#and she would do anything for them. fullstop.

[arcanaaa]

COOL MOONLIGHT BATHED HER SKIN, WHILE THE NIGHT'S QUIET SOUNDS TRILLED AND CHIRPED ON GENTLY IN AN ENDLESS SUCCESSION. It was this night that the Seer sought a calm moment to spend alone with her own thoughts and Cana had stepped outside the bar-- a quick mention to Loke and Gray for fresh air, her hands waving away their insistence to join her: "Nah s'alright, just gonna clear my head, don't wait up--"

Don't let the good times stop on her account.

It wasn't a lie. Or at least the words were made as truth after she leaned against the building. Everything felt like too much. Too much noise-- the laughter and shouts, too many lights hurting her eyes, the cloying smell of wine, smoke, and perfume from the waitresses flirting too close to their table. That was expected. It couldn't be avoided. It didn't mean she couldn't be annoyed.

Best to swallow the envy and bite back the grimace as the bitterness clashed with the festive mood. This wasn't right. The feelings that Cana had kept buried were starting to seep beneath the cracks-- she could see Gray's silent expression communicate more than what a brief conversation could ever pass.

Leave it alone snowman. It's fine.

I'll deal with it.

The last thing either Gray or Cana needed to discuss was what was on her mind. She knew he meant well, but there was no way he would be able to untangle the clusterfuck of emotions that knotted inside her heart. Only one solution would resolve the chaos, and it required something that Cana did not currently possess: bravery.

CANA FLED THE WARMTH OF THE BAR AND GOOD COMPANY TO HIDE IN THE DARK ALLEY LIKE A COWARD. Because she was not brave enough to say what she wanted to say: that she needed him. Those were the words that grew heavier with each passing moment. The more that she spent time together, whether as partners or in the same company as Gray, every moment made their bond grow ever stronger. That was the simple truth of the matter, a truth that was undeniable even if she wouldn't say it out loud. Couldn't say it. Yet another confession kept inside her chest, another weight over her heart. But this was a burden that was easier to carry, one that she regarded in a fond manner.

She should know by now that she couldn't stop change, even if she could predict it. All she could do was accept it and brace for the aftermath. Though she tried to peer into her own future, the visions that reflected back taunted her with brief snapshots of scenes that were beyond her understanding. Even now she tried to focus, her eyes sliding shut, her breathing evening out and slow, her senses became refined while everything fell outside her scope--

--running, frantic, desperate, sick, and terrified, the ice mage's admission echoing in her head, he left he left he left why why did he leave did I do something was is something I said something I did I thought we could start over please tell me is it my fault oh God did something happen why didn't I see this why why stupid useless, where is he don't leave don't leave please don't go don't leave don't leave me--

❝ --na! Cana! ❞

A SHATTERED GASP, SENSES SCATTERING WILD AND CONFUSED AS SHE FOUGHT TO BRING HER HEARTBEAT UNDER CONTROL FROM ITS QUICK GALLOP. Another vision faced alone. Sweat dotted her brow despite the cool air. She felt turned inside out, her nerves too tight and yet not, hot yet cold, dizzy but still. A vision always left her on the cusp of sickness, and often she isolated herself to deal with the effects by herself.

Fortunately, her boys never indulged in her pride.

❝ M'fine, ❞ She would always say quietly, her assurances so much smaller than herself. ❝ It's fine, s'not that bad-- ❞

❝ Shut up. ❞ Gruff, quick to the cut was Gray, ever the charmer. ❝ Stop trying to do this alone. You know we'll always be here for you, okay? So stop trying to hide. ❞

He would stand just within arms reach, back facing her while he stood to guard her. Gray reflected much of his aspect and magic that he commanded, yet she saw beneath the curt frost of his demeanor. The Seer would shift her body to reach out her hand, only to topple forward as numbness settled over her limbs and left her weak--

❝ Now normally I'm not opposed to sweeping women off their feet, ❞ Loke would intone mildly, yet his gaze was piercing despite how gently he held her in his arms ( oh it was bad when she didn't register her center of gravity was altered ). ❝ But it doesn't sit well with me when my partner leaves to deal with this alone. ❞

The usual protests that bubbled in her throat died as her strength all but failed her. This moment of familiarity and intimacy would normally drive the card mage to shake out of his hold and reestablish herself as her own pillar of strength. It was what she needed to be, what she trained for, what he would expect her to be. But the truth was that she was tired. For so long Cana had so much to prove: to herself, to her peers and rivals, to her father-- but how long before the pressure of her own expectations would collapse on top of her and cause her to fall? Would that strength alone she carried help her?

THE ANSWER WAS RIGHT BEFORE HER, IN TWO DISTINCT FORMS THAT PROVED SHE WOULD NEVER RETURN TO HERSELF ALONE. It was in the steady, gentle silence between the ice mage and the ring mage. Their presence stood as her foundation to weather the storm that would always seek to render her helpless and weak. Cana was not someone who was easily moved by sentimentality. But knowing that her partners-- her boys-- refused to allow her self-isolation when the worst of her abilities revealed itself moved her.

Affection from the Seer was not dispensed frivolously, even when she wasn't sober. But allowances could be made, especially when concern over her wellbeing was at the forefront of their action.

So Cana did the unthinkable: she cried.

Naturally, the reception was met with varying reactions of alarm.

Later, when everything was calm and her emotions weren't so strung out and wrung, she would laugh at this whole affair as another humorous tale to recount. But the present moment was fragile and raw, and all Cana wanted in this moment was to be shown comfort. A sob rippled, causing both men to respond in varying degrees to her distress, yet Cana reached out and gathered them close to her side. One hand reached out and tugged her kin beside her so that her arm could wrap around his neck. Meanwhile, the other held tight to her mentor and partner, never letting go despite the awkward manner that which she was held.

Whatever their hang-ups were about expressing emotions or receiving affection didn't matter to Cana: right now, she needed them to know how much she appreciated them both.

❝ Don't go, ❞ She cried. ❝ I'm-- I'll be okay in a sec, I promise...just...please...don't go...please stay with me....please... ❞

( Now who could say no to that request? )

'Please don't leave me.' Was the echo. 'Don't leave me alone. Please love me. Even if I'm weak, even if I'm lost, even if I'm pathetic, even if I'm wretched and despicable. Stay. Please.'

❝ I'm sorry. I'm sorry... ❞

❝ Shh. ❞ A hand to her head, the gesture so tender that her heart swelled until it was fit to burst. ❝ It's okay Cana. We'll stay. I-- We promise. ❞

❝ Yeah, ❞ The admission of the ice mage was soft-spoken, almost hushed, as if responding any louder would break the fragile moment between the three of them. ❝ It's alright Cana. We got you. ❞

The sheer relief made her body sag-- as if the entire world rolled off her shoulders and fell into the void beneath her feet. That was all she wanted to hear-- that was all she needed to hear. Hearing such affirming words of devotion, of loyalty, of love brought such a cathartic release for the Seer that time fell off the wayside for the three mages.

Eventually, Cana stopped crying, but her grip over them did not cease. It was a tie over who she wanted to hide herself against, tucking her face into the space of their neck for comfort but the contender that she settled for was Loke. Even still, Cana did not relinquish her hold over her brother, instead compromising with contending to hold Gray's hand. As much as Cana complained prior about the cold, Gray's abilities never brought her discomfort. If it meant that he would stay by her side, she would hold him always.

It was the same for Loke too; where Gray embodied ice, Loke brought boundless warmth to surround her. She would know him in darkness, even when hope was gone and her shadows threatened to close around her, he was her light that blazed, triumphant, and gloriously.

Her Loke. Her Gray. Her boys. Her partners. Hers.

They were hers. And should the world stand against them, she would rip the fabric of fate at the very seams and render reality into spools of thread if it would protect them. Save them.

And heaven help anyone who would do ill unto her boys.

[late-draft]

I'd contribute a tiny bit to the pro-Zutara side when it comes to the idea of Katara in the role of a co-ruler of the Fire Nation.

I understand where the negative arguments are coming from, how it's especially "shocking" if she enters the royal family (one which led the oppressive regime which waged war for 100 years and caused so much devastation);

however, firstly it is really no longer that family. Zuko committed high treason, almost died TRICE for that and still kept steady on that course, rejected his family, the family's terrible ideas about the world and both Ozai and Azula were imprisoned. Nobody supporting the old ways is still there. I don't understand negative arguments which treat Zuko's early background, lineage, political role (which may be incredibly undefined as the entire nation is being restructured, it's fantasy) as a more important factor than him as a person. He treats others with respect after undergoing redemption, he's demonstrably empathetic, he's working on undoing as much damage the Fire Nation has caused as possible, he was ready to die for these things. Secondly, why should a job or a title in a fantasy setting be a more relevant argument than love? If love was real and strong: if there's mutual respect between two people, understanding, cooperation, splitting of tasks, mutual care, communication on how to tackle problems, this is much more important and holds more weight than whether or not a role granting political power is from this or that side.

