#i ship all the other ships this consists of—

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Ways I can think of that “DanDaDan” differs from other shonen series:

* Female MC is as important as male MC

* Canon romance gets consistent development through the series. I think that’s part of the reason why the MC ships with the rivals (Aira, Jiji) aren’t as popular with the fandom for once. The main ship is actually getting good development, so the fanbase doesn’t have to make up headcanons to fill in the space.

* Flips the found family trope on its head by having the main group despise new people whenever they show up and they even actively try to kick them out. The new people only end up staying because they keep lingering around to the point that the main group just gives up and lets them stay.

* The rivals aren’t emo or angst-ridden. Aira is a delusional tryhard popular girl while Jiji is a himbo drama queen. I’d even go as far to say that the MCs are the ones who are emo and angst-ridden.

* Supporting cast is more than just important, they become integral to the story. I’d say that the further you read into DanDaDan, the more it becomes an ensemble cast where everyone is a protagonist in their own right.

* World-building is all over the place, but in a good way. Most other shonen are pretty consistent with what kind of world their characters live in. MHA is superhero-based, Naruto is ninjas and magic, Bleach is spirits, and so on. DanDaDan feels like the author just throws whatever cool shit they can think of into the story. That’s actually the reason why I wrote in a different post that DanDaDan reminds me more of Marvel/DC than any other shonen series, it manages to capture the catch-all insanity of those comics.

* Doesn’t rely on hidden power-ups. The main characters either have to outsmart the villains or they have to train to get better with the powers they already have.

* The pervert comic relief guy is actually endearing for once. Not because of his pervert tendencies, but because he’s so oblivious to how socially inept he is that it’s kind of funny. This is gonna sound strange, but he sorta reminds me of Thor in Thor Ragnarok. Full of himself and oblivious to how dumb he can be. He’s Thor without the good looks lol.

* Flips the “nerdy outcast loser somehow gets a harem” trope. Instead of making Okarun cooler than how he actually is, the story emphasizes that the women who fall for Okarun are as weird as him. Momo is a weird outcast, Aira has main character syndrome, Vamola doesn’t understand how to human because she’s literally not one, Rin thought Okarun was a vampire (and wanted him to be).

* Flips the “elderly figure in charge of the teenagers” trope. I don’t really get motherly figure vibes from Seiko Ayase, I get more “cool wine aunt who is stuck with her niece” vibes. In fact, there was the arc where Okarun showed up to her in spirit mode to get her help with fighting off the alien invasion and Seiko’s response was, “Well, I’m not in the area and I have other shit to do, so you kids figure it out.”

* The series takes the piss out of the trope of mystical/magical items that the group acquired to get their powers. I mean…the main mystical MacGuffin in the series are Okarun’s balls.

* Okarun was about to go into an “I’m weak / I wish I was stronger / I want to get stronger for my friends” breakdown, but Turbo Granny told him to shut up and keep fighting.

* Not afraid to put the “cool girl” in as many funny situations as possible. Off the top of my head, the series built up Momo as this cool, tough girl who doesn’t take shit from anyone…then several chapters later, Okarun found out she got a job at a maid cafe.

(Feel free to add to the list!)

[eerna]

Also what’s weird about arcanes writing this season is that it made no sense. It literally wrote misery for the sake of misery (killing isha for example just to make jinx suicidal) yet kept its happier tone shift? So many negative developments were framed as positive and not a tragedy, which I wouldn’t have liked it more if it Was framed as tragic bc again it felt like they were writing misery porn atp, but at least the tone would’ve been consistent. Like they abandoned the fact it had a tragic tone but still ended it on a tragic note except it’s not framed that way. SO WEIRD.

Also the amount of parallels and full circle moments that just didn’t make sense. They really thought if they wrote parallels or full circle moments it’s somehow makes it good writing without putting any thought into if doing so makes any sense (like the caitvi jail scene or ambessa invoking the wolf flashback and then calling Mel a wolf meant to be positive💀) But we are supposed to be happy bc ummm all the popular ships are canon I guess.

Also, on a sillier note, I couldn’t stop thinking about that arcane tweet about the music being too on the nose shdjajfbksfn it took me out so many scenes, especially the bad ones like caitvi sex scene and jinx “death.” I did like the music this arc, there were some really good ones, but every time I thought a scene was already bad a song would come on and narrate it to me and it would kill me.

