#I like how these are all personalized to each character and terribly accurate lmao

[just-an-adventurer]

Op your tags are so good that I just have to reblog them

Asking BG3 characters to pick you up pads: Round 2

[akuma-tenshi]

finished closing night!! boy do i have some thoughts. and now that i've gathered them, i'm about to make my autism your problem. spoilers below.

the first part of the event wasn't awful imo, it felt like character building and just helping establish the dynamic. i know some people weren't fond of it but given that i was never really that invested in hullabaloo before this and didn't know every little detail of these characters, it was nice to get some character establishment and figure out how they all are as people. i am also a fan of slowburn character-focused horror, so that may just be a personal taste thing lmao

bryce papenbrook does a good job as mike, even though there are definitely points where he sounds exactly like nagito (namely the scene where he's shouting at margaretha in the foyer). he has a very particular way of speaking / voicing characters that make it immediately clear it's him. however, i do think he fits mike well and he definitely lays off the nagito-ness in the second part.

the rest of the cast was excellent as well. while there was a Choice made with murro's voice (he sounds WAY younger than he's supposed to be, which is off-putting and takes me out every time he speaks), it's very clear everyone knows their characters well and they all do a good job keeping their mannerisms and vocalisations unique and fitting to each role. aside from some awkward lines (which i attribute more to stilted writing than to the va's themselves), the voice acting is absolutely a highlight.

margaretha's trauma with sergi is portrayed very well imo. bear in mind i have not suffered the same abuse as her, so i can't say how accurate or good it is, but it feels like it displays that it was a terrible thing while also being respectful and avoiding being exploitative. the added layer that everyone else (except joker) liked sergi and was unaware of the abuse adds a lot.

in general, i think mike and margaretha are incredibly well-written here. i think ne could've absolutely gone the route of popular fan interpretations and completely demonised margaretha while making mike a perfect angel, and they would've gotten a lot of praise for it. but they stuck to their guns and made them both very flawed yet understandable people, and that just makes everything feel that much more real, at least to me. they're such different people with opposing goals, and their friction really comes through. everyone else is very well done (shoutout to me a couple of hours ago calling joker cute for some godforsaken reason i can't remember) and i love all of their characterisations, but mike and margie really are the standouts here.

i do wish there was a bigger payoff for margaretha using euphoria so frequently. i know it's implied to have been involved in violetta's death, and i appreciate the connection to game 5, but i wish there was a little bit more there. it's not a huge gripe though, so i won't harp on it for long.

the pacing at the start of the second part had me extremely worried; things felt like they were dragging along and being padded out for the sake of being padded out, and i was not having fun with it. fortunately, this issue was remedied about halfway through, and once things got going, i started really enjoying myself. the pacing of the first half of part two is my biggest gripe with this story.

i was noticing a lot of similarities between hullabaloo and fool's gold: hunter forms of popular survivors being announced and used as a major part of marketing for an update to the idv story. with the aforementioned pacing issues, i was really worried that hullabaloo's reveal would shape up to be similar to fg's: a kinda cool cutscene and a lame chase sequence at the very end of a long, boring storyline. however, despite hullabaloo having a much smaller part in this story than fg did in aom, appearing only briefly in the fire at the very end, i still think it's a better incorporation of the character than what they did with norton. better to have it be quick and intimidating than just kinda tedious.

every death in this (aside from joker's) felt very purposeful and well-done. violetta's death was heartbreaking. the change in animation towards the end, followed by the single sound of her machinery giving out after the screen went black, was beautiful, and hey, at least she died happy. margaretha's death pulled at a very specific and very major love i have in storytelling, that being a character choosing to die free rather than live in captivity, and the payoff of all the underwater scenes where she swims towards sergi finally coming through when she chooses to sink away from him had me losing my mind. i genuinely did not expect mike's death to be a straight-up suicide; like i said, i'm not completely caught up on hullabaloo lore, so maybe other people saw this coming, but the fact that he truly could not live with the truth about hullabaloo is such a heartwrenching yet satisfying end to his character. like i said, joker's is the only death that doesn't totally stand out, but i like that they let you put the pieces together yourself.

the chase sequence with joker was unintimidating and a little lame, and honestly it felt somewhat forced, just a way to get his hunter form in there bc they realised "oh shit right this guy's like. a hunter isn't he." i do like that they gave him back his chainsaw though; very nice little callback to the betas.

the animation of the hullabaloo fire was absolutely gorgeous and the ending had me in shambles. for a while afterwards i felt similar to how i felt after finishing end roll: drained and flat but in a good way, like a ton of adrenaline had just released from my body after some intense event.

all in all, i really enjoyed it. i can't say if i like it more than aom, but that may be the frederick bias coming through, so i'm going to choose not to rank them and just say hey. banger event. well worth the hype even with its hiccups and flaws. i always say this, but idv has some genuinely talented people in its writers' room, and i can't wait to see what they come out with next.

[ca-suffit]

So, I'm the anon that asked the "how do you rationalize the violence?" question, btw. Thank you for your answer. I personally believe 2x07's version of the events is closer to the truth (I don't think there's a POV that 100% accurate, but I think that's as accurate as it gets about it), but that doesn't excuse Lestat's violence. Louis might have provoked him, but he had just seen Claudia being chocked and stepped in to defend her. I don't blame him for lack of a better word, 'exploding'. I think I would've done worse if I saw my niece, that isn't even my own child, in that situation. And yes, Lestat has gone through a lot of trauma in the books and the show, and people can argue how that and being turned into a vampire shaped his mind and have this aggressive side he might not be proud of, but it doesn't excuse anything. Because Lestat himself caused a lot of trauma in both Claudia's and Louis' lives. I do hope if the show is going with a loustat endgame (haven't read the books, but from what I've heard, they're canon), they're gonna have Lestat using his infinite lifetime to reflect on that, really earn Louis' forgiveness, be the kind of companion he deserves and never even consider doing it again. If it's possible to redeem him. I don't know if it is, but at least they have the "they have all the time in the world to do that" card. I do hope they try it, though, because making this behavior normalized and recurring would be terrible. I just don't know if it will be convincing and satisfying, but I'll wait I guess. I hope the same for Armand too and that they give him and Assad the grace of flashing out the character instead of demonizing him to make Lestat look better. I hope they also know he'll need and deserve more from the narrative than a half-assed apology, because there will definitely be some double standards about Lestat and Armand. There already are. But I struggle with some other stuff too. Because I love Louis, but he's not innocent either. I also don't believe in punitivism and I don't want to be reducing him and feeding into people that want to stereotype and demonize him, but... Claudia really is the only character that has always been inferior in terms of power imbalances in the dynamics of the show. At least among the main characters. If we consider killing people to feed then it's basically useless because they're vampires and not even the human is innocent because Daniel didn't worry about Malik being lunch. I do think it's a good thing for Louis' accountability that he feels regret and remorse for his worst actions, but I don't believe the fandom does the best job at discussing that. Many times it feels like babying the white character, reducing the characters of color into racial stereotypes of abusive, comparing them, ignoring what's convenient to prop their favorite etc. Like one is always traumatized, misunderstood, trustworthy, ashamed, trying to be better and the other is always wrong, unreliable, overdramatic etc. There doesn't seem to be a lot of nuance on people's interpretations and a safe space to discuss the differences of each moment and dynamic without accidentally feeding characters you love to the lions... Anyway, I'm rambling at this point, I don't even know what I was trying to ask lmao. But thanks for the attention and the previous answer.

(context) u can ramble all u want here tbh.

there *are* a lot of questions to explore and this fandom makes it v hard to do it. despite what the racist side would have u believe, ur not going to get attacked for exploring questions. ppl know whether someone's being intentionally racist or not when trying to talk about these characters.

the thing that the fandom isn't understanding (on purpose) is that having black and brown characters have these complex personalities u can explore is a rly good thing?! racists want u to believe that there's topics we can't talk about bcuz of stuff like saying ppl "need" louis to be "a victim," but all that rly says is "I don't want to have empathy for black ppl but I'm gonna say it another way and blame others for it." nobody here is saying louis, claudia, or armand is off limits to exploring, just don't be fucking racist about it! ppl would rather run off and say the fandom is full of bullies who will call u racist instead of...looking at their own biases? half the time nobody is even saying the word "racist," these ppl apply that shit to themselves in a panic. it'd be funny if it wasn't so harmful.

things to ask urself here are....what is ur definition of "redeemable"? where does that belief come from in the first place? a religion? society? both? what is ur own relationship with abuse and trauma? have u explored what codependency looks like in real relationships? do u understand all the emotions behind these things the characters are doing? why is louis feeling regret and remorse important to u?

I think a lot of confusion and anger over the DV is that ppl only know of one response to it and that's to leave forever. a lot of society is built on v black and white thinking with no emphasis on forgiveness or growth. ofc nobody has to interact with anyone they don't want to or "owes" anyone forgiveness or help to rehabilitate and all that, but it doesn't change that the person themselves is capable of growing and changing. we tend to have strict ideas of what "abuser" and "victim" look like and don't realize how quickly those identities can switch on the same people. a lot of abusive behavior is learned from trauma and traumatized ppl tend to form relationships with each other and act just like these vampires do. it's hard to place anyone in single categories bcuz it's a spectrum. this is humanity reflected at us thru vampires.

all of these vampires carry their specific trauma and triggers and are living in ages where none of this even has been put into words yet, plus they're vampires on top of it. their rules *are* different from ours to an extent and a lot of it is bcuz they're also a v small group who is immortal. imagine someone u rly hate for having harmed u badly in some way (mentally and/or physically) and then imagine u knowing ur gonna run into them or hear their thoughts for the rest of eternity. are u supposed to kill them? could u live with that for eternity too? what if they're stronger than u? what if they read ur mind first and kill u instead? it's a lot to forever think about. idk what the show is going to do, but I have faith it'll be satisfying bcuz of knowing AMC's history with writing about traumatized ppl. Television has gotten rly good at writing about abuse and trauma in v nuanced ways. ppl tend to shy away from it tho bcuz they're not ready to confront these things in their own life and so they find an excuse to say it's bad. the racist side cannot get over calling it "shock value" even tho all the violence (physical, emotional, sexual) has been treated with great respect to the audience and characters. u see the violence move thru the characters, affect them for years, and nothing shown of the violence itself is meant to feel cheap and "shocking." these ppl simply do not want to engage so they find a reason to justify why and this story will never make sense to them bcuz of it.

[sunflower-tree]

Hot take. With the switch AU’s between Amphibia and TOH- Amity would NOT be Marcy! Hunter would! Here’s why😀 (yes I know people are just having fun and I love all the au���s. Im doing the same in sharing my take because it’s fun and I can lmao so don’t come for me)

Hunter would be Marcy because they are both, one, the right hand to the emperor. Yea I know- “but that’s so basic”. It may be basic but they parallel. They both are the right hand, they are both pawns in the bigger game, they both get used. I had this theory before S3 E1 of TOH but that just furthers it. Both of them have been possessed and betrayed by the person they trusted most the majority of the time they were where they were. They both helped terrible people UNKNOWINGLY and then got hurt. She got stabbed, he almost got killed multiple times. They also both got possessed in season 3 of their shows so- Moving on from the bad, they are both very- ADHD. They have hyperfixations, special interests, and more. But they also, always get shut down by the people who they think are closest to them. Marcy with Anne & Sasha & Hunter with Belos. They are both interested in things no one else really is until they find someone who is. Marcy with the Emperor & Hunter with Willow which is where they stray from each other. He finds the right people and she stays with the wrong ones, soon unwillingly, but finds the good in what she had at the end, which is where she relates to Amity when she became friends with Willow again but that’s really it.

