#this take is not new whatsoever (at least i think so bc it’s so obvious)

[the-travelling-witch]

Something I keep coming back to when thinking about Jamil is that, among the OB! Students, he might be the one who’s twisted from a disney “good guy” as much (or even more) than from the respective villain. And yes, I’m well aware that none of the characters are very one-note Disney villain, but with Jamil it just strikes such a chord with me.

Of course, he represents Jafar who has always resented being second best and who betrays the sultan to overtake the Nr. 1 position and all the power that comes with it. And during Book 4 (and now also Book 7), we can see Jamil equally backstabbing Kalim and planning to continue with the other housewardens and the headmage. That’s not a hot take, I understand that (whaaaat Jamil is twisted from Jafar?? Who would’ve guessed /j)

But with Jamil, I feel like his motivation for striving for power is a little different. For someone who has grown up in the world of the Asim family and has been with Kalim his entire life, I believe Jamil equates power with his actual goal in life: freedom.

So when he says “You really are my genie of the lamp, Azul” it felt sooo ironic to me, because it’s you! You are the genie, Jamil!

Just like the Genie’s “phenomenal cosmic power, but itty-bitty living space”, Jamil objectively has a lot of intelligence, talent and drive to excel at something, yet the space he has in which he can live and cultivate those aspects of his personality is very, very limited.

Both characters are also forced into their prison by the circumstances of their birth. Jamil was born into the Viper family, Genie was born a genie, and now they have to spend a lifetime of granting the wishes of other people.

For them to gain the freedom they so desperately want, both characters rely on the mercy of the people they serve, who they are useful to. But deep down they know their wish won’t ever be granted.

Genie has been promised his freedom a lot of times, just for the person’s third wish to be for their own gain after all when push comes to shove. Jamil has heard Kalim call him his best friend, just to turn around the next second and demand something else of him, wielding his power over him once more.

Besides, even if Kalim did give Jamil his freedom (if he even can, considering his family might step in), it’s shown that Jamil cares very deeply for his family, so I don’t think he would consider it “freedom” if his family was still serving the Asim household, which has an even slimmer chance of ever changing.

So yeah, I find the inspiration Jamil’s character takes from the Genie so interesting and at the same time it makes me want to tear out my heart. Please, he deserves so much (peace and quiet most of all) and I want to give him everything ㅠㅠ

[belle-keys]

I read your opinions about swordcatcher and I was curious about what you consider to be the light borrowing of tlh.

I see bits and pieces of both Grace and Cordelia on Antonetta (good god how I hate this name, I know it's a real name but it doesn't sound like one, why couldn't it be antonella? Idc it rhymes with salmonella, it still sounds more legit), and lady alleyne is sona and Tatiana's love child.There is also the matter of marakand being their equivalent of Persia and Conor and Kel (allegedly) being half Persian, but if I'm being honest I see this more as Cc having the opportunity to express her love for Iran than with tlh specifically. Cordelia and Alastair were white and French originally, after all. Besides that tho none of what I like to call "elements of a cc book" present in sw are really a prerogative of tlh.

I would even argue that it was a smart move on cc's part to bring them on this new universe.As much as she may want to cement herself as name on adult high fantasy, she's not starting from scratch and it is to her advantage to endear her enormous fan base, many of whom grew up with her books and now are adults themselves, to this new world by bringing familiar elements into it.

I would also argue that she repeats them not out of a lack of creativity, this rich new worldbuilding is proof that she has that to spare, but rather bc at this point she knows her public and what appeals to them.It may be controversial, but I think Tda is her least liked series precisely bc it lacks some of those tropes and subverts others

When I said “light borrowing”, I actually was just trying to be sarcastic in my original review, but I would now rather say that Cassie very heavily borrowed from not just TLH but the other TSC books. And Kel and Conor allegedly being half-Persian is the last thing that even crossed my mind when I thought of this.

Lin is so very much Cordelia personality-wise in my opinion. Shy girl looking for a sense of empowerment and independence in a male-dominated place. Dips her toes into high society/court and recoils from it. Does a public sexy dance as a means of embracing her sexuality and femininity even though the sensual element from her personality is very much repressed in the name of female propriety in regular daily life. Red hair. Fairly oblivious. Quite sheltered from society’s depravity.

I would also argue that Kel and Conor’s relationship is just James and Matthew’s relationship but on opioids laced with fentanyl. We have the more serious, obvious, trusting main character and his hedonistic, secretive, higher ranking best friend who is absolutely keeping things from him and vice-versa. Kel is the ground to Conor’s sky and whatnot. They love each other but miscommunication and, gasp, a girl is driving a wedge between them. Kel regularly has to slap sense into an inebriated, flirtatious Conor who can’t get his priorities straight. Sounds a little familiar!

Antonetta is very much aligned with Grace’s character as well. Pretty, dainty, blonde character who knows way more than she lets on to people and with an overbearing mother who has spent her life grooming Antonetta for high society and entrapping powerful men into marriage with her. Of course the simple boy at court (Kel) is obsessed with her.

I have a few more minor examples, but all in all I think I’d take the opposite view of yours in that Cassie gives 110% to worldbuilding and story arcs and layered plot and as a result, she uses up a lot of her energy and spark and focus when it comes to fleshing out her protagonists. Don’t take this post as hate towards Sword Catcher or anything - I loved it. I gave it four stars, and I didn’t minus any stars whatsoever because of the Cassie-isms I detected. But I think she needs to diversify a little more when it comes to character development, that’s all!

[seancekitsch]

⭐

for wow i can get sexual too, please?

directors cut:

i actually had intended for the "new hostess at fennel fields" line to be an entire minor character, a younger girl who didn't realize the obvious red (or at least pink) flags adrian carries and you being part of ARGUS know and dont care but shes blissfully unaware and flirts with him. Adrian wasn't going to even take notice whatsoever bc hes got heart eyes for you, but this man accidentally flirts back thinking hes giving her dating advice even tho hes clearly not the guy to go to for that. and reader was supposed to get in her feels about that and post a risky tweet with a picture to try to gain the attention she didn't know she already had. i was fully intending to go with a miscommunication trope and not a "im better than the other girl" trope but that would have involved a LOT more fleshing out this character that would have just been a plot device.

but in the end the fennel fields scenes would have taken too much away from the pace so shes left to being reduced to lines. reader respects her but doesn't like that she likes adrians attention too lol

[multifandomwritings]

Cuddling with the slashers would include:

Ok. Did I write this already? Bc if I did plz ignore this I am embarrassed :)) But if I didn't: I hope you like it!

Also: this is pretty lengthy and I am very sleepy so if it isn't good I'm sorry x_x (It's kind of similar to my sweet/affectionate S/O one but like....specific to affection/cuddling lol)

Thomas Hewitt:

- Thomas' cuddles are 10/10 for sure

- Like yes, it takes him a minute to get comfortable with that sort of thing. But once you've reassured him and such he'll happily cuddle up with you at any time

- He's so big and warm?? Will gently hold onto you and play with your hair, stroke your arms nervously, etc.

- But if *you* wrap him up in *your* arms and give him that kind of affection? He'll blush so bad, shoulders stiffening until he eventually relaxes, completely melting

- Knowing you want to be close with him like that would make him so happy. Also: big on hugs and is amazing at them, very warm and soft :')

Brahms Heelshire:

- Brahms has no reservations whatsoever about this. He adores physical affection and can cuddle for hours

- Absolutely won't mind if you ignore the rules and schedule if you want to come snuggle up with him. In fact, please do :)

- Will cuddle up to you at any time of the day/no matter what you're doing. He'll get really clingy if you aren't careful 👀

- Will get as physically close to you as possible when you cuddle. It doesn't matter if he's wrapped up in your arms or the other way around, he will be glued to you

- Feels really safe and comfortable when you cuddle him is why. He's very touch starved and sometimes afraid you'll leave so when you cuddle up with him he'll feel very relieved and comforted

Michael Myers:

- It would take a pretty long while before you got to this point with Michael. He's very reserved and entirely unused to giving and receiving affection, the whole thing is a new concept to him really

- You start with little things like wrapping your arm around his, or holding his hand, or even just sitting/standing closer to him. He won't mind at all, sometimes surprising you by moving closer to you first

- His way of expressing this kind of thing or sort of signaling he doesn't mind (aka quietly hoping you'll just...give him affection without reservation lol) is just standing as close to you as he can like Y/N...plz

- Once he's more comfortable he'll let you snuggle up to him as much as you like, though his reactions will still be a little restrained at first

- Stares at you a lot, half out of curiosity and half from amazement/bewilderment

Jason Voorhees:

- So reserved at first. He would adore cuddling and being affectionate with you, but once again it's new to him and even the littlest thing will turn him bright pink

- Will not complain if you initiate things first and kind of lead him along. He'll be too reserved/unused to that kind of thing to himself but wants to so plz :^)

- If you like cuddles and affection then he'll happily give them to you anytime you like, will feel a little more encouraged and confident

- Very sweet and protective and he'll love having you close to him like that for that reason. Another one that's big on holding hands and hugs (especially back hugs x_x) and he'll go out of his way to be overly gentle

- Once you finally get him to remove his mask he'll love if you leave little kisses and touches over his face, though he'll be very shy and nervous about it

Bubba Sawyer:

- Literally always ready for cuddles but kind of nervous about initiating it at first, afraid you won't want to

- Will start with little things like holding your hands and nudging up against you a little, standing close and seeing how you react

- Also hugs a lot! Very soft, warm and lengthy hugs in which he'll probably squeeze you just a little too hard but it's sweet :')

- If you're okay with it he'll love cuddling anytime he has a chance (which admittedly isn't as often as he'd like, sigh) so he'll make it count when he does have time!

- Can cuddle you for hours at a time though. Nothing fancy, just likes being snuggled up and having his arms around you, caressing your arm and leaning his head against yours

Chop Top Sawyer:

- Sweet! Happy to accept any affection from you, no matter how you like to give it

- Can be clingy at times, loving to have his arm wrapped around you and holding your hand

- It's rare you just quietly sit with each other like that though, he'd prefer to have music going and chat with you the whole time

- Will completely lose his train of thought if you pull him closer to you or leave little affectionate touches over him, smiling to himself and contentedly accepting it

- Also can be pretty shameless if he's in the mood for affection/cuddles. Will just come over and sit in your lap or next to you and lean into you like Y/N plz :^)

Nubbins Sawyer:

- Very affectionate with you if you let him be. Loves holding hands, wrapping his arm around you, anything like that

- And if you like cuddling/physical affection like that even better! He'll use that as an excuse to be clingy with you most of the time :')

- Anytime he sits next to you he'll just nudge against you, brushing his arm against yours and smiling until you notice and give him affection

- Leans over your shoulders when you're doing really anything, draping his arms over you and wrapping them around, chatting along and occasionally pecking the side of your face/nuzzling against you

- I've said it before but he'd be kind of awkward/unpracticed with this sort of affection at first. He'll really love being close to you but sometimes he can be a little clumsy, accidentally elbowing you or squeezing you a little too tight. You almost can't complain because of how smiley and well-meaning he is though

Beetlejuice:

- Massive grin and eyebrow wiggles when you suddenly pull him over toward you and wrap him up in your arms

- You just wrap him up in your arms and cuddle up to him? Has no idea what to do, it's new to him

- Secretly really craves kindness and affection, and it will take *a lot* for him not to completely melt at things like cuddling. He'll smile to himself a lot and look at you sweetly when you aren't looking

- Is a big fan of affection and cuddling and after the initial newness and awkwardness wears off, and he'll be very open about it. Almost every time he sees you he'll just wave you over like come hither :^)

- If you touch him affectionately and casually, he'll almost follow your touch as you pull away, making how needy he is more obvious than he'd like

Candyman:

- So romantic, loves having you near to him in any way so if you're cuddly he won't mind

- Nothing with him is ever really casual so of course if you're expecting a relaxing and sweet time you're probably not going to get it with him lol

- He'll make your heart race and cheeks heat up easily, knowing exactly the right things to say to get a reaction out of you

- Gentle and affectionate, loves if you sit/lie in front of him, allowing him to have you wrapped up in his arms while he trails kisses along your neck/jaw and sends shivers down your spine with the way he talks to you

- Melts at sweet affection such as touches across his face and innocent snuggles and cuddles. Thinks you're so cute ;-;

Bo Sinclair:

- Bo is not opposed to affection, he just isn't used to it. At least, nothing so sweet and genuine. He definitely wouldn't be opposed, try as he might to convince you otherwise

- You would pull him close, asking him to come and cuddle with you. His instinct would be to laugh and tease you a little, but he'd only manage a nervous laugh, complying so easily that it surprises you both

- He'd be surprisingly uncomfortable and awkward with this sort of thing. If you took the lead and wrapped him up in your arms he'd melt, slowly relaxing into you and resting his head against you

- He would feel so safe with you like that, eventually wrapping you up tight into his arms and not letting you go for quite a while. Those kinds of moments are rare with him but he'd appreciate them a lot

- Will give you lots of forehead/top of the head kisses, lazily draping his arm around you and even dosing off, signaling just how comfortable and safe he really feels around you

Vincent Sinclair:

- A little stiff and reserved about affection at first, especially anything like this. He would want to but you'd have to be the one to initiate it!

- That having been said, he'd be so happy once you did. It would still take him a bit to completely relax but he'd adore being so close to you like that

- Will love having you sit next to him, his head rested slightly on yours/on your shoulder, his arm wrapped around you, sweater sleeve slightly covering/bunched up in his hand

- Affection like that and hand holding, random touches, etc. will make his stomach twist into knots, and he'll be grateful you can't see how affected he really is under his mask

- Can easily stay like that for hours, though it's rare he'll fall asleep when you're cuddling at first. He'll only do that much later into your relationship when he's completely comfortable, strands of hair messy in his now-exposed face, half buried in your neck or pressed against your back/chest :')

Lester Sinclair:

- Cute 🥺

- Loves having his arm around you all the time! And loves if you snuggle up to him when he's driving

- A big cuddler, and happy to admit it too. He's very soft and loves having you close to him like that

- Any kind of affection is fine by him! He would adore having you wrapped up in his arms while you sit/lie next to him, and even better if you face him so he can pepper your face with kisses

- And if you do the same for him? He will be a smiling, blushing mess, will wrap his arms tighter around you and hide his face in your neck

Graverobber:

- Mostly likes cuddles when he's sleepy, a lazy cuddler? Like if you want to snuggle up to him that's fine but that's as good as it's going to get lol

- Okay, maybe he'll wrap his arm around you too. And his leg. Now you're stuck though, good luck getting away for a while!

