#if he dies some crazy fandom thing has 2 happen at the same time

[somedudewithantlers]

just tumblr things

[blackbatcass]

how would you rank bat-children from bruce's least favorite to favorite? also i'd say do the same for ollie's kids but he would kill himself if you made him do that (mia still his fav though)

oh my god you guys do want me dead💀

I'll be honest, i don't think there's much value to be found in 'rank-the-favorites' discussions. like the honest answer is 'it depends' and i just don't think it's productive. I do think that in most cases wrt relationships with bruce, dick is always going to come out on top. as i've said those two are just on a whole other level. they Know Each Other in a way that no one else will even come close to. I don't think it's controversial to posit that actually raising dick from childhood adds a layer to the relationship bruce has with him that really can't be replicated with anyone else. like...jason was with him for 2-3ish years as a tweenager, cass and tim were adopted in their mid teens. meanwhile bruce was effectively dick's parent from age 8 onwards.

I also think the timing is something that would be almost impossible to replicate. dick entered the picture very early into bruce's years as batman. bruce was the one solid thing in dick's life after his parents died. they were literally each other's crutches through all that emotional turmoil and became, for better or for worse, extremely codependent. all that to say, dick and bruce's relationship is just so crazy insane that pretty much nothing compares. he just has the advantage. you can't recreate the mind bogglingly deep connection 25 yo bruce had with 8yo dick grayson it just can't be done.

on the other hand, cass also has something with bruce that can't be replicated by anyone else: she is Exactly Fucking Like Him. she is his carbon copy. they Get each other's rock-solid convictions & moral code sooo deeply. fandom tends to use this as evidence to point towards cass being the favorite child, but like as greta mysterycitrus has eloquently said in the past, she is exactly like him (derogatory). bruce obviously loves cass deeply, that is his daughter, but I don't think having that relationship with her is always easy for him. her existence points out some uncomfortable truths about himself that he doesn't always want to confront. I mean... if you were to meet yourself as a seventeen year old it would probably be weird as FUCK lol. I especially think the fact that cass has killed someone really fucks with his head and forces him to reevaluate his own morals/worldview.

and like...I don't think he always treats cass fairly. we see it over and over again in bg 2000. he thinks he knows what's best for her because he sees himself in her, but the things he thinks are best for himself are Not Healthy to say the least. he intentionally keeps himself at a distance because he initially did not want that close, father-daughter relationship with her: it was strictly batman and batgirl. and he thought that's what she wanted/needed. but being so singlemindedly driven to a cause with no boundaries or normal life is not exactly the best way to go for a teenager. so I think those two had a lot to figure out when the dust settled.

I have much fewer thoughts about jason, tim and damian simply because they are not my blorbos like dick and cass are lmfao. i do think tim deserves a whole lot of credit for stepping in to save bruce and helping when bruce was at his lowest. like. that was obviously NOT easy lol. bruce and tim are interesting because bruce held himself back from being a father to tim for so long, when jack was still in the picture. but when it comes to a head and tim gets adopted, it's just...natural? like there was nothing else that could have happened there? I am honest to god not the biggest tim fan and have not read enough of his comics to talk intelligently on him any more than that lol. but I do know bruce loves him very very much and would be lost without him<3

jason....jason. I mean what is there to say lmfao. if your dead teenager turned up and started mass murdering what would you do. I think it's pretty obvious to say that losing jason was soul-crushing for bruce and permanently changed him as a person; we see those aftereffects in his relationships to people like tim, steph, and cass. jason will never stop being his son, and bruce will never stop loving him. but things will never be the same again. I don't think jason's actions post-resurrection will ever be justifiable or forgivable to bruce. like even if jason woke up one day like 'suddenly i'm cured of being a villain' I don't think he would be welcomed back with open arms or anything. jason is a murderer. he has killed like a fuckton of people in cold blood. that is something that will never be okay with bruce. grappling with loving your son versus your son being a murderer which is antithetical to everything you have spent decades building...that's rough buddy. is that controversial? idk i spend as little time as possible thinking about jason todd

I think it hurts bruce to look at damian sometimes because he just can't stop seeing talia. I think he loves damian deeply but it isn't always easy. that whole timing of final crisis was just so messy that they didn't get off to a super smooth start and had to do a lot of work rebuilding that relationship. I think damian has to reconcile his childhood hero worship of bruce with the actual very flawed man which isn't easy. it has been a LONG ass time since i've read damian's comics so that's about all I got.

IN CONCLUSION! This is very long and I absolutely did not answer your question sorry. but these are kind of my cliffnotes thoughts on each of the wayne kids' relationships with bruce.

and yeah if you tried to get ollie to rank his kids he would knock himself out with a boxing glove arrow

[pugsbone]

Thoughts on Volume 9? I really could've done without Jaune during that whole arc, and just let the Rusted Knight be someone from the Evr After. I want to see more of the title characters, and not a secondary protag get his metaphorical dick sucked.

I want to see more of Ruby than I do Jaune.

(Also, it was a dick move of Winter to look right at Jaune, and not help him get to safety.)

Personally, I don’t think Jaune should’ve fallen in with RWBY, and this is for a few reasons.

1. The dude gets a lot of exposure during most of the volumes, definitely feels like he’s THE main side character at this point, and this isn’t getting into the common debate on if he’s Miles’ self insert or not. It would be nice to get a break from Jaune, mostly so that both sides of the fandom can calm down about him. Also, side point to the Jaune thing, it would've been nice if he actually brought up the fact that he "had" to kill Penny (had is in quotation marks because it feels like to strong a word for what happened during that volume.) Hell, have it be part of his dialogue when he's shouting at Ruby, let that be the final straw that breaks our hero, to learn how her BFF died.

2. I really think it should have been somebody else from the main group who was forced to grow up in the Ever After. In my personal opinion it should have been either Ren, Nora, Oscar, or Emerald. Ren/Nora for arguably the same reason, Nora wanted to figure out who she is without him, and this situation is a freaking monkey law of that, either she thinks he’s dead or has been given plenty of time to find the answer to her question. If she fell in, suddenly she has all this time to find herself, let her grow as a person while also figuring out just how much she does love Ren and misses him. If Ren falls in, he now has to deal with being all alone along with his brand new semblance, seeing all the different emotions of the strange creatures around him, making this whole experience even more confusing as he has to deal with this alien culture.

Emerald because this could all be her way of trying to show that she has become a better person, her guilt over the fall of Beacon, making her guarding the paper people even more poignant since she wants to make up for who she was, not wanting to be like Cinder ever again. Like just imagine her trying to keep the paper people alive, acting a little crazy as she calls them Penny, Hazel, or Pyrrha, all people that she has either helped get killed or watched die for her, she's just trying so dang hard.

And for Oscar, this would be the first time where he’d be someplace where Oz is just as clueless as he is, the two of them being on even footing as they explore this new land. With them being in the Ever After, we can finally get a conclusion to the convoluted mess that is the whole reincarnation thing, which is a rant for another day. Also, it would be cute to see Ruby's reaction to a grown up Oscar, I'm sure it would be adorable.

With Jaune, it just feels like we're getting kind of a rehash of his arc during the fourth and fifth volume, where he's trying to process his grief and trauma, only to channel it in some pretty self destructive ways instead, until he gets better through the power of friendship. We've done this song and dance before with him.

Now for my real thoughts on the season, it had some decent ideas, just poor build up to them. Like I love the whole thing with talking to a part of themselves that they don't want to face when they go into the smoke, love that trope, but all the problems that the girls face don't feel like they were actual problems. (Mostly Blake's dumb ass thing, "Am I a person or an animal?" When has that ever been a thing for this fictional race?!) Could've done a sweet callback to Volume 2 by having them face their old dreams, Weiss becoming the head of the SDC, Yang doing this for the thrill and adventure, Blake trying to help the Faunus, Ruby becoming this fairytale hero, let these be what they have to face. Weiss, Yang, and Blake can all see how far they have grown, seeing how they have become better than those old dreams, that sort of thing. All while Ruby just gets asked "What happened to you?" or something, just another part of that is cracking under the pressure.

But yeah, most of the ideas just didn't feel they were implemented all that well. I think it's just another example of something that CRWBY could have foreshadowed better overall, heck, even just having someone reading The Rusted Knight would have been a pretty easy way of doing it, like during the montage of good deeds they do in Atlas, maybe Yang is reading to a bunch of kids or something. Would've been sweet.

[gibblegabber]

i wrote most of this a month ago but might as well spill my personal nonsense regarding kick on his 14TH ANNIVERSARY WHHHHHHHH

nothing interesting it’s truly like a diary entry

i’ve been keeping to myself while i wind down from another hyperfixation with KB:SD, because it has to come to an end, because there’s very few people left in my life who were there in the fandom while it aired, because i get so fucking depressed when i think about it.

how do i describe this. Kick reminds me that i’m alive. he ALSO reminds me that i’m a failure. he’s the reason i finished art school and also (part of) the reason i stopped pursuing art as a career. the show’s run was the best time of my life and at the same time i was dealing with an overwhelming amount of trauma.

and i packed ALL of that into this silly 6.5/10 rated cartoon. why??? because it just happened to be THERE when I was going thru some shit?? sometimes i think “this could have been any cartoon, the timing is what mattered” and other times i’m like no…the adventures we had in mellowbrook were genuinely incredible and if it were any other fandom, i wouldn’t have met the same amazing people!!! do you know how thankful i am to have Kachiimi and Misha in my life still??? REALLY FUCKING THANKFUL. i don’t deserve them in the least!! they’ve known me at my worst and happened to also SEE me at my worst in person and they’re still my friends and i love them very much, i hope they know that.

and if anyone’s still following me that knew me during the KB years, or was friends with me during that time… 1.) i’m sorry. i was crazy LMAO and 2.) just know you made the whole experience so so awesome :) i appreciated so much that the fandom was a tight knit group of people, no drama, just a great place to be when my life was falling apart around me.

yea if i psychoanalyzed this whole thing i wouldn’t like the answer. but. it doesn’t change how much Kick means to me, and how much he’ll always mean to me!!

it had always been a bucket list thing of mine to be the number 1 fan of something at some point. ever since i was like nine years old i was like “man that’d be cool if it happened”. never in a million years would i have guessed that it would be this. but in a weird way Kick was exactly who i needed at that time. someone whose failures were just his fuel for success. someone who didn’t let his shortcomings stop him from achieving his goals. someone who kept going even if the world was against him. looking back it’s really no surprise that i got so attached.

obviously i’m far from the number 1 fan position now. who knows if i ever really was; i only knew a fraction of the fandom that called me the “queen of the KB fandom”, and Sandro had called me the number 1 fan at one point so i just took it all to heart. i would argue that Aisha took that position when school and jobs and life started consuming my life more than fandom did. or well, all of this is a moot point when you consider Jackie who is definitely 100% his number 1 fan LOL. but wow, what a time. we were so lucky to interact with the crew as much as we did.

it doesn’t seem like much but it really made me feel like i could do anything. if Kick had gotten a third season you KNOW i would’ve stopped at NOTHING to be on the team in some way shape or form. i would’ve flown out to LA in an instant and not looked back. despite everything. i would’ve done it.

kinda sucks considering uhhhh THINGS that got revealed about the director years later, so in the same vein i’m very happy that Kick did not get a season 3. but when the show ended something in me died, or i came to terms with something, idk what it was. something like: i knew i’d never feel the same way about a cartoon again so i didn’t bother trying. i stopped drawing almost entirely for 10 years.

aaaand it’s true. over a decade and i never came close to the level of obsession i had with Kick, and never really wanted to either. THEN i got slapped in the face with IZ and well…let that be a long and cheesy post for march 30th or something. :P and as much fun as it’s been and continues to be, it’s a DIFFERENT sort of experience from KB. it can’t compare. maybe in 10 years i’ll look back on IZ friends and fandom times and reminisce fondly on them too.

