#both of them are assholes both of them are revolutionaries both of them genuinely care about their people

[axiomsend]

Solas and Anders are very similar characters who react in very similar ways despite having vastly different backgrounds and worldviews. In this essay I will-

[whooiew]

Hi! I'm very curious about what is the basis of the Kafsant ship? Just cause cute?

Hello! I actually have a full script for this one question!

I'll separate them into different bits depending on how interested you are in learning more

They both came from a pretty fucked up past Kafka needing to fight tooth and nail to survive on the Columbian streets Snowsant with POVERTY and RACISM They both also have a fondness for braids Kafka is all street smarts and 0 books smarts While Snowsant is all books smarts (a literaly prodigy engineer) and 0 street smarts (extremely obvious in her operator records) Snowsant is anxious and worries a lot about the future (not anymore since So Long Adele, she has more self confidence now, we love to see it) Kafka is more of a living in the moment kinda girl And most importantly, the part that slam jams this ship together in the first place Snowsant is a place of comfort and reliability that the operators can rely on She's extremely genuine and pure of heart Kafka desperately needs a place of comfort and reliability in her life, and is magnitized to people who she sees as genuine, cause she just, wants someone that she can trust

And from here we'll be going into the DETAILS (1257 words ahead, might get sexual towards the end)

Kafka has absolutely no idea what love is like, in fact she's completely avoiding it most of the time due to her past but due to the nurture and nature dillema of Kafka

She actually greatly yearns for any sort of connection, as shown in her operator records featuring Silence Her Module featuring Silence Her Operator files featuring Rhodes Island treating them extremely well, as shown in Pinecone's Operator Records and Kafka's Files where she takes cares of the children and actively makes gifts for the Mansfield crew Snowsant on the other hand we don't really have any idea how she's like in terms of the concept of love, but if the liberi trend is anything to go by she'll be pretty intimate with it, making Kafka the one outlier whom's actively avoiding it

And I have a concept on how they've met actually

In case you didn't know, Kafka's basically Arknight's version of Robin Hood, she runs around stealing and stabbing people on the streets of Columbia but she still has a heart of gold and really only shanks those that deserves it, if they don't she'll just steal it, and she also looks out for her fellow hobos despite everything

IN Kafka's operator records, towards the end it was shown that Silence has met Kafka before actually

Back when Kafka stole Silence's breakfast and passes it along to a homeless child before running off, she also paid Silence of course, leaving her with a single coin (we'll come back to the coin part in a bit for brain rot) Now how does this tie to Snowsant you may wonder Snowsant's a Lungmen character isn't she? She's from Lungmen, how would she have met a Columbian WELL MY DEAR READER SNOWSANT'S BEEN TO COLUMBIA BEFORE!

Using her painfully saved up money and her winnings at Lungmen's Invention Competition, she moved to Columbia to further her studies to be the most EPIC ENGINEER EVER

But life for our little Snowsant isn't that good in Columbia

Being a Lungman Citizen she got hit with a good dose of RACISM, her social standing doesn't help either, causing her to not be treated that kindly throughout her stay there

If you've read So Long Adele, you should know that Snowsant cried herself to sleep over the prices of writing letters there

She was not well off in Columbia at all Now she actually made something FUCKING AMAZING, ABSOLUTELY REVOLUTIONARY, but due to her ZERO STREET SMARTS, she didn't copyright it, it got stolen, and the thieves made BANK with HER CREATION, ASSHOLES

Least to say poor Snowsant was fucking dying at this point

Now that's when our favorite corvid comes along, KAFKA, OUR ROBIN HOOD, she descends from the heavens to provide food and stuff whenever she can to Snowsant cause Snowsant's her fellow hobo at this point basically And of course eventually Snowsant goes back to Lungmen and stuff yadda yadda BUT EVENTUALLY, Snowsant and Kafka met back up on Rhodes again

Snowsant's of course very thankful and stuff, and from there on they sorta just hang out more cause Kafka's like, omg a fellow street kid YOOOOOO

So Kafka pays more attention in terms of taking care of Snowsant, which causes Snowsant to think Kafka might have feelings for her, after a bit eventually Snowsant drags her on a date and something something, oh hey maybe Kafka likes her too and she'll have to be forced to confront to the idea of it causing her to explode into a mess of feathers

As a result who knows Snowsant might think she did something wrong due to how she is as a a character and now its a MESS OH NO, eventually Kafka will have to get through to her feelings and confront it and YIPPEE YURI Apart from that I just think they'd be really cute with each other, they bounce off each other's flaws really well, like, Kafka's infinite confidence and gusto countering Snowsant's sheer lack of it

And Snowsant just being a general safe zone for Kafka to let her guard down around, because Snowsant's never really hiding anything, she's always genuine

Which is something Kafka really likes. ALSO THEY HAVE THE SAME LIBERI TRAIT OF SIDE HAIR FEATHERS And that's pretty much the basics

So now that we've gone over express details on how Snowsant and Kafka are like as characters I'ma explain a bit more about them Snowsant is a pure of heart girl, your average goodie two shoes, she's a prodigy genius, she has an insane amount of mental endurance, being able to go through failure after failure but despite it all still being able to keep her head up high and continue moving forward

She cares for her family greatly, family is extremely important to her in fact, hell a good amount of her paycheck gets sent back to her family even

But all of that comes with a price, she's still slightly anxious about things, doesn't really take care of herself, and has a nasty habit of, zoning in too much (this will be discussed further later)

Kafka on the other hand, on the surface may seem like an annoying piece of shit, but once you get to know her she actually has a heart of gold, becoming Rhodes Island's invisible guardian angle in a sense, looking out for her fellow operators whenever wherever

She also has a fondness for kids as she visits them often and even makes gifts for them

Speaking of gift making, Kafka is an avid tinkerer and arts and crafts nerd

And of course can't forget, harboring of PLANT AUTISM

But yeah, she cares for people greatly, especially ones that's close to her

Be it anyone from the Mansfield Crew Silence Ifrit (implied) You the Doctor She's the peak of Liberi, with how Liberi characters are usually very caring about their relationships, be it their S/O or their friends and family, they care greatly for them Fitting for Kafka because she's a Jackdaw! Jackdaws immensely loyal to their partners and will pretty much never leave one once they find one all that aside, I just think these 2 would be really sweet and they'd just be happy to have someone that they can lean on especially Kafka

(This is where the sexual parts are: )

There's also the side to Snowsant where she actually surprisingly dominant

Which unironically fits how White Eared Pheasants are like

I've always made Snowsant the more assertive one, and more recent Snowsant content supports that fact

There's some parts to Snowsant, small parts, but pieced together it shows a bigger picture and I'd say Snowsant does have a dominant side to her but she keeps it in check It'll only really come out when she's in the mood and zone for it, specifically when she starts zoning stuff out again Like damn yeah she'd definitely tie Kafka up and whisper sensually into her ears while teasing her

The whole zoning out thing I've explored a bit more when writing a specific short fic but it was shown officially in her operator records where Snowsant completely zoned out everything around her when she got caught thinking about how to pay for her book publishing fee, completely zoning out the fact that Closure was telling her that Doc and Closure already paid for it

Which fits into white eared pheasants being usually pretty reserved when it comes to the act of sex until a switch flips on and they go into a breeding frenzy

Also Snowsant's fucking RICH NOW BABY YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[milfbrainrot]

i open twitter for 2 seconds and already have something to complain about

i guess i am a little fascinated by how within the specific contexts of communities like fandoms, you can end up with so much pushback to societal norms that those norms become targets within those communities. it's... understandable, but it can still become a problem with how people treat others and how they can wrap right back around to enforcing certain norms in odd ways?

like. as an example i sometimes get rly tired of m/m dominating fandom spaces. no one's doing anything wrong, but in fandom m/m is typically the "norm" to ship so it becomes kinda hard to fit in if you don't ship it. this can make people like me be more inclined to be assholes about m/m being the expectation in fandom when in reality... gay men are oppressed irl... so it can become homophobic (and just fuckin rude) at certain angles if you're not extremely careful to discuss the nuances of the attitude sometimes surrounding m/m and instead go "all m/m bad and the people who ship it are bad."

m/f shippers can also become targets because people get too tired of seeing m/f everywhere in media so people feel like it's being pushed on them when they're just trying to explore f/f. you're not like, being heterophobic j;llkajsdklf but it does make shippers targets at times regardless of their own identities or the characters' identities--bisexuality, trans, etc. and it also makes them targets for people's misplaced irl grievances about societal norms.

anyway what i saw was a dumbass ar@ne thread about how vi would never be pregnant, with multiple people saying it's misogynistic to assume all women want kids and they just don't see her wanting kids, while ignoring the genuine responses talking about how, since vi never talked about whether she wants kids, you can still use context clues about how much she cared for her little sister as proof she could be a good parent. whether she'd want it or not isn't something canon can prove. maybe she'd get tired of always looking out for others and decide against it, maybe it's something she would actually want to have for herself. we do not know.

no one was forcing a character who explicitly talks about never wanting kids to have kids lol, and even then... you can genuinely take a character on any journey to get from any point A to any point B because that's what real life is like, and it's not misogynistic to go "sometimes people do change their minds" as a general statement because sometimes people DO. i used to be dead set against ever having kids and now it's something i'm open to. it is awful that ppl who explicitly say they don't want kids irl get talked down to and told they'll change their mind, but that is not... what's happening here and it's not inherently what would happen if you did have a character change their mind because it can stem from a different place than what makes irl instances misogynistic.

ANYWAY. BACK ON TRACK. this all started because someone talked about trans!cait/vi for this to biologically work. so. you guys are talking about it being misogynistic to... have a queer couple have kids? do you guys not realize that straight couples can be revolutionary when one or both are trans? do you not realize the discrimination queer couples face irl when trying to do family planning? if you really want to play politics here, then you guys are being narrow-minded actually.

what stood out to me most, really, is that... even without the trans!cait context, the repeated instances of "vi would never be pregnant because it just doesn't seem like her" takes refusing to actually engage with comments about her characterization immediately read to me as "i am uncomfortable when butch lesbians get pregnant because i am too narrowminded to understand that people who aren't feminine can carry children." this is a huge issue so many butches have talked about regarding their own pregnancies because people don't realize how much they've connected the idea of pregnancy with femininity, or the connotations of maternal. this is something i have had to think about for myself as a nb lesbian who leans masc and does want to experience pregnancy down the line.

i'm not saying this is the case for everyone in that thread but... they weren't exactly making a case for anything else lmfao.

generally babyfic/kidfic/pregnancy headcanons are looked down upon in fandom for the reasons i mentioned above, where it's pushed on people so much already that when it ~invades~ fandom spaces where people are going to escape norms, people are a lot more comfortable turning their discomfort into harassment or black and white understandings making every instance ever inherently a hate crime to them personally. literally anything can have harmful trends because we're all people doing our best to create things we don't always have the skills or social awareness to do well, but these tropes do get quite a bit of odd hate at times that i think is... at times understandable but mostly undeserved. i am also biased as someone who has had a complicated journey unraveling my own lack of or actual desire to one day have kids. and in the times we live in of course these tropes are even more repulsive to people because of their very real fears surrounding their own reproductive rights.

all that to say i don't think any trope inherently deserves to be equated with the potential harm a person could do exploring it, and i don't even think that should always be treated with the same weight as enforcing societal pressure and norms. there is a difference between "this character has a kid" and "in my story ALL the characters have kids in ways that are clearly influenced by societal norms i have not yet unpacked." and i also think there are so many nuances to irl instances of people sticking to a norm but in an unconventional way, that it is concerning to see people get SO black and white about fictional headcanoning in ways that are just so narrow-minded i have to wonder how they treat """straight""" couples at pride or if they're the type to keep recreating Man And Woman genders by associating cottagecore with women and dark academia with men.

