#which is just a misunderstanding of these characters and what the show is trying to do

[laurabstar]

"Useless Dora the Explorer" — about Hwang Jun-ho

I'm not writing all this just because he's a really beautiful and awesome specimen of the human race, but the fandom is actually doing my man wrong!!!! "He didn't do anything after season 1," "take him out of the plot, and it wouldn't change anything." SHHHHHHHHH. Hear me out.

First of all, if it wasn't for him, the island wouldn't have exploded, but more on that later. Second of all, people are misunderstanding how realistic and *sad* this show is supposed to be. I interpreted Jun-ho not being able to do much to help as a representation of US (as in 'WE', not USA) being unable to do much to help with fighting against a cruel and unfair system that makes us victim. This show is filled to the brim with imperfection, which is LITERALLY THE POINT WAKE UP??? Some characters go mad, some get addicted to drugs, others are corrupted by greed, some get violent throughout the game, and some have to make really unfair, morally-conflicting decisions.

That's the point.

When you're using art to criticize society and its flaws, you don't make the final piece perfect.

Squid Game is about the spiritual and moral corrosive tendencies of capitalism and individualism. Jun-ho being """useless""" represents (at least to my perspective) that feeling of helplessness that almost all of us feel because WE feel useless. And Jun-Ho obviously wanted to find the island and save the players and help put an end to the games. But he also just wanted his big brother back. "Bro did two seasons of nothing just to scream 'why?!' at his brother again". YES. He did. Because when someone you love wholeheartedly does something unimaginably evil or wrong, logic is out the window. If I was in Jun-Ho's place, I wouldn't even be able to say a word from how much I'd be crying. It doesn't even make sense that he hasn't gone completely insane with all the information he knows about his missing brother.

Jun-Ho is not a useless character who did nothing, but rather THE character that represents how humans are NOT supposed to be logical and professional, no matter how hard we try to make that true.

Going back to him exploding the island, I think there's so much meaning behind all this. The Coast Guard getting to the island too late, and then Jun-Ho saying he'd never work with the police again "after what happened", I personally understood it as a way for the show to demonstrate how, in a societal and governmental system with an elite person/group ruling over everyone else, asking for revolutionary help from WITHIN the system (aka the police) won't get you anywhere because that help is either stopped before it becomes useful, or it doesn't actually want to be helpful. But that's all he had and was able of doing. And I'm sure he knows that.

So on top of losing his big brother, Jun-Ho has the weight of the world on his shoulders because he wasn't able to save the 455 players that died, even though he possibly saved the players that would have been chosen the year after if the island hadn't exploded (if we assume it's gonna take a while to get the games running again). And at the end of it all, he became a fucking single dad.

Squid. Game. Is. NOT. Perfect.

And that's the point.

No character in this show deserves to be hated, because they're all showing what WE would do if we were in their place. They're all showing what greed and individualism and lack of understanding of the system we live in are capable of doing to a seemingly good person.

The Dora the Explorer memes are funny, but he's not useless. He wholly represents the pure feeling of, "I did all I could, and yet it wasn't enough for me or for anyone."

So my point is: overbullied character for such an emotionally deep plot. Which is basically every character in this show.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk :)

[grinchwrapsupreme]

doc martin is just 60% louisa storming over to martin to tell him what an ass he's being and fundamentally misunderstanding him as a person and a doctor and 40% martin doing his job. and sprinkled in between the two is the writers looking into the camera and going "perfect for each other aren't they?" while they wring each others neck'

[elysianstarfall]

blue lock boys w/ a super expressive reader (hcs)

summary: your emotions are always written all over your face, and your actions are also a dead giveaway. what does your boyfriend think?

characters: isagi yoichi, bachira meguru, nagi seishiro, mikage reo, itoshi rin

a/n: god i hope this makes sense

i. yoichi

LOVES IT. SO MUCH.

he's always using so much brainpower trying to figure out what his teammates/opponents are thinking

so when he can tell how you're feeling with one look at your face, he's genuinely so happy

his brain is fried, he deserves a break

doesn't mean he doesn't care about you though!!

still has to figure some stuff out, but most of the time he notices your mood and adjusts to match it

you're really excited about something? he tries his best to get into it too

you're lowkey depressed? he softens his voice and listens to you intently

gets you whatever you need

the second he sees you're uncomfortable or something he tries his best to get you out of the situation even at his own expense

will embarrass himself to make you feel better

you always tell him he's the best bf ever but you seriously make it so easy for him to be

b. meguru

"you're just like me fr..."

yeah he's basically the same

you guys literally just sync up by accident

like if one of you is happy, the other one's mood just instantly gets better too??

bluetooth ahh relationship

also, miscommunication? what's that?

you know each other's feelings so well that misunderstandings are pretty much nonexistent

if something's wrong, it's so obvious

like if you're moping he'll make you talk things out with him or tell him what's wrong

same if he's feeling sad

thinks it's adorable when you're excited and your eyes just straight up light up

he just gets a stupid smile on his face which makes you even happier

cue the never-ending cycle of emotions

you guys are so soulmates

n. seishiro

he's so, so grateful

he doesn't have to put in any work deciphering your emotions? sign him up

consider yourself not a hassle!

it's actually perfect for a lazy guy like him

finds your facial expressions really cute

even when you're just voice calling, he can hear everything you're feeling

like when you laugh or when he can hear your smile when you're talking, he can relax

happy gf = he's doing something right

oh but when you're mad...

save him, he has no clue how to fix it

actually scared to talk to you because you look like you're gonna beat him up

and when you don't even look mad, when you act nonchalant and distant and he can't tell how you're feeling?

yeah, he's cooked and he knows it

will give you an apology with tears

he'd rather avoid that so he tries to keep you happy

m. reo

ok idk why they're all grateful but yeah. he is too.

he's been dealing with nagi's unemotional ass for forever, so he's pleased that someone actually shows their emotions and lets him know how they're feeling

finds it really helpful when he gets you stuff since he knows whether or not you actually liked it

like if your reaction is clearly fake as hell he knows not to get you something like that again

he doesn't take it personally ofc, just uses it to refine his gift-giving abilities

really likes it when you're genuinely happy because of something he gave you

you cannot stop him from blowing insane amounts of money on you

in his eyes you deserve it

just let it happen bro

also he's kind of a romantic and he loves seeing your reactions when he does something cliché or stupid

tells you horrible pick up lines out of nowhere and thinks it's so funny when you actually get flustered

i. rin

he couldn't care less.

JK he's secretly very happy

there's only room for one emotionally unavailable partner in the relationship (him)

so at least one of you can tell how the other's feeling!

thinks it's nice that he can tell when you're mad at him

because let's be real he's lowkey insecure

abandonment issues are not for the weak

so when you reassure him and your expressions and actions are backing it up?

he just fell for you even harder

but when you are mad? ouch

he's a "my gf is mad at me i hope i die" kinda bf but he keeps it very lowkey

will just sulk until he gets so sick of you ignoring him or being mean to him that he awkwardly breaks down and gives you a very sincere apology

hopes you never change because he loves you the way you are

[verso-dans-la-nuit]

DMC5!Dante Headcanons ´ω`

cw: lil bit of mental health issues + romantic + nsfw stuff mentioned

Dante is not “dumb” ffs he just goes on power saving mode sometimes. Like if he was in school, he would be able to get A's and B's it's just sitting still and studying is not his thing

he's literally one of the kindest character i've ever seen in my entire life and the amount of people who misunderstand him is insane

Spiritually he is ´ω` when he’s in good condition, like imagine getting mad at him when he’s literally ´ω` 

If you observe him closely, he got pretty sad-looking eyes, a gaze that shows many layers of him

i saw somewhere on web that prolonged depression or PTSD makes brain insensitive to threats, making them unreactive in the situation, maybe that’s part of the reason why Dante is nonchalant when it comes to threatening situations because he is suicidal + doesn’t care what happens to him

He’s very good at self control and hiding his emotions

One day he could be horn dog and next day he can be in complete control if he got a job

also if you struggle with mental health, he'd be very patient & understanding about it because he knows what it's like

As long as he’s not beheaded or nuked he’d still survive & heal

Minor injuries take seconds or minutes to heal but major injuries take a whole day to recover

Pet names: babe, sweetie

He has piercing ice blue eyes idc what dmc5 render says, dmc4 got it right

he also got glow in the dark eyes yum

He’s actually quite unsettling if you see him in person for the first time, like you can tell he’s not human somehow

sharp fangs, thicc and veiny, body hair (treasure trail, chest, arm) his hair is extra fluffy and lengthy in my hc

The Sparda gene makes his physique bigger than average people, you can tell that he is built different

Mr.Save the world, he always slipping through the fingers because he has to stop his twin brother or protect this world from the evil. He is willing to sacrifice himself and doesn’t care what happens to him which is very sad :(

In terms of romance, he doesn’t seem like the type to ever say something along the lines of eternity or “i’m yours” type of thing, because he never knows when he has to disappear and commitment is scary (and the whole thing about him being Sparda’s son, it puts his loved ones in danger and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt again)

also him being a hybrid + devil hunter makes him feel like an outcast + he thinks he shouldn’t be involved with people who got normal lives

also he HATES to be controlled or lied to, instant turn-off

but still if he knew that you were the one, he will try his best to be a good partner, he can be romantic as hell

He is capable of love because he knows what it feels like and what it is, but he chooses not to because he has to protect the world and his loved ones

And he can’t guarantee that he’ll be able to give what the other person wants

Smells like gunpowder/grease, metal, musk, vanilla and hint of whiskey

If he could afford water bills he'd take shower more often

Switch, a mix of making love and fucking hard. Nasty and freaky, loves to get messy. Would enjoy getting pegged. Very open to new things.

