#plenty of potential character interactions to be had.

[silverstudios]

lethal company borrower and Acorn head cannons

As the title says- this is just me throwing in a collection of head cannons I had about how Borrowers as a species works in the lethal company universe and a handful of head cannons about my oc Acorn.

Common names-Borrower Scientific name: Homo Micro 

Borrowers appear to be humanoid but at an incredibly smaller size. The tallest borrower on record was 12 inches tall. 

The average age of a borrower is between 50-60 and they reach mental and physical maturity around age 18-19. The oldest recorded borrower was 66. 

Despite the small size, borrowers are nearly identical to homo sapiens, with a few differences here and there. 

Borrowers appear to be surprisingly strong- the nearest species comparison to their strength is how ants can lift something 10X its weight. Borrowers, in turn, have proven to be able to lift roughly 10-15X their body weight, and this strength is also used in self defense, scaling tall objects and general physical activities. 

Due to the borrower's small size, the amount of air they require to function is very little, and the oxygen amount they need is lesser than a humans. It is due to this that a borrower can survive without an oxygen tank on moons, although doing so does lead to distress if the borrower is not used to it.

A negative and positive trait is that a borrower’s dark vision is significantly better than humans. This addition has helped the species survival for many years, as borrowers would collect resources during the twilight to midnight range. This has the unfortunate side effect of borrowers being very sensitive to bright lights and prone to visual overstimulation when not in a dark location. 

Sadly, after the wars, borrower populations dropped significantly and are now considered an endangered species. Despite the large hit to their population, Borrowers continue to live on in the new universe. 

Society: 

Due to the state of the species, Multiple collectors and species preservation groups have taken to buying families of borrowers. This buying process has multiple different ways it can go. The buyer could offer to give the money directly to the borrower family is a potential option, but the most successful has been offering the borrower family a permanent home, a constant supply of resources and money, educational and medical insurance and many other add-ons.

 This process of buying off borrower families has led to small cities of borrowers within the land of the buyer, which have been called “Borrower settlements” or “Fairy towns”, and have been given a high level of protections. 

There are still borrowers outside of fairy towns, still living in the old ways of their species, if not a little less secretive than they used to be. If a housing complex has a borrower family or group, the occupations are made well aware of it. These buildings normally prevent pets of any kind, alongside a lack of automatic machines (like rumbas). Most occupations would merely leave out bowls of things a borrower would enjoy, sugar cubes, tissues, for their small neighbors to take as they need. 

Borrowers who live within fairy towns are less likely to ever make human contact, as all their needs are provided for by the owner of the settlement. The owner must give the borrowers five different bowls of whatever is required by the town- given to the owner in a list- everyday to ensure all the inhabitants can get what they need. 

Harming a borrower is illegal and punishable by 40 years of jail time or being placed onto company duty for the next 10 years, And if you kill a borrower you are placed either into death row Or sent to spend the rest of your life working for the company. 

Acorn head cannons: 

Acorn is the youngest of her 10 siblings at 18 years old. 

She and her family live in the fairy town “Melody” on Lua, the largest borrower settlement. 

Her favorite color is brown, her favorite food is sugar coated donuts and she got her trusty acorn hat from the large acorn tree outside Melody’s walls. 

Acorn decided she wanted to join the company when she was around 10 when the owner of the settlement’s second to youngest came back from his department to the company, telling all kinds of tales about his adventures. The excitement, the adventure, the potential danger, it all thrilled the young borrower. 

She waited until her 18th birthday to apply to work for the company- but was quickly denied due to the fact borrower’s are endangered .She wasn’t completely denied- she had the knowledge to pass all the questions about the dangers of the moons, which scrap is the best to grab and the like to even get her to the background check, so instead she was redirected toward multiple other job opportunities within her fairy town that could use a good worker like her- and even multiple online jobs. 

She was frustrated and slightly insulted, and so did what anyone would do in this situation- made herself a suit to protect her eyes and other vitals, snuck out of her home and snuck onto the nearest prison bus heading to Gordion, where she then hopped onto a company ship. 

And that’s where her story begins…

#lethal company #lethal company oc #long post #text post #I brainrotted myself with this oc so now I yeet this into the universe #plenty of potential character interactions to be had. #silver rambles

[evankinard]

Buddie Secret Relationship Conspiracy Manifesto

Hello. Welcome to possibly the most delusional buddie theory yet. This is a collaboration with @swiftiebuckleys, and as such I would like to cite our sources accordingly: dude, trust us.

Okay so I know a lot of people have talked about the theory of buddie possibly being in a secret relationship that is even a secret from the audience during season 6. For me, this started during 6A. It started because I was thinking about how 601 started with such a poignant and domestic Buckley-Diaz family scene that, as a part of a premier that was meant to establish where the characters are after four months of hiatus, told us Buck, Eddie and Christopher are living in each other's pockets as their own little family at the start of the season (I even wrote about this in this meta I posted while 6a was airing lmao).

But then for the rest of 6A there really wasn't any significant on-screen buddie or Buckley-Diaz moments, even though there was plenty that was implied at, including: Buck and Eddie planning to go to Marisol's house to help with repairs without the rest of the firefam, Buck and Chris hanging out so Chris potentially telling Buck the secret about skipping school even though he didn't tell Eddie, Buck and Eddie sitting in the back of the waiting room together separate from the rest of the firefam while they waited for news about Karen, and Eddie giving Hoover to Buck and convincing him to keep him even though his building doesn't allow dogs. What do all but one of these moments have in common? They're moments where Buck and Eddie were either alone or away from anyone who would know them from the rest of the gang and wouldn't feel the need to hide their relationship. When at work, Buck and Eddie had a reasonably normal amount of on-screen interactions, but it was only their moments happening outside of work that was pushed to the off-screen. (Bonus: one on-screen 6A moment that lives in my head rent-free and screams of secret relationship is that shot of them stepping into frame together and holding eye contact while the song lyrics in the bg go "I want your sex and your affection when I'm holding you close" in 609.)

However, while this^ is all well and good, it's 6B that really gives the secret relationship theory its wings.

Episode 10 gave us the lightning strike with a sequence that was shot almost entirely from the perspective of Eddie. While in the initial aftermath of the strike we see the shock on Hen, Chimney, and Bobby's faces, the scene is in slow-motion and muted until Eddie realizes what's going on and we watch every minute facial expression on his face as the horror dawns and he snaps into action. Eddie's reaction is what sparks everyone else's movement and then we see him completely forgo his own injuries and his own safety to save Buck. In the secret relationship trope, the near-death experience is a lot of the time what forces the couple to blow their cover and reveal their relationship. That didn't happen here as buddie were already close enough to warrant the strength of Eddie's reaction and Buck was unresponsive and there wasn't any time to lose. HOWEVER, episode 11 and the absence of a scene with Eddie alone at Buck's bedside can be explained by the fact that he couldn't be shone there or his bedside confessions would have given them away to the audience. As it is, other than Margaret and Maddie, Buck's mother and sister, he's the only one dressed in all black, his composure crumbling and unable to make eye contact with Buck's body in the hospital bed, the perfect picture of a grieving widow.

Episode 12 has the infamous couch scene which is meant to signal to the audience that Eddie is the couch Buck has been searching for, even if Buck himself doesn't know it. However, in the context of the secret relationship theory, what if the total lack of reaction from Eddie about Buck falling asleep on his couch is because they already know this?

Episode 13 has the infamous poker scene and this is where the theory actually diverges for a lot of people. Going with the original theory that buddie have been together since before 6A, this would explain Buck's lack of reaction to Eddie telling him to get dressed up and taking him out on what is essentially a date - he wasn't surprised or suspicious because it wasn't unusual. If you go back and watch the scene, you'll notice that it opens right when Buck and Eddie are approaching the door and about to be in the presence of other firefighters, but initially they're walking away from a dark alley while fixing their clothes - why would they need to fix their clothes unless they got messed up in the first place? Why wouldn't they show us the before or after of the poker scene, why only the parts where they're in the presence of other people from the department? Plus, Eddie really was looking TOO blatantly hungry in that entire scene, and he wasn't really hiding it from Buck - maybe because he's allowed, and expected, to look. This isn't even to mention the scenes of Buck, Eddie, and Christopher being a family, but I will go back to those later.

Where this episode splits this theory is the alternate potential for them to have gotten together after the poker game (my initial post after the episode first came out.) This would have been the perfect opportunity because there's really no way that if they weren't already together, the thought that this might be a date hadn't crossed Buck's mind (and, again, Eddie really did look too fucking horny in that scene it wasn't something you could ignore.) The next outside of work scene we see the Buckley-Diaz' in is the baking scene with Buck and Christopher. Eddie's location is completely unknown - he could be on shift, he could be running errands, he could be with Pepa - but the fact that Buck and Chris are together and baking for his class and planning dinner really drives home the fact that they are a family once again. However, the easy confidence of Buck parenting Christopher and the way he glowed with happiness in that moment would make even more sense if he had had his place in the Diaz family as Eddie's partner and Christopher's other parent confirmed to him.

One way to possibly combine the two theories is if we assume that Buck and Eddie were actually fwb throughout 6A (an idea given to me by @captainragtag) but actually got together after the poker scene. ANOTHER way is if we assume they've only been fwb, even after the poker scene. Them being fwb would potentially explain some holes in the theory, moments where they should have had a bigger reaction to something or known something beforehand if they were in a relationship (kind of the sperm donor arc and Eddie's reaction, but that could also be explained by Eddie's lack of reaction being because he already knew and was just pretending to be finding out for the first time with everyone else.)

Going into episode 14, all of these theories could explain the *gestures vaguely* everything about Eddie's storyline in the episode. If they're hiding a relationship, the absence of any mentions of Buck when talking about Eddie (and Christopher) being alone would make sense, especially after how pointedly the previous episode showed that Eddie is always spending his free time with Buck, with or without Christopher. It would also explain Buck's extremely unsubtle date-ruining advice - either they're together and Buck just doesn't want Eddie to go on the date because he doesn't want to share even to keep up pretenses, or they're fwb and Buck is jealous and afraid to lose Eddie and their relationship if Eddie starts actually dating. Also, considering how many pure fanfic tropes the writers have used before, it's safe to assume they have at least a baseline knowledge of how buddie are written by fans and what's the first trope every fanfic reader in this fandom learns about? Christopher's first and foremost wingman duty is to pack his stuff and go to a sleepover so his dads can do unholy things to each other. Christopher being at a sleepover when Pepa told Eddie to come over and him insisting that he was alone at home when just last episode we saw buddie spending all their time off shift together is just a little too sus if you ask me. Another secret relationship moment in the episode is Eddie going for the wrong gear shift in his own car. He initially reached for the gear shift on the center console when that's not where it is in his truck. But do you know where the gear shift is in a jeep? I'll give you one guess. Do we know anyone who owns a jeep? I'll give you another guess. This would make total sense since we know Eddie is a passenger princess and Buck would be driving them everywhere if they were in a relationship. Even when Buck isn't the one driving, Eddie would be much more likely to borrow his car more often if they were in a relationship and basically living together.

