#In all aspects bc yeah what I said above

[pancake-breakfast]

Friends. Mutuals. Random internet denizens. I hope you all get a chance to watch this series when it releases.

WHA isn't just one of the best manga I've read. It's one of the best stories I've experienced. It's cute and also breathtakingly beautiful. It's dramatic and suspenseful and also funny and heartwarming. It's a story with deuteragonists where one is a young girl and one is an adult man and they have both similar and completely different struggles and goes and essays of approaching the world. It has a wonderful, full, and vibrant cast of support characters. It will break your heart and feed your soul.

I really hope for the best for this series. It deserves the best.

[choccy-milky]

oh boy anon, you’ve activated my trap card. GET READY FOR A SEBASTIAN CHARACTER ANALYSIS ESSAY BELOW LMAO

ok so first off I know im obvs biased, but I don’t actually think my seb is that ooc, AND PUT DOWN YOUR PITCHFORKS IMMA EXPLAIN WHY. but im also gonna explain why I don’t think the other more friendly and lighthearted renditions of seb are ooc either. bc theres so many aspects of seb we get in the game that can be interpreted in so many diff ways, and so this is how i see it/landed on MY rendition of seb:

PROTECTIVENESS/POSSESSIVENESS: this is one of the main aspects of him, imo. his entire questline is about wanting to cure anne, and how he’s not giving up, and how he believes that HE is the only one that can do it, because “she’s MY sister!” seb is super tunnel visioned and has a one-track mind when it comes to this, and I headcanon that he’s this way because of their parents deaths. he’s the brother, the boy, he’s gotta be strong for his sister, and ofc when their parents died, he tries to comfort her and be there for her/be the rock, and it happens again when she’s sick. shes his sister, his responsibility, and he’ll die before he gives up on her and her safety.

SO, I just transfer all those aspects over to a romantic relationship instead. you just replace “shes my sister” with simply, “she’s mine/my gf/my wife/etc.” and in the same way I think seb tries to be strong and reliable and protect anne because he’s the brother, I think seb would be the same way in a relationship, because he’s a boy and she’s a girl and its 1890 and he’s chivalrous and he just sees it as his responsibility. I think the death of his parents and his dynamic with anne has baked this sort of mindset into him, and its even MORE intense in a romantic aspect, because then hormones and puberty and sexual tension and attraction is involved (plus the fact that seb in my fic is 17, so he’s older and has even stronger raging hormones and testosterone LOL.

JEALOUSY: who can forget the lines “between the two of you, I’m starting to feel left out” and “ominis simply needs a moment with you and he’ll change his mind. is that it?” the first one is more playful but I feel like the second one really showcases sebs brand of jealousy, and how biting and uncharitable it can be.

AGGRESSION/VIOLENCE: yet another iconic line with: “fine. but ominis knows, I won’t step back from a fight.” LIKE... the fact that apparently ominis knows this means its come up more than once…and im not saying seb is some unruly aggressor who flies off the handle at anything, but he defs has a capacity and is willing to get violent if HE believes the situation calls for it—basically the same way he feels about the dark arts. he felt justified using imperio to protect anne, and taking the relic to save anne, and so he would have fought ominis to get out of the catacomb. and with MY seb, while he doesn’t go picking fights with any boy who looks or gets close to clora, he’ll definitely be willing to beat up or lay hands on a creep who bothers clora/who is in the process of bothering her LOL.

SO YEAH, that’s pretty much it, and I’ll be the first to admit I definitely ramp up these traits further because he’s older in my fic and i think these traits would only get more intensified with age + being in love and also bc IM A TWILIGHT GIRLIE!!! what can I say. there are so many moments in my fic where you can just replace seb with edward and it wouldn’t seem out of place tbh LMAOO so blame twilight, it was a formative experience for me BAHAHA

BUT like I ALSO said, I don’t think peoples more lighthearted interpretations of seb are ooc either. because even all my earlier above examples, you can just focus on diff aspects of them. like his tunnel vision and obsession to cure anne? instead of seeing it as over the top protective and possessive, you can just view it in a more wholesome determined selfless sort of way. like I said we got so many nice little bits and ingredients of his personality that we can turn into anything we want, really👌just pick which flavour of seb u like best and use what we got in game to create it HAHA

AW TYY QUEEN BAHAHA💖 and aw im always so honoured when ppl tell me they consider my stuff canon that’s like the best compliment I can get, tysm 😭 and im glad you like my fic and art so much (enough for your friends and family to unfortunately know💀 LMAOO)

im adding your ask to this because it kinda ties into my seb essay. LETS GET INTO WHY A SWEET BABY ANGEL WOULD LIKE SOMEONE LIKE SEB. the answer ISSS: the same reason WE’RE also all into him I guess?? BAHHA

ok but to start off im gonna defend my seb, not only cause of what you said anon (i dont want you to feel like this is targeted to you!) but also bc I got an ask recently asking me to summarize seb and clora’s relationship since all they see from my art is that “they fuck and seb is possessive” LMAO, and I feel like ppl who JUST see my art and don’t read my fic have a warped image of my seb.

this may be shocking but I don’t consider my seb a red flag LMAO. I joke about how hes more of a pink flag tbh, but even THAT i dont even really believe, and don’t even consider him overly possessive. like yes he keeps an eye on her when shes hanging around other boys, but I feel like that’s normal (esp for 1890) and all of his most possessive moments have been when theres been a threat to cloras life/coming from a place of love and protection (especially since clora is so self-sacrificial, she’d have killed herself by now if not for seb LOL) so to me id actually put Sebastian as being PROTECTIVE as his first and foremost trait, followed by the possessiveness.

and yeah he gets jealous, but unless a dude is actively trying to get with her/hitting on her/harassing her, he’ll otherwise just kinda be unhappy about it/let it play out/ watch on unhappily LOL. and even when lawley was blackmailing clora and getting in between her and sebs relationship and lying about how close he and clora were, seb demanded answers from CLORA on what was happening between the two of them, but he didn’t touch lawley or tell him to stay away. bc seb thought that was what clora wanted, so he let her drift away. if he was TRULY a red flag, in this instance he would have just beat up lawley for taking what was "his"/not allow clora to leave him/immediately go to lawley instead of clora, and tell him to stay away despite what clora might want. (and clora even WISHED seb had interfered and done this. she was like 'why is he letting me drift away and go off with lawley i WANT him to fight for me...but she couldn't actually say anything thanks to the blackmail)

clora doesn’t just 'put up' with sebs more possessive and protective behaviour though, she actually likes it HAHA. just bc shes a precious baby angel, we all like a bad boy, even back then. just look at jane eyre, and how popular the dark and brooding and assholey mr. rochester was.

she tells seb at one point that she likes those things about him, even his immature competitive side, and his darker sides, and that he shouldn’t try to hide them or change himself because she accepts them. and even putting aside all of the stuff they’ve been through together that has bonded them (like the main canon quests + annes curse and then CLORA being cursed, and then clora being kidnapped and seb saving her) clora thought seb was roguish and charming and witty and intelligent and good looking from day 1. add to the fact that he’s just so devoted to her in everything he does, that even if he CAN get a bit overbearing at times, how could you NOT fall for someone like that😩 someone whose possessive behavior just stems from wanting to protect you and love you and want to keep you safe and cherish you like DAMN…. GET ME A SEB, TOO. WHERES MINE!!!😭😭

clora also realizes in ch 32 WHY seb is so protective of her (the trauma with his parents and wanting to be there for anne) and that she accepts it, and enjoys it, and that she might even MISS it if seb were to ever get less protective of her/might get lonely LOL, and then sebs like "i’ve "spoiled you, have i?"

so YEAH I don’t think sebs protectiveness and possessiveness goes into any toxic territory or red flag territory PERSONALLY (and the time that it DID get toxic was because of the relic, and clora DID put her foot down)

but my normal seb? whose dream in life is to whisk clora away into a tower and lock her up to keep her safe and keep her all to himself, but that he’d never ACTUALLY do because he knows its insane and unreasonable but jokes about wanting to do it anyway bc he would if clora agreed? clora finds that endearing and cute and is touched by how much he loves her and wants to keep her safe.

IN CLOSING: I LOVE THEM YOUR HONOUR AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

[neverchecking]

NSFW Alphabet- Fierce Deity Edition

And the winner of the poll (Which isn't technically over) is, in a surprising turn of events, Fierce! Sage had the lead for a while and then it was Legend, and then the man himself pulled ahead!

I was watching it the whole time while writing this like "you better not change."

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

He's the silent broody type, but every touch of his is startlingly soft. But he's pretty good at aftercare, all things considered! He's probably the type to have a set routine that he goes through each and every time. A wipe down and then a bath and then probably letting you lay on his chest while he towel dries you off <33

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

On his partner? Everything. He can't chose. That would be sacrilegious. He loves every part of you. Every bump, scar, insecurity is what makes you, you. And he'll be damned before he doesn't worship every inch of your entire being.

On him? (I'll have everyone know I almost put hands here. AGAIN.) Probably his back or chest. Now, I know that sounds weird, but it's the first place your hands mark in glorious streaks of white when he's buried deep within you. It's one of the only places he can wear the marks you have graced him with so proudly. It's where you sign your name and place your claim on his heart, soul and entire being.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Man cums a lot. Be forewarned. It's thick and it's creamy and there's always a lot. Another Link with those heavy breeder balls, you know? Ones just begging to be drained into your pretty little hole. Which is exactly where he does it. Every single time. Anywhere else is a waste.

And he refuses to be wasteful.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He is always secretly terrified that he could somehow in someway hurt you. So when you take control and ride him, bouncing up and down, over and over and over again, he just feels himself fall deeper into devotion for you. Because you aren't afraid. He's slaughtered thousands. And yet, you cradle him like he is a saint. This is only proven when your above him, using him like a toy and trusting that he won't do anything to take back control.

Because he won't.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Fierce was never one for sex. I'm gonna go right off the bat with that. In fact, you're probably his first. That being said, if he lets you sleep with him, he's probably finding ways to spend the rest of his immortal years with you. You aren't leaving him. He won't let you. He's only willing to learn your body. What makes you tick. Not anyone else. He has no care for anyone else.

