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autisticandroids · 3 years

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yknow those episodes where a character's whole personality gets split into 3-5 different distinct separate bodies? what bodies would cas have? I feel like it'd just be a mess tbh, imagine 5 different castiels all of them loving dean to a certain extent but showing it VASTLY differently. one cas would literally want to murder the others lmao

okay so i don’t actually think this trope would be an effective tool for analyzing cas? he’s not conflicted enough in himself. he’s too impulsive, too singleminded, too uninhibited. like, in the end, cas always ends up doing whatever he wants. there aren’t multiple discrete voices vying for control, really, or rather, if there are, one is always significantly stronger than the others. like in the end cas will always end up eating raw meat off the floor, you know? he’ll do what he wants. if i was going to do personality splitting i’d do it to someone intensely internally conflicted, like dean.

however, because i’m in an essay writing mood today, i’ll answer a question slightly to the left of the one you asked. cas may not be internally conflicted, but he is intensely changeable. these two things are related, actually; the same impulsivity and singlemindedness that mean he doesn’t have a ton of internal conflict at any given time mean that different ideas sound good to him at different times, because he isn’t really thinking about, say, what future-him will think of them. and he’s not really trying to maintain an image or identity. he’s just doing what feels right at the time, which is very different at different times and in different situations.

anyway, that in mind, i think a lot about ways to bring together many alternate versions of cas which sort of correspond to different times in the show.

i have a fic in my head about a bunch of cas-es pulled from alternate timelines by some kind of spell. so this would be set during the widower arc because the basic impulse here is to show dean a very bad time. just absolutely put him through hell. also, all the alternate timelines are different because different stuff happened, not because cas made different choices, because if we’re torturing dean it has to be like 5x04, the changes in cas can’t be cas’ fault. they have to be dean’s or just like, the universe’s (which makes them dean’s).

so dean is trying to bring cas back, and he finds some kind of spell that can bring someone “from another world.” and he tries it because hey. can’t hurt to try. anyway i’ve thought a long time about different versions of cas i would put in this and here is what i have. in order of when the timeline split off.

- a cas who never raised dean from hell. think 14x13 “lebanon.” this one i’m not too sure about, like, this could be fun, but i don’t know if it’s different enough from the next one. like this castiel would have lived through the averted apocalypse and subsequent general fuckery that happened as an angelic footsoldier, which would actually be pretty interesting now that i think about it, especially since all that stuff would have gone down soooooooo differently without cas specifically for your average angel footsoldier. like cas has PERSONALLY caused more upheaval in heaven in twelve years of spn than there seems to have been in millennia. so he would be the point of view of a normal footsoldier from a totally other world.

- a cas who died mid season four, and is pulled out of the empty in 2017 by this spell. i’m not sure when this cas died. my thoughts are (1) killed in on the head of a pin by alistair, (2) killed during his torture in the rapture, or (3) simply never resurrected after lucifer rising. (3) makes the most sense, but that cas has already thrown away everything for dean. i prefer the idea of a cas who loves dean, is already on the brink of disobedience for him, but has not yet taken the plunge. both on the head of a pin and the rapture are great places for this, and they both have strengths and weaknesses. if he died in the rapture, he was killed by heaven, which is fundamentally more fun, but he was also really very much over the edge already. if he died in on the head of a pin, he wasn’t killed by heaven, but he is perfectly teetering on the brink of falling for dean. regardless of when he died, the purpose of this cas is to be horrified at all the various and myriad ways he has destroyed and corrupted himself for dean in the other timelines.

- possibly endverse cas, who would have died in 2014, but like s4 cas, would have been pulled from the afterlife by the spell. i’m not so sure on this one. we as a society love endverse cas but i dunno what purpose he would serve. maybe endverse cas didn’t die in 2014, and instead was imprisoned by lucifer, because, you know. he’s the only brother lucifer has left. so he is very excited to see dean alive and well, since his dean is dead, and, not being an angel, cas can’t bring him back. the purpose of this cas would be to horrify dean that cas loves him and needs him so much, and to disgust the other cas-es with his neediness.

- a cas who was in some way on better terms with dean during s6. maybe dean and cas ride off into the sunset together after swan song instead of dean going to live with lisa, maybe dean prayed to cas while he was with lisa because he missed him, who knows. either way, cas has dean’s help with the angel revolution in season six from the start, and never goes to crowley. the plan cas and dean come up with to beat raphael includes breaking into the cage and stealing the grace of michael and lucifer, freeing sam and adam in the process. incidentally, it also involves cas possessing dean, because if cas is gonna eat archangel grace to become more powerful, he’s going to need a stronger vessel. so cas and dean have a whole like. midam situation happening. they’re a double archangel together, and godstiel never happened so none of the other terrible apocalypses that stemmed from that happened, and everything is pretty cool where they’re from, and also they’re obviously uhhhhhh SOME kind of together. the purpose of this cas is to upset dean because this cas shows how much better everything could have been and how much better his and cas’ relationship could have been if dean had simply been more considerate of cas in s6, and also freak dean out with how uh. close. this dean and cas are.

- a godstiel who managed to swallow purgatory without swallowing the leviathans and remained god. he’s probably soooomewhat less scary and murdery than canonverse godstiel because no leviathans, so you know, not as many angel purges or massacres on earth. and he probably went and fixed sam’s wall within about three days because cas is prideful but he does NOT like it when dean is mad at him. so they did kiss and make up, and so this cas would have had dean to act as his morality chain. but he’s still very scary and godstiel. and also he refers to dean as “The Beloved” you know. his purpose is to freak everyone out, because he’s scary, but also, for the past cas-es, because he is a terrifying abomination that they could never imagine becoming, for the future cas-es, because he is a reminder of their worst selves, and for dean, because he is a reminder of how dangerous cas is, but also because he uh. obviously has some feelings about his dean. unclear if they are consummated or not.

- a cas who naomi never rescued from purgatory, and who stayed there. hasn't spoken to another being in half a decade, has not recovered from his emotionally destroyed state in purgatory in s8. believes at first that the spell is his dean rescuing him, and is crushed when he realizes he was wrong. like endverse cas, his purpose is to show dean how much cas needs him and depends on him emotionally, and how he (dean) is capable of destroying cas, as well as his guilt for leaving him in purgatory and how lucky he is that his cas got out. this is especially noteworthy since the guilt for leaving cas in purgatory is part of the reason dean is trying to get cas back.

- a cas who stayed human after season nine, and has built himself a small human life over the next four years. he has a job and an apartment and friends outside the winchesters and yes, he still goes hunting after work sometimes, and he's still in contact with dean, but he is also independent in a way no other version of cas has ever been. he exists to freak out dean because dean has never seen cas independent of him. he is also fairly bitter at dean since dean did kind of stop spending time with him when he was no longer useful, and our dean feels guilty for that.

- a cas who showed up twenty minutes later in 10x03, finding sam dead and dean gone, and had to chase down demon dean, and has now spent three years following demon dean around as his tragically adoring stalker, because he hasn't found a way to resurrect sam yet and he doesn't want to put dean through the demon cure until he can save sam because he doesn't want dean to experience that guilt, but he also adores dean and wants to keep an eye on him and keep him safe and also keep him from doing anything too heinous, so he just covertly follows him around the country and watches from a distance as he commits various murders and fucks his way through every local bar scene. and occasionally cas finds dean something to kill, when the mark gets hungry, and drops it in his path. his purpose is to freak dean out with the lengths cas would go for him, and the depths cas would sink to.

anyway. lebanon cas and season four cas are horrified and perhaps disgusted (lebanon cas more than s4 cas) by ALL of the later cas-es, and how far they’re fallen, all of it for dean. godstiel and archangel cas being abominations, endverse cas and s9 cas being fallen, even purgatory cas and demon dean’s cas for their total dependence on dean.

purgatory cas and endverse cas are just happy to see a dean, even if it’s not their dean. demon dean’s cas, too, in a way. he’s happy to see a dean who is still human, who he can still have as a friend.

human cas is pissed to see that he was right, that dean would have stuck by him if he’d still had his powers, that this version of dean is doing spells to try and bring his cas, who is still an angel, back, whereas he and his dean only see each other once every couple months.

everyone is terrified and disgusted by godstiel, as i said before.

they’re mostly kind of thrown by archangel cas. a lot of them are jealous. godstiel is furious because how dare anyone, even an alternate version of himself, take dean as a vessel (even if dean likes it). godstiel isn’t really there, though, he resisted the summoning and just sort of popped his head through to see what was going on, and he goes back to his own reality pretty fast without murdering anyone.

also to be clear dean has not at this point examined or acknowledged any feelings he may have about his cas besides “friendship,” nor has he wondered what feelings his cas may have for him. given how many of the cas-es were clearly in some kind of relationship with their dean (endverse cas, archangel cas) or just openly in love with their dean (godstiel, purgatory cas, demon dean’s cas), dean is forced to reevaluate the nature of his and cas’ relationship.

#spn #asks #anonymous

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ibijau · 3 years

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Can there be grovelling in the next chapter of the concubine au? That's one of my favorite tropes in royalty au's -- where the one with power gets mad and the other person goes right down on their knees (or flat on the ground as appropriate) to talk to them (or not talk to them), and they're terrified because the power differential is so big... Favorite trope ever

oops, I'm... not sure that really counts as grovelling? But nhs is suitably terrified

concubine nhs pt9 / on AO3

If it had been up to him, Lan Xichen might never have returned to that little house. The humiliation of having been lied to for several years, and in so intimate a manner, the realisation that everything had happened for the sake of political scheming, had broken his heart too thoroughly. Nie Huaisang must have been laughing at how stupid he’d been to believe so wholeheartedly that he was loved.

An idiot, like his father before him.

But unlike his father, Lan Xichen wouldn't hide in shame, nor wash his hands of the whole matter.

Because some people had nothing to do with their time but to watch the life of others and comment on it, it was quickly noticed that Lan Xichen had suddenly stopped visiting his beloved concubine. It had already raised some eyebrows while Nie Mingjue was in the capital, but might have been mistaken as an attempt to save that general some face by not sleeping with his brother while he was there. But Nie Mingjue was only briefly around before returning to his troops, and it became a topic for discussion when Lan Xichen still did not go to the little house.

Much as Lan Xichen had enjoyed pretending otherwise when spending the night with Nie Huaisang, he was not an ordinary man, and even his private life did not fully belong to him. He refused to give any importance to the whispers he heard around him, but knew he could not ignore them forever. When Lan Wangji, who disdained gossip of any sort, felt the need to comment on the situation after his weekly visit to Nie Huaisang, while Lan Qiren started looking as if he too wanted to have a word with his nephew on that matter, Lan Xichen gave in.

Unwilling to deal with a lecture, and mortified at the thought of what his uncle might say if he learned how much Lan Xichen resembled his father after all, the emperor had no choice.

A week after learning the truth, Lan Xichen knocked on the door of that little house.

Because he'd come earlier in the day than he normally did, Nie Huaisang had not yet adorned himself with all the delicate silks and golden jewellery he usually wore. Dressed in a simpler manner, he looked again like the young man who had made him laugh in Qinghe, unaware of his identity.

Lan Xichen had been so sure back then that there had been a spark between them. He would never have asked for Nie Huaisang to be sent to the capital, nor dared to flirt so boldly, if he hadn’t been sure.

There was no spark that day. Nie Huaisang wasn't laughing, nor even smiling. Instead he stared at Lan Xichen the way most people did, with a mix of awe and fear. Not a lover in front of his beloved, but a subject in front of his emperor. Something broke inside Lan Xichen’s chest at that realisation.

"We must talk," he announced, using the tone of voice his uncle had trained him to favour during councils and official business, hoping that would hide his pain.

Without a word, Nie Huaisang stepped aside, lowering his gaze in a manner befitting an emperor's subject. Whatever comedy they'd played before had been abandoned. Lan Xichen came in, letting his concubine close the door while he went to sit at their table. There he found a book open, and some paper on which notes had been taken. The subject appeared to be military discipline, something his little bird would never have bothered with, but which Nie Huaisang appeared to understand quite well.

"Sit," Lan Xichen ordered. Then, fearing that Nie Huaisang might attempt to play his old role again and try to climb on his lap, he pointed at the other side of the table. "Over there."

Nie Huaisang meekly nodded, and obeyed without a word. Lan Xichen should have been glad perhaps, but could only think that he'd have preferred for Nie Huaisang to protest at being addressed so harshly, or to complain about being abandoned for so long. His little bird always grumbled if he went too long without a visit, demanding even more affection than usual to make up for the absence, never satisfied until he had been kissed a long while and heard everything that Lan Xichen had done while away. That was how things usually went between them, and if Nie Huaisang had done that, then perhaps Lan Xichen could have hoped that he'd just misunderstood the other day, that something between them had been real…

His father too must have hoped the same, as had many others upon discovering their love was never returned.

"Did your father order you to seduce me?" Lan Xichen asked.

Nie Huaisang startled but didn’t answer, still avoiding his eyes. Of course he’d avoid his eyes. It was not right for a subject to look at their emperor’s face, was it?

“Answer the question.”

“He encouraged it,” Nie Huaisang confessed in a low voice, pulling in the hem of his sleeve, his gaze refusing to meet Lan Xichen’s.

“You’ve lied to me.”

That was met again with silence, when Lan Xichen would have preferred a vehement denial, or perhaps a tearful plea for mercy, or just about anything but that quiet resignation. He hated to see Nie Huaisang afraid of him. He didn’t enjoy inspiring fear in anyone to begin with, but to do so in the person he had loved, whom he still loved in spite of the betrayal, was unbearable.

He wanted to leave right then, to never see so much fear in his little bird. But that, of course, was impossible.

“If I could, I’d send you back to your father,” Lan Xichen said, and that at last got him a reaction. Nie Huaisang shivered and hunched his shoulders, daring a quick glance at him.

Lord Nie could be a very pleasant man. He was well liked by many, including Lan Xichen’s own uncle who had little talent for making friends. But pleasant as he was, Lord Nie was also well known for his peculiar sense of justice, and the way it made him strike hard on those who failed to accomplish their duty. Even his own family was held to those standards, or so Nie Mingjue used to say when they were young.

Nie Mingjue who had been ordered to become friends with Lan Xichen when sent away from home to become the child emperor’s companion, though he’d had the honesty of just saying so, and made it clear at first he didn’t much care for Lan Xichen, not until he’d proven he was worth befriending. Perhaps it should not have come as such a surprise to Lan Xichen that Nie Huaisang too would have had orders, and unlike Nie Mingjue, he wouldn’t have had the security of being a legitimate first born to help him stand his ground.

“I won’t do that,” Lan Xichen announced. “The political ramifications would be more than I wish to deal with at the moment. If I do anything to imply that your family has fallen out of favour, their enemies will try to take advantage, which would complicate our war against the Wens. I don’t want to see that war drag any longer than necessary, so I must continue showing support to you and your father.”

He could only imagine what Jin Guangshan would do if he thought the Nie were no longer under imperial protection. There was an old feud of sorts between the two families, going back a few generations, and Jin Guangshan was the sort of man who would care more about improving his own position than about winning a war. Not only that, but Jin Guangshan had already offered to give some of his illegal children as imperial concubines, and he would try it again, selling his own children for favours. It had disgusted Lan Xichen the first time the offer had been made.

It still disgusted him, and Lord Nie had fallen in his esteem for having done the same.

