#i feel gratified for predicting some things too

[f-imaginings]

A lot of fanfic writers for billford are reflecting on how the book of bill has changed their characterisation of bill or how their fics should pan out. I'm cheering personally. The book feeds perfectly into how I was always planning to end my fic and it's inspired me to get back into finishing it off. I really like Ford's parts of the book and I especially loved their banter and the back and forth they had in the books. All the things about Ford that I loved to see from subtext in the show and the journal I get to see in the book of bill and it makes me very happy. It makes me think my several year long period of writers block was there for a reason so I could pull bits from this book in to help me finish the story 🥳

[xclowniex]

I don’t know if it makes me a horrible person but I’m actually kind of glad seeing Yuval (feels very weird saying that seeing as my uncle is called יובל) getting ripped to shreds by his ‘supporters’. Like, not happy, but just sort of satisfied??? I had to unfollow him when I was still on tiktok because he was promoting ahistorical bullshit and demonising Israelis. It’s extra shitty because the first ever video he made on the conflict was actually fairly balanced and recognised Jewish self determination and being indigenous to the levant, and then he deleted it, apologised, and started erasing Jewish history because he thought he could bend to these people’s will. His account prides itself on being informed and factual and fair, and yet he pulls a stunt like that, and I can only imagine how much worse he’s gotten since I deleted tiktok

We all knew that this would happen. The harassers knew it would, at least in their subconscious. It was only him who didn’t. They’ve pushed him to the very edge because now the baseline for being like them is to view the Shoah as a couple thousand people dying for basically being Christians, and it’s made special because they were white, and now that he’s stepped out of line a little they are coming for him. Maybe it’ll snap him out of being an idiot who sells out his own people so that he can be seen as a good person instead of like, actually being a good person. But he’ll probably just try to curry their favour again and fail over and over and over. Idk. It’s a weirdly gratifying but also incredibly depressing thing to see that what you predicted was going to happen was exactly right

(and I know some idiots are going to try to twist this into saying ‘you think fundraising for Palestinians is evil!!!’ because the anons you get are absolutely deranged. That’s not my problem with him or his account, wanting to fundraise for families is great and, as long as they’re verifiably real, it’s a good way to directly help people without their aid being taken away and siphoned off by Hamas. My problem with him is that in an effort to be the token Good Jew tm he completely revises history, spreads propaganda and false info, and vilifies every point of Israel’s life as a state. Plus he can’t even pronounce his own name right lol)

100% with everything you said.

I don't think you are a bad person for having a sense of "I told you so" towards what he is experiencing. It sucks and no jew should experience antisemitism, however two things can be true at once.

Its only natural to feel almost a sense of vindication, a "see look, I told you all this was going to happen and none of you listened to me and now you're suffering too"

I also agree that he will likely bend to their favor. He has shown some backbone in regards to his apology video where he stood behind his original message but apologized if his wording was off and re-worded his statement. This is all my assumption as I am not in his head, but I feel like his backbone on this came from sheer disbelief that face eating leopards ate his face. We may see this end up as a turning point where he stops pandering, or he might continue to pander either out of wanting to be accepted or because of other commitments like Ayame. She might not want to continue to make content with him due to the backlash and boom there goes his biggest series + a potential relationship as I'm unsure if it's just for views or if they are genuinely interested in each other.

[izzysillyhandsy]

My predictions for the S2 finale (also, 100% wish fulfillment)

I'm so intrigued by this quote from David Jenkins regarding the dream sequence in S2E1:

"Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

(Just to get this out of the way, because I have seen posts worrying about it (and for my own peace of mind): if the last episode mirrors the first one and that "scene will be gratifying", in no way can I see Izzy dying - gratifying would be a really weird way to describe Izzy's death, although some antis might see it that way ;).)

But let's look at the dream again.

Stede looking all piratey-tough, beard, earring and all. Izzy standing between Stede's and Ed's happiness, and Stede knifing and stabbing him without the slightest bit of remorse. Stede and Ed running towards each other on a sunset beach. Izzy dead, forgotten and out of sight.

Combined with this quote (referencing "A Star is born") from the same article:

"... to watch Stede — spoiler, but he becomes a real boy, and he becomes a notorious pirate. To see Ed try to process that, Ed's more like Jackson Maine, and then Stede's doing a Gaga, and he's blowing up."

and the scenes from the trailer and teaser where Stede and Ed are running/fighting towards each other on (I think) the same beach...

My prediction for the show's finale is:

While Ed's still on probation, Stede, with Izzy's help, gains respect in the pirate community. "The Gentleman Pirate" becomes a thing, and Ed finds this difficult to deal with. Yes, he wanted to give up pirating and run away with Stede to China, but being overshadowed by him in his own field of expertise? His life's work? By an amateur?? (and Stede not only has his crew, but he has his Izzy too now?)

Maybe there is another separation, maybe Ed goes away to chill somewhere, maybe there is a fight between Stede and Ed.

Then Price Ricky comes back, and he wants Stede (and piracy in general) dead. Izzy has some undercover part where he's talking to Ricky over a candlelight dinner and is seen wearing a Navy jacket later. At one point, he gets severely injured (as seen in BTS photos).

The showdown is happening on the beach. But instead of Stede killing Izzy and then running towards Ed, Ed is coming back to help Stede and his crew out when the battle seems lost and Izzy is hurt/dying.

It could be framed like the scene in episode one - Ed coming from one side, Stede seeing him and running towards him from the other, both fighting Navy guys left and right. With their combined effort, the battle is won.

But instead of Ed and Stede having only eyes for each other, this time around there's also Izzy, and they won't let him die (maybe with help from a certain bird? Or is this to out there).

I can even see a bit of jealousy going on with Ed regarding Izzy and Stede.

In reversal of the dream though, Izzy will be the one bringing Ed and Stede together (through giving Stede a sense of self-worth, through talking to Ed about his feelings of envy/fear about his unloveableness because Izzy knows him and I think Ed really cares about his opinion, etc.)

In the end, the conclusion could be that they're all in it together. Ed and Stede co-captain, and Iz is their shared first mate.

(and then the three of them ride off into the sunset)

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

Fugging fugg it.

Silco x Genderfluid!Sex Worker Reader WIP

———-

Tell me, is there a specific impetus that determines whether you present as a boy or a girl?'

You glance up from the bowtie you're making with the drawstrings to your pants. His slender fingers, the fingers that were wrapped around your cock only minutes before, splay like a divided fan to frame his face. Two fingers the vertical span of his cheek, the others curled beneath his lower lip. Thoughtful as he studies you.

It is impossible to beat the feeling back--your chest flutters with something light. Gratified. That dangerous, dangerous thing that can lead people off a cliff and into hell if one isn't careful. That thing that you know he can *see* that you have strung between the both of you with an invisible cord, your heart to his eyes, his mouth. That *predictable* sentiment, the hollow, pathetic hunger for affirmation that is far more perilous to possess in the Undercity than recklessness, greed, or sheer stupidity.

He knows, and he sits, a spider balanced on a splay of silk you have woven for him. Enthusiastic, willing pawn that you are. A hint of interest, and you are running.

You wonder if he can read the conflict that roils in your heart, the survivalist’s battle with this embarrassingly predictable nature that plagues the scores of mensch that tread the earth of Runeterra. Brotherhood. Freedom. Power. Does he know how greatly you struggle to remain able in his presence, how small you are made to feel despite his trust in your capacity as a courier and a reconnaisseur?

An obedient peon when necessary, of course, always obedient, but a person yet still, an individual. He must see you struggle. Does it amuse him to see you endeavor not to unravel? Does he recognize your efforts, and how? A mark of hubris, or tenacity? A bug pinned under glass, or a child fumbling toward freedom.

'Or both.' Your tone is dry, bordering on sarcastic. You have faced this line of questioning countless times from people too stupid or too insincere to understand. But as soon as the words leave your lips, you regret them. This was not some alley drunk foreign to the concept of an engaging personality.

To your immediate relief, however, his chest hitches, the most imperceptible exhalation of air let through his nose. His eye flickers off to the side before returning to you. A finger taps his cheekbone. Amusing. ‘Or both.' He echoes.

'We've slept together quite a few times, and never once have you asked me such a thing. Why the sudden interest, sir?' You deliberately add the moniker out of habit, and self-preservation. Let it never be said that you *deliberately* mouthed off to *the* Silco. Post-sex murder is an anticlimactic way to go.

Another soft hum, the note round and warm in the middle. 'Idle curiosity.'

You raise an eyebrow. It's not that you don't believe him, but it's clear that there's more to it. You tell him as much. Politely, of course.

The thread of uncertainty fades. He seems receptive to your reporte today, or perhaps he thinks offering up his motivations will result in a reciprocity that he'd otherwise glean with subterfuge and verbal acrobatics. He pulls back from his desk and opens a drawer by his knee to retrieve a leather book, and beckons you over with a lift of his chin. You tighten the strings to your pants and do as he bids.

It's an almanac for this year. Odd thing for him to have, you think. He seemed more like a newspaper man. Splaying it open on the desk before him, he flicks to the section laying out the calendar months and slides it over to you while pointing at the month of April. If you recalled correctly, you started sleeping together around the end of that month...

At first you don't know what you're looking at. Certain days are marked with a single dot, all through the past few months. Blue, green, and red dots. It takes you a moment to parse out the data, but:

'You've been tracking my gender every time we've slept together?'

'I thought it..interesting. At first there seemed to be a pattern, but by July my working theory was in shambles.' He tilts his head to give you an appraising look. 'You are woefully inconsistent, boy.'

You can’t help it, you bark out a laugh.

He tsks, good eye narrowing in a baleful glare, yet his lips twisted in a way that betrayed his lack of genuine offense toward your outburst. 'I'm glad my confusion is so amusing to you.'

'Ahah, sorry, I just didn't expect this...' you gesture to the book, '..social studies project.' Without asking, you pick it up and run your finger over the neat printed columns. You glance over at him and find him fishing out another cigar from his humidor. Turning back, you shrug. 'You could've just asked.'

