#immortal x mortal trope kills me

[pinkeos]

if asked if jing yuan liked to sleep, his answer would be yes. if asked where he liked to sleep, he'd answer by your side in such a sappy way that'd make you roll your eyes and playfully push him away

he couldn't help it, you felt so homey and warm and cozy that he’d quickly doze off into dreamland whenever you were next to him. doesn't even matter what position he's in, he could be standing and he'd start leaning his head on your shoulder with his eyes closed, a satisfied smile on his face

but his favorite place to nap with you was always in the privacy of your shared home, where no one could disturb the two of you. only you, him, and the occasional playful banter between you and yanqing

he's like a cat, too. whenever you were seated and he could, he'd lay down and place his head on your lap without a word, eyes already closed

and because you're already used to this, you'd just play with his hair which helped him fall asleep quicker. his favorite view whenever he opened his eyes was your smile, and he'd raise his hand, cup your cheek and rub his thumb on your skin

jing yuan would just look at you with so much fondness and love, ready to spend the rest of his immortal life with you and bask in the domesticity you brought into his life. he couldn't ask for a better way to spend his life after he retires

sadly, the universe had different plans. and when jing yuan woke up, it wasn't your smile or your face that greeted him for the first time in years. only the ceiling of his veranda, his smile dropping as he realized once again that his immortal life had run past yours

the house and his heart had never felt this empty ever since he lost his friends

[jiisoooo]

antis going “oh shipping sukuita is bad and illegal cuz age gap and yuji is 15!” Like bruh….as if there aren’t PLENTY of popular media (buffy, vampire diaries, twilight) featuring the teenage mc dating 100+ yr old vampires….

[bamsara]

what are your most favorite tropes? :3c

IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED:

Near death experiences

Emotional revelations due to said near death experiences

Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Mutual Pining but they believe its unrequieted

"you're my worst enemy but you're so important to me"

Drunk chapter where at least One fist fight happens

Bridal carry after someone gets injured

Slow Burn...of course

"i got you this gift because it benefits me and im not telling you how" (the benefit is seeing the other person enjoy the gift)

Force Alliances or Temporary Truces

"I don't like killing but I'll do it for you"

"I prefer to kill my problems but I won't, for you."

Or: "This person has no idea how many people I've killed in order to protect or provide for them and I'm going to keep it that way."

Mean or Villian Character is actaully a really good Sibling/Parent/Child,ect and has someone they care about

Or better, Villian character adopts child AND is a good parent

Everyone knows the pairing likes each other except for the pairing

Temporary (or non-temp)Amnesia

"I learn your favorite things because I plan to use them against you one day" (proceeds to not do that) (proceeds to get them food or items that persons likes just because they like them)

Breaking and Entering. Literally.

Person A is in love, Person B says they're not but they're 10x times worse actaully

Slip-of-the-tongue/Accidental confessions. Doesn't have to be love confessions but just "whoops i was not supposed to say that"

Biting as a love language

One is feral and bloodthirsty but is put in the position of 'protecting an idiot' because the other is also feral and has no self-preservation. Both characters must be badass, just equally stupid

Kiss on the head/cheek while the other person is sleeping

Bloodstained kiss

Heat-of-battle confession about something

Protagonist refusing to become villian or repeat villian mistakes, not in a 'owo i cant do that its bad' and more like 'fuck you you dont get to see what you wanted to make of me'

Signifier of 'this is my friend/family/lover'. Could anything between a ring, a jacket over someone's shoudlers or scent marking, anything

"if im immortal, then you gotta be too or we both dyin"

Knight x Their Charge

Human x Non-Human

Sunshine x Grump

Character that looks sooooo cute. Oh he's a little fucked up actaully

"ahhaha he's such a freak haha. i need him carnally."

They are mortal enemies. They are also best friends.

Hostage / Rescued trope plus Hostage / Doesn't get to rescue because the hostage killed everyone already

Plot info that's missing that's vital to the story and it's revealed that One of the pairing or someone in the group knew the info the entire time

"I said mean things to you because I hate you, so why am I feeling guilty now"

There was only One Bed

Really competent and scary character is really GOOD at a harmless and charming small hobby completely uncharacteristic to their public persona

Nightmares. And then sleeping in the same bed because of nightmares

Cultural differences / Language Barrier

Character gets so surprised flustered they trip over something or break something and it topples and it starts a chain reaction like a cartoon

There are more but these are some of which I can remember off the top of my head. I've written many of these myself in several of my stories and will continue to do so until the end of time, esp my faves

[runawaymarbles]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @chubsthehamster- thanks!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

32, unless you count the book covers. I've got 106 book covers

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

487,170

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Whatever I get stuck on at any given moment. My most recent ones are 9-1-1, Inception, ATS and Hawkeye, but my repeat fandoms are Spn, X-Men, The Old Guard and Black Sails.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I'm copying chubs and doing my personal favorites, because my top four kudos'd fic are all for the same fandom (The Old Guard) and written within like three weeks of each other.

The Scroll of Saint Barnabas (9-1-1, Buddie, 15k): recency bias, but I had a lot of fun with this one. I also probably drove my girlfriend*and cousin insane during the writing process. Sorry about that. The basic premise is: we all know how time loop fics go, but what if after the loop is broken the character has PTSD from all the things that nobody else remembers? And also what if you get a knotted dildo hooked onto your permanent retainer? *though we've now established consent and parameters for whether we can have sex if one of us is stuck in a time loop. It's always important to have these conversations in advance!!!

What The Moon Was Saying (Spn, destiel, 16k.) It's about Dean rescuing Cas from the Empty, technically, but it's also about Dean working through things he refuses to think about directly, and it's also about the perspective of dead characters who aren't all-knowing and have no clue what happened after they died, and it's also about Inanna's Descent into the Underworld and how many jokes about Sumerian mythology I could fit in there that probably nobody else is going to think are funny but I think are funny, and it's also about what issues Orpheus would have had if he'd succeeded. The central thesis statement is that Margaritaville is thee Dean Winchester Mental State song.