Most importantly, he bites. He loves to leave marks on you

His stamina is insane and can go on for hours non stop. He’s also very flexible (i mean did you see his leg split in DMC4)

Got size difference and praise kinks. yeah he’s freaky

Secretly loves being babied and acts whiny sometimes (in a cute way)

You can see his childhood personality from here lol

Very self-aware of his problems and thinks that he’d be a horrible partner

He has rotten luck in romance and refrains from any involvement in the future. He was certain that he will be single for life and he’s fine with it. Plus he’s emotionally unavailable

He almost never says “i love you” directly but has his own ways to express it

Random surprise gifts from him, usually something small. It ranges from a bouquet of roses, chocolate box, plush or movie ticket

either sleeps too much or too less, never the right amount

loves creamy desserts and greasy/hearty meals and never gets sick or fat somehow

he can survive without drinking or eating, he needs either human food or blood by choice

Definition of head-turner; if he walks around in public people will either find him hot or unsettling/intimidating

listens to divorced dad rock/metal but also jams to white girl music

Very small thing but i kinda imagined him to have a deeper voice lol

Matt Mercer should voice him as a joke, just for once

[rose-morose]

ok we need to have a chat about Kit from Jentry Chau vs the Underworld

(as per usual long spoilers under the cut)

he is a great character, but you all are misunderstanding the point behind his reveal to Jentry as a painted skin

the show finally gives us the dignity to be accepting of a person for being different right out of the gate, like Jentry was surprised by Kit's true appearance, but not unaccepting

whereas other shows often like to give us the whole *you wouldn't like me because I'm different no I would I swear never mind you were right I don't like you anymore* Jentry Chau vs the Underworld gives Jentry a good reason for why she doesn't accept Kit

Jentry later explains herself very clearly to Kit and why she doesn't trust him, it's because he manipulated her, seduced her, tried to kill her, and did the one thing that everyone else does to her, the thing she hates most, he tried to use her to get what he wants

she can't trust that his feelings for her are real, and it's not just because he is a demon and his book entry says "can't feel emotion" or whatever, she has been given good reason to believe that the book is right and she shouldn't trust him, not because he was lying about being a demon, but because he tried to kill her at the orders of the man that she believed had murdered her parents, because he had planted a pearl on her that manipulated her desire to see her parents to lead her into a trap, because he had spied on her and pretended to also be into the things she likes just to get close enough to kill her, and his reasons for doing all of that were entirely selfish, he planned on trading her soul for a soul of his very own

Jentry eventually forgives Kit, but not because she has reconciled that he is a demon, she realizes that Kit is just like her, his manipulation wasn't his own plan, he is a pawn in someone else's game, like her he is being used by another party to get what they want, and like her he wants out

this prompts her to come up with a plan to get them both out of the game, if Jentry can transfer the powers that Flora and Cheng are fighting over from her to something else, then theoretically Flora would no longer need Jentry, and Cheng would no longer need Kit in order to get close to Jentry

she enlists Kit's help to achieve this objective, and it works (temporarily), freeing Jentry and Kit from the rivalry that they both wanted no part of

Kit then takes this opportunity to try and form a romantic relationship with Jentry, but she declines citing a need for "normalcy"

again, not because she doesn't accept him as a person, Jentry is doing everything she can to put her supernatural past behind her whether it's Cheng, the mogui, her gugu, her parents, her powers, Diyu, or ghosts, but she is content keeping friends around like Ed and Kit

and it's worth mentioning that Jentry noticed Kit's desire to be with her was entirely selfish and self serving, he wanted his own happiness no matter the cost, even if it meant stealing from Jentry, and his behavior around her was hardly rational, stalking her, smashing lockers, scaring her, he wasn't exactly trying to formulate a healthy relationship

she is later upset with Kit for breaking her trust once again, and stealing from her to achieve the same selfish goal as before

but Kit finds redemption in the end, not redemption for being a demon, redemption for being selfish, and he does this by sacrificing himself to save Jentry's life, something from which he had nothing to gain, and even admits what Jentry suspected, that his wanting to be with her was selfish, but he proved that he could be selfless and put others first

people are saying he got done dirty, but it was that sacrifice that made him not only a good person, but a good character that was capable of growing and evolving, and his absence from the rest of the show, suggesting that his death may have been permanent, made his sacrifice all the more meaningful

Jentry is hardly perfect, but she isn't the monster some have accused her of being

why wouldn't Jentry be accepting of a demon? Ed was a jiangshi, an undead demonic creature from Diyu that consumes qi much in the same way that the painted skin demon would, and he was one of her best friends

she saw the nü gui as a non-malicious friend to Ed, considered her gugu's ghosts to be helpful and nice, helped a dangerous little girl to return to the afterlife, didn't run off when she learned about Michael's powers, regarded niu tou and ma mian as non-evil forces just doing their job, considered Kit a friend after forgiving him, and helped Zhong Kui capture law breaking ghosts

she was constantly accepting of any super natural entity that wasn't a total dick, why would this be any different?

now I love Kit, and if there is a season 2, and I hope to god there is, I would love to see him return as well, but you gotta stop ragging on Jentry for just being rational, there are much better reasons why someone would be upset with her, but I just can't see the unaccepting angle

[kaivenom]

I think headcanons are good start for writing Yandere

Yandere!One piece Men x reader

Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Trafalgar Law, Eustass Kid, Killer

A/N: This is my first time writing this so it's very general and i hope it's the right point.

Masterlist

Luffy

It's the type of Yandere that it's so funny and smiley that you dont get it at first, he is just to friendly and nice that you don't care about the dizzy feeling on your stomach.

But once you try to get out of the ship, he just convinces you to stay, that's his secret weapon.

Who says that Luffy doesn't know how to manipulate it's wrong, with his childness he can get whatever he wants and that happens to you.

He gets kisses, attetion, cuddles, sex and everything he wants when he says it and you can't say no to him.

Especially on those times you think about leaving, it's like he reads your mind and instantly asks you with a pouty face "you would never leave me, right my darling?"

And of course you cant, you are trapped on his mental games.

Zoro

Very bad at fights, even to the point that he sometimes scares you.

He compensates it with being extra protective, in some occasions too much but you say to yourself that you love that side of him.

If someone lays his eyes on you, especially the cook, he would deadly glare at them and when you aren't looking, he will break the shit out of them.

He tries not ot be that violent next ot you, and even tries to clean the blood.

You sometimes see the blood but you ignore it, the thing you cant ignore is how he yells when he is angry.

He doesn't have to be angry at you, sometimes he is even jelaous about how other people look at you and his mind tells him that you had something to do with that.

So he yells and breaks something but then he goes and apologies saying that he is a monster and that he doesnt deserve you (a little bit of mental games)

Sanji

Another psychological one but this men plays with your good heart.

He says "without you i have no reason to live", "if you leave me then i may die", "i can't stand living if you aren't there."

At first you thought it was cute and nice and all but then you started to not know where is the limit of the gentle words and a possible threat.

Cause most likely, he wont kill himself cause he would prevent you from leaving any way posible.

And you don't want to find the answer.

Other big aspect of him is that probably he would manipulate your foods like, putting aphrodisiacs or even putting sleeping pills if he thinks you can try something on the night.

Trafalgar Law

Living on a submarine makes its really difficult to leave so... first bad point.

