#and for me personally that's the timeline and i wouldn't want it fucked with esp capaldi and whittaker

[variousqueerthings]

I mean, yes, there's a lot of nostalgia to the 60th anniversary, but I think people will conflate that with "automatically a bit shit" because a lot of nostalgia Stuff isn't that great after a glut of lazy nostalgia-based media over the last x amount of time, but that assumes that it was bad because of it being nostalgic, and not because it was irony-poisoned, self-conscious, and unwilling to interact with the changing times and therefore a poor copy of the said thing it was being nostalgic about, rather than continuing a story. the familiar phrase by now of "all nostalgia, no sincerity"

when I'm not a fan of what one might call "nostalgia"-stories, it's not because referring to the past is automatically bad writing, it's because the writing is stale and really often it's because it reveals that whoever made the new thing definitely didn't get the same out of the classic thing that I did, and at the same time is patting themself on the back for idk. something. doing the same thing again, only this time around worse (often it's that surface level interaction with tropes, rather than themes that outs them -- and yeah, that's in the trailer, but specifically the trailer is giving very little away, so knowing they're hooking people in with a bit of allons-y or the slap or donna being sassy, while keeping the things I'm really excited about a bit more mysterious, I mean... that just makes sense?? Yeah, I recognise the callbacks, but the really important things aren't being revealed yet, like the inverse of terrible movies that show all their biggest set-pieces in the trailer, because that's all they have to offer)

and I don't see people pre-judging the potential 60th on those criteria, just on the word "nostalgia." I mean, obviously we can say this might be bad, but it's sort of a nothing-statement, and it seems kind of unfair to say that rtd would do this, when he's not done that before, specifically on a show that is super nostalgic to begin with (that is, the longest-running scifi show of all time), of which rtd was a massive fucking nerd

I assume because it's three specials with dtennant and catherine tate, but also yeah, why the hell not be nostalgic both about classic!who and the series that you created that rebooted the show (the answer is "because ten isn't the only doctor that matters," and personally, again, rtd being a massive fucking nerd, feels a bit like putting words in the man's mouth that he's never said, specifically about a show that he's super nerdy about)

feels like people are putting the stance out there that they're ready to hate it and then they can always go, "oh it was surprisingly good, actually," in case it is good, rather than be just excited going in and risk disappointment, but it's a bit boring to be honest

tempering excitement is all well and good, until it makes you the irony-poisoned one, where all nostalgia is kind of stupid really, you don't even care that much, and you know this is going to be shit, and actually looking back rtd was never good if you think about it, and ten is overrated, and david tennant isn't even a good actor actually, and catherine tate was just a shitty comedian, and you've preemptively decided to refuse to enjoy yourself

it's an anniversary, that's when the nostalgia comes out, and has done since the 10th anniversary in (checks notes) 1972!

[funishment-time]

Kokichi/ general with

87 75. 73 25 and 22?

ooh, kokichi-centric! i assume this is for this ask game since it's the only one i've reblogged that goes so High!

87.)Headcanon on Pregame V3 Characters?

i have lots, but generally, my Main Headcanon with all V3 characters is that part of Tsumugi's "fictional" story is right: there is an Ultimate Hunt going on. their pregame selves are actually a memory-wiped disguise, not their true selves. the Monokubs really did give them back their talents and base memories, just also threw a bunch of fake ones in there too. and there is indeed a reality show going on but...well, i won't get into it here. long story short V3 is a reversal of Danganronpa 1 in many ways.

it's basically just what a lot of people headcanon already but in reverse. i think there's a lot to play with there psychologically still.

for Kokichi specifically, i imagine he was a timid weeb guy who really wanted to be an edgelord so bad but just didn't have the Audacity. i'm reminded a little of Charlie MoistCritikal's story about how in college he wore a CD around his neck and acted like a douche to pretend to be a Mysterious Anime Character. like that. that's what pregame!Kokichi wanted to be.

