#this is about love vs fear

[saturnulysses]

fear of what ive created.

[mysterycitrus]

gosh writing this fic makes me love dick grayson and roy harpers relationship sm!! ach mon

[sygzie]

i am once again thinking about "how long are you gonna stay with me?/forever" because i'm just thinking about the doctor looking at the view on this beautiful planet but he's just thinking like.. i don't think i could do this without the girl next to me. i have so much joy in me right now and it's only because of her and i don't have it in me to lose this. so he puts it in her hands--it's really not up to her, everything is against them, he knows this, but--in this moment he puts fate in her hands. says, i will be here as long as you'll have me, so how long will you have me? and it's nonsensical really, but he wants to hear "forever," because if it's coming out of her mouth then a little part of him can believe it

[yappacadaver]

Crazy wild shit man

[wiihtigo]

these frauds

[willosword]

[necrotic-nephilim]

What do you think about the fab five polycule

(Dick x donna x wally x garth x roy)

i'll be SO honest i wish i had like. insightful interesting opinions on them but i've always been a Young Justice kid and sort of. breezed past consuming Fab Five Teen Titans content-

but of what i *do* know, from the few comics i've read with these characters is this is one of the best ships for Dick, honestly. it always deeply annoys me when fanon content breezes past the Titans as if they're just some distant teammates and not some of Dick's closest friends, if not a second family. *especially* the Fab Five. for most, if not all of them, it's the first time getting to actually connect with other teen heroes. so there's something fun about how sort of terrible they are at it, at first. they all care about each other a lot. but they're kind of chucked into the deep figuring out how to work with each other and get along with *very* different personalities, so it's fun to see where the conflict comes.

as a ship, i do really love it. the Titans are a family. like we call a lot of teams found families, but for the Fab Five, that shit is the truest. they depend on each other and trust each other. when Dick and Bruce are on outs and Bruce fires him, he goes to the Titans.

i also enjoy how, to an extent, all of them are outsiders of some kind. Donna is alone in a new world she's never experienced, the same as Garth. Roy is still new and awkward to living the rich life with Oliver. Wally doesn't connect to his parents well. and of course, Dick has lost his parents and only has Bruce, who isn't the most emotionally available. of course they're going to cling to each other, as the first people they can really develop connections too. they're very clingy with each other and i think that's both cute and *fun* to explore like, codependency issues with them. how protective they can be of each other, how they default to trusting each other over their mentors, etc. it's all very interesting for a polycule, especially since for most of them, it's their first real relationship. i'm a big fan of "none of us know what dating looks like bc we've had such strange childhoods so we don't understand the Rules very well. we're all just going to date each other bc why would i date only one of you. do teamups count as dates now." vibes with teenage polycules. and the Fab Five just. have that on lock. they each fulfill a different "niche" in the group. Garth is the softer, more emotional one you can go to if you're upset. Donna is the one for planning bright fun trips and making sure you don't wallow. Roy is protective and can pretend to be suave, but he shows affection through gift giving and grand gestures where words fail him. Wally can cheer any of them up with jokes and distractions. and of course Dick is the logical one who makes sure they all keep their heads on and don't drown in the responsibility.

overall i think it's a really cute ship and i do wish i just. knew more about them to be able to write them/read fic of it because i do love their dynamic. and i'm just a firm believer in the Titans being Dick's family, just as important to him as the Batfam. they're a disaster and for that you gotta love them.

[luc3ks]

I really like michael because every further progression I make of his character it just makes him a worse and worse person. like oh wow. he is awful. and he knows it

[aperture-of-bullshit]

jentry chau vs the underworld was quite fun. Very stylish. It is unfortunately not the best paced. Episode ten reads like a season finale, and if it were the finale most of my issues would instantaneously disappear.

And so this may just be me tin hatting a bit, but I think the show may have been pitched with two seasons, but they were only given one. And the creative team had some reason to believe that they’d be extremely unlikely to get a season two (I simply couldn’t imagine why, what with the general state of the American animation industry)(this is the most sarcastic I’ve ever been in my life). And the result is they condensed their plans for season two into three episodes and tacked it onto the backend of season one.

