rough art tips to learn and then break at your leisure.

the distance between your eyes is roughly one eye. the corners of your mouth dont extend past the middle of each eye. ears are roughly in the middle of the tip of the nose and the eyebrow. the eyes are in the very centre of the head. the neck is just a Little slimmer than the width of the head (varies with fat distribution, but fat tends to build up under the chin). hair is easier to draw when you plot out the hairline and then where it parts. leaving appropriate distance on the side of the face (cheekbone area and back to ear) contributes to making characters look more realistic/hot as hell. i dont know specific tips for that so use reference. an amazing reference/study site is lineofaction.com . if you think of the face in planes it makes it easier to construct (look up tutorials). if you draw a spiral like a tornado it can help you figure out awkward perspective for extended limbs (look up foreshortening coil technique). tangent lines are when two lines intersect and cause visual confusion (when it looks like a line that defines an arm is part of the line that defines a building, for example) and avoiding them makes your art way easier to comprehend. quick trick to good composition: choose a focal point (where you want your viewer to focus), detail that area the most, and make sure various elements of the piece are pointing to that focal point. you can use colours to contrast hue, saturation, and brightness and make certain elements of your drawing stand out. drawing in greyscale can help you figure out values. using black in a piece isn't illegal but you should know what you're doing when you do use it- it desaturates a piece and if used as a shading colour can desaturate and dull whatever youre shading too. if you use almost-black lineart and then add black to darken the very darkest areas it will do a lot to add some nice depth. the tip of your thumb ends just above the start of your index finger- your thumb also has two knuckles and all your other fingers have three. if you see an artist doing something you like (the way they draw noses or eyes or hair or anything else) you can try to copy that and see if you want to incorporate it in your style <- this is ENCOURAGED and how a lot of us learned and developed our styles. there are ways to add wrinkles to faces and bodies without making the character look a million years old, you just have to keep experimenting with it. The smile wrinkles around your muzzle dont connect to your mouth or to your nose; there should be a small space in between smile or nose and the wrinkle line. eyes when viewed in profile are like < aka a little triangle shape. think of the pupil like a disk and apply foreshortening to it (it looks like a line when seen from the side instead of a full round dot). subtle gradients can add a LOT to a piece. texture can also add a LOT. look up Tommy Arnold's work (his murderbot pieces are some of my FAVOURITE) and zoom in. find those random little circles he added and try to figure out why he added them there. light bounces. there's lots of way light bounces. sometimes it even spreads through the skin. i do not know these light tricks yet but i want you to know that they exist. draw a circle to indicate hand placement, draw a straight line between that circle and the shoulder, and then (normally at a right angle) draw a straight line on top of that line to find the placement of the elbow. elbows are normally placed Just above the hip when standing and your arm is at rest. there are no bad colour combos if you're brave enough about it, just fuck with the saturation and brightness until it works. keep playing. try new things. add your own tips to this post if you want or even expand on some ive mentioned here. good luck go ham etc

Always on TEN Time, Except When We're Not

i never really got too into the meme/IP/copypasta horror stuff in LBP. Not a knock against it, but i was already pretty thoroughly aged out of most of the stuff, or too out of the loop to really get the hook; like Jeff the Killer and whatnot, i knew of, but i didn't really know. It's also, i just think you've got to push the kit a bit harder to get a horror feel from it. Like, you can definitely get horror out of cute things, but you're working at a bit of a disadvantage. Even levels that go heavy in on atmosphere and vibe still have to deal wiv the fact that the player character, regardless of how you costume them, just radiate pleasantness. Impossible? Definitely not. Difficult? Absolutely. But there was that kerfluffle wiv CrimsonFang9's stuff getting taken down recently, some of it having been sitting up on their Earth for actually 10years, and i figured i'd have a look. However i feel about horror levels, they were (are still?) a big part of the LBP community pot. i hadn't realized this was going to be a Nightmare on Elm Street level, honestly. i figured it would just be a general horror; but it still wound up working out. The presentation is all solid, both the "real world" and Freddy's boiler room of doom. The house just sitting in an empty create mode was... eh... but, you know, fine? The Freddy costume too, was pretty nice. i would be lying if i said i hadn't had fun wiv this one, but it didn't give me the spoops either, unfortunately.

This one's actually a pretty decent little survival challenge. Nicely presented environment, clearly defined hazard behaviour, parse-able field, and limited, focused mechanics. Of course i played like crud, but i still had fun. i'm pretty sure the idea for my score bubble spawning ghostbulbs came from here, tho' i'd need to check dates to see if it was just a parallel evolution thing.

It was a real disappointment when this one broke, because it's a real good one up to that point. Some very neat bits of grappling hook gameplay, and lots of character to the level; although i would say the reliance on browns and tans, while thematically appropriate, could leave things looking a touch washed out. Also, positive, but the way they had that one bounce pad climbing section timed out so the next train would be right beneath you when you hit the apogee of your jump? Chef's kiss. But then we get to the break, and it just breaks. It feels like a pure physics issue, but... it's weird? Usually, unless the bit has been just set up horribly wrong, leaving the level and trying it again can kind of joggle things a bit? Like, what ever random bits of timing and impact that added up to something not deploying the way it should won't in another circumstance. We saw that back in... i think it was called Golden Chain Reaction? i can't find the episode number right now. Anyway. Like, looking at the video now, and i'm pretty sure those are just regular bolts, so i can't figure why they don't just drop wiv the momentum. The could be spring bolts set too tight, but that feels like something Porkyfern should have noticed? There was one try where the bit was juuuuuust about to swing out enough that gravity should have taken its course, and at the last moment popped right back up again, and i was a little crushed.

i really wound up liking this one. Very straightforward as far as gameplay, but lots of little mechanical interactions, and a good sense of momentum throughout. But what really sells it for me is that great music track, and the implication that the decorative elements are synced to it. i say implication, because i have exactly no rhythm, so i honestly can't judge it on a granular level, but i kinda get it well enough that if you can make a good show of it, i'll usually buy in. i feel like saying Just Shapes and Beats is one of my favourite examples of the genre is a slight on the devs, but i really did love that game, and how they worked the music into things.

This level... Like, presentation-wise, it's a solid example of a common style i've always liked. It doesn't really push it much, but it does it well. The gameplay is pretty fun. i've always liked using the paintinator as a tool for level interactions, as opposed to just going shooty on enemies (also, a lot of creators do a terrible job judging how many hit points enemies should have before it stops being fun, and starts being spongy-boring). Some of it was actually pretty tricky, tho' that felt heavier on the front end, when it should have been on the back. By all rights, very solid high end of mid-tier (i don't mean mid-tier disparagingly here, either; i've found a lot of levels i've really enjoyed that may not be quite polished enough to be top of the pops). But then you get to that level break, and i still don't know what the heck is going on there. chronos says that's a thing that can happen wiv Attract-o-gel, and i trust him on the point, but i've literally never run into it before. And the way it just totally bricks the run if you die there even once. It was just serious weirdsville.

We talked about this Friday, and it's just as awesome now as it was then. Go play Sacklantis.

[ed.'s note: see below the part II video]

i wound up bundling the gameplay levels wiv their respective cutscene counterparts, just to keep the Archive a bit tidier, and because the parts flowed into each other so well (honestly, if i had been xSLEVENx i would have published the second part of each set as a sub-level, so you wouldn't get the scoreboard break in there). That being said, i love these levels. The story is engaging and the character interactions are pretty cute. The robo-buddy as an actual object is quite well put together. The both play very well, wiv a clear, if gentle, difficulty curve; and the presentation... just *mwah*, so good. This is probably just selective perception, and it's definitely anecdotal, but i feel like sci-fi levels tend to go heavier in on visually busy environments, generally to the detriment of presentation. Lots of decorations, lots of heavily textured materials, and it's just so easy to get lost in it all. i feel like it's a hard balance to hit between "this is a recognizable sci-fi place" and "ok, but now i can't tell what's going on," but Obscurity pulls off the whole thing quite deftly, and it was a delight just looking at. Did have a bit of a funny sequence break in the first one, where you can skip a whole chunk of gameplay if you're willing to do it in perfect darkness. i wonder if i still have that b-roll lying around. i have to ditch stuff pretty quick, because the ps4 only has so much space on it.

This one took a lot longer than it should have, because i was trying to read everything, and my Japanese reading ability is, at best, passable; but i really wanted to know if i could get the joke. i guess the joke is... grampas are inherently funny/creepy? Something something maybe it's funny if you have the cultural background? The level itself is fine. Pretty kludgy, but it is an LBP1 meme-level, so that's to be expected. The boss was kind of neat wiv needing to slingshot to hit it, using momentum and physics and all. i mean, it was also a total pain in the ass, but i did appreciate it. Eh... not every Jside level was a winner, even if there was a solid density of great creators.

i really should have bundled all the Neon Dimension levels together, but when i first started the Archive, i felt a little leery about giving too much space all at once to one creator, especially one who is also a good friend. Which, typing that out feels also shitty and unfair to chronos, so... yeah, i just should have bundled them all together. i think of the main ND levels, this one is my favourite. It really nails the whole "level building itself" vibe, and keeps things very visually clean and parse-able. The gameplay is super fun, and the secrets were a nice, neat addition (i did ask chronos some pointers so i could definitely get all of them in the recording, but i'm pretty sure i've found them on my own before. They're well hidden, but not impossibly hidden, which i feel like some creators struggle wiv). i'm honestly a bit shocked this one never picked up a Team Pick, because it is really a super high quality level.

------------------------------------------------------

So that's our ten for this go about. Some real winners in there, if any of the folx reading are still actually playing. Tomorrow's my day off and there's nothing i absolutely have to do, aside from a little editing that i'm going to make a strong go of getting done tonight. There are a few things i probably ought to do, but these last few weeks have been pretty intense emotionally, both in the good ways and the not so good ways (i feel like it's important to let y'all know i do have very good days sometimes, and even the very bad days aren't an all the time thing, they just kinda feel like they are, you know?), and i really want a day were i can just chill. i finally managed to get This Is How You Lose the Time War (it was a whole thing where, i couldn't buy it on my iPhone, but it turns out i could read it on it, but i had to do the actual purchase off my paperwhite for... reasons, i guess? Which meant i had to find where i put the darn thing, and then charge it, 'cause i haven't used it forever because i have the fucking Kindle app on my iPhone <pant, pant, pant>). i'll probably sit down a restart reading it from the start. i like what i've read so far, but reading it in momentary chunks while working the register is maybe not the best way to appreciate what's going on. Or, given the subject matter, maybe it is? It's no good for my absorption or memory, tho', that's for sure.

I have seen Netflix’s Persuasion. I’m mostly baffled by it. I might have been content to be mildly entertained by it as a regency comedy if it wasn’t trying to pass itself off as Persuasion. I’m not even that angry, really, I’m just…confused. (Edit: and apparently have ingested more plot from other movies than the book, apologies for some inaccurate details BUT ANYWAY)

For a start, it’s clearly a comedy, for all that google categorizes it as a drama romance. Persuasion is not a comedy. It has comedic moments but its most notable quality as a story is that it’s somber, melancholic, quiet. Angry. Good on them for trying to make it a comedy, bc there is comedic potential in the plot outline, and comedy done well wouldn’t even necessarily erase the heart of the theme, which is living with deep regrets and facing the consequences of our actions and finding hope where hope had been lost. But this wasn’t even comedy done well, really. I’m gonna dig into it bc I can’t say I had a bad time the whole of the movie, but…hmm.

Firstly, the casting, and rewriting Anne to be a snarky narrator and Wentworth to be an awkward lad. Um. No. No, see, I watched Cosmo Jarvis, and I just felt vaguely sorry for him. He did awkward very well; I think his Wentworth performance would be a better Edward Ferrars. He and Dakota Johnson had zero chemistry. The man looked like he was dealing with threatening indigestion for most of the film. He had his moments, mostly fleeting tiny things (the tear shed in the opening scene, his look of absolute relief during the hug at the end—that, I’ll admit, was his most and maybe only believable Wentworth moment). But. THAT ISN’T WENTWORTH. Frederick Wentworth is a charming dude, an ambitious sailor and a good friend and a man so embittered by his own dashed hopes that he intentionally jabs at Anne, but derives no pleasure from it, or from seeing her situation so degraded from her youth.

Anne, though. Making Anne witty isn’t untrue to her character. What’s untrue is making her sarcastic. Anne’s greatest fault is how she bends over backwards to accommodate people—she was only persuaded out of marrying Wentworth in the first place by being told the marriage would make HIM unhappy, not herself. Dakota Johnson’s Anne is wry, but too self-assured, too brash, too confident. At no point would she have EVER revealed that Charles Musgrove proposed to her first—certainly not at a dinner party where she just spent a painful two minutes playing musical chairs to avoid Wentworth and then got herself worked up in jealousy over his flirting with Louisa (and Louisa’s with him). Yeah, Anne is jealous, but she tempers this with knowing she has no right to Wentworth’s heart anymore and she internalizes her anger and jealousy accordingly. This Anne is too modern, is the problem. Her trials are timeless but the way she deals with them is so a product of her environment that changing her from an accommodating spinster to a sarcastic wine aunt shouting at her estranged former fiancé out of windows and then dropping gravy on her own head is a fundamental betrayal of Anne’s character and heart.

Plus the other changes just felt…eh. Making Louisa intent on setting up Anne and Wentworth before falling for him herself felt like a cheap way to try and up the drama that didn’t need to happen. Turning Mr. Elliott from a cold-blooded shark of a manipulator into a shallow open book was a waste of Henry Golding’s talents and face (and closer actual chemistry with Dakota, but also I love Henry Golding, always brings a delight and sincerity to his performances that I love to watch and now I actually want to watch him play an Austenian rake, one with an actual dark side and not reduced to a wit machine). Removing the subplot of Anne’s sickly school friend makes sense from a timing scenario but HEY MAYBE IF WE DIDNT GO ON A TANGENT ABOUT OCTOPUS DREAMS WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN TO THAT INSTEAD. Even changing Anne’s family just felt weird. Sir Walter was spot-on, I’ll give him that, but turning Elizabeth into a markedly plainer and more openly vicious older sister and Mary from a hypochondriac to a narcissist just changed the flavor in a way I didn’t like. Mary’s bits were very funny, I will allow that, but it felt like it missed the point somehow? Or got the point but played it up too much? Bc she does complain of ailments out of a desire for attention, and she does feel herself the victim and vilely mistreated in every situation, but…I dunno. They leaned into it too hard. Mary is clueless but she’s not so self-absorbed she becomes an idiot.

I knew they mangled the “worse than strangers” line but they did it TWICE. And not only that, but Anne and Wentworth actually having a CONVERSATION about their past and trying to find a way to friendship?? Painful. Very painful. Wentworth’s staredown with Mr. Elliott was wooden. They took one of my favorite parts out of Wentworth’s letter where he admits how poorly he acted towards Anne. And after all this…idk, they at least could have had Anne running smack into Wentworth at the end, really jolt them both with the physical impact, instead of what we got. The slow down and grabbing his lapels felt weird.

AND WTF THE F//K WAS THE BIT WHERE ANNE FINDS MR ELLIOTT MAKING OUT WITH MRS CLAY AND THEN CUTTING TO THEIR WEDDING LATER??? I have…so much burning rage for that. Bc my favorite thing is that Mr. Elliott was playing the field, courting Anne while wooing Mrs. Clay to secure her out of the way of Sir Walter, and the wrap-up on that story being that she was installed as Mr. Elliott’s mistress and might have caressed her way to being his wife anyway bc they’re both cunning individuals. He doesn’t merrily trot with her down the aisle the second Anne is unavailable. THAT is the de-fanging of Mr. Elliott that sucks most—that he’s going from a cold-blooded being who only acts according to his own desires and drives a business partner and his wife penniless before marrying rich to restore his coffers, who dares to nicely court a titled woman to secure his family’s compliance while stealing away his predecessor’s possible chance at fathering a male heir, to a guy who just tells the audience what he’s up to and smiles nicely about it. I just. UGH.

Costumes, sets, and casting weren’t completely terrible. I liked the colors, though pretty sure Wentworth had only like two outfits, his navy uniform and his casual clothes. Lady Russell traveling Europe to visit new lovers is an odd addition but I’m not mad about it. Pacing was a bit abrupt in places. Giving Anne a more involved relationship with her nephews and the Musgrove girls was kinda nice. Why did Anne have a pet rabbit, though??

As a Persuasion adaptation it’s a travesty, character assassination at its most heinous, just gutting the story for parts and expecting people to see it as a fresh take rather than the hack job it is. As a movie on its own merits, a little too wooden and strange in places to be an enjoyable romp. I didn’t entirely hate all of it, but I’m disappointed in it.

Alright let’s talk GVK spoilers!!!

My reactions as best I can remember them!

- love how Kong is humanized from the very first scene, like every time he shows up he’s humanized so much more than other titans are. If that was at the expense of other titans being made likable I wouldn’t enjoy it so much, but like, Godzilla is made pretty lovable over the course of Monsterverse, Mothra is too, and all the titans featured for long are given recognizable emotions that let us see them as more intelligent and feeling than “just” animals; so all of them are made understandable/likable/sympathetic. But of them all, Kong is the only one really humanized. Which makes sense, because like, big monkey! Basically our distant cousin!

- And they kept playing, like, normal songs for him, which cracked me up.

- I really appreciated how you could SEE the titans in this movie. After all the weather effects to hide the titans in KOTM, there was such a clear difference in this one from the very start. Kong in the daylight! Godzilla makes his first attack at night, and even then you can see him much more clearly than you can for most of KOTM! Nice!

- after the Iwi were portrayed as silent stoic witnesses in Skull Island, I really appreciated that they took an Iwi character, made her a main character, and gave her dialogue and a real role to play in the story while also keeping her deaf/mute. I think that was a good way to improve on the way that the Iwi got got sidelined in the last movie while still maintaining the worldbuilding!

- I didn’t appreciate so much that, y’know, they murdered the rest of her people off-screen in order to do it. Couldn’t they have gone “her parents died so she got adopted by a Monarch agent that was close to her family, but like, the rest of her tribe is fine”? Or at the very least “their island got fucked up so they had to be evacuated but like they’re settling in somewhere else”? “They’re living under this island dome with Kong and they know what’s up and Monarch’s keeping them in the loop and they decided they’re chill with their new dome home, but this one girl likes to go on adventures with Monarch”? Something? Did we have to kill them all off? Y’all make up an entire fictional indigenous culture and then murder them off-screen when you don’t need them? Just let them live.

- a few minutes in I was like “hold on, we’ve got two characters that speak sign language, we’ve got a giant gorilla, gorillas learn sign language, is there any reason they can’t teach Kong?” and then later I was like “OOOOOH!!” Humans and titans learning how to communicate with each other has been one of my favorite themes to explore in Monsterverse fanfic so I was absolutely tickled to see it getting explored in canon, too.