And he's a fast learner.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Missionary all the way. He'll do others, but I can't see him really enjoying them. With Missionary he gets to watch your facial features and the way you heave breath after heavy breath, watching as he disappears into your greedy little hole over and over again.

So yeah, he loves missionary. Even if a breeding press also has it's place in his chest cavity (bc I'm not sure if he has a heart hfof)

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

You're kidding, right?

This man has no sense of humor. Period. Maybe he'll give you a small twitch of his lips, but other than that, he's the same stoic faced, bare boned man he portrays. So if he doesn't laugh during the times he's clothed, there's like negative chances of him doing it when he's naked.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

I like to think every part of him is strictly uniform. Every part. His pubic hair is nicely groomed and trimmed and still the same stark white as the hair on his head.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

I could go either way with this. On one hand, he probably doesn't know a whole lot about Romance. Just devotion. And his devotion is so whole and honest in a way I don't think I could truly describe. Everything he does is for you. Your attention. Your approval. Your everything.

On another hand, if his lover wishes for romance, he shall do all the research necessary to ensure he is properly versed in every courting method there is. Anything his darling wants. Their wish is his command.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Never. Not once. He has zero interest in touching himself. None at all. As far as he's concerned, his dick is yours and yours alone. He merely carries it around. He has no right to touch whats yours.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

HUGE CORRUPTION KINK.

There I said it. He's so into taking this pristine art of the Golden three and just absolutely ruining it. Making your eyes red and puffy with tears as you cry out for him, bruising the delicate flesh on your hips with a grip tight enough to keep you in place, claiming you in every way you claim him as the biggest fuck you to the goddesses who blessed you

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Anywhere private. He has absolutely no interest in sharing the view of you. That is his and his alone. He believes that sex is such an intimate thing, it's his holy time.

And he doesn't share

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Anything. Anything with you. You could breath in his direction and he's hard and ready to go. If you give him the opportunity, he'll worship you all day every day. Just give him the word.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Any form of physical harm. He refuses to do that. Absolutely refuses. His hands are stained with thousands of years of blood and he refuses to let yours be there as well.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Giving all the way. That is his purest form of devotion and that's his sacred time. He could spend hours down there if you'd let him. So please let him. Plus, he's a god at oral. He's so focused on you and your reactions, you have no complaints regarding his head game.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Anything his lover wants. If they want slow and sensual, he'll do it. Fast and rough? He's pinning them down. Long, hard drags? Done. Shallow thrusts that have you crying out? Anything you wish.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Hates them. Hates them hates them hates them. SO MUCH. He refuses to rush his prayers to you. REFUSES. It's frankly insulting to insinuate he would ever do such a thing. He is taking his time in taking you apart and not speeding up even for the end of the world.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Nope. No risks. Anything risking his time with you is a big no-no. That's his special time. His moment of prayer and devotion and it is not to be interrupted.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

All day and all night. The only thing stopping him is his partner pressing the red light. He can go forever if you'd let him. He has no limit. He is a Deity after all. <3

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

None. Hates them too. Why have something as stupid as a toy there to try and please you when he does it well enough on his own? Why have any form of an imposter when he is there? Why insult his abilities with knockoffs like that?

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He enjoys it at any given point, but not a lot. Just enough to have his lover crying out his name. Just enough to have them yearning for him in just a fraction of the way he yearns for them.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

SILENT. Wouldn't say shit if he had a mouthful. Why bother? Any noise he makes is just taking away from what your crying out and he refuses to distract himself from that pure choir. A hymn of his own making.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

If his lover asked, he'd let them peg him. He'd bottom for his lover. He'd give away any control if it meant keeping his lover. Want to wrap him up in satin red ribbons and keep his limbs starfished for your exploration?

He'd do it.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

PACKING BIG HEAT Like, it's almost too big to take. Ten to eleven inches with GIRTH, maybe twelve when hard. Veiny too and he's circumcised. Has the prettiest head, just a lovely red that you can't help but want to suck. And BIG BREEDER BALLS <333

Just drain them dry babes <33

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

He could go at any time, he just hides it. You say the word and he's following like an obedient puppy.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Does not sleep. He's holding you and watching to ensure you take every breath he needs you to take. He's watching you all night just to make sure you live to see the next day <3

[luvyeni]

first, i love your works, fell in love with your blog the minute i had found it! i’m a sucker for your skz works, but especially changbin bc i’m a massive whore for that man, with that being said, changbin x reader, both of them like eachother, reader dresses a little revealing one night while hanging out with the guys to get changbins attention, and when he doesn’t say anything bc he’s shy & flustered, she pushes him into his room and does something about it ?? i’m not good with the smut aspects so i’ll leave that all up to you, but i do believe changbin has a massive strength kink so he’d def manhandle his girl when he feels like he’s being dominated.

SHY SHY SHY; SEO CHANGBIN

pairings. bestfriend!changbin x fem!reader

wc. 1.4k

warnings. wall sex? (door technically), size kink, strength kink, tiny bit of degradation, changbin is a lil possessive,

not gonna like anon, i thought you were asking for sub cb at first, that last part threw me off but i hope you like it 🖤!

you and changbin have obvious feelings for each other, but when you try and take things into your own hands, changbin let's you know he's in control

—

"wow! you look good." changbin heard your name, running out his room as fast as he could to see he you, it had been a minute since he'd seen you due their schedule, so he was glad to see you. "thank you felix." you smiled hugging him as you stepped into the dorm, but it wasn't for him technically... well he was knowingly apart of your plan to get the attention of your long time friend changbin.

you met changbin at a shop with your now ex bestfriend when he'd just debuted in straykids , and you were a freshman starting university. you'd always liked him, but you were shy and could express your emotions like that , so you asked your friend , but instead of her helping you out , she started dating him , saying that you were already in a relationship.

for almost a year you watched them act cute around each other , secretly wishing it was you... that was until she started cheating on him with a senior at your school, claiming that changbin was busy and she needed someone around all the time.

when their relationship ended you stuck around changbin , hoping that maybe you'd actually have a chance , but he was too heartbroken to even notice.

years flew by, straykids had been getting busier, you finished up with college , and you're friendship with changbin grew even more, but both of you were too scared to make the final push and go on a date ... well that would end soon , with the help of the very tight shirt that made your cleavage pop; a cute pink mini skirt, and lee felix.

"bun!" changbin hugged you, the nickname he placed on you years ago that stuck, cute at first, but as your crush developed , it started to become something you'd think about when you were alone in your room at night. "binnie!" he pulled away to get a good look at you, eyes widening , you looked so fucking good , the shirt hugged you the right way and the skirt left nothing to the imagination.

changbin was floored, his cock stirring in his gym shorts. "doesn't she look nice?" felix cut into his nasty thoughts.

changbin tried to speak, he wanted to say you looked so good , but his stupid ass brain didn't allow him to, instead he just looked down at the ground, silently nodding before scurrying away to go sit down. "oh he's in love." you scoffed , defeated. "yeah? what was it his silence." you said sarcastically. "actually yeah, when has changbin ever been silent?" you shrugged.

"look just follow after me, i know how we'll get under his skin." felix held your waist, walking into the livingroom were, making sure to walk past changbin , so he could see the two of you.

changbin loved felix, he truly did , he was a good friend, but right now , he wanted nothing more than to drag felix to undisclosed location and leave him there. the way his hand sat right above your knee, massaging it, or how his eyes would wonder down to your chest, and he'd bit his lip, he so desperately wished it was him, but he could never get a full sentence out , too flustered by your clothing... or lack there off.

he couldn't help it either, his eyes wondered down to your boobs , they sat so perfectly , they would jiggle everytime you laughed. or your skirt that would rise up , revealing the plush of your thighs, stopping at the curved of your ass. he swore if you moved the wrong way, anyone could get a peak of your panties.

changbin didn't mean to think about his bestfriend like this, but he couldn't help but think—what color was your underwear? pink like your skirt, black his favorite color? were you even wearing underwear?.. his cock jumped at the thought of you not wearing any underwear, he almost wanted you to bend down or something just so he could confirm.

"changbin?" shit, he was dozing off thinking nasty thoughts about his friend and now his cock was hard. "y..yes." stupid, he cursed himself out in his head. "you okay?" your pretty voice clouded his mind.

he nodded, getting up. "i...i h..have to use the bathroom." he rushed out of was acting like such a fucking loser.

"oh my god." felix scoffed amusingly. "i've never seen him so worked up like that." you smiled, you've watched him out the corner of your eye for the last few hours internally fight himself to stop from looking at your boobs or your thighs, when in reality you were doing it for him, seeing him like this made you believe there was a chance.

"this is your chance, go." felix nudged you off the couch. "go, they're not paying attention." he pointed to the other guys who were busy playing games. "go."

you quickly snuck away to the bathroom, waiting for him to get out. "＿? what ar- whoa!" you dragged him to his room, closing the door, pushing him up against it.

"you've been ignoring me all evening, i dress so prettily for you and you ignore me."

what? you knew what you were doing? you were doing this to make him flustered? you want him to make a fool of himself? you really think you're in control?

his head was spinning, and before he knew it, he was flipping you over, so now you were the one pinned against the wall. "do you really think you're in control here?" he grabbed your jaw to look at him. "w..what- shh, don't you think you've done enough." he released your jaw, pulling you into a rough kiss, taking his free hand, bringing it to your neck, squeezing lightly.

"b..binnie." you moaned through the kiss. "t..they're gonna realize we're gone." he didn't care, he wanted them to know what he was doing to you, he wanted them to hear him claim you as his. he attacked your neck with marks, as you tugged as his hair, grinding against his hard on.

"f..fuck, i need to feel you before i cum in my pants." he lifted your skirt up, revealing your black panties. "your favorite color." you breathed, changbin almost tore them off, but he decided not to, not because he wanted to nice, but because he was gonna pocket them.

