#HOPEFULLY ANY OF IT MADE SENSE ALSO

[ganonfan1995]

More DSAU rambling, extended talking about the Zonai and Hylaru:

As much as I love the idea that the Zonai are off-world beings who came to Hyrule and brought the secret stones with them, etc... that feels a bit like propaganda to me. I think, for DSAU, that’s the case entirely. They're terrestrial—subterranean, in origin.

Their discovery of Zonaite wasn’t by mistake, it was one of their naturally occurring resources, which took them a long time to figure out exactly how to use. Similar to how iron was utilized prior to the discovery of smelted iron, which led to the Iron Age.

LoZ has always been about hubris in a way, it always takes place in the ruins of civilization, and the Zonai are no exception to this.

Something I wish ToTK played with more is the overall development and lore surrounding the Zonai, though I know that would defeat the purpose of their namesake. But by giving them any development at all in ToTK already ruined the mystery of their existence.

I think Zonaite was the perfect resource for them to settle to the surface. The increase of artifacts, tools, weapons, lead to an economic boom, which lead to the eventual settlements on the surface which would later become cities. But I also don't think they had the exact resources to grow larger than they had, I really want to emphasize that at this time they relied on a single forge, and smaller mines scattered among the depths.

Monsters, much like the Zonai, naturally inhabit the depths, making mining and forging all the more dangerous. At this time, I don’t think the Zonai fully understood how powerful their newfound energy source was. The refining process was rudimentary, constructs had not been invented yet, and battery power was far from discovery.

I think greed is another core LoZ theme that ties into the “hubris” leading to the decline of any LoZ kingdom. Even the Royal Family, despite its unwavering “goodness,” falls victim to greed in multiple instalments. It’s the poison that hardens the heart, incompatible with the “pure of heart” ethos that the stories hinge upon.

Greed is at the forefront of the Zonai’s first downfall: small wars over mining and Zonaite production escalated into larger civil wars, which broke apart alliances and plunged their once-great cities into chaos and disrepair. While the Zonai did not entirely disappear, their civilization entered a dark age for some time. Zonaite eventually became a relic of the past, and the remaining artifacts became precious heirlooms.

Hylaru is a character I'm still fleshing out, but she is essentially Hylia.

I really, really love the original Hylia concepts from Skyward Sword. I think I latched onto her as a concept more than I anticipated. But much like how I feel about the Zonai lore tidbit in Tears of the Kingdom, the Hylia lore feels a lot like propaganda. She's built up to be this infallible goddess, with nothing but goodness in her heart. Yet, throughout the game, you get a very different sense of her. Between the ruins of Lanayru, once home to a vibrant ocean now reduced to a desert, the land mined dry—literally—to her use of both the hero and her own priestess in a story they had no choice but to play a part in. She's a goddess of time, a manipulator, she's the hands that move the puppets in accordance with her master plan.

Anyways, even in Breath of the Wild, I still got the vibe that Hylia revises her role as a morally ambiguous goddess. She doesn't necessarily care if Hyrule is leveled entirely or how much life is lost in the process, only that her presence is everlasting and that her realm continues to stand victorious over her adversaries.

Hylaru was once a noble among her people, now reduced to a small handful of Zonai who managed to retain their inherited wealth from the first gilded age, prior to the economic decline. I want to highlight her similarities to Zelda, using her as a foil to really illustrate Zelda's connection to Hylia the goddess. Hylaru is a scholar of sorts—she’s interested in Zonai history and the properties that Zonaite possesses. She wants to uncover the lost history of her people, and in the process, restore what she believes to be rightfully hers as the last standing nobility of her people.

It's during her expeditions to the depths that she discovers the first Secret Stone. Its origins are kept vague for simplicity’s sake, but one thing is certain: it’s powerful and unearthly. It immediately binds to her, and much like her descendant, she finds herself able to bend time at her will. Hylaru is captivated by her discovery and pours over it obsessively. It isn't long before she deduces that it is a fragment of a larger, more powerful artifact. Driven by her insatiable need for knowledge, she revives the ancient mines, and with the aid of her Secret Stone, unearths discoveries lost to time.

The mines are successfully revitalized, and forges are lit for the first time in centuries. Under Hylaru’s ever-growing research institutions, a new process is discovered that further refines Zonaite. Hylaru comes into possession of her second Secret Stone, and constructs are created to autonomously operate the mines and forges.

Eventually, through industry and excavation, Hylaru, unnoticed, comes into possession of seven Secret Stones. Three of these are found in the remains of once-great serpents, buried and forgotten in remote regions of the depths. Another three are found in ancient temple ruins, whose origins remain a mystery even to the Zonai. The last is found on the surface, in a cave, sequestered away in an ancient tomb belonging to a prehistoric king.

