#use common sense. like do you really think i'm gonna take you insulting the thing that inspired the art as a compliment

[wereh0gz]

Hey. Hey. Did you know? That to compliment my fanart you don't need to shit on the media it's based on? Did you guys know that? Did you know I make fanart for things I LIKE? Wow. Crazy that I make fanart for things I like and don't appreciate those things being insulted in order to prop up my work as "better"

[mrs-monaghan]

I need advice, please, you never answer my asks, even though you do with tkkrs spewing lies and hate. Please, I used to love every Jikook interaction, but since a while ago, I can't do it without thinking about how 99% of the fandom are tkkrs and hate JM. I want to enjoy their moments like you do, but it hurts so much to see all the hate JM receives. Sometimes I wonder if JK is worth it...like JM would be free if he dated someone else...tkkrs only want JK to be TH's sex toy, and if JM is with someone else, at least we could enjoy Jikook even if it's them just being friends. Or JK could shut tkkrs up sometime and try to defend Jimin...I gave up on TH confirming Jennie, he's a coward and doesn't want to lose his fans (tkkrs), so he's going to keep doing fanservice namedropping JK everytime he needs it... please, what is your secret? how can I enjoy jkk again? why are there so many people that believe JK is TH's boyfriend if JM is the one he loves? really, everything is so frustrating. Poor JM, I'm tired

Maybe I dont answer your asks because you say things like "maybe Jimin should find someone else" Matter of fact, let it be known to everyone: I delete all such asks. Or any asks that sound remotely like anti JK. Jimin loves who he loves. He is head over heels for this man. Get with the programme or move the fuck on. Coz your fav aint never gonna drop JK just coz u want him to. And I personally figure that is common sense. So anytime I get an ask saying JK doesn't deserve Jimin I don't even finish reading that shit. I delete. So I'm sorry you're upset anon, but if this is how u talk everytime then that's why I have never answered u.

That being said, anon pointed out how I have time to reply to antis n tkkrs. I'm sure some of u who have sent me good Jikook asks probably wonder the same thing. Why does she reply to them but hasn't answered my ask from months ago? This is a fair question. Apart from my current situation 🤰🏽 I may not have time sometimes. And some of your asks require research. Some of your asks are so good they deserve time and thought put into them. Meanwhile insulting a piece of vermin or an anti is easy. I don't have to think when talking smack to these assholes. I don't need to research anything. Plus its very satisfying and takes 0 effort on my end. So that's why it seems like I prioritise them.

Answering a good ask and answering it properly, could take all day sometimes. As much as I love doing it, it requires a lot of time and effort. So yeah, incase any of u was frustrated about how u sent a good ask a long time ago and yet I seem to have time for antis, thats why. That, and people who send links. Those asks are easy n take no time at all.

I'm sorry guys. Really.

But anon, u asked for advice on how to enjoy Jikook moments despite the existence of tkkrs.

I will start by taking you back to this post I made when all hell broke loose that one time. It is incredibly important that people remember: your feelings are not Jimin's. This is the man who in 2018 was sent a death threat and he said that Armys were more worried about this person than he was. That he was alright and that no one should worry.

Quickly, lets pay attention to this part one more time

His fans were more concerned than he was. I do believe this to be the case 1000% right now too. You are more worried about the vermin than he is. You are more worried about Jikook antis, than he is. He doesn't care. If he cared he would pull away from JK. If he cared we wouldn't be getting a Jikook documentary. If he cared why would be continue providing Jikook content despite knowing some people will not receive it very well??? Despite knowing there are people who wanna kill him for hanging with JK?

If he cared we would be starved for moments on official content. He would keep away from JK if antis were affecting him. Period. There is no "poor Jimin." He's more than okay.

Anon, my advice is to keep this in mind. This is what I do. Jimin doesn't care, so neither do I.

So instead I laugh at them and mock them because they are just wasting their time and energy. No amount of hate and death threats are gonna stop Jimin from loving those he loves. And this is the truth.

Plus, why be concerned with people who believe members hate each other? Like in what world does that make sense?? Anon, you have seen the fuckery i share on this blog. These people are brainless and stupid. As we speak they claim that wasn't JK with Jimin in Tokyo. How can u take such people seriously??? I know I don't. I can't. For me to even consider the shit coming out of your mouth you have to make sense and tkkrs dont make any fucking sense.

So my advice, this is up to you and you only. Its is up to u to treat these people like the mental cases they are; by not taking them seriously. Report, block and move on. Go watch a happy Jimin compilation or something. If u can't take the hate, then unfollow all report pages, mute key words, stay on the clean side of twitter. Believe u me, it exists. Curate your timeline anon, it is possible. Even on twitter.

I promise you Jimin does not care. He used to but he sure as hell doesn't anymore. You remember this crucial part, and you will be able to enjoy Jikook in peace.

Plus, if you've been paying attention to JK, you will notice he doesn't feed tkkrs. He really doesn't. Not like in the past. And the dude has made it clear he doesn't like them... not even a little bit. And can u blame him? Look at you and how u feel. Now imagine JK, Jimin's boyfriend seeing this hate. Imagine how he feels. You can tell he ain't about tkkrs. Especially this year. Even they know it and so they rely on V for tkk content. (Denying them moments is the most JK can do. Interfering or trying to shut them up wouldn't work. If it didn't work with V, twice, it won't work with JK either)

This is the only advice I can give u. Hope u heed it. Because no one deserves their BTS experience taken away from them. Xoxo

[vacantgodling]

i have. an oc question. my brain is a bit of a pile of mush right now so i'm gonna leave this as an open question, but for whichever oc ship you have on the brain most right now, i'd love to hear about how they express affection for each other. which one is more open about their affection? which one is perhaps more reserved? do they have any specific ways of showing affection to each other?

you 🤝 me brain being mush

honestly i’ve had lath & ensio on the brain for a bit so i’ll do this about them—HOWEVER—i do want to preface that the two of them aren’t really a “traditional” romantic relationship as how we think of it. tl;dr there’s a long explanation of how love and relationships work in terrae — it’s split into 3 categories: bonds-kinship-pleasure. lath and ensio have a Bond which is essentially the all encompassing spectrum between friendship/romance, and is actually separate from sex (pleasure) or like traditional friendship/marriage etc as we think of it. bonds and all kinds of relationships do overlap (pleasure is a common one but it is wholly separate).

ALL OF THIS TO SAY lath and ensio aren’t romantic in a traditional sense but they are Absolutely bonded—to the point that when lath was made immortal, ensio was made immortal with him to be the literal sword he wields (though he does have a human form he can become). basically. do not separate. tm.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

EXPRESSING AFFECTION->

the two of them are extremely teasing towards one another and have friendly ribs and goes at each other all the time. one of lath’s favorite things to tease ensio about is the “sorry” state of his beard (it’s not sorry at all; it’s very well taken care of and usually has braids and beads in it) and how it drives away potential sexual partners (ensio loves to pretend he’s more into pleasure than he actually is. he likes to deflect his real feelings by being like ah what i wouldn’t give to have my face buried in some tits rn and like honestly same. BUT he will always choose lath over anything like that bc. do not separate lmao). meanwhile, en’s favorite insult is regarding how lath hardly blinks (he literally doesn’t. he is seriously 👁️👁️ at all times LMAOOOO. lath does also generally forget to blink it’s wild. he is v much an eagle boy and his guardian wings don’t help). however at the same time, because they also have a kinship relationship (tldr lath’s parents died when he was extremely young and ensio/his family took him in) they also take care of each other as a form of affection. doing things for each other, protecting each other (physically especially; they’re both eventually scouts for the king and apart of the king’s guard before argos fell) but also just existing in the same space. the two of them don’t really have to use words with each other that’s how close they are.

i also have a few quotes to provide u of their relationship tm:

“I don’t see what you’re saving me from then.” Lath said, flatly but not unkindly. “Unless you mean boredom. If that’s the case, see yourself back down and fetch me a jester.”

“Oh ha ha.” Ensio rolled his eyes.

-

Ensio was quick to jump up, taking both the spoon and the jar of stew away from him.

“Stars and hills, Lath, be fucking careful!” He hissed, but the irritation in his voice was sharp contrast to way his hands gently came up to cup Lath’s cheeks.

-

(after kissing lath to help his burning lips)

“Must you always be so difficult?” Ensio murmured, but his voice was low in the back of his throat, low like the way his eyes were almost partially lidded. Lath stared at him, as he was prone to, until Ensio complained and Lath let out a bark of a laughter.

“I’m difficult because it’s you.” He declared.

“Lucky me.” Ensio groaned. He sat himself back in the chair, holding open one arm. “Get over here before you catch a cold.” 

-

“Don’t let it go to your head.” Lath said evenly. “Your beard is still awful.”

“And when’s the last time you blinked this week, owlet?” Lath thought a moment. “If you have to think then that’s the issue!”

-

(in talking about how they never really had sex before they’re about to uhhhh DIE lmao)

“It’s not as though either of us would ever know.” Ensio mused, but not unkindly. “Your horrible habit of unblinking deterred so many.”

“Yet your horrible beard drove off more.” Lath quipped back and the rumble of a chuckle that left Ensio, even as he continued to bleed, made a quirk of a smirk tug at Lath’s lips. 

“I would offer to let you experience it on my own chest, as a parting gift,” Ensio started. “But I’m afraid this armor is too hard to remove one handed.”

(that excerpt is actually really bittersweet but y’all get the picture lemme chill)

-

(after they’re finally reunited after death and lath is a guardian)

After a long moment, Lath pushed back. “It would be too much luck to have you taken off my hands for good.” He said finally and he cackled when Ensio snorted and grabbed him in a headlock, the two of them devolving into wrestling, just like old friends do.

OPENNESS ->

ensio is 100% more open about expressing affection. he’s the initiator in most things; bringing lath soup, kissing his lips to stop them from burning, intimating hugs or friendly arm-over-shoulders. it more has to do with being well adjusted, growing up with his family and many siblings. though lath grew up around them, he’s always been standoffish — which is funny when i think about how his legend has morphed in later terranean history; because basically it merged ensio and lath’s personalities (lath: uncompromising, fierce warrior + ensio: charming and honorable). so it’s really funny when people actually MEET lath in book two and find oh wait he’s weird as shit. it’s not that lath isn’t open about caring for ensio, he’s the most open with ensio IN GENERAL, but when it comes to initiating affection that’s all en lol.

i think in a weird winded way i also answered your other questions but it’s always a good day to talk about lath and ensio they make me INSANE.

[princesssarisa]

Fictional Character Ask: Miss Piggy?