75.) Unpopular Headcanon?

general: that a lot of relationships in the main timeline wouldn't happen if they weren't backed against a wall, esp with the protagonists. i don't think Kyoko would care much for Makoto in a Normie World, but i don't think she'd care much for most folks. i don't think Kaede would be any closer to Shuichi than her other classmates either (and i'm someone who's gung-ho for a platonic soulmates thing with them). which is fine really! lots of interpretations and timelines to explore

for Keech: that Kokichi is 99% gay but would have a crush on a rare girl, like Kaede

73.) Popular Headcanon?

general: a lot of characters are actually plus-sized.

for Keech: that Kokichi is 99% gay. i guess technically he'd be bi or pan in my mind (see above) but i don't personally view him as one that cares for labels, and it's mostly guys he likes to play with

25.) Favorite Anthology Chapter?

i haven't read all the Translated/Fanslated anthologies, only the DR1 ones. (i'm not sure where to find the others. if anyone could link them to me, let me know.) but i loved the comics about Junko and Mukuro before Muki really had a defined personality of her own, and she was kind of just the annoyed older sister being dragged along on her crazy younger sister's stupid schemes. i'm reminded of the one where they temporarily adopt Mondo because he can't get a girl and become the Despair Triplets. crack central.

i also like the one where a blank-faced Kyoko just hides in things like a cat to find out where people might hide a body. and the one where she throws a horseshoe crab into a pot of stew everyone's making. they are genuinely close to how i imagine Kyoko really is on a personal level: just kind of a Beautiful Freak who doesn't interact with reality very much

22.) Favorite Random/Unnecessary Moment?

Hiro's dumb fucking stories about his life. the UFO burger abduction and the 100% unnecessary aside about how his dad burned down their house because he was smoking in bed (i assume that's why Mrs. Hagakure mentions she's divorced in UDG) and even Makoto's like ???? god bless Yasuhiro

[elvenbeard]

2077, September

“I’m wondering if this is what Alt meant when she said Soulkiller would… kill my soul. Leave me nothing but a cluster of memories and thoughts… A blurry copy of myself, trapped in a body so adjusted to Johnny already that it would’ve been smarter to just – …”

Look at how far you've come. You're the King of the fucking Afterlife, a Night City legend... but as it is with Night City legends, they tend to die young.

Vince is 28 by mid-to-late 2077, every other person his age has so much to live for, to look forward to... yet his thoughts are still pre-occupied with the same problem they have been since April, just with a new twist: how the hell am I gonna survive my own body trying to kill me now?

He'd been told that Johnny would slowly wipe out his personality, his memories, his existence, but even with Johnny gone now, for good, an amicable separation in the end... Vince doesn't feel the same anymore. Is he even himself still? Or just a not-entirely-accurate copy of the Vince that once was? In the end, did he wipe himself out with the help of Alt and Soulkiller, without Johnny even having a fault in it so much?

Just like after Jackie's death, Vince cannot help but wonder: would it have been better the other way around? Should he have stayed back in Cyberspace, give Johnny a second chance, changed man that he was by then? But this body was Vince's, had always been, logically he knew it... But something was off, not quite the same anymore.

He has so much to fight for now, not even only abstract concepts like a good reputation or "being remembered" that he was so focused on at the start of all of this. In the chaos and hardship he found friends, love, forged connections he could have never dreamt of - in spite of and because of Johnny, and for that he's thankful.

He has so much to lose, more than ever. Giving up is not an option, has never been.

Vince through the years (8/9)

I mentioned many times before that I love the Sun ending cause it fits really well for Vince for many reasons. He's a good merc, but he'd make an even more amazing Fixer with his background, he's hella ambitious, smart, cunning, organised, and just.... hhhh everything!! But the Soulkiller thing still fucks me up so much everytime and the more I think about it. Anyone know the plot-twist of/played SOMA? Yeah... yeah. If you know, you know.

The one thing that always really bothered me about the Sun Ending though, is one of the last things he gets to say before the credits being "I have nothing left to lose" when... no, clearly not. We accept that the council has made a decision but it's a stupid decision! Blaming it on his nerves and not having a good time with Mr. B, distrusting his ass for good reasons, that he says that at that moment XD

That being said... I know everyone has a slightly differently timeline of events, and I wanted to share bits an pieces of mine in this context (still a wip more or less, but I have some set dates for certain events because I love angst).