Now with Amity and Sasha. Those 2 are more accurate as the other tbh. Yes Hunter is the soldier who has a troubled parenthood- but so is Amity. In a different way. Amity was top student and she has a troubled parenthood as well. Not like Marcy’s tho. More like Sasha’s. Marcy’s parents still love her and care about her. Sasha’s, from what we’ve seen, don’t. it’s sad to think about, but it’s really true. but they both over, come out and get better, in their only ways. And it takes a while for them to become who they are today. Which is better people than what we started with. Amity may have ended with a girlfriend, but Sasha, ended with Anne being her best friend, until they grew apart, which happens. But they still stayed friends.  the only way that they differ is that Sasha did what she did because she wanted to ignore the fact that her parents were divorced, Amity did what she did because she wanted to please her parents.  But they basically play almost the same role just written a bit differently in my eyes. Idk that’s just how I read them😂 

And with the rest of the characters, everyone stay the same. Luz would be Anne, Willow would be Sprig, Gus would be Polly all for obvious reasons and so forth. I just think differently for everyone else for those two😂.

|| again this is my opinion I don’t care what you do because it’s an AU and it’s fictional anyways lmao. You do what you want and I’m gonna do what I want. Love all the AU’s lol ||

[anddreadful]

full thoughts on frank wildhorn’s dracula having re-watched it in its entirety for the first time in many years:

- I watched a recent upload of an (american) community theater production, specifically because a) its sound quality was surprisingly good and b) my recent interest is because a local theater is putting it on, so given the opportunity, I wanted to see whatever version of the show is currently available for north american licensing

- the production was charming but the community theater (technically dinner theater! I went on a google hunt to find the theater and it’s only two hours from me lmao) was community-ing so I can’t really write home about the acting. or the singing although mina had a nice voice

- the one place I will dunk on the production is how hilariously chaste mina and dracula were. the biting scene was notably stiff and un-suggestive of sex despite taking place on a bed. maybe one of the actors wasn’t comfortable with doing anything more, but they had only one kiss, and it was so late in the show and such a teeny little dry peck on the lips that I hollered. at that point just don’t do it and pretend theirs is an ~intellectual connection or something

- dracula did do a creepy hair-petting thing to both renfield and Mina that I was a big fan of

- “if loving you keeps me alive, then how can leaving me be right?” is such a funny lyric. dirtbag manipulative boyfriend dracula

- I knew not all the songs were on the studio cast recording, but I had forgotten HOW MANY songs aren’t on it. where is How Do You Choose? If I Could Fly? It’s Over????? I had fully forgotten there was a life after life reprise. I was obsessed with the studio cast recording in high school and I know all those songs by heart (except for a perfect life because I think it’s bad) and now i’m like. why was I gatekept from so many of the songs!! why is there no professional english recording of Its Over!! answer me frank!!!!!

- this is not a new thought per se but a) I so love that all the suitors are present and themselves b) this show squanders them. jack has no personality whatsoever (I would trade TWO mina ballads for a jack song please I beg), arthur gets needlessly dunked on, and quincey is delightful and incredible and also narratively extraneous given that he doesn’t kill dracula or die at the end

- on that note, though, I cannot believe they included quincey being the first person to promise mina to kill her if the time comes in a book-accurate version of that scene. even the 1992 version doesn’t do that!!!! and this is basically just an adaptation of that movie!!!!! is this the ONLY dracula adaptation to include that detail? it’s a top five book moment for me so I very literally love to see it

- I understand that we had to beef up van helsing as a character SOMEHOW but was a dead wife song really the best we could come up with

- there are too many sad slow songs in this show for what it’s trying to accomplish! some of them immediately on top of each other! and some of the songs distinctly go on for just one too many verses 😭

- does the mina/ dracula romance make any sense? no. does the show make any effort whatsoever to make it? no. am I into it anyway? yeah. fuck it. I have terrible taste and so i think dracula as a disembodied voice like HI? HELLO? DON’T IGNORE ME? and mina being like “unfortunately, i’m into it” rocks

- “She Devil, Nosferatu��� and “the lady in white” from that other dracula concept album are both so superior to “undead one, surrender” I almost feel bad for Frank and co there, but “the master’s song”, “life after life”, and “deep in the darkest night” still fucking slap

- the train hypnotism scene was soooo good except for the part where mina did dracula’s accent. not sure if that’s standard but I wish we hadn’t done that

- i’m not THAT well versed in musical theater as an art form and also all art is derivative etc but i do know that wildhorn has been historically criticized for derivativeness and…… yeah! you can tell where he mimics sondheim, and it doesn’t work because you can’t casually mimic sondheim and get out alive. i can’t think of the moment but there was some bit of music I could have sworn was out of Phantom, and it’s obviously a big general inspiration. not to be Boss Baby Guy but I see a lot of Les Mis DNA in it too (what is It’s Over if not The Confrontation in a goth hat)

- the dialogue between songs is serviceable at absolute best, and it’s a shame that it’s so consistently sacrificed at the altar of moving the plot the fuck along. for the most part, only mina and dracula meaningfully connect via song, so it would be nice to use the dialogue to flesh out relationships more often. lucy and mina being besties is a highlight!!!

- ultimately i had a blast but it must needs be said: the show is not good. the best possible execution of “literally just the novel dracula but dracula and mina are having a secret tragic love affair” is probably what we get in the 1992 dracula movie, and if there’s a way to translate that to stage well, it’s not this shallow, silly speedrun. but again. this trash is my trash. the painted cardboard castle of bad dracula adaptations is where i live.

- I actually think it would be really interesting to be involved in a production only because to make these characters function in terms of acting, I think you’d have to invent and extrapolate a lot in terms of motivation and characterization to supplement the text. which would be fun for me, a person who thinks about versions of dracula characters all the time already

[llycaons]

Section One: Part II

To be in the world again: wei wuxian (or others), relearning how to live - healing and recovery from grief, suicidal feelings, loss, trauma. etc.

*the earth remembered me* by remux

summary: my very first fanfic 🥺 still unfinished, but this beautiful and contemplative work follows wwx on his travels postcanon as he comes to terms with what happened, works with his hands, offers aid to any who need it, experiences the kindness of strangers, and begins to think about his future. his travels are so lovely to witness, and his coming back into himself is so…tender. he does some healing. idk what else to say. he needs this. this is one of the few fics that’s pure cql and I love it so, so much. I don’t even need it to end, tbh, I know he’ll get back to lwj eventually. work issues: none author issues: none

*fish & wild geese* by impossibletruths

summary: loosely based on the film little forest, this fic follows modern AU lwj through four seasons after he returns for a visit to his mother’s home in the countryside. he finds a grounding and peaceful escape from his busy and empty life as a law student and he reunites with his old friend wwx, who had moved back to help on his grandmother’s farm. lwj’s connection to his mother is so beautifully explored, and I also loved how lqr and mama lan’s relationship was portrayed wwx’s unique family unit of himself, bssr, sl, and xxc is also warm and wonderful, and I enjoyed the background songxiao. the writing is gentle and evocative, and includes poetry for each season. a worthwhile fic full of food, family, grief, home, romance, and closure. technically either canon but I feel cql for it work issues: none, it’s such a comfort to me author issues: none

*总有一天; a place to hide (can’t find one near)* by yiqie

summary: ah, this fic. I LOVE this fic. modern AU - wwx’s nearly successful suicide attempt, and what comes after. emotionally rich, well-crafted in language and character, accurate to culture, thematically resonant, and faithful to canon characterizations, this has been one of my favorite fics for a long time. I like how all the characters are written, especially lxc, jc and jyl. I love what a good person jxz is here, too, although he’s not a major character. I appreciate the emphasis on continuous and enthusiastic consent wrt the sex scenes. the author is chinese so the details and atmosphere feel very grounded and realistic. strictly cql characterizations on the flipside, it does have quality issues. it sometimes gets caught up in its own flowery language and the lines end up nonsensical. some of the sex scenes are a little goofy since lwj is so formal, and there’s a slightly annoying emphasis on wwx being panicked about being a bad partner and needing reassurance from a saintly lwj, which he immediately believes with no other hangups despite his terrible sense of self-worth and not thinking he ‘deserves’ anything good. also, there are a few characterization choices that made me go “no!” for example, wwx is DEFINITELY a crier and this fic claims he isn’t. but yeah I love it anyway lmao the suicide attempt is described in detail at the beginning of the work, so check the notes if you want to skip it. suicidal ideation and chronic depression comes up later in the story. there’s canon-typical emotional and physical child abuse in flashbacks to wwx’s childhood. there are also flashbacks to lwj’s mother’s death in the hospital. implied to have been from cancer work issues: not a huge issue, but at one point lwj brings wwx flowers and someone asks lwj if they’re for his girlfriend and he says yes which like??? nothing close to that happens again but why was that a thing author issues: has implied jl/lsz in one of their fics ('To the Yiling Laozu, the Great and Powerful ')

*feast and famine* by luckymarrow

summary: a rape recovery/aftermath work. modern AU, NYC. married wx, leaning more towards novel characterizations. wwx is roofied and sexually assaulted at a party, and then deals with the aftermath with the support of his friends and family. check author notes for specific warnings, but obviously it’s rough. it is unflinching in its depictions of survival after violence in ways other fics tend to mine for angst or romance points, or gloss over for hurt/comfort. but this depicts not only the immediate before and after of the assault itself, but the continued pain and humiliation of medical examination, homophobia faced by victims of rape even from supposed supporters, caregiver fatigue, homophobia from the assailants, and effects of lifelong trauma. imo it also has good politics in validating a survivor not pressing charges, which I think is really refreshing. it also takes into account social/cultural forces at work, and things like class and privilege that can really matter in the context of SA despite the premise and the darker scenes, there were many legitimately joyful parts of the work, and as wwx starts healing in more significant ways, the breakthroughs he makes in his journey are so touching to read about. this is a painful story, but it makes so many beautiful points about how life is worth living after a violent trauma, and how things can still be good afterwards even if they’re different. this was a huge theme in the show and I enjoyed seeing it resonate here as well. it’s a slow journey, and one not finished by the end of the work, but it does have a gentle and hopeful conclusion I don’t really like how this author writes them pre-assault, but the way wwx and his relationship with lwj is explored the rest of the work is amazing, and the way they renegotiate their relationship in the aftermath is genuinely very interesting and even romantic to read even if it’s painful why they have to do so. the side characters also have a lot of richness to them - I love jyl in particular, she gets a ton of screentime and pov scenes, and her chronic illness matters without being her only character trait. lwj is pretty good; his backstory with his mom is one of the scariest I’ve ever seen and I think it’s really compelling. jc is written really well! wwx and jc have their adolescent playfight banter that goes a little far sometimes, but wwx gives just as good as he gets and jyl and lwj always back him up when jc goes too far, so it didn’t feel unfair to wwx while letting jc off the hook like other fics do. jc grows as a person during this work, becoming more selfless and closer to his siblings. and I really liked how jxz was handled at the end finally, this fic has, bar none, the best jfm I’ve ever read. he clearly loves wwx but he doesn’t treat him very well - he’s foolish, ignorant, self-centered, weak-willed. absolutely perfect. but they all love wwx and they work together to support him in the aftermath in very gratifying ways reclaimed q slur is used a few times, including by a straight character? she was referring to a gay character and not using it as a slur, but it was a little odd anyway work issues: references jgy and nmj potentially hooking up, mentions of xy and ‘his boyfriends’ (sl and xxc), and references to cnc (which is discussed, but not shown in the fic itself). pretty mild on the whole and it’s only talked about to, I moved it to this section author issues: cnc smut and A/B/O

*places under the sky by narie

summary: during his travels after leaving gusu, wwx stumbles upon a village where he meets his paternal grandmother and learns more about his lost parents. this fic is raw and tragic, but it was in-character and so beautifully written and offered a realistic, if bittersweet measure of healing and closure for wwx. the way the romance was handled was lovely, even though lwj wasn’t present. cql canon work issues: none author issues: none

the work of spring by wrrms

summary: modern AU wwx tries to grapple with his grief over jyl’s death, jc’s estrangement, and lwj’s absence by starting a garden. the wx in this was long-distance but their relationship was super sweet, as was the nhs and wwx friendship. it did make me cry a bit but it was also really cathartic and lovely. lwj was genuinely hilarious and I loved his personality and dialogue in this one. either canon warnings for depression and heavy grief work issues: none

how the body can be both greenhouse and graveyard by molerein

summary: postcanon, wwx drags lxc and himself into a better place through his very determined visits to the hanshi. sort of a character introspection/relationship study. I like their dynamic, and the background wx was very comforting as well. the style was lovely. either canon works, tho tags say novel verse check notes for references to depression and suicidal ideation work issues: none author issues: none

