#i'm very tired you guys

[edenwolfie]

just wondering if you could elaborate more on the times hua cheng suspected wujin was xie lian, and what his internal turmoil was like while debating this

Hi anon! Thanks for the ask, this is going under a read more because a) p big spoilers for ppl who haven’t read the fic and b) I suspect this is going to be a long answer (spoilers, it ended up being 2k words rip).

I’m basically going to just be walking you through my thoughts of the various steps in the fic where Hua Cheng is having Thoughts (and woohoo for the 21k of Hua Cheng POV I wrote for kicks and getting some thoughts in order lol), so buckle up for way more than you asked for. I hope it makes sense because I am very tired and I think I may have just rambled to myself for a solid hour rip

Initial suspicion!! Chapter 2! Literally the first scene Xie Lian sees Hua Cheng where Hua Cheng is just fucking staring at him for a little bit too long (he had been staring for a while before Xie Lian noticed it). TGCF Ch 192: “However, that black-clad youth replied, “You are. I will never forget your voice and your form.”” Hua Cheng fucking clocked this guy who was very gege shaped (he’s lucky Yanxun has been feeding Xie Lian, might have been a little harder at the start). He realises whoever this is is clearly uncomfortable with the awkward little bow and pointedly looks elsewhere, but quickly picks up Xie Lian again and keeps half an eye on him all night when he can.

Chapter 3! From there you get a couple of scenes of the light stalking because this guy’s pinged his gege radar and Xu Hao was able to tell him a few useful things from Den gossip: he’s taking years for patrons in bets, the other staff really like him as he brings them little gifts, is a cultivator with some kind of abstinence path, and he’s older than he looks, (Mental ticks in the ‘wanting to help others’, ‘kind’, ‘cultivator’, and ‘old’ columns). This section is mainly Hua Cheng seeing if he can get anything useful out of Wujin himself by catching him off guard, see if his behaviours or words don’t match what Hua Cheng remembers of Xie Lian. How old is he, what’s his name, how brave is he, how willing is he to share info, why is he taking years for these people—all the while trying not to be nice about it, because there’s no way after living in Ghost City for 2 years that Xie Lian hasn’t heard of Hua Cheng and his reputation and its too late to use San Lang because Xie Lian’s seen him, and also, if it’s not Xie Lian, he doesn’t want to be friendly to some fucking random asshole. It also seems to put Wujin on edge a little, so unsure if this is because he keeps surprising him or if this person is nervous about such pointed questions (if it’s a spy/trap, are they nervous about Hua Cheng catching them out etc). Xie Lian also moves way too fast when Hua Cheng makes a grab for his mask which, ticks in the ‘great reflexes’ or ‘cultivator’ columns, and out comes daozhang-gege, because he is fun to tease. Also, double tick in the wanting to help people column, and tick in the selfless column. Xie Lian technically also doesn’t disagree about the gege thing, so that’s a maybe on age.

Then you get the scene with the dipshit who curses Xie Lian in Hua Cheng’s presence and gets the afterlife kicked out of him. This is tricky because Xie Lian is very intentionally hedging here because he’s just pinged that Hua Cheng could know him and not be pleased about it. Hua Cheng is in two minds because Xie Lian could be cleaning because it needed doing and he’s a hard worker, or it could be that gege feels guilty to be somewhat part of the ghost’s death, OR an imposter is trying to pretend thats the case. He does seem oddly flustered after the conversation and escapes as soon as Hua Cheng’s questioning becomes pointed which could indicate either Xie Lian is nervous or the imposter is at being caught out. Also, the butterfly was with Xie Lian for much of the night before this moment and Hua Cheng was absolutely watching, so he did notice the way Xie Lian paused at the mention of his name, which annoyingly, could point to either Xie Lian or someone trying to pretend to be him.

Basically, by this point Hua Cheng has settled on this either being Xie Lian or it’s someone very intentionally trying to pretend to be him for unclear but probably nefarious purposes. His common sense is beginning to be outweighed by his desire for it to be real so where he had been flirting to put off guard and mess with him a little, it’s becoming much more genuine and his inner thoughts are very much slipping away from referring to Xie Lian as Wujin.

Chapter 4! Black Water, point in Xie Lian’s column of standing up to getting absolutely dunked in He Xuan’s aura, though once it happens Hua Cheng gets between them pretty quick cause NOPE, leave gege alone thanks you. Then Xie Lian comes in with the food, and he brings the fucking wine which IS the one that was on the table when they confronted Lang Ying and he’s like ???? Hello? Gege? Of all the wines you pick that one??? Which is a solid point in his head for it being Xie Lian because Hua Cheng doesn't think a spy would be able to connect that event to the two of them, or it could be coincidence :/ … (You may note Hua Cheng pointedly Does Not Drink The Wine because Fuck That Guy lol).

