#their dynamic is one that never would have occurred to me but is too funny

[dittydipity]

played the researcher and seeker event. this is what they are to me

[ayy-ayycaptaiin]

Truly funny how the only way dickbabs shippers could ever “win” is by having the bat writers trying to remove and retcon how much Dick loved Kory, and even then the ship is still garbage compared with dickkory. Such a hollow and embarassing “win” lol.

Trying hard to be objective here. While i dislike DickBabs with all my being, i must disagree that they're garbage. They're far from it. I truly believe they could still be a good ship without shaming and retconning characters left and right. The keyword here being could. Dick and Babs themselves aren't safe from the retcons either, lol.

I've read DickBabs' famous runs. Nightwing 1996, BoP 1999 (i love this BoP era btw), Nightwing/Oracle Convergence, Taylor's NW run, etc. They have cute banters, supportive relationship, deep connections with each other, and love that transcended disability. Those are good qualities to have in a ship, no? but it's just not enough for them. Writers just had to retcon Dick and Kory's romantic past (and other characters too, but that's for another post). What got me pissed off too was how they had to put down other women (Kory, Helena, Shawn Tsang, and Bea) to uplift DickBabs. Even their so called best writers like Simone, Dixon, and Taylor had to bring up (and down) Kory to make their ship look good. Do debate me on this, but has there ever any occurence where DickKory in their relationship had to put down beloved characters in order to make their love work? 😭

Even Batman himself wasn't safe from the retcon, too. Remember the infamous alien xenophobic remark he made for Kory? When that very man genuinely supported Dick's relationship with her in NTT run? Or that he has a best friend called SUPERMAN?? Y'know, the friendship dynamic that has been one of the biggest parts of DC since the dawn of time? Yeah the story got retconned and the entire thing is no longer canon, but hey i'm not surprised, it's always about retcons with DickBabs.

Their shippers like to debate that writers change and characters change with the flow of time. Retcons are normal within the comic medium, yes. But, there are good retcons and bad retcons.

They ALWAYS like to reference PeterGwen and PeterMJ in their defense. Since y'know, Gwen was retconned, she was never supposed to die and MJ was never meant to be Peter's love interest originally, cmiiw. But here's the thing, despite originally not planned to be together, PeterMJ is widely beloved by the global population because their story and relationship work naturally and are written better. Comic readers and general public LOVE THEM. Yes there are retcons for PeterMJ, but PeterMJ and DickBabs are never and will never be apple to apple in this discussion. Their impacts are not the same and will never be 😭

Don't even get me going with their recurring themes of Dick's "it's you, it was always you" and "all the best parts of my life, you were there". Those tropes aree soooo disrespectful towards his past with Kory. As if during his time with Kory, he loved Barbara more than his time with her. Newsflash, Kory and Dick had significant impacts towards each other. Do they forget that Kory was one of the reasons why Nightwing even exist? Do they forget how he helped Kory navigate het life on earth, or how when Kory helped Dick to avoid being Batman 2.0 in his development? (No hate towards Bruce and Babs, i love them, i truly do)

Dick and Babs only work when they grew from their trauma and past in Nightwing and Oracle mantle. The whole Robin Batgirl childhood mutual crush is harmful towards their respective characters AND other characters. They're the best as Nightwing and Oracle. Never before that time.

If i have to be honest, i would ship DickBabs had only their mutual romance was developed prior to DickKory. I think it's a good ship with revolutionary tropes in disabled character. But sadly, their rival ship is DickKory—a globally beloved couple originating from a comic book run that was SO popular and iconic, that it rivaled X-Men back in the day and saved DC from bankruptcy ❤️

This is just my personal take. I understand that people can interpret comic books, especially ones that have existed for decades very differently. People are very welcome to correct me if i wrote any misconceptions or mistakes in my post. I'm always open to discussion 🥰

[reythenerdypisces]

things that I overlooked in PJO the first time / small, funny things I noticed during my reread

Part 3: The Titan's Curse

The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often.

I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl - anything but that fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

"The General?" I asked. Then I realised I'd said it in a French accent. "I mean... who's the General?" I want this part to be in the show

"Sweet! Let's go! [to CHB]" said Nico. this breaks my heart. he was so excited in this book

Tyson thought Annabeth was just about the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter).

"How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?" "Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone." "But she was like, the goddess of flowers." Grover looked offended. "Springtime." you tell him grover

"That's some serious danger you're facing." Connor Stoll said. (I liked how he said you and not we.) I'm just imagining the rest of the campers not bothering to go on quests cause it's always the same few demigods and they don't care, they're just chilling safe at CHB while Percy and Annabeth do their things

The creature looked at me sadly. "Moooo!" But I couldn't understand his thoughts. I only speak horse. Percy Jackson speaks two languages: English and Horse

With a shiver, I realised that five hundred or a thousand years from now, Bianca di Angelo would look exactly the same as she did today. She might be having a conversation like this with some other half blood long after I was dead but Bianca would still look twelve years old. ouch

"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said. "Of course." Grover said. "It's wild!" "So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.

"That's us," he said. "Those five nuts right there." "Which one is me?" I asked. "The little deformed one," Zoe suggested.

When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Annabeth. I know everyone talks about this part but I can't help but bring it up again, they are so cute

"Woah, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what's up with tragic!" little does he know. also, Percy is so incredibly insightful in this book but he's also so jealous of Annabeth and Luke and so upset about the idea of her joining the hunters yet still can't figure out that he likes her

"Seven hundred feet tall," I said. "Built in the 1930s." "Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said. Grover sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States." Zoe stared at us. "How do you know all that?" "Annabeth," I said. "She liked architecture." I cannot explain how much this little bit means to me.

The girl I'd just tried to slice in half yelped and dropped her Kleenex. "Oh my god." she shouted. "Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?" Rachel's here!!! I love her

Five minutes later, Zoe had me outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat. someone draw this and tag me. what an outfit

Suddenly it occurred to me: this had happened to her before. She had been cornered on Half-Blood Hill. She'd willingly given her life for her friends. But this time, she couldn't save us. How could I let that happen to her? he is the most empathetic, wholesome guy, I love Percy

"Can't this go any faster?" Thalia demanded. Zoe glared at her. "I cannot control traffic." You both sound like my mother." I said. "Shut up!" they said in unison. I kind of wish we got more Thalia and Zoe interactions... they would've made such a great enemies to lovers dynamic, if Zoe didn't die

"Get away from my daughter!" Dr Chase called down, and his machine gun burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering. "Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.

Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

"No," I said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me." "Why are you saying that?" she cried. "You want to be responsible for the whole world?" It was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't say that. I knew I had to step up and claim it. "I can't let Nico be in any more danger." I said. might I remind you this boy is 13/14 and has the whole world on his shoulders (both literally at some point and figuratively)

I feel like these are just getting longer and longer but again, I will be back for part 4!

[tojiscrack]

on my weekly re-read of liar liar, and i was GOING TO pull an all nighter and finish it all, but i feel asleep before i could 😞😞

ANYWAYS!! i find it so funny that throughout the first chapter (and even later chapters, but not as much) its mentioned (and made very obvious) that y/n is a little devil child, that can be too much to handle, but never w megumi. like, idk how to explain it, but hes never thought shes “too much”, and lets her do what she wants, just puts his input in (like when she switched classes, he didnt feel overly annoyed by it, just told her that she was gonna get in trouble) (i might be wrong about this LMAO) youve written them in a way that they balance each other PERFECTLY, like they are genuinely soulmates.

the end scene of the first chapter is oddly one of my favourite parts of the fic, because we get other characters (albeit, minor characters, but wtv) opinions on them, and youve written them exactly like how they describe it. they keep each other in line, and thats why they work so well together.

anyways!!! i love this fanfic so sosososooos much!!! i dont understand how this isnt more popular because???? ITS SO GOOD???? literally how arent people falling in love with your writing within the first 1k words??

