#sorry if this has been said before btw. i'm kinda new to this fandom

[wellcollapse]

and what if i said that season six has been all about healing? there's been a lot of talk about how season six has picked up seemingly throwaway lines and dropped plot points from previous seasons, and i really feel like this is the season where these threads are finally winding themselves back together. as we know, season five is when a lot of these characters were at their worst mentally, and a big portion of the season was spent with the majority of the 118 and co. in a very fragmented, disjointed state....but with season six, so much of it has felt like the pieces are falling back into place.

athena getting to heal from the very first case that has been haunting her since she was a little girl and find some closure.

chimney healing from the scars that kevin's death inflicted on him and getting to trust himself and his own judgement again after that years-old wound.

bobby getting to finish the work that his old sponsor started and honoring him by living, doing the same thing for another person in need that wendall did for him, really coming full circle from the season one version of him that thought the rest of his life was meant for atonement for the apartment fire and nothing else.

buck starting to heal from the pain that his parents' neglect caused him, and finally facing his trauma and insecurities head-on and answering the question that has undoubtedly plagued his mind ever since he found out about daniel's death - yes, he is enough, yes he does matter, and slowly making his way down the path to finding genuine, true love.

hen choosing herself and her family and prioritizing the thing that will truly make her feel content instead of sacrificing her happiness to pursue being a doctor.

maddie healing from her PPD and learning to love life again, feeling safe and happy with a family that loves her.

and eddie, too, really living and being excited about life after his breakdown last season, not to mention finally acknowledging that he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life alone after shannon's death -- but not in a way where he has to put up some kind of show or play a part.

and this isn't even getting into some of the other storylines this season, such as denny asking about eva and nathaniel and the long-awaited return of ravi. i just wanted to highlight the way that we've gotten so much growth this season and so many of these characters have been able to finally face the issues that have been hurting them for so long and finally heal from them. in my opinion....if there's one thing this show definitely does right, it's playing the long game, and from everything we've seen this season, i believe that everything, even the storylines that currently seem like they're on 'hold,' will come to a conclusion that will feel satisfying and relieving.

i just. i trust this show!! i really do!! and i mean this in the gentlest way possible, but i think some of you could trust these writers to give us a good payoff as well, because i really believe they've earned it ❤️

[baileypie-writes]

HII can I request for sum velvet x male reader? (again💀) where reader is jealous bc a lot of ppl is kinda flirting with vel in the internet...I'm so sorry for requesting sm, I just can't find any other ppl writing for velvet and male reader soo...

A/N ~ Sure! I don’t mind the requests btw, request as much as you like! Hope you enjoy!

~Only You~

Velvet x Male!Reader

Fandom: Trolls 3: Band Together

Reader: Male

Relationship: Romantic

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Synopsis: Velvet gets flirted with a lot on the internet, and it’s starting to make you jealous.

Warnings: Jealousy(Reader), cringe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gosh, you were bored. You thought having the day off would mean having fun, but no. You were just sitting on your couch, flipping through channels on the TV. Nothing good seemed to be on, so you just gave up, and turned it off.

Suddenly, a notification went off on your phone, so you picked it up to look at it. It was a notification telling you that Velvet posted a picture on her social media. You always like her posts, she’s your girlfriend after all. So you open the app. A smile crept onto your face, happy to have something to occupy you for at least a moment.

The photo she posted was of her reflection in her mirror. She was trying out a new makeup look, and of course, she looked beautiful. She really knocked it out of the park with this look. You personally never thought of someone wearing purple lipstick before, but it looked great on her. Especially paired with the matching, glittery eyeshadow she had on.

You liked the post, and opened the comments to leave a compliment. But the ones that were already there caught your eye. Many guys were leaving comments that were obviously an attempt at flirting.

“Wow, you’re so hot! Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Cute! Are you single?”

“That’s a nice look. Wanna chat?”

You scrolled further, seeing more comments similar to those. Checking the profiles of those guys, a lot of them were older, making you almost feel ill. The fact that these men had no shame asking a woman out without so much as a “hello” made you upset, to say the least. Especially at the fact that the two of you have been openly dating for a few months. They could’ve checked her profile before asking, but you guessed that they didn’t care all that much.

A phone call from Velvet interrupted you from your thoughts. You answered it within seconds, happy to talk to her. “Hello?”

“Hey babe. I’m bored, can I come over?” Velvet asked, getting straight to the point.

“Sure. I’m actually bored too, so perfect timing.” You responded.