But hearing this reassurance, some tension appeared to bleed out of Nie Huaisang’s body at last, though he still remained hunched up. He looked small, and frailer than Lan Xichen had ever realised before. He’d always been aware that his little bird was not a very big man, but he noticed for the first how thin he was, how pale… Much paler than he was when they'd met, and more delicate as well. Nie Huaisang looked almost sickly, though his usually animated nature hid. It was almost painful to see him so miserable. Lan Xichen wanted to pull him into his arms and comfort him, the way he’d done so many times before.

He would have done it, if not for the suspicions that his touch would only make Nie Huaisang more miserable.

“I will have to continue coming here regularly,” Lan Xichen said, and again Nie Huaisang’s eyes darted toward his face, wide and terrified. “I will come less. I will say that you’ve encouraged me to start thinking of taking a wife.” It wouldn’t be a lie. The reason he’d been so reluctant to enter a proper marriage had been because he’d wanted to dedicate all his free time to his lover. With that consideration removed, Lan Xichen could more easily do what duty demanded of him. “But I cannot simply stop coming. It would cause too much gossip if we ended things too abruptly.”

Nie Huaisang weakly nodded, and still wouldn’t react.

“Won’t you say something?” Lan Xichen hissed, hoping he sounded angry rather than desperate. “Won’t you defend yourself?”

“You have… I mean, his highness has made his decision. How could this humble one contest it? Whatever his highness decides, this humble one will comply.”

“I see,” Lan Xichen said.

What he saw, what he understood, was that even with his father’s anger to fear, Nie Huaisang was entirely unwilling to continue his comedy, now that he had a chance of escaping it. Lan Xichen could only imagine how much his little bird must have hated him, if he was so eager to be rid of him. It had all been a lie then. Every moment of joy, every kiss, every night spent together…

How pathetic that he'd never suspected anything.

It would take a while to fully accept that none of it had been true. That they hadn’t been in love, no matter how sure of that Lan Xichen had been.

It would take a while to stop loving a little bird who had never really existed.

And still, Nie Huaisang wouldn’t look at him, his eyes cast down, submissive and resigned. Had he looked like that when his father had ordered him to seduce Lan Xichen? He could imagine it too well, Lord Nie tall and domineering, demanding that his second-born sacrifice his pride, while Nie Huaisang, dutiful son that he was, accepted without protest to spend his youth in the bed of another man whom he disliked.

It would have been decided only between the two of them, Lan Xichen thought. He could not imagine Nie Mingjue approving of this, not with how angry he’d sounded the other day when Lan Xichen overheard everything, not when Nie Mingjue had spent so much of their youth complaining that he wanted his half-brother to be given the same respect he got. He’d always said he wanted to see his brother live to his full potential, harassing his father to recognise him, pushing for Nie Huaisang to be more than a mere servant, to be given a chance to study and enter the administration where he was sure to shine.

Nie Mingjue had to hate Lan Xichen, for robbing Nie Huaisang of that.

Lan Xichen, then, realised that he hadn’t lost just his lover. He had also lost his oldest, dearest friend. How could he ever have faced Nie Mingjue after this, how could he have confided in him, now that he knew the truth?

Shaken by that realisation, Lan Xichen stood up. He needed to leave that house. To stay there even one moment more, in front of that man who had lied to him for the entirety of their acquaintance, was more than he could do.

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” Lan Xichen said, struggling to keep his composure as he opened the door of that little house where he once was so happy.

He left, and still Nie Huaisang didn’t run after him, didn’t beg for another chance, didn’t so much as shed a tear. Lan Xichen, to his shame, wished that he had, just so he could have broken down and tried to salvage something that had never been real in the first place. Even with Nie Huaisang so cold, it was tempting to run back inside and ask what he could have done to earn his love, or if that were impossible, what he might offer to continue this comedy they’d been playing. He would have done just anything, like his father before him.

But unlike his father, Lan Xichen valued his dignity, and would not delude himself into thinking love was possible once it had been proven to be absent.

He walked away from the little house, whipped away the few tears that had escaped him, and returned to his duty.

#xisang #lan xichen #nie huaisang #concubine au #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #I fear lxc is maybe not super sympathetic here but well he's angry and hurt

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tempestaurora · 3 years

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Hi, don't know if you're still doing this but:

2 royal + 52 Marriage of Convenience

Eddie and Buck 911

2: Royal Au + 52: Marriage of Convenience

alright i've read like four of these in the past two days so i've been trying to think up something original

personally, i'd tell the story of the buckleys, rulers of some made up country like genovia. the buckley king and queen, phillip and margaret, had three children: daniel, madeline and evan. tragically, their eldest grew sick at a young age, and prince evan was born in an attempt to save his life (although the family would never admit that to the world); evan's spare parts, however, must have been defective, for the young prince daniel died, leaving madeline as the heir to the throne

now, here's the thing about being royal: it sucks. no one tells you it sucks, but it does, and madeline (or maddie, as she prefers) and evan know this first hand, especially as maddie grows older and has to start looking for a husband

in walks doug kendall, a neurosurgeon, and by god does the country love him

so much so that evan, once old enough, decides to start travelling, start going around the world, because it's not like he'll be missed, right? he may be the country's beloved prince evan (the brightest smile and biggest heart of any royal they've ever known) - but he's not needed for day-to-day things

so he travels, and when he does, he does it in disguise. no guards, no royal escorts, no private planes. he even goes by buck, because its easier that way - and its not like genovia is a big country, so its not like he's going to get recognised

he's on a tour of the united states when he reaches el paso, texas, where a young eddie diaz, recently abandoned and divorced by his wife, and father to a four-year-old christopher, are struggling to make end's meet

one of eddie's three jobs is as a bartender at the bar that buck wanders into

and by god can they not stop staring at each other

i mean, a hot bartender with just the right amount of stubble who holds himself with innate confidence

and a hot patron with a birthmark above his left eye and an open smile like sunshine is just flooding out of him?

they get to talking real quick

and although buck doesn't mention being a prince, he stays at the bar long enough to hear all about eddie's life and current troubles (isn't the patron supposed to vent to the bartender? buck asks. hey i listen to people vent all the time, eddie replies, it's rightfully my turn)

and well, buck has an idea - a dumb idea, because he's a bit drunk, but an idea all the same

we should get married, buck says

what

buck shrugs. if i'm hearing you right, you just got divorced, your parents are threatening to take away your child - aka the light of your life - and you need insurance and money. if we get married, you're no longer a single dad working three jobs with no insurance - i dunno man sounds like a good idea to me

and eddie's not usually one to do stupid, reckless things, and he fully expects this to backfire in a ridiculous way, but goddammit - he's twenty six, he's allowed to do dumb shit occasionally, and buck is something he definitely wants to do

it takes a few weeks (they both think the other will back out, but neither does) and buck has to get a lot of things sorted privately and quietly, especially in regards to marriage licenses and visas, but idk he's a prince he can fast track that shit, but then the two of them are getting married at a court house, with just christopher and eddie's sisters to witness

(eddie hears buck's name as evan buckley for the first time on the day they get married; he does not recognise it in the slightest. he doesn't care about royals.)

(in those few weeks, eddie is blown away (and a little in love) with how good buck is with chris; there are several near-misses with either of them shirtless, fresh from the shower, or dressed up in a suit; and at least nine moments where they almost kissed but didn't and thought the other didn't want to)

helena and ramon, by the way, are pissed

eddie is thrilled

and everything's great - buck moves into eddie's house, ending his tour of america then and there in el paso; signs lots of documents and makes lots of phone calls; listens to eddie talk about the idea of moving to LA, of being a firefighter, of doing something he's proud of

and after one night when buck carries christopher to bed and tucks him in, eddie watching from the doorway, they return to the living room for eddie to immediately kiss him

buck kisses back, of course

its the next day that the news drops: prince evan buckley of genovia has secretly married a single father in texas

eddie finds out through the newspaper. he looks between it, then buck, then it, and says: what

and buck goes for a smile and says, surprise?

eddie's annoyed for like a minute and a half, but buck is too delightful and charming to be mad at for long.

buck's parents, on the other hand - boy can they hold a grudge

the story ends like this: buck and eddie travel to genovia with christopher; they introduce him around the family, around the country, and genovia is still surprised, but ultimately endeared by the family prince evan has made for himself, unaware that it was built on a dumb, drunk idea.

(what happens when they find out? eddie asks quietly, one night. why would they find out? buck replies. we're married, eddie, and not to be embarrassing - but i've got a massive crush on you, so i'm happy to see where this takes us)

in the epilogue, buck denounces his claim to the throne to move to the usa, LA specifically, and live with christopher and eddie there. maddie follows not long after, publicly divorcing her abusive husband and needing some time away. she eventually goes back, because being a royal may suck, but she's still instilled with a sense of duty towards her people - however, when she returns, many years later, upon her parents' abdication so that she may take the throne, she brings her husband, chimney, and their daughter, jee-yun with her

by that point, of course, eddie and buck are very happy, very in love, and are no longer married out of convenience, but joy

Send me two (2) tropes from this list + a ship and I’ll describe how I’d combine them in the same story.

#buddie #evan buck buckley #eddie diaz #911 fox #maddie buckley #911 #talk

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unseelie-robynx · 3 years

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So this is a short piece that was inspired by @winterpower98 ‘s Swap AU. Which I have fallen so in love with as it hits all of my absolute favorite tropes, not to mention that her artwork is incredible. This is 100% a brain bunny that i have been unable to get rid of, and that was only further egged on by the wonderful bad end that she recently posted.

This is absolutely not cannon to the AU or the world and is really just an excuse for all the Angst.

Please mind the tags

“Lui Er.”

The voice floated through the still halls, deceptively soft despite its origins.

Macaque took a shuddering breath and dug his nail into his palms to steady himself before he called out an answer.

“Yes, beloved?”

Turning, Macaque saw Son Wukong leaning up against the doorway, satisfied smirk plastered across his face.

“I just wanted to know if you were finished with dinner yet, my love.”

Macaque wanted to rage, wanted to punch the Monkey King in his stupid smug face and knock that possessive gleam away. But he couldn’t.

He’d tried that.

And it wasn’t him who’d paid the price.

So instead, he ducked his head submissively, both to please Wukong and to hide the boiling rage in his eyes.

“Yes. Beloved. I’m just getting it set out.”

Macaque couldn’t see Wukong’s face, but he could feel the smug satisfaction in the air grow even heavier.

“Wonderful, I’ll go fetch our children.”

And then he was gone. Macaque could have collapsed to the floor in relief from being out from under the Monkey Kings possessive gaze, but he had to be strong. Wukong would only be gone a few minutes at most, and he expected Macaque to have everything set out for them.

He let himself move on autopilot, hating the way his body already knew how to set out the plates, fill the glasses, arrange the assortment of dishes he’d prepared, all in the way the Monkey King preferred. Macaque was just setting down the last dish when that sickly sweet voice broke through his daze,

“My look at what a lovely spread your Papa has prepared for us this evening.”

causing him to almost drop the plate. He was able to catch it, but the raised eyebrow from Wukong indicated that he’s seen Macaque almost slip up. Macaque bit his lip and boded his head again, inwardly chaffing against his own actions.

He can’t mess up, can’t make him mad, he’s strong they’re not, he can’t bear to hear their screams again

Apparently satisfied, Wukong continued his little speech. “It would be rude not to thank him for all his hard work, wouldn’t it children?”

Macaque risked a glace over at Mei and Xiaotian. He relaxes minutely when he sees no fresh bruises or injuries, and no new bandages peeking out from under their clothes.

“Y..yes Father.” Xiaotian stutters slightly as he answers, obviously doing his best not to tremble.

The last time Xiaotian had let Wukong see his fear, the Monkey King had snapped three of Mei’s fingers and shattered Macaque’s left knee.

The boy turned towards Macaque and bowed politely.

Formally.

Exactly as it had been painstakingly drilled into him.

“Thank you, Papa, for preparing this for us.”

These words were far more honest, and full of so much more weight and meaning than they should possibly be able to carry.

(Thank you for staying, thank you for playing his twisted game, thank you for keeping us alive.)

Macaque had to fight back the urge to rush for Mei when she awkwardly and painfully tried to bow as well. He knew if he did Wukong would only hurt her worse, but it was so hard to watch her try and keep her balance and move her arms correctly when one of the was in a cast and the other had been purposefully healed wrong.

Both his fault.

He should know by now that he can’t win. Sun Wukong was stronger he’d always been stronger that’s why he admired him so much he…

Macaque hated the fact that he was grateful the Monkey King found such amusement in her clumsy attempts to obey him that he didn’t decide that punishments for not doing it perfectly were in order.

“You really are such a good boy, aren’t you MK? Well then, shall we eat?”

It wasn’t a question, and they all knew it. The four of them sat around the low table Wukong and Mei across from each other, Xiaotian on the Monkey Kings left Macaque on his right. After all, Macaque still had a task to do. So, while Xiaotian carefully, and oh so quietly,

Quite enough to avoid notice, avoid drawing attention

helped Mei with her broth Macaque lifted the small platter of fruit slices that were set in front of him and began to feed the lounging Monkey King.

Wukong twisted delight was at it’s highest in moments like these, and Macaque had to fight to keep his hands from trembling. That would imply that he was scared of his Beloved, and that couldn’t be right, could it Lui Er?

No, please, leave them alone! I love you! Of course I do, Dasheng, Beloved how could I not, please!

So, Macaque carfully lifted slice after slice of his plate and offered it the Wukong, letting him engulf his fingers with his lips as he took each piece, often twirling his tongue around them to ‘get all the juices’, bearing a self-satisfied smirk the entire time.

Macaque wanted to rush, to rip his had away the moment Wukong took the fruit and go again. Anything to make the humiliation shorter. But the kids were only allowed to eat for the duration of this little game of Sun Wukong’s. After all, once he was done, dinner was over. So, Macaque bore the humiliation, let each moment stretch as long as he possibly could. They two kids of them had already drastically lost weights, both from maltreatment and starvation,

it was his fault they were here in the first place

he needed to do anything and everything he could to get them through this.

Someone would find them eventual.

They had to.

He didn’t know how much longer he could last until he broke. Until all that was left was that the Monkey King wanted him to be.

#i actually made something #angst #abuse #trama #possessive behavior #violence #implied violence #injury #Monkie Kid #Lego Monkie Kid #Swap AU

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aloera · 3 years

Note

The ask prompt is too long to fit into an ask TT_TT but here's the doc for it docs(.)google(.)com/document/d/1yDI7iFRhOJ8ENv_IwZAo3rDSUqj80EiJROS10RzRbj4/edit

the lengths u are going for this,,, much appreciated you're very sweet!!!

prompts + answers under the cut!!

INTRODUCTION

Name: aloera

AO3 account: aloera

Fandoms you write for: bnha

How many stories have you written so far: 19

FANFICTION PROFILE

What's your favorite fandom to write for? hmm,,, used to do pjo and eah (ever after high) and eah was fun as fuck i will say!!! i think bnha is my fav mostly bc i made the most friends in this fandom :D

What's your favorite character/person to write for? bkg and kirishima!! cannot choose do not make me <3

Fic you'd want to improve? probably what we deserve? i rushed the beginning and the confession is a bit stilted imo

Hardest fic you've written? between lion and men -_- bc there is so much canon compliant stuff i've gotta write out before i get to the divergence and its HARD

Easiest fic you've written? come home to me!!! it happened so easily,,, no second guessing no writers block just vibes <33 was lovely i miss it

What would you say is the most "famous" fic you've ever written? also probably come home to me? its got the most interaction

first line of the first fic you've ever written and published. [not including my 2014 ffnet fics] "The bell rings, class starts, and Katsuki and Midoriya are inexplicably absent." from come home to me

Have you ever done a collab with another writer? yes!!!!! on two separate occasions and its so fucking fun i highly recommend trying it out its the best

Do you beta? if asked but honestly im a shit beta lmao

Do you like joining fic fests/exchanges? depends on what i have going on irl but in general yeah!!

