#unsure how I survived this tbh

[thegraphitepencils]

The weekly catch-up phone calls with my soulmate who broke up with me “for my own good” yet still expects me to be his best friend are becoming more a source of anxiety than comfort lately folks

-Riley

[dunmeshistash]

Does the monster inside Lycion wake up when he turns wolf-man, and does that mean he could potentially fight off succubi like Izutsumi? Just as important: I was wondering if that's why she's more wild, cuz the monster cat is always awake and alert and has opinions sometimes and that affects her mentally much more than it does Lycion.

I don't think they're "awake" in the sense of being conscious. I know the graph shows the beast "sleeping" inside him to show its dormant but I don't think that's literal like the beasts having a separate consciousness

I think it has an affect on them because because in beastform their physical bodies change and that might affect how they feel and perceive things, (we even see that somewhat with Chilchuck being more calm as a tallman), the soul probably affects their personality too but at least in Lycion's case he's still just Lycion in both forms? Here's what he says about beastmen's personality changes

I actually don't know if Lycion would have an advantage as beastmen against succubi like Izutsumi does, tbh I don't even fully understand how it works with Izutsumi, I think the succubi get confused by the mixed souls of beastmen, but unlike Izutsumi who isn't really "in touch" with her fully human side Lycion lives as a human most of the time, so I'd assume succubi aiming for his human side would have more of an effect on him even in werewolf form? But maybe in the beast side could help him resist somewhat? Unsure!

Another thing that makes me think the beast isn't really "activelly making them do things" or having a will is cause Izutsumi doesn't recognize and basically isn't affected by the succubi that aims for her beast side. So the cat soul isn't really "making her do" anything, both souls are "active" in beastmen form but I don't think there's differentiation between them to the extent of being separate wills, does that make any sense?

About Izutsumi being more "wild" I think it's because she has been a beastman for a longtime with no option to become fully human, and on top of that she has also been severely neglected and never socialized properly as a human. Even irl human children become "feral" when severely neglected/not socialized and Izutsumi being part beast would probably exacerbate that.

She basically has survived on mostly instincts for years and then they expected her to know how to behave in society just like that. Maizuru wasn't really the best teacher

So you have a child with the instincts of a cat who wasn't socialized properly until she turned 10 and then kept being mistreated and abused by people that tried to force her to "act properly" until she turns 17 and escapes. Idk how she would act like any other way in her situation.

[08melancholie]

Humor me for a moment

What do you think each gang members favorite shows would be if they were from this century? Like modern shows and stuff?

OOOH this is very interesting, and I got a few in mind :)

some are more accurate maybe, some had to be mustered up to be filled in since I had no ideas D:

the guys:

Dutch — Hear me out; fashion shows. This man is first in line for the TV remote when theres a Victoria's Secret runway on one of the channels. That, or those "Wear or Tear" shows. He becomes a true fashionista.

Arthur — I feel, same with Charles, he'd be into watching Bear Grylls surviving in the wild. I don't know how to explain this one tbh, it just sounds right to me.

John — I really struggled with this one, honestly. I could NOT think of one thing he would watch. Anyhow, Abigail doesn't let him watch too much of it, but he'll also tune in when theres a football match OR, even better; baseball. I feel like he's a baseball type guy.

Javier — Another hear me out; Spanish cooking shows. This I have literally no explanation for, it came to me and I instantly said 'oh, YES' aloud. So, I'm sticking with it.

Micah — Would be big into sport channels, football and especially big on ice hockey. Let's be honest, he's literally a dad on Sunday afternoons but like, every day of the week, my little couch potato. His main thing would be ice hockey and I stand firm by that.

Lenny — Just a hunch here, but I think Lenny would like crime shows. Whether it's something like Criminal Minds or actual criminal cases and how they were solved, he'd be very much interested in that.

Sean — LOVES to watch people wrestle. He's either laughing about someone getting their shit handed to them or screaming at the TV for one of the people to punch harder.

Bill — Dog shows!! He loves those dog competitions where people train their dogs to run around and complete the courses, always cheers a certain dog on like it's his own and like he's getting the prize money.

Hosea — Chess competitions. I also don't know how to explain this one much, but I feel like he'd enjoy learning to play/to get better at chess through watching others play it, making little notes on a paper.

Strauss — Gotta be those old people Bingo channels with like, live games. He tried making his own bingo cards and literally nobody wanted to play with him because they said it was boring—and that he did it all wrong :( Otherwise peepaw loves that stuff.

Josiah — He loves watching "[Country]'s Got Talent", any country really. As soon as he sees a magician come up, he instantly locks in to see if he knows the trick that person is trying to do, and he especially loves the dangerous stunt compilations on Youtube. Rewatches them on a daily.

Reverend — Mostly online church services and those live broadcasts of it. If not that, which he does daily imo, it'll be some drug documentary. (struggled with this one D:)

Charles — National Geographic Documentaries; do I need say more? It's how he mostly learns about wildlife, if you don't count books. That, or I feel like he'd enjoy watching Bear Grylls surviving in the wilderness.

Jack — Honorable mention for Jack, the Kratt Brothers.

the girlies:

Sadie — She's also into crime shows, and especially true crime. You can't watch it with her because she loves to comment on EVERYTHING happening in the show, stuff like calling the killers bastards and finding what the clues the police find mean before the people in the show do sometimes.

Tilly — I was unsure of this at first, but I feel like she'd enjoy either cooking or gardening shows, but I'm more leaning to the latter. Likes to learn about all the different plants, sometimes writes information down in case she wants to plant something herself.

Mary-Beth — You know she'd be big into drama series and all the different reality TV shows. I swear, she'd literally LOVE Croatian drama shows and series so much, on the edge of her seat the entire time, literally. That, or she loves cheesy romances, of course.

Karen — I don't know if you guys have this, but we have a show which roughly translates to "Marriage at first", where two people get married at first sight. You can say yes or no at the altar after you see them for the first time, and the show leads you through the upcoming two-three weeks before the wedding. She'd love that, would be judging the wedding dresses the women pick the entire time.

Molly — Watches sickly sweet romcoms to heal her poor, broken heart. Good for her. :(

Abigail — Watches whatever Jack wants to watch mostly, but if she's got free time to watch something herself, she'll mostly use drama shows as background noise. Somehow, I feel like she isn't big on watching TV, so like myself basically.

Susan — She reminds me so much of my grandma that I have to say Turkish drama shows. My grandma has to be in bed by 8pm sharp with her shows, and that is exactly how I see Susan😭

Thank you for this lovely ask, I had fun with it <3

[scara-writes]

regress

Knight! Reader x Y! Prince

(gender neutral for readers)

No proofreads. Forgive me for not answering y'all ask/request! I will do them once I'm done publishing the other ocs! (Y'all wilding for yandere gold digger and omega! Lol) this one is short tbh and has another part but I'm unsure about posting it because it was too long. Let me know if you wanna see it.

Warning: hints of death, yandere, psycopath

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!!

You woke up groaning. Your throat hurts, confused at yourself. You never had a problems with your throat. Always hydrated before going to sleep, So why the hell that it feels like its dry at the same time it's not?

It's kind of like itchy.

You went down the staircase, hearing the bustling sound of your subordinate roommates.

"Captain! You look pretty tired today. Did you perha—woah! What happened to your neck?" One of your members looked shocked, their eyes looking at the said neck. The other members in the room looks at you in confusion before their face was the same as the person who asked you.

You raised your eyebrow at him. "What about it?"

You let your calloused hands caress your neck, feeling if there was out of ordinary. "Can some of you hand me a mirror? I am confused as to why everyone looked shocked right now."

One of your subordinates quickly ran around to find you a mirror. When they found it, they immediately handed it to you.

You look yourself in the mirror. Just like their reaction, you were shock to witness it.

"What... How...?"

"...It looks like a deep wound from one of our melee weapon, specifically a knife. Captain. No wounds can someone survive that!" The person sitting at the dining table said as he observe it."How did you got that?"

