#I love their interactions and how they developed

[crabsnpersimmons]

What if y/n from have you eaten? Au had eating disorders?

oou! good question!

yes! that is definitely a scenario i would like to explore in the fic when i get to it. also why i want to write the fic with multiple different Y/Ns so we can explore different experiences and relationships with food

there is a "main Y/N" who is a glutton who likes to try anything and everything. i haven't done the research for it so i can't say whether or not they have an eating disorder, but they DO have an unhealthy relationship with food as a result of being shamed for their appetite. so that, coupled with their job that emphasizes appearances and first impressions, they eat smaller meals, seemingly healthier meals, safe meals. but when they're alone at the restaurant with the DCA boys, without having to worry about who sees them or how much they eat, they're able to enjoy their food openly and honour their body's cravings.

[thelostgirl21]

So, you are telling me that Jaskier used to wear outfits the color of the sea in Season 1...

That he constantly complains about his feet hurting, or struggling with keeping his footing while having to wear boots (is the problem his actual boots or a lack of early practice in life?!)...

That he got all excited at the thought that Geralt might catch him a fish to eat...

That a huge part of his identity and the pride he takes in himself is tied to his singing voice and abilities...

That his songs have been described as having the power to sing a king off his clothes...

That helping his best friend in the whole wide world bathe after rubbing soothing chamomile onto his lovely bottom is typical friendship behavior to him...

That he vulnerably asked for Geralt to get away for a while with him, and head to the (west?) coast, in the hopes that he might be able to prove himself a worthy [travel] companion (works whether you interpret the interest as romantic or queerplatonic).

And then he basically implied that (returning home with Geralt?) might be what would please him most.

That the very first thing he did after Geralt returned to him and got him out of his cell in Season 2, is take off his top and jump into the freaking nearest body of water!

That he's hypersensitive to the way people on land start stinking after a while (including himself), and will openly suggest they should bathe (or downright bathe them himself)!

That he talks with animals...

That you had him fall in love with a human prince in Season 3...

... then had him sing a song about a human prince that falls in love with a siren to Ciri right before you had him go meet with said prince, share his first kiss with him, and make love to him in a woodshed!

... only to show a clip from "Sirens of the Deep" revealing that the Netflix version of Jaskier is from

Bremervoord

a.k.a. The vassal state of Cidaris and one of the places that goes the furthest west into the sea on the Continent!

Bremervoord, with an economy running primarily on pearls fishing.

Bremervoord, the place where the story of Jaskier's Season 3 song, "A Little Sacrifice" takes place...

A place where a prince (though I think it's a duke in the actual short story) meets a siren, falls in love with her, and willingly leaves his human life behind to follow her at sea.*

*according to the song, at least! And I'm not sure it ends well for the prince of the song, because that part about him sinking to darkest night sounds a bit ominous if you ask me... The book's short story has a different conclusion.

You're basically telling me that Jaskier comes from a place on the coast that goes far into the sea to the west, a place where merpeople and humans occasionally interact, and that he didn't really feel like talking about where he's from, because he felt like the only way for him to ever be able to "become himself" was to leave his home behind...

... AND YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO LATCH ONTO THAT POPULAR MERMAN!JASKIER THEORY?!

OR INSTINCTIVELY START DEVELOPING A BUNCH OF HEADCANONS ABOUT IT?

For example :

What if Jaskier keeps repeating that "he's just a bard" not because he's actually dismissing how good, influential, or powerful he is...

... but because he chose to give up his tail to permanently become a human, and he doesn't like to be reminded that he doesn't quite "fully belong" with humanity, because there's something a bit different and "unique" about his singing.

What if, growing up as a merboy, he'd kept feeling like he was born in the wrong body and with the wrong species given his brethren's attitude about singing as an artform.

What if when merpeople sing, they typically rely on pure melodies without lyrics, and argue that only humans and other species of the land - with their inferior vocal capabilities - must rely on something as primitive as words and lyrics to inspire emotions and make ideas take root into other people's minds.

What if they do have a singing speech pattern, but when it comes to artistic expression, the songs are purely melodic.

But Jaskier, after listening to some of the folk songs that the local bards enjoy singing by the fire at the beach, often accompanied by a lute or other instruments, fell in love with the way the words of those songs flow and sound.

Perhaps he revealed himself to Essi then, and that, instead of being scared of him, she agreed to show him how to play the lute, speak her language, and sing the way humans do.

And when he did fully grasp the beauty and the power of using verbal poetry into songs, he knew he could never look back.

What if Essi was the first person to ever really see him for who he was and treat him as family, hence why he loves her like a little sister.

Maybe "the Lettenhoves" are basically a group of merpeople with no actual blood relation, that lost their own families and were rejected by them when they chose to make the full transition from merperson to human.

By pretending to be blood relatives, they've managed, however, to realistically pass as a large human noble family, acquire a bunch of lands and estates over the years that is passed to each new generation that wants them, and each new member is given a certain amount of money when they become one of the Lettenhoves to begin their new life on land!

They aren't extremely close, because they each have their own lives and personal ventures (very few go into singing careers), but they are still people that understand what being a human born at sea feels like, and that will be there to offer each other help and support if need be!

And so, Jaskier was able to go study at the University of Oxenfurt and learn as much of the human world and its arts as he could!

But, while his voice remains a bit more powerful and influential than most humans that were born on land, that influence comes with a "curse"...

Most people that instinctively fall under the charm of his melodies (note: Jaskier can use his voice to make an audience more susceptible to anger and annoyance when he sings, too. An especially useful skill to have when you're relying on food being thrown at you to eat... Hence why Geralt's lack of emotional response to his singing when they met was so intriguing!) will typically only care about how they make them feel, rather than how Jaskier himself was feeling when he wrote his songs.

Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri are all immune to his siren charms - and dwarves appear to be more resistant as well - but, while his songs inspire people, and hearing him sing them "live" with his actual voice tends to make people become instantly infatuated with him (or immediately hate him, should Jaskier wish to repel rather than attract them)...

... they rarely ever see him or seemingly attempt to connect with him on an intimate, emotional level, like they would with another human being.

And so, every time Jaskier is reminded of how much influence he appears to have over how people see the world when he uses his voice, Jaskier's tendency to remind them that he's "just a bard" is because he wishes people would connect with his humanity, too, rather than what he can do.

