What two Danganronpa characters would make the best Doctor Who companions?

Like most of my DR posts, this just popped into my head at random at 1 am, but just off the dome, some possible answers might be:

Kaede and Ryoma. They have a pretty good rapport, Kaede is enough of a loose canon that she can get into situations and generate plot for episodes, Ryoma can have a series-long arc about seeing the value of his own life through experiencing the wonders of the universe and having to fight to survive them. Kaede rallies people who are in rough situations, Ryoma befriends small animals. (Series-long story arc of them falling in love? I'm ambivalent and prefer them as friends, but it's an option.)

Makoto and Byakuya. Makoto provides the necessary "everyman excited and confused by things" energy and his luck gets him into situations, Byakuya creates problems by trying to assert independence/control and casually bickers with the Doctor. Makoto befriends people everywhere he goes and embodies something the Doctor really loves about humanity, Byakuya occasionally manages to perform hostile takeovers in space. Sometimes the classic damsel scenario plays out where one of them gets kidnapped; when Byakuya and the Doctor find Makoto, he's friends with all his captors; when Makoto and the Doctor find Byakuya, he's...king? Of something? Now? (I kid. But also, series-long story arc of them falling in love, or they're just already dating at the start.)

Sonia and Akane. Two sides of the fish-out-of-water coin. In episodes where the setting is of the "trapped on a space ship with a crew running out of rations as they careen toward a dying star" variety, Sonia plays the role of "out-of-her-depth companion who mostly reacts to stuff" while Akane thrives in keeping everyone from starving too quickly, identifying when someone's temper is about to flare up and redirecting the energy to something productive or playfully competitive, and any running or climbing or physical exertion the situation deems necessary. In episodes where the setting is of the "alien royalty throwing a gala" variety, Akane plays the role of "out-of-her-depth companion who mostly reacts to stuff" while Sonia picks up on the cultural norms of this unfamiliar society, does her best to learn the language and courtesies, etc. And of course, each gets opportunities to shine in environments that aren't their usual fare, until both are really good at both, but that's the barebones model. (Also, series-long romance arc.)

Honestly, too many possibilities for one post; I might need to just make a tag for this.

Your monster boyos reactions to an s/o who's got bad anger issues (like, murderous anger issues) on nearly everyone but them?

Maybe they found this one in the back of a police cruiser. Maybe they found them with blood on their knuckles. They think nothing of it at first. Humans killing humans has been a process since the dawn of time. They get taken, one of the monsters take an interest in them, they start going steady, and things go pretty smoothly for a while.

But then, they see it in action. A captive who had a particular attitude towards the s/o goes missing from the holding pens. It takes a minute to find him, but they wish they hadn't. They walk in to find their s/o bashing the captive's head in, knuckles drenched in blood, screaming bloody murder like a maniac, and the only response they give is a glare that echos hate and ungodly rage. The captive isn't even recognizable anymore. His grey matter has been reduced to a stain on s/o's fists. The only thing that can be told about him is that he died in worse agony than most of the other monsters could even preform. All from a mere human. And s/o's only response about the whole encounter?

"He pissed me off."

What happens to the s/o afterwards? Do they get promoted into the Clergy or just given a wide distance by the others? Do they assist their partner? Is their partner impressed, nervous, and/or turned on by the display of gratuitous violence?

Whoever they are, it takes a bit more than just blunt strength or violence to get hired. Even Vinnel's brutality isn't completely senseless. You won't get hired, and you'll definitely get chastised. It doesn't matter what the other captive said to you, unless you were physically harmed, The Clergy sees this as unnecessary waste of products and is not empathetic towards you. And, naturally, humans aren't hired to work in the establishment regardless so you're not participating in anything unless a very close eye is kept on your person.

I can't think of a single clergyman who would be unimpressed or disheartened by this side of you, not one. Some of them are, in fact, very open about their enjoyment of your violence, those being namely Morell, Vinnel, Santi and Ludwig.

Morell just likes seeing a human gored, makes him kind of hungry. You got a lotta bite for a human, that will come in handy later, when you start helping him cook his long pigs. It takes some strength to crack a skull open, it may be easy for him, but others struggle. He's glad to see that spirit in ya!

Vinnel honestly thinks there's nothing funnier than humans killing other humans at the drop of a hat. He's torn between helping you or simply watching from a distance, feet kicking in the air from delight, toes curling. Uhuhu, you're some kinda crazy, aren't you?

It's been a long time since Santi has felt the need to get gory, but, demon that he is, guts and gore don't turn him off at all. In fact, he's very excited by the brute strength you exhibit and wants to feel that first-hand. He won't help you, but the incubus will watch with very heated eyes and purr quietly.

Ludwig is a wrath demon, you and him enable each other perpetually honestly. But he's kind of tired of having to keep himself in check constantly, and he understands the need to go off every once in a while, so he won't stop you or steal the fun away either. But he will get horny, and he might jerk off if he thinks he can get away with it. That's just how it rolls for wrath demons.

Gallon would be a bit grossed out if you did it near his bar, but other than that, he's entirely ambivalent, maul as many people as you want.

Sybastian and Fank-e will charge whoever you're brutalizing under the impression that you're been gravely slighted. They're going to fret over you afterwards, as if you're not completely fine...

Grimbly legitimately just fawns over you. You're so big and strong and imposing, you're always going to keep him safe, right? He's bragging about you to everyone under the sun. Patches also brags a little, but like the painslut he is, he wants you to get rough like that with him. He can take it, don't worry firefly.

Nebul observes from a distance as well. He'll start working on bottling all that anger up (and I mean "bottling", not managing), so he can then Pavlov you into fits of murderous rage for amusement.

The next part of my tierlist thing. This Time, it's characters I like or am completely ambivalent towards. This is most of them, since I only really really like 6 Justice League members from the 60s to the 80s.

B Tier:

Aquaman: Aquaman is no Namor (Namor is much cooler to me), but Aquaman is still an undersea monarch. He's regal and royal and I really like that. Marks are docked for not being as compelling as Namor, but he's still pretty good.

Hawkman and Hawkwoman: Being listed here as one entity. The Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman are boring aliens (not cool reincarnated ancients like their golden age counterparts), but they're still a bit cool. Cooler than any of the other silver age character revivals like flash or green lantern.

Firestorm: Firestorm has a cool concept. One of those teen heroes who actually sounds pretty cool. I haven't read any of his comics, but I'd be willing to try them one day. He's not my number 1 favorite though, so I'm just putting him in here for now.

Zatanna: Zatanna is magical, which is always a plus. I love magic and wizardry. And she's both a real magician and a stage show magician. She's pretty cool. There's cooler characters on here, but she's pretty cool.

Elongated Man: Elongated Man isn't my favorite character. I know very little about him, honestly. But I know he has no secret identity, and I really like that. That's enough to get him into B tier here.

C Tier:

Green Arrow (Oliver Queen): I don't dislike Green Arrow. I just don't know much about him. And he's not one of my favorites. I like him more than Barry Allen or Ray Palmer or Hal Jordan because I know he was made into a fleshed out character later, but I know little about his character. So he gets into the C Tier.

Black Canary: Similar to Green Arrow, I like her because I know she has a somewhat fleshed out personality. But I know little about her. So she gets into C tier.

Year in Review

Thanks @nyamadermont for tagging me!

1. Number of stories posted to Ao3: I posted and/or updated 20 stories in 2022.

2. Word count in 2022: 80,023

3. Fandoms I wrote for: Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender

4. Pairings: Linzolt, Linzin, Baavira, and Tyzula

5. Stories with the most:

Kudos: The Weight of Empire (Baavira)

Bookmarks: The Successor (Kuvira & Opal)

Comment threads:  The Successor

Word count: The Successor

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): I think I'm proudest—or at least fondest—of An Armada of Shoulds, It's probably my favorite Linzolt thing that I've written. I'm proud of it because it was my first attempt at writing from Zolt's point of view and I think I did a pretty good job with it, considering we only see him twice or so in the source material.

7.   Work I’m least proud of (and why): Agni Kais was supposed to be a grand, sweeping Tyzula reunion fic that touched upon the origins of the Republic City triads, but in the end I only wrote one chapter, and Azula wasn't even in it.

8.   Share or describe a favorite review you received: I adore every single comment that every single reader takes the time to write! It always makes my day when I see a notification for one in my email! But I guess my favorites lately have been the ones where readers tell me I've convinced them to ship something they either hadn't considered or were ambivalent towards before.

9.   A time when writing was really, really hard: Alwaysssss! But especially as I tried to work on Chapter 17 of The Successor (and still haven't succeeded in finishing it). I was trying to get inside Opal's head and write from her perspective, but it just wasn't working, so I decided to take a break from it for a while.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I enjoyed writing Tenzin in Tether more than I thought I would! Also, if someone told me back in 2020 that I'd become a Zolt stan, I probably wouldn't have believed them.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

"Lin and Tenzin were very different, but with work, they worked. He liked his curry puffs mild and with mung beans, and she liked hers filled with five-spice pigchicken, and it was fine—so long as she didn’t try to kiss him too soon after dinner. Sure, he wouldn’t come with her to Kwong’s Cuisine or the ostrich-horse racetracks, and she wouldn’t meditate on Air Temple Island or help brush the bison, but they met in the middle, with walks in the park and afternoon spars and simple meals at mom and pop restaurants. 

It was enough that most days Lin could forget the soulmark she’d been born with—a swirling flame on the fleshy pad at the base of her thumb—or the nonbender’s fingerprint that had appeared on his shoulder three years back. Most days the soul bond hummed faint as a song on the radio two rooms away, vaguely there, but not immediate enough to command her attention.

Today was not one of those days," from Marked, my Linzolt soulmate AU.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I tried to branch out a little by writing different tropes like a coffee shop au and a soulmate au.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: This year I'd like to work on my emotional range as a writer. I write a lot of fluff, and I'd like to branch out into some other fic categories like angst and hurt/comfort. In short, I'm trying to make y'all cry this year!

