#they're not even fun for me in a toxic way right now :/ sad !

[deliriousblue]

pluto has somehow managed to take me from my extremely strong default position of "this should be poly" all the way to "actually i think all three of these people should be single for a while"

[phillietemple]

analyzing the TIT preshow playlist

I don't remember when, but in a preshow dan said something about how he carefully curated the terrible influence playlist to reflect the exact themes of the show, and that like, you could listen to every song and analyze how it connects to the content of the tour. so I decided to do exactly that! yapping under the cut

also here's a link to the playlist if you haven't seen it!

now i'll be honest, at first i didn't entirely believe dan because he has a tendency to exaggerate things like that lmao. and i saw some of the selections on this playlist and was like "wdym that's about something completely different how is that connected to tit." but then i listened to it with phannie goggles on and like.. he was not kidding! a few of them are a stretch, but all of these songs could be read in a way that is thematically connected to the show.

we know that the tour's main theme is dan and phil healing their relationship with their audience. this is a parasocial relationship that has at times been incredibly toxic for both parties involved (that's what their own song was about). it got to be too much and they had to step away for a bit, but now they are SO BACK and better than ever in a new era where they're older and gayer and everyone's just having fun.

Idolize - Dorian Electra

parasocial moment! yeah this is 100% what’s going on. “i don’t play nice, I scratch, I bite / and I just might have to idolize your life” this is like, the whole problem, isn’t it? great choice for the first song

2. JOYRIDE - Kesha

this one’s so fun. as part of this playlist it’s kind of saying “get ready, this show is about to change your life.” there’s also the line “don’t even try to g-give me shit, i’ve earned the right to be-be like this” which kind of makes sense for this new era.

3. New Woman - LISA, ROSALÍA

i mean this song is about rebirth/ rediscovering yourself and gaining confidence so it definitely applies to this new era of dan and phil. i like the line “pain has come and gone again"

4. Otaku Hot Girl - Megan Thee Stallion

this is dnp recognizing the anime nerds in the audience lol. this song is funny, it’s also very confident which is becoming a theme

5. Drama - aespa

“i bring all the drama” i mean yeah that’s us. that’s this show

6. Talk To Me - Two Shell, FKA twigs

oooh this one’s good. “called you just to check you never wanna see me again / i fly high with the hope that you’ll look up / with one chance, i just wanna be the one that you love” this is like, during the hiatus. we just wanted to talk to them! and i think that goes for both sides!

7. Busy Girl - Tove Lo

another confidence song! this one specifically being more about hustling and being good at your job. dan and phil ARE busy girls. and they are the center of our world

8. Death and Romance - Magdalena Bay

i love this song! and it’s definitely about a toxic/ slightly codependent relationship. “my hands, your hands, I’ll hold forever / no way I’ll break hold, no, not ever / yeah i give and you give til it’s all that we have / you know nothing is fair in death and romance” and interestingly, at the end it changes to “you give and you give til it’s all that you have” which kind of signifies burnout on one side. dude!!

9. Starburned and Unkissed - Caroline Polachek

i had trouble with this one at first since the lyrics are so abstract, but the chorus starts with “come home,” and like. yeah. it’s about missing someone/ something. we’re literally coming home guys

10. So Long London - Taylor Swift

haha funny because they’re leaving london to go on tour. except wait a minute. “how much sad did you think I had / did you think I had in me? how much tragedy? just how low did you think I’d go before I’d self-implode / before I’d have to go be free?” ughh it’s hiatus!! we got a happy reunion eventually but this is the sad “breakup” before that. oof

11. Please Please Please - Sabrina Carpenter

ok the phannie interpretation of this is really funny. the song is about being ashamed of a partner who may not be the best person and how it reflects back on you. “I beg you, don’t embarrass me motherfucker” could definitely apply to both sides here. they’re saying “you guys are crazy but we love you anyway”

12. Lithonia - Childish Gambino

they’re in their era of not giving a fuck! wait this is crazy. “Cody LaRae / he had a break / he’s finding out that nobody gives a fuck” dan and phil had a break and then came back and found out their fans are chill and awesome!!

13. Heartbreak Feels So Good - Fall Out Boy

i haven’t listened to FOB in a long time but this song is really good. it’s kind of about going through a lot but having fun and dancing anyway. like it’s a very emotional song and we don’t even know what those emotions are anymore it’s just A Lot. “we could dance our tears away, emancipate ourselves” yeah!!

14. DiE4u - Bring Me The Horizon

another toxic relationship song! i like the bridge. “this isn’t love, this is a car crash / this isn’t love, this is a bloodbath / this isn’t love, this is a sentence” guys we’re stuck with each other.

15. This Is Why - Paramore

“this is why I don’t leave the house” i mean….. yeah lmao

16. LUNCH - Billie Eilish

this is kind of just a song about being lesbian. i mean it’s queer joy! that’s relevant! i think it’s here for the girl kissers in the audience and also because this album was the best of the year argue with the wall

17. Rush - Troye Sivan

and this one’s for the gays! this is a really obvious choice i mean it’s troye sivan. dnp sing this all the time too

18. Von dutch - Charli xcx

this one is SO good. the confidence song to end them all. “cult classic but i still pop” they’re literally number one you bitches could NEVER. dnp don’t really have haters or people pretending not to like them the way charli is singing about, but the song still fits so well and is just such a banger. fantastic choice

19. HOT TO GO - Chappell Roan

this is also just queer joy! it’s on here so that everyone can sing along and do the dance in the audience which was a 10/10 experience let’s go lesbians

20. Toxic - Britney Spears

the perfect one to end it on. the adrenaline that came with hearing this song start right before the show was insane, and like, the whole time i’ve been saying this is the story of a toxic relationship! so what better song to illustrate that, not to mention dnp’s history with it like it’s just beautiful.

ok that's the end hope you enjoyed reading my barely coherent rambling! lmao i figured at least a few of you give a shit about stuff like this so there you go. have a lovely day

[suiana]

collab with my lovely pookie @yxami 😘😘😘

✎ yandere! reincarnator headcanons . . .

✎ warnings . . .

― obsessiveness , possessiveness, crazy Yan or smth idk etc.

(gn! reader x gn yandere! oc)

✎ yandere! reincarnator who's been pining after you ever since they first laid their eyes on you. they could just tell that you were meant to be together!

✎ yandere! reincarnator who's been toxic ever since their first life. their first life as a handsome guy... you thought it would have been fine to be with them but it turns out he's a little off in the head. oh well, it's fine, once his life ends you'll be back to walking this earth alone as usual once more, right?

✎ yandere! reincarnator who died in their first life while trying to get you to stay with them. no-! don't leave them! wait no, you're about to get hit! and he pushes you out of the way, blind to the fact that you wouldn't have died even if the truck hit you.

✎ yandere! reincarnator who didn't want to die, desperately wanting to stay with you as they makes a wish that gets granted by someone above, turning them into a reincarnator.

✎ yandere! reincarnator who had initially cursed the gods. no! they didn't want to be a reincarnator! they just wanted to extend their life a little longer so they could be with you till you both died! but then he saw you, the same as ever even after twenty years had passed. wait, did you not age..? were you... immortal?

✎ yandere! reincarnator who's astounded when you reveal that you're actually an immortal. oh..? so you'd be there for them in every life! ah! they just knew it! you two were just meant to be!

✎ yandere! reincarnator who pursues you in all of their lives. it doesn't matter because they'll find you. they'll find you and make you theirs. again and again and again. and you go along with it each and every time because you were bored.