- Not the most talkative but happy to listen and nod along if you talk while he pats your head/plays with your hair

- Rests his head in your lap a lot, loves if you run your fingers through his hair

- More affectionate and sweet than usual when you're cuddling, at least sometimes. Admittedly he likes being soft and affectionate with you and he'll show it with hugs, forehead kisses, and wrapping you up in his arms randomly/hugging you from behind

Luigi Largo:

- Won't admit it, but he's got a soft spot and secretly wishes to be cared for and cuddled

- He'd be raving on when you'd just pull him over and completely shut him up, mouth pressing closed as he eyeballs you suspiciously

- Sometimes he likes being the more passive one, letting you cling to him and acting a little indifferent (he definitely isn't though), especially if you're out in public (like holding onto his arm, hand, etc.)

- Sometimes if he's in a mood he'll be putty in your hands, however, and is actually really needy for gentleness and affection like that

- Looks at you really lovingly anytime you give him affection, and adores if you play with his hair, pull him over without prompting to cuddle, wrap him up in your arms when he's sleeping, etc. Always notices more than you think and loves it

Pavi Largo:

- Constantly ready for any kind of physical affection lol

- Sweet affection like that, however, is different, especially coming from an S/O. He'd start out flirtatious and extra, quickly getting a little flustered at the sudden intimacy and sweetness of it

- He almost doesn't know what to do? He's not inexperienced but at the same time he is, at least with things like that

- Will just go with whatever you like, as he'd like pretty much anything you did. If you like to spoil him with affection and snuggles then he'll be delighted, lazily allowing himself to be doted over by you (all while he nervously rambles on and stares at you intently)

- But he'll like just as much to lie with you while you fall asleep, completely enamored with how casual and sweet you are with him. It's new and unfamiliar but in a good way!

Billy Lenz:

- Will keep you at arms length at first, despite how straightforward he is with his comments and such, because he'd be less comfortable with affection than he'd let on

- However, once he's comfortable, he's very clingy

- Like he'll actually just follow you around until you give up and stop for a while to pay attention to him lol. Of course he won't outright ask but you get the point pretty easily

- Kind of greedy, like yes he'll snuggle up to you but he likes to be spoiled. Loves to lay in your lap while you play with his hair and to be wrapped up in your arms

- Another one that won't easily let you go once he's comfortable, if you even shimmy around too much he'll lock his arms around you and pull you closer

Asa Emory (The Collector):

- As usual, it kind of depends? In general he won't mind cuddling because he'd be very fascinated by you and enjoys having you close, if even for unconventional reasons

- Kind of like Michael, will stare at you a lot. Don't mind him lol :^)

- Probably not the type to actually just sit still with you and cuddle, though. The time that's most likely to happen is when he's working as Asa, sitting on the couch and reading through things while you sit next to him

- At those times you'll snuggle up at his side, earning a disapproving (but not really) side-eye as he continues working, though eventually he'll give up and focus his attention on you instead

- As with anything with Asa, even cuddling can be kind of intense and nerve-wracking, mostly because of how intently he'll pay attention to you. Not the most tender unless he's in a rare mood (or sleepy asdflkj) and then he'll let himself be snuggled, or occasionally drape his arm over you and draw you in closer

Otis Driftwood:

- You really think he's gonna just sit there and cuddle with you? *Cuddle*? Well you're right >:(

- Those sorts of moments aren't as few and far between as you might think. He'll have his arm around you half the time anyway, but he'd like cuddling more than he'd admit, at least sometimes

- Especially if you're alone together in his room, he'll be less affectionate around others but when you're alone he'll love when you snuggle up to him, even if he sometimes pretends to be annoyed

- If you like cuddling that helps, if not he won't really initiate it himself most of the time

- Feels really comfortable snuggled up with you like that, however, as out of character as some of you might find that! I think he'd like having his S/O leaned up against him with his arm around them, playing with their hair or just absent-mindedly rubbing their arm a little while he rambles on about things

Charles Lee Ray:

- His initial reaction is similar to Otis. Like...um, Y/N? No. Well, maybe, if you insist. You don't insist? Um...Well, you want to anyway?

- Don't laugh 👀

- He'll never admit it but he can be very clingy and enjoys your attention, though he'll tease you and pretend he doesn't, at least at first

- Surprisingly can be pretty relaxed and maybe not 'sweet', but as close to it as he'll get. Will wrap his arm around you and grin if you rest your head on his shoulder or lean into him

- Sometimes he get in a rare mood in which he'll actually keep you to himself all day, enjoying your attention and affection more than he lets on. Will make no complaints if you're as affectionate as you like, it saves him the trouble of having to actually ask lol (also: likes having his hair played with x_x)

Tiffany Valentine:

- She'd adore affection, so she'd always be ready for cuddles lol (and she deserves them ok)

- If you initiate it first and invite her over to snuggle up with you? She'll melt, unable to stop smiling to herself as she wraps you up in her arms and quickly hides her face

- Can easily remain like that for hours, sometimes falling asleep

- Loves cuddling when you watch movies together, laying her head into your lap or pulling you into her arms while she plays with your hair

- Talkative anytime you cuddle, rambling on about random things. She can be really sweet and romantic, or really dark and sometimes goofy (would love to make you laugh/smile), but no matter what she'll love having you close like that

Josef (Creep):

- Very reluctant about affection and such. Not because he doesn't want it, but because he isn't used to it, and isn't used to being vulnerable around anyone

- You have to take the lead, pulling him close to you and wrapping him up in yourself. He'll be so stiff and unrelaxed at first, smiling over at you in an endearingly awkward way

- Once you get him to relax a little, he'll completely melt, nuzzling up and tangling his arms around you. He's still awkward but it's only because it's new to him and he isn't used to it

- Will either be completely silent or won't stop going on at times like that. If he's going on and you rearrange yourself, sliding up to him closer he'll lose his train of thought, laughing nervously and going quiet

- Probably falls asleep and snores really loudly like right in your ear though, sorry :/

[olderthannetfic]

so a post that i read years ago and never found again talked how basically all tumblr fights are people treating the platform as a public forum vs people treating the platform as their own personal diary of a sort

and it's been living in my head rent free this whole time bc this is it you've boiled tumblr down to its bare essentials. and i think most of us think of what we post/write in tags as our own private space, and simultaneously of what crosses our dash as the public sphere

and then offense happens bc we see someone speaking up about smg losely related to an original post as derailing it or lacking reading comprehension when actually what's happening is more like taking some random public discussion as an opportunity to vent 'privately' in their own personal space and then being dragged for it in the public forum bc everything on tumblr is always both your personal content and in a public space at the same time, but we tend to view it as either one or the other

so my point, bc yes i do have one!! is, all this is uhh messy. so in your utopic fandom platform, what are your thoughts re the separation between the public and private sphere? bc i sure don't have a good answer about it

i like all of us shouting in the void together, it feels all safe and anonymous, and i like that we can all chime in as directly with reblogs or indirectly with new posts or comments in tags as we want, i could never do fandom in like. discord groupchats, fucking yikes

but clearly there's definitely flawsTM to the tumblr model of no separation or even definition whatsoever of what it even means to be private or public so. and apart for a brief and very much regretted dipping of my toes in the horrid waters of twitter tumblr is the only fandom space i've ever known so i can't have any perspective, can we talk about Options out there or how they could be improved maybe

--

Tumblr: where boundaries go to die.

Honestly, there is no one answer. I liked LJ back in the day and barely used communities. I liked mailing lists, which were entirely community-oriented. Hell, I'm still on some mailing lists in 2021. I'm more active on discord than anywhere else, but not places most of you will ever find me. I regularly read r/FanFiction and started r/FandomHistory on Reddit. Et cetera.

Different platforms appeal to different fans.

No shit, right? But people seriously forget this or at least don't consider the implications: "Fandom", if we mean Tumblr, consists only of people willing to put up with Tumblr. But if "Fandom" means more than that, then it will inevitably include some people who can't or won't put up with Tumblr. There are a lot of platform options that "work" at least well enough to get some community or other going there.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

For me personally, it's pretty obvious I imprinted on the Dreamwidth/Livejournal way of doing things in individual meta-heavy blogs (as opposed to communities). Or... well... not obvious because most people here have no experience of that, but it is how I use my own tumblr:

I post longform text constantly

quite a bit of my tumblr is my own opinions, not just curated content

I have threaded conversations without worrying if other people approve

I treat all commentary on my posts as something I am allowed to respond to

I make new top-level posts sometimes to point to good bits of discussion that could be overlooked

I come back to discussions later

I sometimes make posts linking to and synthesizing various parallel discussions on related topics

I treat basically everything as being in public, i.e. not under friendslock, but I also treat my tumblr as my space

I think it's useful for sites to have something like a LJ com or an AO3 collection that can be themed without occupying an entire site-wide tag. It's also useful to have personal spaces that belong to one person alone.

[ff-imagines]

Can i request some nsfw headcanons for mantis shrimp? I read through your blog and let me just say: I'm a big fan. Btw if you dont wanna do them thats fine as well

Salt and pepper shrimp: nsfw alphabet

I did the whole alphabet bc? Why not! Side note I rly wanna write a fic going off my thoughts ab his experience level >:)

A - aftercare

Look, getting him to release you from his hold to go to the bathroom on a regular night is a battle enough. After sex? Phew I wish you luck. Might wanna just put some water on your night stand beforehand. You would be able to convince him to take a bath with you pretty easily though, he likes how the warm water feels very much. Make sure to cuddle him in the bath still, he's in a very vulnerable state right now and he really needs some good old tlc.

B- body parts

he’s got a weird fixation with your hands. He likes to compare hand sizes, whether your hands are bigger or smaller isn’t what he likes, he just likes to admire them. He loves sucking/biting your fingers while he’s got you in his lap. Lacing your fingers with his with one hand while bringing the other to his cheek, nuzzling into your hand while he bounces you on his cock.

On himself, there is tragically little that he genuinely likes. He views himself as a weapon, getting him to unlearn that will not be an easy process, trust me, Boston has tried. Complimenting his eyes does seem to make him a little more flustered than other praises, and he has a hard time staring you in the eye during sex…. maybe we can start there.

C - cum

His cum is pretty thin but there’s a shit ton of it. Enough that if he cums inside you swear you can feel the warmth as his cock pours rope and rope of his seed into you.

He doesn’t actually care where he cums, just ask him and he’ll comply.

inside you? sounds good.

On your back? Say less.

On the floor? You’re cleaning it, but sure.

He did discover he’s got an affinity for watching his cum on your tongue. I don’t know how you’d be able to swallow it all, but any attempt you make will be met with shrimp getting hard all over again.

D - dirty secret

He secretly thinks it’d be really hot for you to dom him. It’s gonna take a very long time before he’s comfortable letting you have that Linda control over him, just the thought of being tied up, hands behind his back while you praise him for being such a good boy, its a fantasy he’s visited on many sleepless nights.

E - experience

Nope. Nada. To be frank, I think he’s the definition of Demisexual, and he has yet to meet anyone besides Boston and the anti-human gang who he genuinely wants to get to know better. He definitely hasn’t met anyone who wants to get to know better for romantic reasons.

He doesn’t know enough about human customs to know that it can be embarrassing for someone to be inexperienced, but he does feel very very nervous the first few times. He’ll need a lot of reassurance, give him praise and he’s putty in your hands.

F - favorite position

I'm gonna be boring and say missionary. It’s simple, easy, and since he’s brand new to all of this it’s the least mentally overstimulating. He very much likes that he can see your face.

If he’s feeling extra spicy he might grab onto the inside of your knees and push you into the mating press, though he really only does this if he’s upset or jealous.

If you ask nicely he might let you sit in his lap, as a treat. Bouncing on his cock as he litters your chest with bite marks, what a treat it is <3

G - goofy

…. yea for sure definitely. He’s a real jokester.

On a serious note, he himself is not a goofy person whatsoever, but he would actually like it if you were. Outright making fun of him or harsh teasing is an immediate turn off, but light jokes to ease his nerves is for sure welcomed since he’s very tense the first few times.

Give him time and you might even catch him cracking a small joke himself, all the while giving you a weak, nervous smile.

H- hair

He doesn’t trim or shave anything lmao. He’s busy, and also doesn’t care literally at all. He’s got a thin happy trail that can be easy to miss since he's blonde.

He’s got the same energy with your body hair, he doesn’t care. If you do shave he might ask why, just out of curiosity. If your reason is insecurity, he’ll probably suggest you let it grow, he doesn’t care and he’s the only one who’ll ever see it lmao

I- intimacy

It’s an awkward “i hope to fuck I’m doing this right” kind of intimacy. He fumbles and messes up a lot, he might even accidentally miss when thrusting and end up just kinda rubbing himself on you but he’s really trying. Just from the fact he’s willing to try this at all with you is a big sign that he’s really trying his best to be as intimate as he can with you.

J- jerk off

Before meeting you, not a lot actually. He mostly just did it if he ever woke up from a wet dream and knew that if he didn’t take care of it now he’d never be able to get back to sleep.

After your first time together, his first time, he thinks back the immeasurable pleasure a lot, finding himself in need of relief a lot more than he ever did before. You are the catalyst to his drive, and you are also the only thing he can think about that can help him cum. It’s kinda sweet in a perverted way.

K- Kinks

He will bite you. It’s just so easy to bruise you and it makes your relationship status to others so obvious, he can’t just… not bite you.

