#bia... i dunno what to do with bia

[microwaving-tesilid-argente]

@orathearsonman exactly!! you get it...!

i feel like tesilina's reactions are one of the highlights of this AU honestly

also tesilette genderbend has the potential to be really funny. especially with hestio & ephael as the peanut gallery who have a lot to say.

Everyone: Tesilina is the most pious, dignified and demure lady ever, she is unreachable, untouchable, like the flower blooming on a cliff's edge, to be seen but not touched,

Tesilina: I'm going to put a ring on it. Watch me.

(this might just be me misinterpreting things, but honestly if it weren't for the fact that Tesilid is suicidal i think he would already be absentmindedly wondering about how many kids Ailette would like to have. if he hasn't already done this. like, the guy saw the in-laws accept him and jumped on the opportunity.)

Also I think Tesilina's more forward because the Vatican would be even more uptight about Tesilina's sexuality and relationships than with Tesilid. #womanhood. So when Aiden kidnaps Tesilina after the Saint Reveal, they REALLY go into an uproar and assume that this new saint is promiscuous and has already taken Tesilina in. (It doesn't really affect Aiden's standing in the Vatican, because he is The Saint they've been waiting for all this time, anyway.) Tesilina goes 'well, since we're already at this stage...' and leans into it even more than canon Tesilid already does with his in-laws.

eyes snap open. genderbend hestio/ephael lesbians. ephael flops herself on hestio all the time and gives her kisses all over just to annoy her.

[aberooski]

Okay so, if y'all know me you know I adore tmnt. It was my obsession before I ever watched even the original YGO much less GX. And now I'm watching tmnt 2012 for the first time, I'm about halfway through season 2 and honestly you guys are so lucky I'm not live blogging it because well.... I don't like it 💀

I will say I'm enjoying season 2 more than season 1 so far but still 💀

[tomurakii]

I feel like I'm going insane.

Why does Gale's "good ending" if you don't date him imply that he gets back with Mystra.

Why does the grown ass woman who intentionally isolated 17-year-old Wyll and trapped him in a relationship get to hang out in your camp (and potentially sleep with you).

Why do the writers (head writer and literally Wyll's personal character writer included!) have so little respect and tact when talking about their characters' traumas only when they are male and their abuser is female.

Nobody would find it funny if the Christmas animatic had Astarion blush at a picture of Cazador. Nobody would think it was "a good resolution" if Karlach saved and then dated Gortash at the end of the game.

And the characters aren't treated well outside of their relationships either, the writers love to laugh when people call Wyll boring or Gale annoying. I dunno what's worse: all the extra in-game dialogue calling Gale pathetic, or the fact that Wyll barely has any additional dialogue at all. With the additional factors of Wyll being the only Black companion and Gale being the only one with a disability that is somewhat "inconvenient" to the player (because God forbid a person need help), it just comes across as implicit bias from the writers themselves. To create these representations and then shit on them for traits that not only may be relatable to your audience, but traits that you gave them.

When Neil accepted the award for best performance he told people who relate to Astarion that "you are not alone." It's a beautiful sentiment, but paired with writers fetishising Wyll's abuse and saying Gale's best ending is the one where he kills himself, it comes across as though for POC, the chronically ill/disabled, or male victims of women, the statement does not apply.

[olderthannetfic]

Ok. Dumb question incoming, but I'd much have a 'conversation' than try to read fanlore or watch video essays or something because I want to hear individual people's contributions.

Why Star Trek?

Don't get me wrong - I like the franchise! I'm not super duper familiar with it, but I do enjoy the bits and pieces that I do know. But I am wondering why that in particular is hailed as the grandmother of all fandoms? Obviously people were fannish before Trek, but I don't think anyone can deny the impact that OG Trekkies had on fic, zines, and eventually on the internet.

I know that it's always been popular and well-liked, but it's not as if there was NO SUCH THING as popular culture/fan culture before that (I mean, come on, the term "parasocial" predates the first Star Trek episode by 10 years!) . Was it just a perfect mix of timing + popularity + etc? Is there something in particular about ST that "hit different" than other series at the time? Or is the fandom really really just that mighty and it's almost "luck" in a way? I guess I'm wondering what particular dominoes cascaded in a line in order for Star Trek to have the impact on fandom that it does today.

or am I wrong? were there just-as-big fandoms before and I simply overhype Trekkie power in my head / happen to see more talk of that than I do of other fandoms? It could definitely be a social circle bias thing.

Ugh. Asking OTNF why Star Trek is so important to fandom history feels very much like asking a Russian History major why War & Peace is so important to literature - hence why I warned you that it'd be a dumb question! But I am just so damn curious what sort of crack was in early ST fandom that made it SO widespread and SO strong.

Like, I guess the TLDR is: what was particularly 'different' about Star Trek, either as a fandom or as a franchise or both, that made it Theeeeee OG fandom, rather than something, like, i dunno, LOTR or the earliest versions of Marvel/DC comics or General Hospital or something else like that?

--

I await the hordes of angry Man from U.N.C.L.E. fans eager to prove that they were first.

And, no, it wasn't that popular. Hence the aggressive Save Our Show campaign and explosion of fan culture when it ended after three seasons.

Part of the answer to your question is that there were like three things on TV at the time. What big fandoms? 'Parasocial' was about non-subculture people feeling warmly towards news anchors or hosts of variety shows or something, wasn't it?

LOTR got rediscovered in the 60s or 70s from what I hear, but science fiction and fantasy books were for fringe weirdoes. SFF was not mainstream for the most part. There are a bunch of History of Book SF Fandom things on Youtube, and you should consult them on the complex role of LOTR in that space. LOTR wasn't a mainstream thing until there were live action movies a billion years later.

The key about Star Trek is that it was a hit with the pre-existing book SF crowd. They were an organized subculture. Some of their favorite writers wrote episodes. Other shit on TV was for people who did not form subcultures in that way. Other shit for SF fans had an audience 1/10,00th the size.

MFU was insanely popular. Illya Kuryakin was the heartthrob of a certain era of girl and inspired many a Russian major. (Seriously, there are soooo many Russia-boos of a certain age who probably still have a poster of him somewhere.) The actor set a record for fanmail. The show may have more influence on fandom history than we think now, but it also didn't rerun the way Trek did, at least in some eras, and it didn't have sequel series in a franchise. I'm always finding 2015 movie fans shocked that there's a still extant and semi-active fandom—or even shocked that the movie is based on something.

Starsky & Hutch was also hugely important and is the moment slash fandom and "Media Fandom" really split from book SF fandom. As Trek fans moved on to buddy cops, they were into a completely mainstream show but in a non-mainstream way. Trek was an awkward bedfellow at SF cons, but S&H just didn't fit at all.

Of course, while Trek is the grandma of AO3 type fandom, don't forget that a shitton of modern fans who are doing "research" just look at the same few sources. Enterprising Women is great and all, but even other fans of the same stuff are like "Oh, that was just X's friends. Where's [thing] and [thing] and [thing]?" Ditto Textual Poachers and the other scant early sources that people think have academic weight.

While Trek would still be central, the picture of what was going on in the late 60s-early 80s would look a bit different if you just found a bunch of 70-something nerds and asked them than if you regurgitate other people's research, you know?

If you want an idea of what else was going on in SF fandom back in the day, check out Galactic Journey, where they roleplay that it's 55 years ago and review SF things "as they come out".

If you want to understand MFU, here's a vid of Illya:

--

What say you, readers?

What have acafandom and fandom history and meta left out?

[rocketbirdie]

Aha, I see where you're coming from now. Seeing it from Zack's perspective helps sell the feeling of gently crushed hopes and deep resignation. You're right, if Crisis Core was longer, maybe it would have allowed for more time to let that emotion sink in.

The OG, Crisis Core, and Rebirth all set out with different goals in mind. That much I respect. Your screenshots got me all nostalgic— especially the ones up on the cliff. It makes me wish there had been more to do in Crisis Core's Gongaga than run from plot point to plot point.