"you've been planning this for a long time, haven't you?" he grabbed the back of your thighs, lifting you against the wall. "even slutting yourself out to felix, hmm? " he used one hand to hold you against the door, and the other to pull his shorts down, pulling his cock out. "answer me baby."

your mind was fuzzy between his sudden change in dominance and him lifting you in the air like you were weightless, you could barely comprehend what he was talking about. "y..yes." he smirked. "but now look at you, all fucked out by a little kissing and choking." you mewled as he tapped the tip of his leaking cock against your wet slit.

"look at you, you're about to drip all on the floor bun." he kept a protective hand on your waist, keeping you up against the wall. "c..changbin p..please." he pushed his way into you, his cock deliciously stretching you out.

"bun, you're so fucking tight, your small pussy can barely take me." he fully mounted you on his cock, against the door. "fuck your squeezing me so fucking tight." he growled in your ear.

"b..binnie s..so big." he began to thrust in and out of you, his cock dragging against your walls, your head fell back against the door, gripping his bicep. "you feelin full bun?" you nodded. "s..so full."

he felt like how you exactly imagined when you'd been hours in your room, fingering yourself the thought of him. "look at you, so dumb on my cock, gonna be a good girl and let me fuck you dumb." you babbled his name, your orgasm approaching.

"you're mine now, i don't share what's mine, next time i see you flirting with any other guy, im gonna fuck you until you can't walk, you understand?" his hand found a way to your neck again. "do.you.under.stand." he said with each thrust.

"fuck yes! changbin m'gonna cum." he sped up his trust, and your eyes rolled back as you came on his cock. "fuck.fuck.fuck!" he thrusted three times into before filling you up with his cum.

"im not letting you go, you're mine now." he whispered in your ear, pulling out of you, carrying your body to the bed, laying you down. "don't leave me." you grabbed his hand. "bun i have to get you cleaned up, get some rest, when you wake up, i'll take to get food." he kissed your forehead.

"but you have to wear my jacket, i don't want anyone else to see you in this outfit."

©️LUVYENI

[pocketgalaxies]

FOR REALLL RE: WHEN MATT ASKED IF ANYONE WANTED TO DO ANYTHING. And then, when they went to Keyleth and Orym said "we want to be useful in the downtime"... my jaw fucking dropped. You all JUST got back from aeor, and right before that you got back from the moon - where your friend fucking DIED. No one wants to process any of that??

From how Matt had framed it, the feywild meeting between Ludinus and the Unseelie was an optional mission they could have delegated to NPCs, yet they jumped right into it with no prep or plan.

[And ohhh, the instant amnesia about why they were there. It was like they completely forgot the intent of the mission, and when Dorian raised that point ("is this what we are here for? To fight?") They all just shrugged and acted like there was no other choice!] I love them all dearly, so my frustration is borne of concern (they just walked into a HUGE fucking fight they are ill prepared for), and I am TERRIFIED Fearne will die now because of it. But also, I wonder - do they even want to be in this campaign anymore?

The way they keep rushing forward...maybe it's bc they've been conditioned by the rest of this campaign's pacing. Part of me feels it's Orym. This whole campaign it's felt like he's been using his pushing attack on the team. [Telling them early on (ep 30s) they need to promise him to be better together, forever reminding them of the ticking clock which means they need to get to Yios, to the malleus key, to reunite post-solstice. Then, an hr into the reunion: they need to keep going to address things "fast and fully". They need to get to Keyleth, to the moon, to stay on the moon even if it's risky bc "it isn't a vacation." Oop Letters died, but let's get back to keyleth, now we need to go to aeor, back to keyleth, and after all of that...well they need to "be useful in the downtime"! That might be too uncharitable? I don't know.

Above the table, I think they are all overworked from making two animated series, running a company, and their professional work outside of CR. It seems like too much. Like they need a break, and maybe subconsciously are running headlong to the finish so they can finally have one. I don't begrudge them that, but it does make me sad for these specific characters that they've been so constrained by the plot.]

yeah for sure, the campaign is sharing space with a million other responsibilities when it used to be The Flagship the single most significant project they were working on. i think it's very likely that both animated series are perceived as a higher priority than the campaign now given the budget, wider audience, etc. which just kinda sucks when the campaign also requires the highest level of emotional and time investment out of all of those projects

orym has definitely played a role in the Always Business No Pleasure vibe of the campaign but i guess i hesitate to put that much blame on him, i think the overall story has been go go go and orym is largely a reflection of that. but also i do agree that it certainly isn't helping and many ppl have made more eloquent posts than i ever could about the space his grief has been allowed in comparison to other aspects of other characters and how that has affected the party and the campaign overall

i really do wish they could've taken this week to recuperate, do something for themselves. literally anything. go shopping. any loose ends they would want to tie up before going into a battle to the death. but they either don't have connections to outside npcs or those connections simply aren't prominent enough. relvin, milo, birdie and ollie, family in zephrah, dariax, etc.? anyone?? imogen v. groon battle was sitting right there? and i just don't understand the necessity of adding in this ludinus unseelie situation it seems like something extraneous that the story could've gone entirely without and now it's just another Thing they have to do?

ANYWAY just struggling a lot about all these things! having a great time!!

[banana-pancake5]

Dude I finally read the neon void and I’m going a little crazy.

I just kinda really really love it. I knew it was good but I didn’t expect it to be that good. So that was pleasantly surprising. I also for some reason didn’t expect to get Leo narrating for whatever reason but I’m so glad we did. It makes me so sad the misunderstandings the boys had when Leo’s being Leo but with a darker appearance (and being so unnecessarily aggressive with the remarks toward himself like baby no 😭)

I can’t exactly speak from experience but the way grief was written was so so nice. I guess I could be completely off base bc I have yet to experience that type of grief (the perks of not getting close to too many people I suppose) but it feels really realistic. I super appreciate it bc I’m gonna use it as an actual reference bc it’s written in a way that’s understandable? I guess? Like I didn’t really get the specifics of grief before and I guess I can’t really now, but I do have a better grasp I think. Ah it made me hurt a lot tho

I’m still kinda taking it all in but all of everything was just so so good. I would love to hear about all your favorite moments and aspects bc I feel a ramble on my bones but it needs to be awakened teehee

Yesssss im so glad you read it dcisjncedjindecinwdijwdcnijcen it so GOOD!!! (Also I literally went insane when I read it XD)

A reason I’m so obsessed with TNV is how Leo is characterized. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I LOVE crazy/insane characters Idk what it is about them but they always peak my interest. And the way @/sugarpasteltmnt writes Leo’s madness just feels so real!!! Insane characters + unreliable narrator (especially if it’s the insane character) = NCSDJHDSCNDJSJCN#NJISCDNDC I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!! The misunderstandings of the brothers is also written so incredibly well. Again, it just feels so real. Their theories of who Neon Void is, their greif, their reactions to the taunts, etc. is all so realistic dfhuncfeuhncefihncufehneuhfcn

Oh and I also want to mention this fic made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. That does not happen with me!!! Especially with a fic????? Unheard of. (Specifically it was the Highschool TV show chapter)

Another thing I really like is how Donnie is written!!! I don’t even know what specifically about it, it’s just perfect!!!

Yeah I know what you mean!! The greif is written incredibly well, and though I haven’t experienced a loss like that, it definitely seems like a valid and (like I’ve said above) realistic way for each of them to react. I think it definitely does give me a better grasp on how some people grieve as well!

Hmmmm more of my favorite moments and aspects let’s seeeeeee

OKAY WELL THE WHOLE SPACE ODDITY SCENE MAKES ME WANNA SOB AND DIE OF EXCITEMENT AT THE SAME TIME. ESPECIALLY, IF YOU HAVENT ALREADY SEEN IT, LOOK AT THIS ANIMATIC BY @bowandbrush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS PHENOMENAL!!!! I think a (small) part of this is I’ve realized when a song I know and like is referenced in a fic it makes me go “edcjhefncihednchdiencsidjncdeijnjicedniscdjnds”

The 2012 reference with the whole rap makes me EXPLODE (ESPECIALLY DUM DUM LEOS PART NEDCIJNCDEEIJDNCIJEDCNJIDENC STOP BEUNG SO MEAN TO YOURSELF BUD)

Literally every scene with Leo is so cinimatic I can’t ndeicndwuchsdnuhnd

Whenever Leo is talking with his brothers and feels their Ninpo and such is so heartwarming and tragic

Oh! I really like the detail of him HATING that Cassandra is like “a part of the family” because it makes sense (SHE WAS IN THE FOOT CLAN, FROM LEOS PERSPECTIVE WHY WOULD THEY TRUST HER!!?!?!)

The chapter when Mikey rips off his arm is fantastic (I really like Leo’s reaction!!!)

I’m trying to remember all these scenes rn but I think that’s all I’ll say for now

If this invokes the ramble inside of you, you know I’d love to hear it!!!!!

[rise-my-angel]

wait did u had ideas or have ideas on how you would have wrote house of the dragon ( based on that prologue post u mentioned how got did a good job versus hotd telling really nothing)?? i sometimes think about it and someone once mentioned about writing it in the pov of the great houses and i just kept thinking bc i personally would have liked seeing something like; showing the targaryens just from afar, keeping them detached from everyone, really into that above all men, keeping the mystique and just showing them unreachable. it doesn’t make sense in a writing way, especially george’s world and the game of thrones world because even the villains were shown their complex sides. but idk it would have been lowkey interesting seeing them just like afar and the pov being the great houses. or even the smallfolk. i know that people joke all the time about hugh or ulf and that we don’t need their backstories but maybe even from a pov of them who in the future become dragonriders would have been a cool story. idk. something new and interesting and different but not too different. i mean writing about the privileged characters who are monarchy and trying to show the complex sides of even them it’s something that i like personally, but like it’s a hopeless story?! ofc seeing dragons and the politics are things that got people excited so idk how much would these ideas really make people watch but as i said it’s a hopeless story?! and not to be cliche but we do need the good guys or the “heroes” to root for or something good and real to root for.. even jace and sara could have been a good story?!?! but yeah hotd is disappointing

The thing is, they chose a very complicated story to tell. They had a lot to live up to, because the Dance of Dragons is one of the most pivitol wars in the history of the Targaryean dynasty and due to the nature of the book being framed as an in universe historical recounting, there is a lot of detail to consider.