FANFICTION PREFERENCES

Fluff or angst? definitely fluff

"OCs" or "Reader" inserts? reader inserts!! have been going ham on them recently

Blurbs or drabbles? blurbs!!

One thing you love about fanfiction i just. i really love slice of life romance?? and most media doesn't give you that bc its dedicated to plot and action and that's valid!! but fanfiction fills in the gap which is really nice

One thing you don't like about fanfiction most of the stuff i don't like is less about actual fanfiction and more about how people behave about it

What is/are your favorite fandom author/authors? IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!! TURN IT UP!!!

bnha: hiuythn, rae_tnub, Moniix, Ata_Lanta, wrunic, chezka, PurplePersnickety, surveycorpsejean, mahadevi, arxaris, deviance, Oceanbreeze7, MikeWritesThings, bonnia, wonhaebunny, dinosuns

voltron: hiuythn, Oceanbreeze7, DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee, arahir, dinosuns,

and honorable mention to loveclouds im not even in the haikyuu fandom i just love their fics So Much

these are just the ones off the top of my head i have so many favourites idc if i'm only supposed 2 have one!! die mad about it!!!

What is your favorite trope? secret relationship + relationship reveal til the day i die babie <3 <3

Least favorite trope? hm,,, probably just like. angst lmao i cannot stand 90% of it

A fanfiction cliché that you can't help but love? coffeeshop aus,,,, so good

Do you have a type when it comes to pairings? the otp where its like. piece of shit + himbo = love. ex. krbk, catradora, jade/beck

Favorite setting/au? hm,,, truly i cannot pick one KGKSJNHKj but i really like college aus!! and modern aus!! and roommate aus!!

Explain the meaning of your favorite line of dialogue you've written as if someone hasn't read it in context. “He doesn’t know,” Katsuki says, softly. “My timer stopped and nothing happened. He’s not mine.”

the line is from what we deserve!! it's a soulmate au where your timer counts down to the moment that you meet your soulmate!! bakugou's timer ends at USJ when he and kirishima attack kurogiri at the same time (impulsive kings <33) but kirishima's timer doesn't end until kamino because that's when he accepts himself as bakugous soulmate!! unfortunately, when bakugous timer has reached 0, he turned to see that kirishima's was still ticking and therefore believes that kirishima isn't his soulmate.

this line just,, idk. it's really sad. bakugou is such an action-driven character? if something doesn't go his way he Makes it go his way. he's got this insanely volatile quirk and he's got impeccable control of it!! but his love for kirishima isn't something that he can change and he's not going to ruin kirishima's chance of finding his own soulmate because he loves him and wants him to be happy. i really wanted to focus on how resigned he is? and how unusual that is for a character like him.

Favorite trope/genre to write? again, secret relationship with relationship reveals <33 fluff in general is my wheelhouse!!!

A trope/genre you haven't written but think would be a fun challenge? idk if this counts?? have been working on some dead dove concepts!! its super different from what i normally write so its a cool challenge

The one trope/concept you'll never touch and why probably cheating/infidelity?? it just looks,,, super difficult to write well and i don't have enough of an interest in it to try it out

Which do you prefer to write: longer or shorter fics? shorter!! low attention span gang <3

Ideal length to read? 5-10k?

Ideal length to write? 4-8k!!

How long was the longest fic you've ever written? control fraek is around 28k i think?

Have you ever written an AU? yeah!! i've done restaurant au's, soulmate au's, pro hero aus, and fantasy aus (general, not the bnha fantasy ending)

What's your favorite AU trope? hm,, probably when two people in authority are in a secret relationship? ceo's/uni professors/etc etc

Have you ever written smut? yeah!! was. difficult tho

What's your comfort genre? (the one you fall on most in writing/reading) fluff,,, hurt/comfort,,, fix-it fics with happy endings <3

If you were to start writing in other fandoms, which would they be? maybe jjk?? the characters are really cool!!!! fr i might go back to my ever after high roots i love the characters and setting so Much its so fun!!! idec if no ones into it anymore!!!!!

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? i've had people say they saw the mention of buff hagakure and recognized it was me so. probably that skdjhnksjd

WRITING STYLE

How would you describe your style? i tend to use shorter sentences and pretty simple words i think? and i gravitate towards lighthearted concepts that allow for ensemble casts and humour!!

Describe your style in three words romcom but fanfic

Favorite words to use when writing? the word reverent!! fuckin love including it!!

Dialogue tags or no dialogue tags? (she said, he said, they said, etc) dialogue tags!!!

Favorite dialogue tag (other than said, if you use them) again idk if this counts but "they said softly" is unmatched

Long sentences vs short vs a mix short <33

What colors would you use to describe your writing? hm,,, depends on the fic i would say?? control fraek is dark green to me?? kinda like a forest at night yk?? scary but there's still life there. sugar cookies is yellow like early morning sunlight, when it rains is yellowy-orange like a caution sign. not gonna list all of them cause theres a lot its just. do u get it? the colours change based on the vibe of the fic.

What song or music genre would you use to describe your writing? think. i am constantly trying to emulate that moment at the end of wasteland baby when hozier goes "im in love/im in love with you."

What kind of metaphors do you rely on? religious metaphors my beloved <33 they're just so pretty!!! i also love comparing stuff to water for some reason?? like that ocean vuong quote thats like "what are you now?/water." it goes hard!!!

What's something you'd say is experimental in your writing at this time? definitely action!! i have,,, no idea how to write it so anything i do is really just me playing around and seeing what works and what doesn't

Do you prefer to write by hand or to type? i've tried both!! personally i prefer typing because it goes way faster but i will say that writing by hand lets me get words down when i'm going through writer's block

What is your preferred place to write (notebook, laptop, cellphone, etc.)? laptop!!

What app/apps do you use to write (word, notepad, etc.)? google docs skjdnkjh its fine on desktop but mobile is,,,,, disgusting

Do you keep a notebook or file/notes page in your phone/device for notes on your writing? ngl i just have everything organized in my drive?? one folder per fandom and then sub folders for ideas+hcs, unfinished wips, and finished fics. multichaps get sub sub folders so i can organize outlines and drafts

Do you listen to music to help you write? yeah!! playlists organized by fic vibe :D

Where do you usually go to write (bedroom, living room, etc.)? mostly in my bedroom??? but moving around to different stops helps too i think!!

How long does it usually take for you to write? again this depends on what i have going on irl, how attached i am to the idea, my mindset at the time, etc!! i am,, the least consistent person skjnhdkjh.

What's your favorite font to use when writing? times new roman my beloved

Other writing habits? sometimes i'll write in the dark?? bad for my eyes but for some reason it gets the words flowing

CONCEPTUALIZATION

How do you conceptualize your ideas? (See specific moments like they're a movie, writing specific lines in your head, don't know until you put the words on paper, etc.) i tend to get inspiration from movies, books, poems, or other fics!!! sometimes one line just makes me go oh,, i want to write something like that,,, and then it helps me create an idea that makes me feel the same way?? i did this with control fraek!!!! i wanted a scenario where bakugou was cold and calculating and i was like hm. to do that he’d have to be focusing on something important. and from there i was able to flesh out the rest of the idea.

Which comes first: the pairing or the plot? with krbk its always always the pairing,, i'll be sitting there like wow <33 i love them <33 what if one of them had amnesia <33 (which, yes, wip!!) otherwise it's usually the plot!! and i slot in characters that i feel make sense

Have you ever used a prompt? yeah!! used a prompt for wlw week 2020 and it was fun as hell

Do you write around the story around a specific scene you want to get to or do you start from a plot idea definitely the first!!!! i almost always write like,,, a super messy scene thats 90% dialogue, keep it in my head, and then write the entire fic around that one moment

Do you find that you include a projection of some part of yourself in the way you write a character? a lot of the time when i write love confessions or love in general i'll have one of the characters think or say that the other person makes their head quiet? and it's because that's what i feel whenever i'm in love?? a quiet mind. i project on characters yeah but i think most of the projection actually goes to the way that i write love

Do you research some of the things you write deeply, partially and kind of wing the rest, or play entirely by ear (in this case, go with whatever base knowledge of the subject you have)? most of the time if i do research it'll be about the setting (ex. the izakaya in to have and to hold) or if i'm having the characters interact with an object that they like. need to know how to use (me, in control fraek: google. hey google. does someone die if they get shot in the foot??? no???? awesome thank u <3)

Have you ever had an idea for a story and forgot about it? lmaoo yeah all the time i'll find like 500-2k words of concepts in my gdocs like i do. not remember this at all

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? probably krbk secret relationship lmao

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out better than expected? yeah!! i fully thought the action in control fraek would be awful but it turned out not bad??? which im happy with

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out worse than you expected? again, what we deserve, i personally think it would have worked out better if i'd paced it slower and drawn out the pining but i. do not feel like going back to fix it so its staying the way that it is. pining is so fucking hard to do AHHHH i get so tired with it!!! im like just date already!!!!

PROCESS

How do you come up with titles? in rare occasions (literally. all my multichaps for some reason) the title comes after writing like .5 words of the first chapter im like YES this is it!!!!! sometimes i write the whole thing and pick out one line that fits (what i did with come home to me) a lot of the time i just. steal from songs or poems that i like

What's your favorite emotion to cause on your readers? i like making people happy!!!! love when people comment saying they're cheered up

What's your favorite emotion to write? lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have you ever cried or felt any emotion while reading something you've written? never cried?? but sometimes i'll rereading my hurt/comfort fics 4. yk. comfort

Do you write in order or whatever comes to you? in order!! unless i have a scene that i Need to write and i'll quickly jot it down so that i don't forget

Usual way you procrastinate while writing? ...doing asks like this, making playlists, discord, watching netflix. what don't i do smh

Do you outline or free write? i am. so shit at outlines. i mostly free write and write lil notes for stuff that i wanna add later

Do you set word goals or scene goals (scenes you want to include)? yes!! like i said i'll write loose notes for scenes that i want to add later!! it gives me something to write towards :D

What do you consider when writing your scenes? what goes into making the atmosphere and mood you want? to set a scene i do two things? the first is like,, the five senses bc that always sets the scene really well and makes it feel Real. i'll visualize stuff in my head like its a movie and write out what i would want to tell the set designer?? if the lights are low, if the space is busy, if it's supposed to exude comfort or not.

for putting forward the character's mood one thing i've found that makes a difference is sentence length!! long sentences are good for making a character seem flustered and nervous or not really in control of their emotions? good for love confessions. short sentences are good for when the character is focused on something or short on time. good for fights!!

What's something you never considered to include in your writing that you can't leave out now? def buff hagakure,,,, once i thought of it i was like. if i don't include this at least once in every single fic how could i look at myself in the mirror!!!!!! how could i face anyone!!!!

How do you start a story? establishing a fact about the character or describing the setting! option a is one single thread of gold, option b is between lion and men

How do you end a story? either by tying it back to the beginning or doing like a funny kind of closing??? option a is sugar cookies, option b is a godless society

How do you get out of writer's block? change something!! move something!! i go from typing to handwriting, moving from my bedroom to my living room, switching wips to work on something else!! i do sprints as well?? give myself like fifteen minutes to write something and sometimes 200 words opens up the way for another 2k. sometimes i'll just delete like 500 words and start fresh

Do you edit? or do you toss your writing out there? i edit!!! i'll go over it myself then send it to one or two betas (bee my beloved <33)

How do you edit? do you use spellcheck, grammar checkers, etc? bee is my grammar checker bc he is So Good with grammar. i use grammarly as well for spellcheck stuff mostly?? sometimes my edit process is just like "am i tired of looking at this!! yes <3" and then i post it

PROGRESS

Do you usually like what you write? yeah!!! i post stuff that makes me happy and that i'm fine with rereading!!! i write stuff for self-indulgence reasons first and foremost and i think my writing reflects that sjhnksj

Have you ever written something you didn't like but posted anyways? nope!! even what we deserve i LIKED even if i see a lot of room 4 improvement!! if i don't like smth it's not getting posted

Do you find yourself rereading your writing often? yeah!! the reason i wrote so much krbk secret relationship is because i loved it but i'd read all that there was so i just,, wrote more,, ngl its kinda nice being in a place where i actually like my writing bc i can write stuff that i want to see and really enjoy it!!

Can you tell us anything about your current WIP? sure!! i'm currently working on when it rains which is a fic where bakugou gets hit by a crying quirk!! i'm gonna be using it to explore So Much of all might's character and his relationships with bakugou and aizawa (and i think some people from his past!!)

Can you give us a sneak peek on your current WIP? “You did something. What the hell did you do?” Kirishima sounds pissed off. It would amuse Katsuki if he wasn’t fighting just to stay standing.

“Nothing he didn’t ask for,” Shinsou replies.

“K’ri… shima,” Katsuki croaks out. “‘S fine. Not him.”

His chest collapses back into the familiar dry heaving after that but Kirishima shuts up. He doesn’t apologize to Shinsou.

Kirishima’s a good friend, stubborn and loyal. He stands by Katsuki’s side like an attack dog, blocking him from the view of anyone ogling at his tears.

The last line you've written Ochako knows more than she'd realized. She knows enough to keep her guard up.

It’s not enough.

Open a wip. what’s the first line?

Katsuki wakes up feeling like absolute fucking shit.

INSIGHT

What's your favorite thing about writing? touched on this before but it's mainly just being able to write the things that i want to see and actually enjoy them!!! actually reread them!!!! i thought "wouldn't it be cool if bkg and kirishima owned a restaurant together" and then i wrote it and i like it enough to reread it!!!! being able to create content for myself makes me. so happy

How do you keep yourself inspired? this is gonna sound narcissistic maybe but honestly i'm just really excited about my ideas and where i'm gonna take them and the idea of "i'm gonna get to That scene" keeps me going through the entire thing. also my friends!!!! i'll talk to them about fics and their reactions keep me hyped up enough to finish!!!!

What is your favorite thing to write? just,, slice of life romance,,, stuff thats silly and makes people laugh!!

What do you think your strengths are in writing? i'm good with dialogue!! i do lil voice acting sessions with myself to make sure everything sounds natural and like it's coming from that character skhjnskj

i'm comfortable with my portrayal of love as well??? i spend a lot of time thinking about what it is exactly that i'm trying to get across and i think it turns out well!!

What are things you wish you could practice more? on one hand i wanna get better at writing angst on the other hand i dislike writing angst. do you see my issue

One way you've improved your writing since you began? characterization!! i think i've gotten better at writing characters that are all Different and bring different things to the table!!! i used to project a lot more and it would compromise the characterization because the character was like 70% me and 30% them? not to say that projection is bad but if you do it too much it just,, doesn't read like the character and from a reader's standpoint the narrative can become less compelling

One aspect of writing you're still working on? writing action!!! i. literally hate writing it but i write for a fandom about superheroes so. Unfortunately i gotta learn.

