#that he ends up fixing problems the majority of people would not be able to eben pick up on just by association

[void-and-virtue]

Neil as a team captain is positively delightful, because making him captain is both absolutely insane and absolutely brilliant. It capitalizes on the passive effect of having one (1) Neil Josten (god knows the world couldn’t handle if there were more of him) on the team in the most efficient way. Like. I’m 90% sure that after spending some time around him on the same team, most people will look up to him completely awestruck for how much he has impacted their lives, but that’s just not what is actually happening here. I feel like what’s going on is this:

Neil is a terribly amazing choice for team captain entirely because Neil is a meddlesome little asshole who will forcibly fix all of his teammates’ personal problems and improve their entire lives for literally no other reason than that he needs them to be able to focus on fucking ball so he can win at sports. It’s not even that he genuinely cares about people and their well-being (apart from his original foxes). He just gets pissed when things aren’t working properly because it makes Exy annoying when the lineup can’t communicate. Exy isn’t supposed to be annoying. Exy is life. He’d meddle whether he is captain or not, but by making him captain, he has so much more official executive power at his hands. It’s like people are explicitly asking for him to do his worst. So, fueled by his own competitiveness and love for the sport, off he goes.

Neil is just as bad as Kevin when it comes to his Exy obsession. The major difference between them is that Kevin is endlessly tactical and he runs Exy with a focus on a technical and physical level entirely, whereas Neil’s approach is to look beyond a lack of practice and basically psychoanalyzing people on why they are not doing 110% for Exy. Kevin says “let’s run this drill 500 times, then we will inevitably be better”. Meanwhile Neil is scheming how to coerce and bribe people into life-changing decisions and long-needed healing, entirely because he wants to optimize playing a sport. Exy is a team sport, which is why this is the most logical approach his little Exy brain comes up with rather than minding his own fucking business. He looks at the team and is like “is anyone gonna whip this into shape? No?? I’ll fucking do it then cowards” and goes and does exactly that. It’s like he’s fixing the equipment so he can play.

I don’t think anyone except for Andrew is really aware that Neil really isn’t doing this out of the innate goodness of his heart, but because his personal brand of practicality involves the most convoluted and creative kind of scheming. I feel like Neil is a lot more selfish than people give him credit for. Sure, there’s people he cares deeply and unconditionally for, but that’s really not everyone. It’s fascinating to watch, especially because it’s not like he ever hides that he doesn’t particularly care, but people kinda assume he does, because why else would he put in this much effort?

Exy. The answer is Exy.

#Andrew hates him for this #but I also feel like it’s Andrew’s favorite pass time to just watch Neil do as Neil does #you can’t take the meddling out of Neil #first year was Neil meddling on steroids basically bc he thought he was gonna die so he had to optimize Exy to play and had no choice #that’s how he fixed the foxes the first time #but even so #even if he doesn’t care about most of the new foxes or his eventual pro teams as much #I don’t think he will ever stop with this kind of stuff because I’m dead certain he gets so annoyed when exy isn’t exy-ing #that he ends up fixing problems the majority of people would not be able to eben pick up on just by association #Neil ‘he found their humanity interesting’ Josten #he doesn’t need the death threats to motivate him #somewhere in the background Andrew is watching his every move and realizing time and time again how terrifyingly smart Neil is #and how well he can put his observations to use in really ruthless unapologetic ways #and then Andrew is faced with the reality that all of that brainpower is being used for exy and exy alone #thinking about Neil will kill that man one day I stg #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #kevin day #andrew minyard #andreil #aftg headcanon #aftg meta #character analysis #post canon #the foxhole court #tfc

[regicidal-optimism]

You've been reblogging more stuff about female characters getting ignored by fandoms recently and I would be really curious to hear your full views on the topic.

The thing is that... look. I get it. Many fandoms do not have very many women in their canon, many of those women are treated pretty poorly by the canon or aren't given as much depth as their male peers, and if you're at all picky the pickings are kind of slim (I would love to be a fan of c!Niki, if I were able to watch six-hour vods, which I am not). It is not wrong that most works with large fandoms are really, really sexist, and the problem is not just in the fanbase!

But come the fuck on. It is not an accident that the DSMP and the MCU and BNHA, all of which are vast-majority male and the female characters are treated terribly, are megafandoms, and Revolutionary Girl Utena is eligible for yuletide. It is not wrong that if you want to see more female-character-focused fanwork you should go to Sailor Moon and not The Untamed, but it is also kind of missing the point to say that and not look at the difference in size between those fandoms. People can say "it's because the male characters are so often more interesting and have more meaningful interactions," and like, sometimes that's even true, I will be the first to tell you that quackbur has more to it than tinarose, but please compare the Clint/Coulson tag to the Utena/Anthy tag and look me in the eye and tell me that's the only thing driving the trend. With a straight face.

And even more there's a thing where— so, I was a mod in the @ao3topshipsbracket bracket. And femslash ships, once they were in the bracket, did really well. Like, absurdly well, like 80% of the f/f ships entered got to the top 16, and the last one was against blackbonnet which was never gonna lose in round 1. You might notice something about that number, though, which is that there were only five of them entered total, because people love to vote for femslash but they absolutely will not write it. And they won't say anything about it either! I was watching the activity feed the entire tournament, and I can tell you, for all of the "let's go lesbians" that populated our notes, nobody would say anything that was actually about the specific characters who made up their ship. I learned a lot about Naruto fandom, modding that bracket; I still know nothing about CW Supergirl, because the only thing anyone would say about it is "it has women in it". Because women are interchangeable. Because women are avatars of Being A Good Feminist. Because clicking a button is easy, and actually thinking about any specific woman and her traits and her internality is hard.

The thing is that guilt over misogyny does not actually fix misogyny. It gets you a lot of people who vote for women in polls, and who say "he's like a woman to me" about their male faves but notably don't have any canonically female characters they talk about, and who say that the only thing they care about in a fic is if it has women in it but will not ever actually say anything about any specific woman, and who never shut up about yuri but apparently yuri is everything and anything except women who have feelings about one another.

I'm tired! I'm very tired. I want people to actually give a shit about specific women and their specific traits, which do not begin and end with "woman". And, also, to stop treating women exclusively as the wingmen, advice-givers, mom figures, and accessories of men.

#grace dot text #ask #fandom misogyny #discourse cw #creative reading

[bingbongsupremacy]

Knock knock Pt. 1

Pairing: Ellie Williams x Reader

Warnings: Use of pet name 'baby' and nick names.

Summary: A simple request to turn the music down turns into a frustrating back and forth battle. Why does your neighbor have to be so damn attractive?

This fic does not mention anything about the way the readers' body is shaped, their weight, their height, etc. If I happened to miss something or accidentally described the readers' appearance anywhere, please let me know so I can fix it.

*Not Proof Read*

ABC List TLOU Master list

*****

" Fucking hell. " I groan angrily, smashing my pillow over my ears. Why can't they just shut the fuck up?

Why the fuck did I decide to move into frat row? Every building that isn't a frat is a party house.

Deciding enough is enough, I force myself out of my bed. I make my way to the living room where my roommates are all gathered.

" Did they wake you up too? " Dina asks with a yawn, rubbing her temples.

" Who didn't they wake up? The entirety of Jackson has to have heard them by now. " I mutter, pulling on my coat.

" Where are you going? " Abby asks.

" To tell them to shut the fuck up. Some of us actually needs sleep to survive. " Usually I'm fine with parties. It's college, I've gone to some and I probably will go to more in the future. The problem is, our new neighbors just never seem to shut up.

I make my way across the lawn, sleep slippers squelching in the damp grass. Ignoring the way water is slightly seeping into my shoes, I step around a passed out frat boy.

Empty and nearly empty bottles of booze and other unidentified objects litter the porch. I loudly knock on the door. Within a few minutes the door is opened by a giggly girl. Her half lidded eyes scan my body, a grin sprawled across her sweaty face. " Hey, you here to party? " She asks, her words slurred badly.

" No. I want to see whoever's in charge here. "

" That would be Ellie. "

Of course it's Ellie Williams. The campus' infamous dealer and partier. I had no idea she moved in here. The last time I had to deal with her was in my history class last year. Absolute hell. I got paired up with her for an assignment and ended up doing majority of the work while she spent her time at a local bar, hooking up with the bartenders.

The girl slightly sways to the music, her mind trailing away from our conversation.

She's not going to help me. She doesn't look far from a blackout.

Deciding to take things into my own hands, I push past the girl to get into the house.

" Hey! " She squeaks, trying to balance herself.

The pungent smell of weed and alcohol fills my nostrils. Clothes and red solo cups litter the ground and staircase. I step over a nasty looking puddle, trying to locate Ellie.

" Where's Ellie Williams? " I ask a group of stoners sitting around a cluttered coffee table.

A guy with dark hair looks up from the joint he's rolling. " Who's asking? "

" Me, the fucking person who lives next door. Where is Ellie? " My frustration grows. Along with not being able to sleep well the past few days, I'm overly stressed with some upcoming tests. I can't deal with this right now.

The guy, obviously sensing my pissed off attitude, nods down the basement. " Down there. She might be with a girl. "

I push past a couple grinding in front of the basement door, trying not to touch anything. I'm pretty confident this place hasn't been cleaned in a while and I don't doubt there's some new species growing around here. I'm pretty sure I saw a condom on the TV stand.

The basement is dark, the only light coming from a couple of string lights that are hugging the ceiling. Loud, muffled music bounces off the walls. Immediately I feel slightly better at the lack of people.

The room is fairly clean except for a small pile of clothes near what I'm guessing is the closet. It looks more like a bedroom than a basement.

On the bed I spot a familiar pair of converse shoes. Straddling her is a long haired red head, who's only in her bra. She lets out a small moan, neither of them realizing I'm here.

" Ellie. " I spit, standing at the base of the stairs. I cross my arms, glaring at the pair.

The girl on top jumps from surprise, pulling away from Ellie. She looks back at me, her lipstick and her mascara are both badly smudged.

Ellie's head pokes out from behind the girls' body. Frustration is clear in her expression. " What the fuck do you want? "

" I want you to shut the fucking party down. It's 3 in the morning. Some of us, who actually give a fuck about their future, have to go to class in the morning. "

" I'm gonna go... " The red head gets off of Ellie's hips. She quickly gathers her clothes. " Later, Ellie. "

" Wait you don't need to- " Ellie trails off into a frustrated groan as the girl rushes upstairs. " Fuck! " She sits up, her eyes glaring at me.

