#you can dislike the boy all you want but let's not pretend you don't use him as a stand in for whatever personality you like

[emblazons]

Me every time I see I don't care so long as he's kissing Will takes being held as superior for their supposed "neutrality" knowing damn well that even on the supposedly 'better at catching what the DB are doing' side of fandom a lot of people don't actually give af if Mike Wheeler has nuance, depth or personality (bc he's easier to project their I identify with Will & he deservers happiness idealizing that way):

[mageofseven]

Demon brothers and side characters react to Luke who has puppy crush on MC

Aww this is so cute~

However, I want to let you know that I will not be including any newer characters. I never finished the first game because I lost the login info a long while ago so I never got to read when characters like Raph and Thirteen(?) were added.

So just to clarify, I will only ever write for the Brothers and Former Undatables until such a time comes where the newer characters are in NB and I can get familiar with them.

But anyway! On with the post~

•▪︎▪︎◇°●♡●°◇▪︎▪︎•

Lucifer:

Is more or less unbothered by it.

I mean, little kids get crushes; it happens.

He's seen his brothers go through the same as kids in the celestial realm

So he expects no different from Luke.

His opinion remains the same even if Lucifer is dating MC.

He's a bit annoyed if Luke's puppy crush causes the boy to become a bit possessive of MC though.

Mammon:

Tries to pretend it doesn't bother him

But it does.

I mean, that kid is always hanging off of MC and following them around.

When can the Great Mammon just have time with his human and only his human?

If Mammon and MC are dating, you can bet he will be childish enough to fight the young angel for MC's time.

Not like real fighting, but definitely compete with the child.

Maybe even make a bet on who can convince MC to spend the most time with them in a week

Just to end up owing Luke a hefty amount of grimm.

Leviathan:

Is just plain bummed.

Not about Lukey crushing on MC, but because of him taking up so much of their time.

Even if he's dating MC, he won't get competitive with the kid for MC's time.

Boy just sulks.

Luckily, MC notices his sulking and makes an effort to even out their time between Luke and Levi, to the child's disappointment.

Basically, he dislikes Lukey having a crush on MC because it means he gets less time with MC.

Satan:

Like Lucifer, the fourth brother really isn't bothered by it.

At first.

After Luke starts making a habit of dragging MC away while they were spending time together, the wrath demon begins to lose his patience with the angel.

May or may not have threaten the little angel to stop this

Resulting in Luke crying to Simeon, Simeon going to Lucifer, and Satan getting stuck in Lucifer's study while being lectured by the two older men.

Him threatening Luke is more likely if he's dating MC, but even if Satan isn't dating MC, there's still a chance .

It's not the best response to a little boy having his first crush, but hey, this is the Avatar of Wrath we're talking about.

He could have done much worse.

Asmodeus:

Oh Asmo thinks its just so adorable.

I mean, Lukey baby has a crush!

Regardless of whether Asmo is dating MC or not, he won't be upset that they're who Luke likes.

Because of course that sweet angel has a crush on his Dolly! Who wouldn't?

Acts the same as always

Though might be a teensy bit more jealous than he shows if Luke is spending more time with MC than he is.

But its fine! He just joins the two with whatever they are doing.

It bugs Lukey, but MC is happy spending time with them both so it's all good.

Beelzebub:

Honestly took a bit for this man to even realize Luke was crushing on MC.

More likely than not, he finds it out from hearing his other brothers complain about it.

Finds it cute, but doesn't gush about it like Asmo.

Misses spending time with MC as much as he used, but understands why Lukey wants to spend more time with them now.

Sometimes, he will hang out with both of them, but he doesn't force it like Asmo does.

Overall just kinda accepts thats this is how things are for now

And honestly enjoys seeing how happy spending time with MC makes Luke and seeing him practically hang from their arm with a big smile.

The little angel is happy and MC enjoys spending time with him.

That's all that matters to this big guy.

Unlike with the other brothers, Beel's feelings on the situation don't change if he's dating MC.

If his Muffin is happy then he's happy. Simple.

Belphegor:

Okay listen here, you little chihuahua--

Belphie is not a fan of Luke's newfound crush on MC

Especially since he feels the need to wake him and MC up to see if MC will bake with him.

He's done this more than once and this sleepy grump hates it.

If he's dating MC, Belphie hates it even more.

Like ya, ya , puppy crush, right.

How about choosing a different person to crush on?

Unlike Satan, Belphie doesn't threaten the angel; he's just pretty dismissive of him.

"Can MC--" No.

Him and MC get into some arguments about it.

Overall, Belphie's just a big grump about it.

Diavolo:

Like Asmo, finds Luke's crush on MC to be cute.

All kids develop a crush at some point

And with how good MC is with him, it was almost inevitable.

The human is always up for baking with him and listening to him when he learns something new or finds something that her likes.

Not to mention that MC just has a knack of making people feel special, regardless of whether they are an angel, demon, or human.

Overall, not bothered by it in the slightest.

Even if Dia and MC were dating, he still wouldn't mind how often the little boy is dragging them by the hand and filling up their time.

Dia himself is always busy with work so if anything, this man is grateful that the sweet angel is spending so much time with his Queen while he himself can't.

Overall, Dia finds Luke crush on MC to be cute and hopes the two have fun while he works.

Barbatos:

Was quick to notice Luke's little crush.

With that realization came a smile, but otherwise, the butler gave it very little thought.

Afterall, that is Luke's business and not his.

If Barb and MC are dating then the answer is similar to Dia's.

This busy man is just glad his Love is enjoying their time Luke.

Solomon:

Oh this man could tell. Luke wasn't exactly discreet with his crush.

I mean, no child is really discreet when they are crushing on someone.

Plus, he noticed how frequent Luke would join him and MC when they hung out.

Ah childhood.

It's been so long that this wizard couldn't remember much of his own childhood, but he enjoyed watching Luke experience his.

Will lightly tease Luke about it every now and then, but overall is just glad that his little angel friend is happy.

Solomon's view doesn't change, regardless of whether he and MC are dating.

It's just an innocent crush after all.

Simeon:

This man figured it out on his own

But it still meant a lot to him when Luke told him.

Luke told him that he wishes he could marry MC when he's older, but was sad that MC probably won't live long enough to see him him become a grown up.

Simeon comforted the child and told him that was all the more reason to treasure his friendship with the human now.

If Simeon is dating MC, he'll feel a bit awkward about the smaller angel's crush.

I mean, his relationship with MC is a secret after all.

Honestly, he's just worried that if the little boy found out that he'd feel betrayed that his guardian was dating his crush without telling him

But Simeon had to keep it a secret. From everyone. It was the only way to keep MC safe and without drawing the eyes of the Celestial realm upon them.

[genderkoolaid]

advice on how to get over the fear that t is going to make me ugly? or that i’m going to miss “the old me”

i’m a queer trans guy and i’ve been questioning going on t for years now and i know i definitely want bottom growth, body fat redistribution and more body hair.

but im err on the side of face and voice changes. i’m scared of disliking my new voice and suddenly growing dysphoric over it (i dont have too much voice dysphoria now) and disliking how my new face will look. i’m kinda genderfluid as well so it’s complicated. but i don’t want to go my whole life without knowing what it’s like to be on hrt. but i can’t get over the fear of looking/finding myself ugly and undesirable and losing my community... which is ironic cuz i find other trans men attractive as hell. i discussed this in therapy and i still feel this way :/

i wish there was a way for me to start without telling anyone and then breaking the news when i’m experiencing changes and feeling more confident about it. i have my gender dysphoria diagnosis and i can start if i want to, but i need my family’s financial support. i don’t want to make it a big deal since it’s just something i’d be trying out to feel more like myself in certain ways.

sorry this turned into a long ass rant and you don’t have to reply but i’m just gonna kindly leave it in the ask box 💀

There's a post that goes like "all of life is irreversible. i cannot go back a single second" and I think thats something good to keep in mind when you are thinking through this. You are already living with a body that has changed and will continue to change in ways largely out of your control. You are already living in a post-irreversible-alteration body.

If you do go on T and find you don't like how your voice sounds: for one, you can stop at any time (& if you haven't checked out microdosing as an option, you should). But two: plenty of people live with a deeper voice than they want. Plenty of people live with facial hair they dislike. You can pursue the same therapies and procedures they do. Or maybe you don't, and you find ways to live with a voice or face you aren't totally in love with.

So much detransition fearmongering, especially directed at transmascs & assoc. trans people, heavily relies on the specter of the fallen woman, itself steeped in trans-misogyny & intersexism. The idea that, for one, a "woman" who has mixed-sex features is ugly and undesirable, and two, that a "woman" made undesirable is forever doomed to be miserable and worthless. The transphobic story of detransition keeps our bodies stuck in this moment of revulsion and regret, narratively preventing us as characters from being able to move on and live happy lives in atypical bodies. Even if you do regret/dislike some things about T, you are not forever stuck in that feeling. The story does not stop at that! You will just keep living and find new ways of dealing with your bodily feelings!

The social aspect of this is a bit more complicated but I also have some firsthand experience with it. Because, as mentioned before, there's a lot of transphobic misogyny/misogynistic transphobia that affects transmascs & others who go on T, who have to confront the feeling of losing your potential desirability. And then there's also the way many people are treated after going on T, facing a whole new area of bodily scrutiny: you may suddenly have people making comments about how someone needs to force teenage boys to shave because their facial hair is a personal offense. I went from being self-conscious about how high my voice was to being self-conscious about how undeniably trans my voice was. And, specifically, my facial hair, voice changes, etc. were all signs of my transmasculine desire, and I became self-conscious about how obvious it was that I desired being trans, I desired this body. I could no longer let everyone pretend I was a cishet girl at family gatherings and avoid confronting these issues, because I had essentially written I WANT TO BE A TRANNY all over my physical form.

This is something I'm still struggling with myself. I, like many other queer & autistic people, already struggled with feeling desirable or worthy of being seen alongside conventionally attractive cishet people who could act normal. Being visibly trans, and taking a huge step away from the desirable cis-perisex-girl body, can really open up that can of worms. Especially being genderfluid/genderqueer! Because we often cannot find a comfortable space for ourselves within the conventions of attractiveness for cis men, like some binary trans men are able to.

But ultimately, I don't regret going on T at all. I would have had body issues regardless, and I got a lot out of going on T. I think mentally preparing yourself to struggle with these things, and seeking out other transmasc people, is a big help. Again: all of life is irreversible. we cannot go back a single second. We are already living in imperfect bodies we struggle to love or see as worthy. If you know you want some of the things T can offer, and you don't want to go your whole life without knowing, then just do it. Dive in, and don't feel any shame if you decide to get out. Just keep living and finding ways to live better right now.

