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little-cereal-draws · 2 years

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Jake walks a fine line; the line between nothing and everything. For better or for worse, it's all just part of the job.

All his life, he's had to make do with nothing because that's how it was when he found it. Keeping a hidden box of snacks in his room for when his mom locks him in his room for hours on end and the pains in his growling stomach becomes too much to ignore. Ripping the bottom of his pants up to stop the all too fast blood pouring out of him when he wakes up lost in the desert, separated from his troop and badly injured. Staying awake for days on end, ignoring his burning eyes and swimming head, when his band of mercenaries managed to piss off the wrong rivals. Always coming in when all hope was lost and managing to make something out of nothing. Sometimes all he could manage was the bear minimum, but it was enough to keep them alive and fighting.

But now Jake has his own life, his own friends, his own brothers. Khonshu is less of a problem and Steven's homey flat is a good refuge from danger. Now he has everything. He can eat a big breakfast with several courses just for fun and because he can. There is always food in the fridge. He knows where the first aid kit is in case he knicks himself while shaving and needs a bandage to stop the blood. He can stay up late, partying and seeing the sights; music pumping through his veins and giving him the energy to stay awake until the sun comes up. And then he can drag himself home, not bothering to wash the glitter off, and curl up in their soft bed, savoring the silky sheets and plush pillows, until the late afternoon sun spills in. He can indulge because he's safe now. They all are. There's no more danger, no more living off bare bones, just excess everywhere he looks. He could get used to living like this.

#i think jake would enjoy living a very hedonistic lifestyle and tries to do so as much as possible #he loves living life and getting as much as he can out of it #but ofc there are still times when the way he used to live combined w all the excess he has now makes not so great of a combo #he'll start hording food and medical supplies but never use any of it not even when he needs it and pushes the body to the limit #sure he's hungry now but what if he's hungrier later? yes he's bleeding now but what if they get horribly injured later?#same thing w exercising most of the time it's meditative for him and he enjoys it but there are times he pushes it until he can barely stan #he needs to be strong to protect them if there's danger later and he's mad at himself for letting himself indulge too much #pushing the body to its limit when his mindset gets bad is his way of punishing himself for that and trying to overcorrect it #he just kind've pendulums back and forth between those two extremes for quite a while until he realizes they really are safe #it takes a couple years #luckily marc and steven can step in when he's getting a bit destructive like that so it never goes too far #they're glad when he's having fun and living his best life tho #being the physical protector includes both extremes #marvel #mcu #moon knight #moon knight 2022 #moon knight headcanon #jake lockley #jake lockley my beloved #tw blood #tw violence #tw childhood abuse

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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 days

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Antitrust is a labor issue

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me SATURDAY (Apr 27) in MARIN COUNTY, then Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

This is huge: yesterday, the FTC finalized a rule banning noncompete agreements for every American worker. That means that the person working the register at a Wendy's can switch to the fry-trap at McD's for an extra $0.25/hour, without their boss suing them:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes

The median worker laboring under a noncompete is a fast-food worker making close to minimum wage. You know who doesn't have to worry about noncompetes? High tech workers in Silicon Valley, because California already banned noncompetes, as did Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington.

The fact that the country's largest economies, encompassing the most "knowledge-intensive" industries, could operate without shitty bosses being able to shackle their best workers to their stupid workplaces for years after those workers told them to shove it shows you what a goddamned lie noncompetes are based on. The idea that companies can't raise capital or thrive if their know-how can walk out the door, secreted away in the skulls of their ungrateful workers, is bullshit:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/02/its-the-economy-stupid/#neofeudal

Remember when OpenAI's board briefly fired founder Sam Altman and Microsoft offered to hire him and 700 of his techies? If "noncompetes block investments" was true, you'd think they'd have a hard time raising money, but no, they're still pulling in billions in investor capital (primarily from Microsoft itself!). This is likewise true of Anthropic, the company's major rival, which was founded by (wait for it), two former OpenAI employees.

Indeed, Silicon Valley couldn't have come into existence without California's ban on noncompetes – the first silicon company, Shockley Semiconductors, was founded by a malignant, delusional eugenicist who also couldn't manage a lemonade stand. His eight most senior employees (the "Traitorous Eight") quit his shitty company to found Fairchild Semiconductor, a rather successful chip shop – but not nearly so successful as the company that two of Fairchild's top employees founded after they quit: Intel:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/24/the-traitorous-eight-and-the-battle-of-germanium-valley/

Likewise a lie: the tale that noncompetes raise wages. This theory – beloved of people whose skulls are so filled with Efficient Market Hypothesis Brain-Worms that they've got worms dangling out of their nostrils and eye-sockets – holds that the right to sign a noncompete is an asset that workers can trade to their employers in exchange for better pay. This is absolutely true, provided you ignore reality.

Remember: the median noncompete-bound worker is a fast food employee making near minimum wage. The major application of noncompetes is preventing that worker from getting a raise from a rival fast-food franchisee. Those workers are losing wages due to noncompetes. Meanwhile, the highest paid workers in the country are all clustered in a a couple of cities in northern California, pulling down sky-high salaries in a state where noncompetes have been illegal since the gold rush.

If a capitalist wants to retain their workers, they can compete. Offer your workers get better treatment and better wages. That's how capitalism's alchemy is supposed to work: competition transmogrifies the base metal of a capitalist's greed into the noble gold of public benefit by making success contingent on offering better products to your customers than your rivals – and better jobs to your workers than those rivals are willing to pay. However, capitalists hate capitalism:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/18/in-extremis-veritas/#the-winnah

Capitalists hate capitalism so much that they're suing the FTC, in MAGA's beloved Fifth Circuit, before a Trump-appointed judge. The case was brought by Trump's financial advisors, Ryan LLC, who are using it to drum up business from corporations that hate Biden's new taxes on the wealthy and stepped up IRS enforcement on rich tax-cheats.

Will they win? It's hard to say. Despite what you may have heard, the case against the FTC order is very weak, as Matt Stoller explains here:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/ftc-enrages-corporate-america-by

The FTC's statutory authority to block noncompetes comes from Section 5 of the FTC Act, which bans "unfair methods of competition" (hard to imagine a less fair method than indenturing your workers). Section 6(g) of the Act lets the FTC make rules to enforce Section 5's ban on unfairness. Both are good law – 6(g) has been used many times (26 times in the five years from 1968-73 alone!).

The DC Circuit court upheld the FTC's right to "promulgate rules defining the meaning of the statutory standards of the illegality the Commission is empowered to prevent" in 1973, and in 1974, Congress changed the FTC Act, but left this rulemaking power intact.

The lawyer suing the FTC – Anton Scalia's larvum, a pismire named Eugene Scalia – has some wild theories as to why none of this matters. He says that because the law hasn't been enforced since the ancient days of the (checks notes) 1970s, it no longer applies. He says that the mountain of precedent supporting the FTC's authority "hasn't aged well." He says that other antitrust statutes don't work the same as the FTC Act. Finally, he says that this rule is a big economic move and that it should be up to Congress to make it.

Stoller makes short work of these arguments. The thing that tells you whether a law is good is its text and precedent, "not whether a lawyer thinks a precedent is old and bad." Likewise, the fact that other antitrust laws is irrelevant "because, well, they are other antitrust laws, not this antitrust law." And as to whether this is Congress's job because it's economically significant, "so what?" Congress gave the FTC this power.

Now, none of this matters if the Supreme Court strikes down the rule, and what's more, if they do, they might also neuter the FTC's rulemaking power in the bargain. But again: so what? How is it better for the FTC to do nothing, and preserve a power that it never uses, than it is for the Commission to free the 35-40 million American workers whose bosses get to use the US court system to force them to do a job they hate?

The FTC's rule doesn't just ban noncompetes – it also bans TRAPs ("training repayment agreement provisions"), which require employees to pay their bosses thousands of dollars if they quit, get laid off, or are fired:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/04/its-a-trap/#a-little-on-the-nose

The FTC's job is to protect Americans from businesses that cheat. This is them, doing their job. If the Supreme Court strikes this down, it further delegitimizes the court, and spells out exactly who the GOP works for.

This is part of the long history of antitrust and labor. From its earliest days, antitrust law was "aimed at dollars, not men" – in other words, antitrust law was always designed to smash corporate power in order to protect workers. But over and over again, the courts refused to believe that Congress truly wanted American workers to get legal protection from the wealthy predators who had fastened their mouth-parts on those workers' throats. So over and over – and over and over – Congress passed new antitrust laws that clarified the purpose of antitrust, using words so small that even federal judges could understand them:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

After decades of comatose inaction, Biden's FTC has restored its role as a protector of labor, explicitly tackling competition through a worker protection lens. This week, the Commission blocked the merger of Capri Holdings and Tapestry Inc, a pair of giant conglomerates that have, between them, bought up nearly every "affordable luxury" brand (Versace, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach, Stuart Weitzman, etc).

You may not care about "affordable luxury" handbags, but you should care about the basis on which the FTC blocked this merger. As David Dayen explains for The American Prospect: 33,000 workers employed by these two companies would lose the wage-competition that drives them to pay skilled sales-clerks more to cross the mall floor and switch stores:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-04-24-challenge-fashion-merger-new-antitrust-philosophy/

In other words, the FTC is blocking a $8.5b merger that would turn an oligopoly into a monopoly explicitly to protect workers from the power of bosses to suppress their wages. What's more, the vote was unanimous, include the Commission's freshly appointed (and frankly, pretty terrible) Republican commissioners:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-moves-block-tapestrys-acquisition-capri

A lot of people are (understandably) worried that if Biden doesn't survive the coming election that the raft of excellent rules enacted by his agencies will die along with his presidency. Here we have evidence that the Biden administration's anti-corporate agenda has become institutionalized, acquiring a bipartisan durability.

And while there hasn't been a lot of press about that anti-corporate agenda, it's pretty goddamned huge. Back in 2021, Tim Wu (then working in the White wrote an executive order on competition that identified 72 actions the agencies could take to blunt the power of corporations to harm everyday Americans:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/party-its-1979-og-antitrust-back-baby

Biden's agency heads took that plan and ran with it, demonstrating the revolutionary power of technical administrative competence and proving that being good at your job is praxis:

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

In just the past week, there's been a storm of astoundingly good new rules finalized by the agencies:

A minimum staffing ratio for nursing homes;

The founding of the American Climate Corps;

A guarantee of overtime benefits;

A ban on financial advisors cheating retirement savers;

Medical privacy rules that protect out-of-state abortions;

A ban on junk fees in mortgage servicing;

Conservation for 13m Arctic acres in Alaska;

Classifying "forever chemicals" as hazardous substances;

A requirement for federal agencies to buy sustainable products;

Closing the gun-show loophole.

That's just a partial list, and it's only Thursday.