Favorite thing about them: Where to start? Her glamor and confidence. Her hilarious ego. Her unstoppable feistiness and determination. The funny contrast between the elegant, glamorous lady persona she performs and the tough, brash "pig" side she can never quite hide. (Which I just recently realized is relatable to those of us on the autism spectrum trying to perform social expectations). Her unexpected moments of real sweetness and vulnerability. It's no wonder she's such an icon!

I also love that even though she's heavyset, she has total confidence in her own beauty. And even though the other Muppets sometimes make annoying jokes about her weight, she's still treated as beautiful and desirable by men of various different species.

Least favorite thing about them: Her violent streak, especially her habit of karate chopping Kermit. The tradition of female-on-male violence being played for laughs should really be questioned, not just with the Muppets but in all media.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I'm a plus-sized female.

*I have a temper, though I don't let it show as much as I used to.

*I love music and entertainment.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not an actress or a model.

*I'm not attracted to frogs.

*I'm not blonde.

Favorite line:

From The Great Muppet Caper, when she's insulting Nicky Holiday after he frames her for the jewel theft:

"You can't even sing! Your voice was dubbed!"

From Muppet Treasure Island:

"Well hello, Looooong John!"

And when Long John suspends her over a cliff (after Kermit/Captain Smollett had left her at the altar and Captain Flint had marooned her):

"You know, I'm beginning to see a pattern in the men I date."

brOTP: Most of the other Muppets (even if they do sometimes make fun of her, it's clear that they really are friends), and her dog Foo-Foo.

I'd especially like to see her share more friendship moments with Janice, since they're the two most prominent female Muppets from the "classic" era of the '70s and '80s.

OTP: Kermit, in the moments when her temper and his reluctance to commit don't get in the way.

nOTP: Nicky Holiday from The Great Muppet Caper, or worse, Constantine from Muppets Most Wanted.

Random headcanon: Quite a few of the other Muppet pigs are related to her. According to Frank Oz, she has many siblings – part of why she went into show business was because she couldn't bear the thought of becoming an overworked housewife with too many kids like her mother was. It makes sense to think that some of her siblings went into show business too, as did their children. Muppets Tonight made it canon that Andy and Randy, who originally played her brothers in Muppet Classic Theatre, are really her nephews – I also imagine that the two little girl pigs who played her daughters Belinda and Bettina in The Muppet Christmas Carol are her nieces, cousins to Andy and Randy.

Unpopular opinion: I agree with @ariel-seagull-wings that she looks better with curly hair, or at least wavy hair, than with straight hair. That said, her frizzy '80s perm in The Muppets Take Manhattan was a little extreme: loose curls suit her better.

Song I associate with them:

"Mad About the Frog" from the Leslie Uggams episode of The Muppet Show.

"Some of These Days" from the Loretta Swit episode of The Muppet Show.

"Never Before, Never Again" from The Muppet Movie.

"Miss Piggy's Fantasy" from The Great Muppet Caper.

"I'm Gonna Always Love You" from The Muppets Take Manhattan.

Favorite picture of them:

[snake-shifter]

K I'm bored and have thoughts specifically about Welcome Home and the recent gtlive video on it and y'all... I'm tired.

BUT before I begin I will state my bias, yes I am a (adult, this will come up) fan of Mat and game theory, this isn't gonna be me white knighting this is more of a vent about other fans.

So ever since the gtlive I've seen plenty of posts about it in a 50/50 split. One side being worried or upset about the coverage because Mat is a big youtuber and the welcome home community (and especially the creator Clown) are in need of a break right now; and the other side is trying to descalate the reactions and explain how Mat covering the project is not the absolute end of Welcome Home (abit of an exaggeration I'll admit).

As you can tell, this falls into the latter; however the first thing I want to say is that some of the concerns are valid, again Clown and the fandom are in need of a major break (and frankly some of you also need an etiquette lesson) and the timing of the video is very poor, another concern is how Mat and his fans may accidentally cross the boundaries that Clown has set, again these are all completely valid concerns.

However some of y'all are blowing this way out of proportion and being really mean about it too. First of all Mat went into the video completely blind otherwise there wouldn't even be a gtlive about it; he had no idea about the issues in the community or Clowns boundaries at the time of the video, the only ones who would know are the fans who mentioned it in his comments and his team members who take those recommendations.

I'm not saying that the fans or even his team are completely at fault here, but to put the onus completely on Mat is unfairly shifting the blame.

Another thing that, honestly kind of pissed me off a little, were alot of posts with people saying that Mats "children fanbase" were going to overrun the community now.

First of all, Mats channel has been up for what? 10 years now? He has plenty of adult fans (told you it would come up) who know how to act appropriately, second of all just a glance over the comments and you'll see alot of people, who are likely also fans of Mat, talking about Clowns boundaries and how to be respectful.

But beside all of that y'all are saying "child fanbase" as if "children" (bc children is a VERY broad term) don't know about Clowns boundaries or can't respect them, which is honestly kind of insulting, yes kids and teens can be dumb, and I say that as someone who was incredibly stupid as a teen, but not all kids are as disrespectful or unknowledgable as you're making it out to be, plus Mat has 17.4 million subscribers do you really think that all of those people are A. Children and B. Gonna be horrible shits to the Welcome Home community?

K one more thing I've seen people upset that Mat kept using the term cult to describe what he thought was happening within the story, again a valid concern, cults are a very real very scary thing that people have to deal with.

Again, this isn't an excuse this is just an explanation. 1. Mat went in blind, he had no idea what the story was like, it could very well be that the letters that the people behind the (in story) Welcome Home project are getting are from some kind of organization we don't know.

2. Unfortunately cults are a very common "trope" (cliché?) In horror media, this isn't always bad but alot of the time it's less midsommar and more Halloween the curse of Michael Myers if that makes sense, it wouldn't be wrong for one of Mats first thoughts to be a cult, especially since he does videos on media with cults in them.

K I'm done, I'm typing this on my phone my fingers hurt goodbye.

[finitefall]

you dont want to talk about things when you know its problematic. sorry but youre 30 and you just let ppl insult others for you? black stans all think aemond deserved it but you dont want to look bad so you let others do it for you.

I'm gonna answer very clearly to this, anon, both for you and anyone else thinking the same thing. I will not answer a second time, so take the time to read it, or don't, but if I get another message like this one, I'll delete it. So I suggest you do take the time to read it, and to understand it.

Point #1:

I do talk about things even when they're problematic, even when it comes to characters I love. But our definition of what's problematic is probably not the same, since for Greens stans I'm automatically someone who is problematic herself. I've never whitewashed my favorites characters or ships, and since you're talking about HOTD: I never said that because there's a right side, said side didn't do anything wrong. I even said Rhaenyra was a tyrant, because it's the truth and everyone who has read Fire & Blood knows what she's done during her reign. Just because she's one of my favorite ASOIAF characters doesn't mean I think she was a really nice person and a good queen. I guess that's why it bothers me when I see comparisons to Daenerys, even though they have parallels, because unlike Rhaenyra, Dany is a hero, not a tyrant.

Point #2:

Not all people who are team Blacks think Aemond deserved to lose an eye. Some people did say it, yes. Just like some people said that Luke deserved to die, or to have one eye removed too. But that doesn't mean all people who are team Greens think that, either, and I'm not gonna accuse every Alicent stan or everyone who loves Aemond to have been delighted to see Luke die. It's called common sense to realize that not all people, even those who agree on many things, do not share the same opinions and feelings on literally everything.

Point #3: I don't let anyone answer for me. I answered about a scene and doesn't feel the need to repeat myself or to talk about one scene to death. People who disagree with me are welcome to disagree, but there's no point in telling me again and again that I should have a different point of view. If we're not gonna agree, we're not gonna agree. Why should I argue with someone for I don't know how long about the same thing? So we can both end up losing our calm, be rude and insult each other? I'm not interested in doing this.

Point #4:

That being said, everyone has the right to comment my posts, add text and/or tags when reblogging them. I haven't seen someone saying something I don't agree with, but they also have the right to speak for themselves. If I don't agree with what someone is saying, I'm either letting it go because as I said, I'm done with this discussion about that scene, or if it's something I'm absolutely revolted by, I'll unfollow them (which didn't happen). So yes, you can assume that I agree with what's been said on the reblogs of my posts, even if I didn't confirm it.

Point #5:

Yes, I'm 30. And? If you look at most blogs around here, it's rare to find an age, or a name. I'm one of the people who say their name, their age, their nationality and their gender. I like that people who talk to me know how they can call me, know they can speak french if they want to, know they're not screwing up when they use she/her pronouns. I also added my age because I like people to know a little about me. Many people really want to be anonymous on tumblr, but it's not my case. The point is, you have absolutely no way of knowing the age of those other people you mention. They could be older than me for all we know. You seem to be under the impression that they're all children and I'm responsible for them, but I'm not their mother. This works the other way, too. When I reblog a post, what I say and how I tag it is my responsability.

Point #6:

This one is actually for my followers and those who reblogged my posts. I didn't read anything I do not agree with. It could have been the case, but unless I missed one (because I did read what you wrote), you can safely assume we're on the same page. You haven't done anything wrong, and it's not your fault if you're being compared to children or brainless people who just follow my unspoken order to go after others. You're being insulted too in this message, and it's not okay.

[wherethegravelsthin]

now that the dust has largely settled on the conversation (and I've gotten my Taylor Swift eras tour tickets) I wanna briefly touch on the "fat" scene in anti hero as a 250lb+ woman who is a huge Swiftie and has been since literally the debut era. I'm gonna put this under a cut bc it's long but it's important to me as a fattie and a swiftie to say something on this

So the word "fat" has two uses, right, in our decrepit society. The first use is just a descriptor, and it's one I'd use to describe myself. I am a fat woman. That is just a descriptive fact about my body. Buuuut.... because we live in a society that idealizes thinness even to health-complicating extremes, being fat is often considered a derogatory thing. I'd say to my coworkers that I'm fat and they'd always respond, "Oh, you're not fat!" because they think I'm using the "insult" version of fat, instead of just, saying that I'm fat, because I am.

All this to say is that there is a lot of touchiness about the word fat and its uses, and so you need to take that into consideration when looking at Taylor's original use of it in the Anti-Hero music video -- and I also wanna say when I watched the original version I wasn't even thinking of fatphobia and it honestly brought me to tears because, believe it or not, I've struggled myself with disordered eating and restrictive patterns.

But I have finally decided I too have/had an issue with her using the word "Fat" on the scale, and I'm glad she changed it, and let me explain why: because the word "fat" on the scale, since it was obviously not referring to physical size or description (not to be controversial, but Being Fat isn't exactly a struggle Taylor Swift can claim), it had to be referring to the derogatory usage of the word 'fat', and, yeah, it kinda makes sense for us fatties to be sick to death of thin people being like "the worst thing that we could ever envision happening to us is that our bodies will look like yours!". like. C'mon.