From what I've seen, the dominant headcanon for Zutara is that it wouldn't be oppressive to her but instead allow her to affect the world. It makes sense, most people want their favourite characters to be happy - AND there's no canonical evidence to suggest that being a co-ruler of the new Fire Nation would be a terrible, oppressive, restrictive position. Sure, there can also be headcanons where duty to other parts of the world might be too heavy and they split Zuko and Katara up, but this is a Tragedy trope and it only exists when there's incredibly strong love between them underneath this. So even this argument ends up supporting zutara.

I think that any arguments that use outside reasons why their relationship would be terrible are in the end much weaker in philosophy, compared to arguments about whether or not there are strong feelings between them. This is fantasy, love is an incredibly powerful force. And audience wants to believe in the power of love.

Now, if you ask me, I'd say I believe two characters absolutely do not need to have an on-screen kiss or anything completely explicit in order to convey that yes, they have deep feelings for each other. Shipping comes down to preferences, many people certainly simply Do Not Vibe with Zuko as a personality or whatever. However, this is a separate thing from what the characters are written as doing, how they are behaving in each other's company and how they treat each other.

So I'd say, if Katara loves Zuko (and vice-versa), then that's fullstop. Anything else is just an obstacle in their way which they'd tackle together.

[punkeropercyjackson]

It really annoys me how few people are willing to aknowledge Luke's treatment of Percy was child abuse.We talk about how Luke did bad things but only a small faction of the fandom names it for what it was-child abuse.Y'all aren't even willing to admit Luke groomed all those poor kids because grooming isn't only about dating and even if it was,he'd still be a groomer since he was romantically/sexually involved with underaged girls exclusively as an adult man.It wasn't just Annabeth,he flirted with Silena and slept with Kelli and had a crush on 15 year old Thalia as a 20something and even pre-corruption she was 2 years younger than him which feels like ironic unintentional foreshadowing.Groomers don't out and announce they're kiddy fiddlers as grooming is an unspoken manipulation and gaslighting tactic and he did it to Percy too-What else would you call tricking her into trusting him and preying on her vulnerability as an isolated and traumatized 12 year old with almost no friends and while completely cut-off from her parents to use her for his own gain and try to kill her so she wouldn't tell on him?Plus Percy being too scared afterwards to say what happened to her,what LUKE did to her?It borderline plays like a csa metaphor and the followups of Luke stalking and talking down to and mocking Percy do NOT help and neither does him constantly trying to beat her by fighting her in deliberately unequal settings organized by him.He hated her so much,he really did,and he was obsessed with hurting her and he DID hurt her and the only reason he couldn't as much as he wanted to is Percy is way stronger and smarter than him so she was able to defend herself too well for him to

None of that makes her not a victim-So she fought back?So what?That dosen't make them equal,she was 12,13,14,15 and 16.He was 19 and died at 23.Percy was a child,Luke was an adult and Luke abused Percy so Luke's treatment of Percy was child abuse.Concrete,fullstop,no other name for it except synonyms.And Percy was only one of the kid's he abused-He GROOMED an entire army's worth of younger demigods into literally fighting his battles for him and did zero nurturing or anything else positive for them.We're given no indication Luke was their caretaker and every indication he only saw them as soldiers and not his family and mistreated them.Luke wasn't right,Percy was right,she knew the gods weren't shit from the start and she took action against them from the start too and neither of those apply to Luke and neither does the title of 'The Gods' Martyr'.That's also Percy's and the gods did nothing to Luke that wasn't half as bad as what they put her or what Luke put her through.Luke was the very thing he claimed to hate,a god,an older seemingly unkillable abusive authority figure with unearned powers he stole in entitlement and he wasn't 'a bad victim',he was a victim and an abuser and Percy is a bad victim and a good person WITH her flaws,not inspite of them and she broke cycles Luke tried to keep going and entierly unconnected ones.Luke was all talk,Percy talked at the same time she walked the walk

While i'm a Percabeth anti and neutral on Book!Annabeth at best,it confuses me when i see Luke/Percy shippers bashing Annabeth and Percabeth because Annabeth is abusive to Percy.........As if Luke didn't also abuse Percy and even more than her while knowing better but didn't literally raise her.Where do you think she learned all her toxicity from?Not Athena and Fredrick very obviously,Athena was a deadbeat and she hadn't seen Fredrick in 5 years by the time we meet her.If the gods are responsible for how shitty Luke is and that means he's sympathetic and worthy of redemption,then Luke is responsible for how shitty Annabeth is and she also deserves sympathy and a redemption arc to improve as a person.I can't help but see a gender bias combined with the commoness of also shipping Percy with the male gods/male titans and easy scott-free forgiveness of Poseidon yet not sparing the goddesses/female titans and Sally the same attention and writing.There's the claims Luke is 'gay-coded' in his relathionship with Percy and this feels racist to me as a black man with the fact Luke treats moc like shit in mind-He targeted Chris over The Stolls even though he was closer to them,he's mean asf to Ethan and he straight up killed Beckendorf after lying to Beckendorf's girlfriend about how he was gonna keep him safe.Luke as a person even feels misogynistic and racist himself imo since stuff like this dosen't exist in a vacuum.And neither does his treatment of Percy,who's heavily coded as transfem and/or black-latino but was intended as a white man and not at all coincidentally the only one Luke saw as something of an equal.....Even though he was abusing her when she was growing up and he was an adult for the entierty of it but abusers often come up with that type of excuse for themselves

(Oh and shut up about Percy describing Luke as conventionally attractive as proof 'he' had a crush on him.Bi people shouldn't have to crush on every person they ever meet to be considered valid bis and Percy's canon queer relathionship is her platonic one with Nico,an actual gay character,with how the way his crush on her was written adds to her transfem-coding and her calling her treatment of him maternal and their middle brother/eldest daughter dynamics and my friend who's literally a lesbian said she describes men the same way Percy does to cite how ridicilous the Luke liker allegations are.So there)

[hawkfawun]

choose violence: 3, 19, 24, 25

This one is so salty. I'm sorry. I don't know how to make it less salty.

3. Screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr

bad take. SPEEDRUN!!!! (mostly) Griffith addition.

1- "Gennon is the victim and not Griffith in their encounter. Griffith is cruel for killing him." I get that you don't like Griffith, that's fine. You are saying the pedophile who took advantage of him when he was 12-14 is in the right though?? Also when he killed him the guy was actively trying to kidnap him to be a sex slave.

2- It is "disrespectful to Miura" to ship griffguts. Miura has expressed interest in queer themes and basically said Griffith is gay before. I don't think the man was a pearl clutcher.

3- "Guts should have just killed Griffith when he was disabled." Guts would NOT have done that.

4- Age gap discourse. All the main adult characters are supposed to be roughly the same age. I have no interest in debating if adults fighting the horrors are allowed to have 3 year age gaps lol.

5. "Griffith is Jeff Bezos" ?? Ah yes free education and housing. What Jeff is commonly known for. Not that I love calling him a communist either. I could write a lot on this but. Eh.

19. You’re mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

WELL. I am pretty damn shameless on here. A lot of people don't like my ships and thats fine. Best to block me though.

I'm not mad exactly but I do think it is surprising I ship Judau/Casca a bit! Normally dislike that kind of ship but I think there's a lot of room for it to be done in a compelling way. The way his insecurities play out is super realistic and interesting to me. I do think he seriously puts Casca above himself and loves her for who she is not who he wants her to be. Also, I just want nice things for them both. ^^

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse?

Casca. Literally anything about Casca. You can be like "Wouldn't it be fun to draw an apostle casca" and people will act like you committed a real actual murder. Never mind if you have some criticism of the eclipse rape or Elaine.

I STILL get asks. btw- if you make sock puppets to harass people for being "too sensitive about rape" that makes you look like a creep fullstop.

Also anything with Griffith but that's a given.

25. Common fandom complaint you are sick of hearing.

Hmmm... anytime anyone has an even mild critique of berserk everyone complains you are literally "spitting on a dead man's grave." It is rare fans complain about the manga itself.

Also rare they complain about Miura. Berserk fans would rather send death threats to fans posting interviews than believe their made-up image of him is wrong.

for the record, I obviously love berserk and think very highly of Miura in a lot of ways. I get why people are defensive of it but phew. Berserk fandom is a little too defensive!

thanks for the questions!

Choosing violence ask meme

[figleavesandrye]

sugar water

It's a Georgia summer. The air is thick and the plates are big. Gas is cheap.