Marking, going along with the biting kink. This goes both ways, he’d love for you to scratch at his back enough to leave red marks, to bite as his collarbone, grip his hips tight enough to bruise. He likes looking at the marks later, they remind him that he did good, he made you feel good, that’s all he really wants.

He doesn’t exactly have a breeding kink as much as this goes along with the marking aspect. Suggest to him that he cum deep inside you to mark your insides… he might give you 2-3 loads just to make sure you're nice and full, completely claimed.

He also kinda likes to make you cry. Overstimulating you to the point of tears gives him a sense of pride he hasn’t really felt before.

He really likes temperature play as well, dragging ice cubes and hot wax across your skin and watching you flinch and squirm just does something to him.

And of course, light bondage. He probably found out it was a thing after reading some kinda erotic fiction and immediately went to you like “why did you not tell me about this?????” He adores how to look all tied up and stuck, right in the palm of his hands. It makes him feel emotional as well, that you’re willing to give him such a powerful amount of control over you.

Last but not least, please praise him. During sex as well as day to day. Let him know he’s so pretty, he’s doing so good, he’s cock feels so so good, he might cum on the spot.

L- location

The first time he’d really need it to be in a secluded, safe area. He’s gotta feel comfy if he’s gonna get into the mood.

Every other time? Babes you’ve awakened a beast, he’ll get random spikes of “if I don’t at least try to fuck them I will scream”. You could be in the middle of a forest running from an axe wielding murderer and this horny bastard would still find a way to pull you aside and rail you against a tree.

There most likely isn’t a spot in your home that he hasn’t fucked you against.

Peaceful moment of washing dishes? Think again, he’s plopping you on the kitchen counter and diving to mouth at your neck.

Writing some papers? Just sit on his lap, you’ll feel much less stressed with his cock buried to the hilt, won’t you?

Doing laundry? Might have to rewash them cause now he’s using the clothes as a bed to fuck you on. He’ll apologize and help you fold them after they’re rewashed bc he feels bad lmao

M- motivation

Like I said, he’s set off by the smallest things. A little stretch, wiping some water off on your pants, humming a song, all of it can randomly make him feel the need to fuck you.

The most intense and quickest way to rile him up is either playing with his hair, or massaging his back. It starts out innocent but he just can’t take the thought of your pretty hands working so lovingly and not at least trying to reciprocate and make you feel good too.

N- no

No sharing. He doesn’t want someone else to see you, and he doesn’t want someone else to see him. It’s just not something he likes.

He also hates humiliation. He… would tolerate it if you asked for it, even if he doesn’t get why you’d want him to outright insult you. But for himself? Fuck no, he hates it so fuckin much. He’s a sensitive insecure puppy that wants your attention very badly, pls don’t hurt him like that :(

O- oral

Oh please give him oral. He’s begging. Well, he’d never outright beg but the way his eyes fixate on your mouth a lot is his way of silently pleading for you to wrap your lips around his cock. His soul ascends a little every time he sees his cum dribbling down your face, he might be even willing to make out with his cum still on your tongue.

As for giving, he’s got no clue what the hell he’s doing but he’s nervously eager to try. Guide him as best you can, he’s good at measuring your reactions so he can handle the rest. Tug on his hair a little bit if you wanna drive him crazy.

He’ll get a lot better with time, his eagerness to please however, does not leave him in the slightest.

P- pace

The first time? Slow and unsure, then he realizes “oh fuck this feels stupid good” and his pace becomes almost punishing. He doesn’t really know what he’s doing, he’s unknowingly going deeper and harder than you've ever been dicked down in your life. If you want him to, somehow, go harder? Grab his hand and place it over your stomach to make him feel his cock enter you through your skin, his hand slides down to grip your hips and slams into you, wiggling his hips without withdrawing to gain some of his sanity back before he’s back to a punishing pace.

Q- quickies

Oh hell yea. He lives for them. Sudden moments of horniness come to him all the time and since this spike in desire is brand new, he hasn’t really… learned to live with it yet. He pulls you aside into closets and alleyways all the time, he can’t help that you feel so warm and snug :(

R- risk

He doesn’t exactly enjoy the thought of a voyeur, he really doesn’t want to share you with anyone. But… there is a deeper part of him that finds a sense of pride if someone were to hear you getting absolutely pounded by him, desperately crying out and whining for him to go deeper, even better if they were someone who pined for you….

S- stamina

Well, to be frank he cums pretty quickly. It’s all so brand new to him, he really can’t help it. Lucky for you, his refractory time is crazy low. He can cum once, watch you do some mindless motion you always do and he’s right back to being hard again in minutes.

T- toys

Not against it, but is again, brand new to all this shit. He’s very interested in using your own toys against you though. Would definetly use a vibrater to edge and overstim you. He’d be interested in a cock ring, only if you were willing to endure a vibrator while he fucks you, he doesn’t wanna be the only one struggling lmao

U- unfair

He can be, yea. He kinda likes edging you, but not as much as he likes overstimulating you.

He loves to hear how you beg under him when he’s pulling you so close to the edge, keeping you just far enough to drive you insane.

Overstimming though? The way you twitch and beg, how your chest heaves and your mouth hangs open into a silent scream, eyes shut tight and watering, now that’s the good shit.

V- volume

Doesn’t talk much, but for sure gives out a lot of groans. This is something he’s never felt before in his life, the first few times you're going to get a lot of whines and surprised yelps, check up on him and make sure he’s still doing alright, he’s just very nervous.

As he gets more comfortable, he gives you quiet praises and promises to make you feel good. He also groans quite a lot, but since his voice is deeper it can be hard to catch.

W- wild card

He really wants to try using his prosthetic arm for temperature play, he’s just not at all confident in himself enough to bring it up. He likes the thought of you jumping and squirming under his touch, for now he can just stick to wax play.

X- X Ray

Mans is actually pretty fuckin big. He’s got no idea how big he is though. If you were surprised and a little nervous about his size he’d be pretty confused, is there something wrong? Did you change your mind? The concept of him being well above average is something you’ll have to explain later. It boosts his ego quite bit, even if he’d never admit it.

Whine about him being too big and you can just see the pride swelling in his chest, giving you no mercy with his thrusts.

Y- yearning

Often. Very very often. He’d fuck you multiple times every day if he had the time. However, you’re both busy, and you’d probably get a UTI with how many times this man wants to dick you down lmao. He’s got his cock buried in you at least 4-5 times a week.

Z- zzz

Actually pretty quickly. Even if he prefers being in control during sex, he kinda likes being the little spoon as he drifts to sleep. Give him some soft praises about how well he did and he’s turning into jello in your hold.

[stillgirlfrommars]

you’ve got news

So, I already talked about this with @missmorwen​ and I know I don’t have the time to draw and make an actual comic out of it, BUT I cannot stop thinking about this SamSteve-post-engdame-fix-it story (with a dash of BuckyNat, ‘cause that’s just who I am) which is kinda crack and very rom-com (a bit you’ve got mail) inspired and doesn't make much sense, because... PLOT HOLES but * sigh * I kinda wanna share at least the idea so - bear with me:

So, instead of Nat dying, Steve sacrifices his Captain America powers on Vormir and comes back as Skinny!Steve and starts running a political blog called you’ve-got-news in secret, uncovering all kinds of shady business/corruption and becoming the bane of existence of every politician and greedy CEO - but it takes a while for his friends to figure out it's him who’s running that increasingly popular blog (which the new Captain America is actually a big fan of ;)). And the way that happens is as follows:

So, Steve almost died at the end of Endgame. The idiot (affectionate) of course still wanted to fight Thanos, but even with Thor’s Hammer, he took some serious, serious injuries which led to a tough talk with Sam, Nat and Bucky

Like I imagine, that while Steve would not have any regrets whatsoever about giving up his powers, he would still need some time to come to terms with the fact that he won’t be able to participate in the action like he used to. Even though, he actually wants and knows... it’s time to ... start something new, it’s still a process. So, there he is, trying to figure out who he is without the mantle of Captain America, re-defining the way he can and will fight against bullies in the future (cause there is no way he’s gonna stop that).

And to the surprise of everyone, Steve actually doesn’t press for participating in Avenger-style-fights anymore (he still does some of the practical mission planning and shit like that) but most importantly, he starts taking up new hobbies, like cooking or old hobbies like drawing - and he seems happier than he has in a long time, and yeah maybe it’s a bit too good to be true, if Sam starts thinking about it. But, hey, Steve finally seems to be happy so -

Meanwhile, Sam still becomes the new Captain America, and Steve is there while he is adjusting, finding himself in that role. He is there when Sam needs to talk things through, and yeah, it would still be a process like in tfatws series, but ... a little bit less alone, I guess. 

So, the new Captain America fights alongside Nat and Bucky - and it’s good, they work surprisingly well together, but also: those two are stuck right in the middle of a weird assassin!flirting situation (I’m imagening a lot of veeery intense staring at the other while cleaning their weapons or beating someone up, innuendos en masse, dark humour etc.). And frankly, it’s getting on Sam's nerves because they seem to be so oblivious about the whole damn thing. Neither of them is actually admitting to anything, no, they are too busy teasing him about the ‘crush’ he has developed on that mysterious dude who is running the famous political-youve-got-news-blog that gained momentum a while ago and is currently keeping all the corrupt politicians and CEOs on their toes.

So, yeah, Sam might have been caught a couple of times reading or reciting from that blog because - it has actually turned into a pretty efficient way of mobilising people to demonstrate for change and it did give him some tip-offs in regards to who the bad guy really was and yeah. But it’s not a crush... Sam just really likes reading the blog posts, okay. That dude seems pretty cool and they share the same moral code, so... whatever.

What Nat and Bucky and Steve don't know (and he’ll never tell them), is that Sam is actually kiiiiinda already frequently talking with the guy who runs the blog. Anonymously on both ends, of course (because for good reasons both of them are pretty careful about giving away information concerning their identities). And in a way that whole anonymity-thing makes it a lot easier to talk about stuff he finds harder to admit to the people who he knows directly. So, you could say, blog-guy has kinda become Sam's internet friend, but not his crush, no.

Honestly, the crush he is more concerned about (that he also isn't planning on telling anyone about any time soon, cause Bucky would just tease him and Nat would start scheming) is, well, it’s Steve. Because, damn, he likes their get-togethers a lot, the meals Steve's cooking are honestly to die for. They watch baseball together, they do museum-trips... And the way they can talk about (almost) everything... He just feels understood and... yeah, loved (maybe not in the way that he wishes for, but still) and it’s nice to see Steve so happy and okay, maybe it’s getting a bit out of control because Sam took Steve with him to visit Sarah and his nephews and Sarah kinda saw right through his act of ‘hey, this is my best friend’ and ‘what do you mean, I don’t have feelings- okay. Yeah maybe I do’ and told him in no uncertain terms to fucking do something about it and get his shit together.

The thing is, he’s got it bad. But Sam is also torn, because this is the best fucking friendship he's ever had and he does not want to jeopardise that. So, in the end he ends up talking about this with his Internet friend... about how he kinda has this huge crush on his best friend, and his Internet friend is like, ‘TELL ME ABOUT IT, big fucking same here UGH. And I feel like I’m being SO obvious about it all. It’s honestly embarrassing. My other best friend keeps teasing me ‘bout it and tells me to just go for it, but that guy still hasn’t managed to ask out the girl he’s interested in, so, what does he know, right?’. And Sam laughs - at least he’s not alone.

So the days go by (Sam’s pining only increases, Steve took him to a wine tasting the other night and he almost... in his drunk state... almost... but he didn’t) until one day, while blog-guy and Sam are chatting, all of the sudden the blog-guy is like, ‘Shit, I think someone's breaking into my apartment’ and then like, ‘Okay, yes they are’ - and Sam's like, ‘call 911′, and blog-guy writes back ‘mmh think I can handle them’ (and Sam’s like ‘WTF... I know way too many people with zero regards for their own well-being, myself included’)

But then blog-guy is not answering anymore, so Sam frantically calls up Nat who rushes to his flat and Sam says: ‘You need to find out where that IP adress is located ASAP - the dude with that famous blog is in danger.’

And Nat does that multitasking thing where she’s working on the problem while ribbing Sam about the fact that, apparently, Captain America's Internet bestie is that famous blog dude, and- 'Are you sure it’s not a crush?'

But after another minute, Nat sighs and is like, ‘I can't find the location, this thing is encrypted af, it’s impossible.’ Suddenly, she notices something about the setup of the encryption and-, ‘Hang on a second, it was me who set this up for someone back in 2011.′ And as she slips on her jacket, she says to Sam, ‘Come on. I know where we have to go!’

So they make their way to what turns out is Steve's (!!!!) apartment and find him in the middle of a fight against over half a dozen heavily armed people, and yeah - he’s actually doing pretty okay for himself ‘cause he outsmarted a couple of them, but also- they kind of outnumber him, so Nat and Sam get to work.

And Sam doesn't even have time to fully register what that means re:blog-guy until they have successfully defeated the bad guys. After that's done, Steve is like, ‘Thanks guys, but how the hell did you know I was in trouble? Nat... you didn’t bug my apartment, did you??’

And Nat tstsk and then she just laughs because this is priceless and OF CoURSE it is Steve who is behind that blog... (she's a bit mad at herself for not figuring it out sooner, and a bit sad that Steve didn't feel like he could tell her, and that he assumes she has is flat bugged but, also,... kinda impressed.) But then she looks at him with a warm smile on her face, shaking her head, saying, ‘No, I didn’t, Steve.’ Her gaze wanders back and forth between Steve and Sam and she humms- 'That actually makes so much sense oh my god.' So, she leaves them ‘to talk’ ;) and for Sam to explain everything’ - and then it’s just the two of them.

And Sam does explain everything and is like, 'So you're that Blog dude, erm...' He's scratching the back of his neck, cheeks flushed, 'Turns out, we've been talking for months over that blog of yours. I'm (insert-Sam’s-username-here).'- and Steve's eyes go wide and you can literally see him processing that information right then and there and he's sputtering out a light laugh, and he's like 'Hang on a second... I... umm, okay, I gotta ask. So, that best friend you've got a crush on...' Well, it’s now or never -'Is you, yeah..', Sam admits and starts, 'and....' They both laugh again and Steve nods and just says- 'yeah, it’s you, too.'