I shift slightly, uncomfortable with the angry glare she's sending my way. I can't back down. I need my sleep and I'm going to get it.

" This has been going on for days. Can you please just shut off the music? Just until like...I don't know, tomorrow morning? "

Ellie rolls her eyes. She reaches towards her night stand, picking up a joint. She lights it up before finally responding. " Sounds like a major you problem. Besides, who the fuck throws a party in the middle of the day, cock blocker? " She smirks slightly at the nick name.

Anger courses through my veins. She's getting more and more on my nerves. " Can't you be a little considerate? You aren't the only fucking person who lives on this planet, in case you've magically forgotten. The world doesn't revolve around you. "

Ellie leans towards me slightly. " Oh really? " She asks in an obviously fake surprised tone. " That's news to me, baby. Look, if you want an invite next time, all you have to do is ask. " Ellie gets off of her bed, probably in effort to intimidate me.

She's hot.

Fuck, I'm angry at her. I'm not supposed to be attracted to her.

But the way her tank top hugs her body...The strands of hair framing her face...No. I'm angry. Stop fucking eyeing her.

" You're an asshole. " I shake my head, crossing my arms. I force my gaze away from the woman in effort to stop the flock of butterflies in my stomach. " If you don't do something about the music, I will. "

Ellie chuckles. She steps towards me, only stopping inches away from me. She leans towards me. " You know, you're pretty hot when you're angry. " She whispers into my ear. Her hot breath fans over skin, sending shivers down my spine.

I take a step away from her. I don't like the way she makes me feel. " I guess I'm going to have to do something than. "

Without looking at her again, I hurry up the basement steps. I make my way over to the blasting speakers. My body seems to vibrate with every step towards the speaker I take. How has someone not broken an eardrum yet?

I yank out the cords connecting the speakers and suddenly the house is quiet. People around me stare in surprise.

Ellie pushes past the same couple I had to pass to get into the basement. " What the fuck are you doing? " She asks, clearly pissed.

" I asked you multiple times to turn off the music. Since you didn't do anything, I did. " I toss the cords onto the ground. " Keep it off or I swear to god I'll call the cops. "

I'm not narc but at this point, I'm on the verge of losing my mind.

" Fine. " Ellie says, making me double take. " We'll keep it off. "

" Thank you. " A small breath of relief slips through my lips. I make my way towards the front door, passing Ellie on the way. Before I leave, I look back at the girl.

Something about her expression sprouts a seed of uncertainty in my stomach.

" Good night, CB. " She smirks slightly while following me to the door.

" Good night, Ellie. "

She closes the door behind me, leaving me in the quiet outside. I don't know what she has up her sleeve, but I know she's up to something.

I make my way back to my shared house. My roommates thank me for dealing with the neighbors before we all hurry back to our bedrooms.

I lay down in my sheets, closing my eyes. I feel my eyes grow heavy.

Maybe I was wrong? Maybe she really is going to let us sleep tonight.

A loud muffled guitar solo breaks through the silence. The few moments of quiet are quickly replaced with the sound of blaring music.

My eyes fly open. I throw off my blanket, storming towards my window. I peer over at Ellie's house. She's smugly standing on the lawn, smoking what's left of her joint.

Our eyes meet, sending anger through my body.

She slowly flips me off, laughing at something one of her friends near by says.

It's on.

I tear myself away from the window. I turn on my phone, dialing the three digits I really didn't want to dial tonight.

" 9-1-1, what is your emergency? "

#fanfiction #fanfic #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x you #ellie the last of us #ellie x you #ellie williams #ellie williams tlou #ellie williams x female reader #ellie tlou #ellie williams fanfiction #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams x plus size reader #ellie williams x y/n #ellie x fem reader #ellie x y/n #ellie x reader #tlou #x you #x reader #x female reader #x chubby reader #tlou x reader #x plus size reader

[aibloomie]

”if you hold me without hurting me. . .”

01. pairing — nagito komaeda x gn!reader

02. synopsis — fluff headcanons on how nagito would react when you comfort him, and headcanons on how he’d comfort you !!

03. note — this is a repost from an old blog i used to have prior to deactivating it (@/au-clover) !! the remake of the nagito edit reminded me so <33 i might repost the fluff alphabet next, not too sure though. uhh excuse any typos WOO

comforting you

— nagito would most likely struggle a bit at first since he has never really gotten any comfort whenever he was going through something, but you’re precious to him and so he’ll try his best to learn and figure out how to help you in your times of need. he already knows when you’re in a bad mood due to him being an observant person, but he won’t bring it up unless you do since he doesn’t think he’s worthy of comforting you. he worries maybe you’d view him as annoying for prying into your business. once you decide to tell him what the problem is though then he’d immediately try to help you

— in a way, comforting you makes him very happy, he hates seeing you upset, but you’re relying on him and he’s never really been needed by anyone. he’s able to help you out, ht person he cherishes the most, you’ve made him so happy, and he’s grateful for the opportunities where he can give back and uplift your mood

— he’s an amazing listener, so if you’re not seeking advice and just want to rant, then he’s perfect for that. he’s also really attentive and will take in every word you say, nodding his head or doing some sort of gesture so you know he’s not distracted

— words of encouragement are something he always provides for you, but if you’re going through a hard time then they’d only increase tenfold. he knows words don’t always fix everything but he’s very good at speaking and getting his point across. compliments and motivational words would spill endlessly from his mouth

— he’s aware that being told things such as “it’ll get better” isn’t that effective, so instead of talking about the situation he just takes the time to admire your strength for dealing with whatever you’re struggling with, he’s rooting you on and he knows you can overcome anything, you’re his precious hope after all

— if you want to distract yourself for a while, then he’s up for that too. he’ll do anything you want, whether it be cuddling or going out and having fun

comforting him

— nagito will appreciate any effort you put in towards comforting him. sometimes you can’t really tell when he’s upset since he’s practically smiling the majority of the time. however, he usually goes silent for a while or he distances himself from you since he’s caught up in his own thoughts, and that’s pretty much your cue to go and help him. he’d probably say something along the lines of: “you’re worrying for someone like me? you really are an angel!”

— after a day full of misfortune, he looks forward to the future since he knows his luck will balance out and therefore good things will happen. that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t upset him at times though, especially when his luck ends up affecting you negatively. during times like these, his self depreciation will only increase and it would help him a lot if you gave him some reassurance: pull him into your arms and tell him you’ll never leave him, and that you accept every single part of him. brush his hair aside and kiss his face too, he’ll be flustered but god he’ll feel so loved

— sometimes he’ll just want to rant about everything that happened throughout his day in detail as he rests his head on your lap and you play with his hair. of course, he’d never ask for that so it would be up to you to initiate the conversation. he also gets in low spirits when others don’t understand his views on hope, a lot of people call him annoying and crazy for that. so if you listen to him talk about it, it would really help him

— when he talks about his past, he usually does it with a smile. he sounds really happy despite all the devastating things that happened. so if you start comforting him, he’ll be really confused, and he’ll apologize for making you worry. deep inside though, he’s grateful you're so kind to him. if you hug him when he’s talking about it, everything will hit him at once and he’ll end up crying, which is very much needed since he just brushes everything aside to cope

#danganronpa x reader #nagito x reader #nagito komaeda #nagito komaeda headcanons #nagito komaeda fluff #why does it keep giving me the misspelling of his last name PLEASE 😟

[actuallysaiyan]

I Wanna Be Adored(Nanami Kento x Fem!Reader)

warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION, a fix-it fic, mentions of major character death, fluff, angst, mentions of violence/dark themes, lots of sadness, happy ending, flashback scenes are in italics, canon divergent/AU word count: 1.8k pairings: Kento Nanami x Fem!Reader a/n: I haven't watched the newest episode of JJK, but I remember the feeling I had when I read that chapter in the manga. Here's for all the ones who hate the canon story in the manga!

The night felt colder than it should have. He knows he shouldn’t have ever let you go off on your own, but everything was just absolute chaos that night. He remembers being with Megumi and Ino and then trying to make a point of getting back to you. Kento wasn’t going to let this night end in disaster when it came to you. You were his shining light, his reason to live. If he’s got to maim or kill to get back to you, he will. He absolutely would do anything to make sure no harm came to you.

The problem was how good of a sorcerer you are. Not that he didn’t believe you couldn’t take care of yourself, but he knows you enjoy throwing yourself into battle so much. He’s seen you with that same smirk Gojo usually sports. The two of you aren’t too far off in terms of personality. The same things that irk him about Gojo, they are so endearing in you. You shine so beautifully. You show him things he’s so long forgotten.

That’s why it was so important to him to find you. Despite the chaos and the destruction, Nanami was going to find you and hold you close. He’d fully confess his feelings to you, though you were already sure you knew he wanted to settle down with you and start a family. But Namami wasn’t going to let this chance pass him by. He curses himself for being so silly for waiting so long to finally spill the beans to you. Still, he knows you won’t judge him.

An uncontrollable rage filled Kento as he found the body of Ijichi lying on the ground. Though he initially believes the man to be dead, Kento is relieved to know that he’s going to be able to help him. The sudden realization of just how intense all of this is hits Kento and he’s suddenly so scared to find you in such a way. He’s scared that you might have gotten a little too cocky with everything and that you jumped head first in a battle that might have been too much for you.

After finding Nobara and Nitta, Kento vows that the next thing he’s going to do is to find you. He won’t do anything stupid or rash. Even after wasting Shigemo, Kento knows he needs to find you. His heart races with every step he takes. His anger is almost overtaking him as he begins to imagine the worst of the worst.

If he found your body on the ground, broken and bruised and bleeding, he’s so sure he’d lose his mind. You are utterly the only thing that matters in his entire life. He needs you more than you’ll ever know. You really mean that much to him, Before you, Kento was a shell of a man. You brought light into his heart and it has never gone out.

Things become even more dire as he meets up with Maki and Naobito Zenin. Not being able to find you makes Kento more nervous. The curses that come next seem to be relentless and he finds himself in the middle of a serious attack. The pain is incredible, but the pain of not being able to see you before he loses his life is even worse. Kento knows this is more than likely the end for himself.