(also i meant to include this in a previous ask, but i forgot lol, BUT ONE OF MY FAV DUOS IN THE FIC (and in canon lfmao) is megumi and nobara?? everytime they’re together i genuinely laugh, you nailed their characters and character dynamic)

liar, liar masterlist here:

INCOMING YAP SESSION CUZ THIS ASK GOT ME SUPER DUPER EXCITED KSJSJDIWJ

WEEKLY reread? girl, stop, you’re gonna notice all the typos i cba to get rid of 🫣

HAHAHA, NO STOP, I HAVEN’T HAD ANYONE MENTION THE WHOLE ‘DEVIL CHILD’ THING SINCE THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS WERE RELEASED 😭 and that, my friend, was months ago 🌝

so i’m so excited to just talk about this omggg!!! 😫💘

yes indeed 😤 megumi would most likely say she’s sm to handle, but really, he lowkey enjoys it. it’s the only time he can be an accomplice witness to such foolish behaviour, and not be reprimanded for it as much ‘cause he just has her to fall back on and blame. he won’t ever stop her, per se, but he’ll tell her once or twice ‘whatever you’re doing, it’s not gonna work’ or ‘don’t be dumb’, and think he’s done his part before being influenced by her 💀

‘i might be wro-’ stfu you’re right and you know it 🙄❤️

and you’re also right in it not being mentioned as much when they’re older. no, i did not forget to add it, that was done intentionally for two reasons:

they’re older now, so as much as she does what she wants with him, she’s a lot more tame than she was as a child. that doesn’t mean she ever regrets the stupid things she’s done (except for the whole mermaid thing, that is a lifelong regret she’ll always have 😭)

the idea that she’s such a menace has been established enough over the years to the point where no one feels the need to voice it. new characters probably would — someone like miss b who was introduced in the middle school chapter — but even then, she was exposed to the more tame versions of the chaotic duo. so everyone kinda silently acknowledges it, and only during crazy moments (like the tragic helicopter incident of 2016, rip satoru/suguru’s will to live 😔) will it actually be voiced (like ogi mistakenly believing that y/n didn’t start any of the nonsense that occurred during the incident, and that was mentioned cuz of the fact that she’s famously known to be so incredibly out of control).

the bonus scene for the first chapter was my fav to write as wellll (tho arguably, i say that about so many scenes, so the value of this statement is probably worth nothing 💀). bonus scenes were initially meant to be ONLY from other people’s pov, but i noticed how so many things from y/n and megumi’s childhood tgth are littered around the story, and that the only way you could ever get any insight of them is through the bonus scene since the chapters are too long to add flashbacks AND bonus scenes. i could always do a separate set of oneshots for them, but i don’t have the time for that (yk this through my horrid updating schedule) 😟

but i am so glad you’re telling me what you enjoyed — and more importantly, being specific about it. it lets me put into perspective how the later chapters (tho already planned) should be set out. your feedback means the world to me, and you deserve a million set of kisses every night for them <3333

‘i love this fanfic sosososo much!!! i don’t understand how this isn’t more popular because??? IT’S SO GOOD???’

okay brb, gonna go and find my right to exist and have the perfect life when cutie pies like you grace this earth 😖💞💓💗💞

maybe one day it’ll get bigger 😊 if that day ever comes, i’ll remember my og readers. i’ll remember the support i was given from them. i’ll remember people like you, who continuously flood my inbox with enough love to pull yank me out of writer’s block and squeeze out another chapter, how because of your long and juicy asks/messages/dms, the cycle of writing i have going on here continues, and i feel more and more proud that i even developed such a fic to begin with ❤️

‘literally how aren’t people falling in love with your writing after the first 1k words’ — errr probably ‘cause the first 1k words were just y/n trying (and failing) to explain what happens in her horror stories without stuttering 💀 LMFAO, SORRY 😭 i’d fall asleep on that carpet if i were the kids surrounding her, and they went to listen willingly.

but ugh, that’s so nice of you, i’m gonna siwjosnwidjwjd

AND OMG YOU’RE SO RIGHT

like everyone talks about yuji/nobara, or yuji/megumi, bUT WHAT ABOUT MY BEANS NOBARA/MEGUMI? they have a level of deep understanding with each other in canon (and in my fic, which will be addressed CHAPTERSSSS later) that i’d love to yap about, but i’ve already yapped enough, like you’re probably cringing rn i’m sorry 😭 another time, maybe 😔

[moe-broey]

I hope you feel better soon!!! Telepathically blowing up covid with my mind.

Got a simpler ask this time. Think the Askr crew have any nicknames for each other? The idea occurred me because I thought it would be funny if the summoner never EVER refers to Veronica by her full name. It started as a bit to annoy her but naturally became part of their dynamic. I think this group of weirdos deserve more quirks like that with their dynamics with each other.

TBANK YOU...... I am actually starting to feel better now!!! It must have been your power.... or just the passage of time and lots of rest.

I did... WAY too much here and got really off topic and Moe did take over. I'm so sorry. I barely control that thang. But also!!! A lot of these ideas have lived in my mind for a long time now, I just never got around drawing them out! I'm. Gonna try and organize this the best I can, bc I have SO much to say and it all kinda flows into each other...

This will be one half comic collection, one half character analysis and headcanons. Ready... GO!

FIRST OF ALL. THAT IS SO FUNNY. AND SO REAL. I can ABSOLUTELY see Kiran doing this. If you're a responsible adult figure in a kid's life, no matter the context, you Have to find harmless ways to annoy them. You have to find the bit, and commit to it. Just, um... well under most circumstances, said kid doesn't wield magic and have a giant spikey crown (making for lethal headbutts). So just be careful out there. 🫡

As for Moe... it kind of lacks that quality. Always a bit too in its head, often floundering in one way or another. Moe tends to love at a distance, has a lot of trouble expressing it, and often decides, well. It's just not my place. It seems especially standoffish about Veronica... it can't help but see its younger self in her. In more ways than one. Ultimately, it would avoid giving her a nickname, as a show of respect (it knows she wouldn't like that). It will speak extremely affectionately and highly of her behind her back, but minds its place to her face.

The fun thing about Alfonse's name is that you can extrapolate one thousand variations of it. Which is exactly what Moe does once it gets comfortable with him. And given enough rapport, Alfonse will happily respond to every single one (... except Alfonso). Al is the most casual nickname, that doesn't turn any heads. Allie seems to be the most favored one! (By Moe, or by Alfonse....? Or by Alfonse, as a consequence of Moe's liking for it?)

Sharena's name lends itself well to nicknames too! But Moe seems to exclusively go for Shari. EXTREMELY EXCITED at this show of friendship, Sharena tried her best to return the favor... but it didn't quite stick!

(As a side note! I wish I could have drawn more interactions here... just them going in circles mirroring each other. And one panel that would have been so sweets and speaks to Moe's character... snippet from my notes:

[Both of them become crestfallen.

Moe perks up a little. "'s fine. You can jus' stick to Moe. It is the name I chose, after all." <- It says this with an air of pride]

But I worked too cramped and didn't have the space to include it! 🥲💔)

LASTLY. Okay I have something really specific going on in the back of my head, here. But Lif does not tolerate nicknames. At the first whiff of it, he's shooting it down. This isn't a case where you can playfully get on his nerves and maybe eventually with enough time he softens to it. No. He isn't just being a killjoy about it, either. He... has his reasons. Don't press it.

OKAY. GRABS MOE W A CANE AND YANKS IT OFFSTAGE. GET OUTTA HERE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

-

PART 2 OF THIS POST. Just a liiiiittle analysis and some headcanons!!!!

First. Of course. Alfonse. This is my stance. I feel very strongly about this. But Alfonse is NOT the type who uses nicknames. He doesn't do petnames, either. He is a man of many adjectives and weird relationships with titles. What does this mean?

Alfonse will use a title to refer to someone, to keep his distance. Up until somewhere along the way he catches a snag and suddenly he's romanticizing the title. Now the title holds a Weight to it. An emotional significance. The title is now a term of endearment. Unless if it isn't. The title is used for exclusively practical reasons. The title is a show of respect, to honor the individual in question. It means nothing. It means Everything.

LIKE. LIKE. When he's not being Weird about titles (using a title to keep himself emotionally distant from the receptient), he's. Being Weird about titles (using them to express WHAT that person Is to him, what that means to him, and how he feels!!!!). ADD IN THE ADJECTIVES. He fucking LOVES to use adjectives in place of nicknames/petnames. He is just a wordy fella. You can even catch him getting silly with it, if the mood strikes him. WAY over the top, doing Way Too Much.

Off the top of my head I don't have many examples. They come to me in visions and are gone as soon as they came. But. My fellow associate. My brother in arms. My deeply valued and highly esteemed comrade. My cherished partner (... trusted partner, even). My dearly beloved friend. My friend. HEAVY emphasis on "My Friend". Somehow, that's like a declaration of love from him. Unless if it isn't. "My Friend" still carries SO much meaning to him, though.

Honestly writing this out I'm realizing Alfonse is just the king of taking words that mean something and then making them mean something else. Imbuing his own meaning to it, between the lines. Hiding behind it. HE IS ALSO. THE KING. OF PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY. Alfonse asks "Is anyone going to endlessly complicate the situation or" and doesn't wait for an answer.

