#these pan/bi idiots need to understand something

[super-who-locked-me-in-here]

Hannibal being unable to not talk about Will while lying naked in bed with Alana is the same to me as Arthur being on a beautiful picnic with Gwen talking about his dream of running away to a farm with just Merlin

[httyddragonfox]

Proof of Sexuality

I've noticed something quite recently (I know, I'm an idiot), but to display someone's sexuality, you usually need some form of proof.

Let us look at two liberal displays of the LGBTQA+: Hellaverse and The Owl House.

To display that Luz was bisexual she displayed interest in both boys and girls, Eda talked about ex-boyfriends and has an old flame in a trans/non-binary person. Other than that we have word of god for the unclear stuff.

In Hellaverse (Hazbin hotel and Helluva boss) we have Moxxie who is married to a woman and has an ex-boyfriend, Blitz is interested in both Moxxie and Millie, having sexual relationships with a man, a childhood guy friend he had a crush on, and an ex-girlfriend. Someone in Hazbin declared Alastor as Ace and he has no interest in sexual relations, and Charlie is a relationship with Vaggie as well as the fact she has an ex-boyfriend.

Why haven't I mentioned Amity and Angeldust, it's because they're freaking obvious. The proof of homosexuals is just not showing interest in the other gender.

When it comes to hetero or homo-sexuals, the identity can be seen very early: Straight is pretty normal and Homosexuals only get crushes on their gender.

When it comes to all the other sexualities that identity gets identified in the teenage and early adult years. Here are a few personal examples:

Asexuality is a distinct lack of proof of striaghtness: For me, it was not understanding the whole sexual feelings thing, and then realizing normal people actually have that. That I discovered in early university.

For Bi-sexuality or Pan-sexuality (very similar) you need proof of liking the other gender or more than one: My friend discovered she was Bi after high-school. I asked her how she knew (She was dating a man who she eventually married, she dated boys in the past), technically I asked her if she was attracted to any girls. She said she found one girl attractive, so I took her word for it.

A classmate I knew of complained on how she wasn't allowed to be gay, but she ended up having a baby and dating guys. I think maybe she didn't know bi was a thing.

As for my grey romanticism: I've had only a few (three) genuine crushes in my life whilst my sister had enough crushes to count with two hands.

In fiction: homosexuals are obvious (only interest in one gender), bisexuals need proof (attraction or exes), other than that you're straight.

Asexuals are hard to label, usually it requires Word of God. Lillith is Aroace, because she never gets a partner and Dana said so, but without Word of God, we don't know she's ace, she might just be married to her work. Alastor is AroAce according to Word of God. Before episode seven of Hazbin Hotel that's all we had, and his distinct lack of sexual interest. That didn't stop the shippers who said, "he might not like sex, but romance isn't off the table." Those who didn't hear word of god must be thinking, "He might not like sex, but he'll do it with the one he loves." In episode seven, Rosie specifically calls him an "Ace in the hole," joking about a relationship with Charlie. So that would mean that sex and romance are off the table, but "she just said ace, not Aro." Word of God, you can't stop the shippers.

Another Word of God instance is Hunter and Willow's sexulaities ("Hunter is Bi and Willow is Pan"). Hunter has only liked one person in his life, and that's Willow, we don't have proof on screen that he had interest in other genders. Willow ever only showed interest in Hunter in the show (Maybe Luz, that's up for debate). People are upset that there is no proof of their Word of God sexualities in the show, because it looks like a straight ship and Dana's placating. Meanwhile, some people are happy with the LGBTQA ship that looks straight because those exist. Others wish to ship their homo ships, others wish to ship Lunter (even though when they met she already had interest in Amity), and other people complain that Huntlow is forced together just to have a straight ship and pair the spares and all their other complaints.

Without the proof of Hunter and Willow liking other genders, they might as well be straight, and that makes people upset. Fanfic writers try to remedy this by writing instances where they realize they like more than one gender, but that just goes to show...

In order to identify as this sexuality, you need the proof of liking what they dictate, or people won't believe the claims.

[annabellelupin]

thoughts on rwarb (movie) now that I've actually finished it:

I really loved all of the Henry and Alex moments and they all felt so sweet and adorable and I honestly just loved those idiots. zahra was a favorite of mine in the book and I genuinely think the movie made me love her even more. it was pretty good overall but I really don't think it does the book justice. small cuts and changes are really normal with movie adoptions but they cut out important information and characters. june played a really important role as Alex navigated his feelings and I think it was wrong they cut her character. The same certainly goes for Rafael Luna, he played an important role in the election and without him Alex wouldn't have found out who leaked the emails (I really dislike how they changed that situation too). The whole deal with Alex already being aware he was into guys also bothered me a bit since seeing Alex discovering and accepting himself was another important thing early on in the book. I feel like we were robbed with both Henry and Alex's family issues. Alex's parents being divorced certainly affected his character and for some stupid reason they seemingly have his parents in a happy and healthily. Then there's the fact that Henry mentions Catherine is off "saving elephants" which I once again don't like since her absence due to her depression from losing her husband really affected Henry just as Alex's parents being divorced affected him. I also see no reason why they needed to cut out "The Powder Princess" deal and make Bea younger than Henry (especially seeing that it affected him a bit as well). Another thing that irritates me to no end is basically all of the queer rep involving the women in the story was cut. Amy is really openly a transwomen in the book and even had a wife (who's pansexual) and neither things about her were mentioned. Then Nora was pretty open about her queerness and how she was attracted to just about any gender (so assumingly pan or bi). It was even pretty much confirmed Nora and June were a couple in the bonus chapter of the special edition copy of the book and I don't believe her queerness is ever brought up, even when Alex comes out to her (originally she was the first person he went to about it because she was queer as well and I don't think the scene had the same feel with that missing). Even with June being cut she didn't need to end up with Pez and could have expressed her queerness. Something I wasn't all that thrilled about from the beginning was the casting for Henry and Alex. Now Henry's certainly wasn't too bad but Alex looks so much older than twenty two and I can not get over the fact that he's taller than Henry (casting is still one of my least concerns overall). The whole deal with the reporter Miguel didn't sit well with me well either. The fact that he essentially outed Henry and Alex as a queer man himself feels even more wrong than the emails getting leaked by Richards. I dont understand why they couldnt have stuck to the original plot there. I really did enjoy the movie and already plan on watching it again but I really hate how they went about a lot of things and cut such important things I loved about the book. I absolutely recommend it but sincerely think it does not do the book justice.

tl;dr

I really enjoyed the movie and honestly loved seeing Henry and Alex but it did not do the book justice and too many important things were cut imo

[eddieandbird]

I Have Crushes on My Best Friends

Summary: Reader has internal panic over their crushes on their four best friends

Warnings/Tags: gn!reader|bi/pan!reader|suggestive|body parts|short blurb|eddie munson|steve harrington|robin buckley|nancy wheeler

____

I was always taught to write down my deepest feelings, and the feelings I’m having at this moment have been more intense than I’ve ever experienced.

I think I have crushes on my four best friends.

I don’t know if I could even voice this to any of them. I need to just write about it. So here it goes:

Eddie Munson

The loudest and most attention-hungry one has to go first. Eddie, I fell for you the fastest. I knew I wanted you from the moment you stood up for me in class. I was doing a small presentation and these three idiots would not stop talking in the middle of it. You walked up to them, your body bent over their desks. “If you guys don’t shut up during people’s presentations, I swear I’ll break your necks,”. It was kind of a blur but somehow we all ended up with detention. We got to know each other through passing notes secretly, and when you insisted on driving me home afterwards.

Eddie, I don’t think you understand how beautiful you are. From your stupid long hair and big brown eyes to your gorgeous little waist thats always accented by those strong arms, making animated gestures. Your cheap cologne and constant cigarette smell drives me crazy every time we embrace. I love coming home and finding that your smell has lingered on my clothing.

I fell deeper in love with you over late night dinners with you and Wayne. I was fascinated with every story he’d tell me about you growing up. Even as a little kid, you were absolute chaos. I fell even harder when we tried to fall asleep with each other on the phone. You’d go on and on about your D&D campaigns and I just lay there with my heart racing over your low, groggy voice.

Steve Harrington

Then Eddie introduced me to you, Harrington. I was unsure about you at first, but Eddie insisted that you were “the man”. Boy was he right. Jesus, Steve it’s like the model agency gods made you in a lab or something. Even when every other thing that comes out of your mouth is completely unresearched, it didn’t matter to me because you said it so sweetly.

The protective way you look at me makes me melt. I know I could go anywhere with you blackout drunk and you’d completely baby me and make sure I made it home safe. You’re always so skeptical of the dates I decide to go with. Your jealousy and worry is so adorable. Running my hands through that perfect head of hair is the best thing to calm me down. Your stupid laugh is probably my favorite sound.

Damn you, Munson for seeing through my bullshit. You always push for me to be Steve’s plus one. I notice when you “accidentally push” me into him, and he has to hug me to make sure I’m okay. Oh Steve, with you I am more than okay. Being around you makes my heart soar over the clouds.

Robin Buckley

With Steve, always came you Robin. You were the first girl to ever make me feel like this. I hope you didn’t notice me laughing way too hard at you bullying the boys. I hope you never catch on to the way I oggle at you when you’re going on one of your long-winded rants.

I can’t help myself falling for your soft green eyes and that damn wide smile. You often try to hide it from me because you’re insecure about how big and uneven your teeth are. I need you to stop hiding from me. I want to make those freckles around your nose turn red as I hold you. I want to be the one who’s straddling you in bed while I help you put on eyeliner and mascara. You’d hate it, but I’d tickle your sides until you told me you loved me so I’d stop.

Even if you think it’s lame, I always show up to your band recitals. I cheer you on and take you out for burgers afterwards. I love how weird you sit there with your head between your knees like some kind of adorable gargoyle. I don’t mind hanging out with your other girl friends, but god forbid they take up too much of your time. I get extremely jealous of any girl who tries to be nicer to you than me.

Nancy Wheeler

I get jealous of any girl who looks at Robin, except for Nancy. Wheeler, you are the girl of my dreams. Always the smartest in the room without even trying. I don’t know how I’d even pass English Lit, if you weren’t there with me in the library every weekend editing my papers. I try really hard to understand what you’re saying, because if I get something right, you’d flash your cute little smile and tell me “Good job!” while patting my back. Your touch feels like electricity.

There’s not a single person on this earth that would treat you like I would, Nance. You’re a girl who needs to be held tight and spoiled rotten. I haven’t any money to give, but boy if I did, you would have a shiny new necklace hanging over your beautiful collarbones every week. I’d hold your umbrella over you during storms and I would walk you home every day.

What I would give just for one chance to stay in your room. I would let you dress me up in your stupid frilly dresses and put your makeup on me. I want to be the one to fill up your cork board with polaroids of kissing and going on all sorts of cute dates together. You’re so sweet and mild-mannered. I want to be the one who learns what drives you wild. I want to have you in my passenger seat of my convertible, your beautiful curls in the wind while I speed on the highways.

~

I just know whoever you guys end up with, they’d be the luckiest people in the world. Secretly I hope one of you waits for me.

____

[prfssnlshipper]

Hey im not really sure if sending in asks is okay and i really hope i dont sound like a total idiot asking this but what exactly is a bi-lesbian? And bi-gay and its varients and such. I tried to look it up myself to avoid the embaressment of sending in an ask but i couldnt really find anything lmao, im absolutely okay with them either way i just dont think i know what they are exactly/dont fully understand it? Haha im sorry 💀

That's definitely okay, and no need to be sorry at all!! Thank you for asking instead of like jumping to conclusions or something!