And then they kiss and yaaay, happy ending!!!

And then the epilogue would be about them having a nice dinner with Bucky and Nat a couple of months later, and the whole time, Sam and Steve are being very much in loveTM. The three guys are standing in the kitchen, while Natasha is in the bathroom and Bucky's making a funny quib about how sickeningly cute Sam and Steve are together - and Sam, well, Sam just raises his eyebrows and is like, 'You know what, you're not allowed to say anything bout that, you and Romanoff have been acting waaaaay worse over the last year. At least we got our shit together in the end, what's your excuse, you are obviously absolutely in love with her!', and of course Nat chooses that exact moment to enter the room, hand on Bucky's waist, dropping a kiss on his cheek and is like, 'What do you mean, we've been dating for 6 months?' And Steve laughs and Sam groans bc .... he loves his friends, he does, but clearly, CLEARLY they ALL have to work on their communication skills!

The End.

[yabai-korra]

Why I think Gwyn is NOT Tamlin's daughter

+ TOG/ACOTAR GENTICS AT THE END

I've seen so many interesting theories in the ACOTAR fandom in regards to the new book, and a great chunk of these was about Gwyn being Tamlin/Lucien's daughter, and so I thought here's my take on it.

When I first read Gwyn saying "My sister and I were convinced at the Great Rite 28 years ago." I immediately thought "OH DAMN SHE MUST BE TAMLIN'S OR LUCIEN'S DAUGHTER!" but as I continued reading the book I put my Maas hat on and was like... "Hmm... yeah I don't think that's happening."

I have read, or rather, savored, all of Throne of Glass and ACOTAR books, so I'm an experienced SJM reader. Lemme tell you something about her writing, it's full, and I mean full, of foreshadowing. She creates ridiculously complicated plots and connections, even mixing in between the serials, and most of these you pick up on when you reread.

Did you know that Feyre was in fact mentioned going to TOG world in Heir of Fire? Did you know that Aelin was in A Court Of Silver Flames? Did you know that Dorian's first appearance in Throne of Glass has a Manorian reference? Did you know Vassien as a ship was a subject of a fae story in Heir of Fire? Did you know Rowaelin was foreshadowed in Throne of Glass? Did you know that Kaltain gave us a Manorian hint in Throne of Glass?

And these are just the ones I randomly thought of, there are so so much more!

Now, as a SJM reader, when I started thinking about "My sister and I were conceived on the Great Rite 28 years ago." I thought... that is too easy, too convenient, too obvious.

To me, that sentence is the equivalent of "Stay with the High Lord."

When I, and 99% of other readers first read it, the thought process was like this: It's obviously Tamlin! The Suriel just didn't refer to him by his name.

Same thing with the Great Rite, even a casual reader would immediately connect it to Tamlin.

Which High Lord did we see do Great Rite? Tamlin.

When the Great Rite was mentioned again, who was it mentioned with? Tamlin.

Who was the only High Lord not UTM 28 years ago? Tamlin.

This is something most of the fandom picked on, because it's so easy and so obvious, and I think SJM did it on purpose to bait us, but left clues (will get there soon) that it is actually not Tamlin, like she did in the first book.

Of course everyone will associate Tamlin with the Great Rite, especially one that happened while all the other High Lords were UTM, but how many readers will remember that:

It's not only the High Lord that participates, but his whole court

High Lord can refuse to participate like Tamlin did the last time

Gwyn said her mother did it with a stranger, and yeah they were under the masks at the time, but who doesn't know how the High Lord looks like? (granted her mom might have lied about it but I don't think it's the case considering it was specifically said it was a stranger when it wasn't necessary)

This is exactly like "Stay with the High Lord" because everyone immediately went with Tamlin because it was the logical thing to do, didn't even cross their minds that High Lord could be some other High Lord, I think Sarah is pulling the same trick twice.

I do think however that she left us a major clue on why it is not Tamlin, and that is Catrin, Gwyn's twin sister. She was mentioned a few times throughout the book as Gwyn's motivation and drive to move on and work hard, which is totally understandable, but mentioning her appearance... unnecessary. And SJM never writes anything unnecessary.

Gwyn has coppery-brown hair and teal eyes, and if she was the only child it could easily be assumed that she got it from her mother and that her father might look completely different. However, Catrin had black hair and black eyes, obviously like their mother who was a half nymph, which makes it a pretty reasonable assumption that Gwyn at least partly looks like her father.

Technically, it is possible that out of twins neither gets anything from the father and took it from grandparents instead, but it is extremely rare and not something an author would do. Imagine, you are a writer and you want to hint that this guy is the father of these twins, and you give neither twin any of his appearance traits. In fact, you go out of your way to point out that neither resembles him in the slightest.

Neither of them even has a similar trait, it wouldn't be stretching at all if Gwyn had reddish-blond or strawberry blond hair instead, or having a greenish glow in her eyes or amber specks in the center like Tamlin does. Or leaving Catrin's appearance a mystery. There was no reason to mention the way she looks whatsoever, yet SJM purposely pointed out that she looks completely different from Tamlin and Gwyn, making it obvious Gwyn gets the looks from the father while Catrin did from the mother.

See what I'm getting at here? She's baiting us while subtly planting hints that it's not the obvious option.

We have already seen the way she handles genetics (lil bonus):

Lucien has Helion's dark skin, and Loa's hair and eyes.

Nyx has Rhysand's skin and hair, and Feyre's eyes.

In TOG, when Rowan has a dream about his future children, three kids are a combination of his and Aelin's traits, while the youngest has his hair but her grandfather's eyes, eyes only, because kid inheriting complete looks from a grandparent is very very unlikely, and makes no sense from author's perspective.

Also, while everyone is focused on LUCIEN being Helion's son, nobody noticed that ERIS probably is as well! Not only were Loa and Helion involved when Eris was conceived, but Eris and Helion are also the ONLY TWO characters in the whole ACOTAR universe to have amber eyes, there is no way that's a coincidence. She literally described Beron's brown eyes, Loa's russet eyes, Helion's amber eyes and Eris's amber eyes all the in the chapter and nobody noticed because we didn't know of Loa and Helion yet, then all the focuses went to Lucien.

She wrote children looking exactly like one parent, a mix of parents, looking mostly like one parent, and having ONE trait from a grandparent which was literally only done not to have two kids that look the same way, but both twins having 0 resemblances to one parent? No way.

So, Lucien's daughter? Possibly. (I personally don't think so bc Lucien has way too much drama already lol but possible)

Tamlin's daughter? Nope.

My guess though? It's neither, I personally think Gwyn has a way more interesting story to explore (like being a Lighsinger) than who her father is.

[crossdressingdeath]

i think, while cql obviously had no choice but to censor mdzs, they didn't have to make it impossible to read their relationship as romantic through subtext either,

because wangxian's relationship in cql makes no sense. once minute they're soulmates, the next it seems like they're barely more than acquaintances. and then, of course, like i don't need to talk about that rain scene or separating at the end bc we all already know it was Bad and Stupid.

but this just makes it impossible to make any sense of their relationship, in either a romantic or platonic context. cql could have at least given us a cohesive deep soulmate """"friendship"""" and with the subtext that's already there, then as viewers we could at least understand the romantic relationship that was meant to be there, even if everything was censored.

but.... instead they gave us nothing?? there is no substance to cql wangxian at all, just stupid queerbaity-esque scenes that have no real meaning and go no where and don't even make sense in their relationship development.

like they tell us that tying the forehead ribbon to someone means marriage, and then wangxian did that, but afterwards they're still not even friends?? i mean they could have used that subtext at the end to imply actual marriage but instead it just feels like they throw in scenes like that all over the place without any thought at all for what it implies abt wangxian's relationship

i mean it just so obvious that they put no effort or thought into at least conveying something of the source material, like they're just so disrespectful to wangxian??? as if their relationship can be reduced to some nonsense subtext about chickens and bunnies and forehead ribbons and annoyingly drawn out gazes, just sprinkled in throughout the story with no thought whatsoever to even developing a believable friendship between wwx and lwj

and then people have the cheek to say cql wangxian is better and you know they're full of ---- because even just read as friendship... there's nothing to cql wangxian!!! you can't look into their relationship, analyse the interactions between them and what it means for their characters, because none of it makes sense!! no matter how you look at it, there's just no logical coherence to anything that happens in cql. because the writers just?? couldn't be bothered?

i genuinely feel so bad when i see people who are new to the fandom or people who just like cql trying to make sense of the story, and i think, just don't even try??

The thing with CQL is that they wanted to change it so that LWJ and WWX bonded before everything went to shit, which is fair, but then they failed to consider the knock-on effects that change would have. For example, it makes sense that book WWX doesn’t trust LWJ to have his best interests at heart; they aren’t friends. He respects LWJ a great deal and I think does have some romantic feelings towards him even during the Sunshot Campaign, but he has no reason to believe LWJ would prioritize WWX over righteousness and the rules of his sect. Nor does WWX have any reason to tell LWJ the truth about his core and demonic cultivation. Meanwhile in CQL they’re close friends and soulmates; why the fuck wouldn’t WWX trust the guy he says knows him better than anyone else?! Why would he assume that LWJ wanted to take him prisoner, why wouldn’t he tell LWJ about his cultivation? Why would he and everyone else assume LWJ hated him? “Oh, we’re best friends, but clearly he loathes me!” It doesn’t make sense! The writers literally just changed things and made zero attempt to make those changes make sense, this is called Terrible Adaptation Decisions 101. Also LWJ is so much less respectful of WWX’s wishes in CQL; think about how he pulls off WWX’s mask while he’s unconscious (I guess to double-check his identity? I don’t know) even though WWX clearly did not want to tell him who he was while novel LWJ kept the fact that he knew to himself until WWX returned to him of his own free will after they were separated so that he knew WWX wasn’t staying just because LWJ knew who he was. And of course there’s the whole thing where WWX very obviously wants to stay with LWJ and LWJ is basically like “lol you thought” and goes off to do a job he didn’t want, leaving WWX entirely alone in a world that still lowkey wants him dead.

[besanii]

“you don’t love me anymore?” for wangxian from the angst print list please ❤️❤️ (bc i love to hurt myself 😭😭)

Lan Zhan, I know you can hear me, so I’m just going to say it, alright?

You’ll probably be upset with me when you wake up and realise what I’ve done, but I’m going to do it anyway. You gave your life to save the world, so it’s only fair that someone should do the same for you.

Don’t worry about me. All members of the Phoenix Tribe will go through nirvana at least once in our lives and are reborn again. I’m just going through it a little earlier than expected, that’s all. 

He finds him dancing across the lake, surrounded by giggling water spirits, his long hair fluttering behind him as he leaps and twirls, his bare feet barely grazing the surface of the water. The lotus blossoms in the lake sing in response, pink and red petals unfurling as he passes, the soft glow of their spiritual essence hovering in the air like fireflies to greet him. There’s a soft, faraway smile on his face as he greets them with a bow, before he’s gone again in a flurry of silk.

His heart thuds painfully in recognition and he’s stepping out onto the pier before he can stop himself. 

At the first creak beneath his feet, all motion over the lake comes to a halt. It leaves him suddenly self-conscious as the young man pauses in mid-turn and looks at him curiously over his shoulder. 

“Wei Ying,” he breathes, frozen where he stands. “You’re back.”

Other immortals have always talked reverently about the Crown Prince of the Phoenix Tribe and his beautiful eyes, an enchantingly dark, silvery grey with starlight in their depths. Once upon a time, he had been held in those eyes above all others and they had shone for him and him alone. Now they hold no recognition whatsoever.

The realisation is like a lightning strike through the heart, shattering the world beneath his feet.

“Shangshen,” Wei Wuxian says with a polite bow, his fingertips clasped in front of his chest. “What can I do for you?”

“Wei Ying,” he says, horror creeping into his veins and into his throat, strangling his voice as he speaks. “Do you know who I am?”

Wei Wuxian’s head tilts to the side, confused.

“Of course I do,” he replies as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re Lan Wangji, the God of War.”

There was a time when Wei Wuxian would greet him with a beaming smile and boisterous laughter and throw himself into his arms without hesitation. The Wei Wuxian he remembers would have gleefully wormed his way to his side and batted his eyelashes at him until he acquiesced and showed him the affection he demanded. He searches for an inkling, a ghost of that Wei Wuxian now, only to be met with polite indifference.

It punches the air from his lungs until he’s shaking; he clenches his fists to stop himself from reaching out and grabbing hold of Wei Wuxian.

“Is there something wrong, Shangshen?” Wei Wuxian asks. Lan Wangji exhales.

“Do you not remember me?” he asks, already afraid of the answer. “Do you not remember...us?”

Wei Wuxian covers his mouth with a hand and laughs and for a moment, Lan Wangji’s heart soars with hope. Maybe this is a game and Wei Wuxian is only testing him—

“Us?” Wei Wuxian laughs again, but there is confusion in his eyes. “What do you mean? Have we met before?”

When he had woken up from his slumber after three hundred years, the fragments of his soul finally pieced together again and his heart beating to an unfamiliar rhythm in his chest, it was to the news that Wei Wuxian was gone. That he had exchanged his heart and all fifty thousand years of his cultivation for Lan Wangji’s resurrection.

The news had come, two hundred years later: the Crown Prince has returned, and Lan Wangji was out the door in an instant. Wei Wuxian is a phoenix, and phoenixes can be reborn. Wei Wuxian had come back to him at last.

That tiny shred of hope plummets back into the pit of his stomach and crumbles into dust. Wei Wuxian’s mother had warned him this may happen and his brother had cautioned him against hope, but he had not heeded their advice.

“Wei Ying,” he says numbly. “Wei Ying...I’m your husband.”

He waits with bated breath for any sign of recognition or recollection, but the confusion does not lessen in the slightest. Instead, a frown appears on Wei Wuxian’s face and he takes half a step back, suddenly wary.

“Husband?” he echoes. “Shangshen, you must be mistaken. I’ve never been married, so how can I have a husband?”