ONE NOTE. Is how titles are used as formalities, and how he's also just always so ready to drop them. You kinda have to play this by ear, considering the context of the interaction... really, whether or not he uses a title, and How he uses that title, is extremely reflective of his current emotional state. Can be reflective of the stakes, and the nature of the relationship too. Like the many occasions where he first meets a Hero, and both decide to be on a first name basis fairly quickly. Then you have his whole "The Summoner" vs saying their name, deal. And then you have whatever I'm cooking, here.

AND. AND. DON'T MISS IT! THAT IS THE FINAL PIECE I NEGLECTED TO MENTION UNTIL NOW! NAMES!!!!! A person's name holds SO MUCH EMOTIONAL WEIGHT. TO HIM. When he calls someone by name, it Means something to him. Which to me, lends to the idea that he wouldn't come up with a nickname for someone, himself. If they standardly use a nickname, he'll probably use it. Then, you have the added intimacy of the full name. But to me. What makes the most sense for his character, is that he ascribes meaning to names and titles.

The ONE. "Petname" I will accept, from Alfonse. Is "My love". Because that does feel in-line with everything I've said here. It becomes something of a title, itself. But even then, when I play it out in my head, it's always said as part of something greater, building UP to something, instead of being the main goal??? Like. To me, forever and always. "My friend" will ALWAYS hold way more emotional weight. Anything with too much of a romantic connotation to it just falls flat, ESPECIALLY on its own. Like NO........ they're MORE than that..... it's More Complicated than that...... you can't just reduce them to something so clean-cut. Dare I say normative... <- guy who has problems and complexes voice

That is. VERY MUCH just how I personally feel. Because I have something wrong with me. I'm fucked up and evil. Sick and twisted, even. (... or possibly aromantic.) Moving on!

-

MY FINAL THOUGHT. Is how does all this factor in, between Alfonse and Sharena? Well! To be so real I got so distracted I think I'll just barely edit these notes. And give you some screenshots about it.

When talking to Sharena, he may call her "sister" or "my sister" as like. Terms of endearment. Which is ironic a bit, in how they do come off as a bit stilted and distant. I can also see him getting extra about it though... him calling her, "my sweet sister" / "my beloved sister" either in moments of vulnerability OR. Moments before disaster (VIOLENCE....). Also "my little sister" as a term of endearment...

Also! Supporting this idea, one canon instance where he simply calls her "sister":

And!!! Both Alfonse and Sharena do the "call your sibling by their title as a term of endearment" thing. Sharena's version is a little less stilted than Alfonse's, but still may come off as odd to someone not too familiar w them (her, often calling him "big brother". Many canon instances of this!)

IT'S A SITUATION OF. Well for one I think it would flow a lot better in Japanese tbh, where honorifics like that are not out of the ordinary, they're standard. Where at most it's just a bit of a childish way to refer to him, almost reads like a childhood nickname that stuck??? (I think it depends on what variation of it you use, too. I'm only a little bit familiar w it!). But the thing is. The other half of this thought. It's a situation of "No Normal Person Talks Like That" BUT. If a character DOES. That's noteworthy and says something about them. And I think this goes for both of them! It speaks to the strict and formal environment they were raised in. If Sharena ever had a nickname for Alfonse that wasn't "big brother", it's probably gone now.

Also... another odd thought.... this sort of absence and emotional distance between them (esp early on, also citing Dragalia Sharena "I never bonded with my brother in such a fashion" and the Rosado FBs). That's your Brother. That's what he is, so you call him that. He calls you by title. That's what you are, he acknowledges that. That's what ties you two together. It's supposed to mean something. I'm supposed to mean something, to you. You're supposed to mean something, to me. These titles are proof of that. The blood we share is a bond, in and of itself. Emphasize it enough and maybe we can manufacture something, here.

ACTUALLY.... AAUGHH.......... OKAY NOW I'M CONSIDERING PEONY. HOW THE CHANGELING TWIST FACTORS INTO THIS. BECAUSE. BECAUSE. It's SHOWN that Sharena/Peony has informal titles/nicknames for family on Triandra's side.

Their father wasn't Father (like Gustav), he was Papa. Triandra wasn't sister or big sister, she was sis.

Aaaand that's where my brain short-circuited, blew up caught on fire and charred to a crisp. Sad! But SURELY. This, and EVERYTHING ELSE. Might give some pointers...?

LIKE. MAYBE THE CONSENSUS HERE. Is maybe Sharena did have a nickname for Alfonse, and in general is more likely to use nicknames. Maybe at one point it was "corrected" out of her when it comes to Alfonse, and now it would feel unnatural to do so. Meanwhile, Alfonse never really had any nicknames for her, but always has and still does use her name with So Much emotional weight. Plus the titles and adjectives. The FOCAL THING. About the Askr siblings. Is that they both adore each other SO much, but neither really know how to express it. There is an undeniable emotional distance between them. I feel like, taking this angle with them... the stiltedness, the forcing of affection that's already there, just somehow out of reach or beyond their grasp. I think writing them like this captures that.

I'll. Leave you to decide where Anna fits into any of this. And anyone else. I'm down for the count. To dust.

FINAL FINAL DISCLAIMER. You can take any of this or leave it! These are just the things that run through my head, when I write The Character... I really hope this answered. Anything. At all. Parse through my scatterbrained visions boy...... GOOD LUCK 🫡👍 (AND THANK YOU!!!!! FOR THE ASK!!!!!!!! Enrichment...... much needed in these trying times......)

[letteredlettered]

Hi! I was wondering are there any other pairings that you would consider for Draco and Harry? What appeals to you about those pairings?

Honestly, the only other person I ship Harry with is Ginny. I'm not likely to read Harry/Ginny fic, but that's a ship I can really imagine being happily ever after in a way that lives on in my head. Meanwhile I will totally read Harry/Snape, Harry/Sirius, or the crossgen ships, but I do not ship them and mostly really just want some nice smut in those corners of the fandom.

But for Draco, I ship Draco/Hermione in a major way. But I'm really afraid of reading fic for them because I'm just kind of assuming the dynamic will be a lot of a) Hermione deciding Ron isn't her intellectual equal and therefore is a bad partner, which is something I cannot stand and makes me almost want to like Ron out of sheer spite, b) Hermione deciding Malfoy is her intellectual equal and therefore a suitable partner, when he's really not; no one is her intellectual equal and that really is okay, c) Hermione deciding Malfoy is really hot and fuckable, or d) Malfoy deciding Hermione's gotten really hot and fuckable because she's smoothing down her hair and wearing fashionable clothes, which I despise viscerally.

Meanwhile all I've ever wanted in my life is Malfoy growing up and being a bit more mature and having some regrets and then meeting Hermione again and absolutely losing his mind for her. Like she is so smart and so talented and so powerful and so honorable and so good that he just worships her. And he's like "well that's very nice; I've turned over a new leaf and can respect a Muggleborn; I am an improved member of society," except his dick keeps being inconvenient about it.

And slowly Malfoy realizes that Hermione with her bushy hair and bad clothes is perhaps the hottest woman on earth. And it really, really sucks because Hermione is infinitely kind to him and the only person in this new society who has ever really given former Death Eaters, and also him specifically, a second chance. And she's so warm to him and generous and good and laughs at his little jokes. And also she would never be romantically interested in him in like. Ever.

She's literally never thought of him that way, not even once. She mostly pities him and kind of thinks he's a funny little guy. And Harry is like WTF he called you slurs and you were tortured in his house, and she's like, "We must move beyond our past, Harry," and she really does, but it literally never occurs to her that Malfoy is a man. He's a human being who deserves a chance. And at some point maybe someone even points out that Malfoy is a man that may have some kind of romantic or sexual desires in this world, like maybe they think Malfoy's a hunk and wonder who he might be dating, and Hermione is a startled by this because she's literally never considered it and then goes right back to not considering it, she has so little interest.

This is really the fic that I want to read. Like Draco making heart eyes for hundreds of pages and meanwhile Hermione pioneers space travel and the cure for cancer. BUT I would also be fine if eventually Hermione did notice him and return his affection, but only after like, a RIDICULOUS amount of him pining while she is so completely oblivious that she makes Wei Wuxian look super aware.

Anyway, that's my other main Draco ship, though I quite like Draco/Ginny too. I'm not sold on a particular ship dynamic, though I somehow doubt fic about them is really focused on the shared trauma of Voldemort befriending them and using them and threatening them and throwing them away, which is what I would really be into for them. I also just think they're kind of hot, I guess, though honestly most Ginny pairings are hot because she's hot.

I'll read some crossgen stuff and I'd possibly read like, idk, Draco/Lupin or Draco/Neville and like it, but I think my heart is really set on Draco/Harry or Draco/Hermione, even if I'll never read the latter.

[spacedryadkepler]

malevolent chapter 49 spoilers!

