#idk. like a stupid guy acting stupid because he's young and doesn't know how to be loved

[beanghostprincess]

Sakura is such a refreshing character when it comes to Shonen protagonists. The one insecurity most main characters share is always feeling weak and like they cannot protect the ones around them. The typical Shonen MC goal is always to get stronger, whether it is because of a dream or the people they love. But Wind Breaker goes even further with this and instead of making Sakura's character arc only about becoming stronger, it acknowledges that becoming stronger also means trusting others and letting yourself be loved because you can't do everything on your own. His strength relies on the people he loves because they lift him up. It has been repeated over and over again by various characters, but it's Sakura the one making the effort to apologize and trying to trust them more and jump off the rope that kept him from walking a safer, more loving path with his friends.

I'm not saying this plot is entirely new because it's classical Shonen behavior (and I wouldn't have it any other way) but Sakura's insecurities come directly from a place of interiorized rejection and genuine hatred to himself, because of past experiences. Again, it's not new, but the way the manga narrates his character development just feels so human and like teenage growth that it's impossible for me not to adore it.

Shonens, in my opinion, usually lack that message that ties the characters to real life. You can relate all you want to these characters but at the end of the day, most of their stories are exaggerations of real insecurities and you can just relate to the mere translation/interpretation to real life. But Wind Breaker does it in a way that feels entirely human and realistic.

So, to summarize, I am a big fan because the manga about fist fighting and street gangs ends up having an unexpected "get loved idiot" message.

[forgotten-daydreamer]

doctors and nurses should be forced to work in retail before being allowed anywhere near patients

[kiyo-cant-write]

hi hi! jade req again, kinda toxic this time

can we get jade with a reader who’s really easy to manipulate and they know it? idk if it makes sense but like jade realizing reader isn’t oblivious to his manipulation, just kinda self-destructive and hopelessly into him

jade thought he was being slick because reader wasn’t calling him out on anything, but he overhears their conversation and finds out that they’re fully aware jade is a ton of red flags but is still staying anyway, and his reaction to that

i really hope this makes sense! idk how to word it

jade w/ an easily manipulated reader ✧･ﾟ

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Aw! Thank you for another request! I love Jade and Octavinelle so much! I hope that I did your idea justice. Please let me know if you'd like another request in the future! Onwards to the story! ^^

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Summary: Jade Leech has been stringing [Name] along for fun and due to the instruction of Octavinelle's Housewarden. He thought he was doing well... but it seems [Name] may have had ulterior motives.

TW/CW: Toxicity but the standard Fish Mafia kind

Notes: established "relationship", they/them pronouns for the reader, the reader is Yuu/Ramshackle Prefect, the reader is described as human and younger than Jade/frosh, ADeuce if you squint, implied to be post-Azul OB

Guest Stars: Deuce Spade, Ace Trappola, Grim, Azul Ashengrotto & Floyd Leech (referenced)

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Jade Leech

As much of a sadist as Jade can be, he's not exceptionally cruel outside of what he deems as the necessity for his purposes.

He is a bit smug when he thinks he has [Name] under control.

Jade is pretending to be "honor student Jade Leech."

He acts as their friend and support albeit for the Lounge.

He pretends to care, to do everything to help them.

He smiles at them, speaks politely, and even "affectionately."

They trust him and they tell him things they shouldn't.

He will use those bits of information when the time comes.

Every time they have an inkling of doubt, he squashes it.

His surprise is evident when Floyd points out that it might not be the case this time, but Floyd is Floyd and doesn't explain.

Wanting to make sense of this discovery, Jade observes [Name].

He watches to see if [Name] really has caught onto him.

Jade is intrigued and what he finds does not disappoint.

He is surprised to find that they caught on long ago.

But they stayed? Why?

Because they "love" him?

Why would they love the guy trying to string them along?

It didn't make sense to him. He felt a tug at his heartstrings.

Did he feel bad about this?

He didn't know what to do.

Jade starts to avoid [Name] after realizing their feelings.

He retracts further into his honor student persona.

[Name] will not win this fight. He will not be bested by a freshman.

The battle has just begun and Jade needs to bury this sinking feeling in his chest. What does it mean anyway?

Floyd serves as a live studio audience to Jade's struggles.

Jade is an observer. That had been his role for so long, that he wasn't sure when it began. Ever since he was young, he would watch and calculate while Floyd was the type to rush into things, be impulsive, and just a tad stupid at times, at least when they were young. Jade never intended to make his observations a skill, but sooner or later, everything becomes an asset.

That's what his father had always said.

His mother worried about the sadistic streak in her son, but she couldn't do anything to prevent its development. Jade was, after all, a member of the Leech family. He and Floyd would join the family business sooner or later unless they wholly refused its offer.

"[Full Name]," Jade mused to himself, "How interesting."

Azul had been the one to ask him to pay extra close attention to Ramshackle's Prefect in case they strayed too far from things, or got into any trouble. The magicless human that had saved others from themselves, they interested the owner of Mostro Lounge. Jade had simply agreed with Azul's request, observation was his skill, after all.

It had never been meant to evolve, and certainly not into this.

Jade watched as this person fell for his polite words hook, line, and sinker. It was almost too easy. They were shockingly trusting, telling him all sorts of things he could use to be downright evil if he wanted to be. It wasn't time for that, not yet, but one should always guard their secrets (perhaps not as much as Azul, but at least a bit).

He didn't need to do anything unless the moment called for it.

At the time, it had not been necessary.

That was weeks ago.

Azul hadn't given further instructions and, to be fair about it, Jade didn't want to earn that octomer's ire. Not today, anyway. He and Floyd were troublesome, yes, but not stupid.

So, as Azul had instructed, he was trailing the Prefect until told otherwise (or until it became boring, whichever arose first). Though their reactions had been predictable, he could argue that things were getting boring now.

Floyd would have given up ages ago, he was sure of it.

[Full Name] was currently spending their time with their classmates, Ace Trappola (easily swayed by competition and bets) and Deuce Spade (note: gullible as a child). Jade had kept an eye on the three of them (and Grim) because of their closeness. It was rather irritating how buddy-buddy they were. He had worked a bit to get [Name] alone those few times they had spoken privately.

Standing away from the trio, Jade listened in on their conversation.

"[Name], I don't think that this is good," Deuce told them, clearly worried for their friend's mental state, "You need to be more careful. Don't you remember what happened to me and Ace?"

"I fucking remember!" Ace chimed in, "It sucked. Don't trust fish."

"Nya! Fish are food, not friends," Grim told them, "Especially eels!"

"Ah... You guys..."

Jade almost wanted to chuckle at Grim's words of "wisdom" but he withheld it, knowing that he mustn't give away his position. Not yet.

"You shouldn't trust Leech-senpai," Deuce continued, "Do you not remember how he and his twin brother acted before?"

"THEY TRIED TO KILL US, [NICKNAME]!!" Ace interrupted Deuce, earning him a glare from the navy-haired boy, "Sorry, Deuce-chan."

"Don't call me that."

What Deuce was doing could only be described as glowering.

"Lighten up and help me convince [Nickname] not to get themselves murdered by a shady eel and a shadier octopus!" Ace told him, slapping Deuce on the shoulder, "Just because they're better doesn't mean they're changed fish! Fish are suspicious!"

"Ace, do you have some fish-related trauma outside of campus that I should know about?" Deuce asked him, "It's starting to seem—"

"FOCUS ON [NICKNAME], DEUCE."

Ace's reddened face was a sign that Deuce was on to something with that fishy nonsense. Jade Leech would remember that fact.

Fish trauma. Noted.

"....Okay," Deuce agreed, turning back to [Name], "Do you want to tell us what you've been doing with Leech-senpai? We're worried..."

Deuce trailed off for a moment before he added a Deuce-typical offer.

"I can fight him if you want me to. They're messing with my friend."

"N-no thanks, Deuce... I don't think I need that," [Name] said, laughing at the antics of her friends and roommate, "Honestly, I know he's not being honest with me... But I don't really... care?"

The words surprised Jade but he refused to give himself away. There was more information to be gathered, for his own needs and Azul's.

They don't mind my dishonesty? Heh...

"I have never been more concerned for you than I am right now," Ace said, tone lacking its usual goofy undertone, "Do you want me to tell Mom and Dad about anything? They would help..."

Ace wasn't sure what to do but this was a worry. So frantic to say his sentence Ace neglected to register his misnomer for Vice Housewarden Trey Clover and everyone's favorite senpai Cater Diamond. He could lay awake and think about that later.

Deuce clearly felt similarly as he reached out to put a hand on [Name]'s. He wasn't good at solving problems of the emotional variety but he could be a support. Or, he would try to be one.

"Even if we can't say anything helpful... We can be here to listen."

"I appreciate it, but I'm fine," [Name] tried to assure them (but it wasn't working), "I just... I like Jade-senpai... and if this is how... he will talk to me... then I am okay with it. I've just been going along with all... that."

Jade felt time stop for a millisecond as he processed the words. They had been "playing along"? They didn't fall for every trick? Perhaps this was more interesting than he had thought. Still. He didn't like being bested, perhaps he needed to up his game...

"[Name], that's not good... I don't think..." Deuce managed.

"I wish Mom and Dad were here..." Ace mumbled.

"[Name], don't leave me for a fish! It's not even tuna!"

Grim clung to his human with small paws, tail swishing.

Jade was baffled not by those that Azul had previously controlled but by [Name] themself. They were something odd amongst the students of Night Raven College. They didn't shy away from his... methods.

But they said they liked him. He wondered if that made him feel something. He wasn't one to like other people, stay around them long... especially these landfolk.

It was a foreign concept.

Oh dear. [Full Name], you've managed to intrigue me now.

