#this isnt baiting anyone to try and find me

[this-is-fox-speaking]

"priv twitter/nsft blog when?" never. it's password locked and made to never show up in the search engine either. and I don't even use a single similar tag to what I do with my main and public sides. you'll never find me motherfucker.

[buwheal]

Anon that was probably saying sorry, I said sorry because I find what clown roll was saying judgy, it's not easy being broke and not being able to afford food, the last thing a poor person needs is a lecture on how unhealthy their lifestyle is. Like of course it's not healthy, you think someone would CHOOSE to live like that? To eat nothing but trash? Pretty sure if spamton could be eating something not out of the trash he WOULD, he doesn't need someone rubbing how awful his life is in his face when he doesn't really have a way to make it better, like "oh yeah just get some food not in the trash" for free??? Or if you're expecting him to pay, with what money??? I swear financially well off people seem to just forget you need money to do almost anything because of how much they have. If clowny roll really cared so much they should give him some damn money to buy something, granted maybe they can't because of askbox rules, but still.

THAAANKK YOU DUDE arrghhhhh,, frustrates me a little because theres some people in this box talking to him like he has a choice!!! HE DOESNT!!! I already did a WHOLE nasty thing with a whole bunch of the asks rubbing that shit in his face as if it were an apology,, reminding CONSTANTLY with stuff like "I had trouble finding sucess once!" sorry but that doesnt help guys... This isnt some one time thing where hes down in the dumps cause he got fired or smth HES HOMELESS... thankfully ive stopped getting those, but now its THESE ones about how unhealthy his lifestyle is............... like yeah......... hes not fucking stupid he knows....... they talk to him like hes a child waaghhh /lh Like, heres some examples, sorry to these anons, but if i had chosen your ask you'd get yelled at by Spamton AND the audience anyways,, so heres some that i think maybe... they forgot he cant really do a whole lot....

...do you see the irony in this one......

guuuyyyysss do you see the freaking issue here???? "EAT HEALTHER!"

huh.

what.....

WITH WHAT FOOD????? WITH WHAT OPTIONS???? sorry lmfaoo... but like. "doesn't mean you shouldnt try to do better!" WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOUSAYING RIGHT NOW... HES NOT CHOOSING TO????? HES ALWAYS "TRYING TO DO BETTER"... DID YOU GUYS MISS THE POST POINTING OUT THAT HE EVEN HAS TROUBLE FINDING SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT /REGULARLY/??? pleeaaseeee dude save me pleese wauughh

But. Dont go after anyone,, esp Clowny Roll!!!!! I think a lot of them dont ....really think about it. I also have a tinge of a feeling that Clowny Roll has a bit of bait intention with theirs!! nothing wrong with that!

[parachutingkitten]

I have two sins that somwhat cohenside:

As a Cole stan for life I despise the Cole is gay HC and have had to abandon the tag because of its prevalence. Lavashipping is a NOTP and of all the art and edits I've seen polluting my Cole tag I still cant see any chemistry or dynamic between them besides they are both attractive. All the ninja ships are incest vibes (not just the gay ones. Looking at you Braincellshipping) to me as they treat eachother and call eachother brothers but at least there was tension and chemistry between the old days of Bruiseshipping. Lava's prevalence online had me quit for a long time as I couldnt understand why it randomly gained such traction and then showrunners made the dumb idea to try and bait fan perceptions in crystalized. I see cole as somewhat aromantic (although the term is mostly meaningless and used to describe anyone who is uncmfortable or disinterested with romance without analysing the deeper psychological reasons that might be the case) but he obviously wants to be a father and I don't see how any of his defined traits attribute to being the fans gay stand in besides the fact that fandom always has the urge to pick one to be the LGBT mascot and create content that isnt there simply for their own self indulgence. I like Coliel (if anyone remembers Seliel) as it leans into Coles obliviousness to advances while it shows off his honorable and protective personality. I don't find Cole particularly coded LGBT in any of the seasons up until Dragons rising, which the episode focussing it was badly written and OOC.

My other "sin" I suppose is I disown ALL of DR for being a horrible soft reboot that does everything a soft reboot shouldn't: messing with preestablished lore in an attempt to prop up these random new characters as just, if not more, powerful than our protagonists. The new writer has a horrible track record with character ensemble shows like TMNT 2012 and its a worthless slap in the face continuation of an ended series. The diologue is horrendously tacky and most jokes dont land. The push by the writers to add in fan characterizations and expand the lore beyond whats established is lazy and uninspired. There is so much left to explore in Ninjago the way it was. We never went to most of the continent but why try to write compelling stories and dramas with an already defined map when you could throw everything out the window and make your own sandbox, shoehorning it into Ninjago regardless on how ridiculous it looks and feels.

*exhale* alright. I lot to get through here.

there is nothing wrong with not HCing cole gay, especially if you seem him on the aro/ace spectrum. I'm in the exact same boat. And just because there are very prevalent gay interpretations of the text does not mean you have to adopt them, or watch them with that subtext in mind. The true potential episode can obviously really easily be read as a coming out allegory, and a lot of people have latched onto that. And good for them!

But it's just as easily read as a story about defying your parent's expectations for a career path- especially if that's something you can relate to. I think the episode works even better in that respect (cuz that's kinda more directly what it's about, but also) because it adds in this layer of also respecting the place where your parents came from and make their living with. Honestly, I didn't see any gay coding on my first watch through of that one dragons rising episode. I saw Cole's relationship with Geo as much more of a mentor/mentee thing, probably because he's typically taken on a father role. I thought Geo and Sora had more chemistry honestly, with that one scene where their bonding over rejection. That's the beauty of media, multiple interpretations! It sounds like you're letting the fandom color your viewing experience, and that's your problem. The crystalized kai/cole stuff can just as easily be read as brother shenanigans. Don't let fanon make things canon for you if you don't want them to.

I'm on the same page of not shipping the core 4 together. The early seasons were directly focused on their brotherhood in my view, so I get it. But, let's not begrudge people their imaginary LGBTQ rep. As far as I understand lavashipping took off cuz it's the only gay pairing of the main characters who could still potentially be canonically shipped together. Jaya and pixane are pretty set in stone, and lloyd is pretty much off limits. But kailor is very iffy in canon, and cole has never had a love interest. And even if I don't ship it, I can see the value of people having some level of hope that the show might give them some rep. But again, none of this means you have to ship it or feel bad for not shipping it.

Second, you've got some unique opinions on dragons rising. Cool. I don't think you're completely invalid or anything, but I do think some of these opinions might be a little biased?

You're mad it brought back the... finished tv show? The show that finished with crystalized? The worst possible ending of the show? Honestly, it wasn't that much more conclusive than other seasons. Ninjago has always struck me as an evergreen property- a world with endless adventures in it. To begrudge future stories for existing seems a little selfish to me. Ninjago should be a property that new kids can get into for years to come. I've got some problems with what dragons rising has done. I don't think the merge was the best way to go. I hate how needlessly small it makes everything feel. I think sora is a little too chosen-one-y. There are things to criticize here. But it's pulling a lot off. I think it's balanced screen time between old characters and new characters pretty well. It's established a fairly unique identity for itself, which can be a real struggle for sequel content. Again, I think you're coming into it with a distorted fandom lens which is making you hate it more. Not to say that you're wrong, but you're feelings associated with your opinions may be a little exaggerated.

if you have a sin you would like to confess, please direct it to @ninjago-sins

[steddieyes]

Chapter three: And Who Said Love Was Dead? I Sure Didn't.

(Part 2)

Ao3 @Arloooh

Gasping and clutching where her own heart once was, Bryce drops to her knees, putting an arm out to keep herself up. What the fuck was Bobby doing here, he's supposed to be... 

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!" Bobby all but screetches, in a tone bryce had never heard before... Is he.. crying-? Whatever- I can worry about that later, my fucking hearts exploding here. 

There's maybe twenty people around her, maybe a hundred, hell if she knows. 

Gasping and coughing, she keeps her head hung low as arms grapple at her sides and arms. She's wheezing by the time Bobby gets to her, not knowing how he'd suddenly appeared right infront of her when being a football pitch away just moment before. Or maybe it has been long, she doesn't know, her fucking heart is failing. 

Well wasn't this a way to go out, I finally made it to graduation only for this stupid heart to fail after seeing him again. Who said love was dead? 

-

"I SAID, /OFF!/" Bobby yells, yanking prying arms and hands off of Bryce as if she was his to hold. He kneels down as fast as he can, not knowing what the fucks going on but he needs to fix it, and quick. Internally cursing "what the fuck whatthefuckwhatthefuck-" on repeat with staggered breaths, Bobby grabs on to Bryce's shoulder to help her up and off of her knees only for her to groan in pain now lying on her side. When did her face get so pale? When- when the fuck did her eyebags get so dark? Is she a fucking vampi-

"Bobby.." she says clawing a hand across the floor. He looks to her with baited breath, wait this isn't how it's supposed to happen, not like this- THIS ISNT HOW ITS SUPPOSED TO END- "one of you dickbags help me up, and don't fuck up this hair-" she says with that 1960's tone, the sound of authority in her voice that the men around can't help but oblige, but not without Bobby clawing at them to get back while yelling about how "this isn't how it's supposed to end, I'm not- IT ISN'T FAIR!"

And, oh- they're EMT'S. They've been here the whole time trying to pry him off of Bryce. 

"Sir, you need to- stop- sir, you need to calm down-" 

"YOU CAN'T TAKE ME AWAY FROM HER! SHES NOT- I'VE WAITED SO LONG-" He yells as arms surround his and lock under his armpits, trying to keep him still so he can be dragged away kicking and screaming with marks all over his arms from the EMT'S efforts. He can see at least a good ten people surrounding Bryce as she groans for "you to get off me, prick! Fix this, asshole!" But that doesn't ease Bobby, if not make him want to get back over to her even more. 

But he's being dragged away for his wounds. 

"No. You need to calm down and /sit/" the stern, albeit soft, voice of the EMT says, pushing him down onto a bench nearby with the slow fall of two other paramedics lowering him down to sit. Bobby looks to him with furrowed brows and a scowl "..YOU CANT JUST-" His efforts for fighting back are quickly shut down as another puts a hand over his mouth, proffesional, right? Effectively shutting him up. He gives an stern look to the EMT infront of him and slowly licks his hand to give him his freedom back, a devilish smile on his face for just a split second as the man wipes his hand away. But Bobby's soon back to the same attitude.

"Tell me what the fuck is happening with Bryce or I swear to shit I WILL GIVE YOU A FUCKING SEX CHANGE!" he yells, teeth bare and sharp as he tries his best to move and kick out of the paremedics grasp, but before one could get a word in, he frees himself out of their joint grasp after biting ones arm enough to draw blood. What? He was too close. 

