#srsly i could go on and on about the elements that make this all so perfect

[i-yap]

omg you are also south indian!!!! i find it really hard to find south indians on here, could you do the batboys reacting to reader wearing traditionally indian clothing for a wedding they are attending???

Im north Indian with a little spanish in me shifting to NY actually but yea the indian dc fanfic community is smaller. I love the idea of a traditional indian s/o with Jason particularly. Dick with someone spanish , tim with an African American, Damian with caucasion and bruce with someone asian. Idk why Thats just How I imagine it. Its in no way a canon to their character or a generalization of people from a culture but the cultures ,and norms and values of these cultures really suit the batboys. Hope this isn't offensive. So Im just going to do batboys x reader in a family event .

Batboys(tim, dick, jason , bruce)x y/n - At a family event

Dick Grayson

is also dressed in your cultural's traditional clothes. Dick has traveled all over the world and he likes seeing you in your traditional clothes. Being comfortable in your traditional wear, being in "your element" . He charms up all your family members, no-one even calls him the white boyfriend anymore . The women also hit on him( of all age groups srsly) He is part of the family by the end( or within 5 mins) of the night . Dont be surprised when you find him and your family laughing about what jokes your parents are going to make at your wedding. He isn't even nervous before going. He is a real charmer and you couldn't be prouder.

Jason todd

doesnt want to go. Really thinks your family wont like him and they probably wont the first time they meet him. Will still wear his leather jacket but at least he wore a white shirt and clean jeans? He even agreed to take the car rather then the bike. Will stop complaining the moment he sees you in your element. Like goddess pro max what even , so ethereal ,the world is shaking . Staring dialed up to 100/10 . plus his complaining was never serious to start with. He wants you to have a family, be connected to your background,. Its just one of the things that make you you and he wont change a single hair on you. Will probably get insecure ( I get set up or marriage proposal talks when I go to family functions - just indian girl things I hate it tbh. And I've noticed its a thing in a lot of cultures) because he'll think that you deserve that traditional life with people who 'get you" but no one will ever get you the way he does and you just need to remind him of that. He is a bit broody , tall and just kind of sticks by you . The men and boys of the group are probably fascinated by him so as the night goes he starts getting more comfortable around them. The kids lowkey like him a lot so its cute and you may get baby fever. And the older women of the group are poking at him( why the jacket? whats with that scar) and you'll have to rescue him. He'll do it all over for you though.

Tim drake-

time to put on that practiced facade. He is used to putting on a fake winning smile at those galas so imagine his surprise when his old tricks don't work at your family function. Personal space? privacy?? fake formalities?? don't exist. Bonus points if it isn't a fake rich family. But he gets to see you In a pretty clothes and he is simping, teasing you on how you look like a real girl now(but he lowkey prefers you in the geeky shirts you guys share) . he did research so like ask him the They are still very impressed by your respectful young man ( who is super rich and smart). He gets by tbh, a bit shy because he is just so not used to all this. But keep him near you, show him how to dance properly and get a few drinks in him and its a party. He loves it, your family loves him and your cousins are now his besties (don't ask when that happened). He loves having a family and it just leaves him with wonder. He is in awe of this and so grateful that you let him into your life.

Bruce wayne

does a lot of research . He knows exactly how to act, what to say and what to do. A bit cold and aloof . Still surprised by the whole chaos . But unlike tim he keeps his cool. your family is impressed by you "bagging" the rich billionaire boyfriend. If this is batman with robins ver then they are worried about the huge amount of kids he adopted and what that means for you. So uh..just mention the billion again? They ask really personal questions but bruce prepared and is so ready for it. He loves seeing you in your traditional clothes, probably encourages you to wear them casually too. As if anyone can stop you, go to galas in traditional clothes or just wear home traditional in the mansion. Over all he loves getting a peak into your life and what experiences shaped you to be the woman he loves so dearly now.

If there's anything offensive about this let me know and I will change the content or even delete the whole thing. Ive based it a little of the four different cultured families I have and the common stuff I've noticed in all of them. But I've tried keeping it as general as possible tbh. So I'm sorry if this is offending anyone.

[lover-of-mine]

After the promo feeling a very "Eddie trapped under the fridge in the van" tonight... Ana what would happen if it's trapped Eddie again, Anna?? No, but srsly what do you think? Any spec...👀

Okay, hi, this is gonna get long, I'm sorry in advance, but hey, you asked oaksoaksoaksoaksa

No, but seriously, I'm gonna go back to what the goal of my drown Buck 2024 spec was to explain my thought process right now.

I said that initial spec came from the voices in my head, but I did have a somewhat logical thought process. Here's the thing, buddie needs to talk about almost dying, and (shameless self-promo incoming) while writing the trauma fic, I was trying to find what could be a canon trigger because I wanted to get as close to canon with that conversation as possible, so much so I didn't even plan on that ending up getting together fic, it just happened (and given the reaction I got to the fic, I think I did stay close to canon), and I realized the only way to get them talking about dying is to almost kill them again. And while in that trying to stay in canon mindset while looking at traumatic events, I caught on to some patterns on the way they handle and frame the ndes as triggers that were never pulled to their full extent. Considering the similarities between the well and the lightning (set on that here for better visualization) I was convinced we needed to give Buck a shooting moment. Mostly because buddie are connected through death. The big changes in their relationship are triggered by ndes. The truck, the tsunami, the well, the shooting, the lightning.

And well, the shooting is as intense as it is because of a few factors: it happens by chance, the thing they were supposed to be doing was already done but they weren't supposed to be there to begin with, it brings up a previous trauma for both Buck and Eddie, Buck is forced to do the saving alone. It's why the second collapse on the bridge made so much sense for so many of us. Because the show could draw us into a false sense of security and pull the rug the same way the shooting comes out of nowhere. They were at a bridge so adding water elements would be easy, and that's real for both of them since tsunami/well, betting trapped in/under a vehicle, doing the saving alone because everyone else is out of commission somehow. I also added the idea of equipment malfunctioning, because I kept going back to that (I don't fully know why I'm so hung up on that, it just makes sense in my head), and you could have all that happening at the bridge while Buck tried to get Eddie out.

But transferring all this to what we know about the 808 call. The cool thing about Buck and Eddie is that they are really mirrored and most triggers for one of them would work for both. Obviously, since I was literally mirroring the shooting, I latched onto the idea of Buck doing the dying and Eddie doing the saving (also because I know Ryan would EAT a desperate cpr scene), but it works either way. So let's assume Eddie is the one in danger here just because I think Eddie nde can have more consequences (you can trigger Eddie, Buck, Eddie and Chris, and buddie all for the price of dropping Eddie off a cliff or trapping him in a flooding car lol) and he's been relatively safe for a while since the bridge was a collective accident and Buck got him out with no effort. Oliver mentioned rock climbing and Tim said something about one character hanging off a cliff and I'm thinking maybe this is literal. So something collapses. We have very obvious water elements with the hydrants and the amount of cars makes the trapped under/in a vehicle easy too, something going to hell by chance, the street collapsing or the equipment failing and trapping Eddie inside the car we saw him in could do that, and since we have Buck and Eddie paired, Buck being the closest makes it so that he would have to do the saving. But the thing is, 809 is already done. So legit, if this is happening, this is where the episode ends and we get our first real cliffhanger.

I sorta want Buck to be the one who ends up trapped in the flooding car because I want the bragging rights, but I think rn, Eddie would have more consequences, but if we are talking pattern Buck is the one who usually dies with an audience, so I'm seriously going back and forth, it's all gonna depend on what they want to trigger here. Because the ndes are the beginning of the change, leading to some big consequences later on, and since Chris is not back yet, I can see them forcing a possible parallel oh moment in the way the shooting is supposed to be and then Eddie going to get Chris because Buck needs to get to a point where he's ready for Eddie and Eddie is never gonna truly find joy without Chris and then something on 8b triggers the getting together. Shit can go to hell for either or both of them. The thing that scares me is the way that 809 is already done, so they needed them still in the state they are now, so there will be little to no initial jump on 8b so I keep thinking cliffhanger.

But I'm also trapped into the idea of Eddie saying he's going to go get Chris, the call happening with no real issue and something happening to Eddie as he drives to the airport and the "Nobody’s hanging off a cliff at the end of the episode except for possibly one character." is actually Eddie while the rest of the team is unaware. (Or maybe buddie gets into a car crash while going together and then yall can call me Cassandra)

[rei-ismyname]

Uncanny X-Men #13 Review

TLDR I liked it!

This is an interesting issue, certainly more ambitious than anything in the run so far. It has direct continuity with at least three issues in this run, yet it introduces mostly disparate plot elements at the reader out of nowhere through three mostly separate concurrent narratives. Sadurang, the oddly misogynist dragon from issue #1 shows up, we follow a new young black mutant in the 1920s from segregated Chicago to Jim Crow Louisiana, and the Outliers channel Scooby Doo. A lot happens, which is good, but the mystery is thick and it's mostly setup. Understandably, as it's Dark Artery part 1/4 - so I'm parsing questions instead of answers.

Loving the makeover, dude. Ice suits you

Gambit can't sleep in part because Rogue steals all the blankets. They're both cold. Sadurang the God Snake showing up might have something to do with that - it's not explicit, but Gambit suggested he fuck off to Antarctica when they first met and it seems he did just that. Gambit has been using the Eye of Agamotto he stole to blast children and teleport around, but Sadurang doesn't seem to mind right now. Or does he? Feels like he's kinda hitting on Remy a little bit tbh.

Logan and Sadurang should have a sniff off

He's got questions - very personal and specific questions. 'Where's the bird, thief? You harbouring giant Latverian birds here? I'm asking questions I know the answer to but srsly, spill the tea bestie.' Mind your own business, buddy.

Gambit has no idea what he's talking about, and probably doesn't know about near-immortals fucking either. After Storm and Logan banged, DOOM sent a giant bird to talk to her. Sadurang doesn't really care, it seems he was just making conversation as befits la noblesse oblige. No idea where Gambit kept got those cards from seeing as he's only wearing underpants, but the dragon isn't here to fight. Gambit hops on his back and they fly away. It's refreshing to revisit a plot point that's actually been set-up instead of just springing out of nowhere - I was wondering if we'd truly have to wait a year for his promised return. It seems not, the perceptive icy weirdo has a proposal.

This is Miss Henrietta Benjamin, or Henry. She's a schoolteacher from Chicago who's a mutant and she's leaving for Louisiana to fulfill a duty - and putting her mother, also a mutant - to rest is part of it. Markers of segregation and systems of black solidarity are everywhere, though it's difficult to tell whether the marks she's making are mutant-related or a system of pictorial communication for black folks. Underground railroad code-style. I was only aware of this stuff through the Hobo Code and Skyrim, though pictographic code is much older than that. I assume it's the latter, but the 'Midnight Bark/M' is used in a few pages which confuses the subject. Could be both.

I did quite a bit of research for this (which is why it's later than usual), as the US history we do learn in Australia is about as accurate as our own black history - not very. We pretend to be post-colonial when we're anything but. I want to say it's the 1920s, though I'm going to miss a lot of context. I feel like I should say that upfront - plus I don't want to speak over or for black voices. Henry is seemingly heading to set up the Outliers plot, which promises to be important to mutant history.

I think if you're going to explore (three) hundred year old mutant lore (as has been done before,) striving for authenticity by telling it through black POV has a lot of merit. Uncanny is occasionally a Southern Gothic book, and I'm interested to learn why a young black woman would head south when when black folks were migrating north en masse (The Great Migration) in response to much harsher laws and extralegal discriminatory practices. X-Men has a reputation for diversity, but honestly it's pretty damn white if you look at the numbers, the leadership, and definitely the creators. Uncanny is more diverse than usual, though the 2D black villain that is the Podcaster makes no attempt at exploring the dissonance of her behaviour and motivations intersectionally.

It's a positive thing to have minorities in fiction that aren't solely defined by that, though Warden Corrina Ellis in particular is a visible black woman operating a monument to mutant oppression that she built. Before that she hosted a popular anti-mutant podcast and got a prominent government contract off the back of that. The tactics she's using to systematically break the will of an outgroup - torture, dehumanisation, brainwashing, indefinite imprisonment, even chattel slavery (she was going to sell Beast and did sell Calico) and legal indentured servitude - it beggars belief that she wouldn't have complicated feelings or delusions about what she's doing. Her blackness is kinda relevant and the absence of any depth so far certainly makes me ... vigilant. Wary.

There's a lot of potential for exploring black history and the mutant metaphor but there's also a great many potential pitfalls, something Marvel in general doesn't have the greatest track record with. Much has been made of the 1963 run being inspired by the Civil Rights movement, but I don't buy it because it's not on the page at all. 6 white people with wealth who collaborate with the establishment and use force to keep other mutants in line - I don't see it. Marvel is historically super white and clumsy at best with matters of race. It's not a coincidence that Kitty Pryde has dropped the N bomb 3 times over the years. This history doesn't mean that the mutant metaphor and segregation can't be done well together, or at least inoffensively, but it's all in the execution. 

Henry's train ride is uneventful but for a black conductor making the 'Midnight M' signal several times, which she ignores. She can't take the risk that he works for The Service, a nebulous group of mutant hunters. I've been iffy on the M as a modern invention, but it being a known quantity a hundred years ago (exclusively amongst black folks so far) suggests it's a contemporary appropriation or revitalisation. It ties the signal to a significant and specific time in history, which I'm honestly not sure how I feel about. Henry refers to the (Dark) Artery in Louisiana as her duty - interring her deceased mother with 'their kind.'

I didn't have space for pics of most of the Outliers adventure - Ransom is woken up by Deathdream's hand over his mouth and he wigs out. Deathdream gathered all the Outliers, but no adults, to go to the Dark Artery right now. He doesn't really explain that, just says spooky shit and speculates that this is what called them here. We find out it's a graveyard, so I assume Deathdream is communicating with the dead, or they him. Calico especially is scared and Ransom assures her she can sit this out if she wants. She has a crisis of identity, so the others assure her she's a mutant. With that, she's committed. Acceptance and validation from the outgroup/community you're connected to is important, especially for young people. Given her upbringing, I think it's realistic that she keeps backsliding and retreating to her mother's awful mantras. Her initial acceptance happened way too easily after Gambit's 3 panel pep talk, so I enjoy that it's an ongoing process for the most sheltered and socially privileged of the group.

Marcus St Junior and Alice watch them go and clearly know something about the 'door' or Dark Artery. That they're black people who own/run Haven, Henry's destination, suggests a historical link of some kind. Maybe. Probably. Alice seems concerned while Marcus leaves it in the hands of 'our Father' - most likely God, but it often pays to note exact wording. Henry came here for her parent, so a family connection is possible. Either seems reasonable, though if Alice has a reason to be concerned maybe they should be accompanied by the adults whose care they're in? Simone has a Raid on Graymalkin - four issues to tell this story, so we shall see.

Meanwhile, one of the aforementioned adults has been dropped in The Savage Land by Sadurang. Gambit is still without britches, so it's a good thing Marcus doesn't know. Haven has a couple of rules - everyone pitches in, the kids go to school (maybe it's the holidays,) and wear fucking pants. It's come up more than you'd think.

Sadurang is unimpressed with Gambit's efforts to take down a Tyrannosaurus Rex (or an Allosaur maybe, idk) and steps in. It doesn't do much so Gambit blows it up in an act of ecological crime. I have it on good authority that the Savage Land is a protected ecosystem. Lucky Ka-Zar or the RSPCD aren't around - Sauron would certainly object too.

The big cold snake says he admires Remy because they're alike. Feels like a backhanded compliment, or at least a manipulative way to build rapport. He calls him 'admirable' for not wanting to kill the dinosaur - admirable like he used to be. As if to demonstrate, he asks Remy if he objects to eating the dead dino, which he obviously doesn't.