To the concern of Deuce, Ace, and Grim, Jade Leech wouldn't be letting his human prey go any time soon. Not for Azul, or his brother... This was something he was pursuing now. For better or worse.

I hope they're prepared to best me once more.

What would they say if I said I "loved" them? ♪

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Imagine the rest for yourself~

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Thank you for reading! Likes and reblogs are appreciated! Do NOT repost my writing/headcanons as your own >:c Check the top of my blog for the inbox status and read the rules before requesting. This is not a twst-only blog! ^^

[resident-sean-expert]

I just rewatched episode 4 and I'm not going to lie, I'm scared of Sean's current character development.

So I know it's only the first time we've seen him this season, and we'll see him again for sure in episode 7, but after my rewatch, I really felt like I was watching a 6yo in a costume pretending to be an adult.

We all know Sean's a dumbass, right, but in this episode it's reached new heights...

So yes, it's not the first time he's acted immaturely (when he threw a tantrum in s3ep5 when no one would buy him his pillows, the fight he had with Franky in the bar in s5ep2, or simply the fact that he wanted to organize a parade with the justification of wanting to bring a hockey team back to Staten Island)

But in today's episode his stupidity was OFF THE CHART :

First he has been fired from his job but you know what, that can happen to anyone, no matter what their condition, so no big deal.

But then his memory problems are so bad that he :

-Doesn't remember he has worked at Kinko’s

-Doesn't know how to use an elevator (using the term "go-go" which sounds a bit childish instead of going up)

-Laszlo is forced to repeat simple orders to him so he won't forget :

Laszlo : "If I tell you to leave that office, then get out of the office. What do you do ?"

Sean : "Get out of the office."

Laszlo : "You got it."

And even his behavior like... doing the "Young Dumb and Full of-" joke during a JOB INTERVIEW

Or completely losing it after learning he's been fired and leaves in dramatic fashion, with ✨HIS✨ comfort toy train (given to him by his grandfather)

Sean : "I'm taking MY train, which my grandpa gave me. This place doesn't deserve me. I'm leaving."

We also see him playing with trains in the background (don't forget that he was the VP of the company at that moment) and installing a mini basketball hoop on his door.

The fact that he forgot to zipper up his fly TWICE, and can't even assemble a shelf.

In the end I don't care, all those scenes and details were funny, but the way Laszlo talked about him at the beginning of the episode was so contemptuous :

Colin : "Just hypnotize the guy so he forgets about the interview."

Laszlo : "I wish I could. He's almost brain-dead. He's hypnotized out. He's a proper idiot. Doesn't know his ass from his elbow. I mean, he really is stupid. But he's my friend. I can't let him down."

Sean : "Hey, elevator box don't go-go."

Laszlo : "You need to press one of the buttons, Sean."

HELLO LAZ ?! I mean you can shit on your bestie but I think it was way too much here lmao, full roast

Like, okay, your friend's a moron, but Laszlo even gives the impression that Sean has become a liability, and it's technically the vampire's fault that Sean is losing all his cognitive faculties.

As Laszlo pointed out, Sean is "brain dead" to the point where even hypnosis has become useless.

It's as if everyone takes pity on Sean now and tries to make him happy and obey his whims because "it's Seanieee-"

Even Nadja was tender with him in this episode (just like in the Roast episode)

We can also talk about the fact that Sean STILL sleeps in the garage, in the background after learning that he will get a job interview thanks to Laz and Colin, he's getting excited and said :

Sean : "She's got to let me back in the big bed !"

referring to his wife, bro you're telling me it's been since s5ep2 you got your bed privilege revoked 😭

I'm probably over-analyzing this, but I'm sincerely afraid of how it might turn out, especially since it means that seanzlo won't be able to be consensual anymore (since Sean will have lost too many mental faculties and Laszlo will feel like he's abusing his friend)

Idk man, the way Laszlo (and Sean gleefully) insists they're best friends... I'm not feeling it AT ALL..

I think there's a clear distinction between acting stupidly, being a himbo yk (Nandor) and outright regression, and I think Sean has crossed the line with this episode.

It's true that Laszlo and Sean are ✨besties 4ver✨ but like, whenever Sean has the slightest problem, he runs to Laz, like a kid would to a parent for help or comfort.

I HATE IT HERE, NUH UH-

Remember guys, Sean has serious daddy issues, please don't let the show go in that direction of Laszlo becoming Sean's caretaker.

[brutalitybunny]

opinions on klavdar

im very normal about them 🙏 i remember once ages ago i was like, "well i don't ship it buttt i know it happened." idk what i meant by that exactly. i def ship it. 😭

i just think its so cute... i found out a lot of ppl like to do "toxic yaoi exes divorce energy" klavdar, which is Fine, but to me, klavdar is deeply rooted in that "dating your best friend at a vulnerable time in your life" energy, that's the opposite of toxic ... like, it still didn't work out. i don't think they'd Be Good for each other, romantically, but theyre still partners, bandmates, coworkers, best friends, rather than "well now he's my ex forever"

like ... to me, it's 17-18 yr old klavdar, and the band just launched into big success and theyre getting a Lot of attention. and mostly it's just about the band, but then the comments get a little crazy, and the fanbase starts getting a little crazy, and they notice how *good* klavier and daryan are as friends, their chemistry in interviews and stuff... like.. they are very close! ppl start shipping it lol

that coupled with the general confusion of that time in anyone's life, being a young adult and figuring out Who You Are, what youre attracted to... is it this? do you love him? you like him a lot, he's your best friend, and everyone keeps saying there's more to you two.. is there? and you look over and he's giving you that same, unsure and confused but interested look, curious ... and you share a kiss in your bedroom, the same place you decided to start this band at all ... you try it out. :)

try other stuff out too if yk what i mean 👀a lot of Self Discovery a lot of Exploring LOL (this is why i place it at 18 lol) but like ugh. that new-relationship high. oh the things that tour bus has seen! oh the sneaked kisses backstage and the flirting choreography on stage..!! it's exhilarating! daryan young and belligerent and acting possessive over klavier .. klavier exploring this like, bossy side of himself, doing risky shit he wouldn't usually do just for the sake of thrilling his boyfriend a little more... stupid shit that young lovers do!!!

but ... i think being partners in law + bandmates + dating is too much. i think that's too much klavier and its too much daryan and it doesn't work out.. maybe the breakup is a little messy or maybe it's completely mutually "yeah this wasn't it." they're young adults, so it's fine if it's messy, but they're best friends who do understand each other, so it's possible one day they're just like ...this is too much and i'm not feeling it.. and it's over.

but i just think it's insanely healthy no matter what, after everything. like. they're still such good friends. when daryan moves precincts and they're not detective-prosecutor partners anymore, maybe for a second he thinks, does that mean we can...? but the band is Too Big now, and it's just a different time in their lives. that was childish stuff.

the toxic bitchy exes energy, i think, is literally just them being very good friends. 😭like i'm very good friends with my ex and we make jokes all the time abt "my BITCH EX WIFE LEFT ME !!!!" and i think klavdar would do that. klavier would wax on about this mysterious old partner who broke his heart and left him shattered and daryans like omfg ignore him he's pissy because i took the last lacroix

ofc i do understand the appeal for a super toxic highstrung dramatic will they/won't they relationship between them, and stuff, but at the core of my own being, all of my ships are best friends to lovers fluff and i struggle doing anything else LMFAO LIKE THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS SO IMPORTANT TO MEEE KLAVIER STILL LOVES AND CARES ABT DARYAN SO DEEPLY DURING ALL OF 4-3..!!

but ugh it's just so fun. and i love getting to play with a lovebug daryan, too, who pretends like all the mushy love stuff from their band is 100% gavin, but it's nottttt, he's in it toooooo, you ask him abt his relationship w klavier and he's like ... i think klav's just the kind of guy who everyone falls in love with, a little bit. he's got that dazzle to him. he's irresistible.. Like omg... a daryan and apollo who met under better circumstances, and they talk abt klavier..come on...it could be so fun....

... :3

[sneakyboythingz]

idk jax as a girl would be better tho genuinely. i feel like the smug mean anime bad boy is such a trope now... i mean its where you get people calling him tumblr sexyman bait, because he fills all those marks. jax being a girl instead would be really refreshing and different.

i dont really get why people like him i guess. no hate to the fans its just, idk why people like characters that would treat them like shit. or break their boundaries. and people find that sexy for some reason? its so confusing for me.

if jax was a girl w/ a similar personality (teasing, smug, openly annoyed w ppl) it creates alot more interest because u dont see girls like that often and the reasons why a girl may act like that is gonna be different from why a guy does it. theres something nice abt seeing girls with that type of confidence. but with jax its like.... ok he is mean cliche LOL.

I mean, i dont exactly disagree with It. But i dont agree either, and i still would really like Jax as a girl anyways

Is just annoying how so many people think he would be better just by being a woman? He would still be a bad person who abuses others?

Maybe is just me being autistic and transmasc but i dont understand why the female gender makes a fictional character automatically better or more cooler?

And at this point It gives major "i really like Jax as a character but the gender he has makes It problematic to like him so i have to pretend i dont" wich is just stupid to me, he is fictional, chill out.