They started off roughly, the narration flashback kills most of that interesting history. The details of the Great Council of 101 AC is very detailed, there was a lot going on and there is a lot of nuance to why they made the choices they made that go beyond "Viserys was a man". Yes that was part of why they overpassed Rhaenys, but they also passed on Laenor because he was a male heir through a female bloodline. So it isn't just women bad, men good. It's a very specifically structured system that is so dense it required near a thousand Lords to gather to discern how to handle Jaehaerys succession.

In truth, they had enough characters in the main show whom were there, that they needed to give the answers slowly. When Otto suggests Rhaenyra for heir to replace Daemon, that was the perfect opportunity to start exploring the history there. Say more then just that the Lords wont accept a female heir, explain why.

I think another issue is simply, they were bad at knowing when to hold back and when to cut things. I think they needed to focus in way more on the politics on the story then the details of the Targaryeans and their legacy or purpose. They needed to go in on the details about the politcs and why characters are doing what they are doing, instead of showing off the life around that.

Cut everything about the prophecy, it makes no sense and bogs down the pacing. Either make the plotline of Daemon fighting the Crab Feeder more relevant to the plot then just "this is what Daemons doing btw", or cut it entierly. It felt too disconnected from the politics of the story because they didn't really connect us to why that matters to this story. It felt like a side story for the wrong show.

They also made a very bad choice in framing. Fire and Blood presents as a historical texts, but with testimonies of different perspectives to explain that there is no affinitive prognosis on what is the full truth. The show made a bad choice by choosing what side was right, when in reality, it needed a mix. Show aspects of both sides, and for more, go in the middle. More often then not, when you have two vastly different descriptions of one incident, the actual truth is somewhere in the middle. The show needed to be that middle.

Also, a lot more focus needed to be on building up to Lucerys death. His death becomes the cataclyst for so much of the war, and they really needed to lean into the tension between the families before that. We needed to truly feel like these are two toxic sides of the same family, and peace was never going to be possible. By the time Viserys dies, we needed to feel that "oh shit". That moment of, he's done and nothing is in these families ways from starting their own ends.

I think the Green Council was their best episode, showing the time sensitive nature of crowning Aegon and all the details that went into that process. Now I think they should've stuck closer to the books events because it's simply the more ineteresting version, but thats personal opinion.

But the Black Queen, thus needed to be the true final nail in the coffin. They needed to the tension leading to his death, we know something bad is going to kick off this war, but we don't know what. Because when Lucerys sees Aemond at Storms End, it feels like things got tense out of nowhere when in reality, we needed that to be the climax of the episodes tension.

Season 2 though, is a mess. Fixing season 2 would require an episode by episode playthrough because I cannot elaborate here alone on why season 2s structure was so bad. It didn't need to be the book, but it still needed to be good, and it wasn't even on it's own merit.

Basically, I have ineterest in exploring how I'd fix hotd, but I'd really need to go in episode by episode because I think they had enough time to tell this story and they completely wasted it.

[softmeetscreatureplz]

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

02: Who did you last say “I love you” to?

06: How do you want to die? 07: What did you last eat?

10: When was your last physical fight?

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment?

14: Do you miss someone?

15: Have any pets?

52: do you believe that everything happens for a reason?

51: favorite food?

37: is it easier to forgive or forget?

36: Do you give out second chances too easily?

32: What is your favourite color? 33: Do you have trust issues?

:D

:DDD yay!!!!!! Thanks ari!!!! ;3

01: with my dad hell yes I trust him with like- most aspects of my life tbh. My mom..... no way in hell lmao.

02: for like- specifically "i love you", (initating, it would be @myconidwitch tho if ur talking more about like "i love you too" responses it would b4 my mom.

06: Stabbed to death (IDK what it is but i am enamoured with the idea of heing stabbed nd bleeding out???-) or hit by a car (easy and also seems simple). Alternatively, suicide via overdoes (seems least painful) or jumping off somewhere very high (poetic and also the feeling is nice-)

07: i think- breath mints? Yeah lol breath mints dmdjdje. Before that chocolate;3

10: *sobs*. I haven't actually gotten in any (real) physical fights with anyone b3fore, (sadly. I yearn for being able to help me friends in a fight irl djdjdk-). For play/mock fighting tho i did that with my mom recently ig??

13: uuuuuuu. Well currently i feel mostly ambiguous to my mom, and other than thattttt I don't think anyone rlly comes to mind immediately so nope!

14: yeah. Many someones! :3 (<- dumbass with abandonment & trust issues & also is horrible at keeping up communications)

15: Yep yep yep. Had 3 hamsters when I was younger (One died, got another, one died, etc. They all lived pretty well), then like 3 beta fish (same deal as the hampsters), then like a break, then some gold fish (one died of natural causes, the other two/thrww i believe were eaten by the cats), then two cats (who then got thrown out bcs my mom had a breakdown~ TvT)

52; Eeeeeeeh. Sorta??? Not. Really tho. Like- i belive kinda that everything that happens comes from something else happening, but it's not necessarily like a moral thing. Like; this happen3d bcs bad luck, this happened bcs bad timing, etc.

51; ohhhhh that's. That's very hard. I think probably- either Shepards pie, or chicken fried rice. Or both. ;3 (not in the same bowl-)

37: forget. I have piss poor memory, but also a pretty good sense of when I've hit my limit w/ someone. I might forget the details or even the instances that lead up to it, but generally once i start loosing trust in ppl it takes A Lot to get it back

36: sorta? Like above I said, I kinda give em out a lot but that doesn't meant that I also forgive immediately for the second chance. The second chance is the chance to try and win/loose more of the trust

32: Pink, Orange, black, brown and red!! :]

33: yeah lmao ;3

[theneighborhoodwatch]

i have been trying to make this into a coherent post for days and have gotten Nowhere so you will have to put up with this borderline incoherent trail of thoughts instead. okay here we go:

dorelaine sounds like it was meant to be a mondegreen of darling (or vice-versa depending on what perspective you're seeing it from) which lends some credence to the WHRP's insistence that ronald dorelaine Must be the creator of welcome home (again - "must be," not "is," which is odd.)

wally as a self-insert for dorelaine? this information sponge who kind of exists to learn from his friends/loved ones on our behalf, the audience surrogate, a slate so blank he didn't know what a clown was until someone asked him to draw one. what about a character like that would cause someone to draw on their own traits to write him?

in that same vein, wally being not only a self-insert but an Ideal Self? if so, what about the above traits would have been Desirable to dorelaine? wally being representative of a desire for some kind of "fresh start"? or perhaps of flawlessness by way of (initially) not knowing there are flaws to be had? ignorance is bliss and all.

y'know. i was talking about this in a metaphorical sense and was gonna go on about how like i wonder what it will look like the further things progress and wally deviates more from this aspect of himself (assuming he hasn't already. dorelaine probably was not quite so attached to his house, for one thing) but i think this might be one of the only contexts in which a literal(ish) possession story could work - i.e. how far do you think someone would go to discard their original identity and become their ideal self?

i was gonna elaborate on that but then i realized i was just describing the season one plot twist from surviving romance.

[spoilers for surviving romance, obviously] by which i mean: yknow how it turns out that the protagonist, who is now the MC of the novel the entire story takes place in, actually used to be the author of the novel? and the whole thing was written in an attempt to justify her own suffering (without actually unpacking any of her trauma or the defeatism that was beaten into her by her circumstances) by giving her idealized self-insert (the original MC) a happy ending after a series of borderline comedic acts of cruelty - something she felt she would never be able to achieve herself? and how she only remembers this after repressing it long enough to form relationships with the other characters in the novel after being thrown into a life or death situation and realizing that they all have a lot more depth and interiority than the original novel's narration afforded them? yeah? Yeah.

that's not the Whole plot twist but it is the part of it that's the most relevant to this post.

but hey, maybe there's no literal possession/reincarnation/transmutation/Whatever stuff going on. in fact, for now i'm confident in that not being the case, at least not literally. but i still think if wally being some kind of self-insert or at least being based on ronald dorelaine in some capacity is canon, then it is worth noting bc like. wally As We Understand Him so far exists to absorb and reflect the world around him and the people in it in order to guide us, the audience. if he turns out to be a self-insert on top of that, then he also exists to reflect his creator in some form. for as much as everything seems to revolve around him (even when we Know for a fact that whatever happened had an effect on the other neighbors as well) it's kind of hard to imagine wally existing as his own guy; he always exists in relation to something or someone else.

one has to wonder how he feels about that. he seems confident that it will all work out in the end (whatever "it" is) but, well. this Is a horror story.

something about what i said a while ago, about the puppets being more affected by unconscious decisions - "things left unsaid," in particular.

still think about Metaphorical hauntings in welcome home though. that one guillermo del toro quote - "What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? A moment of pain, perhaps. [...] An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber."

"ah but doesn't home also lend themself to a good possession story?" so close! i think whatever's going on with home is closer to necromancy/a state of Undeath than anything else. i will not be elaborating at this point in time <3

..... possible future holy trinity imagery with dorelaine, wally, and home? father/son/holy spirit? unlikely but Could you imagine.

ah. i think here is when the thoughts run out. thanks 4 reading.

[idatenjumpfanatic]

I Got Your Back (Begrudgingly)

Loosely inspired by this thread here

Specifically about the Samejima siblings. We all have our own chance to make up backstories for the side characters of the show, but I wanna flesh out what yall already wrote about Gabu, plus some thoughts of mine with those headcanons on the end of this oneshot.

No word count bc I just wrote everything here. Not proofread, so this is basically word vomited before I lose the idea (and motivation)

Notes are that this happened far before the show. Anyways enjoy!

=================

Gabu never did house chores. He was never really fond of them. It was boring, tedious, and above all, not worth his time at all. There were better things to invest his time on, and it was definitely not on those. And besides, Taiga's there to do them instead of him.

