#you could think of these in a shippy way i guess lmao

[sparrow-in-boots]

been thinking about these two (shocking i know), but consider:

John tugging at Arthur's clothes to nudge him at certain directions or to stop during high-stakes situations;

John pretending to fidget, ie scratching Arthur's cheek or rubbing his chin, in order to turn his head in the proper direction to keep up appearances;

John helping Arthur fix his clothes and hair since he can't see those;

John reaching out for things first so that Arthur can follow the general location of his left hand for the item;

John pinching Arthur's side to get his attention;

Arthur pinching John's hand, uno reverse style;

John learning to use a fountain pen for writing, cus proper pressure and flow are an important aspect of it;

also Arthur and John puzzling shorthands together, so that John can make sense of it;

Arthur occasionally trying to puzzle architectural styles from John's descriptions, so that they can get on the same page of what terms they are both familiar with;

same with plants and animals, trying to nail what species John is seeing from descriptions alone;

[yonpote]

more tit spoilers yap

i feel like if each tour was a movie in a movie series, then tatinof and ii are parts 1 and 2, wad is a spinoff, and tit is part 3. i think tit is a direct sequel to ii because of the meta nature of the show being amped up as well as the themes of "giving the ppl what they want" vs "taking back what was taken from us" obv being a parallel. and obv wad and tatinof are also Extremely Meta, but the specific ways in which ii and tit are meta in terms of being ABOUT the audience-creator relationship is more overarching, whereas tatinof's meta nature is in it being an explosion of self-referential bits that they know the audience already loves. and wad... honestly idk if i would even call wad meta? it's mostly just self-indulgent, WHICH IS A GOOD THING because it is directly about dan's particular struggles with coping through a world that seems to be getting worse and worse and figuring that you HAVE to keep going and see thru to the other side. which i guess is meta in that its about himself but thats like calling an autobiography meta lmao.

i could be misremembering bc it was such a whirlwind experience for me, but i dont think they ever clarify if they DO believe themselves to be bad influences or not. now i feel like this should be obvious, but just in case it isn't: dan and phil did not make you gay. they maybe influenced you to come out, or influenced your gay fashion choices, or maybe seeing them be openly queer or reading fics about them and seeing shippy art of them stirred something within you to realize that you've been gay the whole time (which is also a joke that they do a couple times where theyre like "no we were STRAIGHT and we BECAME GAY in 2019!")

id love to hear about what was confessed to sister daniel and father philip at other shows i'll be honest i cant remember the confessed sins because i was too busy staring at those thighs im sorry i am just a man i am no better than a man

i have so many thoughts on phil talking by himself. i have so many thoughts about how much love is in that mans heart, both for dan and for us, even if he doesnt wear it on his sleeve all the time.

the rave part of the song was good lmao. it was catchy and fun and the like EVERYBODY STAND UP part was goofy but i had a good time with it. im an internet is here supremacist i think in terms of like, actually liking the song LMAO, if i were to rank all the tour songs it would go:

the internet is here

everything's fine

terrible influence

phil diss track / interactive introverts (IM A HATER SORRY)

[subtle-as-an-earthquake]

So I know this post is pretty overdue and a bit superfluous by this point maybe, but since I am now back home and finally have time to sit down and write down my thoughts about the last few days, I thought I'd still do a recap post of my experience of the Dublin shows (and a bit about my trip to Dublin in general). Just for anyone who might be interested or even just for me to remember everything by!

Having said that though, I don’t actually know how to even begin putting into words what this trip meant to me 🥺 I’ve said this before, but after seeing them in June and thinking that was it for the foreseeable future, getting to see them again so soon, twice, and it being the very last two shows of the tour as well, felt like an incredible opportunity and huge gift and I could not be more grateful for it ❤️

Recap of Dublin shows 3 & 4 and some more pics below the cut!

I flew in from Amsterdam on Tuesday morning with a Dutch friend, and we met up with another friend of mine who flew in from London at the same time (my London friend went with me to Tuesday's gig, and my Amsterdam friend to Thursday's gig)

London friend and I then headed to the 3Arena to queue up outside and it was fucking freezing lmao. But we played ‘guess the Arctic Monkeys song from the intro’ and had a chance to catch up so all in all it wasn’t too bad, and it’s always so much fun being surrounded by fellow arctic monkeys fans who love them enough to queue up for hours in the cold <3

Once we were inside, we legged it to the stage and then spent another two hours trying to defend our (pretty good, very central) spots and trying not to think about the fact that we had to pee, as you do. We happened to be standing next to a group of Dutch speaking girls, and it turned out one of them had also met Miles in Amsterdam recently, at the same signing I’d been at! Such a small world. But they were really lovely so the two hours flew past, and then it was Miles time!!!!! 🥰

And my god, he literally blew everyone away, he was just insanely good as always. My friend was not really a Miles fan before the gig, and then while he was playing, she kept going “holy shit minnie he’s so good??” and I was like “TOLD YOU”, so now she’s a big fan as well, which is honestly very satisfying 😌 There were so many amazing moments during his set, but the one that stayed with me most I’ve already talked about in this post. It was honestly just…. very intense and really hard to explain in a non-shippy way? Even my non-shipper friend was like… hmm ok yes, that seems very significant 🤔

But anyway, Miles rocked the house, and then it was only a short wait until the main show. And while most of it is a blur because I just lose my mind when I see my boys play, I did make sure to really absorb some special moments and things I really wanted to remember. Being able to clearly see Alex’s intense, goofy and beautiful facial expressions, his HANDS, the cute little interactions he had with the rest of the band (giggles with Matt and smiley asides with Jamie and Nick), the moment where Alex made grabby hands at the plushie and then laughed some more when he couldn’t have it, Jamie being an absolute rockstar as always, Nick looking like a total snack (my friend has a giant crush on Nick, understandably so), Matt being a literal drum god (I love seeing him play SO much). Just... incredible 🙌🏻💘

I really wasn’t expecting Miles to join them during that show, so when Alex gave him a shoutout I knew it was just that, but my friend didn’t, so she started hitting me like “he’s coming back!” and I was like “no he’s not”, and he wasn’t unfortunately lmao. The Dutch and Belgian girls next to me were extremely disappointed (they were Milex shippers as well, of course), but I know at least one of them was there on Thursday as well so I love that for her. Other memorable moments were Alex singing the “remember when you used to be a rascal” line followed by “do you remember? I remember” after which I yelled at my friend “Miles used to be a rascal!!!” and then later I found out Miles was actually on that side of the stage 😭😭 Even though I didn’t find out about that until later, I definitely noticed that Alex kept gesturing towards that side of the stage (the Star Treatment intermezzo was wild, I was like, “WHO is he pointing at for the dolls like you and me thing??” And then it turned out to be Miles 🫠

Another thing I noticed was that the average age of the crowd was way lower than I’m used to it being, which my friend explained may have something to do with tiktok? Lmao idk, hut the the standing crowd did mostly consist of younger, shorter girls for some reason lol, so there wasn’t as much jumping as I’d have liked there to be. My friend and I just went for it regardless, even if we were some of the only people going crazy. But you just have to, you know what I mean? Anyway, it was such an incredible show and after it ended, we were just on cloud nine, singing Fluorescent Adolescent with everyone on the Luas going back to town, which is always just such a blast. And then we ended up in Temple Bar where there was more live music as well as about 500 other Arctic Monkeys fans, so that was great fun too 💫

The next day, the three of us went to a tattoo shop where I’d booked an appointment and I got my tattoo which I am EXTREMELY happy with. The tattoo artist was a girl from Brazil and when she asked me about the meaning of my tattoo (I’ll post a pic later) I told her it was an Arctic Monkeys song and the just yelled across the shop to a few other artists and it turned out they’d been at the concert too, so we all geeked out about them while I got my tattoo done lmao, so much fun 😂