But despite her best efforts, she’s unable to locate the eighth and final fragment. However, being in possession of seven of the eight, she is able to amplify her abilities of time manipulation, creating a realm that exists just outside of time and space itself—a sacred realm in which she is able to keep her treasure hidden away until she can reclaim the final fragment.

From here, Hylaru becomes aware of all possible pasts, presents, and futures. Her ambitions become reality, and Hylaru, though mortal, claims godhood. She places statues, which become her eyes in all regions of the realm. She reclaims the title her predecessors lost generations before her, and with her newfound power, wealth, and godhood, she sets her sights on total control of the land.

Playing into that a bit, I think I want Hylaru's arc to follow suit, borrowing from the Skyward Sword prologue I posted about a few days ago in lesser detail.

The relentless mining of Zonaite began to have adverse effects on the land itself. As they delved deeper into the earth to extract the precious mineral, tremors and earthquakes became increasingly frequent, rending the landscape apart. Chasms opened in the earth, and from these cracks emerged creatures long sealed away—monsters and horrors that had once been imprisoned beneath the surface. These ancient abominations spread terror across the land, sowing chaos and destruction, while the Zonai continued to push forward in their pursuit of power. As the land grew more unstable and dangerous, the Zonai found themselves more isolated from the world around them. The other peoples of Hyrule struggled against the rising tide of monsters and the encroaching chaos. Yet the Zonai, indifferent to the suffering they had caused, continued their pursuit of progress, “unaware” of the destruction left in their wake. In time, Hylaru, seeing the world slipping into ruin beneath her feet, devised a solution: to raise the Zonai above the chaos they had created. Using the very power of Zonaite, the Zonai elevated vast swaths of land into the skies, forming floating islands where they could live in peace, away from the monsters and the tremors that ravaged the earth. These sky islands became the new homeland of the Zonai, a paradise above the rising storms. Here, they could continue their work, oblivious to the consequences below. While the Zonai prospered in their skyward refuge, the land beneath them was left to decay. The monsters roamed freely, the chasms remained open, and the other peoples of Hyrule were left to fend for themselves. The Zonai, in their isolation, had severed their connection to the world they had once ruled directly. Their forges continued to burn and their mines autonomously continued to eat away at the earth beneath them.

With the remaining Zonai safe, the Goddess Hylaru descended upon the surface where she joined the land dwellers, offering them protection from the monstrous forces in exchange for subservience. All the while, the mines below the surface continued to ravage the land as Hylaru continued her search for the remaining Secret Stone.

Hylaru eventually locates the eighth piece from the sacred realm in a timeline adjacent to her own. From there, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom take place up until Sonia's death, where the DSAU diverges. This explains away the missing Triforce from BotW and ToTK, while adding more motive and depth to Hylia's character.

Time travel plots can be difficult to handle, but my intent is that BotW and ToTK happen before DSAU , obviously. However, ToTK's canonical ending becomes the "bad end" of this AU, in which Hylaru—disguised as Hylia—is successfully able to convince Zelda to relinquish her Secret Stone to her. Hylaru then fuses the pieces together, and the Triforce is complete.

My thinking is that, Hylaru's entire goal is to establish the Royal Family as the insurance that protects her divine treasure. This extends to Ganon murdering Sonia and becoming the demon king.

Hylaru’s manipulation of Ganon is key to her plan. Turning Ganon into the Demon King would ensure that the cycle of conflict continues. The Triforce—and the royal family’s possession of it—would be forever necessary to keep the land’s balance in check. Ganon’s descent into darkness would ensure that the cycle of violence between him and the royal family persists for all time, with each generation needing the Triforce to protect Hyrule from the chaos he unleashes. Hylaru's rationale is that this perpetual cycle of conflict ensures that the Zonai’s influence over Hyrule remains unshakable. The Triforce remains at the center of Hyrule's legacy, and Hylaru's "bloodline" will continue to guide the land.

Hylaru, as the figurehead Hylia, becomes more than just a manipulative figure—she is the architect of the empire in Hyrule, the one who has shaped the royal family's destiny and continues to pull the strings from the shadows. Her divine masquerade as Hylia allows her to be worshiped as a god, masking her true nature as a power-hungry monarch who seeks to maintain supremacy at all costs.

She may believe that her reign as Hylia will bring order and stability to Hyrule, but it comes at the cost of the individual will and freedom of the people. She wants to ensure that the Triforce remains necessary, and the endless cycle of violence between the Royal Family and Ganon continues to feed the power imbalance that places her at the top.

[redgoldblue]

for the love of god someone add tommy to the 118 group chat

[earthbovndmisfit]

Yay you're anwering asks again! Which seem to be old ones lol.

