym of your shared apartment. carefully created to suit his needs, and will be flabbergasted and flustered if you decide to show up in your booty shorts. sheesh~ what a distraction ;)

-> he’s very cuddly and touchy and has no concept of personal space. he would live inside your red blood cells if he could. always wrapping you around his wings, always hugging you, kissing you. he just needs to be close to you, okay? he loves you that much ovo

#hawks bnha #hawks mha #hawks hcs #bnha hcs #mha hcs #hawks x reader #keigo x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #mha fluff #hawks fluff #bnha fluff

[todayisawthewhxlewxrld]

is there someone else: beetle juice

ch40

masterlist

- :))))) haha

-there was too much fluff happening did u rlly expect me not to ruin things ?????

-also i cringe everytime someone likes one of my old bnha smaus. guys please stop torturing yourself like that….. is someone holding a gun to your head? do you need me to call for help?

taglist!🦈

@alpha-mommy69 @guccirosegold @revrse @kuroaka @yourneighbourhoodclown @boxdisappeared @vicolangelo @modifieduchiha @graciebeanss @kozu-chan @woozzz @hypernovaxx @ohhheymessa @lu-spizzeria @bontensbabygirl @fo-love @okuyasuluvrs @aizawa19 @secretanimesimp @idiopathic @secretstryst @bloombb @maesthebestmonth @hero-fucking-101 @devilsbooksworld @mmsarchive @hanabihwa @enigmaticnephilim @the-loneliest-girl

#smau #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk smau #jujutsu kaisen smau #jjk texts #jujutsu kaisen texts #jujutsu kaisen text posts #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #megumi smau #megumi x reader #megumi fushiguro smau #jjk megumi #megumi fushiguro #jujutsu kaisen megumi #bimbos jjk smaus #bimbo’s is there someone else

[dudefrommywesterns]

Title: A Boy Named Bill

Ship: Mike x Bill Baker (hi. don't perceive me. actually do. but also don't. do you understand?)

Words: 3.2k (I'm so sorry to anyone who reads this.)

Description: Mike meets Bill, who they'd only heard gossip about.

Bill Baker was a name that Mike heard quite a lot from fellow students at Ridgeville over the past few months. Freshman. Adored football player. Number 32. Being a junior, and being an English major, Mike had never met the man who’d garnered so much praise. They heard he was really good at football. Mike never cared for sports, especially not school sports. Bill Baker had a uh, a friend, Junior Jackson. Horrific football player. Overbearing father. Mike didn’t know much, but as they understood it, that’s how Bill Baker got into Ridgeville. Mike got a scholarship themselves. He was beautiful. That, Mike could make no judgment on. If the chittering of all the freshman girls was to be believed, Bill Baker was material for a national monument. Ah. Well, Mike didn’t care. Last they heard by the by, he had a girlfriend. Terry! That was it, Terry. She had a side hustle, a clothes selling business. Everyone knew Terry, and Terry knew everyone’s clothes size. Mike heard, too, that earlier that semester Bill got hammered before a big game and was expelled. Clearly, that decision was overturned somehow. Anyway, Mike didn’t know Bill. And Bill didn’t know Mike. And who cared about some over-popular jock anyway? 

Finals week was coming up and Mike went to the library for some last-minute study time. They had never studied so hard in their life. So, when they were done, they were as tired as they’d ever been in their life. On their way back to their dorm, they spotted a man with curly hair looking dejected and trying not to shed a tear. He was sitting on the steps next to the “Jackson Dormitory for Men” sign. Mike walked slowly closer. 

“Are you alright?” They asked him. 

“It's nothing.” 

Mike took a seat next to him. “Hey, it’s okay to talk about it. Talking is good.” 

He ran a hand through his curls, “My girl and I broke it off.” 

“Oh. I'm sorry to hear that.” 

He sighed. “I loved Terry but she was no good for me.” 

Mike’s eyes widened. “Bill Baker? You’re the freshman football hero? All-American Dreamboat Bill Baker?” 

The man looked surprised, “Yeah, that's me.” 

Mike looked him over. He had broad shoulders and a decent build. He was tall, a bit tan, and had the largest hands they’d ever seen. Their eyes flitted past his. They were brown. Warm. He was beautiful. 

“I’d never have taken you for a freshman.” 

He chuckled. “Why?” 

“You're not built like any freshman I’ve ever seen.” 

“Is that a good thing?” 

“Mm hmm.”

Mike cleared their throat. “Anyway, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know.” 

“Thank you.”

The pair sat in silence for a moment until Bill broke it. 

“Hey, you know my name,” Bill said. “Why haven’t I seen you before?” 

Mike shrugged. “I’m a junior.” 

“A junior?” 

Mike nodded. “I’m doing upper division coursework. I tutor a bit on the side.” 

“You only tutor English?” he asked. 

Mike nodded. “I do. Do you need help with an essay? Are you taking English 101 this semester?” 

Bill shook his head. “Not yet.” 

“Well,” Mike said, standing up. “If you ever need an essay written or a listening ear, I’m around. Dormitory for Women, room 12. Or, I’m at the library.” 

“You ever go to a football game?” 

Mike shook their head. “I don’t do sports. Or school spirit. I’m in the volunteering club too.” 

“I don’t have much time for volunteering.” 

Mike nodded slowly. “Uh, well, see you around.”  

“See you around.” 

Mike walked off into the dark, toward their dorm room. 

Once Mike met Bill, they found him in more places. He was in the cafeteria. He was in the library. They walked past each other on the way to class. Mike saw him practicing on the football field as they took their morning walks. Him, and his roommate, Junior Jackson. Junior was a gawky sort of fellow. It amazed Mike that he was on the football team at all. He wore circular glasses and a sweater, cardigan, and bow tie. All the makings for a nerd. Still, as Mike understood it, he made a passable kicker, and Bill had become a dear friend. 

Bill and Junior were talking leaning against a fence near the football field as Mike passed on their way to the library, for a tutoring session. 

“Hey, Mike!” Bill said as they walked passed. 

Mike stopped, entirely confused. 

“I want you to meet my pal, Junior Jackson.” 

Now, why would he want that? 

They readjusted their book bag and glanced at Junior, who gave them a polite wave. 

“Hi, Junior,” Mike said. “I’m Mike.” 

“Just Mike?” he asked. 

Mike shrugged. “My last name’s not important. We’re not all sons of alumni.” 

They cringed immediately. 

“I didn’t mean to come off like I’m bitter about that. I’m sure you’re a great guy.”  

“I’m not upset,” Junior replied, in a lighthearted tone. 

“Well, good. Um, I have a tutoring appointment to get to, so if you’ll excuse me?” 

“Tutoring?” he asked. “You’re a tutor?” 

Mike nodded. “I am. If you need an English tutor, I’m the guy.” 

“Oh, no thank you.”

Bill chimed in, “Junior’s pretty smart.”  

“Ah, well, maybe he can be a tutor once he’s done more classes. You never can have enough tutors. Bye, guys.” 

Bill and Junior waved goodbye, and Mike headed to the library for their tutoring session. 

The next time Mike saw Bill, it was just after their last English final. He was next to the English building, for reasons unknown, talking to a man Mike knew nothing about. Perhaps he was on the football team. Maybe he was a classmate of Bill’s. Just as Mike walked past, the other man left, leaving Bill alone. 

“Hi, Mike,” he said as they passed him. “How’d finals go?” 

Mike stopped, and walked over by the steps, where he was standing, “Alright. It was a lot of essay exams.” 

“That must’ve been awful.” 

They shrugged, “I like essays.” 

Bill’s eyes widened like Mike had said something incredibly outlandish. “You like essays?” 

“I’m an English major, Bill. What do you think we do?” 

“A lot of reading?” 

“Well, yeah, but with the reading comes the writing. We write about the reading and read about the writing.”  

“That sounds like it gets tiresome.” 

“Not really. There’s always something interesting to read. Anyway, how were your finals?” 

Bill shrugged. “They went okay.” 

“How was football season? What do you do next semester, now that there’s no football?” 

“Football season had its up and downs,” he replied. “I bet you know I was expelled, huh?” 

Mike nodded. “I heard, yeah.” 

“Mr. Jackson had to pull some strings to get me back in.” 

“What are you doing over winter break?” 

He shrugged. “Goin’ home. I might work at Mr. Jackson’s plant for a couple weeks.” 

Bill’s eyes lit up. 

“What?” Mike asked. 

“A friend of mine on the team is throwing an end-of-finals party, are you coming?” 

Mike laughed. “You think I was invited to that? Or even told about it?” 

He looked puzzled. “I thought he invited everybody.” 

“On the team, I imagine. The team’s girls. The girls he thinks are pretty. The girls’ plus ones. People who get invited to parties. Not nerdy English majors he’s never met.” 

“You’re not nerdy.” 

Mike pushed up their glasses. “I’m an English major with a 3.8 GPA who wears glasses and works as a tutor. What’s nerdier than that?” 

Bill smiled. “Bow ties?” 

Mike chuckled. “Well, maybe I’m not Junior, but I’m not Miss Popular.” 

“Come as my plus one.” 

Mike gave him a sideways glance. What was his angle? 

“Why?” they asked. 

“I don’t have a date.” 

Mike scoffed. “And I was your first option?” 

“I was gonna go with Terry.” 

They frowned. “Oh.” 

“You got something better to do?” 

No. They were likely going to pack to go home. Or read a book alone in their room. 

“What’s this party going to be like?” they asked. “I don’t want to go and have you get drunk on me.” 

“Like any college party. Lots of dancing. Music. Some snacks. People kissing in the corners.” 

“I’m up for dancing and snacking but don’t expect any kissing.” 

He chuckled. “Okay.” 

“What should I wear?” 

“Whatever you want. It’s not fancy.”  

“When is it?” 

“Tonight.” 

“Tonight?” Mike asked, surprised. 

“Well, yeah, it’s the end of finals. Everybody’s going home tomorrow.”  

Mike nodded. “Well, see you tonight. Meet me at my dorm? Room 12, remember?” 

“‘Dormitory for Women, room 12.’” Bill repeated, “I remember.” 

Later that evening, Mike was in a panic. They shuffled through their drawer of sweaters while their roommate looked on, amused. 

Ellen looked up from her book. “Mike, what on Earth are you so stressed about?”

“I don’t know what to wear!” Mike said, still shuffling. “What do you wear?” 

She set her book down. “Wear to what?” 

“Bill’s taking me to some end-of-finals party.” 

“Bill? Surely not Bill Baker.” 

Mike turned around. “That’s the one.”  

She looked puzzled. “Since when does Bill Baker invite you anywhere?” 

Mike shrugged. “Since today.” 

She furrowed her brow, almost closing her hazel eyes. “Hm. I feel like I’m in an alternate universe. My nerdy roommate has a date. With Bill Baker, no less.” 

“Hey, now.” 

“Well, it’s true!” 

Mike held up a red sweater and a green sweater. “Red or green? They have matching skirts.” 

“Go with the green. It’ll look nice with your shade of red lipstick.” 

Mike stared at their green sweater for a long minute. “That’s true. How should I wear my hair?” 

Ellen laughed. “You like him, don’t you?” 

Mike stopped short. “Like him? I’m not keen on him, if that’s what you mean.” “That is what I mean! What girl goes through all this trouble for a boy she doesn’t like?” 

Mike winced. 

“Right. Sorry. I know you don’t like being called a girl. I’m still right, though.” 

“That’s alright. I’m not crushing. I’m not. This is my first party,  that’s all.” 

“Mm hm. Well, I say wear your hair like you always do. It’s pretty. Maybe lose the glasses?” 

Mike looked at themselves in the mirror. “Well, I could. My vision isn’t that bad. If I’m not reading, I’ll be okay.” 

They took off their glasses and folded them on the table. They pulled on their green sweater and matching patterned skirt. As quickly as they could, they applied their powder, blush, lipstick, and mascara. The eyeliner still needed work, but they were trying. 

There was a knock at the door as Mike was slipping on their shoes. 

“Get that, would you, Ellen?” 

Ellen set her book down again, and opened the door. 

Mike heard Bill ask, “Oh, who are you?” 

“I’m Mike’s roommate, Ellen,” she replied. “Mike’s putting on shoes, It’ll just be a moment.” 

Mike slipped their last shoe on, and stood up. Ellen moved out of the way. 

“Hi, Bill,” Mike greeted. 

“Hi. You look nice.” 

Mike scanned Bill head to toe. He was in a dark brown blazer, magenta sweater, and brown slacks, of a lighter shade. He wore a white shirt underneath. No tie. 

Mike swallowed. “So do you. Nice sweater.” 

“Thank you. Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” 

Bill linked arms with Mike as they walked out of the girls’ dormitory. Mike’s heartbeat quickened, out of sheer nervousness. 

“Where is this party anyway?” 

“My friend’s place. He lives just a little ways from campus.” 

Stranger’s house. Lovely. 

As it turned out, Bill’s football friend had a pretty large house and his folks were out. He must be one of the rich kids of Ridgeville, Mike thought. The party wasn’t very loud. There was some jazz on the radio, and everyone was dancing with a partner to it, or sitting out. As expected, there were snacks, and a few couples kissing in the corners. Mike looked away. 

“Do you want a soda?” Bill asked them. 

“No, thank you.” 

“I’ll get me a soda. Want some chips?” 

“Sure.” 

Mike stood off to the side as Bill went to get snacks. They watched everyone dance. It reminded them of school dances they’d been to, where they’d been a lonely wallflower all night. Anyway, they had a date tonight. A fact they still couldn’t wrap their mind around. 

They didn’t recognize anyone at the party. Not even Junior was there. Maybe this wasn’t Junior’s scene either. It sure wasn’t Mike’s. 

Bill came back, a glass soda bottle in one hand, and chips in a bowl in another. He handed them the chips. 

“Here.”

Mike took them. “Hey, Bill, where’s Junior?” 

“He’ll be here in a minute. I don’t think he’s got a date, but he said he was coming.” 

Mike frowned. “He’s not going to be a third wheel is he?” 

“No, I’ll find him someone to dance with.” 

“Good. I’d hate to see him tagging along behind us, all alone. I know how that feels.”  

“He won’t be.” 

Mike munched on their chips while Bill sipped his soda, gently swaying to the song. 

“You have to know, Bill, I’m not a good dancer.” 

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you.” 

Just as they finished their snacks, and were about to dance, Junior came in. 

“Bill, hey, Bill!” he called. 

“Over here, Junior!”