A piece of writing advice you've learned while writing saw this on another tumblr post but they said sometimes if you're struggling with a scene, the problem is five lines back. i've found that to be true!!!! sometimes u gotta delete a chunk and start a little ways back!! i did this with too busy being yours because i was stuck for Weeks and i deleted like 25% of what i had but it helped me actually finish it :D

A bit of writing advice you can't stand when people shit on show don't tell for being overrated lmao bc when u read their writing you can Tell

Something you wish you knew when you first started writing? ,,,,honestly i kind of wish i could know some of the stuff that i used to when i first started writing?? technically i'm better now but creatively i was must better when i wasn't stressing about whether anyone would like what i was writing. so i guess i wish i knew that i should keep that confidence? i kinda wish that i wasn't as insecure about other people's writing styles because i never used to be!!

Something you've learned in life that you apply in writing there's no point in feeling inferior?? writing one genre isn't better than the other. being in one fandom isn't better than being in another. the kind of language you use or the length of your paragraphs- none of that stuff like. matters. what matters is that you're having fun and happy with what you're creating!!!! enjoy other peoples writing but don't let it make you feel worse about yours :D

#AHH ive wanted to answer these for so long...... bro fr i was so happy when u sent these!!! like wow!! finally got sent one!!!#sorry for how long the responses are idk how to be concise #asks #anon #a(lore)a

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sirsapling · 4 years

Text

MORE TAGGED POSTS

I got tagged in a bunch more things I didn't respond to fast enough, so UNDER THE CUT THEY GO.

I have too many things to respond to, so I won't be tagging, but consider yourself tagged if you want to do any.

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS

Tagged by the wonderful @bardingbeedle

Pass the happy!🌻🌿 When you receive this, list 5 things that make you happy and send this to 10 of the last people in your notifications!

Lying in warm blankets in an cold room. Bonus points for snow outside.

A fresh Buzz cut

Talking to @bardingbeedle

Having long, passionate rambles about the Marvel Ultimates

Hashbrowns, bacon, maple syrup, maybe a pancake, and a sausage too.

Tagged by the chaotic @s-hylor

top 3 cities you want to visit: Toronto, again. Colorado (I know its a state not a city I just want to visit ashes AND GET SNOW). And I would like to go back to Italy again. (I also want to visit, just, all of my fandom friends but I don't want to drop all their locations lol)

favorite marvel character: Ults!Steve Rogers and then Ults!Tony Stark. Not counting stony, Anthony the brain tumor, and not counting clones, Gregory Stark.

white chocolate - yay or nay?: Love it, love it, love it.

favourite board game: God Save The Queens- A board game about Bees I invented with 3 other people at University last year for a project.

how many countries have you been to: 10, I have been very luckily graced with the ability to travel to Europe with school a lot.

(Wales, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, America [Florida, Boston, New York], Spain, Portugal, Italy, and finally Canada.)

favorite thing to do on a rainy day: Anything indoors I might usually feel guilty about doing when its sunny. Tv or games particularly

favorite holiday: Christmas. I am a Christmas slut, call me festive sapling I LOVE Christmas.

pen or pencil: Pen. I once bought 7 in lisbon at the same time bc they were perfect and I didn't want to run out.

favourite kind of soup: Cupasoup Chicken noodle, I don't really like soups tbh, I like broths, and gravy type things I make too much of and eat like a soup (like golden Currys or korma sauces)

your typical order at a cafe or coffee shop: Caramel Frappucino or an iced Mocha. If I'm gonna pay a fuck tonne for coffee I'm gonna get a drinkable dessert.

favorite ride at an amusement park: Any slow rides that show you shit, like spaceship earth at EPCOT. I’m not really a speed dude.

the color of your sneakers: RED, red shoes are the shit folks, a good pair of red converse goes with everything.

favorite pbs show (or little kids show if you didn’t have pbs): Uh I used to watch pokemon then winnie the pooh every single night. But little little kids show I used to watch a show called 64 zoo lane with my grandma so I have fond memories

Rules: name your favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people.

Tagged by the wonderful @ashes0909

Natasha Romanov - Marvel Cinematic Universe

Carol Danvers - Marvel 616

Janet Van Dyne - Marvel Ultimates

Izumi Curtis - Full Metal Alchemist

Martha Jones - Doctor Who

Garnet - Steven Universe (if she doesn't count bc, space rock, Connie)

Rosa Diaz - Brooklyn 99

Ann Perkins - Parks and Rec

Princess Caroline - Bojack Horseman

Pam Poovey - Archer

LOOK I know there was a lot of cheating here, but I don't have non marvel fandoms really, and I have a hard time remembering a lot of the TV I enjoyed.

Rules: Share your top 10 AO3 additional tags. Tagged by the mysterious @nigmuff

look I don't know if I have enough tags to make this a justified representation, but the ones shown are v much on brand.

Fanfic trope meme

I was tagged by the delightful @capnstars and @crownofstardustandbone

slowburn or love at first sight // fake dating or !!!secret dating!!! // enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers // oh no there’s only one bed or long-distance correspondence // hurt/comfort or amnesia // fantasy au or modern au // mutual pining or domestic bliss // smut AND fluff // canon-compliant or fix-it // reincarnation or character death // one-shot or multi-chapter // kid fic or road trip fic // arranged marriage or accidental marriage // high school romance or !!!!middle-aged romance!!! // time travel or isolated together // neighbours or roommates // sci-fi or magic au // body swap or genderbend // angst or crack // apocalyptic or mundane

Look guys, I’m boring. I like domestic 30-40 year olds in secret relationships. We knew this.

And now buckle the fuck down folks because I'm about to answer 50 questions about me no one is gonna stick around and read.

tagged by @bardingbeedle the only person who would put up with reading this much about me.

What is the colour of your hairbrush?

I have a buzz cut, I don't have a hair brush anymore.

Are you typically too warm or too cold?

Too warm. I have been warmer than most people my whole life, and I often need to sleep with a fan on.

What were you doing 45 minutes ago?

Working on a sketch for an MTH fill (update from the end of this: I have spent an hour doing this fuckin thing)

What is your favourite candy bar?

Bounty. My favourite candy is Reese’s Pieces but I like a bounty. Or like, and chocolate without fruit in it tbh.

Have you ever been to a professional sports event?

Yes, one of my parents referees Championship Football here in the UK. I have been to a few of his games. I also went to the London 2012 Paralympic closing ceremony, if that counts.

What is the last thing you said out loud?

‘Oh, this will last me a few days’ I was talking to my mother about 1/2 a can of pringles, I was lying.

What is your favourite ice cream?

Vanilla. I am boring. But the best ice cream i’ve had was a cream/milk flavoured gelato in Florence, that shit slapped. I also like cheap strawberry ice cream when no one is trying to put strawberry bits in it.

What was the last thing you had to drink?

Dinner. A spinach, banana, summer fruits and coconut yoghurt smoothie (with extra raspberries). Its my nightly dinner to cheat more veg into my body.

Do you like your wallet?

Very much. It’s about 7-8 years old, it is faded to hell but it has spiderman and a pony ride stony pin

What was the last thing you ate?

See above smoothie comment, but if that doesn't count, a sugar free mint polo.

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend?

Nope. I don't buy as many clothes as I want to, bc mens clothes in larger sizes are hard to find or expensive here.

The last sporting event you watched?

F1, I don't keep up but I watch a little with my dad every now and then.

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn?

BUTTER. They don't really have it here, and I don't go to movies much when in the states. But @festiveferret introduced me to it when we saw Ant-man and the Wasp, and much like poutine and Tim Hortons, I still crave it.

Who is the last person you sent a text message to?

My dad.

Ever go camping?

Yes, I was a Scout. I have done enough camping to not want to do more, it was fun when I wasn't organising it.

Do you take vitamins?

Yes, but not as often as I should, and as much as my mother bothers me too.

Do you go to church every Sunday?

Nope, not even when I considered myself christian. I go only go to church for other peoples events, and I’m an agnostic now.

Do you have a tan?

I cannot tan. I just can't, I burn lobster red in 5 minutes outside without literal sun cream for BABIES

Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza?

Chinese food, It was easily what taught me to like more foods also, I don't eat tomato so I can't have most pizza. I love a good garlic base/bechamel, but you can't really get that here easily (yes yes I could make my own but that ruins half the point of pizza)

Do you drink your soda with a straw?

I don't drink carbonated drinks, because its like drinking pain. The fuck is wrong with all of you.

What colour socks do you usually wear?

Various colours, but I consider red on the left, blue on the right, my lucky socks. No I don't know why, but I take all exams and interviews wearing them. It’s just a thing.

Do you ever drive above the speed limit?

I don't drive, but if I did, No. Theres a lot of questionable laws out there but Traffic laws aren't one of them.

What terrifies you?

Pfft, most things from spiders to rollercoasters. But more seriously, Being shouted at. Shout at me and I start hyperventilating, its a thing. Also not knowing if someone is mad at me. I’m not good at reading people,

Look to your left, what do you see?

The wallet shown earlier, and the sugar free polos mentioned after that.

What chore do you hate?

Vacuuming. It makes everything in my body hurt. I would rather clean toilets.

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent?

@s-hylor

What’s your favourite soda?

See above. I do not like your pain liquid. Apple juice for life.

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thrus?

Either delivery or kiosk, I don't like talking to people where possible, I often need tweaks I don't want to have to remember to repeat.

Who’s the last person you talked to?

@downeyhills

Favourite cut of beef?

I don't generally eat beef, lamb, or most red meats. I love crispy chilly beef, but as anyone can point out its bc your generally don't feel the texture of the beef.

Last song you listened to?

Everybody Wants to Rule the World | Tears for Fears | Pomplamoose

I’m on a Pomplamoose kick, and I also just love this song anyway.

Last book you read?

Understanding Comics (The invisible Art) - Scott McCloud

Favourite day of the week?

Friday nights. The weekend is ahead and @loraneldin and I take to wrangling our beloved usual suspects through another week of Ults Book Club.

Can you say the alphabet backwards?

I can barely say it forwards.

How do you like your coffee?

With milk and sugar, or ultimately, in a Caramel Frappuccino bc I'm a bitch like that.

Favourite pair of shoes?

I have walking boots that don't make my flat ass feet feel like they’re dying. OR my black and green crocs (Fight me, they’re useful).

The time you normally go to sleep?

9-10 is what I'm working on, but I fluctuate depending on if I'm working on something or not.

The time you normally get up?

5-6 If I have a choice in the matter, but often 7-8 if I didn't get to bed at the right time. I’m more about getting the right hours in for my diet than time specifically.

What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets?

Sunset is the prettiest, but I like to be awake to see the sun rise.

How many blankets on your bed?

One big thick comforter, because that's the uk standard, and I get too hot otherwise.

Describe your kitchen plates

Two types, big wide white ones with a navy blue rim. They are so large I never use them, and little Navy saucer plates I use a lot.

Do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage?

I don't drink, so no. I drink apple juice or Shirley temples when I'm in pubs/bars

Do you play cards?

Sometimes, I like to teach people to play Old Maid. It’s the monopoly of card games.

What colour is your car?

Again, I do not drive.

Can you change a tire?

I am aware I just said I don't have a car, but I do know how to change a tire. Everyone should go learn its pretty simple.

Favourite job you’ve ever had?

I have only had one job really and two job experience jobs. I did experience in a school library for a week and that was v fun and chill. I did all the jobs they had prepared for me in 2 days so I alphabetically reorganised their fiction section for the rest of the week. I LIKE ORDERING.

How did you get your biggest scar?

I no longer have a gallbladder, so I have 3 scars across my torso from that, the biggest right in the middle of my ribs. Non surgical wise I have matching scars on my knees from ripping holes in them when tripping. I have weak ankles and also I got both of those at different times.

What did you do today that made someone else happy?

I gave my spare animal crossing Iguanodon skull to a wicked artist I follow on twitter so he could complete his dino park.

#text post #tagged in #wow long post #wow x2 #tag memes

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cam-the-orange-cat · 4 years

Text

A Master-Guide for Overcoming Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is the woe that befalls every writer at some point. To overcome writer’s block, however, you must identify the source of the blockage. This guide will go over common reasons writers find themselves stuck and will offer some simple suggestions that can help. Although suggestions are catered to each problem, don’t hesitate to mix-and-match possible solutions; everyone is different.

The Common Blocks We’ll be Overviewing:

Problem vs. Solution

Fear & Doubt

Perfectionism

Boredom

You Have No Ideas

You're Easily Distracted

Procrastination

Problem vs. Solution

You’ve crafted an incredible conflict, a far-reaching problem that your protagonist must solve. Then you realize: you must solve it. Or you’re making progress in your first or second draft when you discover a plot hole. It’s not something easy you can cover over with a rug, it’s something you wonder you didn’t see sooner and are now overwhelmed with how to fix it and still preserve your progress. You have “painted yourself into a corner” and now you have to paint yourself out.

How do you overcome this block?

Take a shower.

Take a nap

Go for a walk.

Or — as Margaret Atwood recommends — iron some clothes.

Repetitive, mindless activites seem to work best for stimulating the mind. Most writers can testify that taking a shower is a magnet for interesting ideas. The more mindless, the better.

Exercise gets new chemicals flowing through your brain; showering stimulates new senses; ironing is a hands-on-activity with a bit of danger involved — these are palate cleansers for your mind.

Sometimes this sort of block requires doing additional research for your story.

Maybe there’s something in mankind’s military history that can help you solve how your protagonist’s army is to cross the uncrossable river. Maybe there’s a modern-day cure that would work against the disease you made up, and it has humble origins your protagonist can discover. Maybe your protagonist will lose this battle, but go on to win the war in a way you hadn’t considered before.

Fear & Doubt

The blank page mocks you. And the mockery hits a little too close to home. You’re afraid of criticism, you’re afraid of not doing the story justice, you’re afraid you’re not actually a good writer at all — you’re afraid you’re a fraud.

The sucky part is, some of that is true. First drafts do tend to suck. There will be people who don’t like what you write. But what is absolutely, definitively not true is that you’re a fraud.

You’re a writer.

You are a writer.

Say the words aloud. Say them again. Say them louder.

You are a writer.

Now, how do you overcome this block?

Free write

Write stream of consciuosness

Brainstorm ideas in bullet points

Work on a writing-prompt for five minutes

Try your hand at a whole new genre or category

Whatever you do, write. Practice makes perfect, and practice is also the best way to conquer Fear and Doubt. Refuse to give Fear and Doubt power and soon Fear and Doubt will stop pestering you.

Interestingly, the antidote for Fear and Doubt are similar to the antidotes for Perfectionism, writing’s most infamous villain. The next subheading, however, will go over this particular monster in more detail.

Perfectionism

You’ve been crippled by your own standards. Your story just doesn’t make sense. Your characters don’t feel right. Your writing sounds atrocious.

At least, that’s what you keep telling yourself.

Perfectionism is a choice. We choose to criticize ourselves until we’re beaten to a bloody pulp and have no will left to go on. We run ourselves through the consequences of this headspace and, despite how painfully frustrating it is, we don’t let ourselves escape.

Fear and Doubt grow from perceiving unrealistic expectations of perfection from others and being afraid of not measuring up to that standard. Whereas Perfectionism is not a fear of external criticism, but is a person imposing an unrealistic desire to be perfect unto themself. This is why Perfectionism is a cycle that cannot be broken by friends and family reassurances that you are, in fact, a great writer. You, and you alone, are holding yourself back.

In order to break free from Perfectionsim, you must accept that your writing will never be perfect. Let go of the ideal of perfection. There is no such thing as the perfect story. Writers are imperfect people as is everyone else — even the holy god of fantasy Tolkien was human. And because we are imperfect, so too is our writing.