The Mixtape, Or: Six Things You Learn in Thursday School (Spn, destiel, 6k.) I always had this idea that I was going to write a fantasy book of some kind, where the first part would be about the founding of a religion and then the following parts would jump ahead a few hundred years and see how that religion and that original story change in the telling. Instead of writing that book I wrote 6,000 words about a post-apocalyptic religion whose foundational text was the Winchester Gospels, except they don't actually have the Winchester Gospels, so they're relying on collected ephemera and thirdhand accounts. It is also about both academic and online discourse.

The House on Graymalkin Lane (X-Men, background cherik, 92k.) My nice little outsider-POV x-men haunted house fic. It started out as "the x-mansion would be a bonkers haunted house" and then it turned into a love letter to the original timeline (we barely knew ye). It's about the mortifying ordeal of being in high school and also about how all my grandparents died at once and I had a lot of complicated feelings about that.

The Ill-Made Knight (X-Men, cherik, 1.5k) OK so you know that trope that's like "if anyone is going to kill me I want it to be you"?? it's that, but instead of being used as a statement of everlasting love and devotion, it's being used as psychological warfare. And also kind of a statement of everlasting love. But in a fucked up sort of way. Because Cherik.

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

Yes! I didn't used to but I do now because I always like it when people reply to mine. Sometimes I miss them and respond years later but like... I got there eventually?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

the whole estate of mortal man. (Black Sails, silverflint, 40k.) Silver is immortal but has a very impermanent self. Flint is mortal and has a very permanent self. There was only one way that was ever going to end and I stand by it.

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

Of recent ones, I guess The Most Fun A Girl Can Have? (Kate/Yelena, 8k.) They're having a pretty good time for most of it.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Not since like, high school.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope. Hats off to smut writers, you're doing God's work. It's very difficult.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, unless you count every Marvel fic being a crossover. And Good Omens show/book. But that seems like a cop-out.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Some very kind people translated The Punishment of Sisyphus (Black Sails crackfic) and Antebellum (Black Sails, Anne & Eleanor fic) into Russian, Stalefish (Old Guard, Nile-centric) into Polish, and Kidnapping for Dummies (Old Guard, Joe shenanigans) into Spanish. I can only read the Spanish one.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yessss. The #ImmortalHusbands Conspiracy (The Old Guard social media fic) with @phoenix-acid. That was very fun.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Why would you ask me this. This is cruel. I can barely pick a top 5.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

The Marvel pirate AU, probably. It's almost a complete story on its own as it stands. There's about half a next chapter written and I could probably us that to tie things up, if I cut out a bunch of things, but I'd have to reread all my research. I did way too much research for that.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character voices? I hope it's character voices. I watch a lot of youtube compilations before writing anyone to try and get a handle on how they talk.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The actual romance part of a romance. What do you mean they have to get together after I've set everything up so that they get together? Ridiculous.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've never done it before, but I respect people who can pull it off. I do really hate that trope though where a multilingual character calls their love interest pet names in their mother-tongue, when they are never shown using it that way (or mixing that language and English in a conversation) in canon.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

....percy jackson and the olympians.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Since I listed five favorites up there I'm switching this with the kudos question. Fic with the most kudos is Kidnapping for Dummies (The Old Guard, 3.5k)

Tagging @monstrous-femme @thegeminisage @bomberqueen17 @ellelans @annerbhp @significanceofmoths and anyone else who wants to do it. say i tagged you. nobody will ever check to find out.

[comshipbracket]

Antis DNI

Remember, you are voting for the ship you prefer, not the ship you find more problematic

Propaganda for both ships under the cut.

Yaeona Propaganda (Age Gap - Yae is over 2000 and Diona is 12 at most, MinorxAdult, AdultxChild, Species Difference - Yae is a Kitsune Youkai and Diona is a non-Youkai Cat-Human Hybrid, Power Imbalance)

"While the two haven't met in canon yet as far as I'm aware, Yae would be the type to take quick interest in Diona. Yae, in canon, already adores anyone with a cute set of fluffy ears and an adorable tail. She teases the character Gorou about such traits, and I can see her doing the same with Diona. Yae also has an interest in those who fall outside the norm of how the universe tends to work, and Diona was granted a blessing by a Spring Fairy so that any drink she mixes will be delightful to all who try it (despite wanting to make these drinks taste horrid). Yae would be able to pick up on such magic and be drawn to it."

"Diona herself is incredibly tsundere when it comes to accepting affection, but she's also quite capable of understanding her own boundaries. The issue comes when Diona's tsundere attitude and legitimate boundaries sound SO similar in tone and wording. Yae's the head of a Publishing Agency and huge fan of Light Novels with certain tropes, she'd fall head over heels for anyone expressing a tsundere attitude in this way. Even if Diona tried to put proper boundaries in place, Yae would likely chuckle away that it's cute to see a cat-person huffing and complaining with adorable pouts and puffed cheeks. Also, Kitsune have different rules for their bonding with mortals than two mortals may have together, so while not confirmed in canon it is possible that Yae sees no wrong with the age gap even if Diona does"

KuroWolf Propaganda (MinorxAdult, Power Imbalance)

"Sekiro is a game about Wolf, a shinobi whose been tasked with protecting Kuro, the Divine Heir, who is an immortal child with the ability to give the gift of immortality via his blood. Their country of Ashina is tearing itself apart as both factions from within and outside the country are attacking, all in the attempt to claim The Divine Heir, and Ashina for themself."

"Wolf not only lives, but dies for his Lord. There isn't any length he wouldn't go in order to protect Kuro. When a Ashina general named Genichiro cuts off Wolf's arm, kills him, and takes Lord Kuro, Wolf comes back to life and kills waves of Ashina soldiers to get back to his master. He doesn't give a shit about the country. He doesn't care about the lives he ends. He lives by the Shinobi Code, where only obeying his father is seen as more important than protecting his Lord."