✎ yandere! reincarnator who reincarnated into a female body in their latest life. oh... this body is so pretty... they'll have fun chasing after you in this new body ♡

✎ "y/n... I'm back~"

"my love... you'll never escape me."

they coo, dress fluttering in the wind as they stand in the middle of a field of flowers. they looked ethereal, almost angelic if it weren't for the blood staining their dress.

you sighed, shaking your head as you stared at the reincarnator. seriously, even after so many lives, after so many years, they were the same as ever. crazily obsessed and not right in the head.

you had tried to change them and their obsessive ways on multiple occasions, help them out a bit. after all, you had nothing better to do than spend time with them. your family was long dead and you were practically alone. though the help you offered obviously didn't work.

coming back in many different forms, they pursued your love in a more crazed way each time. they gradually got worse, mental health at a rapid decay with each reincarnation.

just a few lives back they wouldn't have considered murder yet they're doing it now so lifelessly? you were disappointed. but you supposed that it would make sense. they have lived multiple lives after all. and living multiple lives without any break... it really does take a toll on one's mental health. not to mention they were already crazy in their first life.

yet you couldn't help but stay with them in every life. they always found you after all. you had tried hiding away from them, yet as if some god was laughing at you, they'd manage to find you. it was like you two were actually meant to be.

so you gave in, allowing them to love you in their weird obsessive way. even at the cost of other people and their lives. you had tried to stop them, not wanting others to die just because of their obsessiveness but they never listened. it was a little sad but what could you do?

they just simply did not want to listen. and it seems like they were favoured by the gods for they were always born in a wealthy and privileged family. a family that would always cover up all their crimes...

you sighed, looking at the reincarnator wearing a floral sundress that was stained in red.

"just... come here already. let's go back."

they smiled, kicking away the body of a tall male they murdered after they caught him staring at you. you muttered a small prayer and stared at the dead body for another second before having the reincarnator hang off your arm.

"let's go~"

[burningcheese-merchant]

It's so cool to see CRK getting popular again, it feels so refreshing like so much new quality fan content dropping that we couldn't even DREAM about a couple of months ago, but it hurts my very soul seeing new players being interested in beast x ancient ships, in their dynamics, asking is it okay to ship it and getting slapped in the face with another "IT'S ABUSER X VICTIM IT'S A PROSHIP IT'S A DARKSHIP" (which is just not true) killing off all the fun, bc apparently enemies to lovers, AUs and what-ifs doesn't exist anymore and everything that isn't pure fluff is illegal now. "IT'S NOT ENEMIES TO LOVERS, BEASTS ABUSED AND TORTURED THEM" yeah THAT'S WHAT ENEMIES DO??? What else do you expect from a villain honestly??? Like in ANY media??? Beasts still got their ass beat in the end as they totally deserve BECAUSE ANCIENTS ARE NOT SOFT INNOCENT SMALL BABIES THAT NEED TO BE PROTECTED, they're grown ass IMMORTAL ADULTS with huge responsibilities, they rule kingdoms, they hold a huge power in their hands, they're imperfect and not innocent. They can stand for themselves, they can fight, they can destroy, they can lie and they WILL if they need to.

I can SMELL that a shit tonne of people in this fandom secretly enjoys beast x ancient as a guilty pleasure, a forbidden fruit, but they will never admit it just because they're afraid of being harassed and bullied and it's just sad how normalized it is to hurt actual people over shipping some mobile game characters, who are adults, doesn't have power imbalance between them and aren't related.

And allat coming from ME, who doesn't ship a single beast x ancient ship

It's sad lol. Sad for the Beast x Ancient community and honestly kind of pathetic for ardent detractors at this point. I've seen sooooo many Beast x Ancient fans get harassed and even sent death threats, it's not even funny (not that it ever was in the first place). Don't you have better things to do than get this mad about video games lol. Like a job or school or a hobby or something

You're right, the Ancients are not helpless widdle babies and I'm kind of sick of how often they're infantilized, in general and just for the sake of tearing down BxA. They're grown adults who are thousands of years old. Two of them are parents, whose children are grown adults themselves. 4 of 5 founded entire nations. 1 is an active ruler still (Cacao), one seeks to rule again (Golden). Let's not kid ourselves, they've probably all got blood on their hands (not to the degree the Beasts do, but still. You don't live that life without having to make tough choices). Stop treating them like porcelain dolls lol. Yes, the Beasts attacked them, but they're villains. That's what villains do. Go play Animal Crossing if you can't handle heroes and villains fighting each other lol

And then I get a laugh whenever those same people who screech about toxicity and abuse and yadda yadda turn around and ship H*llyt*ya or Sh*dowSp*ce. The former is BxA in a different costume. The latter... Man. You know. Because TWO deranged maniacs, who are fundamentally incompatible in every way and do not make sense at all and absolutely would hurt each other and bring each other down I hate that ship so damn much. Do not ask me abt it I WILL ramble and nobody needs that. Zero beef with fans though, we're coolio! Just a difference of opinion!, is such a better option, isn't it lol. Hypocrisy.

I'm sure you noticed that ep 7 + 8 brought out a whole lot of new ShadowVanilla fans. I agree w/ you, I can feel that there are a fuckton of BxA fans lurking in the darkness, waiting for an excuse to poke their heads out (like 7 + 8 lol), only hiding because they don't want to attract lunatics. Even YOU sent this ask anonymously. Most of my inbox is stuff from anons, and I look at them all and wonder, "how many of you are just afraid of backlash for expressing any joy in BurningCheese or any of the other BxA pairs?" It's ok, guys. Don't listen to them. Be you. I'm being me right now, as cringy as I am. I am Extremely Normal about BurningCheese and I'm not ashamed :) they're video game characters at the end of the day, just have fun. Why can't we all just be bros, man, what does any of this matter

[kythed]

asshole - atsumu x reader

tagged: american uni au, atsumu is a bad guy (or is he), fwb, suggestive but nothing explicit, reader is clearly smitten and hates themself for it, toxic and sexy

10pm, still heavy august heat. driving 20 over on the 405. californication on atsumu's cheapo sedan stereo. he'd called the red hot chili peppers "retro" once, much to your chagrin and subsequent mocking.

"what," he'd complained as you laughed at him. you'd felt like being a little mean. "they're fucking old."

"the beach boys are retro. madonna, even. 1999 wasn't so long ago. you just think all of time revolves around you."

"well, yeah. everything revolves around me." he took it in stride, because he always did.

"sure seems like it sometimes, i guess." (and you couldn't help but let him.)

anthony kiedis trailed off on the last "dream of californication" as atsumu took the exit towards your school, not slowing down until traffic forced him to. too many fast food joints, convenience stores, wayward teens with slushies and blue razz vapes.

"god, i could go for a cherry icee right now," atsumu said, one handing the wheel. he glanced over at you, tossing you an ironic grin. it pissed you off how handsome he was, and how little he deserved to be so handsome, and—this, more than anything, enraged you to your very core—how keenly aware of his own handsomeness he was.

"and i could go for a weekend in laguna," you said, trying to avoid looking at him. "isn't life cruel?"

atsumu laughed and reached over to squeeze your thigh too high up to be platonic and too hard to be affectionate. you bit your lip to keep from squeaking.

you'd been a wayward teen once, but now most of your fun was technically legal. atsumu had his party drugs that you partook in from time to time. you had your drinks, your cigs, and... him. (everyone had their vices.)

you kicked your feet up on the dash as he looked for illegal parking on campus. sex on fire came on and you idly hummed along, watching atsumu bring the car behind a senior dorm, pulling into a reserved space. he had an old handicap placard he used sometimes, stolen through the crack in the car window of some poor grandad parked at a citibank. it was totally ethically repulsive. you still found him embarrassingly sexy.

soft lips are open, them knuckles are pale.

"i love this song," atsumu said, tossing the car into park but leaving the radio on. he leaned back in his seat.

"yeah, i know," you said, fanning yourself. even your tube top over daisy dukes felt too clothed for this weather. "we hooked up to it once."

"it's cute how you still feel like you have to say hooked up," he said. "like i'm polite company or something."

but it's not forever. but it's just tonight.

"you made me finish to this song," you self-corrected, looking him in the eye. his sandy hair and cruel gaze made you shiver. how could such pretty brown eyes like that be cruel? they should've been warm, welcoming. but he was just cold all over. "and then we had sex, and it was rough, and you made me say some insane shit so you could get off. and then we took some of my edibles and passed out."