Attack on the Den! More unhelpful hints of Xie Lian/imposter; can fight well enough to protect the place but did get hurt though unclear in what circumstance. Doesn’t have much spiritual energy when checked which either means 1) possibly has a cursed shackle like Yin Yu does (or a good spy network might know they’d need to emulate one), or b) he’s being truthful about the changing paths thing and his current energy store has collapsed. He also gets an exciting look at gege’s leg which, nice.

Because of this, Hua Cheng is like, I GOTTA see this guy fight in person, preferably with me if I can swing it—and he does! Also during that convo Xie Lian brings out another interesting wine choice from somewhere he knows Xie Lian worked once because he’s followed this part of his trail and spoke with the winemaker (now a ghost, hence why so many bottles, bun bonus info), so again, could be legit, could be someone who’s done their research as well as Hua Cheng has. Seems like a stretch, but its possible, gotta be careful. Xie Lian also confesses that his path does not consume alcohol (point in gege column) and that he ‘stopped being used to fine things a long time ago’ which, another tick - but again, if someone’s done their research, :/ . Hua Cheng also gets a new lead he did not have before: Banyue. Which either means Xie Lian was there, or this imposter is setting up a trail which may or may not be legit. Either way, worth looking into to see if anything can be sussed out. Pack sunscreen Yin Yu.

Then we fight! This is where Hua Cheng starts feeling legitimately confident that it’s Xie Lian because so many of the little pieces he’s put together so far point to Xie Lian, and while all the other things could be things a spy or whatever could have learnt about Xie Lian and emulated, this skill would be really fucking hard to fake, and Hua Cheng has seen him fight before, he moves right. Also, Hua Cheng was not going easy on him and Xie Lian kept up, he was just as knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the swords as Hua Cheng remembered him being which, extra ticks. Xie Lian also gets very, very excited and rambles at Hua Cheng about a particular move and my god Hua Cheng is having little flashbacks to being alone with Xie Lian after fighting the binu just before Land of the Tender. So, all round, signs point to gege—and ding ding ding! I hid a little language clue here, as after this point, Hua Cheng never calls him daozhang-gege again and moves to just using gege.

Chapter 5! We get Qiandeng temple! Again, Hua Cheng is still fishing for information just to be sure, but here he wants Xie Lian to trust him, wants to convince Xie Lian that he’d be safe if he wanted to take the mask off. Hua Cheng thinks he gets a little something, when Xie Lian says ““I’m glad he saved you.”” which I feel reads as a more personal/emotionally charged response to the event than compared to what Yanxun might have said to hear such a thing. Then, ““I think we can give up pretences,” Hua Cheng said and anxiety clogged Xie Lian’s throat. A pause, then, “Gege is far older than he appears. Did he ever worship His Highness?”” That pause was intentional, cause he was considering just asking Xie Lian to take the mask off or just saying that he knows its him (cause he wants to, and Yin Yu’s been fucking hounding him about it and its annoying), but deicides to continue with his plan of making sure Xie Lian trusts him and wants to take the mask off on his own terms.

Chapter 6! Main clues were Xie Lian not having siblings (tick) and going into Feng Xin’s temple (frowny tick). Bonus info: This was also a little bit of a test to see if Xie Lian would run if left alone in the human realm for a time (Hua Cheng did not need to go do things, he had all the info he needed, he just changed forms and lurked about for a while), but Xie Lian does not try to escape and Hua Cheng is fucking thrilled. We also get Hua Cheng’s slip up when he nearly calls out Your Highness when Xie Lian falls into the grave, was mainly a clue to y’all that he’s feeling confident enough that he is referring to Xie Lian in his head as such, even if still some doubts. Then of course the chapter goes to hell (poor Xie Lian, I do love to whack him with a stick) and Hua Cheng doesn’t know where he went wrong and he’s fucking torn up about it. At the same time, he hears a little about Xie Lian’s childhood which sounds much like what he’d expect for a prince. Yin Yu thinks its all a ploy to gain Hua Cheng’s sympathies and Hua Cheng is Very Displeased about this suggestion. Hua Cheng doesn’t get much out of Xie Lian for a little while because Xie Lian is obviously fucking Going Through it and he doesn’t know what to do until he finally can’t resist anymore and asks and Xie Lian admits ““This is not even close to the worst thing to happen to me.”” Which oh boy, Hua Cheng knows what that's referencing and he’s so scared that something else almost as awful has happened to him—Anyway, he also learns that Xie Lian was trapped somewhere for a long time and oh man he hopes he’s wrong but he and Yin Yu hit a wall on his trail about 120+ years ago and he’s very scared he’s just learnt why with the addition of the 'worst thing' comment.