(the most rambling of thoughts)

-i went into this episode with some spoilers cause i couldn’t listen to the ep until late in the evening, and couldn’t help myself when it came to browsing tumblr

those were: oscar’s letter being illegible ( not too surprised about that one, given the constant rain, the mud, the blood loss, and the swimming/wading through bodies of water. i’d have been shocked if it survived)

arthur lester crashes out (again)

arthur and john reunited with the dearly beloved and missed cast member: “falling in holes”

and arthur uses All Of The Bullets

this turned the episode into a fun mystery game for me (on top of the in-episode murder mystery), trying to figure out when these things would occur

anyway onto the actual episode

- we saw it a lot last episode but i looooove seeing how much john is stepping up and pulling extra weight for arthur while he’s unwell. it’s sooo different from the dysfunctional dynamic they had when dealing with other people during season 4.

i’ll never get tired of seeing the contrast against past events of how far the boys have come and changed

-arthur sure is doing. Really! Bad! uh oh!

-despite that he still gets some great great spotlight of his people skills, dealing with the suspicious and unpredictable castle gang, and the one-on-one intimidation with the friar

-the friar in fact, did not do it, as i thought, but the lord everard reveal is way more interesting so i like this outcome

-something about benevolent christmas special referencing the falling in holes thing, and a new incident of Arthur and John Fall in a Hole being in an episode that released on christmas day is very funny to me, even though i know the part of the episode featuring Falling in a Hole most likely released a couple weeks ago

- arthur giving up because he doesn’t believe that on a fundamental, physical level he’s capable of pushing on and surviving is so heartbreaking to listen to.

despite knowing this is Malevolent, i somehow wasn’t expecting to get emotional this episode!

i got lulled into a false sense of security by the previous episodes (which were pretty chill, compared to the standard), even though i knew they were luring me into a false sense of security

- john reciting Invictus to arthur is so ougggh aggghh oof ouch my heart, i loved it. but also it makes me crazy and i can’t stop thinking about it because

when arthur has referenced pieces of Invictus in the past, john didn’t recognize it.

since john has picked up knowledge of human experiences and poetry from arthur, in some sort of bleed-over of knowledge due to their shared state of being, we can assume that Invictus is not among that selection that bled over.

when john asks about it, arthur specifically says it’s “not for you”, keeping a poem that’s so meaningful to him close to his chest.

it makes sense, this was during the prison pits, and the last thing that arthur shared that was important to him, was wielded against him, painfully.

arthur does recite Invictus to yellow, but he was drunk/poisoned, and given the way he brushes off questions the next day, i assume he wouldn’t have freely recited it had he had all of his faculties about him.

but now, after all that’s happened, how arthur and john’s relationship has changed so drastically from the way it was in the dreamlands.

now john has been able to pick up the poem, accumulated as part of the bleed-over knowledge. i don’t think there’s any conscious control on the part of either party when it comes to what knowledge is shared with john, but it feels significant that Now he has access to it, after all this time.

and what he does with it, is he uses it to raise arthur up. to support and try and encourage arthur to push on. head bloodied, but unbowed.

these two make me so crazy it’s insane!!!!!!!

- anyways, because i’m also crazy about kayne, when john mentioned the coin, and then a voice that i didn’t immediately realize was everard spoke, i did very briefly freak out going “omg kayne??? kayne??? kayne???” before coming to my senses.

- also it’s delightful that the boys found an ally here?? i really wasn’t expecting that honestly, after season four, given the circumstances they were placed into, i thought this season would be a return to form of the pair having no one they can safely trust, other than themselves. very neat to be proven wrong!

and it’s a very delightful way to twist it that ultimately they can’t rely upon/work with this ally in the end, because they’re stuck working for one of those very “dark forces” that everard is working against.

- YAY WAHOO for arthur getting healed from his sickness, but i am very curious about how the next episode will go, given that it’s “not simple” and “will take some time”.

it’s possible there will be a short time skip, but i feel like an episode about curing a magical sickness and ridding arthur of horrig’s influence, has potential to be another character development bottle episode of sorts, like The Nightmare.

also can alia detect john?? will she be able to detect john when healing arthur??

what if she deems john as some “dark force” that arthur needs healed from as well

or what if she deems john is Not a “dark force” (that one would make me cry)

i can’t wait for the next ep

[theneighborhoodwatch]

uhhh wally/barnaby for the ship thing?? idk if you ship them im just guessing because youve rbed some art for it lmao

(send me a character/ship to hear my thoughts)

when or if I started shipping it: [friendly shrug that communicates absolutely nothing]

my thoughts: IT'S FUNNY, I... I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD FEEL WAY MORE STRONGLY ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP BEING ROMANTIC THAN I DO? especially considering that "eccentric and traumatized manic pixie nightmare guy obsessed with fulfilling some fictional archetype x his more cynical and worldly friend-slash-colleague who starts out supportive but eventually finds himself way out of his depth" was pretty much the Exact dynamic of the last ship i was invested enough in to call an otp. so far though, any moments they have together don't get much more out of me than "ooh, interesting, i wonder if/how that's gonna come into play later," or "oho, i think my friend who ships barnwally will get a kick out of this," or "aaaghghg fuck.... buddy comedy angst...." i think my thoughts on them right now can be best summarized as ... i am excited for when there is enough About them in canon to finally make me as emotional over them as i am about, like, franklydear or wally and home. but also even if their relationship is never explicitly or even implicitly romantic then i have more than enough reason to believe it will still be just as emotional and rich with Themes. TL;DR: i know they're gonna fuck me up Some day, but that hasn't happened yet.

What makes me happy about them: they genuinely like each other! i feel like with welcome home's whole Thing of its characters' predetermined roles coming into conflict with their reality it'd be really easy to have one of them secretly hate or resent the other from the get-go, but - no, wally trusts barnaby to always have an answer for what he's feeling or experiencing and barnaby is gentler and more upfront with wally than he is with almost any other character (although considering his general personality that may not be saying much HAHA.) it makes it a lot easier to get invested in them and subsequently dread what effect The Horrors will have on their relationship.

What makes me sad about them: so, like. wally probably knows why he and barnaby are friends to begin with, i.e. he probably knows that A Higher Power decided that they should be friends, and so it was done. the possibility that wally can exist beyond what his audience/creator(s) expect of him does not seem to have ever occurred to wally himself. what i'm getting at here, is that. wally may genuinely like being friends with barnaby, yes. but liking something because you chose to seek it out and liking something because you are under the impression that you will somehow cease to exist without it are Two Very Different Things, and the latter is. very dangerous for any kind of relationship. and, fuck, barnaby - if i was barnaby and i found out that that was how my best friend (who i may or may not be in love with) saw our friendship the whole time - if i found out that was the truth and i never noticed it? i would never be able to forgive myself. even if that friend ended up doing things that hurt me or other people or themselves and i was rightly upset with them for that, there would always be that little voice in the back of my head telling me that if i had just looked closer for two seconds i could have fixed it. i could have helped him. i could have shown him i was a real friend.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: i don't seek out WH fic all that often, but i remember when it first became a thing a lot of explicitly romantic barnaby/wally fic made barnaby a little too earnest/mushy for my liking? like yeah, he cares about wally and is gentle with him and everything, but he is also very quick to tease wally and to dress up pretty much everything he says in at least on layer of irony/clowning around. this pooch does NOT have the emotional self-awareness for the things you want him to say!! i also dislike when authors make another character (usually home or. howdy?) like, over-the-top abusive towards wally so barnaby has more incentive to get with him, but i just don't like character assassination/flanderization in general, so.

Things I look for in fanfic: honestly, just, like. more stuff that actually interacts with WH's canon. i feel like a lot of the stuff i see for them is either AU fic or smutty oneshots that don't do a whole lot to incorporate canon elements. which, like, do whatever you want forever, but i'm Starvin' over here.

My kinks: y'know i was gonna be like "teehee, wrong blog! you're not getting that here, silly!" but. i actually have no idea what kinks i would consider Only in the context of wallaby. uhhh. ask for my nsfw blog if you wanna hash that out i guess.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: i'm very curious to see if canon is going to end up making a case for laughingstock. i don't know if it will but i think it would be very funny. as for wally... [looks at his relationship with home] uh. [looks at his relationship with W/the WHRP] umm. [looks at his relationship with the audience] fuck. maybe work on yourself a little bit before thinking about sharing your life with someone again, buddy.