(Honestly I believe a huge amount of Crisis Core's awkwardness is the result of its choice of medium. There's too much that had to be cut or truncated in order to make it fit on the PSP. Reunion got my hopes up that they might expand on the story, but instead, all we got was a direct port. To call it wasted potential would be an understatement.)

Anyway! I really appreciate your response, as well as the comments from many other people. Reading the replies has helped me find more words to describe my thoughts. A better way to summarize all of this would be:

I would have preferred for the modern incarnation of Gongaga to be more culturally distinct from other locations. As someone in the reblogs put it succinctly, the people of Gongaga may as well be the people of Junon, or Kalm, or Costa. For being major locations in completely different parts of the world, their lifestyles are all so similar that no one place stands out.

It's frustrating because Rebirth's Gongaga is so watered down that even the parts that are culturally distinct feel shoehorned in, rather than being a natural part of the worldbuilding. The mushrooms are obviously just there because of gameplay reasons. Kujata is there because they needed to have a summon that the player could work towards, and Kujata would have been the least out of place— not because Kujata is important to the people of Gongaga.

Rebirth invokes nostalgia for Crisis Core with Cissnei and the soundtrack and scenery. Which is nice and all, but that's all it is. Just nostalgia, and nothing truly substantial. And sure we get plenty of emotional punch at the reactor and its related scenes, but that has nothing to do with Gongaga itself. Those moments could have played out the exact same anywhere else in the game.

Gongaga doesn't need to be a village of sadness. But it should ideally be a believable village, with its own identity that extends beyond the protagonist's perspective, and not just a plot pitstop with the same generic npcs and collectables as everywhere else.

Weird thing that bothered me about Rebirth and I want to hear other people's thoughts.

Um... Why did they gentrify Gongaga? I can't be the only one who feels cheated by the chummy suburban development vibe in Rebirth.

OG Gongaga is an isolated village deep in a jungle. It's possible to completely miss the first chance to visit, because it's practically unheard of. All the young folks fled to the big city. A reactor blew up and killed most of the inhabitants, leaving the town in a state of decay. The houses are falling apart, the people are desperate, it's derelict and miserable.

An understated theme in the OG is how life is difficult without modern technology. Avalanche sets out to destroy these reactors without considering the consequences for their own futures, thinking "well it won't be easy but i'm sure it'll be fine." Gongaga is the story's way of showing you just how fine everything is going to be— despite being in a lush rainforest, long since violently cut off from Shinra's influence, these people still suffer immensely.

I wanted to see it in hd so bad honestly. The splintered rotting wood, the furskin rugs, the dirty brick walls. The unspoken yet unignorable trauma. The mournful purple twilight that quietly hangs over the whole village. I wanted to see the survivors' spiteful determination to make things work without mako.

Instead we got a squeaky clean Crisis Core rendition of Gongaga, with its down-to-earth upbeat stardew valley soundtrack and generic hard workin' country folk. The houses are like... twice the size i expected them to be. Neat and tidy, no holes in the roofs, no dishevelled interiors. No sign of struggle. Everybody is content at worst.

The reactor may as well have never exploded. Nobody talks about it. We hear some bullshit about Shinra trying to "make amends" or compensate people for the damages, and that's about it. Apparently everybody's just fine with this, because all of the original version's resentment and grief is gone.

Don't even get me started on the barker stationed at the town entrance. "Come experience nature's bounty!" Man... why are we treating it like a goddamn hippy tourist attraction. OG Gongaga would have had someone knock this kid's teeth out.

Idk I'm just sad. The melancholy is what made Gongaga so memorable despite its bump-in-the-road identity. I wish we could have gotten that instead of one big callback to CC.

[muntitled]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞 | 𝐊.𝐒.

Kim Seungmin x Fem!Reader

♡ Follow Kim Seungmin as he embarks on slaying the demon that plagues you monthly. (Aka he takes care of you on your period)

♡ Cw: Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Care, Suggestive Content, Soft Dom Minnie, slightly implied chubby reader, humour, mentions of nausea, Possessiveness

♡ He's successfully wrecked Bang Chan as my top bias

He could tell, from the moment he stepped over the wooden threshold, when your frustrated groans drifted through the air, that he had just walked into something akin to a battle zone on the Northern front. Seungmin clenches his eyes shut, feeling his own exhaustion double at the sound of your incessant moaning and groaning.

His large hand drifts over the contours of his bareface and for a no more than 40 seconds, Seungmin just stands there.

His back hits the framed wall depicting you and Seungmin (in much happier spirits) on your various ‘baecations’ all around the globe.

Seungmin turns to examine these pictures as he kicks his Nike sneakers off and he shakes his head.

You look so carefree in the picture. Your head is thrown back in a luscious guffaw aimed at the sky and Seungmin, in the very same picture is caught, quite embarrassingly so, with his head gazing down at you with a kind of admiration ancient Greeks held for the deities they worshipped.

That same mouth of yours had been painted with a lip combo that Seungmin had spent the entire evening trying to kiss off. He kissed you and kissed you and never grew tired. You both look so full of life. So attractive. So infuriatingly Instagram-y.

“야, Kim Seungmin! I swear to God if you're standing at the door, holding my period pills hostage, I will fucking end you!”

The juxtaposition was almost laughable. Seungmin couldn't help the slightly humorously exhale that left his lips as he gathered what little sensibilities he had left to face you and your particular dragon that he had to conquer when it was that time of the month.

When his sock-clad feet glide into the living room he finds you laid on the floor in foetal position (unsurprising) with your hands clutched around your stomach, while you groan thunderously into the air.

“Why do you always resort to using my government name when you're having cramps,” your ‘supposed boyfriend’ says in a manner that is so infuriatingly nonchalant, it has your eye twitching from your position on the persian rug.

“I'm dying, and that's the first thing you have to say to me?” Instead of responding to what was admittedly an over exaggeration used to thaw away at your boyfriend's unnaturally cold heart, Seungmin instead places the groceries on the counter.

“It's almost as if-” you watch as he works in the kitchen ceremoniously connected to the living area. “You always think you’re dying and then, miraculously, make it through another month. Its almost as if this is… temporary? Dunno though, I'm not an expert.” he resorts to sarcasm while your stomach turns in nausea

“Haters!” You affirm through clenched teeth while cradling your body from side to side, “I'm surrounded by my haters and they're closing in….”

“The only thing that's ‘closing in’ is your bedtime.” Seungmin swipes his fringe to the side as he watches you from behind the counter but it only bounces right back into his eyes, “Did you brush your teeth”

“Did you brush yours,”

“There's only one of us slinking on the floor like Satan,”

“Mean to me-” you whimper through quivering lips, “You're so mean to me!”

“I'm not mean when I'm trying to get you to go brush your teeth,” you hear the sound of the water spout running before soft muted footsteps approach you. Sensing Seungmin’s shadow now casted over your serpentine form which did in fact resemble Satan in the garden of Eden, you keep your eyes shut and your bottom lip jutted out as if thoroughly,and completely angry with him.

“Drink your pills, Bubs-”

“Don't tell me what to-”

“Drink it.”

There were many things you could get away with being in a relationship with one-such Kim Seungmin. He practically radiated boyfriend energy which made walking out in public with a complete nightmare because there is a special detector stationed in every girl, letting them know they were in the radius of a particularly special boy. He knew of your aversion to outsiders perceiving him, “you want me to wear a paper bag?” Seungmin had been completely unimpressed when you brought up the topic at the kbbq restaurant in the sunny recesses of Gyeongsang Province. “You're too hot,” you'd said, “And kind and delightful and it pisses me off,”

he had cracked a smile and showed up to your apartment the very next day quite literally wearing a cardboard paper bag. He had holes for eyes and the rest of him was otherwise normal. “Let's go”

And you had fricken gone, because when Seungmin puts base in his voice, like he’s doing right now while he had a glass of water hanging above your head, there was nothing left to do except comply.

You grumble as you lift yourself up from off the floor and your eyes are hardened balls of cement when you grab the water and the pills.

