#there's SO MANY things I want to say about this scene

[maripoorsa]

Within this context I want to ask anyone who sees this reblog to ask themselves what some things are that they feel Very Strongly about.

What are some things that you think are unacceptable no matter what. Make a small list of them.

They could be kinks, the way people should act at movies, it could be about manners, even job etiquette, or more in line with the post: something you thing is immoral with no excuse for the behavior/act.

Now consider that you're wrong.

Because the things fascists make you think and the way they make you think them are tied to your own principles as OP outlined above. Im sure there are many things that you believe you are right about because to think otherwise would be immoral. Right?

Like sex scenes, certain kinks, and dark romance.

So now ask yourself how open you would be to hearing out the other side in good faith. Would you even be willing to listen?

Your ability to learn and hear new ideas is what ultimately will separate you from the fascists.

So how much would your own passion and desire to do the right thing stop you from considering the other side?

And if you can't see yourself being open to that sort of thing, then the fascist propaganda has worked.

Because guess who else isn't open to being wrong? Guess who else would rather shut down an argument, silence their opponents, and even harm people who don't believe the same things they do? Guess who else thinks that anyone who disagrees with them is a moral failure? Guess who else thinks they know better than everyone else and wouldn't entertain the idea that what they believe could be wrong?

Fascists, yes.

And then they use that logic to say "well if you don't believe x is wrong like me then you deserve y."

And there have been many, many people throughout history who saw their fascist governments hurting people and enabled it by saying things like, "well, if Those People didn't x then they wouldny be treated like y. They should just stop x behavior."

And you know what that does? Places all blame of fascism onto its victims while at the same time enforcing fascist norms onto society.

Fascists are masters of turning people against groups they see as unwanted for that very reason. They get the public to do most of the finger wagging then, once they manufactured enough supoort using propaganda, they start passing fascist law.

They tie Black people to crime, Trans people to perverts, Jewish ppl to greed, migrants to job theft, gays to godlessness, the disabled to bad dna, etc. All of these groups are blamed for the inequality of the True Countrymen.

So if you

Struggle to accept being wrong

Struggle to accept new ideas of right/wrong

Struggle to change your own idea of right/wrong

Struggle to accept when you're (part of) the problem

Have a tendency to blame cruelty on victims rather than it's perpetrators or enablers

Have a group of people you are disgusted by and would struggle to see in another light

Think people who are, in your opinion, living incorrectly or immorally deserve bad things to happen to them

You are traveling down a dangerous pipeline.

This is your sign to turn back.

Fascism rarely ever actually sneaks up on a government. As a few people above stated, they've been raising alarms for a while and were called every name in the book. I have too. So have a lot of people I know.

Think back to this last election, heated as it was. How often did you see people shut down criticisms of democrats? More specifically, how often did you see people justifying fascist acts and law in the name of their own security? How malicious did you see those people get? How often did they harass anyone who disagrees with them?

Do you know who else saw it? Do you know who else saw even the bluest of liberals justify genocide as long it kept them safe? Do you know who else saw them harass poc who wouldn't enthusiastically elect someone they saw as the Right choice?

Fascists.

it's true and you should say it.

[flowersdiceandlove]

Inspired by @sunderwight cosplaying Shen Yuan posts

No transmigration. cumplane.

People obviously take pictures of him when he goes to cons and posts them. They get a lot of attention. People are always in awe at the accuracy and amazing quality of his costumes. The people he commissioned them from get a lot of business afterwards. He pulls off the crossplay really well because of his pretty face and slim body. He just has to add padding in the right areas and learn makeup from his meimei and online tutorials. Sometimes people really can't tell he's a guy it's so good. Especially his Liu Mingyan cosplay that he does the most. She's his favorite of the wives after all and one of the few he thinks close to worthy of Binghe. He's done multiple different outfits for her. He never cosplays Luo Binghe, though. He doesn't think he could pull it off, Binghe is just that amazing. (But obviously he can pull Binghe's peerless beauty wives off.)

His PIDW cosplays make their way to the forums and people talk about them. It is a known fact in those forums that Peerless Cucumber will roast them to hell and back for their inaccuracy and shoddy craftsmanship. So, it is very strange that he never comments on these cosplays. Yes, they're amazing, but surely Peerless Cucumber could find at least one thing wrong with them. Eventually someone tags him in the comments or makes a post asking about them. He replies with something like "I'm the one who designed those. do you really think I would go out like that without them meeting my expectations?" but with more scathing remarks and saying he's not like the others who are fine with cosplay inadequacy.

That spurs many people to go look back through all of this cosplayer's previous cosplays, not just the ones from PIDW, and collectively think "oh wow, he's so pretty." It's a total shock through the entirety of the PIDW forums and fandom. They all thought Peerless Cucumber was some ugly dude behind a computer screen. They're a mix of feeling bad about themselves because when Peerless Cucumber tore them a new one in the forums they comforted themselves with thinking "You're just like us! Just some dude reading trashy novels! Nothing special! You're just mean cause you have nothing going for you!" and also the Peerless Cucumber fanclub growing because he is just that pretty and going feral over it.

His gender comes into question because a good number of people are convinced he's actually a girl. When he catches wind of that he responds with "Of course I'm a guy you idiots!! WTF!? Have you gone blind after reading all of Airplane's stupid writing!?" He's giving gender envy to a lot of people.

Some people are still unconvinced that the cosplayer is actually Peerless Cucumber because how can someone that pretty be Peerless Cucumber? They think he's just trolling everyone or something.

In the newest arcs of PIDW some very pretty ladies with cutting words and biting insults and criticisms are introduced. The ladies all have very high expectations of what their spouse should be like and have turned away every man seeking their hand in marriage. Of course when Luo Binghe enters the scene he meets all their expectations and requirements and sweeps them off their feet. A lot of readers who are keeping up on the Peerless Cucumber cosplay saga make the connection. Shen Yuan does not, and tears the new wives apart about how mean they were to Binghe at first, and then about how weak and pathetic they are, and then their clinginess, and so on. With every new day, Peerless Cucumber's criticisms are rectified as the arc continues, but he always finds something new wrong with the women. The other readers have varied reactions to this development. Some think that Peerless Cucumber should just shut it and let the Great God Airplane do his thing. Some of the people who Know about the cosplay saga and made the connection just want this time of Airplane making Peerless Cucumber into one of Binghe's wives to be over because this is a stallion novel. They don't want to read about Bingge seducing fem fantasy Peerless Cucumber. Just give them the normal women back. Other readers who Know are excited for the eventual sex scenes. Shen Yuan is just happy that his critiques are finally being taken into account, hoping that maybe at this rate Binghe will get an actually good wife and not just another useless beauty to throw into the harem garden.

Eventually Shen Yuan starts criticizing even the current to-be-wife's name, and so Airplane goes on and asks "Well what would you name her then if you've got so many ideas?" and generally just trying to bait him. It works, and Shen Yuan give a very beautiful name actually that fits her character and background. It is revealed in the next chapters that the name they've known her by so far isn't her real name and her actual name is the one Peerless Cucumber came up with.

The seemingly endless amount of chapters continues and the pretty but scathing wives get added to the harem and the story goes on. However, those wives get brought back out to go on adventures with Binghe and are otherwise reoccurring characters in the story. If one was paying close attention and looking for it, they would notice that the wife makes an appearance after Peerless Cucumber makes a particularly harsh comment or scathing criticism. People take to trying to bait Peerless Cucumber into doing it so they get more of those wives and especially the one he named which is becoming a fan favorite. Fanart gets made of her and people tease Peerless Cucumber about it. He critics all the fanart with his known ruthlessness about canon accuracy.

Some people have dropped it cause they don't want to see Peerless Cucumber get wifified any more, some people get even more invested because of that. A good number of people still don't think Peerless Cucumber is the cosplayer.

It comes to a head with an upcoming con in a few months. Airplane has a panel there. People are also asking if Peerless Cucumber will be going in cosplay. He says he's thinking about it and has some ideas on what character to go as, but is still deciding. Of course people instantly hone in on that and tell him he should go as the wife he practically made. He says no at first, but then Airplane comes on and says he'd really like to see him do that cosplay. Shen Yuan decides to take that opportunity. You see they have met, briefly, in the past at cons, but Airplane always finds a way to bail when Shen Yuan really starts laying into the critiques. Shen Yuan wasn't in cosplay those times and he had a face mask on so he wasn't recognized that way but no one could mistake Peerless Cucumber's reviews. Airplane also doesn't do cons very often, choosing to focus on writing the story instead.

And so, the following conversation occurs in the forum:

Peerless Cucumber: I will if you stop running away from me at cons.

RandomUsernameI'mTooLazyToComeUpWith: oh shit, oh great god airplane do it! do it!

RandomUsernameI'mTooLazyToComeUpWith2: yeah i gotta se this fuck itll be so hot

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky: you got a deal. you wear that cosplay and you can say whatever you want for however long you want. it'll even be in character.

RandomUsernameI'mTooLazyToComeUpWith: oh hell yeah!!! whooo!!!

Peerless Cucumber: You better mean that because I will bring printouts with notes and highlighted sections.

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky: bring whatevr you want so long as you wear that cosplay.

With that, the PIDW fandom holds even more excitement for the upcoming con because not only with the Great God Airplane be there they'll also get a peerless beauty of a cosplayer in a sexy outfit. The wife in question's outfit isn't the most revealing of the wives because Peerless Cucumber always critiques the practicality of that, but it's still the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way so there is some skin showing.

The con rolls around and the PIDW fans are on the lookout for someone dressed as That Wife. For the first couple days, Shen Yuan makes rounds to booths, not in cosplay, getting merch and volumes as he goes because he has a lot of things to say to Airplane and wants to get the bulk of his shopping done first so they have time and he doesn't hold up the line of people to see Airplane.

