#and maybe reconciliation can be achieved. just maybe.

[orcelito]

Thinking again about my plans for Vash and Knives in ITNL

Which I can't really get into the specifics for How I'm going to do things w/o going into spoiler territory. But I Do have Vash & Knives tagged on the fic for a reason. I set up in the first chapter that Vash is determined to try to save Knives too.

Which. That choice, as well as the entire basis for all of this, depends so much on that final fight in trimax. The one that was literally a scene away from where ITNL Vash went back in time. His mentality just a hair's width away from that...

At the end of trimax, there was reconciliation, however brief and incomplete it was. In ITNL, my question to myself was How could I induce that again? Under different circumstances, How Else could we get there? And that is the long-game in ITNL.

[tarotwithdanise]

THE BLESSING THAT IS COMING ON YOUR WAY IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS.

꒰⠀from left to right ; intuitively choose the pile your mind, heart and soul desire for. if you are having trouble choosing the right pile for you, here’s some tips you can do ; (1) take a deep breath (2) close your eyes (3) ask guidance from your guides (4) finally open your eyes and you can choose the right pile for you by the guidance you ask from your guides. if you are still having trouble by choosing the right pile for you let me know because i am willing to help and guide you.

1 - 2 - 3

4 - 5 - 6

reader's note: you can choose more than a pile.

PILE ONE

what a very incredibly energy coming up for this pile! i think a lot of rough things have been through with you in the past weeks or months however as i sense here, you may receive an unexpected friendship with someone or a group of people that may continues to grow further until lifetime. i am not quite sure enough if this connection is about literal "love" or it's just a pure friendship however it's gonna bring so much joy and confident about you as this person or people make you feel belong, counted and loved. this is a type of new beginning relationships for some of you however it seems like there's something off about your energy here, it seems like you cannot accept this friendship instantly because you may have this trust issues because maybe there's something terrible happened from your past but i know you'll get throughout this. you may cut off relationship with someone who hold a female energy and you may considered this individual toxic or you may receive an apology from this person. the number 9 and 4 (94) is significant for this pile.

PILE TWO

what a gentle surprise for this pile people. i sense that you maybe worrying too much about your finances but i'mma here to say that you gonna find incredibly balance about your finances in the next days. i sense that you may struggle a lot about your money however you may find yourself in the position in a month or next days in a better place, well, it may not be that better as be soft and a fresh of breath an air just like a millionaire but it's enough to cover all of your basic needs. besides, you may already decided to break off your wants to start saving up more money. my spirit guides advice you to do moves and make sure to welcome abundance in your life.

PILE THREE

this may seem like it has a little aura energy of the first pile, so, if you find it attractive, you already know what to do. i sense two things here, (1) is reunion and the (2) other one is you reap what you sow. let me explain the first energy. so, this first energy coming from this pile is about reconciliation with someone, this person is somewhat from your past that lose connection with. well, it can be an ex partner or an old friend. perhaps, i don't detect any harmful energy from this reunion but a delightful moment of joy. the second energy is about collecting and reaping what you have worked hard for in the present, this seems like a feeling of self-fulfillment of accomplishing a certain milestone that you may struggle to achieve of. what blessing you may achieve in the next days, you may find it a solution to your problem. as well that you might start to express yourself through art more in the next few days.

PILE FOUR

recognition. is there any chance that you may be trying to be a star or an influencer on social media? or maybe this was all a dream and perhaps maybe a sense of me seeing that energy haha however if it's a "yes" then you will be giving an opportunity to be appreciated by some people. you may be attracting a lot of people especially suitors but be careful because not all of them have good intentions towards you. i also see here that you may receive something special or offer from someone that will bring a smile to your face.

PILE FIVE

a huge spiritual glow is what i'm getting for this pile. there's an action here that you may be a group of spiritual groups recruiting you or if not, there's a big influence into your spiritual gift that may heal or if not, then it can help people in some way by guiding and giving advice to them. you gonna feel that power in the next upcoming days and weeks, you gonna feel that the energy feels like shifting. just a reminder to take care of your body especially your because it may hurt a lot this days or for the upcoming ones. you gonna receive a strong protection from your spirit guides and angels.

PILE SIX

someone who has unsafe and destructive intentions is about to be removed into your life. this person has been eyeing you for a long time now and they're about to be cut off totally. this person is somewhat causing you harm for making you feel insecure about your physical and mental health. it can also be that this person might deceit and lied about you in the past that may cause you loss of trust towards them. so, after this person is out of your life. a new beginning is about to start, just be willing to embrace change and strive for your own personal growth. in the next weeks, you gonna find yourself mostly your mental health in it's best and steady aiming for peacefulness.

© tarotwithdanise ── all rights reserved. do not copy, translate, alter, or repost my work with or without my explicit permission.

[ben-talks-art]

Lin Beifong has no wins in Legend Of Korra

Something that always bothered me in regards to the way this series treated the character of Lin was the fact that it never felt like any of Lin's victories actually gave the feeling of being victories.

Maybe it's because it's been years since I watched this show, and I'm being selective in what I choose to remember, and I'm just unintentioanlly choosing to remember the bad over the good... but it feels like this series just felt a lot more comfortable dunking on Lin than actually trying to raise her up... And that kinda annoys me a little.

Lin is part of this character achetype that I like to call "The Antisocials", people who, because of personal events in their past, prefer to avoid or have trouble dealing with others. She's basically meant to be the "Zuko" of the team.

I really like this trope, and I really like to see the earth element getting some love, so I was really excited to see Lin getting her moments to shine and kick some ass in the series... Which... for some reason doesn't feel all that prevalent.

Now, don't get me wrong, when Lin needs to fight, she WILL fight, and she looks cool while doing it... But when it comes to her more memorable moments, her getting defeated sadly feels more frequent than her getting some victories.

Like... Let's take a moment to count her Ls:

She got dumped by Tenzin after another woman seduced him

A terrorist started to attack her city and kept getting away from her

She was unable to stop her men from getting captured and losing their powers

Eventually she herelf got captured and lost her bending

She's constantly getting mocked and looked down upon by other characters

Her own sister left a scar on her face while committing a crime and faced basically no consequences, only to years later have a life filled with success while Lin is all alone

Her own mother acts like she couldn't care less about her struggles

Neither of the two ever gave Lin a proper apology and instead just tried to pull an Mirabel from "Encanto" and tell her to get over it

She basically played no role in all of season 2

And when she tired to face her family about her problems she was simply treated as the one in the wrong

Now let's count her "wins:"

She allowed Tenzin's family to get away from Amon in season 1... At the cost of her getting captured... Only for the family itself to get caught later anyway

She saved Korra from falling, which allowed Amon to get away with her men

In season 3 she gets clobbered by the combustion woman so her sister can land the finishing blow

and In season 4 she tries to rescue her family, only to nearly fail and needing to be saved by her mother, who proceeds to give her the most bare-bones of moments of reconciliation, because God forbid we let our fan-favorite character from the first series show a little humility for her own daughter in her moment of weakness

It just felt like the show was afraid of ever letting Lin be a badass and giving her a real win moment.

It doesn't even need to be a battle win. She could have had a moment with Korra where she teaches her some life lesson, or teach her how to metal bend and listen to the earth, or she could have had some scenes where her actions save the day, like, how come she never gets to save her sister and mother but both of them end up saving her? Or even some character moments like her bonding with Mako, or Tenzin's kids or something... I don't think she even really interacts with anyone in a meaningfull way.

If you were to ask me who her best friend in the series was, I would have no idea what to say.

Her biggest "win" in the series was getting to wake up all happy after "solving" her personal demons, an act she achieved by... fighting her sister and venting out all her anger, I guess.

I don't know if it's just me but Lin's victories on the show all feel so shallow, as if they were telling us she was achieving things instead of actually feeling like she was. At times, she felt like the show's punching bag. Insted of being the Zuko of the story, she came more as the Squidward.

Someone who's there just to lose to the villains and make them look strong and making other characters look cool while they save her with her big lesson being that she needs to learn to be less grumpy.

Lin should be so easy to make cool! Like, you see her design, her powers and abilities, her personality, her verstility for several different types of action scenes and versatility for also different interactions with the rest of the cast...

But instead it felt like they were throwing darts at a wall trying to pick a different way to dunk on her every time, as if they were afraid of makiing her too cool.

I don't know, maybe I'm just being salty and petty because I wish more had been done with her and that's causing me to only focus on the negatives, making them look and sound a lot worse than they actually were, while also ignoring all the big positives about her time on the screen...

But sometimes it felt to me like the show was more interested in hyping up everyone else and giving them a moment to shine over Lin.