It's my first time outside of California in a long time. 

i’m here to see a baby.firstborn to the firstborn of a firstborn. to me, this has to mean something. to meet at this juncture, our generational chance at reconcile. at undoing. forgiving. forgiven. forgave. circles full circling. fullstop. she doesn’t cry.she looks like a womanshe will only know by her likenessand carries like a symbolof turnover and seasonschanging the way most quiet babies do. we buy diapers and onesies from a store that also sells ammoand spend the next four daysin georgia. on the third day,i hold a gun for the first time. it’s heavier than i’d expectedand carries like a symboleven heavier still, somethinglike staring into the sun. my first shot fires like making eye contact with a god i don’t believein. eventually, i get over it and spray another ninety nine rounds through a paper manand then it’s just good old southern fun after that. adrenaline wells up in my core and feels both warm and sinful. the men working the gun range make simple funwhen they return my californiadriver’s license because they believe they possessa higher understanding of the essence of freedom. they believe it to be a deafening and sulfuricforce, proxyfor the violent. definedby state lines, having anything atall to do with guns. this is not that beacon i knowshines in my understanding the essence of my burden in guilt and shame andsin and grief. i know the way my fingertips stain with the funk of wet newspapermixed with garlic. howi’ll then forget andrub my eyes. how i’ll cry. how i’ll weep, actually. oh, the way i weep! how i keepcoming back to this. in my language,free is something of a silentexorcism. it’s howbabies keep being born. beingsorry and true. it’s tuckedsomewhere in betweenthe paper petals ofa lifetime of healing. it’s whyi’m here in georgia, workingat the arduous task ofseparating wheat and chaff and loving unconditionally.

right before the gift shop of the world of coca-cola, one of atlanta’s more popular tourist attractions, there is a room littered with clear plastic cups and fountains upon fountains of all of coca-cola’s international flavors for visitors to sample. the floor is coated with a tacky syrupy layer of soda and fills the place with the smacks and squeaks of the rush toward drink. this is where it happens. my mom calls me from los angeles to tell me grandma is not okay. she’s unconscious, on a ventilator, and apparently there’s a tooth in her lung. she had inhaled it in the thick of her artificial breathing. we’re pretty sure it’s for real this time. her voice is still and so is mine. we know. there have been false alarms before. once, my grandma had the whole family racing to her bedside. she even called her pastor. we all crowded around in her bedroom while my grandpa sat in his chair just outside. we sang hymns and people prayed and wept over her. it would have been a most gorgeous ritual of departure and the opportune moment to die. then she lived five more years or something like that and we laughed about it a couple times, too. i can’t really remember when she wasn’t so fragile. she had a heart surgery a long time ago and i think after that is when she became like a leaf. when i would visit, i would quickly bow to my grandpa and then head over to her room. most times, she would be sleeping or playing games on her phone and somehow she would summon the strength to swat at me for not hanging out with her more. i would crawl into her bed gingerly so as not to rattle her and then i would teach her how to text or listen to her complain about her husband sitting in the other room. 

after isaac died, my parents struggled to tell my grandparents the truth. i don’t blame them for that and never will. i don’t need to know their reasons. after that, i couldn’t bring myself to visit anymore and my parents didn’t blame me either. i couldn’t step into that stuffy one bedroom apartment in reseda where isaac was still here alive in this world with me, where he was just busy with school and being a teenage boy. i couldn’t do that kind of multidimensional time travel and manage to come out of its fictions unscathed.  so i’m flying back to la, these thoughts floating around me. the deathbed as a beacon. a homing signal. moths to a flame. the truth drawn out. the truth in showing up. we land and don’t rush to the hospital. it’s different from the gravitational force that flung me toward my brother on the night of his death. we get there when we there. the hospital’s policy is two family members at a time. we wait our turn. there’s a jesus statue in the waiting room, pointing up with a broken finger. it’s our turn now, we get into the elevator, go up to the second floor, get out the elevator, follow the nurse to the room, look at all the other people in the room, open the curtain, close the curtain, try to feel alone with her. i don't know what i’m supposed to say or if i even have to say it out loud. i don't know if i'm supposed to tell her about isaac. 

할머니 has been dead for three months. i go visit 할아버지. he's different now. the chair i sit in smells like cigarettes. her bedroom door is closed. the trash can is filled with empty yogurt cups and ash. there are fruit flies. he sprays raid bug spray and doesn't open the window.  someone tells me that restaurant orange slices are dunked in sugar water and ice and then served to guarantee sweetness. you can’t just pay someone to taste all the oranges. that wouldn’t be very efficient. they don’t understand how i would taste all the oranges for free.

[255940g]

Any title ideas guys? Ch.26 - Unexpectedly desirable

Sam wakes up and is unexpectedly the stereotype of a sexy femme to settle down and sparkbond with. THis could Also explain Bee's more hesitant nature in Ch.17. This chapter has a few ties to Protection Protocall by Shelaar(JonathanAnnubin) on Ao3. (its a wonderful idea and I love re-reading it!)

It follows the idea that Sam is now considered highly desirable as a partner and eventual sparkmate. She is a breath of fresh air, kind to a fault, sweet, selfless, and badass in the way she took out Megatron. Before getting to the fact that she is the Allspark in cybertronian form and the main hope of their entire species. Just someone you can't help but smile around (even super serious Optimus Prime is often seen with a gentle smile around her) and adore in certain measures. This is also excluding Sam’s exceptional carrier/sire/parenting skills. (No one is sure which to use when she has accidentally touched a human toaster and it turned into sparkling. One which she adores but was incredibly surprised about.)

Bee literally plays sappy romantic love songs to woo her. When he found out about slow dancing the two of them did that during sunset, under the stars, under the rain - it's one of Bee’s favourite things to do with Sam.

When someone snuck some high grade into some energon Bee becomes known as the drunk who will spill his truest feelings for people. In this instance, a newly online Sam was the topic in question especially as she and Bee were the newest relationship to gossip about.

The entire time Bee was stating forcefully “Oh! No, no-no. I’m still surprised daily that she [Sam] feels anything outside of friendship for me. She is drop-dead stunning anyone with optics could tell you that. She’s incredible, but anyone even trying to get to know her would be able to tell you that within 15 minutes of meeting her if you were particularly dense in interactions. Even then, I’m telling you nearly braindead stupid would take that long.” Cutting himself off “Oh! She did something absolutely adorable yesterday” nearly incomprehensible mumblings and the listener could only really understand would be through the EM field that Bee was sending out, full of affection and love.

After resetting his vocal coder - which was apparently by accident based on his expression “She always surprises me in the little interactions and big decisions. I absolutely adore her! Fullstop, I’m a scout - a brightly coloured known scout. I’m practically dead meat for multiple different reasons, not entirely too skilled in any field but y’know I can sorta fudge it in a few. There she is, in the medical and scientific field bringing inspiration, while being a wonderful fill-in for a communication officer, and she’s been helping Optimus with translating ancient cybertronian scripts and being an advisor with the humans.” ….

(From Bee’s perspective and the part of there is still part of the strict hierarchy he grew up with on Cybertron and to a point the current strict hierarchy within the military that they have going on. So Bee is both young, (generally) inexperienced, and of a lower rank. I looked online and there isn’t quite a good equivalent, but it certainly isn’t the rank of a newbie. TLDR; There is an internal caste system that Bee feels a part of - Optimus dosen’t bother with any ranks outside of official settings and with the humans - where he knows he is at/near the bottom while his beloved is slightly above the Prime, from a cultural perspective. The one to be protected even before Prime and themselves.)

HOWEVER, Sam is just going “Wow, I can’t believe that Bee would take a second glance at me romantically. Sure I knew we were close friends, but I never thought he felt anything romantically for me. He is far too kind. A real sweet spark.”

(The other bots view the two of them as a couple. An incredibly sappy young couple with even cuter younger children barely out of infanthood. (Think about the situation between Nani and David in the first Lilo and Stitch movie…but where Nani is Hope personified for the entire human species. David is just there completely supportive and his character is among my favourites from the entire Disney franchise continually) When the two of them do something completely adorable, like witnessing Sam and Bee slow dancing at sunset or in the rain the others roll their optics in fondness and decide to come back later unless the thing to bring to their attention is an emergency.)

[sarifel-corrisafid-ilxhel]

I love all these points, but I feel like they might be diving a little deeper for an explanation than you actually need to go. Simply put, I think the Yeerks just got more and better representation through the series than the Andalites did, and that makes the Yeerks more sympathetic to the reader.

First, the Andalite military is always far away. Their promised arrival to help save Earth is brought up repeatedly, but they take literal years to show up. In that time, we meet Ax, but to be completely honest, we don't know anything about his life before the war. He never talks about home, never talks about relatives other than Elfangor, never talks about Andalite culture beyond how it relates to the war, etc. Ax's entire identity revolves around the fact he is a military cadet stranded on Earth, fullstop. Then we meet some Andalite soldiers - first on Leera, where everyone is too busy fighting a war to talk. Every occurrence of Andalites after that is more of the same - Here's some Andalites, they're fighting a war, or they're committing a warcrime, or they're retired from fighting and refuse to talk to the Humans, or they're here with a fleet to literally glass the Earth. There's never any time to talk with Andalite soldiers and get their thoughts on things beyond the next objective.

Second and just as important, we never actually meet Andalite civilians. There aren't any Andalite civilians in the entire series. We hear in vague comments about how the Andalite civilian government, the Electorate, wouldn't approve of the Andalite military's tactics, but we never actually meet Andalite civilians to confirm it. We never hear about protestors or anti-war efforts or demonstrations. We can infer these things exist from the context of the Andalite military always covering things up, and the fact the military was downsized after the war, but we never get to see these things. Even when the Animorphs reach out to the Andalite civilians via the Space Internet, we never hear what the Andalite civilians actually have to say. The only thing we see is the Andalite military stands down because the Civilians were contacted. There's no one to represent the Andalite homeworld in the story, there's no personal connection, there's no one to assign sympathy to.