Then my London friend unfortunately had to fly back home later that day, so my Amsterdam friend and I ended up in the pub again because that’s what we do. It was just a very average pub with two very average men playing amazing folk music, and when we walked in, I was like “huh that guy looks like Zackery Michael, that’s funny.” And then later I was stood next to him at the bar and heard he was American, so I was like hmmm, and decided to just ask him if he was in fact Zackery Michael. He was like “that is me!” lol (thank god, would’ve been embarrassing if it hadn’t been) so we had a little chat about the fact that we were both in town for Arctic Monkeys but in slightly different capacities lol, and he was just super nice and was happy to take a photo with me, and then I let him get back to his conversation with the three extremely pretty girls he was with 😅

Anyways, so then on Thursday after breakfast we bought some souvenirs and I bought some great Arctic Monkeys mini posters and some other stuff at this lovely little comic book/record store which was playing Humbug, the owner of which told us he also went to see Arctic Monkeys on Tuesday and loved them, so that was another amazing chance meeting 💜 And then it was after 12pm so it was time for whiskey, and then the meeting with the fellow TLSP/Arctic Monkeys/Miles Kane fan bartender happened which I posted about here, which was so lovely and also secretly made me want to believe it was a sign for the show that night 🙈

But I still couldn’t let myself hope or believe TOO much, so I just kept telling my friend “they’re not going to do it and that’s okay” and she was like “sure, whatever you say” 😂 We had seated tickets for this gig, so we were unfortunately much further away than I had been on Tuesday. And also I just don’t like being seated at concerts, let alone an Arctic Monkeys one, but to be honest, the seats were pretty good. Miles once again gave his absolute all and converted not just my Dutch friend as well, but also a lot of the people around us who we overheard saying things like “did you know he was this good??” and checking Miles’s Wikipedia page, which was great to see. And from up on the balcony we could clearly see that the people in the crowd were really singing along and having an amazing time during Miles’s set (COTT was extremely emotional, all the lights were so lovely ✨️) and I just felt so proud of him and happy for him that it was such a roaring success 🥹💖

The roaring success continued for Arctic Monkeys of course, although it was really weird to see so many people go mental for Snap Out Of It and Arabella etc. 😅 But yeah, the people do love AM it seems, which is why the first part of the setlist was pretty much the same as it had been on Tuesday. Hello You was amazing though!! And then after There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, I knew that it was 505 time, and Alex did say ‘Let’s hear it for Miles Kane’. But because it was the same thing he’d said before, I was still convinced Miles wouldn’t come on. AND THEN HE DID 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I absolutely lost my shit, not even kidding. I just started screaming and threw my phone at my poor friend being like “FILM IT” which she did, bless her heart, and uhhh, yeah then I cried throughout the whole performance 😭 And then at the end, the lights went out and I saw their shadows (our shadow puppets <3) coming together so I was like did they hug??? And then I only found out later that evening when I checked tumblr that they in fact did hug and then my night was just completely made (lol, I say my night but I mean my life, obviously)

Do I Wanna Know was a total blur after that of course, but I was back for Body Paint which was absolutely incredible as always. And then they did Big Ideas as the encore and uuhhh yeah I sobbed 🙃 It was SO beautiful, and so special hearing it live with the strings, and SO fucking sad. And then once RU Mine? finished and the lights stayed off, I was like aaahhh we’re getting one more!! And then OF COURSE it was Perfect Sense because Alex is a dramatic bastard, and of course I cried some more. It was stunning and extremely emotional 💔

So then my friend and I went to drown my sorrows (and elation about the Milex reunion) in the pub and we actually had a great time with some fellow AM fans and live music again. I swear it was like all of Dublin was just there for Arctic Monkeys. Unfortunately, we were not in the pub where the boys apparently went ugh, but still, it was fun. And yesterday morning I woke up with a killer hangover so I swore I would not drink anymore, but it was raining so much, so we did end up in the pub again where we got talking to some really cool Irish guys who (surprise) also loved Arctic Monkeys, and they insisted on buying us drinks so obviously I couldn’t decline. So we just sat and drank with them until we had to catch our flight, and of course by that time I was tipsy and maudlin and the weather wasn’t helping so I cried all the way to the airport (especially since we passed the arena again) and then I cried some more in the airport like the drama queen I am 🥲

It’s just that I’m so sad it’s over, and so scared and worried about the future of the band, with how much this felt like a goodbye 😔 But I’m just going to assume that it’s just goodbye for now, and that they’ll take a well-deserved break, maybe do their own things for a while, and that in a few years’ time they’ll get back to making music together again. I really do think they have so much fun doing what they do together, and they’re basically like family, and Alex wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he couldn’t make music, so surely they’ll be back eventually. But please, just don’t be too long boys 🥺🙏🏻❤️

All in all, though, what has stayed with me most from this trip is a sense of gratefulness that I was lucky enough to experience all this, my 8th and 9th Arctic Monkeys gigs to date, the last dates of the tour, the Milex reunion (!!!!!!!) and to get to share it with two of my best friends in the world, a whole bunch of arctic monkeys loving strangers who I randomly met, and all of you guys I’ve met on here these past few months. The sense of connection and community I’ve found through this band means so much to me, more than I can say, actually, and I’m so grateful to them for that, in addition to the music they’ve given us. And although the tour is over, I am honestly looking forward to sharing the love we have for them with you all for a long time to come and for now, I am so excited about getting back to writing my silly little Milex stories (and insanely happy they finally gave us that little reunion we hope for, so that I’m still excited and hopeful about their relationship rather than heartbroken and resigned, which is what I probably would’ve been if they hadn’t performed together. So thank you for that, boys 💘)

So yes. Very, VERY long story short: Arctic Monkeys is and always will be my favourite band in the world, they ended the tour on an absolute high (and with Miles!) and this was an experience I will never, ever forget ❤️

[swimmingwolf59]

Spones - 001

when I started shipping it if I did: this is a great question that I wish I remembered! I first started watching tos as a little kid with my mom, and I always loved the spones dynamic, but I don't think I shipped them back then. And then I was kinda moderately interested in trek for close to 15 years and then one day I woke up and my brain was like "what if you wrote this spones fic" and the next thing I knew they'd completely taken over my life LMAO. So I guess they kinda snuck up on me 🤣

my thoughts: my thoughts???? I've probably written over 100k words of my thoughts about spones LMAO. Their dynamic is endlessly interesting though, by far the most compelling part of tos imo. The way they care about each other but also stretch each other's thinking and spur each other on scientifically is the BEST. Their playful banter is so fun, the emotions they get across from just their expressions GOD. I could watch them forever.

What makes me happy about them: I love the way they playfully tease one another, like spock being amused by mccoy spluttering his way through a conversation and mccoy being amused when spock's trying to show off and fails, I LOVE seeing that.

What makes me sad about them: since this is shippy, the fact that they'd deny they like each other for like 20+ years because they can't communicate meaningfully for shit LOL

things done in fanfic that annoys me: if bones is insecure about everything because of kirk I want to throw my phone out the window it makes me so mad ugh. Obviously people can write whatever they want but it frustrates me that it's so prevalent in spones fics, please tag spirk if you wanna write spirk 😭

things I look for in fanfic: I'm not super picky! I love fake dating, accidental bonding, accidental baby acquisition, banter as a tag LOL, lots of other stuff. Also makes me happy when people write tos and I can read about bones' pretty blue eyes :3 but other than a few nope tropes for me I'll read just about anything!

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: hmmm this is an interesting question since they live in my head constantly lol. I guess for Spock I usually headcanon him as aroace when I'm not shipping him, but if I had to put him with someone, maybe scotty? or like a platonic relationship with uhura would be really nice. For McCoy, Kirk 😄

My happily ever after for them: they serve on the enterprise together as captain and chief medical officer and then move to Vulcan, where Spock becomes a diplomat and mccoy becomes a pediatrician/researcher at the VSA. They live in the desert near the mountains with their giant sehlat cub and they grow old together and nothing bad ever happens 😊

who is the big spoon/little spoon: I think I usually picture them as either one on their back and the other with their head on their arm/shoulder lol. If they did spoon tho, I like to think mccoy would be the big spoon because spock likes to be enclosed :3

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: bantering or discovering a new species together

[mejomonster]

Mysterious lotus casebook, just fun things~

Li Lianhua calling his old rival A Fei which is just such a familiar name (I'm only used to Zhao Yunlan asking a crush to call him A Lan so). Like what a choice. Can't figure out an alias for ur super famous rival? Call him an intimate nickname. Sure.