- That said I think it’s hilarious that the girl managed to teach Kong to sign without, like... anybody seeing. Kong’s hands are above the tree line and there are cameras everywhere, how did NOBODY with Monarch see him signing.

- Bernie’s weaponized being an annoying coworker to such a degree it can only be called an art, and I really appreciated it.

- Godzilla’s extra chonky in this movie and I dig it. Roomie noted he was extra crocodilian and I dig that too.

- “There’s been no confirmed titan sightings in three years” I don’t buy that for a minute. They’re BIG. Rodan NESTS IN VOLCANOES. They found a MOTHRA EGG. Humans have A SCARILY WELL-FUNDED ORGANIZATION DEDICATED SOLELY TO FOLLOWING TITANS AROUND. Like, most of the lore in GVK that I don’t personally like, I can be like “eh... I can tweak it just a little bit with headcanons to make it work for me...” but NO confirmed titan sightings? You expect me to believe ALL of them moved underground when we’d previously seen them all prefer to live above ground? You expect me to believe that now that they’re all AWAKE, they learned how to HIDE?? Uh-uh. And at the end of KOTM there was stuff in the credits about using titan droppings as biofuel, obviously they’re still walking around up top! Can’t take that from me. Nope.

- Who the FUCK is Ren Serizawa and how is he related to Ishiro Serizawa? IS he related? Maybe they just dropped the surname as another “yeah this is a Godzilla movie for Godzilla fans” easter egg but I have a hard time believing that he can’t be somehow related to the other character with the Very Important Last Name who was so important in the last two Godzilla movies. If he is related I’m sure it’s been explained in a tie-in comic or the novelization or something, I’ll look it up later.

- I had to look up how much weight huge battleships can carry while writing a KOTM fic where Ghidorah hitches a ride on one, and y’all, I had to pull weird gravity-negating magic to get him to ride on that boat. Godzilla and Kong woulda sunk that boat like a rock. All I could think during that scene is “this wouldn’t work and I know that because I DID THE RESEARCH and I wasn’t even getting PAID.” I’ll choose to believe that Monarch gets special heavy duty ships designed to carry titans but nobody mentioned it because it wasn’t relevant to Kong’s journey.

- The bit where they could see where Godzilla was swimming because he’d got half a ship hooked to him that was bobbing around on the surface, didn’t Jaws do something like that with a buoy? It’s been ages since I’ve seen Jaws. Anyway good reference.

- Insert “they’re gonna need a bigger boat” joke

- I LOVED the part where they shut down all the ships to get Godzilla to leave. Both because, one, it’s a spectacular callback to KOTM’s “turn off all the guns so he knows we’re not a threat” that makes it seem like now that’s just what Monarch knows what to do to get G to chill out, and two... we know that Godzilla backs off either when he’s killed his enemy or when his enemy has yielded to him. At the end of KOTM—and the end of GVK—the act of yielding is presented as very ceremonial and uniform across species: everyone lowers anything they’ve got that could be dangerous (claws, fangs, beaks, axes) and bows to show Godzilla they’re not gonna fight. Battleships, obviously, can’t bow, but even without being inducted into whatever secret titan cultural intricacies might be going on, humans have figured out their own way to “bow” to Godzilla: cut all the power, so their ships can’t move and can’t use weapons. I know the movie presented it as “playing dead,” but c’mon, if Godzilla could hear MechaG power up from halfway around the planet then he could hear that Kong’s heart was still beating, and he’s been around enough boats to know humans can turn them off and on when they want. The humans bowed to Godzilla. He accepted that they yielded and left.

- Mark Russell looked like such a dad in this movie, like he’s retired 100% from being a rugged action hero and now he’s just Pure Dad. I like him better when he’s a dad, it’s a good development for him. He got like 3 lines and I’m like “I appreciate this character development.”

- Despite all my qualms about how conspiracy theories and extremist groups are handled in Monsterverse (and WHICH conspiracy theories they decide to reference), I really love Madison and Bernie’s dynamic. The adult man who’s the excitable wide-eyed believer in every BS conspiracy you can possibly imagine; and then the serious, severe Teenage Girl On A Mission who’s hypercompetent because she was raised for five years by a friggin doomsday cult militia; and despite having wildly different personalities they’re just, in total agreement about everything. Handled just a BIT differently (like, leaving out the more gross IRL conspiracies) they would be a wildly fun comedic duo—especially with Josh the Only Sane Man coming along as the hapless sidekick. And they all play off of each other so well! Both in a comedic sense, and in more serious moments—when Bernie talked about his wife, there was a real moment of empathy between him and Madison with very little said. I’d watch an entire movie just about the three of them. I’d watch a TV show.

- On the one hand I wasn’t too much of a fan of KOTM’s “all titans... are inherently In Tune With Nature... nature has a Balance, because that’s a Real Thing and not an anthropocentric concept to describe how we like nature to act, and they automatically restore it... because they’re like, some kinda borderline divinities or something... we should probably be worshipping them...” thing; but, now that it was totally absent in GVK, I sorta miss it. Like I feel like there needs to be a balance, a few humans who are like “i lowkey worship these dudes?” and a few others who are like “they’re cool but like, that’s a lil extreme” and that neither side be presented as Right in how they regard titans’ relationship with nature.

- “All titans come from THE HOLLOW EARTH” nah I don’t buy that it’s silly. Basically, what I object to is the idea that all titans have some sort of intrinsic similarity (they all come from the same hitherto-unknown location; they all are part of the same pack that has the same alpha; they all are fueled/fed by the same energy source; etc) rather than letting them be SEPARATE species whose only unifying traits are “they’re all big enough to fuck everything up everywhere they go” and “they’re big enough that the typically-insurmountable barriers between different biomes (mountain ranges, valleys, long distances with terrible weather) aren’t insurmountable for them, so even if they’re specialized in different environments they still all have to deal with each other pretty often.” I’ll make some exceptions for convergent evolution (i.e., claiming multiple titans developed similar traits that are relatively easy to spontaneously evolve and a prerequisite for a creature to survive at such a large size). But I can’t buy “this big gorilla has more biologically in common with this big crocodile-iguana than he does with, say, gorillas,” or most of the other “all these titans have THIS IN COMMON” claims that Monsterverse makes, including “everyone’s from hollow earth.” So I’m tossing that out the window and substituting my own headcanons. Some might’ve evolved there but some evolved on the surface. Maybe a majority of them like ducking in and out of the hollow earth like some kind of titan shortcut system. Kong’s species, I can buy, IS native to hollow earth, considering that they built a whole-ass society down there with tools and architecture.

- I’m SO curious about the little underground Kong home, the Godzilla motif in the floor, and the axe that appeared to be made with a Godzilla scute. What’s the story there??? We know Godzilla’s species and Kong’s species are ancient rivals. Is it because Kong’s species hunted Godzilla’s to steal their scutes to make weapons, seeing them as a valuable resource the way, like, early humans considered woolly mammoths a valuable resource—thus making that Godzilla on the floor equivalent to cave art of mammoths made by people who hunted them—until the Godzillas got pissed and started fighting back en masse? Or were Godzillas and Kongs already enemies when Kongs decided to start making weapons out of their corpses? Did they use to be allies, fighting together, with Godzillas voluntarily offering shed scutes and/or bones of their deceased members to Kongs, and that place used to be a shared home until they started fighting?

- What about that power source, is it something that was already there that both Kongs and Godzillas started to deliberately harvest for technology/atomic breath? Or did Godzillas automatically channel that stuff and Kongs exploited/borrowed/traded with Godzillas to utilize it too? Or is the power from Godzillas who collaboratively poured a bunch of power into the place thus that Kongs were able to use it too? I doubt Godzilla’s species CREATED all that weird energy but the question remains of whether, like, they channel it FROM underground, or naturally produce the same thing in their own bodies, or what.

- Godzilla using his atomic breath to dig a hole STRAIGHT TO KONG just to KICK HIS ASS is hilarious. How lucky that Hong Kong just HAPPENS to be straight over Kong’s house! Were all the tunnels to the hollow earth made by pissed off Godzillas who wanted to kick monkey ass??

- I loved the aesthetic of the battle scene in Hong Kong, with the brightly colored neon building outlines, VERY cool look. The choreography of the battle scene was great too, especially

- we literally broke into applause when Kong shoved the axe handle in Godzilla’s mouth. Love it, perfect callback, that was the ONE thing from the original King Kong Vs Godzilla I was hoping to see referenced and there it was.

- You could really see a difference in how Kong and Godzilla fought—Kong doing a better job at using tools and the environment, Godzilla fighting more like a reptile. They seemed to emphasize Godzilla’s more animalistic behaviors in this movie to accomplish that contrast—he was down on all fours and moving like a crocodile more often, he was clawing at Kong’s chest—but even though it seemed a bit different of a combat technique it also didn’t seem out of place compared to how he fought in prior movies. And we’ve already seen that if Godzilla’s involved in a fight and one of the combatants knows how to use the environment, it’s typically not gonna be Godzilla. (See: Ghidorah using the reflection in a building’s windows to see what’s behind him, and recognizing a nearby power source and biting it to juice himself up.)

- So many of Godzilla’s enemies seem to have specialized in negating his atomic breath in order to combat him! The MUTOs directly suppress his ability to use it—and it makes sense that that’s an inborn ability they have, since they evolved to use Godzilla’s species as prey. Kong has a weapon that both acts as a shield to absorb the breath and turn it back against Godzilla’s species—they didn’t evolve to counter Godzilla, but they developed tools once a rivalry happened. Ghidorah’s the exception—which makes sense, since he came from space—but even at that we see him using tactics specifically to take into account Godzilla’s most powerful weapon (such as keeping one head on lookout for when he starts glowing so that they know when they need to dodge).

- LOVED the reveal that MechaG was based off of Ghidorah’s brain, it has vibes of both the Kiryu Saga and the way that Heisei MechaG is based off of Mecha-King Ghidorah. Not the most surprising plot twist, since we’d theorized that they might use San to make MechaG, but I wasn’t 100% sure they were gonna go with it until they finally did. Even when I was going “huh, the mecha pilot’s chamber looks weirdly organic” I didn’t make the connection to WHY until the reveal, lol.

- “Ghidorah’s necks are so long that the heads have to communicate with each other telepathically” that’s COMPLETELY WILD but I love it, it follows very well from their prior portrayal as telepathic empaths in Heisei, it lines up with their emphasis on electricity (because BRAINWAVES AND ELECTRICITY, hey ho movie monster pseudo science!), and it very much compliments my own private headcanon that they’ve got some psychic/mind control abilities.

- The movie ended with both “Godzilla won, technically” but also “since they teamed up as equals, the ending doesn’t FEEL like ‘Godzilla wins, Kong loses’ but rather ‘they both won against a common foe’” and since I’m on both Team Godzilla and Team They Should Be Friends, I’m happy with this outcome. Plus since the last time they fought, the Japanese movie company graciously let the American monster win, so it’s only polite that the American movie company graciously let the Japanese monster win.

- There were just a few too many humans in this movie. I was intrigued by Ren but we didn’t get much out of him, but like I guess somebody had to be in the pilot’s seat other than the Apex CEO. Didn’t care for the author of the hollow earth book, I feel like his role was superfluous. Didn’t need the Apex CEO’s daughter there at all, coulda done without her. How about this, combine all three roles. Instead of having a whole-ass author who knows about the hollow earth, just casually reference that Rick from KOTM wrote a book about it since he was the expert, and (since he wasn’t in this movie) say that he tragically died going to explore the hollow earth himself, and that way we’ve got the book with the “titans are from there” theory AND an excuse to share the “humans die when they go underground” info. Now, have Ren be working for Apex as a pilot for Mechagodzilla, but have him be MechaG’s pilot because he’s also a good pilot in general, and can fly those HEAV things. Have Apex send him to Monarch to be like “hey, you guys trust me right, since I’m Ishiro Serizawa’s relative? We at Apex have heard all about your failed hollow earth expedition, and due to Ishiro I’ve got some past ties to Monarch so I’ve got high clearance with y’all, so I could bring over this useful Apex tech that’d let you go underground and use what I know about hollow earth from my past time at Monarch to help guide things.” Once they’ve got the little chunk of energy stuff and go topside, he hustles it straight to Apex and straps into his seat to run MechaG. Bam, you’ve combined “person who knows enough about hollow earth to help the expedition,” “person who represents Apex’s interests and gets the energy,” and “person who pilots MechaG” into one character, in a way that takes three flat/underdeveloped characters and turns them into a single interesting character with a lot going on and some intriguing ties to the rest of the cast.

I think that’s everything?? Hoo.

Adapt or Die (Prologue)

A/N: This is a new series I’m trying out. If it’s a go then yay! If not--Well, I’ll let it fade away into nothingness then, I guess... :(

Summary/Blurb Here

SO, the main character/reader was essentially inspired by Darwin from the Marvel comics/X-men. However, I will be adapting (HAHA adapting, get it? That was totally by accident I swear) the abilities and back story to fit what I’m writing; so, die-hard Darwin fans, please know I’m not trying to misportray (is that even a word? Eh, I don’t care. I think y’all know what I mean) the original character, but I simply wanted to draw from the bomb-ass root idea of what he can do. 

For those of you who don’t know who Darwin is, here’s a quick blurb from Wikipedia on what his abilities are:

Darwin has the power of "reactive evolution"; i.e., his body automatically adapts to any situation or environment he is placed in, allowing him to survive possibly anything; the exact nature and limits of his powers have not been revealed.

Examples of his powers include: gaining night-vision after a few seconds in the dark; functional gills after being submerged in water; fire-proof skin after being exposed to flame; increasing his own intelligence; converting his body into pure energy; no longer requiring oxygen after being sucked into space; morphing into a sponge when shot at with a weapon designed to destroy the subject's nervous system; and acquiring comprehension of the Shi'ar language merely by looking at written samples. His power may concern itself with more efficient methods of survival than Darwin himself might choose; for example, instead of continually increasing Darwin's powers when taking punishment from the Hulk, his body simply teleported him away from the fight.

His power can also work when dealing with non-immediately-life-threatening situations, such as rendering it impossible for Darwin to get drunk by allowing his body to process alcohol faster than humans would normally.

It’s pretty fucking cool, right? Let me know what you think. By the way, this part is pretty short because it’s the prologue, but I expect the other parts to be longer. 

Oh! I almost forgot: the reader is desi :) Thanks to @parkerpeter24​, who wrote an awesome Peter Parker imagine here for Holi, I felt inspired to post this WIP. 

I realize that makes the writing not truly an all-inclusive one, but I thought it would be cool to bring this aspect in. Obviously, you don’t have to be desi to read it and the whole thing won’t be about being desi. Just a little background I felt like adding to the character. If you absolutely hate it... then maybe don’t read it? :) please and thank you.

Anyways! Sorry for the rambling. Enjoy and thanks for reading if you’re still here <3

Warnings: There’s for sure going to be some swearing in this series :) Also, It’s gonna be a little steamy ;-; But it’s not revolved around smut and probably won’t be all that graphic. Probably. No promises O.O Only implied sexual happenings and for once, no swear words in this part.

Words: .957 k

ON WITH IT:

You blink your eyes against the startling light that is pouring through the thin curtains. Surprised that it’s morning, you sit up quickly, looking to your side to see no one there.

Ok, so that’s two surprises in the first ten seconds of the day. We’re off to a great start today, Y/N.

You sigh, brushing your hands through your unruly turquoise hair and swinging your legs out of the bed. You slip on your jeans and look around for your shirt. The black lacy thing you had worn the night before is laying over a lamp and you quickly shuffle over to it. Your eyes flick down to the nightstand and see a flip phone. Confused, you pick it up, opening it to see a single message from a private number.

We’ll be in touch.

Your stomach drops and you hastily pull your shirt over your head and clear the hotel room. Your better judgement tells you to get rid of the phone. Toss it in a river. Run over it. Throw it into a passing car.

For some reason, against that better judgement, you tuck it into your pocket and check out of the hotel.

You remember the previous night perfectly; the alcohol that had done absolutely nothing to dull your acute senses.

                                                                ~

You slam the shot back down on the bar counter, not even wrinkling your nose at the sharp taste of tequila that should have burned your throat.

The bartender gives you a look of obvious judgement. Next thing you know, he’s asking for your keys.

“I don’t have ’em. I walked here,” you lie.

“Wasn’t that you on the motorcycle?” There’s a smooth voice behind you and you turn to see a woman with fiery hair and an enticing smile.

“No.” You reply shortly.

She shrugs. “Hmm. I could have sworn…You know,k I always did have a thing for a woman on a motorcycle.”

She approaches the bar beside you and asks the bartender for some sort of fruity concoction.

She has an accent. Italian, maybe. It’s obviously fake. She’s doing a helluva good job of over-enunciating every single word an Italian would. However, no Italian who’s lived in London for more than a week would continue to cling to those pronunciations. So, you decide she’s either a tourist or a spy.

When you smell metal—vibranium—on her, but don’t see it, given it’s probably hidden underneath her tight-fitting clothes, you decide it’s the latter.

“Do you ride?” You asked her.

“Motorcycles? Nah. I just hang on to the one riding,” She flirts.

You finger the rim of your drink. You can hear someone speaking to her through her earpiece.

“You got her, Natasha. Close in.”

“Y/N.” You stick your hand out, unafraid.

Natasha takes it immediately, giving you a firm shake and lingering on your ring a little too long.

“Sienna.”

You can’t help but giggle out loud. Wow. She had to choose the most cliché Italian name to ever exist. You covered your outburst with a cough. “Beautiful,” you complimented her fake name.

“Classic.” She shrugged. “So, what’s a gal like you doing in a bar like this?” She asked, gesturing to how run down the area was. The bartender gave her an incredulous look, but even he probably knew the kind of reputation the place had. You had to admit that it was unkempt and clearly not maintained--not to mention the types of sleazes that seemed to frequent it.

“I could ask you the same.”

“Deflect,” said the voice in the earpiece. You furrowed your brows slightly; you could usually judge by the timbre of the voice what a person’s age was, but this one stumped you. The inflections were outdated for sure, but the man spoke like velvet, far too young to be using that old-time Brooklyn accent.

“You first,” Natasha pushed.

Shrugging, you replied, “It’s more low-key, don’t you think? Wouldn’t want to run into anyone I know when I’m clearly trying to escape the real world right now.”

The bartender slid over her drink in a cocktail glass and Natasha took hold of it, taking a sip and staining the edge of the glass a deep burgundy. “And what exactly has the real world done this time?” She asked.

You smacked your lips thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s more about what the real world hasn’t done this time. Or maybe about what it did the other time.”

“Oh,” Natasha said simply.

“Can you get her somewhere alone, Nat?” The wannabe 40s Brooklyn man in the ear piece asked.

You smiled, showing your teeth. “How would you feel about helping me escape the real world a little bit more, Sienna?”