However, we DO meet Yeerks who oppose the war in one way or another, repeatedly, and they always have an impact on the plot. We meet the Yeerk in book 8 who didn't necessarily think the Yeerks were wrong, but hated Visser Three and helped Ax, an action which was even referenced in later books and may have had an impact on the end of the series. We also meet Aftran and then later the Yeerk Peace Movement that she founded. We meet Ilim and Mr. Tidwell, who also help save the Animorphs, and through them learn about the YPM and the sort of motivations they have. We see at least one instance of a Yeerk Peace Movement member, a Hork-Bajir, attacking Visser Three when the Animorphs are in trouble in a later book. We also see the Yeerk Empire's reaction to the existence of the Yeerk Peace Movement, and how Visser Three and Taylor were willing to kill hundreds, maybe thousands of YPM members in a false-flag attack. Though the Yeerk Peace Movement was left out of the ending, they were present through most of the series and had a direct impact on the main characters' lives, and by extension, the readers.

To sum up: Of course we would have more emotional attachment to the anti-war Yeerks. Anti-war Yeerks are relevant to the plot and make multiple appearances in the story, while anti-war Andalites barely get a passing mention.

something that I wish was more discussed about meta and assorted conversations centered around “Andalite imperialism” (in quotes because as I’ve argued before I think this is much more of a personal read than the objective canonical fact) is that the Yeerks are often perceived as more victimized by their government than the Andalites are, in a way that skews interpretations in their favor.

What I mean is this - whether or not a cog in the imperial machine personally agrees with every single value espoused by that machine, whether or not they’re a good person, whether or not they’re kind and compassionate - this doesn’t actually prevent them from doing harm, or believing most of what’s being taught without examining it. We see this with Aftran, to an extent, where she doesn’t actually start to disbelieve until Cassie’s sacrifice but she wasn’t ever a huge fan of the Yeerk Empire before. Same with the Yeerks from 8 who were in love. Sure, they’re good people? but they’re soldiers in a war just the same, and no matter how much they regret or how victimized or personally wounded they feel they’re leaps and bounds better off than their slaves and prisoners. ultimately what they’re doing is still incredibly evil and simply defeating them in war won’t end their ideologies or dissuade them from rallying and trying again in a century or so.

and this is relevant to discussions of the Andalites because so much fan conversation paints them as gleeful, willing collaborators for an imperial cause. In so many cases, it doesn’t seem to matter how good they are, or how disconnected from the war machine they are, or how badly they want to process the trauma of war, they can’t escape being tarred with the same brush as Lirem or Arbat. Yeerk grooming and propaganda is something Yeerks can’t help but believe and they’d be good people if the Empire was gone, but Andalite grooming and propaganda indicates deep problems in the core beliefs of the whole society, things every single citizen must tackle and unpack before they pass the “good enough” mark.

and that’s baffling to me, because one group is a pre-9/11 commentary on the US during the Vietnam War and the other are slavers with no scruples about mass murder on a truly galactic scale. one group has committed genocide, yeah, but it was both accidental (don’t forget that the Yeerks attacking the lab were what caused the quantum virus to be released! making a weapon of mass destruction and using it are two different things!) and the great shame of their military. the Yeerks have committed far vaster and more damaging crimes. they aren’t scrappy underdogs being poisoned from the top, they’re a rabidly fascist police state and most of their citizens DO believe in the ideals being taught to them. Yeerks might be scared of their superiors but the majority aren’t conscientious objectors advocating for nonviolence or joining the Peace Movement. every individual Yeerk is just as complicit, canonically, as fandom analysis says the Andalites are.

I’m wondering if the Yeerks are easier to sympathize with because their government is so much more obviously in the wrong and oppressive, and we see a lot more fear and uncertainty in their ranks because of how the Council of Thirteen functions, while the Andalite military and electorate are much more nebulous and subtle in their flaws. there’s probably a lot of personal guilt too, recognizing the things about America that are easy to hate in how they behave. but the Yeerks have a lot of those same problems too, so maybe that conclusion is incorrect. hm. more thoughts to follow probably.

[dykeyote]

*runs into your inbox* HI. MARIE ANN X JEDIDIAH HEADCANONS WOULD BE SO SO LOVELY . please

EVIL LAUGHTER . ALL ACCORDING TO PLAN . SOON THE COUNTRY NAY THE WORLD NAY MY TINY LITTLE TUMBLR NICHE WILL BE A JEDDIEANN BELIEVER

i think in jedidiahs avoidant era theyre both like . sort of mutually in each others orbits kinda? marie ann tries to reach out to jedidiah every now and again to be nice because shes somewhat curious whats going on with her . jedidiah obviously never responds to this bc she suffers from every mental illness but its enough that marie ann like . Stands Out in her mind somewhat . so when shes growing more and more possessed by the deer and fullstops ever checking in on her jeddy Notices . not enough to do anything about it but enough to have some feelings about it

which is WHY when jedidiahs sort of reintroducing herself back into the camp like an endangered animal . shes immediately drawn towards marie ann out of curiosity . only to find marie ann keeps vanishing and reappearing and being puppeted about which shes originally just sort of Interested by and wants to try and resolve so that . but spending all that time around her quickly turns into a crush

i think its a lot of jedidiah just having pretty onesided feelings for a bit i quite like the idea of Jeddy yearning . but marie ann eventually grows to find her sort of charming . whenever marie anns had a possession fit and is too exhausted to speak but needs some companionship she likes to listen to jedidiah infodump about video games for something to listen to her talk about when shes nonverbal and cant respond (:

i think jedidiahs very bad at expressing affection ESPECIALLY with romantic feelings . shes got a silly little crush and that silly little crush is going NOWHERE marie anns not even 100% sure jedidiah likes her as a Friend let alone More . but she expresses it best through getting marie ann little trinkets . she gets marie ann a hat because i hc that marie ann is growing in antlers due to possession and shit so the hat is to keep the velvet of the antlers from getting hurt (: marie ann is genuinely stunned by Jedidiah Martin of all people doing that sweet of a gesture and has no clue how to respond and its kinda the first part where she starts returning jedidiahs weird little crush

i am deranged abt them

[dull-c]

okay! i have finally managed to catch up on some sleep and am gonna talk further s5 thoughts under the cut.

overall - i had a really good time watching it. i had talked myself down over the last week to a point where my expectations were more or less in the gutter, so it exceeded my expectations, in some ways it met them, and on one occasion it was even worse than i had anticipated.

the great: -as i said last night: C H O Z E N. chozen was a dream. all of you can go home this is the only good man. god, the way he just showed up every time and loved and protected and supported the larussos and miyagi do and et al unequivocally. his daytime telly, patrolling the house, fucking with silver and his instant connection with tory when he was undercover at cobra kai (i so so wish there had been more of that), his egg training sesh and his running into the barnes furniture store to save his ride or die. i am not exaggerating in the slightest when i say i was squeaking and kicking my legs and muttering i love you almost every time he was on screen.

-related, DANZEN. danzen season was better than I had hoped for. the way they like totally unabashedly hyped each other up, smiled softly at each other, clothed each other, went on underover ops and bought each other $2000 couches and pat pat patted each other and generally just loved all over each other like, constantly??? it was amazing. they were giving each other the love and support they deserve and i was fucken thrilled -the lack of kreese redemption. that was honest to god so sexy. kreese redemption was something i have been anticipating/fearing ever since they started rolling out that insane backstory. ymmv about this and that’s cool, but i didn’t like the idea of it for many reasons. so, i thought it was going to happen and i was ready to slog through it while rolling my eyes and sighing long-sufferingly and when johnny and daniel showed up at the prison i was like, here we fucking go i guess. so i cannot tell you the elation that coursed through my body when the camera focused on that note and i realized what was happening. i yelled. i have had sex less satisfying than johnny telling kreese to eat shit and then daniel putting a fullstop on it with no mercy motherfucker.

