#i think they just have the ultimate most awesome bond ever

[abuglikecreature]

they know eachother sooooo well 🩷

btw how am i supposed to draw bonemeal. the sprite is just a handful of bone bits

[frootiest-loopdee-doo]

Fop Peri fic concept incoming

I’m just gonna start posting the fic ideas I get bc 80% of the time I don’t write them, and I don’t mind letting other people have and use them. Hell, you don’t even have to credit me. I’m stalking all the FOP tags so if you write it I’ll see it. I won’t ask for credit, I’ll fucking SAVOR reading it.

Fic idea #1 Dale/Peri

“Peri’s Master Plan” or “I Can Fix Him” is what I’d call this.

First, Peri becomes dev’s babysitter. This can be set before the finale, or it can be au where dev never lost peri, or it can actually be after dev left peri. It just changes the setup a bit. If Peri is still Dev’s godparent he’ll have to be extra careful when hiding all of this from him. If he’s no longer dev’s godparent, this is his way of staying in dev’s life bc he cares abt the little shit!

His reason for becoming dev’s official babysitter even if he’s still dev’s godparent probably would so that he doesn’t have to hide whenever he’s with dev and also because Dale doesn’t screen the sitters ever so Dev probably has had some pretty awful ones.

Basically, dale starts hitting on the “babysitter”. Peri is initially disgusted, as you’d probably expect. He puts up with it though, for Dev.

Peri remembers a romance book about a beautiful female protagonist falling in love with and “fixing” an evil older man, and gets an idea about how he can help dev! If it’s in a human book it has to be something that could actually work with humans right? Why would it say it’s written by a bestselling author otherwise? This is a great idea!

Peri starts to go along with it, flirting with Dale, doing whatever it takes to make the guy fall in love. Peri overtime uses this as leverage to try and teach Dale why child neglect is bad (crazy idea). Dale does fall in love. Does peri? It can go either way. I’d say yes, I think that’s the most interesting way this can go.

Different routes this story could ultimately take, options A. B. and C.:

A. Dale changes for the better, though slowly. Maybe Dev Dale and peri do sort of family bonding. The huge conflict here though is that Peri definitely isn’t allowed to be in a relationship with a human, much less his (former or current) godchild’s dad. Will love prevail? Find out next time on dragon ball z ass fic here.

B. Dale’s treatment of dev seems to improve, and Peri is feeling pretty awesome about that. However, when talking to Dev, Peri realizes that Dale is only being a better dad when Peri is around- basically faking it to keep seeing Peri. Big angst. Peri confronts Dale- and honestly you can go as light or dark on the angst in this confrontation scene. Me personally, I’m depraved so if I ever write this it will probably be as dark as possible (I’m mentally unstable friends!).

C. Peri succeeds for the most part, but he doesn’t love Dale truly. This is eating away at him. He stays for Dev. He’d planned to leave when Dale got better, but as he understands the human condition more he realizes that the odds of Dale continuing to be a better dad are very low if he leaves. Angst, angst, angst.

Obviously Peri would try to hide the relationship from Dev at least at first in pretty much all of these. Dev would probably find out by accident. This could be done differently though, maybe dev knows early on. Maybe peri doesn’t hide it well.

Also, obviously you can take a different route than A. B. or C.

Feel free to be inspired by this rant. Feel free to steal the ideas here. Again, if you do, I’ll probably find it. I’ll probably read it. I’ll probably be very happy. Don’t worry about credit. Actually, don’t credit me even if you want to 😭😭😭

[thatmaxcontent]

East Blue Polycule, yeah? Let me headcanon-dump onto you, stranger who didn't ask for it!

They overall love one another equally (in their own unique ways), but they do have favorites (keep it a secret though 🤭🤫🫡).

Luffy doesn't favor anyone in particular, but he has the most fun with Usopp and the most 'emotional' (big quotes on that) times with Zoro.

Speaking of the Lettuce Demon, his favorite is obviously Luffy, I need not elaborate on this point. He was the first and he will be the last.

Sanji's favorites are Nami and Usopp, Nami in the more silly yet beloving sense. She'll often tease him for being such a simpy simp, but will happily give him some love every now and then. Usopp is constantly around, not just Sanji but the whole crew, and through that Nicotine Kicker kind of just got used to him being THE first one he'd go to (aside captainly stuff and such). They behave more like married folks who've been together for around 10 years most of the time, but this doesn't take away from Sanji's simpyness. Sanji simps for all his partners, but he only visibly does it with Nami and semi-visibly with Usopp. The other two are far more casual.

Nami's favorite is Vivi (surprise! I got this idea from another post, I don't remember the poster, but aaaugh I love it!!!), but out of the crew it's Usopp. Vivi and Nami are one-to-one, the blue gurl isn't dating anyone else. They keep in contact by constantly sending each other letters and SNÄILIN'!!! Usopp is Nami's crew-favorite because... well... they're besties. They bond over so much, and they're the most open in the relationship with one another (close second being Luffy and Zoro tied with Sanji and Usopp, followed by Luffy and Nami, ect ect).

Usopp's favorites are Nami (because of stated bonding) and Sanji (because of their incredible connection), but Luffy deserves an honorable mention as Usopp spends a lot of time and has a blast with him!! Sometimes they also take two-on-two time, rarely it can turn into a little bit of a quiet session, but usually they rave about future adventures and plans. Sometimes Luffy makes Usopp come up with a 'bedtime story', but it's just an excuse to see the sniper get so passionate and think about another adventure!

(This is also from that other poster, aaaaa thank you for infecting my brain with this incredible rot) Aside Vivi, Kaya is dating both Nami and Usopp! They rarely manage to talk, but when they do their sessions are long and if someone disturbs them it's game over for them!

Now onto the funsy headcanons!

Nami and Usopp browse magazines together on a daily basis (sometimes Robin joins them as the cool mother of the group), and they plan some cool and absolutely ✨️SLAY✨️ outfits none of them can ever wear.

Zoro and Sanji have a little bit of a play-competition going on constantly. They get genuinely pissed off by the other often times, but sometimes they make something a competition as an excuse to angrily make out against the kitchen wall (they definitely 'sword'fight about who tops)

Luffy doesn't completely process the relationship as a, well, romantic relationship. He's more in it for the good times, and because he loves the peeps! He's overall fine with more strictly romantically-viewed things, but sometimes he just doesn't want to. One second he will say "Zoro, crush me with your arms", the next he sees Franky and Robin (the cool parents) kissing and he goes "BLEUGH I'm going to need a shovel to transport this bullshit out of my mouth BLEHHHHHH"

Usopp is the most insecure and unstable in the relationship. He's very people-pleasery, while also trying to keep up a persona. If he ever emotionally talks it's usually to Nami, sometimes to Sanji within the relationship, but outside of it he confides in Franky (the awesome dadster) and Jinbe (the ultimately best grandpops). He tries to get better, but fails to realise how. He has fun with everyone, seeks to be around them at all times, but sometimes he can't help but disappear. If you don't see him at breakfast give him until lunch, at that point it's suitable to check-in. Who knows what the thoughts in his head have made him do.

