#anyway if you disagree with me feel free but please be civil

[martianbugsbunny]

So a political ad that I've seen a lot recently has smthn in there about how one of the candidates supported (quote) "gender-mutilating surgeries" (unquote) and honestly that is just like so telling of...certain people's views on gender. It's something that they pin so deeply onto these arbitrary bodily characteristics, which can be fairly neatly changed by a good surgeon anyway, that to them gender is something that can be mutilated, because it's housed solely in a physical form. From my point of view it's impossible to "mutilate" gender because it's a part of the soul, the spirit, the anima of a person, which can't be touched by corporeal procedures and exists separate from the physical characteristics that are generally used to describe it.

[feminist-furby-freak]

Well can you explain Gender Ideology with who uses it and where? Can you show where I can find it? Can you describe it without conspiracy theory or recycled homophobia? You are welcome to try.

So I think some of the confusion might come from the language. I know you’re being facetious with this comment but anyway. I am literally a gender studies major so this will probably be more in depth than what you’re asking but maybe someone can benefit.

Gender Ideology™️ isn’t some sort of official concept and doesn’t have an agreed upon definition or foundational text like other social theories. It’s a way of conceptualizing sex and gender. Other analogous frameworks would be biblical gender roles, the Christian fundamentalist ideas of men and women, or postmodernist queer theory, something like Butler’s Gender Performativity.

You’re right that gender ideology is vague and non-specific and I think this is because of the interaction between academia, politics, medicine, and popular culture. Sure, academics and theorists influence society, but rarely in such a direct way (please feel free to correct me). For example, the American civil rights movement and women’s liberation movement had academic elements, but were not governed by how academics theorized race and sex, they were based on people’s lived experiences. Transgenderism, I think, is the opposite and somewhat of an escaped lab experiment. Towards the end of the 20th century, academics began to write about gender in more provocative and philosophical ways. Obviously, this was not the first time anyone had done this, but there was a huge shift in the way academic spaces thought about gender in the US after women achieved full legal rights (which didn’t happen until the 1970s btw). I’m sure the fact that women and gays/lesbians could finally be scholars and professors was important as well. Anyway, I might disagree with Butler, but her theory work is at least intellectually robust. And if you read Butler, it’s very obvious that she is first and foremost a philosopher, not a sociologist or an anthropologist, and this is clear when you hear her speak (which I’ve done btw). Contemporary transgenderism, as a social category, is a direct result of these theorists. There is a lot of misrepresenting or even rewriting history but “transgender” as we understand it today did not exist 20 years ago. We like to call people like Marsha P Johnson transgender, but he didn’t identify that way. He called himself a gay man, a cross dresser, a drag queen, a transvestite etc etc. TRAs often say “trans people have always existed” and homosexual behavior and gender nonconformity (and maybe even sex dysphoria) have always existed but trans as a concept undeniably has not. I could talk a lot more about historical falsehoods and Transgenderism but for the sake of getting to the point I’ll move on for now.

Gender ideology, is how groups like radfems refer to the Frankenstein monstrosity that is the framework Western left/progressives use today to think about gender and sex in order to be inclusive to transgender identifying people. The main ideas are that biological sex is not real and neither is sex-based oppression. It maintains that social and medical transition is necessary for transgender people to live, and that medicine is able to change someone’s biological sex (it can’t). Being transgender is not just dysphoria but some innate sense that someone’s soul is differently gendered than their biological sex (except biological sex is also somehow not real, one of many paradoxes). A woman is “someone who identifies a woman,” even though this phrase is completely meaningless. Because gender is not tied to biology sex, it relies on social ideas. As a result, gender ideology reinforces regressive gender roles and stereotypes, without which it cannot exist. 20 years ago we said boys can play with dolls and it doesn’t mean they’re gay because gender stereotypes aren’t innate and are very harmful, today “we” say that boys who play with dolls are actually girls and need to be given a pink makeover and put on medication. While society was beginning to move away from gender, gender ideology has brought it back to the center and gender is once again considered to be central to one’s identity (and personality) and maybe even the most important fact about them. For this reason “misgendering” and similar actions are considered violent attacks on personhood. Crucially, gender ideology converges with conservative gender ideals through its obsession with gender and performing femininity and masculinity.

[butterscotch-goat]

I don't get why people make Undertale AUs and suddenly because it's an AU they can give Frisk and/or Chara gendered pronouns, even if the AU has literally nothing to do with their gender. As a non-binary person, there's so little enby or they/them representation in video games so seeing someone give Frisk/Chara gendered pronouns for no other reason other than it's easier for them, or it's what they want, it hurts me. It's like being enby isn't good enough for you or real enough for you. It's not just about Frisk and Chara at that point, it feels like you just don't like enbys. Even if that's not your intention, that's how it comes across. I don't care if you make Frisk/Chara masc or fem, heck I love drawing Chara in skirts and with fem attributes myself, but their gender should remain non-binary, and they should be referred to as they/them. That's...the entire point of their characters. They have as little personality attached to them as possible so they can work as game protagonists. Anyway, if you disagree just feel free to ignore this or unfollow, I really don't wanna argue. If you have a point to bring up please be civil about it.

[eumeliafeu]

I should probably do one of these at some point I guess

Get to know me!

~My name is Eumelia(You-Me-Lee-Ah(I choose this way of doing it as it's easier to figure out then how people USUALLY put name pronunciations)) or Eumie(You-Me)

~I am a teenager currently in school so as much as I'd like to help people, I really can't. I will do my best but please don't come into my asks for anything other than fandom based stuff, this is a space for that whereas my tiktok is where I am more actively doing what I can.

~My twin is @minafeu!

~Semi baby witch and Norse/Greek pagan

~I am from the Midwest so if I say the occasional y'all that's why!

~I speak English but I can speak and understand some Spanish and can understand some Portuguese!

~To find some of my random rambles you can look for the tag eumierambles :) (it's tagged on this post too!)

~Go show op some love <3(or !) is where all of the fanart/fanfics I reblog go to. Really, go show them love guys. They're all amazing.

~I do write fanfic but honestly don't post like ever but my AO3 is Eumelia_Feu

~Currently a multifandom blog though somewhat focused on the Content SMP and maybe some other minor things :P

~I was originally an Aphblr blog!

~Had a half year stint as a QSMP blog and loved every second of it. Te amo la comunidad de QSMP, te extrañaré.

~I sometimes liveblog!

~I was once a DSMP fan but never a Dream Team fan and completely disagree with their actions.

~I am a minor but considering I have grown up on the Internet I promise you I have read/seen things worse then you can imagine :3. I promise it's not that bad if a minor interacts w/ your posts, make a safe space for them if you're so worried about them seeing weird shit. There's a reason why we can filter in things(specifically certain content), let's be civil about this for the love of the gods. There are worse things going on in the world than a minor interacting w/ your 18+ blog(especially if it isn't ONLY 18+).

~Fair warning, I have the mouth of a sailor(You might have already been able to tell) so the occasional swearing will happen.

~I do sometimes post ab discourse and things I disagree with others about so a fair warning and if you have a problem with it then fuck off because this is my blog, not yours. Feel free to block me :)

~Do not come into my asks being creepy, weird, or an asshole. I will just block you.

~As I said previously my asks are open but so are my DMs! Please please DM me if you think I should block anyone in particular.

Anyway! I hope you have a wonderful day! Blessed be!

[really-tiny-beekeeper]

I challenge everyone who reblogs this to apply this thinking not only to the people they already feel comfortably empathetic with. Whenever a man is rejected and isn't handling it well, for some reason everyone is so very happy to apply the label of "horny boy mad bc he couldn't fuck".

More under the cut because I can't stop myself.

It's especially common when commenting on groups like incels, mgtow and "nice guys", which can admittedly be a pathetic and even misogynistic lot, but in my experience, there's two camps. The toxic ones, A, who equate sex with power and status, like some kind of crown jewel that will elevate them to the status of "real man". They may also see sex as a transaction, often because of misogyny, where a man has to give a woman certain things, and a woman (who is purely acted upon like some kind of machine) has to provide something in exchange, like affection and sex. This is where you get the whole alpha theory about chads and stacies and "that bitch who wouldn't sleep with me even though i gave her flowers".

But there's also a second group, B, who equate sex with affection, who may be just as misguided, but they don't think of themselves as king's in waiting, but rather as defective or unwanted men, unworthy of positive affection in the way that society or family may have conditioned them only a woman may provide.

Only a woman may hold their hand, or be a target of affection, or share in their troubles, because sharing this with anyone but the most intimate partner would be seen as weak, incompetent, defective. Every rejection easily feeds into this loop of "I'm not enough". At this point, they're basically stuck in a depressive spiral, and they can either get help from friends or therapists, or seek out like-minded individuals, which in the age of the internet is easier than ever (finding others to reinforce a depressive feedback loop is not helping btw).

Of course, there's also those who harbour no such thoughts, who are simply bad at handling rejection, but since when were people shy about slapping a label on someone.

AND THEN there's those who belong to camp B, but are sucked up by camp A because they're either suckered in by their rhetoric or because other people already labeled them as such, so they seek out those with the same label to find companionship.

Men suffer from this entire thing to such a fundamental level that it is normalized to a worrying degree. Why do men seek out women? Sex. Why do men seek out relationships? Sex. Men can't even interact with children without having this shadow of sexual desperation cast on them. It's so gross.

And no, calling all of this the effects of "toxic masculinity" doesn't help. It just doesn't. Please stop. I beg you to stop using that term.

I hate the whole backlash like ‘you say touch starved but you actually just mean horny’ NO I mean when I was getting my hair cut there was a moment where the hairdresser tilted my head to the side and the top of my head brushed his chest and my brain short circuited with endorphins because it thought I was being held

[stormblessed95]

So I read your osaka vlive post

It can be also jin in the room right

Just coz tae said jin is in bath doesn't means jin was indeed in bath , it can be tae saying he talked with jin now and jin is in bath coz jin is now in jks bathroom also thay why jk saying now?

Coz how can jin speak to tae now when he was with jk.

And JK made only a confused face when Tae was speaking about jin. When Tae spoke about jimin and visiting his room JK was completely cool and unbothered.

And how that phone can be jimins. Yes it's a white phone. Jimin have white phone with black case. Here we can't see phones case coz it's faced up. ???

Oh my god. Do I have a jinkooker in my ask box?! Bro, wtf are you here?? I've read the jinkook Osaka vlive theories, they make no sense.

And um yeah, he looked confused. Did you ACTUALLY watch the vlive or just read theories over it. Taes "Jin is in the bath now" comment came out of left feild. It was a completely unexpected topic change. Imagine you are sitting there talking with your friend about a song you both listened to recently and then they randomly out of nowhere started talking about how they really love blue cheese. You'd be like "wtf, okay? That's nice" lol and well we obviously disagree on the reaction to his comment about jimin as well, which you would KNOW if you READ my entire Osaka post like you claim.

And this was the photo I used for the extra phone where I said it might be jimins. Bro, PLEASE. Pause reading this anon, go and put your phone face up on your table. Can you truly saw you cannot see your phone case AT ALL when it's facing up? Because I can see mine. I see the rim of purple around the outside of my phone. If it didn't hook partly around the front of the phone, idk how the case is supposed to stay ON the phone or protect the sides of the phone either?? If you zoom into the photo, I can see the rim of black surrounding the white phone. Which you already admitted matches what we know Jimins phone looked like at that time. Also I already explained how I think that Jin is the one who replied with JKs room number, saying he was in the bath so he can't go there but to go to JKs room instead.

Anyways, the whole jinkook being shipped romantically thing makes zero sense to me. But that sounds a like a you problem. Think whatever you want, ship whoever you want. No skin off my back. But stay out of my ask box if you want to talk crazy jinkook theories. I barely like the asks over crazy jikook theories lmao. JK was in there naked and eating bread with someone, but it wasn't Jin's bread 🙃

Anywho, have a wonderful day anon. Honest to goodness, unless you want to have a civil discussion, then I am much nicer in DMs. When you hide behind anon to try and ship another ship over here, i have a tendency to get a little snarky. You want an honest discussion over why I think there is nothing romantic between jinkook or my thoughts over their moments, if you come with an open mind, feel free to DM me. Otherwise, there is no point to these types of asks. Sorry 💜 anyway, while you are, have a present, because I also am in love with JinKooks bond!