She moved closer, brushing your elbow. “Y/N, are you suggesting we get out of here?”

You were a couple of inches taller than her and you leaned over, close enough that locks of your ocean hair brushed her forehead. “What I’m suggesting is that I know a hotel with nice sheets not too far from here.”

Natasha smirked. “Nice work, Romanoff.” 

Romanoff? Sounds more Russian than Italian, you thought.

                                                               ~

It wasn’t the first time that somebody had attempted to con you, be it for information or for money. You didn’t mind the game. So, you let it happen. Undeniably, you enjoyed the spy’s touch and the numbing feel of her pillowy lips on yours. 

However, you did not expect to fall asleep. That had never happened before. Your body didn’t do that. Your body never failed to do something that would strengthen you. You had never, not once, fallen asleep in the presence of another.

That scared you.

You had been careless.

You straightened your shoulders as you walked out onto the streets of Southwest London. No big deal, you just had to be a bit more careful now.

я иду за тобой Natasha Romanoff.

A/N: я иду за тобой = I’m coming for you (Russian) 

(I used google translate, which is probably wrong; so, if anyone catches a mistake in that, please let me know, and I will change it :) )

*PSST*: Isn’t Natasha so fucking stunning in that picture on my sucky ass moodboard? Those eyes? That barely there smile? I’m melting. 

718

If you lived in Bikini Bottom, would you befriend Spongebob or Plankton? Obviously Spongebob. I’m there to have a good time and catch jellyfish, not eat holographic meatloaf and make it my life’s goal to steal a secret formula. Do you have any bananas in your house right now? I think we still have some left. My dad bought a pack? a group? a bunch? of them so he can make banana cue and turon for my mom and sister while we’re all stuck at home for the meantime. Which overrated tattoo are you sick of seeing? Eh I don’t judge this easily since I assume tattoos mean a lot to people but where I’m from, line tattoos are pretty overused. They DO look nice and I get why they’ve been trending for a while, but yeah they’re evvvvvverywhere. Is it easy to distract you? Yes haha I have a rather quick attention span. Do you prefer to drink from glasses or mugs? Depends on the drink. I drink my water from a glass but I prefer my coffee in a mug, that sort of thing.

What was the last thing you taught a younger kid? I don’t feel confident teaching kids just yet, huhu. It usually works the other way around: when I’m with kids, they teach me how to play their toys or whatever game they’re playing on their parents’ phone/iPad. Are the clocks in your house mostly digital or analog? We only have one analog clock. We mostly tell the time from our phones. How long have you had your television(s)? Answered this before but we have two TVs that are 12 years old and two others that were bought within the last decade. Do you like watching movies made with CGI or do you prefer hand-drawn ones? I don’t care. As long as the end product is done well I can enjoy the movie. Where did your parents buy their car(s)? I know for sure the two family cars were bought directly from the official dealers. I think mine was a secondhand one. Do you know why your grandparents chose your mother's name? No. I think they just liked the name. That makes me want to ask my grandma though. What is your favourite kind of soup? Miso is the only one I really like. Have you ever made your own musical instrument? Nope. What do you think of Leighton Meester's singing voice? I only know one song of hers and I reeeeeally loved that when it came out, but I don’t think it’s enough for me to have an opinion for her music altogether. I definitely don’t hate her voice though. Do you think you'd do well at teaching the English language to a foreigner? Yeah, it’s my other everyday language and I’m a little bit more fluent in it than I am in Filipino. How long have your neighbours lived there? About the same time as us, I think. We all moved in at sort of the same time when the village was newly developed. Is it weird to hear your name in movies or TV shows? It’s not a very common name so it does feel a bit weird to hear, yes. It’s weirder if I have to refer to the character in third person cause I never liked saying my own name :/ Why do so many people seem to hate the Jonas Brothers? Am assuming this refers to the Jonas Brothers pre-reunion because I’m sure no one hates them and their new music now lmao. I think, simply put, it was because they were teenagers then, and pre-teen and teenage girls was their main fanbase? Most people liked to shit on that category of celebrities, even today – case in point, Justin Bieber, 5SOS, One Direction haha. What is a store you like that is exclusive to your country? Fully Booked! It’s the most complete, up-to-date, and chic bookstore brand we have. The Fully Booked branch in BGC in particular is a partnership with Starbucks, so you can immediately walk over there to get a coffee and read after buying a book heh. If you attend school, what time do you usually get home after? I always have extracurriculars like org stuff, meetings, or fieldwork after my academic schedule so more often than not I’ll get home by 9 or 10 PM, which leaves me feeling exhausted as fuck at the end of the day. When was the last time you really needed to just let loose? Like two weeks ago? I was bored out of my mind being stuck at home so I chugged a lot of soju that I asked my dad to buy so I can at least be drunk while being bored lol. Have you ever been blackmailed? Kinda. There was a time when I didn’t talk to my sister and didn’t really feel well enough to reconcile with her yet, but my mom threatened to go to our class guidance counselor and expose me and ‘the kind of older sister I am’ if I didn’t make amends with my sister immediately.

This might sound sarcastic but thanks, survey, for reminding me what kind of mom my mother actually was during the years that were the most critical to my development lmao. I always need reminders like this because despite how our relationship has ‘improved’ now that I’m older, I shouldn’t forget the trauma she caused me and the fact that I had always planned to detach myself from her as much as possible once I’m fully independent. I can’t disappoint my younger self by keeping her in my life as if nothing happened.

Do you suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome? No. I keep forgetting what that means. Would you rather have novels based on your life or a series of comic books? Novels, so I’d be more interested to read it. Have you written a resume before, either for yourself or someone else? I did a resumé when I applied for my internship. Did you know that they plan on releasing a movie based on The Smurfs? This survey is sooooooo old hah they’ve made a bunch of films on it already. Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live underwater? Not really. Mostly I’ve just wondered what it would be like to be a creature from the deep sea, where it’s totally dark and most of the animals there look prehistoric as fuck lol. Have you ever worked in a bakery? If not, would you like to? No but this question reminded me of Harry Styles, aw :’) ANYWAY if I did I’d probably take up a job in the office, since I can neither bake nor deal with people on a regular basis even if one argues that bakeries aren’t really particular spots for angry Karens or Barbaras. What is your favourite thing about snow? I like that we don’t get them because it’s bound to make my first encounter with snow in the future magical as fuck. Is there a big personality difference between you and your sibling(s)? Yeah. I tend to adapt to new environments way better than they do and I’m definitely the most extroverted of the three in all aspects.  Do you enjoy decorating things with stickers? Hahahah yes, it’s an uncontrollable urge. I keep my stickers to just my laptop case these days, but back then I used to put stickers on my phone case, my ID case, clipboard, wallet, etc. Did you lose anything recently? Did you end up finding it? I lose my hair tie every now and then; my hair’s a bit short for a ponytail now so my hair tie gradually slips out my hair with me barely noticing it, so it always ends up in random places around the house. I do end up finding it after a while but it gets frustrating whenever I realize it had fallen off again. What colour oven mitts do you have? We don’t really use the oven so we barely use the ones we have. I don’t even know the color of it.

Why do you/don't you watch award shows? Because there are sooo many commercials in the middle of it, some presenters are awkward as fuck and I’d rather save myself from the secondhand cringe, and most of the time the choices for the winners are undeserving and end up pissing everyone off. It’s always easier to just wait a few hours and check the results on Google; and besides, the only fun parts are seeing what everyone is wearing and who attends to begin with hah. What do you think of Ellen DeGeneres as the new judge on American Idol? God this was a lifetime ago. I think I mostly didn’t mind it but I never did get over the replacement of the OGs Randy, Simon, and Paula. Do you ever do the exercises featured in some magazines? No. Have you ever watched What The Buck? What do you think of it? I don’t think I’ve heard of that. How long ago did you switch from cable to satellite, if you did? We didn’t make a ‘switch,’ per se. We had cable in our old home but when we moved to our current house in 2008, having extra channels wasn’t really the priority as moving already entailed a whole lot of expenses to begin with. That meant we only had free TV for a while which was extremely fucking boring, but eventually my dad got us satellite in like 2011 or 2012. When was the last time you partnered up with someone to complete something? I decided to partner up with Andrew for my undergraduate thesis in like August last year. Do you consider Lady GaGa's appearance artistic, or just plain weird? Artistic. What do you usually do when you have trouble sleeping? I put a lengthy YouTube video on so I can fall asleep to the background noise. At least that’s what I do these days - I always thought I needed complete silence to fall asleep, but apparently that’s not the absolute case. What was the last thing you used scissors for? I opened a sachet of 3-in-1 coffee.

Have you ever used some kind of food as a facial mask? Nah I always just use Korean sheet masks. How many USB cords do you have lying around? I personally don’t have any but I do have a hard drive. Are you satisfied with your social life (or lack thereof)? I’m very satisfied with it and I’m glad I got to open up in college. Do you know anybody whose initials spell something? Sure. What is your favourite flavour of Kool-Aid? I’ve never had Kool-Aid. Is there a specific food you think NEEDS to be at Christmas dinner? My grandma’s steak. Would you be able to re-string a guitar? I wouldn’t even know where to buy guitar strings. What TV show do you just assume you wouldn't like? How I Met Your Mother, just because their fans love to make fun of and compare their oh-so-great show to Friends so much when I’ve never seen a single Friends fan make fun of HIMYM like ????? Why the one-sided, unsolicited hate??? I was always planning to watch the show and appreciate Friends and HIMYM at the same time but because the fans are so pathetic I just stopped wanting to watch it altogether. Do your friends have more money than you? Seems unfair to pit ourselves against one another when we’re all still depending on our parents’ money lmao. Who always has the power to make you feel intimidated? Ate Frances has always had a very strong personality. Do you have more bread or cheese in your house? Bread. What was the last movie trailer you saw? Not sure. I don’t really like trailers since most of them give away too much of the plots already. Did you purchase any meat product when you were at the store last? My dad did. Have you ever been told that you have chubby cheeks? Well I don’t, so no I’m not usually told this lol. Do you know how to properly use a saw? Nope. Isn't it a shame that what Kanye West did at the VMA's overshadowed what was supposed to be a night dedicated to Michael Jackson? Hahahaha not really, I found it hilarious and so so stupid. There were a billion other tributes to MJ that year that went smoothly so it doesn’t really matter to me if the 2009 VMAs will always be known as the Imma-let-you-finish VMAs.

5am long personal vent

dont interact with this

note: this post mentions endeavor a lot.

context (very important!): I pretty much binge-read an entire tumblr user’s meta posts and I found them interesting and very informative. 

I also read through their salt tag and now I’m compelled to gather my thoughts together considering the literal title I’ve held for months now is “Hawks is a lov member already”. I’m extremely socially awkward, even on this online platform, so I’m not going to mention the aforementioned tumblr user’s name because I’m too anxiety-ridden to try to contact them. This is in no way shape or form an attack on the person’s opinions nor their character. It’s me... rambling about my thoughts about their opinions at 4 am. 

Is it defending myself? Well, not really, because I don’t feel personally attacked. Just because we have a difference of opinion doesn’t mean we have to resort to attacking each other. I found their opinions thought-provoking and wanted to pick my own brain... I picked this time purposely so nobody would see this post :eyes: so like uhm yeah

note 2: “you” refers to unnamed tumblr user. sorry about weird point of view...

anyways let’s get into the meat 

villain hawks

yay or... nay...?

Well, in fanon it would be such a fun idea to play around with. Personally I think there’s potential for League of Villain interactions with Hawks. I would LOVE to see Hawks interacting with the other pro heroes, but the only pro-to-pro interaction we get with Hawks is between Hawks and Endeavor. Because the atmosphere between the pro-heroes feels... disconnected.

Now, hear me out.

Let’s contrast it with the idealized version of hero society provided in future fics. Or hell, comparing the top ten pro heroes to Class 1-A itself. We want to think all the heroes are friendly with each other and have some sort of camaraderie with each other

But Horikoshi doesn’t present it like that. 

The closest thing to that we get is Endeavor and Hawks. Other than that, the atmosphere between hawks and the other heroes seem more strained or tense (the whole miruko hawks thing is fanon). And even then, it’s... well... Endeavor and Hawks don’t truly know each other. Hawks only knows the public perception and image of Endeavor, which is the only thing he’s been given while Endeavor doesn’t truly knows Hawks either. I’m not saying the interactions are fake, but... would Hawks be acting the way he was if he knew about Endeavor’s past?

No. I don’t have any predictor to how differently Hawks would act, but I definitely sense there’d be a lot of disappointment and loss of respect for the man he was rooting for. To what extent? Would Hawks just be in complete disbelief? Or would he react with immediate anger? There are parallels to Hawks and Todoroki Rei--both were picked from the crowd and had their lives controlled because of their “value” determined by Endeavor/The Hero Commission respectively.

But honestly from an objective standpoint, I have nothing to go off of other than the fact that Hawks deeply respects and idolizes Endeavor the most out of anyone in the manga we’ve seen and the fallout of that would be of an equally shattering magnitude...

Ahh i went off on a tangent. the point is... do we really know Hawks? Does Hawks ever get a chance to just.. be himself? Maybe we see a bit of that shine when he’s alone with Endeavor, but as we saw clearly in chapter 186 he puts on a care-free facade for his fans. But in reality... he’s always working because he’s one of the hero commission’s greatest assets. 

and... here’s where our opinions clash. I truly, in the depths of my heart, believe that Hawks is building a reality where heroes have more free time comes from a more selfish desire for himself. Don’t get me wrong--I don’t want to disservice what Hawks has done for society. But also it feels like he’s the type who overworks himself because he feels moral obligation to society when... technically he doesn’t owe anything to society. 

Yes, in superhero shows and whatnot, it’s usually a positive trait that “hey this person’s been born with an amazing power and they’ve chosen to use it for the greater good! Look what they’re sacrificing!!!” But let’s say theoretically that person decides “hey i don’t want to be a hero i just want to be a writer!” Are they morally wrong for deciding not to be a hero even though they would theoretically be good at it? Even though it’s not something they want for themselves?

Because I don’t think Hawks wants to be a hero. But he also doesn’t want people to die. He’s tied himself with these moral obligations to the point where he can’t leave now because he feels it would be selfish of him to. And that is speculation, but Horikoshi isn’t exactly spelling it out for us! So, that’s how I interpret Hawks’ character. Yes, he is a true hero in that he wants to save as many people as he can, even at the cost of his pride his dignity his fucking freedom...

but also, he never wished for that. he never asked to be one who has to deal with all of this. But now that he is, what choice does he have? 

So, yes, we agree on that. But I also feel that his personal desire plays as big of a part. Because we, as humans, naturally want things for ourselves. Our personal desire for ourselves shouldn’t be downplayed at all! That’s why I believe his inner thoughts are worded “more free time” rather than “make society more safe”. Because he has his priorities! He wants the best of both worlds-- it’s a form of negotiation. He can still play the hero and less lives would be taken but he can also having some breathing room for himself like he’s always wanted.

To free himself just a little bit from the stressful life of being a hero. 

There is nothing wrong with being motivated by personal desires. Hawks is one of the most grounded heroes we’ve seen--I think he’s cynical enough that he’s self aware of this selfish desire for a freer life. And it’s selfish to him only because he knows that it would never happen without the expense of a few lives-- lives that he knew he would never forgive himself for letting slip.

I think it’s a toxic mindset.

Because as heroic as placing others above yourself... that attitude is completely unhealthy and I don’t think it should be celebrated. What I want to see from Hawks’ natural progression as a character is recognizing that it’s okay to prioritize yourself. Hell, Midoriya learned this during the summer training arc and failed to retain that lesson during the Overhaul arc! THESE HEROES DON’T TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES!!! (ok i get midoriya’s trying). 

And if it’s selfish to desire more free time for yourself off from work, is it really that wrong of someone to do so? To want more control over your life? To want to do things you want to do rather than what others want you to do?

What does this have to do with villain Hawks? Well, I think a large desire for villain hawks is because it shows the departure of that mindset! Hawks doesn’t need to be confined to his hero persona anymore, he can finally do things he wants to do and be the free bird he’s always wanted to be.

But him becoming a complete villain is... far-fetched. This myself I recognize. I’ve only written villain!hawks once and that was because he snapped after the hero commission executed shigaraki and dabi as a show of power rather than going through the effort of trying to re-integrate the men back into hero society. I don’t want to go too deep because this isn’t the point I’m trying to make, but Hawks realizes how power-obsessed society is to the point where he doubts the legitimacy of the hero commission itself and what they do for society and its people.

But, again, that’s not going to ever happen in canon so I won’t bring it up another time. The point I was trying to make is yeah, you’re right that Hawks would never become a villain. He wouldn’t become a murderer- if he does, he definitely needs more incentive than what we can go off from canon.

And ohhh boy here we go, reaching the erm elephant in the room.

(These are the points made in the salt tag btw)

Is Villain!Hawks just an excuse to write hotwings? And what is the plausibility of Hawks turning to villainy? Would Endeavor being exposed as a child abuser be the trigger if Hawks were to turn villain at some point in the story?

Eh...

I don’t know if I even want to go into the whole “this is just an excuse to make hawks and dabi evil boyfriends” because I’ve never used villain!hawks as justification for that personally. And I’m actually not as attached to hotwings as I am to something like shigahawks... I don’t have any points to counteract this other than my desire to see Hawks interact with the entire league. Because it would be fun to see him interact in an environment he’s not wholly familiar with. With Endeavor or the other heroes or even the hero commission, he has some semblance of control or understanding so he thinks/acts like he knows what’s going on. 

Meanwhile, the League is a huge mess and they don’t have their shit together and wouldn’t it be funny to see Hawks as a part of their crew suffering with them!!! Well, that’s bias. My bias. For fanon. And for the jokes. So sad :(

So... I don’t just want to see more Dabi and Hawks interaction. I want to see more Hawks and League interaction. or just more hawks and anyone interactions overall. maybe thats all i crave

Actually going through the points one by one, let’s talk plausibility.

I already talked about villain!hawks being a... departure from Hawks’ faults in his own character. But it is pretty extreme, I’ll admit. If Hawks were ever to join the League of Villains, he’d probably never use killing as first resort. As we’ve seen in chapter 220, it’s not like the League targets only heroes... but i get the salt tag was made like 5 months ago so it’s not like new information hasn’t been released at the time of posting.

Reminds me of domestichobgoblins’ shigadabihawks fic where shigaraki even acknowledges “Whatever bullshit you’ve been telling Dabi, you aren’t a killer either, are you? So what, exactly, am I supposed to do with you?” And you know? The both are you are right. Hawks isn’t a killer and he wouldn’t become a killer willingly... unless he was pushed by some other greater force but I’m not here to address any of that. He could still provide support to the league in other ways, arguably, or just joining the league could be some kind of message to the heroes or supporters of hero society.