However today Taiga was sick.

The older sibling was terribly bedridden, unable to leave his room levels of bad. He said just yesterday that he wasn't feeling well, and then it just got worse now. Gabu would've first thought he was faking it, both have done it before in the past (and neither snitched each time), but the vomiting sounds he heard earlier that morning behind the bathroom door was plenty enough to convince him otherwise.

"Mom, Tai's sick."

"Well, we're still busy at work. Just let him rest, okay?"

"Are you serious?!"

Gabu would've started an argument with his parents about this given the chance, but said parents were too quick end the telephone call before he got another word in. He growled, crossing his arms.

He didn't want to deal with sick brother quite frankly. It's just another chore before school.

Or, I could skip school using Taiga as an excuse.

That thought made Gabu grin. He'd say his poor older brother was down with sickness and he took the liberty to take care of him today, as his parents were really of no use in that aspect, but really he'd just go MTB riding at the trails. Yeah, that'll do it.

Though he needed to wait for a few more minutes to make sure his parents wouldn't catch him.

While he did though, he could hear coughing from the second floor.

Gabu frowned, listening as Taiga's coughing continued for a good few seconds before it stopped. He stayed where he stood even after the house fell into silence. Without even realizing, he was squeezing his own arms as he found himself double guessing.

He stared at the door for a long while, subconsciously humming quietly as he did so. His humming then turned into a grumble, and once he finally made his mind up, he threw his hands and groaned before walking away from the door.

Meanwhile Taiga, he wasn't in the best shape clearly. Every limb felt like lead, and his head was throbbing. It would've been a lot worse if not for the menthol ointment he kept in his bedside drawer, but even then it wasn't enough to alleviate everything else. It didn't help too that every time he wanted or needed to get up he felt like throwing his insides out.

Whatever he got, it was bad.

But still, he knew it was best to just power through it as much as he could. He didn't need to worry about convincing his parents; lately neither would notice if he or Gabu missed school, or if they were even home at all, because neither would be at home either. Sometimes it was for the better, oftentimes it was just depressing to think about, and right now it was the latter.

Gabu at least was told that he was sick, but Taiga knew his brother wouldn't be be able to take care of him. He loves him, but he's also well aware how incompetent Gabu was when it came to basic things. He once set something on fire in the kitchen when the Four Kings were trying to teach him, and whether that incident was in purpose or by accident the fact still stood that Gabu was no longer allowed to try to cook anything.

Which meant Taiga was left by himself.

Taiga heaved a sigh at the thought, but already accepted it ever since he felt the first signs of sickness. He just wasn't expecting that it'd get this bad. Whatever scolding he'd get for not cleaning around the house, despite his condition, he'd take, but for now he would rather try to get a shut eye and think about the aftermath later on. Food and water he'd figure out on getting later on once his body would cooperate.

He turned to the side where his unclogged nostril was up, pulling the blanket some more over himself as he tried to go back to sleep. That part, at least, wasn't that hard. He didn't even realize that he did fall asleep until he woke up in a coughing fit.

Slowly sitting up, Taiga rubbed his throat once the coughs finally died out. He grumbled to himself, disliking the idea of needing to get up for some water, but alas he couldn't blame anyone but his past self for not preparing sooner.

He was already willing himself to get off the bed, but once he was one foot down he spotted an unopened bottle of water just sitting on his nightstand. He stared at it for a long while, wondering if he actually left it there before. Though, his own body didn't let him think about it for any longer as he felt another round of coughs crawling its way up his already parched throat.

Downstairs, Gabu was still staring intensely at the pot of water that sat on the stove. Through rummaging the pantry, he found the easiest thing to cook: packets of chicken broth soup that was just needed to be put in boiling water. He read through the steps earlier, but he was now met with the roadblock of not knowing how to operate the stove.

During this he heard Taiga coughing again, which signaled that he was awake once again. It only meant less time for Gabu, unless his brother went back to sleep right after. His staredown with the inanimate kitchen equipment continued.

Gabu thought about calling one of the Four Kings, if one of them weren't at school, for assistance, but the thought of asking for help for such a menial task only made his cheeks flush with embarrassment. The Four Kings were by no means judgmental towards him, but the issue lied with him and not them.

Damn him for his issue of either serving his ego or knowledge.

"Okay, think about it this way," he began telling himself, "it'd suck if I have to say I still don't know after all this. And if I figure it out myself, I get to stick it in Tai's face."

Yeah, seemed doable. He grabbed one of the stove's knobs and started experimenting.

=================

Taiga laid still, blankly staring at the ceiling. The water helped for sure, but now his stomach was rumbling. He couldn't tell if it was hunger or wanting to vomit, but either way he needed to resolve it with food first. If he were hungry that was it, and if he needed to vomit it meant he needed medicine, and he couldn't take that on an empty stomach.

The stillness was really him psyching himself to get up despite aching all over. He took a few deep breaths (while hovering his ointment over his mouth and nose), before wrapping the blanket around himself as his slowly got up. Sitting up he could already taste the bile coming up his throat, but he pressed his lips shut as he swallowed it down.

Finally he was standing, despite all odds. He fought his urge to hurry as he took little steps, keeping his eyes down on the floor to avoid worsening his migraine. Though, in the few steps he'd taken he heard his bedroom door creak open.

"Ugh, why are you up?"

Taiga tilted his head up and saw Gabu standing in the hallway holding a tray that seemed larger in his tiny hands, and a mask over his nose and mouth.

"Go back to bed," he demanded.

Taiga stood and stared, blinking in shock while Gabu made his way into the room. Gabu was fast to notice his brother not responding, his scowl behind the mask deepening.

"Hey, are you deaf? Go back to bed!"

He didn't wait this time. Gabu quickly set down the tray on the table before he marched forward and practically shoved Taiga back to the bed, and yet despite his sudden actions he still did them with carefulness.

Taiga didn't give him much hassle though and shuffled back. He didn't have the energy to argue or fight back either, so he sat back on his bed and let his sibling do whatever he was planning to do.

"I called mom in her office today telling you were sick, but she didn't care. 'Too busy with work' as always," Gabu scoffed while retrieving the tray.

"And dad?"

Gabu gave him a half-lidded stare. "If mom's busy then he is too, duh," he replied sourly. He set the tray on the nightstand, adjusting it so that it wouldn't tip over since the table was smaller. From there Taiga could see what his brother brought.

A small thermos, a large bowl of soup with a spoon, packs of saltine crackers, a new bottle of water, and multiple sleeves of medicine tablets.

"I heated too much water so I made tea too, but yeah there's more soup downstairs, just let me know."

"You... made this for me?"

"Yeah, don't overthink it."

Normally making a bowl of soup wasn't much of a feat, but for Gabu it was an accomplishment, and Taiga knew that. He was impressed, actually, that Gabu was able to not only gather all of these, but to make some food unsupervised without burning anything down (at least, he hoped. His nose was a little stuffy at the moment to smell anything burning) as well.

Taiga smiled, picking up the bowl as he muttered Gabu a thanks. The warmth of the broth was welcoming to his hands, he'd been getting the chills so the hot food was such a relief. Before he took a scoop though he realized something.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

"And so?" Gabu shot back with a shrug.

Taiga looked at him for a little while before he gave a defeated sigh. No way he'd be able to convince Gabu to try and catch up with school for the day. He went back to the soup, and while he started eating he could hear Gabu rummage through the tablets.

"You're welcome, by the way. Don't say I never do anything for you."

Taiga couldn't help but grin again. "Of course, I appreciate it," he said with full sincerity. Gabu glanced at him but then quickly looked away.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm calling the others though after their class to look after you this time. At least they're more reliable."

The last part fell into a mumble, but Taiga still heard it. He wasn't sure who Gabu was referring to, but he was hoping it wasn't a self-inflicted insult. A bit of a reach of course, but it was still a valid concern for him. He didn't know how to comfort him either, as words often didn't translate to what he wanted to convey; a problem for the both of them, in all honesty.

He genuinely wanted to thank Gabu again, since his sudden decision to stay actually solved so much of his concerns, but he also knew his brother was terrible with handling compliments. So instead, he reached out and ruffled Gabu's hair.

Instantly a complaint. "Ew! Get your sick hands off me, I don't wanna catch whatever you have."

Taiga laughed, though it quickly cut into coughing. While his little brother reached for a bottle, the same thought ran in his mind:

Yeah, it may be hard that mom or dad weren't there when he needed them, but Gabu always was, no matter how much he says he doesn't care. And of course, he'll always be there for Gabu just the same.

=================

After writing that last paragraph I realized that the headcanon of Taiga and Gabu having such a tight-knit relationship prior to everything is so much more devastating considering the events of the show.

I like to believe that the brothers are genuinely close, in tandem with the headcanon that their parents are neglectful to an extent, so blood-wise they don't have much besides each other. Also, I like to think that their parents are rich or at least holds a high status, since Gabu does a lot of stuff he gets away with (particularly with the stealing school equipment incident), but because they work first before their own kids, they've become blissfully unaware of what their children are up to. Which is tragic.

One last thing, I initially titled this one-shot as "Love Language" because I headcanon that both the brothers' love language is act of service (mostly through bossing other people). Seeing how Gabu is so bad at handling verbal compliments, I take it he's more of a "show, not tell" kind of person, and on top of neglectful parents it's more likely for him to pick that up from Taiga.

Also as siblings, especially in an Asian household, verbal show of genuine affection, gratitude, or sorry is difficult to do so at times. Often it's expressed through other means, like food or asking the other if they wanna hang out outside after a fight. Those kinda stuff

[bloodonhissocks]

Charmed: S1 Ep. 20 - "The Power of Two"

I'm genuinely very impressed by how well-written this episode is. This is my first rewatch and it's been years, so I'm going off opinions and perspectives I had a long, long time ago.