[jebewonmorelike]

Young and Rich, Tall and Just Ask Me Out Already

wc: 2.1k pronouns: n/a; none used warnings: none really? maybe the tiniest bit of angst... fluff... and i used the word d*ck once, my bad also you can pretend they're in college or high school, doesn't really matter summary: prepschool!ricky/richboy!ricky just can't get scholarshipkid!reader to go out with him no matter how many helicopters he lands in the school courtyard ~masterlist~ ♡ ~kofi (no pressure at all)~ guys... whoah... rich-boy-with-a-soft-side ricky just kind of hits different? i must say i outdid myself with this one so please, please, please enjoy :)

Ricky has been trying to convince you to go on a date with him for two weeks now.

The first time he asked you was after Chemistry one afternoon. You had been assigned as lab partners at the beginning of the semester and shared a desk during class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:10 to 2:40 P.M.

At first, you'd found it kind of difficult to relate to Ricky. His dad was a CEO at some big tech company and he didn't really let anyone forget it. Always flaunting his designer watch with the newest phone model in hand, entire classes full of students couldn't help but fall for him as he draped his Louis Vuitton jacket casually over one shoulder.

But you were just "the scholarship kid". A humble upbringing and a borderline genius IQ, attending this prep academy was an opportunity you and your family could never have turned down.

Working on labs with Ricky wasn't difficult-- mainly because he let you do all the work while he listened to music and played on his phone. But if you were being honest, you didn't really mind. You enjoyed working on the labs at your own (fast) pace and you didn't have to worry about a lab partner messing up your data.

You never disliked Ricky. But you also could never really figure out what to say to him when he talked so expensive and acted so expensive...

And looked so expensive.

But after a few weeks of silent lab work together (and a handful of flunked quizzes returned to Ricky's desk), the tall blonde suddenly turned to you with his latest graded test in hand.

"What did you get?" He asked, eyes peering over to try to get a glimpse at your paper.

"Oh, um..." You placed it flat on the table.

His eyes widened in surprise. "105? Again!?"

"What do you mean 'again'? How do you know that?" You questioned, looking back at him suspiciously.

He completely ignored your question. "There wasn't even a bonus question on this one! Where did the extra points come from?"

"The mini-essay I submitted last night on chemical kinetics."

He stared at you for a moment. "You're kind of weird, you know that?"

You nodded. "I guess you would think that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned, dark eyebrows furrowing.

"Do you want me to help you or not? I would think calling me weird wouldn't really help persuade me," you quipped, snatching his test from his hand and reading the grade circled in red pen: 63.

"Hey! Don't--," he protested, trying to steal the paper back to no avail as you slid it into your bag and zipped it closed. "I didn't even ask you for help yet."

"You were obviously going to. You've barely said one word to me in four weeks, so. I'm pretty sure you weren't just making friendly conversation."

Ricky blinked back at you silently for a moment. "It's not like you've said anything to me either."

"I'll look over your test to see what you need to improve on. Do you have the rest of the quizzes from this month with you?" You asked quickly, standing up from your seat and slinging your bag over your shoulder as the bell rang.

"Uh, no I don't," he admitted, not making any move to get up now that class had ended.

"Okay, well--."

"But I'll bring them tonight. To the library," he interrupted.

You stood there silently, not really sure what to say.

"Be there at 9," he said definitively, a grin suddenly spreading across his face as he stood up, grabbed his bag, and started walking towards the door.

"You--... Do you think I don't have a life or something? I... What if I had plans!?"

"You did not have plans," he said with a laugh. Just before he walked out the door, he turned over his shoulder to add, "But now you do. With me."

~

It was like that, how you started tutoring Ricky late nights at the library. You met after 9 P.M. the days that you had class together, going over the material you'd covered that afternoon. He was a surprisingly passable student and you started to wonder if failing his classes was somehow intentional. He started offering to help you with lab work as the weeks went on, messing up detrimentally only a handful of times but you did appreciate his effort if nothing else.

Your tutoring was definitely helping; Ricky's quizzes came back now with passing grades that had even once reached the height of a 91. But what you didn't want Ricky to know was that he was helping you, too.

He had been right that day: you hadn't had any plans that night. And you rarely did. It was hard to fit in with the other students at your school when they had all led such different lives than you. You could have never guessed in a million years that Ricky would eventually become something like your friend.

Ricky made you laugh. He sharpened your pencils for you. He brought you snacks you liked. He'd let you borrow his Nintendo Switch for the day, as long as you promised to give it back to him in class. You hated to admit it, but a few weeks into your tutoring sessions and there was much less studying going on than was originally intended.

And another thing you hated (not really) to admit: you liked Ricky.

Sure, he could be a little overconfident. A little braggadocios. A little too reliant on his daddy's money.

But late at night in the library, you both grew tired together and the sleep deprivation gave way to a much more vulnerable Ricky. He'd tell you about his family, his childhood, his favorite things, his troubles, his dreams... and he'd listen carefully to you when you shared yours, too.

One time, after sharing a surprisingly upsetting childhood memory involving his father, you could see Ricky's eyes start to water. He tried to brush it off, adjusting his watch as the walls of the persona began to build back up in defense. But before you could stop yourself, your hand had reached across the table and landed on top of his.

He stared at it for awhile before looking up to meet your eyes. "Thanks," he said quietly, swallowing with uncertainty.

You removed your hand and placed it back in your lap. "Sorry," you replied awkwardly.

"No, no, you're cute," he said quickly, a hand flying to cover his mouth when he saw the expression on your face and realized what he had said. "I--I--... I meant 'cool'. Like... Like I meant to say 'you're cool', as in, like, 'don't worry about it'."

His babbling just made you smile. "Freudian slip?"

"Exactly," he agreed hastily. "Wait, no!"

"Too late, no take backs," you blurt, flipping your textbook to the next page to continue with your notes. Your heart absolutely raced inside your chest when you heard Ricky lightly breathe out a laugh before following your lead and resuming his note-taking.

~

Ricky certainly had a public image he wanted to portray, but whenever he gave you a glimpse underneath the facade... that was when you couldn't help but fall.

So when he asked you out for the first time, sun shining as you walked together from Chemistry to the student lounge on a Friday afternoon, your stomach absolutely flipped with excitement.

"I'm gonna take you to dinner," Ricky said, hand combing through his blonde, coiffed hair.

"Like--... Like on a date?" You clarified, looking up at him to try to read his expression. But much to your dismay, he was looking straight ahead, not at you.

"Yeah," he responded flippantly, hands finding his pockets. "There's this new place that opened downtown that's, like, mega exclusive. Figured you can't say no to that."

"No."

"Exactly... Wait, what?" Ricky stopped in his tracks, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"No thanks," you repeated. Looking at him now, you could tell exactly who was standing in front of you. No matter how much you liked Ricky, you didn't want to go on a date with this persona of his.

You wanted to go on a date with Ricky.

"Oh..." He replied, shock written all over his face. He swallowed hard and you swore you could see his cheeks start to redden with embarrassment.

"I really like you, Ricky," you clarified with a smile as you watched his eyebrows shoot up at the confession. "But no thank you."

You didn't wait around to field any possible questions. Turning on your heels, you headed off in the direction of your dorm leaving Ricky absolutely dumbfounded in the campus courtyard.

The next time he asked you out, it was in the hallway before class the following Monday. He handed you a small, light blue gift box, his eyes looking everywhere except at you.

You suppressed a smile, opening the box to find a dainty, rose gold bangle with the signature Tiffany T-shaped cuff ends. After having a mini heart attack over how much the bracelet in your hands must've cost, you took a deep breath to maintain your composure.

"I can't accept this," you managed, though you had to admit you were a bit sad to refuse it (and to refuse him a second time).

Ricky stared back at you, absolutely astonished. "Why... Why not?"

"I really like you, Ricky," you confessed again. "But I'll have to say no thank you."

As your professor called for everyone to take their seats, you hurried inside the classroom and left Ricky to trail in behind you completely stunned once more.

~

Ricky has asked you out about eight more times since that day. Each time, the simple question is skirted around and instead replaced with more and more elaborate and expensive gestures.

Now, it's 9:30 on a Friday night and you're typing away on your laptop, working on a paper that isn't due until the end of the semester when Ricky bursts through the doors of the library and darts straight towards your usual table.

"Are you seeing someone else?" He blurts out, catching his breath as he stands in front of you waiting for an answer. His hair falls boyishly across his forehead and he's dressed in a a hoodie and black joggers. You get the impression he had rushed here suddenly without any preparation and he looks so stupid cute.

"No," you reply, chewing on your cheeks to keep from smiling.

"Are you interested in men?"

"Unfortunately."

"You keep saying you like me and then you refuse to go out with me. Do you like me?" He asks, a little too loud for a library, but you're both lucky there's no one else that would be studying on a Friday night.

"I do," you confirm, watching as his eyes grow a bit more pleading as he wrestles with his own confusion.

"Then... Please... Will you please go out with me? I like spending time with you so much. I like talking to you so much. I really, really like you, (Y/N). Will you please just give me a chance?"

"Of course," you answer immediately.

"Yeah, I get it, I get--." Ricky's eyes suddenly light up as he realizes what you said. "REALLY?"

You nod, biting your lip in a satisfied smile and throwing your laptop into your backpack. "Let's go right now!"

He blinks quickly, following you as you stand up and walk towards the door. "Right now? But you--."

"Ricky, I don't really have any time to waste. I've been waiting for you to ask me out for two weeks now! Can you blame me for being a bit eager?"

"What... what do you mean? I've asked you out, like, a dozen times," he says as you step outside into the cool evening air, grabbing your wrist to stop you in your tracks.

You smile up at him. "No, you haven't."

"Yes, I--," he starts to protest, but you cut him off.

"You've told me you're taking me to an exclusive restaurant. You've bought me designer jewelry. You've given me an autographed poster from WayV. You've hired the Vienna Philharmonic to play at the student lounge. You've landed a helicopter in the middle of the courtyard..."

You watch as realization begins to wash over his face. His mouth hangs open a bit as he processes his numerous missteps. Then, a hand finds its way to the back of his neck as he smiles at you sheepishly. "Oh."

"So I've been waiting very patiently, you see."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he says with a smile, and then more solemnly he adds, "And I'm really sorry for being a total dick."

"Well, you're in luck. The only way to make it up to me is to get late night pancakes with me. And it just so happens, that I am incredibly hungry right now," you say, taking his hand and starting to pull him in the direction of the parking lot.

Ricky laces your fingers together as he falls in step with you. "Oh! I know the best place for pancakes, it's--."

You clear your throat and he stops his thought in its tracks.

"The diner?" He asks, looking to you for approval.

You nod, giggling back at him. "The diner."

[respectthepetty]

Because when a color demon is summoned by @negrowhat and @mggsttn's post, I show up!

Top 5 - Color-Coded Storytelling in BLs

Y'all already know what number one is, but let's pretend you don't. Instead follow me on this journey into BLs that gave the best color-coded storytelling. In order to be considered for this list:

The story had to integrate the colors into multiple aspects of the series: wardrobe, lighting, accessories, setting, etc.

The colors had to be meaningful to the plot.

The narrative did not explicitly state what the colors meant.

The color coding had to be consistent and featured in each episode.

The series has to be finished.

So let's begin!