Meanwhile, you’re out of your mind trying to find your lover. You knew you shouldn’t have run off either, but the call of a good fight to protect the people you love is what fueled you to keep going. You were going to fight until your last breath if that’s what it took to protect everyone and keep the world safe. Even after finding out that Satoru was sealed, you still took it upon yourself to take the lead in many of these fights.

You tend to the wounded when you can, but you still can’t stop thinking about Kento. You worry dearly for the love of your life. You look for him everywhere you can, but you’re always stopped by something or someone else. When you aren’t actively defeating curses, you’re on the move to the next battle. And when you’re not battling or moving to another part of the area, you’re helping the wounded or you’re caring for those who are about to perish.

Your heart clenches when you begin to imagine the worst. You think about finding your lover on the ground, broken and cracked like he’s nothing. Discarded pile of flesh and bones for you to discover in horror. It terrifies you to think that you may never get to kiss him again. You may never get to hold him. Never get to see that gorgeous smile of his again. It’s killing you inside to be apart from Kento. He’s always been your rock, your knight in shining armor. Everything about him is perfect in your eyes.

You hold out hope that you’ll be reunited with your lover soon. You’ll do anything to make sure you see him again. This night will be a very old memory one day, one you two will think was crazy and you’ll reminisce about how much you’ve gone through this night.

After the fight with Dagon, Kento wonders truly if this is the end of the road for him. He thinks of your beautiful face, that shining smile. It’s enough to keep him going, but he’s more than ready to let this all end. He knows you’ll be distraught, but you’re strong enough to get through it all without him. It’ll take some time, but you’ll fight through the pain of losing him. With a good support team and some therapy, Kento knows that you’ll make it through this. Once he emerges from the domain, he’s met with the evil curse Jogo. The pain is searing through his body as he is almost completely incinerated. He lays on the ground, writhing in pain. Even if he lives through this, you probably won’t even be able to look at him the same way. Not with his damaged eye and his scars. You’ll probably want to leave him and live a much better life than to have to take care of such a scarred man.

The later it gets, the more terrified you get. You know that you’re probably going to lose the love of your life in this battle. He won’t be returning to you. You’ll find him just as you pictured before, lying in a heap of his own blood and bones. The lifeless body of your lover will be the thing that renders you completely insane. How will you even live on without him? You try to remain calm, but you’re so damn scared. You’re fucking losing it.

You set off on your own, in search of the man who has shown you just how beautiful life is. You go looking for him, knowing this might be your last hope. Maybe you’re both strong enough to get through this. Your eyes are scanning your surroundings as you call out his name. Your heart is wrenching in your chest as you begin to find yourself losing hope. You’re about to turn around and search elsewhere when you spot him. You gasp in shock as you see him.

That voice…

It belongs to the curse Mahito. You shudder as you watch him taunt your lover. You feel like you’re running too slow to reach Kento. You shout his name, and Mahito mocks you as well. He’s yelling Kento’s name in the same desperate tone you are, angering your lover even more. Kento turns to look at you and you get to see just how badly he was hurt. You feel your heart breaking. Your beautiful lover has been so disfigured and all you want to do is reach him and hold him close. Before you can even do anything, you watch in horror as Mahito gleefully sets his sights on your lover.

“Nanamin?” Yuji’s gentle voice can be heard, and Kento turns towards his student. There’s a small smile on his face.

“You’ve got it from here,” Kento tells Yuji, then he turns to you and smiles brightly.

A loud scream escapes you as you watch your lover be killed right in front of you. You collapse on your knees as Yuji becomes enraged. The last thing Kento remembers is the sound of your voice…

“Daddy?” a soft voice is heard from the doorway. Kento opens his good eye, peeking over at the blonde little girl standing there.

Kento stretches lightly, then he sits up on the bed. He’s pretty sure he was dreaming of that dreadful night again. Kento is still not sure how he managed to escape that last attack from Mahito, but he is very glad he did. Kento smiles as he sees his daughter pitter-pattering her way into the room.

“Were you sleepin’, daddy?” she asks as she hops onto the bed. Even though his wounds have healed over the years, she is still very careful not to hurt him on his sensitive side.

“Yeah, I guess I was.” Kento says with a chuckle, pulling his little girl closer to him. She nuzzles her face into his chest, sighing happily as she gets a whiff of her father’s comforting scent. These days, he smells like old books and cozy blankets.

There’s a knock on the bedroom door and Kento’s heart swells with affection when he sees you with a tray of food. You’ve got that same playful smirk spread on your face like you always did, but motherhood has tamed you a little. You set the tray down on the bedside table and you join your two loved ones on the bed.

“Were you having that dream again?” You ask Kento, seeing the dazed look in his good eye. He keeps the other one covered with an eyepatch most times.

Kento sighs and he nods, “Yeah…that was some night, huh?”

Your daughter presses a soft kiss on her father’s cheek, clinging to him by wrapping her arms around his neck. He kisses the top of her head, then he ruffles her blonde curls. He can’t believe just how fortunate he is to have both of you. After that dreadful night, Kento retired and you two moved somewhere calm and relaxing. He got the chance to read all those books he thought he’d never get the chance. And of course, he started a family with you quite quickly.

“I’m so glad I didn’t lose you that night,” you murmur as you lean against him.

Kento laughs, “Me too, sweetheart.”

And for a moment, the three of you cuddle on the bed, enjoying the sensations of being so close to one another. Nothing will ever tear your little family apart…

#bacon.writes #Nanami x you #Nanami x reader #Nanami x y/n #jjk spoilers #jujutsu kaisen spoilers #Kento x you #Kento x reader #Kento x y/n #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen angst #jjk #jjk fluff #jjk angst #jujutsu kaisen fluff

[fazedlight]

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but the idea that Kara would eventually tell the world she's Supergirl is a good ending (if written well). Having the constant looming stress of "if I get outed, everyone I love will get fucking murdered" is... a heavy burden, and I think she's been through enough hardship in her life.

But in order to do that, you need to address two things...

General xenophobia

It's a Super Life

The show sort of does address xenophobia. We go from "aliens aren't real [except Superman]" (which is a weird stance in the pilot but oh well) to "aliens are real" to "aliens are a major threat" (season 4) to "building acceptance" (season 6). Acceptance is never sudden and total, but things can shift over time where it's safer to be out now than decades ago, and that's what happens in the show with being alien. I think they could've done better here (especially in highlighting Kara's stress to give us a better sense of why being able to be out is important), but they tried.

But they never touch It's a Super Life. In Kara's mind, her secret coming out can get everyone killed! Everyone she loves! And the thing is, it's so easy to fix. Mxy can't really rewrite time - if he could, "Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk" would've gone much better for him. He's just a trickster god who took the obvious route (lying) to making his friend feel better. Problem solved.

But they didn't touch on that, which makes the finale decision BIZARRE.

Of course, revisiting It's a Super Life poses a problem in the writing. For a lot of the rift, we saw a really beautiful saga of "two flawed people, driven by their different traumas, caused each other a lot of pain". It's a Super Life was part of the shift away from that complexity. The showrunners just couldn't handle it.

But with better writing... we can end up in a world where Kara feels safe and happy, and finally free of that weighty burden that she might suddenly lose everything again.

#I don't plan to write anything like this (never say never) but I want to think that Kara is free from that burden someday #sg musings #supergirl #mel stuff

[arashi-no-saxlphone]

whats your opinion on asuka r kreutz

Buddy. Oh man. Either you know me and went on anon to enable me (in which case, thank you) or you're newer here and haven't seen me cry about Guilty Gear's saddest wettest cat yet.

I fucking adore Asuka R Kreutz. I think he's one of the most tragic and complex characters in Guilty Gear. I was gonna put "Well-written" too buuuut... it's hard to track down clear answers for some of the stuff that covers his time with Freddy and Aria as scientists and so I generally extrapolate what feasibly happened to the best of my ability based on what we have. (I am by no means a full-on expert, but I know enough to tell you this man does not deserve all the flack he gets).

In general, I find Asuka to be an immensely tragic and complicated man who at his core, just didn't want things to change and didn't want to lose his only and most dear friends in the whole world. Every single thing he has ever done was fueled by one of two things - his curiosity (which you can consider a flaw, as it often by his own account causes him to neglect right and wrong) or his deep love for Frederick and Aria (I find this to be his driving force for most of his actions in the story of Guilty Gear, right up until shit becomes so absolutely fucked that he has to spend most of his time trying to fix everything that goes wrong and banking on Sol to come through for him as a warrior). Asuka is the embodiment of the phrase "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" and that's probably why in lore he's labelled as "The Devil" in addition to "The Gearmaker."

When Aria gets sick, he suggests putting her in cryosleep until they can cure her disease. She refuses because she doesn't want to miss out on her time with Frederick. "Ok," he says, "well I can do something about that so please agree." And she agrees. And Asuka makes Sol a Gear and fucking immortal without telling him. Then all that crazy bullshit that kickstarts the crusades happens and Sol has to kill Aria because Asuka made her into Justice. This part is fucked up. It's a major fuckup on Asuka's part. In a drama CD, it's highlighted how important Aria's humanity and personhood is to her, and Asuka takes that away when he turns her into Justice. "What's the justification then?"

When Asuka found out that the government was going use their research to create gears as weapons and use them for war, he did EVERYTHING he could to try and stop that. Asuka isn't stupid - he's smart. He's a scientific genius. He could've easily taken the sleeping Frederick and Aria and fucked off, but he wanted to right a wrong. And it just... didn't work. He turned Aria into Justice, and though I think he probably intended to turn her back (after all, we see him demonstrate the ability to undo what he did to Sol at the end of strive) he never got the chance. Because the Universal Will overloads her and Justice just starts the Crusades.

In Overture's story, Asuka makes it clear to Sol that he needs him to be a warrior in order to be prepared for more horrors to come. Asuka realizes after the crusades that he can't fix it alone - everything he's done to solve a problem has so far ended up with him making things worse. Sol hates him. He knows Sol hates him. You know what's fucked up though?

He wants Sol to hate him. He feels like he deserves it.