"And in the neutral and good ending? Wolf breaks that one rule and defies his father, who had manipulated him into being Kuro's shinobi in order to get closer to Kuro and take his gift for himself too. Wolf kills his father to protect Kuro, and it makes me fucking INSANE. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for him!!"

"And on Kuro's part? You can see he tries to act calm and intelligent as it's expected of him, but you can get glimpses of his true feelings. How he stops himself from running into Wolf's arms at the very beginning of the game, when they first reunite. How, when you get to the second fight with Genichiro, he calmly states that Genichiro will never get his gift of the Dragon's Blood, because he KNOWS Wolf would come for him (and just like that, Wolf jumps up onto the balcony to protect him!!). How they have their own secret way to call each other with a Reed Whistle… how Kuro lies to Wolf about how to destroy his immortality, because he can't bare to have Wolf know he'd need to kill him for it to happen… How Wolf gifts him rice, and Kuro says he'll make something sweet for him in return"

"Wolf knows he shouldn't love his Lord the way he does. It's improper for any shinobi, let alone to consider Kuro's age… but in every action he takes, it's full of devotion and adoration. And who is he to deny his Lord, if Kuro ordered him to get on his knees, and kiss him?"

[rewritingcanon]

What are some of your favorite underrated ships/dynamics?

im so sorry this is two months late 😭😭 hopefully you still gaf anon…

idk how to answer this question, because it seems like two different ones? ur either asking me what my fav ship dynamics are in general or what are my fav relationships in the hpverse.

for the first one:

i am an embarrassingly HUGE fan of the arranged marriage trope 💀 its like the only one bed trope but wayyy better like forcing two people together and having them just figure each other out. goooood shit. and usually comes with some great political scheming.

idk if this is a dynamic or trope but— old people falling in love. im tired of looking at teenagers.

tired: enemies to lovers. wired: lovers to enemies. its actually so much better and juicier its not even funny

this is not a ship dynamic, just a dynamic— immortal parent and mortal child. like just kill me literally just end my life 😭

or or or doomed siblings. specifically where one is still chasing the other in hopes of rebuilding their relationship but the other one has already cast the other off. mhm.

second one (excluding nextgen cuz every pairing in that is underrated): walburga & sirius dynamic, paravti x lavender, ted x andromeda, evans sisters dynamic, narcissa and draco dynamic. thats all my brain can conjure atm 👎

[littlenymphie]

things that personally surprised me in arcane:

aka how arcane subverted so many tropes:

viktor did not double cross jayce because of envy or jealousy for not sharing the spotlight

mel turned out to be a diplomat at heart. her true intention was kept to teaching jayce about politics and the inter-workings of the council, not to corrupt him nor push him over the edge. he did that all by himself.

caitlyn and jayce were not endgame. their bond remained in the friendship/familial level with ease. there was also no love triangle between jayce, mel, and caitlyn. in fact, caitlyn and vi might be endgame. like? i was truly not expecting this.

heimerdinger was flawed. yes, he was a wise old guy who viewed everything through the lens of a cautionary tale, but he also came across as condescending and out of touch, (i. e. a near-immortal telling a mortal about legacy, when time is inherently different for each), which is what ultimately led him to be voted off the council.

in the first act, silco seemed like a bad guy just because we need a bad guy. look! scary potions and evil eye and he kills animals! bad guy alert! but no, in the following acts, by adding the father-daughter relationship with jinx, he turned out to be a completely complex, fleshed out villain whose demise was impactful. i REALLY didn’t expect this.

the show did not rely heavily on expository dialogue, which was a bold move considering some of the audience had no idea about league of legends, for example, me. i entered truly blind, but i was able to understand everything that was going on. they truly mastered the “show not tell” advice you almost always hear about storytelling.

the use of foreshadow is meant to reward the audience who got it, not to trick them to believe x will happen when really it’s y for “shock value”. in fact, this is extremely smart because, upon rewatch, the audience who didn’t get it, will then get it, making the rewatch a more exciting and pleasurable viewing experience, and will inspire them to rewatch once again to make sure they truly got all those little foreshadows. this drives up viewing and ensures funding and etc. for more seasons to come (according to my basic understanding of how shows are approved and developed.)

im pretty sure there’s more but these are all i can think of, feel free to add!!!

[kindredcandy]

(ACOTAR) prompt list

Aka a mix and match buffet of chaos to request/write! any ideas or suggestions are welcomed, I'm sure I missed some things !

Scenarios

Mortal Human!reader x Immortal Fae lover

Reader with piercings

Huddling to stay warm and conserve body heat (bonus points if they're not a couple yet)

Human reader doesn't realize they're mates with Fae character

Kissing by the fire

Overprotective/jealous drunk (but in a hot way)

Or the opposite of above, one enjoys when two flirts with other characters

Patching up wounds

Witnessing one get hurt (in a fight, in war, in torture, as punishment, etc)

Washing one's hair/helping them bathe after a long day

Nightmare trope !! (Maybe they're not together but one heard the others whimpers from their room)

Getting angry at them for being wreckless/sacrificing themselves but also concern and love

Secret relationship but unintentionally

That, but twisted. one pines for two, not realizing they're in a relationship with someone else already

Passing out

Kissing after one comes in from the cold. The contrast of two's warm hands and lips.

Playing with hair!!!

Excessive pda

Sleepy mornings

Reunions after they've been apart

Getting caught crying

Baking together

Comforting one after something

Feeling inadequate/insecure

Their love language explored

Waiting for them to wake up after something (surgery etc)

Teasing

Rough housing/wrestling

Sacrificing oneself for the other

First kiss

Demanding a kiss

Sitting on their lap/laying on top of them

Kissing in the dark

Pretending to be together/fake couple

Massages

Mutual pining / tension

Enemies to (friends to) lovers

Miscommunication

One bed

Kidnapped together

We're enemies but I'm going to protect you

Party

Unrequited love

Don't touch them

Anything hurt/comfort

The moment the mating bond snapped in place

The moment the bond was accepted

Body swap

Pwp

Love triangle

Established relationship

Unexpected kiss

Excessive flirting but neither one thinks the other is being fr

One becomes a villain

Cheating

Kissing things other than their lips

I hate everyone except you

Dialogue

"you think I'm a bitch? That's flattering"

"did you just indirectly call me hot?"