[mrpenguinpants]

Andrius, Venti, and Dvalin: General HCs [+ unhinged Venti]

Oh no, not strange at all! I love seeing the art people have done on human Dvalin and Andrius. I’m not entirely sure if you wanted a Venti x Dvalin x Andrius pairing but I’m going to assume so. But just in case, I added a few points of all 4 of your hanging out. How my desk is positioned with my window, the sun is shining directly into my eyes so I have to type in this weird position unless I want my eyeballs to melt.

Also, if any of this is wrong just look away. This took forever because holy crap there is so much lore on these 3. Not sure what exactly you had in mind so I made some general/friendship HCs

Alright, today’s appreciations post is for maagdalen​​. Super lovely person with some lovely emotes. Oh and your english is really good btw^^ and ty for chatting with me 💕💕💕

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first. 

@hanniejji​​  @mikeysbike​​ @unionwitch​ @musekala​ @twistedsunnshiii​ @stanzastic​ @akaasea​ @xoneaboveallx​ @adoring-ghost​ @asheseiler​ @childelover​ @dilucsz​

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Andrius, Venti, and Dvalin: General HCs

Andrius

Andrius, also known as Lupus Boreas, was tasked with protecting the nation of Mondstadt under the request of Barbatos. He had a noble soul and mainly stays in the area of Wolvendom. He was strict, to the point, and never really partakes in whatever “foolish” activities Venti or Dvain get themselves into. But it’s all just a front because as soon as one of them get’s hurt or is in danger, his fangs and teeth are out. Even if it’s a cute hydro slime. Then he’ll take them by the scruff of their neck back to Wolvendom to get their wounds checked. On Venti it works, but with Dvalin’s dragon form. It’s amusing to see a pouting dragon getting dragged off by a wolf that wasn’t even double his size.

Not many Mondstadt citizen’s know but Andrius isn’t actually a wolf. He chooses to take the form of a wolf and should any of the wolves in Wolvendom be threaten, that’s the form he will appear in. But in truth, it was because Venti suggested it. If he was going to stay in Wolvendom and protect wolves then it made sense that his form would be the big bad wolf. Really Andrius just believes that Venti has a secret vendetta against cats and Andrius wouldn’t talk to Venti if he suggested that he take the form a dog.

There is a bit of discourse between Andrius and Venti due to Venti’s human-like appearance since Andrius views human society as a disappointment. Only accepting abandoned infants that have no where to go. But he does respect Barbatos and helped in his efforts to rebuild Mondstadt and protect it as one of the Four Winds.

While he doesn’t completely enjoy Venti’s extravagant personality he’s glad that Barbatos adopted the name and is living his life in freedom. Despite being the anemo archon, he chooses to live as Venti. Having fun in taverns and doing what he loves.

Venti

Venti always brings stories and sings for the two whenever he decides that it’s been too long since he’s seen his friends. He usually brings a bottle of wine even if he’s the only one that ever drinks - which is probably why he brings wine - which leads to Andrius scolding Venti to try and act civilized when he gets drunk and saying “No Dvalin, you cannot have some. The last time we let you drink you cried so much that Springvale still has a waterfall.”

It’s amusing to hear that after the war, the biggest problem Venti has right now is getting constantly ID checked. Dvalin takes this quite literally, since he still isn’t fully aware of taverns rules and regulations, that it takes both Venti and Andrius to hold him down before another Stormterror incident happens.

Venti has always been bold, never afraid to say anything, which was a trait that Dvalin and Andrius liked about the anemo archon. It was what made him the archon of freedom but sometimes Venti is a bit too bold and pretends to play fetch with Andrius wolf form. He is not amused. When he tries it with Dvalin, Dvalin will participate but he get’s confused and ends up just sitting beside Venti when the archon throws the stick. Which causes Venti to make a walk of shame to get the stick back.

When Venti acts as the Wind Archon it’s always a bit of whiplash when he talks in his philosophical state that it reminds Dvalin and Andrius that despite his childlike appearance and attitude, he was still the anemo archon. But it get quickly covered up when he says it’s time to switch back to Venti time.

It’s hard for them all to meet up in the present day. Dvalin stays in his domain while Andrius stays in Wolvendorm, all alone in their own domain. Venti prefers lively places than those quiet and solitude areas so he’s either in the City of Freedom or under the Windrise tree. But on occasions where he feels lonely he’ll swing by Dvalin’s lair and use the winds to carry their conversation to Andrius. Just so he isn’t left out.

If anyone asks where the ballads that Venti sings that are about a strict wolf and a nervous dragon, he’ll just say it was a passing tune he made up.

Dvalin

Dvalin, same as Andrius, lost his faith in humanity and the city of Mondstadt. He was released as his role as one of the four winds but continued to remain in Mondstadt. Similarly to Andrius he is distrustful around humans after being betrayed by them, chose to avoids human contact but he tries to adopt a more friendly side when Venti visits him.

Dvalin cares about Venti more and isn’t as standoffish in showing that he appreciates Venti compared to Andrius. Venti explained to him and showed him what freedom truly was he felt connected with someone for the first time. He did want to be understood and loved by the humans for who he was and what he wanted to protect. But that’s still a long road ahead.

He’s a curious but clumsy dragon. He’s pure of heart and steadfast in his goals which Venti is full-heartily cheering him on while Andrius disagrees but allows Dvalin to continue on this own path. Even if Andrius is on the other side of Mondstadt, he still tries to keep an eye out for Dvalin should the Abyss Order ever try and take his friend under their control.

However, due to how almost naïve the dragon is, he get’s into rather...interesting situations. While Andrius groans and Venti loses his absolute shit when Dvalin, still in his dragon form, lands and tries to observe the wolves. He only hides behind a thin tree that barely covers even 2% of his entire body and ends up scaring the wolves who run back to Andrius for safety. It takes a lot of consoling from Venti that the wolves didn’t like him, they were just scared and perhaps he should adopt a smaller form?

He’s still a bit sick from the aftermath of the Abyss Order and the poison of Durin so he can’t travel as far as he would like so Venti keeps him company. Telling him what the citizens of Mondstadt have been up to and playing music with his lyre.

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I love writing Venti, he’s so much fun. :) I say this but I live for Venti who hides behind this happy persona but is actually unhinged or deluded. I have many thoughts on this but I didn’t want to break the pace of the fic (plus this is getting pretty long anyways). So feel free to skip the rest of this if that makes you uncomfortable. I’m just spit balling right now.

But nervous and shy dragon Dvalin plus mother hen Andrius is canon. You cannot convince me otherwise.

This week has just turned into “what will we awaken today?” In other news, Lisa and Diluc. But it might be a bit late since this took some time to finish. In extra news, solo leveling just updated. Oh and jjk is (hopefully) getting a new episode tmr^^

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Barbatos

Andrius and Dvalin trust Venti to fulfill his archon duties should anything ever happen to Mondstadt. The same way Venti trusts the Four Winds will protect Mondstadt should anything dangerous arise. With the carefree nature of Venti making a sudden appearance after Barbatos’s year long nap, they both got a bit too comfortable with this happy-go-lucky version of their archon.

That is until Venti brings a fourth person into their trio. Someone who knew how to play the lyre and wished to fly and see the birds. Andrius and Dvalin share a quick look of anxious tension and it’s confirmed when Venti makes a small slip of the tongue and calls you by a certain boy’s name. They aren’t sure what to do or if Venti was starting to regress back into Barbatos and what that could mean for this innocent traveler.

“Barbatos defeated the previous ruler and left the city to rest because he didn’t want to become the same tyrant. But an archon is still an archon with responsibilities. Those responsibilities can be warped to the point that they believe they are helping and guiding their followers, but are actually trapping them in their cage. He is an archon that believes in freedom so his cage is just a bit bigger. Big enough that you can’t see the walls. Be careful traveler.”

Venti goes to greet you the next day you see him but his words seem to fade away when he approach's you. He asks if you’ve been talking to Andrius lately. You nod and ask how he knows. He says that you just spell like wolfhooks and that you shouldn’t worry about anything. 

The next day Andrius apologizes to you about his words and that he was mistaken. There was nothing to worry about and to trust Venti. You can see Dvalin a bit off to the side looking away nervously and a bit guilty.

Venti always makes sure that Andrius and Dvalin keep an eye on you, especially Dvalin when you’re in stormterror land. It was a pretty dangerous landscape to trek through. As for Andrius, he doesn’t want you to get hurt during your weekly practice fights. It wouldn’t do you any good if you got hurt and couldn’t explore this vast world with him.

[erikoon]

Hello. I am the part of slavic fan club of Ercole. My friend told me about a situation with your Giulia/Ercole art. We don't ship it but. PLEASE READ IT TO END!

I think fan community is free to shipping everything they want without being bulled. I also consider that adult! AUs may and can exist. I am really sorry for my bad English, I (we are) just really want to give you some support.

Also some words for haters

Dear Haters. I also can understand your reaction (but I don't support it) and I think that when someone draws something you don't like or when author wrote some explanation for this ship and you're disagree with this, you don't need to write about it. Of course, there is a borders. I have it too. I am against pedophilia/rape/violence. But we see two characters, that were aged up. Giulia is about 12. Ercole is 16, as he said (but he's official 18-19). And I think age up is really okay. If you blame this ship for "incompatibility" of characters, please, agree the fact of possible AUs and theories, that can explain the relationship of this couple and make them harmonious, without pedophilia and vulgarity.

Dear Author. I know that there will be some people who will not understand me and you. They could tell me that I am homophob or pedophile. I am not. I just don't want that someone will bulled at this point. Have a nice day:)

Hello! Thanks for writing me this very kind message, it was completely unexpected and made me so happy! It’s great to know that there’s a fan club of Ercole 😊

Sorry if my reply will be long, but I’d like to express what I think about what happened too.

Yes, I drew a Giulia x Ercole ship artwork. I don’t know if you saw it, but it showed Ercole paying Giulia a compliment in a self-confident and a little arrongant way (not so effective xD); Giulia was looking away, appearing to be almost upset, but she was blushing too, because she actually liked him and she found his words very flattering, despite their conflictual and inflammatory relationship.

I want to say it OUT LOUD: the scene was totally clean and sfw, I didn’t have ANY intention to make it naughty or sexualised! I simply took the scenario from my adolescent memories: the first crushes, the first interests, the way I wanted to be considered cute and pretty, the way I desired an older boyfriend… and I thought it would be nice to draw something related.

Here where I live it’s perfectly normal to see teen couples with age gaps… for example, I was 17 years old when my ex boyfriend and I got together, he was 22.

However, I decided to delete the picture because I realized the situation was becoming problematic. I imagined many people would turn their nose up at it and wouldn’t approve it, and I was completely ok with it! Everybody should be free to ship whoever they want and however they want, without conditions!

But I didn’t imagine I would get several insults and shameful accusations towards me, as well as reports on my artistic profiles. All of this for having drawn a teenager couple, it’s crazy!

I support every kind of headcanon and I like the AUs and the adult!AU too! I find them interesting and I like seeing how a relationship evolves in the future. At the same time, like the Alberca couple, I believe that the ship between Giulia and Ercole works also without aging them up, due to their different characters, their fights, their arguments and their way to consider each other important without saying it directly: they are worthy rivals.

Some rude, aggressive and senseless reactions made me feel very sad, especially because, I repeat it again, I didn’t come up with an erotic or sexual idea, so who cries scandal should reflect on their view on things and on human relationships themselves.

Last, but not least: we are talking about FICTION, anyway. People need to understand that fanarts in general have NOTHING to do with real life, it may sound taken for granted, but it seems that many people have problems dealing with this. NO ONE bullies me for shipping Luca x Alberto, but I don’t think it would be perfectly normal to ship 2 kids like them in real life, it would be creepy.

This means that making differences between Luca x Alberto and Giulia x Ercole is senseless, because shipping young characters works because they are CARTOON, not irl people, regardless their estimated age.

Ercole and Giulia don’t exist, nor they have any connection with real life. I would also reflect about on how unproductive it is to get mad at something which does not exist and will never do.

My coscience is clean, I know I’ve done nothing wrong and I will continue supporting the ship! I don’t expect anything, but I hope people will learn to ignore what they don’t like, or at least to express their opinions in a more civilized and polite way.

