#this is obviously very very far in the future

[h2ojustaddmako]

Little life update (it's H2O related I swear)

So obviously I wasn't very active here and there's a plethora of reasons but mainly I kinda moved to Australia

And by kinda I mean I moved to Australia

Now there are endless reasons why I moved and why Australia of all places but I think my inner child found this place so hopeful and limitless in a way. It promised this fantasy feeling I've been chasing my entire adult life, and while obviously the show is made up, I think the magic it imprinted on me (and y'all) will forever make me filled with child-like awe and wonder here. I felt it when I first came here 2 years ago, and I still feel it now, even though so much has changed.

In a way, I think I did it to give the reins back to someone younger and happier in my self-consciousness, maybe by doing so life will feel fulfilling again, I guess? I'm not sure. But at 25, I feel like I'm ought to find a path that feels right by now. I know a lot of people my age still feel lost, and I'm still coming to terms with accepting that I shouldn't know what my end game is yet. Not necessarily, at least.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm very hopeful for the future as much as I'm terrified of it. I'm all by myself in a foreign country and I'll have to work my ass off to make ends meet. I still have support, but my family and closest friends are very far away now. This show has this kind of eternal magic, even after 20 years and endless rewatches, it is still very much alive. I can only hope I find a way to rub that magic onto my day to day life. After all, I'm only an hour of a drive away from Cleo's house; that must be worth something!

Stay fishy, my beloved h2ohoes

[malkaleh]

“No one could live up to your parents - the world knows that, your majesty. Be you, cousin - do not try to live up to that which only comes in rare millennia.”

“Cousin? You haven’t been so formal with me in an age, Nanette - shall I persuade you to use my first name at least?”

Nanette mimed throwing a pebble at him, as though they were children again - not the King living in the shadow of legendary parents and his spymaster cousin.

“Turhan then. I will tell you something like I tell Marianne, only more so for you, because it would be impossible to be your parents and they would tell you the same - it is not a failure to merely be a good king when you are following a legendary one who was all his legend and more besides.”

Turhan/Thomas II who is Mihrimah Sultan and Prince/King Thomas I (aka my fictional oldest son of Anne Boleyn in my OT3 verse) and who struggles with living up to the fact that his parents were in fact genuinely perfect progressive rulers of legend and more (and loving and good parents) and Nanette (Anne) Tudor-Dudley-Cecil aka Elizabeth Tudor and Robert Dudleys oldest daughter and her cousins spymaster/advisor.

(Marianne/Marian is Nanettes much younger sister who struggles with living up to her parents as well)

[hauntingofhouses]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

[thevegetablewhichnoonedaresname]

[giddlygoat]

hater has disturbing reoccurring dreams about wander crawling inside his ribcage that always have him waking up in a cold sweat [they just feel too real and hater can’t place why]. wander has reoccurring dreams of hater ceremoniously destroying him with the Disaster Blaster and it’s the one dream he doesn’t eagerly blab to sylvia about because he doesn’t know how to tell her that it never feels like a nightmare. soooo is anyone else sick in the head or is it just me

[bumblingbabooshka]

It's impossible to write a TOS x Any other Series crossover [for me] without having to think about whose lens it's going to primarily be from because the vibe of TOS is so distinct and I think quite different from all series that follow it. The way the characters speak and are presented is so theatrical and of course steeped in the past that I find myself considering if this is, say, Janeway meeting Kirk (through a VOY perspective) or if I should write Janeway as she would appear if she stepped through a portal and was in TOS' universe.

[morhath]

okay, so. I have a rule. that fandom tattoos cannot exceed half of my tattoo count. (time in between getting one tattoo and the next doesn't count, the real purpose of this rule is to prevent me from getting, like, twenty mildly tacky fandom tattoos in a row. basically the vibe is that if I get a fandom tattoo I also have to at some point get a non-fandom one before I get another fandom one. does this make sense. actually this clarification doesn't really matter for the main point of the post.) now for purposes of deciding my NEXT tattoo, I need to know. do we feel that a Tam Lin tattoo counts as a "fandom tattoo"

[sammygender]

so many people can’t conceptualise emotional neglect as anything other than ‘my parents were cold and distant and never talked about feelings with me’, and this, while being just a general awful problem of course, is also what leads to so much john winchester mischaracterisation. in this essay i will

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

sharing one of my all-time fave poems totally not because I spent the last hour crying uncontrollably over graduating <3 LMAO

LISTEN I LOVE YOU JOY IS COMING!!!

Text version here.

[karda]

oooooo

Did you like a quiet place day one? Sam was my favorite

i actually cant watch horror movies because of the illness™ i just like men

[californiaquail]

one of my pipe dreams is to get a nz working holiday visa but us citizens are only eligible if you're under 30 and now i have reese and the cost of importing animals to nz is.....prohibitive. i mean obviously the cost of basically anything is prohibitive to me rn but in a pretend world where i wasn't getting extorted for a place to live and had a job with better pay that didn't make me want to kill myself so i could save some money i could maybe do it for myself but at this rate.

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

FFXIV Write: Telling

In which Ser Hamignant Varlineau questions a certain someone about a secret. SFW.

“There’s something you’re not telling me.” Ser Hamignant Varlineau’s eyes narrowed. At six fulms eight ilms and very large, he cut the imposing aura of his father Ser Estinien with the we’ll call it “fluffy” body type of his mother the Warrior of Light. “What is it?”

“I…It’s nothing…”

The Temple Knight rolled his eyes. “You can lie to everyone else, but you can’t lie to me.”

I’m your twin, Marc.