Regardless of him being able to pass as someone that was born on land and started his life in a fully human body, he knows that his voice will always carry some remnant of his siren abilities.

And that this difference appears to be preventing him from emotionally and physically connecting with other human beings that weren't born at sea like him, the way he wishes he could.

And so, that's why he was initially hesitant to sing for Radovid, and he kept insisting that he wasn't in a "singing mood" that day.

Because he knew that, the moment Radovid heard his singing voice, he might stop listening to him and trying to connect.

But there was something in the way Radovid insisted - while asking for Jaskier to pick his favorite song and showing a sincere curiosity about listening to what pleased him most - that made Jaskier ultimately choose to risk it.

And, while Radovid was obviously affected by the sound of his voice (to the point where he felt the need to pretend his speechlessness was caused by drunkenness), it was also very clear that he'd been listening.

Not only was his gaze very sharp and his eyes clear and bright while Jaskier was singing - seemingly attempting to analyse every note and word - but, for once, the things Radovid was complimenting him about weren't related to his ability to make people feel and experience things...

For once, what Radovid was claiming made Jaskier so special wasn't the beauty or power of his voice, or how catchy the melodies of the songs he'd sang to him were.

It wasn't even about how Jaskier's lyrics had made him feel.

He'd told Jaskier that what made him so special was his ability to see people for who they really are rather than who they pretend to be.

He'd essentially told him that his ability to truly comprehend those around him was his gift - that he had a unique ability to connect with them at the core... the very thing Jaskier had always felt that he was lacking.

And when Jaskier pushed him for more, all Radovid told him was that he didn't know yet, but was determined to figure it out.

"You connect strongly with others and my desire is to understand and connect with you."

That is what Radovid had taken away from who he was, even after having heard him sing, and Jaskier couldn't help but feel like he'd found a kindred spirit in that human.

Someone stuck in a world and a birth family that simply couldn't understand and accept him as he was - constantly hiding parts of himself to survive.

Radovid had then agreed to help him with the whole situation with Rience - despite the fact that Jaskier hadn't used any song to attempt to suggest he should, just genuinely asked for his help.

And - if that hadn't been enough - that prince had gone one step even further by asking him if Geralt knew how lucky he was to have him, after Jaskier had been singing about his self-worth issues when it came to relationships and his fear of never being good enough - or human enough - for a fellow human (or mutated human) partner.

He'd been listening to him.

He might have been born on land, and he might not have been immune to Jaskier's siren abilities, but Radovid still hadn't lost sight of who he was, nor been tempted to start obsessing about owning him or treating him like a prized possession.

And so, Jaskier tentatively begins to allow himself to hope...

Until Radovid does something truly unexpected that none of his prior human, elven or dwarven suitors or lovers had ever done before...

Learn his song.

Sirens are typically immune to the power that another siren's voices carry... until they fall in love.

One of the ways to know if a fellow merperson is alterously or romantically drawn to you is to sing back one of their own melodies to them, and see how they will respond.

Should they feel that instinctive, near irresistible pull towards the melody, and vice versa, then the two sirens will often start trying to discover and explore different ways they can learn to harmonize and use their voices to complement each other's, and create new shared melodies that will resound through the sea.

And, for the very first time in his life, Jaskier finally understands how people feel when they listen to him sing.

Despite the fact that the "siren's melody" being sung back to him is a human song he wrote, with human lyrics, accompanied by human instruments...

Despite the fact that Radovid himself is most definitely not a siren but very much human - fumbling a bit with Jaskier's lute, visibly nervous, too shy to allow his voice to rise above a whisper...

To Jaskier, it's the most beautifully mesmerizing "siren's melody" he's ever heard in his existence! It's filled with warmth, love, understanding, a promise of unconditional acceptance and safety...

It's absolutely intoxicating, he can barely breathe, feels like he's on the very edge of losing his sanity, and it takes all the power he has to avoid launching himself right at him!

And if a human can make him feel this way singing back to him a song filled with poetry and lyrics - rather than a classic, traditional siren's melody - then maybe there's never been anything wrong with Jaskier or the way he's always preferred to sing!

His people made him feel unwanted, but the sea never did! It probably would have been welcoming to a lute-playing merman singing like a bard, if his people hadn't been such close-minded arses!

Jaskier feels at home on land and has never once regretted his choice, but maybe he still has a right to also be a child of the sea, regardless of him having ultimately chosen a pair of legs over his fins!

And maybe Radovid would love to see parts of his old home some day - even if they can only access the surface of it, rather than go explore everything hidden in the water's depths (unless Yennefer has a spell that would allow Radovid to breathe under water as he does. Because Jaskier would never trust a sea witch with Radovid's life!).

And if Jaskier himself can be mesmerized by Radovid's song and feel like he would let that man lead him anywhere and do whatever he wants with him, without any desire to own and control him; maybe he'd simply been trying to connect with the wrong people.

Radovid is the first person he's ever met that seems to be able to connect with both the human and the siren part of him. And when Jaskier offers to help him work on his lute playing and singing, what he's truly saying is that he wants them to learn to harmonize their voices together and create their own melodies...

It's an intimate need Jaskier still has, and he's finally found himself a mate that appears to fully get him, and be able to fulfil those needs.

Of course, then the whole mess with Cirilla happens, and for a moment there Jaskier loses faith that any of it was ever real!

Who was he kidding!? The Redanian Intelligence kept insisting that they knew everything about everyone! Maybe they'd figured out Jaskier used to be a merman, done their research, noticed that Jaskier "fancied" the prince, and instructed him to surprise him and trick him into lowering his defenses, by courting him the way a fellow merman would!

He really should have known!

But then, when he finds Radovid alone, lost, and hiding, he realizes that Radovid had never meant to trick or hurt him.

Radovid had just been genuinely afraid, and trying to deal with the threat of a looming war as best he could by seeking Ciri's help.

And now, the war he'd attempted preventing from happening had begun, he'd clearly internalized Jaskier's earlier blame, and that spoon of a man was sufficiently bonded to him by now that he might just allow himself to be captured and killed if he doesn't do something about it!

And then, Jaskier himself might end up symbolically 'washing ashore' somewhere and letting himself die of heartbreak, for fuck's sake!

Because merpeople are dramatic as fuck and they feel the loss of friends and family in a way that's devastatingly sharp. Being rejected by a queerplatonic or romantic partner - or having them die on them - is the worst type of injury one could inflict upon them!

