#she's going to have to get creative because there is NO brute forcing her way through the brothers

[pianokantzart]

Do you think Mr. L and Mr. M would be able to work together as a team or would Mr. L get mad at the other for being a big “crybaby”

I think everyone on Team Bleck gets annoyed with Mr. M for being a crybaby (except Dimentio. He finds it hilarious.)

Mr. L would find it annoying too, but he'd put up with it more than anyone else. In fact, the way I see it, he would end up hanging with Mr. M to the point that Mr. M becomes something of his sidekick, for as stressed and teary eyed as he may be, his overprotective nature and need for reassurance feeds Mr. L's ego. Next to Mr. M, Mr. L feels doubly like a paragon of strength and charisma.

That... and working with him feels... right somehow? They just seem to fight together so naturally for reasons neither of them can quite put their finger on...

#anon #askbox #Mr. M #Mr. L #Super Paper Mario au #r.i.p Princess Peach and her allies #getting past Mr. L and Mr. M to collect the pure hearts is going to be SO hard #she's going to have to get creative because there is NO brute forcing her way through the brothers

[checkoutmybookshelf]

...Are We the Bad Guys?

Guys...I was going to be good. I was going to finish a chapter last night and call it good and go to bed. That...SUPER did not happen, because the last few chapters of this book happened which meant that I was just fully up half the night finishing it and I HAVE THOUGHTS. So with that for preamble, let's talk Fourth Wing.

THIS IS A SPOILER-IFIC REVIEW BELOW THE BREAK because I wanna talk about a couple things...so be warned.

Ok, so the TL;DR on Fourth Wing is that it's a romantasy in a military training camp for dragon riders that is full-on enemies to lovers with a protagonist with a disability that reads like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It's also very good, I basically inhaled the book around work and life. I also have THOUGHTS about this book.

Violet Sorrengail is our disabled protagonist, and the daughter of General Lillith Sorrengail was supposed to be a scribe, but her mother basically forces her into trying to become a dragon rider, with everyone from Vi's older sister Mira to her childhood best friend and fellow trainee Dain Aetos think will kill her because she is--as everyone in the damn book describes her--fragile. She obviously does not die, but put a pin in Dain for a second, because we're coming back to his ass after we talk about Vi and how disability was handled in this book.

I am...objectively kind of torn on how this book handles Vi's EDS. On the one hand, I am very much here for getting rid of the idea that a disabled protagonist doesn't belong in any type of story you want to tell, up to and including the ones that involve "graduate or die" styles of training camps. Disability is everywhere, and I am so, so very cool with disrupting the stereotype that disabled protagonists either cannot be in these stories or have to die at the end--and Vi is gloriously alive and kicking at the end of the book.

That said...there are like...hard ceilings and absolute limits on what you can push a body to do, and Vi...kind of doesn't hit EDS-related hard limits in a significant way. Some of that is because she works smarter not harder (poisoning her challenges is flippin' inspired), but some of it is also framed in the book as Vi exercising to strengthen her joints and being creative in executing tasks and challenges, which are great and can absolutely alleviate some symptoms. But then she also refuses the magical healing that has kept her functional (not cured, which I appreciate, just functional) for most of her life to avoid the appearance of weakness. So for someone with a chronic illness that also involves a HELL of a lot of pain and joint issues, this read to me like a combination of toxic strength and refusing actual medical care in favor of like...exercising the symptoms away? And while exercise can absolutely help, it being the only thing combined with bailing on medical treatment read really toxic. I feel like a combination of sneaky care hidden from the other cadets and the exercise might have been less toxic feeling. I know that everyone's bodies are different, and some people can probably manage with exercise, but I do not love the vibe I was getting of "sheer grit and exercise can completely replace medical assistance in managing physical disabilities so you don't look weak to people around you."

To be VERY clear: Needing medical assistance to function has no moral value. Needing it to have the best possible quality of life has no moral value. And I don't love when stories put a moral value on physical strength without medical intervention.

I did appreciate that Vi simply could not physically hold her seat on her dragon by brute strength alone, and that she was accommodated with a saddle with actual straps. And the book does go out of its way to highlight that Vi's moral courage and intelligence are ultimately more valuable to the people and dragons who love her than her physical ability. I just could have done without the firing her mender to avoid looking weak.

And this is where we remember that we put a freaking pin in Dain Aetos, because JFC I have not wanted to reach into a book and punch a fictional character as much as I have Dain in a LONG time. Dain spends the ENTIRE book cutting Vi's confidence out from under her because he's convinced she is too physically weak to survive in the Rider's Quadrant and that he's going to have to watch her die. He says this after she survives the parapet. He says this after she survives having her shoulder ripped to shreds in the physical assessment. He says this after she survives the Gauntlet. After she survives Threshing. After she has BONDED NOT ONLY THE BIGGEST MOST BADASS DRAGON IN THE VALE BUT ALSO A SECOND ADORABLE DRAGON. Dain literally has zero faith in Vi's abilities and instead of helping her survive, he actively gets in the way of her physical and emotional growth. I wanted to PUNCH this man in his smug-ass paternalistic fucking face.

And no, y'all, the whole "I would be absolutely destroyed if I had to watch you die because your body can't handle the environment" is in no way an excuse or even acceptable. It's paternalistic and shitty and moves the focus from VI'S ACTUAL LIFE to his man pain. We don't fucking have that in this house.

In fairness, the book also calls Dain out on this. Everyone from Xaden to Tairn spends the book bitching about how Dain isn't helping Vi. The fact that it's mostly the men around Vi bitching about how they're affecting or not affecting her life and choices isn't my favorite thing either, but I'll take the book calling out at least some toxic paternalistic bullshit, especially where it comes to wrapping girls with disabilities in bubble wrap and trying to put them on shelves against their will.

This also facilitates Dain and Xadens' narrative chiasmus (crossing over). Dain starts as the childhood best friend that Vi wants, and ends up worse than anything he ever accused Xaden of. Xaden, of course, starts out as the literal black-hatted villain with every reason to want to murder Vi himself and ends up as the boyfriend. I did appreciate that little narrative peice, because it was pretty well executed throughout, and Vi having feelings about it was very fun to watch.

The other thing about this book that was stunningly well done was the worldbuilding. Rarely do I see "oh shit, we're the bad guys" done this well, and with this many dragons. It was a ton of fun, and I will absolutely be picking up Iron Flame when it comes out in November. I cannot wait to see what's in store for Vi, Xaden, Dain, and Navarre in general.

#fourth wing #rebecca yarros #fourth wing spoilers #violet sorrengail #dain aetos #xaden riorson #adult fantasy novel #adult fiction #dragons #disability representation #disabled main character #books and reading #books & libraries #books and novels #books #book recommendations

[antianakin]

Anakin's go-to plan, especially when things go to shit, is often to just brute force his way through. He's not necessarily quick on his feet, or clever.

He can sometimes come up with more clever plans if he's given the time to do so (pretending to surrender until the tactical droid shows up while his troops hide out underneath the bridge for example), but quite often when shit hits the fan, what we see him decide on is pure brute force.

This is because it's a plan that Anakin himself can usually get away with. Anakin is very powerful in the Force and has a particularly advanced skill set, which means he can sometimes accomplish things on his own that nobody else can.

The problem with this is that during the war, he's very seldom completely on his own and not everyone can actually keep up with him. More than once, someone else nearby has to actually REMIND HIM that if he goes forward with his plan, the rest of them will die trying to keep up and then suggest a more creative alternate plan.

Ahsoka's creativity on the venator during Order 66 is not actually very indicative of anything she'd have picked up from how Anakin handles situations like this when they go south. Anakin would've never run and hid, he never would've caused a distraction, he would've just brute forced his way through the clones to escape. And he probably could've done it and survived, honestly.

But Ahsoka's not Anakin. For as advanced as she obviously is, she's not Anakin. She can't necessarily just brute force her way through the situation and survive. So she has to run and hide and take the time to think and get creative about her options. She has to get assistance from other people because she CANNOT survive on her own.

Ahsoka's plans are SO FAR from anything Anakin would've come up with and taught her it's not even funny.

#ahsoka tano #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker

[foulbearobservation]

alright one last little look at the columbo au. here we have the girlfriends being girlfriends but also ava being a little bit of a genius and a little bit of a menace. she has the range.

Saint Sebastian's Cabaret, 11:47 p.m.

“The victim is Sebastian Vincent, he’s the owner of this cabaret. 56 years of age, 5 foot 8 and 175 pounds.”

“What’d you do, weigh the guy?” Ava asks.

Detective Zheng sighs. “I got that off of his drivers license. He was shot in the heart, close range.”

“Why do ya think his body ended up like this?” Ava asks, gesturing lazily with her unlit cigar.

“What do you mean?” Detective Zheng asks. All told, Ava likes Detective Zheng just fine. She’s professional, prompt, and incredibly anal about her notes, which is helpful because Ava never remembers to take any. The downside is that the woman has about as much creativity as a wet cardboard box.

//

“You said you found it just like this?” Ava asks. She stalks around the body, noting its placement relative to the door. Something about it strikes her as peculiar, but she can’t put her finger on what.

“Yes,” Detective Zheng says, “he’s was laying face up, with the napkin covering his shoulder and face. The lower back of his shirt was damp, but he was laying just like this.” Detective Zheng closes her notepad with a distinctive clap.

“And the cause of death was this gun?” Ava gestures to the gun laid out artfully beside the old man’s head.

Detective Zheng just nods.

“And what time?”

If Detective Zheng is annoyed at having to consult her trusty notepad again she doesn’t show it. “The waiter brought up coffee at 10:56 and found him here. They said the order was called into the kitchen around 10:45, so he was killed within that 10 minute window. I think he knew whoever killed him, invited them into his office.”

