#you can just have a notp! it's fine!

[izzys-tummyache]

It's interesting to me when people who dislike stizzy take particular issue with the aspect of Izzy teaching Stede practical skills - and then ship Ed and Stede. A big part of the edstede dynamic in s1 was that Ed and Stede agree to teach one another, and we all understand why it's cute for them to flirt during a practice duel, but when Stede and Izzy do the same thing it's... bad?

For me when that dynamic was dropped and picked up by stizzy, I ended up getting more into stizzy. "Two different people find they have a lot to learn from each other" is a pretty basic recipe for a relationship to develop, and if you get why it's appealing in one ship, surely you can get why it's appealing in another.

[fourspiceblend]

The day fandom communities stop looking at the "found family" headcanon as a way to force nuclear family dynamics between characters where there is NO CANON BASIS FOR IT simply for antishipping purposes is the day nature will finally start to heal

[guess-that-ship]

Guess That Ship Tournament Season 13: Badly Describe Your Ship! Submissions CLOSED

The Concept: You "badly" describe your ship* to me, I pick out the submissions which I find most funny and compelling and pit them against each other without revealing who they are, people vote on them, and their identities gets revealed once they’re eliminated.

Submission Guidelines

*For the purpose of this tournament, relationships do not have to be romantic in nature. (I’m sometimes going to use “ship” as a shorthand, just know I mean “relationships” in general.)

Relationship can be between any number of characters.

Real people are accepted if they’ve been dead for more than 100 years.

Roleplay characters are accepted as long as the description only pertains to the characters and not the players.

Crossover ships are only allowed if the crossover is official.

OCs are accepted. (However, OC x Canon is not accepted. Please do not submit other people's OCs without their permission.)

No overtly NSFW submissions. (Mentioning they have sex or are a sex worker is fine, but try to avoid anything more than that.)

Two submissions per person. (Do not submit the same ship twice. I cannot enforce this on Google Forms without forcing you to log in. So just be champs and respect this rule.)

Failure to follow these guidelines may result in all of your submissions being disqualified for this season.

Summary Guidelines

Selection Process: I will read through the list of descriptions submitted without reading their names and pick the most funny and compelling submissions. Then, I will check the name to make sure there's no repeats.

Bring something unique to the table. Make sure to describe their relationship, not just summarize the events of the story.

The description of a badly-described ship is ideally one or two sentences long. Descriptions should not exceed 100 words.

Descriptions should be based on canon, not headcanon. (e.g. You can say “they love each other” instead of “they’re lovers” if their romantic nature is debatable.)

Avoid author commentary. (e.g. "They're canonically x," "I love them," "Play/watch/read this," etc.)

Use canonical pronouns.

Avoid identifying information or setting specific giveaways. (i.e. ninja village, space necromancers.)

When submitting OCs, please make sure to at least put a name somewhere. (e.g. "John and Bob by anonymous" or "OCs by Joey.")

The more popular your ship is the more vague the description should be.

I will be more lenient with submissions this season, given "badly" is subjective, but you should still keep these guidelines in mind when writing your summary.

Exclusions

Ships that were accepted in Season 7 onwards and ships that at least reached the semifinals in Season 1-6 are not allowed. For a complete list, please look here. (No need to look through the whole list, just Ctrl+F to find the ship you want.)

Any submissions from Harry Potter will also not be included.

Notes

I will not vet the ships/pairings for problematic content.

If you participate in this tournament, know that you run the risk of unintentionally voting for your nOTP. The mod does not take any responsibility for any distress that may cause you.

There will be a limit of one ship per media in the bracket. You may submit two ships from the same media, but keep in mind only one ship will be able to get in. (A series or franchise will generally count as one media, but they will be evaluated on a case by case basis.)

Submit your ships here! Submissions will be open until Sunday, October 6th at 9 PM EDT.

Please reblog this post to spread the word! The more submissions, the better!

[cinnibelle]

I’m going to vent. Sit tight for an artist’s reflection on the acotar fandom!

I was going to use tumblr to strictly post art (at least on my end) and engage with the wonderful ppl here as well. Except what I’ve been seeing as of late is a lot of abuse (across platforms) and it’s very jarring. As an artist, I understand to make the most of your experience in a toxic fandom is to say nothing and do nothing that bothers those a bit **too** passionate about their opinions. I get it, I’m used to being content fodder from other fandoms. So I am not new to this.

But this fandom is *so* toxic that I immediately understood why artists choose to stay neutral or entirely avoid making art for this fandom at all. I have several art friends interested in the books but won’t touch the fandom with a ten foot pole from what they’ve seen. What I’ve personally witnessed the past few months is genuinely disgusting. The only reason I’m here after being FLAMED on twitter is because 1) I began posting BECAUSE people were so kind and encouraging and I don’t want to leave them and the possibility of befriending others 2) I was fully prepared to be dragged for the smallest offense.

I didn’t want to believe people would be downright atrocious to me for Elain, being starborn, holding the sword that reflects her (as I’ve stated when I paralleled quotes) but that’s what they were: awful. And what I got in turn was: why are you victimizing yourself this is what other artists deal with! Ok?? And!? Why is it appropriate AT ALL. Why is it fine for you to do that? I don’t care what anyone ships, why do you feel entitled to comment nastiness under someone’s art. To directly be in their mentions mocking the concept and the way it looks or how you hate the character. It brings me and others joy.. why are you being ruthless? For a fictional character??

It’s too much. And you know, this is my first fandom experience where the shipping is so extreme. I would’ve loved multi shipping as I’ve done it in other fandoms, I really don’t care for what sort of crack ships people make up (though I have my limitations, I think everyone does. “Notp”.) But you know what I DON’T DO as an adult? Ridicule artists for their work. They are providing content FOR FREE. And if they aren’t, they are gifting you with their expertise and talent. You are scaring people away.