Fang duobing being the MOST territorial man to ever live. Grabs hold of li lianhua and won't let go and moves himself in. Doesn't like li lianhuas other friends. Actively tries to Beat the shit out of them and give them bad food. On a mission to drive them OUT. Absolutely enraged over said nickname A Fei. Ready to throw hands nonstop

Fang duobing being That Bitch who says "you're my partner" nonstop within like a week of meeting. He could shake hands with Wei Wuxian calling Zhou Zishu his soulmate by ep 8 of Word of Honor lmao. But like genuinely, while partner im gonna interpret only as meant to be "detective partner/work partner" I still think it's Mighty Clingy of him to force li lianhua to be his partner lmao.

Fang duobing being such a fucking little liar who lies. "Fine I'm going my separate way" proceeds to move into the guest bedroom and eat all meals together. "Fine I'm not going to ask you to solve a crime with me" except I'm absolutely going to drag you into my shit until I get you mixed up in the case anyway uvu then insist you MUST help (and you won't want me to die so you will... and eventually fang duobings strategy DOES work... because eventually li lianhua goes back for him, like in the tomb, instead of leaving him behind anymore).

Fang duobing being like "You're ordinary, I'll protect you!" And like while in a way he's right, it's hilarious he's saying that to the Once Upon a Time second best fighter in the world. I also love how he immediately took the job of guard dog to heart: he is ride or die ready to do anything to protect his new coerced partner li lianhua.

I also like that him being ADAMANTLY ready to save li lianhua and protect him at all times, means we get plenty of rescues that aren't even a big deal. I think it's funny to compare the rescues to Ultimate Note and wu xie for two reasons. 1. Because Joseph zeng is playing the rescuer this time, and fang duobing is way more vocal about wanting to save li lianhua than xiaoge ever is, so it's cute to hear how intently up for Heroics the rescuer is. 2. Ultimate Note, like pretty much all dmbj for some reason, goes Really Shippy whenever it would do rescue scenes (you know what I mean... romantic music, long gazes into each other's eyes, romantic framing). It's interesting to see this show NOT do that, despite possibly even more frequent rescue scenes. I think it's a good idea but like... for a few reasons? First, li lianhua is experienced in fighting so he's not naive damsel in the way wu xie is, and he assumes he'll die so he doesn't really have major fear when he's in danger. Second, the whole tone of the show is more practical. I think the positive of this is we get really nice emotional scenes between the main trio that don't feel like jokes, and feel important as major relationships (which would also I guess be good for ships), and while it therefore doesn't really hit romance tropes (making bl potential scenes thankfully not get overt attention but also making it more vague, doing the same with women love interests so their scenes likewise feel less overtly intense as well) it does mean the weight of all scenes feels more balanced. I would compare it to how The Untamed handled all scenes romantic, platonic, familial in extremely similar ways in terms of feel. It made the romance stand out less, but it also meant the familial ties and friendship scenes felt Equally weighted. Which is a positive trait for this kind of show, I think, to weight all relationship types equally. While yeah it means ships of any kind become more subtle, I think it also makes all dynamics feel like they're closer to equal importance.

Fang duobing being a rich boy hypocrite is just The funniest fucking. It's so clear he's used to getting his way and it's part of why he grabbed li lianhua and didn't let go. He's got a mix of "genuinely wants to help people" that drives him to do good things like try to stop murderers and protect people until proven guilty and pursue evidence and the truth. Then he's also got that inherent quality of he's always gotten what he wants, he doesn't think he should ever Stop getting it. He's broke and starving, but only Very Nice tasting food he particularly craves is worth saying yes to. He's arrested? Use his family name and status and Baichuan courts sway to get himself free and bully the suspects into cooperating more. Li lianhua doesn't want him? Insist he's a Generous Hero for offering to protect/help li lianhua and no one should refuse such a Gift (so fang duobing simply won't be refused). A fei shows up and clearly has an existing (closer) relationship to li lianhua? Be a complete bitch to him to the point where it's leaning into harassment, try to chase him away, because if li lianhua is HIS then obviously he should be HIS more than he should be close to anyone else. Like an extremely territorial pet, he wants the most attention the most given to him from li lianhua and he does NOT want anyone to get as close to li lianhua as he is. Or at least as close as he Wishes he was (which is partners in solving cases and Life that travel the jianghu together... which... its fascinating he's really locked onto an "ordinary" person for this desire, you would think he'd want a martial arts master for that... but I think fang duobing enjoys feeling like the powerful one who can show off, impress, protect, and teach his partner... especially because his ego takes a hit with struggling to get into baichuan and being a subpar investigator compared to doctor li lianhua. It's clear fang duobing is used to being The Best, and while he wants to learn from li lianhua to fix his own shortcomings in investigating, he also probably appreciates he's BETTER at this ordinary man at things like fighting and it helps keep his ego from tanking. He could go find a jianghu martial arts master... but then they'd be better than him in All areas potentially. And then he'd just feel like shit. Hed rather have a teacher to learn from, who he can also feel NEEDS him. Fang duobing wants to be a hero, a damsel who repeatedly finds himself in danger is a great person for him to have around as it gives fang duobing repeated opportunities to show off how he's Valuable and Talented and Impressive and Needed by others. And oh boy... there's probably a LOT to say about how fang duobing grew up sick, weak, struggled to make progress and put in intense effort to be the best fighter of his age and best baichuan candidate, and how that pursuit means he really wants to Prove he's valuable outside of his family name. Because family name was all he started with, and he wanted to be like his uncle who proved himself Outside of the political system. He wanted to be like li xianyi who was a hero among those people, who even wanted to bring laws and justice to the jianghu, who treated fang duobing fairly and equally even as an ordinary weak young boy. Fang duobing INTENSELY desires to prove he's useful, needed, and has proven himself as capable in his own right. Li lianhua Feeds into those emotional needs a lot, and that alone would be enough for fang duobing to want to cling SO hard to him.)

Yeah more of just. How much I love fang duobing the lying liar who lies. He will be against tomb raiding but want a treasure to heal li lianhua. He will say he's fucking off and not going to bug former suspect li lianhua anymore then turn around and stalk him. He'll get told to leave and barge in and eat the man's fucking food. He is very set in getting what he wants, and he's not beyond doing whatever he wants to Get those things. Sure, he wouldn't kill someone or steal from a living person (at least not yet... he does have a lot of upstanding morals). But he's not above bullying an ordinary person who can't push back except intellectual, or trying to strong arm said intellectuals close friends to back the fuck off Fang Duobings PARTNER, or strong arm anyone who starts refusing him with whatever tools he's got (from his sword to his family's power to baichuan connections).

[gideongrovel]

Bro 👏🏾 is 👏🏾 yapping 👏🏾 about 👏🏾 that 👏🏾 man 👏🏾 again!!! 👏🏾

I wish I could remember more about what my thoughts on E/nel were when I first watched S/kypiea all those years ago,,,,, i was like what 10?? maybe 11? maybe 12?? idk maths isn't mathing,, and idr if I met him first through the Funi dub, or though my copy of Grand Adventure on gamecube, or the manga itself I can't blame myself for not remembering since its been so fucking long,,, and OP is one of those things that's quite literally always been apart of my life,,,,, my obsession coming and going in waves, but still,,, idr it never not being a thing in my life,,,, 😭

but anywhoooo I have figured out a couple small pieces to the puzzle of why i have snapped all these years later, and why i want that man (E/nel)!!! Okay so since in my youth I use to ship with Z/oro (I do not anymore, i personally feel too grown for him, and im just not into him in a shippy way anymore) but when I was younger and into Z/oro, his S/kypiea outfit was my absolute favorite (gonna mention Grand Adventure again- id always pick that as his outfit in that game lol), but i think that was my main focus when watching/rewatching that arc back then lmao,,, And while im not religious now, i use to be a christian when i was younger,,, so E/nel's whole god shtick probs was an ick to me back then,,,, so thats also a potential reason of why i didnt feel any shippy feels to him when i was younger,,,, 🤔

but now in this current day and age,,, those barriers weren't there,,,,, god complexes are hot to me- i love blasphemy and i didnt have someone else drawing my attention,,,, so i think thats a couple reasons of why these feels arose,,, My preferences with characters i lust after is different now then it was back then, and he checks alot of boxes for me "maybe, just maybe, its mental illness innit" so its not surprising when i really think about it,,,,,, its just funny it took over a decade to like smack me in the face,,,,, especially cause ive seen the arc many of times so i had many chances for it to happen 😭😭😭

i cant find it but i saw diagram once, it was like two separate lines meeting, then going their separate ways, then meeting back up again,,, and thats what this feels like??? not in like a rekindled old flame way,,,, cause he never was a flame, he was just someone i knew,,,, idk i guess its more like an "Oh. Oh." moment,,, like actually catching romantic feel for him (and not just sexual ones like i originally thought it was) has felt kinda comforting in some odd way??? that may sound off the wall given the type of character he is lmao,,,,,