Why the rush? As Gerard Edic writes for The American Prospect, finalizing these rules now protects them from the Congressional Review Act, a gimmick created by Newt Gingrich in 1996 that lets the next Senate wipe out administrative rules created in the months before a federal election:

https://prospect.org/politics/2024-04-23-biden-administration-regulations-congressional-review-act/

In other words, this is more dazzling administrative competence from the technically brilliant agencies that have labored quietly and effectively since 2020. Even laggards like Pete Buttigieg have gotten in on the act, despite a very poor showing in the early years of the Biden administration:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/11/dinah-wont-you-blow/#ecp

Despite those unpromising beginnings, the DOT has gotten onboard the trains it regulates, and passed a great rule that forces airlines to refund your money if they charge you for services they don't deliver:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/24/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-rules-to-deliver-automatic-refunds-and-protect-consumers-from-surprise-junk-fees-in-air-travel/

The rule also bans junk fees and forces airlines to compensate you for late flights, finally giving American travelers the same rights their European cousins have enjoyed for two decades.

It's the latest in a string of muscular actions taken by the DOT, a period that coincides with the transfer of Jen Howard from her role as chief of staff to FTC chair Lina Khan to a new gig as the DOT's chief of competition enforcement:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/2024-04-25-transportation-departments-new-path/

Under Howard's stewardship, the DOT blocked the merger of Spirit and Jetblue, and presided over the lowest flight cancellation rate in more than decade:

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/2023-numbers-more-flights-fewer-cancellations-more-consumer-protections

All that, along with a suite of protections for fliers, mark a huge turning point in the US aviation industry's long and worsening abusive relationship with the American public. There's more in the offing, too including a ban on charging families extra for adjacent seats, rules to make flying with wheelchairs easier, and a ban on airlines selling passenger's private information to data brokers.

There's plenty going on in the world – and in the Biden administration – that you have every right to be furious and/or depressed about. But these expert agencies, staffed by experts, have brought on a tsunami of rules that will make every working American better off in a myriad of ways. Those material improvements in our lives will, in turn, free us up to fight the bigger, existential fights for a livable planet, free from genocide.

It may not be a good time to be alive, but it's a much better time than it was just last week.

And it's only Thursday.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/25/capri-v-tapestry/#aiming-at-dollars-not-men

#pluralistic #labor #antitrust #trustbusting #noncompetes #indenture #ftc #matt stoller #david dayen #tapestry #luxury fashion #capri

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kingdomoftyto · 9 months

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I'm crying laughing, the DVDs are even worse than I remember... Season 1's menus are silent with a single static jpg of the same key character art they use for everything else, and the episodes on the Season 2 discs don't even match what's listed on the box! Absolutely stunning lack of shits given. Truly unparalleled. But I really shouldn't be surprised given... well... everything about how this series has been treated since the very beginning.

Time for a quick ~✨PHANDOM HISTORY LESSON✨~ to give newer/less hyperfixated folks more context for why the graphic novel being as great as it is is such a HUGE deal:

Danny Phantom was one of Nickelodeon's MAIN cartoons, in its time. It was a central pillar. One of the top three or four of their lineup, which is saying something when the competition includes the cultural juggernaut that is Spongebob.

Despite this, and despite its superhero theming making it perfectly marketable, it got basically ZERO official merch.

What little we did get was often ugly and very, very cheap. The dedication at the start of the graphic novel that jokes about collecting the Burger King toys? That's because it was some of the most notable merch the franchise EVER had. (I sadly do not have any of it. There was no BK in my hometown. Here's a pic from the internet, though, to give you an idea.)

If you think I'm exaggerating about that being the most significant physical merch to come out of the series, consider that the first video game had an entire menu option specifically for the Burger King promotional tie-in:

That video game, by the way, was one of only two ever based on the show. The first was an adaptation of "The Ultimate Enemy" in the style of a short sidescrolling beat-em-up, and the second was themed around "Urban Jungle" and (as far as I can tell--I've only played the first couple levels) was an arcade-style scrolling shooter. Both were for the Gameboy Advance, and both are...... fine, as far as cash-grabby video game tie-ins to kids' shows go. This was pretty normal for the time, so I suppose we did okay in that department, actually. They're not GOOD, but they're playable and have at least a bit of effort put into them.

But besides those two video games (plus a handful of simple, long-defunct Flash games on nick.com)? In the decade and a half since the show ended?

Nothing.

No books, no games, no comics, no web shorts--unless you count mega-crossovers with every other Nicktoon (a la Nicktoons Unite), or soulless promotional material like "Fairly Odd Phantom" (which, trust me, despite being the first new DP animation in over 10 years was not even worth the effort of watching).

...I think there was a limited edition FunkoPop once?

So yeah.

A Glitch in Time is not just the first cool, well-made thing we've seen from the franchise in a while. It's the first THING we've seen since the show. PERIOD. And arguably the first worthwhile supplementary material to EVER come out of the show, depending on how you feel about those GBA games and the Nicktoons crossovers.

This franchise is widely beloved even now, almost 20 years after it first aired, and it feels like that fact is now, finally, FINALLY getting some official recognition.

PLEASE read A Glitch in Time. Tell other people about it. The series--no, the fans--deserve this (and more of this, if the folks in charge see enough of a response and decide to grace us with any followup). It's LONG overdue, but better late than never.

#Danny Phantom #this is why I've been losing my mind repeating ''please buy it'' over and over btw #this is the FIRST and maybe ONLY time we'll ever get to directly show support for the series #it is a uniquely huge deal for this fandom #it's totally fine if you can't (or just still won't) buy it of course but I am begging folks to consider it IF they can.#not for any moral guilting or anything just.... for me. for the fandom. (for yourself because it's a cool story lmao)#long post

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multifixwritings · 1 month

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Some Things Are Meant to Be

Fandom: Twilight Pairing: Jasper Hale x GN!Reader x Alice Cullen Summary: It was the way Alice and Jasper found eternal happiness, against the odds, in a way no one expected. Words: 1515 (oneshot) Note: Oh, to be in a relationship with these two! You didn't specify, and I am such a sucker for the human x vampire pairing, so that's what I went with here. I hope I did okay and you're not too disappointed!

Vampiric culture differed in many ways from those of humans. Transitioning from mortal to immortal meant changing your entire way of life—nothing would be the same. Diet, socialization, and routines all shifted to accommodate the transformation. Some settled well into the new arrangement while others found it more difficult even with time to adjust.

How relationships developed and worked was something most didn’t think about until it hit them. Vampires could “date around” like any human, but no romantic relationship could compare to finding your singer or mate. The chemistry bound you deeper than any soulmate humans claimed to have found.

What most didn’t realize was there could be more than one.

The rustic smell of fresh blood pumping through the elk had venom filling their mouths. It would never compare to the agonizing burn inspired by humans, but it would be more than enough to satisfy the ache. Alice and Jasper stalked through the trees with the grace of a lion hiding in the tall grass. The game of predator and prey never failed in nature.

Oh, to be the once helpless prey turned into the ruthless predator.

The couple waited for the right moment before pouncing. Sharp enamel ripped into soft flesh, rich blood sliding down their throats to ease the ever-present pang of thirst. Alice allowed herself a shred of vulnerability and closed her eyes to savor her meal—only for them to snap back open.

Jasper noted his mate's shift in emotion and was at her side in an instant, leaving his elk half-drained but mercifully unaware of its quick death. "Alice? What do you see?"

Her petite hands dropped the animal to the forest floor as her eyes stared ahead blankly. She vaguely recognized Jasper's hands grasping her arms, felt his body close to hers as he waited for her to share. His worry faded into mere curiosity as he registered her emotional state—confusion to surprise to happiness.

"It's..." Alice grinned. "They're beautiful."

You turned, your eyes falling on the couple a few feet behind you. Your brow furrowed slightly before a small smile graced them. You lifted your hand in a gentle wave before turning back around to face the front.

Jasper frowned. "Who?"

The way your laugh crinkled your eyes nearly made her inert heart start beating once more—like when she first saw Jasper in her mind's eye. You shook your head before bending down to pick up the fallen paper from the floor.

"I am so sorry! I swear, I'd lose my head if it weren't attached to my body." You stood back up and stuck out your hand. "I'm (Y/N). I just moved here."

Alice repeated your name softly as she blinked away the vision. She liked the way it sounded on her tongue. The pixie-like vampire squealed and turned to Jasper.

"Jazz! They're coming!"

Her excitement infected him. Jasper chuckled and cradled her face in his hands to ground her. "Who's coming, darling?"

"Our mate! Oh!" She threw her arms around his waist. "Oh, they're perfect, Jazz!"

Neither vampire had heard of multiple mates before. Carlisle shared his experience in witnessing such a phenomenon when the confused yet anxious couple brought the vision to him. He had only seen it a couple of times in his immortal years.

Alice shared a glance with Jasper before revealing their new mate was human—and a whole new bout of anxiety swept throughout the Olympic Coven. They had nearly lost their entire family because their brother had fallen in love with a human. Bella was a treasured member of their coven—none of them would trade her or their beloved Renesmee for anything—but her presence in their lives had caused more trouble than any of them had predicted.

Jasper, Rosalie, and Edward had more reservations than the others. While Jasper had come miles in controlling his thirst, he remembered how difficult it had been for Edward to control his thirst around Bella and was terrified it might be the same. Rosalie and Edward were concerned about the possibility of the Volturi getting involved if yet another human discovered their secret. They would not be as forgiving as they had been with Bella after all the confrontations.

Your arrival had the coven on edge. They prepared themselves for whatever would happen but hoped for the best possible outcome.

Alice grabbed Jasper's hand. "There's (Y/N)."

Time stopped when you walked into the lecture. The couple sucked in a breath they both knew they didn't need. They watched in varying emotions—Alice vibrated with energy and Jasper swallowed warily—as the professor greeted you. You took the empty seat a couple rows in front of them.

Transferring to another university was not easy for you, but you were determined to make the best of it. It would only take another couple of credits for you to get your degree. You were just thankful it wasn't like high school where the teachers treated a new student as some sort of event and made you introduce yourself to the class.

Your pencil bounced in your hand. Jasper noted your anxiety and focused on sending a wave of calm to settle over you. The effect was instantaneous as you inhaled deeply and relaxed in your seat. You glanced around to see the lecture hall seemed scarce—less people meant less opportunity for embarrassment.

"How are you feeling?" Alice's words were silent to any nearby human ears.

Jasper shifted—a habit long since instilled in him to appear normal. "All right," he muttered. "It's... They don't affect me. Not... like that."

Your hand paused its notations on your paper. You turned around slightly after a moment before your gaze fell upon the couple. It had been their eyes you'd felt on the back of your head. Your forehead crinkled faintly.

Alice grinned at you. Jasper acknowledged you with a friendly nod of his head. Your frown lifted into a small smile but the confusion had written itself over your face. You slowly waved your fingers before shifting back to the front.

The couple remained on your mind the rest of the lecture. They seemed nice enough, but you couldn't shake the way your chest fluttered when they'd smiled at you. It was a strange tightening—not entirely unpleasant but definitely uncommon.