Like, again, her own sister got to take down one of the big members of the Red Lotus, and she basically becomes one of the main characters in season 4, while Toph gets to train and help heal Korra.

These two got to look so much cooler in just two seasons than Lin got to look in all 4, and I can't even fully enjoy them being cool because all I keep thinking when I look at them is "You two did Lin dirty."

If they had had an actual honest earned moment of reconciliation, I feel like I would be in heaven watching both of them kicking ass, cause again, I love the earth element, but instead I would just be "God, I wish this was Lin doing all this cool stuff instead."

I'm not exactly sure what the mindset was behind the way they wanted to handle her, not sure if there was studio interference, or mismanagement, or if Nickelodeon's meddling affected things, or what...

I'm just trying to say, I feel like Lin deserved better. I still like her character a lot but I can't help but feel even more could have been done with her.

[higuchisora]

As briefly explored in this post, Vi's "enforcer arc" could've gone plenty of different ways- including not at all. This actually gave me another idea, though it kind of takes some fiddling and setup.

Basing a bit of this idea once more off of @srslylini proposing the possibility of Vi becoming some kind of important figure in Zaun, I think it'd be interesting to see Vi becoming something Piltover sees as an "enforcer", but for Zaun instead. This is somewhat related to this post, though it doesn't necessarily have to be to work.

Basically, if Zaun is trying to become independent, just demanding it isn't going to work, as seen in the entirety of the show. They'd need some serious stuff up their sleeves.

Obviously they have Jinx, and even Ekko, but as established in my previous post delving into the revolution-arc-that-wasn't, Jinx really isn't the activist type. And also, strong and smart as she is, there's only one of her. She'd need assistance, even if she DID have a change of heart. (This could lead into Vi and Jinx's slow reconciliation as sisters, as well as tie into season 1's themes about cycles and their fathers and how they can't achieve anything if they don't work together, etc. But I've already discussed this in the previous post.)

In a version of Arcane in which Zaun is politically fractured instead of the relative monolith it gets presented as, Vi, as probably Vander's most recognizable child, might receive some level of (unasked for) political support from people who essentially want a new Vander. Jinx and Ekko (and possibly Sevika) might also have factions of varying sizes as well.

The thing is, they're all being supported for different reasons. Jinx's main followers are seen as "blue haired radicals" (lol) who want war, Sevika's as people who want familiarity/think she can control the Chem-Barons or Jinx, Ekko's as people who're probably tired of fighting and just want peace/are hoping he has better solutions than shimmer and gangs, etc., and Vi, as I said, has people who want another Vander, who want the relative security and quiet of that era back. In other words, they each mean something different to people. And in order to make their reluctant alliance work, they'll each have to embody this "persona"/symbolism to some extent, at least to the public.

So maybe, in line with the perception of her being the "new Vander", the next "Hound of the Underground", Vi (possibly with new gauntlets, courtesy of Jinx - shoutout @blog-i-hate-friday) takes on a "protector" type image for Zaun? Jinx is the rage/spirit of rebellion, Ekko (and his cool ass tree) is the hope, Sevika's the brains that runs their messy operation, and Vi is the defender. To Piltover, they're seen as Zaun's "council". Overdramatized stories of them repaints their stations in ways the Piltovans deem more "palatable" and "civilized", with Vi as their "chief enforcer", as she and her crew are in charge of keeping actual Piltovan enforcers off of Zaun's soil and generally protecting their fellow Zaunites. Jinx spends more time making gadgets than she does blowing stuff up, but the mark she left on Piltover makes the image of the "loose canon" impossible to shake. Ekko is more worried about implementing water filtration systems or running the Firelights- who often patrol with Vi's people- to be "terrorizing" Piltover, but they still think the Firelights were responsible for Progress Day. Perhaps he becomes, in their eyes, something of a cult leader (after all, they call him the Boy Savior, he who inspires so much hope- this must be for a reason, right?). Sevika is nothing like Silco- but it makes it easier for the Piltovans to pretend she is, than to accept that a wine aunt and her team of traumatized barely-adults are running circles around them.

Eventually, in some possible future in which Zaun's demands are finally accepted- that is how Piltover will address them, aligning with their League Champion titles (though they do not have the guts to refer to Jinx as the Loose Canon to her or her allies' faces).

[anghraine]

It's kind of fascinating to me that towards the end of P&P, Elizabeth has become protective of Darcy and either a) actively tries to insulate him from Situations or b) wishes that she could and gets stressed that she can't.

Darcy deeply loves her and is very ready to do whatever he can to secure her happiness, but narratively, I think the emphasis at the end is very much more on Elizabeth's protectiveness towards him.

It's like:

When Bingley and Darcy first come back to Hertfordshire, Darcy is very quiet and Elizabeth can barely bring herself to say anything—until Mrs Bennet insults Darcy. Then Elizabeth speaks up.

Mrs Bennet enlists Elizabeth to separate Darcy from Bingley with another insult to Darcy. Elizabeth finds this both convenient and enraging.

That day, Elizabeth decides to privately tell Mrs Bennet about her engagement to Darcy, specifically so that Darcy will be spared Mrs Bennet's first unfiltered response.

Elizabeth fiercely defends Darcy's character and love for her, as well as hers for him, to Mr Bennet. She not only says she loves Darcy but that it upsets her to hear Mr Bennet's criticisms of him.

Elizabeth is both relieved by Mrs Bennet's ecstatic reception of the engagement and a bit disappointed by how completely shallow she's being about it, and 100% sure she made the right call in keeping Darcy away.

Elizabeth defends Darcy against Darcy himself, repeatedly.

There's a period where Elizabeth seems to unwind and laugh, but this passes, especially after Charlotte and Mr Collins show up. Darcy manages to stay calm around Mr Collins (I think this is framed as a significant and admirable achievement for him), but Elizabeth does not like him being in a situation where he has to deal with Mr Collins in the first place.

Elizabeth tries to shield Darcy from being noticed by Mrs Phillips and Mrs Bennet, who do seem to make him pretty excruciatingly uncomfortable.

Ultimately, Elizabeth ends up trying to keep Darcy to herself or to shepherd him around to relatives he can handle more easily, and is so stressed at this point that she just wants to get married and escape to Pemberley.

After their marriage, things are actually great at Pemberley and in their married life, despite the occasional complication.

Lydia writes a congratulatory letter to Elizabeth, asking for Darcy to get Wickham a promotion unless Elizabeth would rather not bring it up with him. Elizabeth really does not want Darcy to have to deal with this and handles it by privately setting aside a Lydia fund out of her personal expenses. (IIRC, it's not clear if Darcy even knows about this.)

Elizabeth also is the driving force behind Darcy's reconciliation with Lady Catherine.

This could read as an unsettling, unbalanced dynamic and a very odd ending point for the arc of a woman like Elizabeth, but in the context of the overall novel, it doesn't feel that way. Or maybe I'd see it more that way if I interpreted Darcy (and for that matter, Elizabeth) + their arcs differently? But as it is, I do think that by this point in the story they are genuinely doing the best they can, independently and for each other, and they've both come a long way. They shine in different contexts and support each other as much as they can in the circumstances that do arise.

It seems very them, in terms of their temperament and abilities, that Elizabeth would put all this effort into shielding Darcy, while at the same time, Darcy completely cuts off Lady Catherine for insulting Elizabeth and only ever speaks to her again because Elizabeth wants him to.

[circular-8]

So I was just talking to a friend about how there'd been way less movement with the "Chris in Texas" plot and it was making me question what they were doing with it and now it's like of course the direction the show was taking it made no sense and why it was taking so long because I was totally wrong about what the show was doing.

So obviously Chris going to Texas to live with Eddie's parents has been long since set up as the Worst Case Scenario for Eddie. It just makes sense that the show would seriously address it at some point and maybe even pull that trigger. And once the show did, I was like, "oh, rock bottom achieved, it can only go up from here!" I was expecting reconciliation and, hopefully, Eddie being able to find a more authentic version of themself. Wrong!

Because there's another Worst Case Scenario, and that's Eddie moving back to Texas. It's not the worst thing for Eddie - that's already happened, but this is a close second and a new low. Going back under the close scrutiny of his terrible parents is one of the worst things that could happen to him at this point (given that the actual worst thing - losing Chris - has already happened). This is also Eddie giving up. Which is just an extra layer of how terribly sad this is.

AND. And this is also Buck's worst case scenario - losing Eddie. Mr. "Abandonment issues" himself is going to have to face losing Eddie.

At the end of season 7 I knew there had to be a point to Chris leaving and now we've found it - to create a scenario where Eddie would leave LA. And I'm down for this. Bring on the angst (and hopefully, the revelations.)

[milkywayes]

dreamt a cipher

a shepard/garrus post-destroy ending longfic.