There is the familiar sound of the cutter. Snip. 'I believe this would fall more under 'psychiker medicine'.' The cutter lands on the desk with a metal clunk, and then the telltale click-and-flick of the lighter.

Your smile turns sly, and you lean forward, pressing your arms on either side of your chest to push what little flesh existed there into a tiny facsimile of cleavage. 'Would you like me to be a girl next time, daddy~?'

Rolling his eyes mid-inhale, Silco takes the cigar from his mouth and allows a waterfall of smoke to billow from his nose. He flits his occupied hand at your chest as if to say 'put those away'.

You playfully stick out your tongue, clipping it between your teeth, and give a little shimmy before straightening to resume getting dressed. You feel his gaze on your back as you round the desk to retrieve your shirt.

'It would behoove you to watch your cheek where I'm concerned, Darling.’

——-

Uh, these people liked a post I made a long time ago asking if anyone was interested in this idea so you quite literally asked for it.

@spoczkot , @spooklia , @rockz-in-a-box , @fluffydogboo13 , @aftonsfatnuts , @jas-mjp

[shiroganeryo]

I don't know if you've answered this before but what do you predict will be the ending for DGrayman? I think we all think that Kanda (my boy's got literal death flags everywhere) and Allen will die, but what about everyone else? How will the world be saved?

I really apologize for taking so long to get to this ask, but I've been actually thinking the matter over and over. My answer is probably a little off the chart regarding to the actual question, but this is all I can muster with the current information we have (up to chapter 250). This will be a tad long but I'll try to keep it brief.

But the thing is: it's impossible for me to make a prediction. The beauty in Hoshino's writing is that, while she scatters little details for us to catch and plants seeds very early on, helping us find out certain reveals ahead of time (Allen being the 14th's host, Mana being the Earl; there were very early signs for things like these, things of the sort), knowing such information still isn't enough to give us a definite outline of how the story itself will play out.

That's masterfully done writing right there, and I admire her so because of it; not many shounen/seinen mangaka nowadays can pull this off with the same grace as she does.

Back to your question, much like the majority of the fandom, I believe Kanda will die at the end and there are two reasons for that: one is that it's been hinted at (we could even call it foreshadowing) since Kanda claims he wouldn't be able to die in peace without returning the favor to Allen - not to say he means anything other than "one day I'll die and then I'd take this regret with me to the grave", but we can only get the feeling he has dwelled on the thought (and also possibility) of dying, sooner than expected, especially with the weakened state of his seal.

The other reason is that this would be the most gratifying ending for Kanda, as he would be able to reunite with Alma. He lived his entire life searching for that person and longing to reunite, so that would be the most logical route to take - as well as the best, happiest ending possible for Kanda. After all the horrors the Seconds went through, they both deserve eternal peace.

As for Allen... call me crazy, but I believe there is a chance, albeit slim, that he makes it out alive. I'll need to bring up some things from Chapter 250 to be able to elaborate on this, so here's your warning not to click the Read More if you're avoiding spoilers.

One thing I've observed is that Hoshino plays a lot on word meanings (which unfortunately translation can't convey efficiently) as well as red herrings. Ever since we found out Allen's the 14th's host, he's been considered doomed to get erased so we're playing a clock-ticking game, waiting until that happens.

So it seems that there are only two possibilities: that Allen either gets erased by Nea, or that he dies, sacrificing himself for everyone's sake in the ensuing battle against the Earl that is possibly bound to happen. I can easily picture Allen doing the latter, but the latest chapters gave us something else to consider: Apocryphos' meddling.

We still don't know the full details as to why, but Allen is both deemed as an angel as well as a lamb of sacrifice to the Heart. Something makes me think Apocryphos might be trying to 'craft' the perfect host for the Heart by making use of Allen.

It just aligns with everything we know about Apocryphos as an entity: for someone that is a sentient Innocence whose existence gravitates around the sole purpose of protecting the Heart, why is it so obsessed with a specific accommodator, to the point it even quite literally turned Allen into a blank slate (Nea has confirmed so)?

I'm led to believe Allen is not the Heart, that would be far too easy and predictable. But that's not to say he can't become the Heart. We don't know if the Heart is sentient (all Innocence seem to have sentience to an extent regardless) or if it has an accommodator, and if there is one, if this person isn't out there waiting for the perfect candidate to pass the Heart on to.

This is all just speculation, of course. But it's something that's been on my mind for a while, as I've tried to understand Apocryphos' end goal.

And in the end, if Allen and Nea have become allies due to their shared goal (ending the war and saving Mana), that could also mean that they both die together, as that would be the reunion of Mana and Nea as one, as well as the reunion of Allen with the Mana he so loved.

But then comes in another valuable variable that is Link. It's highly likely that he might sacrifice himself and bring Allen back if he falls, but because of how Atuuda works, that would mean exchanging his own life for Allen's.

There are just a lot of things that could go either way, and that's how Hoshino is so good at keeping us guessing. I often say that I find theorizing anything that goes too far into the future of DGM to be pointless because of how sharply a new, unseen reveal might shift the current scenario.

The latest chapter is building up the expectation that Allen will meet his end soon, especially since the Zoogle Bookstore entered the picture. And that is exactly what's keeping me from being able to predict anything worthy of note; because what they unravel there will very likely be a major game changer not only to Allen but to all involved - which means, by extension, everyone involved in the Holy War.

Another thing keeping me from theorizing anything more solid is Lavi. As a Bookman, he's a witness to history itself, and his whereabouts/status are extremely relevant to map out an end game. The most popular theory is that he's the one telling Allen's story, as it seems the D. in the title refers to "Dear Gray Man".

I can, however, also see Allen as the potential narrator of this story. As for whomst this Gray Man is, only time will tell.

I could go on and on with this, and not get anywhere near what'll truly happen. It's difficult to reach a conclusion in what will happen at the very end for the aforementioned reasons, but if there's one thing I can say, is that this current universe's loop will be the one to end the Holy War, so the Black Order and the Clan of Noah should cease existing as organizations.

Innocence would very likely cease existing as well, having fulfilled its purpose, so all accommodators would be freed. With the end of the war, also comes peace for the Memory of Noah, freeing its hosts from the millenia-old anguish that bound them to a perpetually-destroying world. That would leave the remaining survivors free to do as they please with their lives, away from the war, at last.

First and foremost, DGM is a story about love and hope, even in the darkest of times, and most fans can resonate with such - it's not rare to hear from a fan how this series has helped them hang on when things were looking rather dim in their personal lives. DGM's story is a tragedy, but a beautiful, bittersweet one, just like real life. Thus while I don't see it having a perfect, neatly sanitized ending, I don't see it having a kind of overly dramatic 'everyone dies and the planet explodes' kind of ending either. It would go against everything Hoshino has built all along, after all.

I apologize if, in the end, this wasn't the kind of answer you were hoping for, especially with how long it got - and I did keep it brief, really! But thanks to you and whoever may be reading until here. ❤️

[xray-vex]

here are some of my really general a/i predictions, re: art --

techbro types who want to generate bullshit as a get rich quick scheme will saturate the market and nobody will want their worthless shit, they'll get bored and move onto the next get-rich-quick trend. remember nfts? lol

people who got into a/i because they thought it was a legit way to make art will get bored of it because it won't challenge them to do anything & it will not be gratifying in the long term - those types will either: 1.) quit or 2.) start making actual art

people who buy art will get sick of looking at a/i generated shit that essentially all looks the same. real artists making real art will get more interest again because it will seem new and exciting.

same thing with films & stuff too. i definitely think that various actors & creators guilds & other creative industry unions should do everything they can to protect their art & craft against being outsourced to a/i, but i do think that people who watch films will get sick of a/i in films the same way people got weary of CGI overuse in films. a/i in film might not go away completely, but audiences will absolutely be drawn to films that don't use a/i.

i think the basic gist of what i'm trying to say is that human beings need actual art, and the vast majority of people don't fully, actively realize how interwoven art is to literally everything in their lives. on some level they must know, because when it's missing, they miss it. they seek it out. art in general is important to the fabric of society: storytelling, entertainment, community, emotional fulfillment, etc. and people want something real, tangible. they want something created by humans.

****this is why, i'm guessing, that fan art & fan fiction are so popular. most people who create those sort of works are doing them for the actual love of what they're making. and then those works create community. humans have been sitting in groups to tell each other stories and to express themselves visually & dance together with music forever. for literally ever. all of human history. literally all. art is the fucking foundation of society, civilization, human evolution. to make art & to experience art, to some degree, on some level(s). non-negotiable. essential as food and water. i'm dead serious.

a couple of examples of similar times that tech threatened to make the "real thing" obsolete, but failed to do so:

e-readers were supposedly going to make print books obsolete -- they didn't.

streaming music services helped usher in a renewed desire for physical media again.

for awhile, both of those things did kill a lot of brick & mortar music/book stores, but there has been a bit of a resurgence and lots of small businesses.

and no, things will never go back to the way they were, but things would have changed regardless, capitalism being what it is.

it would be nice tho, wouldn't it, if digital tech presented augmentations to our need to have art in our lives constantly, instead of threatening to replace them completely?

i'm just going on pure vibes here & from what i know about art & being an artist for 35+ yrs, some tech & aesthetics philosophy, and from having worked in retail books & music/dvd sales many moons ago. so i could be completely full of shit here.

but i do have some hope that things re: a/i will get better for people -- for real, working artists & authors & musicians & performers & creators. humans need art the way they need food and water. this has always been true for the entirety of human existence.

i'm just sort of in my thoughts & feelings about art tonight and felt like rambling about it.

now i'm gonna make more tea.

[roseonne]

an angel's wings

In GOD-za, 'wings' refer to the pride, dignity, and honor an actor of the company possesses. Fame flourishes it, controversies destroy it. It's been a while since Haruto last felt his pair of wings on his back. He isn't hoping for anything, but he decides that now is the time to set things right.

to the character who has been my brand for three fabulous years (and counting~) happy birthday, haruto ! ( ao3 link )

︶︶︶︶︶︶︶༉‧₊˚

Angels.