On the last day of the con is when he dons his cosplay of That Wife and get his character-accurate bag with the printouts and evidence of Airplane's failing as an author in it. He still makes stops at other booths on his way to the official PIDW one. He gets stopped to take photos and gets compliments on his cosplay. Eventually the PIDW fans find him go even crazier about it. Some say things like "I can't believe it's really you!" and word gets around the PIDW fans that Peerless Cucumber is here and he is in That cosplay and he does look fucking hot. Shen Yuan stays in character of the icy beauty as he interacts with the fans which only fans the flames. Before he even makes it to Airplane's booth he gets swarmed with PIDW fans, some are mean to him and want to knock him off his high-horse, but they get a verbal smackdown from Shen Yuan (still in character) and shoved aside by his own fans who start calling out their online handles asking for Shen Yuan's honest thoughts about them. And he does so either tearing them apart with words, saying they honestly didn't leave enough of an impression for him to even know, and in very rare instances offer some praise.

Shen Yuan finally makes it to the PIDW booth Airplane is at later than he wanted, but he makes it there with an entourage wanting to see the showdown. There are also guys hanging around the booth who have been waiting for this. When Airplane finally sees Shen Yuan in his cosplay, he thinks "Fuck. He's even hotter in person." and is more than happy to listen to all of Shen Yuan's complaints and looking at the highlighted parts of his novel and citations showing how historically inaccurate that is and the discrepancies within his own body of fiction.

Shen Yuan is still going and isn't even close to being done when they announce that the venue is closing and asking for everyone to start making their way out. Shen Yuan glares up at the intercom, still wanting to continue his triad.

"Well, I did say you could keep going however long you wanted so long as you wear that cosplay. I didn't say it had to be at the con," Airplane says, and Shen Yuan looks at him with considering eyes.

"Hmm. That is true, and I still have a lot to go through..."

They end up going to a restaurant for dinner (Shen Yuan's treat), and Shen Yuan continues all through the meal. When he still has more to say when the restaurant says that it's closing, he gets the most expensive suite at the most high-end hotel in the area with his richboy money because that's the only room left with the con going on. Shen Yuan figures that after spending so much time with Airplane today (along with reading so much of his writing) he has a pretty good grasp on the guy and doubts he's gonna get murdered by him so gets the hotel room. Airplane is in awe at all the fancy shit and money that Shen Yuan spends like it's nothing.

They stay in the main living room of the suite where there are couches. Shen Yuan lays his printouts out on the table, and even pulls up webpages on the rooms tv. There are pjs among other items reserved for the high-end rooms. Airplane ends up changing into the pjs and marvels over them being silk. Shen Yuan ditched his shoes and some smaller parts of his cosplay, but keeps the bulk of it on due to the agreement. Despite the dinner, Airplane also snacks on the room's food while Shen Yuan continues his verbal assault.

At one point, though, Airplane interrupts Shen Yuan, clutching his arm, looking at him with tears in his eyes. "Bro... Cucumber-bro... You... You're like an actual angel, dude. I died and this is heaven."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Shen Yuan asks, annoyed at the interruption, he was just about to connect another point.

"The food. This room. The silk pjs. Bro. This is heaven."

"No it's not. And stop crying!"

"Bro..."

Shen Yuan ends up patting his back for awhile while Airplane cries on his shoulder. His hand migrates up to Airplane's head and pats his fluffy head of hair that is actually really soft (Airplane took a shower and made sure his hair looked good since he knows how scathing Shen Yuan is and hot he was gonna look in the cosplay).

They eventually start drinking a some of the alcohol in the suite's fridge, but don't get too drunk. Nothing really happens, but they do end up sleeping in the same bed and cuddling in it because they fell asleep while Shen Yuan was still criticizing him.

The next morning Shen Yuan finally can't take the cosplay and makeup anymore and takes a shower while Airplane sleeps in. Airplane wakes to the sight of Shen Yuan in a hotel bathrobe, finishing drying his hair with his glasses on(he'd been wearing contacts and only switched to his glasses late into the night), and the sunlight from the window shining on him.

"Oh, fuck," Airplane says, staring at him.

"What?" Shen Yuan asks, not sure why Airplane is staring. He's not doing anything weird! He's just drying his hair! There's nothing wrong with wanting a shower after being in that getup for so long! He's just a normal dude right now! What's with that blank stare!?

"It's not just the makeup..." Airplane mumbles and face-plants back onto the bed with a groan. Shen Yuan is left confused, but eventually throws a room service menu on the bed asking what he wants for breakfast.

Before his shower, Shen Yuan had called home and asked his family's butler to bring him a change of clothes because he doesn't want to put all of his cosplay back on. This is why, after breakfast, Airplane sees Shen Yuan dressed in another well-tailored outfit, this time much more modern and male, made up of pale greens and creams looking like he just walked off a fashion runway.

"Brooooo... How do people like you exist?"

They end up exchanging some contact info because even though Shen Yuan talked until they fell asleep, he still has more to say. Airplane does agree to listen and says Shen Yuan only has to be in cosplay for the really harsh stuff.

Clips fans had recorded of Shen Yuan's triad at Airplane at the con get circled around and the PIDW fandom is on fire with it. People are going crazy over it. Shen Yuan's Peerless Cucumber inbox gets flooded with people requesting different cosplays along with sexual jokes and comments. The next chapter of PIDW has a dedication at the top to Peerless Cucumber and thanks. The next arc in the story is about Luo Binghe getting stranded in a place where fighting is outlawed, without any money, strict societal structures, and needing to recover from a battle. The love interest who helps Luo Binghe in his time of need is the daughter of a very wealthy family who starts off as cool and astute that can give a verbal lashing better than anyone is slowly revealed to have a soft spot for Luo Binghe in his weakened state. She takes care of him and even takes to giving him gentle pats on his head. When Binghe ends up getting into a physical fight with one of the villains of the arc, she comes to his defense against the society's court vouching for his good character. They place him in her custody due to her family's good name and she sets him up in a lavish living space with anything he could possibly need. When they find out that the love interest has a younger sister only a few years younger and not just two older brothers, the fans think she's gonna get haremed as well, but, surprisingly, the little sister doesn't join the harem with her elder sister. Peerless Cucumber praises the decision to leave the little sister be, happy that Luo Binghe is finally showing discernment of who to let into the harem.

After a couple more arcs, Airplane posts a notice that says he'll be slowing the pace of updates as he starts planning out the arcs leading up to the end of the story and hopes his fans understand. While the updates do lessen in frequency, the word count of each chapter does not and the quality improves, plot holes being filled and storylines being flushed out.

Within a well-furnished and kept apartment in the city is where Airplane works on all of this having moved there on Shen Yuan's dime when Shen Yuan learned the reason for the atrocious writing was that he was trying to make money to live and had to pander to his readers. The fridge stocked and living space confirmed, Airplane is now able to actually write quality verse the quantity. He even has a brutally honest beta reader who seems to spend more time here than at his family's estate.

While Shen Yuan never says it, Airplane is pretty sure they're dating, even if they aren't that physical with each other other than Shen Yuan running a hand through his hair while he reads, leaning against each other, holding hands when their out "so they don't get separated in the crowd"(there is no crowd Cucumber-bro), a hug when meeting and leaving each other, and the occasional cuddle session when Airplane is having a Time of it or Shen Yuan is dealing with medical issues or Shen Yuan spends the night and they a share the bed. He feels this suspicion is confirmed when Shen Yuan introduces him to his parents and they ask Airplane to take care of their son. So Airplane takes to hugging Shen Yuan more and despite a little grumbling about clinginess, doesn’t stop him and will even pat his head or arm or shoulder or even hug back.

Once PIDW is completed after a harrowing four years, Airplane takes a break to plan out his next story then shocks everyone by writing a fantasy novel featuring two men as the main couple. The writing itself is so different from PIDW with well thought out storylines, character backstories, and complex characters and settings. It gets in the top five on the website it's posted on and Airplane even gets a contract with a publisher. Shen Yuan couldn't be prouder of him.

Shen Yuan still cosplays. He even commissions outfits to be made of Airplane's not yet published characters so Airplane can see how they look irl and Shen Yuan can prove a point that something is not realistic.

They also have a deal that if Shen Yuan is gonna give some especially scathing constructive criticism that Shen Yuan has to wear a cosplay of Airplane's choosing and stay in character for it. It's a good thing that characters that aren't afraid to give a good verbal beatdown are becoming a common occurrence in Airplane's novels.

[not-a-cheese-thief]

Some observations on the scenes between Dr Langdon, Mel, and Terrence, the autistic patient with an ankle sprain, from an autistic person:

I’ve seen a few people comment of these scenes as the (or a) reason the dislike Langdon as a character, some with the sentiment that this makes him a bad person. I have a very different take. I personally love this storyline, I love the way it’s done. I think they wrote it just this way to illustrate a very important part about the healthcare system (and I’m talking pretty much globally here, cos it’s not just the US), which is that Dr Langdon is missing a vital part of his education. Almost all doctors are. They aren’t being taught about autism or neurodiversity or disability nearly enough, and certainly not how to properly accomodate patients who are autistic. 

I think Dr Langdon comes into the interaction with Terence the way he would any other patient, friendly, upbeat, asking whether he’d prefer Terry or Terrence, and for a neurotypical patient that would probably be a really great interaction. He’s doing the right thing - just not for this patient. And autism aside (omg I never thought I’d say that but gimme a sec), I can understand for healthcare workers how irritating it must be having patients constantly googling their symptoms and trusting what they read on the internet. We’re all for self advocacy, but WebMD can send you down needless spirals and I’ve been there so many times and literally have never had that super rare condition that I convinced myself I’m dying of at 2am. 

So it’s not surprising he get’s irritated, but, again, I’d say he handles it kinda well, in that he at least just leaves the situation and doesn’t snap at the patient or give him some long, shaming lecture. He lets Mel take him. 

Which is where we get to the bit that makes me so emotional. Mel looks at the patient’s chart and points out he’s autistic (identity first thank you!), and it so doesn’t surprise me at all when Langdon says “sprained ankle it’s not related”, because that’s literally what he’s been taught. That’s what all doctors are fucking taught. They’re kinda maybe taught what autism is (the bare bones and probably a lot of it is still outdated), but not how to talk to an autistic person, or what they might need, or even that they will just meet autistic people, no matter what department they work in. 