Thanks again, a strong hug from Italy! ❤️

Erikoon

[wizkiddx]

Nothings changed at all

ooh my first lil one  shot on here?!?! not really sure how I feel abt this one but hey ho we move.

summary: 2 years have passed with 2 people living completely separate lives. That’s until Paddy the matchmaker gets involved by not liking exams.

“Y/n?…. Y/n?” Brought out of her ferocious typing, Y/n dragged her attention away from the screen infant of her and looked around the coffee shop to identify the owner of the voice. Sure enough, standing opposite her was an adult and teen who both smiled excitedly at her.

“Nikki! Pads!” Y/n exclaimed while she jumped out of her seat to hug Nikki first, then Paddy. “Wow it’s been ages! You want to join me?”

“Yeh that’d be great!” Nikki smiled already pulling out the free chair opposite, while Paddy stole a chair from a nearby vacant table and pulled it up next to Y/n.

“God you look so grown up since I last saw you!” Nikki grinned, but her eyes held a little surprise making Y/n giggle. It had been at least 2 years since she’d seen the Hollands, and life had changed tremendously for her.

“Yeh well 24 and a qualified doctor now so it’s all happened. But speaking of… what the hell have you done with my fake baby brother Paddy?”

The three spent 40 minutes just catching up with each other, it felt like some weird family reunion. Nikki knew she would be told off by her other sons for ‘consorting with the enemy’ but Nikki really did like and miss her. It was more than clear Paddy did too. Y/n had practically been a part of the Holland family for three years while her and Tom were together, it was fair to say they had all got used to having her around. So when Nikki saw this elegant, grown young woman sat in the coffee shop she couldn’t help but say hi. 

They chatted about everything… well almost everything. There was a large gaping hole in the conversation though, where casual references to Tom would usually lie - but neither felt comfortable broaching that subject with the other. Not yet anyway. Y/n could not believe that paddy was in year 11 and taking his GCSEs, in her head he was still the hyperactive young boy who loved to play spies.

“We only came out today to give this one a break from his revision did we?” Nikki spoke kindly towards her youngest, Y/n raising her eyebrow at the tone.

“Yeh I just proper hate maths and I know I’m going to fail it-“ Paddy sighed, suddenly feeling the need to twist his empty hot choclate mug round and round, clearly nervous just talking about it. He clearly wasn’t especially gifted academically and in a school system where talents for the arts and less ‘mainstream intelligence’ isn’t celebrated - he was just considered a write off.

“We’ve been looking for a tutor for him but… well you know at this point in the year so is everyone.” There was almost a look of resignation in Nikki’s face, quite clear that Paddy had already given up. Y/n knew she had to offer, her history of tutoring meant this would be just like any of her other clients and she knew the curriculum inside out and back to front.

“Well you know… only if you want… but I still do tutoring when I have the time?”Looking cautiously between the other occupants of the little table, she wore a kind smile. It would be weird - yes. Tutoring her ex’s brother. But he didn’t have to know, and the Hollands had always been a second family to her. 

“Mum can she? Please I really need help and-“

“Only if you have time Y/n, sorry I dint mean to guilt you or anything?”

“No no you didn’t! But I would love to, you know Paddy’s always been my favourite Holland!” Nikki laughed at that, nodding her head as she looked deep into Y/n’s eyes. 

“Well then, no harm in trying right?” 

///////////////////////////////

Y/n the tutor was a massive hit. Paddy’s confidence almost instantly sky rocketed, with Y/n’s familiarity with him she knew exactly how to approach different subjects and get the best results. She would come over twice, sometimes three, times a week - but there was never any issue since Tom was away filming with Harry, meanwhile Sam and Dom were sworn to secrecy. The one hour sessions quickly evolved into staying for dinner just so Sam could practice from his cooking course. Then there was a little extra tutoring of english too, then a glass of wine or so. 

Then came the actual exams. A terrifying process not only for Paddy, but everyone else associated with it also. Somehow though, they all made it through alive and without the excuse of tutoring it just became an invite to dinner once a week. Just ‘because’. Nikki and Dom would love to say they only offered because Paddy wanted her there, but truth be told they all enjoyed her company. Especially with two of their sons on the opposite side of the world, it was nice just to have that familiarity again. She would go to the pub every now and again with Dom and Sam and just generally was a part of the families day to day life. 

Then came the night before Paddy’s results.

As expected Y/n had been invited round for a barbecue that evening, with the Hollands and some of Paddys friends families. The whole thing was just a distraction for Paddy who was nervous beyond belief. He really needed to pass to go on to college and chase his dreams of going to university. He couldn’t afford to cock up, even at the tender age of 16.  So fair to say a jovial evening where the word ‘GCSEs’ was banned - it was exactly what the boy needed. Everyone sat in the garden chattering away happily, enjoying the glorious and rare British sunshine. 

Sam popped inside to go to the loo, but on his way was dragged by unfamiliar hands round the corner into a study room. He shrieked in fright, before his eyes widened in recognition.

“Missed us?” Harry smirked as he let go of his twin however he was immediately pounced on by Sam, who had of course missed his twin brother for the half a year he’d been away. Next he turned to Tom, the both of them laughing as he hugged his older brother, Sam having to hide his surprise at his bulkiness. The new role obviously had him working out a hell of a lot.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“We got some time off and mum said Pads is terrified so we thought we’d pop in for moral support.” Harry exclaimed, clearly very proud of themselves for organising it for their littlest brother. 

“ Does anyone know?”

“Um… well you…now” Tom couldn’t hide his mischievous grin, making Sam shake his head at his over excitedness “So what’s going on? Is it a party or something?”

“I’ve just done a barbecue for Paddy friends families… you remember Jack? Another guy called Zak and then two girls too-“

“Ah cool so we will just walk out and surprise him?” Harry asked and Sam was about to encouragingly agree, until something struck him.

“I…um…Tom there’s something you need to know.” His voice was deadly serious and Harry noticed the warning tone; Tom always oblivious didn’t catch on so quick, just scoffed and asked why.

“While you’ve been away…. Paddy had tutoring to help and um well… Y/n-she’s here.” Tom closed his eyes and shook his head, taking a breath and gulping it down before looking intently at Sam.

“She…she what?”

“Mum bumped into her in town and she got Y/n to help Paddy with maths. I don’t know… she’s here for Paddy and well…”

“Mum knows that we aren’t speaking right?” Sam nodded in defeat, taking a small step back from his brother “and she still…she still did this?”

“You were the other side of the country and you know how close Paddy and Y/n were. And by the way she worked it looks as if she might’ve made him pass which would be a miracle in itself! So please can you just be civil?”

“It has been like 2 years Tom” Harry, very unhelpfully, felt the need to input - earning him a glare from both of his brothers. Tom just shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot, eyes glued to the floor.

“Yeh…I mean we are adults” His words were stuttered, as if his brain was desperately trying to force out words his heart completely disagreed with. Harry and Sam knew of course, they knew their brother never really had got over his first love. With a sympathetic smile Sam led the way out of the study room.

It was fair to say to Holland’s were ecstatic about the twos return, Paddy’s face had been the most priceless because although he was 16 - he still really was an overexcited little kid. The whole garden energy skipped about twelve levels when they walked in, Paddys friends and families also a little excited to see ‘spiderman’ in real life. Yet Y/n… she was less pleased. Sam had instantly come over to her asking if she was okay. Which she was. Unlike her ex, Y/n had properly got over him and had serious relationships since. She just felt awkward for him, she was in the way of a family reunion, she was the sceptre at the feast. Bless Sam for keeping her company, they sat on the outdoor furniture in the corner and just chatted, while Mr centre-of-attention relished all the love from his family. She knew she should leave, so leaned closer to Sam to barely whisper. “I’m gonna go now”

“Y/n you don’t have to, Pads still wants you here and-“ 

“Sam could you give us a minute?” 

Interrupted by the oh so familiar voice, Y/n smiled nervously at him, before giving Sam a side eye saying it was okay for him to leave. Swapping seats Tom sat down in Sams seat, running  a hand through his hair nervously. 

“Look Tom I was just going to go so you guys can have a proper reunion and-“

“Please stay. Paddy wants you here and tonights about him so?”

“That’s very kind of you but...well you made it clear we couldn’t be friends. I don’t want to intrude and-“

“That was years ago and I was being naive. For paddy please?”

“Tom I….I’m-“ Stopping promptly as she was interrupted.

“staying yes I agree. Now come on he’s looking…” Tom lowered his voice as he motioned over to Paddy standing with Sam, who appeared to be watching the exchange between the two ex lovers intently “so pretend I said something funny, laugh and then we can go mingle”

“Hard to imagine… you have no sense of humour” She smiled sarcastically, before throwing her head back laughing - as if she had said something hilarious. Tom knew he had to join in, however much he tried to hide the grimace at her remark.

“ You haven’t changed at all” He muttered under his breath following her as she stood up and headed back towards the main group.

“Oh but I have” Tossing her head to look back at him, flowing hair flicking round too “I’ve learnt my worth.” Her words were dripping with sass and a little passive-aggressiveness, but all Tom could think was how amazing she was, how much he had missed that little smirk she did while flicking her head back round and pull Paddy in for a side hug. 

////////////////////////

The evening flew by, all of Paddy’s friends and their families went home, yet Y/n stayed and chatted with the Hollands as if this was completely normal. They had all long since migrated into the sitting room while the sun was setting, playing some board games of Paddy’s choice - his results long since forgotten early that evening. Truth be told, Y/n really enjoyed catching up with Harry and although they hadn’t really had any personal conversations- seeing Tom and taking the piss out of his uselessness at the games was also very enjoyable. After her and Paddy’s turn ended Y/n excused herself to go to the toilet but instead of going straight back to the living room she went to grab herself a glass of water.

“Oh Y/n… I was meaning to catch you” The soft and very very familiar voice startled her a little, the warm tone sending shivers down her spine as if a reflex. Turning round to see Tom leant against the counter with a small smile.

“Well what’s up then?” She tried not to be too open too quickly, as much as her heart just wanted to skip the small talk. 

“Just wanted to catch up, it’s been a while and just feel like we should be friends since my family seem to sort of adopted you” She scoffed at his statement, very obviously rolling her eyes, a little annoyed.

“And who was it that didn’t want to be friends huh?” She raised an eyebrow and this was Toms turn to scoff as he looked down at the ground.

“Yeh yeh I deserve that… shall we just skip past the blaming me huh?” The cockiness wasn’t hidden in his voice and that made her laugh, clearly not that shy. In fact he was terrified, but wanted to look as if he didn’t care, like he was flippant. 

“Alright Spiderman, so how’s life?” …

The truth about their break up was quite simple. Tom had got too busy and had stopped making time to their relationship. Y/n grew tired and had had enough, which he completely understood. He’d tried to promise more effort, flying back for extra weekends but they both new they were hollow, it wouldn’t be maintained. Their last meeting hadn’t been an angry shouty one, rather just depressingly sad. They’d both been upset, recahingn a mutual conclusion it was just the wrong time. Which they had both agreed with... but one thing they hadn’t. Tom thought it was like dangling a carrot in front of his face, having Y/n still present in his life. He had given her an ultimatum, they either keep going on together p as a couple or they would become strangers. And that’s where it had been left 2 years ago. 

They spent the next half an hour or so, chatting away as if nothing had ever happened. It felt normal again, all jokingly catching up about the most ridiculous things - the low hum of the left on radio in the background. That was until a certain song  came on the radio - it was ridiculous, the most insane unlikely eventuality to happen. Their old song. 

Of course that would happen. Y/n released a breathy laugh and Tom’s grin just grew and grew across his face, slowly transferring into a smirk. He stood up from leaning across the counter, that Y/n was now sat cross-legged on top. In his ever so dramatic movie like style, he rounded the counter to her side, and held an arm out to her. 

“Dance with me”

“Tom that’s-“

“Oh come on, dance with me!”

“You’re ridiculous”

“I know. So dance with me?”

“Tooommm” She drew out his name in refusal, but her body said something else as she slid off from the counter - delicately landing on tiptoes as she lowered herself down. 