Beings fairly easy to spot, even from a mile away. Humans would think they reside mainly in heaven, only paying a visit to bless the world with their benevolence on rare occasions; a typical deed of their doing, yes, but things are a little different in Veludo Way.

For instance, there's one patiently in wait, sitting by their lonesome on a vacant bench along the perimeters of the park. Tapping twice on the phone in their hand, the device magically lights up, and a small glimpse of the time displayed upon its screen is what they take from the corners of their round, purple eyes.

︶︶︶︶︶︶︶༉‧₊˚

...He's late.

Haruto sighs. He has the stupid weather to blame..

Earlier forecasts predicted a brewing storm once the end of the week arrives; and the good news is, they were right. Haruto anticipated as much. But the bad news is, they failed to declare such heavy rain possibly extending further onto the following week. This, is what the pink-haired actor is disappointed at.

Monday 2nd of September, 20XX 3:09 P.M.

And here I thought I'd finally get to talk to him... after all these years.

He tugs on the hood over his head a little harder, squeezing himself tightly into the thick, midnight blue coat wrapped around him on this awfully chilly day.

Such ungodly timing, he thinks. He wouldn't have scheduled a meet up if he only knew the misfortune that lies ahead of him today.

The storm has temporarily ceased though, hence being the reason prompting his courage to step out of his humble abode and proceed with the plan he's been wanting to push through for god-knows-how-long now. Is it quite the special matter of that much importance? People might think otherwise, but truth be told, it is of utmost personal value to Haruto.

Too bad he has to prolong having it gotten all over with. Again.

"He's not coming now, is he?" He lets out another defeated sigh.

"Now, now. Why make such a long face?"

Haruto brings his pair of enlarged lilac-colored eyes to where that familiar voice is suspected to be. Sure enough, he'd recognize that knowing smirk from anywhere on the globe, in a heartbeat.

"Being sad doesn't suit you."

"Tasuku!" He exclaims in surprise, a reaction to which the former top actor of GOD-za chuckles at.

"Good to see you again, Haruto." Tasuku smiles at him, fondly. "I'm glad you called me out here, today."

"Hah?" Haruto rolls his eyes, derisively. "You shouldn't have come. The weather's terrible!"

"Haha. And leave you to freeze on your own?" Tasuku shakes his head. "No way."

Haruto knows Tasuku means that as a simple joke, but honestly? He would've frozen to his demise if he hadn't showed up. The friendly banter, although short and rather sweet, is more than what Haruto expects he'll need to feel a certain kind of warmth spread out far and wide from the center of his chest. No one told him that reconnecting with the past in seeking for some much longed closure would actually lead to such a gratifying sentiment?

"Why'd you want to talk, by the way? And to me, specifically." Tasuku casually asks, claiming the extra space on the park bench beside Haruto as he (the latter) scoots a little to his side to make room for him (the former) to sit on.

"Oh, it's quite simple, really." Haruto places a hand over his warming heart, eyes closing sincerely and instinctively as he himself frankly admits, "I just... wanted to apologize. That's all."

Tasuku comes to a sudden halt. He locks his gaze onto Haruto, who seems to be having the most fun of the outcome of unveiling his newfound bluntness.

"Well, that was... very straightforward of you," he remarks absently, clearly taken aback.

"Expecting something else from me, weren't ya, Tasuku?" Haruto crosses both arms proudly over his chest. "Heh. You know nothing about the new 'me'."

"Oh?" Intrigued, Tasuku smirks once more, shifting in his seat so he could rest his elbow over the bench's backrest while completely face his pink-haired companion. "How about we test that statement out right here and now? I'm pretty confident in my stock knowledge of you."

At this, Haruto loudly groans. "There you go again with that nasty attitude of yours, Tasuku, you never change!"

"Look who's talking," Tasuku counters, amidst stifling yet another burst of laughter. "But yeah, I guess not."

In GOD-za, 'wings' refer to the pride, dignity, and honor an actor (or more accurately known as an 'angel') of the company possesses. Fame flourishes it, controversies destroy it.

Now, what would the mere mortals think and say if they ever spot one of GOD's most prominent angels spending time together with the one who infamously chose to fall from grace?

"Seriously, Tasuku," Haruto repeats himself, one last time. He isn't about to keep saying this over and over again every time their paths cross, so he better listen carefully. "I'm sorry. You might find all this hard to believe, and I understand. But I really am sorry. For everything.

"The horrible things I said about you. The sabotage. The act-off. The plagarism. Everything. I'm...

"I'm so sorry, Tasuku..." His voice is faltering, and the shiny moist about to stream down from his eyes is what's causing it. "I'm sorry to you... And Taichi..."

It's been a while since Haruto last felt his pair of wings on his back. He isn't hoping for anything. Heck, he's even convinced that he's never going to see his wings anymore; but he decides that, it's now or never.

Whatever happens to him and to his reputation in the world from now on, he's wholeheartedly ready to accept it.

"Wow..." is all that Tasuku could muster after his speech. "I... never thought I'd hear that from you, butー"

"Hah? Whaddya mean by that?" Haruto cuts him off, as he sniffles back another round of his tears. "I ain't that evil anymore, you know..."

"Oh, but trust me, I do know, Haruto." Tasuku fetches a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and uses its corners to gently dab both of Haruto's cheeks dry. "I've always known that you're not as 'evil' as you make yourself seem to be.

"I just want more of who you really are. And the world deserves to know that, too. Genta."

"Pffft. Idiot." Haruto swats his hand away like a fly. "No can do about that. I'm still at GOD-za, after all. Besides, you have the Winter Troupe to keep you company, don't you?"

"Heh. You're right." Tasuku rises at last, utterly satisfied and relieved at how their conversation has progressed, and is about to conclude. "Maybe in our next lives, then."

"If you can find me. It won't be easy, though." Haruto challenges, raising a playful eyebrow at him.

But... he mentally notes, I don't mind waiting for you even until then.

"Haruto."

"...Yeah?"

"You got your wings back," Tasuku praises him, with one final glance at his former partner from over his shoulder, and a smile so achingly sweet and beautifully bitter seems to have made the future Haruto picked out for himself feel so much lonelier than ever; but since such is the better path in this lifetime, he'll learn to manage somehow, just as he always have. "And I couldn't be happier."

[ilikereadingactually]

After the Forest

After the Forest by Kell Woods

this was a really compelling fairy tale retelling, an exciting read in a very wide and sometimes samey field! it does several things that i really love in this genre: puts the fantastical elements in a real-feeling historical setting (think Naomi Novik's Uprooted and Spinning Silver), and combines a number of distinct fairy tales in interesting ways. we've got Hansel and Gretel here, represented in the traumatic past of protagonist Greta and her brother Hans; we've got some elements of Snow White, and Snow-White & Rose-Red, and maybe Tatterhood, and maybe a bit of The Wolf and the Fox? but they fit together in unexpected and convincing ways, which is fantastic to me. there's a history here, a wider scope than just Greta's post-gingerbread-house life.

and baking! there was baking! and some romance, which is not my thing generally but was charming enough in this case for me to appreciate. overall the story was a little more heteronormative and a little more predictable toward the latter half than i prefer, but i was very charmed by Greta even when she was making bad decisions, and i loved the resolution! also i spent most of the book craving fresh gingerbread more than i have ever craved it in my LIFE.

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley through NetGalley! i am still steadily building up some cred there, which is gratifying.

try this if you: dig underestimated women saving the day, like a villain with a backstory, got way too into the vicious and dangerous versions of fairy tales as a kid, or delight in household witchery, forest witchery, and animal witchery.

a line i really liked: this one's for the furries

Closer and closer it came, until Greta felt its warm breath, and smelled its earthy, animal scent. Her heart crashed against her ribs. Her body screamed at her to run, to get down the mountain and behind the safety of her own door. But she remembered tales from the hunt. Wolves, boars...any predator will attack when its prey flees. It is instinct; a command surging in the blood, nameless and ancient. To run is to die. The bear nosed Greta's sticky-sweet hand, licking the honey away. It was gentle as a lamb. And yet, one strike was all it would take. A single blow with one huge paw to kill her where she stood.

pub date: October 3, 2023!

[duhragonball]

Thanks for indulging me with The Roaming Lake, your series has been very entertaining to me as I had elected to not watch GT back in 1996 before I moved to America. Glad to know that there's someone who can fill me in without having to actually watch that show. Anyway, do you predict there will be an episode that is better than the roaming lake? I mean if Baby is GT's best its not looking too good. Do you think Super will have a better shot if you cover it?

No problem. I'm gratified that people are invested in the bit.

I seriously thought some of the Baby episodes would cross the TRL threshold, but... that hasn't been panning out so far. That doesn't bode well for the Super 17 arc, since I barely remember most of it, which should say something about it's quality. And the Shadow Dragons Saga makes me furious just thinking about it. So I don't think it's going to rise to the occasion either.

I feel like this undermines the gag, since I assumed that most of GT would be comfortably worse than the worst episode of DB/DBZ, but at least some of the better episodes would shine through. But it just isn't happening, and before anyone thinks of it: no, I'm not going to give Episode 64 a pity win just because it's the finale.

So the problem is that it looks like I'm just saying every episode of GT is worse than the worst, but that makes it look like I'm just being mean. Well, I kind of am, but in a sincere way. This show is awful, so of course I'm going to get salty about it. But I'm not just saying mean things about GT for its own sake. The show's genuinely bad, and a lot of people agree with that. I think it's worth exploring just what the underlying causes of that are.

I am planning to cover Super, so you can look forward to that some time in March. I don't plan on using the same format for those episodes. It'll probably look more like the 2019 Liveblog. I came up with these segments for GT mostly as a way to organize my thoughts on the show, and to make sure I did more than just gripe about it from start to finish. The positivity bit forces me to appreciate the good parts of GT (such as they are), and I always wanted to try my hand at writing haikus to cap off a thing, the same way Blade Braxton so brilliantly signed off every episode of WrestleCrap Radio back in the day.