If this all doesn't convince you, I would like to leave you with the reminder of a moment that I'm sure has haunted all of us since 614 came out:

Actors are always aware when they're on camera and even if they aren't, the dozens of production people, including the director, would be. Do with that what you will.

(If anyone has anything they'd like to add to this feel free to message me or send me an ask and I'll make edits! And, I mean, this is all just for fun not to be taken seriously, but if there is a point that you think really brings the theory down also feel free to send me an ask about that lets see if I can provide a suitable explanation.)

edit: another thing to keep in mind as pointed out by the brilliant @swiftiebuckleys is the precedent set by 606 "Tomorrow" for flashbacks showing the start of a relationship.

#I said dont raise your expectations too high and I stand by that but here it is #my web of conspiracy with the help support and delusions of friends #did i promise this yesterday? yes. did I also keep getting distracted and procrastinating it? you betcha. #911 fox #911 spoilers #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #weewoo brainrot #that last tag really fits this one i cant defend myself here

[kesshavx]

Resilience

Hey everyone!

I wanted to jot down a quick note regarding Nanami and his portrayal in this story. While I've taken inspiration from the character you know and love, I understand that my interpretation may not be entirely accurate to the original series.I've endeavored to capture Nanami's essence and bring him to life in my own writing, but please keep in mind that this is a work of fiction and my own creative interpretation. I apologize if there are any deviations from his established traits or if certain aspects don't align perfectly with your expectations.That being said, I hope you can still enjoy the story and the interactions involving Nanami. I've aimed to create a compelling narrative that showcases his strengths, complexities, and the impact he has on the other characters.Thank you for your understanding and for giving this story a chance. I appreciate your support and hope you find plenty of enjoyment

Pairings➪Nanami kento x female reader

The mission had been grueling, a battle against a formidable curse. As a second-year special grade sorcerer, you shouldered the weight of immense responsibility. However, despite your power, the curse had managed to evade capture, leaving you injured and consumed by guilt.

Days turned into weeks, and the wound on your waist festered beneath the surface. You carried on, wearing a façade of strength, but inside, the turmoil was relentless. No one suspected the storm raging within you as you navigated through your daily routine, feeling the weight of your perceived failure.

The arrival of the Kyoto students brought a festive atmosphere to Jujutsu High. Amidst the excitement, a grand party was organized to celebrate the goodwill event. Laughter and joy permeated the air, but your heart remained heavy with self-doubt and remorse.

In the midst of the revelry, Mai, caught up in the festivities, accidentally struck your injured area. A surge of agony coursed through your body, and you winced, desperately trying to conceal your distress. Unable to bear the pain any longer, you excused yourself quietly, retreating to a quiet place away from prying eyes.

As you found solace in the solitude, your pain overwhelmed you. The weight of guilt and self-condemnation bore down upon your shoulders, and the walls you had built around your emotions crumbled. Collapsing to the ground, you curled up, tears streaming down your face as your body trembled with anguish.

Unbeknownst to you, Nanami Kento, ever perceptive, had noticed your departure from the festivities. His concern grew with each passing moment, and he followed your trail, determined to find you. And find you he did, your body wracked with sobs, crumpled on the floor.

"Nanami-sensei," you choked out, your voice filled with pain and self-blame, "I'm... I'm a special grade. I let that curse get away. I failed... I failed everyone."

Nanami's gaze hardened, disappointment etched into his features. He knelt beside you, his voice firm yet laced with concern. "You are a special grade, yes, but that doesn't make you invincible. Failure is a part of our journey, and it's how we respond to it that defines us."

His words carried a touch of sternness, emphasizing the gravity of your mistakes. Yet, as you glanced up at him through tear-blurred vision, you noticed a glimmer of compassion in his eyes. It was a silent promise that he wouldn't abandon you in your darkest moments.

"But remember," Nanami continued, his voice softening, "failure doesn't diminish your worth or your potential. It's an opportunity for growth, to learn from your mistakes and become better. You are not alone in this. We're here to support you, to help you rise above your setbacks."

With those words, Nanami gently cradled you in his arms, drawing you close to his chest. The pain in your body still lingered, but his presence offered solace and comfort. He held you tightly, his touch reassuring as he whispered words of encouragement, reminding you that you were not defined by your failures.

In that quiet moment, feeling the warmth of Nanami's embrace, you began to find solace amidst the turmoil. His scolding had ignited a spark of determination within you, but it was his kindness and understanding that mended the shattered pieces of your spirit.

Time seemed to stand still as Nanami held you, supporting you through your pain. He provided a safe haven where vulnerability was embraced, and you felt a glimmer of hope rekindling within your heart. With his unwavering support, you knew you could find the strength to face the challenges ahead.

As you lay cradled in Nanami's arms, the pain gradually ebbed away, replaced by a sense of comfort and acceptance. Your tears subsided, and a newfound resolve took root within you. You knew the road to redemption would not be easy, but with Nanami by your side, you felt ready to face it together.

#nanami kento x female reader #nanami kento x female injured reader #nanami kento x fem!reader #nanami kento #mha x reader #mha manga leaks #mha leaks #mha 416 #mha #dadzawamha #jjk kento #jjk nanami #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu nanami #nanami smut #kento nanami #nanami x reader #kento smut #kento x reader #kento nanami x reader #kento nanami x you #kento nanami x y/n #nanami kento x injured female reader #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento x you #nanami kento x y/n #nanami kento x gender neutral reader #nanami kento x oc

[hpowellsmith]

This isn't a full chapter public update (that will be happening on January 2) but it's more substantial than adding dialogue or making tweaks, so it gets the fancy header.

There was some feedback on earlier chapters, and then some for the Chapter 4 Patreon version that went up yesterday, which asked for the chance to show more ways in which a PC has been psychologically impacted by what happened to them before the start of the game. It's something I've wanted to lean further into in a similar way to how the game is responsive to the amount of the PC's physical pain. After all, the game is about a character who has been through something difficult, and is navigating the aftermath - as well as potentially interacting closely with others who have been through difficult things too and are handling that in various ways.

When I was first planning the game, I also knew I wanted to have plenty of chances for hurt/comfort for PCs who want it, and for PCs who don't want that to be able to reject it or feel ambivalent, and so on. While I've been writing beyond what's currently playable, I've been aware that I wanted to include more opportunities for a PC who is not OK to open up (or not) about it to other characters. Although I tweaked some descriptions in the last update, it wasn't anything major and it was a gap that I knew I wanted to improve, especially as it felt right for some characters to notice and mention if something stressful was going on with the PC.

It's also the case that in Chapter 7, which I'm writing at the moment, there is some very stressful stuff happening for the PC and I knew I needed a firmer foundation in the mechanics of how a PC's stress is described and whether NPCs have had a chance to notice or bring up what's been going on before that point.

Anyway: in the current version starting in Chapter 2, there are now some more specific responses the PC can have to stressors around them; some Chapter 3 stress points and NPC responses; in future chapters, I've written further stressors, PC responses, and NPC interactions/responsivity.

Most, though not all, of this text triggers in response to how much physical and mental pressure the PC is under. I've gone back and forth about whether, and how, to display this score on the stats page. At the moment, there's a sentence descriptor under "Health" that gives some information about how the PC is doing; I will probably tweak how this displays, or the way it's worded, over time.

As ever, this is all subject to plenty of iteration and I'm very happy to consider any feedback of whatever kind - about this or anything else in the game!

-

INTRO | CHARACTERS | FEEDBACK THREAD, INFO, & DEV DIARY | PATREON DEMO | PUBLIC DEMO (DASHINGDON) | PUBLIC DEMO (ITCHIO) | BONUS PLAYABLE PROLOGUE | TAGGED POSTS

#honor bound #honor bound public update #honor bound update #creme de la creme series #choice of games #interactive fiction #if wip #interactive novel wip

[jess-the-vampire]

I loved the finale but kinda wished hunter got to stomp belos too then sobs from happiness knowing it’s finally over or belos stuck in the between realm forever or reliving his worse nightmare as a fate worse than death

Honestly the finale felt so odd to me because we felt like were were getting setups that just were not given resolution in the finale.

And these are setups post cut, so these are things the writers had to have planned while knowing their time, which makes it more odd to me.

like at that point the focus should be to only set up things you are going to touch on and that come back into play, not add things you don't.

I personally don't think hunter needed to watch belos die, but when the show gave him new powers last episode i kinda expected them to like....come back in the finale?

like hunter's dash has no role in the finale at all, it was useful for the one scene he got regarding willow and gus and figuring out flapjack is with him and everything.....but it's one episode before the finale and it is completely forgotten after the fact outside of a couple dashes in the archive that are relatively minor.

and he ends up getting a new palsiman anyway so it just feels....off to me. I mean i was expecting him to get a new palisman but it now almost makes his dash a bit more irrelevant to even have.

kinda like how they kill glyphs, but we get glyphs at the end anyway so why the loss at all if it's not really going to stick?

honestly, let's ignore the fact the way belos died really should not have killed him for a second, Eda, Raine, and King are the characters with some of the least interactions with belos at all in the show.

Like his rule had affects on these characters and their loved ones and he did try to have eda killed, but when you think of belos' victims.....these three tend not to not be the first 3 you think of.

i kinda think the death would of been a little better if none of them jumped in and the rain just did it.

There was some minor set up for camilia or the other kids to help finish him off so i almost think it would've been more fitting if they were the ones to do it if we HAD to have that.

i dunno man, i've heard all the arguments for why belos's death works, and a lot of it seems to be rooted in the fact that "Belos is not complicated, he's evil, he doesn't need a big death and yada yada"

but it's like, it's not that belos isn't complicated, it's that the show seemed too afraid of making him complicated. I mentioned this in my last belos post but there's lots of evidence to suggest he's a more 3d character, because of how his story ties into the stories of other characters, because he symbolically represents what people who grow up in these oppressive systems can turn into. There's a lot of real potential for belos to stand out as a villian that comes from sympathetic origins but can't be forgiven or redeemed.

Which is a good lesson for kids, that people can come from bad spots but that doesn't mean you can forgive their actions.

Something that would be far more revolutionary and interesting and tie into the themes of this show much better.....then implying his depth, not committing to it and making him generic, and everyone praising this as if generic big bads who get killed aren't extremely common in most shows.

Su was a rare exception of redeeming a big bad, not the norm, and everyone seems to be under the weird vast impression it's the other way around. Unless you're a lacky, you die as a villain in pretty much every show.

But instead that gets replaced with "Well he did it cause he's inherently a bad person", even tho the show directly told us the audience that he was in indoctrinated child when it came to witch hunting, that this wasn't something he got into because he wanted to but because he NEEDED to survive in the town.

The show has plenty of set up and evidence that he does have something deeper to him but backed out of it for one reason or another.