Bobby allbeit bolts to Bryces side where she's being loaded onto a stretcher into the back of an ambulance. It wasn't hard to find her when anyone within a 10 mile radius can hear her yelling. The only people by her side are paremedics, not a parent to be found. 

Before he can reach for her, there's multiple men tackling him to the ground before he can get away.

*

Location: 'whatever the fucks' local hospital. 

Bryce is rushed into the loading dock and wheeled through the corridors and doorways, Bobby soon following behind as he sticks to the back of a paramedic, hoping to get in and through to Bryce. He doesn't know what the fucks going on and he can't lose her, not again. He's waitied almost ten years and isn't going to have Bryce ripped away from him again.

But he's soon ushered into a waiting room.. cell? He falls to the hard, cold floor and is met with shutting doors. Scrambeling to get to his feet, he's already yelling and screaming, pulling at the bars of this cage. 

"Calm your ass down. Lady got you down, kid?" A stern voice calls. And glaring to the side he spots an, officer? Something of the sort. Broad and tall, definitely the build of authority. 

Before yelling back, Bobby scowls with an angry expression, one knowing that he won't win this fight. With gritted teeth he gets out "No lady's got me down, and I'm not a fucking kid, shitbag. Why am I here." There's an uneasy rage to his voice that no doubtlessly registers to the officer. 

"Well then what's got you down, son? Mama got hurt?" The man asks with a gruff voice, looking way too interested in what Bobby's got to say that it actually irritates his soul. You're not /supposed/ to care about me. No one does. 

"No.. my fucking GIRLFREINDS HAD SOME SORT OF FUCKING HEARTATTACK-SEISURE SHIT AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCKS GOING ON, SO STOP /CARING/ ABOUT ME AND LET ME OUT OF THIS FUCKING CELL!" He screams as his balls fist up while clutching the bars, voice going higher in the way it always has when he screams. Not noticing what he'd said in the heat of the moment, but before he knows it he's being berugantly let out of his cell by a scared looking man. 

- 

Squinting her bleary eyes, Bryce opens her eyes to a bright light and the smell of sanitation. Y'know, I didn’t think hell would be this nice. And then there's a flashing light. 

"-ust? Ms. Tankthrust? Ma'am, we know you're awake." A nurse instructs with the click of a flashlight. Okay, so not hell, but close. 

"What 'd fuck..." she slurs, her signature tone lost to the anesthetic. 

"Bryce, you've had surgery. We had to get a second party to approve your form with your mother denying to pay a fee. Do you know of a Bobby Worst? ..ma'am?" 

Bryce stares up to the nurse with a blank expression, save for her furrowed brow. Since when did Bobby change his name to wors-? "Wuh, I-... I'm sorry, you said a Bobby Worst?" she asks, voice in awe, but now more awake and aware. Her now signature tone present. "Yes. He's here to see you actually if-" 

"Bryce.."

[hnbka]

does anyone care I CARE

my cousin made me watch descendants w her again and those movies could have been sooo good if they cared at all

like the isle of the lost could have been a politically greedy landscape where malificent and jafar and other power hungry leaders led groups of villains with other deisres (mother gothel, evil queen, gaston etc). as their oldest children are nearing twenties, theres new players on the field.

how would evil queen who has sworn allegiance to maleficent have reacted to mother gothel providing her with the ability to stay young and beautiful forever? how would the two feel when their children became best friends?

and then the children, sent on missions for their parents. the seeds of allies, friends, rivals-- uma and mal, the enemies of the isle of the lost, and uma's best friend, harry dating mal??? oh give me a prequel of them before descendants PLEASE

not to mention how good that would make the payoff of descendants two??

(if you dont care about shipping scroll till you see HADES?? in really big bold text ok thanks)

and then when they get there, they don't throw the boys away as dumb plot devices but give them relationships and arcs and goals? i know, shocker, but tbf they represent women in every disney movie prior to 2009

kill off the fairy godmother's daughter dating carlos and mulan's daughter dating jay plotline i don't want it. let's bring in jay literally falling in love with gil BECAUSE IT IS REAL AND IT HAPPENS IN THE THIRD MOVIE I DONT KID

PLEASE WATCH THIS CLIP ITS PERFECT IN EVERY WAY

and carlos rip cameron boyce ❤️ i dont think he really had a personality but his fits were super solid

i dont want to talk about evie and the dwarf's son other than to say EVIE AND MAL WERE PERFECT

you can find me in the space between YEAH NOW DELETE THAT SPACE BETWEEN YOUR LIPS

and dont talk to me ab ben being left behind because he had uma and/or harry LIKE THATS THE LOVE TRIANGLE I WANT TO WATXH and i no longer feel weird ab wondering if that could have worked as a throuple vibe because riverdale did it w four people so i dont think anyone cares anymore. about anything

if youve never seen descendants and/or your very confused as to where these conclusions are coming from:

dove cameron says she ships evie and mal btw so haters can sit down

and honestly mal and uma work too like truly every ship that wasnt what they did worked so perfectly. and im not even putting a photo for them you and i both know they work

okay i swear this whole thing isnt just ship bait THERE IS MORE

one!

HADES???

why are YOU here? you are the god of the underworld, you have duties! the physics of this doesn't make sense because if hades is real, all gods are real, which means, well i don't know, can't the gods help remove him from this random island? can you imagine the beast trying to bring hades down to the isle of the lost, power struggle, and then finding out mal is his daughter BOOM PLOTLINE

and the beast is not that powerful! which brings me to my next point

why would ben have the beast's superpowers? the superpowers of the beast were a curse and removed. and why would the beast be the king of auradon? he's kind of useless. i think it would be cool and show that the heroes aren't perfect if other people wanted to rule

like not mulan or tiana thats out of character but maybe jasmine and aladdin or elsa and anna??

and where are all of these people from?? how can there be so many students if its js heroes? are there just a bunch of nobodies? why do we never see them this is honestly classist

and your telling me theres a dog but hes not related to the tens of disney dog movies that exist??? hes just some dog?? how can there js be some dog but no some humans?

and last. this is js. jay's adopted. look at him. search him up. he's not south asian, that boy is not related to jafar thanks

GOD, if a single producer there wanted to not just feed children mind numbing gunk in the shape of mid to did i mention songs and toys with dyed hair and a blindindly signature color, descendants could have gone down in history or at least to me as not just the show that killed off my beloved ever after high but a worthy opponent of it

also harry and gil kiss was cut

[mjammies]

Can someone come and collect Apsen (the Elite)

rereading the selection series havent read it since probably high school. i am currently reading the elite and here are my thoughts for a couple chapters. new developments as ive gotten older, 1) I hate america with every fiber in my being and 2) apparently im team maxon now. Things that havent changed, 1) grammar and spelling still suck and 2) too lazy to fix those issues previously mentioned. anywho here are my thoughts for the elite ch 11-13

Ch  11

Post rodding incident:

-marlee and carter are together and miss thing is still mad

-doesnt see how canning is merciful over dying 

-Oppression olympics!! Trying to tell the others they would be begging for death over rodding, girl stop

-”im sure ive experienced far worse than you” okayyy heres a cookie miss maam

-now you lunging at people cause they calling your friend names. Okayy i get it but i think this stuff is striking a cord in you. Like was that a personal attack. 

-not the nurses spreading gossippp. Lol not them ready for that girl to get jumped. As i said if it was celeste getting the beating miss thing wouldnt even bat an eye

-celeste out here putting glass in the gurlls shoes omgg

-not celeste out here hitting the help omgggg

-girlll stopp asking about marlee, she did what she did and that is the end of that. No body is moving, marlee is out living her life with her busted man.

-girllllll pick-me pick-me pick-me, you should know by now HEIS NOT LETTING YOU GO 

Like get it through your thick red skull that you could literally jump his father and he would still find a way to let you stay, like give it up unless you decide to go home you will literally be stuck in this palace forever so hang it up NEOW.

-out of all the people you dont trust and its maxon like girl stop

Ch12

-here come aspen, rolls eyes 

-a date?! Are you kidding me. Aspen kys pls, thank you 

- im ready for this castle to blow up 

-”we might get caught” I SURE HOPE SO

-”if you ever want to seek around the palace im the guy to do it with” OKAYYY BOTH OF YALL KYS THEN cause what 

-”i was still worried, but i needed to be comforted so badly” okay so your also a w****

-not aspen tryna sabotage. YOU CANNOT COMPETE WITH A PRINCE, HANG IT TF UP ASPEN

-yall thinking he gon do the ole bait and switch. Start beating on that girl as soon as the vows are read or something

-” i feel so stupid” YOU SHOULD 

-”i couldnt imagine being with anyone else” buttt…… dont you marry her maid so…..

-”im really sorry maxon turned out to be such a bad guy.” HUH! Whatthehellyouisyoutalmbout

When did we decide he was a bad guy, when did the council come to THAT decision 

-”maxons hold on me was slipping away” the hold of a PRINCE is slipping away.. Okay pack it  up ELECTRIC CHAIR for yous BOTH

-brooo they caught yall in a closet plz bffr

-loll they called miss girl a clown thats so funny 

-see now theyre both treasonous talm bout tried to release her during her canning, now youre in last place with the nation 

-”make sure shes worthy” WELL I CAN TELL YOU WHO ISNT! WITH A QUICKNESS TOO

Ch13

-“The king was expecting me to fail” you know what, if i was the king id want you to fail too lmao

-”I ran from the room” -1000000000 aura points, toughen up plzzzz

-”when aspen slid my door open that night” the way i would be standing there waiting on him with a gun cause have you lost your MINDDDD

-”you know who you are dont let anyone try to change you” broo nobody like America BUT YALL

-”all you know how to do is play the piano? Suddenly you’re supposed to know how to do clerical work” bruhhh do yall think sitting at a desk is going to kill you like PLZZZZ -broo what is he gonna do with these pennies

-first pennies now buttons mad face

-oh so it sacrifices what you want, is that it!!! It is cause he has nothing else to give????!!!?!?!?!?

-”Apsen’s generosity was harder to see because it wasnt as grand as Maxon’s, but the heart behind what he gave was so much bigger” SO….. youre telling me that if maxon gave you a STICK then it would mean more to you

[miriamundertale]

Skate-Leading Stars, The Bane of my Fucking Existence

I've partially wanted to talk about this anime for a while, but after Confirmation that it's real and I haven't been fucking hallucinating it, I think now is likely a better time than ever to uh, Discuss this weird ass show. Skate-Leading Stars was first revealed to me while working on a separate whole project (My attempt to watch every anime where Hiroshi Kamiya voices a main character) and saw it as the main currently airing show that he was voicing a character in. Unfortunately for me, the thought that formed was "oh sweet, this is a currently airing one I could watch this as it airs," not realizing the two fucking year long brainworm I was about to nourish. As a precursor, I need to make clear I'm going to be jumping around in focus a lot. moreover, this is NOT a review, i just want to vent about something that's been taking over my mind. there is a LOT of weird shit going on with this anime that I'd like to at least cover so if I leave something hanging for a bit, I will get back to it at some point.