But my thoughts are like it was a "wrong place, wrong time" back in the day,,,, but now,,, now we found our ways back to each other, it may have taken some time but things have aligned perfectly,,, and we're together now, and that is what matters in the end,,,,

idk what im on about truly,,,, articulating my emotions for this man feels *make vague idk gesture* if you wasted your time reading this im legit sorry 💀 I just love E/nel alot,,,, and this development of feelings these past couple months has my head spinning

[emryses]

20 questions for fic writers

thank you @postmodernau & @queerofthedagger for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35. what the hell lmao

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

379,505. again. what the hell!!!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

at this point i would say the main one is stranger things. i tend to only be able to successfully write for one fandom at a time apparently lol. but i imagine i'll dip my toes back into merlin one day.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

you looking at me, looking at you (steddie) / run your fingers through my hair (steddie) / eat me alive (steddie) / when the party's over (gallavich!!) / you want it straight from the heart (steddie)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i do! most or try my best to. often in the first week-ish after posting something, and i do sincerely try to respond to every comment but i've fallen behind on that a lot recently.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

this is a hard question to answer because i literally have thrived off of angst, specifically in the merlin fandom, for many years. i think i'll say winter always turns to spring which is a canon compliant merlin/will fic i wrote that has a tinge of....unrequited feelings, which is probably what bumps it up into the most sad.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

is it bad that i don't write a lot of "traditional" happy endings? i kind of make them work to get there lol. bittersweet my beloved. i would say my hairdresser steve au is the most lighthearted thing i've written with a happy ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not really! i've gotten the occasional weird ass comment that i'm sure the commenter THOUGHT was "kind" but i've kind of side-eyed.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do! i don't think i'm very good at it & it takes me ages when i do. i guess all kinds??? love it when they're pathetic and desperate iykwim.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

not often, but i have a steddie btvs au i am slowly percolating on.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of! but i doubt it, even then lol.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! there was a merlin translation fest a while back, and my merwill fic, winter always turns to spring was translated into portuguese!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no..........but mona & i have been percolating some thoughts..............................................monaaaaaaa.........is this a sign................?

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

this is such a hard question !!! i think i have to say at this moment in time it's steddie. they truly just scratch all the shippy itches for me. honourable mention tho to merthur, who have had my soul in some way or another for 10+ years.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i have this shameless canon divergence fic. the summary i wrote describes it best: "When Ian was 3, his birth father Clayton Gallagher and his wife Lucy were granted full custody, ripping Ian away from the only family he had ever known. Fifteen years later, Ian has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is looking for answers. Here, he reconnects with Fiona and Lip, his brother and sister who watched him be taken. Ian also meets his brother’s friend, Mickey, who conveniently is the guy Ian has been meeting in bars and dark alleys for the past few weeks."

part of me wishes i could go back and finish it, but i haven't written for gallavich in so long & i have so many other fics for other fandoms i'm more inclined to finish first. i guess never say never, but i also don't know when the time for it would be. alas.

16. What are your writing strengths?

how dare anyone make me talk positively about myself....sigh. ok. i think i'm good at character tone/voice. the way characters speak has always come pretty easily to me, and so i'm often most proud of my dialogue. i think it's why a lot of my fics often are dialogue heavy & have people working out problems together.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

does my own brain count? i feel like i can be repetitive in my descriptors of things. everything is "says softly" or "he smiles" or "he laughs" etc. my brain tells me every single goddamn sentence has to be Unique or something, and then i get in my head about Everything. it's the worst !!!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i haven't ever done it! not sure how i would go about it tbh! i don't speak any other languages other than english, so i would be hesitant to put any other language in a fic of mine because i would have to rely on google translate or something.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

HMMM. if i'm really honest, probably peter pan when i was like. 10. then it was icarly LMAO. all on ff.net babeyyyy

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

hands down, fields of gold. i consider it to be my merlin magnum opus of sorts, my eternal love letter to the show. i took 2 years to write it, and genuinely no joke some of the aspects/themes of that fic date back to headcanons/meta i wrote in 2012. so. i poured a lot of my heart into that fic, and i hope it shows.

zero pressure tags: @stargyles/@pushrope, @mojowitchcraft, @magicinavalon, @stevespookington, @lady-lostmind, @thefreakandthehair, @snapshotmaestro, @glaftwlet, @andonandon & truly anyone who sees this and wants to answer these questions. tag me!!! i am nosy and love stuff like this lol.

[daddymothxxx]

@papermint-at-your-service

Ship? :3

do i ship our characters together?: yes | no | not yet but maybe soon

would i like to ship with you?: yes | maybe, i'm willing to try | no

type of relationship i could see: childhood or high school sweethearts | exes | engaged | married | long-term relationship | crushes | unrequited love | fling | long distance | online relationship | just dating | new relationship | toxic lovers | friends with benefits | casual | backroom

tropes i'd enjoy writing for them: friends to lovers | enemies to lovers | exes to lovers | fake relationship / dating | forbidden love | grumpy and sunshine | star-crossed lovers | surprise pregnancy | second chance | soulmates | amnesia / mistaken identity | forced proximity | secret relationship | slow burn relationship | polycule nonsense

would i rather plot first or jump right in and see where it goes?: develop their relationship first | jump right in | something in between ( what specifically? )

what now?: let's plot something | send me shippy memes | i'll send you shippy memes | write me a random starter | i'll write you a random starter

anything else i want you to know about me / my character / my shipping habits: ( put whatever you want here )

I'm the kind of person that has nothing against crack-ships I guess? Lmao. Chemistry happens in the weirdest of ways which makes me pretty open to ships in general? But I also rarely like...hunt down a ship so--no pressure! Just if it happens then it happens and I will think it's cute. c:

[smooth-boob]

⭐ !!!

Fanfic Writers: Director's Cut Game

Thank you for sending this, and once again I am literally so sorry, but this is just going to be a long diary entry about The Bustle in a House, a Bridgerton fic I wrote, particularly the epilogue. My inner monologue is loud, and normally it's just me in here! Apart from being unhinged in tags, I don't post a lot of personal things on here, but I have something to say!

I feel like I talk about The Bustle in a House a lot on here, and in terms of hits/kudos/statistics, it's not one of my most popular fics (I mean, it's not shippy and it's aggressively sad, so I get it lol), but it was really a breakthrough story for me! Link at the bottom for shameless self promo, woo.

It's funny, looking at my google docs now, I guess it only took me six weeks to write, but it was literally all I thought about for those six weeks. I was scratching at the walls of my enclosure writing this thing. Apart from a couple Bridgerton one-shots and a quickly abandoned fic, I hadn't written almost anything on my own in such a long time. It was also emotionally charged and gritty and I was so impatient to get the story out but I needed to get it out the way that felt right.

Beyond that, I struggle(d) to write complete stories that aren't just scenes stitched to each other. Honestly, Bustle is still like that, but it all stitches together very nicely if I do say so myself. Still, I had been agonizing a little bit over the fact that I didn't know how the fic was going to end. I couldn't keep writing it forever...I mean, I guess I could, because it's really not that long, and there's actually more of it in my drafts, but I was trying to tell a very particular story and also have I mentioned that I am impatient? But the story didn't have an end because it's an origin story about unhealed trauma, so what was I going to do with that?