Thursday, Nov. 5th 2076 -> meet Jackie at Lizzie's, booted from Arasaka

End of December -> First Gig with Jackie

[A lot of the early gigs for Regina and Wakako (but a few of the other Fixers, too), happen during the time of the 6-month-montage for my headcanon]

Sunday, April 4th 2077 -> "The Rescue"

Monday, April 5th 2077 -> "The Ride"

[preparations for the Konpeki Plaza heist in the following days - a bit more elaborate planning would be needed imo than what's shown in game, the Maelstrom meetup alone, esp. if you meet Meredith upfront, wouldn't be something Vince would do over the course of a fun afternoon]

Friday, April 16th 2077 -> Konpeki Plaza Heist, arrival at the hotel in the early afternoon

Saturday, April 17th -> V wakes up in the landfill in the evening

[stay at Vik's to recover - mostly from injuries sustained during the fights and the operation; since this is the future it would probably not be as long as we'd have to stay in hospital with today's medicine; I think V would also get more glimpses into Johnny's memories as he sleeps/dreams]

Tuesday, April 20th -> V is brought home and Johnny appears at night

Wednesday, April 21st -> Breakfast with Takemura xD

[over the course of the next few weeks everything up to "Play it Safe" happens, including the Hunt for Hellmann and the search for Evelyn and the Voodoo Boys; a lot of it is going on simultaneously, but helping Panam and going after Hellmann and such is something that would take at least 3-4 days with minimal travel inbetween - but V could for example talk to Mr. Hands while waiting for the Kang Tao AV to get the meetup with Brigitte scheduled and help Takemura while Evelyn is recovering, and so on.]

Mid-May 2077 -> Attack on the Parade in Japantown (the attack on the parade and the few quests that follow with Takemura's safehouse and V and Johnny escaping to the Motel etc. all happen over the course of 12ish hours in my head, cause it wouldn't make sense to trail off doing gigs or other stuff while Takemura and Hanako sit there and wait super on-edge XD)

Friday, May 14th -> Johnny's wild bender

Sunday, May 16th -> Ebunike & Oil Fields

Tuesday, May 18th -> Movie-Date with Rogue

Thursday, May 20th -> first meeting with Kerry😌

Tuesday, May 25th -> Samurai "Reunion" Concert

Thursday, May 27th -> Kerry has a gig for V

Tuesday, June 1st -> Dark Matter show with Us Cracks (and in the following days Blue Moon's stalker gig, before Boat Drinks)

Friday, June 4th -> Boat Drinks 🚤🔥

[a tiny little peace of mind pls before it all goes to shit XD]

Wednesday, June 9th -> Embers-Meetup with Hanako (headcanon time: I think, with how dangerous and secretive everything is with Hanako, they would agree on sth like her calling V with a date for the meetup at Embers at some point, when she feels it is safe. Maybe he'd still formally agree at some point "all right, starting now, feel free to call me anytime and I'll come, I'm ready"; so there is some plausible reason as to why "Meet Hanako at Embers" sits in your journal for around 20 gigs revolving around Johnny's past without consequences XD)

Thursday, June 10th -> V's 28th birthday, bc I love angst :D (as I said above, the meet at Embers would be something more or less spontaneous, and so he'd be like "aw shit, I wanted to spend my potential last birthday not thinking about the Arasakas' offer too much", not expecting he wouldn't really walk out of the restaurant on his own again. The attack on Arasaka Tower would happen the same night, after the meeting with Hanako, and so by the time midnight strikes and V walks into and out of Mikoshi, it would be his birthday in multiple ways, kinda. Cause ~symbolism~)

[time skip with very important things happening that explain how V got his mansion and became King of the Afterlife]

Thursday, September 2nd -> "Blaze of Glory" - Meetup with Mr. B at Afterlife (I put it in September because Alt's estimate for how long V has to live find a solution to his problem is around 6 months. So, by September half of that time is over, but V'd also have a very reasonable amount of time to plan the Crystal Palace Heist and make it a success, looking at how he managed to survive the main story events in a shorter timeframe. I think the outlook could definitely be seen as positive; also basing this a bit on what a femV romancing River says in the Sun Ending, that "months of prep" went into this "last gig". Also, the very prominent clothing ad "Focus on Winning this Fall" - "fall", as in, the season - visible at the start of the 6-month-montage also kinda makes me think the endings take place during Sep-Nov, cause we love foreshadowing in this house)

Saturday, September 4th -> First Chapter of "Love is Stored in the Olive Jar" XD and from then on we'll see o.o

Oookay.... that ended up being longer than I thought XD But yes... seing what V has accomplished in a relatively short amount of time (and I mean... about 1.5 months can definitely be "a few weeks, at most", if we look at Vik's original estimate of the situation) I think with twice as much time to plan *just one gig* (even though, admittedly, an insane one) his chances of it going right are good. Maybe not 100% according to plan, cause something always goes wrong, but yeah. Fully depends on everyone's V's of course, and whether at that point they *want to* continue fighting, have something to fight for and lose - Vince definitely does - but yeah. I choose to interpret the Sun ending as a positive outcome that gives V another shot at life xD Maybe not in the way he expected buuuut... 👀

Thanks for reading so far if you did, would love to hear different takes and how you'd space out the timeline of the main story for your V!