Apparently the Eye of Agamotto (the left one at least) makes you crave flesh. Animals at first, then people, those closest to you. Sadurang will generously take the Eye back, sparing Remy this fate but it's a one time deal. Choose now! Limited time offer. This feels like a scam, lol. He politely asked if he could eat a dead dinosaur, which is probably what dragons do anyway - eat stuff. Agamotto has shown up here and there and we saw no evidence of cannibalism. Doctor Strange has worn one of his other eyes for decades (there are 3,) as have previous Sorcerers Supreme. This Eye certainly does different tricks even for the untrained Gambit. Portals aren't new though randomly blasting people is. This curse or whatever would also be new. It doesn't mean he's lying, necessarily, but it feels like he is. Sadurang was going to come and get it in a year anyway, so it's blatantly not a one time deal. We don't know what Gambit chooses, but I suspect he'll give it up and really need it later or something. We shall see.

Henry arrives in New Orleans and looks to continue on to Haven ASAP. A local porter gives her the lowdown on what's safe and allowed for black folks, but they're interrupted by Jacob Miller from The Service. He's either been following her or had eyes on the train because he questions her about the M, calling it a 'hex sign.' Dude probably was with The Service too. They duel with courtesy and innuendo but Henry's a sharp customer.

Miller offers to carry her bag, not taking no for an answer, then rips it open. She has bricks and a journal in there, neither of which interest him. He doesn't approve of her being educated/able to write - as a black woman it could be either or both - but he arrogantly doesn't read it. As he bids her goodbye with false politeness he instructs his partner/subordinate to follow her. He sucks.

'If she isn't a moonflyer she knows one, I'll wager' - suggesting that The Service are mutant hunters, proto-Purifiers perhaps - while introducing a new old mutant slur (alongside 'Johnny Devils' and 'abbhorences.') Henry notices a mark meaning 'beware' on the train station sign. Her eye glows red, Cyclops style, as she affirms that The Man is watching while vowing that they're almost there and her mother can rest soon. Her thoughts are stylised as journal entries,with the framing of her writing this letter about past events.

The issue ends on the Outliers reaching their destination - a circular room with coffins laid out neatly. A graveyard underneath a swamp, as Calico says. Ransom picks up a book from the centre of the room that's not a match for Henry's diary, and there's torches burning. Deathdream confidently states that they've been doing so for 300 years, but offers no explanation for how he knows that. 300 years is a long time - whatever this is would have been established for 200 years before Miss Henrietta Benjamin made her journey. The French founded New Orleans in 1820, so we're talking early or even pre white history in the region. There's a Latin carving inscription on the wall that Jitter translates as 'bring us your own to rest forever.' Everyone except Deathdream is spooked, and he repeatedly tells them to not be afraid. They literally walk past interred bodies standing up with their arms crossed. It's objectively scary.

The cliffhanger is that this place is guarded by the Man-Thing. Deathdream is characteristically calm while the others are not. Hopefully they can overcome that, or not get touched by The Man-Thing, because nobody wants to burn. Most people, anyway. I am not a Man-Thing expert, though I do know that he guards The Nexus of All Realities in Florida, and has only been doing so since ~the sixties. This doesn't look like the Nexus of All Realities or Florida, but that's a mystery for next issue.

Uncanny X-Men #13 is all questions and set-up, but it passes a vibe check for a Southern Gothic mystery from history. It's a little railroady in that all characters spend the time travelling to a place and just arrive there, but there wouldn't be room for much more without cutting the Gambit plot. It didn't seem to have much to do with the A and B plots in different time periods - which is fine - it just distracts from the definitely connected journeys of Henry and The Outliers. It's a little jarring to cut from Southern Gothic to dinosaurs in the Savage Land, but it's part 1 of 4, so they may well be connected. Right now I'd prefer the other plots be more fleshed out, but I suppose it's a good thing to leave us wanting more.

It's certainly ambitious in its scope and I'm invested in the mystery that's being built here. I'm happy to say it feels like Simone is hitting her stride, leaning into the setup without replaying Rogue angst beats or having to worry about Xavier's dense gravity pulling the characters into his orbit. The issues I do have are caused by infrastructure - the book has a lot of characters and Jubilee and Kurt especially feel like NPCs. Marcus and Alice just watching the kids head into a swamp underscores their position as passive characters, but that's okay right now. Aside from doing a bottle episode, there's no way around that, so playing the cards as they lay and centering The Outliers is a strong move.

Dark Artery part 1 feels like a strong start for four parter, and for the first time I'm delighted to say that this issue is worth reading. A good issue even, with more of the elements I like and less of the undeveloped fluff. Henry is a mystery with some pretty big hints and The Outliers' Scooby Doo-ing Southern Gothic feels organic with me asking 'what's next?' I've been harah on this book, which I don't apologise for, but fair is fair. #13 is solid.

[anika-kanroji16]

How I feel about Kana [ Unfiltered ]

Look I have a love-hate relationship with Kana Arima. I love her cause she is smart and hard-working and knows a lot about the entertainment industry and even when she cries gets backs up. I don't mind female characters like that in anime especially when we don't get a lot of them. She reminds me of myself. But at the same time. YOU EXPECT ME TO LIKE OR EVEN RESPECT FOR HER WHAT SHE DOES TO AKANE IN SEASON 2.

Oh PLEASE. I get that she was jealous but that DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET TO BE A SELF CENTERED BRAT TOWARD AKANE. Even Aqua didn't even tolerate it, at all. It is one thing to be like when it comes like that to the internet [Cause If you ask me the internet deserves a big fuck you ]; it is another thing to be like that to work with people you have to get along with for work. 😊💢

And she does this again

Even this scene just pissed me off. I truly just enjoyed Akane pouting and complaining about her behavior to Aqua and agreeing with her because of it is much more funnier in my opinion than making fun of someone because you were jealous. Do you know why I felt bad for Kana cause her jealousy in season 1 was understandable cause she thought Aqua and Akane were dating for real and it broke her heart. But; this time just pissed me off. Get the joke of Akane being gay for Kana, It's funny but I have more respect for Akane because she dealt with the cruelest thing that the internet had to offer and still ENDED UP BEING A SWEETHEART. I understand how hard her life is and the struggles she went through which was shown in season 2 and her mom just loves the star version of Kana and just left her there right there and then.. But I don't think doing this will just make her likable to me it just makes her look like a bitch.( And like I said in my Aira post I hate bitchy women) Slapping Aqua's corpse was literally my breaking point. 😊💢

You guys baby her too much in this fandom I swear, the only people who TRULY hate her are the people on Twitter AND WE ALL KNOW THAT PLACE IS HELL. TikTok is too but it place where Children can be brats. Kana stans are really the ban of my existence I hope you know that You call Akane a "pick me" when she just acting like Ai for self-defense[Instagram and Pinterest They are worse apps to be at WHEN IT COME TO BEING AN AKANE FAN I SWEAR TO GOD] . Kana... well you already know how I feel about her just by the title ALONE. So when you guys say "Oh you're not an Akane fan unless you like Kana" WHAT KANA HATERS THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO REALLY TRULY HATE HER ARE PEOPLE ON TWITTER WHICH I REFUSE TO GO ON CAUSE I REFUSE TO LOSE THE LITTLE SANTIY I HAVE LEFT. Which is the same reason why I don't have TikTok. (ㆆ_ㆆ)

Now when it comes to Kana as a character, If you ask me Kana was just written terribly if you ask me. For example, the HOW DRAMA BETWEEN HER AND AQUA IS BECAUSE MAN REFUSE TO TALK TO KANA. And Kana understood like the girlboss she is. Like srsly I don't want to be rude but at this point, she is just a love interest, and Besides the obvious fact that he left her all alone there is several times when she could of just moved on and solved the problem on her own like example The Toyko Blade Arc acting what she is good at so why was she HESITENTING okay WHY. And the fact that EVERY SINGLE ARC OF CHARACTER IS SOLVE BY AQUA.

And you wonder why I say she is dependent on Aqua 🤨 IT's BECAUSE SHE IS

And I didn't even realize it myself till I WATCH THIS VIDEO. It like what he said "Why was she hesitating she was in her element" Exactly why IS SHE HESITANTING. Was this a reason why I love Akane's performance more cause she went all out and help out Aqua in the process. Well yes. That my main reason it's not even the "helping Aqua part" I love it the fact that SHE WENT ALL OUT WITHOUT ANY HESITATION SHE WAS FREE WAS LIKE A FUCKING BIRD IN THE SKY. I love Kana's performance too don't worry I love it a lot she was AMAZING!!

But would I like it more if she did it herself?

.

.

.

The answer is yes. [Akane is way better than me I swear ¬_¬]

And finally is Ruby vs Kana drama during the whole thing. I could understand everything that happened between them okay I can I can, I can. She said "She wants Ruby dead" She was just absorbed in her role. I can understand I can understand srsly I did a whole post about how the Akane vs Kana thing is just stupid.

But I swear I see people complain about Ruby so much yea I agree it is easy to blame her forever thing [I even side with Aquakana shippers because I hate that ship so much] but Ruby SUFFERED THE MOST and after her is Kana and you expect me to accept the fact you guys are babying Kana and telling Ruby to apologize like Ai.

It would be nice if she apologized like Ai, it would be it would it really would be nice but here not only she was 12 when she got reborn and she SUFFERED THE MOST but like is it her fault that the industry favored her more?

No, it is. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

[I am not even gonna read the hate comments for this one. 😮‍💨]

[blossomwritesthings]

𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲.

pairing: minho x felix (minlix)

genre: idol!minho/idol!felix. introvert minho & extrovert felix. literally grumpy and sunshine troupe. hurt/comfort. angst!! fluff. pining galore. slightly suggestive at some points. minho pov. confession au! minho is soo fucking whipped for felix it's hilarious sksk-

content & warnings: explicit & strong language. mild thematic elements. the angst is FELT in this one. hurt feelings and misunderstandings abound. minho is soo fucking whipped for felix it's hilarious sksk-

word count: 3.5k

summary: although they were complete opposites, minho and felix got along perfectly - fit together like the two halves of a silvery moon. at least, that's what minho had initially thought for years, until felix suddenly starts outright avoiding him.

a/n: this one's on the pure, angsty side of things ya'll. a little bit suggestive, but nothing too spicy. 🫣 I'm srsly abt to kms over this entire thing, I'm literally losing my fucking MIND over how good this shit is??? 😭😫 also, their perf at lola?? yeah, it's gonna take me at LEAST 30 full business days to get over that shit. 😃👍🏼 ANYWAYS .... if ya'll are looking for more minlix content from me, check out the series on ao3 that this oneshot is apart of... it's pretty much nsfw for now, but I plan to write more angsty/fluffy stuff for it in the future as well!! 🤡

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ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏsᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sɪᴛᴇs (ᴛʜɪs ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇs ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴs). © ʙʟᴏssᴏᴍᴡʀɪᴛᴇsᴛʜɪɴɢs ⤐ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛs ʀᴇsᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

It was a universally known fact that Lee Minho was a total and complete introvert. 

  A textbook one, to be honest. 

  Hating big crowds, quiet in group settings. You know, the usual traits for an introvert. 

  And everyone around him seemed to know this fact. They all acknowledged it and respected his boundaries. The boys always took into account his needs and his limits and never pushed him to the brink. 

  Even if the teasing could sometimes get a bit out of hand. 

  At least, everyone except Lee Felix knew about Minho's introverted ways. 

  Or perhaps, the younger male realized it but just failed to take into account the way he should treat Minho differently from the rest. 

  So instead of avoiding inviting Minho out to big parties, Felix was always the first to ask him to join. 

  And how could Minho ever possibly say no to him... to that face? 

 With that cute, little pouty mouth and those constellations of freckles and those starry eyes? 

  Usually, Minho almost always gave in to Felix's requests. 

  He was under no obligation to do so, though. They were only bandmates. Only best friends. 

  Nothing else. 

  But sometimes, when he was persuaded to go out on the town with Felix, that small voice in the back of his head would make its appearance. Telling Minho that he should just confess his feelings. That he should just admit to what he was thinking about Felix. 

  Yeah, he only thought about such things sometimes... 

  The dark, twisted musings he often had of the younger, turquoise-blue-haired male definitely didn't bubble up into his head regularly. 

  No, definitely not... 

  Nevertheless, Felix seemed to continually live in ignorant bliss about Minho's introverted ways. Almost like, his life was so bright and full of sunshine, that he couldn't see anything past his extroverted way of thinking. 

  This became apparent by how fucking talkative he was. 

  Especially at the end of the day, when their schedules were done and they had arrived home at the dorm. 

  Felix always seemed to trap Minho when Seungmin and Jeongin were away, either busy getting ready for bed or watching a tv show in their respective bedrooms. 

  Like a spider catching a wee fly in its web, Felix would corner Minho throughout their shared dorm - whether it was in the kitchen, living room, or bathroom. 

  The conversations were always pretty mindless, with him usually rambling off about the day's activities. And almost all of the time, Minho just listened. 

  Never interrupting, never stopping him. 

  Sure, he was really fucking tired from the workday.

  And sure, he kind of wanted to unwind in his own space... get lost in his head, and stay in the silence that he loved so much. 

  But he also kind of loved the conversations. 

 Albeit, they were quite one-sided, although Felix didn't seem to mind one bit. 

 To be honest, he didn't even seem to notice Minho's quietness most of the time. 

  He'd just follow Minho around the house, chatting up a storm, gesturing with his tiny hands elatedly. 

  And the older male would just nod fondly and hum when he deemed it necessary. 

  So just like that, they fell into a routine. 

  A unique rhythm. 

  Where Felix was allowed to prattle on for hours at the end of the way, and Minho got accustomed to de-stressing with the sound of his voice in the background. 

  Just the sound of his deep, rumbly voice after a long day, stretching on and on, seemed to do something intoxicating to Minho's brain. 

  Caused an infection to spread like wildfire. 

  And soon enough, he found it hard to fall asleep late at night if he didn't get a chance to hear how Felix's day had gone. 

  It was relaxing, to hear him chat about everything. It lulled Minho into a dream-like state, softening his harder edges and making his muscles sink into a sleepy pile of limbs. 

  That's how the two of them ended up in the dorm's kitchen late one night, with Minho calmly cooking up a shrimp pasta dish for dinner while Felix sat on a nearby barstool, talking about his day. 

  "Minji said that I should try like, a neon purple colour for our next comeback..." He trailed off, the sound of Minho chopping up an onion overtaking the lull of stillness between them. "What do you think, Hyung? I don't know if I would-"

  Minho stopped chopping then, staring up at him with a faint smile, "Lix, you look amazing in any colour. Don't stress about it, yeah?" And he watched, as the happiness brightened up Felix's entire face in the form of a huge grin. Minho's heart beat wildly against his ribcage just at the sight of it, thumping painfully loud in his ears and drowning out all other sounds.

  "Thanks, Hyung. I can always count on you to give it to me straight..." Then he kept talking, and all the while the older male continued to prepare dinner for them.

  He was used to the routine. 

  He liked the routine the two of them had. 

  Loved the habits they were forming together late into the night. 

  So then, months later, upon the sudden stark change in Felix's demeanor, it was like Minho's entire world shifted on its axis. 

  No longer would the younger boy come home and seek him out immediately. 

  Instead, Minho would oftentimes find him holed up in his room, playing video games on his computer or watching TikToks snuggled up in his bed. 

  No longer did Felix lean against the kitchen counter and tell him all about his feelings on their newest activities while Minho cooked dinner for everyone. 

  Instead, Minho would catch a glimpse of him hunched over at the kitchen table, nose buried in a book as he quickly scarfed up a plain bowl of rice and a fried egg. 

  No longer did the blue-haired man sit next to Minho on the living room couch late into the night, mindlessly commenting on the characters in the drama that they were watching together. 

  Instead, Minho would notice him curled up in the corner of the living room's armchair, laptop on the coffee table as he engrossed himself in the newest American action movie.

  And it really fucking hurt. 

  To fall out of such a routine. 

  To realize how much he relied on it all. 