And remember here, they were cut at ER, so they added this whole caleb backstory AFTER the cut, so even if were were to say they wanted belos to be deeper and changed their mind.....they added all the bits that implied depth AFTER the cut.

like frankly, in retrospect, if you want belos to just be an ozai metaphor esq character and not have any depth to his villainy at all, caleb should of been entirely cut.

Do something different with hunter, because having this half finished thing with caleb that is not relevant to belos's end at all feels like baiting the audience with complexity they never get.

You could of easily just reduced philip's backstory as just being this witch hunter who went missing years ago and that would be more fitting of making belos one note as they want him to be during the finale.

having all this drama with his brother leaving him for a witch and philip acting out in response feels strange to even implement if it's not even going to be touched on that much.

the show draws so much attention to it too, which makes it extra odd.

'They wanted to tell a story in the bg for the audience to figure out", ok, so that implied they want us to care about belos's origin....right??? So why not pay that off and reward those you got invested?

Having a little story to figure out is neat but not when its the basis for the plot and not when it's existence is gonna be boiled down to "Well none of this is relevant to why he became evil. He was just like that".

like having his backstory told like this could of been great, but the show ends saying belos is not complex and that none of this matters to why he's evil despite caleb clearly being important in why belos hates witches to begin with.

i might be less bothered if i knew the crew wanted to showcase the brother's story someday but they don't even seem to be high on the list of toh spinoff ideas.

it all feels like teasing a really compelling story that tied into the themes and then dropping it last minute. And now people are rewarding that because apparently now making villains just evil is revolutionary despite the fact this has been done to hell and back since the dawn of time.

Belos went from potentially being one of the most standout modern day antagonists, to being just like everyone else, and i'm not sure why everyone thinks that's supposed to be a good thing when we had the potential to look back at toh and reward them for diving into what can make people into a belos and the cautionary tale behind it.

and now instead of being memorable in that category for doing something interesting, he's just gonna be looped in with every other generic modern day big bad who represents this specific kind of evil.

If belos is not going to actually be allowed to be complex, don't bait the audience into thinking he is.

#the owl house #toh #emperor belos #philip wittebane #toh criticism

[high-dragon-bait]

Okay I’m just going to say it: I always found the take that “Fenris and Anders’ relationship is wasted potential” kind of irritating. At least in the way most people mean when they say it: Anders and Fenris never found common ground, and that is a waste of potential

I do agree that there are some writing let-downs in their relationship, I just don't agree that the fact that they never reach a common ground is part of it.

It is true that Fenris and Anders have more in common than differences, their trauma is ultimately based in the same thing: being held and tormented against their will by an oppressive system. If you pay attention, the narrative, the characters, and Fenris and Anders themselves are aware of this. Here's a little snippet of it shown in this Legacy dialogue

The game knows they're alike. It's not that they can't see there's common ground between them. They can. The problem is: Fenris is healing, and Anders is not

I'm going to show you more banter screenshots now

Specifically of Fenris and Anders' banter with Varric, in acts 2 and 3

Just bear with me, we'll start with Fenris

Fenris and Varric in act 2

Fenris and Varric in act 3

Now Anders

Anders and Varric in act 2

Anders and Varric in act 3

There are more banters that illustrate this point but I think these four are the strongest and also I would like to go to sleep at some point tonight.

Fenris is healing from his past, if you look at his banters as a whole, you can see across all characters he gets more open, humorous, and talkative throughout all acts. Anders does the exact opposite. Anders gets more closed off, cold, and in act 3 you'll notice he rarely speaks before being spoken to unless he's following up on a previous conversation.

It makes sense, to me at least, why they never become friends. It isn't because Anders is a mage, Bethany is a mage, anti-circle, and Fenris loves her. Don't believe me? Look on the wiki or search "Bethany" on my blog and you'll find some of their interactions. They're adorable.

It's because Anders is getting worse and Fenris is getting better. That's why all their conversations are just an exhausting loop and why they never seem to connect. To me, that is the story being told here. It was never about them finding a common ground, it was about paralleling two people and one who heals from their past, and one who does not. Making them on opposite sides of the mage/templar debate is meant to emphasize this.

I do want to state that I have mixed feelings about this. While I think it's a neat idea, it does also feed the "You were hurt by a system but now your hate for it consumes you" trope which I am. Not a fan of. You can also talk about how the world itself plays into this in that Fenris can escape from Tevinter but Anders can't escape from being a mage. That's all a retrospective for another day, I'm just talking about the intent behind the relationship here.

Basically what I’m trying to say is: A story may not go in the direction you want it to but that does not make the story bad, it just makes it the story you didn’t want. That is fine, but I take some issue when people treat it as an actual fault of the story rather than a matter of taste.

Like I said, there are plenty of actual writing issues in Dragon Age 2, and I do think that there are some wasted opportunities in Fenris and Anders' relationship. My biggest problem is that it doesn't go far enough. We see Anders spiral until he hits full rock bottom and destroys the Chantry. We see Fenris... go play some cards with his buddies. I think it would've been more effective if Fenris got a little farther in his healing, namely his relationship with magic. I've said that I don't think Fenris would ever fully trust magic and I don't, but it would've been neat to at least see more progress made than is actually made in the game. This I think is the consequence of Dragon Age 2 being a first draft like David Gaider said, I think if they had more time, they could've pushed this further and made it more interesting, but I do genuinely like what's there like I genuinely like the entirity of Dragon Age 2.

Anyway, that's why in my opinion, Anders and Fenris never finding a common ground isn't a problem from a narrative perspective.

#Dragon Age #da2 #Anders #Fenris #long post

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

What is your opinion on Toji? Both as a character and as a (deadbeat) dad?

As a character he's masterfully written, and him being a deadbeat dad is an absolutely vital part of that.

Toji and Gojo exist fundamentally as mirrors of one another. Equal and opposite images. Infinite cursed energy and absolute zero. Both were born as the most powerful members of their clan alive, but Gojo was lauded for his gifts, whereas Toji was rejected.

Even the way the universe itself treats them (and the way they treat it in turn) are inverses of one another. According to Gege, Gojo is naturally good at everything he tries, and so he doesn't try most things. In converse, Toji is a natural failure who can't stop trying. He's a gambler who loses all of his money but is still parked at the tracks, placing bets that never win. As foils they work so so well.

Taken alone, Toji himself is fascinating because of how much he's aching with failure and lost potential. It reeks of a true tragedy--and, like most tragedies, a good deal of it was of his own making even if circumstance can't be denied. He's Hamlet: introduced to his own downfall by events outside of himself but fuck if he didn't help it on plenty on his own.

Toji is a character who was cast as cursed from birth. He was born extraordinarily powerful in a clan that refused to see it and actively vilified him for his abilities. And as the audience, we can see the sheer affront of that, because we can see him for how he truly is. He's very, very plainly one of the most powerful characters in the franchise. Gojo himself initially loses to him, and if Toji had listened to his instincts that day and left the second he saw Gojo returned? He'd probably have remained undefeated against him. He'd have survived to cause problems in canon even farther down the line.

And it's especially interesting in the fact that Toji is a character who can do something that no other character in the series can do: he can destroy fate.

Toji himself is a functional loophole in canon. From a meta perspective, Gojo functions as this archetype of the Unbeatable, but Toji is the exception. When it comes to the Star Plasma Vessel, fate should have ensured that the merger happened anyway, but Toji, again, catalyzed the exception. Gojo and Toji colliding is the unstoppable force meeting the unmovable object, and the sheer waste that the Zenin out of hand rejected someone that could rival Gojo Satoru stings at the audience with a particular sort of irony. They really did throw away with both hands the person that could have made them rival Gojo, and they did it because of their own prejudices and egos. Toji's story really is one of a tragedy, but the execution of him really does function uniquely in the genre.

And to speak briefly on tragedy--if we're talking about the classical conception of tragedy, it's defined by a reversal of fortune. It's good fortune to bad. Peripeteia. That's legitimately what makes a narrative a tragedy--the audience watches as the character's fortune reverses over the span of the narrative.

In the term of the broader narrative, Toji himself acts as peripeteia personified. He is what reverses Gojo's fortune. Gojo was his downfall, but at the same time, he was still Gojo's.

Gojo starts his interaction with Toji in a state of good fortune. He is already One of The Strongest. And, more importantly, he isn't the strongest alone--which is something he spends the rest of the narrative trying to reclaim. Every single time he teaches, he's trying to encourage the students to become his equal, with Yuuji, Megumi, and Yuuta being the most notable exceptions of this. Yes, he's doing it for their own wellbeing, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still trying to cultivate a status quo that he had and lost with Geto Suguru for other people. And he says this explicitly: he does not want them to be alone. It's the loss of Geto that truly defines Gojo's tragic arc, and it was Toji himself that caused Geto's loss.

He made Gojo The Strongest when he pushed him to the point of unlocking reversed curse energy. But, more importantly, he sent Geto on his descent into madness. Even calling himself a monkey was what fed into Geto's ideals--if it weren't for Toji, it wouldn't have happened.

The other thing that defines a tragedy is that tragic heroes are meant to be sent on their downfall because of some kind of fatal flaw. Hamartia. Outside circumstances set the ball in motion, but it's the character's own flaw that truly dooms them. A very famous example of this is Hamlet, who was set on his path to destruction by his father's ghost and his uncle's deceit, but what's widely considered to be the source of his change in fortune is his decision to not kill his uncle as he prays. Hamlet is a famously clever character, and this works against him as he decides to play god and try to not only revenge his father, but ensure his uncle's eternal damnation. It's only then that he begins to make the mistakes that ultimately doom him. If he had killed him in the moment and left his uncle's soul to God's own deliberations, then he would have likely survived the play just fine. He damns himself just as much as circumstances did.

If we accept the premise that Gojo's story is one of tragedy, then we have to ask what his fatal flaw is. And I'd argue that it's his own isolation.

Gojo is strongest on his own, but every thing he's ever lost can be linked back to the isolation that comes with that. Most notably, again, being Geto Suguru, and the fact that Kenjaku was able to use Geto's body as the way of sealing him. Gojo's own untouchability is what leads him on the path to his own destruction, and it's something that Toji specifically takes advantage of in the course of their fight, and it's something that he exacerbates when he inadvertently leads to Gojo's permanent loss of Geto. Toji really is the one to best expose Gojo's fatal flaw and take advantage of it.

But the interesting thing about Toji is that he really begs the question as to whether his own journey is that of a tragedy or a comedy.

Okay, so not to open this huge can of worms with classical infighting, but all of the definitions that we get regarding what makes a tragedy comes from Aristotle's Poetics, and the second book of it where he defines comedy is lost to history. We've been fighting about what exactly he meant to say ever since. The book's gone. People say we have ideas about what's in it but the book's fucking gone. It's gone.

Anyway Aristotle's fucking dead and it's my turn to wear the philosopher hat, and I'm saying that it's also a reversal of fortunes from bad to good. If there's any classics scholars reading this please keep walking i can't go back to this war.

There's a really good argument that Toji is a tragedy. Fuck, he has a fatal flaw flying so blatantly that he says it out loud in his death scene--his own pride. His inability to admit to his own failure or potential for it. He wants to win, even when he knows he can't. It's what leads him to fight Gojo a second time. It's what leads him to place bet after bet when he never, ever wins.