You shook your head,"I don't know.... I only woke up feeling my throat feels dry and fine at the same time. Itchy I would say, it doesn't hurt. It feels irritating."

"I think you should consult a physician or a doctor for that."

You trace the scar on your neck. Thoughtful, of where had you gotten this. "... I might."

You strolled up to the palace, not getting any breakfast—even dinner last night—and skipping your schedule to train as forgetting the fact that you are late to see your master, so you immediately went to the palace of your prince. The one you serve in your whole life.

Maids greeting you a good morning, and you greet them back. One of them offered you a sandwich, it looks pretty neat and delicious to eat. Drooling at the thought chewing on it. You tried to refuse but they insisted on giving it to you, seeing you didn't get a breakfast and dinner, you looked a little dizzy for someone who trained to endure without food for months. You accepted it along with a water, thanking them, feeling a little hungry and quickly gobble up the food making your way from hallway to the kitchen with them before anyone can scold you for eating around the halls. Parch from the food, you drank the water from the glass and put them on the sink before going back to your task to check up on your prince. You bid the maids a good bye.

Once you reach the room of your master. You saw there was no lady in waiting nor a butler on his doorway. So you knock on the wood, announcing yourself, waiting for your master's response to let you in.

"(Y-y/n)?" You heard a whimpering voice behind the room. It sounded like he was crying. You asked him if he was alright, but before you could get any answer from him, you saw the door being pulled opened and then finding yourself engulf by an arm around your shoulders.

"Mmm sorry—shouldn't doubt you!—my own fault!... Was supposed to trust you—love you so mmmh–much!I-I— don't l-leave m-me—hicc!" The prince cried on your shoulder, babbling incoherent words that you didn't understand. You look bewildered at his sudden burst, not expecting for someone who always smiles and befriend anyone regardless of their status. You slowly went to embrace him, comforting him, feeling him wrapping his legs around your hips and you let him, crying on your now wet uniform full of tears and snots continuing to blabber incoherent words.

You tried to let him lay down to his king sized bed but his grip on you wouldn't let you. So here you are awkwardly patting him on the back as you sat yourself on the edge of his bed instead. You were hesitant to touch his hair, it is against the rules that a lowly life like you has the audacity to touch them especially in their hair, it's a sign disrespect and could lead to a treason. But you decided to do it anyway, he needs your comfort right now and that rule doesn't apply to you if the prince needed it anyway—plus you already broke the rules when you hugged him back.

He freezes up when he felt your hands on his head before slowly taking a deep breath, sniffling, calming down from your touch. He buried his nose onto your neck, shuddering before planting a small kisses from you, whimpering.

"sssorry—hic-!ssorryyso-sorry... louvv you too..m..much.. shouldnn't...leea-hic-!leave me..."

You cannot comprehend what he was trying to say but his action made you surprised, but you let him be for now, continuing patting his back awkwardly because this isn't what you expect first thing of the day when you work.

Prince Rylle must have a nightmare for him to act like this.

"... Your highness?"

You heard him whimpered before leaning himself away from your neck, slowly looking at you. His eyes were puffy, some tears were spilling. Prince Rylle was sniffing and hiccuping from his tears.

You looked away from his eyes, indirectly obeying his older brother's words to not look straight at him. You carefully wipe away the water droplets coming out from his orbs, waiting for his nerves to calm down.

He stayed there at your lap for a few minutes, until he recollect himself.

After wiping his tears, one of your hand went to grab a handkerchief from your pocket trying to rid of the snot that was clogging his nose.

But before you can do that, the tanned male squeaks and tried to push himself off on you, falling down from your lap. Head first colliding on the floor. Thankfully, he didn't bleed.

"Your highness! Are you alright?" worriedly you went to assess his head from the impact.

"I-I'm fine!" He quickly got up, wincing from the slight concussion from his head.

"I apologize, it was my mistake for startling you. I shall be careful next time."You got up from the edge of his bed before stroking his head gently.

He looks at you, the way he gaze up to you seems like he had seen a ghost.

"... Are you really..here?" He whispered. You were puzzled by his question. "... I'm here your highness." Quickly bowing down to his level.

He walk up again to you, requesting if he could hug you again. You stood up and saw in your peripheral vision his eyes were starting to become teary again. His snot were starting to clog his nose, but you let him hold you.

You felt his arms around your waist. Hands firmly grip on your sides.

"... God, I t-thought I lost you." He whispered. Whatever nightmare that was. It must have traumatised him. You felt his tears running down again to your clothes.

"... I'm here your highness.."

"... You're really.. h-here." He whispered.

You patted his back. "... I am here."

"Today is 7th of May, Year..890." You uttered before jotting down the notes for your report. The prince was beside you, silent at his own office. He too is jotting down his report or at least he is, but you felt his gaze on you. You weren't used to the prince Infront of you being silent. He would always filled this room with his chattering, sharing his knowledge to you on what he learned from his teachers—since a commoner like you doesn't deserve education—and sometimes he would always complain about the other nobles being rude to their servants and how obnoxious they were.

So you broke the silence filling in the room. It is unusual for your master to be this silent.... And staring at you for quite some time."Is everything alright your highness?"

He didn't answer. He was still gazing at you.

"Your highness?" You repeat.

The prince snapped back to reality.

"O-oh! Yes! Yes I am! I'm-I'm still recollecting m-my thoughts about my nightmares haha!" His fake laughter died down when his gaze stayed to your neck. He frowned. He was contemplating whether or not he should ask. But he did.

"... Where did you get that? The... Scar on your neck."

You cleared your throat before feeling the scars again. Just like earlier, you didn't felt any phantom pain from it.

"... I would have tell you the reason behind it but I have no idea, your highness. I must have slip a knife drag it on my nec—" You wanted to jest about it but you got a sullen look. His face was frowning even more.

"Please, do not do it again."

"...I... Yeah. I am jesting your highness... I had woken up with a scar already imprinted on my neck." You didn't get a response after that, he avoided his look from it.

You look back at your finished report. Organizing them, putting them aside the table, before standing up. "Umm.. As much as I would like to accompany you all day, your highness. I have business to attend to with the crown prince." You didn't particularly give him the detail why you need to leave, you walked away. His brother technically assigned you on something dangerou—

"... Were you going to assassinate the southern duke who was accused of embezzlement of the empire's treasury?"

Your boots stop clacking on the tiled floor of the room, quickly turning your head back to your master. Whose eyes were blank as if he just absentmindedly told you what he said.

"... How... Where did his highness learn this... Information."

You were supposed to make him believe that everything around him is perfect. Is what your master's psychopath family told you to do. He doesn't need to know everything.

He was supposed to be completely utterly away from it and only focusing on the bright side of the kingdom.

The tanned male before you gave you a nervous smile. You realized that today he is acting weird."No! Nothing I-I was just speaking something ill! It was a mere jest, my sweet!" His hands were wavering as a sweat formed down to his cheeks, when he talks.

He was lying.

"Where did you get that information, your highness?" You looked at him, your body turning to him. Repeating your words.

He gulped, one of his hand pulled his collar a little as if he was sweating from his clothes. You noticed how his eyes were looking everywhere except your figure. He mumbled something before turning back to you, stammering."... Forgive me... I ... I overheard your meetings with my older brother that n-night."

You thought about the meeting he was talking about. It was Prince Rylle's birthday that time and he was at the very center of the attention so none of the nobles or slaves have witness you left to the garden when the his older brother, the crown prince commanded you to follow him there. You made sure before you left, the last time you saw him before you had gone to follow his highness, Prince Rylle was dancing with one of the noble ladies.

So it is not possible that he might overhear your conversation when he had to take turns on the ladies that lining up to have a dance with him.

"But you were in the middle of dancing with the lady Rub—"

"N-no! I wanted to-to find you to accompany me by the garden when you were not in your post! I found myself walking alone in the garden and then I saw with my brother! I promise I did not mean to eavesdrop on your conversation with my brother!"