“Lan Zhan! We’re married now, so you can’t run from me anymore!”

Fondness bubbles up in his chest as he feels a pair of arms wind around his; he looks down to see Wei Wuxian beaming up at him, his dark grey eyes sparkling with mischief. He looks breathtaking in red.

There is no deception in his eyes, no amusement, no teasing; no matter how hard Lan Wangji tries, he cannot find a trace of his husband in Wei Wuxian. Still, he has to try. Wei Wuxian did not give up on him even in death, he refuses to give up on him in life.

“We were married five hundred years ago,” he tells him desperately. “It was arranged between the Nine Heavens and the Phoenix Tribe. Everyone thought we were being forced into it, but it was a love match.”

He remembers the whispers, the pitying looks they had received at the ceremony. The poor Phoenix prince, forced to marry a God almost twice his age when he could have his pick of any immortal in all the realms. He knew their age difference was larger than most and that marrying him would ruin Wei Wuxian’s chances of ever making a better match after his soul returns to the universe, but Wei Wuxian had only laughed and said it was none of their business who they chose to love.

The Wei Wuxian before him now only looks uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “A-Niang tells me I went through nirvana five hundred years ago and have only just woken up from the rebirthing sleep. I have no memories of my previous life.”

There is guilt in his eyes when he looks at Lan Wangji and his voice when he next speaks is kind, almost pitying. It stings more than incredulity.

“I don’t doubt we loved each other in my previous life,” he says. “But regardless of my feelings then, I do not wish to tie you to a marriage when my feelings are no longer what they once were.”

Lan Wangji feels the ground crumbling, piece by piece, around him as the words sink in; his legs buckle beneath him, sending him stumbling backward a step before he can catch himself. Still standing over the lake, Wei Wuxian’s body jerks forward as if to come to his aid. His fists flex repeatedly by his side but he does not move or speak further.

“You—” the words scrape his throat raw. “You don’t love me anymore?”

Wei Wuxian inhales sharply at the brittleness of his voice. His grey eyes are wide with shock and uncertainty as he stares at Lan Wangji; his lips part without a sound, the ghost of a tremor passing through them.

“I-I don’t—” he looks away quickly, lips pressed together in a thin line. “I’m sorry. I know you said we’re married—if you wish to divorce, I am willing to bear that responsibility—”

Lan Wangji gasps at the sudden, searing pain that erupts in his chest; he brings a hand up to press against it, feeling the way it races erratically beneath his hands, threatening to tear itself apart. Wei Wuxian turns back to him, horrified, reaching out to help, but Lan Wangji halts him with an outstretched hand.

“I-I’m sorry,” Wei Wuxian stammers again as he struggles to hold himself back. “Is there—are you alright?”

Lan Wangji takes several deep breaths, focusing his spirit inward to stabilise himself; the pain gradually subsides, leaving him weak and aching.

“Our marriage was decreed by both the Nine Heavens and the Phoenix Tribe,” he says heavily. “Everyone knows you are my husband, and I yours. A divorce would have lasting consequences for both realms. It is not so simple.”

“Oh,” Wei Wuxian says, gnawing on his bottom lip. “I guess—”

“If that is your wish, however,” Lan Wangji continues, staring at him with a hollow, wrung-out expression. “If that is truly your wish, I will do everything in my power to grant you your freedom.”

He straightens, clasps his fingers before him, and bows low at the waist. It is too formal a bow for a High God to give to an immortal half his age—he hears Wei Wuxian’s startled gasp, but pays it no mind. He is not bowing to just anyone. He is bowing to the man who sacrificed himself, the entirety of his existence, for him; the man who had done it all out of love for him. He is bowing to his husband, to whom he owes a debt too great to repay. The least he can do now is to set him free.

And then, before Wei Wuxian can recover from his shock to respond, he turns on his heel and leaves.

Lan Zhan, I’m giving you my heart, so you better take good care of it, alright?

If...if I survive this, if I am reborn again...A-Niang says I won’t remember anything about this life, so...this Wei Wuxian—the one who fell in love with you at first sight, the one who married you and willingly carved out his own heart to save you—this Wei Wuxian will die, and another one will take my place.

If you fall in love with him after I’m gone, I think I’ll be jealous. So please...promise me. Promise me that no matter how much you love him, you’ll save some of that love for me.

Goodbye, Lan Zhan. I love you.

Notes:

shangshen (上神) - High God

I guess you can consider this in the same verse as this previous prompt? Maybe? I don’t know where it fits exactly, but it’s Phoenix!WWX and Dragon/God of War!LWJ as well.

// buy me a ko-fi //

[ravenclaw-questions-gone-writing]

Outline # -1 Abandoned Lore (Trinity)

@fanfics-and-fangirling

I have learned my lesson, I will be writing these on Google docs and then copy-pasting onto Tumblr. While I am on GD, I figured I might as well open the docs I used to write the actual fic. Man, I went through a ton of hoops to get where I am. I will be using the most coherent ones for reference. 

I can literally track my thought process as I went through writing all the different versions and I still have no idea how tf I went from this to dropping a flaming papermache whale on Ra’s Al Ghul. And I will die mad about it. Which means more meticulous notes in the future I guess.

Also, I’d like to apologize for how long it took to get this out, I have no sense of time whatsoever and as always, there’s a lot more than expected. This was 7 pages long

Original Ramble Post 

Like most of my stories, the MC is an OCI - reincarnator brought into a fictional world they once watched. (Because I am obsessed with that trope.)

I now find the original name I had for her cringy and out-of-place given these are norse gods. So, from now on her name is Lokka, which is the female version of Loki

There’s a whole ass backstory about the transition of godly names and power I won’t go into. Just think Thor and female Thor kind of thing I guess. She’s basically seen as a spare Loki but it’s also a respected position.

Was tempted to name her Sigyn since Marvel doesn’t care about actual norse myth relations. No, Idc that there’s a canon Sigyn.

If you’re curious, the original name was Aradia. Yes, like the queen of witches.

MC is an asgardian, the daughter of the librarian in the royal palace and a blacksmith

She managed to get an apprenticeship under Loki and is occasionally taught by Frigga. She also learns under Eir when both her royal teachers are busy.

Lokka found her way into the central plane, probably having found it’s location from Loki’s notes and is unaware that it’s unstable.

So, Lokka is in the central plane, having the time of her life exploring new lands when she stumbles across a crying Marinette who is very lost 

Unlike Lokka, Marinette does not know where she is or what is going on. She literally just tripped into a portal and has no way home.

Lokka takes Marinette under her wing and promises to help her find a way home

Problem is, she doesn’t know which of the three universes Marinette is from.

Even if/when she finds out that the girl is from MLB-verse, she still wouldn’t know which one that is because she has no reference to which world is which. Only that Marinette is probably not from Asgard.

At this point, she is unaware she lived in Marvel, she just knows Asgard is Norse Mythology.

So they continue to wander the central plane, Marinette ends up picking up a card guardian for a pet, accidentally becoming a cardcaptor. 

Marinette has trouble pronouncing Lokka and Lokka gives Mari permission to call her Cosette (pre-reincarnation name)

Meanwhile, Ra’s sends Damian and Talia into the Central plane for combat experience and resource gathering.

Ra’s might be 700 years old, he might have access to the Central plane but he sure doesn’t know about magic or how it came to be or the current state of it. He might know something’s off because all the inhabitants have been increasingly on edge and the weather’s been stranger than usual but he didn’t deemed it important

Notably, he has never seen anyone other than those who he’d sent in himself in the central planes (CP, from now on bc I am getting tired of typing the entire thing out) so as far as he knows, the CP’s only entrance point is under his control.

Talia and Damian, who’s still going by Hafid, go hunting for resources and training

They separate for a bit for individual hunting/training time

Marinette and Cosette (Lokka) stumble across Damian’s camp

Misunderstandings occur, Damian fights them, more accurately he fights Cosette

Cosette tries to protect Marinette while also making sure not to harm her opponent

It was harder than she expected considering her opponent was a child

Asgardian training pulls through and she is able to do both

Damian’s tied up, Marinette is confused, and Cosette does not want to deal with this

Negotiation time

Marinette can’t speak Arabic, Damian doesn’t know french, and Cosette has all-speak

This means Cosette’s sitting there, having to repeat everything the kids say to each other for translation’s sake

also misunderstandings before the kids realize allspeak is a thing

Cosette is stuck with two kids who don’t like each other, one of which barely puts up with her so she does what most adults do when kids are too troublesome

Distract them: she does magic tricks with actual magic

Damian+Marinette are fascinated, Cosette accidentally gains two magic students 

even though she’s still learning herself and all she has for guidance right now are Loki’s and Frigga’s notes

So, the trio end up travelling together

Damian demands Marinette should at least be able to fight so they train her too

They also figure out that Marinette and Damian’s worlds are not the same.

Cosette drills some value of life, basic morals, and feminism into Damian’s head

Marinette and Damian (Hafid) have trouble pronouncing each other’s names

They chose nicknames for each other from Cosette’s bedtime stories

Marinette is obviously angel or Tenko

Damian is gets Kabane, the name of a half demon

Kabane later changes to Kasane, protective blade

Yes, Cosette was/is a weeb and yes, they still mispronounce names which defeats the whole purpose but at least they kids don’t notice now even if Cosette is cringing every time they

They run into another card guardian and this one goes to Damian.

Cosette does not pout about this, it would be very immature

One training montages, several fights, a couple language lessons, and an abandoned (and Cosette-raided) house later, Cosette gets to the part of Loki’s notes where she figures out that the CP is collapsing in on itself and uh-oh

She tells the kids the gist of it but they’re too smart, ask all the right questions, and end up figuring out the important parts of situation that she’s trying to keep from them

Cosette is both impressed and a little put out, mostly impressed because not only did they figure out extremely complex magic, they also mostly remained level headed.

Marinette wants to rescue the card guardians and for once Damian is backing her up so Coestte gives up the notion of returning home and they go collect the guardians.

Remember, DC and MLB universes are closing in on each other 

MCU is drifting away

If they don’t collect the guardians, Cosette would have the time to just drop them off at their world collection points and head back to hers

After collecting a couple guardians, they end up finding Talia and explain the situation to her.

Talia joins the gang, she may or may not be plotting a marriage

They raid a couple more houses, collect the 54 card guardians, and complete the power transfer ritual (replacing the Yue’s trial because the cards are the guardians)

The cards end up latching onto the three kids. 

Marinette gets the Mistress title, Damian gets Sun Guardian, and Cosette gets Moon guardian.

Originally Cosette was going to be the mistress and Marinette the Moon guardian but because of the way I’ve decided magic works in this world - explaining that will need a whole other post - if Marinette is the moon guardian and gets the Ladybug miraculous, she will - for lack of better word - get sick and possibly die... or not.

Y’know what, it made sense at the time. But now that I think about it, we’re going back to the original idea.

Cosette’s the Card Mistress, Marinette’s the Moon guardian and Damian’s the Sun guardian.

Spoiler alert: that is a plot point for tropes-verse.

The completion of the ritual breaks puts CP deteriorations in high acceleration

Damian and Talia get into their circle, Cosette and Marinette in the other

Damian doesn’t have any cards bc he doesn’t want his grandfather trying to get to them. He and Talia agreed Ra’s would only know about the CP’s destruction. He does, however, have a CP beast that they picked up.

CP beast: magical creature that was born of CP’s magical residue or smth

Damian’s looks like a Teddiursa (Teddy bear pokemon) it is not

They have a notebook from a raided house detailing CP’s deterioration for proof

Cosette goes with Marinette because she can’t make it back to her universe and in the event that Marinette’s also from Cosette’s universe, she won’t be alone

They separate with the promise of meeting again.

At this point, I have had several differing ideas

They all go into DC world because they aren’t sure of Marinette’s world

Child trio goes into MLB world and Talia tells Ra’s Damian died

Everyone goes into MLB and Ra’s finds out about the collapse when he tries going in himself and finds out he can’t and just assumes they died

Y’all, I’m starting to see why I can’t do one-shots…

One of the things I forgot to mention in the rambling post is that while Marvel-verse was pulling away, it also messed with the time regulation thing, a day in the Maribat-verse will

Time in CP was very messed up

Kind of assumed readers could piece it together but I figured might as well make it obvious and straight up say it

MLBU: Cosette and Marinette arrive safely 

Marinette is delivered home and Cosette has to figure something out

They find out Marinette has only been gone for a week

Marinette has some separation anxiety for about three days

Cosette slowly realizing this is an MLB universe and having a crisis

Cosette gets adopted by the Dupain-Chengs and starts working at the bakery

I have not figured out ages for Cosette

MLB goes like most Maribat fics pre-gotham because I’m lazy

Will likely be adjusted if I ever actually write this fic

Except Cosette steps in when things got too far and Paris has 3 heroes

Cosette is the known as the Sorciere or Lokka

Her uniform is just her asgardian armor

Good but misguided Adrien, Cosette probably adopts him too

Love square goes platonic and Cosette is glad this rom-com is over

Magic tutoring continues

Cosette is neutral with Fu and fascinated by the miraculous

You remember those ghost interactions? Those are filtering in

One of the first things to merge is the internet, because it doesn’t have a physical body and it’s just waves of information

News and discoveries between the world are being swapped

Given what I remember from DC and dimension travel, it wouldn’t be surprising if they figured out universes were merging.

The news about JL and Paris’s situation are causing all kinds of confusion

Cosette beings looking for information on Damian

As the physical world begins merging, there’s pockets of space where you can slip from one world into another; not quite portals but close

Eventually the trip to NY became a trip to Gotham because their plane slipped between planes (sorry, I saw the chance and I had to take it.) but yeah, that happened.

There’s quite a few details I’m forgetting

DCU: Damian and Talia arrive ok and report bare basics to Ra’s

It has also only been a week

Ra’s is displeased to find them back until they report the state of the CP

There’s the whole coup not long after and Damian is sent to Bruce

Damian is much more innocent looking when he’s bringing what appears to be a teddy bear with him

It’s name is Abd and it has grown wings by now. Actual name pending.