So it’s not necessarily that he’s ableist, it’s that he literally just doesn’t know. He makes his little comment about treating three other patients while Mel treats Terrence, because he thinks he’s just a “Dr Google”, and moves on. Because the ER is packed and they need to treat patients and ship them off.

(I’m rewatching the scene and Mel legit makes me cry here.) Mel’s interacts with Terrence when she comes in are near perfect. She closes the door and turns down the lights because he’s probably been there for hours and even if those weren’t that overwhelming at first they would be super overstimulating by then. Then she asks him his main concerns, and she listens and takes him seriously when he tells her. I’ve had a grand total of one doctor do this, and it was the safest I’ve ever felt in a medical situation. 

But then Langdon comes back. I’m not gonna lie, when Mel was talking to Terrence, and had made all those little (but impactful) accommodations, then Langdon opened the door again, I had this wave of worry through my body the first time I watched it. I thought it was going to go so differently. I thought he was opening the door and standing there because he didn’t want Mel making accommodations, that it was his way of asserting power and saying we do it my way. And I think you can tell that Mel and Terrence worried about that too. 

Nope. He came to watch. He came to observe his new trainee interact with this patient, because he was curious. He didn’t need to be there. Medicine wise, Mel would totally have it handled. 

Side note - When he asked about the pain level out of ten Terrences reply was so me! I’ve thought that every time someone talks about pain out of 10! How is anyone meant to make that assessment??

At this point you can see him realise he’s in over his head. Mel is clearly so much better equiped to talk to Terrence and make him feel safe and comfortable enough to receive care. But he just watches, in awe. Because to him there’s just difficult patients, who fight you, and make treating them harder, and non-difficult patients. But here he’s learning that there’s a way to interact with this man that isn’t difficult, that makes him feel safe, and allows treatment to be provided. And he wants to be able to do that. That’s why he asks Mel “how did you do that?” Because he wants to be better. He wants to be able to speak to other patients in that way. He clearly wants to be the best doctor, and most of that is in the procedures he does, but he knows that a lot of it will come from how he interacts with his patients too. He chooses in this moment to learn from Terrence and Mel.

Then, when he sees Terrence later to discharge him, he apologises for them getting off on the wrong foot. He doesn’t need to, but he does - because he recognises that he came at the situation wrong. And he wishes him good luck with the table tennis tournament (I’m not sure if it’s implied that Mel told him about this or that Terrence told him off screen, because he wasn’t in the room when he told Mel, and Terrence seems surprised that he mentioned it) and says "okay" with a smile when Terrence offers to teach him how to play. What starts off as a really negative interaction ends so positively. Because of Mel, and because Langdon was eager to learn. That’s why he tells her “you’re great with your patients, you even taught me a couple of things.”

That’s why this is such a fucking excellent scene/episode/series, because the issue isn’t just “oh doctors are ableist” (even though yeah, lots are), it isn’t that black and white. The issue is that there isn’t enough education. People in healthcare aren’t being taught enough about autism and the different kinds of people they’re going to come across (see sickle-cell patient, unhoused patients, victims of abuse, etc.) even if they want to be. That’s why doctors like Mel matter so so so much. That’s also why even though it would be amazing if they confirm she’s autistic, it wouldn’t be unrealistic if she’s undiagnosed. That’s why doctor Langdon says to her that sensitive people are needed there badly. Because she makes those around her better, if they just care to watch and learn.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 157 (Coping Without Ash)

It had been almost a week since Ash's escort to the Landgraabs in the city. They weren't even allowed to call him, and Heather moved through the house in a walking haze. She forced herself to eat for the sake of their unborn child and doted on Lavender despite her depression, but she withdrew from her usual nature.

Conrad and her family were deeply concerned, and her mother, Daisy, arrived in the Bay with Holly, Betta, and a few suitcases. Heather's close-knit family was determined to help her through this, and they planned to stay until after the baby was born.

Normally, Conrad might object to packing their home with so many people and pets with a newborn on the way, but he hated seeing Heather like this. He hoped her family could help, but he knew, deep down, the only thing she needed was Ash.

"I talked to Felix today," he said, as they shared a cheesecake made by Daisy to follow dinner. Heather looked up, listening without a word. "He said he's found some interesting things during discovery, and he's confident about our hearing in San Myshuno."

"Did he say what he meant?" asked Daisy, but Conrad shook his head as Daisy frowned. "I just can't get past the Landgraabs pulling this after everything!"

Though she'd tried to hold it together for Heather's sake, Daisy couldn't hold back a sob while they gathered around the table.

"Why you sad, Gramma? Ash isn't gone for always. He'll be back."

"Of course he will."

Conrad got up from the table to clear a few plates, trying to remain strong in the face of Heather's crumbling facade. But he was processing grief in his own way over the ordeal, switching between anger and stoicism in rapid swings. (Seriously he's been all over the place.)

Heather went to bed early after giving Gord a bath, so Daisy and Holly hung out with Lavender and Betta when Conrad was called to a crime scene. To say they were managing without Ash around was barely accurate, but they knew they couldn't give up yet.

In Britechester, Felix and Lilith were feeling the loss of Ash's genius expertise, too. Lilith had welded the time travelling component, but now she was trying to use Ash's notes to program it to her computer and calculate a landing point. She was struggling.

"When is the custody hearing? It'll be real nice when we can finally talk to Ash again about all this."

"Next week," said Felix, strumming a silly song on Lilith's guitar.

"Stop being a goofball for a minute and take this seriously," she begged, trying not to laugh at him anyway. "Emit thinks our tech's too primitive and doesn't know enough about it to help - if he could even find the time out from underneath my sister."

"You think they're falling for each other?"

"They keep saying they're just having fun, but I know my sister. Angela wants happily ever after and she likes Emit, but she's afraid to get attached."

Felix nodded. "That's fair, isn't it? He is a time traveler, and once we help him catch his time thief, he'll go back to the future."

Lilith frowned. She turned back to her computer just as the screen flashed and turned blue, spilling code across the monitor and shocking her fingertips through the keyboard. "Dammit, I just fried it and it tried to fry me!"

Felix put down the guitar and smiled. "It's okay, Lil. Ash has already invented time travel, we just have to prove it works. Take a break, your parents are making dinner. Then see if Emit knows anything about our "primitive" computers. I think Angela's busy working out, so you should find him unoccupied for the time being."

Lilith took his advice and headed for a soak in the tub. While she relaxed, Felix repaired the computer. He was still holding on to the engagement ring, still waiting for the perfect moment to propose. But they were too distracted lately by time travel and Ash's custody case.

Emit did prove helpful with the computer, teaching Lilith how to overclock it to process Ash's codes and calculations.

"I can't say for sure the code's right, but I know a ten-year-old coming up with half of this is amazing. I trust the parts even I don't understand because so few in this time could know any of this."

"So you think we're almost ready to travel through time?" Lilith's earlier frustrations had turned back to hope.

"We could leave as soon as you're done with the custody hearing. My wristboard is still tracking the time thief, but with with two working devices, we'll head them off anywhere in time they think they can hide."

With a buzz of excitement running through their veins, Lilith and Felix shared a smile and a searing kiss. "Can you believe it? As soon as Ash is back with his parents, we're going to jump through time!"

Felix had lived through more decades than he could count, but experiencing the future - or the past - with his beloved Lilith sounded like the adventure of a lifetime. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure, I don't know if any mods out there connect a custody battle with grief moodlets and these moodlets for Conrad actually followed the death of Ben. Heather grieved Ben, too, but she was more muted and dazed, understandably, because she didn't know him as well. But grief moodlets can be persistent and Conrad was still going through it during this time, so I mean no disrespect to Ben (really!) but I usurped those moodlets for my plot, and their grief styles informed how I wrote this arc.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Dark Humor

Dark or twisted humor is an acquired taste, as not everyone appreciates the taboo humor others find in disturbing subject matter. But, for people who experience stressful jobs or complicated family dynamics, dark humor often serves as an important protective mechanism.

This concept is exemplified by the ability of healthcare workers to employ dark humor as a way of coping with chronic job stress (e.g., Schulman-Green, 2003; Talbot & Lumden, 2000; Wanzer et al., 2005).

Importantly, gallows humor used in this way is not aggressive or hurtful to others. This idea is explained by Wanzer et al. (2005) in their aptly titled article If We Didn’t Use Humor, We’d Cry.

The authors note that nurses use humor to deal with specific situations such as daily medical routines, difficult patients/families, and even death. And while approaching such situations with humor may not make sense to others, humor helps nurses deal with their distress when encountering extremely difficult situations regularly (Wanzer et al., 2005).

Dark humor has also been found to enhance resilience during some of the most horrible events in human history.

For example, during the Holocaust, victims reported using humor in ghettos, concentration, and death camps to better cope with extreme trauma and adversity (Ostrower, 2015).

Ostrower (2015, p. 184) describes humor coping within this context as a defense mechanism that “under the nightmare circumstances of living in the ghettos and camps during the Holocaust, laughter was a form of rebellion against reality. Humor was the weapon of those whose lives were utterly in the hands of the executioners, those who were powerless to rebel or resist in any other way.”

Along with the Holocaust, dark humor has been used as a coping and survival mechanism across a broad range of life-threatening situations.

Gallows Humor - is, by definition, from the perspective of the victim or at least expressing empathy. If anyone else laughs at the victim or the author tries to make the situation funny, it's some other form of Black Comedy, hence the phrase "it's only gallows humor if you are on the gallows". This trope is generally when the joke itself or simple laughter allows you to deal with your problems.

The term itself refers to the wooden frame used to hang people from in Public Executions and it is still quite common to see creators make use of Gallows Humor in scenes between characters awaiting their hanging.

However the term has broadened to apply to the making light of any bleak, morose, or deadly occurrence.

This trope is when you are able to make the best of a bad situation - this is finding something funny even in Hell itself. "Laughter is the best medicine", says the age-old adage. Therefore, these tend to be stories that focus on a select group of individuals who are in recovery or surviving an ordeal. It is highly unlikely for a gag of the week format to be Gallows Humor. It is also likely that the main character suffers from depression and is cheering himself up.

Some Examples

I’d say at least I’m alive, but currently that’s one of my biggest problems.