That wasn't the only thing that his brother ordered you to kill someone. You would have refused if it weren't for the fact that your mother's expenses for her health wasn't increasing. But the crown prince promised salvation to your mother as long as you do what he told you. It was tempting deal but you did it, feeling pressured as if refusing that bastard's command would give you penalty of death. Was that even a deal? Plus shedding someone's blood by your own hands wasn't your forte. You are a knight that was supposed to protect Prince Rylle. You can only immobalize your enemy but you cannot bring yourself to kill.

The duke was not the only one who you need to assassinate tonight and you weren't even sure if he really did try to embezzled the treasury. You witness that old man to be strict, intimidating but he took a great care the people who serves under him and the villagers who were residing in his property. All you heard from his rumors was that he was a good leader and a good provider.

"Was that all you heard, your highness?" You were internally panicking. Not wishing to meet your punishment if one of his family heard about this. Prince Rylle needs to be pure from this world is what his family told you. He needs to be away from these secrets.

"Y-yes!"

"... Can I ask you a favor?"

His soft gaze wanders around your lips before slowly nodding. So you asked him a favor to never let his family knows about him finding out about this.

He frowned as if he realized something. The white haired male stood up from his seat and walk towards you, as he softly grabbed your hands to his. Clasping it.

"Now that Gods favored me, this time I will protect you."

" Of course, darling... I will not let them." He unclasps his hand from yours before giving you a hug. You can't quite hear the last sentence he said.

[dust-tastic-1983]

Life with Turbo on the Internet (x reader head canons)

A/N: First ever fanfic(if this counts???) I tried to keep it in character lmk how I did.... lots of "probably"s in this one. I'm very unsure.

Genre: (Wreck it ralph) Turbo x reader headcannons, fluff and shenanigans! (Hehe that rhymed!)

Summery: He totally lived guys. He survived and escaped to the Internet guys. He's alive and well and living in a shitty website i promise guys (hcs of what I think living on the internet with post-movie turbo/kc would be like) based on this post I made.

You guys live in a website Turbo made with his trial-and-error-achieved coding skills… so its kinda shitty and cluttered. But its cosy and its yours so its fine. It'll probably improve the more Turbo improves his skills, anyhow.

As you'd assume, you'll be spending alot of time on racing related websites and games. He probably got himself banned from a couple games either by messing with the code to make himself better or for harassing players. He'll to try to bypass the bans and sometimes he succeeds! And gets you both banned again because he said a swear word in a kids game.

Of course he will go with you to places pertaining to your interests, whatever that may be. He might be less enthusiastic about it than his precious car games but he'll still go with you because he likes hanging out with you❤ he almost gets you banned again though

You need to stop him please

He's definitely an Internet troll. Would purposefully start or stirr drama on forums he doesn't like using throwaway accounts.

Lots of marathoning various games and movies/shows. Someone on tumblr said that he probably watches car crash compilations and like. Yeah. He'd binge watch the shit out of car crash videos and nascar fails. (I hc that he would enjoy Its Always Sunny but for the wrong reason.)

Lay next to him in a bundle of blankets and pillows use him as a pillow he is warm and squishy and soft and touch starved eating snacks and watching "8 most disturbing things caught on dashcam footage" on YouTube. He's probably the type to talk during movies and videos, there are so meny opinions in his little body and he will not shut up. Though is a bit more quiet when sleepy.

yeah ofc you guys would play alot of competitive games together, both racing games and other. He passes out after trying too hard on project diva.

Turbo messed with the computer avatar... things idk what they are called. Trips em up, makes peoples websites crash, etc. Until one of the ad blockers punch him. Then he stopped.

You guys are probably on familiar terms with Knowsmore. Probably one of the first people you and Turbo spoke to when you first entered the Internet, and still speak to since he helps you to get around. Turbo probably would find him annoying, though.

Same with Spamley. Turbo probably hangs around the darknet because of course he would... He probably would try the "Make money playing video games" spiel, success varies. Spamley, despite being a boyfailure, still knows his way around the darknet (barely like he did make that virus guy throw him across the room) Would also find spamley annoying but maybe less so.

Speaking of the darknet, he would bring you along whenever he'd go. he'd hold your hand or arm to make sure he doesn't lose you. Of course he does a myriad of illicit activities. Learning more about programming and hacking, plotting revenge, probably released a couple viruses in websites thatve wronged him, and- 🤢 and🤢 film piracy 🤮 /j

Idk if he'd try to take over another game or if he'd try to find fame another way... I'm still mulling over it tbh.

The artist Blackthewolf17 who drew a picture of turbo and y/n sitting on a bench listening to Spotify. Just think about it.

Use one of those relationship compatibility websites. Results depend whats funnier to you ;)

Regardless of wether you fled with him from Litwak's arcade or met him in the online world, if your feeling up to it, spend the rest of eternity bouncing around the interwebs with him until entropy takes you both to oblivion. It might be fun...

Thanks for reading! ^.^ hope you enjoyed!

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

I'm having a lot of fun imagining a princess ford scenario. somehow stan gets turned into a dragon (tried to smuggle a cursed artifact and activated it maybe??) and ford hears reports of a dragon out by gravity falls and naturally investigates. he might not even believe it's a real dragon; it's been a lot time since anyone has seen one, people are probably mistaking something else for one. and then--surprise! stan spots ford, nabs him, and drags him back to the castle.

stan is having a great time. tons of treasure, a form no one can mess with, AND his brother is here now where stan can keep him safe?? that's all stuff he wanted even as a human. this is his dream. except for the not having dexterous hands part, maybe, but yknow.

ford would also be living his dream tbh. there's a REALASS DRAGON and it's right here where he can study it and its living habits.

...he would then be significantly less excited to learn that it is not a real dragon but in fact his estranged twin brother cursed into bring a dragon. a curse he should definitely undo before stan gets it in his head to start properly terrorizing villages for their money.

and this would probably be much quicker work than in princess stan if stan wasn't constantly ferreting out cool magic stuff in the castle and dropping it into ford's lap while ford goes "...he can survive another day as a dragon while i figure this out. its fine."

unsure of how the rest of the princess stan supporting cast fit in here. maybe they're a researching party (plus dan the local guide) who were there when ford got Snatched and are like "holy shit we have to go save him". maybe the area around the castle is thoroughly cursed so by the time they get in they're all in their cursed forms and are very displeased to learn that ford was living it up in the castle while they were trying not to trip every magical boobytrap in the grounds.

Oooh. Very fun. I have put some thought into this, as its hard not to think about reverse scenarios.

Princess Ford au, where Stan stumbles upon a creepy demon castle and takes shelter for the night, and upon exploring it stumbles across the amazing treasure hoard. He is instantly all over it, already making plans on how to get it all home with him, when he accidentally triggers some old Bill defense that turns him into a dragon, but because its super old fails to twist his mind to Bill's will. Stan is freaking out, and has to learn how to survive like this.

Ford, hearing about the supposed dragon, is instantly ready to discover the truth. His many years searching for the reasons that magic is slowly disappearing from the world have gotten him no where, so this is as good a lead as any. Surely a dragon, who needs a lot of magic to survive, must live near a magical hot spot of some kind!

Cue Kidnapping by dragon brother, except there's no one to tell Ford that Stan is his brother, he has to figure it out from clues left behind when Stan initially stumbled upon the castle. This is terrible to learn, after a week or two of studying what he now knows is just his brother, who's too distracted with treasure and looking at Ford to have even tried to communicate this, but doesn't deny it when asked.

So now he has to uncurse his brother, except Stan keeps bringing him the most fascinating arcane objects, and surely one more day wont hurt. One of those objects is Fiddleford, who's been deactivated for several centuries and wakes up to the horrifying sight of a strange man messing around in his insides and also a dragon. Stan is sad to learn his new present to Ford is a person, but also still considers Fiddleford to be a part of his treasure hoard, because he is very shiny and Stan found him fair and square. Fiddleford appreciates this less than Ford does, as he is his own robot man and not a shiny decoration, despite how many times Stan tries to organize him into his treasure pile.