I was afraid of joining and just stayed on the sidelines for months just enjoying arts in peace. I only gave in because I showed some friends some of my sketches and they ADORED it. And pleaded that I post. So I did, and I found many others really wanted me to continue posting. So I do. Were it not for the toxicity, I would’ve drawn all types of ships because I’m genuinely someone that does not care about the ship and if it’s canon or endgame or not, if I like the characters and the vibe- cool. Draw it. That’s the beauty of fanart.

But people are acting diabolically UNHINGED over it. And treating artists like they’re players and they’re revoking sponsorships. Fandom should not be a competition. That is exhaustive and tiring. I shouldn’t have to be fearful of the engagements on my posts. I don’t even have 500 followers yet on ANY of my platforms. And still, I am treated like filth. I need people to reflect on their behavior, recognize if they don’t like something ignore it or block it or what have you and be at peace. Stop giving into negativity and using artists as some pawn- they have feelings TOO! And you really turn them off to a character or a ship or a fandom in general with the way you act.

I have my comments off where I can keep them off because I simply don’t want 1) people arguing in my comments and 2) comments that are generally unhelpful or just shaming me for what I post. But twitter I really can’t help what happens. And tumblr too there’s some limits I can take and a filtering system I can take advantage of but even here people lack etiquette. I don’t understand where people get off acting like mean girls over things people made.

This is the most extreme, unhealthy fandom I have ever been in and I’m really not all shocked when I hear an artist quit and doesn’t want to partake. This is not a competition of who has it worse. Stop bullying artists because they don’t make content that pleases you. Just drop it. I can’t believe I am being called TOXIC for defending myself and my art. And I know who these people are, I know exactly the type of content they themselves post and it’s COMEDY to be telling ME I’m toxic for standing up for myself.

Most artists leave or go silent. That’s what you want, right? Or to antagonize them to the point they really lose patience with you. This is me losing patience: a call to being better. Be the change you seek. It’s funny I have people going at me and in their bio it says “ spread kindness not hate” Pardon??

Seriously, I would’ve liked to explore any theory and a variety of arts despite my preferences but the way people act with what I DO put out, I’m just sour. I don’t even want to expand beyond the two characters I really like because I have a headache already with the “you don’t really care about-“ takes that I’ve seen other artists get when they expand what they draw in this fandom.

It shouldn’t offend you that an artist has a preference and wants to share the things that they found intriguing or makes them happy. And if it does, cry about it in private at minimum. Stop dumping your grief onto the artists. That’s all. Maybe then you will see a resurgence of artists that do content for free (and frequently) or a return of artists who left.

[maranigai]

Do you still accept characters for that ask meme? I saw you only answered an ask about Messmer so far! How about Morgott for that ask meme? (not sure if asking DS characters counts since like 80% of info about them has to be manually hallucinated by the fan themselves, but I can if that's okay with you!)

Yep, I'm still doing character ask meme, Messmer simply was the only ask for me by now lol Also DS characters are fine too, of course they would be like 95% headcanon based, but that's why we love DS, isn't it?

But anyway, Morgott. My absolutely favourite of favourites of all ER characters...

favorite thing about them

First of all, Morgott is such a beautifully contradictory character. He's a demigod shardbearer and a cursed being, a proud monarch and a monster in his own eyes, a defender of all that is holy and a warlock shrouded in illusions. And all these things are actually logical and completely understandable given his story. Because, above everything else, Morgott is a broken creature, not as a result of his own deeds or guilts, but because of the things beyond his control, some ancient sins and crimes he's not aware of, some old vengeance that existed even before he was born. And this break, this pain, is a spiral, you know? Morgott hates his nature because he was convinced he's a monster, he supports the system that oppresses him because he believes that he's oppressed rightfully and this system is the best remaining option for the world as a whole, even if he and people like him have to suffer for it, and in doing so he causes even more harm, more oppression and misery for himself and everyone around. I love how he's a loyal, determined, faithful person, and this is exactly what makes him a villain in the story. He's an extremely tragic character, but completely consistent in his tragedy, his brokenness, and I have a deep weakness for broken things.

least favorite thing about them

I don't think there's anything I don't like about him as a character, I mean, he's certainly not flawless, but his flaws are what make him so interesting in the first place. So I say that my least favourite thing is his bossfight. Don't get me wrong, Morgott is one of my favourite FromSoft bosses in general, but I have a feeling that they made his moveset (super-complex and interesting) first, then remembered he's a mandatory mid-game boss and panicked to balance him to this level by drastically reducing his damage and hp.

favorite line

May the curse seep to thy very soul.

I just love his spiteful tone in this one, sorry.

brOTP

I could write Mohg or Godwyn here and it would be legit, but allow me to be more exotic this time and mention Malenia. They have many things in common, if you think about it: two cursed, yet somewhat noble beings, bitterly determined and endlessly loyal to their masters of choice. I can absolutely see how they can respect and understand each other, even if not sharing each other's cause. I also love the idea of a young, sick, not-yet-swordmaster Malenia and her Cool Big Brother Morgott, the only person around who takes her seriously.

OTP

Banished knight Oleg. Literally the mix of my favourite tropes of "liege and their a bit too loyal knight" and "my majestic, scheming wife and me, committing whatever crimes she wants me to commit today". Also Oleg dies before Morgott, so my inner angst enjoyer appreciates this as well.

nOTP

Mohg! I just can't see them as a pairing, their sibling relationships is everything to me. I'm also not a fan of Tarnished/Morgott, mainly because most of such arts/fics imply some level of self-indulgence and this just doesn't work for me (though I've seen several very cool works with this pairing too).

random headcanon

Three for the price of one: Morgott's hobby is creating clockwork automatons (a more detailed post about this hc); his favourite half-sibling is Malenia and this is mutual; he also shares Mohg's sense of fashion, but refuses to admit it.

unpopular opinion

While most people hc Morgott to be the elder twin, in my hcs he's the younger one (and the youngest of Godfrey's sons). Ironically enough, this isn't an important headcanon for Morgott himself, but it's an essential part of my perception of Godwyn and (especially) Mohg.

song i associate with them

Мельница - Что ты знаешь

My personal theme song for Morgott as the Veiled Monarch.

favorite picture of them

There're so many cool arts of Morgott that it's really hard to choose the most favourite one lol

So for now I pick this one by Cruentum_Noctis

[breached-containment-script]

So the scarring discourse is still going.