On the idea of mer Jonawagon where Jonathan is the human and Speedwagon is the merman, perhaps the rest of the Ogre Street gang could be mers as well, living in tightly-knit pods like orcas and coming into conflict with seagoers who see them as "monsters"? And with Jonathan as a human Dio would make a great human antagonist too, perhaps being a hunter of the mers who despises Jonathan for empathizing with them.

Perhaps Jonathan's meeting with them could play out like it did in canon PB, with them initially attacking him as an intruder to their turf before he shows mercy and kindness to their leader, thus earning their friendship.

Last one seemed to be from a couple weeks ago, but there are a lot that are a year old or more…. (sorry!!! bad brain has been an absolute bitch all of 2024 so far)

I really like your idea nonny!! I feel like the Ogre Street guys don't get the love and appreciation they deserve and I'm more than happy to be able to include them in these AUs too! I like the idea of them all being a gang still. They already have some intimidating appearances in the og, and that would definitely add to their mer versions as well. Seagoers would think of them at monsters at first sight, especially if they aren't familiar with merpeople or other "non-conventional" sea creatures, I'm sure 😔️ They -along with Speedwagon- would probably be outcasts on land at best (probably back at home too if they happen to be criminals or other types of "pariah"), and I think that could add to their bond with Jonathan, who thinks of them as friends (and more, in Speedwagon's case of course 🤭️💕️).

Idk if this idea was thought to be part of the Sailor Jona/Mer Speedwagon scenario?? But if so, then we can mesh both ideas and have Jona and Spw meet the way mentioned in the other post. They start getting to know each other and maybe arrange to meet again near land in the next port the ship is scheduled to visit.

The day comes and it so happens that Speedwagon's gang is hanging around that area before either Spw or Jonathan get there, not knowing about Spw's new human friend. Jonathan is the first one to show up at the meeting spot by the shoreline (and away from privy eyes, in the case of a universe where merpeople are not common knowledge? idk). Dear Jojo even brought some trinkets and things he thought Spw might find interesting and that no one onboard will miss. That's when Spw's gang notice him and jump into action, not only because he's entering their domains, but also because they have eyed those trinkets and want to rip them away from him. A fight ensues then. As limited as my knowledge on merfolk is, I'm pretty sure they are way stronger than humans (correct me if I'm wrong please!). I'm also guessing there would be no hamon in this AU, and so it's very likely that Jonathan would be overpowered eventually despite his superhuman strength from the og (can't imagine Jonathan not being buff and built like a brickwall, so he keeps his og massive size and frame). It's right there when Speedwagon shows up and scolds and shouts at his friends to leave the man alone. He was reaching the spot when he saw everything as it started going down, making him rush over to them as fast as he could. Spw's friends realize they kinda fucked up and apologize, helping Jonathan up and back on his feet. The idea kinda breaks my heart, but maybe some of the trinkets got broken during the confrontation and now Jonathan feels bad about it, although, he's happy that Speedwagon saved him from what would have very likely been a much worse outcome.

And of course Speedwagon is moved, not only by Jonathan's kindness since he really was under no obligation or whatever to bring him anything, and yet he did, but he's also moved by that faintest of pouts on Jojo's lips upon seeing what just happened to the little presents he brought for Speebs. Being mostly outcasts, I'm sure neither Spw or his friends are used to show or being shown love in any of its forms outside of their little group, so it comes as a surprise even to Speedwagon himself when he pulls Jonathan into a hug to make him feel better and stop worrying about the now broken presents. All this surprises Spw's gang too for the previously stated reasons, but it is clear to them now that their boss sees something special in that man and that, judging by his gesture of bringing him a present, he seems to be genuine in his intentions, and so they ease up on him, genuinely apologizing for the incident and what they have unknowingly caused. They are all wary of humans due to past bad experiences, but Jonathan continues to prove over time that he's someone they can fully trust and rely on, and so Speebs and his gang often follow him closely during his journeys across the sea.

[robo-dino-puppies]

thank youuuu @salamanders-please for letting me know that my Wardens can look like Wardens in Origins :D

[purpleshadow-star]

So, in preparation of the movie coming out next month, I reread Red, White & Royal Blue. I just finished it, and then I rewatched the trailer for the movie, and tbh, I have some concerns.

The thing I love so much about the book is the emotion. Alex and Henry are complex people with deep emotions. Confident on the outside, but struggling and nervous and anxious on the inside. Sure, the trailer looks fun, but I'm really hoping the more vulnerable sides of Alex and especially Henry are going to be shown in the movie.

The trailer also makes it seem like Henry doesn't like Alex either, at the beginning? Like, at the beginning of the book, the fact that Henry never really started out their interactions with antagonism like Alex did stuck out to me so much. Henry himself even says it! We know that Henry liked Alex the whole time, and it's shown through the fact that he always tried to be civil while Alex was the one who started their conversations with snark and sarcasm. That's why Alex enjoyed the moments when Henry would let a bit of fight come out. That's why it was such a noticeable thing to Alex when Henry snarked back at him during his first visit to England post-wedding.

