#Still there are a LOT of character tropes

[shoups32]

The mischaracterization of Mel Medarda by both the fandom and the show has to be one of the worst things about arcane.

In the show we see her get mischaracterized and completely ruined mostly when it comes to Viktor and mostly in season 2. This is mostly because of Amanda’s very clear dislike of her (she has said on twitter that she finds Mel boring and did basically use her to further the plot of Viktor.) but I also think a part of it is just the inconsistencies of her character. A good example of this is that we see in season 1 through a flashback that Mel is a very thoughtful character that doesn’t agree with the laws of Noxus nor their reign over Ionia. Inside the show this gets completely ignored when we see her judging Viktor due to him being from Zaun (though I don’t think that is what that scene was implying that seems to be what most do think). With what we know about her she wouldn’t be judgmental of people from Zaun. Now this isn’t to say she would have fixed all the issues and stood up for Zaun from the beginning because she still does care about her power. This is just one of the many inconsistencies in her character in arcane.

Another issue (that is far more important in my opinion) with how she is written that I believe contributes to my post is that she is written into the “disposable black girlfriend trope” not only by the fandom but by the show itself. We see this most in season two when any moment between Jayce and Mel gets Viktor in it. It is very clear Jayce cares for both of them dearly but we also see her get overshadowed by Viktor multiple times. One example is the fire scene. Jayce sees Mel first then it goes to Viktor, that could be a good show on how he cares about them both but it is shown more in a way that makes it seem as though Jayce overshadows Mel with Viktor. Of course this point is only proven more in context of the fact that Jayce rarely ever spoke to Mel in season 2 and didn’t either bring up Viktor or basically called her a shitty person. While I get a lot of people’s defense for this is that in canon Jayce was stressed when you put it all together that defense doesn’t work out much.

My final point is to why and how I think she was so butchered in the show (mostly season 2). One reason is the writers clear dislike to her. Amanda herself has admitted to finding her boring and using her for Viktor on Twitter. In season 1 I think what was protecting Mel from how bad she was portrayed in season 2 was the fact that it had a huge team of writers. Season 2 has been confirmed to only have about 3 writers so not many people to actually give the characters the love they deserve. I think season 2 being rushed is also a huge issue but that is a whole other topic.

If you don’t agree with this that is fine I just have gotten tired of the fandom mistreating her. I do hope someone reads this though and realizes how bad her character is treated.

[olderthannetfic]

Ever since JKR terfed out, I've seen a lot of people talking about alternatives to Harry Potter. And i respect it, because I do think most of those people have good intentions, not to mention there are obviously people out there who are genuinely uncomfortable with the series and can't divorce the art from the artist.

But idk...for a lot of people, they like Harry Potter because it's Harry Potter. While some might find comfort in picking up a different "magic boarding school", "chosen one", "found family", "kids as the heroes", etc story, or whatever it is that someone might enjoy about HP...for some people it goes beyond just tropes or settings or character dynamics and they just like HP. They like Hogwarts, they like Harry and his classmates and teachers, they like to read about the creatures in the specific way they exist in the Hp universe, they like to read about Quidditch, they like things and characters that are only a thing within the Wizarding World and the "read another book" thing just doesn't work. (The "read another book" MEME though, however, can be pretty funny depending on the context though, ngl.)

Anyway, like, I get it, I really do, I have a lot of sympathy for those who want to separate themselves from HP forever. I don't think they're all virtue signallers/performative activists/whatever else you might say. it's one thing to call HP irreedemable media and how you should DNI if you still like it, it's completely different to be like, "hey here's another magick school story that might fill the void for those who genuinely want to cut all JKR out due to their own comfort"!

But regardless of you twist it, there will always be people who just...still enjoy HP. And I'll admit I do sideeye those who *knowingly, being aware of her politics* monetarily support her who wrote the books, but I don't think that having your House in your bio, or writing/reading fanfiction, or buying unofficial merch, or using the HP things you've already bought...I don't think any of that is bad by default. It's wild to me that some people think that those are all inherently red flags. And for some people, letting go of a franchise entirely is really hard, especially for most of the demographic of the HP fandom that I know, those who grew up with it as a part of their childhood and as SUCH an iconic pop culture thing. I'm not gonna read some new up and coming series if you just market it to me as "best friends at a wizarding school, but with more diversity than HP!" You know where else I can find that? HP fanfiction.

--

[dearestgentlereaders]

I think a lot of the consternation polin-antis or bridgerton fans who don’t like polin have towards penelope and colin stems from the fact that they don’t understand the core of polin. they are friends, best friends even and this is a huge factor of their love story. a lot of the complaints I see about season 3 is ‘oh we didn’t see colin grovel enough’ or ‘penelope should have hated him for a bit’ and I just think if they had gone down that route it would not been true to their love story.

the thing about polin is that they’re adorable dorks. their love story is the like the ones you hear of kids that fall in love at the sandbox at school. if anything I would have wanted more scenes of them being the dorky losers that they are (still holding out hope for season 4). it would be strange to see them hash it out with cruel words and remarks. their foundation of friendship deepens their love so it would be so out of character to see them completely hate each other.

wanting penelope to hold a grudge just wouldn’t work for them. you love your best friends and you’ll forgive them if you know their apology comes from their heart and they mean it, which is what she did.

the love to hate to love cycle doesn’t work with colin and pen or with the friends to lovers trope and I think once people understand that they’ll be able to appreciate their love story better.

[blurrilines]

Alright, it’s time I discuss Star Sapphire Bernard and why I think he would legitimately be a good fit for becoming a ring wearer (aka Blurri read a theory book on love and has a lot of feelings about Bernard Dowd and now the Star Sapphires could be written moving forward)

First let’s establish what makes a Star Sapphire chosen by the Star Sapphire Ring (bear in mind I am not a full expert and I understand that the Star Sapphire Corps have changed over time so I’ll try to be as up to date on their lore as possible). Star Sapphires are empowered by Love the way Green Lanterns are empowered by Willpower. They are typically portrayed as women scorned or someone who lost someone they love, and this event is what lead them to obtain their abilities, aka when the ring chose them and They chose to become a Star Sapphire, aka fight fear and hatred and give love.

However, It’s not exclusive to these events taking place the same way wearing a Star Sapphire ring isn’t exclusive to women, it’s just usually the case we see in most stories. This emphasis on choice is where I’m reminded of Bernard.

Bernard Dowd is someone who’s been hurt, both in a very literal, physical sense, as well as an emotional and spiritual one. Starting with the obvious Bernard was in a pain cult, where literal beatings were used to achieve “enlightenment” and so on, though for Bernard it was clearly something he felt he deserved, much like eventually becoming the cults sacrifice, which Tim fortunately intervened in. However, despite being rejected by his parents after coming to terms with not being straight and not having seen Tim in years, not to mention being deep in the cult that convinces him that beating will make the pain in his heart stop, he chooses to reconnect with Tim. And when freed from the cult’s sacrificial alter, he fights by Tim’s side to free not only himself from the cult but the others they indoctrinated.

Later we see this theme continue with Bernard talking about how he wouldn’t reject his parents if they decided to change their tune and treat him like their son again, even if it would be more than understandable for him not to. He chooses to see them as people who can change, and to love them despite the pain they’ve caused him, while still keeping his distance and not caving to their manipulation or demands. Bernard is someone who has been shown, in multiple ways, to already align with the Star Sapphire’s foundations of choosing to give love and fight against hatred - even when it would be the arguably easier option.

There’s also the fact that at this point there are currently no male Star Sapphires in their ranks, only male Lanterns who’ve briefly worn the ring. This would leave Bernard in a unique position as the only known male Star Sapphire, leaving for a new and interesting story to be told for DC. Bernard is also a character criticized at times for “only being a love interest” and being created as a supporting character to Tim, as was the case when he first debuted Pre-Rebirth. Turning that trope on its head by making Bernard a being literally giving super powers from the love he has, for Tim or otherwise, would be dope as hell imo, but that might just be me.

Love is sometimes defined as the choice to extend oneself to nurture another or your own spiritual growth (go read all about love by bell hooks for more on that). It is an action and a decision made the same as activating one’s willpower to achieve their goals. I think with this specification in mind we see how Bernard embodies this choice and how it could lead to him becoming a powerful member of the Star Sapphire Corps.

TLDR; Bernard is a character who is shown to already align with the core of what a Star Sapphire is (choosing love and gaining power from it) and it’d be cool if DC gave him a ring.

[asexualbookbird]

It sure has been a Year huh. Ups and downs this month, as life happens. Saw friends I haven't seen in years, went into the city and met new friends, tried new foods, saw some birds, tried new crafts, read new books.