He gets teased about it, but under Cosette’s teachings, he has learned the virtue of patience, underestimation, and getting revenge with a side of entertainment

He does not try to kill Tim either

He also has to make the choice of bringing Abd with him as Damian or as Robin

He choses to make a side company for WE making toys based off creatures from the CP so Abd wouldn’t look too out of place

It takes two weeks for the bats to realize there’s something off about the Abd

They are convinced it’s haunted and Damian is very entertained

Abd only moves in daytime when no one - Damian excluded - can see it

Movement can expel magic that interferes with recording tech

Alfred is the first to figure it out and surprise, surprise, he has some magic books for Damian to learn from

It’s from the Wayne family library and they just assumed the language was lost to time. At least three are from Alfred’s own family.

Bat brothers spend the next 6 months trying to convince Damian his magical pet bear is a haunted doll.

Damian sort of getting along with Poison Ivy because his Sun magic is very compatible with plants and they love him

On an unrelated note, the plants seem to refuse to attack the new Robin

Damian randomly, unconsciously humming to songs Cosette and Marinette sang

Damian just vibing with the magic users of JL and Teen Titans

No one took him seriously at first but he pointed something out during a conference

“Robin, stand down and let the magic users handle this” - Green Lantern, probably

Constantine who actually knows what he’s talking about “No, no, let the boy talk.”

The plan was twice as efficient after Damian was through with it

Now Constantine’s trying to adopt Damian as an apprentice, he’s failing bc the bats are protective and possessive of what is theirs

Reminder that Damian brings Abd with him everywhere and he’s still getting teased about it from anyone who is not a bat (still convinced the thing is haunted)

The only thing the magic users have picked up about Abd is that he’s a magical construct which could mean a number of things but they brush it off as just a doll.

No one is prepared for the thing to come to life, multiply in size, and start spitting ice, sleep sand, and illusions. (Hiccups bubbles and can also turn into a cloud.)

They are also not prepared for the thing to quadruple in size and for Damian to ride it like a horse into battle. Reminder that Abd has wings and can fly.

Confusing talk about what’s going on in Paris and some other parts of the world

JL slowly figure out the universal merger that Damian already knows about

Damian is not impressed, it took him and Angel about 2 hours as 9 year olds

Somehow, Damian still has the ice prince image, less demon spawn though, that goes to Abd

Time moves on and one day, a plane from the other world arrives in Gotham

There’s a bit of confusion but it’s not exactly the first time something like this has happened at this point

WE steps up and offers jobs and a tour and all the usual Maribat plans (not just for the kids but all the other people on the plane)

Given the merger of the internet, MLB class and crew have some idea who the Waynes are and they accept. 

Estimated about 6 months for full merger so people from MLB world are kinda just stuck there until then

Lila literally cannot lie about knowing the Waynes personally but she sure can lie about other things.

Dick and Damian are sent in to monitor the group

The reunion is awkward given they can’t freely interact and are not supposed to know each other. 

While Dick is talking, there are just wide eyed staring between Marinette, Damian, and Cosette. With something a little extra between Marinette and Damian.

Cosette is torn between laughing and groaning at another rom-com trope coming in fast.

She ends up filming it bc blackmail is always good to have

Adrien is confused and quite frankly, he’s really just there to cover for them

The tour begins and about five minutes in, the trio breaks off and exchanges stories and names.

Cosette hears about Batman and has a dawning realization of what this world is, mentally nopes out, later digests that they are going into Maribat verse

Starts checking off Maribat tropes they’re coming across bc she might as well have fun with it

They continue to meet up

Batfam thinking Damian somehow managed to get two girlfriends

Damian choking on his breakfast when it is brought up

The girls are invited to dinner and Damian is just dying inside

Cosette blatantly hitting on all Damian’s brothers in the first 5 minutes

Damian screaming internally while Cosette cackles

Dick is awkward until he realizes it’s a joke, Jason plays along, Tim has an awkward bean crisis

Tim x Cosette? Maybe.

Cosette does that sit and repeat thing at least three times out of habit

Batfam gets full explanation about how they met and everything

I have played with the idea of Cosette getting fear gassed a couple times and Idk how it would go tbh.

That’s as far as I got with this version, so shenanigans ensue

Pretty sure they used the cards and magic throughout even if I didn’t mention it

Absolutely would be useful for being in two places at once

I later changed so the merger happens and then Paris’s heroes meet the Justice League

Damian immediately recognizing Cosette but not Marinette bc magic

still effective but weaker because of Damian’s magic type

He later recognizes Marinette later when she pulls off a move he taught her way back in CP

Nickname confusion for everyone else

Cosette vs Constantine on who gets to teach Damian magic

Damian goes to Paris. They beat Hawkmoth and then go to Gotham.

Also had a general idea of a plot with LoS that never got fleshed out past existing

If we’re going for the rebound version: Cosette reunites with Thor and Loki during the Avengers movie

Also, poor Heimdallr. He probably had a lot of headaches with the universe crash

Accelerated merger because of the convergence in the dark world.

I wanna go with 2012 Avengers towers shenanigans. + Loki and his sort-of but not really daughter

Cosette vs Antman, shrinking/growing, science vs magic.

And then there’s the whole Ironman vs Batman vs Arrow rich boy fight

Hammer x Luthor or Hammer vs Luthor?

Also, Cosette just staring at her home universe in betrayal and being insulted she didn’t think of it earlier because classic Nordic myths had Loki as Odin’s brother and not his son among other things but still

Fight against Thanos is a bit anti-climatic when you give a gremlin murder child magic and a sword that can through anything, including magical artifacts.

this baby boy can and will fight God and Cosette’s not really the kind to hold him back

If I actually wrote this, a lot of things would probably change because I’d actually have to put more thought into logistics and how things work

[theunconcernedembalmer]

what’s the issue with elisop? is it just bc you hc aesop as ace? im so concerned by seeing ppl adamantly opposed to mlm/wlw ships but im also genuinely curious about why you dislike it and other lgbt ships so much lol

hmm. that is a strong accusation, n i find it just a bit odd. are you new here? or perhaps you are taking personal offense at my dislike towards a favourite ship of yours and using the lgbt argument as moral high ground?

whatever the case may be, i thank you for asking. if u r truly looking for an answer, its below the cut n it is very very long. mind u these are all my personal opinions n i am in no way policing how others enjoy ships. just in case this wasnt clear; i dont wish to start discourse on this blog, especially since my takes are probably... unpopular.

firstly i would like to address the “disliking lgbt ships” bit, because this has very strong implications in itself. i have nothing against lgbt ships. i enjoy them, even. if the two characters have chemistry between each other, i ship it. however, the moment characterization is broken for the sake of romance, i lose interest. this is generally my stance on ships in general, n this applies for both straight n lgbt ships. 

the ships themselves are fine. however, i do have issues with the ship dynamics, so ill let u in on that.

i want to touch on mlm ships in particular; i believe u are familiar with the top/bottom dynamic that is rampant in these kinds of ships? (i wont deny that this dynamic can be found in other types of ships, but for arguments sake i will be focusing on gay ships because i feel that this occurs more commonly here) its such a popular dynamic that is prone to stripping the personality from one if not both characters, only for them to be reduced to being dominant/submissive. for a character to be pigeonholed into a stereotypical category based on... preferred sexual positions? its just downright insulting, never mind the larger more problematic implications of it. top/bottom is not indicative of someones personality, by the way. flattening multi dimensional characters into these stereotypes is so so so insulting.

unfortunately this is The Most Popular portrayal of just about any gay ship around. ive seen it being used everywhere in so many fandoms n it just about becomes apparent to me that ppl come to stories looking for a Ship. not the stories, nor the characters, just a ship. while id like to say theres nothing wrong with that, keep in mind not everyone is just looking for 2 characters that look pretty next to each other. if i ship something, i see interesting n meaningful interactions between 2 characters, which is so often not the case once u bring in the top/bottom dynamic. why is it so popular? because somehow this is what ppl like from a gay ship n hence it sells. ppl want the drama, characterizations be damned. ppl want to see the big kiss that happens in the end, n maybe the sexy parts that come after. characterizations be damned.

so u can say im a little wary of gay ships when they cross my feed. hell, as a joseph aesop shipper i see this trope everywhere n im pretty disappointed as well. small tangent but i feel like this is the reason why zh0ngli n ch1lde is so popular in g3nshin. i try to see the appeal, i really do, but after a long while of analyzing their respective characters i dont think they have as much chemistry as ppl think they do. dont even get me started on how incredibly ooc they make either of these very interesting n unique characters in ship portrayals. all because of the top/bottom dynamic that ppl want to see. i say this for that particular ship, but this is pretty much the case for a lot of ships out there, n the latter part is painfully true even when the 2 characters do have potential between each other. ill say it again im disgusted by the blatant disrespect to the characterizations if all ppl ever want is 2 pretty puppets to mush lips together. cos thats what theyre essentially reduced to this way.

n its so obvious to see when an artist subscribes to this rhetoric, because u can so clearly see it in the way they draw their characters. the “top” generally has sharper features to go with their “dominating personality”, while the “bottom” has disturbingly softer, feminine, dare i say sometimes child like features “to submit”. n thats where the uwu soft gay trope comes from, i believe. which, in case u still dont know, i hate with a burning passion.

so again for ppl with impaired reading comprehension, im fine with ships, including lgbt ones, but the moment u break characterization for the sake of the ship, im not that okay with it. u want to do it for a short crack comic? fine. but if thats the only way ur portraying the 2 characters then im immediately wary of ur content. ill still look at it cos usually the art is really good, but im very very wary. so im not “adamantly opposed”, just very critical of how the ships are being portrayed. if other ppl want to enjoy their ships like that, sure. just dont expect me to join in on something i dont agree on.

.

now id like to address not shipping “because i hc aesop as ace”. for ppl who are new to the blog (hello there), im an ace in a romantic relationship, so thats definitely not the reason i dont ship elisop. its more of being in a relationship has largely shaped my views towards romance as a whole. even before i met my boyfriend, i hated the romance genre in stories n media. most of it comes off as incredibly forced, especially those love triangles they seem to love putting into teen novels. thats one reason why i stopped reading when i was younger, but i digress.

did i partake in shipping when i was younger? i did. for a gay ship too (if anyone really wants to know, its kurotsukki from haikyuu. at least this was one that i can remember, i was mostly working on my 20 odd ocs for the longest time). i also used to write little short romance ficlets that i never posted anywhere cos i hated (n still do hate) my writing. but writing romance when u dont have experience was really just a way of projecting n probably a way of coping for myself, not that i knew at that time. but after i actually started a relationship with my boyfriend (whom i love n cherish a lot thank u very much), i began to see how much all these have skewed my views towards romance n have actually done some harm to our relationship. the bullshit that the general media feeds u constantly doesnt help in the slightest either.

quick topic shift to elisop in particular (about time, right?). i already stated that i only ship characters if i sense chemistry between the two personalities, n if u have seen the part where i dont ship elisop then u must have seen how agonized i am over not being able to have a concrete personality for eli. that is the main problem i have with elisop: eli does not feel like a solid character to me. n that is a huge problem, because if he doesnt have any defining characteristics besides being mild n nice, then he can be whoever i want him to be. (i have done this in my exorcist comics, i will admit this. n the fact that i can just do that... it really does not sit well with me personally.)

n that is dangerous.

back to young me doing lil ship things. i think its also pretty safe to say when u really do ship 2 characters, chances are u kinda really relate very very hard to at least one of them. that very quickly can turn into projecting, n shipping therefore is not “exploring the relationship between 2 characters” n it becomes “my preferred dating simulator 101″. of course this isnt always the case, but at least it was for me, n subconsciously it might be for lots of ppl too. n since this is ur mental playground, u call the shots, n there is no consequences if u slightly (or even entirely) alter one or both personalities to fit ur desired narrative. n u wouldnt even notice or know, cos ur blind to ur own biasness.

we bring our perceived notions into real life, im sure u know that. so when ur partner does not become that perfect knight in shining armour, or when they get upset at things that u do (which is a very normal thing by the way), n u think (very subconsciously), That isnt what my otp would do, something is wrong here (nothing is wrong, actually its just ur skewed perception of a stable romantic relationship). why wouldnt ur otp do this? because u are both halves of ur otps, there is no hidden secrets between them (apart from the pining part but thats irrelevant), n again they have been altered to fit ur preferred narrative. 

a real relationship requires a lot of communication between parties, because newsflash, liking someone doesnt mean that u have to like every single thing they do, they will make mistakes n it will hurt u, n guess what, the reverse is also true. if u do go with absoutely anything that they would do with 0 objections whatsoever, ur not crushing on someone, ur idolizing them, n that power imbalance is detrimental to a relationship. these things are not obvious to ppl, especially when the whole climate is hell bent on getting into romantic relationships by a certain age or some bullshit. communication is key n is pretty much the only way to solve relationship issues, because the other person has a lot that u r not seeing n vice versa. as similar as 2 ppl can be, i doubt u can have 100% the same thoughts on all things. i dont make the rules.

so in ur mental playground u focus on the fluffy parts, maybe there is communication, but rarely is there any meaningful conflict. thats unrealistic, n if u bring that mindset to an actual relationship, thats not going to end well. i say meaningful conflict, because yes, generally u shouldnt have conflicts with ur significant other. but inevitably when ur with each other for long enough, u will realize that there are habits that u must change in order to be with the other person. habits that are harmful to the other person directly, or harmful habits towards yourself that indirectly harm the other person. these are meaningful in a sense that if left alone, it will manifest into larger problems that will harm u, the other person n the relationship as a whole. its meaningful to the relationship.

all these is made even worse if ur neurodivergent. maladaptive coping practices, self sabotaging behaviours, inherent disabilities. all these must be adjusted n addressed. im so incredibly thankful for my boyfriend for being incredibly patient with me when working all these out, n it has not been easy for me to work on myself n all my problems, n im still not done working on them. this aspect is often not explored in romance in general (or properly), n there is a very good chance i would have still been stuck in the unhealthy mindset of “this isnt like my otp, maybe we’re not meant to be”. because loving someone is a choice. no one is made for each other, it is a conscious choice made between 2 ppl to make things work. this is how arranged marriages work, i am told, n i do see the appeal, not that it actually does appeal to me culturally.