Sanji has a dedicated notebook/ramblebook about each one of the peeps. Sometimes when he can't sleep, or someone just did something he found notable, he whips out a book and starts going "September 1st, 1989, dear diary-" oh shit, wrong fandom.

Zoro is the one that has to be dragged into things the most, he does go willingly as well but his solitude is important to him. This being said he usually doesn't mind Luffy or Usopp chilling around if he's laying back, sometimes they can ramble and do their own thing as well. A lot of the time it's just sitting and silently contemplating on things, with Usopp at least. If Luffy doesn't have stimulation for five seconds he'll gomu-gomu the ship.

Nami absolutely loves physical contact, but sometimes feels bad that she can't see her girlfriends and feel them around. In these cases she'll request some physical space until things have settled, but sometimes that can make her even more clingy. She usually seeks out Usopp, but will cling onto someone else if he isn't to be seen.

Luffy found a new appreciation for various relationship through the polycule. This also helped him think more healthily about his past, those who are gone and those who are alive. He's managed to settle some feelings, but a lot of experiences still hinder his head. He doesn't think about those things that much, and besides if he feels down he will quite literally start deflating. A quick munch of food, mention of stories or a good song will always cheer him right up.

Usopp actively leaves gifts for everyone around the ship (to the ones outside the relationship as well, but extra for the peeps). They're handmade, and they range from silly notes/drawings with cheesy jokes to actual equipment/tools and sometimes even clothing and jewelry.

I COULD GO ON FOR SO LONG, BUT IF YOU READ THIS FAR THANK YOU FOR BEING AN ENJOYER!!!! And drink some water, you're dehydrated you fucking amazing dewdrop angel baby

HAVE A GOOD TIMEZONE!!!

[stoshasaurus]

i literally JUST discovered your ramv1 tag and I have to say I did not know I needed this and I am very obsessed. I am looking through the tag, and I'd really love to know where you got this idea and why you think they work, but my own speculation is because of how very different their stories feel, nearly opposites of each other. Ramattra wants Omnics to co-exist with humans, albeit probably away from them (as far as I remember, i have not read his lore in a hot second), while v1 is straight up slaughtering all life it comes across out of a need for fuel. So... very opposite from each other XD

either way, absolutely obsessed with this, no idea I needed this ship in my life

I love indoctrinating innocent bystanders into my cult.

Frankly, I have no idea how they came about. I like to claim that they came to me in a dream, or a strange divination, but the truth is just as vague because I literally don’t know. Even if I did know in the beginning, it’s been long enough that I don’t remember now.

I think it stems from them both being designed to kill. Granted, V1 comes from a world of machines that are built with the sole purpose of killing, while Ramattra comes from a world where his kind is really uniquely made for killing (yes, bastion and orisa units also existed, but there were tens, possibly hundreds of thousands, of completely docile brands of servant omnics. Ramattra and his brethren were merely a fraction of that population). So Ramattra feels like they share a bond in their purposes. Also, I think the ultrakill universe’s earth, albeit to a certain degree (he does have his limits for violence, unlike v1) kind of sounds like his ideal world. All humans dead? Robots rule? Sounds awesome (ignoring all of the other caveats).

It also probably stems from my religious need to ship my favorite characters together, and the often strange crackships that usually results in. That’s the more likely answer, to be honest.

My dynamic for them could potentially be one-sided, and sometimes is depending on how angsty I’m feeling. Ramattra is a mechanic, a man who designs his own null sector units, and probably admires the form and function of machines. My Ramattra is the biggest simp known to man in that he regards V1 as being the ultimate machine. A divinity, compared to him, one that moves quickly, self-repairs, and is one of the most efficient killers he’s ever seen. He loves it as a character but also as a machine, and worships it as its own deity, almost. In summary, he’d LOVEEE to stick his hands in there and see what makes it tick (in every imaginable way). Considering my V1 notably lacks personality (at least in my head. In art, that is very much not the case) it could be a very one-sided relationship. But because I am a sucker for sucrose in my ships, I imagine v1 regards ramattra as a beacon of safety, the armor that its lithe frame lacks, and a home that it can consistently return to and rely on when it is damaged or worn down. He helps it develop personality, and in turn becomes obsessed with what he regards as pretty much a god in mechanical flesh.

Does that make sense? God I hope so. These fuckers drive me crazy.

Anyway, if there’s anything else you’d like to know, PLEASE feel free to ask. Ramv1 drives me absolutely nuts since the moment it blessed my stupid little head and I will take any given opportunity to ramble about them. Or share your ideas!! I love hearing those too.

Thank you so much for this question.

[greengrungeemo]

I know the most emotional tale in Avatar Last Airbender tends to be Iroh's tale, especially because it's in honor and memory of his original VA, Mako! Iroh's my favorite character hands down. Toph too!

So, a scene I think about A LOT and get emotional to in ATLA is Katara & Toph's tale in Ba Sing Se. Specifically, after when Katara and Toph go to the spa and get their well-deserved break! They treat themselves to an awesome makeover and feel pretty. What's heartbreaking is that within 20 seconds (I counted) of them walking out of the spa and mentioning how they feel girly and good about themselves, they encounter a group of bullies who say, "Nice makeup", to which Toph thanks them, and they follow with, "... for a clown!" 20. SECONDS. They only had 20 seconds outside where they felt pretty, to be put down soon after. This results in Toph and Katara getting revenge and having a nice bonding moment afterwards.

It just bothers me and actually makes me cry every time I watch it. I know that's weird to admit, but bullying someone, especially a badass blind/disabled person, and making them not feel pretty when they were feeling pretty about themselves... just hurts really badly. I also know it's fiction, but it seems incredibly telling of a society we are when open-handed comments like that are thrown about carelessly, without ANY consideration of how the receiving end would feel, and how it would ultimately and potentially affect their entire day. Toph knows who she is deep down, the strongest bender around, and I think we all know who we are deep down to an extent, so it just sucks when people assume things about you and put their energy into putting you down unnecessarily. Be kind, have empathy! It's not hard! Women as a whole deserve to feel pretty about themselves and feel safe. We need to stop putting each other down.

I tear up the moment Toph has a tear fall from her face, because it's a sharpened painful tear from a lifetime of emotional burden. You can tell it really hurt. I'm gonna be there like Katara is for Toph, for all my friends and loved ones, always.

If anyone ever put you down for your appearance, how you dress, how you present yourself in any way, or for your disability/race/orientation, know for a fact that you're beautiful. Don't let any carelessly thrown about remark define you.