And me personally i really like bad boys tropes, is Not for everyone and its a clichê, sure, but something being a clichê doesn't make a character bad If he is uniquely designed and well written, wich is Jax's case

Also yes, some people think this kind of attitude is sexy and there's nothing wrong with It. If you think its weird you are probally too young to understand or dont know How weird people on the internet can be

Its okay If you dont like Jax, is uncomfortable by his actions, dont like the Power imbalance he has with the female characters or even If you wish he was a girl cuz its the gender youre are attracted to more

But acting like he would be a better and more Interesting character just by being a woman is really annoying to me and the way the fandom keeps saying that is really weirding me out

[ravenbloodshot]

Someone who gives me the same asshole vibe as Cha Eun Woo and Song Kang is Eunwoo's friend Kim Young Kwang (the actor) I really liked his drama and he is quite handsome but he looks like a sadist and super manipulative to me I'm not gonna lie? No matter how much I try I can't seem to get into him? He was also caught before whilst he was a model (when he was much much younger) talking about what he finds distasteful in women and he said really weird/sexist shit but it was childish af too, like he really didn't think before speaking but I like to give benefit of the doubt to the "youth" LMFAO (not really) but you know he's also Korean so I wasn't shocked, I said oh another one bites the dust 👏🏾☺️😋 Anyway there's something sweet about him (I'm probably reaching and trying to give him a compliment) but he really totally makes the hairs on back stand idk he gives me torturous type vibes? Maybe it's past life between me and him vibes LMFAO but I see evil, I know I'm not tripping, like the dark triad evil? Am I wrong? What energy do you feel from him, please let me know!! Like he looks like if he wasn't told right he'd hold people captivate or be that weird kid that's cruel to bugs? I wouldn't be surprised if he was a bully or humiliated people, especially women. Like you know the energy of a closeted man that hates on women? He looks like the type to say mean things in a joking manner and not even consider people "beneath" him? I feel he can be sweet but it is selective, like he may want something? Idk he feels fucking cold, like his eyes and his smile, no emotion etc I wouldn't be surprised if he has a disorder or something that makes him unemotional etc He's a major homebody too and he always acts uncomfortable in social situations etc, he probably is but maybe he really does has some disorder or something because he expresses that he wants to go home etc. Like I could see him being condescending like Song Kang and Cha Eun Woo too?

CEW always gives me the energy of misguided energy? Like if he were to be surrounded by good people who humbled him he could be okay? I always see some sentiment in him? He looks like people don't check him and out of all 3 he looks to me the most reflective, like if something happened it could give him a spiritual awakening etc and change his life. Like the type of guy that heals if he was loved right. CEW gives me I am a "twin" vibes, like he has a counterpart in this lifetime who's gonna have a profound effect on his life? He always looked like a redeemable soul to me? I don't know but the more he gets deeper into the industry and this cold, cruel, money driven environment he just gonna end up being unredeemable as well, in the deep end? Like he'll end up the worst out of the bunch? I hope he don't start doing drugs but he looks smart to me lol, I'll give him that much. The more I see actors/celebs the more coldness I see lol, some of them have really scary eyes.

It's hilarious to me that people found Song Kang cute, the mf gave me I'm bland and incompetent but have the audacity to be disgusted by you vibes. He generally looks like the type to sanitise his hands if he accidentally brushed past somebody he don't respect, he looks hella coddled too and a mamas boy. He literally admitted himself that he wore the same socks for months straight. He's probably the type that doesn't do the dishes or wash his clothes etc, like he young forever? I was shocked he was feeling Han So Hee LOL but she grown woman vibes and I think it's opposites attract. Her rough girl image, idgaf demeanour probably intrigued him. A part of him also looked like he was pretending, so people could talk about them, like he used her for a come up? He shot a show with that young pretty actress and the interviews (my demon) were a pain to watch. I could tell he found her stupid and you were RIGHT, he cannot hide his dissatisfaction well!! Like it was second hand embarrassment. He was also on another show with BP Jennie and he literally iced her lmfao, he didn't even look at her, he also pushed past another woman and was heavily disgusted by another older woman complimenting him, like how dare you compliment me when you not on my level? Like the type that wants people to ask for permission before they greet him? He called another woman by another name and said "that woman" and she was like "I am that woman, it's my name", as in he didn't even bother learning their names and she said to him don't you think it's too soon to speak casually (banmal/drop honorifics) and refer to me as "that" and that you should learn people's names etc. It baffles me how people give a pass to "handsome/pretty" people in the world and especially Korea? But more so handsome men because of sexism right? Like he was not careful of his behaviour at all but people thought he was "clueless" and cute. It's obvious when he thinks people aren't on his level etc and I think he's at a point where he generally believes he's made it, so he dgaf like yasss I don't need to kiss ass anymore, when he was simply just expected to be polite LOL 😂 I think it's a chore for him to treat people well, like he might think about the beneficial reason why he should give charity and help people? Like they broke, they can get up, I'm not, I work hard. Like simple minded? He's cut the nice act now and he said so himself, that he hates being perceived as cute and a little adorable boy but he masked himself as such and then complains? Probably because he finds his fans disgusting. I'm ngl he feels like that. I don't know lol! Don't mind me, I be popping out here and there and giving the lip and the tea LMFAO 🤣 I'll stop here! 💀

— Lip Service Girl 💄

Me and you must just be on the same wavelength. I think it's too much to say Kim Young Kwang has a disorder, but everything else, I agree.

Cha Eunwoo has the best energy out of the three. But he has his own bs that comes with him. He's not a bad guy, though, the other two .....🤷‍♀️

What sticks in my mind the most is Kim Young Kwangs' weird comments about women as well. Like it's okay to have preferences, but like damn....

[barbiegirldream]

where's my Song of Achilles anon at ! I read the book. liked some stuff didn't like other stuff. it was fanficition of a two thousand year old poem from a three thousand or more year old story. stuff gets silly. Odysseus was still my favorite he's always my guy. Anyway rest of my thoughts under the cut

I think I liked the perspective of Patroclus a really normal guy next to the warrior of the ages. One pov of a boy unsure of his place in the world surrounded by men older and claiming to be wiser and his godly boytoy.

this personally made me cackle. Patroclus is that oh my god get him some brown contacts please meme.

The myths were actually pretty good. I like how vague they were about Patroclus's mother there are like six different women in history claimed to be her it's really Patroclus's paternal ancestors that matter.

I think it's genuinely a major issue with the plot that Patroclus knew of the prophecy and still acted in accordance to Homeric Legend. I just think he should have found out right before but too late when they're in Troy already perhaps in an angry scorn from Thetis about he'll lose too.

Like you I also thought it was stupid as fuck how Patroclus was a totally useless twink. Didn't even know about legendary Myrmidons the fighting force named after his great grandfather mind you. The mythic ant stuff is literally his own family history.

Achilles being so nervous about the war only to fall into it so easily. Like a god finding their domain he was born for it. I really enjoyed the nitty gritty of war planning too. Him getting Achilles dressed the lips being the only part of him still soft. That was awesome why is that no quoted more. Achilles climbing onto Patroclus covered in blood like god that scene is going to be in my head on a loop. There is so much to it. Patroclus knowing him by scent and touch alone but what creature has come to wake him? Achilles so proud of what he's done seeing the revulsion in his lover who was so sure nothing Achilles could do would revolt him.

There could have for sure been so much more to a much more sensitive Patroclus being unable to love Achilles anymore and that's why Achilles stops fighting until Patroclus realizes he can't hold back his demigod lover from greatness. Taking the book in a radical direction but alas.

Brisies was very well done I appreciated her character a lot. I think it was a very good choice to expand on her mythos and remove a lot of the violence. People often read myths and go oh so he raped her when that's either not stated in the text/not needed to include other than their fetishes driving them.

ALSO so fucking annoying Patroclus doesn't die because he's no good at fighting he dies because Hector is Better. Hector is the sole reason the Acheans struggled. He was the Trojan Achilles idk how that point got turned into well Patroclus could barely hold a spear tee hee. Spending the whole book being like Patroclus can't fight ooh one of Achilles's generals is useless. To then be like jk as in accordance with the Iliad he's really good and killed a bunch of people is actually bad writing sorry. I did giggle at Apollo just fucking with him knocking him off the wall all pretty like just twirling his perfect hair.

Turning Troilus the son of Apollo who Achilles chased down tried to rape and then beheaded in the temple of Apollo leaving his mutilated body for his father to die and therefore the reason Apollo kills him into a random death cause the boy was an idiot. Like Troilus literally the Greek representation of losing a young son to unjust murder. Well okay then...

Thetis raising Achilles's son here is so perfect because that boy is rancid. He saw Agememnon and said I could do worse watch I'll go kill Hector's baby just for fun. And they really delivered on what a piece of fucking shit he was.

Thetis giving in, in the end was really good. Liked it

Overall I think the book was really good. I approached it from the knowledge this is taking thousands of years of myths and giving it to the perspective of a side character and I think it delivered.

[leefi]

TFTBN Read-through | Part 3: Chapters 22-34

Part 1: 1-14 | Part 2: 14-22 | Part 3: 22-34 | Part 4: 34-64 | Part 5: 64-80 | Part 6: 81-90 | Part 7: 90-100 | Part 8: 100-127 (caught up here)

I was flipping through the pages, looking for interesting parts, when a sheet of parchment suddenly came loose from another section much deeper into the book. Unlike the rest, the material looked new, probably only replicated in the last year or two.

Curious, I lifted it up, and folded it open. To my surprise, the text was dark red, and said--

YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER

DO NOT TRUST ANY WITHIN THE INNER CIRCLE

FIND THE ARCHIVE ON THE TOP FLOOR OF THE MAIN BUILDING

REMEMBER YOUR OATH ⬇️ SHES GONNA GET MURDEREDDDDDDD WOOHOOOOOOO SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP

actually I wonder if Theodoros chan’s gonna get murdered actually. Son of a high-ranking member, asked Su to go to his room last night in front of everyone, was walking around alone with Su and Bardiya and milf mentor. Su would be the prime suspect with only Ran to vouch for her.