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

@orangepanic is such a prolific and talented writer (and also really nice and supportive of other writers)! Reading her work always inspires me to get back to my wips!

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: I think my lifelong love of city life has shown up in some of my Linzolt fics.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Write what honestly makes you happy, not what you think you should be writing, if that makes sense.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I have about three more chapters planned for The Successor and they will get written this year! I'm also really excited to keep working on House of the Flaming Boar, my au story in which married Linzolt end up as Mako and Bolin's foster parents.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read: Anyone who'd like to participate!

Blood and Thorns - Chapter 7 (Part 2)

Chapter 7 (Part Two): Parties and Invitations (Read Chapter 1 (part one) here) - (See here for a complete list of chapters) **Updated with major alterations April 30 2023

   While Frigga was busy with Leland, Marcus tried to take the opportunity to talk to some of his friends. To his disappointment, they were all talking about this or that magical thing. Not his idea of interesting talk so when he spied Rosalind Bloodswell standing on their own off to the side, Marcus cautiously made his way over.    Rosalind wasn’t someone Marcus knew well, they seemed to keep people at a distance on purpose, but it was his duty to get to know all the coven’s members, especially the heirs as he would more than likely be working with them the most. And to be honest? Marcus found Rosalind fascinating. They stayed out of the limelight, barely participated in the politics of the group meetings, and for being the heir of Victoria Bloodswell, they were pretty considerate of others.     And they were beautiful, like if a vampire and a fairy had a baby.

   Marcus did have a proclivity towards more masculine individuals and when Rosalind had transitioned a few years ago, it had caught Marcus’ attention. They often favoured masculine presentations, but usually had some flash of feminine flare or jewelry, a style choice Marcus could get on board with, for sure. Today’s ensemble wasn’t anything out of the ordinary with their black suit and remarkably cut jacket, but their ruby stud earrings complimented an ornate ruby and gold snake broach on their lapel. They seemed to be attempting to hide by pressing into the darkest wall and blending in with the hardwood shelves, but their camouflage was no match for Marcus’ social radar.    “Rosalind, hi.” Marcus took up a spot near them, but not too close. Not yet.    “Hello,” they looked at him, expectantly. They thought he had something in particular to say to them, Marcus supposed.     “So…Nice broach?”    That seemed to assure them he had no real business to discuss. Marcus was nothing if not socially gifted and a people person, Rosalind might stand to learn a thing or two from him, honestly. They took a sip of the drink they were holding. “Thank you.”    “It’s good to see you again. Are you enjoying yourself?”    Rosalind sipped again. “I do have some things I’ll be happy to get back to at home.”    So that was a no. Marcus laughed. “Yeah, I guess this isn’t really your thing huh?”    Rosalind looked out at the crowd with the smallest of grimaces. “No.” A beat of silence passed, Marcus let it. He didn’t want to pressure Rosalind into a conversation if they weren’t comfortable. But his patience was rewarded when they spoke again. “Congratulations on your engagement.”    “Oh, yeah, thanks, everyone’s jazzed about that huh?”    “It’s big for the coven.” Rosalind seemed ambivalent about it, and Marcus sensed they were just being polite. He would try and liven the conversation up a bit.    “Yeah, I guess… I don’t know, I think my old man’s over-excited about his son getting married off, and Sapphire scares the shit outta me.”     Marcus was rewarded with a chuckle, Rosalind’s mask of ambivalence cracking subtly, and it filled him with a warm feeling he hadn’t been expecting. “Yes, she’s intense.”    Marcus spotted his opening and snatched it. “You’re telling me! And I’ve gotta be around her so much, like, she’s a nice lady, and she and my dad are real good friends, but I think,” Marcus leaned in closer to Rosalind who inclined their ear to hear him as he dropped his volume a bit, “she needs a bottle of wine, if you know what I mean.”    They were amused and chuckled softly, keeping it low and toned down, but Marcus could tell they had enjoyed that a bit more than they were supposed to. Had he ever seen them laugh? He wasn’t sure.    “A lot of people in the coven do,” they agreed, taking a sip afterwards like they were trying to hide what they had said behind the glass.    “Yeah, y’all are too much. It’s always “tradition” this and “celestial” that and it’s like, I just wanna chill, I didn’t want to hear about blood pacts today! Ugh!”    Rosalind sighed. “Yes, I can certainly sympathize with that.” A loud group laughing from across the room caused the witch to flinch minutely.    “Are you alright?” Marcus asked.    Rosalind’s eyes shot back to him before sliding away again; he thought they were reddened, though their glance had been too brief to really see for sure. “Yes. I’m just… not fond of sudden loud noises.”    Marcus’ pulse quickened as an idea sprang to life in his mind. “You could always hide away in the library, it’s pretty quiet. I could show you, if you want.”    The offer apparently surprised Rosalind who peered at Marcus with a look of interest. "That library’s legendary.”    Marcus grinned. “My grandfather was a book hoarder, but I’ve never been one for technical study myself. History? Science? Math? Boring! Give me some poetry, and I’ll be good but anything else is torture.”    It was at this point Frigga and Leland returned to the party. She had not been particularly successful cleaning the boy up, but he was clearly not bothered by it. Marcus knew he didn’t have a lot more time to chat with Rosalind, but he didn’t want to end their conversation yet.    Rosalind swirled their drink, seeming to mutter to themself rather than speaking to Marcus. “Poetry, hm. I guess a little necromancy is out of the question then.”     Marcus decided to take a little risk, just to see their reaction. “Hey, bringing the dead back to life is pretty poetic! Sounds like a great first date to me.”    That caused Rosalind to falter for a breath, their eyes darted to the floor. “W-well uh, I suppose when you put it like that,” Rosalind hastily replied. “Unfortunately, I think if I were to disappear my mother would have a stroke.”    Well well, that was the most sanitized tone Marcus had ever heard. He decided to push more. He gently placed a hand on Rosalind’s shoulder. “You’ve gotta come over another time, then! I think I found something you might enjoy.”    Rosalind looked at the hand touching them and then back up to Marcus, a suspicious glint in their eye. “What?”    Marcus withdrew his arm and grinned. “Well, if I told you you might not come over.”    Rosalind seemed to mull over his reply, and Marcus tried to be patient for their answer despite the thrill in his chest. His hands began to trace his braid that was draped over his shoulder down his front, and he had to consciously keep himself from pulling it all out and rebraiding it again.    His guest finally replied, their gaze fixed on the hands fidgeting in his hair, “Alright, I’m curious.”    Marcus opened his mouth to speak but paused before deciding on a bit of honesty. “Maybe not tomorrow morning though, I might be a little hungover.”    Rosalind grimaced sympathetically and Marcus’ grinned at it. “My condolences,” they offered.     Had he ever heard Rosalind joke before? His chest warmed at the realization they’d just joked with him and Marcus laughed. “What’s a party without a good stream of wine? And my dad broke out the good stuff!”    Rosalind looked at their own glass, and it was now Marcus realized they were not indulging in the wine but had the carbonated juice that had been brought in for the kids. “Fair enough,” they murmured. “Enjoy a glass for me, then."    Curious. “Oh, I certainly will, but why not have one yourself?”    “Alcohol… doesn’t agree with me,” they said as if the idea of drinking wine had personally trampled on their favourite jacket.     Marcus nodded graciously. “Ah, well, then I shall endeavour to enjoy two glasses on your behalf.” He then tossed a look over his shoulder to look for his fiancé and found her cornered in a conversation with Moira Blackwood she seemed not quite happy to be in. He looked back to Rosalind, and he let his disappointment creep into his smile. “It looks like I must rescue the damsel.”    Their eyes flickered from him to Frigga across the room, and was that a wince? “Of course,” they replied dryly, offering their hand to shake, their eyes affixed somewhere behind him. “Congratulations, again.”    Marcus’ gut lurched with disappointment again, but it fluttered when he clasped their hand in a shake. It was just a bit chilled against his own, warm palm. “Thanks,” he answered, and, smiling with all the charm he could muster he asked, “I’ll be seeing you soon?”    Their eyes flashed up and met his eyes again and Marcus saw he’d gotten past their defences, just a little. The warmth in his chest fluttered. “Yes,” they replied, and they smiled. Smiled. He’d never seen them smile before, not one that wasn’t cynical, at least.     He rejoined his fiancée. Maybe he should feel bad about that little conversation, about inviting Rosalind over for some one-on-one, but it was just a bit of fun. He had always wanted to get to know Rosalind a bit better and it would be good for him to establish a better relationship with the Bloodswell family. It was all above-board, right? Nothing to be worried about.    Marcus and Frigga spent the rest of the evening doing their rounds, interspersed with a little dancing here and there. His father had hired a pianist for the evening, and Marcus did love a good dance. Frigga was a lovely dance partner, though her slight stature could make things a bit comical. Marcus wasn’t exceptionally tall, but the woman was the shortest adult he knew.    Eventually, the party came to its conclusion. Marcus could party with the best of them and, true to his word, he was pleasantly full by the evening’s end. He was a dignified tipsy, not completely drunk, so it didn’t reflect poorly on him. He’d fix that when everyone left, open wine shouldn’t be left to waste, after all.    Victoria and Rosalind were the last family to leave, save the Thornehearts, and Marcus was treated to another smile from Rosalind on their way out that made his heart skip a beat. Victoria elegantly lavished Theodore with praise about how wonderful a time she had had and how gorgeous the home was, it was almost comical and clearly too much for Rosalind who said nothing except the bare minimum before being whisked away.