[jackienautism]

I’m kinda surprised that you don’t like Dylan? He seems to be such the fan fav I don’t think I ever actually seen anyone rank him so low on their list- what’s your opinions on his character?

yeaah i just didnt really vibe with him when i played, plus i got pretty annoyed seeing him everywhere before getting into the game (travis too but thats a whole nother thing). like good for all you guys for having fun but i just cant get into it

im gonna be honest about my opinions on him so if you reeaaaaally like dylan i recommend not reading. and i mean that genuinely

1.ive just. i immediately saw dylan as one of those like male characters that get super popular in a fandom bc he: is white.is a guy. is a brunette. is associated w/ a gay ship. and is fit under a "bad boy / mentally ill / misunderstood" trope. i truly and honestly dont care if someone likes these types of characters. as long as you're not a fucking freak, i dont give a shit what you do. its just such a prominent trend that should make you go HMMMMM fandom hates women and people of color! and basically im just sick of that trend! so seeing dylan also fit into it turned me super off lmao

2. in relation to his character, i think its fine, i guess, its nothing revolutionary. especially in regards to other supermassive characters.... i thought about this during work one day and like. emily has a similar character to dylan LOL and ive had this thought before but. dylan and emma are also very similar character wise! in terms of like. compensating ina very negative way due to insecurity! but you know whch characters get the most flack for being dicks? for being bitches? for being the worst? and you know who doesnt?

3. i also particularly hated the thing he did to abi during the camp fire scene. like. i dont care if you compensate by making jokes and shit, you're still an asshole. and so is emma. and so is emily. i dont understnad why dylan should get ANY different treatment. but anyway, that dare was absolutely targeted towards abi and nothing will change my mind on the matter. abi is very clearly on the outside of the group. hell, the entire time everyone (mainly kaitlyn and emma) makes comments about how incompetent abi is when it comes to dating anf shit. and so for dylan to ask what he did? it put her on the fucking spot and humiliated her. i dont care if he "saves" it if you dont interrupt as ryan, there's absolutely no way hes unaware of abi's standing social wise in the group. him asking HER that of all people is just shitty. he fucking knows what abi's answer is gonna be. and even though she never answers the question, the damage is already done.

and before anyone says anything, i know nick also was targeted in diff ways for being "incompetent" in this specific sense. which is another conversation im willing to have. but even so, rthe comment ryan still makes bout not letting that "prep aesthetic fool you"? and the way he kisses emma? he clearly has got some "game" or whatever the fuck. whereas abi doesn't really have any of those moments (except for kissing nick first, which is something kaitlyn ryan and dylan said she wouldnt do LOL). and speaking of kaitlyn? and in association, emma? what they did to abi is one of the things i hate most about them and what happens in game. its actually what made me begin to DISLIKE both of them when it happened. basically what im saying is, kaitlyn and emma arent exempt from this criticism just because i dont like dylan. and i also dont care if thats the "point" of truth or dare. it still makes all the characters involved fucking dicks. they know how abi is like, emma especially, so seeing them all pull this shit is just disheartening and sad.

and 4. i like being hastag different

[quartermera]

Law, Sabo & Ace with an S/O who has Schizoaffective Disorder

Hi dear!

First of all, thank you for your request and a big big thank you for accepting to answer questions I had about schizoaffective disorder! Second, I ended up going a bit of a different path than the idea I had told you about and sticked to more general headcanons (still related to schizoaffective disorder of course) rather than headcanons for different episodes. Lastly, I hope this is good and, most importantly, respectful. Since it is about something I don’t know much about, please tell me if I need to correct anything. My point with my writing is to bring comfort after all so it’d be really shitty if I ended up doing the opposite.

Thank you for trusting me with this request @cr0wnthewitch​ <3 I hope I won’t disappoint you and, once more, thank you for your help as I was writing this <3

! Gender and race neutral reader ! Focusing on the bipolar type of schizoaffective disorder

Trafalgar Law

I think Law would be the one to understand the situation best. He’s a doctor after all and even if psychology is not his domain of expertise, be sure he has done research on the topic before. When he learns that you have schizoaffective disorder, expect him to stay up all night reading about it. He wants to be sure he understands what it implies, which medication you have to take etc. He’s very cautious and meticulous.

Despite how little he sleeps himself, Law would be genuinely worried at your lack thereof during manic or hypomanic episodes.

Reminds you about your medication if you were to forget it like the good doctor (and boyfriend) he is.

He tries his best to be more soft spoken when you have heightened irritability. It’s not really in his habits but he knows you can’t do anything about it and that having an argument would be pointless and hurtful for both of you.

When you are having mixed affective episodes is when he would worry the most I think. It’s the state that takes him the most time to get familiar with and used to.

I think that generally speaking he would keep an eye out for you almost all the time. He somewhat does that with his crew mates already, but you are his s/o so he cares about you just that bit more.

Law would have to remind himself regularly that he can’t do anything about your disorder and that it’s okay. He wishes he could do something more, maybe develop a perfect form of medication. He basically needs to hear that his mere presence already means a lot but that he has your support if he were to keep doing researches. 

Lastly, Law would make sure you know he loves you. Researching, asking you questions, looking out for you just a bit more etc. These are all ways for him to show it. That being said, he also opens up to you slowly, hugs you, cherishes you. Law isn’t one to fall in love easily but you caught his heart and he never wants you to doubt that.

Sabo

Just after Law, Sabo would be the 2nd most “delicate” one. He wouldn’t only ask you questions but also do research on his own. He is no doctor though so he’ll keep it to a basic understanding of your disorder.

He definitely tries to remember your medication as much as yourself. It’s a way for him to be supportive.

Sabo is the most protective one in my opinion. He’ll always have an eye out for you, to the point where you’d have to call him out on it. He doesn’t try to baby you yet he can’t help but worry, mostly because of who you may encounter. He knows that as long as you’re with the Revolutionary Army you are safe but when the two of you aren’t is when he worries the most.

He’d deal with any unwanted encounter as soon as he notices them but often, hurtful words or slurs have already been thrown at you. The fact that he can’t react in advance is what bothers him because once more some assholes thought it was okay to talk to you like that and he can’t take it back.

To counter that, I picture Sabo talking a lot. That is one of his main love languages. He often tells you how much you mean to him, how breathtaking you are, how much he loves you. He doesn’t bring up your disorder, instead he focusses on everything else that makes you who you are and all the reasons he fell in love with you.

Portgas D. Ace

Ace is definitely the most carefree one. It’s not that he doesn’t care. It’s rather that he doesn’t care more than you do. If your disorder is something you need to talk about a lot, he’ll be a listening ear, but other way he’ll just roll with it.

I picture him as the one who asks the most questions. That has a lot to do with the fact that he didn’t read on the subject. He might have asked friends if they knew anything about schizoaffective disorder but overall he prefers to talk to you directly. You wouldn’t sit down to have a very serious talk where he could ask everything he had on his mind though. (The odds of his narcolepsy hitting would be too high anyway.) Ace would just spontaneously ask away whenever he’d think of something new.

Boy definitely crushes whoever talks to you badly. And immediately after that does his best to comfort you, whether it’s by hugging you, saying some kind words or goofing around. I picture Ace’s main love language to be physical touch so a hug is what he wants to go for but if you’re not comfortable with PDA for instance, he’ll find a solution and comfort you another way.

Like I said before, he sort of just rolls with it. He handles every episode to the best of his abilities as they come. With each of them he learns what best to do and gets better at it. His biggest fear is that you’d hurt yourself.

Ace basically shows he loves you by being there for you when you need him. He doesn’t constantly look out for you, but he is present whenever is necessary, whether it’s for hugs, soft words or silly faces.

[beeblackburn]

The Anti-TBR Tag

I was tagged by @books-and-doodles! Thank you! And poor you, for I am a long-winded bastard.

1. A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading?

On general principle, I feel like the really popular stuff (Twilight, Throne of Glass, Divergent, The Mortal Instruments) ends up being stuff I’m inherently not going to be attracted to and some of them have their own hatedoms going on, so going after them in detail would be punching down (though I don’t particular like any of the above). So I’m going to try to go off the beaten path with these seven:

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab = nothing against her personally, though I heard her The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was baaaaad, but apparently, she’s similar to Sanderson in the magic system being better than the characterization and I heard her writing’s got a white faux-female empowerment sort of thing going that I’m growing increasingly... discontent of by itself. I might try it out later, but I also got hundreds of books to drill through first and I’m in no rush.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo = I’ve been increasingly getting the sense that Six of Crows was a flash in the pan, Bardugo’s style more defined by fun than genuine substance. And given a rather scathing review that points out unearned shifts in characterization, lackluster supporting cast, and two really uncomfortable exploitative sexual assault fantasy scenes (one of which was underaged!), I’m gonna say no.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik = I generally like Novik! She’s a very solid writer to me and I’ve bought most of her books, so this is purely me not taking to the Wizarding School genre. Sorry, Novik, "a twisted, super dark, super modern, female-led Harry Potter" isn’t the selling point it once was, and even then, I probably wouldn’t have taken to it. Especially when I’ve already got The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan to read.

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson = I’ve got mixed feelings on Mistborn looking back: it’s hardly the worst of his oeuvre (Elantris is that and was admittedly his first book) and The Final Empire took a few narrative risks that I admire, I also found the resulting books a tad juvenile and I don’t take to steampunk, genre-wise. I’m not even that much of a Sanderson fan, so I’d rather just read the summary for all I care.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher = given what I’ve been told about The Dresden Files’ lessening of noir roots past the first few books, how it later became more flashy-and-bang magical, and how it’s pretty sexist early on (and from what I’ve been told, doubled down on it later on and having worse treatments of its female characters), I’m in no particular rush to read them. The urban fantasy genre on them only turns me off more.

The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss = hahaha, I’m sorry, I did read The Name of the Wind, and read select parts of The Wise Man’s Fear, but everyone, instead of waiting and devoting your time for this book to come, I would suggest reading Fitz, Who Is Actually Good and Can Wring More than Disgust and an Eye-Roll out of You in Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings, given she is far better at characterization than Rothfuss.

Anything by Paul Krueger, Sam Sykes, and Myke Cole = fuck all three of these men and the idea that I’ll pay for their stuff. While I can’t demand any of you not buy from them and I’ll hardly claim to be a saint in terms of ethics, purchase-wise, I would beseech you all please don’t buy from these three authors who have a history of inappropriateness.