YEAHHHHHH it is very tonally inconsistent and the parallels for the sake of parallels are super obvious.... The song part is so true fbdjsafk. I think hearing a basic sex pop song in the sex scene snapped something within me (IT EVEN MENTIONED AMERICA JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER BASIC SEX POP SONG). My personal favorite was Jinx' suicide song just saying she wants to die over and over again, and then when Vi is holding her dangling over an abyss, the song said "LET ME GO LET ME GO" as if it's some kind of a full circle moment that everything has been leading up to and I just started laughing honestly

[clarekirener]

I read a post claiming fan engagement doesn't matter. Fan engagement is a factor in 2024, and especially for Amazon Studios, a reactive company. I watched Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime give into their biggest fanbase after years of saying it wouldn't happen.

Amazon has a consumer research department that gives Jennifer Salke head of Amazon Studios feedback about TROP consumers (screenshot below).

McPayne have said they listen to feedback and that S2 was shaped by S1 response- they also make note that S2 was written before S1 (screenshot below).

Just last week, Amazon sent out TROP surveys through Amazon Preview asking opinions on characters, storylines, and what people would like to see in future episodes. They said this feedback would be passed along to the writers.

Amazon has other shows that have responded to fan demand. The rumors around Mrs. Maisel were that Amazon execs mandated making Lenny/Midge canon after years of denial because of the Midge/Lenny fanbase (screenshot below).

The Artful Dodger's showrunner came out citing the show's fan engagement as the reason they got renewed.

I'm plugged into metrics as a PR professional so if anyone wants me to make a post detailing positive engagement for Haladriel via TV publications like The Hollywood Reporter highlighting Haladriel in s1 and missing their scenes in s2, Reddit (yes), Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, I will.

If you don't want to engage in this aspect of fandom, don't. No one can force a stranger on the internet to do anything. And the ship does fine on its own. I disagree with some of the frantic messaging about producing content because we don't need it!

And by the way, no one pays attention to Tumblr or AO3, other than the fairly young on these teams. Social media analytics for entertainment typically include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok, and of course all official accounts. TROP also pays attention to Reddit and Tolkien influencers, as well as TV critics. These all matter just as ratings do. They might not listen to every voice but yes it matters.

Haladriel art is getting 67,000 likes on Instagram in 4 days (screenshot below). Haladriel content consistently goes viral on Twitter, Tiktok and Insta. Interviewers were constantly asking about Haladriel in pre-s2 interviews and the TROP cast and showrunners got questions about them at SDCC in July.

We're fine.

Correction to the original post: It was The Artful Dodger's showrunner who cited fan engagement and TikToks as the reason the show got renewed. Not My Lady Jane.

[whinlatter]

sorry if you've discussed this before, but do you think ginny's quidditch talent came out of nowhere? it's a common criticism I see about her but I feel like that kind of overstates how much of a quidditch "star" she was at the beginning, like she was consistently described as good but not great until partway into hbp and I also think it makes sense she'd keep it a secret from her teasing brothers. but maybe they're right and I'm just biased towards defending ginny

thank you for the question, anon!

the short answer is - no, i think it's (just about) plausibly rendered in the books. i think the series gets away with it because:

the story is told from the perspective of a teenage boy aka peak obliviousness in corporeal form, so we see what harry sees (and harry notices big fat nothing)

there is an entirely adequate narrative explanation for ginny's sporting skills that most readers not operating in bad faith* can put together, as you suggest: ginny comes from a sporty family who are all good at quidditch; she is of middling-to-good seeking ability when she first joins the team in ootp; she then has a good few months flying several times a week where she would necessarily grow in confidence and experience, leaving her perfectly able to blossom in hbp in a high school sport where she is competing against other children. fine and dandy in my book.

also quidditch is a broadly dumb and pointless plot so ginny being good at it is just a fun extra that we don't need to deep too much because - let's be real - quidditch is a waste of page space.