After saying your goodbyes, you hung up, and waited.

~~~~

It didn’t take long for Velvet to arrive. You met her at the door, since you had nothing else to do. You made sure to wave to Veneer, who drove her, before going inside.

The two of you headed to the living room, and Velvet flopped on the couch. She pulled out her phone, checking her notifications from her new post. “I see you liked my photo.” She said, smiling.

“Of course I did. I always like every one you post.” You said, sitting down next to her, and wrapping your arm around her.

Velvet hummed, and went to the comment section. Your smile faded as you saw all the comments from earlier. She didn’t have any reaction to them, just reading them. She liked a few comments, mostly from other celebrities, and turned off her phone.

“A lot of people liked it. Not that that’s surprising.” She said confidently.

“Yeah. Especially the men.” You mumbled the last part.

Velvet lightly gasped. “Aww, are you jealous?” She teased. She grabbed your face with one hand, giving your cheeks a squeeze.

“Well… yeah. It’s hard not to be when they say things like that. Like, our relationship has been public for a while now.”

Velvet laughed. “Well, don’t you worry. I don’t pay attention to those guys. Only you.” She released your face, giving one of your cheeks a pat. Then she went back on her phone, leaving the conversation behind.

Her reassurance made you feel a lot better. You know that Velvet’s loyal, but seeing how other guys are can make you feel insecure at times. So you’re thankful to have a girlfriend who pays them no mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~baileypie-writes

[nanistar]

may i ask why you hate mapleshade? like is it more of a fandom thing/author thing or do you just not like her character? sorry if thats a weird question lol

i think the idea behind her character is cool but the erins are the erins and they fucked it up imo. also the way the fandom treats any discussion about her and other characters in her book is so annoying i cannot stand going into the mapleshade tag on tumblr

which is a shame cause like i said, i really like the concept of her character and i feel like it had alot of potentional

not a weird question, i get it. i gotta start by saying i have no ill will against people who like mapleshade or even like the points i'm about to say. btw! sorry this is long i got really into it

starting chronologically (according to canon, not publication)(publication order is: all ivypool darkforest books (2011 and prev) crookeds promise (2011), great battle (last hope 2012, she permadies here) and maples vengeance (2015)

i actually really liked mapleshade's vengeance, all things considered. it comes last in the mapleshade storyline according to publication date, and up until then we really didn't know much about her, and i believe this is where she gets a personality other than "random DF lady" and "rude ghost villain". the erins are not good writers by any means, but i felt that mapleshade's internal monologue and the way she saw the world was genuinely pretty decent. they portrayed her as obsessive and manipulative and as an unreliable narrator. it was one of the first books i read upon returning to the fandom in 2018 and it was a thrill to read, because i hadn't been spoiled on it.

the erins have a habit of writing surprise/accidental pregnancies as plot points, which has the implication of like… flings/one night stands. it's best not to think about it. it's pretty obvious upfront that appledusk is not as in to her as she is in to him, but she doesn't see it. she talks about him in her narrations as a sweet and loving man and talks about their family and future together, but when we the readers finally see him, he's calloused and doesn't really care about her. i think she even sees him with reedshine at a gathering and gets mad before she thinks "oh he's just doing that so no one gets suspicious" (not quoting or anything, i havent read the novel since 2018) girl. their relationship was obviously just a fling to him, but to her they were in love. i liked the way this was written as opposed to all the other times in warriors weve seen a man have a hissy fit because a girl rejected him. (ashfur is the glaring example but also crowfeather, brambleclaw) her denial and refusal to accept what she was seeing (that she was the side piece) was the interesting part.

she has her children and then ravenwing spills the beans. why on earth would he do that? why would it benefit the clan or anyone? from a logistical standpoint, thunderclan lost 3 potential new warriors and mapleshade never implied she was going to riverclan. anyway, he didn't even have proof. he just assumed. i think he rightfully got what was coming for him, since if he would have kept his mouth shut, 7 cats including himself wouldn't have died. sorry mini rant i don't like him. anyway we know the rest of the story. kits die, maple kills ravenwing for telling her secret, she kills frecklewish for not helping (no, she couldn't have jumped in to save the kits without probably dying herself but she COULD have stood up for maple in thunderclan, and she was upstream so she could have yelled out and warned maple of the flood but im NOT getting into that and i dont care) and then she goes to kill reedshine but kills appledusk instead. did he deserve it? he was kinda a dick but mapleshade was like stalker-obsessed with him (i think she uses the phrase "my appledusk" in her narration but i might be wrong) after what was ostensibly a one night stand. perchpaw wounds mapleshade to the point where once she flees the scene, she dies of blood loss. cool

the story of a mothers love (and a mother's loss) is an age-old tale. in a franchise where all female characters are doomed to become boring cookie-cutter mothers, this loss and violent rage was awesome.

everyone told me to read crookedstar's promise, because it was the best super edition. i.. do not agree with that. tbh i thought it was long and boring and went nowhere. crookedstar suffered many tragedies in his life, and he lost everyone he loved, and then the book suddenly ends with him going "im ok (:" and dying. (i was reading a pdf and not a physical copy so it was VERY abrupt for me. i legit sat there like.. so that's it? i read 500+ pages for that?) i can't really blame mapleshade for this (since shes not real) but it does factor in. her idea of revenge against appledusk was to torture an injured baby? who then grew up and had no idea who the fuck appledusk was? why not raise him and give him the love he craved so that when the time came, he would be more likely to do her bidding?? her motives here make no sense. not super important. anyway.

and then she's seen occasionally in the dark forest and she tries to drown ivypaw for no reason once. idk she was obviously just a background character in these scenes (since they came first) but the fans saw a female in the dark forest and were like. thank god a woman. can you blame them. then the erins built her up from that.

anyway mapleshade has this generations long story of manipulating younger cats, and a POV book where she's obviously obsessive, controlling, stalkerish and chooses brutally uncommon violence as a way to get back at those who wrong her. (she unburies ravenwing's body so crows can eat it, and she uses adders to kill frecklewish, despite the fact the snakes could easily go for her.) she puts HERSELF in danger to do these things because she's impulsive, she justifies all her actions to herself by saying its revenge for her children and in the end, she pushes the last remnants of the kittens she thinks she's fighting for away. this is a cool story about a woman who's pushed to the edge and takes everyone down with her. for ONCE its not a man with deadwifepain.

and what does the fandom do

they girlbossify her. they fight over if she's in the wrong or not (she is. she killed people.) they take everything about her that made her compelling and turn her into "grr my husband cheated on me and me kids are dead. sad." she gets turned into the most basic, boring, cookie cutter "evil" lady. she kills people for fun and not because she had a reason to or a goal (in her mind). she suffers the most tragic kind of loss that there is and gets no time to grieve before she is run out of her home, and her reaction to this is pure RAGE, and the fandom turns her into this boring, slay QUEEN!!! (not the pregnant cat kind), always been evil, always been hardcore, ~So CrAzY~, "my eyeliner is sharp to stab men" girlboss. where's the nuance. where's the passion!!? she's a miserable, impulsive, manipulating failure. she blames others for her mistakes and bad judgment and punishes others for her shortfallings. she can't be vulnerable and broken, she can only cry because dead kids and then kill evil husband and evil husbands wife. she's even sometimes portrayed as like "boss" of the dark forest, wrangling all the men. barf.

so to answer your question, it's the general fandom* portrayal that i hate, but i honestly wouldn't trust the erins with her at this point. (the erins are influenced by their fans, for example (old person voice) back in my day, firestar and scourge being brothers was just a fan theory.) i'm glad they permakilled her in the great battle so they cant bring her back to ruin anything. actually thinking about her to write this out and reflect on why i don't like her made me sympathize for her. i like text mapleshade with a little bit of fanon sprinkled in for flavor.

and hey. usually when the fandom adopts a character, they're right. the fandom likes to get really in to random bg/side characters and give them lives they would never have in canon. but sadly (or not, depending on your opinion), when those get popular and breach containment, they spread everywhere and suddenly people think this IS canon. look at how many of us thought that brambleclaw killed hawkfrost directly after he killed hollyleaf, because that was the easy way to portray the great battle in MAPs, only to have someone point out, years after this has become the common sequence of events, that brambleclaw actually hunts him down, brings him back to camp, and then murders him POW style!!!

*btw. im in no way saying that all mapleshade-based projects or aus or whatever are bad, even if she is sexy girlboss in them. some of my favorite maps portray her like that.

anyway. TLDR:

everyone say "i'm sorry mapleshade"

[mastersoftheair]

hi! question!! ok so like. I've been in hbowar fandom for awhile but I must admit I haven't followed MOTA news quite as religiously so I'm sorry if this has been answered before but like...... can I ask why there was such an emphasis on austin butler and callum turner's characters? is it because they're the "leaders" of a sort? (and if so, in like a dick winters way? in that they're the leaders of their unit? or is it in a sledge, basilone, leckie way? in that the narratives of the shows are based on their memoirs of the war?) or is it because they're the actors you're bound to recognize at first glance and therefore are pandering to the audience?

piggy back riding on that question..... do you think mota would follow a band of brothers kinda story telling where the povs sorta change almost every episode? and there's an emphasis on the group as a whole? or is it gonna be like the pacific? where it centers on 3 pov characters, as i said before, based off the irl guys' memoirs of the war?

thank you for running this blog, btw. it's good to have all the news in one place instead of having to go hunting for it!! have you tried to appeal to tumblr staff about getting the blog unshadowbanned? maybe they could help?

i think this website gives a very helpful overview of who the "main players" are (it's a bit dated tho, last updated in 2019!) lots could've changed by then, and even the author admits that it's all speculation. but by 2019, there were 5 confirmed "main characters": john "bucky" egan, gale "bucky" cleven, rosie rosenthal, harry crosby, and ken lemmons. they're palyed by austin butler, callum turner, nate mann, anthony boyle, and raff law, in that order.

the focus is on the 100th bombardment group ("the blood hundredth"), with likely a narrower focus on the 418th and 350th squadrons, with probably some focus on the 349th. cleven's part of the 350th, egan and cruikshank (also important) are part of the 418th, and major william veal's part of the 349th (which is likely less important, but i'm adding it bc i saw his name among egan and cleven's name in this behind the scenes photo almost 2 years ago, but not much on veal otherwise).

so, this is one group and (more or less) two different squadrons. the narrowed focus is meant to lean more "band of brothers" and less "the pacific".

to answer your first question, the focus on butler and turner is probably 1) better for promo (they're more well known to the public) and 2) cleven and egan were both the commanding officers of their respective units. the leaders, for sure. also known as "the two buckys", as they both had the same nickname and were very close friends (as the above article puts it, they "were roommates throughout flight school…[they were] roommates during training, but they would eventually become roommates in a POW camp as well.")