*come for a while by Joana789

summary: a meandering, plotless little introspection from wwx about being alive again, and how he handles the joys and sorrows and changes from his previous life. very gentle and satisfying. I feel cql for it work issues: none author issues: none

*the soft animal by cafecliche

summary: postcanon wwx, learning to live in his new body and be kind to himself as he adjusts. this one gave me all sorts of disability feelings. novel canon work issues: none author issues: none

*a kind of emptiness by ScarlettStorm

summary: wwx works towards gaining weight postcanon after his lifetime of food insecurity, with the support of lwj and the lans. it’s nice to see him take one step after another as he relearns how to have a healthy relationship with food, and progressively feels better and stronger as he puts on weight. a really lovely, affirming fic with a solid and satisfactory ending. either canon, but characterizations lean towards cql. unfortunately the author’s attempts at eroticism are about as unsexy and painfully generic as they come warnings for disordered eating and references to starvation work issues: none author issues: this author has written some really weird things feminizing wwx

*somewhere they live, somewhere they multiply by perilously

summary: one of the few horror fics I’ve enjoyed. postcanon wwx struggles with his past and some parts of his life in CR, and the gift of a large, creepy mirror exacerbates issues. the quasi-argument between himself and lwj is quite raw and feels well grounded in their characterizations, and the atmosphere is extremely well-crafted work issues: none author issues: none

*grow* by cafecliche

summary: wwx is hit by a curse during a night hunt with the kids that reverts him to the physical, mental, and emotional state of his six-year old self. the juniors take care of him while trying to find ways to undo the curse, which is really cute because they just adore him and they want to make sure he has a nice day. a character study for both wwx and lsz, with supporting roles from jl, ljy, and oyzz, and later on, lwj and lxc. the writing was wonderful, the relationships well-crafted and very sweet, the commentary on wwx as a child was straightforward but rewarding, and the characterizations as a whole were just excellent. I really loved seeing little wwx getting all the care and affection and protection and validation he so desperately needed back then, so it’s a bit of a comfort work as well. novel-verse, but imo it doesn’t matter expect canon-typical child neglect and everything else that comes from being a homeless 6 year old. lwj does interact with de-aged wwx but I promise it’s not weird I have age regression blacklisted because I don’t trust anyone, so many thanks to my mutual who specifically recommended it <3 work issues: none author issues: none

there was no night by everythingispoetry

summary: an engaged wwx’s unwilling year away in europe as lwj struggles through a significant depressive episode back home. switching pov. deeply introspective with a grounded and substantial relationship - wonderful characterizations. weight gain as recovery, with a bit of dysmorphia as lwj adjusts to that. beautiful poetry towards the end. satisfying and well-done - not so dramatic or plot-heavy as A Place to Hide, but in some ways its spiritual twin, being a longish modern AU heavily focused on one character’s mental health. however it’s not a getting-together work, and doesn’t depict the partner of the depressed character as some kind of savior or saint, but a flawed and complex person with their own struggles doing their best. more mature in a lot of ways, too - the characters are self-aware about their issues, and work to overcome them together suicide is briefly referenced a few times work issues: while he’s otherwise an extremely empathetic and supportive partner, wwx internally calls lwj ‘broken’ a few times? what? author issues: A/B/O

touch like a river, smoke by autoclaves                

summary: lwj pov. atmospheric reflections postcanon, about grief and love. just so tender and full of gentleness and healing. cql specific. I love how easily wwx cries in this one, but it's also rather sad in some ways work issues: none author issues: song lan/xue yang

here comes your ghost again by yuer (vintageblueskies)

summary: wwx mourns wen qing postcanon. that’s all work issues: none author issues: dubcon

take the words by phnelt

summary: an angsty postcanon oneshot set immediately after wwx rescues an abducted lwj. I really like the interpersonal drama between them, and the ending makes my heart hurt in a good way work issues: none author issues: has written genderbends, cnc. A/B/O, and sex pollen

a heart (i forgot about) by pink_fluff

summary: meandering little postcanon work about wwx settling into his body with lwj’s help. gentle and tender and romantic. either canon for characterizations, but wwx in mxy’s body work issues: none author issues: none

Back to Start

[elias-code]

That's My Job - Glatt x gn!reader

~ Ask Link ~

Characters: Glatt x gn!reader, Fundy, mentioning Quackity

Summary: You haven't been back to Manburg since Schlatt died. Now that Techno's destroyed every trace of it, you've returned with Fundy to drink and mourn. Fundy leaves you to your devices and Glatt ends up waking you up, taking care of you, and confessing...

Warnings: lots of cursing, heavy drinking, death, mourning

------ sorry it's so angsty lmao I just love torturing myself :) ------

Ever since Schlatt suffered his massive heart attack at the end of his presidential term, you’ve been wandering the SMP. You’d gotten close to him during his campaign trail, eventually helping him do paperwork, or rather, you did it all for him. You hadn’t been back to Manburg since his death, but now that it was gone, completely gone, you decided it was time to return.

It was a crater. Nothing was left. The office building was gone, the festival grounds were gone, and even the presidential podium was gone. Now, glass covered the crater, giving you the full view of what you had been most afraid of. It made you sick to look at it, bringing up memories from the election.

The worst part of it was that he was gone. Everything in Manburg that reminded you of him was gone, even his friends were gone. The group split shortly after he died, giving up on the decimated country. He was the only thing keeping them together. For better or for worse.

“Hey, Fundy,” You said, stuffing your hands in your pockets. He'd offered to come with you, knowing just how hard it was to be back there.

"Hey, it's nice to see you again," He carried a bottle in his hand and offered it to you. He'd already popped it open and taken a sip of it. "It's a bit strong, but you might need it."

"Thanks," You took it readily, not bothering to read the label before you took a swig. The liquid hit your tongue and burned as it went down. You coughed, spitting the remaining drink on the ground, "What the hell is this stuff?!"

Fundy was practically on the ground laughing. Your tongue and throat still burned from the alcohol and you rotated the bottle to read the label.

Fundy™ Vodka, (98% alcohol)

"Are you trying to kill me Fundy? This shit is ninety-eight percent alcohol?! How did you manage that?" he continued laughing at you as your face burned from embarrassment.

"It's a trade secret," he chuckled, "The people in Las Nevadas really love it," he shrugged.

"How are they all not dead?"

"Don't ask me," He said, "I'm just their dealer. Quackity buys in bulk."

For a moment, it was as if Schlatt never died. You laughed with Fundy for a bit, drank, and reminisced. It was like old times, the hay day, but every time you looked around, you were painfully reminded of the past.

"Hey, I wanted to show you something." Fundy stood, offering you a hand. You were both buzzed already. Each sip of the vodka went down like two shots and you'd gotten a decent way down the bottle by now.

"I'm happy to stay anywhere other than here," You took his hand and gestured around at the crater, "This place sucks." You swallowed a lump in your throat and followed Fundy off the path.

You looked down as you walked. You didn't want to be reminded of him any more than you had to. The people here were moving on from it all already. To be fair, it had been a while, but you'd been closer to him than anyone else, even closer than Quackity.

"Here," He stopped and pointed at the clump stones in front of him. He sat down on the bench as he had done many times before, letting you inspect your surroundings.

"What is this?"

"It's a shrine thing I made," He said sadly, "A long time ago. I haven't been here in a long time, so I refreshed the flowers a bit for you."

The cobblestones were unmarked, put in a rough pile surrounded by oxeye daisies and dandelions. To any passer-by, it was just a pile of rocks. To you and Fundy, it was Schlatt's grave.

Of course, he wasn't buried there. He'd been buried in a nice grave surrounded by gold and diamonds, but it had been griefed so many times that it wasn't worth visiting anymore. Instead of being reminded of him, you were reminded of how many people hated him. Here, it was much quieter.

"Thoughts?" Fundy asked, passing you the bottle as you sat with him.

"It's not bad," You took a swig, used to the taste by now, "I can't help but think that it's painfully accurate that we're getting drunk at his grave."

Fundy laughed briefly, eventually letting the blanket of silence fall over you. The lump in your throat rose once more and you swallowed it with another sip. This must be what he felt like at the end. Drinking to forget, shoving his problems down as far as he could with each drink until, one day, his heart couldn't take it anymore.

"You ok?" Fundy asked, concerned.

"Huh? Yeah," You stared blankly at the stone pile, "Just thinking."

"You're crying," He said.

You touched your cheek and found it wet with tears. You hadn't cried since the day he died, the day you left.

"Do you..." He sighed, "Want some time alone?"

You hesitated. "Yeah," you croaked, "as long as I get to keep the alcohol,"

"Just don't drink it all," He touched your head and walked off.

-

"Hey. Hey. Get up," You felt a finger poke your temple and you jerked awake to Schlatt's voice.

"Finally," He sighed, "What do you think you're doing on my property?"

Through your hazy vision, you saw him.

"Schlatt?" You reached your hand out towards him, but you felt nothing.

"Yeah, yeah," He moved out of your reach, "Hands off, kid."

You rubbed your eyes and squinted, there's no fuckin' way...

"What the hell?" You spat, "Is this a fever dream or some shit?"

In front of you was Schlatt, or a paler blue version of him. He was holding the bottle of vodka, reading the label.

"Oh so Fundy's got a damn business now, does he?"

"Whoa whoa whoa," You ignored him, "Schlatt?! You're alive??"

"Calm down," He rolled his eyes at you, "haven't you ever seen a ghost before?"

He tossed the bottle back to you but you fumbled it and it shattered on the ground.

"Shit!" The bottle broke into sharp, jagged pieces. No vodka came out of the bottle, it was empty.

"You're still a terrible catch, good to know," He sat beside you, walking through the glass. You realised with a start, He's translucent...

You woke up fully, putting your hands on your face and shaking your head. Your brain rattled around in your skull, giving you a painful migraine. The bottle was empty... how much did I drink? Your memory from the past few hours was more or less blank, only the occasional flash of sunset or Fundy was left.

"You're drunk as fuck, you know that?" He said, sitting judgingly.

"What?" I must be if he's here, "Are you even real?"

"Yeah," He sounded offended, "Look at me! What do you mean am I real?"

You laughed, now convinced you were out of your mind. "How was I supposed to know?"

He furrowed his eyebrows at you, evaluating your mental state. "That stuff will kill you." He said, genuinely concerned.

"Oh, and you'd know all about that, Schlatt," You spat, "As if I hadn't warned you a thousand times,"

He leaned back, "Says the person who left the country the moment I died,"

This sent you over the edge and you started sobbing. You put your hands to your face, practically screaming into them. You refused to deal with these emotions for so long, and in some cruel twist of fate, you'd become the thing you hated the most. You'd done the thing you warned Schlatt about countless times. It finally came back to bite you in the ass.

"Sorry, I-" He started, putting his hand on your back. He didn't know what to say, he wasn't the best at comfort, "I've missed you,"

Your sobbing calmed down slightly, downgrading to crying. The tears stung your eyes and your throat burned, partly from the drink, partly from the stress you were releasing.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up," He said, standing to lead you down the path. You followed, stumbling slightly as the drink caught up to your balance. Just before you fell, he caught you and slung your arm around his shoulder, practically carrying you.

"Man, I was hoping you'd be in better shape the first time I saw you."

"What do you mean?" You mumbled, leaning on him heavily.

"I mean I haven't seen you in so long," He bit his lip, "I was starting to think you'd never come back. Then I saw you with Fundy, drunk as a skunk, sleeping on my bench. Not what I'd say was a good first impression. In such a long time, I mean."

"Yeah, but you're... dead."

"So? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you died. You had a fucking heart attack, alright? We mourned for you, I mourned for you. I ran away because I couldn't bear to look at them. Those people who said they were your friends. They took different sides. They gave up on you. In a way, I guess I did too, just because I had to."