*i say this because, most of the time, these takes come from those who don't like hinny as a pairing. which is entirely their right and prerogative! it personally doesn't float my boat to spend my days doing worst faith readings of the text in order to make the case against canon ships i don't like, but as this is a race to the bottom - we are all adults dissecting children's books written by a nasty spiteful woman rotting in her mouldy castle spouting slurs, after all - who am i to judge.

(i also suspect the 'ginny is good at quidditch out of nowhere' takes have enjoyed such a long shelf-life on eg. reddit because the films are still most people's primary reference for HP takes so complaints about them then get cast back on the books - and, in the films, ginny does in fact rock up in film 6 like she's mbappé, if mbappé had the charisma of an extraordinarily soggy bath mat.)

with that said... could it have done with a bit more foreshadowing? yes, probably. people who don't like hinny as a pairing and prefer another are never going to be convinced - that's fine! but here i am, a paid-up hinny supporter, and even i think ginny's character development is sometimes wanting, to a frustrating and problematic extent. good writing (usually) means showing not telling, and it's weird and lazy of jkr to be so slapdash about revealing this and other character details about ginny and other (often female) characters. i think it's particularly striking that jkr underserves characters (again, usually women) who exist to serve the emotional development of characters (usually men), rather than the mystery plot(s) that drive hp as a series. (wanted! tonks' personality! last seen making fake pig noses and being the only auror mad eye moody mentored as his successor, for no plot reason!)

while i'm not a die-hard adherent to the chekhov's gun principle, i think one of the strengths of many novels du jour - especially the nothing really happens postmodern novel that crowds the bookshop shelves these days - is that their conventions allow authors to add colour to characters without each tiny detail being pregnant with meaning and in service of a driving plot that must be marched forward at all times. that can be really nice! as readers, we like to get a sense of characters as well-rounded living breathing people who go for a wee and take the bins out and stick on an album because it slaps every now and then; in these novels, we're also happier with the idea that things can happen to characters beyond the protagonist that don't directly impact the plot or demand the protagonist knows more than their own very limited vantage point. you have more room to play with character as a result.

jkr, ofc, isn't that kind of author. jkr is in fact an author for whom everything about her characters serves the plot. this, after all, is the brain that brought you 'remus lupin' the werewolf, and named the bad-guy-turned-good-guy in a book using a big black dog as a red herring omen of death 'sirius black'. jkr wants her audience to notice clues and remember little details about characters because they might be significant later on. this is entirely her wont and - lupin and sirius aside - she's often very good at it. the hp books are all standalone mysteries, and, when they land, those mysteries slap. ginny being the culprit in CoS is a genuinely satisfying resolution to the whodunit plot: this was reflected in critical reception at the time and was part of the reason why hp was able to be marketed as a children's book adults would also enjoy thereafter. there are also very satisfying foreshadowing and mystery plots that straddle the entire series and that reward the reader with reasonably good pay-off at the series end. (my favourite is the foreshadow within the foreshadow - e.g. regulus black barrelling back from ootp in DH, but then regulus' plot turning out to ultimately exist to foreshadow snape's own double agent status... delicious).

for my part, it's also what i want out of the fiction i read and the stories i try to write. i want everything to mean something. i want the weather, clothing, setting, body language etc to all do heavy lifting. i want character work to do work. it makes it fun for me to write and (i hope) it can it a bit more fun for the reader.

the problem is that while jkr is good setting up some mysteries, she is bad at others, and the romantic plot is one she falls down (a bit) on. she sets herself up for this: she wants to be a plot-centred mystery writer, so she does have an obligation to do better in how she deploys character details. jkr does to try to write the harry/ginny romance like a mystery, with little hints throughout the series up to the reveal of harry's feelings for ginny in HBP. (even ginny's full name is nominative determinism, finally revealed in DH once the reader has been told her place in the plot - ginevra, so guinnevre, the hero's queen). and while i will never not tire of pointing out to all of reddit that harry/ginny didn't come out of nowhere, and there is some satisfying foreshadowing knocking about here and there, i think it's fair to say that the harry/ginny build-up is not as satisfying as it could have been because jkr is basically lazier about the clues that ginny is the character harry will ultimately fall for, while she is much better at dropping clues for the series' central plot. that ginny ends the series with no real resolution of the primary tensions that motivate her other than her love of harry is probably the most acute example of this. but there's lots about her character where jkr phones it in a bit in fleshing her out or taking it to any logical conclusions or interesting plot directions. a smattering of examples:

ginny is the character who spends the entire series demanding to be included and not underestimated ends the series... with no real major role in the battle other than causing harry panic, while all other central characters receive a satisfying narrative arc that speaks to their central motivators across the series as a whole. (for an interesting discussion of what should have happened with ginny and the horcruxes, see here. i didn't even pay @saintsenara to write this!)