[AO3 link]

I’ve debated a while about when to start posting this. Now it’s the new year, and I’ve been working on Cipher for over a year and a half, and I’ve waited long enough to start sharing it with you all. I’ve decided it’s finally time to start uploading while I work on the final chapters.

I started writing this before I ever drew a single piece of fanart for Mass Effect. It’s all the things that were bouncing around in my head after choosing the destroy ending with a mostly-paragon Shepard—consequence and responsibility and self-recrimination; her relationship with Garrus and with herself; their ties to each other and how much weight they can bear; their differing perspectives and how they slot together—all that fun stuff—compressed into a story, a place, a narrative. 

I believe in the power of love, and I promise a happy ending. They’ve just been taking the long way to get there. Feel free to yell at me in the meantime.

A huge thank you to @callista-curations for her meticulous and invaluable beta work, and to @that-wildwolf and @gammaraydeath for being the best hypemen I could ask for!

A more detailed list of warnings can be found on AO3.

I've posted the full cover art here.

────

Summary:

Pairing: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian Rating: M (subject to change) Important Tags: post-destroy ending - angst with a happy ending - slow burn (of sorts) - arguing - reconciliation - survivor guilt - minor original characters Her own personal Noverian peak. That’s what it was supposed to be. Nothing but the discovery: no distractions, no comfort, no windows looking out—no familiar faces. But it's starting to look like her winning streak might have ended in that pile of Citadel rubble, if it ever extended that far to begin with. ──── “How does the Earth idiom go? No use beating a dead—” A long-suffering sigh. “What was it again?” “A dead horse. And yet, you’re here. Beating it.” Pot, kettle. She wishes he’d just fucking say it.

-> AO3.

Read the start of Chapter 1: Constant Velocity under the cut!

────

The overhead lights flicker as they always do when the data screens are up and running. It’s not something one gets used to, even so. It stings at her ocular nerves—or something like that, anyway, somewhere along the delicate wires that extend from her eyeballs into her brain—but her focus on the data doesn’t waver.

“In that case,” says Shepard, squinting against the ache, “what we need is salvage from a relay outside the immediate burst zone. Four jumps away. Five, if possible. There’s no point to any of this if we can’t scrape together a control group.”

She glances back at Elsawy, who so far hasn’t made it more than a meter into the room. She nods without looking up from her omni-tool; orange shimmers off her shiny, black hair, giving her the uncomfortable air of a Cerberus operative. Not the worst comparison, except that Miranda would waste no time letting her know if her logic took a faulty turn somewhere. Elsawy’s just as likely to agree now and write a message detailing all her crap conclusions later.

Leaning her hip against the conference table, Shepard shifts her weight off her left leg, bites down on the sigh that almost manages to slip out. Once in the clear, she grouses, “Where the hell is Meyer? He’s the one that called this meeting.”

As it is, it’s three people in attendance and she’s the only one talking. She could’ve achieved the same results with a voice call from her quarters, where she could elevate her leg in peace and without witnesses. In the dark.

“Lab Two,” answers Elsawy, finally ripping her attention off the omni-screen and gracing Shepard with a second of eye contact. Maybe in another life she could appreciate the effort—Jesus, as if she hasn’t had her fill of lives already. “We’re close to a breakthrough on the initial output patterns. Sorry. He’s been feeding his data to me.”

“Right.” She blinks once, twice, in time with the flickering. It doesn’t help; it never does. “I’ll swing by later, then. Anything else he asked you to relay?” 

“Just that, Commander.” Elsawy is mumbling just enough that her voice has to compete with the drone of the air vents. The translator takes a second to filter out and amplify it. The result is less than perfect: “More salvage—” bzzrt—“bigger picture, you got it.” She narrows her eyes, and Shepard raises a brow. “Left leg or—” bzz!—“left hip?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Commander.”

“It’s nothing relevant,” she says pleasantly, forcing herself to stand up straight again. There’s a brief tremor shaking up her hamstrings; she waves a hand to distract from it. In the frenzy of the lights, the movement looks jerky, nervous. She soldiers on. “Old field injury. Unrelated. Anything can set it off.”

Funny, kind of, since it’s that very leg that ends in the most perfect, cooperative example of a foot she’s ever had the pleasure of treading on. It’s cloned; a replacement. Not the only one either. They should’ve just done away with the whole limb, but she hadn’t been consulted. Same with her trick shoulder. Not even Cerberus had managed to get that one back on the straight and narrow.

“I’d rather you bring it up with the doctor,” replies Elsawy. This is, apparently, what it takes for her to finally speak at a reasonable volume. “If we manage to fill even one of the data gaps…”

“I know,” she says. “I know, and I’m telling you, it’s unrelated.”

-> continue reading on AO3

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for a fic...

~*~

1. So after reading A Matter of Time by mrcformoso from your recent IITMF post, I'm now craving some dark LWJ who's protective over our bunny as well. You know, like the *touch her and I'll kill you* vibes but make it WangXian. FemXian is fine as well, also modern aus are definitely okay. But if there's any canon era fics similar to above-mentioned fic, then please do rec ^^ @tinyfoxpeach

~*~

2. LOVE YOUUUUUUU Thank you so much for the work you all do! 🧡💛💚💙 I am ITMF fic where Lan Qiren is blindsided by love, like, unconditional-love-at-first-sight, Lan-chosen-one style! Preferably happy ending, canon or modern AU, pre-, during, post-canon okay. I just want our grumpy old man to find him some unexpected happiness!

Yearning for Miles by Murahi (M, 378k, WangXian, LQR/SiSi, Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Slow burn, Mutual Pining, seeing the future)

The Untamed: For the Love of Two Boys by YenGirl (not rated, 181k, wangxian, 3zun, LQR/SiSi, yin metal poisoning, weddings, supportive LQR, supportive LXC, acupuncture, golden core reveal, yunmeng siblings reconciliation, wedding nights)

~*~

3. Hello For the next itmf I would like to ask for soulmate au fics. I don't mind if it is modern or original time line. If you don't mind I would prefer top lwj and bottom wwx. Thank you very much in advance 😊

pastel by antebunny (G, 6k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Soulmates, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Self-Esteem Issues, Misunderstandings, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unrequited Love, but not actually, no courtesy names)

it goes like this by moonsteps (T, 15k, WangXian, College/University, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Humor, Fluff, Oblivious WWX, in which wwx is jealous… of himself, some drunken lwj shenanigans, two idiots in love, side sangcheng)

Deconstruct by flowercity (FaoriE) (T, 11k, WangXian, Soulmates, Canon Divergence, Fluff, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, they’re so in love)

Zero by theladyofravenclaw (G, 19k, WangXian, Modern AU, Soulmates AU, Musicians, Friends to Lovers, Reincarnation)

Soulmate AU Comp

~*~

4. hi!! for the next itmf, i'm looking for fics where modern!wx meet canon!wx or even just one of them meeting their parallel counterparts

a tide in two seas by occultings (microcomets) (E, 81k, wangxian, modern w/ magic, parallel universes, post-canon, getting together, pining, case fic)

so when you go wherever it is you will go, take the moon with you by comforting_monachopsis (T, 97k, WWX & WWX, WWX & WQ, WWX & WN, wangxian, JC & WWX & JYL, past WWX/SS, past WWX/XY, canon divergence, time travel, dimension travel, modern, private investigator WWX, professor LWJ, trauma, serial killers, strangers to lovers, BAMF WWX, hurt WWX, WIP)

~*~

5. Hiii 👋 , How are you guys doing? I would like to request some fics in which wwx gets jealous/insecure of mxy - it can be modern or canon era (prefer it to be canon era) Thank you💓

Achievement Unlocked 🔓 by UseMyMuse (E, 84k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Transmigration, Crack, Sassy System, Canonical Character Death, Reincarnation/Transmigration, Bamf wwx, mild to major violence briefly mentioned, Mild/brief mentions of torture, Kidnapping, Accidental Child Acquisition)

To Share You With Others by Asmayi (M, 3k, wangxian, ABO, mpreg, heavy angst w happy ending, hurt/comfort, WWX pov, jealous WWX, alpha LWJ, omega WWX, omega MXY, beta LXC, rutting, married wangxian, wangxian endgame)

~*~

6. Hey there, mods! ITMF canon universe fics where either WWX or LWJ has to do a walk of shame & it's obvious that's what they're doing. Like maybe they had to borrow clothing because theirs got destroyed in their haste to get naked (or in WWX's case it's obvious simply because he's awake suspiciously early & that attracts curiosity). @thispatternismine

~*~

7. Hi! Can you please suggest some fanfics where book wangxian meet novel wangxian. I really like this theme? But so far I have only come across only one fic like that. @mrmrsasr-blog​

Sorry. I meant to ask book Wangxian meet drama wangxian. Thanks for the recs.

could the asker for #7 maybe specify what they mean by book wangxian meeting novel wangxian?