He grits his teeth but kept walking. "I was just as disappointed in them as you, kid."

You'd reached the end of the path. He looked around quickly and opened the door. You recognized it as Fundy's house. It was vacant, Fundy was nowhere in sight. Schlatt laid you down on his bed, leaving to get a washcloth and a glass of water.

"Sit up," He said, pushing the glass into your hand.

You grabbed it readily and took a swig, dehydrated from the tears you'd shed. As you drank, he put the damp washcloth to your forehead and neck, trying his best to sober you up a bit.

"You're on fire." He said, frowning at you. "Your face is all red. How much of that stuff did you drink?"

"The whole bottle," You muttered.

"And you're still alive?" He laughed.

"I'd ask Quackity the same thing,"

"What does this have to do with Quackity?"

"Fundy's selling it to Las Nevadas, I guess." You shrugged and he haphazardly dropped the washcloth in Fundy's cauldron.

"What?"

"Las Nevadas," You laid back down, "Quackity has a city now. Leaned into the whole gambling thing."

"Jesus, I missed a lot, haven't I?" He laid next to you, the sheets didn't move.

"I guess so." You turned to look at him. His suit was torn like he hadn't changed it since the day he died. His beard was barely shaped, his hair a mess, and his horns were as sharp as ever. He was exactly the same as he looked that day. Dishevelled and broken down.

"I mean it, I missed you." He said, "It's not like I had any paperwork to watch you do, but I wish I had."

"You watched me do that?"

"Yeah, I had to make sure you weren't stealing it or something," He excused.

You chuckled, "You never kept track of that shit, there was no way you would have known."

"Alright fine, you want me to admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"You make this... face when you work. When you're really focusing on something... It's hard to look away."

Your heart skipped. The ghost of Schlatt confessed to having a crush on you? No one would believe this, especially since you barely believed it yourself. You burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it.

"What?!" He snapped.

You kept laughing as your head throbbed, the headache coming out in full force now, "You had a crush on me?"

He scowled, "No." He sat up and tapped his foot on the ground, "I have a crush on you."

Huh? "Even though I've been gone for months?"

"Yeah," He said, "It's not like you forget someone like that."

He sounded sad, distant almost. Like you were the ghost.

"Hey," You shuffled over to him, putting a hand on his leg, "It's super cheesy, but," You sighed, god I sound like a child, "I like you, too."

His face flushed, as much as a dead person's face could flush. "Little old dead Schlatt?"

"Yeah, why not?" You sighed, "It's been so long since I've seen you, but... I mean, why do you think I left?"

"I don't know. I thought about that a lot while you were gone."

"I left because I cared about you. It was too hard to see you in everything around me. I left to get my mind off of you because every waking moment of every goddamn day was spent thinking about you," He looked at you, poorly holding his poker face, "I only came back because everything was gone. There was nothing to come back to. Or so I thought."

"Yeah, Technoblade did that." He jeered, "Twice."

"This isn't about him," You put your head on his shoulder, "If I'd have known you were still here... I would have stayed."

"To be fair, I was stuck in... hell... for a while until I finally figured out how to get back up here," He said, "By the time I'd come back... You were long gone. Months had passed."

"It was selfish for me to leave. I'm sorry."

"No, it was shitty of me to be mad you didn't stay. You told me so many times to put down the damn bottle and yet, you stayed by my side until the end. I let you down."

"I guess we both have things to be sorry for, then." You said.

You sat in silence for a while, coming to terms with what you'd both just said. It wasn't in either of your characters to say anything like this. There were some serious feelings passing back and forth between the two of you, and nothing to prepare you for them.

"Fuck I'm gonna puke," You said.

He pulled back, "Don't do it on me, sicko, Jesus!"

You laughed, "I'm fuckin joking, relax,"

"Just..." He leaned back and grabbed a blanket to swaddle you in it, "No more drinking, no more feelings for tonight. You need to sleep, and I've got all the time in the world to watch over you."

"It sounds creepy when you put it that way," you pouted.

"I'm not gonna-" He rolled his eyes and tucked you in, "Just let me know if you need anything. We don't really need sleep with the 'eternal slumber' bullshit, ya know?"

---

I don't know how to end this lmao, I hope you enjoyyyyyyed :3

[oryu404]

Fairy Tail and Stingue for the ask cause I just got done Fairy Tail and Gratsu and I am filled with the need to know what you think.. lmao

Going to check out what you had to say as soon as I finish this lmao

Alright,

002 | Stingue, my beloveds.

- When I'd started shipping them:

Honestly, the ship flew right over my head the first time I watched the show. I was focused on the story, not on potential ships at all then. It wasn't until I did a rewatch and got to That Scene, the iconic "as long as he's with me," that I slipped and fell into the proverbial shipping hell. Still haven't found the exit yet. Stopped looking. Built a base here 😂

- My thoughts:

Are endless. Ain't nobody got time for that. So I'll simplify and say this pairing grabbed me like no other ever has.

- What makes me happy about them:

Everything? I love their respective character designs (yes, even their terrible fashion senses), and their personalities, and the way they complement each other. I love their dynamic, the way they obviously care about each other but can and will also bicker and fight like an old married couple. The way their fates have been intertwined since they were young, how they've been presented as a duo from their first appearance, how they understand each other like no one else does. I can go on, but you get the idea.

- What makes me sad about them:

I guess I could say the fact that their relationship will never be explicitly stated as romantic in canon, but I think more accurately would be the fact that they'll never be canon because they're both dudes. And I'm adding my... I guess frustration? that a lot of people who don't ship them would do so in a heartbeat if one of them was a girl.

- Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Lots of things, but you know me. Emo Rogue makes me wanna stab someone 😂 And by Emo Rogue I don't mean a Rogue who gets emotional, because we all know that man is a complete trainwreck when something happens to his damn cat. I mean scene boy Emo Rogue who wears skinny jeans and listens to MCR and cries or self harms through most of the story. Just No.

Equally high on this list are literally any of the shitty yaoi tropes, like the dumb 'this character is an exclusive top and this character is a total bottom,' and any characterization that's basically the author's OC with their names and (parts of) their appearances slapped onto them.

I know no two people look at/interpret a character exactly the same way, and I do think that everyone is free to enjoy their headcanons all they want. They're just not for me most of the time. I'm fine with and even enjoy some of them, but there are quite a few I avoid like the plague.

- Things I look for in fanfic:

The opposite of what I mentioned in the previous answer: characterizations that genuinely feel like them. Again, no one's perfect in this, not even me, but it's easy to tell whether someone wrote them with their canon personalities in mind vs someone who went Fuck Canon I Make The Rules.

That, and a good storyline, or a satisfying scene if it's just a oneshot or drabble, makes for a great fic in my book.

- My wishlist:

More than anything, I wish people would create more content for this pairing, even if not all of it fully matches my (very personal) tastes. I just miss seeing more enthusiasm. Not just for Stingue, but for Fairy Tail as a whole.

- Who I'd be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA No one. Seriously. Ship and let ship, and all that. I'm not here to bash on other people's ships, but this is one pairing I just can't see with others, not even in polyamorous relationships. They just don't have a strong enough connection to any other character that isn't an Exceed for me to see other Sting or Rogue pairings as satisfying.

- My happily ever after for them:

I think they already got it. Sort of. They rebuilt Sabertooth, turned it into a home. Made friends within and outside of their guild. I think they're perfectly happy living out their days going on jobs or bickering over paperwork, coming home to a small apartment or cottage to then bicker over chores. Spending days off to relax or do something fun with Lector and Frosch. Occasionally meet up with friends from other guilds to hangout or spar. You know, stuff like that.

Can't believe this took me a literal hour to write 😂

[serpenteve]

Hot take 1: The age gap between Aleksander and Alina wouldn't have been an issue as so many people say it is if Aleksander was a good guy.

Hot take 2: If Mal isn't the asshole he is in the books then what the fuck is stopping him and Alina from dating?? Why is she more assertive and confident with Aleksander??? Why not with Mal?? Are the writers saying Alina having agency and making her own choices,no matter how bad or good,a bad thing? What else am I supposed to gather from it??

Hot take 3: It's so,,,,stupid,,,how common people don't say shit about Grishas dying or suffering but as soon as they die they're like "New Sankt/Sankta unlocked" I hate how people romanticize their tragic deaths yet don't do shit for them when they're alive haha.

Hot take 4(the last I promise): Where did LB say Aleksander is the exact embodiment of her abusive ex? Do you have an interview link or screenshot? Because from what I know she implied that she was in an abusive relationship but she NEVER said she based Aleksander off on her relationship. It could've been Mal lmao given how shitty he actually is. Thanks for doing this YOU ARE AMAZING I LOVE YOUR BLOG AAGHH I LOVE YOU!!!I KNOW THIS IS ALOT SORRY

I have to react to all of these haha 🙈

(mind the tags)

1. Personally, I think some of the antis just hate the Darkling/Ben Barnes first and foremost and then will pick whatever reasons to justify it. Like, if he wasn't an immortal shadow wizard, then they'd say he's a "sex trafficker" (an actual take I saw with my own two eyeballs) or that he """groomed""" Alina. Like, words have specific meanings. He 100% manipulated her. He lied to her. He preyed on her need for validation and acceptance. But that's not the same thing as "grooming" someone because, you know, words 🤦🏽‍♀️It's perfectly fine if you hate a fictional character or have a NOTP, but if you're harassing people, at least be accurate about what you're criticizing, especially when this character already has done enough canonical things to make them kind of a manipulative dick without pulling things out of your ass 💅🏽

(Sorry, that rant wasn't aimed at you ���️I just got mad all over again lmao)

2. So true 🙌🏽I think the writers were so concerned with fanfic'ing the fuck out of book!Mal's character and praying that audiences would like him better that they didn't stop to think about how those changes would raise some questions about why Mal & Alina's relationship is where it's at. I don't think this is too terrible, considering most romance arcs immediately get boring once the couple officially gets together so they will have a lot to work out in season 2.

3. I know I shouldn't laugh about the "new sankta unlocked" BUT ITS LIKE SO TRUE??? Lmao each town has their resident claim to fame. I wished we got to see this discussion handled with a bit more nuance in the books, but it seems like the people simultaneously believe in the inherent holiness of the saints while deriding and despising the Grisha for being "witches" and see them as separate beings. Kind of weird, if you ask me.

4. So here's Leigh's Instagram post so people can read it in it's entirety and draw their own conclusions. Unless I'm mistaken and there's another social media post or podcast interview where she explicitly states the Darkling is based off of an abusive ex, I honestly fail to see the connection. I just see a writer who was in a difficult place in her life who found refuge and excitement in the fictional world she created.

[aces-to-apples]

Your Reputation Precedes You

A response to “On Fandom Racism (and That Conlang People Are Talking About)” because lmao that cowardly bitch just hates getting feedback from people that she can’t then harass into oblivion

i.e. God I Wish I Could Use The Tag Fandom Wank Without The Titty Police Nerfing My Post

-

To be frank, I'm not here because I think you or any of your little cronies are going to change your minds. If the 'name' wasn't a giveaway, your group of ~likeminded individuals~ have quite the reputation for espousing ableist, antisemitic, and, yes, racist views under wafer-thin the veneer of "calling out racism." I think we both know that what you're actually doing is using the relative anonymity of the internet and progressive language to abuse, harass, and bully fans that you personally disagree with. You and your group are toxic, hateful, and utterly pathetic, using many peoples' genuine desire to avoid accidentally causing harm and twisting it into this horrid parade of submissiveness to You, The One And Only Arbiter Of Truth And Justice In Fandom. Never mind that you have derided autistic people as lacking compassion and empathy, that you've used racist colonizer dogwhistles to describe a fictional culture based heavily on real live Maori culture, that you've mocked the idea of characters having PTSD, or that vital mental health services are anything more than "talking about your feelings with friends uwu." Let's just ignore that you have ridiculed the idea of adults in positions of power exerting that power over children in harmful and abusive ways, that creating transformative fan-content that doesn't adhere to the spirit of canon or wishes of the original author garners derision and hatefulness from you, and that you've used classic abuser tactics in order to gaslight people in your orbit into behaving more submissively towards you in order to avoid more verbal abuse.