You are right to a degree. Hawks’ sole motivator to become a villain wouldn’t be because “OH ENDEAVOR IS AN ABUSER GUESS I GOTTA TURN EVIL NOW”.

Okay pushing past that, so why would Hawks be motivated to become a villain? In canon? I’ve already warped a lot of this post with my own fanon but I’m trying to keep within the realm of canon for this point specifically since you could take a second to push Hawks over the edge in fanon and be done with it. But why would Horikoshi specificially do it?

The fact is hero society sucks. A lot. And I think Hawks recognizes that fact being the most “grounded” and cynical of the bunch. His views and visions of hero society aren’t warped by fantasies and such (which is probably why he doesn’t like All Might...) so he understands what’s happening around him. He understands the mechanisms of hero society and how “valuable” quirks are viewed as in their capitalist society.

But also, he doesn’t  have that much of an option other than trying to lessen the burden placed upon him. Because he’s a single man, and even with his influence, he can’t change society. He’s powerless to do so, even considering who he is. He’s seen as a role model to those in society, but it’s because of his ranking that ironically fuels why people even look up to him: denouncing that would be kind of silly considering it’s the reason why people would listen in the first place.

And this is the point where I say... Shigaraki had a point. Hero society is flawed. It shouldn’t be so reliant on one person to carry it all.

But also hero society itself is bullshit. The ranking system? Horrible. The fact that the hero commission views them as tools for their own disposal? Horrible. The mere fact they basically bribe Hawks into becoming a hero? Like? “Hey kid you’re the best at being a hero so that’s what you should do. we’re only going to give you financial support if you become a hero so you might as well” like what is Hawks supposed to do in that sort of situation? Of course he’s going to succumb to the pressure.

I don’t believe in this whole “sacrifice for the greater good” bullshit. If Hawks wants to be a hero, that’s a whole another story, but if Hawks doesn’t, then he shouldn’t have been forced into that role. It’s about agency--it’s about letting him decide for himself if it’s what he wants to do. And it’s... a gray area for morality. “It’d be selfish for him to let people die!” Who is in the right to say whether or not he should use his “powers” for others’ sake? Me? You? The Hero commission?

So if Horikoshi goes down the path of “hey hero society is extremely bad and needs to change” and Hawks recognizes the League as a proponent for that change, then with a lot of development, it’s plausible in the future. I understand that Hawks, as of what we currently see, is too upheld by his own morals to ever even think about crossing that line, but people change. Hell, you recognized how the High End arc changed Endeavor and made miles of metas about it.

So, is it really far-fetched to say villain!Hawks is just a dream?

Maybe I’m a fool or an optimist, but I’d love to see Horikoshi take that path. Not because I’m horny for evil boyfriends, but it’d be a nice change of pace and we’d get to see a complete contrast of Hawks’ experiences. And it wouldn’t be easy-it’d had to be done right. Just like Endeavor’s redemption arc--if Horikoshi is still planning it. (Let’s be honest: High End Arc was not a formal redemption. I think it was Horikoshi letting the readers know “there might be something worth saving in Endeavor!” but i digress because i don’t care enough about endeavor (his character and redemption has 0 appeal to me and thats FINE. YOU DO YOU AND I DO ME, I only talk about him when it’s essential to talk about the influence he has on characters I DO care about).

As to why people like to characterize the moment Hawks decides to quit being a villain being attributed to Hawks learning Endeavor is an abuser...

The fallout, as mentioned earlier, could vary. A lot. Hawks really looked up to Endeavor when he was young. Again, shattering to find out something so nasty about the one you idolized.

To know that the one Hawks looked up used his wife just like how the hero commission used Hawks. Like an object or tool at their disposal. 

Would he be vengeful or spiteful towards Endeavor personally? To others, probably yes. To me? I’m kind of in the “eh” skeptical ballpark so I guess we somewhat agree on that. To me, Endeavor being exposed as an abuser would  crush that small slither of childish hope that hero society represents something bigger than themselves. Did Hawks ever get to have the childhood Deku had where he was still cheering on the heroes from behind the screen, or did it get crushed just as quickly when he realized how hero society truly works?

Because hero society isn’t bigger than themselves. It shouldn’t be idolized so heavily as it is presented in BNHA.

At least, not in its current state. And people who don’t fit in that group or agree with its ideals suffer the consequences. Like Shigaraki. Like Twice and Spinner. Like Gentle.

These are all villains that are products of society that promised to stamp out villains. And when Hawks realizes that it’s just a never ending cycle where the people left in between the cracks are the ones who perpetuate the system itself...

Like you said, Hawks sees the bigger picture. And his goal is to lessen the burden of the workload for heroes. There will never be a shortage of everyday criminals using their quirks for petty crimes but what about the bigger picture organizations? How are they going to be stopped? What about examining the root core of the problem and going from there? No more short-term solutions to problems... What can Hawks, mighty number two hero, do even at the expense of himself? Hmm... 

I don’t know, just some food for thought. Something I’ve seen done for villain!hawks is the hero commission throwing Hawks under the bus for some reason and Hawks either a) joins the league to gleam more information but finds himself willing to stay or b) has nowhere else to go and it’s more of a push for Hawks to orbit towards the League.

I am really thankful for your thoughts! Even though we don’t agree on things, I think discussion is still possible (whenever my anxiety stops bashing me in the head) and I’m always willing to accept I may be wrong about something. At this point in time (3/27/2019), we have less than 10 chapters released that centers around Hawks, but he’s certainly intrigued a lot of people considering he’s already #4 in popularity from so little chapters released! I think he and his introduction to BNHA represent the more cynical side of hero society that we haven’t been able to properly see from Deku’s perspective!

And I’m interested in what direction Horikoshi is going to take Hawks’ character in! The one thing I’m truly against is Hawks staying the “good little hero” in the end--whether he dies, becomes a villain, or hell even just stops being a hero is good enough for me. Free the bird or kill him off is what I’d want to see. That’d be enough of a character arc for me. Characters change, and it’d be silly to expect Hawks to stay the same especially since he has a lot of baggage on his shoulders and his current situation as a double agent for the League is precarious--despite him stating that he was willing to sacrifice his own reputation for the good of everyone, there’s no guarantee that he wouldn’t feel at least some degree of hurt over losing the respect of everyone and his colleagues. 

My thoughts are pretty clunky but maybe someone was able to gleam something from my stupid 5 am vent...

I love Dabihawks, even though I’m not as invested in it as say Shigahawks or ShigaDabiHawks (which I’m sure you’d definitely have objections to considering your other salt posts... but not something I want to address here), and I still think DabiHawks is a great ship more so because of the dynamic than the aesthetic. But hey, you ship what you ship, you are allowed to express your disdain for the ship--I’ve certainly expressed my own disdain for the your ship in the past--and your salt posts which probably took like 10 minutes to type out provoked me to type out my own thoughts which took like 2 hours to fully process. Like I said earlier: you do you, I do me.

And again-- I’m not trying to “defend” here nor am I trying to “attack”. I just had things I wanted to say and I hope I DON’T have the attitude of someone looking down on you, because I think you have very valid opinions and thoughts and sometimes discourse can just be healthy discussions about how we interpret different characters. We are literally squeezing everything we can out of one character we love and there’s enough room for different interpretations of the same character ^^ If anything, I actually look up to you, which is why I’m too much of a coward to send this to you because oh my god i am so embarrassed about a lot of the shit that comes out of my mouth and i constantly worry about if im saying wrong things even though im open to people telling me why  im wrong about said things. 

tdlr; villains hawks very good. has nothing to do with dabihawks. villain hawks very good on its own. I agree with tumblr user on a lot of things, yet we see differently on other things. The world keeps spinning--I think it’s more interesting to address differences in opinions rather than ignore them. 

(the person this post was meant for will probably never see this unless i send it to them to whcih im like oh my god what if they roast me to hell and back despite me claiming yes i amn ot trying to destroy them or their reputation i just want to talk about this because i had fun trying to think about why i love villain hawks so much aaaaa maybe i am just a delusional fangirl but im also a delusional fangirl who wrote multiple paragraphs about this so... /shrug)

end. again please dont interact. if you want to talk to me about it, inbox/dm me but i dont want this post to get notes. thank you. hides what have I done... 

this has been sorta meta but not really just chicken fucking around at 6 am and good night. maybe sometime in the next... month... ill have the courage to send this to the tumblr user. maybe when i have confidence... or maybe when i make mel look this over. that was a joke- she couldnt even finish my other meta piece which was shorter than this. :)

I want you with me --- 2

best friend! roommate! Tom x reader

SERIES MASTERLIST

word: 1317

Summary: The one where someone realizes what they need to do

A/N: Yeah so, I’ve very into the concept of writing flashbacks and present-day story simultaneously, and have one interrupt the other, can you tell?

Song: Delicate, Taylor Swift

Lyrics: Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that your in my head? ‘cause I know that its delicate.

(Y/N)'s relationship with Tom was, unconventional to say the least. The two of them lived together and has since two months after they had first met, and that was a little weird in the societal norms of the genders kind of way. Their relationship did not have a lot of boundaries, to say the least. Sometimes (Y/N) would come home from a long day of work and be so tired that she just laid down on the couch to fall asleep, and on those days if he was some she would fall asleep on Tom. She would fall asleep and he would run his hands through her hair, or put a blanket on her,  or slowly rub her back if she wined or couldn't get comfortable. And she would know that he did that, and not think anything of it, because that's the kind of relationship that they had. Although sometimes, she would come home and not be so tired and she would start kissing him, and that would lead places.

Most people who knew them found it at least a little bit weird but it was all a part of their deal. Fulfill the girlfriend/boyfriend roll without any actual feelings involved. That was the rule, no extra feelings involved. Both of them liked each other, but just as friends. Only lately, (Y/N)'s feelings had begun to grow for Tom. She worried about this, she worried about ruining her friendship with him and upsetting the delicate balance the two of them had. All of which came to a head one day when she came home from work.

She sat down on the couch and huffed, loudly. Leaning into the cushions and getting ready to shed her shoes when suddenly she felt something close to her. Tom was kissing her, slowly, and she let out another huff. "Tom..I'm tired." When really she wasn't, she hoped that he hadn't noticed but she had been taking steps back from him, for her own good so that maybe the feelings would go away.

"You've been tired a lot lately." He frowned, he had noticed her stepping away just a little.

"Probably because I have  a job." She snapped, not meaning to.

"Wow, okay." Tom scooted a little farther away and looked at the TV.

"I'm sorry." She said, quickly realizing her mistake.

"Whatever." He huffed, crossing his arms.

"Don't pout, Tom, it doesn't suit you." (Y/N) said, leaning in closer to Tom, "Do you want to get ice cream or something, baby? Will that make you feel better?"

"I do want ice cream but don't mock me."

"Well, there's some in the fridge, which you can get yourself. But get me some when you get up, please?" (Y/N) batted her eyes a little, and she swore she could see Tom smile a little. He stood up and rolled his eyes at her before pulling two bowls out of the cupboard, along with two spoons. He scooped out ice cream for both of them before walking over to the couch and handing one to (Y/N. "Thank you." She said.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his eyes clear with worry. "You've been irritable the last few days."

"Yeah." (Y/N) shrugged it off. "I'm good."

"Are you-?"

"If you finish that sentence with menstruating, then I will hit you, hard." She paused, "And no."

"See? Right there." Tom told her, moving closer. "You usually don't have a problem talking with me about that kind of stuff, heck I've gone to the store and bought it for you."

"And I appreciate that but there's nothing wrong, okay? I'm fine."

"Is it work? Or is someone bothering you? You mom, or something?"

"Nothing is wrong Tom jeez!" She snapped again, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. "Just, stop worrying about it. Okay."

"Okay." Tom let out a breath and grabbed the remote to turn the volume of the TV up. He reached out and grabbed (Y/N0's hand, and just held it. She didn't do anything, and she just let him. God, why did he have to be so charming?

-------

Okay, (Y/N) think rationally here, you were drunk at a bar and he drove you home. Let's be perfectly honest here, you probably embarrassed yourself monumentally, so you shouldn't call him, he doesn't want to take to you. But he did leave his number... and say call me. Call him for what though? A date? You broke up with your boyfriend yesterday, after not talking to him for a week. So clearly your not emotionally healthy, definitely not enough for a relationship. So why call him?

(Y/N) was pacing her kitchen with Tom's note in her hand, having a very intense argument with herself. She was one-day post break-up with her boyfriend, and instead of drowning her self in Netflix binges and chocolate ice cream she was trying to decide whether or not to call another guy, another awesome decision on my part, (Y/N) thought, still looking at the phone numbers in her phone.

You know what? Maybe hanging out with a super cool celebrity will make me feel better, (Y/N) smiled to herself as she dialed the number, and waited for the line to ring.

Hours later, she and Tom were walking around LA looking at all the sights that both of them had seen before. They were involved in small talk, little conversations about their lives and their families and the overbearing heat in California.

"So you're a big shot actor guy, how does that feel?"

"Umm, overwhelming. I walk onto a set and I feel like I'm the new guy, so I always have to try my best to prove that I'm supposed to be there."

"From what I've seen, your pretty good. I don't think you have a lot to worry about."  

"Yeah? Try sharing a set with RDJ, Chris Pratt, and Chris Evans-I am the new guy and for some reason, I feel like I always will be."

"Hey." She punched him in the arm, "Someday you'll be that big successful actor that the new guy on set it looking up to." He smiled at her, and his eyes sparkled in the sun. "Or your career will crash and burn and you'll end up living in your tiny apartment alone, living on ramen noodles and broken dreams."

"Wow." Tom stumbled back a little, feigning hurt, "That's harsh."

"Joking. Hey, I mean your playing Peter Parker who arguably is the most famous Marvel character of all time, your doing it for Marvel that's now owned by Disney, not Sony, who sucks and your not half bad even if you were to only play him for the rest of your career you'd be okay, financially anyway."

"Well isn't that reassuring." he paused, "Your quite the pessimist, aren't you?"

"Eh." (Y/N) shrugged, then she chided herself before taking a breath. "Actually if I'm being honest I do talking, in social environments a lot like a comedy show, where the comedian tells a joke and if the audience laughs then he or she continues the joke because it worked the first time, and then you get a feel for what the audience likes, and you can continue to make them laugh and you become popular. And now I'm rambling which is what I was trying to avoid because who wants to be friends with someone who rambles like a weirdo and treats social conversations like a performance?"

Tom stared at her blankly before his stare turned into a smile, which made a little of (Y/N)'s worry melt away. "You're really cool."

"What?"

"I've never met anyone like you before."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good." He smiled again, wide. "Really good." He paused and seemed to weigh two options in his head.

(Y/N) looked confused.

"Do you want to be my best friend?"

--------

She looked at Tom again and sighed internally so he wouldn't notice the intense thought process she was going through. Then, it came to her and she realized exactly what she would have to do.

"I think we should date...People."

permanent taglist: @downeeyjunior @peters-vlogs @tomsfireheart   @spideydaddyboy @built4broadway

I want you with me taglist: @beautiful-holland @translucentthoughts @ironspiderguy

Trucking right along, guys! We’ll be done before you know it! 

51: If you were given a chance to make a request to Horikoshi, what would it be? I would request a full blown Todoroki centric arc. Like, Deku can fuck off for 100 chapters for all I care, I want to know this family’s history from front to back. What kind of environment was Endeavor raised in? Does that explain why he has such an obsessive goal of being number 1 or is it literally just a rivalry with All Might? Speaking of, did they go to school together? Tell me more. Was it an arranged marriage or did he meet his wife in a normal situation and fall in love with her? How was their relationship before the kids? Whats the deal with Dabi? Please just give me the Todoroki backstory in its entirety so I can die in peace.

52: Sing you to sleep? Jiro, no questions asked. I can’t wait for the anime to get to the culture festival so we can hear her angelic voice in action.

53: Cuddle with? Fat Gum! He looks super comfy! 

54: Too pure/innocent character? Probably Nejire tbh. Her curious naivety is cute but I worry for what the life of a pro hero would do to someone with that kind of personality.

55: Deserve better? Endeavor deserves better than to be judged armchair psychiatrists whose PHd was printed off from the same website where you can become an ordained minister. 

56: Wish to have a no tragic background? Dabi, probably. It remains to be seen what exactly the canon explanation is but I have a feeling its not gonna’ be pretty even if he’s not a Todoroki. 

57: Most likely to be a gentleman? My instincts tell me that Fat Gum is probably quite the gentleman in an almost backwoods kind of way. That is to say, he’s a hot blooded country bumpkin samurai with a heart of gold. Now, I’m basing that bit of characterization on the fan-translated manga which gave him some interesting verbal tics that seemed to imply he doesn’t speak the same way the kids from the big city do SO I’m quite interested to hear how he talks in the anime when we get to it in 2019.

58: Fave old/middle-aged character (30+)? I’m not saying Endeavor is old but he is approaching silver fox territory and I’m more than okay with that.

59: Fav Opening song? Odd Future, hands down. Gonna’ listen to it right now, thanks. 

60: Fave ending theme? The fantasy setting one. 

61: Fave voice actor? I’ve really gotta’ give Bakugou’s seiyuu credit for his performance. Not only all that growling and screaming, no doubt straining his vocal chords every week no matter how much training he’s had, but also for really selling that line when he was abducted by the villains.

62: Fave Character song? *sweats nervously* I ... I haven’t listened to any of the character songs ... Do they actually exist? 

63: Fave OST? Uh, what? 

64: Fave battle(s)? Without spoiling too much, I’ll just say that Deku vs. Bakugou round 2 is gonna’ be a great episode and I’m really looking forward to the hero vs. villain fight we’re ramping up to in the current episode. 

65: Most shocking plot twist/unexpected scene? Me subscribing to the Dabi-is-a-Todoroki theme. Ummm, not to get too spoilery but I think almost everything at the end of the Yakuza arc was pretty unexpected based on all that had happened up until that point.

66: Selfie with? I would love nothing more than to take a selfie with Bakugou’s grumpy ass. I know that might sound a little weird but I’m actually being completely serious. 

67: Study in a library with? I would like to make some lewd, sex-in-the-library related joke but knowing who I am as a person, I probably legitimately need the help so I’d probably be best off with Momo or Shoto.

68: Most underrated character? Probably Tokoyami. I’m damn close to stanning him and I demand more content of his edgy bird boy immediately.

69: Most overrated character? Present Mic. He’s really not all that and I don’t get this fascination with him.

70: If you desire to see one’s ending? Who would it be? I’m not entirely sure what this is asking but if you mean who do I want to see die, it’d be either Mineta or Aoyama.

71: Change Character design? I wouldn’t change any design because Horikoshi worked hard on these characters and it would be downright foolish of me to think that I knew better than him.

72: Looks like a cinnamon roll, but it is a cinnamon roll? Nejire tbh.

73: Cinnamon roll but would actually kill you? Toga.

74: Looks like would actually kill you, but it is a cinnamon roll? Bakugou.