I feel the need to point out that the crusades last over a century - Sol is immortal because of the gear cells and flame of corruption, but Asuka was just a normal guy - why/how is he here? Asuka created a synthetic body for himself that would not age, and transferred his consciousness into it so that he would not change. So that no matter what, Sol would recognize him. Knowing Sol wouldn't forgive him, knowing that he would always be able to find him, he didn't care - he never ever wanted to lose Sol.

Asuka clearly cares about people. He realizes the consequences of his actions, and he's clearly capable of feeling guilt over them. Look at what he does while working with I-No and Raven: He builds the Jack-O unit in the hopes that he can bring Aria back. He builds the Happy Chaos unit in the hope that he can help I-No regain her full self without going insane. He's Raven's only friend, a man who has been cast aside countless times and used for his powers. Those aren't the actions of a selfish or wholly callous man. If he was callous, he wouldn't try so hard to make SURE he could never escape Sol's anger by making himself permanently recognizable.

"Well maybe he just selfishly didn't want to let go of Sol." This is a legitimately fair point. However, let's recall what happens in the strive story: Asuka offers Frederick a choice between letting him remove the gear cells and flame of corruption from him, or letting Sol kill him.

I need you to look me in the eyes when I tell you I can't handle this part. I can't. Well over a century of fuckups and shit going wrong while Asuka desperately tries to make a million things right that weren't even entirely his fault to begin with - he didn't want to make Gears as weapons, hell he didn't even want to be a scientist! He laments about not having any control over his life and certain decisions. In all of that though, he fucking loves his friends Frederick and Aria. Now one of them's dead because of him, and the other one hates him, and after over 100 years of planning and thinking and work-

Asuka R Kruetz has no idea how to look Frederick Bulsara in the eye and tell him he's sorry. He only knows how to fix it, and also how to offer Sol a chance to feel better about it - I think he truly believes that after everything, if Sol killing him will make Sol feel better, that that's what he should let happen. I'm so fucking ill. Asuka thinks the fucking WORLD of Frederick - listen to this bit of his Strive theme, "The Gravity:"

"As the universe turned black / did the sun ever defy fate? / beyond it all do you recognize me?"

In case you aren't familiar with how Sol Badguy got his name, the government gave him the codename "Badguy" while he was running around wrecking gear compounds. "Sol" is a name given to him by Slayer, because he "shone brightly like the sun."

Now look at that snippet from Asuka's theme again - that line about the sun defying fate? That's about Sol. That's about how much he loves and values Sol, someones he repsect and looks up to, and the only person he had left to count on to fix the world that he feels like he fucked up.

As we know, Sol chooses to let Asuka just un-gear him, but after that Asuka just... leaves. He goes to the moon with the tome of origin to protect it from falling into the wrong hands. Do you know how fucking badly it fucks me up, that after everything, Asuka just ends up alone? He spent over a century trying to fix the world, nothing he did worked, and when it finally did everything was different. Everything. Aria is gone, Frederick is happier but not in his life anymore, and Asuka is alone. Everything he ever did started with his love for Frederick and Aria, and at the end of it all he's alone. And he feels guilty.

His Strive arcade Story rips me to fucking pieces - Asuka clones himself and when he does, the clone Asuka R # mentions specifically that Asuka made him "Chattier." He mentions that Asuka "Doesn't like himself." I read that as Asuka making an idealized version of himself - a self that wouldn't fuck up, a self that wouldn't be hated, but also

A self that would carry on his work.

This is where it gets heavy, but I personally believe Asuka intended to kill himself initially. He has no idea how to say sorry to Frederick, no idea how to atone, and no idea how to exist in a world that so far, he feels he has only ever fucked up in. Another snippet from his theme: "does existence have meaning? / the reality or the truth, the reality of the truth / what fact should we accept? / The reality or the truth? reality" He's trying to figure out if he can still live, if even if he wants to live, does he even deserve to? Have the right to? How can he atone?

The clone states, though it dances around it, that it's worried for Asuka - worried that he's hoping he'll lose the fight, hoping he'll die. But two of the possible outcomes (as strive arcade mode dialogue tends vary based on performance) are listed below:

In both of these conversations, the clone cites a desire to exist - which to the clone, since it is also Asuka in way, means that the original Asuka wants to exist too - and therefore that he can, and is trying to figure out how to.

I think Asuka, like a lot of Gear characters, is about trying to find a place in the world - even if the whole world feels like it's not built for you. All Asuka has ever done is tried - and failed. But he's still here. He DID manage to unfuck everything, and he did it because he DID still have Sol. Another bit of insight his clone dumps on him:

that bit there: "I know you can't affirm yourself. But at least tell me you’ll keep walking. Even if you lose your way. As long as one person out there cares about you… It’s worth it just to try to keep them happy." This is a common theme in Gear: relationships, both romantic and platonic, saving people; connections to others giving people a reason to go on or to see a new perspective that makes life worth living. Jack-O found Sol, who treated her like her own person and made her realize she was more than just a replacement for Aria. Dizzy found Ky and vice versa, changing Ky's perspective on Gears and having Dizzy realize she could be happy even in a world that treated her like a monster. Here on the moon, creating Asuka R# to talk to, Asuka is trying his very best to see and understand the world through Frederick's eyes - a world that Frederick saw as worth fighting for:

Asuka is a character who hasn't found his way yet, but all that matters is that he keeps looking.

Uh so to answer your question, I love Asuka R Kreutz - maybe you can tell by the fact that I dumped an absolute trainwreck mess on you after one small ask. Sorry! I apologize about this being a little all over the place and not having as much cohesion as I would've liked but this character is very dense and complicated and I did this kinda quickly so I had to sort through a bunch of weird feelings as I typed - I hope you found at least some of it interesting.

Thank you for the ask!

Ah, and a big fat huuuuuuuuge thank you to the stellar and amazing new Gear wiki, which is where I pulled those screenshots of his arcade mode script from! It's really a wonder how fast the wiki was put together and just what a fantastic resource it is for stuff like this; it saved me having to watch a video or, god forbid, try and do Asuka's arcade mode myself. Below is a link to the wiki page I pulled Asuka's stuff from - please check it out cause I didn't even come close to covering the full depth of what's talked about in his Arcade mode story and also because the wiki is glorious and deserves love:

#sairambles #guilty gear #ggst #asuka r kreutz #ask #as an aside this is a very autism-coded character to me #the “being uncomfortable in the world” #“not understanding the emotions of others” #really resonant with how I've heard people describe the experience #I think this is a very relatable character when it comes to those feelings of being out of place #or not fitting in the world #I think about this guy all the time and feel SUPER bad for him #I think he'll probably get more development later in the series #which I am excited for #but he's very interesting to me I like him very much #I'd play him in Strive if he wasn't so difficult LOL #sol badguy #aria hale #cw suicide #cw depression #long post

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Yk, I was going to ask this in the comments, but then I thought, why not a nifty little ask?

Do you actually write all your stories by hand? And how does it work? Cuz personally I am always put off by the fact I like, don't write fast enough to be able to keep up with the sentences forming in my head, yk. And do you then retype the chapter after you've handwritten it? Genuinely curious as to why/if/.. you prefer doing it this way

I'm glad you asked! And I'm glad you asked as an ask, because this would be a weee bit long to go in a tumblr comment 😅

I handwrite most of my fics, yeah! Tho it's more of a hybrid model instead of strictly handwriting, then typing. I bounce between handwriting and typing based on if I'm having writer's block or not. If I get stuck when typing up a chapter, I save what I have, close down my computer, and pick up a notebook and start writing from the last point I remember. Not being able to refer back to what I've written previously means I'm not stuck agonising over it, and allows me to write more freely than if I was constantly going back to earlier paragraphs. If I get stuck when handwriting, I boot up my computer again and transcribe everything. Y'know that bit of writing advice that's like "if you have writer's block, your problem is actually half a page back"? Yeah, that's why I transcribe! The process of rereading my earlier writing lets me identify what's not working and how to fix it.

TRR2 is actually the first fic where the majority of it has been handwritten beforehand, because Angel bought me a gorgeous notebook to write it in (and he got me a second to continue with!). A good portion of every chapter so far has been handwritten, and some chapters were entirely handwritten before I transcribed them :D

Further reasons I like handwriting include...

...no longer worrying so much about making it "perfect", and letting a first draft just be a first draft Sometimes in the middle of writing a scene I'll realise it works better in another character's POV, or in another setting, or any number of things. Instead of going back and changing it, I make a note saying what the change is and then keep writing as though I've already made the change. That way it doesn't break up the flow of writing and I can continue on a roll! Similarly, if a line is wonky or weird, but I can't immediately think of a better one, I just write down the wonky line and continue. Without the ability to erase what I just wrote, I don't get bogged down making every line perfect, and usually when I go to transcribe it later I have a better idea of what to write

...it helps me be more considerate of my words Wait, isn't this a direct contradiction of what I just said? Let's pretend it isn't I also write slower than I type, which I find is a bonus! My brain keeps working on the words and scene while I write, and they can often end up more refined than if I was typing everything because I had more time to turn the words over in my brain. There's also just something about handwriting things that helps my brain remember them more

...it's way more versatile I can't type on phones - it's actively very uncomfortable for me (small hands yaaay). Unfortunately, this means if I'm not at a computer, typing anything more than a couple of sentences is a no-go. Notebooks are easy to carry, don't require an external power source, and I can easily curl up with them to write in the car, in bed, or outside (bonus: it's MUCH easier to see a notebook in direct sunlight than it is to try and make out words on a screen). It also means I can write at work without worrying about keystrokes being logged, people seeing what's on my screen, forgetting a USB, or - disaster of disasters - computers crashing and erasing my data

...purely autistic/aesthetic reasons :D Writing is a huge physical stim for me. Typing can be too depending on the keyboard I'm using, but writing with a pen on paper is remarkably calming in a way that very little else is. Also, notebooks pretty ❤

thanks for dealing with all that (and also giving me an excuse to ramble on for way too long :D)!

#asks #my writing

[kidsnextdoor-doodles]

Aside from Herbie's partial heterochromia, do you headcanon any other physical conditions, mutations or disabilities with the Moonbase Crew?

Aaaaa!! Okay so;

Canon stuff out of the way; Patton has a cleft chin, Herbie has a double chin, glasses, overbite, and braces, and Fanny has freckles (though I imagine her with a lot more than she has in canon jgnjf)

Rachel has a lot of moles on her body, three specifically on her face.