The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Hm! Interesting! Didn't hate it, but something feels missing? Almost like it could've benefited from being at the very least a short novel. It needed more. I also have qualms at this being pitched as sapphic when there is no romance at all and the main character talks a lot about being betrayed by her last romance with a man. One mention of Woman With Hot Thighs. Not mad I read it, might even read it again.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming ⭐️⭐️ ‐ I'll be honest, one star is Mean but I had a lot more fun reading Fourth Wing and that was two stars. The tone is what dragged this one down for me. It reads like YA, but it's very much not. I do not believe for a second the MC is 24, she doesn't act like it at all. The sex scenes. Are there. I could make an entire post about the book ending on them having penetrative PiV sex. Part of my grievances are me not liking the genre, but I truly think this just isn't that good. Plenty of people on the internet write better more filthy works for free. Why was this sitting unassumingly on the library shelf.

*amended to two stars if this is indeed satire

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P Djèlí Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Fine. Not much to say because it was Completely Average. Not mad I read it, but don't wish to repeat the experience. I think maybe Clark isn't an author for me, as I recall feeling similarly about A Master of Djinn. It's not so much that the characters or world feel flat, but something definitely feels missing. It was silly and lighthearted and gory and I did like that though!

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Another hit from Sarah Beth Durst. I see your Themes. I see your Tropes. Kindness. Found family. Accepting help. All personal attacks on me. Adorable, fun, some sort of cross between T Kingfisher and Becky Chambers, I didn't want it to end, and now have a name for my spider plant. It also seems like I need to get my spider plant a friend.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo ⭐️⭐️ - I have very mixed feelings about this that are really summarized as This Wasn't For Me. I like the idea that yeah you're a monster but someone loves you anyway. I like using the monster to punish those who called you one. I think there's some very specific midwestern religious trauma that I'm missing to really Get It, though. On top of that, while I recognize the themes and significance in the age gap, a 30 year old going after an 18 year old icks me out. I'd still recommend it with very very heavy reservations.

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal ⭐⭐ - Going to be honest, I just finished this and I'm already moving on. The writing was fine and I'm not put off of the author entirely, but I never felt wowed. I was annoyed more than anything. I didn't love any of the characters, but I didn't really hate anyone either. The amount of people Tesla let pet her service dog drove me nuts. The ending felt slapped together. It never really felt cohesive. I feel vindicated reading that fans of her other books also were unimpressed with this. I wouldn't steer people away from it, but I didn't have a lot of fun.

I'm tentatively excited for February. I have art ideas I'd like to get started on, I am working on a craft thing that I might be able to profit a bit off of, I'm flat out ignoring the world, book club is approaching. I'm looking for good things in the world, and I will find them. That is a threat.

[randomperson0k]

serpentine rising au designs of the early ninja [first few years of being ninja id say? these are their 'early days' designs in my timeline]

oh also the serpentine rising name is a inside joke . its not serpentine focused its just my ninjago rewrite au

you can read all the info belowww if you wanttt toooo swiggly face smiley face.

its still early development so theyre not set in stone and i will change things

ive had this art ready for awhile but ive spent like a week writing the stuff below

general setting info -

im a huge sucker for sloppy overused hollywood tropes and ruining things with my personal preferences in media so ! the ninjas identitys arent known. they keep them secret. and they all go to highschool in the beginning [except lloyd hes too young to be in highschool ] like the ninjago movie. i suck. but also like give those ninja a proper education i do NOT trust wu with doing that he is not reliable

serpentine and oni and all other species that are villains just because they are that species [example - the oni and the serpentine in the early seasons] are no longer villains just because they are born from that species. yay! making an entire species all villains just because theyre apart of that species is super boring so its getting eradicated now. 'theyre all evil unless they learn how to not be evil like mystake did with her being a oni and learning how to be good' booooooo BOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOMATO TOMATO TOMATO 🍅🍅🍅 why does that tomato look so weird what

garmadon isnt the pilot villain [hes only referenced by his skeleton army but he never actually appears or is heavily brought up] and hes a very built up villain and is referenced a lot by others to build up a big image for him before hes revealed and he only appears much later on. ninjago drags his dead corpse around too much let than old man REST. also im tired of season 97 about garmadon and lloyds relationship SNOREEEE .also i find it so funny that lloyd is more upset at misako than garmadon when they reunite like hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby type situation garmadon has probably killed thousands and put mass genocide and ruling the world infront of his priority list instead of putting lloyd at the front whilst misako got flashbanged by her sons radioactive eyes and cried herself to sleep . there is a huge difference here

most species + other established places have different languages. theres no way they all speak the same language i know its just because its a kids show and it needs to be dumbed down but cmon it would be more fun . so yeah most have different languages and they all have more built upon cultures which are explored in episodes like the ninjago mail episodes where you get to see a look into civilian life whilst the story still plays out. its like that but with other places and characters we've seen from them

also im just calling ninjagos language common because i forgot the actual language name

pythor is released first and he releases the rest of the serpentine and sticks with lloyd until all of them are released and then betrays him . and the final battle with the great devourer is the serpentine with the war + great devourer vs the ninja + the serpentine against the war .

im still working on it but i have most of my ideas sorted for the pilot , morro and the serpentine

oh yeah speaking of morro uhhh the ghost realm i forgot the name is MUCH more eldritchy. ive been given a living physical embodiment of a realm of the dead to play around with . what else am i supposed to do with that. not make it creepy and a hivemind like creature that affects every soul it can get its tentacles on ??? cmon. so yeah morro and all the ghosts are corrupted by the preeminent and i want to explore morro and lloyds dynamic more because it has so much potential . imagine seeing your mentor replace you with somebody else and they get to be the thing you dreamed every day to be but theyre just a kid and they dont know and theyre so happy but youre so angry and they took everything from you but they dont know they did but you cant control yourself because theres a Thing in your head and its also Very Angry. ya. so i want to explore that more yes. morro had interesting motivations and i like his character . so when the preeminent is defeated morro comes back as a regular uncorrupted ghost and he gets therapy good on him

since garmadon doesnt come around until much later + im trying to limit down on repeat villains like the overlord and stuff a lot of the season villains are either going to be swapped around and switched or heavily changed. and so far im not considering any to be but if i have to i might completely remove certain villains if i truely cant find a spot for them. basically im just blowing up the entire ninjago timeline

