#and all his problems were solved when a big powerful man showed up

[rooroolemon]

He's a Disney princess, and I'm in love with him ;)

#my art #mha fanart #mha #mha todoroki #mha shoto #he's my favorite #shoto todoroki #magic hands #magic hair #and all his problems were solved when a big powerful man showed up #and beat him up in front of thousands of people

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The FTC has Big Pharma’s number

On November 27, I'm appearing at the Toronto Metro Reference Library with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

On November 29, I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

The most consistent bright spot in the dark swirl of US politics is the competence of the Biden Administration's progressive enforcers: people like Rohit Chopra, Jonathan Kanter and Lina Khan, who keep demonstrating just how far a good administrator can go. Anyone can have a vision, but knowing how to execute is the difference between hot air and real change:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/23/getting-stuff-done/#praxis

Take a minute to contrast Biden's administrators with Trump's: Trump's administrators had an ideological vision just as surely as Biden's do, and Trump himself had a much more pronounced and explicit ideology than Biden, whose governance style is much more about balancing the Democratic Party's blocs than bringing about a specific set of policies:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/06/personnel-are-policy/#janice-eberly

But whatever clarity of vision the Trump administration brought to DC was completely undermined by its incompetence (thankfully!). Apart from one gigantic tax break, Trump couldn't get stuff done. He couldn't deliver, because he'd lose his temper or speak out of turn:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/14/when-youve-lost-the-fedsoc/#anti-buster-buster

And his administrators followed his lead. Scott Pruitt was appointed to run the EPA after a career spent suing the agency. It could have been the realization of his life's dream to dismantle environmental law in America and open the floodgates for unlimited, wildly profitable corporate pollution and pillaging. But the dream died because he kept getting embroiled in absurd scandals – like the time he sent his staffers out to drive around all night looking for a good deal on a used mattress:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/epa-s-pruitt-told-aide-obtain-old-mattress-trump-hotel-n879836

Or his insistence on installing a CIA-style "Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility" (SCIF) so he could play super-spy while reading memos:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/26/politics/epa-administrator-scott-pruitt-sound-proof-booth-scif/index.html

Or the time he sent his security detail to the Ritz-Carlton to demand that they supply him lots of little bottles of his favorite hand-cream:

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/7/17439044/scott-pruitt-ritz-carlton-moisturizing-lotion

There were other examples in the Trump administration, but Priutt is such a good case-study. He's like a guy who spent his whole life training to compete in the Olympics, and finally got a shot, only to be disqualified for ordering too much room-service in the Olympic Village. Priutt was wildly ambitious, but he was profoundly undisciplined – and wildly incompetent.

Compare that with Biden's progressive enforcers and agency heads, who showed up on the first day of work with an encyclopedic knowledge of their administrative powers, and detailed plans for using them to transform the lives of the American people for the better:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

The Biden administration's competence translates into action, getting stuff done. Maybe that shouldn't surprise us, given the difference between the stories that reactionaries and progressives tell about where change comes from.

In reactionary science fiction, we enter the realm of the "Competent Man" story. Think of a Heinlein hero, who is "able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly."

In Competent Man stories, a unitary hero steps into the breach and solves the problem – if not single-handedly, then as the leader of others, whose lesser competence is a base metal that the Competent Man hammers into a tempered blade:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/RobertAHeinlein

Contrast this with a progressive tale, like, say, Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry For the Future, where the Competent Man is replaced by the Competent Administration, in which people of goodwill and technical competence figure out how to join forces to create population-scale architectures of participation that allow every person to contribute their skills and perspective:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/03/ministry-for-the-future/#ksr

The right's whole ideology insists that the world can only be saved by Competent Men. As Corey Robin writes in The Reactionary Mind, the unifying factor that binds together conservative factions from monarchists to racists to Christian Dominionists is the belief that a few of us are born to rule, and the rest to be ruled over:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/25/mafia-logic/#mafia-logic

The Reaganite insistence that governments are, by their very nature, incompetent and malign ("The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I’m from the government, and I’m here to help'"), means that conservatives deny the possibility of a Competent Administration.

When conservatives take office and proceed to bungle the most basic elements of administration, they're fulfilling their own campaign narrative, which starts with "We must dismantle the government because it is bad at everything." Conservatives who govern badly prove their own point, which explains a lot about the UK Tory Party's long run of governmental failure and electoral success:

https://apnews.com/article/uk-suella-braverman-fired-cabinet-shuffle-7ea6c89306a427cc70fba75bc386be79

There's a small mercy in the fact that so many of the most ideologically odious and extreme conservative governments are so technically incompetent in governing, and thus accomplish so little of their agendas.

But the inverse – the incredible competence of the best progressive administrators – is nothing short of a delight to witness. Here's the latest example to cross my path: the FTC has intervened in a lawsuit over generic insulin pricing, on an issue that is incredibly technically specific and also fantastically important:

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/ftc-blasts-pharmas-abuse-fda-patent-system-sanofi-mylans-insulin-monopoly-lawsuit

The underlying case is before the FDA, and it concerns the dirty tricks that pharma giant Sanofi used to keep Mylan from making a generic version of Mylan's Lantus insulin after its patent expired.

There's an explicit bargain in patents: inventors can enlist the government to punish their rivals for copying their ideas, but in exchange, the government demands that the inventor has to describe how the invention works in a detailed patent filing, and when the patent expires, 20 years later, rivals can use the patent application as instructions for freely copying and selling the invention. In other words: you get 20 years of exclusive rights in return for facilitating your competitors' copying and selling your invention when the 20 years are up.

Pharma doesn't like this, naturally: not content with 20 years of exclusivity, they want the government to step in and punish their competitors forever. In service to that end, pharma companies have perfected a process called evergreening, where they dribble out ancillary patents after their initial filing, covering minor reformulations, delivery systems, or new uses.

Evergreening got a moment in the public eye earlier this year, with John Green's viral campaign to shame Johnson & Johnson out of using evergreening to restrict poor countries' access to TB medication:

https://armandalegshow.com/episode/john-green-part-1/

The story of pharma is that it commands gigantic profits, but it invests those profits into medicines that save our lives. The reality is that most of the key underlying pharma research is publicly funded (by Competent Administrators who apportion funding to promising scientific inquiry). Pharma companies' most inventive genius is devoted to inventing new evergreening tactics:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/19/solid-tumors/#t-cell-receptors

That's where the FTC comes in, in this Sanofi-Mylan case. To facilitate the production of generic, off-patent drugs, the FDA maintains a database called the "Orange Book," where pharma companies are asked to enumerate all the ancillary patents associated with a product whose patent is expiring. That way, generics manufacturers who make their own version of these public domain drugs and therapeutics don't accidentally stumble over one of those later patents – say, by replicating a delivery system or special coating that is still in patent.

This is where the endless, satanic inventiveness of the pharma sector comes in. You see, US law provides for triple damages for "willful patent infringement." If you are a generics manufacturer eyeing up a drug whose patent is about to expire and you are notified that some other patents might be implicated in your plans, you must ensure that you don't accidentally infringe one of those patents, or face business-destroying statutory damages.

So pharma companies stuff the Orange Book full of irrelevant patent claims they say may be implicated in a generic manufacture program. Each of these claims has to be carefully evaluated, both by a scientific team and a legal team, because patents are deliberately obfuscated in the hopes of tricking an inattentive patent examiner into granting patents for unpatentable "inventions":

https://blueironip.com/patents-that-hide-the-ball/

What's more, when a pharma giant notifies the FDA that it has ancillary patents that are relevant to the Orange Book, this triggers a 30-month delay before a generic can be marketed – adding 2.5 years to the 20 year patent term. That delay is sometimes enough to cause a manufacturer to abandon plans to market a generic drug – so the delay isn't 2.5 years, it's infinite.

This is a highly technical, highly consequential form of evergreening. It's obscure as hell, and requires a deep understanding of patent obfuscation, ancillary patent filings, generic pharma industry practice, and the FDA's administrative procedures.

Sanofi's Orange Book entry for Lantus insulin listed 50 related patent claims. Of these, 48 were invalidated through "inter partes" review (basically the Patent Office decided they shouldn't have allowed these claims to be included on a patent). Neither of the remaining two claims were found to be relevant to the manufacture of generic Lantus.

This is where the FTC's filing comes in: their amicus brief doesn't take a position whether Sanofi's Orange Book entries were fraudulent, but they do ask the FDA to intervene to prevent Orange Book stuffing because "improper listings can cause significant harm to competition and consumers."

This is the kind of boring, technical, important stuff that excellent administrators can do. The FTC's brief is notice to the FDA that it should amend its procedures to ban (and punish) Orange Book abuse. That will make it possible for you, a person who needs medicine, to get that medicine more cheaply and quickly. In America's pay-for-use privatized healthcare hellscape, this could be a life-or-death matter.

There's plenty of things the Biden administration is getting very, very badly wrong, but we shouldn't lose sight of how its progressive wing is making real, lasting change for the better. Competent Administrations are the true peoples' champions. They beat Competent Men every time.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/23/everorangeing/#taste-the-rainbow

#pluralistic

[lowkeyremi]

Hello Maya! Before I start my request, I just wanna say, I love your writing!!! I've been reading your things for a few weeks now (I'm new to tumbler) and I'm hooked!!

Anywho- I was listening to "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift and it gave me the idea of fem!reader meeting Satoru at some big event for sorcerers and falling hopelessly in love with him

heyyyyyy thank you for reading my stuff and i'm really happy you made a request, i've been hoping someone would bc i want to write ideas other than my own. i'm not huge on taylor swift so i had to listen to this song lol its pretty good :) you ask and i shall provide!! also i'm sorry if this isn't what you had in mind :')

Enchanted S. Gojo x fem!reader

wc: 1.1k

content: fluff, meeting and getting together

The night hadn't been going so well. You spilled some of your drink on your dress. That was borrowed from your friend might you add. Three guys that showed any potential interest were already with someone and their dates angrily pulled them away from you.

There are whispers about the oh so famous Satoru Gojo, and how he's finally made an appearance with his long time friend Nanami.

You've heard plenty about him, he's the famous sorcerer from Jujutsu High that has six eyes. He can solve any problem and he's said to be very hot. Honestly you're kind of a hater, you think people are gassing him up for no reason.

You've never personally met him but his description makes it hard to miss him if you see him; white hair blue eyes, but he'll likely be wearing an eye mask.

A sigh escapes your lips as you walk toward the bar for another drink, you would have invited your best friend but she's not a sorcerer and would not get it at all. "Hi, sorry for being back so soon, but could I get a strawberry margarita?" The woman behind the bar nods.