No, characters keeping scars does not automatically equate to that being torture porn. In this context, fans clearly intend it in a way that says "even if you end up with physical marks, it doesn't diminish you". Or is Aang getting scarred torture porn too? Or do you think things like Mortal Engines movie shrinking the female lead's facial damage to a minimum "spared her of physical trauma"? No, it was afraid of depicting something deemed "ugly" and it's a huge disservice to real people who look like she was described in the book.

The topic was not handled super well in ATLA. Katara's wounds got healed leaving no trace on her, on her psyche nor on how she views Aang which is not just unrealistic, but you can literally feel in the show Katara having to go "no Aang it's ok, I'm fine, you don't have to beat yourself up over it, I'm healed, let it go Aang, it's not your fault," it is too much. It would have been much stronger had the burns left some mark, even a tiny one, because then Aang's reluctance to practice firebending would have made more sense and all characters would have gotten a more solid demonstration that the Avatar can be dangerous too. It would have been a wakeup call to Katara that Aang isn't a completely harmless kid she can always shield and protect. That's character development! This would have been a more powerful moment in the progression of their relationship, especially after they sort it out and Aang learns safe firebending later on, because they'd have a more real problem to overcome rather than just Aang's guilt.

Again, show didn't frame things too cleverly - there's no heightened moment of perhaps Katara being extremely happy that she discovered a part of her lost Southern waterbending heritage (just remember her behaviour with Hama, there's none of that here). The show just removes her wounds, she's confused about the ability, and this leads to Jeong Jeong making a point about how fire is wild and destructive. The whole segment ends with removing the source of the problem (wounds) and is about how evil fire is. Aang ends up being traumatized anyway, he isn't less traumatized because Katara's wounds didn't scar.

The point is - Katara gets nothing character-building out of this event, even though it made her cry and cradle her arms for several minutes on screen. Because of this her burns could be considered torture-porn (slightly). Her discovering healing abilities is not a reward she got exclusively because she suffered the burns, she could have discovered it by accidentally hurting herself, or healing someone else. Imagine if Aang hurt himself by being reckless and Katara discovering she could heal him? What she should have gotten out of specifically being burned by Aang, is a changed view of him. I don't mean her viewing him negatively, but taking a step back and both learning they should be more careful. Who said zutara stans want Katara getting scarred by Aang in order to make Aang a villain in this? He literally cannot be a villain here, he made a big mistake by being careless. It's got nothing to do with zutara. It's not helpful to misinterpret some storytelling tools that have nothing to do with shipping, just to prevent them from creating some later story hooks which could potentially be used in shipping a NOTP. Heck, Katara getting scarred could even be used (with skilled writing) in shipping her with Aang - like zutara fans use Katara being angry at Zuko and expecting him to demonstrate that he wouldn't betray or hurt them again.

And if you have a distaste for two happy friendly characters hurting each other on accident, that's fine, but well I have a scar on my arm from my brother's scratch that happened on accident. These things happen and stories shouldn't be scared of portraying it, especially if later on they show how to make ammends and overcome the problem. I'm not saying "Katara should definitely have kept her scars!!!" I am showing narrative weak points and suggestions how things could have been done differently, what benefits it could have had character-wise and what that might have changed.

[homucifer-ryotan]

I gotta say I can’t get agree with the “Stolas and Vassago are brothers/cousins” theory for 3 reasons:

I think people forget in Helluva Boss, much like with demonology, that the Goetia aren't this super huge family, but a whole class of demons. Paimon saying that he has many son doesn't mean that all the male members of the Goetia are his sons (or nephews). He also didn't say how many sons he has. Sure one can say that the number of sons can be like 40, but seeing how neglectful Paimon is and how much he sucks at "daddying", I won't be surprised if "many" is actually just like maybe 3 sons (plus Stolas) and that is too much for him (and if that's true then like sir, why can't you all your sons live under the same roof?). Until Paimon appears again or new info is given, how many brothers Stolas has is anyone's guess.

2. Vivzie has liked ship art of Vassago and Stolas before. I know some people would say "but she has liked things on Twitter that has contradicted canon before" and yeah that is true, but she haven't liked ship art of two characters who are related. Despite her being a "ship whatever you want, just don't attack people" person (based), she isn't a fan of incest (same). For example, when some people thought there was a one-sided incestuous thing between Andrealphus and Stella because the "fiery vixen" comment in Western Energy (which to be fair was defiantly.. weird for him say that. Would not usually be the words I think a manipulator would say to his sister, but whatever), Vivzie would like this post below, and months later, the pride month post shows Andrealphus with the gay flag colors as feathers.

So yeah, I don't think people who draw Stolas/Vassago ship art are drawing an incest ship.

3) Finally I feel like if Stolas and Vassago were related, Vivzie and Spindle-Horse would have just... said so by now. They had no problem admitting when a new character is related to someone. I think of when Vivzie first posted about Andrealphus, where she admits that Andrealphus is Stella's brother, a year and 19 days before he appears in Western Energy. Compare to this where she first talks about Vassago, and the only thing she tell people about him, aside that he's a Goetia and that he is voiced by Harvey Guillén, is that she's a good boy. Nothing about who Vassago is related to.