“Just come here, for old times sake” He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, transferring his hand to hover at her waist, not touching until she  gave him a small nod in permission. Hesitantly she knew where her hands were supposed to go and slowly drifted them up to round his neck, but balanced  her forearms further on his collarbones so she held her own hands rather than gripping his neck as was natural. They slowly moved in unison, just slightly rocking from one side to another - Tom’s eyes locked on hers.

“So are you happy?” Something about the way he said it made her internally shudder. It was the pure care, all his sarcasm and cockiness stripped back to expose himself just for this moment.

“Um yeh… I don’t know feel like I’m starting to figure out this whole ‘life’ thing.” She smiled up at his chocolate brown eyes, while he seemed to absorb all she said. 

“And he treats you well?”

“He?” She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion, cocking her head to the side slightly.

“Oh er… before you said that ‘we’d moved out’ and I just assumed-“

“Ah um yeh I moved in with someone but he’s not in the picture anymore… got the bed to myself again” Tom thought she didn’t seem very affected by it yet still felt guilty for bringing it up.

“I’m sorry… er how long? Are you okay?”

“Yeh I really am. A year and a half so we taught each other a lot, but it was mutual. We’re still friends.” Smiling, Y/n watched as Tom nodded minutely and they drifted to silence, listening to the song bringing back all sorts of memories. “What about you? Got yourself a super model I assume?” She didn’t mean to ask that. Because why did she need to know? She didn’t care about that. Did she? Tom chuckled nervously before replying.

“Umm no. I haven’t really dated anyone since… just all the travelling and everything doesn’t really work with the dating scene.” His voice was quiet, as if hiding something, and he couldn’t meet her eyes looking at the floor.

“Oh… yeh I get that” Unconsciously letting her hands slip back, connecting with the back of his neck- instantly making him meet eyes with hers again. They just stared at each other, still swaying from side to side as the music flowed. He didn’t want this moment to end. And secretly… neither did she. 

“I can’t take you seriously when you look at me like that”  Breaking the intensity, nervously Y/n giggled, leaning away - but Tom’s arms, still on her waist, kept her from going anywhere. 

“Like what?” His eyebrows raised, enjoying her nervous flush present on her cheeks a little more than he should. 

“Like nothings changed” She all but whispered, the gap between the two almost magically diminishing. The pause was long as Tom tried to  formulate the idea he so wanted to get across. 

“ Maybe that’s because… right now I have exactly the same feelings I did two years ago… that maybe I want so badly to kiss you?” His voice was barely audible at the point, but their faces were barely centimetres from each other; noses hovering side by side as his lips brushed hers. He didn’t want to push her, yet at the same time one of his hands moved to her cheek - gently cupping it as his eyes flicked between her wide eyes and pink flushed lips. 

“Maybe… maybe you should kiss me then?” The tension was palpable as she drew out her words, purposefully teasing him a little. Because she wanted to keep him on his toes. When her heard her suggestion she had to stop herself from giggling at the smile that instantly grew across his face, the way his pupils grew in shock . Safe to say he didn’t reply, instead slowly and delicately pressing his lips on hers. She reciprocated tentatively and deepened the kiss bit by bit. Her hands now running through his hair on the back of his head, Toms other hand now on the small of her back - closing the distance completely, their bodies connected. It didn’t last long before she pulled away the most seductive smile on her face, while Tom subtly tried to regain the breath that had been knocked out of his lungs. 

“We should go back” She whispered, while running her thumb over his left flicky eyebrow that always intrigued her. Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed in concern, worried he had made her feel uncomfortable. Instantly recognising this, she calmed his nerves very simply by pressing a fleeting kiss on his lips once again, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the living room.

As soon as they entered Y/n and Tom both realised how long they’d been in the kitchen. The game long since abandoned, probably waiting on one of their returns at their go, the rest of the Hollands now all sat lounging on different areas of the sofa - who all immediately looked up as they shuffled in. Luckily the lights were dimmed for the movie playing on the TV screen, so that no one would see her blushing cheeks. She sat in the middle of the sofa which only paddy was on, and Tom followed sitting next to her - but not too close that it would be suspicious . No words were exchanged throughout, though Nikki did exchange a knowing look with Dom - who had seemingly finally learnt when to keep his mouth closed. Both Y/n and Tom pretend to fix their full attention on the film for a short while, even if both their brains were whirring away with very very separate thoughts to any critical analysis of the storyline. 

After about 10 minutes though, Tom pulled his leg up, just so it was obscuring the view to the sofa opposite and took the opportunity to clasp Y/n’s hands in his. Slickly, even though she wasn’t expecting the contact Y/n didn’t react her eyes still trained on the TV. However, Tom didn’t miss the small upward tug on her lips as she squeezed his hand back. No one noticed.

Except Paddy. 

Paddy from his vantage point on the sofa he was sharing with the two, peered over subtly as he went to the loo - and a massive smirk appeared across his face. He might just’ve got his sister back.

[adhd-wifi]

Madam Yu is an Amazing Character, Here's Why

What's up guys it's been 57 years but I finally have another meta lmao. Shoutout to those who helped me decide on this one, and for those who wanted the Yi City analysis? Don't worry that's coming soon lol.

So Madam Yu is a really important character in MDZS, and here’s a whole meta post about why I think she’s (in my opinion) the best-written minor character in the entire story. Quick note though, this meta is going to focus on the animation specifically, because that’s my favourite version of Madam Yu (though design-wise, Audio Drama Madam Yu is best lmao). The novel and CQL versions will be mentioned, but I don’t quite remember all the novel details and I don’t really like CQL-Madam Yu, so yeah. ^^; Also, this is talking about her character writing, not her morality as a person if she were real. Feel free to disagree with the post, but here's my take on her and why I love her despite not liking her as a person.

Anyways let's goooooooo. Warning: This is pretty long cuz I have a lot of feelings about Madam Yu ZiYuan. 

Madam Yu is a very well written character, easily the best written female and minor character in my opinion. From her very first appearance, we are shown much of her personality in very little time. In the novel, we are told of her fearsome reputation and why she goes by Madam Yu instead of Madam Jiang, followed by her verbal abuse towards Jiang Cheng in front of the other disciples. In the animation, she is shown talking down to the struggling disciples and scowling as soon as she sees Wei WuXian, despite smiling at Jiang YanLi moments earlier. In CQL, she is shown with a commanding authority over her husband and children, and in all three versions we’re shown how much she hates Wei WuXian. We also see her verbally abusing Jiang Cheng (Wei WuXian in the animation) in her introduction scenes, but also some degree of motherly love showed by how she adjusts Jiang Cheng’s clothes (or showing a kind smile to Jiang YanLi in the animation). 

Her introduction scenes alone tell us the core important traits of her character: That she’s a fierce and prideful woman, that she is a powerful cultivator with a frightening reputation (the animation and CQL also make a point to show ZiDian in her hands in her introductions), and that she is an abusive mother despite having love for her children (but not Wei WuXian). We also instantly understand that SHE is the reason why Jiang Cheng is so uptight about saving face for the Jiang Sect when Wei WuXian never seemed to give a fuck about it (he does, but you know, teen Wei Ying lol), berating Jiang Cheng constantly about how he doesn’t seem to be doing well enough despite being the future Sect Leader. She’s kind of the epitome of the “It’s for your own good” brand of abusive parent. 

There’s a scene in the animation, Episode 6, that strongly shows the discord between her and Jiang FengMian. This scene, though hard to watch cuz my favourite character is Wei Ying, is one of my absolute favourite character building scenes in the whole adaption, which makes me sad that it’s not in the other mediums (that I’m aware of). If you haven’t seen the animation, PLEASE go watch it because gods that’s my favourite version of Madam Yu. 

In this scene, Madam Yu is relaxing alone in one of the pavilions late at night, and Jiang FengMian joins her. She’s civil at first, speaking without any real hostility as she asks what he was doing out so late. He offers her a gift in the form of a jade hairpin, and says he bought it because he thought it was beautiful when she asked why he bought “such a useless thing”. Jiang FengMian then tells her of Jiang YanLi and Jin ZiXuan’s arranged marriage being called off, and while she’s obviously annoyed, she still doesn’t speak with the same fierceness or hostility as she did previously. 

That is, until Jiang FengMian makes a comment about how the children should not be forced into a marriage without love between them.

This is clearly a sore spot for Madam Yu, who immediately becomes hostile. Even the gentle music takes a darker turn for the shift in tone. She then makes a comment about how “Wei Ying always causes trouble”, and subtly looks back to gauge Jiang FengMian’s reaction. As soon as her husband defends Wei WuXian, she lashes out. She accuses Jiang FengMian of treating Wei WuXian better than his own son, and goes as far as to say that if Jiang Cheng had started the fight with Jin ZiXuan, Jiang FengMian wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to help him. In Madam Yu’s defense for this accusation, it’s not completely an unfair assumption, as Jiang FengMian does canonically treat Wei WuXian better, and the fact that he didn’t even try to deny Madam Yu’s accusation is very telling. Madam Yu then laughs bitterly about how Sect Leader Jiang will always be there to clean up Wei Ying’s messes before she walks away without a word, and the scene cuts to Wei WuXian watching them forlornly in the distance. 

I really really love this scene as character building, because from this scene we are very quickly shown Madam Yu’s personal problems, and how she resents her unhappy marriage and blames it on the child she believes took it from her, but the scene also doesn’t hold back on showing that she’s the one being unreasonable and unwilling to talk things out because she lets anger, pride and resentment control her. We see how she was fine and willing to try and talk at first, trying to reason with Jiang FengMian about why the marriage should be carried out, because their daughter does like Jin ZiXuan, and she also wants the Jiang Sect to have good relations to the Jin Sect like the Meishan Yu Sect does due to her close friendship with Madam Jin. This shows that she does care about her daughter’s feelings and that she’s doing what she can to help the Jiang Sect. But as soon as the sore topic of the loveless marriage is brought up, she blames Wei WuXian for it and starts the argument. 

From this scene, we also learn the extent of Jiang FengMian’s favouritism and how it hurt Madam Yu as well as their son, and having Wei WuXian watching their argument creates a nice transition into the next scene where he apologies to Jiang YanLi for ruining the marriage, showing that he feels guilty about the situation and most likely, the discord between his adoptive parents in general. 

As the story goes on, we see that Madam Yu’s problem is basically based ENTIRELY around Wei WuXian. She gets mad at Jiang YanLi for peeling lotus seeds for him. She gets mad at Jiang FengMian for giving Wei WuXian a choice to go or not to go to the Wen doctrine. She gets mad at Jiang Cheng for trying to calm her down and berates him for not being as good as Wei WuXian. As the audience, we are more sympathetic to Wei WuXian’s point of view, and so far Madam Yu comes off as an abusive bitch who hates him for no reason. 

Then after the whole XuanWu incident, we get the scene where Madam Yu storms in on Wei WuXian’s conversation with Jiang FengMian and Jiang Cheng. And holy fuck does it make her seem even more unredeemable than she already was. She comes in right as Jiang FengMian is scolding Jiang Cheng for not upholding the family values, refusing to recognize Wei WuXian’s accomplishment and saying he was bound to bring ruin to the Jiang Sect sooner or later. When Jiang FengMian asks her why she was there, after all it’s common knowledge that she doesn’t care about Wei WuXian’s injuries, she intentionally aggravates him by literally grabbing and shoving Jiang Cheng into her husband’s face, forcefully reminding him that Jiang Cheng was their “true son”. She accuses him of disliking Jiang Cheng because she was the mother, then accuses him of actually being Wei WuXian’s real father. And with that, we instantly know what he whole fucking problem is. 

It’s jealousy. She had been jealous of Jiang FengMian’s feelings for CangSe Sanren this whole time, and took it out on an innocent child who lost his family at a young age. All that unreasonable, misguided resentment, all directed towards a dead woman’s son. A dead woman her husband was most likely in love with, who hadn’t even returned those feelings. 

Personally, when this scene showed up, I decided, “Yup, I fucking hate this bitch.” But I will say this, this scene was also such a good character building scene. It amplified the drama, always necessary in ancient Chinese stories, and was a catalyst that led to a very important plot point: Wei WuXian’s promise to Jiang Cheng. 

Time to talk about how Madam Yu actually functions as a plot-driving character! 

