#kinda predictions so that's why it's not making any sense in canon

[cessmaga]

genshin impact ghost au

doesn't make any sense in canon (since ghost already exists) so don't take these seriously:

the traveler's can see them, never explained why but it seems they can, paimon can't but she just goes with the traveler's shenanigans

hu tao actually can too and it's her job to take them to afterlife

venti also can (I like the idea of him and anemo having a connection to ghost and death

qiqi can see them cuz she's basically half dead

now for some ghosts

idk how but kaeya dies (there are so many theories of him that would die in a future story because of death symbolisms he had)

diluc still goes with his night missions even in death, and he wanted to reconcile with his brother after years of distance

he still doesn't trust the knights of favonius and he still has a hatred with the fatui

and he doesn't like that he shares the same plane of existence with childe, the fatui harbinger

ayato dies because ayaka's character development tm

he can be really ruthless when someone tries to harm ayaka just like childe with his family

even in death he still looks out for his clan and his sister in the shadows

he feels guilty that he fails to protect his sister

baizhu's illness did overtake him and his research to immortality is almost complete, even death he still tries to finish his research

kazuha apparently can create a breeze around him

bennet's luck still follows around him

idk how they all died and I wanted to add more

yeah idk why the traveler would hide their ghost powers, given teyvat is used to their shenanigans, maybe they don't want to freak out the people especially to people who's loved one's who died

maybe I'll expand more??

[hollowed-theory-hall]

What are your thoughts on drarry?

spireasalix asked:

Hi! I just found your blog and find your theories really interesting. I don't know if anyone has asked you before, but what do you think of Draco Malfoy? Do you think he would have a chance with Harry? Could they fall in love or there is too much history between them? Let's make Harry/Draco canon! Hahahaha

Hi, thank you so much! 😊

Since it's a ship/character ask I want to preface that everyone can ship what they want and like whatever characters they want and this is my personal highly subjective opinion.

I'll start with my thoughts on Drarry, as I had an arc there, like, back when I just got into the fandom I really liked the concept of Drarry, so I read some Drarry and didn't like most of what I found back then. That dislike kinda colored Drarry and Draco's character as a whole for me, so it was kinda like: "I can see the appeal on paper, but I don't like it". More recently though I read a lot about canon Drarry from @iamnmbr3 and she honestly got me rethinking my opinion on Draco and Drarry.

As I stand on it now, I'm not invested in Drarry, but I see them occasionally on my dash and sometimes I like what I see. It's the: yeah, I can see it happen, but it's not a pairing I'm passionate about.

Now, to @spireasalix more specific questions.

Draco Malfoy is an interesting character in theory but I don't think it comes across in the books as much as it could. Like, in books 1-5, I find him an annoying spoilt little brat. It can be entertaining when he comes on the page, and I know he'd be whining and dramatic and make a scene. And it makes sense Draco is this way, he's an only child of very rich parents who love him, he looks up to his father like Lucius could do no wrong, but he is lonely and attention-seeking. This need for attention is interesting and is part of why he is so obsessed with Harry. It shows he wants approval and is actually quite insecure under all his pride and mean attitude. He was raised to be a blood-supremacist spoilt jerk, and he does a decent job at being a schoolyard bully without crossing any super major lines.

Younger Draco can be a fun character, he's a problem Harry feels comfortable with because he knows how to deal with him, unlike his other problems (of which he has a lot). I think part of why Harry focuses on Draco as much as he does is because Draco is a predictable problem, one Harry feels he has control over how he wants to deal with him. Which is comforting considering how little control he has over literally every other area of his life.

Then in books 6 and 7, that's when Draco starts actually having his character development, and there are interesting things there, or the potential for them. I love what he goes through, becoming a Death eater only to realize, that: no, he can't really do violence. The constant fear for himself and his family, the torture he most likely goes through, being a prisoner in his own home, like, there is so much potential good angst there but I don't feel like the books really take it as far as it can go.

I recently finished my reread of HBP, and Draco in it was having a crap time, truly. He partially brought it on himself, but he really was thrown into the deep end and he is flailing around to keep his head above water regretting ever asking to leave the kiddie pool (because make no mistake, he asked to be in the grown-ups' pool). And you see how he matures there, going from a spoilt brat to a terrified teen. In one summer he went from the top of his own little world to seeing how powerless he actually is. And, like, out of everyone, the person he apparently confides in is Moaning Myrtle, like, idk, I love that, I think this friendship should be mentioned more. Like, Draco is having a crisis over his family, his worldview, his own worth, being a Death Eater and what it means, and his confidant is the ghost of a muggleborn girl who Tom Riddle, his new master, killed. Like, there are some implications.

I find it fascinating Myrtle says this about Draco:

“No,” said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. “I mean he’s sensitive, people bully him too, and he feels lonely and hasn’t got anybody to talk to, and he’s not afraid to show his feelings and cry!”

(HBP, 462)

That combined with the fact that Draco doesn't ever really try to harm Harry too badly (@iamnmbr3 wrote many great posts about this). Like, at the beginning of HBP, he has Harry petrified and he just breaks his nose. And this is already after he becomes a Death Eater. He also helps Harry multiple times throughout Deathly Hollows, something that places him and his family at risk.

And, yes, he makes some attempts to kill Dumbledore that harm others (the cursed necklace that hurt Katie Bell and the poison Ron drank) but I think the methods he uses are telling. Draco attempts to kill Dumbledore with methods where he himself is far away from the action. You can say it's due to a Slytherin sense of self-preservation, and that's part of it, I'm sure, but I think the main part of it is that Draco is averse to violence. At the end when he was face to face with Dumbledore he couldn't bring himself to cast the curse. Dumbledore was disarmed and surrounded, there was nothing he could've (or would've) done to hurt Draco, but Draco still hesitated. He couldn't kill him even when his own life and his family's were on the line. Harry also talks about how much Draco is likely hurt from having to torture others on Voldemort's orders in Deathly Hollows, and I think Harry is spot on about it.

If we look at the bullying of younger Draco, he doesn't act out violently. He is the cruel words and insults type, and I remember being honestly surprised he physically hit Harry in HBP because it's not the sort of thing Draco does. So, while Draco as schoolyard bully is mean, he practically is never shown to be physically violent, at least not that I remember. He only starts being more of a physical threat in HBP, and in the cases of Ron and Katie, he does so from a distance in a way he isn't directly involved in the violence.

That being said, while what he goes through is interesting and has plenty of potential and I do like his character, I find him kinda annoying. Like, in my very subjective opinion, I find his whining in the early books incredibly annoying and I find him, even in the later books, kinda underwhelming. Like, I want more out of his character, idk. Like, really, all power to you for liking Draco, he just, unfortunately, doesn't make it into my top Harry Potter characters purely because of personal subjective bias.

Like, for all of Draco being a Slytherin from a long line of Slytherins, he doesn't showcase many Slytherin characteristics (yes, that's something I dislike about his character, go figure 🤷‍♀️). Like, Draco isn't cunning, like, at all. He's smart, I'm not saying he isn't, he gets good and even outstanding grades in various school subjects, and he fixes the vanishing cabinet he knows nothing about on his own. He is skilled and talented magically and he can figure out complex magic on his own, but when it comes to long-term planning or general cunning... yeah, I don't think that's part of Draco's arsenal.

He acts out on useful information on the first opportunity he has, with very little thought about timing or how to best use it and very little forethought in general. In 1st year he gets Harry and Co caught outside after curfew but doesn't think his plan through so he too, is caught out after curfew. And sure, he's 11, but 11-year-old Harry wouldn't have made that mistake, I think (neither would Ron or Hermione). In 3rd year, his plan against Buckbeak and Hagrid was laughable and only worked because Lucius could pull it off. I mean, Draco wasn't even doing a good job at faking an injury compared to Harry who could believably pretend to be the Bloody Baron to scare off Peeves at 11, not to mention lying reliably to McGonagall at 12. In GoF he makes these Potter stinks badges, which are magically impressive (considering they still work 3 years later) but are again, an example of Draco acting on something immediately because that's how he tends to operate. Like how he goes straight to Harry every time he finds something in the Daily Prophet to make fun of.

Even if we look at Draco's later plans, like in HBP, he was mostly trying to buy plans rather than think about how to solve his problem. Because Draco knows how to buy his way out of problems, not think his way out. And while all this does make for an interesting trait for him to have in his rule in the story and he has an invisible arc to break away from this thinking pattern and that does lead him to the vanishing cabinet eventually, it does make me like him less. I'm biased, I can't help it.