[jessreadsandreads]

will you please share how the love lasagna works out for you? Enquiring minds want to know 👀

I would absolutely love to share the outcome of my magical lasagna -- thank you very much for asking! So, I actually cooked -- and immediately began eating, but it took several days to finish everything, between just me and my partner -- both the lasagna, and a complementary spell recipe for a carrot cake cheesecake of love and prosperity, all the way back on May 18th. I had read a post by @elminx suggesting that it would be auspicious timing for that sort of work, so I had made kitchen witchcraft plans centering on that date. However, I feel as though I've been experiencing snowballing results ever since then, which culminated in a thoroughly incredible dinner and a movie date, at my place, exactly one month later! I won't enumerate all of the instances of good luck, unexpected gifts, and small amounts of surprise money that arose during that time-frame, for both my partner and myself, because there were far too many, and I wouldn't honestly be able to remember all of them anyway, but the dating results definitely have me believing in the power of lasagna. My self-love and confidence have been busily growing like weeds, and it really comes through in how many new connections I've begun building, and how many existing connections I've intensified, in the past thirty or so days. I've had an utterly ridiculous amount of casual hang-outs and birthday celebrations with existing friends, generally initiated by them, which involved loads of deep conversations and strengthening of bonds; my nesting partner and I have had even more break-through conversations, adorable moments, and awesome dates than usual; I had a fabulous board games night with a blossoming new friend, who was formerly my work-crush, which we plan to repeat as soon as possible, and during which we gifted each other fancy lotions (it wasn't a planned thing, but it's kind of funny that we both did that), I gave her a huge batch of chocolate-peanut-butter-self-love cookies, and she gave me several sets of rainbow earrings; I have a sudden abundance of unsolicited, but unusually cute, unusually respectful messages from thoughtful, interested parties on a kinky social network site; someone who I was very interested in, but who had ghosted me for a while, popped back up with a genuine apology and a reasonable explanation, and we're planning a first date as soon as our schedules align and the weather cooperates for a walk on the trails with their dogs; someone else I had been involved with forever ago, but fallen out of touch with, sprang back up in an unlikely place, although I've been too saturated to do anything about it; and, most importantly, I finally had my much postponed, but ultimately amazing movie date on Tuesday, following a ton of build-up. It went so well that I received perhaps my funniest and most flattering compliment from someone post-date -- amongst the other sweet things she said, during and afterwards, she added, "I may have at least one friend asking me to introduce you to her." Ha!

However, I think the results for my partner are the truly impressive ones, because while he's already attractive as hell on physical, emotional, and intellectual levels, it is hard to get in front of anyone on the dating apps, especially as a cisgender, straight-passing, polyamorous man with an existing partner. The Tinder algorithm odds just aren't stacked in his favour. Not only has he suddenly been getting matches, and into flirtatious conversations, but he had a wildly successful first date on Monday, they've planned a second date for next week, and he's planning on asking her for a third date the following week. I haven't met her -- of course! -- but she sounds so lovely and perfect for him, ahhh!

[onewomancitadel]

Because I don't stick my neck out anymore hearing from a lovely commenter that apparently people got really mad about Jaune and Ruby's argument in Volume 9... God I don't understand these people. That's like, the most interesting and awesome thing ever I had been waiting to happen. The fact they balanced exile with magical resolution was really awesome - I just wish the volume had more room to breathe.

Jaune-Ruby actually having an interesting leadership bond/friendship is awesome. It's a terrible, terrible thing he did, which Ruby herself refused to do (taking the power from Penny - Penny offered) and it's the major difference between them as characters and to me is one of the many reasons it has to be Jaune first who reaches out to Cinder to get Cinder to Ruby.

I just really love that something so breathlessly heroic he did is also this awful, awful thing which breaks him before he can reach deeper to the real wound... like, that's good. That's great drama. Both sides are understandable and it's an ideological dispute.

Ultimately I think Jaune is 'more' correct in that Cinder should only ever have one of the power - he is actually doing a good thing for her in the way that he is doing a terrible thing to Ruby - but it's sooo good. It is just so good.

I guess like, some people view storytelling as a partisan engagement.

[ssreeder]

If you had to pick your five most favorite scenes you've ever written in your fics, what would they be?

Ok time to answer this lol. It’s so hard for me to pick 5 scenes that are my favorite to write, idk why, I’m just an odd person. But I did ask some of my mutuals what their favorite scenes were & they gave me their opinions! (Thanks guys)

1. The tree comfort scene in the first book of LIAB. I remember that particular section of the story was really dark and tense & then POOF we had tree cuddles. It was the first time the boys were cuddly together before things were official between them. Idk it was a nice breath of fresh air before it all went to hell.

2. The first bathtub scene in RIA with Sokka confronting his scars and Zuko being there for him and washing him while trying to give helpful advice he remembered from uncle. That was fun & I know a lot of people enjoyed that.

3. I’d have to say I enjoyed writing Aang & Sokka first meditation scene in ITF because I love meditation & exploring the depth of the human mind. I also loved giving Aang’s character more depth than just a goofy kid. He is wise and experienced so it was nice to give him an area that he was skilled in that allowed him to slow down and help his friend.

4. I gotta say in RIA I liked writing Sokka destroying that RR with a stick. Not just the murder but the conversation leading up to it and the implications the man made and Sokka twisting that around to justify his actions. (Also the man took pity and took of his helmet to seem more human to the boy he was trying to bond with which was his ultimate demise.) & it was cool that on the other side of camp Zuko was also taking control of his situation and killed the archer RR.

5. Last but not least would be Sokka’s fever dream, I enjoyed writing it even though it made me incredibly insecure to post haha. I pack in a lot of strange weird symbolism & hidden meaning & foreshadowing that I just know doesn’t make any sense but does it have to? It’s a fever dream! Idk it was nice & Yue was there so that was awesome.

Soooooo that’s it I guess!! (I do have a few scenes coming up with Zuko & an adult that I’ve already written & I’m really excited about because oh thank god it’s a fucking adult talking to Zuko & he isn’t growling and he is actually SHARING?? whaaatttt??? ;)

Oh & I’m really excited about TWO adults who have some scenes together that make me giggle just thinking about them interacting but that’s future stuff)

Ok that’s it!! Yippieee

[anyablackwood]

WIP Questionnaire Tag

Thanks for the tag, @mysticstarlightduck! I'll use Traveling Bards for this, as is the current trend for me.

1. What’s the first part of your WIP that you created?

The outline? That's usually how I start. If you mean of the actual story, then chapter 1. If you mean the concept itself, the characters.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Best I can find is Passerine by The Oh Hellos (the artists who made Solider, Poet, King). I'd love to find a more comedic/energetic song, though.

3. What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

Within this story? The MCs, lol. Especially Felix, my beloved son! I'm not gonna lie, the sisters are inspired by some IRL people that I love very much. But even without that, they're just so fun! This is my first "simple"/comedy story, so there's less of a focus on prose or "depth" and more on me just dicking around with these guys, so I'm really having a blast with them. Their characters are the most unhinged I've written so far, though I hope to change that soon.

Felix isn't inspired by an IRL person, but he's kind of shameless wish-fulfillment. Traveling Bards initially began as a parody of a very specific genre of anime, so he's essentially what I wish would happen/what I love to see for characters with his archetype.