💙 feel better love by Anonymous (T, 8k, WIP, WangXian, implied WangXianXian, Post-Canon, Crack Treated Somewhat   Seriously, in a haha jk…unless? way, Light Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Crack, Crossover)

To Him, Love Is You. by Nanami731 (E, 16k, LWJ/WWX/OMC, wangxian, parallel universes, novel & CQL wangxian, post-canon, fluff & humor, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, love confessions, fix-it of sorts)

~*~

8. Hello lovely community! Could you recommend some canon-era fics where Wei Wuxian or Lan Wangji get injured, causing the other to realize their feelings? Thank you ❤

all the silver moons by milkcrates (E, 10k, wangxian, post-canon, hurt/comfort, getting together, first time) Not quite feelings realisation (more just getting together) but maybe close enough to scratch the itch

~*~

9. hi, i hope you have a good day. 

a) do you know any fics where juniors sees wwx and lwj as their parents?

b) can you recommend any fics where wwx turns yiling patriarch to protect/save junior/lwj? thankyou!

9A)

you are my chosen family by jinyinhua (T, 14k, WangXian, 5+1 Things, Good Kid LJY, Good Kid LSZ, Blood and Injury, Night Hunts, Drinking, Age Regression/De-Aging, Married WangXian, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Gūsū Lán Juniors Dynamics)

~*~

10. heyyooo can you please recommend me lots of fics wwx & lwj + juniors. im so addicted to their story latelyyyy @oceanfl0wer​

unhappy stories with happy endings by Last_for_Hell (M, 30k, wangxian, the junior quartet, watching some memories not the whole series, hurt/comfort, panic attacks, references to torture, PTSD)

Lan Sizhui’s Got a Crush! by Theladyofravenclaw (T, 46k, Junior Quartet, LSZ/OFC, Humor, Fluff and Crack, Case Fic, Gūsū Lán Juniors Dynamics, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Body Horror, Mild Gore, Post-Canon) 

cherry lingers on the stone by ThreePlums (M, 26k, WangXian, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Curses, Case Fic, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Starvation, Animal Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Cannibalism, Dom/sub Undertones, PTSD, Mild Gore)

🧡 Hello, IT. Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again?  By overmountainandmeadow (T, 65k, WangXian, Modern AU, Office, Modern office AU, IT Director! LWJ, Graphic Designer! WWX, Father!LWJ, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Juniors as interns, Light Angst, Mistaken   Identity, Identity Porn, Rabbits, Cloud Recesses as a company, Happy   Ending, Single Parent LWJ)

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11. Asking for the impossible here, but are there any fics where WWX kills LWJ? I know there are a few where LWJ kills WWX but I’m wondering if the opposite fics exist too.

When the heart grows cold by deliciousblizzardshark (M, 30k, wangxian, major character death, graphic depictions of violence, modern, vampires au, reincarnation, vampire WWX, found family, blood drinking, suicide as self-sacrifice, implied/refernced torture graphically) this might qualify as wwx killing lwj...

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12. I’m in a mood for BAMF ladies! So please recommend ladies kicking ass, taking names, etc. (with exception of YZY, I do not wish to read about her, sorry)

💖  With Surgical Precision by metisket (T, 20k, WQ & WN, WQ & WWX, WangXian, Time Travel, Families of Choice, sibling bonding through murder) BAMF WQ

Every Mother’s Son by Chrononautical (T, 11k, WangXian, Madam Lán Lives, Madam Lán Deserves Better, Madam Lán Leaves Cloud Recesses, mentions of rape/non-con between Madam Lan & Qingheng-Jun) BAMF Madam Lan

Heart of the River by meyari (T, 23k, JYL/JZX, JYL/MM, JYL/MM/WQ, wangxian, JC/WQ, major character death, implied/Referenced child abuse, no yin iron, fire manipulation, water manipulation, drowning, war, most people live au, BAMF JYL)

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13. Hello! Can you recommend me fics wherein the blindfold that covers wwx eyes in Mount Baifeng slip off and saw Lwj is the one kissing him? (Any fics where wwx knew lwj is the one kissing him because of his smell)

not a maiden by cannotsleep (examtomorrow) (T, 2k, wangxian, canon divergence, baifeng mountain kiss, open ending)

Take my breath away by laniakea314 (M, 6k, wangxian, canon divergence, phoenix mountain kiss scene, blindfold kiss, switched roles, kissing, feelings realization, confessions, fix-it, dry humping)

Nonsense Does the Trick by septune (E, 4k, wangxian, canon divergence, dub con, consensual sex, phoenix mountain hunt, praise kink, PWP, getting together, fix-it of sorts, first time)

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14. hiii i'm itmf autistic lan zhan fics!

leave sooner, drive slower, live longer. series by thelastdboy (M, 26k, LXC & LWJ, LQR & LWJ, Madam Lan & LWJ, wangxian, modern cultivation, canon divergence, LWJ pov, character study, coming of age, past character death, implied/Referenced suicide, implied/referenced rape/non-con, neurodiversity, autism spectrum, situational mutism, hurt no comfort, YLLZ WWX, natural disasters, earthquakes, aftermath of natural disaster, politics, slow burn, miscommunication, taxi driver WWX, getting together, sentient burial mounds, mistaken identity, no major character death, names are magic, horror elements, references to depression, unhealthy coping mechanisms, anxiety, pining, angst w happy ending, WWX has ADHD, case fic)

The Martial Arts Instructor Fic You Didn’t Know You Needed by enbysaurus_rex (M, 423k, wangxian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, WWX & Wen remnants, WQ & WWX & WN, modern, martial arts, everyone lives au, not canon compliant, WWX has ADHD, autistic LWJ, pining, enby WWX, implied/referenced alcoholism, PTSD, slow burn, chronic illness, found family, polyamory negotiations, JC & WWX reconciliation, Single Parent WWX, Single Parent LWJ) a favorite! Lwj is chefs kiss autistic rep. Story is queer, neurodivergent and disabled joy/love !

For a Good Time, Call by ScarlettStorm, 1st in series (E, 170k, wangxian, modern, getting together, pining, porn, onlyfans au, sexworker WWX, minor angst, mental health, therapy is good) for the spicy enjoyers! Lwj is late diagnosed. Has a series!

The spaces between my fingers are right where yours fit perfectly series by Onomatopoetikon (T, 28k, wangxian, modern, coffee shop au, college/university au, LWJ pov, barista WWX, tease WWX, flirting, meet-cute, WWX pov, WWX is a Mess, first dates, autistic LWJ, WWX has ADHD, neurodiversity, developing relationship, twin jades feels, fluff, supportive LXC, autistic meltdown, autistic meltdown aftercare, intimacy, non-sexual intimacy, non-verbal LWJ)

Time Kept Flowing by notoneforreality (T, 201k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Grief/Mourning, major character death is wwx, who comes back, Family, Autistic LWJ, Kid Fic, JC and LWJ raise the kids, Co-parenting is hard, Emotional Hurt/Comfort) 

💖 WWWWXD (What would Wei Wuxian Do?) series by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 55k, wangxian, modern, high school and forward, fluff, panic attacks, angst w/ happy ending, autistic lwj, grief/mourning)

The Bunnysitter: a Post-it Romance by theLoyalRoyalGuard (G, 9k, wangxian, modern, fluff, ace lwj, autistic lwj, adhd wwx, hacker wwc)

Extraordinary Attorney Wangji by PaidSubscription (T, 57k, wangxian, JC/WQ, LXC/NMJ, modern, fluff, slow burn, getting together, autistic LWJ, WWX has ADHD, angst w happy ending, lawyers au, Extraordinary Attorney Woo storyline, LWJ loves rabbits, neurodivergent love)

The Passion of the Cut Sleeve by Afriendlyenigma (T, 25k, wangxian, modern, teachers au, loneliness, LWJ loves rabbits, getting together, romance, autistic LWJ, ADD/ADHD WWX, intimacy, fluff, cuddling & snuggling, touch-starved, slow burn, panic attacks, WIP)

You Helped Me (Wangxian) by Sheneadra (T, 11k, wangxian, modern, autism, autistic spectrum, autistic LWJ, ADHD, WWX has ADHD, teenager, teen romance, sign language, WIP)

Bunny Baby by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 9k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, LWJ Has Feelings, Soft WangXian, Gender-Nonconforming LWJ, Protective WWX, Bad Parent LQR, Fluff and Humor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Soft boys being soft, POV WWX, Autistic LWJ, [Podfic of] Bunny Baby by frostedhearth)

Make The Fireflies Dance Silver Moon's Sparkling by Sweetlittlevampire (T, 23k, WangXian, Modern AU, High School, Friends to Lovers, Teenagers, Childhood Friends, Growing Up, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, Slow Burn, First Kiss, First Love, Autistic LWJ)

a new kind of silence by deliciousblizzardshark (E, 11k, WangXian, Modern AU, Autistic LWJ, Communication Disorder, Trans LWJ, Protective WWX, Pregnant LWJ, Panic Attacks, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Getting Together, Oral Sex, Vaginal Sex, Soft WangXian, POV WWX) and actually I would say check out all of this author's fics in their autistic lan zhan tag cause I rec them all!