“You complain about cramps but never actually want to drink the pills I bring,” Seungmin murmurs with his hands on his hips. You watch him in his billowy white shirt and his sweatpants and you can feel your anger beginning to slip away.

Chugging down your water, you place the glass on the coffee table before you begin to grumble, “Instead of medicating me all the time it wouldn't hurt to- I dunno- hold me-” the second those words leave your mouth Seungmin pulls you into his arms with a deep and heavy eye roll as the both of you fall backwards into the couch. “That was my second order of business, Babe.” He nuzzles his nose into tje side of your face and his hands pull yoir thigh pver his mich smaller one

“Unhand me, Demon!”

“Now I know you didn't eat because you never eat when you're like this,” your stomach, despite turning in nausea also manages to descend into a pit of butterflies, “But I'm going to make you a smoothie and you'll drink at least 2 gulps. Maybe even 3.”

You try to wrangle out of his grip but he keeps you there, “And you still haven't brushed your teeth, so you're doing that after the smoothie” Seungmin whispers, nearly causing an anyureseum as a places a delicate kiss to ypur cheek, as his hand comes up the back of your head, patting your hair down in intervals.

“Are you my dad?” You whisper, despite your eyes flitting shut. Your cramps, you're noticing, have already begun to ease up and Seungmin snickers as he watches the peace take over your countenance.

He leaves one more delicate kiss to your forehead before snickering, “don't piss me off” he says, tapping the skin of your thigh, “God, I love when you're like this,” you're unaware of the intensity with which Seungmin is looking down at you. “You like when I'm dying of pain?” You ask craning your neck back to haze into the vaguely serious face taking over your boufriend's features. While you examine the roundness of his cheeks and the contours of his visage, Seungmin's eyes are trained on you too. They're intense, dark holes of perpetual lust as his hand begins to rub up and down your thigh. “I like when you let me take care of you?” He whispers before lightly pushing his lips against yours. It begins as a whisper of a kiss, almost hy as the tips of your lips brush together. Seungmin sticks his tongue out, lapping shyly at your bottom lip.

You groan underneath him, only prompting him to shift until he's hovering over you, kissing you deeply.

“I need-” you try to move away but his lips chase yours, “I need to eat, remember-”

“Didn't say anything about me eating you-”

The lightening that slices down your spine is so vicious and so sudden and by the time you're pushing Seungmin off of you, you realize your cramps have completely dissipated.

“Make me a smoothie, and then we'll talk.”

[david-talks-sw]

I think it's interesting that - in order to make his "free-thinking Jedi" characters hold any semblance of rationality in their arguments - Dave Filoni needs to resort to artificially dehumanizing the other Jedi and painting them all with the same "we dogmatically worship protocol" brush.

He does this with Huyang in the recent Ahsoka episode.

"Lolz he's so narrow-minded, preachy and by-the-book, unable to think outside the box, just like the Jedi in the Prequels."

My first reaction was being amused at the fact that Filoni had to resort to making the Jedi Order's ideals and rules be embodied by a literal machine for his anti-Jedi headcanon to start making sense.

But then I remembered: Huyang isn't just any droid.

In The Clone Wars, he had a sassy personality, he had a pep in his step, he had a sense of humor...

This character was human in his behavior, he was fun and whimsical.

But now he's been reduced to, I dunno, "Jedi C-3PO"? Basically?

"Ha! He's blunt and unsympathetic because he's a droid, but it's funny because the Jedi were the same, they were training themselves to be tactless, emotionless droids."

And Filoni does this with Mace Windu too, in Tales of the Jedi.

Mace, who brought a lightsaber to the throat of a planetary leader to defend the endangered Zillo Beast...

... and who went waaay past his mandate by mischievously sneaking around Bardottan authorities and breaking into the Queen's quarters because he felt something bad was afoot...

... was reduced to being an almost droid-like, rule-parotting, protocol purist who sticks to his instructions (and is implied to be willing to let a murder go unsolved so he can get a promotion).

I mentioned this at the end of my first post on Luke in The Last Jedi... while changes in personality do happen overtime and can be explained in-universe... if you don't show us that progression and evolution and just leave us without that context, that'll break the suspension of disbelief, for your audience.

Here, we have two characters with a different (almost caricatural) personality than the one they were originally shown to have.

Now... we could resort to headcanons, to make it all fit together.

We could justify Huyang's tone shift 'cause "Order 66 changed him". And we could make explanations about TotJ's Mace:

Being younger and thus more ambitious and a stickler for the rules, and only really becoming more flexible after getting his seat on the Council and gaining more maturity.

Being such a teacher's pet in the episode because we're seeing him through the eyes of a notorious unreliable narrator, Dooku.

There'd be nothing wrong with opting to go with either of those headcanons to cope with this. After all, Star Wars is meant to help you get creative.

But the problem I encounter is that:

Filoni has an anti-Jedi bias, so the above headcanons clearly wouldn't really track with his intended narrative.

We'd be jumping through hoops to extrapolate and fill in what is, essentially, inconsistent characterization, manufactured to make Ahsoka and Dooku shine under a better light.

And that sours whatever headcanon I come up with.

Edit: Also, yeah, as folks have been saying in the tags... wtf is "Jedi protocol"? The term isn't ever mentioned in the movies, I skimmed through dialog transcripts of TCW, never saw it there.

So it's almost as if - if Filoni wasn't draining characters like Mace and Huyang of all humanity and nuance - his point about "the Jedi were too detached and lost their way, but not free-thinkers like Qui-Gon, Dooku and Ahsoka" wouldn't really hold much water.

[raphael-angele]

If Hades raised Bianca and Nico Part 17

@crossroadart-seabear made comics about how Nico could talk to Hades' animals (Black Ram and Screeching Owl)

Screeching owl: *screeching all morning*

Campers: UGGGGHHH

Percy: Annabeth. Do something!

Annabeth: What do you want me to do?!

Percy: I dunno! Your mom's animal is an owl! Do something!

Bianca, peacefully eating her breakfast despite the screeching: *sighs and stands up from her table*

Percy:

Annabeth:

Bianca, walking up to the tree then shoots an arrow that is very close to the owl: SHUT UP

Owl: *stops screeching*

Bianca: *goes back to her table and continues to eat*

Everyone:

---

Nico: BIA! BIA LOOK! LOOKIE!

Bianca, busy restringing her bow: Yes, Nico?

Nico: Can we keep it?! PLEEEAAAASE!

Bianca: What are you- *looks over*

Nico: *straddling a black ram*

Bianca:

Nico: Can we keep it? :D

[luvvannie]

✮ joshua hong as your boyfriend. sfw!

✮ looooong walks down the coast in the spring,, hand-in-hand ALWAYS (don't let go he'll get sulky) and pit-stops every five minutes whenever you both see something pretty. coming home with flowers in your hair and empty ice coffee cups and the sky on the brink of midnight AAAA

✮ he LOVES taking photos of you, just documenting life yk?? he's always like 'baby smile!' with his phone every other second its SO SWEET (also his lockscreen is always a picture he's taken of u, but it's constantly taking bc there's always a new 'favourite y/n pic' AKAkAA)

✮ kbbq every week!! he knows all ur fave combos with the sauces and meats (not me making it sound like a video game GIRL) and he will do all the cooking the whole time while u sit beside him and watch and make all those 'ooo aaaa' sound effects HYPING UR MAN YK (he needs the cheerleadering its not an option bbg). you get the first bite everytime ofc PRINCESS TREATMENT WBK

✮ the two of you are always babysitting for your friends and it's the MOST CHAOTIC THING EVER bc ure constantly asking each other 'baby... where did the ACTUAL baby go..?😰' but it always has u giggling and kicking ur feet by the end because OMG HE'S SOOO HUSBAND THE WAY HES SO GOOD WITH KIDS... mayb this is my inner cheol bias coming out as well but after seeing how he was with ahrin and ahyun i think he secretly prefers babysitting the daughters (girl dad shua WE KNOW WE KNOWWWW) JUST A THOUGHT OKAY!!!