[goldenworldsabound]

As for my more in depth thoughts about Clayman's Revenge as a whole (as of chapter 18), putting below the cut due to including Tensura Light Novel spoilers (I'm not sure through which volume, I read through 20).

It is super fascinating to have two time looping people meet like this. It makes a lot of sense that the Hero (Chloe/Chronoa/Hinata at this point in time) is disturbed by something going differently - in this case, Orbic not being destroyed.

As a Clayman fan it does make me furious that her reaction is "oh? he saved the orcs? better go kick his ass-" fkjdsahf I do understand her concern though. We know as readers that the Orc Lord is a huge stepping stone for Rimuru, and without it, I wonder if he'll manage to get strong at all. I don't know that the Hero is aware of this though? Hinata might know about it but Chloe certainly does not. But Hinata wouldn't know the details I would imagine. In any case, it is definitely something the Hero would want to keep her eye on.

Interestingly Clayman doesn't know who she is. I think that's pretty telling - either he's not paying enough attention or she hasn't become known yet where we are in the timeline.

It's also wild that Clayman just tells her the truth. His reasoning is sound and he's in a tough spot. It works better than he knows it does, I bet, since she knows that's true. If he's paying attention, he should realize she knows about "the slime" too, and that should be quite sus to him. I'm not sure if he'll realize it though fkjdshfakja I know she threatened him to keep quiet but I do hope he tells Laplace at least. It would be good for his family to be aware of this.

He must have been so frightened afterwards though. He was toyed with and he knows it, and he thinks everyone was killed...but they're fine. Phew.

Let's talk about Ant! (it/it's pronouns yoooo)

I included this panel because it actually highlights 2 fascinating things - one, Ant is STRONG and 2 it's clear Ant can understand what's being said and feel complex emotions in response. Ant doesn't like how Yamza talks about it, so Ant kicks his ass. Clayman meanwhile is like hehe my Ant is cute and this is not a problem that it's beating Yamza up

Particularly from later LN, we know that insectors are strong. I do wonder if Clayman could even name Ant without dying. An Orc is one thing. An Ant? An Insector? That's another entirely. Especially since it's already so strong.

I don't really have a point here but the Ant alone has a lot of potential to change things.

Not to mention, chapter 17 as well, Raine has now been basically told to go watch/work under Clayman. I'm very curious to see how that plays out. He did kind of tell her to fuck off in 16 (I need to reread it esp now that we have official translation). She will be such a troublesome subordinate for him if she does end up working under him!

AND we love to see the Milim friendship - I'm hoping that even if Clayman does get Kondo'd (bitch) that Milim will see it and rescue him.

My last thought here is...how will Clayman awaken? It seems to be a key thing we're building towards so I suspect it will happen. But how, without character development integrity loss? He understands that souls are involved now. And that seems to be the only way, really. But it would be counter to his development so far to arrange a war and such...but Fuze is quite good at coming up with situations that result in awakenings without being a terrible person or as a result of being forced to defend oneself. Maybe someone will attack Clayman with an army and he'll have to defend. I don't think it will come only at the end of the manga though - I think he'll awaken before then and we'll get to see things shift with the other Demon Lords, and see him continue to get stronger.

Anyway, those are my thoughts at the moment!!! Feel free to share yours (politely and respectfully, no Clayman hate please) as well!

[canarypost]

first shot we can see not just the people sitting at the help getting spaghettified but the floor and controls themselves?? which means it's not just everyone who works at the tva (who are all variants) getting sent back to the sacred timeline but presumably all matter that exists outside of the timelines. idk if this includes he who remains' lair/space rock/final resting place whatever but basically the sacred timeline is taking every single atom at the tva with it as we can see on the screen showing the timeline states.