Before she can walk off though, a silky, carefree voice makes a request with your order, "Me too! Never tried strawberry margarita. Sounds pretty fruity." This day is already bad so you turn your head to see who just made it even worse-

A pretty white haired man stands by your side, piercing blue eyes peaking through sunglasses that look down right ridiculous at such a formal event. "Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors??" Is the first thing you ask, no 'Hi how are you?' or 'why are you ordering drinks on my tab?'

"Cuz I could make everyone faint with my pretty blue eyes." He smirks, confidence evident in every word.

You look confused and he finds it cute. A foreign feeling stirs in your stomach. "Just kidding. I'd waste my power if my glasses were off. Actually, I was advised not to wear them, but I didn't wanna wear my mask for this event. I have it in my pocket just in case though." He's so light and bubbly you almost forget what you were fuming about.

"You're Gojo right?" He smiles and gives a quick nod.

"And you must be 'girl with a stain on her dress', huh?" You fight the urge to roll your eyes.

"Woo that was a good one, almost made my stomach hurt from laughter." You counter sarcastically; the moodiness coming back to you.

"Haha, my bad. Anyway when we get drinks I'll find us somewhere to sit and I'll make you laugh for real." That confidence is still there. You love funny people, they're exciting to be around.

"I'm holding you to that. I need a good laugh." His smile consists of all his pearly whites and is enough to make you, or anyone around you melt.

He goes to pay for your drink, and even hands it to you. "I have to say you are way less selfish than people make you out to be."

The man in question shrugs and smirks at you, "I am very selfish about certain things, childish even. It's only the first date though so pretend you don't know about that." He waves his hand dismissively. You couldn't even care about the fact he admitted to selfishness, you're stuck up on the part where he said this is a date.

"Who said this is a date?" He notices you're trying to play it cool, but he can see right through you.

"I did. I mean if you want, we can think of it more as a blind date since it wasn't planned." Something about him doesn't rub you the wrong way or make you angry at all. He's definitely an odd ball, but he's able to make you feel something in your gut that you haven't felt in a very long time, maybe not ever, actually.

"I- what- you can't just-" You cut yourself off, lost for words, trying to comprehend what he'd just said.

He intertwines his fingers with yours. They're cold to the touch, long and slender. He does that thing where you rub your thumb across all the other fingers. On top of that he gives you that love struck gaze. You're all kinds of confused because why is someone like him trying to flirt with you??? He could literally have any other pretty sorcerer but he's walking you over to a fancy table to sit and talk.

"Ugh, you're supposed to have warm hands to contrast my cold ones." He complains, and if you weren't already stunned then you definitely were now. He's swinging his arm back in forth, with you mirroring it because he's holding your hand.

"I can't help my hands being cold, maybe you should be the one with the warm hands." He shrugs at your response. The swinging stops when you two reach a table big enough for four and pulls out your chair for you.

"I normally don't do this but you're definitely worth it." a lopsided grin covers his face.

As nice as all of this is you look around for cameras. Your mind is telling you he means no harm, but you can never be too sure.

"Okay, is this some kind of joke or show?? Where are the cameras because this can't be real." The white haired six foot something giant's face contorts into something very (ugly) funny. His face scrunches up at your words.

"I can't believe you'd suggest something like that! I'm serious, I just want to be a normal guy and have a normal encounter with someone. So, can you just pretend I'm a normal date and not Gojo Satoru?" He's telling the truth and for the first time tonight you fully relax.

"Okay, hi normal guy. What do you like to do?" You ask playfully feeling enchanted by his charismatic presence. He makes you feel a sense of freedom like you never have before.

The rest of the night the two of you goof off and talk about all kinds of things. Eventually he's being dragged out by Nanami because of how drunk he is. He'd given you his number, "Call me!!!" He whines loudly while being led to the car he arrived in.

"Okay! When I do, don't forget everything from tonight." You yell back to him.

"Like hell I will!" And he was telling the truth because about two hours later when you were winding down for bed you get a call from an unknown number. Usually you wouldn't pick up but you have a feeling that the person on the other side was none other than Gojo normal guy.

"Hello?" You don't get a response for a few seconds, your stomach drops thinking you had miscalculated...

"I miss you already, when can I see you again?" He asks sleepily.

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk fluff #jjk gojo #gojo #gojo satoru #gojo jjk #satoru gojo #gojo x reader #satoru jjk #jjk satoru #jjk satoru gojo #satoru gojo x reader #gojo satoru x reader #satoru x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #gojo fluff #nanami #nanami kento #kento nanami

[sugurugetofavoritemonkey]

𝐀𝐬 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Suguru Geto x reader

Fluff

Summary : You’re a terrible cook, but Suguru Geto still loves your homemade pancakes, simply because you made them for him.

930 words

For once, you decide that it’s your time to surprise your dear husband with homemade pancakes for breakfast.

The only problem was - and yes it was a big one - that your cooking skills were absolutely awful, to say the least.

Suguru had never told you this of course, but you knew that whenever you tried to make something in the kitchen, it would look like you were trying to poison him, even though you were trying your best.

This time it had to be different, you thought this morning, while trying not to wake up the sleeping man beside you, by gently removing his arm that was comfortably keeping you close to his warm chest.

Funnily, when you finally succeeded in this small task to make your way towards the kitchen, you could hear Suguru grumble in his sleep at the loss of your presence, turning around in the messy sheets to find a new position.

You silently laughed at that. Even unconsciously, he was still very much clingy with you. But you had to hurry in order to surprise him in time.

You had chosen something simple. Pancakes could not be that hard to make, was it ? Suguru often made some during the week so why couldn't you, right ? It was without reckoning the fact that you were kind of clumsy and messy in the kitchen, as well as not endowed with patience on top of that.

You firstly tried to crack the eggs for the dough and obviously not without letting a few egg shells fall into the bowl.

With silent complaints, you let out a little sigh to calm yourself down while removing all the little egg shells one by one from the preparation for quite some time.

Once the dough is finished, you were finally ready to make your pancakes. But unfortunately, something was off again. And as usual you didn’t see your mistake before it was too late.

You had put the power below the pan to the maximum because you thought it was a good idea to make the pancakes a little crunchy and also because you thought it would be faster that way. But when you poured with a ladle the surprisingly very liquid mixture, everything began to burn immediately.

You began to panic while lowering the temperature, your silent screams began to grow in volume when you saw that the pancake was literally ruined. The underside almost looked like charcoal.

« Fuck, Fuck, Fuck this », you tried to silently scream.

« How is Sugu making these ? I’m sure he’s just cheating and buying them at the store in the morning, yeah problem solved », you grunt in denial as you clean your pan to try again.

Little did you know that your lovely Suguru was hiding behind the kitchen’s wall, awakened by your not so silent cooking and complaint noises as well as the burned smell, and was now laughing silently into his hand at the cute and funny spectacle unfolding in front of his eyes.

And when you’ve finally succeeded in making one pancake that looks edible, your husband shows up behind you while hugging your frame close to his chest, his face nuzzling its way in your neck, tickling you as you giggle at him.

As you turn around to look at Suguru, the man can’t help but tease you at the messy sight he’s seeing, the kitchen was chaotic to say the least.

« Didn’t know we were having a war in the kitchen, honey »

You move your hand to gently slap his chest in protest but Suguru is quick to catch your hand in his fist gently, grinning at you teasingly.

But his grin soon transforms into a reassuring smile as he takes notice of your little pout forming on your face.

He takes your face in his hands and caresses your cheeks with his thumbs, his mouth dropping a kiss onto your forehead.

« Hey I didn’t even taste them yet and you’re already pouting, come on I’m sure they’re delicious ».

« But I just wanted to make you happy… and I barely made one that looks terrible », your hand goes to bring the plate to him shyly as you look away from his gaze.

« Look, I even tried to make the pancake heart shaped… », you told him quietly.

And even though it looked nothing like a heart, Suguru couldn’t help but smile at you with his eyes closed like little moon crescents. How could he not be happy when you were this cute with him.

« Nonsense, just the fact that you woke up this morning with the thought of making me breakfast to please me, makes me incredibly happy, believe me sweetheart », he replies with a soft tone in his voice as he goes to take a bite of the pancake.

Your eyes scan his face for any signs of disgust but surprisingly it seems like for once, your husband appreciates something you made on your own, and it was an understatement to say that you were very proud of yourself.

« I was definitely right, precious. Pancake’s good, I would even say it tastes as sweet as you », he laugh teasingly while remaining serious and pressing a kiss on your temple as to tease you further.

It doesn’t take long for your blushing face to hide in Suguru’s chest that still vibrates with his laugh while his hands find their way onto your back to hug you even closer to him.

Very happy to write again for my all time hubby Sugu, please enjoy ! 🩵

🤍 Suguru Geto Masterlist 🤍

#suguru x reader #jujutsu kaisen #suguru geto x reader #suguru fluff #jjk fluff #suguru geto fluff #suguru geto x you #suguru geto reader fluff #suguru geto x y/n #jujutsu kaisen x reader #suguru geto #jjk geto suguru #geto suguru imagines #jujutsu kaisen fluff #jjk x reader #jjk scenarios #jjk suguru geto #jjk reader #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen getou #🤍suguru geto🤍 #🤍my love🤍

[kiwanopie]

reader in the crime lord kiyoomi au who's kinda like csm's kobeni

she can get twitchy (minus the bawling) when she gets a front seat of "business" but...BUT...

when the situation calls, she can brandish out a knife and kill if she needs to

then switches back to neurotic once it's over but she doesnt have to worry. kiyoomi is there btw

He knew you were a scout, knew you had the reputation to back it up.

But he thought you just were hard to catch.

“We had a deal.”

Kiyoomi crosses his arms from where he’s standing at the head of his office, back perched against the ledge of his desk as his former associate stands opposed before him - along with his fleet.

He should be scared. He is scared. A man of Ichiro’s stature, with a reputation like his. A fleet of six men that produce a mountain of bodies collectively, the unbeatables. Men like him who promise pain and suffering in the wake of death, now double-crossing him with the intentions of taking everything he has or to die trying. To be on the wrong side of this man is to be marked for death - or worse. His hands are in charged fists resting at his sides, with the full intent of using them. And whatever fate is meant for Kiyoomi and his men, has been so promised to be worse than death.

He’s petrified. But he’s more proud than to show it, vexed then to show it. And his expression twists sourly as he stares at the man smirking before him.

“And I did what you wanted, didn’t I?” Ichiro shrugs. “I helped you get your money, you helped me get my guys out of the pen.”