But I think DBS requires a different approach. The first two-thirds of Super are... not good at all, but in a different way from GT. In general, I think it surpasses GT simply because it looks and feels more like the tail end of Z, so even the worst episodes have that much going for them. And there's some really good episodes of Super as well, some even better than a lot of mid-tier Z, but I'm not sure there's a good way to express that. But it's a lot easier to just say "Hey this is really good".

With GT, I felt like I needed to "show my math", since it has some defenders, and I'm sure they've heard all the major criticisms before. I won't change my opinions to make them feel better, but I can at least respect them by explaining my gripes in a clear manner. But it's like I said at the beginning. I never liked GT, so anyone who expected me to say good things about it is probably going to have a bad time.

[hardlypartying]

I'm sending an ask bc I'm too lazy to log into my ao3 but I loved the new chapter so much 😭😭😭 Highlights included Rafe being soft during the aftercare, how Kiara held her ground and wouldn't have sex without a condom. He wanted to please her so bad <33 I liked how he kept mentioning that he's wanted her to have sex with her for a long time, I hope that extends to his feelings toward her being romantic in a confession in the future. I also really liked the indica story, I thought it was funny as hell. It feels like a tried and true rom com, you balance the tension with the comedy impeccably. Like when Kiara was straddling him and he was at eye level with her chest. That was comical but it was also really hot~ They have a lot of chemistry as a couple and it shines through in your writing. I'm sad this is gonna be over in two more chapters. I hope we get a prologue of their fluffy life as a new couple after it all ends. You're like the only Riara writer on ao3 and your work is amazing!

first of all, i would like to apologize because i had a whole response drafted up when i first got this message and the app glitched and it didn't save. with that loss it took me a while to get over that and write this one out lol.

now, god bless you being too lazy to log into ao3 because i got this gem of an ask! this is so sweet, thank you for sending me what you enjoyed about the chapter and taking the time to do this :')

as for your highlights:

i loveeed writing rafe being soft and very passionate about aftercare while kiara is all "wtf is this, nope!" much to his bewilderment lol bc who doesn't like aftercare?? nothing about their relationship is conventional and he's having a time adjusting to that. love throwing him out of his element and routine hehehhe

rafe cameron being a man at the end of the day and wanting to fuck kiara while having no protection whatsoever is so... him. but also not him. kiara makes him think stupidly. like he's never one to jump first and ask questions after and yet, here he is. completely hollow headed when it comes to kie ;) but alas, any inconvenience of theirs leads to our favourite duo getting creative. also yes, rafe would do anything to please her-- this convo might come up later 👀 he's finally getting to do things with her he's wanted to for a long long time, no way he's letting things slip between his fingers-- he's going to savor every moment with her. right now they're foolishly thinking it's just strictly physical but we'll see the lines blur and their emotions getting involved (evil laugh)

i'm so glad you enjoyed the indicia/Sativa story! it was something i had in my brainstorm when in my early days of writing so it's really satisfying to get to this point in the story where it's included. also it was my attempt of a real-life application of the fuck-or-die trope haha, easy to ease the tension and make it so it's a necessary evil for them to get laid :( or else how would they cope with the pain of being so horny :( poor them :( rafe is so kind to help kiara through this :( what a gentleman <3 it's ridiculous and kooky, i loved writing it!

"It feels like a tried and true rom com, you balance the tension with the comedy impeccably." well damn that went straight to my heart :') thank you for such amazing words, this is the most gratifying comment i've gotten on this story. all my favourite romcoms balance the tension and comedy and it just makes it the best viewing experience ever, so i totally tried to channel that here and i'm so glad to see it's working :) couples that balance being sexy and funny need to be locked up before they rule the world

don't be sad!! some good news for you, the story isn't over for a while-- we're just getting around to the halfway point. there's a lot more chaos and fun coming up :)

and i can't believe you're predicting the end of the story by the prologue mention, are you in my head?

thank you again, and so sorry for my own incompetence in getting back to you!! but luckily there's a new chapter out now :)

[dzpenumbra]

1/26/23

Today kinda felt like a counterpoint to yesterday. It started off with yoga that was surprisingly difficult. I guess the poses I did today must be on par with the other ones for other people, but these really took some work for me today. A lot of work around where the lower back meets the hips, which is a big problem area for me. Very good getting through it and I always feel like it ends too early... Still have no idea what I'm going to do when this 30 day thing is over, it's like day 24 already. I guess... go to a real in-person class. It's about time to order some comfy pants, I don't think they're going to take kindly to me showing up in boxers like I do at home...

I worked on stream stuff for most of the day. I poked around in the Twitch settings to explore options with the whole channel points thing. I really need people to feel at home there, and the one thing that has been most gratifying and successful in pretty much every stream I've been in... unfortunately... is Channel Point "Predictions". Why unfortunately? It's literally gambling. It's like... literally the act of gambling without using real money. It's just using your time to generate a currency... I mean... "time is money" so... wait, no don't think about this too much... XD It feels really uncomfortable for me because half of my former audience (who will likely return) were still in high school. And I really don't like the idea of like... training these kids to gamble. Getting them enticed and rewarded by the act of gambling. Showing them how fun it can be, and oh geez, imagine how much more of a RUSH you would get if you won real money instead of these valueless points? How cool would that be?

It's... a moral issue, to be frank. The same goes for like... the fact that a lot of the viewerbase for Twitch is younger. But honestly, it's not like YouTube is gonna average older... So it makes me really feel like I should watch my language, or put an 18+ disclaimer... or get rid of people when I find out they're underage... Like... It's just an element that I really don't feel like should be my job. Like... it should 100% be Twitch's job to make sure that the people that they are giving accounts to on their website are of appropriate age to be interacting with my stream. Imagine if I had like 3 or 4 digit viewer counts, I can't be held responsible for checking IDs. I guess what's popping into my head now was the last stream I did where I did modded Minecraft and I was going to build an abbey with a mechanized quarry nearby to source stone. And it was another bullshit silent night where this high school kid was just talking about the mods he wants to play and really didn't give too much of a shit what I was up to in the game. And then silence after he dipped out. Then... a person jumped in and started chatting and told me they were 12. That's 1/3 of my age. And I just... I'm like 90% sure I banned them. Like... let's be honest... they're not going to subscribe. They're going to go into this stream with like a 3 viewer count, treat it like fucking Omegle, and then dip out. A lot of people do that with lower-viewcount streams. They treat it like it's a private chatroom or something, like a low-member discord group or something. And, to be completely honest, I do not really feel like hanging out one-on-one with a 12 year old. Especially if I'm not being paid for that. Like... if I'm giving an art or music lesson and I'm being compensated for my time, sure. But I'm not streaming just "for fun". This is like... I put a lot of fucking work into what I do. I really try to treat it professionally. I don't just buy a webcam and some trendy gear - the Twitch Starter Kit - turn the camera on, fire up Warzone and broadcast the side of my head to chat for 5 hours for no reason. I narrate, I explain what I'm doing, what I'm thinking, why things are happening, I explain concepts, I explore reasons behind things. I'm a presenter, a storyteller, a host. So yeah, if they want to just talk to a random streamer because they are bored, they can hit random again. If they want to --- god, my mood really took a turn there, didn't it?

I haven't been thinking like this... at all today. Like... at all. I sank an entire day into throwing together an intro video which is pretty cool and funny. Then redesigning my brb screen, which is really sick now, it has that blooming mandala animation I did last winter superimposed over a super zoomed in high res picture of the cells in a leaf as a background texture, saturated with light pink. And I found a nice sleek new font I like for my lettering. Then I learned how to add my chat into a Source in OBS so I can make a sorta Splash/Idle screen where I can just chill and chat and have chat on the screen, for Just Chatting type stuff. I had to learn CSS for that one, that was... tough when I'm not 100% engaged with it. And I put one of these endless nature loops in the background. And it inspired me to do some hand-drawn animation stuff as the background, like infinite loop animations in either Krita or Blender, or a combo of both. Maybe I should just do that on stream, honestly.

Like... I've been positive about that all day. All the prep, all the creative excitement and inspiration. And then I think about the reality of streaming. Night after night of playing Overwatch, high as shit with zero viewers. Where I didn't even have friends or viewers to tell me that Xbox doesn't let you broadcast voice chat of other people in your party, so I'm just broadcasting myself and no responses from my team. For like... weeks. I would be embarrassed about that if I weren't so angry that like... it costs like absolutely nothing for someone to troubleshoot that with me. Nothing. Like an hour of literally anyone's time. Like I just need a friend to drop by one stream and they'll immediately go "who are you talking to", then we go figure out why we can't hear my team and voila, figured out. But... well I guess that leads me to the other landmark in my day. My therapy session.

I hit the reverse lottery with friends. And with family. Like... my therapist, this dude is a saint, I mean it. Such a nice dude, and very good at his job. So I really do trust that he is being bluntly honest with me, because he like... specifically asks my permission to be that direct with me. Which is a habit I would like to adopt, honestly. But he was very clear that like... my family is not healthy, and likely never really has been, and it has really fucked up my perception of humanity. And I immediately agreed and elaborated, saying that I still can't figure out if it was coincidence, if I am attracted towards these kinds of people because of familiarity, or if they are attracted to me in some predatory way... but I just rolled nat 1's on most of my friends. And romantic partners. Like honestly, I think the best girlfriend I had was my first girlfriend, and I dumped her because she wasn't moving fast enough or something? Or she was just not into the same kind of shit as me or something? I was like 14, I don't remember, it was some stupid facepalm dumb kid thing. But she was very sweet and romantic, and I was getting into hardcore and metal and skateboarding and Jackass/CKY and shit. It was just... probably for the best for her sake. I doubt she would've followed me down that path. But for real, I just... in hindsight? I've had some pretty horrific friends. Very self-centered. Very few actually wanted to hear any of my insight or have me involved in their life at all, now that I look at it. Like I was a supporting character, a guest star that would come on their show and crack jokes and entertain them, and ogle over their music taste and listen completely when they told stories, who would just gush with compassion and reassurance.