In the trailer, it makes it seem like in the beginning, Henry doesn't like Alex just as much as Alex doesn't like Henry, if not more so. Movie Henry seems so openly antagonistic towards Alex, especially in the cake scene, and tbh it just feels wrong to me. The failure to portray Henry's feelings for Alex and his reluctance to participate in Alex's antagonism like the book does (especially considering we were seeing Henry through Alex's pov) makes me worry about whether or not Henry's more complex emotions will be shown in the movie at all, and Alex's too for that matter.

Also, I noticed that in the scene where Alex and Henry talk in the kitchen at the palace during Alex's fisrt visit to England post-wedding, it seems like they took out what was important about that scene and replaced it with surface level antagonism and snark to really sell the whole 'rivals to lovers' thing or something. It's like they're trying to convince us that Henry sees Alex just as much of a rival as Alex sees Henry, when that's just not the case. In the book, that's the scene where Alex really starts to see Henry for the first time, even if just for a moment. Not the put together Prince of England, but the sleep rumpled, pajama-clad insomniac who just wants some ice cream.

In the move trailer, it shows Henry wearing a dress shirt and tie, and his tone is snarky when talking to Alex, when in the book, Henry is genuine and unsure of himself. This is another time when we see that Henry has never really tried to be antagonistic towards Alex out of nowhere. In the trailer, it seems like Henry is going to be acting in the opposite way.

I'm not saying the movie has to be a word for word exact portrayal of the book because I don't believe that. A good adaptation will inevitably have to change things, but it only works if the changes make the story better, or at least if they make sense. Right now, I can't see the benefit of changing Henry's character so much. The Henry that I saw in the trailer, at least at the beginning of it, honestly doesn't feel like Henry at all to me.

The last third or so of the trailer, especially the clip of (who I'm assuming is) Bea asking Henry if he loves Alex, gives me hope that they'll get into the more emotional sides of these characters, but tbh I'm still kind of worried.

(Also, side-note, I hate the fact that June's character was cut entirely. She was there for Alex when he needed her, and her character gave us more insight into the complexities of the first family. She showed us that kids of divorce can see things differently when it comes to their parents, and as a child of divorce myself who has had differences of opinion with my sibling, I loved seeing that in the book with June and Alex. And, of course, there was her whole dynamic with Nora. I hate that she won't be in the movie at all. I hope they don't also cut the fact that Nora is queer.)

I don't know, I was skeptical of the movie at first after just seeing the teasers (though, tbh, I'm always skeptical of book to movie adaptations at first. Maybe it's the Percy Jackson fan in me), but after the trailer came out, I had more hope. Now, after rereading the book and having all the details fresh in my mind, I'm worried again. I know that trailers are made of clips that often times make more sense in context, so I hope the movie itself gives us more than the trailer implies. It makes sense that they'd want to mostly show the happier, more fun sides of things in the trailer so people will want to watch the movie.

I get that they might just be trying to go for a fun, not super deep, silly, comedic movie kind of vibe, but tbh, as fun and silly as rwrb is, it's also so much more than that. Some of my favorite parts of the book are the more serious parts. The parts where we see Alex and Henry's anxiety and insecurities. I really hope the movie shows at least some of these moments.

I'm definitely still going to watch the movie once it comes out, but I'm kind of concerned about how the story, and especially the characterization of the characters, is going to be portrayed. Hopefully, I'll end up being concerned about nothing. The last third of the trailer suggests that this will be the case, and I really hope it is!

I think the movie can still be enjoyable even if it doesn't show us the deeper and more nuanced sides of these characters, but can you blame me for hoping to see the reason why I fell in love with the book in the first place, the deep emotions of these characters, portrayed on screen?

(Tbh, I kinda lost track of my thoughts here. I think I'm concerned about Henry's drastic change in character more than anything else. It's easy to believe that there are more emotional scenes in the movie that we haven't seen hints of yet because obviously they can't show everything in the trailer. Henry's characterization, on the other hand... we've been shown two different clips of him that explicitly imply that he will be much different than the Henry we see in the book, at least in the beginning. Again, context is everything, so maybe it'll make more sense in the movie, but I can't imagine what context could be given to make those clips of Henry character accurate. And tbh, imo, there's no excuse for replacing soft, pajama-clad Henry in the kitchen scene with a dressed, snarky version of him)

(Also, the election isn't mentioned at all in the trailer? Tbh I think the book could have integrated the political parts a bit better than it did, but I still enjoyed it, especially at the end with election night. I guess if they set the movie in current day, an election won't make much sense, but the election and the stress and responsibilities that come with it add so much to Alex's character, and I honestly hope it's still included in the movie)

[gothsuguru]

getting an iced pumpkin chai in the morning and then my personal goal is to spend the whole day writing and i hope i can come back to this post tomorrow and rb w how much progress i’ve made!!!