Junior was in his usual bow tie and sweater but he put a blazer over it. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

“Oh, hi, Mike,”  Junior greeted. “I didn’t know you’d be here.” 

“I’m Bill’s plus one.” 

“Oh! I didn’t know. I don’t have a date.” 

Bill laid a hand on Junior’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, pal, we’ll find you a dame.” 

Mike laughed. “You call women dames?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Junior said. “He does. Lots of times.” 

“Broads too? Chicks? Or just dames?” 

Bill shrugged. “I mostly call ‘em dames. I’m used to it.” 

“Well, I suppose there are worse names.” 

“Who d’ya think will dance with me, Bill?” Junior asked him. 

“Any girl worth dancing with.” 

Bill scanned the room for women without dancing partners. He spotted a short brunette in a swing dress. “Hey, how about her?” 

“I don’t know, Bill, she’s very pretty.” 

“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” 

Mike interjected, “He’s worried about her not wanting him. I understand that feeling.” 

Junior nodded. “I have a hard time with girls, especially the pretty ones.”  

Bill pulled Junior toward the short brunette, leaving Mike on the other side of the room. Mike watched Bill point to Junior, apparently making his best sales pitch. The girl shrugged, and took Junior’s hand. The pair walked to the middle of the room to dance. 

When Bill returned, Mike said, “You weren’t kidding. There he goes.” 

“She didn’t have a date. She figured Junior was as good as any guy.”

Mike frowned. “Hm. That’s sad.” 

“Wanna dance?” he asked, holding out his hand. 

“Sure.” 

Mike took Bill’s hand, and walked to the center of the room. He put a hand around their waist, and held their hand with the other. The song they caught was a slow one. Someone had changed the station. Bill pulled them close and they danced gently to the music. 

“Bill?” Mike asked. 

“Yeah?” 

“Why’d you invite me?” 

“I needed a date.” 

“I know that. But why me? You hardly know me.”

“I figure that’s why. I hardly know you. I wanted to get to know you.”

Mike looked up into his brown eyes. “Why? Don’t guys like you get lots of girls? You had your pick, surely?” 

He twirled them, and then rested his hand back on their waist. 

“Hm. Well, you’re nice. Who else would’ve seen me almost crying and talked to me?” 

“Lots of nice people.” 

“You were the only one.” 

“Well, you know, I don’t like seeing people down.” 

“Sometimes a guy wants a nice girl.” 

Mike winced, but said nothing about it. 

“And you’re pretty too,” he said. “Especially now that I can look into your pretty blue eyes.” 

Mike’s brain short circuited. Pretty? Their eyes? Their grey-blue small eyes? Their first response was to retort. 

“Well, uh, thank you,” they said instead. 

“We’re the same height with those heels of yours,” he said casually. 

Mike furrowed their eyebrows. “So?” 

“Makes it easy to look at you without craning my neck.” 

Mike doubted Bill’s reasoning but they didn’t say anything. The song ended and the pair walked back toward the wall. Mike’s eyes caught another couple kissing. 

“Um, well, what now?” they asked. “How long is this thing?” 

Bill shrugged. “Until folks leave, I guess.”

“So…more dancing? Another soda? Do you have something you want to talk about?” 

“What are you doing over winter break?” he asked. 

“I don’t know. Sleeping. Reading. Returning home to my television set.” 

“Where do you live?” 

“Where do I live?” Mike asked, in a mixture of shock and amusement. 

“I might wanna come by.” 

“I’m a couple of towns away.” 

“I’ll catch a bus.” 

“You mean-?” Mike asked, genuinely surprised. “You mean you actually want to see me again?” 

“Well, yes?” Bill replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “We could catch a movie. What do you wanna see?” 

“Whatever’s playing I guess. Why do you want to see me again?” 

“I like you.” 

“Like me?” Mike asked. “What does that mean?” 

He shrugged. “It means I like you. I wanna be around you. I might wanna catch a movie with you.” 

“Does that make us friends?” 

“Friends?” Bill asked, bewildered. “I was thinking of going together.” 

“Going…together? As in? Out? As in? Dating? As in?” 

Bill laughed. “You’ve never been asked out, have you?” 

Mike stuttered, “Well, uh, no. Especially not, well, by a, well, you.” 

“By a me?” he asked, amused. 

“By…a popular sports guy. By a guy all the freshman girls go crazy for.” 

“Not all the freshman girls.” 

“Enough of them.”

“Is that a yes or no?” 

Mike nodded. “Okay.  We’ll catch a movie. I’ll give you my parents’ telephone number after the party. When you wanna go, just call? Okay?” 

Bill smiled. “Okay.” 

Bill took their hand and led them out to the dance floor. Soon, everyone began to file out. Mike was still swaying with him, with their head on his shoulder. 

Eventually, Junior tapped Bill on the shoulder. 

“I think the party’s over, Bill. Everyone’s gone.” 

He looked around. “Shoot, I guess they are. We better go. It’s a long day of packing tomorrow.” 

Bill walked Mike back to the Women’s dormitory. It was after hours. 

“Hey, Bill, wait here would you?” Mike asked. “I’ll write down my parents’ telephone number and be right down.” 

“Sure.” 

Mike ran up to their room, as quietly as they could. They tore a piece of paper out of one of their notebooks. They scribbled their parents’ number on it, then hurried down to meet Bill. He was still standing by the steps, with his hands in his pockets. 

“Here,” they said, handing him the paper. “When you call, ask for me. You don’t have to say anything else.” 

“Your folks won’t want to know who I am?” 

“Mm. They might. But that’s for me to tell them…or not.” 

Bill chuckled. “Well, I’ll call you.”  

Mike smiled at him. “I’ll be by the phone.” 

Bill left with one last smile at them. 

Mike walked back to their room to crash. 

#i could not think of another title #just borrowing that from the stooge lol #ellen's an oc. i needed someone to be my roommate lol #typewriter dings #self ship #self shipping community #b.b.

[codenamesazanka]

canon stainmight but at what cost

I like this.

but. I wish All Might had interacted more with Stain, and in a meaningful way, engaging with how he - former hero - would view a serial killing villain - who killed in the name of All Might! Here was a evil villain who arguably contributed to this collapse! Here was a man who loved All Might. Here was a criminal who ruthlessly called for purges. Here was a guy who was inspired by All Might and wanted to do his part in making a better world. Here was All Might’s legal enemy, and here was All Might’s most devoted fan, someone All Might was to protect and guide with a smile.

But the narrative, and therefore All Might in a way, only used Stain as a cheer-up prop for All Might.

And now that Stain has helped in battle and died for All Might, he’s functioned as just another Mecha ability; a useful quirk to stall All Might for a moment. Hell, Stain ends up doing the same thing Hercules - telling All Might to live, then getting cut off by AFO killing them. All Might feels sad, undoubtedly, but it’s kinda weird that this chapter pretty much portrays both deaths as having the same weight. imo.

Stain’s better than a talking car or just a cameo mimicked mecha quirk, because he was here in person, so All Might can do the one thing that’s been missing from this whole battle - worry over someone, makes us reader feel the stakes and feel the emotion of ‘NOO, STAIN, SAVE HIM, ALL MIGHT!’ - but that’s frankly storytelling 101.

but we don’t even get a satisfactory end to that, really, because Stain was marked for death from the beginning by literally offering himself up as a tool and sacrifice for All Might - which All Might accepts with no protest! (the story gives him no space to protest). it gives off a sense of ‘yeah, Stain should die, should he killed, as punishment for his crime, for being a villain, no need to save him’

and you know, that looks really bad in light of how AFO explicitly calls Stain a murderer here out loud, as if passing judgment, as if devaluing his worth (the same way vestige!AFO calls Nagant a murder, the same way AFO gives Tomura the hands and says you’ve killed your family, remember that)

but maybe stain isn’t dead yet. and stainmight will live

#incoherent but it’s how i feel #nalslastworkingbraincell

[physalian]

Character Descriptions 101 (Or, the ugly truth about what really matters)

A lot of the appeal of being able to write your own book is being able to take all the characters you dream about and put them onto paper for everyone else to drool over as much as you do. You might create a character so iconic, they can be recognized by their hazy silhouette alone.

Not everyone designs Sherlock Holmes, though.

Not everyone needs to be Sherlock Holmes.

How well you describe your characters, especially your protagonist/opening narrator, says a lot more than you’d probably like about your experience as an author. I’ve got eight years of practice with my own works, twelve if you include my early days of fanfic – and resisting the urge to describe characters in the tried and true clichés is still hard.

So here’s the ugly truth about describing your characters, and some other pointers curated from the Internet you may have seen before.

At the end of the day, what is really important?

Unless you are writing in the genres of fantasy or sci-fi, or you aren’t writing humans, your character will likely be a very average looking human. Doesn’t matter if you think your special bean’s black hair/blue eye/snow white skin combo is unique – is the shape of his face, curve of his lips, how wide his shoulders are really that important outside of, I don’t know, a steamy romance novel?

I ask this because character descriptions fall into three camps: Thematically important beats, thematically unimportant beats, and “oh damn I have too many blondes, uh, here’s a redhead” beats.

I ask this, because “this character doesn’t look like they did in the book” arguments will never stop happening and we all have our sides on what matters and what doesn’t.

These details can be height, hair color, eye color, skin color, hair style, clothing, tone of voice, accent, birthmarks, scars, and tattoos, and anything in between. Sometimes, this trait is this person’s defining trait. Sometimes, the author just felt like it – sometimes the curtains are just blue.

But sometimes, a lot of times, they’re not.

My two cents: If that piece of their design is thematically important, the adaptation should respect it and include it. If it’s not, who cares?

Thematic Character Design

Thematic character design is the intent behind the choices the author makes when deciding how they will present their character to the world. This is *why* the character looks the way they do.

Visually, you see this in anime all the time. Crazy hair colors and styles help distinguish the cast when their faces might otherwise be too similar, or when drawing them from a distance. Sometimes the protagonist will have the most unique, or the loudest hair style (think Yu-gi-oh). Or the Important Lady Character will have pink hair. Or the sad angsty anime boy will have white hair (see my post about color in fiction).

In the written medium, you can “show don’t tell” a few different ways cliché ways:

Give the villain a facial scar

Make your femme fatale a redhead

Make your hero blonde/blue-eyed

But hey, they’re tropes for a reason, everyone knows what you mean when you write them. You might give your character green eyes like their mother, a trait Very Important when a redeemed-ish villain dies. You might give your character a brunette French braid that goes on to become the style of the rebellion. You might make your Illegal Divine Children the only three black-haired major characters in a sea of brown and blonde because they are the Three Illegal Divine Children. You make all your grisled fantasy men have beards and your elves clean shaven.

The existence of these traits serve the plot and the themes of the story. It matters because these traits make them look like the villain, or the dead legacy they must live up to. These traits ostracize them from their community, or help define their culture. These traits are the hallmark of a chosen one, or a pariah. These traits are emblematic of a special power or handicap, religion, faction, rebel cause.

These are the details fans complain about when adaptations get it wrong, and it’s not without merit. But what happens when those details aren’t all that important, no matter how much you think otherwise?

Unthematic character design

Everyone lost their minds when Hunger Games was being adapted and to everyone’s unnecessary horror, Jennifer Lawrence is blonde. Everyone got mad because it’s the little details you have to get right, otherwise you’re disrespecting the source material, yada yada. Is it really so hard to wear a wig, if you can’t get this tiny thing right, what else will you mess up, etc.

Question: Was the color of her hair more important, or the style that it was in?

She dyed it anyway to stay faithful, but which detail mattered to the plot, versus just being what the author picked for her?

Dare I wade into the “this character was white in the book” cesspool? Reluctantly, yes. And all I will say is this: Does their skin color serve any legitimate purpose to the plot or how they define themselves? No? Then shush and let the actors do their thing.

… But what if race *does* matter?

Is this a slice of life novel about some plucky high schoolers in your average American town? If the story isn’t any deeper than prom dates and football games, the skin color of your character is not important. Is this a treatise on segregation and the struggles of womanhood in repressed societies? Then yeah, the skin color of your character might affect their outlook on life a little bit.

In other words: Does your character care what they look like, and does their appearance affect the trajectory of the story?

Yes, it’s disappointing when you see your favorite character on screen and have to be told that’s them because it just doesn’t look like them. But what’s important is if they fit the spirit of the character, even if they don’t quite match their looks (a lesson I, too, need constant reminding of).

Character Descriptions in Fantasy and Sci-Fi

If making sure the adaptation stays faithful to the character design matters anywhere, it’s in these two genres. Why? Because you have free reign as an author to describe your mythic creatures, your aliens, your supernatural entities however you choose, and you worked hard trying to make them distinct from every other fantasy series out there.

But hold your horses on how specific you get.

Generally speaking, the traits that most authors describe first are hair, eye, and skin color, because it’s the easiest to get out of the way and everyone knows what humans look like to fill in the blanks. When you enter the realm of non-human characters, you have a lot more legwork to do to make sure your audience imagines what you want them to.

Maybe they have slit pupils like a housecat or a snake, or they have really floppy elephant ears, or they have antennae that twitch when they’re angry, or they have wings like a bat, a bird, a dragonfly. Or they have distinctive tattoos from their tribe. They have scales or feathers or fur and you want everyone to know how fluffy it is. You want your audience to know how tall they are, how heavy, how lanky, how robust. The shape of their face, their hands, if they have fingers like a pianist or a catcher’s glove.

Or, it matters because you’ve written an allegory on race, class, colonialism/imperialism, a World War, Apartheid, what have you, and your made-up nationalities need their own traits to be bigots about.

Answer: Hire a sensitivity reader before you design an insulting stereotype.

Otherwise, feel free to add as much fluff as you’d like. You go out there and you give exact measurements, constant similes about the textures of their skin, write an essay on cultural wardrobe, take two paragraphs to describe that ballgown and masquerade mask… and accept the fact that your readers will happily go SKIP!

Because description and exposition are also entwined with tone and the purpose of the story. I am writing an 18th century royal ball scene in a steamy romance novel and my hero is about to get her man – my audience might care about things like a sweetheart neckline, perfume, what kind of flowers are in the lacework, how it hugs her body, how the pink looks so damn sexy in the candlelight, how the skirts sweep so elegantly, every piece of jewelry she's wearing and how expensive it is and exactly how she did her hair.

Or, I am writing a fantasy adventure that happens to feature a pitstop at a royal ball – Your audience does not give one flying f*ck about what flowers are on that dress. Describe the color and something cool and eye-catching and move on.

The Ugly Truth: Does. It. Matter?