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, WangXian, Modern AU, no magic, Meet-Ugly, Panic Attacks, autistic lwj, neurodivergent wwx, the neighborhood asshole dog, if you’ve met one then you know, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Happy Ending, for everyone including the   asshole dog, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation)

End Racism On The OTW - In my quiet sea, waves would sometimes rise by jiejieaini (T, 3k, WangXian, Autistic LWJ, meltdowns, Fluff and Angst, Adoption, Happy Ending, Established Relationship)

Falling Headlong by floraidh (T, 35k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, skater au, First Meetings, First Kiss, Getting Together, autistic lwj)

as fearless as by thistleghost (T, 12k, WangXian, XiYao, Modern AU, High School, Coming Out, Protective Siblings, sensory processing, SPD LWJ, Implied Autistic LWJ, Misunderstandings, implied 3zun)

Silence Spell by unnecessary (E, 4k, WangXianJue, WangXian, Modern AU, PWP, Threesome - M/M/M, BDSM, dom LWJ, Sub WWX, Collars, Impact Play, Deepthroating, Anal Sex, Cock Warming, Overstimulation, Dom Drop, Aftercare, Autistic LWJ, (It's not mentioned directly but it's there), Spitroasting)

Petrichor by SunBlueSun (E, 8k, WangXian, Top/Bottom Switch WangXian, heat exhaustion, Hurt/Comfort, Comfort Sex, Playing Doctor, Praise Kink, (mild praise kink), mention of past torture, Canon-Typical Violence, h/c meta, Autistic LWJ, Mention of switching, Dirty Talk, Soft WangXian, Cuddling & Snuggling)

Pocket Too Deep for Play by bigamma (E, 57k, Female WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Vibrators, Easter Eggs, Sex Toys, Autistic LWJ, Female WWX, Female LWJ, WWX Has ADHD, Lacrosse, Christian Themes, Sports Medicine, YZY’s A+ Parenting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Christian Holidays, Easter Egg Hunt, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Bible Quotes (Abrahamic Religions), Cunnilingus)

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15. ITMF where Lan Zhan is a househusband @yupkook

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16. Hiiiiii so for the next ITMF do you have any « 🪷 lotus pier Wangxian date » like I remember reading some but i can’t find them 😅 so lwj taking wwx’s ofer to visit ??? Thanks ✨✨✨✨✨✨ @ihaveasoftspotfora-yuan

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17. Hello Please recommend chengqing fics, anything apart from modern. Love you, Thank you, God bless you @dramaqueenrolf

The Needle and the Nail by littledust (E, 119k, ChengQing, WQ Lives, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Memory Loss, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Golden Core Reveal, First Time)

Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, ChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It) While not a focus, definitely a goodread

Honestly you could choose pretty much anything by snowberryrose

For example Understanding by snowberryrose (G, 11k, JC/WQ, wangxian, JYL/JZX, fix-it)

Blame by snowberryrose (G, 12k, JC/WQ, wangxian, fix-it)

Sacrifice by snowberryrose (G, 12k, wangxian, JC/WQ, NHS & WN, friendship)

Apology by snowberryrose (M, 17k, JC/WQ, wangxian, JYL/JZX, canon divergence, fix-it, golden core reveal)

With Such Impossible Conveyance by Comfect (T, 99k, JC & WWX, wangxian, JC/WQ, major character death, fix-it, brotherly bonding, angst w happy ending, anger management, canon-typical violence, swearing, fluff, romance, everyone lives au, humor)

A Bell That Tells Us to Rise and Fight by DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee (T, 120k, wangxian, JC/WQ, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, canon divergence, arranged marriage, everyone lives, women being awesome, content warning for JGS & XY & JGY, minor character death)

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

S2 finale AU where Eddie didn’t figure it out or make it in time, and Senkhara did manage to puppeteer Nina into the afterlife:

First of all, Joy would be dead. The Mask of Anubis would have gone with Senkhara and Nina into the Field of Rushes, taking with it any chance for a Tear of Gold. Nina also had Victor Sr.’s ring in her person at the time, so even that would be lost.

So Joy dies on the scene, and is later labeled a hero in her own right.

Alternatively, Rufus would not have died, as he would never have had the chance to put the Mask on. By the time everyone’s paths crossed at the Frobisher Library, SenkhNina (this is the shorthand now, bear with me) would have already been through the portal and onto greener pastures… literally.

Since we have no real context for how Senkhara (or Rufus, for that matter) actually planned on becoming a god once they made it to the afterlife, or whether it was an automatic thing once you had the Mask of Anubis with you when you crossed over, but for the sake of this AU let’s say it wasn’t a super dramatic shift right away.

So in the immediate aftermath, we’re left with the dead body of a teenage girl, as well as a girl who has now up and vanished into thin air as far as the rest of the world is concerned.

They blame Joy’s murder and Nina’s disappearance on Vera, who’s already long gone by the time authorities go looking, and it buys them all time to get the story straight.

Fabian is, of course, way beyond inconsolable. Not only has the love of his life sacrificed herself to the afterlife to lift their curse, but one of his closest friends has also jumped in front of a lightning bolt meant for him. The survivor’s guilt is insurmountable, and he’s essentially on round-the-clock supervision so he doesn’t do anything drastic.

Eddie’s survivor guilt is also pretty bad. People keep telling him it’s not his fault, and “how were you supposed to know??” but something undeniable in his soul (the Osirian, or maybe even just his own conscience) insists the opposite.

Victor and Rufus are forced to reckon with the fact that their ventures for eternal life have led to an absolutely catastrophic end, and they make a public show of reconciliation.

Victor is rattled by the carnage, and does try to give his oldest friend the benefit of the doubt, but the children— Jerome and Patricia, in particular— are unconvinced.

“Things will get bad sooner or later. Senkhara doesn’t want to be a god just for the status. We have to figure out a way to stop her from destroying the world as we know it.”

So Rufus offers to take Eddie under his wing and train him how to use his Osirian powers.

This causes a major uproar, but ultimately Eddie accepts, much to everyone’s chagrin.

“I want to be prepared for when Senkhara strikes back! Rufus is just helping me be ready to face Nina if it comes down to it.”

Basically everyone is too depressed and reeling to argue…

… except for Patricia who shoved down all her grief for her best friends (to only be let out as sobs into her pillow at night), and stepped up as de facto Sibuna leader (since Fabian and Amber were too deep in their feels).

Patricia is adamant this is a bad idea, and that Rufus is only using Eddie to achieve some end— probably the same end he’s always been after— but Eddie is equally adamant that training with Rufus is necessary.

He needs to develop his skill as an Osirian. After all, it was his lack of knowledge that killed Nina and Joy. And Rufus is the only person who can help. Why can’t anyone understand that??

Things are relatively quiet for a while, but everyone’s still grieving pretty badly. Then, slowly, things start to get strange.

Senkhara is clearly up to something in the Field of Rushes, and Victor decides the best thing he can do is tell the students ahead of time that there’s someone who might still be able to to help them: Robert Frobisher-Smythe

So the S3 plot stays relatively the same, except now the whole squad is in on it and trying to make the ceremony a success, because if that ALSO goes wrong then between Senkhara and Ammut, they’re all cooked

With Joy dead, they have to find a replacement descendant for her bloodline, and end up landing on Willow, since she’s the closest thing to it.

For the sake of everyone’s sanity we’re gonna say they sniffed out Caroline’s B.S. early on, and Robert woke up good. But even he’s like “Man idk what to do about this either lol. Let’s figure it out tho”

Meanwhile, Rufus is still training Eddie. And Eddie’s getting stronger, but the way he’s harnessing his gifts is… detrimental. He’s not working with balance, he’s working with control. And it’s affecting him negatively.

Patricia starts slowly pulling away from him, because as much as she cares about Eddie, she can’t condone this. And she is deeply afraid of what Rufus’ influence over her boyfriend means for everyone.

