#wanted to write it ‘badly’ and break rules. I wanted the silly asides that have no affect on the story but existed in my head. I don’t let

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

Just finished reading Pez Dispenser Debris (I don’t even go there but I am fueled by Wiki articles and a love for your storytelling) and first of all—amazing!!! 10/10, I think I need to watch this series now. 

Second, I  noticed that (while very much distinct) Yuuta & Izuku have a lot of similarities in the voice you gave them—maybe it’s the constant panic attacks or perhaps both of  them placing blame for everything squarely on their own shoulders, but ough it makes for the perfect blend of gut-punching angst. I’d love to hear any ramblings you currently have about either of them. I am currently obsessed with both of them now and am placing the blame on you <3

I’m gonna pretty heavily discuss some spoilers for my hero academia in this. I figured that was okay since you’d already read my fanfic and the wiki so the cat is out of the metaphorical bag. That being said, maybe wait to read this answer if you want to not be spoiled for more details in my hero.

Yuuta and Izuku absolutely have the most similar voices out of all of my narrators and it is 90% because they are both completely insane and in violent need of a Xanax and a nice soothing cup of chamomile tea. God I love them both so much. They should each be heavily medicated.

My hero academia is a pretty great watch through the Shie Hassaikai arc. The concept is entertaining, the characters are GREAT, and the world building is really cool.

Then the story sort of. Went to shit.

I tried for a while after that, but eventually had to stop watching. My friends and I have a group chat named “horikoshi just call us” because we got so despondent at the writing decisions after that arc.

Horikoshi. If you’re out there. If you’re reading this. Just call us. We just want to help.

That being said, my love for the characters maintains its death grip on me. I simply adore them. They’re delights.

Yuuta and Izuku, on their face, have a lot of similarities as protagonists. The aforementioned insanity and need of Xanax, of course, but the skeleton of the stories has a lot of common touchstones and themes, like:

Both characters have some kind of history with suicidal ideation or tendencies. In the second scene of JJK0, it’s established that Yuuta canonically tried to kill himself. In the first episode of BNHA, Izuku is told to kill himself by his bullies, in an act which appears to be common to izuku’s life, and the only reason Izuku comes up with to not do it is “then you’d get in trouble for telling me to do it.”

Both characters have severe self worth issues. Yuuta’s looking for a reason to be alive at the start of JJK0. He’s looking for a right to be alive. In a way, Izuku is too at the start of BNHA. At the open of action, he is told by everyone in his life that he is useless. His nickname is “Deku,” which uses some of the same kanji as “Dekunobo,” meaning blockhead. The most direct translation were given is that this is a way of calling him useless. He’s the powerless member of a society choked with superpower, and he’s been told his entire life that he can do nothing, that his dreams are pointless, and that he’s a burden who would be better off dead.

They’re both saddled with power they can’t fully control. Yuuta with Rika, and Izuku with One for All, a transferable power that’s too strong to be contained in his body.

They both have a close relationship with an impossibly strong mentor that they are implied to be the successor of. Yuuta with Gojo, as he’s second only to Gojo in the modern age, and Izuku with All Might (aka Toshinori Yaga), who he is more literally taking on the mantle of One for All from.

They both are chugging that Loving Their Friends Juice and have tried to kill grown men with their bare hands as a result

That all being said, they could not be more different characters and honestly aren’t all that similar.

I have this sort of lasting grievance with literary analysis when people take a list of common plot points or events and use them to make the argument that characters are similar or parallel one another. Like, that’s all facial. The real question is how do they substantively handle those events. How do their story arcs treat those things? How does their character react to them?

Yuuta and Izuku’s actual substantive characters don’t really react to those events in the same way at all. The analysis could go on all day in this respect, really, but the biggest difference is how their respective story arcs treat the cornerstone of their original conflicts.

Yuuta opens action with Rika as the cornerstone of his conflict. She’s who he wants to free, she’s who he’s chained to, and it’s her protection of him that makes him think he deserves to die. Izuku’s cornerstone, meanwhile, is his own Quirklessness. He desperately wants to be a hero, and everyone in his life tells him he can’t be because he is Quirkless. He’s useless because he’s Quirkless. He should kill himself because he’s Quirkless. He’s a burden and always will be because he’s Quirkless.

And while Yuuta’s arc reconciles him with his cornerstone, Izuku’s forgoes it entirely.

The story just. Forgets. That he’s Quirkless. They stop talking about it. It never comes up again. It doesn’t make any real big impact on his character or decisions. It’s one of my biggest axes to grind with how the story developed, and it’s actually one of the biggest reasons why I wrote pez dispenser debris.

Pez dispenser debris was actually inspired by this one piece of my hero academia art where Izuku is hugging his younger self. I don’t know if it was official art or fan art, and I have no idea where it is or where to find it because by god have I tried so I can find it and link it for credit/to boost it. I saw it literally years ago, thought “oh that’s cool,” wrote the original first scene of the fic (where Midoriya stops the bus and is hit by the Quirk), wasn’t feeling it, got distracted by other projects, went to law school, graduated law school, signed up to take the bar exam, and was suddenly electrified in the last fucking month of studying with this fugue state of feverish artistic inspiration. I have never written so easily or so compulsively in my life. I’d write for eight unbroken hours and it would be fucking magic every time. It was like an addiction. I was writhing with a need to create and had so much fucking anxiety about the test I was not studying for instead. The words could not be restrained.

Anyway I taught myself three subjects on the plane ride to the state I was taking it in and passed anyway so it’s fine we’re fine

The moral of the story is that this story has been cooking long enough for me to get two more diplomas than I had when I started it and I have no idea where to find that fucking piece of art that inspired it, but if I find it, I’ll reblog it so y’all can see it too.

The thing is, the narrative sort of forcibly excluding Izuku’s past as Quirkless would make total sense to me if it was used as something Izuku himself was doing.

Izuku necessarily had to hide the truth of his former Quirkless status at the start of action—he needed to keep the secret of One for All. Like, he could not let people find out that a Quirk was transferrable, but you know, just the most powerful one, and also he had it, please come torture it out of him.

But as the narrative goes on, that rationale becomes less important. He has people he can trust with it. And yeah, eventually One for All becomes more known, but the discussion is all about him being all might’s successor. Him being Quirkless and how that affected him and still affects him isn’t really discussed or treated as important. And Izuku doesn’t act like it’s important to him either. He never really thinks about it.

And I just hated that. Like. He spent almost his entire life as a member of society who was spit on. He’s had a Quirk for less than a year. How are his experiences with Quirklessness not important to how he interacts with the world?

The other point of contention I had was Mirio.

Mirio is this superstar of a senpai who takes Izuku under his wing. He has an extremely powerful quirk that’s only as effective as it is because he put in the work and learned how to handle it. He’s a perfect, eternally smiling paragon of heroism. He’s flagged early as the one out of everyone, including heroes with established careers, who is most likely to replace All Might.

He’s also the one who was supposed to get One for All.

His mentor had found him and trained him to be All Might’s successor. Before All Might could meet him, however, he found this feral raccoon child in a sewer and said “oh my god I can’t not offer him incomprehensible power within the first three hours of meeting him” and tripped face first into fatherhood.

During a rescue mission, Mirio loses his Quirk in a way that’s borderline irreversible. There’s no known cure, and the only possible one is dependent on a little girl learning how to control an extremely volatile and dangerous quirk and using it in a way she never has before.

So surely, they’re going to commit to that writing decision, right? He’s Quirkless. We’re bringing back having Quirkless characters. It’s going to be this sick as hell juxtaposition between Izuku and Mirio. We are at least going to force Izuku to reflect on his own times as Quirkless or have some kind of discussion about how Mirio is treated differently now that he is Quirkless.

But no. He gets his Quirk back by the next season. We don’t talk about it much. It’s more of a minor inconvenience than anything.

It’s almost as if the show accepted as an actual rule that you couldn’t be a hero without a Quirk. And then just. Forgot. Everything it had to do with its literal protagonist.

Anyway, I hated it.

In contrast, I fucking loved how yuuta’s storyline with Rika ends. That scene where Yuuta’s turning back to Rika, thanking her for loving him, telling him they can die together? I’m obsessed with it. I recently moved across the country and listened to that theme song on loop during the drive.

Yuuta and Rika’s love was unhealthy. They hurt each other. But it wasn’t malicious.

They just didn’t know how to love each other in a way that didn’t hurt.

They were in shit circumstances. But the love was there.

Yuuta felt guilty for Rika’s love for him and his for her almost the entire narrative. He thought he cursed her with his love. He wanted to kill himself because of how she hurt people out of love for him. It’s why I have moments in sea glass gardens where Yuuta talks about begging Rika to stop loving him—he didn’t know why love had to hurt so goddamn bad, and he’s sorry for that, he really is. He wishes he was better at it than he was.

At the end of JJK0, Yuuta truly is the last person who remembers Rika as she was and still loves her for who she is. He’s faced with Geto, who wants to use her as a weapon. Everyone treats her as a threat or a tool, except for Yuuta.

Like. Just that moment. Of loving someone so genuinely, and being the last one who does, and knowing that everyone else will just use them. I’m obsessed with it.

Yuuta reconciles with his love for Rika and her love for him, and they’re both finally freed. It’s this perfect moment of acceptance that I adore. He comes to terms with his past. It doesn’t hurt him so much anymore.

I wrote pez dispenser debris to sort of force Izuku to have that kind of reconciliation. As it is, he hasn’t reconciled with his own Quirklessness and how that affected him. I wanted to give him something he couldn’t physically escape and had to face.