Spoilers for Skate-Leading Stars, Your Lie In April

What the fuck is Skate-Leading?

Have you ever watched like, a sport, a game, or some other activity (Including Single player ones!) and just wanted to add people to it for no fucking reason? like, "What if chess was 5 people on each side per board deliberating every action while really hoping nobody else listens in" tier shit. That's the main premise of Skate-Leading. It's a sport where 5 anime boys do figure skating all at once in a formation together. The obvious concerns about safety are not even mentioned and the idea of "how do you even judge this on a regional level well without a LOT of judges" is settled by having the numbers be put up as a box that they say is an AI judging it. a core plot point is the One Interesting Character figuring out how the AI works in his gamer cave and gaming it.

Your first bit of confusion you may encounter with that premise is of course "isn't there already pair skating as an actual real sport one could use for the drama of multi-person skating?" or maybe "doesnt this mean this just a more fucked up yuri on ice?" which to me are both great questions, with only the first easily answered with a Yes. Yuri on ice is the obvious comparison for what SLS is attempting to draw from here, given you have seen literally anything about yuri on ice and the timing of the two shows, but you need to understand that the figure skating is a bait. the yaoi is the point but is bait in regards for understanding this plot. they're not trying to do Yuri on ice. They're trying to do Your Lie In April.

Let's Talk about the OP (Updated info in final paragraph)

For some fucking reason that I originally credited to COVID delays, half the fucking OP is black screens.

I don't think anything of it is especially standout aside from that, while SLS has many weaknesses the OP isnt one of them. Unfortunately it's not anything to write home about either, so I don't want anyone else to feel like we're truly missing out when I reveal the fact that as far as I can tell the OP was censored for the western release. I'm operating on my own anecdotal evidence and what is one of my two current white whales (the other that isn't about to be mentioned is the Japanese dub of Batman Vs Superman) so if my theorizing here is completely incorrect than that's Fine. Thats Fine. About a month into watching the show while it was airing, the half black OP started to get to me. I wanted to see more, try and get to the bottom of it, and eventually managed to find the full uncensored version uploaded which remained up for about two weeks before disappearing. I know that the version we can find online is fucking censored. I have no idea why. once again, so little people I know have any knowledge about this show aside from me, let alone have talked about it. I cannot find anything online talking about the OP aside from light mentions in the comments of the Crunchyroll upload sandwiched between Jesus Bots.

While spending a pathetic amount of time delaying this, I actually in fact have been sent proof of the uncensored OP existing. from anything I could tell or from what the friend who sent this from me could tell, the entire reason is something involving covid delays (Confirming my original suspicion, at least!) making them rush out the international version before the broadcast version, thought the delay wasn't that huge? its still definitely a mystery to me that haunts me a little but at least I know it Exists.

Since I've spent enough time talking about not the plot I think its a good time to address the whole Your Lie In April thing

What the Fuck do you Mean Its Trying to do Your lie In April??

Your lie in April, if you haven't seen it, is a story about dealing with grief, parental abuse and falling in love again with your passions even after loss. it's a very rough anime to sit through emotionally, and while its very much a show i have mixed feelings about personally, it's still a very well written example of its genre. Skate-Leading Stars spends has the main character parallel Kousei Arima's (The Main character of Your Lie in April) very basic arc of a teenager getting back into the area he used to be a prodigy in as a child, any forms of subtly or trauma have been entirely replaced with as many meatheaded brash qualities as they can in order to fit the true BL purpose of the story. Instead of having the love interest heavily foreshadowed to die being someone who views said passion in an entirely different light than him as a way to work through trauma and difficulty handling the act of playing piano again, the love interest is a mysterious boy who's using him to try and get back at his brother. Skate-Leading Stars, unabashedly, apes the format and ideas of Your Lie in April, barely understanding anything else going on, and uses it for a bl anime about a sport that is at best impossible to judge and realistically physically dangerous to exist.

Ok now what?

I don't think its necessary to do a plot summary of SLS, partially because I don't want to, but mostly because who fucking cares. I love bad shows, and while the start of the show is undeniably strong in its garbage it goes nowhere with anything. It spends a large amount of its time as a story setting up beats that never pay off, having loud yaoi boys yelling constantly, or underusing Hiroshi Kamiya. There IS a manga I could read for the rest of the story that's likely been playing out, but since only the first chapter is translated I don't see any reason to examine it too closely. If you want to watch gay ice skating anime, Yuri on ice is talked about for a reason. if you want to watch bad anime with Hiroshi Kamiya Ultimate Otaku Teacher exists. If you have read the manga please tell me if Sasugai actually has some sort of fatal disease or they're just aping the framing from Your Lie in April without meaning again.

[expfcultragreen]

I cant explain how much im looking forward to her next move, baited breath. Will she simply say, mea culpa? Didnt know? Certainly she has never said "no one talk about trans people anymore" nazi erasure campaign style, quite the opposite. Will she say "now that im finding this out, the nazis had some things right" indicating a full break with reality, or door number three, will she fake news it, again indicating loss of touch with reality? In 66% of the outcomes ive forecast, she's looking totally bonkers. So whats she gonna do!!

Some days the demons get ya, some days, youre the demons 😈 have fun jo...love the idea of you deepdiving this yourself on the assumption that trans history started ambiguously shortly after your birth and everyone else is wrong, because thats what youve gotta go with to tow the denialism line

Given how popular this brand of denialism is with all kinds of conservatives, she could probably pretty much just get away with "its only denying a nazi crime if it was a crime" which pairs well with "the holocaust was only wrong as it pretains to jewish people and everyone else deserved it just like in our modern prisons, and its antisemitic for members of those same minorities to try to claim the holocaust because again, you deserve what you get" (ps by the logic of "youre not a descendant of those gays so youre not allowed to identify with them they way jewish descendants of holocaust victims are allowed to identify with our relatives, soooooo you cant use pink tringle iconography in ways i find ugly because im jewish so thats antisemitic and its double antisemitic if you try to argue with me, a jewish person, about whats antisemitic so there", like theres ppl in the jewish diaspora who didnt have family in europe at that time and are also not directly descended from anyone who was in the holocaust, but would it not seem odd to say its therefore not their fight, their history to claim? The fact is, if theyd have been there itd have been them too, for being jewish. If other gays had been there itd have been us, for being gay. Same diff! The nazi menace isnt a super selective group about targets, historically.... in fact you have to work hard to be on the inside edge of the circle of the acceptable, which is their most significant weakness in general...they have to be up to the task of supressing absolutely everyone else, and thats logistically difficult without killing themselves too. Yknow in 12 monkeys, they think the hippies did it, but it was just some shitgrin crypto all along)

[the-jade-cross]

Come Back Home - Chapter 5

"Fawn...." Minho croaked, trying to talk around the lump in his throat that was building as the tears in his eyes stung. "We need to get out of here. With these explosions, buildings are going to start falling."

Fawn didnt brush off Minho's gentle hand but she didnt oblige him either, stroking the damp hair out of Newt's still face, bending down to plant a shaky kiss to his forehead. Brenda crouched down next to the girl and wrapped her arms around the girl securely.

"He is at peace now. He cannot feel the pain. Look, the tension and the misery has left his face now."

Fawn sniffled as her trembling fingers traced the boy's jaw. She allowed Brenda to draw her to a standing position, wiping her tears and straightening her shoulders.

"Where is Thomas?" she asked, voice stiff.

"He ran off back towards the building. Said something about finding the truth," Minho responded, his strong body shielding the two girls from the debris that began to pollute the air.

"It better fucking be Teresa he's going after," Fawn growled. "Because I have something to tell her as well."

Minho and Brenda exchanged looks, terrified by the harshness in the usually happy girl's voice. the two began to gently guid her back to where the helicopter was waiting, not wanting the girl to continue to see Newt's dead limp body.

As they approached the waiting ship, Minho and Brenda helped the shaking Fawn into the carrier, Gally reaching for her hand to help. As the girl sat down, Drake rushed over and began whining happily and barking at the girl but she didnt move. She didnt even look down as she sat like a stone statue in her seat.

Gally looked over at Minho, about to ask what was wrong with her when he noticed the absence of two of their numbers.

"Where are Thomas and Newt?" he asked, his voice causing Caliber to poke his head from the cockpit.

"Thomas went after Teresa." Minho replied as he sat down next to Fawn.

"And Newt?" Gally asked.

He was met with silence and he began to shake his head as if trying to shake the idea of Newt dead from his mind until he saw Brenda return the cure vial to Caliber.... still full.

"Fawn?" Caliber whispered, gently taking his sister's hands, "Are you okay?"

"Find her," Fawn growled. "Find Teresa..... now!"

Minho and Gally could hear everyone jump in their seats at Fawn's shout and Caliber did not waste time in getting back into the cockpit. It didnt take long to track Thomas down and find him on top of the tallest building in the city. It was clear that the building was going to crumble any second now and there stood Thomas, hands in the air, something obviously wrong with his leg because he was limping and there with him with a gun pointed to his head.... was Teresa

"Open the hatch," Fawn said as she got to her feet and walked to the end of the hatch with Brenda, Gally and Minho.

A smirk appeared on Teresa's face when she recognized the bright red hair billowing in the wind. "I knew you would track him." she sneered. "No point in killing the bait and possible blood supply when there is a bigger fish to catch."

"Taking Thomas's blood isnt going to cure anyone," Brenda shouted. "You cannot cure purely from blood! When I was given his blood, the doctor also gave me something else. By itself, his blood is useless!"

Teresa cackled. "Which is why I need Fawn. you stole the archives that Dr. Cross worked so diligently to create that had the cure's formula. And I want it back."

"Do you think that we're stupid!?" Minho shouted. "When you were torturing me, you said that you only want the cure to keep Wicked alive. You have no intention of saving anyone."

Teresa shrugged, "So? I dont see how you have the upper hand what with my gun to Thomas's head. I dont mind killing him if it means that I get Fawn and the archives."

Gally was going to start shouting profanities at the girl when Fawn tossed a small silver hard drive to the girl who dropped her gun to catch it. She quickly pushed the drive into the thick bracelet on her wrist and a hologram appeared from the bracelet..... which read: BLANK.

"Hey!" The girl screeched. "This is empty!"

Fawn laughed. "You dont say? let me ask you something Teresa. Did anyone actually see the archives or actually see the cure in action? Its because Jade Cross never wrote the cure down! Did you really think I was stupid enough to find the cure and write it down for you to use and destroy? Fat chance!"

Teresa lifted a shaking finger, everyone else but Gally also gawking at Fawn.