I think the most basic way I would break it down is:

Bi = attracted to two or more genders

Lesbian = queer attraction to women (there are so many different definitions, but this feels the broadest in my opinion)

Gay = queer attraction to any gender (in this case might be referring to queer attraction to men specifically, but some people might fit the lesbian label and prefer gay)

So a bi lesbian typically is someone attracted to two or more genders including women, and a bi gay is attracted to two or more genders with at least one of those being felt as queer attraction (which is up to the person as an individual)

"Gay" is pretty widely accepted as an umbrella term, and "lesbian" is the only one that's been contested about being an umbrella term... However it has history of also being an umbrella term, and bi women originally were included under the lesbian umbrella. Terfs/radfems were the ones who decided bi people shouldn't be included anymore.

So some of it is almost like reclamation I think, for some of us. For me, it's also because I'm attracted to women and nonbinary people but want to be mindful of those who don't want to be included under lesbian attraction (since I'm also nonbinary and feel like "bi lesbian" sounds more specifically inclusive of nonbinary people).

This image has a good list of some other reasons for being bi lesbian!

(Alternately, it's just anyone who feels they relate to both labels for any reason.)

If you're curious about learning even more, @bi-lesbian is a great blog to look at. Also the broader term is mspec (multi-spectrum) lesbian/gay, which includes pan, omni, poly, etc. lesbians/gays as well.

I hope that all makes sense!

[coppercorn-and-cauldron]

Sending you a nice anon, to balance out the terrible, idiot, baby terfs in your inbox today ❤️

You have great taste in men and those ageist anons can go suck a cactus, because age doesn't make us less queer!

Thank you for this.

It's honestly mind-boggling some of misogynistic, ageist bullshit that comes out of baby-queer's mouths sometimes.

Do they think that you turn 25, instantly become ace (despite that not being how any of this works), and your sex organs atrophy into uselessness??

Do they not realize that sexual identity is a spectrum and that with some people, their personal experience and understanding of their identity can be ever-evolving over their lifetime? Hell, some people are so steeped in hetero-normativity that they don't figure out that they are bi/pan/gay until they fall in love with someone (of the same sex) 3 doors down in their old folks' home at age 87 or something.

Damn it, my brain seems to be stuck in Rant Mode.

I think that I need to go look at Henry Cavill in workout shorts to replace the stress chemicals in my brain with feel-good chemicals.

Lol, is it a wee bit inappropriate to say (about a random celeb) that "your thighs are beneficial to my mental health"? Asking for a friend.

[jujutsu-headcanons]

Megumi Fushiguro + chubby s/o

First things first, before we get to the fluff, there are some things we gotta point out

Megs has stated very clearly he doesn't care who he falls for, as long as they have admirable traits. Seriously, Todo, stop asking. His "boring" answer isn't going to change.

This screams bi/pan rights, but also, that means he doesn't give a fuck if you have a little junk in your trunk

I'm so proud of that line please laugh at it

Anyway, when you were introduced as a new student, he didn't talk to you much

Well he did, but only about work and missions and stuff

Does this kid talk to anyone about anything that isn't curse related?

You seemed to gravitate towards Yuji anyway because honestly, he's the embodiment of happy he's just a cool dude

You didn't really catch his eye until he overheard you talking with Nobara about how upset you were with Gojo

He never passes an opportunity to be angry at Gojo. He was intrigued.

Apparently, Gojo had taken the liberty of designing your uniform for you, just like he did Yuji, but he fucked up the measurements

Big time

You seemed to be fond of baggier clothes because it "hid" your tummy and thighs

Nobara was supportive but struggling. She knew how to hem clothes to make them tighter, or shorter, not looser. She really was trying.

Yuji got involved because he saw you were stressed while Nobara tugged here and snipped there and nothing seemed to be working. Yuji learned that making silly faces and doing Fortnite dances doesn't help teenagers going through a body image crisis.

Megumi looked at the chaos and spoke before he really even knew what he was saying 

"Does it feel too tight? Does it restrict your movements, like in a fight or something?"

This kinda caught you off guard, but you shook your head. No, the material was naturally flexible and breathable, and the reason you couldn't breathe wasn't that the uniform top was too tight, it was because you felt you looked terrible

Megumi just shrugged. "Then you shouldn't worry about it. You fill it out nicely. It looks better than us, in our baggy uniforms."

Where the fuck did that come from Megs?

He felt the need to excuse himself with a polite bow and leave in his typical cool Megumi way even though his heart was beating faster than anything

He didn't see the way your face lit up, both with excitement and blush. Nobara did and caught on instantly, while Yuji just assumed you were hot and started fanning you with his notebook

Megumi didn't avoid you after this, but he did tend to freeze when your conversations strayed away from typical shaman things

He wasn't trying to, he was just constantly lost in thought

Why did he say that? Well, he means, it was obvious he said it because it was true- that uniform clings to your body in a way it wouldn't fit anyone else. Its kinda hot

Megumi Fushiguro this is your classmate stop having those thoughts

Maybe he wasn't just trying to cheer you up. Maybe there are some things he hasn't discovered about himself. He actually really never had a crush on anyone. Is that was this is? Feelings?

Ew. But keep going.

Megumi noticed things over the next couple of things that were unsettling to him. You used self-deprecating humor. A lot. Always poking fun at yourself. He didn't mind it at first because, well, you laughed about it, but still. It's like you thought you really looked like the Michelin Tire Man.

He never knew what to do in these situations. Should he laugh? It seemed to bring you joy. But he didn't think you looked bad at all.

He also noticed you didn't eat much. And when you did you avoided sweets and grease. Megs was known for being the only one that ate healthy in the group, but even he didn't have salad all the time. You acted like you were embarrassed to eat in front of people, so you chose the tiniest meal.

This worried him a lot. At first, he bored you with the importance of eating three well thought out and balanced meals with the proper amount of proteins and calories and shit. But that seemed to ruin your appetite more, so he stopped.

He started sliding part of his meals onto your plate. He considered it a success when you would eat it.

The last thing Megs noticed was that you pushed yourself to the absolute limit during sparring practice and he hated it

See, you actually didn't need to be physically strong. Yes, it helps in battle, but your particular cursed technique kinda made up for being average strength. If no one could get close to you, and you can't get close to them, then you don't really need to deliver a punch, right? 

But you would just keep at it oh my god

One hundred push-ups. One hundred sit-ups. One hundred squats. Every day. He was worried you were gonna go bald at this point

He'd still love you but still, spontaneously losing your hair because of rigorous training as not good

You'd fight with one of them until you were pink and dripping with sweat. It was obvious you were breathing heavily and, honestly, it's been two hours. Even Yuji was getting tired, but you wouldn't stop.

Megumi found himself doing something he thought he never would. Ever.

He invaded your privacy, of course. 

"Shoko-sensei, Gojo-sensei asked for a copy of (l/n)-kun's physical and related medical records"

At first, he just wanted to see if you were anemic. You don't really show any symptoms, but also, you don't eat a lot. All this exercising can't be good if you are. Then his thoughts strayed to "oh god .... What if they have heart problems? Lung problems? They shouldn't push themselves so hard if they do. What if they avoid certain foods because of a stomach issue? What if-"

You're healthy. Just as he initially thought.

Megumi was baffled, to be honest. 

He can get avoiding certain foods if they hurt your tummy. But what if you were just afraid of being made fun of because of stupid cliches?

He can get casual exercise if it was important you lose weight so you don't get sick. But what if it was because you really hated how you looked?

This hurt Megumi. He threw his copy of the reports in the shredder and went on his way

He wondered around, lost in his thoughts until he spotted you just outside of the girls' dorms doing something

He could have sworn you were fresh out of the shower but somehow still exercising

Yoga? Maybe? He couldn't tell and he didn't care

You were wearing the cutest set of pajamas, and your hair was still damp

And when you raised your arms up your shirt rose and he could see the tummy in question, complete with stretch marks and whatever other blemishes resided there (scars, freckles, etc.)

He did the most ooc thing I've ever made this lil fucker do

He runs up, gets on his knees, and kisses the tummy

All over the tummy

Just as he thought. Warm and soft. Both the skin and the texture are soooo soft-

As you turn into a flustered mess, "Fushiguro-san what the fuck", he throws his arms around your knees and throws his over his shoulder

"You aren't that heavy if I can do this... (Y/N)-chan"

Oh god the way your first name rolls off his tongue

Well, as long as he's near the girls' dorms, he might as well let himself in-

As you flail and giggle, trying to break away, he sees your thighs jiggle out of the corner of his eye

This sets something off in him he doesn't understand, but also, who the fuck cares

It isn't hard to find your room and he allows himself in, still pardoning himself for the intrusion, and he sets you down on your bed

Still doesn't give you a chance to speak as he wraps his arms around you and nuzzles his face in your stomach

"Warmmm...~"

He's never cuddled anyone ever, but he already knows this is ten times better than cuddling someone who's built like a wall

Squish > muscles

"You know you're beautiful right?"

This makes you blush, but you reluctantly bring your fingers through his hair. "You think so?"

Megumi furrows his brows and looks up at you. "You don't?"

Megumi stays with you all night. You two stay up until three am talking about insecurities, everything you admire about each other, and Megumi practically worships your body through words and praise

He decides he's going to help you feel more confident about your body and your looks

All while loving every inch of your body

The next morning was a mess though because he had to somehow sneak out of the girls' dorms without anyone noticing

Gojo would be pissed if he found out

Had he not orchestrated this whole thing

Seriously, you honestly thought Gojo made mistakes? 

He hates seeing his precious students down themselves, and even though he only knew you for a couple of days back then, he knew this would be a problem

Precious little y/n, who is beautiful in every aspect but insecure about their looks, surrounded by muscle-bound idiots

He had to do something, how could he not

He knew one of them would enjoy your body

He knew it would be Megumi too, he sees how he looks at plus-sized girls-

Even he thought you were cute and was proud to have you as his child

All of his children are cuter than everyone else's children

And now all is well

You became more confident in your body and eating in front of others, toned down the exercise, and Megumi became the most whipped boy in the school

Tags: @wasabito @kittaliapenn

[random-mha-thoughts]

Balance (BakuDekuTodo x Reader)

Pairing: Bakugou x Midoriya x Todoroki x Reader poly

Someone on my Wattpad asked for a BakuDekuTodo x Reader poly fic at the beach (I lost the comment somewhere in the abyss...)

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,419

Tags: @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog @bunnythepipsqueak @yuki-osaki @liviitehe

a/n: It’s been a while since I wrote this much.  I’m kinda happy though, I thought I wouldn’t have much to write on this one.  I tried not to make it too harem-y, but at least it still turned out wholesome.  I’m not too familiar with polyamory, so I did some research on Google and Yagami’s channel *cough* Hope you guys enjoy!

Also let’s appreciate Shouto being the chaotic bi/pan/gay Shouto he actually is

"Ahh, it's such a nice day to come to the beach isn't it?"  I stretch my legs out onto the towel.

Midoriya sets up a parasol above my head.  "Yeah, it's been a pretty long spring."

"Time to cut loose and have some fun!" Bakugou bellows, ripping off his shirt in one swift motion and rocketing towards the water.

"Wait up, Kacchan!"  The wide-eyed Midoriya lets of the umbrella post and starts taking off after the ash blond, only to pause and face me with a sheepish smile as if he's asking for permission.

"Go have fun, sweetie, I'm not stopping you."  I find it cute when he gives me those puppy eyes.  Who can resist him?

If he had a tail, it would be wagging, beaming from cheek to cheek as he runs after Bakugou, who's already left the boy in the dust.

"Dorks," I shake my head and smile to myself.  I notice Todoroki still rummaging through the tote bag we packed.  "You're not joining them?"

"I don't really like being in the ocean," he states blankly and pulls out a blue bottle.  "I'm fine watching them.  Want me to rub sunscreen on you?"

"Oh, you're right."  I turn onto my back.  "Thanks, babe.  I'll do yours also."

Todoroki straddles my back and massages my shoulders down to my lower back.  His alternation of his warm and cool hands run down my shoulders comfortingly with the heat of the Sun.  When he's finished, he leans over my back and places a kiss on my cheek.  "Done."