“Then what’s the big fuckin’ show about?” Atsumu scoffs beside him.

Ichiro glances at the young woman perched securely behind Kiyoomi’s desk, hair curled and pretty as you look upon the crowd with curious alarm. Pretty fucking thing puts the cherry on top of all the cushy shit this tall bastard’s got. Riches and power, control over the most valuable assets in Japan and now this pretty fucking dame? It’s been too long he’s spent looking at this mean mugging bastard and seeing him have all the things that he wants - all the things that should belong to him. And now that he’s got his boys?

Kiyoomi’s scowl deepens when he follows the man’s gaze, as if some ugly freak should have the audacity to stare at his angel like that.

He plants his hands on his desk, leaning forward a bit as if it’ll make him bigger.

“You’re making a big fucking mistake.”

Ichiro snorts. “You think you can scare me? There’s not a single ounce of me that doesn’t see you as the conniving little mouse you are.”

Kiyoomi doesn’t flinch when he inches forward, barely reacts when his men reach for their guns.

“I’m gonna take what belongs to me.”

“You’re gonna come up empty handed.” Kiyoomi replies firmly. Something clicks behind him, one of his men mumbles something under their breath, but whatever should come his way is sullied by something that remains sure.

“I have contingencies.” It won’t save him but it’s the truth. “You kill me and you lose any chance at getting what you want.”

“Then I won’t kill you.” Ichiro shrugs. “There’s worse things I could do anyway.”

“Oh, I bet. That’s why I’m not worried.”

Kiyoomi huffs as he leans into his desk, eyes gazing lowly at Ichiro from where he stands above him. There’s a snark in his grimace, a smugness that pinkens the morale of the men who surround him. He keeps his face in his truths and puffs out his chest a little. - Even as his number two glances at him like he knows it’s hollow.

“Because a meathead like you could never fit in a position like this.” He crosses his arms again. “You’re not careful, you can’t manage deals. You think all of your problems can be solved with brute force.”

Ichiro scowls as he continues. “You wanna know how I got as far as I have? Why I have all the things you think belong to you? Because I’m not just some sadistic freak, I’m a businessman. I know how to carry a conversation, I know how to follow basic fucking directions. I would’ve at least had the two cents to make my foe an ally before double crossing him. - But you’re a stranger.”

“You’re a pig that shit his way into my office, too focused on the smell of his own ass to realize he’s like every other hog who thinks he’s special,”

“You’re filth.” Kiyoomi shakes his head. “And you’re out of your fucking mind if you think anyone’s gonna see you as anything else besides that.“

Ichiro glares blankly at Kiyoomi as the room falls into a tense silence. There’s a taut pull in the air that becomes ear popping as the feelings linger. Every man in this office has become so fraught with alarm that they’ve all frozen in place, breaths now so shallowed that they’ve become restricted. Everyone’s waiting on the other to make the first move, and with Ichiro so locked up like he is, Kiyoomi can’t make heads or tails of who it’s gonna be.

Maybe that’s the point.

Because Ichiro’s arm comes up so fast that Kiyoomi barely sees him do it. Distended veins stress as he distributes the weight into the single arm, and steps forward like he’s putting his all into it.

Ichiro is known for being strong, he’s known for being the bull of underground Japan. They say there’s nothing he hasn’t put a hole in by now, nothing his fists can’t chew through like construction paper. It’s why he never gets caught, you’d be out of your fucking mind to stop a wrecking ball like that with your bare hands.

Which is why Kiyoomi’s surprised when he’s not immediately grated into ground beef when the punch lands, when it never lands. - Closing his eyes at that hard gust of wind that follows after a loud crack! So forceful that it rushes into his nose and takes his breath away.

When his eyes flutter open he’s nearly so taken aback that he gasps. His arms unfold and he’s suddenly placing all of his weight on his feet.

Your arms are bruised already, from the ridges of your wrist to the low of your elbow. Crossed arms blocked in a shielded maneuver that reflects the soft lights of his office. You stopped his punch. All but materialized in front of him and stopped The Bull’s punch. Not even Bokuto had the means to do something like that.

And from the looks of it everyone’s too shocked by it to do anything, even Ichiro freezes in place.

Your face scrunches somewhat painfully as you look upon his offender, eyes still lit in evening light as you keep your arms held securely in front of you.

Kiyoomi opens his mouth and then closes it again, leans forward to reach for you as he gathers himself in awe.

And then freezes when Ichiro starts to move again.

He’s quick. “..You think you can-“

You’re quicker.

The sound of his fingers breaking is less alarming than the sound of meat tearing, than the look on his face when he hunches and his knife - Kiyoomi’s knife that you must have swiped from his desk without him knowing - is keeping him from doubling forward. His blood stains the carpet.

Your expression remains unchanged as his eyes well up with tears. You're an unstoppable force as you raise the other hand up high and his coughed out plea comes out gurgled.

It takes one swipe to have him pouring out before you.

There’s a bubbled out giggle of disbelief that Atsumu doesn’t even notice he’s let out as his blood stains the office floors. Flesh and meat fall with a hiss as it lands on the carpet and he’s gone like he never existed.

Kiyoomi chokes out bewilderedly. “Wha-… Baby-“

One of his men charges forward.

He barely even gets the chance to step forward when the sharp sound of a moving blade cuts through the room. You’re so fast that he barely sees you touch him. But he knows you have when he stops in place.

He stumbles back from the lack of air as the members of his fleet look on in muted horror, reaches for his neck and panics when his fingers come back wet. I mean he knows you’re fast, everyone does. It’s half the reason you made elite quotas. That’s not surprising.

No, the surprise comes - and what he assumes is the other half of what graduated you to elite status - is when he finally falls to his knees. Blood pooling as he gushes and steaming in the conditioned air.

You all but decapitated him.

Kiyoomi takes a few disbelieving steps back as Atsumu literally gasps this time, smiling with his mouth open like an excited fanboy as you look upon the dying man with indifference - and watches his body limply drop to the ground.

The five opposing men freeze in place as his body meets the same fate as their leader.

You’re soft as cotton when you look up at Kiyoomi. “Are you okay?”

He blows a raspberry.

“Am I-… Angel you-… Your arms,” Kiyoomi worriedly reaches for you. “Oh my god, your arms. Let me see. How much do they hurt-“

Atsumu kisses his teeth at the five shaken men now standing still at the door. “Does anyone else wanna die?”

He glances at his boss, currently fitted into the role of a worried husband in front of all these dangerous men. This guy really doesn’t have any shame.

“Any of you idiots still ready to go against us step forward.” He scowls. “You see what happens!”

No one speaks up.

“Then get the fuck outta here!”

#crime lord!sakusa kiyoomi #ending it there cause it’s hard to look cool when both of your arms are broken lmao #Atsumu just put you on his top three of all time list like clearly he’s telling his brother that this happened #sakusa kiyoomi #haikyuu x reader #hq sakusa #haikyuu!! #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu scenarios #sakusa fluff #crime au!kiyioomi #crime au

[late-draft]

Some thoughts on S2 from a first-time watcher!

It's good that I saw a bunch of spoilers before watching S2 and S3, because after seeing how the plot arrived to some of these points, I feel like what I imagined would have worked better; useful for understanding one's own likes and writing.

I thought Toph would have been in bigger danger while in the metal box. In canon she's technically just being dragged back to her family, right? But the emotional impact of her success of bending metal (something believed to be impossible) would have been stronger if she was in a much bigger danger, in worse circumstances, for longer.

Long Feng was so quickly "taken down" at the start when the Earth King decided to stop following him! Yeah the Dai Li still answer to Long Feng but it felt like him losing outward power happened too quickly and he was actually scared that he had lost all power instantly. He even allowed the kids to try to show the king the truth. So which is it, do Long Feng and Dai Li have huge power, or little power?

I liked the plot twist with plot twist with plot twist with plot twist with plot twist with Azula and her goons in Kyoshi warriors' disguises, and the Dai Li still answering to Long Feng. This uplifted the plot part a bit that had been sunk in my mind just before.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Jet was actually ok in S2; he succumbed to a weakness of his by getting obsessed with "random" firebenders, but then he truly tried to be of help, he beat the goddamn brainwashing and did everything he could to help Aang and his allies. He was given a "heroic death" offscreen! Perhaps he survived, gravely injured but who knows. The writing portrays him as an ok person at the end.

If he was supposed to be an "evil version" or "irredeemed" version of Zuko, that could have been portrayed only if Jet had demonstrated more, and persistent negative traits that he would refuse to change. Before giving him an on-screen death.

It wasn't very believable to me that Iroh managed to follow Zuko so quietly and so well under lake Laogai; but from spoilers, I was convinced that Zuko had arrived to a moral decision to set Appa free and let go of his need to belong back at the royal family of the Fire Nation, all on his own. That might have been a bigger triumph of character, but... even coming to this decision because Iroh pressured him into thinking about choices (the fact that he had choices), doesn't diminish what he decided by a lot.

Fever was excellent lmao. Iroh gave him some ibuprofen But the subsequent very cheery behaviour feels like big and heavy Copium from Zuko to me!

Damn. Aang literally speedrun all those chakras opening. Guru Pathik seems alright to me and doesn't feel like a huge deus-ex mechanism considering many other elements the show has used. But I feel like the show would have benefitted a LOT more if separate episodes were devoted to unblocking the chakras. Those are supposed to be a big deal, something difficult to overcome for the hero. But also; Aang refusing to let go of Katara right at the moment when he sensed she was in danger, is actually a correct choice (from a narrative standpoint) - we aren't supposed to cheer for him to let her die. Of course we as the audience want him to try to help Katara! However what Guru Pathik had told him about attachment still stands in the writing (maybe it could have been made more clear that this attachment in question means a selfish possessive one). The writing still sets it up so that it seems like Aang WILL have to let go of the attachment in the future to successfully open the last chakra. Just... later, because this is not the right moment! ^^

Oh man. The best the writing could do for Katara was to have her make a dumb joke about Momo knocking over figurines in the war meeting? And the plan was just... "go forth and attack the Fire Nation during a solar eclipse"? This was the best the text could do?? No bits of additional strategy, problem-solving, no Katara being serious about it? And after that she decides to go for tea despite being on a crucial mission? And why would the delicate scroll requiring the Earth King's seal to set the entire army in motion be left to be carried around outside by one girl. Just so that she could run into Zuko and blow his cover, despite having last seen him as broken, crying over his uncle, fighting against his sister the Fire Nation princess. Feels like the plot really got super convoluted here just to get to points it wanted. Sadge.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #aang #zuko #katara #toph #long feng #thoughts #season 2 #brainstorming

[arpmemething2]

Quotes from Firefly/Serenity Sentence Starters

Send one for my muse’s reaction.   Feel free to change pronouns as needed.