Honorable Mention: Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This isn't a BL (yet it's queer, so anyone who says it isn't can argue with the ghosts), but that damn red thread of fate had me and Yiyong messed up all season! The appearance of the color red in the series was less of an alarm, and more of a signal that every single moment was connected. All those single red threads that Yiyong and his unlikely crime-solving buddies weaved each episode came together at the last minute not only to solve the crime, but to stitch Yiyong together and bring him back from the edge of death because the true message of the show about fate and dying was how connection is what makes life worth living.

#5 - Moonlight Chicken

Director Aof and Cinematographer Rath never miss, but this particular story being told in this series through the symbolism and lighting depicting moon vs. sun, coldness vs. warmth, dislike vs. love, and so much more was phenomenal. Watch the scene of Li Meng holding a crying Heart in Heart's cold, blue, dark room then witness the two kissing in Li Meng's warm, orange-ish, bright living room or watch the hatred and blue melting off of Alan as he begins to find love again and you'll understand that the color coding in this show wasn't just a simple red versus blue dynamic. This was the work of PROFESSIONALS. This color coding was like tiramisu made by the best Italian chef; it had layers and was effing delicious!

#4 - My Beautiful Man

This show did several visual devices oh-so-well. We got Hira always being lower than Kiyoi. We got the duck. We got Hira capturing Kiyoi with his camera instead of being present with him. We got traditional colors but with that Japanese twist. And all of the elements worked together to give us an elite visual story. Hira was blue. Kiyoi was white. Hira was the loyal and reserved servant. Kiyoi was a god. Yet this was the point of contention between the two. Kiyoi wasn't a heavenly being. He was a human boy devoid of love. He wanted Hira to love him, not worship him. He wanted Hira to stand with him, not lower himself. He wanted Hira to live with him, not through him. So we saw Kiyoi struggle with his color when he didn't feel stable in their relationship, but once Hira made it clear that he loved Kiyoi, Kiyoi never shined brighter.

#3 - My Love Mix-Up

Nobody does colors like Japan. It color codes its ties. It leans into the religious aspect of the light versus dark color scheme. It invents new ways to color-code and is always evolving . . . like Aoki's orange color did in this series. Our disaster bisexual started the series with a muted color and as he discovered he liked a boy and not the girl he originally was crushing on, his color started to emerge. At first it was a soft yellow, but by the end, it was a vibrant orange. Ida was a solid blue, so watching Aoki's feeling deepen for him was electric each time the blue lighting lingered on his face until it overwhelmed him. Oh, and that color exchange is the best that has ever been done!

#2 - Semantic Error

This show tricked us. Jae Young played us the way he played Sang Woo, yet Jae Young's true colors were revealed as the boys spent more time with each other because isn't that the entire point of color coding? Seeing people's true colors without having to be told? Jae Young started off as red solely because quiet and introverted Blue Boy Sang Woo HATED red. That was it! That was the entire reason Jae Young became red. He just wanted to piss off Sang Woo. But as the boys worked together and Jae Young's personality shown through, Sang Woo realized Jae Young wasn't the devil he made him out to be and was actually a pretty chill Green Guy who he wanted to hug longer than two weeks.

#1 - Big Dragon

The only reason 82% of the crowd decided to watch this show was because of the visual above. Let that sink in. This one visual piqued y'alls interest enough to watch a show about a guy drugging someone to have sex with him and blackmail him with the tape of it so he could *looks at notes* get the girl? A girl?! And the guy who was drugged, almost sexually assaulted, and blackmailed was *checks notes again* HE WAS IN TO IT?!

Y'all hated this show. I loved it. Y'all think it was ridiculous. I love it. Y'all are rolling your eyes right now. I will always love it because it understood the assignment! I can't keep repeating the same points over and over, but here I go again:

Everything was color coded!

And it all supported the story. It never distracted from the story. It never became its own story. It was laced into the story. It did exactly what visual rhetoric is supposed to - show don't tell.

And it showed me when Yai opened his heart to Mangkorn.

And how Mangkorn's love transformed Yai.

It showed me that Yai's sister was his only source of light living in that isolated house.

It showed me the warmth Yai felt from Mangkorn's mom.

And it showed me that no matter how much he protested, Yai was deep in love.

And to think it all started here.

And ended up here.

That's the power of color coding and remarkable visuals.

It makes you see the beauty is in the details.

[ice-cream-writes-stuff]

Rampange

Episode 2: ♤HOSTILE♤

{WHERE a young teen screams out her aggression with heavy death metal for a boy she barely knows.}

[1]

《HOSTILE: Showing strong dislike; unfriendly.》

♤

Eagerly munching on your food, you sweat, face curling into sour expression.

'Why...'

Grumbling as you took another bite, your friend, Nika, smiles boredly as she glances at you. Then back at her phone, "so... You seem stressed."

'How...'

Irked at her tone, you pause mid-munch. Slowly turning to her, crumbs on your face, squinting.

"I'm gonna' guess it's because of that.. Guy." She stated, making a small gesture to the empty seat near you two.

"...." Mouth still full of nutrition, your face scrunches up more. Nodding quickly as you swallow down the nourishment.

"Figures." She sighs. "He has an attractive face, oh, I also hear he's an actor too." Nika scrolls through her phone a bit more. "But there isn't much to go off of, since he is in our general classes. Seems like he also has a twin sister too-"

Letting out a dry cough, you clutch at your throat. Gagging on your siliva as she hands you your drink. You thankfully take it as you gulp it down.

"You always pick the pretty guys, way too pretty.."

She mocks as you place down your drink, shaking your head in defiance at the idea.

"Now hold on-"

She ignores your protest, continuing easily. "But from what I can tell face-glance at his personality, quiet."

"And not the, 'Oh, so shy!' Kind of way More, 'creep and ice cold.' I also hear he has a sister-con-"

Spitting out your drink, you heave, mouth agape as the water drools down to your thighs.

"H... HOW DO YOU KNOW SO MUCH?!"

You yell, swirly-eyed at all the info placed on you. "Nevermind.. I don't think I wanna know.." You sigh out dizzily, swaying in your seat.

"Ha.." Nika laughs at your struggle. "Basic rumors, media-" She lists off easily, "and studying his interactions with you."

You grumble quietly, "thats a bit much." Yet continue eating, trying to recall the times the two of you been around each other.

-

ONE: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

Today... Was your first day of your new life.

Your former life was now-...

You could be anyone you want!

You misssed it some, but this world was similiar to your own. So no use in crying over spilled milk, instead, you choose to live it how you please.

Skipping to your class, a dumb happy smile on your face. You jump forward on the last step!

"Ruby, c'mon. Were gonna be late."

Mis-steping, your ankle suffers in trying to keep you up. Sweating, you gulp in your tears as you glance at the pair of blondes in terror.

"Eh.. I'm hurrying!"

Suffering in silence, you hold your head up. Biting your lips as you watch the two head inside without a second thought or noticing you.

.

.

.

"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!! STUPID ISEKAI~!"

You screamed, voice different due to your rage. You pause- touching your chest in awe. Your vocal chords... Were powerful...

Smiling in glee, you ignore the throbing in your leg. Re-thinking your situation.

So you were stuck in a manga you found at a bookstore.An indulgent purchase due to social media cramming it down your throat.

New plan..!

Just don't bother with the plot.

-

TWO: SEATMATES.

While, you hoped you would ignore the plot. Pretending it didn't exist like your other problems, it was hard.

Playing dumb wasn't hard.

What was hard however, was ignoring a cute blue-eyed blonde who's goal was to kill his own father.

Him being your seatmate, wasn't too bad per-say. Esspically if he showed no intrest in you at all.

"Hi! I'm (Y/N) (L/N)."

"...Aqaumarine Hoshino." He spoke with politeness, not bothering to smile as je glances back to the board.

It stung, sure, yet it was easier for you to live without the pain your heart would feel if you fell for him. Just like the other poor girls who got insared in his web of lies and odd bonds.

Though, the two of you gradually become more aquainted woth each other.

Often him being blunt with a dead-pan gaze, yet, this simple relationship fine in your book.

-

-

T̵̨̢̛͇̣̣͍̙͙͎̙̱̝͓͈̮͓̼̣͔̦͇̦̪͉͍̗̻̳̹̖̹̮͍̉́̋̄͌̈́̃̓̒͋̓͛͑̓͆̄̀̈́̽͊̂̈͊̑̑͆̄̅͗̈́̅̌͘͘͘͝͝͝ͅH̵̢̡̧̘͕̮̮̠̪̯͚̯̱͚̲̫̖̥̩̳̳̠̰̼͖͖̬͉̘͖͚͉̻͙̳͓̠̘̮͉̲̩̰͙̹̥̳̓̓͋͗̒̈́̕͜͜ͅR̶͛́��̨̢̹̲̭̦̼̳̭̦̜̣̦̹̱̱̰͕͙̦̗̠̗̯̹̬͍̯̗͍̪͑́̽̽̽͂̑͑̇̓̄̀̇͑͂̈́̏̄͘Ḝ̸̨̗̩̝̝̪͈̩̹͍͈̘̟̦̼̳͚̦̦̯̖͈̣̟͚̼͕̩ͅE̴̮̙͇͐͑̏͗̃̉͆̾̈̑̌̊̏͛̀͒̅̓͂͂̀̍̏͋̒̄̐̿̈͐̐̍͑̑̕͘͠͝:̷̼̪͓̫͇̇̀͆͐͂̏̋͊̓͌͗̏͆͛̓͗͑̆͌̎̕͝͝͝R̴̛̳͈̻̼̥͕̹̫̗͇͈̟͎͂̐̃̀͊͂͊͊̇́̑̀͋͒̀̈́̀̽̈́̿͝͝e̴̡̨̨͍̯͔̬̱̦͎̞͇̥̝͖̹̤͙̬̗̜̞̜͈̲̼͍̟͇̜̼͔̯̠̝̅̓̋̚͜d̸̡̢̨̢̧͖̭̺̠͈̬̪̮͕̲̯̣̭̲̺͈̣͔̜̓̔͊͑̇̏̀̃̀̄́̇̈̈̒̀̅͐̂̃͌̈̉̓̆̌̚͜͠͝ä̴̪̣̥̗̯͔̜͓́̋̅͐̒̽̑͒͘ç̷̧̢̛͉̜̣̙͚͇̳̰̝͈̝͎͓̠̗͍̠͉̫̬͚̬̳̣͚̫̜͎͇͈̈́͌̾̔̾̉̄͛̅̈́̆̍̓̔̔̀̉́͐̅͒̂̒͐́̀̎́͋̀͠ͅṱ̴̛̛͉̠͓̳̖͙̟͙͎̯̎͂̎̇̽̑̽̆́̊͆̈́̇͑̀̊̒́̎̓̍̈̈͌͐̽̇̋̀̀̃̕̕̕͘͘͝͠͝ͅe̴̛̛̖̜͚̣̝͙̋̓̓̐͒͂̔͛̐̿̌̈́͒̔̿̈́̀̋̍̊̌͐́̐̑́̎̈́͑̎̌͆͋͘̚͘̚̕̚̚͝͝͝��̢̙̜̯̖̠̰͍̭ͅd̵͈̻̖̙͍͉̬͎̣̭̹̲̼̣͖͉͙̪͊͆̌̀̍͊͛̀̂̊́̈́̃̈̓̂͂̽͐̒͊̃́̎̃̂́̏̔̈́̉͐̀͗̒́̅̏͌̕̚̕͝͝͝͝

-

"Hey-! Earth to (Y/N)! You' listening?" 