i like that you brought up leckie and sledge tho, bc while the bulk of the show is based around donald miller's book, it seems like they'll also be leaning on harry crosby's memoir- a wing and a prayer. he was a group navigator in the 418th. also, the smithsonian has a little scrapbook that you can read here.

i'm thinking that, yeah, the povs may change depending on the episode (given how it seems they want to follow the "band of brothers" playbook, to a point). there's definitely gonna be time devoted to the ground crew (lemmons was a mechanic in the ground crew and stayed in england for the duration of the war) and rosie rosenthal, especially (his crew was called "rosie's riveters"). then, there's the inclusion of black soldiers in the 332d fighter group, part of the tuskegee airmen (hence the casting of ncuti gatwa, branden cross, josiah cross, among others).

keep in mind that these are all just my guesstimations! i don't want to predict what's gonna happen, given that i still want to be surprised lol

and i'm happy you enjoy the blog! it's fun keeping it regularly updated (despite tumblr hiccups, like thinking i'm a spam bot apparently?? but i think it's been sorted out for now *fingers crossed*)

(also, i recommend everyone to go play around in this website, bc it's stuffed with all the 100th bg information you could ever want!)

[basmathgirl]

Hello again Basmathgirl !

No socks related question-anon here. Thanks for replying so quickly.

Sorry for this long message, but I kinda have the urge to explain my “Doctor Who-situation” first, especially because I fear I have a controversial opinion on a well liked character. But I’m very new to the DW fandom, hence I can’t assess how common my opinion is. So you see, it is not just fanfiction recommendations I’m after.

I started watching the series about two months ago and I just finished “Midnight”. Even before I started the show, I already knew a few DW facts just from being on the internet, but other story elements took me completely by surprise.

Due to the large amount of DW content, I was rather intimidated at first. So I watched a DW guide over on YT, which recommended where to start with the show. In that guide it was explicitly stated that the Doctor has many different companions during the course of the series, but the relationships will only ever be platonic. Consequently I was a bit surprised that there was quite a lot of romantic tension/ undertones throughout the series anyway.

And then there is Donna Noble. 😍 I loved Donna from the moment she appeared, even though I knew beforehand she will only be part of the series for a short time, and that her season four ending won’t be very happy (At least I think that’s what will happen. Like I said, I’m not there yet). I just love the friendship dynamic between the Doctor & Donna. It was a breath of fresh air after Rose and Martha’s frequent yearning for the Doctor.

Admittedly, knowing that there won’t be any romantic developments between Donna & the Doctor, didn’t keep me away from reading Donna/ Doctor fanfics anyway.

...

So here comes my probably controversial opinion into play, which is related to my request for ff recommendations. (I didn’t search through your blog btw, so I don’t know what your opinion is on my upcoming jabbering. Sorry in advance.)😓

Okay, here it is: I really don’t like the character River Song. I loved the concept of the library planet, the Vashta Nerada and Donna’s adventure with her made-up family (Catherine's acting was amazing!). However the moment River Song showed up, I disliked the character for some reason, or more specifically the concept of her in canon (Because for me it is a great concept for ffs). 🫣

Anyway I’m not even sure where my irrational aversion against her is coming from. I guess I don’t like the fact that one of the companions is singled out like this, is so extremely special and put on a pedestal. (And I know now there is even more to her backstory...)

Considering my feelings concerning the library episode, I was desperately looking for a fix-it fic for this particular episode or even ffs where Donna is this special person (his future wife, who knows his real name...) for the Doctor. Sadly I wasn’t able to find anything. So I’ve got the impression that there are not many people who shared my experience watching this episode. Am I indeed in the minority in my absurd dislike for River Song?

Did you ever came across Donna/Doctor stories, that include the from me desired aspects? Or perhaps you can think of other blogs that share my silly opinion and are more likely to know any ffs like I described?

Sorry again for the long message and sorry if you’re a fan of River Song. I hope I didn’t upset you or your followers. But please keep in mind I only watched until season 4 episode 11, and maybe I will change my mind in the future. But I really needed to talk to someone who watched Doctor Who, and likes Donna and Donna/ Doctor respectively.

Plus I'm still very surprised that I wasn't able to find fix-it fics for the library episode. I guess nobody thought of it being in need of fixing.🤷‍♀️

Thanks for replying and I hope you have a nice day.

(PS English is not my first language. Therefore I hope my message wasn’t too convoluted.)

Sorry for the delay in replying, kind Anon

The migraines have been biting hard lately so I haven't got very far with my fic quest for you.

What, no socks? Shame. 😂 We could start a whole trend...

You'll be pleased to know that among Doctor/Donna shippers your opinion isn't that unusual. For fanfic writers you have to dodge the whole "luuuuurve" where Rose is concerned, and Moffat inserting his own love interest: River. The ones I'm friends with tend to do this quite well.

I love Alex Kingston as an actor but River as a character was completely wasted, in my opinion. Apart from the whole "keep away, he's Donna's" attitude I'd developed by the time I first watched Silence In The Library, I had high hopes for the return of River. All I was left with was the desire to own those red shoes she wore in S5, otherwise the someone of someone who rose through academic ranks purely to find a specific man/alien goes against everything I have ever been encouraged to feel. But I won't rant about Moffat anymore than that here. *kicks him*

I totally understand you not liking a companion being put on a pedestal, because the system in Doctor Who used to be each one got their own limelight. Then RTD came along... And yes, I did count how many photos of each companion apeared on the official website to back up my claim of biasedness. I can be very pedantic like that.

Also, I ship Ten/Donna so ardently purely out of spite because loads of Rose shippers told me I couldn't and shouldn't ship them. Plus I read some wonderful fics that persuaded me to go from bropt to OTP.

But you were asking for fics. The one I imediately thought of is Best Laid Schemes, where you'll particularly like the epilogue.

An author to generally consider is TkelParis as she has written loads of stories that ditch River (she detests both River and Rose, btw). I would have also recommended our friend tardis-mole, but they are no longer on AO3 and you have to gain permission to 'friend' them on LiveJournal to read anything (let's just say they aren't accepting new friends these days).

Anyway, I suggest giving Altered History, Shakespearean Cupids, and The Belted Doctor a read; and I'll try to find some more for you to consider later.

(There is absolutely nothing wrong with your English, nor do I think your message is convoluted, let alone too convoluted!)

[thewingedmuse]

Hi! It was me who requested This reading… Thank you so much for doing it even though I sent it anonymously!! 💕 The Godzilla thing really had me puzzled at first, but it ended up being interesting to think out and write. I was actually thinking I might have done it wrong, because what other people had written was so different to what I had sent, so I’m happy you liked it so much! I wanted to give you some feedback about the reading, because it’s the right thing to do, of course, but also because I know you value it a lot 🥰

First of all, I felt kinda honored (?) you pulled the High Priestess for the reading… Though I don’t practice tarot myself (yet? 🤔), I’ve been studying quite a bit about it and it’s one of my favorite cards of the major arcana (the Wheel of Fortune is the other one!). Even though it’s a hypothetical reading I couldn’t help but feel excited about that being the energy of the “relationship” 🙈

Now, the fact that you didn’t know about Hongjoong before doing the reading makes it 10000x more impressive, because I think you were definitely spot on with your description of him! (From what I know as a fan, of course… I know artists don’t show their whole self to the public, but I’d bet other Atiny would agree). I’m not kidding when I tell you I could totally picture him in my head while reading! In a lot of the group’s content you can see Hongjoong with that soft, wholesome smile while looking at the members talk or do things, and don’t even get me started on the second paragraph!

Like, if you know astrology, he’s a Scorpio sun 10H and Capricorn rising… This man’s job is his whole life (he has said this himself btw), and you can bet he takes it seriously. That’s actually what made me a fan of Ateez and of him, particularly; I really admire his drive, motivation and perseverance, and I can assure you he has the next 10 years of his life planned out 😂 He became his company’s first trainee, a small company that had no means to compete with the bigger agencies and wasn’t even taking new people at the time. As their leader, he guided the group to domestic and international success (like, they’re on tour right now filling 20k seat venues! 🥹) and helped keep the company afloat during the pandemic. Even though their music is quite conceptual and not the general public’s cup of tea, they’ve managed to create a loyal fandom, and succeed while staying true to their essence and vision.

It’s also interesting that you mentioned he has “amazing energy”, because I felt that way about him right away, since I stumbled upon the first Ateez video I ever watched, like “wow, this dude is different…”, but I’ve also seen a few tarot readers on here say the same thing! Really, he is a great person: kind, compassionate and caring, he’s very aware of social issues and is involved in a lot of charity work too 🥹

Anyways, I hope this isn’t too boring but in short you killed it! It was a great reading and (in my opinion), a very accurate portrayal of Hongjoong. Sorry it took me a while to send you my feedback 🙏🏼 Thank you so much for reading for me and I hope you have a great day! 🥰

(Also if your entwined bonds event is still open I’d love to participate… would it be ok to do it if I already got this reading? 🙏🏼)

Thank you so much for your feedback!! I'm glad to know now the person who made my favourite Godzilla reading haha 💖 I'm so happy you love the reading, Hongjoong truly is an amazing person. The way you are so passionate about him really is lovely to see, like you are not only enthusiastic about their music but also greatly care about who he is as an individual! I think this kind of fan dynamics is very touching 💝 I feel honoured to have made the reading for you!

And sure you can join, there's no rules saying you can't after you've joined one but you have to be patient as there are about 40 before you. Hope you have an amazing day too!

[wandapinkay]

HIIIII it's friendly anon back again!! ヾ(ゝω・)ノ

the pleasure is all mine, i assure you! :D i was a bit apprehensive to drop in your inbox at first - since i'm not well-versed in self-shipping culture and ask culture on this site is tragically dead - but i got a cool new parasocial friendship out of it and i discovered a new and exciting way to consume media and enjoy characters, so i'm glad that i did!! \^o^/ it took me a long time to realize it, but i truly think self-shipping was the last piece of the puzzle that i was missing in my previous hyperfixations. so what if that man is fictional, what do you mean he can't be mine??

in other news, i've already gotten four of my friends to watch steins;gate and i also recently convinced my sister and her husband to give it a try! i have rewatched the entire show three times alone this month, i am fully insane 🙏

WAITTTT THOSE CATBOY EDITS ARE SO CUTE ACTUALLY 🥺🥺i'm so impressed with how authentic they look, how did you capture the steins;gate style so well?? the second one on particular looks so real, suddenly i'm convinced daru was a catboy the whole time and i just never noticed lol

MAD respect for that 200-unit daru pic collection btw, i've been deep-diving in the darkest corners of the internet for fanart of okabe and i have found some amazing comics featuring daru that made me think of you ( ¯ ³¯)♡! on that note, i've also seen some very sweet drawings of daru with baby suzuha which, out of curiosity, made me wonder what your thoughts on them are together as father and daughter! i adore them honestly, but i'm curious to know if you feel differently about them since you self-ship with daru! i've seen a couple selfshippers in another fandom i frequent who have drawn fankids with their f/o's before and that got me wondering since suzuha is a unique case :)

ASDFJAKSFKSF YES THAT WAS THE NAME OF THE VN idk why i called it that, i think someone else called it that in a reddit post-