#tw canon typical discussion of suicide #tw suicide #tw suicide baiting #pez dispenser debris #sea glass gardens #from a narrative voice perspective you are so so right #I tend to change my writing style a bit depending on who I’m writing #and Yuuta and Izuku I use VERY SIMILAR STYLES WITH #to the point where I reuse a lot of sentences between the two stories #I do shift my writing a bit #with Yuuta I tend to use shorter simpler sentences and have a lot of ‘distance’ in the sentences #I use a lot of ‘Yuuta thinks’ and ‘Yuuta feels’ when normally I would just cut to what he actually thinks and feels #like those are a lot of fucking words that aren’t the point. they’re dead weight in the sentence. most of the time they’re unnecessary #but I /want/ there to be that distance between the start of the sentence and the point because it gives more of a detached feel to the #writing and I think of Yuuta as a very detached narrator. he spent most of his life isolated and traumatised. the distance protects him. #he’s got space between him and the rest of the world. #I go off on way more asides with Izuku but that’s less because of a mindset I’m trying to build and more because it’s my silly fun story. I #wanted to write it ‘badly’ and break rules. I wanted the silly asides that have no affect on the story but existed in my head. I don’t let #myself do the same in sea glass gardens. #pez dispenser debris isn’t abandoned by the way I’m just burning myself out on sea glass gardens before I go back to it. I have to take #periodic breaks with stories and I’m trying to get through this one arc before I take one with sgg. that arcs the entire reason why I wrote #sgg to begin with actually. I have a LOT of stories that I /love/ that I never post because I know I only have so much time and there won’t #enough to finish them all. a story has to have something I really want to do for me to actually post it. sgg wouldn’t have made the cut if #it weren’t for this one arc that I found so damn funny that I decided to write the entire thing for the sake of one scene in it. it’s not #that I don’t like sgg to be clear. I love it. it’s just one of my much softer stories? #it doesn’t have a big climactic or intricate narrative. it’s softer and about healing. #its less narratively dynamic and more introspective and probably wouldnt have made the cut were it not for one scene ngl #ill probably finish toy rosaries next once i do that arc like im so close

[universalundernet-a]

Mobile Rules

General:

I’m AU, OC, crossover and multi-verse friendly and I’m open to many plot ideas. I’m happy if you DM me with any idea you have. I am Non-Selective and we don’t have to be mutuals to interact. However, what I do look for in blogs is a rules page and there will have to be some way our muses can interact. Nothing against if you don’t though! It’s just a preference.

I’m open to trying any ship but I will not touch a few of them and I will say what ships I don’t support while plotting. Please don’t try to push a ship onto me as it will make me want to rp with you less and I don’t want it to come to that.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind. 

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it! 

Spoilers - This blog will contain spoilers due to the use of canon characters and use of lore inside the media for their development.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally, I go by they/she pronouns. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters, I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Mobile Rules

[strongindarkness-a]

General:

I’m AU, OC, crossover and multi-verse friendly and I’m open to many plot ideas. I’m happy if you DM me with any idea you have. I am Non-Selective and we don’t have to be mutuals to interact. However, what I do look for in blogs is a rules page and there will have to be some way our muses can interact. Nothing against if you don’t though! It’s just a preference.

I won’t be shipping with Shadow as I see him as an asexual, aromantic character so keep that in mind with interacting. Platonic relationships are all welcome and even more so if you want any enemy relationships. Anything aside from romantic or sexual interest is welcome.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind.

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it!

Canon Divergence - This blog will be heavily canon divergent and my interpretation of Shadow and it might change or grow as the blog develops and when I get more of a feel of his character.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally, I go by they/she pronouns. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Rules

[wearera9-a]

Mobile Rules

General:

For this blog, I am Private and Selective only due to previous experiences within this fandom but don’t be deterred by this or my rules please!! I’m usually very friendly and open but for my own personal comfort I am now more selective than I was before.

I’m open to trying any ship but I will not touch a few of them and I will say what ships I don’t support while plotting. Please don’t try to push a ship onto me as it will make me want to rp with you less and I don’t want it to come to that.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind.

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it!

Spoilers - This blog will contain spoilers due to the use of canon characters and use of lore inside the media for their development.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I go by they/she pronouns and I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Mobile Rules

[thinknicht]

Sakura raises her hand before the tenth question🤯

Sakura stared at the back of Naruto’s head and  thought furiously. She felt her heart reaching out to him. He was so determined, so very set on becoming Hokage, on reaching his silly dream… it broke Sakura’s heart to think that he might never be able to keep dreaming if he failed this exam. She didn’t want to see that fiery spirit crushed.

Logically, Sakura knew that she had gotten every question right. And Sasuke-kun was probably going to pass as well. But Naruto… there was no way he had answered a single question correctly. This was way above academy level, way beyond Naruto’s capabilities. In fact, Sakura hadn’t seen him write at all!

Her poor teammate. It must be so hard for him – his pride wouldn’t let him give up, but if he didn’t, he would never reach his dreams. The consequences of failing were too dire. Not just for him, but for the entirety of team seven.

Sakura wondered. Should she raise her hand…?

To be honest, quitting now left a bad taste in her mouth, especially as she had done amazing. But  Kakashi-sensei was right. His words of wisdom came back to her. Those who  break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum! She couldn’t be so selfish, not when Naruto might never…

Ahem. She felt terrible. And to think that only a few months ago she’d thought of him as an annoyance rather than a teammate…

She wished so badly that she could help him… the question popped into her mind again. Should she raise her hand to soften the blow for him? The idea of giving up, especially after acing the test left a bitter taste in Sakura’s mouth. But was it really giving up, or was it just a strategic retreat? After all, team seven could still try again next year, when they were more experienced and better prepared to tackle the chunin exams. Sakura recalled her old academy instructor, Iruka-sensei, preaching to her class about patience being a virtue that would help them greatly in their ninja careers. Keeping his advice in mind, Sakura thought, and thought, and thought… and made up her mind.

(Little did she know that this decision would change the course of her entire life.)

She raised her hand.

In a heartbeat, one of the chunin proctors on standby cried out team seven’s assigned numbers, saying they’d been disqualified.

Sakura felt like she was in a dream  as she slowly got up and stumbled toward the door. She saw her rival, Ino, staring at her with clear surprise. She could almost physically feel all eyes in the room trained on her.

As soon as team seven was outside of the testing room, Sakura knew she’d made a mistake. Both of her teammates seemed mad. She tried to explain her thought process, that they could try again when they were better prepared, but it was to no avail. Naruto’s arms were crossed, and she felt like she was talking to a brick wall for all that Sasuke-kun reacted. His eyes were clouded with hate. The only thing about him that was moving was his jaw, which was clenching ominously.

“I have to become strong,” he interrupted her suddenly.

“But Sasuke-kun, you already are!” cried Sakura.

“Stronger,” Sasuke grit out, his eyes filled with condemnation. “You’re worse than the dead-weight, Sakura. Didn’t you hear me? What I have isn’t a dream, it’s an ambition.  You don’t understand. I have to do this. I have to kill that man. I can’t afford to–“ He cut himself off. “You’re wasting my time.” He was giving Sakura a narrow-eyed stare, borderline a sneer, his breaths ragged, and before she could make her excuses, he’d shoved past her brusquely.

“Huh? Huh?” Naruto was looking between them nervously. “Oi, teme! The person you wanted to kill, it’s not me, right?” He wasn’t looking at Sakura. She wasn’t sure whether it was a conscious decision on his part (knowing Naruto, probably not), but it was clear that he was avoiding to look in her general direction. Was he also angry at her?

 …that ungrateful twat!

Sakura could feel her tears building. She couldn’t stomach the thought that both her teammates hated her.

“No,” was all Sasuke said as he walked away.

Naruto was about to follow him, but Sakura clasped his arm. She tried to explain herself:

“Naruto, don’t you see? You’re a baka, you would’ve failed the test for sure, and then you wouldn’t have been able to become hokage anymore!”

He squinted at her moodily. “What are you talking about, Sakura-chan! A stupid test like that wouldn’t have stopped me! Believe it!”

“Hm!” Her throat felt raw. “See if I care, the next time!”

Naruto looked at her for a moment. “Sakura-chan…” He gave her a searching look, but said nothing. They stood there for a moment, awkwardly, until Naruto grimaced sheepishly. Then, he turned around and ran to catch up to Sasuke.

Well, at least he still called her Sakura-chan. She never would’ve thought that hearing it would be a relief. Sakura’s shoulders sagged.

She could practically hear Ino singsonging: "My, my. How the mighty have fallen, hm, Forehead?"

Kakashi found them as they were exiting the building. He didn’t try breaking the ominous silence. It was truly a testament to his laid-back personality that he could manage to read his Icha Icha book in such a tense situation. For once, both Naruto and Sasuke seemed to have set aside their differences to build a joint front against Sakura.

Seemingly unaffected in the least, Kakashi, meandered ahead of them, leading the three genin back to the red bridge where they usually met in the mornings. “So.” He propped his hip against the bridge. “What gives?”

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence.

“We didn’t pass.” Sakura forced herself to break it.

Sasuke scoffed hatefully and Naruto crossed his arms again.

“Ma, ma. You guys are way too uptight about this. I wasn’t expecting you to pass either.”

“Liar!” Naruto shouted.

“We could’ve passed no problem!” Sasuke grit out, staring hatefully at Sakura again.

To be honest, Sakura wasn’t sure he’d looked at her so many times in a row in the entirety of their acquaintance. What did that say about her chances of dating him, she wondered sadly.

“I did expect you to pass the first stage,” Kakashi amended, scratching his head. Sakura noticed with a snap that he’d pocketed his book. “But I didn’t know that your proctor was Morino Ibiki.” His lone eye narrowed.