He has a very good case of avoidant attachment which means he doesn't pay attention to you until you feel like crying and being really desperate and that's when he makes time to care about you, but even that saying some mean things like "you are dramatic", "you are overreacting", "it's not that much, you are an attention baby".

But then, when he gets needy it's a different story.

When he wants anything, since he can room you, he gets you to the bedroom and you have to give him what he wants... even when you arent on the mood.

This go forth and back leaves you on an emotion rollercoaster but when he is attentive or when he just relies on you that much, you just love that he goes to you.

Eustass Kidd

Unlike Zoro, he is jelaous, he shows it and he can beat someone brutally in front of you.

After that, you will have to reasure him that you won't leave him, it's the only way he can calm down and so do you.

You have to be careful on how you are with others cause he can misunderstand everything.

Since he is a lot bigger, he likes to toss you around and make you go to bed with him when he needs to, espeacially, when he is angry/needy/urgent he stomps really loud so you are prepared to not resist yourself to his grip, even if you are talking to someone.

I believe that he give you these gifts: a collar, bracelets and anklets. that are made of metal to inmovilize you and make you do whatever he wants.

Don't even try to take them out, he would get really whiney and grumpy, and wont let you alone in a long time, like a real pain in teh ass.

Killer

A little bit quieter than Eustass but still really possesive and paranoid.

He is more subtle about the jelaousy but of course, he landed one punch or two to one person in front of you, he isn't called Killer for nothing.

Otherwise he won't ever lay a hand on you, but he can get scary... with that helmet on and just standing there, with his big body blocking you from the world and completely silent.

He is not one of big words so he goes thru acts.

Wrapping your wrists to oblige you to sit on his lap, tossing you on his shoulder when he is upset on how you are behaving.

The no words treatment doesn't go only for bad things, he can also go behind you and hug you suddently, he can just slap your ass or lift you hide his face on the crock of your neck.

He is somehow very unpredictable cause he is very silent and his helmet doesn't help.

[cuppajj]

Tbh i just want to know why you like hollytaya but not eternalberry or b x a at all? Pitaya is a shitty person to hollyberry too. But they get a pass and eternal sugar doesn't? You say you can see b x a as a onesided thing but then why not hollytaya too? Why would she like pitaya and not es when they've both treated her badly? If she can forgive pitaya for what they did even though they never said sorry or made up for it then why cant she forgive es too? Not trying to start shit, i'm asking a legit question because I'm confused, like i see everyone hate bxa all the time but love hollytaya even though they're like. The same thing? And pitaya has done shitty things to hb too? But it's ok when they do it I guess? Idk i just dont get it man

Haha ok so I wrote more than I thought I would, I guess this serves as my case for why I like Hollytaya.

Here’s the TL;DR: I think Hollytaya has a good character arc attached, Eternalberry is good and I do like it, but I still prefer Hollytaya more.

I go into your comments more specifically under the cut:

So!

I disagree with some of what you said about Holly and Pitaya. Let me explain:

I’m not out here going to parade Pitaya as the most innocent guy around, because that would be misunderstanding Pitaya’s character. Yes they’ve definitely terrorized HB’s kingdom, took her throne in her absence even. But in summation they’ve (1) historically had a respect for Hollyberry’s strength, and 2) already had an arc where their relationship with her improved.

Let’s walk through their interaction in the Red Dragon story:

Cookies and their villages are being attacked and burned down. Hollyberry starts out believing Pitaya’s up to no good again, because naturally, the Red Dragon’s name being attached to such awful things makes sense. She fights them early on, but it’s a little too easy because their power’s been sapped. After questioning them (with juice, which they really like), Pitaya’s honesty is tested when they make the proposal to help them get their strength back. Holly and Wild don’t believe them at first, but by the end of the story, Pitaya proves to stay true to their word.

The shittiest thing Pitaya’s done to HB, as far as we can tell, is threatening her kingdom, burning farms (implied but could be any other dragon too), and taking her throne in her absence. But something to note is that Pitaya doesn’t go out and hunt cookies specifically. Hollyberry admits this is true:

(And if Pitaya was one to not burn cookies in their houses, and instead… burn cookies outside of them, she might’ve brought that up, no?)

It seems like Pitaya, despite being one of the many dragons that plagued the Hollyberry kingdom, wasn’t the worst one to. They were definitely the main (or strongest) one, if the legend of Hollyberry defeating them got so much fanfare, but possibly not the worst… I’d wager the kingdom would be a little more hesitant to make Pitaya part of their culture if so. Who’d want to see replica taxidermies, statues, paintings, and get merchandise and plushies of the dragon who killed entire families? Why would Hollyberry (or any of her family) approve of that??

I don’t think Hollyberry would be this trusting out the gate if Pitaya was known to be anything else, especially someone who goes out backstabbing and hunting cookies for sport. They might be a nuisance, but they stay true to their word. Pitaya is honestly more reliable than Starscream.

(Something to note too: in the screenshots I’ve shared, they’re making a deal to help each other. Later on though, after Holly learns about the binding contract, she asks if that is what she and Pitaya made. Pitaya says no since it wasn’t in dragon tongue, thus showing that they were willing to take Holly on her word.)

And be for real /nm, when was the last time we saw a ship between rivals who had years and years and years of fighting each other, coming together as allies against a common threat?

Jumping ahead to the climax of the story, it does look like for a second that Pitaya was using Hollyberry to break her soul jam. But it’s not the entire truth - in order to defeat the Red Dragon (a facsimile of Pitaya made by DE), Holly has to sacrifice her soul jam that is partially bound to the contract Pitaya made (was tricked into making) with DE.

Pitaya was almost pulling a Beast move there, getting Hollyberry to agree to destroying her soul jam. BUT it’s not for any devious plot, it’s for protecting the cookies and kingdom they used to terrorize. They even do it in Dragontongue, meaning their oath can’t be broken. If Pitaya was that conniving and evil, would they have wanted to put themselves in a position like that?

Even when they and Holly find another way around the oath, they still stay true to their word, once again proving they don’t need to force themselves to do the right thing. They respect Holly, despite all the fighting they’ve done, and the countless times she’s defeated them (they are lowkey mad when she left after the war! They want her back!! They want their rival back to fight!! That was their whole thing in the story mode). Holly, versely, respects Pitaya’s strength and honesty. They might be the same dragon that took the throne, but they’ve changed, so much that they’re willing to give up their old menacing ways.

You’re right that Pitaya never apologizes for what they did, but what they chose to do in the Red Dragon story instead was arguably more powerful than what words could do. And Holly never forgives them, yes, personally I wouldn’t want her to—but regardless, she knows them well enough to know all the actions they take are genuine.

Now here’s what I have to say about Eternalberry:

There’s a reason why I’m not as uncomfortable with Eternalberry as I am other BxA ships, and it’s for the reason that Eternal Sugar didn’t hurt HB as much as the other Beasts with their ancients. Her tactics relied on psychological and emotional manipulation above anything else, and while HB was affected by it, she had a good support system with her to keep her from spiraling too far. Awakening even helped her understand how to talk to Eternal Sugar, arguably in a similar way to Pitaya!

But with the way ES reacts… how do we know she listened? Hollyberry does the hero thing by telling her she can change, but Sugar is so hellbent on keeping her that despite acknowledging for a second, she slips right back into doing anything she can to keep Holly there and make her hers.

When the paradise begins to crumble and Holly does her thing protecting Eternal Sugar despite everything, we get The Yuri Scene:

But note that Eternal Sugar is asking if Hollyberry changed her mind. Changed her mind on leaving most likely, all because she protected her from falling debris? That’s just what Hollyberry does, she protects those who she believes can possibly change! It’s certain HB believes ES can, but the question is if ES actually wants to.

Now- ES does say she’ll think about it! But it’s, for now, up to interpretation. Was she really promising to do that, or was she too lovestruck by what Holly just did to say anything but yes? (It’s really funny to me to imagine that she simply yes ma’amed Holly, because whoa… woman just protected her.., awoogah!!!!!)

Personally, this strikes me as more one-sided than Hollytaya. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall ES saying sorry either. She did lighten up after listening to Holly, but she was too lovestruck to really do anything else. Well, beside make the garden prettier for her return… but that’s ES assuming Holly will return, which as Holly says, depends on whether or not ES commits to changing the same way Pitaya did.

If the other BxA ships like Mysticcacao, Burningcheese, and Shadowvanilla were closer to Eternalberry in how the beast was actively encouraging the ancient’s happiness and comfort in exchange for their company—not threatening them or hurting them or psychologically tormenting them first thing—then I’d probably be more comfortable with them. It helps that ES’s whole thing is happiness, so there was no incentive for her to really get into Hollyberry’s head until she started doing what she didn’t want, which was try to leave.