  How much he relied on Felix.

  To miss it so much, that he could feel his heart squeezing painfully each second Felix spent his nights away from him. 

  Almost like, he was avoiding Minho altogether. 

  Minho would lie awake in bed late at night, just staring mindlessly up at the ceiling. His mind and heart racing in tandem as he tried to recall the moment when things had gone amiss. 

  Did he say something? 

  Did he do something wrong? 

  He knew that Felix was a sensitive soul, which was why he always treated him delicately. 

  He treated him differently than he did the other members. 

  And every night, he could never come up with a solid conclusion as to why things had gone south. 

  When finally, things came to a head. 

  It was after a painfully grueling night in the practice room that Minho came home to a dark, hushed dorm. He was exhausted - both mentally and physically. 

  All he wanted at that moment was to lay his eyes on him - to hear his voice, soothing all of his worries from the day away. Like dark chocolate melting in a warm saucepan. 

  The others were still out, finishing up their schedules for the night. And the dorm felt barren and void of all life. 

  Except, as Minho stepped out of the entryway, he noticed the single overhead light of the stovetop flicked on. There was Felix, perched atop the granite countertop, a white porcelain bowl in his hand. 

  He didn't even notice that the older male was home. He was so focused on eating his cereal that he failed to hear the sound of Minho's gym bag plopping down on the marble floor. 

  Just like that, Minho's weak heart finally came to a standstill. Breaking irrevocably. 

  The shards that he was left with stirred around inside of his chest painfully, seeming to stab his lungs as he slowly approached the kitchen. 

  It hurt to breathe. 

  Hurt to walk. 

  Even still, he managed to push through the agony of it all.  

  It was only then that Felix looked up and caught sight of him. He offered him a fleeting smile, "Oh- hi, Hyung. I didn't see you there." He said, just as he shoveled in another spoonful of cereal, swinging his legs back and forth in the air nonchalantly. 

  Minho remained silent for one beat, 

  Two beats, 

  Three beats. 

  Destroyed heart clambering in his chest, exhaustion overtaking his entire mind, shoulders slumping in defeat. 

  "Why don't you do it anymore?" 

  The words came out soft and wobbly, barely above a whisper. Minho was speaking like someone else was in the room - like the others were lingering around. 

  But it was just them. 

  With Felix sitting atop the kitchen countertop and Minho but a few steps away, at a standstill, spine completely frozen. 

  "W-What?" Felix asked, dark brows furrowing in confusion. He had no idea what Minho was talking about. 

  Of course, he wouldn't. 

  It's not like they talked about it. 

  Hell- they barely even talked at all. Hadn't in what felt like fucking months. 

  "You barely even give me the time of day anymore," Minho started, voice a little shaky as his hands trembled at his sides. He had to force his fists into balls, to stop them from quivering so badly. "Barely say ten words to me all day." He didn't want to say it. Didn't want to point out the elephant in the fucking room. But it was too obvious to avoid anymore. Too painful to brush under the rug. "What happened, Lix? What happened to all of those nights when we'd talk and have fun together?" 

  "You mean when I'd talk." 

  His words cut through Minho like a knife. The pointed edge of them icy against his flesh, tearing him up in a cruel kind of way. 

  "No, I mean-"

  Felix took in a deep sigh, before placing his bowl of cereal down on the countertop next to him. He sat back a little bit so that he could get a clear view of the crimson-haired man. He leveled the elder with a serious face, brows still furrowed and that pretty pink mouth pressed into a firm line. "I was always the one talking, Minho. You barely said two words most of the time." 

  The use of his name caused the hurt to swish in Minho's stomach, forcing him to feel miserably queasy at that moment. Because Felix never called him that. 

  "I don't know what-" He began, but was cut off by Felix holding a small hand up in the air. 

 His eyes, which were locked with Minho's, said it all. 

  He was already done with the conversation. He had said all that he wanted to. 

  There was just... nothing there anymore. 

  "It's fine, Hyung. Really. You don't have to apologize or anything. I get it." He said, voice dull and lifeless. 

  Where was the Lee Felix that Minho had grown to love? 

  Where was the bright ball of sunshine that he had matured right alongside with? 

  Where was he? 

  Because this Felix- the one with a cool gaze and a deep-set frown, was not his Felix. 

  "You really don't get it, do you?" Minho said, tone faint and wavering. He was nearing Felix then, watching as the younger halted in his place. Spine going rigid, he sat up a little straighter. 

  And then Minho was just before him, placing his arms on either side of Felix's hips, palms pressing into the chilly marbled countertop. Caging the younger man in, and staring down at him with a wildly-beating destroyed heart and a huge lump forming in his throat. 

  Felix turned his head up, catching his gaze with wide eyes. The cotton-candy pink of a flush was already traveling up the milky skin of his neck, pooling into his cheeks and casting a bright red galaxy against his freckles. Already, he was getting flustered from their proximity. 

  "Do you even realize how it is for me?" The words were slipping free from Minho's mouth in the next beat. He felt Felix's warm breath fan against his face from how close they were. "I can't fucking breathe for even a second if you're not around. I can't think, I can't speak, I can't function properly." Just as Felix's mouth was opening to cut in, Minho continued his spiel. "If I don't see you- lay my eyes on this fragile little body or this pretty little face, I fucking fall apart. If I don't hear your voice, I can't sleep all night." 

  Minho was moving after that, and before he even realized what he was doing, he was leaning further into Felix, hand coming up to his face and fingers tracing against the line of his jaw. Gently, he cupped his chin, the pad of his thumb brushing against his puffy pink bottom lip.  

  Their gazes caught just then, and Minho could sense the feelings raging just beneath the surface of Felix. And Minho thought that he also probably looked quite similar in the younger's eyes. 

  "So you can hate me and you can loathe me and you can despise me," Minho began in a breathless whisper, "But don't ever avoid me again. Otherwise, I'll suffocate and die a slow and painful death." 

  He couldn't seem to pull his hand away from the younger's face, even when it grew so hot to the touch, it felt like his palm was about to burn up in a scorch of hot flames. Even when a slight, painful squeak fled from between Felix's lips. 

  Almost like, this hurt him just as much. 

  "I never hated you," he murmured back, tone registering low. The sound of it rumbled out, cascading across the shell of Minho's ears and shooting a violent shiver down the length of his spine. "I could never- not when I fucking love you so much. And I... I was avoiding you because I was scared. Scared of what you thought of me- and my loose mouth."

  Minho kept silent, thumb continuing to press against his lip, soothing Felix as the feelings and thoughts started to spill out of him like a magical elixir trickling out of a stunning glass tincture. 

  "Someone told me about you- about your true personality, and how you're reclusive and stuff. And I- I got scared, that you hated all of our late nights together and you hated how much I talked. And then I noticed how quiet you always were and I thought that maybe it was better if I just stayed away and let you have your space after work. I didn't want to burden you anymore and-"

  "Kitten, you're never a burden to me," Minho cut in, hand finally pulling away from Felix's lips and trailing towards his hair. He pushed some of the shock-blue locks behind his delicate ear, and something tiny and fiery stirred in the pit of his stomach at the mewl that he heard Felix creak out from the nickname alone. "Just because I'm so different from you, doesn't mean I don't enjoy your company. And just because I don't talk all the time, doesn't mean I hate you for talking to me after work." 

  At that, Felix stared up at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "Y-You enjoy my company?" His voice trailed off into the distance softly, his eyes fluttering closed at the way Minho's fingers raked across his scalp. 

  Slowly, he pulled at his blue roots, forcing Felix's eyes open again so that Minho could see the look in them as he finally spoke the words he had been stirring over for what felt like a fucking millennium. 

  "I adore it, Lix. I can't live without it, to be honest," he confessed, flashing the younger a meek smile. And at that moment, Felix looked so perfect. So vulnerable and adorable all at the same time. "Fuck- I need to kiss you right now. Can I? Please..." 

  Felix gaped up at him, the overhead kitchen light sparkling in his eyes like a million different constellations all at once. Like he was in complete awe of the situation at hand, and he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that everything was happening to him just then. 

  "Yes- yes, a thousand times yes." He cried desperately in that cute, small voice of his. 

  And then nothing else mattered, as Minho held onto his jaw, tilting Felix's head upwards as he connected their lips. Like they were meant to never separate, they fit each other perfectly. 

  In an instant, Felix was melting into the feel of Minho's mouth wrapped around his. His hands came up around the elder's waist, digging into the fabric of his t-shirt and drawing him ever closer. Minho's tongue dragged across his bottom lip, and soon, teeth were bumping against teeth as they tasted one another. Felix groaned, fingers clutching on tight to Minho as he teased him with his kisses right there in the middle of the kitchen.

  The kiss was ethereal and perfect and everything Minho had always dreamed of. 

  And when they broke apart to catch their breaths, a messy string of saliva connecting them, Felix stared up at him with vast eyes and flushed cheeks, and a faint smile. 

  "Has anyone ever told you how fucking beautiful you are, kitten?" Minho mused off, fingertips ghosting across his smattering of freckles.

  The cerulean-haired male giggled softly, hands bunching up the fabric of Minho's shirt and dragging him closer so that he could wrap his legs around his waist. "Yeah, but you've never done it before." 

  "Well, now I'm saying it," Minho began, lips ghosting over his nose as he kissed it. "Pretty," he continued on his path, kissing either of his rosy cheeks. "Gorgeous," his mouth trailed up to his forehead, brushing the locks of blue there aside. "Stunning." 

  Then he stopped just at Felix's mouth again, hovering, breathing warmth against his lips. 

  "W-Will you c-call me that again?" Felix suddenly blurted out quietly, the words tumbling from him at a rushed pace. The way he stuttered nervously, like a young schoolboy confessing to his crush, did something funny to Minho's heart. Brought the shattered pieces back together, in a jumbled mess. 

  Minho could already feel the smirk spreading across his face, as he pondered over the idea. "Hmm..." He tapped a finger against his chin, to seem like he was mulling it over. When in reality, he'd give the entire world for Felix if he asked for it. He'd lasso the moon down from the night sky and gift it to the younger male if he wanted it badly enough. "Only if you're a good boy for me." His eyes flicked towards Felix's, catching the way the furious bloom of crimson erupted across his face and flooded into the tips of his ears. "You think you can do that for me? Be a good boy for Hyung?" 

  His head of blue hair was already moving up and down, as he nodded furiously. Teeth peeking out in a cheeky grin, he spoke in a fleeting voice. "Yes, I can be really fucking good... but only for you, Min." 

  That automatically made Minho's heart melt, dripping like cool water in his entire chest. The love he held for the younger male coursed through his veins then, lighting up his nervous system and making him see in full colour as he tilted into Felix. 

  Mouth pressing against the pulse point of the column of his neck, Minho shuttered out in a deep whisper. "Such a pretty kitten..." His lips attached to the warm flesh there, teeth sucking faintly and leaving a light violet bruise in the wake of his attention. He continued making his way down Felix's neck, loving the way the younger's fingers automatically carded through his locks, pushing him closer to his skin. "And all mine, too." 

  Felix squirmed against him then, moaning faintly at Minho's words. They were both suggestive and true to what he honestly felt for Felix. 

  And in that moment, other, dark thoughts flashed across the forefront of his mind too. 

  Visions of his sweet angel Felix, wriggling underneath him. 

  Fragile, petite limbs tangled up in bedsheets, 

  Skin flushed that pretty pink shade that always drove Minho so wild. 

  That delicate, small mouth of his, opened up in a filthy way, as the ecstasy fell from his lips in garbled sounds. 

  Minho knew that all of his deepest, darkest fantasies would one day come true. Would one day take place in the future. 

  And all because Felix had dared to talk to him late at night after their schedules. 

Fin.

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[girls-are-weird]

MASTER LIST: One Fic for Each Fandom [A-I]

i've been working on this for months now, y'all, i'm so tired. Dx

many, soooo many years ago, i came up with the idea of recommending one fic, not necessarily the best or biggest or most popular fic, but definitely my ultimate favorite fic for every fandom i was in at the time or had been in at some point up to then. there are some fics i love so much that i go back to them periodically, maybe every couple of years, even if i'm not active in that fandom anymore. so i thought having a list of them somewhere i could easily find them was a pretty good idea.

narrator: she forgot where to "easily" find the list.

but i still liked the idea a lot, and i told myself when i found the list again, i would update it with fics for all the fandoms i've joined/read for since then. well, a couple of days as of the first drafting of this post, i finally found my original list on my old livejournal (christ, i'm old) and decided i would start on that update, but to post on my tumblr blog instead.

so here it is. they're not all romance, though most of these will include one or more of my favorite ships for their respective fandom (which you can find at my ships archive), even if it's just in the background. some of the fics are the same as i had in my original list, but some of them are not, simply because i've found fics i love even more since then. needless to say, most of those that were 'ported from my original list are quite old or written before canon was finished (the list is from 2006… please refrain from commenting if you weren't born back then, lol. i'm acutely aware that my early fandom life is basically ancient history to most of you). even some from more recent fandoms might be pretty old or non-canon-compliant, simply because i've been collecting fandoms since time immemorial. some might contain elements that would be considered problematic in this day and age. some might be unfinished. they're all special to me in some way.

some fandoms seem to have slipped through the cracks in the transition between FFN (where favorites and alerts are very organized but i always forgot to use them, and there's no read history) and AO3 (where subscriptions and history are unreliable and impossible to search through, and there's no way to see which fics you've left kudos on)-- srsly, how hard is it to just save everything in this age of big data? smdh. some of the links might not work, as you might imagine-- it'll take me some time to find new links, or to figure out if the fic is still even on the internet. if you've heard of these fics and know where they can be currently found, please let me know! because of that reason, i haven't listed ratings for every single one, though i've tried to add that in where i can find it. still, i hope this is helpful for someone, and i'm going to keep it pinned on my blog so i NEVER, EVER forget where it is again (and can regularly update it as i am sucked into more fandoms).

back in the day, i had hoped this format could catch on as a meme type of thing, so that other people could take it as a template and make their own fandom recs lists. so i'd love to see yours! be sure to tag me if you decide to do this. :)

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[ FANDOMS A-I BELOW, J-Z HERE ]

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THE ADVENTURES OF SHIRLEY HOLMES

the case of the mysterious man (and sequels!) by HA senidal / @ha-senidal (PG/T).

with newcomer blake hewitt joining her and bo, shirley investigates a stranger who might know something about the recently stolen mona lisa.

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AA! MEGAMI-SAMA / OH! MY GODDESS

no mere mortal (and sequels!), by ed sharpe.

keiichi's cousin kenji comes to visit the temple for a week. what mischief will he get in with the three goddesses?

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AGENT CARTER

renegades by inkdust / @ink-dust (M).

or, peggy & daniel against the world

the real world doesn't have a hollywood ending. in fact it doesn't even pause. but they're a team. a wonderful team.

post-finale.

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ANNE WITH AN E

the secret of distance by lil_redhead / @royalcordelia (T).

anne and gilbert embark on their journeys, but stay close to each other at heart. courting across 1000 miles isn't easy, but they're more than willing to step up to the task. (a post s3 story).

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ARTEMIS FOWL

endings and beginnings by novawastaken / @nova-fanart-dump (T).

begins right after the second to last chapter of the last guardian and continues on to the final chapter and beyond. spoilers for the last guardian! SPOILERS! no romance in here, but artemis/holly romance in the epilogue.

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ATTACK ON TITAN

stress relief by pepin-bones (M).

soldiers lead stressful lives, which means they need ways to unwind and cope with the stress of what they see and what they do - sometimes in unconventional ways. but eren thinks it's ridiculous, or at least he did…

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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

annakpok by dariussobreitus (E).

a "stolen" wife amdist a world rebuilding after a century of war, a repentant fire nation trying to redeem its wrongs and earn good deeds. excuse for invasion or not, the wife who left the northern tribe chief will be reclaimed, even if the poles of the south, and the capital city of the southern tribe, annakpok, must melt.

an AU of the avatar series with events inspired by the movie troy and their versions of the illiad. there will be differences, in both characters and events, with emphasis on key characters, battles, war, strategy and hopefully some the nuance within.

while serving in similar roles to the illiad/troy counterparts, the avatar characters are very much themselves and not heavily influenced by the illiad characterizations.