Ava squats down, looking from Vincent’s shoes to the door. “And how do ya figure that?”

“The lock on the door, see? It’s specialty made in Germany, Mr. Vincent had it imported and installed last week.” Detective Zheng leans down, gesturing to the various parts of the lock with her pencil.

“There’s no signs of brute force on the door.”

“Take it off and send it to the boys at the lab anyway.”

“Lieutenant Silva?” Detective Zheng asks. “Doesn’t that seem a bit hasty?”

“Hasty? How?”

“Well the way I see it, it could’ve been anybody. They come up the stairs, knock on the door and when Vincent answers it they shoot him and go right back down the stairs.”

“That’s why his feet are really bothering me.” Ava says, standing up and walking towards the door.

“His feet?”

“Say I order coffee while I’m working and then a few minutes later I hear someone knocking at the door, I open it and they shoot me. I’d end up shot in the front and fallen on my back right here, right?”

Detective Zheng nods slowly. “But his body was found back there,” she gestures behind them a good 10 feet to where the body lays, “and there’s no drag marks like the body was repositioned.”

“Exactly. So say I open the door, invite the person into my office,” Ava mimes out the whole thing, “follow them in a few feet, then they shoot me—”

“Your feet would end up facing away from the door.” Detective Zheng finishes.

“Exactly. So how do I end up all the way back here,” Ava stands next to Vincent’s body and mimes being shot, “and shot in the front. Suppose he opens the door, whatever he sees is a threat, he turns, he runs, now he gets shot. The body falls where we found it but now he’s shot in the back.” Ava pushes her hair back. “The murderer opened the door. Vincent is in his office, he hears the door open, he comes out to see who it is, he gets shot in the front and the body lands where we found it.”

“But the lock isn’t busted.” Detective Zheng reminds her, ever the buzz kill.

“But the lock isn’t busted indeed.” Ava mumbles. “What about the money? There’s a lot of money up here, is any of it missing?”

“No, none of it. According to the cashier it’s all there, which rules out robbery as a motive.”

“I’m gonna go take a look around downstairs. You can finish doing,” Ava gestures vaguely, “whatever it is you do at crime scenes.”

“Most of what I do is considered your job too, Lieutenant.” Detective Zheng says slyly.

Ava smiles sweetly at the deadpan annoyance in Zheng’s voice. “I wouldn’t want to fuck up any of your systems, of which I assume there are many.”

Detective Zheng rolls her eyes. “Go on then, Lieutenant.”

#columbo au #they're very much in love they just don't realize it yet #what if they solve mysteries and also fall in love

[eien-no-gakusha]

Touken Ranbu:  The Contradictory Tale of Genji

Went in expecting fanservice and just a good time, left impressed.

Part 1/3 - Plot:

The videogame source material has a very barebones plot because it knows what it is:  a gatcha game for fujoshi to collect sword husbandos.  Basically, something evil is trying to change (Japanese) history and make the universe implode.  You, the player, are an onmyoji or priestess who is summoning famous swords like mad to save the world.  The touken danshi themselves basically have the personalities of their famous historical figure owners or forgers coupled with quirks related to random facts and legends surrounding them.  Some come with a Hachiko streak from losing their masters or their service in some darker parts of history.  (only your love can heal them!). Classic gatcha game fare.  In other words, there is a lot of room to be creative with this framework.  Just look at all the sexy derivative works spawned from the thirsty fujoshi.  This aspect of the fandom is surprisingly relevant to the plot of the musical.  Stick around and find out. 

Anyways, the plot of this specific show features a Tale of Genji crossover.  The usual evil is messing with history again and a squad of swords are dispatched to fix it.   The problem of the day is the entire Heian court has been isekai-ed into the novel Tale of Genji.  The author Murasaki Shikibu and her fans have all gotten merged with the characters of the book.  The Heian era swords are unavailable for vague reasons, leaving a bunch of young swords not forged in this era to untangle fact from fiction.

Thus, we start with team Kanesada finding themselves escorting a lady-in-waiting who explains that everyone around her has been suddenly larping Tale of Genji and she’s the only sane person left in court.  They realize they are trapped in the book and reenact all the early chapters as they figure out how to undo the curse.  Some of the more hot-tempered swords try to brute force their way out only to realize that book characters have protagonist halos to protect them from getting KOed.  At the center of this vortex, the titular character Hikaru Genji is effectively an NPC who has gained sentience a la RE:  Creators.  We learn he functions similarly to the sword boys as the embodiment of the book.  Not being a weapon, he can’t do much by way of fighting but he is unkillable and can act as dungeon master in his own story by transferring protagonist status to his victims.  In other words, Genji can possess targets to simulate his story as a substitute while he dicks off.  He uses this power to go OOC and try to retcon his own story.  This is all quite convenient for him since he has a complicated relationship with his author.  He is half reverential of her and half resentful.  This culminates in Genji ultimately killing his own author.  In the merged universe, Murasaki Shikibu and her readership have merged with the female leads of The Tale of Genji with Murasaki taking the role of the unobtainable Fujitsubo no Nyogo, Genji’s true love.  In breaking the story with literal death of the author, all hell breaks loose with Genji going rogue.

As the touken danshi dig deeper, they learn the source of this chaos was a result of toxic fan culture!  While many people enjoy Murasaki’s book and come away from it positively, a stalker fan voices his concerns that this is all vapid fiction with no value nor contribution to reality (the “wake up, loser” argument).  They debate about the point of writing “fake” stories.  While Murasaki understands the man’s point of view, she disagrees and refuses to put down her brush as this work is her passion.  The man becomes so upset he is taken over by the evil powers to cause the time rift and alter history.  His reasoning is if everyone is so obsessed with the book, they may as well live in it rather than face the real world. 

Back in the present, the touken danshi are having a bad time resolving the timeline.  They complain about needing grandpa Mikazuki’s help and keep getting possessed by Genji to reenact chapters while he escapes to cause trouble elsewhere.  However, during the final boss battle with evil Genji, the isekai-ed fangirls come to the rescue!  As they reminisce about their love of the novel (well, it would be equivalent of a serialized magazine at time of publication) and how it was therapeutic or inspiring for their real lives, they begin to return to themselves.  Now it’s important to note that Murasaki’s contemporaries did write derivative works or helped her transcribe chapters to share.  Therefore, these fangirls are effectively ancient Japanese fanfiction authors and thus have power to end Genji as much as the original author does.  But they love him as a character too much so are unable to strike the finishing blow and basically toss the responsibility to young Murasaki, Genji’s second wife who he had kidnapped as a child to groom into the perfect woman.  Unable to bear the suffering and moved by the women in his life both as characters and as his fans, Genji lowers his protagonist’s halo and accepts death.  The touken danshi are able to finally fix history and complete their mission.  When they return to modern day, they hear news that archeologists have found physical evidence that Genji existed as a historical figure and thus a conspiracy theory is born!  The touken danshi take this information with mixed emotions.

What an amazing story.  The theme was deep without being too obtuse.  The climax got meta and opened a lot of discussion about the value of fiction, derivative works, the dangers of escapism, censorship, and even spirituality.  Definitely worth a second viewing to digest all this.

There was a mini-revue number in the end where the cast performed an umbrella dance to anachronistic Touken Ranbu music.  Then the cast descended a staircase in parade order for final bows.  It was a much-needed break from the heavy and complicated plot.  It was also a small nod to the main cast’s Takarazuka roots or hina doll staging, which is a common set design when using Heian costume.  The umbrella dance reminded me of the finale Sakura dance OSK does at the end of their performances.  Perhaps this is a proud Osaka tradition.  I haven’t seen a different Touken Ranbu show (yet) so I don’t know if this is a part of the brand.

#touken ranbu #tale of genji #takarazuka og #og lyfe #my thoughts #my meta #my rambles #my ramblings #otokoyaku #theatre #theater #touken ranbu musical #刀剣乱舞 #宝塚 #宝塚OG #nanami hiroki #seto kazuya #kai #akira #ayanagi sho

[anarkissm]

there's a lot of evidence that the entity tends to "go for seconds" in terms of the souls it abducts and their emotions. it has favorites. it has... taste.

canonically, the late observer of the fog was a being from another dimension, involved in a secret organization of interdimensional psionic-powered human beings who are enemies to the entity, AKA the old one; seeking to stop it from devouring more worlds, entire planets and cosmoses across the multiverse; it is aided by globalized secret cults, governments and corporations that exists in various universes, like The Black Vale cult. the observer had the psychic ability to observe the lost memories of all the entity's victims, including claudette.

on claudette morel, he had this to say:

I have uncovered to my amazement and bewilderment memories of Claudette that are unlike any of those I've previously experienced. One might even say they should not belong to her... and yet... they are hers. I surmise these memories may belong to another Claudette from another Terra world, suggesting that this Old One may have clear preferences at the cosmic buffet for certain souls. It will take more samples of these memories to know if they are in fact from another Claudette or if, and it is possible, I am having troubles deciphering between her actual memories and her creative musings.

claudette thrives in STEM, but a lesser known aspect about her is that she is creative. artistic. she created an original character and self-insert: Science Girl, a comic book superhero and alter-ego of herself who solved crimes and saved people using the power of science, as a genius inventor (alluding to a long-standing innate desire to help others by using something she was deeply passionate about, instead of typical superhero powers that rely on brute force or violence; and in a way, by spearheading the montreal science center's tutoring program, she has actually helped people using science, turning that desire into a reality). she also participated in outdoor theater, taking on character roles with louder, extroverted personalities.

but her personal fantasies never seem to change herself. because claudette likes herself. she has no interest in changing herself in any context, or suppressing her personality in response to ableism or social judgement. her father taught her to be proud of her individuality, to never feel shame just because her brain was wired differently. her "feudal harvester" cosmetic states: "After admiring old illustration books about herbalists of old, she imagined herself as a crafty medieval botanist, through the lens of the Rift." there is always a theme in claudette's fantasies that focuses on science and scientific experiments, which is her strongest fixation.

it is more likely that a "claudette" exists in another timeline, another earth, that is very different from the mousy, science-loving survivor. there is also the version of claudette from Hooked on You, who runs a cursed island resort with dwight, servicing killers who repeatedly torment them, and conducting experiments on dwight and herself in order to find a cure for their immortality. in her "Island Outfit" cosmetic from the Hooked on You collection, it describes: "Vague memories of a relaxing vacation accompany this get-up." implying that she seems to (barely) remember her experience at the island; one of many realms and illusions that the entity has created in order to feed on the emotions of its victims.

the entity feeds on powerful emotions, and claudette's emotions are strong; "Claudette feels things more than others. Much more." it makes sense that the entity, which is essentially a cosmic emotion-vampire, would choose claudette over and over again, in multiple universes, multiple timelines, to suffer the trials. like a rare delicacy.

many victims of the fog are often bled dry, dry of blood and feeling and meaning. turned to husks after hundreds or thousands of years just suffering, dying, trapped. when the entity can no longer feed on their numb, broken minds, these husks are sent to the void; a pocket dimension; a purgatory. but this has not happened to claudette, and it will not happen for a long, long time. which means that the entity has a vast supply of food. it has an incentive to keep her in the fog, as a food source, in spite of the fact that claudette can be too smart for her own good.