You gathered your belongings at the end of the lecture and stretched once you stood. Your muscles had trouble sitting still for so long.

"I don't think we've met."

"Oh!" You brought a hand to your chest, the paper fluttering to the ground at your feet.

Jasper muttered Alice's name fondly as her sudden voice startled you. He couldn't help the small smirk gracing his lips at the sharp increase of your heartbeat. Your wide eyes landed on the couple who seemed to appear beside you.

A sigh escaped you before you laughed quietly, shaking your head at your own reaction. You bent down to pick up the paper before it could get crumpled.

"I am so sorry! I swear, I'd lose my head if it weren't attached to my body." You didn't exactly know why you apologized, but you felt it was the right thing to do once a swift calmness wiped out any embarrassment. "I'm (Y/N). I just moved here."

Your grin seemed to light up your face as you held your hand out to your fellow students. Alice eagerly placed her hand in yours—her skin felt like ice.

"I'm Alice and this is Jasper! I just know we're going to be the best of friends."

If only you had known how misdirected those words were when she'd said them. Alice and Jasper did become your best friends, but the connection was so much more intimate than that. They became your greatest inspiration to finish school, your biggest motivation for chasing your dreams, and your first chance at genuine love.

It was the way they spent hours with you, how they listened to you rant and rave, how they comforted you when you were down, the way they somehow always knew exactly what you needed to go about your day. It was the small tokens of affection, the coffee they would bring you in the mornings, the small touches here and there, the terms of endearment.

It was the way they planned nights with you, the stay-in movie dates, the meals you would cook together despite them never eating, the tender kisses and gentle caresses. It was how they sat you down and let you in on their biggest secret, how they trusted you not to tell anyone, how they went against everything they had learned to let you into their life because they loved you that much.

It was the way they discussed the future with you, how they let you know it was your choice, how they only wanted the best for you. It was how they held you as fire spread throughout your entire body, how they took turns staying with you until the transition was complete, how they embraced you in your rebirth, how they happily introduced you officially into your new family.

It was the way they completed you.

It was the way you were meant to be.

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olessan · 1 month

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Disappointed that DD2 has no canonical male romance options? HELP FIX IT!

In Dragon's Dogma 2 you can choose almost any NPC to be your beloved/romance option, like in the first game. You can literally pick anyone, including random road guards, to shower gifts upon and raise their affinity.

However. Only two NPCs are canonical romances.

Ulrika and Wilhelmina, both human women, have unique romance quests and scenes that conclude intimately (without any platonic option). Those are the only NPCs in the entire game that have them.

No hate on the girls, they're among my arisen's best buds, but having them be the only two with fully fledged romance arcs in the entire game is a bit absurd.

Pre-release marketing highlighted Ulra, Wil, as well as Guard-Captain Brant, Prince Sven (who tbf seems pretty young), elven siblings Glyndwr and Doirieann, and Empress Nadinia of Battahl and her Guard-captain Menella (who I assumed were a couple). Any of those characters should also have had unique scenes like Wil and Ulra, but they don't. That effectively makes Ulra/Wil the canonical options.

None of the npcs care about the arisen's gender. The main issue is that there are no male options with equivalent romance quest. There's nothing but crumbs for the guy enjoyers, which is somehow a step back from the first game where there was at least Julian.

There are three dudes who would have been strong candidates according to their plot importance:

Brant is the arisen's first and most important ally in Vernworth,

Sven could have been DD2's Aelinore (young noble in need of help) and could've caused loads of plot drama,

and Glyndwr is your introduction to the elf culture through his curiosity.

Do they get unique quests beyond their initial ones? Nope.

Anyway, we can potentially influence some getting added officially instead of as mods:

Capcom has released a player feedback survey.

The survey has questions on what you like, dislike, and would like to see in future content updates. It runs until April 21 and may well influence the future additions to the game.

I laid it on thick about them adding more quests and romance quests, and also about a Bitterblack Isle-type expansion.The more people that bring it up these issues the better.

Go forth, arisen <3

#Dragon's Dogma #Dragon's Dogma 2 #DragonsDogma #Dragon'sDogma #Dragons Dogma #DD2 #DD 2 #DDII #DD II #DD #DDDA #DD:DA #Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen #Dragon's Dogma: Dark arisen #dd:2 #dragon's dogma ii #pawn share #dragon's dogma II #dd1

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rinadragomir · 1 month

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My thoughts on the couples included in Better in Black for those who care

I expect you to write down yours so work work

📍Wessa

You know, as a dedicated Jessa stan I wanna say that it's okay~ Because these two were together for 50 years or sth, there's still some things to add. We might watch them in their 30s, 50s, 60s. I guess at this point both camps have around the same amount of content. Plus I'll have Jessa in twp so I'm in peace 🌱

📍Clace

All my first thoughts are over here. I'm a Clace defender, I'm their oldest stan, I'm a veteran👩‍🦳 So I feel like I have a right to say that...it was kinda unnecessary. We've witnessed every step in their relationship so far, beginning of it in TMI, gentle transition to adulthood in TDA and Tales of Shadowhunter Academy, adulthood in SOBH and proposal. So if the story isn't about their wedding then WHAT THE HELL IS IT ABOUT REALLY? And we know that they won't get married until twp.

📍Anna & Ari (Arianna!)

Hey🥺that is nice, we've seen so little of them in chain of thorns and I've loved them since their debut in 2018 in that short story. I'm very biased when it comes to TLH, cause I'm their mother. So YAY🌱they have a long way to go, Anna still needs to change a tiny little bit for them to be healthy, so I'd love to witness it

📍Jordelia

We all have known about it, because Cassie kinda promised us their story a while ago. Wedding runes scene, honeymoon, kids, mortgage etc. Go kids, slay, serve, eat and so on, I'm excited for u!

📍Sebastian & Seelie Queen

🤨🧐🤔👁👁

Yeah... That famous Sebastian &Fanbase. Like... I'm conflicted, because it's useless and doesn't make any sense even tho it might slay. Listen up, I'll show you.

Lots of people defend it by saying that it might be important for Ash's background in TWP. But... No it's not. Because this is exclusive book made for few people who were lucky and financially stable enough to get it. It won't be posted online. So most people won't read it unless someone leaks it. So there's no point for that story to be important for the plot, therefore it has nothing to do with it.

And it's definitely not "one of the most beloved" couples. BUT LIKE... WHAT IF IT SLAYS? Toxic, unhinged romance, what if I'll love it? 🤡

📍Jemma

So you see the problem? Because it's the same as Clace. What else might she add, because there's nothing. SoBH ended like yesterday. We know exactly where they live rn, their daily routine, their plans. So there's nothing to add between SOBH and twp. What will it be about? Hard to say, but I hope Cassie will come up with sth interesting for them.

📍Thomastair (why did Cassie say Alistair instead of Alastair, I'm lost help me)

Yay🥺slay, serve, eat and leave no crumbs, go, kill it idk you're doing great boys, there's so much to add and explore because they've just started dating. I'm so excited ^-^

📍Kierartkina

That is fine. No matter what I think about their relationship, because in my point of view Cristina and Kieran fell in love because Cassie said so apparently, I still don't mind them being there. Because there's also lots of things to discuss and explore. I hope the story will be soft and warm☀they've just started their advantage so it definitely makes sense

📍Sizzy

Even though we've had lots of them in TMI and Shadowhunters Academy I still think they deserve to be here. They are famous (I guess? 👁👁) and I'd like to know more about their plans for future. Simon was still a teenager in the stories collection and now I'd love to see him as a grown man being in relationship with the woman he loves.

📍Luke & Jocelyn

👁👁🤨🧐🤔👀

Well... That was... Unexpected. I guess... I've just never met their fandom but I hope it's huge af, because I don't know why else would they be here. Sophideon, Gabrily and Charlotte with Henry were supposed to be here, let's be honest. But since they're here, I do think Cassie is able to make a decent story. I expect it to be bittersweet, angsty and somehow heartwarming. I think there's nothing to say except let's wait and find out.

OVERALL I think it's pretty fine. Maximum 7/10 from me. I was ready to face the worst, but it turned out to be... Fine. So it's fine☺🌱

#seasons of shadowhunters #tsc #sobh #tlh #cassandra clare #chain of thorns #wessa #jemma #arianna #anna lightwood #ari bridgestock #jordelia #sizzy #kierarktina #thomastair #tda #tmi #the wicked powers

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welcometogrouchland · 11 months

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I feel like for the first few years of guardianship Darius and Hunter really struggle to figure out how to refer to each other.

Like it's easier for Hunter, he pretty quickly settles on "guardian" for explaining their relationship to other people and just referring to Darius by name when talking to the man himself. Overtime the phrasing gradually warms, becoming "foster parent" and eventually, once Hunter's already an adult old enough to move out, "Dad".

(Sidenote: he doesn't move out til he's in his mid to late twenties, bc he's under no obligation too, Darius low-key doesn't want him too, and the two of them want to make up for lost time in a sense, since Hunter only had 2 years of legal dependency on Darius before aging out of the system. Darius adopts Hunter retroactively as an adult)

Darius on the other hand has a real conundrum on his hands for those first few years. He has a lot of options! But "ward" is too formal and makes it sound like Darius picked him up off the street like after his parents were murdered, "apprentice/student" isn't really accurate considering the focus of Darius and Hunter's relationship has less to do with Hunter learning magic and more to do with Hunter being housed and fed. "Kid" and "foster son" are there...but...

Look, Darius isn't going to refer to Hunter more familiarly than Hunter refers to him! He's not gonna make it WEIRD. He's not a dad, because Hunter doesn't want/need him to be (and also parenthood is scary <3). Darius doesn't know the first thing about being a dad, despite how his friend group teases him.

Eda and Eberwolf are the two who are worst about it. They torture him with how 'fatherly' he's allegedly being (allegations Darius will DENY til his GRAVE!!!) And Eda specifically compares his journey to hers, saying it always starts off with you referring to them as your apprentice (again, Darius doesn't plan on doing that), as your roommate (...kinda weird in Darius' opinion? But okay Eda), or even your pet (????HELLO???). But eventually, they always become your dumb kid when you least expect it.

She's had a couple cups of appleblood by this point, but Darius knows on some level she's right and he's steadfastly ignoring that fact, even as Eber continues to refer to Hunter as his "cub" (kinda cute but Darius doesn't know how Hunter would feel being compared to an animal). The only people who are even remotely reasonable about all this (besides Lilith who's a bit disinterested in kid talk) is Raine and Alador, who both sort of neutrally, a bit awkwardly refer to Hunter as Darius' Boy.