elemental powers work in the way that base level elemental power is being able to manipulate existing material and like final form elemental power is being able to create that elemental power from nothing [something something 'most elemental powers branch from dragons who are the element of creation' etc etc]. depending on the power the stages can be more difficult to reach. like for jay with his element he can make his own electricity without outside assistance [such as elemental weapons, being a conduit or just. fusing with your element like nya did] really easily but the side effect is his control of it is somewhat more unstable because his power is just that strong. whilst for somebody like nya or lloyd creating their element from nothing is extremely hard and would take decades of training to master so they have the weakness of just having to stick to stick to manipulating existing forms of their element instead of creating them from nothing.

~~~~~

lloyd - you annoy me but i love you equally as much

considering making him woke idk i just want to piss off those ninjago fans with theythem lloyd . shoves pipebomb up ur butt night night chat!!! . ]

uhh i actually dont have his age set down yet im kinda unsure about it but hes younger than 10 years old yes. but he looks a lot younger than he is because he ages slower than a normal human

basics we all know hes a oni/dragon/human yah. master of energy yadaaa yadaaa. big changes is the great devourers venom partially passed over to him from garmy dont ask how it woooorks so basically just sometimes goes and maul peoples arms off but then crys about it later

known languages - common [isnt too good at writing common though due to not having a great education from darkleys, hes better at speaking it. ]

lloyd subconsciously shapeshifts to look like his father to be scary and intimidating so people dont hurt him [so his current design isnt what he actually looks like] hes like a pathetic hairball demon demanding you to be afraid of him. he truely thinks this is his true form

lloyd does not know of his actual species despite. not looking human unlike canon. look lloyd doesnt know a thing about his parents or his heritage his parents basically booted him out of the house as soon as he was born and he grew up inbetween houses being raised by people from favours his mom could cash in before he was eventually booted into darkleys

fighting style is much of a mix between what wu has taught him , random angry squabbling with his claws and most important of all. random shank he owns that the ninja have tried so hard to take off him but fail everytime to. hes a rogue style build and is the most sneaky out of all the ninja. short and puntable , knife in hand.

ok . biggest change in this rewrite. HE DOESNT BECOME THE GREEN NINJA UNTIL HES 15-16 AND THE TOMORROWS TEA NEVER HAPPENS TO HIM. dude i swear canon wu has got to be the final twist villain of the series because WHY did he drag that 10 year old toddler onto the battlefield as the green ninja GET HIM OFF ???? THERE????? anyways so yeah wu does try to get him to be the green ninja early on but he gets severely injured in a fight and misako beats wu's ass and he stops being the green ninja really early on and just continues being a student until hes old enough to be on the field

ok edit i might make it so the tomorrows tea does exist because i like it in concept but its only a temporary effect

his elemental power is changed because his power at the moment is just straight up 'green' the movie is right he really is just the green element. anyways so his power functions as it takes energy from something [either himself or his surroundings] and can apply the energy to something else or convert it into a different type of energy and apply it like that. energy cannot be created or destroyed yadayda [he could train to create energy from nothing but that would take like decades to accomplish on his own without outside help cough cough becoming a conduit cough cough ] GOODNIGHT ninjago and HELLO sleep paralysis! anyways he specialises in plants [he LOVES plants] and he carrys a terrarium around with him 24/7 its in a jar hidden under his black hoodie. this is how hes discovered as the green ninja he saves the ninja using the plants and stuff from his jar not whatever that golden weapon glowing stuff is booooorrring

since hes constantly taking energy from himself his body kind of adapted to have an insanely fast metabolism to make up for it

elemental power side effects - either goes in a tired state and sleeps for like a week straight or he jumps around and bounces off the walls for a week and struggles heavily to sleep. also if he takes in too much energy since hes really young and his body isnt strong enough for it he makes a huge explosion of raw unfiltered energy and it blows up everything around him including himself

wu adopts him and he is homeschooled by wu for a little bit before being brought into school

when misako returns i say he moves in with misako and lives there but he spends weekends at wus and goes there every afternoon

clings to kai like a leech . kind of in denial about it and if its brought up he throws a tantrum and does x2 the pranks on that person who brought it up. but yeah hes much more attached to kai and follows him around the most.

in terms of most powerful between each ninja his most powerful aspect is he has the most adaptability and ways of using his element [since his power is really uh... open? in how it can be used? like. theres a TON of things that energy can be applied to. energy is extremely broad] but he restricts himself by only specialising in using raw energy [aka 'power: green'] and flora growth and manipulation . so hes not as strong as he could be if he stopped chaining himself down with just those two useages of energy.

he can see others energy in like a weird way. he could have a blindfold over his eyes and still 'see' others energy and be able to tell whos who and be able to identify things around him.

loves heavy metal music. felt like sharing. he loves cartoons and will hoard the tv remote and defend it with his life

umm note for future me their oni features are gold colors and their dragon features are black. sprinkle some green in there too

all the ninja take turns at babysitting him and training with him. he picks up skills from all of the ninja.

in dragon rising hes still a teacher because i love that for him goodjob lloyd go on and continue the family tradition of turning children into blinded child soldiers who dont know what theyre getting into . but his reunion with the ninja takes a lot longer and the monastery was thrown underground and hidden during the merge . because like. no way the monastrey is out in the open on a mountain and people are saying in the crossroads 'oh we miss the ninja' DUDE THEYRE RIGHT THERE ??? so yeah the ninja monastery is actually hidden and unable to be found properly by anybody else because its in like some random cave stuck half torn apart. lloyd stays there and just mopes and is a big loser in there for awhile

~~~~~

zane - BABYT GIRL!!!! ok general infoooo 😋

any pronouns . doesnt care about pronouns . heh.... the ninja are woke now.... watch out liberals wait hold on no what are they called again whats the opposite one.

basics yeah . nindroid/robot species duuuh. elemental power is ice yadyada we all know this. has very enhanced senses and intelligence but is kind of not self aware of why. they have all the sensor stuff and can see things differently like a robot but they dont really register that theyre seeing things in a robot way. its like shoved to the back of their brain [+ you cant really tell what you experience is not normal if youre a social recluse who doesnt hang around other people]

robot reveal takes some building up to get to since i think crowding it all into one episode is kinda boring nah i wanna drag this on make it hurt yayddaaaa

languages: cant name them all he knows too many.

elemental power - he can just summon ice. but its not normal ice its his ice. when it melts it doesnt create water and it just. stops existing. its magic ice. he can also freeze water and manipulate the frozen water. when he does that then it can melt into water ya

elemental power side effects - makes a horrible squeaking noise from the ice being in contact with his metal body. not much of a side effect to him more so an annoyance to everybody elses eardrums. he also struggles to move his body when hes overusing his ice . it like gets inside his bolts and metal junk so he moves more slowly. he has to like sit it out and 'defrost' if he overuses his power since he wont be able to move or anything

hes very cold constantly . he doesnt feel it but everybody around him certainly does

i genuinely do not know how to approach the ice emperor season why did they just ignore him committing genocide haha guys guys please why did we just ignore that why is everybnody okay with that why did we just brush past that. i still want to include the ice emperor season but it needs to have more impact and consequences than it did and i dont know how to include that

the only ninja that knows how to cook anything properly. do not trust the others with a kitchen. ever.

his fighting build is kind of what i would consider a magic fighter ? hes skilled and follows his teachings very well but also works with his element quite frequently and doesnt rely too heavily on neither his element or fighting and uses them both when needed in combat.

when hes in school / before graduation he was a straight a student who asks if the class can have more homework to do for fun. biggest snitch ever in school [wont snitch if its his friends tho. well he wont purposely snitch. he might accidently though] he always carrys medical supplys and general life stuff with him at school incase anybody else needs them. hangs around the halls of the school the most and just roams them checking on people and breaking up any fights. sometimes gives himself a rest in the library as a treat

lives on his own in the centre of ninjago city

when he reunites with his father he takes him in to his house and they start living together

taught lloyd how to cook and do general chores like cleaning your clothing properly and doing the dishes [since darkleys never taught him how to and he never had a proper parental figure for most of his life to teach him the basics of life]

in terms of power stuff hes the most skilled in combat compared to all the other ninja.

he appears as human for a long time even after learning hes a robot hes still getting over it a little give him some time. when hes older during the whole downloaded to head stuff he gets convinced to stop hiding it though

likes classical music and sloppy tv dramas that are badly made. he will point out how bad the show is with the writing but he'll still watch until hes on season 26 and have his eyes glued to the screen and start mimicking the speaking mannerisms of the characters

kind of big change. him and pixal swap places with the whole downloading to head thing. it just makes more sense for me for the guy who died to be. the one in pieces and needing to be uploaded to survive. also my babygirl pixal deserves it as a treat

i kinda forgot how zane was revealed in dragon rising . but uh while he was stuck unactivated or whatever his body kind of just continued 'fixing' itself and upgrading itself on its own so hes like super advanced and a lot different looking in dragon rising

~~~~~

nya - they did you so dirty in the early seasons nya i love you you deserved so much better

she her they them . Yeah. licks your foot

languages uhh - merlopian, common and has the ability to send general 'vibes' towards sea animals that know no intelligent language. like canon :p

human for now 😋 after recovering from being one with the sea she kinda becomes not fully human and can breathe underwater and she zones out a lot and gets weird visions of stuff that happens in the sea Yay

still loves jay yes i couldnt erase that it would be a crime . im a jay x nya truther its one of my favourite relationships in all media theyre such a 'he makes me laugh :]' type relationship i love them

her being samurai x actually does something and after her identity being revealed she isnt immediately useless . why they do that

also she doesnt use a trident she uses weapons from her old samurai x stuff . all that time fighting as samurai x using a sword only to change to a trident? no way it was that easy of a switch and why would she switch to a weapon she doesnt know how to use as efficiently as a sword which she does know how to use . 'but it looks cool' ok . stab. stab. stab.

she works the hardest out of all the ninja. to the point its very unhealthy. shes constantly out fighting

elemental power - can take water from the air, any surrounding source or from herself and manipulate it. in general she can just manipulate water. thats her power. she can also cause changes in the weather and stuff it but that only happens later on because thats a big step up from 'i move water and change it to be as hard as a knife to be my weapon' to 'water in the clouds is MINE!!!'. she could only summon brand new water and not just manipulate existing water when she was bound to the sea. if she trained hard enough she could probably unlock it again.

elemental power side effects - dehydration [ shes taking water from her body. a tad bit obvious it would remove. the water. and make her dehydrated], overuse of power makes her zone out real bad and her body goes numb and she cant feel anything and sort of just runs on autopilot. her body is also always nagging her for water even if she doesnt need it because it knows that extra water is going to probably be used up on her powers

after seabound she has patches of blue tinted skin on her torso and she gains swirly sea like markings on it too. smiles

also her being apart of the sea takes longer to undo . can you tell i like seabound. have you picked up on that yet. its my favourite season of the og ninjago / before dragon rising

she gets random nosebleeds sometimes

she helps create mechs and gadgets for the ninja alongside jay . stealing this headcanon from my friend . you know who you are .

fighting style is tricky. id say she became really reliant on her powers after retiring samurai x but after seabound she started using her actual weapons a lot more frequently for both her health and because she went a long period of time without using them and kind of grew used to not. using them again. so shes more of a equal usage of power user like zane is but def not as skilled as zane is when figuring out when is a good time to use them and not. she gives me sorcerer / fighter vibes .

she lives with kai in the outskirts of ninjago city . they live in a apartment building where the owners probably slipped a 20 bill to whoever checked for the safety of that place . they also run a shop together

does NOT clean her room and neither does kai. their house is a genuine abomination

taught lloyd some basic tech stuff and would occasionally show him some of the fighting rings she used to go to so they could just observe how the people fight in there and stuff so lloyd could learn a little from that.

when she was in her samurai x arc she used to participate in fighting rings to build up her skills more

she gets into a lot of fights at school . very confident and sticks up for the little guy . likes to hang around the gym at lunch

she cuts her hair short a bit after becoming a ninja

tongue is bioluminescent and so is her blood. also her blood and tongue is blue. why not

she has a lot of scars all over her body, primarily from her samurai x years. she didnt get personal training from wu until later when she became a ninja so she was just fighting with her own fighting style she built up over the years from scuffles and fights in school and fighting rings so she played really dirty in her fighting. she did get a little bit of training from wu but because she wasnt considered a ninja by him until later she didnt get personal training and that training was more to pass the time and do something.

she has a lot of scars and some chunks of flesh missing from her fingers due to not handling equipment properly when doing repairs to her samurai x mech + the others mechs

she doesnt wear any jewerly [doesnt have any piercings either] except for a necklace which has her half of the yin-yang medallion