special mention to the kurotsukki ship, cos from there i found a very, very good fic that explored their relationship before n after getting together, n it actually showed aspects of this problem in the incredibly slow burn of (at that time) 20+ chapters. it was just one fic (n a very good one at that, i believe it was called Leviticus), but it had a lesson i never thought i needed to learn, n learn it i did, with a lot of help from my dear. 

this is also probably the reason why i dont really want to delve too much into romance now. i know its a lot of work, n everything (mostly) that the media feeds u is really false advertising, but ppl eat that shit up n so it remains one of the most popular genres to date. im just very wary that if i do start on a romantic story, i want to be able to show it in a way like that fic did, the truths of relationships, because i dont want to make something that sells, i want to make something that meaningful to me, if a little indulgent. n that also includes being very careful in how the respective characterizations will change in a relationship. almost too careful now that i think about it, but its not something that i mind. i was never one for romance from the start, n now im very careful about shipping because of what happened to me persoanlly.

okay enough about me, lets talk about aesop. in any au u put the character in, the essence of the character must remain despite the change in environment. so lets say we have ur typical modern au. dead mom, check. shitty mentor doing illegal stuff? also check. autistic boy with social anxiety? we’re good to go. all these have implications on aesop as a character, n while ppl are aware of this, again the way they go about portraying it can go, in my personal opinion, very wrong. ppl who immediately woobify aesop completely because he has autism annoy me. ppl who reduce him to uwu soft boi cos he has social anxiety do not know how the disorder really works n as someone who has that i hate it to the core. ppl who do all these for the sake of ship have lost my respect. its insulting.

remember the top/bottom dynamic? not that elisop is completely free from that (even if i dont know much about eli, to put him in either one of those stereotypes feels very insulting to his character. i wont even say anything about doing it to aesop its so upsetting), but its not entirely made up of either. but now i want to introduce another trope i am very wary of, which is “i can fix him”. im sure u guys have seen the meme going around poking fun at this trope (for those who havent, its along the lines of “u can fix him? well i can be his worst nightmare”) n no doubt yall would have seen it n gotten sick of it in some forced hetero romantic bullshit. we have one damsel in distress with a saviour that solves all their problems just by existing n being romo with each other.

remember “my preferred dating simulator 101″? this is not mutually exclusive n from my point of view this is dangerously close to this trope. lets be real, if it was actually a thing that all ur deep rooted trauma magically disappears if someone were to waltz into ur life, we would want it. definitely. no painfully dissecting ur own problems n constantly facing them head on. real life states that this is not the case, but it will not stop us from dreaming. n so this trope is born n lives n will go on.

(finally) pulling aesop n eli into this, at least in my mind, u have one severely traumatized boy with lots of issues n u have this. nice mild guy who can be anything u want him to be. i hope u can see where im going with this, n thats the direction i see some elisop heading towards (i dont read a lot of elisop to be fair). if u came from my eli character talk, i mentioned that it is incredibly one sided. this is exactly what im talking about.

putting it all together in case u havent already, aesop is the damsel in distress, whose problems magically disappear because of elis godly kindness n little to no work on improving himself, n they lived happily n gayly ever after.

can u tell how much that does not appeal to me. 

never mind the butchering of character that inevitably happens somewhere somehow, the unrealistically perfect themes n implications of this trope makes me so viscerally uncomfortable. this is, of course, due to personal reasons, n i definitely see the appeal of this dynamic because i would probably have been interested in this once upon a time as well. but as i am now, with everything i have explained up there n everything i have been through, i would politely rather not.

n its difficult to think of another dynamic, because of how little i know about eli apart from him being this saint, which easily makes him a candidate for being aesops trauma panacea. never mind aesop rarely, if ever, does anything for eli as a character in return, n its so damaging to buy into this rhetoric, where a person like this who would solve all ur issues no strings attached exists somewhere in the world. they really dont. a relationship has to be mutually benefitting, or it will be draining n disastrous. maybe u say, Oh its nice to imagine it once in a while. n yeah, i agree, except once in a while is a little difficult to keep track of n that is sort of what happened to me. id rather stay as far away as possible from this kind of unrealistic fantasy, i just got this shit sorted out with myself n my boyfriend.

i have some other reasons, but theyre more personally problematic, so i wont go into them here. but this is mostly n generally why i do not ship elisop romantically. if u do, u do u, and have fun, but again dont expect me to join u. thank u for coming to my ted talk, this took a lot longer than expected.

[varusai]

who do you think is the most dateable dark matter thief?? i know you have an opinion and i need to hear it

sorry for the late response anon i honestly had to think abt this one for a few days lmao, but yeah i have opinions. below the cut bc fr i have opinions, all of them have major pros and cons (based on my characterization at least) and really i just have to break it down for u

Boros, everyones obvious first choice, but certainly not mine.

Pros: rich, tall, pretty, fun af, passionate, will kill for you np, give you anything you want, literally anything.

cons: has a god complex, doesnt respect you, not his number one priority at all, will forget about you once its not interesting for him anymore, probably argumentative/combative af, is very very smart and has no problem manipulating you in all the worst ways, is very entitled so he will never feel bad about anything, cant win arguments either bc he’ll want to settle it with combat, will get offended over little things just to argue bc he thinks thats fun

this is a relationship you’d get into if you literally have nothing to lose and dont care about your mental health. like hes hot but this shit would be toxic af and he will ruin your life and leave you to go fuck around and fight someone on the other side of the universe. this will be the best of times and the worst of times for you and you will never be the same afterward mentally or emotionally. the only way i would even consider it is if i lost my damn mind. The only way a relationship with him would ever work long term is if you were physically stronger than him and were capable of putting him in his place OR you were smart enough, suicidal enough, and interesting enough to him to engage in some psychological warfare and reject him if he asked you. Make him chase you for years, say yes, then decide that /he’s/ boring /you/ and leave him for another member of the squad to just destroy their established hierarchy and humble him to the point that he’s obsessed with you.

i dont have the energy for all that, so i’ll just smash and pass.

0/10 completely undateable

Geryuganshoop, also a probable second choice for many:

pros: cute, nice, tentacle alien (obviously), will respect you np, will also give you anything you want, not antagonistic at all, telepathic communication so no risk of miscommunication, emotionally intelligent and available, loyal to a fault,

cons: horrible boss/best friend that you will have to listen to him vent about for at least 3 hours a day, complete yes man as well so he will not tell boros no or cut him off and you will be stuck dealing with this no matter what, severely mentally ill and wont go to therapy bc he thinks hes handling it well, workaholic, needs a lot, and i mean A LOT of attention

this relationship would be great if not for boros lol. boros sabotages his social and romantic life but geryu has been friends with him too long to either cut him off or establish boundaries. he has no backbone (figuratively and literally) and wouldnt even consider it. he’ll ignore you in favor of his job too, to a massive degree. also i think that while the telepathic communication would be a major plus in most cases, here i feel like i’d have no less than 16 different, never before seen on earth, mental illnesses projected right into my brain just from being within a certain radius of him.

im already fucked up enough in that sense so pass unfortunately.

it would be a yes without boros in the picture tho lmao

so prob like 4/10 iffy datablillity, 1 level increase with each decade of therapy he gets tho so a lot of potential :D

Groribas, my fav girl:

pros: straightforward, realistic, very clear expectations, will not fuck around with you whatsoever like there is no mind games or anything here, will kill for you, rich and non materialistic so she’ll basically just let you do whatever with her money since she doesn t care about it, cares about her job but like...a normal amount. she absolutely has a good work/life balance, highly organized so she will not forget important dates, loyal af and will defend your honor under any circumstances, mean but in a funny way, a ton of fun to hang out with if you’re into that, no eyes so i dont have to worry abt eye contact ever

cons: extremely high expectations, like exhaustingly high, and not even a bit of flexibility there, if you dont meet the cut its a no, she’ll let you know and leave same day, she will also bully you, you need a thick skin and great sense of humor to survive, bad at feelings if you need emotional support???? go elsewhere, shes mega emotionally unavailable, will probably want to share bodies as a form of intimacy

overall its a solid 6.5/10 dateability for me i love the directness and no bs approach, we would def get along well. however, while im not sensitive, shes def gonna hit on some insecurities at some point and it will cause an argument lol. but i mean whatever. it happens. the body sharing would be an issue though, same reason i wouldnt be chill with having a symbiote despite being a major venom fucker. i need my space i cant deal with that. so thats a possible deal breaker if she couldnt get over that lol. and she wont, so we wouldnt work out. i wish it fuckin would tho😭😭😭 i would take whatever crumbs of attention she would be willing to give me

Melzalgald, my fav they/them bastard:

pros: amorphous and shapeshifting aka extremely attractive according to my taste in monsters, tall af but could chose to be a more reasonable survivable size lol, self contained and self-entertaining so they dont need a ton of attention to be happy, funny af, rich, will give you whatever you want and probably a bunch of shit you didnt know you wanted, very fun, built in friend group if you didnt already have friends, extremely emotionally intelligent and great people skills due to living in a collective, stupid af by choice, like some of em are very smart, but they dont claim that, will say fuck work and tell boros to eat shit to spend time with you, will kill for you as well, but only if you ask them to bc their first inclination is to just bother someone to death, very loyal, once they like you they like you really forever, it would take some pretty extreme circumstances to make them dislike you

cons: annoying af and its unavoidable, will talk over you, all of them at once will talk over you and do so loudly, no respect for personal space, they dont even know what that is, will probably accidentally manhandle you, they act stupid but arent so they can be manipulative, even if it isnt bad and they dont really mean to be, impulsive, forgetful of the needs of organic creatures so they will bother you at all hours of the day and night if you arent firm with boundaries, disgustingly extroverted and will bring randoms to your place without asking, or just...make new cluster members and you have to roll with it, will eat or absorb literally anything you have, will antagonize and bother you for fun, major jump scare risk since sometimes the forms are....fleshy

this ones hard for me like theyre hot af and i feel like they’d be super fun and good partners, but god....the noise. idk how long i could deal with that lol i dont like people in my house. it would drive me up the wall, but then again...i can simply kick them out when ive had enough. they arent projecting mental illness directly into my brain or requiring me to share a body sintelligento major plus. creepy thing/symbiote style hot monster without any of the invasiveness so tbh 8/10 dateability

some people date loud annoying extroverts who dont understand personal space that /arent/ rich, loyal, or emotionally intellegent so i’d be winning on a few different fronts lmao

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

what are some underrated pairings/team ups that you wish we'd gotten to see more of? tbh i wish he had more cassie/marco/tobias situations bc theres some great potential in that dynamic but the only time i can really think of that happened was in the sickness after ax rachel and jake all came down with andalite flu (and then marco caught that same flu shortly afterwards)

Oh man, you are correct that Cassie-Tobias-Marco is an excellent combination.  Cassie and Marco disagree about everything, Tobias is nonconfrontational to a fault, and ZERO people on this reduced team have Ax’s or the Berensons’ ability to go “fuck it, kill yeerks now and argue about this later.”  So really, when I say excellent, I mean only in the sense of characterization.  Because an entire book’s worth of those three having to work together would involve nothing whatsoever getting done to advance the plot.

The only other time I can think of when it’s just the three of them is in #24 when they get shrunk by helmacrons.  It’s notable to me that, in spite of Marco being the obvious choice to lead the mini-team, in both #24 and #29 it’s Cassie who reaches a snapping point and takes charge.  I think that’s largely because Marco’s just not decisive enough to lead.  He prefers to think things through and convince everyone else that he’s right before attempting any kind of plan — as opposed to Jake and Rachel taking, at most, a moment to be like “any objections, speak now” before charging ahead.  When you combine that with the fact that (frankly) he doesn’t Cassie and Cassie doesn’t trust him, any team that includes those two also needs someone to shut down the discussion instead of talking every single problem to death.  Unfortunately for everyone involved, Tobias is a grand master at thinking (and talking) problems to death.

So you get what we see in #24: all three of them literally debating the best response to a situation at the same time that they’re being advanced on by a hungry spider 100x their size.  Or playing hot-potato with responsibility for the mission in #29.  And in both cases it’s not Marco who succeeds in finally snapping and taking charge; it’s Cassie.  Because she’s not a leader, and she’s not even a strategist like Marco, but she does have the ability to take care of herself and yell “Okay! I’m going to go get an anteater morph. You losers can follow me or do your own thing, I don’t really care.”

I’m trying to think of a worse combination of three Animorphs, and having trouble.  Like, in this hypothetical scenario where Cassie and Marco and Tobias are on a solo mission together then I have to believe that Rachel and Jake and Ax aren’t doing so hot either.  They’re probably getting a lot done, but whether a lot is actually advancing their cause or just smashing everything that looks at them funny is going to depend largely on what mood Rachel’s in at the time.

Cassie and Marco and Ax would probably also be a pretty bad combination.  Those three don’t have any missions together that I can recall, but I’m pretty sure in that scenario it’d take about 10 minutes for Ax and Marco (who encourage each other’s worst habits) to run off and start doing one thing while Cassie ends up on some totally separate mission.  Not only does Cassie have that self-reliant streak, but she’s also got a completely different worldview.  They’d probably all just give up on working together.

My personal favorite underutilized mini-team has got to be just Cassie and Tobias.  They have some awesome moments together in #4, in MM1, in #9, and especially in MM3.  Tobias is naturally a really good deputy to Cassie (not in the least through giving her a much-needed confidence boost) in much the same way that Ax is for Rachel.  Tobias and Cassie are willing to laugh at themselves and openly admit they don’t know what to do, but they’re also so quick to agree with each other for the sake of agreeing that they’re reasonably decisive in spite of that.  Tobias is quick to fall into a support role when Cassie takes charge, and Cassie is quick to listen to Tobias any time he’s got a new idea.  They’re maybe the kindest and gentlest of the Animorphs, but also the ones with the fewest romantic ideas about nature or humanity; they know that kindness sometimes means killing a baby bunny to leave the mother alive, or saving the ones they can save through letting some others die.