He was a young man, though not resembling of the others in our class. He had ear length, light brown hair, a light-bronze complexion, and quite delicate-looking features... Yet they somehow didn't come across as immature. In fact, he was surprisingly good looking, to the point that there was something reminiscent of a statue in his appearance. ⬇️ LUKA???????? Oh my god this guy acts exactly like Luka too Su said he was looking at her funny...does he recognize her, but she doesn't recognize him? I know a luka when i SEE ONE. THAT BOY KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON. HE IS A LOOPER LIKE SU!!!

or maybe he's just silly idk!!! hehe

but why does he seem to remember/recognize her and she doesn't? does it have something to do with her request in the first chapter??? did she REQUEST TO FORGET??? how could u leave ur looping bestie like that wtf su that's so mean did he leave the note for her? he wasn't at the dinner!! maybe he slipped it into the book and knew she would read it then! hmmm but the note could have also been placed there long before they met and that wouldn't really explain the timestamp on when it was written...what was it 1-2 years ago? i guess not. omgggg iim so excited to see more of him i hope he doesnt die in five minutes ill be so sad forever

Falafel, pita bread with various stuffings, steak and egg porridge, cheese salad; high quality Ysaran food, all well prepared by Yantho, SWANA CUISINE SWEEPING THE NATION I still remember the shakshuka and lahmebajeen from ran and su’s lunch

I feel like kam has a crush on su and has no idea how to contextualize it beyond an academic rivalry — su is hopelessly in love with ran and completely unaware of the fact that she is — ran holds a dislike for su for some reason, but still cares for her. her feelings seem extremely complicated.

The ransu(? no names given but assuming) childhood scene on the beach omg…that was cute oh noooo 😭 ok they did get my ass with that one.

hmm idk if that was ransu because the other girl's personality was very different from ran's. but also this could have been long enough ago that ran's personality has drastically changed since then

Big brother is very good at his role! Sekhmet said. Unfortunately, he is also extremely stupid. He can only really think about the things he has been told to do. I have seen him try to think about other things, and it is slow and bad and embarrassing for everyone. ⬇️ Kindest younger sibling interaction

Ok here’s my death prediction list 1. Utsu (botched - she’s meant to be killed but someone dies in her place) 2. milf mentor 3. Theo 4. Another inner circle member/staff (probably a combination with 1+2) Regrettably I think kam is going to live forever

I’ve disagreed with kam on literally everything so far but especially this aversion she has towards solving a problem she won’t get to benefit from (“let us be the last”). She’s so…childish? It’s a very childish point of view.

this adherence to gender a lot of characters hold really surprises me...i figure this far out in the future everyone would be a lot more fluid!!! what's with this obsession with antiquity (@ the characters/setting not lurina)

What I also don’t understand is why humanity didn’t just clone from the original 10k then continue having children biologically (or like test tubeically. ykwim). Are 10k humans enough to avoid a genetic bottleneck? whats the minimum viable population size for humans I’m not a biologist

Ok according to one article the number is 98. That is too low. who said that. lets kill him Another says 14,000 ok if you average those two guys out you get 7k 🙄 they’re fine. assuming good genetic diversity from the source group you probably wouldn’t even need to monitor for inbreeding. Why are they doing this complicated shit and causing mental prolapse.

THAT BRINGS ME BACK TO THE POINT ABOUT THE CLONES TOOOOO CLEARLY THEY HAVE THE TECH TO MAKE VIABLE CLONES WITH A CLOSED & SAFE SOURCE SUPPLY WHY ARE YOU WORKING AGAINST BIOLOGY…UR EFFORTS WOULD BE BETTER SPENT DEVELOPING A WAY TO TRANSFER HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS FROM ONE BODY TO ANOTHER RATHER THAN MAINTAIN AN AGING BODY!!!!

Hmmm. Actually I wonder if Su’s grandpa had a similar idea. Considering the weird identity thing she has going on. Nothing to explicitly suggest this yet i think? just somethign to keep in mind considering he was voted off the polycule

I also wonder if that was related to the conversation regarding the Phoenix and the Dragon. maybe transfer of consciousness leads to loss of memory? But that wouldn’t make sense if the tech was perfect, everything would move over, leaving the old body a blank slate…what would that do to a brain, psychologically, seeing one’s former body in a dead state? also what would it do to an empty brain to suddenly be inhabited by foreign electrical synapses harboring thousands of memories preferences likes/dislikes etc. would it fight back/resist?

Im thinking back to those scratches on the wall in the kitchen. Obviously super freaky shit like 10 chapters ago but we had no context to it (we still don’t) so it was like whoops! There’s that. lol. Couple things: - did someone bake the missing chef into 🤔 a roast? - those tally marks may have been the missing chef’s and she was trapped in that room for years (thousands of marks, I think they said. Denoting days, maybe?) and then she died - But that doesn’t explain the distinct lack of skeleton in the room. Or in the roast - who would have it out for the chef - why - Hmmmm - You guys ever read that short story in high school english about the lady with the rack of lamb and the officers

Anyways that chef is definitely deads. In the kitchen? Probably not. In their tummies? Noooo (<- secretly hoping yes). Floating in the abandoned plane ocean? Yassss

Lurina is AMAZING at dropping really disturbing nuggets in the middle of a passage then distracting the characters/keeping things going. I just wish I was more engaged with the pacing :(

Good heavens," Kam exclaimed. "Are these guns?" They were, and in no small number. I could see at least fifteen rifles and ten pistols, and they weren't antiques. They looked like refractor weapons, the bronze still carrying the vivid sheen of recent production ⬇️ If this story turns into a COD lobby in the next 5 minutes im reading it forever

WTF DEAD CHEF SWEEP

Ok I have to put a bookmark on where I am in the story so far. Chapter 33! I will continue to read through it slowly but am done with the reactions for now :) bye byeeeeee

[hekateinhell]

human aus of tvc are so much fun idk why people don't write them more often! i've had this plot bunny of l/a living in a ramshackle paris apartm. armand lives above lestat and he has this ruggish bf (santino?) and the guy isn't scared of armand's friend/neighbor bc he's never seen him & only heard he's gay, blonde and a ballet dancer so absolutely no threat right? Well SIKE bc one time he yells armand a lil too loud & suddenly his door is kicked open and a blonde beefcake has him in a chokehold

I actually think about the why part of this question a lot, because (obviously) I love a good AU! In my opinion, it's because of our fandom's very complicated history with fic that has continued to influence VC creator culture today. I think a lot of people do want to be creative and experiment, but (and maybe it's just me, I don't know) I get the feeling like collectively there's this sense of waiting for someone else to do it first that will indicate it's acceptable to play outside of the box.

Whether it's beyond writing the juggernaut ships (Loustat and Devil's Minion) or exploring kinks (this is a very kinky series, people!) or the endless possibilities of AUs, there's a certain audience for everything and I find people do respond pretty well to something different! It's always with a sense of surprise too, which I find funny and interesting and little sad, because it's nothing that you'd be batting an eye at in most other fandoms from what I can tell.

But because we're a fandom that only recently has started writing fic in the open (recently in comparison to our almost 40 years of existing), I feel like we're only just now starting to be that much more adventurous in a sense. You can talk openly, exchange content openly, it's a very different landscape than it was before. So I'm excited to see what the VC fic offerings will look like in a year or five years from now—it feels promising!

I got carried away lmao I HAVE THOUGHTS, but let's talk about this plot bunny. I just have to say... the image of Lestat kicking down Santino's door like the Big Bird gif laid me the fuck out. Anon, PLEASE. 😭 (Also not a bad analogy for how he came barging into Armand's cemetery self-imposed cell, from Armand's POV).

It's very sweet to think about Armand and Lestat starting off as friends! I always imagine that Amadeo and mortal!Lestat would've gotten along beautifully (they would have both fallen into the canal lbr). And Lestat's so protective of him in canon, it translates well. 🥹

Of course, Armand isn't going to tell his abusive boyfriend much about his friends and what he does when he's on his own. For a bit of a darker theme... maybe Santino's also his pimp? Armand doesn't tell Lestat any of this, he's too ashamed and hates appearing weak, and he just wants to forget his problems in the few moments where they can hang out on the front steps and share a snack and a cigarette. And Lestat might have his head in the clouds sometimes, but he's not stupid. He hears things, sees how Armand shrinks into himself and ignores him completely if Santino's around, won't speak unless told to, etc.

Lestat's young though, and not thinking how he might be worsening the situation by acting so rashly. Even though Armand's going to be grateful later, he's horrified in the moment knowing that Lestat's just made himself a target of Santino's gang in the future. And that Santino is going to think Armand's been running his mouth to Lestat and he or one of his buddies be taking it out on Armand the first chance they get.

Insert lots of drama, hurt/comfort, sex... Lestat and Armand eventually run away together and start over in New York City. Similar crappy apartment, only they're safe and together, and they live HEA.

~ fin

[h-pelessly]

July Reads

The Coworker by Freida Mcfadden (8/10) The beginning was slow. I'm not going to completely lie, but the book threw me for multiple loops. First off, I thought Natalie, FMC, was a good person, but turns out, she's a bully? Like who would've thunk. But then all her actions showed me that she might've killed Dawn, the other FMC, but like she didn't remember anything. So I was like eh, but bullying in a workplace. What are we-- 5? PLUS, it was painfully obvious that Dawn has autism and it sucked hearing about how people treat her. It was also weird that she had an unhealthy obsession with turtles. Like I get the similarities of how she feels vs turtles behave, but like gd girl this obsession is so weird. Then Natalie kept acting like Dawn's death had no significance so I was like though she doesn't remember, she suddenly did it. Then it turns out Dawn isn't dead. THEN, CALEB, NATALIE'S "BOYFRIEND" KISSED AND MADE LOVE TO DAWN. I was so confused like this honestly bumped the rating up. Jeez. Then Dawn wants to kill herself to get Natalie in jail. Like dude, that's intense. Anyway, the cliffhanger or the "peak" was that Dawn killed a friend of Natalie's from high school that aided in her best friend's suicide. I still don't think that part was realistic, but this book was pretty good.