So, at least to give myself a bookend to the real story, I wrote the epilogue. I wrote it in a thirty-minute fit of inspiration one evening while tipsy on red wine, sitting at a desk in my parents' house where I'd been living for about three years because y'know, pandemic, and I was feeling trapped and burnt out and indecisive and afraid, etc. and if you read it, you might see me staring at you through Anthony, wink wink. (Quick caveat that, unlike Anthony, living with my parents was an overall loving experience at that point in my life!)

Anyway, in true Hemingway spirit, I wrote drunk, and when I went to edit sober, I was delighted that it didn't need much help. I obsessed over details, like changing scotch to whisky and then to brandy (it's sweeter, and he's so young). This is not to say that the epilogue is perfect; it's not, but it is what it needed to be.

It is a love poem of a kind for a character that hit me hard. It's a short prose poem about grief and loneliness and the 'wrong' ways to heal and it's about thinking you're at the acceptance stage of grief but really it's just depression. It's about losing parts of yourself and coming of age into something that doesn't feel right but feels inevitable, and so you stop fighting and just get on with it. It's about the before, and Anthony not knowing that he has an after and eventually, yes, years later eventually, he's going to be okay. More than okay, he's going to be happy.

(And he only has a year until Doing The Voices, and I let him be happy for at least a few nights in that! He doesn't know that he's doing the right things when taking care of his family. Not always, but more than he knows he is.)

As for me, I moved out of my parents' house and into my own newly purchased 'bachelor lodgings' (so to speak) about a month after I posted the last chapter, and I'm writing more than I have in years! Baby steps! Adult steps!

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk/therapy session. Probably no one should ask me anything else for a while lmao, who knows what will happen!

Read The Bustle in a House on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47126467

Or if you don't feel like being sad, read Doing The Voices instead: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47976274

[cabeswaterdrowned]

klena and carolena for the ship ask game 💖

assuming by Klena you mean Klaus/Elena and not Katherine/Elena because that reply would be different lol

Whether I ship it or not: not really

Why I ship it or not: there’s no very deep reason, it just isn’t one of the dynamics for either of them that pops to me / makes me want to get invested I do respect the desire to want Elena in non-salvatore ships but I’m more of an Elena/Rebekah and Elena/Elijah girl myself when it comes to Mikaelson/Elena pairings.

My opinion on their canon potential (chemistry, canon interactions, etc): I can see where people get some vibes from things like how he reacts to her in certain late s2/early s3 scenes but again other interactions grabbed me more. In terms of chemistry combined with storyline potential I think Klaus/Bonnie had a lot more going for it, more than a lot of Klaus canon ships (and I say that as someone who did enjoy most canon Klaus ships to different degrees with the exception of Klamille which I didn’t dislike at all but which left me cold).

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it (Favorite widespread hcs, pet-peeves, etc): I haven’t gotten very deep into the fandom for them so mostly a blank slate but I do think it’s sus when shippers react negatively to Bonnie/Mikaelson ships or people shipping Bonnie in non canon ships with duplicitous people she has chemistry with like Klaus Kai etc. but then go for Klena and Kailena outside of that specific fan archetype I don’t have a problem (sorry this was not a very involved answer I just genuinely don’t think about them much).

Carolena

Whether I ship it or not: hmmm. It actually kind of depends on my mood + what I’ve rewatched last and how I felt about it, I’ve been into the idea at some points but less at others. So I guess yes and no and ultimately sometimes lmao, but regardless their dynamic holds interest to me.

Why I ship it or not: for the yes/warmer on them side of things they play on some archetypes I am into in terms of shipping in general, I do enjoy a toxic teen girl situationship or just a messy friend-situationship and I like ships between chars who are set up to be foils which they really are so moments and storylines that play on/emphasize that can get me thinking of them in a shippy mood. And there are interesting things about the way they treat each other and how the show treats them and like the arc of their relationship on a meta level…. On the other hand the reason why they’ve never been a hardcore ship/otp of mine has to do with how strange and transient I find the writing for them… I’ve actually been trying to make sense of my overall feelings about them more on this rewatch so consider this a very *atm* answer that could evolve lol but I just find the way tvd wrote female friendships very odd they’re both interesting to me and uninteresting to me at the same time, if that makes sense and this is really how I feel about barolena dynamics in general so while I have shipping moments with them I find it hard to get really invested in them romantically the way I did with say, different combos of girls on Pll or even Legacies. I think it’s why all my TVD femslash Otp’s ended up being antagonistic ones other than the fact I just like antagonistic femslash in general (see Elena/Rebekah Caroline/Katherine Bonnie/Nora) because the writing just clicked for me better and I could understand nuances in those dynamics and them being awful to each other better which seems counterintuitive but it’s how I felt ultimately…

My opinion on their canon potential (chemistry, canon interactions, etc): I think they have some standout gay moments “lesbian friend necklace” some of Caroline talking about how perfect Elena is and their chemistry is fine idk if I would say they have amazing chemistry for this show but it’s definitely not bad chemistry for this show either. I tend to be more into Nina and Candice’s on screen chemistry in Katholine scenes but again that might be more subjective because their storylines tend to hold interest for me.

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it (Favorite widespread hcs, pet-peeves, etc): There are a lot of different takes about the contentiousness of their relationship which I do think should be analyzed/explored but stans do tend to take sides based on who they like more and especially some of the hardcore Caroline stans I’ve seen get into this unfairly vilify Elena in the dynamic imo, I’m sure there’s some of the reverse too but I see it less probably because Care is more of a fan favorite. So I dislike that specifically… but I generally find it interesting to read people’s takes about them maybe also because there are so many different ones lol. ty for the ask!

[cutie--q]

here we go, y’all, the part 2 that no one asked for!!! :D

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SEGMENT DESCRIPTIONS, you could make out a timeline of how pinky and the brain’s relationship progresses throughout the season.

(before i get into the next part, i feel the need to emphasize that is speculation, plain and simple. from my pov, i look like a nut but am having a lot of lighthearted fun! so if you read this crack theory, PLEASE be cautious and don’t hope too hard for this to be real in the chances that brinky doesn’t become canon, cause disappointment when it comes to 100% believing speculation sucks to all hell.)

so taking the last pinky and the brain segment of season 2 into account, the gang (pinky and the brain) are starting to feel sparks of something new for their relationship. brain is shocked by his own openness regarding his actions. he’s aware that he doesn’t know how to be “emotionally open” enough, so why was it so easy then to be out of all times? 🤔

WHATEVER!!! it was a weird, confusing moment! all that matters is that he and pinky are friends again.

…only for the first pinky and the brain segment of season 3 to be about them having friendship conflicts.

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

like i said before on this blog, the crew seems to be setting the stage for an intimate focus on the mice’s relationship (and subsequently, what they mean to each other) with this being the first season 3 segment.

the next segment is “royal flush,” where, quote, “Brain plans to rig a high stakes poker game to become the new king of England,” end quote. nothing peculiar about this premise. however…

it appears from the leaked thumbnail of the segment that pinky and the brain are posing as a couple. so there could be some shippy moments?? i am Reaching here lmao

for the next few segments, i can’t see anything out of the ordinary there, so i have no choice but to assume they’re just typical pinky and the brain segments.

and THEN we get to season 3 episodes 5-6, which contains both parts of “groundmouse day.” refer to the theory above.

so does it really seem like a coincidence that after whatever tf happens in the two parter of “groundmouse day,” that brain suddenly creates a virtual reality machine, specifying that pinky cannot use it? that struck me as a bit odd!! to be fair, brain does that sometimes so pinky can’t mess up the machinery, but usually whatever invention brain creates is made with the intention that they’re both gonna use it. they’re a two for one type of deal.

and then we see in the leaked thumbnail that brain’s dating a fake julia in this virtual reality, so it’s like ���ohhhhhh, okay, i see why brain forbid pinky from it, now” shkshdksjsjajs

off topic, but do you know when you’re questioning if you’re queer, and you can NOT stop thinking about it, and nearly every second of everyday keep retesting yourself because you really want to know this part of your identity, so you put yourself through made up scenarios and see how you feel about being seen as queer? because some part of me feels like this is EXACTLY what brain is doing here, but in a more visual way. (i am Projecting)

i’m guessing pinky becomes angry at something about brain’s virtual world (most likely having to do with brain excluding him from these fake scenarios, not even making a virtual pinky to be alongside him). overall, this segment will certainly be a brain character development episode.