Rachel also starts getting major eye bags once she becomes supreme leader. Even after becoming a teen she has an awful sleep schedule so there’s no chance she’d be able to get rid of them as an adult.

Fanny starts developing lines around her eyes as a late teen, and has noticeable crows feet by the time she’s in her midlife.

I’ve given all four of them heterochromia because I love colouring heterochromia and I think it looks cool (It started with just Fanny, than I gave it to Rachel, then I said ‘fuck it’s and gave it to Patton and Herbie as well)! Both Patton and Herbie have partial heterochromia in one eye each. Patton has green eyes and the top half of his right eye is blue, and Herbie has purple eyes and the top half of his left eye is red (in a more realistic world, it would probably be blue and a reddish brown). Rachel has partial heterochromia in both her eyes, in which the top half of them are brown and the bottom half are a deep purple (again, more realisticly it would most likely be dark blue.) Fanny has complete heterochromia; her right eye is green and her left is orange (again again, would realistically be a light brown).

Herbie had disastrously crooked teeth, like painfully so, which is why he has braces now.

Patton has a fractured tooth, which happened during his cadet training. His parents have tried to convince him to get a fake tooth but he refuses.

Rachel has a tooth gap that started out small but got wider over time. She absolutely hated it when she was younger and beg her parents to take her to get it ‘fixed’ but they never did (mostly because her dad also has a tooth gap and he was offended she hated it so much). Eventually she ‘got over it’, but she still doesn’t like people giving attention to it.

Fanny has ‘fangs’, which are just her slightly sharper canines protruding irregularly (snaggle-tooth). Fanny doesn’t really care much about her appearance so she’s never thought about getting them fixed. The only time the idea crossed her mind was when her mother raised concerns about possible dental hygiene issues, but ultimately neither of her parents thought it was a big enough deal to get them fixed.

Rachel is a tad bit underweight, because she grew up with only one proper meal a day and now as supreme leader she has the habit of skipping meals entirely unless she’s eating with friends.

Patton went through some early puberty. The most noticeable side effect was his voice getting deeper and growing side burns.

Herbie’s body in general is just, a bit of a struggle for him. He has a poor immune system so he gets sick realky easily (which is why he avoids doing field missions and prefers working behind a screen). His growth has also been stunted because of said tendencies to be sick and a lack of a nutritional diet (single dad who does NOT know how to take care of a kid!! But he’s trying… not well but still trying).

Both Fanny and Patton get injured regularly, which will definitely cause problems for them in the future.

Patton starts suffering hearing loss in one ear during his late teens/early adulthood, and ends up with a hearing aid.

Rachel needs glasses. She didn’t wear them at all as a kid because her vision issues were not major enough for people to really notice, but she’d start wearing reading glasses as a teen because her eyes got worse. And then her eyes would get even worse so she’d wear glasses regularly as an adult, though she’d prefer wearing contact lenses.

Patton has asthma and thinks it’s SUPER embarrassing and tried to hide it when he joined the KND. Obviously he couldn’t keep it hidden for long, but in present times the only people who know are the rest of the mooncrew.

Fanny is allergic to penicillin (this has no reasoning it’s just pure projection LMAO)

#I’m not.. even sure some of these relate to what you asked I just started rambling sorry!! #asks #mooncrew #numbuh 86 #numbuh 362 #numbuh 60 #numbuh 65.3 #fanny fulbright #rachel mckenzie #patton drilovsky #knd herbie #knd #codename: kids next door #kids next door #if you notice some of their physical traits being similar/parallels it’s 100% on purpose #I put too much thought into these kids

[davidfarland]

Recognizing Your Own Skill

When you write a story, you often have to ask yourself, “Is this tale good enough to send to editors or agents? Is it ready to publish? Could it be a bestseller?” Oddly enough, you as the author may be a terrible judge of your own work.

This principle was brought up to me years ago by my mentor, Algis Budrys. He was a leading critic for a major newspaper and a magazine, so he read widely. He once mentioned to me that, “For 20 years, I’ve asked well-known authors, ‘Which one of your books do you think is the best?’ Almost always they get it wrong. They don’t pick the books that the public likes best, or that the critics like best, but choose instead something that deals with conflicts that are especially powerful to them. Almost always, the author chooses some . . . obscure book that no one else would look at twice.”

It’s an important principle to remember when you finish a novel. You may think that it’s great. After having just gone through your “birthing pains,” you look at your newborn and it seems beautiful to you. But maybe it’s not quite so beautiful to others.

Most people are pretty bad judges of their own efforts. Years ago, there was a newspaper story about a man who believed that if he rubbed lemon juice on his face, it would make him invisible to cameras. So he rubbed some lemon juice on his face and went out and robbed some banks. When the police caught him, he was astonished that they had been able to recognize him.

Some researchers at Cornell University learned of the incident and wondered how the man could be so self-deluded. So they performed a study in which they tested people’s powers of logic, recognition of humor, and so on.

What they found was fascinating. The people who scored lowest, in the bottom 12 percentile, very often thought that they had performed fantastic!

In the same way, we as authors sometimes delude ourselves. People who need a lot of work sometimes act like prima donnas. They can’t figure out why the rest of the world doesn’t recognize their talent—including editors, agents, literary critics, and their own spouses.

You’ve probably met such a person. Very often they will attach themselves to writing groups, trying to feed their egos, and then promptly drive away anyone who has any common sense.

But, amazingly, I often find that the opposite is true: many truly great authors often don’t recognize their own gifts. If they really are great, they seem to doubt it, and therefore belittle themselves. They might be too frightened to send stories to editors or agents, fearing rejection.

Now, it’s interesting that in the study that I mentioned, many people who were painfully unaware of their own inabilities often proved to be quite successful. For example, managers in companies might be terrible at many tasks, but their own sense of self-importance assures them of a measure of success. You remember the saying, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”? I’ve had bosses who did that. They’d promise a customer, “Sure, we can get the job done by tomorrow,” hoping to add some functionality to an existing bit of software, and suddenly they had to pull a team of a hundred programmers together to try to do the impossible. Sometimes, our teams even managed to do the impossible—and that’s the genius of it!

But usually, our old manager ended up with a bit of egg on his face.

Now, incompetent writers will make similar promises. They overpromise and under-deliver. But at least they deliver.

An author who suffers from low self-esteem, on the other hand, may not deliver at all.

So what are we to do? I think that we need to find the courage to work at our writing. Sometimes, look to others for opinions. If you give a manuscript to ten people and three of them tell you that you’ve got a problem, then fix the dang problem. Don’t argue and sashay around and call them all idiots.

Meanwhile, if you write a story and ten people tell you that you’re amazing, then use it as fuel to get yourself writing, to push harder and work longer, so that you continue to improve and write more amazing works.

#writing tips #writing tips and tricks #writeblr #writing help

[zbeez-outlet]

The NATLA is removing the Day of Black Sun Invasion and I’ll tell you why:

Where’s Haru?

Disregarding the disservice to Katara’s character by removing “Imprisoned”, there’s a pretty important gap that Haru, his father, and their people fill in the show.

They make up about half of the invasion force foot soldiers and operate the centipede-like tanks that are powered by earth bending. Their involvement is vital for the invasion arc and for future diplomatic purposes because for the first time in a century, the different nations are working together.

The Swamp

They are definitely taking out “The Swamp” from season 2, there’s no reason to repeat Sokka and Katara seeing their worst memories or other visions when they already do that in the Spirit World with Aang in season 1.

Not going to the swamp means they won’t become allies with the plant water benders, so less benders to operate the submarines.

So that’s two major allies likely removed from the show and cutting the invasion forces in half. No earth benders for tanks or the front lines and no extra water benders for the submarines or Huu for the giant vine monster assist.

Sokka’s relationship with Hakoda

First, HAKODA WOULD NEVER

It really makes me so mad what they changed with Hakoda. Sokka wasn’t left behind because he wasn’t skilled or talented or trusted, it was because he was just 13 and needed to take care of Katara.

Hakoda and Sokka’s relationship is built on trust, mutual admiration, similar tactical mindsets, and familial strength. They gave Sokka daddy issues he didn’t even have by failing his ice dodging test (which he passes with flying colors in the original), but I’m not getting into that.

The problem here is they set up no groundwork for Hakoda to trust Sokka to actually take over the invasion, if it happens, which is unlikely at this point.

Wan Shi Tong in the Spirit World and the Library

This is the big one, I’m convinced they’re removing Wan Shi Tong’s Library for a few reasons.

One, Zhao didn’t get his information about Tui and La from the library. He got it from the Fire Nation archives, which doesn’t really make sense. Why would they have information on Water Tribe history or legends? But whatever, this means he never went to the library and never burned the information on the Fire Nation.

Two, the sun dial that Sokka uses in the library to discover the solar eclipse that temporarily negates Fire bending is now in the Fire Nation. We see Ozai looking at it to determine the placement of Sozin’s comet at the end of the season 1. How is Sokka going to figure out the eclipse when the team isn’t even supposed to be in the Fire Nation at all in season 2?

Three, the library can only exist in the physical world if Wan Shi Tong is also in the physical world because he keeps it tethered there physically. That was his sacrifice to share his knowledge, he couldn’t return to the spirit world. Now, they’ll probably change the lore to make up for this like they have so unnecessarily with other things, but it all feels very messy and unplanned.

So, without the library, what else changes? Appa’s kidnapping, they won’t have time for it. This causes other issues, but I’m going to stick specifically to what it has to do with the invasion.

Protecting Appa is the reason the Kyoshi Worriers get captured by Azula, Suki ends up in the Boiling Rock prison, and Azula and co. get the disguises they need to infiltrate Ba Sing Se. Being undercover is how Azula finds out about the invasion and was able to warn Ozai so it was unsuccessful.

Are there narrative workarounds here? Probably, but not in a way that works with their limitations that I can see.

Pacing of the Show

They have no time to actually do the invasion.

Assuming they fix everything I mentioned above either in season 2 or off screen, their pacing is way too rushed to be able to reasonably fit in the invasion and the final battle.

Each season will be 8 episodes because that’s the Netflix formula, I highly doubt they’ll change it. It makes zero sense to do a massive battle halfway through season 3 that should take up two episodes and then just one or two episodes later is the big finale.