“Let’s go be bad guys!”

“Ten percent of nothin’ is … let me do the math here … nothin’ into nothin’ … carry the nothin’ … ”

"We’re crooks. If everything were right, we’d be in jail.”

"Nothing buys bygones quicker than cash."

“Like woman, I am a mystery.”

“Oh, I think you might wanna reconsider that last part. See, I married me a powerful ugly creature.”

“Every man there go back inside or we will blow a new crater in this little moon.”

“Well, maybe I’m not a fancy gentleman like you, with your … very fine hat. But I do business. We’re here for business.”

"How can you say that? How can you shame me in front of new people?"

"Um, I’m trying to put this as delicately as I can…how do I know you won’t kill me in my sleep?"

"Go to blackout! We're being buzzed!"

"Well, I guess death will solve the issue to everyone's satisfaction."

"Everybody plays each other. That's all anybody ever does. We play parts."

“Did something just fly off my gorram ship?”

"You guys had a riot... on account of me? My very own riot?"

“We’ve done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.”

"It's been a big day, what with the abduction, and all."

"I'm not sure you'd be safe."

"Live with a man forty years. Share his house, his meals… speak on every subject… then tie him up, and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day, you will finally meet the man."

“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”

"Seems like a lovely little community of kidnappers."

"Maybe. Or maybe you're exactly where you ought to be."

“Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering people issue?”

"If you take sexual advantage of her, you will burn in a very special level of hell. The kind they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."

"Go play with your rainstick."

"Don't make yourself sick."

“Mercy is the mark of a great man.”

"I don't suppose you'd find it up to the standards of your outings. More conversation, and somewhat less... petty theft and getting hit with pool cues."

"You gonna give us what's due us and every damn thing else on that boat. And I think maybe you gonna give me a little one-on-one time with the misses."

"I cannot abide useless people."

"Mmm. You missed a spot."

“Man walks down the street in a hat like that, you know he’s not afraid of anything … ”

"This is the place. We'll buy you the time."

“Also? I can kill you with my brain.”

“Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction.”

"It’s not embarrassing to be a virgin. It’s simply one’s state of being."

"That's why I never kiss 'em on the mouth."

"I been waiting for you to kiss me since I showed you my guns."

"I'll be in my bunk."

"They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself."

"Drunks are so cute."

“Going on a year now, nothins twixed my neathers not run on batteries.”

"He's not wildly interested in ingratiating himself with anyone, yet he's very protective of his crew. It's odd."

"How we treat our dead is part of what makes us different…than those did the slaughtering."

“The important thing is the spices. A man can live on packaged food from here ’til Judgment Day if he’s got enough rosemary.”

"I think you have a problem with your brain being missing."

"Okay! Everybody not talking about sex, in here. Everybody else, elsewhere."

“First rule of battle, little one … don’t ever let them know where you are.”

“Terse? I can be terse. Once, in flight school, I was laconic.”

"Don't you just love this party? Everything's so fancy and they have some kind of hot cheese over there!"

"I hate to bring up our imminent arrest during your crazy time, but we gotta go."

“I don’t think of myself as a lion. You might as well, though, I have a mighty roar.”

"You can't open the book of my life and jump in the middle."

"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."

“I aim to misbehave.”

"Live with a man forty years. Share his house, his meals… speak on every subject… then tie him up, and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day, you will finally meet the man."

"Every man there go back inside, or we will blow a new crater in this little moon."

“You know what the chain of command is? It’s the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who’s in ruttin charge here.”

“I cannot abide useless people.”

"I I ever kill you, you’ll be awake, you’ll be facing me, and you’ll be armed."

"You are very much lacking in imagination.”

"Call me if anyone interesting shows up."

"Very well-bred petty crook knows that the small concealable weapons always go to the far left of the place setting."

"This must be what going mad feels like."

"You don't seem to be lookin' at the destinations. What you care about is the ships, and mine's the nicest."

"Remember that sex we were planning to have, ever again?"

"Someone's carryin' a bullet for you right now, doesn't even know it. The trick is, die of old age before it finds you."

“If anyone gets nosy, just …you know … shoot ’em. “

“WHOO-HOO! I’M RIGHT HERE! I’M RIGHT HERE! YOU WANT SOME O’ ME?! YEAH YOU DO! COME ON! COME ON! AAAAAH! Whoo-hoo!”

"I'll do anything you want me to. You know how I can make you feel."

"I need this man to tear all my clothes off."

“Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill ’em right back!”

"Sorry to interrupt, folks, but y'all got something that belongs to us, and we'd like it back."

“Next time you want to stab me in the back, have the guts to do it to my face.”

“I’ve been under fire before. Well … I’ve been in a fire. Actually, I was fired. I can handle myself.”

“I’ve been out of the abbey two days, I’ve beaten a lawman senseless, I’ve fallen in with criminals. I watched the captain shoot the man I swore to protect. And I’m not even sure if I think he was wrong.”

“In the maiden’s home, I heard talk of men who weren’t pleased with their brides…”

"Got your next heist planned?"

"It's good to be home."

"She still has the advantage over us."

"Do you know what the definition of a hero is? Someone who gets other people killed."

"Yeah, but she's our witch."

“We’re not gonna die. We can’t die. You know why? Because we are so very pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die.”

"Can you stop her from bein’ so cheerful?"

“How did your brain even learn human speech?”

“Yes sir, Captain Tightpants!”

"You are such a boob."

"You don't need strength as much as speed. We're fragile creatures. It takes less than a pound of pressure to cut skin."

"Your mouth is talking. You might wanna look to that.”

"You guys always bring me the very best violence. "

"Every problem is an opportunity in disguise."

“We got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss.”

"I'm assumin' y'all were listenin'? Did you hear us fight?"

"I... I threw up on your bed."

"I swallowed a bug."

"I'm... trying to think of a way for you to be cruder. I just... it's not coming."

"It sounds like the finest party I can imagine getting paid to go to."

“Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.”

"I said you're a coward and a piss-pot. Now what are you gonna do about it?"

"You paid money for this, sir? On purpose?"

“I swear by my pretty floral bonnet, I will end you.”

“Well, we may not have parted on the best of terms. I realize certain words were exchanged. Also, certain… bullets.”

"You were truthful back in town. These are tough times. A man can get a job, he might not look too close at what that job is. But a man learns all the details of a situation like ours... well... then he has a choice."

"So you had to be naked?"

"So… are you enjoying your own nubile little slave girl?"

"Just keep walkin', preacher-man."

"We crashing again?"

“No power in the verse can stop me.”

"I know something ain't right."

“‘Course, there’re other schools of thought.”

"Can't miss a place you've never been."

"Tell me I'm pretty."

"Physical appearance doesn't matter so terribly. You look for compatibility of spirit. There's an energy about a person that's difficult to hide.You try to feel that."

"Can we fly somewhere with a beach?"

"What gives you the right to put her in a dangerous situation like this?"

"I think I've been kidnapped."

"Money wasn't good enough."

“Well, my time of not taking you seriously is coming to a middle.”

"Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me?"

"See, morbid and creepifying, I got no problem with, long as she does it quiet-like."

"What was that?"

"Well, you were right about this being a bad idea."

"Haven't you killed me enough for one day?"

"You save his gorram life, he still takes the cargo."

[moon-swag-tourney]

Propaganda below!

Moon Knight

Moon Knight is an underrated character who's been around since the mid-70's, but has only recently gotten the more attention he deserves since the Disney+ adaptation. However, I am a firm comics supremacy believer and can attest he is even cooler in the comics. The current run (Moon Knight 2021) is the best he's been written in quite some time for example, as it's friendly to veteran fans and new fans alike!

Moon Knight is not your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man; he will fuck you up if you deserve it, and benefits from the fact that many villains are terrified of him.

Moon Knight is canonically Jewish, and though he is non-practising, it plays a major part in his story and identity.

It's also worth noting that Moon Knight has DID, with three identities: Marc Spector (host), Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley.

He's such an interesting and compelling character. The comics have spawned countless hilarious memes (I know you're here Dracula you big nerd wheres my money; random bullshit go; etc). The show was amazing, and Oscar Isaac acted his ass off

They are so cool; they're both canonically Jewish and have DID

One of the most unique superheroes out there due to being plural. Really cool, too.

I love him, your honor. I'd like to say more but the truth is I only watched the show and I will leave the propaganda to comics fans.

Looks to the Moon

I LOVE BIG SIS MOON AHHHH... she's literally so so sweet and perfect and i love her…

MY GIRL!!! She deserved so much better. She's one of the first of many MASSIVE supercomputers called iterators designed to solve a problem which her creators eventually gave up on any of them solving and thus was left behind to gradually fall into disrepair. Even though she appears as a small humanoid, iterators in their entirety are actually buildings full of machinery that have entire cities built on top of them.

As one of the senior iterators, Looks to the Moon, sometimes called Big Sis Moon, looks after her younger peers and is very caring towards her fellow iterators. Tragically, her kindness ultimately leads to her structure collapsing leaving her weak and with limited cognitive ability, but even then she is so sweet to the main character. You can bring her random items and she'll describe each one, even if it's just a rock or something. She also gives you advice whenever possible.

She's gone through so much and yet is still so incredibly kind please vote for her she deserves it

Looks to the moon is an iterator, a city-sized biomechanical supercomputer. When you meet her, she is trapped in the flooded and collapsed husk of her superstructure, barely alive. Despite this, she is warm and kind and will tell you about any object you bring her. Looks to the Moon also goes by the name Big Sis Moon, as she is the most senior iterator in the local group and views the other iterators in her care as younger siblings

Moon's the best! She's an iterator, a sentient supercomputer whose structure used to be so big it housed an entire city on top of it. However, the civilization that built her is long gone, and she and the other iterators were left behind, unable to die, unable to leave their structures. Imagine once being a god with an entire civilization relying on you for all their vital resources, only to be left behind, literally a mountain bolted to the ground, as the wildlife slowly takes over the land and your communications with the other iterator fail. Moon's little brother Five Pebble's couldn't accept this fate, and made some rash decicions. This badly damaged Moon's systems, causing her structure to come crashing down to the ground, and her to lose most of her memories and processing power. There's something magical in discovering her for the first time - this fallen Goddess taken over by rust, abandoned inside the giant ruins that used to be her body. Still, she's friendly, and should you be kind to her, she'll return the gesture. She doesn't have much, but she'll gladly give you company and tell you stories. She also still cares about her brother very much, even though he's the one to blame for her bad state. 

