#for context this is the beginning of them being friends and their friendship saves both their lives and they love each other enormous

[el-huddpudd]

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale

Words that settled in my heart and lift into my mind, again and again. "I really do believe you. And when you get tired of worrying and trying not to be afraid, tell me and I’ll do it for you a while so you can shut your eyes and sleep peaceful.”

[ambrosiagourmet]

In chapter 28, Marcille lays out why the journey she's been on has been worth the pain: because they were able to bring Falin back. The injuries, the indignity, and the mess of it all - they are tolerable primarily in context of destination she believes she's reached at this point.

In truth, of course, the story is far from finished. In fact, I would argue that this is actually where hers really starts. This scene holds the seed of the very thing the Winged Lion will exploit to lead Marcille to become the Lord of the Dungeon. After all, with a desire as far reaching and deeply held as Marcille's, if the only acceptable outcome is success, what other choice does she have but to bargain with the infinite?

So let's talk about this idea - where it leads her, how Laios' path intersects with it, and how they both help each other move forward in the face of failure.

First though, I want to step back and talk about something else: the shapeshifter chapters.

With these chapters recently covered by the anime, there has, of course, come plenty of fun discussions about which version of each character belongs which other character's perceptions, and what that means.

One thing I've seen pointed out a few times is the fact that both Laios and Marcille's impressions of each other are based around Falin. Marcille's version of Laios is larger and more masculine, because those are the traits that stuck out to her in contrast to Falin. Laios' version of Marcille was directly inspired by her appearance and demeanor when resurrecting Falin.

So why is this important to a discussion about Marcille being focused on success? Well, it shows us where Laios and Marcille's relationship starts: built primarily around their shared love for Falin. It's from that shared beginning that they begin to learn about each other on their own terms.

And this is true for the whole group, to be clear. They are united by circumstance - love for a lost companion, a sense of responsibility, a desire for freedom - but they all grow and help each other beyond that circumstance. They help Senshi bury the ghosts of his past and eat some Hippogriff stew. They help Izutsumi open up to mutual love and friendship. And they learn so much about each other: about Chilchuck's family and Laios' love of monsters and Marcille's desires to live life alongside others.

In the particular case of Marcille and Laios, understanding each other is what lets them save each other. It is not through Falin that Laios talks Marcille down from the edge the Lion has brought her to, nor is it through her that Marcille comforts Laios after the demon is defeated, when it is still unclear how everything will work out.

In fact, it is very specifically the unknown fate of Falin that Marcille comforts him about.

She is willing to accept the outcome - willing, now, to embrace the journey itself, rather than only accepting it as a means to an end.

This is a lesson she learns from Laios, and it's a lesson we watch Laios learn, too.

Just before making her deal with the Lion, Marcille recalls everything that led her to that moment. She lingers on the pain, recalling the worst of their journey:

She only pushes through by remembering her goals: saving Falin, and equalizing the lifespans of her friends to match her own.

And yet, 10 chapters later, when reflecting on why she actually wants to see her goals through, it is the good parts of that very same journey that shine through.

There's an inherent contradiction here, one which Marcille doesn't know how to face. How can the suffering that she tolerates also be the love that drives her forward? How can the loss that she's worked so hard to reverse also be the very circumstance that created a world she, now, cannot stand to give up?

And Laios confronts her with the truth. Because it just is.

Losing Falin forced him to open up to others in a way he never had. It forced him to choose what he cares about, and in making that choice, it gave him the opportunity to be seen. To connect with others.

He has already had to come to terms with the fact that Falin's death has given him something - he would not have been able to kill her again if he hadn't.

There is something here that is fundamental to Dungeon Meshi's understanding of what life even is. Like, I don't think it's a coincidence that part of Laios' speech to Marcille in chapter 85 is actually first seen in the chapter where they fight off ghosts.

In 'Sorbet,' while possessed , Laios thinks that it would have been better if the dragon had eaten him, instead of Falin. The ghosts make people lose their will to live - they are dragged away from life.

When he's pulled back from that brink, Laios realizes that he can't move forward without accepting that she is gone. He even compares the way he was holding on to her to being possessed: it pulled him away from life, from the present moment.

To carry on, he must accept what has been lost, and focus on protecting the life that they still have.

Like Marcille, he has to accept the contradictions of their journey. That life means eating, and eating requires death. That sometimes one must be selfish in order to be kind, and that selflessness can easily be twisted into to cruelty.

That loss will, inevitably, lead you to find happiness that you may not have found otherwise.

This is how he gets through to Marcille. And I think part of the reason he reaches her with these specific ideas is because those contradictions are baked so thoroughly into their relationship.

Marcille only met Falin after she had been left behind by Laios. Laios was able to reconnect with Falin because she left Marcille. They both met each other through Falin, and yet they only really got to know and care for one another after she died.

And of course, that's why Marcille uses the same ideas to comfort Laios, in the final chapter. It is because of Laios that she is able to accept the journey for itself, and not need the happy ending to justify its meaning to her.

Together, they help each other move forward, and accept that they may not be able to bring Falin back.

Which, if I'm being honest... I think this is the reason Falin can come back, narratively speaking, without the resurrection feeling like it takes away from the themes of the story.

After all, she doesn't do it for Marcille or Laios - she does it for her own sake. Her own hunger and her own desire to eat are the things that lead her back to life.

All three of them, together, end the story like this: not clinging to the things they are afraid to lose, but knowing they can choose to move forward together.

And, importantly, this happy ending is no longer the thing that gives the journey meaning. Rather, it is the privilege of the journey itself that is her happy ending: the chance to walk alongside others in the time they have, to get to know each other, and to eat well.

[fantasywater]

Catradora and Stolitz: Same Toxic Ship just Different Genders

This series has always felt like the Catra Show, and so much so that even Hordak never felt like the main villain. And nothing drove that point home more than season five proving once and for all that this series' moral line(or lack thereof) is really about a Villain Protagonist when the character that increasingly became a monster for four seasons still got everything she wanted in the end.   

Catra is the poster child for the moral bankruptcy of this series. 

I can't buy her ''redemption,'' or her relationship with Adora, because she went too far. 

Therefore nor can I buy the mental gymnastics that arise when she is the topic of discussion in the fandom. 

For four seasons I watched this character willingly and gleefully jump rope with the moral event horizon. Then she finally broke it to the pieces when she genocides the planet, and everyone on it, because of her sick, evil, obsession with being better than Adora.

Loved all this time my behind.

Catra was a vile person from her introduction, and just got increasingly more poisonous as the show went on. 

Season Five wants us to treat Catra like she was just a bad friend.

She just said a few mean words here and there, and therefore all she has to do is sincerely apologize then friendship can begin again.  

Here's the thing Catra wasn't just a bad friend she was an abuser and a fascist. 

She had multiple opportunities to leave the horde, and had no reason to stay in the first place, gleefully attacks the resistance, is the reason Angela died, tried straight up multiple times to end Adora’s and her friends lives, and was just an abomination to even the ones on her side etc..   

On the flip side we have Adora who doesn’t give a damn about Catra for four seasons. She’s too busy enjoying life with her real friends.

Try and recall, was there ever a moment where Adora was...concerned for Catra’s safety? Pining for her in any way romantically? Ever? Even once during the first four seasons? Because I don’t.

Honestly, Catra wasn’t important to Adora until Catra showed up on screen. And then they both wanted to kill each other. Any moments of Adora thinking about Catra it was in the context of Catra being her enemy.

But I'm supposed to believe in their romance based on what? Catra's toxicity? Adora's nonexistent romantic feelings for pretty much the entire series?   

It seems in season 5 all Catra had to do was one act of atonement and out of nowhere, like Adora has been possessed by the ghost of Queer Rep, she suddenly can’t get Catra out of her head.

Also, note that Catra didn't save Glimmer because she realized her past actions were evil; no it was all for Adora's sake i.e. the person she is toxically obsessed with. 

Furthermore, the redemption in question is handled with the most condescending of kid gloves.

It seems like she was replaced by a clone for season five. She’s just accepted.

It's like seasons 1-4 didn't happen. The forgiveness was excessive and forced so we could be okay with this abuser/war criminal being chummy and romantic with her victims.

For example, Glimmer cries over her, kisses her cheek, etc... Yet Catra is responsible for her mother's death, the world ending, trying to kill her, war crimes against Bright Moon, etc. 

Then Entrapta also forgives Catra like it’s nothing even though she sent her to die, and apparently, she was in this hell space for a year.

But everything is supposed to be wonderful because an abuser ends the series romantically involved with her victim?   

When Adora said you made your choice and now live with it that should have been the end of any reconciliation either platonic or romantic. 

Even her flashbacks are of her being abusive.

You see her in one of them( in her so-called redemption season at that) scratching Adora's face to the point it left blood, and jumping on her stomach just because Adora dared to be friends with other people.

This was pretty much every childhood flashback they showed.

She would emotionally and physically abuse Adora, and then Adora would take her back.

This would continue even as young adults. It was a pattern(red flag) that Adora unfortunately didn't escape. 

But.....I always loved you,says Catra. 

For Adora's own mental health/closure, she could forgive, but only if she also makes it clear that she doesn't want her abuser/ex-friend back in her life.   

I could have tolerated that ending instead of Adora becoming a couple with her abuser. 

Basically, this Villain Sue ends the show getting everything she wants even after manipulation of several characters, genocide, war crimes against her own people, physical and mental abuse(especially toward Adora), repeated attempts at murder, and just being a complete psychopath to anyone within spitting distance of her toxicity. 

She gets to be pretty much abusive scum for four seasons, on top of actually doing the same thing Prime wanted to do, yet whiplash forgiveness and Lesbians 4 Evah is her ending.   

"So we're all just okay with this?", says Mermista incredulously of the war criminal Hordak. Good question, but then I remember you all seem to be okay with war criminal Catra sooo.....

Her mirror Hordak, according to the showrunner, is sentenced to Beast Island for his war crimes. However, my question then becomes where is Catra's sentence? Oh, that's right if you're Catra you get to be a war criminal in peace, and especially if you're dating the protagonist.   

It's also convenient that Mermista's was chipped, and therefore didn't get to say anything to the girl who helped bring down her kingdom with a smile on her face.

Funny how that worked out. 

It's even more convenient that her victims gave their lighting fast forgiveness.  

Can't have icky things like abuse and war crimes get in the way of that ending smooch you know.

I suppose we also just need to look at Angella as collateral damage while we smile as her daughter hugs and kisses her killer I guess.   

I also find it odd(since we're loving abusers) that Shadow Weaver point blank doesn't get forgiveness from Adora, and she even ends the series dead.

However, she defected to the hero's side in season two(regardless of any impure motivation), and stayed there and helped the protagonists until her season five death.

But Catra, who not only stayed with the conquering organization the Horde for almost the entire series while also eventually becoming their leader, was not only forgiven but also rewarded with a romance with her victim. Curious. 

The only way I can stomach her season five 'redemption', and lighting quick forgiveness, is if I forget the monster of four seasons didn't exist.

Problem is I can't do that. 

Why should I get any catharsis that the protagonists prevailed over Horde Prime when Catra is pretty much him with a sob story attached.

So it seems this show's message is no matter how much emotional and physical pain a person does to you it's okay to not only let them back in your life(damn your mental health I guess), but also enter a romantic relationship with them too.

It’s also hilarious that some of her fans say she’s Zuko.

No.

She’s what would happen if Azula and Kylo Ren were made into one character.

Titles the show should I have had:

She-Ra: The Story of a Villain Sue Antagonist That Gets a Happily Ever After With Her Victim

Another alternate: She-Ra: The Story of Lesbian Reylo or more current Lesbian Stolitz.

[haliteatiger]

Happy Werewolf Wednesday, ya'll! We're serving up a big pot of tea tonight so get those cups ready!

Special thanks to Blackbackedjackal and King for their help in putting this together, editing, and especially to Jackal for being so supportive and encouraging. I'm very much not normally the type to do call-out posts, but people need to be aware of Dogblud, as she has hurt, not only myself, but quite a few others as well, and seems to have somehow gotten away with behaving like this for 20-odd years. I'm of the mind she shouldn't be allowed to do so any more, hence this post.

TL;DR - Beware of Dogblud, aka Ashryn, aka DogofBlud, aka ThatDogMagic. Very, very long post under the cut.

With everything happening with DogBlud and Blackbackedjackal's studio, I felt emboldened to come forward with my own experiences with her. This is something I've been carrying around since it happened roughly 2 years ago. It was one of the main reasons that put me off drawing werewolves, my own characters, or engaging any more in the fandom. I've hinted at it a few times but I've never had the energy to come forward and deal with the fall out. I wanted to move on with the rest of my life because IRL was more important than online drama. And I knew her behavior would come back to bite her sooner or later, regardless of what I did. 

It's been very validating to see that I was right.

It was around the time that Blud and I became friends that I was feeling a bit burnt out on werewolves. I'd been trying to pull together my own werewolf-related project for something close to 12 years. The past 4 years had also been pretty draining on me creatively and socially, as it had for a lot of artists with regards to the pandemic. I also had some IRL things I was dealing with: mainly with my marriage and transitioning between medications to manage my anxiety + bipolar.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to screenshot everything at the time. I do have logs from back when we roleplayed together. There are several conversations in them but because they were saved as text documents, they're pretty dubious in terms of solid evidence. 