[megaclubdiolis]

柄本 佑 || 「光る君へ」 (2024) · 第三十九回 「とだえぬ絆」 ​​​

[welcometoteyvat]

Xiao stops by Qingce Village from time to time on his nightly patrols, for the restless spirit of the old chi is not easily quietened. He can feel it sometimes—a sickening heat in the air, agitated whispers in the earth beneath his feet, an oppressive heaviness gathering around the edges of his vision. When the thrumming of violence starts ringing louder and louder in his ears—here, here, come here—he must chase it to its source, slay it, devour it whole—

Xiao inhales sharply. He forces the karmic binds to subside.

Qingce is a quiet little place, and it does not deserve to be tainted by an old god’s hatred.

Tonight, it is peaceful. Crickets chirp in the terraced fields, accompanied by the murmur of water from the slowly turning mill. A half-moon hangs in the sky, bathing the terraced fields in its soft, blue-white glow. Everything is as it should be. And yet…

It feels different— strangely lighter, almost, but Xiao knows that is impossible. It must be something else.

There’s a disturbance by one of the small houses near the outskirts of the village—the chi’s doing? Xiao teleports into a tree on the hill leading down to the fields, makes sure that he is hidden, and listens. There’s a muffled thump from inside the house, and he makes out the movement of shadowy figures against the light of a lantern.

“A-yun? Chongyun, can you hear us?”

“He’s passed out.”

Someone sighs. “His yang energy… what are we going to do, Zitian?” Wait. His… yang energy? Is that why—

“We can discuss that in the morning. Let him rest for now; I’ll get some water for him to drink when he wakes.”

Scuffling noises, and then footsteps growing fainter. A small figure is settled into the bed by the window. It is apparent that nothing dangerous is present—no spirits, no chi—but Xiao is distracted by something else. Because it is unmistakable now; he does feel lighter—freer. The constricting heaviness that weighs on him has lifted, as though a thousand years of karmic debt have been wiped cleanly away. In its place is the gentle night breeze, summer’s touch on the bare patch of skin on his back, the faint fragrance of qingxin in the air.

(He could, perhaps, grow used to this impossible feeling.)

He looks back at the house. There is a blue-haired boy lying in the bed, cheeks slightly flushed, his otherwise pale face illuminated by the soft white moonlight. One skinny leg sticks out from underneath a light blanket as he sleeps, dreamlessly.

So, this is the mortal whose overflowing yang energy must have temporarily rid Xiao of his karmic debt. He looks incredibly unassuming. Xiao cannot remember another human with such an imbalance of yang, even after many centuries of serving Liyue. The condition is rare, and his involvements with mortals rarer still—he may never have met the few other bearers of this peculiar gift. It is impressive, he supposes, that someone so young could have such an effect on curses so old. It is also unlikely, he knows, that he will ever see this boy again. That would be best for both of them; even a unique constitution is far from enough to withstand the nature of Xiao’s karma, and for Xiao, this brief respite has already been enough.

If it is fated, they will meet again.

He slips away before the moon is halfway across the star-speckled sky.

---

author's notes time! a) I have a headcanon that chongyun's family owns some kind of small house in Qingce that's convenient when they're on long trips. b) Zitian is a random name I chose for Chongyun's dad—there's no deeper meaning, I just thought it sounded nice. the 2 ppl talking are Chongyun's parents. c) this scenario wouldn't happen in my head actually LOL. I think if cy were to take a trip out when he's young, he would get sent with an older cousin or two, his parents would probably stay in their mt tianheng residence (wherever it is). idt you need a full set of parents to just bring a kid to tag along on some spirit exorcising d) rather unsatisfied with this ngl but it took me 1 week and I want to be Done with it so here you go. e) probably made up some lore in this take things with a grain of salt f) the most important thing to know about me is that i fucking love writing descriptions and inner monologues and I hate coming up with plot

ok thanks for reading !! <3

also on ao3

[phagodyke]

weekend melancholy is starting to kick in >~<

[rollercoasterwords]

omg thank you for speaking on this. so much of the marauders fandom IS actively transmisogynistic like… the way people act if, god forbid, somebody makes remus or sirius a trans woman or gender-fluid—you’d really think they know better but they don’t???

to be honest i was not really referring to/thinking abt headcanons--i was more talking abt the way that like. actual transfems r treated in hp fandom. like personally i have not necessarily found hcs to be the most reflective of someone's politics, esp. bc in my own short time in this fandom i've seen people be very enthusiastic abt like...a transfem hc but then turn around and get really angry at irl trans women for saying something negative abt hp fandom. not saying that u can't tell anything abt a person's politics from stuff like hcs, just that i'm really less concerned w that than i am like. how u are responding 2 actual live human beings who say things u don't like abt the fandom ur in, yknow?