One of the focuses of the episode was the awful relationship between Phoebe and Prue attributed to differing attitudes toward working and having a job. It's been brought up over and over again, sometimes more directly and aggressively than other times, that Phoebe doesn't work. There's an implication that she doesn't contribute financially, at least consistently, and that she isn't financially conscious either. I do agree with this attitude toward her; she's always wearing Prue's clothes (even says things like "hogging all the good clothes" when there were 3 Prue's) and making large purchases (when she takes self-defense classes and puts them on her credit card with the implication that she doesn't have to money to pay for it yet).

This aspect of Phoebe's character has always annoyed me. I definitely share a lot of Prue's attitude and reactions when Phoebe shows "irresponsibility." In this episode, Piper and Prue rapidly (and vocally) give her a to-do list before they leave the house in a hurry to do their jobs. The list was:

Prue

pick up dry cleaning

grocery shopping

shoe repair

mail letter

make ---------- payment (I couldn't make out the word bc it was blurry)

"we need lightbulbs"

Piper

talk to the gardener about the weeds

shopping

pay bills

call cable guy

cancel hair appointment

Honestly, if I were given this list, some of it would piss me off, like "pick up dry cleaning," "shoe repair," and "cancel hair appointment" (for someone else). Everything else sounds more reasonable to me bc it relates to the house and their living situation. However, Phoebe said something specific at 25:40, "Which is that I get absolutely no credit for all that I do around here. It's just assumed that I'll do it. Like, that crack that you made to Piper yesterday morning. 'Don't worry Piper, Phoebe'll do it. She's got time.'"

I rewound the episode to see exactly how it played out, what exactly they all said, and how they said it. It turns out that Piper said, "I am so behind. I didn't go shopping or pay the bills or call the cable guy or cancel my hair appointment." Phoebe responds, "Don't worry about it, sweetie. I'll do it." THIS is significant bc Phoebe replied to Piper without anyone asking her to pick up those tasks. However, Phoebe says it with a very specific tone. It was very automatic as if it wasn't the first time she's offered to do it, like it was frequent enough that it became a routine reaction (implication again of being consistently "useful" in other ways than financial!). PIPER stops in her tracks for a second and says with a frown on her face, "Are you sure?" to which Prue immediately follows up with, as Phoebe very accurately recalls later in the episode during their fight, "Yeah, I mean, you've got time, right?" and Phoebe has an extremely irritated look on her face. Prue doesn't even give her time to respond before moving on about Piper catching her flight. It's so key that Phoebe has more of a blank expression and tone when volunteering to pick up Piper's to-do list and she only reacts after Prue makes her comment.

At the start of the episode, I didn't think any of what I just said above ^^. I was completely understanding of Prue and Piper and how important it was for them to retain their jobs. The episode is set up very well with Prue's office scene following Phoebe's scene where she witnesses ghost crimes on Alcatraz. Prue is put under enormous pressure to keep her job, pressure that's been building for the whole season as she spends more time fighting the supernatural as a witch. This made me understand even more how significant it was for her to keep her job bc her and Piper's mentions about their jobs in jeopardy at the beginning of the episode relate to the upkeep of the house. I agreed that money was needed to keep the heat/water/electricity on, feed themselves (and their cat), and other basic living needs. Phoebe's call that interrupts Prue's lecture from Claire directly highlights their difference in values, goals, motivations, and aspirations. Prue highly values her job, which is why she's stressed from having to manage both parts of her life. Phoebe highly values her duty to protect the innocent and save lives as a witch, which is why she was practicing calling her premonition powers on command and was so passionate about researching the ghost of Alcatraz.

This divide between them is even further exacerbated when Prue gets home and sees the dishes in the sink and no groceries in the fridge while Phoebe is sitting in front of her laptop researching Alcatraz. Phoebe pissed me off here again bc I, too, would be frustrated as hell if I asked my housemate/sibling to go grocery shopping and I came home after work to an empty fridge without any ingredients to even cook. Phoebe mentions that there isn't enough money in the house account, pushing me even more to "Prue's side" about having a job bc I couldn't see how Phoebe could be concerned about something else when there was barely any food. I can't say for sure that they're in poverty or something, but my personal assumption is if you don't have enough for groceries, how are you feeding yourself?

Phoebe was also consistently lying about where she was, which ended up being the surface-level reason for her fight with Prue. Their fight was very captivating bc every time Phoebe said anything I could feel Prue's (and my) frustration and annoyance rising. Phoebe doesn't tell Prue the truth about where she was bc she knows Prue will blow up and she wants to save herself the drama, at which point I thought, "Girl, if you just admitted it, maybe it would help you both fight the ghost a bit better instead of pretending your friend saw everything. You are creating the drama, not Prue." Then, Phoebe says, "You're really mad at me bc, as far as you're concerned, I was slacking off yesterday, which is pretty much what I do every day, right?" I thought, "Yes!!! You literally crumpled the to-do list bc you decided it was ridiculous and then lied about where you were!!! The bills are not paid, there's no food in the fridge, and you avoided taking responsibility for what you DIDN'T do by bringing up 'We're not gonna prove Piper right by getting into a fight already, are we?' How are you not sorry for not doing all the things you said you were gonna do?"

But then Phoebe goes off on Prue, explaining how the root of all of this is Prue's animosity toward her for not having a real job. I even understood Prue's (implied) animosity. I, too, would be stressed about having to make sure I have a job to make money to "take care of my family," especially if one of my family members who lived with me didn't have a job. I would feel responsible for them and that is one of Prue's core characteristics. Phoebe's mention of Prue's underhanded comment about Phoebe having free time was the turning point where I started to understand more of Phoebe's POV. It's implied that Phoebe does all the housework such as grocery shopping, vacuuming the house, and waiting all day for the cable guy to show up. She even mutters, "I'm not even married and I'm already a housewife," after Prue and Piper leave the house. I admit that I rolled my eyes when she said that and thought, "Prue and Piper are literally carrying you financially and you can't help them out?" That was one of my many many mistakes and I realized that I was shitting on Phoebe for "not being grateful," yikes. I even downplayed and diminished the sheer amount of work that a housewife does just bc she's "not earning money."

My solidarity with Prue character isolated me from Phoebe and everything she did, everything she was passionate about, seemed childish and immature to me, and the fact that I felt that way personally speaks a lot about how realistic these characters and their relationships are (in my opinion). Phoebe's power fits so well with her emotional personality and her intrinsic desire to help in her own way. She may not pay the bills, but she cares about people outside of her immediate family and can't understand why people, for example, Prue, might prioritize their jobs and careers more than helping others. I think it's just a misunderstanding in which Prue and Phoebe live in their different worlds as a result of their different personalities, so it can be difficult to understand where the other person is coming from and how they feel.

Anyways, I already wrote so much lmao, I'll stop here. I'm ashamed of how I viewed Phoebe for so long. I made this post about 2 months ago when I first started rewatching Charmed and I believe that if I watched the first 3 episodes again after writing this post, I would most likely have a more informed opinion about some of the points I made. I feel very judgemental and I am reminded that there's always another perspective. I'm really glad that I kept going and pushed past my initial discomfort. This is a wonderful show and, again, I LOVE the writing and consistency in characterization in this episode.

I wrote this on Reddit originally, but I wanted to share it here too because I originated from Tumblr lol. It feels like coming home.

[eric-the-bmo]

Neighborhood Watch S2ep5: Open Wounds

A week after the session and I'm finally uploading the recap with bullet points, here we go:

[Summary: Ken tries to join the group /hj. The Cast fully reuintes at Emmett's. Markus gains an ally, while John tries to be a good friend. Song tries to clean up her place, and Louis goes on a rant.]

• Picking up a bit after where we left off: Ken tells Louis he's had the Sight ability ever since he was born, getting visions from touching objects and people— he says he's a psychic. Louis corrects him: Clairvoyant, actually. Ken's like "hm whatever psychic sounds cooler" • Ken shows Louis some drawings of monsters he's spotted, including one he calls the PantherHawk- it's the Hunter we killed in the Season One finale. Louis tries his best to explain what it was. • Louis elaborates, saying he and a group of others hunted down the kind of monster the PantherHawk was- Ken picks up on the "we" aspect, and asks if there was an official group, and if he can join— Louis said it was more of a neighborhood watch, finally dropping the title of the show after thirteen episodes. • Ken says the grocery store keeps restocking even though no one does that, according to Harold the bagger, and suggests its a ghost. Louis suggests it could be the fae– Jewel the Only Employee laughs over at the register– and tells Ken to see if the employees are doing anything like leaving offerings to the fae. • The cats all surround them in a semi-circle when its time for them to leave- Louis asks Ken if he thinks thats weird, and Ken's all "idk i thought they were trained to do that" (Louis: "keneth do you know how hard it is to train cats") • Some point in this conversation it was revealed Ken's lived in Greenville a few months before he got a house in the raffle- one of the places he stayed at was above the pizza place, after whoever lived there moved out (John and Shelby's old place!!! he lived where they lived!!!)

• Karen opens the door to see Markus, who sees the cop approaching and Really dones't wanna get arrested, because why else would a cop be walking over here? They push past her to run to Bob, and says they know where the monsters are; if they get arrested, Bob will never know where the monsters are. Markus uses a Luck point to successfully do this. • Bob tells Karen (whos being helpd up by their son aka the cop) the reason Markus ran her over was bc they were just excited about a camping trip he promised they would do together— Karen is confused bc they seemed to hate each other, and Markus is all "dude im not a kid, im 27," but the lie works. • (Turns out Markus wasnt going to get arrested anyway, since Bobby Jr was only heading over there to say hello since he was in the area) • Markus starts to head over to Emmett's house to speak to the AI inside. • Theres this whole bit about firefighters heading over and interviewing Song, and Louis being Flustered by them all and giving them giftbaskets. Song gathers a bag of stuff [aka, hidden weapons] that werent ruined from the explosion and plans to give them to Louis later, because where else would she store them? Her house is gone.

John and Clara are walking back to City Hall, where she asks if he'd like to grab dinner together- she's essentially asking him out on a date. John, however, knows Shelby wanted to try making him dinner to celebrate (and has never been asked out before so he's Oblivious), so he mentions this. Clara's "like oh yeah maybe your roommate can join us, if he's chill with it," John mentions his roommate is a girl, and Clara just goes "...oh." And like. Walks away.