“Even so, we were about to pass,” Sasuke bit back, “but she ruined it!”

“Yeah! We still hadn’t heard the tenth question!” Naruto chimed in, but Sakura was still stuck on Sasuke's vitriolic words, on his hateful expression as he said them.

(But she ruined it, ruined it, ruined it.)

Did he… did he hate her now?

Sakura could feel moisture start prickling at her eyes. Discretely, she leaned over the bridge, facing in the opposite direction of Kakashi-sensei. Her tears fell unseen into the pretty blue water.

Suddenly, a hand fell upon her head, which she knew instinctively must be Kakashi’s.

“Ma… relax, you two. You’ll do a better job next time, ne?”

“Yeah, no!” Naruto shouted. “I wanna be hokage! I don’t have time to wait around for a year!”

“Neither do I, Kakashi,” Sasuke followed up with narrowed eyes.

“Strength doesn’t equal rank,” Kakashi drawled simply. “Even if you had made chunin (which probably wouldn’t be the case), as genin you will have more time to train. So! Let’s get to that tomorrow. We meet here as usual. Dismissed.”

When no one moved, Kakashi retrieved Icha Icha Paradise from his pouch and stuck his nose in it. This, as far as anyone was concerned, was the universal sign for "bugger off, brats". Still no one had moved (from what Sakura could tell), so Kakashi lazily waved a hand in dismissal and said: "Shoo."

And that seemed to do the trick.

"Shoo! He says! I'll say, when I'm hokage, no one will tell me that!" Sakura could hear Naruto's enraged muttering decrease in volume, along with another pair of footsteps which must be Sasuke's.

That was good. She didn't want them to see her tears. But neither did she want Kakashi to see them, and he had yet to leave. Instead of puffing away as usual, her sensei had remained right there next to her, leaning casually against the bridge as he thumbed trough the worn pages of his trusty novel.

It must be said that, during the course of the entire conversation, Sakura had been fighting to suppress her sobs. It had been a very long time since she'd been so overwhelmed by emotion, and, while she was successful at keeping quiet, her whole body was, though silently, shaking just the tiniest bit. But Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be a jonin worth his salt if he didn't notice such things, so of course, he pretended not to. And was very obvious about it.

“Uh, Sakura-chan…?” He sounded painfully awkward.

Unfortunately, Sakura didn’t think she could talk normally right then. Wisely, she chose not to reply, knowing all the while that she must be making Kakashi really uncomfortable, but unable to do anything about it. She couldn’t stop crying.

“Sakura-chan,” Kakashi tried again. “Come on. I know this nice little tea shop down the road. Let’s go there, ne? Your awesome sensei has free coupons!”

Sakura nodded shakily and followed a few steps behind him, swiping at her eyes.

They walked in silence for a while, but Sakura was starting to calm down. Kakashi-sensei had put a hand on her shoulder and was holding his usual book in the other. Sakura knew that he must be judging her, but at least he wasn’t being mean about it.

They made it to the tea shop.

“My eternal rival!” someone shouted. Sakura ignored the rude person until Kakashi actually replied.

“Yo!” Sakura looked up with surprise. Kakashi-sensei had lifted the hand from her shoulder, presumably to greet three ninja that were sitting on a table at the back.

The one who had shouted was by far the weirdest, with broad features, a bowl cut, eyebrows that resembled turnip leaves and a nose like a potato. The whole ensamble was completed by a bright green spandex outfit. Sakura looked away quickly; she didn’t fancy losing her eyesight. Next to him sat a man who was smoking (Ino pig’s sensei, her mind supplied) and a gorgeous woman with red eyes. Another man whom Sakura hadn’t noticed before was leaning against the wall behind them. He had very creepy round eyes… It was strange. She could've sworn that no one had been there before.

No wonder Kakashi had so many quirks, with weirdos like these as colleagues.

The man in the green spandex rushed forward. “My eternal rival! Had I known you’d come here, I’d have prepared a challenge for us to compete in!”

“Ah, no need, Gai,” said Kakashi. His hand went back to Sakura’s head, ruffling it. “I’m actually here with Sakura-chan…”

Sakura could practically feel the weight of all the adults’ gazes on her. Were they all jonin?! Kami.

Kakashi seemed largely unfazed. “Let’s get some tea.” He strolled toward the counter, ordering tea for the both of them.

“Hatake,” said the old lady in charge. “I swear if you’re planning to pay with those odious coupons again…”

“I suppose if you ask so politely, I can’t refuse.”

He began ruffling trough his pockets, pulling out scrolls, papers, an old key chain with no keys, a mask, a senbon that was encrusted with blood…

The counter was getting progressively more cluttered as Kakashi continued to produce things from his pockets. Sakura was starting to feel keenly embarrassed on his behalf, when finally Kakashi retrieved two crinkled pieces of paper from within a scroll that seemed to be filled with random bills and receipts. With a triumphant swoop, he placed them in the only empty spot on the counter.

“Hatake?” the woman was growling.

“Yes?”

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

“I just like my tea better if it’s free,” Kakashi said with a smile. “It has a special kind of flavour.” He turned toward her. “Let’s get a table, Sakura-chan.” Then, he somehow grabbed everything he’d left laying around on the counter between his arms and ambled over to a table. Sakura was left to carry the tea.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura could see that all those weird jonin from earlier were staring at them with thinly veiled interest. The guy in green was giving Kakashi a thumbs up and bobbing his head up and down.

Kakashi turned to glare at them and suddenly they were all very interested in their tea. “So,” he said, giving Sakura an expectant look. “Fill me in?”

And without further fanfare, Sakura did. Her previous embarrassment about Kakashi’s antics had distracted her enough to feel significantly better already, and his nonjudgmental attitude was an added bonus. To be fair, it was freaking annoying that he was sorting trough the mess he’d made while she explained about the exam, but, in retrospect Sakura would've admitted that it made the whole process less tense.

Finally, she was done talking and looked at Kakashi expectantly. He looked very annoyed.

Oh, no! Not him too, thought Sakura mournfully.

But then Kakashi’s annoyance seemed to evaporate momentarily and he smiled instead. “Ma, I’m so proud, Sakura-chan. You’re going to make your sensei cry tears of joy.”

At Sakura’s stumped expression, he added:

“You put your teammates’ interests before yours, Sakura-chan. Naruto’s, specially, and I know you’re not as fond of him as Sasuke.”

Sakura blushed. That was the understatement of the year.

“But sensei… if what I did was right… why did we fail the test? It’s not fair!”

Kakashi’s face adopted the semi serious and annoyed quality it had had earlier. “Mmm… how to put this? Ibiki Morino and I don’t see eye to eye about some things. Let’s just say we have different priorities.”

Sakura frowned. “But sensei…” she took a sip of her warm tea for courage. “Even if he has a different nindo, I should have seen underneath the underneath…” She sighed. “Some ninja I am.”

Kakashi shook his head slightly, then propped his feet on the table and reopened his book. But he wasn’t done talking, apparently: “Sakura-chan. If I were you, I would consider your failure to pass like a job well done. Morino Ibiki is the head of the torture division here…  seeing underneath the underneath is a bit hard with him, wouldn’t you agree? But even then, he shouldn’t have used psychological warfare on you kids like that. Besides, logically, his test has no place in the chunin exams. Being chunin is about being able to work as a team. What he did was purposefully misleading and was encouraging you to put yourself above your teammates. You did good, Sakura-chan.”

“Really?”

"Un. The purpose of the first nine questions was to gather information and pass it on to your teammates if they couldn't, which neither of you did. The only one who came close to being concerned about the team was you, Sakura-chan." Kakashi took a sip of his tea, though, unfortunately, his face was still covered by his book. “Really. If both your teammates performed this badly, that just means they weren’t ready yet.” He grinned. “Besides, I can’t imagine Naruto cheating subtly to save his life.”

Wait. Information gathering? Cheating?! Sakura's eyes opened like saucers as Kakashi's words caught up with her.

“Ch-cheating, sensei?!”

He blinked at Sakura lazily from behind his book. “How else would you complete the test? Didn’t you mention the questions required advanced calculus?”

Sakura pouted. “So we were supposed to cheat?” Once again, she’d failed to think like a ninja. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

“Ma… at least that’s what I would’ve done. The sharingan’s handy like that.”

“You’re just lazy, sensei. I bet you could’ve solved every single question if you tried.”

“I wouldn’t presume so unless you told me what they are, Sakura-chan.”

And so, Sakura told him about the questions. A few had been about tactics, but mostly they were advanced calculus (for trajectory prediction and such) and one was about disarming a civilian bomb.

“Huh… those chunin went all out,” Kakashi opined when she was done explaining. “Most jonin wouldn’t know this stuff.”

“What about you?”

“Doubting your awesome sensei already, Sakura-chan?” He wiped and imaginary tear from his eye.

“So you can solve them?” That was good, Sakura could check the answers then.

“Maaa. You don't ask a lady her age, nor a jonin his IQ, Sakura-chan. Both will lie anyway." He winked. Okaaaaaay?  "Though I’d still inquire into the others’ responses, just to be safe, ne?”

Or in other words, he would still cheat because he was lazy. But at any rate, Sakura had a request: “So can I run my answers by you? I mean, I know I already failed, but…” Actually, she just wanted to see whether Kakashi knew his shit.

Kakashi slurped his tea. “I suppose your display of teamwork should be properly appreciated.”

“So…?”

“Shoot.”

“Oh, well… um, okay.” Naturally, Sakura had memorised everything about the test as usual, so discussing her answers with Kakashi took no effort on her part (she wrote it all out neatly on a spare napkin). They spent the next fourty or so minutes hashing it all out, and at one point Kakashi even put his book down to stare thoughtfully at the napkin.