KB:SD is stuck where it was. if that makes any sense. there’s a lot in the show that i don’t think modern day fandom would take kindly to. there’s a lot of crack shipping and shenanigans we got up to back then that isn’t okay now. (god… okay i don’t miss that part LOL. i cringe painfully at a lot of it, but i DO miss when people understood the fucking difference between fiction and reality. it was a different time for sure.) it just is what it is.

and that’s okay. i’m gonna let it go, again, and i’ll be back on and off. it hurts. it hurts every time this happens but that’s okay because Kick taught us to live till it hurts. :) 🤘🏼✨

[draconixiaa]

tired but i'll do a bit of this (will be a bit rambly:D)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

24,, wow not bad

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

165.5k wow thats a lot,, most of it comes from one tho; everything else are shortfics

3. What fandoms do you write for?

DSMP and ive just started a bit of genshin at the behest of my Tartaglia-obsessed irl and he's kinda cool but like for 95% of my other fics its all cdream ahahahhh(dies)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

"Consequences" tops the charts obviously bc its my one and only longfic and it was written during the peak of dsmp and man id link it bc i love my storyline (cdream obviously gets messed up in prison but then gets a healing arc) there but at the same time i feel like the writing had too many grammar mistakes and could be better so nahh

"North Star to Freedom" is one im actually really proud of, like obviously the writing could be better bc ive improved, but i just like it and id deffo rewrite it too if i had time or steal it into an original fic (premise is that cdream escapes prison with the rebibe book and oh lord my lingo anyways (spoilers) he dies and he gives techno book)

"Persevere" is third, wow that's a long time ago, its alright, i like it in general, but it feels almost cheesy. idk. i like it, but i dont like it. its not mixed feelings, but eh. anyways, something about cdream getting captured by the egg which is about to take over the world but he sacrifices himself to cleanse it. the most acute thing i rember about it is that its a 3parter

"Coup de Grace" ok wth i didnt expect this to be on there it was a small little cdream suffering in prison and cphil comes over, sees him in pain, and cough relieves him of it, and i dont like the writing in a specific part of it, but i like it in some other parts, so eh

"turn the claret tides" whoops i forgot what this one was about ok i glanced through the doc its ctechno getting cdream out of prison wow that title was really vague but he gets the letter and things went on.. it was inspired by another fic and happened during the hype of the prison arc which is kinda cool

(man im looking at the amount of fics i want to rewrite but it aint happening sadge)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Sometimes, most of the times nowadays, if it particularly made my day or it has something deep and insightful or literally makes any observation on my fic. sometimes im just too tired to answer,, maybe laziness is a part of it too, but i stare and its like,, i cant generate a response . but nowadays, i do it most of the times bc i appreciate my commenters :D

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

my recent fics mostly have happy endings, but all my pre-like, mid 2023 fics were all sad sad sad. they all ended in cdream dying, one way or the other. so idk which ones the saddest now its been too long,, the one i personally think is the saddest is one that i like, was listening to sad music to, the song being 'sociopath,' an orchestral piece (or was it piano?)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

consequences

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

once on consequences bc that was max cdream apologists vs inniters era

9. Do you write smut?

nop never ever ever

10. Do you write crossovers?

dream + tartaglia is one i wrote in fudging october that i am still trying to find time to continue

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

prob not, if there is, then i wouldnt know of it

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope, if there was, i also dont know of it

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

wow thats crazy that i havent, but idk, teamwork and coordination just go meh when i only share my interests with online people

14. What‘s your all-time favorite ship?

idk i dont do ships but my fav friendship is dream + techno or dream + punz

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

all my chapter continuations except the tartaglia + dream one i Need to finish that. but also the palace of stone idea will Never Ever get written

16. What’s your writing strengths?

descriptions idk they go lengthy but ive practiced with them a lot so ive gotten kinda good

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

dialogue, pacing, idk literally everything, i can prob improve on anything and every aspect of my writing rn, and i just need to practice more

19. First fandom you wrote for?

DSMP lmao

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

consequences i love the storyline + ending of that one even if the writing couldve been better

uhh tagging? idk if theres anyone that doesnt overlap wiht people whove been tagged b4 les see: @milktearosethorn , @victoriacoffee , ,, oh theres only two ok well, have fun if u decide to do this!

[klondiketales]

This is W.E, in principle I expected that Freckle would forgive Rocky, he cannot live without him, and to answer your question, I am from Russia, if you are wondering why I am in the English fandom, it is because in my country Lackadaisy is not very popular, accordingly there is not much content on it, that's why I came here, something like this, so before moving on to my 2 idea, I will say my opinion about chapter 4, I liked it, but I was confused by the names, when the character speaks, for me it made it a little difficult to immerse myself in the atmosphere, and it felt unnecessary, but as they say, this is my opinion, you still wrote everything well, despite this, so now, let's move on to my 2 idea, here

This idea came from another idea, it's Rapist!Rocky x Rapist!Freckle, so I decided to do a reverse version, yeah, Victim!Rocky x Victim!Freckle, I'll explain everything now, the idea turned out a little fantastic, so I understand if you won't add it in the chapters, so I looked at the comments under chapter 3, and I decided to take the idea where Freckle, after being raped by Rocky, decided to kill himself with a gun, after which, he dies, but he ends up in another alternative reality, where he is Rocky's rapist, as a result, he wakes up in the Rapist!Freckle body, and the first thing he sees is Rocky's face, naturally the Victim!Freckle panics until he realizes what he sees, Freckle sees a very thin and Rocky's beaten body, and he realizes that he is in some kind of basement, a dialogue occurs in which it becomes clear that Freckle is not the same Freckle, and that he is from another alternative reality, Freckle realizes with horror and disgust what his terrible copy has done with Rocky, and yes, Freckle feels guilty, even though it's not his fault, after which, Freckle helps Rocky leave the basement outside, it will be a long process of getting over it, and it's hard for them to look at each other, although they realize that they didn't do those terrible things things with each other like their cousins, although maybe they'll get used to each other and have a family relationship, and yeah, it'll be hard to explain to Ivy that Freckle isn't really the same Freckle

Like I said, the idea is too bigoted, so I'll understand if you don't add it in the chapters, and also, if you're wondering what happened to Rapist!Freckle, he ended up in the body of Victim!Freckle, yes, Rapist!Freckle is dead, and lastly, I’m interested in Rocky’s reaction to all this, I think that at the beginning it’s very hard for him to believe that the person in front of him is not exactly his cousin, and he thinks that his cousin has completely gone crazy, until he believed the words Freckle, because Freckle can't lie, we all know that, thanks in advance for the answers

Hi, W.E. You have really good ideas! I can just imagine the way this would play out. Poor Victim!Freckle would be so scared and confused, finding himself alone with his abuser in a dark, unknown location. Then he would realize Victim!Rocky is chained up, and that he (Freckle) shot himself in the head but isn’t dead…they would both be scared, but they would talk it out. Freckle would find they key in Rapist!Freckle’s duffel bag, and he would set Rocky free, and they would talk things out more, and begin their healing journey together. Rocky would be so happy to see sunlight again, when he was so sure he was going to die in that pit. And Freckle would be so relieved to have his nice, loving, non-evil cousin back :”D and Rocky would feel the same.

Like you said, Rocky might not believe it right away, but he would eventually. He believes a lot of crazy things (like in my other fic when he kept seriously speculating that Mordecai is secretly a vampire). He’s kind of a silly, “addle-brained” boy (as Mitzi put it). So this wouldn’t be totally far beyond his suspension of disbelief. And with time, and hearing the details of Freckle’s explanation, and knowing Freckle isn’t imaginative enough or smart enough to create such an elaborate, unbelievable tale, and seeing the bruises on Freckle from the times Rapist!Rocky hurt him, he would believe him. And Freckle would believe Rocky because he saw the chains, and the starvation-level thinness, and the baby stuff, and Zib’s grave…wow. I really want to make this au.

Just wondering, when you said Victim!Rocky x Victim!Freckle, do you want them to be in a romantic relationship, or just as brothers again? I hope I can do this idea soon, but I might not have time until after final exams in April ;u; I’m taking history of modern greece this semester.

Thanks again for the ideas! They’re so good!!!

EDIT: DAMMIT i forgot to say, you’re right about the new chapter, the format is no good. I was basically just experimenting new ways to save time, definitely won’t be doing it again. I just don’t like it. It’s not effective at communicating the emotions of the scene. It sure was shorter than it would have been otherwise, though.

[blorbocedes]

your beloved parallel universe wife anon here, i'm coming once again into your inbox because i was just imagining lewis and nico in a russian doll-like situation (i don't know if you've watched the series, the one with natasha lyonne, if you haven't i strongly recommend it because it's amazing, especially the first season). well, let's imagine lewis finds himself stuck in a time loop, forced to relive the same day over and over again and he's literally going crazy because he's got no damn clue about how to get out of the loop, and also because he can't tell anyone about what's happening to him or they'd definitely think he's lost his mind. until one of these days that he's relived countless times (even though, despite the setting always being the same, the days all look different because he's been trying to figure out how to get out of this) he meets nico in the lift of their montecarlo building and that's how he finds out that nico is in the same situation, stuck in a time loop he doesn't know how to escape. needless to say lewis isn't very pleased that he has to go through all of this with his former anything but lover *COUGHS VIOLENTLY* at first, but nico thinks there must be a reason that the universe is playing this trick on them, that maybe there's something they have to accomplish together if they want to get out of the loop. so every night they promise to find the other the following day so that they can keep investigating and trying to break the loop, and this of course makes them get closer and also pushes them to talk about everything that happened back in 2016 one day, making them reach some sort of reconciliation. and then the morning after they both realise that it's not the same day anymore, and that the universe, tired of their antics as well, probably pulled this prank on them because there are some things, some loves, that nothing could ever truly break and force apart

(cont) 'so lewis figures that it's maybe about damn time he gives nico another chance and they decide to start over '

my lovely anonwifestie im thinking it's time we renew our vows again 🤭🥰 im still as in love with you as the first time we met

first of all I LOVE Russian Doll, i binged season 2 in like 2 days, nat lyonne fucks so hard and the outfit inspo!!! ugh!

I am such a sucker for forceful magical trope where the solution is reconciliation 😭 I've actually written them for other fandoms!!! the thing about the Groundhog Day au (same day over and over) is that it is such a visual treat. i still have supernatural's "heat of the morning" stuck in my head and I'm not even an spn fucker 😭 just a tumblr heyday connoisseur. however I Have read some fics that capture the Groundhog Day vibes just perfect, the repetitiveness the unease the going from denial to perfect memorisation of every possibility by day 200...... all that good stuff. could I do it justice? no, but is it a delicious delicious concept? yes

Lewis was tired of dying by the stairs. He'd avoided the lift every time he saw Nico's blonde hair through the closing gap of the elevator doors. But he'd been through so many loops at this point, he just wanted to be able to go to up his room, see Roscoe again -- the day starting from the Mercedes motorhome and him being unsuccessful to get back to his apartment.

This time, he walks in the elevator. He expects Nico to avoid him, the cool silence between the two the handful of times they've shared the lift over, what, a decade of living here? That would be par for the course.

Instead, Nico's eyes widen. "That's new." He says, under his breath.

Lewis is immediately out of patience, he's died too many times to care. "Nico," oh, it feels good to say his name, to stop pretending he's above it all, "Shut up, man. You won't believe the kind of day I'm having." Days now, if not weeks. He's lost count.

Chances are Lewis will turn on a light switch at his apartment and die anyways, so why bother with all the energy it took to avoid Nico? When nothing mattered anymore.

Nico laughed, a more expressive sound from him than Lewis has heard in years. "Touchy. Yeah, I bet."

Lewis is actually glad when the lights starts flashing red, pressure losing rapidly as their elevator fails. Better to pull the plug as fast as possible. He looks at Nico, to see the panic, horror, fear all the mundane expressions of when you're about to die. Instead, Nico is calm, almost smiling with his eyes closed.

"We're about to die, mate." Lewis comments, in case he hadn't noticed; was in some deep denial funk. Nah, Nico didn't get to walk out of this.

Nico opens his eyes to smirk at him, always leaving with the last word, doesn't he?

He knocks the wind out of Lewis more than the eventual crunch will.

"It's okay, I die all the time."

Wait, what?!

Everything goes black.

Lewis wakes up in his Mercedes motorhome to the same fucking annoying affirmations alarm. 'You are loved. You are important. You are the best you can be. You will rise again.'