As I just said, this scene drove Wei WuXian to make the promise of becoming Jiang Cheng’s right-hand man in the future, and it was a promise he had fully intended to keep. Madam Yu, and to a lesser extent also Jiang FengMian, were the driving force behind that decision. By now, we as the audience fully understand the core factors of Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng’s insecurities. Wei WuXian feels like he doesn’t have a proper place in the Jiang Family because of Madam Yu, and Jiang Cheng feels like he’s never doing enough to please either of his parents. The abuse from Madam Yu and the neglect from Jiang FengMian weighs down on Jiang Cheng’s shoulders constantly as he feels unloved by both parents, meanwhile Wei WuXian believes he is what ruined the love for the family just by being alive. 

To me, Madam Yu is the strongest catalyst character in the story because she drives the story’s two central characters, Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng, in a way that both explains and exploits their insecurities and the decisions they make because of those problems. She is legitimately the primary reason why both boys are so messed up (though Jiang FengMian played no small part in that too), and we feel the effects of her actions on the two of them long after she's dead. Which brings us to the big topic of her death. 

Now, let's be real, Madam Yu was still kind of a fridged woman like Wen Qing and Jiang YanLi. However, in my opinion she was at the very least a fridged woman done right. The reason for this is that both Wen Qing and Jiang YanLi were overall much weaker characters (especially in the novel) and essentially both died for no real reason except to cause more tragedy and pain for Wei WuXian to push him to his death. They both only died to set up Wei Ying's death, which is why I'm furious about that, but that's for another post (let me know if y'all want it lol). But Madam Yu's death? Her death was far, far more significant and there's a huge reason why a lot of fans, regardless of which adaptation they follow, agree that Madam Yu's last scenes were her best ones. 

Now, onto the analysis of the massacre of Lotus Pier. It started with Wang LingJiao’s pompous ass waltzing in and demanding that they chop off Wei WuXian’s hand and submit to the Wen Sect, even after Madam Yu violently lashed out at Wei WuXian with ZiDian to the point where he shouldn’t have been able to move for days (the animation doesn't agree though cuz they wanted a cool fight scene lmao). This scene is very interesting for Madam Yu’s character, because you can interpret it in two ways; one that makes Madam Yu seem to hold SOME sympathy for Wei WuXian as a member of the Jiang Sect, or another that shows her tactical insight as well as her pride for her Sect and status, or even both. Later in the story, Wen Qing reveals that Madam Yu hadn’t actually hurt Wei WuXian as badly as she claimed, and we can interpret this as either her not truly wanting to cause lasting damage to Wei WuXian, or that she knew there would be a fight regardless and made sure Wei WuXian would be able to fight the Wens off along with her and Jiang Cheng. Madam Yu has previously made it clear that she believes in Wei WuXian’s skills in combat and cultivation, shown in her berating comparison of him and Jiang Cheng, so it would make sense for her to keep one of the Jiang Sect’s strongest fighters on his feet while putting on a show for Wang LingJiao in case it was enough to satisfy the Wens into leaving them alone for the time being (while probably finally having an excuse to act violently against the poor kid she hates maybe). Personally, I do think it is more of the latter, but I also don’t think Madam Yu is one to turn to physical abuse too much. Yes, she slapped Jiang Cheng in the shoulder in the novel introduction and shoves him around when she’s angry, but aside from that we have no reason to believe she actively and frequently engages in physical abuse against them as they never seem to be scared of her in that way, and Jiang Cheng was particularly horrified and scared when she did hit Wei WuXian in that scene with Wang LingJiao, so I lean towards believing it was a rare occurrence (not that emotional abuse really any better, but you know.) 

Quick bonus point, I love how in CQL she just nods at JinZhu and YinZhu and they immediately know what to do, and also when she trusted them to hold Wen ZhuLiu off while she escaped with the boys. It really shows how close the three of them are despite being mistress and servants, having grown up and trained together. JinZhu and YinZhu are criminally under-utilised and I will be forever bitter about it.

In the scene that follows, the animation has my whole heart once again. Mostly because it was the best fight scene don’t @ me, but also because it showed her fighting side by side with Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian. Madam Yu took the frontline first, taking out the large group headed towards them before letting the boys rush forward ahead of her to fight, only taking over the main fight when Wen ZhuLiu entered the fray. During their battle, Wen ZhuLiu used the body of a dead Wen to block her attack, blinding her with blood as she paused in shock at the unexpected action. Realizing she could not win the unfair fight, Madam Yu quickly switched tactics and escaped, aiming to make sure that the Jiang heir survived. I really liked seeing her fight alongside them, even though it doesn’t totally make sense with Wei WuXian’s injury, because it does give a better look into them being able to function as combat partners. It is implied that Madam Yu trained them more than Jiang FengMian did and that'sthe headcanon I go for myself, so I enjoyed that scene a lot. Then comes her biggest defining moment, her final scene with Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian. Please note: This is 100% the animation and why anime-Madam Yu is best Madam Yu.

Madam Yu shoves Wei WuXian into a boat, screaming that this was all his fault. She knows it’s over, that there’s no chance of winning this fight, so she gives ZiDian to Jiang Cheng, and tells him, in the softest voice we’ve ever heard from her, to leave. When Jiang Cheng starts begging her to escape with them, she gives into her emotions and pulls her son in for a hug, telling him he’s a good child. Jiang Cheng is shocked, likely never having received her affection like this before. Here, Madam Yu has no reason to hide her feelings anymore, because she knows she's going to die, and she knows she cannot bear to flee Lotus Pier as she is the Jiang Matriarch and has her pride. She spares Wei WuXian, but I don't think it's because she wants him to live. I think she spared him to ensure her hot-headed son will have someone to protect him, because she knows that Jiang Cheng will absolutely try to save her, and because she fully believes that Wei WuXian absolutely will fulfill that promise. She knows Wei WuXian is loyal to the Sect, and more importantly, to Jiang Cheng. She knows that while Wei WuXian is more reckless and impulsive, Jiang Cheng is the one who reacts more emotionally. Just like herself. When demanding that Wei WuXian give his life to protect Jiang Cheng, she’s not simply giving him an order as a master to a servant. She was telling him, in her own way, that she cannot protect Jiang Cheng as she believed she was doing any longer, and entrusts that task to Wei WuXian, because he’s the only person who can do so. In this very moment, she knows she’s walking to her death, and she knows she would never see her children again, and doesn’t know if her husband would even return for her, because she genuinely believes she’s unloved by him. So, she gives her family to Wei WuXian in the worst way possible, and we see her biggest flaw of her unyielding pride also being her greatest strength as she fights to protect her family and home one last time.

This scene, this GODDAMN scene, is Madam Yu’s most defining moment as a catalyst character, because now her character has served its full purpose. It’s the moment both we as the audience, AND Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng, see that she is more than an abusive, jealous mother. She is more than just prideful and fierce. She’s also a “real” person with emotions and problems she never managed to work out, but did truly love her son, her family, her sect. But she was also never going to be redeemed, because she refused to face her own demons even to the very end. She was such a prideful and stubborn person, that she died upright, holding on to her sword in a refusal to kneel to the Wens. And for Jiang Cheng, to see the proudest, most powerful person he knew, dead and disrespected by Wen Chao and Wang LingJiao, well, can you blame him for snapping? 

Madam Yu’s presence in the story was primarily to set up the conflict between Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian. Her problems, her abuse, caused them to develop insecurities that became their worst flaws, with Jiang Cheng always feeling inferior because she always told him he was inferior, and with Wei WuXian’s guilt and tendency to blame himself for anything that goes wrong around him. Jiang FengMian’s lousy parenting and neglect (y'all want an analysis on him too cuz he's honestly a really interesting take on a bad parent imo), which is also a form of emotional abuse by the way, shouldn’t be ignored, but Madam Yu is simply the better and more impactful character. We see how her starting arguments with Jiang FengMian push the boys into heartfelt talks, leading to the promise between them before Lotus Pier fell. We see how she set up Wei WuXian’s feeling of owing an unpayable debt to the Jiang Sect, and to her for sparing his life to protect her son. But she also wasn’t simply a plot-device-abusive character type. She is fully shown to have her own motivations, her own problems unique to her, and her own strengths and flaws in ways that a lot of other minor characters don’t get, especially in the animation. Hell, not even Jiang YanLi, a character supposedly being more significant than her, got such an in-depth character. Madam Yu isn’t a developed character by any means, but she has a lot of depth, and the impact she left on both the audience and the canon characters is felt long after she’s dead. When Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian break things off, Jiang Cheng talks about how Wei WuXian is the perfect disciple of the Jiang Sect, and that leads to Wei WuXian leaving so he “doesn’t cause them any more trouble”. Wei WuXian cannot abandon the ideals of the man who took him in all those years ago, but he also felt that he had given his all to Jiang Cheng already in his golden core, and thus he felt that he should respect Madam Yu’s presumed wishes and stop causing more problems for them. Even far, far later on, Wei WuXian still feels guilt towards her and Jiang FengMian’s death and wishes to pay respects, but doesn’t argue with Jiang Cheng when he’s told that he doesn’t deserve even that. And honestly, we also just know who’s fault that unreasonable guilt really is. 

I say Madam Yu is the best minor character, and a fridged character done right, because she genuinely felt like an actual person, an actual abusive mother but also a human being with her own complex feelings while also being an overall bad person who (arguably) needed to be out of the protagonist's life. To get a little personal for a moment, Madam Yu strongly reminds me of my own mother, who is quite emotionally abusive, though not as extreme, which might have made me feel more realism from her than most other minor characters and definitely made me think that MXTX has some personal experiences herself. The animation is the best at this, because her tones and expressions change drastically here and there when it’s needed, plus her voice actress does such an outstanding job conveying her emotions instead of just shouting everything like the novel and CQL presents it, but she maintains her pride, the most defining trait, both her greatest strength and greatest flaw, until she was no longer needed in the story. A lot of stories with such a character tend to give them an emotional breakdown before they end their arc, but Madam Yu had none of that (...except...in CQL...I guess...yeah that’s why I don’t like that one). Her death was to push the story and the motivations of two male characters forward, and I agree that it’s not fantastic given that most other women died within the same story for male plot progress, but her death actually felt, to me at least, like it also had a genuine purpose to her own character as well as the plot. Wen Qing’s death was heartbreaking to me because I love her and she is my QUEEN, but narratively pointless especially since Wen Ning came back and in the end she was only really there to perform the golden core transfer. Jiang YanLi’s death was just...utterly unnecessary man pain. I have made no secret of hating how her death was handled. 

With Madam Yu, I personally really liked that she essentially was an irredeemable person that would never change herself out of pride so she almost needed to die, but was still human nonetheless. And going by MDZS’s heavy theme of grey morality, she fits the theme perfectly. And that’s why, while Madam Yu may be an abusive and terrible person, she’s easily one of the strongest characters in the whole story, right up there with Wei WuXian, Jiang Cheng, and Jin GuangYao in my opinion. 

I hope y’all enjoyed this monster of a post of me rambling about the angry purple lady.

[hoebiirama]

Things to Know Before You Request

✿ RULES ✿


↳ I take requests for headcanons only. There is a possibility that I may write some one shots eventually, but from experience, it’s better if I don’t take requests for those like, ever. I’m a very slow writer and I’m also shit at one shots, so I will spare you the disappointment and keep it to headcanons. They’re easier and more fun to work on, anyway.


↳ Now, I am a very biased person, which means that I’ll generally have more inspiration and motivation to write about my favourite characters first (i.e., Founders Trio, Kakashi, Sasuke (I have a complicated relationship with him. He’s my son but I wouldn’t hesitate to slap him. Still one of my faves though), Shikamaru and Ino. That doesn’t mean this blog is restricted to those only, however. Feel free to ask about any character from the original Naruto series (I haven’t caught up on Boruto yet, so I won’t be much of a help there I’m afraid) and I’ll do my best to… not neglect them lmao.

↳ I don’t know who in their right mind even likes them but just be aware that there is absolutely nothing good that I can say about Danzō, Hiruzen and Zetsu and I will not hesitate to trash them any chance I get. Just a heads up if for some reason you’re one of those weirdos who likes them.

↳ Please keep in mind that everything I will say in my headcanons aren’t made to be taken seriously. They’re only what I think, so if we disagree, please stay civil and respectful if you want to share your opinion. I’m always open to new perspectives.