I don’t want Holly to forgive ES either, because the stuff she did was unforgivable. But if people can look past that and construct ideas for how they’d come together as partners, then people who like Hollytaya can do the same!

You’re right in how Sugar and Pitaya are similar, just different antagonists with different methods and different ways Hollyberry overcame them. For me, and I’m sure others who like Hollytaya, it’s the fact the two of them came together as allies despite everything, and all that I said above.

There’s one thing Hollytaya has over Eternalberry though, and that’s the fact Pitaya became an ally. The two of them worked together to stop a common enemy, and in the process, understood each other a little more. It’s a foundation us Hollytaya fans like to run with, and a very good launchpad for any hero x villain/rival x rival ship. Holly understood ES, but they haven’t had enough time to really work things out. Holly told ES that she’d give her a chance if she fixes herself, and that made ES go from desperate and angry to eerily calm really fast… but who knows if that was because she was actively listening, or because the Hollyberry she loves (or loves the idea of) shone through? I wouldn’t put it above ES to love the idea of Hollyberry instead of her - keep in mind how she was elated whenever HB did anything but be the strong-willed defender of her people, ready to take on any challenge including ES’s mentality and methods themselves.

And again: I don’t dislike Eternalberry (bc don’t get me wrong, I love me a good toxic yuri situationship!), I just prefer Hollytaya. There’s a whole lot of juice in a ship between ES and HB that can be explored, but I prefer the character development Holly had with Pitaya and the rival x rival dynamic. They’ve known each other for much longer too, enough for there to be more juice than Eternalberry, at least for me. I don’t see Hollytaya as one sided either, there’s a mutual respect between them that can turn into mutual feelings for each other.

If you prefer Eternalberry over Hollytaya, that’s fine! I’m not going to dislike people for shipping them, or any BxA for that matter. I just hope I helped you (and anyone else) understand my thought process is all! I went off on a ramble, so hopefully all of this makes sense and is easy to read. Sorry if it’s not 🥹

[deception-united]

Let's talk about grumpy x sunshine tropes.

Arguably one of the most well-loved tropes in media, for good reason. The dynamic where one character is perpetually cynical, stoic, or irritable while the other is warm, cheerful, and outgoing often makes for good banter and conflict, and it's satisfying to watch the grumpy character's reluctance develop into the relationship as they warm up to the other. But it's important to do it well. Here are some tips.

The Appeal

What makes this trope work?

Contrast = Chemistry

The clashing personalities creates tension as well as opportunities for banter, which adds to the chemistry between the characters; and their differences and areas of disagreement force them both to grow and adapt for the sake of the other.

Vulnerability

As their relationship develops, you'll often see the sunshine character helping the grumpy character to confront their emotional walls, whether by pushing them or when they come down on their own over time as they grow closer to each other. This also leads to the grumpy character softening around the sunshine character.

Humour

This whole dynamic naturally comes with its own comedic situations—whether that be witty retorts, misunderstandings, or the sunshine character's relentless attempts to brighten the grumpy character up.

Dos and Don'ts

Do:

Give them depth. Have reasons for their respective personalities, motivations, goals, who they avoid, how they act around new people—the grumpy character's personality, for example, aside from just being a part of their character, might also have elements that stem from past trauma or a fear of vulnerability, amongst other things. Avoid making them one-dimensional, like just making the grumpy character a jerk and the sunshine character obnoxiously naïve.

Show mutual growth. As their relationship develops, both characters should influence the other in various ways. An obvious example of this would be the sunshine character learning boundaries or resilience, and the grumpy character being able to open up more.

Balance their dynamic. Make the relationship feel like partnership rather than a one-sided emotional rescue mission. Both characters should be contributing to and benefiting from the relationship.

Build it up gradually. A slow burn typically works best with this trope. Let their relationship develop over time, give them reasons to connect and bond and grow. This will make the eventual payoff more satisfying for the reader.

Have balance. Make each character complement the other without dominating the narrative. They should feel like a team rather than one character "fixing" the other.

Create situations that force interaction. Whether they’re co-workers, roommates, or trapped together somewhere, proximity is key to fostering their dynamic, essentially forcing it when their personalities naturally go against each other.

Don't:

Make the sunshine character a doormat. Don't let them exist solely for the purpose of catering to the grumpy character's needs and pushing them for growth—give them agency, independence, and their own goals and motivations.

Have one-sided growth. It’s not just about the sunshine character "fixing" the grumpy character; both should influence and challenge each other.

Overuse miscommunication. Misunderstandings happen in relationships, and likely more when the characters' personalities contrast so drastically, but constant misunderstandings and miscommunication can frustrate readers. Try to use it more sparingly and don't drag out the resolution for conflict that is petty or largely unimportant to the overall plot.

Make the dynamic toxic. Unless this is your intention, of course, but if you're trying to develop a healthy and lovable romance, keep in mind that grumpy doesn't mean cruel. The grumpy character might have certain reservations or personality quirks, but being stoic or unapproachable doesn't inherently equate to being emotionally abusive.

Oversimplify the sunshine character. Cheerful and outgoing shouldn't automatically mean being naïve or oblivious. The sunshine character should be complex in their own right, and capable of experiencing a range of emotions, both positive and negative.

Make the sunshine character too overbearing. A sunshine character who ignores boundaries or forces positivity onto the grump can come across as irritating and socially inept rather than endearing.

Overdone?

Some things are overdone and everyone's tired of them; others are overdone because no one gets tired of them. So:

Overdone, unfortunately:

Unexplained 180: The grumpy character changes overnight with no believable arc.

"You’re the only one who gets me": While sweet in moderation, it can feel contrived if the sunshine character magically understands the grump without effort.

Damsel in distress: Turning the sunshine character into a helpless figure who needs constant saving undermines their strength.

Overdone, but please continue:

Forced proximity: Setups like this are cliché but effective when done well, and fun to read.

Grumpy protects sunshine: The grumpy character reluctantly stepping up to shield the sunshine character is not only adorable but leads to deeper emotional connections.

Soft spot: The grumpy character's’s hidden affection for the sunshine character always lands well if subtle.

Happy writing and thank you all for 3000! ❤

Previous | Next

[tillythemenace]

WHY ASTRID'S CHANGES IN THE LIVE ACTION HURT HICCSTRID

Very long post ahead.

I will be VERY real rn. I am a very hardcore Hiccstrid shipper but I HATE stupid pointless fanservice. And in the LA, there’s so much and at that point in the story is really dumb… It fundamentally changes what made them great in HTTYD1, Especially Astrid.

I talked about it here in my Astrid review, but the way those two scenes in particular misunderstood their core dynamic which SHOULD BE ALLIES FIRST AND THEN ROMANCE.

Their scenes felt just so weird to me. Hiccup is an utter simp and not in the good way… He lets Astrid be even meaner to him. Astrid herself feels so much meaner while getting her OG ending is jarring. She legit threatened him to take his house like hello?! Why would she ever say that? Besides the obviously stupid decision to make her want to be Chief out of nowhere and super OOC, making her hate him for being “privileged” adds such an inconsistent and horrible layer to their “romance”. Cause now Hiccup just takes it… Hiccup may have been weak and meek at first but he was NEVER a pushover. And Astrid having a new "motivation" to hate him is a misunderstanding of her character.

Astrid saying "He's never where he should be"

is very important, cause this shows how Astrid really sees Hiccup at first. Someone that is not VIKING LIKE and is a nuisance. He SHOULD be viking like but he isn't, he's not doing what he's supposed to be and he's not really trying in dragon training at that point. Astrid's disliking of Hiccup stemmed STRICTLY from the fact that Hiccup didn't take his position as Berk's future seriously, she just wanted to protect her village and Hiccup was clearly a liability WITH HIS INVENTIONS that caused more harm than good and THAT'S why he was looked down upon, NOT BECAUSE HE WAS PRIVILEGED. It's SUCH a pointless and dumb change that EVEN IF Astrid came from nothing as she said in LA, it would still make no sense. Now listen, THIS LINE right here could potentially mean that Hiccup being cut some slack could be related to being the chief's son, YES. I'm not saying that Hiccup didn't get special treatment by Stoick cause if it was anyone else? Stoick probably would shipped them off a long time ago. But understanding why Hiccup was there has more to do with the fact that Gobber insisted to Stoick, and the more he got older, the more he needed to protect himself somehow. Putting Hiccup in training is something that would've happened sooner or latter whether he liked it or not. Hiccup's arc was never about "humbling" himself or "recognize his privileges" he was bullied because he was weak and non viking ffs like PLEASE stay focused... Him being the Chief's son was never an actual point of contention for Astrid OR the gang.