~~~~~

cole - i like you. ill give you a potato as a gift

oni/human hybrid [oni is distant & from a few generations ago. its from his mothers side] the only oni physical features he has is thick skin and very small nub horns.

his build is much more of a physical hands on tough fighter type build. out of all the ninja he uses his elemental power the least [due to living in a city where tearing up the ground to fight somebody isnt considered acceptable] and he relys the most on his physical strength to handle the job. he uses his power more when they handle work outside of the city and more in the middle of nowhere

languages: common and very small amounts of munce's language which he learnt from geo when they were just passing time and bored. i really need a name for these languages

elemental power - its like nyas in the way it cant just be used to make the element and the element has to be sourced from around him. he manipulates earth from the world around him but he cant summon it. later in dragon rising he learns to create his own elemental earth because manipulating the earth from the merged lands gave him really bad headaches due to the Screaming

side effects - gets very stiff limbs and has really bad muscle pain. his skin is very tough both from his oni genes and his elemental power causing his skin to be 'hard like rock' so its really hard to stick needles in his skin or anything like that so medical assistance that requires a needle has to be handled differently when it comes to him.

doesnt listen to much music at first due to disliking it because of his father but later on learns to love it just to be himself and not follow his fathers influence and connect music with his father. he likes really intense and strong music

plays the drums at school and takes lessons purely because of his father. he skips very regularly and wastes his fathers money a lot lol.

kind of a quiet kid and keeps to himself.

~~~~~

kai - i could put him inbetween my fingers like a worm and squish until he pops

he / him and SWAG

languages: some ancient forms of common that he learnt in class [he liked history class so he actually payed attention and listened] + common . he also knows a bit of serpentine

human ya. resident human of a group full of either non-humans or previously-human-but-no-longer-human-humans

has a little mini arc of feeling like hes not strong enough and cant contribute much to the team etc etc boo

elemental power - can summon fire and it can come from any part of the body [never does it to his hair though. cant ruin that style] he can also manipulate existing fire as long as its not being controlled by somebody else . if it is its a fight for power and whoever is stronger gets control of the fire . his elemental power is a bit of a reverse of how they usually work, he finds creating is own element to be much easier than manipulating existing forms of it

side effects - gets peeled skin and overheats sometimes. he gets a fever too

his bodys internal temperature is much warmer than your average humans

glows at night [his veins and chest are the brightest] hes very warm and acts like a heater to any room hes in when its nighttime.

also resident jock of the group totally. popular in school and used to be on the sports team before he dropped out of it due to not having time for sports anymore because Ninja Stuff.

picked up his parents work in their shop purely for money, he doesnt have much passion for his work. hes good at his work but he doesnt actually enjoy it

his mind wanders a lot and he can kind of spiral really easily sometimes . not that he will ever tell anybody that tho lol . a lot of his fights get to him and he takes them very personally to his character and thinks about them a ton . even if its the smallest fight . he picks apart at each of his flaws in the fight for hours.

all the ninja participate in helping lloyd learn to fight but he out of all of them works the hardest to teach lloyd everything. because of this lloyds fighting style somewhat mimics kais a bit more than all the others [all the ninja have similiar fighting styles even if they dont work too well with their builds or fighting type because they all trained together and learnt off eachother]

~~~~~

jay - YEAAAAAA BABYYYY

might wokeify him and give him blue hair and pronouns [she her privledges]. we'll see. edit ok scratch it yes jay she/her and he/him pronouns woke minions woke me woke woke all ninja woke. only uses she/her after the merge tho

serpentine infected human !!! from the bite in rise of the snakes i think it was called . he just has scales and fangs and a small nub tail and his eyes are slit like a snakes

elemental power - can create electricity and manipulate existing electricity. works best summoned from his hands or a weapon any other surface being used to summon his power isnt too stable .

side effects - severe damage to body if overused or used in too much force. also he like always has that little static shock thing. whenever he touches somebody he gives them a little zap. also her hair is usually always really messy because of her power. she tries really hard to keep it down though because he thinks he looks silly with it all poofed out from electricity

out of all the elemental powers hers is the most unstable so a lot of her personal training is put into controlling it. he had to put the most work out of all the ninja into elemental control training.

his fighting style is much more of a mage build. he doesnt use physical fighting as much and relys more heavily on his elemental power

in terms of power her element is the strongest in raw untrained strength. she trained really hard to slowly perfect her control of it

she has a lot of scars primarily on her hands due to his work. he has chunks of the skin and flesh of her fingers missing and he has a few electricity scars running up his skin [from his left side primarily]

has more of a build made for agility rather than physical fighting due to his fighting style relying less on physical strength. he still has a ton of muscle though. all the ninja do. just he probably has the least amount because out of all the ninja he fights the least with physical strength . still can beat people up without his element though of course

she lives in a junkyard outside of the main city and bike rides to school everyday

works with nya on the mechs

idk how to handle dragon rising jay . i think im just gonna keep him as being apart of the administration rather than joining raz or all of that . ninjago teasing me with the beauty that is admin jay and then just throwing the concept in the trash smh. bring him back . i love admin jay . why did they literally do nothing with that concept dude bring him back. he can be a villain just not for raz instead for the admin

oh but yeah im gonna just completely blow up skybound and tournament of elements characterisation of jay that doesnt exist in here. useless love triangle? incel jay? what are you talking about? never heard of it

she occasionally wears jewerly . her most prized possession on herself is a necklace like nyas that contains his side of the yin-yang medallion

electricity sometimes changes color depending on points in the story . why ? idk i just want admin jay to have red lightning thats why. bites your pinkie finger off your hand.

wears skirts. hit post.

still worrys a lot but doesnt mean she isnt confident in battle. once he has a game plan set up for battle he barges through the door with full force and charges at the enemy . he just likes to analyse the situation and get a handle on it first before barging straight in [unless hes emotional, he might skip a few steps if hes emotional enough]. out of all the ninja theyre the most perceptive

teaches lloyd basic mech stuff alongside nya + brings him to comic stores and buys him stuff

sells her creations at market stalls and gets a ton of money through that.

can you tell that i was throwing beer at the screen when they revealed jay wasnt apart of the administration anymore. have you noticed i dont like raz sided jay yet. im fine with her being a villain but LET HER BE A OFFICE VILLAIN LET HER THROW PAPERWORK AT THE ENEMY!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~

no designs for them yet but still important for story

misako . they did you so dirty i somewhat forgot you existed for a few seasons because they NEVER SHOW YOU . anyways her fake name is koko she uses it when shes in hiding. her battle name is the lady iron dragon

human

she / her

trans because why not 'then who gave birth to lloyd' lord garmadon. next question.

no elemental power just a sword and a dream

ex-warrior. im smashing koko and misako together . yes . i like them both [misako still my fav though] misako met the garmadon brothers when she was fighting on the opposite of a battle [she wasnt really very aligned to them, she just owed some people a favour and fought for them because of that] . she won the battle and kept them hostage before talking a little with them and letting them go . they hit off ever since and became friends .

she was one of garmadons biggest opponents after he went really into the evil side. they sort of became offical enemies a few months before lloyd was born . they had a huge custody battle after lloyds birth [aka a literal battle . its a oni tradition lol] garmy lost but also garmy is like evil as hell and does not care about breaking laws or tradition anymore and only proposed the option because his ego is big and he thought he'd win . next thing after that garmy tried stealing lloyd away despite losing the battle so misako had to give up lloyd for his safety .