When he'd sung about having also survived, no thanks to Geralt, he'd fully meant it! That loss had nearly killed him!

If he wants to survive this, he needs to figure out a way to keep Radovid safe, and then make sure that Geralt and the rest of his family are safe also, because he doesn't know how he'd manage to continue to live in this world if the war ends up taking everything from him in a way where all hope would be lost of ever getting any of them back!

[rockybloo]

Ive recently just started doing art, and i apologize in advance if you've gotten this question before frequently, do you have any tips for beginner artists and how did you find your art style? I'm constantly amazed by how you do anatomy and expressions, their so distinct and expressive!

Thank you!

And I actually don't get asked a lot of questions about myself when it comes to art. Many come to this account so I can put my OCs on the phone for questions, so this is lowkey a new question. I might have been asked it before years ago but I am better at drawing now.

HOWEVER, I have to state that I am simply a hobbyist artist and not a freelancer or professional so my tips will be kinda off brand compared to their word. ANYWAYS...

THINGS THAT I FIND HELPFUL FOR ARTING (besides practicing because I mean...we all know the only way to get better is to practice so it'd be kinda redundant say it - we all know to do it)

Practice drawing in pen. Pen can't be erased. So instead of sketching and erasing and sketching and erasing, it is nonstop sketching. It helped me a lot with speeding up my sketching, even in digital, because I got used to making little goofy mistakes. It also helps to fight perfectionism

Use references. I know that's just as redundant as saying to practice but references are genuinely underrated. Whether they be colors or poses - references are your friend. I use them whenever I am having a hard time drawing something.

Redraw things. I occasionally redraw memes or scenes from animated movies with my OCs. It's stranger really helpful, especially if there is a certain expression in the original image because it lets you play around with how to draw it to catch the correct vibes. PLUS redrawing funny stuff helps take the stress off creating art because it reminds you not every drawing has to be amazing.

Don't neglect your body when you draw. STOP DRAWING WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY, THIRSTY, OR NEED THE BATHROOM! THE DRAWING CAN WAIT - YOU WILL HAVE A MUCH EASIER TIME CREATING ART WHEN YOU ARE NOT SUFFERING FROM THE HUMAN CONDITION.

Stretch your hands. Drawing puts strain on them and your fingers will ache and your hand may get stiff. Practically hand and finger stretches keeps your hands happy. I do them all the time just because I use my hands a lot for art AND my day job.

Numbers are the devil and the algorithm is a warlord. If you post your art online, it's easy to get into the mindset that you aren't good enough because you have low interactions on your work. THIS IS FALSE - NUMBERS DO NOT EQUAL QUALITY. It's better to draw for yourself and the enjoyment of art rather than drawing to attract a fanbase and attention

As for how I figured out my art style, what you all see is the result of me taking bits and pieces from things I like and blending it all together. An art style is really just figuring out what stuff you like from other people's styles and doing your own thing with it.

To break down some of my own style, the way I shade the underside of noses is something I got from Soul Eater since I loved how the anime marked noses with little dots.

The way I draw lips was a journey. I used to only line the top lip like how the manga for D Gray Man would. Then I saw how Steven Universe stylized fuller lips and sort of started playing with that. Over the course of me exploring - I found more online black artists and learned from how they shade and render lips.

Style is very much something that takes a long time to develop. I've been active online since 2011 and it took me until this year to finally figure out a style I really vibe with.

[flowersforchoso]

Grandmaster and I.

cw: enemies to lovers(?), power imbalance, fluff if you squint, a love triangle trope if you squint harder. female reader a/n: i've had this sitting in my drafts for the longest and only now decided to post. also, english isn't my first language, so bear with me regarding any grammar errors or weird construction/phrasing. thankue

the lin kuei trio was on a mission when you attacked them. they trespassed on your turf, and you ambitiously tried to take out all three of them at once failing unsurprisingly, since you were no match for the skilled assassins.

you're easily subdued and taken captive, dispossessed of your weapons and barraged with interrogations. after discovering you don't pose much of a threat, they deliberate on what to do with you, ultimately deciding to keep you around as a maidservant of sorts.

you're subjected to demeaning labour in and around the lin kuei base, tasked with all manner of chores. you're the designated errand girl. you hate it here

a period of close monitoring has elapsed, and the grandmaster, out of the goodness of his heart, deems it fit to convert you into one of the grunts, the lowest ranked. he believes your sheer will and rudimentary fighting skills would be beneficial to the clan, no matter how small.

so you're set on the path to becoming a part of the lin kuei. once just a lowly rogue turned maid, now subject to tedious training to become a full-fledged assassin.

while you impress since you have a background in fighting, you're still not up to par with the clan's standards. but there's a development: a new relationship emerges.

you and tomas have begun to be on friendly terms. it's not that surprising, considering his personality and you both being on the younger side—a connection was bound to happen

casual greetings turned into sparring together, and progressed into going hunting. together

bihan notices the budding... friendship, (if he could call it that) that's supposedly going on between you two and isn't pleased by it, but turns a blind eye instead. it doesn't concern him

it isn't until he sees you both return from a hunt (engaging in tomas' pastime) while holding hands, then later in a compromising position—with you ontop of him to conclude a training session—that he decides to take matters into his hands. such salacious behaviour was prohibited on lin kuei grounds, and he had enough of your impudence

you're forbidden from training with smoke, but not without a lengthy verbal lashing first. you find it unfair and voice your displeasure, which he interprets as insubordination

you're punished with running a couple of laps and close to a hundred pushups. he won't go easy on you just because you happen to be a woman, despite protests from kuai liang

you detest him for alot of things, but mostly for coming between the only interaction that was keeping you sane in this hellish place. he isn't fond of you either, as he finds you rather incompetent, ill-bred, impertinent.

the time has come to take your training to the next level: missions. it's your first to properly evaluate your skills, and you're nothing short of excited, hoping to be paired with tomas

however, bihan senses your enthusiasm as rather devious and pairs you up with himself instead, shattering your hopes. and this becomes the case with subsequent missions

for a lack of better words, you're attached to his hip. you've become his personal project of sorts. he wants to forge you into a warrior you'll never be on your own merit and thinks you and tomas are distracting eachother, enforcing distance between the both of you

your training henceforth is with him only. he's always on the defensive while you attack, but it seems you can never land a hit, no matter what you do.