Darius referring to Hunter as "my boy" is funnily enough what sticks the longest before it evolves to son boy. Hunter's crushing it at a derby match? Darius is whooping and cheering, yelling "THAT'S MY BOY!!!" At the other parents in the stands. Hunter is doing something dangerous or inadvisable where others can see him? "Darius, your boy-" "AHH! MY BOY". Hunter, a year into his stay with Darius finally comes clean about everything to do with him being a grimwalker, and is afraid that he's going to go back to seeing him as just an inferior replacement for Darius' beloved mentor? Darius (who has just had to process some of the most bonkers, emotionally heavy information in his life) gently, hesitantly puts a hand on his shoulder (the 'good' one Hunter doesn't mind people touching), and says that Hunter's much more than that. He's Darius' Boy and he's not going to kick him out or get angry or love him any less for things out of his control. It's good. They're good.

Like I said, it evolves over time and 'boy' becomes somewhat obsolete as the two get caught up in the joy of finally feeling able to explicitly refer to each other as family. But unlike "guardian" or "ward" the word never gets fully retired. Even when Hunter is 30 and is arguing that he's more of a man than a boy now, he is still getting referred to by Darius as "his boy", the way some parents never really stop calling their adult kids baby or kiddo (Camila and Eda respectively btw).

Hunter makes one of those corny matching shirt sets at some point for a father's Day gift when he's 17/18, where the two shirts say "if lost, return Boy to me" (Darius) and "I'm Boy" (Hunter). Hunter mostly did it so he could own a funny shirt that says "I'm boy". Darius openly weeps upon seeing them. Like Oh my Titan he's boy. He's my boy. Oh wow

#ramblings of a lunatic #the owl house #toh #hunter toh #darius deamonne #dadrius #made this instead of finishing my dadrius week day 1 comic. it's okay i have time #i think this post dips it's toes into being one of those 'part writing drabble/part textpost analysis' posts #which I'm okay w/ tbh i love those #i just hope it reads well #the important thing about dadrius + eberwolf to me is that it's just as unlikely a trio as King Eda and Luz are #just as weird and has just as gradual and retrospectively funny a journey as them #i also specified foster parent instead of adoptive parent just bc i read it in a fic once where Hunter was placed in isles foster care-#-post canon and he had a social worker who was a gargoyle named Chantelle. it was delightful #this is my homage to that. the fic was 'the titan laughs in flowers' i think (thank you user yardsards for the rec)#alador still gets the instinct to refer to Hunter as the golden guard and amity gets on his case about it #so referring to Hunter as darius' boy grew out of that and spread to raine who finds it kind of adorable #darius refers to hunter as his foster son for the first time when his (darius' i mean) family comes to visit #not as like a statement of anything they don't deny Hunter as a deamonne. they love him like they love a scraggly cat #but just like. it felt right for Darius in the moment and Hunter got emotional about it #anyway happy early dadrius week I'm rotating them in my mind I'm biting down on them like a chew toy etc etc

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lizzaneia-elizalde · 2 months

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the way i gasped when i see you have obey me! as fandom you follow is so dramatic, no but i swear I gasped dramatically pinky swear!!

Your headcannons for Yan! Solomon because he's my husband. I love his enigmatic style and how he has "oops! just created another disaster but hey i also have the solution" energy and on the serious note that despite knowing he had very less chances with MC in original timeline he still had their back everytime. I love my Shady McWizardson so much i cannot explain it to you. When NB came i was like 'this is it. this is solo stans era and we are living our dream!' How they'd play house with each other has me kicking my feet!!

Alsooo,, who's your favourite OM character 👀

-🌼

Yandere! Solomon

GIRL I AM ALSO IN LOVE WITH SOLOMON HE'S SO SHADY AND LOWKEY YAN. Although he DOES need to lay off the kitchen like stop going there bbgirl-- ALSO, favorite OM character? With the brothers, it's Beel. I love my big boy, my himbo, my everything. Jealous and clingy Beel is a blessing that comes once in a blue moon and I thank last year's valentines event for that. Outside of the brothers, it's ironically Solomon and Barbatos LOL FAIR WARNING THOUGH, I'm not that far yet in Obey Me Nightbringer. I did complete the original Obey me up to 80, but that's it. SO THERE WILL BE DETAILS THAT ARE WRONG!No nsfw for this one hehe

You know how everybody says that no things and events are coincidences?

This sorcerer definitely and deliberately got you transported back in time to solo you.

You don't need to know that though.

At first, he indeed got a bit guilty from isolating you so suddenly and without a warning from your beloved demon brothers.

But the more he saw the beauty of you and him living like a domestic couple together?

It eased his guilt almost immediately.

Back then in the original world, he spent most of his time gazing at you from afar. Wishing that it was he who was closest to you.

Not those demon brothers that he can't seem to shake at all.

Sure, he became your master/mentor, but that's it. You never saw him more than that.

And it frustrated him greatly.

So he had no choice. I hope you forgive him for that :(.

Solomon definitely got more closer to you once you went back in time.

But it was still hard not to frown when he sometimes hear you cry in wanting to go back to the present.

So, he does his best to distract you from everything.

Solomon definitely manipulates everything to his whims if it means getting closer to you.

I can also see Solomon being nicer to you and a distant coldness to him when somebody speaks to him that's not you.

Two-faced Solomon is a thing i've been thinking about for quite a while, and it fits him so well.

If he had a choice, he would just keep you from rekindling flames with the past brothers at all.

But he's too nice for that.

That, and he can't afford your image of him to break at all.

People will warn you about him and how he's shady.

But you know him best! He would never force a demon on a pact at all! All of these demons only knew the sorcerer Solomon, and not him.

Oh he would definitely use tears also. He will not hesitate to do so once he knows tears are your weakness.

He will build an image of a mischievous but good sorcerer in your eyes.

And he will not hesitate to eliminate those who threatens to break that image at all

Both of you are human! Only you and him are all the both of you got. The others cannot be trusted that much.

Even the brothers! They're not your demon brothers that's for sure.

So only rely on him.

And only him.

Let's just say it was a bad day for Solomon.

He went back to the present and he can hear the present demon brother's bemoans of agony from not having you.

They were about to tear the whole devildom apart trying to find you.

Oops, Solomon didn't tell them. His bad, really.

The sorcerer society also decided to pester him greatly.

Then, there's Barbatos in both the past and present to bring you back to the present to not mess with the timeline anymore.

But Barbatos foresaw this already. So what's the point?

This only made Barbatos frown and say "He's gonna regret that."

Eh. He won't.

When Solomon went back to the hall, he realized you weren't there.

Strange, you're usually home by this time.

He asked the demon brothers, nothing.

He asked Simeon and Diavolo. But nothing also.

He even went as far to ask Thirteen, only to get a face full of octopus.

He's getting frustrated, not until he saw little Luke acting fidgety.

Oh. He knows where you are.

Unfortunately for him, you ran away from the hall because you figured out that he deliberately transported you here.

You screamed at him, asking him why.

And you started to question everything about him. About how if he's really as nice as he is, as to why he's so adamant on helping you, on how he knows every solution to everything!

Solomon can feel his whole resolve crumble. All his hard work down the drain.

Last chance to make this right...

He got on his knees, hugging your legs and crying his eyes out. God knows how desperate he was for you to believe him.

"NO! Y/N I SWEAR I DID IT FOR A GOOD REASON I CANNOT SAY!"

He made it seem like the time travel was necessity for your safety, that something will happen if he didn't do it.

The waterworks, and his heartfelt confession of finally admitting his feelings wholeheartedly, and that he never lied to you... It felt genuine (It's not).

And you, ever so soft on him, decided to forgive him that easily.

And he smiles, for he knew he got to you.

#lizzaneiaelizalde #yandere writing #tw yandere #yandere imagines #yandere male #yandere boyfriend #yandere fic #obey me solomon #obm #obey me x reader #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me nightbringer #yandere solomon

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miasmaghoul · 4 months

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you have so got me thinking about best to worst ghouls in so many different situations now (that riding one was soooooo good)

how about your best to worst ghoul takes on fingering? 😏 (thank you and happy new year!)

OUGH FINGERING MY BELOVED yes absolutely let's go

once again, best to worst below the cut!

Dew - he prides himself on his skill and efficiency. if he's with someone who can easily orgasm more than once (Rain, Cumulus, Aurora, Aeon) then he will absolutely make them cum on his fingers before he fucks them. he knows everyone's most sensitive spots, and every ghoul (plus a couple Papas and, on occasion, Sister Imperator) is guilty of dragging him into a closet at one point or another specifically so he can show off those skills.

Aether - is it cheating to use quintessence to find weak spots? Aether doesn't think so, and no one has complained so far. he lets the magick trickle from his fingers, just a whisper of static, and suddenly they're moaning and writing and grabbing for whatever part of him they can reach. at this point he doesn't NEED the magickal assistance, but the others love the feel of it alongside those thick fingers so he keeps it up.

Cirrus - precision is the name of the game for her. it's a power thing, of course, and Cirrus delights in getting all the big, strong ghouls face down ass up and whimpering while she abuses every secret soft spot they have. like Dew, will make the others cum on her fingers first and foremost, but unlike Dew she does it to EVERYONE. if they can't cum again for a while that's not her problem. they'll take whatever she gives anyway, even if they leak a few overstimulated tears along the way.

Swiss - it's one of his favorite things to do. insists on eye contact while he touches them inside, needs to see every twitch of their brow and to watch their cheeks flush. he wants to see the pleasure he causes plain as day, wants them noisy and squirming while they fall apart because of him. he can get a little too intense sometimes, though, and a few of the others have trouble finishing under his scrutiny.

Cumulus - her fingers are skilled and delicate, but also short. she knows exactly what buttons to push, make no mistake, but it can be challenging for her to really work them like that. pianist's hands are lovely to have, but her fingers only have so much reach. if she's fingering anyone, it's paired with oral so she can be sure they feel good.

Mountain - long, callused fingers and unmatched rhythm speak of good things, but Mountain likes to be really, really slow about it. indulgent. he's not in a rush to make anyone cum, not as a rule, and he'll spend as long as he likes with just one finger inside until they can't stand it anymore and demand another. he'll give it to them, of course, but the languid pace remains the same.

Rain - long, elegant fingers lend themselves well to the task, but Rain will not give anyone more than two of them. he can make them cum like that, of course, but he doesn't usually put in specific effort to that end. much prefers to make them cum on his cock so he gets something out of it too. call him greedy if you want, he'll agree. he prefers having his fingers sucked on anyway.

Sunshine - she has quick fingers, but mostly uses them to stretch her partners. her goal is usually to stick her dick in them asap, and she doesn't really have the patience to do much more than prep with them. but she won't say no if someone wants to make out and shoves her hand down their pants, as long as they return the favor.

Aeon - he's learning, but it's not his favorite thing to do in all honesty. he has this Thing about keeping his hands and fingers protected (Dew and Rain had the same issue when they were new), so sticking them in places doesn't appeal to him all that much. at least not yet. Dew keeps telling him that'll change, but in the meantime Aeon prefers keeping his fingers visible.

Aurora - she's just so little, is the thing. her fingers are short and skinny and her forearms get sore quick. besides, she prefers to receive than give anyway. the less work she has to do, the better. at least until she's cum a couple times, then she's a bit more willing to give it a go. still, though, she'd rather use other parts of her body to bring pleasure.