"I would pay ____ to spit in my mouth" "I'll do it for free"

"you look worse than I remember."

"I'm not gonna lie, I enjoy watching you beat people up."

"blood looks good on you"

"I kinda want them all to myself"

"that's not supposed to do that."

"you know I'm you're favorite" *silence* "see you can't deny it"

"I wish you were real"

"you don't want me."

"you deserve so much better"

"I could do so much better"

"life without you isn't something I want to see"

"sometimes I want to break all your bones and sometimes I want to kiss you"

"why do you look purple"

"that won't fit" "anything's possible"

"I didn't think you even liked me"

"you're the only thing I think about."

"shut up. I hate you"

"if I was prettier would you like me?"

"you're particularly hot when you're angry"

"oh my god you're jealous aren't you"

"they're not you"

"fuck marry kill? You. All of it."

"do my wings scare you?"

"you're a tiny weak human"

"you're 500 years old. Tell me you did not just do that"

Anything followed by "you're [hundreds of years] old"

"I liked you more before you did that"

"touch me"

"why do you trust me so much?"

"I'd kill for you" "technically you just did"

"you're my favorite person"

"I just need to be near you right now. Please."

"do you like it when I'm on top of you like this?"

"well that went worse than expected"

"they tried to hit me in the balls" "it's their love language"

"you smell so good"

"I almost forgot what it feels like to be near you"

"I can't just tell ____ that I'm in love with them" "you just did"

NSFW

18+ warning this is literally a list of kinks

Kinks

Delayed/denied orgasm

Threesome

Voyeurism

Scars

(consensual) spying

Masturbation

Sex pollen

Body worship

Spit (underrated tbh)

Forced to be quiet

Spanking

Slapping (face or otherwise)

Choking

Gentle sex

Size kink

Hand kink

WINGS

biting

Scratching

Licking

Gagging

Alternative fucking (using unusual body parts, knees, feet, tits)

FWB

Caught in the act

Roleplay (specify)

Bath sex

Using only their voice

Using only the bond

Bondage

Sensory deprivation

Daddy/mommy

Slave/pet

Untouched

Mirror

Pain

Performance sex

Trapped/stuck/tight spaces

Toys

Lingerie

Hand jobs

Humping

Riding anything

Grinding

Begging

Scent kink

Watersports / piss kink

Humiliation / degradation

Praise kink

Pet names

Dirty talk

Innocence / virginity

Ddlg / alpha / dom

Cockwarming

Cuckhold

Overstimulation

Begging

Food play

Forbidden

Anonymous sex

High sex

Face sitting

Temperature play

Use of magic

Desperation

Orgy

Bang or die

[umbran6]

The Argument Against Caleo

Spoilers up to Blood of Olympus and beyond. Beware! (Or not, the book series has been out for a few years, get over it). I wrote this after seeing a user wondering why people didn’t like Caleo, or in some cases, hated it. Here, I want to explain the answer as much as possible while doling out my own points. 

One of the main grievances I have as a fan of Leo Valdez would be the ship Caleo, or Leo x Calypso. It’s a complicated ship, to say the least, with multiple issues that make me question why people like the ship. And I admit it, they initially had some chemistry, but there’s multiple issues that Uncle Rick produced through making such a relationship that makes it extremely open to criticism, criticism which I will explain through this post.

One of my main points against them is that the ship was created on a very limited time scale. Although we aren’t given an exact date to date of when Leo and Calypso met to when they fell in love, we can safely estimate it to be a week at best. Such a limited amount of time from going through the multiple stages of a relationship already stresses the limits of the suspension of disbelief.

A counterexample would be Percabeth, or Percy x Annabeth. Throughout the series, we aren’t introduced to them being romantically involved until the Titan’s Curse, which was two years after they met. Specifically, this is brought up by Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself. Admittedly, Percy and Annabeth were twelve years old when they first met, when romance was definitely out of the picture, especially with a quest to get the Master Bolt.

However, from there we get to see multiple examples of their character depth, ranging from their respective fatal flaws to their ambitions, hopes and dreams, and their friendship. We get to see the slow build up of their chemistry, which was a really good writing move on Uncle Rick’s part. These characters took their sweet time to get to where they wanted to go, and despite the false romantic lead of Rachel, they still got together.

On the other hand, we don’t see enough of this between Leo and Calypso — we only see one book where they interacted with each other in The House of Hades, and that was only for a handful of chapters. While they are definitely older so they can jump straight to romance (some may say too old, but I’ll get to that) its still a pretty huge gap to jump through without making it stick. This makes it hard to root for a ship when it is built on a rather faulty foundation from the ‘they just met’ to ‘they get together’, especially when they don’t have a lot of events to show their chemistry.

Which brings me to Ogygia, which has raised a few red flags for me when looking at it from a retrospective point of view. Now, we know what the main issue of the island is that the hero who landed on said island can’t leave until Calypso falls in love with them. And we’ve seen this with Percy during the Battle of the Labyrinth, where he lands in the island and Calypso falls in love with him while tending to his wounds from, you know, being erupted from freaking Mt. St. Helens. Needless to say, this falling in love with each other montage happened quickly to the point of suspicion, which sets up the complication that Calypso and Leo might have fallen in love due to magical intervention.

And hear me out, because although this  might be a pretty big pill to swallow, we have evidence for this through Percy. It only takes one chapter for Calypso and Percy to meet, and the next he’s willing to consider leaving Camp Half-Blood and Annabeth behind to live on the island when Hephaestus gives him the choice to leave Ogygia or stay. We don’t even get an explanation on why Percy considered giving it all up just so he can be with her. All we know is, girl meets boy, now they want to live on an isolated island forever. It’s especially absurd considering Percy’s hamartia (fatal flaw) is freaking loyalty to those he loves.  Needless to say, It’s a huge YIKES, especially when we apply it to Leo and Calypso. 