noticeably, there’s no pinky and the brain segment next episode. maybe this is to represent that the mice are processing the events of the last segment?…

and then BLAM! the pinky and the brain christmas special: the squeakquel.

like. huh. what the FUCK is this!!!!!!!!!!! /positive

i’m gonna be real with y’all, it looks like they just pulled away from a kiss. 🥺🥺🥺

it would makes sense for them to confess their feelings for one another in a christmas special, considering that christmas holds a lot of significance for the two. and shit has been (at least in this crack ass theory) building UP recently. it would make sense for that to result in a kiss!!! (a mistletoe kiss, mayhaps?? 👀👀👀)

and the final segment of the season is “international mouse of mystery.” the description for this segment reads, “Pinky and Brain are the stars of a secret agent movie franchise.”

i will level with you and confess that i watched the austin powers movies because i thought that was gonna be the parody here, but it turns out that nope! it’s a parody of the original source material, not the parody that is austin powers. 🥲

but idfk, the main characters of most secret agent movies probably are a male and female spy, so insert that accordingly with how pinky is open to dressing gnc and… oh! they might be placed in a romantic role together! neat >:]c

(imagine in between takes they make out backstage dhskdhkshdkajs /joking)

but yeah! that was the end of my off the walls, 99% chance isn’t gonna happen brinky crack theory! i hope you guys had as much fun thinking about this as i did :D

ALRIGHT i only got three hours of sleep before my body decided that that was Enough, so it’s time to spew my confusing joke/crack theories (they are all ship related because i can understand and throw together stuff related to that vs the complexities of character dynamics)

[sneezypeasy]

ATLA Original Scripts: Extra Goodies

As I’m sure you may have guessed, the very first script I chose to open at the WGF was The Southern Raiders (I mean, can you blame me? 🤣). But shippy lore and zutara fandom history aside, I did unearth quite a few unrelated tidbits, author’s notes and script changes that I found interesting or funny enough to note down. As promised, here is a compilation of some of these tidbits, with little connecting theme or pattern other than “I thought the fandom might find these snippets interesting” 😁

1. Elizabeth and Aaron Ehasz are genuinely hilarious.

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Credit for finding #1 and #3 goes to my husband, who was with me on Day 2 of Original Script Investigations :3

I don’t mean to say that the other ATLA writers are necessarily boring or unfunny – as I said I didn’t get a chance to read every script and there may have been other genuinely amusing snippets from other writers that I honestly just missed. All I know is, the most entertaining action/non-dialogue lines that I did find were written by these two chuckleheads. I fuckin’ love them, lmao 🤣

2. In Day of Black Sun, Zuko was originally meant to redirect lightning using his dual swords.

I can see why this detail was changed during the storyboarding/animating process (as he just uses his bare hands in the show, the way Iroh taught him), but at the same time the sword-lightning-redirection thing really intrigues me. Dual swords are strongly associated with Zuko’s Blue Spirit vigilante persona, and there’s several episodes where Zuko uses them as part of obscuring his Fire Nation identity, whether that’s to help him keep his cover or even to help him get away with what the Fire Nation could reasonably consider as acts of treason.

So the idea that Zuko would use his swords to redirect Ozai’s lightning comes across as powerfully symbolic to me: Zuko standing in defiance to his abusive father, channeling some Blue Spirit energy to defend but not to kill; Zuko facing down a terrifying display of Fire Nation aggression and wrath, absorbing it into himself and then directing it back to its source, using a non-bending instrument, one he’d previously used in service of vigilantist or even sabotage/treasonous acts… yeah, I think that’s pretty damn cool, ngl.

From a Doylist standpoint, I like it. Very nice.

From a Watsonian standpoint, I can (grudgingly) understand why they likely chose not to portray this scene the way it was scripted.

Ah well.

3. In Lake Laogai, Katara’s healing water was meant to “turn black” as a visual indication that Jet’s injuries were too severe for her to heal.

This scene kind of plays out in the show, but not in the way that the script implies it should:

You can see that in the show version, the water turns black right as Katara appears to pause her work and look up to say “This isn’t good”. Maybe it’s just me, but the show doesn’t seem to imply that the water “turned black” despite Katara’s best healing efforts; I instead get the impression that the water stopped glowing because Katara (momentarily?) suspended her healing efforts upon registering how bad Jet’s injuries were.

The script seems to suggest that the scene should have played out like – Katara tries to heal Jet, the water turns black while she’s still moving her hands and working, Katara might then visibly react with shock or alarm, before finally looking up to remark, “this isn’t good”.

And honestly, I’m actually really bummed that they didn’t animate this sequence out! It would only have taken maybe a couple more seconds, but can you imagine if the writers had been able to employ the dramatic effect of “[Character] is so heavily injured, the healing water turns black” to its maximum potential?

Imagine Katara trying to heal Aang’s lightning wound in The Awakening, but it turns black and then he has that chi-shock attack. Imagine her explaining beforehand that she’d tried healing his wound multiple times over the two weeks he’d been unconscious, and it had always turned black, but she hoped that with him being awake maybe it wouldn’t fail this time - except that it does 😭

Imagine Katara trying to heal Zuko after the lightning scene in Sozin’s Comet, and the water turns black, and Katara grits her teeth “Oh no don’t you dare” and visibly puts all her effort into making that water glow again and finally he wakes -

Argh, it’s one tiny visual clue and yet there’s so much potential for drama and angst (yum!) - I’m so frustrated it wasn’t kept! Huge missed opportunity imo. Ah well, for all you fan-artists and fanfic writers, consider it free real estate. Make it canon, let’s gooo 🤣

4. In The Runaway, after being accused of being “too motherly”, Katara actually slaps Aang when he doesn’t respond fast enough 🤣

I don’t really have much to say about this one other than that I just found the mental image pretty funny. I do find it interesting that as much as the writing did a better job of developing Kataang in the original script, there also isn’t any serious effort to tone down Katara’s motherly tendencies towards Aang either (in fact, I think one could easily argue that slapping Aang’s hand away makes the whole mom thing come off stronger, but idk). Either way, this was pretty entertaining to read. 😂

5. In Tales of Ba Sing Se, Zuko and Jin are both a lot more expressive in the script, and it’s way more fun:

In the script, Zuko looks “totally overwhelmed” when Jin asks him out. In the show, he just looks… blank? Expressionless? Idk. I did get the sense that this was unfamiliar territory for him, but to me the show doesn’t animate him to be nearly as flustered as the script suggests he ought to be. He doesn’t scowl at Iroh immediately either, and even when he does he looks more irritated than “furious”, imo. 🤷‍♀️

I did figure that Zuko telling Jin she has a large appetite was his attempt at making polite conversation, but the script makes him come off more sympathetic with that too:

In the show, the waiter doesn’t roll his eyes at anyone, he just walks away, the shot does pan out to the other diners staring but they move on very quickly, and notably Jin appears completely unperturbed by the whole thing. She doesn’t look sad or “hurt” as the script suggests, and Zuko’s attempt at a compliment isn’t framed as him regretting his outburst and awkwardly trying to make up for upsetting her (as she doesn’t seem to be upset at all).

I’m honestly a little sad that so much of this was cut; it really softens Zuko’s character a fair bit. I mean we already know that underneath his hot temper Zuko always had a deep sense of compassion and empathy for others, but these little details really help bring that side of him to the surface and I’m just sort of bummed that they shaved them off here :/ not sure why they felt the need to do that.

Anyway, we all love awkward turtleduck Zuko, so here, have some more:

I like that Zuko is explicitly written as being more at ease once he and Jin have found a quiet area to be alone in. Neurodivergent Zuko confirmed? :P

Also, love the little addition that Jin “peeks” through her fingers right before Zuko starts firebending (they didn’t include that part in the show either). Makes you wonder, did she see? Did she see, and accept Zuko anyway? :P

(Too cute.)