75: Looks like would actually kill you, and would actually kill you. Endeavor lol

76: Over sexualized character? In canon or by the fandom? Because overall, I’d say that Horikoshi doesn’t sexualize his girls very often but as per usual the fandom goes hog wild on everything and there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing that to fictional characters.

77: Cook with? I bet Fat Gum knows how to cook and he could show me some pointers. It’d be fun to cook with Tamaki too, so he could show off his quirk at every turn. 

78: Funniest character? Honestly there is no character that sounds out to me as being particularly funny but my sense of humor is also severely warped so take that with a grain of salt. 

79: Best hardening quirk: Tetsutetsu/Kirishima? I’m gonna’ side with Kirishima on this one.

80: Whose penis would be painful to be fucked? (LOL) Am I answering questions written by a 12 year old? Just asking. So, I headcanon that Endeavor is pretty well endowed and the haters will have to literally tear that fat cock out of my cold, unresponsive hands.I also think Fat Gum is packing because the kanji in his name mean ‘thick’ and ‘full’ which, yeah, if you’re an unimaginative prude that just means they’re talking about his fat body but to me, an intellectual, all I’m seeing is dick. Incidentally, I think All Might is pretty big too (essentially all of the bara’s)  

81: Best Goth character? Tokoyami is the closest we’ve got.

82: Shop with? Endeavor because he has plenty of money to spend on me and he seems like the type who wouldn’t even spare the cheap shit a second glance which is a sentiment I appreciate as a boujee bitch. 

83: Fave OVA? There were only two so this isn’t even much of a choice, but I liked the zombie one.

84: Would you let Momo spoil you with her quirk? I would let literally anyone spoil me because I’m an attention starved materialist. 

85: Villain that you’d wish to be a hero? Eh, probably Gentle. Maybe if he’d been able to become a hero we could’ve avoided that shoehorned appearance of his in the middle of the culture festival. 

86: Needs to calm down? Honestly probably Inasa. He’s gonna’ be so damn loud in the anime ... but I can’t wait to see him anyway! 

And with that my friends, we have reached the end! Apparently we just weren’t able to come up with a few more questions to round us out at an even 100 which I’m quite thankful for which means that I can finally go to bed! orz Thanks for sticking around with me through these trying times, your patience is much appreciated! 

Pretender Reads A Little Hatred, Part I, Chapter Six

I feel weighed enough by the chains of procrastination that I wish I got a couple of breakers to smash it all down! Goes without saying spoilers ahead for the entirety of The First Law works beyond the keep reading. Read at your own risk.

Chapter Title: The Breakers Point-of-View: Vick dan Teufel

“What sort of a name is Vick, anyway?”

“Short for Victarine.”

“Very fucking fancy,” sneered Grise. Vick hadn’t known her long, but she was already getting tired of her. “Daresay you’ve got a fucking ‘dan’ in your name, too, eh, your ladyship?”

It’s okay, Vick, I’ve just known Grise two sentences and I’m already tired of her. 

That being said, Vick doesn’t beat around the bush in her voice, does she. And this short exchange already suggests, along with the chapter title, that the Breakers aren’t as monolithic in character as the first trilogy’s peasant rebellion was, an evolution of the old of the peasantry through the ones of nobility to the new status of giving voice to the commonfolk.

Also, hell’s yeah. More working-class voices! After fantasy’s gout of prioritizing noble or royalty voices (or commonfolk who turn out to be royalty by royal blood), this is super welcome. I’m all for more eyes into the anger and wrath of the common men!

She held Grise’s eye. “I did have a ‘dan’ in my name, once. My father was Master of the Royal Mints. Had a great big apartment in the Agriont.” And Vick nodded towards her best idea of where the fortress was, though the points of the compass were hard to tell apart in a mouldy cellar. “Right next to the palace. Big enough for a statue of Harod the Great in the hall. Life fucking size.”

Grise had quite the frown on her round face now, light flickering across it as boots, and hoofs, and cartwheels clattered past the little windows high up near the ceiling. “You grew up in the Agriont?”

“You weren’t listening. My father had an apartment there. But when I was eight years old, he trod on the wrong toes and the Inquisition took him. I hear it was Old Sticks himself who asked the questions.”

Master of the Royal Mints... who... wait... Sepp dan Teufel? The guy whose finger joints Glokta chopped off near The Blade Itself’s start? Damn, that’s one hell of a deep dive! He’s not exactly a character of importance, being only in one chapter, and all we knew of him is that he was kind of a blowhard using his position and connections to try and get out of Glokta’s tender care.

Why bring the Teufel connection into this then...?

“My father was innocent. Of what they accused him of, anyway. But once Old Sticks got started…” Vick slapped the table with a bang, Tallow jumping so high he nearly hit the ceiling. “He leaked confessions like a broken drain. High Treason. They sent him to Angland. To the camps right up North.” Vick didn’t feel much like it, but she grinned. “And no one likes to split up a happy family. So they sent my ma with him. My ma, and my brother, and my sisters, and me. The camps, Grise. That’s where I grew up. So don’t question my commitment to the cause. Not ever.”

Oh damn. That’s why. For every man Glokta ruined and forced into confession, there were others connected to each body. Sepp dan Teufel himself doesn’t matter, it’s what Glokta did to Vick’s entire family is what matters. She's the consequences of the first trilogy’s actions writ small, the collateral bodies that ended up in misery and suffering because of what Glokta’s done, regardless of guilt or innocence, but sheer political expediency.

Sepp dan Teufel being a relative no-name actually works better than if it was a bigger name Glokta tortured, because he was swept aside rather quick in the greater narrative of the first trilogy... but Vick’s here, reminding us that most actions Glokta undertook had a terrible cost attached, damaging more than the men he chopped flesh off of. It’s just an extension of how monstrous Glokta’s actions really were, detached of his more wry, humorous, self-pitying narrative.

And, on a character note, that forced smile makes me think of Savine’s performance, except with greater bitterness. Whereas Savine performs to gain leverage and points over people, Vick... there’s just this feeling of negative space. This feeling that there’s nothing inside her, no joy or mirth or humor, because the camps hollowed those things out of her and all she can express is what she forces herself. It’s a greater effort, emotionally, for Vick.

You could hear the ill squelch as Tallow swallowed. “What are the camps like?”

“You get by.”

Oh, the filth, pain, hunger, death, injustice and betrayal that she buried in that phrase. The black chill of the mines, the searing glow of the furnaces, the gnashing rage and sobbing desperation, the bodies in the snow. Vick forced her face to stay blank, pressed down the past like you might press down the lid on a box full of maggots.

“You get by,” she said, firmer. When you tell a lie, you have to sound like you believe it. Goes double for the ones you tell yourself.

Oh, Vick. The fact that you can consciously recall all that misery, yet you still have to lie to yourself that “you get by” in that hellscape? It reads off as an trauma reaction, a victim rationally recalling what was done to her, but has to emotionally suppress the horrors of what was done, lest it overwhelm her all over.

My heart.

And, you know what strikes me about Vick’s general character? She feels like a refinement of Cathil, way back in Before They Are Hanged. Now, Cathil herself was a blatant device to give more insight into West and the Dogman, thanks to Abercrombie’s mishandling of his female characters, but when you think about it, she’s another survivor of the camps, even right down to the camps being from Angland. Someone who had to surrender her pride and shame, in order to get by, just like Vick.

Someone hollowed out by the camps, just like Vick...

She grabbed hold of West’s arm as he turned away. “It’s no easy ride here.” Her voice was a surprise. Soft, smooth, educated. “Cathil is my name. I can work.” West looked down at her, ready to shake his arm free, but her expression reminded him of something. Painless. Fearless. Empty eyes, flat, like a corpse.

—Before They Are Hanged, Small Crimes

... Except the Cathil figure here gets to have the POV to herself, instead of being the prop to a guy’s storyline, only to be discarded later after her use is run out.  Vick, here, gets to deal with her own turmoils and tragedies and struggles, being our lens into the Breakers as a woman actively part of the rough-and-tumble of it. I could be wrong, and Abercrombie could horribly disappoint me by killing off Vick early, but she absolutely feels like a deliberate second chance with Cathil. And, you know what? I’m all for it. Vick’s hardened in a way that the earlier POVs just aren’t and that’s equal parts intriguing and tragic.

Grise spun around as the door squealed open, but it was only Sibalt come at last, Moor big and dour at his shoulder. He planted his fists on the table and took a heavy breath, that noble face of his sadly sagging.

“What is it?” asked Tallow, in a tiny voice.

“They hanged Reed,” said Sibalt. “They hanged Cudber. They hanged his daughter.”

Grise stared at him. “She was fifteen.”

The Breakers from Orso’s chapter. You know how I said that this Breakers plotline feels different from the Tanner plotline back then? This is why. Abercrombie doesn’t let us forget that the commonfolk victims have personhood and names. They were people and not checklists to note off a coming-of-age heroic quest list. This is what happens when you give vent and voice to the working class people such royalty-homogenized stories use to prop up a king-in-the-making.

What happens when you take off the royalty lens and put a commonfolk lens onto a fantasy story. You’re pressed against all the injustices the royalty’s tools have perpetuated, committed, all for the status quo to stay.

Also, dang, even Grise is horrified that they hung a child. Not as hard as she thinks she is, huh.

“What for?” asked Tallow.

“Just for talking.” Sibalt put his hand on the boy’s thin shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Just for organising. Just for trying to get workers to stand together and speak with one voice. That’s treason now.”

D’awww, Sibalt.

Part of why I don’t particularly like privileged royal twats is that when you compare the hardships of them to the very real threat of death, just for wanting social advancement and a bit more rights that the royalty and nobility enjoy effortlessly, that commonfolk face, my sympathy generally runs drier for those twats when common children are getting hanged for wanting better. Hence, why I loved that moment in The Blade Itself where Ardee tears into Jezal for being a giant baby about having to work hard for once.

But yes, let too much dissent like that thrive, and you allow such rebellious thoughts build up. You don’t put out the fires of revolution swift enough, and it spreads too fast and much for you to smother down the road. So, you stomp it out as soon as possible. You make examples out of the dissidents, so you put the fear into the rest of the common people.

“Then the time for talk’s fucking past!” snarled Grise.

But, at some point, you don’t engender fear so much as deep anger.

Vick was angry as anyone. But she’d learned in the camps that every feeling is a weakness. You have to lock your hurt away, and think about what comes next. “Who did they know about?” she asked.

There’s a very workmanlike quality to how Vick operates. There’s a no-frills attitude that pervades her entire POV, few details on the environment she’s in, just the important details of people’s actions and what’s said between the Breakers there. She’s very no-nonsense, allowing for her anger, but refusing to have it define her actions. Not if it overrides her thinking and plotting capabilities. In that sense, she very much reminds me of the practicality of Logen and Glokta from the first trilogy.

You have to be realistic.

Vick looked from her fist to her eye. “Whatever names they knew, they’ll have given up.”

“Not Cudber. He wouldn’t.”

“Not even when they put the irons to his daughter?” Grise had nothing to say to that, shock gradually wiping the anger off her face. “Whatever names they knew, they’ll have given up. Lots of other names, too, ’cause once you run out of truth, you start spilling lies.”

Moor shook his big lump of a head. “Not Reed.”

“Yes, Reed, Cudber, his daughter, yes, you or me or anyone. The Inquisition’ll come for whoever they knew about, and soon. So who did they know about?”

There’s a lot to be said about how much torture doesn’t work as a method of gaining information. And Abercrombie’s pretty clear-eyed about it as a tool that Glokta mainly uses it as a method of gaining confessions, rather than truth. Not to mention how much Glokta spoke of his own experiences in truth and how much, after he ran out of truth, he lied out of his ass and got nowhere. And, for most Inquisitors, the amount of bodies they make without substantial gain makes a greater point that Abercrombie really doesn’t believe torture necessarily works.

... There can be a point of criticism that Abercrombie still has Glokta capable of extracting truth out of his victims for plot reasons, thus still validating a sense of torture working, and I can see that as a problem. Which is partly why I love this acknowledgement that torture will not work and you can easily get a mixture of lies along with the truth, depending on what the victims think the captors want to hear. It’s a very stripped-down, sober look at torture as an institutional tool of the government from the side of those who might be next under the knife.

And no amount of willpower can prepare you for the very real and visceral reality of systematic disfigurement. The slow and sure breakdown of one’s body and spirit and mental strength. Anyone can break.

“Who the fuck are you to give orders?” Grise leaned down over her with a stabbing finger. “You’re newest here!”

“So maybe I’m thinking most clearly.” Vick let her hand lie on her belt buckle where her brass knuckles were hidden. She didn’t rate Grise much of a threat, for all her bulk. People who shout a lot tend to take a while working up to more. But Vick was ready to put her down if she had to. And when Vick put someone down, she made sure they went down hard.

And that’s what makes Vick so dangerous in this world, just like Logen:

Logen shrugged. Hard words are for fools and cowards. Calder might have been both, but Logen was neither. If you mean to kill, you’re better getting right to it than talking about it. Talk only makes the other man ready, and that’s the last thing you want. So Logen said nothing. Calder could take that for weakness if he pleased, and so much the better. Fights might find Logen depressingly often, but he was long, long past looking for them.

—The Blade Itself, First of the Magi

Both hardened and knowing not to give away their weaknesses, knowing when to put someone down for good. Just a fascinating contrast to the more naive and young charges of past chapters, Vick is.

Lucky for Grise, Sibalt laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and eased her back. “Vick’s right. I have to get out of Adua. Just as soon as we strike our blow.” And Moor slid out a dirty paper and unrolled it across the table. A map of the city. Sibalt tapped a spot in the Three Farms. Not far from where they’d started building that new canal. “The Hill Street Foundry.”

“Though Hill Street’s gone,” said Moor, in that plodding way he had, “since they pulled it down to build the Foundry.”

“They’re fitting new engines there,” said Sibalt.

Tallow nodded. “I passed ’em on the way. Engines that’ll put two hundred men and women out of work, I hear.”

I’ve read about how new technologies are going to replace some workers, leaving them out of a job. Now, of course, it makes perfect sense for companies to seek out new improvements that net them more profits, but without the social conscience and the consideration that you can train those old employees to work the new tools, you’re just left with money as the only bottom line, leaving countless souls helpless and scrambling without the job security that held up their families, their mental health, their very survival.

Industrial or contemporary age, human nature and greed really doesn’t change.

“We’re going to blow the lot to hell,” said Grise. “With Gurkish Fire.”

More signs of technological progression, what with Gurkish Fire being more commonplace nowadays since the ol’ days of the last Union-Gurkish War. Coming off The Heroes’ death tubes, this isn’t a surprise, but it’s definitely a nice continuity of Bayaz’s experiments with gunpowder.

I wonder if those death tubes got better... you’d think they’d be a leg-up, technologically, against Monza’s army, yet Terez said that didn’t go well...

“Well, you can stop worrying, ’cause it comes straight from Valbeck,” said Grise, smug as a king’s tailor. “Straight from the Weaver himself—”

“Shush,” hissed Sibalt. “Best if no one knows more than they have to. Don’t worry, the powder’s good.”

Grise slapped her fist into her palm. “A blow for the common man, eh, brothers?”

“Aye,” said Moor, slowly nodding his big head. “We’ll strike a spark.”

“And the spark’ll start a fire,” said Sibalt.

Vick sat forward. “If we do this, people get hurt. People get killed.”

“Only those that deserve it,” said Grise.

“Once the killing starts, it rarely sticks to those who deserve it.”

(arches an eyebrow) The Weaver? Aw, shit, is this like the Tanner all over again? Is Bayaz pulling the strings of another peasant rebellion, just to give a decisive victory to the royals? I like Jezal, and I don’t even hate Orso that much, but this will right piss me off if that happens.

I hope Yoru Sulfur, if he’s doing the Tanner bit under a different title, gets blown up by Gurkish Fire instead.

... And that last exchange is ultimately the sticking point. Revolutions are messy, messy business, and, as much as you want to keep the deaths solely on those who’ll deserve it, collateral damage is inevitable. Everyone who participates in one can die, and die ignobly.

Ultimately, I believe that revolutions are necessary, it’s what happens when you push around oppressed people so much their corpses pile up high as mountains and they cannot bear to be silent, and I refuse to wag my finger at them. Just because there’ll be blood to be had in revolutions doesn’t mean the status quo isn’t supported by gears and cogs, rusty with blood. Sometimes, inaction is a greater crime than wanting blood against those who operate the great machines.

That being said, I am all for everyone in a revolution being aware of the potential costs and trying not spill more blood than needed. But, well... easier said than done, right?

“You scared?”

“If you’re not scared, you’re mad or stupid, and there’s no place for either on a task like this. We need to plan every detail.”

As Logen would tell you:

The Northman chuckled. “Fearlessness is a fool’s boast, to my mind. The only men with no fear in them are the dead, or the soon to be dead, maybe. Fear teaches you caution, and respect for your enemy, and to avoid sharp edges used in anger. All good things in their place, believe me. Fear can bring you out alive, and that’s the very best anyone can hope for from any fight. Every man who’s worth a damn feels fear. It’s the use you make of it that counts.”

—Before They Are Hanged, Fear

Courage or strength isn’t defined by the absence of fear, it’s acting in spite of it. It’s using fear to work for you, carrying you to survive through sharpening your mind, your senses, and using it to your advantage.

Grise sneered her disgust. “All you ever fucking talk about is the risks!”

“Someone needs to. This has to be something we choose, not something we blunder into ’cause we’re sore and can’t think of anything better to do with ourselves.” She looked around those four faces, strange in the flickering light of the cellar. “This is what you all want, is it?”

Honestly, she’s right. Vick’s the one there pointing out that you can’t be a bunch of angry children playing with matches. She’s the only one right now speaking how to be mindful of starting a revolution, blessings and curses. If the Breakers are meant to be the spark to a great fire, to be a movement that’s meant to endure, they have to intend this and plan accordingly.

And they have to commit to it. All of it. No backing down.

“It’s what I fucking want,” said Grise.

“It’s what I want,” said Sibalt.

“Aye,” rumbled Moor.

Heh. I love how economic to their characters these responses are. Grise’s the heated, angry one who wants to fight back, no caution, Sibalt’s more measured and calm about how the cause needs to move and operate, and Moor’s just the big, slower musclehead. In fact, I generally like how this chapter gets across the different attitudes of the respective Breakers there. They all have skin in the game, but they’re different people with separate thoughts and input in going about breaking things.

She looked at Tallow last. He couldn’t be older than fifteen himself, and might only have had three good meals in that whole stretch. Reminded her of her brother, a little. Those skinny wrists sticking from frayed sleeves just a touch too short. Trying to put a hard face on but beaming fears and doubts out like a lighthouse through those big damp eyes.

“There’s a Great Change coming,” he said, finally. “That’s what I want.”