His ambition is another thing, I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't think Draco is particularly ambitious. Like, he wants to make his parents (especially Lucius) proud, he wants people to like him, and he wants to be popular, sure, but he doesn't have any long-term plans or specific goals in mind. He grew up already having everything, so he doesn't really have any ambitions bigger than that. I'm not saying there needs to be, Harry isn't particularly ambitious either, it's just interesting to me that our poster Slytherin in Harry's year isn't that much of a Slytherin at all.

As I mentioned earlier, Draco also seems to be averse to violence and doesn't have as much of a ruthless streak as his house is usually associated with. Draco, at the end of the day, seems to me like a very sheltered kid who idolized war when he heard about it in stories up until he had to actually take part in it. He is one of the softer characters in the books actually, in my opinion.

While I think he definitely values the traits of house Slytherin as he grew up learning to appreciate them, he doesn't actually possess them, at least, not in abundance. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but honestly, I think Draco is more of a Gryffindor than a Slytherin considering he is brave (in the last book especially. I want to note he isn't the same brave as Harry. Draco fears a lot more than Harry does, but when push comes to shove, he keeps going despite his fear. He's more similar to Neville in that regard), bold, and definitely has his personal code of honor and chivalry he acts according to, but I digress.

My personal issue with Draco is the main issue I have with Drarry as a ship, because, like, I can't be actively invested in a ship when I find one of the characters annoying. I have a similar stance on Romione as I have on Drarry. I like Romione well enough, I enjoy the fanart of them I see, but I wouldn't actively search for fics of them. Neither would I write fics where they are the main pairing. In Romione's case, I love Ron but find Hermione kinda annoying, I don't hate her, I don't even dislike her, I actually like her, but she annoys me. Draco is the same way, I like him, but he just gets on my nerves sometimes.

To summarise, I see the appeal of Drarry, and I can see how it could work on paper. I don't think Harry and Draco ever truly hated each other in the books, so, yeah, I think they could get together. They could definitely forgive each other everything, hell, the books practically outright say they forgive each other everything in canon. I think you can build a very compelling love story for them, it's just not a story I'm invested in reading/writing mostly because Draco isn't a character that I'm overly invested in.

[theeyeofeverything]

Brainworms cannot be contained so I need to confess to you one (1) thing...

Yes. I have au where sols can be saved but there is a lil thing I need to mention... not all of them will survive... ACTUALLY THEY MiGHT BE HAPPY ONLY FOR A WHILE ONLY TO DIE AGAIN. Ooops!

So let's call this thing "out of spite AU".

Basic premise is Yi saves as many sols, as he can and all of them have a lession to learn. They given a chance to grow and redeem themselfs. Not in front of apeman or remaining solarians (if there id left any), no. It's a redemption before oneself. Because yes, they will be safe for a while, but the end is the same. Kuafu will be the only solarian to survive in the end... or does he?

Mainly trough this exist to explore 4 things: 1. Dynamics between Sols 2. How they will face their inner conflict (most of them remain their initial core traits, don't worry, but some aspects of them might change a little) 3. Sols interacting with ShuanShuan (it also ties to their inner conflict! He helps others like he helps Yi to understand that life good on its own. Mainly tho its a self-indulingent cute bonding stuff between Sols and ShuanShuan) 4. Jieyi (AM SORRY I HAVE SEVER CASE OF BEING REALLY INVESTED IN GUYS OBSESSED WITH PROTAGS I AM WEAK)

Who will be saved?

- Kuafu. Same as in canon.

-Jiequan. Well, I said it would be really funny concept for him to be saved first of all people. Yi doing exactly that, initially out of spite. But it's ironic that in the literal sense Jieqan did not win - Yi just broke all of his teapods and did not let him die like a hero become a gooquan - but he won the spiritual battle. His torture made Yi better. Well, it's not but it made Yi mad enough to do the opposite of rampage. He is restraind in the pavilion at the time (but not for long)

-Goumang. After thinking (and being really pissed) abou his and Jiequan similarity he desides that he might gone a little bit rough on Goumang. When he is back at the agrocurtual hall she is alive, but gravely injured. It's a miracle she didn't bleed out by the time they arrived at the pavilion. He and Kuafu tend her wounds, but she is NOT happy to be here. At least, at first

-Nuwa. At this point in story Yi is finally giving a rest to his killing rampage. Nuwa is a strange case because she is no use to Yi. Jiequan is a fighter, Goumang is somewhat of the healer in this au. Nuwa is a spoiled mean brat. Kinda just like him! No one deserve to die like...this. He will not let her go near Fuxi, when he's down. She would cry, crawl and bite her way out, but to no avail. I will say she is safe in this au for sake of exploring her personality and how it would change with absence of her brother around. How she would become independent.

-Ji. He is the intresting case because he is wanting to die. He is tired of life. He wants to rest and join dao. However I think he might stay for a while because his hexagramm... lied to him. Jiequan has to much impact in this AU huh. Well, I think he knew Jiequan and Yi's fight would not end good. He forsaw Jiequan die... but now Yi is telling him that the last member of the jie is alive and well! I think that would intrigue Ji, actually. Why would hexagramms lie to him? Did the Yi changed course of history? And additional layer to this if certain someone once also made a hexagramm prediction untrue.

Or, maybe, hexagramms want him to preserve this story too? His last story to tell.

Who will not survive:

-Yanlao. First, at this point Yi was not ignited by spite and did not reconsider his choices! And second - he is a lesson to learn for Yi. A irreversable mistake, that can't be take back. Not that he is greiving for this loss but it kinda make jiequan with his "do you think saving me does you a good guy automathicly? With other you was not that merciful, young master Yi" sting harder. And that is making Yi pissed, but... pissed Yi is a Yi how does rethink his decisions so maybe this is for the better

-Lady Etheral. Well she is no longer in a condition to be saved. She is basicly a brain in a jar and can't be brought back. All they can do is honor her properly. Let her rest at last.

-Eigong. This is intersting case because I belive she is long lost. At least, I think she is beliving herself to be a lost cause. She will not let Yi and Goumang save her. She will go with this ship, because her role is played already. So she would go on her own terms and would not be swayed. I love her so much as a character, but this the vibe I get from her. Besides I need more drama and angst for this AU sooo...

Let's stop for now. There is a couple of aspects I want to talk about more, but I think some of my ideas will translate better trough my art!

Not now, tho. Because I need to finish funny haha comics first and THEN do serious shit.

Feel free to ask about this AU tho!

[forget-me-maybe]

1. and 24. for the fanfic ask thingy! I'd love 1. be Aradins pov (obviously I'm predictable 🫡) but 24. can really be any scene you'd like to geek out on.

thank you so much and sorry this took a minute! i'm kind of mashing the questions together.

Write a scene from [insert fic] in another character’s POV and 24. Which scene/theme was the inspiration for [insert fic]?

first of all, the ramble that may or may not make any sense:

so the scene, well, the fic, i chose to change pov of is never pull a punch for free. i think it's the least popular of the series but when i read through it i'm starting to think it might be my favourite this far.

and why might that be? well, the whole thing is inspired by the scene where we meet him outside the sundries (him saying "tin tube" lives rent free in my head). i think it speaks for how desperate he is, and going to attack the camp later adds on to that. not to mention the speak with dead dialogue where he says "enough to buy peace".

game wise we're only left with the choice to kill him if he does attacks camp. i interpret "enough to buy peace" as he wants to live. maybe not the life he's living right now, but he's got some hope, something to fight for. and i think he kinda hates that about himself too (he hates a lot of things about himself), because i feel like this is a man who's been disappointed more times than he's been positively surprised. and he knows he shouldn't have hope, he knows he shouldn't believe he deserves more than he's got.

the "born and bred" adventurer. he just wants to live on his own terms. and that means attacking. his last hope.

lucky him, i also want him to live. so this was born!

the original fic doesn't include the conversation outside the sundries, i don't remember why i chose to do that, i probably got lazy. so that was fun to add a bit of this time.

secondly, the story:

an unedited little rewrite, i hope you’ll like it! <3 

i'm still not 100% confident with writing his pov so this was good practice. and also a lot of fun!

me writing this: wow that’s a lot of violence  also me writing this: [slamming my fist to the table] they’re so in love it makes me SICK

cw: just some canon typical violence. no smut today i fear.

Making it back to the Gate should’ve been a relief, especially after the tendays spent on the detour to avoid the cursed lands. He also should’ve done so with the Nightsong in his hands, a substantial pay waiting, and a long night of celebration ahead of him. 

He should not be standing outside the Sundries, arguing with this walking pile of scrap metal. 

He definitely should not be doing that when the adventurer from the grove waltzes by the entrance as if she owns the fecking place. 

He can’t remember her name, not sure he even got to hear it. Doesn’t matter, she’s blue as the sea, might as well call her that. 