I feel like the only reason some people push this "Stolas and Vassago are related" thing is because they don't like the Stolas/Vassago ship. Which is fine, but Stolas and Vassago don't have to be related for you to not like the ship. Most of my NOTPs are between characters that have no blood relation what so ever. If you want a Helluva Boss example, I don’t like the ships of Blitz/Striker and Loona/Moxxie, but that doesn’t mean the characters in those ships are related.

[cod-thoughts]

Price for the character ask game?

Thanks for the ask! I actually had to pay attention after i answered the last one so this is late but its fine lol. I didnt want to ramble too much because a lot of stuff is gonna appear in my writing in GhostPrice week so no spoilers hehehe

favourite thing about them

Literally everything, that man is so versatile too I just can't get over how many situations you can put him in and it makes sense

least favourite thing about them

I can't think of anything personally other than just how little backstory we get ueueuue

favourite line

We get dirty, and the world stays clean.

brOTP

Hmmm this is hard but I actually prefer pricegaz in either a poly situation or just as mentor and mentee even more than anything. I just think they work better that way because I think Gaz and price see themselves in each other. I know ppl want soap or ghost to be captain if Price steps down but I actually think itd be Gaz.

OTP

NIKPRICE!!! To no ones surprised but also, Ghostprice and a secret third thing: NikGhostPrice. the three of them???? chefs kiss

nOTP

i cant think of one actually oop but there must be one i just havent thought of

random headcanon

Price collects things. Anything really but he just collects things. Broken soldiers. Vinyls, rocks, books. He just picks a thing and goes yeah thats what i collect now for a few months before moving on lol

unpopular opinion

I think Price isn't as "good" as people make him out to be. That's a morally grey man and its so clear in his actions. Yes is it for the greater good, sure but still he's not wholesome or good. He is a softie though i stand by that.

song i associate with them

This is so hard as a musician to pick songs you have no idea. Punk i think is his main genre. Any punk band and a guilty pleasure of 90's-00's diva ballads, think whitney, mariah etc. No idea why i just think so.

favourite picture of them

Its the grip on the vest for me goddamn

[faeriekit]

How to ask for fic reading recs:

Listen. I'm a librarian. I recommend books to people for a living. That being said, recommending books is a collaborative task that requires a bunch of questions on my end to make sure I'm getting you what you want. Think of it like an exchange; if you want good reading recs, you have to fork over some easy answers. It's simple: what do you actually want?

Recommending fics works virtually the same way...except that you're a million miles away and we're all stumbling onto your request for fic recs without that face to face convo. It sure makes it hard to ask those clarifying questions and actually get a straight answer! So, if you're asking for the next best read of your life, tell us this:

Name the fandom. Or the several fandoms you're friends with. (Duh.)

Name your comfort level with crossovers. Are they fine? Or are only certain crossovers fine? Do you hate crossovers?

Name certain characters that you can't stand, if you can stand to be known by your peers for your opinions.

Name your NOTP, or the ships you are okay with. Ooooor do you only want Gen fics?

Are there certain plot points you like? Tropes you're looking for? Are there things you're just so tired of that you can't bear another fic with the idea?? (And, honestly, same.) Name everything that could possibly be relevant.

Obviously this translates pretty 1 to 1 with an ao3 search, but your peers are more likely to remember fics that were great but never got good stats and therefore might not be well represented in a broad database search. Either way, open that tumblr post, put your fingers to the keys, and ask for help from your fandom community! We're all readers; who else is going to find you that next brainrot fic?

And do not forget: your public bookmarks are a quick and easy way to rec fics you like to your circle of fellow fans. Yes I know everyone has the heebie jeebies about the tragic ordeal of being known or whatever but this is how you actually support authors and the fics you love: by sharing them!! 🙃 No not ALL of your faves have to be public YES you can pick and choose NO the solution isn't to put them all in a collection because a lot of authors don't permit collections because of the risk of you accidentally privating their fic by changing your collection settings. Yes, the bookmark system is the only way to securely rec a fic that works universally without author involvement.They can see what you put in a bookmark tab though so don't be rude about your bookmark when you make it.

*sigh* Anyway...happy reading!

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: John Brooke (if you're feeling up to do so)

Favorite thing about them: His steady kindness, gentleness, dependability, and devotion to Meg, their children, and his friends. Even as he takes on the role of disciplinarian with his children, he combines it with sweet tenderness, and he always wants Meg to be happy, even at his own expense. To say nothing of the way he helps the March parents and write comforting letters home to the girls during Mr. March's illness in Part I. He's an excellent man in general, with very little to dislike about him.

Least favorite thing about them: Probably his behavior in the jelly incident: laughing and joking about it when Meg is distraught (even if it is funny), and saying in annoyance that he'll never bring an unexpected guest home again. Unlike other readers, I don't dislike him for it, but it does show that he's human and not perfect.

Also, the fact that he eventually dies young in Little Men. So sad.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I'm intelligent and well-educated, as he must be to work as a tutor and a bookkeeper.

*I'm a kind, loving person, or at least I try to be.

*I like a simple, cozy life.

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

*I'm female.

*I'm not married and don't have children.

*I don't enjoy talking about politics.

Favorite line:

From "Domestic Experiences," when he learns that Meg spent fifty dollars on silk for a dress – even though he's not happy, he makes no complaint, but tries to be cheerful about it for Meg's sake:

“Twenty-five yards of silk seems a good deal to cover one small woman, but I’ve no doubt my wife will look as fine as Ned Moffat’s when she gets it on."

From later in the same the same chapter, when he cancels his order for a new overcoat:

“I can’t afford it, my dear.”

Again, no complaint. No mention of the fact that it's because of Meg's silk purchase that he can't afford it. He just quietly gives up something he needs so Meg can have what she wants – which rightly moves her to repay him by giving up the dress so he can have his coat after all.

brOTP: The March, Laurence, and Bhaer families, and his own children.

OTP: Meg.

nOTP: His daughters Daisy and Josie.