It would have been better if I had taken screenshots as it was happening, rather than just saving the logs. With what I *do* have, however, I feel as though it may be enough to make the point that I'm trying to make, and to exhibit how horrible things got.

I'll provide some context.

I had talked with Blud on and off over the years, and we had always gotten along. We had a lot in common and after we had started talking more, our friendship eventually grew into a collaborative project. We were going to combine our stories and write a comic based on it. We had a lot of discussions on how Blud was reticent to do this in the beginning and how she wanted a contract to be made up so that in the event that something *did* happen, we could both walk away feeling like it was handled fairly.

Honestly, I should have listened to the first alarm that went off in my brain, when, in an act of ominous foreboding she said something along the lines of don't be so sure, it could happen. It was in response to me being like "we're getting along so well and share so much of a bond right now. I can't fathom that being a problem!" 

The contract never materialized. It was something we had decided to do *after* we had put together something of a prototype project to see how well we worked together. It made complete sense to me at the time as we were both eager to focus on the fun parts of writing and drawing together.

It was decided that I would be the lead artist (doing coloring and final lines) while Blud would do everything else (which was inking, layouts, and the majority of the writing). The both of us felt that she had more experience in those areas. I also believed that she had a better knack for it as well. I had felt that she had a better understanding of story structure than myself. And I thought that Blud had felt the same way about my art. That I had the experience to take point on that. 

Since I had collaborated with other artists and writers before, I attempted to approach the project with the same sort of professionalism I always do. Especially the projects that I genuinely thought stood a chance of being published in the future. We had started out trying to get a feel for each other's flows and rhythms. I had expected Blud to try and meet me in the middle of where our processes would potentially differ from one another, so that we could develop a fairly smooth workflow.

I had also expected, according to our discussions on the matter, that we would value each other's opinions on things and take them into consideration. We had such good synchronicity already.

In the beginning, there wasn't any unusual behavior that caught my attention. Blud was a bit uncomfortable with trying out new things but I did my best to accommodate her so that our project could move forward without too much turbulence. She had also mentioned to me before that she was autistic, and since my husband is also autistic, I knew how difficult it could be when it came to adapting to new routines. But when it was time for her to deliver the first set of layouts, it wasn't at all what I expected.

What I had expected was something with margins, clearly marked boxes, and figures that I could do rough lines over. I also expected notes that confirmed what we had discussed earlier about the project; that way I knew what she wanted or if there would be any changes. She took offense to this, feeling like I was violating our agreement. Though Blud did try to give me space with regards to the actual art, and while she would offer criticisms here and there, I trusted her opinion as an artist and as a friend. But apparently that didn't go both ways. In fact, Blud seemed to be offended that I expected more from her.

Blud agreed to concede. She suddenly seemed fine with the changes that I had asked for after seeing the layouts. I guess she was feeling overstimulated by the change and I might have been applying too much of a critical tone to her responses to begin with. I have had to deal with rejection sensitivity throughout my life and it's certainly prompted me to approach what people say to me online with a bit of scrutiny (sometimes too much).

And while I was mildly annoyed, although admittedly I was more concerned with Blud's overall reaction to my asking for clarification about several things in the layouts, I let it go. But it seemed like there was a problem. The majority of my ideas were either rejected or outright overridden with Blud convincing me that my faulty memory had made me unable to remember what we had agreed upon. Or that I might have been misremembering in my own favor.

There was one time where we were discussing a monster's design. Blud had already decided to settle on one design that she had come up with, even as I continued to offer other suggestions. The story was to take place in my setting, so I was under the impression that I got to decide what kind of creatures should populate it. The conversation ended somewhat ambiguously. I had assumed that we'd come to a solid conclusion later. 

I came back the next day and it turned out that we were using her design because that was what we had decided on. "Don't you remember? You really need to do something about that faulty memory of yours, Tek. I can't be doing this for you all the time."

At which point, Blud would go back and meticulously scour the conversation until she managed to find a set of lines that would make it seem as though I had 100% agreed. Even when I tried to explain that I had meant something else, she took it as an affront on her inability to understand nuances due to her autism.

I admit that my memory isn't that greatest at times, but I've never had anyone complain about it before. And none of my friends have ever minded providing reminders to me if I did misremember something incorrectly. We all forget stuff at times, right? It's *still* something that I'm self-conscious about because (like a lot of people with ADHD) my memory seems selective at times. This was, apparently, a problem that I needed to manage. 

And even as I'm remembering these incidents to the best of my ability, I've already spent so much time recounting all of this to friends. I feel confident in my recollection. There are some details that may overlap or become entwined with other things, but it all basically tells the same story. Especially in conjunction with what's been said by others. You're free to take it as hearsay since I do not have screenshots to back this up.

I will mention (since I've been told it's something that Blud has taken particular interest in) that at one point, I did have a crush on her. I was having some problems IRL, and it was nice to have someone whom I felt actually understood me. I also felt like I saw a lot of myself in her. I think that, at one point, I did describe her as the kind of "girlfriend" I would want. Blud seemed to indicate the feeling was mutual.

Between our collaborative partnership and all of the details we shared about our lives, it did feel like an intimate relationship at times. I had no intentions of pursuing it. We were not compatible in our romantic and sexual identities, and I had no intention of leaving my current partner for her.

I had begun to notice red flags, even if I wasn't ready to accept them yet.

I've had experience with abusive relationships in the past but they were in person, and not online. I knew what to look out for and yet I was being willfully ignorant about our friendship. I wanted to give Blud the benefit of the doubt. I wanted the project to work *so* badly that I was willing to work with her increasing demands as the months went by.

I had no idea that those demands would change into, quite literal, temper tantrums. It would then trigger my fawning response which was due to an abusive family situation that I had dealt with before I moved to Canada. The tactic was this: concede to someone until there was a time that they either understood reason or I had the chance to use it against them if necessary.

I started to take screenshots. I wish that I had taken a lot more of them so that everyone could get a better idea of what was happening. I did go back and manage to record the majority of the first outburst. It was the first inkling I had that Blud wasn't playing with a full deck of cards. I knew that that would be one of the first conversations that she would promptly delete. And consequently, I was right.

This assortment of screenshots will exhibit the first serious confrontation that Blud had with me. I am absolutely *not* proud of how I handled this. I was literally panicking at the time and doing whatever I could to get her to calm down. Because I have a temper that can look similar to this in person, I knew that I had to wait until the post-tantrum clarity would hit Blud. I tried my best to not lose my own temper in turn but looking back, I feel that I came off as sounding too timid.

I didn't want to ruin this project.

I wanted to make a comic with an individual that I admired and respected as a fellow artist. And, with me not knowing how to respond, my main priority was to not make things any worse than they already were.

Below is the conversation in its entirety:

I had taken this screenshot on my phone after I had stepped away to compose myself. Blud had handled the confrontation and criticism with a reasonable amount of apprehension. But what had not occurred to me was that I could have said something that would remind her of past experiences with a roleplaying group.

It was something that had evidently scarred Blud for life.

I took away the wrong things from what she had told me, choosing to focus on the aspects of the "betrayal" that had appeared to bother her the most. And in hindsight, I did not see the correlation. I was genuinely apologetic that I had hurt her feelings.

But I *will* critique Blud for her poor handling of the situation. Whether or not I had hurt her feelings, no one is entitled to act like this or claim that this is what attempting to resolve a problem should look like.

I wasn't sure on how to initially respond to Blud. It had been ages since I'd had to deal with someone flying off the handle like that.

The following screenshots are where the conversation picked up, after she had already deleted the above message:

We had weathered the "storm" and after Blud calmed down, she was ready to communicate. There was a part of me that was genuinely sincere when I apologized to her. I did mean it when I said that I had no intentions of hurting her and that I hadn't considered how my statement would sound to her.

I had hoped that this had been a stress response due to factors outside of our collaboration. And especially when I took into account how she had interacted with me in the past. I knew that Blud had a lot going on IRL, and that she had already put a considerable amount of energy into this project.

I had taken her meltdown more personally than she could perceive that I would, because this was something that was acceptable to her. She had a "condition" that would absolve her of these abhorrent meltdowns and I needed to get used to them if we were going to continue working on that project together.

I was shaking the entire time we were typing in the chat.

I was sincere in my responses. I really did want to work things out with Blud and give her the benefit of the doubt. I could have been taking the things that she said too personally or maybe I had been reading too much into the situation. Was there a chance that I could have been misreading her outburst? I tried my best to keep an open mind though I was still somewhat baffled by the fact that she would have meltdowns as often as she did.

I confided in my husband and some other friends about the situation. They were also bewildered by Blud's actions.

By this point, I was struggling with the reality that this collaboration was most likely *not* going to work out but I still wanted to try. I still cared about Blud. We would still hang out together and talk about things like music, our characters, or our stories.

While I did have the foresight to go back and screenshot this section, I wasn't fast enough to get screenshots of everything else that I will be going over. Blud *did* admit to going back and deleting certain exchanges due to a mixture of shame; not wanting to look at them when she would scroll through our conversations. 

In retrospect, it was very telling.

And even after that meltdown, I still enjoyed the friendship that I had with her. I kept my guard up but I was willing to make compromises on her behalf if it resulted in better communication between the two of us. Blud made me promise to immediately tell her if I had a problem with something. I also agreed to keep notes of our conversations.

It worked for the most part.

In the end though, it became apparent that Blud wasn't willing to do the same for me (even after we had an extended conversation about it). I then realized that I had been tasked with basically *managing* her autism for her. I was already busy with my supposedly "bad memory" at the time; and Blud was more than ready to scroll back up through our conversations to cherry-pick a line or two of text to remind me of what was said earlier.

Because, for her, circumstances couldn't ever change. If they did, it would mean that Blud had lost control of the situation and that she was in the wrong. She could *not* be in the wrong. 

And if she was in the wrong? It would take solid evidence, three witnesses, and a court of law to prove it.

She had two other major meltdowns after this. I managed to step away from communicating with her through one of them and I don't remember the other meltdown lasting very long. She immediately deleted the texts of both of those instances before I could take screenshots of them.

It seemed like I could do nothing right when it came to Blud, no matter the lengths I would go to accommodate her. I knew that it was a common tactic used by abusers. I finally accepted that our partnership wasn't going to work out and I began thinking about an exit strategy. The final straw was when she began to expect me to be at her beck and call.

I had promised that I would be there for her, within reason, and I was willing to offer reassurances whenever she would ask me for them. The promise had been made back when we had first started to talk to one another with more frequency, before Blud had shown me her true colors. I would end up completely underestimating just how badly she would need reassurance.

To be frank, I underestimated a lot about Blud in the beginning.

I would end up mentioning that I enjoyed my space in several different conversations with her. That there was a chance that I might be offline for several days so I could take care of things IRL and recharge my social batteries. I'm somewhat of a recluse. And an adult who enjoys things that aren't online.

She said that it was fine.

I became incredibly anxious when I would talk to Blud, especially after her somewhat abrupt change in personality.

I then attempted to put my foot down about boundaries and this is what she had to say:

I decided to walk away for a bit and I came back after I had had some time to think things over. This wasn't healthy for either of us. I wrote a couple of sentences to say goodbye to Blud before I blocked her. I knew that my actions would probably infuriate her. She had told me in the past that she *hated* not being able to have the final word... which she was able to do through email:

“And I'm not letting you pretend you have control over the situation, or the high ground. You distinctly have neither. But since you're determined to stick to your 'principles' on this, I've decided to make it easier for you.”

She thought that she was absolved of all sins just because I had said that I would stand by her at her worst. And at the time that I said that, I had no idea that her worst would be her trying everything possible to protect her boundaries while stomping all over mine. It didn't matter what she said or how often she would apologize when I would confront her. She kept doing it.

I admit that I wasn't perfect in this situation either.

There were times when I was condescending, critical, or downright mean when I talked to Blud because that was the way I had felt when she was talking to me. I soon realized that it didn't matter either way. I could have been using the friendliest tone imaginable and she still would have perceived it as either mocking or dismissive on my end. There were even a few times where I would preface my explanations with an advisory “please know that I am not attacking you and try to read this in an understanding tone,”etc. I would then post an explanation I had spent hours picking at to ensure that there was no way she could misinterpret the intent. Even so, she still read the majority of what I said as criticism and would take it to heart.

I never expected Blud to do something that made her uncomfortable; nor did I expect her to overextend herself when it came to our project. I would go out of my way to make sure everything was fine when we would talk about it. I only expected mutual respect in return.

When we would get into discussions (arguments), she would never attempt to understand my point of view or let me explain myself. It would have made it about me when it should have been about Blud and her needs. She sometimes would agree to come to a compromise about something, but only if I would admit that I was in the wrong.

I know that if Blud was to look at these screenshots, she'd be incredulous that I'm trying to distract from the horrible things that *I* did. And those horrible things that I did? I tried my best to work with her.

It wasn't just her poor teamwork that bothered me. It was her attitude and the lack of respect that she showed me. She would never ask me to clarify something that I said; always assuming that it was a criticism against her. I can only speculate that Blud did not want to hear about how any of this was her fault, like in the email she sent me.