Robert is over here with Victor going “you know, I never liked that boy” about Rufus, and Victor is in a bit of denial about his old friend “turning over a new leaf” but deep down he knows this is all a very bad idea

As months pass with nothing major happening, the emotional wounds start to scab over, even Fabian’s (mostly because Patricia and Amber force him to pull it together lmfao) but it’s tense. Everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop

And then one day it does.

[yridenergyridenergy]

Hii, i’m big fan of your page. Everyday I scroll you page lol.

And i wanna ask ur opinion, is true that Dir now is more popular than before especially for english speaker fan? I see many english comment in Dir page (IG, youtube, twitter) than before

And peoples really noisy about AI and write rude comment in The devil in me (youtube). Maybe people write that comment because hate the MV. In my opinion, they are like new comer in Dir music world lol.

I think Dir also did video editing in previous video (i’m not sure it’s AI or anything else), like in Glass skin, Rinkaku, agitated.

And about the delay of The Devil MV, i think they are lazy to upload because so much negative comment before watching (lol kidding)

But in my opinion, AI not that cheap and still use money, effort, dresser, makeup artist, time and team for making that MV. So I disagree to people who said this is really cheap, artist thief that no use dresser, make up artist or more worker.

But actually yess, i agree art never can be replace by AI. But hey, this is just MV not art exhibition or art competition.

I feel like why people in this era too focus on something else than main masterpiece.

#sorryformyenglish have a great day!

Sorry for the slightly late reply; I had prepared my reply a few days ago but I'm glad I waited since the promotional edit of the PV was released since. Thank you for your visits!

I'm really not sure whether Dir en grey has increased their fanbase... And shows that play on nostalgia are not an accurate reference, so even if the shows this year were to be sold out, it doesn't mean anything because that could totally drop next time they tour with new material, unfortunately. I think that the European tour definitely awakened temporary fans who could disappear again once the buzz has died down.

Dir en grey's director has definitely used CGI in the past, but you still needed artists to achieve anything. I don't know exactly how the AI that the director used for The Devil In Me works, but the common conception is that you just input requests and the robot does everything for you. It's certainly a lazier way. And no clue how much using that technology costs, but it's not equal to several artists' and actors' salaries, probably.

Sadly, the behind-the-scenes on the Devil In Me video disc did not offer anything in the way of a hint at what the AI is and how they used it...

I'm still of the opinion that maybe it can take Dir en greys videos farther than they've been able to so far, and maybe materialize the director's vision more accurately. But yeah, if everything moving forward is AI-generated, that would leave a sour taste. Already, the Otogi backdrop video didn't seem like something that only an AI could come up with: artists would have done at least the same job, if not better, to be honest.

With The Devil In Me PV, I'll have to actually watch the Netflix documentary on John Wayne Gacy, but I'm having difficulty reconciliating how the lyrics tie in with either the killer's life or the person in the video who is chatting with an AI to try and see inside the killer's mind. That's not what the lyrics evoke to me at all...

[tvsoftboi]

Goldrush Rambles (try #2)

Wanna try rehashing my thoughts on Goldrush (Kel x Mikhael) again, since I feel like I didn't do a great job the first time. It's gonna be mostly headcanon stuff, since there isn't that much about Mikhael in game, so I hope that's okay, hehe! Before we get into things, I wanna say why I like this ship, since it kinda leads into my thoughts on the two. My favorite ships in Omori so far are this one, Sunflower (Sunny x Basil), and whatever the name for Kim and Aubrey's ship is, because, in my mind, all three can have vibes of healing through each other/healing together. I could go on a entirely separate tangent about this, but I don't want this post to get too cluttered, heh. (text wall under the cut)

So, my thoughts on Kel and Mikhael and why I think their ship is neat. In my mind, they have equal but opposite family issues. Kel's is easier to describe, I think he would suffer from being a middle sibling. He's not the "successful" older brother going off to college. He's not the brand new little sister. (Though I feel like even before Sally was born, Kel probably wasn't the focus of attention.) I'm not trying to say I think Kel's parents are outright neglectful, I just think he'd find himself/his achievements put off to the side when compared to his siblings. On the other hand, where I think Kel wouldn't get much attention from family, one of the things we know about Mikhael is that he does. His parents hope he'll stick with tradition and stay with the family bakery. His sibligns too, who also seem to enjoy pestering him (though I doubt this is malicious). And so in turn, Mikhael has sworn off the bakery and familial expectations, he tries to be his unique and cool and special to stand out as his own person. The Maverick.

But The Maverick is just a facade. A front. And this is where I like the idea of their shipping dynamic! Because it's clear Mikhael is jealous of Kel. He's cool, athletic, sociable and friendly. Mikhael has probably put Kel on a pedestal of what he wishes he was, and that's why he claims they're rivals. So, for their ship dynamic, I really like the idea of them being able to fill the other's need. Mikhael could provide the attention and hype that Kel isn't getting. And Kel could be the one to see Mikhael for who he really is as a person, and support him accordingly. It doesn't necessarily need to be a romantic ship, but that's what I deal in so shhh. I really do like the idea of the two boys growing closer over time. Like, the thought of Mikhael getting to a point where he feels comfortable without needing the wig or persona around Kel specifically, progressing to him eventually being comfortable being himself around others because of Kel's support and encouragement? And in return, Kel has a goofy, clingy, sorta obnoxious (endearingly), secretly nerdy person to spend time around, an in to a new friend group (and maybe some reconciliation with Aubrey, because the real world segments of the game felt rushed >:/) because I'm worried about just how lonely Kel must've been during the years Sunny was gone/his old friend group fell apart.

Also, only sorta related to their dynamic but: short Mikhael (at the very least shorter than Kel). I really adore the idea of Mikhael having to practically climb his dumb, beanpole of a boyfriend just to give him a kiss, where Kel could just lean down a little to kiss him on the top of his head. Mikhael would be absolutely infuriated by this. You understand my vision, yes?

[phoenixlionme]

Arcane Act 3 Theory

Now I know the title for this theory is Act 3 but my theory begins in Act 2. And I will be doing this theory in a form of a timeline, which are just bullet points as I do not know how to do a fancy timeline edit.

Warwick plays a small but vital role - Despite his repeated presence in the S2 trailers, I think he will only play a major role in Act 2. What's that? Kicking off the Caitvi reconciliation and Ambessa vs Jinx for Act 3 (maybe the end of Act 2 into Act 3). So, something happens that involves Warwick that brings the four together - Vi gets injured and Cait abandons her revenge to save her; some altercation between Jinx and Ambessa happens which turns deadlier

Interplay of Love and Life vs Hate and Death - Involving the gifs of Ambessa and Jinx, we see they're in a similar yellow background and we know that some of the Firelights begin to side with Jinx despite previous history. Now, here's a sad thought - Jinx takes over the Firelight hideout with the Ekko loyalists leaving to find newer refuge. Ambessa finds said hideout and unleashes her attack; and Jinx and her followers get CRUSHED, many (or all) of them die. This would explain Jinx's bloody nose and scared expression - she finally becomes a leader and get trounced by someone more experienced than her and no emotional ties. Also, Sevika gets killed, I'm thinking by Ambessa's hands. Now, what about the "Interplay of Love and Life" bit? Well, given how the former two were prominently featured along with Caitvi, I (like to) think during this battle, Caitvi have completed their reconciliation via beautiful lovemaking. It would serve as a contrast - two women finding love and peace with one another while another try to kill each other. Double symbolism if the scene of Jinx vs Ambessa is surrounded by fire (since Jinx symbolizes fire) and the possible Caitvi love scene involves them making love in a shower (because Caitlyn is symbolized via water).

Jinx Execution - Ambessa strongly believes in killing symbols of resistance to squash future ones. So, after the above bloodbath, she kidnaps Jinx and plans to kill the former. Now, somehow Caitlyn and Vi find out and in amazing twist of ironic drama, they both make a plan to save Jinx. Even more ironic if Caitlyn makes the decision to save Jinx, only to show her growth.

Saving Jinx - This theory would tie in with the popular theory that the person Vi is carrying is a disguised Jinx. Plus, given how the creators love to mislead fans with their trailers, the part where we see an injured Caitlyn before transitioning to Jinx flying her airship would be subtle foreshadowing - I already theorized that scene oof Jinx on the airship is at the end where she leaves the two cities. Now, if my theory turns out to be true, the transition from the trailer makes sense - it was because of Caitlyn's actions that led to Jinx's survival.

Ties in to Theme of "Progress come with a price" - That line was from an official Arcane account and it make sense. Caitlyn, at her core, wants peace and after undergoing her own arc realizes it can be achieved only through giving up something. In other words, Caitlyn gives up the chance to kill her mother's murderer in order to spare the innocent lives of Zaun and Piltover.