this is small but i noticed that in the first ss the lights in the pie room aren't on but what i'm assuming are emergency lights are on in the hallway and around the entrance?? and im comparing this to the second ss which we've obv already seen. i would've thought that any backup would be in red but yk whatever it's just a show

i genuinely have no idea when this is supposed to take place. none of these people remember him but they're all here anyway. is this going to be like when ob kept remembering things in real time when loki slipped back in his timeline? who knows

im just super emo about this. look at them all together. ob get in there you're part of the family too. and i don't like how sylvie is right behind loki here i feel like they should at least have mobius on one side with loki on the other. also b15 rights let my girl be in focus

this is cool to me actually i like how it represents all the different universes w the letter multiples. also gives me hope that we're gonna meet another loki variant at some point. it'd be cool if we ended up seeing two specifically loki variants together?? it wouldn't make sense considering the established way that time works inside the tva (as we saw with loki's slipping with ob) but it'd be pretty cool to see loki himself react to how much he's changed as a person from an outside pov

i saw a theory on twt that either loki or sylvie is going to become god of stories either at the end of this season or the show as a whole (that is if there's a s3) and i agreed w them that as cool as it'd be it wouldn't make as much sense for sylvie to do it bc she's already been shown to want and be happy with a life on the timeline and that's never been something that loki wants and it's never been disproven after s1 that loki wants/would be happy in a position of power!!

girl wth is this. im terrified. get my babygirl casey OUT of there!!!! is this a time prison or smth??? or was casey IN PRISON when his nexus event happened???

now listen im perfectly fine with him being a father he's always been a dad to me i'm sure his kid(s) is/are wonderful. but god forbid he have a FUCKING WIFE!!!!!!!!!!!! IF HE HAS A WIFE I'M STORMING MARVEL HQ

these 2 are out of order but i put them in what i'm assuming is the proper sequence of events that is 1. loki shows up in the room, 2. loki timeslips away, 3. screen and therefore everything gets consumed. what i don't know is how loki got there in the first place. im thinking this takes place in ep 6 instead of 5 bc loki had his brown tva jacket (not pictured) before slipping and he didn't have it at the end of ep 4. the real mystery here is where tf he got his jacket back from esp when talking to timeline!mobius after the tva got spaghettified

this one of him slipping INTO the car lot is placed IMMEDIATELY after the one of him slipping away in the tva control room which makes me think either he slips from there to here (still don't know where he got the jacket from!!!) or marvel is fucking with us and these two are unconnected

what cruel god would ever do this to them look at their sad wet kitten eyes. lord give us strength for the finale i can't do this alone

this is the one that terrifies me the most. it has the same background as the one with loki. why is loki back in his variant uniform. why are they almost crying looking at each other. what is mobius about to say. are they saying goodbye. what if i killed mys

THIS. THIS ONE. IS BREAKING MY BRAIN RN. WHEN IS THIS. WHY DOES HE HAVE HIS JACKET. WHY IS HE LOOKING AT THE BOOK. WHY ISN'T EVERYTHING SPAGHETTIFIED. WHICH ONE IS FUTURE LOKI. DOES IT EVEN MATTER

i promise this is going to be the only lokius thing i have in this post but like. hello. husbands

i saw another post on twt that was like "omg loki talking mobius through the walk <33" like no these are clearly different scenes. loki is holding the mic in the scene where mobius is right there in the room with him, it's much more likely that it's (another?) he who remains variant (who is absent in the middle ss with the group). my theory for this scene is that after loki went around the sacred timeline finding everyone and restoring their memories they went back to a time in the tva before he who remains got spaghettied and do pretty much exactly the same thing again. which thinking about it now wouldn't really be a great narrative choice but fuck it it's marvel

k this is gonna be contd in rbs bc i can only fit 30 imgs in one post and this next one is HUGE

[shinjiist]

I love when I see soul eater AUs so much ahhhh the fact it’s not more common as an AU type is so baffling to me like soul resonance??? The bond between weapon and Miester? AHHH the dynamics! The way expectations can be subverted so perfectly- I love it

Do you have more Trigun soul eater AU ideas for like weapon and Miester pairs?

omg no bc literally like theres so much potential in sm areas w an au like this i couldn't help myself

right now I'm still straightening ideas out in my brain and I don't want things to get Too convoluted but I have a few ideas I can share rn

to answer ur question before i go on a tangent, obv vashwood are paired together though not at first (possibly considering at first vash is paired with livio ?). i think i want vash to be a meister because this presents a few opportunities for parallels between canon and the au w/ there being at least one incident beyond his control but because he's the meister he feels he holds some level of responsibility

maybe while he and livio are acquiring their witch soul something happens (maybe w/ livio's eye i truly have no idea) but they do manage to get it and vash is paired w/ wolfwood afterwards (kinda want him to be in the NOT class when he 1st enrolls if not for grades for the idea of making space so livio could get in idk how the system works ngl)(or mayb he and livio don't get it and livio decides not to be in the EAT class idk i'm not killing him off though idc idc)