(daniel and jlawz 100% practiced their good cop bad cop routine in the van beforehand) -no one died!!! lucille was fine (if nonexistent!) chozen was fine!! daniel got punched in the heart metaphorically and hawk got punched in the heart literally and they were both fine!!! yeah!!! fuck you for making me worry for months hayden s you fucking troll!!!! -was personally thrilled that the one time an australian has made an appearance in the show it was a grifting hemsworth knockoff   -daniel in the sauna. it was terrifying sure, but i was also just distracted by how utterly beautiful he looked in there. he looked amazing the whole season but especially there. daniel daniel daniel. i am still processing my thoughts on his s5 arc but i loved most of it. I wish that there had been more time to explore certain things but i love that his trauma and tendency to overreaction (or to be seen as overreacting) was addressed to an extent. i loved that we saw him receiving some of the love and generosity he had given out for once. that filled my heart -jessica!! i loved the way they wrote her into the fam, and the macaroni shoutout. i loved the way she pointed out so plainly what happened to daniel, in a way that couldn’t be handwaved or diminished. i would have loved to have seen her and daniel actually interact, but for now that pic robyn lively posted on twitter of her and ralph will have to suffice -reluctantly i must admit that mike barnes was not that bad. like i’m not about to ship him with my blorbo or anything, but he was fine. his storyline was fine and he even made me laff. i guess most of my mike animosity is based in animosity towards SK, not the character so much (also: the way mike apologized to daniel literally minutes after running into him again and jlaw is still crickets aha ha welp) -also reluctantly, i must admit that the running gag where daniel tried to break up fights over him between his old bullies and kept ended up getting beaned himself did made me laugh. baby boy!!! i’m sorry but my sense of humour is very low brow :(( -despite the valiant attempt to /no homo/ everything this season (see ‘the nah’ below), it was still extremely homo sorry about it. danzen i have already mentioned but lawrusso also gets a mention obviously for that butt slap, for “get your hands off him”, for we’re miyagi do / no we’re eagle fang, for the sudden uptick in touching generally. for the way daniel showed up drunk and dishevelled on jlawz’ doorstep and tried to start a fight/make himself feel something and johnny’s calm in that moment. for “i pushed him off a cliff” and that extremely beezee-esque double slap on daniel’s chest when they were singing eye of the tiger. (and i also now ship louie/anoush) (basically your no homo sign cannot work on me because i cannot read) (wont read) (refuse to)  -sam and tory’s arcs. both individually and together. the scene where sam walked into tory’s apartment made me cry. them both working out what they were fighting for. they’re lawrusso vibes but like 35 years ahead of the curve and I was rooting for them so hard. -that corny little love-in for daniel at the dojo. mr miyagis room. the paint the house sign!! (immediate tears) acknowledgement of his grief and regret. the stuff between him and robby - i was p much convinced that we’d never see any further reference to robby’s time being mentored by daniel now that he was making things up with jlawz, and i was so soft for those two. so it really really made me happy to see a bit of something there -eli and demetri teamwork always always gets me. actually, the whole group/protect the egg teamwork stuff was great (that’s the point right? stronger together is the point) and i liked that they leaned into anthony’s strength not being physical like his sister and dad. something something captain planet -i liked that amanda actually got some meaty stuff this season -terry was deliciously evil. just off the wall batshit and i respect it. i mean, i was also very happy to see chozen and daniel beat tf out of him, don’t get me wrong, but he is a good villain

the nah: -oh carmen got did SO FUCKING DIRTY this season (rip in peace to her and shannon’s characteristions apparently). 

unfunny story, this was a thing i said couple of weeks back in a post about the j-man:

so i had at least a half-sense that this was coming. however, i did not anticipate the do-over baby nor the fact that the no homo overcorrection would extend to pretty much everyone else as well. uh that’s on me i guess!!

-like. i adore chozen and kumiko. i love those pretend ppl so much it’s embarrassing and listen (despite my initial WHAT and damiko basically owning my heart and soul) I would not even be against the two of them kissing necessarily if it made them (and daniel) happy, but this just really felt like another deeply gratuitous no homo moment. what is wrong with them both being single anyway in their late middle age? they’re fine?? it’s not a curse to not be in a relationship. are we really doing this to try to stop people writing chozen luvs daniel online? bc folks will definitely still do that* so you are just diluting your story peeps *i’m currently writing ‘mr chozen larusso’ in cursive repeatedly in my diary -johnny’s entire will to live/fight back hinging on the photo of the fetus. who wrote this, the us supreme court??? i understand it was about what the photo ~represented~ rather than the actual scan itself but i dunno, maybe they could have used a photo of his actual outside-the-womb bigger than a potato child?? that turning point was genuinely so insane it startled a laugh out of me in what was meant to be a poignant moment (btw he’s soooooo hetero u guys) -in no time in the history of the world has any child or teenager responded to the news that their fifty something year old alcoholic dad knocked up his gf the way robby did btw. literally never. never ever ever. there was more nuance in daniel’s reaction lmao -the turnaround generally with miguel and robby from beating each other senseless to hugging and being like YAYE A HALF SIBLING was stupid fast. they are both deeply earnest babies so i absolutely believe they could get there, but there was literally no awkward teenage in-between time. they were fighting (johnny being like ok yeah fight it out was….. a thing that happened) and then they were 100% fine and. like. i liked their individual stories actually, but their interaction fell so flat. little steps in the right direction would have been just as moving and more believable, i think.

the i guess??? dot jpeg -CGI young johnny. cursed. if they ever try to cgi mr miyagi into this show i will literally nope out and exit the building so fast my head will spin off

-ok but chomiko really?? idk guys -daniel doing the crane kick was a lil bit cringe for me. in fact the pacing of his and silvers fight generally felt little off? i don’t know if it was just bc i was distracted worrying about chozen at that point?? but it didn’t quite hit. -the kreese ‘death’ didn’t quite hit either because i knew exactly what he was doing. did anyone not realise what he was doing?

//

anyway, that got long. i’m sure there are more things i have forgotten but they’ll out eventually.

apologies in advance for the imminent like-spam, i now have to backtrack through the last 48 hours worth of posts and catch up on what all you folks’ thoughts were. i have some snacks and i am Ready

[lowhowl]

▬▬ All of the colour drains right out of Whisper's face. She doesn't seem particularly afraid, or sad, but it affects her. She's just standing there, in shock, for a moment or two, before eventually she furrows her brow slightly and fidgets with her hands.

" This . . . this isn't a joke , is it ? "

▬▬ She knew Jackie was still alive, for sure. The refugee camp took great care of them- it was more about the idea that Sonic met her. She'd been spending the years beyond the war running from her problems- most notably, avoiding her mom in fear of the consequences of running off and leaving her. It was a shitty thing to do, fullstop. Now, with everything else she's done, who she is now... she can't help but feel like Jackie would be disgusted with her.

▬▬ The Diamond Cutters were branded as criminals by G.U.N., after all.

" Wh , how do you - know it was her ? Did- did she say anything ? "

There's a deep breath as she pushes off wall, centering herself. She's not really sure how to bring this up, of course, because, in all her years, it was a surprisingly new scenario to broach. So Sonic just opened her mouth, realizing far too late she never bothered to learn the woman's NAME, and then snowballed with what she could do.

"So, I'm just gonna cut straight to it, 'cause I realized I was an idiot and didn't even get her name, but.. ah, I think I met your mom, Whisper? Happened by her and mistook her for ya until I slowed down t' get a good look 't her. "

Sonic's cursing herself for not getting the name so there wouldn't be any doubt on the matter, but she's not really sure how to bring up the other things that clued her in without going too fast if she were just wrong. Best see how it goes now before dropping the entire thing into her friend's lap.

[ven-finn]

begging you to give us your incoherent aspec jerida thoughts

fuck ok???? i dont have like. any order to them or anything im just. spiraling. also im really tired so this is such word vomit. BUT U ASKED FOR IT! 

Her mom would have given Merida a lot of internalized garbage, completely unintentionally but still incredibly hurtful all the same. Like just everything about Brave is Merida rejecting her patriarchal society at large, but especially its heteronormative/amatonormative culture that Elinor keeps pushing onto her. She’s not even marrying for love in the first place, she’s marrying for peace, and fuck does Merida hate ALL of it. It’s not malicious, but in Elinor’s head something that just comes with keeping up appearances are straight milestones. 

and u don’t need a reason to hc a character as ace for any reason ever but like fullstop I think why I hc Jack as ace so strongly is because of the way he just kind of ignores Tooth’s blatant crush on him. Like. Thinking specifically of when Tooth hugs him towards the very end of Rotg and he just goes. Aha. Welp. And moves right back onto talking things out with Jamie. It’s just my interpretation of the scene but I think viewing it that way is kind of funny. He just....doesn’t feel the need to address it, because how can he, y’know? Not any of his business. 

They’re partners. In crime. And also partners. And they laugh every time their allo friends TRY *try* to define whatevers going on with them in the very limited way allos tend to do. Like are they boyfriend and girlfriend? Not strictly. Are they dating? Yes. Is romance involved? Depending on the day. Why the fuck do you need to know? And that confuses everyone else to no end, and while that confusion might have bothered a younger, still questioning, Merida, I think Jack’s easygoing nature would help her laugh off a lot of shit. Like, in her head she can go yknow what? Jack’s right, I doesn’t care about what people speculate about my love-life and nothing about my orientation is confusing or messy, I’m fucking great. She especially doesn’t care when she’s got Jack, and he’s got her, and they’ve got their friends who DO understand. All that matters at the end of the day is that Jack and Merida care about each other a lot, labels be damned. 

also obsessed with them bullying the shit out of awful romcoms together. just. completely tearing apart stupid tropes. rapunzel’s like “c’mon guys u have to admit (xyz film with weird manipulation plot at some point bc u know how straight romcoms are) is KIND of cute” and Jack and Merida share looks like ‘is this girl serious.’  

they got matching aro/ace rings baby. i fucking love ace rings. i love aro rings. i love rings in general. and i think merida would like them too. 

idk its just really appealing to me that Merida DOES find love on her own time, just not in the way everyone expected her to. Since it fits with everything else about her character, and also goddamn it arospec merida just means a lot to me. i’ve said before I’m partial to demi hcs with the two of them, but honestly any sort are good. 

oh also elsa is an aro lesbian. not really related but I think its really cute to imagine Merida using their intersect of identities to worm her way into being friends. yknow. like. oho. you’re aro? i’m aro. what a coincidence...................please be my friend. 

