#fucked sibling dynamics are my jam

[fandomsareforlife]

Former Dead Princess found in Sad Man home?

What's up, posting the other WWT fic, because I am extra and I like this. It's 11 pm and I am sleepy, so gonna make this quick. Tw are super implied child abandonment, cult mentions, and swearing.

Anyway, Harumi and Shade with implied Ultra Violet/Harumi. Shade' 21 and Harumi is 23, same age as Lloyd and Ultra Violet respectively. Takes place post Crystalized, but no direct mentions beyond Harumi coming back to life.

Read on ao3

Shade rubbed his head as he walked up the steps into his house. His head pounded after spending fuve hours with the other elemental masters, repairing Ninjago City for the umpteenth time after it got destroyed.

Entering the mud room, Shade kicked off his shoes and pushed them to the rack with his foot. He’ll fix them later. It wasn’t like anyone was left to see the mess of his house.

(It was easy and impossible to get used to living in a house of ghosts.)

When he went to the kitchen, he expected to grab a glass of water and some painkillers and lay down on his sofa. If he was lucky, he’ll fall asleep and stay asleep for about six hours.

However, what he got was Princess Harumi of Ninjago City, or whatever the fuck her title was, sitting at his kitchen counter, eating his apple slices.

Shade’s headache got ten times worse. Shade really did not have the energy to deal with this. He just wanted to nap, not deal with a formerly dead princess who he had to save the city from when he was 18.

Repressing the urge to sigh, Shade faded into the shadows and sneaked his way through the hall to the kitchen and in front of Harumi. She didn’t even look up from her phone the whole time.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Shade asked bluntly, his annoyance seeping through his voice. Harumi jerked back in her chair and almost threw her phone, looking up at Shade with wide eyes. Shade simply stared back with his arms crossed.

She recovered quickly, and stood up, her expression steely.

“What are you doing here?” she echoed, her voice betraying her by shaking slightly, revealing that she was spooked. Shade tried to not revel too much in it.

Shade replied curtly, “I live here.” There, shirt and sweet. Harumi blanched at his response, her eyes somehow going even wider. It was clear she didn’t know he lived here.

…if she didn’t know he lived here, why was she here then?

Harumi frowned. “Ultra Violet said she owned this house. Why the heck are you living in her house?”

Shade had to resist the urge to blink. Ultra Violet? Why would she claim to own this house? He had been living here alone for years. And how did she know about it? The only ones who knew it existed were Shade and Vio-

He was an idiot. Violet, his weird older sister by two years who had disappeared shortly after the digital Overlord 7 years ago, claiming she had to take care of things. Who left him alone as a 14 year old in a too big home. Who had gotten increasingly more and more…unhinged in her letters that grew farther apart until they stopped entirely. Who talked about a girl named ‘Rumi’ who she was making big plans with, and she was so madly in love with.

Who was Ultra Violet. Shade had been quick to dismiss the crazy maniac as a cousin of his on his mother’s side, based on their similar appearances and knowledge on his element. However, it now made more sense for her to be his older sister who somehow managed to get into a cult, and was either dating or had dated the head of it.

Harumi cleared her throat, forcing Shade out of her thoughts. “So, dreamboat, what are you doing here in Ultra Violet’s home?” Her teasing tone didn’t match up with the harsh words.

Well, no better way to deal with this than to be upfront.

“Well, I don’t know if you know, but typically you live in your home, not just abandoned your brother in it and not come back in over 7 years.” Shade may have let a bit too much bitterness out in his words, but he honestly couldn’t care. He was bitter, and he was petty.

Harumi gasped slightly in shock. “No, she wouldn’t do that,” she whispered desperately, clearly rattled, “she is loyal to those she loves.”

Shade decided to twist the knife a bit more. “Well, she clearly loves her girlfriend more than she loves her brother.”

A tremble went down Harumi’s body as tears streamed down her face. She shook slightly as she turned to the door. Shade let her walk there in silence, letting it wash over them like drizzling honey.

When she got to the door, she paused as she opened it.

“She loves you, you know.” Harumi’s words were soft. Shade didn’t get a chance to respond as she ran out the door.

Shade finally let out a sigh and went to close the door. He slumped in the previously occupied chair.

He can take a nap here.

[itsabouttimex2]

I have been going insane about the not beloved au.

The idea and sheer emotions of it just cling to me and haven’t left me for days and I blame you. Just the idea of [User] not only not being the beloved- but in a way being solely viewed that way- and in a sense being completely treated as such where it is very obvious- just- I love it.

The pure angst potential with the au is there and I -‘ screeching about it.

Y/N’s Not The Beloved?

(Monkiefam)

Exactly- Y/N is so heavily defined by being “not the beloved” that it kinda becomes their entire character.

Just like some people get jammed into slots they’re undeserving of by born traits or mere appearances, Y/N is out here getting pigeonholed into the “not our favorite” just because MK is the little monkey demon that their parents dreamed of having for so long.