I saw a lot of "this isn't fatphobia this is ridiculous activists are going too far" when the drama was happening which made me unhappy because I think we've come pretty far on most micro aggressions and discriminations against marginalized groups in our society, but fat people does continue to be a sticking point for many. C'mon. I literally have two shops at my local gigantic mall that I can shop at for clothes, and I'm not even that big of a fat person. There are fat people bigger than me. I have not faced years of medical discrimination and bullying at the hands of my peers for thin people to decide what is, and isn't, fatphobia.

It's just really sad, ultimately, because disordered eating comes from, at its heart of hearts, a fear of being fat. That statement, "the worst thing that we could ever envision happening to us is that our bodies will look like yours", how many times in my career as a barista did I ask thin people if they wanted whipped cream and they'd laugh and say "ohh nooo I shouldn't" when I am literally the size I am standing in front of them. Why shouldn't you, Susan? What are you so scared will happen if you dare to have whipped cream on your stupid fucking latte. Do you think one latte and that's it, you'll look like me for the rest of your existence? Being fat is the most common fear among thin people in our society, and it's so normalized, and it shouldn't be. The diet industry is worth $8 billion annually, and that price rises every year we don't scream about how when fat people are given gastric bypass surgeries their suicide rate JUMPS up.

You see this a little in Miss Americana, when she's talking about her disordered eating habits, which again I relate to, but she says, "it's better for people to think you look fat than to look sick", as though being fat is, again, a bad thing. It's not. Like... I'm hardly ever cold. I have so much room for all the tattoos I want. My titties are enormous. My double chin and my big belly are not character flaws, they're body parts. It would make me happy to see more fat acceptance in the Swiftie community. The first step towards getting over our fear of being fat has to come from real acceptance of fat bodies. That is the only way we take on disordered eating, the diet industry, all of it.

[sepublic]

No really!!! And what gets me is that the OG ninja literally retired so like. Who else was gonna do it? Who else was going to pick up the slack and protect the innocents? Plus it was pretty nice to see people actually be inspired by the ninja's feats to take initiative into their own hands, instead of just depending on the ninja to save everything for them; The ninja are just six people (five, at the time) and they have a few allies but still. It was nice to see the common folk reciprocate their selflessness. I was pretty baffled by the vitriol towards the new ninja, it's petty to be offered help only to automatically interpret that as an insult.

I admit those feelings kinda changed when it became clear that the new ninja were cops to a T who were willing to arrest the ninja without hearing them out; But that's my own personal stance. With how the narrative frames this sort of thing as ultimately an understandable mistake that even Wu is low key guilty of, I don't think you're meant to hate the new ninja for that, and it's not as if the OG ninja could've known about it when the season first began. It just feels weird to see them demonized. By that logic, Arin is also an impostor... But he isn't treated that way, which proves that Dragons Rising is written by different and better writers.

Of course, then you remember Nelson who wanted to be the purple ninja well before Crystalized and nobody gave him shit, and he was by the same writers for S15. Hell the very first season gave us Samurai X, a hi-tech rival whom the OG squad got jealous of, only to realize they had to get over themselves, and X ended up being Nya who became an official ninja herself!

The new ninja in Crystalized was such an obvious, hypocritical case of protagonist-centered morality where you're expected to hate these new characters for being opposed to the heroes. Except they aren't even that opposed to the ninja, at least not the sentiments they stand by? The writers want you to hate them I guess, but they don't actually provide any real reason beyond framing.

And then there's the other interpretation I'm replying to, which is that the OG ninja were actually being set up to realize their mistake, which sits much better with me; It feels like setup for Dragons Rising the very next year, with both the characters and the audience being introduced to, and accepting, the idea of a new generation of ninja. The OG ninjas' initial hostility is meant to represent the fandom's, only for them to get over that as a message to the fans themselves.

...Except Crystalized just forgets about the new ninja and off-handedly 'resolves' the storyline by turning them into crystal zombies. Same with how the mayor just skedaddles and is never heard from again, or Hounddog McBrag just disappearing only to return to inconvenience Lloyd in a situation where it really makes no sense.

(Remember what I said about how the new ninja storyline could've been a meta lesson for fans to accept a new generation of protagonists? Given the complete failure and outright demonization of that idea in the actual show, I guess it's no wonder some are still toxic to the idea of Arin and Sora.)

It feels like the writers were trying to set up something with a Mayor-Cop subplot, and/or it was just shoehorned in to buy time for the setup of the actual villains, and when the Crystal Council properly shows up they just. Dropped/forgot what to do with these lamer guys. Which makes me say they shouldn't have set them up to begin with, and instead devoted the first half of Crystalized to actually fleshing out dynamics between established, returning characters.

The thing about the Neon Ninja is they Are competent and capable, they truly are, but for some reason the show deems it necessary to vilify them for Daring to be better at things than the ninja??? What's up with that writers. Why is that necessary. At all.

[iztopher]

the "if you ask me, te'ijal and galahad are both aromantic" post

happy pride to ME (and to @snowsheba who encouraged me to write this >:3c)

one of my favorite and most foundational headcanons is that both te'ijal and galahad are somewhere on the aromantic spectrum. (fwiw i like aroace galahad and very squiggly aro bi te'ijal)

and i could put each of those thoughts in separate posts, but frankly there's gonna be so much overlap - because their relationship with each other is such a big part of it - it makes more sense to put it together

warning: this post is SO LONG (1039 words under the cut) i'm so sorry i have so many thoughts on this topic. also, aveyond 3 and aveyond 4 spoilers!

i'm gonna start loosely with galahad because that headcanon came first, in 2013. my best friend came into my ask box like "arospec galahad who conceptualizes this fairytale ideal of romance and does not fit into At All" and they were SO RIGHT

galahad is such a rigid person. he internalizes rules about how the world works and refuses to adjust his perspective ever, at all. it makes so much sense for amato/heteronormativity to be one of those, for him to decide his feelings aren't actually decided by how he feels but how other people in his situation would feel, how he thinks he should feel.

(this also, not going to lie, ties into my headcanon that he's autistic, because in my experience as an autistic person you tend to not really understand how a lot of social constructs (which romance definitely is!) work and try to reference other people for them)

which is to say: arguably the most aromantic thing galahad does in canon, to me, is switching on a dime and suddenly acting like he's in love with te'ijal the moment they're human. it has Never read as genuine to me, even when i was like, 11 years old playing the game for the first time. i've always read that as him thinking "okay, I'm human, I'm married, my wife is human, clearly this adds up to me being in love with her. it has to, because that's how the world works"

and it's not, and I love that! 1) because there's a lot of potential to dig into for how it impacts their relationship and both of them individually, and 2) because I'm so used to the trope of romance being the Proof that someone is human and complete and I love the idea of someone operating under that logic and it explodes in their face

on the flip side, te'ijal's response to that being disinterest and disappointment says a lot about her, too, and while part is she's a vampire and perceives relationships differently, i like to read into that as her being aro, too. it's a fairly common aro experience to be "crushing" on someone and then they return your feelings and suddenly you lose interest or become actively uncomfortable with the whole ordeal

not to mention te'ijal canonically, blatantly misunderstands romance. in the promotional interviews for aveyond 3, te'ijal recounts how she tricked galahad into marrying her and tops it off with "it's a romantic story, don't you think?". she thinks of insults as flirting, and when she is genuinely flirted with, it goes over her head and/or she doesn't acknowledge it.

shopkeepers flirt with her fairly often and she makes no more to recognize it

galahad calls her "my love" and all she can think about is that it isn't "spawn of evil"

the one exception to this is john, who asks her to kiss him, and she responds "you don't value your life, do you, uplander?" genuinely i cannot tell if this is her expressing disinterest or trying to flirt back. who knows with te'ijal.

but by any means her relationship with, well, relationships, is clearly her own. it's very easy to take that a step forward and decide that part of what makes it so unique is that she doesn't experience the feelings a lot of other people do that makes them easier to sort or interpret.

i would also go ahead and argue that marrying someone who hates you, partly because you think the fact that he hates you is endearing, works very well for an aro read on te'ijal. te'ijal is canonically not interested in a conventional romantic relationship! if she was, she would not have picked galahad!

te'ijal wants "romance" and a "relationship", but with a misunderstanding on what those actually entail, and without any of the usual connotations of either of those things.

...and while i'm reading too deeply into canon, i'm going to swing back to point out that galahad never gives indication of wanting a genuine relationship, either. galahad complains all the time about how much te'ijal ruined his life, in all the different ways, and he deserves to, she did, but he treats the wedding as one step in the middle of many and never points out that she, theoretically, stopped him from pursuing any other relationships. that is not on the list of things that galahad minds about being married to te'ijal.

this is skewing long and also kind of negative, so i want to wrap up on a more positive note, which is why these two mean a lot to me as reading as aro, which is:

i would argue that ultimately, te'ijal and galahad's relationship does not seem canonically romantic, especially after aveyond 4. i mean, arguably their healthiest, most "that's actually kind of sweet" moment is when galahad breaks up with her. but even before that, their relationship never had anything that firmly set it as romantic. the things that normally would - being married, te'ijal calling galahad's behavior "flirting" - was clearly not, or at least more complicated, in context. which isn't to say it can't be, but like - we don't know. canon definitely doesn't seem interested in giving a long term answer to that question.

the only people who know exactly what is going on between te'ijal and galahad are, well, te'ijal and galahad. and that idea of "my relationship is my own and my partner's and nobody else's to quantify or understand" resonates so strongly with me as an aromantic person and makes this relationship, despite being chaotic always and awful frequently, probably the one i relate to most personally out of all of fiction. i mean, where else am i gonna find a guy calling a woman he isn't in love with and isn't even technically legally married to his wife every time he talks to her?

i just really, really love te'ijal and galahad each with their own relationships to relationships that somehow helps them stumble into something that works for the both of them by throwing any idea of convention out the window and just kind of trying to make it through eternity together in the way that makes sense to them.

[cotton-candy-in-a-thong]

My opinion to xmichaelmyers' analysis of Bo and Vincent (House of Wax 2005)

Okay so to start off, I'm gonna just say that xmichaelmyers' opinion of Bo and Vincent is definitely valid. Everyone is free to interpret whichever character they wish to analyze. Xmichaelmyers is a pretty solid horror blogger who's objectively talented at both writing and discussing the psychology of big daddy slashers. As a reminder to everyone, disliking a character is totally fine. This post is just my opinion of xmichaelmyers' post regarding why they don't really like Vincent Sinclair, or how the fandom goes about Vincent (to be exact). If you guys can, be sure to check out xmichaelmyers' blog as they've written lots of lovely slasher work!