My happily ever after for them: an animated music video set to on melancholy hill by gorillaz. it opens with wally sitting in front of home's burning remains at night, gazing mournfully into its eyes one last time. the only sound we hear is the crackling of the fire. we smash cut to black for a split second before the song begins to play, paired with the visual of wally driving down a long highway at sunset, in what is very clearly a hastily painted over mail truck that used to belong to eddie's post office. after the opening instrumental of the song, the footage alternates between three perspectives: wally traveling to his unknown destination, complete with all the hitchhiking, gas pumping, pit stopping, and otherwise less glamorous parts of road travel; the other neighbors trying to put their lives back together after The Bullshit, in particular following barnaby's melancholic point of view as he visits each one/attends their various get-togethers; and finally, the neighbors Braving The Horrors back in the day to fight for a life that best fits their needs rather than that of their long-dead makers. as the song begins to roll to a close, we see the mail truck pull up to an unfamiliar looking house, with a handful of neighbors hanging out on the porch and barnaby leaving out the front door to grab something. the entire scene takes place at sunset once again, meaning everything in is in silhouette. barnaby stops dead in his tracks when he sees the truck, and the others soon follow his gaze. wally opens the door and steps out, his body language hesitant as he takes one step towards barnaby. barnaby begins to walk towards him. we smash cut to black on the final note of the song. the end.

[writing-for-life]

WIP Wednesday…

It’s currently progressing slowly because it’s heavy and I need to pace myself, so I just need to share something a bit lighter. Well, maybe lighter around the edges—it’s Dream being Dream and Delirium being Delirium, and I love those two so much. I’m so happy to write their dynamics a bit more this time, but it’s also so much pressure to get them right while still leaving space for something new to develop.

It doesn’t give away anything, so fine to post (if you’d rather wait for the whole thing to get published, this is the exit sign…)

A bit of Dream/Delirium dialogue…

“My sister, I know you can hear me, and I would… I want to apologise. I treated you poorly, and it was not my intention to hurt your feelings. And I understand if you do not wish to answer my call. But it is important to me you know I regret we parted on less than favourable terms.”

“You did the apologising thing the last time. And then you were still horrible. So how do I know it means anything? And that you won’t be mean again?”

He felt a slight smile tug at the corners of his mouth at hearing her voice. “I think you will just need to… trust me?”

Delirium came through within a split second, hair dancing, each strand a rebellious stroke of colour that seemed to stand on end in defiance. She put her hands on her hips, and her locks began to blaze in a riotous tangle that seemed to mirror her current mood.

“You ask me to trust you when you would never do the same. When did you ever trust me?”

The choker of crystal beads around her neck strained, and prismatic rays of light sent a surge of blinding brightness into Dream’s eyes. She might as well have slapped him, and it occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, she had. And once again, he felt an overwhelming need to smile because maybe, just maybe, he deserved it.

And when Delirium noticed, it immediately stopped her rant in its tracks. “Why are you smiling? What’s funny? Soooo… I’m a joke to you now. Ha ha, not laughing.”

Dream took a hesitant step towards her, face still soft. “I am not laughing at you, sister. I was just thinking that… I fully deserve your anger, and once again, I wish to apologise for my behaviour.”

Delirium eyed him with suspicion, but her hair had turned into a slightly less wild do. She began twisting her leg on the ball of her foot. “Accepted.” She still sounded like a surly teenager, but it was a start.

They stood in awkward silence for a while, and Dream felt bound by memories etched into his very being.

He finally chose to speak. “We were once—when you were younger, and so was I—stitched together like… constellations. And like stars might realign, what seems like a broken orbit could perhaps be… mended by…”

Delirium looked at him with knitted brows. “You always make everything so complicated. Even your words are complicated. Making amends is not starry, or breaky like some… like spider’s silk and frayed threads and tiptoeing and eggshells. See, I can do that too, that complicated word thing. But it’s just silly. I just want you to be my brother and stop being angry at me and…”

Dream rolled his eyes. “Where does this idea I am perpetually angry come from?”

She forced one eye shut and wrinkled her nose. “Because it seems like it?”

He exhaled loudly.

“You do that a lot when you’re grumpy. The noisy breath through your nose.”

Dream snorted, which made Delirium perk up. “Ha, you don’t do that a lot, the snorty laugh thing. I like it.”

“I was just reminded why you and Thalia seem to get along.” He inclined his head with a raised brow. “In a sisterly manner, not in any way related to your function.”

“She’s alright.”

He smiled. “I am aware.”

Delirium sat down on the floor, legs crossed. “I know you know, but you didn’t believe me when I said I liked her for you. And that I wanted to help you. And her.”

Dream sat down with her, legs equally crossed. “I can see that now. I would like you to know that I appreciate the sentiment. And that I am willing to let go of my complicated… feelings around the issue, at least where they concern you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Delirium bumped his leg with her foot. Not too hard. “And now what?”

➗

And if you want to know “now what?”, you’ll need to wait. You can of course bridge the wait with digging into The Light of Stars if you haven’t already, because it’s the prequel.

I’m so excited about this one, but it is so much harder to write than TLoS because it has so many canon connection points and references I need to weave in, and it’s such a delicate dance between staying canon-adjacent and creating something new.

And I still don’t write in sequence, and I’m just killing myself a little, but it’s okay…

Tagging the usual suspects that I also tagged in Snowglobes and Whisky:

@marlowe-zara @tickldpnk8 @safeuphigh @bluecsparrot @rey-jake-therapist @intothesoul

[stellaluna33]

I know everybody's just having a good time, and that's FINE! You do you and all that, but this is also my blog where I get to have my own thoughts about things too, so... It's just funny to me when I see those "X character as a Boyfriend!" posts which are all about fantasizing about dating a fictional character- and I GET IT! It's perfectly normal to fantasize about that kind of thing! But what I keep getting stuck on is that there IS NO "X character as a Boyfriend" like, IN GENERAL, haha. Because relationships don't WORK like that! People aren't just interchangeable, you know? They're not going to act the same way in a relationship with one person as they would with a different person, because the dynamics would be totally different!

And I know it's a cliche to use the word "chemistry" to describe relationships, but it really is TRUE, though! You're not going to get the same results if you swap out one element with another one! And the same element that made something really good might make something absolutely toxic mixed with something else! And being toxic in one combination doesn't necessarily mean they'll be toxic in every combination either. Sodium and chlorine are both pretty dangerous by themselves, but together? Pretty tasty! And that's not even getting into the effects of applying heat or pressure or time... ANYWAY, all that is to say that relationships are not static, and PEOPLE are not static! I know this stuff is harmless and it's fine, but imagining a character in isolation as "a boyfriend" will never be as fascinating to me as observing the changes- the CHEMICAL REACTION that occurs between two specific and unique people! Mwah! Love it!

[loyaltykask]

Chapter 27

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

Wukong just has to scream and that sucking works

I forget that the White Bone Demon Arc is actaully like.... super early in the jounrey. Like they have been only on 3 adventure together AT MOST and that is no including getting Bajie And Wujing. At this point they are all still strangers to one another. They are barely a year in to a 14 year journey and this is like their first real test of faith in one another. Sanzang has only see a Head monk commit suicide, get kidnapped by Yellow Wind Demon and face the Immortal Equal to Earth at this point, all that I will admit aren't Wukong's best moments. But he still has this arrogance that Wukong can and should do anything he says. I think it says a lot where this chapter is going to go when this is there first test after coming off the Ginseng Fruit arc as a team and whether this will break them or they can come out strong for it.

WHAT relatives BE TALKING ABOUT THIS?

OOOOOOO THey got CLOUT

And Wujing was a Captain i thought he was a general, need to remember that. Never thought "clowning" would be used in this context but damn good for them

Sanzang STILL Be scolding even to some rando woman DAMN

Again I just imagine Sanzang holding a 4ft monkey in his arm holding him back

See because later it is shown that Wukong HASN'T eaten human I really think he trying to push the point the demons (he including himself in this to make a point) lure human with falsehoods all the time that Sanzang shouldn't be so trusting

This also makes the idea that Bajie, Wukong, Bailong, and Wujing are all parts of Sanzang that he fighting with himself. Bajie is his worldly mind seeing a beautiful woman and trusting her for that beauty. While Wukong is the rational part of Sanzang's mind that is trying to warn him about the dangers. Sanzang not listening to Wukong is him not listening to himself, rather choosing what he want to believe instead of the truth in front of him.

Also lmao his bald head is a red

Funny enough this does suggest she was using dead bodies as her shield So the illusion is very convincing as it was once a real person but they should be long dead by now

Even here Sanzang is 1/3 convinced (kinda strange way of putting it) as though Wukong is sure of himself but Wujing and Bajie are not, hence why Bajie is vocal about his objections and Wujing opts to say nothing as he too wants to see the best in everyone, hoping that what the woman said was true.