cue the outpouring of criticisms and scoldings, laced with threats of sending you back to scrubbing floors if you fail to improve and you fight back tears as the harsh words tumble out of his mouth effortlessly

but you refuse to allow his condescension bother you for long. instead, you turn it around for good as motivation to do better. you go the extra mile with training, and in due time, it yields positive results—you've tremendously improved. and finally get rewarded with the lin kuei uniform, marking your official initiation into the ranks.

during the ceremony, the grandmaster's eyes are fixed on you. once it's over and done with, he summons your presence. in private.

you know where this is going and there are no surprises when he finally opens his mouth to query you. you slightly modified the lin kuei uniform to fit your fashion sensibilities, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the new initiates.

rather than cower in fear when his judgemental eyes peer into yours, demanding an explanation for your indiscretion, you meet his eyes in defiance, stating your reason as an aesthetic choice.

bihan is not the least bit surprised by your little rebellion, and for some reason, he lets it slide (a first for him) only dismissing you with a vague warning of know your limits, which has you fighting the urge to roll your eyes.

the days roll by... you've adjusted quite nicely to your new identity, even going as far as shedding your old appearance to blend into the predominantly male environment—you cut your hair short. unbeknownst to you, your new appearance has achieved the opposite effect: increased your feminine charms rather than suppress it

the grandmaster obviously notices this change, but doesn't comment on your business.

however, he doesn't understand why he's suddenly become aware of anything concerning you that he would normally not care for such as how subtly flirty foes become in the heat of combat with you

or tomas lingering stare on you, which you reciprocate with a longing of your own

or johnny's unwanted presence and comments upon seeing you, dubbing you the lin kuei eye candy

or is it his brother softly praising you for your quick thinking while on a mission?

even his attitude towards you has slowly shifted—he doesn't speak to you as harshly, doesn't shut down your requests for needing breaks.

not to mention, how his eyes keep wandering in your direction for reasons unknown to him. your mere presence is becoming rather bothersome when it wasn't much of an issue before.

bi-han wants to put a stop to whatever this is, and his plans to resolve his personal dilemma comes as a shock, not just to you, but to kuai liang and tomas as well

out of nowhere, you're reassigned from active duty to the administrative sphere. according to him, your skills are formidable, but they're needed elsewhere. so in a nutshell, you were basically being demoted

he doesn't provide more reasons for this decision despite his brothers attempts to cajole an answer from him, and citing how much of an asset you were on the battlefield.

his words were final, and there you were—not even back to square one. for you were neither seen nor heard of, just lost among a sea of cogs in a machinery

the passage of time has flown rather quickly since then, bringing attendant changes—both bad and good ones

kuai liang and tomas have charted a new course; they left the lin kuei after a series of disputes with bi-han concerning his leadership and vision

and this saddened you when the news reached your ears, especially because tomas never deemed it fit to inform you or include you in his plans. while you were forbidden from interacting with him, he could still find a way to communicate with you if he wanted to

you're hurt by this, but you know it's probably incomparable to how bi-han must've felt about having his brothers turn their backs on him.

since you've been demoted and now in a limited position, you've not had any proximity to him. infact, you barely see him outside of general morning assembly and drills.

a part of you wants to know how he's fairing with this new development, so you decide to go to him where you know you'll no doubt find him—the meeting room, at dusk.

with a teacup in hand, you braved the door that holds the domineering figure within. knocking softly, tentatively; you hear an intimidating, "enter." inhaling sharply, you step inside

bi-han is a bit taken aback by your presence though his expression doesn't betray this. he is stoic and composed, as always

"i did not request your presence." he coldly states matter-of-factly, making you gulp. a slight tremble to your fingers as you clutch the teacup closer to your chest

"yes, you did not" you affirm. "but i thought it appropriate to see you after learning of recent events." you proceed to gently set the teacup on the table, his unblinking stare fixed on you

"i don't need your coddling or anyone else's for that matter." he sneers, clearly insulted by your gesture but you don't let it affect you as much.

"i know you don't need anyone or anything" you utter in hushed tones, speaking more to yourself than him before continuing, "but... just accept this, please."

your appeal is met with complete silence, and without feeling like you've overstayed your welcome, you bow your head slightly. "i'll be on my way now." you announce, taking to your heels, and gliding past numerous masked lin kuei members on the corridor as you head towards your station.

the tea you served bi-han remained untouched. and by morning, it was cleared from the table. but the days after that empathetic move of yours ushered in many surprises...

it was nighttime, the sky outside pitch black, when an invitation was sent to your quarters in the form of bi-han himself, standing tall by your doorframe, towering and imposing, requesting you to accompany him on a... stroll?

you barely had time to process what was happening in the moment. your fingers reached to adjust the neckline of your robe, showcasing your nervousness—a movement that didn't escape his piercing gaze—before going along with him

of course, since it was close to midnight, the base wasn't teeming with much activity, as most of the lin kuei members had already retired for the night, so your nightly engagement went mostly unnoticed as you walked alongside him. the cool night air brushing past your skin

he doesn't say much to you, and you don't either, besides a few curt responses here and there when he asked about your duties and such.

before you knew what was happening, you were right back to your living quarters with bi-han escorting you. you bid him goodnight, to which he nodded and went about his way.

you're still in shock, in disbelief at what had occurred, and the awkwardness of it all preoccupied your mind for days on end. you desired answers to a barrage of questions that circled your mind. but the answers did not come until several nightly engagements later....

following tender touches under the gleaming moonlight

[kentuckyfriedmegumi]

my thoughts on chapter 270 and why it feels like a slap in the face to megumi's character

overall, i didn't HATE the chapter but there are so many elements in it that really had me jaded. i'm gonna yap and i can't guarantee that this will be a short post.

i've been saying ever since the series ending announcement came out that i would like to see a good, emotionally-driven conversation with the trio; specifically, between yuji and megumi. not because of itafushi or whatever, but because this final arc has been leading up to megumi's return and him and yuji being reunited. we get 266 and 268 and both of those are good for there relationship, but we should have gotten MORE.

opening up at tsumiki's grave was such a good opening for megumi. i've BEEN saying that his character deserves a good conclusion and a lot of people think that that's what 266 and 268 were, but i think that there should have been one more, final meg-centric focus for his story to really feel like it's ending. unfortunately, tsumiki's funeral is like one page and we immediately jump to CG side characters that i (frankly) do not care for.