But there's one glaring issue: if tragedy is a reversal of fortunes from good to bad, did toji ever have good fortune to begin with?

If it just starts as bad and stays as bad, it's not a tragedy by definition. It feels tragic to the audience, but it's not a tragedy in narrative form. So what is Toji's good fortune in this narrative?

I'd argue it's actually Megumi. And we are left to decide whether or not he lost or gained his good fortune in his last moments of his life.

I've talked about Megumi's function in the narrative with the concept of fortune in other posts, but fuck if I know where they are. Megumi himself, as a character, is not fortunate. He's actually sort of fucked. He's doomed by the narrative from the start, but he does seem to be a sort of fortune for other people.

It's literally in his name. Blessing, but not blessed. A blessing is something that's bestowed on other people; blessed speaks to your own state of fortune. All of Megumi's seeming fortune only exists for the sake of other people, with the most notable example being his Ten Shadows Technique.

Megumi as Gojo's foil is another conversation entirely that I won't go into, but it's interesting how Gojo's relationship with his technique is indisputably one of being blessed, and Megumi is stuck as a blessing. Again, it’s almost explicitly said—Gojo states “I alone am the honored one” when describing his own relationship with his technique. But the Ten Shadows Technique is what consistently dooms Megumi in his own narrative, and it’s usually because of other people.

He was trapped into life as a jujutsu sorcerer because of it, and his relationship with it is interesting because he does not understand its true value but everyone else does. The higher ups. The Zenin. Sukuna. Megumi has no space within the narrative to breathe and grow naturally because other people have taken his existence as a boon to them and use that to his direct detriment. He’s a blessing. He isn’t blessed. He is good fortune for others and it robs him of his own.

And he was Toji’s Blessing first.

In order to really, properly analyze whether Toji’s narrative is a tragedy or comedy or neither, we have to analyze his relationship with his own fatherhood. It’s time for a massive departure into that.

The thing is that toji sort of fucking sucked at being a dad. He was a deadbeat. I’ve seen a lot in fandom that tries to construe his actions as a father in a more favorable light, but I think doing so robs him of his narrative depth.

Specifically, I’m talking about his decision to sell Megumi to the Zenin.

And like. I’ve personally seen a lot of posts that sort of justify it as Toji doing what was best for Megumi, that his family would take care of him better than they did Toji because he had cursed energy, but that's sort of patently untrue? Like, parents who are worried about their kid's wellbeing and are trying to get them guardians with better means don't put off the actual transfer of guardianship because they're still negotiating the purchase price. They don't sell them to a family they know is abusive to begin with. He already knew Megumi had cursed energy. They were just waiting on his technique to appear, specially so that they could settle on the final price, and in that time, Megumi was left with Tsumiki to fend for themselves. If he really thought that the Zenin were going to take care of him, he should have tried to get them to take custody sooner.

Moreover, there's just a lot of steps you can take before selling your kid to your abusive family when it comes to their wellbeing. Namely, actually stepping up to the plate and raising them yourself.

"They'll treat him better because he has curse energy" was Toji's justification for selling Megumi, and it's one he plainly didn't believe himself in the long run, because in the end he risked it all on this sixteen year old gayboy who just killed him rather than actually trust his family to take care of his son. Up to the point of his death, Toji just wasn't a good dad.

He was never around. He left a four year old in charge of a three year old and left them both unattended. He gambled away their money at the tracks instead of, you know, feeding them. The money that he did leave them for food was canonically a part of the down payment for selling Megumi. He was so absentee that he straight up forgot what Megumi's name was.

But, undeniably, it's Megumi who he thought of as he died. It's Megumi he tried to take care of.

Remember that tragedy is classically defined as good fortune to bad, but Toji didn't have any good fortune to start with. Like, he wasn't even living a particularly good life. He was an eternally broke absentee dad with a gambling addiction and an insecurity complex so big he needed to kill those teenage homosexuals over it. I'm pretty sure he only owned one pair of pants.

But if we accept Megumi, the son he once loved so much that he named him blessing, as his one good fortune, then he didn't have him either at the start of action. He had abandoned his only good fortune and left him, ultimately, at the mercy of his family.

And that's what changes on his death bed. Toji finally becomes the type of dad that takes care of his son.

If Toji hadn't died, there wouldn't have been the catalysis for change. He probably would have gone through with the sale. I'd like to think that he'd live to regret it, that he'd go back and save Megumi, but it's really up in the air as to whether or not he ever would. But undeniably, when he tells Gojo about Megumi as a last ditch effort to save him from his family, that's the first moment we really see in canon where Toji doesn't have any ulterior motive when it comes to Megumi. He doesn't get any benefit out of it anymore. His kid is going to be sold off to the Zenin in a few years time. Do with that what Gojo will.

This is even more interesting when it comes to the only moment in canon where Megumi and Toji interact: in Shibuya, where Toji is resurrected and fights Megumi.

To my understanding, Toji was compelled to fight whatever was most powerful in his immediate proximity, which made him go after Megumi. The second he realizes that it's his son he's fighting, he stops the fight, asks for his name, and kills himself to stop the resurrection spell, with his last words being that he's glad Megumi's Fushiguro instead of Zenin. He didn't even hesitate. He didn't take care of his son in life, but he died for him without even needing to think about it.

Saving Megumi from his family (albeit, partially because he was the one who endangered him to begin with) was the only really good thing Toji did with his life that we know of, and he dies glad. He dies knowing that Megumi was raised as Fushiguro instead of Zenin.

So. Was Toji's journey one of bad fortune to good? Or good fortune to bad? Or just... bad fortune to still bad fortune? It can be argued for any of them, but it's really undeniable that Toji's failures and successes as a father are integral to his character's complexity.

He was a shit dad. But he died for his son. And I think you lose a huge amount of his character if you deny either of those.

#Fushiguro Toji #jjk #toji fushiguro #papaguro

[shadowen]

I'm thinking, once again, about the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the incredible wasted potential of the characters. Specifically, I'm thinking about Rey and Poe as foils against Phasma and Hux.

Here, we have two men who were raised from birth as true believers in opposing causes, the only sons of heroes, who then far surpassed their parents in fame and influence. There are some hints of contrast, in that we see the stark differences in how they lead, but the films are almost maliciously committed to misunderstanding Poe as a character*, that I have to assume those moments are purely accidental.

Then there's Rey and Phasma, two women from baren, brutal worlds, with a single name and no legacy**, who survive and succeed based entirely on raw talent and relentless determination. Phasma is nominally set up as a contrast for Finn, but she ends up being an unsatisfying personal villain. Likewise, Rey is set in opposition to Kylo Ren, but that whole dynamic is so messy and loaded, without exploring any of the meaningful parallels and conflicts between them***.

There's also something to be said about contrasting sibling dynamics. With Rey and Poe, we get glimpses of a squabbling rivalry rooted in obvious affection, whereas Phasma and Hux are shown (in EU material) to have a conspiratorial closeness based on mutual respect and mutually assured destruction. Neither of these relationships is developed to full potential or used to develop the narrative or themes of the films.

The reliance on external knowledge to prop up the core films is a long-standing critique of Star Wars, and I wholeheartedly agree that the movies should be able to stand on their own. However, given the volume and emphasis on the extended universe, it's reasonable to expect at least some degree of consistency. In the case of these characters and others, though, the most interesting character development is either jarringly ignored or deliberately removed, as with a scene cut from The Last Jedi which tells more about Phasma in two minutes than the rest of her screen time combined. There's plenty of discussion to be had about what's actually in the films, but I think the great tragedy of the sequel trilogy is what could have been there and isn't.

Footnotes and reading recs under the cut.

*My rant on this subject is long, detailed, and mostly about racism.

**I think Rey is a much more interesting character if she is actually nobody from nowhere, but that's a different discussion.

***This is not about ship vs notp, just about how their on-screen interactions fit into the narrative.

The Star Wars EU is daunting, to say the least. If you want to read more about these characters, may I suggest:

Phasma (novel) by Delilah S. Dawson (my all time fav SW novel)

Poe Dameron (comics series) by Charles Soule and Phil Noto

Captain Phasma #1-4 (comic) by Kelly Thompson and Marco Checchetto

Resistance Reborn (novel) by Rebecca Roanhorse

Before the Awakening (short stories) by Greg Rucka

Shattered Empire #1-4 (comic) by Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto

Age of Resistance (comics anthology) by Tom Taylor et al

#star wars #shadowen consumes media #accidental example of a 5 paragraph essay #rey #poe dameron #captain phasma #armitage hux

[gendrie]

Realistically, what note do you think or hope the books will end in regard to Arya and Gendry? I don’t expect fanfic wish fulfillment but Grrm seems to have a soft spot for them so maybe a vague romantic suggestion that leaves their future open to interpretation? Which I realize is not much different to where we’re already at lol but I just can’t imagine how their relationship would develop.

when i consider what arya/gendry will look like in the end, or just the future in general, i think about whats already in the text. the elements of romance and even sexuality within their interactions are more than a lil suggestive. ie: the two of them rolling around together is not subtle lol. the phrase "between his legs" is used twice in that paragraph. grrm wrote an exclusive to a/g love song and had the singer wink as he sang it. he introduced not one, but 2 characters mostly just to fan the flames here. gendry explicitly threatens to have sex with a girl to try to make arya jealous and he visibly dislikes a perceived rival for her attention. ect! this isn't some obscure aspect of the story. its a legitimate side plot.

so i wouldn't even describe their existing canon interactions as "vague" therefore i don't assume their future ones, endgame included, would be left entirely up to interpretation either. are they going to get married on page? and consummate the union? no. but i do expect their future interactions to continue to be obviously romantic in nature. esp now that arya is older (and gendry seems to be younger)

with all that in mind here are my realistic thoughts:

when arya returns from braavos she will rekindle her friendship with gendry and realize she's attracted to him. gendry, having endured the loss of arya, will be willing to commit to her regardless of the issues that forced them apart previously. its all going to be pg-13 and tame by asoiaf standards but they will be crushing and it's not going to be a secret. not to the readers nor anyone who happens to witness the two of them together.

as i see it theres two potential outcomes: the class difference is still insurmountable and they remain apart or they end up together in some capacity. this will probably be a controversial claim, but a/g have less barriers to being together long term than any other ship imo. consistently, throughout their relationship, gendry being "too bloody lowborn" for arya is THE issue. its the source of all the conflict between them and its the thing keeping them apart. other than that? they clearly like and admire each other. arya trusts gendry, values his perspective, and confides in him things she tells no other character. she wanted him to come home with her, to be a part of her pack.

and i want to emphasis that arya values gendry's counsel specifically because thats one aspect of their dynamic that feels very relevant within the context of their potential as a grown up couple. they make a good team and work well together. they've already endured the bleakest possible scenarios by working together. gendry is presented as a really fitting partner for arya which i think is intentional tbh.

but ultimately, can the class difference be overcome? i think it can. and not only that but i think arya and gendry ending up together can be reflective of the changes we're going to see across the board with westeros' political system. they're not going to abolish the monarchy, but there will be major changes with how the kingdom is run.

the end i envision for them is fairly understated despite all my arguing that their relationship isnt all that subtle. arya asking gendry to come home with her to winterfell (again) would be enough, but thats not vague to me either. the meaning will be clear.

all that being said HEAs are not going to plentiful in asoiaf. grrm likes "we'll always have paris" type romances where two people meet and change each other, but go their separate ways. it could be that is what happens with arya and gendry. im realistic, if not bordering on pessimistic, so i want to embrace that possibility! but everything on paper is telling me they're supposed to end up together. not least of all bc in order for this romantic build up to actually come to full fruition they have to be grown which won't be until post series.

i try to keep my expectations low too but is it wish fulfillment to expect substantial pay off? idk.......grrm has been teasing love, sex and even marriage with arya and gendry for like the entire series actually. since that "arya has the hands of a blacksmith" comment in the first paragraph of her first chapter. he better do something!!!