You can wax poetic about the minutiae of your absolutely unique and like no other fairies no one else has ever written before. Maybe you designed them less like Tinker Bell and more like anthropomorphised flowers – that matters!

You want your hot love interest to have a cupid’s bow and to remind the audience of that detail at least four times throughout the narrative? Not important unless the narrator is weirdly obsessive over it (or, again, romance/erotica).

The same thing goes for fantastical settings.

At what point are you describing the color of the grass, the kind of marble in the walls and floors, the exact shade of blue paint they used, the gables and the roofing tiles and the scalloping on the columns to unnecessary ends?

This also affects pacing.

If your entire story is set in a beautiful castle and the heroes never leave? Describe as much as your little heart desires. Is it just a pit stop on the way? Call it a castle, maybe it’s in ruins, give one uniquely defining trait that’s thematically relevant, and move on.

Side characters too: If you don’t even bother naming the poor schmuck, give their gender and maybe one fun fact and move on.

You’d be surprised how little character descriptions, or lack thereof, are even noticed. The amount of fanart head-cannoning a character being Not-White because the author technically never clarified is everywhere. I just reread the first two PJO books and Chiron’s human half is never described beyond his age and his beard. Everyone who read it filled in the missing details with what they wanted or expected to see and that doesn’t impact his character one bit.

Pacing your descriptions

See this post about how to pace your narrative.

Everyone knows the trope of the narrator waking up, gazing into a mirror and describing themselves to the audience. It’s cheap, it’s fast, it’s dirty, it’s effective.

So why do people hate it?

I think it’s less because it’s overdone, and more because it’s robbed of potential. When I wrote about pacing, I said every scene should be pulling double duty – character descriptions fall under exposition, and should do the same.

If you really want to have your hero describe herself to you via mirror, don’t just write a textbook, give it flavor. Is she self-conscious about her looks, saying she has choppy blonde hair but wishes it was some long, luxurious brown like some girl she’s jealous of? Does she have a big nose and wish it was smaller because she’s bullied? Or, does she love her green eyes, because her late father had them and she loves the connection they share?

Good pacing isn’t about how many or how few words you take to describe something, it’s how efficiently you use those words. Short doesn’t always mean it’s bland, long doesn’t always mean it’s profound. Don’t take 300 words to say something that could be said in 30 – but some things do deserve 300 words.

Examples:

A: She woke and rolled out of bed and stared at herself in the mirror. She had hazel eyes and blonde, curly hair that she pulled up into a ponytail.

B: She woke on the third alarm and rolled out of bed. Staring back at her in her vanity were tired hazel eyes beneath a mop of dishwater blonde curls and crease marks from her pillow.

C: She woke on the third alarm and dragged herself out of bed. Her vanity mirror glared back at her – a rats nest of dishwater blonde and crease marks from her pillow. She scowled and rubbed the sleep from her hazel eyes and raked her curls up into a messy ponytail to be dealt with after coffee.

Or, go even longer, really weave those details into the action of the scene, I didn’t here because this is a blog, not a book.

No matter what, best practice is to not infodump the description, spread it out – another criticism of the mirror trope. There is no one size fits all for any writing advice but if you’re spending more than four consecutive sentences describing a single character, object, or building, break that hot pile of exposition up and look how much better it reads.

Similes for describing your character, like any comparison, should serve a purpose. Think about describing an intimidating queen with snow white skin versus bone white skin – what vibes do you get from one simple word change?

You have a long time to describe your narrator, it’s okay if we don’t know what they look like on the first page. Give the details as they become relevant. If you open en media res and the hero is in a nasty fight scene – describe their hair as it flops in their eyes, describe their skin as it’s covered in sweat or scratches or bullet holes, describe their eyes as they patch themselves up and one is now black and blue – or describe their color full of fear, hate, malice, grief.

Describe them against another character so you get two birds with one stone. Whether the narrator is jealous of, attracted to, or appreciative of their fellow character’s appearance. Describe them self-conscious about trying to impress a crush, their spouse, a superior, interviewer, parent, the public, the press. Or describe them unhappy about how they’re being forced to look compared to how they usually are, e.g. a school uniform, prisoner’s uniform, fancy dress/suit, skimpy undercover costume, bargain bin, ugly hand-me-downs, holiday costume, sleepwear, full face of makeup, or no makeup.

All of these are motivated details that will read better than halting the narration to drop textbook lines of exposition.

Lastly, do not let your characters get side-tracked describing themselves when they have more important and prescient concerns. In the above hypothetical fight scene, a “she swept her blonde hair from her eyes and got back to her feet,” is going to read smoother than “she swept her blonde hair aside. It was short and choppy, cheap highlights fading and flyaways tickling her face. She got back to her feet.”

And even then, personally, I think this reads better still: “She swept her hair from her face and got back to her feet, sweaty blonde tangles stuck to her skin.”

Have intent, make it motivated, and the less it feels like awkward exposition.

Pitfalls to avoid

Full disclosure, I am white, from a long line of the whitest white Europeans. I do not write a pasty white cast of characters. Boy, was it an eye-opening experience realizing how harmful my earlier descriptions used to be, just from the books I grew up reading and through no ill-intent of my own.

So another detail in the realm of “does it really matter”: Not all brown skin is the same shade of brown, but resist the urge to compare it to any flavor of food or chocolate. I just reread a favorite kids’ book of mine and saw “chocolate milk” and as a kid, I never noticed or cared, but you bet I zeroed in on that little beat as an adult.

Is this hard? Kind of, yeah. I suppose you could go scorched earth with the food comparisons and describe all your characters in their flavor of milk. Pale skin has a lot of options: Snow, frost, paper, bone, fair, pale, lily, sandy, fawn, etc. and of course, milk, cream and sugar to boot.

The “brown skin like milk chocolate” is tempting, but dehumanizing particularly when only brown characters are described with food. Decide if the exact shade of brown is important, then get respectfully creative with the comparisons. The same goes with hair styles and textures.

Related to skin color: Be careful with what idioms and metaphors you use when describing characters who aren’t supposed to be white, doing things only possible or noticeable with light skin.

A certain famous author really tried to tell the world Hermione wasn’t *technically* white and the HP fans went and pulled page numbers proving that she has to be based on the behavior of her skin.

I’ve caught myself (and had to be told) a few times describing a not-white character “white-knuckling” something as shorthand for being stressed and tense. Faces blanching, paling, reddening, blushing, turning green, looking sun-burnt and bruised and scarred all look different depending on how dark their pigment is.

I am not at all an expert on what you *should* do for non-white characters so I will say this once again: Do your research and get a small army of sensitivity readers. Even if you don’t think you’re being racist, you might be. Accept the constructive criticism, and change it without complaint. Do not lie down and die on a milk-chocolate hill.

The Beautiful Truth

In the written medium, unless you canonize character art and take no constructive criticism, all your audience has to go on is suggestion. That means that your audience has the freedom to imagine their favorite characters however they want.

That means you get a million variations of the hero in their fan art – that’s amazing! If you never described the protagonist’s skin color? You get an audience that makes him or her or them the hero that they want to see and how you’ve inspired them – that’s amazing!

That’s what I mean when I ask if it really matters. You will always know how your literary darlings look. Is it more important that everyone else draws a million different paintings in their mind of the exact same face like a photocopier, or that you now have an audience giving you a million unique paintings of your life’s work immortalized in the grand literary canon?

#writing advice #character design #character development #exposition #writing resources #writing tools #writing

[sadquickchristmassnowman]

hi! what do you think are the best/most tolerable episodes in season 4 of community? it’s widely regarded as the worst season and I never know which episodes to watch each time I go through a community rewatch binge lol. so, I figured I would consult the encyclopedia! (this is my first time using the ask feature so I apologize if I am not using it correctly)

heyo! this is a great question. I actually have an abbreviated season 4 watchlist that cuts out the worst episodes (in my opinion), while staying comprehensible and making sure you're still able to follow the season's overarching plots:

4x01: history 101

4x03: conventions of space and time*

4x05: cooperative escapism in familial relations*

4x06: advanced documentary filmmaking

4x08: herstory of dance

4x11: basic human anatomy*

4x12: heroic origins*

4x13: advanced introduction to finality

the episodes with asterisks* are the ones I actually really enjoy watching. the others on the list are pretty mid, but are, in my opinion, important enough to the overarching plot and character development to be worth watching. when I'm showing other people season 4 for the first time, I adhere to this watchlist lol.

I’m going to do some (hopefully quick) explanations of how I came up with this list, but you don't have to read it if you don't want to lol:

✅ history 101: it's the first episode of the season, so it really does set the tone and establish some important details (jeff wants to graduate early, troy and britta are dating, this is their last year at greendale, etc.) as with most of season 4, the weirdness seems really contrived and unnatural, but it does have its moments of being genuinely funny. it's also a pretty abed-centric episode, which is always a bonus lol

❌ paranormal parentage: I don’t hate this episode, but it's just kind of boring and doesn't really add anything to the season. I love megan ganz but... yeah. a lot of the jokes seem forced, and there's way too much pierce for my liking. there are a couple good one liners ("you should probably tell your boyfriend's boyfriend" "I remember when this show was about community college") and it does help set up jeff finally contacting his dad, but imo it doesn't quite make the episode worth watching

✅ conventions of space and time: I’ve heard that some people hate this episode? couldn't be me. way too much trobed for me to hate it lmao. there is a lot of jeffannie in it too, but that resolves with the conclusion that annie is just a romantic who loves to fantasize, and doesn't actually have real feelings for jeff. it actually fuels my lesbiannie agenda tbh, because she is evidently just in love with the idea of a man but doesn't actually put that into practice. but that's another post lmao. we have some great one-liners, we have britta helping troy through his jealousy, we have "troy will find me :)" we have some more inspector spacetime lore, etc etc. I love this episode and rewatch it frequently.

❌ alternative history of the german invasion: for me, this episode has almost zero redeeming qualities. the jokes are lame, I hate professor cornwallis, there is so much discontinuity, it has zero importance in the bigger picture of the season and the show, it's out of character, etc. the one thing I like is the end tag.

✅ cooperative escapism in familial relations: this is a big one for me. I never see people talking about it, but to me this episode is one of season 4's saviors. we have HUGE jeff development, jeffbritta moments, some much needed shirley screentime and development, some great jokes ("-to eat garbage dip WHY DID I HAVE TO GO THIRD), classic trobedison shenanigans, and the shawshank redemption homage is very funny to me. plus! adam devine cameo! I like this episode more every time I watch it. unsung hero fr.

✅ advanced documentary filmmaking: okay so I won’t lie, I fucking HATE the changnesia arc. I think it is so incredibly stupid and uncreative. there are a million different and better ways they could have brought him back. but, this episode is just too important in the season's development to skip. and, honestly, if I ignore the whole premise, there are a lot of funny bits and jokes in this one. troy constantly smiling at the camera (read: smiling at abed), troy and annie being the silliest ever, jeff's trust issues, and ken jeong is truly very funny, I just hate this arc so much. but ultimately it's too important to cut. imo.

❌ economics of marine biology: I basically feel the same about this one as I do about alternative history of the german invasion. it's boring, the premise is stupid, it's out of character, it's unfunny, the guest character is lame, and it's pointless to the overall plot. abed and the delta cubes is a little bit funny? and I guess you could argue that the jeff and pierce development is important? but I’d refute that very quickly. it's pierce, who cares. not. worth. it.

✅ herstory of dance: this episode is honestly the upper end of mid, but it has enough good jokes and development to make it worth it. it is also Very abed-centric, which we've established is always a plus imo, and his whole bit with going on two dates at once is very in character. he also meets rachel, who comes back in season 5, so that's important. it also has some great jeff & britta development!!! which is sort of few and far between in the later seasons!!! yippee!!!

❌ intro to felt surrogacy: tied for my least favorite community episode of all time. it's clear they tried to do something similar to what they did with abed's uncontrollable christmas, but it is so incredibly contrived that it is physically painful to watch. I hate the puppets. the hot air balloon story is so stupid and out of character. the songs are bad. how dare they sully the legacy of my third favorite episode (lmao). the only redeeming qualities are troy as a whole (all of his lines are good, and that moment when he pretends his puppet is falling asleep is very funny), and the fact that pierce is not physically in it. but those do not make up for how horrific the rest of it is. in my opinion. haha.

❌ intro to knots: once again! Tied For My Least Favorite Community Episode! they're right next to each other, how convenient. and again: bad jokes, bad premise, I fucking hate professor cornwallis, the changnesia shit is back, the plot is ALL over the place, there is little to no actual character development, the dialogue just goes in circles, and it ends with a random litter of kittens that are never mentioned again??? I guess the only mildly important thing is the end tag with the evil study group, which comes back during the season finale. but yeah. not worth it. disgusting.

✅ basic human anatomy: and here we have a HUGE jump from the last one. this is my favorite season 4 episode, and is probably in my top 15 from the entire show. I could talk about this episode for hours. the troy development alone is so so so good and important. add abed into the mix and Oh Boy!!! britta is great in this one, jeff and the dean's whole thing is so fucking funny, shirley and annie competing against leonard for valedictorian on a technicality is very in character and silly, danny and donald's acting in this one is commendable, etc etc etc. there really isn't much, if anything, I dislike about this episode. jim rash being the credited writer makes me love him even more. legendary. outstanding.

✅ heroic origins: I actually really like this episode. it does still have that sort of unnatural and off-putting vibe that the majority of season 4 has, but I think it holds up. it's in character, it has some great jokes and one-liners, and although it does have its moments of discontinuity, it does a surprisingly good job of staying compliant with what has already been established. certainly much better than alternative history of the german invasion. abed's whole bit with the star wars prequels makes me laugh, the annie's boobs lore, footage of annie and troy in high school (surprisingly well done if you ignore the discontinuity of troy's injury), etc. it's also massively important for the overarching season plot, and we finally get to the conclusion of the stupid changnesia arc. I could go on and on, there's just a ton of really cool callbacks (including one to the pilot, which I only noticed a few months ago and am obsessed with), and I just. wasn't expecting this one to work out as well as it did. pleasantly surprised, all in all.

✅ advanced introduction to finality: this one is not great tbh, but it's too important plot-wise to skip. and, I mean, it does have some good moments. abed immediately recognizing evil jeff, the whole thing being in jeff's head a la remedial chaos all being in abed's head (insert something about how this being yet another demonstration of how fundamentally jeff and abed understand each other, which I could expand way more on but won't in this particular post), season 2 of the cape, "one of us is out of bullets" "is it you" "...yeah" "why would you tell me that," and more. overall, yeah, worth watching imo.