But this time, he has a purpose. He has to find Nico.

(hehehe I hope you enjoyed it... I love love being stronger than every cosmic force in the universe...... how long do you think they'd take to get their shit together lol)

[stellar-imagines]

SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝stupid rumour.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Bakugou Katsuki ]

「 Bakugou who has a crush on you ― the transfer student who has trouble speaking and writing Japanese but can understand the language He helps you on your language skills and develops a crush on you. Then you heard rumours of Bakugou liking Uraraka and you started become distant.」

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

"I thought I told how to do this one so many times and how did you manage to fuck it up?" Bakugou groaned, looking through your midterm paper.

"I'm really trying my best but kanji is just no good for me alright?" you grumbled, snatching the paper from his hands. It was quite embarrassing to be struggling with Japanese literature and other subjects.

Sure you were born and raised in Japan but due to some business issues, your family had to move to [Preferred Country]. And to be honest, you spent most of your life in [Preferred Country] instead of Japan so you weren't really familiar with kanji at all. It wasn't only kanji, its just the Japanese language in general. You didn't have much problems talking but when it comes to reading and writing, it was a problem so when it comes to studying, you were in big trouble. You have been whining about failing your tests and Bakugou — who happened to be your personal tutor. He got tired of your whining and decided to help you in hopes of making you shut up.

You can't really tell why Bakugou decided to help you in the first place. The two of you never got along that well to begin with. The ash blonde was very competitive by nature and when you showed promise during training, he seemed to have made you his target somehow. Bakugou never actually cared about the people in the class but you were different somehow. He was always easy to rile up and you enjoy messing around with him sometimes. It was almost safe to say that you spend most of your time with him.��

Since the day you transferred into UA, you struggled with your studies. Kanji now appeared to be an alien language to you and during tests, you struggled to understand the question. Bakugou picks up the scattered paper on your desk one by one, skimming through your mistakes and assessing your performance. You didn’t do that bad and only failed Japanese History and Literature. Your scores were really low and it barely hit the passing mark. 

Sometimes you like to think that you and Bakugou had something special but you're just a transfer student. Bakugou and Uraraka probably have a relationship that you could never understand. He respects Uraraka's strength after that one incident during the Sports Festival tournament. You stared at the two who happened to be queueing for lunch, having a conversation that you can't hear from where you were sitting. After a while, you took your eyes off them and sipped your drink.

"Do you think he likes her, [First Name]?"

"I'm sorry what?" you blinked, turning your attention towards Hagakure who sat across you.

"I'm talking about Ochaco-chan and Bakugou-kun!" the invisible girl gushed, her sleeves waving about to show her excitement. You blinked a couple of times, unable to process. Judging from her tone, you assumed that she thought you understood what was going on between the two. However, that wasn't the case, you yourself are clueless.

"But [First Name]-chan and Bakugou-kun are close in their own way too! Something going on between the two of you?" Ashido who was sitting next to you decided to direct the topic towards you instead.

"Nothing is going on between us. In fact, I think at some point he's gonna stop teaching me because of how I always disturb him." you muttered with a chuckle.

"Typical Bakugou. You can still join our studying sessions if you want. My offer still stands." Yaoyorozu smiled gently. You shook your head in response and gave the same answer as you did when the black haired girl proposed the idea to you.

Originally, it was Aizawa who forced Bakugou to tutor you in the first place. You had failed your tests miserably at first and your homeroom teacher seemed to notice that you struggled with communication sometimes. And Aizawa had this crazy idea to assign Bakugou to tutor you. He had hoped that the ash blonde will grow to become more social and cooperative. Honestly, you thought that it was such a bad idea at first. Bakugou was very rough with his words, impatient and is short tempered. You've tried to be nice and dismiss his behavior but at some point you just found him very amusing. You weren't sure if the two of you actually got along well or not.

However, you like to think that you both are actually on good terms. Even though he gets frustrated whenever you struggle to solve a question, he would leave you alone and give you pointers. He also likes to reward you with small treats like your favorite snacks and drinks. Bakugou also pays attention to your behavior a lot. Since the two of you are always studying everyday after school, there will be times where you will be so worn out from training. If that's the case, Bakugou will go easier on you.

"I've heard from someone that Bakugou has feelings for her since first year." Hagakure whispered as she saw Uraraka approach the table. The conversation was cut short when your brown haired friend arrived at the table with her pork katsu don. She looked between everyone, wondering why you all grew silent all of a sudden.

"What were you guys talking about?" she asked, taking a seat next to you. Acting completely natural like a smartass you were, you decided to just continue eating your lunch as if you were never a part of the conversation to begin with.

"We were talking about how there's this rumour of Bakugou having a crush on you since first year." Ashido chirped. Uraraka let out a noise akin to surprise before waving her hands defensively.

"Wh-Wha!? That's not possible!" she said quickly before glancing over at the ash blonde and then towards you.

"Why not?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"W-Well, that's because....." the girl seemed a bit nervous and you see her glancing at Bakugou a couple of times.

You rested your elbow on the table, letting out a knowing hum. It didn't take long for you to get the hint that Uraraka might actually reciprocate his feelings. A small frown was etched on your face as you looked away from the girl seated next to you. Bakugou would never just suddenly stop to stare at someone, especially knowing that he can be caught staring. It was just as you had suspected earlier. 'To think that I thought there's something special between me and Bakugou.' you thought to yourself, keeping yourself out of the conversation while the girls teased Uraraka for getting so defensive.

The next day, Bakugou was packing his things and thinking ahead. He could already hear you grumbling something to yourself as you cleared your own desk, preparing to head back. There was a homework assigned to everyone and you will — for sure — be begging him to help you with it, even though its due in 2 weeks and you have plenty of time. Just as he was about to call out your name, Kaminari and Kirishima approached his desk.

“Hey Bakugou! Some of us are planning to go watch a movie after school, want to join?" Kirishima asked. Bakugou raised an eyebrow at this, looking slightly annoyed.

"Why would I wanna go with you extras?" the ash blonde grumbled.

"Because it will be fun! Everyone is coming right?" Kaminari turned towards the group of girls that has gathered around your desk.

"Yeah, most of us are!" Ashido chirped happily. 

"Come on Bakugou-kun! I think its a great opportunity for you and [First Name]-chan to take a break once in a while. And besides, she's been looking forward to this movie." Uraraka told the ash blonde.

Bakugou glanced over at you, seeing that you were somewhat looking forward to relax today. It was Friday, and probably the best day to take a break from all that studying. The ash blonde had been pushing you a bit too hard and maybe this is his chance. Bakugou reluctantly agreed but not before telling them to not chose some stupid movie. He shook his head, telling himself that he's not doing this just because he thinks that you deserve a break and that he likes you or anything. Just as he finished packing, he looked over towards you, seeing Hagakure approach your table with a skip.

"[First Name], let's go watch a movie! Even Bakugou is joining! Ochaco-chan just invited him." she exclaimed, motioning to the ash blonde who glared back at her. Your excitement died down a bit, glancing between your invisible friend and Bakugou.

"Um, I think I will pass! I think I'm gonna start with that homework we're given, it's gonna take me a while to finish that after all." you said, quickly gathering your items.

Seeing you leave the class quickly made him confused. Uraraka muttered about how weird it was for you to skip out on going out, especially knowing that you were all going to go watch a movie that you have been looking forward to for so long. Bakugou decided that it was not worth his time to think too much into it and leave you be. He's not your babysitter and it doesn't matter to him what you do anyways. All while he was watching movie, he was thinking about how you should've been here watching the movie.

Just when he thought your behavior on that day was only you not being your normal self ― you did something that he had never expected before. It happened on the day after the movies. He had already expected you to be knocking onto his door and begging him to explain to you about all the homeworks that were given and about that Science quiz on Monday. Sure you came to his room with a handful of your notes and textbooks ― like usual. Your hair was slightly messy from hurrying to meet up with him at the same time ― like usual. It was nothing out of the ordinary, something you both were accustomed to. You always came late, looking like you just rolled off the bed and went straight here.

It was the same old routine until he heard those words.

"Sorry Bakugou! I'm going to be studying with Momo-chan today, she's offered to partner up for the Japanese History project." you announced.

"Hah?" was all Bakugou could only respond with. He was confused. Normally, you would be begging him to become your partner because you're so used to him. What has changed in you?

"Also.....she offered to help me with my studies so you don't have to waste your time on me anymore. Thanks, Bakugou. I won't be bothering you starting from today onwards." you bowed and quickly left him behind.

'Whatever, I don't care.' was what Bakugou said to himself.

There was so much that he wanted to tell you. But he made no effort to call out to you as you hurriedly made a run for it to the elevator. He shouldn't be bothered by this so much. After all, he was only teaching you because Aizawa told him to. The ash blonde told himself that over and over but he couldn't help but longingly stare at your back as you ran away from him as if he was the plague. 'There's no turning back on this. I made up my mind to not be a burden anymore!’ you told yourself. From that point on, you made it a goal to not interact with Bakugou at all.

He was already confused to why you decided to have him to stop tutoring you in the first place. Bakugou didn't seem to bothered by it that much but it did make a lot of people ask him about what happened between the two of you. The two of you were normally seen together most of time and to see you both on your own is just weird. You were now spending time with the girls most of the time and instead of Bakugou, you had moved on to asking other people to assist you with homework.

He wasn't going to lie but the thought of you running to others and asking for help didn't sit well with him.

Today after school, you were seen in the common area doing your homework together with Yaoyorozu. Bakugou had went down from his room to get himself a drink. Now that he doesn't have to teach you anymore, he was much more free. He could finish his homework much faster than usual. Bakugou watched as you grinned happily after being praised for getting some work done. On his way to the kitchen, he passed by Kirishima who looked like he was taking a break from his own studying. 

"Hey, did you two have an argument or something?" Kirishima asked Bakugou who had opened the fridge to get his drink.

"Hah? What you on about?"

"I'm talking about [First Name]. All of a sudden you stopped partnering with her and tutoring her." the red haired mentioned as he looked over at you.

"Why should I care what she does anyway? She's not my girlfriend!" he said, glancing at you in hopes that you did not hear him at all. Lucky for him, you were too immersed in the conversation that you were having with your partner to even care about what was going on in the kitchen.

"But don't you both like each other or something?"

"Who said that!?"

"It's pretty obvious, bro."

Bakugou really doesn't want to admit it but he really likes you ― a bit too much that its starting to get obvious. He was now starting to get worried that you might catch on to his feelings. He looked at you for a moment, watching as you worked on a few tough questions, eyes narrowed at the book in front of you. It was a habit that he learned after being with you for so long and he never said it out loud but you look very cute like that. After a while, Midoriya and Uraraka joined you and Yaoyorozu. Bakugou's eyes narrowed at Midoriya who was helping you with some of the questions.

That should've been him! ― was what he told himself. 

Little did he know, you heard the commotion in the kitchen. Though whatever Kirishima and Bakugou was talking about was unknown to you, you could feel them looking at you. Shaking your head in response, you reminded yourself that you vowed to not get in Bakugou's way anymore. When Midoriya and Uraraka joined your study session, you decided to just focus on your homework now. You can’t lie about the fact that you missed Bakugou’s company. Even though he was always impatient and complaining about how slow you are, he never once left you on your own. Not to mention, he was surprisingly a great teacher.

The Bakusquad ― Bakugou never really liked and approval of that name ― were hanging out in the common area. Bakugou was here against his will, dragged by Kirishima and Kaminari who wanted to play some games together. At the dining table, a few students from Class 1-A were gathered around sharing some treats while the Bakusquad played some games by the couch. Bakugou was seated on one end of the two seater sofa, mindlessly scrolling through his phone and rethinking his life choices.

"There was this rumour that you like Uraraka or something." Kirishima mused while he looked through his phone.

"What?" Kaminari suddenly perked up, drawing his attention away from the video game.

"Hah?" Bakugou raised an eyebrow.

”I’m talking about Bakubro here!” the red head male spoke a bit louder to gain the other boys’ attention.