I sit up with a dumb smile on my face.  He's just so loving.  I pick up the bottle and massage his back with the sunscreen while I look out towards the other two boys having their fun in the water.  "Doesn't it feel like we're the parents in our relationship?"

"If you make out and mess around with your kids, I guess?" Todoroki snorts.

I hit his back so his body lurches forward.  "You know that's not what I mean."

The two boys come back to our spot, slick and shiny with saltwater on their half-naked bodies and hair.

"Kacchan almost drowned me," Midoriya whines and slumps himself next to me.

"Aww, come here sweetie," I coo and pepper kisses all over his freckled cheeks.  "Does that make you feel better?"

The broccoli headed boy wraps his arm around my shoulder, his cheerful expression melting my insides to mush.  My sunshine boy is so cute.

"No fair, Deku!" Bakugou roars, pointing an accusing finger at him.  "Don't get all nice with (Y/n) when you splashed me first, idiot!"

"Does the big baby want a kiss too?" I wiggle my eyebrows and make grabbing motions with my hands at the almost-pouting  boy.

He crosses his arms in front of him and looks away.  "No, I don't care," he mumbles in defense.

I decide to feint hurt just to get a rouse out of him.  "Kacchan doesn't care about me anymore, Mido," I whine to the boy next to me, throwing myself into his lap.

"It's okay, Kacchan's just being mean again."  The boy rubs my back and sticks his tongue out at his childhood friend.

"Shut up!"  Bakugou's ears and cheeks slowly turn red as he turns his back towards us.  "I don't want your stupid kisses."

"Oh?" Todoroki takes up the opportunity to sneak up behind the boy and wiggle his arms around his lean torso.  "Do you want my kisses then?"

If Bakugou was red before, he's definitely flaming now as he quickly shoves the suave, smirking boy off him.  "Leave me alone, IcyHot!"  In a mumble he adds, "Not today..."

I understand how the spiky-haired boy feels.  He's relatively new to this relationship and he's still working out his comfort niche in it.  Because of Todoroki's seductive nature, Bakugou's opened up to him a bit, but he still keeps the strict friendly rivalry with Midoriya.

"Anyway," the blond uncrosses his arms and regains his composure, "On the way back, I saw an open volleyball net.  We should play a few rounds."

"I wanna play on (Y/n)'s team!" Midoriya chirps, still hugging my arm and beaming at me with his dancing eyes.  "We'll make a great duo, won't we?"

His energy is infectious.  My hand runs through his hair softly.  "Of course we would!"

"No way, nerd," Bakugou growls, lips set in a straight line, cutting off our sunshine mood like the dark cloud he is.  "You're clingy, (Y/n) probably wants a break from you."

Midoriya's grin reverses into a hard frown, his eyebrows creasing as he lets go of my arm to approach Bakugou.  "You're being childish, Kacchan, I don't like it.

"Looks who's calling who a child, damn Deku."  Bakugou feeds into the negative energy and gets in the other boy's face.

Todoroki, on the other hand, decides to keep out of it, fueling the flames in his own way and shrugging.  "You two can fight among yourselves.  (Y/n)'s staying with me tonight anyway."

"Fuck off, IcyHot!  You don't have too brag!"

As Bakugou and Midoriya go on arguing with each other, I tune out.  Why can't those two just get along already?  I've already told them many times that they need to at least tolerate each other when I'm around.  The freckled boy attempts to act more assertive despite his stuttering, but I know he doesn't want to hurt his childhood friend in any manner.

"They're going at it again," I sigh as Todoroki wraps his arms around my shoulders.

"But at least that leaves us time to ourselves while they fight."  His teasing voice echoes in my ear, sending fresh shivers through me.

"Shut up."  I lean my head on his when he places a kiss on my cheek.  "Can't you do something about them?"

"The only person who can fix that is you, dear."

"Fine."  With a sigh, I approach the quarreling boys with Todoroki in tow.  "I'm guessing you'll comfort the other one, right?"

"I'll do my best on your behalf," he winks.

I'm almost shocked, and proud, that they haven't resorted to violence yet.  "Alright, enough you two, I'm settling this."  Looking back and forth between the pair, I state firmly, "We can alternate between sets, okay?"  Then, I hang onto Bakugou's arm.  "But I'll start on this baby's team first since he's being extra needy today."

The flush creeps up his face again and he looks away.  "I-I'm not being needy."

I leave it alone, but I know him better than that.  Bakugou doesn't like to show how affectionate he actually is when his rivals are around.  Even though he's pushing away, he actually likes that I'm giving him attention.  I expect if we're left alone for a moment, he'll probably smother me with love.

"Looks like it's you and me, Midoriya," Todoroki tugs the wide-eyed boy by the waist off towards the volleyball nets.  "Let's try our best to beat them, yeah?"  He lightly taps the shorter boy's butt, and Midoriya stiffens in response before relaxing.

When they're out of earshot from us, I turn to Bakugou and loop my arms around his neck.  "Do you want my kisses now?" I tease.

Ever the tsundere, he looks away from me and pouts.  "Oh, now you're giving me attention?"

Without giving him any warning, I place my hand on his jaw and steal a quick kiss from his cheek, chuckling at his face rushing with color again.  "Babe, you know I love you."

He huffs, but pulls my body closer to him as we start following the other boys.  "Yeah, whatever."

My fingers lightly trace his toned chest.  "Why do you have to be such a tsundere? Just say what you want and I'll give it to you."

"I'm not a clingy puppy like Deku."

"You are, don't lie."

He deflates just like his tough boy act.  "Yeah..."

"Aw, Katsu."  I kiss his meaty hand and rub the knuckles.  "Alright, I'll be on your team for all the matches."

Just like that, his wilted figure straightens back up and he smacks a kiss on my cheek before running off.  "Oi, Deku!  (Y/n) says they're on my team permanently!"

I sigh to myself, trailing behind the three boys who have slowly become my entire world.  Although they're a messy bunch, they have their own steady rhythms in your relationship that would go awry if they weren't all there.

In other words, they're idiots.  But they're my idiots.

[queer-crusader]

Finally finishing Loki and I just... I'm disappointed. Putting opinions under the cut.

Like, I've seen the criticism, I got spoilered, and I won't lie, it definitely influenced my further viewing. But even so, it disappointed me. I don't think the whole "Loki not even being the main character of his own show" is as egregious as Tumblr made it out to be for me, though yes, a LOT of focus was put on Sylvie - her revenge narrative, Loki just being along for the ride ("a flea on a dragon's back". Thanks for being self-aware, show). To me, there are other frustrating factors.

"Glorious purpose" seems the catch-phrase of this show. Which seems... stupid, to be honest. When Loki uttered it in the Avengers film, there was a clear madness to him. Marvel claimed officially that Loki was under the influence of the mind stone by then, but the show still thinks that was genuinely Loki talking - and it is something all Lokis seem to agree on.

Then there's the whole throne thing. Loki mentions near the end that he doesn't want a throne. He says it like he's finally had a realisation, like this is his emotional growth. But it ISN'T. This show is set after Thor 1, in which Loki very clearly says to Thor: "I never wanted the throne. I only ever wanted to be your equal." So this is not some grand revelation. This has always been the case, and something he was fiercely aware of. He's never wanted to be a ruler.

"Don't you want to win in New York? Kill Thanos?" This is more of a headcanon, but one shared by much of the fandom - a headcanon marvel can't have missed, since they saw our collective outcries that Loki was brainwashed and claimed it canon years after The Avengers, just because they couldn't ignore it anymore if they were making a show about Loki. Anyway, the collective headcanon is this: Loki didn't want to win in New York. His plan was doomed to fail from the start. Earth is unruleable, a space army coming through one wormhole and the gate has a built-in self-destruct button. He scattered the Avengers, but he also got them together. The headcanon was that he planned it all, in a way that seemed good to Thanos, but was meant to make him fail.

As to killing Thanos, yeah, he deserves that. In fact, Retro Loki says it beautifully - the knives look cool but are fucking useless, something Loki should know without getting his neck snapped by the Mad Titan. Thanks for spelling out something obvious, again something the fandom has been yelling about since Infinity War came out! Did the writers steal Retro Loki's survival tactic off a Tumblr post? Because it feels a little like it, almost in an attempt to soft-retcon that film. "We can't fix that dumb plot point, but we can show that we understand Loki better, that we you came up with a better idea of what could have been." Again, thanks.

This show is just full of the writers showing us things we already knew. They make Loki a bumbling idiot - and I get it, conflict is the heart of western storytelling, but he doesn't need to be incompetent to struggle. The thing is, were they to make him as formidable and clever as we once felt he was, they would have needed to make his adversaries even cleverer. And much as I enjoy certain bits of the story (croki my beloved)... I just don't think they were quite up to that task. It all feels like a fanfic, which on the one hand, can be fan service. But on the other hand, it feels like a Frankenstein fanfic. A puzzle of stolen tropes from fics the writers have read and put together, none of it quite their own. I'm making assumptions and not being very forgiving, but this is just how I feel.

And that brings me to my next and almost final point. What really hammers the fanfiction feeling home for me is all the self-reflection. It can be done and it can be done well, but this show didn't do it well. The self-reflection felt out of character, disingenuous, inaccurate, and clunky.

The writing is clunky, and at times rushed. And it's just... almost bad at times. There wasn't a single moment where I went "oh this is revolutionary" or "this quote will haunt me". Most of it was incredibly mediocre. This absolutely includes the quote where Loki canonically notes that he's bi/pan/not straight. Russel T Davies said it spectacularly; marvel/Disney pats itself on the back with each weak nod to the LGBTQ+ community. If they want to be ground-breaking, they'll have to do better than a queer on-screen kiss.

And speaking of kisses: I just... No. I don't have anything against selfcest in fics, I'm not afraid to admit I've read it before, and in canon media it can be utilised in fascinating and clever ways. This show did not do that. To have Loki berate himself, only to romantically fall for another version of himself that is, let's be real, very different from him, is not some deep representation of growth and self-love to me. It is once again clunky. You want growth? Stick to those self-reflections and do better, or become more metaphorical. Either way, write more cleverly.

I'm sorry, my standards are high, and this just didn't meet it. I appreciate the effort! I'm glad someone with love for this character tried to make something of it! But it fell on its ass, and came out as a butchering of a beloved character only to make space for a hopeful replacement. That to me is a massive failure, and not one I can forgive easily. Your show is called Loki. Act like it. And if making it a love letter to him and us was your intention, do better.

[oneboxofmatches]

Hi!!! May I request a HP romantic and friendship matchup on both eras? (Preferably male), thanks in advance! 💞

𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗦 + 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘

19, Libra, Neutral Good, enneagram is 4w5, Ravenclaw, and my patronus spirit is swan. Bi Pan Genderfluid girl using pronouns of She/Her or He/Him. A friend of mine told me that I (kinda) look like Marinette from 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆𝗯𝘂𝗴, Musa from 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘅 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯, and Alexandra Trese from 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲 (a Netflix animated series), but the exception is I'm short (5'1.2") plus sized Southeast Asian woman with Spanish descent that has messy/wavy brunette medium hair, chocolate brown eyes, oriental skin and a small beauty mark on the forehead. My sense of fashion is in between emo and boyish plus korean glam.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬

Distant and shy at first cause' I dunno how to initiate a conversation, but a total opposite if I open up---friendly, ambivert, witty, laughing loudly on a daily basis, talkative, awkward, daydreamer (I got embarrassed from knocking at the door even I'm inside the classroom 😂), EXTREMELY clumsy, secretly likes affection, easily overwhelmed, prone to melt over any wholesomeness, flusters on compliments, lightly blushes on cheesy banters, sarcastic person with a lowkey crackhead energy citing meme references, and talented girl who can be your no. 1 supporter and unashamed to be true to myself. In terms of leadership, I only educate and guide than being a prefect (I might take the role seriously), and will lift my group when there's lacking/incompleteness. About doing projects in school, I become too extra and prepared for efforts, but I'll forget the process in the end.