"Huh-? Uh, yeah..."

"Good, your dreamboats back. I'm heading to my class." She says, packing her things as she gets up and leaves. Giving a small wave.

"..."Dreamboat"..?" You croak out, not disagreeing, but timid at admiting it.

Aqua comes back to his desk, side-eyeing your apprehensive look.

-

[I wonder what he said during the first part??? Who knows!! Lol, yay! Update! Due to the fact I bought a Aqau Hoshino Nendroid!]

[When he arrives, I'll probably update! Hope he arrives soon! Fan art, comments are always appricated. Also, I found no Aqua x (Y/N) art??? Wha??]

[soliloquent-stark]

this is a bit all over the place, don't mind me. and don't keep reading if you dislike gooey stuff.

as you might know from the lovely asks i was sent (thank you, everyone 💗) it was my birthday yesterday. and unfortunately, as it often happens, some things didn't go so well. i won't go into details, but it was tough, and it sucked to cry on my birthday more than usual (teenage trauma throwback, am i rite) though i admit it was really handy to have a cake to absorb all the tears right up. 🤭

but good things happened, too! and almost all of them had one common denominator: k! (typing it out like this is so silly. she has a name. but for all intents and purposes, she's simply ✨k✨).

without even getting into the actual gifts that my fiancée got me this year—which are as always perfect and thoughtful and useful and just magic—or the cake, or the flowers, or anything else, i wanted to specifically showcase the marvel related stuff that put such a smile on my face:

yes, that balloon gave me heart attacks whenever i walked into the room. yes, i pretended to hate cringy cowboy seb then ended up giggling and blushing every time i looked at him. yes, the spiderman gift bag is from the children's section and we've gifted it back and forth at various occasions for over a year now.

also a superfamily celebration:

i loved feeling like a four year old little boy with my spiderman cake topper <3.

and i obviously won't share the rest of what she wrote, but the card included some sweet quotes i genuinely was so moved by, then i realised they sounded familiar, then i realised it's from my hedgehog fic (which was a gift to her, so honestly we're just throwing the same quotes back and forth pretending it's about steve and tony. it was never about steve and tony).

quoting my own writing back to me?? hello?? queen behaviour right there. also peak moment for me.

(side note, that's not even all the marvel stuff i got from her this birthday. i didn't include any gifts in this post. also, i wish there was a way to show everyone just how many marvel things we own (including fanmade posters, stickers, zines etc. support creators if you can. ❤️) and how much that shocks some people who visit us because it doesn't seem like it goes with the sapphic-grandma core we got going on. oh well, it does now.)

it would be impossible to list why k is the best person in the world without writing actual novels (believe me, i have tried and it was very long) and sharing way too much about her story. but just trust me when i say she is the best friend you could ever have, and she makes me feel so loved and appreciated every single day, which makes special occasions even harder because how do you even top that? well, she still manages to. every time. 🥺

i guess the point of this was to share some appreciation and further my k propaganda, because i can see all the effort and care she lovingly puts into everything she does for other people, and to let everyone know just how much of an angel she is. i don't care if it's corny. and if you've ever seen a comment written by whinysteve, or read her excited tags on a reblog, or directly talked to her, or simply perceived her existence in any form, you already know she's the fucking best. it's not an act, it's all real. should get my shit together and finally wife her up. 🥹

tl;dr: she makes any moment better by just being there; and when she sets her mind to it, you will feel the power of her kindness. at the end of day, to be loved is to be seen. and she's got the world record for best vision. ❤️‍🩹

[eden-writes-stuff]

Tags: mtf!'harry'; he/him pronuns until the middle, use of deadname until end; teacher!Remus; genderfluid!Sirius; ftm!Regulus; Angst; hints at wolfstar

Wordcount: 1260

The first try failed miserably.

When he returned to himself, Lupin was by his side, helping him up. "It's alright. I didn't expect you to do it the first time. That would have been remarkable." He pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket. "Here, eat this. You'll feel better."

Harry could still feel the cold, the icy grip on his heart, the numbness. "That was one nasty Dementor."

"Oh, no. That was a Boggart, Harry. The real thing would have been a lot worse." 

Lupin started to relight the candles with his fingers while Harry scrambled back to his feet.

"As a matter of interest, what were you thinking?" "The first time I rode a broom."

Lupin turned toward him. "That's not good enough, not nearly." Harry tried not to be disappointed. Deep inside, he knew there was only one right memory. One time he had felt truly comfortable in his own skin. But it was wrong and strange... and yet...

"There's another... It's the happiest I've ever felt. But it's complicated", he explained, not daring to look at the teacher.

"Is it strong?" 

Harry nodded, heart pounding.

"Then let's give it a try. Do you feel ready?" He drew his wand, pointing it at the chest.

"Just do it." This time when Lupin opened the chest, he felt more confident. He remembered what it had been like.

The sudden change of his body. Long black hair, softer curves, wider hips, a different voice... He remembered finally seeing herself in the mirror. The pure euphoria. She remembered people laughing, but it didn't matter because, for the first time in her life, she had felt beautiful.

The stag burst out of the tip of the wand, cornering the Dementor until it was back in its prison. Lupin looked up in wonder.

"Fucking hell! Sorry. You didn't hear that. That was amazing. Truly wonderful, here..." He pulled his chocolate out again, while Harry wiped away a few tears. Why was she- he- she crying? A look of concern crossed the teacher's face. "Let's take a break, shall we."

Without a word, Harry sat on the stairs, staring at the wall.

"Do you want to talk about this memory?" The kid hesitated. She trusted Lupin. Something about his calm, warm way made him seem like he could make the entire world be okay.

"It was a prank Malfoy pulled on me last year... He... turned me into a girl. It's stupid. I don't even know why it affected me that much, but it just felt right. I know it's not. I'm a boy, I always have been, but I... I felt so comfortable for the next few hours."

"Har-" Lupin interrupted himself. "Listen, I'm not pretending to be all-knowing. Only you can know who you are and how you feel, but I would like to tell you about two friends of mine who might have had similar experiences."

The thirteen-year-old looked up. It was obviously not easy for the teacher to talk about this, but he continued anyway. "They were siblings. One was born as a boy, the other as a girl. But it turned out that neither of those terms really fit them. The 'girl' felt more comfortable with short hair and the other sibling's clothes, because they didn't show off as much of the body. Soon this child decided to tell their friends to refer to him with 'he', rather than 'she'. Not long after he changed his name. And the people who truly cared about him accepted it. He was a lot happier that way and felt more like himself. He changed his appearance permanently."

"So he lived as a boy? And people were just fine with that?" "Well, not everyone obviously. But there will always be people who don't agree with who you are or how you present yourself. He just made sure people disliked who he really was." Lupin gave her a small smile.

"What about your other friend?" His gaze grew distant. "He never cared what people thought of him. One of the bravest people I ever knew." Probably without even knowing it his thumb traced one of the scars on his hand. "He would change his appearance and how people referred to her based on her mood. Some days she felt more like a woman, others like a man, others like none. Not caring what anyone had to say about it. Just because he knew he only had limited time on this earth and she wasn't going to waste any of it." He took a deep breath and looked over to her again.

"Do you see yourself in either of them?" "I... I don't know. Can you maybe try it out? Talking about me with she?" the professor nodded. "Of course", he turned toward an imaginary audience. "This is my student. She managed to summon a patronus today, and as her teacher, I am very proud of her. She likes to play Quidditch, but sadly her broom broke a few weeks ago. I hope she finds a new one that will equally serve its purpose." Lupin looked at her again, who couldn't help but smile.

"So you like it?" "Yes. It... I can't even describe it. Just... yes." She grinned widely, but then hesitated. "What about a name?" "Do you want a new one? You don't have to change anything you don't want to change." "I would like a new name, but... Well, my parents gave it to me and- "Your parents were two of the most supportive and accepting people in the world. They would have loved you, regardless of your gender or name; regardless of anything. You don't need to worry about them."

Slowly she nodded. "Can I just pick any name?" "Anyone you like. It doesn't need to be right away either, you can take as much time as you need. You can choose it when you're 70 or 110." "Do you know, if my parents had any ideas if I was.. born a girl?" Lupin thought for a while.

"In general, the Potters have a tradition of naming their kids after themselves. You have your father's first name as your second name, he had his father's name as a second name. So you could use Lily as a second name if you want to keep that going. Other than that your mom was very keen on naming you after one of their friends, but James thought that would get confusing very quickly. Now I don't believe that will be a problem anymore. You almost would have been named... after your godfather. As for female friends; There were Marlene and Mary, who were your mother's best friends. We used to call them the Valkyries. Marlene had a very close friend called Dorcas, also a brilliant woman. And then there was Pandora, who... was also very close to your mother. And of course, your grandmother, Euphemia."

"Pandora Lily Potter... Pandora Potter." She let the name roll off her tongue a few times. "I think I like that one..." Professor Lupin smiled. "Do you think I can tell my friends?" "I don't know. You need to manage that yourself. However, if you are looking for support, I know that Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout will not let anyone treat you badly because of that. And neither will I."

Pandora nodded and rose from the stairs. "Can we maybe continue practice another time? I have a lot to think about." "Of course. Take as much time as you need. You have done amazing today. Much better than I ever anticipated. I'll see you in classes then, Pandora..."

[nono-uwu]

what is it about crowferi that you personally don’t like?

Oookaaaay first I want to preface this by saying that if you or anyone reading this ships it, I don't really care and all my hating is kept to myself and this blog so go enjoy your doomed toxic yaoi👍 I just enjoy being a whiny little hater (also I'm very hyped up about miku expo and that leads to questionable decsisions aslfkfnen)

The short answer: my personal interpretation of both characters seperately and their relationship doesn't make for any healthy relationship, let alone a romantic one. I know that that's the appeal for many but I preffer my ships to be mostly healthy

Longer answer (yapper mode activated):

As I said, I like my ships mostly healthy.

From the moment Ferid and Crowley met, Ferid was manipulative and abusive. He tormented Crowley, picked off everyone important to him one by one and made sure the only 'human' thing about Crowley later is his desire for revenge, which fizzles out by the time they meet up again, essentially turning Crowley into the prefect guard dog for Ferid. Call me a puritan or whatever but that's horrific abuse and torment, isn't it?

Now does Crowley mind? From what we're told he's only mildly annoyed with Ferid sometimes and otherwise even enjoys Ferids insane little schemes.