For the favorites of all time? Can't choose, honestly. Love all of them!

4. What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

Memes. Or, I'd hope so. If it ever got adapted, I'd love a compilation video or funny edits. Regardless? Endless shitposts, sprinkled with random and unwarranted brainrot thesis-long thinkpieces on elements of my characters and world-building that I never even considered when writing it that ultimately change the way even I view my characters. I'd love a good Tumblr essay from someone being Totally Normal about one of my funky little guys.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

Actually writing it! Lmao. For the 3 people that have seen my writing logs, you'd know I had to recently overhaul the entire initial arc as well as the 3 chapters I already wrote! Though I guess plot points would also be part of that struggle.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

All kinds! Anything from normal animals to classic fantasy ones to ones I personally made up! My favorite out of all of them are the dragons. Because dragons are fucking awesome. My second favorite are the ones I made myself.

One of the first ones I introduce is the "crystal frog" which is this really cute frog that's quite literally translucent- kind of like the glass frog, but even more translucent! And light refracts off of it like a crystal!

7. How do your characters travel/get around?

Carriage/horse most often at first, then eventually via ship, then flying (with magic or on a magic creature). So. Basically anything but a plane or car.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

Actually writing it! I'm currently only a few chapters in on my first rough draft. My goal is to create the entire rough draft with as few edits as possible and then to go back and revise the whole thing, since that'll be easier for me than trying to make each chapter "perfect" before I move on.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) You think will draw your audience in?

I guess for those that are more familiar with this genre, it'll be that. Isekais/reincarnation/transmigration/portal fantasy/whatever you want to call it. It's also got found family and friendship (kinda spoiler-y, but there's a sibling adoption involved!). Lots of "be gay, do crime" instances too.

It's also primarily an adventure-comedy, with a kinda parody-angle to it. They're intentionally gunning for these classic Hero Adventure experiences, in a bucket-list kind of way. Also, they're bards (for lack of a more accurate and snappy term) in a fantasy setting. So if you like a heavy emphasis on a sibling bond and ridiculous people getting into ridiculous situations of their own making, I'm hoping this will be appealing!

10. What are your hopes for your WIP?

That it gets finished, LMAO. My goal is to complete the rough draft by the end of summer, so that I can spend fall and winter revising, rewriting, editing, etc. I eventually hope (like most writers) to one day publish it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves! I can't get there if I don't even finish it.

Not sure who to tag, so I'll come back to it later.

[queen-kassiopeia-the-5th]

Now that I've finished all of stormlight (I'm not looking at the WaT previews before the book comes out), here's

My Ranking of all Works in The Stormlight Archives

1. Words of Radiance: My favorite of the series! It has, in my opinion, the best worldbuilding, connecting the dots from the everything that The Way of Kings set out, the character development of every single character is perfectly executed, heartfelt and captivating. The plot continues to escalate and more challenges and threats are revealed, all interwoven in a masterful manner. Could not put this down!

2. The Wat of Kings: An incredible book with so much thought put into it, all these little tidbits that are put in place that you miss at first, and then come out in later books and suddenly everything clicks. The dichotomy and balance between Kaladin, Shallan and Dalinar's POV is so immersive! You want to keep on reading to see the completely different terrain, sights, experiences and worldview from each one of them! Also heavily features the GOAT Jasnah Kholin, the most underutilized character in my opinion. Jasnah is a brilliant, world renowned academic, gorgeous af, one of the first people in this era to bond a Spren, and also an ink Spren, who are less likely to bond. The first time she fell into Shadesmar she figured out what it was and how to get out in 5 seconds max, unphased by the Cryptics trailing her. The first Radiant of the current era to swear the fourth ideal and get a Shardplate. Queen of her nation making reforms to better life for everyone, and not afraid to duel and get her hands dirty (but not her safehand, of course). Casually turns air a into rock and crystals, looking into 2 different realities simultaneously. Goes into full melee and battle. Is a woman Hoid has shown interest in! And yet all we get from her are one prologue, a few paragraphs in Oathbringer and RoW? Criminal! But anyway, awesome book, great characters, immaculate worldbuilding, hit the ground running with this one.

3. Oathbringer: I didn't like some parts of this. The Kholinar and Venli chapters were a bore for me, the shadesmar felt slightly flat at times, but the politicking, the Dalinar flashbacks and the ending really carried it. The ending alone earned the book 5 stars! The Dalinar vs Odium, the battle, Szeth changing sides. Chefs kiss. But still, there were weaker parts in this that overall knock it down a notch.

4. Edgedancer: Underrated novella. It's so fun! Lift is just Awesome, and her and Wyndle are the best comedic duo. It also balances the severity of the End of the World and her perspective, and shows her character grown from caring mostly about her survival, which makes sense, considering her life, and her showing that she does care for others and will go and fight for them, but she will remain Lift, eating pancakes and causing shenanigans. And I loved seeing Nale's worldview and justification, and his Skybreaker gang.

5. Dawnshard: Rysn and Chiri-Chiri are some of my faves. Every time there was an interlude I hoped for Rysn since first meeting her. But overall, the book fell flat – yes, even with Lopen there… Despite the title, we still know almost nothing about the Dawnshards, besides them granting Breath like powers. The sleepless were interesting, but we know too little about them to understand what role they play (I ultimately think they are the Kandra equivalent of Roshar).

6. Rhythm of War: I have a whole post dedicated to my grievances with this book. I didn't enjoy it. At all. It actively made me feel worse. 1400 pages and nothing happens. None of the characters have any development, besides Navani – which, good for her – and maybe Rlain, but she don't see enough from him still. Even Venli gets bullied into compliance by her Spren. Dalinar's arc is litteraly Just Kinda Stend there guy. The plot progressed almost nowhere, despite Urithiru literally getting conquered! One of the weakest Sanderson books overall ever, in my opinion.

[orangeispice]

Sindy’s Underrated Spider-Man Fic Recs 1/2

All fics on this list are completed unless stated otherwise :D

Contains comic fic recs (616 and 1610), Spider-Verse, Insomniac-Verse, TASM, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Ultimate Spider-Man (2012)

95% of these fics are underrated, there might be one or two popular ones that snuck in haha

Family

Some of these have ships, but the romance takes second seat to the familial bonds 😀

Spiderbros + Teresa

frame the halves and call them brothers - Traincat - Spider-Man (Comicverse) [Archive of Our Own]

This fic doesn’t have Peter in it, but it has Kaine, Janine, Ben (Reilly) and BABY REILLY TYNE who’s the most adorable bean ever, so I’m morally obligated to include it on the list. Seriously. Traincat is awesome, and their Spideytorch characterization is on point.

Carry You Home - Crewe - Spider-Man (Comicverse) [Archive of Our Own]

Honestly, blanket fic for literally everything written by Crewe. “Peter, desperate for a way to get Ben back to his old self in the wake of the Chasm fiasco, calls in a reluctant Kaine - and less reluctant Aracely - to help. Luckily, they might be just the thing he needs.” This is the clone bros fix-it fic that we all need. Marvel, I hope you’re taking lessons.