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BACCANO!

the successful wooing of chane laforet by splashfree (T).

“i’m in love with you, chane laforet,” he says. “and at the end of the day, that’s all there is to it.”

claire and chane go on a date. wackiness ensues.

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BANANA FISH

fool for lesser things by snow_falls / @nightofviolet (E).

"he knew irrefutably that if eiji left he would take something fundamental to ash with him, and without that, what would be the point in living? he might as well have let Foxx finish him, if he was going to cop out now. no, sing was right, the little brat, what the fuck would be the point if he didn’t go with eiji? god, he was an idiot."

or the fix it fic we all need. the alternate ending i cherish in my heart of hearts.

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BLEACH

next, home by inlay (T).

rukia was sitting in his room the first time he opened his eyes after. he does not know if this was a dream, or reality—remembers only that she looked very pale, and that there was a small, black hell butterfly perched on her finger. in this vision, she looked startlingly similar to the girl who used to crouch on his windowsill before school, shiny black shoes and black hair. he watched her for as long as his eyes could stay open, waiting for her to notice him and tell him what was happening. the battle hadn't felt like the deciding, dramatic finale he'd been subconsciously expecting, and he keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.

what next?

(or, sometimes it takes a couple lifetimes to learn the difference between a love and a soulmate)

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THE BOOK THIEF

a changing of hands by antistar_e (kaikamahine) / @kaikamahine (T).

it happens like this, in a single fateful moment. a pilot sneezes, and the bombs, when they fall, are off-target. [AU].

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CAPTAIN PLANET

heroes for earth (and sequels!) by stephensmat (T).

our world is in peril. the conscious soul of the earth is aware that since the error is ours, the power to stop the chaos must be ours as well. an updated retelling of the series pilot. an origin story based on the premise of the show.

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CARD CAPTOR SAKURA

haikei (and its sequel, kitaku), by ciircee (PG/M).

when eriol left japan tomoyo promised to write. a history of time, in letters. ExT. part of third arc universe.

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COWBOY BEBOP

tuesday's gone by neviana (M).

she always had a way of surprising him. everything from emptying her glock into the ceiling of the bebop when he left to the icy glare she gave him upon his return. though somehow, this stunt seemed to top them all … spikeXfaye.

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DANCING WITH THE LION SERIES / ALEXANDER TRILOGY / ALEXANDER THE GREAT RPF

non frustra vixis by aramley, meretricula / @meretricula (NR).

in 2008, the previously all-women st. hilda's college at oxford began admitting men. in 2009, classics afficionado, rowing prodigy, and all-around posh bastard alexander macedon decided his new ambition was to join his best friend at hilda's and start a men's rowing dynasty.

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DARK

face your fears by narrative_bear (T).

the inevitability of an event doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to experience. the recent birth of mikkel nielsen weighs heavily on michael kahnwald, who begins to withdraw from his family. in an effort to reconnect with his wife and son, michael decides to accompanies them to the nielsens’ where he is forced to confront his past.

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DERRY GIRLS

maybe someday series by areseebee / @areseebee (T).

capturing moments when james and erin are growing up and growing together at 17, 19, and 27.

these fics all take place in the same timeline and build on the overall story in each part. while personal space can stand on its own, smoke break and someday are best enjoyed as companion pieces.

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DIGIMON ADVENTURE

if you by chichamunkyhead.

sora poses as yama's girlfriend… sorato, takari, jyoumi, hint of kenyako. that's all of a summary you're getting!

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DRAGON BALL/Z/GT

automatic flowers (and sequels!) by rayne.

running away was never the way of the son family and pan son learns this lesson the hard way as she returns home to face a problem she never could quite solve.

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THE DRAGON PRINCE

a delicate arrangement by jelly / @jelzorz (M).

it’s not that it’s a bad idea. in all honesty, ezran thinks it’s a well thought-out, completely reasonable, perfectly sound idea that could solve a lot of his own problems, callum’s problems, and katolis’ problems, in one fell swoop - if it works, that is. it’s a little risky, he’ll admit, but it’s not the same as, say, running away from home at ten years old with his brother and a moonshadow elf assassin (whose mission was to kill him, mind) to return a dragon egg in the midst of a centuries-long war, and hey, they’d managed that all right. compared to that mess, politics should be easy, right?

right?

[or, the arranged marriage rayllum romantic drama no one asked for]

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FINAL FANTASY VIII

new seed (and sequels!) by klepto_maniac0 / @klepto-maniac0 (E).

an accidental start to something not so innocent. how far can a relationship run on pure lust before it turns into something else? set in a time when things haven't gone downhill yet.

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FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2003 ANIME)

he who searches for himself, by yuuki hikari / weatheringtea / @weatheringtea (M).

this story continues on fullmetal alchemist where episode 51 finished off. alternate ending to the series, not based on the movie. FMA gen!fic. characters and events up to 51 are included. the rating is for language and later violence.

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GUNDAM WING

a toast to the bride and groom, by orla.

in this fic by orla, duo made the mistake of opening the floor for speeches at his wedding. see what everyone has to say.

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HARRY POTTER

paradigm of uncertainty (and sequels!), by lori summers.

carla says: this fanfic series is the bible for any self-respected H/Hr shipper. lori's a wonderful storyteller. it is SO well-constructed.

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HAVEN

aether or by callmehux (T).

paige came to haven for a new life. she didn't realize she was coming to find some old ones.

this takes place after the series finale and probably won't make sense unless you've seen the whole run of the TV show.

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HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

persephone by sunflowerb (M).

she was meant to be the price for peace; her life in exchange for the dragon master's mercy. her captor wasn't supposed to be a ghost from her past, and she wasn't supposed to become his ally…or his lover. and when news spreads of a blonde-haired girl at the dragon master's side, there will be repercussions for dragons and vikings alike.

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THE HUNGER GAMES

lone star state of mine by jenye (M).

modern AU. there are three types of people in dawson, texas: those who are trying to flee, those who embrace their small town fate, and the mellarks. mellark ranch; largest cattle ranch south of dallas, employer of ranch hand, katniss everdeen, and home of the ohio state buckeyes' running back, peeta mellark. and peeta mellark is coming back home today.

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INUYASHA

dressing wounds (and sequels!), by personification of fluff.

SM [completed] rated R for citrusy situations. when sango finds out how much miroku cares for her, it's the battle of the sexes! the prize? sango's heart, of course. fluff-filled chapters, and an attempt to break every cliche and fill each plothole!

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[ FANDOMS J-Z HERE ]

[merakiui]

how do you manage to write for scaramouche so well?? ❤😭 it may be because i havent played genshin before. but. you srsly have me simping HARDCORE for this man, to the point that i wanna get in on the action too and write something of him for myself!!!- but as someone whose barely wrote before and struggles with dialogue sm, it feels impossibly difficult.. may i ask for some tips or advice abt this, if youre up for it ofc? and this is off topic but i also want to say that i enjoy reading every single writing of yours, and im very very thankful to you for even choosing to post them in the first place. reading something that you write will always make my day sm better and i appreciate you so much. im so sry this became so long rn, but i wish you a day as hardcorely wonderful as youve made me simp so hardcorely for scaramouche!!! (it was sounding better in myhead NOO. in all seriousness tho i wish you the best day ever possible, THANK YOU!!! you should be super duper proud of yourself for making these masterpieces and i srsly hope you are, even tho i know its hard to feel this way abt your own work!!!)

AAAAA this is so sweet... 🥺 thank you for enjoying my writings and the way I portray Scara!!!! (੭´͈ ᐜ `͈)੭♡ I'm glad you can love and simp for him!!!!!! He deserves many fans!!!! >3< and I'm grateful to know my works can make you happy!!! I wish you the most amazing, hardcorely wonderful day as well!!!!!! 💖💖

As for advice I'm not sure if it's advice for writing dialogue or Scara, but I can share my thoughts for both!!! :D dialogue is fun because, while it's still conversational, it can come in many forms depending on the context and dynamic/relationship between the characters. For example, dialogue between a boss and their secretary will be different from that of dialogue between close friends. Real-life conversations aren't perfect; we stutter, repeat words, trail off in what we're saying, ramble, interrupt, use fillers like "um" or "ah," and so on. Adding these elements into dialogue between characters can help it feel more natural.

With Scara, he has so many layers and can be written in many different ways depending on what era of him you're writing for. What I like most of all, though, is his ability to act so friendly. I feel as if this ability of his is somewhat forgotten, but in the Unreconciled Stars event he approached Traveler and company with such a friendly façade. Even his intonation was bright and kind (as opposed to how he later addresses the Fatui soldiers)!!!!! orz orz I adore this aspect of his character,, how he's able to be both a brilliant actor and an intimidating Harbinger all in one. His sharp, sarcastic tongue... the threatening aura he has despite being so short hehe. <3 there's so much to love!!

I like to imagine him as the stray cat they tell you not to feed often otherwise he'll continue to come around even when there isn't any food to give. Although it also helps that he's portrayed as a cat in Nahida's fairy tale. ;;; I love Scarameow with all of my heart!!!! It's also important to note that, as evil as he was during his era as a villain, there were also facets to him that showed some gap moe. How he cares for the elderly and children. How we know that he has a tendency to get attached to things, to seek a purpose, to know what it's like to be human and feel human, to be accepted and loved.

His misunderstanding with Ei also plays a role in how he views the world (and how he'd probably be wary in falling in love because he fears abandonment). Whereas Ei was hoping he could live his own life by setting him free rather than destroying him as Miko had wanted her to do, Scara mistook the gesture as abandonment and betrayal. And from his perspective it's hard to see the goodwill in what Ei did because she,,,, didn't exactly go about it in the best way. ^^;;;;

Aaaa there are just so many parts to consider from the timeline of his existence. As Wanderer, it's really heartwarming to see him gradually healing and accepting himself as well as letting go of past grievances (but also taking accountability for and acknowledging all that he did as well as all that he is). He still has that same sharp-tongued sarcasm and there are still rough edges, but he's not so harsh or vindictive. 🥺 I just adore him so much...

I rambled a lot and I'm sorry. T^T I hope it's helpful advice and not just my adoration for Scara shining through. ;;;;;

[frenchiefreyed]

[post-writing-this edit: holy mother of pearl i wrote SO MUCH and yapped SO MUCH in response to ur 2 paragraph reblog. i am a menace to society whom all should fear... srsly though im so sorry for yapping this much :sob:]

You bring up a lot of good points, especially about it being a collaborative effort. It's easy to forget sometimes that the show was made by more people than just Dan, Chris, and the animators. I've been coming to terms with the fact, slowly but surely, that the show does feature sexist elements. The makeup scene from Dan vs. The Wedding I *do* remember irking me, but I think for a range of reasons rather than just the idea of it being a joke for a man to wear feminine makeup. Part of it was that I thought it was really odd for Hortense to call for something like that to happen to Dan that would obviously bother him (since, at the time, it was fairly well-known that toxic masculinity exists and something like that would be considered degrading given that). It also bothered me that the makeup was intentionally, like, extra bad on him, when none of the other girls wore makeup that was like *that*. It would have been a genuinely interesting scene if his makeup had slayed and he didn't care about the fact it'd happened -- HE COULD HAVE ATE THAT UP!!! -- but I think that realistically that would never have happened in a show like Dan vs., especially with the time period it was released.

Another element that is probably more subtle but still feels a bit sexism-contributey to me is one that's a bit hard to explain/describe properly so I hope I do an okay job, but it's something me and my friends have been discussing lately. There are a lot of branching elements that I'm going to yap about but the first is: the ratio of important female characters to stories (and *how* they're important to the story) vs. the ratio of important male characters. Elise being the kind of character she is (badass, extremely smart, obviously very capable of doing great things, even better things than most men on the show at times) is *great* and I don't want to negate that with my overall complaints about her character. Genuinely, it's good that they had a female character who has those traits. However, Elise's relationship with Dan is turbulent at best and since the show either is quite *literally* from his perspective, or revolves heavily around him, it does feel significant to note that (my interpretation of their dynamic) is that Dan is bitter towards Elise for changing the dynamic that Chris and Dan had had when they were kids. This kind of relationship between characters isn't a problem to bring up inherently, because it exists irl and it can be really interesting. But it creates a situation where the main recurring female character is *usually* a roadblock to what Dan wants to do. She can be a voice of reason sometimes, which is good (it's something Dan needs), but there are a lot of instances where she rejects being the voice of reason in favor of joining Dan to get revenge on something that *she* has a vendetta against, or because of seemingly being too annoyed to deal with Dan at any given moment. Even in instances of her not technically being a 'roadblock' (i.e. New Mexico when she joins in his schemes), though, I still get a weird vibe regarding her character, in ways that are really hard for me to place. I think it's the idea that getting revenge in drastic and over-the-top ways is okay if it's something that *Elise* has a problem with, but not if it's something that bothers Dan. It's just kind of a weird take, and when most of the time Elise is shown to be level-headed, intelligent, and calm under pressure, it's such a weird deviation from that to have her reject any sense of moral standing for the sake of getting back at things that have wronged *her* -- and it makes me even more angry when she mistreats Dan for getting revenge on that which wrongs him, because she obviously can relate to it to some level and yet somehow seems to go out of her way *not* to empathize with Dan at all.

Outside of this, the main female character I can think of (unless one exists in the final 5-6 episodes of the show that I still havent seen lol) that has real significance to the story and at *one* time was portrayed well is actually Hortense, a character i don't see a lot of people talking about, at least on Tumblr...

I really liked Dan vs. Burgerphile, both because it showcased Dan being genuinely super happy but also because it showcased what seemed to be a legitimately good/healthy relationship dynamic, at least to me. It was sweet and honestly surprising that Dan both rejected his desire to be overly violent to save Hortense (when he was about to attack the manager guy and Hortense called for his help -- he seemed begrudging about going to help her, sure, but he still did!) and also gave up on something he seemed legitimately happy to have (a relationship with Hortense) for the sake of her following her dreams. It was refreshing to see a character like Hortense, because she isn't conventionally unattractive or anything but she's not the type of character I feel like you usually see being a love interest. She works at a burger joint and her biggest dream is/was to become the store manager. She's shown to be a little bit unintelligent but to have a strong sense of justice and fairness. Considering episodes like Dan vs. Stupidity (which feels insulting to say in the context of Hortense lol but I don't think of her as actually stupid), it's fascinating to me that Dan's main love interest is shown to *not* be intelligent in the same ways that Dan is, when that's something he normally values a lot. Maybe there's supposed to be a "joke" element to it where it's supposed to be funny that Dan would be super in love with someone who has aspirations that most would consider "not reaching very far" or whatever, but to me it came across as just... cool.

And then Dan vs. The Wedding happened.

THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE aside from MAYBE Dan vs the monster under the bed

THAT episode almost sent me into cardiac arrest. I already knew that something was going to happen where Hortense ended up with someone else (i'd had it spoiled) but ... DAMN. The episode stung. The main things the episode has going for it, to me, is seeing Dan in that incredible green suit (its so slay!!!!!), Dan trying to express his love for Hortense and struggling to, and (iirc) Elise and Chris being pretty empathetic and supportive of Dan. I don't hate the episode in terms of thinking it's, like, terribly written or anything, I just hate what they did with Hortense's character especially when we have so few female characters *as is* that are used in ways that I feel positively contribute to feminism. I suppose there is a silver lining element that Hortense did seem to genuinely like Jeremiah Burger rather than only being after his money, but it still feels really out of touch that she ended up with him when she's probably early 20sish and he's much, much older and obviously has power over her both financially and career-wise (which is similar to financially but still a bit different). Age gaps aren't inherently bad but when the age gap is that huge it's hard to feel like the dynamic just isn't super imbalanced and unhealthy.