#MOREL ，CLAUDETTE. #SCRIPT. #long post #claud making a self insert oc just to fantasize abt helping ppl is soo cute to me #i hate making ocs so she's more creative than me LOL #dbd lore is slept on; it has a fascinating continuity/timeline and great allegories

[voraciousvore]

Big Corp Inc. (13/43)

Chapter 13: Pit of Vipers

Candy hummed happily as she danced back and forth in front of her keyboard and typed. She was in a great mood, and oblivious to the stares she got from the vipers slithering past her desk, back in the hazardous pit that comprised her corner of the office. Ronny was immensely disappointed to see her so carefree. He thought being trapped in the refrigerator would’ve broken her. He figured he’d have to get more creative with his tortures next time. Perhaps someone had rescued her too quickly for her confinement to have affected her. He retreated to his cubicle to sulk and plot his next move. In his twisted quest for revenge, he wanted this human to be as miserable as his ex-wife made him when she left to be with a human. 

Mr. Hardon was also disappointed. Candy was dressed immaculately in her proper work attire, right down to her shoes. He didn’t have an excuse to “punish” her or exchange services for favors. He wasn’t in the mood for such things anyways, since he was cranky and sleepy and it was Monday. Mr. Hardon hated Mondays because the CEO had a tendency to schedule tons of meetings on Monday, so he’d be stuck upstairs for most of the day, rubbing shoulders with the other big wigs in the company. 

He wondered if he could get away with sneaking Candy with him into one of those meetings. He could slip her into his pocket... or his pants. He liked that idea a lot. Normally those meetings were boring enough to put him to sleep, but they’d be a lot more interesting with a cute tiny woman bouncing on his hard dick under the table and fondling his testicles. However, he’d need her to be quiet and obedient so she wouldn’t be noticed. The way she was now, she’d probably be yowling and screaming through the whole meeting. He couldn’t brute force her cooperation for something like that. He needed a threat to hold over her or bribe her with, something strong enough to make her do what he wanted. He’d find her weakness eventually, and exploit it. He was determined. 

Candy knew nothing of the vile thoughts of the Giant men around her, like vipers poised to strike on a hapless mouse, and so continued to work in blissful ignorance. She hoped secretly that maybe Martin would pay her a visit at her desk. Martin, in the meantime, was tucked away in his own cubicle, typing as usual. Unbeknownst to Candy, he was thinking about her too, but mostly about how mortified he was about eating her alive in his sandwich. He believed he should rectify his error and make it up to her somehow, but he doubted she would want anything to do with him after being inside his stomach. She had probably seen far more of him than she ever wanted to. 

He considered, with a twisting feeling in his gut, she might even be afraid of him. She had acted sweet and sociable after he threw her up, but that was hardly a natural reaction to her ordeal, was it? Maybe she was, in reality, terrified of him, and at the time was trying to pacify him by pretending to be nice so he wouldn’t eat her again. He hated that thought. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her or harm her. The more he contemplated this possibility, though, the more it made sense to him, and the concept began to calcify in his mind as fact. He had never once seen her use the human elevator, even though his desk was right across from it. He reasoned, consequently, she must be going out of her way to avoid him. 

He still wondered how in the world she ended up in his sandwich to begin with. He hadn’t given the matter much thought at the time, with how frantic he had been to save her life, but he couldn’t see how it was possible. She couldn’t open the fridge door on her own or climb up that high onto the shelf. He realized, with dread, that one of the Giants in the office probably forced her into the sandwich as an act of cruelty. How long had she been trapped in the fridge? She had likely been too cold to move. Poor little human. He felt a pang of sadness at the brutality she had suffered. And then he had come along and made everything so much worse for her by ingesting her whole. How could she not resent him after what he had done to her? On top of everything, she still had to work here, with Giants who could easily grab her and chomp her up like a delicious snack. He hunched over in his chair with shame and guilt, holding his head in his hands, feeling like a big beast of a man. He should just leave her alone; that would be best for her. 

The lunch hour rolled around, and Martin got up from his chair to grab his food. This time, he was extra careful and checked every bite of his meal, making sure there were no humans hiding inside. He felt silly, and maybe a bit paranoid, but he figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Candy tasted great and all, but that didn’t mean he wanted to inadvertently eat her again. 

At around the same time, Candy decided it was time for her to visit the break room, despite the risks involved. She was determined to see Martin again, and hopefully develop their relationship further. She assumed, as long as she didn’t get caught by Ronny or crawl into any Giant food, she’d be reasonably safe. She rode the capsule launcher down to the floor from her desk and surreptitiously scurried from cubicle to cubicle on the long way there. She gave Ronny a wide berth; fortunately, he didn’t catch sight of her as he drank his coffee at his desk and munched on a bag of chips. 

When Candy finally reached Martin’s gargantuan cubicle, she was disheartened to find his chair empty. She had traveled all this way just to catch a glimpse of him, or maybe even talk to him, and he wasn’t there. She ventured onward to the break room. At the very least, she could heat up her lunch she brought. As she neared, she saw a pair of Giant shiny black shoes that she recognized clomping towards her. Her eyes drifted skyward to behold her handsome crush, Martin, looming above her. Due to her position far below on the ground, he hadn’t spotted her yet. She seized the opportunity. 

“Hi, Martin!” she called up to him, flashing him a gregarious smile and waving her hand enthusiastically to grab his attention. He glanced down and stopped in his tracks, the toe of his massive shoe hovering over the ground just in front of Candy, above her head. His stormy eyes widened as he recognized her. His heart jumped up into his throat. His face, all the way up to the roots of his dark hair, turned beet red. He realized, if she hadn’t said anything, he might have stepped on her by accident. Just by existing, being his huge, stupid, clumsy Giant self, he was a hazard to her. Another wave of guilt and humiliation washed over him. 

He didn’t know what to do. Candy’s face fell a bit and her hand lowered to her side as the time dragged out and he stared at her dumbly, overcome with his own emotions and social awkwardness. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. He opened his mouth and stuttered something incoherent, then sidestepped Candy and rushed off. She looked after him with confusion as he hurried away. Instead of returning to his desk, he left to go hide in the bathroom, his heart pumping intensely. He ran his hands through his hair, splashed some cold water on his face, and stared at his reflection in the mirror. What was wrong with him? 

He had feelings inside him he wasn’t sure were proper. Realistically, after consuming the human and nearly squashing her underfoot, he should stay away from Candy. He was a danger to her. And yet... goodness was she cute. Absolutely precious, with her effervescent personality, pearlescent smile, long luscious hair, and lovely figure, like a perfect little doll. And so tiny... so helpless... he wanted to just scoop her up in his big hands and hold her and protect her from the evils in the office. 

He had to remind himself that she was likely terrified of him. He was a big monstrous Giant and she was a teeny human. He had devoured her alive, for crying out loud. She was so delicious too. His mouth watered as the recollection of her divine caramel sweetness surfaced in his mind. He knew his thoughts were so wrong, and lustful, and gluttonous, but he wanted to press her up to his lips, slide her through them, play with her body on his tongue, and perhaps even swallow her. The thought filled him with horror. He truly was a monster. He needed to stay away from her, at all costs. 

Once he regained his composure, he exited out of the bathroom and slunk over to his cubicle in shame. He watched the area around his feet very carefully with each step. He recognized the irony with morbid amusement that he was almost as scared at running into her as she probably was of him. He made it to his cubicle without intersecting anyone’s path and sighed as he settled into his chair. He needed to let it go, forget about her. He let out another heavy breath and got back to work. 

Candy was upset, watching Martin run off like that. She didn’t understand his reaction at all. He acted almost as if he were afraid of her, but that made no sense, with him being a Giant and her a human. Was he disgusted by her, after eating her? She hoped not. He claimed that she tasted good, but maybe he was just being polite. Candy felt very sad, all of a sudden. She had imagined there might be a spark there, but maybe she was wrong. After eating her lunch, she trudged the long distance back to her cubicle morosely. Martin had returned to his own desk, typing away, but this time she passed without saying anything, looking up longingly at his huge back, as tall as a mountain, as she walked by. 

She made it to her cubicle and used the capsule launcher to get back onto her desk. She blocked out her surroundings and threw herself into her work to distract herself from her sad disappointment. She was grateful, at least, that Mr. Hardon had been gone most of the day. However, there was one factor she didn’t take into consideration. While the boss was himself a significant threat to her person, his surveillance from his office kept Ronny in check.  