2. A classic book (or author) you don’t have an interest in reading?

Charles Dickens = look, I know his word count is padded because of serial installments back then, but I’m sorry, I wasn’t that impressed by the child-sanitized versions of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. They were easily some of the most boring of out of the child-sanitized classics I read. It was the pictures that kept me going and barely at that. No thanks.

Emily Brontë =  look, if I wanted shitty people being shitty to each other, I’d much rather read Joe Abercrombie because at least I’ll get some intentional dark comedy out of dumb shitheads being terrible to each other (Best Served Cold comes to mind). And I know we’re not meant to like these self-destructive people, but I’d rather not hate everyone that much.

Alexander Dumas = Three Musketeers really didn’t age well, just from the TV Tropes page and I’m not really looking forward to an adventure that goes out of its way to valorize its protagonists being adventurous assholes who dueled, drank, and womanized harder than anyone else and we should commend that because they were men. Ugh.

3. An author you have read a couple of books from & have decided their books are not for you?

Leigh Bardugo = like I said, I feel like Six of Crows (and Crooked Kingdom, to a lesser extent) was a flash in the pan and she’s been increasingly running on fumes ever since then. Good and fun with a decent eye for characterization, but hardly revolutionary, considering how I think Crooked Kingdom isn’t quite as good as Six of Crows, and the less said about Shadow and Bone, the better.

Neil Gaiman = I’ve read some of his stuff (and I didn’t quite see the hype over his writing, but liked it decently enough) but having heard that, in his Sandman run, he wrote in a transwoman solely to get killed for an emotional ending and how he defended that choice for awhile left a battery acid taste for me to read more. He’s a formative part of people’s childhoods, so I don’t blame anyone for being fans, he’s just not for me.

Steven Erikson = really nothing against the dude, I’m sure he's probably a decent guy, but I didn’t take to Gardens of the Moon at all and skimming Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice (which were admittedly better) made me realize its prose was something I would need a hard and sharp shovel to crack through, and the darting around of many, many POVs made me feel not invested in anyone.

4. A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into & couldn’t?

I’ll answer both because I have the time:

I’m not interested in romance, mostly because it’s an entire genre built around the build-up. It’s usually the story about the beginning of a relationship, not the relationship itself. I’d genuinely like to read about the story of a romance that doesn’t stop shortly after the hook-up or before the honeymoon period ends. The City Watch parts of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan and The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold all have romantic elements that are relatively undrenched in melodrama or frills, but none of them are pure romances, which is a huge problem. I can take romantic subplots in fantasy, but I can’t take the genre as-is.

Urban fantasy is a genre I’m not against having my mind changed on liking, but right now, I generally find it insipid, a shortcut to good world-building, short on great characterization, and an excuse to lampshade and pretense to being above fantastical clichés in a tongue-in-cheek attitude while still committing to them. I do genuinely like Rivers of London by Ben Aaronvitch, but that’s really the concession I can give the entirety of the genre. I took a crack at Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare’s stuff, but it didn’t feel like my sort of thing. Again, would like to be convinced, but I’d much rather read a domestic or slice-of-life fantasy set in a more overtly fantasy world than the urban one. 

Also, sci-fi, but I’m trying again with the Wormwood trilogy by Tade Thompson, An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, and either the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie, or the Teixcalaan trilogy by Arkady Martine. I snoozed through Azimov’s Foundation and generally bored myself of hard sci-fi books, so I’m hoping contemporary sci-fi changes my mind on the entire genre.

5. A book you have bought but will never read?

A book I personally bought? Honestly, Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell. No particular reason, I just bought it at a closing-down sale at a branch of my bookstore on the cheap because the cover looked nice and didn’t really take to its blurb. I heard good things though, so if anyone else wants to read it...

I tag @vera-dauriac, @xserpx, @autoapocrypha, @kateofthecanals, @turtle-paced, @insecticidalfeminism, @secretlyatargaryen, @helix-eagle-hourglass-nebula, @xillionart, @jovolovo and whoever else that is following me and wishes to do this tag (I’d like to read your posts, so please tag me! :D)

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Really long ask - Part 1: Hi, sorry for this long rant, but I just wanted to vent since I saw this latest story posted on AO3 and I am restraining myself on commenting on their story so I'm just letting my anger out here about it and other issues regarding fan-depiction of Hawks. It's vaguely related to your post on how DabiHawks or Dabi+Hawks stories make it all about Dabi and always made Hawks out to be the one who starts the problems in their relationship or is the one trying to get Dabi's

Content warning: passing mention of r*pe in a fanfiction.

LOOOONG post under the cut.

(Cont.)

Dabi's attentions when it's canon that it's the complete opposite. This latest story that came up in my feed was about Hawks "harassing" Dabi (who apparently has a backstory of r*pe) and Twice helps Dabi works out his feelings. Among the hoards of tags condemning Hawks, they decided to use "Hawks is very uncool in this fic heads up" so that's another one to add to my filters. I think I also have to block the "Dabi Needs a Hug" tags too bc he's always woobified like heck. 

I really want to read stories where Hawks interacts with Twice since they have a bond/drama with each other, but people have been adding Dabi and either making it seem like Hawks has been gaslighting Dabi in their "relationship" or with Twice. I can acknowledge stories where Hawks feels guilty for what he had to do or Twice being anger/betrayed over Hawks' actions since that is actually what happened; but I will not stand for Dabi claiming Hawks took advantage of Twice or Twice and Dabi having feelings for each other with Hawks in the way bc Dabi is a) the one who let Hawks in b) knew Twice is gullible and c) used Twice as bait. Even in the stories that are cute/causal+funny, Hawks is always the one who gets threatened with fire, harsh insults, or guilted into compliance but the seriousness of the first 2 are always brushed off and the third kinda makes me want it that Hawks doesn't have friends bc most people write him as a bad friend who only cares about his own problems (especially the ones that write Hawks like a celebrity/night club person). 

On writing Dabi, his issues always take priority over everything else, his family loves him, and the lov is always chill with him. He's usually written as the fun asshole/caretaker (bc of his big brother status or ablity to cook). Those factors aren't bad by itself, but it's extremely irritating when the writers/artists can give that level of care to Dabi, but just reduce Hawks to a meme who is a workaholic for the government/scared of punishment & not bc he really cares about the people he saves/helps. It's not like I hate the DabiHawks pairing, but the majority of the content (esp the recent ones), are frustrating to read & Hawks' character is usually written in bad out of character extremes. I am really mystified that I'm praying for canon content rather than fanmade most of the time.

Phew! After the back and forth it looks like we got to the end of that! (Or did we?! *Dun dun DUUUUN*) If not, though, feel free to keep the asks rolling. Lol Foxy and I are usually pretty happy to receive as many asks as people want to send even if it takes us a while, individually, to get to it. Now to finally address what you sent.

I find myself in a weird place when it comes to OOC fanfic because on the one hand people can write whatever they want, and I don’t really have a place to criticize them; but also when they blatantly and willingly misinterpret a character so they have grounds to bash on them it also leaves me acutely uncomfortable. I don’t think I’d call it “problematic” as much as a squick? Like, if they’re willing to blow past all the obvious proof to the contrary about their claims of a fictional character just because they hate them, then are they willing to do the same thing to a real person? Usually, those kinds of thoughts are pointlessly extreme, but we know those who unironically and/or unapologeticly call fans of the heroes “bootlickers” so... It’s like, ooc vent fics are also fine; and if you want to rewrite a character to fit the narrative scheme you’ve set up that’s cool as long as its tagged (“ooc [character]” or something) and/or just mention in the a/n that they knowingly and willingly mischaracterized them for the sake of the fic. Just. Don’t. Claim. It’s. Canon.

And speaking of canon, as much as I’m sure Horikoshi knew Hawks and Dabi were going to end up shipped I think it’s obvious that he never was going to canonically write them ending up together, yet here comes the “canon must validate my headcanon” crowd calling him a bad writer because the author had some bigger narrative goal in mind than having two pretty anime boys kissing.

And the worst part to me is, I feel there’s a distinct slice of the DabiHawks crowd missing out on some of the possibilities of this ship by intentionally mischaracterizing them. Like, the aesthetic equal/opposite draw of the ship is phenomenal as it is and I don’t even ship them, but I can see a wide range of possible fics based solely on the principle that they are canonically incompatible!

At the end of the day, Dabi is a dime-a-dozen edgelord - that pain in the butt OC that so many newbie D&D players make that they think is so deep and dark and mature, but is about as cookie-cutter as they come. It’s not that this kind of character is unsalvageable or a hopeless Gary Stu character, just that they don’t often come across as compelling in and of themselves or that they need more than just selfish hatred to carry them through a series. Two kinds of edgelords that can be done well are the “Out of the Ashes” edgelord and “I’ll Pull You Into Hell With Me” edgelord. The first kind recognizes there’s more to life than their sad backstory and getting even and thus choose to aspire to more noble causes - think Joel from The Last of Us. The second recognizes they’re actively doing wrong and come to embrace it - being more concerned with getting what they want than taking the moral high ground - think Frank Castle, aka the Punisher - and even these darker, “unsaveable” kinds of edgelord antiheroes can have redeeming qualities such as meeting and helping a young hopeful and telling them, “I know I’m on the road to hell, so if you want to save yourself you’d better not follow me.”

Dabi actually has what he needs to become the second type right now (assuming he’s Touya) and could even evolve into the first not unlike Kratos from God of War, but that potential can’t be fully recognized until you admit that he’s fundamentally self-centered and a bad person as-is. He may have the tragic backstory complete with justifiable hate at his genuinely abusive father, but rather than using that as fuel to see that never happen to anyone else like it did him - he just wants to get even. He burns people alive, knowing well he’s participating in the same destruction that his father committed to make him what he is now. He doesn’t recognize any of the merits of hero society and is only concerned with burning it to ash. He could use what happened to his family to incite compassion in his heart and take others under his wing, but instead he uses people as a mean to his own ends. He isn’t even proper grimdark - he’s just your run of the mill egotistical megalomaniac with a punk aesthetic.

And that’s still a good character in the grand scheme of things, maybe just not alone! Moreso, it’s a good villain and EVEN BETTER when you put him next to Hawks who is at his core:

Fundamentally Hopepunk!

Hopepunk is about being good and kind as an act of rebellion against a cruel and unfair world no matter how bleak it gets or how badly you’re beaten down. Despite his own cruel past, Hawks still has a heart to help others for no other reason than to help them, he constantly changes the odds to save as many people as he can when he’d be given a pass for letting the cards fall where they will, and not only is his aim to “help others” but to make sure that there’ll never be need for heroes again. He’s an active rebel against the system fighting with kindness and goodness, fervently looking and listening for the next opportunity to do good.

In agreement with you, Hawks and Twice are interesting to explore because while Twice is an optimist looking to make the world a better place, he’s still a step or two removed from Hawks’ worldview because Twice refuses to let go of the “family” he found for himself while Hawks is willing to sacrifice himself for others. That dynamic is so interesting, and it’s what made them so initially compatible and subsequently heartbreaking in canon.

And it’s such a disappointment to see this unwaveringly earnest character reduced to “shitty fratboy” so often. For a lot of people newer to his character I can understand the confusion, but there really isn’t an excuse if you’ve been reading the series, and the possibilities for fics with this canon personality are just so much more interesting to explore, especially with Dabi as his sort-of opposite.