"sounds like every time we've ever hooked up," atsumu said with a shrug. he didn't remember. you smiled to yourself. were you sad? maybe, but that was just the way it was with him.

"now who's being polite?"

"yeah, yeah," he said. he turned off the car and climbed out, and you followed suit. "let's get to suna's. everyone else is probably already stupid drunk, and i'm gonna feel left out."

"i'm drunk on life," you said facetiously. "you should try it sometime."

atsumu gave a little snort laugh. somehow, it was charming. "if that works for you. i prefer grey goose."

you watched him walk on towards the apartment complex. he was always doing that, leaving you behind and assuming you'd catch up. he was always assuming you'd do anything to be near him. probably because you often did.

"come on." you were jolted out of what had quickly become a deeply engrossing train of thought. atsumu had stopped, had turned around. waiting for you. "you're so slow."

"i—oh," you said, stammering a little as you walked to him and he grabbed your hand. the gesture was a little sarcastic, but you also noticed he also didn't let go.

"i'm so ending the night with drunk fucking someone's girlfriend," he said, cool and conversational. back to normal. "or, be on your best behavior and it could be you."

"if i should be so unlucky," you said with an obligatory eye roll. (hands still interlaced.)

up above, the relentless west coast smog made for a starless night. down here, though, with your hand in atsumu's, climbing the fire escape to suna's place, where you could already hear obnoxious techno, slurred yelling, and too-loud laughter—you felt the stars in your eyes shine a little fuckin' brighter.

[mariii1]

🧚🏾‍♀️Messages From Your Queer Ancestors✨

I'm backkkkk, check Patreon for my extended general version of this reading!

AHHHH I'm so excited to launch my Patreon, you guys don't even know about all the ideas I have lined up and I'm sure there's more to come as this month goes on! Anyway these photos are all from pinterest buttt see if you can guess who's a very important figure and whyy 😽

1. So a few of you in this pile are trying to force yourself to forgive qhen you don't actually want to (or need to) and for the rest you're almost bulldozing over your identity and how it's affected you. I have a feeling you hang around people who don't know about your identities and would outright make fun of you or disrespect you in some way because of it. Your ancestors are way more sad than angry; if anything they're sad that these people are around you and they're sad that you don't honor or place importance on those aspects of your identity enough to walk away from them. Some of you might believe you'll never find people who truly accept and understand all these aspects of you so you've completely given up on it. Your environment might now is definitely very homophobic/transphobic or just xenophobic in general. While you might've been born in these environment or have had to stay in it, your queer ancestors want you to believe in yourself and in your queer identities; those aspects matter just as much as other parts of yourself. They want you to focus on creating an exit/escape plan out of this situation and to find the strength and hope in you to believe you will be able to find the right people one day instead of just completely shutting this idea out.

2. Things are going to change for you very, very soon. Some of you may be doubting a partner or a close friend in terms of loyalty or how much they love/respect you, but you'll soon realize these are just fears with no real basis. You will hit the jackpot somehow or you'll realize you have already in some area of your life. If you're financially broke right now, there's an idea or action you take that'll be the jackpot literally in terms of money and its something you didn't expect to happen, or at least to such a large degree. Keep doing what you're doing and the truth will be revealed to you soon.

3. I feel like me and your queer ancestors would've been good buddies and they've been so nice to me since the beginning of this reading. You're blessed spirituality in terms of family even if your immediate family right now is dog shit. You all however are really tired. I'm getting for most of you this isn't necessarily physically but more tired of people trying to fuck you over or fuck with you in general. You might've had to cut a lot of people out and seek justice or revenge in some way; ways that might be very tedious or draining like filing paperwork, legal battles, etc. I'm sincerely sorry if you have experienced some form of assault especially sexual assault please rest assured you will get justice whether through the system or not. You feel really tired pile 3 and this might sound infantilizing but I mean it in the sweetest way, you need a hug. You need someone to be understanding of you and you might wish you had someone physical to rant to. This might not bring you much comfort but your ancestors are watching your struggles and they wish they could coddle and baby you. A few of them see you as a baby and it breaks their heart that their baby is so stressed out 🥹 they are still proud of you and are rooting for you ad wish to send you lots of money so you can focus on self-care. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it pile 3!

4. Some of you feel very stagnant or just stuck in a situation especially financially. You might've realized something was a scam or actually wasn't going to lead to anything more; this could be about staying at a toxic workplace in hopes of getting a promotion or being transferred to a better team. I'm also having a hard time focusing on your reading so you might just be feeling overwhelmed or scattered. You realized a situation would never get better but now you don't know what to do or you've convinced yourself you have no other options left that are any better. However, I'm getting this really isn't true and it might take a drastic change in your mindset in order to see the potential of other possibilities. This could be realizing going back to school or learning a trade might not be so bad or that maybe relying on online income (influencing, youtube, etc.) Could actually be a real plan. These are just examples but your queer ancestors are really begging you to try and think outside of the box and realize "standard" job opportunities might not be as reliable as they seem and that options that seem very flaky, can be very stable if you put in the work.

[jazzically]

NEW TMAGP EP LETSGOOOOOOOOOO

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD do uou understand the joy that arose in me upon seeing "scrutiny" and "xxxxerror"

hahaha i bet theyre running out of watching-related words to title their episodes with tma and tmagp combined

SCREAMS

oh i forgot i have homework

whatever this takes priority :333 (whats my work ethic you say? i call it tmagp)

yaaaaaah i knew it sounded familiar ok anyway starting episode

Oh. oh my goodness it's not just any eye statement it's THIS ONE

pardon me but how did i not notice they called him "Archivist" here

UUUUGH time for my monthly fall-apart-over-the-monumentally-intricate-plot-planning-of-s1–s4-tma break

break over back on track sorry i had to savor this moment

LMAO THE VERY FIRST COMMENT BRO

sighhh this theme brings me such joy

S C R U T I N I Z E THIS WRETCHED THING

hahahahahaha the way he said that was perfect

weeks of medical treatment?!

oh yeah it's real-time-ish

OHMYGOSH ARE WE GOING TO GET TO SEE MELANIE??? I AM A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL OF INSANE RIGHT NOW

MY BETTER HALF. just kill me now before i die of dehydration from my own tears

mUsTaRrD gAs i love the transcripts

OOOOOH OOOOOOOOHHHHHH

UNKNOWN!!!!!!!!!! DUDE!!!!!!!! +1 million points for that excellent choice of words

........that hit me like a truck............. this ashe person is a BRILLIANT voice actress

i adore this sort of dystopian social commentary in fictional media. i feel like there is so much more to talk about and explore with the concept of the fear domains and their implications outside of the story

oh this is horrible.

see there's no way one frog spattered over the whole classroom. this sort of subtle exaggeration of personal fears is gorgeous

i love how they get to continue inventing fear domains with this new format in protocol even if jon and martin didnt have time to explore everything aaaand now guest VAs get to read their statements

this hurt. Like in my soul

the sad thing is that crippling insecurity and ceaseless judgment can Absolutely spawn this exact kind of constant negative self-talk. like its barely exaggerated in my opinion. this can be what goes on in my head sometimes. bit personal sorry anyway its just hitting how much realism this domain description has

also how dare they start with toxic family :(

(how dare as in my emotions are getting whooped immediately instead of gradually)

Kids this is your reminder that you are worth more than you think about and the demons in your head are constantly contradicting themselves which means they're wrong

ASHE GOT KILLED??? NOOOOOOOOO I LIKED ASHE

i love how george didnt even bat an eye at sams arrival cause she already knew abt parallel universe shif

whoa vibe switch

They don't have electronics???