#miasma's work #the band ghost headcanons #nameless ghoul headcanons #dewdrop ghoul #aether ghoul #aeon ghoul #phantom ghoul #swiss ghoul #rain ghoul #mountain ghoul #cumulus ghoulette #cirrus ghoulette #sunshine ghoulette #aurora ghoulette

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fisheito · 3 days

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for the question thing!!! do you have any silly hcs about the clan boys (+ the familiars/eito)? can be as wild as u want

sorry in advance if i don't have any HCs for ur beloveds bc i can only offer what my brain chooses to fixate on.... but let's see........

i like to imagine clan members enjoying fun little hobby hours

i pretend they're not busy adults with their own obligations and schedules.... so they just get together like a bunch of retirees and partake in shared hobbies whenever they want 🤗

e.g.,

book club: oli, blade, yaku, garu

horny book club: eiden, morv, blade, edmond if he works up the courage to discuss his fave BDSM PwP short novel with the 3 most shameless creatures ever ... honestly oli could join as well but i'm gonna excuse him from ONE book club so he can get some sleep. maybe he'll alternate days between the two 😆

sewing and knitting together like a couple of serene grandmas: yakuoli. eiden joins sometimes (all serenity is lost when he does)

TARGET PRACTICE! NEW ACTIVITIES!!! DARTS!! ! PIN THE TAIL ON THE EDMOND! sorry idk this is just my way of saying that after the cowboy event, i want to imagine edmond/dante/garu all playing target striking games and it becomes a contest of how split one dart can be down the middle (you can't all be perfect aimers ok aster can't keep buying new darts can u PLEASE throw them anywhere but dead centre).

i know blade could join as well but would it take the competition aspect out of it? he's kind of calibrated to never miss right?? it's not a game anymore. it's just superior blade and pissed off dante and garu cheering (he's just happy to be there) and edmond trying to be civil about letting everyone participate

they are out in the garden. touching grass: yaku is gardening. blade is collecting bugs. garu is digging holes. kuya is bewitching plants at random to spew sex pollen into someone's face (i feel like this is his superpower in SEVERAL fics and i am not complaining). quincy is trying to nap

.but .

he chose the worst place to do it. in the middle of nature's playground (aster's garden)?

garu's kicking up dust into his face. blade is shoving random insects into his face and asking identification questions. yaku screams when he inevitably falls to the kuya traps. kuya can't resist watching the little ones (yakugaru) play with dirt. WHY would you choose to sleep here.

(Topper is nibbling all the edible plants in the garden while skillfully avoiding all the porn plot traps with his superior Toppinstincts)

now for 3 ! single character HCs.......

kuya: wanders the marketplace, and often sees those anti-aging creams with LOFTY claims to their power... he always mocks them and insults the intelligence of all the vain people clamouring to buy the stock. later that day you will see kuya at home, trying those very same creams (procured illegally, of course, because why pay for anything ever) and pretending like he's zero percent interested in the results

rei: in the same situation will just as quickly mock the creams but unlike kuya he'll mean it and will NOT be caught applying the gloop all over his face later. "lmao it's just sunscreen who even believes this shit"

yakumo: i like to give him sneczema sometimes. i know it's implied that everyone in gay gacha has perfect skin forever *waves hand dismissively* BUT

imagine that he loves working with his hands but the sneczema can flare up if he's too rough on em, so he compromises by wearing his gloves. protect that vulnerable skin, yaku!! [insert pun about scaly skin]

His SR clothing material seems soft. Aesthetic reason: slippery smooth like the idea of snek. Practical reason: coarse textures can aggravate skin 😔 only the silkiest coverings for a scaly boy...

i mean. yaku prefers the wet cave environment so we gotta keep an eye on his humidity. too dry and he'l'l turn into a wafer (like in Solaria that One Time)

is this just an excuse for me to mist him with a spray bottle ? at random times because it just seems like fun? perhaps. spritzspritz

#i wanted to only respond to this ask when i had the biggest most brain blastingest thorough intrIGUING headcanons but #i. i don't think we're gonna reach that point.#whatever's floating in my brain is as good as we're gonna get haha #and you've waited long enough... probably? i've lost track of days #can't...t hink... of a specific theme of headcanon.... encompassing every clan member..... *furrows brow in concentration*#sighs. you know how you could have a bunch of ideas but they're all swimming around rapidspeed and you can't actually collect them #until someone prompts you with a VERY SPECIFIC casting line and oh! suddenly! access to thoughts unlocked!!!!#if u just ask me what i think about generally it's. fluff. fluff and food. brain simple #but if u ever wanna try and target my cortex with a specific prompt #throw it at me 😁😁#asks

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fantastic-nonsense · 2 months

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Hi! I was looking to see if you know of many comics with Batman's villains at the lead!? (Besides Harley and Selina, who've had multiple series and are pretty easy to find). Other than the "Joker" Novel and Penguin: Pain and prejudice, i couldn't find any. Any good suggestions for Joker, Ivy, Two-Face, or any other villian from the Batman universe?

the tldr is that Ivy has several, Two-Face has a handful, the al Ghuls have a couple, and everyone else has had a couple of single issues starring them.

In general, the Batman Arkham series functions as a Batman Rogues Gallery "Greatest Hits" collection. While most of the stories collected in these trades don't feature the rogues as a protagonist, they all explore the characters and their backstories/motivations and feature them in a starring role!

On principle, I generally refuse to recommend Joker comics. Clown man has enough stuff starring him and they're generally easy enough to find without me promoting him more than he already is. Also, to be honest with you I occasionally go out of my way to avoid stuff starring him because he's frankly bored me ever since DC decided to emphasize him as a psychopathic serial killer instead of a funny villain with a clown gimmick.

However, The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (Batman vol. 1 #251) is a fun read, Joker: The Man Who Laughs and Joker's Last Laugh are both good, and Batman: The War of Jokes and Riddles is decent as well. Another fun one that's a little out of the box is Superman: Emperor Joker.

Other than that...I generally recommend the following for Ivy:

Batman Arkham: Poison Ivy (basically an 'Ivy Greatest Hits' collection)

Batman: Poison Ivy (1997)

No Man's Land (yes, it's long. No, Ivy's not a 'lead'. yes, it's also ground zero for Ivy's redemption arc and features her in a major role)

Gotham City Sirens (2009)

Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder (specifically Vol. 2, Family Tree, and Vol. 3, Rotworld: The Green Kingdom)

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016)

Poison Ivy (2021) by G. Willow Wilson (curently ongoing)

Ivy also pops up in Ram V's Catwoman (2018) run and pretty consistently in Harley's solo books after 2015.

For Two-Face (my beloved), read Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory (which function as a double feature). Then read any of the following:

Batman: Faces (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #28-30)

Batman: Two-Face (1995)

Batman Annual #14: "Eye of the Beholder"

Gotham Central, which has an extended Harvey-Renee Montoya subplot

Batman/Two-Face: "Crime and Punishment"

Batman/Two-Face: Face the Face (2006)

Two-Face: Year One (2008)

Batman and Robin (2011) 23.1: Two-Face

Detective Comics #1020-1022: “The Ugly Heart”

Two-Face: One Bad Day

And for a couple of stories that aren't Harvey-focused but feature him as a prominent antagonist...read Robin: Year One, A Lonely Place of Dying, and Batman: Prodigal.

For the al Ghuls, apart from the Batman Arkham collections you're primarily looking for Tales of the Demon, the Demon Trilogy (Birth of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, Son of the Demon), Batman: The Chalice, and Batman Annual #26 (the prologue to Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, which is also fun). Two of Damian's Robin solos (Robin: Son of Batman (2015) and Robin (2021)) also prominently feature Talia. There are...certainly other options, if you want to read about the al Ghuls, but they're rarely well characterized in those (except Talia's LexCorp CEO arc; all hail Talia's Lexcorp CEO arc).

Clayface (the Basil Karlo version) prominently featured as a protagonist in Tynion's Detective Comics Rebirth (2016) run.

Everyone else...apart from stories where they're the prominent antagonist, there were several Villain takeover issues during the period of Batman and Robin (2011) when Damian was dead, Year of the Villain had a few issues focused on the Batman Rogues, and the One Bad Day series focuses each issue on a different Bat Rogue.

There are plenty of other stories centered on various members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, but hopefully this gives you a solid starting place!

#thanks so much for the ask! hope this is helpful #comic masterposts #dc comics #batman #batman rogues gallery #asks #bri's recs #poison ivy #two face #ra's al ghul #pamela isley #harvey dent #talia al ghul

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undiscovered-horizon · 2 years

Text

"King and Lionheart" - Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x anxious!Reader

[TW: anxiety]

<Self-indulgend bc I'm an anxious person>

[1k followers celebration!]

SUMMARY: Bradley Bradshaw, the king of social events. And you - his beloved lionheart.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.8k

Currently listening to: 'King And Lionheart' - Of Monsters and Men

The easiest way to find Bradley Bradshaw in public was to follow any loud sounds indicative of social life - music, laughter, talking. So one can only imagine the kind of uproar his sudden absence caused. A night of drinks along with games and Bradley Bradshaw, who was sound of body and mind just that morning, didn't show up?

"Where's Bradshaw?" Hangman asked less than an hour into their night out. Maybe he missed their friendly scuffles or maybe he missed Bradley's annoyance when he loses a game of pool.

But no one could give Jake a definite answer - a shrug and shooking of heads were the only explanation they could think of.

"Probably just running late," someone proposed and it would have been equally reasonable and probable if it wasn't for the fact that when Bradley happened to be late, he would always show up with Maverick - no doubt the indirect reason for said lateness. Pete, however, was sitting with the rest of the group at the Hard Deck. It seemed as if Rooster, akin to a stone thrown into a lake, simply vanished - very unlike him.

"Maybe call him?" Phoenix suggested while aiming the cue. Currently, she was leading the game of pool, having two cue balls less left than Jake.

"I already tried," said Pete. There was a hint of defeat in his voice as if he was willing to leave Bradley to his own devices - wherever he might have been at the time. "Maybe he's with his girl."

"A girl?" Fanboy repeated. He was about to take a sip of his drink but the surprise made his hand freeze right in front of his lips. His dark eyebrows furrowed. "Who?"

"What?" Pete asked in shock. Suddenly, he was drowning in disbelief and a dry chuckle left his mouth before he continued. "He didn't tell you? Jesus Christ, he doesn't talk about anything else."

The aviators laughed at his groan.

"You don't have to do this, you know?" Bradley asked once more. He said that so many times already you were beginning to think it was him who didn't want you to go. It wasn't that improbable really - he grew to recognize the small and easily overlooked symptoms of your anxiety and the sight, no matter how familiar to him, always struck a worried string in his heart. Quite obviously, he hated to see you in distress. "If you're not up for it, we can stay."

But the decision should have been made a long time ago - preferably over an hour ago when you were meant to leave for the night with his friends.