#ask #gendrya #this got long lol #hopefully its coherent i got a lotta thoughts #i felt like i couldnt address the end without getting into a few other points

[confessionsofa-roleplayer]

As someone with high-functioning autism and significant social anxiety, which can cause times where social cues are particularly difficult to pick up on especially when it's over a text format where it's even harder to discern tone and inflection without blatant indicators, there's a part of me that doesn't really get all the complaints I've seen about a lack of communication when it comes to "plotting". I mean, I can understand the perspective that it can come across as a partner being unenthusiastic whenever they're given ideas but don't really try to hash those ideas out themselves. On the other hand, it's also possible those same partners could really just be fine with the ideas they're being given and don't really have anything to contribute, maybe they'd rather get right into writing the thread out instead of just shooting ideas back and forth? I know that's usually what I'm thinking most of the time. A good part of the reason why someone like myself would be a little disinclined towards sharing much in return is also because I'd be afraid of taking one too many liberties with someone else's ideas or maybe crossing a line with anything I might contribute. I'm sure we can all agree how quick to take offense people on here can be and, having been on both sides of the fence on this, it can be upsetting both when someone wildly misconstrues things about your muse's characterizations and headcanons just to fit whatever idea they might have in mind, and when having to correct those misconceptions or explain why certain ideas wouldn't work very well. It just creates disappointment all around, and when people aren't willing to talk out any disagreements like adults, all it does it shut down the plotting just the same as giving canned answers. It's also worth considering that some people may be geared creatively different. It can be difficult sometimes to come up with something when you may not know another person's character, or their own particular brand of characterization, very well, and sometimes the ideas just don't come to all of us unless we've really gotten a feel for another person's character and we can see the potential for things. Some people may just be wired more towards improvisational writing at that and really don't start fleshing things out until they have a premise in their hands, coming up with possibilities and exploring them during the actual interactions. Not to mention there's also roleplayers out there who do nothing but plot, and when it comes time to actually write the thread, they simply just don't want to bother with it because… Well, you already know how the story's going to go at this point because you talked it over. Why bother actually having back and forth replies about it when you pretty much wrote the story already by plotting? I've had that experience plenty of times with others myself. You spend all this time laying the framework for where the interactions will go and then nothing just gets done with it beyond the planning phase because, hey, you already talked about everything by now. I just hope that by pointing these things out that everyone might realize they shouldn't generalize partners who may not communicate as much during the "plotting" phase and are just straight to the point, give short affirmative answers when offered ideas. I think the only fair way you can tell if someone really is just putting all the work off on others to come up with ideas is if you can see them repeatedly doing this, especially if they never act on it. That right there would be the surest sign of someone being disinterested or just lazy. Then again, there could also be reasons for this as well, like maybe your characters just don't really have any sort of chemistry for any kind of meaningful interaction – and that's okay too. No two people are always going to get along or want to have anything to do with each other, and sometimes it takes some attempt at communicating to figure that much out.

#communication #confessions

[moophinz]

I’ve made a post on this already, but after acquiring heaps and reams of knowledge, I’ve decided to go at it again.

(From Mine’s TV Tropes page.)

I cannot stop anyone from wanting to view Mine as bi, and my intentions don’t lie there. But instead, I wanted to bring up that it hardly seems like the intentions of the devs and especially Yokoyama. Mine is a pretty big deal in being a heavily implied gay character regardless of having been a villain, partly due to how he’s just as masculine as his peers and his love for another man is a core part of his characterization where sympathy comes into play. On top of that, they do not shy away from heavy handed hints in his total lack of interest in women romantically and sexually.

Yokoyama is not only a non stranger to commentary on how much he loves Mine, but he’s also made remarks that imply he finds it funny that women are attracted to him though they can’t have him.

RGGO is particularly revealing about this thanks to how much room it gives to focus on character elements they couldn’t do in the actual games.

—A beach event in Okinawa has Kanda wanting to throw a party and see who between them can invite the most women. Mine is less than uninterested, but still winds up getting a few women interested in him. He can’t seem to outright reject them, but gives them very bland answers.

—This is a big trend in other Mine centric stories. Upon being asked by a woman if he’s by himself, he gives a slightly roundabout answer instead of outright saying anything more direct. He agrees to do something with her despite his ongoing lack of enthusiasm.

—As told, he’s gone on dates with women thanks to being unable to turn them down (he’s interestingly kind enough to women even though there’s some popular jokes about him being a misogynistic gay man). But if he sees a woman once, doesn’t really see them again. All in all, this is incredibly different from many other yakuza men who adore women as they slot into the three important status symbols: power, money, and women. All things that Mine brings up at the end of 3 as stuff that wasn’t really giving him any meaning or purpose in life. His line about having any woman he could want goes largely misunderstood. Especially after he ends that line with saying living life that way was a lie.

Comparing an outright love confession to Mine being thankful to have had Katase around feels almost laughable. On one hand, I’m at least glad the person who wrote this acknowledges the romantic feelings with Daigo, but on the other hand… “heavily implied?” With Katase? No… Not every meaningful statement or even so much as breathing the same air as one another between a man and woman is grounds for love.

Genuinely, it feels like they’ve done nearly everything but outright use any direct wording for his sexuality. He’s the only character they’ve gone this far with. Others get more vagueness or subtlety.

(From Majima’s)

(From Zhao’s)

I’ve talked to @04tenno quite a bit about this. And as usual, they’re the reason I know quite a bit, too.

Majima’s section is bizarre to me for immediately throwing out there that he’s a huge ladies’ man. (This was listed elsewhere in his section). Which is just… hilarious. Sure, plenty of irl female fans adore him, but in universe, he’s nothing of the sort and often interacts with women by using a more friendly tone of voice (probably to seem less intimidating) along with other behavioral changes. I also take up issue regarding the way the person who wrote this seems to completely downplay Majima and Kiryu’s relationship to the first game. But that’s a whole other conversation…

Zhao’s section feels incredibly different compared to the other two due to how the person writing it seems to completely lean into the potential signifiers and stereotypes surrounding him and includes other instances beyond that. There’s nothing about him being in a hostess club automatically meaning he’s attracted to women. As such, even a lot of dudebros seem to openly view Zhao as not being bisexual, but instead, straight up gay. This seems to be due to the fact that Zhao is never shown playing into the typical mainstream macho type stuff as opposed to Mine.

I didn’t take a screenshot, but Daigo even gets the assumed-to-be-into-women-because-he-was-next-to-one-treatment. While he went to hostess clubs, he looks so extremely despondent and out of the moment when we see him there. I can’t find it in me to assume he’s attracted to women just because he went to those types of clubs. His sexuality is totally up for debate as several others are as well. And we can all see him however we want. But, overall, immediately assuming things for such and such reasons starts to feel a little off to me. All in all, Mine gets this treatment the worse thanks to his sexuality actually being a big factor in his character.

#yakuza #ryu ga gotoku #like a dragon #yoshitaka mine #queer characters #gay character #queer analysis #sort of in a way maybe possibly #Mine Yoshitaka my favorite Daigo kisser #majima goro #zhao tianyou #I sure hope this makes sense and reads well because I always get uncertain of myself with these things but anyway #who’s going to take it upon themselves to add an entire Ho yay section #anybody? …anybody? no…? #but like I said you can see things how you want of course #it’s just kind of funny to me that some have picked up on Zhao not being excited to be in a hostess club but some others #immediately assume Daigo was overjoyed to be at them himself…apparently #maybe he’d be happy in some other instance but from what we were shown buddy boy is dead inside #also Project X that crossover game was crazy for having Majima talk to women the way that it did like bro that’s how he talks to men #women get the nice customer service voice with a side of playfulness

[fizzyxcustard]

I've Loved You Forever.

Masterlist of fan fiction

Fandom: North & South (modern AU)

Pairings: Modern John Thornton x Fem!Reader/Fem!Reader x OC

Warnings: Language, angst, pining.

Summary: It is the Christmas party for John Thornton and his workers from Marlborough Mills. You have all been allowed to take partners, and that means your boyfriend of eighteen months is there. When he is asked if he loves you and can't answer, John Thornton's rage comes out full throttle, especially as he's been in love with you for quite some time.

Comments/Notes: If you wish to be tagged in any of my tag lists for fics or characters, please let me know, and stipulate what you want to be tagged in. I’m gradually removing people from my tag lists who do not interact.

I tend to use Lucas North pictures as my modern Thornton images. This idea actually came to me randomly a few days ago when I was reading on the train.

Thank you to @knittastically and @lathalea for helping me who to choose the character for this idea. I may open this scenario up to other RA characters if people are interested and would like to request.

It was your work Christmas party, and your manager John Thornton had been kind enough to let everyone bring their partners along. However, you noticed that he still remained at the head of the table alone. There was no one at his side like the majority of everyone else around the table. Due to the size of your whole party, it was spilling over on to a second table. A couple of the machinery operators from Marlborough Mills, where you all worked, were sat with their wives, off to the side of the main table. Your boyfriend of eighteen months, Stuart, was beside you. As usual, he seemed to naturally turn all heads towards him. He was joking about someone he worked with, an unfortunate soul whom he disliked, and enjoyed tormenting.

John looked at Stuart and silently scoffed. The man was a prick! Self-absorbed, entitled, opinionated, sarcastic. How the hell had you even got with a man like this? You were everything that Stuart wasn’t. 

The conversation, you noticed, seemed to steer to a more personal topic. Kelly, one of the wives of a colleague, grinned at Stuart across the table. “So do you love her? Are you planning to put a ring on her finger?” How had the conversation turned to this? Where had your thoughts been up until this moment?

Stuart began to blanch and tried to divert the topic. Never once though did he look at you. 

“Become a bit speechless there, Stu?” John hissed, resting his arms on the table. 

Kelly recoiled back, knowing that she had inadvertently caused a potential argument for later.

“Aren’t you going to answer Kelly’s question?” John growled again. “Or is that an answer you’ve got to think long and hard about?” 