other pairings i'm really not as sure about (i'm not well versed in trigunism it's just my current hyfix and i'm literally going to start trimax after this bc i oeuwgwh anyway) like i think meryl and milly would be really good w/ my limited understanding of milly's personality. i also don't want to overload this w dead-ended info and sound like that one twitter post (why's hoseok the bus driver....) but um alberto is a teacher at the DWMA during like the 2nd of 3rd yr of Vash + Nai's enrollment (i have a timeline for the lore bc they're like grown by the time canon rolls around . sorry to infodump over a single question genuinely but i can't talk abt this on twitter bc it's SCARY over there .. i'm catfishing as someone cool -guy who's failing)

also because i think vash wielding the punisher is cool as fuck cough (feat. wip i will never finish bc idfk how to draw him)

anyway though, vash as a meister also appeals to me because with nai as a weapon it quickly raises the question— why wouldn't they have just been paired together to begin with? i think that nai doesn't even test into the EAT class when they're first enrolled. maybe it's a fluke where he just needs a single point, maybe he completely bombs it, maybe it's just nerves, either way he doesn't get in and this is where he and vash find out they are not compatible as weapon and meister as much as they care about eachother

i also think that this would seed some doubt in nai's mind about how he perceives others vs how he is perceived, esp w/ a certain INCIDENT before they're enrolled in the DWMA and ohhhh i have so much i could say abt this (i accidentally centered what i wrote abt this au so far Largely abt his POV because he's always running around my skull like a hamster to a wheel he's like almond butter to me . anyway)

a little bit late but i had to sit down and dedicate myself to this post bc it needed my utmost attention but more ppl should ask me questions abt this pretty please i love talking So Bad

[thatswhatsushesaid]

I see you have songyao on your bio blurb, which isn’t something around on The Untamed I’ve followed so far.

Would you mind please laying the fandom brain worms on that for a newbie? Their early timeline interactions are very cute, but I suppose I hadn’t considered it from a shipping perspective

hello anon! I assume you mean 'sangyao' rather than 'songyao,' because I, um. ...while I am sure that there is someone out there who has written some flavour of jin guangyao/song lan and ships it for whatever reason, I am not that person lol. the other ship I enjoy sailing in this weird, fucked up little novel about gay sword wizards is jin guangyao/nie huaisang, and I enjoy it because it is so satisfyingly crunchy.

I'll preface this by saying a couple of things which may seem a little weird, but they bear mentioning anyway because I think my way of enjoying non-xiyao ships with jgy is not the norm lol. so:

I don't consider sangyao to be a 'canon' ship in the same way that I do xiyao (I'll die and kill on that hill, esp wrt how it's portrayed in the untamed/cql, but that's neither here nor there), which means I don't think there's a defendable argument to be made based on what we're given in the text alone to state that jgy and nhs have reciprocal romantic feelings for each other. however--

what they do have in spades, especially in cql, is fantastic on-screen (or in-text) chemistry, and pathos, and a shared victimization by nmj, and Tragedy™️, and in the magical land of transformative fiction, I fuck with that shit heavily. 👀 god what wouldn't I give for a post-canon soliloquy by nhs just going full-hamlet on the audience about killing his ophelia, if ophelia in this context also was the one who murdered his father. (and.. married his... mother..??? nevermind it's not going to transpose perfectly but you get what I'm saying.) if anyone has the chops for it in-character, you know it's nhs.

imo, jgy's love and devotion to lxc is something so integral to his character across all adaptations of mdzs that even when I ship jgy with other characters (e.g., nhs, su she, or even jiang cheng), I still write him as being in love with lxc at the same time. ('write,' she says, as if she has actually gotten any mdzs fic to a state where it is fit to be shared with the internet. lol) this last point is one that I don't believe is commonly shared amongst other people who enjoy shipping jgy with nhs or other characters, and that's fine obviously. I'm just mentioning it to emphasize that maybe my particular brand of sangyao brainworms are not the same species of sangyao brainworms commonly found in other corners of the fandom. but this isn't a bug for me with sangyao, this is a feature--because think of all the ways you can lean into this to create beautiful, painful romantic friction between jgy and nhs in this context? "why won't san-ge give up doing shitty things for his shitty father and just come back to qinghe with me?" well, a-sang, if he wouldn't do that even for lan xichen, why would he do it for you? just... just twist that knife, just a little.