Shelby shows up to pick up John and she looks so tired. John's like "hey bestie are you okay"

• Shelby tells John how she's just really focused on completing the Lego set she got earlier- the way she talks about it, like how Focused she is on getting it done, prompts the other players to theorize the Lego set is partially haunted or cursed by the dead son of the neighbor she got it from (I, meanwhile, assumed Shleby was just having an ADHD hyperfocus moment). John goes Protective Friend and convinces her to to go bed, also revealing her full name (Shelby Nicole Waters). There's a Bit about John not knowing if he has a middle name (he doesn't). • John learns Song's house exploded and he's like "it fucking what-" • He makes sure she gets to sleep, and after she does, he watches her for a few moments to make sure she's okay. Unlike the other times he's done this, he doesn't think about killing her this time.

• We all head to Emmett's— Louis chases Ken away when he tries to join us. When we get down there Markus tells John to quit his job, and Song is GLARING at the monster man, who's absolutely looking down at the floor, he Does Not want to look at her. • Louis goes on this Giant Rant to Emmett about how everything in this town is weird, have you noticed that? Like this town was made to keep all the weird stuff inside it. Literally nothing and no one about this town is normal. • Emmett says he knows this, and says he's spent years studying the town because of it. Wild. [as this is happening, John glances over at Song to make sure she's okay] • When Markus asks Emmett if he found out what the plastic was about, and Song is all "Oh I can explain that actually." She lies and says that some of her uh. Toys, got ruined in the explosion. [• We get very distracted for a moment because of this, both out-of and in-character] • We learn about the plants. Theyre venomous, highly adaptive, invasive, etc. They almost seem like Hunters, aka what John is, but as plants. • Markus tells everyone to meet them at their house since theyve got something to show the rest of the Cast. We split up. • Song and Louis hang out and the crooked's place as Song looks up a place to stay and gives him the weapons. Louis gets a message from Lestat, and heads over. • Going against a meaningful conversation he and Song had literally less than five minutes ago, Louis falls to Lestat's manipulations and lets the vampire feed upon him. • John is the only one to show up. Markus refuses to show him what they were gonna show the cast, bc then theyd have to show it twice and they dont wanna do that. John and Markus have a conversation that starts with him asking why they thought he didn't to be fixed. Markus tells John he's caring, strong- nothing's wrong with him, he just needs to work on self control. They end up becoming friends again, and John helps them feed their bugs. • When he gets home, he sees the partially-built Lego set on the kitchen counter, and feels the Urge to continue building it. He turns away, not wanting to interrupt Shelby's project– a Luck point is spent, and his Monstrous side will be worse when it emerges next.

Notes:

I FUCKED UP I LOCKED MYSELF OUT OF DATING CLARA NOOOO [John my beloved he's going to ask her what he did wrong next week (and then he's going to quit his job. bc really he Also really doesn't like the plant thing)]

JOHNS CANONICALLY THOUGHT ABOUT KILLING SHELBY BEFORE, WE STAY WINNING /hj

Something about how John feels guilty about almost killing Song and how he wants to make it up to her

That conversation where Song explained the plastic? I was like "GIRL REMEMBER YOUR GEAS ABOUT NOT TELLING US, YOU'LL D I E" and then she Lied, killing me instantly

John wanting to be a good friend to Shelby is continuously fucking up his life /JJJJ (I can't wait for him to go all Monstery again it'll be so so fun)

Louis takes a break during his rant to mention how he has No Idea how Markus has even survived this long, and everyone agrees that Markus is literally the most normal person in this group. There's great dramatic irony here, given how Markus is in fact Full of Bugs and made everyone forget about that

I didnt say anything about it in-game but hello? Markus? self-control??? John had avoided killing humans by eating forest animals for three years he was doing such a good job. why do you Think he's so torn up about hurting Song

LOUIS. LOUIS IM GOING TO KILL YOUR EX BOYFRIEND. God that scene was so. ougghughghghgjh. fucking christ

[quiveringdeer]

nat -- coming to you with some disheveled thoughts bc you have the best sexiest brain -- i was talkin with one of my other friends about canon-adjacent reiner with a secret marleyan s/o 🤔 specifically, reiner starting a family with them and how torn he'd be about having to keep his lil baby a secret 😩 i'm just here to yell into the void with you about this poor teddy bear man

Rory you are too kind to my brain. It is truly just a lump of mush that fires decent thoughts once in a blue moon but let's see here

I know we were all talkin in the server about exactly how much status becoming a Warrior gets you in Marley, and it doesn't seem like much so definitely would need to be a secret baby.

For stuff like this my brain always swings to someone who is either a doctor or scientists. I know it's definitely not always the case but being in such a profession makes me think that person might be more sympathetic to Eldians cause when things get right down to it, the only way they become "monsters" is through the tampering of Marley science and carrying on this legacy of the 9 through--if we're being frank--barbaric practices ((I've been thinking about the intricacies and ritualism of titan transfers though and would love to chat about that in another post/with peeps))

AAAAAANYWHO....

So maybe they're a medic or someone who's consistently in contact with Reiner and the other Shifters and candidates as their primary physician/researcher?? I feel like it'd need to be someone who'd be close enough to be around when they get sent out on the front lines of the Mid East War battles. It took four flippin years, and doesn't seem like the Shifters were used very often due to the heavy artillery.

I'm getting so in the weeds with this and not what you asked lol

But them spending so much time around Reiner, maybe in the interim after taking blood samples and waiting on test results to take more samples they strike up conversation with him? Maybe they're curious about what things were like over in Paradis, but from a like-- what kinds of plants do they have? Is their food similar? What do their schools teach in history ((cause like is it common knowledge that the king guy erased the memories of the folks on Paradis? I don't think so right? Like do the brass in Marley know? @erudianokabe @lemmetreatya yall are like my lore go tos))

But anywho, maybe it's refreshing for Rei to get to talk about what it's like there without having to focus on the people aspect too much. Or at least the people he knew. So he doesn't have to spend so much time balancing the lying and keeping up pretense?

In my canon adjacent insert au, YN is in a similar profession as above + knew Rei and everyone before they got shipped off. And part of what draws them closer together is they're around when Rei experiences a couple DID shifts that get triggered through some things ((I honestly need to do more research to feel comfy writing those but that's my thought))

But yeah, I think you're right it would be really really tough for Rei having to keep his child a secret. Cause hello, cycles repeating much. I think once knowing about said child he'd do everything he could to be their father short of them calling him their father? Ya know.

I don't think his self loathing and chronic depression egged on by shit tons of survivor's guilt would vanish cause of this new love in his life or their baby. Which sucks. Wish brains weren't so dumb and awful. But I think, he'd be trying to figure out how best to set them both up to be taken care of after his time is up in a couple years. Oh gosh. That'd be such a big thing for him too probably!!

I feel like the baby would definitely not be planned. Cause he wouldn't willingly want to bring a baby into the whole secrecy scenario, but also, then not even being able to be around as a surrogate dad in principle cause he'll be dead no matter what before they're even 8 years old would really crush him. :/

[dykefever]

ello laura i do not usually open blocked tags but i did out of curiosity n stumbled across ur post abt the apparent height disk horse that is happening rn (<-blissfully unaware). also this is the ghost of marxismlupinism btw sending as an anon cause on my main blog idk what a semus and ririus is never heard of them cunts.

anyway I wanted to say that yeah basically it's like such a non issue if people are casting r&s into gendered roles, like even if people were genderbending rs into a literal cishet couple I could not care less who gives a shit it's harry potter fanfiction.

that being said I think it's very telling abt the hp fandom that the whole like "writing s as 'feminine' and a bottom comes with him being short" (which btw... i mean I'm sure there's some fanfic like that but I can't say I've really read more than like 5 fics that fit that description? and I've unfortunately read a lot of rs fic lmao... it's literally not hard to avoid. skill issue if you can't filter the fanfic you read to not have it) is portrayed as homophobia against [cis] gay men instead of the obvious transmisogyny it is—ie setting smallness & youth as standards of femininity. that's why so many closeted trans women/trans women who can't access hrt dread growing older, that's why so much emphasis is put on age of transition in transfem spaces, and that's why even gay man spaces have concepts of "twink death", because femininity is understood to be hairless and pretty and dainty and youthful and small and all these standards that are difficult to achieve if you've been through androgenic puberty and/or if you have testes that continue to produce testosterone that continues to masculinise your body as you grow older. portraying s (or any given character ime when it comes to tme fans in fandom spaces) as feminine is seen as going hand in hand with physically feminising him—bc femininity that's not on a feminised body is obviously met with disgust, it's unattractive, it's horrifying, etc. and the obvious source of the tendency to portray feminine male characters this way is that there's only one acceptable form of camab femininity (or "acceptable", even that is very conditional). and yes it does affect cis gays like I said above w how gay men talk about eg "twink death" but that doesn't mean it's not a primarily transmisogynistic impulse to show that, for most of us, femininity is a hopeless cause, it's not allowed, we'll never pass or be beautiful or whatever.

and ftr I'm just complaining, I definitely don't think the solution is to produce More Harry Potter Fanfictions where s is like, tall and hairy and feminine or whatever, knowing the hp fandom I'm sure they'll also turn that into transmisogynistic caricatures too. the only real solution would be for all these ppl to stop reading hp fanfic and start reading transfeminist theory but if ur a harry potter fan in 2023 you're obviously never gonna do that. so. yeah just complaining for the sake of complaining lol not expecting transfeminism to catch on among harry potter fans of all people anytime soon

hi (redacted)!! actually made sure to tag that post so u and all my other normal followers could avoid it but i respect the curiosity x im sure you've probably seen the height discourse many times over in your time in the fandom and it's the same absolute bullshit every time. i appreciate your additions to this post as a transwoman because i obviously don't have that perspective and you've kind of deepened my understanding of the issues around it n how transmisogyny comes into play here!!

