#also like the context of this one is weird and unknown to me bc of canon

[fumifooms]

Howl’s moving castle dunmeshi AU

I’ve cracked the code I know why I love Marcille x Chilchuck so much. They’re literally just like Howl’s Moving Castle Howl and Sophie. Okok indulge me for a sec I’m about to dump so many pics and ramble for a bit. I want you to see my marchil vision. It’s fabulous extra cringefail hopeless romantic drama queen x grumpy old sad angry caring hardworking person cursed to be here & cursing fate and giving tough love to everything in a miles radius. No one is safe. From either of them. Calcifer or Micheal is Izutsumi. Wait wait no Calcifer is Senshi and Michael is Izutsumi. Senshi as Calcifer works bc Calcifer is just chained to Howl and is there reminding Howl to not die and take care of himself, giving hints about how to break the curse to Sophie, also the fire demon cooks the eggs and bacon checkmate. And then LAIOS IS TURNIP HEAD OH MY GOD THAT WORKS OUT PERFECTLY. Chilchuck & Marcille, screaming terrified of the weird scarecrow chasing after them, meanwhile the weird scarecrow that’s harmless: :(. Wizard Suliman is Falin and the second fire demon is Winged Lion, so bam everything comes full circle.

I’m assuming most people who’ll see this post maybe saw the movie but not the book, and what you need to know is that the movie makes Howl so much dreamier and collected and cool, whereas in the book he’s just a drama queen 24/7 that’s it. He’s a wet cat dressed in expensive sparkly glittery gowns that needs to be yelled at to do anything he needs to do. He complains. He bemoans. Meanwhile Sophie is, honestly pretty like in the movie? Less contrarian and anger issues but will grumble and yells while cleaning nonetheless. Hardworking but will pathetically sit down on a chair in a dark corner to cry about her aching bones and OHH this is ALL because she’s the eldest child and she was doomed for unhappiness and no one can ever love her… So she’ll whack everyone into order and purge her feelings through aggressive cleaning and using weed killer. IS THIS NOT GIVING MARCILLE & CHIL TO YOU?!

There’s this funny widespread take from the fandom:

And it couldn’t be more true in a marchil context either. Like come on. For all of this post just swap the names of Howl for Marcille and Sophie for Chilchuck.

(Last one with the art by Cookiekappa on Tumblr)

Tell me this isn’t so Marcille. Tell me Chil wouldn’t run away from home thinking he’s failed life and is no longer in shape to work and now has to waddle in self-pity, seeking out wizards which he hates and finds shady bc it’s his last option, and then end up a maid & cleans everything out of spite and also worry for the person living there. Tell me Marcille wouldn’t throw a depressed slime tantrum so bad that it causes a partial town evacuation because her wails summon unknown horrors, over her HAIR. Forget slime she’d blow up the house instantly. She would breakdance as refusal to go see the king. Chilchuck would call her a slitherer-outer and she would gasp in offense and they’d have a fight.

Marcille having full on poems laying around and then Chil & Izu seeing them and being like "Ah yes, this must be a spell, it makes no sense and is so extra, just like how silly our resident witch and her magic is". Izutsumi going "Okay peepaw I’ll teach you how to use a magical bucket just take one step forward-" and they immediately fuck it up and they’re left stranded in far unknown lands. Chilchuck complaining that HIS BACK HURTS. And at every turn or something mildly inconveniencing him "NOTHING GOOD EVER HAPPENS TO THE MIDDLE CHILD".

And can we talk about the aging motif, the curse… Marcille never letting herself grow close to someone even though she does all these grand gestures for them at first. Meanwhile her fear of loss stares at her straight in the eye whenever she looks at 90 years old Chilchuck, and her deciding to not run away from their relationship is what ends up healing both of them. She gets over her fear of intimacy and he grows over feeling like a terribly dull unlovable failure. Me sobbing when I remember how Sophie’s curse of being old is a self-inflicted manifestation of herself thinking she’s romantically unlovable and weak…….

This is it for now but rest assured that I want to make art of this, have these memes for now

[moonkissedvisions]

hi!! if its okay with you ofc, i would be so grateful to get a free reading bc there's a circumstance that's stressing me a lot lately.

i feel a weird smell at certain times and i'm not 100% sure if its me (which i really don't think so bc i keep myself very clean), if its just in my head or if it has something to do with bad energies around me. if you please could enlighten me abt this subject, i would be very very grateful. thank you so much in advance and hope all is well with you ❣️

Hey! Firstly, I'm curious about when, and where do you smell that? I think it'll be good to know that, since it could be something in your environment that you are not seeing and it's rotting, mold, or a health issue.

For example, a few months ago, I used to smell something at certain times while I was in my room, I used to have a garbage can there exclusively for papers. One day I threw a banana peel there and forgot to take it out so it rotted but the smell wasn't that strong and for days I wasn't sure what that was until the can got full, I took the garbage out and found that banana peel with mold. 😖

I would check for that sort of thing, mold, old stuff that could hold bad energies and smell as well, depending on what it is...However if you feel that in any place at any time, sometimes it could be a health related problem, even if you are clean. Smell hallucinations exist too, and they have different causes like infections and allergies, even brain conditions. I think it needs to be ruled out

Ok that's enough!! I'll pull some cards for you 🪷

oh! I'm not getting bad energies from the cards: The Empress, The High Priestess, The World.

Being honest, I'm not sure how to answer this question but I like the challenge, so here it goes:

High Priestess is pointing out something unknown, a mystery. Something that only you know, sense, smell. You already have the answer for this. You can sense the smell because you are connected to the unseen and this is a psychic power that you have or its rising at this time. Your intuition and psychic abilities are high, you know something is off or different, not necessarily outside of you tho. It could be something in your current subconscious realm, or something that your mind or your body is trying to communicate. The Empress is also present, there's a lot of feminine energy and power here. 🤔 I don't know your sex/gender but... The Empress and The World together is giving pregnancy 😭 and it's curious because women's senses are often stronger when they are pregnant. However that's too specific... pls come back after you read this and tell me what you think tho. Bc something with fertility could be significant. Something with your feminine side, something is going on in your body, pay attention to that. If you are a woman I'm also thinking about vaginal ph changes. On anoother note The World is completion. Maybe the cycle of something is ending, and that's the smell. The smell is foreign, you are smelling something new that's coming/arriving to your life?

3 could be a significant number.

The energies of these cards are not bad at all, they're actually good, but in the context of your question, I think I'm done here.

I'm sorry if this was messy! This was a challenging reading since I never did a reading about smells, and also English is not my native language, so I hope it was clear anyway and it helped you at least!! 💋 Again, please tell me what you think, I'm curious about this smell thing.

[sun-in-retrograde]

Sedna Square Mars - You have a right to feel uncomfortable

On 11:57 UK time on Friday 22 March Mars will square Sedna. This square will be within 1 degree between the 21st and 23rd March. This will happen with Mars at 29°37 of Aquarius and Sedna at Taurus 29°37. The outermost point in the solar system of any significance squared by the planet of energy and rage and cutting and impulse comes with some fairly strong imagery. You may feel rage that you didn’t know you have. You may feel rage you don’t know you’re feeling.

Sedna was last where it is now in about 9400 BC. Given that Sedna reacts to big evolutionary problems, here’s the kind of things people with strong Sedna placements might have been worrying about then 

We’re living in permanent settlements now, around lots more people than we had around in the past. This feels weird, maybe suffocating. 

What does having more people around mean for your relationships with others? Are they watching you? Are you watching them? Do they have more than you?

Other people living in the same kind of area as you are living lives that might be radically different. What does that mean?

It’s cool that we’ve started growing plants and domesticating animals like dogs. Are we being domesticated?

Any evolutionary, deep seated, question strikes me as a good source of Sedna-Mars tension. I don’t think that feelings of unease about urban life, social control, our relationships with nature, etc, are alien to us today.

But also, pure lizard brain instinctive reactions are also pretty appropriate as Sedna Mars energy. Anger and fear and agitation that’s basic and instinctive and not rational. Honestly, I’m not against lizard-brain instinctive reactions. I used to have a big problem that if people spoke to me politely while smiling I thought they were being nice. This left me in situations where I’d come out of talking to people feeling angry and miserable and worse because it seemed to be the wrong reaction. 

I’ve learnt to listen to how I’m feeling. I live in Britain, global capital of politely destroying people. If you come out of a situation that society says was handled correctly and feel worse than you went in, then obviously something there went wrong. You get further if you acknowledge that feeling and are curious about it than you do if you try to pretend it doesn’t exist. You have the right to feel uncomfortable - you have the right to seek out and fight for situations where you don’t feel, like, a deep seated nameless sense of dread. This may mean taking your meds but it also might mean changing your circumstances. 

I think another thing to consider with this particular transit is that it’s the last time Sedna in Taurus will square Mars in Aquarius until 13,400 AD. Sedna has been in Taurus since 1966 getting squares from Leo and Aquarius. One of the things Sedna square Mars in Aquarius makes me think of is the outside context problem - how do we respond to things that are unknown, that maybe we’ve never encountered before. The next time Mars squares Sedna, Sedna will be in Gemini. This will be the first time Sedna in Gemini has squared Mars since before writing was invented. That’s new. If you’re feeling anxious or angry about new things in your future then you’re right on time.

[grousebrood]

wip wednesday

tagged by @optiwashere, i honestly don't really know anyone else on here but if you're one of the four people who follow me you can consider this a tag!

the first real fic i ever tried writing was far too big of a bite for me to chew, and i wrote about 90% of it and haven't touched it since. at this point i'm not sure i'll ever actually finish it, but it was actually weirdly very instrumental in me learning and understanding some very fundamental things about myself post/mid-transition. so even if it's never done it'll probably always be kind of important to me.

anyway my writing process is very messy and modular so there are very few sections that don't have weird little gaps. so i tried to put together a coherent little thing from it to post — not the explicit smut parts tho, bc i'm still too embarrassed to post here haha.

starring drow paladin of selune and shadowheart mid-Act 2, so vague SPOILERS ACT 2 ahead. important context is also that i wrote this mid-Act 2, so it very well may be a complete mess canonically but whaddya gonna do. starts mid fic.

CW: whipping, blood, hurt but we don't get to the comfort, sadomasochism (?), penis referenced

(sincere and deep apologies if i missed something, i'm new to this so idk all of em, but if something you'd like to avoid is adjacent to the above concepts it's probably better to just skip this!)

_______________

"Go forth and sow doubt, but do not compel it — only the willing may know the Lady’s embrace."

_______________

Still, the horrific, repulsive display festered within Helena. She had tried to push the images from her thoughts but they twisted their way inside. The rending of flesh. The grotesque cruelty of the wretched and inhuman dogma. 

Most of what she felt was a revolted nausea, her weathered soul recoiling at having witnessed the unholy mania. 