Let's toss all of that crucial context aside in favor of only what you've written here.

What you've written here is nearly 3,000 entire words based on, at best—though, admittedly, based on your previous behavior, I am actually not willing to extend to you an iota of good faith—fallacious reasoning. You posit that a constructed language, to be used by a fictional religious group located in an entirely different galaxy than our own, is othering, racist in general, and anti-Asian specifically. This appears based in several suppositions, the first being that a language unknown by the reader will, by nature, cause the reader to feel alienated from the characters and therefore less sympathetic, empathetic, and caring towards the characters. That idea is patently ridiculous and, I believe, says far more about your ability to connect to a character speaking an unfamiliar language than any kind of overarching truth about media and the human condition. New things are interesting; new things are fun; the human brain is wired from birth to be fascinated with new things, to want to take them apart, find out how they work, and enjoy both the process and the results.

The second supposition this fallacy is based upon appears to be that to move away from the blatant Orientalism of Star Wars is inherently anti-Asian. While I find it... frankly, a little bit sad that you cling so viciously to the Orientalist, appropriative roots of Star Wars as some form of genuine representation, that's really none of my business. If you feel that a Muslim-coded character bombing a temple and becoming a terrorist and a Sith, a white woman wearing Mongolian wedding garb, a species of decadent slug-like gangsters smoking out of hookahs and keeping attractive young women chained at their feet (as it were), a species of greedy money-grubbers with exaggerated features and offensively stereotypical "Asian" accents, and an indigenous people wearing modesty garb based on the Bedu people and treated by most characters as well as the narrative as mindless animals deserving of murder and genocide are appropriate representation of the many, varied, and beautiful cultures around the world upon which they were "based," then that is very much your business. Until you pull shit like this. Until you accuse other fans, who wish to move away from such offensive coding and stereotypes, of erasing Asian culture from Star Wars. Then it becomes everyone's business, especially when you are targeting a loving and enthusiastic group of fans who are pouring their hearts and souls into creating an inventive and non-appropriative alternative to canon.

Which leads into the third supposition, that a patently racist, misogynistic white man in the 1970s, and then again in the 1990s, intended his universe to be an accurate and respectful portrayal of the various cultures he stole from. I understand that for your group of toxic bullies, the term "Death of the Author" holds no real meaning, but the simple fact of the matter is that George Lucas based his white-centered space adventure on Samurai movies while removing the cultural context that gave them any meaning, because he liked the idea of swords and noble warriors in space. He based the Force and the Jedi Order on belief systems such as Taoism and Buddhism, but only on the surface, without putting any real effort into into portraying them earnestly or accurately. He consistently disrespected both characters of color and characters coded to be a certain race, ethnicity, culture, or religion, and likewise disrespected and stole from the cultures upon which he based them. He was, and continues to be, a racist white man who wrote a racist story. His universe has Orientalism baked into its every facet, and the idea that fans who wish to move away from this and interrogate and transform the text into something better than what it is are racist is not only laughable, but incredibly disingenuous and insidious.

As I said, I am not writing this to change your mind, because I truly believe that you already know that "cOnLaNgS aRe RaCiSt" is a ridiculous statement. The way you've comported yourself in fandom spaces thus far has shown to me that you are nothing more than a bully who knows that the anti-racist movement in fandom can be co-opted for your benefit. If you tout your Asian heritage and use the right language, make the "right" accusations and take advantage of white guilt and white ignorance, you can have dozens of people falling at your feet, begging for forgiveness, for absolution. And I think that gives you a thrill. So, no, none of this will change your mind because none of this is genuinely about racism—it's about power, it's about control, it's about fandom being the only space where you have some.

So I'm writing this for the creators of this wonderful conlang, which has been crafted by multiple people including people of color, who don't deserve this nonsensical vitriol, and for the fans reading this manipulative hate-fest, wondering if they really are Evil Racists because they don't participate in fandom the way you think they should.

Here it is: fandom has a lot of racism, antisemitism, misogyny, queerphobia, ableism, etc. baked into it. Unfortunately, such is the nature of living and growing up in societies and cultures that have the same. The important thing is to independently educate yourself on those issues and think critically about them—not "think critically" as in "to criticize" them, but to analyze, evaluate, pick apart, examine, and reconstruct them again in order to come to a well thought-out conclusion. Read this well-articulated attack on a group of fans who have always welcomed feedback and participation, are open about their backgrounds, their strengths and weaknesses, and wonder who is actually being genuine.

Is it the open and enthusiastic group who ask for the participation of others in this labor of love? Or is it the ringleader of a group of well-known bullies who have manipulated, gaslit, and then subsequently love-bomb people who did not simply roll over at the slightest hint of dominance? The ones who spent hours upon hours tearing apart, mocking, deriding, and falsely accusing authors of fanworks and metatextual works of various bigotries and -isms, knowing that those evaluations were spurious and meant only to cause harm, not genuine examinations of the works themselves or even presumed authorial intent. The ones who made their own, quote-unquote, community so negative and toxic that even after the departure of a large portion of them, including this author in particular, that community still has a reputation for being hateful, toxic, and full of mean-spirited harassers who will never look critically about their own behavior but only ever point fingers at others. The ones who are so very determined to cause misery wherever they go that as soon as their usual victims are no longer immediately available, they will turn on each other at the slightest hint of weakness.

This entire piece of (fan)work is misinformed at the most generous, disingenuous at the most objective, and downright spiteful when we get right into it. The creators of Dai Bendu, along with various other works, series, and fan events that these people personally dislike, have been targeted because it is so much easier to harass, bully, and use progressive language as a weapon against them, than it is to put any effort into making fandom spaces more informed, more positive, more respectful.

As someone rather eloquently put it, community is not a fucking spectator sport. You want a better community, you gotta work at it. And conversely, what you put into your community is what you'll get out of it. This author and their friends have put a lot of hate into their communities, and now they're toxic cesspools that people stay well away from, for fear of contracting some terrible form of harassment poisoning.

Congrats, Ri, you've gotten just what you wanted: adoring crowds listening to you spout your absolutely heinous personal views purely to live out some kind of power fantasy, and the rest of us staying well away, because fuck knows nothing kind, helpful, or in good faith has ever come from Virdant or her echo-chamber of petty, spiteful assholes.

No love, bad night.

P.S. Everyone actually in the Dai Bendu server knows your ass got kicked because you didn’t say shit for a full thirty days and ignored the announcement that inactive members would be culled. You ain’t cute pretending like it’s because you were ~*~Silenced~*~ after ~*~Valiantly~*~ attempting to call out racism. We see you.

[magicflowershop]

one day kitty; Bokuto version

《inspired by movie A Whisker Away》

✿✿ you wished to be with the person you like and wish granted. whiskers, button nose, tail, four legs and ears on top of the head; you turned into a cat. with this, you are given the opportunity to be with the person you want to express your affections to. but as a cat. and only in one day.

― haikyuu characters x cat!reader imagines!

❀ masterlist ❀

the wheel of names have spoken.

you have shitty life and you dont want it anymore, and hence you resort to drastic measures

one being to give up your life completely to a huge cat that you met one time at this shed when you were running away from home

yes we angsty now

at first you were skeptical bc how in the hell does this cat thing exist?? and how can it tell that you’re giving up on your life???

but since you were down as hell, and you were overwhelmed with emotions and were beyond your right state of mind,,, you accepted the offer of what this cat gave

so now you are a cat

by then, an entire night flew by and you woke up realizing you actually slept in the shed again lmao silly you—

and you weren’t actUALLY DREAMING YOU TRULY BECAME A CAT

so being the masochist you are, you decided you shouldn’t pass the opportunity to have a little adventure,,, to your house and school

well because you’re an insecure bitch who wants to know whats it like in a world without you in it and how the people around you would react without you in their lives,,,, yk quirky things like that uwu

and you saw it 

yourself 

your whole entire body alive awake and walking telling your damn parents a see you later since you’re off to school

but the hell do you care whoever that lil insect is that swarmed inside your body and became the host,, you continued your lil mini adventure to your school bc whats more fun than seeing your fake self havin fun with your friends??

“oh hello there”

then a tall grey haired boy you forgot the name of stepped in front of you and crouched to your level

“woAH agHAASHI LOOK AT THIS LITTLE THING’S EYES”

he looked closer to the cat’s face

“ᵗʰᵉʸ'ʳᵉ ˢᵒ ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸ“

maybe a bit too close for the cat’s discomfort 

he called you thing

then you realize this person was Bokuto Kotarou from your school’s vball team,,, how could you not have guessed from the hair alone silly you

Bokuto then patted you a little more after being told by Akaashi that he can’t be distracted by a cat at this moment since they’re about to go for practice

so they left you there

but you bein a cat that can slither everywhere they wish to be, thought it would be fun to stalk the vball team since its so early in the morning yk and you rly wanna know whats happening with your actual body

you don’t even know why your body was in school this early,,,

anyway so volleyball right

it donned onto you that you had a crush on Bokuto when you were a freshman,, you remember there was something gratifying about his personality that made you like him better than the rest of the boys in your school bc other men are trash but we dont talk about that

you found him sorta special 

however, despite finding him very special, a person like him was too far-fetched for you to become close with bc you two were polar opposites of each other,,, he was too excited and happy every time you see him while you are,,, well

a bit too down

but you werent always down

just that you had every reason to be down yk

im not helping but anyways-

so you were watching them practice,, you had no idea why you were watching since you werent rly into sports whatever and it usually bores you,, and sends your mind flying elsewhere

then you saw Bokuto leaping up from the back and slamming the ball straight past the other player’s blocks 

𝓌𝑜𝓌

fr that was impressive and the way he accurately hit the ball right next to the line was insane

okay, mayhaps you were slowly gathering feelings for him again and this time for his talents as well oho

so you took your time watching this lad in awe while resting on the gym’s window sill, only God knows how you got there, and just admired the players doin their thing

but yk with a lot of Bokuto you perv

ofc Bokuto sees the cat while they were on break and kinda squished his face on the window to get ur attention bc you were sorta falling asleep on there

he was yellin things like theres a cute kitty on the window aaaAAAAA and the other players just wanted him to stop so they kinda invited you inside

they busted a big uwu at how cute the cat was, scared of the new environment it has been forced into

mostly Bokuto

he was beYOND HAPPY to see a small animal within his vicinity and Akaashi was delighted to see him calm at least for once

Bokuto was really gentle at holding the little feline in his arms and his heart might have melted when it relaxed into his hold and rested its little head against his chest

the other players were hella jealous

but Bokuto gettin all the attention from a cat was better than anything else 

until we remember that the guys don’t always stay for practice and that they had classes to attend too, they are at school for a reason

henceforth Bokuto was sad to let the cat go bc the cat isn’t his it’s just a stray cat,, nobody knows where it came from

“i’ll come back for you later okay?”

ahaha yes i am s*ft

while waiting for his promise of coming back, you spent the time to idle around the campus until lunch break came and you once again saw your original body that is now lived by a different host

the fake you turned to your direction and smirked?? what the heck was that for??

but you had Bokuto to comfort you anyway lmao you attention wh*re

then you figured it didn’t feel right to be hogging the lad’s attention like this when you aren’t actually a cat,,, at least not until midnight strikes,,,

you did have a choice whether or not you still wanted to remain as a cat for the rest of your life but that price is selling your soul to that cat

besides all that, i just wanna mention that Bokuto grew fond of the cat that keeps playing with him all day and he lit thought of bringing it with him home bc he was worried like what if it doesn’t have a home to go to and becomes all alone and starving and like get hit by a car 

he was genuinely concerned for your well-being and you felt eVEN BAD NOW and just wanna go over and tell him you’re not an actual cat you’re just a stalker of his that somehow had the chance to turn into a pussy

but he did bring you home

not even Akaashi could stop him when he secretly snuck you inside his bag when they were about to go home from practice

no lie you lit wanted to flee

time was running out and you were wasting it to clown Bokuto into thinking you truly were a cat but not unless you wished to remain a cat

do you deserve that doe?