Pointing out the real reasons Astrid hated him is very important cause she left him well enough alone for the most part even tho she was mildly annoyed he was a liability to their safety (which is what Astrid cared more about, "Our parent's war") stuff started changing AFTER his success, cause Astrid is prideful yes, she wants to be the best warrior, in her core she's still human and she did get jealous Hiccup of ALL PEOPLE started winning cause of UNUSUAL UNVIKING LIKE methods.

Their added scenes in the Book of Dragons and in the Kill Ring absolutely make my blood boil. Not all new Hiccstrid scenes are good just because they’re Hiccstrid.

In Book of Dragons LA scene, he’s actively insisting on Astrid that dragons may be good when at that point in the story he was NOT SURE HIMSELF YET. In the OG Hiccup was ALWAYS VERY cautious. This added scene is so weird to me because yes, why would Astrid listen to him? AND threaten him?

The fact is that Astrid in HTTYD1 left Hiccup well enough alone because she really didn’t care about him until after he started “cheating” in her eyes. They skipped the forge scene where that point is driven further:

“I normally don’t care what people do but you’re acting weird”

Astrid being sus of Hiccup is important because she NEVER CARED for him at first and THEN she started to notice that he was acting weird. And with GOOD REASON, unlike everyone else, Astrid didn't look for the easy way out, EVER. Astrid was methodical, logical and yes viking-like aggression when fighting but most of all FAIR. She EARNED her place and she wanted Hiccup to do the same. She may have not seen a new way yet, but at that point in the story, the methods Hiccup was using might as well have been cheating.

Cause yeah, “No one just GETS as good as you (Hiccup) do, especially you (Hiccup)” "Are you training with someone?" She could sense that Hiccup was getting better out of NOWHERE and his methods were clearly... dishonest for lack of a better word in her POV. like we KNOW that isn't true in Hiccup and the Audience POV since WE know what's happening, but SHE doesn't. She followed Hiccup around for weeks and he was acting super sus and evading questions, clearly hiding something. That alone made her fume. Like Hiccup being an Astrid simp the whole movie is just so... superficial. At first we KNOW he was shooting his shot but LATER, AFTER TOOTHLESS, he's mostly nervous around her because SHE WAS ABOUT TO FIND OUT HIS SECRET, his priorities change. He's focused on a far more important thing.

HICCSTRID AS ALLIES FIRST

As I talked here, The Cove scene is so much more deep and important to Astrid becoming an ALLY to Hiccup first. She realized that she needs to protect Toothless.

That's why in the Kill Ring LA scene, I got so angry when they BOTH completely forget about HIM and they make it about ASTRID and her reputation and I absolutely HATED their new dialogue. Astrid didn't need to VERBALIZE she was going to support Hiccup. I don't know if they are allergic to subtlety but her saying "I will be with you whatever may come" was already a given in the last scene. SHE was the one that asked Hiccup "What do WE do?"

And something that DID make my blood boil is how Hiccup cared MORE about Astrid's reputation and her relationship with Stoick (something that was not even shown before even in the LA movie) OVER TOOTHLESS SAFETY?! No. Just no. THIS is cheap ass simping fanservice and I hate it. WHY would Hiccup care about Astrid's reputation in THIS VERY MOMENT? When he's about to expose himself to the whole village about dragons? Why did he suddenly forget he's doing this because of TOOTHLESS and his discoveries about dragons and making the world peaceful?? It also doesn't help that we didn't even SEE a scene with Stoick and Astrid together, it was just TOLD to us that suddenly Stoick always wanted a girl? and that he adores Astrid?? like? show not tell... great. And then because we don't even see a single scene with Astrid and Stoick in the LA, when Stoick suddenly gets super mad at Astrid for helping Hiccup, he's like "AND YOU!" pointing at her, like? why you mad bro? why do u feel betrayed? as if you had ANY interactions with her... but I digress...

What actually happened:

THIS right here, has MORE MEANING than Hiccup wanting to "protect her reputation" and not wanting her to get involved in the LA?? like? again, why would he say that here and not the previous Cove scene when she said she was going to support you? Why make this dumb change in the worst time possible?

Skipping these lines to me is criminal to the FOUNDATION that is their relationship. Both Hiccup and Astrid in the first movie are very interesting in the sense that them becoming allies to me is far more important for the plot than them being a couple. The very base of their relationship SHOULD BE protection of their people and dragons and how THAT is the what aligns them both. I don't want to have changes on their characters if it means romance (and this goes for RTTE as well cause I do NOT like a lot of what they did with Hiccstrid there), that's not why I ship them, it's because they work so GOOD as allies FIRST.

Removing this dialogue that is SO POWERFUL undermines so much not only Hiccup's relationship with Toothless but also Astrid's actual ROLE as an ally. Astrid is not a good ally because she's a die hard for Hiccup at that moment, she's a good ally because she's ALSO protecting Toothless AND WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES AS WELL to protect him in case anything goes wrong. And because her being the very FIRST one to changed her mind, her support is super important to Hiccup- THAT'S why he stayed, NOT because he has a crush on Astrid or viceversa.

Hiccup needed an ally FIRST, not a girlfriend. He was completely alone, he was about to leave, and Astrid being the first one, regardless of if he had or not a crush on her, is valuable to him because he not only admired her but he respected her. She was the model viking, and if he can change her, he can try to change everyone else now that he has backup. Sure he liked Astrid but romance is not in his priority list, especially after Toothless, and quite frankly, it wasn't on Astrid's priority list either. What unites them first and foremost is their drive to protect, and once Astrid saw that in Hiccup, she saw a new side of him; not the weak nerd that messed up and didn't seem to care about being a proper viking, but a protector, which is what made her respect him.

Hiccstrid as a ship is very very fun to explore and analyse but when u actually take into account WHY they started that way and why they work... The Live Action not only changes Astrid but in consequence it changes Hiccup and Astrid's relationship and what makes them good, and to me THAT is what suffers the most in their dynamic. All their scenes to me felt so weird and with 0 build up and chemistry. I don't like fanservice if it has to change the characters for them to work... I HATE Hiccstrid fanservice because in the LA it gives them MUCH more focus than Hiccup and Toothless's actual bond, and the Kill Ring scene is the proof. And god how I hated that dialogue... I don't want them to be putting Hiccstrid above what makes HTTYD great and that is HICCUP AND TOOTHLESS'S BOND. PERIOD. (Something rtte and httyd3 also suffer for btw but that discussion is for another day)

Hiccstrid is great yes, not only because of how they started but because of what they became. I truly appreciate their friendship and ally-ship so much. I love a LOT of their romance and I think it's actually really mature, so it pains me to see ppl reduce it to its bare minimum...

[bowiebugwrites]

Logan x Reader / Gambit x Reader dating hc’s

@mameeta requested… “Ok..hmm how about something with Gambit and Logan. ⭐️ - Authors favs. Dealers choice... friends... lovers... I don't mind. Any word count you feel inspired to do is cool.”

a/n: okay this is not my proudest moment but I wanted to try and post something anyways because I panicked. I don’t really do good with character x character writing to be honest so I just thought this was would be good. So sorry requester, my inbox is always opening if you’d like to try for something else. Also ⭐️ isn’t a genre it’s just a lil sm I add to show which of my fics I like the best or which I’m proudest of. So sorry for the misunderstanding!

word count: 395

Logan Howlett

A lot of the time Logan doesn’t feel like he deserves you

No matter how often you tell him he still thinks that you’re too good for him

He’s not very much one for public displays of affection

He thinks loving you should be something that’s just for you two, no one else

(Though he does hold your hand every chance he gets)

He’s more of a big spoon enjoyer, he loves holding you, but sometimes he has a harder time initiating affection so he doesn’t mind you cuddling up behind him and wrapping your arms around him

It actually makes him feel rather safe and helps him fall asleep

His love language is definitely acts of service

If there’s something he can physically do to show you how much he loves you then he’s up and doing it in a second

So you’re getting treated like royalty

Yay

Overall Logan would be such a loving and doting boyfriend and even ASK for him to stop doing things for you he will think you hate him

Remy LeBeau

We’ve ALL seen the way he treats Rogue in the comics

So we know he’s absolutely crazy for you

He eats, sleeps, and breathes you

I hope you like clingy because it’s what you’re getting when you decided to date him 

Constantly at your side, asking what he can do for you, flirting, shitty pick up lines, etc etc

I say this frequently but “chér” really does get thrown around a lot, and when you two became a thing it slowly started getting limited to just you

His love language is more words of affirmation I’d like to think

The idea of him just handing out compliments and flirty remarks like candy is so silly to me

If you look ever remotely sexy then he’s gonna talk to you like the guys he fights off of you

Strictly big spoon, sorry you guys my man likes holding his partner like they’re a stuffed animal

Even if it feels more like a superficial kind of loving he will go out of his way for big romantic gestures, just for you

And that’s about all I got, thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[ematini]

Another example of the writers blatant misunderstanding of Vi's core characteristics is calling her the "violent one" in opposition to Caitlyn's more cool headed temperament.