However, something flickered deep within her. It drew her close and quickened her heart. 

The mindless rapture. The oblivion. The end to all her aching hope. 

Loss.

Helena was infuriated by the thought. Shar’s embrace was a vile parasite that tormented the weak, and she was not weak. She steadied her mind, slowed her heart. Eyes closed, focusing, she uttered a soft prayer. The words offered a small balm, and her doubts and fears briefly scuttled to parts unknown as thoughts of something not too dissimilar flooded into the cavity the disturbing temptation had left behind. 

Rolling to her side, she gazed at the fading fire, and, beyond it, Shadowheart’s sleeping form. The deep, soft breaths of her slumber soothed Helena as she watched her chest slowly rise and fall. 

Since they’d begun traveling together, Helena and Shadowheart had been poking and prodding one another about their respective, incompatible faiths. And yet despite all this, or maybe even because of it, they had grown closer. They both understood the depths of devotion. What it meant. What it takes from you, what it gives in return. 

But even more, they came to understand each other, sharing things about themselves perhaps no other person had ever heard. Their memories, no matter how filamentous. Their thoughts, their fears. Their doubts. 

As they and the others traveled across [Faerun] together, desperately seeking a way to save all their lives, Helena pieced together the fragments of Shadowheart’s story within her heart and found herself increasingly drawn to the half-elf. After they shared a kiss in the small hours of the morning, just before the goblins had assaulted the Emerald Grove, Helena had even begun to naively wonder about what kind of a future a cleric of Shar and paladin of Selune could share.

------time jump-----

"If you were capable of feeling even an ounce of what I’ve felt, what I’ve been feeling, you wouldn’t be so quick to recite your ignorant drivel. I thought I might come here to offer you some comfort to help you sleep, but you clearly have little intention of letting me be close to you.” Shadowheart got to her feet, turning to leave. 

Even as the words stung her, a delirious thought slipped into Helena’s mind, small at first, then all-consuming. 

What better way to prove her worth to her Moonmaiden, her dedication to her righteous calling than to walk through the darkest corridors of the soul and come out the other side more devoted than ever? Yes, she would allow her blasphemous feelings to flourish — only to lull them into a false sense of security so they could be exterminated with a holy beam of radiant light. 

She would be stripped bare, clean and naked, and then moon’s love would once again envelop her, the proudest daughter of Selune. 

“Show me,” she said quietly.  

Shadowheart, mid-exit, became still. She turned back to look at the drow sitting in the dark, almost invisible if not for her pale white hair.

“Excuse me?” 

“I want you to show me,” Helena said, rising to her feet as anger and panic roiled inside her. “Prove your point. Make me feel Shar’s truth. She’d love it if you were to turn me, no? You’ve said so yourself. Imagine it. The woman who recovered the githyanki artifact, succeeding where all others failed, and on top of that, serving her Lady a new cleric of Loss. She would have no choice but to elevate such a loyal and powerful servant.”

“That’s nonsensical,” Shadowheart said, standing still as Helena came close enough that she could feel the heat of her body in the cold night. Helena reached a hand up to cup the side of Shadowheart’s cheek. The same way she held her the night they kissed. 

“Unless you haven’t really believed anything you’ve said since I met you.” 

Shadowheart’s eyes sparked with darkness as her hand shot up to grab Helena’s wrist and she abruptly pushed forward, catching her off guard and off-balance. Shadowheart’s grip secure on her arm, Helena stumbled backward, lightly tripping over the rocks and roots of the forgotten homestead’s pathways. Carried by the momentum of their bodies, Helena slammed hard into the aged wood of the shack as her breath left her chest. 

The two holy warriors pressed into each other against the wall as Shadowheart held Helena in place, her quarry struggling to suck in air after the impact, incapable of doing anything much at all despite being the stronger woman. 

“How dare you question my commitment to Lady Shar?” Shadowheart said venomously. “After all I’ve been through — all you’ve seen?”

“By your own admission I know nothing of the true worth of your Mistress of the Night,” Helena said, petulant, catching her breath and ignoring the wrenching lurch in her stomach as she felt Shadowheart push against her. “But from what I see it doesn’t seem like you know much more than a few silly phrases and petty excuses, pounded into your head by years of obedient listening. So show me, if you’re so devout.” 

Shadowheart’s anger flared and her grip tightened on Helena. She pondered for a moment, resolve hardening as she, too, tried to ignore a wellspring of warmth that had begun to flow through her body.

“Inside,” she finally hissed. 

-----------time jump-----------

“Fuck you.” 

Helena’s vision blurred as the room warped and spun around her. She again felt Shadowheart’s breath on her ear, though she struggled to listen. The sharp pain from her back extended outward, throbbing, as a hot pressure began to build in her body. The chair, already uncomfortable, seemed to become even smaller as she buckled over in agony, feeling something begin to press against her abdomen. Was that… Was she…?

Was she getting hard? 

Another lash of the whip. Helena jerked in pain and fell to the side, crashing to the floor, tears and spit dripping from her face as she concentrated on regaining some composure. 

Shadowheart crouched in front of Helena, using the whip’s grip first to lift the blindfold and then to tilt her chin upward, forcing her to focus on her tormentor’s face. The face of a woman she had thought she might love, whose unexpected softness had sustained Helena even as she thought her trials might break her.

Now, however, it seemed cruel and hard, Shadowheart’s preternatural derision directed entirely on her and her pathetic, drooling failure to understand the Sharran’s faith. Even still, as the pain continued to throb within her, so did her building animal lust, lust that made her feel all the more ashamed. Not only had she failed to prove herself, but she was hopelessly enthralled to this woman, desperate for more and yet physically unable to withstand it. 

“Shall I stop?” 

The flame was a fading ember. She stared into Shadowheart’s eyes, hoping to see a flicker of concern that showed that the cleric still cared for her. Helena saw none, and the hope died — but seemingly with it so too did her need to either please her companion or preserve herself. Spite boiled in her throat. 

No. 

She would not fail. 

She could not let the smug Sharran win. Helena spat. 

“Keep going.”

----------------------------

and there ya have it

[phantom-does-a-thing]

hey u should talk abt ur world and worldbuilding n all that. the people want to know

I do not think the people want to know about my silly little fantasy world. But you invite me to talk about my world and talk I shall.

So first off, society if I could dm a dnd campaign bc I absolutely would dm this as a campaign bc I actually wrote it with that in mind (but I don't know how to play dnd. so).

anyway. It's a world of like floating islands, and MOST creatures or races are flying, flying adjacent or have some sort of wing or magic structure to allow them to fly. Bc. yknow. Floating islands. There's like a few layers of the floating islands how it is, some are above or below the clouds. I wrote in the notes that the "government is strict but not oppressive" so take that as you will. I don't want to explain the government system or how it works bc I actually put very little thought so far into the actual islands.

"The upper islands are full of rich and blooming flora of many different colors and shapes. The leaves are fluffy and cloud-like and full of life and fun. The islands are suspended in the air by types of ancient and very unknown magic that people still have not figured out the origins to this day." Fruits and plants bloom year round and there aren't really seasons on the islands, it's mostly pretty consistent. I also don't think it could rain on the upper islands bc they're above the clouds.

However, this would be the main conflict of the story. The floating islands are beginning to fall. No one knows why, people can't explain why the magic that has sustained them for so long is suddenly failing and whole towns and cities are being wiped off the map. Because once an island falls, nothing from it is recovered, not even the people that used to live there. Contamination or whatever, they don't like or really know what's on the surface. The government is trying to hide this. They don't want to cause mass hysteria because of all the issues that it causes, so yknow, propaganda or whatever idk.

I also just have the note "sky leviathans" with nothing else under it and I don't remember the context but yeah. There's sky leviathans. I'm normal about that.

A small bit of religious lore is that they respect and worship their gods like very very respectfully. Like very devout, very much if you disrespect the gods you will die.

Anyway. Now for the surface. my special little baby bc I have so many thoughts about the surface. First off. It has like megaflora, megafauna, very prehistoric. VERY uninhabitable. And when I say like megaflora. there is not much flora at all tho. Like it is barren but any plants n stuff are gonna be MASSIVE. The bugs are also really big. There isn't a lot of food on the surface either, so it's very hard to survive.

It's kind of like a civilization after a nuclear fallout, or some sort of corruption, all the creatures there are mutated and corrupted and things are really weird in the surface. It's full of very, very dangerous monsters. My favorite is what I called a Blitz which is just a gigantic centipede like 8-9 feet tall super super long idk numbers is 40 feet a lot? I dont know. Longer than that maybe. It is incredibly fast and incredibly deadly. There's also massive messed up deer. I like messed up deer.

In comparison to the religion of the islands, the civilizations on the surface don't really "worship" gods necessarily but their civilizations are made out of the corpses of long dead gods. Most of the civilizations are not actually on the surface, rather they are underground in tunnels bc it's safer that way rather than being on the surface directly.

Found this in my notes: "Giant snakes big enough to pull down dying islands. snakes big enough to launch themselves towards the island they miss usually but as the power keeping the islands floating weakens and they sink the snakes can get closer" like. Okay. Yeah. Big snakes.

Another piece of lore I found is the way I wrote Basilisks and creatures that feed off of love and warmth, they live DEEP in the underground like if we translate it to the ocean, like this would be a deep ocean type creature, they are rarely seen bc they rarely come to the surface. They are highly intelligent. The Keeper is one of the more famously known ones, they guard the shallow tunnels and "guide" lost people out of the caves. I love The Keeper <3

idk that's all the worldbuilding I could think of rn from skimming through my notes <3 I am very obsessed with this world and I hold it so near and dear to my heart. <333333

[whistlingstarlight]

If you want to try to ramble about the Mother series, I'd love to hear what you have to say

Okay I

Cannot at all guarantee this will be coherent it's very hard for me to put some of my thoughts on this series into words, especially as omitting a lot of context

Not gonna even try and make this spoiler-free bc the spoilers are what I love most abt it, so heads up on that. This may end up having follow-up posts depending on how long it gets, but for now I'm mainly gonna talk about the characters as they're what I love most about the series. We'll be here forever if I try to explain the plots too

Also, Mother is a surprisingly dark series past all the nonsensical whimsy. There's themes of bullying, death and child neglect mentioned in this, you've been warned.

The Mother series is very unique, as it is (overall) an RPG set in the modern day. 198X for Mother 1, 199X for Mother 2/Earthbound, and an unknown time for Mother 3. On top of fighting things like aliens and robots, you also fight crows, gas pumps and hippies. Weird time, but a fun time too.

The protagonist of Mother 1 is Ninten, who's mission is to stop an invasion from the alien Giegue, as well as recover the pieces of a song for a woman called Queen Mary in the fantasy world of Magicant. Ninten doesn't get a huge amount of development due to being a silent protagonist, but I find the types of psychic abilities he learns to be indicative of his personality: he learns mainly defense and protective abilities, he wants to keep his loved ones safe most of all. He is also one of the first canonically disabled protagonists in a video game, being asthmatic.