Such symbolically filled chapters and also show the dynamics and where they stand one year into the journey. Like they are just starting to understand one another from what we see in the Ginseng Fruit arc and starting to understand their roles not only in the party but to one another as well. Sanzang is the one here who needs to grow the most in order to get past his arrogance and grow not only as a master but as a person as well. It was very smart to put this chapter early in the book, I know it’s in the second volume but this is legit just the third large trial arc on this journey setting the tone for the rest of the journey and how they interact with one another here. Sanzang still doesn’t fully trust Wukong here and Bajie letting his jealousy for his brother show I honestly think Bajie is more just wanting Wukong to get in trouble and like tease the other, cause he is disappointed by the lack of a free meal, but he is never intended for Wukong to be so far gone as to be sent away.

Still not over Wukong calling Sanzang a whore and saying "I'll build you a bed so you can just fuck you're self out of the monk lifestyle you floozy"

It just occurred to me that Neither Wujing nor Bajie has seen Sanzang use the spell until now. Like Sanzang told them about it in the Ginseng Fruit arc but they had never seen it in action because he hadn't used it in the past 6 months. I think he only used it when they were at the Temple with that evil monk dude and Wukong lost the cassock but he hasn't used it since.

Yup, just check he only used the spell when he lost the cassock and hasn't used it since. Shit they really are in for a bumping ride.

I don't know why but the idea that being kind to even bugs and Sanzang is the Golden Cicada speaks to me on some

SO LIKE Sanzang has admitted that he doesn't mind dying, sure he doesn't want to but he gives off the vibes that he knows it can happen to him at any moment and he would just accept his evitable death (I'm not sure if that is low key suicidal but deadass not really saying he wants to live either). Wukong on the other hand knows this guy is going to die and being a monkey of his word wants to repay him for freeing him under the mountain. Wukong has been shown before to have a lot of gratitude to people that help him in the past, his own Master Puti and Guanyin for starters as he never forgets when he owes a debt (unless you are Ao Guang then tough shit). Sanzang thinks he hit an innocent person that hasn't wrong them yet while Wukong argues otherwise and even goes on to say that he will fight again even if Sanzang uses the spell, he isn't going to be unruly again. Clearly Sanzang is in the wrong here but also this highlights just how loyal and honest Wukong is as a character, sure he is a trickster and known to be cunning and can use deceitful tactics to get his way but overall him as a person is always honest with his intentions and what he thinks and believes, which is very interesting wonderful dichotomy.

Also, love that Wukong just..... straight out points out that an old lady probs can't give birth as his reasoning. He really is the Monkey of Mind.

Okay so like..... he was RIGHT to do so but ALSO YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN SOME WARNING SHE WAS A DEMON BEFORE DOING THAT

He uses the spell again and tries to send him away, harsh words deadass. At this point, it is clear that Sanzang is just digging in his heels refusing to trust Wukong after already set in stone in his mind that the last person they killed was an actaully person. Now any trust they have built over the last year is gone and it is only going to get worse.

I can't tell if Cheng'en is trying to make the pain like.... funny like in a cartoon but it def leaves disturbing mental images.

Even being sent away they still bicker Wukong more offended by his pride as a monk is being questioned than being sent away

Wukong this time uses the excuse of having the fillet to keep him around, that he would be dishonored coming home with it on his head, and that if Sanzang can't take it off then he better come along all the while. It is a different excuse than the first one, rather than using Sanzang's natural compassion against him, he is using Sanzang's need to bear responsibility over him. That as the master if he can't loosen it then he has no right to send him away with it still on. Which is interesting in Buddhism culture as any action Wukong does so reflects on his Master, meaning that every life Wukong takes, whether human or demon is on Sanzang's hands he is responsible for Wukong during the whole journey. It is that kind of Shifu-Tudi mentality that students are an extension of their masters and that they carry on their will through their actions. Anytime Wukong does something 'unruly' in Sanzang's eyes it is because he himself as failed as a master to teach Wukong properly. To Sanzang, Wukong's failures are his own and sending him away would be him trying to give up not only on Wukong but also on himself for not being able to properly teach Wukong.

Bajie shut the fuck up your giving the party anxiety.

Wukong be weighing his options of whether to save Sanzang from his demon if and when she catches him or just kill her now. He had a calculated risk that he will be able to talk himself out of this one.

He willing to keep Sanzang safe even if it meant getting that Spell. never was there a more brave soldier.

Deadass Wukong finally got the proof he needed cause White Bone Spirit BE FINALLY DEAD Only when true death can that the corpse be shown. Also weird that her name was in his spine but hey who am I to judge.

NO BAJIE YOU FUCK SANZANG WAS THIS CLOSE TO JUST SAYING "You were right Wukong thank you" THIS AINT YOUR TIME TO LAUGH AND TEASE THIS MONK IS SERIOUS

Out of everything Sanzang said saying that they don't need Wukong cause Wujing and Bajie are there hurt him the most. Sanzang goes on saying "I have been with you since day one! Not them!" Funny enough that Sanzang DOESn't even bother with the spell the third time, like just as he was about to recite it Wukong stopped him and they just argue. He just.... tell him to leave.

This is the most formal banishment damn, got a letter of resignation and everything Sanzang being a petty stubborn fool like this Wukong refuses to leave without bowing and even Sanzang try to dodge a bow but could not.

Wukong only be trusting Wujing here for this mission Both Wujing and Bajie not saying much, which allows for a lot of interpretation in what they could be thinking. But Sanzang still thinking that Wukong was being deceitful in his actions Wukong gives WUjing to use him name but only that.

CRYING HE IS CRYING I HOPE YALL HAPPY

[pixsistixs]

In a month, Good and Kind will be a year old, and I am so grateful for that little story.

A year ago, I hadn't written in nearly 10 years, not since my mom passed away. I had just discovered Hazbin and was obsessed with reading fanfiction centered around Alastor and Angel Dust, but it wasn't what I wanted to read. I wanted to read about Niffty.

There she was, this incredible little choas gremlin, and something about her stuck out to me. I immediately felt this draw to her, this connection with her on a personal level despite honestly having very little to go off of. I struggled to find any really meaningful stories about her that didn't infantilize this fun little person or focus too much on her crazy. I wanted so much more for her.

In my head she was smart as fuck, witty, funny and most importantly loving and loyal. I never clicked with the way her relationship with Alastor was frequently portrayed as being some kind of father/daughter thing. She was a grown ass woman, with grown ass woman feelings. She never needed Alastor, but she wanted him. She wanted to be around him. She wasn't forced to by some contract for her soul or because she was afraid of him. He took care of her yes, but not because she needed him to.

After struggling to find fics with this dynamic, it occurred to me that if I wanted to read it, I'd have to write it.

The idea plagued me for a month. It wouldn't leave my head. Finally, I sat down and pulled up Google Docs on my phone. I stared at the page for 2 solid hours, frozen and terrified. It had been 10 years since I picked up my pen, a massive depression born of the loss of my best friend, my uncle, and my mom in quick succession keeping me from doing something that brought me the most joy. I hadn't published my own work in even longer, not since I'd been writing Mortal Instruments fanfiction that I'd posted on my old tumblr profile, and I hadn't posted fanfiction to a website dedicated to it since I'd been deep in the deapths of the Harry Potter fandom as a teenager. The idea of writing something and then publishing it for other people to read was terrifying.

I wish I could say I wrote something that day. I didn't. I put google docs away and tried not to think about it. This cycle went on for a week, until finally I convinced myself I could just write a quick oneshot to get it out of my system. I didn't even need to publish it, just get the shit out and move on with my life.

Finally, after 10 years, I picked up my digital pen and just wrote. I let it spill from my soul, and something in me sparked, relighting a fire long since burned down to embers. I wrote the first thing that came to mind, a scene where Niffty transformed into this beautiful, dangerous being and beat the ever living fuck out of a man who had tormented and tortured her in life, all while Alastor looked on at her like she was the most brilliant and amazing thing he'd ever seen. It exhausted me, but I felt elation when it was finally done.

I remembered then just how damn much I love to write.

So I opened a new document and told their story. I wrote like a woman possessed. I affectionately called it my love letter to Niffty, and that's honestly what it was. I'd sit on the first 3 chapters for three weeks before I finally published it. 3 weeks of agonizing over it and wondering if I was good enough, wondering if anyone would really want to read it. Finally, after talking about it non-stop for days with my husband and my best friends, I decided to take the leap and hit publish. Within 20 minutes of posting it I got my first kudos and I knew right then I would have to keep writing because that one little Kudos left by a guest meant that there was at least one other person on the planet who wanted to read what I did.

Since then, I have published 316,967 words and counting for that little love story. It's on its third installment and has evolved into so much more than I ever expected. What started as this little story about friend love has turned into something so much bigger, touching on so many areas I didn't realize I needed to explore. It's been therapeutic in a way I didn't realize I needed. I have poured so much of myself into these characters, and every time I write a Niffty centered chapter, it feels like talking to an old friend.