Ronny, stewing in his cubicle all day, had come up with a great, nasty idea, one he couldn’t wait to implement. He bided his time, waiting for the end of the day to near, but not so far along that the boss would be back. He crept out of his cubicle and slithered over to Candy’s, trying to be as quiet as possible. Despite his massive size, he was able to pad over silently, without shaking the ground under his weight too much. Candy, focused on her work, failed to notice his approach until it was too late.  

She turned around and let out a gasp of alarm before Ronny flicked her in the forehead with his finger. He made sure not to use too much force, since he just wanted to knock her out, not crack her skull. She stumbled back and fell onto her keyboard, out cold. Ronny smirked and coiled his fingers around her limp body, lifting her up to his face to examine her briefly. A fat, livid welt was starting to form on her forehead, but she was otherwise unharmed. 

He furtively glanced around, to make sure nobody was observing him, before slinking into the boss’s office. Mr. Hardon’s laptop bag was propped up against the side of his desk. Ronny opened the bag and stashed Candy’s unconscious form in one of the inner pockets, where she wouldn’t get smashed by his laptop. He zipped the bag up so she wouldn’t be able to climb out. He snickered to himself under his breath for his devious, brilliant plan. He was banking on the boss not finding her in his bag until he was back at his domicile. He wouldn’t be able to resist doing something to her, in the privacy of his own home, when he had her there all night with him, with her powerless to resist his advances. Ronny couldn’t imagine a worse torment for her than that! 

Chapter 14

First Chapter

#g/t writing #g/t #giant/tiny #giant #tiny #size difference #g/t fluff #giant tiny #big corp inc

[autistictaylorhebert]

Kayla goes from an energetic, outgoing if somewhat nerdy girl to bedbound in less than a year. It takes another year and a half for her to get the diagnosis, but hy that point she doe doesnt really care. The fatigue is constant and all of her old friends and hobby groups have long left her behind.

It takes a while, but once shes accepted that her new circumstances are permanent, she tries to rebuild A life as best she can. She throws herself (slowly) into fandom, and falls in love all over again with the setting and characters shes always beej interested in. But even there, she cant participate. Fandom moves too fast for her to keep up, and online communities take if anything Mote energy to be a consistent participant. So she gives up on ghat, and instead just invests herself in the Stories. She lives and breathes this stuff, because what else is there for her to do. Her parrnts both work to cover medical bills, and she has no friends. Its not a happy life, but it is A life.

Until one night, after a particularly good day where managed to write up some fun ideas, she has an intensely vivid dream where she actually gets to meet the characters, interact with them in the setting, where she befriends them. And when she wakes up, going from that colorful life where the things shes obsessed with are real, where she can acrually Do something there rather than lie in bed and think about them endlessly, to her lonely, dull life and aching, tired body, she triggers.

Maybe something like an "always on" Master power makes sense? Or a power like Aisha's where it takes concentration and energy to turn it off.

Option 1:

It's a controller power. It radiates outwards from her constantly, but it's strength changes day by day, randomly stronger and weaker. It makes people like her, prioritise her, and want to act in ways that benefits her. It effects beliefs and thoughts more than emotions, and those who are aware of it are able to resist lower levels of it (weak days, and/or little to no effort put in from Kayla) but most of it is irresistible.

When Kayla puts in effort and energy into her power (and on the stronger days), minions also have low brute ratings, such as strength and more energy. The power affects all those within the space of a building (centred on Kayla), and the effects lasts for a day after they have left this space.

Option 2:

A projection creator power. Kayla is constantly surrounded by colourful and shadowy minions, that exist as electricity/light and force-fields, and are constantly being created and falling out of existence.

Kayla can roughly control how they manifest (choosing capabilities like low level brute, changer, mover, and shaker powers), but detailing this, and making them strong, requires effort and energy in the same way creative fan-projects do. It also draws from a similar random level of energy as the controller power. Her projections can be blindingly bright and as strong as ""average"" parahumans in their own right, or they can be translucent shadows that fade easily.

#powergen #this one is also a bit late but oh welll

[squirrelno2]

Crash

Sometimes instead of writing the next fic in a series you are possessed by something that would happen way later in a series you haven't touched in months. Anyway if you read Clarity and its sequels this is in that world and if you didn't... It's some Star Wars ocs crash landing on a planet! With clone feelings underpinning everything because even when most characters aren't clones I still always manage to do that somehow.

Ven wasn't sure how long she'd been out. It only felt like a few seconds since her head had hit the console as the shuttle slammed into the ground, but she wasn't sure if there should be more or less smoke. Either way, the ship shouldn't be smoking at all. She knew that much from her childhood spent wandering.

Nalyan was out cold. Ven scrambled out of her seat, ignoring the sting of her cut and bruised body.

"Nalyan, you better wake up! You know how I am with first aid!"

If he'd hit his head, should she slap him to wake him up or not? It was usually the only way she could wake him up in the morning, but Ven doubted this would go down like birthdays when he always ended up chasing her out of his bunk. And if she shook him, and he'd hurt his spine or something - some of the more horrible injuries her family had witnessed over the years flashed through her mind.

She settled for prodding him in the cheek.

"Nalyan!" she begged. That was way too much smoke wafting towards them. She gritted her teeth and unbuckled him. At least he was a skinny twig of a human who never did anything. Anybody else in her family, with a fighter's muscle? Ven wasn't nearly in tune enough with the Force to lift them.

"It's not about weight," Nalyan had told her once, in one of his rare moods to talk about the Jedi. "You just have to connect strongly enough. Smaller things, inanimate objects, they're not as impactful in the Force as people. It doesn't take so much work to feel them in it completely."

Ven was pretty sure that was all bullshit. It was always easier to lift him than it was her Uncle Fives. As funny as it was to tell Nalyan he must be simple in the Force like a rock, Ven knew that wasn't it.

He wobbled up from his seat as Ven gripped the Force tightly. Of course, that was when he woke up. She lost her grip and he fell.

"Ven!" he squawked. "What's the matter with you? What - the ship!"

"We crashed, remember, genius? We have to get out now!"

He winced as he got up, but Ven didn't waste time on checking him for injuries. If he could move on his own, they could leave. The rest was for whenever they had time.

"Were you trying to lift me with the Force? You know that's not a brute strength thing, right?" he asked as they stumbled out of the cockpit.

"I know that if you don't stop trying to lecture me about stuff you don't even do, I'm telling Dad who tore his rulebook!"

To Ven's great pleasure, Nalyan winced. Dad's wrath was cool and intense, and would probably consist of making Nalyan rewrite the thing by hand eight times. One for each of them, including Uncle Echo, and one spare.

Ven's dad liked creative punishments, and also liked forcing people to read his rules.

"I use the Force," Nalyan muttered grumpily as they forced open the shuttle doors and stumbled out.

"Less than I do," Ven said dismissively. "Where are we?"

"Ask our stupid failing navigational system," Nalyan said. "We're so lucky we dropped out of hyperspace before that thing tried to take us through a planet."

"Oh, yeah," Ven said, finding a bloody gash in the back of her arm. "I feel very lucky. Are all my tendrils still the same length?"

"Let's find somewhere to rest and get cleaned up first," Nalyan said. "You're not bleeding from any of them. What's wrong with your arm?"

"It doesn't even hurt," Ven said as her arm twinged badly.

"Shiny," Nalyan said flatly. Ven blinked up at him innocently.

"Were we going somewhere first?"

He sighed heavily, but he knew as well as she did that they couldn't stay. It was one of the rules: even if the Empire wasn't involved, they needed to avoid attention. Smoking shipwrecks came with a lot of attention.

They stumbled down the slope, away from the wreck and into the valley below. Ven grimaced as a town came into view.

"How much do you want to bet they're Imperial?"

"Everyone's Imperial, legally speaking," Nalyan said.

"Not the Hutts," Ven muttered, sticking out her tongue. "I meant that they like the Empire. You know what I mean!"

"I know, and I'm not betting anything with you after last time."

"So you think they'll be sympathetic?"

"I think we're not stupid enough to find out," Nalyan said. "Don't pull your blaster this time, Shiny."

"Don't talk about the Force like you know anything about it in front of strangers, then," she shot back. They trudged the last distance in sulky silence.

The first place they came to looked like somebody's house. A stocky figure bent over a partially disassembled speeder, apparently working on it. As Ven and Nalyan approached, they raised their head, revealing dark human features and a cloud of curly hair held back by a pale green scarf.

"Hi," the stranger said. When they wiped the oil from their face, Ven realised they were probably about her own age. "Was that crash you?"

"No," Ven and Nalyan said immediately. The stranger looked over their scraped up faces.

"Right," they said. "Well, if you weren't in a crash, you won't want to use our first aid kit -"

Nalyan looked at Ven. Ven sighed. The stranger had very pointedly broken off, watching them with an expectant smile.

"What do you want from us in return?" Ven asked.

The stranger shrugged.

"My aunt used to be a medic," they said. "She'd kill me for not helping you when you look that banged up."

"Thanks," Ven said. She was still wary, but she sensed no ill intent from the stranger. "I'm Ven. This is Nalyan."

The stranger looked them over with the same calculations everyone did, wondering about a twenty-something human and a teenage Nautolan wandering the galaxy together.

"I'm... Stella."

The hesitation was strange, but Uncle Fives said they should trust the Force over paranoia when they had the option. Ven impulsively wrapped her hand around Nalyan's and followed Stella inside.

Someone was already in the house, poking through drawers and cabinets hurriedly.

"My aunt," Stella said quietly as they approached.

"Constellation, have you seen -"

The woman broke off when she realised Stella wasn't the only one there, and Stella said something in response, but Ven didn't catch it. Nalyan was rigid at her side, squeezing her hand like he wanted to wring the blood out of it, and she knew he was thinking what she was.