There are plenty of other things he remembers though, but he won’t linger on that. Rage and exhaustion battling in his mind. As usual, anger wins. 

“What’re ya lookin’ at?” he snaps at the tiefling. 

“I’m looking at the idiot who’s making all the noise,” she snickers. The wizard (he was a wizard, right?) in her entourage winces behind her. 

“I can knock ya out if the noise is bothering you.” The threat falls off his lips as easily as saying his name. They always do. 

“What’s your problem?” Blue sneers. 

“Get outta my face,” Aradin sneers, he isn’t sure why he keeps talking. “I’ve lost some good people to the owner of that shop. Offered a huge pile of cash to hunt down some relic called the Nightsong.” 

“The Nightsong?” she says, sounding slightly amused. “Guess I did what you couldn’t then. She’s in my room at the Elfsong.” 

Aradin takes a step closer, towering the tiefling with a deadly glare. Weapons unsheath behind her. 

Aradin ignores them, hissing, “hand it over.” 

Blue taps her chin with her clawed finger a couple of times, pretending to think about it for a moment. 

“Nope,” she says, popping the p. 

By nothing short of divine intervention, Aradin doesn’t grab his greatclub to strike down the tiefling where she stands. 

Instead, he watches her walk into the store, but not before she looks over her shoulder and mouths “I’ll see you around.” 

~*~

Oh, she’ll see him around, alright. 

Aradin is used to his attempts at persuasion and intimidation not working, they’ve never been his strong suit. 

Which means he’ll have to resort to brute force. And that just happens to be his strong suit. 

Barth and Remi were easy enough to convince, they’ve been through enough, it’s only fitting they’re with him to see it through to the end. 

The rest of the mercenaries he’s collected were not as easy, no one in their right mind would ever join a heist without at least being paid something up front, he sure as hells won’t do that again. Alas, his empty pockets only grant him this ragtag team of glorified bandits. 

Getting into the Elfsong is easy enough, pretending to drink (or drink and not drink too much) and sneak upstairs as the patrons start to leave the place. 

There’s no light from under the door to the suite, the only sound that can be heard is a mingle of snores. He knows there are at least two elves with them, meaning that it’ll only take seconds before their intrusion is discovered and the inevitable fight occurs. 

Aradin breaks the first lockpick. Not because of nerves, no, there’s an eerie calmness to him. The calmness of a man who’s got nothing left to lose. 

His second attempt is fruitful, the door unlocking with a satisfying click. He motions to the group to get their weapons ready. Without hesitation he swings the door open and enters the room. 

“You fucking idiot.” 

Feck, feck, feck, his mind reels. Their upper hand of arriving unnoticed is completely gone with the wind. 

He does his best to not let it show as he turns around to face the tiefling. 

“What are you doing here?” she hisses, as if it isn’t obvious. 

“We’re ‘ere for the Nightsong,” he simply says, trusting his greatclub and backup to speak for what words won’t. “Hand it over.”

“You really are as dumb as you look,” Blue spits. “Leave before things get messier than you can handle.”

“Can’t do that, luv.” He can’t leave empty handed. 

“I s’pose we do this the hard way then,” she sighs. 

The sound of battle is something he’s used to, metal clashing against metal, incantations being yelled across the room. He wouldn’t say he’s particularly fond of it, it’s just a necessity. Like knowing how to tie your shoes. 

Aradin sets his eyes on Blue, partly because someone has to and he’s closest, and partly because there’s a bit of him who wants revenge for her dirty fighting at the grove. 

Swinging his greatclub with full force, over and over again, she manages to avoid every single one of them, dodging where he thought it’d be impossible. Still, he manages to keep her at a distance where her shortswords won’t reach to do him any harm. 

Had they been outside, she probably could get away, use the space to get behind him and stab him in the back. Now, she can’t. And it seems to dawn on them at the same time, Blue’s eyes widening as she hits the wall with her back, Aradin’s lips forming a victorious smirk. 

Still, he’s not cruel, a bastard, for sure, he’s been told that enough times for it to be true, but he doesn’t take any joy in killing. So, he aims for her head with all he’s got, making sure it’ll be as quick and painless as it possibly could. 

Blue’s quicker. 

Ducking right in time for his swing to miss, the force throws him off balance for long enough for the little devil to leap towards him, tackling him onto the ground. The impact has him landing on his arse, pain shooting up his spine. 

It’s nowhere near as painful as the feeling of her sword piercing through the muscles, bones and tendons in his hand to pin it to the floor with a crunching sound. He only has time to scream before her other sword finds its way to his throat, pushing hard enough to draw blood but not hard enough to kill him. Not yet. 

“Look at them!” she shouts and claws dig into his jaw, yet he doesn’t tear his eyes away from the tiefling, considering whether to give her some last colourful words or returning the favour with a gob of spit at her face. “I said LOOK AT THEM.” 

The claws dig harder into his face, had he not been seething with fury he would’ve felt them break skin. With one last defiant look, he faces the room. 

Doing a quick headcount, he realises he’s gravely underestimated their opponent’s numbers. Apart from the dragonborn, it’s nothing short of a miracle that the rest of them are still alive. 

Alive for about thirty more seconds, if he makes a generous assessment of the situation. 

“You already lost some of your crew searching for the Nightsong, are you prepared to lose the rest?” she asks, voice a strained whisper. 

His eyes flit between Barth, his movements are sloppy from exhaustion as he fends off a githyanki, and Remi, pinned to a corner by a red tiefling twice the size of Blue. 

“I’d rather not, but this is your last warning before I tear your artery.” Blue’s sword digs deeper into his throat. 

He thinks of Brian. How his guts spilled across the stone floor of the defiled temple. How life hadn’t fully left his eyes as they had to retreat. How that’ll be the same fate for his last remaining friends. 

“Have it your way,” he says, where he expected bitterness, he only finds relief. 

“EVERYBODY STOP!” Blue’s voice booms through the room. 

Except from a disappointed grunt from someone, the room goes completely silent. He locks eyes with Barth, nodding faintly to confirm Blue’s orders. 

Remi is the first to drop her weapon, the rest of his group following shortly. 

Blue releases her grip and gets to her feet, looking uncharacteristically coy for a moment before she yanks away her sword from where it’s lodged into the floorboards. A hiss leaves his lips when he’s painfully made aware that removing a sword from a hand almost hurts as much as having it put there in the first place. 

He doesn’t expect the helping hand, but with no fight left in him, he takes it and lets her pull him to his feet. 

“Send your crew away and wait for me outside.” Blue says, pointing at the door. “I believe we need to have a little chat.”

A murmur of voices and questions fill the room as he sends his crew away, being the last to leave he looks over her shoulder to where Blue seems to be attempting to calm down a huge lady with wings. 

Every single piece of Aradin’s body seems to be made of lead when he slumps down against the wall in the corridor. He inspects his hand, while it’s bleeding, it’s not enough for him to bleed out anytime soon. He tears off a piece from his undershirt to wrap around it. 

It’s not until Blue steps out from the suite with two bottles in her hands and closes the door behind her that he realises she’s in nothing but her now blood splattered nightshirt. Meaning the adventurers fought in their nightclothes while his crew was fully armoured. He truly was in way over his head, getting away from this fight with nothing but some nerve damage is a deal he’s not about to question. 

The tiefling props herself down next to him. 

“You’re an idiot,” she says. 

He’s inclined to agree. 

“So you say.” 

Blue looks like she’s satisfied with that answer. 

“How's the hand?” she asks. 

“I’ll live,” he sighs, a bit dramatically if he’s honest. “You fight dirty.” 

Blue uncorks one of the bottles she’s brought out with her teeth and pushes it into his uninjured hand. It takes him a moment to understand it’s a healing potion. No matter how many times he’s thrown back a healing potion, it’s still a strange sensation to feel the skin and bones knit back together. 

“I fight to survive,” Blue says with a shrug once he’s watched his skin close up into a pink scar. Another one for the collection. 

His next words fall off his lips without thinking. 

“Y’could’ve just done me in. But you didn’t. Why?”

She hesitates, busying herself with the second bottle she brought out. He recognises it from nights where he only remembers fragments. The gulp Blue takes tells she’s used to similar nights. 

“You’ve got your uses,” she teases as she offers the bottle to him. He takes an equally generous mouthful. She continues in a bitter tone, almost spitting out the words. “Perhaps I just think no one else should get hurt because of that bastard wizard.” 

“He is a right bastard,” Aradin concurs, lifting the bottle in a small cheer. 

“I just need to know you’re not going to attack us again,” she says, her face set sternly. The face of a leader. 

“Nah, lesson learnt.” He holds up his hand to emphasise his point. 

Blue hums something affirmative, her gaze falling onto the wall in front of them as she’s lost in thought. 