I still go back and reread that first love letter every few weeks, and it's still the story I want to read, even with all its flaws.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you, Niffty. Thank you for being this intriguing little creature who spoke so loudly to me that I couldn't ignore you. Thank you for forcing me to pick up my pen again. I am in a very different place mentally than I was a year ago, and I'd be a liar if I said you weren't a huge part of it. I'll keep telling your story until you tell me it's done.

Keep being you Niffty Dearest, because you are so incredibly special to me.

[yikes-strikes-again]

highlights from my adventures in Area X, totally blind the whole time until i finished Acceptance. Spoilers for all of it.

me being neurotic about spoilers (this is a common theme)

obsessed with how this is my first instance of theorizing. the last two sentences are eerily accurate and i can't believe i said "alien planet" that's hilarious

this is good analysis too bad i was missing a key piece of information that makes my inadequate conclusion actually make sense

middle of Annihilation, first attempt at analyzing Where lies...this is actually pretty close to what I think about the tower text Now except missing the parts that would have never occurred to me without reading further (that the Crawler is Saul and that Area X is not on earth).

aw this is so cute. They don't even know about the first expedition footage with the sky leviathan POV (i have a pet theory that SR used that clip specifically to brainwash the husband. this is supported by his anecdote of falsely attributing memory to lived experience when its origin was television, as a young child)

i was so right

this is so funny. you are like a little baby

this is still Based

The Antics

this theory is so fucking funny considering how much grace hates lowry

this was like the least brutal of my Control roasts. they ramped up considerably in Acceptance

then i stopped reading the trilogy for eight months and had to start over Authority. but i still thought about it. this is me thinking about it.

This was me like a third of the way into Authority. What the fuck. It's not that creepy when you consider the information dispensed by that point but it's still kind of creepy how accurate my actual predictions were when my ideas were still wrong

then i went to sleep and

so true, me. So righteously true. magic IS real and it's coming to fuck up your town

Future me here: Yea it was a red herring

More Control roasts:

CALL ME IMPORTANT THAT'S MY NAME

Fragment of my "Area X clones are agents of germination" theory. I felt so smart at the end of Authority. So in Control if you will. And then

it was fucking life changing. the homosexuals that they were

first drama in the gc...

This is when the amount of Divine Knowledge brought to me by Accemptance started to get to my consciousness. Once i start saying phrases like "the virgin control and the chad ghost bird" and "the Caroline to his GlaDOS" and "everyone is a clone of a clone of a clone of a clone" that's when you know i've lost the thread

more disjointed quotes because i ran out of images:

"the BASED control vs. the CRINGE everyone else is no longer the dynamic because he's not narrating. i feel like i just broke up with him" "so does ghost bird probably"

"The time dilation really came out of left field. Kind of like a "well shit. thats a hell of a mystery no one thought was a mystery and didnt even really need solving. but damn if it didnt just get solved so nice work"" <- me forgetting how hard i tried to solve the mystery of the cellar journals compost

"When they see that reflection of themselves, they despise it, they need to destroy it This series is about environmentalism as much as it could be The need to make Area X an enemy with a pathological desire to destroy says more about the humans than it does Area X. When they see themselves, they hate so much what they see. But I don't think Area X necessarily hates humans at all. Only the biologist/Ghost Bird can even seem to contemplate that. Maybe Whitby could, briefly, in his endless circular ramblings, but that did not quell his fear and hatred for himself" <- rumination on automatic senseless clone violence

at one point i got whiplash from the Grumpy emotion i got from biologist's borderline ecofascism to the Intense Bittersweet of Saul's fatherly attachment to Gloria in light of everything and then the Pain of trying so hard not to laugh at the thought of someone saying "Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, I'm aware this looks strange" in response to being caught washing a mouse

"phone creature even BETTER than mouse washing" I characterized the phone creature as "little Lowry - his son that he doesn't want" because that amuses me forever

i love how i'm like "i could pass on more of lowry, i'm so sick of that guy" and then proceed to write four Thousand words of meta about him. i like the Theory of lowry. he's a horrible broken man who throws drinks at milves

and i love imagining that everyone who comes back from Area X is a clone no matter what not because that makes any sense but because i get to imagine two versions of every character. i'm like "i love the idea of Lowry being a clone all this time and somehow being protected from the fact by a quirk of his creation. And that he's imperfect compared to Original Lowry in odd ways but SR just chalked up his change to the intense trauma of the event, and if it ever seriously occurred to them they decided it didn't really matter. And if he knew. I don't know what he'd do And real Lowry is a megalodon in the ocean terrorizing plankton instead of lower-tier bureaucrats"

another thought: "I still love the thing that stitches across the sky. I think it's an avian cosmic leviathan, as the biologist is an amphibious cosmic leviathan. You could call it a dragon."

i ended up with a pretty secure Grand Unifying Theory that isn't interesting because you probably all have the same one. It's about the process

my final words of wisdom:

that's the books.

[nonuggetshere]

I loved reading all of that. It's so funny how PK's sibs, and at points his dame, tease him. I love it so much 😆

It also got me thinking.

Would it be possible, in another AU (maybe like wayward royals or somewhere waaaaayyy down in FAaF), for Flower them to run into WLs Father. Or, maybe Flower gets separated and meets him by accident. Would he realize their kin or just see him as a territorial threat?

THANK YOU it's one of my favourites, writing family dynamics is so entertaining

AND FUNNY YOU MENTION THAT because I actually have an AU where they meet both of their grandparents! But first, some info about Quercus, then more info about the AU itself

This is gonna get super rambly bc I'm copy-pasting mine and Integrity's messages from discord

His name is Quercus and he is old as balls

He had Amanita when he was very very old too and these two were particularly close because she was the only surviving seedling. She's never seen his persona face to face but they talked a lot and he took great care of her (I think I already mentioned how roots grow up and how he's like with his children)

The kingdom he resides in is quite literally built around, on and into his giant ancient root body. He hasn't fully abandoned his former form like his daughter had and resides in a sort of in-between, which roots can do. His smaller form is connected to his body and is more residual from ages long past when he used to properly rule the kingdom. Now he's retreated from this role and many of the kingdom's peoples don't even realise that the higher being whose body they live in is still alive

He keeps his body beneath the ground, in a chamber he dug amongst his roots, where he mostly resides in and feeds on any poor schmuck that decides to venture into (and get lost in) the twisting, long tunnels amongst his roots

It's been a long time since he's communicated with anyone face to face, which he doesn't mind, roots aren't particularly social and are quite literally built to remain stationary with very little outside stimuli for a very long time

A mortal would have probably go insane if they spent their human lifespan's equivalent in isolation like he did but he's quite literally built different

And when I say ancient I mean ANCIENT

When he had Amanita he probably would be like the human equivalent of a 110 year old

But roots don't die of old age and he's strong and healthy so he's still kicking

The few AUs where he and Adamas meet they do NOT get along its actually so funny

Worsties in law

SO THE AU

I've mentioned that higher beings in my AU have the ability to sense who is their kin and it's especially strong in rootfolk, it's needed considering how they reproduce to avoid inbreeding

LONG story short, Flower needed a fucking break from Everything, ended up getting lost, ended up chancing upon their grandma and almost got their ass beaten by her before she realised they're her kin, after they left she had a bad feeling and decided to follow to keep an eye on them, they arrived at their grandfather's former kingdom and decided hey checking out these tunnels that supposedly nobody came out of alive would be a good idea, Adamas obviously sensed this ancient god in there and followed to keep Flower's dumb ass safe, bullshit ensues when she interrupts him excitedly introducing himself to the first grandkid he's ever met and asking about his daughter

And the two get into a massive argument. Because it just didn't occur to them that their children could EVER end up together

And Flower can't get a word in to explain

Adamas might not be a god but she's so willing to square up against one about this, Flower is HER kin so you can go fuck yourself you overgrown carrot

Flower: Fucking hell, now I get why my parents are Like That

Quercus: they’re clearly a root!

Adamas: they’re clearly a wyrm!

Flower: I—

Adamas: where’s their vines and roots and flowers than Hm? You’ve gone mad in old age

Flower: hey guys—

Quercus: Bold words from a mortal

Adamas: I might not be a god but I still don't mind kicking the ass of one!

Flower: OKAY! Alright! Enough fighting! Here's a wild idea; I am both of yours grandchild

Quercus: ...No

Adamas: Impossible

Quercus: Why would any of my children lower their standards so much as to take something as beastly as a wyrm for a partner?