"To be perfectly honest, I'd rather bury my head in the sand in the middle of the Sahara desert than leave the house but I know it's gonna be good for me to go. Besides, they're your friends and colleagues. I have to meet them at some point."

You knew that this feeling was foreign to Bradley. Perhaps, it was partially the very reason why he never pushed - he couldn't understand what you were going through and therefore never thought that he had any right to make demands or give you empty advice. You were truly grateful for his uncharacteristic willingness to accept a certain lack of knowledge and support your choices.

In a way, you were still unsure how the universe made it happen that you and Bradley, very similar but very different people, have ended up as a couple. He always wanted to be wherever was the loudest and you always chose the most faraway table at the restaurant. From a different point of view, heaven itself couldn't think of a better match: he would deal with social situations and you would help him calm down and bring a little peace to his ludic pastimes.

Although, it wasn't always like this. Bradley had a tendency to shove feelings into his pockets and then, when those pockets are filled to the brim, flip them inside out as if he was looking for spare change. One such thing happened when he reached some boundary of his and couldn't take the perceived mixed signals you were giving him - the timid and short touches, the way you would avoid his gaze after staring for too long or how you refused to stay until the end of the party. Those and some other things made Bradley question whether you were into him at all. He thought that, maybe, you just wanted a guy to entertain you or buy you dinners. That very argument was also the first time he had ever seen you cry and, to make matters worse, he was partially to blame and not for a good reason. The truth, that you're simply anxious, sucker punched the air out of his lungs - Bradley Bradshaw felt like an utter fool. Only then did he realize how difficult things must be for you and so he believed when you had told him that despite struggling to do so, you're doing the best you can to push past your boundaries, to somehow manage that bothersome part of you and which source you couldn't quite name.

'I don't know why I'm like this', you cried that fateful night while shame and regret gnawed at Bradley's heart. 'But I'm trying my best.'

Sometimes, he still apologizes for that fight, although he truly shouldn't - it was just the clarification the two of you needed to really become close and understand each other. Maybe a little crude but you always believed that if it wasn't for those tears and frustrations on both sides, Bradley Bradshaw would already be an ex.

"It doesn't have to be today," he reminded you in a soft voice. Bradley's hand was on your knee and for a moment you wondered whether he has ever realised that he does that when he worries about you. "I'm not gonna think less of you if you decide to stay home. I just want you to be alright, sunshine."

"I know," you answered decisively with a slight nod of your head. Bradley seemed surprised when you got up from the couch and grabbed your purse. "But today I feel really fed up with my own shit. Now come on, they've been waiting for us long enough."

The sun had nearly set, painting the sky over Miramar in various shades of purple and navy as the first stars became visible just over the Eastern horizon. The air was warm and so was the wind that shyly attempted to carry away the lighter parts of your clothes. No matter how fast or slow Bradley was driving, the houses of the fighter town passed by in a blink, while the mighty ocean stayed right where it was, unbothered by the people living on the shore. Perhaps it was its unmatched power that made it stay so calm - if only you could be at least a little bit like that sapphire depth...

"You know, I envy you," you spoke up after a few minutes of driving in silence. Bradley looked at you in confusion before quickly looking back at the road ahead. "You don't need a pep talk to make a five-minute phone call or five days to mentally prepare for a party and you don't overthink everything you do. It's like you're a king and I'm just a lionheart."

"If I'm a king, doesn't that make you a queen?" he asked. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the very well-known to you playful grin. You could already tell he was adding another nickname to the already long list of words he chose to call you instead of your name.

"And what queen refuses to talk to people?"

"Mine," Bradley answered casually.

He had a talent for making wax poetic sound completely normal and not special or attention-grabbing. In a sense, it was quite impressive how Bradley managed to turn the general majority of situations to his favour. At least he did when it came to flirting with you.

As the distance to the Hard Deck decreased, your anxiety only grew; your fearful mind replaying all sorts of scenarios rich with awkwardness, embarrassment and humiliation. Halfway from the parked car to the beach bar, you suddenly halted, having to take a deep and slow breath. It worked most of the time... well, sometimes.

"Hey, queen," he whispered leaning in. The loud music played in the bar was fairly well audible from the outside. "I'll be here to hold your hand." Bradley squeezed your hand to make a point. Somehow, with his warm hand surely holding your own, the bar didn't feel as loud or as stuffed - socialising wasn't as overwhelming.

He could tell you were stressed but also immensely relieved. Although he never told you that, he couldn't quite wrap his head around the possibility of his friends disliking you. With your witty humour and heaps of random knowledge, Bradley had trouble imagining you as an unlikeable person - something that your anxiety painted as more than a probable scenario. But, to be honest, he couldn't be possibly more biased than he already was, keeping his watchful eyes on you to the point of Pete making a few lighthearted comments about just how whipped he was. Truthfully, Maverick couldn't be more right.

In a way, he felt proud of you if not impressed. Both, perhaps. Bradley had seen you at your lows when any interaction with a living creature was akin to climbing Mount Everest in a bikini and with a twisted ankle. But now, reliving your laughter, jokes and a few games of pool, he found it truly remarkable that you had enough perseverance inside you to push past your fears.

"Doesn't the lion become brave in the end?" Bradley asked while waiting for the light to turn green. Miramar was one of those rare places where nights are just as pleasant and toasty as the days. The warm wind tugged gently at your clothes, bringing to mind the unbearable romance and melancholy of summer.

"Sorry?"

"In the Wizard of Oz." He stared at you for a moment before looking back at the, mainly empty, road. "At the end of the story, didn't he get like a courageous heart?"

"I don't remember actually," you answered with laughter in your voice. Bradley's question seemed random at best. "I think so? Yeah, I think he did."

The light turned green and Bradley resumed driving to your house. With one hand on the steering wheel, he grabbed your palm and gently kissed its knuckles.

"I love you, lionheart."

You noticed how his eyes darted towards your blushing face - the road was lit well enough to make the flush quite obvious. Bradley smiled to himself, visibly amused by your bashfulness.

"Is this a way to get me to call you a king?" you asked.

He didn't answer right away. Staring at his profile, disappearing and reappearing in the yellow lights of street lamps, you noticed that his smile only grew wider.

"...Maybe."

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runwayrunway · 8 months

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No. 50 - All Nippon Airways Airbus A380 "Flying Honu" Livery

Happy 50th Runway Runway post! I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to do for it - after all, it's a pretty significant number. I already sort of know what I want to do for the 100th post, but I hadn't put much thought into the 50th, and I had to scuttle any plans for something long and interesting after a rather stressful week. Instead I decided to do something both fun and requested!

source: ANA Stories

One (well, three!) of the most beloved special liveries out there, All Nippon Airways' turtle-themed "Flying Honu" Airbus A380. These three friendly giants fly from Japan to Honolulu, delighting anyone lucky enough to see them.

Actually, I love the Flying Honu so much I have one myself.

I would describe myself as a bit of a magpie. I collect useless things, be they historical ephemera, horror movie memorabilia, old books, pretty rocks, or way too many fountain pen inks given I mostly use them to take notes. I even have a bunch of my old teeth in a pillbox. Surprisingly, though, the things my talons have lodged in don't include many model airplanes. I have...a few. I've actually, though serendipity, gotten two more since I started this blog, expanding my collection to a startling five. Maybe seven if you count my Starscream and Brainstorm figures, but I don't think I even remember how to put either of them in their alt modes. The fact is that while they aren't a fortune or anything plane figures are expensive enough that it's a commitment to buy one, and I usually only do when I stumble on a good deal for a model I really want. And one of the few times I've actually decided that I just needed a model of a specific livery was the "Flying Honu" A380. Specifically, the one I have is the airframe registered JA382A, Kai. (She's the 1:500 JC Wings diecast model and is around the size of my hand.)

I just needed to be able to gently tap her nose in person, okay? She can't fit up on the shelf with a lot of my other miscellaneous trinkets so she sits on my desk and sometimes I explain things to her while trying to figure them out, like a coding rubber duck. She makes me happy.

All Nippon Airways (全日本空輸) is a major Japanese airline. In fact, in terms of both fleet size and number of destinations they're bigger than flag carrier JAL. They're consistently described as being among the best airlines in the world for the discerning well-to-do business traveler, and let's just say that's not me, but what I am is a reviewer of airline liveries, and ANA sure has those! In addition to their standard Triton Blue livery they do all sorts of special designs, particularly crossovers with properties like Pokémon and Star Wars. All of these are something I would like to someday feature, but none of them matter at all to me when compared to the Flying Honu, introduced with the A380 fleet in 2019.

A couple of times when I've told people I know about this livery they asked me if 'honu' is Japanese for 'turtle'. That's a reasonable question, but the Japanese word for turtle is 'kame'. 'Honu' is the word for turtle, though - in Hawaiian.

image: ANA

In fact, Honolulu is the A380s' only destination. ANA didn't really want A380s to begin with, but ended up stuck with them while acquiring another airline. The thing about the A380, and the reason it failed commercially and so few were ever built, is that the use-case for a massive plane is pretty limited. It goes as such: you have a passengerbase of people who have to travel from one giant hub that can land an A380 to another frequently enough that you can actually make money on a plane with four entire engines.

Okay, so the use-case is that you're Emirates. ANA might be expensive, but they don't really have the central location or sheer amount of regular business travelers that Dubai does. 'Three' also isn't really that many A380s, which creates a bit of a question of reliability. So instead they fixed the problem in a way that's honestly pretty genius: they made it turtles.

image: ANA

ANA seems to be generally invested in Hawaii, with a fair amount of partnerships with local organizations. A lot of Hawaiian real estate is owned by Japanese companies, and those of Japanese descent are the second-larget ethnic group in Hawaii at 16.7%, so it makes sense that a lot of people would want to travel there. Tokyo to Honolulu is a nice 9-hour flight with no possibility for a stopover of any kind (unless they invent civilian aircraft carriers for A380s), so it's the perfect route for precisely three really huge planes.

images: ANA

They can fit 520 passengers across four classes on one flight, seated across both decks of the massive planes. There is also a section of seats which convert to couches, marketed for families. Those who fly this route get to enjoy rainbow lighting and the ability to buy a duty-free 1:500 model of the plane (not the same model I have, though, I'm pretty sure) or a set of Flying Honu plushes.

Ra looks like she's plotting something. Lani looks like she's never had a single thought in her life.

And they do make money off this, because people absolutely love these planes. People have apparently had their weddings on these planes, and I would too! They make ten weekly flights right now, but in December that will be increasing to fourteen weekly, or two daily.

Okay, so, the actual liveries.

Here's Kai in full-size! The light in my room make her look way cooler toned in the photographs, but in real life she's this color. It's frequently described as 'green' or 'emerald green', but I think it's definitely turquoise and would go so far as to call it blue. Whatever the case, it's meant to represent the color of the sea near Hawaii. Kai is also distinct from the others because of her eyes, which are closed as she smiles from ear to ear. That's why she's my favorite - she just looks so happy!