6. In Zuko Alone, Zuko stops Lee from hurting himself with the dual swords:

On the one hand, I don’t mind that the show portrays Lee just having fun with the swords and looking to Zuko for approval (and getting it!). It’s sweet. On the other hand, I think there’s a layer of foreshadowing here that the show missed - without Zuko there to help, Lee’s recklessness and impulsivity will get the better of him (as it ultimately did). I’m sort of torn on this one.

Edit: I’ve been thinking about this a little more and I think I definitely prefer the script version, if only for the fact that Zuko’s “imperceptible smile” is at the end of his and Lee’s encounter. In the show, Zuko smiles at Lee encouragingly after he gives him a swordfighting “lesson” and then lets the kid swing the swords around a bit, which is definitely a heartwarming moment but it has a very different connotation to Zuko smiling with Lee after Lee opens up about Sen Su to him. In the show Zuko is smiling for Lee, to give him encouragement and support. In the script, Zuko smiles during a bonding moment for both of them, in a way that seems to suggest he is grateful/touched that Lee is sharing something so personal with him. It’s a really soft moment for Zuko and upon thinking about it more I’m definitely bummed they cut that little smile. :(

7. In The Chase, after Azula attacks Iroh, Zuko is apparently doing his best to comfort and stabilise him – he is not simply overcome with despair over his fallen uncle:

And in Crossroads of Destiny, Katara isn’t just angrily pacing the “prison cell” back and forth before Zuko is thrown in with her; she’s actively searching for a way out:

I kinda wish both of these were kept in too. Zuko and Katara may be hot-headed at times (they are definitely two of the most passionate characters in the show, if not the most passionate) – but not to such an extent that it overwhelms their ability to work through a crisis; I find it more consistent to their characters that they would still try to do something even when they appear to be in a pretty hopeless situation. That seems to be a trait they both share, in the show.

I also like that Zuko’s efforts to help Iroh humanises him a bit more and puts the emphasis on Zuko caring about Iroh’s recovery, rather than Zuko just being upset that things have turned out so horribly. I was sympathetic to him before, but I’m even more sympathetic now, if that makes sense. 😭

8. In The Painted Lady, Katara’s disguise is blown due to a hair-loopie malfunction, rather than Aang literally blowing her disguise (off).

This is more of a subjective thing but I wish they kept this one in too! I think it’s cute :P

9. The Puppetmaster was originally meant to be titled The Dark Side of the Moon, and includes some differences on how Katara regains control of herself in the battle with Hama:

I understand why the script made Katara “pirouette” and dance under Hama’s bloodbending – it’s a reference to the whole “puppetmaster” thing (which, by the way, I have to say “The Dark Side of the Moon” is a much cooler title, but I can see why they changed that too – it’s way too spoiler-y, sadly). Ultimately though I prefer the show’s version where Katara is forced to her knees and then breaks free – it’s more dramatic, I think, and it reminds me of the earlier scene in The Waterbending Master where Pakku has knocked Katara down, and she takes a breath and steels herself and then gets back up to fight again. I’m not sure if the animators meant to mirror that scene or not, but either way I think Katara standing up after being pushed to the ground is a lot more powerful and compelling, both visually and symbolically, than Katara breaking free of a dance that she’s forced to move to under Hama’s hand. Maybe that’s just me.

I will say though, the ending shot is different to how it is in the script, and I wish they’d kept the script version:

10. Finally, the ending of The Fortuneteller has Katara actually hearing and reacting to Meng’s insult.

Which I thought was mildly amusing. Slightly bummed this was cut, but only a little 🤣

I hope you guys enjoyed reading these as much as I did 😊 I actually have about 6 or 7 more tidbits left that I want to share, but I’ll pause this compilation here as 10 is a good number and I think this post has gotten long enough already 😅

Thanks to @korranguyen​ for her effort in spotting and transcribing the Zuko/Jin snippets 😊

[assassyart]

is it ok for me ask what your take on jatchet but as parents are? I made a ship child for em and I'm curious on your opinion on if Ratchet and Jak became parents

Oh sure! Sounds fun!

I'll admit, I kinda just ran with the idea of how both would individually act as a parent not necessarily parents together, but it still works shippy-wise, too!

Jak and Ratchet both love kids, but playing hero with some children and having to take care of a kid are two different things.

For starters, Jak has way more experience with parents than Ratchet does. Whether that was good parenting though...well...I guess that's up to you. 💀 Jak was raised by Samos and got to meet his actual dad, while the closest thing Ratchet's had to a father figure was Azimuth, and that...uh...yeah, didn't end well.

I think keeping this in mind is important, because Ratchet and Jak's backstories are very different and this would drastically impact how they would react to the challenge of raising a kid of their own. As a kid, Jak was reckless, stubborn, and never listened. He had an itch for adventure and that ended up only getting him into trouble. He's very aware of that now, and while he does look back on it fondly, I do not think he'd feel the same when faced with a kid that potentially acts the same way as he did. I think he'd end up subconsciously drawing inspiration from Damas and Samos. ("Oh my god I sound like Samos, what have I become" would definitely be something he says at some point.)

He'd likely become overprotective, especially knowing that he's got a lot of enemies that might try to target his kid. He would do or kill anything to protect his kid, even at the cost of not being home as much. That said, I think he'd do everything he could to be actively in the kid's life, especially since he was cheated of spending more time with Damas and would've given anything to spend more time with him.

Moving on to the lombaxy boy, Ratchet's childhood was filled with a whole lot of nothing. He was alone for most of his childhood until meeting Clank. As a kid that never got to leave Veldin, Ratchet's greatest fear would be that his kid doesn't get to see what the universe has to offer. Sure it's a scary universe out there, but Ratchet feels like it'd be better to grow up knowing that there is so much out there than to stay cooped up on one planet. (Or maybe he's simply projecting.)

He'd be the type of parent that wears one of those things you can strap to your chest to hold the baby so your hands are free (Clank on his back, the kid on his chest: an unstoppable adventuring trio). He's definitely the more carefree one, and tends to let the kid get away with things if it does no harm (and his definition of "no harm" is a lot different from everyone else's lmao).

I don't think Ratchet would ever let the kid get into any real danger, though. If some save-the-world thing came up, he'd demand for his kid to stay home so he can deal with it. His "chill dad" routine would be gone completely, because for all his faults, Ratchet will still always put his life on the line for the ones he loves, even if it means he has to hurt someone's feelings he cares about.

Overall, I think he'd be a decent dad? Too laid back probably and he'd definitely suck at disciplining, leaving his partner to do it.

Which brings me back to Jak. Jak wouldn't admit it out loud, but he would be terrified that the kid will end up being afraid of him. Consequently, I think he'd refuse to use his dark eco at all around the kid, only showing off his light eco. This is a complete contrast to Ratchet whom would show off his trophies for all the arena challenges he's won for the kid's fifth birthday. 💀

Jak would cherish the kid to hell and back, but he's always got a fear ingrained in his head that he'll screw everything up. In spite of that, I do think Jak would be the one to train the kid in self-defense, because Jak's pretty confident in his own abilities and would jump at the chance to ensure his kid is strong enough to take anyone on. I think that's where his bonding with the kid would flourish.

In conclusion: Ratchet's the fun one, Jak is trying his best, they're still a mess. <3

[y0d00p]

dametameta dametameta dametameta

GOD okay fair warning, obviously a lot of what I'll be talking about is related to personal interpretation headcanon stuff, like MK has SOME backstory/characterization, DMK has practically nothing, there's a lot of blanks to fill in lol When I started shipping them: 2018ish I think? When I got back into Kirby and started fixating hard on DMK. It sort of started with my partner teasing me with saucy gay rivalry ideas, then we started rping and developing them.