It was nice. Sakura felt pretty darn smart right then, discussing complex problems with her sensei like that.

“Looks like you aced it,” Kakashi said at last. “Neat.”

Sakura couldn’t help but preen and fist-pump the air. “Cha! No need to cheat for me!”

“Ah, well…” Kakashi scratched his head. “Not in this case, no. But the real test, I think, was to see how good you were at information gathering and communication, not… uh… The elementary equations of ballistics.” He smiled uneasily. “How did you know this stuff again?”

Sakura blushed. Somehow, his comment made her think of Ino when she called Sakura a nerd. “Um. I just… like to rationalise stuff. And um… I like solving problems.”

“So you studied this in your free time?”

Sakura nodded.

“Well… how should I put this…”

Sakura interrupted him: “Yes, I know. It’s a waste of time and I should’ve spent the time training, not reading books.” She sighed. “It’s just… this is the only thing I’m good at. And not just good, but the best. It felt so nice, to, for once…”

“Sakura-chan, it’s fine. I understand. You know, sometimes we have to practice to get good at something.”

“I know…“ Sakura sighed. Of all things that she could’ve naturally excelled at, test-taking really wouldn’t have been her first pick. She recalled one of Amy’s favourite insults to her when she was little. “I’m such a paper ninja.”

“A paper ninja, huh?” Kakashi said.  “That’s not a bad thing. The only other person I know who could solve this sort of thing at your age used to be an ANBU captain, you know? The youngest we’ve had, I think.”

“Huh?” That actually sounded really cool. “So he was a paper ninja too?” Sakura asked giddily.

“Um…” said Kakashi uncomfortably. “Not exactly.” (Sakura’s shoulders sagged.) “But. He was very good at projectile motion calculations. He applied the knowledge to his own kunai throwing skills, with amazing results.” For some reason, he seemed uncomfortable while talking about the mysterious ANBU captain.

“What could he do?”

“Um, I think what surprised me the most was how he could neutralise various shuriken with a single one of his,” said Kakashi. “The one he threw rebounded off the others, which he used sometimes to deflect, others to attack.”

Sakura’s mouth fell open. “That’s possible?!”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Even theoretically speaking, that would be extremely hard to calculate. Actually pulling it off…

Sakura felt her competitive side stir. Could she do it?

“I see you’re all fired up,” Kakashi commented.

“Um. I guess I’d like to try. At least on a theoretical level.”

“Well, who am I to stop my favorite paper ninja?”

Despite herself, Sakura smiled. “Sensei! Calling someone a paper ninja is rude. You’re so clueless!”

“Mou, Sakura-chan. Calling a seasoned jonin clueless is way worse. Keep it up and you’ll hurt your poor Sensei’s feelings.”

“There’s nothing poor about you,” said Sakura without thinking. “Not with how stingy you are, anyways.”

“Now that’s a compliment!”

Sakura giggled. Huh. Sensei was funny. She hadn’t thought Kakashi’s general weirdness could be funny. Normally she was annoyed at him for being late. But after today, she thought he’d have to be really late for her to get mad.

“Sensei?” She took a final sip of her tea, which was now cold. “Thank you.”

Kakashi sensei smiled, his one visible eye crinkling: it seemed more genuine than usual. “Ma, the tea was free, so don’t worry about it.”

“Wait! I wasn’t thanking you about the tea!” But Kakashi-sensei had already puffed away.

Sakura facepalmed. “Scratch that. Totally clueless.”

#anime #fanfiction #uchiha #itasaku #quotes #reading #uchiha itachi #kakashi #sakura #haruno #kunoichi #naruto #kakasaku #sasuke #sasunaru #team 7 #team Kakashi #itachi #naruto shippuden #hatake kakashi #ninja #thinknicht

[leaveharmony]

Nope, not even readmore-ing it

Welp.  I don't know what I was expecting.

I mean.  I do know what I was expecting: what I paid for, what was promised in plain writing on every scrap of information released, what I had to check and double check and triple check because there was ZERO info anywhere on the ticketmaster pages for the individual time slots RE who was in which, so I had to concentrate to make sure I picked the right one. 

Why I thought that any of those things meant shit to WWE is beyond me, because by now I should know better.

We took the 11:10 train, which got us into Union around 12:53.  Shinsuke (and everyone in his group) was advertised for 1pm-5pm.  So after a little bit of memory jogging we found the right way to the convention centre, which was fortunately a place we'd been before off the only part of Toronto (or possibly the world) outside my own house that I'm capable of navigating (union station).  We were making all speed for Shinsuke's line across the convention hall no later than 1:25. Of course, the first thing the staff lady at the end of the line said was “We'll be swapping talent out at 3, so unfortunately we can't guarantee you'll get to meet this one.”

And like.

At that point I just knew, you know?   I'm not great at estimating #'s of people but there must have been maybe a hundred in front of us with a little over an hour and a half to go rather than the promised 3 1/2.  People still joined the line after us, even with the warning; there were probably at least 40 in line behind us, including little kids.  One boy was w/ his mum and hopefully clutching his glossy picture of Shinsuke; I watched his lil face go from Really Excited to a state of sort of crushed, anxious horror as the polite staffer apologetically delivered the news. Standing there, occasionally able to watch Shinsuke through the gaps in bodies and heads, I speed-ran the stages of grief all at once and in the span of about half a minute.  There was...no way in hell.  The girl who got in line behind us was much more optimistic, but I've been living my life a long time.

‘Please,’ I thought helplessly, ‘Just let me get up close enough to catch the front staffer's attention and then at least I can pass along the magnet I brought for his collection.’ Like that was the minuscule, sad little prayer I was capable of when I should have been buzzing with excitement.  Let me give it to someone else and maybe with any luck they'll pass it along to him.

We stood in line the entire time.  I hadn't had a drop of liquid since breakfast (empty bottles!  You couldn't even bring in empty bottles to fill with water inside) and my back hurt so badly by ~time's up~ that once or twice I thought I was actually going to pass out; normally in that situation I sit down before I have a chance to faint, but occasionally, when people were in the right arrangement, I could see him.  Just see him.  If I'd sat down I wouldn't  have been able to.  ‘I'll stand til he's gone, and then I'll have a chance to collapse on the cement floor and never move again,’ I thought. There probably would have been more heartbreaking positions to end up in than where we did, finally right against the last divider barricade, no further impediments to seeing him.  The one who would have been next, that would have been tough not to take personally.  Or a couple of people back.   Two people ahead of me there was a guy with his haircut, only dyed purple and teal; peeking out of his regulation clear plastic bag was a replica of the IWGP Intercontinental title.  He must have had a rough day. Homeboy in the wheelchair looked so happy to be one of the last ones up.  A baby in a stroller was going to be rolled aside while his dad got the photo but Shinsuke said no no, and waved them back; he laid his title over the kiddo's lap and leaned down to pull a face for the picture.  Kiddo didn't even seem to know where the fuck he was, but it was sweet and so Shinsuke that even the ppl who knew damned well they weren’t going to make it were laughing. Purple-hair lady we'd chatted with a little when we met at the centre of the parallel, winding lines made it up.  Maybe the third to last guy walked away with his arms raised in triumph and was so overcome he forgot the photo they'd taken, had to scurry back. 

I was...maybe ten people, maybe fifteen back from the front when they called time.  Dead centre of the front row, right behind the photographer.  As it turns out a comparatively enviable position.  One staffer brought out a black velvet bag for him to put the title back in (which he seemed a little confused by, I guess he's both not used to having one here and like...he'd always carry it himself and keep it with him in NJPW).  It was enough of a delay. 

I don't even know whether the woman I spoke to was a WWE employee or the photographer's assistant, or neither, but I hope the rest of her life goes exactly how she wants it until she’s called home to join the other angels.  I musn't have been talking loudly or clearly enough at first but she took my meaning, probably because I was holding out the magnet in it's little purple gauzy drawstring bag.  I thought she'd just ferry it over, that was absolutely my expectation, but once Shinsuke was finished wrangling the title into its own drawstring bag she flagged him down instead.

Probably no other person in the world could have made things Suddenly Ok, but Shinsuke came over to say a brief hello and graciously accept the silly-ass magnet I brought him, and smile at me and shake my hand before they ushered him away.  It was more than any of my poor fellow disappointed line people got, and it takes the edge off a considerable amount of the absolute despair that would have reigned otherwise. 

Though...less of the absolute fucking fury at the bunch of cold-blooded con artists he works for.  The poor.  Fucking kids.  Left in that line.  The poor kids!  How could their parents have known that ‘Signing from 1-5′ doesn't mean what any rational fucking person would take it to mean, but ‘Show up exactly at or maybe a half hour before 1 and be grateful for an overrun of nine whole minutes when we arbitrarily change the rules and replace him with Chad fucking Gable like all the wrestlers are interchangeable mass-produced knickknacks.’

The first person who went up, I looked between them and had no idea which one was even the wrestler - I wouldn't know Chad Gable if I tripped over him in the street.  We just got out of line. 

I hope to fucking god that they treated the people who paid for the WILDLY overpriced higher tier tickets more fairly and honestly than they did the general admission people but like, tbh it wouldn't surprise me if they'd bait and switch ppl at $500+ as readily as at $50.  It would surprise me more if they didn't, to be blunt.

That building is gods-damned huge and they were only using one room.  Literally every other convention in the world, people sign as long as they're advertised to sign and if they need breaks THEY TAKE BREAKS, a back in 20 sign appears and the world doesn't end.  The Usos were even meant to be in the group but weren't bc of like.  All the DUI, they wouldn't let them in the country, so...there were less people than were meant to be, even.  And still, still they find a way to send people away disappointed, man, woman and child.