Is that a crack in the armor, Vick? Harder to suppress your feelings when reminders are right before your eyes. And, man, Tallow’s a brave little boy who shouldn’t have to commit to a fight that might kill him without remorse, given he found out about Cudber’s daughter’s hanging just a short while ago.

I hope he survives, but Abercrombie isn’t so gentle. So it goes, with hopes.

Vick smiled a grim smile. “Well, if I learned one thing in the camps, it’s that talking isn’t enough.” She realised she’d closed her fingers to make a fist. “You want a thing, you have to fight for it.”

Not as hard as you make yourself out to be, huh, Vick. Not as empty as you make yourself out to be, if even you’re getting carried away by the spirit of revolution. Other than that, damn straight. There’s a time for talk, and there’s a time for a fight.

She stayed straddling him for a while afterwards, his chest pressed against hers with each snatched breath. Kissing at his lip. Biting at it. Then with a grunt, she slid off him, rolled onto her side next to him on the narrow bed, dragging the blankets up over her bare shoulder. It felt chill now they were done, frost showing in the smudges of lamplight at the corners of the little window.

Wow, this book is just way more hornier than The Blade Itself. I mean, I don’t really mind, especially since this reads as more wholesome and sex for wanting it, rather than more abusive, like the first trilogy’s sex scenes, but wow.

Finally, he turned towards her. “Sorry I couldn’t step in with Grise—”

“I can look after myself.”

Sibalt snorted. “No one better. I’m not sorry ’cause I think you need my help. I’m sorry I can’t give it. Better if they don’t know we’re…” He slipped his hand up onto her ribs, rubbing at that old burn on her side with his thumb, trying to dig up the right word for what they were. “Together.”

“In here, we’re together.” She jerked her head towards the warped door in the warped frame. “Out there…” Out there, everyone stood on their own.

Whole swathes of Vick’s mindset just leaches so much warmth out of me. It’s such a cold, and dispassionate “everyone out for themselves” mindset that the camps instilled into her, but this? I’m glad Vick has some measure of happiness in her life, having someone by her side, at least.

He frowned at the little gap of coarse sheet between them as if it was a great divide that could never be crossed. “Sorry I can’t tell you where the Gurkish Fire comes from.”

“Best if no one knows more than they have to.”

“It’ll work.”

“I believe you,” she said. “I trust you.” Vick trusted no one. She’d learned that in the camps, along with how to lie. Learned to lie so well, she could take one tiny sliver of truth and beat it out, like the goldsmiths beating a nugget of gold into leaf, till it could cover a whole field of lies. Sibalt didn’t doubt her for a moment.

(arches an eyebrow) I’m reminded of Ferro’s belief of the word trust here:

“Stay with us. Give it a few days. If you don’t change your mind, well, I’ll help you pack. You can trust me.” Trust was a word for fools. It was a word people used when they meant to betray you. If he moved forward a finger’s width she would sweep the sword out and take his head off. She was ready.

—Before They Are Hanged, The Thing About Trust  

But why would Vick betray Sibalt? Isn’t she just as committed to the Breakers cause as he is? Who would she betray him to? Is Sibalt a Breaker rogue element that someone asked Vick to watch after? If so, who? She can’t go to the Inquisition, considering her history with the camps, so maybe a Breaker higher-up Sibalt doesn’t answer to?

In any case, so much for happiness, Vick. And poor Sibalt, if Vick's going to betray him. He’s so sweet to her and respects her so...

“I wish I’d met you sooner,” he said. “Things might be different.”

“You didn’t and they’re not. So let’s take what we can get, eh?”

“By the Fates, you’re a hard case, Vick.”

“We’re none of us hard as we seem.” She slipped her hand around the back of his head, through the dark hair scattered with grey, held it firm, looked him in the eye and asked one more time. “You’re sure, Collem? You’re sure this is what you want?”

(jaw drops) Oh my god. Yeah, this puts the nail on the idea that Vick = Improved Cathil wasn’t intentional. Another Collem and another victim of the Angland camps. Except this Collem doesn’t treat her like a vessel for his own issues, unlike West did. Oh, Collem, you already met Vick once sooner, in the pages of Before They Are Hanged instead. Except, now, it’s flipped, with Vick as the POV, and Collem as the love interest as a reflection of her character.

I LOVE HOW MUCH ABERCROMBIE REMIXES HIS OLD SHIT BETTER, YES!

“Don’t really matter what we want, does it? Bigger things than our future to consider. We can strike a spark that’ll set a fire burning. One day, there’ll be a Great Change, Vick. And folk like you and me will get our say.”

“A Great Change,” she said, trying to sound like she believed it.

Sibalt’s a true believer to the core, but Vick? She’s been beaten too badly by the camps to necessarily buy into the shiny ideals of that wholesale. She’s endured Inquisition care too long to think this will be as glorious as what Sibalt thinks. She believes in the cause, but she’s got a more cynical head about it, wearier and sadder for it.

“You should come with me.”

She should’ve kept silent on that, too. Instead, she found she’d asked, “Where would we go?”

A grin spread across his face. Seeing it made her smile. Her first in a while. Hardly felt like her mouth should bend that way.

There’s so much of Vick that feels so... hollow or restrained that glimpses and cracks in her voice like this really stuck out. And I think she actually loves Sibalt beyond the confines of taking him along, only to betray him. Just that made her smile bit. Like she didn’t intend to, but couldn’t help herself. She has so few opportunities for happiness, I sense.

Few of the characters in this series do.

The frame groaned as he reached down beside the bed and came back up with a battered old book. The Life of Dab Sweet by Marin Glanhorm.

“This again?” asked Vick.

“Aye, this.” It fell open at an etching across both pages. As though it was often opened there. A rider alone, staring out across a sweep of endless grass and endless sky. Sibalt held that drawing at arm’s length as if it was a view spread out in front of them, whispered the words like a magic spell. “The Far Country, Vick.”

“I know,” she grunted. “It says under the picture.”

“Grass for ever.” He was half-joking. But that made him half-serious. “A place where you can go as far as your dreams can take you. A place where you can make yourself anew. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Hah! The biography Sworbreck derided!

On a more somber note, there’s something to be said about how even a fantasy, a falsehood, can inspire us. Dab Sweet himself pointed out that his exploits were blown up beyond his capacity and he ended up having to live with the weight of all that he never did, but just because we know things to be false doesn’t mean we can’t want for better and more, right? It’s part of why we dream and yearn beyond our reaches. Abercrombie once talked about how you have to hit upon truth to impact your readers, well, the truth is, a fantasy can propel us to action, to want for better for ourselves and others.

“Aye, I guess.” She realised she’d reached towards that drawing with one hand, as if she might touch anything there but paper, and snatched it back. “But it’s a made-up drawing in a book full o’ lies, Collem.”

“I know,” he said, with a sad smile, like thinking about it was a fun game to play, but just a game. He flipped the book shut and tossed it back down on the boards. “Guess there comes a time you have to give up on what you want and make the best of what you’re given.”

Wanting that life too, Vick, no matter how much you consciously shut it down? But they have to make the best out of reality, no matter how tempting the fantasy is.

You two are going to make me cry, damn it.

“When we strike that spark,” he murmured, voice loud in her ear, “it’ll change everything.”

“No doubt,” said Vick.

Another silence. “It’ll change everything between us.”

“No doubt,” said Vick, and she slipped her fingers through his and pressed his hand tight to her chest. “So let’s take what we can get. If I learned one thing in the camps, it’s that you shouldn’t look too far ahead.”

Chances are you’ll see nothing good there.

Ouch. Full-blown pessimism from a childhood in the camps. No hope enters, no conscious dreams, because all they do is invite misery and broken optimism.

Just. Damn.

As a chapter, The Breakers is a set-up one. Going into the details of future events and dropping intriguing seeds like what the deal with the Weaver and the Vick/Sibalt. But, at the same time, it’s a first lens into the common people, and how much they’re varied in character and thoughts and are thinking through (or not) the consequences of revolution. In short, it’s putting faces and a name to the Breakers, extending to even the victims of those hangings in Orso’s chapter, which is why it makes sense to put this right after that one. It’s definitely a chapter that isn’t self-contained, but it’s interesting and a refreshing glimpse into the working class folk.

As a character, Vick is... depressing. In an intended way, of course, but there’s a hardness to her that the younger POVs thus far just don’t possess, a weariness that the younger generation will gain once they’ve been through enough hardship like she had. In a way, I come back to this idea of Vick being negative space. Whereas the other POVs so far have had the coddled and pampered upbringings to whine and laugh, and take joys in comforts, both small and large, and have parents who care about them... Vick got stripped of all that in the camps long ago, and this is the kind of person that comes out of those circumstances. Hollowed out. She makes for an intriguing contrast to the other characters, and while I can’t say she’s more interesting than Savine and, maybe, Orso, she’s a necessary lens into the revolutionary end of the Breakers, while possessing a practicality that calls back to the first trilogy’s adults and a vulnerability in the cracks of her POV, that makes her rather refreshing to read about.

And, as a re-do of a first trilogy female vessel character? Yeah, it’s very appreciated. Thanks, Abercrombie!

PART I

Chapter One: Blessings and Curses Chapter Two: Where the Fight’s Hottest Chapter Three: Guilt Is a Luxury Chapter Four: Keeping Score Chapter Five:  A Little Public Hanging Chapter Six: The Breakers Chapter Seven: The Answer to Your Tears Chapter Eight: Young Heroes Chapter Nine: The Moment

Who’s the Bad Guy Now?

While I haven’t finished the last episode yet, My Next life as a Villianess has been quite the fun ride. It’s funny, thoughtful, and probably has one of the best protagonist of a harem anime since The Fruit of Grisaia’s Yuuji Kazami. This is definitely definitely an anime I can recommend to anyone, which is a refreshing thing to say since the majority of anime I like tends to be either absolute fanservice garbage like Cross Ange, extremely genres like MagiPro and Granbelm, or something offensively generic and uninspired like Assassin’s Pride. 

Along with that, I can say that this anime is a refreshing take on both harem and otome tropes. Making our protagonist's obliviousness to her harem’s affection more comedic than frustrating while still giving her the charisma needed to actually get that affection in the first place. I could honestly do a whole Rambling on how well this all works together. 

But I’m not going to do that.

See, the whole ‘Villainess’ trend has been going on in Japanese manga, Korean Manhwa, and Chinese Webcomics for some time now, at least a year from my memory. I’ve been meaning to talk about some of these manga and this genre as a whole for a while now, but I’ve never really found the drive until now. So I wanted to take a bit of time to discuss a few of these stories and series in a way similar to my old Anime Updates, a general summary of the story and my overall views of each while hitting a point or two in a few paragraphs.

However, before I talk about the other manga and manhua... 

Disclaimer 

All of series I’m going to be talking about are, to my knowledge, not released or translated in the west officially. Most of these are fan translations by folks wanting to spread the respective series. However, with that said these are still technically pirated media. A lot of the translation groups have even asked to not post pictures of their translations on social media sites, specifically Instagram, as they could possibly face some form of legal action from the author. As such, I won’t be post too many pictures of what’s available save for official, untranslated art if I can.

With that said...

Let’s start with the big one. This is the main thing I wanted to talk about. What it Takes to be a Villainess or The Justice of Villainous Woman is a pretty interesting take on both Villain and Isekai tropes. The story focuses on Yu(?) Hwayoeng, a typical 23-year-old Korean woman who enjoys soap operas, racy novels, and being with her boyfriend. Well, at least until her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend and she accidentally slipped into a river and died, only to be reborn in the body of a Satiana(?) Altizer Cailon(?), a noblewoman with the reputation of a bratty villainess. Through several events, she learns she’s a Regina, a canidate for the next empress of the empire. However, Satiana’s awful reputation as a villainess competing with the saintly reputation of her opponent Irene, who is already the lover of the current prince and next emperor. With enemies at every corner and a prince she knows nothing about save for his cold demeanor toward her, Satiana, or commonly called Satie, must find away to become Empress despite her foul reputation and hostile political environment.

Now, despite Satie being a ‘villainess’, the story sets it so that she’s already condemned and somewhat hated among noble society. This isn’t a tale of how a villainess avoids a bad end, but how someone goes from an underdog brat to a proper member of high society and cares for the people she rules under. Despite the premise, this isn’t much of a romance of Satie winning over the cold prince, but Satie working both with and against the system to make policies and arrangement work in her favor with the little tools she has. Her first obstacle isn’t softening the cold prince, it’s figuring out how to get maids and secretaries to help her run affairs despite her superiors hindering her from the most basic of rights as a noblewoman. She has to use both the memories borrowed from the original Satie and her memories from her past life to help her get through the tangled web of political intrigue. 

Speaking of which.

Satie Never Forgets

Like I said, the main interest for me in this is the twist on several Villain and Isekai tropes. One of which is that Satie never forgets her time as Yu or her certain circumstance. She never forgets that she died after soon being the victim of an affair, or that she, as Yu, was a controversial figure in her university as someone that spoke out against injustice and problems despite decorum saying otherwise. The former keeps her from pursuing the prince despite his advances, the latter keeps her from letting people’s wrongdoings go unannounced, much to her own detriment at times. She never forgets that she more or less stole the body she’s in, so tries her best as Regina to do her new family right. And after about 30-ish chapters she breaks from her Villainess reputation and persona and can start handling things properly. It becomes less of an Isekai or romance story and more of a political drama with Isekai and Romance elements in it. The best parts of this series is when Satie is planning her next move through all the political wrangling, or when she uses knowledge from her previous life to improve the lives of others. Not just that she’s from a modern era, but that she was also a former babysitter for her family, or had a natural knack for flirting and acting to begin with. She smart and can think on her feet. 

However... that said, I have one glaring issue with this series.

Romance and Morality

As of me writing this we’re at about chapter 92. Within the more recent chapters they’ve finally explained things from the Prince’s prospective as to why he’s so cold and why he chose Irene as a lover. And while I find that side interesting and the story takes advantage of us seeing his side of things for future plot events, I feel like the story wants us to question who is in the right. 

This... bugs me a little.

While I don’t mind moral ambiguity in my media this series has been trying very hard to get us to root for Satie for over 90 chapters, successfully might I add. She’s used her villainess reputation when she needed to, she’s punished wrongdoers, treated well those who have deserved it, and while the prince has slowly softened his stance on her she’s still hesitant to approach him, as he already has a lover. Through the Prince’s chapters we learn his and Irene’s relationship is more political than romantic and that Irene isn’t the kind saint she makes herself out to be. However, I feel like this moral fracturing is more annoying than interesting. Granted, this is to set up some bigger drama in later chapters and the chance to see other perspectives is nice, but... eh, your mileage may very. For what it’s worth, it’s building up to some interesting twists in the next arc or two, but the mystery of who is in the right by what means feels annoying when Satie’s been walking that tightrope for the last fifty-ish chapters.

Other Critiques

Just my general critique all of the series you’ll see here, but translations have slowed down as of me typing this essay. The last one was about 2-ish months ago, at least on the site I use for this specific story. The translations can’t really get a good read on how to properly spell Satie’s name either, if the (?) didn’t clue you in. Nothing deal breaking, but an annoy tick nonetheless. 

Anyway, only the next story!

The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass takes a different, if still common turn for these Villainess stories. Aria Roscente is the daughter of a prostitute that soon became a noble due to her mother marrying into nobility. She lived a lavish life and was quite arrogant as she grew up, but was slowly manipulated in her ignorance by several parties, the most egregious being her sister Mielle who pushed Aria into the role of villainess while making herself seem like a saint. And due to those machinations she was executed. With her last dying wish being for a second chance she’s granted that chance by traveling back in time to around her childhood through a magical hourglass, giving her the perfect change to lay the seeds of her revenge against all those who conned her. 

Now, time travel in these Villainess stories isn’t new, but I like this one’s take on it. Aria has a semi-manipulate time in the more recent chapters as of my writing this, and she uses them to her advantage in other to get revenge on those who wronged her. With her knowledge of future events she can make relationships of lower class individuals who will have higher stature in years to come. She can have almost prophetic knowledge of future disasters to come so she can be seen as a hero for preventing or preparing for them. And she can curb an future opponent’s advancements into high society. However... she’s stunted by thae fact that her child self won’t be taken too seriously and that Aria herself only has a passing idea of events to come, as her past arrogance made her rather flippant toward important court events.

But there’s one more issue I have with this story...

Aria is an Asshole

This might be a frequent criticism I have for a lot of future stories and series I want to cover, but to focus this on Aria for this, she is an almost cartoonishly evil character at times no real reason. Unlike like Satie who uses her bad reputation and evil persona strategically to sway opinions and weave the political landscape of the empire, Aria is an outright bastard out to tear down those that stand in her way as she manipulates things to her advantage and slowly ruins the lives of those who wronged her in the past. While we’re told this revenge is for deeds done in her past life, the people she targets are currently blameless in the new timeline. And the one that supposed ruined her life, her sister, may in fact be manipulated by other parties to see Aria’s undoing. However, Aria doesn’t care about this and proceeds to emotionally torture her younger sister throughout the story, relishing in her agony. Again, we’re told Mielle has done evil and manipulated Aria in her past life, but since we don’t see those moments it just feels like someone picking on the weak, like we’re just watching a bastard be a bastard and suppose to enjoy it. And unlike Light Yagami or Lelouch vi Britannia, her schemes and mannerisms don’t have much flamboyance or flair to them. This is just a scheming bastard ruining peoples lives, and I can’t really root for her. I’m currently at chapter 18 and so far there are translations going up to chapter 20 as of me typing this, but I’m loosing my taste for this series fast if Aria is going to just keep being an asshole without having an real opponent out to get her for it. There’s been moments of some actual opposition, but nothing concrete to say she has an opponent yet, not a tangible one at least. 

I also hear the original novel version of this story is a lot better, likely due to it taking time to explain a lot of her targets past deeds and making Aria’s evil acts seem a little more justified. It’s a lot easier to explain that in a book rather than a comic. 

It’s a little early for recommendations, but a Chinese comic The Bloody Merchant Empress and the Cold Husband's Forceful Doting is a much better version of this premise. When the wronged Empress is returned to the past as the daughter of a wealthy merchant she uses her knowledge of the future and family’s resources to better the country while also humiliating her cold, manipulative, and obsessive former husband. I’m only about 60-ish chapters in that one out the currently 90-ish that are translated as of me typing this, but it’s pretty entertaining so far and has a protagonist I can root for.

Aria... just isn’t an appealing protagonist to me, at least not yet, but I’m willing to at least get though another 5 chapters before calling judgement on it.