“John,” you said softly, looking up sheepishly at your boss. “It’s okay.” 

Stuart got up from his seat quickly. “Anybody for another drink?” 

John’s livid stare followed Stuart to the bar, and everyone else around the table had noticed. Why had John become so defensive? 

In your embarrassment and hurt, you got up, excusing yourself from the table and slipped around the full tables and out into the chill of the evening air. A heat had rose in your head and prickles of pain rested behind your eyes, threatening tears. But you pushed them back, putting your self-control in place. Stuart had embarrassed you enough in public over the last eighteen months you’d been together, but never on such a scale as this. 

“Are you okay?” a familiar voice came. 

You looked up to see John Thornton a few feet away from you. “It’s fine, John.” 

“It’s not fine,” John exclaimed. “How long have you two been together?” 

“Eighteen months.” 

“And in that time he hasn’t figured out if he loves you? Fucking hell…” John seethed. “You’re going to just let him get away with doing that in front of you. You deserve so much better than that.” 

You sighed, chewing on your lip. “Plenty of people tell you you deserve something but you can’t see that inside yourself. And a lot of people will tell you that you deserve something but be completely unable to give that to you themselves. They’re fobbing it off for someone else to pick up.” 

John felt that all-consuming love for you rise. How had he kept it inside for all this time? You had been his right hand for the last two years, being the assistant manager, secretary and everything in between that John couldn’t always manage to take care of. When you had announced the fact you had a boyfriend, the pain cut John deep. It felt as though it would be a pain he would carry forever. And over that time you had been with Stuart, the pain had never dulled, he had only learned to live with it. 

“I’m not fobbing you off,” John said softly. “I’m telling you that you need a man who will love you, put you first, adore you. A man who will make you breakfast in the morning, constantly tell you how beautiful you are, give you gifts just because he wants to. Someone who can make you smile.” 

The intensity of John’s words and his gaze made your heart beat quicker. Butterflies began flapping viciously in your stomach. It was that same feeling you had had every day since meeting him. John Thornton was a gentleman; he was everything that Stuart wasn’t. He was the man you wanted to be doing all those things he’d only just moments ago spoken of. But surely he would never be prepared to do that for you. 

“I know you only mean well, John,” you said, turning to walk back into the pub. 

John caught your hand. His gaze was burning into yours, and you couldn’t help but sigh. You whispered his name, tightening your grip on his hand. You were inches apart, and despite the cold around you, you felt hot. Anticipation raced up your spine, and you felt your cheeks burn. 

“He can’t tell you he loves you,” John began. “But I can.” 

You took a painful inhale, waiting for him to speak again. 

John smiled. “I love you. It feels like I’ve loved you forever, and I won’t stop.” 

***

Follow Forever tag list: @lathalea @linasofia @middleearthpixie @knittastically @xxbyimm @meganlpie @luna-xial @guardianofrivendell @eunoiaastralwings @msjava1972 @rachel1959 @asgardianhobbit98 @missihart23 @lemond57 @quiall321 @sazzlep @the-fragile-heart-of-a-lady @catthefearless @mrsdurin @evenstaredits @glassgulls @solairewisteria @aliasauthor @littlebird-99 @court-jobi @heilith @absentmindeduniverse @albionscastle @way-too-addicted-to-fandoms

#North and South #Modern AU #North & South Modern AU #John Thornton #Modern John Thornton #John Thornton x Fem!Reader #Modern John Thornton x Fem!Reader #Richard Armitage

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume meta 6x18

Wow I can’t believe I actually managed to write one of these (with all the additional mini metas) for every episode this season!!! if you’ve read, liked or reblogged and any all of my metas throughout this series then I just want to take a moment to say a massive thank you - it really means so much to me that you do take the time to read the epics I post, that you interact with them and that you ask me questions and seem to learn from what I say - sorry to everyone who now sees check pattern clothing out in the wild and gets worried 😬 it happens to me too - its good to have your company!

I’m so sorry that this has taken me far longer to get out that I had intended - my internet died on Thursday night and still hasn’t come back up (it has not been fun - who knew how internet dependant I’d become11!0 so I’ve had to find a cafe on my day of to actually get this posted (I live in a 4g dead spot too just to add to the fun!) Not going to lie - I am in need of a little break because these posts are a lot of work (you don’t want to know some of the side quests some of these posts have taken me on!!), but I love writing them so I plan to continue in season 7. I do have some fun stuff planned for the extended hiatus so while I might not post as much, I will still be around - making art and providing some costume related (and non costume related) things for you to enjoy - I have breakdowns for each character which includes spreadsheets and graphs (don’t get too excited - but they are actually interesting I promise!) in the pipeline as well as sorting out my pinned post as I’ve hit the link limit!!!.

Back to the costumes for this episode - it sure was an interesting one (when are they not tbh) with plenty going on for me to talk about! Apologies for the photos - it was really hard to get decent stills this week - everyone and the camera constantly moving!! As always the rest is  below the cut to save your dash!

Athena 

Athena has just the one costume this week - heading off on the cruise! I very much enjoyed her being in yellow and saying that she might not tell anyone about them actually being on said cruise! There are a couple of reasons why - firstly its yellow - the colour of communication - which means that her character is telling us something which is important. So Athena suggesting that they don’t tell anyone they are off on this cruise is the key point we need to take away from this scene - what that could mean - well its a throw back to when they attempted to go on the cruise the first time - they were communicating their departure then by being on the phone with Beatrice as they were leaving the Grant-Nash house so by not communicating they’ve gone on their cruise they are preventing another interruption from occurring. The other thing its communicating is that the lack of communication between Bobby and Athena and their family and friends could actually be a bad thing - its a bit of preempting costume design - if the show does indeed choose to go with some form of cruise ship disaster to open season 7 (less likely now that they have delayed the show until midseason, but it depends on how they choose to play the time jump!) then this line comes back into play - the 118 being sent to help with the disaster not knowing Bobby and Athena are on board would make for some very interesting storytelling and potentially parallel with the tsunami very nicely!

The other thing about this costume is the fact that we have bold block colour wearing Athena in a pattern - and a floral pattern at that. Athena doesn’t wear patterns - we saw her in a patterned shirt in 6x10 - when she was undercover and therefore it doesn’t count as actually being something Athena would wear

Bobby

Again the only costume we see Bobby wearing outside of uniform is when he is leaving for the cruise, this is the same costume he was wearing when they made the first attempt at their honeymoon cruise . From a personal perspective this was done to provide continuity between the two scenes as Bobby shirt is the loudest and most obvious thing to carry that thread through for a general audience.

Denny

Denny continues to wear muted tones post reconnecting with his biological father and we also have check on this outfit. The fact that the check is only worn down the sides could indicate either approaching trouble or trouble passing, for me it’s more likely that it is a sense of foreshadowing and will be connected to the Wilsons season 7 storyline revolving around the new baby that they will be bringing home as Denny will become a full blown big brother rather than the role he currently fills with the foster kids – that hovers somewhere between brother and friend. This costume is a bit blink and you’ll miss it and so it’s hard to get more of a read on it than the very basics.

Karen

Karen is wearing her typical large print florals for both her costumes this week and we have the contrast of red - a colour of anger, passion and love with t he yellow of communication, happiness and optimism. the use of the two colours to bookend the episode perfectly play into Karens mini arc for this episode - from the love tinged with disappointment and anger (broken hearted rather than fury) over fostering - the constantly having to hand children back, to the happiness and optimism surrounding the baby girl they may very likely get to adopt. the colours rather than the prints are the things conveying messages for Karen in this episode. they also contrast her very well with Hen in her black and white and then orange.

Hen

It’s really interesting that we have hen in this black-and-white check cardigan which is a parallel to the one she wore in 6×10 that one was red with larger neutral face emoji is and foreshadowed her anger over Denny contacting his biological father. This new one is more confused and the smaller design with the variety of boxes lines and neutral face emoji is creates a sense of confusion and also feels like it is chaotic in an organised manner it plays into both check theory and striped theory to a certain extent/theory foreshadowing the news of the baby they may potentially get to adopt and the cheque foreshadowing the upcoming disaster we see in the episode. the black and white also plays into the idea of Hen being settled into the black and white nature of fostering children - accepting the reality and highlighting the difference between now and when they had Nia - this is deliberate as it shows emotional progress, but it is also about emphasising the joy they experience later in the episode when told they will be getting a baby girl - its more impactful because we’ve seen Hens acceptance of their situation.

Hen’s other costume for the episode is this orangey red shirt which both contrasts and matches Karen’s yellow floral print shirt it also fits nicely with the oranges and lemons we see on the kitchen countertop next to her. Orange is an optimistic and energetic colour, it provides emotional strength and joy in its positive outlooks however is -ones are connected with superficiality in patients and domination. I think in this scene we can take the positive traits of the colour as opposed to the negative as we get to see Hen and Karen achieve something they’d given up on – the possible permanent expansion of their family – and brings them both full-circle after their disappointment surrounding Nia.

Chimney

Chimney is wearing a brown shirt with a black check pattern, brown is a colour of stability and reliability, it’s a grounding colour and chimney wearing it here indicates that where he is in his life is grounded in stable, his relationship and impending nuptials with Maddie are built on solid ground and overall this colour bodes well for their marriage. We do need to consider the cheque pattern as being foreshadowing for the potential exploration of Chimney storyline next season, whether that involves Madney actually making it down the aisle without problems arising, or if the show will explore some of chimney’s trauma in more detail remains to be seen however it does appear season 7 May begin a little bumpy for Chimney.

Kameron

Kameron wearing both the light and Navy blues that we’ve seen Buck wearing throughout this season whilst struggling to open a jar of pickles was a direct reference to Bucks struggles with who he is and who he wants to be. The props and costume work together to hint at Buck getting himself in a pickle and struggling to successfully deal with his issues, the fact that Kameron needed someone else to open the jar is a reference to Buck needing somebody else to help him with his struggles whilst the pickles in both this episode and the previous episode are a reference to Buck dealing with one issue but not his others. The use of blue costume in this scenario tells us the viewer should associate that struggle with buck specifically as the show has taken great pains to show us buck in a huge amount of blue costuming this season. The blue costuming also refers to water and water finding its level this has dual meaning in that it is foreshadowing Kameron’s water breaking later in the episode as well as continuing water theme surrounding buck story arc. The costume (and props) parallel Kameron and Buck and tell us to relate their stories to one another - Kameron being in a pickle with her life - her relationship with Connor - paralleled with Bucks own romantic storyline - both of them looking for support in the wrong place - from the wrong person, instead of with their respective partners - Kameron seeking help from Buck instead of Connor and and Buck seeking answers to being seen from Natalia instead of Eddie.

Cameron second costume one she’s wearing when she goes into labour continues the blue theme but also plays into the grey black-and-white theme increase seen in the scenes that appear to be re-shoots. The choice of daisies as appropriate for this dress as they symbolise innocence new beginnings and purity, they are also the symbol of fertility and childbirth.