Still, this is very much an abuser x abused situation, which I don't vibe with. I get it's ficiton tho so I just don't engage and block, maybe whine in private about it.

It's not just any toxic yaoi, it's toxic from only one side. For me, the appeal of toxic yaoi/yuri is that both sides are equally horrible to eachother. For crowferi, Ferid is basically the only toxic one (or yk, abusive) from the start and Crowley just takes it. That's not a fun dynamic (for me)!!!!

Another thing is the massive mischaracterization of both of them? Now don't get me wrong, headcanons are perfectly fine (lord knows I have a fuck ton), but some of the crowferi content I've seen completley misses the mark? Granted most of the art doing that is older but I still see it circulated on pinterest a lot (maybe twitter too but I'm not active on there).

So these aformentioned pieces turn Ferid into an uwu soft boy who's daddy issues make him break down and sob at the mention of Rigr and Crowley into an chad alpha 𝖎 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 typa thing (I'm exegareting but you get my point) and it's just... ;-;

Other things idk how to spin into a whole paragraph:

Those aren't a "it's not 100% canon compliant" thing, those are a "he would not fucking say that"(/ref) situation.

As a few have pointed out, Ferid treats Krul better than he ever did Crowley

Ferid never opened up to Crowley beyond a few cryptic remarks, and Crowley never bothered to look into it further. Some people like to pretend they have a deep relationship but that doesn't seem like a deep relationship to me

So, lange Rede kurzer Sinn, the way I see them doesn't make for any romantic relationship, and the toxic aspect isn't even fun (unless you like abuser x abused ig)

Now a reason that actually isn't why I dislike it:

The most common critisism about the ship is that it's technically incest. While I hate incest, ons is hilariously vague when it comes to vampire genetics and the word 'family' is used so often it could be turned into a lethal drinking game.

Like, as humans, Ferid and Crowley aren't related in the slightest and vampire family dynamics are so whack we can dissmiss them calling eachother 'brothers' as banter. If we take the whole incest argument to it's logical extreme, you could say that fucking Mikayuu qualifies as incest because they are adoptive siblings and regularly call eachother family.

This doesn't have anything to do with the ask, I just wanted an excuse to say it lol

[hughiecampbelle]

Hii! I'd like to get shipped with someone of the boys, and it can be pretty much any character except from the seven

Info: I dyed my hair purple, I have blue eyes that seem gray in some lighting. I love fire for no particular reason, and I dress in more baggy clothing, and sometimes goth (minus the makeup). I enjoy all kinds of music, and usually put on music whenever I need to do chores or travel somewhere. I love going to second hand stores, but I dislike going furniture shopping

I love drawing, though I prefer drawing abstract things rather than realism. I love animals, and my favorite animal is a cow <3

I love wearing lots of rings and bracelets, and I enjoy necklaces too, but I often forget to put them on

I don't have any tattoos yet, but some day I'd love to get wings tattooed on my shoulder blades/back, I'm not sure whether I want bug wings or feathered wings yet, maybe I'll even do bat wings (so in this case, let's pretend I already have that)

I'm really good at being quiet and sneaking up on people, I often accidently scare people

I even manage walking up creaking stairs QUIETLY, somehow

I'm not a very fast runner, but I am steady when it comes to standing. Like, if someone would suddenly jump on my back, I'd barely stumble, so maybe that's interesting

Thank you so much!!

Hi my love! I ship you with: Frenchie!!!! He loves your jewelry. He's not sure why it drives him wild, but seeing the many rings on your fingers and bracelets on your wrists just does it for him. He's always trying to find the perfect additions to your collection, shopping second hand for something as cool and unique as you as well as something that fits your overall style and aesthetic. He loves watching you take it off at night and put it on when you're getting ready in the morning. He also loves the idea of you getting tattoos. Frenchie is all for that aesthetic and definitely helps you figure out where and what you want to get. You'll look amazing with wings on your back.

You love his intelligence. Frenchie is incredibly smart and resourceful, but this kind of thing gets forgotten or ignored until The Boys need his help with something like isolating the virus. He knows a lot about random things and shows it off to you, more comfortable around you than anyone else. He was the first to pick up on Kimikos sign language and become fluent in it. He always gets the answer right when you're watching those cheesy game shows with wheels and hidden letters. He does the crossword puzzle in record time. His intelligence blows you away constantly and you're always reminding him he's more capable than he gives himself credit for. Your relationship is silly. You and Frenchie have so much drama in your lives, you both need an outlet that is fun and silly and goofy. You rarely take things seriously when it comes to your relationship. Your dates are spontaneous and impulsive and random. Even when you accidentally scare him because your footsteps are so quiet, it always ends in laughs. Of course when it's necessary, you two can have a serious conversation. After Butcher gets him back after turning himself in, you two have a long conversation about guilt and shame and not feeling good enough for one another. It's not always easy, especially with the lives you live, but you know, no matter what, you can come to one another looking for a laugh and a little relief from the every day stressors. Your first date isn't actually a date. Rather you and Frenchie are the last two to leave. Since neither of you want to go home, you end up watching movies together late into the night. He tells you random facts he knows about the weapons the bad guys use or the name of the camera angle they're using or what a certain scene is called. He just knows this kind of stuff. He laughs it off, calling it useless, but you don't think so. You two really get talking and end up falling asleep together, waking up only when Annie's walked in and brought coffee. You're embarrassed, but you also know something in your relationship has shifted. After that, you spend countless nights doing the same thing, watching and talking until you fall asleep. It's something you really look forward to after an especially hard day. Relationship Headcanon: Frenchie loves helping you dye your hair. He's been helping you with it for as long as you've been together and each time he gets a little better at it. He jokingly calls himself a professional and the apartment bathroom your salon. He still gets it all over himself, in his own hair, all over his hands and clothes, but he's never minded. He knows how much you like the purple, how confident it makes you feel, and that's all that matters. You do your best to clean him up afterwards, laughing at the bright purple stains across his face. He wears those spots with pride.

Hope you like it my love!!! Xoxoxo💜💜💜

SHIPS ARE CLOSED

[wallashoom]

guys i watched dead meat's danganronpa kill count and it honestly irks me that they considered chihiro a "they"

headcanons aren't canon!!!! chihiro is explicitly said to be male bc he was literally bullied into it to protect himself bc of japanese gender roles

if he was trans, he wouldn't have gone to mondo to be stronger- mondo was literally everything chihiro wanted to be from an outside perspective

and i don't think taichi would be the type to misgender his kid

canonically, chihiro is male. it's fine to have headcanons as long as it doesn't directly impede a character's story/arc. if you don't get that, you don't understand his character or story.

EDIT: (under the cut)

gender roles in japan are (or at least were) very strict. boys were supposed to be strong and chihiro was not, so he got bullied relentlessly for it. since he was seen as weak and feminine, he decided to pretend to be a girl to get the bullying to stop. and it worked. the only issue was that if he was ever found out, he’d be bullied even more for crossdressing.

chihiro never wanted to be a girl and only did it because he wanted the bullying to stop. he is quite literally uncomfortable at the others treating him as a girl.

chihiro looked up to mondo because he was a strong man and wanted to be trained by him- he even declined sakura’s offer because she was a woman.

the second motive made him motivated to share his secret- to be strong enough to let the truth out and finally be himself. a lot of his dialogue gives an insight on his insecurity of being weak and his desire to be a strong man. he wants to be a man.

if you headcanon him as trans, that is fine. that is your headcanon. my personal problem is that it feels like a lot of the takes i’ve seen undermine his story or it’s just people insisting he’s canonically trans. his character arc and over all characterization is very heavily centered around the topic of gender and gender roles/masculinity and i’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be a critique on those topics. and it’s important to keep in mind that these topics are seen differently between somewhere like the usa and japan. this game was released in 2010 and no game after has stated that chihiro identifies as anything different. alter ego- a program that chihiro created and i doubt he intended on sharing with anyone uses he/him pronouns for him. chihiro programmed something secret and gave himself he/him pronouns. the AI of chiaki that chihiro also helped create refers to chihiro as her and monomi’s father. it’s not supposed to be anything all that deep.

can his story be seen as an allegory? yes, absolutely. if you resonate with that, then that’s your comfort space. but don’t be one of those people that project onto the character.

my issue with dead meat’s kill count is that usually they follow canon and mention canon elements. to put chihiro as a “they/them” is just incorrect, no matter how much discourse it may create. this is my complaint. i know they took the safe route, but it is explicitly said that chihiro is a boy and identifies as such. i don’t remember if this was the japanese version only, but mondo refers to him using masculine pronouns and nicknames. chihiro is canonically a cisgender male and he always has been.

if you can identify with the trans take, that’s great- but please understand his character and the journey he goes through within the game. he’s not supposed to be trans representation so don’t look at it him like he is.

tl;dr - while i personally dislike the “chihiro is trans” headcanon, i don’t care if you do. my issue is that if you’re going to cover the game’s story and it’s characters, it needs to go off of canonical elements. acknowledging outside debates is fine, but don’t let headcanons bleed into your actual coverage.

[princeescaluswords]

Unsolicited Tips for Fanfiction Writers #1: The Lecture

I want to preface this with the idea that I'm not writing this from some position of authorial scold. This is a problem with my own writing about which I have had to be very careful.

Every author experiences moments when they need to deliver exposition, elucidate a theme, or provide context for an action for their story. This is especially true in fanfiction, when a writer feels enormous pressure to relate the work before them with the original source material. Having one character explain it to another is not only an effective solution but in certain genres expected. Characters who don't know certain things often have to learn about them.

But it can get tricky, especially when it comes to fanfiction. Sometimes the reader can suddenly become aware that they're being addressed by the author telling them what to think, and that's usually not the reason why someone reads a story. While some readers are in tune with the author so much that it doesn't bother them, a lot of readers will feel that they're the ones being lectured.

In my opinion, the key to delivering a useful and non-intrusive lecture in your story is the relationships between the speaker and their audience. Is there a reason for the speaker to be delivering the information? Are they an authority on the topic? Is there a reason for the audience to listen to the speaker? Do they respect the speaker or need the information being delivered? If these things don't exist, the curtain parts and the reader experiences the author talking directly to them.

I'll give you an example. In a recent Teen Wolf fanfiction I came across, a crossover with Hawaii 5-0, Stiles went to the islands and became involved with the team, and Steve Garrett returned with him to Beacon Hills for other reasons, but Stiles wants to "give Scott a chance" to make things up to Stiles. It really should have been labeled "Bad Friend Scott McCall" but no one really labels things correctly.

Plot events occur, but the latest chapter has a scene where Steve Garret lectures Scott on how badly he's been treating Stiles, calls him a spineless coward, and threatens him with violence if Scott hurts Stiles emotionally. It's a lecture all right. But here's the problem (as I put into the constructive criticism comment I left for the author).