HOLY FREAKAFRACK I DIDNT REGISTER I WAS HEARING MELANIES VOICE TILL I WENT BACK TO THE TRANSCRIPT

ohhhhhHHHHMY GOD MELANIE !!!!!!!!! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH HOW HAVE YOU BEEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!! MALENNIEEEEEFHDODBDOFJKDNDKDNDKFKDHDI

shut up stop i actually missed her so much im THRILLED I LOVE GORGEOUE AND MALENIE i meant t type georgie whatever w e (i) are calling them gorgeous and maleficent now

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD WORLDBUILDING IM SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!! i bet alex and jonny had a lot of fun writing this bit. i do imagine it would be difficult to make it sound authentic and not just like an infodump but i think its great

Yet another perfect representation of the dichotomy between human travesty and community

I LOVE YOU MELANIE

[click]

OHHHH YAAAYYYYY MORE MELANIE AND SAM DIALOGUE AAAAAWWUUUGHHHHH please continue talking about the magnus institute™

"dear" aaaauhhhww m omg i go crazy

OH MY GOSH

my bRAIN JUST MELTED.

that is all for today i need to process that hOLy FRICKALICIOUS

[darcyolsson]

ok i'm finally getting around to this hello again. so my main issue with malec is mainly the oversaturation right. you look up content for anything else and malec is just constantly there, and I could forgive this if it didn't start bleeding into canon! cassie visibly shifted the way she started writing malec as they got so popular, and now they're so perfect and nothing can go wrong with them.

i'm sorry but they were so much better when they were toxic!! idk alec actively sabotaging magnus and magnus being way too emotionally absent for alec (who was in his first relationship and also barely not a child) and yet the way they still went back to each other every time! when they were broken up but still obsessed with each other - when magnus ended their break up by telling alec he loved him!! real shit right there!

but now they can't be flawed anymore :( i'm sorry i just do not care about them as parents. i'm so sorry i know everyone's obsessed with rafe and max but in my heart i think alec and magnus should be touring the world constantly breaking up and getting back together and having insane sex unhindered by infants. domestication of wild animals has never sat right with me.

and i know you said you loved the eldest curses but omg that series is my worst offender. first of all i know not everyone has this issue but i can really tell that it's cowritten by someone else and it's just a bit grating. second of all - why did the red scrolls of magic take away their fun holiday!! this is such a small grievance but what do you mean they had one adventure and then gave up and stayed at home. noooo they should have been getting it on all over europe nooo noo that will NEVER sit right with me.

and the lost book of the white.... mm mm didn't hit the spot sorry. the tmi gang have such a special place in my heart and i just... didn't really care about them in this book? i'm sorry i am one of the people calling tec fanservice because while i sometimes love fanservice this just didn't work for me - sammael felt like a hugely wasted villain and i didn't care about shinyun, plus my issue with tmi gang characterisation.

but my one big shining star of disappointment. malec didn't even have a proper arc in the book? absolutely nothing changed in their relationship. ik that's because this book was written between other books but you can't spin out a three book series and have NO meaningful development between the MAIN CHARACTERS. yes, development is taking place over time between the books, but it's not happening in the tec books themselves, rendering them obsolete! alec was a bit concerned about magnus not being honest with him but ultimately went nowhere with this and it just ended with them being super badass husbands again. by this point i'm sorry i'm BORED.

i know a lot of these grievances are just petty and ultimately i am mostly just getting into this rant for the bit, but a part of me is genuinely a little sad that the flaws of the characters, which are what made me enjoy them so much in the first place, just kind of don't exist anymore. like the fact that alec, who was the most conservative of all the tmi gang by far particularly about downworlders (was still uncomfortable that simon was a vampire in cohf), becomes the head of the downworlder shadowhunter alliance and is suddenly really friendly with all downworlders?? that would be kind of sweet if anyone would acknowledge that he had previously been mostly against their existence beforehand, but no one ever does. the development post tmi is basically completely skipped over. (side note it will forever irk me that alec is head of that alliance instead of simon, and that its meetings are held in simon's old flat discussing issues very relevant to simon's life experiences, but WHATEVER.)

alec becoming shadowpresident and living his best life is great and all but i miss the tension... the drama... back when he was properly bitchy. and i hate to say it but i actually prefer reading about magnus in the past series when alec isn't around because frankly magnus will always be mostly compelling to me as a charming isolated loser! i have to speak my truth.

anyway many apologies for this but i hope you enjoyed regardless. i actually didnt even get round to complaining about fandom at all but this is getting way too long anyway. down with canon and may jimon stay strong forever (i was the jimon 😢 anon)

first of all, the quote "domestication of wild animals has never sat right with me" regarding malec will never ever leave my head after reading this. what an incredible way to put it

it's so interesting that you mention disliking the tmi gang characterisation in tlbotw! i both get it and i don't. i read tlbotw right after reading tmi, and to me they did quintessentially feel like the tmi gang, but the gang we saw in the 1st half of tmi. i dont see people talk about this very often but i feel like the first half of tmi is SO different from the other half in tone. it's very silly and doesn't take itself too seriously, while the second half mostly lacks that vibe with the exception of a few chapters. it literally feels like two different series sometimes.

tlbotw definitely is more of a sequel to that tmi gang and the magnus we see in the bane chronicles than it is to the version of the gang we see in eg tda, but i personally didn't mind it. lower stakes and less seriousness for a side book feels appropriate, and i love the silly vibes in tbc and earlier tmi.

i DO agree with what you said about sammael though! when reading tmi the greater demons feel like this massive threat, but in later shadowhunter books (like tlh) they just... don't, because they don't get the same buildup. tlbotw is a really extreme example of this i feel, because what's supposed to be this massive villain gets defeated in just one book, and a book where none of the characters really take it seriously at that. taking what's supposed to be this huge evil and presenting it this way, imo, makes the greater demons as a whole a lot less interesting as a threat. if their supposed limitless power can be stopped in what feels like a low-stakes story, why should we worry about them as a threat in eg twp?

anyway. back to malec, who this is about: i do get it. i also love past magnus, and i was genuinely devastated to find that camille made no appearance in tlh, because their relationship has always been SO interesting to me. to me it feels very obvious that this is because any content we get about magnus is now about magnus-and-alec, meaning camille (alongside magnus as the messy, devastatingly lonely immortal) has now fully disappeared. he essentially became like tessa: as a character she is so defined by her relationships to jem and will that we never once see her as a main character in a story without them, even though we know she spent most of her life without either jem or will (and went through some crazy stuff in the meantime).

i really get what you're talking about when you say magnus & alec have become almost too perfect as a couple, and that you would prefer some more goold old fashioned toxicity. i get it! however i am going to hold you hand when i say this. you and i are not looking at this like the average reader does. we are people who always want characters to be Worse. and as my good friend julian blackthorn has let me know...... this is not a common sentiment among tsc fans (or perhaps YA readers in general).

malec post-tmi are written as a happy ending, and people would probably literally show up at cassie's house with torches if she did anything to them. this applies to all the main couples, we're also not going to see emma & julian, or even jem & tessa go through any significant struggle after their story is already finished, but obviously this applies to malec even more because theyre SO popular. and i DO agree that this puts malec in a really weird position re:bonus content, because theyre both the fan favourite so they cannot experience any kind of legitimate struggle or cassie will have to start worrying about her house getting burnt down, but at the same time they are the fan favourite so they must get a lot of fan content. i think there has to be a way to efficiently balance the two (i'm curious to see how jace and clary's recently announced Better in Black story turns out for this reasin) but ultimately, regarding malec, cassie will always play it safe, especially because alec as a character is important to her personally since he was written for a late friend of hers, as well as to loads of fans.

i do feel your struggle though! i am content with current malec, because if i miss bitchy alec i can simply return to tmi, but i will say that the magnus we saw in tbc will forever be my favourite and that i dont think i'll even enjoy alec's character as much as i did that time when he tried to mortality-trap his bf into never being with another person again. also i think magnus should have kissed matthew and/or camille in tlh and i do fully believe he would have had it not been for #malec, in that sense it's very clear tlh magnus was affected by the existence of present-day malec, which i think is a shame, because messy, serial 17-year-old-boy-kisser magnus was my favourite.

basically: i don't mind the current characterisation of malec as it being their happily ever after, because i think it suits the series and (most of the time) i know not to expect content like that from tsc/cassandra clare, but i also wish that magnus as an individual wasn't defined by his relationship to alec so much even in stories that take place long before alec was even born (but were written after #malecendgame happened in tmi)