you thought you did after Bokuto pampering you a lot, showing you to his mom, being cleaned and fed kinda clumsily but its the thought that counts for the night and even tucking you beside him on his bed like s*ft omg

you definitely wanted to leave but like if you left its gonna break his heart but once he finds out you’re an actual human person what the hell is that going to make you

obviously you were in a terrible rut

“now you can stay in my house if you have no where to be, kitty. i can be here with you”

tears came rushing up to your eyes and you just wanted to strangle that creepy ass cat you met last night and bring back what he stole from you

the words he said was enough to have you break down, his kindness and his sincerity was too pure that you just wanted this to stop

especially when it came from someone special to you

you decided life wasn’t so bad if there’s someone you can lean on

stay tuned for more! :>

[harrowscore]

Mikasa Ackermann, Levi Ackermann, Amane Misa, Aeron Greyjoy for the charactet ask :3

SOMEONE HEARD MY PRAYERS AND NOW MY TIME HAS COME, tysm!!!!! <3

okay, let's start with levi (my beloved):

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life (THEE little feral anime man after my heart)

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (Dark, Tall and Snarky + piercing grey-blue eyes and chronic insomnia? clearly my type ❤)

hogwarts house: gryffindor (maybe....?) | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

ugh, the hp sorting house system is way too reductive. he has qualities of gryffindor, slytherin, and hufflepuff - brave, astute, loyal to a fault, etc. so it's a hard choice. but if i really have to choose, i'd go for gryffindor. i know that his Bad Boy facade shouts slytherin, but while he has larger goals (killing all the titans, then saving the world etc.), he's got no actual ambition for himself. hufflepuff would also be a good option.

daemon (from the his dark materials series): (because i've just decided that's just way more accurate than the hp method) some kind of big feline. maybe a panther - a black panther would be the ideal - aloof, predatory, dangerous, fiercely independent.

best quality: besides his obvious strenghts as a leader and warrior, the way he cares for his comrades-in-arms. it's very hard to gain his trust and respect, but once you have it, it's forever. he's pragmatic and ruthless, yes, but he also has a huge capacity for compassion and friendship. not that he would be effusive about his affections, of course.

worst quality: none, he's absolutely perfect ❤ jklsdfhjk jokes aside, he really struggles to open up (a serious understatement), idt he ever talked about his traumatic past with anyone. i mean, maybe he mentioned it to hange and erwin (erwin knew him when he was still an undergound thug, so...), but... he's not great with feelings. despite his apathetic, intimidating mask, he feels and cares deeply, but he has a long history with losing the people he loves, so he tries to not personally care about his squadmates, which can be both a strenght and a weakness. of course, he spectacularly fails at this.

ship them with: well, it's not a secret that i'm a huge rivamika fan, this ship is almost literally consuming my waking thoughts lmao. imo they're perfectly compatible: very similar personalities (stoic, the strongest warriors, absolutely terrifying on the battlefield but with a soft underbelly), very similar pasts/experiences, so many parallels that it's actually ridiculous, etc. i love how they're both each other's equals and likeness (yes, i took it from jane eyre. no, i don't regret anything lmao). a lot of tropes i love, too: Terrible First Impression (the Pride and Prejudice vibes are so strong with these two, you have no idea), Kindred Spirits/Mirror Images, Veteran/Young Prodigy, The Last of Their Kind, even Height Difference lmao. i could write a whole rivamika manifesto, but this is already too long. (maybe for some other time 👀) i would've loved for their dynamic to be more explored in canon but alas, isayama clearly didn't give a shit about the ackerman legacy, he just used it as a plot shortcut to give them conveniently unique powers, since they never really talked about it 🙄 (and before some troll comes into my askbox shouting "you iNcEsT fReAk!!!!1!!", they're only very distantly related. we know shit about the ackermans but we know for sure that they've got at least several generations between them. biologically their shared DNA is 0%, obviously they don't see each other as family, all the eldians have a dead ass common ancestor from 2000 years ago so they're all basically ⁓related anyway. if you really wanna scream about i.ncest, go watch got/dark/the borgias and shut the fuck up please. or alternatively go outside and touch some grass) sorry for the rant, uh. anyway, i can also see levi/erwin. idk if i'd ever care enough to read a fic about them (i'm usually a huge multishipper, but for some weird reason not when it comes to rivamika? same with braime and kastle tbh), but still, i can see it.

brotp them with: hange and erwin, obv. veteran trio >>> ema trio, sorry not sorry (at least h. and e. died before yams had the chance to ruin their character arcs)

needs to stay away from: ...uh, filth, i guess? lmao

misc. thoughts: besides the stupid teenage fangirl crush i have on him, i'm genuinely fascinated by the man himself. he's a huge mess of a contradictions, and yet somehow it works: he's violent and brash and kind of an asshole, but also has a strong moral code and integrity; he's obv very skilled at all the killing/torturing stuff and yet he has a huge respect for life; he's got a potty mouth to say the least, and yet some very aristocratic manners/tastes (the way he sits, his preference for tea and usually refined clothes); he comes from what's supposed to be an illustrous bloodline, he's methodical and very precise, and yet he was born and raised in the underground, he's been used to filth and blood and poverty since he was a child, kenny of all people was his father figure, and probably has known no other life than a perennial survival mode existence. he's "humanity's strongest soldier", but while well-built he's also small, the david to the titans' goliah, and probably not what people would assume a born warrior looks like. he's also one of the few characters who stayed true to himself and his original characterization until the end, bless you smol king ❤

(okay, this is getting long!)

mikasa:

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them (so much. she deserved better ❤️) | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! (stunning lady ❤) | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

this is actually easy: mikasa belongs to hufflepuff and no, i won't take criticism (just joking lol). enough with this "hufflepuffs are fluffy puppies/Cinnamon Rolls <3" thing: mikasa values loyalty and duty more than anything else. she's also hardworking... and fierce, strong, lethal. yes, hufflepuff and lethal are not mutually exclusive concepts.

daemon: (finally the better option) a she-wolf, fiercely protective of her pack.

best quality: loyal, brave, incredibly strong (alongside her more fragile qualities). practical and level-headed on the battlefield, at least when eren is not included in the picture.

worst quality: struggles to let go of the past (understandable, considering her trauma). tunnel-vision when it comes to eren, obv. extreme levels of delusions ("if only i spoke openly about my romantic feelings for him - as if i didn't made them abundantly clear in ⁓6 years - he wouldn't kill 80% of humanity :(((" lmao okay. just. okay), but that's more on the writing. she's sadly more static than any other main character throughtout the whole series.

ship them with: see above :) but recently i've also started to be intrigued by mikasa/annie and mikasa/sasha. also, i'm sympathetic to jeankasa fans, though i don't actually care for the ship.

brotp them with: EMA trio, especially armin+mikasa. their friendship is so beautiful and special. also sasha.

needs to stay away from: ...... eren, at least romantically. again, that's more on the writing than anything else, but e.remika unfortunately encompasses many tropes i loathe with all the strength of my old shriveled heart: childhood friends-to lovers where the (male) childhood friend doesn't acknolewdge/is completely indifferent to the other (female) friend's romantic feelings, she hopelessly pines for him for years without anything more than a cold shoulder... until in the last chapter it's revealed that he loved her all along and doesn't "want other men to have her!!! :((" (then why did you have no reaction whatsoever to jean's years-long crush on her while she was jealous of any vaguely female-shaped human being you were friendly to, including hange? are you that dumb, man?); the female character's development and entire arc 100% revolves around the male protagonist - she has no goals, no dreams of her own except staying with him forever and ever; the romance is based on an idealized childhood dream, therefore reaffirming those childish illusions would make the character regress, not actually grow up (and nope, epilogue!jk doesn’t count; that also lacks build-up - i would’ve said the same about rm as well, so it’s not about shipping, guys, it really isn’t - and mikasa needed an inner change; getting married to another man but still praying to eren’s shrine is not substitute to actual development lol). post-time skip she's never really frustrated/angry with him, they never get a confrontation about him becoming a, y'know, mass-murderer of gigantic (pun intended) proportions; she puts him on a pedestal, and never stops idealizing him/never sees him for what he actually is (the narrative framing him as some kind of tragic martyr/saint eren from paradis with zero agency and basically... no clear motivation for the abovementioned mass murder, and not the actual complex tragic anti-hero/villain motivated by revenge and righteous fury he deserved to be, does not help). it lacks a good or even decent build-up - it's basically all tell and not show. now, if they'd actually been childhood friends to enemies to lovers/mutually co-dependent... it could have been interesting. sadly, it's not my cup of tea. of course this is just my personal preference, no hard feelings to the shippers.

misc. thoughts: enormous potential. she's been my fav female character since s1 - and ah, i miss s1!mikasa, when she had actually other stuff to do besides mothering eren. i love that she's the strongest warrior (second only to levi, obv), that her skills are never called into questions despite her gender, i love how she stands up for herself and the people she loves, that she may seem cold and stoic and yet has a such a huge heart, that she's not perfect but also sometimes awe-inspiring. sadly, she never really gets out of eren's shadow; what she lacks is an arc focused on herself. that's why imo getting deeper into the ackerman lore would've helped (also, you cannot make the main female character and the most popular male character descend from the same Unique Bloodline or whatever, and never really make them acknowledge it out loud; as a writer, you just can't lol). my spite is so strong that i'm currently writing a ridiculously pretentious fic that's 70% development for her character, to give her a voice, and 30% ackerthirsting. (yes, that's the fic i'm always vagueblogging about lmao, rip @ my brain). if any other rivamika fan is interested… mind you, it’s in italian tho, and idt i have the skills to translate into english.

misa:

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

daemon: mmh, maybe some kind of butterfly? beautiful, colorful, and short-lived.

best quality: glorious fashion sense, more inventive and ingenious than fans actually give her credit for.

worst quality: shallow, impulsive, and obv her dependence on/obsession with light (which stems from trauma btw, but still… the very opposite of a relationship between equals).

ship them with: rem, kinda (monster/human ftw!). also weirdly enough mogi, a little bit? she deserves someone who actually respects her… though she’s far from being a perfect angel. she may actually be crazier than light on some aspects. but in this house we stan evil ladies anyway, so i have no problem with that <3

brotp them with: uh, idk, maybe matsuda?

needs to stay away from: obv light. also takada.

misc. thoughts: a tragic victim of sexist writing. she may be… unhinged to say the least, but she didn’t deserve the abuse she got from light (and from the fans). the female characters’ writing in dn is so bad that idk if it’s on purpose, to kinda mirror the reality of women in a patriarchal society (dependent on men, housewives whose life entirely revolves around their husband/boyfriend etc.), or just casual misogyny lol. it’s even more baffling since we don’t know the author’s gender (they may be a man, a woman, nb, anything really). i tend for the latter option tho.

aegon greyjoy (now, i wasn’t expecting him lol):

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

i’m so sorry, i haven’t the slightest idea lmao. maybe gryffindor? mind you, it’s been a long time since i’ve re-read the books, so i don’t have many thoughts about him.

daemon: maybe it’s cliché, but some kind of fish/squid lmao

best quality: ugh, i really can’t remember much from his chapters :(( he’s not a coward, i guess? (lame answer, sorry!)

worst quality: definitely his religious fanaticism.

ship them with: no one.

brotp them with: uh… his family, ig? except euron.

needs to stay away from: obv euron. brr ://

misc. thoughts: i genuinely like the greyjoys chapters, though i vastly prefer the martells (with the exception of theon and asha, bcs i love them). yes, they’re deranged. yes, victarion is… well, victarion lol. but the drowned god religion is actually interesting, grrm knows how to write trauma - every time aeron mentions euron and that freaking door i’m like… :// - and the tragedy of it all… just great writing all around.

okay, that’s the end lmao. thank you so much, love!!! ❤❤

[god-fucking-dammit-mizutani]

What are some of your favorite things about Taishiro?