Chapter 7! By here, Hua Cheng is p goddamn certain it’s Xie Lian and isn’t really intently fishing for any information, he still does of course, as there is of course a little voice in his head being like you’re wrong you’re an idiot you’re desperate and seeing what you want to see etc. On their Zhongyuan date Ju-er tells him that Xie Lian is a god and very beautiful under the mask (and my dudes, if they had not fucked (up) in the alley, Hua Cheng had full intentions of cornering that lil guy and taking him to the temple for confirmation the next day). Then Hua Cheng’s a sneaky lil fuck and, where in canon Xie Lian is using the palm reading thing to see if Hua Cheng is a ghost, Hua Cheng here is using it to be like, I’ve carved these hands so much, I’m p sure I know how they look and oh boy they look pretty dang close that's fucking great, and they share a meal and a drink and they play street games and he just gets,,,so lost in the happy sauce, and Xie Lian says please like that, then oh fuck, we did an oopsie. We’ll get more into those thoughts in chap 9 so I won’t elaborate beyond what Hua Cheng said in chap 8 :)

Hope that was even vaguely coherent/interesting/helpful???? I’m sure I’ve forgotten shit too (there’s defo a few little heartbeat moments that Hua Cheng can hear, but they’re often not hugely helpful to him) but man I need to sleep, so goodnight all!

[krysmcscience]

Call this the Whoopsie AU (it's barely an AU)

I mean. Narinder never explicitly SAID the Lamb would stay dead... :3c He probably should have been more specific. >:3c

Part Two:

Well. The Lamb tried, but...sorry, Nari, the crown hates you now. Shouldn't have been so quick to lend it out, I guess. :D

Aaaand Part Three:

'Isn't he just adorable?' -The Lamb, probably, while their followers smile and nod and internally scream at the brand new hellcat they now have to share living space with...

Anyway, nothing says 'Dead To Me' like following a person around to loudly remind them of how dead they are to you. Right? Right. Narinder's got this all figured out. <:]

[wuffen]

[gin-juice-tonic]

Probably not a lot of other people worried about this, but when I was younger the more drastic "big change" type before and after HRT photos people would show actually spooked me away from wanting to use hrt a little

I was worried I'd wake up one day and just suddenly not look like me anymore

Being on it a while now i can say thats not what happens. You always look like you. Physical changes happen of course, but it's the same as how your appearance changes just from aging. Your sense of self is fine. You're just you still

[sceletaflores]

A Small Favor.

part one!

pairing: mike schmidt x afab!reader

summary: the stress of his new job is taking a toll on mike. he did such a good job helping you out, so you decide to repay the favor.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: 18+! MDNI! oral sex (m!receiving), vaginal fingering, handjobs, heavy on the praise, munch!mike always.

authors note: the heavily heavily HEAVILY requested part two is finally done. (quite literally wrote this instead of listening to my bio lecture) i still can't believe that fic has gotten so much traction, i hope this one measures up! it got waaaay more angsty near the end than i thought it would hehe also i decided to include everyone commenting under part one requesting part two in the taglist of this fic so you're welcome lol mwah <3

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It had been one week and three days since the couch incident, which is what you’ve lovingly taken to calling whatever happened between you and Mike. One week and three whole days of Mike dancing around you and the elephant in the room.

The morning after the couch incident he practically ran out the door taking Abby to school when you tried to bring it up. The next time you attempted to have “the talk” he stuttered out an excuse before retreating to the safety of his bedroom, so you gave up.

You know that there’s something between Mike and you that crosses the line of just friends, you both felt something change that night, but getting him to face his feelings and actually admit that will take work.

It's another night of sitting on Mike's couch mulling over what to do about the whole situation when you hear the front door open. You're shocked at first, usually you're asleep by the time Mike gets home. Sure enough when you check the clock it reads 6:33 in bulky red characters. Apparently, time flies when you're obsessing over how to get your friend turned complicated-accidental-one-night-stand to admit they have feelings for you.

You try (and fail) not to listen in on every move Mike makes in the kitchen, fighting to keeping your gaze trained on the TV as he makes his way to the living room.

In your eyes peripheral vision you see him begin to make his way to the couch, but he hesitates when his eyes fall on you. He awkwardly hovers between the two rooms for a few seconds until he takes a breath and walks over to the couch.

Mike sits next to you on the couch with a soft grunt. You wrestle with the need to look at him fully, but you can see out of the corner of your eye he's taken off his work boots and vest. His hair is sticking out at weird angles, curls frizzy and unruly. Your hand twitches against your thigh with the want to run your fingers through them.