[ghostmartyr]

I think this image of Historia as someone who always protect children is destroyed by the fact she fullstop supported and forgived that Grischa murdered her half siblings when they were helpless kids. She was in support even comforting Eren with her support of his father's actions. I want better for her character too but I think we forget that her characterization does include believing the murder of children is sometimes necessary. And that was when she was calm in the cart postcave meltdown.

One of the reasons Historia is my favorite character is that she is devotedly self-interested. She will always have a reason in her back pocket, and she will always have an argument that appeals to the person she’s talking to, but in the long line of terrible choices she’s made, they’ve always been her choices.

Her dad’s sketch af, but she wants him to like her.

Ymir slacks off so she can make the MPs, but she wants to die a Scout.

Eren wants her to kill him, but that would make her a slave.

Historia, at her core, is a decent person.

But like. Her motivations are regularly unpure as sin. What makes her entertaining is how she is either oblivious to this or fully prepared to ride and or die. I maintain that she almost kills Daz because she genuinely is too caught up in her own angst to even consider that another, taller person could play a role in that narrative.

This is not a human being who makes good choices until the fire she has started has pushed her back against the fire extinguisher.

Does she want things to be on fire? Not particularly. Did she mean to set them on fire? Maybe. Is she going to be a willing participant in putting the fire out? Oh, definitely. Or she’ll search for lighter fluid. We just don’t know.

That’s why sorting out whether or not she’d side with Eren’s genocide plan was such a festering mass of speculation. Morally, sure she’d be opposed. That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t end up helping. She only makes good choices when she’s forced to stop and think, and no one’s working hard to cook up those circumstances anymore.

In the case of her excusing Grisha, it isn’t just defending the murder of children. She’s defending the murder of her entire family, including a sister she loves.

And my personal read on it has always been that she does that so strongly, so soon after discovering it even happens, because at the time, saving Eren is fundamental to her continued sanity. Turning down godhood defying her father saving Eren living for herself; those goals all get tied together, and she’s already lost everything else she values. Suggesting the possibility that actually, Eren should die -- Historia can’t do that right then. An outcome that kills Eren has become Wrong, and that means that anything that avoids that becomes okay. To keep Eren from being sacrificed, Eren having the Founder has to be a good thing, and for Eren having the Founder to be a good thing, Grisha had to have made the right choice.

Historia's family is already dead. Whatever happened, happened, and here’s how she can make it sound good enough to get what she wants.

In the present, what she wants is to keep anyone else from suffering like she’s suffered. That’s where the kids and the farm actually come in; from recognizing that pain and working to fix it.

Historia’s morals and principles stand with protecting the downtrodden and abused. How she treats children is shorthand for that.

That’s where the problem of her going along with any of this is. Instead of destroying her family’s cycle and finding and looking after people who have experienced similar trauma, she’s starting one of her own.

Yeah, she does stupid stuff. Her moral integrity is a bizarre and evolving thing.

But in this case, her actions are an exact counter to the resolution of her character arc.

If you’re generous with your counting, she is present in 80 pages between killing her father and the end of 132. None of those pages justify the 180 turnaround that this is, or even see fit to call attention to it being one, unless you count Hange’s one panel.

Historia is willing to call the massacre of her family a net gain to protect her friend. A massacre she’s visibly upset by a few chapters prior. That says... a lot.

What it says most loudly to me is how far she’s willing to go to protect a life that’s right in front of her.

Bringing a child into the world to live out her own personal hell does not track.

[infinite-hearts-333]

Masked Love Chapter 1

Sander sides, Rociet, Human/Magical AU

WARNING: mentions of past dehumanising, reference to PTSD flashback??, um bullying reference. 

Masterpost

~~18/5/2022 6:37am (Present time)~~

“Janus?” 

Janus grumbled, pulling the weighted blanket over his head more as what sounded like his mama's voice filled his too-tired, half asleep brain. “Noooooooooo….”

“Janus! JANUS! I know you're awake up there!!”  

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” Janus groaned back, pulling the blanket tighter over his head. 

“JANNIE IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER I’LL COME UP THERE WITH THE COLD BORE WATER AGAIN~!” Came the singsong voice of his mom, and Janus full on scrambled out of bed, covers sent flying and he had to double check his claws to ensure they didn’t ensnare on anything through his half sleepy, half panicked daze. 

“COMING! COMING!! Yesh….” he called, before grumbling, yawning, completely use to the soft popping of his unhinged jaw, forked tongue tasting the air. Waffles…. Mmmmm…. 

He quickly got ready, body automatically from routine, getting changed into his clothes- a lime turtle neck, black jacket with pins and patches attached, sunflower yellow beanie, skinny black jeans and his boots. He hummed a loose tune as he moved, alike to clock work, moving to turn to his bed, tugging the poor flinged sheets back into the right position, snatching up his stuffed dragon that had fallen onto the floor and placing it on top of his pillow gently. 

Janus’s room was, in fact, the attic. His mum and mama weren't… expecting him when he showed up, but they took him in and loved him all the same. The rickety old house they had didn't have enough rooms for Janus to move into when he got older, so his parents spent ages rebuilding the attic for him. You could tell in some places- the seams where the wall met the roof weren't all the same size, the floorboards ran crookedly rather than straight, there were chips in both the walls and the floor where the wood wasn’t smooth.

But janus loved his room. It was cosy- there different metals and CD disks strung up which glinted like precious gems under the sky window, he had a large rainbow flag hanging over his bed in the corner, fairy lights stuck on the wall all around the room. Boxes upon boxes peeked out of his bed, filled to the brim with the most random things, leaves, feathers, stones, shells, bones, name it, Janus probably had it. 

Walking to where his room ended, a wall with a human sized hole in the floor, he paused by the mirror, only to wrinkle up his nose in disgust at what he saw staring back. Janus was actually pretty handsome, nice clear tanned skin, brilliant eyes that shined lime and forest green and firefly yellow all at the same time. Chestnut hazel hair that hung in ruffled curls framed his face. He was strong, a little buff and according to his mother and mamma, quite the personality. But there were two things.

Janus’s jaw. It faded into the most horrid shade of olive green, splotches of lime, deep forest green and the colour of dying cactuses for scales, littered across the bottom half of Janus’s face. Two gross dusty pink scars ran from the corners of his mouth, stretching out and curling, nearly to touch his ears, one on each side. Darting in and out of his abnormally large fanged mouth was a forked blue tongue, fading into pink at the back of his mouth, the slightest sign that janus was once human. 

He softly sighed, turning away to wander to the wall, and so the holes well, jumping through it to land on the couch flawlessly. “Morning.” He mumbled to the two females cooking and giggling at each other. “Morning' darling~!” called Mamma, smiling brightly. “Did you sleep well, little snek-a-doodle?” Teased his mum, smiling warmly as she parted from her partner to ruffle her adopted son's hair. 

Janus smiled back up at her, and couldn't ignore the pang of happiness when all he found in mum's eyes was love. “We made waffles for your big day!” Chimed Mamma, beaming as she worked at the stove. 

Ah. Right. High school. Janus groaned, leaning back to painfully donk his head against the wall. “Do I have to go?” He whined. “Yup!” his mum said, popping the ‘p’. Janus rolled his head off the wall, allowing his eyes to drop to problem number two in his life. His hands. Or well…. Talons.

Janus’s hands, a lot like his jaw dyed into that horrid olive colour, splattered with scales. He had four ‘fingers’ instead of five, each ending with a large sharp claw that was almost an ivory green if held in the right light. Scars lined his hand where the scales started, signs that janus wasn’t born with these abnormal features. 

His mum then slapped him over the head with a rolled up newspaper. “OW! Hey!!!!!” snapped Janus. His mum raised an eyebrow. “You were pulling the face you make when you're judging yourself. And I'm having none of that. You're beautiful, fullstop.” she narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to prove her wrong. Janus chuckled. “Guilty as charged.” he hummed, standing to walk over to their small island counter. 

His mom huffed, nodding, walking alongside her son, combat boots making a soft thumping noise on the tiles. Janus hid a wince as the sound of clicking heels entered his mind. 

Click, click, click. 

He swallowed, sitting.  “Here you go!!” chirped Mamma, smiling as she placed the plates down. “Thank you dear.” Mom said softly kissing Mamma’s cheek on her way past. “Thanks mamma.” Janus chipped in, trying not to show his teeth while he smiled. Mamma beamed, swirling around to plop down in her seat. 