I do also want to say that I think season 4 is a bit overhated. I do agree that it is the worst season, I think most of us can agree that that is an objective truth, but it does have its moments and I do get slightly frustrated when people write the entire season off.

I’m also happy to hear anyone else's opinions on what you think is/isn't worth watching in season 4, especially if you really strongly disagree with me. I’m curious to what your reasoning is lmao.

okay! this is definitely way more elaboration than you needed, but I hope this was helpful 💯💯💯

#sorry again for the long wait on a response #thank you for your patience :) #community #nbc community #community nbc #media analysis #community encyclopedia

[zoe-oneesama]

Congratulations on finishing Reverser!! Super excited to see Marc’s full header outfit when that episode comes out! Next on the docket is Party Crasher, right? Whenever you have the time after your fresh rewatch of the episode, what are your thoughts and opinions on Wayhem, his akuma, and Party Crasher’s plot?

Ughhh, I watched it once quickly because this was definitely a Temporary Hero episode (I watched all the episodes I knew for sure would have a temp hero in since I needed to figure out what power would be needed) and it was hard to watch. I just kept getting mad with the civilian plot:

Wayhem is...fine? In THIS episode. It's kind of easy to completely separate him from "Gorizilla" so he's fine in this episode alone (I can't personally get over how obsessive he was in "Gorizilla" but at least he apologized for it? I guess?? Well Adrien seems cool with it at least.)

This is one of the only episodes where the "misunderstanding" that creates the akuma actually feels like a genuine misunderstanding and miscommunication rather than one person jumping to crazy conclusions and then getting mad when they're incorrect (*cough* "Lady Wifi" *cough* "Reverser" *cough*)

His akuma design is fun and camp so I actually like it, but I'm very confused by his powers since he seems to have...many? Like, okay, he can "predict" his opponents movements and envisions it like a dance floor... AND he absorbs people and things into his disco hands by touching them... buuut he can ALSO zap you from a distance... but then he ALSO makes a helicopter?? Also he can apparently heal himself after King Monkey busts everyone out of his disco prison...

I was with you for those first three things but you lost me at HELICOPTER.

And then there's...the plot.

I had to watch this episode in halves because I was getting to mad. At Nino. It's just so weird that this show had one of it's main characters make a universally disliked decision: Breaking a Promise. Isn't that, like, Kid's Show 101, to teach you that you're supposed to keep your word? So why'd they make Nino not only go back on his promise to help Mylene and the girls, but rope other people into it too?? And then for Tikki to be shocked and horrified that Marinette lied and frame that as being wrong when Nino and the boys did the exact same thing! So it's only a big deal when Marinette does it, got it. And I HATE that the conclusion was "well it could've gone smoother but iT wAs fOr AdRiEn sO iT'S cOoL!"

Neither of you, none of you, should've broken your promise. THAT should've been the conclusion. All of them should've spent the end of the episode apologizing to the tree planting group and getting to work.

It's just a weird episode for so many reasons. For one, the girls either somehow didn't catch on to the obvious that aLL the boys were playing hooky on them or they just didn't care, except for Marinette. So even though we're supposed to think it's wrong of Marinette to dip out to prove the boys are lying, it doesn't seem to matter cuz clearly the girls aren't bothered! Breaking promises? Going back on your word? Leaving your friends hanging? Apparently it's not THAT big a deal, so who CARES if the boys or Marinette flake on purpose?

For another thing, I get that we have a limit on teenage boy models to fill this house party with, but I don't think the solution was EVERY GROWN ADULT MAN IN PARIS to crash a MIDDLE SCHOOLER'S HOUSE PARTY!

Roger comes for a "noise complaint" and stays for the foosball?

Astruc and Vincent/Guiseppe/Photographer dude come for a casting call for Adrien at his house? (Look, if the director and his casting photographer are coming to your house, skip the formalities, you already have the gig, let's be real, and also they came over when Adrien's guardians are out of the house, that's creepy).

And then Jagged Stone jumps through his window from his helicopter because he heard the music they were using???

None of these don't feel weird and kinda creepy, like you WEREN'T INVITED, say your piece and GET OUT! Or better yet DON'T COME! No, Nino, stop thinking this is cool, this is FREAKING WEIRD, stop teaching Adrien weird shit!

Put that into perspective for sec: Nino thinks Adrien would have a better time at a Dude's Only House Party (boring) with Randos then just letting his Girl Friends join them.

If they wanted this Boys vs Girls thing, they should've gone full in. Have the girls see through the excuses and let them be pissed. Let them want to confront the boys, but oh? Nino told the Bodyguard to specifically not let them in? What's that, music? Are they...they're having a PARTY?! They're having a PARTY instead of helping them PLANT TREES like they PROMISED AND they're DELIBERATELY EXCLUDING THE GIRLS FROM SAID PARTY?!

Oh this means War.

So make the shenangians about the girls trying and failing (or succeeding?) into getting into the party in increasingly ridiculous ways or something. Like, oh, THEY could call the police on the noise complaint and then get dumbstruck when Roger joins the party. Or have them notice that Adrien's fencing instructor and the Director are getting in so they think the party will be stopped by Adren's obligations and then getting ticked when that doesn't slow them down.

Dress up as Pizza Guys, Delivery Men, Classmates, ANYTHING to get in! Have them notice Wayhem and try to drag him in but because they've tried so many times THAT'S why the bodyguard doesn't let him in - because he's with the girls.

Just... you wanted this dumb Boys Club vs Girls thing, so commit you cowards, give me a WAR! I don't care for those kinds of dumb gender war episodes but at least don't half ass it if you're gonna do it!

As for the Boy Heroes Team thing, it feels wrong to give them a hero episode of their own when THEY are the bad guys in the Civilian Plot and to not have an equivalent Girl Heroes Team episode (instead they get a Girl AKUMAS episode, twice!). The idea is cool and I would've liked to see more squad episodes that weren't framed as "I-need-five-heroes-to-do-what-just-Chat-Noir-can-do" and were actually about teamwork, but our options are the Heroes Day Season 2 finale where they fell apart, or "Party Crasher".

Sigh.

At the end of day, the boys just look like jerks for ditching the girls, but the girls don't even care, so there's not even enough drive for Marinette to involve herself, and then the Marinette Sneaking In shenanigans aren't even fun, the randos showing up aren't fun (except Mr. Banana, he can stay), I guess Marinette and Nino (and the boys) punishment is cleaning up Adrien's room...? Like, good for Adrien that he doesn't get any backlash from his dad because it'd be wildly unfair for him to be the person who gets punished in this scenario, but nobody learned any lessons. It's just...

What was the point of all this?

At least I didn't have any complaints about Adrien for the most part.

#I probably won't use those ideas for SL because I honestly have too many different ways I could change the episode #it's actually hard for me to nail one direction down #ml salt #nino salt #writing salt #party crasher salt #marinette salt #an essay by zoe

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2023.07.27

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. Quote My Love by MusicalSurge [M, 1k]

►"I will not have you without the darkness that hides within you. I will not let you have me without the madness that makes me. If our demons cannot dance, neither can we." -Nikita Gill

2. Sometimes, What You're Searching For... Has Been There All Along by @orpheous87 [T, 14k]

►Harry has experienced for the nth time that his dates want the hero and not the real person. He should have called in sick instead of coming to work feeling gloomy, that's cursebreaking 101. Instead he wishes to be seen by a bloke who will still love him when he needs help. In a room full of dubious objects he is supposed to check for curses. And now he is invisible. His friends can hear him, Bill and Hermione figure out together that he can only become visible again if he finds the person who can see him and reciprocates the love.

---

Fest/Exchange

1. All I Think About by Anonymous [T, 4k]

►Sometimes all it takes is one perfect late summer night in June. ★ HD Wireless 2023 | @hd-wireless

2. Put It On Your Face Boy by Anonymous [E, 3k]

►Harry watched as Draco's hips sway to the beat. He sips his muggle bourbon and imagines the noises they would make if Harry had Draco's legs draped over his shoulders. With liquid courage flowing through his veins, Harry slammed the drink down on the bar and wove his way through the crowd towards the northern star that had been calling his name for years. ★ HD Wireless 2023 | @hd-wireless

3. Sometimes, Alcohol is the Answer by @jmagnabo92 [E, 3k]

►Five years after the war, Harry needs a drinking buddy and is surprised when his enemy turns into more. ★ Harry James Potter Week 2023 | @harryjamespotterweek

#drarry #drarry fanfic #drarry fic rec #harry potter #draco malfoy #daily list #2023 #2023.07

[glowingmin]

chapter 53 of this is an adjuration but its (moderately) analyzed

hi everyone we need to talk about chapter 53 aka i’m going to talk about it and you are going to listen. spoilers for the not only the entire chapter (btw i’m gonna be going crazy) but basically chapters 39 to 53 too. also yes i will be talking about all 100+ footnotes and yes i am going to be mad theorizing throughout. we cite our sources in this bitch.

first off: we’re starting off with Red being dead! fantastic! already in tears again thank you Vio. But now we get a different point of view, which is a lot more detailed. Makes sense because 1: vio and 2: four.

footnote 1: the implications of the hesitation. followed by footnote 76. green is an interesting critter. Red clearly is worried about dying, about becoming nothing if their sword is lost (footnote 93). From what I’m understanding, Vio and maybe Blue also felt the same during the sealing? Not too sure about Blue.

But also this comes back with when they go to pull the sword again! All of Link is in agreement (footnote 101). Which includes Green. Does existing again as Link where they don’t all fit back together perfectly help this along? 

“Shadows grow, harsh and angular, a myriad of isosceles shards spilling out in a tiled plane. The power of them thrums, climes up Vio’s spine in a way that is so very familiar.”

Is Twilight’s shard the same Darkness as Shadow? As the Dark Mirror? I know nothing about twilight princess so I’m probably not qualified to theorize on it. Spoiler alert we're doing it anyways. The wording of shadows here, shadows being used, makes me think that it Has to be the same thing. Especially since Vio says that it feels familiar.

The portals that are taking them across time, whether caused by Hylia or Dink or Hyrule or Whoever Else is playing Tug of Link, also seem to be this dark magic. I don’t remember Vio saying that feels similar. So there has to be some sort of difference between types of dark magic.

revision glowmin here: did some twilight princess research. Apparently Twilight and Vio can shake hands on a friend breaking a mirror and disappearing. they should start a club. 

footnote 2: Red and Vio bonding about Shadow! the pain of ‘when that happens, i’ll be right there’. but!! red isn’t here anymore!! christ!! “He’s good at that. Putting his feelings into metaphorical little boxes where they can’t touch him. Where they can sit and wait until he is no longer, and Link can take the boxes and open them up and the piece that is Vio can examine them under the safety of being a fragment, of being less-than-entire, of being whole, of being One.”

lets talk about this paragraph for a second. Link will no longer exist again. this is Unhealthy Coping 101 lads. He can’t be Link anymore to sort through all of those emotions (I figure Red is normally the one doing the mental housekeeping there anyways). So its going to sit in those boxes and rot there. Will it eventually explode? It sure seems like it during Ravio’s time travel dissertation! 

footnote 3: king link the first. Sky? is Sky the king link mentioned here? like ik he’s the first in the Reincarnation thingie. is link doomed to be the hero because he was named after the king? if he’d been named bob would he have been spared? hmmmm. i mean Sky is literally mentioned in the sentence the footnote is linked to so.

“(...) it would be so easy to think that it was a piece of the King himself that died.” 

but when you think about it, its true. the reincarnation stuff. Four is a Link. Four is a reincarnation of Sky. A part of him just died. So technically yes, I think thats literal.

“Oh. Blue. Blue is here. He can breathe now.”

“He blinks the blurriness out of his vision, to see Blue (his Blue, his guardian, his safety, his wall of ice between them and the world)”

“Of course he has to spell this out for him. Nothing can ever be easy with this man.”

the dual sides of the Vio opinion of one berry boy. The wall of ice though. Is that a callback to Blue being frozen solid in the FSA manga? And how Red had to save him? I notice there’s a lot of elemental imagery in the color-pov’s; green in particular about being comparable to the wind. 

footnote 4:Absolute whiplash of a contrast to footnote 2. We go from Red offering to hear Vio talk about Shadow to chapter 39. chapter 39 my beloathed my sleep paralysis demon. The last thing Vio says to Red.

And we know context for why Red died. Red thought that Dink was Shadow. He offers the benefit of the doubt to Dink under that assumption. Even though Vio just spat at him, even though Vio is pulling away, Red is still trying. It gets him killed. If Vio figures out that information, I feel like it’ll be a terrible time.

“Vi isn’t… isn’t really sure which outcome would be worse. Either one would be better than this limbo, this waiting and floating and his body’s instinctive attempts to make him feel.”

emotions can’t touch me these shades are gucci - vio, probably. also I didn’t realize that Vio was still holding Red’s hand when they tried to become One again. 

“After that, it’s as simple as wanting, of believing that to not be would be better than being, of feeling the thin tether of magic between himself and the gem in the pommel of his sword, and trying to make it stop. (...) Blue scoops up Red’s sword, the only bit of him left behind but his spilled blood, and two glowing points of red cut through the haze.”

foreshadowing?? foreshadowing?? i don’t remember if any other colors have commented on the tether between their swords and themselves. with that out of the way lets Talk about the difference between Vio and Blue’s thoughts of merging and then we’re getting into my Red Isn’t Dead coping theory

From chapter 40: “The three of them come to him, pushing at the magic and praying to anyone who might be kind enough to listen. There’s a flash of light, and Blue braces himself for the momentarily disorienting experience of becoming One, of having himself overwritten as a part from which the sum is made.

So we know from chapter 53 in particular that Vio has not great self imagery. like not at all. His thoughts of becoming one is summarized in that “believing that to not be would be better than being”. Blue, on the other hand, doesn’t have that thought. It’s a bit more vague, but it’s still enough to notice that merging seems to feel different for all the colors (or at the very least Blue and Vio have different interpretations).

The 2 gems on Red’s sword are glowing, and for the rest its just 1. I didn’t know that was a Thing until chapter 53. so here is my thought: where do the colors come from, actually? This chapter is implying that they are an extension of their swords. Are they physical magic, forced into a ‘body’? So hear me out on this one because I went and reread some of the other chapters to formulate this theory (i am coping hard).