And it doubly sucks ass, because Sun Wukong and Macaque are such good parents to MK that any criticism on your part will be questioned and “debunked” by well-meaning peers who probably just see you as “spoiled” or “jealous”.

Like, imagine this: your classmate, Y/N, is the adopted child of the fucking legendary hero, Monkey King. He’s married to; of all people, to the infamous Six-Eared Macaque. They have an adorable adopted son who is also a demon monkey.

And if what Y/N has to say about this whole family dynamic is “they spoil my brother too much/love him more than me/expect me to constantly look after him” and like…

From their perspective?

Bitch! You are privileged beyond compare and comprehension! You have two unimaginably powerful parents! They could crumble a civilization and raise a new from the smoldering ashes! They could impose themselves as gods and demand proper tribute! And instead they adopt a silly little mortal out of the goodness of their hearts, and you have the gall to “whine” about it not being enough?

Some of your classmates get beaten for bringing home bad grades? Some of them have dead parents? And a few were disowned for being queer! Others live in filth! Some have literally nothing! Why are you so damn “ungrateful”, Y/N?!

And then desperately trying to explain that yes, you are grateful for them and everything they’ve done, it’s not right for you to miss out on fundamental life experiences just because MK didn’t want you to go, or to nearly flunk a test because you couldn’t sleep on account of MK demanding your attention, or to lose friends that you were never allowed to hang out with because MK didn’t like them.

It’s especially bad in the situation that Y/N is particularly young, around say… under thirteen, or maybe semi-verbal, if they’re shy or anxious, and they haven’t learned how to properly communicate and express themselves in a conducive and effective manner, which leads to exchanges where what Y/N says is utterly ineffective at conveying what they mean, like:

“My parents love MK more than me.” (My parents unhealthily prioritize him even at a cost to myself.)

“Aww, sweetie! He’s just new to your house! You’ll get used to him!”

“I have to babysit MK so much that I don’t get to hang out with my friends.” (My budding social life is beginning to crumble under the weight of being a caretaker to my little brother.)

“You’re such a good older sibling! I bet your parents are really grateful to have a babysitter on hand!”

“MK wanted to go somewhere new yesterday, and he made our dads take me. I didn’t get to sleep.” (MK’s immediate happiness is becoming more important to both of our fathers than my physical health.)

“I bet you all had a lot of fun if you’re this tuckered out, huh? You’re lucky they took you!”

It gets to the point that Y/N, as they grow up, turns to the internet for validation and support in their life, probably to results that are equally split towards positive/negative.

“NTA- Clearly your fathers do not respect your health or feelings! Pack up and move out!”

“I can’t move out though? We live on a sacred mountain and I’ve never had a job because they make me babysit MK instead.”

“ESH cause y’all sound exhausting. I’d beat the fuck out of this “MK” TBH. What a brat.

“He’s nine though??? WTF dude?”

“Honestly all these NTAs and ESHs are so confusing clearly OP is a fucking ungrateful brat who’s gonna regret pushing their family away when they’re alone and have nobody. MASSIVE YTA kiddo.”

“I just want to stay home and sleep because I’m tired as hell from all the other family trips that I went on with my family? This is the first time I’m saying no?”

And slowly growing more and more ostracized and confused by everything in their nonconventional little family and how MK’s obsession with them is both fueled and enabled by Wukong and Macaque’s obsession with him, all slowly heading to a peak-

And when you snap, you are inevitably going to snap hard.

[gffa]

TWO NOVELS ANNOUNCED AT SDCC 2024:

1. This is the way…seeker. Justina Ireland’s new novel will explore Vernestra Rwoh’s life about 20 years prior to the events of The Acolyte, a giant leap from when we last saw the teenaged prodigy in Phase III of The High Republic storytelling.

2. Yord and Jecki live! We have good news for members of the Yord Horde and Jecki Jam: Tessa Gratton will resurrect these fan-favorite characters for a new YA novel set in the years leading up to The Acolyte. The book arrives in July 2025. No word yet on a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive edition with bonus steamer.

I'll give them a chance, I'm soooooo curious what Justina Ireland is going to do, because Vernestra's characterization in The Acolyte is so wildly different from where she's at in The High Republic and I think Vernestra is kind of her baby, so I would love to have been a fly on the wall seeing her reaction to the show's take on the character, but I'll settle for seeing how she attempts to bridge the gap. But even more I AM SO FUCKING READY FOR JECKI AND YORD NOVEL, I will set aside all my reservations if Tessa Gratton gives me the sibling needling with love dynamic that I crave.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I restart an argument with a friend?

🌊⚓ <- so I can search for it.

So, a while ago, a friend was over and we talked. She is from South Germany while I am from North Germany, where we are both living (this'll be important in a sec).

I don't really remember why we were talking about the topic, but we started talking about regional dialects and sayings and then she called Low German* a dialect. Which tldr: big no-no. But I don't think she was being malicious, she just didn't know about the topic at all.

So naturally I explained: "You absolutely cannot call Low German a dialect to peoples faces around here. People will take offense to it. I don't really, because I consider the difference between dialect and language is arbitrary to begin with. But you will provoke incredibly unkind reactions from other people."

