#what a toxic era

[bazpango]

The outcome of the American election has me deep in regressive-nostalgia-comfortcore. I’ve had a 2005 DN Warped Tour AU in the drafts for months now, but after listening to fall out boy’s sophomore album my outline just hit 5k 🤦

[thepersonperson]

Sukuna is Peak Gap Moe. I’ll never be over this. This bastard talks tough, eats people, and kills like a woodchipper and yet…he is a poetic little sap. Getting mad over an improper haikus, the misidentification of flowers…and confessing his feelings to Gojo Satoru under several layers of wordplay no one except those well-versed in ancient Japanese would catch.

I've been over this in greater detail in Sukuna's Negative Rizz, but @tangsakura added more context in the replies to that post, making Sukuna's use of 凡夫 (bonpu) for Gojo even gayer.

In summary, 凡夫 (bonpu) can be translated as painfully ordinary or unenlightened. But in the individual kanji readings, 凡 is mediocre and 夫 is husband. You could read this as Sukuna calling Gojo his mediocre husband. And that's just the modern readings! The ancient readings...

So you can read this line from Sukuna as the following:

“You were born in an era without me and hailed as 'The Strongest'

1) And yet you turned out to be…painfully ordinary.”

2) And yet you turned out to be…unenlightened.”

3) And yet you turned out to be…a mediocre husband/wife/spouse.”

4) And yet you turned out to be…the ordinary one who could stand by my side.”

Sukuna seems to be saying these things all at once. (It’s no different than the Megumi Activities wordplay he uses with Enchain. Alt. link if the Twitter dies.) Gojo apparently makes him feel very conflicted. He’s boring, he can do better, he shouldn’t even call himself the Honored One, he’s his equal, they’re married. The irony here is that no one except Sukuna can understand this.

[arcanegifs]

Feels so surreal that Arcane S2 is like five days away

[fascinationstreetmp3]

personally i think they can do 70s/80s devil's minion while keeping it so that modern dm still needs a ton of development to Work, because they both have to navigate their feelings now even if daniel gets his memories back. there's the layers of betrayal and resentment they both feel; the fact that they've been apart for decades and have gone through life since then being shaped separately; the circumstances of daniel's turning— theyre all things they still have to work through, with or without an extended history between them.

for daniel, just because he might remember what he felt back then, it doesn't mean he automatically feels the same because of it now. maybe it could even be that he doesn't remember everything all at once; only the cat and mouse game at the beginning of their relationship, or the hopelessness and ruin at the end of it, or the addiction, and for a long time that's all he can remember. maybe he remembers it all but he can't connect what he felt then to what he feels now. it doesn't have to be a switch that flips and suddenly brings back all his old feelings and erases everything else.

for armand, there's an aspect to it that he has to come to love this more experienced version of the boy he once knew, one who is extremely sharp and much better at seeing right through him, one who is not dependant on him or his blood, one who has utterly dismantled everything he was clinging onto for decades, and, now armand's turned daniel, one he can't read the mind of like he used to. even if some things have stayed the same, their entire dynamic has shifted from what was once familiar.

so, even though past dm could be an easy way to go "they were in love once so of course they'll fall in love again", i don't think that's what would happen. in my opinion them having a history would add to their present dynamic but things are so different now it's pretty much brand new territory for them going forward.

[lovegrowsart]

"zk is an awful ship they'd be so horrible and toxic together" zutara is literally baby's first EtL ship who go from enemies to close friends in canon they're one of the most wholesome interations of the trope imaginable but also i want everyone to know i'd still ship it even if it was horrible and toxic <3 because they're 2d moving pixels and not fucking real <3

[its-haughty]

Can I request you draw soushi- nah I’m kidding give us more keishin PLEASE

ok i’ll combine both your ideas into one horrible mess if thats ok

[wildflowercryptid]

tossed these guys into a 1920s au just so i could draw them in neat clothes, they're my dress-up dolls now.

— as per usual, credit to @whisperingrockers for harrow's design. pls go check out her blog, her content is always killer!!