(also, very true what you said about simon. ive thought of that before too!)

this was incoherent and long as hell, hope this makes any sense. sorry it took me so long to answer your ask i knew this reply would become massive so i kept putting it off lol

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 2, Match 5 I LOVE YOU vs. CAT

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for I LOVE YOU:

mappi’s spitting bars 🔥🔥🔥🗣️🗣️🗣️

ok but i, as the iloveyoucountdown person before it released, waited 89 days for ily and SHE DID NOT DISAPPOINT‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥 go vote ily now bc its peak music

---

the acoustic section where it just feels so raw and emotional it's crazy also we love to see mappi/miho okasaki rapping again and good lord mahiru delivered hadauwd, like you think about it a lot? like "Ishokujuu plus ai Miss you Raishuu aemasuka no Cadence Yurusarenai ikigai mou iki mo dekinai" it's also so catchy just "Dai- dai- dai- datte suki suki! Dai- dai- dai- datte daisuki."

it's such a quick song but it delivers and it DELIVERS WELL there's so much in the instrumental you can also miss, like sirens and such! again guitar section it's crazy!! i didn't even touch on the visuals, like the visuals are absolutely amazing and really touch on the toxic cycle of mahiru's relationship for example, the carousel turning into a forest! and also they were still able to implement some of tihtbilwy in the beginning of the song! we got to see mahiru's boyfriend as well!! additionally, RATS AND CAKE. HOLY SHIT we all know the absolute shock that appeared on everyone's faces the second that cake turned into a rat (to be honest, I was absolutely sick with shock for the rest of the day) It's really amazing as a song and MV, plus it did help give some more information on Mahiru!

---

miho okasaki's vocals are so powerful. it sounds like mahiru is screaming because of not being forgiven and because of what happened to her boyfriend and because "she can't just do it right".

THE LYRICS ARE SO. "clothes food shelter + love and miss you"?? "my lethal weapon is how to be in love with you"?? "kiss goodbye to this feeling cuz it's too heavy"?? again, the "why can't i just do it right" line?? SO GOOD.

MAHIRU RAPPING. THIS SONG STARTS WITH HER RAPPING. LITERAL CHILLS

i've heard the i love you chorus once and now it's in my head forever. i wake up, i sing the i love you chorus. i go to sleep, i sing the i love you chorus.

the lyrics are so sad when you start thinking about them more. "saying i love you but doing what i did, i know i have no right, crossed and covered in sin"?? please, don't you want to give mappi a hug. please she deserves it. she needs it

the "DIE-suki" pun.

the mv is so. i can talk about it for hours. it literally starts with showing us what happened to her bf. i've watched it live, i knew about this part and i still was shocked. mahiru's boyfriend is dead. mahiru is also rapping. also, the lyrics. this scene is terrifying to me and i mean it in the best way possible.

the cake symbolism. mahiru refusing to accept her reality and the true nature of her relationship with her bf and still seeing everything around her as cute and soft and pink. her feeling guilty and not knowing how to express love properly and still choosing to continue to love in this way. i don't know, something about it is so.. it's so sad and so realistic and so heartbreaking

i love how we can say so much about her relationship with her boyfriend based on mv and the lyrics. this is more of a theory and i probably shouldn't talk about it but i like the fact that mappi and her bf's relationship wasn't just abusive or one-sided love or anything like that. it's like they loved each other, they just.. didn't know how to show it or express it in a healthy way (or maybe mahiru's bf did know, but he was okay with going through all of this for her). like this scene when they're both riding the carousel and looking happy at first and even when both of them look like a mess, mahiru's face expression is still pretty much the same while her boyfriend looks much more tired, but he's still smiling. something about that part breaks me.

the instrumental is so fun and chaotic and creepy please listen to it. all milgram instrumentals are great but ily instrumental is definitely one of my fav ones.

Propaganda for CAT:

"You like jazz? Jazz is chaos within order. Got to love the whole band. Vibraphone, saxophone, trumpet, flute, piano, guitar, drums, bass… Go, rhythm section, go! The song sounds tender at times and aggressive at others as different instruments pop up at different times. Sometimes they follow Kazui’s voice (“follow the king of the masquerade”). Sometimes they get to be the focus. You have the chill piano one moment and the screaming guitar in the next.

You’ve got a lovely “jingle” (“Lie until it gets better…”) which occurs at the beginning, middle, and end. It fits the “newspaper ad” style of the video really well. Also at the very end, there’s one more line that gives the jingle an upward contour, giving a sense of finality. “Until you can meet the king of the masquerade.” You’re there now.

The two verses start off differently before they take on a similar melody. It feels like Kazui is talking to a different person in each verse.

The chorus is a beautiful façade the first time and a sinister truth the second time.

The opening for solos shows that this jazz song means business. I love how the saxophone and trumpet especially get in your face. And with the tacet on vocals, the walking bass really shines if you lend it your ear.

And the smoke break! Silence is golden. Glass click. Lighter. Huff.

As always, Kazui’s voice is super deep. He hits even lower notes this time around. He’s a fifth lower than the next lowest singers (Haruka and Shidou)."

---

-Great instrumental choice. Kazui and jazz is *chefs kiss*

-Symbolism. THE SYMBOLISM. I can’t type out all my thoughts but ifykyk

-The almost comic like style of the MV is really appealing.

-Lyrics!! There is so much to unpack but it’s really cool.

-Kazui eating the dove��� fricken iconic.

---

FIRST OF ALL the vocals????? BEAUTIFUL. His va put his whole pussy into this song and you can tell!! The way he sings the chorus is so damn addicting I'm so in love with him. His voice is more or less stable throughout the entire thing until the final chorus but you can hear the emotion peaking out which fits perfectly with Kazui keeping everything hidden. The way his voice turns into a sort of whisper during "all the things I wanna do that I can't say outloud"??? The way his voice starts trembling during "this feeling it's yearning to be satisfied"???? The way his voice turns into a sort of whisper AND starts trembling during "hey, if I said I liked-liked you, what would you?"?????? HEAVENLY! You can really feel how afraid Kazui is under his disguise and my heart breaks a little everytime I listen. Not to mention how absolutely powerful his voice gets at the climax!!!!!! It's insane!!!!!!! It's genius!!!!!! It makes me wild makes me crazy makes me eat my walls!!!!!!!!!!

THE SMOKE BREAK?????? What other song has something as powerful as that huh???? This isn't just a song produced by the milgram machine using his memories, this is HIS song and he is OWNING IT! The music builds up so much and gets so intense right before it, I can literally feel myself get tense and starting holding my breath right before he takes the break and everything relaxs… it's not just a break for him, but a break for the viewer. The song is spiralling out of control just like his life and his lies and he has no choice but to put it to a quick stop before its too much to handle.

THE IMAGERY IS WILD!!!!! He's a magician!!! Little magic guy!!!! Using tricks and lies to amaze and captivate the people around him! Trying desperately to magic his own feelings into something else! But it's all fake! It's all tricks and no matter how hard he tries he can never actually change himself into what he wants! But he's trying to convince himself the same way he's convinced his audience!! And when you're watching a magic act, are you there for the magician themself or are you there to watch the show?? The people in his life only cared for him when he performed for them, but they didn't give a drop of love to who he was a person! ALSO the transformation of the wedding ring to a cigarette to the dove at the end??? Makes me wild every single time! Right infront of his wife, he showed her that their marriage was something unhealthy for him that was slowly killing him from the inside. AND THEN he uses it to harm himself???? And then he turns that cigarette into a dove- a representation of love and literally TEARS INTO IT. He tears his marriage apart with his mouth!!! AKA HIS WORDS. makes me wild. Also fun fact Kazui says he started smoking because when he was younger it was "just natural for everyone to smoke" and that lines up with his reasons for marriage perfectly.

Kazui looks really hot in it. You should vote for Cat because Kazui is insanely attractive. What other reason do you need huh? Hot gay middle aged man.