The last thing I wanted to cover was I'm Not a Villainess!! Just Because I Can Control Darkness Doesn't Mean I'm a Bad Person! This manga is about a girl named Sakura that was reincarnated as the dark magic user Claudia Letsya, the villainess of a popular novel she read. Realizing the plot and her death at the hands of the series protagonist, she works from her childhood onward to prevent her death by sowing seeds of kindness and generosity. It isn’t as simple as that however, as the world of Lacia is deeply prejudice toward those using dark magic, as well as Claudia’s own appearance since dark skin and hair are foreign to the country. Along with that, her powers are prophesied to bring ruin to the country as well. So with the cards stacked against her, Claudia must fight back every prejudice against her to prove she’s not the villain the world claims her to be, and to not die in battle as an enemy.

One it’s own this manga is pretty interesting. Claudia is already hated due to prejudice and prophecy, so she has to somehow fight against the system that already condemned her. And unlike Satie, who already had years of experience as an adult living in the adult modern world, Sakura died as a child and only has a child’s prospective on things. She’s a rather smart child, but she still doesn’t have the intelligence or status to have pull over the world. She can only do so much with the cards against in her current body and status. She has to make friends and allies fast. She eventually does this and gains a slightly better reputation than the original novel gave her, however...

The Big Twist

Spoils for chapter 6 onward, but later we large that the protagonist of this world, Amelia Logan, is also reincarnated like Claudia and knows the story and world she’s in as well. However, unlike Claudia who’s trying to prevent her death, the owner of Amelia’s body is a haughty, arrogant, and snobby person who is ignorant of our villainess’s plight and is currently trying to set Claudia’s path to follow the ‘script’ so she can kill her. 

This part I find interesting, as it give a lot more depth and a more interesting dynamic. While Claudia is trying to change her fate she has to deal with this awful, arrogant heroine that’s honestly doing more to ruin her own reputation than Claudia’s by being so pushy. And while the side cast can’t stand this arrogant light user, the society of Lacia wants Claudia as dead as Amelia does, so conspires against her. This adds another challenge onto Claudia, as the usually kind and trusting heroine is now her biggest adversary. And while that’s funny in a way, it also makes for a small problem I have with the series. That being... 

Amelia is an Asshole 

I didn’t think I’d use this criticism twice in the same Rambling, but okay. Like with Aria, Amelia is cartoonishly malicious toward Claudia. And while she’s always called out on it, she comes across more as annoying than comedic or imposing. This is probably intentional and updates are only up to chapter 9, but sometimes makes me wonder how Amelia can be so awful as a person and still keep her standing as a heroine. She tends backpedals the plot a little by being so inept of her status and assumes the fact that she’s ‘destined’ to kill Claudia means she’s free from criticism despite constantly being called out by the main cast. It’s less funny at times and more irritating that she can’t understand the story is moving in a much different direction than originally written and should act accordingly. 

This is a personal gripe however. Like I said, there’s only 9 chapters of this manga currently translated so there’s plenty of time for things to get better. This might not even be a line crossed with most readers, but it’s crossed it for me so I’m going to mention it. That’s not a deal breaker, but it is annoying to read through. 

Sadly, this manga only has 9 chapters out as of me typing this, and translations has moved to a crawl. The original novel seems have slowed as well in terms of translation speed, so this might just be a pointless inclusion on the list. Nonetheless, it’s definitely an interesting short read, if only for that 

Fuck it, I’ll make a thumbnail myself.

I’ve been meaning to find an excuse to talk about Villainess Ventures for a while, months really, and with this giant review/impressions/overview of villainess stories now’s as good a time as any.

So, if you’ve been following me for awhile you might occasionally hear me mention the youtube channel SugarPunch Design Works, a channel ran by Majikura and A Bad Idea (ABI for short). These two do a mix of parody recall episodes, animation critiques and discussions, podcasts, and anime harem reviews. The latter was something ran by Majikura with some animated bits by ABI. However, due to difficult copyright and fair use issues, Majikura has gone on record saying the harem reviews are more or less in hiatus until mentioned otherwise. In the meantime, he’s made a Webcomic on Tapas called Villainess Ventures, a comedic webcomic that treats villainy as a business and deconstructs/parodies common villain tropes. The premise is simple, protagonist Veronica Nightingale is a consultant for villains, advising them on schemes, giving them new business avenues, and so on. Like I said, there are a lot of tropes being played with here. That’s the basic synopsis, I’ve nothing more to say aside from that I’ve enjoyed reading it and I recommend you all give a look.

...

...

...

...

Look, I know I kind of railed on the last three series there for at least a paragraph each, but... well, this is a bit different. I don’t exactly feel comfortable critiquing a webcomic in the same vain I do other series, as this is a free comic that is available on a website at no cost. Technically the last three are in that same vein of being free to read, but that’s through piracy and are technically official works for purchase, just not on English sites/stores. I view webcomics in the same way I do things on fanfiction.net and fictionpress.net, I only review and critique things on request and on my own time (and yes, people on both these sites have requested reviews/critiques from me at points). At the moment I’d say the only strike I have against this series is that the artist/writer could announce their hiatuses more accurately, but that’s it. Overall this webcomic is updated weekly, one page per week, with a month or two of hiatus after every two-ish arcs. If you wanted my personal recommendations Professional Henchman and Join my Team are my favorites at the moment. The character designs are pretty good, you’ll find your favorite among the cast rather quickly, and it’s starting to get updated again as of me typing.

Like I said, this is a webcomic that’s free to read on a site that’s, as far as I’m aware, free to use and sign up to comment and subscribe to your favorite comics on the site. And feel free to subscribe to this comic and tell ‘em Allen X sent you.

And that is it for this Rambling. I still have to wrap up the Arknights essays... so there’s that. I’ll see you all a bit later. 

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Hendrix

[Goodreads]

I had somewhat mixed feelings about this book even just coming in, owing to my own history with the story of Cinderella and with fairytales in general. 

Fairytales are of a particular interest to me, I love meta stories-about-stories, and the Disney Cinderella was a favorite movie of mine growing up, but I tend to be a bit “eh” about adaptations of Cinderella, especially ones that try to be commentary on the story, since I feel that 1) Cinderella is a story we’re oversaturated in mediocre adaptations thereof and 2) Many commentaries or deconstructions of fairytales, especially Cinderella, tend to feel very shallow and much less interesting than a straightforward retelling would be. Featuring such tired tropes as “What if the Prince was a JERK or DUMB or a DUMB JERK” and “Cinderella’s too passive! What if she was feminist and knew KUNG FU?” Or whatever. Maybe add in some “Let’s take it back to its GRIMM roots by cutting someones head or toes off.”

So needless to say the summary of this didn’t look too promising to me as it basically sounded like “Cinderella gets her happy ending only to discover that being a Princess is BORING and involves a lot of pointless things like NEEDLEWORK and DIPLOMACY. And her Prince is BORING! Shows what you get for getting engaged to someone after one date! Now Cinderella must escape to a more exciting life of MARRYING A CUTE, DIFFERENT BOY!”

Actually reading the book, the general writing was more interesting and less shallow than I was afraid it was going to be, but I’m still not enthralled- more details (and spoilers) under the cut.

First off, the book is waaaaay more horrifying than the summary made it sound, which really works in its favor since I actually rapidly gave a shit about Ella getting away from the palace environment. The palace is less “boring” and more “boring on top of psychologically torturous due to Ella having little to no freedom to move around or make decisions like ‘lighting the fire in my own room because I was cold’ without potentially severe consequences.”

The principal antagonist is Madame Bisset, Ella’s decorum instructor, who’s the primary person trying to mold Ella into the doll-like caricature of princessdom she’s expected to be, and when bullying and lectures aren’t enough to make Ella give in she goes as far as to have her imprisoned and starved and threatened with rape at the hands of a prison guard. 

(Meanwhile, the King and Queen are hardly mentioned, and the Prince himself... I’m not quite sure how to describe him. He’s a bit like Gaston from the Beauty and the Beast Disney movie, only with barely any self-motivation- he takes initiative in tormenting Ella like once, but otherwise is shown to be an essentially empty person, following the bidding and desires of his advisers and having no understanding of anyone.)

Madame Bisset is absolutely reprehensible no doubt, though she’s a little more interesting as time goes on both due to being a much more credible threat than I thought she might be and the tidbit of backstory we get on her having originally been a poor commoner, though her backstory isn’t expanded upon. Admittedly, probably for the best- the book is told exclusively through Ella’s POV and I definitely wouldn’t care about prodding into More About Madame Bisset’s Deal if I was in Ella’s situation because hello, got an escape from an abusive hellhole to plan.

Anyway, yeah- Ella is a sympathetic character, the main villain is effective, but everyone else were varying degrees of “eh” to me.

It’s probably as an examination of the Cinderella story that I’m most conflicted, because there’re a couple of interesting bits in it but I feel like it doesn’t quuuite rise above the flavor of mediocrity I ranted about earlier in the post. The conclusions it seems to reach are “People like the Cinderella story because it ends happily ever after when real life generally doesn’t” and “Happiness in life is something you earn, not something that can be granted to you,” some of which has merit to it but it gets bogged down along the way by things like “The Cinderella story is SILLY because it involves MAGIC and MAGIC ISN’T REAL” and things like the distastefully-and-unconvincingly written Quog (earlier mentioned prison guard/serial rapist, talks like a cartoon caveman. Author, why.)

It’s a readable enough book, but I don’t think I’m interested in picking up the other books in the series.

Congratulations Jayne you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Marcus McKinnon!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

There’s a lot of people who are super excited to have your Marcus back in the mix! And reading over your application just made us really nostalgic and happy that he was coming back. It’s clear how much time and effort you’ve taken into developing his character, which really makes him jump out to us as someone we’d hate to do without in the roleplay -- and we’re so excited for you to explore some of the plot points that you’ve developed and take him further along in his journey! You’ve been missed!

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

My name is Melissa Jayne but I prefer to go by Jayne, I am 23 (blah - feel old), she/her pronouns please and I live in the GMT+1 timezone, United Kingdom.

ACTIVITY

I plan to be pretty active, keep up with activity requirements and interact with everybody. 7/10, because a girl needs to earn money and get her beauty sleep ;)

TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

HOW DID YOU FIND US?

I was here before :)

WHAT HARRY POTTER CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST?

I don’t think I really connected or identified with any one character, I loved them all individually for different reasons and the books and characters were like a family to me. I loved Nymphadora Tonks the most, though I wouldn’t say I was anything like her - her ability to change her appearance seemed cool and she was clumsy just like me.

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER

Marcus; /ˈmɑːkəs/; MAR-kuws Meaning>>  Dedicated to Mars - Ancient Rome        

Elliott;  /ˈɛliət/;  EH-lee-ət Meaning>>  With Strength and Right/ Bravely and Truly/ Boldly and Rightly

McKinnon; /məˈkɪnən/;  MUH-kin-on Meaning>> Fair Born/ Fair Son - Gaelic

FACE CLAIM

Garrett Hedlund!

REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER

I have always loved Marcus, from the first moment I read his biography and realised that of course, Marlene would have siblings. I played Marcus as my first ever character here and I adored him, the character development and the interactions and the relationships I was able to create with him. I want a chance to work on him again, redevelop him and bring him into a new environment with a clean slate and a fresh start.

Call to mind a man in a nice, crisp suit, leaning back in an office chair, one foot up on the desk in front of him as he nibbles absentmindedly on the end of a quill. This is the image of Marcus that comes to mind whenever I think about him. He is professional, intelligence and shrewd, however, he has a softer side of him. He doesn’t trust easily but once his trust is earned, he is at your disposal. He is loyal to his friends, putting their needs above his own and he adores his sister Marlene. He takes his job very seriously but he enjoys messing around with his colleagues and building good relationships with them.

In Hogwarts he was always one with the clear head. He made sure his friends kept out of trouble and that his homework was done at least two days before it was due. He enjoyed playing Quidditch and ate chocolate eclairs by the bucket load. He passed all of his OWLS, the majority with Outstanding grades, though he never bragged about them and instead, celebrated the grades of others and encouraged his friends out of their disappointment. He can be a little bit of a smart arse, which often gets him playfully punched or whacked with a pillow. He has also been known to sulk about little things and hold grudges unfairly.

PREFERRED SHIPS // CHARACTER SEXUALITY // GENDER & PRONOUNS

Marcus is heterosexual and I have no preferred ships for him, I like ships to form through chemistry and good writing. He uses he/him pronouns and identifies as a male.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER:

A MOODBOARD [x]

AN AESTHETIC [x]

A PLAYLIST [x]

A FEW HEADCANONS

When Marcus was five, he fell into a lake on a family trip and almost drowned. His father dove in to save him. Ever since that day, he had been terrified of the water. he can swim, but if he can avoid it, he will do so with every fibre of his being.

Marcus has always been incredibly protective over his sister, and oddly, her friends. He saw them all as sisters that needed to be watched over.

Frank has been his best friends since they sat together on the train on their first day at Hogwarts. Despite their different houses, they remained close and by each others side. Marcus kept Frank out of trouble and Frank encouraged Marcus to cut loose every once in a while.

Marcus joined the Ministry because his father advised him to do so. He has never truly known what he wanted to do for a career.

A FEW POTENTIAL PLOT POINTS

Marcus’s old injury continues to cause his grief, effecting his combat skills and even his ability to tackle stairs. It isn’t until he collapses in front of Amos that he admits that something is not right.

Marcus tries to prove his worth and ends up making a deal with the wrong man, or the wrong Deatheater and he ends up in turmoil, struggling to get a grip on his life and career.

Marcus quits his job at the Ministry and lives off of his parents money for several months whilst he tries to scrape his life back together. A Ministry career had never really been for him anyway.

Marcus dies whilst fighting alongside his family, in the final weeks of the war. He dies knowing that he fought for the right side and as hard as he could.

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

Marcus runs a hand through his hair as he ponders the question. His father is currently going bald because he runs his hand through his hair too often, especially, like Marcus, when he is deep in thought. “I honestly don’t know, every potion or spell I have ever needed has already been invented. Perhaps a charm to convert my thoughts into words without lifting a quill? Late night reports are a bitch for hand cramps”.

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“I would take Frank with me, without a doubt, partly because he is brave but mostly because if I didn’t, he would bitch and whine at me until I threw myself from the astronomy tower, simply to get some peace” he joked, though he sucked his lips as he thought hard on the next part. “A knife, probably, since there is some creepy shit in that place and if I my wand was knocked from my hand, I’d like to be able to defend myself”.

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

“Ones that compromise my character?” he half asked, shrugging a little. “I haven’t had to make too many hard decisions, but I suppose if I had to decide on who to save between two people I loved, that would be an impossible decision”.

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

He leaned back in his chair, clasped his fingers together on his lap and glances towards the ceiling as his mind repeats the question. “I… don’t know” he said quietly, his eyes slowly moving from the ceiling and back to the interviewer. “I guess I would hate for anyone to call me a coward… does that count?”

WRITING SAMPLE

He wasn’t entirely sure as to how he was keeping his eyes open, but he assumed it might have something to do with the three mugs of coffee that he had guzzled whilst changing into his formal wizarding robes. High Society, Pureblood gatherings were not his cup of tea, or coffee as it were, but as his mother had attempted to guilt trip him and eventually blackmailed him, he had had no choice in whether he attended or not. As soon as he had finished at the Ministry for the day, he had rubbed his tired eyes, groaned in annoyance as he had glanced at his calendar and remembered his obligation and headed home to his apartment to change.

As it always was, the social gathering was full of smartly dress men and elegantly dressed ladies, lavish surroundings that were no doubt decorated, polished and prepared by house elves and a banquet that was fit for kings, which many of those among the pureblood society believed they were. His mother and father had not wanted to attend and he had known exactly why - they hated these gatherings just as much as he and Marlene did. To make the night worse, as if that could be possible, he had barely slept in the past week and wondered several times if he was simply dreaming of being at a party, but every time he accidentally bumped into someone and they scowled at him, he was reminded that he was very much awake.

Nursing a glass of whiskey, he scanned the crowd for any signs of a friend, perhaps Frank or Lucinda, but neither seemed to have been invited or been inclined to attend that night. He wished he had been able to take his sister with him, though they would have likely been given the same glances that the Carrow siblings received any time they walked into a room together. Marlene had only recently been released from the hospital though and she was fragile in his eyes, so he hadn’t wanted to throw her into a room of stuffy Purebloods. When they were younger, they had sat in the corner and giggled as they mocked the other party goers, but it wasn’t the same when he was mocking them by himself and he suspected that speaking out loud to himself would only earn him a reputation of being ‘touched in the head’.

An hour passed by before he finally admitted to himself that he had had more than enough and it was time for him to leave. Finishing the whiskey in his glass, he placed the glass on a nearby table and headed for the door, swerving in and out of people as he did so, keeping his head down and his eyes averted. He could almost feel the eyes that turned his way and he moved through the crowd, but refused to look up until he had left the home of whichever Pureblood had thrown the party - he had completely forgotten and didn’t care in the slightest. Taking a deep breath, feeling the icy air fill his lungs, his head cleared and he breathed a sigh of relief, before taking out his wand to apparate home and share tales of his awful night with his sister.

Next time, he would let his mother post his baby pictures to everyone at the Ministry and be done with it.

I know you only said one thing about it but I love your interpretation of the Ryouma+Hinoka dynamic as close but not too close. I've always seen a certain distance between them in their supports that not present in the relationship between Sakura+Takumi, for example. I think your fic captures well how there's a bit of a lack of communication between Ryouma+Hinoka, which of course, is due to each of their own personalities.

Thank you so much! I’m glad to see that someone else understands where I’m coming from with my interpretation. 

I’m the oldest of four kids so to an extent, I understand Ryoma fairly well--or at least, I understand that aspect of his character: “the oldest sibling.” There are certain responsibilities the oldest has to take on, for example. They’re the guinea pig child, too. They are the child raised in the strictest environment. They get the most alone-time attention with their parents. They remember things the younger ones don’t.

I can’t remember the exact age I decided on, but I headcanon Ryoma as being maybe 8 years older than Hinoka. He remembers a time before her. He remembers being the center of attention (to the extent royalty’s children can be, so perhaps not always 100% in his parents’ eyes, but like he remembers focus being on him a lot). In particular I think he has a lot of memories of his father.

Fast-forward to his father’s death and the other kids are mostly babies. Takumi and Sakura are probably there in his mind solidly as family but they’re little kids. Babies, really. No older than toddlers I’d say. Azura and Corrin and Hinoka are a little older, but they’re not at an age that...allows him to really...bond with them. Azura’s distant due to her own history (and even though Ryoma has accepted her as “family” let’s not kid ourselves and say that at this age he’s 100% on board with it and feels connected to her the way he would a blood relative). Corrin gets kidnapped. 

That leaves Hinoka as the closest in age and the one most likely to understand what he’s feeling. Even then, she’s more than 5 years younger than him. I think I assumed she was something like 7 or 8 when her father died which made Ryoma into his teens. He was already dealing with puberty and a metric tonne of impending responsibilities and now he deals with guilt about his sibling’s kidnapping + his father’s death, too. Hinoka’s still years away from being able to see things the way he does.