You can feel your heart beat faster, struggling to sit still in the thick tension surrounding the two of you. You flick your eyes back to the TV in a vain attempt to focus on anything other than Mike.

Eventually, you lose the fight with your screaming inner monologue and chance a sideways glace in his direction. You're beyond surprised to find him already looking at you.

You stare back, a deer caught in headlights. The dim light coming from the TV highlights his eyes. Mike opens his mouth to seemingly break the silence but he stops himself short of actually speaking. You can see him fiddling nervously with the hem of his shirt.

It’s silent for a beat before you decide to speak up.

“Hi.” You say, it's a whisper but you might have well just yelled with how it cuts into the air between the two of you. Mike lets out what might be laugh, it sounds forced. "Hi." He replies stiffly.

"Home later than usual." You point out, fidgeting with your nail. Mike's home a little after 6: everyday, him being home 30 minutes late is odd.

Mike nods, he lets his head fall onto the back of the couch allowing his eyes to slip closed as he does. "Yeah," He replies, the position of his head allows you to get your greedy fill of his sharp jawline. "Jobs been hell."

You don't respond, but you know. Mike's been haggard recently, and not just because of the couch incident. The bags under his eyes have gotten worse, he's been forgetful, not to mention how much more neurotic and paranoid he's been.

Mike has been a wreck these past couple of days, and you want nothing more than to help him feel good. If not for just a few minutes.

You take a chance, and move to let your hand rest over his jean clad thigh. Mike tenses up immediately but doesn’t move to run or push your hand off.

"I could help you,” You say quietly, forcing yourself to keep eye contact. Mike's wide eyes flit rapidly between your eyes and lips. “Help you relax…” You trail off, voice barely above a whisper.

Your offer hangs heavy in the silence that settles. Mike just stares at you, after a while you start to regret making such a bold move. There’s an apology’s on the tip of your tongue, but when you start taking your hand off Mikes thigh he quickly grabs your wrist.

Your eyes snap back up to meet Mikes. His pupils are blown out, black encompassing warm brown. His tongue comes out to swipe across his bottom lip.

“You can...” Mike says simply, guiding your hand back to his thigh. Only he places it much higher up, high enough that you can feel the rough metal of his zipper brushing against the tip of your pinkie. "I need it." He breathes out desperately, eyes big and pleading. You allow yourself a second to just watch Mikes face before you start to move with a purpose.

You snake your hand lower, finding the already hard length of his cock through the rough material of his jeans. Mirroring what he did to you those ten days ago, you start to grind the heel of your hand against him.

Mike shudders, eyes fluttering shut at your touch. You can physically see tension slowly exit his body, leaving him slack and relaxed enough to sink deeper into the couch cushions.

The sight of him at ease and comfortable lights a fire in you. You feel a deep primal need to care for him, to make him feel good.

Patience wearing thin, you reach for the button of his jeans. Even in your arousal induced haste, you take a beat to appreciate the swell of Mike's cock pressing up against the denim. If this was any other time, you'd want to draw it out. To tease Mike until he can't take it anymore, but now is not any other time.

You pop the button to Mike's jeans, dragging the zipper down swiftly and pulling the flaps of his jeans open to frame his lewdly tented boxers. You can hear Mikes breath hitch, unable to keep from squirming under your intense gaze. The thin material leaves nothing to the imagination, the length and girth of him on display. There's a growing wet patch near the tip that's turned the light blue fabric dark and slick. An ache starts deep in your core, anticipation making you feel warm all over.

Slowly, you tug his boxers down enough for his cock to spring free and smack up against his stomach. "Ah! Shit," He hisses, hands balling up into fists by his sides.

Mike's dick is perfect. A nice length and girth you know will have your jaw aching in the best way later. The tip a soft pink color, and steadily leaking a stream of pre-come.

"I want to blow you," You say softly, getting close to Mike so your lips brush over his ear with every word. He shivers, mouth dropping open in a quiet moan. "Will you let me?"

Mike nods his head frantically. "Please," He pants, chest rising and falling quickly. "Please, I want it."

His begging is music to your ears.

You slide off the couch, kneeling between Mike's spread thighs. His straining cock makes your mouth water in anticipation. Holding the base in your hand, you lean forward to lick a board stripe from root to tip. Moaning at the heady taste and velvety feel of him on your tongue.

"God." Mike groans at the feel of your tongue.

You pull off with a slick pop, breaking a small thread of saliva trailing from the head of Mike's dick to your lips with your tongue. You lave over the tip, looking up to find Mike staring at you flushed and dark-eyed. You keep the eye contact as you sink back down, beginning to build up a rhythm.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Mike raise his hands before hesitating, and dropping them back down to the couch cushion. You can tell he wants to touch you, but he’s unsure of himself. You take his hands in yours, and place them on the top of your head.