Moon is a superintelligent AI called an Iterator. She's designed to (basically) help the lesser beings of the world escape samsara, along with the potentially thousands of other iterators. She was accidentally killed by her brother as he attempted to escape samsara for himself. She's the only character the player can meaningfully interact with, and she's very sweet and kind.

#looks to the moon #rain world spoilers #rain world #moon knight #marvel #poll #moon poll

[steddiebang]

Steddie Bigbang Weekly Round-up: November 12 - November 18

A kiss is a kiss Author: @assassinduckie  / Artist: @hagnoart / @/hagno.art  “A kiss can mean nothing. In his rather lengthy experience, it often does. Mean nothing, that is. And the fact that this kiss feels so not a good idea at all and the best idea he ever got at the same time? Well, that just makes it a good kiss, doesn’t it?He just didn’t think he’d have his first good kiss in months with Eddie “The Reformed Freak” Munson. Though he’d probably find the “reformed” bit rather insulting.”

I Wanna Be THE Guitar Hero Author: @abbididathing (AO3 / @theroundeviloftable) / Artist: @hextotal Steve surprises Eddie with the newly-released video game that he thinks is perfect for him: Guitar Hero. Shenanigans ensue, the game isn’t as perfect for Eddie as Steve once thought, and some tension develops. But then, Eddie gets a tip from the kids that changes his whole outlook on the game and he forms a plan to surprise Steve this time around. Or: a long-form prose love letter to established-relationship Steddie and their domestic chaos.

Don’t look back Author: dartlekey (tumblr / ao3) / Artist: chilly (tumblr / twitter) When Eddie Munson wakes from a month-long coma, the apocalypse has already started without him. The air is poisonous and monsters roam the streets of a half-destroyed Hawkins, but he’s also got problems of a more personal nature: For one thing, Eddie’s so weak he can barely walk on his own, and he’s pretty sure there’s something wrong with him, like, emotionally. For another, there’s the fact that Steve Harrington has begun turning into some kind of vampiric Upside Down creature. Also, he’s into men apparently, and more specifically: into Eddie. So there’s that. The way Eddie sees it, that leaves him with three problems to solve - one, saving the world, ergo destroying the Demobats’ nest in the Rightside Up, and closing the cross of rifts splitting the town. Two, saving his friends, so waking Max from her coma, and guiding Steve (read: domming Steve) into figuring out his new vampiric powers without hurting anyone, or getting his head blown off by their very trigger-happy “allies”. And three: figuring out what it really means to care for someone, and how far he’s willing to go for the man he’s rapidly becoming unhealthily obsessed with. Here’s to turning into the monsters people always said they were.

I Will Die In The House That I Grew Up In Author: kwills91 on twitter and ao3 / Artist: sheepsicles on twitter /communismkins on tumblr and ao3 Steve Six months after their battle in the Upside Down, Steve still can’t face talking to Eddie. He’s loud, and weird, and everything Steve wants but knows he can’t have. Right now he has to focus on making sure everybody is okay. Right now he has to plan for when Vecna comes back. But a stranger shows up declaring to be from the future and changes everything. Eddie Steve’s avoiding him and he doesn’t know why. But it’s okay because he’s found the kind of friendship he never thought he’d have with the last person he’d expect. Nancy Wheeler. But when a teenage girl shows up on their doorstep, Nancy insists they move in with Steve to help him keep her safe whilst they uncover the reason she was sent back, and why Vecna has somehow shown up again twenty-five years in the future. And how is he supposed to react when she declares that her parents are none other than Eddie himself and the guy he’s been crushing on since he did that goofy little wave six months ago? And on top of all of this, Vecna returns to throw a whole spanner in the works.

Nothing But Bliss Author: @oiveyzmir / Artist: @sunflowerharrington / Artist: @bbgirlsteve There’s no reason for Eddie to feel so wrong. Everything’s normal in his life; He lives with his uncle and his brother, his and his friends’ band is a moment away from making it big, he has a boyfriend he loves more than anything else and life’s pretty great, but something still feels… misplaced. His memories are all mixed up and he seems to be remembering his life incorrectly- sometimes he’ll feel pain or discomfort in places he isn’t even wounded in, he’ll have memories that go completely against one another, and there are some weird things his mind doesn’t allow him to even think about, such as red skies, bones snapping and the way Dustin screams his name. All in all, it’s easy to ignore, up until he sees a strange girl with blood trickling down her nose.

Moon Breaks Knight Author: alchemystique / Artist: sleepykiart / Artist: kaspurrcat [ twitter / tumblr ] Eddie has enjoyed the quiet solitude of the forest for years – the shifting breeze in the branches of trees he knows as well as himself, the den of chittering foxes and the mysterious hart who appears so rarely, the white ash tree that has grown up around him as he built a fortress away from the town he’d grown up in, away from the ghosts of his past.

Eddie has little desire to be drawn into the conflict stirring around the kingdom, but wards Eddie has spent his own blood, sweat, tears and song to build begin to fail, and woods that haven’t seen a visitor in decades keep shuffling people along towards the clearing in the forest where Eddie has made his home. The village where he’d buried his mother is destroyed by a darkness Eddie doesn’t understand, and wolves draw ever closer.

And The Sun Will Rise Author: @lexirosewrites / Artist: @feralsteddie Steve may not have the people who brought him into this world at his side anymore, but he’s found someone to hold him through the end of it. -or- As a packless omega suffering with isolation sickness, Steve is just trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. Instead, he ends up courted by a lovesick alpha and getting his dream of six kids and a Winnebago in the most unconventional way possible.

Sometimes I Close My Eyes (and dream of somewhere else) Author: patientanxiety / Artist: @notsecretlymisha Eddie’s POV. Everything is canon up to s4, where there is no more Upside Down (defeated at Starcourt). Something is up with Steve, and the whole party knows, but he won’t tell anyone. Somehow, Eddie got roped into worrying about him, too and ends up sharing his trailer! or, Basically Eddie’s freakout about discovering that Steve is a decent dude but then learns of all the trauma Steve has dealt with, but don’t worry, Eddie is there to catch him when he falls and maybe even falls in love along the way.

The Rainbow Connection Author: @hellfireloserclub / Artist: sweatypeaches When Rainbow Graveyard made it big, performing as their alter egos Knocks and Munster, it should have been everything Eddie had ever wanted - sold out gigs, number one platinum selling albums, and a band made up of people he had fought through hell with at his side. The upside down might not have killed him, but Eddie never imagined that being on stage with Steve every night would be the thing that finally finished him. Eddie is not a person that was built to be loved, he has no idea what to do with the feelings that threaten to tear him apart. Since they dragged each other from the brink of death, he and Steve have been doing a dance to which neither knows the steps, building a life out of the trauma that follows them like a shadow, seeping into each and every crack it can find. Being a rockstar hadn’t been in Steve’s future plans, but it was impossible for him to deny Eddie anything, full stop. He’d helped Steve put himself back together when the upside down literally pulled him apart, and now he was pretty sure that Eddie had kept a piece of his heart and held it hostage. Steve was too much, loved too fast and too hard and destroyed everyone and everything he touched. But when he got on stage, Knocks took the wheel, and what Knocks wanted was Munster. They say that sometimes you can have too much of a good thing, and sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. But how much of you is left when you’re living as the personified version of your worst self?

Tessellation Author: @maryofdoom / ArgentumCivitas / Artist: @sparkle-fiend Steve is a knight. Steve wants to be rescued. Steve knows how to swim. Steve is tired of the ranch. Steve is pretty good at stitches. And Steve has been told that the Void is endless. Eddie wears a knight’s favor. Eddie is a tiefling bard who’s here to save the day. Eddie is a rusalka. Eddie has a way with horses. Eddie is about to bleed to death in the guest room. And Eddie has seen the Void from the other side. Six stories, six universes, ad infinitum. Steve and Eddie.

I Could Have Loved You (You Would Not Let Me) Author: @stardustwalker on tumblr/ @stardust_walker on AO3 / Artist: @werew0rmon tumblr/ @werew0rm on twitter When Chrissy Cunningham dies, Max’s world falls into a spiral. It leaves her with more questions than answers and a new found need to know more about her past. Corroded Coffin has been broken up for over 20 years. Max knows the place she can get the answers she wants. Between the documentary about the band and her upcoming wedding, it might be easier than she thought. Until she meets Eddie Munson, the reclusive guitarist for the band who’s hidden himself away for years and isn’t as forthcoming as she hoped. Along with her father, Steve, he holds the answers she’s been looking for. What could go wrong?

For the Heart I Once Had Author: @hereforanepilogue / Artist: @grimweathers | @oriarts Steve gets his arms around Eddie, pins his wings to his back even as they flutter nervously. Eddie slumps against him, presses his face into the crook of Steve’s shoulder. He can feel Steve’s warmth through his clothes, so Eddie stays, even thought it might be the worst place for Steve to let Kas press himself.

🗡

Months after Vecna is defeated, months after things should be back to normal, Eddie is still stuck. Kas’s influence lingers, and with nothing to do but wait, he turns to his friends and D&D to try and pull himself back into normality. But the more time goes on, the clearer it becomes that normal might not be an option anymore.

Are You Experienced? Author: @madaboutmunson​ / Artist: @danadaria​​ Everyone knows Steve Harrington, a local rich kid jock, the previous king of Hawkins High School. He’s got it all, money, a respectable family, and chicks love him. He’s even spending the summer learning what it’s like to be a real working man before taking on a role in his Dad’s firm because its builds character and empathy. Or is he something else entirely?

Is Steve a down-on-his-luck guy, stuck in a job he dislikes because his dad is teaching him a lesson, repeatedly striking out with the ladies, that his co-worker is fond of reminding him about?

Under all the many layers and masks, he uses to survive the day-to-day, Steve has secrets. The main one is how passionately he loves music. How it moves him in ways nothing else does, and he’s sure no one else could possibly feel the same, until his Mom gives him $50 to spend at the new record store.

21 upcoming projects to be posted next week (Nov 19 - Nov 25).

*To keep up with all the Steddie Bigbang 2023 posting, be sure to follow us @steddiebang or track tags #steddiebang23 masterposts, #steddiebang23 project promo, or #steddiebang23 upcoming projects.