"I made up the idea of the archives and the story that I stole them to stage Dr. Cross's death which gave Wicked a reason to kidnap me and thrown me into the maze. How else could I have ensured my ending up in the same maze as Newt? I knew Wicked wouldn't risk putting me in a maze with girls out of fear that one of them would be the friends that I was avenging. They never thought that they would be boys."

"Why you!" Teresa screeched, reaching for her gun again but by then, Thomas had been dragged onto the ship by Minho and Brenda and a hissing sound broke the silence.

Brenda and Thomas stared in horror, faces white in shock as Fawn's arrow hurried itself in Teresa's forehead, the girl dropping on the spot as the building began to crumble.

"I was going to make it a slow death," Fawn muttered to no one in particular. "But I got tired of hearing her voice."

"Remind me to never piss her off," Minho whispered to Thomas as the hatch slid shut and they flew off.

"Fawn.... what you said back there.... is there really a cure?"

A sad smile barely made its way onto her face. "Of course there is. I am just the only one who knows where it is. But first, lets get everyone to safety."

******

The door of the bedroom slid open quietly as Thomas poked his head inside to see Minho sitting silently next Fawn who was sound asleep, Drake curled up protectively at her feet.

"how is she doing?" Thomas asked, closing the door behind him.

Minho sighed as he closed the book he had been reading, "She sleeps for two hours, then wakes up to go puke and then attempt to eat, then she repeats."

Thomas nodded, "Pisces checked on her last night and said that is the morning sickness."

Minho hummed "But the silence isnt. Its been two weeks Thomas and she still hasn't said a word."

The hope that Thomas had built up, thinking that maybe Fawn was doing better went down the drain. Two weeks since they had escaped Wicked and were hiding out at the Thorn compound in the mountains. Two weeks since 200 refugees moved in, waiting to hear any news from the Snipers who were keeping tabs on Wicked. Two weeks since Newt's death.... and two weeks since Fawn had spoken.

Thomas sunk into the chair on the other side of the bed, opposite Minho.

"I never thought I would see that side of Fawn. She was always so happy, cheeky and yes sarcastic at times but...when she realized that Newt was gone...."

"The assassin in her came to the surface. "Minho finished for him. "I spoke with Grace and Caliber about this. They likened her to a hunting dog. she is fun and playful on the average day but if someone targets a person she cares about, she instantly goes into fight rather than flight mode."

"Did they mention her also going mute?" Thomas asked.

Minho shook his head. "Thomas, Brenda hasn't known Newt nearly as long as we have but she has been sobbing for days. Frypan will not leave his room and Gally has broken five punching bags today. I haven't slept since Newt's death, plagued with the nightmares of his death. Not nightmares of my being tortured by Wicked, but by Newt's death because the torture is nothing compared to what I am feeling after Newt's death. If you were dating someone and that person abruptly died before your eyes, leaving you a single parent, would you react similarly to how Fawn has?"

Thomas's shoulders slumped. "You're right."

Minho reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain, on the end was a small pendant that looked like a miniature thermos.

"Newt told me to give this to you."

Thomas slowly took the pendent in his hands and after staring at it for a while, he opened it, revealing a small sheet of paper that had been rolled up tightly inside. Unfolding it carefully he was faced by neat, elegant handwriting and he knew that it was Newt's. He had just finished reading it, tears pricking at his eyes when the door banged open loudly, Auberon panting in the doorway.

The loud noise had jolted Fawn awake who was now sitting upright in bed, Drake bouncing from the bed in surprise at having been accidentally kicked by Fawn.

"Wicked has moved to their compound 25 leagues to the west. based on intel from Thieves, the lost city is the farthest Wicked is willing to go as of now. They wont go beyond the Lost City unless it is dire."

"For what reasons?" Minho asked.

"They are weakened right now and they fear the Right Arm, Thorn, as well as the alliance our two forces have together. Plus the Lost City is overtaken by cranks. They are hauling away what they can in carriers and leaving the rest to rot."

"So everything to the east of the Lost City is safe territory from Wicked?" Fawn asked, her voice soft and yet it still made the three boys jump clear out of their skin.

"W...w...w...wha..... y...y....yeah..." Auberon stuttered. "Why?"

Fawn of course didnt answer his question but reached to her nightstand and retrieved the mobile she used to communicate with the Thorn members.

"Caliber?" She asked when the boy in question decided to pick up. "Tell everyone that we move out in two days time."

The girl hung up shortly only to find Minho and Thomas staring at her in confusion.

"We're moving out? To where?"

Fawn looked at Auberon, "You know where. Scout out the area today and tomorrow before anyone arrives. Were going somewhere safe where Wicked would never find us."

********

Thomas kept poking his head against the window, cheek rubbing against the glass as he tried to see where they were but the carrier was well above the clouds, away from the prying eyes of any possible Wicked satellites.

"Please remain in your seats everyone. We are about to begin descent," Gemini spoke calmly over the intercom of the carrier.

Thomas buckled himself down between Fawn and Gally as they felt the carrier slowly descend. They couldn't even hear the dozens of other aircrafts nearby that were also descending, carrying all the Wicked refugees. Finally the felt the ship make contact with the ground and when the engines had powered off, everyone began to pool out of the carriers like ants, only to stop short when they saw just where they were.

Thomas, Gally, Minho and Frypan turned to look at Fawn in confused shock. "Spitfire, why are we here?" Gally asked first.

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'right under their nose'?" Fawn asked, stroking Drake's fluffy ears as the dog nudged her hand. "Well this place is 50 leagues too Far East for Wicked to venture and it is also protected by the Thorn compounds that line the mountains between us and Wicked. And it is also the last place Wicked would think to look for us which makes it the safest place. With some renovations it will be the ideal place to live and be protected."

Caliber plopped his arm around his sister's shoulders to show the boys that he was in support of Fawn's plan.

"Besides, it's 10 neighboring siblings are all within 10 miles and equally abandoned which means that there is plenty of room for everyone. And all those threats have been eliminated and the connections this place used to have with Wicked has been severed when they left the Lost City. White Rose has also put up an electromagnetic barrier in a 50 mile diameter so if anyone froM Wicked crosses too close, we will know it."

"FML," Frypan whispered. "This is whacky."

The four boys, the last of the glade other than Fawn, looked around at their all too familiar surrounding as they realized that they were once again in the Glade!

[neims-skeleton-obsession]

ye ask and ye shall recieve and by ye i mean Two (2) People /pos cw: death and swearing also probable spoilers for. almost definitely death bringer (book 6) and dark days (4), possibly book 1 oNWARDS

*inhale* lots. lots of feelings and/or thoughts probably not in a cohesive order apologies in advance

he. was fucking tortured im not sure if we were ever given a confirmation of how long for but either way that on its own is horrific

his wi. his wife and child were murdered to get to him. potentially from his point of view they died for nothing good, it was pointless. and his fault.

their deaths were the result of his anger- of people knowing him as an angry man, if they hadn't the wouldnt have been killed as bait. and sometimes i think that he thinks that if he'd been a better man, a less angry man, they would still be alive

hIS death itself was also pretty horrific. like he died in pain and in mourning for his family and maybe in the end it was a form of relief. from. yknow being McFucken Tortured yes im mentioninf that again

but then he came back and had to keep going and keep fighting the war without the comfort of a family he could go back to when it was all over. if it was ever all over.

aLSO. so the whole "it was like something was tying me down" or whatever the fuck that. whole spiel wa. i mean when he was talking about him being Brought Back to valkyrie, pre book six?? so it is very very very likely he was at least vaguely aware of his body being burned. and put on a spike. and then being thrown in a river just before he "woke up". unless he was burnt alive?? i dont remember completely but either way fUUUCKING H E L L

that alone is. traumatising as shit

he wasnt brought back for some cause, or for any particular reason that he might have convinced himself of. he was brought back because a necromancer didn't want him to go to waste

and he found this out in probably the most undignified way

and he then proceeded to commit atrocities for five years because he was so fucking fuelled by the anger that had resulted in the death of hIS. WIFE. AND CHILD.

this was also revealed to valkyrie, someone he cares about so fucking much, in a way that once again stripped him of his dignity

tHATS A POINT THOUGH

so so so many fucking times regarding his death what little dignity he had left had been sforecfully taken from him. when his body was burned and put on display, when people watched him being tortured, when the truth of his resurrection came out. etc.

no one came to save him. or at least no one succeeded. i find it hard to believe the dead men didnt try- but they didnt manage it in the end. so mmaybe that made it a little harder, maybe a lot, in book 1 when he was being tortured by serpine. AGAIN. to believe that anyone would find him before he was killed- properly, that time. he was cheery when val and the others turn up but when wasnt he around her in the early days.

and considering how hard skug was hallucinating in book 4 when he was. yknow being tortured i think he probably did then, too. which adds another thing of "awh fella :["

he wasnt able to get revenge on the man that tortured and killed hIM AND. HIS W I F E A N D C H I L D. until something like 300 years later????????

also i dont think skug has ever had a chance to. like actually work through all of this shit

aND THIS ISNT EVEN ALL OF IT :'D

i just feel so. so bad for him ok.

also most of the books are from val's pov even if they are third person and i refuse to believe she picked up on all the times h. he was a lil bit fucky.

especially when she was younger ie early phase one

like im fairly certain skug fucking hates himself. if you wwwaaant proof of that id say read those few chapters in book 4 that are val yoinking him from being. tortured by the faceless ones.

im so sorry this is sO much text ehgnetudjgf bbbut. skug death thoughts. feel free to expand on any of these/add your own :]] /gen

also apologies aagain for this probably being fucking. terribly organised and put together etc etc rhgebrydgfhhegr

i just have a lot of feelings about skug's death ok

[tillman]

what is Robo ky's role in the themes of gg?

hi wifey :-)

i actually rlly rlly love thinking about this particularly throwing his x series themes and ideas behind him next to xrds depiction and then of course throwing all of that next to the little slayer drama cd w him . theres a lot . to chew on . and i think its particularly sad a lot of people arent willing to give his depiction in the earlier games any mind... i have to put on my im sorry women hat but i love him in the x/xx games... sorry..... i lvoe him so bad.

anyways under a readmore cus . its . 3 am dont expect good concepts fleshed out i just want to talk about my favorite robert ideas ok ? hes cute to me.

i like. ok this is not even worth mentioning really but i really liek his like 7 lines in slash. SORRY. maybe just because i play him so so much and he is so so dear to me but well i will take all i can get. anyways this is my favorite of his its very cute. he only shows up in kys route for one ending that has way sicker art of it than it should haev but ..

i love this..... his raison d'etre being exclusively to defeat ky. <- this comes up later too (i love you nok)... like he kinda becomes Exclusively a pawn for the greater pwab story in mc and and also ac but.... like what a simple tie in to the constant gg theme of identity and being human and what not. this w his nok depiction make me fucking insnae... hes truly just some guy trying to prove he is Some Guy. like he sucks and should be put down ruthlessly but hey! thats something!! hes not just a ky clone hes the anticatholic ky clone and that makes him worthy of life just like anyone else. he should be not so weird about women though ok ?

i think i am too autistically attached to like. the assassins guild w millia and venom but the theme in gg that resonates w me most is this idea of life? and what it means to live. and this idea of wanting to live despite everything. life isnt something you earn or have to deserve . theres a lot in millia and eddies AC routes in particular when i think of this ...... anyways its why i genuinely really am touched by xrds portrayal of robo ky as this kinda like. dude who is jsut very confident in his own way of life. all his stuff about dreams and all is basically the exact same as millias ending in AC after she kills eddie and realizes she can move on and live happily and find life outside of zato and shit. u know? i liek when gg does this - telling the same story over and over in different ways. this one in particular is just the one i find myself coming to over and over again....

i also really like robo ky as a like . motivation for venoms arc? i guess? i cant word that. but all the assassins guild members go thru this mostly thru the urge of slayer this like realization they are more than just objects and weapons and can live and find themselves and what not. and like slayer kinda pushes venom over To robo ky as his own sort of mirror in that storyline. which is cute. it works. for both of them . theyre two very interesting characters to pair together and i get why they did it especially w the nok story of robo ky watching mk ii die and be unable to save him and venoms themes in ac mostly ending w this cautionary warning of his own destruction if he keeps up the whole ignoring the guild to look for zato thing. i just like it.