///

   Leland burst through the door as the family arrived home and nearly crashed into Gertrude in his excitement. “Gerty! I did magic!” he proclaimed as the woman kept him from toppling over and gathered Leland into a hug.    “I see,” she answered enthusiastically, tugging at a portion of the boy’s altered sleeve. “Is that what this is?”    Leland nodded furiously and grinned. “Yeah, Celeste showed me how to make a dust ball, and I did it but it exploded!” He wriggled out of the woman’s hug and started running up the stairs and then back down.    Gertrude took Frigga and Sapphire’s jackets and called after him, “Tha’s wonderful!” and then muttered, “I’m so thrilled about that stain I’ll have to wash out.”    Sapphire chuckled softly and made her way up to her office and Frigga hesitated. “I don’t think you’ll win this battle, Gertrude,” she offered. When the woman looked at her, Frigga grimaced. “I tried washing it out, but he magically altered its colour. You might need to re-dye it.”    “Goodness,” said the woman. “That’s quite unique, just changing a fabric’s colour.”    Frigga hummed thoughtfully. “At least it was that and not something more dangerous. Celeste’s first spell nearly caused a window to shatter onto her brother.”    “I remember, but she’s come a long way, no?”    “I think so, Edna said she wanted Celeste to start participating in ritual soon.”    “It’s exciting, having another young one! We haven’t had a wee one since Aphrodite Rynauld came of age six years ago.”    Frigga politely smiled at Gertrude. “Let me know if you need help with it, I didn’t want to fiddle with the stain while Leland was wearing the suit.”    Gertrude curtsied. “‘Course, Miss.” The attendant then followed Leland to his room and Frigga followed her aunt to the office. The door was open, and Frigga heard Sapphire speaking with her manservant Stephan.    “And if you might fetch me Miss Wood, I’d appreciate it.”    “Ma’am? She’s off for the night.”    “I recognize that, but I need to speak with her about tomorrow’s work. I’m switching her shift to overnights.”    Switching Razi’s shift? How peculiar. Stephan bowed, abruptly turned, and swept out of the room.    “Frigga!” Sapphire called when she saw her niece in the doorway. “Come on in, I’ve just had Stephan go down for some tea!” Frigga obeyed and entered the room, sitting on the armchair by the fireplace. “What a wonderful party, Theodore has such wonderful taste!”    The younger witch watched pensively as her aunt peeled off the ornate silk shrug she wore on top of her silver and blue dress. “I’m so happy for Leland,” Frigga replied with as neutral a tone as she could muster.    “Yes!” Sapphire sang, joining her niece by the fire. “What a relief, I was starting to give up hope! I’ll have to call on Cecelia Thatcher to run him through the basics. I hope she’s available.”    Frigga chewed the inside of her lip. “Does this mean he’s eligible for Heirdom, auntie?” She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but the question was one any inoffensively curious person might have.    But her aunt brushed off the question. “Technically he would be, though with his late blooming you’re still obviously the best option.”    “We don’t know that for certain. Great-grandfather Zeus was a late bloomer, and he was a wonderful leader! You’ve told me so many stories about his prowess with circle-engineering and how it changed the way Ozelea as a whole designs them!”    Sapphire looked at her niece, and Frigga saw her aunt’s eyes narrow slightly. “He did. Grandfather was an excellent leader and draftsman, but not a gifted witch. My grandmother was twice as powerful as he ever was.” A soft swish at the door announced the tea’s arrival at the hands of Noel, a pretty lady Frigga rarely saw but was usually more than happy to interact with. Frigga briefly acknowledged her with the politest of smiles before looking back to her aunt.    When Noel was gone, Sapphire began pouring each of them a cup of spearmint tea. Frigga replied, “I understand that late-blooming is usually associated with a lack of potency, but it’s not always the case. You told me my mother was a late-bloomer too.”    Sapphire quirked a brow and her expression hardened. “Yes she was. Abigail was the exception to a long-established rule. Your mother was always the exception,” she ruefully added so quietly Frigga nearly didn’t hear it. Though Sapphire had never said as much, it was clear Abigail and Sapphire hadn’t been close. They’d been born thirteen years apart and while her aunt always maintained that she’d always been the intended Thorneheart Heir, Frigga hadn’t missed the occasional jealous comment about Abigail. She’d been abnormally gifted, it was well-recorded coven history and part of the reason Frigga had been established as the Heir Apparent so young.    Sapphire finished pouring the tea, handed her niece a cup, and then took up her own. “Frigga, you’ve been preparing your entire life for this role, do you not want to make your family proud?”    Frigga lost enthusiasm for her libation, and she looked into the fireplace. “Of course I do, I just wonder if I’m the right person for the job. Leland is such a friendly, outgoing sort of person, and he doesn’t get overwhelmed by large events the way I do.”    “Nonsense, dear!” Sapphire quipped after sipping at her tea. “You do a wonderful job with parties! The coven members love you! You’ll be a wonderful coven leader, but this all reminds me.” She placed her teacup back on the table and walked to her desk. On it was a sandy envelope that looked as if it would burst if a single note was added to it, which Sapphire grabbed before returning to her seat and handing the envelope to Frigga. “These are all the wedding decisions I have made so far, and I thought you’d like to review them. The date’s been set to August sixteenth.”    Frigga barely withheld a scowl as she peeked into the envelope. “That’s fast. Why so fast?”    “Why wait?” was her aunt’s nonchalant answer.    Frigga didn’t have an appropriate response. Two and a half months until her wedding with her initiation following less than a week later. Sapphire would be amping up her preparations for both now the engagement party was finished. “Yes, I suppose,” was the only answer Frigga could give.    Sapphire smiled softly at her compliance. “Off to bed, Frigga, take your tea. I’ve a meeting with the servants shortly and I need to reply to Ophelia’s request before the end of the night. She asked for special access to a particular historical text, so she’ll be by tomorrow.”    Frigga nodded dejectedly and left the office with her tea and envelope. Leland having magic changed nothing for her, and asking about it was always going to be a fruitless ploy. She was still going to be made the Heir in less than three months time, but it was a mere formality. As she slipped back into her room, she flung the envelope at her vanity and sat on her bench in the alcove that overlooked the manor’s main drive. The sun had set long before and the property was entirely shadowed. The sky was perfectly free of clouds so the witch looked up to the heavens, comforted by the company of the stars.    Sipping at her tea, Frigga looked for her favourite constellations and tried to come up with new ones. She wondered if there were different constellations elsewhere in the world or if they were the same. The moon was perfectly full tonight, and the coven would be meeting here the next day to take full advantage of it. Frigga was already drained from this evening’s party, and she’d have to muster up yet more fortitude to perform again tomorrow. She wouldn’t even get to see Razi with the coven coming over.    Her aunt was putting Razi on an overnight shift. How bizarre. For what purpose and for how long? She’d ask Razi about it the day after tomorrow, for now Frigga needed to rest; she finished her tea and called for Doris’s help to get ready for bed. Once she was redressed and her hair was carefully tucked into a braid for the night, Frigga fell asleep.

[NaNoWriMo] Reincarnating Into a Doomed Body: I'm Re-writing the Magic System!

TW: Mentions of rape, suicide, and body dysphoria

Prologue

Chapter 1

I allowed myself to be dressed by the maids. Normally, I would hate being treated like a doll, but the clothes that Lily would normally wear were complicated and I didn’t think I could put the clothes on myself. Not to mention that looking at my body made me feel wrong. Hopefully I would get used to it.

Now that I was thinking of them, I should buy new clothes. The outfits Lily had were attention-getting and revealing. It made sense, since she was a character in a smut doujin, but I didn’t want to be ogled at by horny idiots who would be too busy staring at my boobs to look me in the eyes. Not to mention that I didn’t like looking at them.

They were ridiculously large. If this was a world that worked with normal rules, I would be in so much pain. As it was, the constant reminder of them just angered me. They reminded me that this body was made for someone else to enjoy. It wasn’t made to belong to me.

Disgusting.

Even if they were covered by cloth, it would be better.

Speaking of this body (my body, I had to remember that) not belonging to me…

If I was being realistic, there was no way I could escape the attention of the crown prince. He may be so dead to the world that he wouldn’t care about my sudden personality change, but it was implied in the doujin that he sometimes just killed a person in public just to try to get a reaction from people. I wasn’t the most emotive person out there, but even I didn’t think I could react without fear when someone murders a person in front of me.

That meant I needed to get insurance.

What would stop Meijor from locking me up? Growing up with no repercussions to his actions meant that he had no real morals. He didn’t care about my well-being as long as I belonged to him.

What if I couldn’t belong to him? There was an idea.

I had already died once. Death didn’t scare me nearly as much as it would a normal person. A shot of fire down my throat would kill me pretty quickly. I wondered if I could use my magic on something I couldn’t see. Setting a fire in my brain would kill me even quicker, and probably without much pain. The threat of my death would probably keep Meijor at bay for a while. I’d even be willing to go through with it. Living my life as a sex slave would probably drive me to suicide anyway.

It’s not that I hated sex, or even that I disliked it. I had experimented with both men and women in college and I was honestly just ambivalent towards it. It could be fun with the right person, but for the most part, it was boring. A chore. It was something I was willing to do to satisfy a partner, before I discovered I didn’t really enjoy being in a romantic relationship at all, but I didn’t seek it out. Being forced to do it with someone I didn’t like every day…

God, it made me nauseous.

But I couldn’t rely on the threat of suicide to prevent Meijor from locking me up forever, and although I would do it, I didn’t actually want to die again. Lily didn’t know much about magic, too busy studying to become a good queen, so I didn’t know whether or not there were things that suppressed magic, and Meijor was getting rare magic items from Alice’s journeys into dungeons. It wouldn’t be surprising if there was a rare item that he would use to stop me from accessing my power. Suicide would become much harder after that.

I needed a more permanent solution.

“I’m going to the library,” I told my maid. It seemed that Lily was just as brusque with those she thought of as her lessers as I was with people I didn’t know, so it wasn’t hard to act as her.

It was the first weekend after the typical royal academy started so I had free time. The original transmigrator went to see Martin, but I had a far more important goal: survival

But this world really must be a punishment because I ran into a familiar face on my way to the library.

“Good morning, my dear Lily.”