At first he just sort of holds your head, overthinking what to do even with your permission. You’d laugh if you weren’t so busy preening over the feel of his unfairly big hands holding your head delicately, like he might break you.

“Fuck, your mouth…” Mike whispers, his words trailing off as he watches your lips work over his throbbing cock. His confidence grows, finally allowing himself to run his fingers through your hair and gather it in a loose fistful. Your moan of encouragement has him tightening his grip just a touch.

“Jesus,” Mike breathes quietly, you give him a lick underneath the head of his cock in response. "Fuck. Feels so good.”

You hum in response, working Mike's cock faster to draw out more of those whimpers that he can't hold in. Hollowing your cheeks and sinking down towards the circle of your fist still holding the base of his cock with wet, slick slurping sounds.

Mike's noises have gotten progressively louder by the second, you can feel his pulse beating wildly against your tongue through the vein running up his cock. You know he's close, and you're desperate to make him come.

You give him one long languid suck, swirling your tongue over the head as you pull off. His cock is slick with your spit, pulsing warningly. You use the wetness of your saliva as a makeshift lube to start stroking over him slowly.

"How's it feel, Mike?" You purr sensually,

When you sink back down, you don't break eye contact. Mike's eyes roll back into his head, the way his lips part on a sharp gasp, how his back arches off the couch, how his fist tightens even more around your hair.

Above you, Mike grunts, "Oh fuck, baby," His back arches, a rough gasp torn from his throat. The hand in your hair tugs sharply as he chokes out, "Gonna come, shit, gonna fucking come."

Mike shouts hoarsely, hips stuttering as he starts to come. His cock gives one final twitch in your mouth before he pumps load after load of warm come into your mouth. You moan loudly at the taste of his release coating your taste buds, swallowing what pools on your tongue routinely.

You continue to work your mouth over his cock, bringing Mike through the aftershocks of his orgasm, reveling in the broken sounds he keeps making. You lave your tongue over him savoring the taste of him, until he's tugging at your hair to pull you off his sensitive cock.

"C'mere, c'mere." He whines desperately. You’ve barely come up for air before Mike is bodily dragging you into his lap and kissing you like he needs it more than air.

His hand darts down your body and into your sweats. Mike moans in your mouth at the feel of your lacy panties absolutely soaked with your arousal. He wastes no time in finding your clit, rubbing tight circles over it with his thumb drawing a loud moan from your lips.

"Shit," You exclaim, nails digging into Mike's forearm. Your hips buck up into his touch, chasing his touch. "Mike..." You whine, needing him to do more.

"You drive me fucking crazy," He whispers roughly against the side of your face, sliding his pointer finger through the slick wetness of your folds. "I can't stop thinking about you."

“Oh god, Mike.” His fingers feel amazing, rubbing you in all the right places, his words lighting a fire in your stomach.

Mike gathers your wetness before pushing his thick middle finger in your tight heat. Your own moan gets drowned out by his guttural groan at the feeling of you clenching down on his finger.

“Fuck, you’re so wet.” He moans, thrusting his finger in and out of your aching pussy slowly. "You're so perfect, so perfect for me." Mikes lips trail kisses down your jaw as he adds a second finger into your dripping pussy, brushing against the spot inside you that sends white hot sparks of pleasure zinging up your spine.

"How's that feel?" He asks roughly, throwing your earlier teasing back in your face. You moan wantonly, hips moving grinding down as you ride his fingers in earnest.

Mike angles his hand in a way that lets his fingers thrust into you, hitting your g-spot all while the palm of his hand grinds into your clit

“I’m gonna come, Mike,” You whine desperately, hips stuttering as you tip over the edge. “I’m coming.”

"Yes, come for me." Mike whispers, lips brushing over your cheek.

Your chest heaves as you come down from your orgasm, collapsing against Mikes chest. You're an absolute mess, thighs shaking and sweat dripping down your back. A hiss escapes your mouth as Mike eases his fingers out of your twitching pussy. "Sorry." He whispers softly, kissing the top of your head tenderly.

You allow yourself to lay on his chest with his strong arms around your waist, keeping you close. So close you can feel his warm breath puffing out against your neck.

You don't want to let it, but reality sets in. "Are you gonna run away in the morning?" Your voice is so quiet you don't know if Mike even heard, and you can't force yourself to look up at him.

It takes him a second to register your words, you don't have to look at him to know he's wincing. "I," Mike starts, trying to find the right words. "I don't know." He admits, lips brushing against your hair.