The first friend Ninten meets on his quest is Lloyd, a timid but intelligent boy with a love for rockets and other gadgets. Unfortunately he's the victim of severe bullying from his schoolmates, to the point he spends his free time in a garbage can on the school roof to avoid them. Befriending Lloyd is a key moment in Mother 1: he is the only companion absolutely mandatory to complete the game, and when he joins you the overworld music changes from the song "Pollyanna" to the very appropriately named "Bein' Friends".

Ninten's next friend is Ana, who joins the party after the boys return her hat to her in the hopes of finding her missing mother. Ana isn't very physically strong, but her psychic abilities are extremely powerful, enough that she's been having dreams of Ninten before she even met him. She and Ninten harbor feelings for each other, shown late in the game when they dance together in a mountain cabin.

There's also Teddy, in his late teens/early twenties, leader of the local criminal gang, who joins the group to avenge the deaths of his parents. He kicks Lloyd out of the team, believing him to be too weak, but Lloyd later saves them from a robot attack by destroying it with a tank. Teddy's severely injured and has to stay behind to recover, but grows to respect Lloyd as a result. In the original release it was implied he died of his injuries, but in rereleases it's confirmed he recovered and started over, leaving his criminal past and becoming a club singer.

After recovering the pieces of Queen Mary's song, it's revealed that she is Maria, Ninten's great-grandmother. Magicant is the last remaining ghost of her consciousness, and before it disappears she reveals she and her husband, George, had been abducted years ago to become Giegue's surrogate parents. The song you've been learning was the lullaby she sung to him as a baby. When you finally confront Giegue, it's a very unconventional final boss battle. You don't kill him, you don't even physically beat him; you sing the lullaby, reminding him of his mother Maria. He even offers to let Ninten come with his before he leaves, acknowledging him as family. He swears to return someday, though.

Mother 2/Earthbound is simultaneously a remake and sequel of the first game, and it's protagonists are noticeably similar to their predecessors. Ness is the new main protagonist, and like Ninten is mostly silent. He loves his family dearly, to the point that if he doesn't phone home regularly he will become homesick. Unlike Ninten, who practically stumbled into his journey, Ness and his friends are prophesised to save the world from Giegue (now known as Giygas). Ness must also learn a song, but this time from visiting powerfu energy spots across the world.

The first friend Ness meets is Paula. Much like Ana, she is physically weak but extremely powerful psychically. She's been kidnapped by a cult, and after her rescue (and reuniting briefly with her parents), joins Ness on his journey. Her telepathic abilities are invaluable in meeting with the next friend, Jeff.

Jeff Andonuts is from overseas, living at a boarding school. The only member of the group without PSI, he more than makes up with it with his technological prowess. After hearing Paula's call for help, he sets off to meet up with them. His best friend, Tony (one of the first canonical gay characters in gaming!), helps him out of the school, and Jeff heads to his father's science lab in hopes he can help him get to Ness and Paula over the ocean.

Dr. Andonuts is... absent, to put it tactfully, despite only living the other side of the lake from Jeff's boarding school, he hasn't seen his son in ten years. Jeff even corrects himself whenever he calls him Dad.

Extra note: the novelisation is... not my favourite, but Jeff is physically disabled in this version, using leg braces and later prostheses although how he gets them is a bit yikes. He also uses an off-roader wheelchair in one chapter, and personally this is smth I've adopted as my headcanon

The final member of the party is Prince Pu (who received a much more unfortunate name in translation that I refuse to call him :]), from the Eastern kingdom of Dalaam. He goes through some... absolutely nightmare-inducing meditative training before joining the group, and if you want to see what I mean look up "earthbound mu training" on youtube.

Mother 3's main protagonist is Lucas, although aside from the prologue you don't actually get to play as him for quite a while. Lucas is initially a shy but still very happy boy, but after the brutal death of his mother and disappearance of his twin brother Claus, and the subsequent neglect from his father Flint, who spends all his time searching for Claus, Lucas becomes a shell of his former self. Yet he has a signature PSI ability: PK Love. And at the end of the game, when offered to restore or destroy the world, despite having experienced nothing but loss and loneliness for years, Lucas chooses to love the world that hurt him.

Kumatora is a so-called "princess", but by choice she doesn't really live up to the role. She continues the trend of incredibly skilled PSI-wielding girls, but unlike her predecessors is a rebellious tomboy.

Duster is the successor of Lloyd and Jeff as the group's non-psychic member, but the similarities end there. Duster's a grown man, raised as a thief by his father Wess. Unfortunately, Wess holds the title of Fucking Terrible Parent. He's verbally abusive to Duster after he makes an honest mistake, and the game all but outright states he permanently disabled his son by overworking him. Duster walks with a limp, a fact that is mentioned in-game and was even animated into his walking animation, a detail that I appreciate a lot as someone who also walks with a limp.

There's also Boney, Lucas's loyal dog. He accompanies Lucas throughout his journey, remaining a constant and reliable companion.

Then there's Pokey Minch, Ness's neighbour from Earthbound. There's... honestly so much to talk about with this character, so I'm gonna save it for a post dedicated solely to him. He's surprisingly complex and quite a tragic character despite the antagonistic (and.. almost irredeemable) role he plays.

This post really doesn't do these characters justice, but they mean so much to me. The games are all noticeably more challenging before you meet your friends, because struggling alone is tough. All three groups are quite diverse and a lot of them come from difficult backgrounds, but they're all treated quite respectfully. They send some important messages, especially for the time the games were released; disabled people can still be strong, girls can be as skilled as boys (if not more so), you don't need special abilities to be important.

[spacedykez]

1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 20, 21, 25 and 30 (BARELY restraining myself from asking more) <33

1. How long ago did you start reading fanfiction? Writing fanfiction? a year and a half ago bc i found grian thru a tutorial video, binged HCS6, got reccommended the ATUS Karma animatic, read ATUS, and it spiraled from there. do not look at any of my old hermitcraft fics they are horrific

3. Are there any fics that inspired you to write what you do? IWHIA by bunflower & h_mellohi's whumptober 2021, @okaydontjudgemebut's branzypierce fics, @scribbling-dragon's tumblr oneshots (specifically ive stolen a lot of tumblr formatting tricks from aer), and Soul Keeper (genuinely, i love this fic, specifically how it makes each empire so distinct and gives it so much character, and its use of metaphors. literally my favorite thing Ever!!!)

4. Link your three favorite fics right now. and i pay for my place by the ring (FH lotr au, scott starts fading) chasing kairos with those scapegoat eyes (philza angst. too relatable) the skeleton living inside your head (c!wilbur timeloop fic)

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something? i will read literally anything but the one thing that makes me go Nope is bad grammar. (and i won't read smut but that's not really a pet peeve that's just an I Don't Like That And That's Okay). you have to understand i will READ non-smut a/b/o & torture & romance & incredibly dark fics & genuine rpf & ill even suffer through huntlow but if it has bad grammar i am out.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community. @jukeboxtea @darubyprincxx @nach0 @griancraft @andiinaraethtash (i know that's six, but they're all amazing writers who need MORE FREAKING ATTENTION. also You nix. you're a great writer.)

20. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process? dreaming up ideas & talking about ideas with friends. i love the brainstorming part. uh. yeah most of them dont make it into a doc but.

21. What’s your least favorite part about the fanfiction writing process? editing. that five minutes after you post a fic where youre like Dont Think About It Literally No One Can Possibly Read That Fast Stop Thinking About It and then u refresh tumblr/gmail/ao3 for the next forty minutes and pray to the first user who comments on it

25. Do you listen to music as you write? If possible, link your writing playlist. yes. it varies month to month so i couldnt really tell u anything specific but i'd just like to say that TheFatRat is INCREDIBLE writing music

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words. Uhm, i haven't worked on anything in several weeks. Like. At all. sorry. ive just been in a weird mood

[partyinthemysterymachine]

Ooh, deleted scene?

D E L E T E D - S C E N E

ok SO!! this is a Deleted Scene™️ (1/????) from the Library Arc©️ fiasco that it was (fond), specifically Ch64: Bible.

it's VERY silly, LOL, but the idea was in my brain and i had to do what i always do: Just Fuckin Write It Out, Cuz U Never Know If It's Worth It™️ (but also, i consider all my scenes - whether the make The Cut (haha, funny bc it literally got cut) or not - to be an exercise in character development; we're just here to have fun, gang!!)

so....... without further aduuuuuuu:

✨the deleted scene✨

(spoiler alert?? .. idk...???? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ spoilers-ish. maybe. FEH idk)

(CONTEXT: this occurred just after James came back up from the basement and Harry's telling him about the botched bible. Unfortunately i don't seem to have whatever'd led up to this, but one can only assume that James had the Universe Brained idea to suggest that Harry go look for another bible in the library.)

“By god, we are just on the same wavelength today!” Harry exclaimed, loaded with enough petty sarcasm to burst a bat. He pushed the chair back a bit at an angle to give himself room, threw one knee over the other, and landed the topmost a good  smack. “And yanno what?” Then, with the flair and wobble of a wet noodle, dropped his side into the short backing of the chair, and slung his bent elbow over its ledge, beaming at James’s unamused face. “I thought the same thing! — and even went to check!”

James stared deadpan into Harry’s fake, stretched-out smile. Facing each other with contrasting expressions like that, they looked like the famous pair of stage drama masks. He knew where this was going the moment Harry started up with his dramatic nonsense, and now that it seemed like Harry was waiting for him to take his turn, he still hadn’t decided how much freedom to be an asshole he wanted Harry to have.

His nose released a short bout of wind. “Oh dear. Oh no.” James uttered, all in a monotone that made plywood seem interesting. “Did something happen.”

“James, you are not going to believe this,” Harry began in a way so sugarcoated that James thought that if anything, the guy should consider hosting daytime TV as a backup in case his writing career ever failed, “but something. Did.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes!”

“What was it.”

“Hold onto your ass, and onto your seat for this one— because they don’t. Have. One.”

James had never struggled so hard not to break character. He was so fucking close to cracking up that he was considering leaving right then and there; and yet, he bravely persisted. “Oh, no: they don’t have an ass, or a seat?”

But Harry was still talking, though. “But who [REDACTED] are of course both news to me, and totally unknown to me. It seems like you were right about your theory though, which is damn spooky, if ya ask me.”

“.. yeah,” James quietly replied. “I’m a little spooked too.”

“You sure Silent Hill didn’t give you a hint for this?”

“Not at all. — I mean, it didn’t give me a hint, or say anything about it. Honest.”

“I believe you; I’m just steppin’ on your tail for fun.”