Now with that out of the way, let's dive into my opinion regarding xmichaelmyers' post.

>There’s just a lot of bias towards Vincent and people tend to look at him as a previous uwu baby boy and hate Bo because he yelled at Vincent and was so-called “abusive”

I both agree and disagree with this opinion. Yes, it does feel weird to see people treat Vincent like he’s actually innocent, but I don’t feel as though people actually hate Bo. In defense of people calling Bo abusive..well I don’t think they’re really wrong in the case we see Bo yelling at Vincent. I mean, let’s go back and talk about the scene.

Vincent gets done using the truck to arrive with the fresh corpses of the teens who decided to fuck around in Ambrose, while Bo is clearly pissed about the whole ordeal with Carly and Nick. Bo calls Vincent “stupid” and asks what’s the matter for him for deciding to use the truck around Ambrose without Bo. In the killers’ perspective, what was Vincent supposed to do? Bo was busy chasing Carly and Nick, while there were other visitors in Ambrose who could’ve easily blown the murder-wax art system thay had going on. However, Bo doesn’t see this, decides to insult Vincent’s intelligence and proceeds to call him a “freak”.

Ignoring that Bo and Vincent literally kill people, let’s try to put this in another perspective. If you and a sibling or a friend had a business you both loved, and you were forced to step out and take initiative in getting some shit done, how would you feel if your friend was pissed about something at the moment and decided to get mad at you for doing work without them even though they were too busy? It doesn’t make much sense, right? It would hurt anyone’s feelings because let’s be honest, that WAS a mean thing for Bo to do even if he was badly injured. By mean, I mean verbally abusive. You don’t call someone stupid and a “freak” for simply doing what they “had” to do.

>when there’s no other evidence towards that other than the one scene where Bo gets upset at Vincent for leaving without him, but then becomes extremely apologetic and mournful towards his brother.

Honestly, this behavior is actually quite common amongst abusers. It’s like a cycle of manipulation and emotional outbursts. The abuser takes their anger out on who they’re abusing. However, the abuser realizes that they can’t just keep “punching” the person they’re abusing if they wanna keep them around for more punches, and thus starts to randomly treat them nicer. The abuser suddenly treating their victim with kindness despite the previous behavior is the manipulation aspect of the cycle/relationship. With kindness, this often tricks the victim into believing that the abuser isn’t “all that bad” and is capable of being trusted. Of course, after the kindness is more abuse since the abuser metaphorically built the “sandcastle up again, just to kick it down again”.

>From that scene alone, it’s clear Bo is just protective of Vincent and scared of people finding them out, yet the slasher fandom still tends to want to look at Vincent as innocent and coerced into doing what Bo wants, when in reality we don’t know who’s idea it was to start killing people and throughout the entire film, Vincent is the one butchering the teenagers; Bo doesn’t kill a single person.

Okay, let’s say that Bo really believed in protecting Vincent out of genuine love. Does that really absolve Bo’s actions of being abusive? One could say the same for toxic mothers out there. “They're just trying to protect their ‘baby’ from the dangers of the world”, when in actuality, they’re hiding them from the world and suffocating the chance of having a healthy understanding of it. Yes, in this case, the abuser does love the person they’re abusing. However, what they’re doing to the victim still isn’t right.

While it’s true that the film doesn’t explicitly state whose idea it truly was to start butchering people for art, Bo is just as much in this hellhole as Vincent regardless of who introduced the idea first. I’m also skeptical of the argument that just because Vincent is the main one we see doing the kills in the movie, that Bo somehow has never killed anyone before? Yes, Bo fails to kill a single person during the film, but who’s to say he’s never murdered a person before the events of the movie?

First of all, Bo (aside from Lester) plays the part of luring people in. Right away, he’s not innocent. Secondly, we see that he has polaroids and a dirty, cum-stained mattress in his little sex-dungeon while he’s taping Carly up. If this set is trying to imply anything, it’s that he was not only going to sexually abuse Carly, but that Carly is definitely not the first person he’s brought down there. Lastly, Bo was ready to shank the fuck out of Nick just before Carly screamed, and was ready to blow their damn heads off in the theatre. The investigators (if I recall correctly) stated that Bo and Vincent have been killing people for years. How does it make sense to assume that this is the first and only time that Bo has ever even attempted to murder someone, when what we’ve seen practically screams that Bo has most likely got his hands red and dirty in the duration of his life?

>Also, Vincent is far more manipulative than Bo, whose abrupt and forward with his motives.

Yeah this doesn’t really click with me. How is Vincent more manipulative than Bo when Bo literally used his good looks to lure in visitors. Vincent doesn’t get to walk up and be like “hey y’all what’s going on” while murdering the shit out of visitors after they trust him because of his disfigurement. Vincent is seemingly forced to only interact with visitors when it’s time to kill them. Wouldn’t it make more sense to say that Bo is the more manipulative one for having the best ability to manipulate (out of all the brothers) in the first place?

>I’m also not attracted to Vincent in any way and don’t understand why he’s so admirable, but that’s your guys’ business, like I don’t care but just stop making Bo look like such a terrible person when in reality, Bo–throughout his whole childhood–was deemed problematic, was emotionally and physically abused by his parents and disregarded by his family while Vincent was hailed as the perfect child, a saint, a beautiful angel, and received all the love and care from his parents.

Again, I don’t really see people saying that Bo is a terrible person other than when fans address the scene where he calls Vincent “stupid” for literally just doing his “job”. Again, because Bo WAS being a bad person at that moment. I also have to object a little bit with the part regarding their childhood.

Majinkura, a fellow horror blog, has provided the fandom with prop photos from the movie (you should definitely go check out their blog too):

I do agree with xmichaelmyers explaining that Bo was abused. He was, if the opening scene was anything to go by. However, I think that as much as Bo was abused by his parents, that they did try to treat and love him despite their unhealthy methods of punishment (the photos showing kid Bo having fun) So while I’m not justifying how Bo was abused growing up, I’m trying to say that abuse wasn’t exactly his entire childhood. As for Vincent, I think there’s more to how Vincent was treated growing up other than “oh, he was spoiled”. I mean let’s really think about it. Vincent was given a mask, by his mother, to hide his facial disfigurement rather than being taught to accept his appearance for what it truly is. I think Trudy and Victor were more condescending to Vincent than what’s obvious. One can argue that Vincent was bullied by strangers and schoolkids for his looks growing up, and I don’t doubt that. However, is teaching your kid to hide their real face to avoid shitheads who’ll bully the way they look a brave and loving thing to do? For Vincent, I see his childhood similar to those who have grown up with parents who were always fixated on the way they looked, which is not a psychological walk in the park.

>Bo also witnessed/found his father after he shot his head off and witnessed his mother’s deterioration/death. He’s plagued by abuse and mental illness, but yeah. He’s the monster. If anyone deserves sympathy or has any valid reason for being angry, impulsive, or emotionally fucked up, it’s him. What’s Vincent’s excuse? His face is a little fucked up? He has to wear a mask? K

Yes, it’s true that Bo has definitely witnessed the suicide of his own father and the mental deterioration of his mother, but Vincent and Lester are also his brothers. For all we know, they all could’ve walked in and saw the remains of their own dad. Again, I haven’t really seen anyone who’s calling him a monster for growing up with two awful parents. I just see people calling him out for being a dick to Vincent when he didn’t have to be. Again, Bo WAS being a dick in that scene lol.

Also, what the heck is up with the way Vincent is getting dissed in those last sentences lmao. I mean, describing Vincent’s face as being “a little fucked up” is the understatement of the month lmao. As one user I can’t remember put it, “half of his face looks like hamburger helper”. And really look at it..his skull area looks kind of caved in. For all we know, the surgery could’ve left his brain injured, and this thought-process hindered. And all of that is without even getting into the well-known phenomenon of people harassing, dehumanizing, and isolating those with facial disfigurements. Not saying this specific example happened to Vincent, but there are people with disfigurements who are literally told to go k*** themselves because of the way they look. Just the anxiety of having to go through that, if you’re a person with a defect, can really get to your head. Especially if your own mother encouraged hiding your true appearance from the rest of the world. Especially if you’re called a “fuckin’ freak” by your own brother.

At the end of the day, it's okay if you, your friend, or if anyone doesn't like a character. We all have different brains, and the world would be boring if we all agreed on everything. However, this is just my own thoughts regarding xmichaelmyer's strong opinion regarding these two serial-killing hillbillies...or rednecks..I dunno I forget the difference between the terms lol

Anyways, have a good day, everyone! And remember, stay horny for slashers.

[punmster]

The first of many (hopefully) advices from an idiot...writing characters that drive a plot

I'm too fucking tired because tumblr deleted my first draft so here's a bullshit shorter version of what I was gonna post before it got yeeted into oblivion.

So here's my shitty understanding of how to make sure your characters aren't cardboard being thrown around by the plot and to develop that middle bit of the story nobody seems to know how to do

First of all, understand that likes, dislikes, gender, sexuality, etc. don't really matter unless they are the focus of the plot. In fact, they are typically results of the plot (eg. a character likes choccy milk, so rejects the strawberry milk that is poisoned...using red wine vs vodka or goat cheese vs rat cheese will work just as well)

With that in mind, here are the 9 things I believe to be necessary to write a character that influences the plot (personality affects plot, my friends), and therefore to understand how your plot may flow realistically and without OOC

Note that you can interpret these categories as you like and can ignore the starter questions I added, and I recommend writing whatever you think is relevant while always keeping in mind the extent to which these things apply (hence why I didn't just put a list of character traits or a list of character dev questions, which I think are either too vague, too specific/narrow, or too absolute for making realistic characters)

Here's a character sheet you are free to use, print, open in MS paint, put in a google slide like I did (with credit):

Rank: Authority. 

I have 3 P's, one of which is position. This means things like status (a wanted felon can't do as much as a knight captain or prince), relationships (the prince might not be able to go against their fiancee from the duchy), and literal physical position (can't help a problem in Russia if you're in Africa)

Class: General purpose of the character

Listen, why have a character if they don't even do shit for the story? Even if not explicitly said so in your story, a character may be a mentor for another, a friend, a voice of reason, etc. 

Preferably don't have two characters with the same role

Charisma: Everything to do with socialization (ew)

Important b/c if your character isn't literally the only conscious being in existence as I suspect they might be, they will need to interact with others

Notably, other characters will have to react to them (which we will discuss another time)

How do they interact with others? How extroverted or introverted? Are they talkative with certain people? How shy? 

How kind? How involved do they get? How much are they willing to step on others for their goals? How considerate are they of others?

How convincing are they? How well liked are they?