The condensing not only removes some pretty pivotal character development scenes (Micheal learning and developing his visions, Micheal and Jentry’s relationship and breakup) but it also severely fucks with the pacing, because once again: Episode ten is a perfect season finale.

TL;DR go watch jentry chau, but be forewarned that the general state of the tv animation industry is looming and ever present.

[hauntingblue]

Last arcane episode ever..... here we fucking go....

[shorthaltsjester]

as always with adaptation stuff i would truly love to get like . play by play on what was chosen to keep and what was chosen to change and the reasons why just because i’m curious and i have some thoughts both loving and critical (ba dum tiss) about the contents of the first three eps but i think i’ll prob hold off on my personal I Didn’t Like This Choice until there’s a full season to contextualize it just because a bunch of stuff that i’m feeling more :/ about . the back of brain is like generating innumerable situations where said choice is forgivable/less frustrating to me so i will simply wait and hope to be given reasons to forgive

[martyrbat]

harley quinn (2000) #13

[ID: Harley Quinn staring pleadingly at Pamela Isley after asking her to run away from Gotham with her. Pam bluntly replies, “No. Can't.” Harley continues to look at her longingly as she slowly admits, “I thought we were friends, Ivy. I like you... Admire you, even. Always wanted to be strong and independent like you. But I guess you're so strong and independent... you don't need friends.” She leaves as Pam still doesn't turn around to face her, her face hidden in shadow. END ID]

[maplemaplemaplemaplemaple]

(wip !!) still in the rough visualising 'i need to get this out of my brain in any form possible' stages but. the interior of the mind of sasha nein . yessss hahahaha yessssssssssssss . rambles in tags!!

[lonestardust]

9-1-1 : LONE STAR I 1x08 ‘Monster Inside’ : Owen and TK have a heart to heart.

[my-turn-to-yearn]

My partner the other night opened up about dysphoria relating to their silhouette and specifically being not curvy enough and I got so turned on I almost passed out bc I started thinking about the tiddy jiggle that happens when im on top in missionary and I felt really guilty about objectifying this person I love while we're having a serious moment but it turned out my horny was reassuring and idk all this to say that queer desire is not evil or bad and actually makes things better frequently

[fortune-maiden]

Hi again! THANK YOU SO MUCH for answering my ask! While I'd absolutely love if it could be a whole fic, I know that's probably too much to ask for. So, if you don't mind, can I ask for an interaction between swd and lw. Or maybe something about jing wen like you mentioned in the tags of the original post, since that sounded so interesting? Again, TYSM!!!

Anon, you have no idea what you've unlocked! xD

(I was trying to avoid Jing Wen in the last post because I thought no one would want to hear my ramblings on him. I love-to-hate him and think he’s a very fun villain for Ling Wen and the others to interact with. And also murder.)

I really don't have the energy (or writing ability) for a whole fic but I tried to write out a couple more snippets (which ended up fueling some more lingshui headcanons so thank you for that!!)

I'm largely doing this without an outline so these scenes are really more like character interaction exercises than something that would be in the fic if it existed (if that makes sense) but I really hope you enjoy! I think this was also my first time actually writing Jing Wen outside of rambles :D

But also... slight CW for Jing Wen?

-

The bookshop in the capital was smaller than what Shi Wudu would have imagined. It occupied a single room, half of which was taken up by tables where customers and scribes sat, reading and copying out the shop’s wares. The other half contained the books on sale, lining a pair of tall bookcases. A balding shopkeeper sat at the counter. He had straightened up when they entered, and eyed the two of them as they walked past him to the shelves, well aware that these were the sort of customers who could afford to spend.

“What would you recommend?” Shi Wudu asked his companion. His chest swelled with pride when he saw the look on her face, the way her eyes hungrily scanned the many titles before her.

“You’re better off asking the bookseller. He would know what’s considered good,” Nangong Jie replied quietly.

“I don’t want his recommendations, I want yours.”

“Then I’m at even more of a loss. These titles are unfamiliar to me.”

“Take your time getting familiar with them, then.”