”Oh now that you mention it, I remember! There was this rumour going on about Bakugou liking Uraraka or something.” Sero piped up, not drawing his eyes away from the game he was playing against Kaminari.

“I thought Bakugou was dating [Last Name] already.” Kaminari pointed out.

”I know right?! I know they both like each other but are afraid to admit it.” Kirishima added in with a triumphant smile.

“No one fucking said that.” Bakugou glared at the boys who began to give him the looks.

”Come on, you were so overprotective of her at that one time when we studied in the library together!” Kirishima started, now his posture upright and eyes filled with determination.

”Oh right! When there were these random people hitting on her, you sure told them off!” Kaminari added to Kirishima’s anecdote.

”But there seems to be some tension between the two of you right now.” the blonde hummed, pausing the game to turn his attention to the conversation.

It took him that conversation to actually realize how much your ignorance has affected him. Not only did you decide not to ask for his help anymore, but you made it your mission to avoid him at all costs. You avoided sitting with him during lunch, not partnering up with him during hero training and clearly turning down invites from your friends whenever you hear that Bakugou will be joining as well. He had confronted you in front of everyone, demanding you to meet up with him. 

And of course, it was hard to run away when he asked you right in front of everyone. The only solution Bakugou came up to get you back and clear this up was to confess his undying love to you. 

You were really nervous to talk to him and for some reason, you had a feeling that you were going to have your heart broken. Bakugou, by all means, isn't oblivious and notices a lot of things around you. So it was no surprise that he realized that something is up with you and that you are ignoring him. He probably has figured out the reason behind you avoiding him already. And you couldn't help but think your reason was really dumb.

“Look, I have no idea what you’re telling but let me just say this.” you started it first, as you don’t wanna regret not saying anything any sooner.

”But I want to tell you that I don’t want to get in your way anymore. And I approve if you want to date Ochaco-chan." you were fiddling with your fingers. So you were aware of this rumour but never made the move to ask Bakugou himself if this was true and decided to just blindly believe in some stupid rumour that some random extra had spread. Bakugou almost wanted to strangle whoever did this because it gave you stupid ideas.

"You are a fucking idiot for believing in some extra's words instead of asking me. Why the hell did you avoid me instead of confront me about the rumours, hah?" the ash blonde was trying his best to remain calm and patient.

"Because.....I was afraid that those rumours are true." you admitted.

"And I'm here to tell you that its not fucking true. Round Face is madly in love with fucking Deku and she's not even trying to hide it. Everyone fucking knows that." he told you.

"So you don't like her?" you asked.

"Stop doubting my words." he flicked your forehead. You shut your eyes and rubbed at the sore spot, muttering a few words about how unnecessary that forehead flick was. Seeing how you looked very unconvinced with his words, his hands squeezed your cheeks together and forced you to make eye contact with him.

"Listen to me, you little shit. I am going to say this once and I am not going to repeat this. Because I have no fucking idea why you are so blind to all of this. You can be dumb at lot of things and frankly, I'm glad that you are." he sighed and you let out a gasp, offended by his words.

"Hey, I'm not dumb―" he cuts you off by squeezing your cheeks to the point where your words were all muffled.

"You're so helpless in your studies without me, its like you can't live without me. But it makes me feel special because you never ask someone else for help and always look for me. Even though you're shit at your studies, you have a really freaking strong quirk. You can be so fucking annoying and drive me insane sometimes but goddamn, how can you be so fucking adorable at the same time?" Bakugou started to get a bit frustrated now and he almost couldn't believe the words he was saying right now. 

You reached to grab his hands and pried them off your face to allow yourself to speak.

"I am not going to listen to you do this any further―"

Once again, Bakugou cuts you off by leaning down and pressing a kiss to your lips. You were startled but after a brief seconds, you started to kiss him back. It's what you imagined it to be like, sweet yet fiery at the same time. You melt into the kiss, lifting a hand to cup his cheek while he cards his hand through your hair. You were the one to pull away first, taking a deep breath and you held your gaze. Bakugou looks oddly calm but you could see the red tint on your cheeks that was starting to reach the tips of his ears.

"You're red."

"Oh shut up, you're ruining the fucking mood."

Total: 3593 words Published: 07.06.2021

Thank you for requesting! ｡٩(ˊᗜˋ)و*｡ Not angsty at all actually. At least in my opinion. We hope you liked it! ― author Lou

Thank you for requesting it! We decided to let you readers decide where you're from  Hope you enjoyed this! ― author Natsuki

Requests are closed! Matchups are closed!

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

[xaibaugrove]

Everyone in the Krew is Problematic

I was inspired to go on this rant by someone who recently brought up a question in a server I’m in, asking why so many people in the fandom seem to hate Mako and Makorra and why. This wouldn’t be the first time I defend Mako and it most likely won’t be the last, but it might be the first time I tear him and everyone else in the Krew down in the process, only to bring them back up. Hear me out though.

I think I’ve totally accepted that a lot of people in this fandom will always hate Mako and that I will have to perpetually defend him, I understand that this is the relationship I’ve chosen with this world. But what I still will never understand are the reasons why people hate/dislike him because compared to how much they love other characters in the Krew who honestly aren’t that much better than him (in some cases, even worse!), it doesn’t make any sense.

Let me also preface this by saying, I love these characters with all my heart and soul, probably more than I should love fictional characters, but this is the life I live and with that being said, I am going to tear them apart just to prove a point. Okay, here we go.

MAKO

Most of his detractors list the usual criticisms, which are valid when isolated. He cheated on Asami, he lied to Korra, he was a terrible boyfriend and essentially he treated the women he claimed to love or care about horribly. Gee, it’s almost like the man was a teenager with no experience in having long-lasting, healthy relationships and was raised in the streets by gangmembers while doing anything to survive and provide for his younger sibling after seeing his parents killed right in front of him and suddenly being orphaned…

I think Mako has been torn down enough, so I won’t get too deep into the tearing down part for him. It really does baffle me how someone can claim to be woke and not comprehend how someone coming from poverty could possibly be a product of their environment. Like, does everyone think that poor people automatically have hearts of gold and turn out like Little Orphan Annie? Why are people surprised that when someone has a shitty life, they might do shitty things?

Also, sooo many people love Zuko, who actively tried to cause harm to Aang, Katara and Sokka numerous times, and sympathize with his troubled past. But like, sure Zuko had an abusive father and his mother peaced out of his life for whatever reasons but at least he had his uncle. Mako had his parents for maybe 8 years before they were murdered in front of him and then had...no one for the next 10 years? Except for Bolin, sure, but no other parental figure in his life. Dude literally had to become him and his brother’s own parent and joined a gang to survive, and after all that, the worst he does is acts as a bad boyfriend toward Korra and Asami and he is instantly thrown to the wolves. Something doesn’t add up. It’s just...I don’t get it.

Yes, the way he treated people was bad, but people can grow? That’s a thing humans can do. And he was a teenager, my god. No, we cannot allow our past to be an excuse for how we treat others, but we have to be aware that there is a growth process to being human. And being human in and of itself, isn’t pretty. You think Mako is problematic? Don’t get me started on your fave.

KORRA

Ok, I love this woman to death but she is ridiculously problematic. She pursued someone in a relationship and essentially forced Mako to cheat on Asami by kissing him against his will, that’s already pretty awful and shows a lack of empathy on her part, also kissing people without their consent is no bueno. But also I just have to say it for the people who might not know this. One of the fundamental reasons why Makorra didn’t work was because KORRA WAS ABUSIVE. Okay? It wasn’t just that Mako was inadequate at relationships and didn’t know how to people, it wasn’t that she was secretly confused and wanting Asami the entire time (biphobia at it’s best) one of the main problems in the pairing was that Korra was crazy abusive towards Mako. Seriously, why don’t I see this more often in those discussions??

If we need examples, I have dozens. Honestly, it’s really easy to see how terrible Korra was to Mako, I’d actually argue that she treated him worse than he treated her. I mean, they were both terrible to one another, but in Korra’s case she went through the motions of being completely infatuated with your first teenage crush, getting with said crush, then crashing and burning once you realize that you have no idea how to treat a romantic partner so after the butterflies wear off you subject them to all the wonderful aspects of your anger issues. Not only did she scream at Mako during every argument they had, she also threatened him with bodily harm if she got really angry. Remember how their relationship crashed and burned in Book 2? Here are the things that Korra did during that time. Let me reiterate, this was not okay.

Mako is visibly shaken by this!

This woman burst into her boyfriend’s place of work and violently kicked his desk out from in front of him with all his coworkers present. That is not normal behavior. That is a red flag. And after she came back, had amnesia or whatever and forgot they broke up after that scene, let’s not forget that Mako was legitimately Afraid to break up with her again. Korra made her partner frightened that they might suffer bodily harm if they upset her. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, this is not okay!

The little scene in Book 3 when Korra is lifting Mako like 100 feet off the ground with airbending while he’s screaming in fear just to make Asami laugh is cute, right? I’ll admit, I loved that little moment too, it’s one of the only instances of Korrasami development that we got, but also, there were sooo many things wrong with that scene lol. Not only does Korra terrify Mako for literally no reason, it’s also sort of just her continuing to exercise some degree of power over him for her own amusement. Almost like a subtle reminder to him saying, “I am stronger than you in every way and I can break your femur like a twig if I wanted to… but I won’t, so look how much fun we’re having!”

Now of course, there are reasons why Korra acts like this. She was isolated for almost her entire life and never learned how to treat people and be around people. The Avatar is human because they must live amongst the people they protect and that helps them develop empathy and cherish life. The White Lotus deprived her of that fundamental aspect of her duty as the Avatar and it showed throughout the beginning of the series. Clearly, she was young, didn’t see how her actions could negatively affect others and hurt the feelings of not just her partner but also friends and family (she was really awful towards a lot of people in her life!). But as the series went on, we see her having less outbursts and learning to control her temper more.

One can only assume that she does not have the same behavior with Asami because for one, I don’t think Asami would play that shit, she seems like she would electrocute a bitch in a heartbeat and not hesitate if needed, but also Korra is not the same shitty partner she used to be as a teenager. Again, kids do stupid things. Adults do stupid things. And we learn and we grow. Korra will probably make some more mistakes in her relationship with Asami. I don't think anyone can have one bad relationship and suddenly learn all the lessons they can from it and have a perfect one the next go around. I can totally picture Korra losing her temper and raising her voice at Asami if she gets frustrated and forgets who she’s dealing with. Managing anger issues is hard, I know this from experience, and it doesn’t magically get easier. Of course, if Korra does pop off, Asami would definitely put her in her place because she’s a bad bitch who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, next character.

ASAMI

You know her, you love her, you fantasize about her and you probably have her on your list of fictional characters you would totally bang if you had the chance (I know I do), yes, even your best girl is problematic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of people sympathize with Asami and very few openly criticize her (so few that I’ve never seen anyone say a bad thing about her). What’s there to criticize though? The poor girl was cheated on by Mako, had her feelings disregarded by Korra, who claimed to be her friend but pursued her then-boyfriend behind her back and then made up for it by simping for her for the rest of her life? Also her mom was murdered when she was just 6 years old, her father threatened to kill her once and physically abused her, then died right after they started repairing their relationship, essentially making her an orphan at the ripe age of 22. Suffice it to say, Asami has been through it.

So, how could she be problematic, you ask? Why, of course, through the classic Bryke technique of romance progression in storylines called Kissing People Without Their Consent

To be honest, I did gloss over this with Korra, simply because there were sooo many other issues with that woman and I just couldn’t go through every single one in as much detail but that doesn’t negate how serious this whole sneak attack kissing thing is. Sure, Asami is very emotional and lonely and sort of desperate too, (it's a little sad, really) but Mako is clearly uncomfortable and completely caught off guard by the kiss. This is also the second time this happens to him in the series! There are a couple factors that might contribute to why Asami does this and acts this way, maybe Korra’s general awfulness rubbed off on her (don’t make a dirty joke) but this is still wrong.