nevertheless, my point stands. i cannot even begin to express my disappointment that we didn't get to see daru OR okabe in a maid outfit. heck, we didn't even get to see daru in his penguin suit (though the fact that he was really popular in it made me cackle)! i mean it when i say that if the devs hadn't been cowards and gave us frilly daru and okabe, i would not have looked even twice at the girls. the men yearn for the frills!!! \o/

wahhhh you really are so nice, i appreciate you a bunch :) :) and wow, i thought for sure you'd been part of the community for longer than a year, you seem so comfortable here! was it easy for you to get settled in the community? you've been so nice, but i'm a bit scared to dip my toes in the self-shipping tag if you have any advice👉👈 (thank you again for being so kind and accommodating!! ^^;)

I DID, I SAID THE LINE!! WHERE IS MY PRIZE

your message has been delivered and summarily ignored except for the kiss which he accepted with dignity :3

to sign off, i am blowing both you and daru a pair of friendly kisses! i wish you both a very good night AND OH MAN I ALMOST FORGOT IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY IN TWO DAYS??? in that case, i wish you both a good night AND a wonderful valentine's day if you have any plans!!

thank you again for reading!! i will most assuredly be back if i am still welcome! (ᴗ͈ ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ

OMG HI ONCE AGAIN!! SO SORRY IF I TOOK SO LONG TO ANSWER YOUR ASK, I WAS BUSYY 😭 Still so happy for the fact you're enjoying your new hobbie, I think everyone should try selfshipping at least once in their lives.. and woAHH amazing steins;gate propaganda you've done there! Wish I could do that to most of my friends but some have already seen it ages ago and some aren't just interested so I just kinda gave up HFH ALSO HOOOLY and I thought finishing the series in like,, 2 months was mental but you got me there I'm honest /lh I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW HOW I DID IT?? I just kinda went with it by using a small brush with no pressure and blurring out everything a little bit so it matched the og pic's quality I suppose?? I'm happy you think they seem legit, I did my job well then ; u ; <3 OMG THAT'S SO SWEET OF YOU THOUGHH 🥺🥺 now you got me curious on which ones you're referring to waa.. ALSO UMM.. ABOUT SUZUHA- I had a few concepts for how my relationship with Daru would work in-universe.. so I made a couple of them: one is the "good" ending I guess, while another is just "angst™"

.. yeah, can you tell I felt awful while coming up with the second one? GDGSFGFSD IT'S FINE THOUGH, I'M OK NOW But this is besides the point; I actually really love Suzuha's character and I prefer her over the other girls.. and my favorite dynamic is hers with Daru and Yuki (ironically).. seeing Daru being a dad melts my heart because sometimes I wish I had a father figure as sweet as he is aaa I prefer to see myself with Daru than project myself onto Yuki though, because I'd treat him differently than he does sometimes if I gotta be honest Still, hope you like the silly ideas- WAIT,, UH?? DARU HAS A PENGUIN SUIT?? I NEED TO SEE IT SO BADD 😭😭 Also fr, why can't they just satisfy the boy's fans for once,, I feel like they're leaving us out on purpose at this point- /j

Btw, for the selfship community part, I didn't really do much! I just started to post my artwork in the tag and started following and interacting with some peeps, although rarely because I'm still akward about it, but the people in it are so nice!! In my opinion, it's worth a shot!

Also thank you so much!! I hope you had a great Valentine's day with Okabe as well, sending you kisses as well! I posted a fanart that is kinda vday themed but nothing selfshippy unfortunately, but me and Daru would have probably chilled at home, exchanging eachother chocolates and stuff like that! Idk, I'm not a very "outside" person but if we had in plan to go somewhere like the May Queen to get something together, I wouldn't have minded either!

Of course you're welcome to come back, it's always a pleasure! Since I don't get asks often, it brightens up my day to see something in my inbox once in a while, so thank you still for feeling comfy enough to come back! Have a great day/night! 💕💕

[sungbeam]

XNONIE PRESENT (FINALLY) !!!

hi beam! college has been kicking my butt recently ☹️ idk how ppl do it but i'm dragging myself through the week right now LMAO

i don't see anything 😀 when i search up my asks 😀 so i unfortunately 😀 have a very vague 😀 idea of our last convo 😀

but i DO remember that you asked about dc!! i'm glad u asked b/c i'm actually trying to get into dc right now! i'm watching titans season 1 on hbo max, recently watched black adam, saw ww84, & saw the new batman movie a while ago! beast boy is kinda 😍💖💕💗💞 in titans HEHEHE- my favorite dc characters rn are him & starfire but i really wanna delve into the franchise more!! who are ur dc biases so far 🙏 (yes we'll be using kpop terminology for non-kpop fandoms from now on)

also i have NOT listened to 28 reasons by seulgi yet b/c of my schedule i feel like such a fake reveluv but i'm looking into that 😭 AND YES GIVE CRAVITY SOME LOVE ON PARTY ROCK <3 i'm taeyoung biased ever since i saw his tiktoks (all their tiktoks are iconic tbh they keep up w/ trends LOL)

HOW HAVE U BEEN BTW?? and are u excited for wakanda forever? i can't believe its coming so soon alreadyyyy 😟❗️

XNONIE !!! BFF !!! I'M SO SORRY FOR MY LATE REPLY I'VE JUST LACKED SO MUCH ENERGY TO EVEN REPLY TO ASKS THIS WEEK (´Д⊂ヽ but i was so excited to see u active and alive akcnekfnek idk how people do it either tbh :') like i felt that so hard when u said ur practically dragging urself thru the week like me too dude, me too 😔 LMAO SOMETHING IS UP W TUMBLR TAGS 🗿🗿🗿 as there always is tbh, but i went thru and found my latest response so i'll link it here BAHHAHA

AHHHH DC YESYES !!! i actually haven't watched the live action titans series yet :0 but i follow ryan potter on instagram so i've def seen some stuff for it !! he's so hot tho so true 😩😩😩 i kinda wish he was casted as nightwing/dick grayson cuz he would've made a really good one, but the current one i think fits as well :') ahh yes i actually am not the greatest fan of dc movies lmao just cuz their animated tv shows r just top notch and so much better imo but i did enjoy the first wonder woman and robert pattinson's the batman !! ooh my dc biases? it's prob the bat boys AHAHAHHA i'm writing an au inspired by them actually rn hehe so basically nightwing/dick grayson, red hood/jason todd, and red robin/tim drake, but i am also particularly fond of roy harper/speedy and robin/damian wayne @_@ they all make my mind go brrrr (wbu tho 👀👀)

AHHHHH WAKANDA FOREVER I HAVENT WATCHED IT YET I FEEL SO SAD ☹️☹️☹️ it's cuz college has also been kicking my ass and watching marvel movies is a thing my family does together and it's just not the same going to see it in theaters w anyone else :( so i've been holding back skcnekfn have u seen it tho :0 i'm also so very excited for quantumania !!! (ﾉ´∀｀*) IT LOOKS SO SO SO GOOD SKFNKENFKD I LOVE PAUL RUDD PLS GIVE THAT MAN AN OSCAR RN

okok i think i also was gonna bring up the fact that i wanted to write another mcu au for svt?? like ik we were talking abt the xmen au, but i was thinking abt making minghao scarlet witch and basically yn is like the one person who truly saw him and when he lost u, all hell broke loose (like in wandavision), and so it's like him recreating a life w u while his friends on the outside r trying to break him out of it before the stinky government folks do skcnwidn

[lostacelonnie]

what drew you to durandal originally and is it the reason shes still a favorite now?

OK OK OK FIRST OF ALL. thank you SO much for this ask i love talking about her and also sorry it took so long to respond, i had a lot going on. hope you don't mind ehe,, ANYWAYS! to be honest, the reason i started liking her very early in the game is. purely a coincidence! and by that i mean, i got valkyrie gloria ~ch2 and she's been on my team for an unreasonably long time since then, so even before i even knew who she was i. kinda grew attached to her [same for seele, btw. swallowtail phantasm carried me through half this game. moving on.] then came the first mention of her in chapter i don't remember which one [2? 3? 4? something around there] and tbh i just heard teri's description and was like "oh she sounds neat :] i'm probably gonna like her!" [foreshadowing?] just bc she sounded like a genuinely. nice person?

so, that's how i originally got drawn to her! now, onto why she's still my favorite :D

ok so. starting off. sth you often see in the fandom is ppl saying that dudu doesn't really have much of a personality, and while she definitely doesn't get her character really shown in a lot of the game, that's very untrue! it's just a lot of ppl tend to kinda... not bother to look into her character too much??? and, while im not gonna go full character analysis, its just. its about the genuine sweetness. the fact that despite being schicksals strongest valkyrie, she doesnt even get the thought of placing herself above other valkyries, or hell, even kiana, the literal [from her perspective] herrscher of the void. its about the Himbo Energy. shes so so smart but so so silly!!!!! its about the little traces of the personality she was forced to repress for the sake of a bubble universe, seen for example when she was fighting su! think that was ooc? think again, thats exactly what she was like a few years ago!!!! dudu is excitable, she likes having fun and playing football with kids and she adopted a half honkai beast only bc it looked like a cat, because she had half her childhood stolen by having to protect an entire universe. and like, shes a really good person who worked with schicksal bc guess what? she was raised there! and human attachments exist! and despite resorting to questionable means of achieving what she needed to, shes capable of changing and fighting alongside new allies. you get me?

oh and also another thing very dear to me about her character is biankas approach to identity. as in, names dont play a big role until you give them one- flowers may smell and look and beautiful under any other name, but she has given her own name meaning and made it hers, just as kiana has done- and bianka being born under the name kiana doesnt change or refute either of their identities

anyway thank you!! this might be a bit incomprehensible cos i did it at 1am but i feel like i still got my point through. although, i really barely said anything and didnt address a lot of the ✨points of nuance✨ because if i started, we'd be here all day. so. there it is theres the mini dudu rant

[mimzy-writing-online]

Hi! I'm currently writhing a book about people with superpowers and there's one character that is blind. Since I'm not visually impaired, I'm reading a lot about how to avoid cliche and write a good, realistic blind character. I read your text about blind people in books and it helped me a lot, but Im still thinking of what superpower I should give my blind character. I was thinking of super hearing, but now Im thinking is not a good idea anymore. Can you give me some advice? Thanks in advance!

Anonymous’ next ask said, [Hi, I just sent a question for you a couple of minutes ago (I'm the one writing a story about people with superpowers and stuff). I read some more of what you posted and I'm almost certain I'll change my blind characters superpower, but I'd still like your opinion on it. I'm sorry if my english is kinda bad (it's not my first language) and also if I said something offensive somehow. I'm very eager to learn and make a very cool and realist character! Thanks btw, your posts are helping me a lot!]

First, your English is lovely and the fact that it’s your second language makes you awesome in my book. Nobody needs to worry about how good their English is on this blog. If I don’t fully understand something I will ask for clarification, but that’s a situation I find myself in with native English speakers and asking them to clarify.

Also, nothing you have said offended me, no worries.

I took a while to get to this because I wasn’t sure what insight I could give.

There are a lot of superpowers out there in the fictional world that have nothing to do with sight, whether it improves or worsens it. Reading minds wouldn’t be much different from eavesdropping on conversations nearby, so long as what they’re experiencing is the audio of thoughts and not the visual.

(Although that means that some people would be harder to read because they think in images and abstract concepts with little internal dialogue. Some think only in dialogue. Some with a mix, like myself. Which means the superpower isn’t all-powerful, which is better actually, because all-powerful is boring)

Being able to stop time or teleport to familiar places (without any visuals they don’t naturally have with their normal vision, since lots of blind people have some vision) could work. Feeling emotions. Controlling the weather. Charming animals. 

I think it’s worth looking at the Mary Sue principle: 

Does this power make the blind character over-powered for what they’re working against in the plot? 

Does the superpower make everything for the character more convenient, or does it come with as many downsides as it does upsides? 