For so long, I have prided myself on my ability to see the best in people. I still do believe it's one of my better traits. I could legit find a way to be compassionate towards a Great White Shark while it's tugging me under the waves. I would be terrified and deeply sad and likely in shock too, but I'd find a way to express compassion. It's like... automatic now. "They've gotta eat too, man. This is just what sharks do." My fascination with study, learning... it's expanded my world view to the point where a lot of Buddhist teachings I used to roll my eyes at as being "melodramatic" or "too dark for me" are actually very core to my beliefs. I'd honestly say, with my limited understanding of Buddhism, that it's probably closest to the beliefs that I've naturally formed. This idea that all of our shitty traits come from our suffering. Which, in turn, is caused by the suffering of others, and so on and so on. And that viewpoint is just like... default... for the most part. I never see someone as like... being a dick for no reason anymore. The dude who honks at me in traffic likely had a bad day at work, or has a bad relationship, or has a ton of repressed stress that's coming out, or was raised in a family where that's just... what you do when things don't go your way... There's always a reason. And that's a point me and my therapist diverge on, causality. I truly believe that everything since the Big Bang is cause and effect; that random - true random - is a myth. I don't know how I feel about fate or destiny, I'm a huge proponent of free will. But I do not believe that the Dalai Lama just wakes up one day and snaps at his... monk-mates? XD I don't know who the Dalai Lama chills with. But I really don't think he just randomly does that, just... because something misfired or something? I mean, even a misfire is a reason!! ANYWAY...

Through the crucible of... I'm struggling to find a kind way to phrase this... going through a LOT of shit. And being raised in an environment that is not "normal" aka not healthy. I have managed to evolve compassion and kindness towards those that are actively hurting me. Maybe as a survival mechanism, like how we use humor to cope with difficult, painful things. Maybe as a way to avoid worse damage? To mitigate damage? We touched on that briefly and I might as well mention it. I think the reason I have 5-6 hour fights regularly... is because I don't leave. I don't walk away. When literally every other living person on Earth would have walked away. I've had this realization a lot. It's weird because my staying is viewed as aggressive, but... historically... I have believed storming out or running away or yelling is the aggressive route. Like, obviously yelling is. Leaving a conflict feels like a mic drop. Like "hey, we're not talking about this anymore, peace." The same with running, in different ways, it's like "we're not talking about this anymore". It's like... controlling, to me. And I really don't like doing it. I feel like it makes me the bad guy, the one cutting off lines of communication, the one hanging up on someone. Like if I trip someone's bullshit and they start flipping out on me... I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not guilty of that, I'm still innocent. And I'm getting to the point where I can clearly believe that in the moment. "I did not do anything wrong, I just triggered someone's poorly wired defense system." But me deliberately hanging up on them? Walking away and ghosting them if they call back? That feels like deliberately being anti-social.

I'm still trying to sort through this and make sense of it practically. I may be going a bit too saintly. And I feel like I need to practice just... communicating that I need to leave for my mental health, and then committing to walking away. And finding compassionate, kind ways to do that. That feels like a good goal. That way I can be kind towards myself by keeping myself safe from people... let's not mince words here... abusing me, but at the same time, I can still fulfill that ethical imperative to be compassionate towards them. "Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." Right?

So I guess that's the theme here this evening. Conflict resolution. Not just sitting there and taking it. I need to be assertive with people in my chat, even if they're the only ones there. I need to be okay banning people who are being shitheads. I have to be okay kicking out people who are acting like children. That's how you cultivate a healthy community. Not by changing people. But by setting a standard, a boundary, and enforcing it. "In this room, we're here to learn." "In this room, we let the streamer play the game." "This is a radio show, not Omegle." And with friends? And family? And romantic partners? "These are my boundaries that you may not cross. If you cross them, I will have to go." It's hard for me to even type that, even when it's not directed towards anyone in particular.

Wasn't expecting tonight to be so intense. Cat is drugged up, wobbly on her feet. I'm gonna get her carried up to bed, she has her appointment in the afternoon. I'm actually considering just sleeping in the beanbag chair so I don't have to worry about her eating shit down the stairs at some point in the night and maybe I can sleep better not worrying. It's a hard call. I'll figure it out. Fingers crossed her blood levels look a bit better.

[variousqueerthings]

okay so another 12 episodes into season 6 and I’ll say a few overall things

1. Margaret this season is glowing! she’s crying! she’s being vulnerable! she’s opening up to Hawkeye especially!!!! she’s got a friend who’s a woman!!!!!!!!!! (did anyone else get a biiit of a lesbian feeling between the two of them? Margaret you’ve changed -- I loved you -- I love you)

And: that double episode where she and Hawkeye are lost in the middle of nowhere and end up presumably having sex -- I feel like the show is predicting all my tastes and needs??? the fact that they do have sex (which I did suspect would happen) and at a time like that where they’re both incredibly scared, and off the back of them leaning emotionally on each other during some incredibly tough times (Hawkeye telling her about Kyung Soon, Margaret telling him about Donald), the fact that Margaret -- being in a very emotionally vulnerable position + always battling against what she wants with what she feels is expected --  leans into the interpretation that it means they’re in love/starting a relationship, the falling out when Hawkeye eventually overcomes the awkwardness and tells her that he didn’t see the situation like that (and neither did she, she’s just following a script), the falling out, and the final scene!!!??? where they talk it out and realize they’re on the same page actually, and genuinely like and respect one another as friends?????? never did I think! it would go down like that!! (I’ve been ruined by all these stories about compulsory romance and sex = romance and the main guy and the main girl get together every time, to think it could be this good!?)

Also what was the intention of the framing when Margaret takes the block of wood out of Hawkeye’s thigh and he’s squirming around, because it sure looks like she’s ******* him (which... also correct and right)

hers and Hawkeye’s friendship has been especially gratifying to watch this season, as I’ve been hoping and waiting for it since the beginning, but I love seeing her open up to others -- last episode her girl friend (girlfriend) Lorraine told her that she ought to trust herself to become friends with her colleagues and she nervously asked BJ and Charles if they’d have coffee with her and of course they accepted, because Margaret is a fucking delight!

2. and then we had a series of episodes which had various degrees of serious, but mainly seemed to give lots of wonderful family dynamics (including the episode Mail Call Three which had two actual “family”s in there!) -- I almost feel too safe, like something terrible is waiting around the corner (oh yeah, the war...) -- but until then we got some wonderful stuff

- the episode where BJ has to call Peggy, just because he wants to know that she still “needs” him at all 

- the whole Olympics episode

- Radar feeling strange about his mother dating a new man, and Hawkeye talking about his father (and Radar joking a bit about the idea of their parents getting together, which was such a sibling energy moment)

- Margaret choreographing making sure that Hawkeye and BJ get hosed down + running over Charles’ trumpet! (and everyone cheering her)

- Klinger and Mulcahy going out on a mission to find stolen penicillin

- too many “Potter is dad” moments to count honestly

- Hawkeye and Potter immediately springing to action to help Margaret figure out if she’s pregnant, and on her terms (not making it official)

- and especially Klinger, both with the divorce and talking about how much he loves the 4077 (if not being in Korea) and with the episode where he accidentally throws out Margaret’s ring.

3. speaking of the episode with Margaret’s ring (and Margaret), both me and my partner feel like in this season the airing date order was clearly not completely in tune with some of the development -- especially Margaret who definitely has a “before Comrades in Arms” and “after Comrades in Arms” (heh I just got the joke in the title) feeling to her + the fact that the new surgical clamp they have to travel to show in those episodes apparently doesn’t get invented until three episodes later!

Going to make a note of Margaret progression and rejuggle the season so next time I watch it, I get to feel more of that development!

4. “Temporary Duty” gave us:

- the aforementioned Margaret and Lorraine! the Feelings of it all! Margaret is just life! (do you think they ever... 😳😳😳 👉👈)

- Charles development! He and BJ banding together! For a moment the walls were down! And hopefully a taste of a wonderful future friendship!

- the scene right at the end where Hawkeye returns and is so upset that nobody liked him at the other place, and has a “oh no that’s my insecurities” moment when Charles and BJ joke that they didn’t miss him at all, before Charles hugs him and BJ then practically tackles the both of them to the floor in affection! (screams and cries, my boys!)

[luckgods]

Why all the white guys in whump?

I got Inspired by a post asking that question, and here we are. Warning: long post ahead.

I think it’s due to a combination of factors, as things frequently are.

The preference for / prevalence of white male characters in fandom is well-known and has been examined pretty thoroughly by people already.

What’s worth noting for discussing this tendency in whump in particular is that the ‘whump fandom’ itself is not a ‘fandom’ in the traditional sense of being made of fans of one single source narrative (or source setting, like a particular comics fandom, or the Star Wars extended universe) with pre-existing characters. Although subsets of traditional fandoms certainly exist within the larger whump fandom, a lot of whump is based on original, ‘fan’-created characters.

So, given the tendency of ‘traditional’ fandoms to create stories disproportionately centered on white male characters due to the source material itself being centered on white male characters (and giving more narrative weight to them, characterizing them better, etc), if we say hypothetically that the whump fandom is split say 50/50 between ‘traditional’ fandom works and original whump works, you’d expect to see a higher number of works focused on white men than the demographics of the ‘traditional’ fandom’s source work would predict, but not as extreme of a divergence between the source material & the fanworks as the one you’d see if whump fandom were 100% based on popular media.

However, that doesn’t quite seem to be the case. Whump stories and art remain focused on overwhelmingly male and frequently white characters, which means that the tendency of the fandom to create stories disproportionately centered on white male characters cannot be ONLY explained by the source material itself being centered on white male characters (and giving more narrative weight to them, characterizing them better, etc).