Her response was "Yeah but like. Doesn't everyone think their own dialect should be a language."

And... Idk why that one hurt but it did. It just felt incredibly dismissive. And I didn't really know how to respond other than "but this is the one case where it is true" which felt weird so I just. Didn't. We kinda moved on to other topics. But in hindsight, I really wish I hadn't?

Because I wish I had explained it in depth to her so she understands why what she said is considered unacceptable. But also for her own sake, because she will piss people off if she says the same thing to other people. And honestly for my sake so I can make peace with the conversation.

So I'm considering either finding a way to restart the argument/ conversation when we are together or go the cowardly route and send her a couple screenshots explaining the topic. But I also feel like restarting a fight we never really had and really doesn't matter is kind of a dick move.

Additionally I tend to be a person that corrects people when they are wrong and starts discussion way too much. Because in my family academic debates are a love language.** So I tend to reaaaaaally overestimate the amount of debating/ arguing people are comfortable with. They tend to perceive me as being upset with them while I am just having fun hashing out a topic from different angles.

So Tumblr. WIBTA?

Footnotes

* Low German is the regional language of North Germany. The definition of North Germany is actually pretty much "wherever they are speaking Low German". There is some controversy if Low German is a dialect or a language. Which like... People often describe it as closer to Dutch and English than Standard German, it's a recognised language in every state it is spoken in, it is recognized as a regional language in the fucking European Union WHY is it still controversial.

It is also very much an endangered language because in the past decades especially it has been looked down on as being "lower class". No that's not where the name comes from, low german is spoken where the terrain is flat/ low and high/ upper german is spoken where the mountains are. This attitude towards Low German is shifting a lot recently but it is entirely possible it's too late to prevent it from dying out.

** I felt like this part needed some clarification too. I can't count how many dinners in my childhood were spent eating while getting into the meat of whatever topic caught our attention. Politics or science or more spiritual stuff. Ask questions about things we were wondering about. Absolutely tear into each other when we had opposing positions, but concede when we were convinced. Oftentimes I'd get up to grab pen and paper, or demonstrate orbital dynamics with the jam container, a bowl and my plate, or use the butter as an impromptu drawing board.

But that doesn't mean we were fighting in the normal sense even if someone got upset occasionally. It was really just communicating with one another. It was connecting. Exercising our debate skills. Play-fighting but make it academia. It was genuinely fun to us and still is. An alternative outlet for sibling rivalry. There is no need to fight over the TV remote when you can just reason it out together.

So yeah. That's how academic debates can be a love language (and simultaneously absolutely destroy your conception of what is considered arguing).

[superluigiglitchy]

Super Meme Gaurdian: Paper Jam (a summary)

((Long post ahead because i'll be rambling so be warned))

What exactly is SMG: PJ? or SMGPJ

Short answer: a rewrite au bron from several hyperfixations and my insanity

long answer:

SMG: PJ is an au where several things in lore are changed, some stories are adjusted and new ones are created

in this au aspects of Splatoon's lore is more loyal as seen with the fact Meggy is Captain of the Squid Beak Splatoon and was the first Agent 3, the Splatoon Manga is also apart of the world of SMG4 as shown with Goggles and Rider being Agent 4 and 4.5 respectively and the events of the Paper Mario series are VERY much relevant with a new arc appearing named the Paper Jam arc where Mario and his old and new friends team up to stop a new evil from stealing an ancient powerful treasure capable of granting any wish among other changes

other changes include Desti surviving being stabbed but being crippled as a result of it, now needing to use crutches just so she can move

Axol also living but needing a cybernetic body because of the sheer amount of corruption zero put his original body through

the anime arc being renamed the Anime Metro arc which is just a combination of Octo Expansion and Anime island and instead of Peach banning anime, the NSS are put in an urgent new mission to find out why so many inklings have gone missing including Meggy and Marie, and Francis and Tartar teaming up

Meggy is Agent 3/Captain 3, Goggles is Agent 4, Braids is Neo Agent 3, Rider is Agent 4.5, Desti is Agent and Hachi is Agent 8.5

Hachi is Desti's little brother

the events of the Splatoon Manga's version of OE are a continuation of Post-Anime Metro because Desti may have gotten amnesia during her debut

Meggy essentially got adopted by the Cuttlefishes when she was 14 and combine that with the fact Mario and her are practically siblings Meggy technically has 4 older siblings, all of whom are annoying as fuck but she loves them

yes, Meggy's hygiene is absolute shit

yes, Meggy was sanitised and now has chronic head aches that flare up if she pushes herself too far in a fight so she has to be really careful or forgo fights all together

Meggy is Team Blue's coach after Goggles asked her to help them out a bit as a favour, now she's attached to these idiots, but then again her brother is Mario and he's a dumbass so Meggy might just have some kind of idiot magnet at this point

A version of the events of Meta Runner will be involved in this continuity but i haven't really watched the series yet so that's up in the air

Mario's Partners from TTYD and the Glitchy Gang actually get along really well, Meggy and Mini-Yoshi (whose named is Giusseppe) get along like a house on fire (the aunt and nephew duo of all time), SMG4 is dragged around with Miss Mouz to do god knows what, Koops and Boopkins both like anime and get along fine, Goombella and Tari actually found an unexpected friendship with eachother, shockingly Bob and Vivian are really close (trans solidarity it seems), Flurrie gets along well with Melony surprisingly and SMG3 follows Bobbery like a loss duckling, much to the veteran's annoyance

Yes, Meggy had a bit of a stroke when she saw the amount of flirting Maryo's autisitic rizz got him into, it's fine though luigi helped her cope

Meggy hates Wireglasses with a passion

yes meggy gets dragged into Team Blue's adventures and shenanigans because she's there coach!