Not a Peep by MT Addams (8/10) This was a dark bully romance. The first bully romance book I didn't like that much because the FMC was kinda annoying. But this one, I liked it because she was so much more mature. Like she wasn't stupid and didn't try fighting back knowing nothing will change. I didn't expect the MMM attraction/love story, but I liked it. It made sense as how the three guys were so close. Also, the guys were attractive unlike the ifrst one I read. Although, I would lowkey want to continue to read the other one. And it was HOT. Love it, but at the end, although it was a HFN, I didn't feel led on. The second book feels like a second story and not a continuation. I enjoyed this book more because for some odd reason, I was able to differentiate fantasy/fiction from reality, and when I did that, it made me enjoy the book more. So I'm glad I liked this book sm. I feel bad that I won't be indulging in the second book, but it is what it is. At least they all got engaged at the end.

Scoring the Player by Rebecca Jenshak (8/10) This book was cute and in my personal opinion, non-toxic. I love Rebecca Jenshak's books, and I love the fact that Dahlia is such a non-toxic, mellow girl. I didn't relate to her bc she was a golf girlie, but the fact that this is her first relationship and she doesn't know what to do but isn't freaking out or overthinking makes me want to hug her. Felix is such a sweetie for "taking Dahlia under his wing" to protect her. Along the way, they fell in love, and it was cute. When they "broke up", I was sad, but Dahlia made me realize what a strong woman is. I'm so excited to finish the series.

The Draft by Ana Shay (6.95/10) Lowkey disappointed at how this was. It had all my favorite tropes, but the FMC was actually insufferable. Like babygirl needs to be humbled. I get that she's young and excited to be in college and live the college life, but like why do you push yourself on people? Not only did she push herself on her brother's team, which is understandable honestly, she forced Dash to admit his feelings. And the whole time they were messing around, the misunderstanding was insane and how they both immediately went to extreme circumstances gave me the ick. When Madison misunderstood, she went to the extremes to make Dash jealous like girl grow up and keep your petty feelings to yourself. And Dash being called Dash sarcastically bc he's slow? Bro, that gave me the ick. Idk, there were some good parts though. They were cute together but a part, no. They will not last in the long term.

The Graham Effect (7/10) I enjoyed this one, but I don't think about it often. Gigi Graham is a GRAHAM so I thought I would be obsessed, but I was not. It's just weird seeing Garrett as a dad and just so not understanding, but also, Gigi being all grown up and needing a FWB. I get the connection, but I felt like it was just forced proximity and didn't feel the chemistry as strongly as I thought it would be. Maybe it's just because following up with Garrett and Hannah would be very hard. And how they got married???? I'm like... bro? Idk I didn't feel the connection as much which disappointed me.

Love, Within Reason by Everalda Ocampo (7.5/10) I got this as an ARC read a while ago and never got around to it. Though I'm glad I got to it now. I honestly thought this one was cute. I didn't like Mari, the FMC, at first, which is already a bad sign, but as the story progressed, I thought she was very understandable and her opinions were valid. I thought the close family dynamic was very fun and although very annoying at times, it gave a sense of closeness for me. I liked how fun Marcos, the MMC, was. He was a juxtaposition of Mari and I thought they were super cute together. This was a quick, cute read. Too bad it was very fast paced, but it made sense. It was a perfect in between book.

The Road Less Traveled By by Emily Tudor (8.5/10) I got this as an ARC and lemme tell you how proud I am of Emily and her writing. It seems like she grew into her writing and oh my god I love it. I don't know too much about Taylor Swift and how this book is an album or song or whatever, but this book was chef's kiss. It follows a social media influencer x bodyguard, and it opened my eyes to bodyguards, honestly. I didn't see the appeal in Vince, the MMC, but I am so in love with both of them together. I felt the love radiating from my screen and it made me melt. It was wholesome. I am in absolute love with Bree, the FMC. She had a stalker and now that he's out again, she needs a bodyguard with her. Vince has been her bodyguard before and he came back for her. Okay, first off, swoon. Just the way Bree slowly reclaims herself and Vince watching her proudly just makes me swoon. It's a slow burn, but the spice? JEEEZ. I love u Bree and Emily.

Hooked by Emily McIntire (6.6/10) This was my first step into a real dark romance and let me tell you, I was underwhelmed. Maybe it was just the book, but I was like.... That's it? I get it, it's forbidden and there's unaliving aspects and stuff, but I have read heavier shit. AND, it's also a Peter Pan/Captain Hook retelling so it's also my first in that. I don't know what to say. I was super underwhelmed and didn't care for any of the characters whatsoever. Like it wasn't bad, but it was cringy. And what do you mean she gets off by choking HERSELF? Okay... Anyways...

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (9/10) This was one of my thrifted books so I went into this blindly. Based on the blurb, I was hooked, but I didn't fully know like the tropes and all that. Honestly, reading the back, it seemed like I was about to read The Hating Game over, which isn't bad, but it's just like a book I liked when I first started reading. I don't know if I'd fully love it now. But this one, oh my god. I HAD TO FINISH IT. There were some dumb parts like why Olive, the fmc, just didn't acknowledge her boss on the honeymoon like when they meet in the office, she could've been like 'oh, that was my twin sister.' I get that's why Ethan and Olive get together, but also like that part pissed me off how she was fired for lying off the job. I wanted Ethan to grovel more, but their love story was honestly so cute. I couldn't stop giggling and kicking my feet tbh.

[incurable-bookkl3pt0]

I'VE LITERALLY BEEN SAYING THIS!!!

I've been saying that realistically, Branch would have little to no memory of his brothers, and that he definitely would feel like an imposter amongst his own damn family. Bad enough the poor baby probably struggles to fit in to his tribe's society, now we gotta add him struggling fitting into FAMILY.

The way I see it, it can go two ways.

Way #1 is the whole Branch Angst shebang, where we see him genuinely struggling to make a connection with BroZone, and BroZone not realizing just why Branch is being so weird with them and them not being happy with him until someone (PLEASE let it be Kismet) puts it into perspective for them, that Branch only knew them for a couple of months/years at best, and that those memories may be blurry seeing as how young Branch was. While they had at least a decade together (I personally believe ALL of Branch's brothers were teens when they left) so, of course, they know each other. But to Branch, they are practically strangers. It's possible that Cloud Guy, (someone that Branch only recently met) Prince D, or hell, one of his Trollstopia friends (like Synth), have been a part of Branch's life longer than THEY have, and that these people who have only recently been a part of his life would know him better than they, his FAMILY, know him. And that's when it FINALLY sinks in just how bad they fucked up. Because the way I see it, Branch was the ONLY member of the band (besides maybe Floyd?) that no one had a problem with, and somehow, HE'S the one that ended up suffering the most. HE'S the one that ended up paying the price for their anger and stupidity when it was never directed at him. And now HE'S the one currently still suffering because he doesn't feel like he belongs, in his own family. The rest all have their memories and inside jokes, while Branch can really (probably) only remember his brothers because of BroZone. The band is literally all Branch knows about them. (I'm fully willing to bet that if they weren't such a big band, he would have 100% forgotten about them at some point. I'll bet the only reason he remembered is because that was another point as to why singing was a no-no for him. He felt responsible for the show going bad, and he felt responsible for his grandmother's death.) And they'll realize that they also don't know Branch either. He was a baby when they left, and babies don't have much personality-wise going on for them, so that's when it hits them that Branch is also practically a stranger to them. And it'll really hit them over the head when they see him and Viva (yes, I am unashamedly plugging this into here) getting along a lot better because it's apparent that Branch can get along better with a literal stranger than them. After all, with a stranger, there isn't the silent pressure of having to know them. They're strangers. With family, there's the expectation of having some familiarity. And they don't have that. IDK what BroZone does once that realization hits, but in the meantime our baby is suffering. Suffering Imposter Syndrome, and suffering guilt because you can bet that BroZone before having their epiphany, made HIM out to be the problem. Hence, Branch angst.

Now, for Way #2, it can also go two ways. Both are BroZone Angst.

Way #2 - Side A: A continuation of canon, where Branch continues acting as nonchalant as he was at the end. He continues on with his daily life, and while he's happy that his brothers are back in his life, he is already fully aware that they are strangers to each other. But instead of that leading him down an angst spiral, he shrugs it off and goes about his life. He treats them as he would a new friend group, and not a family. BroZone doesn't really notice until it's brought up to their attention (probably Cooper's unfiltered mouth TBH) that Branch doesn't really participate all that much in their bonding, and that he just kind of sits there and listens the whole time. That's when they start noticing how differently Branch treats them from, say, The Snack Pack. Or, if we go the petty route (which we absolutely are) Kismet for that matter. Branch is pretty formal and closed off with them, but with Kismet, he's a whole other Troll. THEY have inside jokes, THEY tease each other, THEY have memories together. It becomes obvious fast just which band Branch considers his REAL family, and BroZone is beyond devastated it's not them. And when they tried to bring it up to Branch, of course Branch and his infamous bluntness points out how they're practically strangers to him, and that he's really just now getting to know them, which devastates them further. To add salt in that would, yes, he bonds with Viva.