Acceptance is not begrudging. Acceptance is contentment with the present.

So, how do you find contentment in imperfection?

Read bad books. Make fun of them, laugh at them — enjoy them. See how beloved these awfully written books are and embrace the idea that you don’t have to be perfect. You, as you are, are more than enough.

Write badly. Do it purposefully. Research overused cliches and tropes and then write them as awfully as you can.

Then, share how bad it is. Laugh with your friends and family over it.

Most of all: don’t compare yourself with others. Admiring and learning from other creators and their work is healthy. Comparing yourself with them is never healthy.

Now that you’ve faced your fear of imperfection and realized how fun it can be, writing won’t seem so daunting. Free flowing creativity relies on realistic expectations.

Boredom

You are no longer excited about writing. You’ve been working on this story for too long. You’ve been dragging yourself through it. You don’t want to give up, but this is becoming a chore. Or you love this story dearly, however writing in general has become a chore. You’re just plain bored, but that’s something you don’t want to admit because losing your passion for writing feels like your first death.

First: it’s entirely possible you have moved on from writing. That is not a bad thing. Far from it, in fact! If you’re bored, your feelings are telling you this isn’t the right fit for you right now — so try new things! Maybe, after a while, you’ll get that zeal for the written word back. Maybe not.

Don’t become discouraged, though; your time as a writer is not invalidated just because you’re not writing currently. You were a lovely writer. You have written much. Don’t be hard on yourself, but give yourself a pat on the back. You have enjoyed a very turbulent and difficult hobby for likely many years! That is something to smile fondly upon.

If, however, the above sentiments don’t settle in your stomach very well:

What can help you overcome this unending boredom?

Hands-on activities are good at jumpstarting the creative battery:

Play — play a board game with friends, play an RPG video game, build a lego house, mold with Play-Dough.

Apply your creativity to a different outlet — follow a Bob Ross tutorial, cook a new recipe or decorate a cake, crochet a scarf.

Change is a good stimulus for your mind:

Change your environment. Try going to the park and writing. Go to the library. Go to a room on the other side of your house.

Change your medium. If you often write on your computer, try handwriting; pick out a nice notebook and use a smooth-flowing pen. If you often handwrite, try typing; explore different word processesors, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Listen to music or a podcast as you write. Or: if you often listen to classical, try rock. If you often listen to a podcast about true crime, try a comedy channel. Or listen to absolute silence.

You Have No Ideas

This is the essence of the blank page fear. It’s not self-bout, it’s not perfectionism, it’s not a plot hole you’re trying to fill. You simply have nothing to write. You are uninspired.

How to overcome this blockage:

Read good books. You could even study literature: follow along with Shmoop as you read Solaris; Sparknotes as you read Hamlet; or Cliffnotes as you read The Life of Pi.

Research writing: there are many books, websites, blogs, and services that offer advice and tips on writing. Whether you can afford the hefty $180/year subscription to MasterClass, or you’d prefer borrowing a book from your local library, learning something new about your craft could get your brain back to storming.

As a writer, it is your first and primary responsibility to live your life. Creating your own experiences is the best thing you can do for your writing. You write what you know — so try new things!

Spend time with friends: chat over the phone, play Jack-Box over zoom, or (when circumstances safely allow) get coffee at an obscure coffee shop.

Play with your pet; brush your dog’s teeth, or try giving your cat a bath (it will at least be entertaining for those around watching you).

Pick up a new hobby: painting, drawing, cooking, sewing, running, biking, hiking, gardening, dancing, guitar or piano, darts, soap-making, scrapbooking; here’s a list you can browse through.

Introduce yourself to a stranger (not online) — make friends with the person ahead of you in the grocery store line. Characters come from someplace real, so meet more people!

You’re Easily Distracted

It feels like there’s a toddler in your head, and the little devil is hell-bent on driving you absolutely mad. What’s that song on the radio? Let me look up the lyrics and follow along with them for an hour on loop. What’s a synonym for epitome? What’s a synonym for essence? — Extract is a movie? Let’s watch it.

I personally feel for writers who struggle with this block. We hear time and time again: just limit your distractions! Or try this new web-browser or add-on!

But I don’t have the money to spend on a weird looking typewriter or a monthly subscription for a browser add-on. And far from it will either of those options save me from the toddler in my own mind! The typewriter doesn’t stop me from feeling like eating some ice cream. The browser add-on doesn’t keep me from scrolling through Instagram on my phone.

I have Good News, though: We’re not a hopeless case.

And no, this isn’t a self-discipline issue. As someone who grew up with an impulse-monkey of their very own running rampant inside their head, I’m still an industrious and ethical worker.

So what’s the secret to overcoming this block?

Self-compassion.

Instead of shaming and punishing yourself for falling down the YouTube rabbit-hole, take into consideration the toddler when you first approach a task.

If the toddler often gets sidetracked by music with lyrics, try listening to classical music. There will be no chance then of wanting to sing along with the lyrics, and the toddler will be satisfied while you get some work done.

If the toddler often gets peckish, prepare some healthy snacks (like fruit salad, yogurt with granola, pretzels and peanut butter) ahead of time, get a large thermos of cold water, and the toddler will munch away happily while you work on your magnum opus.

Set up a dedicated space for writing:

Maybe you don’t have a spare room — or even a desk. But you do have a soft lap pillow and a comfy chair you can move to a quiet corner. Drag your writing supplies over and dedicate this as your safe space for writing. Only write here. Don’t eat breakfast here, don’t do homework here, don’t chat with friends here.

This may seem straightforward, but teaching the toddler is another story. To start, then, use this dedicated space only for a few minutes at a time. Spend fifteen focused minutes on a project while you sit here, then take a break. Overtime, you’ll find you can focus for longer and longer intervals in your writing space.

Procrastination

The Final Boss. The End-All Villain. Procrastination often doesn’t appear on its own. It’s inspired by something. Maybe it’s something we’ve already covered in this guide. The first thing you must do, therefore, is identify the source of your procrastination. Which may vary from project to project.

Once you identify what it is that’s deterring you from action, remember that you hold the power to break through this cycle. So when you put a plan into action, stick to it.

What are some ways you can beat procrastination?

“I’m overwhelmed by this big project.”

Prepare short-term goals: Long-term goals just about beg to be procrastinated. They’re far away and easily forgetable. Short-term goals, however, offer an opportunity to check something off a list. And boy — is that satisfying to do!

Make a list of what you’d like to get done. Prepare achievable goals; SMART goals are goals that are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and are set within a Time-frame. So, for instance, if you have a book you’d like to write, make it a goal to write five hundred words during the next hour.

“There is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time” — Desmond Tutu

“This is boring.”

This kind of boredom which inspires procrastination is not necessarily the same as creative boredom. This kind of boredom exists because you do not feel challenged in your writing. Whereas the boredom we previously discussed is caused because you are not excited about your writing. So how do you challenge yourself? — Some previous suggestions can be applied:

Try your hand at a whole new genre. Do you write a lot of Fantasy? Try Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, or go as far out of your comfort zone as you can, like Contemporary Romance. Or have you ever written NonFiction? Jog your mind with a memior prompt or an essay topic — just make sure it interests you!

Research writing: there are many books, websites, blogs, and services that offer advice and tips on writing. On Tumblr alone, some include: @writingwithcolor, @referenceforwriters, @ wordstuck.co.vu, @writing-problems, @thewritershelpers, @youreallwrite, and @fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment

Try throwing a monkey wrench into your story! You can try picking a random prompt to try and incorporate into a scene. You can kill a character. Add some spice into your writing to renew your writing zest!

If all else fails: archive this project. Don’t delete it — never delete what you write; put this project aside for now. Step away from it. You may be too close to it to see what about it isn’t working, or what about it is making it unattractive to you. Give it some time. When you feel ready to return to this project, it will be waiting for you. In the meantime, enjoy creating a new story.

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igaynis · 5 years

Text

Ignis is Gay and Here’s Why

disclaimer: i’m gay, i’m petty. cishets: tread carefully (wordcount: 1189)

alright let’s get into this. This is all from my (a gay man’s) perspective, so I Absolutely know what i’m talking about.

I’ll dive into the small ways that Ignis reads as gay in this short list I’ve compiled first:

- A lot of it can be seen from the way he carries himself, how he talks to other men in comparison to women. - Interestingly fine cuisine was at one point one of the occupations prominently run by gay men. And we All know what he does. (He cooks fine cuisine!) - Whenever the other guys talk about women he usually is silent for the extent of the conversation unless he teases them about it. (Sure, he’s respectful of women but please do not assume just because he is nice to someone it doesn’t mean he’s interested... nyall r desperate........) - the guys have made a few comments about Ignis’s “preferences” when they’re talking about men. (Ignis: I’d be glad to see him less. Prompto: What, not your type?) It can be read as guys teasing each other but it could also mean that the guys know he’s gay. - MANY lgbt+ people I’ve spoken to agree he’s gay. So like, that must Say Something about him... lmao... - Also would a straight man dress like That? Even a bi??? He’s Gay You Cowards. Die mad about it.

IGNIS’S RELATIONSHIP WITH NOCTIS

Now, with that out of the way I would like to state that shipping isn’t super important to me, and this wasn’t suppose to be a meta about how Ignis is in love with Noct but, fortunately for me it’s easier to present the topic of Ignis being gay with context of his relationship with Noctis. THIS ISN’T ME PUSHING IGNOCT, this is simply me, a gay man, viewing how another (possibly gay) character’s interactions with another man can be read as romantic interest.

So, as many people have made note of, Final Fantasy XV’s BASE story has a LOT of Hamlet subtext. For the sake of this post we will consider the commonly debated theory of William Shakespeare being bi and that it would not be outside the realm of possibility that Hamlet and Horatio were, in fact, in love.

And further, Noctis and Ignis’s relationship mirror Hamlet and Horatio’s, in that Horatio and Ignis are the prince’s most trusted and beloved. I’m sure most of the gay subtext presented in Ignis were mistakes and accidents, but it’s very hard to ignore when viewed from a western standpoint. (Also another note: i’m not sure how the gay culture is in Japan, as this is a JRPG, this is from the view point of gay culture in the united states as I will be using the localization for my examples.)

Now, let us compare Ignis and Horatio, specifically the scene in which Hamlet is dying. In that scene, Hamlet speaks of how he’s dying and Horatio desperately reaches for the poisoned goblet, to “go with him” into the afterlife and Hamlet pushes it away from him, urging him to tell his story and thanks him for everything and how he loves him. In the Verse 1 ending of Episode Ignis, Ignis says this:

Ignis: No, you won’t be going alone, I’ll---

and Noctis cuts him off by telling him he’ll be in his heart even if he won’t be by his side. Implying the mirror Ignis has to Horatio in which he wished to join Noctis (Hamlet) in death.

In the “dates” (buddy quests, friend adventures, whatever you wish to call them) Ignis, a lot of the time, ends up talking about when they were children and reminisces on how they’ve both grown and changed, and even how important Noct is to him. (He doesn’t say it outright, of course, because this is Ignis we’re talking about.) Many of the dialogue that stands out to me is when he comments about how important it was/is to make Noctis smile.

Many people might view this as brotherly love, as they grew up together, but ofttimes gay men come about understanding their feelings they have for a close (guy) friend they have. That Ignis would go above and beyond, so far as trying to recreate a desert he doesn’t even know the recipe of, speaks volumes as to just how important Noct is to him.

This isn’t even considering the dialogue for BOTH verses in Episode Ignis.

EPISODE IGNIS

This is a whole other beast.

I’ve seen many a cishet say that his drive doesn’t make sense and how he doesn’t have any reason he does anything he does. Fear not! I’m here to enlighten you!

ALL of Episode Ignis makes sense if you insert context of “Ignis is gay and in love with Noctis.”

Let’s first start with how desperately Ignis was fighting to get to Noct, his thoughts aren’t clear shown in his on and off dialogue with Gladio and Prompto. He’s desperate, scared, frantic even, to get to Noctis. He fights an entire army by himself for crying out loud. There’s several scenes when he’s thinking of Noctis or looking into the distance where the alter is, desperation clear in his eyes.

The desperation in the eyes of a man trying to save the one he loves.

And when he DOES go to the alter, he throws everything away to protect him from Ardyn. He is shown a vision of Noctis DYING on the throne, he even urges Noctis, after the events of Altissia, to stop because he knows. He knows Noct will die and he doesn’t want that to happen. It’s a bit more subtle in this choice, but it’s still present.

However, the one that’s the least subtle is Verse Two.

[Ignis: The world means nothing to me. Do with it as you wish. Ignis: But I refuse to let Noct sacrifice his life to save ours. I won’t let you take him away! Ignis: Even if it costs my own life to save him... Ignis: I will pay that price!]

Now, note the way Ignis words it. “I won’t let you take him away.” These words are not of a man who views Noctis as a brother, but as something more, he is so desperately in love with Noctis that he throws away his damn life just because he couldn’t bare a world without him.

Not only that, but in the death cutscene when you fail to beat Ardyn in the allotted time, his last thoughts are of Noct.

“I don’t want to die without him.”

Without him, means that he would have been fine with dying if only Noctis were there with him. To be there through to the end.

NONE of that would make sense if Ignis was straight, there is NO straight explanation for what he says or how he feels about Noct.

CONCLUSION

So there you have it, examples & reasons as to how Ignis is Gay and how he is most Definitely in love with Noct. And also there’s heavy Hamlet subtext in FFXV I guess and no I will Not be debating this. Also if u read this whole thing I’m like... Super impressed.

Bonus content:

In “Case of the Stolen Spectacles” Noct comments on how he’s never seen Ignis without his glasses on which is. Quite literally. A romcom trope.

#ignis scientia #u ever see a post that just looks like someone swinging a bat at a hornet's nest #meta #ignoct #mentioned #ffxv #theus's thoughts

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reconditarmonia · 6 years

Text

Dear Yuletide Author

Edit 3:10pm Eastern Time 10/23/18: All prompts added now, thank you for your patience.

Hello, lovely writer!

I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3 (and have been since LJ days, but my LJ is locked down and I only have a DW to see locked things). I have anon messaging off, but mods should be able to contact me if you have any questions.

Far From the Madding Crowd | Harlots | Monstrous Regiment | Simoun | Spinning Silver

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink, whether commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms, and the trust associated with it. Sometimes-but-not-always relatedly, idealism. I guess the two combined might be, in general, the idea of nobility of character and what that means.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff.

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

– Eucatastrophe.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes.

—

Fandom: Far From the Madding Crowd

Character(s): Bathsheba Everdene

One thing that always sticks in my mind about this novel is the way Hardy calls Bathsheba “the young farmer” just as he refers to the men as farmers - which, just saying, is more than most people writing about this story can do - and so, that being the case, what I’m most interested in is something about Bathsheba as farmer. One day in the life or four seasons in the life or five plantings/harvests in the life, or pseudo-academic fic about a case study of a woman farmer in the Victorian era, or a conflict between the farm and nature that Bathsheba has to decide how to solve.

Feel free to bring in other characters if it suits what you’re trying to do, but what I’m really looking for is a focus on Bathsheba’s work, determination, and process of learning. Other ideas: something like a merchant ship AU (as the first alternate setting that came to mind where it would be not exactly the done thing for her to captain her inherited ship and make commercial decisions herself - although I do have to point out that contrary to popular belief, there were a lot of women on shipboard in the age of sail, may this be useful - but also where nature and luck/fate are as influential as they are in the original setting); something in which the land, superstition, and ritual are more overtly magical; or interactive fiction!