Meggy took a few weeks (instead of 2 days) to deal with her trauma from Western Spaghetti, meanwhile Marie and Callie blew up a museum a little bit to destroy a statue

yes there will be ships galore this is my au i can do what i want

speaking of which

Saiko/Tari/Meggy/Desti

yes, Pearlina are Hachi and Desti's parents, i will die on this hill

I'll add more to this post later for now enjoy my insane rambling

i just added more family dynamics and coherent storylines into SMG4, and a SHIT ton of headcanons and gayness

[llycaons]

now that I'm home, a brief summary of the new (historical) fantasy books I AM interested in. there are still nonfiction (essays, social commentary, biology) that are on my list but THIS is more my jam. putting this under a readmore but 1. if you've read any of these I'd love to hear your (non-spoilery!) opinion of them, and 2. if you have any recs based on this list, feel free to reply or send me an ask!

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang: if this book is bad I'm going to cry. it looks like it could be everything I've ever wanted. I love when lesbians are anti-authoritarian and I love wuxia settings. the rebel love interest has tattoos 😍

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec: I haven't actually read much norse mythology-inspired stuff except that pjo spinoff that wasn't very good (and one set in 9th century greenland that was HORRIBLE) but this was suggested a few times and I think it looks very promising! it's always neat to see older women as protags and she's bisexual and maybe polyam as well, which I've only ever seen in baru cormorant and the broken earth iirc

The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson: this doesn't look GREAT but I looovvee environmental fantasy so I'll give it a shot

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo: this one looks WILD

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker: this one seems a little more YA than the others but the concept is pretty original so I'm curious to see what they do with it

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard: the description made me cringe a bit but the idea is pretty cool and it seems like YA but it's marked at adult?

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho: another wuxia-inspired book!!! please be good PLEASE be fucking good 😭

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse: this one is sparing in the description but I have a sense it'll be VERY intense

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang: I may struggle to keep focused on this one but I thought I'd check it out bc in theory it's interesting

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang: I didn't really understand the summary but it's hopefully good? I'l always check out a wuxia and I like a sibling dynamic

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig: PIRATES, BABY!!!!

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, Katherine Tiernan O'Connor (Translator), Ellendea Proffer (Annotations/Afterword), Diana Lewis Burgin (Translator), Hans Fronius (Illustrator): *points* like from tumblr...in all seriousness I HAVE heard some really interesting things about this book and the relationship so I'm glad to add it to my list

The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar: the first book of this series sounds really boring ngl but this one oohh 👀

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I heard high praise for this one so while it doesn't specifically appeal to me, I'll give it a shot

Sistersong by Lucy Holland: I like a sibling story!

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh: this one could touch me tenderly I feel. I like when love interests are nice. whenever I see those setups that are like 'oh he's got an OBNOXIOUS and HOT partner' I'm like well this projection isn't working for me bc I'd leave then. I don't want to be annoyed by someone I'm supposed to like. I am aware this is a big setup for CR arc of mdzs but the annoying guy is my actual younger brother and my dear dear friend wwx so he can do whatever he wants. and also lwj really does have a stick up his ass and wwx is acting significantly more normally all things considered. anyway. this gay tree man may touch my heart

books that are ALREADY on my list/I have read excerpts from already

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick: this one is pretty YA but I enjoy the writing and the setting, and the plot is exciting. I look forward to reading more

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley: I think my mutual suggested this to me and I tried reading it but I found it really hard to read but I am going to try it again because it sounds so intruiging!

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty: I'm on the fence bc while I liked the city of brass, I thought this one was a bit weaker so idk if I'll keep reading. I like the concept tho

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro: this one's strange and mysterious and I love the almost primordial atmosphere of england 1000 years ago...the ancient and massive landmarks around the elderly characters as they go about their relatively small lives. kind of frightening, kind of magical

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong: I haven't read any of this and it DOES look pretty YA but the setting sounds fun so why not

[bagadew]

Tagged by @vonlipvig

Last song I listened to: We Like to Party (aka The Vengabus) by the Vengaboys. This damn song arrived inexplicably in my head this morning and WILL NOT leave. In an attempt to exorcise it like the demon it is, I listened to this song in its entirety. Unfortunately this didn’t work, and I now know more words to The Vengabus (it’s coming and everybody’s jumping, New York to San Francisco an intercity disco)

Last book I read: Which Way to Anywhere by Cressida Cowell, the writer of How To Train Your Dragon, doing a sci-fi story, of course I read and enjoyed this. I loved the dynamic between the siblings, the cool morally grey space teen, and watching a small magic baby forcibly adopt the space equivalent of OG Alvin the Treacherous. There were other less funny things I enjoyed (like the neat way it conveyed the fact that Daniel is living in a house that is effectively being haunted by his wife’s ex husband) but to be honest I don’t have the time to really go off on one, and this only makes sense to like 1% of you anyway.