We also see dan having at least two other romantic interests in the show who are women, Becky and Honey. I actually fucked with Honey's character and it was interesting to me that Honey and Dan got a kiss but Hortense and Dan didn't. Honey is another character that's kinda badass and is shown to have power but it's not in a way that I find very satisfying. I like her aesthetic, I like her vibe, I like her voice, but I feel like her character could still have a bit more to it. Although, maybe the point is for it to be a bit trite, since she's based on a very overused trope in American film history. As for Becky, I loved that we had a poc love interest and I also fucked with her vibe a lot, but I desperately wish more had been done with her character. She's on the seemingly long list of female characters that aren't necessarily *bad characters* but are just used for the sake of being a goal or obstacle for Dan rather than much else. I actually really liked Louie/Louis? Idk how his name is spelled lol - from Dan vs. Elise's Parents, but I did pick up on the fact that it was, unfortunately, supposed to be a joke. I like Louie *not* as a joke or something for a laugh. I like the idea of a mob boss/detective double-agent who also dresses up in feminine clothing when it's not at all actually necessary to the plot. Like, it's funny to me, but not in the way that it's supposed to be. It's *supposed* to be "HAHAHAHAH A GUY IS DRESSED UP SUPER FEMME!!! HAHAHAHAHA" but to *me* it's funny in a more endearing sort of way. I do like that he legitimately seems to enjoy *being* undercover for the opportunity to dress more femme and also seems to have genuine self-confidence. I think if the show was more progressive and made more recently, they could have gone an angle similar to what I think Bob's Burgers does which is to have transfemme characters that don't "pass" very well but because transfemme people don't *have* to pass well, if that makes sense. There's of course a spectrum to trans experiences -- some people prefer to pass and to not have their trans identity be perceived and others are extremely confident and seek to bend the rules by being a sort of blend between the two societal binaries. If Louie's character leaned more into that direction, I'd like his character way more. Of course, when shows go this route, I think ideally they would also have other trans characters that don't fit that mold so as to not become a sort of stereotype or something like that.

There's also something to be said about the fact that Dan treats women a lot differently than he treats men, I feel like -- not just his romantic interests, although I genuinely struggle to come up with examples of him interacting with a woman who isn't Elise or a romantic interest... the only examples I can think of off the top of my head are The Boss and the anger management -- wait, no, actually, just The Boss. But, like, I really feel like Dan is generally a lot less, ehhh... generally irritated with women, I guess? Like, he's almost always on flirtatious terms with them and when he *is* bitchy with them I think he is way less serious about it. I flip-flop often between whether I think this is a societal thing, a Hub network/higher-ups thing, or just supposed to be a part of his character. Given the whole thing of "you should never hit a woman" that -- at least in America, I'm not super sure about other places -- is very common thinking, it does make sense to a degree why so few women are showcased in a show where the main guy in the show primarily has to be a complete asshole. It would get into dicey territory for a lot of people (even me, honestly) if there were a lot of female characters in the show that he was equally malicious and nasty to. But because of these things, the only women that can really be showcased are gonna *have* to be romantic interests (because obviously you can't have men and women be JUST friends if they don't have a reason to interact with each other like elise and dan do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /sarc, bitter at society) or have to actively be roadblocks to his existence or whatever scheme it is he wants to do.

From what I understand (at least, as implied by the show), it's Dan's mother who was mostly terrible to him when he was younger. This doesn't mean he has to hate women, but it makes it seem even more unrealistic to me when he seems to be pretty suave and well-spoken around them and overall much more directly flirtatious. It would be way more interesting to me if he was actually a bit more flighty and nervous around women, not from having *no* romantic interest in them but from being scared of them (spoiler alert: i plan on using this element in some impedance stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!). It'd be a little more messed up to include in a kid's show so I can understand why they didn't lean into it like that, but it still makes it feel super jarring to me when he's like full Romeo mode on most women he interacts with. I don't dislike a hyperromantic headcanoning of Dan (I somewhat headcanon it too maybe?) but I don't feel that Dan's character would *actually* be hyperromantic in a way that would make him flirt so directly with so many women [me when it's time to reject the canonness of the source material even though it is the source material and is literally the canon] [because i know the character better!!!!!!!!! /annoying on purpose]

Ever since I've noticed the severe lack of women, though, it's been genuinely uncanny to me. I'd have to pay attention more to the background to know for sure, but I think there are a fair number of times that we see women in the background, existing, but I still think there are a majority of men in the background so it barely eases the uncanniness of it for me. Like, it feels like Dan vs. takes place in a bubble where 66%+ of the population is men.

I feel like at this point I'm definitely lost in the sauce of yapping about Dan vs. to where I don't think most of what I said necessarily directly ties into/relates to what exactly you're saying but the overall vibe/idea of sexism with relation to Dan vs. *is* something I've picked up on and been thinking about a lot.

dan vs rambles #000000000001 (probably not actually 1 at this point but u know)

a lot of the danvsyou posts irk me (like /not super srs ashdnsadn) because they showcase dan being horny on main and that doesn't align with how i view him!!!!!!!!!!! i see him as fairly asexual ashdnsadsn maybe hyperromantic? but not hypersexual sahdnasd

that being said i do think that a lot of my asexual headcanoning for characters stems from the fact that most characters i hyperfixate on originate from kids media and also i am asexual

so i'm not saying that anyone who doesn't perceive certain characters as asexual are like wrong ahsdnasdnas because there's a genuine case to be made if they're adults that it's probably mostly from the whole "kids show" element... and not from them being canonically asexual

ALTHOUGH... i am curious to know if anyone else is a bit "??????" by the horny vibed posts on danvsyou ashdnsadnas like, from a "this doesnt sound like dan!!!!!!!!!" perspective, because - like - idkkkkkkkkk i just dont think he'd be actin like thattttttttuhhhhh /annoying, whiny

i don't necessarily read Dan as being asexual in the ARCsexual direction, to where I don't feel bothered by the idea of him having or desiring sex (or being sexually attracted to someone) *ever*, but when stuff is more ... idk, like direct? it super does not feel like dan to me . it feels like a horny doppelganger LMAOOOOO .... a horny.... imposter.... (traumatized memories of past danvsyou posts involving the imposter ashdnasdn)

i am extremely curious to see what others personal reads are for his sexuality. i think a lot of people are horny for dan AHSDASDNS (which doesn't register for me but im not judging ahsdnasdn *most* hornyposting does not register for me even if its for like... idk... a traditionally hot character. like uhhhhhhhhhh uhhhhhhhh well i can't think of any but you know) so ig to that degree you could say that ppl who see him as hypersexual or generally allosexual could also have bias in that regard (/nm)

oh BUT outside of a-spec stuff i do think that dan is at least bisexual but i kinda like the polysexual vibe on him more (mostly because i think the flag fits him more. it has kinda froggy vibes to me and i think dan is more frog than galaxy) (bi is galaxy to me ofc) but im not mad when i see bi dan posts if i saw a straight dan post id be mad fr straight as in "he does not like anyone other than women!!!!!!!!" core - if i see dan with a woman or femme person im not mad at that hasdnasdn

oh ig i should clarify even though im not horny for dan i unfortunately do think its very possible i am in love with him which is pretty much the equivalent to horny for me so i fully dont have the right to judge ppl who are horny for him LMAOOO

every time i think ive escaped his clutches he does some goofy shit and im like "fuck u i hate u !!!! because i love u!!!!!!!! stop that!!!!"

[xbaebsae]

When I woke up the next morning, face buried in a dumb fishing pun, I felt like something had changed. Maybe it was the lack of embarrassment on my part, usually the only way I'd end up this close to him was with a lot of whiskey involved. Maybe it would just hit me twice as hard later. But somewhere deep down I knew it was because this was the first time he'd ever trusted me with something personal.

And from Tucker I knew that that trust was very hard to come by.

This stunning piece is a commission I got from the seriously insanely talented @ziorre. You have no idea how much I loved this from the very first sketch onwards. This piece is perfection, like a screenshot of the image in my mind when I wrote the scene for this, absolutely crazy! I can't recommend to commission her enough when she reopens. Trust me, there's just no way you'll be disappointed ever.

Part of the chapter that is directly related to this image is attached below, many kisses to anyone who actually reads it ♥

(...)

“What about your mother?” His posture grew tense and I was ready for him to avoid the topic like any other slightly more personal question. “Don’t ya already know my whole family story?”, he scoffed and glued his eyes on a pile of junk at the opposite side of the room. I knew from Tucker that Jakob hated their family story becoming center of attention in the project's religion. “I know Joseph’s, not yours.” “Well, a lot of what he wrote into his book is true for all of us.” “A lot, but not all. I know about your dad, not much is mentioned about your mum, though.” After he showed no sign of answering I figured I’d change the topic. “It’s fine if you don’t wanna talk about -” “I’ve got this one memory”, he interrupted me clumsily, as if he'd wanted to get it out before he could change his mind again. “Was never really able to place or make sense of it.” I had no idea when I'd moved closer to him but suddenly our faces weren’t too far apart. “It’s safe with me”, I whispered, my hand moved to his leg in an attempt of reassurance. A cocky smile rushed over his lips. “I know, cause if ya told anyone, you would have to explain how ya got to know it in the first place.” My fingers pinched into the skin of his thigh but he didn’t even flinch. “Ugh, I swear whenever I try to be nice to you-”, I rambled, rolling my eyes and pulling my hand away, but he grabbed it and put it back where it was. Our eyes met and it was one of those indefinable moments that told me nothing and everything at once.

After a moment of silence he looked down at my hand on his thigh. “I was a child, toddler probably, sittin’ on the counter in our kitchen. Woman with a red mane of hair was humming a melody I can’t recall, swirling through the room. She was happy, truly happy, either cookin’ or bakin’ and there was nobody else with us.” He paused for a moment. “No idea who she was." His brows frowned and I figured this memory still bothered him even today. "She wasn't your mum?'' I asked carefully. Nothing I would have hated more than to ruin this moment. Subtly, he shook his head. "Nah, our mother was blonde ‘n in all years I remember with her I’d never seen her smile. She hated cookin' too, my dad's fault.” "Do you think she's… your actual mum?" His smile grew sad even though he tried his best to hide it. "Guess I'll never know. Maybe she was, dad hadn’t liked when I'd asked. But maybe she's not real at all. Just a little boy dreaming someone into existence. Might run in the family, y’know? Joe hearin' voices, I'm seeing faces…" "You aren’t like him!", my voice was unexpectedly loud when I interrupted and I lowered both it and my face in a hint of embarrassment immediately when I added: "You aren't crazy, Jake. I don't know the answer to who she is either, if she’s real or not, but maybe it simply doesn't matter." Lost in thoughts he watched me as if my face would offer some kind of new truth. "Suppose it doesn't."

[roughentumble]

why is it that when u put "radio" in a phrase it makes it so mysterious and powerful and sexy...

"radio silence," "radio static," "radio waves"........ theyre all so aesthetically dark and pleasing and mysterious and a lil scary. love it

[coralinnii]

Idia Shroud (VC ghost!Reader x Online Friend!Idia) 

genre: horror

note: just…bad use of gaming lingo, might rewrite

summary: Idia has this unprecedented confidence behind the screen, with fans and friends at his fingers. However, one casual online chat broke his confidence as he say something he can’t take back.

series index

“Hah, that was basically a speedrun!”

Idia was right in his element, breezing through his game while raking in the rewards. He was worried about the final boss encounter since he was left with a lot of newcomers but he should have known that he had nothing to worry about. Not since he met you, an online chat friend.

0therw0rld: awesome job! :) 

Gloomurai: lol it was srsly way too easy

He met you in a random server chat while he had to look for a replacement member for a joint event but you pulled your weight and gained Idia’s respect. 

Just a sliver, he claims. 

0therw0rld: u gonna keep going? 

He watched the chat and pondered on the question. He didn’t need to but he thought he might as well grind for a while. 

Gloomurai: prob yea 

0therw0rld: cool I’ll stay too

The blue-flamed gamer didn’t think too much of it. Since adding you to his friend list, he noticed that you never seem to be the overbearing type so he kept you around. Unlike some gamers he met over the years, you weren’t the type to turn your mic on or request anything too crazy to trade which he appreciated. You’re always the first to send congratulatory messages and are open to sudden grinding sessions with him. He was comfortable with you. You were chill, he thought.

Until today. 

0therw0rld: hey… we’re friends right? :)

This surprised Idia. He wasn’t the type to go out of his way to engage with others for the purpose of making friends, he was no normie. But, he felt slightly bad if he were to reply anything other than yes, after all you two have been through together. 

Gloomurai: yea i guess?

He replied, and you instantly wrote back. 

0therw0rld: that’s great. That makes me happy :)

Idia was started to get goosebumps over this 180 change in your online tone. You were chattier than usual and for some unknown reason, Idia keeps getting chills running down his spine. Like warning bells were ringing in his subconscious, alerting him of something. It’s probably his social anxiety, he figured. 

There was activity in the chat box. You started typing again. 

0therw0rld: we should hang out :) 

Gloomurai: like in chat?

0therw0rld: no. irl :)

Idia let out a high-pitched yelp, not expecting a request like that! Idia felt utterly betrayed! He thought you were above that socializing nonsense. The gaming community had an unspoken rule of not meeting in real life and you just broke it so nonchalantly. 

0therw0rld: can’t we? :( 

Idia was in a bind. He somewhat resented you for suddenly pulling this on him but you never asked for anything until now. If he declines, he worries that he might end up losing a valuable gaming companion and he’ll be stuck with new gamers with poor stats again. 

Then, Idia remembers. You wouldn't know where he lives, he never mentioned his general location and he could always change the subject or pretend to have something come up. You’ll never know, right? It’s perfect. Ah, the beauty of virtual chat and its advantages, for Idia at least.

Gloomurai: yea sure! 

0therw0rld: really? :)

Gloomurai: sure np

He’s a genius, Idia mentally praised himself to the point he got distracted basking in his quick-thinking that he hadn't noticed you were still typing until the sound of the ping echoed from his computer. He looked at the message and froze. 

0therw0rld: great I’ll come now :)

Wait. What?

Gloomurai: u wanna come now? 

0therw0rld: yea:)

0therw0rld: u live alone, right? :)

Idia felt the blood in his veins chill. On the chat screen, under your message, he saw a link with an address pinned, the address to his location. There it was, to the letter and even the exact number of his home.

You shouldn’t know that. No one should know that. 

Idia hastily brought up a screen and checked his settings and programs. The protection systems and installments he placed before should have prevented anyone from figuring his IP address or GPS location. 

Yet, you knew, seemingly proud with that damned smiley face of yours.

0therw0rld: I’ll be there soon :) 

The smile that usually accompanies your messages is getting to Idia. It’s not cute anymore and instead he feels a growing sense of dread at that seemingly innocuous symbol, the uncomfortable confidence in your messages. The short but clear words conveyed your intent like you were watching him, taunting him, 

Warning him. 

Idia hastily closed the chat box, exited the game without a glance or worry about saving his progress and cleared any running programs associated with the game. He couldn’t look at the game right now. He didn’t want to even think about it because if he did, he would visualize the messages you left and your smiling signature. 

This is all a dream, a really bad dream. You couldn't be coming here after impossibly finding him. All of the previous confidence Idia had just moments were drained out from him and he try to figure out what to do.

"I know! I'll leave and stay at a hotel." Idia thought, springing to his feet and rushing to get his keys. He grabbed the rest of his essentials and was about to reach for his front door when...

Knocking.

There were knocks coming from the other side of the door. At this late hour? When he wasn't expected a delivery or service.

No.

No.

No!

Idia flinched when a sound of a notification set off on his phone, the screen light up to grab his attention. It shouldn't be possible for any of this to happen. This can't be real, Idia begged to no one and anyone. With shaking hands, Idia forced himself to lift the phone to face the screen his way and at the top of his screen with a pair of dots and a curve to resemble a smile, a message.