And it’s not like they could combine the two fights when the point of one is for the fire benders to have no bending and the conflict of the other is that fire benders are 100x stronger.

With these odds, it’s far more likely they’re removing it to have more time for the main plot. What do you all think? Let me know in the comments!

And if you want to see my full review, find it here.

#avatar the last airbender #avatar live action #netflix avatar #natla #atla #plot changes

[humorisstoredinthetits]

Veronica's Ideology & Heather McNamara

This is a bit different than what I normally post, but this is something that I've been thinking about for awhile. This isn't gonna be super in-depth or anything its just something I've noticed.

ALSO TRIGGER WARNING FOR TALK OF S*ICIDE, I'm gonna be talking about what happens with Mac after Shine A Light Reprise so if that triggers you, don't read this

So we know that Veronica strongly believes that all people have the ability to be good and change, hell its the first thing that she tells the audience;

[VERONICA, spoken] September 1st, 1989 Dear Diary: I believe I'm a good person. You know, I think that there's good in everyone

Like before her name is ever said on stage (Her name isn't actually stated until after Fleming leaves the bathroom in Beautiful, which is super weird), Veronica tells us exactly how she sees other people and what she believes about them. Her views come down to that people were once good, are no longer good, but still have the ability to change and become good once again. These views come into play when dealing with JD, because Veronica believes that she can fix him. This is in contrast with JD's ideology, who believes that almost everyone is beyond saving and should be removed from the equation all together, and this contrast is what ultimately drives a wedge between them and causes JD to go off the deep end and try to kill everyone.

Now we all know this, its all obvious if you've watched the musical or even listened to the recording, but I wanted to get into if her ideology on people is true or not.

There are 7 major characters in Heathers, including Veronica herself, and I'm going to go through each of them and compare them to Veronica's ideology.

Kurt, Ram and Heather Chandler:

[VERONICA] Dear diary: I'm going steady Mostly he's awesome If a bit too “rock and roll” Lately he's bumped off Three of my classmates God, have mercy on my soul They were just seventeen They still had room to grow They could have turned out good And now we'll never know

These 3 die early on into the musical and so they aren't able to grow, and yet Veronica still believes that they would have the ability to do so. This is despite how right before they died, they were all awful to her, Chandler declaring her socially dead, and Kurt and Ram trying to SA her during their 'date'. Even in death, their ghosts still act as they did in life, being an annoyance at best and antagonistic at worst. But, because they are dead and are seemingly stuck as the way they were in life, Veronica's ideology is proven wrong, as they are incapable of change.

Martha:

[VERONICA, spoken] Martha Dunnstock. My best friend since diapers She's got a huge heart. 'Round here, that's not enough

Martha is initially the only exception to Veronica's belief that people have only gotten worse as they have gotten older, besides herself. Martha still acts rather childish, believing that her crush from Kindergarten will eventually work out and thinking that everything will have a happy ending. Veronica acknowledges the flaw in her thinking, not that it's wrong, but that other people have a problem with it and see it as a sign of weakness, and that in the Westerburg food chain any sign of weakness means bullying. Despite all of this, Martha is the exception to Veronica's thinking, not a model for what she believes everyone could be. Martha is the only person who has somehow remained good despite how society has forced them to change as they grow up. But, if you're already good, you can't exactly change to be good, so Veronica's ideology does not apply in the case of Martha. Perhaps the way she acts is the reason Veronica developed her ideology, and she always knew 1 person who remained good, and that led her to believe that it was possible for everyone to be like Martha, if not for some outside force causing them to become mean as they grew older.

Heather Duke:

Note: I'm going to be using the OBC versus the West End for this, I understand that West End made some changes to her character but I also haven't seen West End so I can't exactly comment on those changes.

Duke is the character who changes the least during the course of the show. Initially pushed aside by Chandler until her death, she becomes the Queen Bee and does to Mac what Chandler did to her, and then Veronica steals the scrunchie and Duke is pushed off to the side, symbolically losing the power she so desperately craved. She doesn't die and isn't reformed or has her thinking changed, she remains relatively stagnant. What's weird is that Veronica, despite her ideology seems to have written off Duke as a lost cause, even if she stops JD from murdering Duke.

VERONICA and HEATHER MCNAMARA are playing croquet. (HEATHER DUKE enters) HEATHER DUKE: Hey, guys! Missed you after 8th period. VERONICA: Yeah, we were avoiding you.

She doesn't even attempt to extend the olive branch to her, instead choosing to exclude and ignore her, which is extremely out of line with what she said earlier about people being able to change. This is probably due to how she treated Mac after Lifeboat, but even still it doesn't line up with her stated ideology. Even during Seventeen Reprise, she pushes Duke away and doesn't offer her a hand like she does with Mac. Ultimately, Duke shows the failure of Veronica's ideology, as she does not change, shows no sign of being willing to do so, and Veronica doesn't even try, all being the complete opposite of what Veronica believes.

(Again, I know West End changed this, but I haven't seen all of it so I'm going only based on OBC)

JD:

As stated previously, JD is the antithesis of Veronica. He is someone who only sees the worst in most people and doesn't care about wether they become better or not, only caring for himself and those he deems worthy, which only includes Veronica, and to an extent the people she cares about.

JD: But why’d you have to go and mess with McNamara? One more dead Heather’s a good thing. VERONICA: She’s my friend.

JD: If she’s such a good friend, why let Duke live? The bitch who made McNamara want to die, nothing ever changes! Unless-

Here is a perfect example that JD's morals are the opposite of Veronica's. His can shift based on the person he cares about, while Veronica's stay firm. JD's opinions shift based on what Veronica says, because he is easily influenced, unlike Veronica. For example, throughout the entire musical, Veronica never lets JD change her beliefs. She never agrees to kill Kurt or Ram and has to be tricked into helping, same with Chandler too, the drain cleaner being sneaked into the mug while she's not looking, and she puts her foot down when he tries to convince her to kill again.

VERONICA: Fine! We’re damaged Really damaged But that does not make us wise We’re not special, we’re not different” We don’t choose who lives or dies

Despite all of this, Veronica senses a kindred spirit in JD, someone who sees the society of Westerburg for what it is, just plain bullshit. It's just that they both have different ways on dealing with it. Veronica believes in rehabilitation, while JD says fuck 'em, let them die. This is what initially drives Veronica to JD, the fact that he simply doesn't care about the social structure and is willing to exist outside of it, something Veronica desperately hopes that everyone would do. Upon discovering how broken he actually is, Veronica believes that he is a perfect target for her ideology to be proven correct. She thinks that she can 'fix' JD with her love and that he can become good, despite everything he's done. Seventeen is literally Veronica stating that their love can fix each other, an idea which JD had earlier brought up in Our Love is God and which Veronica had agreed with, although under duress.

BOTH: Can't we be seventeen Is that so hard to do? If you could let me in I could be good with you

JD: I was alone I was a frozen lake But then you melted me awake See, now I'm crying too You're not alone VERONICA: You're not alone

Despite all of this, Veronica is ultimately unable to change JD, a fact that she is initially unable to accept, but eventually does.

VERONICA: Oh my God—

JD: And once I disappear VERONICA: Wait, hold on— JD: Clean up the mess down here VERONICA: Not this way! JD: Our love is God Our love is God Our love is God Our love is God VERONICA: Say hi to God

This is the ultimate failure of her ideology. The person she tried to fix, who seemed like the perfect template for what she believed all people were capable of does not change, never disavowing the beliefs he held, instead choosing to die with his failed idea to cleanse the world of the people Veronica has spent the entire show saying can be changed for the better.

Now I've spend this entire rant discussing how Veronica's ideology was a failure in every sense, and it would be if not for one singular person, the only character in the entire show who proves that Veronica was right at least on some level, that at least some people are capable of change.

Heather McNamara:

Mac starts the musical as a Heather, a Queen Bee, Solid Teflon, whatever you want to call it. After Chandler dies things start to spiral, being placed in the position Duke held as the punching bag, and once Kurt and Ram died there was no one there to care for her, even if just at a sexual level.

HEATHER MCNAMARA: My sort-of boyfriend killed himself because he was gay for his linebacker. My best friend seemed to have it all together but she’s gone, too. Now my stomach’s hurting worse and worse and every morning on the bus I feel my heart beating harder and faster and I’m like Jesus, I’m on the freakin’ bus again because all my rides to school are dead...

Like seriously, Duke couldn't even bring her to school. Fucking Kurt or Ram, whichever one she was dating idc about Kurt or Ram enough to know at least could bring her to school and they viewed her only as a sex object.

Tangent over, Mac's mental health starts to deteriorate to the point of suicidal thoughts, and after Duke humiliates her in front of the entire school she runs to the bathroom and tries to end it all, foiled only by the dastardly childproof caps.

And this is where Veronica steps in. Mac has done nothing kind to her the entire musical. She's gone along with Chandler or Duke's schemes, never stands up for her, and volunteers her for date-r*pe, even if unknowingly, and yet Veronica rushes into the bathroom after her with not a second thought and stops her from ending her life. She talks her down, reminding her that not everyone is gonna be happy all the time and that she can't just be a follower. Veronica has no reason to help Mac, and yet she still does. And this is where Veronica's ideology is shown to be right. After this, Mac stops hanging out with Duke and starts to spend time with Veronica, even standing up to Duke.

HEATHER MCNAMARA: What you did to me sucked.

(Side note, but like honey she drove you to the point of suicide I think that more than sucked.)

Then finally comes the defining point for Veronica's ideology. Mac has been standing next to Duke since Veronica came back from the field where JD blew up, Martha has come in and Veronica offers to have movie night like they've always done, and then Veronica sings this and offers her hand to Mac.

We can be seventeen Still time to make things right One day we'll change the world

And Mac takes her hand, and for the rest of the song they hold hands and sing together, signifying that she has changed and is putting her past as a Heather behind her and is becoming a new and better person, just like Veronica said all the way at the beginning of the musical. Mac is important to the story, because she is the only one who shows that Veronica was right in the end. She is the only one who changes for the better, proof that people can and will change, and ultimately proving JD wrong.

TLDR; Mac is the only person who changed by the end of the musical, meaning that Veronica's idealist ramblings during Beautiful had at least some merit and weren't just statements made from a naive teenager.

