#something something two sides of the same coin

[pepurika]

what inspired you to tell the story of a character like jamis? was he one of the first characters you came up with, and was his character role/creation really tied to remy from the start? you've done a really wonderful job at showing his growth/arc so far, and it seems like jamis and remy grow really in tandem with each other, so I was wondering how you came up with them and their struggles (for example, if you've just always been drawn to those character archetypes or if someone you know/a character you like inspired you) sorry for the long question!! i really love tigers <3 you're such a good storyteller!!!

Jamis and Remy were very tied together from the start! I wrote this whole story with the thought that Ludo/luck and jamis/remy will be sort of different sides of the same coin- jamis and remys arc is... softer? to me, more about the social structures and relationship drama- while Ludo and luck are more explosive and adventurous, creepy and wild.

balancing between the two storylines has helped me so much staying interested in drawing this story for years, every now and then when I grew tired of either one I could always switch to the other. highly recommended trick for other webcomic makers with adhd lmao!!

anyway about jamis; I needed one character that was a counter balance for all the secrecy and plotting in remys life- he lives in the world of traders where he has to navigate a sea of lies and schemes, and jamis is the complete opposite of that world- even to a fault maybe! he always speaks his mind, and he is true to his feelings (even if he might not understand them himself...) summa summarum, I wanted to make a character that's easy to love and easy to forgive, and even if he makes a ton of mistakes, they don't come from a malicious place.

and about remys and jamis love story, I just really wanted to write something that felt kind of doomed from the start (from remys pov at least haha), but then slowly... there builds up a chance, that even if you live in this world where you have to hide your love, there is a possibility for a happy ending. and I wanted it to build up slowly until- well, you'll just have to wait until the end to see what I have planned!!

also, to me remy and Ludo are the duo-main characters of this story, Ludo on the front as the one who makes things happen, and jamis and luck are the supporting characters for their stories. so everything rotates around Ludo and remy!

[nohoperadio]

I like Jane Austen a lot. I'm gonna attempt to say a few things about why:

It's very refreshing to read good fiction that takes seriously the importance of doing good by other people, and takes it seriously on lots of different scales: like there's big interpersonal conflict and moral dilemmas and stuff, but there's also like, spending an hour talking to your dad about cheerful things because you know he's likely to sit stewing in anxiety over something if you don't, even though you're kind of depressed at the moment and would rather be alone with your thoughts. That's a situation too!

Seriously it feels like not long after Austen fiction writers collectively agreed that all the interesting material was in the parts of the human mind that are normally hidden or repressed, or in people trying to forge some individual authentic path that's in conflict with the world or something, idk, maybe it's good that the thing I'm gesturing at happened. But I'm very glad we have at least one great novelist whose characters are primarily concerned with matters like "how can I best be a good friend to the people I care about?" and similarly-shaped questions.

I think part of this is just that like, there is no part of her that believes goodness is boring, she fundamentally takes for granted that people who are trying to be good are more interesting and complex and deep than people who aren't, and it's very hard not to agree with this when you're reading her.

Something about the very particular tone of her comedy is connected to all this, she's mocking, near-scathing about all her characters including the ones she likes, but it's from a place of like... the most important thing in life is to hold your principles sacred, but also it's a guarantee that you and the people around you will fall short of those principles many many times, but also the correct attitude to take towards these human limitations is laughter instead of despair, but also the most important thing in life is to hold your principles sacred. She really makes it feel like "people are ridiculous" and "people are important" are two sides of the same coin, idk this is more abstract than I want it to be, but something like that is the vibe.

It's frustratingly difficult to say anything general about her fiction that doesn't make it sound boring... anyway I love her is the point.

[sheerfreesia007]

Boardgame Confessions

Pairing: Jeongin x Reader

Word count: 1,077

Content warnings: Fluff

Summary: Jeongin has known since he met you that you’re his partner in crime and that he was in love with you. But what happens when over a friendly board game he decides to confess to you?