People thought I'm a demure self-effacing woman that looks "idealistic" or "one of a kind," (due to my protective parents, a reason why I've never been in a relationship) but the truth is, I'm eloquent, warm-hearted, willig to help, kind, intelligent, supportive, nice, creative, enthusiastic, determined, tough, competitive, and feisty outside, but a real softie that can be childish and dramatic crybaby filled with doubts, frustrations, and insecurities with fear of failure that pushes off the limits to to please everyone, yet I still managed to be stronger than ever, even it's a slow burn process. I can be intimidating, sassy, and a douchebag if I receive ends. Immature, headstrong, perfectionist, demanding, hesitant, jumpy, very indecisive, overthinker, quick-tempered, sensitive, and anxious (no joke, my nervousness makes me think worse scenario will arrive or I might break a belonging due to my carelessness). Though can be procrastinator and arrogant, I raised as a religious 𝖺𝗇𝖽 diplomatic person, willing to fight what I believe (including my dreams) 𝖺𝗇𝖽 what is right. In addition, I have a habit of staying up late and doing sign of the cross to ease nervousness.

Blunt but the loudest idiotic feeling-brokenhearted and bitter friend in the group who fangirl a lot, swears like sailor, will act like a silent backstabber on people that we loathe, will crack up over your stupid antics before helping, and bring gossips, but a hopeless romantic who tends to banter with sarcasms or pick up lines as an endearment (but gets grumpy if I received sappy or offensive one), still generous and concerned in a subtle way.

𝗛𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗦

My hobbies are singing, drawing, roleplaying, listening to music, chatting/browsing on social media, conceptualizing, writing, and reading some stuffs. 𝖨'𝗅𝗅 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝖽𝖾 making corniest jokes/puns, 𝗌𝗅𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀, and dancing when nobody's around or walking like a model if I feel so bold (even I'm terrible at both xD).

𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦

Loves kittens, eating a lot, cartoons, watching YouTube videos (mostly pageants, ASMR, edit audios, and mukbangs), also enjoys playing games on my sister's PSP. Sucker for arts, choir, night sky, makeup, fun/deep/dumb conversations, Christianity, documentaries (about saints, real crime stories, and inspirational people), reading interesting stuffs, talking about social issues, and writings, chilling both indoors and outdoors. Beside that, my music taste are like late 90s-2000s songs (mostly rock, pop, and country) sometimes kpop and ppop, chocoholic, and a sweetooth as well.

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦

Things that I hate are stereotyping, HUGE creepy crawlies (spiders, toads, snakes, and cockroaches), firecracker sounds, being left out, loneliness, heart break, blackout, and judgemental people. One random fact about me is, I 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 vent out EVERYTHING I despise in my entire existence---from bad soap operas to toxicity and worse scenarios in real life, because it's a big deal for me, and I consider forcing me to do what I'm not into and manipulating me as my major pet peeves.

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦

In terms of triggers...I only have two which are ta𝖨king about divorce/annullment/separation because I came from a generational broken family and religion/beliefs discrimination, cause' there are reasonings that doesn't makes sense because some are too hypocritical.

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗔

My best assets are smile, eyes, personality, singing voice, artistic skills, writings, intelligence, and oratorical skills...so I can consider myself as a singer, artist, orator, and a top student who's a former active campus ministry member with three roles (choir leader, psalm singer, and reader). Currently an incoming college freshman, learning how to cook and have so many interests, to the point I don't know what I'm into because of my dreams to become a popular Filipino YouTuber, a novelist, and being part of a successful chorale competing internationally...I also consider joining pageants at school too once the pandemic ends, but maybe.

Thank you so, so much for requesting! I had a lot of fun with this one (as you can tell by some of the really long answers lol) and I hope you enjoy!!

In the Golden Trio era, I romantically pair you with…

CEDRIC DIGGORY

One of the most beautiful things about Cedric is that although he may show some introverted tendencies, he still manages to have a natural gift for connecting to others and allowing them to feel comfortable enough to open up. Really, your initial distance and shyness don't last nearly as long towards Cedric as they would with most other people.

Hearing your laughter brings the widest, cheesiest grin to Cedric’s face. Not only does he adore seeing you happy, but he also recognizes that your anxiety, insecurities, and strong emotions can sometimes cloud up your demeanor. Therefore, it brings him comfort knowing that (for the moment) you’re finding joy. He thrives when you thrive!

However, as much as he loves seeing your more energetic and happier self, it goes without saying that he’s the best comfort for when you’re not having the best day.

Cedric is an excellent listener, so he’ll most likely let you talk without interruption for as long as you need before even saying a word. He wants to make sure he truly understands your current state before acting. He may take a few seconds to process everything after you finish speaking, but then he’ll help you tackle whatever problems you’re facing. He’s especially talented at giving words of affirmation.

Cedric’s listening also comes in handy whenever you talk about your interests! He genuinely loves hearing about the things you’re interested in solely for the fact that you’re interested in them. Side note: you can count on him to be at any music performances, pageants, etc. you may have -- this guy is truly your #1 supporter.

Cedric’s a very good student (though I suspect he’s somewhat of a procrastinator himself), so I can also see you two supporting each other through schoolwork and celebrating each other’s successes.

Like you, Cedric has a strong urge to do the right thing. Talking to him about social issues stirs up a need to help, and I could see you two doing volunteer work together in your spare time.

I like to believe one of Cedric’s biggest love languages is quality time. Don’t get me wrong, this guy loves staying involved and busy. But taking a couple hours to be with you in small ways (even if that means just being in the same room while you scroll through social media) gives him a nice balance.

Overall, this kind boy will be there unwaveringly through the bad times and will laugh just as loud as you through the good!

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LUNA LOVEGOOD

You wanna talk about the best conversations, relentless support, and overall the most wholesome friendship you could ask for? Luna’s your girl.

Being unashamed to be true to yourself is one of the biggest reasons why Luna is so drawn to you. While she’s very friendly and insightful towards everyone she meets, it can get a bit repetitive for her to constantly interact with people who try to shelter their unique characteristics from the world. In her mind, these unique characteristics are what make people so fascinating! Why should anyone hide who they are?

Luna’s creativity is endless, and I can see it blending well with yours. Collaborating on a personal project outside of school (ex: novel, blog, etc.) together is definitely something I could see you two doing.

Speaking of creativity, finding creative solutions to everyday problems (both in school and in life) is your specialty as friends.

Admittedly, Luna isn’t usually drawn to louder individuals. However, the complexity behind your personality makes it easier for her to know you are much more than what meets the eye.

Speaking of, Luna has a difficult time standing up for herself -- whether it’s because she doesn’t feel a need to or she just doesn’t recognize the meaning behind certain phrases. She NEEDS a friend like you to stand up for her sometimes, and I know you wouldn’t hesitate!

Ranting to Luna is therapeutic to say the least. While her aloofness at times may make it seem as if she isn’t fully paying attention, that couldn’t be further from the truth. She’s actually catching every word, and once you’re done she’ll leave you with a philosophical solution that may seem borderline insane/irrelevant when you first hear it, but it strangely makes sense.

Overall, the lack of judgment from either of you is what draws you together. As a result, you build a unique bond that couldn’t be broken even if either of you wanted it to.

In the Marauders era, I romantically pair you with…

REMUS LUPIN

Let’s be honest, it would take you two so long to ask each other out. You were probably already really close friends, but the insecurities and “what if?” questions from both of you delayed an actual relationship.

When you finally started dating, you were both so relieved. You still share a laugh at how almost nothing changed in the way you interacted with each other.

While with mutual friends, Remus sometimes likes to sit back and just watch you, especially when you get really talkative because this is when you become the most expressive. He has the softest smile when you’re actively cracking jokes, discussing something you’re passionate about, or even calling someone out. Sometimes you may be too distracted to notice, but other times you’ll catch him.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.” (While that same soft smile never leaves his face.)

You both hold really high standards for yourself in terms of school, so expect late-night study/work sessions to be your best bet for quality time.

Though the occasional instance of walking through/lying on the grounds becomes a favorite for both of you.

Remus listens when you’re particularly struggling through anxiety or strong emotions, but he has to consciously stop himself from interrupting because he can’t stand how he feels knowing you’re going through a tough time.

All he wants to do is soothe you during these moments. If you’re comfortable, he’ll hold you while speaking to you in a soft voice. Remus, the intellectual that he is, is also your best chance at finding a reasonable solution. So if you're not in the mood for calming words, he's also a great person to turn to for answers.

As for your ambitions, no matter what you choose to pursue, you already know Remus is going to be your biggest source of support every step of the way. He’s more than happy to help in any way he can!

Overall, Remus appreciates you, and he’s always going to make sure you know it.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LILY EVANS

Lily especially connects to you because you manage to be determined, competitive, and intelligent without sacrificing your kindness, which is something she can relate to.

You and Lily are the C.E.O.s of doing the right thing. Neither of you hesitates to back the other up when it comes to confronting someone because you know it’s justified.

As perceptive as Lily is, you never need to tell her when something is bothering you. All it takes is a quick glance before she puts whatever she’s doing on hold to check in with you.

The reverse works as well. Typically, Lily really doesn’t internally struggle too much, and when she does she tries to hide it. You’re one of the only people who can see right through whatever she tries to pull.

The constant banter between you two is unmatched, but you both know it's because you really care about each other.

Overall, you and Lily have each other’s backs through anything, even when the other isn’t actively asking for help.

[couchpotatoaniki]

The books that you posted about really intrigued me. And the books seemed really cool, I was wondering if you have any book recommendations? For any genre.

:0 Someone's asking me about book recs? This has never happened before I'm scared 😂😂 So, I suppose I should warn you that a lot of these are fantasy. Also, thank you for taking an interest 🥺🥺

This is gonna be loooooong, so continue to read more. Also, all the links are for the Goodreads pages so you could read the blurb and reviews if you're interested. Word of warning though, these are all of my opinions, so if they don't work for you--that's okay. Tastes are fickle :))

Also, if you have any book recommendations for me or want to talk about books, then please feel free to pop in my inbox because I LOVE discussing and getting excited about books.

Books that I've already read:

The School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani--there are six books in total (seven if you include the handbook), but this was one I read when I was around 13/14. It's kinda like a fairytale retelling, where there are two schools; one for good and the other evil. It has a lot of references to folktales and discusses the divides between good and evil, girls and boys, and young and old. It's a story about self-discovery and I just love the characters--especially their relationships and dynamics with one another. Netflix is actually making a movie about the first book and it's going to come out sometime in 2022. Hopefully they don't screw it up 😔😔

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnson--I know this may not be for everyone, but I love this book. There is a sequel that I haven't gotten around to reading, but this one specifically was one I enjoyed quite a bit. It's like a retelling of the folktale One Thousand and One Nights (commonly known as Arabian Nights) but with more a fantasy twist to it. It's slow-paced, but it has so much meaning behind it. It paints such a beautiful picture in your head with both the imagery but also has a subtle feminist strength to it through its deliberate choice of words and description--not to mention it has a very strong feel to the pre-Islamic Middle East setting as compared to other retellings like The Wrath and the Dawn, which is much more suited to be classed as YA than this (by no means is that derogatory to any of the books, but it's just to explain how they're so different despite being based off the same folktale). Just read it, it's honestly amazing.