"Stop telling the suicidal jokes." "Don't worry, suicide would be the last thing I'd do."

"When is the best time to commit suicide?" "Ate a glock in the morning."

"Suicide is not a joke, get help." "I can pay someone to shoot me."

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

“I'm thinking about killing off the main character in this book I'm writing.” “What type of book is it?” “An autobiography.”

Someone asked me if I've ever tried to kill myself. I responded, "Absolutely. A few times actually. I'm just not very good at it."

There are going so many things through my head. Sadly none of it is a 9mm.

Forky in Toy Story 4 knows that he is indeed a piece of trash and constantly tries to throw himself in a garbage can.

This exchange in Romeo and Juliet after Mercutio has been (mortally) wounded in a duel: Romeo: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. Mercutio: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[aryadelvich]

Hii, Could you please write one about a Jealous and Possessive Luigi when his cousin is flirting with you during a family gathering.🥰

Hii!! Thank you for your request 🫶 Here it is !!!

Question : does anyone know what is a foc ? Someone made a request and asked me to make a foc with Luigi and don’t know what is this.

I don’t like the way he’s looking at you - Luigi Mangione

Reminder : Someone acting like this is not normal. It’s a fiction. If this happens to you in real life you have to make decision to leave. Jealousy is not a justification for bad behaviors.

Everyone was smiling, laughing, and chatting. You were surrounded by Luigi’s big Italian family, meeting what felt like a never-ending list of relatives.

It was the first time he had ever brought a girlfriend to a family event—his first serious relationship. His sisters, his mother, and his father had welcomed you with open arms, treating you like one of their own. Now, you were meeting the rest—his uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins… So many cousins.

As you poured yourself a drink, a man walked up beside you. He was tall, dark-haired, and undeniably Italian—bearing an uncanny resemblance to Luigi.

"Hey," he greeted smoothly.

"Hey," you replied flatly.

"So, you’re Luigi’s girl? Never thought I’d see the day he brought someone home. You must be special."

"If you’ll excuse me." You turned to walk away, but before you could, he grabbed your arm.

"Hey, slow down. You haven’t even told me your name."

He pulled you a little closer, his hand settling on your waist. A cold wave of disgust rolled through you.

"Hey Nino!"

Luigi’s voice cut through the air like a blade. Before you could react, he stormed over and shoved Nino back so hard that he stumbled into a nearby table, knocking it over with a loud crash. Conversations died, and suddenly, all eyes were on the scene unfolding.

"Don’t touch her," Luigi snapped, his tone sharp enough to slice through steel.

You had never seen him like this before. Luigi was always calm, always kind. But now? He looked ready to kill.

Nino raised his hands in mock surrender. "Relax, Lulu, I was just being friendly."

"Find someone else to be friendly with," Luigi shot back, his voice dangerously low.

His mother rushed over, eyes wide with concern. "Luigi, what’s the problem ?"

"I lost my temper. But he was out of line."

He didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he grabbed your hand and pulled you away from the crowd, leading you toward a quiet corner of the house.

"YN, I told you not to talk to other guys."

You yanked your hand back, frowning. "I wasn’t talking to him. He came to me."

"It’s the same thing! It’s like last time I told you, if you don’t want me to lose it, you need to stay away from guys like him."

You folded your arms, frustration bubbling up. "Do you even hear yourself? You just caused a scene in front of your entire family!"

Luigi exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. “You’re defending him ?”

You frowned. “I’m not defending him! I’m just saying you didn’t have to react like that.”

He let out a low, humorless chuckle, shaking his head. “Right. So now I’m the bad guy, and Nino’s just some innocent guy making conversation?”

“That’s not what I said—”

He stepped closer, his voice quieter but dripping with jealousy. “Keep this up, and I’m gonna start thinking you actually want him.”

Your eyes widened. “Are you serious right now?”

“I don’t know, am I?” His gaze locked onto yours, dark and unreadable. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re more upset about me putting him in his place than the fact that he touched you.”

“That’s not true!”

“Then say it.” His grip on your waist tightened slightly. “Say that you didn’t like it. Say that you don’t want him.”

You scoffed, pushing at his chest. “Obviously, I don’t want him, Luigi. What kind of question is that?”

He studied you for a moment, with a serious face. “Good. Because if I ever get the feeling that you do… I won’t be nearly as nice next time.”

"Do you even care how I feel? You can’t just act like you own me, Luigi."

His expression softened—just a little. He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.

"You don’t get it, do you?" he murmured.

"Get what?"

He stepped closer, his hands finding your waist, holding you gently but firmly.

"I’m yours. Completely. I have been since the beginning."

Your heart clenched.

"Then why do you act like this?" you whispered.

He hesitated for a second, then sighed. "Because the thought of someone else touching you—hell, even looking at you—drives me insane. I don’t want to share you, not even for a second."

His fingers brushed against your cheek, his touch far softer than his words.

"But I need to trust you, Luigi. I need to know you won’t just explode every time another guy so much as breathes in my direction."

He nodded slowly, his eyes locked onto yours.

"You can trust me. But what I feel for you—it’s not something I can just turn down. I belong to you, YN. Every look, every word, every damn heartbeat. I’m always thinking about you, worried about you."

You bit your lip, torn between staying mad and just giving in.

"You’re obsessed," you muttered.

That familiar smirk ghosted his lips. "Isn’t the point ? Yeah I’m obsessed, so what ?."

You rolled your eyes, but he caught the tiny smile you tried to hide. And that was all he needed.

[zorosangell]

⛥ﾟ・。 round two

synopsis: things get a little heated during a sparring session between you and the moss-haired swordsman. and the results are... inconclusive.

cw: part 2/3 (possibly more), fluffy fluff, comfort, awkward zoro, awkward reader, i hate writing fight scenes

a/n: this took me ridiculously long for no reason

"Are you wearin' down on me, swordsman?" you asked, cockily, letting out a small grunt as your broad sword clashed with his katana, sending sparks flying through the air. "I thought your parries were faster than that."

He scoffed at your obvious taunt, biting back a smirk as you both pushed off, landing on opposite sides of the crow's nest for a quick breather.

"I could ask you the same thing," he panted, rolling his shoulders. "Footwork's gettin' sloppy."

You snorted, the adorable sound resonating deeply within the swordsman's chest.

"You wish my footwork was sloppy."

Just like that, you both were back at it, attacking and counter-attacking each other at speeds many could never hope of achieving.

And you both were only sparring.

"I think that's bounty's starting to go to your head," you weaved around one of his swings. "A billion berries can't buy you a new neck to support it."

He chuckled, forgoing the direct approach and opting to attack your sides, shifting his stance in order to compensate.

"Spoken like fifth place," he grinned, teasingly. "If I knew any better, I'd say you're jealous."

You gasped at the outlandish statement, nearly losing focus as he swung for your hip, your sword just barely making it in time to divert before you attempted to sweep his feet.

Sadly, he manged to jump out the way.

"I am not jealous!" you scoffed, throwing away your sword—the signal to begin the hand-to-hand section of your session, "I don't know if you've forgotten, but I entered this little race a little later than everyone else. And I still managed to make it to 950 million."

It was true.

The day after the banquet, your mother had all but kicked you out of the castle, going on and on about how as heir to the throne, it was your duty to explore the world before assuming the position, and that joining Luffy's crew was the opportunity of a lifetime.

And, of course, you understood her point, seeing as she had personal experience—she began traveling the seas around the same age with some infamous pirate crew led by a man named Rocks.

Though, a small part of you was a little worried.

You had never even stepped foot off Nabis before, so how the hell were you going to sail across the sea?

But, to your surprise, you managed to get along swimmingly with the Strawhats.

Making jokes... telling stories... sharing scars.

In fact, it went so well that by the time the banquet was over, Luffy was practically begging you to join—he reasoned that he had never met a real knight before, and wanted one on his crew.

Which brought you here, several hundred miles away from home and on month six of your journey across the sea.

Sprinting forward, you both quickly began exchanging hands, weaving, dodging, and striking in almost perfect sync.

Zoro grinned, pleasantly surprised to see that you'd taken the offensive this time, your movements speeding up in an obvious ploy to distract him while you dealt a final blow to his feet.

'Gonna have to do better than that.'

To say you both were "just crewmates" would be a criminal understatement.

You both were infinitely more than that.

Your relationship was completely different from what he had with the rest of the crew, from what he'd ever had with anybody before.

Sure, he and Sanji were relative in strength, but the cook didn't care about training, and the swordsman couldn't stand him, anyway.

He and Luffy were close, but the captain would much rather goof off and eat than work out, much less converse about sword techniques.

You were the first person to actively share the same interests as him, and actually have the strength to match.

If he finished a thousand push-ups, you finished a thousand push-ups.

If he was holding weighted handstands, you were holding weighted handstands.

If he was doing four-hundred pound squats across the deck, you were doing four-hundred pound squats across the deck, all the while chatting about a new thing you learned or a new weapon you'd been meaning to buy.

And it wasn't just training.

You and the swordsman did practically everything in equal measure.

Drinking... napping... laughing, everything.

He'd be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy it, and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy you.

Suddenly feeling something attack his ankles, Zoro's eyes went wide, the man grunting as you swept his feet and knocked him on his ass.

But before he could even think to counter, you pounced, straddling his hips and pinning his wrists above his head with a triumphant grin.

"How's that... for fifth place?" you panted, taking a moment to bask in your victory.

You had never beaten him in hand-to-hand before.

Embarrassment burned up Zoro's neck at how easily he was taken down, his cheeks taking on a faint tinge of pink.

Not only because of that, but because of your compromising position.

With the way you were sitting, and the way you were leaning, your core was parked right on top of his crotch, and your tits were hanging right in his face.

'Goddamn it...'

And if that wasn't enough, you were wearing one of Nami's tiny tube tops and a pair of booty shorts—the navigator said your ancient wardrobe was in dire need of revitalizing.

Before you could react, Zoro used his strength to overpower you, flipping you both over and pinning your wrists above your head.

"I've seen better," he taunted, playing off his surprise.

Pissed you let your guard down, you let out a frustrated huff, leveling the swordsman with a miffed expression.