[necrotic-nephilim]

au for the ask game: omegaverse where omega dick grooms ealry-presented alpha tim in "prodigal son"

dick is going through one of the worst periods of his life after breaking up his wedding with kory (maybe she, like a tamaran, couldn't understand the secondary gender of humans and during the breakup said something bad about dick as an omega) and then tim appears with stars in his eyes and believes that dick is the best human being on earth.

bonus points if the society has progressed enough and mating with children is strictly prohibited, even if they present early.

for the ask game!

gdfdsfdgbf anon i'm kissing you on the mouth. this is my favorite flavor of Omegaverse, especially for DickTim. i'm a proud believer in the dominant omega!Dick/submissive alpha!Tim propaganda. also a big fan of how terrible Dick's life is during Batman: Prodigal. and i just. man i love the Omegaverse concepts of alien characters like Kory not understanding secondary gender and it causing rifts.

what's fun about the Prodigal era is just how isolated Tim and Dick are during it. Bruce is off.. being fucking Bruce, and Alfred is also away, so it's really just Dick and Tim for a bit. they've always worked with each other and have a repertoire, but a lot of the conversations they have about each other's pasts are happening for the first time. so it's such a fun time for Tim to present as an alpha. and of course, his hero worship for Dick (especially after having to deal with Jean-Paul) makes it so *easily* for Dick to just. slip his fingers into. Dick's isolated from the Titans, he's lost Kory, he's on the rocks with Bruce, and so there's just something so nice about this kid who still holds utter faith in him. he doesn't see any of the societal stereotypes about omegas in Dick, he just sees Dick. and then, he presents and he trusts *Dick* with that information, lets Dick guide him through the most awkward parts of presenting. how can Dick not want to take advantage of that? a young, fresh alpha who he's currently in charge of mentoring, with no one to stop Dick or notice what he's doing.

it's still tricky, of course. Dick not only has to make sure he's not breaking the law, but he also has to keep Tim from noticing, immediately. Tim's hero worship crush is the most obvious thing about him, but that doesn't mean Dick can jump on him. it needs careful time and planning. Bruce might not be around, but Tim still has his dad who could notice the scent of an omega on Tim. so instead of marking Tim, Dick starts marking himself with Tim's scent. it starts small, using the same blanket Tim has used in the Batcave, grabbing a couple of Tim's oversized hoodies and wearing them. things with plausible enough deniability, but enough that Tim starts to subconsciously associate his scent with Dick. when he can't smell himself on Dick he feels like something is wrong. and when he's finally brave enough to bring it up to Dick, Dick is able to spin it on Tim. make it seem like Tim is the one coming onto Dick, assuming things. Dick plays it cool, pretending to be shocked by the idea of it. he gently explains to Tim what he could be implying about their relationship and Tim is *mortified*, apologizing and tripping over himself to try and fix it. but Dick just calms him down, promises Tim he isn't mad bc hey, Tim is a fresh alpha and he presented so *young*, it's difficult to navigate.

so you have Dick offering to help navigate this with Tim and using it to get closer and closer to Tim. grooming him into the type of alpha that Dick wants in a relationship. anytime there's behavior in Tim that Dick doesn't like, Dick can pretty easily redirect by dropping comments about how Tim just "can't help" acting like this because of his alpha nature, which instantly makes Tim scramble to fix it. Dick likes Tim for who he is, this cute, sweet kid who's such a handsome little alpha. but he's rough around the edges and Dick puts it on himself to smooth those edges over. he's playing the long game with this, and he doesn't mind waiting it out. and Tim can't complain when Dick pushes the boundaries, making him uncomfortable, because he doesn't want Dick to think he's a *pervert* for thinking that way. it's one big mind game.

i do think, Dick would cave and sleep with Tim before Tim's an adult. he's smart enough not to mate Tim, and he's definitely smart enough not to sleep with Tim enough for Bruce, a beta, to notice what's going on. but when some sort of sex pollen incident triggers a simultaneous heat and rut for Dick and Tim respectively, it's the most convenient in that Dick needs. Dick acts like they're doing this out of necessity, that he's giving in even though he doesn't want to, just because of how Tim's acting under the aphrodisiac. it gives him complete control over the sex because Tim is so desperate to not give in to his "alpha ways" and hurt Dick by being violent or animalistic. Dick gets to pin Tim down, possibly even tie him down "for his own safety" and ride him until Tim is a crying mess under Dick. after the first time, if Dick orchestrates more scenarios where they end up in "fuck or die" situations well, it's not like anyone's noticing. at the height, he even manages to have sex with Tim without that sort of pretense, he just has to act like he can tell how needy Tim is and sigh, pretending he's the one doing Tim a favor "just this once" by letting Tim fuck him.