Time and transition had changed the details of her face as well as giving her soft curves Ven wasn't used to seeing, and she wore her hair in a messy salt-and-pepper bun that was completely unlike the way Ven's dad still dyed his hair dark and slicked it back. But Ven knew clones. That face had raised her, and she would always recognise it.

"Are you all right?"

The clone looked worried. Ven realised she was looking their injuries over, probably assuming their reaction was disorientation or something.

"I'm sorry," Ven said. Nalyan wasn't about to. As happy as he was in their family, he still had nightmares about clones in armour. She didn't want to make him talk to this new, unfamiliar clone. "You just look a lot like my dad."

Stella stiffened. The clone stared at Ven.

"Your dad," she repeated.

"His name is Dogma," Ven said, ignoring the frantic way Nalyan squeezed her hand. They had too much in common with these people not to trust them. "He deserted, too."

Tension bled from her posture.

"I'm Fever," she said. "Sit down. I'll take a look at your injuries. Constellation -"

"Yeah," Stella said before vanishing into another room.

"We don't meet many people who recognise me," Fever said. "She's just nervous."

"Shiny," Nalyan hissed as Fever turned away to get some water. "She doesn't have a scar!"

There was only one scar that mattered. Ven swore.

"How do you tell the long-lost aunt you just met that she needs to let you do brain surgery on her?" Ven said.

"Honestly, Shiny, I'm a little more worried that she might try to kill us."

#star wars #fanfic #star wars ocs #sometimes a family is #sometimes you realise there is a perfect opportunity for one oc to meet another and then it does this to your brain. #ill probably write a follow up soon but this was getting sooo long for a tumblr post but tumblr is the only place stella and fever exist rn #kind of a crossover so #the Shag Pabol Outpost #Ven (oc) #Nalyan (oc) #Stella (oc) #Fever (oc)

[voicefromthecorner]

Something I really love about Neo-TWEWY is how it's both a damn good sequel and also clearly it own thing.

If TWEWY was a clear character study of Neku, then NEO is clearly an ensamble

That's also why the story develops a bit differently. Because while Rindo is the main character, his arc is always tied to him being a leader.

Because honestly, Neku has never been much of a leader. He's powerful sure, and intelligent. But even in Neo, his introduction was still very awkward and it's through Beat that things got less so. He's gotten nicer, but he still very much introvert. He's still very much a man of action. Just like Beat to be honest.

Rindo is an introvert, but I get the sense that less to do with his nature and more due to his own anxiety. But there's a reason everyone, including the Reapers all basically say 'yeah, your the method to Twisters madness'

He's the guy who can get all the crazy eccentrics to work together. In the TWEWY universe that's basically more OP than time travel if you ask me.

Haha, I like this take! I definitely agree, yeah.

Rindo's got a lot of personal growth to get through across the game, just like Neku did, but the spotlight on that is absolutely shared with his squad and it's interesting to see that squad carry over from week to week. And you get different forms of growth from Fret and Nagi learning to express theselves and understand each other in their respective ways, Beat figuring out how best to support, mentor and sometimes even learn from the others and Shoka in particular being a member of the team who starts the game as one of the Reapers. Rindo doesn't just grow as a person, but also helps every one of these people through their issues and earns their trust in him.

I like how when you think about it, everyone's talents and powers kind of reflect their strengths: Neku's a psych wiz, which makes him powerful but not necessarily, as you say, a leader. Beat's typically all about brute forces or fast speeds. Shiki puppeteers something she made herself to fight for her, she may not have felt strong as herself, but she had a great strength in creativity. Fret's a helpful and encouraging person; he reminds people what they forgot. Nagi's good at reading people; she can dive into other people's minds to clear out their demons. Shoka telewarps; she often has a good alternate perspective, especially as a former Reaper.

And then there's Rindo, who turns back time when things go south and the burden is then firmly on him to organise everyone under the knowledge that he's gained to come up with a plan. He's the information gatherer and he then directs everyone who has all of these other gifts (minus Shiki, alas) to use them most effectively in light of what he alone knows. It's a burden that's thrust upon him, sure, and it's regularly caused by not getting things right the first time, yeah, but he makes the most of what he's got and it's cool to see him learn and grow in his leadership as well as a person.

Don't fear the powerhouses. Fear the one that all the powerhouses listen to!

#neo the world ends with you #ask #anonymous #analysis #rindo kanade #me #twewy #neku sakuraba

[onceuponanaromantic]

the thorns of a swan

(Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial​‘s prompt: FFF166 Count the Ways. Not related to anything except that self-indulgent Black Swan project. The opening is from the Mad Girl’s Love Song by Sylvia Plath. Enjoy!)

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I lift my eyes and all is born again.

(I think I made you up inside my head.)

             “Okay.”

           The Rose raises an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side. “You find out that I’m a supernatural entity who was born at the start of the world and that’s all you have to say.”

             Odile nods. “Yeah.”

           “Is this a fake calm or are you actually chill with this?”

           “You have a very good grasp of modern slang for someone who has been around since the universe began.”

           “Well,” The Rose says, “I once showed the world as it once was to a young girl and I think it broke her. So I had to get better at communicating.”

           “So now you’re an unofficial information broker and run an apothecary-slash-mercenary company. And also, you didn’t think to tell me that necromancy would just lead me to meeting you?” Odile snorts. “If I had known, I would have just gone down to the Garden. No need for this whole blood and circle and ash thing.”

           “Would you have believed me if you hadn’t found it out this way?” The Rose asks.

             “Probably.” Odile says. “After all, I did take on a contract from an Italian scholar to resurrect his dead seer, distantly royalty boyfriend. But you knew that. I told you when I said that I was going to be unavailable for the next month.”

           “You didn’t include the part about resurrecting, Black Swan You only said you were taking on an external contract for some sorcery business.”

           “I distinctly recall telling you about the dead seer boyfriend. Mostly because I was very confused by why he wanted the guy resurrected. But also you knew this would end up this way.”

           “Well, yes.” The Rose arranges her skirts, pulling the deep grey veil away from her face to let the fountain’s water splash on it. “I didn’t think you would get this far. I should have known better though. You’ve always been capable of devious creativity.”

           “Actually, so you did know my actual name this entire time.”

           “You didn’t have one when you started out.” The Rose’s eyes are pale pink in the evening light, a noticeable shift from their normal ruby red. She raises a hand to the water, letting it soak through the deep grey of her sleeve and the embroidered roses. “You had a name, of course, but you didn’t claim it as your own. So it was not your name.”

           “Then why did you hire me?”

           “Because you were determined and powerful.”

           “I wasn’t powerful. I never have been. All I am is devious.”

           The Rose turns her eyes to Odile, seeming to see through her in that unearthly way that reminds her that the Rose isn’t human. “Do you think that brute force alone is power?”

           “I cannot shift the earth. And you have just seen that I cannot wake the dead.”            The Rose shakes her head. “Your greatest weakness, my dear, is your inability to acknowledge your own strength. You are creative. You can see the ways and paths that the world only reveals to you. You can jump from path to path, and I cannot count the ways that you might approach any possible problem. You use magic the way it was always meant to be used.”

           “Don’t lie to me.”

           “What part of this do you think is a lie?” The Rose asks, her eyes flashing. “I would not have taken on someone weak. I have watched the people of this world for so long. I have been the Lady of Dust, I have been so many things and given and taken so many names. Do you think I, of all the creatures that roam this earth, would not be able to tell strength when I see it?”

           “How can I be strong?” Odile says quietly. “When I wasn’t even enough to fulfil my first debt? When I couldn’t even save myself?”

           “You did fulfil it.”            “Not the first case with you, the one with—”

           “Odette. The Swan Queen and her prince. I know.”

           “I failed her. I tricked her prince into accepting my hand instead, and she was forever cursed. And she chose to die rather than accept a fate as nothing more than a beast.”

           “You humans are too damn arrogant.” The Rose says, her voice quiet and still in the way it always went when she was truly angry. “The spell would never have held past her twenty-first birthday. And more than that, the prince would never have broken her spell at all.”

           “But he loved her. Until I tricked him.”

           “No, he loved the image he thought he saw in her.” She pulls her hand through the water and she sees the scene recreated. “He loved the idea of freedom, and so did she. They did not love each other.”

           She stares at the familiar dark eyes, the lovely streaks of silver through her hair as the image of Odette raises her hand to the prince’s face. “Watch.”            The prince smiles at her, lifting her up and spinning her.

           “What am I supposed to see?”

           “Do you see them talking? If you had asked the prince, would he have been able to tell you anything of the Swan Queen he called himself so in love with?”

           “I don’t know. And I will never know, because they’re both dead.” She turns to the Rose. “I am not a good person. You have always known that. I kill, I hurt, I trick people into seeing what they want to see.”

           “And that is what the world is, my dear Swan, my Odile.” The Rose says, letting the vision fade. “People will always, always, see what they want to see. That’s why it’s your duty to see beyond.”

“And that is what I’m offering you now.”

#flash fiction friday #fff166 #syl's writing #there is a little literary allusion that the Rose is La Fée Poussiére from that short story #in this story the black swan is odile's code name as a mercenary #and she's taken on a contract from benvolio to raise his boyfriend from the dead #she doesn't quite succeed and ends up in this strange halfway place #and encounters the rose #the Rose is her handler of sorts as a mercenary #I feel the need to add #that the Rose is not a good person and #very much should not be taken at her word #she has her own agenda here

[thexgrayxlady]

What I read in October and November

The Drowning City by Amanda Drownum - 2.75/5.00 While it was a fun adventure in an interesting setting, the character motivations felt muddy. I wanted to like the complicated politics, but the plot was sometimes hard to follow and didn't involve as much necromancy as I would have liked. I'd still give the next book in the series a chance if I found it at the used book superstore.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield - 2.00/5.00 I don't think this book is bad, it was just sold to me as something it wasn't. If this was recommended to you because you loved Into the Drowning Deep and wanted to scratch that deep sea horror itch, you may be entitled to financial compensation. If you're interested in a slightly surreal meditation on grief, with very pretty writing check it out.