there are lots of shades of colour to ginny's character that are introduced pointlessly. i have previously talked about my beef with arnold the pygmy puff. we know ginny is popular but we know nothing of her friends who are all faceless plotless nobodies. we know ginny supports the all-womens quidditch team in a way that implies a nascent feminist politics after a childhood being excluded from playing a sport she loves by her brothers - yet we know nothing of it. we know ginny loves the one wizarding band that seems to exist because she has a poster of them on her wall and it just.... is something we just get told about her. now, all of these suggest ginny is a good time gal and a right laugh at the pub. and that's nice! i too am fun at the pub! but why does it matter? it wouldn't, in another series. but in a series where Everything Matters, it really stands out.

now..... i don't think all of this is an unsolveable problem for those of us writing fanfiction about ginny or harry and ginny as a couple. i don't think this makes ginny an inherently bad character. i hope the amount of life i have wasted thinking about this character is testament to this (...) and i personally find trying to cook up some fleshed-out characterisation and a satisfying arc for ginny, and for female characters more generally, from the crumbs of the original source material to be a very rewarding way to pass the time and a fuck you to a woman who thinks she can gatekeep womanhood while writing some astonishingly antifeminist fiction. i think harry and ginny are a deeply compelling and eminently plausible couple, and i think i return to writing about them as much as i do because i think they have a ton of potential as narrative mirrors and as characters with a rich well of tension but also devotion between them. as i say a lot, i think one of the things the harry/ginny pairing does refreshingly well compared to other romantic lead couples in YA fiction is show a couple that, at heart, genuinely get on very well, have a laugh together and enjoy each other's company in completely mundane lovely day-to-day ways (laundry and taxes u know). i think that's a striking and refreshing dynamic that i like to spend time fleshing out and playing with and writing about. but i can also see that there is an inconsistency in jkr's character work here, particularly her character work writing female characters, of which ginny is among the most acute examples.

[wildkimiko]

Instead of doing convention prep, why don't I draw the blorbos instead

This started as me just warming up for working on some OTHER important stuff but uh. Yeah! Someday I'll learn how to draw Emmet's hat consistently but that day is NOT today.

More rambling below the cut:

When Sheyla gets serious about battling, she gets SCARY. She didn't exactly know how to turn off the scary, so trainers were afraid to battle her for a while after she became Champion. She'll take all your money. :P Now she only turns on the scary for big serious battles, or against Team Plasma.

She rarely gets sick, but when she does, it takes her OUT. Or, she probably overworked herself training with Inari again. Training with ghost types that don't have a good grasp on their power is verrrry dangerous. :P

Emmet and Sheyla laughing about something. What? Idk lmao, you tell me.

Sheyla's Sygna Suit with Togekiss! It's a whole-ass Lolita/EGL coord and is absolutely outside of the realm of anything she would wear. She cleans up pretty nice. (it's the nicest thing she will probably ever wear outside of Nimbasa. Even Elesa was surprised.) Emmet thinks it's cute. (*/ω＼*)

Lmao, I just love the twins and the whole eye glow thing. Don't fuck around on the subway.

Emmet lost, but the trainer was being a real asshole about it. :P

now off to draw more shippy stuff heheheheheehe~

ALSO. I decided on a ship name I think? Ferroequinology is the study of trains (comes from the words iron and horse, which is sick af), and since Sheyla is a researcher first and Champion, I kinda figured it fit. She does like studying trains, and one of the conductors of said trains. :P

[waterloobridge]