Maddie

Ok so unusually I am going to talk about Maddie in connection with both Marisol and Natalia because their costumes are all connected by stars!

Maddie is wearing black with a lot of stars in white, while Marisol and Natalia have sparkly stars in fewer numbers on their costumes. the difference is the sparkly nature of said stars whilst the stars make perfect sense on all three of them for their respective scenes, they have different meanings attached to them - both Marisol and Natalia’s stars are a play on the concept of fantasy and dreaming and reaching for the unattainable, there are fewer stars and the glitteriness is a play on the idea of all that glitters is not gold - that the seemingly attractive external appearance is not a reliable indication of its true nature - that it is superficial. That meaning does not work for Maddie, her stars are not glittery or sparkly, they are matt and there are lots of them - there is more substance to her and Chimneys relationship and it is a direct and deliberate contradiction to the relationships of Eddie and Marisol and Buck and Natalia - we are meant to see the contrast - the building of something which has had to be fought for versus the untested and insubstantial nature of both of the other relationships - it all comes back to what bobby told Eddie - Maddie and Chim have sat with each other, taken a moment and stepped into the mess - they are fully aware of the reality where as Marisol and Natalia are both untested and fit much more into the fantasy concept the show has explored this season and the fantasy rarely holds up when exposed to reality.  

Natalia

Aside from the stars that I’ve spoken about above, it was an interesting choice to remove nearly all colour from Natalia’s costume for scenes where she is present when life is brought into the world. When not in her ‘work’ role, we’ve seen her wearing a fair amount of colour, even if black is nearly always present - lots or red and oranges and whites and greens, however she was all in black for the living funeral and here again we have her in predominately black, with a little bit of navy thrown into the mix the choice to use very dark colours is intentional and these dark colours play into her role as harbinger of death - she is representing death as life is brought into the world. I wrote a post about that scene and her presence in it and how it plays into the fact that death has haunted Buck since he was brought into the world. Natalia’s presence was necessary precisely because of what she represents and because death is still hovering in Bucks life - the fact that Natalia and Buck get together while she is still dressed in this way is very telling about her position in Bucks world - he is still focused on death and its being a part of who he is rather than seeing/ focusing on other things. It all plays back into the ‘she really sees me’ of it all - Buck wants to be seen beyond his death/ beyond the death that has shadowed his life, but he is still falling back into the safety of being seen for death rather than the life he is living. Natalia is a representation of Buck falling back on these safe behaviours and thoughts because he is fundamentally scared of being seen for who he really is and Natalia’s transition from the orange of their ‘first’ date to increasing levels of black in her subsequent outfits shows that representation in Bucks life perfectly.

Interestingly though we get a direct contrast to all that black in the ‘morning after’ scene with Natalia in white shirt which is meant to be one of Bucks. Honestly - fascinated by this choice! Putting her in a shirt that is meant to be one of Bucks makes total sense, but they could’ve chosen any colour they wanted - Buck wears a lot of colour, but they chose a white shirt. A. White. Shirt. a white shirt that is supposed to be one of Bucks. We all know how things go for Buck when it comes to white shirts - it doesn’t end well - it leads to bad things! Natalia isn’t going to end well for Buck - the white shirt has spoken!. 

The other thing with the white shirt is its contrast to Buck being in blue/grey because it puts her in opposition to Eddie who wore black when on the balcony. The balcony is a place that puts her on the outside of things, she isn’t inside with the mess (the couch) and the colour white is considered both a colour of innocence and purity, whilst at the same tie being seen as cold, uncaring and bland. When placed in contrast to Eddies black- a colour of power, strength security and protection, things don’t look great for Natalia’s future, or her ability to understand and support Buck.

We have to have a quick talk about Jo and Mallory for the simple reason that they are dressed in Buck and Eddies colours, despite essentially being representations of Christopher and Buck, the implication being that Christopher would retain a lot of the traits etc he has gained from Eddie, even if Eddie were no longer a physical presence in his life, and that Buck would’ve nurtured those aspects of who he is.

Chris

Christopher in grey as a neutral tone is an interesting choice. The green, specifically khaki green hidden underneath is a nod towards Eddie and, the fact it’s hidden under the grey to me is a reference to Christopher accepting things because he thinks they’re what his father does. But also towards Eddie once again, doing things that he thinks is right for Christopher.

Eddie

We can’t not talk about the St. Christopher being brought out at this moment! We haven’t seen this necklace since 4x14 when Eddie got home and its use here is so very intentional in a camper van that is essentially a microcosm of the will arc - all of the elements of Buck, Eddie and Christopher’s relationship is shown here in the camper - the will, the fridge, the couch, the coffee , the risk of explosion, and the earth mover van crashing into it, we even get similar camera angles and injuries. the entire thing is supposed to direct us to what that St. Christopher means, what it already represents and it is setting up next season - there is no other reason to include it otherwise.

Eddie in blue and in check – blue being connected to Eddie and his family suggests that the check is foreshadowing rocky times for that family dynamic and hints that this new relationship will end poorly whether that’s by fizzling out or in some other way remains to be seen. The other thing about this blue plaid check shirt is that it also ties in with a couple of other things - Eddie rarely wears plaid check - only 4 times before now and generally these are tied with when he’s been having family issues - we see it in the flashback scene in Eddie begins that show family conflict, conversely he doesn’t wear check in flashback scenes where is mind and intention is clear (such as when he argues with his parents and stands up for himself before going outside and asking Chris if he wants to move to LA.) The only other times we see him wearing check and not in a flashback is very much connected with his struggles with Christopher - and being able to support him - feeling like a failure as a father (which he isn’t) such as when he is at Bucks taking about Christopher’s skateboard accident and wanting his kid to feel normal. The only other time we see him in plaid is when he helps Buck move Maddie’s sofa into her new apartment - this is the only scene we have Eddie in non uniform before he goes to visit Durrand and is told he’ll need to get back in touch with Shannon - its kind of foreshadowing the conflict of the school visit when they couldn’t very easily put him in plaid.

I therefore really intrigued by this choice to have him in plaid for this scene when we don’t see any family conflict - so its either foreshadowing upcoming family conflict, or its playing on the idea that he’s internally conflicted - doing what his family wants (dating a woman) rathe than what he actually wants, or if the conflict is going to arise from him including Chris in this new venture into dating (we all saw how well that went last time!)

The other thing this plaid shirt is comparable with is Eddies Poker suit. Which has me all kinds of intrigued because it really does actually imply that the poker game was in fact going to be played as a ‘date’ (which would’ve likely played into the family conflict theme and thus been in keeping with all the other times Eddie has worn plaid) before they changed tack due to getting renewal and therefore didn’t follow through on whatever direction they had intended to take the Buck and Eddie storyline they had planned when they thought this might be the final season of the show. 

Buck

Buck in brown with a vertical stripe, the brown suggests solid ground or in a stable place - so Buck is being presented as having made peace with the sperm donation, as well as being a stable place from which to try and help Connor and Kameron sort out their problems. The vertical stripes also play into the theme of vertical stripes we’ve see non him this season. Interestingly, we haven’t seen Buck wearing these vertical stripes around Natalia, which I would expect to see if their relationship was meant to last as the vertical stripes are very much connected with Bucks search for himself, in particular, connected to couch theory (this is the second time we’ve seen vertical stripes in connection with couches/ armchairs) - Bucks version of couch theory, not the second couch theory that he as a character isn’t aware of.

We have this grey marl tee, which is green tinted - perfect choice for Buck delivering the baby he helped create in a scene that heavily played into Bucks own birth. The grey and green tones have been associated with Bucks arcs this season - either in relation to the sperm donation (the green tones) or the family he has been searching for and is on his way to finding/ fully comprehending (why he wears grey around Bobby and Christopher in their one on one scenes - its the father son relationships being more deeply established). so for him to have both on when he gets to be the one who delivers the child he helped to create is a great choice and plays into both themes - especially when he tells Connor to love that child at the hospital.

The addition of the check shirt is solely about Buck starting a relationship with Natalia, and them getting together in a moment not that dissimilar to how Buck and Taylor got together - at a moment of Buck reckoning with something important - the trauma of nearly loosing Eddie with Taylor and now with Natalia his reckoning with the sperm donation and having delivered the baby he helped to create. This is a deliberate choice by the show to parallel the two moments, but the use of check is highlighting it further and telling me that this relationship with Natalia isn’t going to be as ling and drawn out as his relationship with Taylor was. Buck doesn’t actually wear check patterns all that often considering the amount of danger and trouble he gets himself into and we’ve seen him wear it in most cases in relation to mental health struggles (the Equestrian centre is a prime example - Buck trying to raise the shooting with Eddie and being unsuccessful because Eddie wasn’t ready - and its parrallel with the grave scene from this season when Buck isn’t ready in return) so for him to be wearing it a second time is short succession and both connected with Natalia (and thinking he’s finally being seen) doesn’t bode well for anything related to their new relationship.

Buck wearing his watch for the balcony scene is very telling because the scene is meant to imply buck and Natalia spent the night together and this is the following morning when they address down and comfortable and she is wearing one of his shirts, however him wearing his watch suggests that there is already a countdown/ that there is a time limit on their relationship. 

Buck grey blue tee parallel with hoodie from the Eddie balcony scene - buck not understanding or seeing things clearly. The new one is darker and less blue, which not only plays into the previously stated concept of not understanding, but also suggests that Buck is currently in a less receptive state than during his previous times wearing the blue/grey colourway. The other thing to bear in mind is that Buck wearing a dark grey plays back into his costuming around Taylor in last season - he wore a lot of grey, but there was a distinct difference between the lighter shades we saw him wearing around Eddie and Christopher (which was the building blocks his grey wearing this season was built off of) and the darker greys we saw him wear around Taylor.

And there we have it - one very late but finished costume meta! I’m off to pray to the internet gods that my home internet will be fixed very soon (current date I’m being given is the 5 June) as I can’t survive much longer without being able to do the things I need and want to! if you want to send up a prayer for me then please feel free to help a girl out 😁

Thank you to all of you that have read one, several or all of my metas for this season. I hope this one was worth the read and I look forward to getting to write metas for whatever they throw at us in seasonn 7!!