...a bit weirder looking from upfront, but look how even the ventral fairing is painted! That's part of the flippers where they curl around, tucked into the shell. Unlike the Transocean Air Jinbei Jets, the cockpit windows blend in with the 'scales' of the Flying Honu, looking rather natural.

'Ra' is a beautiful orange, meant to represent the Hawaiian sunset. She has a bit of a peach undertone if you look closely, but her details are done in an extremely vivid reddish orange. Her distinguishing feature are those gigantic eyelashes, similar to Sakura Jinbei's. The actual mouth shape on all three planes appears to be the same, but I find that the eyes still give them distinct 'personalities'. Ra has always looked very thoughtful to me.

Just look at her in flight! I've never understood why people call the 747 stately or graceful, and same for the A380 - double-decker planes are just inherently goofy-looking, and that's great, but ANA managed to make one look pretty elegant. I think it's because turtles are already regarded as large and slow creatures, so fitting like for like just makes it seem as natural for this absolutely gigantic aircraft to be flying as it is for a turtle to swim.

Finally, Lani, the turtle everyone agrees to be blue, represents the Hawaiian sky during its brightest color in daylight. If you look closely, you can see her blue 'eyeshadow', which I've always thought made her look relaxed.

This picture gives a good angle of my only real critique of the Flying Honu, which is that the shells and heads don't entirely look aligned, as if the head is in the process of being retracted. That said, I think that's just a fact of working with the shape of an airplane. There's just no more space below to fit any more shell.

Rather than being just one turtle, though, each "Flying Honu" has two fully rendered baby turtles following behind their 'mother'.

I think this is adorable, and beyond that it solves a crucial problem - the tail. Turtles do have those, but not in a way that maps onto a standard empennage. Instead, ANA makes the smart choice to end the shell at a certain point and add these two extra turtles make-way-for-ducklings-ing their way across the fuselage for more visual interest, leaving the tail empty for an ANA logo without making it jarring. This is a huge improvement over the Jinbei Jets, which again serve as a point of comparison as the other major Japanese marine life planes. (Amakusa Airlines is way smaller and thus not going to get caught up in this.)

I mean, it's hard to find too much to say about these that isn't just "oh my gosh, look at them". The Flying Honu are vividly colored, with clever shapes used to make them immediately recognizable as turtles. I smile every time I see one, including the little one on my desk!

And in case you weren't already delighted, there's two extra bonus turtles!

I think it's pretty obvious I'm giving these an A+. Come on, just...just look at them. The fact that ANA bothered to make three distinct ones with their own names and faces is just icing on the cake for me, but I do love that they did.

I can't believe I didn't find a way to fit this in earlier into the post, but I really love turtles. If you have an aquarium near you, and that aquarium has turtles, I really recommend stopping by to see them. My local New England Aquarium has had Myrtle for more than 50 years. As they describe her, 'the 550-lb Queen of the Giant Ocean Tank is large, in charge, and ready to receive your adoration'.

youtube

True to form, although a lot larger and dealing in a different type of fluid dynamics, the Flying Honu jets get plenty of my adoration too.

#tarmac fashion week #grade: a+#era: 2010s #era: 2020s #all nippon airways #aquairium #region: east asia #region: japan

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klausbens · 1 year

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i'm getting used to the idea that my opinions in this fandom will often be the opposite of whatever the general public seems to think, but i thought human nature and family of blood were just... okay. they're very... charming episodes, to be sure, the storyline is novel and the sets, cinematography, costumes and acting are great, i just feel like it left me feeling bitter more than it left me thinking ‘oh, that's a nice episode!’

this, of course, mostly resides in how martha was treated as a character. after two episodes which, more or less, seemed to highlight her qualities and actions and existence beside her feelings for the doctor, we're back at it. and i'm tired of martha being sandboxed in them. and i know that's the whole thing with her storyline, but it's so hurtful to witness over and over how she'll basically never be enough for the doctor, no matter the universe—mostly because so little of it rings true to me. i do not believe ten would never look at her twice. i do not believe there is no way he could fall for her. i do not believe he doesn't like her. he surely likes her enough to flirt with her, and the writers have such fun planting all those little innuendos in his dialogue toward (or regarding) her, but it's like they take some sort of perverse pleasure out of then shutting the door in her face and trying to make the audience believe that's rightful and that she has no reason to be hurt by it. it's exhausting.

martha does have the single most important role here, as she does in quite the number of episodes in her run as the companion. i always joke that the doctor would have regenerated 53 million times if it wasn't for martha, but that's actually not much of a joke. she's saved him so many times. and when, at the beginning, the doctor asks her whether she trusts him, what he really should've done is he should've told her “i trust you”, because the whole thing boiled down to martha having to fix his mess and the doctor 100% believing she would. at least he said something about everything being in her hands, which could be counted as implicit admission of trust, but yeah. the dialogue implying she is the one to have to trust that the doctor will come back to her, despite having to be the one to make him come back, is just...

i adore ten. he is the reason i started watching the show—well, tennant is—and i felt his absence so much during these two episodes that when john smith briefly spoke in the tenth doctor way of speaking my heart grew three sizes, but there's something deeply... off with his characterization at times. or maybe it isn't off, as such, just his flaws are highlighted a lot more than other doctors'—which is fine, per se, he's a 900+ old alien i don't want, need nor expect him to be perfect. it's just, coupled with the questionable general arc of this season with martha and him always in this wobbly, awkward spot between friendship and something else, and the way they seem to use martha as a cushion to fall back onto and punch when the doctor fucks up, it leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth i guess. specifically because i think too much, and i often think about how so many people dislike martha for things that have so little to do with her and so much to do with the absence of rose, the faults of the doctor and the disservice the writers did to what could've been—and has been, if you look at her—an amazing character. a widely beloved one.

you know what, the episode would have been fine. john smith wasn't the doctor, he had this thing with the nurse or whatever, fine. part of the plot, i guess, was that of course he wouldn't have wanted to give humanity up, and what better reason not to want that than to feel love while trapped as a human? fine. but what i don't really get, and what makes me feel a little sick to my stomach actually, is the ending. where he goes back and talks to joan and asks her, or really, when you think about it, tries to manipulate her into coming with him. that's nothing new, the doctor is pretty manipulative and always has been, but he usually uses the allure of space-time travel and breathtaking sights and incredible adventures to basically kidnap his companions like some sort of old ass peter pan, and he's honest with it. he does genuinely think, every time, that what he'll offer the people he takes with him is so much better than whatever they might be thinking of doing with their lives that they will ultimately be happy they followed him. and they are, until they aren't, because that's the tragedy in doctor who for you, but here. here, he uses feelings. he uses joan's feelings for john and somehow promises her he's still capable of whatever john was, including falling for her. and why would he do that. that's just mean. to joan, to martha, hell, even to himself. i really have absolutely no clue what they were trying to do with this scene except, as i said, highlighting his flaws. because he knows damn well. he knows damn well that, even if he were to fall for her, she'd have to leave or die and it would break both of their hearts. that's the whole theme with him, isn't it? i thought it was. he's just experienced that with rose and he's keeping everyone at arms-length because he doesn't want it to happen again, and that's understandable. but then he goes and does this. i don't know. i simply don't know. there's also the whole thing where joan tells him she wants nothing to do with him, because she's in love with john—not some doctor—and he, the doctor, has caused so much harm choosing that specific place in space-time to hide. and the thing is, he's so creepy in that whole scene. when he speaks to her, the things he says, how he says them, how he looks at her when she calls him out. amazing acting, but there's something so dark about him in these episodes that i can't help but want to crawl out of my skin.

one might argue that he tried to get her to come with him because he remembered what john felt for her, or at least what happened between them. and that's further sustained by them hinting at him remembering what martha said to him about him being everything, and her loving him to bits. but that just makes it feel more gratuitously mean to everyone involved (so, ten as well), and steeps the two episodes in this... bitterness, which takes from the overall enjoyment. for me, at least.

there's also other things i disliked about the ep, like when in the video the doctor tells martha ‘you. don't make me leave you behind’ which kind of sounds like he was expecting he would? same way as he was expecting he'd hurt people because that's what humans do, which i agree with, but why underline the fact that he was potentially going to leave her? of course she would have stayed close in order to make him turn back to himself, i don't think that really needed saying. that's just one of the little jabs to martha the writers love to insert in scripts. thing is, i despise them! anyway, the post is long as it is, just—if there's one thing i loved (and it wasn't nearly enough to make up for the rest, but,), it was the way ten hugs martha after he tells her ‘thanks for looking after me’. with his eyes closed and that genuine, childlike smile. engulfing her completely. i so wish things had gone differently between them.

#doctor who #tenth doctor #martha jones #tenmartha #david tennant #freema agyeman #10th doctor #doctor who meta #meta

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naoreco · 1 year

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And what of my adaptational bitterness?!

Not long ago, I decided to look at some of my favorite FE15 scenes with Japanese voice acting, given how fantastic the English dub is-- and something I picked up in the process is that the scene between Alm and Mycen in Rigel Castle has a couple of interesting changes that I wanted to lay out! Particularly with its most... iconic lines. Major spoilers ahead!

(Note: I'm not a native Japanese speaker, and I'm not entirely fluent, but I took two years of college classes and damn if I'm not putting that all to use here!!)

While I put together a document going through the whole conversation in Japanese and loosely translating it, most of it is generally the same, aside from two bits. You're also not going to get the whole picture just by reading the lines, as the voice acting does a great deal for both sides of this conversation, so I highly recommend you pull up the scene in video form as well.

Now, the first change is pretty brief! Specifically, when Mycen brings up Alm's birth during his whole spiel about how the gods are deteriorating.

Mycen: しかし、そこにアルム。お前が生まれた。(Shikashi, soko ni Arumu. Omae ga umareta.) But then there's you, Alm. You were born. But then you were born, Alm.

Alm: ！！ (*gasp*) ...! What does that have to do with any of this?

The second, more important one, is Alm's reaction to being Rudolf's mercy, and how Mycen responds to that. The exchange goes like this:

Mycen: それが愛するわが子であればこれ以上の喜びはない…… (Sore ga aisuru waga ko de areba koreijou no yorokobi wa nai…) So for it to be his beloved child, he could feel no greater joy… So for that death to come at the hand of his beloved son was… a mercy.

Mycen: ルドルフは、そう言っておった。(Rudorufu wa, sou itte otta.) Rudolf told me so himself. He told me himself that he could imagine no more peaceful end.

Alm: そんな…… 父さん、父さんっ……！！(Sonna… Tou-san, Tou-san…!!) That's... Father, father...!! And what of my peace?!

"Sonna..." on its own is a pain to translate, but the specific meaning isn't as relevant as how Natsuki Hanae says this line. Rather than reacting with even more bitterness because Rudolf's convoluted plan made no room for Alm's own say on the matter - him yelling at Mycen earlier for sending him to kill his own father is about the same already - JP Alm just... breaks down and cries for his father, essentially. And it's this difference in reaction that makes Mycen respond in turn!