For DabiHawks to work well, you have to recognize that something has to give in either of them. Some of the juiciest, most angsty content is when you have two characters grow close together over commonalities only to be reminded that despite everything else they share, that One Thing will always keep them from truly being able to see eye-to-eye. Either Dabi has to grow past his hatred and relearn compassion and empathy, or Hawks has to lose grip of that hopeful vision he has and fall into despair. Both options are good to explore, but both require the acknowledgement that Dabi’s view of the world is fundamentally bleak and selfish, especially compared to Hawks’. For a supposed revolutionary out to change the world for the better whose a diamond in the rough with a heart of gold, that’s not exactly on-brand; and at the end of the day the issue is that some are unwilling to admit that what they wanted Dabi to be is likely not going to happen and they love that fake version Dabi more than they love what Hawks actually stands for which is why Hawks always gets the shaft in the end.

I still personally hold a bit of a grudge against the DaiHawks ship as a whole purely because, as you said, Dabi always seems to take priority over Hawks instead of letting the two build a dynamic together. Hawks is always the one who has to give, and the torture porn some have made him go through to “make the ship work” is downright disturbing to me. Even at its height DabiHawks content completely flooded the Hawks character tags on Tumblr with some of the same problems that have persisted to this day such as emphasizing their aesthetic as opposed to their dynamic and rampant mischaracterization.

Anyway, that’s my long-winded response. What do you think, @autumn-foxfire?

[thoughtsofanexcitedspacechild]

Why Avatar: the last Airbender is probably one of the best shows ever written (Part two)

Ok ok WOW! I didn’t expect the last post to get so much hype! (I know it was only 19 notes at the time of posting this but for someone who has two followers this is a BIG deal, so thank you!) So if you haven’t seen the last part...umm..I guess go read that first? I mean, you could read this one first and then that one. I guess it doesn’t matter what order you read these in. Anyways, lets get to the point already. In the last post I mentioned just some of the reasons why this show is amazing, like the characters, the amazing representation, and the connections to everyday society and villains. Today I wanna focus in on the crazy good female representation, (yea this is a whole separate paragraph and gif set), the amazing bonds shown between characters, and in general, the visual and audio appeal of the show. 

Right of the bat, season one episode one, you got the RAGING feminist we call Katara. Sokka makes one comment about her being a girl (don’t remember what exactly it was) and Katara immediately calls him out for it. And by “calls him out” I mean destroys and waterbends and iceberg to then free Aang and initiates the entire plot of the show. 

You get the point, right? 

“Oh it was just one time, right?” 

Nope! Again, three episodes later, and still not shaken by the literal wave of rage that Katara unleashed upon him, Sokka is still a sexist asshole. When they arrive on Kiyoshi island, the Gaang is promptly captured and taken prisoner by the Kiyoshi Warriors, who by the way, are entirely comprised of girls. 

For a show that came out in the early 2000′s, this is revolutionary. Imagine you’re a little girl watching this. How amazing and crazy would it be to see a group of fighters that are all girls? After being released, Sokka being the absolute flirt that he is goes to flirt with them. (Or mostly Suki) He’s then shown up and completely gets his ass kicked. Later, embarrassed and finally having learned his lesson, he comes back and asks to learn from them. Suki agrees and eventually, (after being dressed in FULL attire) trains him. So far that’s two women who have forcefully made Sokka chug his respect women juice. By the time Toph shows up in season two, he doesn’t even try to pick a fight with her. One of the other brilliant things that this show does is incorporate a female villain. Yes Firelord Ozai was always a threat, but Azula is truly the real threat in this show. she’s shown multiple times being more powerful than Zuko and ten times more threatening to Aang and his mission. Let’s just say that if it were up to Azula and the fire nation girl squad (that by the way consists of two incredibly powerful non bender females) to capture the Avatar, it would have been done much faster. Finally to seal the deal, we get this line from Suki: “I am a warrior, but I am a girl too.” Need I say more? 

Second thing on todays list is the absolutely precious friendships, adorable romantic relationships, and crushes. Let’s just say that if you want to feel something after feeling numb for a long time, this show will do it for you. I know for certain it helped me. I was actually in the middle of feeling the mid quarantine slump when I started watching this show around June. I was bored, anxious, and feeling a bit numb after talking with my family and one other co worker for the past few months. This show and the friendships within it really helped me mentally. It gave me things to hope for, and made me dream about the future with my own friends. The bonds shared between team avatar are enviable to say the least. I mean come on! besides the fact that Katara and Aang are water bending in the background, the gif below is a normal pool day w/ the homies for Sokka. 

Not only are the platonic relationships in this show realistic and adorable, but the romance in this show is top notch. We see multiple healthy and normal relationships develop during the show, and it’s quite satisfying when things work out, the best example being Aang and Katara. Although there are some people who would disagree with me on this, Kataang is an ideal relationship. Throughout the show, both characters develop and grow because of each other. Aang is able to grow not only in his bending abilities, but he’s able to mature and realize his full potential because of Katara, all in a healthy and non rushed way. What starts out as a crush develops into a blossoming and equal party relationship, with both people contributing and receiving equal amounts of love. They balance each other out, and keep each other in check. They're able to bounce ideas (and water) off of each other and primarily are best friends before they’re love interests.

Another relationship that has similar good energy is the one shared by Sokka and Suki. They both genuinely care about each other. Not only that, but as mentioned in the previous paragraph, Suki completely changes him for the better and Sokka throughout the whole series is loyal af to her. We even see him tell Ty Lee to back off when she flirts with him. Suki is his, and he’s hers while still allowing them to be their own individual and authentic selves. 

Lastly, this show has the most incredible visuals and score. As far as TV shows go, the soundtrack is pretty amazing. So many people write this off as anime and it honestly pisses me off because it’s really not and theres so much more to it. (Not that there’s anything wrong with anime lol) The creators, (say it with me) aren’t dumb, and you can tell that plenty of thought went into background music to create the perfect mood for each scene. (My favorite thing about it is honestly the fact that Azula is represented by one ominous sounding chord and you immediately know that she’s about to fuck shit up.) The visuals and character design are also incredible, and even if the episode is dull, (by that I mean the great divide. Hey if your new to this do me a huge favor and skip right over that episode) the colors and scenery in this show, not to mention the bending scenes make it such a worthwhile watch.

I mean tell me that that’s not incredible?

So that’s all I got for now! I may make a part three, but I need to see if I can pull together three more topics that I can go into in depth. Again, thank you so much for the support on the last one! :)

[popculturebuffet]

Jake Reviews Stuff: Amphibia: Marcy at the Gates

Marcy arrives! The Plantars make it to Newtopia but first have to deal with a slight ant problem and a new addition to the family, as we finally meet the adorkable Marcy. Legs in two months under the cut. 

So as you could probably tell by the tone the last few weeks, doing this has weighed on me a bit. While I do love talking about this show week after week, as well as having a recurring series here to bring in readers, the split quality of the Season thus far has been a challenge. Now when I say split I don’t mean like star vs season 3 where it was either really damn good and some of the show’s best writing or “oh god what have they done to marco’s character this time”, it’s more either really good standout episodes ore more forgetable average ones. See a good episode I can gush about, dive into big charcter stuff, motviations, that sort of thing. I defintley will with owl house at some point and have with other shows. A bad episode can be taken apart and taken to the cleaners, which I haven’t done much of but probably should and if you want any taken to task yourself, I do comissions. But self promotion aside, the point is a meh episode just dosen’t leave me with a lot tot alk about and hte recaps became really dry as a result as I just couldn’t find a lot of jokes, and having a busy few weeks on top of that didn’t really help, nor did the antipciation for this week and the intersting setting of newtopia. 

Thankfully a combination of a really good few days, a better sleep schedule, and a really good episode this week, and a pile of scary go round collections for a dollar have reinvgorated me, so hopefully I can get back to doing what I love: Overanalizing children’s cartoons. So with that we can dive right into the episode. The keithdavidpocalypse is upon us! Pitter Patter! We open with Spring and Anne in the cart. Their close to newtopia, but Anne is worried they never found Marcy, while Sprig isn’t because her last friend turned out to be “Evil”... which Anne harshly rebuffs. And both sides are understandable: To Anne, Sasha was her friend.. a manipualtive and bossy friend sure but one who genuinely cared for her, she just may not know how to deal with people. To Sprig, Sasha is some asshole who abused his friend, tried to murder his Pop Pop, and works for a guy who tried to murder his whole town. It’s really understandable he woudln’t have the same warm fuzzy feelings Anne has.. insert your own Sashanne joke here.  We also get our first actual look at Marcy who to my suprise, rather than be another form of manipulative.. is simply an awkward nerd, constnatly playing video games, reading books , cataloging shit, and trying to get her friends to play d and d. So me if I knew what d and d was in high school. 

Anyways, the family finally DOES make it to Newtopia, impressive as you’d expect when the guard won’t let them see the wizard no way no how. Antique references aside, the guard at the gate actually has good reason for not letting them in as they have a tiny barbari-ant problem. A species Hop Pop is, in a nice touch, unfamiliar with due to the Valley not having them. We quickly see them in action as one approaches the plantars, basically a giant ant with ant-lers. Yes I used a pun there sue me. Anyway, our heroes ward off the ant they do find with some really cool team manuvering, and Polly showing she has spiked teeth. It’s a cool sequence. However they quickly find themselves outgunned, outplanned, outnumbered and outmanned. They gotta make an all out stand. Their gonna need a right hand man. Also I finally saw the film version of hamilton, as you can tell. Utterly magic. 

Said Right Hand Man, er woman, er tween comes in the nick of time as a cloaked Marcy sprays some black goo and sets it ablaze, scaring the ants off, snatching a stalemate from the jaws of defeat,  then rappeling down on a rope shot from a crossbow, also making polly want one because of course. She then.. Faceplants. Still a solid 8/10 entrance Marcy.  Marcy is played by Haley Tju who you may remember from such shows as The Loud House. And that’s all I know her from but given Stella’s one of my faviorites and Haley’s performance is part of that, so it’s unsuprising she’s great here. Also fun fact I learned by looking at her trope page: She actually played a younger version of London, brenda song’s character, on the Suite Life I Pray for Death but Death Won’t Come.. or On Deck for those who’ve never watched it. But I like the fact two londons are now on the same show together.. and an actually good noe at that! Horay. But yeah Haley is a great VA and what little i’ve seen her in and a welcome addition.  Marcy and Anne happily reunite once htey both realize who the other is, and hug and etc, before Marcy decends on the plantars, talking on and on and on about geeky stuff and how she likes the found family trope. ... I may really relate to this  mediums sized child, as I too am a huge nerd with no filter and was probably a lot like her at that age. It’s also clear she very transparently sees this as a combinaton of a video game and a d and d session, but said skills have actually benifited her as rping a rogue allowed her to easily bluff her way into the kingdom’s good graces and now she’s a sworn agent of the king as we’ll find out.  She quickly wins over the Plantars, measuring hop pop’s head, gushing over him being a farmer (which he almost instantly adopts her over and asks to point blank later), and then noticing Polly’s legs are about to come in and giving her the note seen in the review image, my faviorite gag. Sprig however is more out and out hostile and has his reasons we’ll get to in a second.  Marcy escorts her new family and sorta girlfriend to the makeshift war room set up by three scholoary newts who quickly resolve their planning disagreements by beating the piss out of each other. Just like real politics.. and that’s not a cheeky jab between the actual caning in the sentate that happened once and the various duels in the revolutionary and early america eras.. yeah the only reason the preisdent hasn’t been shot for challening one of hte many people he hates for a duel without realizing he really can’t see through that squint too good is that it’s now illegal and not the kind of illegal he can hide like usual.  Anyways after the Newts scoff at our heroes, but Marcy vouches for them and reveals that the ants are getting closer because i’ts gotten warmer....