Way #2 - Side B: A canon divergence. Everything happens almost the same, except for one tiny detail. Branch has no idea who his brothers are. We start the movie with the same flashback of how the band broke up, but then we get a secondary flashback of Rosiepuff pulling a Peppy (or I guess Peppy will pull a Rosiepuff in this AU, LMAO), and completely erasing his brothers' existence from Branch's memory. It isn't hard since all she has to do is hide the photos and just never speak about them again. She'd kind of be justified in doing so since you can't tell me that Branch wasn't horribly affected by their departure. Branch will remember being sad, but he won't remember why, and since he was the only band member with a Stage Name (and was implied to be anonymous) and Rosiepuff dies (and Peppy OBVIOUSLY won't tell), Branch just simply, forgets. He forgets he had brothers, and that he was ever Bitty B from BroZone. We now reach the beginning of the movie, where it cuts to a record of BroZone playing, except here, Branch is holding a picture of him and his grandma. The reason for the record is for transition purposes in the film, but also here, Branch legit dug through his grandma's old things and found the record and played it out of curiosity (Rosiepuff definitely pulled a Coco and banned that particular band's music from their pod) while he was going through photo albums. Poppy then comes in (conveniently since, if he had continued flipping, he would have the truth sort of unveiled) and the dialogue is the same as the movie, except Branch actually means his grandma, he's not "hate-listening" but rather "discovering an artist" and there's no hiding things from Poppy here. He genuinely misses his grandma, and is poking fun at her tastes because he finds BroZone to be mid. Then the movie commences, as planned, except, Branch is only going along because "No Troll Left Behind" is the motto he's heard since he was a trolling. The PFH somehow still works, because Plot Armor (AKA: I'm lazy and don't wanna figure out a whole other way that Floyd gets rescued), and not that many feelings on Branch's part. After all is said and done, we continue with the BroZone angst, where they're trying get Branch to remember them, but no dice. And for extra angst, they see him interacting with Kismet (and Kismet doesn't like that BroZone is trying to poach THIER baby brother), and see him effortlessly bond with Viva, while he is so awkward with them.

These are just some of several ways that Branch's age-gap with BroZone can be incorperated/interpreted, and I'm sure there are more, but these are my personal favorites; my all-time favorite being Way #2 - Side B, obviously.

BONUS!!! Now for my Branch and Kismet Lore:

Branch does join Kismet when he was little (and the whole time he is worried that people will recognize him from BroZone, because he wants his new band to do well because they're talented, not because he was once a part of BroZone, Branch refused to be a nepo-baby before he even knew what that was LMAO) before his grandma dies, and while they do disband when he goes grey, they (and Poppy) were the only ones that kept in touch and interacted (positively) with him during his entire grey era. Now obviously, as trollings themselves, they probably couldn't do much for Branch, but their friendship and company alone (along with Branch's spiteful survivalist nature) and Poppy's constant bombardment were probably the only things that kept Branch alive (gave him a reason to keep on living) and kept the darker thoughts away. As they all got older, they would obviously be able to do more for him, and they did, but the point is, they stayed in touch, and that Branch at least had some trolls in his corner. Fast forward to True Colors, Kismet is tentatively reformed and throughout TBGO and Trollstopia they hung out and practiced (whenever Branch isn't on screen and rewriting Mr. Glittercakes where Branch blows the Snack Pack + Poppy off to hang with his band, and that's how they find out about it, ofc,) and slowly become an even bigger band than BroZone was. And for anonymity's sake, he probably also goes by a Stage Name (like Blast or something IDK) so that a.) people won't harass Branch as much because despite him loving performing, he's still a very private troll, and b.) for plot reasons so that BroZone doesn't find out about him and his new band, and JD still finds out Branch is alive via Rockpocalypse. And also because I want it to be that Branch and his band also did a (non-evil) world tour, where they stopped at different spots like Vacay Island and Mount Rageous, so that Sp/Bruce (yes, his family loves Kismet, and they're a total Kismet house, and his kids all seem to love Kismet's anonymous co-lead singer) and Floyd have at some point seen him perform, and are fans, despite their boyband past.

If you couldn't tell, this is me better incorporating/explaining Kismet's existence in canon.

In conclusion, the movie really did nothing with Branch's age-gap with his brothers, and that will never not bother me. It also bothers me that the fandom hasn't really done much with this glaring issue. The best there was with this information was this fanfiction on AO3 called BroZone's Back Alright! by Serlenia, where in that fic, Branch has hyperthymesia. Basically, it means that he couldn't forget his brothers, even if he tried. And in that fic, he admits that he definitely tried. It's a great fic, and I love that they acknowledged that there was no other feasible way that Branch could have remembered his brothers. I just wish more of the fandom would acknowledge this detail as well.

I'd do it myself, but college is taking up a lot of my time currently, and I am much better at writing Original Creative Stories over writing Fanfiction. I know my strengths and weaknesses, and I'll stick to them.

Anyways, if anyone wants to write something on these ideas I've listed, go ahead. Just tag me, because I wanna read it!

Branch's brothers are essentially strangers to him and I WISH that fact got acknowledged more frfr

I mean cmon they got to form next to no memories with him before they left he was a baby! How many memories of your life do u have as a baby???

On the flip side they also know next to nothing about him beyond the baby era.. they have plenty of memories of eachother cuz they had been growing up together YEARS before Branch was born so they have that bond with eachother(no matter how messed up or broken) that they just don't have with Branch and I think that's super sad frfr

It's no wonder they treated him like a baby In the movie. Beyond being the youngest brother they literally have nothing else to know him by besides being "the baby" so of course they are gonna latch on to that familiar aspect of him cuz beyond that there's literally nothing for them to familiarize him by

I know Branch be feeling like like the odd one out many times after they all reuinted due to having next to no memories of them meanwhile they all sharing all these memories of eachother and having that level of relation they just don't have with him

It's a sad reality and I really wish it was more acknowledged

[hauntingjasper]

My Ran/Jackie Headcanons Because They Live In My Head Rent Free And I Love Them:

(I hope this is comprehensible enough, i struggle with English sometimes.)

Ran is a bit of a picky eater. This one is because he canonically prefers meat, and also projection. Lots of projection. He's the kind of fella who will die internally if he bites into something weird in his food. And he hates onions. Fuck onions.

Listen, i know Jackie bodyslammed him two or three times during the fic but he gets better when he gets older, trust me- /hj

He purrs. That's just common sense. /j

Ran purrs for a variety of reasons, either because he's hurt (cats do that!), or because he's content and comfortable, or even because he's trying to convey safety to whoever he's comforting in the room. This is just an Enderman headcanon i have in general.

Ran has either a book or notes he wrote himself on how to properly comfort people and what to do/say to them. Jackie's "thinking sessions" were one of the biggest reasons he decided to do his research.

He DOES roll in the grass, you can't fool me, Aetherman.

His love language is Acts Of Service.

He likes how makeup looks on others but can't use it himself because it feels weird on his skin. This one is because i think Enderman skin might be different from other creature's skin. It's also a bit of a projection, idk why that happens.

He's not into PDA (Public Display of Affection) and gets awkward when it comes to kissing in public. He tends to "playfully" dismiss Jackie's attempts to do so.

Ran still has several pockets in his clothes and carries several things inside them, he's always the first one to be asked if he has *insert certain thing* because someone else is needing it. Safety pins and hair clips are at the top of the list.

He can see in the dark. Terminus doesn't have a sun so I assume it doesn't have strong light sources either, so it makes sense to me.

In addition to that, there are times when he doesn't like the bright sunlight of the Overworld, especially when he wakes up and is still too tired to properly process his surroundings.

He sleeps in the most uncomfortable-looking positions ever and he's always clinging to something, or someone, while he sleeps.

Ran and Jackie have matching rings. Or necklaces. I like matching jewelry.

Ran goes to the library, this is what he gets: History, Historical fiction and Detective and Mystery.

On the other hand, this is what Jackie gets: Dystopian, YA, Self-Help and Romance and I'll stand by that.

Ran might join him to read and talk about the Romance books, which is another way to say that he'll hear Jackie slander the shit out of the story because he didn't like it.

They might also try to recreate some scenes, and the characters' expressions. The more ridiculous, the better.

Jackie purposely leaves his hair messy because he knows Ran will get annoyed and fix it for him, hence the hair clips.

Neither Ran nor Jackie can cook for shit, and when they do, they always need to have a Cook Book next to them.

Jackie pulls the "Should've killed me when you had the chance" card on Ran. Constantly. /lh

Jackie's love language is Quality Time. But he makes it seem like it's Physical Touch.

He's often the little spoon. I said what I said.

Jackie tends to swing between feeling really good when Ran looks out for him and feeling really weirded out too. It's nice to finally have someone who genuinely cares for you after your previous one came to a tragic end. But Jackie is used to having to fend for himself and be independent from a young age, so there are times when he thinks he's being a burden, or his brain just short-circuits with the attention.

"Would you still love me if i was a worm?" "Again these stupid questions, what the fuck do you want from me-"

"You're the reason why shampoo bottles have instructions." - Ran to Jackie at any opportunity given. Affectionately.

Ran occasionally visits Watson's cell. Because he needs advice. Watson highly considers sabotaging him sometimes.

Jackie is the kind of guy who would secretly do the middle finger in pictures.

Ran is the kind of guy who would notice it first and scold him for that.

Ran has several boxes of puzzle games in his room. And also monopoly. For some reason he keeps going to jail.

Not exactly a headcanon but i just can't be the only who thought of a cockatoo when Ran's spines were mentioned lmao

Ran has a notebook full of drawings and possible designs for clothes. He might use Jackie as his model once in a while.

If they had a more "specific" ship name, i think it would be either Desert Bluebells or Jackknife. Knifetrick also works, but if you wanted to know my other suggestions-

I think that's all for now!

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! :D

[the-cult-of-russo]

I Miss You

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader 

Request: idk if you’re taking request but i have a Billy x reader imagine where the reader is being super clingy and Billy tells one of his friends.The reader eavesdrop on that conversation and decides to distant herself from Billy.

A/N: I wasn't really sure what resolution you wanted for this one so this was what I came up with. I could have gone really angsty about it but I don't know, I liked this one.

Warnings: cursing, angst, fluff. 