“It’s okay.” pause “.. so what’s it mean?”

“That’s a question I’d love to answer,” he sighed, “but I got nothing. Ran into a bigger problem during all this. Look.”

“Trouble in River City - this copy of the Order bible is borked. Seemingly random too,” he elucidated, picking at dog eared pages to show James more examples, “but this seems too fucking messy, really, for it to be accidental.”

“No kidding. These were going to be shipped out to Utah in a box.”

“Jesus, you remember that?”

“What?”

“The destination. Utah.”

“Yeah, cuz I thought it was weird. It’s all Mormons over there. 

“You’re sharper than a hornet on a stick; I felt the same way. But yeah; this seems fucked. The good news is that we left the box back at the police station, and we ought to head over to the Central side of Silent Hill at some point, anyway.”

“Hmm. Yeah. Good call.”

“Thanks, I made it myself.” sighs. “I think, other than that? That’s it for me; I’m beat, James.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you make any progress with the moths?”

A shrug. “I made notes. I’ll go over them with you later.”

He looked thankful. “Sounds good.”

[biploar-thoughts-from-bg]

weird dreams

CW: guns, violence

As someone with insomnia I hardly ever dream, and the few dreams I do have tend to be very strange thanks to the medicine and supplements I tend to take at night.

Last night was one of those nights I had a super weird dream.

I was in my childhood home, baby sitting two girls I have no relation to and suddenly a guy (who i was apparently in a strange business relationship with) walks in with four guns in his hands and tells me "they're coming" and just disappears. Suddenly there are hundreds of strangers outside my home with various weapons and I just know they're there to take the two little girls. So naturally I go into the room the two girls are in (which is my little sisters old room) and tell them to hide under the bed and cover the gaps with blankets. Then I decided to ask the older one, who's maybe 11, if she knows how to use a gun and when she says no (bc why would she) I show her how to use a gun, give it to her, and tell her to shoot anyone who walks in the bedroom that wasn't me. I then proceed to John Wick style kill all the people outside my house (they came in waves of three) and finally I see a woman outside the side door and she turns out the be the girls mother, who of course I kill for a reason unknown to me, and the smallest girl sees me do it but apparently they had no idea it was there mom so she only had to deal with the trauma of watching someone she trusted murder someone else. After I John Wick'd everyone the guy that warned me in the first place appeared again and helped me take the girls out of the house without seeing any of the bodies.

And that was it. I was awake.

I always found it weird that I have no context for my dreams, like who were those girls, why was I hiding them from their mother, who was the ONE guy i considered an ally and why did he disappear when shit hit the fan?

I also find it strange that many of my dreams follow this same narrative (meaning I'm saving(?) people from some terrible big bad(?)) when that's not who I am in real life. A lot of them also include gun violence which I find especially strange bc I can't operate a gun and would never want to learn how.

I usually try to find some sort of analysis for my dreams but I couldn't find anything that made sense for this one. I also woke up feeling a weird sense of relief, when usually after these dreams I wake up in a panic.

[kuiinncedes]

for your fic rec: 44 for samcedes!!

hi!! so i’m the anon who sent in the ask, i forgot to add in the fluff part. sorry!!! btw love your blog!

tysm ahhh 🥺 and thanks for prompting!!! this is my first time writing samcedes so i hope this is okay 👉👈

Fluff 44 “You’re an idiot.” “But I am your idiot.”

--

“Sam! Did you fill our apartment with candles again?”

“Sure did!” Mercedes laughs as she goes into the living room, where Sam is lighting the last candles. “We gotta celebrate!”

Mercedes walks over and stretches up to kiss him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“You need to not make this a habit, though, love.” Mercedes sets her bag and coat on the sofa, one of the only candle-less surfaces in the room, and looks around warily. “Before you burn the house down…” 

(She knows it won’t happen, that Sam isn’t as dumb as people perceive him to be - a stranger might think he would do that - but there still are dozens of candles surrounding them. It’s not the most relaxing situation.)

“It’s fine, that won’t happen,” Sam says, collapsing onto the couch and beckoning for Mercedes to join him. She laughs and complies. “How do you know that? I’m pretty sure you can’t control exactly where the flames go and what they decide to do.”

“My superhuman instincts will take care of it before anything can happen,” Sam jokes. “I needed to do something to send you off! My world-touring superstar.”

Mercedes smiles and burrows deeper into his side. 

“The candles represent my love for you,” Sam continues. “And it won’t run out because there are so many of them. They’ll burn forever. Just like… my love for you.” Mercedes snorts at the weak ending and obvious connection, but her heart warms all the same. Like Sam has lit a candle. In her heart.

(He’s rubbing off on her. Her songwriting skills need to be better than this.)

“I’m not going to have an apartment to come back to,” she laments. 

“You’ll have me to come back to,” Sam says cheerfully. And that’s different, Mercedes thinks. That’s new. 

And she wants that to continue. 

“Just, preferably with a roof over your head,” she teases. 

“You’re gonna blow the roof off of those arenas.”

Mercedes giggles at the sudden subject change, looking up at Sam. He grins back at her. “You’re an idiot,” she says fondly, kissing him again.

“But I’m your idiot,” he says.

“You’re my idiot,” she agrees. “And I’m going to miss you a lot.”

Sam rubs his hand up and down her arm. “You’ll see me in two weeks in Ohio,” he says quietly. “And then a few shows after that.”

Mercedes lays her head on his shoulder. “I can’t wait,” she says.

She’s nervous. She’s super nervous - it’s her first completely solo tour, for an album that means so much to her and she poured her entire heart into writing. And she knows her fans have loved it, that she has friends and family too that will be supporting her at the shows, but still.

“You’re gonna kill it,” Sam insists, as if he can read her thoughts. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“I know,” she says softly, playing with his fingers on the other hand in his lap. “I’m just nervous.” Sam knows this; they’ve talked about it a couple of times, but now she’s really thinking about the fact that she’s leaving tomorrow. 

“Hey.” Sam sits up and situates them so they’re facing each other. He brushes a hand over her hair and to her cheek, and she turns her head to kiss his palm. “Of course you’re nervous,” he says. “But you’re Mercedes Jones, baby. You can do anything.” 

His voice is so sure and full of belief, always erasing the old doubts and fears that sometimes resurface in Mercedes’ mind, that she only allows a few people to see.

“And if you really need it, I’ll actually come with you,” he adds. 

Mercedes’ eyes snap to his. “What - you have work!”

He shrugs. “I know. But you’re more important.”

Mercedes melts, intertwining their fingers tightly and resting her forehead against his. She smiles. “Thank you. I know you’ll be there with me in my heart.”

Sam smiles. “Forever.” 

[dolugecat]

On some Japanese social issues I had learned about at uni and abroad):

(Rb ok!)

Legit had an epiphany about the true hidden meaning of the last arc of Mob Psycho 100. It’s hella projection but for real there is nothing neurotypical about Mob or Mob Psycho. I do not wish to enforce my interpretation on others (ironic bc I do that all the time but this is a serious social theory). There are some interesting and very sad social issues in Japan that the west really doesn’t understand but would I think help people understand a lot of context behind not only Mob Psycho, but also a lot of other anime. I learned this at my shitty university (prestigious but horrific) and while studying abroad in Japan and talking with Japanese peers. Get ready here we go (and tw for bullying and darker things):

Unfortunately in East Asian education systems, bullying can be extremely intense. Growing up I assumed it was over exaggerated extremely in anime for drama but it really can be so horrific. From what I’ve heard, there is often a single kid or so who is just shit on by everyone else, even the teacher. Mogami land *is* the reality of some Japanese kids. I’ve read that in Korea, this social punching bag sometimes is just the darkest skinned person (yayyy colorism /angry) and or someone who does not fit in. I mean, we have that in America too, but maybe not as common for the bullying to be as focused on one misfit rather than several. These kids just can’t escape the stigma too, kids from other schools find out they were a major victim at their old school and it starts anew. Thus there is so much stigma and incentive to join in on bullying so you aren’t the one. Sadly, this also ofc leads to higher suicide rates. That’s where the “shoe on building roof” anime trope comes in, bc somehow taking off shoes is relayed to death (I forgot why sorry)

There is a difference in how intense in general high school vs college is too. In the West, commonly college is the more intense curriculum and is harder than high school, but in Japan it’s usually the opposite. Grind suuuupppeeerrrr hard for entrance exams (huge standardized tests that determines what college you can qualify to) bc unlike the ACT or SAT here, that test is by far the most important factor for college admission. Then chill and relax a bit in college. Can’t relate. Name and prestige is very critical for job application, more important than here. That’s why planning out your future is sooo much more intense for Japanese high schoolers than in America, and why there is sooo much more pressure to excel in high school than here. Japanese school years and holidays are done different than ours, I’d suggest looking it up.

Social prestige of going to an American high school or college is nuts. Like whyyy do you value our shitty education, Japan’s is much higher quality (it’s bc we neo colonized them). Being able to speak English is very, very highly valued and any association with Americans make you cooler. From my experience, some Japanese students got very excited to practice speaking English with us, and their biggest issues with learning it is pronunciation, lmao. Wasai english is unique slang that is indeed English words but it’s kinda different and it’s kinda jarring to remember lol. So, Teru having parents that are working overseas isn’t too uncommon, idk about leaving him absolutely alone, but I did have a ex-friend who just came from Japan in middle school who’s situation probably wasn’t too far off from that. Empty wealth with no love, it’s no wonder those kind of people can end up being huge bullies (minori?)

I did a presentation on 引きこもり(hikikomori) for which means “shut in”, (like Serizawa) and it’s fucked up. It’s a social phenomena where according to some Japanese researchers a mix of undisciplined parenting, guilt/not living up to expectations, and hopelessness makes an alarming amount of youth/ young adults literally never go out side their house/room. Often a parent is “enabling” the behavior by supporting them, but idk the articles seemed a bit victim-blaming to me when I read it, but I don’t think I should make a judgement too hard, not my place. I will say I do suspect and believe I read something to support that ASD might play a role in hikikomoris (there is pitiful resources for autistic people in Asia, much much less support than even here, to the point I don’t think most know it exists). Like come on, with the other points I laid out my personal opinion as an Asian American with autism is that it really seems it’s unknowing ableism against autistic classmates, but I didn’t grow up in Asia so I don’t want to say.

Mental health in general is tragically quite abysmal in Japan, and with it being so hyper competitive and brutal work culture, it’s no surprise birth rate in Japan is so low; some Japanese young adults say it seems unethical to bring a life to such hostile world. Suicide rate is of the highest in the world. It’s fucked, I’ve interacted with some of the locals in Tokyo and they were so nice, but the business men just looked dead inside, it’s so sad.