Marcy has a plan though: Spread scentshrroms around that will release a pheremone which will drive them off, having throughly studied Amphibia’s various flora and fauna and thus knowing how to deal with them. I’ts something I like about the character and how she adds to the other huamns group dynamics. Alll three deal with issues diffrent ways; Anne has plans, but rarely thinks them through, Sasha does think hers through and is a master manipulator while Marcy is a ballance between the two: She does throughly think things out and have well thought out clever plans.. she just also tens to rush into things or go forward with a nose in a book or without a thought to how dangerous soemthing is. She’s prepared, she’s just not very aware of her surrondings, which is amood. 

But Anne is nervous about her coming along as is sprig which sets up both’s conflicts with her for the episode: Anne wants to protect Marcy, since she just got her back and her only other remaning friend now clearly wants to stab her and she has a better option now love interest wise. However Marcy convinces Anne, 2nd capefire this episode nonwithstanding, she can handle herself. She also calsl her annabannna which is fucking adorable.  The other conflict is that Sprig dosen’t trust her.. he has no rational reason not to give she’s a sweetie, but is a bit gunshy about another human girl working for a dictator popping up in their life. And while he’s probably wrong, while I think Marcy isn’t working for the best people probably she’s likely too oblivious to genuinely relaize she’s doing crimes if they have her doing them or was given a fake justification. I could be wrong, and will gladly eat crow. Metphorically i’m not going to bake a real crow. I don’t have the right seasoning. And i’d also be cursed but eh I doubt I can get poorer. But it’s understandable he has reservations, especially since while he dosen’t say it he’s likely worried Anne will get hurt again. He’s a good boy, he’s just being paranoid over probably nothing.  Anyways onoto the plan: The plantars and new girl marcy are gonna:

Okay phermone them whatever, the point is they head into the Ant Hole, witht he conflicts continuing as the plantars progress; Sprig is naturally suspcious and Anne is worried about her precious gurl. The group fight some more ants, and Marcy seemingly wonders off.. only to instead BLOW THEM A FUCKING TUNNEL with some chemicals from some flowers she found, then instant sprout a plant cage.. and accidently trap polly. NOOOOO.> Thankfully she frees her and tosses some plants on the ants, which is fun to say.  We then get to our climax. OUr group find the queen who ihs horrifying.. a good mom as sprig points out but horrfing. Nice design though i’m just.. not an insect guy and sometimes this show leaves me in abject terror. this is one of those times. Our heroes plant the mushrooms, phrasing I know but this review is late as is and i’ve already used up my archer refrence for the day.  Anne dives to Save a seemingly oblovious Marcy.. whose mad at Anne over it.. while Anne is udnerstandable Marcy wants her , NEEDS her to understand...

No not that erik. That, much like Anne herself, Marcy’s grown and changed over these past three months. She can handle herself now and she needs her ot see that. Also sprig gets attacked by an ant baby, which not only wakes up the queen, who can hear but can’t see but now knows something’s arry, but causes said queen to unleash a hoarde of ants.  Marcy however naturally has a plan: She’ll dive into the queen’s belly and get sprig, the plantars will hold them off and Anne finally trusts her lady enough to fiht off. I don’t have a lot to say I just really like this character arc and Marcy’s character: She’s a bit oblivious, ab it obessed with nerdy things which again relate.. but when push comes to shove she’s also clever, a master planner and has clearly studied her ass off about this world and knows it well. She’s throughly likeable.  And that likeablity finally gets through to sprig when she gets him out and swings him. Trust earned, anne’s faith in her gained and the mushrooms go off and send the ants running. Misson Complete.  With the mission complete our heroes finally enter Newtopia and meet the mysterious Lady Olivia, whose been sending Marcy on her missions, and is likely her spymaster. Not that i think Marcy realizes that but Marcy’s love of midevil fantasy means she blends in well with thier courty apperance and introduces anne and co to her.. Olvia isn’t impressed but is cordial about it at least.. even with Sprig breaking shit. And yeah , Amphibia has a king over all of it, as Hop Pop puts it “We aren’t savages”. It does make sense it woudln’t come up every day though, it’s not as if the king really cares about the valley... but more on speculation about him in a minute. Hop Pop wisely gives the two “Friends’ some alone time, and the two talk things over: Anne explains how she found sasha.. and it didn’t go great, and Marcy vows that the two of them can go their own way now. Maybe iwth tounge. we dunno. The two then look over anne’s phone while anne recounts her anne-tics.. and we get to the king. And it’s KEITH DAVID BITCHES AS WAS PROHPISED A FEW WEEKS AGO. And he has myserious plans and wood carven figures of both our heroines and possible gaybies. “The game can finally begin. “

Final Thoughts: This was a really damn good episode. Whiel I summarized more than usual , both conflicts were great, all the plantars got to shine, there were gags a plenty, an intriguing new member of the main cast and a mysterious new antagonist. I mean given it was revealed the Newts were behind Toad tower a few episodes back, I figured Andidas wouldn’t be a good guy, even if he’s played by upstanding gentleman and god among men keith david, , but it’s a question of what his end goal is, how the girls got here, and what his plan ofr them is that i’m curious to see play out as the season goes on, as well as see if Marcy is a pawn or not. Newtopia also looks intresting and i’ts nice to have a new solid setting to build on now we’re here, as well as new mysteries to unlock> Ther’es also the honest possibliity marcy, who claims to have found bubkuss, might simply want to stay in a world where she gets to live out her dreams and isn’t picked on or bullied. Again we’ll see all speculation but this episode was damn good. For now this is the clear highlight of the season and i’tll be intresting to see where it goes from here. Until next time courage. 

[doctorgerth]

Who do you think you’d get with if you were in the OP world? Not your favorite boy, but as a person who do you think you’d be most compatible with?

VERY GOOD QUESTION MY FRIEND

This took lots of thinking and I honestly probably didn’t even accurately convey my thoughts but here’s my best attempt! Thanks for this very intriguing question 💕

Ok so I’m a pretty sensitive and emotionally-driven person so most of the hot assholes (Kid, Law, Lucci, you know the type) I could never get on well with because I’d be crying all the damn time and I know they’d for sure be annoyed by that lmao unless it was some miraculous opposites attract kind of relationship, I really just don’t think I’d be able to have a stable relationship with those kinds of guys. Not to mention the aforementioned three are pretty sadistic........

I do feel like Killer and I would match well personality wise, but idk if I’d be down with all the murder and bloodshed 🥴 if I were part of the Kid Pirates (me as a Kid Pirate is honestly so laughable but hey let’s imagine), I could maybe look past it cuz I mean you gotta take the measures to survive, so maybe then we could form a relationship? Maybe? I’m generally calm, easy-going, low-maintenance, and super loving and I feel like he needs someone peaceful in his life to ease the stress and chaos that usually ensues in his day to day life. I’m also adventurous enough for him, I think. So he’s a hard maybe (I’m also probs just biased lmao) I could easily do an entire post on why I think we’d work out but that’s for another day.

Zoro and Ace are also hard maybes? This is all if I were to choose a pirate as an s/o which when it comes down to it, I’m not 100% sure I would. One Piece does a good job of painting the pirates (more specifically the Straw Hats) as “good guys” in certain situations (mostly against/in comparison to the World Government and other various bad guys). But knowing me, I’d just be a regular ass person in One Piece and I would be damn terrified of pirates! So I can’t for sure say I’d go for one? If I would, I guess I’m saying I would maybe go for Zoro or Ace. I think those two are who I would click with most. It wouldn’t be perfect by any means, but I just think I would have the most chemistry with those two? Idk I’m just hella attracted to both lmao

When it comes down to it, I think I would probs go for a Marine (but like...the good ones) because I believe I would feel more secure in a relationship with someone like that and I’m all for order and justice (the genuine kind lmao) and I am such a goody two shoes. They definitely have a dangerous lifestyle as well, but it’d ease my mind knowing they were fighting for the right things and not killing people for the fun of it or for treasure or what the fuck ever. That being said, I’ll have to go with sweet Coby! He is quite possibly the least problematic person in all of OP and I feel like we would have such a normal life as a couple! And that’s really all I crave, normal, comforting, and happy. Like sure I’ll be worried about him doing his marine duties but he’s pretty strong and can hold his own. And he’s only getting stronger (future admiral yes sir). He’s very in tune with his emotions, compassionate, and polite with a moral compass clearly pointing north. Not to mention he’s super supportive and protective of his loved ones and constantly willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. How could you get any better than that? I think he would be an incredible husband and father and it’d just be so easy to fall in love and be with him! Unfortunately, I’m almost 23 so the age difference is getting a bit weird 😅 but that’s my stance on Coby! Smoker would be a close second for almost all the same reasons except he’s more of a hard ass that I just wanna crack and expose his true soft sides. He’d also be a great husband and father, I’m sure of it. It’s canon that he’s more gentle towards kids! Also, if I were older, you bet your ass I would marry Fujitora. The purest man!! As for other marines, I’d easily consider Rosi and Drake (that size difference tho.........)

Sabo is another hard maybe. I like the Revolutionaries and what they stand for (I feel like I’m contradicting myself?) and Sabo is kind-hearted yet hot-headed enough to keep our relationship exciting! I’ve been paired with him a lot so maybe I’m just a lil swayed lol but I think it could work!

Or hell even some regular dude like Dalton! He’s a total sweetheart, I think we’d work out well also or any man of his type! All in all, I look for compassion, intelligence (both mental and emotional), someone who respects me, supports me, shares my values, someone silly, fun-loving, someone who can make me laugh, and someone who is adventurous but also enjoys the simpler things in life! Someone I can easily settle down and have a family with. I’m just a sensitive bb who needs lots of love and care and that’s rare to find with most One Piece men. That won’t stop me from wanting to fuck all of them though ayeeeeee.

I hope this all made sense? I feel like I was just rambling nonsense 😅

I’m super curious as to what other people think?? Who do you think you’re most compatible with? Feel free to comment or share thoughts in my ask box!! 

[ajoraverse]

Does anyone care? Nah ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . But this meme crossed my main dash so I’m gonna answer it here because I know no one would actually play memes with me anymore. This is the Beta AU post; FFV will be separate.

What OC has the biggest family? How do they get along? I mean, Alfredot has been creating gems for thousands of years by the time she stopped. She generally gets along well with them, for how little time she’s able to spend with them before they get shipped out.