Emma-May has been haunting the dungeon for a while, after her old haunt got turned into some kind of residential area and people kept screaming at her, making it impossible to work. Cue romantic meet cute between a roaming spirit and a robot man.

The rest... hmmm. Dan becomes the knight, after hearing about Ford getting snatched, not because he wants to rescue Ford, but because he wants to fight the dragon. This goes about as well as can be expected, with Stan just knocking him over and laughing at him, but he's determined to win.

Bill is the same creep, who now also wants what was supposed to be his guard dragon to fall in line and accept his rule. Stan is not impressed with him, and even less when Ford is impressed with him.

Tate is not born yet, because his parents just met, so i'm thinking Shifty might get pushed back too.

[whumpbby]

TBH I do think some Jiang disciples did survive the Lotus Pier massacre, if only because they had been elsewhere when it happened/too old or too young to fight so they ran (<-which could be a fun thing to grapple with for both the potential run-aways and newly recruiting Jiang Cheng, who was sent away), but it still wasn't enough people to be called Great Sect. So I think as you say they recruited anyone they could, including some rouge cultivators and some from smaller sects that were destroyed or taken over by the Wen Sect. I don't think they tried to recruit - while the Sunshot campaign was going - a lot of people without active golden core, because they would simply have little time to train them between the battles. Some probably did manage to join the Sect like that, and these would probably grow quite close to people who taught them between the fights.

Also Jiang Cheng having to be at least one of these teachers, because they are short on the disciples but shorter in those trained in Jiang style even more so. And how after the war he must've been doing that still, on top of having the sect to run as both Leader and Head Discipline (because Wei Wuxian was going through things he chose to neither explain or acknowledge) (1/2)

(2/2) Also Jiang Cheng, who almost had to watch his brother get caught by the Wen soldiers when he went off alone in the streets, WOULD try and make his disciples work in big enough groups to protect themselves. Also also Jiang Cheng that seems to go off alone rather often.

Oh, and Jiang Cheng throwing his weight around when his disciples get into some sort of disagreement/scuffle every time, and being harsh on the other party (totally not because of finally being able to shield someone he cares for) and never satisfying the questions about the punishment (totally not because of his mother and Zidian and Wei Wuxian). Even when Jiang disciples were in the wrong. Not meaning there was no disciplinary action, just that it never went outside the sect.

Also taking in some non-cultivators that are good at other things (like Jiang Yanli!) or people who lost their golden cores but can still fight and teach (because he remembers not having a golden core and how that felt like; and maybe he realises somewhere along the way that he might've been able to live without one too; which would certainly add even more flavour to learning whose golden core really was inside him all along).

The latter headcanon is also so amazing because resurrected Wei Wuxian would have to confront how he dealt with the loss of his core and finally stop saying he is fine and reflect on his feelings about all this, including Jiang Cheng

____________________________________________________

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me :D I am so absolutely taken over by this subject!

This is why I'm writing these things, I love to discuss them with other peeps:)

Your message pushed me onto another path of wild speculation via the mention of the other smaller sects that JC would approach to recruit - and that pushed me into the economics of Jinaghu and their influence on the post-war lay of the landXD

Which I am putting under the cut, because it's a lot of rambling to get to a point, but that's how it is in these parts;]

Also, the map I will be using, because it's as good as any other:

From the beginning - smaller sects yes, there was probably not a shortage of them that were destroyed by the Wen passing through and by the blowback of the war happening at all. I imagine that anyone from lone survivors to whole families was displaced…

But I am unsure if inviting them in would be a good idea in JC's position, because, going back to the main point - the Jiang were decimated. I can only go by what the story tells us when it doesn't mention any extra survivors - the Wen banning other sects from night-hunts was a nifty set-up for everyone being stuck at home after all - even if, logically, some of the disciples could be in other locations… however, even if they were, these wouldn't be the meat of Yunmeng Jiang. Because…

…random tangent no 1, because this is a low-fantasy setting (thinking of Game of Thrones I am), I am structuring the Sects as Just Gentry. Maybe not kingdoms outright - because there doesn't seem to be enough land between them to cover for their economic statuses - but city-states ruled by aristocratic bloodlines with the actual political power in their hands. Thus, even if the book doesn't really go into it, I'd wager that the region of Yunmeng was run by the extended Jiang family that was living in the capital of Lotus Pier. That's where the disciples were trained - but that was most likely also where the taxes were being collected, where the trade arrangements happened, where the law was being written, higher education took place, it had the best restaurants, etc.

When the Wen destroyed Lotus Pier, they did away with the whole socio-economic and political setup of the region, which is a smart move for someone who wants to set up their own shop.

…And that circles me back to JC and recruiting - he wasn't just gathering disciples to fight, he was rebuilding a whole intricate system of governance from scratch. A system that used to be run by the extended family that he could trust - now was something he was staffing with strangers.

And, from the example of Su Minshan, we know how jumping sects was considered to be in bad taste - it stands to reason that whatever decimated sect showed up on JC's doorstep, they wouldn't want to give up their own name. Just like JC wasn't going to give up his name. These people would be looking for an alliance and revenge, and, most likely, economic help in their own rebuilding, but most of them weren't looking to join the Jiang. And if they were - what was the guarantee that they'd stay? Or that they wouldn't use JC to meet their own ends and leave him worse for it? Or simply take over due to sheer numbers? A valid fear for a clan of 1 that had to seem ripe for picking.

I think JC would be very careful about accepting disciples from existing sects as his own, and instead build alliances with them. A rogue cultivator or a promising youth looking for a place to settle were a safer bet to build the core of his new sect with. Not to say that some of these alliances wouldn't result in the smaller sects merging into the Jiang later on by osmosis, but not at the outset…

Which leads me to believe that JC would want to start taking in and training coreless youths as soon as humanly possible - just to have someone at his back who was OF Yunmeng Jiang and not just allied with them. Maybe not during the beginning of the war, but by the time Lotus Pier was reclaimed things were probably going this way. If you think about it, Jiang Cheng was a fucking powerhouse of a leader. I have no idea when he slept. Probably not at all.

Probably why he was so cranky XD

That's why I am of firm opinion that the alliance by marriage with the Jin sect was a double-edged sword JC wasn't in a position to refuse, but also wasn't in a position to wholeheartedly accept. (And everyone who thinks that JC 'sold' Yanli to JGS for all these doubloons is just plain old wrong). Because now they're family. Only family he has. And that family can slowly find their way into the important positions of his own 'kingdom', because that's how gentry/aristocracy tends to work in a setting putting that much value on bloodlines, and he doesn't have his own family to plug these positions with ahead of time.

And even if JGS wasn't super eager to marry his son to JYL and the marriage was mostly pushed by Madame Jin and Jin Zixuan - it was in JGS's best interests for Yunmeng Jiang to remain weakened and/or under his control. Because….

…tangent nr 2- economics! :D

The plot doesn't go into it, but I like to know, so I was thinking of the actual economics of the magical land of magical peopleXD I don't need them to be detailed, but just realistic enough to make some sense, and serve as a believable background. I'm not going to question the existence of potatoes or other anachronisms, but one thing I needed to answer for myself was - where is all the money coming from???

Like, for real, where is the cash coming from for all the silks, fancy furniture, houses, swords and so on. How are the gentry sects making money?

Again, the genre, like many others, waves away monetary concerns in general - aristocrats are just wealthy, commoners are poor, and Bilbo Baggins is a landlord. OK.

So, taxes. What makes sect a Great one? Land, mostly, it would seem. The amount of land they own. Which means taxes - if we consider the Gentry sects local aristocracy. That tracks, because ain't no way they'd earn that much dosh via night-hunts from a population that isn't really that large. If you look at the approximate map of the whole realm and consider how fast people are moving from one region to another (even including flying swords and donkey-travel) that ain't a lot of land/people to feed all these sects fleeting about between the 5 Majors.

So, my idea is that the small sects do support themselves mostly via night-hunting and general spiritual upkeep of their locals, but the Greats are just aristocracy and live off of taxes and trade.