#steddiebang23 #steddiebang23 weekly roundup

[smokeybrandreviews]

God Mode

This is the last thing i'm going to post about episode five of Ahsoka, i promise. It just kind of f*cked my whole perception of the entire franchise, all the way up. Never mind the fact that the Jedi Council was legit grooming child soldiers to send them off to the front lines of a war over f*cking tariff disputes, or the fact that Maul got absolutely bodied by a whole ass teenager, there is a fully realized Anakin Skywalker just hanging out in the World Between Worlds. I'm not talking Clone Wars Anakin who got quadriplegic'd by old man Ben, or the hulking, cyborg, menace of an attack dog for the Galactic Empire, but a full potential Anakin Skywalker. An Anakin who has mastered the Force to the point he has transcended even the ability to project as a Force Ghost. An Ankin that somehow found his way into The World Between Worlds with no maps or clues. An Anakin fully at peace with who is, who he was, and who he can be. The truest version of The Chosen One legend, given form.

The quiet feats he demonstrated during that little training session with Ahsoka, were ridiculous. This wasn't a Force Ghost because he physically fought Ahsoka with a perfectly mastered Form Five. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was considered one of, if not the best, Jedi Duelist in history, and even that from couldn't master Form Five. This wasn't a memory because he referenced the sh*t Luke said to him during his duel, and inevitable defeat, on the Death Star II. “I won't fight you”, Ahsoka said. “I've heard that before”, Anankin replied. This was Grand Master Anakin Skywalker and he taught Ahsoka a real lesson, forcing her evolution into Ahsoka the goddamn White. During this process, he flitted between himself and his Vader form, like it was nothing. Light and Dark at the drop of a hat but, when Vader finally clashed with Ahsoka, it was Anakin's face he wore. I'm talking full power Darth Vader, without the cybernetic handicaps. Sh*t was glorious to see. He was vicious, brutal, but controlled. The anger was there but it was focused. This was Vader perfected but used for a purpose. This Vader was truly the Sith Lord he was under that armor, but lacked the self-loathing. This Vader was more a tool used to show Ahsoka that she, too, can fall. That it was a choice. That she could overcome even the greatest evil, ever, in her mind; Her fallen master, Darth Vader. But those are just glimpses of Anakin's power. This man literally reshaped The World Between Worlds on a whim.

Anakin motherf*cking Skywalker literally warped an entire reality, just to train his Padawan one last time. He took this adult Ahsoka, and reverted her back to a teenage form. He used her memories to, not only reshape the landscape, but draw in actual people she remembered as tangible representations from that time. F*cking Rex was in the Clone Wars flashback, man, in full Clone Trooper armor. Anakin did that through sheer Force of will. Do you have any idea how f*cking powerful in the Force you have to be to do something like that? Just getting to the World Between Worlds is a feat but Anakin can shape it like clay. Not even the Father, The Daughter, and The Son could do that sh*t and Anakin was shown to be stronger than all of them when he was still just a Jedi Knight. The only other entity that i think can come close to this level of power is Abeloth from Legends and she was a f*cking problem that Grand Master Luke Skywalker barely solved. I mean, this version of Anakin Skywalker physically pulled Ahsoka into The World Between Worlds right before she crashed into that sea. That, alone, is a big ass "The f*ck?"

What does Force Entity Anakin Skywalker mean for the rest of the franchise? This thing is bound by nothing, limited by nothing. He exists at the crossroads of all time, all reality. He can shape this core existance into anything he desires and carries a wisdom that only someone who has mastered the Force fully, can even begin to understand. In canon, that's just The Father, i think. In legends, that's just Luke, if I'm not mistaken. Like, he's stronger than the f*cking Whills, man. But, as broken as Anakin has become, that presents a problem for everything which comes after this episode. The sequels, specifically.

Grand Master Anakin Skywalker is the caretaker for the Star Wars version of a Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He is some sort of extra-physical representation of true Force balance. He can physically pull anyone he wants into this Room of Spirit and Time to train them. He literally gifted Ahsoka all the knowledge he possessed, leveling up her Force abilities like they were nothing, and she was already technically stronger than Obi-Wan before that point. Even Palpatine understood that Force Potential alone, was only a part of true strength. That man spent years of his life, studying under one of the most pragmatic Sith to ever live. This version of Anakin has access to so much more of that knowledge, plus his near infinite potential with the Force. That fleeting thought, on it's own, it's just staggering. If Anakin can do that much, if he is some limitless Force God now, how does he let Poppa Paps manipulate his grandson into being just another tool? How the f*ck does Anakin Skywalker, the man who sent the entire galaxy into a murderous, imperial, dark age over the death of his wife, let his own, personal, abuser, do the exact same sh*t to his grandson? How does he not intervene with Luke during his exile? How do these narratives even work anymore now that Grand Master Anakin Skywalker, Keeper of The World Between Worlds, exists?

#Anakin Skywalker #Darth Vader #Star Wars #Star Wars: Ahsoka #Ahsoka #Lucasfilm

[pleasejustletpercyrest]

I’m surprised I haven’t caved and done this yet, but I NEED to talk about how fucked up it is that ole Papa Ricky missed out on prime ace/aro representation via Leo Valdez in favor of? Ruining part of his character arc? Let’s get into it.

Essentially, Leo’s entire character is based off of the loser boy who relentlessly flirts with anything that moves because he’s desperate. We see this in almost every book until he starts to get serious, and of course when the Calypso plot line begins. IGNORING THAT ENTIRE SECTION OF THE BOOKS, and instead looking more closely towards the whole “seventh wheel” thing, I would very much like to point my gay little finger and declare Leo on the a-spec.

Leo as a character is very performative, and we see him taking the role of the comedian, or the resident funny guy along with his throwaway usefulness as the engineer and repairer. In his POV multiple times we see a deeper exploration to his thoughts and actions, while in everyone else’s eyes, he’s just annoying, funny, and hyperactive. While this is an entirely different post I should be making in the name of Leo Valdez and all of his quirks and flaws, I also think that this inherently plays into the loneliness and separation that we see over and over again casting him as the third/fifth/seventh wheel.

I think there’s also something very telling about that desperation. Besides Rick very quickly throwing him into a romance to solve most of his “problems”, a lot of the earlier books show him flirting and throwing himself at women, but there’s no SUBSTANCE to it. In my personal experience, and in something very often seen in the aro/Ace community, to fit into social norms, you often try to attach yourself quickly to people, or convince yourself and your peers that you are experiencing crushes/attraction for a way to fit in to conversation and convention. Unintentionally, Rick wrote this little playboy character who is SO EASILY read as queer, specifically ace/aro!!!!

While we can only give the books so much credit for diversity and representation (as they are written by a cishet white man well past his 30s), the way that Leo is written so stereotypically gives me FUEL to headcanon that he is better than written. I like to think of his third wheel era with Piper and Jason as a sort of PART 1 to this realization, and then PART 2 comes around with Hazel and Frank. There could have been so many silly interactions if he was actually pursued as a queer character, and I will forever rage because of the sloppily thrown labels after HoO with Nico’s coming out arc.

(Once again, big W for the representation being shown, but I do have some issues with the execution)

I just imagine Leo, confused, watching these relationships on the Argo II and taking notes about what romantic attraction looks like. He has messy notes scribbled on his palm like:

-Laughs at joke that is NOT funny because they are blinded by love???

-Look like idiots holding hands and staring into each others eyes

-‘I would die for you’ but in a sexy way (aka how to date in demigod 101)

-Whatever the fuck Percy and Annabeth have going on

Relationships, specifically romantic ones, seem to be the only way that Rick truly allows important interactions to happen. What happened to declaring your loyalty but in a platonic sense? What happened to fighting for the power of friendship? What happened to Grover?!?!!!

I also truly believe that there could have been an entirely new angle explored between Nico and Leo’s relationship, and how they could’ve become tentative friends after Leo comes back from the dead, especially after the death of Jason Grace. I see perfectly an interaction that would go something like:

Leo, approaching Nico wearily at the dining pavilion: hey man, how did you realize you were gay?

Nico, not paying much attention, absolutely destroying a bowl of cereal: didn’t like women, liked men

Leo, nodding seriously, knowing full well that he isn’t gay but also not straight: I see…

ADDITIONALLY there could have been such a fun friendship with Piper and Leo if Rick Riordan wasn’t a coward and actually gave Piper a character arc where she was established as queer instead of just sprinkling it in at random. Piper, as a daughter of Aphrodite, with that ‘love sense’, I truly believe they’re could have been such fun scenes such as:

Piper, suspicious that Leo isn’t straight: so…you have any crushes?

Leo, panicking because now he has to think of someone who could reasonably be seen as someone he was crushing on: uh, um, uh, what’re you? A cop???

Piper, getting literally no vibes of any attraction whatsoever from Leo, throwing her tf off: uh, maybe

This also leaves the very real, very hilarious question of what Leo would see if he ever met Aphrodite. As Jason sees a lot of Piper, and Percy sees basically just Annabeth, I think it would be interesting to have an internal dialogue of Leo meeting the goddess of love and having her features shift constantly to try and fit an impossible attraction by melding together traits that are stereotypically pretty or beautiful.

Not all of this was entirely coherent, but I have very strong feelings on this headcanon and I am HORRIBLE at articulating anything in a way that makes sense. Thank you for, once again, coming to my Teddy Talky.

#percy jackson #leo valdez #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #memes #lgbtq community #queer #gay #piper mcclean #nico di angelo #frank zhang #hazel levesque #annabeth pjo #annabeth chase #jason grace #pjo hoo toa #solangelo #aroace #aspec stuff #neurodiverse stuff #rick riordan #info dump #just my headcanons #queer headcanons #no I am not projecting (I am) #leo valdez is actually so blorbo to me #kay’s headcanons

[piedpiperart]

It was an interesting read. :) I know very little of the full DC universe, but yeah, you're totally right about that superman and batman thing. it's why Batman is my favorite hero from there. He shows you don't really need a fancy power to be one.

Right?!

It’s one of the main reasons why I like batman so much. I used to really hate Superman growing up and I never really knew why until later. It was cuz it bugged me how he’d always act like he was the know it all on justice, and viewed people with powers or groups or certain actions that didn’t fit his worldview as the bad thing that meant that person was bad.

Superman didn’t really get the black and white, and much like All Might, a lot of that gray is about discrimination. For a lot of small time criminals, they get to where they are because lack of education, money, support, etc. Batman knows this, understands it, makes charities as Bruce Wayne to support people like that. Superman might know but not understand. He’s also not rich so sure he might not be able to solve it really, but he’s still a daylight/spotlight hero. No one would expect Batman to do a press conference on discrimination, but that’s something Superman has the power (and responsibility) to do. It’s what Bruce Wayne does.