The Sin Easter's Daughter series by Melinda Salisbury--Okay, funny story, I actually read the second book, The Sleeping Prince, first by accident. A problem I have with a lot series, is something commonly known as second-book syndrome--as in, I'm not particularly a fan of the second book in a trilogy series. Once I realised my mistake and read the first book, The Sin Eater's Daughter, I found that I wasn't as in love with it as I was the second, so I thought that might've been just because of the way I read it. But when I read the reviews, I realised that a lot of other people thought the same as me despite having read it in order; the second one was more loved than the first. Unfortunately, I haven't read the third book yet, but I feel like The Sleeping Prince was enough to put it on this list. Once again, this is fantasy with tones of the Pied Piper in it, and there is so much more I could say, but again it would be more about the second book than the first so I won't spoil it for ya. But just sayin', if you wanted to read the second book as a stand-alone, you can do since I myself kinda figured out what was going on and filled in the gaps by myself. This is probably because the first and second book follow different characters (and I assume it switches in the third book, but again, I haven't read it).

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller--now, this GODSEND of a book is one that I rate highly. It's based off the Iliad (so it's heavy on the Greek mythology), though it follows Patroclus rather than Achilles throughout the whole book. If you don't know anything about the story, then I won't spoil it--just know that I knew the story of the Iliad and was in this state of dread the entire time 'cAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH FORSHADOWING. All I can say is that I love the dynamic between the two guys and the story is so heartbreakingly beautiful. Bless 'em 😔😔 But a friend of mine found the writing a little bit confusing (she still loves it) since you kinda have to read between the lines--it isn't blunt. Also, one word of advise I'd like to give on good stories, and specifically plot twists, is that the shock factor may occur the first time you read it but what makes a good story or plot twist is the way it makes you feel--it should still be positive no matter how many times you re-read it. Shock factor isn't everything, so when I read this there was no shock factor for me (I knew what was going to happen from me previous knowledge) yet this book still kept me gripped onto it. I didn't loose interest--and that's part of the reason why I love it.

Caraval series by Stephanie Garber--I put this on the list because of the progression within the books, despite it being fast-paced. Book one follows one of the two sisters during the Caraval who is accompanied by a guy and the whole description was very magical--kinda alluding to the magic of Legend himself (the Caraval Master). In it, there is mentions of what kind of world it is, but it doesn’t really get explained until book two, which follows the other sister to find out Legend’s real identity for a certain reason that I won’t disclose ‘cause it’s a spoiler. This expands a lot more about how the present came to be as it was and also explains a little more about the background for the major characters. Although I’m in the early chapters of the third book and so can’t really comment on it, all I can say is that so far, it brings the two stories more together than they were before as it switches viewpoints between the sisters; I feel like that’s also why I don’t hate the second book in this trilogy, because the first one seems more like a prequel to set the scene while the second feels like the beginning of the actual story, and the third would be it’s conclusion. Okay, so, fair warning, there is a lot of metaphors which mix senses (for example, describing an action/emotion as a colour/image/taste) and I understand not everyone likes that writing style, which is completely okay; I just happen to like it.

Daughter of the Pirate King series by Tricia Levenseller--the main girl, I feel, is either a love-or-hate character. Personally, I don't particularly mind her, since she's just fun to read. There are parts where she tells you just how awesome she is but can't show you because she would give her act away (she's pretending to be a prisoner on a ship to steel a map) but if it was in any other scenario, I would despise that. I suppose my plus points would be for how she reacts internally to what she's doing, you see the whole process going on in her mind--and it isn't perfect, mind you, but the fact nothing is perfect makes it better. Though I could see why people would think she was annoying or the romance was very fast-paced (I prefer a slow-burn, but I don't mind this either). One thing I will say is that there are two characters (one in particular) that I love the dynamics of. Also, there's pirates. I don't think I need to explain further on that point.

Books I'm in the middle of reading that seem pretty cool so far:

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black--I'm halfway through this book and so far I'm really enjoying it. The dynamic between the main girl and her nemesis is just unlike many enemies-to-lovers I've ever read (including online) because they just hate each other so much. Like, she's not gonna be seduced by him and get into a really toxic relationship where her feelings are being taken advantage of. She's grown into being smart, she's grown into being skilled, she's not a love-struck idiot that makes impulsive, nonsensical choices. There are two more books after this and apparently it gets better and the main characters find some ground to not be toxic (again, not sure since I haven't read it myself). Now, this is probably going to get me a lot of hate, but I'm not a fan of a certain popular YA author who has a very popular book series that involves fae. I find this a much more likeable alternative since the faerie are not humans with superpowers and pointy ears. There is actual description, actual difference between the humans and the fae, different rules they live by, two examples being that humans can't eat fae food otherwise [redacted] and the other being the fae are immortal (the kind that doesn't age, but can be killed). There's consistency in the world building and the characters are not too overpowered--and this itself just set above all the other faerie books I've read thus far.

Lost Boy by Christina Henry--this is a Peter Pan retelling that I'm still in the first half of the book. Not got much to say except for the characters are even at such a point are distinct with each other (I can already tell that Peter Pan is a Psychotic Asshole™). It's very impactful, but be warned, it's dark and violent too. I mean, when I say Peter Pan is a Psychotic Asshole™, I mean it with every fibre of my being. And it is a very good origin story to Captain Hook, who you begin to empathise with quite a bit even early on within the book. I also like a few other books from the same author since she delves quite a bit into dark fantasy and story-retellings which I personally adore, but I feel like this one is a good starting point. Either this, or The Girl in Red which is Red Riding Hood is bi and goes on a murder-spree.

The Archived by V. E. Schwab--I've actually got a couple of this author's books but I decided to put this one on because so far I'm enjoying it so far. The atmosphere of the story is very eerie and it gives beginning-of-a-horror-movie vibes. So far I haven't really gotten into the whole thing with the love interests, but there is some in there. I just really enjoyed the whole worldbuilding, the setting and feel of the story was awesome, the writing was really good, and I love the little anecdotes that are put in between Mac and Da (her grandfather). Though I can see why the switching from tenses would be confusing for some, I just really liked it. Again, not much to say because I haven't gotten too far into the story, but so far, it's pretty great.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan--oh boy. Now, this book is one I would recommend so far but it needs to be said that it is hard to read. Not because the writing was bad or the plot was crap--no, the writing is really good and the plot is very interesting. It's hard because of the themes that are being addressed within it. I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, it mentions a LOT of sexual harassment, kidnapping, lack-of consent. However, although there are a few books in which this is romanticised, this is definitely NOT one of them. In fact, you feel really bad for the main character and I even felt like taking a break to come to terms with what was being said or described, but this is a story where the main girl does what she can to fight against it. Usually, I skip past the author's notes at the beginning but lucky I read this one because it gave me an understanding of why this was written--the author had been through a similar situation and wanted to raise awareness for any girls currently going through anything remotely close to this situation. It was nice to see that this was something that was being spoken about and I'm so proud of the author for speaking up about her experiences and encouraging others to speak up as well.

Circe by Madeline Miller--if you've already read Song of Achilles and enjoyed it, this was written by the same author and follows a character called Circe. She is actually a side-character from The Odyssey by Homer, so--again--Greek mythology is heavily present in this. I actually haven't gotten around to reading it but I've been promised that this was amazing, and speaks about feminism and females themselves in a world as patriarchal and oppressive as Ancient Greece (let's be honest, they were extremely sexist)

It's Not About the Burqa by various authors, edited by Mariam Khan--this is the only non-fiction book I have on this list because I don't read non-fiction all that much. Reading books, for me, is escaping from reality so reading this genre is going against the main reason I read in the first place. However, that being said, the topic it discusses is very near and dear to my heart as it is part of my identity, who I am as a person. This book, folks, is about Muslim women. It's a compilation of essays written by said women which each tackle different topics regarding Muslim women, ranging from religious dress, representation, mental health, stereotyping, feminism within Islam, expectations, modesty, sexuality, marriage and divorce, and more. One line that instantly hit me was "When was the last time you heard a Muslim woman speak for herself without a filter?" And I realised it was true--that most of the crap I heard about my own people, my fellow Muslim women, are either from men or non-Muslims or (in many cases) both. Reading these really opened my eyes to how we were actually being treated; how our hijabs were being used as a fashion trend rather than a religious observance; how our communities disapprove of behaviours that deviate from what we're expected to be, and the press and state being oppressive and racist towards us. I knew about most of this stuff but it really put into words (quite literally) how severe it is and had made me realise how some of the things I believed were good (like increased representation of Muslims in advertisement for beauty and fashion) were actually only short-term things at face value (like how barely any of the models or designers are actual Muslims and how the hijab, abaya, and other religious clothing were supposed to show how in Islam a woman is not valued by her physical beauty but for her personality, her intelligence, her love for her religion). This in and of itself is a bit of a rant from my part, but I really want people to read this book and understand our voices and our views from our own mouth than through someone else's interpretation off of some half-assed search on the internet. I would seriously recommend people to read it because it is such an important issue to at least try to understand.

There's so many more book that I've heard a lot of praise from that I have but haven't read yet or don't have and am planning to get in the future when my wallet recovers from me recent spending because boy is it HURT. I'll be posting about them

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

Can we get Sooga fucking Link in Gerudo armor? Like he just thinks its a pretty little thing in cute clothes??

I. Love this idea. Surprised it us so long to get here tbh. Let's go!

"This is ridiculous.”

“Oh come on, Sooga!”

Kohga had found Sooga to be a bit of a stick in the mug lately, so he commanded both Cil, and another blade master to take him out for a night of fun. So far, Sooga wasn’t having any. They were at a recently made bar, found right at Kara Kara Bazaar. The place was jumping, but Sooga was the only one not having any fun. Clif shrugged.

“If you want to go home and disobey Kohga’s orders, be my guest.”

Sooga mumbled, running his hands through his hair. It was one thing to waste time on something as stupid as drinking, but the fact that they were doing so OUT of disguise, made Sooga EXTREMELY uncomfortable. The third Yiga, a rather foolish one named ‘Von’, chuckled, nudging Sooga by his shoulder.

“Look, NO ONE knows who we are here. We could give them any bullshit name, and just have some drinks.”

“I don’t like either of you seeing my face.”

“it’s why we’re ALL like this! We’re ALL vulnerable out here. Now come on Sooga, ONE drink! Cil, back me up here!”

Cil gave a shrug of his shoulders.

“Kohga DID give us rupees to spend on you. You might as well take up on his generosity.”

Sooga took a deep inhale. He HATED being away from his Kohga. But, this WAS a command, who was he to disobey? 

“Fine, fine. I will have ONE drink, then we’ll go home, and we’ll tell Kohga I had my fun. Fair?”

“Now we’re talking! Yo! drink vai!”

Von waved wildly at some poor waitress (he wasn’t a rude guy, he just liked women a BIT too much), who walked up to them, notebook in hand.

“Listen, we want three Noble pursuits, and make them strong for us, yeah? Our guy here needs to come out of his shell! Right Sooga?”

Sooga turned to him, ready to verbally humiliate him in front of some little vai, when he saw her. She was a vision. A small thing, with hair that reminded him of tabantha wheat, a small, yet sleek body littered in scars, and her eyes. Her eyes were emotionless and blue, like the coldest chunks of ice. Her black, lacy attire covered her face, but with help from the lighting, Sooga could see the shadow of a small, stunning mouth. The vai nodded, making note of the order, before Cil raised his hand up a bit.

“Oh and uh, I want something to eat too. Something to help me get a little less drunk than these idiots.”

The vai nodded, before walking off past the crowd of people. Sooga watched her leave, and found himself fascinated. He never particularly found himself attracted to women (hell, most frightened him), but something about this one...caught his interest. Von seemed to notice this, laughing as he shook his shoulder.

“Wait a minute! You were checking her out! You were checking a LADY out! Holy SHIT!”

“I...was not. I’m gay, what reasoning would I-”

“Maybe you’re bi, Sooga, don’t rule it out!”

Cil threw a napkin at his face, scowling.

“You’re going to suggest he cheat on Master Kohga? Have you no shame?”

“Isn’t Kohga CONSTANTLY fucking someone? Like no slut shaming, but didn’t he JUST fuck Daruk like two weeks ago? If anything, you’re selfish for NOT trying this out.”