Adamas, bristling: What could a root even provide for any of my clutches, besides sustenance after ripping into one? You're all soft, lazy pushovers

Flower: Fucking hell–

Flower: what if I ditched you both and left. What then. What if just leave

They just. Ditch their grandparents but of course Adamas goes to hunt them down

Adamas: Didn't your sire and dame teach you it's rude to sneak away like that?

Flower: I didn't sneak away, I even said goodbye, you were just too preoccupied with tour squabbles. Why do you keep following me anyways?

Adamas: It's not often I get to meet my grandchildren, let alone one's so careless or stupid enough to not only wander into another wyrm's densite but to also march into an ancient, hungry God's open maw. Somebody has to teach you self preservation because clearly whichever of my children had you failed at that

Flower: Oh, joy...

Adamas: …which one was it anyways?

Flower, who doesn’t even know PK or WL’s name: ….. the pale short one?

Adamas, also pale and kind of short: .......Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?

Adamas, starting to list names:

Flower: I don’t know his name

Adamas: ??????????

Adamas: Are you serious?

Flower: ...Does the Pale King of Hallownest ring a bell?

Adamas: You only know him by his title?

Flower: It's a long story, don't dodge the question

Adamas: I suppose I've heard of him, wyrm kingdoms aren't that common nowadays- isn't he a god? One of my children is an actual god?

Flower: Wh- how did you hear of him but never realised he was your son? You have no right to judge me holy shit

Adamas: So it's decided, I'm going back to Hallownest with you and beating your parent's ass

Flower: HUH WHAT

Adamas: Fucker can't teach you how to take care of yourself and makes you use their title, I'm setting their ass straight if that's the last thing I do

Flower: WHO'S DECIDING THIS WE DIDN'T DECIDE SHIT I DO NOT AGREE TO THIS

SORRY GOT OFF TOPIC

Point is, Quercus would recognise Flower (and any other grandkid) and would ADORE them, especially if he knew they came from his little princess. But PK and his part of the family? Yeah uh. The old man does Not like nor approve of them

I think the only thing Adamas and Quercus would agree on is that Flower's parents kind of suck

Especially if they find out about the whole vessel thing

[jade-of-mourning]

just rewatched the first three episodes of lok and i'm obsessed again. korra is SO CUTE she's buff she's passionate she's self assured she's sassy as fuck she's the whole world to me omg.

welcome to republic city & the revelation do SUCH a good job of establishing the character of the city and really, introducing the new world!!! the revelation has been one of my favorite episodes of lok for a long minute because of its noir aesthetic, the art in the cityscaping, the insane cinematography and composition of the korra/mako & chi-blocker fight! the way that mako's revelation of his and bolin's backstory is a direct parallel to the fradulent backstory of amon!!!! (and the potential behind the firebenders-killed-my-parents stereotype as inflicted on a firebending kid,,,)

AND THE WAY KORRA IS IMMEDIATELY SMITTEN WITH MAKO IS SO FUNNY. the way that it just does not occur to mako at all to romantically like korra at all — he sees that bolin is not in their attic and automatically assumes that he's flirting with korra and is just entire amused at the concept like okay,,, then korra offers to help him find bolin and he goes "nah i got it" and i'm like dude,, if i were in your position i would literally be hanging off of her bc she's so cute wdym Nah I Got It you do not got it you are a hot trauma mess let the pretty girl help you. actually he's aro what.

also i'm yelling about how bolin was written as, y'know, an actual human being with feelings and nuance in characterization in these first few episodes. the show could never make me hate you bolin. and the way mako looks so tired all the time especially in his initial introduction just looking at his side profile, and how he word for word goes "i think i'm gonna turn in; you kids have fun" at korra and bolin STOP. mako physically picking up an equalist and hauling them off the stage like a ragdoll bc they were going to harm bolin is the truest shit of all time. sorry i still think mako should've been a girl but in that moment where he asks if bolin is alright and bolin goes "YES MAKO I LOVE YOU" i agreed bc i love him for who he is in canon too

THE SETUP FROM A LEAF IN THE WIND guys the way the airbending philosophy translates over into an entire theme of the season,, how tenzin and korra's relationship already evolves so much over the course of one episode and how they recognize their own faults and acknowledge each other's perspectives; they were always meant to help build one another into better more empathetic people. i just love watching their dynamic so much um kind of the most important part of the show. also the way that korra sees what mako does in the ring and connects it to what tenzin told her about airbending and how it finally clicked for her,,, sorry i'm once again thinking about the sheer potential that makorra could've been until it got absolutely trashed in about one episode from now LOL. (i'm joking it took about another season before that happened but still.)

talk to me please i need to yell about season 1 again and esp the first three episodes because they had so much potential for so many good things and just never got the time to explore it in its entirety,,,, AAAAAAA never getting over the visuals the personality in the animation the background paintings the music just hgnajdsgbhkbsjdgajs SEASON ONE KORRA I LOVE YOU. also my chest hurts sm what

[gyokutoll]

when hotaru is faced with a healthy couple--one who communicates, demonstrates respect of boundaries and opinions, etc.--what does he think/feel? does he reflect at all on a relationship that is able to function without some undercurrent of abuse and power dynamics? does he think of himself in that position? or does he think it is all a facade for others, and that no relationship can maintain that sort of peace?

unprompted ; always accepting !

FIRST OF ALL TY FOR THIS ASK ERIKAAAAAA KISSING UR FOREHEAD. Okay let's lock in.

This is a REALLY good question and not one I've considered before because funny enough, the relationships that Hotaru has been surrounded by have been historically been tumultuous. His friend Tsugumi, my other OC, has a ship that's been developed for two years and that ship is FRAUGHT with issues. And another relationship he was around was also similarly toxic and on and off again that it occurred to me, due to this ask, that Hotaru has never seen a healthy relationship before.

I haven't discussed his coworkers much, but one of them I have given a healthy partner that Hotaru is around so thankfully I have some footing I can answer the question with, but this is a VERY recent development. Like. Only a month old recent. So if you'd asked me this a month ago I can't say I'd have had a good answer RJRHGLJ

That aside, I think Hotaru is a bit torn on it. It seems too good to be true but he's also not stupid. He's the type to believe something in front of him (for the most part). I don't think he'd feel resentment though or jealousy. Just... maybe a kind of silent bewildered wonder. I think he would see it as something that is fundamentally out of his own reach, that maybe love like that really is real and does exist, but it's not for him, he's not someone who can attain a love like that.

But because of Sadao's abuse, I think a part of Hotaru, even if he doesn't want to admit it, does believe that he needs someone to tell him what to do, that he's so fundamentally incompetent that he needs to have someone stronger than him guiding him along a path.

It's a very contradictory trait because Hotaru really does have a tendency to call other people stupid and insist that he's smarter than them, and in a weird way, he does believe it. So it makes this part of himself seem almost impossible to exist, but I think that when it comes to Sadao and reflecting on himself and romance, those thought patterns become interrupted and that works in concert with the fact that Hotaru has crippling low self-esteem and does genuinely hate himself. He isn't the sort of character to think humanity is rotten and then exclude himself from this assessment. Hotaru also sees himself just as poorly as he sees other people.

If Hotaru ever tried to imagine himself in that position, I think he would dissociate or wouldn't be able to focus on the topic long before having to think about something else. I don't think it's something that he'd be able to imagine because he's never had a romantic or s/xual partner who actually cared about what he had to say. Or, rather, that's complicated. Sadao did like listening to Hotaru talk and did like his opinions and ideas until they contradicted his own, which again sounds contradictory but he had a great affinity for Hotaru and how he saw the world until Hotaru challenged him in any meaningful way. Which is all to say that just because that was the case doesn't mean that Hotaru saw it that way or realized it.

Bringing it back around, he wouldn't be able to imagine himself in that position. He is so used to being degraded and murdered that he just can't conceptualize ever being in a romantic circumstance where that was not the case. Platonically, he could imagine it because he does have Tsugumi, but that sense of value doesn't translate into conceptual romance.

So, in summary, he'd be a bit dumbfounded seeing it and then soothe over the wound and pain of potential envy by telling himself that it's not for him, that it will never be for him, and that it's better to just move on and let other people have their fun instead of sticking his nose in it.

This saying doesn't entirely apply, but there's a Japanese saying about like "if you try to get in the way of true love, you're going to get kicked to death by a horse" or something to that effect, and Hotaru likely abides by a similar thought. Which is to say, if he were to see true love and trust like that, he wouldn't be a hater about it because it'd feel like misfortune, and he's also someone self-aware enough to realize how pathetic it is to be a hater about that sort of happiness.

The H in Hotaru stands for Hater, but hating someone else's love is just a little too embarrassing and edgy for him.