They pass the bottle between them in silence, shoulders pressing together. She runs way hotter than him and he yearns to lean into her warmth, with the adrenaline gone from his body he finds himself almost shivering. 

His eyes wander over her bare legs, his thoughts slipping back to the grove where she rode him senseless in the moonlight, how he'd gasped for air as she clenched around him.

When she turns to face him he remembers he’s a man with nothing left to lose. 

“We sittin’ here all night or what?” he asks, almost sounding impatient. 

“Cheeky.” Blue grins. 

[neutrallyobsessed]

tophabe?

I DON'T SHIP IT!!!!!!!!! e_eu

Why don’t you ship it?

It's boring, it's predictable, it's super duper popular, it's yet another red x blue ship, the characters don't get along and people INSIST on removing that BITE that could make the ship interesting, making it some soft mushy mess that is sooo eye roll inducing....

Topher not ever being into guys is my own personal headcanon, but Topher not ever being into fucking normies like Abe that cannot be corrupted into the ways of the internet feels more close to canon, this could never work and it could not be fun, it'd be miserable.

What would have made you like it?

Nothing???? Maybe don't be too popular??? Maybe let Topher be a toxic little shit that has the worst intentions for the dumb naïve Abe?? LET TOPHER BE DOMINANT ME LLEVA LA CHNGADA he's not some soft insecure timid socially anxious guy, he's not 2020 fanon!Van Gogh, THAT'S A WHOLE ASS CONQUISTADOR WHO CAN GET WHAT HE WANTS!!!!! Or at least has the drive to do so, succeeding is like an entire different thing xddd.

And just to be clear, No Redemption Only Corruption. Topher should never become a better person, Abe becoming worse is the way to go, but Abe is way too nice, so no dice~~

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Tophabe R34 means Topher R34 and that's really really good, very pretty artwork that has kept me warm during this winter, muy rico todo despite entire subject matter, well done you horny bitches. Also they do have an amount of screentime and interactions that make me go "yeah i see why people ship this" so to yalls credit, the ship does make sense

Tophabe tastes like: Nuts. Any type really, it's all stale and flavorless and annoyingly irritating to eat, just an unpleasent situation that I rather avoid. People apperantly do like it, but they keep turning it into some sweet paste of sorts? To the point it's not nuts anymore but kinda still is? I don't get it and I won't bother analizing this further, i just fucking hate nuts they augh -_-

[dicenote]

for the ask game: 4, 10 and 11 for matsulight?

eeee omg omg matsulight!! tysm for this ask!

4. What they do on date night

Often, they play it by ear, especially when Matsuda's taking the lead. You know that one bit of the anime/manga where Light goes to Aoyama with Matsuda to look for the 2nd Kira? I'd like to think that their date nights are kinda like that (minus the part where Light's friends are there and they pretend to be cousins, obviously). Nothing planned, just them and the city lights.

On occasion, Matsuda and Light actually do make plans, though. Matsuda's are still pretty spontaneous ("Oh Light! I heard about a neat event going on tonight! Wanna go?"), while Light's plans are thought out ahead of time. Regardless of how planned out they are, their dates almost always involve going out and doing something together.

10. What TV shows they watch together, and which ones they hide from the other

They watch a lot of mystery shows together. Sometimes the "mysteries" are goofier stories to distract them from the hell that is the Kira investigations. Often, though, they'll have fun by watching more of a thriller mystery and seeing how early they (Light, usually) can predict the ending. Matsuda will pause the show every few minutes just so he and Light can talk about what's going on in the story (He loves hearing Light talk). It takes them nearly an hour to get through a 30 minute episode because of this.

For Matsuda, I think my answer is the same as in the Lawtsuda ask. He loves kid shows with happy endings. I think that he'd make more of an effort to hide it from Light, though, as Light seems like he'd be more confused about why Matsuda likes those kinds of shows.

Light likes his fair share of horror, but he hides the scary flicks from Matsuda because he knows Matsuda doesn't like them. While he's not an artist by any means, Light really appreciates the artistry of horror shows. What makes them scary- is it the excessive fake blood, the jump-scares, the shaky cameras? What does it take to instill true horror? ...Meanwhile, Matsuda's crying because the character he picked out as his favorite died a few minutes in. So they don't watch horror together anymore.

11. What their first impression was of each other

I hc that they first met when they were much younger. Maybe like, when Light was 5 and Matsuda was 13, or so. I like the headcanon (or maybe it's canon in one of the movies? idk) that Matsuda's and Light's families were friends before the series begins. Because they're a lot younger, I feel like their first impressions were pretty one-dimensional, if that makes sense. Light thought Matsuda was a bit loud and kind of annoying, and Matsuda thought Light was really smart for his age. They probably kind of just... existed around each other for a little while, not fully knowing what to make of the other. Eventually they talked more, but that first impression kind of remained for a while- Light was more dismissive of Matsuda, while Matsuda was always awed by Light.

[woolying]

i meant to post this last week before the first in-game comic came out but i forgot oops.... anyywayyy i am sooooo obsessed with teruko plays among us so im posting my initial predictions based on canon/what i think would be funny (girl who likes mongy monday and drdt a bit too much and is trying to be normal about it) also i explain the roles for people who may not know them!

i might update these each week as more info comes out in the comic

(under the cut bc its long / drdt spoilers)

DAVID

jester (neutral role, has to get voted out to win) - i think its kinda self explanatory as to why lol (i hope teruko shoots him <3)

i would say imitator (crew, in meetings can select a dead crewmate with certain roles and take it for one round) and he uses it on xander if (probably when) he dies, to sorta match what he does in canon, but i didnt put down any imitable roles for xander... but i guess he still could be anyway if im wrong about xander's role

ACE

morphling (imposter, can disguise as other people) - bc blackened, and he imitated eden in the note?? idk

either that or swooper (imposter, can temporarily turn invisible) - bc hes sneaky like that

veteran (crewmate, kills anyone who interacts with them) - the scared of other people role

XANDER

executioner on teruko (neutral, has to get teru voted out to win) is my fav guess i think

maybe vigilante (crew, can guess imposter roles in meetings to kill them, if they guess wrong they die) - just bc it suits him?? idk

one of the imposter roles idk - bc attempted murderer, maybe teruko shoots him?

^^ i wrote these before episode 3 came out and we have since seen xander doing a task so this is a no (tbh i dont think executioner does tasks either?? i forget if its a toggle or not)

CHARLES

amnesiac (neutral, basically no role but if they find a dead body they can steal their role and be it for the rest of the game) - haha get it because he forgot...anyways

investigator (crew, sees footprints when people walk around), tracker (crew, can place arrows onto people to see their location), or spy (crew, can see exactly who is where on admin table) - investigative roles that don't involve dead bodies

^^ another update post episode 3: charles on admin table!!??? (but notes say he always does that what a loser)

WHIT

swapper (crew, can swap votes onto someone else in a meeting) or transporter (crew, can teleport two people to trade places during the round) just bc i think he'd have fun with it lmao, both can be very chaotic/annoying roles or rlly good/helpful depending on how the person uses them (he uses them to be annoying)

mystic (crew, gets notified whenever someone dies) - just vibes tbh

EDEN

engineer (crew, can vent and fix sabotages remotely) - a support role suits her i think

i kinda got nothing really oops??? we'll see i guess

MIN

undertaker maybe?? (imposter, can drag dead bodies) - bc blackened, altering the crime scene🔥🔥🔥

tbh a more suiting imposter role might be traitor (a random crewmate who becomes imposter if both die early) but idk how this group would manage to kill the imposters that quickly... either that or amnesiac picking up an imposter role based on the fact that She Didn't Want This

altruist (crew, gets to sacrifice their life to revive a dead participant) - min voice i just wanted to save you!! i can imagine teruko dying in the middle of nowhere and min bringing her back

J

vigilante or jailor (crew, can tag people to be jailed during the round and choose whether to execute them during the meeting) - i think shes pretty involved in trials so a meeting crew role makes sense? though j gives off such bad guesser vibes lol may she rest in peace

tracker - partially vibes, but also i think it would be funny if she got a role that can be kinda boring in some circumstances bc she'd be so mad about it

AREI

guardian angel on eden (neutral, wins if eden wins) - Arei "I guess this time I can be the person you rely on" Nageishi

jailor maybe - it reminds me of her in mins trial with the pen idk vibes

tbh im not rlly sure if the blackeneds will end up being imposters?? bc it almost feels too obvious but maybe the simplest answer is the right one yknow? also since min was added off a poll i was kinda doubting, but i feel like nico/levi could also be imposters if they were chosen instead? but idk who else would be if not the blackeneds bc at that point its just random so i cant really guess

these could be all totally completely wrong honestly im just having fun thinking about it! i cannot wait to see more YAYYY YIPPPEEEE

[markantonys]

Oh well now that you’ve told me we get more Elayne content as the series goes on I’m definitely still excited to read the later books!