0therw0rld: I'm here Idia :)

Knock, knock, knock

[raayllum]

I feel like the owl house fandom takes things way too srsly esp with ships and preferences on characters. idk I love hunter and amity's backstory and I love luz but I'm more interested in hunter and amity's backstory that doesn't make me racist their storylines are more interesting

So this probably won't be what you expected or asked for but I'm grabbing the opportunity anyway to address some of the ways I think TOH falters from a Storytelling perspective and why I think those issues (as well as how young a lot of the fans are, although when I was 11-13 in fandom I was much more chill and "live and let live" so just shows what a decade can do in terms of fan community) unintentionally perpetuate some of what you mention.

Also don't think you're racist for preferring Amity and Hunter (Hunter, Gus, and Luz are my faves) but I do think TOH has some issues with how it handles its characters of colour, so I am going to touch on that. While I'm white. this is reflected on / verbatim from conversations I've had with Black and Asian friends / fans of the show and how racial stuff can tend to play out in fandom (circa 2013 onwards from personal experience of how people have treated fave characters, like Finn from Star Wars, in the past).

That said, I do still like the show. I love the strong found family, everything surrounding Eda and her allegories for mental health are super solid and important, I'm thrilled by the queer rep (I’m queer & watched Korrasami happen live), and I don't think a show has to be perfect or to check off my personal preference to be good. But I do think the show is... an interesting mixed bag for a few key reasons I haven't seen anyone talk about, so here they are.

Under a read more bc this gets long, like, real long, even though there’s only four things on this freaking list, LMAO. For whoever reads it, have fun!

1. The Owl House writes like first impressions don't matter.

This is one of the biggest things in the show that breaks elements of setup + payoff. After all, if your setup is misleading or unaddressed by payoff later, characters and plot lines may come across as stilted. This also ties into other areas (such as screentime) that I'll touch on later.

By far the character who has broken setup the most, though, is Amity. For example, Amity is introduced as someone who has bullied Willow for years, even when no one else is around (i.e. it's not a pure performance), and even though they used to be friends when they were young. Their friendship fall out / Amity distancing herself from Willow is explained by Amity being forced to by her parents, and understandably struggling with how to deal with and explain it as a child.

I haven't seen the last few episodes of S2 (aka I got up to "Hollow Mind") and I was disappointed in S2A when it seemed like this plot element would never be addressed again. So I was very pleased to learn that there is an episode in S2B that talks about their friendship. Except... it doesn't address the bullying. Because yes, Amity tried to protect Willow by distancing herself... but Amity also didn’t need to Bully Willow, like, at all. Not within the confines of the story and not within the landscape of the character; her parents didn’t tell her to be cruel to Willow. She chose to do that. Repeatedly. And that facet of their bond... has never been adequately addressed. It could be, in the future (but I personally doubt it). 

It’s particularly strange, because Luz was 1) canonically bullied in the human realm and 2) perpetually struggled at making friends. It makes sense that she’d be extra against bullies and protective over the friends she does have, and wanting to see real change before bonding with a practical stranger (even if Amity did show a slightly nicer side at the end of “Covention,” it wasn’t an even ratio whatsoever, either of her niceness or Luz’s meanness). But we’ll circle back to this. 

We see this issue of initially bad behaviour being overruled, sometimes retconned, or ignored to the point of being rewritten a few more times in the series. 

The one that ties into Amity’s character are her siblings. In their debut episode, they have plans to share private pages of their little sister’s diary. This is mentioned in another episode as something they’re trying to make up for, but they weren’t there when shit hit the fan at the library, anyway. So we never see 1) why they were going to be so cruel to Amity in the first place (and I have siblings myself, so no, it’s not a sibling thing, or just a sibling thing), 2) what exactly made them change their mind, and 3) this type of behaviour never reappears or is addressed in the show, either. While Luz gets called a bully for it, the twins get off basically scot free. Yes, they’re obviously affected by their mother, too, but there’s never even a whiff or a hint about why they felt the need to humiliate Amity on a public scale besides thinking she was uptight. 

We see this one more time with Darius, which was the most baffling and completely jarred me the first time I watched it. Darius was being cruel and dismissive to Hunter, but warms up when he realizes the kid does have a spine and will stand up for what he believes this. This is not the heart warming moment or message the show seems to think it is. All I heard and saw was an adult going “Oh, this kid is too indoctrinated and abused to be worthwhile until he proves otherwise, I’ll treat him like trash and ignore that I’m exacerbating his symptoms of abuse until then.” And no matter what comes latter, this is a downright weird set up, emotionally. 

I’m not saying that none of these characters can be set up this way, but the introduction and how different they are in all other preceding episodes — or even when information is given to re-contextualize certain things — feels like whiplash. So the setup is a little weird, making pay off either non existent or unnecessary. This stumbling block makes the emotional continuity feel disjointed too, in some aspects. The way this affects emotional continuity can best be seen in Gus, Willow, and Luz’s friendship — but again, more that later.

As for set up and pay off, it can lead to missed opportunities, namely: why the hell was Amity Lilith’s protege in Convention? Again, not saying the show is bad or this is a bad writing choice, but it’s a weird one. I remember watching that episode, seeing Amity be introduced as Lilith’s pseudo apprentice, and being excited. It meant Lilith-Eda, Luz-Amity, and possibly the two menor-mentee relationships could all be developed simultaneously! It’d be interesting to see the parallels and differences.

At the very least, it would give a personal stake to Amity and Luz’s possible developing bond, with Lilith at the very least going to disapprove, and give Amity and Luz a chance to compete against each other and to see that progression.

Then it was never addressed again. And it wasn’t set up as a “one day thing” either. It seems that Lilith possibly tutored Amity for months, maybe even years, for Amity to be considered her “strongest protege” (exact line). So we miss out on that possible, episodic but still connected plot line (especially because after Convention, we never see Amity caring a whole lot about actual school, even though that as her whole thing in her intro and second episode). Then, even when Amity and Lilith are back on the same side (imagine how interesting exploring that fracturing could’ve been!) they... never interact, never mention, and never act like they know each other.

They’re two characters with the same theme and similar arcs split down the middle, have an interesting setup, and it goes.... Nowhere.

Because first impressions don’t matter in the show, which is particularly weird, as typically 1) what you set up in the very beginning of the show is what you want the audience to be invested in, and 2) the audience is going to / has to pay more attention in the beginning of a show because they’re actively trying to learn the rules of the world and character dynamics / personalities. 

And it’s not the only time TOH does this, so let’s talk about

2. Screentime, Race, and Chosen Diaspora

Specifically that Gus and Willow barely get any, and how this ties into race. So I’ve touched on this before in an article I wrote on Vocal where I share meta-adjacent stuff that doesn’t fit my tumblr vibe, so if for some reason this is your thing, they may be other stuff you enjoy on there, whatever. I’m not gonna repeat myself too much here, but basically: 

The majority of the Owl House cast is white, particularly when it comes to who matters in the plot. Eda, Lilith, and their family are all white. Hooty and King exist in what we’re going to call an aracial space, as they don’t have race and aren’t coded as any particular thing, either; just tried and true demons. Hunter is white; Belos is white. Gus and Willow are regulated to background characters and most of the time when Willow is being developed as a character (“Understanding Willow,” “Any Sport in a Storm”) it’s typically also used to further a white character’s growth of... learning to treat her better? Gus fares a bit better, but gets less screentime. 

So not only is Luz the only primary character of colour, she’s largely cut off in forming meaningful relationships with other characters of colour, and having those bonds highlighted and given strong screen time (as thus far in S2, every time Gus and Willow have gotten significant screentime, it’s been largely removed from Luz, with her often doing something else with Amity). Remember when “Star Wars: Rogue One” came out, and there were discussions being had of “a lone woman only having meaningful relationships with men and no other women”? 

[ Side note: as for the first point, I’m not going to say things I love, like TDP, don’t fall into the “woman surrounded by men” trope for its two main female leads, as Rayla is friends with the boys and was raised by her dads, and Claudia’s primary relationships are also with other men. However, I believe this is mitigated with plot lines like Ellis and Lujanne in S1, as well as Janai-Amaya-Khessa in S2 and particularly in S3, and I think this will only continue to grow moving forward into S4 and beyond ] 

At the same time as Rogue One, there were conversations regarding the films status of “people of colour purely as the supporting cast but never as the primary lead”? TOH meets in as a weird hybrid in the middle, with a person of colour as the main lead, but largely surrounded by white people — and this is the case for most characters in the show.

Raine’s main relationship is with Eda. Darius is in the rebellion with them, but his only meaningful relationship on screen in any way is really with Hunter and the past golden guards. Gus and Willow are mostly side characters. We basically never see their families/parents (and know far more about the Blights / Edric and Emira in every way. Gus and Willow ultimately don’t get the time with Luz for me to call their relationship meaningful. This is especially strange, given that often times kids who are bullied (like all three of them are) cling harder to the friends they do have, and that while S1 was better about making Gus and Willow be extremely important to Luz as her First Friends Ever, S2 has dropped the ball even more so. 

Luz is like an island, ironically on the Isles and cut off from her cultural community and from other characters of colour even when they do exist in her new community.  So that’s talk about that in full. 

Now, there is Luz, who is the primary protagonist (honestly, you could argue Eda is her co-protagonist) and she’s lovely and I love her. However, more than once, Luz’s plot line for an episode is a B plot or less plot relevant compared to other characters (particularly Eda). I touched on this in my Vocal article, but Luz is living in diaspora in the Boiling Isles. Yes, the demon realm suits her much better than Earth largely did, but I would still love to see elements of her culture in ways other than her / her family’s name and her occasionally speaking Spanish. What about holidays, what about missing her mother’s cooking and the cultural connotations it holds? 

The show does engage with aspects of the Isekkai genre that are sometimes overlooked, namely Luz being torn between two worlds (and given that she’s mixed, it’s not like the allegory isn’t already there), but it only goes halfway. It only shows Luz wanting to be in the Boiling Isles with none of the possibilities about cultural shock, assimilation, and other aspects that can play into immigrating countries — or realms. I’m not saying the the show not engaging with Luz’s diaspora is a bad thing, but it does feel like a missed opportunity (as most of this is) particularly since they do try to engage with her on a cultural level with her speaking Spanish and writing her as purposefully Afro-Latina and from the Dominican Republic. 

But honestly, basically everything I’ve talked about already — occasionally misleading set up w/ a lack of follow through, screentime (both considering and not considering its racial elements) — are all compounded into my biggest issue with the show, however, which are its 

3. Disengaged stakes

So while I love Luz, I mostly love her for her personality and sweet hearted nature. I don’t actually love her that much for how she drives the plot forward — even though she does, and even though she’s the protagonist. And this is largely because Luz — and many of the characters — exist in a limbo of what I’m going to call Disengaged Stakes. Basically, they have stakes, but due to a lack of set up, or pay off in regards to emotional continuity (never mind a lack of consistency, i.e. sometimes Eda needs to hide, sometimes she can be flashy in public with zero consequences, sometimes getting caught by guards matters when the story decides it needs a conflict, and sometimes it doesn’t etc) it’s hard to actually be invested in those stakes. At least for me. 

For most of S2, this meant I wasn’t really invested in Luz’s efforts to get a portal to see her mom (although this improved when we actually got a singular episode with Camila). It’s clear Luz isn’t going to live full time, if at all, in going back to the human realm. I also wasn’t worried for Camila, as she hasn’t been fearing for Luz this whole time, instead believing things are perfectly fine if not better than they were before. 

Let me give you an example, and this was actually pointed out in a youtube review of the S2 finale that helped me put my finger on why it... felt weird as a finale (again, even though I haven’t fully watched it yet, but I have watched the bulk of it). 

The four kids are stranded in the human realm, but what does that actually mean, for most of them? For Luz, this carries a lot of weight. She’s spent all season trying to find a way home to see her mother, but is now there under awful circumstances with no way back to the place she actually wants to be. It will also offer Camilla the perfect opportunity to see why the Boiling Isles and her family there is so important to Luz.

But what does this mean for the other three kids? Shockingly little. Like I’ve touched on before, we know nothing about Gus and Willow’s families. Yes, I’m sad they’re separated from them, but I’m sad because generally, kids being separated from their parents is sad. I’m not invested in their specific relationship (same issue I had with Rogue One and Jyn’s relationship with her father, as well). All Luz actually wants, in her core, is to stay in the Boiling Isles. Amity’s relationship with her father is on the mend and her siblings are there for her, but Luz is still clearly the most important person in the world to her, and they’re not separated. Hunter has absolutely nothing back for him in the Boiling Isles, largely, and he’s actually as safe as he can be from Belos’ machinations in the human realm. 

So you have four kids tossed into the human realm, and it only really matters for one of them. 

This is amplified in their relationships. Willow and Gus rarely have anything beyond interpersonal stakes; Amity had her mother, but now her father has turned over a new leaf, there are no interpersonal stakes any longer for her family (and she radically stood up to her mother very early on in S2 as well). She and Luz have had no problems in their relationship besides very brief miscommunication and Amity’s mother. Amity has hardly any stakes outside of Luz. The characters who are dealing with very high stakes, such as Raine, are largely shuttered away outside of the story — or Hunter. 

Dear lord, Hunter. Which, now that we’ve gotten here, let’s talk about what I think could have aided in remedying a lot of these issues

4. Merging

Now I know TOH had to jump through a lot of executive hoops (including the existence and plot relevance of Hexside particularly in S1) so I don’t know what sort of orders came down, or mandates they have to follow but:

TOH has too many characters, and plenty of them could have been condensed as pairs into half as many characters.

I know this, because I went through a similar process of originally having a central group of thirteen characters, and cleaved that shit down to seven. So what are my proposed mergings?

The twins become one character. They more or less are now, fulfil the same purposes and character points as one another (flesh out Amity’s family, tease her and be a listening ear, show their mother’s control, operate as illusionists, etc). Whether it’s brother or sister doesn’t really matter.

Gus and Willow become one character. I would say keep more of Willow’s backstory (w/ Amity), dads, and plant magic alight, as the merged-twin character could substitute as the group illusionist whenever need be. It means that instead of only having splintered individual episodes with Luz or for their development, the small collection would be bolstered and improved marginally. It still wouldn’t fix where screentime or set up fails them, but it would be a significant start. I adore Gus, he’s one of my favourites in the whole show — but he’s less plot relevant than Willow, who is already largely not plot relevant (at least, not outside Hunter’s arc in S2) and we gotta be economical somewhere.

Economical storytelling is when a character, scene, or plot beat is doing at least three things at once, largely — and right now Gus is doing the least, as much as I love my boy, with Willow right next to him. Thus, there we go.

Now for the big, perhaps flat out unpopular one:

Hunter and Amity should’ve been one character. Like the twins, and even Amity and Lilith, they’re largely one theme split down the middle. The show draws intentional parallels between their world views, callousness, and need to be the best due to their abusive families, their strong relationships / connections to Luz, who works to friendship and who are changed by her kindness. There are also less thematic but still overt parallels, like their artificial wands, opposing palismans (bird vs cat), travelling into mindscapes where they uncover secrets. Hell, they both even have a reformed father figure who works with the Abominable coven with a shittier parent who believes in their own superiority at any cost. 

Say Golden Guard Amity is enrolled in Hexside — she has to be trained somewhere — and throughout the season we hear her refer to her uncle, who raised her. He just wants the best for her, and for her to be a worthy member of the Emperor’s coven! It’s only at the end of S1 we learn that Amity’s uncle is Belos, and that her growing bond with Luz may be tested in the future. Then, in S2, she has to make a choice between her familial loyalty, ideological defection, and Luz and her friends (who will have more time to be friends, because there are less characters running around). You can even keep the condensed twin as a surrogate sibling mentor — perhaps one of Belos’ more successful grimwalkers, or flat out not a clone at all.