The Transitive Property - Crewe - Spider-Man (Comicverse) [Archive of Our Own]

AKA Teresa and Kaine bonding over Peter’s idiocy, and also taking down a weapons ring.

Insomniac

The Only Cat Who Knows Where It's At - Traincat - Spider-Man (Video Game 2018) [Archive of Our Own]

Insomniac peterfel! “Three generations of Hardys show up at Peter's window,” this is the peterfel kid fic you’ve all subconsciously wanted to read after finishing the Heist DLC. Baby Walter is so cute. I think I just have a thing for adorable spider-powered children, probably.

these days of dust - momentofmemory - Spider-Man - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Be prepared to have a bucket on hand so you can cry your heart out. Insomniac May reflecting on the fact she KNOWS Peter is Spider-Man.

two weeks away, feels like the whole world should have changed (but i'm home now) - TheSoulOfAStrawberry - Spider-Man - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Insomniac-verse. Miles is grieving for Phin, and Peter is there to lend a shoulder, knowing all too well the perils of loved ones getting involved in vigilantism, still grieving for May himself.

Miscellaneous

The Long, Dark Pizza Slice of the Soul - Chapter 1 - thelastfrenchfry (automateddetour) - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own]

This one’s a double whammy: we got a combo of movie AND comic Spider-Verse! Insight into how Peter and MJ might have gotten back together; the interactions and romance are so lovely. Also, Gayle (MJ’s sister) is here, and I love her.

and desolation comes upon the sky - milknova - Fantastic Four (Comicverse) [Archive of Our Own]

If you love angst, this is for you. Sue Storm centric, reflecting on Johnny’s death, showing how Peter grieves for a relationship that barely had time to begin.

Gen

Initiation Rites - yellow_caballero - X-Men - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

This is genuinely one of the funniest fics I’ve ever read. Seriously. We have the comedic Peter Parker-Kitty Pryde friendship. The summary is literally “Peter and Kitty just wanted to get wasted on vodka and pass out in order to deal with the holiday stress. But when Peter ends up having to assimilate into the X-Men household to escape the red-tinted glasses of the law, it becomes increasingly difficult to leave. Or, Peter and Kitty accidentally get drunk, get adopted, get panicked, and get in trouble.”

The Spaces We Share - natcat5 - Spider-Man (Ultimateverse) [Archive of Our Own]

Ult-comic verse! Basically, Peter going from an only child to having a girlfriend and four asshole pseudo-siblings.

Spider’s Out of the Bag - ShimmeringBubble (orphan_account) - Spider-Man (Video Games 2018-2020) [Archive of Our Own]

Insomniac! Miles starts purring and freaks out. Luckily, Peter is there to explain that no, it’s not that weird, and yes, he can do it too. Fluff will give you cavities.

Respectability, Politics - brawltogethernow - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own]

This one isn’t completely underrated, but it’s probably in my top three favourite Spider-Man fanfictions, so I have to include it here. Basically, just JJJ screaming his ass off at mutant phobic bigots while Betty, Peter, and Robbie silently die laughing in the corner.

investigative journalism - Chapter 1 - LostOnMyRoad - Spider-Man - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Another Daily Bugle fic! Peter is not fooling anyone around here, least of all Betty Brant.

Red Threads and Corkboards - Anonymous - Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon 2012) [Archive of Our Own]

This one is set in the timeline of the Ult cartoon. Listen, I know the fandom collectively dumps on this cartoon, but it does have its moments. This fanfic features MJ, Harry and Flash having the right idea about Peter’s perpetual lying, but the wrong conclusion.

message me if you have any more fics you'd like to see recommended (part two is coming with more shippy fills) and show these authors some love!!

[derangedhyena-zoids]

Awesome! That makes total sense.

Now, tell us about your organoid headcanons? Are they (along with much core-based life) basically immortal? Or just much longer lived than humans? What did organoids do before humans (live happily without invasives mucking it up?), and are there as many in NCZ, or are they dying/getting killed off? (Looking at the Dr D comic and Zeke and Shadow… what was it, killing your heroes, I think?) Do any surviving organoids in NZO remain unpaired to a human and would they consider that a matter of pride (like “I have not knelt to be a pet”) or would they even care? If there even is any…

ahhh I have a lot. I'm actually (slowly, between Actual Adult Responsibilities) working on pulling things together in a coherent format. which this blog often isn't. In the meanwhile, some of my existing posts: Organoid anatomy:

+ Organoid anatomy blather post + A few more anatomy things +How the teleportation thing works +How the teleportation thing works, addendum

+a rambling post that talks about what Organoids get out of bonding to people

This is a crappy drawing of what an Organoid colony/nest looks like. But it's very sparse. I should do a better one.

If you or anyone else wants I can post my not-prior-posted document about Organoid reproduction/sex but it'd have to be in a different post so I can 'community tag' it properly.

To answer your direct questions-

They're not immortal, they're just very long-lived. Their longevity is actually a large part of what started pushing Zoidian longevity to develop.

Very few wild Organoids actually ever died of old age because they'd generally be ousted from the colony (and killed by other creatures) the moment they showed any sign of age-related weakness.

They did die of old age once they were domesticated, usually after living several generations post-their-bondmate. They stay with and have strong affinity for the family group. (this is why Ambient and Specula can detect their partners' bloodlines, basically.)

Wild Zoids would have the same longevity, but with the exception of the small "critter" Zoids, wild Zoids of olde are extinct.

Modern Zoid (cores) don't live as long, because their living conditions are so unnaturally shitty. Nobody understands this, or understands that Zoids are SUPPOSED to live longer though.

Wild Organoids lived in terrifying colonies and were the apex land-based predator on Zi.

Then a domesticating-the-wolf sort of thing happened and, ultimately, wild Organoids became very uncommon while domestic Organoids basically overpopulated the place. (there's actually a story about the origin event for all this, I have a post with it somewhere but couldn't find it at a glance, I've been working on a piece for the pdf about it, this will prompt me to work on it more I guess lol)

Wild Organoids were completely wiped out by the Death Saurer/Death Scorpion event(s) and what followed. Almost all plant life on Zi was destroyed, leading to almost all ecosystems breaking down and most things (including wild Organoids) starving to death.

It also made, yanno. breathing difficult.

By CC/GF, things were very much WYSIWYG. There were literally only four survivors. Other Organoids had been found, but many were accidentally (or intentionally) killed (as shown in Worthless)

One and Zero are my OC Organoids, and could very technically be counted during CC/GF times but… only very technically.

They're basically "the Organoids from the Berserk Fury and Liger Zero" - Zeke and Zero are the Organoids featured in Kill Your Heroes:

Shadow is only shown briefly in No Future and Legacy:

(and Pantheon but we're not there yet)

After Raven's death, Shadow just hangs around Ryss and the Geno Breaker.