Honestly, even the premise of this is wrong. Comparing a fanon pairing with a canon one doesn't make sense to me. I have no problem with whatever people ship or the tropes they prefer. But a canon ship has an established dynamic that actually happens while a fanon one disregards basically everything about canon and denaturalizes/changes/modifies the core of the characters to the point they have little to nothing to do with their canon selves. So, how can a discussion be made? Bellamort is not being compared to the actual dynamic Harry and Voldemort have in canon which consists in Voldemort killing his family/loved ones, being 55 years his senior and wanting him dead since he was a toddler. In that case, the discussion would sound absurd. Yet Harrymort (whatever that means in fanon) is being compared to an actual canon relationship which is Bellamort. What is being discussed is a fanon pair/fanfiction tropes that have Voldemort loving, changing and Harry being a challenge/equal (?). These are not Voldemort and Harry at all. The only thing they have in common with the actual characters is the name and the connection (yet not the nature and reasons for that connection). For that matter, we can have Bellatrix be a saviour too and have Voldemort lose his shit over her. After all, it is fanfiction. Anything goes. This whole pretense as though Voldemort could change with the 'right person', considered anyone an equal/challenge (but Dumbledore) or would ever be anything other that toxic/absuive/dominant are great for fics (preferably AUs) but have nothing to do with canon. So trashing a canon pairing (be it Bellamort or Hinny) just because they 'stand in the way' of your extravagant mental scenarios/fanon pairings/ preferred tropes is wild. Ship and let ship but make a distinction between canon and fanon. Bellamort fans prefer shipping something that actually exists. That doesn't make their ship better or worse, it just makes it canon.

That one Bellamort hating anon…..

Look, I’m a die hard Harrymort|Tomarry shipper and by no means a Bellamort shipper at all, but my gosh is there is a lot to unpack there.

Why do people think it is better than Harrymort just because Bellatrix would accept Voldemort's immoral character and would love him for who he is?

…Really think about what you just wrote. I’m pretty sure that you answered your own question here. The fact that she would accept & love him no matter what he does or who he is, is a pretty amazing reason for their ship to be good, and better. Like, Idk what you were getting at with this part 😭

That girl is deranged and obssessed

Okay, and that’s an issue because???

Have you really read any Tom|Voldemort x Harry fic? They literally always write Voldemort to be crazy obsessed with Harry and the most deranged, out of pocket, motherfucker to step foot in Harry’s life.

She is enraged by just hearing about Voldemort's blood status which is a proof that V wouldn't feel comfortable telling her about his past, in the beginning of their "relationship".

Well duh, she doesn’t like “filthy” blood, but Voldemort isn’t just anyone. He is her master, lover, and god. He doesn’t count. His blood will never be/could never be “filthy.” To her, his presence is an honor, and his blood is special and its own thing. Anyways, I guarantee you Voldemort wouldn’t have gave a fuck if someone was uncomfortable learning about his blood status. The little fucker lived for making people uncomfortable and humiliating them.

Voldemort needs someone who's on more equal footing to him even tho he would absolutely hate it.

Well, it’s definitely not Harry. Harry’s a victim. Perhaps you’re talking about Dumbledore? Riddledore shipper found?

He needs to feel that anger and hate in order to become better.

Once again, riddledore?

And there’s no getting better for him or fixing him because he, himself, doesn’t want it. Even in canon, he denies repentance and in return damns himself.

Bellamort is the easier ship. Harrymort is the ship of redemption, of drama, of passion, of trying to develop genuine respect for each other, of humanity.

You’re right, Bellamort is the easier ship (and the most canon). All that about Harrymort is great too, absolutely love it! But truly to Voldemort’s character, he would’ve chosen Bellatrix in a heartbeat. He doesn’t care about respect, redemption, humanity, or whatever. He cares about himself and power.

They are soul bound. They feel their emotions and share dreams.

Harry is the only one with another soul in him. And i’m pretty sure the whole “feeling emotions and sharing dreams” thing is one sided on Harry’s part because he’s the one with Voldemort’s soul in him.

Voldemort is obssessed with Harry.

Because he wants the kid 6 feet under ground, hope that helps! 🤗

Even if he doesn't view him as a human being in the canon story, fics can still make Voldemort evolve in this aspect. With Bellatrix it's just boring

The first half is funny as hell. But if Voldemort can “evolve” in fics for Harry, why not with Bellatrix? I don’t get what the blockage is or what’s stopping it.