in the end, it's a long con that pays off. it takes until Battle for the Cowl but Tim's a legal adult. and Dick is Batman again, which really does feel like everything coming full circle. part of the reason Dick makes Damian Robin is to remove the pretense of Tim and Dick being sidekick and mentor. it makes it easier for Dick to insist he really does see Tim as a full adult (even if he doesn't, deep down. Tim is still a fresh teenager, just because it's legal doesn't make it any less morally questionable) and something more than Robin. Dick makes a comment about them being mates so offhandedly it makes Tim stop in his tracks. Tim, who's about to go on his Red Robin arc and isolate himself, now has a chance at being mates with his hero. a chance to smooth over their differences and be actual equal partners. of course, Tim jumps on it. maybe deep down, after they mate and Dick is all too pleased with himself, it clicks for Tim that this was all a set-up. he puts the pieces together while they're cuddling in bed. he knows deep down that Dick will never *actually* see him as an equal. but, the deed is done and if Tim is going to give himself over to anyone, of course it's going to be Dick Grayson.

[aithusarosekiller]

Is it bad to start planning a new Jegulus fic when I have a levels to revise for

Like I'm already writing several and now I have a new idea 😞😞

It started with this and now I'm brainstorming knowing I'll never logically be able to get it done:

Barty: Okay, speaking as a friend, I have do ask this...what are you gonna do when this all goes to shit? When he has enough and fucks off?

Regulus, casually: probably kill myself

Meanwhile James and Lily are having the same conversation on the other side of the city

[seriousbrat]

Severus & Lily + growing up in Cokeworth from my series The Darkest Days on Ao3

They giggle. Lily hands him the can. He takes a swig, then looks mournfully down at the packet of crisps, which is substantially less heavy now. “Sorry, I ate most of them already.” “That’s alright,” Lily says unconcernedly. “Wasn’t really hungry, anyway.” They swing, and talk about Hogwarts, and how excited they are— regretfully, Sev swipes the bag of crisps with a sticky, salty finger, trying to collect every last flavourful crumb.

[hailstorm1816]

I was genuinely tweaking out after going on marauders TikTok for the first time (at that point, I was only involved in the fandom through Pinterest and tumblr) because there was just so much hate towards headcannons and rare pair ships. Like, what do you mean you dislike anyone who ships a certain ship??? It's the fucking marauders fandom what do you expect? Like if you ship anything other than Jegulus, Wolfstar, Jily, dorlene, or rosekiller, then people will curse out your entire bloodline 😭 Im just really grateful that I didn't get into the fandom through TikTok because of how toxic that place is.

[viviandarkbloombartylusversion]

I will never really see bartylus as toxic BUT I cannot help the fact that whenever I listen to Love the way you lie by Eminem ft. Rihanna I think about them

[doghartzy]

can you please explain/describe the relationship dynamic between the deweys?

well you see, in the year of our lord 2021, brandon duhaime was called up to play on the minnesota wild. his nickname was dewey. he was ridiculous and scored stupid ugly goals (the ugliest dean evason had ever seen) and lost every fight he got into. then, also in 2021 (but later), connor dewar was called up to play on the minnesota wild. his nickname was dewey. wait wait. that can't be right. do they have to fight to the death or something - ah, no, i see. they've become dewey 1 (brandon) and dewey 2 (connor), thus inextricably linking their identities and careers together for the rest of their lives. surely this will have no consequences.

naturally the team leaned into this, especially since they're both gritty gross little fourth-liners who sometimes score silly goals but mostly fight (and lose). we got deweys merch! we got deweys not weird, wilds! we got brandon getting pranked with a car full of packing peanuts and telling connor to just 'get in the car, dew.' which we were all very normal about. oh btw they carpooled everywhere. and they lived in the same building for a while. did the bestie-ship exist naturally? or did it spring from the way they were constantly paired together, on the same line, with the same name, with the same hockey identity? were they really friends or were the wild somehow queerbaiting us, inexplicably?

in the end it doesn't really matter. they've only gotten worse & weirder about each other as the years go on. they're the deweys. connor's 'big dew' now, which the wild have tried to play off as not innuendo but who's gonna believe that. they adopted a third (mason shaw) and maybe a fourth (matt boldy, a rescue who was surrendered from a home that was no longer viable (fialaboldy soulbond)). they play every game together. they're always walking into the arena together. they play the same hockey as ever. wouldn't you be okay with just being one half of an eternal pair if the guy you were stuck with just happened to be your best friend? i think i would be.