Last film I watched: Oh jeez, it’s been a fair few weeks since I watched a film, and I sort of fried my brain with my own filming schedule. I’m 75% sure it was Kill Bill part 2 though, cos my brother and I realised we’d never seen The Kill Bill films, and it seemed like it would be our jam (and it was).

Last TV series I watched: Shogun. I’ve been watching it with my family every week, starting because Dad had read the book and wanted to watch it. As someone who knows basically nothing about that period of Japanese history, I’m finding it very interesting, and I feel like, weirdly, I’m getting a better understanding of some of the cultural influences behind some of the Japanese fiction I already know and enjoy.

Last video game I played: Trauma Center Under the Knife. Both a bastard game that I hate and a brilliant game that I love. The characters and story are great and I love them, but I’m pretty sure surgery is the thing I am worst at in this life and I should be struck off and never allowed in an operating theatre again. I am currently trying to kill an evil spider that lives on the heart of a child experiment (because this game is wild) and I am slightly scared that this isn’t the final boss of the game. In a thousand different universes that child has died of heart spider, but heart spider has to get lucky a thousand times… The Flailing Muppets Who Possess Derek Whenever He Does Surgery only has to get lucky once!

Last thing I googled: Trauma Center Savato strategy. Look The Flailing Muppets Who Possess Derek Whenever He Does Surgery needs all the help she can get, ok?

Last thing I ate: 3 packets of mini eggs. I got a lot of Easter chocolate to eat through.

Sweet, savoury or spicy: I alternate between preferring sweet and savoury dependant on an unknowable force beyond my control or understanding. Right now I like sweet things the best (hence the chocolate eggs).

Amount of Sleep: Full 8 hours baby! I finally fixed my sleep schedule out of necessity of not dying last week!

Currently Reading: Gideon the Ninth! Turns out this book is really good, I can see why you guys like it so much.

Currently watching: A documentary on Honey Ants, these creatures are cool and fucked up in a way I would love to apply to humans in a work of fiction. Living larders for instance are an incredibly messed up idea.

Tagging: @thelastlivingme @bluejaybytes @lightflame @saltykrispycake and whoever else wants to do it!

[ravencromwell]

To all my mutuals who have no fucking idea what Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab is, and are watching large chunks of their dash descend into Nick never shuts up about it: I'm so sorry ;) Now, I mean, if we're mutuals, I think this entire series would be your jam, for one reason or another. In no particular order:

--there is a genderfluid pirate who comes off the streets of 1819 London and bullies her way into a magic adventure and just! keeps! going out and kicking ass and taking names and winning everything and honestly, it's the best nonbinary/trans power fantasy swear to God even as I'm like: for the sake of being a fully rounded character, my beloved pirate thief really should have some! consequences.

--there's an insanely through-the-roof powerful magician who's been deeply broken by privation and torture and poverty but still wants desperately to save his world that is so! reminiscent of Thorin fucking Oakenshield it hurts in the best way!

--and speaking of Thorin Oakenshield and the first ship that sucked me viciously into fandom: Dworin people this same magician had this wonderful doomed attempt to rule beside a king and it has all the best Dworin vibes with this amazing personality inversion because there's all the loyalty and affection and the king/general/knight stuff but it's the king! who's outgoing and social and magnetic and our insanely broken magician who's quiet and reflective and it captures the very best of the dynamic without feeling like it's repeating the ship and I need all of y'all to ship Holland Vosijk/Ros Vortalis stat—dear God we don’t get these two until book 3, but oh! Oh it’s so worth it. (oh god sometimes I just sit and drool over the fic @bodysnatch3r and @mainecoon76 would write.

--and let me not forget, the Percival Graves vibes. @maggieandthedragon is another one I just make grabby hands thinking of contributions she’d make to this fandom. Holland is a man who tries desperately to respect life, made party to utterly inhuman actions via torture—the Percy and Gellert parallels, they are strong. And Holland/Vor has some Percy/Thes vibes dear God the golden youth Holland can never recapture.

--for all of you for whom we bonded over geopolitics, power is at the heart of this series. So much of why White London becomes! the way it is is because Red took it upon itself to trap them between demons and a lack of magic for fear of Red's own downfall and then weep endlessly because you all hate us/want revenge. No shit! they do. Schwab handles this well, greying the morality throughout the series, though she hasn't yet done what my socialist egalitarian heart craves and had someone smash open all the doors Red London slammed shut--but don't worry. the fic writers are there to handle that shit. Even if the source doesn't delve as much into colonialism/imperialism as I would like, oh! the themes are there.