Meijor von Sadisgard had appeared in front of me.

Goddammit.

Anyway stray thoughts (thotty thot thots) on how to get three agents to play nicely in the same storyline

They’re Ciphers 9, 12, and 22 (Asha is C. 9; Ziarian is C. 12; Skawn is C. 22)

Not sure who gets the Red Blade quest (probably Ziarian) but only one of them does, the other two get some more straight up assassinations and sabotage missions on Hutta

Asha is formally the leader of their unit but she also just… assumes that role. Ziarian is happy to ride shotgun, although he and Asha start having more disagreements around Alderaan. Skawn is more than happy to just be a trigger man and stay out of the drama as much as possible.

Ziarian is pretty grossed out by the Killiks, in a way that makes him feel a lot of pity for Vector; Asha has some ambivalent feelings about the Killiks but she likes Vector a lot. Skawn dislikes the whole situation.

Asha and Kaylio are besties. Ziarian hates Kaylio so much it’s unreal. Think Michael Scott talking about Toby levels of hatred. Skawn also dislikes this entire situation.

As much as there’s instinctual mutual dislike between Ziarian and Asha there’s also a lot of mutual professional respect; the unit works with Asha and Ziarian tag-teaming whichever person(s) require the most personal interface, presenting a united front and coordinating to find the weak points, widen the cracks, apply the pressure. Skawn, along with Kaylio, provides back up, particularly as a sniper. Skawn does think Kaylio is a little too undisciplined but he appreciates her skill at murder.

Skawn really doesn’t like Watcher 2. Really really really dislikes her. He definitely works to keep this on the DL from Ziarian.

You might think — and certainly Ziarian and Skawn would have expected — that because Asha’s mom is literally the Emperor’s Wrath and her Auntie Shinnan is on the Dark Council she’d have some liberty to be a smartass with the Darths in her life but actually it’s quite the opposite. Chwayat and Quinn and true believers and while Shinnan is a bit…. mmm… let’s say she’s odd… she’s also truly devoted to the Council, to her place on the council, and to her friends on the council. Asha is naturally, honestly, and comfortably deferential to the Darths in a way she feels no compunction to be towards the mere, mundane, human mortals who work in the Empire. She has genuine respect for the Darths and always treats them properly unless she really thinks they are betraying the Empire. Even with Zhorrid, she pities her for her weakness, inability, and failure, the things she was raised to believe were the most pathetic and tragic of all flaws, more than anything else. The Unit following Asha’s lead on believing in the glory of the Emperor and deferring to the wisdom of the council above all things actually helps them navigate Dromund Kaas pretty well.

Asha likes Vector a lot… but she really, really liked Watcher X. Like…. Really. Scarily. Fell instantly and hard. She and he manage to have a brief affair during the mission on Nar Shadda, something equally filthy and torrid in both its emotional and carnal aspects. She tries to let him go free. But Ziarian won’t have it. Shara Jenn is afraid of Watcher X, and that’s more than enough reason for Ziarian to kill him with extreme and deeply personal violence. Asha is heartsick over this, to a degree that actually frightens Kaylio. Ziarian is angry even as Asha’s grief. Skawn is almost frightened by that. Kaylio and Skawn work their asses off getting everyone back in normal working order after that incident.

Nooooooot sure if it’s better for Asha to become the Hand of Jadus or not — her loyalty to the empire and the council would probably weigh towards no, but otoh if Jadus really appealed to the True Believer elements of her upbringing that suggest the council and the empire could be even more pure….

I do think this heads towards spy vs spy, possibly. But really it’s more like… personal development drama for Asha since this puts her kind of at odds with her family’s values

The unit is almost all of one mind about the Star Cabal being really annoying and the work together to fuck it up

Skawn has grown really sick of trying to live in the empire by this point, however — Kaylio secretly makes multiple copies of the Star Cabal data and Skawn takes his with him when he hightails it to the Pubs as a defector

Kaylio also also leaves a copy with Ziarian and Asha

Kaylio takes her own copy and vanishes

Ziarian and Asha have a bit of a tense convo about the data. Who should get it? What are you planning to do with your copy? There’s the brief possibility of some spy vs spy drama before they both realize (thanks to Vector) that Skawn has taken a copy to the pubs and is long gone and that Kaylio is also missing and that she had her own copy which she took with her — presumably to sell piecemeal on the black market.

Ziarian rolls his eyes and wishes Kaylio will killed by this latest dumbass stunt, Asha has a laugh and hopes her bestie doesn’t get herself killed by anyone other than Asha (who now has a duty to take revenge) even if this was annoying of her to do. But hey, it relieves she and Ziarian of having to contemplate killing each other to secure this data.

They both decide the best course of action is to take the data to imperial leadership broadly write, to best finish diffusing any strategy advantage it grants to a limit number of holders. Asha takes her copy to the Dark Council and explains that her teammate is simultaneously delivering a copy to Imperial Intelligence; Uncle Darth Vowrawn has a bit of a laugh at this tactic of making sure maximum value for the empire can now only be derived by imperial leadership working better together. Auntie Shinnan — oops, Darth Nox, of course — and her friends Darths Marr and Acina quite agree, and good thinking Agent ensuring the Pubs can’t get too much the advantage of everyone by making sure it was spread to Imperial leadership as fast as possible. Even Darth Ravage, who generally does not get on with Auntie Shinnan, agrees here. As does Jadus, only recently restored to the council.

Asha requests permission to hunt down the former Chiper 22, the traitor Skawn Doneeta, and kill him, and to do the same with the traitor Kaylio, and will be happy to accept the council’s discipline for her failure to secure both their copies of the data she has had the pleasure of taking revenge in Emperor’s name, should the council grant so unworthy a vessel the privilege to redeem a small portion of her honor through this task —

Ah, but no, not to worry on that account, says Vowrawn. Would the newly re-appointed Darth Jadus care to explain?

Jadus would. He is not troubled by Kaylio’s actions, as she is acting according to his design. Cipher 9 is to reestablish contact with her at the proper time, after judicious use of the Star Cabal data has allowed her to become a powerful if shadowy figure of the underworld, with many new or renewed useful contacts and a reputation for having broken free of imperial control.

Oh, as for the copies left with Skawn, Ziarian, and Asha herself? A test, of course. Well done to Asha for passing with flying colors, making the right choice for herself and her fellow agent Ziarian, as could only be expected from the daughter of the Wrath herself, and a protege of the Council’s own Darths Nox and Vowrawn. Yes yes a long winded test going all the way back to the start of her career, but they all always had faith in her. (Nox in the background with camera: ‘you’ve been doing amazing this whole time sweetie.’) Anyway, Skawn’s defection is a disappointment, to be sure, but not Asha’s success. She should enjoy her victory! And return to work two days hence at 0600 sharp.

Asha ultimately declines an opportunity to take a leadership role in Sith Intelligence because she has decided she likes being in the field more, and Ziarian isn’t offered one. He’s just too alien. He is suffered to stay as a liaison to the Chiss, however. He is separated from Shara by being reassigned to Chiss space, still in his liaison role but stationed in the ascendancy, which is how he’s not around to save her before she can be taken by the Pubs.

Pretty sure rescuing Shara is like the team’s “one last score, one last mission, and then we’re out of the game forever” movie or honestly probably their Simpsons/American Dad/Bob’s Burgers parody episode of that kind of movie.

Skawn probably alerts Asha and Ziarian to the situation but doesn’t directly work with them because he’s already defected.

When it comes to wrapping up that quest, Asha isn’t allowed to go with Shara because she would absolutely object to the removal of the loyalty program, but Ziarian wouldn’t and he’s given strict instructions on how to find the guy who will tell him how to find the guy who will tell him how to find the guy who will get him to Shara.

Gently encouraged by Vector, Asha sighs and lets them go…

…for about five minutes. Shara is recovering on Mek Sha. Asha truly does come just as a friend, and offers the newly reunited happy couple the free use of the guest house on her Alderaan estate.

Cue classic Hollywood “the end” title card and fanfare

presenting something no one asked for

since emmet and ingo are very much parallels with the twins and reshiram and zekrom, my brain decided it can't rest until the Tao trio is completed with a third brother to represent kyurem.

so. enter Aubin.

middle child syndrome to the max, and absolutely zero drive of his own. does excellent when given instructions though, and incredibly reliable so long as there aren't extra decisions involved. goes along with what the other two decide, and suffers extreme decision paralysis when asked what he wants to do.

isn't very competitive, so he doesn't participate in the battle subway. he keeps the standard trains running, and he is Tired of dealing with the general public. he does have a team of his own (umbreon, cofagrigus, magnezone and vanilluxe) and only uses them when needed, but also doesn't really know when to stop and is not above simply overwhelming troublemakers into compliance, lawsuits be damned.

a bit of a slob but not really on purpose. he just Doesn't Get It and he's got an assistant who is fixing his uniform constantly. lives separately from his brothers for his own mental health bc they keep trying to get him to tiebreak their discussions and will wait the eternity it takes for him to make a decision while his panic steadily increases, staring at him the whole time.

100% just a silly thing I needed to get out of my head. also he climbs into cofagrigus as a prank bc his Pokémon wouldn't hurt him, and his brothers fall for it every time.

edit: if u like him, consider reblogging! 💖

Edit 2: Updated team to be more generation compliant

After (slowly, painfully) listening through all the XX character themes, here’s the commentary I made for all of them in order (at least, the order of the playlist they were in on youtube)

-

Keep Yourself Alive II- Uh...well, points for the half-decent metal screams. Feels like the lyrics are tripping over the guitar half the time. Pretty ok ending. Not a great way to start this off.

Holy Orders- Prime example of 'A for effort.' Like I can forgive basically all of the clunky lyricism just for how hard they're going. It’s horribly corny in a charming way. Actually somehow made 'never forgive a shenanigan' almost sound cool. I would actually listen to this by choice.