And that makes me wonder how Yunmeng Jiang managed to recover their wealth in such a record time, and why was the Jin so wealthy for apparently doing so little.

I propose that Lanling Jin grew out of a port-city and made its money on sea-trade. Sea trade was always The Shit if you wanted to, dunno, gild your palace in gold or something.

Yunmeng - with its access to lakes and rivers - was another trade hub of the realm with the additional bonus of lotus, fish and all other crops a well-watered land can give you.

Qishan - being the most West-ward placed of the Great sects we know of, had to have access to - or even monopoly over - the intercontinental trade routes, or a lot of raw materials available. But at the same time, being a mountainous region, it wasn't rich in water and water-intensive crops. I think that once the material appetite of the Wen upper echelon grew, the more they needed to look towards consuming other regions to sustain it.

Annexing Yunmeng was a good strategy from that point of view - it fixed the water issue and also opened new trade routes towards the South and East via the rivers.

But then the Wen were defeated - and all that West-ward trade potential suddenly was left unattended, and JGS would be a fool to let it slip through his fingers. And the only 'large' clan placed close enough to was Yunmeng.

Stands to reason that, somehow, JC managed to wrestle some of that for his own people to refill the coffers. Gusu was too far and not a trade hub by any means, and Nie Mingjue/Huaisang seemed uninterested in reaching out for it, so the only serious competition on that front were the Jin… Which, again, JC somehow managed to outsmart there, because I do not believe for even a moment that a fierce economic battle wasn't fought as soon as the military operations ended.

[isa-ghost]

Yea, undying duo if phil and foolish! Because phil is mr hardcore survival minecraft and foolish is a totem of undying :D

basically, both cubitos have a wack relationship with death (and, I think, aversion to using totems? I know phil for sure but I'm a bit unsure about foolish)

I've done some qFoolish ones before!

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Phil would take another "vacation" with Foolish any time. Especially since the second time around, he actually got to know him really well. He'd like to see him again the next time they're in the same realm. :')

If he wasn't so Fuck The Feds he would consider doing some kind of huge cool build like the kids wanted them to so badly. Maybe in the next realm they'll do it because they won't have some kind of government hovering around. It's just too bad the kids won't see it.

He wishes he could've actually had time to actually enjoy having the titan by the wall but the Feds relocated them all like right after. After the way Foolish and his builds were disrespected last time they shared a realm, Phil is PISSED the Feds had the audacity to basically do the same. Especially when Foolish (kind of) worked for them!!!

Of everyone he got close to on the island, Foolish is one of the ones he wishes he had more time with. He feels like they were weirdly in different worlds despite them both being present so often. That's,, probably kind of Ender King's fault, honestly. He feels like he fell away from multiple people when things got bad.

Tbh he kinda wanted to ask Foolish about wtf he was up to in the last realm they were both in (aside from building) but decided against it bc a majority of his memories from that one are awful. So either Foolish was suffering too, or Phil wouldn't trust himself not to envy him for not having a horrid time.

Insert "MCC is some kinda canon interdimensional death games" hc here. Phil has SEEN Foolish kick ASS in a way that wasn't hysteria-driven Bolas rabies.

I'd like to think there's been at least one event or something where they just sat together and gave each other building tips.

The historian part of Phil's brain wants to talk to Foolish about what his Literally Undying ass has seen and lived through. How long has he been alive?? As long as Phil? Longer? He needs to know.

He's not sure where the eternal banana came from and at this point he's too afraid to ask.

Phil thrives on being a bystander of Foolish and Bad's find each other in every universe curse. He's not sure if the last realm before QI started it or if they've crossed paths even More before QI, but boy does he love getting to watch their beef.

See, Foolhalo might find each other in every universe (derogatory), but Phil knows the REAL one is Foolish and Tina finding each other in every universe (affectionate).

Something something Foolish totem something something Phil refusing to use totems when he's home in Hardcore. Is this anything. Someone cook for me I'm too stupid.

Phil is never gonna understand when or how Foolish became "King of the Capys" or why they chose him specifically. He assumes Foolish just hung out with them the most or something.

He barely got to know Vegetta but he just KNOWS he was Foolish's type. Which is wild bc prior to getting government assigned spouses, Phil didn't even think Foolish was fruity. Somehow. Looking back, it actually kinda makes sense to him. From what little he knew of Foolish before QI.

Inversely, Foolish was absolutely STUNNED to know Phil is some flavor of poly let alone fruity at all. Which is hilarious bc Phil is too tunnel-visioned on other things to try hiding that fact. But no, shark man beyond baffled that Phil lowkey adjusted to having a government assigned husband almost instantly. AND became possessive of said husband over time.

[fisbybaconey]

Lookie look, a middle aged magical man??

1.) Peppino Spaghetti

His wish definetly to be free from debt. Also The newest magia in the city. Peppino's ability is most likely Fortune.

2.) Gustavo

Like i said, he takes Homura's role. Yea sorry no more whimsical silly gnome. He Also jumping from timeline to timeline, desperately to save peppino by not letting him become magia. Tbh i still unsure about his weapon, peeps. I Kinda thinking about scrapping those egg beater-hourglass i mentioned, cuz its doesnt fit him.

3.) Vigilante

Vigi fans, prepare to cry cuz he's taking Mami's role. One of the old magia in the city. If its not his farm burning when he's little, for sure Vigi is not a magia now. Also lives alone since his grandpa John E. Cheese didnt survive the burning incident. I keep thinking about him morely a lone wolf and also discouraging peppino and noisette to be magia, so yeaa kinda mix of kyoko right ere?

4.) Pepperman

Fr i didnt have much to explain pepperman. Most likely becomes magia just for the pride of being "hero"(might changed). His weapon is a big painting tube that dries up easily, pretty good for stunning.

5.) Noisette

Also new magia. Its been a week since noise desnt came to her cafe. She's been calling everyone on her phone, yet nobody too, knows where he's been going. Does he went missing? What did i just thinking? Surely he wont just like that! Soon he will came back, right?...today there is still no sign of noise, where is he? Does he went missing? She just called everyone she thinks have known noise, yet they too, didnt know his whereabout...today a strange talking pie had offers her her something, along with peppino. They said any of her wish will be granted if she agreed to become magia...Could she trust that thing? (Abilty is most likely tracking, or should i say "sensing anyone's current place", pretty helpful for witch hunting)

6.) The Noise (designing his costume is hard bruhhh)

Also one of the old magia in city. (Also i dont fucking know how to make his origin story aaa-) did a pretty good job about him being a magia that even Noisette never know about it. His last battle was in a abandoned building. It was rough, since he just picked up a witch way stronger than him. That witch already retreated to another place, yet there was another new witch residing in tha building.

maybe thats all for the characters yall, god i cant beleive my writing still shitty wtf-

[fallenclan]

OKAY OKAY OKAY I'm getting the Brain Worms now so here's my speculation on which cats are going to form a rebellion against ravenstar :333 hopefully this is placed under a cut properly because hoo boy this is LOOOOOOONG LMAOOOOOO

-honeysong, feathersight, and darkpaw. I'm grouping these three together because they're the ones who have the most setup to rebel against ravenstar and show active suspicion against him. honeysong can see the ghosts of ravenstar's victims, feathersight is the only one in contact with starclan, and darkpaw is having visions. I'm very much expecting these three to be the driving force behind overthrowing ravenstar.

-wolfbite and kestrelfeather. behind the three mentioned above these two have the most reason to rebel against ravenstar. wolfbite has already gotten into a fight with a ravenstar supporter, and kestrelfeather is the nephew of ravenstar's first victim. I think they're still in the beginning stages of suspecting ravenstar and can easily be persuaded by honeysong to join their side. putting them together since they're Best Friends and Should Not Be Separated.

-finchbeak. we're now getting into the more speculative ones, but finchbeak was cherrystar's last apprentice and has been stated to want to become leader, but is too timid to act on those dreams. I think she would see the differences between cherrystar and ravenstar immediately, but be too scared to speak up.