Are they competitive? Do they have a general dislike of people? Are they bad at interacting with certain demographics like children?

Are there types of relationships they struggle with? Are there some they don't want at all?

Speed: Patience and complacency

How quickly a character acts can influence your story's pacing. When they act is generally important to figuring out the timeline of your story.

How quickly do they respond (regardless of how well they do)? How patient are they? How complacent are they?

Do they follow the rules? Do they only act on the orders of others? 

Do they rush in recklessly or do they make a plan? Would they do one in some cases (eg. only reckless if it comes to their loved ones)

How much are they willing to stand in terms of punishment, pain, insults, etc.?

Intelligence: Skillset and methods

Another of the 3 P's: power. Even if a character is in the position to, do they have the ability to do something?

What a character is able to do will obviously affect what actions they can take regarding conflicts in the plot. Note that failure can even be a good chance to develop character, learn, add more conflict, etc.

What is their job? What skills do they learn from that? What experiences do they have?

Are they street smart? Book smart? Have common sense? Creative? Or by the book?

Are they emotionally intelligent? Can they analyze and understand others' actions? How good are they at planning?

Note that OP characters aren't really Mary Sues, if they have a good conflict regardless (eg. One Punch Man is unbeatable but still has interesting problems…as a result of his unique situation)

Defense: Vulnerability and openness

Kind of charisma but applied to themselves? Not actually sure how to explain this one so you don't get an explanation

Important because everyone hates miscommunication trope (jk jk….I say as I write a miscommunication arc spanning seven chapters….which I need to edit soon)

How secretive are they? How trusting? Who would they trust? Do they prefer to live in ignorance?

How willing to communicate and how willing to share with others?

Tenacity: Morals and bottom line

Once your character decides to do the thing, how much will they do for the thing? Important to know your characters' limits.

Note: This is partly related to motivations > what your motivations are will obviously affect what you will and won't do, especially if those things go against what you are trying to achieve

Will they kill, steal, lie? Are there some people they won't do those things to (as mentioned in charisma)? Are there things they will do that thing for, even if they are usually against it?

How far do they act before things get too overwhelming? Are there certain things that are too scary or too embarrassing or too risky that they won't do?

What are their morals?

How hard do they work to improve? What do they do to improve? Will they cheat or do things honestly?

Flexibility: Adaptability, self awareness, open-mindedness

The ability or lack thereof to change is important for character development.

How well do they respond to sudden situations? Will they fall and fail and panic in certain ones? Will they remain calm?

How willing are they to accept or give help?

How much do they acknowledge their flaws? How willing are they to improve?

How receptive are they to different opinions? How willing to change their beliefs? How eager are they to change? How much proof or influence from outside until they change?

Motivations: Obviously, goals

What a character wants to do will drive their entire role in the plot. It is the last of the 3 P's: purpose. A character will be unlikely to act against their own goals (although, maybe that can be useful as a plot twist, showing them sacrificing their goals…)

I recommend listing these in priority, as well as acknowledging that some goals will spawn further goals.

Final note: if you wanna write a relationship, you should ensure that the other character likes some of the above traits in their friend/partner/whatever

[khaleesiofalicante]

OK I’M HERE! I READ IT! I’M LATE BUT IT DID IT! SERIOUSLY REGRETTING NOT READING IT EARLIER! FUCK SLEEP WHO NEEDS SLEEP!

I LOVE THE TWINS SO MUCH SHCDUJUHKFDUISVFDHYDEBCSJ

LEXI TELLING EVERYONE THAT SHE CAN TALK TO RAZIEL BESTIE YOU DOING GREAT!!!

“Lying is wrong!” Selena had told her sister.

“Yes, but cookies are delicious,” Lexi had pointed out, munching on them.

“Daddy!” Selena had said. “Tell her it’s wrong.”

“Lying is wrong!” Daddy had said, but she had barely heard a word since his mouth had been stuffed with cookies too.

LYING IS OKAY IF YOU GET COOKIES

She did not care much for jewellery, especially expensive ones. But Magnus had given this to her – and she didn’t want to take it off.

She combed her long hair and tied it into a high ponytail. If she was going shopping with Magnus, she had to look her best.

It was fine. There were worse ways to spend your tenth birthday. She got to spend it with Magnus. She was not going to complain about it.

AWWW SHE’S LITERALLY MAGNUS’ NO.1 FAN UHSDUCSDUYSDCFUYKSVCD

“Oh!” Selena had beamed. “Like Magnus! He always looks so magnificent!”

“Sure,” David had said, his ears pink in the cold. “That’s who I was thinking about.”

I don’t know much but I do know that his ears were not pink because of the cold and he was not thinking about Magnus.

Selena remembered wishing she caught the fever so Magnus could take care of her too.

Same- I MEAN WOULDN’T WE ALL??

ALSO, MAX STAYING WITH DAVID WHEN HE WAS SICK DWHYDYGUFEYUKGFYEUGFEWUYG

Oh, Jocelyn died.

Rip I guess?

OOOO THEY INVITED THE COHORT TO TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF BECAUSE SHADOWHUNTERS ARE DYING OF MUNDANE ILLNESSES

I say we kill them.

Selena had never felt anger like that before. She had wanted to drown that awful man in the lake she floated around in her dreams.

BESTIE SAME

“Lettuce?”

“Yes?”

“No screaming when I show you the gift,” Daddy said. “We have visitors at the institute.”

“Is it a sword?” Lexi asked.

“No,” Daddy replied.

“Then I won’t scream,” her twin shrugged at him.

AHUEDCHGUHFEWUIFUIRUI SHE’S SUCH A HERONDALE I LOVE-

PUPPY OH MY GOD IT’S A PUPPY!!!!!!!!

“IT’S A PUPPY! IT’S A PUPPY! OH MY GOD, IT’S A PUPPY! DAVID GOT US A PUPPY!”

Her twin had jumped – no, leaped – off the counter and dashed towards their father, who was holding a small grey puppy in his arms.

“I AM SO SORRY I TOLD YOU I DON’T WANT YOU, LITTLE FRIEND. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH MY TWENTY TOY SWORDS!”

“Lexi, stop screaming!” Mommy said. “You will wake everyone up.”

“EVERYONE WAKE UP AND COME MEET MY PUPPY!” Lexi screamed even louder.

I LOVE HER SO MUCH DHJBSDCHJBFSJSFEDSF

She drew the unlock rune on the door the way her daddy did on his office door and sneaked into the Consul’s office.

I’m not even surprised anymore-

AWW, SELENA GOING THERE TO LOOK AT THE MURAL OF IDRIS. YOU’LL GO THERE ONE DAY BESTIE I PROMISE

ANJALI IS HERE Y’ALL!!!!!!!

Anjali walked over to her father’s desk, sat down on the chair, and put her feet on the table.

The Inquisitor’s table.

Only she could get away with something like that.

THERE’S MY FAVORITE PERSON EVER Y’ALL

EVEN ALEC IS WARY OF HER UHJSDVCUHSVDUUHSVUHSUIVGRVSR

Selena loved Idris with all her heart. But she knew Idris was not a perfect place.

Any place that was mean to Magnus could never be perfect.

EXACTLY

“Well, it turned out well for me,” Anjali winked. “Now when he gives me shit for my ‘bad judgement’ I just throw his dating history in his face. Dated Zara Dearborn? Broke up with Cristina Rosales? Yikes. Could not be me.”

BESTIE YES! HOW CAN DIEGO JUDGE PEOPLE’S JUDGEMENT WHEN HIS DATING HISTORY LOOKS LIKE THAT???

“Just because he looks like a movie star, it doesn’t mean everything should be handed to him,” Anjali answered, rolling her eyes. “Entitled piece of shit.”

You know I kinda ship them-

“Dang, girl. No practice swords for you, huh. You just straight up went for the mortal sword. I like your style.”

“Uncle Kit!” Selena yelled and ran towards him.

KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT KIT HISDUIDEUYKFSFUS7IKKIYGVFSDLY7TKGVFEDYTGFECYGU

ASH OMG ASH IS HERE TOO!!!!

"some man called Anus" BYE-

PARABATAI KIT AND ASH OMG

The whole pre-meeting prep is kinda giving me pre-wedding vibes idk how to explain but the whole rush and organizing that day and making calls and stuff.

“Ash was very beautiful. After Magnus of course” “She liked Aunt Izzy best. After Magnus of course,” GIRL HAS HER PRIORITIES STRAIGHT

"How bad can the cohort be?" well you see-

“Is that the cohort?” Selena asked, her voice a whisper.

“No, that’s a bitch.”

Yup. that’s accurate

“Is he here?”

“Whom?” Daddy asked.

“Alec Lightwood,” the woman asked.

“You mean the Consul?” Daddy asked.

“I meant Alec.”

“The Consul?”

“Alec!”

“Who also happens to be the Consul?”

“Fine, yes, the Consul!” the woman sounded impatient. “Is he here yet?”

It’s Lightwood-Bane bitch

AWWW SELENA DESCRIBING ALEC AS REGAL THAT’S SO CUTE

And accurate-

IT’S THE SAME BLUE AGAIN

Selena noticed her father was looking very emotional. She couldn’t blame him.

“My liege,” Daddy bowed deeply.

“Cut it out,” the Consul smacked him. “What’s the status?”

Yup, that’s them. Also same Jace.Same.

“I always expected the offspring of these two to be like…”

“Like what?” Daddy demanded.

At that moment, Lexi ran past the hall, yelling and screaming as she carried a toy sword in one hand and Dorian Gray in another.

“MAKE WAY FOR ALEXANDRA THE GREAT AND HER LOYAL COMPANION DORIAN GRAY! CHRISTOPHER! BRING ME MY OTHER NINETEEN SWORDS! WE MUST SET FIRE TO THE EVIL EMPEROR AND SAVE THE PRINCESS!”

“Like that,” Magnus chuckled.

Will in the afterlife, wiping tears: A true Herondale.

“I hope so too, Magnus,” Selena said shyly.

The Consul frowned at that. “It’s Uncle Magnus to you.”

Selena ignored that. The Consul was not the boss of her.

Well, technically he was the boss of everyone. But still!

UHNJCSDUHUSDHSVUDVUD SELENA

Do not remind me. I would like to remain blissfully unaware that not all of them are mortal :D

The Consul grumbled and turned to Mommy. “You were right to name her Fairchild. She is going to be a pain in my ass.”

“Hey!” Daddy covered Selena's ears again. “It’s like you guys didn't get my monthly newsletter on language modification!”

“No one here reads your newsletter, Jace,” Aunt Izzy rolled her eyes.

"I do," the Consul put up his hand.