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis - 2.50/5.00 As a debut novel, it's pretty good, but I wasn't quite feeling it. I didn't realize that it was going to be as romance focused as it was, but that's my bad. I just thought I was getting something a little more Castlevania. The setting is fantastic and well described. I am all about the gaslamp fantasy right now. The magic feels really magical and fantastic in a way that sometimes a harder magic system doesn't.

Unfortunately, the main characters are a bit flat and I don't think the story was served particularly well by having both POVs. They have more chemistry with every other character they interact with than each other. I loved Domek's relationship with Kaja, but Domek on his own does not have a strong presence on the page. Ora has a very strong Not Like Other Pijavica vibe that gets old very quickly. She views the rest of her kind as monstrous vermin to an extent where when she feels betrayed by Domek being a lamp lighter, it feels disingenuous and unearned. If we saw more pijavica like her, who just want to go about their unlife in peace, that betrayal would hit much harder. The ending has a bad antagonist pileup that leads to none of the antagonists feeling as impactful as if the author had just stuck to one.

Even with all that in mind, I think the author has a lot of potential and I would love to see how she develops as a writer. You could tell that she had a good time writing this.

Dracula's Child by JS Barnes - 3.25/5.00 I genuinely like this book, and it's interesting to read a Dracula sequel written in the style of the original novel. It builds slowly, but the letters, journal entries, and newspaper clippings are mostly short, so the book doesn't feel quite as long as it is. Unfortunately, it also makes it really easy to put it down until it really gets going. But when the horror starts to hit, it really hits. All that being said, it was good to catch up with my good friends Jonathan and Mina. However, I just preferred The City of Doctor Moreau.

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini - 4.50/5.00 This is a completely biased review. I don't know if I can confidently say that this book is good, only that it brought me immeasurable joy. I loved every second of it. I would absolutely 100% read another seven hundred pages of this. Hell, I would read another 700 pages of Murtagh and Thorn doing slice of life things and side quests.

I love Murtagh and Thorn's relationship so much. They are so good to each other and deserve to have fun and act their age and not have so many responsibilities and problems thrown on them. The scene where they were just playing together is by far the best scene in the book.

I haven't read the original quartet since high school so I don't remember much, but I feel like this book does a good job getting you back up to speed. I feel like Murtagh approaches magic in a very different way than Eragon and sometimes it's very interesting and creative and sometimes you get, "Fuck it. Brute force time." Like, there is something very entertaining about a character both sorting out a magical laser beam and going, "I don't have time to figure out a clever way around your wards, so I'm going to harden the air around your head and you're going to suffocate."

As a board certified, card carrying Oldest Daughter, I liked that Murtagh was really bitter about how things turned out for him. I completely understood why he would rather swallow broken glass than ask Eragon for help. I know people thought that Murtagh and Thorn were too angsty and made stupid choices, but they are very young and have been traumatized for their whole lives, so they deserve some bad choices and bad emo poetry. As a treat. And Thorn deserves to say snarky things about said emo poetry. As a treat.

I know that some people thought that the torture went on for far too long, but I was down for it. If anything, I would have wanted more.

That being said, I have my gripes with it. The pacing is weird, and while I was just vibing and having a good time, I could see why someone wouldn't like it. The ending is very abrupt, and I wasn't the biggest fan of how some things played out. Paolini is not very good at writing poetry. I would have preferred fewer poems and Thorn snarking more at the ones we get.

The main villain's name is really stupid, and I couldn't get over it. I know it's not pronounced the way it's spelled, but I couldn't get over it. There are definitely more than a few moments where the author is too clever for his own good. Like, dammit Paolini. don't use an archaic spelling of a common word, when it looks so much like a typo, on the first page. It sends the wrong message about the quality control that went into your book.

I still think that Paolini isn't good at writing romance. While Murtagh and Nasuada are, by thin margins, his least bad romance, I'm happy it's kept to a minimum. While I'm not sure I'd read a future installment, I hope that it is similarly in the background because there are scenes from To Sleep in a Sea of Stars that I cannot unhear. I am scared by them. I am entitled to financial compensation.

In the most affectionate way possible, I hope that this book finds its way to the lonely middle school girl who needs it.

#Gray Reads Stuff #I've posted this by mistake like four times already #I didn't read much the last few weeks because I got BG3 as a birthday treat #I was in a big vampire mood in October #I had so many thoughts about Murtagh #I considered posting that review separately

[aelingalathyniusrailme]

gwynriel appreciation week-day 5

au day

Pirate headcanons

They start out as rival captains of their own ships

Gwyn’s ship is called the silver majesty. gwyn used to work for the crown but went rogue and took her crew with her. She kept the name. But don’t be fooled by it’s cuteness because her crew is as cut throat as they come

what they lack in resources, they make up for in ruthlessness and determination  

Azriel’s ship is called the shadowsinger. His boat is dark as night and if they don’t want to be found, you could scour the entire world and won’t find a damn thing

they are clever and brutal. they do not make mistakes and when they hit, they hit fast and hard 

Gwyn’s first mate is Nesta: the strategist with a grudge. She’s the fire of the group. you do not cross nesta, And her quarter master is Emerie: the responsible rock of the group with a secret vicious side. emerie always has been the most creative. Gwyn is the captain. She won her crew and position through sheer will. Gwyn is the glue that holds them together

Azriel’s first mate is Rhys: he’s cold and calculating. Always thinking, always plotting. And his quarter master is Cassian: he provides the brute force. You need to get rid of someone, cassians your guy, for the right price of course. he is the friendliest of them all. Azriel is the captain: azriel is lethal and quiet. He lets Rhys and Cassian deal with the rest of the crew while he acts as the mysterious captain with secrets for days. He keeps his position because he never fails to provide. Azriel’s got grit and a way of knowing everything that goes around him. 

The silver majesty and The shadowsinger have crossed paths only once before when they both cost each other a job

To gwyn, the shadowsinger is a myth just as the silver majesty is a legend to azriel. Neither knew that they had crossed paths. But they both vowed when they found the ship that ruined that job, they would get revenge.

both respect the other as the second best in the business

Gwyn docks her ship in the summer court. There she takes her crew to a bar. 

they walk in, a bunch of scary ass pirate ladies and everyone turns away, not wanting to draw their attention 

Gwyn walks to the counter with Emerie and Nesta in tow. She asks for a women named Mor. 

Mor is the sweet blonde bar tender. Although she has been known to hear things she shouldn’t and well gwyn may or may not pay for that information 

“What do you got for me blondie” 

“I got a lot of things, depends what you want” mor looked her up and down and smirked. 

“maybe later, you hear anything since the last time we were around?”

“Maybe I have, Maybe I haven’t” 

Gwyn knows to be patient with her, they continue this back and forth for a couple minutes before finally mor mentions she been hearing of possibly the biggest hall they ever came across. but it’s hidden and you need the map to get there. and it is very possible that mor has someone willing to trade for the map. 

I’m just going to cut to the chase, she stalls the buyer (his name is tamlin) with pretty words and false promises while nesta and emerie steal it 

They get back to the silver majesty triumphant and drunk as fuck

But then they realize, the map is blank. Nesta has already pulled out her two katanas and is ready to start slitting throats. specifically tamlin

emerie has yanked her daggers from their sheaths and is halfway out the door

but gwyn holds them off. she examines the map more closely, she has a hunch but she need to meet with another acquaintance first

The silver majesty makes the rough trip to the dreaded spring court. terrible place. truly terrible. said to be haunted. 

They find elain archeron in her manor. it is overgrown with plants but gwyn knows she likes it that way. Elain is a witch but her gifts tend to fall into the prophecy sort. Nesta stays a step behind, refusing to look at her sister. 

“Hello sister, sister’s friends” nesta grits her teeth ready to bite but gwyn hushes her. 

“Witch” 

“Seer” Elain corrects. “Witch has such an awful stigma around it, it’s bad for business. but seer has the perfect balance of ‘I can tell you your future but you shouldn’t fear me’ brings in a lot more people this way.”

“so let me guess, you need my help for a certain treasure I’ve heard about recently” 

“guessing games aren’t fun when you can see the future but yes” 

“ah my dear-”

gwyn cut her off “I am older than you”

“Gwyneth, sweetie, the wise witch persona brings in business” Gwyn refrained from rolling her eyes, out of all the batshit crazy people she had to deal with, her first mate’s sister was by far the worst. 

it didn’t help that they used to date and everything gwyn used to find endearing now pissed her off

Elain brought out a pearlescent ball, she put her hands over it in a dramatic spectacle. Gwyn knew she didn’t actually need the whole get up but Elain lived for the performance so she let it slide. Her eyes began to change, one glowed a bright white while the other was pitch black.

Emerie shifted uncomfortably. She never did like magic. minutes passed before  Elain’s eyes went back to normal and she regained consciousness

“Name your price Seer” 

“I want one day with my sisters”

Nesta snapped to attention. her voice was cold, soft but lethal “did you say sister or sisters”

Elain to her credit did not flinch “yes feyre is here, it was just a happy coincidence that you both came today.” Elain winked. but they all knew nothing was ever a coincidence with the walking oracle. 