and unfortunately i would not necessarily assume that a harry potter fan would know better! as laura pointed out in her message it is more natural to assume that someone who is engaging with a fundamentally conservative piece of media created by a transmisogynist holds views that align w that media, unless that person has done something to make it very clear that they don't. like, i can only speak for myself here, but personally i feel wary of people who like...loudly + publicly talk abt how much they like hp, bc if i don't know anything abt u + ur talking abt how much u enjoy the hp books/movies/franchise it is more natural for me to assume that u share at least some of the politics contained within them, or that u either don't care that jkr is a terf or r so blind 2 trans issues that u don't even know, neither of which makes me feel safe around someone lol. within hp fandom i basically only interact w people who have made it clear that they do not politically align w hp by being critical of the series + jkr, which is why i also tend 2 be wary of people who get very defensive when someone criticizes hp fandom--bc i also do not think jkr + the series r something that can just be neatly excised from fandom as though they have nothing 2 do w each other, and so if ur critical of hp + jkr then it follows naturally that u should at least be open 2 criticism of hp fandom as well imo.

[akkivee]

that unpopular hypmic opinion post that’s been floating around for a minute has been has been fun in places, not so much in others lol but today it had me crying because i also wanted bat to beat mtr, and i long for what sort of character direction hitoya would have gotten if he had beat jakurai then 😭😭😭

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

If you already got this from someone and you just haven't answered yet pls ignore, but if no one else asked i want to add klinger+charles for the relationship bingo ask meme

ok I’m getting to this late as FUCK but PLEASE nobody ever hesitate to send me something for an ask game if I get one ask on a topic I will go YIPPEE and if I get 20 asks on the same topic I will go YIIIIIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Anyhow you're indeed the only one around here who shows outside interest in our rarepair insanity, a boon I will remember as long as I live btw. Mx. Smoking Marlene Dietrich I owe you the WORLD

TRIPLE BINGO because they are EVERYTHING. to me.

It’s funny. This is the one duo where I almost do just want to post the bingo and leave it at that. Part of me wants to tell people about this ship SO bad, to give novel-length explanations and justifications and theses. But the other part of me is like you know what. You either Get It or you don’t.

Anyways there are 10000 things to say about Them but one is: I specifically did not fill in “gay af to have a sworn rival” even though it cost me another bingo because one of the most fascinating things about the interactions between these two is that they actually do not have a mutually adversarial relationship--even though that’s what writers usually do with two characters on diametrically opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. 

I’ve been thinking about this a bit because I’ve seen people say things like, “It’s great what a funny duo they turned into when they started out hating each other, haha.” And I get why one would think like this but IMO it’s actually not the case! Charles acts more familiar with Max over time because he does that with everyone--

(Though he’s racist towards Max throughout, of course. Because Charles’ racism never goes away. You know that right. MASH fandom I am putting my hands on your shoulders and asking: You know that, right? I keep seeing people talk about Charles having a character arc and a redemption arc so I’m just. I’m just making sure.)

--but Max has actually been pretty nice to him right from the start, back when Charles’ relationship with basically every character was antagonistic. As soon as s6e13 he tells Charles how similar they are, how they should work together to try and get away from the war, how they’re “soulmates”. Even after Charles insults him, he straight up says, “I’m on your side, Major”, which I’m pretty sure remains one of the nicest things someone canonically says to Charles, ever. Just one scene, but emblematic of a greater whole, of quite a few future scenes where Max gamely engages with Charles even when it puts him in unpleasant situations.

And of course, the motivation the show usually gives, on those occasions when it thinks about Maxwell’s motivations at all, is a simple throwaway “Well Charles is paying him / giving him some other material benefit, so obviously Klinger will be his kicked dog! You all know how Middle Eastern people are! We are a groundbreakingly progressive show btw.”

But man. Fuck that shit. This is far afield of my original point but the thing is, Max’s interactions with Charles are often the most egregious exempla of every way the later seasons fucked over my girl here. It almost seems useless to try to analyze any of Max’s actions after a certain point from a Watsonian perspective, when the Doylist reading of the show being too racist and stupid to do anything coherent with him is the ultimate explanation, and sometimes the only explanation you can even come up with, because shit just makes NO fucking sense in-universe. 

But unfortunately I’m a stupid cringe ass fanfic writer/reader, and I love this character, and Max already gets so little screentime compared to the main protagonists, and I don’t want to just ignore him because of the decisions of writers who didn’t care about him.