As always and for the final time this season, tag list below! 💜💜💜

@mistmarauder @theladyyavilee @leothil @girldadbuddie @kitkatpancakestack  @buckscurls @lemotmo @trashendence @elishareads  @clipboardsandstethoscopes @comfortbuddie @fiona-fififi   @callanee @calyssmarviss @pbandjeremiah @batgrldes @spotsandsocks  @livingwherethesidewalkends  @idontshitpostbuttheolympicpark @diazboysbuckley @sweettsubaki @shortsighted-owl @sherlocking-out-loud @wh0rebehavi0r @favouritealias @hearteyesdiaz  @ktinastrikesback  @princesschez75 @bucksbuddie @oneawkwardcookie  @leatherati @moniquekatie @wanderingwomanwondering   @asharadaine @ajunerose  @talespinner230 @pop-kam @swiftiebuckleys @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx​ @butchjerry @mandzuking17 @yelenasbuddie @copyninjabuckley @name-code-black-widow @rogerzsteven @bi-moonlight @usercowboy​ @inthecarwithaboy @inandoutoffocus-blog​ @toboldlynerd​ @shammers86

#kym costume meta #911 costume meta #911 costumes #911 on fox #911 fox #911 abc #costume meta #evan buck buckley #evan buckley #Eddie diaz #athena grant #bobby nash #maddie buckley #chimney han #hen wilson #karen wilson #denny wilson #christopher diaz #natalia dollenmeyer

[lloydfrontera]

The only reason people say Lloyd was maltreated is because OG Lloyd suffers from “Draco in Leather Pants”, where a character with major negative flaws has those flaws massively downplayed. Along with any evil actions or rude behaviour they committed ignored or retroactively justified as them being the actions of a “victim” who is lashing out, despite all evidence to the contrary. This mostly done so that the fandom can have a new “Woobie”, a character who makes you feel extremely sorry for them, to write angst about

On the other hand, Arcos suffers from “Ron the Death Eater” syndrome. Where fandom decides to take a good character who committed a few mistakes in the past, exaggerating that characters’s small negative flaws or mistakes to massive proportions. Or even assigning evil acts to the character that the character never committed. This way people can have convenient antagonist who hurt the “Woobie” in the past or continues to do so, thus making the “Woobie” the victim in the scenario.

These are all symptoms of people wanting to make more “Whump” fanfic. Whump fanfic is fanfic where a character undergoes various different forms physical and mental suffering. These insubstantial takes on the characters in order to create “Whump” completely ignore other avenues rife with potential “Whump”, ones that are even supported by the source material.

Such as Kim Suho constant struggles with the fact that even though he now has the life he always wanted, being free from debt, in a safe financial positions, and being surrounded by a loving family, he has to contend with the fact they aren’t’t his. He has to handle the guilt he feels when interacting with Arcos and Marbella due to the belief that they don’t know that he not there son. That he effectively stolen another person’s life, though through no fault of his own, and has now undeservedly gained that person’s parents.

Then there is Julian, who suffered plenty of abuse from his brother over the years growing up, both vocal and physical. As evidenced by the scar on his forehead that was caused by glass from a beer bottle his brother threw at him. There is also the physical and vocal abuse he suffered from other nobles at the academy before Kim Suho showed up and set everyone straight. Yet not nearly as many people seem to be interested in delving to how being on the receiving end of that kind of abuse for years would affect him

In short,

Reader: “I want Whump”

Actual Story: “We have Whump at home”

love the use of tropes in this ask, you're speaking my language now

and yeah, you're right, i just,,, i find it confusing. ofc everyone is allowed to do whatever they want, canon is a suggestion and all of that but like,, i don't know. i find it weird.

it almost feels like they're trying to justify og lloyd's abuse of julian by accusing arcos of bad parenting. but 1) they do it by exaggerating some genuine mistakes he made, 2) ignoring the context surrounding the situation and 3) just fucking lying about it????

not to mention, that even if arcos had been a genuinely bad father (which he was not), that would still not justify what og lloyd did to julian! negligence doesn't justify abuse! even if the fronteras hadn't given lloyd enough positive attention (which there isn't any evidence to assume this), that would still not justify og lloyd lashing out and constantly hurting the people around him, including his younger brother.

if people want whump, just like you said, there's plenty in canon already. lloyd, julian, and javier all have their own trauma to work through, some of it caused by og lloyd himself. heck if you want that very specific 'negligent and distant father' flavor of whump, sheherazade is right there. bk moon does a great job at giving us plenty of character with a lot of baggage and trauma, there's enough to pick and choose without needing to resort to headcanons that go directly against canon lmao

but again, i'm not fond of the whole 'you're only allowed to like a character while acknowledging every bad thing they've ever done' thing, because it's bullshit and also i love me some war criminals here and there, so do whatever you want forever i'm no one to say you can't do something lol

#hey i got an ask #Anonymous #tged #the greatest estate developer

[queseraone]

You had this coming. Worst 5 Chenford Episodes of the Rookie. Tim and Lucy must interact. You reap what you sow 😈

And then to give you even more to procrastinate with—

5 missed opportunities that you wish the show would have done more with

Okay, let's dive into this.

My opinion on worst episodes is similar to yours - these episodes feel like a departure from the characters and from the development of their relationship, etc.

Hit and Run (4x08) - I do not like this episode for Chenford (and in general tbh). GENNY: When you were 7 years old, he dropped you in Griffith Park with a compass and made you find your way home. TIM: Which I did. LUCY: A Tim Test. (setting aside the overall UGH of someone doing that to a SEVEN YEAR OLD...) As if Lucy 'empathy is her superpower' Chen would make such inconsiderate comments about someone else's pain, especially Tim's?!?!??! No, no, NO. Even her conversation later with Tim where she says she's overstepping, but that his sister needs him... I get that, but Tim did not want to go back there. And the Lucy of the past and of nearly every other episode would absolutely not say that. She would respect and support Tim's choice, because it makes sense - emotionally, psychologically, etc. And if they really needed Lucy to have a conversation like that, it should have been with Genny, telling her to leave Tim alone and respect his choice. Ugh.

Mother's Day (4x21) - This makes the list out of my absolute HATRED for that fake proposal. Sure, the teasing earlier in the episode was fun, but the ending was AWFUL. There are about a million other (better) ways we could have seen Lucy having that sort of "aha" moment. Tim Bradford views marriage in high regard (again I go back to - this man was true to his vows with Isabel long after she took off), he's not going to PROPOSE as a joke. GRRRR

The Choice (5x04) - What you said, honestly. That Look™ as he's lowered down to the basement is !!!!!, but beyond that? Booooo, such an anticlimactic conclusion to this story arc. Certainly this was a byproduct of (heartbreaking) real-life circumstances, but the complete lack of closure to this arc for Lucy (and Tim) will be forever disappointing. And on top of the way it all played out, the brief exchange between them when they see Rosalind's body at the end? It's so devoid of any emotion or compassion on Tim's part (granted, we can't see his face as he says "she only seemed larger than life", but his subsequent line is all business), and it just feels so out of touch with the previous Chenford + Rosalind moments.

New Blood (3x11) - Again, big old ditto here, but yes, hated the way they portrayed Lucy as insecure and jealous of Barnes. (Seriously listen up everyone: Lucy has never ever been insecure about her appearance - nor should she be, she's a fucking babe.)

This is a tie between A.C.H. (4x05) and Long Shot (4x14) for the same reason. Both episodes have some fun moments, and are certainly not awful overall, but similar to Lucy's comments re: Tim's childhood/dad in 4x08, I hated seeing Tim spin Lucy's mom's comments/actions in a positive light ("Or she's just looking out for you, knowing how busy you are." and "Maybe she's trying to prevent you from making the same mistakes she did."). Sure, maybe he was trying to play devil's advocate or make sure Lucy was considering all her options or whatever, but it comes across as him siding with her mom. And based on how easily Lucy talks to him about this stuff, it's clear he's heard plenty about that situation in the past. Lucy's mom sucks.

Five missed opportunities, hmm, this is hard to think about on the fly...

I think it was a massive missed opportunity to have Chenford do the whole secret relationship thing (delicious) and then not have a reveal of the relationship. This show is light and fun, and there was major comedy potential there. I wish they would have explored that more. This is slightly related, so I'll lump them together - I wish we had a conversation between Tim and Angela after the reveal of Chenford to bookend the ones in 5x01 and 5x02.

Still can't believe they brought Chris back after the breakup just for lawyer stuff. I was more than happy to close the door on that character, but if they really wanted to bring him back, it felt like a missed opportunity to not have some interaction with Chenford and real closure to that arc.

The Emmett of the it all - I've been chatting with @goodgirlssayiloveyoutoo (Go read her fics! Do it now!) about this recently, and it's honestly such a bummer that the actor had to leave so abruptly. There was so much potential in that relationship - he was super hot, Lucy deserved to have a love life (!!!!), and it felt like such an opportunity to propel things forward and make something happen with Chenford.

This one is silly and stupid, but after Tim called LA CLEAR in season 2, I would have loved to see Lucy or Nyla or someone set his ringtone to Lady Marmalade.

I can't believe I'm relating one of these to 5x01, because that episode is a fave, but it's a bit of a missed opportunity that Hajek's crew busted into the hotel room so early. There was only one bed. Would have loved to see how they handled that (and just having more of them undercover in general). But that's a minor one overall.

And I absolutely positively wish Tim broke up with Ashley.

Oooookay wow this post feels super duper negative... which is insane because I absolutely adore this show and CANNOT WAIT for it to be back in 4 (!!!!!!!!!) weeks!!!!!!

Omg someone ask me some positive happy questions hahaha

#asked and answered #roguetwelve #chenford #the rookie #in my opinion #super interested to hear other points of view #as long as you share with kindness

[arcadekitten]

As usual, sweet no death spoilers:

I wanted to ask a question about my favourite character that I don't see get as much love (okay well my favourite is Mary but she gets plenty.)

So how about an ask about Ruuby? I've had this question on my mind for awhile. I guess two questions actually. What Lampchop said about it being in Ruuby's DNA to eat meat has... worrying implications for the rest of the (I'm really blanking on the name) (arcadeverse?) (Sorry). Although I think Sweet No Death isn't in the same universe, is it? Regardless. Was Lampchop bullshitting? Will we see Crowven collecting shiny things or Twyla munching on mice? Or are the worlds seperate?

And as for the related question... Holy bejesus did the citizens of Stella's Town have family? Are they good? Like I know Stella isn't inherently a villain any more than lambchop (there's differing opinions on the morality of murdering your fake friends vs forced political domination of a town) but oh my goodness are they good?

Sweet No Death exists in like, a pocket dimension off of Noisrev. Extremely similar but not the same, and characters from SND wouldn't be able to meet or interact with characters from my other games hypothetically.

I would say this ties in to a popular fan-interpretation which is that Stella used her magic to turn all the animals in thetown into people. And while I can't say that is what actually happened, I can say that metatextually the implication is there (i don't even know if I'm using that word correctly apologies in advanced.)

I would say that Noisrevians are influenced by their species but not often to such extremes. Like, Twyla wouldn't eat mice. Crowven might pick up a shiny trinket or two but not to the point of kleptomania. I have a few characters who are of species like raccoons that collect trash in their homes, but those characters are seen more as extremists rather than an average member of their species. Does that make sense?

As for your second question, I feel like the answer is more outer-universe than in. While I'm sure there's families that exist in the SND universe I didn't design any of the characters with the idea of them having any. Animal Crossing was a big inspiration for SND and like Animal Crossing, I wanted the "villagers" to feel similar. In Animal Crossing you typically have one adult neighbor living in their own house and that's how I wanted SND to feel too!

I'm sure any families that potentially exist are fine. If Stella found out someone with known family was affected by Lambchop, she would make sure everyone in the family is alright and not just the victim.

#sweet no death #lore #ask