✮ and then one day after one of the kids you were babysitting went home, you saw that they left their colouring book at your house, and you would just curiously go over and try colouring in one of the sections... and then shua would come in and see what you were doing and wanna join you AND THEN BOOM ITS BEEN AN HOUR WHAT FUCKING DRUGS ARE IN CHILDREN'S COLOURING BOOKS??? after that day, the two of you started buying your own colouring books and then spending your afternoons together colouring while you ate dinner.

✮ GIFT-GIVING! he's not a basic bitch either. flowers and chocolates are for unoriginal LOSERS 😡❗️ (but he does get u those too...) he loves getting u cute pyjamas and slippers the most I DUNNO I THINK HE JUST LIKES BEING COMFY WITH YOU IN GENERAL

✮ on the topic of being comfy... day naps. you've practically burned it into ur brains by now, you both immediately start getting tired when it's about to be naptime... and then as soon the clock strikes three in the afternoon YOU'RE BOTH DEAD. for the next two hours at least.

[scoops404]

Scoops' Fics of 2024

It's that time of year again! The time for me to rank my own fics for the last year in order from my least favorite to most favorite. I only considered fics I wrote entirely myself, so you won't see an honest living in here because that was almost 50/50 written with Dizzy! (but you should definitely go check it out!)

This year I only had two novel length fics because I was supposed to be focusing on original work (oops). I had a heck of a summer with my bingo fills. There's definitely recency bias at play here, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Let me know if you agree/disagree :D

See the Elephant - T - this one was written for a fic fest that ended up getting canceled because of the grituation. I had already written the entire thing and it had to be T because the artists were going to post their work. If I had known it would be canceled, I would have had them doing the freaknasty. This was after I had already planned out and written a fic before new boundaries dropped in November (see Circling Back). Basically, this fic fest was never meant to be, I suppose. I was starting to think I was a curse. Oh, but the fic itself is a soulmate AU and kinda angsty and has a hospital scene. 0 horse mentions.

Merry Men Making Merry - T - This was written for Fairy Tales from the SMP - the first and only successful fanfiction event I've completed all the way through (it's never me dropping out btw, it's always the event getting canceled). Anyway I got my first choice of fairy tale, which was Robin Hood, and I put a fun spin on it. The art with this fic was gorgeous!! A very different type of fic for me and it stretched some writing muscles I didn't know I had. Secret identity and identity reveal, some of my favorite tropes. 4 horse mentions.

Move to Florida, buy the car you want - E - the first of my bingo fics. It turns out I am bad at being brief. Anyway, DNF get together and semi-roadhead and I dunno, it's cute. I wrote most of this fic free hand in my note book at my work desk because fuck capitalism. I just checked, the prompt was "late night care rides" which checks out. 0 horse mentions

Someone told me there's no such thing as bad thoughts (croptop) - E - this is the one from the middle of June about crop tops that was also written for bingo. I dunno. It's cute enough. 0 horse mentions.

Everyone understands why it’s mean to be (a/b/o phone call) - T - this one is funny because I didn't even bother saying what the prompt was in the author's notes, but I think it was a/b/o. This one was fun to write because it was basically a nod to the 2021 fandom and where we were, and where DNF were -- waiting on that damn visa. Like going back in time and writing a fic. 1 horse mention.

Can I Use You Up - E - I really had fun writing this one. It has fun Dreateam dynamics and then a really intense sex scene and the dichotomy of both of those things in one fic -- and short (for me), at that! impressive. 0 horse mentions.

Circling Back - E - this fic is fun and wild. I got to write co-workers to lovers that is also hidden/secret identity -- and it works! WILD! I re-read this one recently and it stands up. This was originally written for that first fic fest i was talking about and when they changed it for the new boundaries for art, I couldn't have any smut and the whole plot kind of hinged around the smut, so... I decided to just write it as it is. ALSO this is the first fic that Chelsey beta'd, I think. So that's fun! And it was the first fic of the year (not counting Hits Different which wrapped up in January). 0 horse mentions.

Just to do experiments on - E - Yall, if you had told me that I would write tentacle porn, I would have laughed at you. Extra has been trying to get me to write tentacles for YEARS and then it came up on my bingo card and I felt like I finally had to bite the bullet and do it. Except, I actually really love how it turned out? This bingo prompt was tentacles, obviously, but also cursed by a witch. A twofer, if you will. 0 horse mentions.

Let Me Familiarize You - E - here's some Scoops lore. I wrote this fic in two sitting and it is 13K, so that's wild!!! It took me two days in the time after my surgery but before I could go back to work to write this (in between writing the beginnings of Two Fools and another story that I haven't and won't publish lol). Anyway, it's about witch!George accidentally making Patches his familiar and then coming clean to Dream and also his mom is there. And then literally that same day, George dropped a video with his mom. Crazy pants. (or maybe it was the day before when this was all written? Can't remember. Also I was on pain pills). I really like how it turned out. It's a fun premise! 0 horse mentions.

Puzzle pieces in the dead of night - T - another bingo fic, the prompt was pirates. Anyway, I had a BLAST writing this one. Secret identity, kidnapping, munchy mc dynamics, I really like writing action adventurey fics and this one feel right into that category. A fun read, in my opinion. 0 horse mentions.

I’m Having His Baby (No, I’m Not) - E - a bingo fic, the prompt was "mpreg, but abortion" because the person who made the boards *ahem* doesn't like pregnancy stuff and wanted to punish me (lightheartedly lol). Anyway, joke is on her, because I made this into an epic story and I had so much fun writing it. Like, laughing out loud to myself while writing it, which is kinda sad, but is also the point of fanfiction. You have to entertain yourself first and foremost. And also I snuck eventual mpreg in there anyway so haha! for real, though, if you think the premise of this one is weird -- Dream and George accompany Sapnap on a roadtrip to Colorado to get his abortion -- you should try it out anyway. 1 horse mention, and arguably the one that brought it to our good anon's attention.

Anagnorisis - E - speaking of mpreg, LMAOOOOOO. My "I didn't know I was pregnant" AU with Angst and miscommunication and domesticity and last minute flights to London and a baby named after the lead singer of Glass Animals. This fic has a lot! I wrote a lot about the beginning of this fic on Tumblr and kind of how I begin writing fics. Here Anyway, pretty proud of this fic. I had to ask my mom a lot of questions about NICU. 3 horse mentions.

I Am Two Fools - E - every year the last novel length fic of the year seems to be in the top spot. No Exception this year. This fic was very tough to write, but very rewarding. I think it taught me a lot about making sure character motivations are fleshed out and make sense. It, and Anagnorisis, taught me about trusting the reader and dropping hints at things. Yall got So Good at catching hints and making molehills out of anthills, as intended. I took a chance and switched up POV halfway through, which is almost never do. And I think that really helped me stretch my writing muscles as well as all the bingo fics. Very proud of the work I did on this fic. 0 horse mentions.

[jq37]

FH Junior Year Post-Season Thoughts

With another season of Fantasy High in the books and my recaps all finished, I wanted to do an overview of my thoughts on the season as a whole. Even though I feel generally positive about my experience with the season, there are a few things I think maybe could have been done differently narratively or mechanically. This isn't to criticize the way the season went down or to backseat DM/Play. More my combined ten years of college for textual analysis and storytelling bleeding through, haha. 

I first want to start with the things I thought worked really well.

Fantasy High has "High" right in its title but, in past seasons (and especially Sophomore Year), not as much time as you'd think was spent actually at school and even if it was spent at school, there wasn't much time spent in class or engaging with the realities of being a student. This season really dug into the academic consequences of skipping your classes all the time and the realities of needing to do a ton of extra stuff to try for a scholarship and I think that was a refreshing thing to highlight for a change. Being more scared at flunking out than the dragon that's trying to eat you feels very emotionally resonant. Real "High School Is Killing Me" vibes for anyone who's a fan of NPMD. 