we return to our trio characters with the megumi and hana scene which….. personal opinions and thoughts aside, i thought was fine???? like it just felt so out of place and like really a meghana joke… of all things?? i was never a fan of hana's character, which is sad bc i hesitate to say that she IS a character with the way that gege has written her to be a plot device. like what are her motivations? her ideas? her goals?? they are all megumi-centric and it just falls so flat. she likes the IDEA of megumi and she doesn't actually KNOW him, nor does she understand his life, his struggles, his beliefs, or his pain.

it's this very reason why i am SO GLAD that megumi rejects her and i am HOPING that gege doesn't shoehorn in a meghana or a itazawa relationship. not only does it feel cheap, but they don't actually KNOW each other. they've barely interacted, both girls just like yuji and megumi on a superficial level. if there was more time to develop them, have them together and interact, then i would be much less opposed, but at this point having them get together would just be throwing in a relationship for the sake of throwing in a relationship.

on a personal level though, i wrote a separate post on megumi's and yuji's parallels and i fully believe for that reason that they ARE soulmates, whether or not it's romantic, and they deserve a romantic interest that understands them on that kind of level.

anyway, back to it. the rest of the chapter is more setup for what's to come. it feels like there may be a jjk 2, or a spin off, or like an epilogue short series to come after the series ends. honestly, i'm not sure how i feel about that, and i will hold off until the last chapter before i state my final peace.

but overall, i think that this all could have been done sooner, i think that this chapter could have been 269, and i think that the characters should have been the focuse. the MAIN characters, not the random CG side cast that we haven't seen in like a year. this chapter was fine, just fine. was it bad? no. was it good? absolutely not. if i had to rate it, i would say it's like a 4… maybe a 5 out of 10. i think that this all COULD have been great, but with the time that we have left and with the way that series is going, i'm hesitant to say that this will be a good ending.

i really, really do not want any canon relationships in here for the sake of giving our main cast a love interest. please, gege, if you're going to do it, make it fucking meaningful.

yap over.

[truearchangel]

Excuse me do you have any affiliates or main and rules on shipping? I don’t see it in your rules.

Inu / you’ve reached the mun.

I am far too old to understand those first two things. See, I took a break from tumblr for a while (3-5 years) and when I came back ya’ll changed the rules on me. Affiliated in my day was when someone was part of a RPG Event Blog. Those things that would define their own world and have “applications” for characters. Now ya’ll use it for something else and my ancient ass hasn’t caught on to what it means yet.

As for shipping! I’m a shipper, I’m a fanfic romance writer, I love love. Any form of it. You can come at me anytime for a potential ship. I just don’t “instant” ship and I prefer slow burns. Though a lot can develop screaming at each other in the dms. @shiningxfates and I have done that so much with her muse and mine. It just takes the brain.

I feel I’m pretty easy going and I try to be a nice and approachable person? I just get burned out in social interactions or unsure how to talk to people. I throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks most of the time when it comes to plotting with people.

[epickiya722]

kiris////Shima stans are always saying that bkdk shippers hate on him because he "gets in the way of the way" lmfao, when 90% of bkdk fanfics I've read have always featured kiri being bakugo's best friend/support system/one of the people that bakugo trusts a lot.

Meanwhile I can't say the same about izuku who in many kr///bk fics is someone who bakugo hates and kiri has to convince him to be nice to izu/bakugo's bratty brother who teases him about kiri/never included in any of the stuff bakugo chooses to do with the "bakusquad" ( who are the closest people to him)/ only brought up as the "President of the kr//bk fanclub or whatever).

The thing is I love bakugo and deku' s relationship platonically as well and it kind of hurts when their canon developing relationship gets trashed on in non-bkdk fics.

Being a Kirishima fan and someone who does ship KiriBaku (it was one of my first ships, I'm just not as "active" nowadays... more so because one ship on my mind is BurnBunny... leave me alone 😭), that HURTS.

Like, no??? Get in the way of a ship? Yeah, suuuure BkDks definitely think that way of Kirishima. Suuuuure.

Oh, give me a break!

How can Kirishima get in the way of a relationship, however you see it, that already was there? Bakugou and Midoriya have always been in each other's lives! Kirishima existing isn't changing that fact.

And it's not like in canon Midoriya ever saw Kirishima as the bad guy or anything. In fact, whether people actually see it, he acknowledges that Bakugou formed a bond with him. And to be honest, Midoriya never seemed jealous to me, that given he formed his own bonds with other people. Saddened by the period of time him and Bakugou were distant, sure. But jealous? Yeah... no. But that's just me.

Anyways...

Okay, the "this character gets in the way of my ship" have always been bullshit to me. Excuse my language.

Like... that character's existence is stopping you from making the decision to ship your ship? Yeah, no. Maybe it's because I will ever ship characters who barely or none interaction at all, but I won't hate on a character for simply existing and view them as some "obstacle".

I feel like, just in general really for any ship, when it comes to hating on BakuDeku, people come up with anything to "justify" their hatred and sometimes said hatred leads to them attacking people and they just want to hate.

I get feeling frustrated and wanting to release said frustration. However, some people genuinely just want to attack people.

If you hate the ship, okay? You don't have to come up with false statements to "prove" it.

Again, coming from a Kirishima fan here, using the "BakuDekus hate him because he gets in the way of their ship" seems... unfair to Kirishima.

I say that because it's like they're reducing Kirishima to simply a makeshift obstacle/excuse to say "I don't like BakuDeku". Are you that pressed people don't talk about your ship or whatever?

[wilcze-kudly]

Someone once said Aang and Katara’s romantic interactions have no impact on their relationship. Which I find a ridiculous notion, given how

One: The Series genuinely wasn’t built around romance.

Two: We do gradually see the characters develop feelings for each other more across the show.

https://www.tumblr.com/melu-lis/762094698681745408/one-of-the-most-baffling-thing-about-kataang-to-me?source=share

Honestly, the fact that Katara and Aang's relationship has that strong aspect of friendship is one of my fave parts of it.

Like, maybe this is an unpopular opinion and I'm just a degenerate little dyke but I'm so so tired of romances having to follow the typical usually heterosexual conventions that have been set ib place both irl and in media.