The room is in utter chaos and Jeongin grins wickedly as he feels his stomach begin to flutter with delight at the scene. The Monopoly board game is laid out on the coffee table with each one of the guys sitting around it all arguing about who had the most property on the board and who wasn’t playing by the rules while you sit quietly behind him on the couch with each of your legs caging him gently. He loudly scoffs at Jisung who adamantly refuses to pay up the fee of landing on one of his properties as the older man crosses his arms over his chest while pouting.

“Absolutely not!” Jisung snaps at him while Jeongin rolls his head back against your thigh before shooting a glare at the older man. The warmth of your thigh against the back of his head makes him feel relaxed even as he feels the soft flesh tense underneath his head. He’s been noticing for the past few months that you’ve been responding differently to any of his actions, it had started the night that he had brought you as his plus one to an award ceremony. You had been nervous leading up to the evening because of all the pomp and prestige of the event, but the night of the event when he had walked out in his fitted designer suit it was almost as if you had lost all thought of your nerves and just stared at him as if you were seeing him for the first time. If he had to admit it the way you had looked at him made him feel sexy and dangerous all at the same time, it was addicting. So that was how he found himself growing bolder with his actions around you and reveling in the way you responded.

Jeongin knew he was in love with you, had been the first time he met you through Chan. You had come off as sweet and unassuming at first but there was a sparkle in your eye that had caught his attention and an understanding dwelled inside him as he saw your subtle smirks at things the boys did around you. You were just as much an agent of chaos as he was, you were kindred spirits and lived to upend the boys day to day going ons. 

Take now for instance, you and Jeongin were the only two with the most bought properties in the game causing a lot of turmoil and grief for the others as they tried to play the game. You were very quiet and strategic in your gameplay while Jeongin was loud and boisterous not fearing to brag ot the boys as he bought yet another property. This was why you two worked so well together, you were two sides of the same coin with only slight differences in mannerisms. Jeongin loved it and he loved you, which is why he enjoyed feeling your body tense behind him as he shifted his head back against your plush thigh.

“You’re a sore loser.” Jeongin snips out just as you card your fingers through his hair and he grunts softly at the feeling before turning and nipping at the flesh on your thigh in appreciation. Your leg jolts at his action and he chuckles lowly at the knowledge that you’re affected by him. You tug at his hair slightly in retaliation and he tilts his head back to stare up at you as he groans quietly watching curiously as your eyes widen slightly and your thigh tenses underneath his head. A slow smirk starts to form on his face then and you look down at him with a raised eyebrow in question, you knew him too well not to expect something from him at this point and he grinned wickedly up at you from his relaxed position. “Join forces with me?” he asks suddenly and Jisung cries out in dismay while you quietly stare at Jeongin before a slow smirk forms on your face causing his stomach to heat with desire.

“You can’t that’s cheating!” wails Jisung but the two of you both ignore his loud cries and the other’s agreeing comments as you stare at each other. Jeongin widens his eyes slightly and pouts his bottom lip out watching avidly as your pupils dilate for a moment before your smirk broadens on your face and your own eyes sparkle deviously at him.

“What’s the magic word?” you ask haughtily and Jeongin’s answering grin causes his eyes to close nearly all the way as excitement and desire builds within his body.

“I love you.” he responds and instantly the room silences before chaos once more erupts around the two of you. Chan and Changbin are jumping to their feet shouting and cheering in joyful bursts of happiness, Minho is smirking over at the unaware maknae like a proud parent, Hyunjin and Felix are falling into each other kicking their feet as the squeal and giggle, Seungmin and Jisung are staring at the maknae with disgust written on their faces as Seungmin gags loudly. But none of that registers for either one of you as you both still stare at each other in a silent staredown. Jeongin can see the moment it all falls into place for you and he practically beams from the inside out as he watches you slowly lean forward towards him.

Your hair falls like a curtain around him as your lips press gently onto his in an upside down kiss to compete against the Spiderman one from the movie. The boys all begin to cheer and holler loudly at your action but Jeongin ignores them as he leans up to reciprocate the kiss with you letting all his love and affection speak for himself through his lips. When you both pull away to breathe you’re both panting for air and Jeongin can feel his heart trying to pound out of his chest.