Gwyn looked at Nesta. Silently they conversed. Elain waited patiently while Gwyn tried to convince nesta to take the deal. finally they came to a conclusion

“One hour, I will spend one hour with you and her” Feyre was an assassin for the crown. Gwyn didn’t know how someone who murdered for a living could be so righteous but the archeron sisters were something else. The silver majesty spent a lot of time with her before they abandoned post and well feyre and nesta have never gotten along. but the falling out was not pretty. they haven’t spoken since 

“leave the katanas, If I get one hour with my sisters it will not be spent fighting” 

nesta begrudgingly disarmed and handed her legendary swords to emerie. “take care of my babies” 

“not a scratch” emerie said with a mock solute 

....

exactly one hour later nesta came back to the ship alone. Nothing shook her second and yet nesta’s eyes were wide. 

“well what do we need?”

“Not what, who”

“we need a myth. we need a pirate folktale. we need”

“The shadow singer” emerie finished with a whisper. an eeriness spread over the ship at the mention of that name. Shit, they were in such deep shit. 

Honorary headcanon but no scene: gwyn and az get down and dirty on a boat. I’ll let you guys imagine the rest. (though there is a chance I will get back to this and write it out)

#gwynriel #gwynriel week #gwyn berdara #azriel #pirate au

[sepublic]

Through the Looking Glass Ruins!!!!!

         …

         SO! Onto other things first…

         WRATH IS BRAXAS’ FATHER!??!!? HOLY SHIT, Wrath is a canonical dad, I’d always expressed my… OH MY GOD WRATH IS DAD! And of BRAXAS, that sweetie… How is Braxas such a sweetie with a father like HIM, also-

         Wrath was in casual wear? Either he has a day off, or he got fired by Belos/Kikimora after drawing Luz a map to Eda in Young Blood, Old Souls! Either way this guy has a sudden new level of NUANCE that I am reeling from, and yes I checked, that really is Wrath according to the credits! Dang this puts everything in a WHOLE new light…!

         AMITY HAIR OHMIGOD IT LOOKS SO ADORABLE SHE’S SELF-ACTUALIZING I AM FUCKING SCREAMING HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, it’s PINK and not green… They acknowledged it, Emira did! And they CHANGED IT I AM LOSING MY FUCKING MIND OVER THIS-

         She looks so BEAUTIFUL and I love the kind of foreshadowing with the bookends of our first shot of Amity having her hair down, and now it’s changed! And she looks adorable and EMIRA AND EDRIC BEING GREAT SIBLINGS I LOVE IT SO MUCH! This… THIS is everything I wanted! I was resigned to not much of them but HELL YEAH they’re being good siblings and we get a look at their rooms, we see them doing MAKEOVERS together this is everything from my favorite fanon content and MORE,

         Also Edric has a date?! Emira says ‘their’ mom… Unless the Golden Guard has a mom, DARN! Not gonna lie, I half-expected a big twist at the end that Edric was dating the Golden Guard, who was doing some sort of reconnaissance as his unrecognized normal self and/or screwing around with the Blights even further, but in a GENUINE sense… But then who knows Kikimora could be posing as GG’s ‘mom’, this is a stretch anyhow-

         JUST HELL YEAH Blight Twins! Blight Twins being sweet and mischievous and supportive of each other, Blight SIBLINGS being siblings, Emira being an older sister and giving advice! And AMITY, Amity mentioning how much Luz has changed stuff, I love that they acknowledge it openly how her life has completely shifted, and now… NOW…!

         No necklace! Red leggings! PINK HAIR?! Is this why Amity in the intro hasn’t been updated yet… She was getting TWO updates, so the animators decided to only animate a change after this final update?!

         King and Gus are also friends it seems, and they even recorded some fun together! I’m surprised at how much Bria and the others mock Gus’ illusion skills… Obviously Belos is kinda terrible but like; I don’t think he’d set aside an entire subset of magic into Illusions without reason! Also that nightmare trip… I LOVE IT, I love Gus applying the creativity of illusions in their ability to completely warp and distort someone’s sense of reality! And I called that dragon-thing being an illusion!

         A graveyard… I wonder if the Gallderstones (is that how it’s spelled) have any relevance or if they’re just neat? I hope Mattholomule and Gus help hide the Looking Glass Graveyard… Damn, that’s another Death reference with Gus, huh! Is it culminating in his respect for the dead, or will it continue further with Gus being a necromancer, or an Oracle who can commune with the deceased, and he has their respect as someone who treats them properly?!

         Also not to get dark but… What if all those Illusionists are dead because of Belos? I’m JUST SAYING…! And not gonna lie, every time someone insulted Illusions, I kept imagining the Illusion Head just suddenly waking up and feeling like there’s a disturbance in the force, as well as a weird compulsion to beat up some Glandus kids. It’d be even funnier if he had beef with the Construction, Plant, and Abomination Heads as well!

         Speaking of which, more confirmation on Construction Magic being related to earth! Glad to see Bria give us a look into that, which furthers my idea of Belos using construction magic… Also dang, Bria and the Glandus Kids really are the parallels/foils to the Detention kids! You’ve got the short ‘nice’ girl, the tall lanky kid, the furry… But the Glandus Kids start off looking nice and cool, but turn out to be rather nasty!

         Meanwhile the Detention Kids seem like bad news and delinquents, but no! They’re just demonized and actually very kind and chill! The Detention Kids are looked down upon, the Glandus Kids are appraised… The Detention Kids are dual-track, the Glandus Kids are singular; Glandus Kids from, well, GLANDUS, Detention Kids from Hexside… One’s ‘mischief’ is actually very neat and cool, the other’s is literal grave robbing.

         I guess that’s how the bleeding statues got past the censors- It’s technically just an illusion! Also more insight into how Glandus works with its Survival of the Fittest mentality, I wonder if we’ll get confirmation on which coven heads came from there, how that might influence them as adults…

         What is Glandus like, is it more whole-heartedly accepting of Belos’ rule, hence its harsh ideals? Was it made after Hexside? Does Bump hate it for being so cruel like that, or is it just school bias? And dang poor Mattholomule, I always had a feeling he sort of felt and knew that he wasn’t much, so he accepted and compensated by deliberately doing whatever he can for power…

         They confirmed he’s from Glandus, and I appreciate this new look at him! This new leaf turned… Hot take but he’s honestly not as bad as Boscha, his stint with Gus was a one-time thing that Gus was able to live with! And that seems pretty good to set them up as friends! Speaking of Boscha, Willow was injured by pixies? And the last time we heard of pixies, they belonged to Boscha and caused the school to get shut down… Did BOSCHA DO THIS I SWEAR SHE IS DEAD TO ME-

         (Also she’s mentioned in the credits for this episode but I don’t remember hearing her? I might’ve gotten distracted with so much other things.)

         Gus! I like the insight into his relationship with Illusions, and I appreciate how he’s considering other forms of magic… But this hesitation might just serve to reaffirm his believe in Illusions, which is okay! It’s all about choice… And yeah, it seems Gus also has a case of impostor syndrome like King, no wonder they get along so well! I love the glimpses into Gus’ house and the confirmation that he has a library card, no Perry though alas…!

         I appreciate how Gus feels overlooked, like he has no real substance, which is how his Illusions reflect a desire to draw attention, but also the idea that there’s nothing real beneath them… Again, very much like King! And Gus, he’s not a powerhouse like the rest, he’s SKILLED and smart, but strength isn’t his forte, it’s not brute force he operates on, but cleverness! Trickery, I like it…! It’s a nice callback to his last A-plot episode, SVSF, where instead of fighting Mattholomule physically, Gus’ solution is to think outside the box and pull the alarm!

         You go kid, not relying on brute strength but showing that some clever tricks and thinking are just as valid! Kinda wonder if this episode is lowkey a discussion on masculinity for young boys, especially with Gus growing older with puberty, though the latter is mostly because his actual VA grew… But maybe the writers rolled with that and incorporated it, or it’s just a very neat coincidence! Also, it is me or did Mattholomule’s voice change? And the gag that Gavin’s dad looks identical to him, even moreso because he’s NOT supposed to have a moustache… That’s great!

         Malphas! Love this reference to a classic demon, I wasn’t sure if Malphas was the librarian with glasses whom I’ve always headcanoned as a father figure to Amity… But maybe it’s actually this bird dude! He seems adept in Bard magic, and I love the reveal of his true crow appearance… Guess those theorists were right that the one-eyed figure is from the Forbidden Stacks! Also Malphas NOT COOL with Amity, but I’m glad Luz changed his mind, and I wonder how that adventure looked…

         Which- DAMN, the RSD with Luz! She looks so UTTERLY BROKEN when Amity mentions doing stupid things, and she didn’t mean it like that, but Luz just looks so completely shattered and you can tell she wants to cry but instead she bottles it up and tries to take it in stride, and that plays into her trying to overcompensate for her mistakes AGAIN… SOMEONE GET IT TO HER HEAD that she doesn’t need to! I’m scared for Luz, and I was SO scared this episode would end on a bad note…

         BUT DOAHLDdFAEONDKFHN LUMITY KISS LUMITY KISS! ONE-SIDED BUT THEY FINALLY FUCKING KNOW AND AMITY IS LIKE WHAAAAT AND I WAS WAITING FOR IT AND I COULD FEEL IT HAPPEN AND GAY KISS! GAY KISS ON-SCREEN!!! And the way Luz just FLOPS to the ground on her knees AAHJJFFKHGGK and no Alador nor Odalia to ruin this, UTTERLY PERFECT and the twins WATCHING OOOHHHHGGGG YYYEEAAAAHHH-

         This is EVERYTHING I ever wanted!

         What an AMAZING episode with wonderful characer beats and reveals! Again, Amity’s growth as a character, that brief insight into how Luz as a person is very chaotic and sometimes frustrating for Amity and forces her to reevaluate, but ultimately it’s good and Luz DOES try her best, and Amity clearly wanted to make things up for Luz and apologize, they’re BOTH doing things, just the little moments!