This discrimination is a lot like in My Hero Academia. Bad quirks are seen as villainous. Take Hawks and Miruko versus Spinner for example. All three are mutant/body changing quirks based on animals. However the only difference is that Hawks and Mirukos quirks are able to be fetishized by the public/media. Spinners Lizard mutations are seen as gross and momsterous, leading him to a life of crime because of the discrimination he got from kids, adults, when looking for a job, etc.

Miruko being a bunny quirk also had the added stereotype of being weak, meek, shy, etc. She feared getting stuck with those labels and made herself work to be seen and act differently to become a strong powerful hero. But her costume still shows her femininity, people still underestimate her, she’s not overly valued as a hero because she’s not seen as stronger than most of the top ten men heroes, etc.

Same could be said for Shinsou. Evil-stereotyped quirks get certain treatments and can lead to less choices in life for jobs, friends, etc. Stuff like that All Might isn’t aware of and won’t think to advertise or fundraise for.

It’s also the same for people with ‘good’ quirks. How many people do you think were chosen for a job specifically for their quirk? Like lie detector Tsukauchi. Was he pressured into police work? Could you imagine him being a chef or something else? It’s the same with heroes and villains. Could you imagine someone with shigarakis quirk running a coffee shop? Probably not and that’s the problem. Quirks are valued and that makes people valued differently.

Bakugo too is seen as a heroic quirk, but could also easily be spun as a villainous one. Depending on how he was raised and how/where he grew up, he could have been a hero or a villain. It was speculated that bakugos parents are middle class, maybe a bit richer. What do you think would have happened if Bakugo was poor? If he went to a school district in a different area? If they saw him as a thug instead of a hero. You think he would have been able to keep his snappy personality? Or would he be forced to keep his head down so no one would feel threatened and call the police on him?

There’s so many different layers to quirks and quirk discrimination that All Might and Superman type heroes are generally unaware of. You can see this with Iron man and the xmen. Iron man in the mcu wants the Accords, that have restrictions on mutants and want mutants to be documented. He, as a person without powers, doesn’t understand how this would affect the lives of people like Peter or Wanda (which is one big arguement I would have for having peter on team iron man but he’s also a gullible kid here so I’ll let it slide) and often in xmen comics the accords screw over many many mutants. (Prime example is Cloud 9) Xmen also have issues though. Take a look at Charles Xavier, who, in many comics and even shows like xmen evolution, puts much more time and effort into helping the mutants who could pass as normal humans or come from good backgrounds or have useful powers.

Take xmen evolution, where Charles doesnt put effort into helping the brotherhood as much as he could have. He doesn’t spend time helping the kids with problems that parents would, instead focusing on training and etc. Many xmen leave because they’re not receiving the help they need. Mutants like nightcrawler, beast, toad, etc. are often overlooked because they don’t have ‘cool’ powers. This can also be said for hulk. These type of powers are seen as less or worse or evil, etc.

In one spiderman cartoon, peter starts mutating uncontrollably into a giant spider. Xmen who look perfectly normal are like you should accept yourself for who you are, sorry we can’t help you. Meanwhile Beast knows exactly what Peter is going through and helps him in a way that actually matters, in a way that he needs. So. It shows that even within marginalized groups there’s different groups or levels within that can be at odds.

It also shows a lot of parallels to real life struggles with poc, lgbt, disabled, neurodivergent, and women’s rights,etc. in the LGBT community there’s many parallels to xmen and the TYPE of sexuality/gender you are. Gay people are discriminated against yes but they can and do often exclude trans people or people of more specific (or less marketable, etc) sexualities or people of color or disabled people within that community. Just like Xmen and certain good or bad powers. Or quirks and the discrimination surrounding that.

I think mutants or quirks in general that have a visible outward appearance are particularly interesting in this case. Media and society play a huge part in whether or not certain people are socially acceptable/good/bad. Back to the point about Spinner versus Hawks. Hawks and Miruko are fetishized by the media, hero society, etc. You don’t see Ryuku(I forgot her name but the dragon lady in MHA) who can turn into a full on dragon, being marketed the same way. Spinner and Gang Orca (I’m talking about in the anime not in real life, shush) are not being fetishized by the media or heroes, were bullied in much the same ways and are seen as scary. Ectoplasm too. You also don’t see them closer to the top ten heroes rank. You don’t see them much in the show either.

Even in Class 1-A, you see clearly what is being valued when you look at the main characters. What are their quirks? Ah yeah strong ones, right. But do they have anything that would allude to them not having a normal physical appearance? Nope. Tsuyu occasionally because while she is frog she can be marketed as sexy and cute to the public. Mina is harder to do than Tsuyu but still can be marketed as cute ‘despite’ her eyes, skin, horns, etc. You know who won’t be marketed like that? Tokoyami and Shoji and Kouda. You hardly ever see them in the anime either. Not main character material. Not classified as cute, etc. harder for business students to market them as heroes, seen as not as strong, etc. I guarantee the writers coulda made tokoyami a powerhouse, could have done so much with Mina’s acid or Kouda controlling animals.

So not only is it shown in anime, it’s also marketed that way to the viewers who prefer the cute boys, etc., it’s not as popular a show if the mcs aren’t cute. Same with MCU and DC movies. Justice league movie? Great but let’s take out hawkwoman and Martian manhunter. Only sexy men and one woman allowed. Avengers? Great but let’s focus on the ones without discrimination and limit parts with Bruce Banner and get villains that are aliens and very clearly ‘other’.

One movie that was great with this was guardians of the galaxy in that they had clear differences physically and not in a sexy alien fetish way. I liked that, that they were a ragtag group of very very different people and still made a family. (Leaving out the latest love and thunder movie tho) But in that show it was clear to see that the main characters were not all the stereotypical white men and women with cool and a useful powers. Sure they still had one white dude but I think it’s great he doesn’t have any actual powers.

Deadpool also does an awesome job with this!! Having disabilities, plus size characters, key women characters (domino) other than the one girl who was a plot device (Vanessa) and poc (russel and domino), etc. and a lesbian couple! Love it. And I love the found family aspects and the diversity! It makes me happy to see.

Even deadpool in deadpool 2 shows that xmen has issues within them. In that conference room most were white men tbh. They value certain kinds of people and often the rest of the mutants with unfavorable powers go with Magneto, just to be accepted even if he’s got evil and bad intentions. To me, Charles and Erik have bad intentions and don’t actually care about helping the mutants have a safe space, they’re mostly focused on how the rest of society will accept them. Charles wants to do it peacefully and magneto wants to do it forcefully. They don’t actually set up any kind of contingencies or start petitions and laws and policies that will actually help these poor kids. (Ex. Morlocks)

In the justice league too, you can see the characters with more physical differences like Martian manhunter, lagoon boy, beast boy, etc. aren’t many. They’re not seen as main character material, not able to be marketable in the same sexy way that Hawkwoman could be, etc. they’re underutilized in the league and underrepresented. Take killer croc or the killer shark guy. There’s literally so few of them around in DC comics and movies and aren’t marketed to the general audience. Like, there’s a reason why Marvel focuses on certain characters over others. Reason why they focus on avengers over xmen. But it’s changing and more diverse characters are being represented so that’s good. Hope they keep it up👍

Anyways this is getting super long so I’ll leave it here, sorry if it doesn’t make sense? But I just love talking about stuff like this

[virgilisspidey]

It has been stuck in my head but i'm too lazy to write it down properly

If the Rise boys and 2012 boys switched plots.

Like

What would the Rise boys do in a situation that actually requires them to be serious, to have coherent plans instead of "fuck it we ball". What would they be like in a world that's much more murkier than where they're from? A world where they actually need to hide, like HIDE hiding, not what they're doing in the show. What would they be without mystic powers and a much more human Shredder that slowly but surely turns himself into a monster rather being a monster right away. What would they do to villains that ACTUALLY have all the intention to kill just because of the circumstances placed upon them? Just because they're related to one man, or connected to something bigger.

And most interesting enough, would Rise Leo even consider being the leader with how much responsibility it would probably be? Would Rise Donnie even successfully find stuff for inventions or just look through trash like his 2012 counterpart? If we consider keeping their roles the same, would Rise Raph even handle being the Leader with how high the stakes are from the get go? Would Rise Mikey even at least try to befriend 2012 Karai, given she's a villain and technically their enemy? How would they even react with 2012 April?

And MOST FREGIN IMPORTANTLY if their personalities don't change, what would their relationship with 2012 Splinter be like? How would they react to his death?

And would they even be able to kill Shredder?

For the 2012 boys, how would they react to a colorful environment full of much more people than their own universe where it wouls be super hard to hide? How would they react to weird and wacky villains? There's a whole new other world underneath the underneath, a world where they won't be gawked at if they simply walk in the streets. How would they handle their mystic powers given their own unique insecurities?

How would they react to Rise's overpowered villains?

Given their personalities stay somewhat the same, would there even still be a leader? Would 2012 Leo still want that leader position despite the fact that he can be much more free? Would 2012 Donnie's inventions improve, would they solve the oozequitos problem the same way they did in their own universe? Would it be much more difficult considering mystic stuff happens? Would 2012 Raph be more comfortable in this universe? Given the fact that it's, let's say, a bit more healthier than their situation in 2012? Would 2012 Mikey even attempt to get Draxum a redemption arc when all of his brothers would probably have a much more stronger dislike of him than the Rise boys? Heck how would they react to finding out they were created to be warriors that kills the humans they try to protect?

And Rise April... What would their relationship with her be like? Would they even try to go out wearing clothes just to hang out with her in daylight? How would they react to Big Mama? How would they react to this version of the Foot Clan? To Cassandra Jones? Would her and 2012 Raph become friends just like they always do, right off the get go? Can he even convince her out of the Foot?

And the Shredder... How would they react to the Shredder being this unstoppable force? How tf would they react to a much atronger monstrous Krang? Would 2012 Leo, the idiot he is, still try and sacrifice himself? How wouls they react to future Casey Jones? How would they react to a violent Krangified 2012 Raph and what kind of argument would they go through to reach that? It would probably be something about how Raph doesn't understand why Leo was so worked up, and we see him block that killing blow with his ACTUAL SHOULDER finally understanding the fear his older brother feels whenever one of them gets hurt.

And... How would they react to Rise Karai?

How would they thrive under the very loose teaching Rise Splinter is doing?