"You know, the gentlemanly thing would've been to let me have my win," you pouted, struggling in his grasp to no avail.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that," he chuckled, his grip ironclad. "Besides, I thought you liked a challenge?"

"Don't act like I didn't have you on the ropes, swordsman," you smirked, defiantly.

"Oh, now I'm swordsman?" he cocked a brow, amused, as he leaned in closer.

"You'll be Zoro if you let me go."

"How about I be Zoro and keep you here?"

"Real caveman of you to refer to yourself like that."

"You mad me beat you again. You sore loser."

"You asshole."

At your antics, you both laughed, the sound of his genuine one sending a thrum of warmth through your stomach.

You had been surrounded by men all your life—warriors, soldiers, leaders—and not one of them ever made you feel the way you felt around him.

In his presence, you felt light as air, yet at the same time, heavy as rock.

It was indescribable, and also unprecedented.

Since birth, you'd been trained to keep your emotions in check, both as a princess and a warrior of the royal army.

Yet, somehow, whenever you joined the swordsman's company, all that training seemed to go right out the window.

As your laughter died down, your eyes met in intense stare, the air between you two quickly thickening with tension.

And suddenly, in a sharp pang of instinct, you surged forward, crashing into his lips with a little more force than intended.

Instantly, Zoro's eye blew wide, completely taken aback—though he made no move to pull away.

He wanted to do everything but that, actually.

Yet you, judging by his facial expression, quickly realized that you'd made the wrong call.

"Oh, Great Hera," you muttered, utterly mortified as you pulled away.

The man was completely frozen, his expression unreadable as he stared down at you.

"Zoro... words cannot express how—"

Without a moment's hesitation, he leaned in, one of his hands leaving your wrist and cupping your cheek, pulling you into a passionate kiss which you more than happily reciprocated.

Newly free, your hand found its way to the nape of his neck, teasing his hair as he moved to hook his arm under your waist.

At your eagerness to reciprocate, Zoro smiled into the kiss, slightly relieved that you didn't punch him in the gut or put him in a Nabisian choke hold.

This was a long time coming, and now that he had you in his clutches, he could agree it was well worth the wait.

The two of you pulled back for air, awkwardly meeting each other's gaze.

"So...?"

"Yeah," he blurted, flushed from ear to ear.

"..."

"..."

"Wanna go for Round Two?"

"Yes."

[avelera]

I reread Distinguished Innovator's and Progress Day and I appreciate how you write Viktor as someone who lives as healthy as he can (apart from the overworking tendencies and those glasses of champagne at the party which were clearly an exception)

I see a lot of Viktor smoking and/or drinking and/or using drugs and I personally really don't think he would. He wouldn't risk worsening his health it unless it's to further his goals to leave a mark (through the overworking since he does need to finish his inventions in time). (And I also liked that he's not necessarily judgmental about people who do, just conscious of how it would affect his health)

Thank you! I admit, "my" Viktor is somewhat influenced by my years of writing Hermann from Pacific Rim with regards to depicting someone with a disability that might necessitate regular use of pain medication and how they might be careful around certain lifestyle choices. In that fandom too, you saw a rather similar mix of some people writing Hermann as extremely careful with his health and thus avoiding smoking or drinking, and others as writing him as a chronic smoker or regularly having a drink because fuckit, the world is ending and he's a disaffected academic.

If I may ramble on the subject and get a bit philosophical, since you got me thinking about it, for Viktor, like Hermann, after examining my own feelings about the character I wanted to write and my own interpretation on what I saw in canon, namely that neither of Viktor nor Hermann is shown smoking, drinking, or otherwise partaking in any kind of substances for recreation, I opted for "paranoid about his health" rather than "dismissive of his health". And as for him being ok with others partaking, I saw it that since it's not a moral choice or a chosen lifestyle, I wanted to stress that he's not judging others. "My" Viktor in particular would partake too, if his body allowed it.

(Cut because I got to rambling a bit, as I am wont to do)

I can see why people might opt for "disaffected academic" Viktor who is cool and a rulebreaker from Zaun with a devil-may-care attitude and a sordid past, but that's not what I see on screen, personally (well, besides the rule breaking, but that was in pursuit of SCIENCE).

For example, the one time we see Viktor partaking in any kind of "substance" it's Shimmer, which he views with deep suspicion and only reluctantly partakes in. That to me doesn't read as someone who was a regular in the party-drug scene. Indeed, we see Shimmer used as a party drug by Salo in S2.

Then again, one can totally partake in alcohol, cigarettes, and party drugs while being rightfully wary of, say, meth, so people can really go any way they want with the character. Viktor's caution around Shimmer doesn't need to mean he doesn't use drugs recreationally, but to me at least it was a point of reference to use for my take on his general reluctance to partake in substances.

Speaking formyself, I am someone who regularly drinks, circumstances permitting, quite possibly in excess at times. I've smoked, tried some substances though never really taken to anything except alcohol, but l I have a live and let live attitude towards those who do, even if I was never one of the "cool kids" who got invited to many parties.

For me, writing a Viktor who can't go out and have even a casual drink, who must be meticulous about his health because he's trying to squeeze every second of life he can out of his failing body, because he feels a higher calling to better the world with his mind while he can, not only feels truer to the character to me but also is the sort of limitation I like writing. Having characters loosen up over a casual drink is the sort of scene I love to write.

But the Viktor I like to write can't do that, not because of moral reasons but health reasons, and he feels the inability keenly. He resents that he can't risk his health, he feels it's just one more thing that separates him from fitting in and being able to mingle with others. It's one more damned thing that makes him not the sort of person that Jayce deserves to be with, which is someone who can stay out at all hours, wining and dining and shmoozing with the elites. It feeds Viktor's profound social anxiety and sense of physical inadequacy that he can't loosen up over a drink and be like "everybody else".

To me, this feels truer to the character that there are myriad things in his life where his body keeps him from being the person he wants to be, from doing the things he wants to do, going all the way back to chasing after his boat as a child. His inability to safely partake in even small amounts of alcohol fits thematically. We see how Viktor wants to see himself on numerous occasions, in the astral plane in S2 but also back in S1 we see that reflection of Viktor in Singed's vat and he's no longer unhealthy, but he also doesn't have his moles. That tells us that Viktor keenly feels his "imperfections" and would remove them if he could.

But just like choosing, by choice or necessity, not to partake in alcohol or other substances, these things aren't imperfections. As Jayce points out (though the discussion around disability and the framing of Jayce's speech at the end is much more complicated and this isn't the place for it).

To go along with that theme, what Viktor doesn't realize in my fics is that Jayce doesn't care about those things. He doesn't really care about drinking or partying, he does it because it's socially expected. But Jayce would rather be back in the lab with Viktor. He doesn't need a partner who can stay out at all hours and get hammered with him, he wants Viktor exactly as he is.

Once again, these things that Viktor perceives to be barriers or deal-breakers for a relationship with Jayce are nothing of the sort. However, perceiving them as such is something that I think is very much in line with Viktor's character, even if admittedly the choice to make substances like alcohol into one of the many things he can't partake in that make him feel "othered" is somewhat arbitrary on my part and mostly based on vibes and my own tastes.

This got away from me but to conclude, it's also worth noting that Viktor clearly does stop taking care of himself later in canon, sometime during the post-1.03 time skip. He sleeps at the lab, he's not eating square meals as far as we see, he is neglecting himself. I very much see that as part of the trajectory of the Viktor I'm writing too. When he's young and relatively healthy, he is meticulous with his health because he's optimistic that he can beat his disease or at least squeeze out a few more decades. The Viktor we first meet in 1.01-1.03 is quite healthy! And he's the one I see getting enough sleep, eating well, and doing his best to make sure his mind is sharp to dedicate to science.

But I see it that during the 1.03-1.04 time skip, the period my fics largely take place in, something happens where that goes away.

I think, ultimately, it's because of the betrayal by Viktor's body of all his hard work. He did take meticulous care of himself, but it wasn't enough, so... fuckit. Better use as much of the time he has left and screw sleep, screw stopping to eat healthily, screw all of it, because it didn't matter, it didn't help, and he's just getting worse so he has to use as much of the time he has before he gets worse to try to leave some mark on the world. The body becomes wholly a prison to him at that point, not a machine that he can tend to and maintain.

At least, that's how I like to write him :)

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Since you’ve talked about the secret between Adrien and Mari and how Adrien has no agency, back when the s5 bible leaked, there was a part where it said that „Adrien will never find out about his father being Hawkmoth“ or something like that.

Do you think the writers will actually stick with that rule? Because I just can‘t see how this is supposed to be narratively satisfying…

I have no idea and that's not a compliment. It's a condemnation. Adrien should absolutely find out about his father. The story isn't satisfying if he doesn't. But Miraculous doesn't seem to care about being satisfying. It cares about being shocking and that's a terrible thing. To explain why, let's talk about the topic of predictability in narratives and why it's generally a good thing.

We'll start with a quote from a famous George R.R. Martin interview where he perfectly explains why you want your stories to make logical sense with the final line of the quote being the most important part:

Before the Internet, one reader could guess the ending you wanna do for your novel, but the other 10.000 wouldn’t know anything and they would be surprised. However, now, those 10.000 people use the Internet and read the right theories. They say: “Oh God, the butler did it!”, to use an example of a mystery novel. Then, you think: “I have to change the ending! The maiden would be the criminal!” To my mind that way is a disaster because if you are doing well you work, the books are full of clues that point to the butler doing it and help you to figure up the butler did it, but if you change the ending to point the maiden, the clues make no sense anymore; they are wrong or are lies, and I am not a liar.

This is a writing rule that I believe in my soul, but that the Miraculous writers don't seem to care about. Miraculous will introduce things that should be important to the story, but they end up meaning nothing.

A great - and relevant - example of this is the Chat Blanc stuff. Chat Blanc comes near the end of season three, early season four sees Marinette have a nightmare about Chat Blanc, and late season four is all about Chat Noir feeling left out as Marinette trusts Alya over him. Many viewers looked at these story beats and went, "Oh, okay, so Chat Blanc is causing Marinette to push Chat Noir away. Got it." because it honestly was the only thing that made any sense.