Does the character take time to learn it like you do any other skill, such as learning to use a cane or read Braille? 

Does the character still need everything a non-superpowered blind person would need to function? (cane, guide dog, Braille, magnifiers, screen-reader, special light settings in their living environment)

Was the superpower made to explain away a plothole that could be fixed with some clever writing or plot reworking instead?

Mary Sue’s are something that’s been written and theorized and debated to death, and they are very different from a disabled original character or a fanfiction AU disabled character, but it’s easy to fall into the flaws of Mary Sue writing and make them too perfect or too capable.

This is just my personal theory, and I’m basing it off the way I see fandoms react to diverse characters, but there seems to be a pattern in which writers make their disabled character too perfect and too capable as a way of justifying their character decisions to a reader before the reader has even read it.

To which I say, disabled characters don’t need a reason to exist any more than abled characters need a reason to exist. Do you want to write this character and do they have a place in your story? Great, do it.

(It makes more sense to have disabled characters in a book than it does an android or dragon or demigod if you ask me. They exist everywhere, whereas dragons and androids and demigods only exist in specific fictional universes... that’s me running on a tangent)

Anyway, thank you for the ask anon. Every time someone sends me an ask on the subject and I sit down to answer I learn more about the subject in question. Arguing for or against a decision, or trying to work around a hypothetical problem, gives me the chance to reevaluate all the complexities of the issue and learn more rather than having an off-the-bat response to everyone.

That’s why every ask I get (even if it’s almost always the same situation) gets a unique response because by then I’ve learned something new about blindness that I didn’t have for the last ask, or I will rewrite my argument and almost always I inadvertently find a reason that contradicts my opinion and holds things in a new light and I love that.

There are millions of ways to be blind (fact: no blind person sees exactly the same as another, it’s all unique) and there are millions of ways to write blind characters. 

[handonhaven]

Sometimes this fandom really scares me. Just when I think I saw everything I find out that I was wrong. Like I just saw someone say that the writers are homophobic for putting Josie and Finch together. I'm sorry but do they not know what homophobic means? Or is it only homophobic because it's not your ship. I swear each week H*sies get worse and worse. I'm so tried of seeing stuff like "I can't wait to see Hope be jealous of Finch" "notice how hoises have actually romantic content going on" "why are they trying to force Josie and Finch on us they have no chemistry" " I don't know people keep saying we bully people we don't. We just want Hosie to happen." And so on.

Hopes not going to be jealous of Finch because she has no feelings for Josie. Just like Josie has no feelings Hope. I mean even Josie said Hope is just her friend. I actually thought that would help them calm down. Boy was I wrong.

Two nothing that happens between Hope and Josie is anything romantic about it. So they have they're moments but that's nothing but friendship there. That's all.

Three they're not forcing anything. There was a bit of a build up for Finch and Josie. And there is chemistry there. I think they're just choosing not to see it. Plus before they casted the person who plays Finch you know they did a chemistry read. They only they being force is H*sies trying to make their ship happen.

Three okay that one just made me laugh. Like each week they get worse and worse. And now that whole homophobic thing. They're really grasping at dust here. And they did ever stop to think why Hope and Josie only had 2-3 actually scenes this season so far. We're over half way through the season. The writers did that for a reason. And I just like to point out there was an interview say that Hope and Landon are going to grow closer and stronger this season. So I still have hope for Handon and that they will get through this very very ruff path.

BTW I love your blog/gifs and all your thoughts ❤❤

Same, this fandom scares me most of the time tbh haha. Oh yes, I’ve seen a lot of hatred towards that ship now, but wow. That does not make any sense whatsoever, they must really not know what homophobic means. Or, exactly, it’s literally just because Josie is with someone other than Hope. Right? They still somehow manage to surprise me with the awful things they say, I’ve really never seen anything like it. Ugh, I know. I’ve seen comments like that too. At least they’ve made it perfectly clear that they will hate and attack anything that stands in the way of their ship, Handon/Landon or not. Good for the writers to know, since they’ve responded so well to how these fans have behaved. 🙄

Yeah, Hope is not gonna be jealous of Finch because why would she be? She’s with Landon, has not wanted to be with anyone but Landon for all this time, has had feelings for only him since she was 15, and exactly, has no feelings for Josie. And Josie obviously only has feelings for Finch, and that’s been a major part of her storyline all season. And yes, the writers have repeatedly had Hope and Josie specifically call each other their friend, but these fans still aren’t getting the message.

And I have no idea where they’re getting that from, because there’s absolutely nothing romantic going on between Hope and Josie. I guess you can see what you want to see if you try hard enough and have the ability to twist everything and blow the tiniest details out of proportion. But it is just friendship between them, which has been confirmed on the show.

I agree, I don’t think they’re forcing Josie and Finch. I mean, I’ll admit, it did kinda feel forced to me at first because it seemed like they were gonna put Josie into a new relationship pretty quickly. But they went about it differently than I expected and it actually has had build up. And maybe they did decide to give Josie a new love interest as part of their efforts to shut H*sie down, idk. But whether or not they did, they’ve given their relationship depth and development and it’s not forced. And true, I’m sure they did do a chemistry read. Yeah, if anything is forced, it’s the way those fans try to make everything about their ship, as if it would make any sense for it to happen in the show.

But they honestly think they don’t bully people? Like I know there are some okay H*sie fans out there, and I know there are some nice multishippers as well. But a large majority of them, from what I’ve seen, are terrible. They’ve spread so much hatred, have bullied so many other fans, have attacked Aria, and I’ve seen that they’re starting to hate on the actress who plays Finch too. They really do just get worse all the time. And yes, they’re grasping more now than ever before because there has been hardly any Hope and Josie content all season. Exactly, can they not see that the writers are clearly not happy with them and are trying to get them calm down? Yeah, there are only 8 episodes left and Hope and Josie have only interacted in 2 episodes so far. And now that Landon is back and gonna need help recovering, I can’t imagine Hope is gonna suddenly be spending a bunch of time with Josie when she didn’t even when she thought the real Landon was with her and everything was okay.

And yes! I saw that interview too, so I hope we’ll get to see that for the rest of the season! It would make sense for what they’re going through now to make them closer and stronger. So I have hope for them as well! And wow thank you so much!! 🥺 That’s so kind of you, I appreciate it!! ❤️❤️

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Was reading your response to the Okumura Ryuji/Morgana fight, and the way the person worded Ryuji's character made me wanna ask... Do you think a bad fanbase is a fair reason to dislike a character? I've heard people say things like "no look at the character too", but... For example, I'm very neutral on Ryuji. When he's good, hes SO GOOD, EXCELLENT BOY, but Ann is my favorite girl. Guess who he pervs on exclusively and is rude to all the time? I've never seen his fans talk about (1/2 sorry)

His rude behavior, or his pervy tendencies, or his more selfish desires regarding the PT. That's fine!! Not everyone wants to constantly talk about bad things their fave has done!!! But people referring to him as a "woman respecting king" so insistently rubs me the wrong way, since he treats Ann Like That. That, and (more personal) i remember making a post/ask thing once about my grievances with Ryuji, esp his perv stuff, and the fans that interacted very aggressively denied his behavior (2/3)

And it even turned into a big discourse on the blog I submitted it to (it was that one confession blog). All the people that responded and just tried moving the arguments to "well Yusuke did this-" or even tried to push blame on Ann "she was asking for it" just kinda cemented my already growing dislike for Ryuji. Super sorry this is so long!!! Final question: is a bad fanbase a fair reason for disliking a character? (3/3)

Don’t say sorry about multiple sent asks, I don’t mind kfdsjla;fja As for the answer, I want to say yes and no, but really it’s just “yes with a side note attached.” Yeah, it’s ok to not like a char because of their fans, but I think it’s as long as you know why you dislike the char beyond the fans (well tbh, imo it’s usually the crazy fans so I think stans is a better word, but even then there’s diff stans). And tbh, I....can’t....think of a character I don’t like that the fandom/fanbase does....but I know nothing about the char all the while (closest and most recent example this....is....I know people dislike that grey haired moe blob on twitter even tho I don’t think they watched the show, and while I’m not a fan of the moeblobness I don’t know anything about the char so I’m personally not upset). I can only name chars I don’t like because of what happens in the text, fandom be damned (but sometimes they don’t help). Which is why it’s a yes with a side note. If you don’t like the char despite not knowing them.....probably get to know the char first even if your impression is clouded by the fandom....at least you gave the char a chance. 

Under cut cause length (first few sentences in the first paragraph under the cut/tldr at the end gives you the answer a bit more in depth, the rest is rants related to that and why I get frustrated in a similar sense too, but yeah sorry if I repeat myself, I kinda jumped all over + my tendency to try to nail a point home I feel like might’ve had me repeat a bit more than usual akslfjdakfjaf):

I say this because.....it’s hard....it’s hard to keep them separated, unless you completely isolate yourself from the fandom (which is basically impossible if you wanna keep up with news, even the comment section is part of the fandom tbh...and you might be looking down their for diff reasons). And then.....well...the big reason....sometimes seeing the fans really highlights the reasons you dislike the char. That’s what happened to me and Makoto, specifically cause of....a certain fan (and buddy if you happen to see this, nothing against you, no bad blood, def won’t mention your name I respect you and the debates we had)....AND TO THE TUMBLR READERS WHO GET NERVOUS: It wasn’t on this website in case anyone is freaking out so if you’re thinking “Oh god it’s me” it is most likely not you (tho I think we do know each other on here cause of usernames/saw each other in passing but we def aren’t mutuals last time I checked), and while I do respect that person.......my god did they highlight the reasons I had issues with P5 and Makoto. Ironically in trying to defend her and show off her good sides, I realized the writing issues more and more and her bad sides became more glaring. It turned my frustrating dislike and attempt to try to work out my issues with her and P5 (ironically “working out” in hindsight would’ve been me....denying and refusing to look at P5′s flaws) into....well......the salt factory you know today. (same thing happens with like......Yukari and Junpei fans too tbh...that’s more recent tho, it feels like they are just downplaying their negatives constantly and I’m not about that). Basically, you probably have issues already, they are just more pronounced now. 

As for “look at the character”....you kinda already are doing that, and that’s probably where your existing issues originated from (tho if someone wants a more in depth reason as to why, while you DON’T OWE them an explanation, it is also hard for someone to understand your feelings and reasons if you don’t try to explain). 