The Solitude Asks for Something in Return- THREE SONGS IN AND I WANT TO BAIL OUT. OKAY. The mid-song voice over is sort of neat. Funnily enough this kinda fits Venom, but in the 'he's like 18 in this game and repressed this so this is exactly the sort of lyrics he would write thinking they were profound' sense.

Bloodstained Lineage- Okay intro, downhill from there. Bit of odd trivia, thought the way they said and played the 'so far away' lyric was a reference to the Avenged Sevenfold song, but apparently that song came out after this one. Neat, I guess.

Writhe in Pain- HELP HELP HELP HELP (MODS I SPILLED MY JUICE). Really wish they'd got a female vocalist but that would not have saved it. Millia being King of the Dark is actually kinda badass so a single point there.

Feel a Fear- I sorta like the wordplay in the intro. This one makes the fact that the lyrics were added to the song afterwards veeeery obvious, it’s very incongruous.

Suck a Sage- Tepid, honestly, the repetition doesn't help. Got so bored I was flipping through the wiki halfway through. On the info for this one the lyricist is only referred to as 'David' without a surname, and that's the most interesting thing about this song.

Awe of She- I appreciate they didn't go for the edgy lyrics like the others. I've got an odd soft spot for this one. The 'it sounds so simple' refrain is clunky but I like it for some reason still. It's like Dizzy, awkward and pure.

Kagematsuri- Passably decent. Considering it's I-no I'm amazed I can't think of anything else to say.

Babel Nose- What the fuck. What the fuuuuck. I regret sitting through Chipp and I-no's themes and wishing for more crazy bullshit. crazy bullshit is not worth it. I can't tell if it's supposed to be horny or not. The sheer amount of times they call Jam an 'animal' starts feeling kind of racist halfway through.

Blue Water Blue Sky- Something about this feels like a stalker anthem, like I expect May's going to abduct someone and keep them in their basement, and as long as they play along she'll remember to feed them.

Simple Life- Feels like a weird anime opening. In a bad way. I sorta like that it's actually about Bridget's upbringing, but that’s all the niceness I can force out about it. The fact that I actually really like the original makes me hate this one more than most of them.

Fuuga- More repetition which is eh but I appreciate that it actually feels like they were trying here. I think this is the only one so far with consistent rhymes so it at least stands out compared to a lot of the other songs. And I like the bits that sound like old TV static.

Liquor Bar and Drunkard- The moments of decent-sounding vocals do not distract me from the fact that I want to bite someone's face like a rabid raccoon. I still do not understand what he is doing in the dump and the only non-sexual explanation I can come up with is that the Jellyfish pirates are a coverup for Johnny's lucrative and far-reaching cocaine operation.

Make Oneself- The singing is unexpectedly mellow for a song that's about reckless driving (for a character who has no association with cars in the first place...) Gets a last-second redeeming point in the outtro with a sort of jam-session vibe. I retroactively apologize for my ambivalence towards ‘Out of the Box.’

Momentary Life- Another on that's decently done but doesn't have anything especially standout. Why out of all the characters wouldn't you go over-the-top for Baiken?

Haven't You Got Eyes in your Head- This is the one they warned me about and it absolutely did not disappoint in that regard. Holy hell. Weirdly horny. How many swears can you cram into one song, and why did you save that for the one character who is explicitly described as a gentleman.  'Life is cheap and I'm a rich man' is a lyric too good for this.

Good Manners and Customs- I do like the remix of the backing, but the rest is just sort of...confusing. The religious references don't make much sense to me. It sounds like he's very politely asking to be smited so he can haunt people and/or having a Catholic guilt complex.

Burly Heart- Nice keeping the slow, rocking theme instead of trying to make everything fast-paced. Sort of like with Ky's, a lot of the clunky and weird lyrics can be more palatable with good delivery. One of the few songs where the lyrics actually feel like they fit nicely into the song structure instead of being clumsily smushed in. Something about this one reminds me of Three Days Grace which automatically puts it higher than most of these. 

The Original- Fun intro! I liked the more electronic elements. And then it god weird. What are you shooting at. What do you want by your side. What is the 'prize.' Why is the singer moaning?? I need a drink...

-

Overall not quite as terrible as I was expecting, but likewise I would describe very little of it as ‘good.’ I can pretty much divide all the themes into three separate categories.

Section 1-

Keep Yourself Alive

Bloodstained Lineage

Feel a Fear

Suck a Sage

Kagematsuri

Simple Life

Fuuga

and Momentary Life

Can be filed into the banner of ‘Bad in a boring way, or just very very basic and unremarkable. More of them than I had expected, based on the reputation I’d heard.

Section 2-

The Solitude Asks for Something in Return

Writhe in Pain

Babel Nose

Blue Water Blue Sky

Liquor Bar and Drunkard

Make Oneself

Haven’t You Got Eyes in Your Head

Good Manners and Customs

and The Original

Can be filed under ‘Bad in a completely batshit ridiculous way.’ This is the shit I was expecting going in. Absolute mess in some way or another. But in another point of view, I think it’s better than the boring ones, because at least they stand out, even if it’s for a bad reason.

And, lastly, Section 3-

Holy Orders

Awe of She

and Burly Heart

Make up the esteemed trio of songs that I’m actually considering going back to and re-listening. Burly Heart a little less so, some parts of it were a little iffy, but it’s still better than most. We can file this under the banner of ‘S Tier’ (The S, of course, standing for ‘shenanigan,’ which we will forgive just this one time.)

So now I’m going to have to dunk my head back into the Strive vocal themes in order to replenish my sanity, because for as ‘meh’ as I once felt about a couple of the newer themes, I now realize it could be worse. Much, much worse.

What is on your Nancy Drew s4 wish list! What do you want to see next season? How do you think the bodies, the curse, the sketchy couple/Ryan, the Drew Crew’s sort of split/coming to their own and the fortunes will play out? What supernatural hijinks do you want to see the crew to get involved in and what are your hopes for Nancy/Ace??

okay hi i wanted to take the time to actually answer this so sorry for the delay! this is such a good question and the short answer is honestly i don't know!! i feel like i've spent so much time processing what's happened i haven't really thought about next season.

so let's do it now in real time!!!

i'll start with the curse. i don't think it'll go down much like it did in my fic, but there are elements of that i WANT to see--namely, nancy getting help from the crew to solve it instead of stewing in any kind of self-sacrificial bullshit. ideally, she seeks out their help directly instead of them getting involved after they accidentally find out.

i'm really hoping it gets resolved relatively fast! not like everything being solved after two episodes, but i'm thinking like, 2-3 episodes max just for everyone to get on the same page, and then the actual cursebreaking can take longer. still, i would hope it was broken by a little past the halfway mark of the season. i think if it's much longer than that it's going to get old, but i do want to get some good pining and angst and an actual sense of stakes in there.

like, pining ace who truly thinks nancy doesn't love him and sad nancy who's actively lying to him? i have no interest in that. boring. overdone. useless. out of character. HOWEVER, pining ace and nancy who KNOW they love each other but KNOW they can't act on it? pls. i'll take 1000.

i have like no theories about the bodies thing. i am so bad at theories rip. one thought i have though, is that i don't know if this will be the start of a series-long arc or a one-off mystery. i'm actually kind of leaning toward wanting it to be a one-off, the start of a string of more independent storylines throughout the season, with something else (probably the curse at least for the front half of the season) as the overall arc. i figure it probably won't go down that way, though, and this will be the sign of some new big thing.

i think the sketchy couple probably will stick around. i feel pretty ambivalent about them, but i think this could definitely be a cool opportunity for the crew to interact with more folks who are deeply rooted in the supernatural shenanigans besides hannah and, like, frickin gil. i kind of want them to be non-evil despite the sketchiness just because everyone seems to think they're going to be a problem (which is a fair assessment lmao).

as far as supernatural hijinks i want to see? literally anything!!! i love hijinks! i've seen people talking about bodyswapping and i would honestly die for this that would be so amazing.

i also think there was a bit of a missed opportunity to do more interesting small-scale mysteries with all the stuff that escaped the historical society and all the weird stuff from the bobbsey storage locker. i'd love to see any of that come back!

also, more ghosts. i'm ghostmaggie. i'm big on ghosts.

i will go on the record as being very ??? on the fortunes/tarot thing. i honestly just don't get it. i'm not sure if we're supposed to think the fortunes have already come to pass, or if they're going to happen in the next season, or both, or if the people shown during the voiceover are the ones who apply to each, or??? i find myself struggling to feel investment in it because i'm confused, which i recognize is a me problem lol. at this point i choose to believe temperance was just making shit up because i think that's funnier.

nancy/ace. the biggest, hugest, most non-negotiable thing i want for them: no lying. no miscommunication. i want ace to know something's wrong (the writers have indicated he will, which, good). i want ace to not believe for a second that nancy isn't full of shit. i want him fully confident that she loves him and something weird is going on. self esteem for ace 2k22. i want ace to be able to tell nancy, look, i know something is up, but i know that we're going to figure it out. i want nancy not to try to veronica-mars it by herself and destroy all her relationships. like i said above, i want to see them wildly in love and resisting showing it. and then i want to see them break the curse and show it, with plenty of time still left in the season for some established relationship glory days.

what are your thoughts/hopes/expectations??