Even though Fantasy High is a show that has some deep emotional beats and strong character arcs, it's first and foremost a comedy show. From the jump, everyone was generating bit after bit that had me cracking up as usual. "Little girly dog collar" is one of the funniest combinations of words I can think of. I think it was Siobhan who said that this was the goofy season and, having seen it, I'd have to agree with her. It never failed to make me laugh and it was always a highlight of my week.  The cast just has great table chemistry that I love to watch no matter what they're doing. 

Watching some of these high level combat encounters is as close as I'll get to understanding people watching sports. Even though combat is generally my least fave part of D&D, I think the cast really killed it this season with how cleverly they played and Brennan came up with some really great combat encounters. Special shout outs to Baron's Game and The Last Stand for their unique mechanics.  

This is going to be one that's on the other list as well because my feelings are mixed, but I genuinely do like the downtime mechanic and how it forces hard choices. I think it's an interesting way to connect a mechanic to the story and cultivate stressful atmosphere for the season.

I have problems with the execution but I love the Rat Grinders in concept. I think as early as season 1 I was hoping that we'd meet a party that was like the Bizarro Bad Kids and the idea of a party that's farming XP instead of going on crazy adventures is a strong concept. Likewise, I think a character that's jealous because of your "cool" (read: tragic) backstory is also a fun trait for an unhinged antagonist in this kind of setting.

This is me absolutely showing my bias but I adored the Abernant Sisters content this season. I dunno if Siobhan specifically asked Brennan to not put her on a bus with the other beloved NPCs or what but I'm so glad she stuck around and we got the development we did. It was almost entirely ancillary to the plot but there was this clear pattern of Aelwyn getting softer and sweeter towards Adaine over the course of the season, from the guarded, "Enjoy the nemesis ward," to, full I love you's and, "I'd take them to get you." It was way more focus than I expected considering that Aelwyn completed the bulk of her arc last season and a lot of the time, a redemption arc basically ends after the big gesture (in this case, Aelwyn taking a magic blast for Adaine in Sophomore Year). So the fact that we got to see all of these sweet moments of them reestablishing their relationship outside of do or die moments was such a pleasant surprise. Again, I fully admit I am extremely biased, but this was my top wishlist item and the season overdelivered so there's a baseline happy I'm always gonna be with Junior Year. 

OK, so moving on to things I things I think could have been tweaked.

Even though I liked the downtime system and the pressures it created, it also squeezed out the chance for more casual PC to NPC interactions that would usually be more common because they were semi-locked behind the relationship track and there wasn't an obvious benefit to roll for Relationships (as opposed to something like Academics which was crucial for not flunking out). Making the mechanical benefit more clear would have helped that (even if it meant Brennan didn't get his reveal--which he ended up just telling them anyway so might as well do it early). The other thing is that the consequence of a rage token was so bad that of course they spent all season avoiding getting one. Things might have gone differently if the consequences had been a bit more obscured, like in Neverafter. And it could have been a nice parallel to the Rat Grinders to take this unknown resource that makes things easier for you but is also having this negative effect. Then it could be like dang we did the same thing they did unknowingly. 

I mentioned this in my recap but I'll talk about it again. It is a little confusing to me that we did the Ankarna subplot right after we did the very similar Cassandra subplot. It took up so much time this season which I don't think is an issue in and of itself, it's just that we literally just went through some extremely similar beats last season. Why double up on this same storyline when there's so much new ground to cover? Or if we're going to raise a god, why not make it a different kind of god? One theory I had early on was that the Rat Grinders were trying to raise their own god to one-up the Bad Kids but instead of raising a chill, misunderstood Cass type, they accidentally raised a god who was erased for a good reason and got in over their heads. 

It's fun for there to be connections between seasons but sometimes it's like, OK that's a *lot* of coincidences. Like the god who your rivals is trying to raise *happens* to be the wife of your cleric's god and also *happens* to be the god of the fiend trapped in your friend's mom's chest and that fiend *happens* to be the relative on your bard's dad's side which is *also* the reason she is randomly cursed? That's a LOT of red string connecting plot points. As unhinged as Kipperlilly is about coveting Riz's backstory if I saw that go down I'd be like you have *got* to be kidding me.  

The mystery elements didn't feel like they clicked as well as they did in other seasons. I think that's partially because Porter's plan was so convoluted (seriously, I made another post about how haphazard his plan was) and had all these moving parts and we didn't get clear answers for a lot of mechanical things like how the rage crystals actually work and when they were implanted and stuff. You had stuff like Devil's Honey which I think is super cool as a thing that exists in the world but ended up being an element that just led the players down the wrong path and had a relatively small payoff (that Porter was using it to lie to Ankarna). I think it's plausible that a forgotten god would be willing to listen to anyone saying the right things without introducing this element. (As opposed to, for instance, Ambrosia which has a very clear connection to what's going on and is a solid clue that someone is flirting with aspirations of godhood.) 

The Porter reveal came so late in the season that even though it was a fun/challenging fight, there wasn't a lot of emotional weight behind killing him. It was basically just dunking on a teacher Fig has always hated who was also mean to Gorgug so screw him. Which, valid of course. But the Bad Kids were never going to react as strongly to Porter as they were to the Rat Grinders so putting Porter in the prime villain spot isn't necessarily what I would have done if I wanted the fight to be more than just a brawl--especially since we've done "School admin with student minions" already in S1. I don't mind the full circle callback but it would have been nice to pick something else for the sake of variety. We haven't had a child mastermind yet and I think Kipperlilly could have been a great candidate for that. My friend suggested that it would have been fun if Kipperlilly was trying to become a god instead of just being Porter's underling and I agree. "I'm not anyone's chosen one so I'll choose myself," is still within her established jealousy and Type A tendencies. If we want to keep Porter involved since that was Brennan's gift to Emily, maybe have it be that instead of Kipperlilly working for him, he's working for her. Like Artemis Fowl vibes! And the Rat Grinders can be varying levels of on board--from true believe to redeemable. I don't think Brennan planned for the Bad Kids to ever redeem her so might as well go full megalomaniacal mastermind with her and make her The Villain if she's not gonna be nuanced anyway. If My Little Pony can do it and send a literal child to Tartarus for pony treason (or whatever Cozy Glow did), Fantasy High can too. 

Continuing from the above, if we have the Porter fight in place of the Grix fight (a la Daybreak) and don't use Ankarna, that gives way more time for the Bad Kids to investigate the Rat Grinders throughout the season and it would mean that they would have their personalities developed a lot more. With the limited downtime, they Bad Kids didn't have a lot of time to spend on these kids who were just hating on them for no good reason (valid). But if you cleared their plate of the god hunt stuff, they'd have more time for this. And if they weren't all rage zombies to varying degrees, it would be easier to see them as characters. Besides Kipperlilly (and, funnily enough, Mary Ann) we don't really have a good read on what these kids are actually like. The little time we spent with them all season was kind of a wash if them breaking out of rage means their personalities got laundered too. Anyway, regardless of how their loyalties ended up shaking out, it would have been fun for them to be more than the minions that they were in canon. As funny as it is for them to just kinda be XP farming losers, they did have the potential to be more interesting in their own right if they weren't just Porter's minions. And again, we've done adults forcing or coercing children into being minions in Freshman and Sophomore Year already. Lemme see some self-created child maniacs! (Or, peer pressured child maniacs. That's cool too. The Lucy/Kipperlilly dynamic is way more interesting to me if it's like girl, I would take a bullet for you but I CANNOT walk this path with you any further in response to *I* will be a god and you can be *MY* champion.)

Anyway, those are my thoughts! Like I said, I have my points that I think could have been tightened, but overall an enjoyable season and I will be glued to my screen if they decide to close out with Senior Year! 

[sodasa-was-taken]

How subtle is the romance of G-Witch really: The language of romance and the bias in interpretation

First of all, I want to express my gratitude for all the feedback I've received. You guys are awesome. When I posted my first analysis, I had no idea how it would be perceived. Throughout my life, I've mostly been met with confusion, if not a bit of curiosity, when I've told people about my fascination with the romance genre. Even people who like the genre don't treat it with the respect I do but rather see it as something they can turn their brains off to. I was scared that people who saw my analysis would think that G-Witch, I dunno, had too much else going on to be considered a romance. I can't tell you all how validating it's been to get this much praise for writing about one of my biggest passions. Thank you so much.