in my prev posts i was kind of addressing, albeit likely not clearly, how people often say they dislike 'short s' as a kind of shorthand for saying they dislike 'fem s', which is really saying (as people dig themselves deeper in their explanations) that they don't like certain aspects of 'femininity' in a man and then spin it to say that it's because they're writing a heteronormative relationship onto a gay couple. i appreciate what you're saying here as well of the issues of the only way to write s as feminine is like small, dainty, hairless etc. and how that is an issue of transmisogyny rather than like homophobia. (correct me if i've misunderstood tho!!)

at the end of the day it definitely like, doesn't matter how people are writing hp characters like no great and impressive change is happening and the fandom is full of too many transphobes for that to be the case. i just don't understand why people are so pressed by these certain characterisations they appear to dislike so bad when i genuinely barely come across these s characterisations they apparently can't escape. like i don't see anything i don't want to because i just unfollow and block people ....it is not that hard like...

anyway thank u for ur contributions ghost of marxismlupinism, i appreciate it xx godspeed xx

[chemicalbrew]

choose violence ask game 6 bc we both know where this is headed (cough all of them cough)

YEAH YEAH YEAH YIPPEE [immediately turns reblogs off]

6. which ship fans are the most annoying? [interpreting as romantic ship]

so. let's start with what we both know

Katana ZERO

As I said in DMs earlier, I think the only worthwhile KZ ship is Zero x the receptionist (preferably one-sided, but I think someone really smart could make it mutual. I certainly wouldn't be mad if it was confirmed mutual in canon, but I seriously doubt it - one-sided is way funnier, anyway.). I also kind of sort of in theory respect the hustle of people trying to write V and Snow (rarepairs... been there), but I think I could never see it that way; what we have in game of them is barely good enough for anything, which is what makes it hilarious. That said, the most annoying shit here is, as we know...

150 150 150 150 150 !!!!!!

Even their stupid ship name cracks me up. Like, I understand, you can't have a good portmanteau or anything when your ship has numbers, but half the ship is literally Zero (hehe another reason Zerocep[tionist] wins), however... the way you read it is not even conducive to a shipping read. One fifty? One hundred and fifty? Even the number doesn't want them together <3

There was a post somewhere in my KZ tag that actually puts my feelings better than I myself can, but I'll try anyway. Due to the way this game's plot\timeline is framed, all their past interaction is basically implied. They don't really get to exchange any words, no matter how awkward (compare this to the receptionist having the tiniest of character arcs, but still an arc, between the hotel and bunker stages) - Fifteen just shows up, confirms he's the real Dragon, kills the shit out of V, and leaves, and that right there is the closest we get to an interaction (surely you won't say Zero walking in on a conversation later counts?).

How the fuck can you wrangle a ship out of that?

'But muh implications' that's all they are, implications. Not a very fertile ground to build upon. And even then, what they imply is far more like camaraderie than anything, which, while a solid and even necessary (in real life, at least) foundation for a relationship, doesn't MEAN it has to be romantic!! Give me traumatized war buddies that aren't making out with each other, pleeeeeeease...

'But you're reblogging art with them together' YEAH BECAUSE THEY LOOK HANDSOME TOGETHER AND THEIR DESIGNS ARE PERFECTLY COMPLEMENTARY. THAT'S THE ONLY REASON. I'M LITERALLY OBSESSED WITH HOW WELL THEY MATCH IN THIS ASPECT. This is why they should just be fighting together and nothing else <3

Xenoblade (gonna try and be a bit more rapid-fire about the rest of this post, unless the wrathful mood strikes me again)

Shulk and Fiora do not make sense romantically at all to me. They're family, ffs. Same for Shulk and Reyn, if not doubly same. But the fans keep insisting otherwise and often. (Libra, if you're reading this, this doesn't apply to you or other friends of mine that like Shiora. You're the only ones I trust with these two, I just want no part of it myself)

Shulk and Alvis are amazing, but need to be viewed through a lens more complex than typical shipping to be fully appreciated (something I'm still somewhat guilty of and recovering from. Jesus, wider XB1 fandom can be the worst sometimes).

Shulk and Melia as a ship by itself does not offend me, but the fans that weep about how Melia never had any good shit happen to her, and say Shulk not returning her feelings makes it worse... can die in a fire :)

I don't understand how people can take Reyn and Sharla seriously together tbh... but I guess it's more acceptable than the stuff above?

Rex and Nia (on their own, without Aegis in picture) never needed to be anything more than friends. The way Nia gets over being ''''friendzoned''' (hate that word) canonically is better than anything fans have come up with regarding this matter.

Lora and Jin have barely been interpreted by anyone in the wider fandom correctly (that I know of - key word 'barely'). Just stop at this point <3

...I won't be talking about XB3 ships because I heavily dislike XB3 and haven't read anything shippy for it, not even for NoahMio.

PS. Morag and Zeke should get more attention (personally I'm still guilty of somewhat ignoring this as a ship, but if I ever replay\rewatch, I'll be sure to analyze their interactions more, especially bc they're fun no matter how you look)

misc.

I have seen people interpret Ares and Dela (Brandish series) as a romantic ship, and I'd like to see just how much their brain has rotted.

Olivier and Mueller (Trails in the Sky) are very fun as a ship! I'd just like to see people view their relationship through a more neutral lens sometimes. However, the fact that Estelle x Kevin fics exist is the real mind-bender here. HOW? It's called being playful and keeping up a front!! (Also, Estelle x Anelace is slept on the same way as Zerocep and Moragzeke <333)

Frog x Magus and Lucca x Magus (Chrono Trigger) make equally little sense, and yet seem to be popular. Ew. Not even mentioning my personal beef with Frog x Lucca. Don't.

Midna x Link and Malon x Link (Zelda series) were actually my first NOTPs, largely because of annoying fans. I see now I was in the wrong and am largely 'thog dont caaare' about it, but still, important.

Ace Attorney series... tbh its fandom is weird about ships as a whole, but I'm guilty of falling into the Blackmadhi trap, so I can't speak. Almost everything other than Blackmadhi, though, is a tough sell largely bc of fandom.

Any ship involving Stocke from Radiant Historia has to be included in here. I am by and large respectful of most popular stuff with him (especially Stocke x Rosch and the Stocke x Sonja x Rosch OT3), I just think it's more fun to have him not into any of it. Very similar situation to Zero KZ, honestly.

[ilovereadingandstuff]

the denial bro.

that's what it means to be in denial or not being able to accept Haru has sexual tension with MANY men inside the show.... mostly and exclusively with Rin, but that's my personal read of it

"mh fans do this the most and its so unfair bc they are so stubborn abt meeting halfway"

OMG YES!!

I'm honest here: I DO NOT ship makoharu, BUT I DO ACCEPT IT and take acknowledge of its existence and transcendence in canon. I DO NOT deny it just because i don't like it.

"like i 100% believe makoto is in love with haru. like intentionally written to be in love with haru full stop"

I confirm it a 100%.

Makoto said to Haru MULTIPLE TIMES he loved him. explicitly.

like... in Starting days, in the Final Strokes movies, EVEN IN THE LIGHT NOVELS BRO!!!

Makoto. loves. Haru.

and it's something canon we gotta live with.

"rouble is he does not reciprocate and this is made very clear by. everything he thinks in relation to makoto vs rin"

The difference here between Makoharu and Rinharu is that the first one is a unreciprocated love.

A onesided love. A doomed crush.

Haru, by his words and actions, he obviously cared for Makoto as his 2nd favorite person in the world. Makoto is and always have been a very important person in his life as his friend, his childhood companion, etc... but that's it. his second.

Rin IS and always have been the first.

Haru chose to keep on competing alongside Rin at olimpic level.

He chose his dream to be one in which he could continue having Rin in it.

He truly felt alive and able to breath properly when swimming with Rin.

...And even when Haru said to so many people 'we will continue swimming together'...his future was with Rin.

Rin is the one he chose to keep on swimming with for the rest of his life.

"but so many mh fans it feels like are so dead set on the belief that haru has never thought of rin a day in his life"

That's literally denying canon content right there. like, the mentality of any of what the literal anime showed us is canon.

Starting days is literally a movie of 110 minutes of Haru missing his 'dead wife' Rin who was out there in Austrialia and having problems accepting reality and the continuity of life without him.

Season 1 is literally both Rin and Haru tangled in their comunication problems and struggles with the confusion of the past (alongside with the construction of clubs and facing what was high school life when crashing with the past memories).

Final Stroke...do I even have to say more?? trauma and them being in pain because of not being together, basically.

"and rin fucking hates haru actually and only likes him for his swimming and forgets he exists when hes not swimming"

Rin never hated Haru.

He had complicated feelings about him because of his lack of confidence and the way Haru's existence touched a very fragile straw of his being from the very beggining...and also because Haru was his actual inspiration, his norther star...

'hate' is just a superficial and shallow summary of Rin's feelings OF SEASON 1!!! not even the series as a whole, because season 1 is literally just one year of NEARLY 21 YEARS of living...

They boys were in university, adults, when the show ended. And Starting Days AND the light novels start when they were near 12 years old or even younger.

And continuing my rambling above, Rin appreciated Haru as a person, as a whole. Yes, swimming is what connected them, what is the purpose of their lives, separately and altogether (because, yeah, the show is about swimming, if you didn't notice), but both Rin and Haru (NOTE HERE: I'M AWARE I COULD BE WRONG SAYING THIS) expressed of wanting the other in their lives NOT only in swimming but other aspects of it too.

Take for example: Rin's rambling of Haru when he was a child back in Australia; Rin's monologues in rinharustralia era when talking about his dreams, his motives and life being connected to Haru's persona...and literally all of final stroke part 2 of them both being depressed af because the other one was not there.

guess...that's what i have to say to support your opinion, my fellow rinharu friend.

It was actually funny right down all of that.

sorry for doing this again but how are ppl seriously claiming that rin and haru werent written with the subtext of having any romantic tension……… what the fuck do you think the association with sakura trees means in japan???? the power of friendship??? commodore between men?? it means gay sex fall in love. like come the fuck on