^ in this it does baffle me they became like the Yaoi bait or whatever i dont really understand that. i think theyre silly together but they have such a fucking interesting dynamic... crying rolling around i want their story to continue so bad and not because im biased and want either of them in strive because i think theyre the most fun gimmick characters. hey speaking of that htye are the most fucking fun characters im glad theyre the two arc sys paired up for xrd cus it means i get content of both my mains together easily. epic fucking win. the issue of this is that sadly they are both bad to women . venom is just slightly better because hes just awful to one specific woman and calls her a bitch so so so much . anwyays bad influences on each other on that issue but i like that two of the characters whos struggles focus on being human and reconning with being just a tool of those that gave them life get solace with each other. makes me happy

anyways. tldr. robo kys only addition to the themes of gg is that tits fucking rock and you should suicide bait ! thanks !

[matan4il]

I would love it if you allowed me a scream into the void moment. No worries if you dont post. But I'm bothered today by antis.

Heres the thing I ship for leisure, I have shipped queer, straight canon ext. I have had ships sail, sink or die. When I'm on the 🤡 end of the ship it doesn't bother me. I get it. Eddie and Buck are canon "straight" on the show. I get why you think I'm a clown 🤡.

But heres the thing I dont get, why are antis not getting this writing isnt normal. I fully am prepared for Buddie not to happen, shit with my luck the will thing was because they plan to kill Eddie off because Ryan wants to leave and they want to keep Christopher with Buck and Taylor. However my point remains nothing about the writing of Eddie and Buck is typical and just admit it.

The constant queer baiting on the small scale mixed with your my kids legal gaurdian on the huge scale. Eddies panic attacks. The angst of Eddie leaving combined with all the Buck adondenemt issues and also Eddie stopping him from leaving. It just doesnt add up. And maybe I'm wrong, but also antis need to acknowledge this isnt normal and they could be wrong and not hate as much.

Hi Nonnie! You are ALWAYS welcome to scream whatever you need to in my inbox! *hugs*

I get what you're saying. I'm not sure I can say that I ship for leisure with the amount of meta'ing I have done, but I do generally believe in "live and let live" in fandom. Everyone's free to disagree with any of my meta's, to interpret things differently, to like whichever characters or ships they like, etc. I firmly believe that at the end of the day, fandom is what we do to help make real life (rl) better, so whatever brings people joy is fine in my book (as long as we're not talking downright offensive opinions).

But even so, I agree with you fully and think that there is something quite unusual about the writing for Buddie. 'Coz here's the thing, yeah, maybe if we search hard enough, we could find a good rl het explanation for everything Buddie have done/been through, but shows aren't rl. To make my point, in rl we go to the bathroom every day not long after we wake up. But we don't see it on screen. If we suddenly do see a character go to the bathroom in the morning, then something IS UP. Maybe we'll discover that they have some sort of a serious medical condition, or that she's pregnant. We don't know yet, but we know that there is some reason for why the show made this unusual choice, and that it's asking us to pay extra attention to this. The same thing can be said about the way Buddie has been written, there are a lot of unusual choices that beg us to pay attention to these two together, as partners and as a family unit with Chris. If you look at the sum of my meta, those are the choices that I'm trying to highlight, the ones that are out of the ordinary and that call attention to Buddie as possibly something other than friends... If a straight couple would have gotten this treatment, then even if they didn't eventually get together, I would fully expect at least one of them to have a feelings realization at some point (an example for that are Dean and Vic on Station 19, who got a lot of similar elements to Buddie, and where eventually Dean was forced to admit he's in love with Vic, even though the actor decided to leave the show before the two of them ever got the chance to get together).

Anyway, my point is you're right and I'm with you, and please feel free to use my meta as proof whenever you wanna point out that the writing for Buddie is NOT the standard writing for friends, even really good, close friends.

Thank you for sending this and big hugs to you! xoxox

To anyone else who sent me an ask, I am going through all of them, thank you so much for your patience! If you wanna check whether I've replied to yours yet, you can have a look at my ask tag. xoxox

[samdyke]

Hey kora I know this might sound stupid or pathetic and I promise I do try really hard to not care about what celebrities say or think but this whole Chad/Samantha thing is really affecting me and whenever this sort of thing happens I just get really upset because of how poorly gay people get treated and constantly baited and how we constantly live on crumbs and also it makes me feel stupid and crazy (bad crazy not fun crazy) for even thinking Dean and cas would be in love even though cas is in love with dean canonically. Is there any way to just stop caring? I’m really hurt and upset by all of this

hi!! first of all mwah. thats a little kiss on the cheek for you if youre so inclined to accept it!!! okay so you dont sound stupid or pathetic at all - i really get it!!! i do. a lot of friends and i agree that today, like so many days, we have to laugh at the levels of bait and shit that gets tossed at gay spn fans because if we don’t, it’s upsetting. you’re not alone in feeling that way. there’s something really disheartening and insidious about the way we’ve been treated for years by actors, writers, producers, other fans, and people who have nothing to do with the show at all but think that destiel is a fun punchline to making fun of fandom stuff. and here’s the long and short of it: we dont deserve it. we deserve to be, at the very least, respected for how we think and feel! there’s nothing wrong with finding queer messages in stories, whether they were intentional or not, and it certainly isnt “disrespectful” to the show (which. what a joke, like she gave a shit about “respecting the show” when she was shading the finale three months ago) to do so. in the case of supernatural, we KNOW that we aren’t crazy - cas literally canonically confessed his love for dean! writers and actors have given nods here and there to behind-the-scenes discussion of destiel, bi dean, gay cas...they know, and they did it on purpose. we only saw what they gave us and patched it all together, we aren’t crazy and we aren’t wrong for doing that.

i guess the best thing i can say as far as specifically feeling disheartened by being hurt, mocked, and disrespected (yet again) by people involved in the show is this: no matter what their role in making the show, once that episode airs, it no longer belongs to them. when we watch an episode, thats it! custody tranfers over to us, the fans - and now that the show is done? these characters belong to US! samantha and chad and anyone else only have as much claim over these characters and this show as we do. in fact, im willing to bet money that we could talk circles around either of them and most of the cast/team wrt lore, characterization, themes, etc like just because they worked on the show does NOT mean they know better

so ultimately, just keep your head up!! it sucks and it hurts that homophobia is so peristent, but all we can do is laugh and shrug it off as best we can. we’ve never been crazy for connecting the dots, and we dont deserve anyone acting like we are. and hey, when all else fails, you can watch their twitter followers go down <3

[breitzbachbea]

📒💖

Emi, I'm kissing you on the mouth right now, you're so sexy. In general but also for taking the bait.

Put “📓” or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I’ll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven’t written but daydream about.

The Constantinople AU

This AU is from 2017 and came about because I watched a TED-ED video about Constantinople's walls, relistened to the Aladdin soundtrack and because I had earlier talked with a friend about how I had not really seen people make a genie a woman. I came back years later to explain it to my friend Jonah and add new stuff and this year I showed it to @amber-isnt-a-precious-stone to add even more things. It's one of my favourite AUs for sure.

Dramatis Personae:

- Herakles Karpuzi (APH Greece) as Son of the Roman emperor and heir to the throne - Sadık Adnan (APH Turkey) as Soldier in the Ottoman army and Imposter Prince - Dilan Taş (Human OC) as Jinn and Sadık's unsuccessful wingwoman - Athanasios Karpuzi (Human OC) as the Roman emperor and serial skirtchaser - Salvatore Vento (Human OC) as Advisor to the emperor and Fuckface McBadDad - Michele Vento (APH Sicily) as Herakles' childhood friend

The Happenings™:

- It's set in Constantinople in an alternate Universe, close to ours. It’s the late High Middle Age/Early Late Middle Age (depending on how you want to periodize. I am working with how the German Middle Ages are divided, which is arguably a very bad method for classifying Byzantine. But this is my silly Hetalia AU, not my term paper). Around 1300, I’d say.

- Athansios Karpuzi is the current Roman Emperor, which makes Herakles the heir to the throne. Athanasios is desperately trying to wed his son off to any available suitors to form new alliances, but two things keep getting into the way: 1. Herakles is thoroughly uninterested in playing along with Athanasios’ plans. He’s not a chess piece on his father’s board if he's got anything to say about it. 2. Salvatore Vento is Athanasios’ closest consultant and protests any marriage for whatever reason he can find. For the sole reason that he has been eyeing the throne for himself the entire time and wants to marry his own son, Michele, to Herakles.

- Like in my Hetalia AU "Like Father Like Son", Salvatore and Athanasios trust each other as far as they can throw one another. There is no genuine trust here at all, no sympathy, really, they just stick together because they know the other is useful. Have some assorted banter as result of this:

Salvatore: "Immortal what a name! What a title to bear! Although immoral would have fit you much better." [Athanasios’ etymology is “immortal”]

S: "Maybe you wouldn't have to struggle to find a suitable bride for your son if you stopped dragging every young woman within and from outside Constantinople to bed." Athanasios: "He's into guys too, problem solved." S: "Oh, yeah, me dumbass thought you needed stop whoring around, how silly of me."