But that's not what was going on. The official word is that Marinette was just stressed over her new role as the guardian even though nothing in the text really explains why that would strain her relationship with Chat Noir. It actively improves her relationship with Alya! Why wouldn't it do the same with her long-term partner? As we've discussed several times, he was fine with the status quo at the start of the season and didn't even ask for more responsibility until Kuro Neko so it's not like he was doing anything to stress her out until he randomly quit on her.

This begs the question: if Chat Blanc isn't haunting Marinette and Chat Noir isn't stressing her, then why doesn't she share things with Chat Noir? Why go with Alya when Alya's identity was revealed to the villain requiring Alya to go into "hiding" as Rena Furtive? There's really nothing in the text to answer those incredibly important questions. Question that are only incredibly important because the writers actively chose to have multiple episodes dedicated to Chat Noir feeling left out. Why that happened really isn't clear so there's also no clear resolution. What needs to change? No clue! Did that thing change? Once again, no clue! It's all set up with no pay off!

Or, at least, we don't get the kind of pay off you'd expect to see. Aka the big dramatic moment where Ladybug finally confesses what happened to her. Instead, Chat Blanc's big pay off is Adrien missing the season five fight because he just magically knows that Chat Blanc happened:

During the scene that leads to Adrien wearing the Alliance ring after being reticent to it, [the writers] say that they had a conflict when writing it as they had to find a way for Adrien to not become his superhero self, cataclysm the walls and go help his lady in Paris. The end result is that Adrien is reminded of the devastating effect of his power by the nightmare and would therefore do anything to avoid hurting people, and so he wears the ring. Mélanie says that he "could become Chat Blanc" and the others add that even though he does not remember and has never lived it, Chat Blanc still has an influence on his actions.

So Chat Blanc doesn't matter to the person who actually met him, but it does matter to the person who was Chat Blanc an alternate timeline even though this show has never once showed another akuma victim to be haunted by their akumatization. Does that make any sense? No, it's frustrating and confusing, but it does tell us the way these writers think and that insight doesn't bode well for Adrien learning the truth about his father. It's not enough for me to say with certainty that it will never happen, but I would not assume that it will happen. The show has an active pattern of avoiding these kinds of payoffs:

Example 1: Multiple Lila appearances had her claiming to be Ladybug's BFF and she was even interviewed for the Ladyblog based on this lie, but as soon as Alya learns Ladybug's identity, the show conveniently forgets about this ongoing lie because then Alya would be against Lila and the writers didn't want that.

Example 2: Marinette gave Alya the Fox without telling Chat Noir that they had a new full-time teammate, but Chat Noir never learns about this development. The most he gets is that Ladybug revealed her identity to someone, which is nowhere near as important as the Rena thing in terms of the ongoing fight against Paris' resident supervillain. The fact that Rena Rouge is now Rena Furtive is literally never revealed to him. He learns that she's active in the final fight, but the name change and her status are forever a secret. Alya being Rena Furtive also leads to nothing useful for the heroes. You could remove that from season four and it would play almost exactly the same same for a few minor tweaks.

Example 3: Luka learns Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities in Wishmaker, but this reveal is just used as an excuse to write Luka off the show in season five. The episode that gets him written off shows Monarch realizing that Luka knows the identities because of some mental connection that happens during akumatization. This is damning because Kagami was akumatized twice in season five (Perfection and Protection) and we later learn that Kagami learned Marinette's secret identity during Perfection, the first of the two episodes. In fact, Kagami learned the secret mere minutes before getting akumatized and she was akumatized because Marinette wasn't talking to her so Marinette being Ladybug should have been on her mind and yet Monarch didn't get so much as a hint of any of this!!!!!

That's not even getting into the issue of the fact that nothing in Perfection so much as hints that Kagami knows even though the episode is all about her relationship with Marinette or the issue of Marinette keeping her secret identity safe even though she was almost akumatized the freaking times! SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!!! WHY IS IT WRITTEN LIKE THIS??? How is anyone supposed to follow such shitty lore? The audience can't text appropriately if they don't know what the stakes are.

So, yeah, I'd put a small amount of money on Adrien never learning because that would be way too satisfying and Miraculous hates being satisfying or logical. The times we do get big reveals are generally terrible like with freaking Andre the Ice Cream Man being the one to tell Adrien about Marinette's crush or Lila being outed because of a plan Sabrina and Marinette made up off screen or Adrien finding out about Chat Blanc because magic. Watch Andre the Ice Cream Man be the one to tell Adrien about his dad for some reason. Nothing would surprise me at this point.

[prettycalla]

GETA || ALPHABET HEADCANONS

(I couldn’t make one for Caracalla without making one for Geta!)

Pairing: Geta/Reader

Word Count: 1.6k (approx.)

(Alphabet template by @ the-coldest-goodbye)

Caracalla’s version

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Geta is not one for openly showing affection. I feel as though the scene in Thraex’s house is not entirely indicative of who he is (I don’t think he was entirely sober and it felt like more of a show of power). He would be hesitant to show affection, and when he does, it’s done so in private.

You’ll need to be close with him to really see this side of him. He may not be constant, but every little gesture is meaningful.

Hand-kissing in Ancient Rome had a great many meanings tied to it. Reverence, loyalty, even submission. If Geta brings himself to kiss your hand, he has given himself to you, mind, body and soul.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Like Caracalla, it’s very unlikely that you and Geta would meet under normal circumstances. Geta has a watchful eye, and if you happen to fall under it, there may be no escaping unnoticed.

Any kind of friendship would come much later. If he grows to care for you, you’d become his shoulder to rest his weary head after hours of meetings with the Senate, his ear when he frets about his brother, his comfort when he awakes from nightmares in the middle of the night.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Geta would need to care deeply for you to be affectionate in this way. To openly express himself to you like this is to leave himself vulnerable, and he won’t do it readily.

He’ll pull you close to him in the middle of the night and pretend that he’s asleep. While you’re readying yourself for the day, he’ll wrap his arms around your shoulders and rest his chin on the crown of your head, to ground himself.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

I think Geta has had to bear the brunt of imperial responsibility for much of his adult life, and there would be pressure for him to marry; not for himself, but for the glory of Rome. He would see marriage as a hassle, another tickbox in the never-ending list of things he must do.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

This would all depend on his relationship with you. Most people are expendable to an Emperor, so he’d have to care deeply for you to keep you close to him. He certainly wouldn’t let you go without a fight (unless you betray him).

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Marriage is not forefront in Geta’s mind, but if he fell for you - and this is no easy feat, you’ll have had to have broken through every one of his carefully constructed barriers - he would want the whole world to know. No expense would be spared, and you’d wear only the finest and most intricately fashioned garments.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Geta is stern at best, and something of a temper tantrum at times, so gentleness doesn’t exactly come naturally to him.

However, if he cares for you, he will learn, as much as it’ll drive him mad. He’ll learn to hold your hand in his without squeezing, and his embrace would become less of a death grip with time.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Once you get passed the armour he’s built up around himself, I think Geta would like hugs. Not often, and they would need to be in private, but he’d be prone to indulging himself in holding you when he’s feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Love is not an emotion that comes easily to Geta, and he’s become very adept at keeping it under control. Even if he were to fall in love, it’s not a word that leaves his mouth often. Geta expresses himself through his actions: how his eyes soften when he looks at you, or how he takes your arm to guide you away from uncomfortable conversation.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Like Caracalla, Geta falls victim to jealousy all too easily. He’s had to share so much with his brother, and if he finds someone he cares for, no one in this world or the next is going to take that from him.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Geta has little patience and is used to getting what he wants. Most, if not all, of his “romantic” encounters have been with concubines, so he hasn’t ever really had to consider another person’s desires.

His kisses are hard and possessive, and it would take a while for him to learn to slow down and take his time with you.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Geta has a temper, and one night when you’re alone, tucked away from the prying eyes of the palace, he would confess in a whisper that he is too much like his father, his dark eyes brimming with tears that he refuses to let fall.

I don’t believe Geta had the opportunity to really be a child, spoiled as he is. He’s been responsible for his brother for a long time, and it’s clear that he was seen as more fit to take the role of Emperor. He would be conflicted with the need for an heir and his own fears of who he might be as a father.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Geta has a lot to do in a day, and he’ll be gone when you wake most mornings.

Every now and again, you’ll be lucky to have a lazy morning with him, and he’ll refuse to let go of you until he absolutely must.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

This will all depend on his day. You may be called upon to listen to his woes as he storms around his chambers until he is sufficiently worn out. Other times, he may curl himself into your arms, head pressed against your chest, as you hold him and whisper reassurances.

(my other thoughts will be in the NSFW version 👀)

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Geta doesn’t allow himself to open up to anyone - not even himself at times. He’s so entrenched in being seen as powerful and dominant that he doesn’t entirely know who he is.

It will take a lot of time and a lot of patience for Geta to show his heart to you. You will need to lead by example, and let him in first.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Geta has the most patience of the twins, but only because he has to, as he shoulders more of the imperial responsibilities. He is not one to be trifled with, however, and can be easily angered.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He won’t seem as though he pays attention, but he remembers things you say. You might mention in casual conversation a food you loved as a child, and he’ll secretly pass the information along to the kitchens. The look of delight on your face while you eat is more than enough reward for him.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Geta secretly cherishes the quiet moments between the two of you. He doesn’t often have time to himself, nor does he ever feel as though he can truly be himself, and having someone who sees him - all of him - and lets him be is overwhelming for him.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Geta is possessive, particularly of those he cares about. He will have guards posted outside your door while you sleep, and those guards will join his when you move into his chambers.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He doesn’t strike me as a typical romantic, but he will show that he cares in subtler ways. If you happen to mention that you are fond of certain flowers, they’ll quickly appear all over your private gardens. Garments in your favourite colours will mysteriously appear in your wardrobe. If you mention it to him, he’ll pretend he has no idea what you’re talking about - but you both know.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

At his worst, Geta can retreat too far into his own head, and it can be difficult to get him back out. He struggles with the constant expectations placed on him by the people of Rome, the Senate, even his own brother at times. His ego and insecurities will clash horribly, leaving him prone to lashing out, even at you.