Relationships between child and parent is also strained bc of this intense work and school culture. Quality time is too scarce when you gotta work so much. And the pressure from parents to do well in education or else you might end up socially stigmatized is rough. Bc your job is who you are, it’s hyper capitalism (thanks us for making them do this)

With autism being so unknown, support for parents in raising autistic kids is almost nonexistent. What happens if the “darker” side of ASD shows up in kids? I used to be a menace when I had meltdowns, I felt so bad but really just became so indiscriminately violent. See where this is going? Legit, I think ESP is a sort of metaphor for neurodivergance to ONE. There is so much stigma around it, and even less way for kids to understand why they are different than the others. My Korean family can’t admit we all got ASD, too much fear and internalized shame.

I got finally diagnosed with ASD as an adult and I’ll tell ya, I relate too much to Mob hurting Ritsu. I felt so bad, but also not in control, I knew what I was doing but not how to stop. Luckily, is was blessed in that my hyperfixations involved science and logic, so I did well at school. Sadly, our boy Mob just don’t got the passion or ability to do well at school. His kanji is very bad, even to point of not being confident he wrote a kanji (世) they learn when they are 9, in elementary school (thanks @katyatalks). Him being a bit berated by his parents for having bad grades and bending spoons seems harsh to Westerners I think, but IMO it’s pretty tame from what I’ve seen of some Asian parents (I get to say that lmao). Ofc, however the shaming is very real and Mob just agreeing with them about how weird and stupid he thinks he is so sad. There is even more pressure for the eldest to be better than here, I feel from some interactions. Nonetheless, it’s implied Mob is quite emotionally detached from his parents, even though he loves them, which also adds to his emotional complex. Combined with originally fragile self esteem and feelings of worthlessness, we got one emotionally stunted boy. However, contrary to common belief people with ASD are sometimes hyper empathic and experience emotions very intensely. We are prone to having “meltdowns” which if not assisted with can be quite violent if very intense. For me, my worse meltdowns as a kid came from when I didn’t understand why I wasn’t getting what I wanted, it seemed selfish and cruel of me but I couldn’t control it. I wanted to be a good kid, so why did hit my moms leg at target when she refused to buy me Pokémon toys? I couldn’t come up with a good reason for why my mind just commanded my body to do bad things, just a single thought was controlling me, I want I want I want I want I want ____. Which I argue could be what ???% represents… bc well…. Yeah….. hmm….. not in control of self (mob unconscious), selfish (not actually, I’ve forgave myself but my “normal” kid self was so ashamed), destructive, hurt family, wanting to stop but can’t, that’s kind of…. Too relatable.

But legit, since realizing my new HC, I’ve started to think of the last chapter of mp100 when I “explode” and it helps me feel better and I do gain “control” a bit easier. I don’t feel so bad anymore either, Mob!

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from the Lost Tomb part 6.1

🎶 Back on the bullshit I never got off🎶

Is this another unnecessary story arc?? With three sections??

Yes.

Wushanju Crew Chat

Wang Meng: You know, I’m someone who appreciates consistency in my day. My life is pleasant, very few issues indeed if you ignore the big ones. And yet. Yet here we are. With unresolved messes at the end of a day.

Wang Pangzi: SOMETHIN YOU NEED TO SAY MARY POPPINS

Wang Meng: We need to talk about Huo Daofu and the glittery bead curtain.

Wang Pangzi: MY FAVE TEEN WIZARD SERIES

Wu Xie: did you turn on that suggested word thingy lol

What glittery bead curtain

Wang Meng: I closed the shop at 6:00pm this evening on the dot. I locked all of the doors in and out of the shop very carefully, especially in light of recent events. The hall leading to the back office was empty. I filed the day’s paperwork, updated and sent emails, and then spent an extra hour organizing receipts and dusting. When I came back out, there were glittery iridescent bead curtains over the front entrance to the shop.

What could this mean?

Wu Xie: uh that you need to spend less time at work?

Wang Pangzi: LOOKS LIKE WE GOT ONE FOR THE DETECTIVES. THE MYSTERY OF THE BEDAZZLED THRESHOLD COMMENCES

Wu Xie: I think we can be relatively secure in thinking a glittery bead curtain isn’t a hostile threat

Wang Pangzi: SAYS YOU

I REMEMBER YE OLDE EXPLORATION TIMES HOW FAST THINGS GOT FURIOUS

BEANBAG CHAIRS SET AFLAME AND LEFT ON DOORSTEPS AS A WARNING

GLITTERBOMBS FOR DAYS

PANIC AT THE DISCO

Wang Meng: Ugh, forget it. I should have just taken them down, regardless of who they belong to.

Zhang Qiling: They are not mine.

Wang Pangzi: A BOLD STATEMENT COMING FROM OUR PRIME SUSPECT

SOMEONE QUICK GO DRAW CHALK AROUND THE DOORWAY TO MARK THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

Wang Meng: Do we know anyone who *would* sneak in and put those up? For whatever reason, legal or not? Even as a joke?

Wang Pangzi: ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING WHETHER WE KNOW ANYONE WHO IS CHAOTIC, AN OUTLAW, A PRANKSTER AND/OR SNEAKS INTO PLACES

BECAUSE THAT WOULD MEAN OUR SUSPECT LIST IS LITERALLY EVERYONE WE KNOW EXCEPT FOR YOU.

Wu Xie: okay let’s think about this; for starters, I didn’t break into my own shop

Wang Meng: You would be in danger of doing some work in the process, that’s true.

Wang Pangzi: LOL

Wu Xie: ANYWAY let’s keep going. For example, Xiao Ge would only break in somewhere for a good reason. Xiao Ge, did you do this?

Zhang Qiling: No.

Wu Xie: okay who’s next

Wang Pangzi: YOU REALLY MISSED YOUR CALLING IN INTERROGATION TIANZHEN

REALLY PUT THE SCREWS TO HIM

IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE;)

Zhang Qiling: How can we be certain *you* didn’t do it?

Wang Meng: Admittedly that was my guess, too.

Wang Pangzi: WOW I SEE HOW IT IS

BLAME PANGZI AS USUAL

ANYWAY HOW DOES HUO DAOFU FIT INTO THIS

Wu Xie: Oh yeah him! Oops I got distracted

Wang Pangzi: UR ENTIRE HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

Wu Xie: Ugh fuck off

Wang Meng what abt Huo Daofu??

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wu Xie: oh sorry xiaoge I didn’t realize you wouldn’t have spent much time around him last year

He and I go way back

Zhang Qiling: Way back where?

Babysitters Club Chat

Wang Pangzi: I CANNOT BELIEVE HE IS BUYING YOUR INNOCENT ACT

IF YOU EVER TURN TO EVIL WE ARE FUCKED

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wang Pangzi: YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO HUO DAOFU IS

YOU WERE EXTREMELY POLITE AND BORDERLINE FRIENDLY TOWARDS HIM

Zhang Qiling: I wanted him to feel welcome. I wanted to be sure he understands he has a place here. A specific place.

Wang Pangzi: FOR A SILENT GUY YOU ARE A MASTER AT SUBTLE POWER PLAYS IM ALL TINGLY

LMAO THE IDEA OF WU XIE LEAVING YOU FOR HUO DAOFU IS HILARIOUS AND ALSO NOPE

Zhang Qiling: Rationally, I understand that.

Main Chat

Wang Meng: Huo Daofu is coming for the weekend—didn’t Wu Xie tell you? Wu Xie asked me to check in a week ahead so we could start getting ready for his arrival

Wu Xie: oh yeah I did do that

Wang Meng: Fortunately I know you and so I already went ahead and took care of everything.

Re: the trip

He made a deal with Wu Xie’s doctor that he would do periodic checkups on him here at Wushanju

Bc Wu Xie hates being in the hospital

And frankly the hospital hates him too

Wang Pangzi: FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT LOL

I FORGOT HUO DAOFU WAS DOING THAT

A VERY CHIVALROUS GESTURE

WOULDNT YOU SAY

XIOAGE

Zhang Qiling: Is it safe for him to be here with a criminal loose on the premises?

Wu Xie: Right, back to the curtain! Let’s focus on the curtain, hmm?

Wang Pangzi: I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND.

ALSO WE CAN RULE OUT XIAO BAI FOR THE CURTAIN SHE JUST SENT A SELFIE FROM NORWAY COVERED IN GREEN SLIME WITH ZERO CONTEXT, UR PROTEGE INDEED

Wu Xie: okay but who else would do something so oddly charming yet illegal and—wait.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: hey, Glasses hasn’t been in touch lately right?

Li Cu: uh nope

Unless u count the outdated memes

Why, is money or Xie Yuchen missing

Or is this curtain related, I saw Wang Meng’s tweet

Wu Xie: haha no nothing to worry about really

(I mean maybe? but who knows)

Wang Meng is probably just getting a little paranoid in his old age

Li Cu: better than getting reckless and stupid as hell in ur old age

Wu Xie: …hey:(

Unknown Number: Li Cu, we discussed this.

Wu Xie: ????????

Li Cu: *sigh* fine, reckless and stupid as heck

Unknown Number: …close enough.

Wu Xie: EXCUSE who is that

Madame, Sir, Non-Binary Tree Spirit, etc—whomst the fuck

Are you

Li Cu is underage FYI

So Im staying on this chat

Li Cu: okay first of all, it’s not like that

Second of all I’m literally not underage I s2g

u threw the embarrassing surprise bday party, okay so u should remember

And C, that’s my counselor and I invited her. She wanted to meet u and I knew u wouldn’t agree to a visit so I added her to our chat

we have been discussing u

Wu Xie: Oh wow!!!!!!!

What a surprise:)

hi so nice to meet you:)

Main Chat:

Wu Xie: RED FUCKING ALERT

FUCK THE CURTAIN FUCK THE VISIT

IVE BEEN TRICKED INTO FAMILY THERAPY BY A SMUG TEENAGER WHO TEXTS UNKNOWN NUMBERS

Wang Meng: I assume that means something to someone here?

Not my problem? Good.

Wang Pangzi: AHAHAHA GOD I LOVE LI CU

HES LIKE ADORABLE KARMA FOR ALL THE SHIT YOUVE PUT ME THROUGH

IM RAISING HIS ALLOWANCE

Wu Xie: wait i give him an allowance

has he been collecting on two allowances??

Zhang Qiling: Three. I knew about both of yours.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: so uh may I ask your name?

Unknown Number: you can call me Ms. Lee.

Now, if you’re comfortable talking in this format, why don’t you tell me how things have been going?

Wu Xie: oh everything is normal and fine and safe as usual, why do you ask:)

Li Cu: I heard about ur necklace thing. nice of you to NOT mention it.

another dangerous adventure. again. prick.

Ur lucky your cool boyfriend cares about you so much or you’d have already died like ten years ago

Wu Xie: lol try twenty years ago

Li Cu: That isn’t funny.

Unknown Number: …What?