A: "If he is into anything at all. But if I have another child, they might keep this empire going." S: "No legitimation to the lineage's claim to power like a gay loner and a bastard child." A: "Ah yes, I hired the man whose wife ran away with his son so he could berate me about family life. How I value your opinion, Salvatore." S: "She didn't run away." A: "No, she just hides and sends you people until she can get her divorce. I'm very inclined to give it to her."

S: "They're childhood friends! They'd make a great couple!" A: "All I can hear is what a great emperor you'd make, ruling on my corpse."

- So. Herakles is staunchly resisting any marriage to anyone and minding his business one day, walking along the great walls of Constantinople. He stops to look out into the surrounding area and suddenly, hears a noise. Confused, he looks down and sees someone scaling the wall. Sadık looks up and sees the most beautiful man he has ever seen … spotting him trying to get into the city.

- Sadık is part of the Ottoman Turks, who’re conquering the area around Constantinople these days. He’s some nobody in the army and thought he’d give it a shot and get into the city by himself to earn some fame (and money).

- Herakles is seriously impressed Sadık managed to actually almost scale the famously impenetrable walls of the city. Not impressed enough to actually let him in. So these two banter a bit, Sadık now distracted by this hunk in front of his nose. Herakles correctly assesses that he’s a Turk and says of himself that he’s the emperor’s son. Sadık: “Hey, hot stuff, if that’s true and it’s so impressive, why don’t you let me in as a reward?” Herakles: “Yes, of course. And then I’ll open the gates for the rest of your people, so that you can just walk in and take the city. What impossible thing do you want to happen next, a kiss on the mouth?” Sadık: “What’s so impossible about that?”

- Either way, Herakles threatens to sick the guards on him, which leads to a “Oh no you wouldn’t” - Herakles grins and definitely would, so Sadık has to retreat. (#Don’tSickTheGuardsOnMyAssYou’reSoSexyAhaha).

- He goes back to camp, having gained nothing but a crush. He gets in real trouble for rummaging around the booty, where he finds an oil lamp and WOULDN’T YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Dilan, a Jinn, pops out and Sadık uses his first wish to get out of trouble. Once that is done and the two have a moment of peace, he's thinking about what to do next and his mind circles back to Herakles.

- Dilan: "Ah yes, they always want something with love ... so who struck you and what's the problem?" Sadık: "Well ... I don't really know if it's true but he said he was the son of the emperor. He certainly looked the part! And I didn't really want to wait for him to call the guards to confirm it." Dilan: "Wait ... so you want to get with the son of the Roman emperor?" Sadık: "If that handsome little shit didn't lie to me, then yes." Dilan: "Isn't that a little out of your ballpark?" Sadık: "What, is it out of yours? Can't help me in that case, magic lady?" Dilan: "Psht, don't make me laugh! I can make the impossible happen, just tell me what you need." Sadık: "I dunno ... I guess getting inside the city?" Dilan: "That's it? That's all you need? That's less than a no-brainer -" Sadık: "Oh yeah, if it's so easy then, save that second wish for later. I got past one of the walls already once, I'll figure that out without your magic." Dilan: "Alright, alright ... and what about the wooing of your sweetheart?" Sadık: "That we'll see to once we're there ..."

- Dilan and Sadık chitchat while they make it to Constantinople. Dilan spends some time in the lamp, because walking is boring, but she does tell him that she's pretty sick of being in there. So that's where Sadık learns about her wishing to be free. Dilan in turn learns that Sadık doesn't have such a rosy life either (especially because now he can't return to the army, after he basically deserted).

- So they get to Constantinople and decide to actually factcheck if they got the right guy - and if yes, some general information about the emperor's son. Luckily enough, a friendly trader/tradesman tells them a bit about the city and the imperial family. Dilan: "So, did you by any chance ever see the emperor's son?" Trader: "Oh, well, that's an odd question, isn't it? But since you don't seem to be from here, I can understand the curiosity. Well, let me think ... You often see him only from afar ... during a triumph where he had accompanied his father during the campaign I got to see him up close. What a regal figure there at the head of the troops!" Sadık is too lost in the vision of his crush all decked out in military gear on a horse. And then taking all that gear off and being a regal figure while he fucks Sadık into the sheets … Dilan: "Yeah, yeah, yadda yadda, we need something more concrete. Height, hairstyle, haircolour, what does the dude look like?" The trader/tradesman is a little baffled but does provide a description that lines up with who Sadık saw. So with that information, they start to wonder how to woo a future emperor.

- Luckily, now that the trader/tradesman thinks they're here for imperial gossip, he actually mentions the fact that Emperor Athanasios hopes for his son to follow his footsteps and is currently looking for a suitable match, so that Herakles can be of political use even while he's still in charge. So Dilan and Sadık get an idea how to get into the city and Herakles heart. Or his pants. Milestones are still up for negotiation.

- After the grand entrance happened, where Herakles definitely took offense at either "Heard your prince was a sight lovely to see" or "Heard your prince was hot, where is he?" because either question was accompanied by Sadık's flirty looks, Athanasios actually lets Sadık and Dilan into the palace. There he and Salvatore discuss the entire thing, aka if whoever Sadık pretends to be is a good match.

- While they talk political stuff and snark, because of course Salvatore is against it, Sadık continues to feel very smug in his new princely identity and makes flirty eyes at Herakles. Herakles is just like "ugh" and much more happily plays with his cats. Which tbh sounds like they're 16 or something, but they're not that much younger than in canon (I think they'd be 22 and 24 here).

- Hijinks ensue. Herakles tells his dad that he’s a Turkish soldier that tried to sneak into the city and Athanasios doesn’t believe him, thinking Herakles is now lying badly to not get married. Dilan and Sadık are developing a friendship that is best described as hoes being bros.

- Dilan: "Look, you like cats. Cats are furry. Hairy, if you will. You know who else is hairy? Sadık. He's juuust as hairy as a cat - shhhht, I'm wingmanning for you and it's working great, you can thank me later."

- At first, Dilan mostly employs her magic for some silly little things with Sadık to woo Herakles. It doesn't work very well. Herakles: "I know it's magic, that's not impressing me - Okay, it is kinda cool, but you're still a dick." Dilan: "But a dick with a cool sidekick, come ON! What else do you want me to do to make the nerd viable?!" Sadık: "You call that wingmanning?!"

- Once Dilan realizes dickbags Athanasios and Salvatore are, she also uses little magic tricks to continously make their lives worse. Ironically, this may be what finally endears her and Sadık to Herakles. (If you haven't noticed, he doesn't like his father very much and Athanasios doesn't care for him aside from being a political pawn).

- At one point, Michele shows up at court! Herakles is overjoyed to see his childhood friend, which he hadn’t seen in years! Sadık is absolutely not, because it looks like just when he and Herakles almost had something, this twat shows up and steals the show!

- Dilan: "Well, I can't make him not love this dude, but I could beat the dude up." Sadık: " ... keep that in mind."

- However, when Dilan goes to investigate what Michele is doing here (and wingwomanning again), this ensues: Dilan: "Hey brah, what's up, why so blue looking? Is it because your boo just told you you ain't his number one anymore?" Michele: "I, eh ... no ... May I ask who you are?" Dilan: "Just one of the servants of the insanely charming and powerful - and hairy - Prince who's here to marry the Prince. Yep, he's sooo gonna marry that guy." Dilan: "There was a whole musical number about it, you should have seen it, I was on top of my game." Michele: "Sure heard about it, you stirred up trouble here. Hope it helps ... I'm not saying that Herakles should marry someone his dad set in front of him, but it'd be nice if he found someone at last. He told me he was very lonely the last years ... I don't want to leave him behind just as lonely again." Dilan: "Yeah, it'd be - Leave him behind?"

- Dilan: "Good news! His loverboy is not here to stay! He wants to go to the west, he's just here because of his terrible dad!" Sadık: "Oh, that's good! Wait ... isn't his father that asshole of an advisor?" Dilan: "Yeah. Why." Sadık: "The guy who wanted to marry his son to Herakles since apparently forever?" Dilan: "Yeah, but his son is not going to marry him." Sadık: "I smell a trap 10 miles against the wind."

- There is no trap however. Herakles realizes that the crush on Michele is nothing but a childhood crush and has to be left in the past … and that he wants to move forward with Sadık. When he wants a conversation one-on-one, Dilan wants to make it a one-on-two, but Herakles asks her if she doesn’t want to keep Michele company in the gardens, it’s not gonna take long, an hour or two at most. Then she can also fetch Michele when they’re done, so that Herakles can say goodbye before he leaves for Sicily.

- Dilan thinks about it, finds it’s not a trap (and if it was, nothing she and her fists couldn’t solve) and goes in the garden. There she talks with Michele and makes the mistake to either show off her magic powers, tell Michele of TurGre’s meetugly (#Don’tSickTheGuardsOnMyAssYou’reSoSexyAhaha) or to be like: “Hey, do you wanna know a cool secret? Sadık isn’t a Prince, all of this is my doing. Pretty cool, eh?”

- Unfortunately, they’re not alone. Salvatore was searching for Michele in the gardens, to get his “fucking rotten brat of a son” to play along after all instead of disappearing once again. So he overhears this. Salvatore: "Oh, so Prince Sadık is not a Prince? That's a funny joke indeed and I'll laugh my ass off the hardest in the end."

- So just when Herakles and Sadık had time to talk about their feelings and confess and, also, you know, make out and fumble for good measure, they get interrupted. Literally when Herakles was finally stripped down to his tunic and Sadık slid his hand underneath it.

- Athanasios: "This is gonna be the last wall you breached, you little rat." Herakles: "Dad! Stop it!" Athanasios: "This man nearly ruined our dynasty. Arrest him." Salvatore: "Arrest the man indeed. Go and get the ex-emperor." Athanasios: "Ex-Prince. It's not the right time for your snark." Salvatore: "I'm not talking about that small fish. Guards - arrest this careless idiot who nearly ruined our city by letting a scammer into its walls! Clearly the emperor's been in on this and can't be trusted!" Athanasios: "You've lost your mind." Salvatore: "You've lost yours and it's actually the thing you'll miss the least when syphilis is going to eat away the last of your rotten brain in the dungeons. So get him! And that ottoman faker, too, just get the trash out of here."

- The scene ends rather dramatically, because I love the thought of Michele and Dilan rushing to their help, but they get held back. Dilan maybe gets restrained by some anti-magic stuff. And Dilan begs Sadık to use his last wish to help him. To solve this problem. But Sadık refuses, because he promised to use it to set her free. So Dilan is just livid and upset, distraught, yelling at him to let her do something while he gets taken to the dungeons.