Strengh is Vi's greatest asset. It's what she uses to protect the people she cares about because in a place like Zaun, they have to utilize everything they have to survive. Vi by far, has the most fight scenes, but none of them are her acting on her temper and inflicting senseless violence. Throwing punches is not her knee-jerk reaction. Even during her first fight scene, where mind you, she's only 15, Vi only swings first because she knows her family is in danger.

Someone will come and argue that her fight with Sevika is her acting on emotions because she does literally knee her in the face, but it is still very much an equal fight. She doesn't strike when Sevika is down. Basic fighting etiquette still applies despite her personal feelings. The reason she searches for Sevika in the first place is because she wants information about Powder. Vi and Sevika are narrative foils (at least in season 1), Sevika stands in the way of all Vi is trying to achieve. Them clashing is not just out of Vi's want for revenge and the anger she holds.

Vi hitting Powder is the only non purposeful act of violence Vi inflicts, and it's only when she's faced with a very traumatic event.

When looking at both seasons as a whole, the contrast doesn't work, because who is the person who's shown prone to going to extremes, reacting with anger and violence as a response to being called out and opposed? Or just displaying unnecessary, unapologetic violence?

Yeah...

(Even though portraying Caitlyn as violent by the show is also a mischaracterization on writers part)

Looking at Vi as violent and hot tempered because "she fights a lot" is a very surface level way to look at her character, which is a reoccurring thing in the writing of season 2. Vi's display of violence is not brash and reckless. It's a tool. A tool she was taught to use because in Zaun, using everything in your disposal is a necessity. Even then, her fights are fair, often strategic. Vi doesn't just lash out on people as an emotional response, but seeing that required more than two second look at her character, which the writers apparently didn't wanna do.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

You know what would make the Lucky Charm more balanced? Make it so that there are times where other characters figure it out, not just Ladybug. That way, it doesn't make Ladybug hypercompent and makes it possible for other people to save the day.

I don't mind Ladybug being the one best suited to Lucky Charm. I don't think it makes her hyper competent because you don't need a Lucky Charm to save the day. It's just the way that she saves the day. The other characters should have their own unique talents that let them win fights. Generally speaking, that's how strong teams work.

For a random example, let's talk about the teenage mutant ninja turtles simply because I think most people know something about that franchise. The character Donatello (aka Donnie) is the team's tech guy. He makes all kinds of inventions that help them save the day. The show would not be improved if all four of the turtles were able to take on this inventor role. I'd argue that it would actually be lessened because the characters would become interchangeable. This is something that the franchise seems to agree with as each version of the show gives each turtle unique skills and personality traits that makes each of them indispensable in their own way, which is what I think Miraculous should have done with the temp heroes.

That being said, I do think that there's a way to make your idea work. I'd just go a slightly different, more lore balancing route since Lucky Charm is technically bad lore and you all know how I feel about bad lore. So let's talk about giving it a minor tweak and how I think that would actually improve things.

Tikki is supposed to be Creation, not Luck, so the Lucky Charm shouldn't have anything to do with Luck. It should just be pure Creation where the holder comes up with a thing they want and that thing then pops up. It could also have a give and take element where the holder gets what they asked for if they want something specific, but they could also just call the power as a hail Mary and Tikki would come up with something on the fly, leading to the occasional puzzle.

This leads me to my proposed changed.

I personally think it would be hilarious and honestly more fun for Marinette's character if she could summon anything she wanted, but the Lucky Charms stay exactly the same because that's just how her mind works. Even when Tikki is helping, it's still all wacky items because Tikki knows how Marinette is and just goes with it.

For example, in Copy Cat, Ladybug turns a spoon into a hook for a cobbled together fishing pole. Wouldn't it be even funnier if Marinette summoned a spoon on purpose because she was thinking of the makeshift thing she cobbled together in order to fish up something she dropped from her balcony? Then, post fight, Chat Noir praises her like always, only to then ask, "So why a spoon and not a fishing hook?" And Ladybug just stares at him because oh, right, those are things they make. She could have done that. Ooops.

And in Malediktator where she summons a sniper rifle to get a laser pointer? Well, she was thinking about this silly comic about a cat assassin! She totally spaced on the fact that you could just get a laser pointer by itself.

Eventually, her team learns to just go with it and not ask questions. Meanwhile, the general public thinks that the Lucky Charm is some random item that Ladybug has to figure out and no one bothers to correct this misunderstanding. You can even have a running gag of new team members learning the truth and going through the acceptance process of, "Hey, you try thinking up how to set a trap while a 5 meter tall lollipop is trying to crush you! Your mind goes to what it knows, not to the ideal solution, okay???"

If we go with this setup, then other people can wield the Ladybug and use Lucky Charm effectively, they'll just use it in a very different way from the way Marinette uses it. There will also be people who are just not suited to the Ladybug since that was initially how the powers were supposed to work and it made perfect sense. Kwamis should have ideal holders along with okay backups and terrible backups. I personally think Alya would be an okay backup since she's creative, but not creative in the same way Marinette is, leading her to be a lesser Ladybug. Adrien, on the other hand, should generally suck at the Ladybug as he simply doesn't have that style of creative thinking. Which is fine. Better than fine, even! You don't want your characters to be interchangeable! They should all have strengths and weaknesses!

This is one of the show's big flaws. Since everything is on Marinette's shoulders, the other characters rarely get a chance to shine and so they feel interchangeable. For example, if gift always shows the target what THEY want, then why does Rose need to be the one to wield it? Juleka could wield it just as easily. And if Ladybug is generally the one telling Marc and Nathaniel what to summon with their powers, then their creativity is not needed. Anyone could wield the rooster and the goat! The show has completely failed to understand what makes teams memorable and so we have a bloated, boring team whose presence I'm dreading because they had five seasons to set these guys up and yet here we are.

[freyholland]

the fact that M3GAN 2.0 is flopping hard is SO sad bc it’s due so much in part to people simply not understanding? Not caring? That M3GAN in the original film was NOT your typical slasher villain. People kept comparing her to characters like Chucky, but if you paid even the tiniest bit of attention to the first movie beyond “creepy toy kills people”, it basically slaps you in the face with the fact that M3GAN was not cartoonishly evil. M3GAN was a tragic figure created by a woman who saw her not as a sentient being, but as a tool. She was given the impossible task of comforting, teaching and essentially raising a child when she was literally just born herself. She was tasked with the insanely vague objective of “protecting” that girl, while having no real understanding of death or morality or anything in the world beyond what she could read online.

Saying “they ruined her as a villain!!” shows a fundamental misunderstanding of her character as a whole. And that’s to make no mention of the fact that a HUGE theme throughout the first film was an oddball and damaged family trying to figure out how to love each other! To emphasize that and then go “except M3GAN though, she’s irredeemable” (especially when some of her biggest flaws are ones she inherited from her human creator!) would only undermine that message.

She is an extremely damaged child, just like Cady, and she’s a part of the family, too.

When I first learned of it, I wasn’t excited at all by the thought of a M3GAN sequel. It felt like it could only be a boring rehash of the first movie. My mind changed when I saw the trailer for 2.0 - and then when I saw the actual film, I was super impressed by their willingness to experiment and try something new. Was it ridiculous? Of course! The first movie was, too. But to see people reject it so hard because it tried something new (and logically followed M3GAN’s character arc to the places implied by the first film) is sad to me.

And it sounds like the creators of the movie loved M3GAN so much, they truly believed in her. Which just makes it all the sadder :/

[artytaeh]

⭑ ⋯ ⋯ ﹒ 🪻 ’ © artytaeh on tumblr.

ˆ⌣ˆ ⭑ | 🪐 ’ 平和 𔘓 : MASTERLIST

welcome to my blog ! . . .

⭑ currently, i'm dedicating my writing to scenarios, imagines, headcanons and fics about harry potter's characters. i mainly write about the slytherin boys + the weasley twins; even so, i might make exceptions! 🌷

· 🪽 ; other obsessions ! not related to harry potter.