On the way in we spotted the Feedback tables, laden with clipboards.  After a completely fruitless look at the shop (no more of the Shinsuke figure I wanted, of course, just the Bret Harts released at the same time), we just left to go eat because at that point I was legitimately about to pass out from the sustained pain & inadequate hydration.  “Oh, they're gonna get some fucking feedback, all right,” I muttered.   I didn't swear.  Too much.  I think I mentioned Shinsuke about seventeen times, and I absolutely called them demons (underlined), and I signed off with NEVER AGAIN.  DO YOU HEAR ME?  NEVER AGAIN.  But I didn’t swear.  Til the end, where they requested my email to keep me up to date with all the latest lies.  “Oh, go to hell.”

#Pretty Soldier Nakamura #Your daily reminder that WWE is garbage

[pomegranate-salad]

Seeds of thought : DIE #2

Hey everyone ! So many works I need to be SOTing right now. I decided to prioritize this, because well, new comic, needs all the attention. Plus, everytime an issue gets sold out, we get a new cover from Stephanie Hans. I live for them now. Anyway, spoilers of course, enjoy my thoughts and opinion under the cut.

HINDSIGHT IS D20/D20

 When I was a kid, I had this French comic in which they had a page that asked : “what happens after a movie ends ?” and there were a series of vignettes that answered that question in a proper humorous fashion. For example, one of these vignettes showed the last scene of a movie where a car of the heroic lovers drove in the middle of the road into the sunset onto their bright future. The next panel showed the two lovers in court, and the judge saying : “bright future or not, you crossed the lane line and I’m revoking your licence”.

 When I was seven, as most things do when you’re seven, it blew my mind. Nevertheless, this silly comic highlighted the universal, unbreakable truth of all stories : when it’s over, it’s over. There’s no more. And even today, as fanfiction has become its own genre, as no comedy is complete without a fourth wall break, when you close a book, when you turn off the TV, nothing can happen anymore. There is what the story implies will or might happen next, but sooner or later, you reach the point where you exhaust whatever the story contains of foreseeing. Each story writes its own last will ; but whatever happens after that, the story is dead : it still exist, but it won’t move forward, it won’t go back, it won’t do anything at all because it has stopped being able to do anything with itself. The only way for more to happen is for the author to write more. But that inevitably means writing a different story.

And that’s why, as sad as I could have been to leave a story I loved behind, for me there was always a sort of relief that came with reaching the end of a story : the relief that came from complete stillness. Because there’s no more, there’s no more pain, there’s no more stress, there’s no more excitement even, there’s no more reason to be alarmed at all. No reason be involved at all. Only when we reach the end of a story, can we be free from it. Outside of the contraption of the story, the characters’ actions don’t exist. THEY don’t exist. And you definitely know where I’m going with this.

 The genius of DIE is not to take us to an elaborate gritty deconstructive fantasy RPG world. The genius of DIE is to take us back to it. Back to the story that’s already ended. Yes, I know I said in my last SOT that I didn’t think the characters were over their first visit in DIE by any means. The story of Ash and the gang is not over (by the way, I’m just going to call him Ash and use he/him pronouns until we get more on this issue, if needed I’ll edit accordingly). But functionally, narratively, the story of DIE the world, DIE the tabletop campaign, is over. The heroes arrived, the heroes did some shit, the heroes left. The story welcomed them and then the story ended. More than that, the story ended and nothing came to replace it. Sol’s speech is not the only thing that happens when thoughts curl up. The entire DIE world the gang is now in is nothing but a giant curl up. A new story did not emerge from the same setup. Sol just dug up the corpse of the old one and smeared make-up all over it.

The return of the heroes in a fantasy world they once knew is not a ground-breaking idea in fantasy by any means – I mean, Narnia did it. But in the usual take on this plot, the trigger element to the world the heroes return to is their leaving the world, not their being there in the first place – or in Sol’s case, staying. The second Narnia book showed us a world in shambles because the heroes saved it then left it, not because the heroes saved themselves and one of them was left behind. And maybe what I’m about to say will be disproved by future issues, but I’m not under the impression that the characters were particularly anything to the world of DIE, least of all heroes. They seem to mostly have been there. Some parts they barely set foot in, and the way they talk about the supposed “big bad” of the first game, the main reason they came after him seems to have been that they prevented them from going home. As a setup, the world of DIE seems to have been a bit underexploited. But come to think of it, was it really that great a setup ? Ash’s narration goes back and forth on the issue. Sol’s imagined world is either described as brilliant or the exact kind of pretentious overwritten stuff you’d expect from that particular breed of teenager (Elves but written by William Gibson is complicated… But is it, Ash ? Is it really ?)

 But all of that maybe-not-that-great world, all that hammered fantasy stuff, are rendered new and interesting in context. I’m not the first one to point out that this setting allows characters to offer perpetual commentary on their younger selves. My shots at teenage pretentiousness are fucking text. If nothing else, this is a genius move to deflect any and all criticism of the comic’s take on the RPG genre : if it’s overdone, if it’s overwritten, you’re not smart for pointing that out, that characters are way ahead of you. But more interestingly, this moves every single “big idea” of the “transported in a fantasy world” plot further up the road. The main example is the reality vs fantasy ethical debate. Think how many pages in how many books were dedicated to exploring the ethical ramifications of being in a fantasy world without knowing if what you did was “real” or not. Do you have to be ethical when you play a game ? Would Kant play Grand Theft Auto ? This is a massive debate. In DIE, it’s addressed in issue #2 on one page. But it would be a mistake to think DIE is selling this question short, or “getting it out of the way” : like often with Gillen, the form is the point. The underhandedness of this debate among the characters is what makes it interesting. Because it’s a debate they had before. This is something they decided on. They set rules. They built an ethics system. They also saw the limits of it. Because no matter how lawful good they decided to play that thing, there’s always one player to just do what they want, or there’s always not even that same player doing some stupid wordbinding spell because that’s just a throwaway romance secondary plot, and who hasn’t fucked with one of those before. All the time it would have taken the comic to establish the characters coming to terms with this debate, disagreeing, coming to a solution, is time that can be used to see this solution unfold in glorious consequences. And you know what ? I’m willing to bet that the characters weren’t even that bad the first time around. But they were there, and that’s really all consequences need. Another thing to think about ? Maybe the reason the characters came to having this debate was that at some point, they didn’t think they would ever go home. Maybe the world they moulded the first time around, was the world they thought they would spend their lives in. You’re welcome.

 So does that mean DIE is going to leapfrog every single of these important questions to simply present us with the consequences of the characters’ choices ? Probably not. But every single decision and facet of this new story is going to come with its own asterisk : this isn’t the first time around. Everything is loaded. Nothing is ever innocent. This is the Monty Hall problem halfway through : one door has been opened, will you change your choice ? And for us, who didn’t get to see which doors our heroes picked in the first place, that’s going to be a hell of a ride.

  WHAT I THOUGHT OF THE ISSUE

 The idea of this section was for me to get a bit more personal about my thoughts, without feeling like I needed to make a big point. So let’s get personal : I do not like Ash. By which I don’t mean I think he’s badly written, I mean I don’t like him as a person. As in, we would not be friends. I already had that feeling when issue #1 came out, but I tried to be generous because we’d seen so little of everyone, but now we’re two issues in, let me confirm : I do not like Ash. I do not like his fake self-flagellation hiding some very real condescension, I do not like his teenage angst with a twenty years old aging flavour, I do not like that he’s introspective in the least interesting way possible, and for someone who boasts that he learned to “tell stories”, good god is he an annoying narrator. Yes part of it is intentional. And no, I do not particularly like any of the other characters either. And you have to take into account protagonist bias, meaning that the character you spend the more time with is the one you have the biggest chance to like, but also the biggest chance to hate instead of simply dislike. But hey, I never claimed to be the perfect reader. And for now, Ash is annoying the shit out of me. To me, he feels as if you’d taken Laura from Wicdiv, kept her just as laborious and self-hating, but removed all the parts that actually made her likeable. Which leads me to ask the question : can I be honest about the quality of an issue if I’m that bothered by who’s telling it ? The answer, as always, is that I can be honest with myself : I’m probably not as high on this issue as many people are. And the principal reason for that is definitely the main character and narration. Don’t get me wrong, this issue is a thrill : the scene with Sol is chilling – I think he might be my favourite character, actually – the combat scene is narratively masterful, the ending is a bit of cheap shot (I’m fairly certain I’ve seen this eyes plotpoint in several other stories) but god damn if it isn’t effective. Oh, and let’s take a moment to praise the art, Lord knows Stephanie Hans needs me, whose stick figures make the Monkey Christ lady look like Michelangelo, to praise her. But jokes aside, I want to give credit to how Hans resisted the appeal of painting the classic huge detailed fantasy world first chance she got. Instead, her vision of DIE is one of a weirdly deserted, bright yet gloom world, which fits the mood perfectly. To borrow from the issue, her use of colour looks like fantasy feels, without feeling the need to overbear on the raw emotions of this issue with more detailed pencils (Ash’s digression about Maria is also probably incidentally the most I’ve ever liked his narration). Best panels for me are of course the ones where you can see the sides of the DIE. Probably because it manages to feel so small and so huge at the same time. I’m a sucker for intimate fantasy.