I've written in a couple other places specifically about why I enjoy this ship: here (along with why I also enjoy suyao and... do not enjoy nie//yao, at all), as well as here, where I dig down into the stuff that throws me right out of the immersion of the story vis-a-vis jgy's characterization. (tl;dr, jgy doesn't want to be a nie, and he does not want to hurt nhs, at all, period, before the guanyin temple confrontation).

also, all the late canon sangyao vibes contained in all their beautiful, terrible multitudes inside artworks like these.

I hope these are adequate sangyao brainworms for you, anon!

[avelera]

Hi! Given sanctuary anon back to rave about your fic in your own inbox. I just had a chance to catch up and!! 1) your scene with hob and Calliope was so good! I love the nuance it brings to the situation. It's actually one of my favorite things about your fics, in a lot of shorter fics side characters like Calliope end up as very one note "my wife left me" and that's it (and it makes sense if the fic isn't about her) but I love that you take the time to unfold them all so well? I see your posts sometimes that the little moments and conversations really ping up your word count but I'm really loving it. and the dialogue was so??? Like she reads as a godess! Everything she says sounds like it fits into the conversation but also like it came straight out of an epic spell (esp when she was urging hob to defy dream!) And 2) Jessamy!! I love this take on their relationship so much, (and then I remember ep 1 and fuck myself up) even if given sanctuary isn't meant to deal with that timeline, actually being reminded that Jessamy was important to dream, was someone he knew and trusted is so heartbreaking. It happens so early in the show before you really understand the full implications. And don't even get me started about dream at the grave or this ask will be twice as long as it already is (Also i just saw Ur post about the next chapter, Def looking forward as well)

I mean, as far as the Ask being twice as long, don't threaten me with a good time! LOL I have a personal rule that I can't really talk about parts of the story I haven't written yet, otherwise I won't write them, but I could talk about this story for hours (obviously, I write out the Behind the Scenes post to keep myself and others from going insane from how much I want to ramble about it).

As for Calliope, thank you! She was always planned to stop by, from the moment the Naxos arc was planned she was the natural climax of it. My undergrad thesis was on whether or not the Trojan War took place historically, so you could say I was predisposed to be a bit of a nerd about "Homer's Muse" (notwithstanding my own personal adoration of her) so it meant a lot to me to try to convey a goddess, the Muse of Epic Poetry who originated the story I built a good chunk of my academic career around.

As for Jessamy, like Calliope, she was almost a character I had to build myself since we see so little of her broader personality in canon? We get tidbits and hints but a lot had to be invented whole cloth. I will say, I wouldn't introduce Jessamy in such detail only to default back to canon. We will see much later how the events of "Giving Sanctuary" avert certain elements of canon, including Jessamy's death, but we'll get there when we get there. And we will be seeing her again :) But it really means a lot that she came across as someone important to him! That was the real goal, to show that affection.

Thank you!

[gallusrostromegalus]

I love this analysis and dynamic and I would like to add more:

1. Re: shinigami women's association:

I think this is the *most* likely place where they really became friends, and specifically because of the aforementioned "all about business until it's blorbo time" autistic girl energy, and it is both very cute and highly plausible to me that Soi Fon and Rukia have bonded by going "yes, this is normal" and taking turns into dumping, and being informed at because that's exactly how my friends and I play in the discord server.

This also means that Soi Fon possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Chappy by proxy and has both the time management and ways & means skills to snap up any new Chappy swag for her friend and drive both Renji and Byakuya insane by getting Rukia the thing before either even knew it existed, and effectively sniping every single birthday and holiday present for the last decade or so.

2. Cool kids table at the noble house function:

You're right that they both have NQOC status at noble house events that they are both invited to and attend out of obligation, and that's awkward, even if they both believe in nobility, and I can see them effectively meeting behind the punch bowl and sharing a look over some outrageous thing they hear Lady whatsherface say and just. Immediate kinship of the awkward kids at the birthday party. They wouldn't diss the noble class, but they absolutely would talk mad smack about nobles who are bad at being nobles.

3. Byakuya:

This is perfect and hilarious and I am giggling over whatever circumstances arise after Yoruichi leaves (or possibly even before?) That makes Soi Fon realize "wait. I'm having beef with a teenage? Specifically, this dweeb? What is WRONG with me?"