she eventually went into hiding going under a different name [koko] and dyed her hair orange so she couldnt be as easily recognised. she still has wrinkles though ninjago movie writers are weak they should of made her old. shes spent a long time looking for lloyd but lost him since she was so distracted fighting garmy

now she just works as a emergency services doctor. her dream job was to be a archaeologist but she did it for awhile and it brought way too much attention to her name so she had to drop it [even though she goes by a fake name and appearance she still doesnt want her fake identity getting any large publicity] . maybe one day when she gets garmadon off her back she can finally live out her dream job.

she reunites with lloyd after he gets severely injured trying to be the green ninja too early. the ninja bring him to the hospital because they cant treat his injurys on their own due to them being too severe and they all meet misako. misako joins the ninja force and semi takes on her mantle as the iron dragon again. not as much anymore, only when her son needs protection and she has to jump in

shes still a very experienced warrior and knows how to kick butt. just she doesnt do it much anymore because it wouldnt work well for people to recognise she has the exact same fighting style as the long missing warrior lady iron dragon.

~~~~~

garmadon [i call him garmy]

oni/dragon 50/50. same as before. his dad the fsm just did mitosis or something to make him and wu idk. they just zapped into existence. if he can make whole realms out of existence im sure he can do asexual reproduction and make two children

he/him

as i said before hes a much longer built up villain . he doesnt get brought back 24/7 because that hurts my brain and it just makes him a less terrifying villain and more like a occasional nuance. throwing beer at the tv when i see the 5th ninjago season centered around lloyd and garmadons relationship SNOREEEEEEEE. give it more of a build up

has red markings on skin due to venom

crys fire because i love that feature in the movie its so cool

so yeah . he only gets referenced more and more and hes built up a lot in image before hes actually finally revealed. hes a lot more intimidating and much more affected by the venom than canon garmy and hes killed a ton of people . hes like a really really bad guy whos fully infected by the venom

he has more dragon features than canon but majority of them are oni centered features.

his human form isnt what he actually looks like 'cured' or whatever its just a human disguise he uses to be accepted by others and seem more friendly and not a bad guy . this happens after the venom is mostly purged from his body ya

non human features aka stuff from being a oni are black and purple with some whites.

~~~~~

wu

oni/dragon . hides his true form unlike his brother garmy who does not give a fauk who sees his true form.

has primarily dragon features not too many oni compared to garmy who has a couple dragon features alongside his more dominant oni ones

non human features aka dragon stuff are gold and white with some small purples.

lowkey kind of a horrible teacher who teaches literal children how to be soldiers but thats just because hes ancient old and not used to new ways + his father wasnt that good . of a father . and didnt teach him very well either. he cares about his students greatly but hes inexperienced and was taught by a bad teacher [aka. his father]