Gawyn! I’ve seen so very little of him so far but from what I have he seems like a sweetheart. I love a good sibling relationship and how he and Elayne team up against Galad is great to see, keeping an eye on that one… Very frustrating for Egwene to be fawning over the wrong brother though smh

Haha poor Mat! I’m definitely warming to him more, I’m nearly finished TDR and he’s just put a flower in his hair while sneaking into the palace 😭 Which speaking of new locations and characters, that will be SO exciting to see. I know book fans have been complaining about the changes to the show but it makes sense for them to have saved Caemlyn for s3, there’s just so much going on!

Yeah, I’m looking forward to being on the other side! I think this is preferable bc honestly, based on my taste, I think the show is on the whole making changes for the better (the women getting more spotlight from the off, actually making queer coded relationships canon lol) so having the show to look forward to after reading the books is so much fun.

*the books are obviously the source material and fantastic please don’t shoot me book fans

first of all, congratulations on having the most correct and relatable takes on everything in the series so far djdkjf right down to anxiously adding "please don't shoot me book fans" after daring to express that you think the show is good and perhaps even better. keep us updated as you go along, i love hearing your thoughts! as always, to my reader followers, please do not mention any book spoilers past TDR in replies/reblogs on this post. we must keep this anon pure! anon, i will be tagging this post as book spoilers for the sake of show-onlys since we're discussing some s3 stuff, but rest assured i haven't included any spoilers past where you are (bar vague stuff like "X character has a big storyline in Y portion of the series").

gawyn is MY BOY. he's like a son to me, and you can't imagine the sheer serotonin boost i got when he was unexpectedly namedropped in s2 just when i was starting to worry he might be cut or merged with galad (neither of which would make sense to do, but other readers kept predicting that baselessly and i couldn't help worrying). he's definitely a slow-burner character with his biggest storylines occurring late in the series (another thing to look forward to in the later books!), but both brothers become more prominent in the book 4-6 era, so i will be interested to see what you think of that since they're definitely Just Kinda There giving us nothing in the first 3 books haha

and this is exactly why the show was wise to hold off on caemlyn, gawyn, galad, morgase, and elaida until s3! while i would've loved to see them earlier and while the EOTW caemlyn sequence is dear to my heart, in the medium of TV where the need to build sets and hire actors constrains what you can include when, it makes way more sense to hold off on introducing major locations & characters until such time as they are truly needed in the story, which for the Caemlyn Crew is season 3 since they don't get up to very much in the first few books. going to all that casting & set-building trouble for a single scene in season 1 or casting gawyn & galad just to bop around not doing much at the white tower in season 2 wouldn't have been practical. not to mention that there's been so much else going on, like you say! better to save this crew until we have enough space in a season to spend proper time with them.

and i love the show's approach of introducing elayne first and getting her into our hearts, then introducing the rest of her family in the next season when we're primed to be interested in meeting them, having already spent a whole season with her and having come to love her, and having heard intriguing little tidbits about her family and upbringing. caemlyn is my favorite location in the books and the trakands are my favorite family, so i can't wait to see them next season!!!! i'm so curious to see what kind of aesthetic they'll go for with caemlyn, and noble andoran fashion too. and given what a great damodred family backstory they crafted out of almost nothing in the books, i suspect we'll be in for a treat with some meatier family dynamics among the trakands (who do already have great dynamics in the books, but i bet there's more that can be done!)

mat putting a flower in his hair!! 😭😭 he's a baby! man that reminds me of the green man in EOTW and when he only gave flower crowns to the girls and not the boys, that made me so mad djkjfjg whenever i see anyone be sad that the green man didn't make the show, i'm like "nah FUCK that guy, he didn't give the boys flower crowns!"

and i am COMPLETELY on the same page as you with still preferring the show even after having read the books because the changes it makes are in line with my personal taste and improve aspects of the books i didn't like. the aes sedai are one of the most unique elements of the series, and i love how much focus the show has given to them early on! i love that egwene and nynaeve get to be ta'veren too! i love that moiraine and siuan are in a canonical present-day relationship instead of relegated to "being gay is just a phase in college"! i love alanna's polycule! i love that the male characters are allowed to be sensitive and vulnerable and to openly express emotions and affection! i love that the friendships and romances and enmities are all deeper and more emotional across the board! i love that the show focuses on the emotional impacts of the plot on the characters! and the show also really excels at picking out a smaller number of supporting characters and beefing them up (like liandrin and alanna) instead of including a fuckton of supporting characters, none of whom are very distinct or well-developed. the show always chooses to whole-ass one thing rather than half-ass two things, and that's another thing i love! the ability to distill these very long-winded books down into a more streamlined version of the story while keeping its core intact was crucial for an adaptation to work well, and rafe & co are so good at that.

anyway, i know that some readers like to tout the narrative that reading the books will make you like the show less because you'll see how much better and more detailed the books are, but that could not have been less true for me. it just made me love and appreciate the show even more, and look forward to seeing how my least favorite book stuff might be improved and how my favorite book stuff might be changed or given a fresh spin or made even better! and i'm glad to hear i'm not the only show-to-book person who feels that way <3

[findafight]

Concept for the Steve/Barb au: Barb gets an ax or sledgehammer in the junkyard scene. Steve swoons over his Valkyrie of a girlfriend. Her and Steve also get EMT training. (Seriously why don’t any of them get medical training) Also, Max thinks she’s the coolest person ever. Speaking of Max, I wonder if Barb being there would make any difference if/when Billy shows up? Just cause the presence of an older girl means Billy can’t claim to find the situation suspicious as easily. Part 1

Part 2) Also, if Barb’s there Steve has backup that isn’t a middle schooler, AND potentially she could either go out by herself or with Steve and tell Billy to fuck off, Max is fine and Barb will drop her off later. Billy probably would still try to start a fight, but maybe he’d just leave? Especially if he never gets in the house/spots Lucas.

ohhh before the junk yard though Dustin is asking for girl advice and he's like "how'd you guys get together!" and Steve just blurts "I Fought the Demogorgon for her?" like they weren't basically dating before that. Barb laughs at him and tells Dustin that he was sweet and made her feel special, and that he makes her laugh. Steve says not to seem too eager even if you are and to back off when a girl tells you to.

At the junk yard Barb finds a small sledge hammer and is like hmm. this'll do nicely... and gives it a couple swings and Steve is sat there, ready to fight but also..fists clenched around his bat,, telling himself this is not the time to make out with her this is NOT the time there are evil dog things coming and also children but also oh god after her physio therapy for surviving the UD ended they've been working out together a bit and she's so strong she has a sledge hammer her hair has some flyaways it looks like she's on fire with the sunset around her and refracted through her glasses he's gonna drool someone help him...she just looks at him and is like "...you are so predictable, jeez" and bends down to give him a little peck and he is goo now, actually.

Also yeah idk what the writers are doing not acknowledging first aid training coming in handy. They made Steve a lifeguard! that means canonically he has Standard First Aid, (likely also a certification to teach CPR-C) and i wouldn't put it past him to do adventure medic and/or advanced first aid at the very least. They can be first aid buddies :)

Also I loooove giving Max a Cool Older Girl Friend. She deserves it. Steve and Barb are a package deal and she's like how did this absolute badass get with this dude who is kinda like a cat if the cat was raised by excitable dogs.

Ahhh for the Steve/billy fight idk...like that's such an important moment for his relationship with the kids...also it's funny because his presence could easily be explained by just. bending the truth. he's there because he lives close and is Nancy's boyfriend, and will had to go to the hospital while they were all hanging out, so unfortunately for mike his older sister's boyfirend was called to make sure they didn't freak out or burn the house down. At first glace it's suspicious but then after two seconds of thought it makes sense haha.

Maybe Barb goes out first to talk to Billy because they know seeing Steve will just rile him up (Billy's been looking for a fight with Steve since he came to town) and she tries to tell him that, yep. everything is fine. don't mind the broken window! She'll drive Max home nice and safe but the kids wanted to stay together to find out if Will was okay. And Billy is like oh...you mean those kids hanging around my sister? that Sinclair kid I told her not to hang around? and the kids still get spotted in the window, Billy pushes Barb down, and Steve steps between the door and the kids.