- So now Salvatore’s in charge and setting his plans into motion. PR is of course the first thing that needs to be done, so there’s a speech to Constantinople’s masses: "But, as you know, I respect and regard the royal family, the entire dynasty, more than any of you! So I am not going to assume power, it'd be a crime against God himself who granted us this emperor, if I had removed him for anything but his unstable condition and his tragic mistake of almost letting his lineage being tainted! Not to mention that this would have been the end of our beloved empire, our city, suddenly overrun and ruled by those barbarians! No, of course I'll give my power to the true heir who was merely a victim to his father's incompetence. To prove I really mean it, I'm even going to give up my son to the Prince, to forever bind my loyality to the throne!"

- Michele: "I hold no more respect for you as father as I did when we left. I'm not going to play along your perverted plan." Salvatore: "Well Michele, if you don't respect me as father, then maybe you'll respect me as the Roman Emperor!"

- Meanwhile, in the dungeons, Athanasios and Sadık have some great chitchat. Sadık: "Guess that's some quality father and son in law bonding time, eh?” S:“Though I'm pretty sure your son would rather call me daddy than you." A: "Once this entire drama is over, I'll have you decapitated. Or just kick you back to your people and let them handle this." S: "Ah, but when I came here as a fake prince, your arms and gates were wide open. Should've listened to your son when he told you so."

- Here’s also some Salvatore content: Athanasios: "And now you strut around in my clothes. I'm surprised they even fit you fatass!" Salvatore: "Oh, the entire imprisonment is really getting to you, ain't it, emperor tightlips? Ah, I meant - ex-emperor tight lips. Now you've sunk low enough to insult me with such details. Is it because you have nothing else left now that you're off your high horse?" Salvatore: "I thought so. At least you're enough of a sound mind to not threaten me with 'once I get out of here' hot air. Because we both know you're not getting out of here in a lifetime anymore. And yes, I’m wearing your rags, since I’ve got no time to waste.” Salvatore to Sadık: "Actually, it's sad that you aren't going to be there to watch it. Although, I think a public execution would just spice the entire wedding festivities up, if I think about it."

- Ah yes. The wedding. Herakles: "You look great today, my love. Like a polished jewel." Michele: "Thanks. I'd never seen a man more handsome than you though. Truly, a prince with all his qualities seen right away." Both: -sigh- Ft. Dilan, who’s just watching the kids sadly and is trying to reassure them she got this, she’s gonna find a way, it’ll be fine!!!

- Herakles and Michele wonder why Sadık didn't use that wish. To which Dilan replies he said he'd free her with it, but she didn't believe he'd actually uphold that promise. And he shouldn't have because now she's useless and he's in trouble. (And Hera only falls more in love with Sadık, because being a good person is HELLA swoony.)

- Dilan also tries to cheer them up and I believe she can still do small magic tricks, she just can't get out of whatever shackles/confinement she is in. So when she isn't despairing or raging, she tries to cheer Herakles and Michele up with some silly little tricks. She shapeshifts into their fathers to make fun of them. Which leads them to an idea ...

- I have no idea what it is though. I only know that the grand final and resolution involves shapeshifting. If anyone who's better at plots wants to give me ideas, please do.

- However they manage to stop Salvatore's machinations, this is what follows: Salvatore gets thrown into the dungeons. Herakles decides to not let his father out and instead take the crown himself. He becomes emperor and marries Sadık. Sadık uses his last wish to set Dilan free. Michele goes to travel to Sicily, promising he’ll write letters to them and come visit some day (Dilan promises the same).

- The end of Salvatore and Athanasios rotting in jail together is SO satisfying to me, bc now that they are useless to each other, there is nothing left to do but be a pain in each other’s ass. They hate each other and they DESERVE EACH OTHER.

Sequel Bait:

- Before we get to the sequel bait, let me give you some prequel bait for a change. Here's a little "what if one of the many suitable matches for Herakles had been one of the Beilschmidt brothers" scenario. Plus free medieval history lesson:

- Now for the actual sequel: Three years come and go. Herakles and Sadık settle in their new rules as emperor and ... emperor's husband. (I don't know if Byzantine empresses were "put into office" in the same way the Emperor was. If someone is more knowledgeable about this than me, correct me).

- Their marriage is going swell, however both struggle in their new official roles. Herakles faces all the administrative problems and tough decisionmaking that comes with being a ruler, while Sadık struggles to be accepted by the people of Constantinople. Where Herakles tends to take care of the court, Sadık tries his hand at being a military leader.

- One morning, Sadık wakes up with Herakles in the room. Which should not be surprising, if it wasn't for the fact that Herakles had left the city yesterday. He's oddly nonchalant about it when Sadık asks him and also ... weirdly chipper? Eager? Kitschy in his flirting? He's at first flattered, but soon very confused by everything and wonders if either he hit his head real hard in his sleep or if Herakles fell off his horse when he tried to make it out of the city.

- Turns out none of it, because after some more eyelash fluttering, his "husband" goes POOF! and turns out to be Dilan, who's on the floor laughing. "You should have seen your stupid face! Really! Wait, I'll show you!"

- After Dilan is done shapeshifting into Sadık, absolutely overacting his reaction and argueing with him about it, they finally get to catch up. Turns out that Dilan was bored by travelling around the world and wanted to check in on her old buddy.

- She couldn't have chosen a more opportune time to do so. Once Herakles returns, he ... at first has a weird reunion with his husband. Sadık is kind of wary around him and starts to list his attitude and general personality traits/ticks as proof for ... something. Takes a while for Herakles to get the news that Dilan is back, too.

- Herakles is very relieved to hear that! He wanted to confide something in Sadık, because after he had returned to the city, someone had taken him aside. Natasa Simonides, an old and trusted courtly advisor, needed help. Recently, her husband Ibrahim disappeared and she's worried.

- Natasa also told Herakles a secret: Ibrahim is a Jinn, which is why his disappearance worries her even more. Herakles informs Sadık and asks Dilan if she knows anything, but she sadly hasn't heard anything either. - Before she can zip off and see if she can find Ibrahim, Herakles asks another favour of her - to educate Natasa's twins, Timothea Farah and Omar Veniam instead. Natasa thinks they may be able to find their father, but they don't know they're half-Jinn, so they'd need some guidance. Dilan happily agrees to be their teacher!

- My only more in-depth infos on Jinn and their children with humans comes from this Monstrum video by PBS Storied. I don't think Thea & Omar would need to be taught by anyone to be seers and how to be in communication with non-human spheres, but it makes for a better story.

- So Dilan is off to teach the kids while Sadık volunteers to go and search for Ibrahim. Herakles resumes his imperial role in the city.

- It's not really fun and as the people become more and more agitated with the status quo, more and more people "remember" that the old emperor is still around. Enough people are going "What's that kid knowing anyways?! All those highfangled ideas and useless reforms, for what?" that a select few decide to stage a coup by releasing Athanasios from the dungeons.

- Now, I still haven't decided if Salvatore also gets let out. The problem is that I really would begrudge him his freedom ... but I also begrudge Athanasios his freedom! It doesn't feel fair that one bastard gets to walk free and the other doesn't!

- Out in the field, Sadık isn't having much more luck. No Jinn in sight and the trouble he has with a few of the men that accompany him keeps him thinking about the acceptance problems again. He really wishes at one point that Herakles wasn't emperor at all. You can imagine how terrible he feels for these thoughts when news of the coup catches up to them. Be careful what you wish for and all that jazz. On top of that, he gets into trouble as well - betrayed by some of the men he had taken along. He gets stuck in some place like a cave or an abandoned house he was investigating ...

- Sadık finds a large sealed bottle and thinks 'Well, what's the worst that could happen?' He is greeted by a GIANT cloud of smoke instead of anything edible/drinkable. By the time the cloud is human-shaped, he already has a giant grin on his face. Sadık: "Hah! I have a sixth sense for this kind of stuff!" Jinn: "Greetings, mor-" Sadık: "Yeah, yeah, quick question, is your name Ibrahim? Or do you know one of your kind called Ibrahim who's been passing through recently?" Jinn: "My name is Ibrahim - " Sadık: "Great! You know a Greek lady called Natasa? I take that look as a yes. Okay, so first wish is to get us out of here, second wish we'll see, third is like freeing you from the whole servitude bit - You do the three wishes thing, right? Anyways, your wife and kids are wishing for dad to come home, so get us out of here, you'll get explanations on the way back."

- In the meantime, Dilan and her protégés, along with Natasa and Herakles, have been trying to figure out how to solve the problem at court. It doesn't help that the news of Sadık's troubles also reached them (I know the speed of spreading information may be historically hella inaccurate, but I need it for the drama). So Dilan is torn between helping her best bud and helping the rest at court. The Greeks cook up a plan and assure her that she should go and help Sadık, they've got this.

- The plan is to get Athanasios to do something incredibly stupid that would immediately turn the people against him. They exploit the fact that Athanasios likes to listen to words that fall from pretty lady's mouths. So Timothea flatters her eyelashes and promises to tell him something of a vision she had ... that the divine has something to tell him through her. (Don't worry for her, she may have to endure his fingers under her chin, which is infuriating and nauseous enough, but no more skin contact than this). Thea gets backed by her brother to lend it more credibility once Athanasios considers with his head and not his dick.

- And we can all appreciate that Dilan has been sent away, otherwise the scene would have been like this: Thea: "The spirits are talking to me about you ... " Dilan: "Mhm, mhm, indeed, I can hear them to. They're saying that you're a bitch!"

- Dilan in the meantime reaches Sadık, Ibrahim and those of his troop that haven't betrayed and abandoned him as soon as they heard of the coup. A little happy reunion before she immediately fills them in on what's happening.

- They come up with a plan themselves to finally get rid of Athanasios and the Simonides and Herakles have begun to sweat a little back home, because Athanasios mistake of listening to the twins' advice has bought them time, but not really solved the problem yet. Which is when Dilan and Ibrahim sweep in, concocting an illusion powerful enough to wrap up everyone in Constantinople and make Athanasios seem like the literal devil. Some mass-hallucination miracle bullshit, truly, to assert that he doesn't deserve the throne.

- Maybe for good measure, Athanasios disappears after the illusion is over. Dilan and Ibrahim have no idea where he went, they say with a smile.

- Another grand finale! The four lovers are reunited, Thea and Omar are overjoyed to have their dad back and he is overjoyed to have his kids back. When Dilan tells the Simonides twins that they did a great job, she's a good teacher after all haha!, Ibrahim and Natasa invite her to stay. Dilan says that they don't need her, surely, now that Ibrahim can teach them, but Ibrahim says he could use some help. Herakles also encourages her, saying that he'd love to have her at court - and Sadık also bullies her into staying. "What do you wanna do, see the world again? Didn't do much for your peanut brain the first time around, maybe hit the books together with Hera so that you'll be a passable teacher some day."

- Dilan and Omar also have evolved a crush on one another during this entire mess. That's what I'll leave you with - all well that ends well.