Of course, you do Alec. I can totally see the LBAF gang defying Alec left and right UHKGXUYCSUYGCSYCFSED

“Izzy, how many times!” the Consul grumbled. “No placing bets on the children. Besides, everyone knows it’s going to be Alexandra.”

“Hey!” her parents said at the same time.

“What are y’all doing here?” Lexi came running then, cause her superpower was to magically appear whenever someone was talking about her. “We have shit to do! Come on!”

“Not helping, Lettuce!” Daddy shook his head. “Clary, take the lead.”

Of course, it’s gonna be Lexi.

FHUJCSDUHSDUHJ SELENA NOT UNDERSTANDING THE INNUENDO MAGNUS MADE LMAO NOT IN FRONT OF THE KIDS

“My name is Alexander Lightwood-Bane. I’m the Consul of the Clave. You will talk to me with respect.”

Selena saw Zara flinch at that. It was satisfying to watch.

Zara, I will gladly feed you to sharks stfu

“You sound a little jealous,” Zara grinned. “If you want to come back, we can arrange that. You could leave that good for nothing husband of yours and-”

“Zara, I swear by the angel,” Aunt Izzy said through gritted teeth. “Insult my husband again and see what happens.”

ISABELLE YES! I NEED MORE SIZZY WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF THESE TWO

SHE DID NOT JUST INSULT MAX AND RAFE FUCK YOU BITCH

OH, NOW SHE INSULTED THE TWINS. I WILL DROWN YOU DO NOT TEST ME

“They called me a freak too,” her mother spoke. “Insult our children again and I will show you what freaks can do.”

YES CLARY

Max and David were really close. Like Daddy and Uncle Alec.

Maybe even closer. Like Uncle Alec and Magnus - cause one of them was a warlock! And they always gave each other dopey looks.

HJBASYUGJCESDYUTGVCSDUTVSDT6U7VSDC THIS! (I think they get together because of the snippet but if they don’t-)

The moment Magnus left, Max snatched the credit card and whistled. “Y’all, Christmas came early.”

“We can’t just buy anything, Max,” Rafe rolled his eyes. “Dad will be pissed when he finds out.”

“Maybe we should buy little things we can hide,” Max winked. “Little…but expensive things.”

“Oh, like diamond rings?” Lexi gleamed.

“What would you even do with diamond rings?” Selena demanded.

“Sell them in the black market in exchange for cash,” Lexi replied.

“By the angel, Lex,” Rafe chuckled. “I'm gonna keep both my eyes on you.”

LEXI YES OMG YES YES YES YES

“Your demands are unacceptable,” Rafe said, imitating his father. “How about ice-cream?”

“I accept your counter proposal,” Lexi nodded, imitating Daddy. “Let’s unleash hell in Baskin-Robbins.”

BASKIN ROBBINS BOUTA BE RAIDED BY 4 CHAOTIC CHILDREN LET’S GO

Holy fuck she has children. Who’s the poor father?

“These are my sisters Saraquel and Remiel and Michael,” the boy pointed at the girls, completely ignoring Rafe’s comment. “Our parents named us after the archangels.”

“And they called us angel freaks?” Lexi muttered incredulously.

“I know, Lexi. Fancy names indeed,” Max nodded. “But kinda hard to pronounce to be honest.”

A very genuine what the fuck

“My name is Alexandra James Herondale,” Lexi said, her voice steady. “And I am named after the greatest Consul and dopest archer of all time. He is a better man than any of your dumb archangels.”

YES LEXI YOU GO, GIRL

“Idris is lame,” Max snorted now. “You don’t even have internet.”

Lexi shuddered at that.

The reason I would never want to live in Idris

THE WAY SELENA WAS READY TO BEAT THE GUY UP WHEN HE INSULTED MAGNUS AND HOW MAX GOT ANGRY WHEN HE INSULTED DAVID

SELENA’S 10 BITCH FUCK YOU

“Holy shit!” one of the girls said. “That was kinda cool. Is that a twin thing?”

“It’s a common sense thing,” Lexi rolled her eyes. “Duck!”

People are idiots

But Selena tried not to think about the other girl. It didn’t matter whose daughter Michael was – it only mattered whose daughter Selena was.

And she was the daughter of Clary Fairchild and Jace Herondale.

She was not going to run.

GIRL YES

Y’ALL DON'T GET KILLED

AYY MAGNUS IS HERE THEY’RE ALL GONNA BE OK NOW

“It’s warlock magic,” the boy whispered – but not too quietly. “It’s demonic.”

Some of the ichor from the demons fell right on the boy’s head.

“Oops,” Magnus said. “Warlock magic is also a little clumsy.”

HVBCDSHJCSDYCDYJGCD THE BOY DESERVED IT!!!!!

“Manuel has an important meeting,” Zara rolled her eyes. “I’m stuck babysitting them.”

“It’s not babysitting when you do it!” Daddy said incredulously. “You’re their mother. It’s called parenting.”

GODDAMIT WOMAN DON'T HAVE CHILDREN IF YOU CAN’T TAKE CARE OF THEM

“He called David a bastard,” Lexi said.

“He did what?” her mother demanded.

“And he called Max a freak,” Selena said.

“He did what?” the Consul demanded.

“And he flirted with Selena,” Rafe made a face.

“HE DID WHAT?” Daddy looked murderous.

NAH BECAUSE WE’RE ALL DOWNRIGHT READY TO KILL THIS BITCH

ALSO, SELENA WAS SO RIGHT TO BREAK THE BOY’S NOSE.

“Look at them! Cahooting in demonic languages,” Zara sniffed.

“It’s Spanish,” Aunt Izzy said incredulously. “Your husband speaks it too!”

Zara you dumb shit-

That part where Magnus was checking up on all of them and seeing if they’re ok and the kids looked like they had never seen anything like that-

They deserve better. GODDAMN IT JULIAN BLACKTHORN MANAGED TO BE A BETTER PARENT 12

Her father held Selena’s hand in his. “You better raise your son to respect women, Zara – Because I’m raising my daughters to break noses.”

YES YES YES YES

He knelt down next to her and put a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I tell you a secret, cupcake?”

Selena nodded. She loved secrets.

“People call me a freak too,” Magnus winked.

“You?” Selena gasped.

“Yes,” he nodded. “If people call you a freak, it means you are doing something different. Something bold. Something small minds will never be able to think of. So, it’s not an insult. Don’t forget that.”

YES THIS

AWWW THE LITTLE GIRL GAVE SELENA HER NECKLACE.

“Some people don’t like women in power.”

“Why not?”

“Because women get shit done.”

Selena giggled at that. “You said a bad word.”

“It’s not bad. Say it with me, Selena,” her mother said gently. “Women get shit done.”

YES WE GET SHIT DONE

“Are you saying I shouldn’t be afraid?” Selena asked. “I should be strong?”

“I'm saying you should be anything you want to be,” her mother kissed her head. “You can be brave like Izzy. You can be fearless like Emma. You can be kind like Cristina. You can be cool like Dru. You can be sensible like Maia. You can be confident like Lily. You can be smart like Tessa. You can be fierce like Diana. You can be geeky like me.”

Her mother held her face closely. “You get to decide what kind of woman you want to be. I want you to remember that - because there is no wrong way to be a woman.”

THIS! WE NEED TO HEAR THIS MORE OFTEN!

“The next time someone points fingers at you because you are a woman, go ahead and break them.”

DO IT

This was her mother.

Clary Fairchild. One of the most powerful shadowhunters.

Selena sometimes forgot that. Sometimes you forget your mom is so much more than your mom.

There is a person underneath that – someone full of dreams and hopes and talents you could never imagine.

SHE’S LITERALLY SO POWERFUL AND AMAZING IF I SEE ONE MORE PERSON HATE ON HER I'M GONNA KILL THEM

THE IDRIS VISION EDYUGYFEUGYUKGFEWUYTGFEWUTFEW7FE

Rafe was going to be their leader. He would be Selena’s Consul. She knew it.

Gigi was going to be just like Aunt Izzy. An amazing inventor. A chaos to be reckoned with.

Lexi was going to be the best fighter in the whole world. She would fly above everyone and everything.

And David and Max…Well, they seemed very happy with each other. Selena supposed that was enough. Like Uncle Alec and Magnus. To find something you can be happy with no matter what. Because sometimes there was no greater purpose than love.

And Selena….She knew exactly what she was going to do.

She was going to lead all of them back to Idris.

Explain why I'm crying reading this. I love them all so much. They mean so much to me already. SELENA ONE DAY YOU’RE GONNA LEAD THEM ALL BACK TO IDRIS I KNOW YOU WILL

This chapter was beautiful. I'm gonna be in a corner crying in case someone needs me. See ya on Friday!! (well technically it’ll be Saturday for me since for me the updates come after midnight)

THIS GAVE ME LIFE. LIFE, YA HEAR ME?

Also my favorite comment (which I might print on something) - GODDAMIT WOMAN DON'T HAVE CHILDREN IF YOU CAN’T TAKE CARE OF THEM

Also this made me laugh out loud so hard >> - GODDAMN IT JULIAN BLACKTHORN MANAGED TO BE A BETTER PARENT 12

[makeste]

this is pretty random and you don't need to answer it, haha, but could you share your personal hcs regarding platonic todobaku with me??? 🥺🥺🥺 i'm in need, LOL, and your takes on characterization and relationships on bnha are always so spot on, so... i hope you're having a good day/night!!!!!!!💖💖💖

thank you so much! sorry it took a while to gather all of these; my TodoBaku headcanons weren’t as immediately forthcoming as my general Baku headcanons were. but here goes. the first half of these ended up being more just my general thoughts about their relationship than actual headcanons, but I eventually steered myself back on track.

first of all, this is important to note: when Katsuki says in ch. 241 that “there’s no correlation between time spent [together] and friendship”, it’s not purely out of denial. this is something he genuinely believes, having learned it the hard way growing up. for someone who seemingly led a pretty charmed life for most of his childhood, Katsuki hasn’t actually had a particularly sunshiny experience when it comes to his friendships. all of his closest childhood friends eventually left him (Tsubasa), turned on him (Deku -- from his perspective lol. obviously this wasn’t actually the case at all, but it’s how he interpreted it, and it definitely had a big impact on him emotionally), or abandoned him (that long-fingered kid, who notably fled and never looked back when the sludge monster tried to eat Katsuki back in chapter one. like, thanks for nothing, my dude).

so it’s not surprising that all of these experiences would have a profound impact on Katsuki’s ability to trust other people and accept them as real, genuine friends. in its own way his childhood was almost as isolating as Deku and Shouto’s. it’s only since coming to U.A. that he’s started to make real friends again for the first time since kindergarten. and even then, in the case of Kirishima and Kaminari and Sero, even though I think he does consider them friends, he still isn’t very open with them. because he’s learned the hard way that that can lead to hurt, and I think he’s very hesitant to ever let himself be vulnerable to that again.