-ripplefade. listen my mans HAS to be at least a little sus of ravenstar. I believe in the power of a manfailure avenging his girlboss. however, I could also easily see him being ravenstar's next victim because of this, so I'm mildly terrified,,,

-yewberry and ivybounce. otterslip's two surviving children, they definetely get some off vibes from ravenstar because of this. ivybounce especially has reason to be worried about ravenstar because her son sleepydawn is one of ravenstar's most ardent supporters and has been critically injured because of ravenstar. however, I'm unsure of how big of a role they'll play in the rebellion because of their advanced age - clangen could easily kill them off before they could play a major role. I'm also giving a minor shoutout to brambletuft, the sister of ravenstar's first victim, but honestly, as much as I want her to beat ravenstar to death with hammers alongside ripplefade, I also want her to spend her retirement in bliss 😩

-buzzardcry. honestly he's a cat I think could go either way due to palepaw being a ravenstar supporter, buttttt I could also see darkpaw confiding in him about his visions and buzzardcry getting suspicious about ravenstar because of his little brother's worry over him. we'll have to see with him.

-toadbelly and sootstep. these two could go either way as well, and tbh I was very surprised to not see them on the initial list of ravenstar supporters, but after thinking about it for a while I could also see them rebelling against him as well. both of these cats have the loyal trait, and sootstep was mentored by littleleaf, ravenstar's brother, which was why I was thinking that they would support ravenstar. there's also toadbelly's unrequited love for cloudtuft, which could lead to him turning to ravenstar if/when the whole thing with pondcloud comes to light. however, I could also see their loyalty swinging the other way. these two are almost certainly going to get together, and I can definitely see their views on ravenstar changing as a result. their loyalty could also swing the other way, towards being loyal towards the rebellion and the promise of a better clan... idk, these two could really go either way.

-boulderstep. he originally came from shallowclan and grew up under the violent and tumultuous reign of violetstar. he probably has the most reason to be suspicious of ravenstar aside from the first five cats because he knows what it's like to live under a not so great leader more than anyone else in fallenclan. there's also the matter of pondcloud, I assume boulderstep would have strong feelings on that when that comes to light. and speaking of pondcloud...

-cloudtuft. I don't think this one needs much explaining. I have a feeling that pondcloud is going to be revealed to fallenclan pretty soon, and the fallout from that is going to make cloudtuft pretty anti-ravenstar.

-and finally, littleleaf. ravenstar's brother, the cat who's been the reason behind many of the awful acts ravenstar has committed, all out of a desire to protect him. littleleaf is not like his brother though. the climax of this arc is definitely going to be littleleaf finding out what ravenstar has done and completely flipping his shit. bonus points if ravenstar somehow manages to drag canarykit into his bullshit.

I am so sorry for the ten million paragraphs I just had a Lot of Thoughts after seeing the ravenstar supporter list (shiverspots... sunnytuft... pepperswipe... jumbletooth... WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY). but anyways I hope you have fun reading my brainworms xdd

-🦝

OOO i love this little analysis,,,, all I can say for now is that you're absolutely right about some of these, and very very wrong about others :3

some little spoilers under the cut

the thing about Ravenstar's supporters is that technically, Most of the clan are his supporters. He's the clan leader, and right now he hasn't obviously done anything that would make them think he's anything more than a little impulsive/overly strict, so they follow him.

The difference between his supporters and his Supporters is that they're the ones willing to take it that much further, for whatever personal reason they have. Levi's in it for the chaos. Flamefall is devoutly loyal to Ravenstar no matter what. In the cases of Shiverspots, Sunnytuft, and Jumbletooth, they're all just morally gray enough that they'll take it a bit further than most cats would. Maybe they wouldn't kill someone if Ravenstar asked them to, but there's definitely some lines they would cross that the majority of Fallenclan wouldn't. As for Pepperswipe, she's more or less the same, with the added bonus of wanting to look after her dumbass brother (Flamefall) who is always getting into trouble.

Hope this helps !

[officialparentofadrien]

𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅

Two years ago, Armin Arlert left you for Annie. You wanted everyone to be happy, so you let him go. Now, a reunion brings you two together once again. Armin and Annie have broken up, but you were not aware of that.

This is Canon Divergence, mostly based on my own OC. Which means that Eren is alive. And there's no EreMika here sorry. I don't really like that ship.

Pairing: Armin Arlert x Fem! Reader, Armin Arlert x Annie Leonhardt (Past relationship) Warnings: Curse Words, Heartbreak, Break-ups, Some mentions of gore, Armin's kind of indirectly a jerk, Mental Instability, Existential Crisis, S**cidal thoughts (For reader but tbh who in AOT is mentally okay?), I love Annie but- Genre: Angst with a happy ending, Fluff, Hurt-Comfort

You sat on the floor of your bedroom. You still couldn't believe what you heard. Armin's in love with Annie? Is that why he's been avoiding you? You cradled your head in your hands, breathing heavily.

"I can't believe this..." You whisper to yourself in disbelief.

Annie? The girl who killed your best friend?? Why is everything going so wrong? You've never felt so alone...She killed your best friend, and now your lover is about to leave you for her.

Who are you, really? What...What are you here for? What's your purpose in the world? Your future...You wanted and imagined that Armin would be in it. But now...It all seems so...So bleak. So far away. What now? Is there really a future beyond Armin? Was it all a mirror of delusion that's now come shattering down on you, and you're forced to pick up the pieces, cutting your flesh and searing scars deep into your soul.

Everything was going so wrong...Because not too long after that, you were all locked in a cell. The cold metal of the locket Armin gave you seared through the fabric of your skirt. You dished it out of your pocket and stared at it. You opened the locket and looked at your and Armin's picture. You both looked so happy and so in love...Then you looked at him from the cell across you, he was staring into nothingness. 'Together For Eternity' it read on the front, engraved on the metal.

"This is a promise, a promise that I will love you forever." You remember him saying. What happened now?

You sat up from the cold, damp floor and threw the locket across you, landing by Armin's feet. He looked up from his feet and at you, eyes wide. "You don't have to be tied to your promise anymore." You say, before lying back down on the floor. You didn't have the energy to argue, to fight back. You'd rather just...lie down. And wait for the end, maybe?

Yet you found yourself fighting back, fighting for survival. Especially after Hange's last words to you before they sacrificed their own life.

"I know it all seems so bleak right now, name. You don't know your place in the world, Death is stomping over the soils we call our home...Your first love just dumped you. But I promise you, there's a future beyond this...beyond that. Beyond Armin. You just have to fight to see it."

A lot happened during the rumbling and after it. When you left Paradis, you were unsure and scared. But you wanted to see it through because like Hange said, you're strong and there's a future beyond the storm.

Now, you find yourself sitting down, drinking tea on the deck of a ship, on the way to Paradis. It's been two years since then, you wonder how everyone is doing?

Historia sent you an invitation, wanting to reunite everyone and have tea. Also meaning that she wants everyone to hang out. You were unsure at first, but then realized, what the hell? Your friends are still there. Even if you've left letters from Armin unread and unopened, you still missed your friends. Seeing Armin would just be like the little thorn on the rose.

But there's no denying your love for him. You still very much do.

As you walk down the pier, you breathe deeply as you see familiar faces and hear familiar voices. The salty sea air and the waves crashing against the shore, the chatter of the people around you, it all played at the same time.

You were greeted with hugs and excited voices. Connie was especially excited to see you, his "bro" as he said. "It was no fun without you here bro!" He said, in those exact same words.

You greeted them all, and for keeping up polite appearances, even though you didn't want to, you greeted Armin and Annie, separately (strangely) with smiles and a calm voice.

"Name. It's so good to see you." Armin says cheerfully.

You nodded, also smiling back. "It's been a while...Commander."

The formal way you addressed Armin sent a pang to his heart. His face fell and his smile became a little strained. He remembers writing letters to you, in hopes of maybe just...maintaining a connection. But every time he sends out a letter, nothing ever comes back in return. He only knew to hope. And that created feelings of conflict inside him. Who did he really love? Did he really love Annie?