—

Fandom: Harlots

Character(s): Margaret Wells

So Harlots almost immediately became one of my favorite shows of all time, for its strong and complex female characters, all major plots/conflicts being between women, and the feminist ethos informing both the filming (with this premise there could have been a LOT of actress nudity and titillating rape, in other hands) and the writing - I find the scene in s2 where Margaret leads the crowd in turning their backs on Nancy’s whipping very moving, because it’s one moment that emphasizes that the show’s feminism isn’t just “look, horrible things happening to women, whatcha gonna do” but instead thinks about the next step of women supporting each other against the system. (Kitty’s thoughts about a collective are another one.) I wasn’t sure at first what I wanted to request here, but starting to explain for you why I like the show made me think wherever you take the idea of writing about Margaret, I’d want to see her in the context of other women. This could be pre-canon (I’m not particularly interested in very young Margaret, but Margaret beginning to establish her own house, hiring her own girls for the first time, and contending with Lydia Quigley as a rival, I’d love to see; or deciding to move to Greek Street?) or post-canon (who does she meet? what does she do???) She’s such a powerful character but also so morally ambivalent - what kinds of positions can you put her in where she has to choose how or whether to protect those under her authority, or further her own ambition and that of the people she chooses? What is loyalty, anyway? (I'd be up for post-canon fic with her and Charlotte, but I don’t think I would want to read an expansion of her selling Charlotte in the canon backstory.) Throw in anyone you like if that helps you tell the story - it’s such a good ensemble show.

If you, like me, ship Margaret with Nancy and were psyched when they got to kiss and Nancy told Charlotte she loved Margaret, I have some prompts for the ship in a previous letter. TL;DR: I’m especially interested in Margaret/Nancy as partners-as-family and what that means to them, and in how Margaret fits into Nancy’s relationship to intimacy.

If you’d prefer to write this instead of writing about Margaret, I would also be 100% just as happy with fic about the whole fucked-up relationship between Charlotte and Lydia in season 2 (I LOVE “ultra-loyal and beloved henchman secretly plotting revenge” plots, their scenes together are so good! I was sorry that that plot didn’t carry on for longer - honestly, you could write a canon divergence AU where the secret isn’t revealed so soon and Charlotte becomes more and more compromised and I would be delighted), something focusing on either of those two individually (pre-canon Lydia setting up her house? choosing her aesthetic? post-canon Lydia manipulating her way out of Bedlam?), or something about Nancy (her lifestyle is so unconventional but it works for her and people around her mostly roll with it). Again, preferably with reference to other women, rather than men.

Something that I really like about the show, which would be neat to see in fic somehow, is that it feels real and lived-in. So many costume dramas feel costumed, but at least to me, the sets and costumes of Harlots feel like houses people live and work in and clothes people wear; we occasionally see a shift under the dress, women put on a fichu over a dress or deal with their corsets, they move like they’re used to wearing this. I love daily-life type history, and people being people in history, so those sorts of details would make me really happy. (I have tags “documents” and “history” for stuff that might interest you if you also like that sort of thing.) I also really like the moments of theatricality and ritual like Mary Cooper and Kitty Carter’s funeral processions.

Fandom-Specific Exception to DNW: I recognize that rape and dubcon are endemic to the canon and I don’t expect you to avoid all reference to them, but would prefer not to have them described in detail, or to dwell on specific instances.

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Fandom: Monstrous Regiment

Character(s): Any (Polly “Ozzer” Perks, Maladict, Jackrum, Mildred Froc)

I’m not going to lie, Polly is one of my all-time faves. I like that this could have been a generic coming-of-age or women-in-war story, where the protagonist learns that she’s brave or worthwhile and then the crisis is past, but instead Polly learns that she’s a cunning bastard and a hell of a sergeant, and being a one-off hero in a country that’s at peace and making slow social progress isn’t good enough for her. That said, just because I’m better able to articulate what I like about Polly doesn’t mean I’d be less excited for fic about anyone else! Honestly, one of the things I like best about the story as a whole is the varying degrees of competence porn - people learning what they’re good at and doing it - and that’s something that could apply to any character here. What are they good at? What lets them fulfill their potential? What do they want when their hand isn’t being forced? So, say, how’d Jackrum go from enlisting for Reasons to being the career sergeant of canon? Any other adventures worth recounting? What are Polly or Mal’s long-term plans, since their original goals seemed so short-term - or, what led Froc to enlist and stay? What can Mal do with the intimidating coolness and/or the potential berserker rage?

There’s a lot of potential for romantic and/or platonic loyalty kink with this character set, and I’d love something that went there. Characters rescuing each other from peril, risking themselves (their safety, reputation, position, ethics, secrets, goals, honor) to defend each other (ditto ditto), accomplishing the impossible or sacrificing things without even thinking twice because one trusts the other’s orders or judgment. Or A not going off the leash or into danger to defend B because B said not to (the "call off your dog" thing), to protect A’s conscience or life or reputation. Polly sends Mal on a dangerous mission; Mal goes off-leash rescuing Polly; something about the post-canon rank difference on top of the class difference (Mal is wealthy and cultured and typical commission material and yet is a corporal under Sergeant Perks’s command); Polly protects Jackrum’s secret/s from someone who could reveal them; an expansion of Jackrum and Froc’s backstory; anything about Froc’s whole relationship to the Duchess over the years as one of the few left who met her in person... Or for Polly/Mal in particular, I’d be into high sexual tension and/or mutual pining whether from near (if they continue serving in the same regiment, essentially together all the time and unable to act on it) or from far (what if the job separated them - LDR, epistolary?).

This is a perennial request for me and I have previous letters in the “dear author letters” tag if you’d like more info.

Fandom-Specific DNW: gender headcanons (I'm sorry, I can't figure out the right way to phrase this, but I'm happy to provide clarification via mod question or whatever); vampire romance tropes (such as turning or immortality) as focus.

—

Fandom: Simoun

Character(s): Any (Aeru, Amuria, Dominuura, Halconf, Limone, Mamiina, Neviril, Onasia, Paraietta, Plumbish Priestesses, Rodoreamon, Yun)

Simoun is another one of my perennial requests. I love how, in the mold of all my favorite epic yuri/shoujo animes, Everything Is Beautiful And Then Shit Gets Real, and that's not just an out-of-universe fact of the show but something that the characters themselves, who are "supposed" to be priestesses and not an air force, have to deal with. (Neviril's scene in the hearing is one of my favorites.) I enjoy that everyone comes in for different reasons - religious, patriotic, ambitious, interpersonal, gender-related - and has different ways of solving problems, their very deep flaws but also very deep nobility, and how everyone gets character development in the sense of growing and changing.

I'd love to see something that worked with that military aspect of the canon and the in-story tension of it - if you focus on more than one character, the way that the superior-subordinate dynamics or comrades-in-arms dynamics, and the different ways they behave under pressure (cheerful Aeru when she encounters the downed enemy pilot), sit alongside other dynamics (like Mamiina and Rodoreamon's childhood backstory/class thing) and don't always develop at the same pace, but single-character fic about the choices they have to make and how they think about them, as their situation changes, would be great too. What about more of Yun's backstory, for example? Hell, what's going on in Halconf's life and mind as someone who used to be a sibylla but now has quite a different role in the war as the sibylla position has changed? Or, what about in the post-canon where war is brewing again but Paraietta and Rodoreamon can't fly the Simoun anymore, and Neviril and Aeru might be able to but Neviril has no one to lead, unless it's a whole new crop of maidens? What do they want to do, and what skills are they still able to use? (Feel free to re-unite characters that are separated by canon - resurrect Mamiina, bring characters back from other worlds - if that's what you want to do with the story, although I think I'd prefer for that to be something that's acknowledged in-story as due to magic or alternate worlds rather than tacitly retconned.)

As with some of the other fandoms I've requested, I'm interested in the different permutations of loyalty - loyalty to a position or an ideal over loyalty to a side, such as the Plumbish priestesses'; something fleshing out the chorus's devoted loyalty to and trust in Neviril in a high-stakes situation where she's able to return it; interpersonal loyalty and how that interacts with love, requited or articulated or not (Mamiina and the braid, Paraietta's everything); loyalty that develops before liking or friendship does. Femslash is great, gen is great. This is a fandom where sexual first times would tie into the canon's themes in a lot of ways, if you're interested in writing that. Other things that would be cool: time loops or other timespace play, to go with the magic and timespace warping in the show? Interactive fiction? Have our leads learn more about Argentum and Plumbum and meet people from there?

Fandom-Specific DNW/Exception: I don't need you to retcon the attempted assault(s), but please don't dwell on them. No Dominuura/Limone, please.

—

Fandom: Spinning Silver

Character(s): Miryem Mandelstam

So there's definitely a common theme in a lot of my prompts and it's that I like hard-headed, practical, ambitious women who get into adventures because of, rather than in spite of, those qualities. I really like Miryem's good sense, pride, and rules-lawyering, and the way her power in the world becomes magic power in the Staryk world. In general, I also really like the way the book integrates various fairytales with one another and with the situation of Jews in Eastern Europe. What happens when Miryem is back in the human world, post-canon? I never got the impression that she'd be happy just avoiding the whole question of the town's contempt for her by finding power elsewhere - what's it like if she comes back a queen? (Can she use the mirror from Irina to do an end run around the whole Persephone setup and travel back and forth whenever she wants, and if so, what sorts of plot would make that fun to play with? If not, that's still fine.) Or, what are some adventures in the Staryk world where she could use her Accounting Powers, other than the post-war rebuilding the book talks about? Or tell me more about Miryem practicing Judaism in the Staryk world, and the application of Judaism to that world and those customs that we get some hints of (that's a hell of a diaspora - what would the rabbis think of it?)

I would be delighted by Miryem/Irina. Two queens with very different kinds of power, and different ideas of where their commitment lies - Miryem's to "her people" whether that's her family/other Jews/the Staryk who have bound themselves to her, Irina's to "Lithvas" - and what's consistent with their own ethics to fulfill those commitments. Widow them both and have the ultimate human world-Staryk world power marriage? A more serious rivalshippy thing where you make Miryem and Irina deal with the fact that they're respectively a Jewish queen of a super-powerful magic country and the queen of a largely anti-Semitic country who's not totally free from those beliefs herself? (I should mention that I am explicitly okay with the story touching on anti-Semitism or having anti-Semitism as a central issue.) What about different court traditions, when they visit each other? I would be delighted by Miryem/Wanda. I liked the early development of their relationship and wished we'd had more of that later in the story. How would Wanda's gratitude to Miryem and the Mandelstams play in a land that views gratitude so differently from the human world? Might Wanda's real-world "magic", like the reading and writing Miryem gave her, manifest differently in the Staryk world too? Do you want to go full Tam Lin and have Wanda rescue Miryem from the Staryk world? Would Wanda ever consider converting to Judaism? What if she's less settling into comfortable forest retirement and more becoming a magical gatekeeper of Miryem's land in her own way? I would be delighted by Miryem/f!Staryk Lord! What changes if the otherworldly monarch who claims Miryem's hand, bringing her into a new world of customs unfamiliar to her and power she hasn't known before, is also a woman?

Feel free to include Wanda or Irina even if it's not a femslash story, Tsop or Flek, or anyone else you need. (Rule 63 Mirnatius could also be really interesting, although I know that's potentially a lot to just throw into the background of a story about Miryem, so male Mirnatius or male Staryk Lord are fine too, if they're not the focus of the story.) Or, ignore all the characters, including Miryem, and tell me another fairytale, or combination of fairytales, about the Staryk and the Jews.

Fandom-Specific DNW: I don't need you to retcon Miryem/Staryk or Irina/Mirnatius if you'd rather not (including if you're writing any of the femslash options - plenty of historical royalty had lovers), but I'm not interested in those ships unless genderswapped to f/f, and would not like fic About them.

#dear author letters #yuletide #far from the madding crowd #harlots #simoun #monstrous regiment #spinning silver

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hedgehog-goulash7 · 6 years

Text

Stop the Star-Lord and Thor hate...it’s a story, guys

I think I’ve read about one too many posts from MCU fans who are “upset” about Infinity War -- or “angry” at Star-Lord or Thor for supposedly “screwing up” and “allowing” Thanos to kill half the universe (which, yes, you can definitely read as “Thanos killed my fave and I have to blame someone!”). Or the ones who are all “mad” at the Russo Bros or Markus+McFeeley for killing off their faves or for the IW ending being so depressing.

And it sadly reminds me of “Age of Ultron” and “Civil War” and the so-called “fans” who were “angry” at Tony Stark for supposedly being responsible for “building a killer robot” (he wasn’t) or, I guess, “beating up on Bucky and Cap” (it was more the opposite, but fine...). Yeah, so -- that anger went on until IW, when Tony apparently redeemed himself in everyone’s eyes by actually being extraordinarily heroic and being a fully developed, tragic, sympathetic dad figure to Peter Parker.

It also reminds me -- back in a galaxy far, far away -- of the Star Wars fans who were so angry at the ending of “Empire Strikes Back” - a genuine fandom cliffhanger, with Han frozen in carbonite and Our Heroes and their cause in Dire Peril. (And, of course, “Empire” turned out to be the most beloved Star Wars film and the one almost everyone now looks at as the perfect SW adventure -- in part BECAUSE of its ambiguous, downbeat ending. What the fans SHOULD have saved their energy to be mad at, it turns out, was “Return of the Jedi” and those stupid Ewoks...but I digress. It’s always clearer in hindsight.)

Come ON, fans. I would think by now that you’ve been through high school or college and have had a few literature or even film studies classes. You should realize by now that these are STORIES, and they have rises and falls and continuing arcs, that they have crises and cliffhangers and catharsis and denouement -- and that above all they have CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Do you get “angry” at Jean Valjean for stealing bread? Or does Mr. Darcy piss you off because he’s such a stupidly cold fish? Gosh, I hope not - because these screw-up dudes develop, over the course of their long novels, into Pretty Good Guys overall.

The Cliffhanger Ending is an age-old trope. The Hero Screwing Up is also a trope -- a longstanding story convention that, hello, makes for better stories! And Character Development has been a thing ever since stories started being told. Would you prefer that your favorite characters NEVER developed, staying exactly the same and reacting in exactly the same ways every single time? You’d get about ONE movie out of that. The MCU is spinning a whole, hugely operatic epic here -- so yes, some of the main characters ARE going to make mistakes...and learn from them.

Is Star-Lord a bad guy? Of course not. Neither is Thor, who’s getting shade for “not aiming at Thanos’s head.” (Oh please.) Neither is Tony Stark, whose story is now on an upswing (surprise, surprise -- except for those of us who always predicted it, because That’s How Stories Work...). Neither are Steve or Bucky, who have also screwed up big time. Neither is Wanda, who has screwed up immensely. There actually aren’t too many of the MCU heroes who get off scot-free from making mistakes, because, again, it bears repeating that That’s How Stories Work. Plus: Character Development.

There’s one movie left to go in this particular story arc, which started 10 years ago with “Iron Man.” Don’t go casting blame or hating fictional characters or real directors or screenwriters UNTIL YOU SEE HOW IT ALL TURNS OUT. It might surprise you. I think it will!! (On MANY levels.)

Until then, you’re going to waste the same amount of time and effort hating Peter Quill or Thor that some of you wasted the past few years hating Tony Stark -- only to discover, wow, he’s really a good guy and a hero!