still has a crush on misako lowkey such a loser for her . im a wu / misako truther . she deserves better than that FREAK garmy and im not letting him break her heart

~~~~~

ok im still working on the other characters come back later. also still workin on the ninja

[alieinthemorning]

Familiar Warmth [Caleb]

Content: Touch-Starved, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Soft Caleb, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Reader-Insert

Pronouns: None

Note: I see Caleb within the childhood friend trope. Anything outside of that makes me uncomfortable, so I won’t be engaging with it in any sort of way.

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries

Wanna support me? Here’s my Ko-Fi!

It was raining tonight. Although it sounded far off despite the curtains being open, letting in the blurry moonlight. He focused on the pitter-patter of rain, he focused on his breathing, his heartbeat…

And yours. 

He was at your house, an occurrence that was somehow both rare and frequent. Anytime he had a break from being the colonel, he sought you out. He needed to be around you. You drowned out the darkness, the voices, all of it. It left him with just you and him, and that’s all he needed. 

When the rain started, you pulled him up from the couch and dragged him to your bedroom. He was very confused at first. Especially when you stripped down to your undergarments (and told him to follow suit), but then you lied down and gestured for him to join you and he understood. He went to lie beside you, but you gently tugged his arm closer to you. He confusedly maneuvered himself on top of you, resting his head on your chest. Then your hands made their way into his hair, and he melted. 

How long had it been since you’d done this for him? Over a decade. It felt even longer after his death and year separation from you. Even after all this time, however, your fingers were still gentle, and you still hummed that same tune. 

On one hand, it made him feel like a kid again, but on the other…he felt special. Like this was just for him, you’d never do this for anyone else….well, maybe someone else…someone who looked a little bit like you and a little bit like him—

“You’re thinking pretty hard, Cap’.” Your comment pulled him out of his thoughts. “Wanna talk about it?”

He flushed. He definitely didn’t want to tell you about his white picket fence dream. At least not now, not while he was deep in your bliss. If that made him selfish, so be it. 

“Should I start guessing?” 

Eyes reminiscent of sugilite flashed open met your closed ones. There was a soft smile gracing your features with the moonlight from the open curtains of your window haloing you.

You were beautiful.

He shifted his head so that his chin was resting on your chest now. “Nah, you’re just imagining things.”

“Yeah, sure. You’re definitely not thinking about the future right now.” You chuckled. “When you think about the past, you start running your mouth, but when you think about the future…you get real quiet…”

He froze. 

You were entirely too perceptive for your own good. 

And his silence was a loud confirmation.

He quietly cursed himself. It had taken a while, and a lot of apologies, but he had finally gained some semblance of trust with you again. And now here he was, thinking useless things. Especially since the last time he talked about the future to you, it was in a frantic haze where he said he’d lock you up in a maze where no one could find you. He hated himself for saying that. For scaring you. 

He pulled away from you, showing you his back as he sat on the edge of the bed. He wanted to leave, to shut you out and act like nothing was wrong. However, you had followed him, and the warmth of your hand was already bleeding into his back. He swore he could even feel it in his mechanical arm. 

“Talk to me.”

His eyes slid close as his body leaned forward. His elbows on his knees, and head in his hands. Your arms wrapped around his neck, and your body pressed against his. 

“I keep thinking about…our future together. Which I know isn’t right because it’s not a given that I’m even in a future with you. I mean—I just barely regained a fraction of your trust, but—” His fumbled words became a sigh. “Ah…I feel a pervert”

“How so?”

“I…I keep thinking about kids…our kids.”He sighed roughly in an attempt to keep some deeper feelings from breaching the surface. “I know I shouldn’t. Especially after what I said to you. Having a kid by me would probably feel the same to you. You’d feel trapped—trapped to me, and I shouldn’t do that to you and—”

“Do think our kids would have your eyes or mine? Honestly, I’d want each of them to look like a good mix of the both of us, but if I had to choose, I’d choose your eye color.”

“Huh?” He asked dumbly. 

“What if they had an eye color each? I think that’d look good too.”

What were you saying?

Were you really fantasizing about the two of your future children right now?

And you weren’t admonishing him for having thoughts like these either? 

You had thought about it yourself?

“Am I dreaming?” He murmured, not meaning to say that out loud. 

“Nope.” You pulled away from him for a moment, making your way into his lap. “You may have lost my trust before, but you’re slowly gaining it back. And plus,” You paused, gently brushing your palm against his cheek. “You’re my forever co-pilot, Caleb.”

He chuckled, hands slotting against your waist. “Co-pilot. Who’s the one with the credentials?”

“I’m the pilot in my life, just as you are in yours.” You smiled at him. “We’re both each other’s co-pilots.”

“Maybe I should make it official…?” He asked, unable to hide the timid hopefulness as he brought up a hand to tap your left ring finger. 

You laughed. “I’ll give you the signal, Cap’in.” Then your gaze turned soft as you gathered his face in your hands. “I love you, Caleb. I always have.”

That knocked the wind out of him. He couldn’t have stopped the tears if he tried. They were sudden and unrelenting as they flooded from his tear ducts, down his checks, in between your fingers and down your wrists. 

Despite this, he smiled. 

“Thank you for loving me all this time, pip-squeak.”

:) This was just supposed to be fluff. I ended up making a man cry. AGAIN

CALL THAT ON BRAND

Ko-Fi | Masterlist

[loquaciousquark]

you have been my #1 favorite fanfic author of all time for like 7-8 years now for your fenhawke and ive always thought "god i would give anything for quark to write solavellan" but i respected that it wasnt your thing. so imagine the pure unbridled euphoria of checking in on your blog this week to see that he finally got to you. i actually screamed. whatever you come up with i know it is going to absolutely change my life and i am so excited <3

i’m so. sad. i'm SO sad. i was so happy for a decade just being mildly annoyed every time he crossed my dash and now i am having feelings and opinions and i don’t WANT THEM and the only way to get rid of them is to write them out of me, this is why i don’t love fenris or astarion at all anymore obviously

and like, I still don’t love Solas! I still think some things he does and some goals he has are really, really stupid! but this character I created to love him really loves him, and I really love her and want her to be happy even though she lives only inside my head, and that means I need to lay down some structure around her romance to get the shape of it, to build something I can make sense of. I may not love him, but I like him much more than I did, and I certainly understand him better than I did the first time around.

And to be honest, there’s a part of me glad I’m coming to it as late as I have. I don’t think I’ve ever read a single Solavellan fic in my life (I actually had to pause here to check the spelling). I have NO idea what tropes are popular with him or what interpretations are the biggest. I have a lot of opinions on how his personality and identity work in a romance with this particular character I’ve created, but because I’ve been so siloed I have no idea if I’m bucking the grain or not, which is fine by me.

Plus, it helps I’m not going to have ten years to build up a lot of personal headcanons and jossable thoughts before playing the new game. I’m not someone who easily ignores canon when it clashes with my imagination for the major things, so I think this will (hopefully) keep me from major disappointments.

It's kinda funny; earlier today I was going back through my DAI tag and reminding myself of all my impressions from the first time I played the game. Some of them I definitely still stand by; others have completely changed. I even said twice that a Lavellan/Solas romance would be my next playthrough, which was true if ten years late.

But it's things like: apparently the first time through I loved Solas and Sera, both of which certainly were not true going into this replay. (I barely even have a memory of Solas and Priory ever being in the party together, though the historical records say I took him to Adamant.) I apparently had a lot of hopes Gideon Emery would be voicing Fenris. I originally thought Priory was going to romance Bull, which is very ?????? after all this time. (I did still, even then, know Here Lies the Abyss completely broke her as a character, and ten years on I never could fix her for good.)

I really did not expect to change my mind on Solas going into this replay, I guess is the point. I replayed because knowing the story of DAI and Solas, I felt it was a story most personalized to elves and specifically a Solas-romancing Lavellan, and that was the worldstate I wanted to take into the new game. I played it out because that's the kind of person I am (I can't just invent characters wholesale in my head) but I really thought it was going to be a perfunctory playthrough as a stepping stone to a different game and a different PC and (presumably) a different romance. I didn't expect to love this character as much as I do, and even if I don't have ten years to write her out the way I did Hawke, I feel like I still owe it to her & her doomed romance to give her a little time in the spotlight. Lucky girl!

[fadedpath]

puts on my Friedrich apologist hat. so i have some things to say about how i'm going to write this character since he's a seemingly polarizing figure from what i can gather online ( and it isn't for his last scene lol which is another conversation entirely about gothic horror / romance tropes, being foreshadowing and a contrast to another end scene etc. etc. ). i don't think he's a bad person for a variety of different reasons, but that also doesn't mean i think he's a good person. there's ✨ nuance ✨

one thing before i explain, the audience has the power to judge him somewhat unfairly due to one key point: the POV of the movie is 99% Ellen's. we see what she sees, we know what she knows. we have that privilege to see for ourselves the horror inflicted upon her and most of all believe right at the very opening scene of the movie. ( tbh if Friedrich was more of an asshole that people say he is, he would have kicked Ellen out the moment the fits start happening and it probably would've saved his family, but i digress ghkjshgjks )

so imo Friedrich, for the time period he is in, is pretty morally average for his kind of character ( grew up in generational wealth, successful business man, etc. ). there's nothing surprising with how he acts. the first we meet him ( which is usually the thesis for characterization ), we get an idea of who he is: he loves his wife and is proud of his family, and he holds a sense of duty towards his friends. i want to point that out because some people claim he is only helping the Hutters due to some desire to self-aggrandize himself, but i don't think that's it. one of the first lines to Thomas is the man promising to pay back the loan Friedrich gave to him to help him along, to which Friedrich brushes it off, uncaring of being paid back. but the scene in which people think he's self-aggrandizing is when he points out it's at his expense that the Hutters are given a ride home after he kicked them out due to his wife now being afflicted, but i don't think he is still! i think he's bringing up all that he did for her in the sense of "i did my duty to your and yours but now it's affecting the one i love most, so you don't get to act this way towards me after all i did for you" type of mindset. was he wrong to brush off Ellen trying to warn him? yeah, but also you gotta think: it'd be really weird if he just immediately started believing her. Thomas only believed Ellen when he saw Orlok for himself. Anna, i don't think, believed her wholly but more so was simply trying to help out of love. Friedrich never sees Orlok, he only sees the very real plague that's happening to very real people that he can see for himself, who are dying ( and now his wife has it so!! ).