To what extent do you think that a belief that communism would follow from the collapse of capitalism is an ideological assumption vs a conclusion based on empirical investigation?

i think it depends on the nature of the belief. lots of people seem to think that communism is inevitable due to iron historical laws and i think that's pretty silly, projecting a historically situated set of political preferences onto history itself. there's no reason why communism has to happen or even why capitalism had to happen. these developments can really only be understood retrospectively. i think this is "ideological" in a sense, and (among marxists) generally has something to do with an overly deterministic rendering of marx's work. i think elements of this are in marxs work, for sure, but that's definitely not all there is and i think many of his bold historical claims serve a propagandistic function rather than being honestly descriptive.

easy example would be the manifesto, where he makes some very strong claims about this stuff, like this one:

"The advance of industry, whose involuntary promoter is the bourgeoisie, replaces the isolation of the labourers, due to competition, by the revolutionary combination, due to association. The development of Modern Industry, therefore, cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products. What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable."

this begins with an attempt at describing a tendency based on a set of political economic assumptions which are falsifiable in all the ways that people like to make a fuss about, but it ends with a passionate claim about a historical inevitability. the latter claim doesn't necessarily follow from the former, and it would have to be shown why the bourgeoisie as the "involuntary promoter" of modern industry leads to an inevitable victory of a competing class (putting aside the complicating fact that a victorious proletariat is a non-proletariat), rather than a purely economic tendency of self-collapse. this kind of deterministic reading would actually run into conflict with the first sentence of the manifesto regarding history as a history of class struggles since no class struggle would be necessary for capitalism to end, and this is even how certain people read marxs later work like capital, where the "expropriators are expropriated", which is "accomplished by the action of the immanent laws of capitalistic production itself, by the centralisation of capital" rather than as a result of violent class struggle.

but if we were read this bit of the manifesto more generously (probably too generously), there is something to be said about how the fall of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat as equal inevitabilities is not necessarily the same as saying that they are in fact totally inevitable. they are either inevitable or they are not, but equally so. this could also comes into conflict with rendering of marx as an economic determinist, since the laws of capitalist production could lead to the dissolution of the system on their own, without any inevitable victory on the part of the proletariat, negating their assumed equality. it should also be noted then, that in order for this generous reading of this section to work (if it can), the "fall of the bourgeoisie" would likely have be taken as being of a particular sort. if the sun exploded tomorrow and ended capitalism forever, it could not be described so narrowly as the "fall of the bourgeoisie" but of the elimination of human life altogether. by fall, we would have to refer to it in the sense of the outcome of a competition between classes.

elsewhere in the text, marx also leaves room for a more open-ended approach, when he talks about the historical struggle between classes as "a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes." floating the possibility of a "common ruin of the contending classes" expresses a very different kind of analysis than the purely economic determinism which can be teased out above. for there to exist a possibility which does not simply belong to the historical chain of revolutionary usurpations of power would suggest that the same could be true for us today. even if it's not exactly at the level being presented, this would in a sense be able to better account for things like the aforementioned explosion of the sun, or some other forces which exist and which we are unable to overcome (like a potentially catostrophic climate event). regardless, this attitude of historical openness is very different than what is found elsewhere in the text, and i think it can be located in various other forms later on in marxs life as well.

by 1882 when marx is writing the preface to the russian edition of the manifesto, he says

"The Communist Manifesto had, as its object, the proclamation of the inevitable impending dissolution of modern bourgeois property. But in Russia we find, face-to-face with the rapidly flowering capitalist swindle and bourgeois property, just beginning to develop, more than half the land owned in common by the peasants. Now the question is: can the Russian obshchina, though greatly undermined, yet a form of primeval common ownership of land, pass directly to the higher form of Communist common ownership? Or, on the contrary, must it first pass through the same process of dissolution such as constitutes the historical evolution of the West?

The only answer to that possible today is this: If the Russian Revolution becomes the signal for a proletarian revolution in the West, so that both complement each other, the present Russian common ownership of land may serve as the starting point for a communist development."

one of the interesting things about this is the first sentence where he talks about the aim of the manifesto as "proclam[ing] of the inevitable impending dissolution of modern bourgeois property", which is a one-sided framing of the problem and manages to put the "equally inevitable" proletarian victory to the side or simply subsumed into it. the latter probably makes the most sense, since he's here arguing that a russian revolution which would be made up of non-proletarian elements could have some revolutionary capacity toward communism, even if the proletariat on a world scale would still need to put in the work toward that aim. in each instance, he is talking to representatives of those elements. this is a political manifesto written to agitate and not simply a treatise of social science. this may get partly lost on 21st century readers, but the russian preface was written for the publication to be read by russian readers. the preface to the italian edition referenced italy as the first capitalist nation and asks its readers "Will Italy give us the new Dante, who will mark the hour of birth of this new, proletarian era?" etc.

it should be clear that there were real political stakes; that marx and engels were not simply describing something they saw around them. the empirical investigation was there in some sense and acted as a motivating force for action, but the particular calls on the revolutionary elements of each country which saw a translation captures the importance of political propaganda and revolutionary agency for the two authors. at times they felt a need to blur the differences between what must happen by iron historical law and what must happen or else we're ruined. this means that this famous document which has generated lots of ideas about what marxism is and how it relates to the historical struggle toward communism is full of theoretical ambivalences, and these exist in some way in many other texts by both marx and engels.

the tensions within and between texts give rise to misunderstandings about the need and possibility of communism, but i don't think that they are reducible to each other so that all claims about a future communism are necessarily ignorantly ideological. if there is a mass political will, and this is definitely what marx and engels were trying to generate with their work, then communism can be possible. the immanent tendencies of capital, which neither thinker really understood that well at the time of writing the manifesto (although it's held up fairly well in many ways), only add to the urgency of the need for such a movement. the destruction is all around us and will keep coming but we can't fall back on the inevitably of communism to save us without anyone ever having to lift a finger. the entire point is that we have to do it ourselves, otherwise the communist movement and its various mouthpieces (like marx and engels) would never even have to exist and communism could simply fall into our collective lap.

ok here’s a dissection of a post an anon sent me the link to and bc i have the worst time management possible and i completely forgot i had it lol so sorry anon here you go ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

I am constantly thinking about how Edelgard just doesn’t seem designed to appeal to cishet men.

i hate to be the one to break this news to you op but just because a character doesn’t show skin like charlotte fire emblem doesn’t mean she isn’t designed to pander to men. she’s very much designed to pander to the (majority straight male) player base with her ‘uwu i only trust you professor omg did u see that rat? pls don’t look at my painting of you uwu’.

then there’s the whole edelgard c support in japanese where byleth makes reference to having come to her room for ‘yobi’ which is

there’s also the scene where byleth can make an unsolicited comment about edelgard’s breast size. which is… uhh… gross.

edelgard also has cipher cards that go from slightly fanserviceie to full on suggestive

and also her breast armor that my sister relentlessly mocked lol

and here’s a chart from the 3h subreddit about gender/sexually in regards to edelgard and edeleth. it’s extremely straight male. op might have just overlooked this since they probably don’t go on reddit and stay on tumblr (which unlike reddit is mostly female and has a high lgbt demographic).

Like the joke is that Bleagles is the Gay House, but everything about her feels deliberately non-hetero.

i don’t like where this is going…

She’s dressed in sharp outfits covering her upper body, with proportions that don’t seem exaggerated.

so women who cover up must be lgbt because straight women are naturally more revealing? oh y i k e s

Her poise and the way she effortlessly flourishes her axe exhibits an air of coolness. While titties out =/= character of no substance, Edelgard being dressed more modestly suggests that she wasn’t designed with male-centred fanservice in mind.

“titties don’t equal no substance but here’s my post on how she has more substance because she doesn’t show titties” ok

And she still looks absolutely stunning in her more modest attire (like seriously, I haven’t felt the need to return to cosplay in years but I want to do her academy look so bad). 

yes she does. amazing design 10/10. i have a feeling this is the only part i’m going to agree with

Edelgard is intense. She does not mince her words and she is constantly evaluating you. Though she tries, she has a difficult time understanding her peers initially. Early on, she talks about how she would sacrifice herself and others in the name of some greater good. She is terrible at communicating with her peers. She has to be seen as infallible. Her heart has been hardened for years and she assumes she has to stay that way. She also assumes everyone mourns the same way she does - which is why she (kind of insensitively) insists you move on when Jeralt dies. Because to her, grief has to be channeled towards action, or else you’ll get lost in it. This attitude is demonstrated time and time again as she presses on. It can make her come off as cold and unfeeling - but look closer, and she’s anything but.

don’t really have anything to say at this part. it is pretty on the nose though i would slightly disagree with that last sentence a bit. i wouldn’t say she’s as i feeling as hubert is but all of her talks of the war boil down to how she feels and never her victims.

Her story is ultimately about her realizing that to achieve her goals, she needs to let people in and allow herself to want things like cakes and tea parties and lazy days in peace. 

????? what ????? her goals include imperialism, ethnic and religious targeting. her story is about having a set of beliefs and mowing down anybody who stands in her way. that has nothing to do with tea, friends, and lazy days. also am i supposed to be sad that she has to get up everyday and work? i do that and i didn’t start a war and only throw a pity party for myself

The game leaves the player guessing as to how involved the Flame Emperor was in each Part I event, makes you feel hurt by her betrayal, and leaves you with a choice: do you follow the orders of the woman who tried to make you a god without your consent, or a young girl with questionable morals about to throw the world into upheaval?

this isn’t an ideal situation but i think i’m going to stick with the woman who tried to make me a god since i’m not selfish and i know it’s not only my desires and life at stake here. plus the green hair slaps ngl

Choosing her of your own volition (not for completionist reasons) requires the basic ability to sympathize with a woman’s pain. It also requires the player to read beyond her unwavering will and dubious methods to get a sense of how deep that pain goes and how the theme of humanity relates to her differently in each route.

i’m not going to touch this since @nilsh13 made a post on it that i’ll link here. i agree with everything he said so to repeat it would be redundant.

The player must be able to see a young woman’s desperate resolve to change the world so it stops exploiting people and ruining lives. They must be able to accept the fact that women can make the same morally wrong and ambivalent decisions that complicated male characters get to make all the time and still be the one to root for.

literally the same reason i love rhea lol her goddess experiments are dubious at best but her reasons are the same you mentioned. i would say that i like this quality in edelgard too if her ending, while bloody, actually ended in a good outcome for fodlan.