I was about 2K in when I realized this could have simply been a short list but since I’m the Queen of Not Shutting TF Up, here’s some terribly rambly not-quite-meta:

1. Their characters! I really think as separate characters they’re really fun to sit down with and just consider what makes them tick. It’s been years since I dipped my toes back into the fandom and I have honestly never been bored of them. I love a lot about the other characters of course, but there’s something about Taichi and Koushirou and their stories and their growth and development that feels — I don’t know, timeless? To me, at least. I also just think Koushirou’s arc is Really Important in general, but that’s for another time. I also love the way they interact in the canon and how their personalities kind of work with each other which leads me to:

2. Their Dynamic! It’s easy to say they’re the quintessential Lovable Jock and Nerd archetypes, but overall I think one of the biggest appeals to me is how they don’t really fall back on typical tropes too much and they honestly compliment each other as characters rather than contrast. I think in the digital world specifically they were both on equal footing— they were both pretty important exactly for the reasons that made them different. Taichi was a people person, so he led them. He was a go-getter so he fought with raw power and heart. Koushirou was a thinker, a planner, and so he used his skills and knowledge to unlock secrets, to get them home, to understand their circumstances more. It could have led to a lot more fighting and shrugging each other off to see which side worked better: brawn or brains. Not to say they didn’t have squabbles, but the above was never really the exact conflict in itself iirc? There were quite a few times Taichi had to lean back on Koushirou’s skills and ask him for help, and there were plenty of times most of the kids relied on Taichi and Agumon’s strength— but that didn’t mean Koushirou shied away from fighting either (let’s not talk about the clown episodes pls). They fill in for each other’s weaknesses and I think that’s both in the digital world and just their relationship overall. Koushirou is more calm, more collected and strategic, more of a listener, and Taichi is the more brash, the more emotional one for better or worse, sometimes more optimistic to Koushirou’s realism, which I think evens out in some way. This also kind of feeds into how I feel that:

3. They better each other! Taichi has a bit of an impulsivity issue with a yo-yoing icarus complex. His heart is always in the right place, I believe, but sometimes his action takes precedent or he gets swept up or overwhelmed to the point of frustration-- which I think is where we see his occasional outbursts of anger or complete dejection. Personally I think he needs someone steady; more reasonable to even him out when things get too much. There’s a scene in the novels about the Nanomon part where Sora even thinks as much: “If Taichi didn’t have at least one person around to scold him and shake him up, he would never get back on his feet.” She thinks she’s the only who fits the bill in this particular scene at least (her attempt doesn’t work but overall I agree she’s a really steadying presence for Taichi, too), but I do also personally think it also spells out Koushirou fairly well. One thing I’ve kind of noticed, and it might just be my own poor interpretation/memory or something idk, is that he never really feeds too much into Taichi’s anger. He might be some part of the cause or the receiver of his frustration at times, but he doesn’t feed it back with the same level of anger and fists and I think that helps Taichi a lot. Most of the time Taichi seems to understand what he did wrong right after losing his temper, apologizes, lets out some of his frustration through venting maybe, and then they feel like they move on. Koushirou doesn’t throw it back in his face, but he doesn’t necessarily openly excuse it either (usually appearing more Stern I guess when speaking back), and Taichi doesn’t come off like he’s been secretly agitated by Koushirou for five hundred years— like it generally seems just a product of the time, like it stemmed from outside frustrations and internal struggles and they find a way to move on. And even with all the respect he shows towards Taichi, I don’t think Koushirou is blinded by it. For all his issues with people and believing he can’t know them without knowing himself, I think Koushirou is actually pretty good at reading people to a certain degree (maybe not all of their cues, but definitely them on a core basis). There’s a scene in the novels where Yamato tries to vy for the leadership position, telling Taichi he’s too soft-hearted, and Koushirou jumps up immediately to Shut It Down, specifically saying he won’t recognize anyone else but Taichi. Surprised by this, Yamato tries to spin it as Koushirou just being one of “Taichi’s fans”, to which he also Shuts That The Fuck Down with an accurate description of why Yamato could never replace Taichi (spoiler: it’s that he’s too emotional and Yamato concedes because he can’t argue lmao). There’s a specific line in that scene which says Koushirou, “wasn’t speaking out of loyalty to any one party,” so I think the point of it all is that, objectively, Koushirou believes Taichi is the best leader solely because of his qualities and not just because of Koushirou’s own personal biases. He’s loyal to Taichi because he knows him, trusts him, and believes in him as a person (and he’s so right to). I really don’t think it’s some sort of hero worship-- I think Koushirou can look at Taichi and see all the cracks in his armor, but instead of hollow space he sees potential; he sees the pieces welded together with gold and all the good Taichi wants to do, can do, will do, and Koushirou is willing to support him, which sometimes means telling Taichi when he’s faltered along the path and not just going along with it. I just think this is a pretty profound thing from a character who spends a lot of time distancing himself from others, including his parents up until the episode they hash things out. Essentially I think he wants the best for Taichi and he’s not going to pull the proverbial punches when needed, and I think that’s good for Taichi on an emotional level sometimes. Like his mellow compliment. He respects Taichi, and the thing is, I feel like Taichi respects him in kind. I know there’s a scene where Koushirou gets mad at him and Taichi is like, “No please don’t be,” in 02 but I’m drawing a blank as to the why right now (it’s been longer since I rewatched that than 01 haha)… but it’s a very big difference imho on how Taichi reacts to other people being angry at him. Like, he doesn’t want to disappoint Koushirou, like his opinion of Taichi matters to him. I think Hikari falls into this, too, and Sora probably, but just not the point of this post. But in general Taichi realizes Koushirou’s strengths and utilizes them. The biggest example is when they try to open the gate and Taichi asks Koushirou for his opinion on how to place the cards. This flusters Koushirou because he’s not exactly an attention seeker. Nothing he has done in the series has been towards the goal of recognition-- just simply knowledge. And Taichi knows this. He knows Koushirou is smart and lifts him up and literally tells him he’s important and the group openly agrees (here’s also how the manhwa interpreted it lmao). It is so much more blatant in the 2020!Digimon series lmao but I do think it’s sprinkled in the OG series, too, with the kids being a little less overt and little more Complicated regarding these kinds of interactions. Also on the subject of bettering each other, Taichi is the sole reason Koushirou decides to go to the camp in the first place. This is something that used to be explored in a looott of fics back in the Hay Day but essentially my point here is: Taichi is someone who will bring Koushirou out of his comfort zone, but I don’t think he’d actually intend or suggest something that would bring him discomfort. The camp itself is very blatantly not Koushirou’s Scene, but we know he doesn’t make decisions lightly. He doesn’t do it to advance his social skills, either. He does it because Taichi asked him to and he trusts Taichi enough to have his best interests at heart and I think it does in some way lend to Koushirou coming out of his shell overall. But again, that could just be me  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. They trust each other! I went through a lot of that above I think so I don’t have more to add at the moment, but it’s worth pointing out specifically.

5. They’re also not Perfect! Sounds counter intuitive from everything else I’ve said, but it’s true?? It makes thinking about their dynamic really interesting and fun to explore because they feel more like real people with flaws and their relationships with each other and others have flaws and I just love when shows can do that?? Like just give subtle enough nuances to characters and their relationships so they just feel more realistic— like you could meet another person like any of them off the street?? I digresssss. But more specifically for taishirou it makes wanting to explore their relationship more interesting— what would happen in this one scenario? What is it like when they grow older? I think for instance communication is probably an issue of sorts between them for a while. I can’t come up with the words for it right now and there’s been better stated meta before haha, but I do especially think that Koushirou would have a hard time opening up on a more emotional level for some years and Taichi would eventually begin to see that in some way as rejection until he felt the need to say/do something about it. Like I think, accidentally, Koushirou keeps some of his walls up and maybe while Taichi’s scaled most of them effortlessly, there’s like a glass left that if they’re not trying to see it, almost looks like it’s not there. If that makes sense? But this isn’t something I think is permanent, because I think there’s a section in the novels, too, where Taichi is elated that Koushirou speaks openly and honestly with him, something like, “It made me happy you spoke so casually to me, like you opened your heart to me.” So I think in a matter of time Koushirou would open up more, it’s just hard because he struggles with a lot of self worth and just… existential dread—this child I swear??? But I’m very interested in considering how they grow more, grow into each other, the way they’d learn to work better together not only on saving the world, but I don’t know like, splitting up the chores. Better people have put better words together, but I tried…!

6. Friendship is a wonderful basis for a romantic relationship! It doesn’t have to be the basis of every ship/relationship, but I think it’s a grand thing to forge as a foundation and merged with everything above just makes it better to me. They can be best friends and lovers haha. Also just childhood friends into lovers is still a good trope, yes, thank you. But, I do also love their friendship just as friendship. Again, I just really love their dynamic on the whole—I just also really love them being in love lmao.

7. They fit a “Quiet, but profound” love kind of feeling for me and it will be my end! Again this is personal interpretation, but the way I kind of feel about them is that they’re this very quiet sort of love. Like it’s There and it’s grand, but it’s not as loud as some others might be. It’s small smiles and the brush of their hands, it’s the silent, “Are you alright?” It’s dinner reheated and left by the computer; a small neck massage because Taichi sees the way Koushirou’s scrunching his eyebrows together and that means he’s going to get a headache. It’s Koushirou deciding to buy expensive tickets for a soccer match, not because he’s dying to go, but because he wants to enjoy something with Taichi that he enjoys and it’s worth the pretty penny (still not over this being technically canon). It’s the quiet stare when Taichi comes home and everything’s overwhelming and Koushirou just knows he needs to talk it out, for someone to listen. It’s looking at the other person, knowing them, seeing all the cracks and thinking, “I want to wake up to this every morning.” It’s a gradual thing, but it’s also a built thing. Years of self discovery and growth, of being at each other’s side, of integrating into each other’s lives so that it’s just all natural. Years of mutual pining. Because I’m human and I need this.

8. They fit this quote and it fucks me up: 

Obviously none of this is to down play the enormous help that Agumon and Tentomon were to their respective growth. I also think the rest of the cast is wonderful and unique in their own way. Like I think Yamato pushes Taichi to Do Better in his own way, is the perfect foil, but also friend who much later on kind of Gets Him on a level others don’t necessarily, you know?? I honestly Love Them All So Much,  I just…. feel like I need to point that out haha. But there is something special in the Taichi/Koushirou dynamic that has kept me invested for over a decade and I’m terrible at the meta/word thing but these are definitely some of the things I love about the ship.

[smile-files]

melon’s comprehensive kinlist!

including name of character, source, image, short personality description, mbti, and then why i kin them! take your time to read, or don’t. i get it if you don’t want to scroll through an entire page just to psychoanalyze me lmao, have a good time

1. wirt (over the garden wall)

an angsty, socially awkward dweebus who nerds out over interior design and plays the clarinet. fears death. infp.

my first kin! for a month after rewatching otgw i desperately wanted to be him. to be like him. anything!! it eventually wore away but i still feel that urge sometimes - the urge to write r/im14andthisisdeep poetry and to distance one’s self from their siblings... and heck - his tape for sara is indeed just as awkward as he is but let me assure you that his poetry and clarinet are actually pretty cool. 9/10 i need to see him more. give me more otgw comics. ok thanks.

2. snufkin (moomins)

a philosophical vagabond of vague age. acts stoic all the time but can and will leave every social situation whether or not it’s humanly possible. infp.

after watching some 90s moomin (and later on moominvalley) i realized how much i liked him and how much i was like him; i soon daydreamed of myself, as snufkin, venting to someone. it made me very happy. i vibe with his general demeanor and ideals (minus his gripes about rules, i follow those by the book) and i love psychoanalyzing him. so fun. so fun.

3. arnold perlstein (the magic school bus)

overly-anxious jewish kid and certified expert on rocks and panicking. owns a pair of fire-proof pyjamas in a lovely shade of green. isfj.

you all saw this one coming. my early childhood lives in my mind rent free and such i can’t help but revisit arn and his character. i’ve always loved him (even in, and quite possibly especially in, the reboot) and i’ve always loved psychoanalyzing every single little thing he does (remember that one time he said he was traumatized? me too). i soon realized a lot of it was me projecting! so sue me. actually, sue miss frizzle. either one of them. i mean, if arnold really didn’t like the field trips he could’ve just filed a restraining order! ...just saying.