↳ Bigotry of any kind will not be tolerated. If I catch any of you say anything that can potentially hurt a vulnerable group of people I will personally come to your house and kick your ass into the sun. That’s not a threat. That’s a promise.

↳ While we’re on the topic of vulnerable people, something I hate to see are requests that imply that mental illness can somehow be cured if someone else loves you enough, and that’s an extremely harmful mindset to have. I can and absolutely will write about how certain characters will support you through your struggles, but not about their love being a magical cure for it.

↳ Speaking of which, please do include a trigger warning before typing out your request. Better be safe than sorry.

↳ I do accept requests for specific ships between two canon characters. As long as it’s, you know. A consensual thing. Between two adults. And, obviously, I also do reader inserts. Y/N shall never be forgotten.

↳ This is a kinkshaming-free space. I’m very comfortable with NSFW stuff, and I’m comfortable writing pretty much everything except the more extreme stuff—by that I mean scat or emeto, so really, outside of those two things (once again, as long as it’s between two consensual adults), you can ask me anything—so don’t be scared to ask for NSFW stuff. Fair warning, however. I’m not responsible for the mental scarring if you ask me to give my all and come up with the dirtiest stuff I can think of. I don’t have a filter. I’m currently writing a BDSM fic for a different fandom, so that gives you a scale.


↳ If the gender of the reader isn’t mentioned, I’ll use they/them and avoid using gendered nicknames when mentioning Y/N by default. This is an inclusive space. And as a non-binary person myself, it would feel really weird for me not to do that anyway.

↳ Same thing goes for race. If it’s not specified then race/ethnicity will never be mentioned, and no description of skin color, eye color or hair texture will be stated. I’ll try my best to avoid giving anything away so that everyone can feel included. If you notice something off about the way I phrased things, please let me know so I can correct it.

↳ Uchiha apologists go away. I may be Uchiha trash myself but I don’t like y’all. No headcanons for you >:(
 I only allow Danzō bashing in this house

↳ I do reserve myself the right to reject any request if they make me uncomfortable or if I feel like they’re too OOC (in my opinion, of course. Doesn’t mean I’m right). I accept AUs, that’s not a problem, but if I get something that says “Madara as a sub hcs please”... yeah, that’s going straight to the garbage, sorry ;-;

↳ Obviously, the more characters are in a single request, the longer it’s going to take me to write it. I currently don’t have a set limit on how many you can request in a single shot—worst thing that can happen is that I might end up splitting your request into multiple parts.

So, I think this is it. I may add some more things in the future, depending on what type of requests I get. In any case, I hope you enjoy what I have to offer !

- Anli

[im-the-punk-who]

Can I ask your opinion on Woodes Rogers?

Oh boy. Oh boy, howdy. I mean you can.

So, uhhhh the first time I was really thinking about Woodes Rogers as a character besides just being a little bitch boy was after I read Sage Street’s meta where he talks about the ways in which Rogers mirrors James in the early seasons/pre-series. And that’s pretty much how I see him. 

(On a side note, while I don’t agree with everything he has to say, I highly highly recommend Sage’s meta because it brings up some really interesting parallels and scenic cues, and particularly the meta on the S3 finale just....makes me scream a lot. Some of the painting stuff can get a bit reachy because as someone who works in theatre and has friends in film, some of the parallels is likely more ‘the set designers thought this would be cool’ than a directorial choice but like, it’s still awesome to see.)

But back to Rogers. So, personally, I think he’s a little bitch boy, but that has more to do with the fact that the show sets him up as the upholder of civilization and oppression, in direct opposition to Flint - who seeks freedom and an end to persecution based on society’s morals and whom I personally vibe much more with. Character wise I actually think Rogers is pretty interesting in that, like all the Black Sails villains, he is a complex character. He is sometimes humorous, sometimes charming, and sometimes straight up unwilling to listen to anyone’s voice but his own - hello, Eleanor! (And, yeah, I’m aware that’s how a lot of people describe Flint. It’s purposeful.) While I don’t like him, I appreciate that about him.

He has a backstory that makes it clear what his motivations are and how he reacts when faced with adversity - he hates chaos and wants order and is willing to compromise his own civility if he thinks it will bring an end to those things. In my personal opinion the reason he wants so badly to bring Nassau back in line could be that he thinks it will help him get over the loss of his brother - who died in a random act of chaos and cowardly violence. (And whose name was Thomas....) Like Flint, he is fighting in the memory of someone he idolized. 

The show underlines the similarity between them when Rogers says “All I have done here is finish what you began. I am now what you were then. And without you there would be no me.” 

Here, he is setting himself up as the continuation of James McGraw. Which is super hella rad, since we know that Flint views himself as at least partially a wholly separate persona from James McGraw. And that we’re led to believe that ‘James’ died or was buried when Thomas was taken. While I don’t think Rogers knows the full story I think it’s likely he has a pretty good picture. I’ll direct you to this post where I bring up the fact it’s likely he and Peter were working together on the pardons(and also because I assume Eleanor told him about James being McGraw as she found out during the Charlestown plotline).

Also:

“Everyone is a monster to someone. Since you are so convinced that I am yours, I will be it.”

“If you insist on making me your villain, I will play the part.”

Rogers!! Stop!! Get your own lines!!

I know a lot of people like to compare him to Thomas, and while I think we were meant to see the parallels(hi, they’re both put in green!), I disagree he is meant to mirror what Thomas would have been. In fact, if anything, he is Thomas’ foil, even as he mirrors James. 

Flint even points out this difference: 

“No one is being hanged. No one’s even being tried. Just as you wanted. Just as Thomas Hamilton wanted. So what is it that you’re fighting for that I’m not already offering?”

“Thomas Hamilton fought to introduce the pardons to make a point. To seek to change England.”

Aside from the classic “I want my Thomas back you sonofabitch.” vibe of Flint’s full answer, this is the difference between Rogers and Thomas. While it would ultimately have the same effect as Rogers’ actions - to bring Nassau back to heel - I think it’s important to recognize the intentionality of both characters as it illustrates not just who Rogers is, but also Thomas.

The reason Thomas wanted to offer the pardons was to make a point that pirates are still men deserving of forgiveness. To “offer forgiveness to any man who would seek it.” He is not coming from a point of control, but of freedom. To offer to these men a way forward.

Rogers is offering the pardons as a way to bring Nassau and the pirates back into civilization but we never actually hear him offer a suggestion of what they’re to do afterwards. And indeed, with how he runs Nassau when he has it, it seems he’s much more concerned with keeping control than in offering any meaningful change to the people he governs. 

Rogers is, in essence, exactly what James was talking about all those years ago when he said “Put a man on an island, give him power over other men and it won’t be long before he realizes the limits of that power is nowhere to be seen. And no man given that kind of influence will remain honest for very long.”

This is underlined in so many ways, from his scene with Berringer about ‘dark men’ to where he wants to accept the pearls he knows are from the Spanish gold, to when he straight up threatens Madi with the death of someone close to her in order to try and force her into surrender.

So, I think he’s a really cool character in that he underlines things about so many of the other characters.

However, Rogers is also a little bitch boy and I hate him because he’s is both a little confused and does not have the spirit. :) 

He is everything Thomas and James were fighting against instilling in Nassau - the very thing Thomas realized isn’t the way a good leader should act. Rogers falls very much under that Hobbesian view of The Social Contract - that a monarch or person in power has absolute sovereignty without needing to give value to individuals needs or wants(literally every interaction he has with Max, hi!), whereas Thomas falls much more in line with John Locke, who says that in supporting the needs of the individual, we support the state by default.

(And I can and will go on another whole tangent about this view of Locke vs Hobbes and how it’s a theme throughout the whole show, I can, I will, please don’t let me.)

Rogers is a fantastic villain for S3 and S4 because he illustrates all the ways that civilization puts down revolution and keeps people in line - right up to how his actions ultimately cause Silver to betray the cause and sell out his own friends for a personal safety that is only marginally implied - and still leaves those on the outskirts oppressed! 

Wow! Black Sails! Stop!!

And even though he as a character was eventually defeated, Rogers’ motives and ideas were actually instilled by the very rebel leaders who fought against him! It’s his treaty Rackham and Silver get the maroons to sign! It’s his version of civilization that is imposed on Nassau and the Maroon island even as he himself is ‘defeated’. 

And isn’t that a kicker? 

That Rackham in particular thinks he’s victorious because they’ve defeated the bad guy, but then he goes ahead and uses his plans, proving that it wasn’t the revolution or freedom or Charles’ idea of living free he was supporting at all but his own personal narrative of victory! What a sellout! What a direct parallel to how even progressive-seeming leaders will almost always sell out the ideals of their constituents for their own benefit! Boy, howdy!!

And I know fandom likes to throw him under the bus as all that is wrong with civilization - call him a little bitch boy and cheer his defeat. I know that he and Alfred Hamilton(and Peter, to an extent) get to be the villains in the narrative so our ‘heroes’ Silver and Rackham and even Flint can be put in opposition to them but like - that’s not the point. That’s not the point, that’s not the point, that’s not the point!

The point is that these men were tools of the empire - tools that were incredibly effective! They succeeded! Rogers succeeded in bringing civilization to Nassau. And in doing so he forced the pirates to choose between their own loyalties - he divided the camps until victory seemed hopeless and that is exactly how history generally works in terms of continued oppression. 

Hell, that’s exactly how current political events are happening right now. It’s a tried and true method of oppressive governments to pin things on one particular person (Woodes, or, y’know, Trump?) and say ‘if you defeat this person, your revolution has been successful’ while silently just going ahead with the plans of those people’s ideals anyway. It’s not the people who are the villains. It’s the ideals they perpetuate. 

All this is to say that I don’t feel particular malice towards Rogers other than that I feel towards all the characters who ultimately uphold oppression because I think Rogers is another great commentary by Black Sails on how we get so distracted fighting for what feels good that we can ultimately end up becoming exactly what we thought we were fighting against. 

(”A man casts his vote for the same reason he does anything in this life. Because it feels good.”)

And finally, he’s definitely a little bitch boy for how he treats my girls Eleanor and Madi (and Max) and I would absolutely cross the street to punch him for that alone. :)

[angeloncewas]

ohoho opinion time? let's go

obviously liking build mart or not is heavily dependent on who you're watching because you're more likely to enjoy a certain game, if the person you're watching is having fun. as someone who has consistently watched false's pov live (false my queen 🖐️), i like build mart. at the same time, it is kind of a shitty game and i 100% get why people, especially people like dream, would hate it. i'd hate it to of i were there, bro, memory? shit.

but like. i don't care? i usually don't care about stuff like this tbh but, as my track record suggests, i did go down some,, interesting people's blogs and posts and opinions on the matter

main big thing i see (mainly on tumblr btw bc i can't stand twt) are people wanting build mart removed or changed, mainly for dream. which imo is fair, a large reason parkour warrior was changed to tag was actually because of grian, and the way grian reacted to parkour warrior is very reminiscent to how dream treats build mart ngl. but like,, they did change build mart? between seasons? it wasn't a big change, but i remember literally everyone i watched (pvpers and builders) said the new change made it so much better. and i don't think they're going to remove it, just like they're not going to remove a lot of the pvp games. people prefer different games and that's just like,, how it is ig

big thing is dream's reaction, largely because he is one of the biggest people on mcc and has such a vocal disdain for build mart, so what he says, a lot of people will go with (kinda like mid game voting y'know, just with more dts) which is what creates the discourse, people mainly parroting what their favourite little meow meow says. and ofc this fandom is.. a wild one, so discourse is Discourse and the actual problem gets so skewed. i've seen people say noxcrew is ableist because of build mart? and that they're favouring hermits? which is. strange. bc if you look at the amount of pvp games i'd say they're more definetly not

imo i like build mart, i don't think it should be removed, unless there's another building (or ngl even redstone) based game that can replace it, but even then a lot of the pvpers are still gonna hate it, so there's no real winning here, just like grian still hates parkour tag. at the end of the day, it is still literally a minecraft tournament, and this is getting blown way out of proportion, but discourse is expected, and actually a lot of the time very civil. people just like arguing, let's be real lol.

anyway

feel free to disagree with me here, i love ur opinions and i like changing mine

-rabbithole

Appreciate the compliment afjdsk and I hope you're well, rabbithole anon ! I'll answer under the cut for length :)

> While it's definitely true that the streamer in question effects how you see the game, I don't think it's entirely up to that (not that you're saying it is, just my opinion). It's kind of boring to watch on the admin stream even though they can see any perspective they'd like, and the rush of winning imo is dampened by the activity itself even when the people are exceling. I haven't watched False though, so it's totally possible that she adds something special.