And not to sound like an old man shaking my fist at a cloud, but in an era where romance is very standardised (look at the plethora of YA romance books selling basically the same plotline but in different aesthetics). It's nice to find a relationship that doesn't fully fit that mold.

Like people have joked about this but Aang and Katara really do follow the famously memed lesbian relationship stereotype of "we've been besties for ages and we've kissed a few times and she's said she loves me and I'm starting to think she's into me but idk". And I love that for them.

Also OP's examples aren't really saying much. They mention that "sokka learns that aang has a crush on katara in the fortuneteller, but we never see aang trying to get advice from sokka after he learns about it" while disregarding the fact that Aang did try to get advice from Sokka, and it backfired. Did we all forget "Soooo... papaya?" (also Sokka didn't realise that Aang had a crush on Katara? He thought Aang had a crush on Meng.)

Another argument from OP is that: "aang and katara kiss in the cave of two lovers but we never see katara's perception of aang change at all" which I find a bit of a flawed idea because there's not really anything in Katara's perception of Aang to change? Like she was already seeing him as a viable romantic partner from at least the Fortune Teller, she was blushing when considering kissing him and offended when he didn't immediately agree to it.

(I actually think this is the moment where Sokka realises there's something between Katara and Aang man look athis face.)

We do not see Katara's pov, but we can pick up her thoughts from how she's animated and other clues because atla makes it quite easy to emphasise with its characters. I talk more about it in the Kaatang and female gaze post.

OP using the description of "natural development of a platonic relationship becoming a romantic one" is also mildy annoting because just because a romance doesn't follow established conventions and timelines, doesn't mean that it's not natural or badly written. We study tropes and aechetypes usually in order to subvert them.

The concept that romance has to be a series of events followed by switches flipping automatically in response is incredibly limiting and, frankly, overdone. I can see the appeal of romantic stories being a series of actions and reactions between two people, but I personally find a slow, budding development even more compelling. But once again, thsi is up to preference. If OP doesn't like this style of romance, than that's fine. Though I will stress the golden rule: your preference doesn't mean that everything else is bad/unnatural/unethical etc.

[owllooker]

Like father like son

[wayward-wren]

I do find it facinating how Dracula Daily has turned Dracula into a different kind of myth now that we're in its third year running. I've seen a few people compare it to Hadestown, or a timeloop. The enjoyment isn't JUST from engaging with the story now, it's engaging with the experience, and while the emails are still the same as previous years, we've been through this before.

The way we as an audience interact with this story and this way of telling the story changes the genre. Its no longer a gothic horror, classic lit story. It's become a mythology, a tragedy, a repeating loop. Jonathan Harker returns to the castle every year. Every year it happens again. And that changes it, builds up new mythos around it, even if the words stay exactly the same.

[makiswirl]

can i just say. and this is probably a niche hill to die on. that i am so gobsmacked every time someone vaguely hints at the idea that jotaro doesn't care meaningfully for the other crusaders, usually particularly kakyoin and joseph, when those two actually tend to be the ones he reacts to being hurt the hardest

like he cares for his loved ones!!!! that literally plays into his character motives in every single part he shows up in!!! stop lying to me!!!!!!!

[skunkes]

[lloydfrontera]

In my opinion, the reason the reunion scene was skipped was because the author couldn’t figure out a way to write it non-romantically and gave up after a while

honestly. i kinda agree with you nonnie.

it just. the set up to the scene is sooooo romantic. you have lloyd being absolutely devastated at the thought he's not going to see any of his loved ones ever again and that he's been dropped back into his terrible life, to the place he admitted he'd rather die than go back to,,, and then someone knocks at the door and when he opens it this is the sight that greets him:

his best friend, the person he's closest to, the one he's spent years with, the one he promised a peaceful life at his side, the one he wanted to grow old with, the one he sacrificed everything for, the one he effectively gave his life to save, the one he thought he'd never see again, standing at his door, having crossed literal dimensional barriers to get to him, a soft and teary smile on his face as he tells him "i missed you"

like. c'mon.

i'm all for platonic interpretations, i'm aroace, i love me a good best friendship as much as the next guy, but,,,, isn't this,,, like,,, really fucking romantic??? extremely so??? am i??? reading too much into it?? because it feels really, really romantic to me.

and like you say. where do you go from there. what response could lloyd give that doesn't involve throwing himself at javier and clinging to him with all of his strength. what conversation could these two have that doesn't involve them seeing how truly devoted they are to each other. what resolution does their arc together have that isn't them spending the rest of their lives together, at each other's side, like they so dearly wanted to.

but. alas. that wasn't the story bk moon wanted to tell. and that's very much his right. i just think that if he didn't want me to assume there's no in-character and narratively satisfying version of that conversation that doesn't end with them kissing he should've at least tried to give us something. and not completely skipped it lol

but that's just my opinion too :]

[riacte]

so hey guys i finished dungeon meshi yesterday and i'm still thinking about it

[spite-of-the-grifter]

Look.

Ace Attorney fandom.

I know why people don't like Turnabout Bigtop. I am among the people who dislike Turnabout Bigtop.

But I GET why people like the case. I'm not going to be one of those annoying people who just blindly dump on it because I hate those mfs too.

Thing about Bigtop isn't that it sucks. Thing isn't the weird grooming stuff (though that is a huge part of it). It's not that it could've been good.

It's that - in my personal OPINION - it could have been *great*.

I think it had the potential to be one of the best third cases in the trilogy. It had everything; a fun and goofy setting fit for a pretty dang goofy lawyer game - where the environment itself had jokes and quips and one-liners and mishaps and tomfoolery written all over it, it had the previous case introducing a very interesting and important plotline that gave background for one of the more well-loved characters while also introducing an equally fucked up and lovable new one who was a child forced into a shit childhood of naivete in a CIRCUS with another character who was very naive and childish - whose interactions could have been funny and cute and reflective of said shit from the previous case (seriously she becomes such an important character in the 4th case, WHY would they not include her in this one for some character development? How did they fuck up letting a CHILD explore a CIRCUS?? That would have made the interactions flow MUCH better).