Let's say she would get over his blood status. That she would stop putting him on a high pedestal. She can love him maybe

If she knows his blood status in canon, then she did get over it because once again that’s her man right there. When it comes to him, he can and does get away with everything. She’ll just deny deny deny. His blood isn’t “filthy”, it’s special and superior, like him (to her, at least). And she does love him, an unhealthy amount, in fact. So idk what that “maybe” is for.

Bellamort shippers claim she would love him for all that he is and wouldn't want him to change. Maybe. I suppose he might feel more free with her since he would feel loved with no conditions

They’d be right, ultimately. And he most definitely would, which is why, like I said, he would choose her over Harry.

But that would just be pouring oil on the fire. He would still continue to be the same monster because she would fuel his ego and narcissism. He wouldn't change. She would love him yes, but that's it.

So? Light it ablaze and let it burn.

This lowkey reminds me of the lyrics:

“Fire on fire would normally kill us

But this much desire, together, we're winners

They say that we're out of control and some say we're sinners

But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms

Cause when you unfold me and tell me you love me

And look in my eyes

You are perfection, my only direction It's fire on fire”

Like you can’t tell me that isn’t Bellamort.

Anyways, once again, no one is changing him. Not a soul, because HE DOESN’T WANT TO BE CHANGED. He likes who he is.

He would still murder and kill. He would still think of her as a fuel to his ego. Someone that loves him and doesn't challenge him in life. Someone that gives comfort and excitement but nothing else.

He always will murder and kill, no mater what. And he would love that about her, he has a big ego. He doesn’t even like people like that, so what she offers him, he would like.

Not to mention they would abuse each other and not in the thrilling ways I like to read about.

Huh?? Abuse each other?? There is a very big power dynamic here. The only one doing the “abusing” is him, and there would barely be any because she is pretty fucking obedient and loyal. So what is he going to abuse her for?

With Harry it is different. Harry challenges him. Harry makes him angry. Harry makes him question reality. Harry makes him change and of course he would hate it but that makes for a more interesting story

So did Dumbledore, and what happened to him?

Once again, for the hundredth time, Harry is not making him change. NO ONE IS!!!

With Bellatrix he stagnates. It is definitely a more realistic ship in regards to canon but to me it is just such a bore.

Ahh, I see!

So what you were getting at is that while Bellamort is the most canon, the one that makes the most sense, and the most realistic, it’s just not your cup of tea. You prefer the tropes and dynamics in Tom|Voldemort x Harry fics instead. That while both ships are toxic, you lean towards the more toxic and difficult ship. I get it!! I also prefer it.

Was just really confused on why you were confused people found Bellamort to be better than Harrymort, and all the other nonsense you were talking about.

~

[rosesradio]

Valdangelace (Leo/Nico/Jason)

*elaboration in the tags is appreciated but please be respectful of others or you’ll be blocked, thank you!

[paintedcrows]

Biting you. Biting you. Biting-

[kit-screams-into-the-future]

love is stored in the bond between a mad nuclear physicist and that kid that broke into his garage one day

[sofieflee]

Some of my very many Yuma headcanons

These are mostly related to living in the submarine.

Since he came to Kanai Ward with no luggage other than a death god and some train related trauma I highly doubt he had any pyjama’s to wear (or anything other than his uniform honestly). Yakou probably wouldn’t really think anything of it until someone else asks Yuma about it. I imagine he then promptly threw one of his own old shirts Yuma’s way and called it a day. Desuhiko owning as many clothes as he does then gives Yuma a pair of shorts that actually fit him properly.

Also I like to think both Yuma and Yakou boss each other around when it comes to hygiene and health when the others aren’t around . Stuff like telling the other to take a shower or to go to sleep. Late in the evening and early in the morning the submarine is more of a home than a detectives orginasation (not to say that it isn’t like that most of the day anyway).