Random headcanon: Having Laurie as a student helped to prepare him for parenthood, even though Laurie is only about six or seven years younger than himself. Handling 1-year-old Demi's tantrums would have been much more daunting if he hadn't already dealt with such a high-spirited handful of a teenage boy.

Unpopular opinion: I couldn't decide between these two common pieces of slander against him, so I'll cite both. Get ready for some long ramblings from the John Brooke Defense Squad.

He doesn't have anger issues. When Marmee advises Meg never to make him angry (which is problematic advice by modern standards, I'll admit), her message isn't "He's an unforgiving grudge-holder, so you'd better placate him," and it certainly isn't "You should be afraid of him." Her point is just that his anger is different from the temper that Meg (to an extent), Amy, and especially Jo have all inherited from Marmee: their anger is more fiery, but it dies just as quickly as it flairs up, while John's anger is quiet and repressed, but for that very reason it lasts longer. Later, when Meg feels "afraid of her husband" when she's about to reveal her extravagant silk purchase, she's not literally afraid of him – she's afraid of disappointing him. Nor does he "sulk" (to quote one essay I just read) after Meg says she's tired of being poor – he's hurt, but he tries not to show it, and just takes on more hours of work and cuts more corners to have more money. And in "On the Shelf," when Meg worries that he'll be "too harsh" with the naughty Demi, and when she feels anxious about leaving him alone with the twins, she's certainly not afraid he'll abuse them! She's just a soft-hearted new mother who can't bear to see her little boy unhappy – even briefly and for his own good – and who has never let anyone but herself take care of the twins and worries that John might accidentally hurt them. The essays and comments I've read about John's "bad temper" and Meg's "fear of him" seem to lack basic reading comprehension!

I don't think his behavior in "On the Shelf" is nearly as detestable as many readers do. In fact I don't think it's detestable at all. He's not jealous of Meg's attention to the twins – he adores his babies and begrudges them nothing. He just feels understandably ignored and lonely because Meg does devote nearly every waking minute to the babies and is afraid to let him or anyone else help her with them. Yet he doesn't complain or fault her for it at all, he just starts spending his evenings at a friend's house, with no idea that Meg minds his absence. For all he knows, she's glad to have him out of the way so she can focus even more on the twins, which she is at first: only later does she start to miss him, and even then, she never tells him how she feels. It's only her own stress that convinces her that he's being selfish, neglecting her, having fun while she slaves away, etc., and I don't understand why so many readers seem to take her perspective at face value and hate John for it. Honestly, I could write a whole volume about how and why that chapter is a healthy, progressive, feminist portrayal of a couple learning to co-parent and strengthening their marriage, yet too often is mistakenly viewed as problematic, oppressive, and anti-feminist instead.

Song I associate with them:

"More Than I Am" from the 2005 musical.

Favorite picture of them:

This illustration by Frank T. Merrill:

John Lodge in the 1933 film, with Frances Dee as Meg.

Richard Stapley in the 1949 film, with Janet Leigh as Meg.

Eric Stoltz in the 1994 film:

...with Trini Alvarado as Meg.

Julian Morris in the 2017 miniseries, with Willa Fitzgerald as Meg:

James Norton in the 2019 film, with Emma Watson as Meg:

[where-the-water-flows]

character asks—hit me up with your hottest jiao liqiao takes

JIAO LIQIAO my best beloved nightmare failgirlboss. she cannot malewife for very long but by god can she manipulate and murder.

favorite thing about them honestly I love that she has a goal and she fucking goes for it, zero hesitation. is it a good, reasonable goal? well no. she would have been better finding someone to fixate on who was not somewhere on the utterly asexual to entirely homosexual spectrum, but y'know, can't win them all. A+ dedication, F- execution.

least favorite thing about them the laugh the laugh I know it is like, the most standard trope signifier thing but the high pitched ahHAHEHEHA laugh is always so jarring in a 'pulls me right out of the narrative' kind of way, I know it is petty but also oh my god please. please you sound like a second rate cartoon villain. please. On a more character less shallow note, bestie babygirl please stop playing with your food. it literally never works out for you, for the love of god. please learn your lesson after the eighth time it bites you in the ass. (also like on the one hand, I would love for her to not have a plot centered around how she is deeply unhinged for/about a man. but on the otherhand, like, idk, I think she's fun. terrible awful etc, but also, she's putting the fun in extremely dysfunctional <3)

favorite line look I love so much every unhinged word out of her mouth, especially the argument she has with snow master when he's like 'girl that man is gay/ace the magic incense amnesia did not make him suddenly not gay/ace he is Manipulating You' and she is like 'lalalala not listening he loves me also we both know that man can't/won't lie to save his life, also also if he is lying I'll mutilate him and keep him like a purse pet <3 but he's not lying. because he loves me.' I recognise that is not a line but like. you know what I mean.

brOTP uhhh I don't really know that she... has... bros. like I guess granny blood (rip), who is basically always full 'yes girl get your man he will def love you this time' in the manner of someone who knows that her friend is lusting after a guy who is 1)not ever going to be interested even if he wasn't 2)very gay/ace and is 3)probably mid at best in bed no matter how much her friend is like SEX GOD. like the most 'yeah girl go get your man!!!! (why that man though have you considered any other man literally there are so many other men) oh no, def the red lipstick, he'll love you in that (but why him for the love of god just buy a vibrator)' that said, I do think the wildly divergent au where li xiangyi ends up 1)aware of nanyin bloodline like. Early On 2) jinyuan alliance aligned, he and his cousin jiao liqiao would be a hilarious pair of nightmares. absolutely ends in disaster for everyone, including them and definitely including di feisheng, I have an entire stupid au vaguely plotted out about this, it is purely nonsense. compels me though.