4. fluttershy (my little pony)

anxious pastel butterfly baby child. probably loves animals more than she loves herself. cries upon impact. isfj.

the pony i’d mentally point to and think “me”. i had like 10 fluttershy-related things growing up, like plushies or funko pops or that sdcc guardians of harmony thing. while not shy in the same manner, it was nice having a character i could relate to about so much! i cosplayed as her equestria girls form for my first comic con as well, so that’s pretty cool. in addition, me being a little lepidopterist means i was bound to love her. it was destiny~

5. lammy lamb (um jammer lammy)

socially anxious and generally anxious rock star who thinks literally everything is a guitar. has an emotional support girlfriend. infp.

man!! she embodies the feeling when you have to go to the eye doctor by yourself to get your glasses fixed or when you have to call someone over the phone... that sheer tension. the panic. the feeling of ‘i want to throw my entire being into the trash can’. but lammy has a bunch of friends to support her, so she’s cool. died by slipping on a banana peel! same, sister. and man would i like to shred on my ukulele now...

6. loser (bfb)

humble (screw bfb 21), supportive, well-loved cube dude who’s voice is like that of an angel. has an entire fanclub in his honor. enfj.

okay, no, i was never a cool kid or ‘popular’, really, but in school i was never bullied for whatever reason and was generally well-liked; i hung out with a squad of weirdos and yet the cool kids would often talk to me? and try to engage me?? despite my very apparent self-deprecation and awkwardness??? either way i feel like it’s such a blessing to me, that i have so many friends! i often feel like i don’t deserve it, but hey. it’s nice! and heck, back when i was on scratch i had a little fanclub myself :0

7. fan (inanimate insanity)

nerdy, friendly aspie boyo who subliminally vents via blogging. longs for stability in his life; was best friends with an egg. entp.

ever since i noted his aspergers-like behavior i became super attached to him - whether or not it was intentional, i found it nice having a character i can relate those feelings with. he’s really sweet and dorky and i love how he gets along with test tube, paintbrush, and lightbulb! it makes me really happy to see him whenever i do. it made me really sad when he was eliminated. what the heck. yeah i dunno i don’t kin him super strongly but i love him to bits.

8. spinel (steven universe the movie)

emotionally unstable clown girl who stood in a garden for thousands of years. patience of a saint. edge like an 11-year-old me. esfp.

uhh um uh totally wasn’t completely disturbed by how much i related to spinel after watching steven universe the movie... totally wasn’t reminded about how and why i hated middle school... totally didn’t rethink my life that day... that’s it. this is all i’m saying.

9. molly blyndeff (epithet erased)

innocent child who has a terrible father and a wonderful demeanor. teddy bear who needs a hug and a criminal as her new dad. infp.

epithet erased is adorable okay?? i knew molly was infp in the first few minutes... more precisely, i knew she was me. man!! i don’t relate directly to her angst but i still feel it. i can replicate her voice so accurately it’s scary. also, i coined a new thing -  ‘molly cake’! you have a chocolate cake, preferably with chocolate chips inside. use chocolate frosting and add little pastel star sprinkles! on top! my mom would make this cake for us anyway but then i realized it was literally just molly in cake form. and it’s just as sweet!

10. tommy coolatta (hlvrai)

a 30-something-year-old child who rocks a propeller hat. chose his last name off of a dunkin donuts menu despite the fact that he has a father. infp.

everyone loves tommy. he’s so sweet? and funny and loveable?? often times when i say something funny but bizarre, i just remember that tommy has said ‘soda helps you see faster’ and it makes me happy. if i’m going to be a weirdo i want to be the wholesome weirdo who loves soda and has a .png for a dog! also i legally have to kin tommy. i took a test for it (and i’m not complaining! i find it quite flattering).

11. twyla (monster high)

the daughter of the boogeyman; would very much like to boogey out of here, if you know what i mean. avoids people like the plague. infj.

seeing her role in the show and in the movies, i really love twyla? first of all, her voice is my new favorite thing. it’s like... gravelly? and soft? she’s the type of person who would very much like to disappear when in a crowd; thankfully, she literally can. i am drawn to any sarcastic, self-deprecating introvert who takes care of their bonkers extrovert friend (in this case howleen), as i often act as such myself. also the phrase ‘boogey sand’ will never leave my mind now :)

12. lapis lazuli (steven universe)

water gem who wants you to leave. cynical as all heck, sensitive as all hell. is there such thing as a gem therapist? just asking. infp.

in a similar way to twyla, i vibe with lapis’ sarcasm and wit as well as her emotional side. it can be kind of addicting, isolating one’s self. anywho, me and my sister used to do this routine of yelling up to each other this certain dialogue between lapis and peridot when peri was leaving for something (in which lapis replied to everything she said with dry ‘yeah’s); i would always do lapis’ part. i do reply a lot with ‘okay’ or ‘yeah’ or ‘cool’ to things people tell me, as i never really know what to say.

13. brad meltzer (xavier riddle and the secret museum)

shy jewish butterfly kid who absolutely hates time travel. attracted to people who know how to socialize like a normal human being. infp(?).

okay okay so... combine everything from arnold and everything from fluttershy and that’s basically what brad is to me. a jewish socially anxious nerd who loves butterflies and drawing. badabing badaboom, there i am. that’s it.

and boom! all of the kins i can think of, of course not including comfort characters like will byers from stranger things or isabelle from animal crossing. if you have any kins to suggest to me, i would love it! thank you for taking your time to read this, friend! have a fantastic day :)

[not-poignant]

You talk about worldbuilding for Mallory and Mount and I'm so curious, how do you approach worldbuilding? (If this is too big a question, I'm sorry!)

Oh this is a huge question, hmm, let me think. I’ll pare it down.

Mallory & Mount is a new world/universe, so there’s a lot things I need to sit and figure out:

1. The magical system (this is mostly figured out)2. The era (what technology do they have)3. The main location (upper or lower class, sub locations, and I’ll usually draw a city template to get a sense of locations)4. The culture (what food do they eat, what languages do they speak)5. The laws and law enforcement (is this a dystopia, a military state, a democracy)

But then actually I kind of have...my favourite worldbuilding tricks for enriching a world in a very fast-tracked way, and I make a point on focusing on the following:

1. What festivals or cultural holidays are celebrated, and how do my POV characfers feel about them? (This was great in Stuck on the Puzzle)

2. What music do they listen to? Often, in fantasy and science fiction, music isn’t ever mentioned. But like, following on from era and culture, are there any instruments predominating? Is it a world of live or manufactured music? Concerts or theatre or opera? Or something else?

3. Where are the character’s favourite places to eat? And can they afford their favourite places?

4. What media do they engage in? (Do they read newspapers? Listen to the radio? And if so, where are they getting their news from? What kind of world is this? Is it partisan? Is it owned by a monopoly? Is the news ever accurate?)

5. Who are the character’s friends and how close are they to their friends?

6. Animals, trees, geography, weather. Unique or known species? Even if the main characters don’t give a shit about these things, even a person who can’t stand nature will notice it, if it’s getting in their way.

Those six questions are very grounding for me. They will create details that (ideally) anchor readers into the story. Because most people can imagine different kinds of music (hearing), the tastes of different kinds of food (taste), the feeling that festivals bring to them (nostalgia), different types of friendship (connection), or knowing that some places to engage in media are better/worse than other places (politics).

*

And I usually sit down and time myself for an hour, and then just brainstorm worldbuilding stuff. I’ll usually start on notes and notepaper, and then begin to categorise everything in a journal formally (I have one for each major story. Even The Golden Age that Never Was has its own Paperblanks journal).

From there, I’ll transcribe everything into a core worldbuilding document, and begin to see where the holes are.

Not including research online and in books, I don’t like to spend more than about 15 solid hours working on characters and world (usually across two or three months at least, because I like to let the information percolate with the plot, and also research does take a lot of extra time). I have to limit myself, because otherwise I will stay in ‘worldbuilding’ and never come out of it.

I actually haven’t gotten terribly far in my Mallory & Mount worldbuilding. I have the magical system, but because I’ve been doing so much research for my Doctrine of Labyrinths fic, all my energy for worldbuilding is actually going into that right now.

I have a lot of other little tricks I’ve learned for myself over time, like, ‘list 4 taverns, 4 restaurants, 4 other establishments, and name the decor and mood for each spending only 5 minutes on each one’ etc. I basically make worldbuilding into a lot of mini games, lmao. 

God I love creating new worlds.

[irhinoceri]

Yesterday I finished watching The Crown season 4 and then watched The Princess Switch 2.

Talk about whiplash.

I see The Crown as a modern day Shakespearean tragedy...  probably as dubiously historically accurate as Shakespeare, but nonetheless a depiction of the royal family as the most emotionally stunted, pathetically useless bunch of people who cling desperately to a fiction that they are special, refusing to solve their problems by turning away from the privilege/curse of aristocracy, though they’ve been stripped of all actual power and purpose, and see how that masquerade turns ever more macabre and bizarre as time goes on... to the point where I feel like Peter Morgan is already drafting the “Harry and Meghan say Fuck You All” season in his head as the series finale and has finally decided what the theme of this fucking show is...

It’s interesting to see how every season the characters get nastier and more miserable. It’s definitely a choice. Princess Margaret has been the person who complained the most about being in the royal family from season 1, but each time anyone asks her why she doesn’t just wash her hands of the whole thing, she refuses. The scene where she shouts at her friend (the Priest? can’t remember his name) really sums it all up. She complains and complains about how horrible and dehumanizing being royalty is, but anytime someone offers a way out, suddenly it’s all bluster and “I am the daughter of an emperor king! You are common!” which I think is really very brilliantly done. Just when you start to feel sorry for Margaret, or Charles, or whomever, the very next moment or next episode they behave monstrously towards someone else and refuse to give up the privilege and prestige that comes from being royal even as they complain about the limitations on personal freedom or the feeling of uselessness that comes from having no actual political power.

It’s like watching people being devoured by a monster but any time someone holds out a hand and says “here you go, you can escape, you just need to get away from the monster” they scream and bat the hand away and say that the monster is Who They Are and You Common Lot Could Never Understand.

Similarly, Prince Phillip telling Diana that her problem is that she thinks the world revolves around her instead of Queen Elizabeth was darkly hilarious, because he spent so much of the earlier seasons whinging and moaning about being of secondary importance to his wife. It’s like... he surely thinks he has had a breakthrough and finally has his priorities straight, but telling Diana that was just so ridiculous I wanted to smack him through the screen. Being told your entire existence should be revolving around your mother-in-law, who reacts like a boiled fish when you try to interact with her, just has a different feel to it than a man being told he needs to suck it up and devote his existence to making his wife happy. So anyway, Philip, go shove your boot up Charles’ ass and leave Diana alone. (In that scene Diana was telling Phillip she wanted to divorce Charles and Phillip was irritated that she couldn’t just grin and bear it). 

After that I switched over almost immediately to the “yay vague European royalty Christmas romantic hijnks!” of The Princess Switch and it’s like... yikes. I don’t know what I was expecting. I honestly just felt like I needed something stupid and fluffy after the ulcer inducing fair that was the Crown, but lmao... these “vague royal” Christmas movies really are terrible because they are predicated on the idea that being a member of a royal family in a constitutional monarchy is a good thing that anyone should want. (Whereas The Crown has reached peak “this is an abomination” levels.)

Anyway then I watched “His House” which is a very disturbing movie that is part haunted house/cursed narrative and part genocide/refugee story. Wunmi Mosaku (Ruby from Lovecraft Country) stars and is great in it.

At one point, just after arriving at their new house in England, she and her husband see an old white lady shuffling along the street mumbling to herself, and they joke to each other “Look, it’s their queen.” “Where’s Charles?” and I was like... we’ve come full circle.