[mimisempai]

Quiet place

Summary

Crowley wakes up and experiences something new. For the first time he realizes that everything is quiet, everything is in place, and is overwhelmed by this realization.

And he's not the only one.

Notes

I struggled a bit with this prompt and this is the result. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Day 15 : Quiet

On Ao3

Rating G -  881 words

When Crowley woke up, he had a strange feeling.

Strange, but not unpleasant.

Like a realization, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The moment he felt Aziraphale move next to him, he knew what it was.

Every morning when he woke up, since they'd been living together, he'd had that slight uncertainty for a split second.

Waking up alone.

In his empty apartment.

In his car.

But this morning, all he'd felt was that sweet quietness.

He gently moved his hand forward until he felt the warmth of the body close to his own. Not touching.

He was no longer afraid of waking up alone.

Because now Aziraphale was there every morning and every evening.

Close to him.

In their home.

For a moment, he didn't dare touch the warm body next to him.

He didn't want to disturb the gentle serenity.

He looked at the fluffy hair buried in the pillow next to his. 

He smiled as he remembered their first meeting as angel and demon, destined to be enemies, yet each time they met, they grew closer.

Who would have predicted that one day they would find themselves like this?

Anyone but them.

Aziraphale had gotten under his skin a little more each time, to the point where Crowley couldn't even remember that he'd never been there.

At times, he'd even thought he'd never see him again, but in the end, he'd always kept hope in his heart, the hope the angel had given him back at the Garden of Eden wall.

They'd come close to losing each other, several times.

With that thought, Crowley moved a little closer to Aziraphale.

After all, they hadn't lost each other, and now that the last walls separating them had fallen, they were closer than ever.

Even if it had taken millennia.

Or maybe because it had taken them millennia.

There had been their reconciliation, the first kisses, the first touches, the first hugs, the many heart-to-hearts, untangling their complicated feelings. Healing themselves, healing each other. 

An endless work, but worth it, because their love was worth it.

They were so close now that Crowley couldn't remember a time when they weren't. 

"I can hear you thinking." 

Aziraphale's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts, so Crowley moved his hand, sliding his fingertips under Aziraphale's until the angel intertwined his fingers with his own. 

Crowley turned all the way to Aziraphale and wrapped his arms around him. Their eyes met and for a long moment they just stared at each other in the warm morning light. 

Then Crowley smiled, closed his eyes in contentment, and murmured, "I was just enjoying the quiet. For the first time, I woke up and my first thought wasn't wondering if I was still in my car. It was just this sense of peace. That everything was in its place. Including you and me. It probably doesn't make any sense, I know..."

Aziraphale wrapped his arms around him in turn and replied, "Yes, it does. I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I catch myself thinking I need to talk to Crowley about this when I see him and realize you're here and I can tell you right away, I don't need any pretext to see you, no need to wait, you're right here. It's amazing, isn't it?"

The demon hummed in response and brought his face close to the angel's before pressing his lips to his.

It was neither a passionate nor a tender kiss.

Filled with the emotions they felt at that moment, it was a kiss that was both new and yet so familiar.

It wasn't like their first kiss where things were unknown and sweet. 

It was a kiss that broke the soul only to put it back together, piece by piece, perfect and in the right place. 

Like an exchanged breath.

As they realized what they had now, what they had achieved, they also realized how close they'd come to losing it.

They held on to each other, as if neither of them wanted to break the embrace. Then Aziraphale's hands moved to Crowley's cheeks and he gently pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against the demon's.

The angel breathed, his voice full of emotion, "Crowley..." and then stopped, his throat tightening as words failed him.

Crowley, feeling the same emotion pass through him, simply replied, "I know, Angel, I know..."

They'd been through a lot and here they were, in the softness of this morning, unscathed.

The realization overwhelmed them both, and the demon as well could only breathe, "Angel..." 

Aziraphale wrapped his arms around Crowley, holding him in a crushing embrace as Crowley buried his face in his neck.

They remained entwined like that for a long time.

In the sweet peace of that morning.

The sweet peace that was now theirs.

For it was really theirs now.

They'd earned it.

Their own quiet place.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Growing Love series : here (After season 2)

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here (Before season 2)

[archivalofsins]

It's Haruka's Birthday! Happy Birthday to him~ Unlike someone who didn't say it at least I did.

Now onto flower languages! Yamanaka tweeted this for Haruka's birthday. Since we have all the Milgram characters birthdays except Es and Jackalope. We can look up the remaining birth flowers.

A hint to which flower chart he's using is in the flower he lists for Haruka. Where I'm from Haruka and Amane's birth flowers according to the old farmer's almanac would be Rose and Honeysuckle.

So, what's he using? Well, the more in depth Korean one of course~

Unlike the farmer's almanac which covers the month wholesale the Korean one has a flower for each day of the month.

Haruka June 22

Viburnum 가막살나무 - Love is stronger than death.

Outside of the meanings listed by Yamanaka Viburnum is used to symbolize pride and is given to someone to honor their achievements.

Amane June 27

Passion Flower 시계꽃 - Divine love.

Amane even has a piece that resembles the flower on her cake art. Outside of meaning Divine Love it has heavy ties to Christianity.

"The name 'passion flower' refers to the passion of Jesus and the genus therefore has a particular relevance at Easter. Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique structure of the plant as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion."

Mu July 5

 Lavender 라벤더 - Strong fragrance

To the surprise of no one outside of meaning Strong Fragrance Lavender has strong ties to France.

"The term lavender comes from the old French word, lavender which is imitative of the Latin word lavare (“to wash”). This flower represents serenity, grace, and calmness. The biblical meaning of lavender symbolizes purity, devotion, and love; that’s why lavender is referenced more than a hundred times in the Bible by the name of nard or spikenard by Hebrews."

"Lavender’s purple color also represents calmness and serenity."

In the Old Farmer's Almanac Mu's birth flower would be the Larkspur and Water Lily.

Kazui August 5

 Heather 엘리카 - Loneliness, solitude

Through the power of k-pop-

I've found out that the website I was getting the birth flowers from spelled the English name of Kazui's flower wrong. Also, it can mean loneliness, beautiful solitude, or soulmate. In the west, this flower would be referred to as Heather and its meaning would be good luck, admiration, and protection.

Kazui's birth flower according to the farmer's almanac would be Gladiolus and Poppy.

Yuno September 2

Mexican Ivy 멕시칸 아이비 - Change

Look I'm not even going to hold you finding the meaning of this specific version of ivy in English is difficult. At least for me it is maybe someone else can find it. However, when I look it up all the internet is giving me is the meaning of ivy which is a completely different flower. So, moving along.

Yuno's flowers in the farmer's almanac would be Morning Glory and Aster.

Mikoto October 6

Hazel Tree 개암나무 - Reconciliation

Yeah, you and I read that right it's a tree. A tree that has been tied to Celtic myths and was said to line the border between the human realm and that of the gods.

"Hazel has a reputation as a magical tree. A hazel rod is supposed to protect against evil spirits, as well as being used as a wand and for water-divining. In some parts of England, hazelnuts were carried as charms and/or held to ward off rheumatism. In Ireland, hazel was known as the 'Tree of Knowledge’, and in medieval times it was a symbol of fertility."

Mikoto's birth flower according to the Farmer's Almanac would be the Marigold and Cosmos.

Shidou October 24

Chinese Plum Blossom 매화 - Noble heart

This is also considered a tree, just not such a normal one.

"In Chinese philosophy, the Plum tree’s blossom is a symbol of winter ending and a herald of spring. The tree’s pale pink blossoms are cherished because they bloom vibrantly and so bravely amidst the winter chill. They symbolise perseverance and hope, as well as, beauty thriving in adverse circumstances."

"Plum blossoms represent good luck, prosperity, hope, courage, beauty, and purity in China. In Japanese traditions, they also symbolize hope in addition to renewal and vitality."

Good plant for the guy lying and replacing with hope, huh? Shidou's flowers in the Farmer's Almanac would be the same as Mikoto's.

Kotoko December 15

Winter Daphne 서향 - Immortality, honor.

Winter Daphne was also used as,

"A way of telling a love, “I would not have you otherwise.”."

Here's some more information on the flower.

Mahiru January 17

Rumex 수영 - Friendly

Rumex doesn't just mean friendly it has been stated to mean,

Affection, Matrimonial Tenderness, Close Relationships, Friendships and appears again on December 4 meaning Love.

Mahiru's flowers within the Farmer's Almanac would be Carnation & Snowdrop.

Last but certainly not least-

Futa April 19

Larkspur 참제비고깔 - Clear, fair.

Futa's was also misspelled in English on the website I was using so I corrected it.