(Got long, under a cut!)

But Hinoka is at that age where she looks up to Ryoma, sees him a little like she saw her father. He’s older, wiser, more experienced than she is...but he’s her brother. He’s not unattainable in the sense that...he will listen to her. He will talk to her. And he probably does for the others, too, who are left (Azura, Takumi, Sakura), but he’s not heavily involved in the care of the babies and he has a lot of work on his plate for a kid. Yeah, he’s not running the kingdom but he’s the obvious heir. He has a lot to learn and he has to learn it fast. I think he and Azura kind of respect each other’s space and don’t talk much. But Hinoka is an emotional person and as a kid who misses (and remembers) her real mother, not to mention her father and Corrin, it’s like...she has to talk to someone. That someone is Ryoma.

I feel like this probably formed a bond between them: going through this experience together, remembering it with some serious clarity. Ryoma remembers it better and bears a lot of personal guilt, but Hinoka didn’t manage to escape it, either, as we see with Corrin. She’s young enough that she feels the pull to be better, to protect against that kind of thing ever happening again, to maybe even right the wrong that was done against her family. Ryoma just feels guilty about not stopping it, about even being jealous of Corrin...which as a struggling teen is understandable, but as an adult now, in his own mind...is unforgivable.

The other kids feel guilty too, or bad, but Hinoka and Ryoma were old enough that they can’t feel blameless. Like, logically speaking Takumi and Sakura could not have done anything and know their feelings are a bit, erm, unreasonable. Ryoma and Hinoka, though...don’t get that bit of reassurance (though I’d argue Hinoka deserves it). 

Notice, however, that this bond isn’t especially mutual. I doubt Ryoma ever really dared to burden Hinoka with the deeper problems he faced growing up. But I think there was a little give-and-take; I think of all the kids he will always feel that it’s Hinoka who understands him best, because she’s related to him directly and she remembers their parents--not exactly as he does, but better than anyone else. 

Anyway, I like it a lot because the implication is that they’re close but because of the age difference and his status as the oldest, there’s still always going to be a bit of a barrier there. 

What really peeves me off about all this is how Yukimura was completely ignored by the game except as a Corrinsexual character, but could have been absolutely amazing in the role of a confidant/friend to Ryoma. He’s not that much older than Ryoma, he remembers his parents, he loooved his father and looked up to him as a father figure...

And yet the game kind of just shrugs and refuses to allow Ryoma a companionship with Yukimura. It could have been interesting to explore why they’re not BFFs also, if there was a bit of a rivalry between them for Sumeragi’s affection/attention/whatever...but we get nothing. Eh, I guess...we can use our imaginations?

Either way, I think Hinoka is still fairly good at reading Ryoma, at understanding him. But I also feel this is a bit one-sided. He knows her but I don’t think they’re that close--if that makes sense. “Closest” doesn’t always mean “super duper close BFFs 5ever” after all. And sometimes that’s fine. He’s always going to feel some responsibility for Hinoka I think and therefore always hold back in telling her things/in really letting her deeply know him.

(And yet we see how fast he bonds with Scarlet. But it makes sense, right? Her personality is a type he’s generally attracted to, she’s closeish to his age, and yet...she’s clearly independent of him in every way; he doesn’t feel responsible for her and has no trouble sharing his actual personality and things about his life with her--things he seems to kind of suck sharing with his own siblings. But again, he sucks at it because they’re going through their own things and he’s so much older than they are that he feels he has to “set an example” and “be the adult” which...isolates him a bit. That problem doesn’t exist with Scarlet. She’s not even from his kingdom. He really feels he can be himself with her and that’s a bit fascinating to think about--but sad, too. I think Hinoka would like Ryoma to feel that he could share things with her, too--and I think she’d feel patronized by his silly attempts to protect her by not burdening her.)

Today was decent. Not particularly thrilling but nothing this week has been. Tomorrow is my last full day here and I'm having mixed feelings. Like part of me is kind of sad the trip is over already, but part of me also feels like I have been here for a while now and it just doesn't feel permanent to me, like it doesn't feel like home, it doesn't feel like my life. And I guess that's kind of sad given this is where my family lives, but it's just not my everyday, not where I always want to be. I want to be at work because I love my job, I want to be at school because as hard as law school is I so enjoy being there, I want to be at my church because the people there are amazing and I feel like I can connect with God without having to deal with all the righteous hypocrisy that plagues too many of the churches I've been to. That stuff is my life, and none of that is here. I feel guilty when I see things like my mom's post from yesterday though, like her worrying about me living so far away, and like, I don't want to make my mom sad of course, it's just....I don't know. It's complicated. Family stuff I'll maybe work out in therapy some day when I have the time and need to do so. But anyway. I woke up earlier than I have been and couldn't fall back asleep. I originally actually woke up at 5:39 am and couldn't fall back asleep but did after a while, then rewoke up at 10:39 am (I shit you not) and couldn't fall back asleep again, at which point I said fuck it and got out of bed. I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom and when I opened the door my brother jumped out and tried to scare me, and I jumped a little bit. I went downstairs and talked to my mom, and she suggested we go get food again lol because she likes going out with me, she said we could go to the same place again but I said 3 times in one week might be a bit much....so instead we settled on another cute breakfast place by us that also happens to be where I'm going with my cousin and brother tomorrow.....but hey, we don't have unlimited options here lol. So I go back upstairs to get changed, and wait outside my brothers door for like 10 minutes waiting for him to come out and jumped out at him, which was very much worth the wait. While I was waiting, our golden retriever who's not supposed to be upstairs but sneaks up there anyway pushed the door to my room open as it want closed all the way, then it drifted closed behind him and he couldn't get out and started barking.....crazy dog. So then I got changed and drove to the breakfast place. I was gonna get French toast or pancakes or something being that I pretty much always get something like that, but instead decided on getting an egg sandwich because my sister had one the other day and it looked really good, plus I'm going back there tomorrow so I can always try the other stuff then. And maybe I should try to eat less sugar because I eat a lot of sugar, lol. So I got a bacon egg and cheese on a roll sandwich (with a side of fruit) that was quite good, so we had a nice little meal. After that my mom wanted to stop at trader joes so we did that, and they were giving out samples of their caramel nut popcorn called "Rosencrunch and Guildenpop" and who can name that slightly obscure theatre reference?? I was sufficiently amused. While we were checking out we were about to get on one line when my mom saw someone she knew so she went to get online behind them and they're talking and going on, and the cashier and I are just like, standing there looking at each other like welp, lol. Of course later in the transaction my mom runs into ANOTHER person she knows, so that was even better, and the cashier and I are just like laughing at this point. Like I mentioned earlier, she was definitely flirting with me a bit and I didn't really mind lol. I mean, it's nice to have attention? Occasionally I'll wonder that if because I have short hair and don't always wear make up/sometimes wear not the most feminine clothes people might think I look like a lesbian, but it's not something I give that much thought to (okay that might be a little bit of a stretch, I give a decent amount of thought to it). It's just....complicated due to growing up in a ridiculously homophobic Christian environment and still having brothers who throw around words like "dyke" on a regular basis (like "I saw these two dykes at the bar the other day kissing") and it's just...strange for me at least. It doesn't carry over into my thoughts on anyone else, at all, it's just something that enters my mind more than I would like it to because it's really fucking stupid and I know I really shouldn't give a crap anyway......this is becoming an unnecessary rant that I'm probably not even explaining well enough, so I'm just gonna end that here. It's complicated. But anyway. So we had a nice little interaction before we left the store. After that my mom wanted to stop at marshalls and shop for a bit. Ever since I started needing business like clothing and have needed a good bit of it (this semester I'll be in business wear 3 days a week, last semester it was 4) I'm always trying to find different combinations and such, which makes me go kind of marshalls crazy because they have a ton of good stuff for that. I was mostly looking for solid color tops and solid color pants to match with my many patterned tops and pants, and also just to get more pants in general since it's getting cold now and being in a skirt is becoming less ideal. So I did quite a bit of damage in that area haha, they just have some really good stuff for that, so I got a bunch of cute solid color things and a few patterned things because I'm weak, okay? I did get a white sweater with black stars that look kind of drawn on and it's totally my *aesthetic* and I was very pleased with that lol. But we finished up there and headed home, and shortly after getting there my sister got home from school and wanted to go to chickfila because of course she did, so I took her there. I was still kind of full from my earlier meal, so I just got a yogurt parfait (with chocolate cookie crumbs, of course). So we sat and ate that did a while and it was nice. We started talking about movies a bit and decided we would watch 400 Days when we get back, so that's what we did. I probably made it worse for myself by reading the damn review that made it seem like the creepy zombie guy was like, the entire second half of the movie, instead of like in two stupid scenes. So when he showed up I started freaking out a bit lol and then he disappears so for the whole rest of the damn movie I'm like omg he's gonna pop out any second now and he does come back eventually and Brandon Routh's fucking character lets him out of the cage he was in because ??? Lol, but other than that it was a pretty good movie, not really scary but definitely thriller. The plot does seem kind of aimless at points, like it sets you up for a big reveal and then kind of just drops off. Brandon and Caity were freaking awesome in it though, Brandon's character was cracking me up because he starts it getting bailed out of jail for being in a bar fight and I'm just like....lol, definitely no Ray Palmer here. And he's talking about how upset he is that his girlfriend just dumped him, who we then find out is Caity's character, who's also going into the 400 day simulation with him and just two other people.....kind of awkward eh? Lol. And then we find out later (spoiler alert) the guy running the simulation told her she had to break it off with him if she wanted to do the mission because it wasn't the kind of data they wanted or some bs like that and his character gets really mad that she didn't tell him....and then Tom Cavanagh shows up for a while and his character is just like....???? What the hell are you doing here??? Very random lol but fairly entertaining. Then of course the end is like the thing goes off saying oh your simulation is done come outside we're all here to celebrate with you but they had just been outside and it was like this desolate wasteland with crazy people and moon dust, and then it's just the two of them and they hold hands and then it just ends without showing us what happens and I'm like......dude, you're killing me!! I don't like not knowing what happens, lol. But overall it was a pretty good movie that I enjoyed and I'm just gonna pray I don't get too many nightmares from it because that's usually what happens when I watch scary movies and I'm so not a fan. But anyway. After that we kind of skipped between a few different things, and watched like one song's worth of the recording of Shrek the musical (not my choice) but my sister eventually settled on what to expect when you're expecting, which we watched back in like 2013 when we were just binging rom-coms and she wanted to watch it again. I liked it again the second time around, I forgot wha happens with Anna Kendrick's character and that made me sad but otherwise it's a pretty well done and cute movie. After that I just hung out for a while but then went outside the back room to go sit in the living room with my parents because I was thinking about my mom's post yesterday and wanting to give her more time to see me, but it ended up not being a great idea because my dad started bitching over the person supposedly hassling Ivanka Trump on the plane and when I said the person covering it doesn't seem to care about the several Muslim families that have been harassed on planes since the election and he got all pissy and was like "that's not even relevant stop" and I was just like ????? I have no fucking clue how you live in your goddamn bubble where someone harassing Ivanka Trump on an airplane is the worst thing that's ever happened meanwhile minorities everywhere are being harassed and straight up abused, but that's not relevant?? Like no, shut up. So I made some comment about not knowing how much he could respect me anyway while voting for someone like that which I'm fairly sure pissed him off more but at that point I didn't even care because it was true anyway, there's a good chunk of my respect that he lost by voting for Trump that he's never going to be able to win back, and that's just how it is. So I was kind of pissy with him for the rest of the night, and then my sister basically had a teenager tantrum because my parents were saying this place she's decided she wants to have her sweet 16 is too far away and nobody will be able to come (and to be fair it's like, on the queens border, so at least an hour drive from us) but she was just not having it and it carried on for a while because even though she was being a brat they were also being obstinate about it and I was just like ffs she just wants to look at the place her sweet 16 isn't until goddamn October she can look at the place it's not gonna hurt anything and that was basically the conclusion they came to, but with a lot more unnecessary whining and such. Sigh, lol. I rarely actually get annoyed at my sister mostly because I just love her so much, and even when I can acknowledge she's acting like a brat (which she does sometimes) it doesn't really make me mad at her and I wasn't really annoyed with her tonight, so it was just whatever. And yeah, after that I just hung out for a bit before heading to get ready for bed, and that was my day. I have to be up in 9 hours now so I guess I'll be going to sleep now. Goodnight peeps. Happy weekend. And oh, no grades still. Sigh.

146. Sonic the Hedgehog #81

Two things before we get started. First, for whatever reason, for most of the duration of the Sonic Adventure arc starting now, everyone apparently just felt like being credited with only their last names, as well as not bothering to list who actually worked on what. Not sure why, and it makes it more annoying to try to credit everyone properly myself, but I think I got most of the names figured out properly. Second, this and many of the rest of the issues of this arc have a weird quirk with the lettering. Specifically, nearly a full quarter of the dialogue is printed not by hand, but by a computer, which is usually a sure sign that some dialogue or lore was changed in between the lettering process and the printing process. Of course, this happens from time to time with scattered lines here and there, and it's usually no big deal, which is why I haven't bothered mentioning it before now on the rare occasions when it's happened, but it's incredibly prevalent in these next few issues, and I'm not really sure why. Most of the changed lines have something to do with the worldbuilding or the specifics of the hidden city, so my best guess is that their explanations for everything they borrowed from the games and how it all fits into the preboot universe changed significantly halfway through the production process, and they had to change all references to those materials as a result. But no matter! Onto the story!

City of Dreams…

Writer: Bollers and J.F. Gabrie Pencils: FRY Colors: Gagliardo

Amy is still struck by wonder at her sudden age-up, but is shaken from her thoughts as she gazes into a reflective window by the exclamations of the rest of the group as they stand in the middle of the underground city. Pretty much all dialogue pertaining to the city being underground, and the specifics of how that works, are machine-lettered, making me think perhaps originally the city was above-ground and just hidden behind the mountain or something, and late in production they decided to change it to being an underground city in an artificially controlled environment. Anyway, as you might have guessed by now, this Hidden City of the Ancients is actually Station Square, and the group, looking very out of place amongst all the gawking Overlanders, quickly find themselves surrounded by police, who quickly drop their confrontational demeanor as soon as they recognize Nate standing amongst the Mobians.

Damn, Sally, eight months old? Are you including words like "googoo" and "dada" in that claim or were you really just that level of infant savant? The lieutenant escorts the group to the Station Square Hotel, where they spend the night, and in the morning the leader of Station Square, Mayor Bullyani, takes them on a tour of the city as he informs them that they've seen no sign of trouble around the place lately, though they appreciate the Freedom Fighters' concern about Robotnik's potential invasion. He invites them to explore for themselves, and while most of the group is content to stay aboard the Elerail…

…Sonic, Tails, and Amy all race off to do some solo exploring. Amy hits up the shopping mall, Tails does some aerial tricks in the Tornado above the city (being mindful of the false sky), and Sonic initially stops back at the hotel, intending to go off and find some "real excitement," but instead finds himself content to lounge next to the pool playing guitar for a gaggle of heart-eyed Overlander women in swimsuits. I gotta say, Sonic being drawn in by the attention bikini-clad women doesn't really seem very in character for him - it's not like he's ever been the ladies' man type - but eh, whatever. As the tour comes to a close, the mayor mentions that in fact, his people don't even call themselves "Overlanders," but "humans." Well then! Finally the H word has been spoken! I suppose this is just another way to differentiate themselves from the four-fingered Overlanders, and indeed, since the city is underground, it would indicate the term "Overlander" is actually more descriptive than previously thought - they literally live over the land.

I find it interesting that these guys have somehow remained so perfectly hidden that even Robotnik never troubled them until now. I mean, I guess in that regard their isolationism has worked well for them, although now that they've finally been found, we know trouble is on its way - or rather, chaos…

All You Need is a Bit of Chaos

Writer: Penders Pencils: Butler Colors: Gagliardo

Ey, speaking of! Robotnik is trying to "feed" the weakened Chaos with the shards of the Master Emerald he picked up before, but it only feebly wiggles, unable to grow very large. He decides to analyze one of the shards to find out why, and…

Well, maybe this is why you shouldn't have outright shattered the thing, Robotnik! I mean, how hard would it have been to just pick it up whole and haul it out of there? Now you've got useless green shards in your lab, all sorts of real emerald pieces scattered around the immediate geographical area, and a random piece of Chaos is missing to boot. Somehow, he already seems to know that this missing piece was absorbed into a frog, and thus sends out his E-series of robots to find it. Ah, so that's the explanation for Froggy's kidnapping! Of course, anyone who had played the game or watched the anime knew already that the robot that took Froggy was Gamma, which means the scene we're looking at now happened a little bit in the past.

At the current moment, Knuckles finds himself in the ruins excavated by Robotnik in the Mysterious Cat Country, finding them to look eerily similar to many of the ruins on the Floating Island and wondering if echidnas had a settlement here too in the past. He happens to stumble upon a few Master Emerald shards, and tucks them away to take with him as he searches, though he seems to feel a chill as though someone is watching him… For now, though, we cut to a boat sailing the choppy sea waves, with four familiar faces on board, guarded by those angry-looking kitties from before!

Maybe because you haven't said a thing till now, lady? She has her guards usher the captives along while she walks ahead to an ornate building in the jungle, saying she's going to fetch the queen. However, once she's inside, another cat addresses her as "majesty" and hands her a cloak, which she dons, saying she intends to interrogate her prisoners as to their intentions. It's not made very clear here from the dialogue, but essentially, in the culture of these cats, clothing dictates ones role in society, meaning that she truly wasn't the queen until she put on the cloak. It's explained more in a far future issue, but for now, that much will do, I suppose.

A Rose Plucked

Writer: Bollers Pencils: Allan Colors: Gagliardo

Amy hasn't bothered meeting up with the rest of her group yet, enjoying the freedom that being older affords her, no longer needing a babysitter. She's brought back down to earth, however, when she looks up only to see a small green bird being shot at by several robots. One of the shots clips the bird, which lands on her head.

She deduces that these must be Eggman's robots, and - wait, Eggman? That's right - now that we've reached this arc, Robotnik officially begins to switch his name to Eggman in most cases! There are still a few instances here and there where he gets referred to as Robotnik, but for the sake of simplicity, from now on Robotnik is the original dictator who died in Endgame, while Eggman is our current metallic foe. The robot Amy's confronting advances on her, and in her anger, a hammer suddenly poofs into her free hand. She's surprised but doesn't miss a beat, smashing the robot upside the head and sending it flying.

Well that's certainly a departure from the game - more than one Zero, huh? The two robots grab her and fly away with her kicking and yelling in their grip, and the bird, left behind, decides to attempt to rescue her as she did for it, flying determinedly after her. Wait, if the robots were initially after the bird, why did they leave it behind to grab Amy instead…? Ah, never mind, this scene hardly even makes sense in the game itself, let alone the comic.