AND that’s...pretty much it. Kissing people without their permission is a big no no, though. Not wanting to gloss over that, but Asami really is a good person who just did a not-so-great thing. Getting burned by Mako twice probably made her a little less inclined to be as forward with anyone though, and it looks like she now takes her time and is patient in her relationship with Korra. It even seems like Asami is the only person Korra is afraid to upset, as Korra does seem more gentle and calm when around her. And who knows? Maybe Asami living a life where a majority of the time she got whatever she wanted when she wanted it might have also influenced her to be more assertive or even imposing within her relationships.

If anything, those three fools getting into relationships with each other just showed how not ready they were to be in relationships in the first place and also how not okay they were.

BOLIN

Originally I titled this as “Everyone in the Krew is problematic (except Bolin)” but then I remembered that Bolin totally kissed a woman without her consent so I deleted the shit out of that!

This asshole looks genuinely pleased with himself after essentially assaulting Ginger. Not a good look.

Sure, Bolin is baby. He will always be baby to me. But that does not erase the fact that he also actively supported a fascist dictator. Not only was the kissing without consent thing bad, but there’s also that. No matter how many times people around him warned him about the fact that he was on the wrong side of things, that he was helping someone who was putting people into concentration camps...Bolin wanted to believe the best of Kuvira. He ignored obvious signs that the woman was a dictator committing human rights violations like crazy and you know, there’s gotta be a reason for that too.

Maybe Bolin wanted to feel like he was doing something good for once. When you think about it, with his role as the comic relief in the Krew, and sort of constantly being infantilized by his older brother, I wouldn’t be surprised if the man developed some insecurity in his ability to do anything good or useful for anyone without screwing it up in some way. In Kuvira’s army, it seemed like he was actually taken seriously, he felt like he was doing something that mattered. Korra had being the Avatar, Asami had her business and mindblowing philanthropy (honestly, her ability to be as charitable as she is profitable is insane) and Mako had his police work (ACAB, tho). Bolin had...the role of being a joke. A superficial actor. A former pro-bending meathead.

Bolin lived his entire life following after his brother that once they were adults and Mako finally decided to live his own life for once, it left Bolin completely lost. And lost young men are perfect recruits for fascists.

So, in conclusion, my whole reasoning behind destroying the integrity of my favorite characters is to prove a huge point. All of these characters are problematic. They have flaws, some bigger than others (looking at you, Korra. Just...wow), but ultimately, even if your fave is problematic... that’s okay. A lot of people, mostly younger people it seems, are really obsessed with being right about everything that they do and stan. And that’s a wonderful thing, so much change has come about by the younger generations calling out people who do fucked up shit, don’t want or try to improve, and get away with it. But it’s also caused a lot of people to be unforgiving and completely unwilling to acknowledge when people do improve and try to be better.

Personally, I love my problematic Krew because having issues that you’re constantly working on internally is human. It’s human to make mistakes, it’s human to grow from those mistakes. And it’s inspiring to me, who is wholly imperfect, to see myself reflected in fictional characters who aren’t perpetuating unrealistic ideals of human nature, characters who are messy, crazy and ultimately human.

As one of my favorite manga artists and queen of impeccable character creation Rumiko Takahashi once said:

“I think that perfect people are not very interesting.”

And I will always wholeheartedly agree.

[ultimatebethylficlist]

Veteran Author of The Month: October 2021

Our featured veteran author for October is another well-known name with many memorable fics, none other than @leftmywingshome​ !

leftmywingshome can be found on AO3 and FFN under the same penname.

When asked what got her into Bethyl and what the fandom means to her, she said:

I loved Beth from the minute we were introduced to her in season 2. This is the season I started to actually like Daryl too.  “30 Days Without an Accident” was the first time that I got a Bethyl vibe (although I didn’t know that Bethyl was even a thing until she died.) my family told me I was crazy for thinking there was anything going on between them… they teased me relentlessly! Then Beth died and I was devastated and went to the internet to see what I could find and I fell in the fandom hole… what a terrifying experience that was! In the best and worse ways possible!

For her personal fic rec list, she recommends:

It’s been a long time since I’ve actively read any Bethyl besides The Good Stars by dynamicsymmetry. I’ve been keeping up with that one! And I have started Gracie by Courtneyshortney82. I don’t have enough time to read for pleasure! 

I have so many favorites…. I really do! I have lists upon lists of fics by category. I’m just gonna go with my top three:

I’ll Be Yours For A Song by dynamicsymmetry … sigh… iykyk.   Don’t even get me started. This fic was a game changer in more ways than I can even list. It’s tattooed on my body. Cause words hold power…

The Daryl Dixon Diet by gneebee This series just made me feel good! (As all of gneebee’s fics do!) I binged it and begged her for more! And salad will always be leafs for me thanks to this fic!

Third Week in June by arrowsandangels (this fic is no longer available) The ultimate age gap… it could be considered taboo in some circles, but it was so beautifully written! The love that grew between Beth and Daryl from the time she was a little girl and he was a teenager was a twin flame connection!

leftmywingshome’s Works & Personal Thoughts:

Home Isn’t Always a Place Summary: ‘Guilt is the worst demon to bear, strangling you from the inside of your body. Apologize. Make amends. Let go. Breathe free.’ - Nikita Gill Some people wear their guilt like an armor even when it’s misplaced. Daryl is letting go of his, he doesn’t have much of a choice, but it isn’t easy. Beth, on the other hand, has hers wrapped so tightly around her frail shoulders if it wasn’t there who would she be? Maybe it’s fate, the fact that they meet in the woods one day. And despite their differences, they have a lot in common- mainly an overwhelming guilt for their actions and a bitter loneliness for the isolation they’ve created for themselves. Can a friendship that starts at a funeral for a bird be the catalyst that helps them both find their way? Thoughts: I wrote this fic during a really hard time in my life. My mom was sick and she passed away before it was finished. It’s an AU, age gap, love story and it’s also where I tried out storylines for my original book Not a Love Story. The Bethyl inspiration is there if you watch for the signs! 

She is the Sunlight Summary: When the trade for hostages goes bad, Beth is shot in the hallway of Grady hospital. Her family believes she’s dead. In the parking lot an approaching horde threatens their safety as they try to leave, but Daryl can’t just leave her behind. So he doesn’t. Thoughts: The fix-it fic! We all wanted to rewrite Coda, change that outcome into something better, something we knew in our Bethyl hearts was supposed to happen. It’s also a song fic based on “She is the Sunlight” by Trading Yesterday. 

Interstice Summary: They weren’t even really conversations. But Beth looked forward to them, these little moments with Daryl. Thoughts: This fic, for me is just a missing scene from the show. It totally could’ve happened! 

[judyhopps934-mt-zd]

Thoughts on Lies

Warning: Spoilers! And possibly having your heart torn into pieces. Other than that, have fun!

We open up with Marinette figuring out the recipes for the power ups as the new guardian.

I am disappointed that she still has not stopped oogooling over Adrien when he appeared on the news. Especially since she was allegedly with Luka by then. (I'll explain what I mean in just a minute)

Adrien was tired after the day he had as Adrien, which is a contrast of what Marinette believes his life is like. But being Chat Noir is the highlight of his day...

...only to not see Ladybug show up for patrols. And we see that it was all due to her figuring out the powerups.

Also, the patrols are a thing in cannon and I am still not over it after "Truth".

Chat Noir hoping for an akumatization so he can escape his civilian life radiated the same energy as Alya asking for akumatizations to interview the temporary heroes on her IG post. I get it, but still! We do not have people in danger for our needs.

Plagg being the one who announces any voice messages for Chat and asking for cheese through the feature on the Chat Phone brings me a whole other level of life.

Also, the whole milk thing at Le Grand Paris bar counter. It was hilarious, but also very sad. He really missed his m'lady

He ends the patrol after he saw Kagami training with her mom. And the smiles on his face! *Cries in Marichat and Ladynoir*

Plagg is the one that encourages Adrien to move on from Adrien, just like he applauded him from doing so in Loveater.

Kagami apparently said that fencing lessons are scheduled an hour in advance and Adrien (with that goofy grin on his face) knew what was up!

Both Ms. Tsurugi and Gabriel are very pissed at one another for the schedule change. That's hilarious, although everything comes at a price.

The parallels! Kagami is apparently learning Russian at her mother's request. Truly is a reflection of Adrien, civilian life wise.

Kagami? Lying???? The hell???? Who are you and what have you done to Kagami????? (Why am I surprised, y'all did this in Desperada)

She lies to their parents and the teacher to be in the art room with Adrien. I get it, teenage rebellion after being under an uninvolved parent, but still!

I like how the writers gave Kagami another dimension by saying she loves art, but her mom does not like her passion for drawing.

To Kagami's mom: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH???!!! HER DRAWINGS BELONG IN A MUSEUM!

Also, art reflecting the truth? Hmmm.....

Since people like mentioning that Marinette has a thing for people with absent parents after "Truth", I will now say that Adrien has a thing for people who are great at drawing. I do not take criticism.

Kagami is hinting that Adrien's civilian life is not his true self (thank you for understanding him!)...

...but also says that being a "clown" (it was the Chat pose) is also not who he really is. The fandom would disagree with you. Although that brings up the question of whether both personalities merge to form who he really is and cannot be seen completely by anyone in any part of his life. But he is more like Chat Noir regardless.

Also, I want to see Adrien and Kagami spend more time together prior to this episode to see why she was not pleased with him being a clown if that's who he truly is, because her repositioning him against the wall made me feel like she is trying to place Adrien into a mold that reflects the image she might have created in her mind. (I don't know, this was just the first thought that came in my mind.)

They almost kiss, with Adrien being taken into shock (not terrified as we thought) until the alarm saying they have fencing lessons starting interrupts them and Adrien runs out, not before BLUSHING LIKE HELLO?!?!?

This is what I referred to in my second point and confirms what everyone was saying about this episode: this is "Truth", but through Adrien's perspective. Finally, an Adrien-centered episode!!!

To continue, every time Adrien and Kagami are together or were about to kiss, a sentimonster appears, with Ladybug trying to do something about it. Just like Lukanette, just like Adrigami: being a superhero affects your love life as a civilian.

Chat being thrown off the roof by accident and being rescued will never get old or less funny lol.

Montages continues up until the boat scene, where Adrien missed the intro to the performance, but I will never get over the fact as to how Adrien made it there before Marinette. It is beyond me.

Kagami not letting Adrien stay for 5 more minutes. Hmm...

Their cute moment together was what will lead to the demise of Adrigami as Kagami noticed he dropped the infamous lucky charm bracelet. *le gasp!

Why *le gasp*? Because 1) I fear it symbolizes that something will happen to Adrienette or that Adrien has forgotten about her, and 2) Wait until later.

Kagami revealed she lied so she can spend more time with Adrien alone, lying about leaving rehearsal earlier, lying about the fencing lessons rescheduling, and who else knows what else so she can be with him.

She tells him she loves him. But Adrien notices Ladybug and an Akuma. Oh boy, he wasn't able to give her any attention.

Because he left towards the direction of the boat (and said he left something there), Kagami used that to conclude it had something to do with Marinette. Oh boy.

Either I missed an entire scene about Ladybug knowing ShadowMoth's name, or we were not supposed to know how they know until this episode. It feels out of place to me, but oh well.

"I..am...AN INCREDIBLE SWIMMER!" still cracks me up even when I know how important it was in protecting her secret identity.

Happy Birthday Prince Ali!

Apparently, Kagami lied that her mom was in charge of watching over Adrien (or maybe not? I can't tell at this point.)

Yep, Kagami believes that Adrien is going after Marinette and probably resents them both if her facial expression says anything

We get to see that Ladynoir moment from "Truth"!! I love these two and their banter.

Adrienette stans, not much has changed. Adrien was concerned that he lost the Lucky Charm bracelet, for real. But said again because he though he would be clear of the lie since he thought he had it on him.

Kagami confronts him with it. AND THIS IS HIS SHOCKED FACE SCENE FROM THE TRAILER!!!

Thinking that she lies to get out of being with her, she leaves. With the bracelet. The leaving part is understandable, especially because she does not know about him being Chat Noir or what entails him to do. But why take the bracelet???

Adrien is also saddened by what happened. He also liked her.

We've never seen that part of city hall. Well designed in my opinion.

She was the akuma in City Hall with the glowing sphere! We were right!!!