"The Pawnee tribe of North America believed in a mythological figure, "Dream Woman," who cut a hole in the sky to look down on Earth beings. Crumbs from the blue sky fell to the ground and became larkspur. And like lily of the valley, larkspur is also associated with the Virgin Mary and is said to represent her tears. Larkspur is symbolic of a beautiful spirit, swiftness and generally of positivity and strong bonds of love. It is also associated with lightheartedness and youth, possibly because it grows in summer where carefree days are spent away from school."

"In the language of flowers, the larkspur holds the symbolic meaning of strong love bonds, dedication, sincerity, positivity and an open heart."

Open this door and check if you want to.

Futa's birth flowers within the Farmer's Almanac would be Daisy and Sweet Pea.

[detective-casserole43]

Okay, so according to the first episode of Hazbin Hotel, the pilot IS canon!

And I might just be talking nonsense of whatever, but like... Angel Dust has a stronger relationship with Travis than Husker until like Episode 4.

HEAR ME OUT-

Maybe it's my poor memory or the fast pacing that has my mind jumbled. But I seriously cannot remember a SINGLE meaningful Angel Dust and Husker interaction until "Loser, Baby." And if we're really stretching, maybe you can count the fight they have at the beginning of the episode. They don't even talk in Episode 2 despite being at the hotel together!

Meanwhile, Travis has a one night stand with Angel and actually seems quite familiar with him to some extent. In isolation, I might not have thought anything of this interaction... But seeing as the pilot IS proven canon and Travis is seen working with Angel at the studio, I think there could be a bit more to their relationship than not.

Now, Hazbin Hotel's weakest point is probably character interaction/relationships. With them introducing so many new characters within such a small time frame, while they are already struggling to fit all the other information they're trying to share- It makes sense that not all the characters we see would get the interactions we desire.

But the fact that Angel Dust, one of our most important characters from the main cast, only has three meaningful positive relationships (Charlie, Cherri, and Husker), one of which only shows up halfway through the first season is BONKERS.

And the fact that we have such little time to see our characters sharing time together means guys like Travis, who are background characters at BEST, technically have more important relationships with our character for over half the show run!

Just compare it for a minute-

Travis is Angel Dust's coworker and technical superior (If we're considering the fact that Travis is the director), who had sexual relations with him behind Valentino's back. Because let's be real, I don't think Valentino is too keen to be renting out his best actor off company time without reason to one of his lesser employees.

Meanwhile, Angel and Husk never got involved in anything more than uncomfortable flirting till Episode 4, which is halfway through the season! While I get this is supposed to come to a head for their eventual reconciliation in Episode 4, most of their time spent together beforehand is uncomfortable flirting. Anything more than that is said to be off-screen or rushed in a 5 minute interaction at the end of the episode, most of it being in a song.

Don't get me wrong, I loved watching Hazbin Hotel and I think it's amazing to see how far Viv has managed to get her shows, but I can't deny how fast the pacing is either and how it's been impacting the story. I know there was a certain vision they were trying to achieve for the finale with the next extermination- But we've only sacrificed important character building and relationships in turn for meeting these specific deadlines. Hell, 5 months go by in the first six episodes, and we don't even find out about it until Adam says it out loud!

I, like so many people, wanted so desperately for this show to do well, and I think it's brilliant what we've received so far. And I'm glad to hear there's even more to come, with a longer Season 2 for hopefully more meaningful character interactions!

But it's so obvious that so many things were sacrificed to make this story happen, and I just wonder what could've been if they dialed back the stakes a little bit and focused more on the main concept of the show.

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION MAGAZINE : SEPTEMBER 2000

From Tragedy to Triumph–Kane Overcomes the Greatest Odds

Interview conducted by Laura

Transcript Below!!!

We all know the story. Kane lost his mother in a fire that also disfigured him–a fire set by his own half-brother, Undertaker. After that loss and devastation, Kane spent his childhood locked in a cold, dark basement by his father, Paul Bearer. As an adult, Kane came to the World Wrestling Federation, a physically strong force, but easy prey for manipulators such as the McMahons, Chyna, Tori, X-Pac, as well as his own flesh and blood. A tortured soul scarred by those flames of yesteryear. A man continually used and abused by those he let into his heart. He was referred to as a monster and “-----.” Today having overcome the greatest of odds, Kane stands strong. Once without a voice, Kane finally speaks. For the first time in history, Kane talks to World Wrestling Federation Magazine, answering questions friends, foes and dans alike have been asking for a long, long time. 

Laura: For as long as anyone can remember, you have been silent. What made you decide to finally use your voice? 

Kane: People thought that I couldn’t talk or communicate. The simple truth is: I just never felt that there was anything to say that my actions couldn’t say better. I finally realized that while actions speak louder than words, people don’t always “listen” to actions. They may “hear,” but you can’t make them listen.

Laura: How much courage did it take for you to speak that first time in front of millions of viewers?

Kane: My whole life has been filled with pain and adversity. I have always done what needs to be done to survive. Courage, if you want to call it that, has become ingrained in me, through every step in my life. Speaking was just another step. 

Laura: Perhaps no other Federation Superstar has experienced as much tragedy in his life as you have. From the abuse by your father Paul Bearer, to the multiple deceptions at the hands of Tori, X-Pac, the McMahons and Chyna. Do you feel all of this has made you a stronger person?

Kane: What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger…I aint dead yet. 

Laura: Of all those who have betrayed you, who do you harbor the most resentment towards?

Kane: Of all the people you mentioned, only two are related to me. The others had their reasons. The McMahons justify all their actions by saying “it’s business, not personal.” I can understand that. In a way, X-Pac was also motivated by business. Maybe he felt that he wasn’t getting ahead by sticking with me. D-Generation X had aligned itself with the McMahons and was making a serious play for power. Same with Chyna. Even Tori probably felt that way. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Ambition warps people, makes them ruthless.

Laura: How do you feel about your father and brother? 

Kane: The others you mentioned had no blood bond with me, but my father and brother are a different story. Their betrayal was, and remains, worse. It was worse because it began long before my arrival here in the Federation. It remains the worst because it is still going on. I can understand my father’s betrayal. He is not physically gifted, so he felt that he had to use me to achieve his goals in the World Wrestling Federation. And eventually, we made peace. Also, I feel that his betrayal was motivated by my brother. 

Laura: How do you feel about your brother Undertaker? 

Kane: Yes, my brother, the grand manipulator. Perhaps of all people, I am the only one who truly understands him. We have had our moments of reconciliation, but these temporary alliances have always ended with me getting the shaft. You can’t trust him. From the time we were children, he has always been out for himself, no one else. And he will take whatever measures he feels are needed to eliminate any and all threats–real or imagined. Together the two of us would be unstoppable; we would dominate the World Wrestling Federation. No one, not even Vince McMahon, could stop us. Unfortunately, my brother couldnt live with that. He won’t share power–or anything else. Everything that has happened to me has been his fault. From the fact I wear a mask to the betrayals of others. I worshiped him when I was a child, but now I see his weakness–all of them. Maybe someday we will come to a total reconciliation instead of uneasy, temporary alliances when we both need them. But for now, I always stay behind him.  That way he can’t stab me in the back. 

Laura: Do you think you could ever trust another Federation Superstar again? 

Kane: I don’t need to trust anybody. I see people for their usefulness and certain purposes. But I keep my eyes open. 

Laura: What was your mother like?

Kane: She was beautiful. She loved me. In her eyes, I could do no wrong. Perhaps that’s the root of my brother’s problems, Undertaker thought she loved me more. 

Laura: Were you in love with Tori? If so, could you ever love another woman again? 

Kane: I would have done anything for Tori. In fact, I did do everything for her. Is that love? I guess. Was it real? No. She surely opened my eyes. Just when you think you know someone, you discover something different about them. Sometimes it’s good…sometimes it’s not. 

Laura: What do you want out of life? 

Kane: What do we all want? Happiness? Contentment? Power? Pleasure? Perfection? Or just plain amusement? People spend their lives trying to answer these questions and never can. I’m going to do whatever I want to make myself happy. Whatever I want–and if no one likes it…that is unfortunate for them. 

Laura: Is getting the World Wrestling Federation Championship your number-one aspiration? 

Kane: Currently, yes. 

Laura: Now that you’re speaking–something none of us would’ve ever thought possible–the next step is for the mask to come off. Will you ever take it off and show the world who you are? And who are you, Kane? 

Kane: Let’s start with what I am not. I am not the “Big Red —-.” I am not a freak. I am not the innocent, naïve, child-like simpleton some people think. Like everyone else here in the Federation, I have my own agenda. But unlike most, I am capable of accomplishing it. And if you don't know who I am, just wait–you’ll find out.