This merger gives Luz and Amity real stakes in their relationship, a higher sense of drama amid the sweet fluffiness, gives more characters more screentime... And amplifies everything that already exists in Amity’s arc. Yes, seeing a quieter form of child abuse from Odalia is worthwhile, particularly for abused children — but as of S2 she’s basically gone full bad guy and has already done so before in early S2, as her abomaton nearly kills Luz in “Escaping Expulsion” so... moot point? Sorta? Is what I’m saying. 

It would also, for the love of god, give Amity a solidified reason to dye her hair after she finds out she’s a grimwalker. She wants to reassert her own identity, she wants to be different than her successors while also honouring their good nature, etc etc. Imagine “Hollow Mind” but with Amity in Hunter’s place, and all the weight that would hold for each of them, and for Hunter’s character, now condensed into Amity’s. Also stronger parallels of Belos’ clones becoming less like his brother (because Amity is a girl) over time and with parallels of the implied plot line, of Belos killing his brother because Caleb fell in love with a witch, and it’s happening again, this time just with Luz and Amity, directly.

Basically the only things that would have to change would be a little of S1′s pacing, some of S2′s Blight parent related episodes (so largely two until the finale, which again, Darius or the condensed twin could easily substitute)oOr, to come full circle, you could have Lilith also play a factor, the way she did in Amity’s arc in the beginning. This would provide a greater sense that characters actually had lives and connections and little ship passing in the night moments before Luz showed up, and they would all feel more like!! REAL PEOPLE!!

The only thing that would possibly, likely have to go is Willow’s history with Amity.But given that the show has never really addressed the bullying, perhaps that backstory element would be better left dropped, in general. Amity can be a jerky bully without specifically bullying Luz’s friend for like, 4-6 years beforehand, y’know.

Anyway I will never not believe in the validity of what I call TOH Merger and how it would strengthen basically almost every single aspect of the show, take it or leave it. 

Conclusion / Nitpicks

Other notes before we wrap up.

I got bored with just how many episodes relied on the “Character A doesn’t want to fess up to something bc they’re insecure, scared, or trying to look Cool, but inevitably lie and make things ten times worse, and then learn it’s important to be honest” in S1 (hi King, Luz, Willow, and Gus eps respectively). 

Amity’s laser character focus on Luz stifles her relationships with both Willow and Gus (as it is more or less non existent outside of a few lines or group scenes); all of Amity’s character growth is largely because of her relationship with Luz, but the same cannot be said for Luz, leaving their relationship lopsided. This is particularly true for me (and is a total personal Aro-spec induced nitpick) and is all the more glaringly obvious considering they barely had one episode where the two were on friendly / friend-ish terms before crush feelings on Amity’s side came in. This makes me feel less invested in their relationship as a whole, as while it’s exceedingly cute, it feels like it’s based on nothing but Crush™ Feelings and that will also be less compelling to me than a strong Foundational Friendship that develops into a crush. I don’t mind that development happening fast, but this was a little too fast in my book. 

Final disclaimer: Still like the show, still think it’s good, these are just some of the reasons I don’t think it’s Great. The lack of a Merger will haunt me. Thank you goodnight

[ayuki-ikuya]

Dorms and Archons

Twisted Wonderland x Genshin Impact

Part 2 of 2

Part 1

Dendro Archon

The Recluse Scholar

𝓚𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓶 𝓐𝓵-𝓐𝓼𝓲𝓶

Kalim was excited to have a new friend! Oh the parties they'd have! The fun! The food!

When he met you, you were... distant. Did he do something wrong? Did he upset you?

He really did try to find out what he did wrong, and often sent you invitations (Malleus eyeing the invitations) you some of the parties he makes, but you don't show up nor reply, making him sadden.

Jamil low key face palming

During a normal sunny day at school, he and Jamil headed to the library to grab some books, and during the process, he found you, tucked in a corner with mountains, upon mountains of books around you, and you? You were reading.

"Ah? S/o??"

"HEEEEK!!!!"

he startled you so badly that plants from outside grew. which of course caused a commotion.

Kalim apologised for startling you, but he asked a question about your attendance, your reply was to fiddle with your sleeves before answering with a small voice that you were afraid of people despite being a deity.

Kalim immedietly thought of Idia, but he crossed the line of no return, but Kalim smiled warmly, held your hand, making you choke, and said a more softer voice that he'd throw a smaller party, just the three of them. (Don't tell me you forgot Jamil, HE MAKES THE DANG FOOD)

You accepted.

Several parties later, you two were unsurprisingly in love with each other that the students of NRC were rolling their eyes at the moments the two shared. COULD YOU TWO DATE ALREADY!?!?

When you two started dating, Kalim made a celebration, but kept you in a more secluded section, that way you could be apart of it, but not near a large crowd of people. And you were thankful for it.

As a couple, Kalim practically adores you. And he's super affectionate too! Jalim is glad to have someone more tameable and it also makes it easier to locate Kalim if he ever goes off by himself.

𝓙𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵 𝓥𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻

He thought nothing of you at first.

Until you had full scores on everything.

He had requested you to help with Scarabia's studying, in offer of full meals, which you complied with due to living in a run down dorm and doesn't have a lot of money to support themselves with.

However, the study group went wrong due to the amount of people.

Jamil then figured that you didn't work too well with large numbers of people, and he found that you were slightly dependent on him when it comes to speaking.

He ended up planning smaller groups, working on those who had the worst grades then up.

And thanks to you, their dorm gradually got better.

Jamil spent time with you whenever he was free from following Kalim, and he was fairly fond of you.

You were soft, very soft, but highly reliable in terms of knowledge. So he'd often vent to you which is surprising.

But your presence and advice helped him grow better.

Jamil fell for you when he found you smiling at a Scarabia student showing you their improved grade, you looked like a warm hearted maternal parent, and his heart skipped at the sight.

When you two began dating, it was a bit rocky due to Jamil's family duty to serve the Al-Asim family. But Kalim was very kind to allow Jamil more free time, in exchange that he brings you over for more study parties!

You figured since Kalim wasn't fond of studying and more for partying, that you'd make a study party which improved Kalim's grade by ten folds. Jalim practically wept tears that the seven sent him this angel.

Geo Archon

The Consultant

𝓐𝔃𝓾𝓵 𝓐𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸

Azul was greedy for the power you possibly possess. and your money.

Azul underestimated you since he witnessed your lack of brains in terms of money. You forget about having your wallet on you, and whenever someone offers to pay for you, you attempt to buy everything without a single thought.

This was going to be an easy contract, Azul thought. They're an idiot, Azul thought. They can't complete this contract, Azul thought.

"I've completed my end of the contract. Now you must do yours."

"Huh? Nani?"

Azul was stupefied by this, he whipped his head towards the Leech twins, both begrudgingly nodding their heads in confirmation at the archon completing their conditions of the contract.

Azul had tried to change the details of the contract, you of course allowed it the first time.

But when you returned with the conditions once again completed, Azul tried to add more.

However, you weren't having it.

You stood up and leaned down to Azul, towering over him. A sudden pressure weighed the three mercreatures, it was heavy and foreboding. Your eyes glowed a gold with the amber ombre in your hair glowing gold as well.

"I was lenient to allow you the first time. Either fulfill your end of the deal or break the contract. But if you break the contract, you will suffer the wrath of the rock."

Azul was terrified.

When Azul fell for you, he questioned himself. How in the seven did he fall for a person like YOU!? He will never remember how, but all he knows is that he's in waaay to deep.

When you two became a couple, you were far more charasmatic and charming than before, it was like it was turned up a notch. Or two. or more...

The contract loving couple have been making more money than ever thanks to the Geo Archon, the avatar of contracts. It's either fill the conditions or suffer the wrath of the rock. Or just, don't make a contract. Simple.

But then we got the one brain cell trio doing their dumb sh**.

𝓙𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓮𝓬𝓱

Oya?

What an intriguing being.

Jade was the first to be interested in you. But he couldn't exactly find you that well since you practically mixed with the crowd a little too well than he'd like. [Bro, Zhongli and Venti has statues of themselves around Liyue and Mondstaft, AND NO ONE MANAGES TO THINK "hmmm.. You know, he looks like one that statue there.. Wait a minute-" LIKE, SRSLY!!! Venti is more obvious, I can understand Zhongli since he wears more funeral consultant clothing, but he still somehow blends in with the crowd. Unlike a Lil wind spirit.]

But when the moment came where you made a contract, Jade was more than happy to hinder you, only for you to complete the conditions before he could figure out your plan.

"... What?"

["OSMANTHUS WI-"]

After that fiasco with you giving a very large heavy warning, Jade was by your side whenever he wasn't with Floyd, questioning your knowledge, in which you were more than happy enough to comply.

Jade fell for you when you showed how competent you were unlike the other miserable guppies in school. Sure you had a few problems, but nothing with a little Jade there and everything is perfect. He also favored your knowledge, specially about fungi.

When you two became a couple, it was.. Strange to say, a air headed but scary consultant with a sadistically calm eelman? That's ringing bells for everyone.

𝓕𝓵𝓸𝔂𝓭𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓮𝓬𝓱

Floyd had zero, zip, non, 100% no interest in you. Why? You looks, sound and seem boring. And he stand corrected.

it was later when you completed the conditions, which, not gonna lie, spooked Floyd.

"Hah?"

Later, he began to go after you like he did with Goldfish (Riddle), and when he tried to squeeze you, he found himself squeezing a shield instead.

He found himself utterly thrilled and had did several attempts at you, which failed.

His interest in you and your abilities heightened.

Then your relationship bloomed.

It was hard to say if it was romantic or platonic, but either way, Floyd was perfectly happy. Happy to have a partner who continues to show things or tell him things about their world.

As long as Floyd kept out of trouble and/or content, Jade and Azul didn't say question their relationship.

Pyro Archon

The Warlord

𝓛𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓪 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓻

Who are you? What are you? Why are you here? What are you doing? Get out.

Leona didn't care for you, not one single bit. Until you messed with his sleep schedule due to your chaoticness.

Whenever your around, you just bring trouble with you. And he doesn't like it one bit.

And when you bring trouble, you bring noise.

Which officially ruins his nap times.

However, Leona praises and respects your prowess in battle. You always gave it your all, which he liked. You weren't holding back, which allowed him to gauge how powerful you were as a deity with or without your element.

As it turns out, you're stronger than what you make yourself out to be, but what catches Leona's attention the most, was how calculating you were. It was as if you were analyzing him

To be honest, he felt violated.

At most times, you're energetic, but when your quiet or serious, it's either pack your sh** and leave or get out of their way.

Because when your either if those, you will either send someone to the nurse with severe casualties or some of the schools property will be destroyed. And of course, there is a justified reason for this.

Other than to make Crowley very upset of course.

Leona fell for you with your strength. He loves a woman who can lead and he could just relax. Unless it comes to some other type of leadership, like in the bedroom, then that will change. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

These two are dangerous as a couple when Leona's awake and active. And when Leona's on the move, expect a gremlin to be tailing after him, and be sure to clear out of their way. Mercy didn't in their vocabulary.

𝓡𝓾𝓰𝓰𝓲𝓮 𝓑𝓾𝓬𝓬𝓱𝓲

Huh? Do I know you? No? Goodbye.

Ruggie, quite literally, didn't give a rats ass about you.

To him, you were like any other beast man, rowdy and rough, other than your form that is.

But thankfully, you knew how to take care of yourself. Less work for Ruggie. I guess.

Not only that you knew how to cook. That was a god sent gift to Ruggie. Sadly though, you only know how to make mostly meat dishes. If it contains vegetables, expect the veggies to be over seasoned.

Leona was scared when he saw you in the kitchen, only to calm down seeing you being calm and not rowdy.

Ruggie fell for your cooking. He is literally the term "To get to a mans heart, you go through their stomach". although you should work on cooking vegetables better for a more healthier lifestyle.

𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓗𝓸𝔀𝓵

Strong? Strong.

You two are 100% besties.

You two are glued to the hip whenever you guys are free or share classes.

You both like to exercise and spar, so you two mostly go for each other.

To say the least, Jack mostly saw you as a sibling. Sorry, no romance.

Jack often scolds you for not eating more vegetables.

Which makes you pout and huff.

Cute lil tyke - Leona

Hydro Archon

The Judge

𝓡𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼

Nice, another rule setter like me. We're gonna be great friends.

"Explain why two cubes of sugar should be in a lemon tea? It's blasphemy."

I see you have chosen violence 😌

Riddle at first liked you, until you learned about the rules of the Queen of Hearts, did he start to hate you.

"BE QUIET OR IT'S OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

He loathed you.

He thought that since your a judge, you'd understand the rules, much like him. But no, you judged the rules as well, evaluating if they are fair or not.

Whenever you call out on the rules that appeared ridiculously stupid to have (like the two sugar cubes in lemon tea. That's bs to you.)

After the overblot, you were more nicer when he changed.

He stand corrected.

But he didn't mind it, he low key enjoyed arguing with you, without him screaming at you of course.

You two as a couple sends fear in everyone. A judge and a tyrant? That's a deadly combo.

𝓣𝓻𝓮𝔂 𝓒𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻

Trey had taken a liking to you, seeing how similar you are to Riddle.

He enjoyed answering your questions about rules, but if there were rules he can't remember, he'd look at them with you to not only answer your question, but to commit them to memory in case.

What he's scared of is when you give trials regarding about incidents. Riddle would present his case then the 'innocent' or innocent would present theirs.

If the person is guilty, you ensure punishment, because like Riddle, you detest rule breakers unless in reason. You didn't mind them bending the rules as long as it doesn't break.

Trey is envious of your abilities, but you reassure him the his Doodle Suit is superior if you can use it against others magic.

You often praised him as well.

You admitted to thinking about a scenario of if Trey was born in Tevyat, he'd receive a hydro vision.

He flushed in response, secretly happy to have caught your attention.

You two as a couple puts everyone, minus Riddle because it's you, at ease.

𝓒𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓭

#ohmyseveniminlove #calltheambulance #loveatfirstsight #goddescendingfromheaven #pinchme #PLSNOTICEMEANDLOVEME #foryoupage

He practically fell for you.

To him, you were perfect.

"You have flaws? I only see perfection!"

He's a smooth talker, albeit feminine due to having a lot of sisters, but smooth nonetheless.

He's a simp for you, willing to use his unique magic to do anything and everything for you.

Literally fell at first sight of you.

As a couple, Cater often takes couple photos with you, at first you were content with the pictures, but at this point they kinda peeved her when he takes pictures on every occasion.

"Smiiiile~"

"Cater, I love you, but please, stop."

"If you give me a kiss I might~"

𝓓𝓮𝓾𝓬𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝓪𝓭𝓮

You're his role model.

Literally the Geno to your Saitama.

He carries a notebook with him to take notes on you since he strives to be like you. A model being.

Even if he looks smart, he still has a split braincell between Ace and Grim.

Don't hold it against him if he's trying to know almost EVERYTHING about you.

More platonic than romantic.

𝓐𝓬𝓮 𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓸𝓵𝓪

Complete opposites.

And completely disliked each other.

You rubbed him the wrong way, maybe it was because you were more justified than him, better at things than he was.

He didn't know what, it was just you being better than him. He understands he's not smart, because he foes dumb sh** with the other two.

But whenever you have to deal with their messes on their own, he feels irritated.

He often tries to get after you as well.

"Oh wow, such a god you are. Pathetic."

*cue angry archon noises with an 8 feet tall wave behind them, ready to flood Ace's ass.*

Yeah, your relationship is very... Rocky and slightly concerning.

Here's part 2! I'm happy that you read this! I will have a link to the first part after connecting the links to certain parts. Feel free to request or refer to the main master list pinned on my blog if you wish to see other choices to make! Happy reading!

[vibraniumwing]

come on, weasley.

a fred weasley x reader bulleted imagine wherein the reader takes the red-head to a muggle nightclub and shows him the way to have fun without any magic involved. 