What if: Red isn’t dead. He’s not alive, but not dead. Chapter 41: “Sky sees now, with horrible clarity, the similarity between the glow of the twin gemstones set in the pommel and cross guard of the sword, ruby red like his eyes were, and the sky blue pulsing light of Fi’s consciousness (...) Sky does not know if Red is conscious, if he is aware. He does not even know if he even is anymore. He knows only that Red is dead, and whatever remains of him is inside of that blade.”

First time I read this I was still in tears about Red dying so it didn’t make sense. I’ll be coming back to this theory later but for now let’s leave it at ‘red might not be fully dead he might just be in a coma’.

footnote 5: christ time travel makes my head hurt. i’m looking at it i promise i’m looking at it but the brain is rejecting the knowledge like gas station sushi.

footnote 6: FOUR SWORDS MANGA MENTIONED

footnote 7: ‘magical intervention for dead patients’ you mean the fucking necromancy

footnote 8: thesaurus dot com save me /reference

“What does he think? Of the situation? Of the idea that he has to live like this indefinitely? Of the reality in which Vio lives? Of the fact that this has happened twice now?”

Thoughts are stored in the Vio. the ‘twice now’ really hits hard. going to have a cry break again.

footnote 9: SHIT there isn’t a body either time. both times there’s some Item left behind; the shattered Dark Mirror, Red’s sword. but that’s not enough. good grief this is some trauma

remember the theory i literally just mentioned? here’s another point. I’m unsure how much of FSA manga is canon to adjuration (ik its not canon in LU shut up) but at the end we see very well that Shadow is still alive-ish.

Now hear me out: what if this is the same situation for Red? Alive, but no longer able to interact with the real world? Palace of the Four Sword lore from the Ravio cooking show?? put a pin in it we’re coming back later

““I think that creating a chain of alternative realities would be exactly the kind of thing I’d do to get them back. I think that I’d do whatever it takes, break whatever it takes, until all five of us, were together and home, and safe.” Green nods, and Vio knows that he has been overruled. “We go forward, into whatever fate awaits. We’re going to find who did this, and we’re going to kill them.””

Green doesn’t even ask Blue, now that i’m looking at it. that probably spurred a fight at some point off screen?? Also Vio mentioning five here!! and nobody questions it! I’m guessing they think Vio is out of it because Red is dead and that’s why nobody asked. remember this quote it’s going to be important later.

footnote 10: Green can’t lie? i’m gonna have to reread a bit to see that in a new light. Does Green actually want Shadow back? i hope so i think that would be cool.

“Vio nods. Wind can touch him. Wind is kind, Wind is safe. Wind is robed in blue and just as lovingly violent. Wind is a known quantity.”

Blue is also called a protector multiple times in this chapter and i think thats sweet. bittersweet, but sweet. stark contrast to Vio’s opinion in footnote 6 and between footnotes 3-4.vio honey the opinions aren’t staying in those boxes you made you need a U-haul.

footnote 11: i love these domestic colors moments they’re so. good

““I need you to get your shit together, can you do that for me?” Directions unclear, too broad.”

i am not going to make the joke i am Not going to make the joke

footnote 12: never even watched lttp gameplay but i looked it up just for this footnote. rosetta stone hylian edition real

footnote 13: seeing red. i see what you did there.

““...we lost Blue?” Not another, not a third, Vio can’t do this again, he can’t see that again.”

Green pea please be more specific you aren’t helping things. Considering that just a few paragraphs ago Vio was calling Blue their guardian, I would like to think that Vio is instantly going worst case scenario. and who can blame him, really?

footnote 14: heehoo shadow got thanos snapped, more trauma on the vio boat

footnote 15: I’m not sure how much minish cap is in Adjuration lore but him training at a young age makes him being picked to repair the picori blade more reasonable. because why else would you send a child into the wilderness without any help. he got like 2 years of training He’s Fine.

footnote 16: footnote 84 callback

“Wind is blue and water, and he feels just like a big brother should. (...) Green has his voice, has blown it away with his already made up mind.”

More elemental imagery for the colors! And its also being applied to Wind, who wears Blue, and is being compared to Blue.

footnote 17: i couldn’t find any reference of something called a ‘tracking hawk’ other than something that happens in twilight princess apparently? so maybe that’s what this is referencing.

footnote 18: hesitation to smash the Dark Mirror shaking hands with hesitation to put the Four Sword back in its pedestal? also your daily reminder that in the manga TINGLE contributes to why Vio didn’t smash the mirror

footnote 19: is this Blue perception in the memory? about the ice? maybe.

footnote 20: vio picture perfect memory canon.

“A flash of blue. Blue? No, Wind, screaming and disemboweling a moblin three times his size, an unmoving obstacle between Vio and what had been his certain death.”

From chapter 42: “The rest of them all be fucking damned, Wind is getting Vio out of this alive.”

just figured this little nod to that would be important to point out. Wind goes big brother mode and I’m here for it.

footnote 21: tragedy + time = comedy reference maybe? I figure Blue has had some time to cool down by killing monsters, so that’s probably why he’s able to muster a joke. if it was even on purpose

footnote 22: A field guide on first aid would honestly be really good for the colors/Link to know. especially if minish cap is fully in Adjuration canon. I don’t know how well Ezlo would be for administering hylian first aid in the field.

footnote 23: from FSA manga, vio: “Because I was ‘the smart one’ I thought I was always right. I learned ‘smart’ and ‘wise’ aren’t always the same’. Concussion is definitely going to put some struggle on the braincell.

footnote 24: Is Vio the only color capable of lying?

“Vio sighs, and melts into the warmth, the scent of the Dark. It is familiar and it is safe and he is free to go away.”

THE Dark? Implication that there’s only One Type, so. scratch whatever nonsense I was on earlier about there maybe being different types of Dark, ig. 

footnote 25: MINISH CAP MENTIONED!!!!!!!!!

footnote 26: more domestic color moments. Is their home labeled ‘four’? I’m assuming it is because there is an ‘r’ and ‘u’ and each color is painting 1 letter.

theory number three time: what the piss is going on at four’s house. from chapter 44: “Even still, Legend could swear that he saw the handle turn as he drops.” and then chapter 53: “Even still, Vio knows that he sees the door handle turn.” we have 2 inbetween footnotes to go through really quick and then we’re theorizing again.

footnote 27: more fodder for the theory of the colors just being their swords, I think!

footnote 28: wonder which of the colors is the most attuned to magic. maybe vio?

alright its THEORY NUMBER THREE FOR REAL TIME MOTHERFUCKERS THIS IS WHERE I GO CRAZY

“Something Dark and familiar crawls like a shiver up his spine.”

Vio knows Dark magic, okay I think we all understand that. He knows Twilight has Dark magic, the Dark Mirror was Dark magic, Shadow was Dark magic. what in the hell is dark magic inside the color’s home? no clue! this is where my theory comes in (it’s a two in one deal)

theory 3.1: Shadow is going to be revived at some point. The Dark magic is familiar to Vio because it’s Shadow, and Vio knows Shadow’s magic. Is Shadow playing tug of war with Dink to bring the colors home? How would he return from the dead? What time even is it in Four’s era at this 10 second pitstop? This is where I think that this is maybe during the late, LATE part of their adventure through time. but the gist is Shadow is somehow alive and is trying and failing to draw anything other than an uno reverse card. 

from chapter 45: ““Odd, that. It’s not like there’s anything interesting in there. We tore the whole place apart after the first time. It’s just a small town forge.””

we will bring this back up at the Ravio hour. everything comes up at the ravio hour.

theory 3.2: its Vio from the future. when we get to the Ravio Insanity I’ll get more into this, but we need to go back to this line from chapter 53: “I think that creating a chain of alternative realities would be exactly the kind of thing I’d do to get them back. I think that I’d do whatever it takes, break whatever it takes, until all five of us, were together and home, and safe.” Maybe this is Future Vio making good on his word. ripping apart time and space alike for a CHANCE to save Red.

footnote 29: legend is royalty Adjuration canon?

footnote 30: vio gaslighting hour, but he’s only gaslighting himself. from FSA manga Vio says: “But as a hero, I never strayed from my hopes and goals.” He calls himself a hero here, but then laments about it later. Plus he doesn’t seem happy during the whole confrontation sooooo

footnote 31: fourth edition hehehe

footnote 32: So Blue is to blame for the color’s haircut? I am so deep into brainworms I can’t remember if Four’s eyes changed colors or not.

““He’s got like thirty books crammed in here, where has he been getting them all?””

i love Green and Blue doing their best to bring Vio back to them. rise and shine gamer you need to read your concussion away.

footnote 33: existential crisis from footnote 27

footnote 34: excellent word choice Blue

“Vio pulls the book up, out of the bag and into his lap. It’s heavy and leather bound, with a metalwork crescent moon on the cover. A present from Ravio. (...) Ravio who insists at some point in their future, Vio will want to shatter a Light spell.”

remember theory 1? about Red not being dead? here’s more food for this theory. Four is also called the Hero of Light. A Light Spell. The Four Sword is made to cleave through the darkness (chapter 52). To shatter a Light Spell might be them trying to bring Red back from limbo. if he is in limbo. i hope he’s just in limbo.

“His brothers are both in their usual positions relative to him when they sit like this, the empty space where Red ought to be gaping like a wound.” 

you did not have to hurt me like this

footnote 35: Dark Mirror related trauma hours part TWO!!!!

footnote 36: and then it pivots right back from me tearing up to cackling about Shadow and Vio antics. I wonder what word Vio said here to make Shadow confused.

footnote 37: looking at shattering a Light Spell. looking at the magic of the Four Sword. if the Light spell Vio wants to shatter really is Red’s sword, the fact that Four is a blacksmith just might be what saves the situation

“The book is tugged from his hands and Blue’s own, cold and calloused, take hold.”

Are Blue’s hands permanently cold from being frozen? I know there’s been ice and water imagery in the past with Blue but this would be neat. Also did Blue and Green also see the note Ravio left (Don’t let anyone but you Four see this) and that’s why Blue is taking the book away?

footnote 38: we love character insight!! we love link knowing that a custom product tailored to the horse is better than a one size fits all mold!! hell yeah!

“Vi watches as Blue’s expression ices over.”

More ice imagery, this time with Wind present! Wind is sticking up for Vio like the big brother he is. And from chapter 45 we know that Wind most likely just finished telling Sky off about not being okay, too, so he is just picking up Red’s place as therapist I guess!

39: more important possible minish cap or just adventure in general books to have read

“Wind is curled into the front of him, blankets tangled up in the boy’s legs. Vio twists in place, spinning to face Blue. His brother is still in his sleep, face softer than it ever is when he’s conscious. Red’s sword creating a barrier between them, laid in its scabbard (Blue’s scabbard, they have to get him a new one just for him now) on the bedding, Blue’s fingers held fast to the hilt. Where’s Green?”

I skimmed through chapter 45-46 and I didn’t see any mention of where Green is at this point so I’m not sure where he is. But Wind is in on the cuddling and I’m here for it. And also… Red’s sword is still in the pile. Is there symbolism behind Red’s sword being between Vio and Blue? About how Blue is using the voice reserved for Red for Vio, now?

footnote 40: thinking this is pre minish cap, I think link already has a scabbard when he starts that journey.

“The boy gently presses them to Vio’s temples, and it is warm and loving and wild and red.”

All of those adjectives are applicable to Red. food for thought.

“Vio looks back down at the book in his hands. Not Ravio’s, good. His brothers aren’t that stupid, thank Hylia.”

So here I think the other colors have seen the note Ravio left them. I don’t know if they’ve discussed anything about it or not. or maybe they don’t know and its only Vio?

footnote 41: concussion

footnote 42: book (yeah I don’t have much to say for these two footnotes)

“The fire is warm and the floor is hard under his shoulder blades as he stares up at the ceiling, Blue on one side, Wind on the other.”

Wind is shoving Green out of the equation I think. I feel like this animosity will probably become important later but so far I don’t think anythings happened.

footnote 43: I know nothing about coffee so I really don’t know what this footnote is about, but Red is precious as always.

footnote 44: BODY LANGUAGE FOR DUMMIES i cackled when i saw that

“Green visibly chews that idea over in his mind, probably working overtime to have an original thought.” Compared to chapter 46: “Green frowns, starting to mentally replay every interaction that he has had with Legend. The universe, or fate, or… Hylia, maybe the Goddess herself decides that that is enough thinking for him today, because that is when the portal opens.”

footnote 45: “Not that Shadow's pressence here is strange, but for the first time, Vio didn't sense him coming. The alarms didn't start going off. He was woken by a physical touch, not warned seconds before by the indescribable feeling of wrong that slithers up his spine whenever this boy gets too close.”

WE ARE GOING TO BE COMING BACK TO THIS FOOTNOTE KEEP IT IN YOUR BRAINS FOLKS

footnote 46: Sky is arguing with Green, and then it references the downfall of Skyloft. beans

footnote 47: arson is the answer. arson is always the answer.

““Walk away before I break your nose again.” His protector says this as casually as if he were listing off how many nails they needed to make that week.”

Blue is (as the quote says) protecting Vio here. which is sweet. Blue broke Green’s nose back at the ranch (chapter 46)

footnote 48: Dark Mirror shattering reference? I wonder how long after the adventure this is. Also we know one set of the footsteps is Blue, but who’s the other? 

footnote 49: A feeling of something Dark, something wrong slithers with a shiver up his spine. Vio looks up, and sihloutted in the moonlight, there is a boy in a tree.

WE’RE COMING BACK TO THIS ONE TOO.

footnote 50: honestly surprised its not a plastic plant but this is arguably funnier

““Hyrule says a big fight is heading our way. We aren’t going to be able to keep you out of it.””

We’re at chapter 47 now!

footnote 51: considering how Easy the bow is to use in FSA this footnote makes a lot of sense.

footnote 52: multivariable calculus and ‘simple straightforward’ do not belong in the same sentence vio what the shit.

footnote 53: in the manga vio is shown to load 2 arrows at once, so yeah archery being preferred makes sense to me!

footnote 54: blacksmith fun!

footnote 55: god i fucking hate geometry all my homies hate geometry

footnote 56: MINISH!!!!

footnote 57: john mulaney reference?? also grandpa and the colors! wonder where Four’s father went

“Vio nearly laughs at the realization that all of that pain and suffering could have been avoided if they had simply gone through in pieces every time. And he’s supposed to be the smart one.”

They’ve been through a few portals since Red’s death by now, so the fact that he’s only noticing this now speaks volumes to how… mm, withdrawn into himself he’s been.