         Also, Alex Lawther voices Philip Wittebane! He has long hair and a vaguely british accent, he’s… He’s Belos isn’t he? And they got a new VA because having him voiced by Matthew Rhys would be really spoiler-y right? He’s got the long hair and he’s a nerd… And with how he talks of finding a way back home, maybe Belos really DOES just want to return home, after all? He talks of making a way back home…

         And we see a glimpse of the Portal, so it might’ve brought him there? Or did Philip succeed in making it, and that was his blueprint designs? Did he arrive by Titan’s Blood? What happened to the portal if it brought him there, or if he made it? Why the scar, why near Eda’s house, partially buried?

         Was it lost before he could finish his work, and Philip got side-tracked into something else… Perhaps going on a crusade, on behalf of a curse/demon that possessed him? A demon that killed King’s father…? Was the portal broken and he had to discard it, but then it naturally healed- Or did it just need to recharge, maybe Philip DID make it back home, WHAT IS THE ANSWER?! Is there some sort of doppelganger for Philip, is BELOS his doppelganger?! What is THIS WHAT-

         WHAT AN EPISODE!

#the owl house #lumity #the owl house gus #augustus porter #the owl house mattholomule #the owl house luz #luz noceda #the owl house amity #amity blight #the owl house bria #the owl house gavin #the owl house angmar #the owl house malphas #the owl house wrath #warden wrath #the owl house braxas #the owl house philip #philip wittebane #speculation #analysis #the owl house spoilers #spoilers #toh spoilers

[robininthelabyrinth]

Okay character/writing questions!

1. Is there any reason you had the Wen clan always eat noodles? I'm thinking if Fire and Light butnit might have happened in other fics and it really stuck in my head 😅

2. Do you have any sword-lore headcanons for clans other than the Nie?

1 - So for the usual writer reasons (aka getting caught up in some extremely minor point of worldbuilding that 3 people will notice and fewer will care about), I did a deep dive researching types of food that would be associated with the areas that fandom has tentatively assigned to the various sects, including both current regional food specialties and also historical agriculture trends, and then once I had some vague semblance of a reasonable basis, came up with whatever headcanons made me the hungriest at the time I was writing.

and then I was very sad because I didn't have noodles

2 - So once upon a time my friends and I came up with an Avatar: the Last Airbender fusion for MDZS that included A-Qing being the avatar on account of being off in her own story doing her own thing and sometimes that happens (and also she's badass and versatile so why not) and Jiang Cheng getting lightning from his mom's side and it not quite fitting in with the water bending from the Jiang sect, etc., I wrote a short fic about it at one point.

The relevance of that to your question is that ever since then, I've sort of unconsciously mentally categorized the sects' sword styles into a similar sort of vague elemental grouping vibe. Is this in any way accurate or based on anything in canon? Not in the slightest, and I don't even begin to pretend that it is. I do not know anything about swords. (Also I am VERY influenced by the donghua and the feels it gives me, but that is also very subjective.)

But to give a few examples, I see the traditional Jiang sect sword style as being very water-like - flexible, adaptive, quick to find a weakness and exploit it, more speedy than other styles, with a focus on clever and creative attacks and defense that is more about avoiding or re-directing attacks than actual blocking, lots remaining in motion at all times, jumping and twisting and whatnot. After Jiang Cheng revitalizes the sect, the style is a little more aggressive, a little firmer and less flexible but also adding more power to it, making it more effective in live combat rather than agreed-upon duels.

The Lan sect, in contrast, has a seemingly delicate and refined style, very gentlemanly and just plain old pretty to look at, like dancing; it's the sort of thing you might, if you were poetically inclined, to compare to a gentle breeze right up until that seemingly 'delicate' style slams into you with all of that ridiculous Lan sect arm strength and then you start thinking things about hurricanes instead.

The Jin sect style has a solid basis, grounded and firm and assertive, a little flashy at times, but has grown to be just a little too rigid in the current generation, in large part because their last few sect leaders no longer really practiced the sword as much as all that - they cultivated with it, of course, but it wasn't really a priority for them, leaving it in the hands of the people hired to teach all the Jin disciples the style. This results in a style that is both symmetrical and utilitarian, useful for fighting in larger groups (especially for defense) and easy to teach but also a little soulless and routine, and also, on an individual level, contains perhaps more flourishes than there really ought to be, people trying to put their own stamp on it and regain the spark the style used to be known for.

The Wen sect sword style is, unsurprisingly, extremely aggressive, right up there with the Nie sect's saber style. It is also a little soulless, though in this case it's because what happened through accident and negligence in the Jin sect was deliberately cultivated in the Wen sect: they know their advantage is in their numbers, so they broke down the style to what could be conveyed to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. It may not be the prettiest style around, might incorporate a few things that the other sects would term as dirty tricks, but it is stunningly effective, especially at the lower levels - a true talent in another style like Wei Wuxian or Lan Wangji will be able to cut through Wen disciples like wheat, forcing them to use their bodies to wear them out for later fighters to take down, but someone who's still learning another sect's style will more than likely get mowed down.

The Nie sect style is also a very aggressive style, although unlike the Wen sect style it still gives its disciples a very solid grounding in defense as well (no 'throw lives away because there are always more' philosophies here!) I tend to see it as requiring more brute strength than the other sects' styles, all in the shoulders and arms and back; it's very grounded and stable, with a firm foundation, that will occasionally just go completely wild on you. Fighting them when they're in defense mode like trying to fight a cliff-face that sporadically landslides; fighting them when they're in attack mode is like trying to stop an avalanche.

#mdzs meta #i realized about halfway in that the question was probably more about sword spirit style things #but oh well

[purplehairedwonder]

Chapter 1038: *heart eyes*

Y’all knew I was going to write this one up. Let’s goooooo.

After all, the main event of Onigashima continues: Raizo vs. Fukurokuju.

Just kidding. This fight is becoming a meme at this point, though.

Storytelling-wise, I suppose Raizo needs to continue holding Fukurokuju off because Orochi is waiting for him, and Hiyori (and probably Denjiro, who we haven’t seen in 84 years) still needs to wreck Orochi’s shit.

As for the Zoro scene

My money is on this being a gag where it’s actually Brook but Zoro is hallucinating a Grim Reaper due to the pain of his injuries + mink medicine. It would be very Oda, after all. Yohoho.

The Izo scene is interesting. It could easily just be a heavily-injured Izo holding off CP0, but this expression makes me feel like there could be something else going on:

Then we’ve got Yamato vs. the fire demon. Not much to say there other than Yamato’s ice powers are the perfect counter to hold this thing off.

AND NOW WHAT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.

Honestly, the Law and Kid vs. Big Mom fight is the most interesting of all the remaining fights to me for a few reasons. 

Firstly, Kaido does absolutely nothing for me as a villain. I find him uninteresting, and honestly, I was a bit irked in the last chapter when Luffy was smiling about fighting him considering what Kaido’s done to Wano -- to Kin’emon, to Momo, to Yamato, to Tama. He usually takes those kinds of things more personally when he’s fighting for his nakama so it felt off to me.

Secondly, we know that fight is going to end with Luffy winning somehow. Luffy always gets to beat the Big Bad (even when narratively it would be more satisfying for someone else to do so *coughDressrosacough*). 

Thirdly, the fight is a lot of brute force where Kaido and Luffy hit each other with haki. Yes, there’s sky splitting. But it’s just... not that interesting, honestly.

On the other hand, Big Mom fascinates me as a villain. I think she’s the most terrifying of the Yonko. We don’t know how this fight is going to end. Law and Kid could very well lose -- or win or their fight could be interrupted by the arrival of the World Government or any number of other endings. There’s a less determined story structure here. 

And this fight has been far more about creative Devil Fruit usage, which has been so neat! I think too much focus gets put on haki sometimes. Law’s awakened fruit, Kid’s mecha, Big Mom’s homies... I think this fight is just more fun.

SO.

I am a simple girl. I see Law whump, I enjoy. I see the Hearts worrying about their captain, I enjoy. Thank you for these gifts, Oda.

But Big Mom is making a big mistake by not going for the killing blow, proving she’s still underestimating Kid and Law. Ironic, considering she says that Kaido shouldn’t play with his food.

We also can see she’s clearly taken damage and she admits she’s reaching her limits too.

Did I mention that I’m a simple girl? I see Law being badass and I enjoy.

First, how freaking cool is it that Law’s awakening allows him to extend Kikoku? The Ope Ope no Mi is ridiculous.

And that shot of Big Mom taking the Shock Wille to the face is one of the more brutal panels we’ve seen in a while. Holy shit.

And then Kid gets his turn. While Law used his awakening again (his stamina has grown leaps and bounds since Dressrosa, hasn’t it?), Kid seems to just be using his regular fruit abilities here, though to great effect:

I’m going to complain about this panel just a tiny bit: there is soooooo much detail in the panel, I can’t actually tell what’s going on. If I hadn’t read the summary before the chapter, I wouldn’t have been able to tell this was a mecha bull. Sometimes less is more.

But those final panels of the chapter:

BADASS.

Also, considering the naming conventions of the fight chapters, we’ve had a few fights where the chapter was named for the fight and the defeat happened in the chapter after. Will this pattern continue with this fight? It would, in some ways, seem a bit too sudden for a fight against one of the Yonko, but then we have to remember Kid and Law have been fighting Big Mom the entire time since they left the rooftop. Luffy got knocked off the island, rescued by the Hearts, ate a bunch of food, and went back up with Momo while Kid and Law were fighting the whole time. I’m guessing the anime will give us more of this fight because we deserve it.

Oh, and that cover story. Is Pudding going to rescue Sanji’s brothers?

#Thinky thoughts #Trafalgar Law #Eustass Kid #Roronoa Zoro #One Piece #One Piece chapter 1038 #One Piece 1038 #One Piece spoilers