I don't know if I was actually her friend at any point. Friends make efforts to understand one another. Ideally, they’d want their friendships to continue, and they would want everyone to be getting along and having fun. She seemed to actively defy that.

I would argue that things like this don't just happen in a vacuum. There's almost always a reason for such things, but it's honestly a mystery to me as to where this vitriol comes from. I don't know why Blud sees monsters in every word, especially if they come from a  "friend". 

I've seen her viscously mock herself during meltdowns; it seems like she hates herself and expects everyone else to hate her too. I think that she wants it to be the truth, so that it validates the feelings she has about herself. The behavior patterns that I'd been exposed to are consistent with the idea that Blud is seeking confirmation about the personal assumptions she has about herself. It's what makes her so volatile to those around her. Yet, she refuses to break the cycle.

I hope that she can make that choice in the future but at this point, I'm not holding my breath.

[midnight1nk]

EPISODE(???) CONCEPT #2

What if… the Tender Tunnel was a mini-game challenge in WOTFI 2024?

For context: this was written before WOTFI ‘24, when I thought Mario and SMG4 would have to save their friends one by one by winning mini-games. It’s not an episode rewrite or concept, more of an AU of sorts. Listen, I just wanted an SMG34 moment, okay.

Oh, man. What have they gotten themselves into this time…

Mr Puzzles has trapped the Crew in Puzzle Park, claiming they are “the missing pieces”. The Crew, except for Mario and SMG4, are under his control. And now, this lunatic wants them to “test” these mini-games before the official opening in 24 hours.

Mario and Four could hear the crowd waiting outside, the children curious about the bright and flashing attractions. They feared he might do the same thing as he did in Puzzlevision, trapping them all in this park. The duo demanded Puzzles to set them free. Unfortunately, according to Puzzles, the only way to free them was to beat the mini-games. “Hmph, I doubt you can.”

Well, he shouldn’t have underestimated them. The blue and red duo already managed to save Karen and Bob, and were now off to rescue SMG3.

NEXT CHALLENGE: THE EVER-TURNING DILEMMA OF MR. DYNAMITE

(I can’t come up with good names)

Woah oh, Mr Dynamite is going off the rails again! Hit the red X’s on the rotating target he's tied to using these blades without hitting him. Be careful! If the timer runs out, his dynamite vest will make him go “pop”! [ *insert evil laughter here*]

Thanks to Bob and Karen being experts of the blade, they completed the mini-game, and Three’s free of Puzzles’ control. Four removes the rope that held Three’s limbs and carries him down.

Three, dizzy: “Oh, what happened?” [*sees that it’s Four, annoyed*] “Oi, didn’t I text you guys to get out of here?” Four: “Mr Puzzles is controlling the entire carnival, we didn't exactly have a choice to begin with. Besides, we aren’t gonna leave you here.” Three, touched: “You stayed… to save me?” Four: “Why wouldn’t I? Dude, you were literally going to explode if we didn’t.” Three: “I…uh…” [*blushes*] “Augh, never mind. Why did I even send that text?” Four: “Aww, didn’t know you cared about us.” Three, muttering: “Shut up, baka.”

(and yes, Three thinks Four could’ve easily gotten rid of him if he wanted to. That their friendship is too good to be true. But the fact that Four is here, returning the favor... perhaps Three’s efforts weren’t for nothing.)

A door nearby opens up, leading them to the next challenge. They ran, passing by some mirrors. Three caught a glimpse of himself, in the getup Mr Puzzles had him in. He struck a pose. “Heh, still got it.”

NEXT CHALLENGE: LOVE IS BLIND

(still can’t come up with good names)

Grab a partner and test your bond in the Tender Tunnel! Each player will be assigned a lipstick of the color that matches their partner, show how much your partner means to you by giving them a kiss!

Of course, Mr Puzzles chooses his pair, Tari and Saiko, for his side. For the Crew, it was a bit more difficult to choose. Bob opted out because “none of them were sexy”. Karen was more worried for her children, whom she could hear from the outside. Mario decides to go with his one true love, spaghetti. Four went against it, thinking that Mr Puzzles wouldn’t even allow it. And this was a big one, they could save both Tari AND Saiko. They can’t risk it. Mario ignores him and gets on the boat anyway.

Mario, also being the wingman that he is, suggests that Four and Three pair up. Before they could even process what he said, Mario extended his arm and pulled them into a third boat. Mr Puzzles, or at least controlling a robot arm, hands out the lipsticks and reassures them not to worry, the lights will be dim in the Tunnel. There’s no need to feel embarrassed. Besides, with Mr Puzzles knowing how the blue and purple duo are, they won’t be able to win. Four and Three looked at each other, feeling the awkward tension between them.

They’ve been through this before. The elevator… the…

We don’t talk about what happened years ago.

But, to save their friends…

After a while, the boats come out of the Tunnel. The camera first shows Tari and Saiko with their kiss marks on the back of their hands. It counts for two points for Mr Puzzles’ side.

Four, off-screen: “Wait, we could’ve done that this whole time?!”

The camera pans to Mario and his plate of spaghetti, somehow in wedding attire. Where did that wedding cake come from? The wedding bells ring…

Mario, putting the lipstick on: "You may now kiss your partner."

....uh, before Mario proceeds to do his usual antics.

Mr Puzzles: “CUT THE CAMERA CUT THE CAMERA!”

The camera hastily moves away, going into static. Without Mario being the picture and disqualified, the last pairing is Four and Three!

…

Well, the camera is pointing at where they’re supposed to be standing, but they’re nowhere to be seen. The camera moves, trying to search them.

Four, off-screen: “Just skip us! You win this time, Mr Puzzles.” [*nervous laughter*] Three, also off-screen: “Uh, yeah, let’s just go to the next one…”

The camera turns to the pair walking away from the scene, suspiciously covering their faces with their hats. Failing miserably not to be seen by anybody. That was until one of them trips for not seeing where they were going. The camera zooms in to show what exactly they were hiding:

There were dozens of kiss marks smeared on each other’s faces, purple for Four and blue for Three. The two yelp in embarrassment, trying to hide with their hands and tempting to clean them off.

Well… to Puzzles’ dismay, the Crew clearly won this mini-game as well as saved Tari and Saiko. Mario gave the pair a supportive thumbs-up while the duo wished they could die here and now.

Goddammit, it happened... again!

[rottenpumpkin13]

I used to see Sephiroth and think “damn he’s the Marilyn Monroe of video games and anime,” but after delving into his backstory and seeing Crisis Core/Reunion and Ever Crisis I just feel sad.

I mean when you think about it he really had no one. He only knew Glenn, Matt, and Lucia for that one mission but he never forgot about them, despite all of them leaving him behind. Then Angeal and Genesis who- I’m sorry, I know this is also an unpopular opinion- also treated him like crap. To me it always seemed like Genesis didn’t really care about Sephiroth at all. We’ve never seen him being nice to him, even prior to degrading. During that one spar we saw of them three Genesis really seemed like he was going for the throat and like he was letting his rage and jealousy take over, and Angeal had to break them up. At first I used to think that at least Angeal was a decent friend to Sephiroth, but the more I think about it the more it seemed like he was on Genesis’ side because he was his childhood friend and simply acted as a peacekeeper between them three than anything else. Sephiroth didn’t hesitate to offer his blood/cells when Genesis needed it and Angeal even commented on how Sephiroth had lost weight when he sees him the last time, probably from stress and depression.

So not only did he never have friends who cared about him and who he always cared more for than they cared for him, he was also raised in a lab his entire childhood by a psycho who’s his biological father (he didn’t know about that part but it’s still horribly messed up.) And even with all of that he still grew up to be a good person- before all the trauma drove him crazy. He still wanted to genuinely help and save people, and he got attached so quickly. Even with every reason to be horrible he wasn’t, until the whole dam of emotions and mistreatment broke.

Sorry for the long post. I was just looking back at the Seph lore and started feeling really sad 😕

Sephiroth is a very tragic character, and he was failed by every adult in his life from the very beginning, first by his parents—one being an unethical twat and the other being his mother, someone who he would later come to really yearn for and had no idea she was part of the reason why his life was the way it was. He was Shinra's lap dog from birth to Nibelheim, and the only respite he had from it all were his friendships—and he was an extremely loyal friend to everyone. He was loyal even to SOLDIER despite the program being part of the problem.

It appears Glenn, Matt and Lucia were his first friends who really taught him what it was like to care for other people. The thing is: the FS trio were as much of Shinra's pawns as Sephiroth—albeit to a lesser extend because Seph was their golden boy. And so were Genesis and Angeal. They were victims of the Jenova Project too, and had every right to be angry, and Genesis' actions are more understandable (not excusable) once you take into account how the degradation likely preyed on his mental state. Genesis and Angeal are complex characters, but unfortunately we don't have as much narrative context and content for them as we have for Sephiroth, which ultimately makes Sephiroth easier to sympathize with despite what he goes on to become later. He's an incredibly tragic character who everyone rightfully adores, also because of who he was as character Pre-Nibelheim, before he understandably lost his mind. It's a damn shame so many people disregard the compilation, because there's so much of Seph's backstory to be explored that adds even more depth to his character.

I think Genesis and Angeal were good friends to Sephiroth, but you have to understand that they were both degrading while Sephiroth was (physically) fine. So of course they latched onto each other and left Sephiroth behind, especially if they thought Sephiroth wouldn't understand their desertion and wouldn't abandon Shinra to come with them. I don't think they were bad friends, but they—Genesis especially—underestimated how good of a friend he was to them. I hope chapter 2 of FS can show Sephiroth and Angeal's (fingers crossed Genesis too) friendship before the crisis ever started. Only then will we know what their dynamic was like.

[ohithankyou]

I don’t know how accurate this could be because then it would just make it more intentionally cruel on their part, but the way you say both scenes from the break up episode feel disjointed with the middle scene of Buck talking to Josh gives it a positive shift that things will get resolved, kinda makes me feel like Tim might’ve wrote that scene to parallel Eddie’s role is 7x04 of distracting the audience with what we think we’re supposed to be seeing and then having to rewatch to understand that no they had a different intention from the start.

And I’ve been saying 7x04 to me has always been clear that Buck’s actions have always been about Tommy, not Eddie, but to play on the Buddie’s expectations like that was cruel, especially when the writing team knows the state of toxicity of the fandom. Some people would do some toxic things regardless if 7x04 was written in a kinder light for them, but we can’t ignore that the writers did give the buddies a catalyst for their anger from the start. I’m not excusing some of their behavior (because I know it’s not the whole group), but I can better understand why some would feel like their chances for queer Eddie were diminished, because the line in which they wanted to introduce Buck’s bi storyline was muddied at best from the beginning.

If the speech was meant as a red herring for this break up I completely agree that we deserve better, and to an extent Buddies do too, because from this storyline the most they have achieved is actually separating the fandom into sides that will now constantly be after each other, and maybe it’s to save their asses, but I also just feel like they didn’t know this would be the outcome of having 7x04 play out the way it did. I do think they could’ve repeated the story though to silence the smaller side for a while (and boy did they think we were the smaller side, maybe equal at best), and have the bigger side be pleased with themselves going into this hiatus, but realistically both sides deserve better than what they’re delivering.

hi anon,

i'm sorry but i don't agree with many of the points you're making here.

first, in my opinion, there wasn't any playing on bddie expectations in 704. and just for some context, i heavily shipped buddie from seasons three-five and then season six i stepped back from fandom and my perspective of what their relationship could be, shifted (basically i no longer held the belief that there was only a romantic explanation for their relationship). anyway, when i came back to fandom pre-season seven airing, i came in neutral but with a slight bddie bias.

i had heard the rumours about tommy and bcktommy potentially being a thing and i was down for it regardless of what it meant for bddie. tbh, i wasn't even thinking about a bddie outcome.

anyway, back to 704--i genuinely did not get romantic bddie or the vibes from it then and i don't now. people are always going to look into things and that's fine but that doesn't mean that was due to the way the story was written. and although the story was written as a bait-and-switch, with a red-herring, it was quite clear to me that buck's motivations for his actions were about tommy because of the scene at the end of 703 and buck asking tommy for the tour (all before eddie and tommy's friendship is established). and even in relation to the bait and switch, red herring of it all, it was not that buck was trying to get eddie's attention because he was in love with him and jealous that tommy was occupying his attention -- but that he was jealous his best friend had a new friend who he had more in common with.

so we're essentially meant to think buck's jealous eddie has a new friend who he has more in common with and then we get to the end and realize (along with buck and tommy) wait! no! buck was jealous that eddie was occupying all of tommy's attention and buck wanted tommy's in a gay way! and then when you rewatch 704 it's abundantly clear from the start that it was always about tommy (see, harbour tour).

storytelling often follows certain patterns so red-herrings or trying to throw the audience off the trail are not uncommon so i think the parallel you mentioned is a little bit of stretch (i don't mean this in a rude way btw).

overall, i think 704 and that whole bait-switch, etc is done quite well and the story is clear in it's message because we don't have to dig deep to understand buck wanted tommy etc, it's very clear. 806, however, feels disjointed and not well executed in whatever story they wanted to tell because we have to dig around and connect pieces together ourselves to make sense of the writer's possible intentions and character motivations. i think 806 had the potential to be good had it been better executed

also the fandom related aspects you mentioned i won't be getting into bc my brain is half-off rn so i'm sorta just not even processing all of that lool (sorry) but from what i did process, again, i don't really agree

[miradelletarot]

I'm here to help with your bad mood!! Ten thousand hugs coming your way stat! 🫂🫂🫂💕

If you need something to take your mind off of things, and if you have the energy for it, maybe you could write something about Gale with a Cleric! Reader who worships a deity of light that he's never heard of. Bonus points if they actually have some of that deity's power and totally save his ass with it.