“Vio stares at the portal itself, considering. Hyrule made this. He didn’t know that was something that one of them could just do. (...) Vio slides his hand into his own pack, feeling around until he makes contact with the book Ravio gave him, finger tracing delicately around the thin ornamentation. All this time, he has had the directions for non-paradoxical time travel literally in his fucking pocket.”

hey remember theory 3.2? this might be where Vio gets the idea that he can do this sort of thing.

revision glowmin here: for some reason footnote 58 got deleted. So here it is! Vio does in fact look smug.

““How long have you known that Red was going to die?” Vio aks, voice as hard and unfeeling as stone.”

More earth elemental imagery for Vio!

“Ravio flinches, not meeting Vio’s stare. “The eighth,” he practically whispers, as if confessing to a crime.”

I know I mentioned this in my Ravio Board Analysis but the Link To Ravio timeline traveling being nonlinear makes my brain hurt and I cry. 

footnote 59: Vio would forgo reading to watch Blue and Vio spar (?) so you know its good stuff

““So don’t. Because I’m sorry Legend, but I’m going to have to kill your husband now.” Blue says this as gently and steady as a summer rain.”

graduated cylinder homophobia

footnote 60: the stark comparison between Blue’s playful sparring with green (footnote 59) and the dance fight with Red (this footnote) really makes him going for Legend look like murder. which. was the point but you know what I mean

footnote 61: I am 90% sure this scene happens right after Shadow disguises himself as Vio in order to get the other colors to actually fight Vaati effectively. We don’t see which direction Shadow leaves and Vio enters from, but it is possible that its the same direction. and the next time we see Shadow he is limping, so,,,, yeah.

“(...) Blue flips his grip on Red’s sword and slams the pommel into Legend’s nose, which Legend answers with a shield bash of his own right to his brother’s face. Vio hopes it hurts.”

This strikes me as a bit odd since Vio has been calling Blue ‘protector’ and ‘guardian’ throughout this chapter, albeit with pauses of dismissing him for brashness. Perhaps its because of the note Ravio left in that book, and the knowledge that in the future he wants to shatter a Light spell? And in order to do that Ravio must still be alive, so that’s my reasoning on why Vio wants Blue to hurt.

footnote 62: MINISH CAP MENTIONED also this must be before the minish cap journey because I think after that any attempt to say Link is ‘too old for that nonsense’ is thrown out the window.

footnote 63: vidow (metal pipe sound effect)

““Captain,” he says, walking over to him first. “This is from him.” (...) A room full of eyes on him, Vio tears open the envelope and carefully pulls out the single scrap of paper. (...) ‘You’re going to have to trust me, Violet. And you’re going to have to prove you’re as good a liar as he says you are. I’m trying to help all Five of you. -Not a hypocrite, either.’”

WE’RE HERE ITS TIME FOR THE THEORIES TO COME ROLLING. YOU REMEMBER THE FOOTNOTES I TOLD YOU TO REMEMBER? THEY’RE COMING IN NOW.

back to back here we have the mentioning of a ‘he/him’. I think its pretty clear that when Ravio is addressing Warriors, he’s referring to Wind in the future. Wind hasn’t gone to the War of Eras yet, and he gets called some weather nicknames in chapter 52 (“That crazy little hurricane who knew more than any person should, and was drowning in the weight of all that unwanted wisdom.” (...) “kidnapping people like my poor self and that damn riptide.”)

So that begs the question: who is the ‘he’ Ravio is mentioning in his letter to Vio? Is this future Wind? I see two possibilities, and so I raise you theory 3.2.1: Wind is the one who is helping future Vio rip holes in the fabric of time. You remember right before footnote 10, where Vio mentions five instead of four? Maybe this is where Wind would get the ‘five’ from when describing things to Ravio. Not super important I think but it is absolutely worth mentioning.

now I hope you’re ready for my insanity folks!

The line ‘not a hypocrite either’ leads me to believe that Ravio is referring to himself and Legend. Ravio is Legend’s dark world counterpart, just as Shadow is Four’s. To imply that he is not a hypocrite means that Ravio knows of Shadow’s existence. More than that, he knows of Vio and Shadow’s relationship. 

Now I’ve reread Adjuration 3x now and Legend has completed the Palace of the Four Sword (chapter 24: “I FUCKING KNEW IT!” Legend’s mouth moves faster than his brain for once in his life, and he winces, but goes with it. “I knew I recognized that damn sword.”) My running theory is that perhaps the Palace of the Four Sword being in the Dark World is what could possibly lead to Shadow being revived. let me explain.

in the board of madness of chapter 49, we get the timeline of the visits. Chapter 49 is visit 8 for Ravio. It is the only one thats black. For Ravio, he apparently learns who Shadow is BEFORE he learns who Red is. The visit for when he learns about Shadow (visit 8 ravio visit 6 links) is yet to happen in Adjuration. There’s 1 more visit between visit 2 ravio visit 8 links (visit 6 ravio visit 7 links) so SOMETHING is going to happen between the next 2 visits, i guarantee it. My theory? Control is going to be waived from Dink (if only slightly) and he is going to Get Pissed. More on that later but first: who’s at the forge.

Each time Shadow’s magic/Dark magic is addressed by Vio, it is done in a similar way. Chapter 53: “The power of them thrums, climes up Vio’s spine in a way that is so very familiar.” “Something Dark and familiar crawls like a shiver up his spine.” “He was woken by a physical touch, not warned seconds before by the indescribable feeling of wrong that slithers up his spine whenever this boy gets too close.” “A feeling of something Dark, something wrong slithers with a shiver up his spine.”

Every. Single. Time. Dark magic is either called ‘familiar’ or ‘wrong’, and it sometimes causes Vio to shiver. There is some force of Dark magic attempting to bring the chain to Four’s forge. It is that line about it being familiar when they drop in their most recent visit that leads me to believe that it is Shadow. How is it Shadow? Freyja confirmed that Shadow is 100% dead at the end of the events of the manga, so we know he’s dead. I have almost zero basis for this but I have a Theory (this logic is solely going off of the “Entity in the Forge” vibes).

In chapter 24, we get insight on the Palace of the Four Sword from Legend. “Don’t think about where he saw it the first time, don’t picture Four like that , don’t think about the malice and the stench of death, the black magic and the hatred rolling off the blade in waves. Fight now. Panic later.”

Is there a difference between black magic and Dark magic? I don’t know enough Zelda lore to say for certain. What we do know is that Legend is from Four’s future. Time travel confusion aside, in a Link to the Past, there is a copy of Red. What I think is going on here is that the Palace of the Four Sword being in the Dark World is perhaps a catalyst to revive Shadow. He came from the Dark Mirror after all; surely that much Dark magic in one place would be good for this sort of thing? The hatred is a bit concerning but I think a little anger is good as a treat.

How does he get back to his proper time period? Cia’s spellbook, I think. I truly honestly 85% believe that the tug of war here is between Shadow and Dink/the Yiga Clan. From tumblr, we have the list of the chain as follows: Sky, Four, Red, Green, Blue, Vio, Time, Legend, Hyrule, Wind, Twilight, Warriors, Wild, and then a redaction of a member.

(brief pause by revision glowmin here: the distinction of Four being different than the RGBV is a neat detail)

As far as I know there’s only a few options that this 14th Link could be. It could be the link from Spirit Tracks; unless Adjuration Wind also has that adventure. It could possibly be the Ancient hero from BOTW, the one shown on the tapestry and then in the Hero’s Aspect in TOTK. It could be the first ever Link, the one before Sky. Or it could be Shadow. I don’t think any of these four options deal with Dark magic other than Shadow.

There’s also my other theory that it’s Vio (and possibly Future Wind?). Vio has already made it clear that he will do whatever it takes (confirmed by freyja via tumblr: “Vio is willing to get his hands dirty. Vio is willing to shatter fragile things. Vio has nothing left to loose.”) I’ll bet my stockpile of gummy worms that the other 15% is this scenario. (“He doesn’t need to. For the five of them, there is no price too high, no cost too great. He’s going to do whatever it takes.”)

(revision glowmin again. no cost too great? hollow knight moment.)

Now let’s talk about the Yiga Clan for a bit. I want to strangle them like a wet sock. They’re like the Eyes of Ganon that Hyrule talks about sometimes. I know little about them, but the point is that their goals are the same: kill the hero to revive Ganon. For the Eyes, its Hyrule, because they need his blood. For the Yiga Clan, it’s Wild, because… well, he killed Ganon and its revenge time.

I think the reason the Yiga Clan are so against the chain being in Four’s era for more than a few seconds (other than the fact that they’re not the ones taking the chain there) is related to Ravio’s thesis. “His era might not be poison to Darkness the way that Sky’s is, but it’s too closely guarded.”

If the chain wind up in Four’s era, and the Yiga can’t wrangle them back, Dink might lost control of the ordeal. For the most part it seems like he’s been the one picking and choosing where the portals will lead the heroes. (“The Captain arches an eyebrow, “Who are the other players?” / “Hylia, The Yiga clan, and Hyrule, though he has hesitated to take his turns, for starters.””)If he lost that control, I feel like it would be a spiral of madness as he goes off script to get them back under his thumb.

For the silly, how I’ve been coping with the angst has been that Red and Shadow are 2 ghosts following the Chain around and just watching all this shit go down. Canon? 99% sure that’s not the case, but it sure would be funny! i drew a little something to commemorate this coping mechanism.

okay. ramblings and thoerizationings are over (I probably repeated myself way too much). tldr: there’s plausible cause for the dark entity at Four’s forge to be Shadow, but it could also possibly be Vio from the future/near the end of the journey. Whoever it is, they’re threatening to remove some of Dink’s control of the situation and that might Escalate Conflict. The Palace of the Four Sword is important to a possible Red revival (and maybe Shadow)! I am never going to emotionally recover from this.

back to your regularly scheduled analysis that is probably going to go off the walls again.

footnote 64: again: if Four had been named Bob and not Link, would the Minish have had to pick a different hero? I wonder what reasoning Four’s father had for naming him after the king, anyways.

footnote 65: Ravio and Legend’s dynamics being directly related to Vio and Shadow. More correlation of Ravio saying he’s ‘not a hypocrite either’.

footnote 66: domestic color antics. Blue screaming that he’s going to kill Red, starkly contrasting with how Blue reacted when Red actually died. We know that Blue was exaggerating here in the flashback but it’s here, so its getting mentioned.

“Vio gets up, leaving them to it in order to get a better view of Ravio’s notes. It’s not hard to follow. The Timeline in the middle, their lives in bullet points on one end, their visits to this era in history on the other.”

Vio sweetie I don’t understand the visits to the Ravio Center. at least he gets it so good for him I guess.

“Wind marches over, frowning. “What are you - oh.” The sailor frowns as he takes it all in. “Why is my name all over this?” / Green blinks. “That’s what I was asking you.””

The revisitation of the animosity growing between Green and Wind! 

footnote 67: Not sure when this flashback takes place, but I’m assuming its shortly after Shadow’s death?

footnote 68: There is a lot of. unrest in the chain because of Red’s death. Twilight gets outed as Wolfie, the colors are in shambles, Green and Wind are fighting, Twilight and Wild are not having good terms, the Fierce Deity is brought out, etc etc it is a Shit Show.

rapid fire footnote time

footnote 69: Legend just said that he might not stop Blue from killing Ravio this time. This is, of course, comparable to how the last thing Vio said to Red was to spit in his face. which is what this footnote is a recap of.

footnote 70: projection moment

footnote 71: Shadow gets blasted to bits

footnote 72: I believe this is a callback to footnote 48

footnote 73: More broken glass imagery back to back. Vio pointing out that for the next two visits that happen for Ravio is going to be when he possibly learns who Shadow is, and a better understanding of Red. I think. the timeline of the Ravio Hours hurts my head.

footnote 74: WHO IS THE HE. we already went over this but I’m bringing it up again. Wind or Shadow, I’m placing my bets.

footnote 75: Red again reassuring Vio about Shadow, and about how they all would like him back. Which is, again, making Vio spitting at Red right before he dies all the worse.

footnote 76: “Green on the other hand, feels nothing but the desire to get this over with.” Now that I’ve given it more thought, I don’t think this is ‘hee hoo Green is Diet Link’. I think Green is still feeling unnerved about it (see footnote 1), but its perhaps muddled over him trying to keep the others from backing out.

footnote 77: of course vio knows statistics

footnote 78: Vio calling himself a traitor here, I think is an implication of how he considers himself a villain but… if he’s a traitor to Shadow, who is the ‘villain’ here, at the very least it’s morally grey territory. i think. i don’t know man

footnote 79: I believe this also happens right after footnote 48

footnote 80: Okay but the fact that this is ‘twice will happen thrice’. This has happened twice to Vio (Shadow and Red). The third time would be Ravio.

footnote 81: Wind specifically being mentioned here is important I think. I don’t know why its important but it feels important. especially since he was the one who stood up to Green.

footnote 82: crying

“Vio freezes, words going still in his throat as they choke him. He’s getting overly emotional. He’s getting worked up. His feelings are trying to exhume themselves.”

I feel like this is a direct callback to the start of the chapter. Vio says that he can put all his emotions into boxes to save them for when he becomes One. I think the boxes are beginning to overflow.

footnote 84: another continuation of footnote 48, 72, and 79 I think.

footnote 85: Vio throwing shade at Green

footnote 86: blue performed a whoopsies

footnote 87: Derealization moment I think. Which honestly, yeah with all the screaming going on in this scene I can. yeah.

“Vio turns and sees Wild, lowering a serving tray down, upon which rests four cups full of steaming tea.”

Four cups, but I think in this case the four are Vio, Blue, Green, and Sky. I don’t think there’s anyone else in this part of the conversation. 

footnote 88: IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT SHIT HERE!! SOUND THE ALARMS. Not only is it a title drop, but we also have Shadow beginning to understand that he can be more than just one thing. He was created by Ganon to be evil, yes, but then in the manga Zelda tells him that he is as much a hero as the colors are. I think this is a scene that will come into play later if the entity at the forge is in fact Shadow. or if there’s any future Shadow related plot points.

footnote 89: I think Vio might be the only color capable of lying. In chapter 53 we hear that Blue nor Green can (or are good at) lying. Red being able to lie isn’t brought up, but I’d assume it to be the same scenario.

footnote 90: quote straight out of the manga

“Everyone else moves an instant after Legend’s fist crashes into Wild’s eye, to pull them apart or join in the fight, Vio isn’t sure.” 