----------

"Yeah, man… I don't know. It's just a bit much… I mean, she's always here or on the phone with me… I dunno… she's just… clingy, I guess."

You knew you shouldn't really be eavesdropping but you hadn't intended on it. Both you and Billy had been tangled naked in his bed after some good sex when his phone started to ring. He'd slipped into the living area to answer it. You'd only gotten up because your bladder was shouting at you but as you'd slipped on his shirt and gone to the bedroom door, you'd caught the end of the conversation. 

It honestly felt like a smack in the face. You were pissed and hurt that instead of talking to you about it like an adult, he instead opted to bitch about you to a friend, no doubt Frank. You weren't in a relationship, it was just casual sex and it had been for a good few months now. You weren't expecting anything else from him. And sure, sometimes you'd find yourself at his place a few nights in a row after work and sure you'd send him texts during the day or call. But never once had he acted like it was an issue. In fact he always sounded happy to pick up the phone and sometimes he was the one insisting you stay the night. 

It wasn't like you wanted a relationship with him. You went into this knowing what it was. You didn't love him. You liked him, both looks and personality, but you didn't love him. It could be easy to fall in love with a man like him but you hadn't let yourself. But things had just been natural with the pair of you. Easy. A casual intimacy neither of you expected but didn't seem to mind. Except he clearly did mind it. 

You weren't even that upset that he felt that way. He was entitled to his opinions and feelings and you wouldn't take that away from him. The last thing you wanted was for him to be uncomfortable or feel smothered. What bothered you was how he never once made it known and was going behind your back saying things like that. It made you feel small. It made you feel stupid like some young girl with an unrequited crush.

You rushed to get dressed and decided you'd leave, bladder forgotten. If he wanted distance then that's what he'd get. You weren't going to stick around to be made a fool of like this. He obviously wasn't happy with how you were so you'd remove yourself from the situation. 

Just as you were slinging on your jacket, Billy came into the room only in his boxers and quirked a brow at you.

"Goin' somewhere?" He asked, sounding vaguely amused. His laid back attitude made your eye twitch after hearing what he'd said on the phone. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna head home. I've got work early tomorrow," you said casually, closing your jacket. 

"Oh…" he murmured, brows wrinkled. Yeah, didn't expect that did you, Russo?

You gave him a bland smile, squeezing his arm before walking out. You didn't really want him to know you'd heard him and have to deal with that awkward talk but you didn't much feel like kissing his cheek goodbye like you normally did. He'd normally walk you to the door and you'd kiss his cheek, then he'd capture your lips as you traded lazy kisses at the door before you left. Well not this time. Instead you left the apartment and left a stunned Billy Russo standing in his bedroom blinking at the door. 

You threw yourself into work. It was something to help distract you from contacting Billy. You wouldn't say you were clingy but you had gotten used to talking to him daily and you wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being right. You'd give him the distance he wanted. 

You hadn't text or called him and when three days went by, he'd surprised you with a text at work. 

'Just wanted to check in and see if you're okay. Haven't heard from you in a bit.' 

Your right eye twitched again at his message. This was what he wanted so why bother reaching out? You shot him a short message back along the lines of 'I'm fine. Busy at work.' And that was that. He didn't reply and you didn't really care that much.

The fourth day since you hadn't spoken to him and he called your cell around noon when he knew you'd be on lunch. Your hand flexed with the urge to answer but you resisted. You stayed firm even after it rang a second time. But then it flashed up with a voicemail and you couldn't help being intrigued so you listened to it.

"Hey… uh… I guess you're still busy with work. I just… wanted to make sure you're okay. Hope you're not workin' yourself too hard. Just… call me back or somethin', yeah?"

You rolled your eyes and clenched your jaw. This was what he wanted yet he was contacting you. You hated that you itched to call him back but you still refused. Maybe you were stubborn or maybe you still felt slighted by his words to his friend, either way you didn't call him back. Even if you did miss him just a bit.

The fifth day came around and you were exhausted. You'd hadn't lied when you told him you'd been busy with work but you'd made more work for yourself to keep busy. Not only were you doing your own but you'd been helping others out too just to stay busy and keep your head Billy-free. You'd stayed late the night before and then came in early and you hadn't given yourself a chance to grab a coffee. 

You sat behind your desk as you read an email from a colleague as your office door knocked around noon.

"It's open," you called out as you scribbled a note in your notepad for later. You glanced up when the door opened and were stunned to see Billy standing there with a paper bag and two coffees in a cup holder.

"Hey," he smiled at you. You blinked at him for a second as he shut the door behind him. He'd never once shown up at work before.

"Hey," you replied feeling tense. He hovered for a moment, still clutching what you presumed to be food with the drinks as his dark eyes scanned your tired face.

"I just uh… I know you've been workin' hard these past few days. Wanted to bring you some lunch, make sure you're takin' care of yourself," he murmured with a frown. 

"Careful, Russo. Anyone would think you care," you scoffed with an eye roll. You hadn't really meant to say it outloud but didn't care too much that you did either. He looked taken aback for a moment before he nodded, setting the bag and cups down as he sat in the chair on the other side of your desk.

"So I did do somethin' to piss you off, then… thought I mighta done. Haven't heard from you in days. It's not like you," he said with a bitter smile. 

"Yeah, because I'm clingy, right?" You asked coldly, raising a brow. 

He looked genuinely shocked before he groaned, closing his eyes and wiping a hand over his face.

"You heard that… you… you weren't supposed to hear that," he muttered regretfully. 

"That doesn't make it much better, Billy," you squinted. He blew out a sigh and leaned his forearms on your desk as his dark gaze looked right at you. 

"I'm sorry, I-" he started, but you held your hands up to stop him and he shut his mouth abruptly.

"Look… I'm not upset you felt that way. I'm upset you didn't tell me. I didn't think I was being clingy. You never acted like it was an issue for me to be around so much or to text or call so how can I know it bothers you? I'm upset I had to find out by hearing you bitch about me behind my back to a friend like a goddamn child," you bit out, crossing your arms over your chest as you glared at him. He winced a little, drumming his long fingers on the desk before rolling his shoulders.

"It doesn't… bother me," his vague words earned him a squint from you and he sighed, sitting back up a little more.

"I freaked out… I freaked out 'cause I didn't freak out," he murmured looking confused. Your face resembled the words 'the fuck does that mean' and he rested his forearms back on the desk. He looked frustrated like he couldn't put his thoughts into words.

"This isn't how I usually do things. I'm a one and done kinda guy… unless I'm gettin' somethin' outta it like information or some shit. I don't … I don't usually go back to a girl. But you just… I had you once and I knew it wasn't enough. I wanted more. And… and I liked havin' you stay over so much and I liked your weird little texts in the day or havin' you call me to see how my day went. I didn't mind it. It didn't bother me. It wasn't too much. So me bein' me… I got in my own head and freaked out about it. I tried to convince myself it was you, that you were bein' clingy and needy, but you weren't. And… if these past five days have taught me anything it's that… I like you bein' such a big part of my life and… fuck, I missed you," he rambled, almost black eyes looking at you imploringly. 

You glanced down to the desk as you soaked in his words. You really hadn't expected any of them and you found your anger at him disappearing. When you just stared at the desk lost in your own thoughts and didn't reply, his fingers tapped on the desk again as he inhaled a shaky breath. 

"Did you miss me?" His soft and unsure voice had your eyes snapping to him. He looked so insecure you wondered for a moment who the hell he was because Billy Russo was a lot of things, but insecure was never one of them. And you knew him well enough by now to know what a big deal it was that he spoke to you about his feelings. Feelings he had that you never expected.

"Of course I missed you, asshole," you said softly. His whole face lit up, deep brown eyes shining with warmth as his lips curled into a genuine smile.

"Yeah?" He asked wryly. You rolled your eyes, playfully this time, as you leaned forward on your desk. He wasted no time in snatching one of your hands in his.

"Yeah," you said with a smile. He bit his lower lip, a somewhat bashful smile on his own face as he lifted your hand to his lips and pressed a sweet kiss to it. You almost melted.

"I don't… I don't know what this is but… I know it's different and I don't wanna push you away," he murmured softly as his thumb rubbed your palm. 

"No more bitching about me to your friends then," you smirked. He chuckled, ducking his head before landing his soft gaze on you once more.

"I mean it though, Billy. You need to talk to me next time. I don't wanna do anything to make you uncomfortable and if you don't wanna push me away… you need to learn to communicate," you said softly. He nodded, squeezing your hand. 

"I know. I'll do better, I promise," he grinned. 

The whole thing had taken a turn you hadn't expected but you were glad for it. It wasn't like you declared your undying love for one another or even decided this was an actual relationship. But it was a step. One you hadn't expected either of you to make. 

"So… you gonna let me have lunch with you? I know you're busy but… I really have missed you," how could you turn him down when he was looking at you with such soft and warm eyes? 

You smiled, grabbing the bag and making a little happy noise to see burgers from the diner you two frequented. He practically beamed, whether from you agreeing to let him have lunch with you or how happy you were by the food choice, you weren't sure. But you loved it when he smiled like that, how his eyes crinkled a little in the corner. He was breathtaking honestly and you found yourself glad he'd hunted you down at work and told you how he felt instead of pushing you away or lying to himself. If that wasn't character progression you didn't know what was  

[ideks-on-mars]

Things I think the Shiratorizawa boys would be into!!!

Ushijima - This man loves hip dips. If you have hip dips just know that he wants to grab them really bad. He also loves the sporty type, or someone who at least knows about sports. He wants to be able to talk to someone about sports, like a drill they did at practice, or a play that he saw on TV, without having to explain much. Also hold his hand. There's little to no pda when it comes to him but if you're not holding his hand then what are you doing because HE wants to hold your hand.