He shakes his head. No, it's you. It's always been you. You, who was always there for him whenever he felt like he can't even stand. You, who always swooped in to save him whenever death was marching towards him. It was always you.

But now begs the question...Do you still love him? Would you still take him back? How would he win you over? He has to convince you that he will never leave you again.

He looks on with a longing gaze and a brewing sense of guilt and regret as you interact with the rest of the group. Your smile was so radiant, your laugh was so melodious and you just looked...so, so beautiful.

You didn't willingly interact with him and everyone knew better than to make things awkward by bringing the topic of your past relationship with Armin up.

But then on your 7th night...You stood in the gardens of the inn you're staying at. You couldn't sleep. Maybe you ate too many sweets...But it's DESSERT what do you want to do?? Eat it, duh.

You thought everyone was asleep. You thought everyone retired for the night. But you were proven wrong when a voice cut through the silence of the night.

(To be continued, Part two)

[numberonetacostan]

i’m so glad this blog has became a place for taco hcs to flourish… i think its beautiful and aweosme tbh!!!

anyway i figured i’d throw in something of my own, taco cannot socialize for shit and still is very unsure about physical touch and so i bet she shows a lot of affection through getting gifts! she gets a lot of chocolates and flowers and the like for mic and she likes it as its easy and simple, no need to get all fluffy about it she just gets people things and that demonstrates her love. shes so blorbus.

Hi Taggy!!!!!^^ ME TOO I AM SO HAPPY I LOVE BEING SENT TACO HCS AND GIVING MY TACO HCS AND THINKING ABOUT TACO!!!!! :D IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND AWESOME TYSM EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!^^^^^^^^

TACO LOVE LANGUAGE GIFTING!!!!! ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY!!!!!! She is. Pretty bad at verbalizing (mood) and has had bad experiences with letters, and would 100% need time to get used to (positive) touch again after all this time!!!! And she has lived so many years with barely enough/not even enough to survive that sharing??? Gifting??? For her really is quite the gesture!!! Demonstrates how much she loves and cares about them!!!!!^^

[kitramune]

Popping by seeking your thoughts about Chapter 176: Kagome’s Heart, this specifically:

As we know, it’s a major turning point in the story. Kagome asks to stay by Inuyasha’s side, rather than leave him, the feudal era, and the jewel shard mission behind.

Now this is pure speculation, but I like to speculate. What if Kagome had left? Certainly, that’s an entirely different story, but I’m curious what you think may have happened in this scenario.

Some particular questions I have are:

Would Inuyasha have teamed up with Kikyo to try to collect shards and defeat Naraku?

Kagome was the glue that brought the Inugang together. In her absence at /this/ point of the story (the 3 year separation is different), would they have parted? As in, would Miroku, Sango, and Shippo parted ways with Inuyasha if he teamed up with Kikyo (I don’t see her being a fan of traveling with the inugang)? If so, do they fight Naraku in their smaller group, do they survive, etc.

Would Naraku/ the jewel still have been defeated?

Even *if* InuKik defeated Naraku/ the jewel (I don’t think they would have), how does the story end? Kikyo isn’t alive so she.. dies? Achieves nirvana and Inuyasha just.. grieves the rest of his life or joins her in death? I don’t see a happy ending ☹️

Just seeking civil discussion as always not trying to light any fires xD

Oh man, this is a sad one, let me strap in with a depressing yearning/pining playlist. First off, I think this arc shows a LOT of things about both Inuyasha and Kagome's character, good and bad. Mostly good, but perhaps in bad context. Or at least very sad context. I mean we got Inuyasha going from this:

... to this:

(I know this isn't the same arc but bear with me, the character development is there and he has a similar change of heart here, for her emotional wellbeing, not just physical.) The important thing to note is Kikyou wanted to die at this point, and still to take Inuyasha with her.

And Inuyasha's response was this:

So even if it's born out of extreme guilt and trauma, I find it unlikely they would have fought Naraku at all. Kikyou talks a big game, but first chance she gets she is always trying to call Inuyasha to her side strictly to die, never for his help. (At this point.) Inuyasha more than likely would have been coerced to Hell even against his better judgement. Shippou was willing to leave the group once already without Kagome (after the Sess fight, he only came back cuz of the wolves chasing him) and Miroku is used to being a loner vagabond. Who knows what would happen to Shippou but Miroku and Sango would have likely drifted apart, encountered Naraku, and perished, even if they were together tbh. (Let's face it, Sango's pretty helpless against the Kohaku card.) Even Kagome would have been miserable having her tie to Inuyasha go unfulfilled and always regretting not knowing if everyone was still alive and safe or if she left them to their doom. So with that being said, as much as I love this scene as a pure example of her devotion to Inuyasha, there realistically WAS some pressure on her decision. I think she fully knew Kikyou intended to kill Inuyasha and that he couldn't say no because of his vulnerabilities and perceived superior love for her. (That hurts me to say but it's Kagome's POV.) That's why she had the lines about wanting him to feel like he's allowed to be happy and she wants that for him. She feels that normally, yes, but even moreso in the wake of knowing he'll likely forfeit his life. (I think the anime even emphasized this by adding her saying "You have to know that I want you to live." SOMEONE had to show him they care enough or he'd be too far gone.) The beautiful part is that Kagome DID full-on save Inuyasha's life by making her choice. Because she's unsure if she'll be able to help him enough to keep him around forever, but he's shown an uncanny desire to LIVE for her. Which obviously he continues to show again and again, and is my favorite part of their relationship. An outcast so abused and conditioned to it that the first person to care about him tells him to die and he absolutely will. But that outcast learns he wants to live way more, through interacting with unconditional love. I've said it before but Kikyou to me was always a metaphor for Inuyasha's grief and succumbing to the pain, whereas Kagome was always symbolic for a desire to live and be happy again.

[shipcestuous]

Idk if anyone has mentioned it but this latest season of the white lotus has these three siblings that have very interesting vibes and the two brothers kissed in the most recent episode

Hi Anon,

Yes, the interesting relationships between the three siblings has been mentioned before. I haven't been watching the series so updates are appreciated. It looks look a few of my followers have been watching, so thanks to everyone for the info!

Anon #2: Just saw ur reply to a white lotus ask saying u didn't get any other white lotus asks &😭 I can't tell if that reply was made before or after my ask cuz I just sent a long 1 in, I may cry if Tumblr ate it, pls say it ain't so 😢 (if u did receive my very long ask, I'm the cynical or logical watcher ask- u can delete this message 😏)

Hi Anon, my inbox was empty when I said that (last Monday night). However, I do have three asks from the "cynical" viewer. It appears that the first ask was eaten, and the later three magically appeared at some point after the last time I checked my inbox. (My tumblr inbox says I have several messages that it doesn't show me. I think they're from deleted or suspended blogs. Maybe there are other reasons.)

(Pt 2 of I'm a cynical w.l viewer) Loch is fixated on Sax (his approval, love etc) but he's also starting to exert some control over him: he tries the drugs 1st which pushes sax to try them, he says "I'm gonna take u down" to him which could mean his level or down a peg&he initiates the kiss which are all a perfect toxic storm if they're taking it seriously-But tbh this feels more like very heightened sibling rivalry that'll have their previous dynamic (loch riding passenger, (Pt 3 of I'm a cynical w.l viewer) sax in the driver's seat) flipped&sax losing his power.I mean some of it seems to hint that Loch like likes him (when sax went to the bathroom to masturbate&loch would have watched him do it if he hadn't closed the door, how touchy loch is with him) but I could see the writing disguising it later as hero worship mixed with envy.I hope I'm wrong, I hope now that they've gone there they Really go there but I'm pessimistic 😅 If there's more development in (Pt 4 of I'm a cynical w.l viewer) more development in 3x6&this isn't glossed over I think I can get my hopes up but if it is glossed over&never mentioned again i'm gonna chalk it up to a shock value kiss to get viewers talking 😭

I'm sorry I don't get to see what you say in the first part, but there's lots in the three that did survive. Thanks for these details. Really insightful commentary.