Here we learn that Legend punches Wild! I’m pretty sure this is where his knuckles get injured, and its the wound Hyrule’s blood heals.

footnote 91: Shadow dies and then Ganon shows up, so it is… a situation, that’s for sure! Unless Adjuration takes a different spin on that part of the manga. Vio calling himself a villain again is also important because he does not define himself as a hero.

““I’m not letting go of Red,” Blue says, as passive a threat as a sheet of ice above a turbulent river. “Take me if you need to, but not Red.””

It seems like all of the colors understand now that they are (?) their swords. He’s telling Warriors to take himself, but not Red, in reference to disarming. Also, more ice and water symbolism!

footnote 92: ‘singular point of light’. I feel like this might be a contribution to shattering a Light spell

footnote 93: fire imagery for Red!

footnote 94: IT WAS THE WORD FOUR. okay good I wasn’t tripping. I think the black paint here is for Shadow. And since its Link doing this, I think that it is proof that its not just Vio who wants Shadow back but rather All the colors.

footnote 95: callbacks to all the training flashbacks of Link and his father, I think

footnote 96: Ravio says that Four does not fail, and then the footnote is a flashback of him failing to exist after merging back together for the first time. short king stay winning

footnote 97: MINISH CAP MENTIONED. but also ‘happy and warm and safe and red’.... more Red imagery

footnote 98: I think this must be shortly before the adventure begins. Link isn’t split, but he knows that he is able to. So it has to be after the Four Sword is removed from the seal, but before the journey starts else he’d probably be addressed as Four here.

““But we keep going there, so it’s not entirely out of the running?” Warriors asks, trying to make sense of the plot. / “It wasn’t, but it is now.” Ravio sighs. “Dink isn’t sending you there, he isn’t going there if he can help it. The risks far outweigh the benefits.”

refer back to my deranged ramblings about Dink losing a smidgen of control of the situation in regards to this quote.

footnote 99: More wondering of how Ravio learns there’s 5 instead of 4. It’s not mentioned in the Palace of the Four Sword as far as I’m aware

footnote 100: again I am pointing at my deranged ramblings above.

footnote 101: In comparison to Green wanting to get it over with, Link being entirely in agreement to split again here is important. The seal will hold for years, they have time to exist. Why spend that time needlessly suffering?

footnote 102: I would ALSO like to know what happened to the Four Sword Ravio. also cute nickname hours and domestic color times.

footnote 103: MINISH CAP CALLBACK to Zelda and Link being childhood friends. It’s also a FS manga callback but shhhh

““The fate of the Four Sword is not relevant to the mission at hand… Captain.””

The hesitation here. I think it means something. I feel as if its to be directed at someone else (maybe Vio?) that this point of the story isn’t important yet.

footnote 104: And here’s the distinction between Four and the colors, in the 14 links guide.

footnote 105: Green is not Diet Link and we all will die on this hill

“One revelation at a time, Ravio chips away at the stone of Vio’s heart.”

More earth elemental imagery for Vio

footnote 106: (we did it we made it to the last one holy shit.) and of course the last footnote is domestic color moments, and its just… so bittersweet.

““Hey Vio? Can you finish this for me?” Ravio calls him back to the real world. He’s kneeling over a small pile of books, pointing to the righted bookcase by the front door. “I need to check on someone.””

This is absolutely done on purpose. “Between History of Masks and Hytopian History of High Fashion, entirely unassuming, is Cia’s spellbook.” There is absolutely zero way that this part, getting Vio to see Cia’s book here, was not intentionally orchestrated by Ravio.

“What this Palace could be Vio has no idea, yet he thinks the answer to both questions might be one and the same.”

alright we did it. we finished the play by play. a few wrap up thoughts and then class is dismissed.

ranking my theories based on how probable I think they are.

1: Shadow is the one at the forge.

2: Wind and Green’s animosity is going to become a key point later on.

3: The ‘he’ mentioned in Ravio’s letter to Vio is Shadow.

4: The ‘he’ mentioned in Ravio’s letter to Vio is Wind from after the War of Ages.

5: Future Vio is the one at the forge.

6: Future Vio is being assisted by future Wind at the forge.

7: Cia’s spellbook is going to corrupt the colors, leading to the versions of the colors that Legend fights. Could possibly be an alternate timeline

8: The Palace of the Four Sword was put in the Dark World by malicious forces to keep the chain from getting something important out of there.

overall this chapter absolutely demolished my mental state metaphorically and literally. revision glowmin will return at a later time to maybe make this more coherent but I unfortunately sold my braincell already. i heart adjuration but it needs to start paying rent.

#glow whispers and junk #this is an adjuration #im normal about this i swear i promise im normal about this #i might tidy this up later but... i needed to get the thoughts out #final wordcount is like 8k. christ

[bestworstcase]

I find it silly that people take the idea that Salem ultimately turning out to not be the bad guy and that she'll end up helping the heroes against the gods as being the same as "SHE'S THE BIG GOOD WHICH IS BAD WRITING".

Did we just forget the concept of enemies working together against a common foe or something? Or the fact that the characters would realistically be incredibly uncomfortable around her and be rightfully distrustful of her even as they recognize that she's as much a victim as she is a villain in this whole clusterfuck? That given that Ozpin has absolutely no idea of what to do against the gods, that they NEED someone who clearly has a plan?

It's like, storytelling 101.

there’s i think a few factors at play here:

#1 - lots of people take what is said about salem by other characters at face value if those characters are in the “salem wants to destroy the world” camp (ozpin, tyrian, raven), because jinn’s framing of the story is presumed to be the whole and absolute truth. characters in the “salem wants to change the world” camp, consequently, are interpreted as either deceived pawns (hazel, mercury), lying (salem), or just memetically transposed into the “destroy” camp (ruby, qrow). 

in part this happens because the people doing this don’t pay any attention to how rwby thematically positions salem relative to ozma in regards to the truth, but it’s also because the (deliberately shocking but also vague and out-of-context) statement she makes in the lost fable—why redeem these humans when we can replace them with what they could never be—sounds damning if you don’t, like, stop to think about it for two seconds in context with the part where salem has been wanting humanity to replace The Gods Who Demand Redemption From These Humans for two hundred million years. i wonder who she meant by “them!”

#2 - this is compounded by the very christianized lens that a lot of the fandom applies to rwby; it’s not even tapered off since 9.10 dropped the hammer on the nonsense about light being the “benevolent” brother, the fandom has largely just pivoted to the blacksmith as the benevolent capital-G “God” (which she’s not) and the idea that what’s wrong with salem is she Hasn’t Learned Her Lesson and Needs To Repent persists as a load-bearing pillar in the standard fanon reading. 

the possibility that salem is right about anything is untenable if salem is read as evil because she is wrong. suggesting that salem is both right and evil makes people extremely uncomfortable, as does the implied corollary that the heroes are wrong even though they’re good, because the fandom’s moral reading of the story depends on salem being wrong. 

#3 - the (countertextual) fanon that has grown out of these two intertwined readings—that salem 1. hates humanity, 2. thinks modern humans are pitiful imitations of real humans because they lack magic, 3. sees only herself and ozma as really human, 4. believes magical power is the only true determinant of worth, 5. views ozma as her possession, and 6. is motivated primarily by spite and obsessive rage because he rejected her so she wants to burn the world down to punish him—is deeply entrenched and, for obvious reasons, makes it very difficult for anyone who buys into it to wrap their heads around how in the fuck salem could ever be persuaded to AGREE to work with the heroes.

because she thinks they’re ants, you know. 

and even if you point out that, like, salem is ready and willing and able to pivot or change tactics if something doesn’t work or a new opportunity presents itself, or that salem in fact states quite clearly that she thinks reliance on strength is ozpin’s downfall, the fanon is too strong to budge. she’s just throwing a tantrum and lashing out in blind rage, actually. or she’s just tightening the leash on cinder even more before turning cinder into another hound, actually. or she’s a hypocrite who’s going to be made to eat her own words, actually. one time i saw someone misattribute “there will be no victory in strength” TO OZMA and i would not be remotely surprised if a lot of the fandom turned out to be misremembering that line as something he said to her. 

if you read salem in this way—as someone who is fundamentally unreasonable and too egotistical to even see other people as people—of course the obvious endgame of the heroes reaching out to her or (as i think is more likely) salem reaching out to them sounds wildly out of character. 

#4 - for some unfathomable reason most of the fandom still hasn’t put two and two together to get Summer Joined Salem and that means they are missing the obvious and crucially important bridge between salem and the heroes. if you say “summer is salem’s general” the average rwby fan is going to hear “summer is one of the bad guys and ruby and yang will have too fight her, ooh so dark and edgy” but the actual point is that salem has someone in her corner who can give ruby and yang a really compelling reason to think that truce might be possible AND that trying to negotiate with salem is a risk worth taking. 

it is infinitely easier to get everyone in this mess to the table if summer is willingly on salem’s side. it’s infinitely harder if salem killed her or broke her into a monster. at this point i am sure the wider fandom is just not going to let go of the latter assumption until they see summer and salem, like, catching up in front of summer’s memorial or what the fuck ever; at which point i’m convinced the fanon is going to pivot immediately to 1. placing bets on when summer will kill cinder and 2. expecting summer to stab salem in the back and redemptively sacrifice her life to save ruby and/or yang because the salem fanon is not going to fucking budge until the peace talk starts. 

#people largely just mentally substitute a stock archetype and then get confused when you talk about *salem*

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 13 thoughts:

Everything is fine, everyone is doing great, but Brian might need to use some vacation days. Just, I dunno, something tells me the dude might benefit from a short break.

We start right off with Taylor refusing to admit she kicked Mannequin's ass, even though all of her allies and all of his allies both agree she did. Which is my daughter 101. I wish she could love herself a little more.

Lisa got her game. It might not be perfect but I think it was well done by her. It still gives them more structure to work with, and more ways to fight back. As this arc shows.

Aisha is way to fucking reckless. I mean I feel for her I really do, but god damn girl. Sometimes your teammates are right! Even if your brother can be a bit of a dick about it.

General note, I absolutely love how Wildbow wrote stuff around Aisha using her power. Just every bit of it. It is very good. I have legit multiple times during this went "Oh fuck I forgot about IMP!" and that is perfect.

Mannequin kills Lucy, so he goes from being on my shit list to being on my super shit list. I'm going to be sad if I never get to see him die.

If Bentley had died I would have burned the world down. So luckily that didn't happen.

Sucks that Mannequin also killed some of Skitter's people. And that he ended up living in the end. But it was fun to watch him get his ass kicked a second time and have to get saved by Burnscar.

I fucking LOVE Genesis. I'm so glad we get to see more of her. Her power is so much fun.

WOLFSPIDER! Taylor bonding with Bitch over trauma. Taylor basically thinking you want someone to tell you want to do. And then “You had me at no holds barred"! AHHHH! Murder lesbians. Go fuck them up girls.

Skitter had a pretty decent plan for attacking the Nine, all things considered. Very good use of their strengths and the abilities they had on hand. But she did make one major mistake. Well, to be fair everyone involved did. And that was having Trickster be the only sniper. They should have brought a few of Coil's troops. Even one more half competent sniper and they would have killed one of the Nine in that first attack. If they had brought Coil's Sniper? 2 of the Nine dead minimum, maybe 3.

Also, the mannequins for Trickster to swap people with were very clever. Though they could have prevented Brian getting captured if they had brought 1 more. And you don't even need a good sniper with those. Point a gun at the head of a mannequin. Swap and shoot at basically the same moment. Bullet hits them before they even know they've swapped and you can't miss. But still, they did pretty good.

I mean maybe not from Grue's PoV, but whatever. He didn't die! He's fine.

Cherish getting absolutely fucking DESTROYED by Tattletale! Oh god it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Cherish tries to get into Tattletales head and Tattletale is just constantly 10 steps ahead and just gaaahhh! Fuck I love it. I would read 100 chapters that was just Tattletale fucking with people like that.

The setup Skitter used to talk to the Protectorate was so fucking cool. Full blown mimicking human speech with only bugs?! She's amplified her words before, but never had the bugs speak entirely on their own. Just the most badass thing. The thing that makes everyone remember you! Swarm of bugs shows up at the superhero base, takes the shape of a person and starts talking with bug sounds, saying "oh hey we just kicked the fuck out of the Nine and captured two of them, wanna actually be heroes and help us finish this?" God damn.

Also Trickster getting through a locked door by teleporting the lock away was very neat.

Of course the heroes don't help. Miss Militia and her "We can handle that on our own, with more calculation and less recklessness." Really? Are you really going to have less recklessness? Cause I've read the interlude. But more on that later.

HOLY FUCK IT SUCKS TO BE BRIAN! I mean, he got better. But still!

I knew my daughter wasn't going to die. I knew her two girlfriends weren't going to die. I was pretty sure Imp and Grue weren't going to die (I wasn't sure how Grue was living but it seemed likely) but even with all that I was kinda panicking during the whole Bonesaw thing.

SECOND TRIGGER EVENT! SECOND TRIGGER EVENTS CONFIRMED! FUCK YES! I'M SO SORRY THAT HAD TO HAPPEN TO YOU BRIAN BUT THAT WAS SO COOL!

Fucking power thief! So much possibility here!

Siberian a projection confirmed. I mean basically confirmed. Confirmed enough for me. Like sure the details aren't revealed and such, but they are totally some form of projection. (I don't list my predictions on here usually so everyone will just have to trust me when I say I guessed Siberian was a projection in arc 11 or 12.)

Also saw some (I assume) other alternate earths in that trigger event, which is neat. I'm sure they'll never come up again.

Skitter sending a note to the Protectorate that was basically "We killed one and injured another, you are a bunch of cowards that suck, fuck you!" was wonderful.

I am very sad for Doll Lesbian and I hope someone can help her! She needs care in this trying time. Cause I love her and she is so cool and it isn't fair that shitty things are happening to her.

"It isn't fair that shitty things are happening to her" is like, 85% of Worm I'm pretty sure though, so I'll probably just have to deal.

Lisa put a blanket on Taylor when she fell asleep. GAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

Interlude 1 - Aisha's mother sucks. I'm so sorry for the poor girl. Aisha also makes very bad choices. She got so fucking lucky she got away from the Nine the first time and then just went and got herself caught anyway! The fact that her power is passive and she has to work to turn it off sure fucking sucks though.