Wu Xie: shit ur right, okay that was a bit glib, my apologies.

…I use humor as a coping mechanism?

Unknown Number: and Li Cu, how do you feel about that?

Li Cu: he doesn’t even know what that phrase means

He doesn’t cope, like ever

In fact

It’s kind of why we met

Which is a funny story in retrospect tbh

Wu Xie: haha what are you talking about sweetie hahaha need I remind you of certain anecdotes that could idk send me to jail maybe lmao

Unknown Number: …You know, perhaps an in-person meeting might be more effective?

Wu Xie: haha such a nice idea but why

Main Chat

Wu Xie: If I go to jail, I’ll have to create alliances for protection, right, that’s how it works on tv

Who do we know who spends time in jail

Other than Hei Yangjing, he’s only ever there for like 12 hours and i suspect he just gets himself arrested bc he enjoys the breaking out process

Also how’s the curtain case coming along

Zhang Qiling: Has someone threatened you?

Wu Xie: well not yet but soon I’m sure

Wang Pangzi: WHERE WAS THIS PARANOIA WHEN WE GOT TAKEN TO THE TEA HOUSE HUH

Snake Eyes Minus Your Fucking Therapist Chat

Li Cu: okay how tf did u pull off spy and undercover shit

u are sus as hell

Wu Xie: damn son is it pick on Wu Xie night

I missed the flyers or I would’ve invited my uncles

Also re: the curtain it’s been mostly solved

Li Cu: I’m not your son, idiot.

Wu Xie: …oh. Sorry, sorry, you’re right, bad choice of words, haha

Forget i said anything

Delete this chat even

Li Cu: shit I meant

Legally, biologically, I meant—

shit

…I turn into an asshole as a coping mechanism?

Wu Xie: oh that’s all okay! I have to go do something else now let me know if you need anything okay kid thanks!

Li Cu: goddamn it calm down who’s the kid here

lemme organize my thoughts so I can articulate my emotions fuckin healthily or w/e

Ugh maybe for like one afternoon we could go to Ms. Lee together? She knows how to word stuff

Wu Xie: uh…okay.

Li Cu: Anyway you don’t need to worry abt jail

As if you would survive prison for one day you’d piss off half the place in like an hour or less

I gave Ms. Lee the heavily edited version of the desert highway to hell roadtrip and i discussed it more in terms of like “nightmarish but still wouldn’t take any of it back”

Well maybe the sand

that shit was everywhere

Wu Xie: oh kiddo. It’s fine, really…You don’t have to explain yourself to me.

Li Cu: no, no it’s just

I do technically have a dad

who is an asshole. Being a son doesn’t really mean shit to me bc it sucked.

So you need to stop backing down just cuz ur guilty abt stuff. I’m really really glad ur not my dad in a good way. Do u get what I mean there

Where’s the mafia widower I followed into hell, huh

Wu Xie: Ur a good kid, despite my influence. I’m really glad you have someone to talk to after everything I…after everything. Wow this talking through feelings thing is kind of weird but nice ur right

Jfc no wonder it took me and xiaoge so long to—you know what, we won’t get into that

Li Cu: ew tmi

Also re: this week’s recent necklace fuckery

I moved my stuff here, I live here now

So you can’t die anymore

Or else…Idk I don’t have a threat planned

anyways abt the curtain

Wu Xie: oh my god, kid…kid you have no idea

I am in tears.

Li Cu: see this is why I can’t be nice to you I can sense the hallmark channel from here

Ugh don’t be sad in ur room that’s dumb

Go hug Pangzi or something

Maybe delete this chat

Or the curtain thing

Focus on the curtain thing

Just stfu and go away

Wu Xie: <3 screenshotting this <3

Li Cu: I take back everything I said. This is why Xiao Ge sleeps on the roof. I hope the ghosts of the Wangs put up that curtain to strangle you somehow. Go die in a stupid way, it’ll suit you.

Wu Xie: lol don’t worry I’m not gonna embarrass you with it or anything

Main Chat

Wu Xie: omg guys look how cute my kid is *sending screenshot*

Wang Pangzi: I MEAN

HE IS WISHING YOU DEATH

BUT SURE

CUTE I GUESS

Wu Xie: no but read the whole thing:):):)

Zhang Qiling: It is indeed very hard to remain angry with you. And you are welcome to join me on the roof.

Wang Pangzi: UH NOPE

NOT WHENI HAD TO BLEACH THE COUNTER IN THE KITCHEN

DONT TRAUMATIZE THE EARLY BIRDS THEYRE ALREADY FREAKED OUT BY U YA HOODIE CRYPTID

Wu Xie: ok true but babe ur like a sexy cryptid

Wang Meng: so, are we just accepting that there is a glittery curtain of unknown origin, and Huo Daofu is going to have to see it while he’s waiting for you at Wushanju bc you’re going to family therapy?

Wu Xie: right

Wang Pangzi: SHOULDA TAKEN EARLY RETIREMENT HUH

Wang Meng: I’m going to go dust something.

Unnamed Chat:

Unknown number: so the curtain…

Unknown number 2: yep, not my best work but I kinda panicked last minute u know

Unknown number: what is in the water at Wushanju that makes everyone dumb and attractive

Unknown number 2: relax they’ll figure it out

[thekidsarentalright]

i would Love to hear any and all of your thoughts on tttyg

this has been in my inbox for so long i'm so sorry it took forever to answer but here are my thoughts!!! (also sorry for the long wall of text i'm on mobile lol):

So... I feel the context of what fob was working w at the time of making tttyg is important!!! bc, at the time, they had only rly made eowyg and were known for That and also pete being the hardcore king lol and whatever shitty little bands they all had been in prior, they were all broke... so the fact they made what they made considering all of that?? incredible. For a first debut album from this weird little unknown midwestern pop punk band?? take this to your grave is really impressive, i think. I think the general Sonic direction of the album is really good, considering the scene at the time i feel it was something New enough but also palatable, which is really cool! i think some things they did with how different songs blend into each other, the distortion on some of the guitar parts, and the lil soundbites at the end of a few songs are all really really cool and small things i genuinely really appreciate. the way patrick explores his range in this album is Very limited compared to their others, but he does some really pretty harmonies (grenade jumper, though it sucks, has some nice background vocals) and i think for Him his performance on tttyg is good!!! he wasn't a vocalist before this album/eowyg!!! However... my biggest, most genuine complaint about tttyg is how similar all the songs sound. like, i've been a fob fan for 6 years now, i listen to their music 24/7 and am constantly analyzing their lyrics and Still have a hard time telling the difference between several tttyg songs without having to look up their lyrics Because they're so sonically similar. And, for me, the Sound they all have is Good! but it's not intriguing to me as a massive music snob. it's not Interesting. my favorite songs are the ones I think sound the most diverse (calm before the storm and saturday, for example), bc there's more for me to Listen to and analyze and explore. like, obviously i can listen to music to Just enjoy and tttyg is great for that ig but i easily get bored of it because i Enjoy digging deeper into the layers of songs and tttyg just... doesn't have that in the same way the other fob albums do! in comparison to other artists debut albums (or in some cases their most recent albums lol) tttyg Is better and way more nuanced/layered, i do believe and it deserves that credit... but for Fob? It's just like. not as good as the other 6. And that isn't a bad thing! the fact they got better w everything album and are always finding things to improve and do better on is a reason i love them so much!!! tttyg was an incredible starting point, they just outdid themselves every time. if they Peaked at tttyg that would just be sad fskjfhsk but they didn't!!!

[normal-thoughts-official]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IDEA. But may I also propose: Magnus cursed from a young age (probably bc of Asmodeus) that anyone who touches him is hurt by a blast of magic he can't control. (This may result in his mother's death). He locks himself away of his own will. Alec teaches then that it's fear that makes him lash out. Featuring: touch starved Magnus.

this idea is GENIUS actually and i love it. tbh me and my friend have a similar idea that we talk to each other about (lol) but it isn't a B&B thing, its more of an adventure AU. anyway, lets go!

so in this universe i guess magnus banished asmodeus like in the original sh verse but asmodeus cursed him with the "everyone you touch will be in indescribable pain" thing. maybe just as revenge, maybe to try and use it as bargaining chip because okay magnus, is it freedom that u want? u want to be able to have ur own friends and ur own life? fine. get me back, and ill leave u alone, and ull be free to have friends again. if not, ull be still isolated just like before. so is it gonna be win-win, or lose-lose?

but magnus doesn't budge because he knows that if he lets asmodeus free things will only get worse not only for him, but for the whole world. he is too dangerous to be out there. so, magnus resigns to his fate

and i guess in this version he wouldnt have a lot of close friends because he had been with asmodeus his whole life before he was cursed, so he was just. alone in his self-imposed isolation with no one to talk to. maybe he enchants the furniture so they gain sentience but they can't really feel pain, so at least he has someone to talk to. god im so fucking sad already

so is the furniture his friends in canon? im not entirely sure how i feel about that but also the idea of ragnor as that clock from the original movie is great. thats my most important thought on the subject ngl

btw its 4 degrees Celsius in here so im typing with gloves on so ull have to excuse my typos i am a mere brazilian and i want death

anyway okay so i guess his friends are like pieces of furniture that he spelled into sentience and they aren't his servants or anything cuz that's gross but they just like, hang out. wow im actually managing to type pretty well all things considered

so at least magnus has people to talk to but he's still touch starved because you know... a clock can't hug you and that'd just be weird. maybe them becoming sentient was an accident? lmao like magnus just wanted to automate some functions like having the clock talk to tell him the time or something and it turned out that they became sentient. possibly his magic is a little fucky because of the curse so that's why that happened? or maybe he just is way more powerful than he realizes and we all know he invented the spells he used to try and automate the things anyway. but if he gets people to talk to, well, he's not complaining

im focusing too much on this. anyway. id also like to note that im making rapha the cook/stove thing because i mean, come on. it's right there

and ok i guess alec comes into this because he uhhhhhh no u know i might go with that izzy thing. so izzy ran away from home because of maryse's bullshit and alec was sent to bring her back. so he was going after her but in the middle of the path there was the whole wolf attack thing that scared off his horse and LUCKILY magnus' house/tower/whatever was right next!!! so of course they take alec and his horse in but also WHOOPS there's a huge snowstorm that lasts for days (par the course for where magnus lives, actually. he DID want somewhere people would avoid. but also i think maybe his magic being fucky has something to do with it) so i guess alec is stuck at magnus' for the foreseeable future

which is HELL for magnus because he is terrified out of his mind that they will accidentally touch and alec will be hurt. and like.... his Constant Crave For Touch is already bad on a regular day, but having someone who could actually hug him in theory just makes it worse, you know? he hasn't interacted with other human beings in so long, just having one there is enough to make his need for touch almost unbearable and just... completely constant. it's hell

so magnus is scared, which means that he keeps to himself. so he tells alec not to go into his room, he tries not to eat at the same time, and other stuff like that, bUT his friends keep sabotaging his plans because they want him to have another friend, jesus christ!! (rapha being like "come on now magnus, you don't want my soup to get cold, do you? i'll be deeply offended. i guess you have no choice but to eat with alec". so magnus goes but the first thing he does is magic his regular table into a gigantic rectangular table with 41908410 seats and seat on on the side opposite to alec. alec just sighs

so like he's constantly coming across as rude because he is trying to avoid alec, alec just doesn't know why

but alec is also a stubborn bitch who goes stir crazy and refuses to just sit around isolated doing nothing while they wait for the stupid storm to finally be over so he can go get his sister. and magnus saved his life, so it's the least he can do to repay him in some way. besides, this is what, the first time that he's been completely away from his mom? for such a long time too? and he's finding that he feels... weirdly free and just relieved and he doesn't want to waste that opportunity with standing idly around alone all day. he had enough of that at home, thank you very much

besides yeah magnus is being rude but alec is used to straight up assholes and abusers (jace. i'm talking about jace. also maryse ofc but mostly jace) and magnus is not that. in fact he makes very polite conversation and is actually pretty fun during dinner, all things considered. he's just.... super private, i guess