In KYH we also see Zeke get Fucked Up(tm), so… in NC0 times there's just Zero, One, Specula, Ambient & Shadow around.

The only unbound Organoid is Shadow. Specula's still with Ryss, One's bound to Vega, Zero's bound to Bit, and Ambient's bound to Brad.

Bonding is very serious business and it's less a "pet" thing and more a "consent to sharing each other's lives" thing - the partners MASSIVELY influence one another.

Shadow just refuses to bond to anyone again because he's terrified he'll forget Raven. Because he knows he forgot his original Zoidian bondmate.

Ryss really wanted him to bond with Albion (and Albion did too), but Shadow refused. oh fun fact that I don't think I've mentioned anywhere here but: Shadow is, and has been, keeping the Geno Breaker alive by sharing its own energy with the Zoid. The Breaker, despite being evolved, is still trapped in an artificial chassis and can't "eat" properly. With no actual Zoid fuel available, Shadow sharing energy with the Zoid is the only way it stays fed. If you'll remember, it was very intensive and stressful for Shadow to fuse with the Breaker - that hasn't changed. The reason being though is because the damn thing is HUNGRY and wants to take, take, take from Shadow. So the duration has to be limited. (hi does it sound familiar? it should.) This is one of many reasons Shadow is grumpy (and hungry) a lot.

[idealisticrealism]

Awe that is actually so thoughtful of you. But yes it was just like being slapped in the face. This is such a non significant thing but I got really excited because I saw that we share birthday and I never read about a celeb with my birthday, then boom!. Then finding out he has such young kids, man. And yes, like you say I just got a new obsession and I'm going to be honest, Aram was on of the biggest reasons for me enjoying it so much, so I'm not 100% sure if I want to continue, but it may just like you say take some time to digest that he won't be back because I for sure have not accepted that. He played it so freaking well, that line between seeing that he is a mob guy who does bad things but also has a sweet nature to him. Because usually in this series either they do too much on one, and the sweetness doesn't feel genuine. But I think bringing up his background and then Thory/Nadia working together is a good way to continue it without him. I mean I do agree with you that I liked in S2 that it wasn't like "Oh so Thory and Arman are together now" but we got to see them grew a stronger bond. But, that scene where they are alone, they are both not in a relationship anymore and he says he doesn't want to leave her alone. Like man, that deserved a kiss haha. That seems like a very healthy take, like I do like most of the plots but somethings gets a bit too much for me, and also as a health care professional, man some of those bug the hell out of me like they do when there is any medicine involved on screen. Like there is noooo way you could use a ventilator in a chapel, you need to connect it to oxygen flow. But in those cases, I just make up my own stories in my head and pretend that is what happened haha and I'm happy.

Haha oh man the amount of ranting I have done about the medical stuff in this show... Thony's resus of Kamdar in his club in 2x10 is the pinnacle for me, like omg how many things can be portrayed incorrectly in just one single scene. But because I love this show so much I generally just do my best to turn my medical brain off and just roll with whatever happens whenever I watch it, mostly for my own sanity haha

I can definitely relate to what you said about the scene in 2x08 with the two of them alone at her house... I think I even read somewhere that the writers considered having Armony hook up in that scene, but then obviously ultimately decided against it. Tbh given that he then has to go back to Nadia only hours later, I'm actually kinda glad they didn't do anything more than hug! Still, I've got a fic or two drafted about an alternative version of that scene, and hopefully I'll eventually get around to posting them one day lol.

I also agree 100% that the show did an amazing job with creating Arman's character, and keeping that realistic balance of hard exterior and soft heart. I have a genuine love for all the main characters in this show, but Arman really captured me, and he quickly became one of my favourite characters of all time. And of course Adan did an incredible job portraying him, and his chemistry with Elodie was just off the charts. The show will absolutely never be the same without Arman/Adan, and that's something I'm still coming to terms with.

And I don't think it's silly that you were excited about sharing something in common with Adan; I think that having innocent little connections like that to the people behind the media we love is absolutely part of the fun, though the flip side to that is that if something bad happens with them, it can feel more personal. I encountered Adan on a plane once in 2022, and now what was once an awesome and delightful memory just makes me sad. And of course the fact that he was so young and had such little kids has been a really challenging aspect of it for all of us, because no matter our specific family circumstances, a loss like that hits a little too close to home.

Anyway, regardless of whether you do watch s3, if you're ever missing Arman you can always come over to Ao3 and find him there. At least in fic he can live on ❤

[the-haunted-star]

My humble thoughts on

(Minor spoilers!)

After multiple delays and a pandemic ridden year it's at long last time to enjoy a new movie in the way they were meant to be enjoyed, on the big screen in a dark movie theater with fellow fans. It was a pleasure to be finally attending an opening night screening of a new Marvel film again and I'm glad to report it did not disappoint!

This film at its heart is definitely a family affair. Ever since Natasha was introduced way back in Iron Man 2 she has been a character trying to escape her tramatic past, redeem her misdeeds and find a place in which she belongs. Over the course of the past twenty plus movies, Natasha found a purpose worth fighting for and a family among her fellow Avengers. A family and purpose she ultimately sacrifices her life for to save the world in Endgame.

The events of this story take place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Natasha is on the run from the government for having violated the Sokovia Accords in Civil War when her past as a Black Widow comes back to haunt her. The opening of the movie is perhaps the most heart wreching as we see Natasha as a young girl when she is taken back to the "Red Room" to resume her training as a Black Widow. There is a montage of Natasha and many other young girls being forcefully taken and put through the grueling and torturous training program which is set to a haunting rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". This sequence actually put a lump in my throat as it is just so sad and tragic.

The opening also introduces young Natasha's family although this is just a guise for an undercover mission. Years later Natasha is reunited with this long lost family when it's discovered that the Red Room she thought she had destroyed for good is in fact still in operation and actively creating new Black Widows. Natasha, her "sister" Yelena, her "mother" Melina and her "father" Alexi (The Red Guardian) join forces once again to end the Red Room once and for all. Along the way Natasha discovers that although their familial relation started simply as a cover, family bonds do not start and end with blood.

The supporting characters shine with Florence Pugh being the breakout star of the film as Yelena Belova, Natasha's surrogate sister and former Black Widow agent herself. She steals many of the scenes with her sarcastic sass and sharp wit. David Harbour is humorously lovable as the Red Guardian, Russia's washed up version of Captain America who he shares a decidedly one sided rivalry with which is a running gag through the film.

This film is packed start to finish with exciting action set pieces and fights. I think the benchmark for awesome fights still belongs to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but the fight scenes in this film definitely come close. They're fast, hard hitting and relentless. One nitpick I have about the action and this not limited to this film is when characters take extreme falls or are involved in huge wrecks, they are able to spring back up with seemingly little difficulty, injury or impairment. Natasha and Yelena both take some very nasty falls and bumps that really look like they should have several broken bones and yet they bounce back to their feet without much selling (to use a wrestling term.) It just takes you out of the moment when you say to yourself, "no way she would get up from that". It's one thing if it's a super powered individual like Thor but Natasha is a human character with no super upgrades.