What OC has/is a mentor? Alfredot both had a mentor and has been one. And in better years, she was a fair one. It’s just been in the past 5000 years that she broke and became that one jerk teacher no one likes but is the only one who teaches Advanced Exogeology.

What OC has a huge group of friends? I’m not sure if Skinny/Twig counts because she’s based on a bit canon character, but definitely her. She tends to get along with everyone.

What OC has a small, close group of friends? Mist never makes friends easily, and a lot of that is because of trauma, but she sticks to them when she can.

What OC has, like, one friend? Alfredot used to have a larger pool, but all her friends are either dead or have been driven away by 5000 years of her being a bitter asshole. 

What OC is the Mom Friend? Twig

What OC really needs the Mom Friend around? Bear could honestly really use a friend, given her difficulties, but not a lot of people want to make the effort to slow down for her.

Which OCs are an old married couple (literally or figuratively)? Alfredot and Mist, if they ever reunite

What is your favorite platonic relationship between  your OCs? Twig and Mouse, easily. They’re both so laid back that they can shoot the breeze for years and not get annoyed with each other.

What is your favorite familial relationship between your OCs? Look, Prasiolite was Alfredot’s daughter and I’m sorry I never got to really explore that.

What is your favorite romantic relationship between your OCs? I really love exploring taboo and complicated relationships, so it was always gonna be Alfredot and Mist.

Which two OCs are the most different from each other? Oh, goodness, Twig and Copper are as different as night and day. Up until Twig gets all Ahab, anyway.

Which OCs complement each other the best? This is a good question and I think Twig would be good for helping Burgundy and Copper to step down on the intensity a bit.

Which OCs get along the best with each other? Oh, gosh, probably Sunstone and Twig, if they ever met. Twig would find Sunstone’s genuine desire to do good to be refreshing, and Sunstone would look up to Twig’s unwillingness to let anything get to her.

Whch OCs get along the worst with each other? Copper and Albite (who may or may not be one and the same, opinion pending) would, ironically, find Sunstone’s optimism and goodwill aggravating.

Which OCs don’t know each other, but would get along great if they did? Despite Albite’s disapproval with how pearls are made, she would approve of Copper’s attempts at revolution--mostly what she hates is inaction and compliance. She would also be more approving of Alfredot’s efforts at fueling and informing Copper’s revolution if she had any idea Alfredot would eventually grow a spine. And oh, goodness would Albite love Bismuth and Pearl.

Which OCs don’t know each other, but would hate each other if they did? Sunstone and Star Sapphire do actually know of each other, and Star Sapphire does manipulate Sunstone, but Sunstone would loathe the way Star Sapphire plays behind the scenes (despite, well, doing her own manipulations--Star Sapphire operates out of a necessary distance because she’s ancient beyond belief, Sunstone is still young enough and well-meaning enough to believe the best of people).

Which OCs would make the worst couple? Oh god I cannot see Albite with anyone, she’s too dedicated to her movement and it occupied her every thought. Likewise with Copper.

What’s the strangest way two (or more) OCs have met? Mist might have made a very loud wark when meeting Twig, who was the first of her gems to have met her.

Which non-related OCs have known each other the longest? Star Sapphire and Alfredot.

Which OCs knew each other the shortest time before becoming close friends? Look, Twig will befriend everyone at a moment’s notice.

Which OCs spend the most time together? Stoneshaper is actually the gem who spends the most time with Mist post-corruption, because she likes a captive audience and Mist doesn’t mind her making things in front of her.

Which OCs have fought with each other the most? The triplets fight with everyone, tbh. They’re soldiers without purpose and need a guide.

Do any OCs have friends they haven’t met in person? Not really. Most of them have met at least once. Moonstone had acquaintances she only met through the network, but as she is so detached from everything due to sheer age, she doesn’t grow close to anyone.

Do any OCs have imaginary friends? Nope

Does OC have a hard or easy time making friends? Alfredot has a harder time making friends the older she gets.

How did OC meet their best friend? Peach Pearl was just dropped in Sunstone’s lap one day. And it was a rocky start (haha), but they do get to be close friends.

How did OC meet their worst enemy? Well, see, Lapis dragged Jasper under the sea and forced a fusion for months and Twig hated her since.

How did OC meet their significant other? If OC does not have a SO, do they want one? Sunstone being genuinely ace, she’s just as happy to be bffs with someone.

How does OC get along with their parents? Alfredot got on very well with her maker. Well enough to be apprenticed to her.

Does OC have siblings? Do they get along if they do? Do they wish they had some if they don’t? Twig has plenty of siblings, some she gets along with better than others. But it’s with Jasper that she has the most sibling-like relationship.

Does OC have or want kids? Twig has so many human kids, you guys.

Is OC/Would OC be a good parent? Twig is the best parent. She will drop everything for the kids, even if none of them came from her body. They were her wives’ kids, so they’re her kids too.

What is something unusual OC has bonded with someone over? It’s not been explored at all, but Alfredot started bonding with Albite over ship building and maintenance.

What is the most important relationship in OC’s life? I actually want to say Albite and Alfredot, if just because Albite’s movement and eventual death ended up influencing Alfredot’s life up until she ended up freeing Mist, shuttling freed pearls to the pearl enclave on the first colony, and enabling Copper’s revolution.

How has OC been affected by their friendships? They’ve all been influenced by friendships.

How has OC been affected by their family relationships? Twig is the biggest family girl because of her relationships with other Beta gems

How has OC been affected by their romantic relationship(s) or lack thereof? Losing Mist may have made Alfredot bitter and wholly unlikeable to everyone who has to take her exogeology classes, but Mist was sort of the final element to push Alfredot into her revolutionary support role.

Who does OC consider they have learned their most important life lesson from? Albite sort of set up the scaffolding for Alfredot’s life lessons, but Mist pulled her back enough to see that the scaffolding was there all along.

Who motivates OC? So many things motivate Alfredot, but primarily Albite and Mist.

Who would OC do anything for? Look, Alfredot will give everything to have Mist back.

Who would OC do anything to not have to deal with? If Alfredot never has to deal with Blue Diamond again and not also betray the gems she made, she’ll go rogue at a moment’s notice.

How does OC meet most people? Alfredot mostly meets people through work.

How long does it take OC to open up to people? Alfredot? centuries. Sunstone? minutes, but she always keeps Heliodor to herself.

How much do OC’s friends know about their private life? Most of my OCs are very private people, due in large part to living in an oppressive society in which the walls actually have eyes and ears

How does OC act differently after they know someone better? Alfredot gets a lot less forbidding if she approves of someone.

Who is OC’s favorite person? Alfredot was nice to Sunstone and treated her like an equal, so Sunstone looks up to her a lot and this always mystifies Alfredot.

Who is OC’s least favorite person? The amount of hate Alfredot has for Blue Diamond can be measured on galactic scales, but she would never actually acknowledge it.

Is there anyone OC used to be very close to, but no longer is? Star Sapphire actually does know Moonstone, and they were friends once upon a time. But as they are both old on the scale of nearly a million years, they’ve drifted apart.

What aspects of OC have, consciously or unconsciously, come from someone else? Alfredot kinda gets up the courage to do more than just mourn her losses from Mist.

[kinsbin]

Bluebells

Title: Bluebells  Ship: Alexys/Negan [Self Insert/Canon] Word Count: 2063 Summary: Negan gets out of a meeting early and decides to help Alexys out with some gardening. The two share a comfortable talk and a sweet kiss as a result.

A/N: Commission for @bad-blue-moon-rising! Her ship with Negan is very cute I’m a sucker for big, tough, asshole guy and his sweet, shorter girlfriend he’d do anything for ;u;

The sun beat down upon the camp in waves, each one seemingly more intense than the last as it warmed the faces of those under it. Alexys could barely find any comfort in the heat, even under the large brimmed hat she wore at Negan’s request (‘you could get sunburnt’ he had pointed out before offering it to her) it penetrated the dark strands of her hair. The darkness of it made her scalp heat up faster than any other point of her body. She had even forgone her favorite hoodie for the day in favor of a simple tank top and scuffed up jeans, knowing the work she had done was something dirty and she was not ready to get that hoodie dirty with anything else. Not when it already had mud and the slight stains of dried zombie blood splattered faintly across its front.

She felt lucky that she didn’t have to quite deal with it anymore. Not since meeting Negan.

Her bare hands dug into the dirt before her as she began the long and arduous day job of keeping up the gardens. While the nearby open field was what kept the Saviors’ true stock of crops growing and maintained, the garden was for smaller things. Things they could afford to keep close to their hearts: flowers that required little maintenance or vegetables not completely capable of being mass produced but well enough to be offered as small treats here and there. It was a personal hobby of hers at this point, she supposed, to keep it up and maintain it a few times a week. The apocalypse had given her different hobbies from the ones of her previous life. Activity now took the place of inactivity, as was necessary in a world where dangers grew the less you moved. She made it a point to keep her mind and hands busy at the very least, a habit Negan had grown fond of within her. Something he told her often that he loved about her.

A shadow threw itself across her view as a form blocked the sun above her. Alexys paused mid-process of digging out a couple of unwanted weeds and dead branches from the mulch of the garden floor in favor of looking up at the person daring to interrupt her. Her sour look of annoyance was morphed quickly into one of delight at the sight of her boyfriend hovering over her, his arms crossed as he observed her on the ground.

“Negan!” Her voice chimed in such a way that the excitement in it made his heart flutter with delight, the twitch of a smile daring to spread itself across his mouth as she wiped her hands off on her jeans and reached around to give him a hug. He returned it as she sighed in his arms, the strength of their grip providing unconditional security along with the gentle kiss placed on the corner of her mouth from him. For all of his strength and terrifying personage, he had always been so careful with her. As if she was nothing but a breakable object. As if any movement he made would shatter her into a million pieces. Though Alexys had insisted that she was more sturdy than he had believed her to be, there was a part of her that dared to admit that she liked being fawned over in such a manner. To be cared for so genuinely by someone believed by outsiders to have no feelings was something of a boost to her pride.

“I thought you had some meetings with the farmhands today?” Alexys inquired as she pulled herself away from him.

“It was cut short,” Was all the explanation he offered as he let her go back to the work she had been doing before, “Besides, are you telling me you weren’t happy that I came back early? I’m almost offended.”

The deadpan sarcasm made Alexys giggle as Negan leaned at her side, crouching down to join her at the level of work and tilting his head at all of the flowers she was carefully spreading and tending to bit by bit. For a moment, the words faded between them. They were left in a comforting silence that chilled the hot air pleasantly, creating an even temperature two bodies could stand for side by side. Alexys expected no help in her tasks. They were, after all, her own. Besides, they were something she enjoyed doing, and felt no disappointment in not receiving any assistance. The more work to do on the plants, the more time she was able to spend with them and help her mind clear itself of negative thoughts that tried so hard to bite and claw their way up to the surface.

Thus, the surprise she felt when she heard Negan grunt to roll up his sleeves, slipping onto his knees to dig his hands into the dirt with her, was nothing short of revolutionary.