[marzipanandminutiae]

i feel u on 1920s hate. when everyone is like ‘finally women are free of ~restrictive~ corsets’ and its like . first of all. didnt need to be. second. how do u think the curvier women were achieving the 1920s silhouette. quickly.

Exactly. I mean, yeah, it’s not their fault at all that people were saying things like that, or that it’s reached a fever pitch in recent years. Great material gains WERE being made for women, and I’m absolutely not discounting that. But much in the way that people tend to throughout history, though, they firmly believed that everything they were doing was the best and most progressive that it had ever been. And that idea has been hugely amplified in later years

I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that the 1920s were, in many ways, the beginning of a world that looks familiar to us now. Widespread film technology, continued rise of electricity, clothing-ways that seem familiar to us today in contrast to what came before (for example the advent of bras and panties, although people tend to forget there was usually also a girdle involved),  Air travel, cars becoming more popular, etc. because it seems less foreign, we accept all too readily the idea that it was better in all respects than everything earlier

(And ignore all the ways in which it would still have been foreign. Like… The 1920s were not actually the Proto – 2020s, guys. It owed for more to its immediate predecessors re: era mentality and technology and even fashion than some people would like to admit)

I don’t actually hate the 1920s – that would be pointless and reductive, since it’s an entire decade that happened over countless countries, demographics, cultural groups, etc. I think I’m with you, though, in hating the way it’s been put up on a pedestal as the perfect progressive era that was unilaterally better for women in particular

(Also, I read a book from the 1951 about the history of undergarments, and this mindset is in FULL force even three decades later.The guy finds ways to inaccurately rag on the Victorians even in chapters that aren’t about that time period, and concludes with a stirring statement that they are now living in the perfect time for underwear and that everything is so much better and more progressive than it ever has been in the past. The fact that this man- Cecil Willett Cunnington -was considered one of the highest authorities on dress history for a long time probably explains the current state of the discipline, In terms of “you can say basically whatever you want and people will believe you”)

[ravenpureforever]

The Barbie movie was absolutely incredible and I adored how it was funny, satirical, genuinely meaningful and so aesthetically pleasing but one thing that got me, spoilers ahead, was how they had a genuinely pleasing plot twist within the movie.

I, like many people, assumed that the movie would be Barbie goes to the real world and shenanigans ensue and there’s some beautiful meaning of life, but I never thought about the impact going to the real world would have on Barbieland, so it was a genuinely fun and well done surprise when Ken brings back the patriarchy to Barbieland and they have to find a way to defeat it. I didn’t see it coming but it makes perfect sense and foreshadows it beautifully.

Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him, his entire life is built around Barbie’s acknowledgement, and the other Ken’s are competition for Barbie’s acknowledgement, Barbie doesn’t even know where he sleeps, so of course going to the Real World where he’s treated where he has actual capabilities and can do something, it becomes incredibly warped for him in how he perceives it and how he brings it back to Barbieland. I thought Ken would just be Barbie’s token boyfriend, but really it’s just as much about Ken learning how to exist outside of Barbie and being enough just as himself in a healthy, mature manner.

Additionally it was so refreshing how Barbie cares about Ken, but there are little details, where she just smiles as he kisses her and even looks a little uncomfortable, how she doesn’t even want to consider the prospect of him staying the night or being a part of her Dreamhouse, and doesn’t really communicate with Ken that show the cracks in their relationships from the beginning, and how Barbie doesn’t want the relationship that Ken wants, and that’s not the fault of either party, and she doesn’t have to be with him and he doesn’t have to be with her just because that’s the way things are and in the end it’s healthier for both of them when they finally communicate their wants and needs, and walk away from the idea of a romantic relationship between the two of them.

Its how codependency and defining yourself by your partner are unhealthy and can’t have a sustainable relationship because it’s fundamentally unfulfilling for both parties. It’s how compulsory heterosexuality (AroAce Barbie my beloved) creates uncomfortable standards and pressure to be in a relationship in particular way that leaves both members unsatisfied in different ways. It’s about toxic masculinity and how the patriarchy hurts every person involved and is fundamentally unsustainable for every person involved.

Barbie was such a witty, fun but also really meaningful movie and genuinely good.

[aq2003]

i need to turn myself into a shrimp in front of russell the davies in order to change the trajectory of his life what do you mean "he said if he had wrote martha today he wouldn't have done the unrequited love aspect" WE WERE SO CLOSE TO GREATNESS. WE WERE THIS CLOSE TO TENMARTHA TOXIC QPRISM BUT FOR REAL. IM GOING TO DIE