Adrien feels guilty, though it is not really his fault. He has a duty to Paris!

Why is the music sounding different in French.

Jagged Stone. How do I feel about you after learning you purposefully abandoned Luka and apparently Juleka? Also, what's with the song??? (Rhetorical question. Do not answer)

We were wrong about Kagami's power: it paralyzes people who lie, not kill everything in its path.

Jagged, you abandoned your children. And you apparently lied about your age?!?!?! Both episodes show something about Jagged Stone that make him seem like an awful person on the inside.

Ladybug, how do you know about Lies's powers?!?!? There is a hole in the plot here! Unless there were other paralyzed civilians that gave her power a dead giveaway.

Chat Noir, if you lie as a civilian for whatever reason, of course Ladybug will too, since as a civilian, you need to lie to keep your secret identity a secret. Same rules apply to Ladybug, especially as the guardian.

The Lucky Charm is a drone, not a camera like I thought. How the hell did I get into an ivy if I can't tell the difference?!?!

Chat Noir pretending to lie is funny. It might also be his peppy attitude to lying. Also, his funnier version of ShadowMoth's name.

Ladybug finds the akumatized object and gasps. I wonder if its only a eureka moment or also the fact that she recognizes the bracelet, especially if its custom made.

Brutally honest people does not exist (we have all lied at some point, even Kagami who is usually brutally honest with people), but animals can't lie.

Fang being involved in destroying the akuma is cool.

This is the moment that we dreaded so much, yet knew was coming: CHAT NOIR DIES!

JK! He actually is paralyzed by truth because he jumped into the glowing orb. We were right that this is an anguishing scene to watch, but we're wrong about the part that he's killed. Yet, he still unnecessarily sacrificed himself and caused Ladybug to be angst about it.

WHAT IS UP WITH CHAT NOIR BEING HAPPY ABOUT SACRIFICING HIMSELF?!?!? AND DO NOT SAY ITS BECAUSE HE TRUSTS LADYBUG!

Yes Ladybug. Chat is crazy. And also crazy for you. And you are right about the crazy unconscious part. My Ladynoir heart!

ShadowMoth almost won until Fang bit off the charm bracelet. Thanks Fang!

Chat backing away from Fang licking him is a mood.

My favorite Ladynoir moment of the evening: Ladybug telling Chat to stop sacrificing himself and Chat saying she likes her adorable angry face. Her smirk afterwards.. And then their pound it.

But no seriously Chat. You need to stop doing that to Ladybug. She cannot take it anymore

Plagg said that even if Adrien loves someone else, he is likely to go back to Ladybug. Just like he goes back to Camembert. Seriously, despite his cheese analogies, he gives great wisdom.

Not Kagami almost beating up Adrien during his fencing lessons. And Mr. D'Angercourt notices this too as he stopped Kagami's final blow.

Also, isn't it illegal in fencing to push people? Oh boy.

And there's the Adrigami breakup scene: Adrien telling Kagami that he enjoys their time together and Kagami knowing their is sincerity in him. It is sort of unclear who actually ended things when Adrien asks if they could still be friends, but Kagami ends it all by saying that she will let him know once she can face him again. Ouch.

Adrien is hurt and stares at the lucky charm bracelet with what looks like sadness. Once again ouch.

Like Lukanette, I want to see Adrien and Kagami be happy together at least until halfway through this season. The issue is that it will hurt them more in the end.

Also, I noticed the difference between Luka and Kagami when ending their respective relationships. It hurt them both, but Kagami was more forward about it and Luka was somewhat passive. It could be based on what they know about their now exes (Luka knew that Marinette had feelings for Adrien and was not secretive about it even when they were together if the truths her friends said and the opening scene to this episode reflect this, whereas Kagami only has a suspicion and Adrien does not say anything regarding to it.

Also, I really did not like how the breakup on this end resulted in. While more realistic for a lot of people, it did not help that it involved Kagami as there are people who will go after Kagami after watching this episode, and I believe that the writers know this. Kagami is a good person who has a different response to the trust issues and lack of communication, as well as lies in their relationship. Not saying its a perfect one, but an understandable one. In conclusion, don't trash Kagami, especially if you saw this coming.

I take back what I said before; this is my favorite Ladynoir scene. I want to hug them both because they have to lie and keep secrets from everyone, even have some secrets between themselves! But at least they can trust each other! Excuse me while I cry over how much we are being fed. Also, the fact that they broke up with their respective partners makes this both heartwarming and heart breaking.

Overall, this episode is just as good as Lies! It is the first fully Adrien-centered episode, which makes this a first and already exciting. While I did not like how their breakup was handled, it was realistic and showed that honesty and communication are important. Also, can my children be happy together for longer than an episode??? I swear, their pain hurts me.

But at least Ladybug and Chat Noir have each other's company to get them through. May us Ladynoir stans continue to be fed!

[dykesprentiss]

ok so. i know a lot of this has probably been said before, but i wanted to put my two cents in. very rambly and disorganized because i am just like that.

i think everyone in this fandom needs to examine the way they interract with male vs female characters. why is it easier for you to focus on and create content for male characters that have appeared in 2 episodes maximum, then it is for the women that are in the main cast? why do you gravitate towards ships between two male characters who have never met (specifically jonah and like. his harem of old british men. usually based on one single line of dialogue) then the actual, canon wlw relationships?

like dont get me wrong, when lonely eyes first started cropping up it was funny! i enjoyed it, i enjoyed the multiple divorce jokes, because it was a small fandom in joke that made fun of some old bastards. and now its the second most popular ship in the fandom. now its so popular, people think its canon before they start listening. why are you unable to muster that same kind of enthusiasm for any of the female characters? gertrude and mary have very similar appeal to lonely eyes, and yet its a fringe ship that nobody ever talks about. gertrude and agnes have very significant moments and mentions in the podcast, and yet the only people i see talking about them are wlw.

or we could talk about michael and helen! helen who, as of this moment, has become a key player in the storyline. helen who yeeted michael out of existence, who took over the power of the distortion by her own choice, and with her own strength. and so often i see her relegated to "vodka aunt that coos over jonmartin" is that a bad take on her? of course not! but having her only purpose be to comment on the male characters rubs me the wrong way.

lets talk about elias and mary. elias gets praise, and love, and devotion, regardless of the horrible things he does. the entire fandom has the reputation of eliasfuckers now because everyone goes so crazy for him. mary is just as evil, has just as sexy a voice (i assume lol cause tbh? eel eyes does not do it for me and never will), and people just. hate her. full stop. why is that?

it seems like manuela has been. completely forgotten. i Never see anyone talk about her. she has just as much appeal as the male avatars, so why are you so uninterested in her? sasha and tim have the same amount of importance, and both have died, but there is So much more focus on tim. why.

daisy/basira and melanie/georgie are incredibly well developed relationships, their stories are as beautiful and tragic and intimate as jonmartin, but the f/f and m/m fic ratio on ao3 is abysmal. because it seems to me that the only people writing about them are wlw.

which happens.....a lot. het relationships and gay relationships are for everyone, but lesbian ships? thats just for gay women. everyone goes head over heels for mlm movies, regardless of sexuality, but wlw movies never receive the same kind of treatment. why.

this isn't even touching on the. blatant and disgusting fetishising of mlm. elias is evil because hes gay and skanky. tim is bi so he must sleep around. tim and martin are both mlm in the same vicinity of each other so they must have had a friends with benefits relationship. jon/elias and peter/martin have significant age differences and power disparities, so they must have an incredibly fucked up sexual relationship. jon is ace, but yall just fully ignore that so you can write horny fic of him. (and im going to be completely honest, if you get legitimate joy from writing manipulative r*pe fic involving these characters, Especially involving an ace character, ( edit: i apologize for my wording here, i didnt intend to compare trauma between ace and non ace ppl. my point is that jon seems to be the main target in these fics, and that they seem to be a direct response to his asexuality. fic like this is bad regardless of who is targetted). than that is a big problem. you arent "exploring dark topics in a meaningful way" youre writing fucked up porn for your own sick enjoyment. get angry at me all u want lmao but i stand by that)

i could go on about this forever, but what im really asking is for people to look inward and ask yourselves why you are so against connecting and interracting with female characters? no one is saying you cant like the men, but if theyre the only ones you care about? thats a problem. there are more women in tma then there are men, but they still feel like the minority because of the way the fandom acts. this isnt just a tma problem either! you can put as many rounded out female characters as you want into your content, and every time without fail they will be pushed to the side in favor of the men.

and dont come at me with "oh if you want content of the women you should make it" like we fucking are. the issue is that wlw are the only ones doing it. just take a second and think. are you ignoring the female characters in favor of the men? why? why is that your first instinct? why do you not feel the need to go against that instinct?

[thefrostqueen]

Hanyo no Yashahime

Season 1 Review

It’s review time

Hanyo no Yashahime is the sequel to the classic anime InuYasha, in which a teen from present day travels back to Feudal Japan where demons and magic are very much a reality. The sequel follows the children of the main characters from InuYasha and puts them on their own adventure to save the world.

Note: All opinions are my own. This is a critical review of entertainment media, and will include criticism. If you do not agree, then simply ignore.

The Plot

Early on, it was established that Towa and company would seek out the dream butterfly and get back Setsuna’s dreams/sleep. Treekyo told them they would have to defeat Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru. After many episodes, this plot line was unimportant and almost discarded. Passing and fleeting, the true motive of the girls quest is sporadic and mentioned sparingly, and for many episodes it seemed they were only there to slay high level demons.

Mysteries and questions were extremely abundant and established early on, and as the episodes went by, it was clear they wouldn’t be answered. At least this season. One thing the fandom has noticed is how many questions there are, and how in some crazy way sunrise managed to withhold all answers and key plot points from the plot for so long. Treekyo? Not that important apparently. Her prophecy? Never mentioned again. The dream butterfly? Seen not explained. It’s connection to Kirinmaru and Zero? Contradicted in the show. InuYasha and Kagome? Just as forgotten as Moroha when there is a fight.

The pacing of this show was all over the place and inconsistent, providing too much focus on filler in some episodes and not enough plot in others. And in the episodes where we got to come back to the main story, we would get info dumps. I mentioned in my mid-season review how info dumps are cheap in the scheme of writing and plot outline, and I’ll say it again because I was surprised as the episodes went on how inconsistent everything was getting.

Now, don’t get me wrong, InuYasha had lots of fillers too, but unlike Yashahime, they established a lot of exposition and plot within the first 12 episodes; we got the main characters and their ambitions/conflicts, the main villain, the dual antagonist (Sesshomaru, at least he was a villain for a bit anyway) and the basics of the magic system was established and explained. Yashahime did set up the character’s goals, but the character’s quickly seemed to forget them, while in InuYasha their goal of finding the jewel shards was always at the forefront of the majority of the episodes. The main villain was supposedly Kirinmaru (his careless attitude throughout most of the show did not provide the antagonistic “high stakes”) and he sent demons to battle the girls, but the girls were so overpowered and perfected their powers so quickly that the demons provided no real challenge or added any stakes or drama.

The ability/powers of characters were retconned. This was odd and not something I expected. One of the most notable examples is how certain abilities are apparently genetic and inherited through dna instead of through the swords that harbored them like the original series established. An example is Moroha’s “Crimson Backlash Wave” where it mimics the ability Tessaiga has where it sends an opponent’s own demonic attack right back at them, destroying them with their own demonic energy. Moroha does not use Tessaiga, she uses Kurikaramaru. The backlash wave was said to be unique to Tessaiga, and only able to be used with Tessaiga, but that lore was weirdly chosen to be retconned. It is unclear wether or not this will be expanded upon in season 2.

In episode 19 of Yashahime, there was blatant homophobia and transphobia. No excuse, there was. InuYasha also had homophobic and transphobic characters. Yashahime could have changed that, but it perpetuated that instead, and it was extremely disappointing. In episode 20, Shiori, a beloved character from the original series, is shown changing into her human form during a solar eclipse. Yashahime chose to whitewash the character by lightening her dark skin. In InuYasha, several characters had darker skin, like InuYasha himself, and when he turned into his human form, his skin would stay the same. There is no excuse for this. Both of these episodes blighted Yashahime’s potential to step away from those things, but it continued to do it instead.