(This may or may not be inspired by my Cleric of Hylia OC where my Tav's name is Sheik and she worships Hylia from the legend of zelda. Idk how much you know about Zelda so sorry if you're unfamiliar with it ;-;)

I really really hope tomorrow goes better for you, and every other day after that. You deserve the best and only the best, sweetie. Have some cake 🎂

Sorry it took me literally *forever* to get to this, but I hope you like what I came up with. For context, I decided on using Sarenrae (which I know is a Pathfinder deity, not a D&D one,) but I assumed that Gale would at least have some BASIC knowledge on every known deity in the Forgotten Realms so I wanted to lean into something that would be truly known. Sure, I'm crossing the streams, but it's a system I am semi-familiar with, and thought it would be a neat touch. (plus, I thought it would be cool asf for our cleric to call upon her, and basically level up on the battlefield. because...ya know. turn that badass dial up to 11.) Also, even though i grew up with Zelda, i was not allowed to play video games as a kid so I know NOTHING about it. Should I play it? perhaps. Will I? probably not. I barely have two braincells to rub together half the time, and I use them both on writing or sleeping these days lol. So, I hope you like the bit of creative license I took with this one. Regardless, THANK YOU so much for the ask! This has been so fun to take these prompts and stretch my writing abilities a little, diving into ideas I never considered (except for the Sagora x Gale one...i really ran to the moon with that lmao).

So here you go! Cleric!Reader x Gale, saving Gale's ass in the shadow cursed lands. (I kept it neutral as to their relationship so it could be seen as friendship if said reader was not interested in the romance aspect of things). cw: some canon-typical/D&D-typical violence

You and your companions ventured into the Shadow Cursed lands, overwhelmed by the depths of emptiness and darkness that lurked throughout. As you walked you could almost feel threads of your very soul being tugged on, draining you piece by piece.

You stop, closing your eyes – which normally wouldn’t be a good idea, but your companions had your back – and you did your best to focus all of your energy on anything that wasn’t the curse. Your connection with the divine was barely able to break though enough to guide you to a familiar sensation.

Last Light.

“This way,” you call out as you open your eyes and begin to walk forward, your companions following you.  It isn’t long before you make your way into an ambush, surrounded by vine and needle blights. “Shit!” You hiss as you’re struck by a cluster of spindly thorns from afar. You brace yourself, weapon drawn, and spells at the ready, prepared to defend your friends.

You do your best to fight them at a distance, finding out very quickly that the needle blights explode on death, and spray out a flurry of needles as a last attempt at retribution for invading their land. “AH!” Gale cries out, his shield spell flickering out as about a dozen or so needles jut out from his robes sending him reeling backward. “Gale!” Before you can reach him, he backs up directly into a vine blight, its spindly arms wrapping around him tightly. He lets out a blood-curdling scream as it constricts around him, and pushes some of the needles deeper into his flesh. You watch in horror as he loses consciousness knowing you can’t help him just yet lest you succumb to a similar fate. Your eyes light up like a bronze fire, a guttural incantation emerging from your lips. Desperate. Angry. Surrounding you is the manifestation of your rage in the form of spiritual guardians, bathing you in a soft glow as they purge the evil around you and your friends. 

For a brief moment, Gale groans, his eyes fluttering open as a surge of deep golden light flashes before him, and his body falls lip to the ground.

Behind shut eyes, he’s aware of that light…how it fades, then brightens again.

“Hang on, Gale! I’ve got you!” Your words sound more like a desperate plea than a promise, words he can scarcely make out in his daze.

He draws in a sharp breath as you and your fellow companions pluck the needles from him one by one, his eyes thrown open from the pain, but all he can see is you. Bathed in the brightest light he’s ever seen, and the color of a Waterdhavian sunset, your hands are outstretched towards him, his breathing begins to settle as you chant to your deity. Sarenrae? Dawnflower? What are these names?He’s not familiar with either of those names, but you keep chanting them, and each time you do, he can breathe a bit deeper, see a little clearer. “Gale??” You whisper as he sits up, and the radiance that surrounded you has dimmed once again.

He lifts his hand to his chest, clutching his robes. For a moment, he simply sits in silence, wrestling with his own mortality. When he finally looks at you with disbelief. “What was that? What you did just now?” You ponder for a moment, not even entirely sure what it was yourself. After all, these abilities were new to you, a new blessing from your goddess. Not that you never healed anyone before, but your light was stronger, brighter, more radiant than even you had ever experienced. “I – I’m not entirely sure. I just called upon Sarenrae…The Dawnflower. Our lady of healing light. It is with her blessings that I shine so brightly.” You pause, taking in everything that just transpired before you give him a gentle smile. “I’m just glad you’re alright.” You stand and help him to his feet, allowing yourselves a moment to dust off your clothes, and check for any other immediate injuries.

“You have my most sincere thanks.” He bows before you, and smiles as he straightens up again.

You bow your head and offer a half-smile in return. “You’re most welcome. Now, let’s find our way to the Inn, shall we?”

[chloepleasestopdying]

There’s like a hundred fics I won’t write. Here are some of them:

Criminal Minds crossover, either version; version A, where the FBI gets called in when Max and Victoria get kidnapped and the FBI team have to find them. Max believes that Chloe is dead because she was shot before she was kidnapped but the FBI find her in the graveyard on the edge of death and Max gets shot herself in a standoff with Jefferson.

Version B, where the FBI get called in after a what they believe is a murder spree. Max and Chloe kill a pair of cops and conveniently the dash cam is missing. The FBI slowly uncovers the fact that the Arcadia Bay police are trying to cover up the Prescott’s mess and the girls were just defending themselves.

Both of these are a bit too dark for my tastes, so they won’t be written.

The Wilds crossover; basically Max and Chloe are part of the original experiment due to their past friendship and falling out. I like the idea of Chloe struggling with being the oldest girl there and also trying to stay mad at Max. I’m still crushed about The Wilds being canceled so I won’t be writing this.

The ‘Max and Rachel death match’ AU. Essentially this AU involves Chloe and Max meeting up the summer before Max comes to Blackwell and making up enough that they begin dating. Chloe and Rachel have been an on and off thing for years and had a huge blowout fight, which is the reason Chloe was in Seattle in the first place, but Max (not knowing the full context of what happened) says that Rachel is Chloe’s friend and tells her it’s fine that they make up. Rachel, having a host of issues going on, reacts really badly to possibly loosing Chloe and tries to cheat with Chloe. This ends up blowing up in her face. Max and Rachel then kinda have this low key kind of war for a while before Rachel owns up to her mistakes and apologizes. Not going to write this one because I feel bad about making Rachel a bad guy and I don’t think I could write her struggling in that way well enough to justify it.

‘Baby trap’ AU. Max is coming off a really toxic relationship with Warren when she meets up with Chloe again in their early twenties. They both acknowledge that there is something between them but due to their issues (Max’s toxic relationship and Chloe’s resent struggles with addiction) want to move slow. However this is quickly fucked up by the fact that Max discovered she’s pregnant due to a purposely pieced condom by Warren. This AU is much fluffier than it sounds, as Chloe quickly steps up as being a ‘dad’. I won’t be writing this AU for a similar reason as above, I’d feel bad about making Warren out to be a bad guy. Plus a don’t actually like babies.

The ‘Ryan is Ryan’ AU where Ryan Lucan is also Ryan Caulfield due to time travel shenanigans. I was never able to make this one work very well but the basic idea is that Ryan Lucan has time related powers too but more uncontrollable than Max’s and got stuck in the past when trying to save Gabe. He was unable to travel back to his own time and started a family in the past with Max’s mother. He has come to believe that messing with time is extremely dangerous but when he learns that Max and Chloe are in Haven Springs around the same time that Gabe dies he decides to act. I never got this idea to work despite my liking of it so I won’t be writing it anytime soon.

DAO AU, not to be confused with the DAI AU. Max is mage who gets taken to the tower later in life compared to most while Chloe is something of a modified Ash Warrior. William bred and trained mabari and Chloe has somewhat continued that tradition with something of a tempest flare. Her special interest is in different Kaddis’s and her desire is to expand the war paint, not just to humans but also the effects. Her quest for finding a recipe for a warpaint that prevents the Blight almost kills her— luckily she’s found by the last Gray Wardens in the kingdom who just so happen to include her old friend Max, who got taken along with Surana when Duncan was visiting the tower. Not going to write this one due to it being similar to the DAI AU.

[vesper-roux]

WIP INTRO--ANTHEM: INTERLUDE

"You know, we make a pretty good team. Shame one of us is about to die, huh?"

🎶SVRCINA -Who Are You?

🎶SUPA GUCCI ╺╸ grieve ft. kyddiekafka

Status | Planning / Writing 1st draft (I have a lot of pantser tendencies)

Genre | Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Thriller

Form | Novella, likely to become a novel

Age Grade | New Adult (for language and violence) Characters begin the book as 13 and ~15-17, end as 19 and ~21-23

POV | 3rd Person--slight omniscient?

Setting | Ceador Empire--Vōā and Vērrå Provinces, Cave Cities

Themes | Religion, devotion and loyalty, class struggle, recognition through other, Man vs. Self, Man vs. Man, enemies to allies/friends, anti-heroes

Warnings | Death, body horror, general horror, rabies similarities, climate trauma, human trafficking, physical / emotional / psychological abuse, suicidal ideation

Synopsis | After robbing Lunar Bay Resort, home to one of the most powerful people in the empire, but being seen by a strange kid free to roam the private housing wing, a young rogue from the underground must engage in an elusive game as his witness takes the offense more personally than originally suspected. Their rivalry reveals to them a deeper, grim grasp on their places in society, their own buried fears, how they can understand each other, and hurt and help one another. This intermission in the Anthem series tells the story of an integral bond that forms before the main story's events.

Main Characters |

Galen (he/him) | 🖼️ | An overzealous member of a young gang in the Cave Cities, Galen is set on proving himself a trusted and invaluable subordinate to his boss. He is both resentful and overprotective of the only home he has--but not the only home he's ever known.

Willow (ve/they/he) | 🩸 | Training as a monk in the prestigious Yorough Temple thanks to vis pseudo-charge and warrior king of Vōā, Klaus Reitvelt, Will seeks to restore what little of vis pride remains and save vis life. Though none know of this injury to vis ego and why ve perceives this as a threat to vis life.

If you like__, you may like "Interlude"!

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer for the weird plants and animals (the existentialism and metamorphic nature is for the rest of the series)

Heroes, X-Men, or My Hero Academia for "super"powers--everyone has the potential, but not everyone awakens them

NieR: Automata for its existentialism and a lot of other inspiration I took from it

A:TLA for the cat-and-mouse between Aang and Zuko

The dynamic between Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong in the Resident Evil 2 & 4 remakes

The complex (albeit non-familial in this context) relationship between Silco and Jinx in Arcane

LotR for its close friendships between men (not in a "what about the purity of brotherhood??!! 😱" kind of way; I am a queer writer who will always write queer stories)

Underground civilizations, figuratively through crime and literally in a mountain

An animistic religion slightly inspired by Shintoism, feudalistic society slightly based on Edo Period Japan

Fantasy languages inspired by Icelandic phonetics

The painting in the moodboard is The Fall by Alan Stephens Foster

[doki-doki-lesbians-club]

Thumbs up or thumbs down on the following headcanons:

Full poly DDLC, including MC.

2. MC (or our) actions regarding going back and getting the actual good ending (Sayori saying "Thank you for playing DDLC" and "We love you") to the base game because they/we felt they deserved it is what moves her to help rescue Monika from the digital void and forgive her. Unlike before, Monika doesn't take Sayori's feelings and actions for granted anymore and vows to do better by everyone.

3. MC helped Monika see the full error of her ways, after some hesitation about accepting herself as a character in a dating-sim world, by showing her glimpses of what our world actually looks like--take your pick of any number of "Where Were You When..."-type events in US or world history--and why many of us turn to games like DDLC for escape and comfort because of the general discrepancy in quality of life between game and reality. Monika feels much more secure about herself and her meta and in-world purposes to us and her friends after processing these revelations with MC.

4. The DLC side stories might actually take place after the good ending, rather than before the game proper, with everyone exploring their friendships with each other and Monika still being in a place where she feels some remorse for what she's done, but is unsure how to move forward in either a meta or in-universe sense (i.e., before MC shows her our real world).

5. Yuri and Natsuki were VERY slow to forgive Monika (Nats especially) after she finally sat down with everyone and explained everything that's happened. Once they see the daily/weekly efforts she makes to be a better person and friend (and later partner) to all of them, though, they gradually soften up to her over time.