Billy sneers at him and spots Lucas and he still tells Max he breaks things and dives for Lucas, but Steve catches him and hauls him away from the kids. They still fight, but barb is there. But like. Ending a fistfight means putting yourself inbetween it or hauling someone off, and that's hard to do. But maybe they separate, and maybe it ends sooner, maybe Steve isn't quite as badly concussed, and Max still has his nailbat and swings it and Billy, telling him not to mess with her friends anymore, and Billy glares at all of them, but drives away. Steve puts a hand on Max's shoulder and she does not cry. Barb makes sure the other kids are okay, looks over Lucas who might be shaking a bit and hauls him into a hug. They get some bandaids for Steve's face (Max and Lucas are very serious about tending his wounds.) and all trudge through the woods a little ways to Steve's car to head for the tunnels.

("Barbie, I do not think this is a good idea. They're kids!" "yeah, I know. But they're going to do it anyways, so may as well make sure they don't die via stealing your car or evil Hawkins goo." "God, I hate this stupid town's evil twin." "It'll be over soon, just tell me when to turn, Sunshine.")

[tamelee]

Hiiii 🥰 If yin HAD to choose some couples for the Next Gen which one would you choose? Personally I think Shikatema was a okay, but I don’t have any ideas for the others

Hi!~💕 Oh uhm-

No one really, I'd be happy to eradicate it all.

Obviously Naruto and Sasuke should've figured their shit out. Both internally and externally and then say; take it or leave it' to the entire village and system. You either going to get two gay-men leading the village and a new system because their bond was the entire answer against war or nothing at all and then just... die ig while Naruto sleeps his years away and Sasuke is stuck in a damn tree 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Otherwise.... (aka, 'Boruto' meetings be like;) Shitpost (don't take me seriously);

Naruto and Gaara although it probably won't last long. Naruto'd probably settle for some black-haired girl and make her cut her hair so it reminds him of Sasuke if he squints really hard and doesn't think about it and covers his ears, oh wait-

Charasuke and Dark Naruto, fem version. Menma and Zetsu. Since non of it is Canon anyway, Sasuke and his pet lizard from the filler story. They seemed to have an 'okay' connection, yeah? Well, ShikaTema is fine, it's understandable and predicted. I don't even know who Kiba, Shino, Lee or Choji are with lmao. I can look it up, but... I really don't even remember :') I think one of them is with the Kumo girl, right? Sai and Kumo girl would've been better though. They can argue about loyalty and stuff. Wouldn't she kinda think it was hot how he stopped her fist from plunging into Naruto's 'refusing to talk about Sasuke's face?' That's the extend of their development, but it's 'Boruto', the bar is low here. Or.. if we ignore the homophobia for a second, Sai and Gaara. I mean whatever. Size matters obviously to Sai and Gaara had huge bde before his questionable haircut (no I don't think him becoming Kazekage made him weak) and I also don't think Gaara's lack of expressive emotion currently would be too overwhelming for someone that doesn't understand them much. Not a lot of energy in that relationship though but Gaara is very beautiful to draw let's be honest but the lack of eyebrow does make it challenging. Or Sai and Deidara. A bit difficult because one isn't there, but still, just throwing it out there. Or even Kankuro would be good. Gosh, Sai has so many options... and then he ended up with someone he thought was ugly ;-; (Ino is very beautiful though so he's wrong, but still.) Idk, I think Kiba should've married a cat-girl or the blonde one from Kumo. Lee should be with someone that appreciates effort especially now that his effort is proven absolutely worthless -.- and is seen as a loser again which destroyed the poor guy. Well, I wouldn't have minded Tenten, but... GaaLee 👌👀? Aren't they both single fathers? Or? Idk. Maybe Sai Gaara and Lee together, why not. Throw the Shi guy from Kumo in there also, he kinda looks like blonde Sai. Even Naruto thought he was handsome as he used him for inspiration for his sexy reversed harem Jutsu.  Actually, Tenten and Kotetsu would've been a good surprise. It makes no sense Canon-wise and I don't think it even works age-wise, but I approve otherwise and they're both weaponized. I rhyme and reason. Ino and Suigetsu. Okay, hear me out. He can water all her plants. That's all, that's it. Sakura and Kankuro? I mean, by 'Boruto's low standards, they could've made it work and they'd even have history. And fine, even Sasori could've been interesting a little. Or that girl from the Sound from the beginning. Or the guy. Or Kimimaro. Or Kabuto. We're not too difficult here, pick one, but I guess some are dead though. Everyone but Sasuke ffs. Obviously Neji should've lived. Well I'm okay with Tenten or even Lee, but it doesn't make too much sense to me. Actually, let's ship him with Haku for no other reason than them looking good together. Or Neji and Juugo, maybe Juugo'd be able to set the bird free iykwim. I'd say Hinata and her beloved 'Oro-chan'. (Yes she called him that in some novel.) Both creepy as hell. Except one of them is somewhat likable and it ain't Hinata. But age-wise that doesn't work. Or, maybe someone can make her a Mecha Naruto, that's a bit more appropriate. Not much, but still. I'm sure she has the money and I don't think she really minds because she knows Naruto as much as she'd know a robot version of him. I see no difference there. OR, Kankuro's puppet. That way she can always walk next to the one she 'loves' as it follows her anyway with some basic puppet training and have the sentimental wood around for comfort when she reminisces about the time she thought Naruto wasn't gay. No need to be shy either as it doesn't say much. Then Naruto can visit tree-Sasuke in peace without a creepy face glancing up at him from behind it only to be ignored anyway. 

Or maybe a lousy Daimyo because we can't have any less than a Hero or royalty for the princess, of course. CHOJI ACTUALLY should've married the daughter from the ramen stand. Idk her age though.. Or the owner of the BBQ restaurant? If he didn't already. Or, it would've been good if there was a younger version of Tsunade, I think they'd get along. Akamaru and one of Kakashi's dogs- sorry, Ninken. I think Pakkun is too old maybe. Idk what he's into. Maybe Punpun? Am I missing anyone? Oh lmao, Shino ;-; He would've been good with Fu, Jinchuriki of the 7-tails, the flying bug thing. Guess that's not possible either, but we can't have them single and focussing on the world either so... we gotta create imaginary filler babies somehow. Karin with that other guy who emphasized with her during her confession-thing. I mean, what other reason do you need. That's true love right there.  Kakashi and Shizune? Kakashi and Iruka? Kakashi and Gai? Kakashi and Genma? Kakashi and Obit- oh no. Kakashi and secret-ANBU waifu? Kakashi and actress of the movie adaptation of his ero-novel? Kakashi living his best aro life?

I mean, we could always create a card game if you will and match whatever comes up first. There'd be no difference really.

[chainofclovers]

A fandom thing that brings me great discomfort is the assumption that "all" queer fans are naturally going to flock around a single ship, and if you don't see it happening you're definitely straight and possibly homophobic. Those are some wild things to assume!

(I'll note a bit of added context here: I don't participate in Twitter fandom, so Discord and Tumblr are my main exposures to character and ship discourse, and AO3 and Livejournal and fansites are the current and past places I've consumed fic. When I'm into a show, I tend to read widely in the main tags even if I usually gravitate towards one or more favorite ships.)

In my current fandom, my inclinations are mostly centered around a m/f ship as well as multi-shipping a variety of monogamous and poly ships (many/most of which are queer). This is a bit of a departure from most of my previous fandom experiences, which have been centered around very subtextual f/f ships in fandom spaces where the fic-writing and discourse is nearly entirely centered around femslash. My corner of this current fandom includes tons of queer fans (of which I am one), as well as plenty of fans who don't identify as queer. In all the fandom spaces I'm in and in all the pairings (and gen fic) I enjoy from this show, there tends to be a lot of nuanced exploration of gender and sexuality, including explorations of queerness, including within transformative works about that popular m/f ship.

Over the last few weeks, I've watched the ship wars in my fandom, which used to be largely focused around that m/f ship I happen to love, kinda shift into what I think is a bit of an emerging-from-within defensive campaign for a popular m/m ship.

(Some more context: I have zero interest in engaging in ship wars. I believe all ships with adult characters are valid ships. I am invested in what will happen in the canon of this show, but "endgame" has never been the driver for my participation in any fandom, and I'd be shocked if I don't continue to create transformative works about my favorite ships for months and years to come regardless of what happens with the show. I personally don't adore the popular m/m ship, although I definitely see the chemistry and for most of the time this show has existed, I've appreciated the enthusiasm for the characters and the ship even if it's not my cup of tea. I enjoy both characters and their canonical relationship, and completely understand why the romantic ship is very popular.)

I find it genuinely kind of funny and amusing that for ship war participants fighting for basically any ship within this fandom, the arguments they experience from antis are incredibly similar--for character x and character y to get together, or for character x and character z to get together, it would be cliche, it would be tired, it would be unnecessary, we already have plenty of rep like that, or there's no way these characters could make sense as rep like that, there's nothing in the text that supports this ship, etc.