AND magnus' friends are all being a nightmare with the making them interact so you know. they end up interacting. and alec makes it a point to help him take care of his house because it is a certified Depression Lair™. magnus can take care of it magically but it's like... so dark and almost suffocating at times and there is stuff like bad painting and piping problems that he never bothered to fix because it isn't affecting the functionality too much but it DOES makes life harder and alec "everything must be at 100% always" lightwood is not here for it so for a few days they are working on fixing the house and... magnus actually feels a lot better when the place has actual sunlight and looks inviting and like a home, he has to admit. when he says that to alec it might be the first time he's given him a real smile and man, is alec smitten

sidenote i guess this means that magnus doesn't exactly... dress well in this au lmaoo i mean it makes sense too because canonically magnus uses dressing up as a way to convey an image of power and untouchability and he doesn't really need that in this AU since he is completely isolated. so i guess he is a bit more like twi magnus - bare-faced and wearing comfortable clothes and the like. this isn't a twi au i'm just saying that it makes more sense for him to dress like that in that context

anyway. after the whole house fixing thing, they officially become friends. it turns out that alec also knows a bit about what it's like to feel isolated and touch-starved (altho he's always had izzy to help in that department, but still) and also what crappy parents are like. magnus shows alec his little mirror that he's enchanted to be able to show him anything he wants and how he uses it to be able to see all the places in the world he'd like to visit - he loves people, he loves culture, and sometimes it's all he can do to watch what's going on in Mumbai and it makes him feel a little better, so, he does that. he also admits that sometimes he catches on some drama happening and uses the mirror to see the people involved and make sure they are okay. kinda like a soap opera of his own but he has the means to interfere and help because of magic, so he will have someone who's struggling with money suddenly find hidden cash or have an "unknown dead relative" give them a lot of money in their will, or something like that. and if he also watches some of their personal drama that unfolds, well. he is lonely and it's not hurting anyone

but magnus doesn't tell him about the curse, and he still makes sure to keep his distance. it stings a little to alec, but it hurts magnus the most because fuck, maybe he just desperately needs someone who will give him the time of day, but he likes this guy and that only makes it harder to keep his distance. he makes it a point to always be at at least two arms length from alec, which alec thankfully respects and doesn't try to get him to breach, but. shit. it's still so hard to not want to just rest his head on his shoulder or get a hug or even fucking touch pinkies like stupid children and he can't. alec even once jokingly suggests that they have a ball since magnus doesn't know how to dance and magnus is actually excited for a second before he remembers that he can't, it would have to mean that alec touches him, and he can't

someone - maybe ragnor - even suggests that maybe he could try gloves and heavy clothing so alec isn't really touching him but magnus refuses to try because he doesn't want to risk it not working and alec getting hurt, because he'd never forgive himself. besides, getting a taste would only make it hurt more. he can't. he can't

but it's alright because at least he has some human company - he loves his friends, he does, fiercely, but it's different when they kind of have no choice but to be with him and also are enchanted creatures. he doesn't even know if they aren't nice to him just because he enchanted them into life, even tho to be fair if he had a choice ragnor wouldn't be that grouchy - and alec makes him laugh and gets him and helped make his place feel more like home, a little bit. and he can pretend that he feels the warmth from alec's body when they are sitting by the fire and feed these crumbs to his desperate need for touch and company

and then the snowstorm ends and it's time for alec to go

honestly, alec himself is kind of heartbroken, but- he loves his sister, and he can't just leave her alone in god knows where, even if he dreads the thought of coming back home now that he's been away from his family for so long. but magnus doesn't want to keep him, and doesn't want alec to feel pity for him, so he's all but pushing alec out of the door (not literally, of course. he can't do that, it would mean touching him) all "go, go, you never know when another storm might start. go see your sister. take my mirror, you can find her more easy". and alec's all "but it's been the only thing-" and magnus waves him off, of course, all "i can always make myself another one. besides, you'll have something to remember me by. now go"

so.... alec goes

and hooo boy magnus is heartbroken and a mess because even tho he knew how much having someone else there helped he had almost forgotten what it was like to be the only human in the house. he just feels extra lonely and even kind of bad about it because hey, his friends are there - not that they begrudge him for it, of course. it's not like they don't also hope for the chance to get out of the house and do other things, but well. they can't. so they understand him. and they know how awful he's feeling right then, but what can they do?

meanwhile alec finds izzy pretty quickly - she's living with this one insufferable villager named clary that alec absolutely can't stand, but- she's happy. and she doesn't want to come back, which alec expected, but he finds that he can't actually insist for her to come back. how could he, when he himself doesn't want to go?

and izzy insists that he stays with her - there's no reason for him to come back. they can stay in the village, and work, and build a life for themselves. alec is the only thing she's been missing ever since she left, and in here the both of them can actually be happy. and do it together, like they're meant to

and when he first gets into the village is the first time since izzy ran away that he was hugged and fuck, it's hard to say no to her

but also... he misses magnus already

and he doesn't know if he can just stay and leave him behind

and of course izzy is like "who is magnus?" so alec tells her the story, how he was attacked by wolves and rescued by this house that miraculously was in the middle of the single most inhospitable placealec had ever seen in his life. and the kind but wary stranger who always keeps his distance but seems so eager for connection, who made alec feel welcome and laugh and feel like he built a life for himself there

and clary tells him that she's heard of the story, but she never knew it was more than a legend - no one really remembers what happened. some say that magnus made a sacrifice to rid the village of a demon, and it turned him into a beast, forever locked in his castle. some say that he himself is the demon, and it's the tower that's containing him and keeping the village safe. some even say that he died battling the demon, and it's his ghost that keeps watch on the tower

she wants alec to explain which one is true, but it's all alec can say that none of these are right and he knows nothing because magnus never told him. all alec knows is that he doesn't want to leave magnus behind

and clary is like... well, if he's not a demon or a ghost, maybe we could bring him to the village too. he has magic, right? he could bring the tower closer. and maybe the other villagers could, you know, visit him and hang out. and he wouldn't be as lonely, and then alec and izzy could both stay

driven by this failproof plan, they decide to go back to magnus and tell him their great idea

except they are IDIOTS and forget about. you know. the damn wolves

and like holy shit is this pack big or what? like no seriously why are there infinite wolves in that one singular pack in beauty and the beast. like holy shit dude there's more wolves near the beast's house than in the whole yellowstone park

anyway there are Many Wolves and while alec is a good archer, izzy is a fantastic fighter, and clary is Fucking Crazy if you give her something stabby, there's only so many wolves they can take on at the same time

good thing magnus is a pining idiot who did in fact make himself another magic mirror and was watching alec with it. so he knows that the dumbass is in trouble and for the first time in years, he uses the portal (his own invention, and he had never gotten to use it before!) to get to them and fight off the wolves

so magnus saves all their lives, at the cost of getting severely injured and passing the fuck out. izzy, who's the one closest, runs to get to him and help put him on one of their horses... and is immediately hit by a blast of magic that almost makes HER pass tf out too

which is when they finally learn that, oh. that is the curse

izzy is fine, of course - the pain ended as soon as she was away from magnus

but it does pose the problem of How The Fuck Are They Getting Him Back To Safety, because they can't exactly wait for magnus to wake up (it's freezing, for starters) but with this amount of pain it won't be physically possible for them to hoist him up and get him on the horse. shit, will the curse work on the horse?

they bring alec's horse (by far the strongest of them because alec is huge buff mcgee) and try to get him to touch magnus and the spell does NOT work on the horse because in order to be dramatic asmodeus was like "you shall never feel human touch again" when he cast the spell, which accidentally gave a LOOPHOLE for non-human animals. so magnus could have had cats the whole time, which he had always dreamed of, but he didnt want to risk testing. besides, his house would be a poor environment for a cat and [self torture noises]

anyway thats one less problem to deal with, 99 to go, so they use some ropes to hoist magnus on top of the horse and bring him back to the tower (it's closer than the village) so they can tend to his wounds. thankfully, as the assigned Big Brother of a very irresponsible izzy, alec has experience with first aid, altho he never really dealt with anything quite this bad. and magnus' friends help, too, as much as they can. inevitably this means that alec ends up touching him even if by accident sometimes, but he knows what to expect so he Powers Through It because he won't let magnus die, damn. and as horrible as that is alec has experience with powering through pain, so. he's gonna bandage him up god damn it

izzy can't stand to see him dealing with that himself tho, so she helps, and clary ends up helping as well because they figure sharing the pain makes it easier and alec doesn't have to be too hurt. minimal touching accidents for alec! good

*narrator voice* And Then Magnus Wakes Up And Alec Hugs Him

full on launches on top of him and brings him into his arms and Magnus screams like NONONO OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALEC NO GET OFF ME YOU'LL BE HURT and his shock and distress at the whole thing sends another whole blast of magic that explodes that whole mf before it can touch alec and alec feels no pain and magnus is like.............. did i just COUNTER the spell? and everyone's like well! it looks like u did!

which earns him ANOTHER hug (oh my god alec stop he's so stressed out by this) (who knew alec was so touchy?) and this time he's paying attention to that gut reaction and because magnus is a Certified Magic Genius he realizes what it is that he's doing to counter the spell and immediately starts working on a way to turn this into unhexxing himself for good

which he DOES after some time idk how long but alec stays with him meanwhile and maybe izzy and clary do too, because magnus needs all the company he can get and besides, izzy has always wanted adventure and clary has never left the village before, so this is interesting to them at least. and magnus gets to meet new ppl which is nice

eventually the Begone Spell spell is performed and it works and turns out that when it does that it also unfucks magnus' magic and perfects his sentience spell turning all of his friends into humans WOW WHOD HAVE THOUGHT. so all of them are free to leave the tower as ppl at the same time and GROUP HUG!! and magnus cries like a baby in the group hug because holy shit hes been needing something like this so bad for so long and he never expected to have that with his friends but here he is :)

and then yeah they all move to the village to live a simple but fulfilling life and Magnus and Alec start living together in a little cottage and become husbands the end <3 this is so long too rip me

[thedreadvampy]

Okay, but is there a story about why you're "despised" by Stuart Semple kin, because I'm trying to imagine what could rile colourfandom beyond the Semple-Kapoor saga and I'm failing.