Why the hell would Scott not just turn around and walk out of the hospital room after his first sentence? Who the hell is Steve Garrett to Scott? We, the readers, know who that is, but Scott doesn't know this person from Adam. Scott, of course, doesn't defend himself, because in these types of "The Author Hates Canon and Will Make It Your Problem" stories, the characters they dislike never get a chance to defend themselves. But the real important point I feel is -- what in Scott's characterization implies that he would listen to a white male stranger, however dangerous and threatening, scold him on how he has to treat Stiles? It's not like that exact thing hasn't happened before.

I should have realized that this story would be full of the "Author Telling Me Why I Shouldn't Like Scott." In an earlier chapter, Peter says this gem to Stiles:

“Isn’t he? How much easier would your life have been, your father’s life had been, if Scott had accepted what he became sooner? How better would your lives be if he hadn’t tried to ignore the insane, serious change he went through and put all of your lives at stake just to pretend he was a normal boy to be able to get the girl he confused lust for love for? And that’s not even touching on who said girl and her family even were!” 

I let that go, because this is not out of character for Peter to be a manipulative douchebag. And since Stiles had come to Peter, it wasn't completely out of line for him to listen. I was surprised that Stiles didn't respond. "I did wonder how much easier my life would have been if you hadn't tried to mind-control Scott into killing me, so there's that." But this is an older Stiles, so maybe he's not as sarcastic.

But the lecture from Steve Garrett was the breaking point. I was out of the story permanently. Even if you think Scott is the stupidest werewolf that ever lived, it's still part of his characterization -- which the author never bothered to change because the purpose of this story was to express their hatred of Scott McCall -- that he doesn't let weird strange white men tell him what to do.

I mean, what's left at this point? If Scott's this bad -- a spineless coward who is completely in the wrong but wont' recognize it -- why does Stiles even care? He lives thousands of miles away in Hawaii! If Scott's this bad -- someone so selfish and oblivious that Peter Hale is a better person and a overly-tanned white cop from another state has to threaten him -- why does Scott even care? What is this story but a 30k (so far) lecture on why the author didn't like the show? I'm pretty sure I know the answer already -- either Scott will be killed/maimed/humiliated or he will throw himself at Stiles feet and apologize for not centering his life around Stiles's needs. Either way, Stiles will go back to the big island, having defeated his nemesis (Scott, in case the audience wasn't paying attention) and live happily ever after.

You can write stories like this, but if you want to reach an audience larger than the people who already agree with you, it might do well to make sure that the characters are characters, and not mouthpieces.

[linagram]

[meet the guard!] guard 003: kuroki hinode

(this was supposed to be posted yesterday but.. i forgor...)

HE'S FINALLY HERE!!! THE THIRD GUARD!!! AND ALSO RIKU'S BIG BROTHER!! LET'S GO!!!

he gets not one but two drawings bc he's a very special little boy (and also bc i feel bad for him since he got introduced late for obvious story purposes but like.. i really need to make more content for him..)

(also fun fact: the first drawing actually was done in july and the second one just a few days ago.. i can actually see some differences in my art style hehe..)

another note is that when i started to work on hinode's character, my first thought was that i kinda wanted to create another physically disabled guard character (since i think eiji can count as the first one because kei's treatment of him had not the best impact on his body), it just sounded like a neat concept! but i also didn't want to make him.. how do i explain.. too sympathetic, maybe? too squishy? what really annoys me as someone who is physically disabled is that characters like that are often used to make people feel bad for them and don't really have any personality OR they turn out to be the bad guys who only pretended to be disabled for pity points. so instead i've tried to make hinode's problems realistic and a lot of it comes from my own experiences, but i still wanted to make him morally gray and kinda.. you know.. kinda suspicious. (you're more than allowed to joke about punching him or putting him in a blender and all that)

General info.

Name: Kuroki Hinode (黒木日出) (his last name means "black" and "tree" and his first name means "sun, day" and "exit, leave". yes, hinode's name has kanji for "day" and riku's name has kanji for "evening".. the parallels <3...)

Age: 22 y/o

Gender: Male

Status: Guard 003

Birthday: January 28 (Aquarius)

Blood type: AB

Height: 179 cm

Occupation: Unemployed

Personality: Hinode isn't as outgoing as his brother, but he still enjoys talking to others, learning more about them and just spending time with other people. However, he's used to being alone, so he won't complain if it's not possible for him to talk to anyone at the moment. It actually might be better for him, since he gets tired quite easily because of his poor health and can't be active for too long. He feels sleepy most of the time, so please don't judge him for suddenly dozing off in the middle of the conversation, even if it's very important. He's not as passionate about justice as the other guards and mostly just wants to do his own thing, not caring about morals too much, but still having enough common sense to punish those who deserve it (in his opinion). He dislikes the physical kind of punishments because he believes that they're too "basic", since pain can easily scare anyone and there's nothing special about it. It's also possible that he doesn't like them because of his own experience with chronic pain, but to be honest, Hinode is lying when he says that he doesn't like to see people in pain. Yes, he believes that pain is the worst thing that could happen to anyone, even worse than death. But also, as someone who has no choice but to spend most of his days in pain.. Maybe he does want to see the prisoners feel the same way as he does. Maybe just a little bit. He still prefers the psychological punishments, finding them more "effective" and "suitable".. mostly because he's too weak to punish anyone physically.

MV info.

His Milgram cover: Him and T1 Naomi are twinning and he'd cover Weakness! The lyrics remind me a lot of him and I think with an instrumental like that it'd be appropriate for Riku's brother to cover it.

His DECO*27 cover: Harinezumi. The lyrics remind me a lot of him in general, him trying to keep up with everyone even though his condition doesn't allow him and him feeling like a burden to others, especially his family, but also being jealous of Riku for being so popular, talented and living his best life (at least it seems so on the outside) ("I can still keep going! Jealousy, what a trifling thing", "Don't you sometimes feel a little dizzy? I'm sighing because I'm tired of my heart pounding", "People know their true forms after being broken and crushed") and also the song describes his dysfunctional relationship with Riku really well as two brothers who are both jealous of each other and who both want something the other has (Riku has friends, popularity, the time and energy to make music, meanwhile Hinode has the family's attention, others helping him and people not judging him for spending the whole day in bed) but who also still love each other and genuinely wish their life could go differently ("I'll embrace you, we won't be parted", "Don't be prickly with me, each time we touch, I throb. If I prick you, you might hate me, well, there's no way that will happen!.. At least, I think", "I'm an attention seeker! I want to be spoiled! I want to melt even more for you!") And also considering that one of them is extremely suicidal and the other one is afraid that his life won't be that long.. ("In the blink of an eye, which of us will die?")

His Non-DECO*27 cover: Waltz by Nashimoto-P. I imagine Hinode having this very soft and quiet voice that almost sounds like a whisper and I feel like it would fit the way Miku is tuned very well! Also the lyrics sound so much like him trying to cope with his condition, his relationship with Riku, other problems and slowly going insane in the process. ("Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, I ask what day is it today, regrettably thinking today will be a good time", "I don't know what's fun, but as I run out of things to do, I will accompany you", "My EKG is a straight line, I wonder how many decades ago") Some lyrics, especially the chorus remind me of the way he acts as a guard too. ("Stop trying to give up, the world is connected. Dance, smile, while you're being controlled. In the beginning, in the end, the details are non-existent. Don't resist, accept it, everything is connected") Also, Riku's T3 song is supposed to be by Nashimoto-P too, so :} They're matching!

His T3 Voice Trailer Voicelines:

"Ah, greetings, prisoners. Um, I apologize for such a late introduction, haha.. My name is Kuroki Hinode and I am the third guard of this prison. Nice to meet you. Starting from today, I'll be replacing Sanada Eiji-san as he's recovering. I hope we all get along. I'm really not the best person for this job, so I apologize if I end up falling asleep in the middle of the interrogation, haha.."

".. What was I supposed to do? I can't even get out of bed right now. If he wants to be saved, then I'm not the one who he should ask for help."

Trivia:

His eyes may not look like it because of the lighting on the first picture, but his eye color is supposed to be gray, meanwhile Riku's eye color is more of a mix of light green and gray.

Hinode's natural hair color is light brown, but a few days before Riku committed his crime, Riku suggested that he dyes Hinode's hair, hoping to make him feel at least a little better. They went with the brightest colors Riku had just for fun and it really did make Hinode smile and he was happy to spend time with his brother like that. In season 2, Riku dyed his hair the same way and noticed the colors only when it was too late, so it's possible that he missed his brother and did that subconsciously. It should be noted, however, that Riku's T2 hair is light green on the left and red on the right, meanwhile Hinode's hair is light green on the right and his hair is more pink rather than red on the left. Hinode also has a double ahoge just like his little brother and same goes for their little sisters. It's something they all share :)

He started putting his hair in a bun since he arrived because he found working with his hair down uncomfortable. Miki helps him with it now.

Hinode's illnesses aren't deadly, but a lot of them are chronic and dealing with them made Hinode a little bit paranoid and he has a lot of health-related anxiety. His condition is supposed to be mostly up to interpretation, but I can say for sure that he has anemia, narcolepsy and fibromyalgia.

He's the tallest out of all the guards (and that also makes Eiji the shortest). He's also the oldest one.

It's hard for him to walk because of how tired he feels most of the time, so he asked Miki if it's okay to hold her hand when they walk together. After a lot of internal screaming because of Hinode being so cute, Miki agreed. 

His room has everything he needs and he can see the whole prison on multiple screens, watch the interrogation recordings, adjust the brightness of the screens and the room temperature and whoever kidnapped him also somehow learned about all the medications he has to take. He was creeped out by first, but then went "Oh, it's kinda nice actually :)"

Speaking of him arriving to Milgram, he was kidnapped while he was asleep. So before Jackalope brought him his guard uniform, Hinode spent all his time wearing pajamas. He still thinks they're more comfortable than his uniform. (another fun fact is that the first "concept art" of him had him in his pajamas sjskkssl)

He's probably the best character to ask for medical help at the moment, since he does know a lot about things like that, but whether he's able to actually help someone depends on how he's feeling at the moment and what his relationship with that person is like. 

Hinode actually used to play the guitar before his health started to get worse and after he realized he doesn't have the energy to play anymore, he gave it to Riku. Riku still uses his brother's guitar and not counting the ones he got in Milgram, he refuses to get a new one. It also has a bunch of silly drawings on it made by Riku himself, Hinode and their little sisters. 

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 10: The Hunt Begins

This post probably has spoilers for the entire Wheel of Time series, so if that's not what you're into, don't keep reading.

This chapter starts us out with the Horn of Valere icon again, which... hell even if you shouldn't be reading this post because of the spoilers, you can probably piece together why a chapter called "The Hunt Begins" has it.

He kept his mouth shut, though. It was Lord Ingtar’s command; as friendly as he had been to Rand, he still would not appreciate a shepherd giving advice.

Rand demonstrating his keen leadership skills by being aware of the limitations of horses is both a good jibe at fantasy novels of the time (where horses needed less rest than the average car and had better range and mileage) and a nice way of contrasting how towards the end he won't be giving a fuck about anyone's limitations and push them all much harder than Ingtar is pushing these poor horses.