This post is less an analysis of G-Witch as it's an exploration of the hypocrisy in how straight and gay romances are interpreted even by the queer community. I've engaged with a lot of female/male romances, especially when I was younger and thought I was straight, so it's quite surreal seeing similar stories being interpreted vastly differently based only on whether the main characters are queer or not.

There's been a lot of discussion about how explicit same-sex relationships in fiction should be. Many agree that the minimum for the characters to be unambiguously into each other is for them to kiss. That would be an ideal metric if the same applied to a man and a woman being into each other. It does not. For the vast majority of history, since people first started portraying characters in romantic relationships, explicit depictions of physical affection between those characters haven't been a thing. Depicting that sort of thing didn't become commonplace until the 20th century. For example, you would be hard-pressed to find any of the somewhat indecent positions Miorine and Suletta get into in a Jean Austin novel. Like, usually in a platonic hug, you lay your head on someone's shoulder or clavicle, and Miorine's burying her face in the upper part of Suletta's cleavage. How scandalous!

Of course, these views are centuries old, and the expectations of what should be included in a story about people getting together have changed drastically since then. Except in a lot of ways, it hasn't. Especially in manga, light novels, and anime, it can take real-life years for two characters to show affection through physician touch. Still, it’s expected that the characters are or will become attracted to one another and that they’ll end up together before the end of the story. Unless they’re the same gender, where not only is that not an expectation, but due to tropes such as Bury Your Gays, people are more likely to think one of them is going to die. That’s messed up. Being a main character in a romance or something adjacent shouldn’t be a death sentence for any character. Then there’s the fact that same-sex couples-to-be in fiction can be as forward as they want in their physical and verbal affections. Still, a straight couple-to-be that does nothing but bigger or just be the most prominent characters in their respective genders will still be perceived as less ambiguous. A man and a woman who get a bit flustered around each other are hopelessly in love. Yet, two girls sharing an intimate hug after a conversation about how neither wants their engagement to just be a transaction; that’s “totally platonic.”

Better yet, Hollywood has fine-tuned this to the point that the male and female leads only need to look at each other for about five seconds, and it’s enough to infer that they’re attracted to each other. This has become so ubiquitous that people have gotten confused when the leads are implied not to have gotten together despite having shown zero romantic intent. Having the character show romantic intent isn’t generally considered a requirement for them to end up together in a Hollywood film. No, seriously. All this is to say that literary and visual shorthand have always been and continue to be a major part of romances. Yet, the bar is much higher when it comes to the confirmation that two characters of the same gender are into each other. An author can use the exact same narrative tools that have become a staple of female/male romances/romantic subplots, and someone will tell you you're being led on for picking up on them.

The main reason for the high standards placed on same-sex couples is the desire for representation. If straight couples are allowed to or even expected to kiss at some point in the story, the same should be the case for same-sex couples. That said, kissing neither is nor should be the be-all and end-all of good representation. Yeah, straight couples get to kiss and have sexual relationships, but by all accounts, a significant amount of straight representation is absolutely abysmal. Lots of straight romances reek of sexism, outdated gender roles, and stereotyping, are toxic, and straight-up have a reputation for romanticizing abuse. If kissing or an “I love you” is the metric to which good representation is judged, two straight people who have zero chemistry or are downright abusive would be better representation than a same-sex couple whose relationship is built on mutual respect and support but who doesn't get to kiss or say “I love you” and that's ridiculous.

It’s also worth noting how people who tell others they’re crazy for seeing a queer story where according to them, there aren’t any, get characterized as needing to see something explicit to pick up that a story is or even just be interpreted as a queer romance. The thing is, most of these people aren’t dense; they’re willfully ignorant. They can pick up on the signs just as easily as they can in male/female romances; they’re choosing not to, even if it’s likely an unconscious decision. There seems to be a need among queer people to have depictions in media that even bigots can’t deny are queer. Why though? Representation is vital in helping to normalize the existence of various types of people, but for so many queer people, it just doesn’t seem to be enough. So what if some people wouldn’t get it unless the characters kiss? Those people will just start complaining about how they’re having queerness forced down their throats, and that’s their problem. There’s so much more to the queer experience than displays of physical affection, and this representation gatekeeping isn’t helping anyone. Normalizing same-sex couple kissing is important, but normalizing people of the same gender kissing is only going to normalize the kissing itself. If, for example, two people of the same gender get to kiss and then one of them gets killed off, that's the opposite of normalizing same-sex relationships.

Pulling from my own experiences, I've never been told that there was anything wrong with two people of the same gender kissing. Still, I saw same-sex relationships as inferior and believed being in one couldn't give me the life I wanted. I tried so hard to convince myself that I was straight and was only attracted to someone with a different gender presentation than me – because I was also an egg who told myself I was wrong for feeling uncomfortable for being referred to as my assigned gender at birth. Honestly, I thought that I would be happier if I didn’t even entertain the idea of getting together with someone with the same gender presentation as me. So, imagine how much it meant to me to see a show about two girls where one of them didn’t even think that getting engaged to another girl was an option, both of them having young men interested in them but asking each other to spend their life with them, and ending the show being married and being all the happier for being with the other. That's the kind of representation I've been looking for.

On a less serious note, I’d like to share an antidote from when I watched episode one for the first time. When Suletta sees someone floating around in space who appears to be in danger I didn’t initially consider that the person in question might be Miorine. The visuals planted the idea in my mind and the thing that confirmed it was the framing of the two inside Aerial’s cockpit. I couldn’t explain what I was picking up on, but to me, it was a dead giveaway.

[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: creature of mine

"Dunno why, but s'not working this time. M'not resssponding to it." Crowley's eyes flickered with something entirely unreadable. "I need a warm body." "I see." "Can't even use my fingers properly with these bloody claws. Still, feels better to have something warm, something moving." Aziraphale attempted to make sense of Crowley's words, his head pounding viciously. A warm body. "Would you like me to... hold you again?" Crowley smiled, open-mouthed and beastly. His fangs glistened in the darkness. "Need you to fuck me, angel." Or: Aziraphale buys Crowley a snake plant, hoping to please Crowley with the appealing smell of its flowers. Its effects on Crowley are far more extreme than Aziraphale anticipated, and it’s down to him to face them head-on.

Length: 21,253 Words

AO3 Rating: Explicit / Spice Level 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Best for: After Dark, Canon AU

Triggers: None

Read it here, fic by ineffabildaddy, omens_for_ophelia

*Minor Spoilers* Buckle in, it's long post time. I admit to bias in the length of this post because I love this author, but above all, my enjoyment of this story is so genuine and I am so proud to recommend that you all read it too. This was written for the sex pollen event that has been going on recently (so many more for me to read!) and it's one I knew was coming but didn't know too many details about. So when I woke up to the email that it was posted, I knew I was going to have such a good morning, and oooh boy did I.

Caught outside in the rain, Aziraphale steps briefly into an exotic plant shop to stay dry. When he spots a beautiful flowering snake plant, well, he's free from Heaven now and free to buy his friend a gift. And what a gift it will be when they realize that the plant's pollen contains the exact pheromones that trigger Crowley's snake desires. Even though I knew exactly where this was going, the actual journey was so intoxicating. When the effects first take hold, neither of them knows exactly what to do. Both are locked into shame and embarrassment over the situation, but the trust and protection they have for each other is sturdy. Crowley struggles with losing control and the pain of vulnerability, while Aziraphale tries desperately to deny his own wants and desires. He represses it all to protect Crowley. And isn't this just the most beautiful metaphor for their entire relationship? As always, they get there in the end. It's as heartwarming as it is sensual. I will never tire of them completely surrendering to each other.