#heathers #heathers the musical #veronica sawyer #heather mcnamara #martha dunnstock #jd heathers #heather duke #heather chandler

[icedteaandoldlace]

I've seen a few posts here and there saying that Cisco never should have turned down Breacher's job offer in season 4, and some saying that taking that job would be a better outcome for him than working for A.R.G.U.S., and I'm sorry, but I feel like anyone who thinks that has a fundamental misunderstanding of Cisco as a character.

The major difference between A.R.G.U.S. and the collectors' agency is that A.R.G.U.S. had a problem with corruption from the inside, whereas the collectors are bound by unjust laws. By taking Chip Cooper's job (and eventually working his way up to the head of A.R.G.U.S.), Cisco gains the power to be able to make the kind of calls that the people who formerly held his position(s) made the wrong decision on; A.R.G.U.S. has done some shady shit in the past, but it was the people in charge of A.R.G.U.S. who were responsible for it. Now with Cisco holding a position of power there, he's able to prevent any harmful or unethical practices by simply choosing to do the right thing.

As for the collectors, their job is to uphold the law of Earth-19 by hunting down and capturing people who traveled to other earths without authorization, and bringing them back to be executed.

Cisco would hate doing Breacher's job. He would literally hate it. He took direct action to stop one of Breacher's orders from being carried out, risking his own life for it, and he told Cynthia straight up that she should do more with her life and try using her powers to actually be a hero. It would make absolutely no sense for him to leave his job of saving people at S.T.A.R. Labs, to go and work for a government agency that kills people for trying to leave their home earth. And he couldn't infiltrate the agency and change it for the better from the inside, because then he'd just end up—at best—getting fired, because only changing the laws could fix what's wrong with the collectors. The only scenario where Cisco working for the collectors would make sense would be one where he's a rogue agent smuggling his targets to somewhere they'd be safe; figuring out a way to incarcerate the dangerous ones (going through the legal channels of whichever earth they've committed crimes in or maybe keeping them in the Pipeline or Lian Yu if he has no better option), and relocating the non-dangerous ones in a way that prevents the other collectors from finding them, maybe creating fake identities for them. I mean...he'd have to become Echo.

#I had a point #but now Echo with a steel chair has made me lose track of it #because damn THAT'S an idea #anyways Cisco could never be a collector #I've never understood why anyone would want that for him #Cisco is not a tiger shark (iykyk) #The Flash #Cisco Ramon

[pikahlua]

Would you mind elaborating on your views on the villains as a disillusioned youth? It’s such an interesting take and it feels so genuinely accurate I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and how that framing changes how I perceived their characters

Ah, well, I'll do what I can. At some point this'll dip into a subject outside my wheelhouse though.

To me, the League of Villains notably fail to stand for any message. They just become whatever messages they absorb. Tomura specifically does this when he allows Dabi and Toga to join, and AFO comments on how he’s just using Stain’s ideals which Tomura doesn’t buy into. But by co-opting Stain’s message, Tomura gains allies. This sort of thing happens throughout the entire series--where they cooperate with the yakuza in order to gain their tech, or they allow Tomura to become a symbol of freedom so the meta liberation army will follow him. Tomura is not swayed at all by Stain’s ideals or the yakuza’s or the MLA’s, but he allows these people into his fold regardless. And you basically have this again with the mob at the hospital in the most recent manga arc. The LoV capitalize on the emotions of others in order to earn others’ strengths for themselves. So they’re not representing any real message or philosophy. They’re not “villains who have a point” in the traditional sense. They’re representative of something else.

In a story about kids going through academia to become heroes, wouldn’t the villainous corollary have to be something similar? You need the “villain academia” counterpart, basically. What do the LoV all have in common? They’re outcasts left behind by society. This is the part where I get into something I am definitely no expert on, so please go research this more before you fall back on my explanations: one of Japan’s famous major social problems is its “lost generation” that resulted from the economic stagnation of the ‘90s. With the aging population and the economy in a...very weird state, a lot of the youth in Japan have felt abandoned and lied to by the world around them. We’re sort of going through something similar in the west, especially Gen Z in the USA, but Japan has been ahead of us on this trend for a few decades now (a canary in the coalmine, so to speak). Basically, the Japanese youth go through academia, work really hard to study and pass grueling entrance exams and go to a big name university that is supposed to guarantee them a high-paying corporate job they won’t ever be fired from and fulfill the expectations of society. Yet so much about Japan’s rigid, traditional structure leaves many of these children by the wayside by the time they make it out of school. There is a large contingent of “failures,” the children who couldn’t follow this one true path, or those who did everything they were supposed to and still got screwed anyways. You end up with a generation full of people society broke its many promises to.

So that’s what I see when I look at the League of Villains. I see a contingent of youth who were screwed over by their society and its broken promises to them. I see society’s “rejects” that society pretends it didn’t create and is content to ignore and vilify. I see an angry, discontented swath of abandoned people who demand to be seen and heard, even though they don’t have some cause to rally behind or message to convey. I see a ball of disgruntled emotion, a problem society caused, a problem society must change to fix. I see the kids who wanted to fit in but were excluded, so they rejected the norms to save themselves.

And so that perspective informs how I think the heroes must address the villains, or rather, why it’s easier for the student heroes to address these villains than for the pro heroes.

#my hero academia manga spoilers #final showdown spoilers #ask pika #anon ask #league of villains #all of this is just vague commentary on the LoV #nothing specific about any particular character #obviously if you drill down into a char they'll have their own specific things going on

[lemonhemlock]

I enjoyed your post about Rhaenyra taking action in regard to her marriage. What was your opinion on her plan surrounding her second marriage and Laenor's "death"? Smart move? Bad move? I always thought it was very risky as she risks losing the Velaryons.

Thank you for your kind message! I suppose I understand why they did it this way. They wanted to avoid killing off a gay character, when the show already included enough women dying in childbirth (or via divorce rock). I accept the urge to cater to modern-day sensibilities and have to admit that my own first-reaction was that it was a welcome change from the books. The idea of Laenor living a nice life in Essos with Qarl sounds good on paper, but does kind of fall apart when you start to analyse it.

Laenor's POV

The main problem is that this fix requires us to believe that Laenor is both willing to abandon his entire family at a moment's notice just day(s) after the funeral of his only sibling AND not return to Westeros ever again. Even though they will end up fighting for their literal lives in a very violent war, EVEN THOUGH he is a dragon-rider and could actually, notably help with the war effort. I think Laenor's character does support a rather negative reading in this light. I'm not particularly invested in Laenor being "good" or "bad", but it does say a lot about show!Laenor - mainly that he really is a selfish dick.

Even if the Dance never happened and his family would have been indefinitely safe in his absence, he still knows that his parents think him dead and have lost both of their children in a very short period of time. I can't image how gut-wrenching that would be! I sympathize that he is unable to live his life openly, but it just seems like a needless act of cruelty. Laenor's life was certainly never ideal, but he still benefited from a lot of privilege and could pursue his romantic exploits without anyone chastising him. That's still a lot more freedom than the majority of the Westerosi gay community would ever get to experience.

The further problem is that, while he admits to loving Jace/Luke/Joffrey even though they're not his biological children, he is still essentially abandoning them to a society that will never accept Rhaenyra's lies. They are very likely to be in danger at some point and he won't be able to help them.

Rhaenyra's POV

Something that didn't sit well with me was that Laenor specifically told Rhaenyra he was ready to recommit himself to her and their children, then she replied "thanks, but no thanks" and forced this decision on him.

Like many other times in Rhaenyra's life, she thinks she is making a generous offer, but the terms could actually be perceived as batty by the other side. What would she have done if Laenor refused? Killed him? She is basically asking him to abandon his entire family and never return. Just because Daemon is finally available for her to marry? My gosh. That's a crazy level of entitlement and norm-breaking.

What guarantee does she have that Laenor won't return? Will she have to kill him if he returns? Maybe he is racked with guilt and changes his mind!

Marrying Daemon is also a really bad idea. She was only named heir in the first place to avoid putting Daemon in proximity to the throne. 🤦‍♀️ Because Daemon was not well-liked in Westeros, to say the least. She is alienating a lot of potential allies with this moves. Instead of being a conciliator, she is being divisive.

In addition, the show-runners will have to solve the Seasmoke conundrum somehow.

Considerations on framing

Another thing that bugs me about this is that is basically turns Daemyra into woke LGBTQ allies, which is a plot twist that provides them with WAY too much grace in the eyes of the audience in relation to their awfulness as people and as political actors. The viewers are basically being manipulated to the Blacks' side with this unexpected brownie point that came out of nowhere. Of course they all watched the show and turned into black stans. Who are they gonna side with? Promoter-of-minority-rights Rhaenyra or rapist!Aegon? 🤷‍♀️

If your intention is to tell a balanced story, this is not the way to go. If the show-runners really wanted to furnish Daemyra with this VERY indulgent and overly-positive interpretation, they should balance it out with a concession for the Green side. At the very least drop the child-fighting-pit detail for Aegon, because this is just ridiculous bias.

#ask #anon #laenor velaryon #anti rhaenyra targaryen #anti daemon targaryen #house of the dragon #asoiaf

[mimiwritcs]

FIGHT FOR YOU (4/?)

FANDOM: Divergent

PAIRING: Eric Coulter x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: this is after four+eric's initiation and before tris'. this will be the build up of the characters as we got introduced to them as well as maybe the society. not just a love story but we aim for characters' growth and storytelling.

WORDS: 2.5K

A/N: so the slow burning is already starting, trying to make everything very realistic. i'm currently on vacation and haven't had much time, hopefully you are able to trace along my imagination and with time i'll improve with these action scenes, enjoy bc next one will be a ride

Although you weren't sure how much time had passed, you didn't believe it would be enough. You were faced with a ton of work, several weapons that were quite similar, and many that you had never even seen in person. Nevertheless, you believed that you needed to learn as much as you could before tomorrow in order to be ready for everything. Even if you received the book, your situation did not improve. Even though you hadn't said anything irrational, you still caused yourself a lot of trouble and perhaps even Four as well. You had to figure out how to fix it.