6. The polycule came together haphazardly at first; with MC and Sayori picking up right where they left off and Yuri and Natsuki developing feelings for each other. After rescuing Monika, though, Sayori eventually admits to MC about catching feelings for her, too, something MC begrudgingly admits they've also been dealing with off and on since first joining the club. Once forgiven and persuaded, Monika makes a trio with them, and after earning Yuri and Natsuki's forgiveness over time, Yuri eventually persuades Nats to make the jump together to a love pentagon (the latter being VERY against the idea at first for reasons of past trauma and fear of being alone again if it all fell apart) after both begin to see some of Monika, and the others', more positive qualities too--Natsuki admits that she had fleeting crushes on the other three off and on but was too scared to act on them before and didn't want to hurt Yuri once they hooked up, and Yuri says the same.

What do you think? (Sorry for the infodump.)

You said "thumbs up or thumbs down" but if you've seen my blog at all, you'll know I'll say a little more than that XD

Poly dokis + MC? Could work! Not my personal preference, but I could definitely see it working out, particularly with the transfem MC headcanon I enjoy so much! these girls are gay i don't make the rules

Club President Sayori saving Monika? 🥺 Yeah, yeah she does

This one could work, especially in the context of the DDLC+ Side Stories. She comes to accept that while she is still a "character", she is oh-so important to the people around her, and they're all more real than she may have realized. I think she would definitely come to accept her world and learn to embrace it!

This one is a very interesting take! I think by our best canon estimates, the side stories take place before, but placing them after has an interesting affect on #3 above! I like this idea, but if we're still rolling with MC joining them, I don't know how to explain his absence ahaha!

I agree wholeheartedly with this one, Nats and Yuri are definitely the kind who find it hard to trust in the first place, and even harder to open up again when they feel that trust to be violated.

I like it! Again, within the context of the side stories where every pairing of the girls got their own time alone, this lends itself to all of them realizing they can't pick just one, and forming a polycule. Honestly this point makes me feel like I'm responding to a fanfic outline! XD

I mean, all of this felt like I'm responding to a fanfic outline, in a good way! It seems you've put some time into thinking about these things, and I think that's really cool :3 keep it up! And thanks for the ask!

[yolowritter]

Volpibug Au Part 4: Mom help, there's a fox girl on my floor!

Hello there everyone, and welcome back to Lilanette Hell! Finally, after three rants longer than my entire attention span, I've returned with the good shit! Also yes, I cackled at the title. You'll see, it makes sense later. Part 3 of the Au is right here for anyone who needs a reminder, and today's rant focuses on the Glaciator episode and the immediate aftermath! This is where the Lilanette really begins! Also, this post is going to be really long, because I've got two whole snippets for you guys!

To give a bit more context, the Au currently has a pretty linear timeline. Begins with Volpina because obviously that's when Lila shows up for the first time, continues into Collector where Lila decides that Adrien is the least annoying person in class and she will get him back, hence teaming up with Marinette to go confront Gabriel about it. Yes, she gleefully reminds Monsieur Mothballs that CPS exists and is only one phone call away. Then the show moves on as normal, with Lila happily staying out of everyone's business and just kinda figuring out how friendships are supposed to work.

Add a few flashbacks to her altered backstory, maybe some nice Trixx pov to sweeten the deal, and suddenly we're at the Sapotis episode! As I mentioned in Part 2, Lila doesn't like Chloe, so she and Marinette kinda put their differences aside for the sake of Adrien having more friends and keeping the Queen B in check. Still, Lila does not like Marinette at this point. She thinks that while having moments of brilliance, the bluenette is erratic, overly emotional and also kinda creepy with her stalking of Adrien. This isn't bashing, just Lila being a bit too blunt. Anyway, they aren't clawing each other's eyes out and that's what matters. Cue Alya inviting them both to sleepover, the Sapotis incident, and then the rest of Part 2 where Volpina (with her fake civilian name starting with "Cer-" as a nod to Cerise) joins the hero team. If you need a reminder, don't worry I'll rant about it again sometime soon. Lila comes and goes during Akuma fights, occasionally showing up to laugh at Chat Noir when he gets yeeted halfway across the cityscape, and usually just sniding at that day's Akuma. She needs to get it out of her system to be able to hold her tongue in school, so it's a good outlet!

But anyway, one day the Glaciator Incident happens, mostly like normal. Lila gets invited to go out with the rest of the group, and actually does her whole innocent act to basically force Marinette to show up...but Adrien doesn't. Lila is less than pleased with this decision, because if you remember she told Marinette off for memorizing Adrien's wiki page and kinda stalking him instead of...oh, talking to the guy! It annoys her a bit too much, so she endeavors to put an end to this crap by making it so Marinette has to interact with Adrien in the context of friendship, and hopefully figures out that stealing phones is Lila's thing, and no, she doesn't allow copycats! Evidently...Marinette ends up having the same interaction with Andre, causing him to be upset, but Lila steps in to save the day by exclaiming that his ice cream is awesome and she really wants to try! Akuma averted...or not, because once she thinks she's out of earshot, Lila mutters about how a grown adult shouldn't get so hung up on teenagers' love lives + a whole bunch of "doesn't he have anything better to do?" Again, not bashing anyone, just Lila being Lila. Cue Glaciator, canon edition!

Volpina does show up for the fight and distracts him while Ladybug and Chat have their little "faking feelings is wrong!" argument, but Lila quickly gets tired of their shit and urges Adrien to just get it over with! Then, she hides behind a chimney to keep watch and they defeat the villain. As Volpina makes her way back down, Ladybug and Chat have a little conversation where he asks her to at least let him talk to her, and then they leave Lila behind to have the rooftop scene with the rose. As Ladybug leaves, Volpina jumps over (yes, she obviously spied on them, she does this a lot) to talk with Chat Noir.

Now...Lila does not do feelings of any kind. Empathy isn't in her dictonary, even if she is slowly learning how to practice it despite that. And here...she actually does have one of those mature moments. Lila's been forced to grow up too quick after her grandma's death with only Trixx for company (see part 1 here for the backstory), so that sobered her up a bit. Half the reason she treats everyone like an idiot is because they're all incredibly immature in her eyes. Anyway, she sits on the railing and Chat exclaims he's not in the mood for jokes tonight. Alarm bells start ringing in Lila's head, because she actually really vibes with their team's other pun enthusiast. She wouldn't call him a friend, but who else can help her drive Ladybug insane if not for the mangy stay? So she decides to talk to him about it, and we get the following snippet! Bet you weren't expecting that!

[...]

Volpina raises her hands in a surrender, giving Chat a toothy grin that shows her fangs. Her tail swishes around the metal railing, but after his frown doesn't go away, she clears her throat and scoots over to him. "Listen...I really don't do feelings. And I'm going to regret this...but do you want to talk about it?" she asks, trying to smooth her voice into something soft instead of the usual teasing tone.

The blonde's surprise is only betrayed by the sudden twitch of his ears, and Lila lazily stretches her arm to at least keep up the pretense of not caring. Give the boy an out if he doesn't want to share, and hope it all works out. Instead, Chat levels her with a suspicious stare. "Why do you even care? Sure, you're on our side..." he makes a wild gesture with his arms, as if physically grasping for the right words.

Lila cuts him off by snapping her claws together, meeting his eyes. "Because if you and the watermelon don't get your shit together, that's more work for me. And I've already fought enough of his kids' cartoon rejects as it is." she tells him in a rare moment of honesty. Not that Volpina doesn't care, it's just that the list of people she's willing to fight over currently extends to maybe five or six, and begrudgingly at that.

Chat's face falls, as if he'd half expected it. For a moment he almost looks like he's going to try and scold her...but he only gives a deep sigh. "It's complicated. I don't expect you to understand." the blonde mutters, ears drooping like someone's doused him with ice-cold water.

"It's either me or your Kwami. Take your pick, I won't sit here all night." Volpina argues in a dismissive tone. When Chat looks away from her, Lila thinks she maybe should have picked her words more carefully. Resisting the urge to leave him be, Volpina reaches out to gently grasp his shoulder with her claws. She levels him a serious look, to say she means it. "Just...start talking, would you?" Lila prods him, and Chat's eyes glint with poorly-disguised surprise. What an idiot...it's not like she'd actually grown attached. That would just be ridiculous.

Nevertheless, he tells her everything. How he'd invited Ladybug on a date and carefully prepared everything in advance, even if she told him it was a maybe. Well, that was much more headway than he'd ever made, so Chat Noir still went on with trying to make the perfect spot. But...she hadn't shown up. Dissapointed, he'd headed over to Marinette, having seen the bluentte on her balcony. Lila carefully files away their prior friendship, as well as the fact that she might have judged the girl a bit too quickly. If one of Paris' heroes has taken such an interest to her...could there be a side to her beyond the exasparating annoyance she's been friends with for so long? Chat goes on to describe the impromtu date between them, and then the conversation with Ladybug that Volpina definately hadn't listened in on. Spying on her teammates during a momet of emotional vulnerability? Her? Never!

Still, a certain detail does stick out to her, but she politely waits until the blonde is done moping. "You...do know she told you there were other plans for tonight, right?" Volpina asks, leaning her face towards him to look into Chat Noir's eyes. Her catty green peers through a dissapointed emerald, and he gives a nod. "Okay...I can't believe I'm going to ask this, but you know that Ladybug wasn't obligated to show up just because you expected her to, right? Everyone is allowed to say no." Lila tells him, trying to keep her tone from turning to an accusation. She'd never gotten the impression that Chat believed himself entitled to the other girl's affections, but it didn't hurt to make sure.

Silence slowly envelops them as he mulls her words over, as if struggling to understand the concept. She straightens up, arching her back across the railing for a stretch as Chat falls deep in thought. "We...we can say no?" he asks dumbly, almost as if he hadn't heard her. Oh. Oh...shit. She knew that innocent gaze from a mile away, having spent so much time glued to Adrien's side. Lila's heart sings with pity, and she takes a deep breath.

"Yes, of course we can." Volpina insists, grabbing onto his shoulder for emphasis. She clicks her claws together, hopping off the railing and standing next to Chat Noir. "Listen to me. Other people's desires only matter if you decide they do. And it goes both ways. Ladybug wasn't obligated to show up today, and you aren't forced to go on patrol if you don't feel like it." Lila tells him seriously, looking the blonde in the eye.

Then, as abruptly as the advice came, she steps back and promptly twirls herself around, playfully hitting his arm with her tail. Chat doesn't say a word, and Volpina takes a cursory glance at the sky. "I gotta run. Try not to get caught out in the rain, would you?" she snips at him before climbing on the railing. Before he's even gathered his bearings, she's disappeared over the skyline, with only the familiar high-pitched titter grazing his ears. Chat Noir unhooks his baton, and quickly jumps away into the night.

[...]

And scene! I figured this specific conversation was important, because Lila's advice really resonates with Adrien here. Also, I'll take any excuse to have Volpina on screen, but it's mostly for the plot. I'm trying to prevent Ladynoir without any fights, so Lila has her work cut out for her if she wants to accidentally rizz up Marinette. Believe me, if you thought the Agrestes were oblivious, they've got nothing on the fox girl who subconsiously doesn't think there's anything about her to love. Never to a point of self-hate, Lila is fairly comfortable with who she is as a person, but just...hasn't ever recieved affection aside from her grandmother. Sure, she's dated a few boys before, but that was only because she was using them for one reason or the other, and the "relationships" lasted only barely a month each, being more uninteresting than the one before. So...you can guess why Lila has never considered it after coming to Paris.

Also, just to be perfectly clear, despite Volpina and Chat Noir having their moments together and even a psuedo-date later on, things are strictly platonic here. Lila doesn't like him that way, and Adrien sees her as the cool friend who's teaching him what freedom actually looks like. His eyes are squarely on Ladybug, and later on Kagami. And after that, Luka. But that's for way later in the timeline. Feel free to ask about it though, I'm happy to yap some more about this Au's Lukadrien! Anyway! Lila is very much gay for Marinette, and Volpina does end up as Ladybug's bi awakening...so there's that! Alright, back to the plot!

The next morning passes by quickly, and Lila decides to join the nightly patrol with Ladybug and Chat, which she almost never does aside from when Volpina is in a mood to jumpspace their brave leader. She does it constantly, and Ladybug can never manage to find her before Lila suddenly appears behind her to say hello. This time however, she decides to spy on them again as they have a conversation, and Chat apologizes to Ladybug, explaining that he got his hopes up and it wasn't her fault. She then says it's okay, they hug, happy ending! But that's not what Lila is here for at all! See, Chat's words about Marinette have been stuck in her head all day now. In fact, Lila even tried being nice to the bluenette at school today (severely weirding her out) just to see if there's a difference to how she acts with her actual friends.

The results were...inconclusive, so she's come up another brilliant plan! After making sure this whole feelings crap was done with, she would just...show up at Marinette's house. As Volpina. Without any prior warning. And then promptly proclaim their friendship! That seems like a great idea! With only the best of intentions! What could possibly go wrong? ...as it turns out, absolutely everything.

Unfortunately this post is getting a bit too long, so I'll save the snippet for next time. I am writing these on the spot you know, it ain't easy. Hopefully a good way to get rid of Writer's Block, but still a challenge. Anyway, I do hope you all enjoed today's rant! Wasn't as unhinged as when I talk about canon, but then again my Aus have a lot less to complain about and a lot more to enjoy! If any of you want to talk about Volpibug feel free to shoot me an ask, I'm more than happy to tell you everything you want to know!