So, this issue, minus Ash, is nothing I don’t love. But on the other hand, this issue doesn’t really exist without Ash. Try as I may, I cannot deny that part of the appeal of the issue comes from his narration and his personality. Yeah, he’s a whiny controlling drama queen, but I put up with an entire issue of Woden monologuing and this was one of the best things I’ve ever read, so you know what, I can put up with a little bullshit. I don’t think Ash has to be a good person, or even someone I like, for DIE to be good. I guess at this point my problem with him is that I don’t find him interestingly unlikeable, as was the case with Woden. Maybe it’s because unlike Woden, there are several people in my life who remind me a lot of Ash, and since they’re not necessarily assholes, they’re not people I have an excuse to outright avoid and thus with whom I’m much more familiar with. So who knows, maybe I’ll make peace with Ash. Comic’s still young. Meanwhile, my opinion on issue #2 is pretty much the same as for issue #1 : this is remarkable work, brilliant in some aspects, almost irritating in how proficient it is at doing its own thing, and maybe just a touch overconfident in its ability to walk the line between profound and navel-gazing. But when DIE keeps it simple, when it just wants to touch you instead of punching you in the gut, then it’s fucking unstoppable. If you’re not on the DIE train yet – well first, I admire and fear the way you powered through this post, but also, jump in, like now. You won’t regret it.

#diecomic #seeds of thought

[listofnamesinred13]

Okay I’m about to spill some tea

SO “oh look, taylor swift is dragging up past drama to sell her new album, look at her playing the victim again, you’re still over”

is what all the haters happen to be screaming (among over ridiculous things) tonight, following the release of Look What You Made Me Do, the lead single to Swift’s 6th album: Reputation. But let’s take a little trip down memory lane to see if Taylor really is playing the victim. Hold on ladies, it’s gonna be a long one. 

2006-2008  

Taylor broke out in 2006, and when Love Story stormed the charts in late 2008 she became a global superstar and thus named “America’s Sweetheart” a bittersweet and dangerous title for any young female star, because it’s so easy to fall from the top. She was immediately held to an impossibly high standard of perfection, in every aspect of her life, and she handled this with grace. 

2009 - early 2012

We know what happened here, no real need to recap, but the result of this event was Kanye being thought of internationally as a horrific bully. Which he is and continues to be until this day. Taylor went on to be the youngest artist to win album of the year at the Grammys, the world so does love an underdog. 

Taylor responded to West the way she knows best: song-writing. she released her phenomenal 3rd album Speak Now and it featured a heart-breaking track named Innocent. 

It's okay, life is a tough crowd 32, and still growin' up now Who you are is not what you did. You're still an innocent.

Swift, aged only 20, twelve years junior to her bully, responded maturely, forgiving him. At the same time she wrote a grammy-award-winning anti-bullying anthem of the name “Mean,” said to be about a critic who wasn’t constructive in his criticism, just plain cruel. 

Soon after a standing ovation at the 2012 grammys, Swift brought the speak now era to a close.

Late 2012 - 2014

Taylor’s award winning curls disappeared with the release of her Hunger Games singles, and shortly after, she released We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. Now 22, Swift was growing up, and, if you’ll pardon the pun, the release of the Red album caused a swift departure for her “sweetheart” title. Suddenly the romantic theme to her music was causing people to role their eyes. 2013 was a year of jokes about lists of ex-boyfriends, “keep your sons, brothers, dads and boyfriends away from Miss Swift, she’s destroy them, try to bury them with a song.” This is where the words “Playing the victim” first appeared. She was no longer seen as an innocent princess, the grown woman began to wear less fairy-tale-esque clothing, in favour of her now infamous black shorts. she attended award shows, knowing full well she was going to have to take an insult on the chin, and no one would stand up for her. Everyone was laughing. Her unforgettable but brief romance with Harry Styles caused insane online backlash, his fans taking her reputation for writing about personal relationships as an excuse to tear apart their relationship. Just one of many examples of the opinions of people that don’t know her, have never met her, believe they have a right to bad mouth her because “she’s Taylor Swift” 

2014 - 2017

The released of the record-breaking 1989 album saw Taylor win back her popularity for the first time since before Styles. She declared that she could not be thrown off her game by her haters in “shake it off” insisting she will be herself more. But the real take down came in the form of “blank space.” Her satirical chart-topper saw her take back the narrative for the first time. She stated that she decided to play by their [the media’s] rules, writing and performing from the point of view of the “jet-setting man-eating psycho” they insisted she was. And the media, fickle as ever, lapped up every word. Impressed this silly little girl had played them at their own game, they placed her back on the pedestal.

Thus began the age of the “squad” 

Taylor’s Victoria Secret Performance allowed her to form friendships with the angels, and the media nicknamed her ever-growing group of friends a “squad.” People mistakingly believed Taylor had formed this squad as an clique, an army against her latest enemy, Ex-BFF Katy Perry. We all know the details of their feud and Taylor’s smooth take-down track Bad Blood. I guess I can forgive the confusion, but members of the so called squad have stated that it’s not a clique, it’s just a support group of mostly women. Taylor had bitten back at the media’s representation of her, calling them out for being sexist. I however, personally don’t see it as sexism. I see it as bullying. The simple fact is that no other celebrity on the planet get attacked so much for so little crimes as Taylor Swift. This “squad” theory began positively but soon took a dark turn, as numerous times Taylor Swift was referred to as a “Regina George” Who famously played the victim in the 2004 blockbuster hit “Mean Girls” despite secretly being the mean girl herself. 

 Following her new popularity, an old ghost made an appearance in her life. With encouragement from their mutual friend Jay-Z, Taylor Swift and Kanye West made up. 

Taylor even presented an award to him, mocking the infamous  statement: “Imma let you finish...” by ending it with “but Kanye West has had one of the best careers of all time” The legendary feud was over. Taylor was on top of the world. 

Or so we thought. With the release of Kanye West’s “Famous” came a rather degrading lyric: 

“I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex Why? I made that bitch famous (God damn) I made that bitch famous”

Once again, we know the details. Taylor’s not completely innocent, maybe she shouldn’t have claimed she knew nothing of it. But take away your opinions on Miss Swift. Imagine if someone who bullied you, humiliated you, suddenly wanted to end all strife and flaunt an alliance. You’d jump at the chance, I know I would, and have. Taylor has previously proved to be the forgiving type, and in that phone call you can hear how eager she is to please. I believe Taylor did not understand exactly how degrading the finally song would sound, brushing her off, taking credit for her success, coupled with a video depicting a life-like naked wax figure of her he commissioned thousands into making right beside him in large bed full of controversial figures, including sex offenders and abusers. Imagine that had happened to YOU. Not Taylor Swift Trademark, the untouchable millionaire business woman, but a real woman, with real feelings. You would be scared. You’d be filing restraining orders. She had trusted him and let him in. He humiliated her for a second time, and in her panic she responded badly. 

And yet, for some reason, the world took his side. This degrading song and disgusting video was somehow righteous over obscuring a little truth. Taylor’s response to the video release was such:

The internet wasn’t having it though. The final sentence became her death sentence, and thus began a meme and a #/taylorswiftisoverparty. Fans of Swift did try to defend her, but they also knew that Miss Swift was definitely not over. 

2017 (present day)

Finally I have reached the release of “Look What You Made Me Do” the lead single of Swift’s 6th and highly anticipated album “Reputation” 

So now we have tracked the history of Taylor “Playing the victim” I would very much like to address why LWYMMD is certainly not her playing it. I would like to push Kanye, Kim, and Katy aside, their actions were not to be admired, but this post is ultimately about the media and the public’s opinion of Miss Swift. 

SO LETS ANALYSE SHALL WE:

The role you made me play Of the fool, no, I don't like you I don't like your perfect crime How you laugh when you lie You said the gun was mine

It was the media and the public that insisted that Taylor was two faced, a snake, they forced her to play a role in their narrative. This public side of the role was like a villain, and the real way they played her was as a fool. The Media tricking her into trusting them, and then pushing her off the pedestal they put her on. 

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined

Swift is no longer playing nice. Did everyone really expect her to lie down and let Kanye win? She’s out for revenge, and so she should be. 

I don't like your kingdom keys They once belonged to me You ask me for a place to sleep Locked me out and threw a feast (what?) The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma And then the world moves on, but one thing's for sure Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours

This is a general address to those who supported her through her success at the start of the 1989 era, and then abandoned her when she fell from grace. They labelled it as Taylor getting what was coming to her, but she knows that eventually the tables will turn again and their time on the chopping block will come. 

I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

Their betrayal has lead to her inability to trust, and as she says, they all believe she’s a snake, she’s two-faced, if they don’t get her first she’ll get them. Her insane success has made her “untrustworthy”  The world is forcing her to be someone she’s not. 

"I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now." "Why?" "Oh, 'cause she's dead!" (ohh!)

This tongue-in-cheek spoken part is almost a throwback to Blank Space, she joins the taylor swift is over party, okay, we’ll play it your way, just before  I destroy you. It also sadly suggests that their cruelty and endless abuse killed the forgiving version of her. 

Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do

At first, I didn’t quite get this line. She hasn’t done anything yet? What have they made her do? But then it clicked. They made her be a part of the narrative she wanted to be excluded from. They asked for her to play the bad guy, they insisted on her Villainous persona. They insisted she was a snake. So they made her become the snake. 

Taylor has never once purposely “Played the victim.” Swift does not want to be the victim. So, this time around, she’s not forgiving. She’s not crying. She’s not ignoring it. She’s fighting it. Taylor Swift is angry, self-aware enough to know at this point she has no other route to take, bar buying an island and never being heard from again. She’s claiming her own fury, her own narrative, her own reputation. 

And she’s out for blood.

Hiss Hiss.