Also, consider: Byakuya transferring his one-sided rivalry with Yoruichi at least partially over to Soi Fon (the minute he finds out about Wind Goddess Shunko he's going to do something outrageous like make an audible noise of annoyance), especially if he's been silently seething over/inspired by Soi Fon's Chappy-merch acquisition skills for the last decade.

4. More places Rukia and Soi Fon might know each other from:

Please consider: the soi-fon-isshin-ichigo-rukia dynamic.

Unless I have seriously misunderstood the timelines, I think Isshin Shiba was at least a seated officer, of not actually captain of the 10th when Yoruichi left, and given how affectionate/protective/benevolently patriarchal Isshin is with Karin and Yuzu, I can't help but wonder if he wasn't the same with Soi Fon. It seems very plausible to me that Isshin, missing his sister (mother of Kaien, Kujaku and Ganju), might see Soi Fon, distraught after Yoruichi left, and take her under his wing in an older brother sort of way.

Soi Fon's home life is a mess (she's got 5 older brothers who died in service to the Shihoin Clan and her parents pushed her to devote herself to Yoruichi anyway, that household has fucking shrimp colors of mental illness), and I can see her being confused but also latching on to this new source of attention and affection, esp. when it doesn't come with weird demands.

*I think Isshin got his "greet Ichigo with a flying kick" habit from her, because I feel like that is how Soi Fon's brothers expressed affection to her in ninja, so she did it to Isshin and he thought "oh yeah, that's a normal way to behave :)"

I think Soi Fon and Isshin were close, and when he suddenly vanished too? It hit her like a truck.

We don't see a lot (if any?) Interactions between Ichigo and Soi Fon in canon, but if she ever works out that her friend's friend who has saved soul society's bacon several times is Isshin's son, she's going to have SO MANY EMOTIONS about it before settling on "I like him, but I don't want to invade his personal life, he has enough going on".

This, naturally, manifests in the form of her occasionally appearing seemingly at random (in reality, after a whole bunch of secret machinations and drama) and bestowing a roulette wheel of major socio-politcal favors, hardcore training (read: running up and stabbing him), and very good but weirdly personal gifts, and then vanishing after failing to explain herself.

"You know captain Fon, right Rukia?" Ichigo finally asks. "What's with the (string of bizarre encounters)?"

"What?" Rukia shrugs. "She's just being friendly?"

"FRIENDLY??" Ichigo wails.

"Yeah? You're like, probably her third or fourth favorite person?"

"-I don't think I've ever had an actual conversation with her she just appears, does stuff and never answers any questions when did we become friends???"

"Oh my God Ichigo, how are you THIS clueless?"

Hey, you know who's not being a jerk though? Soi Fon! It's a remarkable development, her giving credit to others and supporting her lieutenant. So much so that Renji (again somewhat rudely...she's right there) points it out.

Rukia's reaction is kind of hilarious though. Like, we know Soi Fon has not always been nice. So has Rukia just not been paying attention? Even assuming she never ran into her as a member of the Squad 13 rank-and-file, she still had three years of being a lieutenant, where she'd presumable get the gossip on her.

Which I suppose means that Soi Fon has been personally nice enough to Rukia to make up for that. Here are my theories as to how that could have happened:

Rukia and Soi Fon get along at Shinigami Women's Association meetings. They are both all about business and getting things done, except when each has the chance to indulge in a passion for their favorite animal character. Somehow this has led to amiability rather than rivalry.

Rukia and Soi Fon get along socially at nobility functions. Rukia is a rukon orphan who was adopted into the Kuchiki household somewhat scandalously, while Soi Fon is from a servant clan to the Shihoin but has taken on some of the traditional Shihoin positions because of the youth of the current clan head. Both of them are invited to all the fancy dinners, neither of them is a hot commodity at these dinners because they have a limited capability to confer status on others. Perhaps they bonded there.

Soi Fon had an entirely-in-her-own-head rivalry with Byakuya when Yoruichi was mentoring both of them. When Yoruichi left Soul Society, Soi Fon at first took a bitter pleasure in her also leaving Byakuya behind, but as she became more and more resentful towards Yoruichi for leaving, she found herself relating more and more to Byakuya, and started requesting to work with Squad 6. Byakuya was oblivious to all of this, but was flattered by Soi Fon's seeming appreciation of his obvious talents and impressed by her competence and professionalism. He has expressed to Rukia that Captain Fon is the sort of officer the Court Guards could use more of, which Rukia recognizes is the closest her brother comes to expressing fondness for his co-workers.