The anger mixed with shame and embarrassment is quick to come, you scoff pushing off Mike's chest so you can go home. "Of course." You spit bitterly.

"Wait!" He rushes out, arms tightening on your waist to stop you leaving.

"What?" You bite out bitterly, whipping your head around to stare daggers at Mike. It backfires on you almost immediately, forcing you to stare into his big sad dumb eyes. He falters, mouth opening and closing as he fumbles to say anything.

You can't help that the look in his eyes tames your anger ever so slightly. The way he's silently pleading with you to stay, his brows drawn in concern and lips pulled down in a frown. Your steely resolve crumbles pathetically.

"What?" You repeat quietly. Mike flounders for a second more, before he finally gives in. "Please stay." He exhales softly, hands planting themselves on your hips, giving them a light squeeze..

Maybe it's your shitty resolve, maybe it's the post orgasm afterglow clouding your judgement, maybe it's the earnest look in Mike's eyes that keeps you from pushing out of his grip and out the door, but you just can't bring yourself to leave.

You stare back at him wrestling with your thoughts, but it's a losing game and you know that.

"Okay," You whisper slowly, settling yourself back down into his lap. "I'll stay."

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i could NOT figure out how to end this, but maybe i could do a part three? would literally anyone want that?

taglist!

@ebodebo @yuenity @mfdxz @mikeschmidtgf @lee-inthebox @sunny-deary @ncqari

extra taglist!

@ballorawan740 @slasherluvrrr @importantgalaxyrunaway @iwantsleepplz @theaterhoefornewsies

[shatouto]

confession

[soapywankenopy]

You know it's actually sick and twisted that Rick ended the trials of apollo series

Clearly he wasn't thinking of the needs of others (me)

[thekittyokat]

you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah

[likesummerrainn]

Richard III, Act 1, Scene 1

[philosophiums]

I have given into peer pressure.

Below the cut is my un-referenced, not proofread, off-the-cuff thoughts on the main JJK characters and their tendencies to have traits that contradict themselves, which not only makes them more rounded characters but also creates a really interesting situation in which characters have mirrors and foils not only with other characters, but also with themselves.

The point of this post is that the characters in JJK are complex. None of them are one-trick ponies and all of them contain multitudes and have, at least once, contradicted themselves and their beliefs.

Might be spoilery? I tried to keep it vague enough that it shouldn't be, but read at your own risk if you're anime only, I guess.

The Obvious One: Gojo

Gojo is "the strongest." It's debatable, I think, whether or not being "strong" is a personality trait, but he makes it his defining personality trait. (And I'm not here to do a Gojo character study, so for my purposes, it will be viewed as one.) Obviously, The Strongest is a title given to him by others, but he fully owns it and believes it. This is his identity; it's how he views himself, how he handles himself, and it is a preceding reputation that he gladly leans into. It's not a mask he hides behind, it's a flag he proudly displays on his ship to warn others of exactly who they're dealing with.

It makes sense, then, that Gojo's self-contradiction is that he has the biggest, most obvious weaknesses of all the characters in JJK. The first of these weaknesses is his knowledge of how strong he is. Toji exploits that weakness in the Hidden Inventory arc, and it almost costs Gojo is life. His second weakness is, very simply, Geto. Kenjaku exploits that weakness during Shibuya. Interestingly, Geto is a victim of Gojo's first weakness (Gojo is so self-assured that he seems to extend that assurance to the people around him, thinking that they are "as gods" like him just for being in his presence, and therefore he does not pay mind to Geto's spiraling), and exploits his second. He, better than anyone else, knows that he is Gojo's weakness, and he uses that knowledge to do everything he does before and during JJK 0 without repercussions.

Gojo is framed by himself and by many characters within JJK as being the "savior" of the jujutsu world, but in many ways he was, in fact, its downfall - because of his strength, and because of his weaknesses.

The Main One: Yuuji

Yuuji is the king of contradictions to me. Not all of it is within himself, and in fact a lot of it occurs because a large part of the plot is happening to him instead of the other way around, but he has one dichotomy that I do think is All Him. Yuuji defines himself as a cog - in his thoughts, he has been used and beaten down for evil already, so why not just be used for good as well. He thinks of himself as expendable and easily replaced; a foot soldier in a war being fought by titans. At some point, his goal stopped being to follow his grandfather's last request and instead turned into the simple act of persevering for as long as he can just in case anyone may have need of him. In a way, his outlook and perspective on everything became rather bleak and inhuman - quite literally, as, again, he views himself as nothing more than a cog.