at the end of the day, he's the typical conventional dude of his era and is put into an incredibly unconventional situation, one that calls too much into question that he can handle at that point in the movie, and instead of opening himself up to it, he digs his heels in and stubbornly refuses to entertain it because he has bigger problems to deal with ( in his mind ). we, the audience, think he's a pig-headed fool who doesn't know any better because we see him through Ellen. but in his shoes, he sees this lady coming into his house, disrupting his family's peace, and wants her out.

long story short, Friedrich is ruled by the narrative, he cannot escape the bounds that holds him in place within it, and that's the tragedy of his character. that he realized too late, and once he did finally realize, he was past the point of no return. grieving as he was, there was no living after his entire family was annihilated. ( to which i think there is a lot of guilt in him for that, which spurs his grieving tenfold, since he didn't wake up when his family was getting snacked on, see "i will never sleep again" as he's crying on a coffin, but that's for another post hgkjdsg )

[hongjoongspoetry]

hongjoongspoetry's tumblr wrapped, 2024

Thank you @bvidzsoo for the tag!! 🩷

2024 review

2024 was the year I really got into writing for ateez. I've been writing fanfics since middle school and used to be in a lot of different fandoms. I used to post on wattpad, but was never consistent or managed to finish any of my stories. Ateez is the first group/fandom that I've really kept writing for a long period of time and not lost interest in, plus I've also managed to write complete oneshots and am almost even done with my first series (ever)!!!

Total statistics of 2024

- no. of fics: 8 - wc: 151.3K - no. of wips: 9

Genres explored in 2024

Horror, action, romance, dystopia, historical, sports fiction, slice of life, comedy, pirate fics (that one's in the drafts but it was written in 2024), can't forget the golden trio of fluff, smut and angst!!

first fic of 2024: Reassuring Words and Mellow Touches

- posted: feb 17th - pairing: Idol!San x F!Reader - comments: I believe this was my first ever ateez fic and it was actually "self indulgent" too. As stated in the author's note, I have a fear of giving birth and it's known in my primary family, but no one takes my fear seriously. So, back then, wrote the things I needed to hear in the moment and it was to have someone be understanding of my feelings.

longest fic: Bones, Blood and Teeth Erode

- posted: oct 8th - pairing: non idol!Yunho x F!Reader - comments: I never imagined to write something pushing 40k words!!! I'm actually amazed and proud of myself for finishing it. It was certainly a challenge as BBATE wasn't anything I've written before.

last fic: A Love Written in Gold | Chapter 1

- posted: nov 8th - pairing: Proletarian!Hongjoong x Nobility!Reader - comments: I'm so excited for this fic and everything I've planned for it!! I was originally not going to post it until Cold Hands, Warm Heart was done, but I couldn't hold myself from writing lmaooo.

top 3 most popular fics of 2024

Reassuring Words and Mellow Touches

- posted: feb 17th - pairing: Idol!San x F!Reader - comments: so this is getting quite repetitive 😭 it is what it is lmaoo, im just happy people could find comfort in my writing. Back then, I didn't expect it to get the attention it did or that people would reach out and tell me how much they feel seen.

Too Sweet

- posted: apr 24th - pairing: Upcoming rockstar!Yunho x F!Reader - comments: This fic is entirely inspired by Hozier's Too Sweet. I was obsessed with that song when it came out and I think I listened to it on REPEAT. I just had to write a fic to it and at the time, it was the longest fic I had eve written!

Baby, Love Me Lights Out

- posted: sep 21st - pairing: Idol!San x GN!Reader - comments: okay so this one, I just wrote it for shits and giggles 😭 that was the day I learned just how much atiny love drunken san lmaooo.

mina's personal picks

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

- posted: jun 3rd - pairing: hockey player!mingi x figure skater!reader - comments: this is my fav fic (series) from 2024! I've always wanted to do an ice sports fanfic, but never really had the time nor like "knowledge" to do it when I was younger lmao. I have so many ideas for this fic and this universe overall because the other boys will have their own stories later on, so they are all connected!! AND we get small cameos/easter eggs in each series of what the other boys' fics will be about! Although there are a lot of readers who liked CHWH, I'm still a bit sad it didn't get more recognition as I did put in a lot of thought behind it, but I'm still happy its almsot done. Mainly because it's my first ever series and well, I just love the characters I've created

A Love Written in Gold

- posted: oct 8th - pairing: Proletarian!Hongjoong x Nobility!Reader - comment: Okay, so season 3 of bridgerton really sparked this idea of writing a bridgerteez fanfic and I just had to write something for my bias! I'm a sucker for the forbidden love trope so this was the perfect fic to use it for lmaooo. No, but this is also a fic I have so so so much to planned for and I really can't wait to share it with you!! It's also really fun to write, which I can say I don't feel the same for some fics. If you have time and love bridgerton, I advice you to give it a chance!

2025 goals

One of my goals for 2025 is to write more and publish more fics than I did in 2024, but I don't know if I will achieve it as I'm swimming in work from uni hahah. If not, then I at least wish to finish my series cold hands, warm heart and a love written in gold before 2025 ends. I also want to start writing the next instalment Puzzle Pieces!

No pressure tags: @ennysbookstore @solaris-amethyst @seongwars @desirehorizon @everyonewooeverywhere + anyone else who wants to do this! 🩷

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - February

aka The Masterlist

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 03.02.2025

A little link to my favorite bl-tropes-collection 💙

gif-requests are open, but you'll need to have some patience🌼

Here you can find all of my gifs.

At the end you can have a look at what we can expect in February with a MDL link and a link for a trailer (if avaible).

This is guaranteed to contain spoilers!

1. Futtara Doshaburi 🇯🇵 (4/7)

My intention was to talk about what a nice social study this show is. How the lack of sex can make you feel this insecure and lost and that the missing communication is not helping. I wanted to talk about how much Nakarai is longing for some physical touch, some love, not just sex and how this situation is slowly eating him up. And then there was the preview and my mind went "oh." Just "oh". See you next week.

2. I'll Turn Back This Time 🇨🇳 (4/6)

Hm. I don't understand the time travelling in this one. And those homophobic ass-parents weren't on my agenda for 2025. Locking one son up without any supplies or his mobile phone? What happend here? Yes, they changed their mind in the end, but only because the other son would have killed himself. What the hell was that? Who made this decision? And the necklace is homophobic, too? Why can't those two date each other? This is slowly starting to get a little bit annoying.

3. Ossan's Love Thailand 🇹🇭 (5/12)

Well, Heng finally rejected Boss. Boss cried really good. Liked that scene a lot. Heng starts to see Mo as more than a friend, because he is someone Heng is comfortable with. And now he might get a love rival, because I don't think Ten likes Heng but Mo. The humor. Still not my cup of tea.

4. Sangmin Dinneaw 🇹🇭 (5/8)

This series is such a rollercoaster. One moment they are sweet and innocent and the other second they are eating each other! And everyone beside the main couple is just pure chaos. I watch it only half, because I can't watch most of the cringe scenes. And now I am kinda curious what Sangmin's secret is.

5. Study Group 🇰🇷 (4/10)

I like the study group. They are all such characters. And I really enjoy the fight-scenes. So the study group is finally complete and now they are fighting evil bastards? I guess. And I am here for it. But I am so sorry Cha WooMin. Ever since Weak Hero Class 1 I can't like you. You hurt me too much! And now you're a villain again? Damn!

6. ThamePo Heart That Skips A Beat🇹🇭 (8/13)

Oh you mother of all slow burn! This is pure torture for them and for us! And I love every bits of it! So we finally get Jun telling his intentions (I was right, yeah!) and Thame showed again why he is the greenest flags of them all! He is such a fair player and a loyal friend, who wouldn't sacrifice one or the other, but wants Po to make the decision. Only Jun already knew that Po already likes Thame (and like everyone else knows too). I didn't like the fact that Jun told Thame and Po about their mutual crush, but without him, let's be honest, they would still just stare at each other. And yes, I was screaming at my screen "Just kiss already", but this is such a delightful torture of a slow burn! Really delicious! And we got some hand holding. But Thame... your idea putting Po's hand in your pocket and nobody will know is just dumb. But they hold hands! AHHHHH! And next week... AHHHHHH!

7. The Heart Killers 🇹🇭 (10/12)

Joong really delivered in this episode. His single tears were so good. Fadel breaking down and allowing Style to comfort him, to protect him, to love every side of him was indeed beautiful. The series is not good, but this episode was quite good. But Mama being the bad guy here. Who was surprised? Be honest.

8. Word of Honor 🇨🇳 (25/36)

Yes, I kept watching. Well, this will take me a while to finish, I fear.

Finished in February

Series

Your Sky 🇹🇭

This series was a little roller coaster. But not because it was good and bad and good and bad, but because it was so innocent and sweet and baam, the next moment our sweet, shy protagonist has a sexual desire. I enjoyed this so much! The romance, the love, the chemistry, everything was so good! The story about fake dating and falling in love with each other in the end was predictable, but soooooo sweet! It made my sundays so good! I really hope we get to see them in another series again. 10 out of 10 for me.

Movie

Short Film

Dropped in February

Looking forward to in February

Reverse with Me - Trailer (Feb 5th)

Heart Stain - Trailer (Feb 6th)

Gelboys - Trailer (Feb 8th)

Exclusive Love (Feb 14th)

The Last Time - Teaser / Pilot (Feb 14th)

Fragrance of the First Flower Season 2 - Trailer (Feb 18th)

Jack and Joker Special Episode - Trailer (Feb 22nd)

Secret Relationship (Feb 27th)

[secretmellowblog]

Me watching a Wicked bootleg and remembering the bit where they use Nessa's character to speedrun through every offensive trope and stereotype about disabled people:

[annabellebuns]

And their pet cat…

[beescake]

PLEASE PLEASE MEGADUMP THE ARASOL!!! PLEAAASEE MR BEESCAKE I AM ON MY KNEES BEGGING YOU

HFHGHD GLADLY aaa i’ve been adding notes to it here and there for months but just hesitant to post it bcs im 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂

also this is just my own takeaway of the events, it doesn’t necessarily comply to the Ultimate Truth of Canon-Alignment or represent the actual facts of what hussie intended! v sentimental smh but hopefully its still interesting to read

i love when characters inform each other by proximity, it's one of my fave things to see in media :') it feels even more significant when two characters deliberately choose to stick together, so that when one operates, you can tell the other is similarly aligned in associative solidarity.

sollux is a keystone of this trope — whoever he aligns with is a wordless statement, a nod of approval. this stood out to me bcs the main four humans were alr friends by default, but once you reach hivebent you realize the trolls can actively choose who they want to hang out with.

and as we all know, after assessing every troll's biases/loyalties, sollux is the only one who maintains his selective preference for innately Good 👍 people.

aradia is such a beautiful character honestly, she evokes such incredible feelings in me. she might not have been consistently written with care but the best parts of her character are truly stunning. i think it's easy to remember sollux as the self-sacrificing one bc he's so open about it (and his friends frequently react to his Moments) but when you compare him to aradia, it's always struck me

how much more. raw it is

to be so alone as an agent of time, having to orchestrate immeasurably harrowing events nobody understands or gives a fuck about

with your role painted in the story as one who must tend to the needs of the narrative, responsible to match every next note

because when you're given the capabilities, it becomes your duty to carry it out.

it becomes expected of you to keep experimenting and arranging the machinations to work for everyone, dusting off hundreds of necessary failures to keep going

and having to be so unwavering in your drive knowing miserably that there's no one who can help you but yourself.

or alternatively: to make things fun! so other people won't think twice about letting you go off on your own.