Much of the film's action is spearheaded by the Taskmaster, a formidable and relentless beast that pursues Natasha and company like the Terminator going after Sara Connor. While I love the design of costume and the action scenes he's involved in, it's this character that was my main complaint about the film.

Marvel has not had the best track record with the handling of its villains and the Taskmaster unfortunately joins that dubious list. I would compare this film version of Taskmaster to Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode 1 in that he looks really cool, badass and has some great fight scenes but is otherwise empty as an actual character. Taskmaster spends the entire film as a mute attack dog for the main villain (who wasn’t much more interesting either) and is part of a twist that one, you could see coming a mile away and two, just seems completely unnecessary. He becomes another character from the comics that is essentially “in name only” because they stripped everything away from the character that made him who he was in the comics except for the physical similarities. I knew going in this was probably going to be the case but it’s still disappointing nonetheless. I will never understand why Marvel does not handle its villains with the same care as they do its heroes when it comes to the source material.

Overall while the villains are a weak spot, the movie delivers a thrilling, action packed adventure with standout performances from the main cast and a heartfelt story about family, loss and redemption. A bittersweet swan song and official farewell to Natasha Romanoff the Black Widow. ⭐⭐⭐½

[siswritesyanderes]

Hi! I’m curious: if you had to be the obsession of one yandere from each of your favorite fandoms, who would you choose and why?

Oh, that’s such a good question! I hope I don’t forget any fandoms. (Every time a question like this comes up, I forget all of my interests, lol.) I’m going to go ahead and include a lot of fandoms in this post, regardless of how much I like the thing itself. (I’m clarifying this because you said “favorite fandoms” and these aren’t necessarily my favorites, lol.) Boy, here’s hoping I don’t learn anything about myself, answering this question. Okay, in no particular order:

Harry Potter:

Okay, I’m thinking Newt or Tom Riddle. Newt is really good at caretaking, he’s soft-spoken, and I know from Les Mis that Eddie Redmayne is able to sing (which, in my mind, means Newt can and he’d sing lullabies). Meanwhile, Tom is powerful and, pre-Horcruxes, not too bad-tempered. He’s got followers, which is good for many reasons; he’s not sadistic like Bellatrix; on the whole, he’s a fairly balanced yandere with a surprising number of benefits.

Or Fred and George; they’re prodigies at what they do (They’re pretty much inventors); they’d be self-aware and fun as yanderes; and also they’re canonically kind of ruthless. Yeah, I think I’m settling on Fred and George for this one.

Twilight: 

By the metric of appearance, Seth or Caius. But if I’m taking everything into consideration, maybe Demetri? His power has great yandere potential that would only backfire on me if I’d already escaped, which I probably wouldn’t manage anyway, since I’m a human. He’s high enough in the Volturi that I’d be safe from most everything, but not one of the main three, which is good because I think being Caius or Marcus’s mate would invite a lot of scrutiny from Aro (and he killed Didyme), and being Aro’s might invite sassiness from Caius; just generally, I wouldn’t want to get in on whatever bond they have unless it was a poly thing where they all cared about me. Also, I’d rather avoid Aro’s power if possible, though I suppose having him be yandere for me would be like empirical evidence that even my entire history of thoughts is attractive, which would boost my ego to an absurd degree. You know what, maybe Aro. 

Then there’s also Benjamin, who has a chill personality, awesome power (especially since fire is the thing that kills vampires; being able to control it is like extra immortality on top of the existing immortality), and the innate freedom of not being a part of the Volturi. Yet, if he were to be recruited by the Volturi, you know he’d be as high-ranking as Demetri, if not higher. Again, safety. Demetri, Benjamin, or Aro, on the vampire side. (No Cullens, since they’ve actively provoked the Volturi and I don’t trust their ability to keep me safe. If Cullens were on the table, though, Jasper and Alice.)

Wolf-wise, I feel like Leah would be a really considerate and protective yandere, and since she’s the fastest of the wolves, I think she could get me out of most danger. Maybe Jared, since the only things I know about him are that he has a sense of humor and he can be SUPER manipulative (Like, that “Lee-lee” thing from Breaking Dawn was ruthless.), and that’s a valuable skill in a yandere’s tool belt. But ultimately I guess I would have to choose Jacob, since any of them would be physically unable to disobey him, even under yandere circumstances, so there’s no guarantee they would protect me no matter how much they wanted to. (Also I wouldn’t have to go through the turning process, if I’m with a wolf instead of a vampire.)

Final answer, Aro, Benjamin, or Jacob.

The Hunger Games:

Boy, I would say Snow, because I know he would pull strings for me and give gifts and stuff, but I also feel like he’d be kind of a selfish yandere. Like, he’d be kind when it’s convenient, but he’d ultimately be looking out for his own happiness. I love Finnick, but I feel like yandere traits for him would manifest too selflessly; like, I’d be worried about Finnick, as a yandere. Johanna “There’s no one left I love” Mason would be fiercely protective, but not worryingly selfless. She’d be clingy and spirited and probably beat some people up over me.

Divergent: 

Definitely Peter! He stabbed a guy in the eye in canon! He’s got an intersection of creepy and pragmatic going on, kind of like a human version of Jasper from Twilight, but without the racial baggage. I get that a lot of people thirst after Eric, and Eric definitely has more power than Peter, but his personality doesn’t interest me.

Percy Jackson:

Percy or Leo. Powers and personalities are perfect for yandere. Nico and Will, if they’re bi; I’m not caught up on Trials of Apollo, so I’m not sure.

WAIT, maybe Reyna?? The confidence, the metal dogs...Yeah, Reyna is awesome, too.

Descendants: 

Harry, Uma, and Gil as a unit. Just all three of them at once. They’re pirates, they’re already so steamy and intense about their relationships in canon (or Harry and Uma are, at least), and they’re all very attractive. If I had to choose one, I think Uma. Or Ben, since he’s a really nice guy with a strong moral compass, at least in the first movie (meaning a yandere interpretation of him would most likely become extreme in his morals, rather than corrupt), and he’s the king.

Detroit Become Human:

(I’m literally only making this a category because I find it unbelievable that any yandere Markus is characterized as, like, a rough and dominant yandere.) Markus was a caretaking android for an old man; he would be very loving, understanding, and supportive. His revolutionary energy is not turned against his loved ones. Nothing in canon suggests he would ever be rough with someone he loves. (Connor, meanwhile, is an android cop who is rough with his friends in canon, but lots of fan works characterize him as soft. Puzzling. Maybe uncomfortable, from a racial standpoint, since Markus is a man of color.) 

Also, Ralph is the absolute perfect mix of well-meaning and delusional and intense. Ralph is perfect as a yandere. Why isn’t there more yandere Ralph?? I love Ralph.