And yet, for someone who has claimed his only purpose is to be used to kill Sukuna, everything Yuuji does is so achingly desperately human and is born out of his own desires to save people. Every other sorcerer has a CT or a fighting style that disconnects them from their foe - be that ranged attacks or weaponry - but Yuuji uses his fists. It's raw and almost savage in a way that is unavoidably intimate and human. He says, "Use me," (and, don't get me wrong, he is used) but even the act of offering himself negates the connotations that revolve around being used and shines such a lovely warm human light on him.

Yuuji doesn't push people away. The other "strong" characters isolate (Gojo has infinity, Yuuta literally fucks off from the narrative, Geto fucks off from jujutsu society, etc.), but Yuuji hoards people and connections (and yes, those become weaknesses, but the thing is: they become strengths, too). Sukuna takes Megumi away from him, but that just makes Yuuji more determined to kill Sukuna and get Megumi back. Everything he does is out of love, and he has a drive to do what he has to in order to save (or avenge) the people he keeps close. That's not exactly cog-like behavior.

The Fandom Discourse: Megumi

In my opinion, of all the characters (but especially the first-years), Megumi is the logical character. Especially when it comes to his job as a sorcerer (fighting and killing curses). He is knowledgeable about the world of sorcery, the most book-smart of the first-years, and he is smart and methodical when he fights.

He is also the only character who has openly admitted that he really only cares about saving the people he wants to save, as opposed to the general rhetoric of saving everyone. He's selfish, and he's not shy about it. Even he doesn't try to rationalize it; it's just part of who he is. Logical, methodical, smart, but also deeply, truly, selfish when it comes to where and how he expends his energy and efforts.

And yet, he is also the character who is most willing to die. Now, before half the fandom jumps down my throat, I don't mean to say that he wants to die or that he is constantly trying to - I'm just saying that he is willing to. (Obviously, Yuuji is also a character who is willing to die, but Yuuji is only willing to do so if it would also kill Sukuna, and he is determined to stay alive until such a time. Megumi, on the other hand, doesn't have a similar end-goal ultimatum for death). Yes, he comes at dying from a logical point of view, and yes, he only ever brings martyrdom into the equation if he feels he has no other option, but he has no hesitation when he reaches that point. And you (he) can rationalize self-sacrifice as much as you want to, but that is a very emotionally driven response, regardless of the situation. It's a last stand not only for himself, but for his friends, his family, the world. It's the end of the line for him, and it's something he is willing to do if it means taking out his opponent and making the world safer for everyone else - not just for his "select" people.

He is willing to run away from a fight he cannot win, but he is also willing to do something that he knows for sure will kill him if winning and running are no longer options. And I know that not everyone will see these things as opposites or all that detached from each other, but, to me, intelligent and methodical fighting does not naturally go hand in hand with, essentially, grappling your opponent and jumping off a cliff with them.

The Favorite Child: Yuuta

Like Gojo, Yuuta has access to an overwhelming amount of power. There's no doubt that when it comes to raw energy, he is the strongest sorcerer in his generation. He's exceptionally skilled when it comes to fighting and is often able to get by on simply overpowering his opponents (truly, much like Gojo). He doesn't embody being strong, though - he knows that he is, but it's not something that he considers a defining trait for himself. Instead, Yuuta's whole thing is that he has a tendency to shoulder burdens that other people won't (much like Yuuji, actually) (also it's kind of funny because of all the characters in JJK, I would consider Yuuta to be a "cog" way more than Yuuji, but that's a whole other thing). Yuuta is willing to be a monster, to make hard calls and suffer the consequences, because he has internalized what everyone keeps telling him - that, after Gojo, Yuuta is now "the strongest."

Which means that Yuuta also needs an equally large weakness to balance out that power. But where Gojo had arrogance (and his boyfriend), Yuuta has innocence. There's this pure sort of worldview that Yuuta carries with him that completely counterbalances the part of him that is willing to get his hands bloody. He has this youthful sort of hopefulness and naiveté that if he does the dirty work and puts in effort, then things will work out in his favor because they must. If he is sincere, if he shoulders an unbearable mantle, then everything will be fine simply because he chooses to do so. He does things because they are right and just, and he wants to believe that the universe will acknowledge that and be fair - even though he wouldn't have to do these unnamable things if that was true.

The Less Obvious one: Nobara

Nobara doesn't have a lot of screen time compared to the others, and specifically not a lot of time spent planning for/fighting in the "big fights," but she has one thing that the other characters don't have: self awareness. Nobara is the only character who knows what her contradictions are - she even says them out loud.