When he eventually calms, he will come to you like a trembling child, seeking reassurance that you will stay with him.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

It’s important for an Emperor to look his best at all times, so Geta would be very concerned with how he looks. This would eventually extend to you, especially if you are married.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

If you are close to him, Geta would feel lost without you by his side. He’ll be less obvious about it than Caracalla might, but his irritation at not having you near will bleed into his interactions with others. Those in Geta’s company are always much more relaxed when you’re nearby.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Geta hums when he’s stressed, as a form of self-soothing. You eventually piece together the tune, and when you can feel his stress mounting, you gently pull him into your arms and hum the same song for him until he finally relents and relaxes against you.

As much as he would never admit it out loud, I think Geta would like a partner who speaks their mind. Not out of arrogance or over-confidence, but more so that they don’t constantly fear for their life in his presence. He’s so used to being surrounded by sycophants and wolves in sheep’s clothing that he appreciates hearing the truth from you. Just don’t expect him to always take it well.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Betrayal of trust. Geta needs your complete and utter devotion - unfortunately he’s also a jealous man, so even exchanging pleasantries for too long at a gathering may lead to heated arguments.

Like Caracalla, he would react badly to hearing you speak ill of yourself. To do so is to speak ill of himself and his tastes, and that will not do at all.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Geta can’t sleep without ensuring that all points of entry in his chambers are sealed. Eventually, when he trusts you enough, he’ll allow you to take up this routine on his behalf.

He’s not a sound sleeper, and every so often, he will wake in the night, screaming and thrashing. He’ll calm soon enough if you’re there to hold him.

—

(I hope these are okay! I realised halfway through how many more headcanons I also have for Caracalla, so I might go back and add a few more.)

[sunsetmade]

You’re Going to be Trouble

Rafe Cameron x Reader

Summary: She’s suppose to stay away but something about him draws her in every time.

Her eyes scanned across the crowded beach. The bonfire had been lit a long time ago and it was putting off an orange hue. She scanned the beach, her eyes flicking through people. It seemed to be a normal scene, people were drinking everywhere, kooks on one side and pouges on the other.

Then she saw him.

She hated how her eyes raced across him just to come right back. She found herself staring from across the beach. She didn’t understand why she was so intrigued by him, she didn’t like it.

Her head shook, removing her thoughts from her head and walking towards the cooler for a drink.

Rafes eyes followed her, watching her every move like she was some sort of prey. She had been new to town, but he was already infatuated by her.

“See you guys later…” he mumbled to his friends discretely walking over to the same cooler as her.

He stepped right in front of her bending down to hand her a drink. She smiled up at him, her face flushed slightly. “Thank you Rafe” she smiled taking a sip of the flavored drink. Rafe smirked hearing her say his name, “You know me?” He asked leaning on a wooden post to be closer in height.

She nodded trying to stay calm, her mind fighting with her body. “I’ve heard things…” Rafe squints his eyes and smugly smiles, “Yeah?”

She nodded making him lowly chuckle, “What type of things?” He said leaning his arm against the post amused. She kept his eye contact not wanting to seem intimidated by him. Even though she kinda was.

“You are narcissistic , arrogant, egotistical, and many others.” She said smugly. He hummed, “Those are nice names.” She rolled her eyes trying to mask her smile. “Egotistical? Nice.” He laughed and she took a sip of the drink he handed her, hiding her smile.

He also took a sip of his beer, staring at her thinking of ways to make her laugh or smile again. Before he could say anything Sarah walked over and grabbed her arm, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Rafe watched as she looked at his sister and gave her a slight smile, “Sorry, I was just getting a drink.” Sarah nodded and gave Rafe a glare before dragging her away. He sighed rubbing his hands down his face, cursing his sister.

“Dude! I told you about him, why was he talking with you?” Sarah asked me while she dragged me to the whole other side of the beach to the pouges. My parents and I had moved here a week ago. In the short time I had been here I quickly learned about the different sides. I was technically classified as a kook but the ones I had met weren’t too friendly, so I decided I hung out with the pouges almost all the time.

I shrugged, “He just gave me a drink Sarah, don’t worry I remember your rant about him.” I said smiling at her. She huffed calming down and smiled back, “Good! There is no way you should get involved with him.”

I silently nodded but in reality I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way his smile was calm and welcoming, a complete contrast to what I have heard. How he was easy to talk to and- “Are you listening?”

“Yes….Yes….Don’t get involved.”

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

I sat down at a small table by the window. I looked out seeing the waves crash against the sand. It was a very peaceful day out.

While looking at the menu someone sits in the chair across from me. I look up seeing Rafe. I smiled, hoping he didn’t see it, looking back at my menu.

“No hello?” He asked smirking, he totally saw the way you smiled. “I shouldn’t be talking with you.”

Rafe hummed, “Yeah? Why not?” He squinted his eyes at your lack of eye contact and gently took the menu away. My eyes met with his blue ones and he smiled. “Don’t look at me like that.” I chuckled nervously.

“Why not?” His words repeated making me sigh, “Why do you ask so many question?” He shrugs with his stupid infuriating smirk. I don’t know what it is about his smirk that just makes me want to laugh with him until my stomach hurts.

God, get it together!

His eyes watched her as she pondering something. Rafe realized then that she was going to be a problem. He had only just met her a day ago, and now she’s all he thinks about. Even when she isn’t around she somehow makes way into the back of his head.

Rafe cleared his throat whispering to himself, “Shit, get it together man!”

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

“Why do you hate pouges?” I asked and he sourly chuckled, “They are the biggest pussies on the island… I hate the way they live.” After he said that I saw a hint of sadness in his fiery eyes. I looked up at him feeling sad for him. Whether there was a deeper meaning to his answer or not, I could tell he envied their carefree lives.

I don’t really know how Rafe and I started walking along the beach, it just sorta happened.

I nodded my head leaving the silence up in the air. “Do you ever just wanna escape reality?” I asked after a while laughing at my silly but significant question.

“All the time.” He smiled down at me. I met his gaze and my laughing stopped. He had such and intense stare. A stare that will make you forget about whatever you were rambling about. I shook my head and continued walking, “I’m being serious Rafe.” I rolled my eyes with a smile.

“So was I.” He said it so simply that I almost missed the intent in his voice. Almost. The waves washed up on the shore silencing our conversation.

“Let’s leave and go to the mainland.” He said suddenly. I frowned and looked up at him, “What?” I couldn’t stop a small smile forming on my face.

He stopped walking and peered down at me, “Let’s escape.” He smirked and I rolled my eyes pushing him lightly. “You’re so stupid Rafe.” He looked offended and tickled my side making me squeal. I laughed as he tried touching me again.

I quickly ran away laughing while he watched with his signature smirk. “You’re trouble Rafe Cameron.” I said with a smile when he caught up to me. He rolled his eyes at my comment, but I don’t miss his small grin that settles on his sun ridden face.

[zombiejette]

Natalie’s Walk

I have so so many things to say about the last episode, but I really want to touch on this one specific nuance that I am just -UGH- *chef’s kiss* over the moon about.

Spoilers under the cut.

So I have OCD. And mine manifests into a neck and arm twitch that developed after a long-term abusive relationship I was in with my ex-best friend. I won’t go into details, but basically before it, I did not have this specific tick, though I’ve always had smaller ones that rotated through at different stress points in my life. This one is just the most pervasive and dramatic one to date, and has now affected my posture, spinal alignment, etc that I have to keep a close eye on and constantly correct/self-soothe or else it gets out of hand real quick. I say this because /this/ is exactly what’s shown the moment Nat steps out of the enclosure after killing Ben.

From 0:43 - 0:51 is the part I’m talking about. I’ll admit- even though I think Julia Lewis does a great job always playing a strung-out junkie and traumatized woman- I never really “bought” that young Nat grows up into her. And I especially love Nat’s younger actress, so it wasn’t that I wanted her to be re-cast, or that I thought Julia did a bad job. I just couldn’t really see the two as “the same person” like I could easily for the other younger/older actress counterparts. Until this one scene. This- /this/- smallest detail was the missing link to where that all clicked for me, but clicked in a whole separate way to what I imagined had happened before. You see, I too had filled the gaps in with the ol’ “young Nat becomes unrecognizable after years and years of substance abuse” plot device. I just figured the writers intended the way she walks and moves to be purely from alcohol and drug damage, just like they always do when showing junkie behavior, etc. But honestly?? The way she stumbled out with the same kind of walk that older Nat has? Before the drugs and alcohol and general self-destruction?? The fact that /this/ was her traumatic schism that caused her to have the same kind of ticks that I developed from my trauma?? It’s brilliant. And finally connected young and old together in this beautiful, simplistic, subtle way that I was like OHHHH ohhh yes. Yes bitch. You get it. I think it’s one of the best writing choices they’ve made to date, and I’m so so PROUD of them using this as her catalyst into the mannerisms she has as an older woman. The way they’re not just leaning on the tired “it’s substances” excuse is really refreshing in a show that already has surpassed a lot of the laziness I see now in Hollywood around this sort of thing. Bra-fucking-va yellowjackets team. 👏

[iconuk01]

Copying this from another post, because I've been rewatching these and need to say soem things again. :)

I am having SO MANY FEELINGS right now I can’t even express them… (Spoilers under the cut)

The nostalgia factor is off the charts, the charm is effervescent, the cast are unbelievably good!

The conceit it simple. The TARDIS has a memory and, being a TARDIS, it’s memory is unusual. It’s made up bit of it’s past (and future) existence and of the memories of the Doctors and their travelling companions, and it needs to be refreshed and nourished, so sometimes, when the stars align and the proper wish is made, former Doctors and Companions can meet up again, inside the memory TARDIS, reunited within the patchwork console room of memories (and SO loaded with easter egg props), to share memories of their old stories with each other, and the TARDIS.