> I've seen some weird-ass thread on this topic too lol. Why y'all being so personal about a game you're not even in PLEASE /lh

> Dream was lying (affectionate) when he said that it hasn't been changed in ages, but I really don't know if the changes are enough. I actually say this as a Wilbur viewer - I remember him saying that the carts were definitely the problem after the first time they played the new map, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't exactly had stellar reviews of the game since. It doesn't feel much different, except for in aesthetic.

> That being said I don't have a solution to offer as an alternative. I don't think it should be removed unless they had a replacement equivalent ready, but I also can't say that it's perfect as-is, y'know?

> I've never seen people saying either of those things personally, but I don't doubt that they're out there and it's weird as fuck lol.

> I don't wanna keep rehashing the same arguments, but I guess my issue is the sort of "shut up and smile" mentality people have toward Dream. Not saying you do, just in general - why is Wilbur allowed to constantly scream about how Ace Race is a shitty fucking broken-ass game that needs to be burned in a fire while Dream can't even say he might opt out for his own enjoyment next time ? I know they're different people with different audiences, but I just don't like assigning that kind of responsibility based on coincidence and what have you

> People need to chill out and watch every single MCC VOD <3 ajfkds

(Sorry I'm not more convincing - I feel like I've said my piece since I never really had strong Build Mart beliefs to begin with - but I really appreciate your perspective and I hope you had a good MCC day lol)

[spiders-hth-is-an-outlier]

Hey, since I just blocked my first person on Tumblr Dot Com, it's maybe time to put forth my position here so y'all know.

I am as a general rule not into siloing based on Correct Opinions. It's nice to have contact with people you disagree with -- I follow many people I have strenuous disagreements with! Sometimes I learn things; sometimes I just like their fan content and ignore the rest. It's all fine, there is no litmus test, and I don't usually care if you wanna follow me and reblog my fan content or cat videos or whatever without agreeing with me on much of anything. Do you.

However, if I happen to go to your page to see what you're into, and all you have is post after post after post of angry racist or transphobic rants, that -- freaks me out, not so much because I disagree or I think you're too beyond the pale to like my cat videos or whatever, but because it seems unhinged. Like, people have their prejudices, and we have to figure out how to coexist in civil society anyway, I get that. But if your anger at someone else is literally that obsessive, if you've chosen to curate it as the centerpiece of your online presence, you've made my Creepy Sense go haywire, and I kind of can't unsee it, you know?

So. My Tumblr is not a Safe Space, by which I mean that I may sometimes interact with people I don't support or who don't support me. I think that's part of life in a free society, and I understand that if you need to know everyone linked to me or linking from me is a safe person for you, I can't promise you that and maybe this isn't where you want to be. No hard feelings, it's your online experience, do what seems right to you.

But I will block you if your membership in some weird hate-cult appears to be the only thing you've got to give your life meaning, because shit, that's terrifying. Good luck to you, namaste, please find your cat videos elsewhere.

Tl;dr I don't vet followers or reblogs based on any particular ideological criteria and I don't block people at all, usually, but if you seem like, fucking scary, I might make an exception. I measure this shit with my heart.

[snaileer]

Chips & Salsa Chp 6

Okay, Lance had definitely not thought through the whole ‘angrily stomp out of the room and leave Keith stunned behind him’ thing. Mostly because now Keith was in his room and Lance had nowhere else to be at five in the morning. It was still a good 2 hours until anyone was supposed to be awake.

What that really meant was everybody still had 2 hours of productive free time until they’d agreed Allura was allowed to beckon for them. God, he wished he hadn’t argued for the extra hours of ‘beauty sleep’ now. Even if sleep was all he wanted to do.

Still, maybe the time would give him an opportunity to shake off the lingering heaviness of his nightmare.

Lance fiddled with the bracelet on his arm. Pidge really was their very own genius extraordinaire. It was measured perfectly to his wrist. Which was saying something, because he had itsy-bitsy crazy thin wrists. From his Mom’s side.

His siblings had teased him relentlessly for having ‘dainty’ wrists. Ha! Lance smiled to himself at the thought. If only his family could see him now; he would absolutely destroy them in arm-wrestling.

He might even be able to beat Marco, but his brother had-

The ringing surged, “Ah!” Lance stumbled to the side with his head in his hands. His elbow hit the wall and he yanked back immediately, “OooooH! Mmmm- ! Mother trucker!” 

His arm tingled with pins-and-needles as he lost balance and fell to the floor.

“Lance!?”

Shiro? 

Shiro. 

He ran down the hall towards Lance, “Lance! What’s wrong?”

“I hit-” Lance hissed in pain again, “I hit my funny bone.” He cradled his left arm against his chest.

Shiro froze in surprise, until he started to shake. Within seconds Shiro stopped trying to contain his snickering and was laughing outright.

“Shiro!” Lance said scandalized, “Stop laughing at me! The funny-bone hurts!”

Shiro was laughing so hard he was wheezing, “I’m sorry,” he could barely get a word out, “It’s just so funny!”

Lance dropped his head against the ground with a thump. “It’s still tingling!” He whined into his chest, sounding for all the world like a petulant child. Which only made Shiro laugh harder.

-x-

Now, Coran had seen some things in his days. He’d seen stars and galaxies and war and peace, applez and orranges, kings and queens. The rise of civilizations. The fall of planets. The lives in between them. 

Still, it was quite a sight to come upon the blue and black paladins in the hallway of his castle. One rolling on the ground in pain and the other laughing uncontrollably at his friend.

“Paladins?”

“Coran!” Shiro managed to talk as he tried to catch his breath.

“What is the meaning of this, Number one?”

“Lance, hit his-” he wheezed again, “funny bone,” A giant smile still plastered across his face.

Lance shouted out next to him, “There’s nothing funny about the funny bone Shiro!”

“There is for me!” 

“Would you like some help, Number Three?” Coran asked as he walked in front of Lance on the floor.

“Dios mio, yes! Please!” Lance took Coran’s hand to pull himself back up, still rubbing his elbow as he glared at Shiro.

Coran shook his head, “I don't think I will ever understand you humans, you’re a very… unique breed.” 

“Don't even try with this one. The funny bone is the most useless, pointless thing the human body ever came up with,” Lance stated the fact like it was his greatest enemy.

“I’ll have to disagree with you there, Lance, because that was exactly what I needed this morning,” Shiro smiled smugly.

“You shouldn't even be awake this early!”

“Oh, but I am. And I will never forget this. Oo-!” Shiro hummed with a discovery, “But thank you for reminding me! I was hoping to catch up with you to go over the Blue Lion.”

Lance’s playful smile dropped.

“You have Olympic talents for dampening a mood, you know that right?” 

“I have been told that once or twice.” Shiro smirked, “And yet we’ve still got to do it.” He latched his hand onto the back of Lance’s jacket.

Lance’s mind worked overtime to try and figure a way out. He couldn’t confront Blue, not after everything that happened. Everything that he’d done.

“A unique breed indeed,” Coran murmured as he watched Shiro continue to half-drag Lance towards the hangers.

“See you at breakfast, Coran!” Shiro waved at him before turning a corner.

“Hey! There’s an option: breakfast! Y’know… eat, talk... not mess with the Blue Lion.” Lance tried to smile.

Shiro infused his voice with false cheer, “Sure, sounds like a great idea! If you’re willing to actually talk now,” Lance cringed, “Didn’t think so.” 

Shiro stopped them in front of the hangar doors, his shoulders sagging a bit, “Listen, Lance, I get the whole not wanting to share with us thing. I don't like talking about my experiences either.” He sighed, “I know it would probably help to talk about it, we both know that, but we also know how hard that is.” Shiro made pointed eye contact with Lance, “So if we’re not going to work on the emotional, then we’ve got to work on the logical. And that means the Blue Lion.”

“Or…” Lance mock shrugged with his hands, “how ‘bout we don't and say we did?” 

Shiro raised a judgemental eyebrow.

“Fine, fine,” Lance raised his arms in surrender, “Didn’t think that one would work anyways,” he grumbled, “All I wanted was some sleep.”

Stepping up to the hanger doors felt more ominous than usual. But when they opened, Blue was just as amazing as he remembered.

And her barrier just as strong.

Shiro followed him into the room as he slowly made it to the particle shield.

“Hey, Baby Blue,” he paused to look up at her eyes, “Miss me?” 

Lance rested a hand on the barrier, trying to feel her in his mind. She used to be a constant presence. Always there to reassure him, to push him further, to help him be better. 

Now?

Now, as he searched for her connection, Lance could feel the walls between them.

Now, as he desperately hoped for even a sliver of her peace, there was nothing.

Now, as his fears were silently confirmed, Lance knew he’d been cut-off from her.

“Sorry, Shiro, it’s just not happening,” He pulled his hand back from the shield quicker than necessary. He hurried to get out of the hanger and alone.

“It’s okay, Lance, I was planning on a bonding session today anyways,” Shiro smiled gently and followed after him.

Lance spun to face him, “Why?! Because you knew this wouldn’t work?!”

Shiro was started back a bit, “No, I just-”

“Don’t worry! I knew it wouldn’t work, too! Of course it wouldn’t work! Why in the wide wide world of Webkinz would Blue ever want me back?! She wouldn’t! I don't even know why any of you want me back! You have Allura now! She’s literally a magical alien princess! How can I compare to that?!”

“We want you back because you're our friend, Lance. You’re the only one comparing yourself to Allura,” Shiro tried to comfort him, tried to fill in those insecurities and worries. He’d seen them in Lance before, known they were there, but they’d grown since he’d been... taken. “We told you: Blue barely let Allura fly her, you are the Blue paladin. Not anybody else.” 

“Well somebody forgot to tell her that! Did you know I can feel the walls between us? I can literally feel everything that’s stopping me from connecting to her. To my lion. Can you even imagine that? I wish I could help you, but maybe I’m not even meant to be a paladin anymore.”

“No, that’s not true, Lance. I know it’s not. Please, just come to the training today. We’ll try this again, and-”

“Don't you get it, Shiro?! It’s not going to work! We can keep trying, but it’ll never work because she shut me out! She cut me off!” Lance’s voice saddened, “Completely.” 

“We can’t be sure of-”

“Fine! I’ll be there. But I’m not promising anything,” Lance turned his back to Shiro, “So don't get your hopes up.” He left the hangar quickly, pushing himself farther and farther away from the Blue Lion. Further into the abandoned darkness.

Lance curled his arms around himself in the empty hallways, but kept walking. A weight settled in his chest. Accumulating from the nightmare, the fight and, Blue. He was so tired.

The density of the heartache slowed him to a stop in front of the observatory, doors opening automatically.

Oh, how he missed the stars.

He’d been in space for probably more than a year now and he’d spent three months without seeing the stars. Without a window once the entire time.

The tablet-pad in the wall told him he still had an hour ‘till he was needed for anything. The massive window ledges called to him. They were hard, but wide enough and long enough for him to lay on them.

Lance stared out at the space beyond the glass. The infinite universe of stars and planets and cultures.

And silence. Without muddling noise or cheering crowds or hushed whispers or dying fear. 

Just calm, clear silence.

A roar thundered through his mind, and he shot upwards, his eyes snapping open. When had he dozed off?

Fading growls echoed in his ears. Quickly being replaced by the ringing.

He just wanted a moment. Just to relax. To relax without shrill screams lingering in the background. He just wanted to escape it. Escape what it pushed him towards. Escape what it made him do. 

Not now. Not now. Not now. 

Not yet.

Lance worked to calm himself down. It’d been worse than this before and it’d be worse again. He just had to move around it. 

Lance climbed off the window ledge and made his way to the wall tablet. He had to get to breakfast with the team. 

God, Keith would be there. 

God, Shiro would be there. He has the actual worst planning ever. Two fights in as many hours with people he literally can’t avoid.