but having said all that, Shouto is still absolutely correct when he says that they’re friends. and the thing is Katsuki knows it too, but he’s just reluctant to admit it. partly because the part of his brain that processes everything as rivalry isn’t sure whether Being Friends With Shouto = Losing To Shouto (IS THIS A TRAP??), and partly because of everything else I just explained above. even though by this point he knows Shouto pretty well, well enough to be reasonably sure he’s not just gonna be another fakeass groupie who turns tail at the first sign of trouble, there’s still a part of him that’s hesitant to admit that connection is there, because doing so opens him up to potentially being hurt again at some point. goddammit. why is this shit so complicated.

meanwhile on Shouto’s side of things, this poor lil bubba never had any friends growing up to begin with, so he’s not nearly as paranoid or prickly as Katsuki is. instead, he’s still discovering for himself just what friendship is all about. the interesting thing about Shouto is that since he never had any childhood friendships, in a way, the friendships that he’s making now at U.A. are his childhood friendships. and so they tend to be straightforward and uncomplicated in much the same way that very young children’s friendships are uncomplicated. “I like this person; I am going to make them my friend.” boom. done. friendship is mad easy yo.

and he does like Katsuki! sure, his personality is a bit unconventional, but there’s a lot to admire about him even so, and they actually have a lot in common! they’re both rather introverted. they’re both very serious, and I think this is something that Shouto particularly appreciates, because jokes and idioms and playful insincerity sometimes fly over his head just because he doesn’t have a lot of experience dealing with other people. but Katsuki NEVER jokes around, and he is never insincere. he says what he means, with the exception of insults, which are 90% more bark than bite. and so once Shouto figured that out, it became very easy to figure out how to interact with him. aside from that, they’re both close with Shouto’s Other Best Friend Midoriya, they both have incendiary quirks, and they both tend towards the quiet side (yes, even Katsuki) with the occasional burst of hotheadedness (maybe a bit more than “occasional” when it comes to Katsuki’s end).

and like I said, there’s a lot that Shouto admires about Katsuki as well. he really respects how determined Katsuki is, because he himself lacked any sort of clear goals for quite a while growing up. all he knew was that he didn’t want to end up being like his dad. but Katsuki is someone who has always known what he wants, and he goes after it with a singlemindedness that Shouto is almost envious of. he’s also very intelligent and quick-thinking, and Shouto knows he can rely on him in a tight spot. he’s also honest, and surprisingly principled, and while he’s definitely not the nicest guy around, I think Shouto can recognize to some degree those same types of walls that he once spent so much time building up around himself. and so he knows that to a certain extent, Katsuki’s hostility is just a front. and I think he’s both intrigued by that, and drawn to it. because every so often when Katsuki’s guard does drop and his better self briefly shines through, Shouto can see that he’s someone worth getting to know.

anyways, but enough of my rambling about their relationship, and on to the actual headcanons. first of all, I firmly believe in my heart of hearts that at some point during all of those mentally and physically taxing weekends spent training for their provisional exam, they have each fallen asleep on the other’s shoulder during the ride home. Katsuki was actually the first to do it, and it was only for a couple of minutes, but when he woke up he was absolutely mortified. but much to his relief, Shouto never said another word about it. (and if Shouto still remembers the warm, cozy feeling in his chest during those few brief minutes when Katsuki was dead to the world, with his face smoothed out and completely trusting and his breathing strangely in rhythm with the movement of the car, and if doing so brings him a sense of calm that’s hard to describe, well then, that’s no one’s business but his own.)

anyway, so because life is Just Like That, eventually of course the reverse happened. and with anyone else, Katsuki would have violently shoved them aside without a second thought, and he was almost gonna do the same here, but then he remembered he owed him (because he really did keep his mouth shut about the earlier incident, thank fuck), and so he didn’t. for almost two whole minutes, anyway. whatever. that’s more than generous, really. meanwhile no one else knows about this except for Aizawa, who was chaperoning them that day, and took mild notice at first on account of it being unusual behavior on Katsuki’s part, but then immediately forgot about it afterwards. he was proud of them both for upping their napping game, though. he respects naps.

both Shouto and Katsuki were actually scared shitless during the test of courage at the forest training camp, and if Katsuki hadn’t been kidnapped and everything had instead gone on as normal, they would have both had trouble getting to sleep that night. Katsuki actually can’t stand scary movies or ghost stories (fyi this is canon according to the third light novel, and EXCUSE HIM FOR HAVING A HEALTHY RESPECT FOR THE SUPERNATURAL. you wanna go and get your own dumb ass cursed or dragged to hell or whatever, BE HIS GUEST). whereas Shouto has next to no experience with them and doesn’t really see what’s so scary about ghosts because GHOSTS AREN’T REAL DUH, but even he feels a little unsettled when an undead swamp girl suddenly rises from the depths and crabwalks towards them in the middle of the woods.

Katsuki has on rare occasions been so drained by provisional lessons that he goes into autopilot and forgets to pretend not to be friends with Shouto, which can result in them having completely normal conversations for minutes at a time before he eventually regains enough of his senses to realize he’s fraternizing with the enemy. this is how Shouto learned about things like Katsuki’s favorite foods, and his love of hiking. the latter is actually one subject that Katsuki can go on and on about if you get him started, and Shouto very much enjoys hearing about it and never tries to stop him.

by contrast, Katsuki never intentionally seeks to gain any new knowledge about Shouto because he feels like he already knows way more than he ever wanted to. however, this doesn’t stop him from absorbing knowledge against his will by simple osmosis, and then discovering to his dismay that he’s retained the information afterward. this is why he also knows Shouto’s favorite food in return (although to be fair, I think everyone in Japan knows Shouto’s favorite food), as well as other tidbits like the fact that he likes strawberry-flavored things (because he always gets the same brand of strawberry milk from the vending machine during their lunch breaks). he hates himself a little for both noticing and remembering these stupid little details, and would rather be kidnapped again than ever admit to Shouto that he does.

Katsuki thinks of Shouto as “Todoroki” in his head rather than “IcyHot” or “Half n’ Half”, and has to make a conscious effort to use the nicknames whenever he addresses him out loud. more and more often he finds himself forgetting to do so nowadays, much to his dismay. Shouto was pleasantly surprised the first few times it happened, but quickly stopped taking notice of it, as he’s come to realize that the way Katsuki addresses people carries very little meaning regardless, since something like 75% of his actual feelings are conveyed through his actions rather than his words.

Katsuki does wish that Shouto had had the decency to choose his surname as his hero alias rather than his given name, though. he lives in fear that one of these days he’ll be required to call him “Shouto” while on duty. number one hero or not, there’s a good chance he would resign from his internship at the Endeavor Hero Agency before he ever willingly agreed to that.

and last but not least, the number one thing that Katsuki would rather jump in a freezing lake than admit to Shouto or even himself is that he actually cares about him too. and has even mostly forgiven him for wussing out at the last minute during the sports festival. he still doesn’t fully understand why he did it, but he gets that Shouto was Going Through Some Stuff, and okay yeah, he can admit that his family situation is pretty fucked up, so whatever. there’s an uncomfortable feeling he gets whenever he’s reminded of this; sort of a weird, squirmy feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever the subject of Endeavor comes up, or whenever he sees Shouto talking to the man himself. it makes him feel restless and on edge, and he never knows what to say or do afterwards, especially if Shouto goes all quiet and sullen and reflective. he wants to scream at him, or slap him on the back of the head, or grab him by the shoulders and shake him; whatever it takes to snap him out of it and ease the tension. but he knows that’s not the right way to handle it. and more to the point, he knows that he’s not the right person to handle it. and sometimes, if he’s not quick enough to squash the feeling when he senses it coming, he wonders how Shouto would react if he ever found out what Katsuki used to be like back in elementary and middle school. and he wonders whether Shouto would still be so dead-set insistent on calling them friends. and then he does squash out the thought, as viciously as he possibly can.

anyway so that turned weirdly angsty towards the end whoops. not even sure what happened there, since this is supposed to be my cute and funny ship, while BakuDeku greedily hogs all the angst for itself! lol my bad. but don’t worry, they still love each other, and Shouto is still fond and soft and equipped with bullshit-radar, and Katsuki is still rabid and in denial and a dumbass.

[chivesout]

i have many thoughts about stan culture etc hello hi !! my main thing with it is how i think people are being allowed on the internet, and especially on social media, unrestricted, too young? like 11 year olds do not need to have an internet presence i don’t think? and that’s not me being like i’m an adult get these cringy kids out of here that’s me being like when i was 11 i made a wattpad account and then an instagram and then a twitter and was basically just exposed to a bunch of shit that at the time i was like woah i’m so grown up but like looking back on it i Really Wish i hadn’t seen all that so young because i’m now feeling the effects of that and noticing how desensitised i am to shit i really shouldn’t be considering my actual life experience? and i feel like it’s becoming a lot more common, like i see SO many twitter accounts and they’re literally like 11-13 and i just wanna be like Hey for your own wellbeing Please spend less time on the internet y’know !! bc as great and fun as it is and as much as it can be a safe space etc and there are So many cool things about it, it also does just suck sometimes and it does give you a really warped perception of reality and how shit works irl and i think blaming young teenagers for that isn’t the way to go y’know? like that’s a Society problem not a Stans problem ! (i can talk about this so much lmao i am very invested)

oh age is definitely a factor; the younger you are when you get on social media the more... malleable, i guess, your brain and your morals are, which means you're extremely influenced by your online environment (ppl are products of their surroundings and all that). i remember defending stan twitter soooo hard back when i was like 14-16 because it had been my home for years even tho it also gave me insane anxiety, and it wasn't till i had deleted it that i was like 'oh that place was actually hell'. a lot of young ppl aren't taking those breaks/leaving sns all together for long periods of time (in part thanks to covid) so they're not getting that offline perspective on things.

i don't think we'll fix anything by blaming teenagers for the toxicity, because that is in a sense just creating more negativity and toxicity. i think instead, us somewhat older and more aware internet folks should try and set a good example for younger people to follow (ie not getting into dumb drama, not qrting to insult ppl over fanwar shit, stealmaning people instead of stawmaning, hell id even say avoiding making kms/kys style jokes is a good idea when you're in a fandom w a lot of young teens but perhaps that's a bit too controversial lol).

the last two sections of my stans essay are called "is this a stan problem? or are we all just shitty people" and "we aren't all shitty people, but twitter wants us to be" and in that last one i'm gonna try to dissect how social media companies profit off of online discourse (while we all suffer). there's things about stan culture that are more unique to it and can be critiqued fairly as 'stan culture problems', but there's so many more issues that are very much present in online discourse as a whole.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I we continue to get more romance book adaptations, I'm really gonna need the people talking about them to get familiar with the tropes and conventions of the genre. Because so far a lot the the complaints about the shows have been really basic shit. Like for example people saying it made "no sense" for Daphne and Simon to get married in the middle of the show rather then the end when this is just really common in romance books? I'm not saying it never happens but most I've read the main couple

gets married in the middle? Or even at the beginning of the book, more so then at the end. And some of them were not even historical but contemporary. (we love a good arranged marriage/marriage of convenience

Yeeeeah like...  The thing is that if you’re familiar with romance novels, you know that the most successful parts of Bridgerton were the ones that executed the parts of the romance novel trope correctly.  And I really, personally, would feel super insulted if the show was altered to take it away from the romance genre.  I also think it would fail, lol.  People want escapism right now.  They don’t want to be worrying about whether or not their fave will live or whatever.  Romance offers them that.