OTP no<3 that said, like, obviously I do not want the boys to be mmmmm torture mutilated noncon wifed as the otp of my heart, but also, I think jiao liqiao deserves a harem of moderately to severely brainwashed/mutilated/etc malewives! as a treat! god forbid women do anything. I contain multitudes, the dirty joke here is left as an exercise for the reader.

nOTP shan gudao. I just. I think it would be a mess, and not even a fun one. like as an actual relationship I mean, not proxy fighting spy vs spy manipulation But With Sex kinda bullshit, that's fine and fun, but they are not romantically compatible except as a triad where the third part of it is the idea of the man they are individually personally psycho/sexually obsessed with. which I guess makes it like. a weird poly U, with two theoretical ends. weird poly u with them mostly egging each other on in their dysfunction, 100% fine, any sort of Actual Healthy Relationship, no. also, therapy. I think therapy would only make her worse, but on the off chance it did not, I don't want that for her. she's a nightmare! again, god forbid a woman do anything.

random headcanon she was literally never expected to take the throne, nor expected to be the primary way that her particular fork of the nanyin royal line passed down. which means she likely has at least one sister and probably a brother. I don't know if this is backed up or contradicted by canon, but also, she was raised knowing she was nanyin royalty (??) but also was allowed to just fuck off into the jianghu at age [mlc timeline is nonsensical]. like if that is your single heir of the bloodline you have been carefully keeping alive and aware of how they were The True Imperial Family, you are not letting said heir go out and get their ass killed playing with swords. therefore. youngest child jiao liqiao. no further questions, you know in your heart I'm right. less world logistics based, I think she absolutely can't fucking cook, but, crucially, feels that she is fucking aces at it. does she cook? irrelevant, also no obviously not, she is a lady of rank, we have servants for that. but, crucially, she feels in her heart that she is a great cook. not that she cares about it. but again, she is great at it. this is never challenged because 1)di feisheng, the one person I can see her lowering herself to actually cook for, does not pay attention to the taste of food unless he has amnesia, and thus he's certainly not going to be like 'you suck at cooking, ew'. 2) if you are not di feisheng are you going to challenge fucking saintess on her bad cooking? no! she will stab you in the eyeball with a chopstick.

unpopular opinion honestly I don't know that I have that many unpopular opinions on her. other than that she's fun. a nightmare and like, deeply uncomfortable as a character with how incredibly rapey she is, obviously. but fun! she is a problematic queen. terrible woman who really sort of stands out as one of the few of the main cast who uh...doesn't really seem to have any reason behind the terribad decisions she makes other than there is something Wrong With Her, but again, god forbid, etc.

song i associate with them Girlfriend, by Avril Lavigne; the early 2000s angry brat pop is just. so on brand. see also, so much for my happy ending. (also, this has given me the image of idea of early 2000s scene kids jinyuan alliance, which is the funniest fucking thing in the world to me. I don't know what sigu sect would be, but it's just so fucking funny.)

favorite picture of them quick and nasty screencap bc this response has already taken me two days, but like. the whole turn on li lianhua when he's in chains and she's like 'oh you're dangerous to talk to', I just. I feel so abnormal about it. she is so hot and scary.

[t4tgempearl]

The one and only, Miss Holloway! :D [ask game]

Holloway:

favorite thing about them: I love how mysterious she is. As much as I'd love getting more lore about her, I enjoy the fact the fandom can theorize and think about what happened in her past :3

least favorite thing about them: I think how she treats Duke sometimes, leading him on. It's a fun trait for a character, making her a bit flawed, but I also feel bad for Duke :[

favorite line: "Duke, relax... I'm trying to say goodbye. Can I?"

brOTP: Her and Wilbur :] I think they hate each other and I love that for them <3 (I don't mind them as a ship but it's not my personal fave)

OTP: Wine and dine!! those fucked up evil sapphics sure know how to kill and make out- I mean, maim /silly They're one of my favorite ships atm, so ty @tedfagoffski for continuing to be insane with me about them <3 And honorable mention to Holloweane <3 I've loved them there since the start and I think they deserve to be happy, even if it means they don't end up together.

nOTP: I don't really have one, especially since Holloway doesn't really have that many ships in general?

random headcanon: Miss Holloway knows how to roller skate, and has tried to teach Duke before but he just kept flailing like a baby buffalo trying to walk for the first time :]

unpopular opinion: Idk if I really have an unpopular opinion about her ;-;

song i associate with them: Flight Of The Crows!!! You can't tell me it isn't LITERALLY about her: "Well, I think that I've gotta go and I don't know why But I need you to promise that you won't cry 'Cause you'll be fine, and so will I So, just let the thought of me die"

favorite picture of them:

[avichor]

SHIPPING INFO — ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSE(S).

WHAT'S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSES(S)?

it's hard to say because i don't necessarily have otps from a writing standpoint, they kind of evolve depending on the pairing and who i'm writing with, and sometimes my otps become notps depending on the dynamic / plot. tl;dr i just don't default - ship. i write waaaaay too many muses to list them all but from a die - hard, canon brainrot perspective, most of my otps include: naksu / jang uk, katherine / stefan, chuuya / dazai, gojo / geto, katara / zuko, juliette / roma, orion / rosalind, zoya / nikolai, inej / kaz, zero two / hiro, raven / bellamy, catra / adora, malia / stiles, harrowhark / gideon.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RP WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?