sure she's had some very good buds, notably thanks to Team Charge v Team Scourge antics.

and yet, at the end of the day, the one friend that kept choosing her time and time again was the friend with the highest standards.

i can see why people like to define arasol as moirails/matesprits but surprisingly i find the nondescript, unlabeled aspect of their relationship more straightforward to understand.

there's no shortage of people who would accommodate sollux. most of the surviving trolls are his oldest friends bcs he’d chosen them well. his transparency with his feelings had built him strong friendships that won’t falter or break, regardless of how much of a dick he can be. they’ve already seen and accepted him at his worst, and they still like him for who he is.

contrast that with aradia, who'd been so approachable, friendly and reliable in her exchanges it was super fun to talk to her. but the moment she became depressed, all her connections broke down.

her friends became hesitant to interact with her (until she became god tier, “happy” and amicable again) because her gloom and resignation didn’t serve them. she dealt with it alone.

there’s def something of note here abt the disparity between the way male & female characters are written+perceived in homestuck (esp parallel arasol with davejade) but i won’t go into that lmaoo

with this in mind i like to think of sollux as a gift to her, a loyal companion given to complement and commend her resolve. she's capable of doing so much alone but hussie took the time to build her and sollux's relationship as one of a unit; a set.

the ambiguity of their status does complicate things, but i do believe it makes sense with their characters. aradia's relationship with romance is a rocky one, the dubious stringalong equius had with her is a pointed reminder that her feelings of attraction are ultimately controlled by the author writing her.

unlike the other trolls who can openly address and own up to their crushes, aradia had romantic emotions forced upon her (especially when hussie implies 'she kissed equius back on her own volition'). and it seems like her character is so intrinsically neutral abt attraction that even when forced by the almighty powers above, she's unable to retain it wholly.

however, looking back to pre-game when she could actually "choose" her own feelings, she did have a crush on sollux.

their soft spots for each other were so obvious to the point where other people could see it.

taunting aside, when vriska comments on their unit as bf/gf it actually informs the audience that arasol's relationship is romantic in nature despite not aligning with the quadrant system.

even while dead, aradia could still describe her care for sollux, expressing that she would like to see him happy. if they had more time to explore their relationship on alternia, it's possible they could've settled in a quadrant once they grew older.

but going back to the lack of labels, their dynamic was affected once more when aradia became god tier.

to me, her ascension was both the perfect culmination and possible closure of her character. it's the light at the end of her journey toiling through countless of timelines where she had to actively assess and participate. that's why it's cool to see her being silly and having fun giving guidance, passively exploring and watching other people do their parts.

and yet the joy of her freedom makes it hard to explore further introspection. if we take her by her word, she'd already come to terms with the hurt she's been through and forgiven those involved.

i can't help feeling attuned to how impersonal and detached it can be, to devote and meld your identity so completely with your designated position as Maid of Time until you've become hard for your old friends (and even some readers!) to personally connect to.

idk post-canon but i assume there’s some degree of similarity to be bridged here with aradia's god tier and how the hs2 humans' Ultimate forms was described as a consolidation of all their possibilities. since aradia's classpect is inherently of service to Time, going god-tier may have elevated her beyond personhood with the "game construct" possessing her entirely. sollux doesn't realize the extent of it bcs he's still mortal, but a part of him may have subconsciously understood this.

i think there is a core aspect to aradia that was lost to the dehumanizing glory of god tier — a core aspect that may have contained an element of why sollux enjoyed talking to her in the first place.

to him, aradia hadn't just been a nice girl, she was a cool girl. despite not having much in common, he's still willing to chill next to her so she's not alone while she does what needs to get done.

back on alternia, they held a mutual and equal-level regard for each other that could've definitely settled into something permanent. but now, he's placed himself in a position where he can be kept around or left behind at will. the parameters of the relationship are largely in aradia's court, so any label she suggests to identify their relationship with he's likely to accept.

but that's why it's so difficult to label it. because god tier aradia may not necessarily Want quadrants or relationship labels. rather than the initial romantic attachment, their commitment to each other had evolved into one fundamentally of companionship.

no label? ok fine. no matter what, he still thinks she's a good soul worth latching on to. the best, actually. aradia > everyone else.

even if it gets stilted at times. there's an unexpected struggle to connect when sollux's go-to default for talking points is his feelings about things, and aradia may not want to talk about emotions all the time.

not to mention god tier aradia became an observer, especially of chaos. but sollux's avoidance of involvement comes partially from his innate pressure to get involved if something goes wrong. and he can't always tell when something goes wrong, because aradia doesn't mind if things go wrong anymore.

it's a non-negotiable preference that causes them to take the occasional time apart, a new boundary that wouldn't have existed before the game and aradia's god tier.

but just like how his friends tolerated his moods, sollux accepts aradia as she is. with no quadrants, their connection doesn't break down because there's no implicit romantic expectations to be disappointed by or resentful over.

sometimes when i see hs content that deliberately distances sollux from aradia, i assume this is the dissonance people might have felt. people might find it "easier" to be cynical about them bcs of this strange tension.

but idc lmao. grab that shit by the neck

lack of easy resolutions and cleanly tied ribbons is pretty standard of homestuck and imo it doesn't make arasol's dynamic any less incredible. with the right affection and consideration, there's still so much potential to develop the nuance of their relationship outside of the popular quadrant-based depictions.

hs has a lot of really great character compatibilities but the way aradia and sollux are in their own special orbit is why i can write this much about them in the first place. it's that frail innocence between first loves that makes it so sweet to me, two kids who grew up too fast playing guesswork without being clear where they're going.

ultimately i do think you're meant to feel a little tragedy for just how much they care for each other, even if they can't quite establish it in simple terms.

maybe they keep taking breaks to progress their own paths. maybe they remain as anchor partners while seeing other people. but even if you decide to separate them, they're still (awkwardly) texting each other updates all the while. and when they reunite it feels like coming home.

and well. more than anything, i like to believe that they do want to be exclusive.

they're just afraid. after all, they're still learning how to love, beyond the projections of the foursquare quadrant system they had inadvertently distanced themselves from since young.

they might not have everything figured out, but they'll get there eventually if you just hold them together and write them there.

optional post-canon segment:

one of the limitations of main hs is that (monogamous) relationships are often written as the go-to solution to wrap up character growth; it's an easy "patch" to imagine characters getting their happy ending because they have a partner, and those who don't end up with someone don't get that closure (most notably jade).

hs2 reaffirms this by suggesting that aradia's character cannot progress without letting sollux go, because happily settling in a relationship automatically locks your potential.

that pathetic panel of sollux staring emptily into the sky is still my fave hs2 spoiler ngl i find the impact of their parting so emotionally provoking precisely bcs they were written in original hs to be each other's forever, coming back together again and again

but now, they're subject to the decisions of the post-canon authors who might choose to deviate from that.

it's not new for them to part, but now there's an underlying worry that her dropping him off this time might be the last time. while i think the prospect of shattering their stability to make them grow separately sounds fun on paper, no amount of me desperately hoping for a good execution is gonna guarantee it

idk. i guess prediction-wise im expecting sollux in classic dramatic-hs2 fashion to tell dave to back off aradia LMAO. otherwise it's just gon be sollux and karkat pathetically watching aradia and dave from a distance swimming in their unresolved feelings for narratively-powerful time players smh obvs it sounds corny as hell but who knows its still plausible

srsly tho i hope they take the opportunity to develop arasol's relationship in a fresh direction that doesn't hurt me too badly...... and i hope they force sollux out of his comfort zone. i like watching him struggle :-)

[sukibenders]

The Arcane fandom, especially on TikTok is never beating the allegations because why, now, some fans act like it's too inconceivable to imagine that Ambessa was, not only, pregnant twice but gave birth twice as well? And their reasoning for this is "She looks like the type to get a man pregnant instead" or "She's too tough for that, I just can't see someone like her going through that." There are layers to these statements because, for one, just because someone, especially a woman, is a dominant force doesn't mean that they can't get/don't want to become pregnant (do you believe overtly dominant men can't be fathers?) It's also very weird because the undertones of misogyny and misogynoir and the overt masculinization of black women are there because, not only are they viewing pregnancy and giving birth, in general, to be viewed as something "weak" (even though it's grueling hours of labor that results in tearing the body apart, sometimes even death) but also attempts to strip Ambessa of her nuance. Yes, she is strong and very dominant, but she also deeply loved her children, who she birthed, and when one was taken away from her it changed her deeply. It's very gross to view a character like her in this way because it also reflects how you view dominant women in real life, pregnancy, and childbirth as a whole. Like how are you going to praise Arcane for having such a wide and diverse ensemble of female characters, but then have misogynistic takes like this? Make it make sense.

[delicatewhumps]

characters reuniting after one of them was presumed dead >>

just think about it!

maybe whumpee faked their death.

maybe magic or something was involved, so they actually died, but somehow came back to life. like maybe they were a ghost who gained a physical body back, or maybe some otherworldly power granted them a return to the living world (ahem, cw’s once upon a time….)

maybe they were left for dead — fatally injured and caretaker had to leave them — but they miraculously survived and found their way home!

maybe they were lost in an accident / natural disaster, and caretaker finds them among the survivers in a shelter or hospital.

maybe they were wrongfully declared dead by doctors, sent to a morgue across the country so their body could be used in a cadaver lab, and then they woke up! (….totally not based on a plot to one of my own fics.)

however it happens, it’s perfect. especially if whumpee is still as physically injured as they were before…

caretaker gasping and crying and wrapping them in an enormous hug. or maybe rushing to their hospital bedside, taking their hand.

“i thought i lost you.”

“i went to your funeral, whumpee, i— i… this can’t… oh, god… oh, god!!”

“you died! how— how are you here?!”

caretaker might think they’re dreaming. after all, they saw whumpee. it was hopeless. they’ve spent god-knows-how-long grieving whumpee. but now whumpee is back, alive, in front of them!

“i’m never leaving your side.”

“don’t ever do that to me again, you asshole!”

“[insert setting-appropriate higher power here], thank you. thank you for giving them back to me.”