And, having established the fact that whump writers & artists presumably have MORE control over the design of their characters than writers & artists in ‘traditional’ fandoms, we have to wonder why the proportions remain biased towards men, & white men in particular.

—

The race thing is pretty simple in my opinion. Mostly, it’s just another extension of the fanbase’s tendency to reflect the (predominantly US-American, on tumblr) culture it exists in, which means that, in a white-centric culture, people make artworks featuring white people.

There’s also the issue of artists being hesitant to write works that dwell heavily on violence towards people of color due to the (US-American) history of people of color being violently mistreated. I’ve actually seen a couple of posts arguing that white people SHOULDN’T write whump of nonwhite characters (particularly Black characters) because of the history of actual violence against Black bodies being used as entertainment, which means that fictional violence against Black people, written by white people, for a (presumed) white audience, still feels exploitative and demeaning.

I'm not going to get into all my thoughts on this discussion here but suffice to say that there's probably an impact on the demographics of whump works from authors of color who simply... don't want to see violence against people of color, even non-explicitly-racialized violence, and then another impact from white authors who choose not to write non-white characters either due to the reasons stated above, or simply due to their personal discomfort with how to go about writing non-white characters in a genre that is heavily focused on interpersonal violence.

Interestingly enough, there’s also a decent proportion of Japanese manga & anime being used as source material for whump, and manga-styled original works being created. The particular relationship between US-American and Japanese pop culture could take up a whole essay just by itself so I’ll just say, there’s a long history of US-Japanese cultural exchange which means that this tendency is also not all that surprising.

—

GENDER though. If someone had the time and the energy they could make a fucking CAREER out of examining gender in whump, gender dynamics in whump, and why there seems to be a fandom-wide preference for male whumpees that cannot be fully explained by the emphasis on male characters in the source text.

I have several different theories about factors which impact gender preference in whump, and anyone who has other theories (or disagrees with mine) is free to jump in and add on.

THEORY 1: AUTHOR GENDER AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
 Fandom in general is predominantly female, although these days it might be more accurate to say that fandom is predominantly composed of cis women and trans people of all genders. However, pretty much everyone who isn't a cis man has had to contend with the specter of gendered violence in their real personal life. Thus, if we posit whump (and fandom more generally) as a sort of escapist setup, it's not hard to see why whump authors & artists might willfully eschew writing female whumpees (especially in the case of inflicted whump), because (as in the discussion of people of color in whump above), even violence towards women that is explicitly non-gender-based may still hit too close to home for people whose lives have been saturated with the awareness of gender-based violence.

THEORY 2: SICK OF SEXY SUFFERING.
 Something of an addendum to theory 1, it's worth noting that depictions of female suffering in popular media are extremely gendered (in that they specifically reflect real-life gender-based violence, and that said real-life violence is almost exclusively referenced in relation to female characters) and frequently sexualized as well. There's only so many times you can see female characters having their clothes Strategically Ripped while they're held captive, being sexually menaced (overtly or implicitly) to demonstrate How Evil the villain is, or just getting outright sexually assaulted for the Drama of it all before it gets exhausting, especially when the narratives typically either brush any consequences under the rug, or dwell on them in a way that feels more voyeuristic and gratuitous than realistic and meaningful. All this may result in authors who, given the chance to write their own depictions of suffering, may decide simply to remove the possibility of gendered violence by removing the female gender.

THEORY 3: AUTHOR ATTRACTION. 
I'll admit that this one is more a matter of conjecture, as I haven't seen any good demographic breakdowns of attraction in general fandom or whump fandom. That said, my own experience talking to fellow whump fans does indicate that attraction to the characters (whether whumpers, or whumpees) is part of the draw of whump for some people. This one partially ties into theory 1 as well, in that people who are attracted to multiple genders may not derive the same enjoyment out of seeing a female character in a whumpy situation as they might seeing a male character in that situation, simply because of the experience of gendered violence in their lives.

THEORY 4: ACCEPTABLE TARGETS.
 The female history of fandom means that there's been a lot more discussion of the impacts of depicting pain & suffering (especially female suffering) for personal amusement. Thus, in some ways, you could say that there is a mild taboo on putting female characters through suffering if you can't "justify" it as meaningful to the narrative, not just titillating, which whump fandom rarely tries or requires anyone to do. This fan-cultural 'rule' may impact whump writers' and artists' decisions in choosing the gender of their characters.

THEORY 5: AN ALTERNATIVE TO MAINSTREAM MASCULINITY.
 Whump fandom may like whumping men because by and large, mainstream/pop culture doesn't let men be vulnerable, doesn't let them cry, doesn't let them have long-term health issues due to constantly getting beat up even when they really SHOULD, doesn't let them have mental health issues period. Female characters, as discussed in theory 2, get to ("get to") go through suffering and be affected by it (however poorly written those effects are), but typically, male characters' suffering is treated as a temporary problem, minimized, and sublimated into anger if at all possible. (For an example, see: every scene in a movie where something terrible happens and the male lead character screams instead of crying). So, as nature abhors a vacuum, whump fandom "over-produces" whump of men so as to fill in that gap in content.

THEORY 6: AMPLIFIED BIAS.
 While it's true that whump fandom doesn't have a source text, it's also true that whump fans frequently find their way into the fandom via other 'traditional' fandoms, and continue participating in 'traditional' fandoms as part of their whump fandom activity. Bias begets bias; fandom as a whole has a massive problem with focusing on white male characters, and fans who are used to the bias towards certain types of characters in derivative works absolutely reproduce that bias in their own original whump works.

—

I honestly think that there is greater bias in the whump fandom than anyone would like to admit. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems as though whump fans avoid introspection and discussion of the issue by bringing up the points I talked about in my previous theories, particularly discomfort with depictions of female suffering for amusement.

However, I think that, as artists, we owe it to ourselves and one another to engage in at least a small amount of self-interrogation over our preferences, and see what unconscious or unacknowledged biases we possess. It's a little absurd to argue that depictions of women as whumpees are universally too distressing to even discuss when a male character in the exact same position would be fine and even gratifying to the person making that argument; while obviously, people have a right to their own boundaries, those boundaries should not be used to shut down discussion of any topics, even sensitive ones.

Furthermore, engaging in personal reflection allows artists to make more deliberate (and meaningful) art. For people whose goal is simply to have fun, that may not seem all that appealing, but having greater understanding of one's own preferences can be very helpful towards deciding what works to create, what to focus on when creating, and what works to seek out.

—

GENDER ADDENDUM: NONBINARY CHARACTERS, NONBINARY AUTHORS. 
Of course, this whole discussion so far has been exclusively based on a male-female binary, which is reductive. (I will note, though, that many binary people do effectively sort all nonbinary people they know of into 'female-aligned' and 'male-aligned' categories and then proceed to treat the nonbinary people and characters they have categorized a 'female-aligned' the same way as they treat people & characters who are actually female, and ditto for 'male-aligned'. That tendency is very frustrating for me, as a nonbinary person whose gender has NOTHING to do with any part of the binary, and reveals that even 'progressive' fandom culture has quite a ways to go in its understanding of gender.)

Anyways, nonbinary characters in whump are still VERY rare and typically written by nonbinary authors. (I have no clue whether nonbinary whump fans have, as a demographic group, different gender preferences than binary fans, but I'd be interested in seeing that data.)

As noted above with female characters, it's similarly difficult to have a discussion about representation and treatment of nonbinary characters in whump fandom, and frankly in fandom in general. Frequently, people regard attempts to open discussions on difficult topics as a call for conflict. This defensive stance once again reveals the distaste for requests of meaningful self-examination that is so frequent in fandom spaces, and online more generally.

—

TL;DR: Whump is not immune to the same gender & racial biases that are prevalent in fandom and (US-American) culture. If you enjoy whump: ask yourself why you dislike the things you dislike— the answer may surprise you. If you create whump: ask yourself whose stories you tell, and what stories you refuse to tell— then ask yourself why.

[glowingbadger]

FE3H misc. spicy HCs

I did a handful of general spicy headcanons for some of my FE3H favs a while back as a break from an ongoing fic I was working on, so I figured I'd post that over here too. Linhardt, Felix, Lorenz, Seteth, Jeritza

x gender neutral reader

18+ NSFW v

Linhardt:

Not a very high sex drive, but when the mood strikes it's fierce- though even if you're together for years you might not be able to tell he's horny until the moment he says something blunt and unabashedly lewd about wanting you immediately.  He’s very comfortable initiating.

Usually a bottom, as you'd imagine, but a power bottom of sorts; he feels completely at ease communicating exactly what he wants, what feels good, etc, and loves to be able to watch your body move above him.

Will learn your every single weakness, turn-on and sensitive spot and utilize them mercilessly.  He's absolutely fascinated by the minutiae of pleasuring you, mentally noting even small changes in your breathing or tone of voice.

Not very experienced to start, but a very fast learner

While not outlandishly kinky, he's open minded, and willing to try just about anything once- provided it's not too strenuous

Can become entranced and even aroused by seemingly odd, innocuous things- it's not unusual for him to catch an interesting color in your eyes, or a quirk in how you walk or move your hands when you talk, and find himself needing to express his affection for you directly

Very good with his hands, and very invested in foreplay; he becomes so enamoured with the subtle pleasures of touching and tasting you that it may be agonizingly long before it occurs to him to actually seek out his own climax.  He’s gentle in a way that’s almost unbearable, all making him something of an unintentional tease.

Felix:

Somewhat high sex drive, once he's with someone he's comfortable with- he's kept himself from intimacy for so long that he's a starved man with someone he actually likes

By the same token, he's not likely to come out and say when he's turned on. Fortunately for you, he's also not good at hiding it, becoming unusually handsy and a bit territorial with you when his physical needs arise.

Not very vocal during sex, but what moans he actually let’s himself make are raw, desperate and lustful.  Similarly, he’s not much one for dirty talk, since he’s generally focused entirely on the physical sensations, but you might catch him muttering “yes” or “mine” against your neck.