Nangong Jie obliged, breaking away from him to study the books more closely. Her fingers caressed the bindings of each one she touched, tracing the letting on the covers. The books at the very top were largely classics and treatises aimed at cultivating the mind and preparing one for exams. They were the sorts of books a literature god would be well acquainted with, but to Shi Wudu’s surprise, Nangong Jie didn’t linger on them long, nor did she pay much attention to the poetry anthologies just below. Instead, she crouched down to inspect the various popular novels at the bottom. Those, she would take out for longer periods and read through the first couple of pages. She made faces as she did, her lips quirking upwards or downwards depending on the contents. Shi Wudu stepped to the side to have a better view.

It was a very different experience to meet with Nangong Jie without Pei Ming whispering in his ear. Already Shi Wudu was starting to miss his nagging tone and the effortless compliments that flowed from his lips. Without him to provide the script, Shi Wudu found it difficult to say the sorts of things that could draw a laugh or even a smirk from her.

So he would do it with his actions instead. It was for that reason he chose to bring her to a place he thought she would like. Perhaps it was counterintuitive for that place to be a bookstore where she would inevitably be more enthralled by the books than by him, and conversations would be limited as a result, but Shi Wudu didn’t care. He wanted to see what kind of books caught her interest, when she finally had a chance for some leisurely reading.

So far he was enjoying himself, and he’d have liked to think she was too.

(this scene would go on to have them chatting about books and SWD buying LW a romance novel she picks out. I have not decided if LW genuinely likes romance novels or because she was trying to make SWD less interested in her by having "trashy" tastes)

-------

(and now the Jing Wen scene)

“You’re still here?”

Nangong Jie was at her desk. Writing endlessly inside a circle of lanterns, it should have been a typical nighttime sight. She didn’t look up as Jing Wen approached, didn’t acknowledge her superior’s presence at all until he was right to her, hand on shoulder, leaning over to inspect her work. Neat columns of characters filled barely a quarter of a page. There were more blank scrolls on one side of the desk.

“You’ve let your work pile up again. This isn’t good, Nangong. The other gods are waiting for these reports. What will they say about our palace if there’s a delay?”

“My apologies,” Nangong’s voice was low and flat, as though none of this concerned her. “I will deliver them before dawn.”

“So busy, always so busy,” Jing Wen remarked. “But of course, never so much that you can’t find time to cozy up to another man. Again.” His nails dug into her shoulder, making her drop the brush. A splatter of ink left trails on the page as it rolled to aside. It would have to be rewritten.

“That hurts,” Nangong Jie said sharply, not a hint of guilt in her voice.

“The hearts you trample upon hurt even more. I know where you were today,” he replied and rifled through the various documents until he found what he was looking for. Hidden beneath a stack of proper books was a trashy fictional novel that had no place on a literature god’s desk. Jing Wen picked it up and flipped through it. “So he’s buying you books now?”

“I bought it.”

“Please. You have better taste than this.” Jing Wen sneered, tossing the book back onto the desk. A romance novel. How laughable. Was that how she got her claws into Shi Wudu? By letting him think she was some meek little girl with a love of reading and fanciful dreams?

Only Jing Wen knew what kind of woman she really was. A cruel thankless bitch, who let her small talent for writing cultivate a great arrogance.

“Do you really think the Water Master is interested in you?” He asked her. “He’s just an arrogant tyrant stirring up trouble. Today he’s interested in antagonizing me, so it’s only expected that you would get swept up in his current. Don’t get conceited. His little provocations don’t bother me, so it won’t be long before he gets bored and moves on.”

Shi Wudu was a nobody. No one had even heard of him in the mortal realm before his sudden ascension shook the heavens. He had no background or achievements, yet spat out arrogant words like he was an authority on good conduct. If he saw something in Nangong Jie, it was only because she batted her eyes at him and used her talent for words to dole out a few compliments.

She was probably whispering in his ear from the beginning, he realized. How else could Shi Wudu be able to understand a literature god’s writing?

“Forget about him,” Jing Wen warned her, whispering quietly into her ear. “You work for me.”