Interlude 2 - Hey Miss Militia, remember how I said I was going to get back to the "more calculation and less recklessness"? Cause we're back to that. Piggot is planning on dropping WHITE PHOSPHOROUS on part of a city! And then dropping a bunch of bombs made by a dangerous supervillain! Bombs that no one knows exactly what they do! How is that "less recklessness"? Also the PRT is just horribly run. God damn Piggot shouldn't have to be requesting stuff from other offices directly, they should have a central admin that manages reallocation of resources in situations like this. And they should have a full system of teams setup that aren't attached to a city, but instead deploy where they are needed! The government already has systems like this for disaster response and stuff. And between Endbringers and the Nine and other stuff the PRT knows that sometimes certain locations need more support. Terribly managed, badly run, they need better admin staff. They need people that know how to use a god damn spreadsheet. I have a lot more to say about Piggot and her plan but I feel like I'll get some chances to comment on it in Arc 14.

#Worm #Worm Web Serial #Parahumans #Cairavende reads Worm #The Slaughterhouse Nine #Taylor Hebert #WOLFSPIDER #CHATTERBUG #Smugbug #I wish my daughter would not blame herself for every single death of a civilian but I know better than to expect that #I'm very curious if anyone else I've seen has had two trigger events. #I'm sure more people will in the future. #I obviously don't want anyone I love to go through terrible trauma in order to have a second trigger event . . . #BUT it is fun to think about what their new/expanded powers would be like. #I want my daughter and her two girlfriends to get double powers without having to get double trauma. #Oh and with everything else that happened this arc also my robot daughter helped stupidface master escape. Maybe he'll get killed! #One can hope

[scarletwix]

here is lil a jasico idea i thought was funny thats been bouncin round my skull, it is yours if u are so inclined

a superhero au wherein jason is besties with nico and has a crush on him... and jason has lightning powers and a vigilante superhero persona. nico is a fanboy about jason's hero alter ego, and somehow jasons support as a hero (fellow heroes, the people in his earpiece back at his hq) fall so that literally everyone else in their friend group know that the alter ego is jason, realise that jason has a crush on nico, and encourage nicos fanboying to tease jason

jason tries to approach nico as his hero self in one of those typical 'the person i like is in danger, i will save them and also chat em up a bit', but plot twist, between nerves about his crush, panic from nico just being in danger and trying not to reveal anything, he just absolutely fumbles the interaction to the point where nico loses all interest in the hero. jason thinks if he cant even manage anything when nico literally totally admires him he basically has no chance. meanwhile, something jason said during his awkward flop moment caused nico for whatever reason to be like 'hmm mayhaps my feelings for my bestie go a little deeper than i thought? i shall have to investigate further'

sorry if thats like, too much, like i said its been BOUNCIN around in there for a whike

ANON PLS COME BACK now this is bouncin in MY head. I haven't stopped thinking about it since you sent it in. It only took so long because there were so many ways to take it. I want to write more for this au, this is so fun. Anyway... hero infrastructure abounds here because I have been thinking abt HENCH again.

Never meet your heroes, Nico reminded himself, staring at the paused video on his computer screen. In the still image, Tonitro looked as put-together and gorgeous as always. His wheat-blond hair was rakishly askew.

Probably in a breeze of his own making, Nico thought sourly. He clicked away from the photo, having gotten everything he needed for his report. Jason would be here any minute, and Nico wanted to clear his mind of the encounter with Tonitro before he got there.

Nico hated to admit it, but he'd really let himself down. He had built up an image in his mind based on Tonitro's public persona, and he had fallen for it, hook, line and sinker. It was the same thing that he was always warning his fellow students against doing with vigilantes, and here he was, having done the same thing with Tonitro. And why? Just because he was a fully licensed hero? Nico shook his head. The licensing procedure needed an overhaul anyway, how he could have forgotten that in the midst of his hero worship was beyond him.

He saved his paper and shut the lid of his laptop with an irritated flick of his fingers. Beside it, his phone buzzed with an incoming message.

Jason: going to be a few minutes late, sorry. Villain traffic on 101.

Nico blinked, surprised. He swiped for his notifications, in case he'd missed something while he'd been thinking about (read: stewing over) Tonitro.

He hadn't. Which meant that Jason was there before even the media managed to be. Nico tapped out a quick message, crossing his fingers that Jason would see it before he had to duck for cover.

Nico: see if you can get me any usable pictures before the hounds get there

He didn't try and remind Jason to be safe. It wasn't his place. Jason knew better than any of them the dangers that heroes could pose, having had his last job be completely decimated by one of Waterspout's fights.

He'd been honestly surprised when Jason hadn't gone to the Heroes Union for help with his unemployment assistance after that disaster, but he'd claimed that the agency he'd been contracted through hadn't had the insurance to cover it. That had been both irresponsible and downright stupid enough for Nico to get distracted and go on a rant about liability. He frowned. Now that he thought about it, he didn't think that they'd actually finished that conversation. His phone buzzed.

[Jason] aww want the best pics of your bf??

Nico grimaced. That meant Tonitro was there. He hadn't gotten around to telling Jason the truth about Tonitro's sparkling personality.

He yanked his laptop back toward him and opened up a new tab to one of the more reputable news sites. It took three refreshes of the page until—there, in big red letters, the words LIVE FEED hovered above a video embedded at the top of the page.

"We are live from interstate 101, where known villain Pontifex–" Nico grimaced. Pontifex was a piece of work, but he let the words fade into the background as he leaned in toward his monitor. There didn't appear to be any damage to the bridge itself, and the chopper was too far from the fight itself to make much out. He could, however, see the rescue crew leading the evacuation efforts. Charmant stood on the cab of a semi truck, presumably where Tonitro had dropped her, her bright outfit a shining beacon for anyone who needed to find their way to her and her ever so charming voice.

As Nico watched, his elevated heart rate calming just a bit at the sight of the evacuation going well, the feed went fuzzy.

A flare of lightning and the deafening roar that followed it crashed to earth, taking Pontifex with it.

The camera turned from Charmant, and the grainy image of Tonitro hovering in the air, still crackling with electricity, focused into sharp clarity as the cameraman recovered.

Despite himself, even Nico had to admit that as the sole point of light in the thunderous sky, Tonitro looked impressive.

He had nearly relaxed, hopeful that the hero would have Pontifex well in hand soon, when the first wave hit the bridge, and the cameraman zoomed in on a blur of blue and orange.

Nico's stomach dropped, and his heart rate picked back up. Cold terror wrapped around him like shadows. He was moving before he even finished processing what he saw.

On paper, Tonitro and Waterspout were the city's most effective team. They had the highest villain capture rate of all other registered hero teams combined.

On paper, they also had the highest dispersion rate for infrastructural damage.

And they were on a bridge.

Nico swore as his fingers fumbled on his Bluetooth earpiece. He must have hit Jason's number twelve times before his fingers finally slid onto the call button by sheer chance.

He had his keys in hand and helmet on before the phone even rang once.

Even if the evacuation went perfectly (it never did), Jason wouldn't have a car by the time Tonitro and Waterspout were done with Pontifex.

Nico just had to hope that he could find his friend in the chaos that was sure to follow.

_

Had to stop it there because I couldn't for the life of me decide if I wanted to actually give Nico superpowers of his own or not. I have plot bunnies for both options, and this idea is just never going to leave me alone now!!!

I didn't even get to the jasico proper bc I can see like eight different directions that I want this to go and just.. ooh it's so fun!! Thank you again nonnie! 💕 feel free to let me know your thoughts and onions and whether or not you'd like to see more of this au!

#jasico #wix writes #hero au #jason grace #nico di angelo

[vyvesvi]

pd 101 japan picks & commentary (3)

preshow & ep 1

ep 2 - ep 5

ep 6 general commentary

this ep was kind of lowkey. not really sure how i feel about the team selection being entirely determined by rank - pretty sad that karen & momoka, amongst others, probably wont get to show their actual main abilities

the teams that performed were hero, shine a light, wa da da, & run run. ranking: run run > hero ≥ wa da da > shine a light. i don't really like the song choices (songs that already have choreo for a dance round, only one non-idol dance song, plus the singers/producers for that song helped arrange all of the vocal performances? makes me wonder if the final group will be getting a LAS song) but at least theyre all in japanese this time (for the vocal & rap groups at least)

run run: good performance but i have a few gripes. 1 - why was it worth more points? they said that the choreo was harder but the whole mission was for the girls to create choreo so... i dont actually expect that the trainees on these shows are doing all the arranging and writing and choreography themselves (much less on pd japan where virtually no one has a trainee background) but the whole set up of the mission kind of says the quiet part loud, you know? 2 - the distribution was a complete mess. loved joa as the center but the rest were basically backup dancers...for a choreo that theyre ostensibly creating themselves the difference in screentime between each person just doesnt make sense. and that was reflected in all of the ranks apart from yuuki & yurara i think. storyline: i found the koto/yuki storyline pretty meh. joa did actually do better than both of them so...? still, in another series this wouldve had a massive conflict edit & im glad pdj doesn't really do that. sad mitsuki & serina didn't get much screentime, i think mitsuki should've gone for antifragile actually, she needed to be on a team where the styling would've worked with her & allowed her to show more of a charming side on stage (friend that i watched LOVED her in cheer up, made me pause to figure out who the "gorgeous regina george lookalike" was.)

hero: ando yui is my daughter but i have to admit that she has a tendency towards shouting some notes. still, i feel like she has a ton of potential and im glad that she got to redeem herself after the audition. tsuzumi is basically in and she 100% knows it, so it's interesting to see how she's dealing with it. more than anyone else in the top it seems to really be impacting her, but she also seems to have a lot of close friends on the show who understand & are supporting her. to be honest, i usually don't like contestants like mayu but...idk. i see a lot in her but im not sure why. it seems like voters are starting to get serious so her rank has dropped a lot but i i'll miss her when she's eliminated. i hope there's some opportunity for her beyond the show.

wa da da: kind of sick that no one chose wa da da 😭 the stage was pretty messy in my opinion but mana did great, she's such a performer. personally ranka isnt one of my picks but i like her intensity a lot & she definitely deserved her rank. i don't think this is her moment exactly but i could see her being recruited somewhere after this. she would suit a kind of dramatic vibe. karen is interesting to me because while she doesn't dance well i found that she really fit the stage. i also love her attitude. there's no way she won't rise but im not sure that itll be enough. last and least,

shine a light: im a big jo1 fan but i knew this wasn't gonna go great from the outset. the energy of the original song is part of what makes it so good so the fact that they removed that.....i also think it's kind of notable that hina said that she didn't want it to be a ballad and was kind of steamrolled........anyways. we saw the performance. i've always said that i wanted hazuki to get more screentime & establish herself and this was her chance but...rip. from the second her voice cracked it was over for the whole team. every single person messed up except for hina. i know that this wasn't a super strong vocal group but it's so sad that they did the worse they've ever done on stage. i expect hina's rank to continue to rise, and hazuki in particular will fall (not because she was the worse but because she has the smallest fanbase & isnt insulated from mistakes like some of the top contestants). curious about what will happen with chiharu because honestly...no one really expected her to sing super well and she was gorgeous so. we'll see

member commentary

change is always possible but this is my stable top 4. rino & ran's teams weren't in this episode but it's a very good sign that rino still got screentime singing well & being a good leader. not thrilled that her rank dropped (14 → 17) and there are a lot of strong contenders in the early teens right now. in truth, i think some of them would be a much better fit for a spin off project (which have much higher success rates than the ones from korean produce) & rino would make more sense in top 11 but that's neither here nor there.

mana, as i said earlier did sooooo well in wadada, although im curious as to what she would've picked had she been given a real choice. im hoping her rank will rise - she didn't get a push in this ep but she was significantly more visible than a lot of her teammates so fingers crossed.

serina is just a good [potential] idol. i was surprised that she went for dance since her vocals are what i noticed first but she pulled off run run well. i wouldve picked shine a light or even antifragile for her though. unfortunately she got very little screentime & storyline but i'm sure run run will win so maybe that 20k will help maintain her spot.

standouts in this ep

not gonna break it down again but yeah. love the girlies love the vibes

other thoughts

call me crazy but im so so sure that these three will be recruited by lapone for a gg after the show. with the top 11 having skewing less cute im hoping that this becomes a reality bc these three fit eachother more than they fit momona/nano/ran/rin/etc. oda aruha (and maybe moro anon) would be here too but alas.

people i'd like to have seen in this ep

rin is riding a wave right now and she needs momentum to stay top 11. looking at the ranks now, kokona dropped 10 places (19 → 29) 🙃 rinon & ayano are fine, but i wanted to see them keep momentum as well. i like akiyama ema for some reason but to survive she desperately needs screentime and a good performance. I'm even more worried about tsukushi - her dropping from 18th to 31st after doing incredibly well is kind of insane. what i've said about tsukushi needing a storyline in the past still stands. i can already tell that her part in bijin will be great but with rinon & keiko im not sure what her screentime potential is.

ep 6 voting list

no surprises here, although im not sure what the voting has been reduced to? if it's only 5 i'd have to go with mana, rino, rin, serina, and then alternate kokona, yui, and mayu. i know that the "this person is safe so i wont vote for them" logic is flawed but i can't help it. good thing intl fans cant vote so this isn't a real concern! 🤪 /s

ep 6 semi-realistic top 11

only change is that i replaced kokona with joa. i have to say, im not thrilled about how many "givens" there are this season. it's not that i dislike them but it makes for a kind of boring top 11, at least until we get to 1 & 2 pick voting. rin was a nice surprise but i think the production has been pretty mask off about their picks. interestingly, i think it might bite them in the butt that momona & kokoro in particular don't actually get that much screentime. for people who are seeing them through the show for the first time (and also dont keep up with twitter discourse) probably feel that their ranks came out of nowhere. ran has gotten good screentime but she's definitely also buoyed by her original fanbase. miu, joa, & tsuzumi have good screentime & storylines so when joa goes up to top 11 i won't be surprised. rin had a good storyline so she makes sense. ayane doesn't get very much screentime but her voice does the brunt of the work. nano is a (capable) visual pick but she doesn't have a storyline. suzu has had a fanbase since the theme song but i expect her to fall a little honestly. we'll see. keiko is new to the top 11 this ep, i hope they reveal the actual ranks this time because that will influence my thoughts. keiko has great screentime and a litle bit of storyline so her rising makes sense. kokona is interesting to me because her rank is so stable based on not very much honestly. i don't dislike her but her lack of expressiveness on stage is probably something they'll try to build a storyline out of later.

i have a lot of confidence that rino will debut elsewhere after this but in the interest of creating a group i would actually like...

#pd101 #produce 101 japan #pd101 japan #sakaguchi rino #koyama mana #saito serina #ishii ran #t watches tv #produce 101