Sooga and Cil turned to look at him, but struggling to follow his logic. Von reached over to steal someone’s drink, helping himself before he explained.

“You’re telling me Kohga WOULDN’T want you to explore and find out what you like? If we told him you were acting like a prude again, he’d have ALL of our asses for not doing as he told.”

Von wasn’t very smart, but even Cil and Sooga had to admit; he had a point. Cil sighed.

“I hate to agree with him, since he’s about as smart as a rock under a lake, but the worst you can do is give it a shot. If you don’t like it, oh well, Kohga would surely love a story.”

Sooga never thought about something like this. He had dated a woman back in his teen years, but now? Not really on his mind. But, Kohga always DID implore him to explore, so he nodded.

“Alright, I’ll give it my best shot. Just one question. How the hell do you talk to women?”

Von smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. Right, these two were gay, and he was pan, course they didn’t know shit about girls.

“Look, I’ll do all the talking for you. I got you covered.”

Just then, the vai walked in. Drinks on a tray, as well as an oily plate of fried eggs on rice. Cil helped himself to his drink and to his bowl, while Von wrapped his hand around her hip.

“Listen, vai, my friend here, thinks you’re super cute. How strong of a chance does he got?”

Sooga threw his hands up in the air.

“Really. THAT’S you ‘getting me covered’?”

“Hey, women like it when you’re honest. So, how about it?”

The woman scanned him up and down, and Sooga was ready for rejection. Only, it didn’t happen. She grabbed a hold of his face, and pressed her lips against his. Even through the fabric of the veil, he could tell she had soft, eager lips. She pulled away after a minute, before using her head to motion him into following her. Von held a big smirk on his face, as if he had accomplished something.

“See! Full proof! now GO!”

Sooga was on his feet before he could understand what was happening. He caught up to her, holding her hand as she guided him to a back room. Sooga peeked into every room, curious. Each room was covered in a thin curtain, not only giving a slight view, but doing nothing to handle the sound. It let him hear all types of moans and cries from men alike. She let go of his hand, motioning for him to stay put, before slipping off into a room. Sooga, bored and curious, peeked into one of the rooms, where the curtain was fully parted. He got to see a Zora absolutely PLOWING into the aft of a Gerudo woman. He had a rather nice...pace. Not that Sooga was noticing.

“That’s it, you can handle one more for me, can’t you?”

The poor woman couldn’t say anything past her pillow. The Zora looked up from her, to him. He was about to apologize, when he watched the fishman cum, right into him, all while making eye contact with Sooga. He chuckled after, giving Sooga a big flash of teeth.

“You like watching, eh big guy? Come in, I’ll give you a better view.”

Sooga was pulled away before he could even think of accepting the offer. He was suddenly thrown onto a nice, soft bed. She closed the curtain behind them, letting just a bit of light poke into the room, but not enough to see important details of her figure. She crawled into the bed, crawling over him. He was about to speak, when she dove into his neck, dragging her lips against his neck. Sooga sat there with his hands in the air, uncertain of what to do. That is, until she grabbed his hands, and put them right on her ass. He took the hint, and did the same thing for her as he did for Kohga. He gripped tightly onto her cute little ass, and she moaned against his skin. 

That sounded so,,,familiar to him, in a way. He was about to ask for her name, when he felt her start to pull off his clothes. He sat up, helping her take off his shirt. Her hands wandered his body hungrily, and he couldn’t help but feel rather flattered by such a hungry touch. He was about to reach for her clothes, before she started to scoot down, pulling down his pants, just enough to reveal his semi hard cock. The hunger in her eyes was immense, and it only added to his arousal. He watched as the veil lightly parted, and she stuffed his head in his mouth. He tensed up a bit, uncertain of what to make out of a foreign mouth on his cock.

“You’ve...done this before, I take it?”

Her eyes looked slightly amused as she continued, slowly bobbing her head up and down on his girth. She was talented at this, what with how her tongue roamed, and her how her hands massaged and rubbed at his balls. He didn’t expect it to feel good. But it really, really did. A stranger sitting there, sucking him off, all while he heard others get off in rooms right next to him. He combed his fingers through his hair, slowly pushing his cock in her pretty little mouth. He got greedy, digging his fingers into her hair, and forcing her to take more. She didn’t mind in the slightest, slobbering all over his cock as it moved back and forth into her warm mouth.

“You like this, don’t you? Satisfied by a stranger’s cock? Didn’t know vai were filthy little creatures.”

At first he thought it was rude, but he saw her eyes. Hazy, lost in the realm of lust. She liked this. He was sitting here, pleasing her mouth with his own eager cock. Then suddenly, she pulled away. He sat there, wet with drool and hard, thinking he was suddenly unwelcomed, when he saw her pull off her pants. She even went so far as to peel off her panties, throwing it in his face. It kept him distracted, at least long enough for her to push her ass against his cock. He was going to tell her to stop, a bit worried about how a woman’s insides would feel, but he acted too slowly. She sank herself onto him, moaning loudly as his cock pushed inside of her. He hissed at the feeling, mainly because such a tiny body felt so tight around his cock.

“S-shit. Don’t...move so fast. Easy does-”

But this vai didn’t like listening. She held onto his thighs, and started to ride him far too quickly. He was ashamed to admit he liked it. Ashamed to admit he liked it enough to hold onto her little hips, helping her ride his cock. Her jewelry jangled as she rode him, and her little lips kept giving him such horny, needy moans. Though the sound...was odd to him. He swore he heard those breathy sighs before, but from where? He didn’t feel like asking though. Not when such a cute little ass was taking him for all he was worth. Granted he preferred absolute dumpers like Kohga’s, but this one was definitely on the cuter end. So cute, he couldn’t help but smack it. She seemed to love it, and like a horse, seemed to go only faster on him. It felt so good, fucking such a cute thing like this. He was going to cum. He was about to pull himself out, but it was too late. He came, pulling her right to his chest, and stuffing her. She mewled and whimpered, even as he pressed his lips against hers to try to silence her. He tore away from her, and saw her eyes, lost in arousal, with mouth open and drooling behind the cloth around her mouth.

“You really do enjoy the touch of another man, don’t you?”

She nodded meekly as his hand wrapped around her pretty throat. He had no idea why, but something in him didn’t want to be gentle to her. He wanted to be rough with her, wanted her to be bruised and stuffed with his semen.

“You could handle a bit more, couldn’t you little vai?”

She nodded, helpless as his grip on her throat only made better.

“I thought so. Lay down for me, right on your stomach. I’m going to show you what a man can do.”

And for the rest of the night, that was EXACTLY what he did.

----------------------------------

“Wait. You..and a WOMAN?!”

“P-please don’t be mad...”

Sooga didn’t want to tell Kohga, but he could NOT keep a secret from his master. They were all currently waiting for Zelda and Link (She requested they escort them to some ruins in the desert), and he found now was as good of a time as any. He waited for the backlash, only to hear Kohga laugh.

“Well how about THAT! You like WOMEN now?”

“I’m...not sure. I know I enjoyed it, and I know I was attracted to her, but other women...make me uneasy.”

“Hey, maybe you just have a certain type. Either way, I’m not mad.”

“You’re...not?”

“Course not! You’re getting to know yourself! I can’t say I like women like that at all, but hey, if you do, I support ya in finding out.”

Sooga couldn’t help but smile. Kohga had been helping him discover a lot about himself, and he continued to surprise him.

“I...thank you, Master Kohga. That means very, very much to me.”

“Eh don’t sweat it big guy. Now look alive, we got company!”

Sooga was about to greet their guests, when he saw Link come into view. Hair of wheat, black cloth, and blue, cold eyes. He froze like stone, and Kohga noticed.

“What’s up with you?”

“I...I just now realized-I’m pretty damn sure I’m still gay.”

“The hell you-”

Kohga knew that look. The look of regret, some shame, with even a pinch of arousal. Kohga threw his hands in the air, completely ignoring his guest’s puzzled gazes.

“SOOGA YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!”

Sooga only had one thing to say. He looked down and Link, and without much regard for manners, spoke.

“Fuck you, Link.”

[janedrakey131]

zukka hp au part 5

I’m so flattered people like this au. I didn’t think I’d be posting again so soon, but I had some more ideas last night. If you’d like to catch up:

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13

If you would like to join the tag list

My brief, very long, not at all fleshed out plan based roughly on what year Sokka is in and other associated events:

First year

Sokka’s first year is boring 

He meets Zuko, makes some friends in his house, probably a bunch of OCs

He finds the kitchens on day 2

Hogwarts just hires people who like to cook, who cares whether they’re magical beings or humans or whatever, there’s all sorts of really cool kitchen magic though

He’s always asking questions in class and you can tell why he’s a Ravenclaw

He wants to learn about everything

And once he knows how to do more than shoot a few sparks, he’s going to start inventing

He’s going to do some truly awesome things with transfiguration and potions

And I can’t wait for him to start arithmancy

Like let me tell you, Sokka is a genius, and he’s probably going to be the only one who understands magical theory 

This just ended up being a rant about Sokka, so moving on

Second year

The fun starts

Katara and Aang are finally here

Sokka doesn’t know Aang is the avatar

I’m very tempted to have both Katara and Aang be in Hufflepuff

And they run into Sokka in the kitchens

He does a double take, like who is this boy with my sister??

But Aang’s a sweet kid

So Sokka is immediately like we’re bros now, I don’t make the rules

Iroh starts working at Hogwarts (sorry, I changed my mind from herbology) as the potions professor

He comes in on the train with Zuko who just got banished (I actually...might change the specifics)

Sokka doesn’t know what to make of that

Azula is also skulking around annoying Zuzu 

But I think she secretly cares a bit and threatens anyone that looks at his scar wrong, because Zuko helped her a lot with some stuff

I think she’s going to be in the same year as Katara and Aang? I’m not sure

I have plans for Azula

I think Mai and Ty Lee are going to be in Zuko’s year, but closer to Azula

Mai and Zuko will date at some point

I think Mai will end up with Ty Lee

But she and Zuko had a short relationship

I think it was more expected of them by their families that they date

But they’re good friends now

I’m not doing this betraying and cheating and hurting other characters to find out who you are thing

Everyone is having wholesome relationships that just don’t work out

(Sidenote, I’m changing things, and characters might end up a bit OOC for atla, and I’m really sorry, but this is just wish fulfillment for me)

Anyway, there’s a plot to find the avatar 

The mini gaang (toph isn’t here yet) learn the prophecy (still working on it)

Third year

They find out about Sokka and Katara’s mom

I don’t think Hakoda really knows what happened either. I don’t think he was in the country at the time

I also have some ideas for the water tribe/fire nation beef, but I just made the realization that if I spell everything out in these posts, what’s the point of writing for Ao3 XD

But spoilers, it’s going to be pretty angsty

But I like happy endings, so I may find a way to fix it

Ish

I have this whole idea that if Suki or the Kyoshi are also werewolves, they have really cool rituals to respect and honor the moon spirit and that allows them the ability to turn into wolves whenever they want and not just the full moon

So other people can also be born as werewolves, but different groups have different ways of being a werewolf

Also, I believe I said Zuko starts following Suki around thinking she’s the avatar

And then Sokka decides to fake being the avatar (I completely forgot when I said this would happen, so I’m assuming it’s this year or the next)

This is about when Sokka’s letters to Hakoda start going on about Zuko’s everything even more

Fourth year

Zuko (Zuko’s fifth year) witnesses something unspeakable

Sokka is kidnapped

Zuko saves Sokka

That’s all the detail I have on this XD

But the unspeakable thing and the kidnapping are going to be this year’s mystery

Zuko, the idiot, still thinks Sokka is the avatar at this point

Aang is like no

But doesn’t bother to say he is

So Zuko thinks Katara is the avatar for a hot sec

But has some nonsense logic that there’s no need to stop following Sokka, because if he or his sister are the avatar, of the two, Sokka’s more likely to give something away

Which okay, Zuko, not actually terrible reasoning, except Sokka’s been leading you around by the nose for ages

There’s none of this the avatar rotates which element they can use

Because that’s predictable

And half the fun is that Zuko is trying his best, but has zero clues

Fifth year

This is the big question

I’m not sure what to do with this year

I hope Sokka can start inventing

I want him to make some cool shit

There won’t be an equivalent of the DA as far as I can see :( I can’t figure out how I’d structure that

I think it would be really cool to see them all learning how to use their elemental magic though

Toph and Zuko don’t really need the help

Katara and Aang have always had to deal with all the crap going on, so they haven’t had much time for it

I’m wondering if I should bring in Paku

Aang has it rough, because air magic users are really rare now

So I think he might work with Iroh, because he’s studied other styles of magic extensively

Sixth year

I think Mai had to figure out she was bi

I truly think Zuko doesn’t have time for gender

For like five years, he’s like DO YOU KNOW WHO THE AVATAR IS and if you don’t, he’s already forgotten who you are

So my headcanon is that he’s pan and when he and Sokka eventually get together, Sokka doesn’t know anything about his orientation and just knows he dated Mai, so he’s like “are you cool with me being a dude? Sorry, I just know you’ve dated Mai, so just checking haha?”