Rand tried to ride with Mat and Perrin, but when Rand let his horse drop back to them, Mat nudged Perrin, and Perrin reluctantly galloped to the head of the column with Mat.

I feel like this little bit of Mat being extra petty about this carries a lot of people's dislike of early Mat, because without the dagger he's actually not that bad even now.

Uno looked at Rand with his one eye, then shrugged and climbed into his saddle.

Uno isn't afraid to voice his opinion to his superiors 'cause he's a cool dude. He also is pretty convinced Rand is a lord too and thus could put Ingtar in his place - and probably has noticed the glances Rand's been giving the horses and is well aware that the boy agrees with him. I wonder how many of this ranging party specifically think that Ingtar being in charge is just the convenient fiction for this outlander lord who wants to pretend to be a shepherd. Like obviously Ingtar doesn't think that but Uno might...

“Do you like to run, Rand?” Loial laughed. “I do. I was the fastest in Stedding Shangtai. I outran a horse, once.”

That poor horse must have died of a heart attack shortly thereafter, what with the whole running at top speed and also having a huge thing like an Ogier keeping up with it.

It was not hard—there were few personal bundles among the supplies—but when he had it open, he let out a shout that brought every man in the camp erect with sword in hand.

Everyone of course just thinks Rand's bitching about the coats is him being pissy that Moiraine won't let him play at being a shepherd.

Also it's adorable how Moiraine thinks she's fulfilling prophecy with the heron-marked jackets.

I can always go naked, he thought bitterly.

*desperately presses random symbols on the nearest Portal Stone to find the nudist!Rand Mirror World*

“We didn’t bloody bring enough for you to be spilling it on the flaming ground.” The one-eyed man looked at Rand and left. Masema rubbed his ear, but his glare followed Rand.

So Masema's obviously pissy about this upstart foreigner Aiel-look-a-like putting on airs and terrifying everyone in the camp, but Uno's just doing whatever it takes to get a chance to challenge Rand to a friendly duel.

“I ask no questions, mind. If Lan Dai Shan and Moiraine Sedai want to say you are from Andor, from the Two Rivers, then you are. But Masema can’t get the look of the Aiel out of his head, and when he sees you. . . .”

It's really fascinating how Masema's perspective on Rand does such a huge 180. Bruh is an absolute fanatic about whatever his beliefs are, they just aren't necessarily logical evolutions from each other.

“I grew up with him, though you’d never know it now. You put this Aiel nonsense in his head on top of what’s already there, and the Light knows what we’ll have. An Aiel lord, maybe.”

Mat: Absolute savage and accidental prophet.

But they do let the Tuatha’an, the Traveling People, cross the Waste. And they don’t see Ogier as enemies, either, though I doubt any of us would want to go out into the Waste.

It's also a nice bit of realism that as soon as someone tries to simplify the Other as seeing the world purely in terms of themselves and their enemies, someone else can point out that no, it's not really that simple. It's not even really the case that the Aiel see the Wetlanders as enemies exactly, since they clearly could have engaged in warfare against them long ago and won.

When Rand finally settled down for the night, his head hummed with unwanted thoughts. Image of an Aielman. Moiraine Sedai wants to say you’re from the Two Rivers. Aiel ravaged all the way to Tar Valon. Born on the slopes of Dragonmount. The Dragon Reborn.

Bro can't even stay in denial anymore, though he does try a little. At this point it would literally take one more person calling him Aiel for him to snap though.

“Is this what a Darkfriend camp looks like? Smells a bit, but I can’t say it looks any different from anybody else’s.” He kicked at one of the ash heaps, knocking out a piece of burned bone, and stooped to pick it up. “What do Darkfriends eat? Doesn’t look like a sheep bone, or a cow.”

The one way in life that Mat isn't lucky is that if he can lose his dignity in literally any way, he absolutely will. It's where all his bad dice rolls go.

“We’ll waste no time burying Darkfriends,” Ingtar growled. “We ride south.” He suited his own words almost before they were out of his mouth.

Oftentimes, truly hateful vehemence comes from those who are closest to that which they despise. Just saying.

He reminded them of the charge the Amyrlin Seat had given them, to recover the Horn of Valere, and let nothing bar their way. He spoke of the glory they would have, their names remembered in story and history, in gleemen’s tales and bards’ songs, the men who found the Horn.

Ironically, we don't know the names of the whole party, so that didn't really work for them.

“I don’t like the smell of this place,” Perrin muttered as they came among the houses. Hurin gave him a look, and he stared back until Hurin dropped his eyes. “It smells wrong.”

Perrin the Yellow-Eyed Wolf Boy: Don't think we're the same, nose freak!

“Don’t frighten her!” Ingtar shouted. “Uno, we need information. The Light blind you, Uno, don’t frighten her!” The one-eyed man disappeared through the open door. Ingtar raised his voice again. “We will not harm you, good lady. We are Lord Agelmar’s oathmen, from Fal Dara. Do not be afraid! We will not harm you.”

I wonder if Lanfear really meant to be seen here to increase the sense of unease or if she was totally just going, "It won't hurt if I take a little peak at Lews through the window, these dumb third agers probably don't even know what up is, oh crap!"

“I fear the Darkfriends took them, Rand,” Loial said slowly. He grimaced, almost a snarl with his broad nose like a snout. “For the Trollocs.” Rand swallowed and wished he had not asked; it was never pleasant to think on how Trollocs fed.

Rand: They're okay right?

Loial: They. Were. Eaten. By. Demons. We're. Hunting. Demons. DEMONS!

He's so patient with the country boy.

“My Lord, you must see for yourself. The big stoneoak, fifty paces south from the landing. I cannot say the words. You must see it yourself.”

Jesus, it's like a Star Trek episode.

Mat waited until the last minute, when one of the Shienarans was untying the ferry, before he kicked his horse and crowded aboard. “I have to come sooner or later, don’t I?” he said, breathless, to no one in particular. “I have to find it.”

It's kind of a shame Mat didn't get any POVs in this book, because whatever the hell is going on in his head has to be a lot more interesting than the fandom gives him credit for. This is one of at least two big internal struggles we hear almost nothing about. Is he extra unhappy with Rand because he thinks that unlike him and Perrin, he's only benefiting from the adventure they're on? Does he think Rand's being selfish by being all, "Fuck you guys, I'm out" while Mat desperately wants out (he always does) but is forced to admit here that he has no future that doesn't pass through the Dagger?

“This is how we left home,” Perrin said suddenly. “At Taren Ferry. The ferrymen’s boots clunking on the deck, and the water gurgling around the ferry. This is how we left. It will be worse, this time.”

Likewise it sucks that we don't get any fun Perrin POVs just yet because he too is clearly going through all kinds of bullshit and Rand's even less aware of it than he is of Mat's stuff. "How can it be worse?" he asks, as if there's a Baerlon waiting for them only a week out. As if they have the world's most competent Aes Sedai/Warder duo at their side. As if Egwene is there, and Nynaeve to join soon, to help them think of home. As if all three boys aren't already changed permanently by what's happened but are nowhere near done with their transformations.

Rand's hilariously oblivious sometimes, you know? And so's Mat, since he agrees.

Then he recognized the two faces. Changu, and the other man who had been on guard with him. Nidao. Eyes staring, teeth bared in a rictus of pain. They had lived a long time after it began.

Poor bastards.

“Cut them down,” Ingtar said harshly. He hesitated a moment, then added, “Bury them. We cannot be sure they were Darkfriends. They could have been taken prisoner. They could have been. Let them know the last embrace of the mother, at least.”

Even Ingtar's had character growth this chapter! Is he already realizing that his extremism means he deserves the same ignominy and is softening himself in the hopes of mercy for himself? Is he genuinely uncertain as to Changu and Nidao's affiliation (perhaps they weren't in his sect of Darkfriends or even really were innocent) and thus erring on the side of kindness? Hard to say!

“Shienarans believe we all came from earth, and must return to earth. They never use coffins or shrouds, and the bodies are never clothed. The earth must hold the body. The last embrace of the mother, they call it. And there are never any words except ‘The Light shine on you, and the Creator shelter you. The last embrace of the mother welcome you home.’ ”

The Shienarans seem to have a very prototypical Earth Mother belief that will no doubt blossom into that very concept given enough time. It seems pretty early for that though; either Jordan thinks Earth Mother is very universal or he expected that there'd be some extra steps along the way (perhaps eventually the descendant organizations of Aes Sedai / Wise Ones etc. become the monopoly on the Singing?)

“Then who shot the arrow at—at the Amyrlin?” Rand swallowed. Who shot at me? Loial said nothing.

Lucky for Rand, Loial's not street smart enough to realize that his stuttering isn't a natural effect of the horrifying treatment of the corpses but because of a near slip. He's also not street smart enough to realize that Ingtar did the Dog Gate slaying, which further points to the innocence of these two poor bastards. But on the other hand I already said they were guilty so they're definitely burning in hell. Can't change my mind. Looks weak.

“They saved Lord Agelmar at Tarwin’s Gap,” he said. Several of the lancers nodded.

Ingtar's probably extra uncomfortable about this because his Darkfriend orders at the time were to get Agelmar killed or something.

Occasionally Rand saw what might have been a farmhouse in the distance, and once what he thought was a village, with smoke rising from chimneys a few miles off and something flashing white in the sun, but the land near them stayed empty of human life, long swathes of grass dotted with brush and occasional trees, with now and again a small thicket, never more than a hundred paces across.

Fascinating that the villages of Shienar, which presumably face all kinds of population problems what with the state of eternal warfare and all, manage to be denser and more prosperous than people living in this relatively decent grassland where there's no military pressures on them at all.

“It is not there any longer, Builder. When Hawkwing died, the ones who fought over his empire could not bear to leave a monument to a victory of his, even if it did not mention his name. There’s nothing left but the mound where it stood. In three or four days we can see that, at least.”

Maybe the bad juju of tearing down a perfectly good monument mixed with all the contaminating Trolloc blood led to them all dying out en masse, you know?

“I’ve seen an old map,” Rand replied in a tight voice. “I know about the nations that aren’t there anymore. Maredo, and Goaban, and Caralain. But there wasn’t any Hardan on it.”

Well that's very confusing, because all of those nations collapsed before Hardan. Must be a shit map.

Crops failed, or trade failed. People failed. Something failed in each case, and the nation dwindled.

I wonder if the Dark One's been able to affect the weather to some degree or another this whole time and only once the first seal broke was he able to pull out the "eternal winter over the whole land" gambit. It would explain just how badly humanity's been doing the past thousand years, with the long game finally paying off.

We are being swept away, humankind. Swept away like flotsam on a flood. How long until there is nothing left but the Borderlands? How long before we, too, go under, and there is nothing left but Trollocs and Myrddraal all the way to the Sea of Storms?