⭑ my question box is always open! i might take a while to answer, however, any interaction is very welcome here. so please interact with me!

⭑ requests are open, too; if there's anything you'd like for me to write / drabble about, i'm more than happy to ramble on. however, i post rq given how fast i can write them, which might take time.

☆ ⠀̹⠀໋⠀ꕀ drabbles, headcanons, shortfics && silly thoughts. thank you so much for reading!

THEODORE F. NOTT ; 1980 ── ?! . 𖤐 masterlist. ⠀⠀̹⠀໋

⭑ when theodore becomes teddy : a drabble that feels more of a rambling about my perspective of how theodore deals with his issues.

⭑ theo as your baby's father : a little headcanon about how theodore would encourage your toddler to say mama first.

⭑ the sarcastic men apocalypse : theodore nott was born to be a sassy man.

⭑ cigarettes out the astronomy tower : headcanons about this specific tower of hogwarts' castle being yours, and theo's, spot.

⭑ mia stella : in which theodore nott calls you his stargirl, the brightest of all.

⭑ regret : a tiny drabble about theodore regretting not running away from you.

⭑ honeymoon : headcanons about going on a honeymoon with your husband, theodore nott, to italy.

⭑ portrait of you : a drabble about how portraits / paintings work in the wizard world, and how theodore would take advantage of that.

⭑ unfair : theodore nott has a hard time asking for help. somehow, in this drabble, it became worse.

⭑ friends to lovers : drabble about my opinion about what's the 'best' trope for theodore nott.

⭑ oral fixation : headcanon about this habit that theodore nott has.

⭑ theodore nott and gift giving : he's just a rich boyfriend that enjoys to spoil his girlfriend.

⭑ stubborn pettiness : in which theo has his own way to deal with your bratty behavior; drabble.

MATTHEO T. RIDDLE ; 1980 ── ?! . 𖤐 masterlist. ⠀⠀̹⠀໋

⭑ mattheo riddle, who... : general headcanons about the dark lord's son, doomed since birth. [ angst, fluff, hcs about his friendships and behavior. ]

⭑ mattheo as your baby's father : expect some competition from him; mattheo will do everything and anything to have your baby say 'dada' first.

⭑ the girl he loves, and the girl he likes : headcanons about mattheo riddle as your situationship or as a fwb.

⭑ honeymoon : headcanons about going on a honeymoon with mattheo riddle, your husband, to mexico.

⭑ cuddly mattheo : drabble (smut) about mommy issues!mattheo being cuddly with reader.

⭑ a war that he never wins : drabble, about mattheo complaining about how spoiled you are— it's his fault!

⭑ m.r. smut headcanons : a long, long post about most of my smut hcs about mattheo riddle.

⭑ how does mattheo react to falling in love? : drabble about the way he deals with romantic feelings.

⭑ can mattheo riddle sing? : with the addiction of my headcanons about mattheo's music taste

⭑ misunderstandings in the boring people's eyes : after trying knife play slash blood kink with you, mattheo is conflicted when you show up exposing your new scars for the whole school to see. more about this.

THOMAS M. RIDDLE ; 1926 ── ?! . 𖤐 masterlist. ⠀⠀̹⠀໋

⭑ how tom riddle would manipulate you : in which i can't agree with the fandom's perception of tom riddle treating you, straightout, indelicately.

⭑ defense against the dark ambitions : professor tom riddle returns to hogwarts to become the new DADA's teacher. general headcanons + aus masterlist.

↑ drabble with tom's admiration dynamic with auror!reader vs professor!reader.

LORENZO CHARLES BERKSHIRE ; 1980 ── ?! . 𖤐 masterlist. ⠀⠀̹⠀໋

⭑ dating & general headcanons : lorenzo as reader's boyfriend and random headcanons about him.

⭑ study case of lorenzo berkshire : my personal headcanons and perspective of slytherin's sweetheart. more details on it.

SLYTHERIN BOYS ── 𖤐 masterlist. ⠀⠀̹⠀໋

⭑ handmade gifts : small drabble based on an ask; includes mattheo riddle, regulus black, draco malfoy and blaise zabini.

⭑ gifts they'd like to receive : small drabble based on an ask, including mattheo riddle, regulus black and blaise zabini.

⭑ spoiled rotten : drabble about mattheo riddle / theodore nott becoming two dramatic boyfriends for affectionate reader.

⭑ reaction to you being interrupted : slytherin boys being protective boyfriends when reader is interrupted in a group of people.

⭑ the best tropes for the slytherin boys : individual romantic trope that fits them the most.

⭑ slytherin boys as boobsessed : part one with part two coming soon.

⭑ slytherin boys react to your hair being cut short : small request.

⭑ favorite, least favorite and worst subjects : drabble about which subjects i think each slytherin boy would struggle / enjoy the most.

⭑ strongest to weakest : headcanons and ranking.

⭑ how do the slytherin boys dress like? : headcanons about individual tastes, style, favorite accessories and more.

⭑ what if their partner threw a punch for them? : slytherin boys react to their significant other defending them.

⭑ house preferences for a girlfriend : would the slytherin boys rather dating a fellow snake, or a girl from a house like ravenclaw, hufflepuff or gryffindor?

FRED && GEORGE · WEASLEY TWINS ; 1978 ── ?! . 𖤐 masterlist. ⠀⠀̹⠀໋

⭑ scenarios based on abba's songs : in which reader is an avid fan of abba, influencing fred and george to become fluent in every single song, too.

⭑ birthday girl : when an important exam takes place on your birthday, fred and george make sure that your day isn't ruined by an 'unlucky' score.

( ☆ ) : check my c.ai bots: masterlist.

[sorrelchestnut]

I've seen a fair number of posts both here and on reddit that question why Tav (or the Dark Urge) would end up as a group leader for any other reason that "game mechanics say so." There's the requisite "okay, well if you play a high charisma character I guess it makes sense," or on the other end of the spectrum, "if you're playing Durge and murder someone right off the bat everyone would be too scared to tell you no." And I get where people are going with this! I really do. But it also fundamentally misunderstands a facet of human nature, which is that the vast majority of people do not actually want to be in charge, because that means being held responsible for the outcome. Accordingly, most people will dither when a group consensus is needed: have none of you ever tried to get a group of friends to agree where to go for dinner? Yeah, it's like that, but waaaay worse.

A lot of times "leadership" is just the willingness to say, "fuck it, y'all do what you want, but I'm doing this." I see it all the time in a corporate environment, where people will go back and forth on group meetings without anyone making a decision until finally one brave soul goes "in my opinion the clear answer is x" and then everyone gratefully goes along with it. Because now it's not their responsibility when something goes wrong! They're just following along with someone else's suggestion, and maybe it works or maybe it doesn't, but at the end of the day they don't have to worry about the consequences unless they're personally affected. In which case they might step up and argue back, and then they're stuck being a leader, too. Welcome to adulthood!

Lae'zel is the only one who ever even tries to exert some kind of control, when she tells you to follow her lead on the ship, or calls you her subordinate in the Grove. But, crucially, she doesn't ever make any serious attempt to take control: you can just tell her, "lol, no," and she sort of confusedly gives way, because she doesn't know how to handle this scenario. In her world there are commanders and subordinates, and everyone knows where they stand and falls in line. She's never actually had to take control of a situation and so at the first sign of resistance she falls back on the dynamic that's familiar to her, which is executing the commands of someone older and more experienced. She goes through a lot of growth over the game, to the point that she can take over as a resistance leader in her own right by the end, but at the beginning she's a wet-behind-her-ears private with some decent combat chops and it shows.

Otherwise, your party consists of:

Shadowheart, who's trained in infiltration and assassination and does NOT want a lot of attention brought to her or her mission for a variety of reasons;

Astarion, who has literally been a slave for two centuries and canonically takes a while to realize that he can exert an opinion beyond complaining about it;

Gale, whose only friend is his cat and couldn't project-manage his way out of a wet paper bag;

Wyll, who was probably trained for command at one point but has been doing the lone-hero thing for a decade and has a very large secret that he's trying to conceal; and,

Karlach, who's only ever been a bodyguard and a soldier and is genuinely just happy to be here.

Honestly, it would be more a surprise if Tav/Durge didn't end up as their unofficial leader, given the general power dynamics at play. The first time Tav/Durge says something like, "fuck it, we need to do something instead of stand around arguing about it, let's go check out those ruins over there," it's a done deal. They're The Captain Now! As long as they don't make decisions that fundamentally oppose something dear and important to the other group members, they're not even going to get any argument. Because at the end of the day, not one of these walking disasters has enough trust in themselves and their decision-making skills to feel any kind of certainty that they can choose the right path forward. If someone else is going to take that decision out of their hands? They're going to follow, no questions asked, right up until the moment they can't.