[necrotic-nephilim]

au for the ask game: omegaverse where omega dick grooms ealry-presented alpha tim in "prodigal son"

dick is going through one of the worst periods of his life after breaking up his wedding with kory (maybe she, like a tamaran, couldn't understand the secondary gender of humans and during the breakup said something bad about dick as an omega) and then tim appears with stars in his eyes and believes that dick is the best human being on earth.

bonus points if the society has progressed enough and mating with children is strictly prohibited, even if they present early.

for the ask game!

gdfdsfdgbf anon i'm kissing you on the mouth. this is my favorite flavor of Omegaverse, especially for DickTim. i'm a proud believer in the dominant omega!Dick/submissive alpha!Tim propaganda. also a big fan of how terrible Dick's life is during Batman: Prodigal. and i just. man i love the Omegaverse concepts of alien characters like Kory not understanding secondary gender and it causing rifts.

what's fun about the Prodigal era is just how isolated Tim and Dick are during it. Bruce is off.. being fucking Bruce, and Alfred is also away, so it's really just Dick and Tim for a bit. they've always worked with each other and have a repertoire, but a lot of the conversations they have about each other's pasts are happening for the first time. so it's such a fun time for Tim to present as an alpha. and of course, his hero worship for Dick (especially after having to deal with Jean-Paul) makes it so *easily* for Dick to just. slip his fingers into. Dick's isolated from the Titans, he's lost Kory, he's on the rocks with Bruce, and so there's just something so nice about this kid who still holds utter faith in him. he doesn't see any of the societal stereotypes about omegas in Dick, he just sees Dick. and then, he presents and he trusts *Dick* with that information, lets Dick guide him through the most awkward parts of presenting. how can Dick not want to take advantage of that? a young, fresh alpha who he's currently in charge of mentoring, with no one to stop Dick or notice what he's doing.

it's still tricky, of course. Dick not only has to make sure he's not breaking the law, but he also has to keep Tim from noticing, immediately. Tim's hero worship crush is the most obvious thing about him, but that doesn't mean Dick can jump on him. it needs careful time and planning. Bruce might not be around, but Tim still has his dad who could notice the scent of an omega on Tim. so instead of marking Tim, Dick starts marking himself with Tim's scent. it starts small, using the same blanket Tim has used in the Batcave, grabbing a couple of Tim's oversized hoodies and wearing them. things with plausible enough deniability, but enough that Tim starts to subconsciously associate his scent with Dick. when he can't smell himself on Dick he feels like something is wrong. and when he's finally brave enough to bring it up to Dick, Dick is able to spin it on Tim. make it seem like Tim is the one coming onto Dick, assuming things. Dick plays it cool, pretending to be shocked by the idea of it. he gently explains to Tim what he could be implying about their relationship and Tim is *mortified*, apologizing and tripping over himself to try and fix it. but Dick just calms him down, promises Tim he isn't mad bc hey, Tim is a fresh alpha and he presented so *young*, it's difficult to navigate.

so you have Dick offering to help navigate this with Tim and using it to get closer and closer to Tim. grooming him into the type of alpha that Dick wants in a relationship. anytime there's behavior in Tim that Dick doesn't like, Dick can pretty easily redirect by dropping comments about how Tim just "can't help" acting like this because of his alpha nature, which instantly makes Tim scramble to fix it. Dick likes Tim for who he is, this cute, sweet kid who's such a handsome little alpha. but he's rough around the edges and Dick puts it on himself to smooth those edges over. he's playing the long game with this, and he doesn't mind waiting it out. and Tim can't complain when Dick pushes the boundaries, making him uncomfortable, because he doesn't want Dick to think he's a *pervert* for thinking that way. it's one big mind game.

i do think, Dick would cave and sleep with Tim before Tim's an adult. he's smart enough not to mate Tim, and he's definitely smart enough not to sleep with Tim enough for Bruce, a beta, to notice what's going on. but when some sort of sex pollen incident triggers a simultaneous heat and rut for Dick and Tim respectively, it's the most convenient in that Dick needs. Dick acts like they're doing this out of necessity, that he's giving in even though he doesn't want to, just because of how Tim's acting under the aphrodisiac. it gives him complete control over the sex because Tim is so desperate to not give in to his "alpha ways" and hurt Dick by being violent or animalistic. Dick gets to pin Tim down, possibly even tie him down "for his own safety" and ride him until Tim is a crying mess under Dick. after the first time, if Dick orchestrates more scenarios where they end up in "fuck or die" situations well, it's not like anyone's noticing. at the height, he even manages to have sex with Tim without that sort of pretense, he just has to act like he can tell how needy Tim is and sigh, pretending he's the one doing Tim a favor "just this once" by letting Tim fuck him.