“N-Negan?” Her voice was hesitant as she watched him, her own fingers dug halfway into the dirt while he worked through the patch of flowers next to her in removing the weeds and clearly damaged particles around them, “What are you…?”

“Helping, of course,” Negan’s voice was clear and confident in its motives, “We haven’t spent enough time together. Two of us will get it done faster than one, after all. We should use it to our advantage.”

Alexys bit back the smile on her face as he added, almost as an embarrassed addendum, “Plus, being with you out here...it’s nice.”

“Just nice?”

Negan smiled, but didn’t respond to the gentle egg-on. Nor did she expect him to, really. Teasing Negan had limits. Hell, most would be terrified to even test the waters of such close relationship with him. The man was respected and feared by many, but, to Alexys, he was simply himself. She respected him just as much, certainly, but the closeness they shared doubled as cushioning for them as they bantered, respect garnering respect in a way that made her feel at ease. Alexys fell back into the comforting silence he brought with him, her mind wandering as they fixed the flower beds together.

Noise was minimal. On occasion one asked the other to hand over a tool from across the way. Hoes bit their voracious teeth into the earth, grinding up the dirt so that the soil was tilled once again. Weeds were yanked from their cozy homes between gorgeous lavender and bluebells. There was a satisfaction to ripping up the unwanted greenery away from the beautiful plants they had worked so hard as a community to cultivate. Alexys felt a sense of pride in it, especially for the blue bells. Their soft petals curling inwards and the substantial difference between each vine was something beautiful. Something so unique in a world that felt endlessly gray and dulled, lines the same one after another of death and predictable loss through the ages.

Negan watched Alexys as she gardened, admiring the way the sun hit the hat on her head, casting a shadow over her face. The straw-woven attire created patterns and grafts of light that sunk through it and allowed small rays to dance like diamonds off the base of her skin and hair. Some hit her eyes, making them sparkle a glorious shade of blue before she squinted them away with discomfort in favor of busying her hands with the dirt again. For a moment, he imagined them gardening in a home without the apocalypse. As a couple, slowly digging their way through their carefully cared for garden after waking up together in the morning. The sun would hang high over their shared home, the neighbors walking their dogs across the concrete and greeting them.

Reality, of course, was different. It was the now. The apocalypse was the fact, as was his place in it and hers as well.

At least, still, they were together.

Negan reached out to the flower bed, touching at one of the blue bells. The small bud felt like tissue paper in his hands, so easily crumbled and given to the wind until it was nothing important anymore. It was what happened to the world, he observed with amusement as he twirled the stemp between his forefinger and pinky. The lifeless landscape had held no hope for him. Not when his wife passed and not when things went to shit. Perhaps the world had been dulled long before that, the colors sucked away in a vacuum of humanity.

Then Alexys came along.

He saw the world in a whole new light. The blues looked brighter, like the flower in his hands. The sun felt warmer, like the day they were having now. Her smile was the brightest object on earth, her laughter warming his heart as she stuck by his side regardless of his choices and transgressions. The loyalty was warm...comforting, he dare say. He had not known this sort of love since long before the apocalypse, and the reminder of it at his side made him want to keep it there. To never let her go from the garden they had cultivated together, as a family.

Alexys startled as she felt Negan’s hand brush her ear, pulling back strands of her hair and pressing something cold and slightly rough behind it. She allowed him, trusting him in his placement of safe objects. He would not hurt her, he certainly hasn’t yet. It was this trust that they both fed off of, after all.

When he moved his hand, Alexys brought hers up. She touched what she realized then was the soft petals of a blue bell he had picked. A blush warmed her cheeks under her hat as she tried to avert her eyes, but the chuckle from Negan signaled that he had already seen her facial features contort into that of awed surprise.

“Wh-What is this for?” Alexys stumbled over her words slightly as she tried to busy her hands again by digging into the dirt. The cool earth did nothing for her warm cheeks, her heart beating rapidly. Despite being together with him for so long, every moment with Negan made her feel like a schoolgirl whose crush just asked her out for the first time. The stuttering and stumbling was embarrassing, but, he had always insisted it was cute. It was only emphasized now, as his eyes held hers with a fondness beyond recognition for the usually hardened and unsympathetic man’s gaze.

Negan had, as well, always been a man of action. He leaned forward shortly after the question rolled from her lips, capturing them in his own careful kiss. The two shared their momentary embrace, the world around them fading until it was only them left, their lips sending sparks in the back of Alexys’ mind as she allowed it to drag on, to continue, to be relished.

When he pulled away, there was a faint breath on his lips as he did so, a sigh of contentment that warmed in his chest while he was filled with the uncanny feeling of comfort. His free hand reached out to touch her cheek. Alexys leaned into his hand, rough and so, so comforting as it caressed her jawline and gave off a feeling of steady security.

“Because it suits you,” Negan’s voice was gentle in speech, “Matches those pretty eyes of yours.”

The words were unexpected, but, genuine in their delivery. Each emphasized with a care only she was capable of bringing out in him. There was a rush to doing so, a secret joy that warmed her heart and filled her stomach with butterflies that escaped in the form of a giggle, hand covering her mouth so that it might not escape too loud.

The giggle only made him laugh, though. A soft and breathy thing that was as rare as a blood moon. She cherished the noise, committing it to memory before leaning forward and pressing a kiss onto his nose. “I love you,” Her words spoke true and honest in their whisper and it was Negan’s turn to blush, the color faint on his cheeks as he turned back to the plants before them both. Alexys did as well and, soon, it was another moment of silence before she heard his rebuttal:

“I love you, too.”

[femboyyghostface]

Merthur, Merwaine, Perwaine, and Morgwen for the ship thing

Merthur

when of if I started shipping it.

The scene they met. Literally what were they even saying except lets go fuck. Writers what the fuck.

my thoughts:

I love them. They both just need to be loved and Arthur needs someone to trust and we missed out on what their lives could’ve been like if he could’ve told Arthur the truth :(

What makes me happy about them:

They compliment each other so well. They fit together perfectly in every way.

What makes me sad about them:

Arthur died telling Merlin he loved him and the editors are cowards who cut it out.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

The whole blushing virgin Merlin thing. That boy be fuckin’

things I look for in fanfic:

Depends on whether it’s canonverse or AU but usually I look for how well the characters interact outside of the ship.

My wishlist:

Merlin had confessed his magic and/or Arthur found out

Dragon!Parents anyone? 

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Merlin with Gwaine and honestly Arthur with Gwen wouldn’t bother me if they had built it up better, but otherwise Arthur with Lance

My happily ever after for them:

Arthur comes back, they fight whatever fucking baddie caused it, they get that farm in the middle of nowhere and live domestic lives where the only mishapsare baby dragon accidents.

Merwaine

when of if I started shipping it.

Honestly, again, when they met. That bar fight? Gwaine was 100% trying to get into Merlin’s pants.

my thoughts:

I genuinely like them as a ship. I think that Gwaine cares for Merlin a lot, and would do anything for him, no matter the cost. 

What makes me happy about them:

Gwaine is so fun and light hearted even though he’s internally sad, and I feel like Merlin and Gwaine encourage each other to be wild and have fun (aka be reckless idiots)

What makes me sad about them:

Merlin is so obviously in love with Arthur when they meet that really, poor Gwaine never stood a chance. Gwaine just wants Merlin to be happy, even if it means he isn’t.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

People who make Gwaine a cheating asshole. That boy would never he falls in love and is loyal. He just falls in love a lot, but that doesn’t make it any less wonderful.

things I look for in fanfic:

Honestly? Sad boy Gwaine trying to fuck his problems away, and finding love in the process.

My wishlist:

Gwaine and Merlin both get the love they deserve. It may not be that heart aching, desperate love, but it’s deep and passionate and they both just care so much and want the world for the other. 

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Merlin with Arthur and Gwaine with Percival.

My happily ever after for them:

Gwaine and Merlin have a handfasting ceremony and get hitched, after Merlin tells Gwaine his secret. They come back to Camelot and help Arthur build his new kingdom, all the while subtly trying to get Arthur to understand that all magic isn’t bad. They love their life and all their friends are happy and alive and they get to curl up next to each other every night and remind each other just how lucky they are.

Perwaine

when of if I started shipping it.

I didn’t at first. I think the final scene with them made me ship it. The way Percival just held his face, and the pure agony in his eyes? Yeah that moment.

my thoughts:

I think even though they weren’t what I shipped initially, they are pretty cute. Gwaine is loudy and makes himself known and Percival is perfectly fine being quiet and standing in the shadows. So they can kind of pull each other away from those extremes.

What makes me happy about them:

They balance each other out.

What makes me sad about them:

Percival had to hold him as he died and deal with the fact that Gwaine’s last thoughts were nothing but guilt, he couldn’t even comfort him then.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Let Percival Say Fuck.

things I look for in fanfic:

Just more sad boy Gwaine, fucking his problems and catching feelings.

My wishlist:

Can we just... not have them die in each other’s arms? Let them be happy jfc.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Gwaine with Merlin and Percival with Elyan (who was actually my original ship ngl)

My happily ever after for them:

They leave the kingdom, but still stay in touch. They have a cute farm and Gwaine gets to watch his Big Beefy Husband toss hay barrels and be a thirsty hoe. Gwaine stops drinking his problems away and instead has found that kissing Percival is much better than getting drunk and getting the shit beat out of him.

Morgwen

when of if I started shipping it.

Listen Gwen has always been in love with Morgana. In like episode 2 when Valiant kissed Morgana’s hand? I’m not saying Gwen had that jealous crush face, but she totally did.

my thoughts:

They should’ve saved Morgana through the power of lesbianism. 

What makes me happy about them:

When Morgana couldn’t trust anyone, she trusted Gwen.It wasn’t until her thoughts started twisting that she began to doubt her. 

What makes me sad about them:

After Morgana tried to kill everyone Gwen couldn’t be there for her like she used to. She had to choose between the woman she loved (really that Morgana had died long ago, but she was still mourning that), and the people she cared about and worked with everyday.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Let Gwen Say Fuck

things I look for in fanfic:

Acknowledgment that Gwen did love Lancelot, but was in love with Morgana. 

My wishlist:

Redemption Through Loving Women trope, but it’s gay so it’s revolutionary.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Uh, I guess Gwen with Lance, and Morgana with happiness.

My happily ever after for them:

Morgana doesn’t run off. Uther dies somehow still. Arthur learns of her magic and supports his witchy half-sister. Gwen is still married to a Pendragon, it’s just the other one. They wear complimenting outfits and dance around together unabashedly. Morgana and Gwen adopt a bunch of kids and are the happiest ladies in the kingdom.

[bubblewrapjunkie]

Losing an idol who’s still alive

This text has been a week in the making, and I’ve hesitated several times if I should post it or not. But I think I need this to be out there, so here we go.

Last weekend, for various reasons, I was in a complete media blackout, save for the World Cup (being European, not knowing everything going on about the games is decidedly Not An Option). So it wasn’t until Sunday morning (Saturday night back in the US) that I learned about Chris Hardwick and what he had done to Chloe Dykstra. Ironically, it was because I woke up really early from a bad dream and decided to open Twitter on my phone to distract myself for a minute or two and then go back to sleep. Needless to say, that didn’t happen.