It also raises the possibility that the romantic relationship between them is doomed to failure. And if you guys want to fight me on this, let’s look at Jason and Piper, a couple whose relationship started with a similar foundation. Piper had romantic memories implanted into her brain by Hera through the use of the Mist, while Jason was reduced to a Tabula Rasa (a blank slate for those who lack culture) by said goddess. They broke up before the Trials of Apollo because it was clear that when the dust settled, Piper had been aware that their romance was a lie and that their intentions to stay together was a mix of delusion and pressure from freaking Aphrodite. Leo and Calypso get together under what is arguably a very similar set of conditions if Ogygia’s magic had any influence on their relationship, and that this magic could wear off if given enough time. 

Third, and here’s a pretty big one for me, would be Calypso’s character, mainly because there are a lot of unfortunate implications attached to it. In The Blood of Olympus, she was turned into the divine equivalent of Princess Peach, with Leo being her Mario (except he saves her with a badass metal dragon). Its extremely unnecessary to make a character, especially as one such as Calypso, get  turned into the typical reward of a B-Class action movie. It’s insulting and puts her up as a trophy, a narrative that is definitely not ok by any means necessary.

In another direction, Calypso is also really, really worrying when things don’t go get her way. First, let’s look at The Odyssey, the first myth she pops up. Calypso had imprisoned Odysseus for ten years on her island until Hermes said to let him go, and although it gives them plenty of time to fall in love, it also raises the implications of stockholm syndrome. Then we’ve got the fact that Calypso cursed Annabeth out of spite, implicitly saying that she wished the daughter of Athena would suffer the same isolation that she did, which came to reality when Percy and Annabeth met the Arai in Tartarus. And Annabeth wasn’t even aware that she was still in Ogygia, much less intentionally intervened in the matter. When Percy left Ogygia, rather than be angry at Percy, Calypso cursed Annabeth out of all people to suffer the same loneliness and misery she went through. That’s some Hera at her worst levels of spite. 

Through such evidence we can see that Calypso is extremely wrathful towards those who break her heart even though they don’t want to. It certainly implies that Calypso isn’t in a good state of mind, and could easily repeat said actions if provoked. We could almost compare it to Medea and the original Jason, but at least in that case, Medea has every right to be pissed off at Jason and take her revenge. Calypso’s curse and how she handles things certainly implies a level of immaturity that would end in disaster if they broke up.

One issue that, I’ll admit is more from my personal point of view is that the ship took a lot of Leo’s character and threw it in the garbage in Blood of Olympus. Though we see him do a lot of stuff behind the scenes, the fact that its all for the goal of reaching Calypso just reduced him to someone who is more focused on love than, you know, fighting the evil goddess that was responsible for killing his mom and getting sweet sweet revenge. While the revenge plot can be cliched sometimes, it can be played well, while romance and the typical ‘always save the girl’ trope is just overdone. If Leo had been allowed to, you know, be more focused on other things rather than Calypso, we could have seen a lot more variety in his character.

For example as one of the possible character arcs he could’ve gone through, Leo has always been alone among the couples, often being isolated. Heck, Nemesis herself stated that he would always be the seventh wheel, and that he would never find a place among his brethren. Though some fellow tumblr users have taken this in multiple ways, either saying that he should learn to be happy by himself or that he is socially isolated in the Argo II because of these romantic relationships (I prefer a mix of both). Uncle Rick just giving him a girlfriend seems like taking the easy way out of solving such an issue and abandoning what could’ve been a rather interesting character arc. The relationship isn’t a bad thing if we remove some of the unfortunate implications, but it is a bad way to end what is a complex and realistic problem for a character and in some cases maybe possible in real life.

One more minor but still yikes worthy point is that there’s a huge age gap between them. We’re not talking about the ‘Hazel is 15 and Frank is 17 and in one year that’ll be a problem because then Hazel will be jailbait’ age gap. And even then, we can argue that Hazel is older since she is chronologically ninety-one years old. No, Calypso is older by millennia in terms of mindset and body due to the perks of being a goddess, while Leo is sixteen.

God-to-Mortal relationships are already complicated, even with emotionally and socially well-functioning adults. The fact that Leo is underage, inexperienced with romance (despite his flirting, Calypso was his first kiss), and has been through a freaking ton of trauma in his youth, does not make this okay. At best, they’re both mutually interested in each other but may have different expectations when it comes to a relationship. At worst, Calypso is taking advantage of a boy just so she can get out of Ogygia and possibly dumping him later on like the wrapping of a candy bar. Even though Calypso lost her immortality during The Trials of Apollo, that doesn’t even compensate for the immense age gap alongside Leo’s guilt at the possibility that he might’ve been responsible for her losing said immortality.

Oh, and about Leo... I’m a fan of him, but I can admit that he is in a bad spot both mentally and emotionally throughout the series. He’s lost his mom due to a mix of his own powers and Gaea’s trickery, and never had the chance to fully process that event and come to terms with it. The foster home system alongside his own trauma has forced him to hide his emotions through a façade of happiness and jokes when it’s quite clear to me he needs a therapist, stat. He's also run away from several foster homes, implying this means he was and still is being affected by the event. His mask is still on during The Blood of Olympus considering he hid a lot of things from Piper and Jason.

Speaking about them, not helping this matter is the fact that he’s rather isolated in terms of friendships since Jason and Piper, his supposed best friends are more interested in locking lip rather than, you know, actually hanging out with each other.  He doesn’t have good friendships with the rest of the Seven, and the closest ones he does have is with Hazel and Frank. And even then they start off in the wrong spot since Frank is very insecure about possibly losing Hazel to him during Mark of Athena while Hazel in the meantime, is also dealing with the fact that he is the descendant of her possible boyfriend Sammy Valdez. 

This could indirectly have made him desperate for affection since he has nobody else to confide in during the rest of the series, which is a bad mental state to be in when one lands on Ogygia, the island that we’ve seen could possibly force two people to fall in love with each other. A romantic relationship is not something that he needs or something that will help him in the future. He needs more than that, and having him in one that could end in disaster is the last thing he needs. 