#reputation #repuatationera #Taylor #taylor swift #Taylorswift #look what you made me do #lwymmd

[feartheconstant-a]

General:

I’m AU, OC, crossover and multi-verse friendly and I’m open to many plot ideas. I’m happy if you DM me with any idea you have. I am Non-Selective and we don’t have to be mutuals to interact. However, what I do look for in blogs is a rules page and there will have to be some way our muses can interact. Nothing against if you don’t though! It’s just a preference.

I’m open to trying any ship but I will not touch a few of them and I will say what ships I don’t support while plotting. Please don’t try to push a ship onto me as it will make me want to rp with you less and I don’t want it to come to that.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind.

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it!

Spoilers - This blog will contain spoilers due to the use of canon characters and use of lore inside the media for their development.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally, I go by they/she pronouns. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Mobile Rules

[seeingmidnight-archived]

Rules

General:

I’m AU, OC, crossover and multi-verse friendly and I’m open to many plot ideas. I’m happy if you DM me with any idea you have. I am Non-Selective and we don’t have to be mutuals to interact. However, what I do look for in blogs is a rules page and there will have to be some way our muses can interact. Nothing against if you don’t though! It’s just a preference.

I’m open to trying any ship but I will not touch a few of them and I will say what ships I don’t support while plotting. Please don’t try to push a ship onto me as it will make me want to rp with you less and I don’t want it to come to that.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind. 

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it!

Spoilers - This blog will contain spoilers due to the use of canon characters and use of lore inside the media for their development.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally, I go by they/she pronouns. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Mobile Rules

[divingdeepdown-a]

General:

For this blog, I will Selective but don’t be deterred by this or my rules please!! I’m usually very friendly and open but for my own personal comfort I will be a little selective who I throw Ryley at but I will have a look at all bios from the people who would like to interact with him.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind.

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it!

Spoilers - This blog will contain spoilers due to the use of canon characters and use of lore inside the media for their development.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally and I go by they/she pronouns. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Mobile Rules

[seeingmidnight-a]

General:

I’m AU, OC, crossover and multi-verse friendly and I’m open to many plot ideas. I’m happy if you DM me with any idea you have. I am Non-Selective and Non-Private and we don’t have to be mutuals to interact. However, what I do look for in blogs are roleplay experience (or at least replies that are a paragraph minimum) and I do want to see a rules page and an about Mun and there will have to be some way our muses can interact. Nothing against if you don’t though! It’s just a preference.

I’m open to trying any ship but I will not touch a few of them and I will say what ships I don’t support while plotting. Please don’t try to push a ship onto me as it will make me want to rp with you less and I don’t want it to come to that.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Mobile Rules

[thewildchampion-a]

Rules

General:

For this blog, I am Semi-Selective but don’t be deterred by this or my rules please!! I’m usually very friendly and open but I do this for my own comfort! I’m open to OC’s, Crossovers, anons etc. All I ask is if you want to interact with me with muses, just know I might be a little selective but it doesn’t mean you won’t have a chance.

As Link is an asexual aromantic, I won’t be shipping him romantically with anyone but I’m all for having platonic relationships with him!

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind. 

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it!

Spoilers - This blog will contain spoilers due to the use of canon characters and use of lore inside the media for their development.

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally and I go by they/she pronouns. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is GMT if anything comes up to my activity.

#Rules

[universalundernet-archived]

Mobile Rules

General:

I’m AU, OC, crossover and multi-verse friendly and I’m open to many plot ideas. I’m happy if you DM me with any idea you have. I am Non-Selective and Non-Private and we don’t have to be mutuals to interact. However, what I do look for in blogs are roleplay experience (or at least replies that are a paragraph minimum) and I do want to see a rules page and an about Mun and there will have to be some way our muses can interact. Nothing against if you don’t though! It’s just a preference.

I’m open to trying any ship but I will not touch a few of them and I will say what ships I don’t support while plotting. Please don’t try to push a ship onto me as it will make me want to rp with you less and I don’t want it to come to that.

Disclaimer: For any/all icons used, I am not the creator of said art. They come from the actual game/show/movie source or fanmade art for said content. I have no artistic abilities and so nothing comes from me aside from the icon design.

Rules:

NSFW - While I am of age, I won’t be going into any smut related topics on the blog as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I will however go into triggering content from time to time which I will be sure to tag where I can. If I miss one, let me know!

No godmodding - this should go without saying but I’m putting it here anyway just in case. Doing this and making my character do things on your accord takes all the fun out of it! So please, don’t do this!

Give me time to reply - I try to reply as soon as I can. But if I don’t reply in a few days then I most likely need a break. If I reply to others and not you, then it means either I need a break from that thread or I haven’t got ideas for the time being. But I will always get around to it. Give me a week and then you can ping me a notification to drop me a reminder.

IMs - never be afraid to hit me with a plot thread or just to talk OOC. I’m always for it, I’ll try to get to you as soon as but I may not always available so keep that in mind.

Reblogging - I don’t mind you all reblogging my shitposts or other things I’ve reblogged from others of course. But when it comes to rps, only reblog it if I’m doing it with you. It can throw off the roleplay and can mess around with my thread tracker. So please, don’t reblog it unless you are involved in it. However, if you are replying to me, you can reblog the thread and ask directly from it without making a separate post.

Dropping threads - It’s fine if you want to. I get it if you do but PLEASE tell me. I’m fine if you want to drop something, I get it but I’m a very nervous bean when it comes to asking about threads and will wait months before poking you, so please tell me if you dropped it or not or I will be nervous to approach you for that thread when we can go and do other things and it can take it off my mind. 

Crossovers - Adding this to reassure people that I LOVE crossovers. If I feel comfortable with the fandom you’re in, I’m all for doing a crossover if I can find a way how to do it! 

OCs:

I am OC friendly but I do like to see a bio of your character before roleplaying with them. This is so I can see how they are and how I can work around this. It helps me figure out how I can integrate my muse into the situation but also determine if your muse is fit to roleplay with mine. As some things can clash too much. In a bio, I am not picky about what is in it as long as it has their personality and their backstory in detail.

Triggers:

I don’t have any triggers and there may be triggering things on my blog. I will do my best to tag them or put it under a ‘read more’ if I feel it could be badly triggering. If I forget to add a trigger in a tag, please let me know! This is so I would know not to repeat the mistake again since I want this to be fun for everyone.

About Mun:

Heyo, I’m Gally. I am an awkward silly bean who loves to roleplay, write and hurt my characters. I go by she/her, they/them pronouns and I love talking to new people and I love reading what other people write. Don’t be afraid to approach me because I am a very nice and welcoming person!

I’m 20 and in University so my activity might be dependant but since I spend all my time on the internet, most chances are that I’ll be around on Tumblr doing stuff with the blog or available to talk! I’m in England so my timezone is BST if anything comes up to my activity.

#Mobile Rules

[musicphanpie-b]

Jealousy

What if Logan was jealous of the other sides and felt like he couldn’t fit in? Pairing: none Warning: none (it’s just Logan angst, because i love him) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Something was off. No, scratch that, everything was off.

Logan dropped the pen he was writing with on the desk at the sound of Roman’s laugh, feeling frustrated at his inability to focus on planning tomorrow’s schedule. As more laughter and yells poured through the walls into his room, he rubbed his temple. The other three must be having fun by themselves again, Logan thought bitterly, without him. He quickly stomped on that thought though, as it was illogical to be annoyed over such a silly thing.

For years, there had been a normal order for them, an unspoken rule on how they work. They focused on Thomas at daytime, taking care of everything, then went through everything Thomas had done that day in their own rooms at night, sorting out the memories and feelings, and occasionally meet in one of the dreams Roman conjured up when Thomas was asleep. Things had been going fine, they mostly worked alone, argued with each other sometimes, and sometimes hung out. Logan was satisfied with the order, with a nice balance of socializing and personal space.

However, the order was completely thrown out of the window recently. With the improvement in their relationships with Virgil, the others had been spending more time with him, and in addition, all of them hung around each other much more than usual. Well, all of them, except Logan. It was not that Logan didn't want to be closer to them, it was just that he couldn't seem to find the right moment to. Most of the group activities involved watching movies and/or cartoons in the common area, goofing around in one of Roman's fantasies, or just simply hanging out in Patton's room. The activities were great, really, but Logan just couldn't enjoy them, he was just physically unable to. 

He always felt the need to point out inconsistencies and illogical details in movies and cartoons, to alter Roman's fantasies in order to suit reality, or to point out that laying around doing nothing was a waste of time. Every time he did it, the room grew quiet, and the playful, happy mood instantly vanished. Why couldn't he just be grateful for the others instead of ruining everything for them? Another wave of loud laughter sucked him out of his head, and he groaned under his breath, deciding that enough was enough. He stormed out of his room and rushed into the living room, where he saw all three of them sitting on the sofa pressed together side by side, laughing at whatever jokes they were telling, with the television on as the background noises. He didn't care about what they were talking about. He told himself he didn’t.