"What are you supposed to be doing?" You heard someone asking as you looked up to see Rose, the girl who made a ruckus the first day on tour. "It's a long story…" you commented without much desire to talk about it. "Are you aware that you are no longer in Erudite. Why did you choose Dauntless to end up locked in a room with a damn book?" she asked you. "It's a direct order, okay?" As you gathered your belongings, you hissed, "Mind your own business." She managed to touch on a sensitive subject for you and immediately put you in a poor mood: your clear Erudite behavior.

You were aware that if they had permitted you to, it wouldn't have been as unusual, but you didn't appreciate staying locked up while studying this with everything going on outside. You didn't mean it to end it this way, you just wanted to have some paper to back up in order to review. But it was obvious that, whether intentionally or not, you had earned it. What time would it be? You questioned as you felt your stomach grumbling as you were walking. As you walked toward the cafeteria, you noticed that the majority of them had already left. You quickly took the first thing you saw that was left and ate fast at a table that was only partially occupied. You scanned the room to see who was still present. People were chatting and laughing, and you were sitting with your book. You felt extremely foolish and out of place.

Winter and Milan yelled, "Y/M we've been looking everywhere for you! What are you doing?" they asked you while you updated them on the situation. "God, you couldn't shut your mouth, you seem from Candor" Milan teased you as he took the book from you quickly flipping through the pages. "You all thought the same, it was too much information. We have a lot of pressure, I just wanted to be one step ahead even though I think I've done three behind" you grumbled as you tackled the dessert.

"Well don't worry, you were very smart, surely if you answer the questions well they will forget about it" Milan encouraged you. "Of course, you'll see" Winter said as she reached across the table to caress you. Then you realized, "You guys went to get a tattoo!?" you exclaimed, changing the topic of conversation as you grabbed Winter's arm and admired her new tattoo. "Do you like?" Winter asked you while her face lit up. "It was Milan's idea, I never imagined myself with one but I thought it would help me in with the transition" Winter spoke. "It's beautiful, damn and meanwhile I'm locked up there with all my problems, let's see yours" You asked Milan while he was showing it to you. "That's cool, this stuff really suits you, even you Winter, I already see you different" you laughed.

But it wasn't a joke; it was real. As you saw your buddies develop into outstanding initiates, a part of you was wounded, as you continued going back to your old behaviors. Why was it so hard for you to do? You were talking a little more, Milan left while Winter stayed helping you review, asking you questions and learning something else along the way. "Thank you very much, you didn't have to" you thanked her once in the bedroom preparing to go to sleep.

The following morning, you awoke a half-hour earlier than anticipated; just one person was having a shower, and the rest were still asleep. You weren't sure if this was due to nerves or for some other reason. You quickly changed into your clothes and stayed in the hallway where more light was coming in to review what you had learned. You discovered that you had learnt all the weapons that you had prioritized and that were in the armory, and that despite having numerous words floating around in your head randomly, you knew a good number of them. You hoped that would be enough.

When you noticed that there were just ten minutes left, you walked to the room to leave your things, people were already starting to get up and you went directly to the training room. Four had arrived earlier. Both of you were alone. Lucky you. You took a big breath of bravery and said, "Good morning" as you pulled your hair back in a high ponytail. He greets you with "Y/M". He appeared irate."You truly have no idea what's going to happen to you today, so I hope you're prepared," Four advised, as he greeted the next initiate to enter. You were taken aback by his attitude, which made you wonder what he was trying to warn you, but from what? Had Eric intervened? Your arrogance was going to cause them kick you out? It would be funny if you got kicked out something they're so well aware to be, however you had put yourself in opposition to a coach and a leader, thus it was inevitable that you would face consequences.

The morning began calmly. You all went to a modest training facility where you were divided up sets on the treadmills while others performed weightlifting exercises. Changing sets every fifteen minutes, increasing the pace each time while attempting to maintain it. Even though it was difficult for you, you knew that you couldn't let your guard down today, since you felt you had to make up for yesterday's incident and knew that there would be repercussions today. You also didn't want to attract unwanted attention once more.

Even though you could run on the treadmill, it was difficult for you to keep up, even though Four was being very generous in the beginning by alternating between low and high speeds to let you start to build resistance. But in the weight room, you were far worse; you could hardly lift some of the lightest weights, and you were aware that your arms would be completely devastated the next day. There were many who had it worse off, but it didn't work for you. You knew that everything would be examined, even if it was your second day, but you didn't want to push yourself to the point of exhaustion and then have a few days where you couldn't accomplish anything. You were taken aback by Milan's and especially Winter's power. Even though the Amity girl seemed like a damsel in distress since she was so shy and gentle, you could see she was unstoppable because she was able to tolerate far stronger handcuffs than many man in the room.

The only sounds were Four's voice and the machines; you had all been practicing for an hour, maybe two, when suddenly someone entered the room without muzzling the noise. "Four," yelled Eric. Four gave the command as he moved to the side to speak with Eric, "Continue with the routine as before and don't slow down." Even though they spoke softly, you couldn't help but notice Four's annoyance as he spoke and Eric's hatred as he responded. You knew you probably shouldn't be looking there, but you couldn't stop it as you raced. Eric, who exuded a sense of triumph and self-assurance, started to look at us before his eyes locked with yours. Four grumbled as he took a few steps back and attempted to breathe normally. You instinctively looked away, you knew your time had come. "Initiates finish this round and come with me" he ordered as he approached us taking the strings of the class.

It was a good thing there aren't many minutes left because the anticipation was making it difficult to focus. Your heart was about to come out of your chest and your hearing almost stopped because of the palpitations. Eric commanded, "Come on, follow me" as Four positioned himself in the back of the group keeping an eye on everyone. You sipped some water, patted the sweat off your forehead with a tiny towel, and then you followed the group. Everyone was talking among themselves, but you were too preoccupied to listen.

They moved silently out from the compound and toward the city streets while you followed them. Eric yelled, "Let's go, we have a little path," and they started to run. Even though it was your first time passing through the Dauntless district's streets, you were still too frightened to take in your surroundings. Nothing particularly attracted your eye.

It only took 15 minut run to arrive at a desert explation where a circuit had been made. You relocated to a circle, with Eric and Four in the middle. "Well, I suppose you all know about the big incident yesterday when a supposed Dauntless asked for school supplies forgetting that this isn't Erudite." Eric commanded, "Y/M to the middle, we'll see what you've learnt." Your whole body tensed, why did these things always have to happen to you? In an effort to project the confidence that everyone knew you lacked, you straightened up. You were now unable to fail. Eric started by asking you a series of straightforward questions, during which you were able to inquire about the weaponry present in the compound. Identifying parts, reasons for use and even selecting which option would be best for the supposed theoretical case that they were proposing. You surprised yourself at your retention capacity, you had always been a good student, it was not your vocation, that was clear if you hadn't stayed there but without a doubt you had learned some things in a few hours.

And although Four seemed to look at you surprised by that ability, Eric remained rigid but you couldn't tell a hint of irritation to each correct answer you gave. He wanted you to fail. Now you saw it clearly but you knew you couldn't afford it. You were afraid that if you said everything correctly they would accuse you of Erudite but if you failed to take your task seriously, you were going to lose anyway. Even so, when the far-fetched questions began, various concepts crossed your mind and your answers were no longer so clear. If you had been taught anything at home, it was not to ask, but to affirm. So you tried to answer as precisely as possible, sometimes trying to turn a question around by answering what you did know instead of what was asked, but Eric quickly corrected you and returned to the main topic of the question.

"It's not bad, know-it-all. It's clear that your book has helped you learn something, but let's see if it helps you in your staging" he challenged while throwing a weapon at you. You caught it on the fly and recognized it. It was commonly used with neurostim darts, which simulate the pain of a gunshot. "Come on, let's see if your book helps you out with this too" He said as he advanced through the group to the other side where some sort of circuit was, you followed him while you saw the faces of your companions. You didn't understand why he made them submit to watch this show, you felt bad for wasting their time like this. The angry face was noticeable in more than one. We all had a lot to learn and improve to get closer to the level of those born here and because of you they were wasting their time.

Even though the circuit was hidden, it was protected by some wood fences that blended in with the vegetation and trees. Inside, there were a number of passages that led to various zones and were separated by metal, both of which condensed the area. All roads lead to Rome or was it like a maze? You assumed that you would soon find out once inside. The circuit was wide but above all long, it surrounded the entire field in which you were so more than one thing awaited you.

"This is a circuit of weapons, it is intended for the final stages of your physical training but surely you will have no problem doing it since you know so much. It is simple, follow the path and you will find different objectives, some fixed others not so much. Don't let anything you find in there shoot you first. See you on the other side, smartass." Eric explained while you looked at the circuit concentrated. You sighed. You took a deep breath and got into the circuit in position to shoot. You didn't know you could wait in there. Fixed targets, others not, so they don't shoot me first? Who was going to shoot me first? A mannequin? Therefore, why using neurostim darts? What did they have prepared? Whatever it was, nothing good.

Your mind was racing as you made your way slowly through the grates, scanning through them for anything you may uncover. Anything might happen. Targets, animals, people. Eric called at you from outside, hurriedly, "We don't have all day" You went a little further and decided when you saw the first shadow on your right, you turned quickly and shot, a dummy. It was after shooting it that you saw that he had a target, and you had focused on the first place you saw, they had not warned you about that. "Good reflexes, but next time wait to hit the target" advised Four and you nodded your head thinking that they could have warned you before but at least you appeared to receive assistance.

You were still moving along, taking in your surroundings, when you noticed a slight movement of the rope. Unsure of where it was coming from, you turned around and tried to find it. You instinctively looked down, but you quickly realized that it might be up through the trees. In fact, there was a rope with numerous targets attached to it, all of which had marks for shooters to aim from, and they were all moving in a circle. You made two shots, one on target and the other rather close, and you continued to move to your left. More fixed targets; too simple. There was a problem. It couldn't be that simple.

Without knowing where you were firing or what you were going to find, you turned and fired out of instinct. As soon as he received the bullet, he shouted in agony. He had a gun, too, and you weren't shot from behind. You anticipated that would also be a rule. You hastily remarked, "Sorry, take the bullet out, it lessens the pain," and ducked behind a tree to hide your back. Other initiatives had been put into the circuit. You looked and saw how much bullets you had, for the supposed fixed targets and hopefully some more for some margin of error. You figured it would be better not to waste them. You took a deep breath. It was time to fight.

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