They had a pretty good, sympathetic killer imo, a morally dubious victim, an asshole of a client (who was pretty flat admittedly in-game, but I like his weird, topsy-turvy reasoning for it in the anime. Also, I think Max being kinda a dick would have bode well for the themes of Farewell since most of his clients up to this point have been like...nice? Not nice, but sympathetic, but him having to defend someone who's innocent but a prick would have shown him that just because someone is an asshole, doesn't mean they deserve to suffer for it and that they have the potential to grow as people, which is almost a complete opposite of what Matt was. Ultimately, I would have loved the contrast of them as clients and I think it would have also served as character development for Phoenix, especially with his low-empathy tendencies).

They just didn't think that far ahead. They just didn't execute it well enough. They just decided to make three of the adult characters fight for the hand in marriage of a teenage girl. (Bat's part of the story was actually kinda good if he was just YOUNGER, I think him doing that for Regina would have been a stupid thing someone in the circus would do to impress their crush. Damn you Ace Attorney and your weird treatment of underage girls!!)

It just flopped and that's ok.

Even though it kinda sucked, it can still mean something to me.

Also I'm a Moe Curls apologist. I liked him, shut up.

[kanene-yaaay]

Sousou no Frieren- Tickle Headcanons

This anime has me in a chockehold and ain't letting me go so soon so I might as well share all the daydreams and thoughts living in my mind rent free since I watched it and decided that!!! Hey!!! I can add tickles to that!!!

Anyway, at first I was going to just write about Himmel and a few other selected characters from both adventures but GOSH suddenly all out of nowhere I start daydreaming about ALL OF THEM and so... This long post was born. kjhgfdfghjklkj not all of them are going to be very long and it can be OOC but I hope you still like to read it as much as I liked to write! <3

[~*~]

Himmel

(We are not going to talk about how much time I spent trying to choose just one gif) Our dear dead wife <3

He LOVES tickles and no one can convice me otherwise, I mean! Look at him! He definitely play that card at any moment he can

Cheering someone up? They say that laughter is the best medicine! Another boring day stuck in a cabin waiting for the snowstorm to go away? Nothing better than a tickle fight to make the time pass! Comforting a sad kid they just saved and are bringing to safety? Add a few wiggling fingers and watch that beautiful smile appear right way! Someone is literally just minding their own business doing nothing at all GET TICKLE ATTACKED!

He is a charming, playful, dramatic bastard and he knows it. He is using every and any opportunity to plentily tease the person, praising their laughter, pointing how lovely is their every reaction, gasping in false offense at any threat of revenge.

He will definitely laugh and snicker together with the person and sometimes let out honest comments that weren't supposed to be teasy but are like 'I didn't expect you to be so ticklish' or 'Wait, it tickles? Right here? That is so cute' and take the matters on his own hands to find at least one (1) new tickle spot when he tickles a friend because their surprised face right before descending in unstoppable giggling is way too priceless

Now, I need you to listen to this very very carefully: he can NOT take what he dishes out. at all.

So much squirming and trashing around. He can't control himself at all and won't even try to hold his laughter back, letting it ring loud and free, dying with any kind (literally, anything will do) of tease and pleading for his life as if he is being killed on the spot.

Somehow is totally blind to tickle traps. Sometimes just to mess with him Heiter would hold his cup up and ask for a toast and when Himmel complied he would latch on his ribs and rip my bro. he's dead on the floor. He never seems it coming even if they already done this a dozen time before.

Always crumbles with the tickles. A squeeze on his side and his legs transform in noodles immediately. That doesn't mean that he is a easy target though, if you decide to tickle him be prepared for some revenge

His main target and partner of tickle fights is Heiter, even though they manage to pull the rest of the party to their shenanigans sometimes too, even getting to listen to listen Eisen low, amused chuckles and Freiren tiny smile.

Talking about that. There is just one very specific occasion all his self preservations, squirms and defense disappear in the same second: when Frieren is involved.

Once, when both Heiter and Einsen decided to gang up on him, she decided to get into the fun with a few pokes and the VERY MOMENT Himmel realized that she was tickling him it was over.

He became a boneless mess of hysterical giggles on the floor not moving a single inch and taking all the tickling with no protests, completely lost in the fact that this was Frieren having fun, being silly and playful with them and his brain shortcurted and suddenly he became 1000000000000 more ticklish instantly.

Excuse me honor he is SMITTEN

If he is tickled for long enough or on a specially ticklish spot he lets out a loud, high pitched crackling that never fail to amuse his friends because he gets extremely red at that and tries to cover his face at any cost.

Besides that, he is not flustered at all about his liking to tickle and be tickled. It's a fun activity, a nice way to bond and it bring happiness to everyone! What is there to be embarrased about it?

Though other teases can destroy him rip

Is extremely and I say extremely gentle and caring when tickling Frieren. Soft scribbles, light scratching and steeping away not before too long has passed. Sometimes get lost in the happiness and joy of the moment but it's quick to come back to reality so that his tickling never lasts too long and he gets smiley about it for the rest of the day.

Gets grumpy about how he never manages to catch Einsen by surprise but immediately loses his pout when the warrior decides that he is not the one who started that war but he is the one who will finish it.

When he takes too long to decide a pose for their statue they start to attack him with plenty of pokes and squeezes until he finally makes up his mind.

Sometimes they just do that while he is posing to mess with him too. Especially because Himmel will try to pretend nothing is happening and attempt to keep his pose on the very beginning until he eventually breaks down in titters and protesting giggles.

It never lasts long. But he keeps trying

Has The Smirk.

Softest and most playful aftercare ever. With plenty of comfort and smiles.

Heiter

Our flawed priest <3

Do not have The Smirk but he has an entire aura about him that you can't really point what it is but suddenly there's ringing danger bells in your mind and on outside he looks normal, just taking a drink but then you blink and then BOOM he strikes

Can and will destroy someone with tickles with just one (1) hand because his other one is too busy carrying his cup

Gets stupidly silly when tickling someone. He will chuckle together with the person and use the goofiest nicknames, teases, tickle traps and everything else he can think of. It's the whole ordeal, really. He has no shame.

It's quite neutral but leaning to positive when it comes to tickling, but since Himmel is always dragging him into tickle fights he can't help but get a little bit of playful revenge. After a few years he started a couple of them by himself too.

Is horribly skilled with the nimblest and deadliest tickles ever.

Also. Changes from side to side of a tickle fight easy as water and will always help who offers him more drinks. So be careful when siding up with him to not get too close or comfortably into tickling range.