Roman was sitting in the middle of the sofa, doing that full-body laughs of his, along with Patton's slapping his thigh and Virgil's loud chuckles. The noises hurt his ears. "Hey guys, stop being so noisy!" He yelled, and the room immediately went silent. The three traits looked at him like deer caught in the headlights. After a few seconds of silent staring, Patton hesitantly spoke up, "...do you want to join in the movie, Logan?" "No, I have more...meaningful things to attend to." Their faces fell, and Logan faked a tight smile before leaving the room. When he was back in his bedroom though, the guilt set in, replacing the little petty triumph he felt earlier. He was certain that the noise was the thing bothering him about the other three hanging out together, but apparently, it was not. Logan was not certain about anything anymore, instead he was left upset and desperate for something, something he had always wanted but never had. He sighed,  hating himself for not being able to identify feelings, and decided that his feelings weren't important. After all, he was Logic, and feelings were not logical at all. However, the bond between Roman, Patton, and Virgil grew stronger, and he was growing more and more annoyed at their behaviour. It was an ugly hatred, settling itself in his stomach, slowly burning up to his heart like fire. It was wrong, selfish, he loved them, and he just couldn't figure out why he hated the others having fun together so much. When he saw Patton and Virgil curling up together and cuddling on the sofa, he got irritated and would lecture them on correct postures or anything else unimportant, just to disrupt the cozy moment, then would feel relieved when Patton and Virgil sadly separated. When he saw Roman and Patton complimenting each other and crafting gifts together, he would feel his heart ache and had to look away as quick as possible. When he saw Patton and Virgil talking about personal feelings, he would get upset all of a sudden and would either walk out of the living room, or tell them to talk in their own room if they wanted to share secrets with each other so much. It was a vicious cycle that was getting worse. Every time he snapped at them, he felt the connection he had with them breaking inch by inch. Logan had also started to notice the distance the others were putting up with him. Patton stopped asking him to come to movie nights, Roman stopped inviting him to go on adventures together, and Virgil, well, he just avoided him altogether. Logan knew that he caused this himself, he was to blame for all this isolation and abandonment, but he couldn't help but to blame the others as well. It went on for weeks, with Logan spending more and more time in his room, and the other sides moving further and further away from him. Until one day, the cycle broke. It had been a busy day, with Thomas filming and hanging out with friends. All four of them were exhausted and went to the living room to relax after Thomas had gone to bed.

After they all settled down in the living room and took a small break, Roman stood up from his spot on the sofa and announced, in his dramatic, princey way. Logan was getting food from the kitchen when Roman started to speak. "How about," he said, with a hint of suspense," a dragon-witch slaying adventure for all of us to lighten the mood?" He finished with his hands extended, radiating excitement. Logan took a bag of cookies in the kitchen and listened. Patton immediately jumped up in excitement and Virgil seemed interested.  Logan wanted to go with them, badly, but the ugly voice in the back of his mind spoke up and took control. They don’t want you. Stop them before they walk away. "It would not be wise," he said while walking over to his friends," we worked very hard today and an adventure would just add unnecessary pressure on us, so I would suggest against it.” They were sides, they didn't even need that much rest. Logan knew he was just saying it to ruin everything, like he always did. "Farewell. I am going back to my room." He started to turn around. "What's your problem, Logic?" Roman asked through gritted teeth. Logan turned to face Roman, who was now standing in front of him. "Excuse me?" "I said," Roman walked up, his face dangerously close," what. Is. Your. Problem?" Patton and Virgil looked at them worriedly, but they didn't speak. Logan could feel himself panicking, but he forced himself to speak in a calm voice. "I am merely stating facts, it is my job." "No, you are being an asshole." Roman glared at him straight in his eyes. Patton gasped and covered his mouth, while Virgil just looked startled. Logan stuttered. "Wh-what? I am not-" "You always stop us from enjoying things that we love, ruining our movie nights, insulting us about trivial mistakes we make!" Roman yelled, face turning red," do you really hate us that much?" For the first time in his life, Logan was rendered speechless. Does he hate them? "N-no, I-" "Then explain! Why are you so determined to destroy our bonding time every second? Why are you annoyed when we are having fun together? Why do you never spend time with us anymore?" Whatever, Logan thought, I already shattered everything between us, might as well admit how terrible I am. "I hate it when you guys have fun." Emotions flashed through Roman's eyes, the first was shock, then confusion, and at last, he ended up looking at Logan with disbelief and hurt. "What?" "I hate seeing you guys happy, I hate looking at you three laughing with each other, I don't know why, but I just do." Logan ranted, feeling defeated and lost. "I-I, I just, feel left out, an-and, can't control myself." Roman took a step back, and realization replaced his look of anger. Patton whispered a quiet," oh no," and Virgil looked at him with sympathy. Everything was so confusing, he wanted to crawl under the floor, he felt naked. Logan’s mind was reeling, why is he acting like this? Why has he been so terrible to- "You are jealous." Logan looked up, and found Patton walking up to him. "You just want to be a part of us, but you don't know how to ask for it," Patton offered a sad smile, and Logan hated himself more. He didn't deserve it. "So you acted out, you pretend to not care about us, unwilling to have fun with us, when you just wanted to stop feeling neglected." Jealous. Logan considered this in his mind. It fit. He finally found the answer to all of this. The agitation, the loneliness, the anger, the annoyance. But now when he had a word to blame all his mistakes on, more guilt crushed in. He had been so selfish, only caring about his feelings without taking the others into consideration. He WAS an asshole. Virgil spoke up," I think I speak for everyone here when I say I'm sorry. We never saw it as a big deal and just ignored you. We shoved you aside. We are sorry." No. Why are they apologizing? It is his fault, he felt his lips quivering. "No, it isn't" Patton was even closer now, slowly raising his arms." We should've looked out for you when you have needed us." His arms closed around Logan's shoulder. The hug made him feel secure, safe, and he felt the hold on his heart releasing. Logan's slowly breathed out unsteadily, feeling the walls around his heart finally coming down. "Than-thank you, guys." "It's alright, that's what families are for."

#sanders sides #fic #logan sanders #platonic #bobotrieswriting #angst

[ailuronymy]

i once drew a piece of fanart of spottedleaf and silverstream being shipped together for fun, and i jokingly said 'i love crack shipping mary-sues.' somebody commented that silverstream wasn't a mary-sue and listed three flaws of hers (something along the lines of stubborn, rule-breaker, and one other thing). they go on to say that if you can list down three flaws of a character, they're not a mary sue. using the term mary-sue/gary-stu when it comes to critiquing a character bothers me, [1]

along with their reasoning, so i told them that the quantity of flaws you can list down doesn't decide whether a character is well-written - it's the quality of the writing. i explained some of the problems with silverstream's character, and concluded that the issue i had with her wasn't all the 'mary-sue' business, but the fact that she was badly written and could've been a lot more interesting. how should comments like these be handled (in case i come across similar ones because of me just carelessly throwing words like mary-sue around in a non-serious context)? 

Hello there! Well, the first piece of advice I can offer is one you’ve picked up on: stop carelessly throwing around unhelpful words, in serious and non-serious contexts. If you don’t use the term mary-sue, you won’t have this particular problem again on your artworks, I can almost guarantee it. Prevention is better than needing a cure. So, if you’d prefer not to get into conversations over the use of the concept, don’t use it. 

As a term, mary-sue is functionally useless. You’ve identified this yourself, it seems like, since you’re saying the term bothers you when it comes to critique.Even aside from its sexist history and negative origin, it’s useless as a way for discussing characterisation or writing in general. There’s no real consensus on the definition--i.e., is it for characters who aretoo perfect and have no flaws, or who are super angsty and dramatic and have aheap of “flaws”? is it for characters who are clearly works of wish fulfillment(typically for young girls, with all the features of a typical powerfantasy--i.e., skilful, strong, smart, lots of friends, considered attractiveby many, admired and respected, cool, so on)? is it for characters who are “badly written” and kind of cardboard and/or implausible and/or just considered to be too competent, for whatever reason?--and it’s an example of a larger problem in the writing side of most fandom, which is that there is a belief that characters aren’t much more than bundles of traits and that most traits are coded as negative or positive or neutral. If you have an even mix of negative and positive traits, you have “a good character.” This is false, and that’s what you ran into here. 

Part of the reason I won’t look over character biographies anymore is the fact I don’t want to contribute to the perpetuation of this mindset, actually (the other reason being I just don’t have the time to do that kind of work for free these days). There’s a lot I could say about all this, but since your question is about what advice I can give you for handling issues in the future, I’ll try to stay on topic. 

The first and best advice I can offer is, as I said, don’t use the silly word at all. Mary-sue should really be retired from fandom vernacular by now, because the use of it--jokingly or otherwise--makes people (especially younger and/or more uncertain writers) think it means something, which is misleading. It’s much more constructive to analyse and explain what works or doesn’t work in a text than to say “never do this” or “always do this” or try to make a formula for “good writing”--i.e., “if a character has three flaws, it’s a good character” or “if a character explores wish fulfillment, it’s a bad character.” That kind of advice doesn’t acknowledge that context is super important and that texts can have multiple functions and that a not-inconsiderable aspect of good and interesting writing tends to involve breaking rules anyway. 

The other bit of advice I can offer you if you get into a little clash or confusion with someone like this again is to first identify what their mood is and what their goal is, to the best of your ability. If someone comes at you angry, it’s worthwhile to figure out what’s actually got them worked up about the situation. It’s possible they’re a kid and they’ve perceived your comment as insulting their favourite character and so they’re being defensive, because they don’t have the critical thinking or language skills yet to just walk away or start a thoughtful conversation. Likewise, if someone comes at you in some condescending way, it’s possible they’re either just a tool who thinks they’re superior and wants to make you feel bad or they think they’re genuinely helping you and don’t realise how the tone comes across. If you suss out the vibe and intention of a comment before responding, you can decide 1. if it’s worth your time to engage (if it’s not, walk away. You’re allowed to ignore the things random strangers on the internet say), and 2. how you want to handle it if you do decide to engage.

If you want to engage, there are probably a lot of well-written pieces out there about why mary-sue isn’t a great concept/what makes some writing more effective than other kinds/general help for early critical reading and analysis, and you can link to those if you don’t want to explain the whole thing yourself. Basically, though, the third bit of advice before diving into that is a lot like the second, except that this time you’ve got to assess what your mood and motive is before getting involved. That’s really all I have to offer, I think. I hope this answers your question.