Anyway, I'll see you all next time, but until then, Stay Miraculous everyone!

[ninapi]

Save me (The Beginning)

○●○●○●○●●○●○●○●○●●○●○●○●○●

Premise: How did an innocent pre-teen relationship could turn into such a toxic mess? Your loving gentle boyfriend was just not going to have you do anything you wanted, would he?

Word Count: 3196

Note: So, this chapter is a bit intense, the rest of the series won’t be as heavy, it’s fluff after all, but I wanted to give context. Don’t get scared on me, it’ll get better, I promise. That being said, welcome to my new otome-like series! Just like the one before this, will have three routes, all with different endings!

Warning: mentions of bullying and toxic relationships, swearing and stalkerish behavior. Please don’t read this chapter if you consider this to be a problem, chapter 1 will be softer, you can skip to that one.

Chapter 0: Oikawa Tōru

You thought junior high would be fun, you finally felt like your opinion would matter to some people, you weren’t just a child anymore. But growing up was a confusing process, making new friendships and building relationships wasn’t as easy as when you were younger.

Majority of the girls in your year didn’t want to be your friends anymore just because some of the guys in your class thought you were cute, it was endearing but also a bit annoying, you were constantly treated as a frail creature and they wouldn’t let you thrive on your own. When this started happening, girls who used to be your friends in elementary school started pulling ugly tricks on you, like spitting in your water after breaks or throwing your books in the toilet. Your best friend had a crush on one of the guys who was all over you, turning the rest of the girls against you quickly. You never expected you would end up being a victim of this sort of behavior, specially not by the hand of people you used to trust.

This is when you met Oikawa Tōru, he was a year above you and the most popular kid at school. You knew he existed but never expected him to defend you from your aggressors. “Hey, pretty girls shouldn’t be doing ugly things like this. Makes me want to never see your face anymore, such a waste, you became so ugly in seconds.” the girl who was clutching onto your hair was now kneeling defeated on the ground, his hand trying to mush your hair down gently. You were trying your best not to cry but her pulling was pretty intense, it really hurt your scalp and you were just so tired of the whole ordeal it was breaking you from the inside. “Come here sweetheart, how about we go for some ice cream? Iwa-chan, please make sure the teacher knows what this scum did.” the look of disgust painting his face was enough of a punishment for the girl you once considered a friend, she, like the rest of the school, had been crushing on him since she saw his blinding and charming smile, and he was now looking at her like a piece of trash.

You followed him quietly, trying to grasp the situation, “Thank you, Oikawa senpai. You really didn’t have to do that, I…” you didn’t know tears were still running down your face, but he did, so he leaned in closer and wiped them away with both of his thumbs giving you a soft smile. “It’s ok, people like her must be put in their place. How about you stop crying and show me that cute little smile of yours?” you did your best to smile, ending up in the weirdest face you’ve ever made, causing him to cackle as he dragged you away from the school.

This was your first encounter.

After that it was pretty much a blur. He would come look for you during lunch period every now and then, and walk you home sometimes even if he had to run his way back to practice, running was part of his menu anyways. He just wanted to make sure you were safe. Unfortunately, him getting so close to you just triggered a bunch more of repressed females to hunt you down and the bullying intensified even with his guard dog antics.

That’s when he got a brilliant idea. In his head it made perfect sense, people would leave you alone if he formally made you his girlfriend, right? He wasn’t just adored by girls but also respected by many, they wouldn’t mess with his girl. So when he asked you out he did it big, making sure everyone in school would hear.

But it didn’t make things better.

The very next day you were pushed down some stairs by one of the members of his fan club and that was all he was willing to take from these people. If it couldn’t be him, it was Iwaizumi the one to be with you at all times. They would even guard the bathroom door waiting for you to do your business safely. You really appreciated his way of keeping you safe, but it did feel like a bit too much at times. He really wanted to just put you in a box and protect you from all harm, but being a year older wouldn’t allow him to be with you during classes and shorter breaks, there was no way for him to control everyone and everything around you, no matter how hard he tried.

꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦

You’ve been dating for over a year, it was his last year in Kitagawa Daiichi, he would have to go to high school first, and the thought of leaving you alone was making him lose sleep. He needed to do something to get someone to protect you, someone who could take care of you and report to him constantly while you were finally able to join him again in school grounds. So, he thought taking you to practice with him would be a great idea, if you were able to become friends with someone from his team, on your grade hopefully, you wouldn’t be completely on your own for an entire year and said teammate would for sure keep him up to date with whatever was going on with you.

Though, he never expected you to click with the young setter who’s been giving him the worst time since his arrival to the team. Couldn’t be any worse.

Nobody liked him and they were all very mean to him, always talking badly of him behind his back, this including your own boyfriend. You could honestly relate to him; everyone hated him just because he was good in a stupid sport. He wasn’t the softest-spoken person you’ve seen, that is a fact. But it was totally unnecessary to be that mean to him, you bet things would be a lot different if they would give him a chance and try to understand him better.

So you approached him. First you would just sit beside him on the benches after practice, hand him a towel or some water, say hi to one and another in the corridors, cheer for him when he did something cool. Nothing too deep, you just wanted him to feel like he wasn’t alone among a bunch of haters, like you are when in class. You did talk to the other members of the team more, it wasn’t like you were giving him your undivided attention, but it looked like that to Oikawa.

One afternoon, by the vending machine outside the gym, there were only two boxes of milk left and Kageyama thought of just buying them both so he could drink the other later, but he didn’t anticipate the disappointed look on your face when the machine told you there was no milk left. He started walking away from you, normally he would just leave, it was your fault for being slower than him, but something about you just made him turn around, take one of your hands in his and drop the extra box of milk on it. He didn’t say anything at all, just stared at you and left right after.

Unbeknown to the two of you, Oikawa was watching the entire scene unfold and his hatred towards the youngster grew to new heights, specially after you gave him that cute little grateful smile of yours, the one he adored, the one that he thought was reserved just for him.

Just who does this new kid think he is?

After that day, you were forbidden to partake in the volleyball team’s activities. You really didn’t like the way he was talking to you. You baked some cookies in one of your classes and wanted to share them with him, Iwaizumi and your new friend as a token of appreciation for the milk. “What did I say, (Y/N)? I told you I didn’t want you here. You could have just waited to give them to me later. Now go.” your boyfriend was pulling you a bit too hard for your liking, he looked like someone completely different to his usual soft and friendly persona, it was scaring you a bit. “Tōru, please wait, you are hurting me!” you pulled your hand away from him, cradling it to your chest, “I need to give the cookies to the others, give me a second, I’ll leave after that, I promise.” his face was as red as your wrist, he didn’t want you in the vicinity a second longer. “Leave now, (Y/N). I don’t care about your stupid cookies, just leave!” his tone made you back off from him, crashing onto a solid chest, “Are you alright, (L/N)-senpai?.” Kageyama was standing behind you, silently offering his chest to keep you steady, scared that you would collapse on him. You were trembling, and your face was as white as a ghost.

“Get your disgusting self away from my girlfriend.”, but he didn’t move, you turned around to face him, taking a deep breath, “Do you need me to punch him?” his eyes were boring holes into Oikawa’s and you were just grateful to have him there, it made you feel safe and gave you the time you needed to calm down. “That won’t be necessary, Kageyama-kun. I appreciate your concern though. Here, have some cookies. I made them for you, as a thank you gift for yesterday’s milk, hope they are to your liking. Can you please also give this other bag to Iwaizumi-san? It appears I’m not welcome in the gym today.” the shaky smile you gave him was ringing many alerts in his brain, but he was nobody to get in between a couple's fight, so against his better judgement, he went back inside.

You turned around, not even looking at your boyfriend and left.

Oikawa was losing himself, he was so angry all the time lately. What was it with that smile of yours? You baked the cookies for Kageyama? Not for him? This guy thinks he can just come and not only take his position in the team away but also turn his girlfriend against him? He really must not like breathing.

Iwaizumi could see through his friend; he’s noticed the changes in his character as of recent. Kageyama’s arrival had been quite the shock, he just couldn’t compete to his natural talent, no matter how good he already was. It was making him very unstable, and his aggressive behavior was a cause for concern.

“Shittykawa, just saw (Y/N) leave the school crying. Is everything alright? Shouldn’t one of us walk her home?” he wanted to approach the subject cautiously, he knew you were a complicated side of his life, he knows he loves you but he’s never liked how possessive he’s been over you since the very beginning. “She’s fine.”

Kageyama approached Iwaizumi with the bag of cookies, this confusing him even more, why was Kageyama the one to give them to him? You were always there to cheer for them during practice, something was definitely off but Oikawa was not having it, he just got up and left with bag and all, he didn’t even want to practice with the team anymore, they had the brilliant boy anyways not like they needed him, he’d go for a run instead and clear his head.

꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦

Things were bad. After your encounter you thought he would not contact you at all for a couple of days and just be mad, but it was unexpectedly different.

He spammed you with hurtful texts, all spitting venom, you’ve never heard him curse even, it was unsettling to see him acting this way.

You've seen his demeanor change over the last few months, but it was certainly getting worse, was this what he really thought of you? You were just so sick of reading all his words full of resentment, still having twenty two unread messages left, you decided to turn your phone off and went for a shower. Breaking up sounded like a very good idea, he was leaving for high school soon and you seriously didn’t like the way he was treating you. Was it such a big crime to share unopened drinks with friends? He was overreacting and you had already enough bullshit on your plate to deal with his.

After your long shower, you went over to the kitchen to look for something to snack on over your distressed evening, but the doorbell rang interrupting your line of thought . You didn’t think anything of it, so you went to see who it was, shock very present on your face when you saw your boyfriend panting heavily against your door. “Tōru, what are you doing here?” you were keeping your distance, the hurting words he sent still piercing your bones, “I’m so sorry, (Y/N). I don’t know what came over me. I-I just don’t want to lose you, specially not to him. He’s come to take everything away from me, I just know it.” he was sobbing onto your hair now, holding you tightly. This was his first offense, you could surely forgive him, right? “He just gave me a box of milk, Tōru, is not like he is plotting to destroy your life...” he was looking down at you with teary eyes, why could you just not see it? “Just wait till I’m gone. He’s going to strike and try to take you away. But I won’t let him, you hear me? I won’t let him.” you were now caressing his back trying to get him to calm down, his words were once again getting scary and suddenly the idea of breaking up with him didn’t sound so appealing, since when did you stop feeling safe around him?

He used to be your happy place.

“I’m not interested in anyone else Tōru, you’re my boyfriend, to me he’s just one more of your teammates, someone I wanted to befriend, who looked like he needed a friend, that’s all. Could you trust me at least a bit?” your words made him cry harder, his hold was beginning to hurt, so you pushed on his chest gently, trying to make him to look at you, “Do you want some of my cookies now? I can make you some tea to go along.” your empty looking stare and smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes was giving him a bad feeling, but he had to remind you, you were his. “Can I have a kiss first?” you nodded, pecking his lips, but that was not enough for him. He pressed you hard against your door, his tongue going into your mouth instantly. You’ve been dating for a while now but were still very young, never been that intimate before. And instead of feeling good, it was the opposite, it felt wrong and it tasted dangerous, you wanted nothing to do with it. Making it short, you went inside your house to brew some tea. Once you managed to calm him down, he reverted to his sweet loving boyfriend persona, giving you mixed feelings. Maybe he was just going through a lot. He did support you when you needed him most, you would do your part.

꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦

Oikawa’s first year in Seijou was almost over, he became a regular almost instantly causing uproar with his skills and beauty, making his mood to change for the best. Thankfully Iwaizumi went with him and kept him in check, but he would still go to pick you up after school every day, he would joke around saying he had you on a leash, but was it really a joke? You sometimes wondered.

You wanted to believe things were going to go back to normal at some point, but the sad reality is that they never did.

Whenever he saw you saying bye to Kageyama or even noticed you smelled differently, he would make a scene.

People were already expecting it, some even waiting for the drama by the entrance of the school as some sort of entertainment. Mostly every day he would yell at you, call you awful things while manhandling you and then kiss you better. Like some sort of sick clock, he would drop you off at your house, smother you with praises and bring a gift of some sort at night when he overdid it, chocolates being his choice of preference, It was a pretty established cycle for him.

You never knew which side of him would greet you each day, some days were fine, he would just talk about his day, treat you to some sweets, be your lovable caring boyfriend. But majority of days you would get his paranoid self, always sniffing your hair for trails of sandalwood, anything that could accuse you of spending time with Tobio, or cursing at everyone that looked at you the wrong way.

“(Y/N) you left your chopsticks in my bag.” Kageyama hurried after you, waving your pink chopsticks around.

Why did he have your chopsticks? Have you been lying to him? Is that why you’ve been avoiding his calls? Because you’ve been even chummier with his worst nightmare?

You just took them and placed them back in your school bag, waving Kageyama good-bye and making your way over to the entrance. Oikawa was already fuming, and you hadn’t even said hi to him. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? What, are you having lunch dates now? You dumb woman! Do you think you can just play with me while you go messing around with the insufferable king?? Does it make you feel important, having two setters thirsting over your cunt???” you were staring at him dumbfounded, you had lunch with the entire volleyball team, they wanted to wish you luck in your first year of high school and you all ate together outside the gym. Kageyama was next to you, and you put your chopsticks in his bag instead of yours by mistake, that was all. Your state of shock was apparent, he just kept spitting insults in front of your school, some people even trying to record the entire thing to post later.