“I love you more.” you whisper against his mouth before leaning past him to place one of your tiny colored houses onto his property and vice versa with his tiny colored house. Suddenly the boys all groan loudly and Changbin throws up his hands yelling that he’s not playing anymore since the two business tycoons have joined forces causing you to laugh with delight. Jeongin smirks to himself before pulling down for another upside kiss as he hears Seungmin gag loudly once again.

SKZ Taglist: @intartaruginha, @kayleefriedchicken

[amemenojaku]

Akyuu/Reimu for the ship ask, please

hi I um. turned this into akyuurei manifesto. sorry

How differently do they think of each other now compared to when they first met?

I just reread Memorizable Gensokyo and some of the FS chapters where they interact (+the bit at the end of SoPM) back-to-back and it feels like they’ve come to really respect each other. When they first met properly in MG Akyuu tried so hard to impress Reimu, who looked amused by Akyuu’s work but didn’t seem to take her very seriously… I suppose that’s partly because they were younger then. I like that small panel in MG where Reimu introduces herself and Akyuu’s like “:O!!!”… By the time we see them together again in FS, they talk as equals. Reimu acknowledges Akyuu’s authority (she’s still super blunt about the chronicles but that’s Reimu for you lol), and Akyuu trusts Reimu to get the work done when it’s needed. They know they can rely on each other. I’d even go as far as to say Reimu treats Akyuu with a bit more softness than she does a lot of characters… She worries about Akyuu walking all the way up to the shrine in a latter FS chapter, she doesn’t chastise Akyuu for organizing the symposium in SoPM despite how pissed she is at the other participants (although I do think she was still hurt… more on that below), etc. As they are now they see each other as individuals more than roles I think, which is an important part of their dynamic (and also of Reimu pairings in general imo).

What do their friends/family think of their relationship?

They’d be the type to go in circles for a while before committing to something. Take their time with it. Past a certain point Marisa and Kosuzu start scheming to get them together (much to the concerned parties’ annoyance). When it finally happens they’d be teasing but supportive. I think the relationship would be kept secret for a time… Some people still manage to sniff it out though, Yukari for example; she’d be satisfied with it. Two people she has a weird close situationship with, together? That works. There might be some gossip about them… But if/when they make it official to everyone, I honestly think they’d be blessed by most of the village – it’s the Hakurei shrine maiden and the head of the Hieda clan after all! Might break a few nameless village women’s hearts though…

How do their personalities/skills complement or contrast with each other?

They have a ton of parallels (human but not quite; role directly tied to the survival of the world they live in; bridge between humans and youkai, etc) but also a few differences both symbolically (Akyuu doesn’t fly (she’s grounded to (a relative) reality), Reimu is literally the power to fly (transcends reality); Reimu is the “eternal shrine maiden”, Akyuu doesn’t live past 30 (but even that can be turned into a parallel with Akyuu’s reincarnations*), etc) and in terms of personality (Akyuu being calmer in general and displaying better social skills). Imo it’s one of the relationships with the most interesting balance between contrast and similarities… They’re the same girl but they’re also on two different sides of the same coin and the pining that comes out of it is SO good.

*if you look too hard into this like I do you’ll see the child of Miare’s reincarnation gimmick as a parallel to how it’s implied that the past Hakurei shrine maidens were replaced often (died quickly?)

What is their favorite aspect of each other?

In canon, I’d say it’s how reliable they find each other. They’ve worked together/consulted one another a few times in FS for matters related to the human village, and despite some differences in opinion they’re on the same wavelength on a lot of issues. Now, with my yuri goggles on…. I think it’d be really sweet if they could make each other feel normal. If their similarities brought them together on a level different from their other friendships, where they can understand the weight of each other’s role and that whole “human but not quite” thing they share, and be able to completely treat each other as ordinary. I really really like it when a character with a lot of obligations gets to just be themselves, and I also love it when two characters who’re both special or generally “apart” from everyone else grow close thanks to that, so I’m just mashing things I enjoy lol

Do either of them have pet peeves about each other?