--there is sibling affection powerful enough to drag people back from the brink of death. There is a gay pirate who is the homage to every spy novel ever. There’re swordfights and couples over forty and a million other things I love. It's not a perfect series, but I wouldn't love it this much without its flaws.

[loosesodamarble]

Hello senpai it’s 🖤  anon for the ask game can you answer 2, 4, 11, 12, 19 and 25. I hope it's not too many.

🖤 anon! It's always a delight to have you in my inbox! Thank you for all the questions!

And don’t worry, it’s not too many! 💖🥰 I’m more than happy to answer!

2) a character whose POV you’re currently exploring

A small WIP (that I really should address soon) is centered on Gauche's character and I've only written for him once before and years ago. I find him fascinating because of how exclusive he is with his care (initially, he branches out his love in canon). He's not self-centered the way, say the Dark Triad are. But he's not sociable and giving the way someone like Asta is.

I guess most people are like that, they have their circle of who they care for deeply. But Gauche is a lot more intense about it. And that's what makes him fun.

I really hope I can get him right with the WIP.

4) a story idea you haven’t written yet

So I answered this question earlier but I can answer it again all fresh because AAAAAHHHHH! I have a lot of story ideas that I have yet to write out.

An idea that has been plaguing me recently is the thought of writing different endings for certain dating sim routes. The "Normal Endings" from Radiant Tale have a bit of range to them.

In Zafora's Normal Ending, mc Tifalia and him don't end up in a romantic relationship (which is kinda the goal of a dating sim) but he usurps his corrupt uncle's position of power and Tifalia is his secretary. That sounds normal enough. Meanwhile in Ion's Normal Ending, Tifalia ends up in an indefinite coma due to injuries while Ion has his heart frozen to keep him from being used as a living puppet. So both of them are essentially dead to the world. The ending had me going "the heck just happened in my sweet yet adventurous circus otome?!?!?!" And then Paschalia's Normal Ending just... Fucking slaps Ion in the face with how ideal it is in comparison.

I would like to write alternate endings for RadiTale's routes that fall more in line with the tone of Ion's Normal Ending because, man, I cannot have him suffer alone!

11) a WIP you’d like to finish someday

AAAAAHHHHH! I have a WIP for a second chapter of a fanfiction I wrote for the Cinderella Phenomenon games.

It's such a cute idea! Lucette wants to give Klaude a special gift but ends up adding a bit more to the gift so it suits Klaude a little more while still keeping the original idea in tact! KHDIGUAETHIAETH! But I'm hung up on a transition point so maybe I'll skip the transition scene and get onto the real meat of what I want to write and maybe then I'll finish the WIP!

12) a trope you’re really into right now

Aside from the possessive lover trope I mentioned earlier, I will always and forever be a sucker for "I will love/forgive you no matter what" dynamics (one of the core ideas to Nacsele so no surprise there).

Unconditional care is my jam! I do get that some relationships work better with the dynamic one apologizing and the other finding it in themselves to accept and forgive (Silvas siblings, the beloveds). But I will forever prefer relationships where someone has done wrong (and acknowledges/shows remorse for it) and feels like they can't be loved/forgiven, but the other person just brushes it aside in favor of showing love (Finral and Langris, Yami and Nacht, Yves x Ceres [Virche Evermore], Ignis x Kotone [Cafe Enchante], Nacsele).

Love me characters who embrace the one who hurt them because their love is stronger than their pain.

19) the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

🤔 Most interesting topic I’ve researched?

Maybe it was whether or not lye used for soap making was available during a specific era in Japanese history.

I guess recently I did a quick search on terminology used in city planning. Not all that interesting or in-depth though.

I honestly don’t do that much research when writing fanfiction. I know I’m not expected to be an expert in every possible topic that comes up in a fic and readers probably come in knowing my breadth of knowledge isn’t that great. So I end up not putting that much thought into researching and any inaccuracies on certain topics are likely forgivable.

25) besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

Another question I answered before but I can still give fresh answers to.

So I'm not sure how much of a hobby this is but I collect soap bars and then make my way through them. I go to a particular soap shop because I love how big and colorful they make their soap. I sometimes get tempted to bite into the soap because the colors are so, like, candy-esque.

[mammapickles]

Big complicated spiderweb lol. Just jamming under the read more. Discuss

My favs r def Nickles, Skwisgaar x Nathan x Pickles, Charles x Pickles, and Murderface x Knubbler. Those all need their own post wayy too much to say yayyyy

Nickles is just cannon i could talk abt them forever and im xurrently writing abt how i think they met n stuff, snickles is just fun, Charles and Pickles met in the snb era and are still sexy, dickface is super silly and in love and so crucial to willy's path to self acceptance I think

I think a lot of them either are fucking or have fucked tbh.

I think the dynamics are just too much like family with Toki and some of the others but he and Murderface def fucked in that one ep. But they're mostly just silly friends tho tbh that was a one time thing probably.