This is not unique to LGBT+ people, but this population is likely to understand why Edelgard feels so strongly about why she has to change the system. 

i understand wanting to change a system, i really do. like edelgard, i’m an opinionated bisexual woman (who’s also physically disabled) so yeah i get it. and change can be good but it can also be terrible. even if the church was the boogeyman edelgard treats it as she still replaces it with her own shit regime. so it’s the same circus just with a new conductor.

I don’t think “Edelgard gets undue criticism because she’s a woman” captures the full picture. An important aspect of her treatment by certain parts of the fandom is that she’s a radical woman.

or maybe she does some pretty fucked up shit and it goes unacknowledged in her own route. and yeah she’s radical but in all the worst ways.

Her hatred of the Church and the Crest system resonates way harder with people who have been hurt by institutions that are deeply engrained in our society. 

and what about people who have been hurt by systems where their ‘merit’ didn’t measure up and they were left behind? what about people from nations that experienced imperialism?

Siding with her means siding against the Church - which, while different from real world religious institutions, still invokes language about “sin” and “punishment.

yeah the ‘sins’ and ‘punishments’ are used in relation to attempted murders which i think everybody can agree is a bad thing that needs to be condemned.

Choosing Edelgard will likely hit different if homophobic and transphobic Christians used that rhetoric against you.

it has literally nothing to do with ‘sins’ and ‘punishments’ in regards to being gay or trans. that’s you projecting. especially since the church has 2 canon gay characters and two coded ones.

like i can understand why having a church condemn you can be uncomfortable but i’m begging you to please look at the context of what’s happening.

I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that the reason F/F Edeleth is the more popular iteration of that ship because most people who would choose to S-support Edelgard are LGBT+ themselves. This is not a revelation. To anyone in the community, it’s fairly obvious. 

i was talking to nilish and he said

so yeah… while there is definitely sapphic femleth shippers out there, there’s still a whole lot of weird fetishizing going on from straight men about edelgard.

Crimson Flower was my first route. I went into the game knowing absolutely nothing. I played it during the last week of 2020 and hoo boy was it cathartic. 

i can tell. this wasn’t supposed to be a dig but it came out that way and i’m not taking it out.

I felt like I was living out a gay revolution power fantasy, where I could truly change systems of oppression while fighting alongside a group of troubled students I’d shaped the lives of.

so a gay revolution power fantasy (cringe) goes hand in hand with imperialism and installing a dictatorship? also the war had nothing to do with sexuality.

Through your unwavering support, Edelgard learns that she needs to be human, that she must listen to her friends, and that she’s allowed to enjoy the world she’s creating.

edelgard gets to learn how to be human all while hunting those who don’t. and she doesn’t listen fo her friends. she doesn’t even trust them. she’s willing to talk to byleth but keep the people who’s been by her side for five years in the dark about everything. and yeah she gets to enjoy her new words since she’s on top. hate to be a commoner under her rule after she burned down my village in her war.

I love this character so much.

clearly. and i honestly don’t care if somebody likes her. i do as well even if my sometimes scathing words can make it seem otherwise.

It has been six months since I first played and I am still analyzing her,

me too. please help me escape i’m losing my mind

because there’s so much depth. Yet so many people fail to see that depth and dismiss her as evil,

i mean, she does some fucked up shit that goes beyond any of the less than desirable actions of the other main characters and does an extremely poor job in trying to make herself seem innocent. i personally don’t think she’s pure evil but i completely understand where the people who say she is are coming from.

because they never had the will to understand complicated women in the first place. 

that’s big talk from somebody who implies that a gay pope is comparable to homophobic and transphobic irl religions and that leads an oppressive regime all because she uses the vague terms of sin and punishments that you have to gay power fantasy your way out of

I just can’t help thinking it……

Whenever Jensen even kind of interacted with M or RA or stands he was roasted by the non heller fandom. He was “pandering” and “deserves the harassment he got if he was going to interact with them”. He was a bad guy, because he clearly didn’t care about the abuse the M nation hurled at Jared. He’s just a fame whore who wants his attention and money. I just don’t like hypocrisy. It seems all these things Jensen does are cardinal sins….. unless Jared does them. Then it’s fine, or we question if it was really him on his account 🤦🏻‍♀️ It’s the same as how people rail on M and how he’s the worst person (I tend to agree most of the time) and how they cannot respect this man….. but when it’s with Jared it’s “We love Mishalecki!!!”…… what?? Now, I don’t want either of them working with RA, or stands or M in any way because I think it’s all bull crap. But I respect that these guys do what they want! I have ZERO say in that, nor should I have any say. I’m probably wrong about some of my assumptions anyway.

I just feel Jensen can’t win. That’s why he stays out of everything. I believe he knows there is nothing he can do or say without fandom erupting. He seems to be the catalyst (unfairly to him most of the time) for all fandom drama.

You can totally trash this ask, I understand if you’d feel it’s too drama inducing. I don’t mean it to be, I’m just getting whiplash from all the back and forth takes. I was a JP fan first, then went to spn and really loved both the guys. The prequel crap didn’t really change my opinion of either guys, but it certainly changed my opinion of fandom. I thought I was in the moderate, rational fan corner. Turns out no such corner exists, unless you’re a staunch J2/wincest supporter. Gotta find me more of them on here…

I agree, yeah. Unfortunately, the hellers aren't the only part of the fandom that treat Jensen as if he's just a prop for their fave. They act like they're fans of both J2 or at least neutral towards Jensen most of the time, but then the literal second he makes a questionable decision, gets attention without Jared, or dares to not act like Misha has a communicable disease ... fan? Nah, fuck that guy.

The Misha thing is particularly dumb, because it makes this assumption that the actors are just as immersed in and primarily concerned with fandom as we are. Yeah, the hellers and minions are fucking obnoxious and Misha has actively encouraged them and I personally can't respect him for that, but come on. They really expect a professional actor like Jensen - especially considering how aloof he holds himself from fandom/social media unless he's promoting something - to make decisions about how he interacts with a coworker based on how a handful of batshit crazy shippers on the internet will react? That's weird, and honestly starts to wander into that creeptastic confusing-the-actors-for-the-characters and reinterpreting-reality-to-fit-a-narrative territory the hellers inhabit. "But but crazy people on the internet might assume he [supports D/C/hates Jared/is fucking Misha]!" is crazy people on the internet logic. Compare with: I know Dean directly says he's straight, but he looks at guys when he talks to them so how can we really know!?! It's absurd as hell for fictional characters, it's far beyond that for actual real life people none of us personally know.

As you say, if it was genuinely just about Misha being a terrible person, Jared wouldn't get a free pass to interact with him from the same fans. Or better yet, effusive praise of how he's such a saint to continue being friendly with Misha despite Misha's pandering/fans leading to him being attacked. Because with them? If it's Jared, of course it's all a-okay. It might take a hot minute to justify how, but it totally is. Anything Jensen does needs to be minutely dissected for how it could possibly impact Jared (even in a butterfly effect way) before judgement can be rendered. Which, to be clear, is not to say that I think Jared has done such terrible things or should be judged for Misha interaction. It's not at all about what the actors have or haven't done, it's the tone of the assumptions and excuses that get made. Especially when we have little or no details.

The thing is, in my experience? All the Jensen stans I've encountered that loathe Jared are pretty much up front about it (actual over-invested fans of Jensen, hellers are an entirely different beast). The what-you-see-is-what-you get of that generally just leaves me ambivalent. There are a lot of Jared ones who blend themselves into the J2 club until we have another blowup like the prequel mess, though. Like you, I keep ending up feeling blindsided and pissed off when the pretense of liking both is revealed for what it was and the hypocritical standards come out. Which is partially on me at this point, because it is a repeating pattern and I should know better than to expect better by now.

I know a certain Violet Queen who will be happy to see this go up ;p. Here are the basics of CT’s SwapFellPurple!Sans, aka Doc’s relationships.

Undertale Sans/Ace – These two ran into some conflict pretty early on. Doc is used to running things his way, and completely, where as Ace was not backing down. Eventually things settled down, as while Ace was the “leader” and would always have final say, he was also willing to let someone else do most of the work, so long as they worked in his allowed parameters. Doc deals with all the “menial administrative shit” that Ace hates. There is still a little of a grudge there but its at least a grudging acceptance. Undertale Papyrus/Lief – Lief is soft in ways Doc doesn’t always appreciate. While never needlessly cruel, Doc can be demanding, exacting, and abrasive. He expects people to do as they’re told and do so correctly. Lief is a much softer touch and often goes about “consoling” any “hurt feelings” after Doc has made his rounds. This is more than a little frustrating, and Doc often feels undermined. There have been arguments over it, and the two largely avoid directly interacting. Outside of “work” the two can be cordial, and while they will likely never be friends, there isn’t any animosity. Perhaps a little bitterness though.

Underfell Sans/Chisel – Doc doesn’t particularly care one way or another at this point. He doesn’t dislike Chis’s personality, in fact they do have some things in common, and can have decent conversations. There was a time Doc was very put off by the laziness of some of his counter parts, Chisel included, but has since let it go. Chis does work hard when he really needs to and his mechanical knowledge in invaluable. His opinion ultimately sits between appreciate, exasperation, and neutrality. Underfell Papyrus/Spur – These two did butt heads a fair bit at one point, but have since settled in to camaraderie. There was some issues with respective bossiness, both used to being in control. However Spur quickly caught on that he was never really “in charge” in any kind of practical way, and was in no way prepared to be now. While he was used to issuing orders, he had no expedience actually making people work. Once he acknowledged this, and that he had no interest in changing it, they got along much better. They often train and discuss techniques together when Doc has some down time.

Underswap Sans/Scout – Exasperation might be the kindest thing Doc feels for Scout. Very vaguely, distantly, fond exasperation. While he appreciates that Scout can work very hard, he is also frustrated by how erratic and easily distracted he is. It doesn’t help that Scout would sooner laugh than actually do any work he’s given by Doc. Underswap Papyrus/Piper – While there isn’t any particularly strong attachment here, Doc doesn’t mind Pip at all. He’s mostly quiet and largely stays out of Doc’s “circle”. He does his tasks well and is largely non-disruptive, which Doc appreciates.