If there is no story then feel free to ignore this ask, lol (I mean, feel free to ignore this ask is you just feel like ignoring it tbh, you do you)

YES THERE IS

it's very funny (to me, not to Stuart Semple)

like ok so I reblogged a post where OP was asking about Stuart Semple and I said basically "I think Stuart Semple is a good pigment designer and a great marketer but a pretty juvenile and shallow artist.'

the thing is (and I have encountered this before on Twitter when I made a thread about how it's probably past time for Semple to Let The Kapoor Thing Go and also not call a British Asian man a"terrorist sympathiser" for expressing that Britain is racist against young Asian men which makes it easier to radicalise them) that Stuart Semple is an inveterate namesearcher. and he located my post and was Quite Upset, to which he responded by cropping out the context, but not my username or photo, and posting a screencap on all his social media saying effectively 'I'm going to make art despite the haters!!!!!!'

so like. I got several weeks of graphic death and rape threats, people telling me I'm not a real artist and don't know shit about art and how dare I criticise a Real Artist, weirdly according to my partner who does follow Semple on Twitter and Instagram (bc we DO like a lot of his pigments) the Insta crowd decided I was trans and started slinging transphobic insults around in the comments about my photo and coming into my askbox to Pronouns In Bio me, people started picking up on the fact that my bio said 'former sex worker' and trying to insult me for that, it was like a whole thing which honestly did not faze me because given how stupid it was I just found it. baffling and funny.

Amid this Semple refused to admit that there was any reason he shouldn't have made the post and said he didn't see any difference between me (an at the time largely unknown blog with like 500 followers) posting criticism of him (a public figure) vs him posting criticism of me. he was pretty condescending but we largely ironed things out (by which I mean I stopped taking about him and he slowed down on getting defensive in the replies of every part I made including unrelated ones) and swapped pictures of our pet reptiles.

It was a weird time and then for like another few months I got Periodic Semple Stans in my askbox sending aggro. it was definitely the most actively personally aggressive drama I've ever been in which was very weird bc the criticism was honestly. Pretty mild. I said I thought his art was technically skilled but adolescent and not very interesting. I have Definitely said much more controversial things and has far fewer graphic murder threats like ????? literally appearing in the Guardian as an anti-TERF protester and being identified on Twitter, going out of my way to argue with fash (don't do that any more, not super productive), outing rapists and chaining myself to a building have had less violent responses. it's wild. I am meaner than that every time I've ever gone to a gallery and not one time have Caravaggio stans jumped out to call me a used up whore.

[miraculouscontent]

(Shanghai-related asks)

.

Anonymous said:

Did you see how, supposedly, the reason Marinette goes to Shanghai is bc Adrien is there. Because you know, that's a totally normal thing to do.

You know, there’s this suspension of disbelief where characters are allowed to do certain things that you’re like, “okay that’s not realistic but it’s fun so I don’t mind.”

Yeah, this is not fun.

Anonymous said:

Based on the new trailer for the Shanghai special, one of my biggest fears is that we won't see Marinette interacting with Sabine's family outside of Uncle Wang, even Sabine is nowhere to be seen in the trailer, please ZAG at least give us one of Sabine's parents, we're starving

I’m still rolling my eyes that there’s not one piece of dialog with Sabine talking about stuff related to her family, though her cheongsam is also flipped so--

Anonymous said:

Synopsis for the Shanghai Special: To join Adrien in Shanghai, Marinette is going to visit her uncle Wang who is celebrating his anniversary. But, as soon as she arrives in China, her purse gets stolen with Tikki inside, whom she needs to secretly transform into Ladybug! Without money and alone in the immense city, Marinette accepts the help of a young and resourceful girl, Fei. The two girls will ally and discover the existence of a new magical jewel, the Prodigious. Hawk Moth, also also present in Shanghai, seeks to finding it since a long time... Yea, cause Marinette still hasn’t suffered enough :p

mAriNEtTe mAkeS a mIsTakE iN eVeRY sToRY

Anonymous said:

As someone of Chinese descent, I felt extremely bothered by how miniscule the boy's , the one on the right (?) taking a picture with Adrien, eyes were when I saw the Shanghai trailer. It feels extremely... stereotypical? Not sure if that's the right word. I mean, he could just be squinting, but it still bothers me. Especially if that's their normal eye shape.

I heard similar complaints when Kagami arrived. They really stress the eye shape when it comes to someone full-on Asian (and if you’re half-Asian then you get wholly round eyes which makes no sense). It also gets weird because I feel like we have characters in the show who could pass for Asian (Mireille at least has the proper eye shape without it being over-exaggerated; I don’t remember if her skin tone is correct or not), but when characters are actually Asian, it’s usually taken to the exaggeration.

My sympathy goes out to everyone of Chinese descent who’s going to have to deal with the special. I’m literally a mish-mash of whiteness (American, French, and German) but even I know it must suck.

Anonymous said:

im tempted to watch the Shanghi special with my family, we're part chinese and have been to shanghi a few times. Then we can laugh and yell at it together, no need for show context

omg

As long as you have fun! Give it a good roast for me!

Anonymous said:

Excuse my french (pun intended) but

WHAT EVER LOVING HELL HAPPEN TO THE SPECIAL!!

Marketing.

Also the writers wanting to make sure you don’t forget that Adrien is a guy who exists.

Anonymous said:

Hi, Clarity! If you don't mind me asking, do you have any thoughts on the upcoming Shanghai special based on the information and trailers we have?

When I found out that Marinette was spending time with her great-uncle Wang, I was so excited. I was hoping that this special will be a breath of fresh air and spontaneously focus just on Marinette and her family for once. Maybe we'd explore Marinette's Chinese heritiage and learn more about her mother, Sabine and extended maternal family.

Then I saw Gabriel in which I eye-rolled 180* like any degree of character development. Like... great... more needless Miraculous lore/exposition. (Can we even call it exposition? I doubt any of the Miraculous-related events will be referenced within the show.) Whilst Miraculous lore is great and does expand our knowledge on the Miraculous, it steals any individual focus that Marinette could potentially have. It also tends to "hands everything" to Hawk Moth, who gets almost everything done his way without him even trying. Hmm, I guess as Shadow Moth, he won't have to use Mayura as his catslyst anymore. He'll have to ruffle his own feathers. (I don't know why I'm making a bird joke about Gabriel here. I hate him snd I couldn't care less about him.)

Also by reading the special's synopsis, it mentions that Adrien and Gabriel go to China for an unknown reason (maybe business related.) So Marinette decides to go to spend time with him (also spend time with Wang concurrently.) This might be a minor issue but I don't want Adrien to always be the centre focus of Marinette's motivations/desires. (He isn't always but I feel he is more than he should be.) Let our beautiful amazing girl just have an amazing time with her family in China. The writers need to stop Adrien being an integral part of Marinette's character. This special should be about Marinette (along with her family) and them solely.

Moreover, I'm worried that Marinette will imminently be embarassed/scolded/humiliated in some way. The synopsis mentions that she loses her bag (that contains Tikki.) Inevitably, she's going to be scolded for this for not being careful. The writers will blame her for the destruction that Hawk Moth will cause and not the actual man terrorising Shanghai himself. And no needless lovesquare drama please. If I'm not interested in it in Paris, don't think I'll be interested in it in Shanghai. And please do not let it be used to cause Mari/LB to suffer. Romance (no matter how contrived it is in this show) should be about finding joy and happiness. It should never intentionally be a burden for anybody, especially if it's for comedic purposes. Why am I worried that CN will yell at LB this time?

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic. I hope that the writers actually have them communicate properly about this time. Like they should both be honest (an important aspect of healthy relationships), to build clarity and to avoid confusion. Like the needless drama in NY could have been avoided if Adrien didn't ignore Ladybug and actually TRUSTED her by telling her the truth about him going somewhere instead of complacently lying to her, then losing her trust. Both could have told each other that they are going to NY "for personal reasons" without giving too much detail. To prevent suspicion, the writers could have included the American superheroes hosting an event inviting them or asking for their help to defeat that Micromonster guy. LB and CN could have both then collectively made a decision that if anything were to go wrong in Paris, they could quickly use the Horse Miraculous to transport to France in time (like Marinette was advised to do in "Startrain") or use the Rabbit Miraculous to travel back in time/manipulate events. There was no need to make Marinette suffer for the sake of needless lovesquare drama.

However, I love the animation for the special. It is mesmerising and beauitful and the graphics look superb. The atmosphere looks so clean and the nature-aspects (Hawk Moth's hideout) are intricately detailed. The lighting also complements the charactrrs and the settings' colours. A huge round of applause to SAMG for their excellant hardwork for animating this special despite the pandemic!

If you have any worries about the special, free free to do so! I want to conclude my message by thanking you so much for being such a lovely, kind, confident and resilient person. You always confidently express your opinions and strcture your essays clearly and legibly. I always look forward to reading your posts. I know I can always count on you to express our frustrations with the show's writing on our behalf and speak up for Marinette's mistreatment and inustice! 😊

Firstly, thank you! I gotta defend Marinette because we know the show won’t!

Anyway, I agree with basically everything you said. My biggest comments on it are like--

- I’m already tired of places just being used as set pieces for specials. I actually have a history of disliking specials/movies for shows because its purposes is usually just to get people hyped up, but that means big plots with big stakes and I end up thinking, “okay, but why can’t we have that in the show?” That’s always the issue I take with it; movies/specials prove that they can come up with high stakes plots, but we can’t have equivalents in the show because...?

- I officially tune out now anytime Marinette’s crush on Adrien is mentioned. It gets tiring and it just makes me feel bad for her and simultaneously angry at the writers for treating her this way. Add that onto the “Marinette always makes mistakes” rule and it’s clear that they’re creatively bankrupt and needlessly restrict themselves for the sake of making Marinette suffer. I’m just insulted that Gabriel is going to Shanghai for his fashion business but Marinette being into fashion is ignored.

- The animation is nice but whenever I see it, I’m reminded that we couldn’t have much SAMG in Season 4+5 because they were busy working on the special. The show should always take priority over some lame special/movies. I won’t judge the special for it but I’m salty about it regardless.