I like to think Akyuu has a healthy lifestyle and her days go like clockwork (except when she’s close to a writing deadline), so she’d probably find some of the situations Reimu ends up in very frustrating. I think that fits well with the fact that Akyuu doesn’t always realize how high her quality of life is and can sometimes act a bit inconsiderate towards people who aren’t as rich as her. Meanwhile Reimu’s a very honest, very blunt person who struggles with keeping secrets for long (see Forbidden Scrollery’s ending), so she probably wouldn’t like some of the secrets Akyuu keeps at times. But Akyuu’s an important figure to the human villagers and she does take her role as a chronicler seriously, so there must be moments she has to prioritize her obligations over honesty. I think that kind of contrast is very interesting.

How would each reconcile with each other after a fight?

They’re both stubborn… But I see Reimu as the first to try to reconcile most of the time. Her soft spot for Akyuu would take over her natural pride imo. So she makes the first move. Akyuu takes longer, but her apologies are sincere.

Buuut there’s one time I can imagine Reimu completely withdrawing into her shell and refusing to even acknowledge that she’s really upset at Akyuu until confronted about it: SoPM. I won’t ever be able to explain it better than que-de-metal did right here so I recommend reading it!!

What would be their ideal vacation getaway together?

Hot spring resort. Quiet, relaxing and good for Akyuu’s health! And plenty of time for Reimu to laze around and read mystery novels. (I’m projecting… I miss onsens…….)

Think of a new way (AU, different situation, etc.) they could have met for the first time.

I’m honestly a bit upset that Memorizable Gensokyo is when they first met proper, even though there’s no way the Hieda family isn’t regularly in contact with the Hakurei shrine maiden. I think it’d be cute if they met when they were both kids and Reimu was in training with her predecessor and they were both called at the Hieda mansion for something. Extra points if Akyuu was intrigued by Reimu’s natural powers and that’s where her desire to impress her in MG comes from, and if Reimu barely remembers that meeting (like with Alice in PCB).

[bread-wizards]

I wonder if Dorian's views towards the gods could best be summed up as something like, "I wish my family didn't have to die for [their] brighter tomorrow."

[cat-draws-stuff]

Sweet dark mouth, all peoples of the world emerged from your great dark depths. Sweet dark mouth, you shall widen again.

Linocut print of Faulkner.

[any-n-everything]

something about bingqiu/bingyuan

i read mdzs first, followed by svsss, and then tgcf

i like all of them but there was always something that bothered me about svsss and that was the main cp, bingqiu/bingyuan

because, when i read mdzs and tgcf, i could more or less understand why wangxian and hualian were couples. because despite their vastly different personalities, their core values more or less aligned with one another. and i think that's neat and i love them for it.

but bingqiu/bingyuan always confused me because i couldn't make sense of their core values/why were they attracted to each other. i mean. i guess we can take the "shallow reading" route and say that it's because shen yuan has always adored binghe-the-white-lotus-protagonist and luo binghe loved shen yuan because he consistently chose him(?). their relationship is complicated and kind of a mess but like it's theirs so im not gonna bother too much about it.

but maybe because i like over-analysing, i still want to confirm to myself if they have a shared "core value" like the other two mxtx couples.

which leads me to my theory that their core value is their shared sense of self-preservation.

it makes sense to me because, from the moment shen yuan woke up as "scum villain shen qingqiu", he was predominantly motivated by his desire to keep living. many of his actions can be explained by this. which makes shen yuan's decision to NOT push binghe into the abyss very much an act of love, because he was essentially sacrificing what he holds dear (his own life) for his disciple. this was all ruined by the system, of course, and shen yuan was forced to push binghe into the abyss. he then became a grieving widow master.

so shen yuan's following actions were very interesting because he was very much expecting luo binghe to come kill him, but also, he kind of didn't want to die? but luo binghe kind of also has a right to murder his traitorous self? so he concocted the mushroom body plan. this way, binghe can get his closure by murdering his scum master, and shen yuan can continue to live! win-win amirite?