The final episode of the show was fast and full of unanswered questions. The dream butterfly was still not explained, Rin did not wake up, InuYasha and Kagome were not even mentioned, let alone released, and Kirinmaru parented Towa and Setsuna better than their own father. Zero flees, using spider silk (she strangely has many parallels with Naraku, even down to spider imagery) and sets herself up to be the main villain. And Setsuna dies, and Sesshomaru doesn’t seem that worried at all. It was interesting however to see Kirinmaru fight the girls, and he basically began teaching them about their moves and powers. Another interesting aspect was how Sesshomaru is apparently, potentially, time traveling. He shows up and hands Towa the Tensiaga, and the rain stops, and when she takes it, the rain starts again. Towa looks up and it is shown Sesshomaru has vanished instantaneously.

The Characters

Towa Higurashi: In the first two episodes, Towa was portrayed as a tomboy who kicked ass and cared for her family. She was confident and had ambition. Once she came to the feudal era however, her entire personality changed. Her surroundings and the people/beings she met were indeed something she had never encountered, but she suddenly became a moralist, and cautioned Setsuna and Moroha to never fight, despite she herself being notorious in modern day for fighting bullies and bad people. It is almost like her fighting persona in modern day had never happened. Overall, it felt her character was overly gullible, and though she meant well, her sudden drop from “school fighter” to “naive moralist” was odd and seemed to contradict the character they set up in the first three episodes.

Setsuna: Like father like daughter, Setsuna retains her father’s most iconic personality traits, and is focused on her ambitions and remains cautious around people and demons alike. She was, perhaps, the one out of the three princesses to have the most backstory and character focus (despite Towa being the main character) The mystery of her connection with the dream butterfly was genuinely interesting, though it did feel like it dragged on for too long in certain aspects (some lore even felt contradicted) Writing wise, Setsuna felt the most consistently written character of the three girls, both in personality and in development.

Moroha: The perfect mix of her parents, Moroha has had little to few familial relationships and friendships in her life. Her goal of earning money seemed petty at first, but when Moroha finally got her own episode, it was revealed to have a deeper meaning. That episode highlighted Moroha’s strength and perseverance. What was a poor move on behalf of Yashahime’s writers was the strange choice to constantly omit Moroha from vital fights (and even basic fights) It happened pretty much every time, and Moroha was never around for key information about her parents or their quest. It is unclear why her being there for the information would be a bad thing. Her relationship with Towa and Setsuna was shallow, and their bonding had no real emotional impact. In fact, Towa and Setsuna openly mention how they need her for her abilities, not because they like her. The one episode they tried to make them bond fell flat due to the lack of build up and relationship development.

Conclusion

Hanyo no Yashahime was inconsistent and fell flat with several character relationships and motivations. Plot point execution was sporadic and lacked emotional depth and coherent understanding, leaving viewers more confused than awed. Characters from InuYasha were out of character and felt hollow; some of them were not even involved as much as one would think and one didn’t even show up. Kirinmaru is perhaps the most interesting new character to come out of the series, and his respect for the Great Dog Demon has led him to enter a deal with Sesshomaru, and even protect the three princesses. This contradicts several actions he took, and makes a compelling mystery in certain aspects. In conclusion, the show felt rushed and lacked emotional and character depth, and presented several problematic and harmful themes.

Note: Again, all opinions are my own. You are free to comment, but please be respectful.

[lover-of-queens]

Farah Dowling is Alive Part 3

Or, as I like to call it, I think I’m running out of funny subtitles. 

If you haven’t yet, I recommend checking out Part 1 & Part 2

Under the cut, as usual!

Parts 1 and 2 of this analysis were focused on a deep dive into the first season to to look for clues and any evidence that suggests getting our lovely Eve Best back for season 2 of Fate. This part will be slightly different. While I’m honestly surprised at the seeming fandom consensus that Farah is alive, there are some counterarguments I’ve seen/heard that I’d like to address. These counterarguments may either be the ones most convincing to me that Farah isn’t coming back (and then I’ll give reasons why I think they’re wrong) or fears about Eve’s filming schedule (I’ll also try and offer some hope there). 

The first counterargument is that the writers may choose to not bring Farah back in order to play into the dead mentor trope. Also known as the Mentor Occupational Hazard trope. Pretty self explanatory, but the essential idea is that at some point the protagonists of the story have to learn how to make it on their own without that guiding figure; they have to grow up. Frodo has to make it without Gandalf, etc. You only have to google examples of this trope to see how much it shows up in the media we consume. And it could easily apply to Fate. Farah provided that mentoring role in the first season but now, without her, the girls have to figure out how to hold their own against the villains infiltrating their school. The end of season 1 is, essentially, setting this trope up. 

I just don’t think that Farah has to be dead for them to do it. While I don’t know where the writers are planning to take season 2, I would imagine even if we do get Farah back, she won’t play as big a role as she did in the first season. What this means is that likely the winx girls will still have to figure out a way to hold their own despite losing that mentor figure (hopefully, she’ll just be in hiding and not dead *cough cough* fate writers). 

Also, the thing with setting a show at a school is that the mentor role is somewhat inherent to the structure. And as I’ve mentioned in the previous two parts (extremely unlikely redemption arc pending) I just cannot see Rosalind holding onto that “mentor role” for more than a season (or two, depending on where season 2 ends & if there’s a renewal for a third). Seems to me like they’ll have to bring that “dead mentor” back to resume her rightful place. So, I think it’ll be more likely we’ll get a subversion of the dead mentor trope. 

The second argument & the argument that concerns me the most can be summed up in one character: Andreas. Now, I know what you’re thinking, what the hell does he have to do with this? It’s less to do with him and more to do with the fact that he came back from the dead (or allegedly dead, it’s complicated!). This concerns me because writers generally want the idea of death to be taken seriously on the show or whatever form of media they’re writing. Especially since Fate has taken a darker route, I’m not certain it wants viewers under the impression that anybody they kill off can just come back; it somewhat defeats the purpose. 

So will Fate writers want to bring Farah back despite knowing this? Maybe. 

The whole ‘Farah’s eyes glowed before she died’ plot is interesting because of precisely how vague it is, how many directions it can be taken in that could either lead to her coming back or not. It may be intentionally vague because they want us theorizing and talking about the season/show after it’s ended, it may be vague because they themselves are trying to figure out what direction to take. But let’s be clear, they are heavily pushing the theorizing angle. These are all taken from three separate posts on Fate’s IG page: 

In the last one, Hannah, Precious and Sadie all agree that Farah needs to be in season 2. As Sadie says “We can’t have a season 2 without her.” Precious points out how the death scene was “too easy”. Similar sentiments are echoed on Netflix’s Afterparty for Fate when the host asks: 

David Spade: “Do you think Professor Dowling . . . faked her own death and then she can come back on season two? . . . sometimes it’s such a big hit like this, then they say ‘People like that character, let’s try to find a way to come back’”. 

To which Abbey says: “It’s a magical show, anything can happen!” 

I mean one only needs to take a look at AO3 to see that over half of the stories on there feature Farah - but admittedly that is a more niche section of a fandom. Something broader would be looking at the IG comments where Farah’s name generally pops up in the top comments with a message hoping she’s going to be brought back. Also the Farah/Eve fandom on IG is LARGE and growing.

Additionally, I think the amount of Farah/Golden Trio bloopers we got is also a good sign (especially because Eve got single shots) that Netflix/Whoever is in charge sees her as a popular character. And I don’t think there would be a push for discussion of Farah theories just for it to end with her remaining dead. So even though Andreas has come back, I think Farah can too. The next person that dies on the show though . . . well . . . that’ll likely be more permanent. 

Now that we’ve established from a story and fandom perspective why Farah is likely coming back. Let’s talk about what most people are actually worried about. Eve’s filming schedule. I’m going to preface this argument with a mention that I’m not an industry professional or anything, so these are just my best guesses based on the facts available to us. 

House of the Dragon is due to start shooting in April (source). Since it’s the first season we don’t really have an idea of how long it’ll take to film, but since it is the GOT prequel, I would say its a fair assumption to base a rough production schedule around the earlier seasons of that show. The reason why I say earlier is that the later seasons did come with longer filming schedules, but GOT was the epitome of pop culture at that point. I don’t think House of the Dragon will be getting that treatment until it proves itself. 

Game of Thrones took roughly six months to film a season (source). If we’re assuming that HOTD will take a similar timeline then we’re probably looking at an April to September filming schedule, possibly longer because Covid is causing production delays everywhere. 

We don’t have news about when Fate is planning to start filming their second season. From Abbey’s IG, we know that the first season filmed from September to December 2019, so I think it’s also fair to assume that we’re probably looking at a similar schedule for season 2. Also, considering they got an additional two episodes then I’m guessing their filming time will increase. 

Put these two schedules together and there’s not that much overlap and even should HOTD take longer, or Fate start shooting earlier, there’s still should be enough time for Eve to film both - if she’s willing! Also, realistically, I don’t see any way that Farah’s screen time doesn’t drop in season 2 (for a variety of reasons) but that drop should hopefully mean that they can get Eve. 

Alright y’all, I think that’s the last part of this series, at least for now. It has been so so fun to theorize with all of you and to write almost four thousand words on this topic (that’s crazy!). I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t fun for me, but at the same time, seeing everyone’s reactions to these posts really just makes my heart warm and it all worth it. So, thank you all for coming on this journey with me <3 

[destielfanfic]

My First Destiel Fic, vol.2

Thank you guys for sharing your memories! My First Destiel Fic is a nostalgic survey open to any destiel fan and has a simple goal - to celebrate fics that were our gateway into a wonderful world of destiel shipping. Thank you, fic writers, you are our heroes!

from @clio-philyra

Hello! For the first Destiel fic post 😊

The first Destiel fic I bookmarked the was the Forth Wall series by Entanglednow, which is lovely and funny. I first started watching the show in 2013 (end of season 7 on UK tv I think?). The first Destiel fics that made me really fall in love with them were probably All Things Shining by askance and standbyme (which is one of my favourite things I’ve ever read - fic or otherwise) and the Holy!Dean series by bunnymaccool.

This is a great idea btw! 😊

All fic titles link directly to the fic, when it’s possible, we have added another link to our review or submitted rec post. 

The Fourth Wall series by entangled_now [M, 40,000 word count, 15 works, posted 2009-10] (our review)

No summary by the author for all work. 15 separate stories in chronological order about Dean, Sam, and Cas discovering the wonders of destiel fan fiction. Ratings vary between T and M, with only one story rated NC-17 and even then it is only the discussion of sex in fanfic.

All Things Shining by askance & standbyme [NC-17, 142,000 word count, posted 2013] (our review)

Something in the world is waking up. It isn’t long before it’s brought to the attention of the Winchesters and Castiel: miracles are spreading across the country, the paranormal seems to be shrinking back on itself—and it all has something to do with the missing prayer book of a traveling preacher who died over a century ago. Dean is convinced it’s all the lead-up to another Apocalypse; Sam and Castiel aren’t so sure. Regardless, it sends them out on a less-than-typical road-trip, following the Mississippi and remnants of a very old story that seems increasingly to call to them. And along the way the trio learn much more about themselves—and the consequences and origins of love—than they’d ever have anticipated.

Holy!Dean Verse by bunnycaccool [NC-17, 120,300 word count, 5 works, posted 2012-15] (our review)

(from part 1)  Dean Winchester has grown used to God dicking around in his life the last couple years. But this crap? This takes the CAKE … or pie, rather. Now he’s been thrown a whole new curve-ball. The kind that has ended the Civil War in Heaven … but resulted in Raphael taking over, and hunting for Dean’s ass on a silver platter. Not to mention dealing with Balthazar acting like a self-righteous prick, Sam having some big damn epiphany on his big brother’s sexuality, and Cas eying him up like he’s the world’s juiciest cheeseburger. All that mixed with the chance to fix it all and set everything to rights … but only if Dean is willing to sacrifice himself. Again. Seriously, if he ever meets that bastard God he’s gonna- … oh hey, Chuck! What are you doing here?

from @foxymoley

The first fic I read was All Things Shining by askance and the first fic I did fanart for was A Little Inspiration by Nadiahart. I found the former when I googled free fiction for kindle (I was on maternity leave and bored!) and fell into a Destiel fic rabbit hole. I then did the art for the latter and accidently met the author via a Destiel discord server (a fellow Angel in Profound Bond 😍) and now she's one of my best friends! I squeed, she squeed, we all squeed.