[amysgiantbees]

Pit Babe

Jotting down my thoughts as I go, spoilers ahead:

Absolutely nuts that his name is Babe. It's not a nickname. Only him and a pig have I ever heard called this as a non-pet name.

Very grateful that English translations exist in the first place. But who decided to translate father as Daddy? What a choice. Especially in a show involving Daddy kink.

Begging Charlie to stop saying "Babe!" and just start explaining yourself more often.

Pavel Naret Promphaopun is SUCH a brilliant actor. He has so much nuance in his performance. My god can that man cry.

Love how much Babe is allowed to feel in this in general. Toxic masculinity is so BLATANTLY a facade for him.

The way Pavel decides to have Babe find so much stuff amusing IDK it helps lessen the cringe for me. It's not him making fun of the plot in a meta way - not a big fan of that it usually feels either rude or lazy - he just very easily laughs at the ridiculousness going on like anyone would and it feels nice and realistic.

The implications that Jeff's predictions are always right is nuts. I feel vindicated that it's proven false.

I thought they'd distinguish that Jeff has to touch bare flesh to look into the future, but nope, touches Babe's jacket.

Does Jeff only see the future when he initiates the touch? That's so specific because he doesn't have any control beyond that on whether or not he sees anything it seems. Does he see more of the future every time he touches someone? Or is it like big stuff then it's over and out of the way until something changes.

Made me sad that Jeff implied that Charlie at least was afraid of him or wanted something from him. I hope that changed. Also, bizarre for him to be worried people are afraid of him when Charlie exists.

Love how different Charlie and Jeff deal with their touched based powers. Jeff will hardly touch anyone. Charlie could not give a fuck about consequences apparently and is very tactile to say the least.

Definitely head-cannon Jeff as autistic

Wish Charlie and Pitt bonded over their shitty childhoods more. That could have been a nice moment.

Absolutely insane that Charlie stealing Babe's power forever isn't a bigger deal.

I think Charlie said he was only there for two years. So I'm guessing he got sold at like 14/16, already knew about his powers, and decided to hide them and get kicked out rather than getting better treatment but staying there longer. Because Tony seemed to pick up what was happening pretty quick from the security tapes. Even if a lackey was in charge of Charlie not him you'd think he'd pick up something before now otherwise. Would love if we actually got to see this though. I'd love to delve into how Charlie is so sunshine bright happy despite all the solitary confinement he endured.

Why was Charlie visiting Tony if he was kicked out? Is it just because they were looking for Jeff and you're not totally "free" even after getting kicked out?

I'd love it if Tony's cruelty was emphasized in that Charlie is penniless now. I know Babe says that he's poor or something at one stage but I can't tell if he just means poorer than him. Otherwise it's never brought up but I can't imagine Tony left him with anything. Maybe Jeff helped him out. Although then you'd assume they'd be living together in the beginning? Because Jeff has run away so he shouldn't have much either. Pretty easy solve too. They share an apartment and then move in with their BF's as soon as possible. Especially since a big talking point of Tony's is that they should appreciate the wealth he gives when they're in his good graces.

Everyone is awful at running away. What do you mean you are all in the exact same city. Jeff you're still registered at uni, it would not be hard for Tony to find you. Tony is admittedly also SO bad at his job.

Tony's house is so easy to break in and out it's nuts. They have superpowers! You don't need to make it this easy for them just show them using them a bit more to get in and out.

Would love to know what Charlie thinks of his family. And Jeff. Would honestly just like to know more about them.

Does everyone know about Alpha powers? Why can that guy just have a kid clearly helping him cheat then?

This show is goofy and makes me laugh more accidentally than on purpose but if anything happens to Sonic or North I will cry.

Can't believe Alan Love Actually-ed Jeff. And Jeff called him out for it. Amazing. No notes.

Is Charlie's power a known one? How does he know he needs to die? Has he taken anyone else's powers? Are alpha power's hereditary? Has he had a near death experience?

I was going to say that Charlie's devotion to Babe is a bit much. But I'm on ep. 9 and no, I think Babe in fact deserves someone that ride or die for him, OOF. Glad he's at least ride or die back, and very forgiving...

I guessed literally every secret orphan and got only one wrong. Love this wild ride nevertheless.

I'm going to take Pit Babe not mentioning Alan as someone he can trust as his anxiety talking and not lazy writing to make his and Charlie's connection seem stronger.

I love Alan. What a treasure. He stress swims! What a precious (not) old man

On ep 10. and I better get an explanation for what the Hell this stupid plan is. How is killing Charlie giving him to your Dad? I was under the impression he wanted him alive. Especially since someone who can steal powers (as long as it isn't one at a time but considering it's permanent...) is INCREDIBLY powerful and useful alive. What? Is pretending to drug his food or actually drugging his food not an easier way than this. Just what????????????? This cannot be the plan! Charlie can't actually be dead? *Update: Still think the plan was stupid and I'm surprised Tony agreed to it or kept his word considering he DID NOT GET CHARLIE.

Oh Jesus I was not expecting to actually cry watching this

I love to see men crying in media. And these guys are brilliant at it.

WTF is the R slur doing in episode 11???????

Shout out to the stylists because not only does everyone look AMAZING but their younger selves are SO believable.

Also was kind of hoping after starting to watch 4 minutes that Jeff would get a little flash of the future of them fucking because I think it's fun. Admittedly though it does seem like he only sees bad/big events.

Bizarre that it's established that Kenta helped Jeff escape NOT by having his door be unlocked. For some reason that was just a happy accident. Everyone is so bad at their jobs.

Just something that makes me laugh is tiny little young men apparently in charge of whole mafia/security forces. Someone buy Kenta some platform boots so he can intimidate people properly.

I get that Tony is reluctant to kill any alphas with special powers. But he's stated that healthy organs are equally valuable. I can't imagine it's more risky selling organs than kids. Quite frankly people should not be getting away so easily.

Winner's evil little smirk 10/10 smugness

Charlie I would argue that "He's your dad" is not a long story but sure.

Love you Sonic and North. You're such fucking YouTubers. Thinking of a good name for your police evidence before posting it. Would die for them. One braincell max between the two.

Tony, we didn't IDK start with a stick, a baseball bat? No you really said I don't care that these kids are rare and expensive I'm using the sword. SIR. At the very least wait for them to grow up to sell the organs if they're a bit useless. INSANE.

Genuinely love how they did the auction. Very clever until the hilariously large picture of Babe comes out.

God those sunglasses are goofy

Please translator! PLEASE! I have no idea if it works but please have Jeff call Alan Old Man not Uncle. That's what I switch it to in my head personally at least. Edit: I've gotten used to uncle in this context now but it has been a journey.

It's kind of bizarre that there are almost no women in this show, or non-binary people. We get the restaurant Aunty and that's kind of it. I'd take a few more fem mechanics or kids in the background or something but it's just ALL men. On a similar note, I am UNCOMFORTABLE that the only darker skinned person in the show is a random ruffian.

Babe needs to find a room to fuck in that is not a public bathroom XD Like no wonder everyone knows what a "Babe's Boy" is in the beginning despite how closed off Babe starts as. Everyone has probably heard him going at it while trying to get ready. I get the kink, it's hot. It's just ever since I saw Kim come round the corner in the bathroom I felt so sorry for him and every other racer XD

[tzilatza]

NATLA Review - spoilers

Woke up today still feeling annoyed after finished the Netflix ATLA remake last night, and I think I've figured out the core reason.

It's the fact that: If they had held truer to the original source material, we could have had a truly great show. I disagree with those calling it a complete disaster. The acting was good, great in some cases. The effects were very well done, the bending looked about as good as it can in a live action media. The scenery was lovely.

But what happened in the writer's room?! The way they just reveal all the back stories up front EVERY TIME is honestly insulting to the audience. It's like they're so terrified that smartphone culture has made the public so accustomed to instant gratification that they have no faith we will stick around and keep watching if they make us wait for anything.