Swisgaar and Toki are very complicated, they bicker like siblings and usually dislike each other, theres an element of obsession, theyre musical soulmates and love each other but i just dont see them being lovey dovey romanticly compatible or sexy with each other.

I DO NOT LIKE MAGNUS X TOKI. NOT ONE BIT :( upsetting ship I don't understand I don't want to

I think Magnus and Pickles WERE a thing but they're def exes and dislike each other even before the season 4 and dsr stuff go down. I love drama ok. "Hello Magnus." "Hello Pickles" WOWWWW YOUVE KNOWN EACHOTHER CARNALLY

I say nah to knubbler and Abigail bcoz I dont think they're ever a thing but I think they're friends at some point. Like they're both bi but they're friends in a gay guy gay girl way. And nah to Abigail and Nathan bcoz u know. Don't question Skwisgaar abd Knubbler I read a good fic with them ans moidaface.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

DANA MY FRIEND DANA...HEHE FOR THE ASK christopher himself? >:D!!!

YESSSS CHRISTOPHER V QUINTON TIME BABEYYY

First impression: *me finding out quattro and trey have an older brother months before i started Zexal* *thinks about what Big Brothers in yugioh do to me*

Impression now: CHRISSSSS oh he's great, I really do love the entire Arclight family. He is truly the most Radiating Elder Daughter Syndrome character of all fucking time. my GOD. I love that he looks so elegant but is kind of a FUCKING NERD. SPACE DWEEB. I love that he's also kind of just as unhinged as his brothers, just often a little more understated....it's good. he's really good.

Favorite moment: HIS WDC DUEL WITH KITE, HONESTLY. the first time he summoned Dyson Sphere i was like. oh ok this is one of the fucking coolest duel monsters i've ever seen. AND THE ENDING. WHEN HE STARTS TALKING ABOUT HIS DAD. JUST FUCK ME UP, MAN. i do also love that scene where he doesnt fucking know what a rice ball is. *farquaad pointing* WHITE.

Idea for a story: thinking very much about a story where trey and quinton have a Gender Coming Out sibling jam out session in that fucking minivan SUV ;__;

Unpopular opinion: damn trying to think of whats even an unpopular opinion with him?? i guess the idea that he is kind of just as unwell as his brothers maybe?? CUZ LIKE. HE IS.

Favorite relationship: I love his bond with his brothers and with kite but I think his favorite dynamic is the one he had with Vetrix. It's soo....... just like. The way he shadows vetrix and voices his distaste at some of his plans and how he effectively has to be a big brother/guardian to his own fucking dad at this point. just the parent/child dynamic going on there. endlessly big to think about. endlessly fucks me up a little.

Favorite headcanon: star wars nerd. Really into Wizard of Oz deeplore. Also deeply partial to the hc of chris coming out as a woman in a couple of years and becoming a cool older duelist mentor to the other younger zexal gals like tori and anna. give her a lil bit. she'll get there.

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

sorry to talk more about fire emblem but just like god if there’s one thing about fates i hate it’s that it had the perfect set up for such a fucked up family dynamic and it didn’t take it.

like the nohr royal family is a king who was mentioned to be loving and caring towards all his many children but grew much colder and crueller when his mistresses and children started dying en masse bc of politicking, the heir and oldest child who'd grown so used to loyalty he lost his convictions and distanced himself from the family he cared about, the oldest sister who was so broken and traumatised by being used as a political pawn having her half siblings killed and stuff that she's unhealthily possessive over the people she loves because she’s so afraid to lose anyone else, the pragmatic and cold genius younger sibling who's also traumatised as shit but hides it behind a veneer of perfection, the youngest sister who's cheerful and sweet despite it all and a little sheltered by her older siblings but is secretly really mature and insightful, and the fucking kidnapped kid that got forcibly adopted by the dad and locked in a castle and grew up sheltered and naive due to being essentially a prisoner and not even knowing that the fucked up family they’re in isn’t even their birth family.

and like on paper that’s my jam! that’s got all the dynamics i like! but then garon's literally just Not That bc he was replaced with generic evil goo version garon, xander looks like an idiot for being oblivious, camilla's basically just portrayed as a walking pair of t&a and her paranoid possessiveness is portrayed for fanservice (???) and is implied to be incestuous (????? like that’s just the least sensible and somehow most boring way to take it????) leo is downright incestuous having feelings for camilla which literally are not explored they’re not shown to be a trauma response or anything interesting and nuanced they’re just there bc incest is good now apparently genealogy of the holy war doesn’t exist anymore please ignore how we did a whole game deconstructing that. elise is fucking lolibait you can marry bc god isn’t real but satan is i guess. and corrin's barely a character bc the stuff with their upbringing gets massively retconned as an excuse to make all that incest technically legal and just AAAAAAA.

fates could have been SO GOOD but they just had to ruin the interesting shit going on bc they couldn’t let a single chatacter exist without being fetishised to hell to the point it was obnoxious as shit.

