#truly-hopeless

[dnrarepairweek]

A question regarding what does and does not count as a rare pairing (because I'm kind of pedantic and want to know what the boundaries are if I decide to participate so I don't break any rules). If a ship that is popular in the manga and anime we're all familiar with but is either not as popular or almost non-existent in fics for other specific adaptations (the Japanese movies, the Musical, the TV Drama, and the much-hated 2017 Netflix movie) which also has a low number of fics dedicated specifically to those adaptations [or at least not without using the anime/manga fandom tag on AO3 to get more people to see it] and if the versions of the characters in the pairing are significantly different personality-wise from their anime/manga counterparts, would those count as separate pairings from their more popular counterparts and qualify as a rare pair or should they be treated as if they were the original popular pairing with a different skin and therefore not be appropriate for this challenge?

Hi! Thank you so much for the question. I would accept other adaptation counterparts of a popular ship, as long as it's notably different from the anime/manga version.

When I devised the rarepair criteria, I specifically looked at the AO3 fandom page for Death Note (Anime & Manga), and used the "Relationships" tab under the filters section to get an idea of numbers. These were the most popular relationships according to those stats:

So on that same basis, you could search each of the fandom adaptation tags to see what the numbers are over there. For example, the tab for the Death Note musical looks like this:

Since musical!Lawlight is well under 300 works, that would be okay. I would just say make sure it is specific to whichever adaptation you're focusing on, and couldn't be transferrable to the anime/manga version of the ship without major changes. That probably applies more to fics than any kind of visual media, but something to note either way!

At the end of the day, the reason I wanted to hold this event was to celebrate ships that aren't super popular or don't have a lot of fan contributions for them, and the criteria were designed around that goal. My intention isn't to specifically exclude any particular ships, so I'm very willing to be lenient with cases where it's still broadly in the spirit of the event! Also worth noting that if you create something for a ship that doesn't fit the criteria, the worst I'm going to do is just not reblog your post. Don't stress about being banned from participating or anything like that :)

[riddlerosehearts]

i feel like a lot of people seem to forget that during idia's overblot flashback scene he says his life has been set in stone since he was born, and that it hurt how other kids would get asked what they want to be when they grow up but nobody would ever ask him that. and he says he always just wanted to be a normal kid, he just wanted to be a hero and go on adventures, he essentially just wanted to be free to be like everyone else. his trauma doesn't only come from ortho's death, it also comes from feeling completely and utterly trapped by STYX and the expectations his family's curse has placed on him for all of his life. from feeling like the things that he enjoys, the things he dreams of for his future, do not matter and never have. like he's all but completely alone in the world and the fictional media he loves is his only escape from it all. he literally wanted to go with the original ortho, to die, and his response upon being told that he loves the world too much to give up on it was along the lines of "who would ever love this rotten world?". ortho had to tell him that he still had a future ahead of him, because a very significant part of his issue is that he feels like he doesn't, or at least like he doesn't have the freedom to choose a future that he'll enjoy. with or without ortho, he's spent his whole life just feeling hopeless.

[deepspacenova]

Sylus, talking about MC: you know, if she killed me with her bare hands, I would thank her

Luke, trying to sleep: we know

Kieran, also trying to sleep: we would thank her too

[skaterboisims]

words

[kacchanot-fucking-deal-with-this]

another nerd hopelessly devoted to their first real friend… hmmmm… this sounds… familiar…

(bad first drawing under the cut)

[aeolianblues]

Seeing people who were openly queer in the 80s and 90s and were either ignored or ridiculed at the time getting to openly embrace their sexuality in the present day, and wrap themselves triumphantly in their flags does something else to me, I have such a soft spot for it that I could cry

[mishoru]

Don't you think I look pretty curled up on this bathroom floor?

[givingblood]

I’ve liked your takes on arcane and I was wondering, is there a power imbalance in Caitlyn and Vi’s relationship?

that's actually good to hear LOL, Power Imbalance in Caitvi? I personally do not think there is one, you'd have a case if this relationship was set entirely during Vi's time in prison but it isn't, as soon as she is freed she basically drags Caitlyn around the undercity, Caitlyn never pulls rank on her or undermines her agency at any point.

Season 2 when Caitlyn becomes the strike leader, she doesn't use her power to force Vi to stand along side her as an enforcer, Vi goes willingly (out of guilt of what her sister has done to Caitlyn and because she needs Cait to avoid the councils plan of a full scale invasion).

Cait and Vi are just a series of 'lesser evil' decisions and I don't think that creates some kind of a power imbalance between them. I think they are two people stuck between dual loyalties.

The one thing I love about Caitlyn is that whenever Vi has walked away, she's allowed her too, she doesn't chase or force Vi into places that Vi hasn't consented to be in. Vi before end of act 2 is a very emotionally volatile person with Caitlyn and she often walks away to catch her breath, she isn't chased down and forced to make decisions, Caitlyn gives her the space she needs to come back to her when she's ready. I adore that about Caitlyn.

They both have full agency the entire series, I don't understand why people seem to think there is some kind of power play happening. Caitlyn has never pulled rank on Vi at all and I believe Caitlyn is such a huge deal for Vi's development because Vi believes herself to just constantly choose wrong (she's an idiot and a sweetheart) but Caitlyn always lets her make the decisions and that meeting in the cell after Jinx leaves is basically Caitlyn saying 'hey, I knew what you were going to do, I know you and I support you'

I think Vi and Caitlyn actually work narratively to open each other up, Caitlyn is stuck in a gilded cage, her parents dictate her life, her name comes with expectations and all she wants is to see the 'real' world and help people, find something worth 'shooting for'. Vi is a character built on guilt because she's been told her whole life that everyone else is her responsibility and her entire motivation is trying to fix her (perceived) mistakes.