As for Ryu, yea, I getcha, I like the guy, I’m neutral positive on him....was my best bro but he’s 2nd best thanks to post-Kamo writing. I like him because of his positives, but I always keep his negs in mind because. Cause like while I agree with the fans IT MAKES NO SENSE! P5′S WRITING IS BAD! it happened, same as I agree that Anne kicking Ryu’s ass, along with the other girls, is shitty. Hate the scene, and I accept that it happen (low key gonna start some kinda 2nd wave war with this bs cause the fandom be like that, but I’m really surprised no one took Anne smacking Ryu behind the neck cause he was being too loud as super offensive and abuse.......it’s def something a friend might do, not like belting him just a tap, and it’s framed as chill and also as warning him to reign in the volume control, but high key surprised no one has tried to cancel her cause of that). BUT that DOESN’T mean it erases all the creepy stuff he’s done. Is he the goodest boi when he’s being good? The best. Is he always a good boi? No, he def is not. And hearing that he is can be frustrating to people that do see his flaws (cause they are there). And like....you are 100% able to like a character despite and because of their flaws, while also accepting they have those flaws. I do it with Yosuke, Ryuji (for the most part), Teddie, Shinji, Ken, Kanji (when he’s not around Naoto, then he’s in a trash can for me), P1/2 casts, Aigis, Mitsuru, as long as the flaws are within reason and are treated pretty well....then I’m ok with it. (again, Kanji/Ryu have moments when I’m like....NOPE! but when they aren’t doing the bad thing I’m cool with them). As long as the flaws are withing reason (aka they aren’t making a jerk person out to be the person in the right, or the writing is trying to sweep what they did under the rug, or trying to force us into empathizing with them despite what they did while also trying ot sacrifice empathy towards another char.....*cough*Makoto/Yukari/Junpei*cough* if the writing isn’t doing that...... I’m probs neutral to pos on them). 

Like I’m fine if they are criticizing the writing and being like “Him doing this makes no sense cause it conflicts with the good boi we’ve already seen!” That’s a-ok! Not only do you recognize your char has flaws, you also are able to identify issues with the writing. But saying “so I’ll choose to ignore that scene” isn’t....ok. Because sadly it did happen, as contradictory it did happen. AU it all you want, but you have to accept it happened outside of that AU. Like, I don’t like the Mika conflict in Anne’s CoOp, by which I don’t like how it went down (100% fine with Mika, and there being conflict with her). How it the whole thing started doesn’t make sense if you put MainStory!Anne in her CoOp. MS!Anne can read the room and other people’s emotions (only other person capable of that is Haru, or at least with Mona), hell she was so good at it she noticed something was up with Shiho without Shiho telling her about it! The issue was the fact Anne’s not a mind reader and could only assume the issue Shiho was going through that Anne was aware of (and that was her spot on the team). Now MS!Anne is not like Yosuke, she doesn’t put her foot in her mouth. She’s not like Naoto who can’t read the room. She’s not super eloquent, but can empathize and when she can interact with people she can do it pretty well. So why the hell does she basically not think before talking and insult Mika? Sure Anne’s not GREAT at school, but she’s not a moron, she can talk to people. But her CoOp makes her a moron all around, 100% airhead, and that’s how her issues with Mika start, by not thinking before talking and accidentally insulting her via blatantly “not caring” about the job to a full time person......it’s stupid, it makes no sense, I hate it. But it’s there, the flaw might not be present in the main story, but for the all around character (cause CoOps are included) it is now and I just have to deal with it. We can bitch about it all day (and trust me I will) but it happened. Basically never frame it as “it didn’t happen,” but instead “It SHOULDN’T HAVE happened.” One is denial, the other is critiquing the text. 

Anyway my rant aside, yeah I hate it when...well Ren/Ryu/Yusuke (no one’s said Mona yet, cause....well yeah...which is good they haven’t labeled him as it yet tho), are labeled as “drinking respect women juice” and I’m like “I have one to a few women who would disagree.” I know some people will argue Goro is drinking it, and imo he’s not....he’s just eating the “I don’t discriminate sandwich” which is different. And yeah the “But Yusuke-” yeah yeah we’ll get to him, but right now we’re talking about RYUJI. I’m not a fan of derailing a topic *war flashbacks* *shivers* anyway. But yeah I remember that debate, I was probably one who was like “We’ll get to Yusuke but right now we’re talking about Ryuji” and pushing the blame onto Anne is disgusting and Kamo Arc!Ryuji would be very upset. >:( (btw high key I think I was the first one who started the first anti-makoto war wave with me saying “yeah Anne shouldn’t have apologized Makoto started it and blah blah she was an ass” not the exact words but basically just calling her out on her shitty behavior cause the game certainly didn’t......tho as Miley Cyrus would say.....”I didn’t mean to start a waaaaaar~!” I actually wrote my first Persona Problems on that topic.......but it got lost in the drafts....my photo examples kept getting messed up which is bad considering the whole post really relied on them....I should try to dig it up tbh....)

Tldr/short answer: Yeah, you probably already have issues with the char to begin with tbh, and the fanbase can highlight those issues more. It’s also hard to escape the fanbase (I see stuff I don’t wanna see despite trying my hardest to avoid certain circles, it just happens).

[igarbagecannoteven]

okay hello i have many questions, your wip look so fucking good!! please tell me about the following (i hope i didn't accidentally skip over an explanation for any of these)

last of the real ones malum museum (love the sound of the lashton one for this already btw)

gone off the razors edge

cause he's a cancer

horror trilogy

please tell me everything thank u -mimi

hi mimi i'm glad you think my wips look good 🥺 and of course i'd love to tell you everything :))

"last of the real ones malum museum" is something i started before i wrote if i bleed you'll be the last to know and while i'd really love to finish this one it'd be a little tricky what with the way i ended if i bleed but! i've been thinking and i ~may~ be able to make it work they just might have to argue a bit lol. basically calum has been really busy with fighting this new batch of supervillains and he's kinda avoiding talking to michael about it (for reasons i'm still polishing lol) and he starts going out during the day on weekends as well as his usual nighttime stuff. michael gets a little huffy about this and is like "well if he doesn't tell me everything he does i don't have to tell him everything i do" and decides to go to a museum on his own while calum's out fighting crime and then the museum gets attacked and michael sees calum in action for the first time. i think it'll be an interesting one to write and i'm excited to try to return to it once some of my other wips have stopped boiling over lol

"gone off the razor's edge" is uh. a fic for sure! it's done it's finished and it's the first major character death i've ever written and it is very much an "angst without a happy ending" fic. it's cashton ~and~ it's a oneshot superhero au (unrelated to all my other superhero aus lol) and uh yeah. idk what else to say about it so i'll give you a couple lines for funzies:

“You knew I might cause the apocalypse and you still decided to date me?” Calum’s voice rose several octaves as he spoke.

“What can I say, everybody makes bad choices.” Ashton offered up a trembling smile and Calum let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

i talked a bit about "cause he's a cancer" here, so instead of repeating anything i'll just give you a little snippet! idk if this is going to stay in the final draft but it all depends on how the revision process plays out:

“Sorry Calum’s a dirty tea thief,” he said, mentally crossing his fingers that he’d gauged correctly and Ashton wasn’t in such a terrible mood that he couldn’t joke around.

Ashton let out a breathy laugh. “Ah, it’s alright. You’re not in charge of him.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

"horror trilogy" is something i'm vey excited for but also something i doubt is going to have much interaction bc it is neither a ship fic or a friendship fic! it's just calum all on his ownio (well. not on his own exactly. but that's where the horror comes in.) it's going to actually be a (very) short chapter fic with 3 "parts" and one interlude (which is exactly 100 words long bc i'm me) (only the interlude is 100 words the other parts are longer i just realized that may not have been clear lol) it's my first ever music video fic (each part is based on a music video, and no they aren't 5sos mvs but yes they're all by one artist) and it's proving to be pretty difficult but i think it'll be fun once it's done! there's been so much good horror in the 5sos fandom recently so i thought i'd try and contribute a little myself :))

ask me about my wips!

[wackygoofball]

Hiya! You're such a positive person in the JB fandom and I'm kinda disillusioned right now after this week's episode... I think I was caught up in Nik and Gwen's interviews and the hype and started to believe JB is happening this season but maybe not? I haven't kept up with the leaks but I'm starting to think that Nik and Gwen knew the JB fandom was bound to be disappointed and were trying to give us something to smile about... :/ how are you feeling about the whole thing??

Hi there, anon!

To start out with your last question first – I thinkyou are implying two things with your question, right? On the one hand, what Ithink of the Gwen/Nik interviews in connection to the episode and an overallassessment of L’Episode du Blegh. Ihope I got that correctly.

So, to turn to the first part of the question that Inow interpret to be a part of it… I tend to read too much into things, so youhave to excuse me in that regard, LOL. Anyway, do I think that Gwen and Nikhave been riding the JB Hype Train only just to please us JB shippers?

Nope.

Why?

For a number of reasons.

First of all, as much influential as the JB Media™ maybe (we control the internet, guys!), we do not wield that much power that our mostprecious, dorky Dane, who is still finding out how social media work, and ourmagical unicorn of wonder will mean to appeal to *us* in that way. So, theassumption that they were trying to brace us for Le Blegh presumes that they’d feel a personal need to keep us JBshippers tuned, prepare us for the inevitable Le Blegh. And I don’t think that is the case.

Hand in hand goes that Gwen’s also been going on aboutthat Wildling Fellow with the Beard™ in connection to Brienne (now, whether that was herpersonal choice or something communicated to her by HBO/managers/producers/whatnot is up to debate and not the topic just now). She wouldn’t have done that ifher agenda was to somehow reassure JB shippers – or to prep them up for yetanother scene. She would have chosen another language during that point of timeto reflect on that matter, which she did not. So that, to me, already worksagainst the hypothesis that she’d have interest or feel a need to brace JBshippers for something inevitable such as a short-lived, comical relief TBscene or Le Blegh.

Another reason – Nik is an epic, good-looking(epically good-looking) troll when it comes to spoilers. He is really good atsaying a lot while saying nothing at all, so not to reveal anything spoilery. That is his kind of style, but it’s notreally his style (as far as I have seen in the retrospective of his interviewson previous seasons) that he’d push one thing as a reassurance for fans to staytuned.

Nik’s usual turn is to talk about Jaime at the pointof time where we left off the past season before the new season airs. Which isa smart thing, because it makes him less vulnerable to reveal big spoilers – heonly ever speaks of Jaime based on what is *common knowledge* and iscanonically true.

So, I just don’t believe our two precious celebs woulddo that. On the contrary, I believe that they have been as JB-friendly as theywere because a) both enjoy playing that relationship, b) Nik ships it, let’s bereal…, c) Nik is happy to talk about anythingbut his character’s incestuous relationship with his twin sister for theumpteenth time – and who can blame the man, really??? and d) judging by anotherinterview Gwen gave (when yet again asked about the Wildling Fellow who ShallNot Be Named and responded in a way that came across to me as her being ratherannoyed on her character’s behalf that it should be about Brienne’s feelingsand not that of said character not tobe named), I also think that she is rather happy to talk about her character’s*deep* relationship with another character instead of that throw-away scenethat got way more hype than likely anyone ever anticipated.

The point thus is that I just don’t feel like Gwen andNik would do that. Nik loves trolling, but that is not trolling, really. It’sjust not their style, as far as I can judge.

But anyway, the big point I didn’t yet speak of isthat there comes another assumption with this assessment – that JB shipperswill be disappointed this season, which they meant to brace us against byflooding us with some JB goodness in the interviews.

And I don’t think they will be in the longrun of theseason.

I think we are going to get JB candy, even if we hadto swallow some Blegh.