My life full of these two dumbasses hasn't been the same since. ♥

A Little Inspiration by NadiaHart [T, 3,500 word count, posted 2017]

This was it, it was perfect. Exactly what he needed for his final project. Castiel ripped the page out of the campus life newspaper, tossed his paint brushes back into their cup and raced out of his studio. Checking his watch as he rounded the quad, if he hurried he’d be just in time to catch Dean. Sure enough Dean was exiting the gymnasium still in his baseball uniform as Castiel staggered to a halt in front of him. “Woah, Cas, what’s up man?” Dean asked as he helped Castiel back up from where he was hunched over gripping his knees and panting for air. “D...Dean, I-- I--it's perfect.” He gasped holding out the clipping towards Dean.

from @unforth

My first Destiel fic was Bring it On Home by thecouchcarrot. It was S8 and I'd finally "seen" Destiel (after watching since s4) so I went to a friend I knew shipped it and asked her what I should read first, and that was her recommendation. Once I saw what fanfic could be, and what joy an AU could bring? I've never looked back!!

Bring It On Home by thecouchcarrot [M, 41,000 word count, posted 2011] (our review)

Dean the Sales Rep just moved into the neighborhood, and his new neighbor is a possibly crazy shut-in. Wait - make that definitely crazy.

from @ltleflrt

My first Destiel fic was Real Slick Dean by Trilliath, and it was also the event horizon fic that dragged me into fandom in S8. It was written by a friend, but I put off reading it for a few months because I knew I'd never look back at my old fandoms, and I was right. It was also my first omegaverse, so it opened 2 new worlds for me. I was already in love with the ship before I read the fic because I started watching in s6, but I didn't know there was a Destiel fandom. I was a real newbie :)

Real Slick Dean by trilliath [NC-17, 28,500 word count, posted 2013] (submitted rec post)

There’s a new alpha enhancer drug “Rutter” on the streets that gets used at “exclusive parties” for the worst purposes. Detective Castiel Novak and his partner Balthazar work hard to put a stop to it and other sex crimes in their work as Special Victim’s top detectives. Ellen Harvelle’s Roadhouse is both a bar and a refuge for unmated Omegas. The Roadhouse gives Omegas the opportunity have their heats in peace and, if they so desire, even sell an ‘exclusive supply of high-grade slick for the unmated Alpha on the go!’.Castiel is just such an Alpha, career oriented and having no time for casual sex or potential mates. He’s a regular customer who only buys donor D347’s slick. He’s also a family friend and advocate who helps Omegas in need get connected with Ellen. It’s all fine until one night after a difficult bust he brings Ellen a new Omega about to have her first heat. What Alpha Castiel doesn’t realize is that he’s been over-dosed with Rutter during the fight and is about to go into a rut so bad he may die. And if that weren’t enough to kill him, the embarrassment he’s about to feel will, because he’s about to meet donor D347 face to face and neither of them are prepared for what’s going to happen.

If you enjoyed the fic, please drop by the archive (AO3) and let the author know with your comments and/or kudos! And if you found our recs useful, let us know by Liking and/or Reblogging our posts!

You can find all My First Destiel Fic posts under this tag!

[plotting-against-you]

Will It Ever Be the Same (Part 2)

Fandom: Nancy Drew (TV 2019)

Characters: Ryan Hudson, Nancy Drew, Ace, Bess Marvin, George Fan, Ned 'Nick' Nickerson

Prompt(s): This is based on two prompts. One of those prompts is from Alicia, who asked: "Could you do one where Nancy is 13 instead, has blonde hair like Lucy, and blue eyes like Ryan? She goes to his place like in 1x17 to get help for the ritual and on the way out she gets dizzy because she's been working herself to exhaustion. In that moment Ryan notices how similar she looks to Lucy and himself but decides not to say anything but also knows Nancy is his. She eventually tells him before doing the ritual. They go back to his place and he just says 'I know it's you'. She gets overwhelmed, almost passes out, and he just sits with her and tells her to rest."

This is also for @nancydrewcentral's week 2 hiatus prompt: Time Period AU.

Warnings: Panic/Anxiety attacks, mentions of anxiety and coping mechanisms, mentions of character deaths (past and present), mentions of suicide

Part 1

“Do you need me because I’m your father?”

He watched as her eyes went wide again, and as she scooted her body backward on the ledge, he took a step forward.

“Please, be careful! I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She paused, moving to a safer position, and let the tears roll down her cheeks silently. “You know?”

He nodded. “I found out this morning when you had your panic attack. The way you scrunched your face was exactly how Lucy used to, and when you rolled your eyes at me, it was like I was looking in the mirror. Then the rest fell into place, and I figured it out.”

“But then…why did we drive all the way to Trenton?” Her breathing was still even, but he knew that could change at any minute.

He shrugged. “A selfish part of me—one that I am learning to work on—wanted to spend some time with you. The rest of me knew you didn’t want me to know yet, so I played along. You were freaking out, and I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Thank you.” Her lip quivered. “Um…I’m really sorry.”

“Sorry?” His brows shot up in surprise. “For what?”

When she shrugged, it screamed ���teenager” and almost had him laughing.

“For not telling you.”

“Hey, you didn’t look like you were in any place to tell me. I get it. This is all knew, and your whole life just changed.” He wanted her to know he understood her.

She shook her head. “It’s not that. I mean, it is that, but…I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Me? How would you have hurt me?”

She bit her lip, and a flash of Lucy filled his head before he focused back on his little girl. “You just lost your wife and found out why the love of your life killed herself. I didn’t want to add more to your plate in case you were disappointed.”

Now he did step forward, holding his hand out to see if she’d take it.

She did.

“Nancy, I could never be disappointed in you. First of all, you’re my child. Second, you’re amazing. You’ve solved so many mysteries that even the cops couldn’t solve. Third, you are a brilliant young woman and a great student from what I’ve heard. I don’t think there is anything you could do to ever make me disappointed to have you as my daughter.”

She gave him a watery smile now, squeezing his hand. “Can we go save my friends now?”

…

Ryan stayed close to Nancy as they walked through the woods just off the Marvin estate. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but after hearing that some crazy sea spirit wanted his daughter’s life—as well as those of her friends—he had found himself growing even more protective than he had felt that morning. He was also unsure how she wanted to handle telling everyone about their relationship if they even had one.

Then he saw the group standing around a fire and let her lead.

“Ryan Hudson?” He heard Bess question, her British accent standing out amongst the others.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Nick was next to try and figure out what was happening but was also ignored.

“Let’s do the thing.” Nancy’s voice sounded off, but as she’d had a long day, Ryan let it slide.

“Um…without a blood relative?” Nick was back to questioning her, but Nancy cut him off once more.

“We have one.” She gripped the paper tightly. “’Make a fire. Burn seaweed as an offering to the sea spirit.’”

“Yeah, we have it all there,” Bess told her quietly, and as the only adult, Ryan felt the need to be suspicious as to how a group of teenagers knew how to do supernatural rituals.

Before he could question it, Nancy continued to read. “’Scatter signs of the curse into the offering flame.’”

George sighed and tossed a handful of sand into the fire. “Well, here’s what’s left of my pocket friends.”

Everyone moved back as the flame billowed higher with the offering, but he was the only one who seemed to be concerned about it.

Was the curse this bad that they all saw portents? Ryan wondered to himself. Was Nancy’s life in so much danger that he could possibly lose her before he even really had her?

“’Blood relatives joined hands over the fire.” She handed the paper to George and faced him. “Please.”

Her voice broke, and at the begging look on her face, he acquiesced.

“Start the incantation.” She told the group.

“I don’t understand, though. Are you two cousins or something?” Bess couldn’t help but wonder, even at such a perilous time.

“No. Can we get this over with, please?”

Looking around at the group Ryan noted that although most of them looked confused, Ace just looked sad.

He had seen the two of them together many times but never questioned it. Now, he realized, the two teens must be dating. He knew that he was new to the father business, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about her dating so young.

Then again, while everyone else questioned and stalled, Ace was the one to step forward.

“’In this fire, to end a spirit's desire, we burn the signs with the salt of the sea and two blended wounds. With this offering of blood for blood, we cast a veil between the kindred spirits and the vengeful one, so that it may no longer pursue us. Forever gone.”

As the young man spoke the words, Ryan felt his palms split and forced himself to keep contact with Nancy even as she gasped in pain and let tears spill from her eyes, now openly crying. He could see that she was in real pain, and he needed it to stop.

“Nancy, I have to stop this.”

“No!” She shouted at him over the pain, and his heart broke. “I…I need you to save my friends.”

The grunted in pain as she spoke, her words so desperate he did as she asked.

Nick stepped forward now. “Why do you need Ryan?”

Nancy let out a sob. “Because…Lucy was pr-pregnant with Ryan’s baby, and right before she died, she gave birth…to me.”

She let out a strangled cry of pain again, and as the group watched them in shock and heartbreak for their friend, Ryan focused on keeping her upright, wanting to finish the ritual as soon as possible.

…

Two hours later, Ryan sat on his back patio staring into a fire much like the one he’d seen earlier, though without the crazy offerings of sand and blood.

He’d stayed to speak with Nancy for a little bit after the ritual, but then Carson had shown up, and he’d left quickly to avoid that confrontation. He knew that she wasn’t happy with her adoptive father being there, but as he had the legal right to call the cops if Ryan intervened, the new father let them deal with their grief.

As he stared into the fire now, he thought back to the look on Nancy’s face as they finished the ritual. She was tired, and he guessed she hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before. Having overheard Nancy and Carson yelling at each other, he knew she’d run away the evening prior and had been out all night.

It made a lot of sense why she’d looked so pale upon arriving at his house.

The doorbell rang suddenly, causing Ryan’s brows to furrow in confusion. It was late, much later than anyone should be out, and he knew his parents didn’t ring the bell though he wished that they would.

Then he answered it and felt like he’d been hit by a truck.

“Nancy? What happened?”

The young girl stood on his front step, sobs breaking through her ragged breathing. Her whole body shook, and he could hear the anguish in her cries.

Laying his hand on her shoulder, Ryan pulled her into the house, shutting the door and locking it behind them. Then he felt two arms wrap around his middle and looked down to see his daughter holding onto him like a lifeline.

He copied her action and held her tightly to him, cradling her head to his chest. “Hey, whatever it is, we’ll figure it out, okay?”

She continued to sob. “O…Owen’s de-dead.”

His blood ran ice-cold, and he gripped her tighter. “Was it the Aglaeca?”

“I don’t…I don’t….”

“Shh, it’s okay.” He had to calm her breathing, or he’d be calling an ambulance.

“I killed him.”

“No, you didn’t.” He promised her. “This wasn’t you.”

“But…”

She trailed off, and he felt her body sag, dropping slightly as her legs gave out. “Hey, stay with me, okay?”

“Mmm.”

He knew that the shock, adrenaline, and exhaustion were catching up to her and was worried. Going on instinct, he dipped slightly and lifted her into his arms. When she didn’t respond, his concern grew.

“Hey, you still awake?”

“Mhm.”

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he carried her over to the couch and laid her across it. Then, pulling the blanket off the back, he draped it over her and plopped to the floor by her head. “I think you need sleep, Nancy.”

“But…”

He gripped her hand tightly, and her eyes shot to his. “I know you’re worried about nightmares. But I’m not going anywhere. I just got you. I’m not letting anything happen to you now.”

“Thanks.”

He nodded and waited as she drifted off to sleep.

He was glad he’d gotten a deep sleep the night before when he still believed everything they’d learned. He figured it would probably be the last for a while.

For now, though, he settled himself on the floor and kept guard over the scared teenager, praying that one day soon all she would have to worry about what bad grades, dates with her boyfriend, and worries about what to wear to prom.