[16wolke11]

Honesty - Oscar Piastri

A/N Anon wanted this prompt with Oscar: The reader tries to figure out if the news about her boyfriend are true. He brushes it off at first, thinking it's just more rumors, but then acts strange, saying the reader just has to trust him. She isn't having it, feeling cut off from his life, and leaves. Requests are OPEN with some prompts for June

WORDS: 1908 _____

Having a cosy night in with Oscar should be comforting, yet tonight the silence feels dreadful. It feels like it is going to suffocate me if I don’t do anything about it. We both scroll on our phones, speaking only occasionally, but when I come across that one specific post again, I freeze. I should probably talk to him about it, should have done so the first time I saw it, but I hesitated. Thought he would address it, but he didn’t, and with the picture practically staring at me, I can’t help myself from finally wanting to know the truth. 

“Is it true?” I ask Oscar, trying to sound casual, but my voice shakes just by asking one simple question.

“Is what true?” Oscar asks back, eyes glancing up from his phone to look at me. I huff, not believing him that he didn’t see anything about him dating that actor. The blurry pictures, which could be him and this actress hinting at things that just have to lead to Oscar. 

“Don’t play like you don’t know.” I speak up, voice rising in slight anger and Oscar furrows his brows like he still doesn’t know what I am talking about. “About you and…whatever this is.” I add, gesturing to the phone before handing it to Oscar. His eyes flicker over the pictures, the screenshots from different interviews and all those hints that drop Oscar might be taken. Well, he is, but not to that actor. 

“You really believe that?” Oscar asks me, eyes carefully watching my reaction and I snatch my phone back from his grip. 

“I don’t know what to believe; that is why I am asking you.” There is an ache in my chest. As much as I want to trust Oscar, laugh it off as some rumours with him, those coincidences are just a little bit too close to the truth for me to laugh. 

“I need you to trust me.” Oscar says and I lift one of my eyebrows.

“Trust goes both ways, and you haven’t exactly been transparent lately.” There is something flashing over Oscar’s face. Guilt, a hint of being hurt and my heart stumbles because it shows that behind every rumour is a bit of the truth. He doesn’t say anything, and I feel my body tense up, because I was still hoping that all of this was a misunderstanding. That those rumours would be something we laugh about, but now everything feels just so much more real. 

“Oscar, I can’t keep feeling like I am an outsider in your life. Like…I am just a side character and only matter when you decide I am relevant.” I stutter, not wanting to sound so dramatic, but during the last weeks it felt like it. Me being someone who just steps into Oscars live when the narrative of the storyline fits and it seems like my part has become less and less relevant. 

“It’s not like this.” Oscar promises and tries to reach for my hand, but I pull it back before rising to my feet. 

“I can’t do this right now.” I mutter, trying to leave the room, but Oscar's reflexes are quicker, and he manages to grab me by the wrist. It’s hard not to look at him, but I focus on the wall behind him, knowing that I would give in as soon as his eyes meet mine. He probably looks desperate and I can’t resist his pleading eyes. 

“Please don’t leave me.” His voice is soft, just above a whisper, but I can hear the fear in it. I gulp softly, take a deep breath before I look at him. There is so much in his eyes, regret, fear and determination I quite can’t explain. 

“I need time.” I try to say as softly as I can, not trying to hurt him, even though he is the one hurting me, but at the same time not wanting to do damage. Just letting him know that I will no longer accept him having secrets like this from me. 

“I give you as much as you need, but please let me know you are okay.” Oscar pleads and I let my tensed shoulders fall. This is something I can do, something I would ask from him if I were in this position and I grant him that. Promise him that I will be contacting him from time to time, but that I still want space. Not allowing him to visit me, hangs around at places he knows I will be at. That he has to give me time to think and even though I can see that it hurts him to give me that kind of space, he nods, letting me go without knowing if or when I would come back to him. 

The next week goes by in a blur, I manage to bury myself in work, only think about Oscar at night when there is nothing left to distract me and distance myself from social media. Then everything explodes. Emails and chats get leaked. Pictures of Oscar and that actress I only recognise as being fake, because I was on one of them originally and the email states that the work of merging their pictures together is finished. I consume every little bit of information and with every new post, my heart sinks more and more. This is probably what Oscar was hiding, what made him act distant and I don’t even know if I can be mad at him. 

Then Oscar says something about everything. Distancing himself from what McLaren had planned, leaving the shitstorm only to the Papaya team. My heart aches softly when he adds something subtle about me in his statement. That his “heart is taken by someone special already” and that he asks for some privacy because he only told the world about it now because of the leak. 

On this day, I make my way to Oscar’s apartment. Nerves and pulse spiking over and over again, not knowing how to approach him. If I should say sorry for jumping to conclusions, or if I should let him apologise profoundly because he should have told me as soon as the discussions about a fake girlfriend had come up. It doesn’t take long for Oscar to open the apartment door and when he looks at me, I almost sigh. His eyes look tired, dark circles prominent on his pale skin, he looks like I feel. Tired and stressed out. 

“Hi.” I mumble, trying to smile softly at him as a sign for him that everything is going to be fine, but it comes out rather crooked. 

“Hey.” Oscar greets me, stepping to the side to let me into his apartment and it feels like coming home. We go to the living room together, silence hanging deeply between us and I need a moment to sort my thoughts. In my mind, I had this conversation a hundred times, but now facing him, I don’t really know how to start, until I just blurt out. 

“I read the news.”

“Yeah, it was about time that I said something.” Oscar says, hand ruling over the back of his head and I need to stop myself from scoffing. If he hadn’t said anything about that situation, I wouldn’t be here, not willing to talk about anything that he isn’t defending himself from. Not waiting for a statement from McLaren but taking action himself. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about it? “ I ask Oscar, trying to sound soft, not wanting to hit on him with accusations when he didn’t even have the chance to explain himself.

“I wanted to protect you.” Oscar says, sighing tiredly and I frown. 

“From what?” I don’t know what exactly he tried to protect me from. This whole situation has hurt me s much and I am sure that if he just talked about that situation with me, it would have been fine, but then Oscar starts to explain.

“They wanted to give me a PR relationship if I am not opening up about being taken. I told them this is not what I want or be the truth. That was the reason I felt distant to you, because I was thinking about solutions that don’t affect you. Our privacy.” He shifts his body to face me completely, and I just can’t look away from his eyes. “I thought it was done after that conversation, but then things got leaked and I didn’t know how to handle it.” Oscar sighs, and I need a minute to understand what he just told me. That his team wanted to give him a PR relationship because we keep everything about us private, that they wanted to force him to either leak us or give him someone to show off. 

“I just wanted honesty from you.” I whisper, but reach out to grab Oscar's hand, before continuing to talk. “A relationship where I don’t have to guess if everything is okay.” The last weeks I wasn’t sure if Oscar is still happy with me, with us being together. Had to guess if he feels like that because of something I did or where we have gone wrong to be like that after everything seems to be okay, 

“I get that now, should have told you sooner.” Oscar says and I am glad that he at least admits that he was wrong. Then there is silence, we both hanging in our thoughts until Oscar speaks up again. 

“So, what now? You are done with me, or do I still have a chance with you?”

I don’t have to think about his question for too long, fingers gently brushing over the back of his hand. “We will talk, and we will stop shielding each other from potential danger, okay?” I give him my conditions, trying to work out a way in which we both are okay in the relationship “I want to be included and not cut out by you because you think you have to protect me.”

Oscar thinks for a moment before nodding his head “Okay, I can do that.” His fingers play with mine absently and a soft smile is drawn to my lips. 

“Good, because if you try to hide something such important from me again, I will leave, and this time not come back.” There is humour in my voice, but at the same time, a threat. This is the only time I will let this slide and definitely not a second time. If he hides something like this from me again, I will be out. 

“I promise to include you in my decisions.” Oscar promises wholewheat, before hesitantly asking. “And maybe soft launch you?”

I blink at him in surprise. We never discussed launching our relationship. At least not like we want to plan it. Just being okay with being private until I might just step into the paddock with him. “If this is what you want?”

Oscar waits for a moment, head tilting like he is thinking, then there is a tiny smirk on his lips. “It would give my statement some more base to it, but to be honest, I would just like to show you off.”

I laugh softly at his words before permitting him. „Okay.”

“Let’s do this together.” Oscar mutters, before pulling me in his arms, my head resting on his chest, finally back to where it belongs.