Swapfell(Red) Sans/Whip – These two get along a lot better than most would expect. Doc has a surprising level of understanding of Whip’s mentality, and knows how to not only manage his moods but work with him on them. While neither would ever admit it, they can be found some mornings being catty gossips over coffee. Swapfell(Red) Papyrus/Coyote – Doc doesn’t mind Coy. When given a task, he does it well, and Doc appreciates that. Most would assume Doc would be annoyed by Coy’s “lack of initiative” but honestly he just see him as being rather ‘lost’ most of the time, something he can understand. While it was never really an issue for him personally, he does understand that the world and their place in it has rather been up-heaved and adjustment can be hard.

Horrortale Sans/Tender – They don’t interact one on one very often but they get along well enough. Doc pushes people and expects a lot, but he also actually quite reasonable and very understanding of different people’s limitations. He understands what Ten can and can’t do, and as the gang’s primary healer he makes sure to keep track of any changes. Tender is somewhat limited, but also very dedicated to what he can do, and Doc appreciates that. Horrortale Papyrus/Cook – Doc appreciates Cook. He has his role, and he does it to the absolute best of his ability without pushing himself too hard, important traits to earn Doc’s respect. They don’t have a ton in common, but they get along amicably.

Swapfell(Purple) Sans/Doc – Doc is confident, self assured, and comfortable. He knows himself, and what he’s capable of. While Underground, Doc never gave much thought to his “self esteem”, keeping a single minded focus on making sure he and Flint had the best they could in any given circumstance. Upon reaching the Surface, he found he was quite satisfied with who he is. He does have the rare moment of insecurity, where he questions whether he actually deserves what he has and is, given his methods were not always the most morally upright, but it doesn’t take long for him to shake this. He did what he could and had to with what was available, and he refuses to apologize for it. Swapfell(Purple) Papyrus/Flint – Things have gotten much better for these two since surfacing. While they were always close, and often codependent, Doc was often also at odds with Flint over Flint’s addictions. It became a matter of “as long as it directly interfere in anyway, I’ll ignore it” for a long time. When reaching the surface, there was a fair bit of arguing but Flint has started getting it together, as many of the stressors he had previously are gone, and Doc is proud of his little brother’s efforts.

Fellswap Gold Sans/Haze – Somewhere between solid friendship and grudging respect. There is a certain measure of playful competition between them, which as Fells can come off at times hateful to the outside eye. However it is something Doc has great fun with, and considers Haze a dear friend. Fellswap Gold Papyrus/Cirrus – Doc doesn’t mind how soft Cirrus is, but Cir does find him a bit intimidating. There is always an expectation that Doc will start bossing Cir around, and while at one point that may have been a possibility, Doc leaves Cir entirely to Haze. He appreciates Cir’s artistic talents, but has little time of his own for such pursuits. There is no dislike but Doc has firmly placed him in a “not my responsibility” box, so as to avoid any conflicts.

Underlust Sans/Shine – These two aren’t friends as far as Doc is concerned, but they do get along somewhat well. There are parts of Shine that grate deeply on Doc, but he is exceptionally clever in regards to all matters of the mind, and Doc can appreciate this. While confident in his own abilities, Doc does occasionally reach out to verify that his approach shouldn’t have adverse effects on the people involved. Underlust Papyrus/Calico – Calico is a strange and enigmatic sort, and Doc is largely ambivalent to him. While he doesn’t especially mind Cali, there is something unsettling to him that puts Doc, who much prefers the concrete to the esoteric, on edge.

Dancetale Sans/Shuffle – Doc and Shuff bond over their mutual like of children and teaching/guiding. They don’t have much else in common but will happily swap tips/stories. Dancetale Papyrus/Foxtrot – Fox is a bit much for Doc. He doesn’t hate him, but his energy is a bit off putting. While he would find his work ethic impressive, his tendency to ignore his own and others limits irritates Doc as it is inefficient. Doc usually just redirects Fox to elsewhere so as not to deal with him more than needed.

Outertale Sans/Saturn – There is no particular feelings either way here for Doc. They don’t see each other often enough for them to develop a bond or aversion. In the rare interaction, Doc doesn’t mind Saturn, and they can make comfortable small talk. Outertale Papyrus/Mercury – An amicable relationship. They don’t see each other often, but Doc doesn’t mind Mer at all, and will hold a decent conversation with him.

Farmtale Sans/Sage – Doc holds no animosity towards Sage. Doc holds not much of anything towards Sage. If his view could be defined in a singular word, it would be “disregard”. Most are surprised to find Doc cares not at all about Sage’s seemingly lazy and resistant nature. The fact of the matter is, Doc doesn’t care. He has completely dismissed Sage as being beneath effort or even notice. It’s not his job to fix Sage, and he doesn’t care to try. Farmtale Papyrus/Thyme – There is a good bit of mutual respect here. While they are careful to avoid the topic of Thyme’s brother, they both greatly appreciate how hard the other works to keep everything moving smoothly in their respective areas. Both also appreciate matters of the home, and the wish they could indulge in the peaceful domestics more often. Doc does often chide Thyme for not balancing work/life more efficiently, and they are as close to friends as they can get given how infrequently they directly interact.

G!Sans/Aurum – This one is a mixed bag. Aurum is impulsive and often unthinking and it drives Doc batty on the rare occasion he has to deal with it directly. Even more infuriating is that things typically just “work out” for Aur, when by all accounts they should not have. Doc views Aur largely as an unruly barely-adult, and must constantly resist the urge to lecture. He normally just would, but Doc has found the task pointless, and it’s much more effective to simply set Vir on him. Despite all this, he can respect Aur’s drive and work ethic, even if he finds it’s direction often questionable. G!Papyrus/Viridis – Friendly, when they manage to see each other. Doc appreciates Vir’s calm and intellectual nature. They often compare research findings and enjoy discussing assorted healing techniques, mundane and magical.

(Two in a day, as I know a certain someone was excited to see this)

For the name a fandom game: Archive 81

aaaahhh sorry anon i forgot to reply to this!! better late than never tho

1. The first character I first fell in love with honest answer? ratty, but as far as more consequential characters go it's probably caroline 2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now mark for sure, i was very neutral towards him at first but after a second listen i care him so much, especially after the golden age 3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t i feel like people really like alexa but i've never been that drawn to her, i don't dislike her but i'm just kinda ambivalent 4. The character I love that everyone else hates r a t, it's a love-hate situation since he is objectively wretched and does a lot of terrible things but i think he's a very well-done character 5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer honestly i've only really come to love everyone more after two listens and being in the fandom for a while, they are all my children and friends 6. The character I would totally smooch static man my beloved :) also nicholas bc i love he 7. The character I’d want to be like melody, i love her progression from "hm this building sure is weird" to "yeah i'm pretty much one of the most powerful beings in the universe but it's chill" 8. The character I’d slap rat again, he 1000000% deserves it, also that motherfucker davenport 9. A pairing that I love statnick my EXTRA beloved :) left of the dial is just. so good 10. A pairing that I despise do people actually ship danrat?? i feel like i've seen it mentioned before and like. absolutely no to that

For the OTP asks, how about 10, 42, 69, and 80 for Jestiny and John?

thank you so much for sending in dear 💕

10. How do they resolve their arguments?

they literally just. move on. arguments aren’t really a big deal for them, it’s just how they communicate. everything is a blow up but it’s not really like. upsetting for them, they’re just somewhat volatile people and they’re used to that status quo and enjoy the freedom of getting to be that way around each other without it being a problem. people could observe what they assume is surely a relationship ending fight and then stick around to see them just move on like “well okay what are we having for dinner though?”

in terms of actually reaching solutions about fundamental disagreements, they ignore it and leave problems simmering on the backburner quite often unfortunately, they both just power forward with the confident assumption they’ll be proven right before it becomes a problem.

42. Thoughts on each other’s family?

jestiny closes off a lot of information about her family from john, which is very frustrating for him. she’s distant from them by design, and while john would probably accept that just fine if he knew why, he doesn’t like being denied the information. (and in jessie’s main canon her parents are dead and out of the accessible territory, so it’s a moot issue anyways.) i think if he knew, he would validate a lot of her darker feelings about her parents, her anger towards her father and her ambivalence towards her mother.

jestiny obviously feels the duncans are horrible people when she finally learns the full details on them. she is also honestly not a big fan of the other seeds. (i mean, she’s not really a fan of john either per se, but.) jacob’s ideology pisses her off majorly. (although in a notably more dispassionate way that john just. existing period.) and faith just scares the ever loving shit out of her, even in non blissed conversations, although she also probably feels more initial sympathy for faith. the most positive emotion she can ever muster towards joseph, in any universe, is begrudging mercy.

69. Who has the better comebacks?

this is actually really hard like i genuinely don’t know. i try to make it pretty evenly split. i think john’s comebacks are a little more thought out and polished, but jessie’s tend to be snappier and go for the jugular. either way this is what they spend 90% of their time goddamn doing.

80. What do they love about each other the most?

as much as these things are actually entire fucking problem for the other right now: i think what jessie ultimately loves most about john is his capacity for devotion and ability to feel full dedication to things. she’s pretty flakey and afraid of commitment, so she really secretly admires his conviction and emotional intensity, and frankly the relationship wouldn’t get off the ground without it. also his intelligence and perceptiveness, probably the first things about him that genuinely charm her. she loves that he challenges her.

as for john, he loves her cleverness, resourcefulness, and wit. she’s very independent and has a genuine self confidence he really admires, despite her underlying insecurities she doesn’t have a huge need for external validation and he finds that incredible. and despite her flakiness, she also has willpower that really impresses him.

when they’re in closer to a proper relationship, jessie loves most his willingness to be vulnerable and emotionally expressive and john loves most her capacity to love enduringly, and, for lack of a better word, stubbornly.