i think i'm down for most things so long as it isn't obviously something that's atrocious ( adult / minor ) or like, a poorly executed oppressor / oppressed. i genuinely like exploring toxic dynamics when it's detached from a romanticized lens, and it's for that reason why i ensure it's a topic i can trust my wps with. this may be an unpopular opinion, but i'm fine with writing cheating. i'm fine with writing unequal distributions of power ( to a certain extent ), i'm fine exploring variations of abuse. it's just that if it's toxic, i tend to keep it toxic. if it veers into actual abuse ( best example i can think of is alina / darkling, i don't write nor ship it but sklsdkldskldskl ), it's not so much a ship but just a subset of an complex one, and won't be resolved to a point of genuine romanticism.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

uhhhhhhh, if they're under 18, i think two years? the age gap widens the older the muses are in a bracket, but i'm generally not an age - gap fan. + / - five - 10 years feels accurate? maximum five if it's like, a muse that's under 25. immortal muses are different and vary based on circumstances.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

yeaaaahhhh. yeah. i usually figure out through writing or plotting if there's chemistry to even think about shipping, and i tend to ship with my circle of friends / exclusive shipping partners just because it's always been easier that way. doesn't mean i'm not open! just very chemistry - oriented. we could plot the best thing but if we're not vibing as writing partners when we chat, it won't work.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY'RE CONSIDERED NSFW?

anything past like a full make - out session or questionable touching. i don't smut on dash across any of my blogs, and if i do venture into that territory, it's always suggestive and with my utmost closest wp. but as it stands, i typically don't write anything further than making out or allusions.

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE(S) WITH?

refer to the first question, but i really like cross - fandom shipping. i think it's fun and forces people to think outside of the box. i also looooove oc / canon. i'll use this opportunity to say i'm always intrigued with these dynamics: chuuya / yosano, atsushi / lucy, yosano / dazai, lottie / nat, gin / higuchi, malia / kira, nobara / megumi, nobara / yuuji, higuchi / akutagawa. there's more but i'm blanking.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

yes and no! sometimes it happens naturally, but you can alwayyyyysssss ask to ship. just need to approach with an open mind and understand that i will likely ask that we write first or sus out vibes! if we chat a lot or obviously get along, that makes it a little easier for me to envision a romantic ship!

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?

yes! unless stated otherwise, i'm multi - ship by default.

ARE YOU SHIP - OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE - OR - LESS?

ship more - or - less by default sdlkfjgsdlgkdskl. with my partner and close friends, i tend to be more ship - obsessed because we rot more consistently. but i don't really look to ship romantically at first! i've become more preferential to non - romantic dynamics over the years just because i feel like they get pushed aside or under - appreciated in favor of romantic shipping.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM(S) ?

for canons, it's naksu / jang uk, chuuya / dazai, gojo / geto, juliette / roma, orion / rosalind, yosano / dazai, gin / tachihara. for ocs, it's less favoritism but just what occupies my brain currently, fallon / noemi, ushi / mizaru, fumi / seiko, tommy / jay.

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

you need to be insane <3

tagging. @qismet , @memuntos , @ephamerel , @starspurn , @omonzuru , @ownlore , @rottedfigs , @ategod , @fatedriven , @yaburnae , and whoeverrrrrrr wants to <3

[guess-that-ship]

Guess That Ship Tournament Season 12: Submissions CLOSED!

The Concept: You describe your ship* to me, I pick out the submissions which I find most compelling and pit them against each other without revealing who they are, people vote on them, and their identities gets revealed once they’re eliminated.

Submission Guidelines

*For the purpose of this tournament, relationships do not have to be romantic in nature. (I’m sometimes going to use “ship” as a shorthand, just know I mean “relationships” in general.)

Relationship can be between any number of characters.

Real people are accepted if they’ve been dead for more than 100 years.

Roleplay characters are accepted as long as the description only pertains to the characters and not the players.

Crossover ships are only allowed if the crossover is official.

OCs are accepted. (However, OC x Canon is not accepted. Please do not submit other people's OCs without their permission.)

No overtly NSFW submissions. (Mentioning they have sex or are a sex worker is fine, but try to avoid anything more than that.)

Two submission per person. (Do not submit the same ship twice. I cannot enforce this on Google Forms without forcing you to log in. So just be champs and respect this rule.)

Failure to follow these guidelines may result in all of your submissions being disqualified for this season.

Summary Guidelines

Selection Process: I will read through the list of descriptions submitted without reading their names and pick the most compelling submissions. Then, I will check the name to make sure there's no repeats.

Keep it concise, but also bring something unique to the table. Make sure to describe their relationship, not just summarize the events of the story.

Previous submissions for reference. The ideal submission should be 2-3 paragraphs, but you can make it as short or long as you want. Please keep in mind the longer your submission, the less likely it is to get in.

Tips on what to avoid while writing a summary can be found here.

Descriptions should be based on canon, not headcanon. (e.g. You can say “they love each other” instead of “they’re lovers” if their romantic nature is debatable.)

Avoid author commentary. (e.g. "They're canonically x," "I love them," "Play/watch/read this," etc.)

Use canonical pronouns.

Avoid identifying information or setting specific giveaways. (i.e. Ninja village, space necromancers.)

When submitting OCs, please make sure to at least put a name somewhere. (e.g. "John and Bob by anonymous" or "OCs by Joey.")

The more popular your ship is the more vague the description should be.

Exclusions

Ships that were accepted in Season 7 onwards and ships that at least reached the semifinals in Season 1-6 are not allowed. For a complete list, please look here. (No need to look through the whole list, just Ctrl+F to find the ship you want.)

Any submissions from Harry Potter will also not be included.

Notes

I will not vet the ships/pairings for problematic content.

If you participate in this tournament, know that you run the risk of unintentionally voting for your nOTP. The mod does not take any responsibility for any distress that may cause you.

There will be a limit of one ship per media in the bracket. You may submit two ships from the same media, but keep in mind only one ship will be able to get in. (A series or franchise will generally count as one media, but they will be evaluated on a case by case basis.)

Submit your ships here! Submissions will be open until Monday, August 5th at 10 PM EDT.

Please reblog this post to spread the word! The more submissions, the better!

[cursedvibes]

Yorozu for the character thing.