And that does not make him a bad person, much less a bad character. While some who are similarly emotionally and socially isolated may turn to violence or creepy behavior on those they want affection from, Leo does not do that to the other characters. It just means that he as a character needs more time to recover and develop before we go giving him romantic relationships, much less one with Calypso.

That’s not to say that they don’t have some things in common. Both are starved for love and affection, with Calypso being constantly rejected by heroes while Leo was rejected by foster homes and his own family. It’s a trait that they have in common, but it shouldn’t be the only thing that they have in common, especially since it is laced with a trauma that is clear they haven’t had help processing. They need to develop more as characters and as friends before they should be paired together.

So… yeah. The Caleo relationship is, in my eyes, doomed to failure, or at least heavily flawed after taking the above points into account. Uncle Rick, as if seemingly aware of these criticisms, has put the relationship in a rocky place by The Tower of Nero, giving them the possibility of overcoming the above criticisms and their own flaws, or giving fanfic writers an out and pairing Leo with another character or have him single, but happy. Either way, in my opinion Caleo is a bad ship when it comes to how it was created, alongside the flaws and unfortunate implications it has.

While I can see some of the chemistry the ship has, you can’t just use a couple of moments where they get along as evidence that they belong together, especially with the above reasons. That’s like using a band-aid to cover a bullet hole without removing the bullet, stopping the bleeding, and preventing infection. If both characters and their relationship had been given more time to develop, I would understand how they would get together. 

[yamiiwaii]

In regards to your p33chyn00dles post, I mean yeah, MK IS pretty young compared to Wukong and Macaque, but if that's problematic, so too should The Ancient Magnus Bride and Inuyasha.

ngl mortal and immortal ships has been a trope for a long time in asian media, sooo..

Though I honestly don't want a whole war to be started on Tumblr, we ALREADY have enough of that bullshit on Twitter.

BRO THIS IS SO RANDOM

my problem isnt wukong and mac being immortal. my problem with it is the fact that wukong can literally kill mk with a single blow AT ANY TIME and mk wouldnt even be able to defend himself or keep his own in a fight. also the fact that its student/teacher. that’s literally two power imbalances.

with ancient magnus bribe, i agree !! it is problematic and ngl elias x chise makes me very uncomfy. with inuyasha im a little iffy about because iirc inuyasha isnt immortal (if youre talking about kagome/inuyasha)

idk this is such a funny ask cuz it sounds like youre trynna defend it and im not for that bro. i will laugh at you if you ship either one popular trope be DAMNED.

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

Shadows of Reach - Fun, heartbreaking read and in the words of BDG, like a “super cheap margarita” because I am worse off after the fact, but it was tasty and I could slam it quickly.

Anyways thoughts on Man vs Machine themes- spoilers below

Several times in the book, John is either injured or is in scenarios where his performance metrics are brought up. With his leg injury, before the mesh, he worries about tearing the muscle more because it will drop his performance down to 85% rather than the 94% he was currently working at.

He thinks of his leg only as a variable in mission success and a nuisance as it is constantly causing him pain, but he’s had worse. What’s a melted quad in the face of failing the mission?

The scene where they are running in the trench back to New Mohacs and Kelly and Fred do not let John sacrifice himself and move to the back points out they notice his drop in efficiency, do not let him follow protocol, and keep him safe in the middle and moving. He was about to pull a John move, was not allowed, and then mentally said how he would have done the same for any other spartan. Sir, sir please, treat yourself how you would treat other Spartans.

John also brings up the suit keeping him at optimal performance temperature during the attack on the grav lifts. Not comfortable, but alive and functioning enough.

John’s trains of thought in this book are fun to read and also a nightmare as you piece together his logic and the way he thinks about himself, his team, Halsey, and his life. John keeps thinking about himself in terms of a machine doing a job, his teammates as his family and extensions of himself and who he worries about, and then also thinking about himself as a teacher and “wise old leader“ now. These conflicting bits kill me because every so often in the books or other media, John will think “Huh if I survive this long enough to retire I could go into x“ and then he jumps off things or sets off nukes.

This mission is a constant reminder of the Spartans’ mortality while also reinforcing how they don’t really see themselves as human. They are not allowed to break. John almost sent Kelly back alone because the mission came first but realized she needed him to help lift the other part of the rubble in Castle base. And then the end, the pelican ride with ODSTs not looking at the beat up, supposedly immortal Blue Team with their broken, melted armor and injuries. They are not allowed to break, they can only go MIA! People aren’t used to seeing their symbols marred by vulnerability!

AND THEN! And then Halsey! Halsey gets teary eyed at her greatest creations?

Okay like I know 343i had to make Denning write and set up Infinite and I’m not too bothered but still. It’s ...interesting and I do want to see where they take it because I think Halsey is a fun take on Scientist tropes.

Catherine “For the greater good and also to see if I can” Halsey gets emotional about Blue Team being so messed up. I know this is pointing to whatever they got from the base and it’s supposed to make the reader pause and go huh? Halsey? emotions?

Anyways if they do what I think they’re doing I will yell.

Anyways look at this section where John reflects and thank you for reading all these words I just spat out. Do not think about Cortana’s quotes from Halo 4 while reading this book or you will have a bad time. :o)

[kalinara]

You know what I loved best about Shadowhunters?

It is the first time I’ve seen anyone tackle the idea of a deconstructive adaptation outside of fanfiction.

The Mortal Instruments novels were pretty popular as I recall.  They sold well, built up a pretty passionate fanbase, and even got a movie that I never actually saw.  I think I read maybe the first one, and it wasn’t really to my taste, but I didn’t think it was terrible.  It just had a lot of the common flaws that I see in a lot of YA books.  

And generally, when you get an adaptation, it doesn’t tend to touch on these problematic elements.  Or if it does, it kind of sidles away from them.  The Twilight movies, for example, show us a couple of POC as vampires, even though technically according to the books, all vampires get paler with age.  But at the same time, neither movies nor books really address the inherent racist dynamic between the vampires and the werewolves.  And so on.