Also hey you! Thanks for reading all of this! Here's a little bonus content if you made it this far!

A wonderful fanart of Michele and Salvatore by my beloved friend C0FFINATED over on twitter!

Here's an amazing commission of the Greeks and Turks by @captkirkland ! I'm not sure if I'm allowed to repost the pictures myself on tumblr & you shoud reblog it from him anyways. Show him and his amazing art some love! From left to right it's Timothea, Herakles, Omar, then Dilan, Sadık and Havva (who's not featured in this AU, rip. Things would have worked to well with their brainpower).

Thanks for reading this! Hope you have a wonderful day!

[dehydratedpercy]

So, you know how I've said a couple times that PoR is mostly canon compliant for books 1-3? Well, I'd like to make an addendum that it wasn't canon compliant for Titan's Curse-- I haven't decided what exactly happened instead, but for obvious reasons, in PoR Annabeth was never captured and held prisoner by Luke.

I just finished rereading Titans Curse and can we just talk about that for a minute??? Because like, it's a whole ass time and I don't think I fully appreciated how intense it was.

First of all, Percy prepares to die fighting like, multiple times in this book. At this point he thinks Thalia is going to be the Big Three prophecy kid, and he's kind of jealous of her for stealing his glory, but at the same time he definitely doesn't seem to mind the prophecy stuff. But Thalia is literally DAYS away from her 16th birthday, and as they get to the climax of the book, Percy has moments where he's like "shit, the great prophecy is happening now, this is all going down NOW, and we're about to die fighting". Like-- bro, BRO. That's intense.

Then, there is the whole thing about Annabeth getting captured. At first Percy doesn't grieve too hard core because he thinks she died, but he FEELS like she's alive. But like, he's definitely moping. But nope, turns out she was just captured by Luke. The timeline looks something like this:

1) Annabeth and Dr Thorne fall off the cliff.

2) Annabeth is injured but not dead, and trying to run away and escape from him when she sees Luke holding up the weight of the sky, and helps him, getting trapped herself

3) somewhere between minutes, hours, and days later, Artemis finds her and takes the burden. Atlas tells Luke to kill her, but Luke convinces Atlas to keep her alive to use as bait. I think this isnt actually because Luke wants to use her as bait, but because he can't stand the idea of killing her. Remember that Luke didn't side with Kronos because he wanted to hurt people-- he sided with Kronos because he wanted revenge on the gods. Luke has betrayed Annabeth, but he's never directly tried to hurt her or showed that he wanted to.

4) Luke then drags Annabeth away as a prisoner. We can assume that she's his prisoner for a few days before the questers reach Mt Orthys. When they get there, Luke brings Annabeth out, and her hands are tied behind her back and she's gagged.

Personally, I think that while Annabeth was captured, she and Luke spent a LOT of time together. To me it feels like even though Luke was committed to his cause, he really was getting desperate for some semblance of family at this point, which is why he kept pushing that angle so much (like when he tried to convince Thalia to join him so the three of them could be together again). I imagine he and annabeth had a lot of conversations about Luke's plan/the cause, but also about their past. I also think there would've been a really interested duality between seeing Luke desperately trying to reach out to her, while also trying to make it seem like he was only keeping her alive as bait.

Idk, those are my thoughts for now. Does anyone have any additional headcanons?

[just-a-fangirl13]

Why s5 *might* be the season MacRiley happens

Okay so...Hear me out! I'm not crazy I promise!!

Firstly, after 5x03 (and probably 5x04) it may seem very unlikely that MacRiley could ever happen. But I thought of a few reasons why they might actually happen by the end of s5 after all.... (it gets a lil long winded and kinda complicated but just stick with me till the end!)

1. All the MacRiley moments including the ones in 5x03.

[this Mac smile could not be an accident or something that slipped through both production and post-production right?! that in itself is a whole reason!]

Every Macriley moment we have ever had- whether it's the hugs, Riley saving Mac, Mac saving Riley, the ultimate show of loyalty when Riley went after Mac during Codex or even just the looks exchanged between the two- to any outsider it would seem pretty obvious that they are dating or at least in love. Keep in mind the writers would have written each of those scenes and Lucas and Tristan have acted them out with a specific build up in mind aka MacRiley.(think about the date episode: Riley just got dumped but was still thinking about how Mac might be hungry. She didnt have to do that. She could have just shown up at his place..) I mean how can they write two people so perfectly in sync and so perfect for each other and not have them end up together? It would just be a waste of all that tension and slow burn. (not to mention all the hugs and glances)

2. They know we exist. 

The MacRiley fam is very active on twitter with the writers and while they were writing 5x01 they knew we were around. They know we are a huge group. They would not want to risk pissing 90% of the fandom off by not making MacRiley endgame.

[P.S.yes 5x03 was a bait and switch but if you were paying attention you would have noticed that neither Lucas not Tristan live tweeted or hyped up the episode. They knew we would probably hate it so they didnt publicise it too much! so in the future if you have doubts about the episode being a MacRiley one just check their stories or posts on twitter/intstagram]

3. Yes 5x03 happened. 

I really think it was an episode they HAD to write. Ok so after 4x13 they had 7 more episodes planned and were filming 4x20 (aka the finale) when the pandemic struck. So they have these 6 episodes but no finale for it. [Idk if anyone else has noticed but in 5x01 there were clearly some parts cut out. For example the conversation between Desi and Riley towards the end seemed a bit jilted. Riley asking Desi to forgive her but Desi replied with yeah we are cool (still no apology ofc) I feel like something happened during that which ended up getting cut out so it could fit with the final story.]

This makes me think that they have rewritten a few bits to tie into the new finale episode. In 5x03 when Mac asked Desi to come fishing with him which was clearly something very personal to him she was like no do better.. then we see Mac's disappointed expression. She could have easily said okay but maybe not for our first date? Or its not really my thing? Or just about anything else rather than laughing in his face like that. Eventhough MD is together they still arent compatible. Mac’s final words in 5x03 was him being desperate. I truly think he is so broken and lost that Desi is the only safe thing left, the only thing he feels like he can fix right now. Once he finds himself again and heals...then it's going to hit him like a pile of bricks!!

4. But Riley doesn't have feelings anymore...WELL doesnt she? 

When it comes to Mac, Riley is always in denial. We saw it in s4 when she tells Bozer not to make her say it. I think s5 will show her finally accepting it. Finally accepting that she is in love with her best friend and that it definitely isnt Codex adrenaline because she caught the feels when Codex wasnt even around. While Mac's arc would include realising he and Desi are never going to work and that he is unhappy and that RILEY is the one for him.

[why else would they give Riley feelings for Mac? Something has to come of it.]

5. The slow burn rule.[this point is a lil complicated] 

Now season 5 is rumoured to have 13 episodes. So here’s what I think: If MacGyver follows the pattern that most shows do when it comes to slow burns, then technically MacRIley should have happened at the end of season 4. But since the season got cut short and they didnt get to air/finish their final episode the writers had to improvise. 

From what I know, 4x19 which is 5x04 for us is the episode where Mac meets Desi’s parents and 4x20 was supposed to be the finale that was left unfinished.(they are definitely moving the timeline ahead if a pre finale episode is suddenly a mid season one.) There might have been a 4x21 or 4x22 but I haven't heard anything about those....EVER.

So what I think they have decided to do instead is extend the MD storyline a bit longer just so they dont end up scrapping all their s4 episodes where they would be together and write a new finale that ties everything together, aka MacRiley.

If you think about episode counts, s4 and s5 together would have 26 episodes which is a how long a normal season runs. Basically what im trying to say is if we follow the ‘slow burns end by s4’ and take season 5 as an extension of 4 then MacRiley should get together in the season 5 finale or maybe the episode just before. (IM REALLY TRYING TO GET SOME LOGIC INTO THIS)

This would be a typical TV thing too where the couple finds out about each other’s feelings while the main arc of the show is also at its peak, which perfectly sets up a future season where fans are hyped but still has a satisfying ending.

6. So what about MacDesi?

So far the macgyver writers have given us characters we love. Think of every character on the show apart from maybe Desi... Mac, Riley, Bozer, Jack, Matty, Leanna, Samantha, Russ and even Murdoc. WE LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. So then why is Desi such a strange character? I think shes purposely been written as an opposite to Mac or even Riley (I get she’s supposed to kinda replace Jack but Jack is really irreplaceable). 

It's not necessarily a bad thing its just not a great thing to do or have great execution. People have said things like Desi is a badass and shouldnt have to apologise or say I love you back to her boyfriend because she is a strong woman...I'm sorry but your opinion of who a strong woman is, is EXTREMELY skewed. A strong woman is someone who can make mistakes and when she does, she is ‘strong’ enough to own up to it, she is loyal and fierce and also caring while being a badass who can take down bad guys. And for GODS SAKE, RILEY DAVIS IS A STRONG WOMAN...people have called her mushy and feminine on twitter and I'm just very confused by that.....

Anyways before I go off on a rant, it seems like Desi is intentionally being written this way. Every opportunity they get to redeem her and make her more relatable or just a better person they just dont take it. While Rileys character arc is one of the best I've ever seen. Either its intentional or they’ve forgotten how to write characters...which is worrisome but ill give them the benefit of the doubt.

The writers also know we dont like Desi. The amount of times we've tagged them in the toxic posts or pointed out problematic things we can be sure they've seen at least half of those. So theres no way they dont know. RIGHT?

So why then is MD still a thing you may ask??

Well for one they cant break them up again off screen because of those unreleased s4 episodes. (not to mention the other parts of the audience who arent as invested in mac’s love life would probably be very confused.)

Secondly Mac has to be the one to pull the plug, not Desi. 4x13 made it seem like Desi was the annoyed one not Mac. He apologised to her which meant he wanted to fix things. 

Thirdly, they are opening the chpt one last time before they permanently close it. MD is going to be a stark contrast to macriley(it already is in every way possible). Every issue Mac and Desi had can be used to show how amazing macriley really is as two people who arent even dating yet.

Fourthly, MD being together is a sort of commentary on Macs mental health as well. We can see how happy he is with Riley but around Desi he becomes some one else. If the writers are doing this on purpose or subconsciously still remains to be seen.

And Yes keeping MD around for a few more episodes seems like a necessary risk right now but I have a feeling its going to be worth it later.

[I know we have had like 4 desi entered episodes already but I really think 5x04 will be the last of it since 5x05 is the Jack episode and 5x06 is Mac+Riley+Bozer episode with no mention of Desi at all!]

The writers know we are a dedicated bunch and they know that once MD breaks up for the last time the entire fandom will be waiting and watching. That's when the show will be at its peak. That will be the perfect moment to bring in MacRiley’s arc to a new start!

Congrats if you stuck with me through this whole thing! if you agree/disgaree with any of these or have other reasons why they could be endgame in s5 let me know!!