What feels newer is this insinuation that to opt out of shipping a particular thing means you are unable to see it. If you just don't prefer it or don't predict that it will happen in canon, that must mean that you believe the people who do see it happening are delusional, and therefore you are the enemy.

And attendant with that viewpoint is this idea that there are only two options in media: "the" queer ship will go canon, or the entire show is a big queerbaity setup. Does queerbaiting exist? Yes! Is it happening right now? No! Queerbaiting is, essentially, a broken promise from creator to fan.

The reason all this bums me out try as I might to ignore it and continue having a grand time is multifold: it's a gender thing and a rarepair thing and a thing about ship-as-campaign that saps the fun and joy out of (sub)text and text and the beautiful mystery of watching a story unfold faster than anything.

The gender thing: the show I'm talking about has a character who identifies herself as bisexual in the first season. Do I want more about that story? Do I think that story could and should take up more space? Yes! But is it there? Absolutely. And it's been disheartening to see people either ignore her completely or chalk this part of the story up to "lame jokes" as if humor and flirtation are less-than or inauthentic ways to engage with one's sexuality. It's disheartening to hear people talk about how they hope this show will have its first queer representation when there's been a queer woman on the show the whole time.

The rarepair thing: fic writers, presumably of every orientation under the sun, have been creating very queer fic about a multitude of characters on this show (including, notably, characters who are women) this whole time. There are queer pairings with twenty or fifteen or even three, two, or one stories in their tag. And it feels like lately all these pockets of fandom, regardless of what we've been writing, are getting lumped into this generic "straight" soup of people who lack the vision for the thing that's now "the" thing. But the things that made me want to write queer fic (and, yes, m/f fic) about all these characters, including one of the characters who is part of the popular m/m fic, are things I picked up in the source material, too.

The ship-as-campaign thing: it's exhausting. And it takes something that's pretty inherently queer--the communal act of engaging with a text and transforming it in a million beautiful (or depraved, or silly, or gross, or genre-defying) ways--and splinters it into factions. And assumes stupidity (or outright bigotry) on the part of those who don't see it the exact same way you do. Of course there's bigotry in this fandom, and among casual viewers. It's shit. So why invent more of it that isn't there when we could all focus on eradicating what is there? I don't think there's anything wrong with hoping fervently that you get to see the love story you want to see play out onscreen. That's absolutely how I feel. It's the way this stuff gets treated like a political platform that needs to do numbers to win...that's what bothers me, regardless of which ship it's about.

This has gone on way too long and I very easily might end up regretting making this post, which is very obviously about the thing it is about. If you reblog it, do NOT use it to campaign for any ships or belittle anyone for enjoying the ships they enjoy. PLEASE. Every single one of the ships is great and interesting and worthy of being explored by fandom, and you're selling fandom and community and queer culture short if you assume all the queers have to go in one room and all the straights have to go in another. We can be excited about the things we're excited about without making those hurtful assumptions and making ourselves miserable over a thing that is actually extremely cool.

[arbitrarygreay]

Hmm I feel like that was a missed opportunity by the showrunners personally. Adler and her biddies kinda fascinate me. Imagine have 7 people in your head for decades (albeit different biddies rotating), losing them all violently, dying, then getting resurrected and suddenly for the first time in hundreds of years having privacy.

Recently I’ve been trying to look through the show to see if canonically Adler actually mentally communicates with them and they’re not just emphatically mirroring her emotions through the bond.

Love your theory on Adlers pre biddy life extension plans. The timeline of MFS often makes little sense to me.

I have no issues with fandom taking a more passionate interpretation of the Bond. Just that the showrunners, who are themselves living a life of rotating through close artistic partners through different productions, did not break any contract with the audience with the more detached approach they took in the show.

As for what we do actually see of the Biddy Bond in the show, here's some observations!

From 2x1: [Could you hear her thoughts?] Sort of? Surface stuff. Like, directives, I could hear loud and clear. Not so much memories.

This doesn't tell us if the Biddies are obliged/compelled to follow said directives. However, the next two points indicate that something about the Working does facilitate them to coordinate with each other more easily than they would otherwise.

We see the Biddies reacting in tandem to express Alder's disapproval at people.

Tactically, we see that Alder uses the Biddies to pull off complex workings that require many voices to layer waves in the right sync. (Compare to how Raelle's post-Mycelium voice is described: "The sound you made is composed of thousands of layered voices, one on top of the other. I've never heard anything so complex before.") But that's not impossible for other groups to emulate, like Anacostia, Sterling, and Gregorio doing the Rings of Saturn storm together in 3x10 (chosen because there's a fast tuning and wind-up phase, something the Biddies' sync can bypass/make even faster).

The only case where we see involuntary sharing is pain/injury. Although, given that Alder takes on all of the years back when a Biddy dies (not re-distributing to other Biddies), I think there is an extent to which she can control, that, too. So e.g. she can choose not to share the scourge scratch Tally inflicted on her in 2x9 with the Biddies.

In 1x3, they express their own opinions on Beltane and their choice to serve. In 2x1, Tally in her Biddy state asks Alder if she's done something wrong (a feeling Tally repeats to Abigail later in the episode), indicating that she couldn't predict that Alder would offer her the chance to de-Biddy, or read any thoughts/emotions on if Alder was doing it because Tally was not up to snuff.

The description a Marshal Biddy gives from 3x7: "He's been hard to reach lately. Very secretive. But our link spans the length of the Cession. Unless he's outside our borders, I should be able to locate him." This disproves the fanon that Alder can't be far away from the Biddies. It also shows that Alder can choose to project nothing, having privacy for herself if she wants, though the Biddies can still get a sense of her location.

So, my guess is that the level of autonomy a Biddy has at any given time is dependent on Alder's will, but even when obeying her directives, they don't get true insight into why she is making those commands, unless Alder chooses to project those thoughts. If we go back to Tally's description of the bond as a roadtrip with no privacy, it's not like you automatically know everything about the people you're in the car with (and Alder is driving the car, obviously).

Obligatory:

[faksyan]

ocelot?

Ask game

When I saw that you asked about Ocelot. barking biting this guy occupies such a big portion of my thoughts.

First impression

If we're talking VERY first the gay guy Venom splashes in the rain with. kinda awesome that he does that. (I saw the model swap of the Quiet cutscene with no context and then thought it's the original for years).

If it's about the proper introduction to the series I started with mgs3 and lost my shit at the meow. I do that now too. Together with the hand gesture and the 'I've been waiting for this' he does at the waterfall. He's a dipshit for how he treated Eva even if it was for show. I didn't see him being a triple agent coming and thought that was cool.

Impression now

I have. so many thoughts about Revolver Adam Adamska (not a real name) Shalashaska Ocelot. fuck this guy. I hate him. he makes me so sad I want to cry. want to punch him in the face. make him a nice cup of tea and let him sleep. feed him to the bears.

He was raised to be a weapon, and yet he is a creature of emotion and love that exists hand in hand with violence. He was never meant to be a person but all that he cares about are people's real names and his comrades (that aren't actually that, he's a triple agent) that Volgin kills, and animal and plants facts. He loves westerns and made them his whole personality for decades and decades. He talked to guy once and then almost burned the world down for him. A lot of times.

I find it so interesting that in v he says he plays up the idea of himself being a sadist and enjoying torture to some extent. I think the Huey interrogations show a lot of how he actually likes doing his work, which has an accent on efficiency and not blood and guts. It's simultaneously cruel and merciful, and it saves time and lives that he can use for something else. I could go on and on about this guy honestly, there are so many fascinating things about him.

Favorite moment

What isn't honestly. The meow. The revolver spin. He tried to poke Snake in his missing fucking eye?? The way he dresses in mgs1&2. also

"It doesn’t feel right to shoot an unarmed man…but I’ll get over it." Slay.

Idea for a story

Let's see I have so many of those. The idea of Ocelot inheriting some of Sorrow's powers is really fun, I was thinking about writing about him using it for a mission with Kaz where they have to dig a dead guy up and interrogate him to get some info.

Unpopular opinion

His feelings towards bb have never been reciprocated, he has never tried to act on them, and is fine with that. him in v is the closest we ever get to seeing him being his genuine self. There is not enough information about how his hypnosis works but that's an interpretation of it that I really like. Also people seem to be really hung up on the fact that he is ""canonically"" gay when he isn't canonically anything. so I guess my unpopular opinion is not necessarily viewing him as specifically gay idk.

Favorite relationship

sigh. ocelhira. horrible terrible predictable I know. I have a big ass wall of text about them in my notes I need to finish. even the ship stuff aside, the things they were hypothetically up to during the nine year coma must have been insane. and after that? What about FOXHOUND? Or Kaz's death? So much could've happened during all of it aghhh. Even during events of v, we get so little of them together in it. Also Ocelot is a loser and has no other friends lol look at that guy. Him and Eva before mgs4 are such a cool duo though, a shame we didn't get to see any of their dynamic in that time period, or during the Patriots.