A lot of Blegh.

That is what makes most sense to me *at this point* -though, mind you, that is just my personal observation, I am no psychologist,behaviorist, or what not, I am not inside Gwendoline Christie’s or NikolajCoster-Waldau’s heads. I am just basing this on my reading of their pastinterviews in connection to the seasons that aired following their ipromos.

Anyway, moving on to the second part of the question.

… But, another thing I just want to addressbeforehand:

I guess it may have been obvious to some of myfollowers (btw: thank you for staying around, you guys. I don’t know how youput up with my random posting!), but I have been *very* absent ever since L’Episode du Blegh aired. I have beenstaying off of most social media, safe for some random posting in-between, andotherwise have stayed in the safe haven called JBO, precisely because I am a positive JB-shipper, asyou say, and I didn’t want to (and still don’t want to) engage in thenegativity I knew I was going to be met with ever since L’Episode du Blegh flicked across the screens.

By that I want to make clear that I get it, that Iunderstand the reasons, that people have valid points and criticism they wantto voice, but that I just do not wish to engage with that sort of discourse. Ihave no interest in ranting about the show either. Just like I have noparticular interest in trying to convince people of the contrary (for neitherdo I find it my duty or within my powers).

Everyone his or her own, and my own is the positivityand the hype.

Where was I? Right, L’Episode du Blegh and the Hype and how to sensibly connectthat.  

So, stating the obvious: I rather would have donewithout it. I am still not yet sure just why they keep bothering both theactors and the viewers with something that long since lost its OMG moment thatis rather naturally associated with incest scenes. It’s not shocking anymore,really, so… it’s basically just yet another eye roll moment every damn time.

And that is also the first take-away for me – it wasnot shocking for me. Ever since it was clear that they’d keep Jaime in Cersei’sclutches for a good part of the next season (for whatever greater purpose theywant to see achieved), I was prepared for that to happen. So… I was notshocked, I was prepared, and thus not nearly as freaked out as I presumablywould have been if I had just walked into that situation *unprepared*.

How was I prepared, then?

Because let’s be real, sex was and is the basis oftheir relationship since ever. It’s the one thing that connects them, becauseeverything else… they are just wanting to believe to be a unity, but thefictional reality portrays it as it is – there is no connecting material beyondthe factors of their familial ties, the sex, and the illusions they built up tomake it more than it ever was (aka delusion).

I mean, what struck me ever since the new season airedare those little yet powerful clues. Rewatch the throne room scenes, and lookat how they keep Jaime out of almost every frame when you see Cersei on thethrone, where you should see her whole *gang* (Qyburn + Frankengregor) – butlook who’s so far off to the right that you don’t even see him in the fuckin’frames! Right, the Kingslayer who’s supposed to be *on her side*! Instead, weget reaction shots of his that are Fifty Shades of WTF.

(Sorry, didn’t find a fitting gif from the throne room, but this is one of the wtf faces he has for Cersei right now and I love it!)

Then, as this episode showed just as strongly: Thetwins’ ways of dealing with enemies. We’ve seen it at Riverrun/King’s Landingalready past season (Jaime ending the siege without bloodshed, Cersei… SEPTKABLOOM).

However, this made it ever the clearer, ever the more visible – Jaime*refused* Cersei’s demand/order to give Olenna a violent death (like, the wordinghe used makes clear *to me* that it’s not just a secret choice he’s made, butsomething he actively told her he would not do), gave her a painless poison anddidn’t *reconsider* even when Olenna tossed the truth bombs at him aboutJoffrey’s death (like, he could have stabbed her, then, too, to express hisanger, let it out – which is what Cersei probably would have done, let’s bereal… if chick knew how to use a sword…) in contrast to Cersei’s way of dealingwith Ellaria. I don’t mean to imply that Ellaria didn’t deserve to die – inthis universe, the one punishment was death. But Cersei makes her sufferthrough however long the torment is going to last. She doesn’t just do thiseye-for-an-eye politic or quickly disposes of *threats*, she lives out her sadism on a woman she *justifiably*feels hatred towards, but in ways that go way beyond any measure of being aproper payback. So, the narrative purpose of that was surely to highlight their difference rather than their similarities in that regard. Which is an easy but effective way to signify dissonance.

… *side note: It is forever funny that Cersei talksabout (bad) choices Ellaria made, when Cersei’s choices inevitably led to that huge parts of that mess, it’s just that she won’t recognize her own role in this beyond e.g. whatshe said to Olenna. Cersei doesn’t get how she *indirectly* always has herhands in her children’s deaths through the choices she makes, which I take tobe one of the big upshots of her prophecy – even when she tries to protect herkids, she leads to their downfall, to their ending up with golden shrouds thanks to bad decisions.

Anyway, where was I?

The point of my previous rambling is this: Yes, therewas Le Blegh, but there was a shitton of other things in that episode that should get those people hopeful whowish for Jaime to finally step away from his sister, and embrace the man he canstill become (and FINALLY shake it up with Brienne).  

If you are looking for a shit ton of great analyses,please go to the JBO thread about the episode. There are great points thereraised that shed many different lights on the matter. You should check it out!

As to the scene itself, even that showed to me somebig points that speak for what Nik and Gwen have been promoting with JB,basically.

For instance, the very fact that Jaime now tried thefamily’s coping mechanisms (alcohol) prior to Le Blegh. Quite excessively for his stanards, I may add.

Or the fact that his first impetus is to put the golden handback on, because he *knows* that *normally* Cersei wants him to wear it (veryconsistent with what Nik said in previous interviews on the matter, by the way,just like Clapton when asked about Jaime’s costume piece, the golden hand).Sure, I rather would have had her put it on because it would have transmitted*more clearly* that she is not really fond of that *blemish* of his and ratherwants to see it covered up in something golden to conceal that.

But I am not writing the scripts, so who am I to say?

Yet, that does not negate that the subversion will notbe as powerful once JB shake it up. I still hold on firmly to the (up untilproven right or wrong – I hope to be proven right of course!) headcanon thatBrienne will particularly touch the stump in a loving way. I also hold on tothe headcanon that if we get a morning after scene between the two, she willhave grasped his stump. That would make for a perfect subversion of preciselythat scene.

Anyway, moving back from the fanfic mode…

Another point worth raising is that I tend to readthat scene in a certain way (as expressed in that most wonderful thread Imentioned), which is that Jaime *tries to desperately hold on to thisrelationship*. He tries to hold on to the sex. Because that is the only thinghe has left, basically.

Let’s be real.

This episode proved that he deliberately gave up onthe Rock, which he cared about more than he ever let on until now (see his lineto Olenna about this place being important to him personally wrt childhoodmemories etc.). He gave up on it for strategic purposes.

He is a high lord who is to give up on his castle tosee a certain purpose achieved.

Remember Jaime as he rode to Riverrun and talked toBronn about how he could be his Hand now? That man was rather enthusiastic fora moment or two, dared to be, now that he realized himself as Lord of Casterly Rock, and liked it.Contrast that to the man who conversed with Olenna. Jaime is a lord withoutcastle. He is nto even a bodyguard via Kingsguard anymore. He is a guy who admits to a dying woman (he has no real reason to lieto at this point of time) that it has indeed gone out of his control, that whatCersei does is beyond his control, basically.

And this man thus has… basically nothing that he cansee within his possibilities other than what he has made great sacrifices forin order to keep – that relationship.

I know, sucks,but… man, divorces are often LOOOOOONG processes: You deny, you hold on eventhough you probably should let go, you want it to work, you want it tocontinue, especially if you invested *so very much* into that relationship.It’s nothing you just walk away from, particularly if you have… nowhere else togo.

I mean, sure, that is not what is directly transmittedin that scene – I really think Jaime just wants to believe, wants to numb thatpain, so he does what he always does, he bottles up, focuses on what he has(which is twincesty blegh), and tries to make himself believe that this is allhe needs or is the best he’s ever going to get.

However, if we see this in the larger context of theepisode, I tend to read it in that way that Jaime really has nowhere to go. TheRock – gone. The rest of the realm – not really on good terms with theKingslayer. Like, what other option does Jaime see for himself? What sense ofpotential other options does he have available to him?

He has none *at this point of time* (but that willchange eventually!!!). To him, there is just one sense, and that is that thisis *it*, that this is the best he can get, will ever get, he’s conditionedhimself and let himself be conditioned to regard this as the one thing in hislife that matters, the one thing to hold on to.

So… from Jaime’s POV, holding on to that, holding onto Cersei *even though* he does not approve of most/all of her choices(question remains just what version Jaime believes in wrt Sept Kabloom – I havenot yet figured if he knows the whole truth or only knows of the version Cersei’sbeen telling to Mycroft of the Iron Bank or something entirely else…), makessense (even though we are annoyed by it). It makes sense that he is in denial.Jaime is big in denial. He is big in bottling up, putting away.

At the same time, the (despite all of its grossness)wonderful set-up of that morning after scene is Cersei’s ego-tripping all theway through. We started out with her murdergasming over Sand Snatch No. 1.which she had to put to use by shaking it up with her brother. And the next morning,sure, to Jaime, it must feel really good to believe that she is now standing upto their relationship (which he’s asked of her in previous seasons and in thebooks), but I think to Cersei… it was *way more* and *quite another* matter.For Cersei, this was total ego-trip. She feels powerful now an that makes herfeel REALLY good (yup, reference to her going about Unella and how sex with herbrother feels good and all those things… she is enjoying herself in hermurdergasmy, egomaniac ways). And she likes it. Loves it, even.

In a way, she is doing things in a subverted way theway her dear first husband (fat may rest his soul) who’s had the whores in hischamber by the dozen and not even making an attempt of hiding it from thegeneral populace or anyone around the palace. Cersei, as queen (as she remindsJaime… with that smile… she is so high on power… it’s like shrooms for Cerseigiving her many egogasms), beds whoever she pleases, just like Robert beddedwhoever he pleased, no matter what was conventional/ruled differently byconventions and laws.

However, the implication is *not* necessarily that sheactually wants to be out in the open with Jaime, to my understanding, theimplication for her is that she just gets to do what Robert did, that she getsto do what she was judged for so long she was the Queen to a King instead ofQueen in her own right (via Sept Kabloom). Neatly, that leaves Jaime under thebelief that she is totally invested and is now out in the open about theirrelationship, when really, I don’t find it unlikely that she’ll give it awaywith her making murdergasmy eyes at Euron/Hot Danish Pacey.

If he wants her to make good on the promise and movetowards marriage even before the war’s ended, I wouldn’t put it past Cersei tobe willing to do that. I don’t want to go into spec mode here, but the point ismore on a hypothetical level – I don’t put it past Cersei at this stage to bewilling to marry Euron, and tell Jaime in the same breath that they can stillcontinue to have sex because she is Queen and as such, she can do however shepleases, and that she’s gonna get rid of Euron eventually, and that Jaime, forthen, will have to live with things the way they were under Robert. Pointbeing, my reading of that scene was not Cersei’s displaying that she is nowwilling to be open about the incest, to marry him the way the Targs did, butshe leaves him under the belief that the option is now available, and leavesherself under the belief that Jaime isn’t going to get any better than that andthat he wouldn’t ever want to get anything else but that kind of jam.