The thing I always love most about this narrative style is how it blends poetry and smut. It will paint with gorgeous prose and then snap our attention back with its explicit language. It's thrilling to me and a shining example of how rich smut stories can be. I'm awed and horny! And I have to say, this was such a clever and interesting take on Crowley's snake body! Naga/Monster fuckers, this one needs to be made a priority for you. It was described in excellent detail but also depicted gorgeously by the included art! I've still got goosebumps over the third piece of included art! The color palette! The bodies!! The emotion! I'm in love. Both author and artist have a talent for making me feel so at home in my own body with their works. I just trust them implicitly, and they make it so easy to imagine how everything would feel to my own skin.

This is an at-home, after-dark read. It will have you sweating and squirming, but also in awe of their closeness and the trust they have in each other. How endless their devotion is. How beautiful this story is. But let's be real, I'm also thinking about how fun their next round with this plant could be now that they're on the same page. Next time, with the walls completely down, they are going to have the most pleasurable night of their life for the rest of their lives.

Read it here, fic by ineffabildaddy, omens_for_ophelia

[py-dreamer]

Rant about shadowpeach (WARNING! Mac slander)

I'm sure you've all heard this time and time again but you know what screw it I'm tossing my 2 cents into the ring

I think my bias for Wukong definitely has a part in this but I will try to be as neutral as possible which is impossible. My personal opinions will absolutely shine through but it is just that: a personal opinion

I love my trio of gay monkeys, I really do.

Is Macaque a good character? Yes

I do think he's a genuinely interesting character, with cool mystery ,interesting backstory, cool powers, he's fun to watch, has a kickass theme song and aesthetic and I can see why a lot of fans attach themselves to them.

Do I love seeing him with Wukong? Yes

Their banter is fun, past shadowpeach can be sweet as sugar (or spicy, I don't judge) and their angst is real yummy.

What I don't like is when the angst is all Wukong's fault. And everyone and their grandma will harp on the Monkey king and just ignore all of Mac's bullsh!t. Especially in fanfics.

Like don't get me wrong, keep writing that good stuff! But like...jeez

The amount of smack that the golden monkey goes through in this fandom is like...yikes.

Look, I know we're all hung up about the bloody murder thing.

(Personally I'm on the theory that Wukong didn't actually kill Mac, if they were really that close he wouldn't have acted so casual upon their battle after he murdered him, but I digress)

And Wukong should be called out on that BUT.

Mac also isn't blameless here.

(If you like toxic shadowpeach, fine. But this is for peeps who think that Wukong is the only toxic one and Mac was just a victim.)

Take it from this perspective:

The two were really close during the brotherhood era. Wukong kept doing stupid things to gain power and getting them in trouble and in the final battle did something astronomically stupid and they all lost.

Then they all ditch him...leading to his imprisonment (five phases mountain) and torture (furnace and also being fed iron pellets and hot mercury)

Fair, Mac probably shouldn't have been trapped too but he visited once out of 500 years, had a fight and never came back by the looks of it.

He assigns himself the role of the warrior who always stood by his king's side.

And then ditched him in his time of need.

Mans really failed at his own self proclaimed job.

Fine, he probably should've taken a break, none of them were in the right state of mind and Wukong was being very bratty.

BUT

IF HE TRULY VALUED THEIR RELATIONSHIP (from the looks of his lil gay play, he did) HE WOULD'VE Y'KNOW. COME BACK AND TALK?!?!

If he really valued their relationship, outside of calling him a coward and LEAVING, never to visit again. Would that not be a perfect opportunity to communicate?

Like, my dude. He's stuck in the rock. He can't run. Could you not find the roots of the problem and solved it?

But lets say "He was too busy taking care of flower fruit mountain"

(despite him literally EATING one of the monkeys in JTTW, but that was JTTW and I don't think its canon in Lmk. But still, interesting to note.)

I'm sure his subjects were worried about their king? Did he never answer them? If he really valued their bond, could he not have I dunno, shadow portaled some monkeys to see their king or like put time aside to communicate and update the monkeys?

But lets say "He was too traumatized from the burning of his home and was too angry"

500 gosh dang years seems like a long time to take a break.

I feel like at that point, he should've let go of Wukong

BUT NOOOO HE DOESN'T NOW DOES HE.

We establish that their relationship is kinda wrecked.

They don't communicate.

He ditched Wukong for 500 years.

But when he see's the pilgrims decides that Wukong ditched him and the brotherhood..?

So by his logic, Wukong has abandoned ffm the brotherhood and him, after they ditched him under a mountain for 500 years, never visited, never talked, never tried to rebuild their relationship.

Sees the circlet being used, sees the pilgrims not trusting him, sees him go on this journey unwillingly, not allowed to leave the monk unprotected, and comes to the conclusion that Wukong is a traitor...?

But plans to free him because he's being abused and forced to do it?

Pick a lane my dude. Did he abandon you or not?

BUT THEN.

He impersonates him, destroys what little trust the group had

WHILE TRIPITAKA STILL HAD EASY ACCESS TO THE FILLET MIND YOU

hurts Wukong multiple times, till he gets banished. And tries to kill Tripitaka as he still had the bloody circlet?!

This isn't sad lover getting revenge at being abandoned.

This is bitter jealous ex getting petty revenge and still expecting to get back together like this.

Also he says he watched as the pilgrims tortured him with the fillet. If he watched them, he'd know that Wukong is also obligated to fight and most of the time he does kill them, despite the pacifist monk.

He's required to PROTECT THE MONK AT ALL COST.

So tell me...

WHAT THE HELL WAS HIS PLAN?!

He does realize that like this was mandated by heaven right? And there'd be huge consequences to killing the monk right?

So basically:

Mac: yea so my plan is to impersonate you and commit crimes you didn't do, get you in trouble and inadvertently hurt you severely, traumatize you even more then kill the monk so we can go back to flower fruit mountain like we wanted to right?

Even though there will probably be astronomical consequences for you, me probably the rest of the monkeys for letting me kill this monk on the trip mandated by heaven. By failing to protect him, redeeming yourself and also losing a close friend heaven might probably put you under another mountain again probably forever this time, and I will probably use my powers to get out scotch free and we'd all blame you even though I killed him.

But you're still to blame for abandoning me, the brotherhood and your subjects even though I never visited you after our fight, calling you a coward, immediately leaving never to come back and update you on what happened. Its your fault the mountain is like this even though I never asked you for help or advice or even contacted you to let you know our home was destroyed.

Meanwhile I'm the victim and you never valued our friendship.

.

.

.

This idiot-

In summary, he abandons his king, accused him for ditching them all comes back claiming to help him by antagonizing him, hurting him and puts himself in a position where he kinda has to do something?

Because Mac was set on killing the monk.

Everyone acts like he just visited, said something mean and Wukong played the stab game bit too hard.

But he tried to kill him and wouldn't back off?

Seriously what did he expect Wukong to do?

The fandom acts like he was given a pass to not die when he's already broken off the relationship and put Wukong in an impossible situation where Mac wouldn't freaking leave or let go about killing the monk.

I'm not saying that Wukong should've killed Mac on the spot. But I just wish that everyone stops acting like he was being such an asshole and killing him out of nowhere.

(for someone with six ears and is meant to be all hearing he sure is bad at listening)

Then he gets revived by the lady bone demon and let me check:

steals all of Mk's powers

tries to kill the kid despite having no bad blood with him

antagonizes Tang, ridiculing him and calling Wukong a coward despite ditching him under a mountain

makes a copy of the TEA van to kidnap and traumatize Mk even more

Traumatizes Mk AGAIN in the shadow play and steals his friends souls

Hold Mei and Sandy hostage for the rings and tries to squeeze the life out of them

Shooting the airship down (OOOHHHH WUUUKOOOONG this ape is down bad.)

Chokes Mei and uses her as a hostage again for the samadhi fire ritual

Immediately leaves after Mei's firey outburst

Wants to leave possessed Wukong to the clutches of LBD

never gives Mk the full story in the ink scroll that he tried to kill Sanzang or how he never came back.

NEVER APOLOGIZES

I don't even think Macaque has apologized for any of his bullsh!t.