Favorite headcanon

He's on aroace spectrum. also stupidly in love with kaz miller and the reasoning for why and what and how is entirely in my head and hopefully in text at some point, it makes sense I promise. I just like when characters are in love even though I am so bad at understanding what that entails but so is he so that's fine. Their dynamic is really interesting to me.

[threephantomrey]

my thoughts on the Daphne & Velma movie as im rewatching it for the first time in 5 years:

• do NOT remember that opening at all. it surprised me tbh

• a lot of the technology in the school is kinda cool. but also i feel like it’d be a nightmare in an actual high school.

• loving Daphne & Velma being internet best friends🥺

• “#job goals” please stop.

• also liked Daphne’s hairstyle that she was wearing on her first day. it was cute imo

• COMPLETELY forgot who Tobias Bloom was. kept hearing his name throughout the movie and i had no idea who they were talking about until he showed up. anyways i hate him he gives me bad vibes

• “friendship detected” i can’t😭😭😭

• shame stickers… those are so stupid i would throw those out immediately if i went to that school and was given those

• i think some of Daphne’s outfits were cute in this movie. i especially liked the purple jacket she was wearing on her first day. didn’t really like Velma’s outfit or her bangs but im not gonna complain cause it wasn’t distracting

• also i think this movie takes place in it’s own universe. like it’s just canon to itself. not because i don’t like it i’m just pretty sure that it’s not in the same universe as any other media that has Scooby characters. and i think that’s fine.

• love that their eyes appear in the dark just like a cartoon.

• Tobias being a hologram is kinda genius.

• Carol being the villain makes sense. a little predictable imo but alright.

• “i would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids” YESSSSS!!!!!

• “technology has kind of enslaved our minds” no it was just Carol that was using tech for evil at your school. it doesn’t mean technology is bad now but ok

• “monsters aren’t real” “we’ll see about that” love that ending

anyways i still like it after my rewatch. it’s still not my favorite but i don’t think it’s bad. i could see why someone wouldn’t like it though. but i had some fun with it overall.

[frutigeraerosims]

played around in CAS today, made a redesign of Rin from the game Catherine.

(spoilers for that game, i'm gonna ramble about it)

the game catherine holds a special place in my heart, i really like it, though i haven't played it in years. i actually had a dream recently that they made a third installment (or second installment depending on how you view catherine: full body) and it was awesome. i wish my dream was real. i think i'm gonna replay the game soon, since i miss it, but playing it will probably stir up mixed feelings.

catherine: full body and i have a complicated relationship. when i played it i had a blast, but i also think it negates the unique themes and atmosphere of the original. likewise, i have conflicting feelings on rin. on one hand, i love him, and i eagerly did his route, but also, he's a poorly written character in my opinion.

anyway, redesign. why did i change rin's design? well, his original design is one of the worst things about him. he sticks out like a sore thumb in the game, he looks way too short and girly (yes i know that's the point but it's dumb), and i hate it. his concept art was better though still not perfect. not that my redesign is perfect, obviously, but it's an improvement according to my personal tastes.

for his redesign, i had one name in my mind, and that name is Song Liling. the character from the cronenberg film M. Butterfly. spoilers for that, btw. anyway, song liling, in my mind, is the perfect epitome of what they were going for with rin, in terms of that plotline. therefore, inspired by liling, i leaned into making rin look more elegant and mature, while retaining his youthfulness and colorfulness. i think this way, he looks less out of place. i also made an effort to keep rin's androgyny, but more... actual androgyny instead of what we got in the game.

i know the outfit is a far cry from rin's original aesthetic, but i honestly had no idea what to do with the kawaii look. it's nice, and i wanted to keep it, i just had no inspiration. i was hoping to do something decora-like, similar to his concept art, but it just didn't work, so i went with the more elegant look instead. well, i like it, at least.

i also wish rin's personality was just a touch different. he's great, but kinda moe for catherine, i think? i think he'd be better if his "cuteness" was turned down a bit in favor of him being more of vincent's friend, like actual friend, if that makes sense? atlus was going for friends to lovers, i think, but rin being so "helpless" and "adorable" kinda made him more of this stereotypical perfect love interest. if he was genuinely someone vincent became friends with through being neighbors and hanging out at the bar, rather than vincent liking rin because he's just so perfect, i think rin would be better, and the romance would be better. rin can definitely stay sweet and gentle, i think the alternative to Cat and Kat being a gentle person is perfect, but i wish rin was less childish and cutesy.

i don't know if any of that made sense, but it makes sense in my head.

lastly, "lore redesign". simply: rin is some kind of heavenly being, and i mean an actual heavenly being, not what they did in the game. he's a heavenly being whose mission was to stop catherine and the torture of the men. iirc that's the canon lore already, but i hate the space stuff, i'm sorry. the whole "catherine takes place on a space colony" thing was cute and fun when it was just an easter egg, but making catherine into a sci-fi game is horrible. just horrible to me. i can't stand it. so yeah, rin is an angel. it may be obvious and predictable but it just makes sense and makes the game flow better. catherine is a demon, katherine is a human, and rin is an angel. there. no aliens.

is that everything? yeah, that's my redesign of rin. i know the overlap of sims and catherine fans must be very small, so probably no one will like this, but i like it, and that's enough for me.

my game was crashing today and it was horrible. i think the cause was the venue change mod but i'm not sure. but regardless i didn't need the venue change mod anymore so taking it out was fine. hopefully my game is fine. i'm getting bored with sims 4 now though. my sim climbed the mountain so now it just feels blah. i have other goals of course but with that out of the way i'm just bored. i'm thinking i might boot up the sims 2 soon. i still don't really feel like going back to 3 yet, though i know i will in time. i go through phases with the sims, sometimes its 4, then 3, then 2. not necessarily in that order.

[raayllum]

Hi Rayllum. Noni again

Hope all is well.

One criticism that I constantly see over and over again is how S4 completely destroyed Rayla's character. Saying that the writers did completely ruin and destroyed Rayla's character for no reason at all. That they did such a disservice to her, why didn't they not give her any growth at all in S4. I've been seeing it on both reddit and YouTube. Why did the writers make her unlikable, how TTM was completely unnecessary. How Runaan and Ethari don't seem to love Rayla at all in seasons 1-3, among others things. Like such unnecessary harsh and cruel criticism towards the writers about how they ruined Rayla's character.

Which I don't agree with to an extent. Even though I had my issues with how they handled Rayla in S4, I feel that the writers foreshadowed things in S4 that might have happened to her, what she possibly went through during those two years as well as having some strong levels of importance and growth for her character development going forward. I know you've mentioned this before about those who don't pay attention or see what's going on with Rayla. It just bothers and upsets me that some people really don't truly understand Rayla's character at all or don't even see some of her changes in S4.

Hope you don't mind this. I just want to see S5 so badly because I have a feeling this is where Rayla's character arc is going to really shine and prosper going forward and in the seasons to come. I can't wait to see it. S5 is about to unleash the tides, and I'm so here for it.

Much love, fam. Keep being awesome ❤️

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I've said before I definitely would've appreciated more insight into Rayla's time away in S4, but that's more of a "I hope the show addresses this eventually" thing than "this is a fault of this specific season" tbh.

To me, the biggest thing that's indicative of 1) how well people are grasping her characterization and 2) how well people are able to predict her plot arcs comes down to one thing, which is really whether TTM surprised them or not.

Because like, did I see Rayla walking away coming? No, I didn't. But did I know this specific issue of "Rayla is too self sacrificial and prone to trying to do things alone" was going to be the biggest relationship hurdle her and Callum will have to jump? Yeah, I did, ever since 2x07 happened, and then I just waited for her tendencies to be brought up again in a negative light for like, 3+ years afterwards. Because you don't have a character say shit like "Don't you worry about my hand, the egg is all that matters now" and "It doesn't matter what happens to me" and especially "But if I die, I'll just be paying the price they should have paid a long time ago" and have it go nowhere. Previously, I thought Rayllum would have a smaller arc and a big blow out fight, but in retrospect a more dramatic route like this makes sense

A lot of meta and predictions is a guessing game, for sure, but while we might not always (or even often) assemble the puzzle pieces in the right manner, I think being able to identify the puzzle pieces at all is 1) a skill and 2) kinda important. Reviews aren't necessarily 'analysis' per se, and people are allowed to have opinions / feel however they want of course, but like - idk, not all critique is either made in good faith and/or grounded in canon nevermind analysis, y'know?