And I think therein lies a big crux – Jaime can getsomething else for himself. And I think it will materialize itself in the shapeof a tall woman walking around in a custom-made armor and with a wedding swordaround the waist.

ENTER Brienne of Tarth.

Like, all the Blegh aside, this is potentially *great*set-up for JB. Think about it!

Jaime, right now, has no sense of future orpossibility beyond what lies between him and Cersei. Whenever he sees Brienne,whenever he waves her goodbye, he is under the belief that it’s going to be thelast time they see one another, that he can’t have her, that she wouldn’t wanthim, that there is no way for him despite his attraction that he cannot voiceother than cryptic messages such as “It’s yours. It will always be yours.”

Jaime doesn’t let that thought happen, and thus, hissense of opportunity and personal fulfillment remains tied to whatever Cerseidoes and whatever it is that they currently make of their relationship.

If things turn out the way some people (myselfincluded) believe it to go, next episode will feature Jaime doing aself-sacrificial move that may get him killed, but he does it anyway. And thatwould neatly tie in with the assessment that he sees no future for himself,that he is *really* earnestly depressed, seeing how everything has spiraledbeyond his control.

Just like it would be such a wonderful, wonderfulset-up for, yup, guessed it:

JB.

Brienne, particularly on the show, has been a primarymarker for Jaime to push his character. Through being around her, he makescritical decisions that tie in with questions of honor and who he wants to be.She is a good catalyst for that, the message clearly being that she brings outthe best in him, and being the one to inspire *hope* in him.

And if that is what Brienne is to do, then that is the*perfect* contrast. If Jaime finds a reason to live and dedicate his life to*through her* - well, what a clear message that would be as opposed to himsuccumbing to the existence he’s been portrayed to have alongside Cersei, onlyever caught up in false beliefs and illusions about himself to somehow justifyhis staying with her despite him being well aware that she is a terribleperson.

To me, this episode only ever cemented my assessmentthat Brienne will come to stand for hope and life for Jaime, will inspire thatin him, whereas Cersei seems to inspire contrary ideas in him, that her actionsput him on the opposite scale of hope and future, only ever allowing for Jaimeto perceive his future at the length of what Cersei permits or what Jaimepermits himself in connection to Cersei. Like, this episode can very well cometo serve as a wonderful set-up for future JB content.

Jaime is hitting rock-bottom right now. And that issooooo begging for Brienne of Tarth to stride in and set the record straight.

And the fact that he spirals down *right now* is sucha wonderful set-up, really, because that will put JB much closer to endgame(aka they grow safer and safer and more likely to be one of the relationshipsto last through the Long Night).

So, sure, I rather would have done without it. Irather would have had it narrated in a slightly different way *based on what Iknow up to this point* - but again, I don’t know (and no one else here knows!) towhere the writers are headed with Jaime on the show. I am perfectly convinced that there isa way to make his arc come full circle in a satisfactory way. However, that issomething that will only reveal itself once the last season has aired.

At thispoint, I tend to focus on what the episode gave us beside the Blegh. And therewas a lot. Not just Jaime looking hot as fuck, riding on that white horse.

Damn.

I thinkthere were many indication that are ripe for subversion. I think that there isa sense of distance between them despite the fact that they were united in theblegh. I think there is a sense of Jaime’s being depressed, which signals to methat he is not happy, even when he tries to make himself believe that he is. Ithink that a lot of that is rooted in his apparently low self-esteem that seemsrather queer on a man who’s also arrogant: He doesn’t have a sense of future orthat he can get better *for himself* in a relationship with someone who is… nothis twin sister… and much closer to his goals, codices, world views, etc.,because he doesn’t think other options are available to him.

And I think that this is the mindset he is put in *asstrongly as possible* this season to make for an epic turn-around for when hemeets up with Brienne. Because if he is to realize that he has a shot with her…he has an option available to him.

He will get to choose who he loves.

And I think that this choice will be made by the endof the season, putting us JB shippers to the happiness that Nik and Gwen madeus enthusiastic about in the promos.

So… I get it that people are down. I get it that youare down, but I hope that this mad rambling shed some light on the situationthat may allow for another way of reflecting on it – in a more hopeful manner.Because there is reason to hope, I am most certain of that.

I hope that answered your question… in a very longpost. Very long. VERY long.

So yeah, stay tuned and CONTINUE TO FEEL THE HYPE!!!

[ripplestitchskein]

1/ So one of the thoughts I'm having after that amazing chapter is how excited I am to see what killian is like, how he grows. Thus is kinda incoherent but like, he finally fir the first time has his base Maslow hierarchy of needs met. He's warm, he has a safe place to sleep, he has enough food, and he's not afraid of physical or emotional violence. For the first time. And he's learning to trust someone. Learning that it's safe to have feelings and share himself instead of just being sweet/

2/ and cowering because that’s the only way he got any food and fewer beatings. But now, he can actually have a safe place to explore more if his personality, things he likes and dislikes. And I think they’ll both be surprised by that development… she cares about him and she is attracted to him and she wants to take care of him… and mold him, with his consent, into her tool and companion and toy (in a nice way). But still using him, not presently respecting his boundaries (see re /3/ dream catcher and ps fuck you very much on that front it felt like I was there)… but she sort of… respects what he’s been through but doesn’t quite think of him having his own opinions yet. Because he doesn’t because he’s never had the luxury or safety of having opinions. She doesn’t want to hurt him or embarrass him, she wants to care for him… but she doesn’t see him as ever disagreeing with her. She likes that he never had disagreed. And part of that is that he’s agreeable and /4/grateful for his rescue from torture and servitude but also because his opinion never was relevant to anyone before, most especially to himself. So I am really, really eager to see how this plays out… him finding out about the dream catcher invasion of privacy, him developing his own opinions and feeling safe enough to disagree or get mad or frustrated with her, and him eventually realizing that the sub is actually the one in control, that he can say no and trust that she will respect it/5/ which she sure as hell didn’t when he said no about his memories. It will be really interesting to see how she reacts to her toy/companion finding a bit of a spine and how the darkness reacts to that weakness in her regard for him. She clearly cares but also clearly is having a hard time remembering how to show care, hence the apology for him hearing people tortured via bj (beautifully done, btw). So I’m expecting some drama in C4 as killian finds his way back to himself with his basic/6/ needs finally met and him finally safe and watching how he reacts and she reacts when he learns about what those circle things are for and sees his feather and shells in one. This is just such a great fic with so much depth and complexity and yet also has hot smut. I am enjoying it immensely. Thank you!

Okay. Let me first start by saying. I love you. This is gonna get long and I’ll try not to be spoilery but I absolutely love this discussion.

There is nothing more gratifying to me than someone picking up EXACTLY what I’m putting down, be that the underlying themes, little snippets of detail, or just general symbols and everything you’ve described here is exactly what I was trying to convey and why I structured the story in this manner AND why I had to extend it.

I had a lot of scenes for developing both of them that I thought could be quick and dirty (not like sex dirty but you know, well not ONLY like sex dirty…) but then when I wrote them all out in a list I realized I needed a lot more room.

I wanted to see how Deckhand Hook would be in an environment where he basically has everything he wanted. Where Dark Swan has a person who didn’t want her to be anything but herself and who didn’t want to use her, and how they individually adjust to those vastly different environments. At the same time the reason it’s lite sub/dom is that there is an aspect of needed control that DS has, and a life of regimented order and being controlled that DH Hook has that taking them out of those dynamics would be pretty ruinous for them, but that worked perfectly for the characters together.

I also wanted to explore anxiety in its different manifestations. That’s something that is incredibly important and central to my life, and this fic kind of let’s me highlight the different coping mechanisms that come into play, and the different ways that they don’t necessarily help, and that just reassurance alone doesn’t even help, it’s a deeper issue than that. Emma manages hers with emotional unavailability, unhealthy outlets, and control of her environment and the people in it. Killian in contrast pretends these problems don’t exist, fills his world with mindless activity, and requires someone else to help him make decisions to prevent himself from spiraling and really focusing on what he wants. So seeing if they can work back to center will be fun.

I also really love the sexual healing aspect on both sides. Emma learning to respect someone else’s needs, work around her own desires to just take and get it out of her system, having to slow down by necessity, and healing some of Killian’s insecurities through an outlet that had been out of reach to him in the environments he had been in before but how that in turn, as is the nature of anxiety, brings up totally new fears he didn��t have to deal with before this was a part of his life.

I also wanted to kind of bring the CS dynamic from the show into it. Killian and Emma developed emotionally in regards to relationships at vastly different rates due to their underlying personalities and it took some drastic things for them to come together as a unit. I still think the show fails on allowing us to see Killian’s side of things, and that Emma doesn’t necessarily respect his emotions/boundaries/needs to the degree she should even 6 seasons in, but from a character aspect that works really well for DS. And of course this Dark Swan is based a lot of what we saw in S5, she was still very vulnerable and sweet and gentle in her interactions especially with Henry and Hook, but could be cold and terrifying like with the dwarves/Rumple/Regina when she wanted something.

And of course there is the self preservation aspect of the darkness, since it is its own cognitive being in a sense, to work with as well that colors some of Emma’s interactions. Even DH Hook’s moral ambiguity is pretty central just because of how he was brought up, and his struggles with that and learning how he wants to feel about it now that he has a choice in how he feels.

And to a degree, the audience’s own inherent moral compass, the fact that you don’t really sympathize with the “villains” at all, or feel sorry for them, and can kind of feel free to root for Emma despite how ehhh her actions are.

And those things are A LOT of fun to explore.

I hope the pacing is okay with the remaining two chapters, I didn’t want to rush their development, that was really critical to me since this is a character driven rather than a plot driven adventure story, but I also didn’t want to drag on with little interactions that weren’t necessarily meaningful (as fun as little head canon scenes can be) so I chose scenes that were both critical for them and for the plot overall. Ch4 is furthering them and their relationship and how they react to actually being in one, and Ch5 kind of brings everything together if that makes sense.

Ch3 and Ch4 are really one central theme split into two parts because holy chapter length batman. So I hope people aren’t put off by the lack of adventurey plotty plot, that has been my fear from the beginning, since this is more subtle emotional and relationship development through interactions type story and any drama is based more on their character flaws and internal darknesses rather than outside events.

I just really love that you and others have kind of just gotten what I wanted to say immediately. It’s a really different fic for me to write in that they aren’t going off on some adventure and learning each other through external strife, and I love it and I’m so happy it seems to be working like I intended and will always hope it doesn’t come across as boring or dragging.

Your support it for has seriously just made me so very happy, and the recent weeks have been some of the best I’ve had in fandom.