We’re identical.

I know you, mate.

Marcelin threw his hands in the air and groaned. “Fine! I’m going to ask Ebegei to marry me, and—HAMI!”

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!!!

Sylv owes me fifty gil.

Hamignant let out a cheer and hugged his twin. “Oh Marc, that’s wonderful news. Truly wonderful.”

Like Mummy, Marcelin blushed and smiled. “Aye.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

He shook his head. “No. I do have an idea of when and where but not how yet. I was thinking…” Uh oh. “Fuck it, should I do what you did when you proposed to Daisuke?”

Hamignant loved his twin dearly.

He’s a master of woodworking. An artist of renown. Has as big a heart as Mummy and Bapa put together.

He’s also a bit of a dumbass sometimes.

“Marc. Marc. Marc.” Hamignant drawled, dragging Marcelin by the arm to the bed in one of Uncle Aymeric’s many guest rooms. Marc’s in Ishgard for a job, and then off to propose I suppose! Heh. “In the moment, I trust you’ll find the right words.”

As they had done since they were small children, the twins sat side by side on the bed---Hamignant on the right, Marcelin on the left.

Spreading his thighs and resting his hands at the top of his belly, Marcelin heaved a sigh. “I hope so.”

“Oh Marc,” Hamignant threw an arm around his brother’s broad shoulders. “Remember what Granddad said to Mum: trust your heart because it’ll never lead you astray.” He grinned. “You’ll do great. I know it.” He then laughed. “After all, you can’t possibly be worse than when Laure proposed to Fry.” The two laughed heartily.

Poor bastard was so nervous he lost his lunch.

Even Bapa didn’t do that!

Once the laughter died down, the two stared into identical brown eyes.

Marcelin smiled like the cutest fucking dope. Wait, that means I do the same thing. Shit. “Thanks, Hami.”

“For you, dear brother, anything.” Anything and everything, Marc. We came into the world together. We’ll go into the lifestream together. And when you say “I do” to Ebegei and cry as much as Bapa, I’ll be by your side. He squeezed Marcelin’s shoulder. “Now, tell me what you’ve planned so far…”

[nidstiniens]

FFXIV Write 2024 - Day 06

Prompt: Halcyon Rating: G. Genre: Fluff (Domestic) Pairing: Estinien x WoL

Preview:

As he'd begun to crash headfirst into adolescence, Ronan had become more and more the spitting image of his father, and Estinien wasn't quite sure what to make of that just yet.

read on ao3 | ffxivwrite2024 masterpost

[enbysiriusblack]

Regulily and Marylene?

[narwhalandchill]

ANYWAY now that ive gotten my firefly rant off my chest and on a more positive note about the story overall; i Really liked it!!!! and character-wise specifically the biggest surprise for me in a huge W way was actually acheron??

& given i was actually somewhat committed to pulling her anyway (well. initially as kafka replacement to pull my first lightning carry after losing 50-50 but. Well. she had mercy on me at the v last moment thank goodness 😭😭) so actually ending up liking her character this much just cemented that resolve for good too. cant wait for her!!! like i am still meh on her base design not bc its that bad by itself but simply bc seeles existence just cheapens it so much like. Why are they so similar. but its not bad lmao

anyway to her actual characterization. first of all. the VAs delivery omg yall beidous english voice is already one of my all time favorites in genshin and shes doing an amazing job as acheron like. she started talking and im just INSTANTLY warmed up to her just from that KDJSKDKJK i love love love her attitude and energy!!!!!

n personality wise too??? like ive seen others mention a similar sentiment but its just the way how. even after getting the warnings from now Two separate characters that shes up to no good. im just like. "nah id win" abt it SHSKDKSI like throughout the story she comes off as so damn likeable and grounded and realistically friendly (as in not like. too open n aligned w the player from the get-go to feel believable for the character as opposed to a plot contrivance) that i just. even if shes bad news im team acheron truly.

she has genuinely funny one liners too ??? like not necessarily jokes outright but the kinda comments she says are just . very realistic in that dry witty way that comes off as natural and entertaining shes so charming!!! i love her. the more contemplative stuff she says too

but also like. girl whats up w the ominous red text ily but are we cool 😭😭 and the whole shredding us into thin slices on first encounter in the dreamscape like. Ok uhhhhhhhh ik i said nah id win and team acheron forever but this is kinda. worrisome

BUT that just means im so fucking excited to see her go apeshit too lmao like. oh shes an emanator here to do murder and spread death? COOL i hope she has fun!!

(and ik i said firefly rant over but. what the actual hell is that post firefly merk dialogue option where the games like very heavy handedly implying ur supposed to be blaming ACHERON for "letting it happen" in some emotional frenzy???? bro what 💀💀 0/5 moment i would never. n even if she plausibly did im just. dude her being cold towards firefly is just a plus for me when the narrative has just railroaded the TB into being sooo charmed by her magical presence lmao i Liked that acheron was suspicious n cold)

overall Definitely wasnt expecting acheron to establish herself as such an instant favorite for sure but. shes here now and im v happy abt it im super looking forward to seeing those more dubious goals of her come to the forefront in the future like. im so curious about whats up w her and her memory and that red text and everything

[nomaishuttle]

fighting for my life trying to find info abt specificslly being an autistic parent to allistic kids but you search Autistic parent to allistic kids and evrry single thing is ITS SO FUCKING HARD TO HAVE A WEIRD FREAK WEIRD GROSS WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD SCARY ODD BLUNT AUTISTIC CHILD !!! WHEN YOU ARE NORMAL AND GOOD !!! can we all kill ourselves