(That’s the entire reason I started shipping this stupid thing in the first place, btw. I just wanted to read some fanfic where Max is the main character and idk if you’ve noticed but if it weren’t for AO3 user stateofintegrity and their ~problematic cringe ship~, the pickings would be pretty fucking slim.)

So I like to pretend there’s a better reason for Maxwell going from “Major Burns I hate you so fucking much I am going to kill us both with this fucking grenade” to the equivalent of a tumblr blog responding to pathetic anon hate with “are we about to have sex”. After all, if you’re going to write Maxwell yourself, get inside his head and all, then you also have to account for why he tolerates all the OTHER characters’ racism towards him in later seasons, too. 

And the messy problematic reasoning I come up with is that Max is at heart the kindest and also most emotionally intelligent character on the show, and even the liberalized version of the 1950s our story is set in is a systemically bigoted universe that is all he’s ever known and experienced, and he’s certain these are good people, really, when it matters. And being emotionally intelligent, and generally intelligent too for that fucking matter, and observant and insightful, he can tell there’s a big difference between Frank and Charles, and perhaps less of a difference, even, between Charles and Hawkeye. Maybe when you watch things from Hawkeye’s POV, the ideological and moral differences between him and Charles are huge, but maybe if you were in Max’s POV instead there wouldn’t be quite as much of a distinction between them. I don’t know! I don’t know. Just some ideas, I don’t know. 

Of course getting into fucking. internalized racism and such is pretty uncomfy and exhausting shit. And that’s not even touching all the gender stuff my girl has going on. You start to see why nobody wants to get into this character’s head much. But I do :3 And I do honestly think sometimes the most effective way to do that is to look at the Messiest Ship In All Of MASH (TM). As I’ve talked about before from the Charles angle, I love this ship precisely because of its Problems, because they’re problems that exist anyways for both characters, and having the two of them interact makes the problems impossible to ignore, so they maybe finally get to be dealt with. I mean, I just don’t think the optimal resolution to Charles and Max’s racism-laden interactions is that Charles goes back home to a big opulent house and Max struggles to save up to buy a used car in After M*A*S*H. That is not super satisfying. to me. 

This post got derailed to hell but I think what I was trying to say is that Max treats Charles SO much better than that bastard man deserves and I would at least like to see something come of it, for the love of--

[sunnnfish]

Tbhk playlists btw

Mitsuba and kou ^

Hanako and nene ^

They’re probably like hyper specific to me and my perceptions and also some songs based on fics BUT. I like them.

[spade-club]

Okay, I'm working through my issues here. Will probably be incoherent.

So, finding out that you've been in a friends with benefits situation for two months without knowing that that wasn't a budding relationship is, in fact, a weird place to be in.

I honestly dont know how much I can trust the information that they gave to me though because it came from one of their personalities (thats the only word I've heard them say so thats what I'm using here) who noticeably has not participated in... non-platonic relations. I am unsure as to what anyone else in their head thinks or would say. The issue here is that I am never truly aware of who I am speaking to when I am interacting with them. The only reason I know this about him is that he made it very clear that the sexual things were outside of his wheelhouse. And yet he is the only one I have talked to about what we are, so I'm inclined to listen to his perspective over anything else. It is the only perspective I know. I think I would benefit from having a conversation with someone who I have been close to in different ways, but I am unsure as to how I would ask for that. We kinda dance around talking about this disorder a lot of the time, and though we are both slowly opening up about it, I am still struggling to find a way to talk about it. Part of me wants to just flat out ask them to tell me everything they know about their personalities and how they interact with me, and also wants to ask that I be told who they are whenever they feel comfortable telling me. I feel as though knowing those things would make navigating this entire situation easier. I am just afraid of the idea of them turning any questions back on me and making me answer anything about myself on the spot. I also hate springing conversations on other people because I know how much I hate it. I think thats something I can and should get over though.

Post ramble game plan: I am going to tell them that I would like to hear more about how they function in general and also how that pertains to their interactions with me. I will explain that it would make it easier for me to understand where they are at and ensure I am less upset by certain things and also know how to best interact with them. I will explain to them that if ever I am to open up to them to an equal degree, it would likely be over text as talking about myself openly is difficult. I will also explain that I do want to be understood by them, I want to be open, and the only reason I haven't is because I am afraid of being judged for my own existence. I need a lot of reassurance, and I do not want to burden anyone by making them be nice to me for my own comfort, so I often do not. I can also better explain my view that things dont have to be defined one way. That in my eyes putting the label that we are " just friends" feels like an end-all and that it's okay to consider this multiple things. Being multiple things is the only thing either of us knows how to do, so it only makes sense that we allow ourselves to be friends and ambiguous lovers and possibly partners, all depending on the day. I also will be sure to reiterate that I love them and I value and respect their perspective no matter who they are in the moment because I know that all perspectives here do matter.

[earthbovndmisfit]

Would Speedwagon have met an asexual person? Or known about them?