Shadowhunters is different.

When I watch Shadowhunters as an adaptation, I get the sense that a lot of the people involved genuinely do love the Mortal Instruments as a series, but that they’re not willing to overlook the problematic elements.  They want to explore them instead.

And they did.  Starting with the Clave.  Because, at least from what I recall, there’s not a whole lot TO the Clave in the books.  I mean, it’s there.  Sort of.  But our main trio (Jace, Alec, and Izzy) seem to be primarily fighting demons on their own.  They’re literally children.  I think Alec is the oldest at what, seventeen?  And while they’re meant to protect Downworlders and only kill demons, there’s a certain level of probably unconscious superiority.  I mean obviously they don’t support Valentine, the villain who wants to genocide all the downworlders.  But the elements are still there.  Our heroes have angel blood, our heroes are special, and their authority is righteous.

I’m not trying to attack Ms. Clare with this, because I think this kind of thing is very very common in YA books in general.  But I love what Shadowhunters did with this set up.

First, Shadowhunters did away with the idea of Jace, Alec, and Izzy as lone child soldiers against demons.  The Clave exists, and it’s very visible.  The Institute is bustling, filled with all sorts of background personnel.  Something is always happening.  Things are always being monitored.  There are missions happening that our characters aren’t necessarily involved in.  This does create a bit of narrative awkwardness in the first season, when the show tended to cleave more loyally to the books.  (Alec’s role as de facto leader of the Institute early on in particular seems to wax and wane in terms of level of authority.).  But it smooths itself out early on.  And it makes more sense: fighting demons is pretty important.  Not a matter to be left to three teenagers alone.

The show both ages up our characters, which makes certain romantic plots a lot less creepy, and actually addresses the idea that these people have been essentially soldiers from childhood, and that there is a LOT of institutionalized racism and superiority, along with militant duty, that gets drilled into these people from birth.  We get to see the kind of environment that builds a Valentine, and how even generally rational adults like Luke and Jocelyn might have gotten caught up in his fanatic ideology.  It takes the throwaway comments and superiority displayed by the protagonists in the book and extrapolates where that came from.

I remember reading somewhere that Ms. Clare was really unhappy with Alec’s actions early on in season one, when he was in support of Meliorn being taken to the City of Bones for interrogation (torture).    And I can understand that.  I’m sure Ms. Clare has a very clear idea in her mind about who Alexander Lightwood is.  And her Alec Lightwood would never agree to take a man to be tortured.

But I think that, in terms of the show, it was important to show Alec like that.  Because we needed to see exactly how ingrained this ideology actually is.  Jace is the brooding rebel.  Izzy is the bleeding heart half in love with Meliorn already.  Alec is the responsible one, the dutiful one who shoulders the burdens.  Which means, he’s the character most likely (at this point in the story) to swallow his conscience and misgivings and do what he thinks he’s supposed to do.

It’s an ugly moment, but it provides us with a focal point for his eventual growth.  Alec’s multi-season plot, of overcoming both overt and unconscious personal racism, to tackling the problems of the Clave itself, is one of my favorite parts of the series.  And it had to start somewhere.

One of the touches that initially made me uncomfortable, but now I rather like, is how most of the Shadowhunters are white, while most of the Downworlders are POC.  There are exceptions on both sides (the Penhallows, Luke-pre-Werewolfing, Iris Rouse), but that’s the general gist.  And at first, I thought this was a really bad thing.  Until I realized that the show actually was making a point.

Because the racism against Downworlders is fantastic racism.   And all too often, fantastic racism becomes an excuse to use real world narrative tropes meant for poc and apply them to white people.  And look, I like X-Men as much as anyone, but this isn’t our story.  (And there are very few things that annoy me more than when we see fantasy racism applied in ways that lead to POC being racist against white people: see the anti-alien senator during one season of Supergirl who just happened to be Latina.)

Even though it’s still a little uncomfortable that most of the people with “angel blood” are white and most of the people with “demon blood” are not, it does mean that we’re basically returning the focus of the fantastic racism back where it should be: on the POC victims.

Most of the Downworlders we see on the show are good people.  They’re trying to live their lives the best they can.  And the Clave uses the actions of a few bad apples (many of whom have some significant provocation!) to justify a draconian rule over all of them.

The parallels are hard to miss, and the show doesn’t actually try to miss them.  I always think particularly of the episode in season 2, where the Clave starts to chip Downworlders in response to a serial killer targeting Shadowhunters.  It’s heavy handed, sure, but it hits hard when Maia talks about real world racism and how the Shadowhunters are supposed to be better than that.  It’s another episode where a main character is complicit in the institutional racism, and that gets called out too.

It’s not perfect, of course.  And I think Jace, in particular, ends up getting off scott free for things that he really shouldn’t.  (For example, kidnapping the werewolf girl and bringing her to Valentine makes him literally guilty of her murder under the law.)  But it’s something.

Another improvement from the books is in Alec and Magnus’s relationship.  For one thing, they’re a side couple in the books, given a handful of scenes here and there, but very much in the shadow of Clary and Jace’s drama.  Their plots have some seriously uncomfortable elements: the age difference, the way Magnus presses Alec to come out, Alec’s paranoia over Magnus’s sexuality and past experience, Alec’s plotting with Camille to remove Magnus’s immortality.  It’s a mess.

Now whether or not it’s a worse mess than Clary and Jace’s nonsense.  You got me.  But it wasn’t fun.

But even with the problems, Magnus and Alec meant something to a lot of fans.  And I think the show really delivers on that front.  Magnus and Alec go from being a side couple with a handful of scenes, to in many ways, being the pillar of the series.  The age difference is less of an issue (I mean, Magnus is still many times Alec’s age, but Alec is actually an adult in this version).  The biphobia is gone, and while Alec is occasionally intimidated by the difference in their experiences, it never turns into a critique of Magnus. 