Kageyama, who was still close enough to hear his outburst, ran your way. You looked like you were about to pass out, he couldn’t just ignore the situation this time. He was sick of him, of the way he made you feel, the way he treated you like if you were a dumb useless rag doll, when to him, you were the only person around to ever give him a chance. “(Y/N), let’s get you home.” he whispered over your shoulder, gently pulling on your arm. “How many times do I have to tell you to take your fucking hands off MY woman??” he charged at Kageyama, ready to strike a punch to his gut, but you got in between them as fast as you could, taking all his hate with you, he shouldn’t be getting hit because of you, he’s such a great guy, people just can’t see him like you do. You were doubling over in pain, a couple drops of blood came flying out of your mouth at impact of his heavy punch, “Yeah, let’s go, Tobio...”

Oikawa was now on the floor staring at you with horrified eyes, what did he just do? This was your fault; he didn’t want to hurt you.

Kageyama helped you up, putting one of your arms around his neck so you could lay half of your weight on him, helping you walk. Once you were far enough from your school, you let out a deep sigh, laying your head on the crook of his neck while taking a short of break from walking, “Say, Tobio. Which high school are you applying to next year?” he hummed in thought, a bit confused as to why you were asking that now after this horrifying encounter, but he answered, nonetheless. “Well, my dream has always been going to Shiratorizawa like my grandpa.” nodding in thought, you smiled at the sky above you. You have been already accepted in Seijou, but you would do your best to be accepted in Shiratorizawa then. Your parents might not like it since it’s a bit out of the way from your house and would require taking several trains a day, but you really didn’t want to go to the same school as your boyfriend, if you could even call him that now.

Your dad opened the door when Kageyama knocked on it, panic filling his eyes at the way you looked. He lifted you up in his arms, thanking your friend endlessly before taking you inside. “Hey dad, can you get me a Shiratorizawa application form printed? I don’t want to go to Seijou anymore.” the implications of your statement were very clear to him, he noticed Oikawa getting more aggressive over the years and didn’t even want to think of what made you take that decision.

The time for applications and entrance tests was already over by a lot, but your dad managed to get you a chance to do it out of the deadline, he had to swear you were a promising student and almost guarantee his board member friend that you would pass the entrance test with flying colors, but he got you a chance. And you did pass it, surpassing everyone’s expectations with your academic performance.

You would be attending Shiratorizawa next spring.

After breaking up with Oikawa via text, you got a new phone number to avoid his messages and calls, he was driving you crazy calling you at three in the morning and sending you voice notes, some spiteful insults followed by others of him crying and apologizing, it was just messing with your head and your parents had to talk with your school so you wouldn’t have to attend to the last week of your final year in Kitagawa Daichii.

Tōru, started coming to look for you at your place due to your lack of replies, banging heavily at your door and yelling with all he’s got for you to come out. Your parents wouldn’t letting him go into the house of course, but you could hear his voice from your room, and you couldn’t take it anymore. You could feel someone watching you all the time, from your windows, this whole thing turning you into a paranoid mess. Was breaking up with someone always this complex?

Thankfully, Shiratorizawa had dorms. Many people from all over the country came to the school every year so they offered dorms separated by gender, meaning, thankfully, there were no men allowed in the building, so your family got you a room there just to try to get their daughter back. Not only were you not sleeping enough but every little sound would make you jump, your nerves wouldn’t turn off for a second and they just hoped Oikawa would never find out where you were.

The day you left for your new school, you did it as sneakily as possible, bright an early. There were no troubles whatsoever and you were pretty confident everything would be just fine, he would never find out where you were and things would be finally over.

Or so you thought.

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Note: Starting next week the updates will be Friday and Sunday instead of Tuesday and Friday~ 🍃

Tagged babes: @dazaisfavgf, @lauraagrace

Masterlist Next Chapter

[denydefeat]

LONG WISHLIST POST UNDER THE CUT. DM me if you're interested in starting any of these:

ALL POTC Characters: All curses at sea are broken with the destruction of Poseidon’s Trident, but there must always be someone to ferry the souls of those lost at sea to the afterlife, and with Will Turner escaping his fate on the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones is recalled from the dead, a new curse reclaiming him in order to fulfill this purpose. After escaping it with his death, peace in the afterlife, he’s more livid than he was before. At Will Turner, at Jack Sparrow, at Calypso, the world.

Azriel - finding his mate please & thank (i have no stake in the ship wars like I’m down for either of the popular theories or also someone new thanks) Stannis - taking King’s Landing at the battle of the Blackwater. :)! Daisy - meeting with other former members of the band (sans Billy obviously) after the break up of the band because she was friendly with them Karen - running into other members of the band (especially Graham) years later Baron - Escaping prison and going after the Strongholds for revenge and finding out his own son is friends with Will Frank - Exploring other relationships within members of the Victory Project, besides his one with Alice (which I love) or Shelley (ditto) Loki - Tricking Thanos and not actually dying at the beginning of Infinity War and surviving the Snap (or dying in the Snap and coming back for the final battle but I prefer the former because Thor needs a goddamn break) Carolyn - surviving on the dark planet, somehow, healing after the stab and eating the creatures, repairing a ship and getting the hell out of there, running into other characters from the initial mission, or Riddick himself Madge - ending up in 13, having spent more time with Katniss’ family and Gale during the QQ, though her parents did not make it out 12. Being there for Katniss when she can be during her time in 13. Clemensia - Post the snake bite and into University, while still healing and reeling from the side effects of the snakes’ venom

Morrigan / Eris - Honestly, their marriage going through. I’m curious what would have happened. I’m also very interested to explore theories of what we THINK happened because context clues give us enough to know that Eris isn’t the guilty party. Tywin - Knowing or realizing that Arya was not who she claimed and taking her back with him to King’s Landing, but keeping her out of sight until after the wedding. Lily - More in any au where she apparates away with Harry to a safe house (Remus, Sirius, Dumbledore, Minerva, Molly, anyone in the Order). Harry Osborn - ANYTHING IN ANY VERSE HE’S MY BOY (he’s been neglected on my solo muse) Loki - His trick with Thanos being another feint: he’s duplicated himself once more, and reveals himself to Thor just after Thanos disappears and the ship explodes, both are saved by the Guardians. ETC. Ben / Adrian - Am I the only person who genuinely thought they were the best ship? That they absolutely loved each other in the end, until Mercy passed? Anyways, Mercy lives. And so thus do Ben and Adrian. Together. I can also see them moving past it if the show was so focused on having Ben be a pick me for Amy. Matt the Radar Tech - Running into SW people for laughs, them thinking he’s Ben. He’s not. They just look alike. A lot. Lily Page - Meeting her father (I still HC that as being Zorro) or repairing her friendship/relationship with Emma. Katniss - Instead of her tracker being cut out, it’s Peeta’s that is, and he is saved by 13, and she is taken to the Capitol to be tortured for information and to try and turn the tides against the Rebels. Bonnie - Someone love her please and don’t DIE IN THE MEANTIME. I’m a big fan of well done Bamon, Bonkai, Benzo, Bonora….But also could be convinced of anything. Rosalie - An idea being what if she was already married to Royce when he and his friends did what they did? The revenge plot takes an entirely different meaning when it’s a husband, particularly if she’s already been hoping for a child, which is further dashed by her survival and change into a vampire.

Nesta - accepting eris’ offer :)! Robb - making it to king’s landing and winning the war, liberating the North, and getting Sansa back to safety, then having to head out and find Arya. Violet - anything in her marvel or ouat verses tbh I spent a lot of time on those Shelley - taking over the Victory Project after killing Frank. Max - coming back after that summer for the start of college, much to everyone’s surprise and keeping his escapades close to the chest (idk the timeline of that show it was a fucking mess lmao) Mark, Lawrence - I want to write more about their dynamics with each other as apprentices to John. We only briefly get Mark and Amanda interacting - gimme more. Bruce - let’s throw out the entire mcu because it’s fucking trash for him thanks. Brunnhilde - More of her relationship with Carol :( Kamala - Building of the young avengers lets GOOO Loki - anything :( Sid - I am fuLLY CONVINCED SID IS THE FATHER AND JESSE IS A RED HERRING (I already have this going I just wish more people cared about HIMYF) Brian - Going to NY and seeing Justin again. :)! Snow White - anything :( Charming - I have about 90420934902 aus for him honestly. I have so many ideas for this stupid idiot. Neal - surviVING AND COPARENTING WITH EMMA AND REGINA SHIPS DON’T FUCKING MEAN YOU HAVE TO KILL A GOOD CHARACTER WHO LITERALLY WAS THE REASON RUMPLESTILTSKIN MANIPULATED REGINA INTO CASTING THE FUCKING CURSE MY GOD THIS SHOW PISSES ME OFF anyways Davy Jones - returning after the ‘curse’ is lifted from Will Turner, because someone must always be there to ferry the souls to the other side Ben Solo - ANYTHING :( Jyn - her and Cassian getting evacuated just before the explosion and surviving, assisting the Rebellion. Finn - training as a jedi (either trilogy re-write or post trilogy) Jar Jar - i s2g if someone doesn’t write with Sith Jar Jar… Anakin and Padme - either an au where she convinces him to run away with her and leave everything behind and raise their children on Naboo before Obi Wan shows up and he believes her when she says she didn’t know he was there and they enlist his help in staging their deaths OR an au where he convinces her to join him on his path to the dark side. (i write both so I’ll write either) Carolyn - escaping the dark planet after surviving the stabbing, living off of the creatures that would be her demise, fixing a ship in the darkness, built by lights she manages to fix throughout the rubble, and fires made along the way. finding other riddick characters / riddick himself Coriolanus Snow - Exploring more of his additions to the games and how he helped to curate them to be the spectacle they became. Annie - Not having anyone to volunteer for her so having to go through the Quarter Quell with Finnick (Hi I love PAIN). Not escaping the Arena and being taken back to the Capitol. Madge - Watching the Games with Katniss’ family and thus being there when the blackouts happen and escaping District 12 with Gale and everyone else to District 13. Kili - surviving PLS Renesmee Carlie - more of her dynamic growing up in a town that’s definitely got an attraction for the supernatural. Bella - not taking Edward back immediately, actually being pissed that he lied like what a dick Sam - imprinting on LEAH jfC WHAT A WASTE (or better yet, Leah being the first wolf to change and imprinting on HIM thanks) Garrett - torn between natural instincts, love for Kate, and never letting himself be tested by a challenge, learning how to survive and satiate on animal blood vs. human blood

Wishlist based solely on songs from TTPD. Please do not steal. Message me if interested. These are VAGUE IDEAS based on the song lyrics, not based on the history behind the songs or their literal meanings. Muses listed are just ideas, but they’re all open to all muses. Mentions of drug use, alcohol abuse, mental illness, abuse, etc. are involved in many so if those trigger you, I would not read more. This is part 1. I will put more at a later date:

Fortnight: A manic episode turned into full psychosis, muse A ends up in a psych ward. Muse B (either another patient or the treating doctor) and Muse A fall for each other, creating a scenario either in the minds or in the midst of Muse A being released. I love you, it’s ruining my life.

The Tortured Poets Department: Muse A and Muse B are in a situationship, but Muse A wants more, while Muse B is happy with their situation, considering the benefit of their freedom to explore other options, while both muses are using the relationship to advance their own perspective lives (either in writing, music, etc.). Muse A is desperate to keep Muse B, but Muse B is not committed. Who’s gonna hold you like me? Nobody. Nofuckingbody.

My boy only breaks his favorite toys: Muse A falls in love with Muse B, and is madly in love, until time has wasted away their relationship, and Muse A realizes they are not in love, but they also don’t want to be the one to end things. Endlessly breaking them down, emotionally, until Muse B ends it themselves. There was a litany of reasons why we could’ve played for keeps this time. — cause you should’ve seen him when he first saw me.

Down Bad: Falling for someone quickly and suddenly only to have them ghost, disappear, almost like they weren’t really there in the first place.

So Long, London: Muse A uproots their entire life to be with Muse B, moving far away from their home, friends, family, and essentially pours everything into the relationship. It’s great, for a while, and Muse A even falls in love with the place they live, but the messy breakup does cause it to be hard to leave. Eventually, Muse A does leave when the relationship shows no future, but moving on is harder than expected. And I’m just getting color back into my face. And I’m just mad as hell ‘cause I loved this place.

But Daddy I love Him: Muse A and Muse B are in a controversial relationship. Muse A is constantly warned by family and friends that Muse B is bad news. Everyone is constantly trying to get Muse A to leave Muse B, but they are far too deep into it now. I’ll tell you something right now, I’d rather burn my whole life down, then listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning. I’ll tell you something about my good name, it’s mine alone to disgrace.

Fresh out the Slammer: Muse A has been in a long time relationship, but it’s ending quickly, and tumultuously, and as soon it’s over, they call Muse B, their ex (either relationship or situationship or hookup), because they want someone familiar, who they know they can love and who loves them in return. Fresh out the slammer I know who my first call will be to.