Just a curious asexual bro here.

In general, I'd say that due to Speedwagon being a homosexual man who'd occasionally hang around with other queer people (usually other homosexual men, but not limited to them only), there's a possibility that he's crossed paths with a few "questioning" people in those queer circles, with some of them being ace.

A little warning here because this is gonna be a bit long, and will involve a bit of queer history (thus there will be slight discussion of some of the dated views at the time).

Based on real life info, there's a lot to this whole topic that I could dive into but, in veeery general terms, yeah, it's possible that he did meet a few ace people in his lifetime, but I don't think he would have realized in most cases as most ace people at the time thought of themselves as straight and lived their lives as straight as well (and in the cases where they also lacked all kinds of attraction to their same gender to consider homosexuality as a possibility for themselves), adhering and conforming to the strict heteronormative roles of their society as people were supposed to, meaning that they would find an opposite gender partner, get married, start a family, and live their lives as every straight person did, as the norm dictated.

It also didn't help that people (mainly women, but men were required to as well) were supposed to be non sexual, especially in public (as in not having attraction towards anyone and/or showing it and being open about it publicly, i.e, which probably made a lot of ace people "fit the norm", so to speak). There's also the fact that a lot of marriages back then were also more of a "business thing" and not based on love, so it was common to see people, including straight people, getting married out of some kind of convenience instead of love or attraction to their spouses (some developed either only until after marriage, some others were never in love nor were attracted to their spouses). People were also taught since childhood to see marriage and forming a family as a life goal much more than more recent societies do, so basically only gay men (as in homosexual men, not as an umbrella term) would completely deviate and opt out of that "straight lifestyle" (lesbians usually followed the "straight life", too, but it was mostly due to the high sexism there was at the time among other factors, but that's a different story that would require its own separate explanation). This is also why "bachelor" and other variants (including the “never married” ones) were Victorian euphemisms for "gay men".

Essentially, and similar to other non-straight people who decided to live as stealth as they could for whatever reason, ace people more than often lived their lives as straight, too, knowingly or unknowingly. And the stigma around being open about desire (or lack thereof), didn't help either. Not many would openly declare their attraction and desire for a person/gender, and even less would open up about not having any attraction or desire for anyone, as the latter was, again, the norm and what was expected of everyone, so there was "no reason" to say it out loud.

Additionally, I think Speedwagon probably knew about ace people, even with the limited knowledge at the time on asexuality, but those he knew were also probably those who were close friends of his. Personally, I headcanon the Kenpo Master (the martial artist guy from his gang) as asexual, so, at least in my hcs, he did know at least one ace person!

[deathsmallcaps]

While touring on the San Diego duck vehicles, we actually caught a glimpse of the navy training dolphins and sea lions. According to the guide, the sea lions were much better at being food motivated and trustworthy, but the dolphins were a bit more agile and quick, so that’s why they use both. They find and ‘tell’ the military where underwater mines are and such

I’m generally against the military, and I’m kind of against using animals in such dangerous jobs. But regardless of my feelings, it’s happening. And I’ve been wondering for a while how ethically involved are these animals. Like, are they domesticated? Are dolphins really that smart, enough that they can consent to this sort of thing? I know they need lots of mental stimulation, like border collies but even more. And I figure this is the right post to ask.

(Also for the record I am 99% sure the duck vehicle company respected the animals well, and asked us not to feed them at all. It’s been about 2 years since I went so I may not remember everything but they seemed good to me)

I think it's a common misconception that domesticating animals is somewhat like enslaving them. It really is more of a symbiotic relationship. No wild animal would have willingly put up with early humans if they didn't get something out of it. Wolves wouldn't have stayed with us and become dogs if they weren't getting food and safety out of it. Many large herbivores that are now domesticated could and would have easily trampled their early human captors or broken their enclosures open if they didn't have a reason to stay. Sometimes individual animals still do if we don't give them what they need.

The animals that have stayed with us for thousands of years have evolved to cooperate with us better. Dogs have additional facial muscles around their eyes that wolves lack in order to mimic human facial expressions. Sheep grow their wool perpetually while their wild counterparts don't because a bigger fleece means they're more likely to be allowed to breed and be kept around. Domestic dairy cows produce much more milk than wild bovine species and domestic hens lay more eggs. Do you know how energy costly producing eggs or milk is for an animal? It's pretty intense! They wouldn't be able to do that if we hadn't given them the food and safety from predators and the elements to.

And we really need to show these animals respect and gratitude for what they give us by taking excellent care of them. They gave up a lot to be with us, often including the means to take care of themselves in the wild. That's a huge reason why I'm not against using animal products, but I hate factory farming. They are still living, breathing creatures with needs and feelings. They deserve a comfortable life and, when the time comes, a humane death.