And also Jerry, because he’s cheerful and there’s a lot of him. Just a thousand of this one guy, all in love with one person? Yandere gold.

Undertale:

Sans. Or Asgore. Let’s move on. 😅

Legacy of Orïsha:

Roën. Easy. Another pirate, with emotional intelligence and a sense of humor! Self-aware but with a loose moral compass. I love him.

Avatar: The Last Airbender:

Having thought it through, either Jet or Mai; Jet is a charming yet hot-headed rebel, and we’ve already seen what it’s like when he’s like when he takes his ideals to an extreme. He would absolutely flood a town for his loved one, which, now that I’m saying it, shouldn’t be phrased like a desired outcome, but we’re talking yandere here, so it’s fine. 

Mai, meanwhile, would seem dry and casual while also doing the most. She would be satisfied with just sitting in silence, which is chill. And given her wealth, she might ‘gilded cage’ me. Then again, she’s not very forthcoming with praise or positivity in general.

Actually, yeah, just Jet.

MCU:

Listen, I really dislike Wanda in canon, but Wanda and Vision would be the best yanderes. Their powers, Wanda’s tendency to not take responsibility for her actions, there’s a lot there. And, like, she’s generally nice to people she cares about (and Vision is a Mjolnir-lifting sweetheart); she’s pretty much exactly right to be a yandere.

Maybe Nebula, since I want to give Nebula a hug and let her win at tic tac toe or something. She would fire the very biggest guns at anyone who made themself a threat to me, but one-on-one she’s so soft and frank and I love her.

(I want to say M’Baku because Winston Duke seems so lovely, but M’Baku the character seems too strict; we’ve never seen him with a loved one.)

Dandelion: Wishes Brought to You:

Jieun, in his good end, or Jisoo, in his bad end. Look, my friend got me into this game in high school; don’t look at me. Jieun is smart, psychic, very chill, and a king. Jisoo is practically the opposite. Both work very well as yanderes.

[hologramcowboy]

I am interested to know your opinion on shippers obsession with JA. Both J2 and cockles/destiel shippers go to great lengths to prove Jensen is either with JP or Misha. Its like he is a prize and whoever has him is the winner. JA is absolutely adorable I know but why is him being with either of these men romantically important to these people.

Anon, as promised I took my time answering this and gave it my full attention, this is probably going to seem like the most judgmental post in the history of ever and possibly the longest but here goes:

When it comes to shipping, I've stated before that I love seeing people engage their creativity, fall in love with a show and then with creative license create something new that brings them joy. That's so awesome to see. But shipping has a dark side or, rather, a small percentage of people who are set on ruining the fandom experience for all.

Let me start by saying that Your question would be better posed to a shipper that would be open enough to discuss with you. But since you asked me, in particular, it probably was for a reason so here's my perspective. As always, please ignore whatever doesn't resonate and follow your inner guidance.

From a psychological point of view, no one becomes over invested in anything without projecting a personal issue unto that situation/person. I think the hateful shippers (let's remember there are also normal people in this group not just cray ones) see themselves in the people they ship so, for them, their favorite star getting Jensen is like them getting Jensen. It's a projection of an inner frustration. People devalue themselves so they don't see themselves as valuable enough to be in a great relationship, which is why they chose someone to stan who embodies what they want to be and who can have what they think they cannot have.

Psychologically speaking, taking sexual identities that don't belong to Jensen and trying to force them unto him is damaging. It would be damaging to any human let alone someone who is outside of these fandom groups and can't understand everything about them. But people never put themselves in Jensen's shoes. It's one thing to build a story inspired by a series and love it so much you share it with the actor and another to confuse the real-life actor with the character you created. But I do get that these people need to see themselves in Jensen and Misha/ Jensen and Jared/ etc., they need to be recognized, they need to win. That's human and natural but what I will never get is WHY they bully Jensen, make up lies about him and objectify him when they know this hurts him. Even the people who think Jared and Jensen are in a relationship, like that's cool as long as they don't harm anyone with it, it's their prerogative but when they assault others who believe differently or attack the actors then it becomes a toxic, toxic thing.

I should share an important aspect from my perspective, Actors use sexuality a lot in their scenes, they use it to create chemistry. So often, these rumors happen because people are ignorant about an Actor's toolbox and how sexuality is included in mostly everything. Why? Because it is primal. For this reason, there are exercises aimed at creating chemistry and when script analysis is done it's always best to give special attention and look for the main chemistry/climax points of any story, that's the ultimate goal after all. This chemistry might be sexual or otherwise, but it is the fuel of the story and it is what captivates the audience. Aside from this, the whole point of a tv show is to bring to life a plot with chemistry so everything is set up to support and feature the through line of a story. In Supernatural's case, it's the love between the two brothers, that's the core of Supernatural and so the whole show was dependent on the chemistry between the two leads, which meant they had to find to super attractive men who also vibed believably that they could share a strong bond despite being basically in competition as Actors.

All of this not considering the intimacy the camera creates from a cinematic point of view. So, it's funny to me when people think this one or that one are dating just because they have chemistry because any actor that is trained can create chemistry with anyone within minutes. That being said, people get discarded all the time during audition due to said chemistry, mostly not because they suck at creating it but because execs/directors/ etc are looking for a certain zing which you either have naturally or you learn to create masterfully. Sometimes it can even be created from the outside in by manipulating what the audience sees and how they see it through masterful direction, styling, context creation, etc.

Another point to consider is that someone who is highly desirable (think leading man, leading men and women are usually the men and women most want to sleep with) will magnetize others regardless of circumstances and create chemistry on a subconscious level. People automatically assume and start rumors but it's to deflect the fact that they are attracted and magnetized to said individual and perhaps lack the maturity or awareness to handle it in healthy ways. Think of any sex symbol, people all described them differently based on how lude or intelligent the person doing the describing was but they all had one thing in common: Blind Desire. Unfortunately, when blind desire hits people and they do not have the tools to process it some can get pretty evil. Look at Elta, she's shamelessly built her whole identity around sleeping with Jensen and gives zero f**** about the damage to his image she's done time and time again. So, his own wife behaves like an obsessed fan would. It's sad and heartbreaking. But this often happens when people have magnetism, most don't know how to process it, so you get these really weird experiences that make you want to move to a different planet and directly affect your self-esteem because when people are obsessed with you, you're not going to blame them, you're going to blame yourself and feel like there's something wrong within you. Whether people admit to it or not, what they do does have an impact on the Actors not just on their own mental balance.

So, the point is, shipping in and of itself isn't bad, it's only the percentage of people dead set on hatred and malice that choose practices that harm the actors and other fans that sucks big time.

Jensen is innocent in all of this and besides doing his job as an Actor, he has done nothing to encourage this type of behavior and it does not reflect his values, beliefs and choices, the only thing it reflects is the nature of the people who are being vile.

Again, I could be completely off on this, this is just my impression so please find a shipper that can openly and kindly speak to you and explain their valuable perspective because I am sure they have so much more to share and explain.