Janus reached out to grab the berries, randomly dropping them over the waffles. He was cautious, ensuring he didn’t open his mouth too wide, taking in small little bites. Mum started talking about what she would be doing while Janus was at school, working on the new barley crops. “Those darn aphids! They've been going off everywhere!!!” Janus slowly chewed on a piece of blue berry. 

“I think you're gonna need to get some pest spray mum.” Janus pointed out. Mamma nodded. “Do you want me to pick some up honey? I’m going into town anyway for some more mango seeds.”

Janus smirked against his milk glass, washing down the waffles. “Again with the Mangos Mamma?” 

Mamma shrugged, smiling. “I want to make some jams! And maybe I might try making mango sorbet again.” Janus grinned. “Yes please!” His gaze flickered to the clock on the wall, and he sighed. “Well, as much as I hate it, I should go.” he said with a huff, shovelling the last of the waffles into his mouth and drowning the milk. 

“Okay darling, have a nice day!” Mamma said with a smile. “See you this afternoon ‘kay snek-a-doodle? You’ll help me with the cows again?” Janus smirked, collecting his plate and glass. “Absolutely.” he stated, placing his dishes in the sink. “See you this afternoon!” he called, snatching up his gloves and mask off their hanger and then scooping up his bag.

He swung his bag half on, fumbling to put on his yellow gloves. They were bulky and too big to allow room for his claws, a black band around the start of the four fingers and wrist to prevent slipping and looked ridiculous, but it was better than exposing his features to the world. He had to be careful, pausing to ensure none of his scales got caught on the fabric. He then put on his mask, a simple also yellow fabric that covered his mouth and nose. He then twisted to reach into his front pocket of his bag, pulling out his earphones and lime mp3 player, shoving the buds into his ears and turning it on, blasting the music at the highest volume. 

[ 🎶 Looking for an exit in this world of fear

I can see the path that leads away

Mama never left, and daddy needs me here

I wish the wind would carry a change

Looking through the window to a world of dreams

I can see my future slip away

Honey you won't get there if you don't believe

I wish the wind would carry a change 🎶 ]

He wandered through the fields of crops and fields of animals, waving a hello to the farmer next door. Michel, his name was, he grows the best peaches. He guessed that there was a satisfying crunch as Janus jumped from a small ledge down onto the orange autumn leaf-covered road. Wandering along the side of the road, Janus quietly hummed along to his music all the way to the bus stop. He quickly checked the suns position, having done it many many times, relieved to find he was on time and the bus should be here any minute. 

[ 🎶 I've had enough

I'm standing up

I need, I need a change

I've had enough

Of chasing luck

I need, I need a change 🎶 ]

Sure enough the death machine, painted yellow and screeching nearly as loud as its passengers came swerving around the corner, somehow audible through Janus’s music, metal rusted gears screaming as the beast came to a halt. That thing was definitely gonna kill people one day. Janus huffed, climbing the rickety steps and flashed his card at the bus driver, who looked like he had been going for six months without sleep and would snap someone's neck.

They traded nods, having known each other since Janus first ‘moved’ to the country. They never really spoke to each other, but traded nods, ‘hey’s’, and ‘mood’s’ so he was cool. Janus sat right behind the bus driver, dumping his bag next to him so no one would take the seat next to him. Not that it was necessary, everyone actively avoided him. He then maintained his death glare, slipping it on as easily as putting on his mask. 

Some kids, janus found, take enjoyment in throwing things at the bus driver, so janus took it upon himself to protect the bus driver from the nuisances, and in return, once the bus driver found out, he would keep the passengers from taking the spot so Janus wasn't forced to sit next to anyone. 

[ 🎶 I'm setting fire to the life that I know (I know)

Let's start a fire everywhere that we go (we go)

We starting fires,

We starting fires till our lives are burning gold 🎶 ]

Janus sat, guarding the busdriver and spacing out till he felt the bus sharply halt. Hip hip hooray for hell. He sighed, standing up and wandered off the bus, bidding farewell to the busdriver with a small nod of the head. He turned his attention to his new problem. 

The school's shadow engulfed him standing tall over him, and a part of janus feared it may crumble and crush him. People were chatting, boys flirting and betting, bullies shoving random people and dropping curses. Janus’s personal hell. Well, here goes nothing!

[ 🎶 I've had enough

Of chasing luck

I need, I need a change 🎶 ]

[theephatfangirl]

So... Don't know if this is also an unpopular Larry/Elounor opinion but... I'm going for it 🤷🏾‍♀️.

I don't give a hot nor cold damn about Eleanor. But I do think she's a Larrie and I support that💁🏾‍♀️

Let me explain.

But first, it's hilarious to me that she is so OBVIOUSLY, GENUINELY, SERIOUSLY, COMPLETELY a beard and people still make the time to bother her/expect things from her. If you're gonna bother that girl, show her some respect because she is doing a wonderful job... At being a horrible beard! 😂

Like... Girl never post about Louis, when she does it's old ass photos, she literally isn't doing ANYTHING not connected to Louis, and when she does it's usually linked to someone like her "ex-boyfriend "😂

LIKE, WHAT?

ITS ✨H I L A R I O U S L Y D A R K L A R R I E ✨

All I'm saying is...

You can only really be mad at Eleanor if you GENUINELY believe she IS Louis girlfriend. Otherwise, that girl is just a horrible Syco employee but she is making them big bucks. And LISTEN, we stan womxn getting that money in 2020 💁🏾‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️💁🏼‍♀️💁🏻‍♀️💁‍♀️.

In the 10 years they've been together, she has never EVEN REALLY TRIED to make this relationship believable, (hasn't been on a live with Louis LIKE EVER, never done any house tour, doesn't ever really hang with his family, doesn't go above and beyond to publicly support him, post shit about breaking up all the time, ALLOWS him to hold her hand like that OMG 😂).

I promise y'all she's a beard but she's also a certified larrie and that's all we can ask for as Larries.

Scratch that. Cause, I'll be honest, if I was a beard I would be the WORST/BEST beard E V E R. fullstop.

I would literally PUBLICLY DEDICATE a whole aesthetic insta just to taking pictures of beards 😂😂 I would start a thrift fashion line and my logo would legit be ... (You guessed it) A BEARD 🧔. I would comment on all my "boyfriend's" pics with a beard emoji! Needless to say, I'd probably be fired.

This was a rant. and all I'm saying is, could El be doing more? Sure. But, honestly what she's doing now is also passing in my Larrie book. So... I'm not pressed 🤷🏾‍♀️.

[margaretroses]

does the crown portray margaret accurately?

Hi there! :)

I can only really give you my opinion, going off of what I’ve read in her biography and/or have learned from different documentaries, but for the most part, I don’t think so. I think they play too much on her partying stereotype, and not her work or her sense of duty. Especially in series 3, which I didn’t like on the whole.

The episode which focused on her tour of the US in 1965 for example. By all accounts she did not get drunk, kiss the President or play a rude word game. I highly doubt she would have behaved that way, but she did make a great impression. She was always very professional, wouldn’t have said anything out of line (re. the Kennedy remark). 

The thing I hate the most about The Crown’s portrayal is how they insist there was some sort of competition or angry resentment between Elizabeth and Margaret. Of course, we can’t know for sure what they were like. They were known to fight when they were children, as siblings do, but Margaret was always very loyal to the Queen. I doubt she would want to outshine her purposefully. She often prayed for her, and asked friends to do the same, as Margaret said that her sister was her ‘special concern’. Their father never referred to them as ‘Elizabeth is my pride but Margaret is my joy’ which was oddly brought up a couple of times to fuel this apparent feud between them. Depending on which version you read, it’s either an ‘and’ or a comma/fullstop in the place of the ‘but’.

I’ve answered a similar question about Vanessa’s portrayal a while ago which you can read here. I hope this helped answer your question! As I said this is my opinion, based on what I’ve learned. The only people that can know for sure if she’s portrayed accurately or not are Margaret herself and those who knew her :)

[shellheadtm-a]

Bucky x Tony @involuntaryspy​ / send me a ship and-

Who asks the other on dates:  okay, it's time i was real with y'all.  tony didn't even know they were dates until date #3.  he didn't.  he had no idea.  he thought they were just hanging out.  i mean clearly that got cleared up and bucky learned a valuable lesson in how you need to be absolutely clear with tony and not let his brain fill in the blanks (i mean to him it was logical they were just hanging out), but.  it's true.  (i think it has to do with the fact that tony doesn't see cues if he's not the one doing the pursuing - i don't think a lot of people have pursued him like that in seriousness.)  anyway, they go on dates, though it's mostly bucky that has taken over their social dance card, tbh.  when tony's in new york it's usually for work or avenger things, so there's not a lot of fun to be had and besides, bucky's back in indiana usually, though if he's in new york they do things.  but bucky's the one with the connections when tony's home so it just ends up that tony comes home and finds out he's doing a thing.  it works for them.

Who is the bigger cuddler:  tony is absolutely the cuddle fiend in this relationship.  if they're both home in the same room, you can believe some part of tony is draped over some part of bucky at all times. you would think tony wouldn't be so intent on that kind of thing but considering his past history, especially all that time in the chestplate, being touchy with his person is a big deal.  he even does it while he's asleep, he latches on and has to be untangled from to get out of bed (sorry, bucky).  he likes being Close.  