He secretly loves it when you tease him, but loves it even more when you're too dizzy with pleasure to speak clearly enough to give him sass.  He loves watching your expressions, always aiming for that post-coital dazed and over-fucked smile.

Sex is generally energetic and passionate, sometimes even a bit competitive; you may try to see who can resist cumming for longer, or wrestle to see who ends up topping.

He likes marking you with hickies, scratches, etc.  While not outwardly possessive, he does like to know that you're his (and vice versa)

He's surprisingly weak to compliments and praise, especially if it feels sincere.  Bonus points for moaning his name, or picking up on small details of what he enjoys and so on.  Basically anything that makes it abundantly clear that it's him that you want to be with and that he makes you feel incredible.

Even he is caught off-guard by how much it turns him on to see his partner being strong in any sense- strong willed, physically strong, anything that impresses him about his SO is also likely to deeply arouse him.  It’s especially gratifying to be on top of such a strong person and make them dazed and spaced-out with pleasure.

Lorenz:

An average sex drive, but he'll restrain himself for fear of propriety for ages before initiating anything more scandalous than kissing.

By that token, he’s extremely fun to tease, conspicuously blushing and stuttering over even light touches or a brief kiss on his neck.  In truth, he gets a real thrill out of this, but only admits this to you after a particularly brazen incident where you steal him away in an empty corridor for some heavy kissing and rubbing him from atop his clothing, then free him to go about his business for the day completely wound up and frazzled.

Certainly the type to “make love” rather than fuck, unless he were with someone for long enough that they would request something more rough from him, and he trusted that they would instruct him.

Adores spoiling his lover; scented oils, massages, long hot baths, the works.  Your pleasure is his foremost priority.  As such, he takes instruction very well- more than happy to do exactly as you say and revelling in any moans or words of encouragement he can earn from you.

He finds it ungentlemanly to be on the bottom and “make you do all the work” unless you really insist.  Generally, he’s more of a service top.

Loves giving his partner oral and could easily keep at it until you need him to make love to you.  Your taste, touching your lower body, the sounds you make- he’s absolutely intoxicated by every part of going down on you.

Somewhat surprisingly, he’s more than happy to indulge in dirty talk, but less surprisingly, it tends to be deeply poetic and romantic.  That being said, he’s more than happy to hear you utter any sort of filthy words he may inspire in you, as it means he’s performing well.

Seteth:

This is probably showing my favoritism, but my personal very headcanon-y headcanon is that Nabatean men are better endowed, have greater stamina and “fecundity,” and so on compared to humans, given being like near-godlike themselves (at least at full power) and since, even before the massacre, there didn’t seem to be many of them overall, so greater fertility would be a valued trait.  But really this just comes down to me being hot for Seteth, okay?  Just let me have this.

He’s fairly sexually flexible, given how long he’s been around, but it will take a long while before he’s ready to let himself express his (predictably pent up and frustrated) desires for you openly.

Once the physical part of the relationship has started to open up, however, he’s intense, focused, and thorough.  He wants to touch every part of you, hold you as close as he can, and satisfy you utterly and completely.

A big post-sex cuddler, as he’s got strong protective instincts and wants you close and safe.  Even more so if the sex got really rough and you’re both coming down from that high.

While there’s certainly a bit of a “repressed beast” situation in regards to his libido, he’ll generally let his partner take the lead in suggesting kinks or experimentations.

He’s a Switch and enjoys power play- either pinning you down and verbally dominating you, or begging to be tied up and used.  It never gets overly violent, but the psychological element of a sub-dom relationship plays into his authoritative personality.

He has a strict “no physical contact during work hours” policy, but if you catch him working late into the night once everyone else is gone, you may become very familiar with the surface of his desk.

Jeritza:

Similar to Felix, his sex drive can be pretty high, but only after the long and difficult process of getting him to actually open up to someone.  Once he’s come around to actually liking a person, however, he’s deeply enamoured with their body.

An odd mixture of sweet and intense- catching you in deep, erotic kisses, but also more than happy to fuck you into the mattress or against a wall.

He loves to affect your body in any way he can.  He wants to know how much he turns you on, hear your moans, feel your body tense and your nails along his back and through his hair.  Overall, he responds very well to an active and expressive lover who will show him exactly how much they want him.

You’re gonna have to find a way of coping with the Death Knight, unfortunately.  This is why Jeritza is actually not as “violent” as you may expect in bed, as that can trigger a personality lapse, and the Death Knight is absolutely a fighter and not a lover.

Can actually be pretty damn kinky, even initiating some new things that you may not have expected.  That said, he refuses to tie you up, for fear of slipping up and hurting you.  He’s perfectly alright with being tied up, though he remarks that it’s fairly silly, given he could easily break out.  In fact, breaking out of restraints might become part of the kink itself.

Pretty big into food play- he definitely wants to lick up ice cream or syrup off of your body, and will absolutely lose himself in the sensory experience of it all.

After a battle, he especially craves intimacy, as being raw and passionate with another person who he somehow cares for tethers him to feeling “alive” and being Jeritza, rather than the childlike Emile of his past, or the bloodthirsty Death Knight in his psyche.

[volexis]

⤷ december 14 ▸ don’t leaf me hanging ft. bakugou

summary: holiday parties aren’t the best way to spend a pleasant, snowy evening, especially when you bump into your frenemy practically everywhere you go. your evening takes a turn for the worse when you’re stuck together beneath the most odious sprig of the season: mistletoe. how will you get out of this one?

warnings: slight hint of college au, some cursing, mentions of drinking, unwanted advances

wc: 1.9k

a/n: this was horrible but terribly gratifying to write at the same time,,, low key my first time writing for both bakugou and bnha and high key v nervous about posting this since its like a billion years late but i guess its a christmas present?

note: find the rest of the advent calendar here!

Idle chatter rings in your ears as you cradle a mug of now cooled hot chocolate. The room was pleasantly warm, but the onset of partygoers stifled you. Everything was swelteringly suffocating and you gave Mina a sheepish smile. “I’m gonna go refill my drink, I’ll be right back.”

“(Y/N), you haven’t even touched—”

You paid her no heed and all but bolted towards the kitchen. Immediately the atmosphere quieted, the living room’s noise dulling to an easily ignored thrum. You leaned against the marbled counter, fingers skimming the slight pores of the mineral. 

“What’re you doing here?” You heard a growl from the other side of the table, the tenacity of its timbre almost making you drop your cup. You spun to meet scarlet eyes that practically burned into you. Immediately, a scowl pulled at your lips. Of course, it was none other than the resident pain in your ass, nuisance extraordinaire: Bakugou Katsuki. 

He had it in for you the day you’d met, that much you knew. It was as if he took one look at you and dismissed you as what he generously liked to call ‘an extra’. As if he couldn’t be bothered to dignify you with his presence, let alone a conversation. Normally, you’d brush it off but something about it all irked you to no end. You made it your mission to be around him as much as possible, learn what makes him tick as well as what made him hate you so. Initially, he reacted as predicted. He practically leveled the building that first day in his booming voice and irate fury, to which you responded with nothing but a laugh. As enigmatic as he may seem, Bakugou was surprisingly predictable. 

The weeks passed by and you���d come to notice his yelling had toned down, not significant enough to be perceptible by the rest, but his words no longer held the same sharp edge as before though his aggressivity was as boisterous as ever. Soon enough you began to feel more at ease in his presence, even going as far as looking forward to the next time you’d see him at your lectures, in the halls, out at lunch. Catching yourself scanning the area for his presence every time you’d enter a room. In short, you had fallen for him. Hard.

Together you fell into a steady rhythm. He allowed you to remain in his vicinity unscathed and you didn’t have to tiptoe around his easily detonated temper. 

You quickly learned his moods were more fluctuant than you ever could’ve guessed. The days leading to the small holiday party you found yourself in were riddled with the same explosive disposition from when you’d first met. Every stinging barb and taunt wounded you a little more than you’d like to admit. And then, radio silence. You no longer studied together, he no longer met your eyes when you had made a particularly interesting comment. Back to the very beginning when he didn’t even know you existed. You didn’t know what hurt more. 

You forced yourself to take a deep breath and smooth your words into a clipped, polite speech.

“I’m in the kitchen, same as you. Do you have a problem with that?”

The blonde balked, opening his mouth to spew a retort, when Mina stumbled into the kitchen, bright smiles and full of boundless cheer. “(Y/N) since you’re in here would you mind getting me and—” 

Her words died on her lips, tripping over each other as he planted her hands on your shoulders and tugged you away from the blonde, an uneasy grin on her face. “We’ll be going now.”

You gave him what you hoped looked like a sincere smile; one that hid the painfully evident panic that shot through your limbs. You knew well enough not to provoke him nor did you have the energy to do so. 

Mina stopped pulling once you were safely outside in the hallway. Silence followed as her hands slipped from their perch on your shoulders to your own, shaking them lightly to force you to look at her.

“What was that?” The incredulity that filled her words matched her bug-eyed expression, swerving as she alternated from staring at you and the room you’d just exited. 

“Actually, I don’t know.” You were equally as shocked and stumped as the poor girl. 

“Well, in any case, I don’t think it’s worth ruining Kirishima’s party over whatever it is that’s been going on between you two lately. Just in case, it’ll be safer to avoid him for the rest of the evening, yeah?”

You nodded numbly and allowed her to take you back to the living room now outfitted with a hastily put together dance floor. Mina was right, anyhow. From just one quick look towards the rest of the room, you could tell everyone was enjoying their evening, basking in the warmth coming from the central heating as well as the close proximity. There’s no need to need to spoil the festivities with a silly quarrel you could fix any other day. However, there was one slight issue with your plan. Out of the corner of your eye, you’d catch a glimpse of spiky blonde hair. No matter where you’d go, he’d still be there, somewhere. Every move you made seemed to draw him closer. With a huff, you maneuvered around the throng of dancers to make your way back to the kitchen. There’s still a chance he’d follow you, but at least you’d be further away from the vigilant stares of the crowd. 