Some of his acts were necessary but he just makes it uneccessarily cruel and revels in their pain

And the fandom makes them all buddy buddy at the end, excuse all his actions and collectively hate Wukong?

Yes he does help Mk in fighting possessed Wukong but like LBD's reign would end the world as he knew it. What else could he do? DBK would probably do it in his position.

But he never apologizes to any of the cast.

I've seen fics where he does apologize which is good.

But he also never apologizes to monkey king?

But that will be in pt2. Yes there will be a goddamn pt2 cause I've not even scratched the surface when it comes to fanfics.

But I will take this chance to share a fic that does tackle this issue really well:

Fractured Pieces make a mosaic by @furornocturna

Cause this fic is genuinely so good I am vibrating at the seams, its one of my favs (also furornoctura's writing is good in general)

One of the only fics I've seen where the characters all call out Mac being a jackass and in an interesting way.

One day I will make some fanart for this but till then this will do

Their writing is so yummy go check it out

[myobsessionsspace]

My leanings and my feelings

Sometimes labels can be limiting and sometimes they can be liberating.

They can help people understand others better, help people understand themselves better, but they can also pigeon hole people and allow people to make snap judgements on others.

After the last two years of this Chapter Two experience, I’ve grown a distaste for certain fandom labels, I’ve seen them been used as weapons in the online war of words, I’ve seen them being used to dismiss people’s right to express anything within the fandom ‘shut up you’re just a shipper' 'shut up you’re just a … solo’

I fell in love with BTS, and as I deep dived into their world I proudly took up the label of ARMY for myself. I fell in love with Jikook’s unique bond and took up the label of jikooker for myself.

With the roll out of solo works I began to feel, I dunno, constrained? I'll go with constrained...by the label of ARMY.

With Chapter Two, it felt that there was always a herd of fans dictating onto other fans, new and old, giving guides and their no nonsense strict rules on 'how to be an ARMY'. With no exception to the rule that, if you don't without question LOVE anything and everything from each solo endeavour of each member, you're not a 'true' ARMY.

So I thought I didn’t have a right to that title, I didn't connect with it when used by others as a bragging tool, used to divide, as a weapon and insult. Even though I still love the group, am still a dedicated fan proud of their past and looking forward to their future.

It didn't seem to me that it could be allowed to be used simply for those who are a dedicated fan of BTS.

So with that, I naively thought that for Chapter Two and going forward, if Jimin and Jungkook are my main biases, I could be a PJM, a JJK, a Jikooker and an ARMY, right?

WRONG

I became disgusted with how those that proudly label themselves JJKs treated and still treat the rest of the members (especially Jimin), the disgusting lengths they will go to, to erase any connection of Jungkook to his members, who with his own mouth has said are his priority. BTS is Jungkook's priority.

I realised to call yourself a JJK, it meant you only believed in JK and would do anything for the feeling of superiority, even sabotage his beloved members. JJKs delude themselves to believe that the rise to his current heights did not involve anyone else and that Jungkook doesn't need or want anyone else. To call yourself a JJK means partaking, supporting or surrounding yourself with people and ideals that Jungkook himself would want no parts of or association with.

I realise I AM NOT A JJK.

I became disgusted with those that proudly label themselves as PJMs, not the ones that insist they discovered Jimin after FACE and are only interested in him and have no ill will towards anyone or anything else, they just like Jimin (*if* we are to believe that to be as innocent as that).

No, I became disgusted with the PJMs that find it ok to use the same tools that has been used against Jimin. The PJMs that feel justified to ‘defend’ Jimin by belittling the other members, to use Jungkook or other members as their weapon of attack, the PJMs that lay all blame of any wrong, hate or 'perceived' injustice of Jimin’s at his members feet.

The PJMs that go on the offence when Jimin antis use such as ‘so and so’s wh*r*’ or ‘nepobaby’ ‘p*gm*n’ etc and then think they're defending Jimin reasonably by calling Jungkook ‘so and so’s who’re’ ‘nepok**k’, ‘nosek**k’.

Trying to erase the years of love Jimin has intentionally directed towards his members and ARMY. The type of 'defence' and attack the self titled PJMs involve themselves with is not what anyone would believe Jimin would be in support of or want to claim as his.

I also realise I AM NOT A PJM.

I stream, vote, buy and consume all of Jimin’s solo work and all of Jungkook's solo work. I consume any members solo content I find interesting and enjoy.

Jimin is my bias. Jungkook is my bias. AND I love BTS

I don’t support any of the ‘solo’ rhetoric (I do hate that ‘you’re a solo’ is used as an insult or immediate dismissal towards anyone that speaks up for one member though).

When I say solo rhetoric I mean things like ‘my fav is the only one mistreated by the company’ ‘my fav has no one but me’ (when the fave has millions of fans/supporters) ‘my fav recognised me with a secret emoji’ ‘this dancer/collaborator knows it’s his solo fans not ARMY that only and truly love him’ ‘my fav made BTS’ ‘my fave needs to leave the company but they’re jealous and won’t let him’ is that kind of rhetoric.

I don’t support anything that isn’t minding your business, voting, streaming, buying for the artists you like and spreading positivity.

IN ADDITION

I came in because of BTS and I’m staying because of BTS. ARMY-ing the 'right' way or not.

I do not wish for BTS to break up, I support their content, I like their content, I stream for them as a whole, I vote for them as a whole, I buy for them as a whole.

I support them now, I look forward to 2025 and will support them for as long as they remain in the public eye and unproblematic.

I’m 아포방포

💜

[suzukiblu]

shiver, shudder or experience for the ask game?

"That doesn't make sense," the clone says as he gets to his feet in the tube and starts distractedly pulling off the genuinely alarming amount of machinery hooked up to him, looking puzzled. "The staff would be way harder to replace than me. They're, like, real people."

. . . Jon reconsiders the merits of the murder plan. Just, like . . . just a little bit. Just a touch.

"That is a logical conclusion to reach, given both the bias and inadequacy of the information that you have been presented with," Damian allows, and if Damian is actually being patient with somebody who is so objectively wrong in cold blood and without so much as a derisive aside or judgemental look, then Jon really doesn't want to know what's on that computer terminal. Like, holy shit, not ever. He'd like to keep some scrap of faith in humanity, thanks. "Counterpoint: the staff members do not deserve their lives."

"Please don't teach my baby brother that," Jon says, already resigned to spending the better part of the next decade getting that particular sentiment out of the kid's head. "Or my . . . baby uncle, maybe, I don't know. Maybe we'll just start with 'baby cousin' and go from there."

"Maybe he's your baby dad?" Jay suggests with a snicker.

The clone . . . blinks.

"I'm a clone," he says, looking perplexed.

"We know, kid," Jon says, wondering why the kid thinks that's currently relevant as he takes off his cape. Said kid is naked except for the last couple of machines and wires that he's still working his way out of, so yeah, it's definitely time to take off his cape and wrap him up in some basic decency. "Are you cold?"

"Dunno," the clone says, frowning consideringly. "What's 'cold' feel like?"

Jon, again, revisits the merits of murder. Just like . . . just a couple of them. That's all.

"I forget," he admits. "I kind of haven't been cold for a decade or so."

"I maaaaay kind of also forget," Jay says with a wince. "These days I tend to just reflexively stop being tangible when I start getting chilly, it's actually really inconvenient?"

"It is utterly inconvenient to be invulnerable to both freezing to death and the effects of hypothermia, yes," Damian says dubiously. "There are multiple degrees of 'cold', clone, but Superman is currently referencing a basic discomfort. Physical responses to it include goosebumps and shivering. A prickling sensation is not uncommon."

"Please stop calling him 'clone'," Jon says as it belatedly occurs to him that said clone does not speak Nightwing-ese and might be taking that the wrong way. "And 'it', while we're at it."

Also maybe he should stop thinking of the kid as "the clone" himself, come to think.

". . . you're Superman?" The kid frowns up at Jon skeptically. "You don't look like you look in my head."

Jon doesn't even want to understand that sentence.