Vi is a choice Caitlyn makes at the end of S1 when she holds her shot on Jinx, and yes, she gets lost in her grief but ultimately she chooses Vi again in the end.

Caitlyn is a choice Vi makes in S2 in the cell, she's not choosing Caitlyn instead of Jinx, she's just choosing to express how she feels about Caitlyn, let herself indulge in the feelings she pushes down in favor of everyone else.

These two have their lives firmly placed on rails by the people around them and they both work to derail each other in the best ways possible.

There is a lot of talk about power dynamics for a couple who is narratively the polar opposite and a great case study in personal choice in spite of extreme circumstances.

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

I love it when my daughter is a girlfailure that is awkward as hell and with no social skills whatsover.

[pancake-shmamcake]

Talking with @thatsafuckeduptale about a UTY au/bad ending where Ceroba succeeds in taking Clover's soul to fuse with Kanako and we get a fucked up fmab style amalgam situation

Starlo is horrified and betrayed that his best friend did such a thing to innocent children. Kanako, whom he probably viewed as a nice, and his new human friend whom he had grown close to as well. He saw the tapes in the house like in pacifist, but he was just too late to get there and stop it from happening

Martlet is furious, Ceroba is inconsolable about the fact she's caused such suffering, to her own child no less, and now there's an unstable, dripping, shambling mass that's always in pain/on the verge of death but can't really die because there's like two human souls worth of determination in there. And Flowey can't reset either because he's not the one with the most DT in the underground anymore.

This is the "everyone is unhappy and fucked up forever" ending

[rabidline]

Quotes from 3-time Olympic Medalist, 2-time World Champion, 6-time National Champion eternal memelord Shoma Uno (screenshots by starfishshoma on twitter)

[helga-grinduil]

Okay, so. Um. Chapter 423.

Seeing people's reactions I have to say some things. And let me preface this by saying that I don't believe this is truly it. But.

The issue isn't even that Izuku (seemingly) failed to save the person he wanted to save from AFO (well, it is an issue, actually, but not the main point. Also, the fact that his and vestiges' plan to reach Tenko is also what ensured Tomura's death is just so... ), and it's not that he's weirdly distant and cold in this chapter.

It's the fact that not a single one of them actually acknowledged anything that they saw and heard in Shigaraki's mind. Neither of them talked about what AFO told Tomura - the fact that Tomura didn't say anything about what he learned about his quirk, his purpose and the fact that he never truly wanted to kill his family is especially mind-boggling. And Deku didn't say anything about the revelation that Tomura never really had a chance or a choice from the very start either. There was no self-relfection on either side, no real conversation, and there also was no real understanding between the two being reached. It's the fact that Deku instantly stopped caring or wondering about Tenko/Tomura the moment AFO came back, being completely willing to pulverise his body when just a few chapters ago he refused to do that when Nana told him to. It's the fact that he didn't react to Kurogiri pleading for Tomura and Bakugou just killed (???? maybe not, it's hard to understand) the man. It's the fact that the vestiges still being alive and Nana saving Tomura (oh hey, guess her whole family actually all died to AFO, unable to truly smile) was off-screened.

This is not people blaming Izuku. This is just people complaining about straight up bad writing.

Even if Tenko is still alive (And Kurogiri wasn't killed by Bakugou too, but I feel like Kurogiri is just too doomed to survive anyway), that doesn't erase the weirdness that this chapter was. It would still be salvageable, I guess, depending on what happens next, but good lord, the damage was certainly done.

And if Tenko is really dead, but we'll just see more of Midoriya's reaction to that in the following chapters, this would still be fucking horrible.

I love Deku. I love his emotions, how genuine he is, how empathetic he is. He is just a kid forced into an awful situation. This is not a jab at him as much as it is a jab at the author and the writing here. Because how in the world does the protagonist fail at doing what he wanted to do harder than the supporting cast with their villains? Why was Toga and Uraraka's final chapter more genuine and emotional that THIS - the protagonist and the main antagonist's last conversation????? Why was Ochako more upset about realising that Toga is about to kill herself than Deku was in those chapters?

[ichooseyoupikajew]

I've always cared deeply about reproductive health and I will always continue to fight for birth control and abortion access. However, I fail to understand why the Pro-Palestinian movement has gotten so involved in the American Pro-Choice movement.

Tomorrow, there's an NYC Loves Abortion rally in Foley Square. One of the organizations participating is NYC Healthcare Workers for Palestine - the same organization that protested the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center back in January.

Hamas raped people on October 7th. Several survivors have spoken about their trauma. It's highly likely that some of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza are several months pregnant or dead. Surely that would be more relevant to the importance of abortion access, the trauma of sexual violence, and bodily autonomy?

[moontheoretist]

"Fenris plays cards regularly, with Varric Tethras, Isabela, Anders and Donnic Hendyr among other people. In Act 3, he hosts a weekly game of Diamondback at his mansion".

It always drives me up walls. Why do you invite Anders to a game that doesn't include Hawke to facilitate Anders even being there if you hate the guy so much? Is it some twisted form of revenge? Or is it a sign of bonding that was simply never truly addressed in the banter?!

[tulisydan]

My dude is truly suffering while trying to contain his face

[satans-knitwear]

Just ordered some lingerie!!! I probably shouldn't have, given how broke I am!! But i guess that's how you can tell I'm getting better! Nature is healing. 😌✨

Help me cover it and pick your favourites for some pics just for you!

Pypl Cshpp