Thank you for the ask! Especially the song part for her was really tricky, but interesting to think about.

favourite thing about them

I love how inventive she is. She grew up in a rural and likely poor region, she was born with a relatively weak cursed technique and she managed to claw her way up, so that even the Fujiwara wanted her in their service. All through her own ingenuity. She has an understanding of physics that's beyond her time. Also I just love her obsessive nature. You can tell that no matter if it's people or a topic she finds interesting, she'll cling to it until she has made it her own. That obsession is what got her into such a high position. Her love for battle and bloodshed is also refreshing. We don't see that that often with female characters, especially not combined with her insect armour that would be considered "ugly" and "too masculine".

least favourite thing about them

All the interesting things I listed above are only there as little mentions or titbits that are dropped here and there. We only get a glimpse of her inventiveness and the struggles she went through. Instead Gege chose to only focus on her obsession with Sukuna and make her especially pathetic through that. Like, if you're gonna drop such an interesting backstory, expand on it at least a little bit? Instead of going out of your way to make it seem like her character revolves entirely around Sukuna. She can have her obsession with him, that's fine, but Gege really did her a disservice there, despite obviously being capable of giving her more depth.

favourite line

"Even handsome men become crusty when dried out. Elegant beauty."

"I want it all to myself. Your solitude is mine and mine alone! The one who will kill you is me!"

"Toodle-loo, I'll be waiting"

brOTP

Hm, either the idea of Yorozu and Uraume very reluctantly getting along, kind of similar to Uraume and Kenjaku (she wanted to invite them to her wedding after all and likes their cooking) or Yorozu and Kenjaku. I think her research about insects and how emulate their qualities with cursed energy and her technique would be very interesting to Kenjaku. And since I hc that Kenjaku likes centipedes or arthropods in general, I'd like to see them nerd about insects.

OTP

Yorozu/Uro! I've ranted about them plenty before, but I'd just once again like to say that they are perfect for each other. Yorozu could've been such an inspiration for Takako back in the day, show her what she could be.

nOTP

Sukuna. I think they're both better off by just moving on and finding better people. Also I don't like this at all in a sexual way.

random headcanon

She has like a full mad scientist lair. Kind of an expansion on what we see in her first flashback. It's full of books and show cases of animals and makeshift terraria where she studies insects to improve her technique. I mean, she knows what an insect's nervous system looks like, she must've picked them apart very thoroughly, probably used her CT as assistance to invent microscopes and other tools that didn't exist back then. Also, the way her servant looks, I think she doesn't shy away from human experimentation either to test a new form of Construction for example.

unpopular opinion

She isn't actually sexually attracted to Sukuna. All she ever talks about is owning and controlling him. The marriage is for her to demonstrate her ownership over him and tie him to her. Even if it's merely his corpse. While I'm all for necrophillia, I don't think that's the intention here.

song i associate with them

I don't yet have a song where I think "yes, that's her!", but I chose IC3PEAK's Плак-Плак for her defying tradition and killing her husband and Red Sex (restrung version) just because I think it embodies her particular brand of insanity quite well, particularly how connected everything about her is to her body. From her being nude in the Heian era to her insect armor. Feels sort of suffocating just like her obsession and some of the strings remind me of the sounds of insect wings.

favourite picture of them

Always gonna be her studying nude by candle light

but also of course her insect armour

and her just looking cute/deranged in general

[chipistrate]

do that with Cassie

Sure! :D

Cassie:

favorite thing about them I adore how sassy she can be- like yeah she'll go down and save Gregory from the ruined Pizzaplex, that's her bestie she'd do anything for him, but that won't stop her from complaining about it. i.e. "Under Roxy Racers? *huff* that's all the way on the other side, I'm not even close." Also I believe her VA said something about her not being scared when going into the Pizzaplex iirc cause she "didn't know she was supposed to be scared" and I think that's interesting,,, "yeah that old, decaying, falling apart, creepy Pizzaplex? I don't see why I'd be scared. Gregory wants me to go there so I'm sure it's safe. Plus, what could possibly be hiding inside anyways? Bugs?" <---clueless

least favorite thing about them I'm not good at picking out least favorite things about characters I love LMAO They're just precious and beloved and I see no wrong in them<333

favorite line "that was too close. I was almost a Cassie sandwich" the DELIVERY. I love her so much even in the worst situations she's still making little shithead remarks/aff

brOTP Her and Gregory are the siblings ever<333

OTP Again- if these can be purely platonic and have no familial or romantic meaning, then her and Ellis should be and would be best friends and I stand by this forever and ever

nOTP x

random headcanon When she met up with Gregory again after SB she started helping him tear down his missing posters. She didn't know why he wanted them gone or why he was so hesitant in public, but she didn't want to pry too much and just wanted to help out. She tried, couldn't get a lot of answers out of him, and realized it was just too out of his comfort zone to talk about whatever happened while he was missing, so she just resorted to helping him however she can!

unpopular opinion Tbh I don't think she'd be angry after the elevator fall or even believe it was Gregory- at least not immediately!! Like- I could see her becoming angry over time, but I honestly think that at first she'd 100% think it was the Mimic- I mean- she literally just met a giant endo that was trying to kill her that mimicked her friends voice and communicated through speakers, I don't think she'd assume her best friend would try and kill her after meeting a dude like that. Maybe she'd end up thinking it was Gregory later and becoming way more bitter about it afterwards if we're going the Vannie route, but I think at first she'd just be really tired and sad and upset at the Mimic, but not at Gregory. She probably just thinks "he's my best friend, he would never do that. I'm sure he's on his way to get me right now, so I just need to survive a few more hours and I'll be fine." or something like that

song i associate with them Hmmm if we're talking Vannie arc then I'd say "I'm Irritated" by Fishy Bishie. If we're talking normal Cassie, then I don't listen to a lot of songs that I would consider "Cassiecore" that aren't specifically made to be Cassie songs if you know what I mean? But maybe that one really good part of "One Normal Night"

favorite picture of them

She's so confident and happy how could you possibly hate her<333