She wants nothing more than to be a normal girl who is into fashion, who could be a model, who does her hair and her nails and her makeup, who goes on dates, who has a lot of money and spends it freely. That's her ideal, that's her goal. But that's also who she is right now. She dyes her hair, wears makeup, is feminine in all the ways that would mark her as a girl to strangers on the street, goes shopping and buys too much and makes Yuuji carry her bags. She likes being girly and doesn't shy away from it.

But she is also, and I mean this with all the love in my heart, a feral little gremlin who is willing to bash people's skulls in with a hammer. She's brash and rude and loud. She takes up space and is unapologetic about it. She's vicious on the battlefield. She's not afraid to get bloody, and she hates being viewed as a damsel in distress. She's strategic in her fights, and she uses the fact that opponents underestimate her to her advantage. And she knows all of this, too, and she likes it.

She's self-actualized <3 No notes from me; I love my girl.

Anyway, that's it KSJDBVJKLDFVBJKDFVB There's no real point to this. I'm not saying anything profound, I don't think. This was all just a thought that I had, a little thing that I noticed, and I was bullied (affectionate) into sharing.

[teddybeartoji]

i cleaned my room i changed my sheets i took a shower i am a normal human person now everybody cheers

[haveyoueatenthis]

I'm sorry, I need to say this, but you guys need to think over your responses a few times before you send them. It's easy to tell that a lot of the asks/replies/reblogs we get are impulsive, because they're either way too aggressive ("kys" is never appropriate to say, let alone to strangers), they're overly familiar (you do not know us. please do not call us "baby"), they're already answered by the pinned post, or they're pretentious/judgemental/entitled.

So please, just think before you send. Think about how people might feel upon reading your words. That's all, thank you.

[iamumbra195]

I hate when people talk about Ashler like it’s inconceivable to ship them.

They’ll be like “Oh, they had so much beef, they’re barely even friends.” Genuinely asking here, have you even read the webtoon if you think that?

Tyler had issues with practically everyone at the beginning, hell, most of the kids didn’t even like each other. Ben, Aiden, Ashlyn, and Logan all thought he was a jerk and he was acting like one because he was trying to protect himself and Taylor and the whole situation was stressful as hell. That’s why his character development is so good. Even Ashlyn remarks that he’s being less of a jerk in one chapter and Taylor says that he's begun to see the others as real friends, maybe even family.

They all eventually became allies and then friends, including Ashlyn and Tyler. Sure, they like to throw some sarcastic remarks at each other but that’s just their sense of humour and part of the appeal of their friendship. Same with Aiden and Tyler, they insult each other all the time but the insults that were originally meant to hurt are now used affectionately.

He gave Ashlyn a nickname guys. He gave a jokey nickname to cheer her up because she felt terrible about the fact that she had to leave him behind while he got terribly hurt, while he died. She literally started crying out of guilt and being overwhelmed by the whole situation. She cares about him and he cares about her and the whole gang cares about each other, which is why there are so many ships in the fandom to begin with.

So stop acting like anyone who ships Ashler is stupid and stop saying ‘they’re like siblings’ on every post about them. We know it’s probably not gonna be canon, hell, Red herself said romance isn’t the focus of the webtoon at all.

I don’t even like shipping in general but the TikTok fandom keeps pissing me off. Stop acting like everyone has to ship the same things as you and stop commenting shit like ‘cute edit but I wish it was Aidlyn’ or ‘They’re just friends, they act like siblings’. Like yeah, they’re not canon but you’d have to be blind if you couldn’t see why some people ship it. Stop shitting on people’s ships and let them have their fun, we all know they’re not canon.

NONE OF THEM ARE.

Anyway, that’s the end of my rant. Sorry, I keep getting Ashler hate every time I search it up on TikTok. It’s so stupid and annoying, let people ship who they want in peace and stop undermining Ashlyn and Tyler's canon friendship and character development to shit on people’s ships. It’s an insult to the characters and your ability to read between the lines.

Live, Laugh, Love Ashler.

[autisticrosewilson]

So sick and tired of you bitches saying that Jason possibly being assaulted WHICH HAS BEEN IMPLIED MULTIPLE TIMES BOTH WHEN HE WAS ROBIN AND IN MODERN COMICS (not the Talia thing that was bullshit) WAS STOLEN FROM MIA!! DO YOU GUYS THINK THAT MIA IS THE ONLY CHARACTER EVER WHO HAS EVER HAD THIS SPECIFIC TRAUMA START BEING SERIOUS RN

[kyoshi-lesbians]

aang looks so cute in the kyoshi warriors make up

[decaf-mother]

*Walks in wearing a pink stethoscope*

I'm your doctor for today- what happened to the old one? We don't talk about that.

*PROLONGED STARE*

*Scribbles on a sticky note and places it on your forehead*

I diagnose you with 'needs fictional dick REAL bad'