Their conflicts and obstacles are much more compelling.  Alec’s initial coming out story was triumphant and the best part of season 1 to me.  The fact that Magnus is a Downworlder, and Alec is a Shadowhunter, with all that entails isn’t forgotten.  The romance, and Alec’s plot of overcoming his racism, are deeply intertwined.  And Magnus isn’t a bit part in the story either.  His plot, especially with regard to his self-identity and relationship to his magic, is just as important, if not more so, by the last season.

The weakest part of the series for me was when they were more faithful to the books, but I thought the show did a good job of refocusing later season events on Clary rather than Jace.  One of the things that annoyed me about book and the early part of the series is that, as soon as we had Jace’s (not) parentage reveal, he seemed to end up with 90% of the focus in any of the family drama.  Clary discovers her long lost father is a genocidal maniac, but Jace was raised by the man so it gets more focus.  The dynamic between Jace and Jonathan had a lot more focus in the books too.  Sometimes it seemed like the story forgot that Clary also had a family stake in more than just her mother.  So I was really happy when the show started digging into Clary’s identity as a Morgenstern, and went the route of linking her to Jonathan.  (Even if I could definitely do without incestuous overtones.)  Jace, as a character, tends to work better when he isn’t the center focus, in my opinion.  Or at least when the focus is shared, and he gets to react and take part in other characters’ plotlines.

You’ll occasionally see this sort of deconstruction in fanfiction (when it’s not a joyous celebration of unlikely characters banging - not that there’s anything wrong with that), but rarely to this extent, and certainly never with this kind of budget.  The idea of a “Shadowhunters style deconstruction” is a really interesting thought exercise to apply to all sorts of media that has both enjoyable and problematic elements.  

[firekitty1213]

Sky's feelings towards each companion (fo4)

Alright alright, I've been dragged over to give my opinion on the companions. Despite how much some of them may bother me, I will kill anyone that tries to hurt them so remember that.

Ada: at first I thought she was kinda singular in her thought process, kind of like how a lot of other robots are around the Commonwealth (with some clear exceptions). However, hearing her voice her love for the people she was meant to protect and her disappointment in herself for failing them made me realize my initial judgement was wrong.

Cait- not gonna lie, she scared the hell out of me on many occasions. Granted I'm not necessarily mortal per se, she has that brawler's personality that let's people know not to fuck with her. After traveling with her for a while though, I've come to realize she's been through some serious shit that made her the way she is, and it made me so proud when she quit chems for good. Still don't fuck with her though

Curie: my god, she is too innocent for this world. When I found her in 81, she was a mrs nanny, and a highly aware one at that. However, her saying she's limited by her robotic body and requires a human form to continue her research made me hesitant because I always believed robots are only as limited as they think they are, but I abided by her wishes (which also made me even more hesitant because I was close with glory). Although her judgement was off due to her desire for knowledge, I can't hate her at all. Although I would love if she would stop examining me because of my powers...

Codsworth: ... *visible embarrassment* well, he's the closest thing I have to family now. He's been with me through everything and, dare I say, is more human than most of the humans in this wasteland. I can't help but to lo- I mean like him for who he is. He did seem to have a thought unspoken at the wedding, but that might just be wishful thinking- I mean misreading..

Danse: I had some strong opinions towards him, and not in a positive way. Granted, he's changed a lot for the better since *spoiler* he's discovered he himself is a synth but when I first met him, he was a huge biggot to anyone different (especially robots) and that set me off. He only made the mistake of mouthing off about codsworth once before I had to teach him a "lesson". He still makes the off comment now and again but is becoming more acceptable to the idea of different ppl.

Deacon: okay, I admit, I don't like how much he lies but he is amusing. When he opened up about his past, I started to understand where he was coming from. I still want to help him with his lying issue though

Dogmeat: how can you hate a dog? He's such a good boi!

Gage: oh boy, where do I begin? I mean it was cool and all that he saved me from being killed from the over boss (although I'm immortal so I was just fine either way but it's the sentiment that counts) he is a psycho. Like insane raider kill everyone psycho. Can't say I've never killed anyone (or wanted to kill someone) out of cold blood, but damn, this dude.

Hancock: he's a chill ghoul. High as fuck most of the time, but chill. I really like that he didn't let his past hold him down and, instead, created a following of his own. He keeps giving me drugs though even though I'm not a user, so I usually just sell them to any vendor.

Macready: this dude has been through hell and back and is still a sweetheart. I admire that he kept his promise to his son to be a better person and I just know his wife knows what a good person he is despite his past actions. Wish I could find a dentist for him though, poor dude.

Nick: I'm a sucker for old noir detective tropes and he fits that to a t. He's been really helpful with trying to help me locate the man who killed my husband and is just an overall good listener. He saw me with Edna and Mr zwicky after they got married and slipped me an, well, a thought for me to contemplate. Damn detective picks up everything.

Longfellow: may I just say, although I worry about his health, he's certainly an energetic elder. I love sitting at the third rail with him listening to his stories (far harbor gives me the creeps so I drag him to the Commonwealth every once in a while)

Piper: like danse, I have some opinions stemming from her hatred of synths, but I see where she comes from with that considering the events that has occurred in diamond City. Also she isn't the same towards Nick, so I think it's just a trust thing, not as much of a discrimination thing. She still keeps bugging me about interviews though.

Garvey: I know he means well and all with rebuilding the minute men, but ffs, I NEED SLEEP! He's gonna be the metaphorical death of me I swear. However, I do like that he is trying to make the Commonwealth a better place. I just can't do it all by myself though

Strong: I cannot get enough meat to soothe this savage beast, so had to adapt some more filling recipes to keep him full. He is fun when it comes to absolute mayhem in a raider camp though and finds it amusing when I destroy a door because I don't feel like picking the lock.

"Mr x": he's stoic and always serious about everything, which is everything I'm not. He does have an unspoken fondness for cats though, something I found when a stray took shelter in one of the homes in sanctuary. Found out from codsworth he doesn't like being called Mr x so I call him that purely to get under his skin.