“Ugh, breakfast is gonna be so awkward,” Lance groaned and then forced himself towards the dining room.

He was correct. Breakfast was insanely awkward. Both Keith and Shiro were there and he pointedly avoided making eye contact with them. 

By staring at his goo. 

Shiro cleared his throat, “So, today’s gonna be a training day. Just to get back in the rhythm.”

Ah, green goo. 

“Of working together.”

Very…. 

“As a team.”

Green.

“Including a bonding session.”

Much goo. Very wow.

“Lance, unless you’ve discovered the secrets to Voltron in your goo, please listen to me.”

Lance lifted his eyes in a deadpan look, “I am listening and the goo says 42. I said I’d do it so let’s do it.” His chair scraped against the floor when he stood up. He wished it’d been louder.

“I really don't think mind-melding is something I want to do right after eating.” Hunk protested as he collected bowls to drop off in the kitchen.

“We’re not going swimming Hunk, you’ll be fine,” Pidge patted his shoulder in reassurance.

Once everyone had left the kitchen, they headed straight for the training room. Lance ahead of them, leaving tension in his wake. He just wanted this whole mess of a day to be over already.

Coran handed them the headbands in silence and they all sat together again. The same pattern as their first day as Voltron. But everything else was different, so very different.

“This is going to be a bit of a change from last time, since we’re trying to focus on just Lance. I’ve adjusted the headbands to compensate.” 

“Let’s just get this over with.” Lance put his headband on, watching the others do the same.

“Relax and breath.” 

Lance gritted his teeth against the ringing, he could handle it for now. For this.

“Let your minds connect. The flow between each of you is crucial to your bond as Voltron.”

Hunk reached out first, feeling the link snap into place. Except one. Something blocked him from Lance’s mind.

He tapped it, pressing curiously and shifting around the edges. Searching for the roots and the boundaries of it.

Pidge was second, she hit the wall harder than Hunk had, then followed his lead. Working to discover the problem. To learn.

“Lance, why aren’t you letting us in? You have to let us in for this to work at all.” Pidge snapped at him.

“Yes, I know that. But I can’t feel you guys,” Lance grumbled back.

“Then what’s wrong? Why can't we get in?” Keith argued as he banged against the mental block, trying to force it away.

“I don't know. I can’t feel any of you.”

“Just keep trying, I know we can do this,” Shiro pushed against the barrier between them, the team following suit.

“I can feel you guys now. Just a little.” Lance’s words sounded tight.

“It’s working, just a bit farther,” Hunk urged. They pressed harder.

“I- I don't know guys,” Lance paused for a second, his team didn't, “I think I have a headache-” Lance gasped.

A pulse shot through the wall, slamming into the paladins, forcing them out of the bond, 

“GET. OUT. OF. MY. MIND!!” 

It smashed against them, knocking them back forcefully.

Hunk wheezed from his place on the floor, 

“owww.”

Everyone else groaned in agreement.

“Gaaah!” Lance shouted from his seat, pressing his palms to his temples in pain, “This doesn't make any- what was- but it didn't-”

“Hey, Lance, Lance, come on. What’s happening?” Shiro moved forward quickly  on one knee, grabbing hold of his shoulders and trying to get him to look up. “Lance, what was that?”

“I don't know. I don't know what happened. But the moment you guys got pushed back, I remembered something.” Lance shook his head roughly.

“What?” Shiro let go of him and rocked back in surprise.

“You never said you had memory blanks.” Pidge pointed out at him from propped up on her elbows.

“I didn't- I don’t.” Lance tried to guarantee that as fact for himself, “But for a moment, when something lashed out at you, a memory came through. But it can't be mine. It can’t be.”

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t forgotten anything! I hate it; but I remember everything!” Lance jerked out his hands, “I counted. I measured. I numbered every. single. day. At most I was off by a week, maybe two. But this isn't- It doesn't fit.”

“Wait, Lance, how long did you count?” This time it was Pidge that approached him. Getting as close as she could with her hologram wrist gauntlet.

“Ninety-one,” Lance yelled, “I was there for ninety-one days and I remember every goddamn one of them!”

“Wait but 91 days is only-” Hunk started in the background, but Pidge quickly interrupted.

“Ninety-one days only adds up to about three months.”

“And?”

“And you were missing for six months. Not three.” Pidge flipped around her hologram to show the numbers ticking past days on the calendar, finally stopping at 182.

Six Months.

Next Chapter: https://snaileer.tumblr.com/post/622144446399758336/chips-salsa-chp-7

First Chapter: https://snaileer.tumblr.com/post/613092735756402688/chips-and-salsa-chp-1

[thejudgingtrash]

My unpopular opinion: Chiron is a horrible teacher, protector, whatever. He’s as bad dumbledor. He often manipulates children and put them in danger? Also is RR really trying to tell me not one single demigod from before percy’s generation made it to adulthood? Not even demigods of minor gods? If not then why haven’t we heard from them, why weren’t they called to fight in the war so that literal children didn’t have to? I have more but I’m not brave enough to post them lol

Fuck, I gotta check my asks more often. Too much stuff laying around and oh please people! Send your stuff in! Don’t be shy! It’s so interesting to see what’s on your mind! Let’s have that conversation and ask me!! :D I mean a bunch of people agreed and disagreed with my stances (Part 1/Part 2), let’s see how I feel about yours!

Anyway HERE WE GO BOYS! LET’S GO LESBIANS LET’S GO! 

LET’S HAVE THAT WHOLE DAMN ESSAY!

Chiron is clearly a self insert from Riordan. I mean come on…

That’s a solid Chiron if I see one. Which is pretty ironic as Chiron’s the shitty teacher who we all know and love. Got something to admit, Riordan? You as a former teacher? HMM?

Hiding incompetence under the disguise of the gentle old wise teacher is definitely something that Dumbledore and Chiron share. Chiron is the old centaur who lived for aeons and helped out the most famous heroes of their times, so shouldn’t modern times be considered to be an easier job for him? He’s barely present, highkey vague and has absolutely no problems with tossing children literally out into the open across the entire fucking US and A to clean the gods’ bathroom messes.

Had the heroes been in their 20s like in the original myths (or even older) it would’ve made more sense to let them find their own ways. It would be rude,  but somewhat okay. You could expect adults to find the way and connect the dots. But this is just messing with a bunch of 12 year olds because you can at this point.

Chiron is that supposed sweet teacher that just fucks up. We all had one, you know the one. Seems gentle and nice and but has clearly chosen the wrong job. Don’t know if that’s the trauma of living that long and/or seeing kids dying constantly that’s hitting him in the back of the head.

I have the feeling that people are projecting their teacher fantasies on to him just like step-father fantasies that include Paul. Because we want a guide who is trustworthy, we want an authoritative figure that we can share our concerns with and who guides us to solid solutions without betraying our trust.

But like I said, he’s essentially sending out kids to deathly missions and encouraging deep traumas. Yes, we can partially blame Chiron, but most of the blame goes to the gods who enable and encourage this weird dynamic. Would all of them straight up cut the bullshit and mostly resolve their own issues without using their children as pawns, it would’ve been easier for everyone involved. Additionally, there are many kids in camp to keep busy, look after and care for. I don’t know how many there were pre-TLO but I’d assume the number was in the hundreds? Of course, in larger cabins are camp counsellors that help out and guide next to camp schedules. But since Percy’s the only kid in the Poseidon cabin I guess that thought went south? Percy being the special kid would actually mean that there should be a focus on him unless you’re going for the “I’m neutral” spiel. Chiron knew from day one that Percy was walking Poseidon seed, come on.

Also like I somewhat implied, seeing people die left and right might have impacted Chiron to make him feel indifferent/despressed (could also be a stretch, who knows). Which isn’t an excuse, but might explain some takes. Explaining the same stuff for millennia in its essentials is probably getting tiring.

I think this is the third time that I mentioned it on my blog but showing and telling are the most powerful story telling concepts/fundamentals and you see Rowling and Riordan constantly failing at that which is concerning. Instead of Chiron (or Dumbledore) just simply getting down to the point and telling and explaining stuff briefly, he only eludes, vaguely formulates and it is simply confusing especially for a child in a brand new environment who just lost his mother (if we’re speaking about TLT). This does nothing but add more stress in such a fragile situation especially when a new and bigger threat makes its way.

There’s also the discussion on how much of Greek myth Percy actually gets. He has the basic/ obvious knowledge which many tend to forget. He doesn’t come in with no knowledge. He had Latin classes back at the academy, he studies with Annabeth, he knows some of the monsters. What he simply doesn’t know, is the magic of it all. That is the most confusing part for him.

The actual magic is not explained, which it doesn’t have to be in all of its entirety, but needs to be addressed somehow and gradually.

Percy asking a simple question like how the camp stays sunny and covered 24/7 and how the wardens work and Chiron casually sitting here like you a stoopid one

doesn’t help.

What many people forget: Magic doesn’t erase logic. Even in a magical setting, unless clearly stated, there has to be some kind of logic to connect the dots. It doesn’t need to be a clear cut A to B, but it should be comprehensible for both the readers and the characters in a particular situation. And that’s just not happening for Percy as the character. This also sets up the premise of Percy being ”stupid” which he isn’t. He is surrounded by incompetent teachers and staff that don’t bother telling him how things work and assume that he’ll just manage.

Yeah. Both Dumbledore and Chiron are awfulness in a sweet calm disguise.

Onto part two of the ask. I have had so many talks with people on that exact problem. It simply boils down to one issue:

Rick Riordan‘s inconsistency in world building and setting. The story telling doesn’t make any sense.

So kids are dying like flies before 18 but many are also super famous and in powerful positions? Many are historical figures that made it well over 18? Make that make sense. Also was WW2 supposed to be kicked off by some 12 year olds with that logic? The biggest man made catastrophe of the modern era boiled down to a bunch of fighting kids? No. We all know it. Just simply no. I actually don’t mind the WW2 background but Riordan should’ve given it another thought and be a bit more sensitive…? Like the whole fascist gang being team Hades? Uhh… sure…. nope.

Also the same logic applies to Civil War? You’re telling me a bunch of kids were supposed to have started this stance? Who was for and who was against slavery then? What in the actual fuck? Using children as child soldiers to stand in for these large complex historical issues that stretch over years and show many of humanity’s horrifying sides is just….eh.

No. This whole thing about campers dying as soon as they reach the magic number of 18 are either bedtime stories to scare the kids or toughen them up orrrr my guess, Riordan actually managed yet again to fuck up his own lore.

It’s the same logic with New Rome. You have a whole city full of adults but have a few kids run that bitch? You did your ten years of service as a child soldier and then do one of these?

As if adults magically exit this world. Like is that the reason why Percy’s been 17 for a whole damn decade? Because otherwise he gotta hand riptide in and all of the boys scout medals he has collected so far? Adults would’ve had the experience and expertise to win those fights but it would break the magic and charm of the books that a bunch of kids are saving the world for the younger demographic. Let’s do not forget that the targeted audience of the books are middle schoolers. Makes somewhat sense with PJO but with HOO Riordan really shot himself in the leg. He should’ve matured the OG characters at least.

(Also speaking about the actual myths again. A good chunk of them died in their 20s/30s/40s. Odysseus guided as an old man. The heroes weren’t twelve and dipping by the age of 16. The Trojan war went on for 10 years for example. So whereas the real Perseus lived a longer life and had a somewhat happy ending in comparison to his peers, he wasn’t the only one that made it into adulthood.)

Riordan mixing up his own lore is just a shame. Yes, it’s human and he already gets a lot of flag for other stuff. I also get it as a writer with my fanfic where I really have to scroll up to search tiny details that I’ve embedded and not noted down. Perhaps it’s my inner capitalist speaking, but for I’m way more forgiving towards a free product, a gift like a fanfic, rather than something I’ve paid actual money for when it comes to this. The process of publishing a book is large. You mean to tell me that there was no editor at Disney that bothered to fact check? Riordan got a check from us all and doesn’t even bother looking up his own stuff. A little bit more effort, Ricardo. Please. You have an entire damn wiki you could use to check for free if you’re too lazy to read your own books/don’t use authors softwares. Like what?

It’s stupid. You know it, I know it. And as you can see, I fully agree with you.