Now, I hear you all asking, why the fuck do I care so much about Chris Hardwick being outed as yet another disappointment of a man? I mean, he hardly does anything revolutionary. He’s just a middle-of-the-road podcaster, a Ryan Seacrest with some extra salt for flavour. There are other people who does all of the separate things he does, but better. Valid points throughout. So, some backstory and context then, if I may.

The Nerdist Podcast has been a trusty companion of mine since 2013. For those of you who know me, you know that that wasn’t a swell time in my life. I was stuck at a job with a boss who tormented me relentlessly, and made me believe that I deserved it. I took that job when I was at a real low-point in my life, and I had virtually no self esteem or sense of self worth when he started picking at me. Little by little, he established behaviors that if they’d been there on the first day, I would have just quit and left. He was very charming during our interview and towards clients. After a year of me working there it was standard procedure to aggressively call me stupid at least a couple of times a week. Frog, meet boiling water.

I slowly regained my sense of self at home, but I’ve always been a master compartmentalizer, and work was like a different world. It was during this time that I discovered the Nerdist podcast, and it became my best friend at work. As long as I was able to listen to it, I could endure, and even experience something akin to hope. I had an invisible friend. Needless to say, before long, my employer found a reason to forbid me to listen to it during work hours. But some sort of seed had been planted. I felt... wronged. And like I deserved better. So, through twists and turns and a backlash with me for real getting back to work for them again after being yelled at in my face so hard that I cried for twenty minutes in the bathroom before going home, I quit. And got fired. It was a mutual thing. And in my ears on my way home, there was Chris and Matt and Jonah, laughing and somehow assuring me that things were gonna be okay.

That’s what the Nerdist podcast was to me. An ally, in a place where I had none. Cut to Sunday morning and me reading a cryptic tweet and then finding Chloe’s essay and wanting to vomit the whole time. Because my ally was her abuser. And I felt so damn dumb, because I thought I would recognize that shit anywhere after what happened to me. Just goes to show, I guess.

I want to make this crystal clear before I go on - I believe and support Chloe Dykstra. The things I am about to write does nothing to challenge that, I assure you. This is not about facts, but about feelings. Feelings that I am trying to come to grips with and understand and, to a large extent, get rid off.

You see, I keep imagining ways to forgive him for it. Elaborate scenarios in which he becomes better and it all makes sense and doesn’t have to feel so goddamn gross anymore. I keep thinking about what I knew about him and Chloe before this, how they were probably never any good for each other but got caught up in this crazy attraction and.... You see where I’m going with this? How badly we want to cling to what we think a person was if we’ve idolized them?

Feelings don’t go away just because you want them to. It takes a bit of time. My instinct to protect this asshole needs reprogramming. When Rachel Bloom retweets someone scathing him for using leaked texts as evidence that Chloe wanted him back after their breakup, my gut feeling is “But you were just on his show and it was such a nice episode, why are you so mean?”. And then I snap out of it, and feel extra shitty, both about the situation and that first thought. That first feeling.

Where am I going with this? I guess my point is, I’m just a person who really fucking liked his podcast and generally what I saw of him as a person. He seemed little needy at times for sure, and never able to be critical about anything to someone’s face, but I figured it was just his insecurities from childhood popping up and that self-confessed need to be liked. And I have this much trouble letting him go (I almost cried when I unsubscribed from his podcast, which I know sounds both lame and insane, but it’s the truth). Imagine then, to be his girlfriend, loving him, wanting so desperately to believe that the good will outweigh the bad, trying to make it work. Of course it’s a bloody war with yourself, trying to get out. So if nothing else, this whole ordeal has been a reminder to myself of how easy it is to get lost within toxic relationships and their fucked up power dynamics.

I do sincerely hope that Hardwick takes a long hard look into his soul and tries to fix whatever the fuck it is that’s broken in there. Or for starters, that he at the very least realizes that something is broken in there. Because the fucked up thing about this is, I think he genuinely was blindsided by Chloe’s story. He for sure knew that he was a bad excuse of a boyfriend a lot of the time, but he probably doesn’t fully understand what he’s done and how disgusting his behavior has been. He, like many a white male nerd before him, is so wrapped up in this narrative of the Good Nerdy Overlooked Guy, that he can’t phantom that his insecurities come out as vile and abusive. He was bullied, so he can’t possibly be a bully - right? None of this excuses anything that he’s done - once again, I believe and support Chloe fully - but it might be an explanation as to why he’s done what he’s done. And explanations (NOT EXCUSES) is something that needs to be found for these abusive men, so society can spot them easier, and maybe, just maybe, find a way to make sure that there are less of them in the future.

[pluck-my-life]

Headcanon: Red builds a great big playground outside his house, but mostly for the selfish reason of keeping the noise and mischief out of his own workspace. Who knew the liberal atmosphere of the bachelor misfits’ house would attract so many neighborhood kids? Saving children comes at a price... of noise-induced headaches, or sometimes even accidental-football-in-the-head-induced headaches, and occasional yelling-parents-induced headaches because someone grown up on his own hates the very concept of being bossed around and would rather endure pissed-off parents than rat out little comrades hiding in the attic because they’ve broken a vase at home or got a bad grade at school and don’t want to be grounded.

“I don’t order people around, - Red shrugs with mock serenity he’s picked up from Matilda and spiced up with his own brand of sarcasm. - And here’s a revolutionary concept: children are people too. Feel free to look around... though I don’t think Billy’s gonna let you find him just to be taken home and punished!”

(For some reason my brain gave that name to the green kid that imprinted on Red, and sometimes my brain is like a stubborn dog that won’t let go of a thing, so... Billy. Though he’s gonna call himself Will after he realizes that his parents are selfish and care more about being a picture-perfect family than the feelings of a kid that accidentally imprinted on someone else and thus couldn’t become the ideal addition to the family. What I know about that pair is that they’re pretentious assholes and that they’re both green... As opposed to the Blues family that simply loves the color - they’re genuinely nice birds, after all, - the green family probably cares more about the color of their hatchlings than their happiness. Parents obsessed with perfection are usually control freaks to some extent. They’ll try to re-imprint the kid on themselves and probably fail, because they know jack shit about children’s psychology, because they’re too focused on impressing other parents, and that mindset isn’t very child-friendly. I can imagine that green mom lament how little Billy doesn’t love her (in the same voice she spoke at the court) instead of, say, stomping in a mud puddle together with her kids, making hilariously bad clay figures with them, covering the walls in their room with multicolored hand-prints... all the activities that could really win a child’s affection. They’ll take Red to the court again, but compared to what truly matters (rescued eggs) the family’s complaints now sound ridiculous and will be shrugged off. Later on the kid himself could sue his parents for being manipulative jerks and try to legally win his freedom (a precedent!) so he could go live with his friends the Blues or Red himself. But at this point he hardly comes home anyway, so whatever the court decides doesn’t matter. Unless it forces the teen to stay at home all the time... well, good luck with that on a tropical island full of fruit-bearing trees and fat bugs under every log where any bird could survive even if they didn’t learn a ton of practical skills from Red.)

[alexandra-corral]

on cursory thoughts on books read so far (2018)

Sticky Fingers by Joe Hagan (finished January 27, 2018)

Jann Wenner was a genius dick who understood his time and refused to cater to music’s future or genres beyond rock (a fatal mistake) and rather to his own whimsies (which when right, were great). Everything was a business transaction. Wenner did strive to legitimize Rolling Stone to the extent that Journalism 101 mistakes were made (fact check, fact check, fact check, and then fact check again) a la University of Virginia rape story. Hunter S. Thompson, in all his greatness, was also a dick and his relationship with the magazine and his writing felt like - I hate this term - a beautiful disaster. His abuse of the leverage he held for his revolutionary gonzo journalism was disappointing to say the least. Other thoughts:  Jane had everything, but was a slave to Jann, who outgrew her. The turbulent relationship between Yoko/John/Jann and Yoko ultimately entrusting Jann to give John the memorial he deserved in the magazine. A scene I wish I saw in real life - the moment John/Yoko/Jann/Jane were outside the movie theatre after watching the Beatles film, all hanging onto each other crying.

What it means when a man falls from the sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah (finished February 13, 2018)

My favorite short was the namesake. A great flood collapsed the world superpowers (Europe & America) and Nigeria became the center for progress. A woman - Nneoma - was one of the gifted children. She understood Furcal’s formula, a formula that explained the universe. She was able to regulate society by calculating emotional deficits and canceling them out. When she visited a school to talk about her profession, one of the students challenged her (as they always did) saying that what she was doing is wrong because she was preventing what it means to be really human. This instance really affected her and she wept in the school’s bathroom, the questioning girl with her in tow. Are we all really boiled down to an equation? Sometimes that is what it feels like when you remove yourself from the world with the current vice of choice. Her emotional response tells us that no, humans are more than that and that grief should not be contained.

M Train by Patti Smith (finished February 24, 2018)

After reading Just Kids, I thought, Robert and Patti were soulmates and the life she lived with him was probably the apex of living and feeling free. However, when Patti and Fred Sonic married, that exhilaration for life continued in a different way - in the mundane parts of marriage and kids, to death and ends. Patti is a fighter and loneliness doesn’t consume her. Rather she embraces it and rolls with the punches and surprises that become intertwined with her daily routine of brown bread, olive oil, and coffee at Cafe Ino and her fascination with The Killing. One of my favorite parts was when she bought her bungalow in the Rockaways, something that I thought was both expected and unexpected for New York City royalty. When she claimed her house, the moment reminded me of Sandra Cisneros’ A House of My Own. 

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (finished March 2, 2018)

The Osage Indians were systematically murdered for their oil wealth. The government belittled the Osage and their intellect by assigning white male guardians to various Indians to control their wealth. Thoughts: did Ernest Burkhart actually love Mollie or did he seriously create a family with her just to follow the contrived plan set forth by Hale and others. Herbert Hoover was an asshole, who despite restructuring the FBI and conquering the stutter (by learning to speak quickly), cared more about his reputation than the agents who did the dirty work. Tom White is the true hero and it pained me to read that agents had to remind Hoover about White. Hoover never acknowledged the case that genuinely birthed the FBI. But the real heartbreak was how the history of the Osage Indians was never really acknowledged and how their fatal stories were lost in local newspapers, hidden secrets, family members, and incomplete records. The Osage people were never given a fighting chance to begin with.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (finished March 2, 2018)

Read in one day on an 18 hour bus trip from Philly to DC (#windmageddon happened) The book is about migration in a world with and without borders. Magical doors lead to different countries and cities without being questioned by authorities (if the door lead to the right place). Hamid comments on the the current plight of migrants, who when they can finally cross their own borders, are met with nativists. It had crossed Saeed and Nadia’s mind about whether it was right cross over in the first place. However, there is a refreshing optimism for a world of cohabitation in the end. There were also a lot of mentions about cell phones connecting them to the world, but whenever they looked at their phones, they were stationary. Another thing that struck me was that even though Saeed and Nadia stuck together through their migrations, they ultimately separated. That hurt me so much for some reason. Love really can dry up.  Their circumstances forced them to move and adapt, but they ultimately outgrew each other because of those experiences.