WARNING: mentions of alcohol, a bit of grinding and hinting of smut (no nasty nasty winkwonk)

A/N: i had this idea a few months ago and this has been long overdue but the inspiration kicked in again after listening to a few classic party songs. wrote this song while listening to cobra starship’s you make me feel & rihanna’s s&m

---

okay so let’s be real, being a half-blood meant so much more to you because well,, , you get the best of both worlds.

a muggle mother who’s very fascinated with the wizarding world and a magical father?? 

darling your childhood was the definition of fun

you had quidditch with your father during saturdays and had the whole sunday to wander around muggle london with your mother (or the other way around)

you have an older sister who sadly didn’t get to inherit any magical powers 

but she paid no mind to that and enjoyed the muggle world.

and of course after all that you’ve experienced at hogwarts, your sister wanted to show you what you missed out on.

of course, includes parties.

that comes in handy when your boyfriend is a pure-blooded wizard who didn’t know a smack about how muggles work.

you love fred weasley immensely

yet his innocence when it comes to your own technology makes you laugh everytime.

“what on earth is that?”

“freddie, my sweet little innocent wizard, that there is a playstation.”

“what does it do?”

bless his heart-

ANYWAYS

it was a thursday night when you recieved a phone call from your sister

“hey i’m going to this nightclub tomorrow, would you and your wizard boyfriend want to tag along?”

you stared at your ginger boy who was still trying to figure out how to play mario kart 

srsly bless is innocent heart im crying

“see you tomorrow night then.”

you jumped on the couch next to the male which broke him from his focus

which led to him being 5th place once again

he looks at you with furrowed eyebrows

“what?”

“you made me lose, baby!” 

“i apologize freddie. *insert apology kiss here* anyways, we’ll be going out tomorrow night”

“i think i deserve more kisses- wait what? what’s going on tomorrow?”

“i’m showing you how we, muggles, have fun during a friday night.”

and that’s how you ended up pulling fred along the pavement towards a nightclub in central london

“how can you run in those high shoes, y/n?’

“it’s a pain honestly but it puts the look together. now are you ready?”

he simply nodded, eyes looking over the neon lights that had the name of the nightclub.

the both of you bumped into your sister and her date

“finally the both of you arrived, let’s have some fun!”

you held on to your boyfriends hand tightly, squeezing it gently.

“ready, fred?”

“ready as i’ll ever be, i reckon.”

with a simple wink, the bouncer let the four of you enter. 

fred immediately winced at how loud the music was, not used to the bass jumping though the walls

“is it always this loud in here?!” fred said-wellhonestlyheshouted-into your ear, which you gave him a quick nod.

“are you ready to have some fun?!”

“definitely!”

and that’s your cue to pull him over to the bar and grab a few shots before heading over to the dancefloor

“a tray of vodka for us, please” 

you had the honor of teaching fred how to “pre-game” before a night out

so the alcohol was coursing through the both of you.

your drinks soon arrived and you motioned him to take a shot

after taking the swig he looked at you and cringed a bit as he bit on the lime

“definitely stronger than firewhiskey, am i right?”

as lady gaga’s just dance started to fade, cobra starship’s you make me feel good started to play

“oh my god i love this song! c’mon fred, let’s dance!”

fine taste in music, y/n. i applaud you

you tugged at his hand and he slowly gave in

he followed you to the sea of people on the dancefloor

you started moving along the beat, you stared at him with a bright smile

maybe it was the alcohol that gave you this sudden surge of confidence

but as the chorus neared you started to sing along

“...i’m the baddest baby in the atmosphere, tell me what you want so we could do just what you like”

“yOU MAKE ME FEEL THAT”

you sang along with the crowd as they started jumping around, dancing along

and as much as fred would love to join

he was staring at you in awe

at how sexy you are with your cheeks slightly flushed from the alcohol

how you seemed to be in your element with parties

“freddie! dance with me!”

your voice interuppted his thoughts, tugging on him once again as he started to groove with you

admittedly his moves were a bit awkward and lanky

but give the man a break

when did wizards have such loud parties like this

you wrapped your arms around him loosely as you started to sway your hips

causing him to drape his hands over your waist lazily, a woozy grin on his lips as he watched you move along with him

as the break of the song played

the sea of people seemingly calmed down

which surprised the ginger

“look freddie, my love, this is the best part”

and the song started to play again

the people started to jump and dance around again

you turned around and jumped along with them

and like a switch

fred started to dance along and let loose

which delighted you so much

as the song ended, the both of you stared at each other breathless

“that was absolutely mental, y/n”

“is that a good thing?”

“of course.”

as if on cue, rihanna’s s&m played

ah yes, the song i’ve been singing outloud since i was 9

“this is absolute banger, fred!”

not the only thing being banged tonight

eW WHY DID I EVEN INCLUDE THAT AKDJFNJSKF

with that being said, you turned around and started to dance again

your hips swaying side to side

causing fred to hold your waist as he tried to match along with you

which of course you took as a sign to go even closer

like you were c oughs grinding coughs him

“what’s this dancing called?”

“grinding, my love.”

as he also realized the meaning of the song that was being played

“now, are you giving me a sign, baby?”

it was safe to say your night ended quite eventful

or i do say so myself ;)))

[captainsspnanon]

C2E17 - Harvest Close rewatch/liveblog

It’s here, it’s here, the episode where I introduced my mother to Critical Role!

I’d been much further along and was talking to her about the show (started off simply, then she asked for some clarification and the DAM BURST FORTH and then I just didn’t shut up…), and she didn’t really understand how DnD WORKED.  Like, dice?  Why use dice?  And I showed her the Fjord sandbag scene as a good example of roleplaying but how the dice add a random element to it that you just roll with (whoops didn’t mean to pun OH WELL).  She thought it was a delightful scene, and had no further interest after that.  Unfortunately for her, the ‘not shutting up’ thing is a thing, and with me being stuck on my own during the pandemic, any time I visited we would talk about things and what was I watching CRITICAL ROLE so it just kept going.  Eventually I would show her some other sporadic scenes, mostly involving Jester because my mom loves her voice (I wanted to show her the cupcake scene, but she wanted context so she watched the full like 45 minutes to an hour of them all negotiating with the hag before the cupcake scene).  Cut to me showing her more and more scenes at a time, then she tried watching the first episode of C2 but stopped after an hour or so because while she was enjoying it there was just SO MUCH to go and she has other things she wants to read/watch.  Cut to her deciding to give the start of C3 a go (she’s very happy that they’ll be taking off the last Thursday of every month).  She’s watched all four episodes so far, and is ready to stop if it gets too much or she loses interest, but so far she’s invested in the plot.  Bored and confused by the combat, but I’ve been having conversations with her about mechanics such as race, class, stats, etc, so it’s adding a bit of context.

WOW I HAVEN’T EVEN STARTED THE EPISODE YET

I feel like I never need to come out and say I have adhd, I feel like it’s freaking obvious with how I type CONSTANTLY (plus all the shit I reblog). Sorry if it annoys you, I WILL NOT STOP.

Yoooooo Sam just won his Emmy!  Go Sam!

Omg Matt made a virtual Emmy to put in his inventory I forgot about this!!

Off topic, I just got shiny Mew in pokemon go.  It has terrible stats. 14, 11, 10, totals a two star.  OH WELL.  My regular Mew is a 13, 12, 14 three star, so I’m happy with that.

OKAY BACK TO THE EPISODE.

Oh man, I forgot how detailed the history of Gail is!

I love Laura’s sitcom mom voice so much.  Like, Ashley is the friggen star of these bits, but Laura’s voice is so good!

I really hope they have festivals in C3.  We got a few in C1, but I really think we only got the one in C2, and I feel like a few more could have been had. They really add just a nice lovely break and playfulness in the atmosphere.

Matt having a completely straight face when Beau talks about the beacon being stolen might be related to the vanishing kids.  That poker face!!

Jester lists off all methods of transportation that VM used NEVER GOT IT UNTIL NOW

Laura teasing Matt for saying “chest area”.  “what you do you want me to say Laura? Past her HEAPING BOSOM??”  srsly, I love that these guys really are just a group of friends goofing off together.

There’s a part of me that really just loves Liam for his very classical references on the fly.  It makes me very much miss being a theatre kid, and while it was the right choice for me not to go into it professionally, it makes me regret it just a little bit.  Who else drops a Tartuffe reference out of the blue!

I really forgot how much Caleb made deadpan jokes, like all the time.

Also this skeleton vs dead person conversation is amazing and I love it so much

28:50, the moment I started playing it for my mom.  UGH, I loved this bit anyway, but now it gives me even more warm fuzzies because it’s a soft memory of sharing it with her

they’re so delighted by the soft chimes in the background

THREE NATURAL ONES seriously I love this so much and I love how excited they all get and I LOVE WHEN DICE TELL A STORY

Interestingly, Matt had said “alright so-” and had held up a wait-a-sec finger before Travis rolled, but it might just have been at not disadvantage or something, so whatever he was gonna say didn’t help anyway

See, I like Molly in this episode.  The skeleton body debate, the sandbag throwing, later he gets the platinum dragon banner, I honestly feel like a lot of stuff that I liked from Molly is actually coming up in the remaining episodes, but I wasn’t able to appreciate it first time around because I was already so soured on him.  At this point in the rewatch, I am recognizing that I don’t like him, but I’m trying to distance from that so that I can still watch these scenes and enjoy him in it.

Seeing so much of Yasha’s characterization this time around!  I’ve said it before, I know I missed it the first watch because I wasn’t sure what was Ashley and what was Yasha, but this is just making Yasha so much more enjoyable for me, even before we get her for long periods of time.

I do feel like Keen Mind should have helped Caleb with the cup game, but the nat 20 works!

Yasha and Jester going for the hammer hit!  Also lol at the guard calling Yasha ‘big missy’.  In the Talks just before this, Ashley took a moment to SPECIFICALLY state that Yasha is shorter that Fjord.  I’m sorry Ashley, but the fanbase had already spoken.  Yasha is tallest.

YASHAAAAAAAAAAAAA (she gets such great moments this episode, I’m so happy) (actually, thinking about it, yasha has just a bunch of great moments overall in the campaign, that makes me even happier!!)

I miss Caleb instinctively counting coins.  It was such a small thing, I have to assume that it’s just that Liam didn’t want to bring it up every time, but that Caleb is probably always doing it.  Well, maybe not? It’s not quite a Vex situation, but I do suspect much of it comes from his years being a beggar.  Hmmm….now I wonder if any of it is a habit of Bren, or if it’s always been a Caleb thing.

And this is why stats can make the game.  I LOVE Jester and Yasha being the strongest physically, it just leads to SO many lovely things!  And it only happened because Laura rolled really well for her status!  Otherwise it only would have been Yasha as the beefcake.

liam why are you making the candied/caramel apple scene heartbreaking fuck you I love you

also, this is why I love Matt.  Candied apples, yup, he got that set ahead of time. Caramel apples?  Sure, why not!  But improved in such a way that it FEELS like he had it prepped the entire time.

Also, Laura – Caramel.  Matt – Carmel.  I’m a ‘caramel’, so hearing ‘carmel’ always throws me off.

I feel like I like this episode so much also because it feels like the first time where the PCs feel like a group of friends?  Like, betting on Jester, hassling Nott to win them prizes in the archery contest, it just FEELS so warm in a way that they hadn’t quite reached before now.

Yasha eating rats!!

can you imagine what the plot would have been if they actually chose to join the Righteous Brand?  Like, it CLEARLY wasn’t gonna happen, but technically it was still a thread they could choose

YASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

YAAASSHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

DOUBLE NATURAL TWENTY FROM YASHA AND GUTHER!!!!!!!!

(trying to remember if I showed my mom this bit as well, I can’t actually remember!)

I love that they are SO high energy as if this was an actual arm wresting match.  I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Yasha asks Beau to read the flyer and there’s a moment where we’re all like wait Yasha can’t read?? but then Yasha has already read earlier with the town crier so

Oh hey!  Darrow sounds exactly like Jarrett!  No wonder Laura reacted the way that she did before we knew it was Darrow.

Mage Armor!  I feel like this actually didn’t get used much during the campaign. *checks critrole transcripts* eh, like 28 times?  And used up through episode 76 and then not used any more.  Aaaah, and that might be around when Caleb gets the elven chainmail, which explains that. OKAY I TAKE BACK MY COMMENT.   Though that’s still almost half the campaign where it didn’t get used, so I can understand my thoughts on it.

I feel like Beau and Caleb got really close so quickly, it gives me such feeeeeeels.

Treeeeeeeent.  I HAAAATE YOUiloveyoubestvillianbestvillain

Beau using the wooden swords!!!!!

No enlarge mini yet, but that’s okay.  Also, now I see why Caleb typically just enlarges Beau, because enlarging Yasha actually doesn’t do much cause she gets the rage bonuses any way.  And 1d4 damage adds up for a monk with lots of attacks, versus a barb with two.

….the Last Line fighting minotaurs in the tournament feels a lot worse now that we’ve seen that minotaurs are intelligent creatures (a la what’s his face in Xhorhas).  I wonder if Matt already had that concept at the time, or if he considered minotaurs just creatures and then changed it for Xhorhas.

Aaand nothing much more to say because it’s just combat stuff.

I thought they did all three this episode!  Ah well, hill giant next time.

@suicidallyreckless

[akari-hope]

I’m autistic, & I saw a post from another autistic person earlier, talking abt HP, that said, “hyperfixations aren’t fucking random. If you find yourself continually drawn to racist shit, you srsly need to sit & examine why that is. Stop using your disability to justify your being drawn to racist shit.” hyperfixations can definitely be random tho? And acting like we can choose what we hyperfixate on is ableist? also, not defending hp at all, but acting like ppl were drawn to it BECAUSE of its

2/2 racist elements seems both in bad faith and intentionally dismissive of the larger themes. (Still not advocating for supporting it though.) And I’ve never seen anyone use their autism to justify racism, that would be insane.

hyperfixations can often follow a pattern in the sense of "i like x genre so i'm more likely to latch onto things of that genre" but...the idea that we have control over the particular thing we hyperfixate on is just false. something can be seemingly perfect for you but not something you hyperfixate on, and something can come out of nowhere and become a hyperfixation. for example, i love fantasy as a genre, so a lot of my hyperfixations ARE fantasy. but that doesn't mean i latch onto every piece of fantasy media out there. and that doesn't mean i might not latch onto something in a different genre.

not to keep saying the same thing all the time, but the concept of "everything is problematic in some way" is extremely true and important to understand. i struggle to think of an example where said problematic elements were the draw for most people. hp has many problems in its text: racism, transphobia, homophobia, antisemitism, i could go on. but to act like any of these things were the initial draw for most people is dishonest at best. it's not like people looked at how joanne wrote lycanthropy and went "oh fuck yeah, thank god this series has a homophobic analogy". no one looked at cho chang and said "phew, i was worried no one was gonna make a racist stereotype of a character". like that's just not how people think. some people will see these things and go "hm. fucking yikes." and others will simply not notice (which we could unpack, but in short while i can't blame people for being ignorant it is still a responsibility to think critically about the media you consume).

and i'm not saying any of this to defend hp or joanne. i'm saying this to argue in good faith instead of with half-baked "gotchas". something can have issues without said issues consuming the whole of the work. bc ultimately, is hp about racism, do the racist elements take up the entirety of the books, is it in the core themes and plot points? not really. it's dishonest to say that the entire work is racist and that was the draw. we CAN say "if you continually refuse to acknowledge and unpack racist elements when you encounter them, you seriously need to sit down and examine why that is." now we've gone from an all or nothing mentality to a nuanced one.

quick aside, i have seen autistic people say racist things or not understand why something was racist out of a place of pure ignorance, but i haven't personally met any who have used being autistic as an excuse to act racist. most i've ever seen is them using it as an explanation for why they didn't initially understand, alongside a promise to do better. i'm sure the people who use it as an excuse do exist, but i haven't personally known any.