My thoughts: They are so special to me... Personal shit aside, man what a cool pair! The gay rivalry/dark version of myself aesthetic is just so good, love that enemies to lovers shit, love to see how their differences play off each other, the self reflection they can experience through each other, etc. Obviously there isn't a lot of like, extensive content of them, but even when people just make them friends at least I love seeing the different ways they go from hating each other to liking/loving each other. It's just a really cool, fun dynamic! I'm sure people into metagala understand :P

Personal shit back up front: I've mentioned before how I put myself into my DMK and my partner has themself in their MK, so I also just have a very personal attachment to them. We're not kinnies but I joke about us "kindating" LOL. It's really cozy getting to sort of live vicariously through the pair with my long distance partner through RPs and art, and on more than one occasion, I've sort of "vented" through DMK about issues I have that I project onto him, lol...

What makes me happy about them: I just love that they are both so fucked up in their own ways and still love each other so much. Just that concept of feeling so broken and wrong and having this amazing person that you're sure is so much better than you, love and support you and lift you up. I think my happiest thing about them is just thinking of how they take care of each other and heal together.

What makes me sad about them: In the past couple weeks I've been feeling a lot better about it, with a LOT of thanks to some very very kind people on tumblr and the servers I'm in, but like, yeah, it does suck that a not insignificant portion of the fandom thinks the ship is problematic, or at least "weird" enough to want it as far away from them as possible, I mean it's bad enough there's so little content of them lmao!!

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: There's maybe like 6 dametameta fanfics that exist and 5 of them are written by the same person, so I can't really express annoyance with any particular trends without it just coming off like I'm shitting on that author LOL (I miss you Poe I hope you're doing well!!)

I guess I could say the usual portrayal of MK and DMK always hating each other (in fics, art, whatever) is unfortunate, but like, I also totally understand and it's a normal interpretation for them. But it'd be nice to see them being friendly more often!

Things I look for in fanfic: Again, I'd love to just see more of them being friendly in general, it doesn't even have to be shippy! Hell they don't even have to interact much just have DMK being more than a bit villain or just Daroach's boyfriend... please I'm so desperate I'm so hungry

My wishlist: Anything...anything... a crumb... please... holding hands... looking at each other fondly... standing in the same room... I'm dying

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Galacta for DMK and Morpho for MK lol

My happily ever after for them: Unlike Morpho and Galacta I think MK and DMK have kind of had enough... exciting new experiences... I mean if morphogala are a couple in their 20s, dametameta are a couple pushing 50. I just love to think of them having kids and being relaxed and domestic and cute... let the old men rest... grow old together... pls

[entryno17]

So, I don't think this is quite the right place to say it, but I saw you were also an Alphys appreciator, so I'm going to say it anyways. I really love Alphyne, because it's so cute, and somehow is built so well??? I don't know how to explain in English, but it's. But sometimes, just sometimes, I found myself shippong Alphys with Sans and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. Tell me, person less cringe than me, what should I do with this forbidden interest?

anon, that’s silly. NO ONE is more cringe than me.

for real though, i’m personally adverse to it but if you like it that’s cool. i may be the wrong person to ask because i’m not really interested in shipping, like, at all... but i can offer my thoughts regardless??

i personally cannot bear the thought of alphys and undyne NOT being in love and not being extremely married to each other, so it’s unfathomable to me. i’m very very attached to alphyne—i first played undertale around the time i started fully realizing my identity as a lesbian, and seeing alphys and undyne have such a sweet, loving relationship just made my heart weep.

alphys and undyne’s relationship is based on overwhelming positivity, love, and radical acceptance of their true selves—alphys’s confession is the climax of her character arc, where she finally decides to be true to herself after living with dishonesty for so long, outward and inward. she realizes that she can grow, and undyne wants to support her through that journey. undyne sees so many lovable things in alphys, so she wants to show alphys what she can't see by herself... it makes me cry. they’re just really wonderful together ;n;

as for alphys and sans? hmm. i don't know about that, romantically at least. platonic relationships are just as valuable and important as romantic ones, and their friendship is really, really valuable. so for me, shipping them just kinda takes away from that.

okay i’m putting the rest of this under a read more for the majority of you who likely don’t care about shipping bullshit.

for starters, i still can’t see sans being interested in romance at all to be honest. it’s way too much effort. i mean, he’s apathetic even regarding the death of his friends and family—i don’t think he’d be too interested in finding love lmao. that’s just my own take though. alphys and sans certainly have chemistry, but it’s the chemistry of two extremely depressed dumbasses, which i guess you could make romantic, but i wouldn’t get why.

to alphys, sans is relatable and reliable; they’re similar yet different people with similar struggles. there’s a lot of value in having someone who understands you in a way other people can’t, and in their case, having someone else who understands their nerdy bullshit lmao. that kind of camaraderie has undoubtedly gotten them both through dark times. however...

undyne is someone who helps alphys strive to be a better person. this isn’t to say that alphys and sans’s friendship is lesser in any way, because they’re just two very different types of relationships and neither is lesser than the other. but honestly, alphys and sans could quickly spiral into an unending feedback loop of feeling like shit—which is obviously not great. undyne and alphys are the polar opposite of this, and it’s just infinitely better for literally everyone here?

yeah i don’t mean to rain on your parade anon, i’m just not a very shippy person in general LOL. i can... maybe see it happening pre-canon...?? as in, they’d get together for like, a week and then mutually agree that it’s probably a horrible idea. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[sheikah]

did leigh actually used to encourage darklina shippers?

To an extent, yes!!! Using a cut because I have A Lot to say, apparently. 

Look, I’m not saying that she walked around claiming they would be endgame or anything lol. And honestly, I saw the writing on the wall reading the trilogy. It was clear to me during book three before I even read the ending that Darklina would not be endgame. I think most Darklinas understand this. I don’t feel “baited.” For most people, the issue is that as a person, like outside of the texts themselves, her public persona and response to Darklina shifted dramatically after R&R was published. The reaction to it from the fandom was... not good. I’m guessing reviews plus actual hate she got in her inbox here on tumblr soured her on that part of the fandom a bit. It’s understandable. Though a part of me also thinks she was so pro-Darkling in interactions with readers during the writing progress to keep Darkling stans reading...

But it’s a fact that she used to be active on that blog, and while the books were still being written and published, she frequently reblogged and complimented Darklina fanon content. She followed the user who at that time (it’s a different person now) had the @/alarkling (other ship name for Darklina) url and reblogged their edits all the time. Extremely shippy graphics that used book quotes and/or song lyrics and stuff. She also reblogged fanmixes of Darklina tracks, Darklina fanart, etc. Also, before R&R was published, she released sneak peeks including the “let me” scene and the moment when Aleksander says, “I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.” That’s honestly one of his darkest moments imo and people were (and still are) making shippy romantic edits with it, and she was reblogging them lol. She even posted specifically saying how much she loved that people were using that particular quote. Now she didn’t usually tag these reblogs and stuff so you’d just have to go way back into the past of her blog to see this stuff, but it’s there. 

There’s also this tweet where she says “all ships are welcome in this harbor” in answer to someone saying they ship Darklina, and this tagline

that was the original tagline for Shadow and Bone!!! (Which I’m assuming she was aware of and approved). 

So I guess most of this only matters because of how different she is now, how she shares fanon content on insta frequently but almost never Darkling or Darklina content. How she’s said some pretty harshly anti stuff in interviews at times. I guess it’s worth knowing she only changed her tune later. But tbh, whether or not she publicly endorses the ship doesn’t really matter?

Because the thing is, Darklina was canon. There doesn’t really need to be a lot of discourse validating the ship or not. It wasn’t endgame, but the Darkling was Alina’s love interest and a pretty big and crucial one who she continued to have canon romance scenes with all the way into book three. It’s wild to me seeing the fandom try to fake news their way out of this sometimes now. I saw a popular screenshot floating around (it was popular because it had show spoilers) where an anti was chatting with a screener trying to get info about the show, and in it the anti was like “Yeah Darklina wasn’t a thing in the books. Alina just hated him.” And tbh... no? Lmao like no that’s just straight up not how it was at all. Just... objectively untrue. Darklina was a romantic, canon--just not endgame--ship. We don’t have to mine the text for clues, we don’t have to write giant meta (though I enjoy doing so lmao), and we don’t need to take our cues from Leigh’s social media presence because the ship is a thing. It’s there. But I get why some people are interested in her take on the ship because it would be validating and pleasant if she could acknowledge Darklinas sometimes. But I think those days are over haha.