Mycen: 泣くな、アルムよ。(Naku na, Arumu yo.) Don't cry, Alm. This is not the time for mourning or self-pity, boy.

Compared to something like "nakanaide" (please don't cry), "naku na" is more direct in just. You know. Telling someone not to cry instead of asking them. So perhaps there's a weight behind those words that I'm missing, but with his quieter and more even tone of voice, and the way he addresses Alm by name, it comes off as a lot gentler than how he scolds Alm in the localization.

Now, why were these changes made? Are they better or worse? I don't know! Sure, I'd like Mycen not to be kind of a dick to his grandson while he's feeling so vulnerable, but I can tolerate it because that's how I first experienced the scene, and their supports say a great deal more about how they feel about each other than a scene where they're both freshly grieving. More than that, though, I think Alm breaking down and sobbing and Alm sticking it to the man both get to something very important about his position here, something that Natsuki Hanae and Kyle McCarley also portray amazingly:

He's way too young for this shit.

#also going through this gave me even greater respect for the art of localization #it's one thing to translate but it's another to make it sound nice and my own translations were very barebones #but even then my own vision kind of stuck through whether it's accurate or not haha #fire emblem #fe15 #fe sov #fire emblem echoes #shadows of valentia #fire emblem echoes shadows of valentia #alm #fe alm #mycen #fe mycen

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vagabond-umlaut · 7 months

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STARS.

GLOWING BALLS OF BURNING GASES, LIGHTING THE DARK OF THE NIGHT SKY. PEOPLE OF TALENT, FAMOUS AND MUCH LOVED BY THE GENERAL POPULACE. FORCES OF FATE, INFLUENCING & DETERMINING THE LIVES OF US, MORTALS.

ONE SMALL WORD YET SO COMPLICATED IN ITS MEANINGS, IS IT NOT?

YES, INDEED IT IS— THOUGH, CERTAINLY NOT AS MUCH AS THE STORY OF ONE KING OF CURSES & HIS WIFE— WHAT DO YOU THINK, MR. SUKUNA & MS. KORE?

*The camera focuses on one of the most well-known and beloved couples from the renowned TV show Jujutsu Kaisen. Despite being six years younger in age and over ten years younger in acting experience, the woman seems every gram the seasoned acting professional the man beside her is; although, a lot more cheerful and friendly than the latter. [The almost-absence of space between them doesn't go past the eye of anyone— nevertheless, the interviewer chooses not to comment on the same. For now, that is.] Kore greets the camera with a happy smile and a wave whilst Sukuna acknowledges the same with a minor twitch of his lips— the two of them then returning their focus to the interviewer.*

KORE: *chuckles* AH, NO, I DON'T THINK THEIR STORY IS AS COMPLICATED AS IT IS BEING MADE TO BE. IT IS A RATHER SIMPLE, SWEET AND SUCCINCT TALE OF LOVE, SET IN ANOTHER ERA. SUKUNA: *nodding* I AGREE. KORE'S & MY CHARACTERS SURE DO HAVE QUITE OPPOSING PERSONALITIES IN THE SHOW— ONE, WORSE THAN A DEMON AND THE OTHER, BETTER THAN AN ANGEL– BUT THAT DOESN'T REALLY MAKE THE STORY COMPLEX OR DIFFICULT. THEY FALL IN LOVE LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO AND WISH TO STAY TOGETHER FOREVER LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO– PERHAPS IN AN EVEN BETTER WAY BECAUSE OF THEIR OPPOSITE NATURES ATTRACTING EACH OTHER.

WOW, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TIME MR. SUKUNA'S SPOKEN FOR SO LONG IN AN INTERVIEW, RIGHT? YOUR FANS, ME INCLUDED, ARE SHOCKED TO SAY THE LEAST. WOW...

KORE: *giggling at Sukuna, the latter looking away and coughing* SUKUNA TENDS TO BE VOCAL ABOUT THE THINGS HE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT— THIS CONCEPT OF OPPOSITES ATTRACTING IS JUST ONE SUCH THING.

OHH. I SEE. AND DID THAT SAME THEORY OF OPPOSITES ATTRACTING PLAY A ROLE IN DECIDING YOUR OUTFITS TONIGHT?

KORE: *stays silent for a while before answering* YOU CAN SAY THAT... BUT TO BE HONEST, IT'S MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT. *shares a small, almost secretive smile with Sukuna*

OOH! NOW, I'M INTRIGUED— EXACTLY HOW DEEP DID THOSE REASONS BEHIND TONIGHT'S OUTFITS RUN, MS. KORE?

KORE: *huffs a chuckle* NOT VERY DEEP, I PROMISE!— BUT I ASSUME YOU KNOW TONIGHT'S THEME IS STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, DON'T YOU? AS DECIDED BY THE STUNNING HOST OF THE GALA, AND MY DARLING FRIEND, MARA [@margumis]?

YES, OF COURSE!!

KORE: *smiles widely* TONIGHT'S OUTFITS WERE INFLUENCED BOTH BY THAT AND BY WHAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER. IN MY GREEN DRESS AND GOLDEN ACCESSORIES, YOU COULD SAY I'M THE PRINCESS FROM OUR SHOW– ROYAL, ELEGANT & A SYMBOL OF JOYFUL ENERGY, AS THE COLOUR GREEN DEPICTS. SUKUNA: AND MY RED & BLACK TUX REFERS TO THE EVIL KING OF CURSES— THE POLAR OPPOSITE TO THIS SWEET LADY. *sends a very conspicuous wink to Kore*

THE VISION'S GETTING MUCH CLEARER NOW... BUT WHERE IS THE THEME OF THE STAR-CROSSED– YOU DID NOT JUST CALL THEM STAR-CROSSED LOVERS 'CAUSE OF THE MANY PROBLEMS THEY'RE FACING CURRENTLY, DID YOU? ARE THEY NOT GOING TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING? OH MY GOSH... IS THIS YOU BOTH POSSIBLY GIVING THE WORLD A SPOILER RIGHT NOW?

SUKUNA: *glancing at Kore with a smirk* AT THIS MOMENT, WE DO SEEM TO BE A BIT STAR-CROSSED, DON'T WE, MY QUEEN? *Kore nods, muffling her laughter with a palm*

WELP, DEAR VIEWERS— SEEMS LIKE THIS IS THE MOST WE CAN KNOW FROM OUR BELOVED ROYAL COUPLE— NOW, RETURNING TO THE IRL DUO– WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ASPECT OF THE OTHER'S OUTFIT?

KORE: NOTHING— EXCEPT THE FACT HE LOOKS A LEGIT FIVE-COURSE MEAL IN THAT SUIT, MAYBE? SUKUNA: *sighing deeply* I WISH GETO WAS YOUR MENTOR IN PLACE OF THAT GOJO– HE IS A TALENTED ACTOR BUT A PATHETIC TEACHER. MORESO IN THE FIELD OF ROMANCE. YOU CHOSE THE WORST PERSON EVER TO ASK FOR TIPS. KORE: *coos, moving to pinch Sukuna's cheeks* BUT THEY'RE WORKING ON YOU, AREN'T THEY? SEE, HOW PINK HIS CHEEKS HAVE TURNED! ALMOST AS MUCH AS HIS HAIR— HAHAHA–

IT PAINS ME TO INTERRUPT THIS CUTE MOMENT BETWEEN YOU TWO— BUT, SADLY I'VE HIGHER AUTHORITIES TO ANSWER IF I DON'T ASK YOU ALL THESE QUESTIONS ON THE SCRIPT—

KORE: *moves a bit away with a sheepish smile* UM, SORRY!! PLEASE ASK. SUKUNA: *rights his clothes, then smiles politely* YES, PLEASE CONTINUE.

THANK YOU!! SO, MS. KORE, CONSIDERING THIS IS YOUR DEBUT GALA, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS?

KORE: I'M TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF THE BLR GALA '23!! INCREDIBLY NOVEL. INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL. MARA, MY SWEETEST ANGEL, I'M SIMPLY IN AWE OF YOUR MARVELLOUS BRAIN, GIRL! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PLANNING THIS!!! AND I LOVE YOU!!!

WHAT ABOUT YOU, MR. SUKUNA? THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME ATTENDING THESE EVENTS WITH SOMEONE BESIDE YOU, ISN'T IT? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

SUKUNA: *shares a brief yet visibly soft look with Kore, before looking ahead* I'M VERY HAPPY, HAVING KORE BY MY SIDE. BESIDES BEING A WONDERFUL CO-STAR, SHE IS ALSO AN AMA—

*A loud yell of Sukuna's name interrupts him. The camera moves from them, to Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru in the distance, the white-haired man jumping up and down with an exuberant beam while his black-haired companion waves his hand. Kore and Sukuna look at each other once, the former with a bright grin & the latter with a sigh, before looking at the interviewer.*

SUKUNA: *smiling apologetically* I'M SORRY BUT IF THEY'RE HERE, THE REST OF THE GANG TOO WILL BE HERE PRETTY SOON— KORE: WE'RE SORRY BUT I THINK WE OUGHT TO CUT THE INTERVIEW A LITTLE SHORT NOW. *offers a contrite smile*

OH, PLEASE DON'T BE SORRY!! I GET IT. WE ALL GET IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. SUKUNA & MS. KORE, FOR ATTENDING THIS INTERVIEW. I, ON BEHALF OF EVERYONE ELSE, WISH YOU AND YOUR SHOW A STELLAR FUTURE AHEAD! WE ARE CERTAIN JUJUTSU KAISEN WILL BE AN IMMENSE SUCCESS!!! THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN!!

KORE: *bows* THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SWEET WISHES! WE'LL BE SURE TO NEVER DISAPPOINT YOU ALL. SUKUNA: *bows* THANK YOU ALL.

*With a happy goodbye and another whispered apology from Kore, and a small smile from Sukuna, both of them walk in the direction of their co-stars and friends– where, sure enough, many more well-known faces can be viewed. The camera returns to the inerviewer after a moment.*

WISH WE HAD MORE TIME TO ASK THEM MORE QUESTIONS, DEAR VIEWERS— BUT ONE THING REMAINS UNQUESTIONED. MR. SUKUNA & MS. KORE HAVE AN IMMENSE POTENTIAL TO BE ONE OF THE LOVELIEST COUPLES IN THE– HUH??

*The camera shifts from the astonished face of the interviewer, to where Sukuna and Kore are walking. Hand-in-hand. The camera lingers there for a moment before going back to the interviewer. The latter blinks at the camera– with a mildly disbelieving yet an excited smile, nonetheless.*

THE SHIP IS VERY CLOSE TO SAILING— OR HAS IT ALREADY SAILED, FOLKS?

#BLR Gala '23 #sukuna 💞 kit #<The Countless Chronicles Of Kore>#kit interacts 👋#kit saves stuff ✅

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