Okay that's enough of my rambling

#tmnt 2012 #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #naritalks #honestly i'm suppose to make a five page movie review but this is more important #i wanna share it to the world

[centrally-unplanned]

To continue LOTR discourse, had a discussion yesterday and solidified my opinion that Tulkas’s role as a Valar is a little bit dumb. If you aren’t in the know, fourteen Valar, including Melkor, show up in Arda. The 13 good Valar try to shape it according the vision of Illuvatar/God, and Melkor just runs around blowing it all up - Melkor, as the greatest of the Valar, is as strong as the rest of the Valar combined, so its a status quo back and forth meaning that no permanent stability can be truly achieved. After 1,500 years of this the din of battle is loud enough for Tulkas, a 15th Valar w/ war as his dominion who is chilling in Eä/space, to hear it and he descends to Arda. Due to his specialization he is able to go toe to toe with Melkor, who flees in fear, permitting the Valar to finally establish some order and build the Two Lamps, stage one of Arda’s development. 

Its pretty weird huh? “In the beginning there were the Fourteen...oh yeah and also this dude, his just chillin elsewhere for now”. Like what was he up to? Why wasn’t he part of the opening crowd? Was Illuvatar just holding him back for kicks? And he is strong enough to beat Melkor so its like, wow great good we solved that problem! Why don’t I solve all my problems by pulling in an alcoholic luchador from Alpha Centuri to punch them in the face, should have thought that! No other Ainur hanging out in space ever appear or do other things - Tulkas was just taking a nap I guess.

Its not a big deal of course, but its seems like a thematic dropped ball. The obvious candidate for how the Valar are able to overcome Melkor in the first phase of the war would be the Elves themselves. It of course would require real timeline changes, its not a quick fix, but the arrival of Tulkas and the Elves happens very close to each other narrative-wise. And more importantly Melkor is infused with a deep jealously of Eru’s ability to create life, and will soon pledge his existence to corrupting & destroying the Elves. It would make a lot of sense for the fire of that obsession to be fanned by the Elves playing a crucial role in defeating Melkor’s first attempt to undermine the Valar.

Additionally it would really help cement the role of the Elves themselves - they have an undercurrent destiny of being shepherds, the First of the Children of Illuvatar who will guide Middle Earth into its eventual fate as the dominion of Man. But they never really do much for that destiny - all their wars against Morgoth are motivated by hate and revenge, and they totally fail at it, being completely defeated and bailed out by the Valar in the War of Wrath (admittedly with the help of the Vanyar elves, but that’s all off page). In later ages they do help defeat Sauron, but that is all knee-deep into the age of Man when the Elves are overstaying their welcome, and they kinda-sorta make the problem of Sauron anyway due to Cursed Jewelry Part 2. Their net role in the Fate of Arda is not actually super-positive? As such, serving a positive role in the early fate of Arda would have really worked to shore up their thematic destiny. 

Also mortals standing up to Gods is always the good shit of LOTR anyway, can always have more of that.

So yeah, Tulkas should have just been there from the beginning, The Valar build the Two Lamps which beckons some of the Elves to join the Valar, Melkor is able to destroy the Lamps but is unable to overcome Elvish+Valar power, sets his eyes on corrupting the Elves, everything proceeds as normal. That is my Ainulindalë fanfic, thank you for coming to my talk.

Also Nessa, Tulkas’s wife, is just fucking single for 1500 years while everyone else is married. My version spares her over a millennia of incel suffering, wtf?? Let 👏 Nessa 👏 Fuck 👏

#lord of the rings

[charlesandmartine]

Tuesday 16th April 2024

A disadvantage perhaps of our location here in Tergniet is that each day so far mist has rolled in from the sea and engulfed us within our own personal cloud. Today was no different. It arrived some time after 9am. Well we had counterattack plans and so we fired up the powerful VW T-Cross and escaped to Mossel Bay some 10k away back down the N2 towards Cape Town. Success, as soon as we climbed up onto the N2, so we climbed also out of the cloud into brilliant sunshine with wall to wall blue skies. On leaving the motorway, the first task was to fill up the now gasping VW petrol tank. Now this was a first for us; a totally new experience. As we pulled up by a pump what seemed like a pit-stop team quickly formed around our white SUV. Do you want tyres and oil checking sir? No, that's fine thanks. Whilst one assistant is pumping the unleaded, others are busy scrubbing away at windscreen and windows, windscreen wiper at 90° and before long the erstwhile grubby VW is returning to showroom condition. The next problem to solve was how much tip is expected. I took the straight forward approach. How much tip do people normally give you? I said. Oh, up to you but usually R30. (about £1.30). I coughed up.

Now with a repleted full tank, we confidently became tourists and sought unashamedly the tourist information man. Before long we had the standard sheet map, the next off his pad, with yellow highlighted blobs showing where we should go and in what order.

Now one thing we needed reminding is that in the 15th century the world of smartalecking was lead by none other than the Portuguese. Big time. It was important that Portugal find a sea route to India to obtain spices. Curries were rubbish without them. Land routes were expensive and they were convinced a route could be discovered around the Cape of Good Hope. So in 1482 Diogo Cao got close by discovering the mouth of the River Congo. In 1488, reinforcement came in the form of Bartholomew Dias who commissioned a little boat and managed to make it to where we stood in Mossel Bay. He had succeeded in being the first to make it around the Cape, dropping anchor in the natural harbour here. King John II declared this place for evermore to be called the Cape of Good Hope in recognition of the new route from west to east. Vasco da Gama achieved game set and match when he followed through in 1497 completing the trade route all the way to India. Absolutely amazing these Portuguese. To celebrate 500 years a replica boat was built and sailed to Mossel Bay in 1988 and was installed once it dried out in the museum here. And we've never heard of the Portuguese ever since! Thankfully our little museum records their exploits for all time.

Obviously no headland worth its salts is complete without a lighthouse. Mossel Bay is no exception and proudly boasts Cape St. Blaize, built 1863 and stands an impressive 73m. We chose not to climb it! Instead we took a stroll around the headland via the boardwalk and were rewarded by catching sight of a seal at play in the rock pools near to us. Out to sea we could clearly see the band of low cloud that engulfed us earlier this morning.

Returning to Tergniet we left 24°C of full sunshine to re-enter our cloud dropping some 7°. The mist did not clear until about 7pm. Glad we didn't stay around here.

Only thing left to do was to have chicken, Tim Tams and SB to complete a perfect day.

Tomorrow we move on to Jeffrey's Bay some 290kms from here and just one stop before reaching out first big game reserve.

#Mossel Bay

[all-things-fandomstuck-writes]

Welcome Home AU Plans

Hi guys! So, I've seen the influx of Welcome Home AUs going around, and I've got a few I'd like to share.

Now, I will preface this by saying I'm no artist, just a humble writer with a passion for a good story. That being said, if anything in my AUs interest you, this also post is blanket permission to make art of my AUs, as long as I am credited. That's all I ask. Oh, and please tag me. I'd love to see them.

So, I've got two of them. I'll start with the shorter one. All titles are a work in progress, and suggestions are appreciated. Asks are open for any and all questions related to either AU.

Dark Magic/ Reincarnation AU:

A long time ago, well before Welcome Home first aired, there was a man with a dream. A very big dream. Something that couldn't be contained in his brain, and took on a life of its own. Or, rather, several lives.

A dark ritual was preformed, bringing ten (10) puppets to life. A show would later be formed around these puppets, but, due to early production budgets, only nine (9) of them actually made it onto the screen. While all the rest of the puppets got their spotlight, Y/N was scrapped.

Y/N was Wally's favorite of the group he had been brought into, well before he was scripted that Barnaby was his best friend. That was, until the incident. Various parts of them can be seen throughout the show. The scrap of mismatched fabric on Wally's chair? That was originally part of Y/N's outfit.

Years passed, and, eventually, they reincarnated as a Human. What happens when they take an interest in Welcome Home, and therefore, their old pal Wally?

Story Keeper AU:

Wally is a being known as The Keeper of Stories, and is responsible for keeping track of, cataloging, and housing all the stories that have ever existed. He has a few other powers, such as the ability to pull characters from their stories, and "watch" the stories in "real" time. Essentially, he has every reader's dream of having an accurate down to the last detail visual production of whatever story he happens to fancy at the time. He can also summon a physical book version of a story, if he feels more like reading.

Home is the Library, the mystical place where all the stories are kept. An ever shifting maze someone could get lost in, if they didn't know their way around. Luckily, everyone here does, so it's not an issue for them.

All of the neighbor's come from different fairy tales/stories. All except for Frank. Now, Frank is a bit different, as he doesn't come from a story. He's the Librarian. It's his job to help the Keeper organize the ever growing collection of tales. While Wally may be able to summon any book at will, someone's gotta put everything away. And that someone is Frank. He's also in charge of the Library whenever something happens to the Keeper.

Being a Keeper is a wondrous job, but it comes at a price. And not just anyone can become a Keeper. Frank and the Library take extra special care to select the newest Keeper, as any mistakes made could be fatal. Wally was specifically chosen for his kind and caring nature, and his more creative approach to problem solving.

The price of the job is high. As the Keeper is usually chosen from a story (it's very rare for a mortal to be picked for the role), there are several..... let's call them complications.

First, all memories of their storied lives are sealed away, so that no conflict of interest arises. The book they were drawn from is then removed from the library, and sealed away. Only Frank and the Library know where it's hidden. It's a system that usually works. Usually.

Enter Y/N. Y/N is a character from Wally's original story. Specifically, his love interest. Now, they were released kind of on accident. A mishap of magical problem solving and a wish gone wrong. Needless to say, when they showed up, Frank and the Library weren't to happy. Wally hadn't been a Keeper for very long, and bringing anyone from their past, especially the love of their life, is bound to cause extreme amounts of trouble.

However, much to Frank's amusement, Y/N doesn't seem to remember Wally or their story all too well. Sure, a few snippets here and there, mostly just their name, but not enough to make it a problem. Not yet anyway. But, Frank keeps an eye on them just in case.

I don't really have everyone else mapped out quite yet. Well, ok, I do have Eddie figured out.

Eddie has trouble remembering which story he's from. So, he often spends his time with Frank, trying to figure out where he fits into all this. Both Frank and Eddie have tried asking Wally to simply locate Eddie's book, but Wally feigns ignorance, claiming that he has no idea either. In all reality, Wally saw how close Frank and Eddie were getting (yes, FranklyDear is included in this AU), and decided that maybe they just didn't need to know because they're happy with each other.

And those are my AUs! Or, rather, what I have of them so far. Hope you enjoyed, and like I said, ask box is open!

#writing #authors notes #welcome home #welcome home AU #welcome home story keeper AU #welcome home reincarnation AU #wally darling #wally darling welcome home #fandom writes #Tales from The Playfellow Workshop #That last tag may be temporary