[tabzjoynt]

warning: this is a rant so scroll on if it's not your jam

tbh I have always struggled with my family dynamic - it's how I ended up in this country in the first place

they never believed that I'd last more than 3 months, which is why it took me 3 yrs before I showed my face again. I'm either too much of something or not enough of something else - I'm hella triggered rn

I just wanted them to see me and celebrate me but all they wanted to talk about was my sister's new venture (she's a good starter but not good at finishing or completing #yeahisaidit)

she's always been the golden kid and me - the bum girl in the shadows left to pick up the scraps of whatever is left behind

soooo I should be used to the scraps but I'm not - I'm fucking over it!

I support myself, I struggle on my own, I figured out my life in my own way. I never ask any of them for money, when I go home and don't stay with them they complain, when I stay with them they complain, they're into saying dumb stuff like I'm lucky but in actuality I worked so fucking hard for everything I have.

I am looking forward to going home but I'm going to celebrate my cousin and see my nieces and nephews and touch base with my dad - I cbf'd hanging out with my siblings

I need a sesh today and to go where I'm celebrated cos I made my own support system

🖤

[mego42]

Babe what are you watching succession on bc you’ve got me interested which is rude btw.

I'D SAY I'M SORRY BUT I'M NOT BC OMG THIS SHOW IS SO!!!!! GOOD!!!!!! like i never prioritized it bc i figured it would be like gossip girl but make it awards bait and the thing is it 100000% is but it like, hardcore deserves those awards it's (successfully) enticing? like idk if an emmy has ever been more deserved than jeremy strong's win for what he's doing in s2. like guys. guys. i cannot remember the last time a dude character was my fav let alone a broken, awful, garbage prince and yet????? i love him???????? so much???????? i actively hate it but here i am.

anyway that's all a complete aside and has nothing to do with your q i just can't help it bc i am in the throes of a burgeoning obsession and have restricted myself from going into the tag bc i don't want spoilers so it's all coming out sideways but okay, focusing, it's on hbo and that's where i watch it bc i'm bougie but i am certain it's made it's way elsewhere on the internet if you look.

[aceyanaheim]

you really just put siblings with Resentment out the ass but also Love like so much love at the end of it all in front of me and I go feral huh

[1296-very-good-year]

SPOILERY thoughts on da absolution:

Mostly enjoyed, but the core dynamic in the show between Miriam/Neb/Rezaren was lacking a lot of juicy context for me.

I get why there wasn’t more - 6 half-hour episodes to reintroduce an established world with new characters and stakes and make us invested and tell a complete story? I do not envy the writers - but IMO the finale/resurrection would have hit a lot harder with just a little more time devoted to their backstory bc:

I would have felt more during Neb’s goodbye to Miriam if we had, you know... heard him speak before that moment.

We saw nothing of Miriam and Neb’s relationship. He served as a mirror for Miriam rather than a character. He was the voiceless, dead version of her that she would have become if she had remained a slave. Which is cool in its own way and adds an extra layer of creepiness to how Rezaren talks to his body, but sibling dynamics are my jam and I felt its absence :(

Rezaren’s obsession with bringing Neb and Miriam back could have been way more compelling if we saw more of their childhood! Did the twins ever love him as a brother too? It’s never addressed. For all we know it was entirely one-sided which is ALWAYS the less interesting option (give me the conflicted fucked up feelings!). Did Rezaren hate his mom as much as the twins did? There are suggestions peppered around that he did, but that’s it. Having that confirmed would have done wonders to emphasize his isolation bc he could never truly be close with the twins either.

Obviously that is all unnecessary to the story they decided to tell bc they had Rezaren take off a mask and reveal that he was just entitled garbage underneath. I’m curious if there was a longer version of the story that got hacked way down where that doesn't happen (or happen as quickly).

More important missing context:

So stay with me here. We first see Miriam seething and wanting to kill Rezaren as soon as she hears him, so you’re thinking “Oh wow! He must have done terrible things to her while she was a slave! She says he killed her family! That’s shitty!” And then... the only justification Miriam gives for hating Rezaren (before his big reveal) is that he “failed to protect” her and Neb during the harrowing, and she blames him for Neb’s death. But like... that’s not even a good reason?? He didn’t do anything malicious there at all, he just failed a ritual. Rezaren’s mom was the one to kill Neb and he wasn’t in a position to stop her.

For all we are shown, Miriam falsely associated Rezaren’s actions with those of his mother. WHY give the hero a misplaced justification to hate the villain when you’re just going to prove him to be a monster by the next scene anyway? 

Basically, Miriam’s hatred implies that Rezaren was complicit in her slavery growing up but we don’t actually learn about it. I think seeing him turn a blind eye to the abuse of slaves or participating in it in some way in present day or a flashback (outside of him being a child witnessing it) would have better clued us in that he wasn’t the charming josh keaton voiced soft boi he pretended to be before making the turn from (paraphrased) “You’re my sister” to “You’re my property” a couple lines apart.

Anyway I don't hate how it was all handled I just can't help wishing for more... family drama? Instead of simple and uncomplicated master/slave drama