Now the stories that are being framed are all from the classic series and I know them already, but the framing scenes… Oh what a JOY to see these characters again, all played by the original actors. (Aging is either taken for granted for the companions, and handwaved or ignored for the Doctors, and all the better for it)

Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Herriot coming together again to regale each other with the story of their subsequent lives (And to have their memories restored after the Time Lord’s mindwipe of them, because the TARDIS clearly has opinions about that)

Clyde Langer and Jo Jones talking about loves and loss. (Jo, mourning the loss of her husband confirms that she loved her Doctor the way Clyde loved Sarah Jane and he agrees.)

The Fifth Doctor and Tegan recalling the day they lost Adric including one of my favourite exchanges as the story ends:

Tegan - Poor soul..

Doctor (holding Adric’s intact gold star) - And here it is, remembered. He was so… (Struggles to find words)

Tegan (laughing through tears) - Oh he was a nightmare!

Doctor (smiling and sad) - He was daft, and silly, and sulky.. and (now just sad and deflated) he was just a kid

Tegan - He loved you

Doctor - Yes, I realise that now…

(What a beautiful way to summarise the fact that whilst Tegan honestly never got on with Adric (or even liked him that much), and the Fifth Doctor tended to be short tempered with him, they are now both older and wiser and can see him for what he was, a lonely boy who wanted the Doctor’s approval more than anything, but even when he managed to not to irritate everyone, didn’t feel he earned it)

The Sixth Doctor is reunited with Peri, the girl who left him to become the Warrior Queen of Krontep and who bards still sing songs about.

Ace and the Seventh Doctor get a chance to talk some of their issues out.

Perhaps my favourite is when the First Doctor’s companions Steven and Vicki meet up again, and the sheer childlike joy that both these octegenarian actors (Either of whom would pass for being in their early 60’s) share is palpable through the screen. Steven’s delight in being reunited with his “little sister” brought more than one tear to this cynical old bastard’s eyes.

I'm glad these made their way on to youtube because they are not available outside the UK, and they deserve to be seen by as many fans as possible

Tales of the TARDIS Masterpost

A COMPLETE collection of the new scenes from Tales of the TARDIS. Other ones previously posted to YouTube were incomplete or awkwardly cut, so here's all the new content in a convenient format.

[whateverisbeautiful]

Richonne in Retrospect - The 💋 List

(every Richonne kiss ranked)

#9: The Candlelit Kiss (7.12)

What a kiss this was. 🥹 Say Yes is a gift truly and especially this lovely candlelit dinner scene. With the way TOWL had turned the dial all the way up on Richonne's passionate love scenes, I knew my Top 10 was likely going to have a majority of TOWL scenes on it. Which is why I really applaud any of Richonne's TWD kiss scenes that managed to hold it's own and still be as great as the kisses in Richonne's epic love story miniseries. And this particular proposal kiss definitely deserves some major love and recognition on this kiss list 🥰...

Say Yes is so special to my Richonner heart for many reasons, and especially for this candlelit dinner scene which includes a proposal and a gorgeous, glowy, golden kiss. Richonne's honeymoon vibes this episode were so refreshing and heartwarming to watch. Especially knowing how dreary and difficult life had been for them lately under Negan and the Saviors. It was so meaningful to see Rick and Michonne still be able to carve out alone time with each other and experience some genuine joy by being in each other's presence.

I love how cute, happy, and relaxed they seem as they enjoy their MREs and how Michonne so sincerely expresses belief in Rick's ability to lead the new world if it's something he wants. Then it's great that Rick knows he can be honest and vulnerable with Michonne when he says he wouldn't want to be the sole guy in charge. But what's even greater is Rick knowing what he really wants and letting Michonne know too as he shares wanting the two of them to reorder things together if it's something she wants. It's so sweet how he's nervous before saying this and then how assuring and touched Michonne is as she says yeah. They both know they're happily agreeing to spend the rest of their life together side-by-side.

Hearing the love of his life say she wants it to be the two of them just as much as he does is music to Rick's ears and I love the way he has such a wholesome smile at Michonne's response. And then as you know, Richonne is very good at making a heartwarming wholesome moment also hotter than a furnace which is exactly what happens as Rick leans in to kiss her. Everything about this is so good. The way he's again trying to consume her lol, the way she so sweetly holds his arm. They're savoring each other as they do best, y'all. And this kiss really does feel like it's the two of them having a proper passionate acknowledgment of what has just been proposed - which again, is Rick and Michonne agreeing to be leading lovers side by side for life.

This is another Richonne kiss where their response after the kiss is equally gold, as Rick looks right into Michonne's soul and Michonne kisses his hand. They're as in love as can be. 😌 I love that they don't hold back from expressing their love and that they trust they can be their most authentic, vulnerable, head-over-heels selves with each other. Rick got down on one knee in TOWL to make their marriage formally official, but Richonne had been married a long time before then and this dinner and kiss in Say Yes made that crystal clear. Because this whole lovely Say Yes scene was an exchange between a husband and wife 100%. And the greatest husband and wife on the planet, at that. ♥️

[weirdcat1213]

and now, a somewhat personal rambling about hua cheng and the cave of ten thousand gods

spoilers but not beyond arc 4 since im reading that rn

so ive seen some people call hua change a red flag and toxic after the scene and first of all

>:[

and second of all, yall missing really key context...and the point tbh

so if we go to the very beginning we have a child who has been pretty much abandoned and abused for...reasons probably (the really bad luck he had and something else probably). the entire world has been bullying this kid and then he quite literally means god even before he becomes god

this prince showers him in love and care and of course he swore loyalty to said prince. he experienced his kindness first hand. years later his prince has become a god, only solidifying his thoughts towards him. his prince is so pure and kind and strong that he went to heaven to help others. but heres the fun part: he is still the same abused kid he was when they first met. now that his prince is now "in the same world" he finds comfort in being a devotee forever. plus of course his prince deserves it!

then we get the soldier era and now hua cheng is even more blown away by his prince. he was a good who came back to earth for the sake of others! the prince did quite literally everything in his power to help out and even if it was for nothing, it only showed even more of his character! and no matter the occasion he always protected hua cheng.

all of this is for this point: hua cheng is not a stalker by any means (following the modern definition or not). hua cheng didnt sculpt a shit ton of statues because he saw xie lian once and fell in love. he built those out dedication, out of devotion, he built them to cope and to remember his goal: to protect the one who had protected him many years ago when no one would.

and you can see in the murals and the fight with mu qing that he has internalized the hate he received. he is now a fucking ghost king but in his mind he will always be that cursed kid who for some reason got lucky enough to meet xie lian and his kindness. a stalker is someone who thinks theyre entitled to own/possess another person but hua cheng doesnt think that about himself at all. he literally says mu qing is right when he calls hua cheng disgusting.

now that we have reached the self hate its time for the 2nd part of this thing: the self loading and queerness

some people found the scene funny but i honestly was filled with anxiety and really felt bad for hua cheng. the cave was his safe space he had to use to protect xie lian and thanks to people who (funny enough tbh) actively antagonized him in the past....oof it felt rough

feng xin and mu qing start shaming his devotion, his writing, his paintings and thank god xie lian doesnt listen to them but then they go further. they start calling hua cheng a monster who desires the purity of the crown prince, a weirdo who is obsessed, they accuse him of wanting to curse xie lian and do him harm.

and guess what? this isnt the first time his love gets mocked like this. it happened before in the land of teder when the flower people made fun of him. ive mentioned this before but the summary: of course xie lian was his gay awakening but the flower people mocked his feelings, called him weird for wishing something he would never get, etc.

both situations are pretty similar except that in the cave, xie lian is actually there! forming opinions! maybe getting freaked out by everything! and when i tell you i wanted to tear down every wall in that cave and in my house because the panic/anxiety hua cheng must have felt is immeasurable. he already thinks so lowly of himself, imagine if *his god* calls him a weirdo or becomes afraid of him. tbh it brought back feelings i have felt and still sometimes deal with myself. people looking at your love and devotion and distorting it into a fetish/something disgusting? fuck that hurtss

and yes, maybe mu qing and feng xin had a reasonable reaction but they forgot 2 things: 1) how forgotten and insulted xie lian has been for centuries now. of course xie lian doesnt mind any of this because (in his eyes) he hasnt received this amount of love since his youth. and all of it coming from his close friend/crush? he is only slow to react because it happened so long ago. fuck he is surprised someone cares about him after so long. like someone on tumblr said, theyre matching each others freaks/ need for love and self reassurance.

2) they are literally forgetting the many MANY times hua cheng has helped xie lian and treated him with respect. they have seen hua cheng help out while pretty much trying to keep a respectable distance from xie lian AND YET they have the audacity to call him a sicko? nope, not allowed in my house

so i quite literally dont see why this is a red flag/disgusting from hua chengs part. it may be "too much" but it has been so established by now that this man's love goes above and beyond, its an adequate response to his context in the story, its well received by the other party ALSO BECAUSE of his own context in the story and because the relationship they have had so far is of trust and deep care for each other.

[mcytparkzine]

Contributor Spotlight: @theminecraftbee!

I'm a nondescript swarm of bees who's been around in the MCYT fandom for a bit over 4 years now! I am also that guy with a tumblr blog (very big deal very famous). It's very hard to type with little bee hands... Yet, every day, I type so many words... Truly, a bee doesn't care what people think it can or can't do.

Writing Sample: in the haze

“I just want the real reason, really,” the woman says. “What do you…” “Why would you stick with him when you’re so much better?” Hotguy waves goodbye to the runners. He takes another sip of the water bottle. Really, there’s so much that Cuteguy can say here, watching that. He could say something about how, in the terrible days when the Soup Group had first come onto the scene, Hotguy had barely left Cuteguy’s side until Cuteguy started pushing him away. He could say that Hotguy is earnest, that he really does want to save people, despite the fact he also wants attention. He could say that he knows the man behind the mask now, and he’s seen his films, and frankly getting a little recognition as Hotguy kind of makes up for not getting recognition for his decent acting talent. He could say something about playing Mario Kart on the couch, or learning to aim a bow, or fights with Doc, or secrets shared that Cuteguy wants to make sure Hotguy never has an incentive to spread. He could say something about how dangerous fighting alone is. That’s probably the more sensible thing to say, actually; Cuteguy knows exactly how dangerous fighting alone is. What Cuteguy says is this: “He makes me happy.”