And so Ingtar explains why he fell to the Shadow - but even without all of the upheaval Rand brings, we've already got some clear rumblings that the game was going to change and that Ingtar's giving into despair was a personal failing. Elayne was being set up to be an Aes Sedai queen of Andor, ruling for hundreds of years and hopefully keeping the land unified. Pedron Niall wanted to restore Almoth to its former glory - under his hand, but still. The Seanchan invasion would have, without interruption, restored "civilization" to a good deal of the wilderness.

Also points to Ingtar for some realistic blind spots in another way: he assumes the Borderlands will be the last to fall even though the most recent national failing was Malkier.

There was no gate in the one opening he could see in the wall, but he supposed it could be blocked easily enough with a cart or wagon.

Honestly with population density and armed banditry being as rare as it is, blocking the gate may genuinely not be something these people feel they need to resort to.

Cairhien did claim this land, once the last King of Hardan died. All the way to the Erinin, they claimed it. They could not hold it, though. They gave up the claim nearly a hundred years ago.

Well if the Cairhieniens wanted it, and the former Hardani wanted it, what exactly was the issue? Were the tax collectors just unable to make it this far north consistently?

The table was set for a meal, ladder-back chairs gathered around, some plates already served. A few flies buzzed above bowls of turnips and peas, and more crawled on a cold roast sitting in its own congealed grease. There was a slice half carved from the roast, the fork still standing stuck in the meat and the carving knife lying partway in the platter as if dropped. Rand stepped inside. Blink.

Look I'm just gonna say it. The blinking and the flickering is some of the top tier Wheel stuff and people would have been infinitely more forgiving of the slog if it involved more of it. Even if the only thing flickering about Elayne's bath scene was that every time she blinked the fragrance of the soap she was using changed, people would have eaten that shit up and rated Crossroads of Twilight 7 out of 5 stars.

Rand could not move. The flies buzzing over the table sounded louder. His breath made a cloud in front of his mouth.

The flies are pretty strongly emphasized in this sequence, which make me wonder if they're connected to whatever weird magic Fain was using in this scene.

Also worth noting that originally this was supposed to be Lanfear's trap, but that this got changed. Frankly it's a damn shame she couldn't take time out of her stalker ex practices to quickly kill Fain before he became an actual kerfuffle.

Suddenly he was tearing at . . . something. He did not know what, or how. Cobwebs made of steel. Moonbeams carved from stone. They crumbled at his touch, but he knew he had not touched anything. They shriveled and melted with the heat that surged through him, heat like a forge fire, heat like the world burning, heat like—

Fain really breaks the magic systems, doesn't he? It's way less coherent than the established magical systems And yet Rand's use of saidin manages to take care of things.

Those black clothes, blacker than black, had never been worn by any human. The wind flapped an end of the cloak caught behind the body—which it did not always, he knew too well; the wind did not always touch those clothes—but there had never been any eyes in that pale, bloodless face.

I love how terrifying this early Fain stuff is, which really just makes it all the more frustrating that he completely loses all relevance as the series goes on. Book 7 Fain could never be this cool. Book 14 Fain couldn't even get into the same sentence as. These other Fains. What was Jordan planning on doing with him? Why did he lose the plot so thoroughly? Will we ever find something in his notes that makes it make sense?

We'll probably never know. Oh well. Next time: more hunting!

[waitingforwinterwinds]

A Clash of Kings - 52 SANSA IV (pages 678-688)

Sansa gets her first period.

-

Sansa dug her nails into her hand. she could feel the fear in her tummy, twisting and pinching, worse every day. Nightmares of the day Princess Myrcella had sailed still troubled her sleep;

*recalls Sansa vs. nightmares of the bred riots (tv edition)*

Oh dear. I don't think that's fear in your tummy, sweetheart.

They had hemmed her in and thrown filth at her and tried to pull her off her horse, and would have done worse if the Hound had not cut his way to her side. (...) Try not to be afraid! he said.

Stop making me like you asshat! Ooooh, that's cheating! Sorry, I just, really like that he said try not to be afraid rather than don't be afraid. It just feels more comforting and less demanding on an already stressed young girl.

"Give your Florian a little kiss now. A kiss for luck." He swayed toward her. Sansa dodged the wet groping lips, kissed him lightly on an unshaven sheek, and bid him goodnight.

I'll give you a "kiss" *hefts steel chair* come here >:3

Turning back to the stair, Sansa climbed. The smoke blotted out the stars and the thin crescent of moon, so the roof was dark and thick with shadows.

I know I've been having fun with 'interpreting' the visions and dreams and stuff the past few chapters, but we do all (myself included) need to remember how hind-sighted visions are. In a narrative it's easy because the author often wants the events to tie together in a certain way, but even then there is always room for different interpretations.

Take for instance this chapter. We are being reminded multiple times that King's Landing is being bathed in smoke. King's Landing which is on a salt water coastline. Born of smoke and salt could now fit basically anyone in or around King's Landing at this point in time.

Case in point: Sansa has been weeping a lot (extra salt for the salt checkbox) because she's getting her first period (if I have my chapters and events correct) which is a "gateway" to womanhood in many cultures, and reflects more viscerally the idea "kill the boy and let the man be born" train of thought. If we wanted to do some crack takes, we could use this to say Sansa is Azor Ahai Confirmed.

She's not, probably, but we could say it.

Hell, Cersei could be Azor Ah-hoooo my gosh someone find a fic author and make that happen! X'D Azor Ahai!Cersei XD

... and just like that Sandor's made me dislike him again. He's so grumpy. And not in a fun way.

...Damn that's a violent period dream. For a second there I was kind of reminded of Dany's first vision through the doors, it was the "Women swarmed over her like weasels" I think, but the phrase from the vision described the men as "rattish"

Gods, Sansa is so terrified. First periods are always scary, even when you know what's going on because it's this change that you can't really wrap your head around until after, and for Sansa it's more than just that, it's another layer of illusionary safety being violently torn away from her.

Also, just as a point of interest, Blood is a Protein Stain. Cold water and a cake of your normal hand soap will remove most fresh stains from clothing and sheets, don't use hot water, warm to hot water actually makes fresh blood stains set. For older stains, glycerine can help to break them up, just dab a bit on the stain and give it a light scrub before washing with cold water and soap.

And when I say glycerine, I mean the stuff from your first aid kit for wound care, also called glycerin or glycerol. not the nitro for exploding stuff.

Queen Cersei laughed. "Wait until you birth a child, Sansa. A woman's life is nine parts mess to one part magic, you'll learn that soon enough... and the parts that look like magic are the messiest of all."

Not super looking forward to Cersei's POV's, cause I've heard things, and I would like to pretend she actually has some intelligence a little longer. Look at this scene. My gosh. For a moment there I almost thought Cersei gave a shit and was commiserating.

This woman has some opinions, and not all of them are complete trash, but damn she needs some therapy... but damn everyone in this series needs some therapy.

"Joffrey will show you no such devotion, I fear. You could thank your sister for that, if she weren't dead. He's never been able to forget that day on the Trident when you saw her shame him, so he shames you in turn. You're stronger than you seem, though. I expect you'll survive a bit of humiliation. I did. -"

So first of all, I understand that had Arya not been in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, the situation would never have been possible BUT, consider for a moment, that it ALSO could have been avoided if Joffrey hadn't been such a piece of shit! So really he brought that shit on himself then made it everyone else's problem by being an insufferably self-absorb, overly entitled, rich little white bo-

... Joffrey isn't just a dude bro. He's Elon Musk with a violent streak.

I need a moment...

...

Where was I?

Second of all! Oh look, Cersei is Pro Cycles of Abuse. "I suffered so every one else should suffer too. It's equality UwU"

*Kicks Cersei off a tower* This. Is. SPARTA!!!!

[silvermoonshipping-is-love]

So what’s gaming pastas favorite food, aesthetic fashion style be like?

Now before I answer I wanna get a few things clear:

I don't know much about fashion or aesthetics, I will use what I know to explain as well as what I believe fits the most-

I will not do every Gamingpasta, because otherwise I may lose my mind, I'll just use the “Big 8” for now.

I don't want these to overshadow what this blog is for, aka my self-indulgent need to show my creations due to my ships and AUs. But obviously this doesn't mean I dislike answering Gamingpastas related questions or ramble about my made up “lore” or headcanons. Just be aware that this blog is for many things, mainly self-indulgence. It's more I don't want you to get disappointed due to believing this blog is promising smth different.

Okay, enough of that, let's go ahead.

Ben: Honestly, given his years long imprisonment and abuse, the act of someone making food for him, especially sweets or something warm mean more to him than a favorite food in general. Tho if he had to pinpoint, prolly like doughnuts, pudding and chocolate. He also used to be weary of meat dishes when he still lived in the mansion due to EJ and Liu mainly looking after him, even though EJ of course never fed them human meat. His fashion style is honestly whatever he wants to wear, casual, emo, crazy 90s, even crossdressing. In fact he has a whole closet with clothes he wanted to get cause he simply liked them but never wears, he prefers stealing from Silver or alike lol. But if he had a specific style I guess Scene fits him quite well. The mix of punk or emo with many colours like the 90s, just noice.

Silver: I headcanon him to be a pescatarian , aka he doesn't eat meat, but still eats fish. He likes nearly everything that warms one up or is well cooked, as he enjoys cooking himself (Don't ask why I have that hc I just do). A food coming to his mind quickly is muffins or ramen. He also loves hot drinks, like coco, tea or coffee. He prolly prefers baggy, comfortable casual clothing, not really a whole aesthetic, tho I can see him pull of most alternative styles.

Steven: He likes to share, as he's what most would call a bro or buddy type. Some also like calling him the mom friend despite not seeming like it at first. So he is basic and likes pizza, nearly all variants. I guess his style is similar to Silver, though he doesn't mind if the casual clothes aren't as baggy, big, comfortable. He also likes them being a tad more sporty, in order to walk and move around better.

Glitchy: Glitchy is full vegetarian. There isn't really much to add here, he does like curry. Especially those formed to look like Pikachu. His style is pretty similar to Steven, tho he can prolly pull of like academia vibe if he were to feel like it, but prefers more casual or sporty clothing, once again to move around better.

Sonic.Exe: I'll be easy and basic. He likes hot dogs, especially chili dogs and very sporty clothing.

Tails Doll: Doll never bothered much with interests, due to insecurities as he is a doll and was abandoned. But he is often seen drinking like tea and coffee. Perhaps someday he'll allow himself to fully try out life and try things to find a favourite food. As for clothing, I think whatever fits best at the moment, tho he is very interested in steampunk. Lots of gears, perfect for mechanics, suits and like to still look fancy, nice fall colours, it seems made for him.

Dark: Don't tell anyone, but Dark secretly really likes candy, especially the Japanese star candy. He used to often bring it to Ben and would eat some by pretending to only do it, so Ben won't eat all as that's unhealthy for a growing boy. He also likes most meat dishes. Fashion style is definitely goth. Black always, lol. Except for the rainbow friendship bracelets Ben gave him.

Brine: Also pretty basic, he likes meat dishes, mainly steak and very casual clothing. Never really cared to find out his style of choice.

Oof, I hope you're satisfied, anon. Plz let me know via some love ^^