Who initiates holding hands more often:  bucky might initiate it more often, but tony never hesitates, not even once.  he's schmoopy like that.  and like, yeah, he makes sure he's on the side that bucky's comfortable with, because he gets it, but also consider:  he likes to make it exceedingly clear that he's not worried about bucky's metal arm.  i mean, it's already been said, but he built it.  he loves and trusts bucky.  there's nothing in that that he remotely thinks is something to be wary of.  and you can be sure when he does cute shit like kissing the palm of bucky's flesh and blood hand he does it to the metal one, too.  it's not about being able to feel it, it's about normalizing it, associating it with daily life, as a help aid and a prosthesis instead of a weapon, as a part of bucky himself, like he's done with the upgrades he gave it to make it make daily life easier.  making sure bucky knows he loves all of him.

Who remembers anniversaries:  people need to literally let tony live!!!  he might not be able to tell anyone when they started dating, because, again, he didn't even know those were dates, but he does remember things like birthdays (just...not his own, usually).  and the stuff he can't remember, he has friday for, and since she and bucky are apparently so buddy buddy she's not likely to let tony get himself put in the doghouse by letting him forget.  he tries, though.  he just only has so much ram and processing speed and there are a lot of programs running in the background.

Who is more possessive:  that's not a thing with them.  tony doesn't really have much of a possessive streak in that way, for the most part i'd argue that he's emotionally too submissive in a lot of respects (especially in romantic relationships) and skittish because of bad experiences.  he doesn't try to keep bucky all to himself, it's why he's doing this double household thing to begin with, you know, and why he's setting up camp in another city that's becoming a tech forerunner (so he can have his office closer to home and actually be home).  he'd rather it be that they're actually living together full time, but he knows bucky loves being in indiana and loves his house and wouldn't try to take it from him for the world.  wouldn't ask him to change things, he'll change things as much as he can (i mean he still has to be in new york for weekly meetings but iron man kinda negates flight time there), but otherwise he's nested so hard himself it's sad.

Who gets more jealous:  i mean it's a fact tony has a jealous streak.  but it's not...it doesn't come out that way.  he withdraws, pulls back, instead of clinging tighter, because of the way tony's brain works and likes to lie to him (it's the depression and anxiety).  but he's forever grateful that bucky will absolutely save him from situations he'd have a hard time extracting him from with them both knowing it definitely looks like jealousy, because it's not.  bucky's teaching tony how to say no when he'd have reluctantly said yes and not wanted to and how to start learning and putting up his own boundaries.

Who is more protective:  tony can be ridiculously overprotective, if you want me to be honest.  it's because he worries.  he's redesigned bucky's gear at least twenty times and then never says anything because he doesn't want it to be taken as an insult, he just wants to keep bucky safe.  and he knows bucky won't take it the wrong way but...it's tony, it's how he is.  he doesn't want to be as overbearing as he's been accused of in the past.  but bucky's team normal and tony has a vested interest in making sure he stays unsquished.  i can also say that he's literally never made the connection between bucky running interference and it being a protective thing, at least not consciously.  subconsciously he's starting to put those boundaries in place when he just can't - though not enough to give him some breathing room yet - so if nothing else it's actually doing some good.  baby steps.

Who is more likely to cheat:  tony stark is no cheater.  it would literally never occur to him to even consider it, like...ever.  this is a guy that wasn't even sure if his girlfriend was still his girlfriend (she was ghosting) and he still turned down other people because as far as he was concerned, with no clear answer, he was still in a relationship.  tony stark is loyal.  fullstop.  tony stark married?  ten times as much.  he's someone's Person, bucky picked him, and that's it, that's all, bucky's stuck with him now forever, because tony is in reputation a playboy, in reality a mate for lifer.  and despite the fact that he's had such horrible relationship experiences - including being cheated on - he's literally never given it a thought whether bucky would, because his faith in the people he loves is unshakable.

Who initiates sexy times the most:  they're idiots, okay, i don't know what to say other than that.  it's a game, it's all a game to them, and they're both horrible little shits who get it in their heads they must have the upper hand and then nobody gets laid because they can't use their words.  it's amazing they ever actually have sex at all considering how big of idiots they are with this.

Who dislikes PDA the most:  there's pda, and then there's excessive slobbery pda.  like, they're married, they're allowed to hold hands and have the occasional cute smooch in public, they're allowed to casually touch each other but let's be honest, they're both entirely too grown to be slobbery and gross.

Who kills the spider:  the only member of this household that kills spiders is probably alpine.  you kinda feel bad about it when you know so many spider hyphen people.

Who asks the the other to marry them:  bucky, it was bucky.  and it's so funny, you know, because honestly before bucky did, tony was thinking about it and telling himself not now because it was too soon, way too soon.  like it was honest struggle, it's really kind of sad.  and funny.  like i'm still laughing at the entire thing, because tony never had a clue, never suspected a thing, never guessed, like bucky needs to put a feather in his cap about that because it's hard to keep things from tony, his thing is as much information as it is engineering and innovation, so the fact that tony showed up to his own wedding not knowing it was a wedding was.  chef kiss.  

Who buys the other flowers or gifts:  tony, we all know it's tony, because he doesn't know how to not.  he honestly wouldn't know what to do if he couldn't like.  overdo this.  and he does overdo it.  buying out a flower shop for two weeks straight?  done.  reserving an entire restaurant for a night so it's just the two of them?  double done.  paying attention to little details and wants and likes and then turning that up to eleven?  you remember the chocolate thing, you remember.  but like...for tony it's not a big deal?  he's not good with Talking About Feelings and it's easier and more comfortable for him to express things in other ways, and he has the money to do it. and if it was just spending money because he can that would be one thing but it's very specific, very pointed, he uses all those little details he pays attention to in order to do it.  and to be honest, bucky will never stop him.  he will continue to be That Way because it's what he knows and it's part of his love language, so...it's nice that it's appreciated in the spirit it's meant rather than what it has been in the past with other people, i don't think tony's ever otherwise been in a real relationship where it was a nice surprise when he does stuff like that instead of expected because he's tony stark.  

Who would bring up possibly having kids: kids aren't really a thing that's part of the bucky and tony show, and honestly, in this case i don't think...tony feels that loss as acutely as i'd have expected?  it's not a thing he thinks about much at all, to be honest.  their lives are utterly insane outside of their happy little bubble, the work will literally never be done, and they have a good life, you know.  they both have enough going on, with themselves, with the world, it's better not to add that unpredictable and vulnerable element into the equation.  and they have al.  tony's never had a pet, not really, so this is new and novel and he can direct those feelings to her and he's satiated.  he's happy.  he loves that cat so damn much, it's ridiculous, even if she's a complete and utter traitor and a bed thief.

Who is more nervous to meet the parents:  it might have been bucky but honestly i don't know that he had anything to worry about.  or maybe he did, amanda is feisty and isn't afraid to like.  take somebody out with a guitar, i love her sm.  plus she is...awesomely protective of tony and his feelings now that they've connected so of course she's gonna give bucky a shovel talk but...anyway, overall it's all very strange to tony and he has no idea what to make of any of it because he doesn't have much of a frame of reference there, so he considers bucky and amanda things to be bucky and amanda things and stays out of it, for the most part.  they seem to have made up their minds about each other and no one's getting beaned with instruments, so he'll take it as a win.

Who sleeps on the couch when the other is angry:  they don't fight.  it's weird.  they actually talk things out like adults and reach an understanding.  crazy, right?  it's like they understand they won't agree 100% on everything and have figured out a way around that.  amazing.  besides, sleeping on the couch is for the naps tony won't admit to and claim he does not take that he actually really does take.  why would he do that when he can fight the cat for dominance and sleep with bucky?  he wouldn't, that's what.

Who tries to make up first after arguments:  tony likes to have a good sulk and pout session first, to be honest.  so it's entirely reasonable that bucky would because honestly in most of tony's interpersonal relationships he's not going to open the floor to talking about his own feelings.  he's going to keep those where he thinks they belong, which is with him, but bucky will push for it which is actually a good thing.  instead of letting tony stew in whatever it is, it gets addressed.  he's safe to Have An Emotion and then Express He Has That Emotion without feeling like he's being ridiculed.  

Who tells the other they love them more often:  you know that post.  the one about "where's husband" "here's husband! here i am!"  that's it, y'all.  that's them.  that's them in a nutshell.  they're unbearably gross, it's awful, i love them.  tony takes a while to get over that hurdle, you know, admitting it out loud because he's got his issues.  but once he's past that he has no issue using it at every given opportunity.  part of it is the superhero lifestyle is unstable and once it's out there he wants to make sure he reiterates it while he can.  part of it is it becomes this ridiculous little talisman for him, that he has to say it.  part of it is because tony stark is a romantic at heart and needs bucky to know at all times that he loves him, does bucky know he loves him, because he loves him.  it's gross, it's disgusting, someone please make them stop.