And Zuko’s so done with all the random crap he’s dealt with that he’s like “wow, you have a dick? Congratulations”

But then realizes Sokka’s actually concerned and talks it out

Anyway, everyone’s leveled up now, we’re all masters at elemental and non-elemental magic (seriously, Sokka could’ve sat for his NEWTs last year if he wanted to. He’s that far ahead and magic is that intuitive for him)

I have no idea what will happen this year lol

I kind of want an invasion of Hogwarts, I know I’ve been trying not to just blindly follow the books completely :/ So I guess we’ll see?

I’ll have to work on that

I’m such a sucker for the villain waits until the end of the school year to attack

Because it’s so dumb

Like I will find the avatar! *shakes fist* But education is important, kids

Like okay, Sozin

Maybe I can have Roku finally escape that mirror

I kind of want the past avatars to be spirits that anyone can interact with

But most people don’t know how

So the Kyoshi can interact with Avatar Kyoshi as well as other relevant spirits

Seventh year

????

The plot?? Who knows yet

I do know that Zuko’s graduated

And they’re all crying and like wtf do we do now

Because Sozin’s still around and they’ll miss him

And finally Zuko leaves

And he shows up as the assistant DADA professor and he’s like “Hi, Zuko here” and then he’s like “I mean, fuck, Professor Zuko, I mean, fuck...just call me Zuko. You guys all know me”

And the gaang is all like wtf Zuko, we thought we would only see you for breaks

And he’s like you really thought I’d leave you

The plan is that he’ll be an apprentice for a year or so and then take over as professor

Toph punches him so hard, Katara has to heal the bruise

I can guarantee a happy ending

I’ll do whatever angst on the way, but they’ll all be happy

I’m like 89% sure they’re all going to end up working at or around Hogwarts (why work for the government, when you can invest in teaching all these talented kids)

One more thing, there is going to be rep in this au. I know there’s at least one aro ace character. Multiple bi characters. One gay character. One pan character. One trans character that I know of, but I need to plan that out a bit more. Some of these orientations and identities, I can’t speak to personally. For instance, while I know a decent amount about the medical aspects of transitioning, I don’t think I’d be able to write the experience of gender dysphoria and give that its due right now. So unless it’s something I have first hand experience with, most of the individual emotions as part of figuring things out might happen off screen. That doesn’t mean I won’t bring up issues the characters may have had in the past, but any that I talk about, I’d have to do more research into first. Also, partly because this is mostly from Sokka and Zuko’s perspectives, we’re mostly going to be present for what other characters tell them about their experiences

I hope you continue to enjoy this au! Sorry, this got so insanely long. The next couple weeks are going to be a bit crazy for me, so I thought I’d write this up while I had the chance. I’ll be back soon though! If anyone has any suggestions or questions, please let me know :)

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13

If you would like to join the tag list

[silver-tangent]

Things that we often think of as “modern” but have been around for centuries:

Magnets and magnetic fields. (literally occur in nature)

Steel cables, and the odd sounds they make. (At least 1830s)

Stoves (documented 1490, but we have had cookware and likely been making flat surfaces to use pots and pans since at least the 3rd century)

Flushable toilet (1596)

Indoor plumbing and cooling (it’s commonly mentioned that the romans had plumbing, but likewise, Egyptians used water cooling systems, Romans developed duct systems, and many societies understood the importance of airflow)

Condoms (contraceptives are literally as old as sex, though looking into it may not be pleasant.)

Medicine (chemistry has always existed, and pills, specifically, date back to 1500BCE)

LTBTQIA identities (look, this isn’t an lgbt specific post, but I must include it anyway. The Greeks were a Bi-normative society, intersex people have always existed, and trans and non-binary identities are well documented. Same can be said for asexuality and aromanticism; some people weren’t interested. The erasure of this history is a “new” thing.)

The sounds of electricity (even before we harnesses it, electricity existed.)

Industrial sounds (many sounds we associate with modern technology, people have probably heard for centuries. The sharp whistle of metal on metal. The creaking of steel, and buildings. The grinding of gears. We’ve had metal tools for most of our history now. Ancient People wouldn’t be unable to identify the sound of human constructs.)

Likewise, the concept of human constructs is not new, and a “caveman” could probably figure out certain things are non-living inventions even if they couldn’t figure out how it works. Just because you might view something as magic, does not mean you view it as a living beast, and we have always had weird things like magnets.

Hygiene. (It’s easy to think older societies were gross and stinky people. We have always bathed, and cared for our bodies. What has changed is waste disposal, sugar consumption, and our understanding of health.)

Glassware (at least as old as the 1st century bc)

Wrenches and screwdrivers (the modern wrenches were patented in like 1850, but we had screwdrivers in the Middle Ages. We tend not to see any construction tools other than a hammer and saw in historical fiction and it’s weird.)

Motors (of you look up the first motor, it’s hard to NOT be pointed to the internal combustion engine, but we have had moving parts, and been harnessing water and wind power for literally thousands of years. The concept of a motor is not new. The first “motor powered air compression system” was patented in 1799.)

Rail-systems and mine carts. (1500s)

Sunglasses, eyeglasses, and eye protection. (Haven’t heard this wives tale in years, but people didn’t assume you were a witch because you had corrective lenses. We have been protecting our eyes for centuries, and knew how to make corrective lenses since the 1200s.)

Sealed food (canning started in the 1800s, but we’ve had food and preserves in sealed containers for a very long time.)

Gas lines (we used to use natural gas for street lamps, and even internal lighting in large cities.)

Black rights (seriously, racism and racial inequality have sadly always existed, but it has always changed. Black people were not always slaves until the civil war. The Egyptians were black. Africa has a rich history. Black people walked free and even *gasp* held positions of power. The slave trade as we knew it began in the 15th century, but the exploitation of Africans, and dehumanization of black people, began to rapidly increase in the 1600s. I’m NB. I recommend looking to someone who knows more about this for a better explanation... just stop thinking history was All-White until the 1800s.)

Intelligence (just because we’ve advanced as a society doesn’t mean older civilizations were “dumber” and we need to stop depicting them as “idiots” especially in time travel fiction. Progress is often linear. We weren’t “too dumb” to invent the combustion engine, we just hadn’t discovered it yet.)

[bre-meister]

So, I just watched the first 3 episodes of Fate: The Winx Saga and I know I don’t usually talk about Winx on this blog but... girl gotta put her thoughts somewhere. This show was my childhood and Netflix really said “Fuck it”.

 I’ll leave it under the cut so if you wanna stay for this rant, feel free

 I went into this knowing I would hate it and, honestly, I do and I don’t

 I think it is an absolute shit dumpster fire of an adaptation that someone poured gasoline on and then tried to lite on fire with Bloom’s inconsistent control issues and shit just got even worse 

But, this could have been a fairly decent show If it was a stand alone- It had no need to be attached to the Winx name because it really is not Winx

There are some problems I had with it that everyone had before the show even dropped - The whitewashing and lack of diversity, the atrocious outfits, the lack of wings (“We evolved” that’s fucking bullshit y’all know good and well that part of the fun of the OG show was the new transformations and the outfits and we can’t even have that)

Also there is def technology here so why the FUCK do we not have Tecna? She’s the straight laced girl of the group but at the same time I feel like she could have added some much needed levity 

And my girl would have told it like it is. Sometimes these people (not the Winx because they are NOT the Winx) do dumb shit for the sake of doing dumb shit and Tecna would never have allowed this!

Combining the Trix into one person is still iffy for me, like I get why they did it but I just don’t think it has the same effect as having the three of them

Sometimes she gives me Icy vibes and most of the time she gives me Darcy vibes and almost never she gives me Stormy vibes (even though her powers are most like Stormy) and that shit just gives me whiplash

 I also think that having the witches at cloud tower provided the original show with this great idea of “even though we use dark magic and are considered witches we still make the choice ourselves as to whether or not we use that magic for good or for evil” but then again I might be reading into it too much who knows 

It’s bad enough they had to go and make Aisha the token black character but then they also make her this mean, black woman caricature (and I know it stems from her frustration that she can’t do this one thing perfect but still, as a black young woman who has seen black women portrayed like this constantly it is damaging as hell)

On that note - why did they have to make the one black and overall minority girl the control freak? Idk it just doesn’t really sit right with me

Speaking of jealousy...we gotta talk about Stella

 I know this is supposed to be more realistic and grown up and ya, I get it, girls can be catty but dude, Stella WOULD NEVER

THIS Stella endangered Bloom on PURPOSE because she was Jealous and then she really wanted to dipp on her in the woods after Bloom was trying to help her get back HER ring she shouldn’t have given her in the first place all cause she was a bit scared? Even scared Stella in the original show wouldn’t have done that! Would she have complained? YES! But she wouldn’t be so quick to give up

Need I remind everyone that she almost drained herself completely trying to protect her friends in the Omega Dimension from the Ice Snakes and only stopped because Musa was like “Stella, your hurting yourself. Take a break everyone will be ok”

And this shit show wants me to believe that these are the saem people? I think not!

 So I’m only on episode 3 but I can already tell that whatever they’re trying to say happened with Rickie is not what actually happened and that whole storyline is just super annoying like bro, there better be a good ass reason why she is pretending to be such a terrible person and I just don’t trust this show to be that creative 

This thing between her and sky is so confusing and makes like, no sense

Moving on...

I love Sam, he is so sweet and cute and amazing 

 His introduction “uh...I’m Sam...what’s up” made me laugh my ass off and I can’t even tell you why

Truly I love him but at the same time...he’s kinda getting in between Musa and Riven

 Like I get that their relationship was not the best at all (and this Riven has even more problems which was kinda unnecessary cause he already had SO MANY!) but at the same time when we’ve only got the opportunity to have 2 of the original couples like... I’m gonna need this show to give me something 

Riven - I loved him in the original show because he always had so many issues but then season 4 rolled around and he was genuinely trying to become a better person. And to have the guts to realize later that he was not ok and that he had to leave to figure that out? Respectable. I recognize that this dude had issues (and that Musa deserved better) but I respected him by the end of his journey

THIS Riven? He can eat shit. I know this is kinda supposed to be the whole Darcy arc he had in the first season or whatever but at least then he was being mind controlled to a certain extent which explained a lot of why he was doing what he was. But this dude is just an overall douche. 