Tendō - He loves someone who loves food. Cuz HE loves food. He doesn't have a big appetite, but he likes making his way around a kitchen. And he needs someone to eat it. If you can eat, he wants to put a ring on your finger. It's a plus if you have a sweet tooth. He likes to sample AND make desserts. So if you have a sweet tooth please accompany him in trying to pick out which dessert you two would like to try (and then end up ordering every dessert on the menu) at every restaurant you go to

Semi - LORD this dude 👏LOVES👏LIPS👏 HE PAYS A LOT OF ATTENTION TO PEOPLE'S LIPS!!! EYES TOO! If I had to be specific, then he likes when people that have bigger top lips and not as big bottom lips, it's all that much better when your lips are more on the round side. IT'S SPECIFIC BUT THAT'S HOW HE LIKES EM. BUT IN ALL HONESTY HE LOVES ALL LIPS. He's also a thigh guy. He honestly likes legs in general, including ass. He likes people who can keep him in check. Not acting like you're his momma, like he still wants to have fun with you, but please keep him from doing anything too stupid 💀

Reon - Lord please he loves buff people. Buff women, buff men, buff people, all of them. If you have muscles then he wants to touch them. But if you don't have muscles then don't fret, he has enough for both of you. (HAVE YOU SEEN HIM I AM BARKING???) Please keep everything lowkey. He wants to chill. He already has to take care of his volleyball children and the only help that he gets that's ACTUALLY helpful (when he's still in high school) is from coach Saito. He also loves passionate people! He could sit and watch you talk about your passions all day. He'll sit there, with his cheek in his hand, with that dreamy look in his eyes, just listening to you.

Yamagata - PARTY ANIMALS THIS IS YOUR MAN!! He's wild, and it'd be that much more fun for him if he had a partner in crime. He likes tall, short, and in the middle people. If you're taller than him then you can help him reach all the stuff he can't reach 🥲. Plus you can protect him from all the other tall, scary people. If you're short then he can lift you up on his shoulders and you can slap all the tall scary people that pick on him. Then you can both scurry away like little ants while the person you slapped watches in shock. If you're shy then dw babes, he has enough personality and volume for you to share <3

Kawanishi - He just wants someone he can vibe with. He just wants to lay in bed together all day and occasionally nudging the other to show them a meme they saw. That's all he wants 😭. He wants someone who's caring. Sometimes he finds it hard to care about things so he needs someone to snap him into the real world and show him how specific things are worth caring for. He loves corny jokes and puns. Please tell him them all, he'll laugh at them and then mutter a playful "stupid" to which he expects you to dramatically gasp at. Don't tell anyone but he cries during Disney movies, cry with him please so that you both can make fun of each other afterwards for being ugly cryers.

Shirabu - He LOVES eyes. Idk if you've seen his big doe-eyes but he RUNS the pretty eye agenda. He needs someone to keep up with his schedule 💅. Now as you get older, don't you even THINK about worrying about grey hair, or even if you're young and have grey hair, cuz he lowkey thinks it's hot. Don't ask him why but he definitely does. He's mean, he may be mean to you, but please be mean to him right back, he loves that shit 😪. Cheek kisses>>> and he doesn't mean him kissing your cheek, he means you kissing HIS cheek. As much as he comes off as this big bad, mean dom, he just wants to be put in his place 😭. He's a total baby, don't even try to defend him in this. If you're into brats with a fat ass he's RIGHT THERE 💀 (he's packin back don't even try to fight it)

Goshiki - GOSHIKI WANTS A CUDDLY PERSON! He loves hugs, give him hugs. He needs some type of order in his life, if you're an organized type of person, that would really help him. If you're not then that's ok, you can be unorganized together 💀. He needs someone who loves fun because he loves fun and he needs someone who can match that. He loves hair. Curly hair, straight hair, thick hair, thin hair, he really doesn't care. He'll twirl it until he falls asleep. You may wake up with your hair a total mess but ig it's ok cuz he's cute. He eats really loud, I hope you can deal with that. He's like a big kid. Don't treat him like one though cuz at the end of the day he's still your big, strong, man 😤.

[because-its-so-sharp]

"It’s reasonable to assume based on the Zuko Alone flashbacks that Azula has no qualms about what she says. Assuming she is 8 at the youngest, that’s certainly old enough to understand what is and isn’t appropriate to say and understand it’s affects on other people"

.... .... ... guys .... let's take a moment.....at that point she's:

(1) an eight-year-old

(2) raised in a violent authoritarian warmonger culture

(3) by her father the narcissist lord of it all

(4) and her mother who doesn't like her (and gleefully laughs while reading Iroh's war letter out loud to her children...kay)

Please tell me that you don't think that an eight year old with such an extremist upringing can be held accountable for *anything*. I repeat *anything*

... burning a doll? (This one is so ridiculous... lets just stop with the doll its getting embarrassing).

...and for saying saying Iroh is weak for giving up after Lu Ten's death?

Um

She's been raised as princess of the fire nation.

Your dear Lu Ten and Iroh spent their adult lives at war killing earth benders and destroying countless families ... six hundred day siege much?

They did that because they were raised to think and act like that. To think honor in battle is the most important thing and the right thing.

So if you want to hold an eight year old, (or a fourteen year old), who has been raised completely isolated in this culture, accountable for some shit she says or burns... or the missions she carries out as a child soldier for her nation... that's creepy.

You either literally cannot understand the situation (which.. alright) or you scare me for adultifiying a young child.

She's a child that was used as a war machine by her father and nothing else.

If you're nine and you see daddy burning big brother's face off for disrespecting the rule of honor... mmm what would you do? Suddenly realize that imperialism and war is bad and your father doesn't love you for you but for how you can serve him in the field?

I mean Iroh did realize that the FN was wrong (kind of)... when he was well into his forties.. after waging war for 600 days on Ba Sing Se and losing his son over it.

And it took Zuko only three years away from the fire nation, constant unconditional love from Iroh and a betrayal, to realize the FN was wrong.

(Which is human and normal and good for them).

But you're telling me... the eight year old that was daddy's favorite (daddy = extremely violent and strict, narcissistic, who uses his own daughter as a child soldier until she has a psychotic break) should know better? Or the fourteen year old who risks her life mission after mission for her nation? (Defeating the Avatar is literally the most deadly mission you can give your child).

Azula threw her life away for her nation and father.

She risked her life on every mission, dedicated her time to training obsessively and stuyding her enemies, to the point where she can't hold a conversation with a kid her age without it turning to be about the war.

That's not evil, it's horrifically sad and scary.

Dude this is the girl that *sobbed* at her mother's hallucination telling her she loved her.

Because deep down she knew damn well that Ozai only loved her as his personal soldier and shield (DoBS). And her mom ... idk best case she couldn't show Azula love, worst case she didn't love her, both because she projected Ozai onto her.

Tdlr; Fuck Iroh's stupid doll.

And

*if you use the same measurements and standards on Azula which you use on Iroh and Zuko*, then Azula is an angel and her future is an endless field trip of "redemption" (which she doesn't need).

Someone get the girl out of the straight-jacket, out of the asylum and far away from her family and the war front. Jesus.

Dude if this was the real world a teenager who was this traumatized and abused, while at the same time completely unloved and abandoned by everybody ro be locked up in an asylum strapped into a straight jacket would off themselves.

Controversial AtLA opinion?+headcanon

Iroh was never misogynistic/ignorant towards Azula and her mental health.

Yes, in B2E9 Bitter Work, he tells Zuko that she’s crazy and needs to go down when Zuko thinks Iroh would want them to get along. But Iroh’s interactions with females in the show have never been misogynistic. Yes, he’s pretty creepy towards Jun but he doesn’t think she’s ‘lesser’/‘not worthy’ or whatever. He believes in Yue when they had to save the moon spirit. He’s nothing but grateful to the earth kingdom mother/daughter that heal his rash and feed him and Zuko. He talks with Toph and even says ‘I didn’t pour your tea because you can’t, but because I wanted to’. He knows Toph’s not an invalid and is nothing but polite to her. He does accidentally misgender Smellerbee, but after she snaps at him, he immediately apologizes and corrects himself so I wouldn’t really say that’s misogynistic.

I HC that Azula SAID something horrible to Iroh which caused him to cut ties/stop trying to help her. During the Zuko Alone episode, we see flashbacks of Zuko and Azula (who appear to be 11 and 8ish respectively). She talks about Iroh dying in the war nonchalantly and burns a doll he got her (cuz she didn’t like it). Being around 8-9 or so and casually mentioning family members dying isn’t normal so I think she vocalized her opinions to Iroh (or at least enough for him to find out). I think Iroh would try at first to get through to Azula, but Ozai just had too much influence over her. He stopped trying to help her completely when Zuko and Ozai had the Agni Kai and the former was banished, choosing to support his nephew (since it’s clear by this time that Ozai favored Azula).

He was able to redirect Azula’s lightning and throw her off her ship in B2E1 and he’s able to hold her and a bunch of Dai Li agents off w/ Zuko long enough to escape in the B2 finale. He even held Azula, Zuko and the Dai Li agents off to help Katara escape w/ Aang’s body as well. I definitely think that whatever happened between them, happened vocally/with words. Iroh can stand up to Azula’s bending (while Zuko had to train) so I think Azula would know that the way to get to Iroh would be with words (like how she baits Sokka w/ Suki in the Black Sun eps).

So yeah, I guess that’s it. The gist:

Iroh isn’t misogynistic/ignorant towards Azula and her mental health, but rather, something happened between them that caused Iroh to cut ties (Azula saying something incredibly awful to him seems most likely).

A lot of things with Azula seem open to interpretation but based on Iroh’s interactions with other females, he doesn’t seem like a misogynist, so if he’s only ‘like this’ with Azula, I feel that’s more of a personal issue with Azula herself and not ‘females’ in general.