in the end, it's a long con that pays off. it takes until Battle for the Cowl but Tim's a legal adult. and Dick is Batman again, which really does feel like everything coming full circle. part of the reason Dick makes Damian Robin is to remove the pretense of Tim and Dick being sidekick and mentor. it makes it easier for Dick to insist he really does see Tim as a full adult (even if he doesn't, deep down. Tim is still a fresh teenager, just because it's legal doesn't make it any less morally questionable) and something more than Robin. Dick makes a comment about them being mates so offhandedly it makes Tim stop in his tracks. Tim, who's about to go on his Red Robin arc and isolate himself, now has a chance at being mates with his hero. a chance to smooth over their differences and be actual equal partners. of course, Tim jumps on it. maybe deep down, after they mate and Dick is all too pleased with himself, it clicks for Tim that this was all a set-up. he puts the pieces together while they're cuddling in bed. he knows deep down that Dick will never *actually* see him as an equal. but, the deed is done and if Tim is going to give himself over to anyone, of course it's going to be Dick Grayson.

[bayetea]

I'm gonna froth at the mouth over this in the tags so bear with me but reason #1278038 why the way rick went about breaking up jiper was bad: rereading her povs in hoo where she gushes over jason feels like even more of an unreliable narrator queer girl comphet psychological horror story

[even-more-pro-fiction-jellicle]

You ever watch something mainstream and internally monologue to antis like "You know this is RPF? You know RPF is mainstream and has been for a long time?"

[greenerteacups]

favorite relationship (non romantic or otherwise) in the hp canon? one thing I love about lionheart is Harry and hermione’s friendship - criminally overlooked in the books imo pidgeonholing hermione into only the “nagging mum” role for so much of it ! these two are siblings!

interesting parameters! my favorite non-romantic relationship in canon is ron and harry, actually. i think that hermione has great friendships with both of them, but the sheer intensity of the bond between ron and harry is unmatched anywhere outside romantic pairings in the books. harry latches onto him basically at first sight and imprints like a baby goose, and goes, "excellent, at last, a Friend; i will now spend all of my time and attention on you Forever." what's that? hungry you say? sad you say? i will buy you All The Food. then draco "definitely homeschooled" malfoy rocks up with his hilariously incompetent friend overtures and harry says right that's cool, but you threw shade at ron, so you can fuck right off forever. i've had this weird little ginger in my life for less than a day and if anything happens to him i'd kill myself. bye.

and ron drinks! it! up! because he's never had it! he's never been First for someone before, and he LOVES it! and he responds by becoming an instant ride-or-die for harry. that's not a reading, either, that's straight up text: in book 3, ron says, verbatim, "if you want to kill harry, you'll have to kill me." and he's thirteen!! takes him about five minutes to get there, too — in the ten weeks they've known each other before christmas break, eleven-year-old ron weasley tells his MOM about his new cool friend, and whatever he writes is so glowingly effusive that molly knits harry a goddamn family sweater (if you knit, you Know) without having stone cold met the kid! not to mention — ron (at eleven! eleven years old, ron weasley!) decides to pass up his only chance to see his parents until june, not to mention missing his family christmas, so he can stay at hogwarts and keep harry company! because harry potter will never be lonely if ron weasley can help it!!

basically. ron and harry are the original platonic soulmates. they ARE the catherine-heathcliff "he's more myself than i am" dig-up-his-grave-so-you-can-lie-in-it type of love. they are each other's destiny and each other's choice.

[cherry-bomb-ships]

Sketch dump mostly for practice drawing these two cuz I have a lotta ship art ideas in mind hehe 💖 First one's a loose height comparison for fun, and second, well... there are honestly a few moments in the show where Mojo's shown to be pretty strong so I definitely think he'd be able to lift me no sweat, hehe 👉👈💖💖💖💖

[[Any reblogs or comments are seen and very appreciated!! ❤️🥺❤️🥺❤️🥺❤️]]

[callixton]

ur telling me the singer/rapper i got attached to in like. ninth grade is the famous pretty boy vampire of my dashboard fame. sorry i actually can’t process this at all what do you mean