[hirazuki]

Ooo I'm curious about your hot takes on the Inuyasha reboot after reading your tags 👀

Ahaha, where to start XD Idk if they are hot takes, but here are my thoughts in bullet point form for coherency, I couldn’t figure out how else to organize them. Under a cut, as usual, because it got lengthy... as usual :D

We are 13 episodes in, and I still have no idea wtf is going on or what the series is actually about. And yes, I’m aware that we didn’t know of Naraku’s existence or of the overarching plot until at least episode 16 of that series either and Inuyasha was still very episodic in nature at that early point too, but here’s the thing: Inuyasha did not build upon a pre-existing series. For better or for worse, Yashahime has certain expectations to live up to that the original anime didn’t, by virtue of its being a sequel. Unfair? Maybe, but tough; that’s what happens when you make a sequel. Additionally, despite us not knowing The Main Plot™ of Inuyasha until later, the basic framework for it was laid out clearly by... episode 2? I think? Find and collect the Shikon Jewel shards. Boom, done. Were there distractions or fillers? Sure, but you never got the sense that the characters simply up and forgot about the shards. Even in fillers, the shards often made some kind of appearance. With Yashahime, there’s like three potential storylines going on: 1. The most obvious: most of our main cast from the OG is missing; where are they? Apparently no one in-story cares! :D Inuyasha, who’s that lol. I’m all for a sequel focusing on the new generation with cameos of the old crew; after all, they already had their own series. But this is like... no one cares about them? No one talks about them? And the more characters go about not mentioning them, the stronger their absence is felt. Like, for instance, Kaede knows Moroha is InuKag’s daughter. Moroha grew up on her own, doesn’t know her parents. Kaede doesn’t mention them to Moroha, doesn’t even spare a passing thought about them for the audience’s benefit, Moroha doesn’t ask. Kagome’s family in the present day meet Moroha, recognize her as Kagome’s daughter and... say nothing??? Souta shows Towa Kagome and Inuyasha’s old photos, but doesn’t say a word to Moroha?! Like. It makes no sense. By people not even acknowledging their existence, it makes the fact that they are nowhere to be found even weirder. Also the new gen girls don’t care about their parents or finding out who they were/are... like, okay, it would maybe be in character for one or two of them, but all three don’t give a fuck??? 2. Kirinmaru/the rainbow pearls: Idk how familiar you are with the story, but similar deal with Naraku and the shards here. Kirinmaru is being set up as the villain, still a mysterious figure; our new gen trio is supposed to collect the rainbow pearls that... some of his henchmen have? Or he is after them? Or is that Riku? Unclear. ANYWAY the new gen girls often forget all about the pearls’ existence :D 3. Setsuna’s memories: Setsuna’s dreams have been stolen by the dream butterfly and they need to get them back, because without her dreams she has no memories and is unable to sleep. Cool! Finally a solid, easy-to-follow plot line! Except wait! Towa, who supposedly made it her goal to get Setsuna’s sleep back, forgets all about it! All the time! Like, none of them make an effort to look into this other than being like “oh yeah, know anything about the dream butterfly?” to random folks every now and then. The Inugang back in the day was putting some grad school level research towards their goals, just saying. It just feels like everything’s all wishy-washy and there’s nothing really solid tying the series together. People just remember shit exists when it’s convenient.

.

Character development is MIA. I’m not expecting ground-breaking char dev in 13 episodes (though I do know 12 episode series that were phenomenal in that regard), but like... I do expect the series to focus on building the dynamics between the main three characters. So far, the series is more focused on teasing the audience with glimpses and promises of the OG cast instead. The creators are using nostalgia and bait (esp of a certain pairing) to drive interest in the series, rather than developing the new characters as fully-fledged characters for their own sakes. 

.

Moroha is was the only thing I actually liked about the series. She is a little spitfire and you can somehow instantly see both Inuyasha and Kagome in her, while she also remains very uniquely herself; I have never seen such a successfully developed main pairing child in any series. She featured quite prominently in the first few episodes -- and unlike both her parents, she’s got a great memory and knowledge of lore -- where she balanced funny moments with badass fighting moments and being the token supernatural encyclopedia. It was great! And then... they’ve like... forgotten her. She’s been left behind so many times by the twins. She’s the butt of every joke. She’s become the type of comic relief that’s, well, insulting. More like a buffoon than anything else. And it’s basically all for the sake of giving the floor to Towa :/

.

Setsuna is okay. Not offensive, but unremarkable. She’s got her dad’s personality but like way toned down due to her different growing up circumstances, which is nice, but like... I feel she isn’t given any room to grow or breathe or anything. She’s also basically there as a device to enhance Towa’s development.

.

Towa... oy. I tried to like her, I really did, but she just doesn’t work for me. They set her up having a very Kurosaki Ichigo type deal with beating up bullies and getting into trouble at school and shit -- I’m fine with that. That’s cool. Esp if it’s linked to not feeling like she fits in bc she’s a hanyou? Awesome. Except once she travels back in time to the feudal era it’s all “Oh killing is bad you shouldn’t kill people” and “even though they attacked me I can’t possibly hurt them” and “you need to empathize and talk things out” and “friendship is magic” and shit. It feels like she had a personality transplant, it literally makes no sense. Her design is totally nonsensical too -- out of everyone at her school, she’s the only one dressed in a bright white suit? Do protags not wear the school uniform? Someone should tell Kagome lmao. She’s a pro at hand to hand, and she can absorb demons’ powers and fling them back at them like a personified Tessaiga, and she has a lightsaber sword, and she’s immune to miasma, and -- like... you get it. It’s too much. It’s way too OP for the type of universe that Inuyasha/Yashahime is set in. She’s hanyou for fuck’s sake; remember all the training Inuyasha had to go through? When he couldn’t lift his sword? When his sword attacked him? Sango, Miroku, Kagome, even Sesshomaru all had trouble with their weapons and had to work to become stronger. But Towa? Nope. Towa is straight out of the Yas Queen/Girl Boss manual, so she gets a free pass on everything.

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UGH they are doing the VLD/bad writing thing where things happen (like, BIG THINGS) and none of the characters actually react to them. Or stuff happens and there are no consequences. No one ever talks about anything. It’s wild.

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Everyone has amnesia!! :D People either don’t know or don’t remember anything or anyone. People who absolutely should know things all of a sudden magically don’t know them. Like, Kohaku -- traveled with an undead priestess, spent years in the company of demons, traveled with Sesshomaru... and yet had NO CLUE that Setsuna is Sesshomaru’s daughter or that she is hanyou, despite her living and working with his team of demon slayers all this time. Like... how, man. How. And Kaede! Don’t get me started. Since when does she perpetuate random demon-boogeyman type stories as facts? Demon children will kill each other in the nest so that only the strongest one will survive, therefore Setsuna must have killed Towa when they were infants. O_O What are they, sharks? Has she been hanging out with Kisame? Wtf?? And she’s speaking about Sess’s kids as though she doesn’t know him or anything about him, when she has had Rin under her roof all these years. It just makes. no. sense.

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Things that happened in the original series are happening again now! Because that’s the best we’ve got, recycled plot elements wooo! No, but really, characters that died or things that were resolved in Inuyasha keep coming back. Why? What was the purpose of bringing back Kinka and Ginka? To have a foil for Towa and Setsuna as twins? Someone please tell Sunrise they can just create new characters. Like, it’s one thing to have call backs to the original or cameos, references, whatever. But like... this is entire (dead) characters and interactions.

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No one knows how long it’s been since the original series ended. Fans initially heard 20 years from promo material, then “over 15″ and “10 years since” in-series regarding two different events, and now in a future episode summary we’ve gotten 18 years since Hosenki II gave Inuyasha the black pearl. But like, which black pearl? Because the one in Inuyasha’s eye doesn’t exist anymore, but Hosenki II had told Inuyasha that it would take 100 years for him to produce one. So, are we retconning that or where the fuck did it come from? Also, this doesn’t help one bit, it just confuses things even more. Back to the point, though, we have no coherent timeline or real frame of reference whatsoever, and I’m betting it’s in large part to keep the mystery of who is Sesshomaru’s wife going, as it keeps Rin’s age very vague. Everything is vague and mysterious in Yashahime, to the point where no one knows what’s going on, in fandom or in-story even. It’s kinda like how too much plot twist/shock reveal ruins a story, too much mystery does the same. It’s insane that both shippers and antis of that ship can lay equal claim that the “18 years since” announcement works in their favor.

tl;dr: Idk man, Yashahime is a clusterfuck of a series. Even if the mother of Sess’s twins is either of the characters I ship him with, I will still not like the series. There’s no saving this writing. Every episode feels like this:

[ether-gearhead]

Because Tumblr user @sharlettehatesmiasma just HAD to go and prove itself a prime fucking example of why NaLus and MAGAs are fundamentally one and the same, now I gotta write a whole-ass essay just to keep her from shouting over me (incidentally a favorite MAGA tactic as well)! This is gonna need a cut, isn’t it?

By the way, this is all in the context of our prior conversation, so it may not exactly make sense. So yeah, this needed a cut anyway. I feel better about that at least.

“Lmao Lucy never tried any seduction tricks with Natsu. The dolls Hakune made were pretty much acting like what they act around Natsu(except nakedness). Lisanna used to tease Natsu about getting married, Erza always talks about taking bath together, Wendy said Natsu was her big bro and then we have Lucy who never ever showed this much obvious feelings for Natsu(totally opposite, she always denies). That's what I'm saying lol. Hakune's magic is known to all so that doesn't Have confusion at all. The difference in our points are solely based on what we think about that thing or what we wanna see.”

Obviously she’s never tried to seduce Natsu, but she’s tried seduction around him before. In fact, I’m surprised Lucy’s doll didn’t repeat “We’ll be together forever, right?” But the fact she went straight for seduction makes me think, at least compared to everyone else, that all else aside, Natsu’s view of Lucy is more sexual than with the other girls, which I guess is a point for NaLu

“Well the pseudo marriage thing Idk really. I mean ofc I would also value the moments spent with my childhood friend(romatically or not). He values his friends more than his life. But I mean, Natsu being interested in 2 girls just doesn't sit with me well lol. He really doesn't have any clear concept about love as you said. That's what prevented Hakune from bringing the real love intetest from within his mind. For Gray, it was utterly clear so Hakune brought Juvia but We're talking about a dumbass hero here lol.”

So friendship has nothing to do with it, yet he values his friends more than his life?! Which is it?! And by the way, you’re flip-flopping on Hakune’s power again! Is it a love interest or just women he’d die for?! No concept of consistency whatsoever, yet another shared hallmark of NaLus and MAGAs!

The fact that you dismiss Natsu as a “dumbass hero

Ooh, hey, I can go back to this now!

“How does this have to do anything with friendship theme?! I mean it would've made sense if he left the letter for entire team Natsu after Tartarus battle, if he had gone to the other members of team Natsu after defeating Acnologia or if he had told "we'll be together forever to Gray, Erza or Wendy" lol. And I already said if Mashima wants to go on a Kishimoto route, which means turning tables on the fanbase then he definitely should start NaLi development rn. I mean Something solid which will make Natsu think that he's in love with Lisanna instead of Lucy.”

Of course Lucy was the only one who’d get a letter! Gray had END to worry about, Wendy was in the same boat he was, and assuming she could read his handwriting, Erza would just storm after him and drag him back herself! But that’s what happens when you condition yourself to not register anything non-NaLu-related, I guess.

And Natsu didn’t “go” to Lucy after defeating Acnologia! He just fell right out onto her from the Space Between Time! Gaslighting’s another thing you guys have in common with the MAGAs, by the way.

Also, if you’re type of person to think Gray, Erza, or Wendy doesn’t know they’re stuck with Natsu all the way by this point, you’re probably not the type of person who can capably dress themselves. I’ll thank you not to use others as your mouthpieces a la MAGA, by the way.

“And about Natsu having interest in 2 girls. I'm not being rude to you bc we have different choices and I don't wanna argue with someone while discussing a simple topic. But that doesn't really mean I can't be rude.”

A boy who doesn't understand love can't be intetested in 2 girls. And Natsu waiting for the moment Lisanna/Lucy makes a move on him also seems off bc that means he's willingly pulling the act of dense dumbass boy. That's all.”

The fact that you dismiss Natsu as a “dense dumbass boy” tells me NOTHING ABOUT NATSU IN 545 CHAPTERS OF FAIRY TAIL HAS REGISTERED WITH YOU WHATSOEVER!!!” As a dense dumbass boy myself, lemme walk you through some things.

You’re eleven years old. You raise an egg with this girl you know. While warming the egg, she starts teasing you about her being your wife. You get embarrassed about it, but you actually like the idea a little.

The egg hatches, and you and the girl start playing house with the hatchling. You’re the daddy, she’s the mommy. All is well for four years, until she dies in an accident on the job, and maybe you wanted her to be your wife for real after all.

A couple years later, you meet a girl in a harbor town while searching for your missing father figure. Turns out she wants to work where you just so happen to work, so you bring her home with you. As time goes by and you start to work together, you realize she makes you feel the same way your lost pseudo-wife did, and suddenly, everything is okay again, for the first time in two years.

And then, circumstances conspire, and you learn that the girl you thought dead is very much alive. You take care of all your business with the people who took her in, and everyone celebrates her safe return home.

But there’s a problem. Your new co-worker still makes you feel that same way your pseudo-wife did. What’s more, your pseudo-wife still makes you feel that way today. You know precious little about boy meeting girl, but you do know from your pseudo-wife’s sister and her gentle reminders to your older co-worker who likes to flirt with her that he has a wife at home that you’re not supposed to feel that way about two different girls.

You don’t want either girl to hate you for admitting how the other girl makes you feel. So you put it out of your head for now, and focus on earning a promotion at work.

This is the tale of a dense dumbass boy in love, despite being too much of a dense, dumbass boy to know what that even is.