It’s weird how movies work, right?!

Like all of us, our movie heroes make mistakes -- and like all of us, hopefully, they learn and grow and become better.

Just...wait for it.

#Infinity War #Tony Stark #Avengers #Thor #Star-Lord #fandom wank #haters back off #anti thor #anti starlord #anti tony nimwits

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groundramon · 7 years

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Do you have a list of like top 5 tv shows? (Cartoons and anime included)

!!! Yes I do, actually!

I’ve actually thought about doing a YouTube video about this in the past, and while I do want to do list-like videos (and I already have at least one in mind) in the future, I put off doing this one because it actually…depends greatly on where certain shows I currently like are headed because some currently-airing shows would be on this list if they hit their full potential, but who knows if they’ll hit their full potential. Also I always split anime and cartoons into two categories because I always had a hard time picking otherwise xD But I do have some semblance of a list, and I adore talking about this kind of stuff, sooo:

5. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

This spot is kind of a three-way tie between Voltron, Bojack Horseman, and FMAB, all for extremely different reasons. So consider Voltron and Bojack my honorable mentions. But while I believe Bojack’s best is honestly some of the (if not the) best out there, and if Voltron promises through on what they’ve promised it will easily skyrocket up this list, Bojack’s worst is everything I hate about Hollywood and Voltron just has too many holes at the moment. FMAB has the best of both worlds because it has great animation like Voltron, doesn’t have any of Bojack’s bad kind of moments, and doesn’t have many holes in it. (Another honorable mention goes to BNHA, but like Voltron, I just don’t think it has had enough time to develop all the way. Unlike Voltron, it doesn’t really have any holes, but I do have a problem with how strictly it adheres to cheesy super heroes of the past.)

BUT onto FMAB itself. God cmon, its FMAB, do I really need to elaborate why its so great? The characters are compelling, their motivations are powerful and interesting. I could write an essay examining Ed’s character alone, because he has so many interesting motivations and morals that seemingly conflict with his angry disposition, and I don’t even like Ed that much. The story is exciting - there’s basically no filler, and it almost moves too fast at points. I do have problems with the show - as I said, it goes too fast. The only two deaths in the season happen in the first 12-15 episodes of the series, and although I think that’s because the original FMA animated those scenes already, it still fucks with the pacing of this show. Additionally, despite Lust, Gluttony, and Envy all being revealed before, the show introduces a completely new villain - Greed - to introduce the homunculi. And then they kill Lust - the presumed leader of the first three introduced homunculi?? Idk man, the show barrels in a completely different direction way too quickly. But other than that, its a great show. The only reason it isn’t higher is because I’m a biased shit towards other good shows.

4. Teen Titans

Speaking of being a biased shit, idk if it shows or not, but I have a HUGE soft spot for corny kids shows that try to give kids bad laughs and dark/relatable storylines, or rather, have a heart while doing so. Its not so much that I like a balance of comedy and darkness in my shows - although that’s a good thing, I eat pure angst up and I’m all-for pure comedy shows that have the aforementioned heart (ie we bare bears, another good show not on this list) - its just specifically corny pun-ridden teen/tweeny-feeling shows/games that actually have a decent story underneath that get me. (Also my sense of humor aligns much more with shitty teen lingo and puns than modern cartoon humor that’s considered “good”. Like I find Teen Titans 10x funnier than I’ve ever found Steven Universe. I’m a 90s kid at heart even tho I wasn’t alive in the 90s)

But the biggest impact of this show for me was the heart and the plot. The silly moments made me laugh, sometimes iromically and sometimes unironically and sometimes I wasn’t sure how, but it was the story that really gripped me. The first season’s overarching plot for Robin is honestly one of the most compelling things I’ve seen in kids cartoons…period. Its dark, its unique, its a subversion of such a simble and broad trope. Sure it had a nice cheesy ending but Robin actually saves the day through INTELLIGENCE, something he always had. No other Teen Titans ending did that, but I digress.

And god, do not even get me started on Terra’s arc. Just because Robin’s was the most well-structured arc doesn’t mean his was the most emotional. I was fucking distraught after Terra’s season. Those memes weren’t a joke, I legitimately cried right in front of my mom. IT WAS SO OBVIOUS, BUT IN MY BLIND LOVE, I MISSED ALL THE SIGNS… and god, even when she comes back, even when she’s given a happy ending, she manages to make me cry AGAIN. I never, ever thought I could cry over a character like Beast Boy, but she made me do it. I didn’t even cry when Sokka’s girlfriend died, but this really, really got to me. Once for personal attachment, and the second time because…the finale is so good. Literally its Bojack levels of deep, emotional, and realistic, and this was the ending of a fucking kids show. What the fuck. To this day I still get emotional whenever something reminds me of her arc. Which brings me to my next series…

3. Cybersix

Hi so did I mention Cybersix is really good? Because Cybersix is really good. I’m not even done with it but yeah, I love this show. It’s got an amazing art style, great animation, an intriguing story…I have a feeling I’m gonna be really disappointed when it ends because I’ll want to know what happens next so badly. I like the characters, I like the aesthetic, I like the old-timey music that dates this cartoon so wonderfully, I even like the romance between Lucas and Cybersix/Adrian! How’d you make me do that. Oh yeah, because it’s not hard to get me to care about a mutually rewarding relationship that’s gradually built up through a friendship, then an aesthetic attraction, then presumably a relationship but idk yet, where both parties care about one another and their boundaries and have gotten along well since the start. I forgot. (I could nitpick that Lucas doesnt have the same buildup for the relationship as Cybersix [its complicated, basically he’s friends with Cybersix’s alternate persona Adrian but he’s in a relationship with Cybersix, and he doesnt know theyre the same person] but I’m not gonna.) It’s just…a good show man. @ hollywood, reboot THIS you cowards. Stop rebooting shit nobody wanted a new version of and reboot shows that were ended to quickly. Actually dont reboot Cybersix because the only animation studios that would be able to do it any justice are Studio Mir and anime studios, and whoever owns the current copyright to Cybersix would probably be okay using flash for it

2. Digimon Adventure (with a honorable mention to Digimon Tamers)

You can rip my love for the entire Digimon franchise from my cold, dead hands. I’m sincerely surprised any show passed up my love for this show. If/when the currently airing series in Japan gets brought over here, I’ll watch it, even though Digimon has kind of abandoned what made it so great in the first place. But hell, even Fusion was enjoyable - the second arc, from what I remember, was pretty dark and interesting (im still mad they got rid of the two best characters tho) - and the only reason I disliked Data Squad so much is because of Marcus (that and it doesnt have anything else that’s absolutely stunning, in fact from a technical standpoint Marcus is the best thing about the show).

But there’s a reason I put Digimon Adventure here and not the entirety of the Digimon franchise. Digimon Adventure is what started it all. No Digimon season has as much heart in it as the original. Sure the animation improves each season, sure Tamers is probably better story-wise on a technical level, but I dont think any season matches the raw charm of the original. It was so charming, in fact, that what was supposed to be a 13-episode miniseries evolved into a massive franchise that’s still beloved to this day. Hell, there’s still content being released for the 8 Digidestined of this season! It’s right alongside Pokemon, Invader Zim, Hey Arnold, and all these other beloved 90s/early 2000s cartoons that are being revived in recent years, and I think that says a lot.

I wasn’t even alive when Digimon Adventure was airing, but I loved the Digimon games I had played so much that I went out of my way to watch it. And I…loved it. Sad as it may be, it was the greatest TV show I had seen at the time. Growing up in the late 2000s watching only Nickelodeon and CN was not a good period to grow up in, and I never saw Avatar as a kid. By the time the 2010s had rolled around, I had mostly given up on cartoons, and besides, they were all fugly. I still tried to watch some, but just…the humor didn’t grip me, they seemed dumb, and they weren’t pleasant to look at. (Okay the main shows I’m vaguing about are Adventure Time and Regular Show, as well as whatever Nickelodeon was doing but I begrudgingly put up with Nickelodeon for the most part because I preferred Nick and I never knew what else to watch) Then Digimon came around, and hol-y-shit. The characters were like nothing I had ever seen before, the storylines engaging and interesting. Sure it was cheesy, but there was 95% less fart jokes than the average cartoon, a good story, and actually relatable characters that actually go through hardships and actually change for the better!

Digimon Adventure has been and always will be proof to me that no matter what you are, no matter what your show is, you can make a good show out of it. If you get people who care, who can make relatable characters, who can come up with an interesting story, you can make a good show. Digimon Adventure is basically a big long toy commercial, and yet its better than lots of shows that dont even have merchandise - and its also better than a lot of shows that have merchandise now, but weren’t created to sell toys in the first place. I just. Love it a lot.

Also, the reason I specifically chose Digimon Adventure, outside of having a personal attachment to it since it was always my favorite, is because Tamers hecking scared me as a kid and I’ve never gotten over how creepy the last arc is. Like it’s good, but it still scared me.

Honorable mentions: Bojack Horseman, Voltron: Legendary Defender, We Bare Bears, Gravity Falls (thats a big one, it would definitely be on this list if I had 10 spots, and will gladly take the 6th spot if Voltron doesnt follow through or Bojack goes south), Over the Garden Wall, the aforementioned Digimon Tamers ,and Infinity Train might be #2 or at least #3 if it wasnt just a single episode l m a o

1. A tie between Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

HI SO YEAH if you didnt expect this then you dont know me //BRICKED

Before I explain both, I want to be very clear that I’m not counting them as a single entity. No, I just cant pick between them. They’re two extremely different shows, and I actually agree with people who say ATLA is overall a more-rounded show. Problem is, I watched both during a period of my life where politics and darkness make an extremely interesting show for me (aka the current period of my life) and thus its a very biased and “nostalgic” pick, just like Digimon Adventure. Had I watched these shows when they were airing, I dont know if LOK would even be on this list. Heck Digimon adventure probably wouldnt be on this list since ATLA would’ve held the crown for my favorite show for all those years.

They both have amazing animation and solid writing, but that’s about all they have in common in my eyes - even though they share the same world.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a kids show. Through and through, its a kids show. That’s not an insult in the slightest though; no, the fact that they can make something so sophisticated and enjoyable that still clearly appeals to children is really a testament to their skills. Many kids shows that try to take on heavier/darker stories feel like completely different shows when they try to do that - shows that arent intended for kids. Voltron and SU are the most notable examples of that, but even LOK has a little bit of that (but in LOK’s case, its the entire show, so I kinda give them a pass lol) Other shows do it okay (Gravity Falls) but really the only show I’ve ever seen match Avatar’s perfect balance of comedy and seriousness is Bojack, which isn’t a kids show so it has an advantage over Avatar.

Avatar’s world is fanciful and larger than life. I’m so sad that I watched Avatar and LOK after my fanfiction days; I would’ve loved to spend nights thinking about a potential Avatar story, complete with my own Avatar and original cast. I could put it before Avatar, after LOK, who knows? but it would’ve been so much fun. Hell I HAVE thought about Avatar stories, but I obviously dont have much thought up on any of my potential ideas.

The pacing of Avatar is golden. How a show wish such good pacing got through Nickelodeon, I dont know, but whatever deal allowed Avatar to go on for three seasons and then end was a once-in-a-life-time deal (as evident by what happened to Korra). Somehow this show came out almost completely perfect, with few or no flaws.

This is the pinnacle of children’s entertainment, in my opinion. This is proof that there’s no excuse for the garbage that makes up 90% of children’s entertainment. The standard doesn’t have to be this, since this is the best, but this show is proof that we need to raise the standard. I wish executives actually gave a shit about quality; if they did, maybe we could get mostly good shows instead of mostly bad shows.

If most shows were half as good as Avatar, the average show would be gorgeously-animated, smartly-written, and really good, even if it had a flaw here and there. If most shows were half as good as Avatar, Steven Universe would be the average instead of a godsend.

If I someday, somehow make a show that’s 2/3rds as good as Avatar, I’ll officially be a good writer. I’d love to make tons of shows just as good as Avatar, but hey, I cant get TOO cocky now lol

Now for The Legend of Korra. Korra has slightly better animation (god i love studio mir) and different but still intriguing worldbuilding. I know a lot of people found the political bs to be annoying, but I actually found it quite intriguing. Avatar did a little bit of exploring moral gray areas and playing with politics, but Korra just goes all-out. I wish the first season’s morality could’ve been a little grayer, but even then, the politics were still interesting. And god, that one scene in the first season finale, the murder-suicide…that’s still a really powerful scene. The entire finale would’ve been super powerful were it not for everything resetting by the end of it, but hey, they basically did the same thing in season 3!

Holy shit though, season 3. An on-screen strangling. Someone exploding themselves to death. And then the finale’s fight. The finale’s fight. The finale of season 3 is one of the most intense things I’ve seen…ever. The atmosphere in that fight is just…so good - combined with the animation and choreography, its just amazing. You can almost feel every hit, you actually feel concern for Korra, you’re legitimately concerned for her life. And you know what? You should’ve been! Because she almost dies, and she has to suffer the consequences of that. The fourth season has a time gap in-between, but even then, she spends episodes trying to fully recover.

In my opinion, the only thing making Korra a kids show is Milo. I’m certain they put him in there because otherwise, it wouldn’t have been allowed to be called a kids show. It’s dark, its intelligent, its beautiful, and it’s going to go right over most kid’s heads. As a kids show it does kind of fail; it just doesn’t really appeal enough to them. Once you’re old enough to understand, say, Naruto or Dragon Ball you should be okay, but ATLA appeals to all ages while Korra really needs a certain maturity in its audience to be understood and to not scare its audience.

They’re just both. so good

(thanks for the ask!!!)

#stormy answers #long post #this took forever to answer but it was w o r t h #i actually have a script for this video now lmao so i could make this video now if i wanted to

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shrilaraune · 7 years

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Straw Man all you'd like, but you can't do it here

Dear Anyone still watching Sleepy Hollow/those who see no problem with the current situation, I’m really tired of you trying to use the ichabbie ship to invalidate our very real grievances. “They’re just mad because half of their ship died.” I’ve seen you say, suggest and hint at that sentiment. So why don’t we just be honest? You don’t get what the big deal is.

Behold: our grievances, in the interest of honesty and in no particular order:

1) Trying to pull off the “strong independent black woman” trope is bad (It’s a hurtful, racist stereotype. And if you don’t understand why, I suggest some research. There are many beautifully written blogs that expound upon that point in general and a quick search will turn them up), but trying to break that stereotype by having a main character’s boss initiate a kiss without consent, in a glass office at her place of work?

And before you say, “But Jenny– Jenny isn’t a main character. A beloved secondary (at least in the first 3 seasons. I will not watch the 4th) but not a main. Jenny’s rolls in the hay with Hawley and viciously ended relationship with Joe a) have their own problems and b) have nothing to do with how this show treated one of it’s suposed leads (except maybe for colorism). Which brings me to

2) Killing Scully? Bad. But killing Scully with a, “my whole purpose in life was to guide you forward”? AND then getting her name wrong on her tombstone?

3) Killing off or disappearing just about all your characters of color? Bad. Killing off or disappearing just about all your characters of color for no discernable reason? When they did not have to vanish for the story to remain interesting and coherent? Andy? Gone before Moloch is resolved. Luke? Just disappeared. Frank? Shabbily patched up exit after being asked not to return. Abbie? See 2. The rest of the Irving family? THE ENTIRE SHAWNEE TRIBE? In fact the only person of color whose exit has some connection to plot (though it did not have to) is Reyes.