They're also clearly terrified of complexity. One of my biggest gripes with this remake is Jet's story. They completely took out his plans to murder a whole town of innocents in order to get a few enemy soldiers. Now, Jet isn't my favorite character, but his story is so important. Because it is real. The world is full of people who have been so brought down by injustice that they lose their sense of right and wrong, and we need to see that on screen. If Jet is too complex for them, how will they handle Ba Sing Se in the second season.

This goes along the same lines as removing Sokka's sexist moments. They felt they had to do it to make him more 'likable.' Yet the writers themselves went full sexist on Katara's character. They've taken out so much of her spark, her righteous and justified anger, and they've done it because even in 2024, people expect women to be more passive to be palatable. Enough people have already commented on them removing Aang's choice to run away. Heaven forbid the main character not be an absolute paragon. Did y'all notice that they even made Hahn likable? Hahn?! What reason do you have for making Hahn likable Netflix?! His role in the narrative is to be an example of toxic masculinity that is clearly the bad choice compared to Sokka who has learned and grown out of his own.

Don't even get me started with what they're doing with the fire nation family, I'm not ready to tackle that. In general, I have no problem with Azula getting a little more backstory and humanizing, but why season 1? Throwing in all these extra scenes just sacrifices screen-time where they could've actually fleshed out the real season one plots instead of rushing through things at breakneck pace. (ex: Aang escaping Zuko's ship in about 2 minutes flat)

At the end of the day, the scenes I most enjoyed were those that held true to the original like the Blue Spirit sequences. They could've easily done more of this, held onto the important plot points and even more important character complexity, while maturing it for an adult audience. I'm not disagreeing with every change they made. Go ahead and take out the silly Nickelodeon gags, add cussing and more realistic violence to get your mainstream viewers. Go ahead. They could've easily made a darker more mature version of the show and still held onto all the old fans in my opinion. But claiming that you're making a 'more mature' version and then removing the complexity and subtlety because they didn't think viewers could handle it...

What makes me most sad is that there are a lot of people who will experience ATLA for the first time through this show. There are a lot of adults who are not willing to watch original ATLA because they refuse to acknowledge an animated series can be anything other than a kid's show. Those people will watch this and think it's the real deal, and that just makes me sad.

If you've read this far, a very sincere thank you for listening to my rant. If you're an OG fan who enjoyed it, I have no problem with you. It was a fun watch, I was just hoping for more. If you are a new viewer who has never seen ATLA before, I sincerely want to hear your opinions. Is it a great show to someone who isn't holding it against the context of the original? And do you plan to watch the original now?

[sunshades]

sending you cathycliff for the ship asks in case no one else did

okay i understand why u needed to carry me outside in a napkin to answer this meme now because wow it's so embarrassing... under the cut thank u i love oyu.... (ship asks)

Who said “I love you” first

smiles gently.... oh i guess i always mark heathcliff out for "confesses first" when we do ship memes which is true but actually catherine is the one that said "i love you" first like without any metaphor or anything. that is kind of hilarious we should maybe give her a bit more credit ? i think it's similar in most mirror worlds he is saying some gay shit like There is no one else in the world that brings the depth and beauty to my life that you do and shes like fuuuck i didnt have a speech ready u are a natural at this

Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background

i was joking about them both being too jealous to even show each other off but well. can't help it heathcliff toxic masculinity moments Everybody Look At My Cool Girlfriend is kind of hilarious to think about. okay no im sorry he respects her too much and we're getting off track. griff was right that he would literally have the default phone background. it is cathy she has way too many photos she has become a good photographer for this specific purpose.

Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror

CATHYYYYYYY she gets silly with it very artistic and shit. heatho leaves normal post-its 👉 buy fruit please????

Who buys the other cheesy gifts

heathcliff............ so old fashioned. has a field day on valentines

Who initiated the first kiss

CATHERINE 💜 we remember pastoral don't we folks. starts both the real first one as teens and the other one when they reunite or whatever i think. since he would really get her back from the dead and still be lik e well i dont want to assume...

Who kisses the other awake in the morning

cat wakes up first and is addicted to being annoying. so you know. also still really louve the idea she wants to sleep in separate rooms at first so she's going out of her way to do it which is sweet

Who starts tickle fights

stealing a page from ur book no tickle just fights. Well do we keep this safe for work. we try our best. i just think they'd be annoying as usual arguing about stupid shit and end up with the ye olde wrestling n playfighting like when they were 12 or something & then homegirl remembers she is a sickly nerd and he's a brawler made of so much muscle and it is kind of crazy like (pinned to the floor with one hand) wow um this is fun let's do it again sometime. might be the one way to combat the shredded lettuce inclination?

Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower

heatho is still always so Shy about stuff so. kitty..... back with the usual it is just very nice for miss intimacy issues to initiate these. good for him to see it and for her to do it #growth........

Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch

HEATHCLIFFFFFF i think he likes to bring her gifts in general but also learned to cook a little so. and it's not like That good but he's getting better which is awesome because then wife eats better and he gets more compliments. perfect plan.

Who was nervous and shy on the first date

as teenagers they'd just sneak out together catherine would be hit by a wave of "......is this a DATE?!" and lose her mind for a while. heathcliff would be fine because he wasn't even considering it as an option. later on he starts getting nervous about it too THINKS ABOUT "STUTTERING LIKE SINCLAIR ON A BAD DAY"....... THEY'RE HOPELESS AREN'T THEY......

Who kills/takes out the spiders

merciless killers both of them. god bless.

Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk

too much baggage with it for either of them to actually enjoy alcohol in most mirror worlds but in a vacuum. cathy would be a sad drunk and heathcliff would be a chatty drunk so. plus we know what he did in the kurokumo world last time so..... he wins this one way too affectionate and then regrets it immediately like wtffffff forget everything you heard. i don't even want to hold hands . i don't even want to stare into your beautiful eyes (shaking and crying)... can we kill them?

[rotting-ink]

no but what if the witch tried to break up with romancables after they get serious about us maybe it's cause how they treat us, or that they're toxic (maybe we have a problem with Quincy being so away al the time or V being married

okay so, fun fact, you can break up with them at the start of and the end of each game. You can also decide to break up, play the game and then get back together, if you spent enough time with the LI even after breaking up.

L Rawlins- L would be heartbroken, especially if serious, so in the later games. Their relationship would become strained and it's very obvious that they treat the Witch differently now.

S Della Rovere- Oh, they're bad. Face falls, affronted. Swings wildly between "you cant break up with me!" and "you can't! you can't break up with me!" They're not a fun ex to have and at that point would stop talking to the Witch all together.

Z Chambers- "Oh..." Reacts badly. Goes back to how you used to know them, no warmth, no smiles. Doesn't enjoy being around the Witch, even though a part of them knew it was coming.

V De Winters- Just somewhat sad. Probably one of the most amiable break ups. "I understand." Gives you a smile. Goes back to being friendly with you, but only friendly.

Seir- They already felt it coming. Bluffs that it's fine, they knew they were a temporary distraction. Reverts to being in their animal form all the time again.

Saleos- Grins with their teeth. "Okay. Sure." They can handle a lost pet for a while.

Starling Knight- Their face doesn't change. "... I see." Bids you to leave and enjoy the rest of your day. Retrieves their bottle of bourbon from their office and going to drink through a good part of it.

A Lancaster- Face closes off. "Right." Their fingers twitch. "And don't you dare think so low of me that I would turn you in just because we aren't together anymore." Turns on their heel and leaves, both you and South Hollow.

E Rawlins- Face falls and harden. They're going to still stalk you, leaving dead animals as if in offering to make it up to you. You never see them around anymore, but theyre trying.

Quincy Beaumont- For a moment, there's a look of shock and dismay on their face. For a moment. "Oh darling, don't worry. I'll be gone again, soon enough." Incredibly cold again and throws themselves into a new relationship soon afterwards, as if trying to make you jealous.

D Woolf- They can't help it. Their eyes mist up and they seem to breath a bit erratically. "I... I... I'm sorry. I... Yes. I should... Go. Yes." And makes their way away from you, shoulders quivering.