Now, the Bridgerton novels are suuuuuuper fluffy, so you do have to add some additional drama in order to have a working TV show.  But the basic structure should stick to romance novel structure.

And like you said, the drama in romance novels comes from things like the marriage happening halfway through so now we have to figure out how to make a marriage work.  It comes from the interpersonal conflict.  But also... it comes from tropes.  People love romance novels because they can pick up a specific trope and go off of it.  I saw a lot of people comparing Bridgerton to fanfic--and yeah.  That’s because Bridgerton is based off a book belonging to a genre that does tropes BETTER than fanfic, by and large, and has a crop of authors who used to be big name fanfic writers working to this day.

But there will be conventions to get used to.  “A love story a novel/season” may be jarring to some, but I think it’s a strength for the show and the actors.  If Rege-Jean and Phoebe are downsized next season, some people might initially be upset, but the alternative is creating bullshit to rob Simon and Daphne of their HEA.  And that’s no good.  Rege-Jean can hopefully use a reduced Bridgerton schedule to capitalize on his current popularity and build his career.  Additionally, I think that it gives the series a nice feeling of like, anthology where sure the seasons can’t exactly stand ALONE but theoretically, you could watch one and not the others.  This is especially beneficial due to the rougher parts of s1, which a lot of people may want to skip over understandably.  I imagine many Bridgerton readers don’t read The Duke and I.

I just hope that the show sticks to the romance novel structure, and that these conventions become more........ clear.

[whatamievendoingherern]

TALKING TO EXPLOSION BOY (BNHA)

Cat: Lil floof and if you squint, angst

Agender! Reader was nervous about their internship with Thirteen already, but throw in the sparky porcupine? Anxiety maxed out. But surprisingly, he just isn’t as explosive as usual. (Reader has a fire related quirk)

Y/N remembered when they first decided to try out for cross country.

It was the summer before 8th grade when they vowed to make themself into a person they could like. Their sister had given them a ride to the school, they’d retied their sneakers about fifteen times on the way, and they’d practically had a death grip on that poor plastic water bottle.

They’d been so nervous that they refused to get out of the car. They remembered knowing absolutely nobody on the team, feeling so socially inept because they hadn't talked to anybody all summer. It wasn't until their sister reassured them that they finally found themself unlocking the door.

That's what they thought internships were gonna be like.

But rather than the hellish experience their middle school self endured, it was quite different.

They chose to intern with Thirteen to learn how to use their quirk in rescue scenarios. Thirteen, who they’d recently learned went by xe/xyr pronouns, was a pretty nice person, who took their wall of awkwardness and formality into consideration.

Y/N was finally letting the wall drip down a bit, allowing Thirteen to see their real personality. And the acceptance was nice.

That's why they didn't really mind it when Thirteen said xe needed to drop by Best Jeanist's agency. Something to do with the author and plot lines.

So they followed Thirteen through the building, politely smiling at the passersby they happened to make eye contact with. The two stopped at a door in the building, pushing it open, and just like that feeling of finding someone you know in your home town, Y/N felt like they’d been smacked with frying pan.

Bakugo and Y/N made eye contact from both sides of the room, a silence as his hair sprung back to its normal state.

Oof.

If the rest of the Bakusqud were here, Y/N probably would've been able to sneak in a laugh under Mina, Sero, and Kaminari’s cackling, but alas that was not the case. And despite the self destructive ramblings of Y/N’s rather common mental breakdowns, they valued their life.

Best Jeanist sighed as though this weren't the first time this occurred, flicking his comb into his pocket. "Thirteen." He said in greeting. "What brings you here?"

"I just need to do some touch ups on the paperwork for the collab takedown we did last week. Turns out the villains quirk wasn't energy mutation." Xe replied, while Y/N suddenly begun to wish they had Hagakure's quirk instead as Bakugo’s eyes burned into their skull.

"Is that your intern?"

Uh oh.

"Yep," Thirteen said, pushing Y/N forward much to their dismay. "They’ve got quite the quirk."

Best Jeanist hummed in response, having been there in the stadium. He remembered sending them an invite to intern with him after the festival, but he supposed they were searching for something specific.

"You two are in the same class right?" Best Jeanist asked. Y/N stiffened as he acknowledged Bakugo's presence. Without waiting for a response, he carried on, "You two stay here. Thirteen, the reports in my office."

And despite every cell in their body yelling at the two to stay, the door closed behind the two leaving both Bakugo and Y/N in immediate discomfort.

Silence.

Y/N looked around the room at anything and everything except for Bakugo. They spotted a chair, the only other one in the room placed right across from the blonde porcupine.

With an internal groan, they shuffled over to the chair, sitting uncomfortably still as they pulled out their phone. They stared at the screen, pretending to be doing something while attempting to negotiate a ceasefire with the whatever deity above was listening.

Whatever I did to deserve this, I am so sorry. It'll never happen again, bro, just get me tf outta here rn before my soul skrrt skrrts from my body-

Oh no, now their nose was itchy. The temptation was there, but the risk of drawing attention was even greater. Were they gonna sneeze? Were there tissues in here? Jeez did hearts always beat so loudly? And what is up with the whole breathing thing? It sounds like there's gonna be a whole goddamn tornado-

"Hey. Depressed Flambé."

Y/N hesitantly looked up from their screen, wondering if they placed their funeral plans in an obvious enough location. Top left drawer of their dresser, beneath their will. Dang they forgot to write if they wanted red camellias or white camellias. Surely class 1-A would know they were a red camellias type of lad. And they had to change the song from "Thriller" to "E-Girls Are Ruining My Life", ya know, get with the times-

"I know you're avoiding me. Your damn phone isn't even on." Bakugo's brash voice said, and they suddenly felt like dropping an anvil on their head.

Y/N gave a smile that may as well have said, "I've been caught" and tucked the phone into their pockets where their hands could fidget out of view.

Silence.

Depressed Flambé, Y/N pondered.

They hadn't thought they had a nickname, they figured since they had barely interacted with him all year that they were in the clear.

Guess not.

Their thoughts and the room stayed radio silent for a bit before they hesitantly spoke up, "Trying out a new hair style?"

"Mention it to the rest of 1-A and I’ll kill you!" He barked defensively, huffing when he saw them flinch almost unnoticeably. "He won't let me patrol with him until I 'reform my appearance' or some bullshit like that."

Y/N nodded, though they didn't really see much difference. He was intimidating either way, one just made him look a little more idiotic. "Some bullshit sounds about right." Y/N replied, trying to let themself relax.

Bakugo seemed content with their response, and once again the two fell into silence. And just like a hand reaching out, they felt their voice wanting to come out, to keep talking, but maybe he didn't want to. Maybe it'd be better to take the chance and have no regrets later? But what if he just told them to shut up? They probably would never get over that. It was probably best if they-

"How's your internship?" Bakugo asked, clearly uncomfortable with asking the question. He wasn't even making eye contact which was supposed to be Y/N’s thing.

By the author's grace, was this the power of those behind the divine fourth wall?

"It's good!" Y/N said, a little too quickly for their liking.

Stupid social anxiety.

"Um, Thirteen's trying to teach me how to use my quirk in rescues." They added slowing their words, before their voice lowered into a murmur. "I just kind of wish I knew that they don't really teach fighting techniques."

"Well why don't you teach yourself?" He asked.

Why do you have such good hearing, they thought. "I mean I tried a while ago, but I wouldn’t know where to start."

"Is the phone you were using to avoid me just for show or can you actually use it? Just look some up or walk yourself to a library."

OML THIS IS A HISTORICAL MOMENT HE GOT THROUGH A SENTENCE WITHOUT CURSING OR INSULTING ANYBODY IM SO PROUD OF YOU, BRO, WE NEED TO CELEBRATE THIS MOMENTOUS OCCASION- "I guess that make sense." Y/N replied, sheepish but surprised.

They really thought it would be like that first day at cross country. Like everyone would be looking at them, judging them, ostracizing them. But it was all their head, just as it was then, just as it was now.

There was a gap of (you guessed it) silence, but this time it was less awkward, more...comfortable.

"It's too bad, Best Jeanist, isn't what you thought he would be." Y/N said.

He hummed in response.

"It seems more like he's trying to change you than train you." They thought aloud.

"It's annoying. I wish he'd finish this damn haircut, so I can skip to the fun part, and kick somebody’s ass."

Y/N snorted audibly. "If it's about getting it to stay, I think I can help."

Bakugo raised an eyebrow, which before may have had them thinking they were on his kill list, but now not so much. "You do hair?"

"I mean, I take care of mine almost every morning, and I'm pretty good with gel at this point so why not?" They shrugged.

"Hurry up then, I don't want to have to do this for any longer than I have to."

"Your hair is surprisingly soft."

"Shut up, Flambé!"

"Seriously, what conditioner do you use?"

"I WILL BLOW YOU UP RIGHT NOW!"

•••

"Thanks for stopping by Thirteen, it's been nice." Best Jeanist said, as the two stepped out of his office.

Thirteen replied. "No problem. See you around."

The two turned to the other duo and though neither visibly shown it, the surprise remained present.

"Did you do his hair?" Thirteen asked in mild confusion.

Best Jeanist was past the point of mere confusion, he was borderline baffled. "You fixed it?!"

Y/N tucked away a comb granted by the author, "Magic."

"Are we gonna patrol now or what?" Bakugo asked, a grin tugging at his lips.

Even though it looked borderline evil, Y/N was still pretty proud they made him smile. Even if he looked like he was about commit a homicide.

A/N Feel free to hit me up via anything if you have any requests. Whether it’s headcanons, scenarios, or different pronouns lemme know! I really like writing these and wanna make everybody feel ✨comfy✨💕