As you thought, Bakugou was already leaning against the marbled counter once you stepped in. 

“Mind telling me why you’re avoiding me?”

Before you could answer him, someone else stumbled into the kitchen seemingly towards you, all wobbling steps and inebriated smiles. His drink sloshed in the dented plastic cup he held onto so tightly, rivulets of it spilling down the side and splashing onto his clothes. “You’re really pretty, would you give me your number?”

You scoffed at his sudden forwardness, a scowl pulling at your lips once you had fully registered his words. “Why should I?”

The man, startled at your response, was silent for a beat. Seemingly regaining his composure, he pressed closer into you, backing you further into the counter. “Well,” he leaned towards your ear as if his next words were to be shared only with you. “If you do give me your number, maybe I can call you up and I could show you a good time. Whaddaya say, pretty thing?”

Words failed to form, tripping over each other as you stumbled away from him, away from whatever he thought he was doing. You bumped into something solid as you backtracked, turning around to see that it had been the fiery blonde himself. 

“That’s not happening, asshole, we’ll be going now.” absolute venom dripped from his words as he smiled cruelly, his lips contorting into something akin to a sneer as he takes your hand in his, tugging you away. 

Despite the constant abrasiveness in his everyday mannerisms,  you couldn’t help but marvel at the gentle manner he used to intertwine his fingers with yours. He wasn’t rough in pulling you from the kitchen, he didn’t crush your hand in his grasp or practically pull your arm out of its socket. He was almost sweet, coaxing you away from the situation. 

He only stopped once you were a safe distance away, turned in the direction you’d come from, to presumably make sure the offender hadn’t followed. You’d been too preoccupied with the softness of his touch to notice him watching the kitchen doorway and then the rest of the crowd once he noticed the other student sift in, glaring sharply every time their eyes met. Suffice to say, you were probably not going to hear from him in a long time. 

“Bakugou?” He let out a noise of acknowledgment, eyes still trained on something across the room. 

“You can let go of my hand now.” 

He blinked owlishly, looking down at your fingers as if he now just realized what he had been doing. “You never answered my question.”

“And you haven’t let go of my hand.”

His next words were drowned out by tumultuous cheers and wild shouts of the other students. They’d formed a crowd behind the two of you. Why?

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” You looked to Bakugou in confusion, who responded by pointing up to the top of the doorway to spot a small tangle of mistletoe lies poorly taped to the wood. 

Realization dawned on you and frustration ebbed into your rapidly spiraling thoughts. Of all people to be stuck under that odious herb, it just had to be the one who sent your poor heart into overdrive every time you’d catch one of the softer, more peaceful looks he’d sport around you. Part of you wanted to grab him and plant your lips on his, that part of you had longed for such an opportunity for a while now, longed for him. The other part of you was caught up in trying to process Bakugou’s radical change in behavior. From one minute to the next he had gone from his usual brutally harsh demeanor to holding your hand so tenderly as if he was scared to hurt you.

“We don’t really have to do this if you don’t want to,” You were unsure of what you wanted, what you thought of him. He said nothing as he gently placed his hands on your cheeks, drawing closer till his lips met yours. The world drowned out around you. Electricity surged through your every nerve and you shivered as you felt him nip at your bottom lip. You drown in the taste of spiced cinnamon and his tongue swiping along the roof of your mouth. It’s dizzying and you almost couldn’t believe it had happened once he pulls away. 

Once you look into his eyes you’re suddenly aware of the crowd’s roar behind you. The full weight of the past few moments settle in and you don’t know if you want to slap him or kiss him again. 

“You never answered my question, but I have been treating you like shit all week. You don’t deserve it. You really don’t,” he repeated, tapering off as he fumbled for the right words to say.

“I got scared of my feelings, of what they meant, and I pushed you away because of it.”

“That’s putting it lightly, Bakugou,” You let the ghost of a smile pull at your lips. After all, that’s probably the closest he’d get to an apology.

“Dumbass, don’t interrupt me while I’m trying to tell you that I like you—” His cheeks burned once he realized what he’d said. You mirrored his reaction, eyes widening at his words.

“You like me?” Your smile quirked into a full grin as you pulled him back towards you in another kiss. Immediately his hands shot to your waist, pressing you closer to him as you lost yourself in the way his lips melded against yours. He’s everywhere, up the curve of your spine and down your arms, kissing you with a fervent urgency you’d never known before. The feeling of melting so deliciously against him made your nerves sing. A sudden giddiness spun through you as you pulled away and mirrored Bakugou’s radiant smile. 

“Luckily, I just so happen to like you too.”

taglist: @tsumuseum @amoroushero @mrslordexplosionmurder @ssat0ris​ @osamusriceballs @seraphgabrielle​ @1642lux

strike through means I wasn’t able to tag you

additional note: event taglist is open! send an ask if you’d like to be added <3

[vampiremeerkat]

This is not a request just a question: Have you ever thought of doing art on the Disney version of hades & persephone? I know in the hercules show they never had her show up (and from what I read they were going to change her to being hades & demeter's daughter, and they were in a custody battle). I guess they had a hard time trying to work her in. Though I'm sure you could've made the story of the two work, evil guys & sweet gals is something you're good at writing.

I have not, I don't think I've ever drawn Hercules fanart. Maybe a few sketches attempting Meg back in early high school. Why make Persephone his daughter. There are multiple Greek characters argued to be his offspring, they could've gone with any of them. Though Hades wished to marry one of the incest children of his incestuously conceived brother, because triple incest is even cooler, I wouldn't deviate too much from Persephone's initial role as his love interest. I think their monogamous relationship, especially in contrast with how that whore Zeus lived his life, is the one element that drives people to put the two names together in the first place. But well, daughter or wife, scrapping Persephone was for the best. Hercules is about Hercules, not Hades and his family life. Anyway, you're probably not even asking me how I'd make it work in the original movie, rather as a stand-alone story. Not that you explicitly asked anything at all. I'd cut Persephone off from Zeus and his sister wife, and make her a mortal woman, one described to be flawless and pure of heart and mind. The kind of person any god would love to have as a sacrifice. Having that said, her soul is unknowingly sold to Hades by her father to save his deathly ill wife. While minding her own business, she's suddenly dragged into the underworld and told the news. Having learned from Meg, Hades no longer sees the benefit of keeping feeble, grieving humans around as servants and contemplates kicking her down the soul pit right away, but the differences between Persephone and Meg are quickly picked up on. Unlike Meg, Persephone hasn't given him one resentful look, and her silent defeatist mentality has him take pity on the foo'. And she's hypotizingly beautiful, that helps, why not. Anyway, Hades "cheers her up" by letting her be his replacement Meg, opposed to an immobilized spirit in a gooey lake, but he finds himself increasingly unwilling to give her chores -mainly those that are bound to humiliate her or risk her safety. She's too honest and not bold enough, you can't send her to swoon a giant centaur. The fact Hades even cares is the dilemma; he never had to contemplate whether something was inappropriate with the headstrong Meg, though he excuses his reluctance as not wanting the jobs to be half-assed. He feels charmed by Persephone's patience and tolerance for him, which is more than what anyone's ever graced him with. She shows understanding for his discontentedness and feels for the way he's being treated by humans and gods, since no one likes death, after all. One of her biggest compliments to him would be the fact how comedic and animated he is for a god of death, which would make the underworld a surprisingly fun place if he'd allow the dead to fade away whilst experiencing the same joy he brings her. Hades is perplexed to learn he brought her joy this entire time, since he was set on being her intimidating boss. Throughout the story, Hades still has his eyes on Hercules, who's claimed -and has continued to be- the one thing that prevents a successful future for him. The oracles give him a new, vague prediction that introduces the existence of a star, which has to keep on shining if he wants the guarantee he'll receive a gratifying life. Hades keeps his sights on the night time sky in order to protect this supposedly fragile star when it shows up. Meanwhile, Persephone's mother is looking for a way to find and save her daughter, which ironically worsens her health. She dies during her strenuous journey, and when her soul enters the underworld, Hades recognizes her and has to make the decision whether to spare this woman a second time, or to admit her time ran out months ago. While he's thinking it over, Persephone shows up, but doesn't make her presence known. Hades sends the soul back to the land of the living, and the spying Persephone becomes instantly smitten by him over it. She never tells him she watched him do this, though, and there isn't much else she says or does to express her changed feelings, since she was already being nice to him and doesn't know how to take the next step. As for the main conflict.. I guess it would be the other gods learning Hades has a human girl for a slave, since he proudly "shows her off" by having her wait for him outside the borders of whatever divine area he's visiting. Perhaps he mentions her as well, but then it was believed he was talking about a goddess. Hercules feels most offended and plans to save Persephone, and since Hades already has beef with him, sees no problem in trying to kill him for barging into his domain again. He sends everything he has Hercules' way, but he perseveres. When Hercules makes it clear to have come for Persephone, Hades calls him a womanizer, because yo, and contemplates using her as a bargaining chip/trap. This would involve killing Persephone in order to kill him. Hercules expresses willingness to take dangerous risks if it entails saving a life, making it appealing for Hades to go through with it, but he can't, because Persephone is his girl. Hercules sees his chance and beats him to a pulp, but Persephone intervenes and exclaims not to be in danger. He's a bit skeptical over her acceptance of the villain, but chooses to believe her and withdraws. Hades learns she's the prophesied star he needed to spare, or some sappy shait. As for the ending, it's made clear it's not healthy for mortal beings to live in the underworld, so she and Hades agree to do (mostly) scheduled visitations. He fires her from being his servant and she reunites with her mother and remorseful father. I'll give the original mythology a little twist; where Spring and Summer-like days are the moments she's staying with Hades, while colder days signal her return home, caused by Hades' stage 3 depression. Not that it matters much, I suppose, Hades should be able to visit her as well, but I imagine the man is busy.