Isn’t he supposed to be Bi? Internalized homophobia is amazing guys we definitely want more of that - -  (just to be clear that was sarcasm)

And I know this contradicts my wanting him and Musa to be together but I think that these two things go hand in hand

I hate that they upped his issues by 100000x because I legit want them to be together and have a genuinely good, functional relationship

But Sam is precious and should be protected

So now Terra

Honestly I think making her say “I have a cousin named Flora” only made the whitewashing more obvious and worse. If they seriously wanted to go this route they should have just committed and not brought Flora’s name into this at all. We the fans are not idiots Netflix! We know what you did!!

This might just be a more personal thing but I kinda feel like they made her entire personality (at least this far) only about her being plus size 

And this was FAR more prevalent in the few chapters from the book I could stomach to read

And wasn’t that their defense for whitewashing? That they wanted to have more inclusion in body types?

You can have a plus size character and not make almost 90% of their screen time about them being self conscious about their body- Like this legit seems to be almost 99% of the reason she’s socially awkward

Again, if you’re going to commit, COMMIT! Show her being ok in her own body and her own skin. Let’s fight against the same culture that makes this character feel self conscious

As far as Musa goes... still don’t really like that they changed her powers 

I guess they thought her new ones would be more useful in a more “practical” setting but um... they haven’t been? Not really?

I know she said she’s not a human lie detector but... they show keeps making her one whenever it’s convenient 

I guess they thought her new ones would be more useful in a more “practical” setting but um... they haven’t been? Not really?

 I still don’t understand why they have to sneak around but, idk maybe they’ll explain it later ( like I get that Sam is Terra’s bro but Musa and Terra don’t even know eachother like that for this drama to be such a big deal)

Bloom is alright

That’s all I have to say about her

Her mom though?

Idk why she was acting the way she was, Just why?

Not her making fun of Bloom going to antique shops when Vanessa owns a literal FLOWER SHOP in the original show!

I will say though, “This basic bitch will pull out her PhD and take you to school. Every comeback is another week without your door. Hit me.” with that confidence? BEST LINE IN THE SHOW!

She had my support for like .5 sec there

“Slam the door, loose the door” she was on some Black mother shit right there - the amount of time my mom has threatened me with this? 

It wasn’t even a threat it was a promise

Sky seems to be the most in character but then again the bar isn’t set too high

Why are the teachers so fucking shady? And are there only 3 professors in this giant ass school?? (I say that knowing there were only, like 4 in the original - 5 if we count Daphnee)

It also took me a min to realize that they kinda combined Feragonda and Griselda into one person. I don’t really like it that much

 I still don’t understand why they had to strip Aisha and Sky of their titles. I felt like that added so much to their characters - Aisha felt the need to be so perfect because she was a princess and Sky had all these increasing obligation through the show that would create conflict (sometimes it was stupid but still)

Also for a show about they Winx they sure as hell don’t spend that much time together 

They got their name in the FIRST EPISODE of the original show. It’s been 3 and the only mention of “Winx” was a quick pan of the door label for their suite. Blink and you missed it

And they seem to keep flip flopping between being best friends to being indifferent to each other, to “I don’t really know you” to sometimes hating each other (the emotion flop is mainly Stella but the others seem to have some weird ranges as well)

From a technical standpoint this show has some weird choices

 Sometimes cuts will just ...happen? Especially during actions scenes sometimes it’s hard to make sense of what’s happening 

And all the fight scenes - especially the training scenes - just seem so rehearsed it hard to watch

and why does Riven keep flip flopping between the worst specialist and a great one?

The utter lack of creativity in terms of the technology and weapons and even just the representation of the magic in this show is sad

The Original was so magical and colorful It was always obvious that this was a different dimension

I feel like I could legit go to Switzerland and find a place just like this and it wouldn’t be anything super different or weird

I also still don’t get why earth can’t know? Are we just gonna pretend that the Earth fairies and Believix and the Wizards of the Black Circle just... didn’t happen?

If this person that Beatrix is working for isn’t Lord Darkar or Valtor like...idk what to do

Again I would just like to stress that this show did not need to be an adaptation

 In fact it really isn’t I don’t know what they hell they are adapting cause this is NOT Winx and I cannot stress enough just how utterly wrong this felt while watching it

 All most of the characters have the same names but they are not the same people at all - no where close

Also can I just say, Sky’s hair seemed so different (length, part, style) almost every other scene sometimes I would legit have to sit back and be like “this is the same actor right?”

 Speaking of I’d like to finish this off by saying: absolutely no hate to the actors and actresses - I can see they are doing their best with what they have been given and most of the more controversial decisions were not made by them 

I will say I did think that linking Fairy magic to emotion was a good touch - idk if they did this in the Original show or not. I can’t remember 

So far this show...

As and adaptation:

words cannot describe how bad it is

As a stand alone property:

 I mean, it’s noting amazing or truly different but I’ve definitely seen worse 

I’ll probably make another one of these for the last 3 episodes. I could literally get 0 notes on this and still do it anyway. Sometimes you really just gotta rant

[plum-pudding-and-honey]

THE TIME WAR

The Starship of Theseus - 4.5/5 : What the hell? So that was confusing but in a good way. And that feels exactly like the Time War should be so kudos for that. I'm curious about Sheena-Emma-Louise, I wonder if we'll hear more from her (in an alternate timeline kind of way - i don't know?). I'm just not very convinced by the trolls, I don't understand how/where they exist but they're not really important so that's ok. I don't have an opinion yet on Bliss but she seems to be kind of a badass which you would really need to be in the Time War so good for her.

Echoes of War - 4/5 : god Time Lords don't muck about : I felt really bad for those little monkey guys. My dislike of Ollistra is greater than ever. Dal was interesting, his struggle felt real and the way Bliss has to take charge although she really has no idea what she's doing was also interesting. Also I'm loving Rupa, she's so sweet, but her husband feels very clingy. There were maybe too many characters to keep tracks on but the Time War vibe here is also very well done.

The Conscript - 5/5 : Sass!Eight at his finest, bless him. And now I really want a range at the Academy with the Doctor being an unsufferable trouble maker. I'm having trouble deciding if I like Tamasan or not, Ollistra is definitely on my black list (although I love the way she talks, it's creepy). The two recruits (whose names I've already forgotten) were interesting : both idealistic and eager in very different ways which get them both killed : what is the right thing to do then? I liked that grey area there.

One Life - 2.5/5 : Noooo! I hate when people turn out to be weapons, it's like with River Song. I mean I really liked Quarren and they could have still made him a Time Lord in disguise because I really liked that bit and how it echoes what will happen to the Doctor in the future. But I don't know he could have been a very important general or a scientist or whatever but NOT a weapon that can rewrite history because that's just way too much. So I'm very disappointed. Also I got distracted several times during the episode without it preventing me from understanding what was happening so that's generally not a good sign. And the temporal changed in the Starship of Theseus weren't due to Quarren, it was still the Time War and they still happened, right? I'm a bit confused now

The Lords of Terror - 3/5 : I don't really understand Bliss' reaction - if I'd been her, I would have been PISSED. I mean she's obviously upset but compared to what the Time Lords did to her and her world, it seemed a bit underwhelming. Anyway, this episode had a nice vibe to it and the twist that the villains here are not the Daleks but the Time Lords was well handled. I'm disappointed with the protector : she could have been a great antagonist or an allie when she finds out what the Time Lords plan to do but she's just stupid (I mean sure, the Time Lords are not good guys but thinking that the Daleks could actually help? Really?)

Planet of the Ogrons - 5/5 : Two minutes after she appeared and I was already in love with the Twelve. And I love the way she tells the Doctor off, as well as her previous selves, she's great! Also loved the Ogron!Doctor and all the little references (WHO AM I??? - Fred - "A tear, Bliss?" - "I don't wanna go"), I'm happy he's well and I hope we'll see more of him.

In the Garden of Death - 3/5 : There's something that bothers me with this episode. What were the daleks looking for? I have the impression that either I missed something or there was something missing, I don't know. The amnesia was a good idea, in the Twelve's case at least (it's very old with Eight at this point) and in how her other selves took advantage of it. I'm also quite intrigued with the ending and what is supposed to be inside of her : is it just inherent to this regeneration or was it there all along? And like, you know, what is it?

Jonah - 4.5/5 : I'm not gonna lie there, for a minute, I thought that Eight was amesiac AGAIN and I was about to be pissed. So I quite liked this episode - the submarine atmosphere, the search for a mysterious force, the dalek threat, the Doctor still refusing to be a soldier and refusing to make difficult decisions and the way it echoes with NOTD. I also liked the mystery about the Twelve and I hope we'll get to see her again.

State of Bliss - 5/5 : Bliss sends me huge Clara vibes. But like, if Clara had been written decently. It was nice to get to know more about her and about how she ended up on the Theseus but just like most of Eight's companions, her life and her timeline are completely fucked up. Also she's canonically bi or pan and I think we should be talking more about this : she's the third canonically bi companion with Fitz and Liv, so big kudos for that.

The Famished Lands 4/5 : i'm starting again this range after a long pause and this was a nice episode, not too complicated and which still explores the consequences of the time war. And this is horryfying! But I like that Eight tries to help and I'm liking Bliss more and more. But I really don't like the end and the Time Lords' plans for the Doctor.

Fugitive in Time - 3.5/5 : The Helixara and Shonath's story was interesting (another proof of the Time Lords' assholery) and I liked that she chose not to trust the Daleks despite everything that the Time Lords did to her and it makes Tamasan's treason even harder even if it wasn't surprising in the slightest. Shonath was clever but I could have done with less whining to be honest. And Eight is at his best and it kinda scares me for the next episode

The War Valeyard - 4/5 : Huh what? Sooo I'm not really into the Valeyard but I couldn't help but feel bad for this version (and he's as sassy as Eight, I mean : "Halt! Do not move" "I know what halt means" Ok, yeah I kinda love him now) This episode was a bit hard to follow but I can't wait to get the fourth boxset now.

Palindrome - 4.5/5 : So this was something huge. You have to feel at least some sympathy for alternate!Davros and his wife (while also calling him an idiot). I absolutely LOVE the construction of this episode, the palindrome, I love the tragedy of it, because of course you know this isn't gonna end well, and yeah, this is also slightly terrifying. Only thing that bugged me a bit was the second part felt a bit long sometimes

Dreadshade - 3/5 : That was a bit disappointing. I was looking forward to seeing the Twelve and the General again but it all felt a bit ... underwhelming. Still it was interesting to see the aftermath of the War Valeyard from Gallifrey's point of view

Restoration of the Daleks - 3.5/5 : the Daleks are at war with each other - again, which turns out be to rather good news for the Doctor. On the other hand, the Time Lords are not complete bastards for once (that sounds fake but ok), I mean even Tamasan is nice (and I'm still waiting for Eight to snap at her for what she did to Shonath but whatever). It just all feels a bit anticlimactic somehow. And God we don't need Rasmus hitting on Bliss thank you very much (I really hope she won't do like Leela and choose to stay on Gallifrey after what the Time Lords did to her planet). As for the end reveal ... I thought it was Emma, which would have been super interesting and new, while secretly hoping it would be Lucie (because I'm still not over it, ok?) and dreading it would be River. So I wasn't AT ALL expecting this ("after all he's family" --> I might have screamed internally 'NOOOOOO IT'S ALEEEEEX' at this point). So I suppose we'll have another Time War boxset? Or maybe they'll tie this up in the Susan boxset (which would annoy me to be honest)

Overall opinion : I have to admit I really wasn't on board at first. Maybe because I find the Time War way too complicated (and the ridiculous number of TW ranges with BF is CRAZY people, no way I'm keeping up with all this) but I really warmed up with this range and I'm glad I gave it a shot (several shots actually). I like the atmosphere of it in the first boxset, I like the grey areas : Daleks are pure evil, there's no doubts about that, but the Time Lords are not all good or all bad (which we already knew) and I like how it is addressed here. I've also warmed up a lot to Bliss and her complicated timeline and, yeah, I would definitely listen to more episodes with her.