[lemonandpie]

Brudick for the ask meme!

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when I started shipping it if I did:

Probably since forever? I shipped Batman and Robin before I even knew there were multiple Robins

my thoughts:

I've been binging Wormsin's fic the past couple days, which means I'm in a darker place when it comes to Brudick. (Also I've been craving some erotic thriller recently and that should just be Brudick: the genre. Can you imagine Bruce and Dick doing the piano scene in Stoker? Amazing).

Right now, I'm lamenting how rarely we see Bruce and Dick together anymore. They are the relationship that defines the Batverse, but almost three decades of Robin being treated like a bad word in DC cinema, I am missing Dick being Bruce's foil. His mirror. The one who took Batman's ideals and became something Batman himself could never be. But more than that, I'm just missing them right now.

What makes me happy about them:

I love mess :D

fr though I just have a thing for super messy father and son-esque mentor relationships where they're perfect together except one is definitely going to kill the other someday. They have a blowup and I wiggle my toes, but I think their sweetness gets me the most. I'm not big on the current era of comics, but I do love Bruce acknowledging Dick's worth and strength and I think Bruce needs to it more often

What makes me sad about them:

Their relationship is so heartbreakingly toxic sometimes, and not even in the fun way. Slade can almost kill Dick and it's hot, but if Dick was my friend and Bruce treated him that way (either as a partner or a parent or even just as a boss), I'd be begging him to leave. There's a real bitter undercurrent of Bruce being expected to do no wrong but also be dark and broody and grim that leans on Dick to always forgive, always come back, no matter what Bruce does to him. I think that just makes me sad about Bruce in general-- I am gagging for character development and DC steadfast refuses to give it to me.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

I think a lot of fic makes Bruce either too good or too awful, until it's either boring or ooc. I just can't with a Bruce who is just the worst, or at least so deeply profoundly mediocre that he may as well be the worst. But also sunshine and rainbows seems too happy for them. It's a hard balance for the source materials, let alone the fic. And I include myself in this! I think Brudick is a genuinely difficult ship to write, because their dynamic is just difficult to nail down in general. Honestly I struggle to write them because of it, myself

things I look for in fanfic:

Passion. They may be the old married couple of the DCU, but Brudick are sexy. Any fic where they're a couple has to include the fact that they're an extremely taboo relationship but they're just so into each other it doesn't matter. Sizzling chemistry. Raw desire. The kind of mental anguish to keep Catholicism alive til the next millenia.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

Realistically, I think Bruce is going to end up with no one, but I'm down for some BatCat. Dick I ship with almost everyone

My happily ever after for them:

Dick being in a fucking live action film again

The DC world is so incredibly unpredictable that I think any ending I can imagine now would be completely incongruous to what would make sense five or ten years down the line. And honestly it's hard to imagine an ending for them. Right now, I would just like a run where Dick and Bruce have to lose their current status quo and have to genuinely understand and accept everything they are to each other. Yeah yeah, they hugged recently, but god I want them both to be stripped down to their darkest secrets and bared to each other; where Bruce can't make empty platitudes and Dick can't just forgive everything. Something where they get the choice to walk away and instead hold each other twice as hard. And then I want the hug

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Bruce is the big spoon. Dick is the loose limbed jellyfish who can't stay still for five minutes and prefers to be face buried in Bruce's chest anyway

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Fighting Swinging through the city, grappling hooks not necessarily required.

[stoned-frog]

YIPPEE!! you're the first person online that gets to know about Wrath this much. I've been thinking about and developing this guy for months now.

he is a sans from an abandoned AU like Ink, but Wrath actually destroyed his in a fit of built-up rage at his creator and creators in general. Wrath HATES Ink for a good long while since they're so similar but also so different and thinks Ink has it better. he gets recruited by Nightmare with a lie about being able to get revenge on the creators. has a horrible time solo after a blow-up at Nightmare. starts regretting his actions and starts interacting with Dream during that time. they start dating at some point and it's toxic in one of my favorite ways. right people, wrong time type of ship. horrible breakup that Wrath, at least, never recovers from. dream is kinda a "the one that got away" type deal for Wrath. he does a bunch of healing and reflection and eventually ends up wandering the Multiverses as a whole cuz I think that's fun. :3 I personally haven't seen anyone make a sans oc like him and I thought the concept was really cool and he won't leave my brain now lmao

OMG POOR SAD BOY!! lol I love how almost all new oc stories I hear or create have something to do with hating Ink

he's not even evil

it makes me laugh

his discription gives me more "sad boy" vibes but the name WRATH gives me a whole different view on him

I also have a little guy...... he's a papyrus oc and he's very silly.... I might share something....... someday....

[squarebracketsmileyface]

Hi we are a little drunk right now and we want to be annoying. Sorry in advance.

We wonder if Alex and Jay would have ended up together or even like…. less toxic in S,IL if Jay hadn’t coerced Alex that one time on the couch. Like we find ourself blaming Alex a lot until we remember Oh yeah! Jay did That. And it’s kind of sad you know? But also interesting because we see a lot of media where in BDSM dynamics it’s assumed the Dom is the abuser. So it’s nice to see it from every angle. But also Jay why did you do that???? Like he said he didn’t want to and now you’re miserable forever because you guys can’t talk about your feelings. I am beating them both up. I love your work. Does this make sense? I am intoxicated. Yeah. 👍

Hi to you too :]

Honestly, I've thought about this so much since I started writing If It Ain't Broken because their fucked up relationship and dynamic are so interesting to think about. Honestly, I don't think that if you took away that one time on the couch it would change things, because unfortunately, it's not the only time it's happened, it's just the only time I've actually written. Jay genuinely thinks he's in the right/that he's helping Alex there, like, he thinks that Alex will feel better if he's just a bit rough with him to get his frustrations out, so even if he didn't do it that one time in chapter 2 of If It Aint Broken, hed have done it another time.

He really thinks he's doing the right thing, fully, wholeheartedly, genuinely believes it. If you could get him to understand that what he'd done had hurt Alex (which, I admit, would be hard because he doesn't like hurting Alex, he can accept that he does it when he's angry and loses control, but the idea that he could hurt Alex even when trying to help him would be awful) he'd be horrified.

Anyway, their relationship, even just as a friendship was always rocky. Like, honestly they probably shouldn't even be friends in S,IL, they fight and hurt each other and say nasty things and Jay manipulates Alex even when they're just friends. So even without the FWB stuff, their relationship would still probably be pretty toxic, just in different ways. I don't think it'd go as far in its toxicity as it actually ends up going (with Alex saying you know what fuck you and moving away, which I'm making the main catalyst for being Alex needing to get away from the toxic relationship, and the secondary reason be the whole Operator thing)

So without that one time on the couch? No, they'd still be that toxic, Jay would still out Alex to their friends, the manipulation and coercion would still happen other times, they'd still fight and scream at each other and say nasty things.

God I love thinking about this lol. Just, angst is so fun to write. So are unreliable narrators, I'm so glad you find yourself blaming Alex, honestly, because that's how I wrote it to be, you're meant to blame Alex, even if you now have a lot more of the information and know that actually he and Jay were in the wrong and doing unpleasant shit to each other. Hell, Jay's probably kinda worse than this point. But like, yeah, especially if you're reading the fics in the order they come out in, your first impression of Jay is him in S,IL itself, and it's hearing about his and Alex's relationship from his POV, and he doesn't think he's in the wrong for the actual things he's in the wrong for.

Like, your first impression of these characters is massively biased towards Alex being to blame for everything.

Honestly I kinda wonder how different the opinions/conclusions people would form if the first time they read S,IL they read it in chronological order, so with If It Ain't Broken first. Like, would that give them an entirely different perspective of the story, if they didn't first get introduced to Jay and Alex's messed up relationship through the incredibly warped lens that is Jay?

Some government should give me science funding to stick a bunch of people who've never even heard of S,IL before in two rooms and force them to read it either in the chronological order or in the upload order, so that I can ask them about the story and find out how different or similar their conclusions about the characters and their relationships are.