SQH: why are you like this cucumber-bro

and we all know how well that plan went

anyways, i went off on a tangent, BUT BASICALLY. shen yuan has very strong self-preservation instincts, but specifically when luo binghe is out of the picture. around LBH he just has the self-preservation of a lemming.

now binghe is harder to analyse (for me) because the novel is mostly in shen yuan's pov and he's an Unreliable Narrator so i'll be mostly focusing on binghe's life events and actions.

which are basically:

he survived the cold waters of the luo river as a baby

he survived a poor childhood when his adoptive mother didn't

he survived until he reached cang qiong mountain sect

he survived shen qingqiu (version shen jiu) and the bullying of his martial siblings

he survived being pushed down into the abyss

basically, binghe is a survivor. no matter what happens, he has a very strong desire to survive and is, more often than not, willing to pay any cost. the cost he isn't willing to pay, however, is shen yuan.

off the top of my head an example would be how bingge (he-with-no-shen-yuan) took a harem of beauties so he could control xin mo but bingmei (he-with-shen-yuan) decided to just... cripple people's cultivation. they're kind of both equally bad (let us never forget that bingge is a rapist) but it seemed that bingmei did not want to be intimate with anyone because he had shen yuan in his heart. i dunno if this makes sense but what i'm getting at is that binghe was willing to pay other people's lives just so he didn't have to be intimate with anyone except shen yuan.

so there's something poetic about how shen yuan would pay his life for binghe and binghe would pay literally anything else except shen yuan (and i guess the things/people he cares about and are related to him).

and im really not here to discuss morality or anything but looking at bingqiu/bingyuan, i still get the feeling that, if shen yuan hadn't been born with "modern standards" and "modern sensibilities", he would be a little more callous and uncaring of other people's lives. because, at his core, he would prioritise his own life over other people's. like, you know, his husband.

that's not the shen yuan we got tho so oh well

[betterwithbooksthanwithpeople]

look I know The Timeless Children is,, controversial to say the least but the way the Doctor's first instinct when she's trapped is to beg the Master to save her friends in light of all their history together?? when the Master says "I wish it wasn't true, but it is"? and how the Doctor is reeling and one of the memories she clings to is "you and me at the academy together"?? much to think about.

[amelia-friend]

Something, something, Jack Kelly red shirt, blue necktie, Crutchie blue shirt, red necktie.

(Except in the refuge where it’s Crutchie blue bruises, red blood)

[protocolseben]

One day I will find a vettonso fic so vile and full of hatred for each other but at the moment of me existing here I just see them as two separated dads with their own way of raising their “sets” of kids that are about the same but different lmao

[isneezelikeamouse]

Ykw I usually see the wh fandom painting Julie as airheaded while Frank is the one who has to rail in her naïveté or w/e but I don’t think that’s right at all. I think they’re both very smart, but that intellectuality manifests in different ways for them — Frank is more inclined to the practical things while Julie is more inclined to the abstract stuff — and I also think they can both act very obliviously in their own ways (see what’s the deal with airline food joke from Barnaby).

[nonhumen]

they really did make a choice with this frame huh!!!

[darkdragon768]

Me, over the day: "Hehe, silly ninja man who likes bananas, i love you so much"

Me, once the night hits: "These little creatures will experience so much pain and misery "

[magicicephoenix]

i think they are a bit like brothers

bonus:

[khruschevshoe]

There's just something very specific about homoerotic character-enveloping friendships from around 2010 where they're semi-aware that gay people exist but queerbaiting isn't quite a thing yet sp their relationship consumes the narrative and changes them both irrevocably forever and they end in tragedy but the ending is JUST open enough for the fic writers to wriggle into that just makes me go fucking FERAL

[yourfavecharacterisqueer]

friendly reminder that merlin only was born because of arthur’s birth (and how he couldn’t control fate) and arthur’s death was only because of merlin (and how he couldn’t control fate).