Florida!!!!: Muse A has had a messy breakup, and wants to escape. Muse B lives in a far off place, and invites Muse A to escape there, where they can be fun, and messy, and forget the past. Bury their ex’s in the swamp (figuratively) and move on. So I did my best to lay to rest all of the bodies that have ever been on my body.

Guilty as Sin?: Muse A and Muse B are dancing around each other, for several reasons. Fantasies aside, what is stopping them from taking the next step? What if he’s written 'Mine’ on my upper thigh only in my mind?

Guilty as sin Elriel plots when? OR Feysand? Fresh out the Slammer Neris plots when? Who’s afraid of little old me Nesta embracing Lady Death plots when? So long london Feyre about the Spring Court plots when? The Albatross being Nesta plots when? I hate it here Nesta plots when? The Prophecy Lucien plots when?

[lubbockswingers]

Major 5 Reasons to become Swingers

Lubbock Swingers

In the situation of the 21st hundred years, there are tons of good reasons to be swingers. Still, we know there is a a number of stigma around the arguments couples or husbands and wives become swingers. Due to this, we thought the application best to begin with your "Top 5" factors to be swingers.

Lubbock Swingers

Good reasons to be Swingers: #1 Avoid cheating un-willfully

Over time, most friendships tend to lose their particular potency. This usually leads partners so that you can cheat and ends up in breakups, when together partners usually plan to experience sex along with others. The swingers' lifestyle allows for safer, calculated ways to include both parties inside agreeing to the knowledge. No one is harm in the end; instead, anyone enjoy themselves.

Arguments to be Swingers: #2 Fulfillment of Dreams

Let's face this, most times partners tend to be too scared to be able to ask for something that can be considered taboo by way of conservative standards. What happens if you have a fetish as well as a fantasy? You could proceed your whole life with no ever entertaining prospect. What's wrong by using bringing toys, movie channels, or certain approaches into the bedroom? Throughout the context of swingers' settings, the pleasurable fantasies are motivated. In the end, this generally leads to a pleased relationship.

Reasons to get Swingers: #3 Figuring out new and Much better Techniques

Living a swinger lifestyle allows for couples to research in all kinds of brand-new ways, whether making use of their own partner or simply another. Being be the case, swinging provides for partners to learn cutting edge ways of pleasing the other person. The idea is to make sure to test new issues and continue to can those that have ensured results. Truly, this step supplies a more joyful bond to people who could possibly be in serious desire.

Reasons to be Swingers: #4 Make completely new and Enduring Romances

I can't tell you the number of times I've fulfilled swinging couples who definitely have continued to movement with the same category of friends for 10 or 20 years. These people never seem to possess boring or boring weekends because these are always hanging out with additional couples and having fun in themselves. They may perhaps plan out a secondary and save upon expenses by driving together. Don't be shocked at how large a person's circle of pals will grow when you finally become a swinger.

Factors to be Swingers: #5 Transition into a older Relationship

I moreover can't tell you are you wanting times I've learned swingers tell testimonies about how they were to the fringes of divorces and tried the best of life, as a last dump effort, only to discover it allowed them to grown-up past their complications. As people their age and relationships are more complicated, the swingers' lifestyle allows for a totally new means of raising and maturing. Normally this means longer along with healthier relationships relating to partners.

[pastorfutureletthembe]

Nah don't worry, it didn't come off as a disagreement, I always enjoy your inputs! I merely used it to explain why this analysis, while interesting, doesn't reflect my opinion but is still a valid interpretation.

Shiguang is really is a peculiar case, both because they indeed work well as friends/partners/queerplatonics/lovers and because the cultural context makes the storytelling different from what we're used to as an occidental audience.

Fans of american shows have been cursing over queerbaiting for decades while I personally was fed nicely with subtil japanese bromance since middle school. Imagine my surprise when I discovered chinese male friendships through 19DAYS and later Link Click. The no-gays-allowed policy really made me giggle because of course people would get ingenious in their writing to go around it.

The fact they thought that if Link Click was about two dudes it would be enough to make this story 100% aromantic is ludicrous, though. While the genre of Link Click is far from romance, it still started as a family show, character centric, and then turned into something of a thriller.

The story was always about two guys uncovering mysteries and helping people.

I personally would break space and time for friends and family, no questions asked, but isn't it natural to think only true love deserves the honor after all? I personally think the idea of time travel has been romanticized too many times to be free of the concept of the Ultimate Form of Love™. I mean, in the name of saving a dead wife AND a man's ego of course lmao.

So yeah, even chinese censorship or homophobic chads can't do much against, like, a century's worth of literature and cinema about going back in time for love. People can believe what they want, shiguang being gay or not is absolutely not the point: if the genders were different, they would also ship it, because that's just how the story goes and went in all previous media in the history of Time Travel. Regret might be the reason but you usually only want to go back so you can have happiness with someone again.

That's my take as far as canon goes: let it be, the story writes itself 😂

Now, about Lu Guang and his role in Cheng Xiaoshi's death, I have many, M A N Y theories actually.

The possession route is very plausible. Actually there are several threads about it on twitter supporting it. I cannot find the one where OP removes the red filter and Lu Guang still has red eyes but it's out there. Hard to say if dream sequence or memory, if original timeline or repeat.

A part of me is convinced that Lu Guang wasn't even part of Cheng Xiaoshi's life in the original timeline. Maybe there actually is a Time Agency and Lu Guang was part of it and he kinda grew fond of CXS while investigating his missing parents. Or maybe he was Vein's pupil until he realized how much of a psychopath he was and tried to bail, meeting CXS on a turn of fate.

Liu Xiao himself is a shady character who seems to have an interesting and tragic backstory. I wouldn't rule out the theory of him being an alternative version of Cheng Xiaoshi. Betrayed and left in a failed repeat.

There is still a tiny possibility that they pull a Kaishin on us and Lu Guang reveals himself as CXS's father. And if Lu Guang is actually Cheng Xiaoshi's friend since the beginning, could he be the one who gave CXS his powers one way or another? If so, wouldn't it save him to just... Keep them both from using their powers? Or did they gain their powers while on this post graduation trip after Cheng Xiaoshi's death? Are these powers only acquired after nearing death?

The darkest theory I have is that Cheng Xiaoshi has to die first for Lu Guang to reset the timeline... And there might have been times when Lu Guang killed him with his own hands in order to get a new chance at a better outcome.

Many secrets in Lu Guang's head and I'm pretty sure Yingdu Chapter won't give us the answers we seek. My take on all this is that if Lu Guang really wanted to save Cheng Xiaoshi's life, he wouldn't be in his life. But, you know: Man's ego, as I said. One of my theories is that he actually tried that one but failed (and the flash backs we saw of their meeting is actually Lu Guang failing at staying away).

But mostly: people tend to forget Qiao Ling's involvement too often. Her being in danger would be enough to make Cheng Xiaoshi risk it all, losing her would be enough to strip him from hope, sacrificing everything to save her is way too in character not to consider.

Why I think Shiguang can be canonically read as romantic

(I will only be using the donghua for reference, so no Studio Lan retweeting those fanarts (lmao) nor those especially gay manhwa panels (lmao x2) nor even the songs ("chase you to the end of the world, just to say your name once more" my beloved).

It's important to start off by saying that I'm aware Director Li said they ended up not making Lu Guang a girl because they didn't want romance to be seen as a must in Shiguang's relationship by the audience (and because he feels that "bros can have a good heart-to-heart connection with each other"). In my opinion that was a great move since it allows more freedom with how they write them than they'd have otherwise. I also think viewing Shiguang as queerplatonic is a great read too and it doesn't diminish their love for each other nor the importance of their relationship at all.

With that said, despite Director Li's words, there's been things that had me going 🤨 as someone who likes to adhere to canon relationships and read into the writer's intentions, so I wanted to share why I personally see them as romantic.

EPISODE 2

We've all seen this coming, right? Most obvious parallel ever, and in the second episode no less. We all know the similarities between both relationships, so I will just touch on those I consider the most important ones.

Lin Zhen and Yu Xia have gone to college together, and since then decided to start a business of their own - named after a mix of their names. They've been shown as being really close and having no romantic relationships. Lin Zhen also says that Yu Xia's happiness is her own, and then it's shown to us that she's gone through years of unhappiness just for Yu Xia. I believe you can replace their names with Lu Guang's and Cheng Xiaoshi's in your head without me writing all this again. And I'm not even going to get into the most obvious parallels like the special noodle recipe for each pair.

I think it's safe to say that Lin Zhen and Yu Xia are implied to be romantic. From that "one noodle" scene, to the close shot of Lin Zhen grabbing her hand, etc.

Now, I want to get into a writer's point of view and pose two questions:

1. What's the purpose of this episode, when even those which seem episodic connect to the overarching plot of season 1 (even the missing kid's case, as it leads to the involvement with the police)?

2. If we answer the previous question with the conclusion that it's meant to show us the nature/development of Cheng Xiaoshi's and Lu Guang's relationship, what does that say about it?

"Partner" in Link Click

Continuing with episode 2, what really got me thinking about the romantic intentions in their writing was the constant mention of marriage and anything in relation to it.

(may I remind everyone that the driver's comment was said when Cheng Xiaoshi was complaining about Lu Guang lmao)

They're telling us through "show don't tell" (for example, when Lin Zhen kept on eating the noodle despite knowing they'd kiss) and, also, connotations. They are presented to us as business partners, but then the entire episode goes on to tell us that there's more to them by tying their relationship to things percived as romantic. So what they want to really tell us is that beyond simple business partners, they're life-long partners.

And then, after establishing this kind of connotation to the word partner, Cheng Xiaoshi says this to Lu Guang in the next episode:

This doesn't stop at them. While it's the most obvious example, I think partnership in Link Click is intended to be seen as romantic, or at the very least dancing somewhere close to it. Let's go even further and take a look at our fully canon, heterosexual relationships and see briefly how their story is written:

1. Dong Yi and Xu Shanshan: both of them chose the comfort of each other's presence over moving on with their respective futures. Dong Yi had so much faith in their relationship and their love that he couldn't choose a life/future that didn't have Xu Shanshan - choosing to not go back to his family home nor go to that interview, and instead waiting for Xu Shanshan to define their relationship.

2. Liu Siwen and Ouyang: Siwen spent his entire life training with the purpose of getting his father-in-law's respect and marry Ouyang, going every year over and over to fight him. His perseverance and his undying love for her allowed Siwen to do the (seemingly) impossible.

3. Chen Bin and his wife: they're a tragedy. His wife understood Chen Bin the best, enduring feeling lonely because she loved him and wanted a future with him. But their relationship was cut short, so they promised each other to be together in a future life to make up for the time they wouldn't be in this one.

With this + the pictures I attached, it seems like Link Click has set this theme of "love is a life with you" for its romantic relationships, a partner that will fight to stay because they can't see a future that doesn't have their beloved. Going back to episode two, this applies even to the noodle ladies. When Yu Xia remembered what actually matters to her, she went back home - to the start, to her hometown. And, most importantly, to Lin Zhen.

So why is Shiguang romantic? Why aren't they queerplatonic, or just best friends, or bros or whatever else? Because besides what I said at the start of the previous paragraph, Shiguang's relationship mirrors a lot of the romantic ones. Each story and author writes romance and other kinds of relationships differently, portraying them in the way they perceive "this is what this kind of love is like". And beyond life-long partners, I think that the key elements of romantic relationships in Link Click are the ones I highlighted in bold above in the 3 canon relationships part - which Shiguang shares, too.

(I didn't mention this before with the het couples, but I find it a little amusing that season 2 happened because a man wanted to go to the past and get his wife back (still fuck you Qian Jin) and then we find out Lu Guang did go back to the past and got his boyfriend partner back lmao).

"Friend" vs "Partner"

So where is the boundary between platonic and romantic? What marks the difference between a (best) friend and a partner?

There is, for example, Liu Xiao and Li Tianchen's relationship. They aren't shown to have any kind of romantic undertones and there's even the very real possibility of manipulation on Liu Xiao's side. They're also never labeled as nor call each other partners, but instead Li Tianchen says he "met a new friend" and Liu Xiao says he's "going to meet an old friend" years later. So we could say for now that they have a somewhat close relationship (we see Li Tianchen go against Qian Jin to give the phone to Liu Xiao), but never cross that "friend" label.

We can even bring Qiao Ling and the boys' relationship. She's never labeled as a partner despite taking part in the side job and, more importantly, being super close to both of them. She is very important and a cherished friend to Shiguang, so why not call her partner too? I think it's intentional. Since she's been given a familial role already (calling Cheng Xiaoshi her brother when talking to Li Tianxi), she can't fill a partner role. I wonder why? because it's supposed to be a synonym for a romantic relationship. who said that.

So even best friends (Qiao Ling, arguably what Liu Xiao is to Li Tianchen) don't enter this close space that is being a partner. It's different, it's beyond platonic. Or at least that's what they've been showing us for the past two seasons.

I could go soo much more into this honestly, because I do think the little hints thrown here (the music videos) and there (tiny seemingly inconsequential details) are worth to be looked at too, but I wanted to get into the core reason that makes me go "woah so they're In Love fr". I hope I expressed myself well ^^

tldr; the series shows us a divide between having a (best) friend and a partner, giving "partners" romantic connotations.