Anon #3: white lotus anon back: the brothers did indeed kiss! twice! unsure if there's going to be much more in the way of direct incestuous action, but with the next episode being called "denials" and the description talking about the older brother trying to move past what he and his younger brother did, we're at least promised some more angst (though i'm hopeful there will be at least a little more beyond the kiss!).

Thanks again for all of the 3x5 info. I'm sorry for not answering asks before the next episode had aired.

Anon #2: In white lotus 3x6, saxon gets small flashbacks to the night before & towards the end- loch while meditating remembers jerking sax off while he's having sex with a girl. I honestly thought saxon was jerking Himself off while they were doing it because it was filmed in the most vague way possible but then I noticed saxons hands were free so.... I'm ..underwhelmed... 🤔 (I expected more&now they're both deep in denial about what happened which would b fine if the vibes were indicating romantic or starcrossed- instead of ~I got drunk at a party&had a fight with my bestie&that fight broke the friendship up~) wanted 2015 godless in twistedmikewhiteHBO format &it's giving: we're 2 episodes away from 1994 lion kings, scar&mufasa on that cliff 😭

I can see why you're cynical. I'll be very interested to see how the season wraps this relationship up.

[neonmetro]

ATILLA IS SO SILLY WHATTT. THE POWER IS SO COOL TOO......the pretty princess ever tbh. Was there anyone Atilla felt bad for "liquifying" and turning into a cocktail ? THE CUTEY REAL

Also, I'm quite curious about Michael.....I know they are probably the original state of Moloch and Arakiep before they split, but I'm curious about Michael as a person and their personality, perhaps their backstory too if it's not too spoilery. THEY ARE SOOOOO CUTE I WANNA SQUISH THEM. THEIR HAIR IS ALSO AMAZING. I WANNA EAT IT💕💕💕💕💕

-paris anon

HEHE!!!! he really is kinda a diva i'm ngl. what do you mean you have a whole outfit just to liquefy people in.

HE DEFINITELY FEELS MORE CONFLICTED ABOUT IT WHEN HE ISN'T STARVING BUT ON THE OTHER HAND HE NEEDS THAT INSTANT GRATIFICATION FROM STARVING. it depends on how long he's known them for, if its just a short time, tough shit get drinked. though if it was someone like viola he'd probably just. lose it.

michael used to be a weapons tester for project martyr along with chemosh, chemosh focused on how the soul input was while michael tested how durable and effective the weapons were and worked closely with azazel 👍 essentially being their closest friend at work they used to be the one who organized a lot of work trips and employee outings and generally was a Nice Guy

nothing is particularly special about them though. they don’t have a lot of hobbies (like peneume.) they like. Working. they actually like the grind it makes them feel fulfilled, and they tend to jump to conclusions…. they hate having emotional responses they usually just disassociate. the only thing that’s kind of special about them is the fact that they were the only survivor of a vagabond attack (aside from reficul, bezaliel, and aishire) and actively ran away

they’re just constantly content with their life. they could vent out any pent up frustrations in a semi healthy way so they found it fine. just fine. its fine. they are fine. as long as they could just get through it and work harder, they don’t need to suffer anymore. they didn't have a lot of plans for life and just. did whatever tbh. they couldn't see themselves at projmar 10 years down the line but they didn't know what their future was

despite this ambivalence, they’re very prone to anger. they dislike people telling them how they should live their life and judging them for not having everything figured out like they’re a child. constantly being burnt out does that to someone

azazel, despite what they say about michael, greatly admires their ambivalence, because ultimately they got to survive while azazel didn’t. michael on the other hand greatly appreciates azazel as a person but only respects them for the work they do. they see azazel as a bit of a loser. (arakiel does not like their memories with azazel of them being so “weak”, and actively insults azazel for it in front of their face.)

both moloch and arakiel have limited memory and michael themselves was pretty forgetful. arakiel specializes in close combat but was given handguns and moloch specializes in ranged combat but was given a spear, michael could use both just fine.

michael had a pretty terrible father and home life as a child and just dove into extracurriculars and school to avoid it all. they got to a good college and had their dad pay for it and they have to live with that fact with the rest of their life still unsure if he died or not but arakiel and moloch are just like i have my evil twin to kill i don’t have time to think about killing my dad rn

[basilibino]

Season 8 was like 6 years ago(I feel old) and I know ppl have differing opinions on the Mr Echo thing (but it was intended, made it to storyboard and blocked animation and then dropped, soooo) but. I can see his recruitment p easily tbh. Bc the whole reason Dr J was in that lighthouse was because he was resurrected, forced there, and ordered to build Skulkin vehicles by Samukai. But Samukai in the flashback we see has already been deposed as leader of the Skulkin/Underworld. Which means the orders to do so most likely came from Garmadon.

And since Mr. E is one of the head honchos, he's likely an early arrival to the team, so I don't think Harumi has a whole lot figured out at this point, she's just got her Trauma and some Bad Influence Friends and an obsession with Lord Garmadon. So. Like. Plausible deniability road trip that she's just visiting important markers of Ninjago's recent past, all of which involve Lord Garmadon in some meaningful way; its sightseeing, its cathartic, and it gives her time to develop her dream Motorcycle Gang/Resurrection Cult. She's not looking for anyone at the Lighthouse, but she is looking for vehicle blueprints so she can be the Koolest leader on the block. But oops she looks in the basement and there's an Echo.

And she's flipping out bc??? A Ninja???? In the Lighthouse basement??? I mean it makes sense that it would be this one but???

Except this rusty old robot has no idea what she's talking about with this Ninja stuff, he's just waiting for his dad to come back.

And Harumi pauses.

Because how long has he been waiting? He's not sure, he had no proper way to measure time in the basement, and he doesn't have the best view of his clockwork heartpiece. But it was after his father saw a strange ship docking; Echo was worried it was the People who had locked up his father in the first place, but instead his dad sounded happy when he saw whoever was out there. It could have been a front, though, as clearly it was never safe to let Echo back out. Then Dr J popped down briefly, while everyone above was resting, to tell Echo he was desperately needed elsewhere, that it wasn't safe to bring Echo, but that he'd be back in no time.

And the pieces are fitting together for Harumi. And she's like. Your dad's dead, bro.

And he's like. What? Did he die doing what was needed of him?

And she's like. Oh, no. He died a few years later.

And he's like. Why didn't he come back for me????

And she's like. Probably because they kept him away.

And he's like. Who's they?

And she's like. The Ninja I was talking about earlier.

And it surely can't be hard in universe to find pictures of Zane and Dr J post s2-pre s3, so she pulls one up and shows Echo who is freaking out bc why is that one kind of like him and Harumi explains that that was the droid his father created first, that he became a Ninja, and that hes probably the one who took their father away and kept echo waiting for years.

But Echo has doubts, shocked as he is abt a new older brother, he wants to believe the good in the situation so he's unsure. But Harumi mentions that the Ninja's failures to uphold more than their self preservation/interests has led to uncountable losses and devastation in Ninjago time and time again, before delving into her own story. And she seems so kind, and so hurt, and I do think there's a genuine connection btwn these two that forms from this shared emotional torment that they decide came from the Ninja, and now Echo is more receptive.

And then Harumi gets to start her Garmadon pitch because wait! If Echo was made here, then that could only have happened because of Lord Garmadon. And she reiterates that he's the reason she and her city could have even survived The Great Devourer. And maybe Echo's family-by-creation left, maybe they were untrustworthy and lacking, but that's OK bc if you look at it all a certain way, Garmadon is more of a father to Echo than Dr J was. And Echo is a vulnerable, overwhelmed mess who just found out his dad fucked off for years without him and also died, and also he has a brother??? Who their dad clearly seems to have favored??? Did they even know about Echo??? Did they delight in their life free of him???

Basically. Kinda Spinel-core but getting abandoned and left completely alone does that to you. Especially when the first person to find you after being abandoned is a deeply hurt and misguided teen who is probably kinda desperate for someone, anyone else to see the Ninja the way she sees them.