Somehow, incredibly lucky in finding tickle spots, be with random pokes to call the person's attention or some soft scribbling to hear some giggles and smile amused and content at them.

Also adept to cheer up or comforting tickles, creating a lot of fond memories with Fern in the nights she couldn't sleep and they both shared some good tea while watching the sky.

Will try to curl up in a ball when tickled and his only protest is to be careful with his glasses.

Not really very affected by teases. Says a lot of nonsense when is tickled tho

Frieren

HEEEEERRRRRRRR <3 <3 Our old lady

Has the tiniest, sweetest smile when tickling someone. it's adorable.

Do not engage in tickle fights but it's not against them. Usually would just stay in the background with Einsen while the other two got caught up in their giggly shenaningans

Her biggest moment was when she decided to show everyone this magic spell she learned some decades ago and then suddenly everyone is attacked by a bunch of wiggly, fluffy feathers that followed them no matter how much they squirmed or jumped.

Tickle spell tehee

They never got to know if she did that to mess with them or if she truly just wanted to show the spell.

Is more curious about tickling than anything. Thinks it's a nice way to make her friends laugh, but it's also very neutral about it, won't actively seek revenge or anything.

After years with both Himmel and Heiter, also lightly tickled Fern once or twice for the sake of cheering her up.

Ticklish ears ticklish ears ticklish ears ticklish ears-

The first time Himmel tickled her he immediately fell on the floor ded because it was too much cute.

(The way he looked at her that day is a fond memory for her, she doesn't quite know why, tho.)

Not really a squirmer and her laughter is mostly silence, full of small giggles and one or two hiccups. Like soft tickles the best, since it is not unbearable to feel and actively leaves her w a light, quite content feeling afterwards. She could take a tickle fight, tho.

Fern

<3 Somehow the most responsible adult in the party <3

Terrifying ler, can and will use your weakness against you.

Just as she does when fighting, thrives when her victim understimate her power and is quick and ruthless to bring them to their destruction.

Will tickle the person usually as a way to get them to do something (probably a chore they forgot) or admit something while having the most unimpressed face ever seen by humankind

She can be both incredibly merciless and very very kind, depends on her mood, the person and the context

Only like being tickled by someone she really trusts and not around another people so no one will her being silly like this.

Get very embarrassed just for thinking how childish tickling is, but treasures the soft moments with har friends and family, just like every other playful, fun, nice memory

When the person (let's be honest here, probably Spark) is too occupied laughing their heart out also let's out the tiniest, softest smile, pretty much like Frieren

Used tickles to cheer up Spark once and promised to do 10 times worse if he even THINKS about mentioning that to anyone

Snorts. SO much of them. If she is laughing they will automatically appear no matter how much she tried to hide them between her hands.

Her shoulders and head shake with giddy energy when is being tickled. It's everything <3

Einsen

*LOUD INTELLIGIBLE SCREAMING* AAAAAA

As I said on Himmel's part, not really one to start the tickle fight but a quick one to finish it.

Not really very ticklish and not very easy to be caught out of guard so rip his opponents, really

HOWEVER, he has one single incredibly and horribly ticklish spot right under his knee that he immediately DIES when it's tickled and it's an automatic win for the person, so the thing is of every fight is: will them be able to get him there before he gets them? That is the big question

Not really a teaser, prefers to tickle the person in silence while mapping the places that get the biggest reactions so he can focus there.

Could or could not have used this techinique with Spark to 'train his resistence' once (an excuse that his friends were very fond to use with him) but no one will ever know because if you ask him he will just stare at you and let out a single chuckle before going on about his day and Spark will Blush and Die before answering

Made mental bets and always knew the score by heart of Himmel x Heiter fights

Used to think it was a silly and pointless activity. But after their ten year adventure came to treasure and be fond of silly, pointless activities

Loud, booming laughter or no laughing at all. No in between.

Spark

DA BOI WHO DID NOT DESERVE THAT PAST AND NOW DESERVE ALL THE LAUGHTER EVER

Do not mind tickling at all!

It kind of reminds he of his brother, since when he was a kid he was the biggest tickle monster ever. Not only on those training tips he used to give even while being extremely busy, but he just loved to appear out of nowhere behind him, carry and put him on his shoulder and tickle him while walking back home, pretenidng he was carrying a bag of 'extremely wiggly vegetables!'

He also used pokes and prodding to help him with maintaining his form while wielding a sword. Even if extremely common, Spark still squeaked everytime he poked his armpit to remind him to not his arms so far away from his torso

Still, everytime he is tickled that boi just can't form ANY coherent sentence at all, no matter if he is full on belly laughter with just a few giggles, his mind immediately turn into a mushy mess

Won't go down without a fight. Running away, attacking back, squirming as his life depends on that. Most of the time squirming away from it only to dash in a sudden bolt of energy and then come back in a surprise tickle attack to get revenge.

Tried to get Fern back once for tickling and they ended up actually fighting but some days later she started a tickle fight so he ??? is just very confused??? if she actually hates it???

(But to see her loosing up, giggling, laughing out loud and being so full of playfulness and joy... wow)

He likes to throw a few playful teases here and there when he is tickling his friends, with plenty of snickers of his own and pointing out how ticklish the other person is or about their delight reactions.

!!Tickles games!!!

His entire face gets extremely red when his laughter begins to sound higher or crackly. Can NOT take any tease about that at all.

Sein

OUR EVEN MORE FLAWED PRIEST <3 <3 <3 Come back pls

THE MOST TICKLISH PERSON EVER

And his best, amazing, ruthless friend Gorilla was more than happy to remind him about it all the time

Until nowadays he can't really see fingers wiggling in his direction without immediately getting a wobbly smile and giggles instinctively creeping up on his throat

His brother also would tickle him when he was a kid and later would gladly snitch all the 'truly good, hidden tickle spots' to his friend much to his dismisse

Will trash, squirm, plea, beg and promise to do anything when tickled. Especially if we'retalking about light, soft tickles. Those make him go absolutely crazy out of his own mind

Even so, he doesn't mind it too much. Still, gets extremely embarrased and complains about how childish it is.

Def made AND lost bets again his friend and got tickled as a "payament". Also I can see them both having competitions to see who takes the longest to laugh, say uncle, keep their arms up and etc :D

Sometimes gives Spark a few tickles just to mess w him and snicker at the jumps he gives.

Spark got revenge so rip.