4) Creating a Quaker witch/battle field nurse/ spy (?) and placing her opposite Ichabod’s intelligence and wit? Fantastic actually. Squandering that super interesting premise/ internal charcter conflict with breathily whispered lines (a choice I’m sure Winter had not much say in) and defining her only in relation to other men? Bad. Throwing in a noncon demon baby pregnancy? Worse. Disposing of her character with a, “oh women are all about their babies to abstraction! A mother’s love will always blind her! Even to the mission she’s been carrying on for over 200 years whilst trapped and on the run in purgatory uwuuu.” Find your own adjective ‘cause I’m done with you.

5) Trying to introduce a white dude bro Indiana Jones type character when there is already a better integrated black female version? Bad. Trying to solve #1 by tossing said dude bro between the Mills sisters? Ugh. (AN: I don’t even think many of us minded the idea of Hawley with Abbie (or Jenny) for a time. UNTIL IT BECAME OBVIOUS HE WAS DISRESPECTING THEM BOTH.)

6) Wasting perfectly awesome storylines that would have given the remaing POC refugees something positive to engage in? Petty and not the fun kind. I mean would the Orion storyline have disappeared if he had been female and showing interest in Ichabod?

7) I told myself I wasn’t going to do it, but here’s one I’m laying at the feet of the Ichabod/everyone but Abbie shippers: Not shipping Ichabod and Abbie? Whatever your perrogative. But making a straw man of the ichabbie ship? Making it out like we’re rabid shippers and “Ichabbie right now this instant even when it doesn’t make sense in the current plot because Ichabod is faithfully married” or whatever the case may be? Do better for yourself. There is no ichabbie shipper who would have wanted that pairing to manifest in a way that was not done thoughtfully. Slow build would have been fine, preferred even. Our complaint is the, “Nope. Never these two. In no known universe,” response the writers and some of you have when this pairing is brought up. Really? Never? Despite their obvious chemistry? Why? Now that you know we’ve never advocated for a hamfisted coupling of Ichabod and Abbie plot be damned, you’re going to have to find another reason you disagree with that ship. If Scully and Mulder can do it, why not these two? And before you say, “why do all mains have to get together,” stop. Why does THIS pairing in particular have to be the one that takes the platonic hit? One of the only interracial couples in genre fiction? One of the even fewer with a black woman? One of the even fewer that didn’t start with the mains as a couple? When these conditions are met in genre fiction (or even general fiction), which is rarely, the mains are almost never paired romantically (see 1). So when you say “all mains” you’re talking about white mains. And if that bothers you, the lack of platonic white co-leads, then go ahead and holler. I’ll holler right alongside you. But that logic does not belong here. Not when black women have historically been discriminated against when it comes to having and being romantic prospects. Not when that discrimination sharpens if the other party is the male, white lead.

These are just the grievances I recall at the moment. I haven’t even touched upon the dearth of Asian Americans (after Andy’s second? Third death?) or the complete absence of sexual orientation and gender minorities in the first three seasons. Now you can never say you did not know. Take a good hard look at your relationship with this show. Are you okay with it because these problems don’t touch you and your experience? If so, you may want to rethink your status as an ally. And before you ask, “Why does everything have to be about [insert social issue here, usually race]? Can’t I just enjoy my show?” Don’t. It’s the definition of privilege, not having to think about your [insert social issue here, usually race] and illustrates the very inequity that has most of us up in arms in the first place.

#sleepy hollow #shady hollow #petty hollow #abbie deserves better #abigail mills #grace abigail mills #ichabbie #ichabod crane #abbie x ichabod #katrina deserved better #they all did #they tried it #pettypost #now you know

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aliensmoocher · 7 years

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SO! here’s some thoughts on ME:A now that I’ve finished it, spoiler heavy, not totally complete as I have a lot of thoughts and I can’t hope to remember them all in one sitting.

Some things I liked about it:

Many of the characters in your squad were likeable(which is a personal opinion and I could totally see why others would feel otherwise). (I think Drak got the most attention that actually felt worthwhile, and his story was the most enjoyable, kudos to his writer.)

Most of the initiative leaders were also fairly likeable (this is very personal opinion based, wasn’t the biggest fan of Addison -but I don’t think you’re really supposed to like her. I don’t think you were supposed to be a fan of Tann either, but I like him in a love to hate him sort of way. It wouldn’t be the same without him.) I think the Initiative leaders were more memorable then some of the squadmates as far as dimensionality goes, but we’ll get to that later.

I didn’t think I would like the open world they were going for since DA:I was sort of overkill with how many sidequests and places you could explore, but they handled it a lot better here in my opinion and I did enjoy the feel to it.

Callbacks to the original series weren’t too heavy handed, but were enough to give me a smile every so often, remembering the characters from those games (I hope Liara’s voice actress was paid well lmao, and props to her for coming back to do so much voice work when her character wasn’t ever actually shown.)

I romanced Vetra, the romance scenes with her (though there were not many, as is the way with the ME series) were pretty cute and enjoyable.

The sibling dynamic introduced was a new spin! It’s pretty cool and I like that you can customize both siblings -even if the Dad will only really look like one of them(the player) if you design them very differently.

The epilogue was a bit long, but much better than just ending it with the ending (because....we’ll get to that too).

Speaking of the epilogue, as a Krogan Stan™, getting to be (one of) the proud godmother(s) of Kesh’s beautiful children is a dream come true and Ryder is living up to Jo Shepard’s expectations and she would be proud. I mean it’s not godmother and beloved savior to all little krogan babies, but it’s a start. Good job Ryder.

Also as a Krogan stan, you know I took every god damn opportunity to stick up for the Krogan. (Not getting a pathfinder? Are you serious? The Krogan have gone through enough)

The designs for the environments, 9/10 were beautiful and the lighting was great.

Quarians, Drell, Hanar, Elcor, and Volus made it to Andromeda post main story, but are in distress and their pathfinder advises to not rescue. Worrisome, but at least they’re planning on bringing these species back if they make a next game. (Also, does every species get a pathfinder or just one? Given that for some reason they all seem to be on the same vessel.)

Some things I wish weren’t in this game at all and I’m so mad about I’m not even going to bother going in depth with them:

That queerbaiting lmao

The deadname drop, which was corrected later

The Kill Your Gays Trope. Really? Come on now.

The fact they didn’t even finish the visuals before releasing it. Fuck the game industry. I’m not spending another 50 hours just to see how you polished your game when you should have just done it in the first place.

Some things I dislike (character based):

Generally, as was typical in the previous games and something I would hope they would improve for this one, there was a limit on character interaction+dialogue. There was an obvious favoritism toward certain characters. ON THAT NOTE:

For some reason Gil had an absurd amount of dialogue and reactions to situations but his romance is *fart noises* really short and from what I’ve heard forgettable. I really liked Gil, but some of his story was uncomfortable as in: I a gay lesbian couldn’t help convince my gay friend that he didn’t have to have a baby or that maybe it wasn’t the best time for that. Gay men having babies with their straight female friends is a nuanced issue, one that kind of needs a lot of care when you’re trying to tell the story; and honestly I don’t feel like it was given that care. It says in the character file in the codex that my Ryder “tried to convince him” but she got a line of dialogue, he said he’d do it anyway, and she said “okay! i’m happy for you then!” which is uh, not convincing anyone of anything. I don’t know, it was just, uuuuuncomfortable.

Kallo got practically nothing toward the middle onward unless a salarian was involved. Which was a bummer, b/c I really liked Kallo and would have liked to hear....any of his opinions on....anything that was happening. Suvi practically always reacted, and thank god for her b/c if she wasn’t there to fill my life with her and Kallo’s banter I don’t think Kallo would have been heard practically at all.

Vetra practically never had any reactions to situations. Which, considering she was a romance option and was a pretty cool chick imo , I wish she did. (Sid? is awesome and I love her. Her loyalty mission was great. But the lack of interactions was disappointing)

Common complaint is that PB is a Liara clone. They do have similar motivations, but their personalities differ enough. PB gets more likeable as the game progresses but I didn’t like her at first. Sort of wish they introduced her ex seperately from PB so that you could actually hear both sides. It’s very obviously “PB doesn’t like her so you shouldn’t either! Oh wait, but she does care....” Which is boring. Speaking of, the loyalty mission was kind of *fart noises*.

Jaal was momma’s favorite and you could tell. Seems very forcibly trying to get f!Ryder to date Jaal which wasn’t my steez thanks.

Liam and Cora are both Straight and I am still amazed. Cora is fairly one dimensional. Liam is fairly one dimensional. They both have their “thing”. Out of the two I think Liam is more developed. Cora is ???A failed experiment at being progressive while cutting all possible corners to make it not progressive and I’m not sure what they were trying to do with her other than be clearly !!! SEE NOT ALL GIRLS WHO HAVE THIS HAIRCUT AND FEEL LIKE OUTCASTS AND WERE SHUNNED FROM THEIR FAMILIES AND SOCIETY ARE QUEER !!!! THEY CAN BE STRAIGHT TOO !!!! which like, yeah i guess thanks bioware

No complaints about Drak. I loved him.

My dislike of Alec Ryder and the continuing attempt from the game to make you like and sympathize with him nearly caused me to not complete the mission focusing on his memories. The only thing that made me continue was being spoiled about the ending and wanting to make sure my Ryder was aware that her mom was alive. I didn’t like his character and no amount of in game “see, he did really love you and your brother, he cared about your mother! he sacrificed himself for you!!!!” can negate the fact that he just....didn’t raise his children or really give a fuck about them at all until it was too late!!!!!!!

Let me change Scott’s name please.

The twin dynamic was interesting but offered nothing until the very end of the game. I got the same sort of thrill from playing as Scott during one of the final missions as when I played as Joker in the original series. (I would have preferred if Scott was saying Oh shit as much as I was given he had one grenade and 1 shotgun and I’m more of a biotics and sniper woman myself, but it’s fine). Would have liked to see the twin dynamic explored more in game or had more interactions even despite circumstances. But at least he played a part in the end.

I constantly found myself being interested in what Kandros, Kesh, and Tann were up to -sometimes moreso than what my squad was up to. Which is a problem. I think your squadmates and the main villain should be the ones you are most interested in chatting with. But there is just a lot more appeal to me in the shady politics and in fighting between the 4 of the initiative leaders that was just always more interesting to me. (I didn’t play the dlc with the other Kandros and just found out they were related so that’s a sweet little shout out and something I do like)

The archon had a bad face design homeslice. It’s just bad Jim.

The Archon felt so detached from everything that happened in the game to me. It never felt like -despite being the main antagonist -that i was fighting him. With the reapers, with Saren, it always felt like you were fighting someone specific. That through all the taking down of this foe or that one, the person in control WAS The Reapers (or...or Saren I guess in the first game despite the fact he wasn’t -but he was being controlled- whatever it’s....) Compared to trying to make the planets liveable for the people who risked their livings going to Andromeda as well as creating relations with the Angara : The archon felt like such an afterthought. Not in writing or development -but in the context of Ryder’s problems. The kett? Totally an issue! Absolutely a problem! But they’re still going to be a problem even without the Archon, that’s clear from the ending. Bring me the real leader of the kett -I don’t have time to deal with your shenanigans sir. -No I mean the REAL leader, the one back home, the one who’s clearly actually in charge. The Archon here struck me as just a leader of this fleet of Kett. Not an actual leader of the species. But one that had to be respected b/c of his title here in this area of the universe.

tl:dr for the last part: Archon sucked as a villain and his death made me feel nothing. Saren’s death had me crying I felt so bad I couldn’t help save him from the Reapers. The reapers destruction made me feel victorious even if it was a hollow victory given the -hmmmmmm uh....- “ending” of Mass Effect 3. Give me something to feel toward the defeat of a or THE major villain, Andomeda, PLEASE.

Some more dislike things:

The ending was okay. As I said above. I didn’t feel anything toward the death of the villain. Which is,, an issue for me. When I was playing the mission, sometimes the activation of certian things in the gameplay just didn’t activate properly -glitches basically. Which was rough considering it was supposed to be a high stakes moment.

If you’re going to do a fade to black sex scene for some of the characters, do it for all the characters. Blue ball all of us or none of us.

The Angara designs are Uggo (unless it’s a female angara in a certain color, for some reason color makes a world of difference for this species. Jaal’s okay I guess but uh..nah... if he’s ur type that’s fine but NO THANKS)

The Kett designs are Uggo

Nothing wrong with uggo alien designs- I, in fact, encourage them, but they didn’t go far enough to ugly town and not far enough to pleasant town so they’re just uncanny valley ugly and I’d appreciate if they would make up their mind which one they wanted thanks.

Kept expecting a Kett squad member ala Legion being a Geth squad member. Another game maybe.

The creaure designs are cool -but I’ve heard they recycled a lot from DAI which is a bummer and I didn’t notice. Given that in Credits it had stuff from the DAI time, I guess that’s true.

#autumn shoosh #Didn't get to all the topics I wanted to #but this is uuuuuh long buddy

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drink-n-watch · 6 years

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Genre: Everything that Irina Loves

Episodes:23

Studio: White Fox

It’s amazing how quickly something can seep into your normal. You repeat the same actions under the same circumstances a few times and just like that, it’s a ritual. Comforting and familiar. You miss it when it’s not around. Before you can even notice, it’s a little part of your life, and tiny little spec of what makes you, you.

Since April 12, 2018, every Wednesday evening I’ve come home to watch an episode of Steins;Gate 0, then I savoured it. I took it in my mind with me and let it settle as I drifted off to sleep so the next day, I could try to tell you all about it. I truly wanted to share the experience with you in an unvarnished, honest way. I wanted to give you all of my thoughts and feelings and to heck with pretence and pride. It often came out in a jumble of passion and directionless enthusiasm.

On Friday evenings I would relive the episode in stop motion form to capture images and put it all together, ready to publish by Sunday. Even after a long week, I enjoyed taking this time, screencapping away.

Like most of my episodic posts, my Steins;Gate 0 reviews have had relatively modest success. But that’s fine too. It made sense that such personal and intimate posts would be seen by the few close readers that have gotten to know me best. That was comfortable…and familiar.

where have I heard this before?

And so, for some time now, Steins;Gate 0b has become a part of my reality. It’s made a tiny mark on me. I’m the girl who looks forward to Wednesday evenings. The girl who’s a little quieter and pensive on Thursdays and a little too contempt on Monday mornings. The girl that mumbles El Psy Congroo under her breath and giggles in her head. I have come to enjoy being that girl. Today, I’m going to be that girl for the last time. I couldn’t have asked for better company.

Steins;Gate 0 has been a ride! If you want a proper review, I’m sure you have plenty of options. This isn’t going to be one. I probably couldn’t write one even if I wanted to. I’m a little biased…

WordPress’ digital editor always screams at me when I start sentences the same way. It’s an issue with drinking games… This is why I put this little buffer in before continuing. Steins:Gate 0 is a series that trades and relishes in nostalgia while betraying the expectations built upon those memories. I don’t think you need to have seen the original to enjoy this season, but it certainly adds a ton to it. In any case, although the story is different and the themes almost opposite, it’s pretty safe to say that it will likely appeal to the same audience.

good pertinent cap, right? so proud!

This is a time travel story meant to take you back in time. Back to the original, which is still beloved by so many fans. It’s clearly pandering and I bought it hook, line, sinker, rod and probably part of the fisherman’s glove. This show was written for me. It did exactly what it was suppose to. It took me back to a time when I was a little anime lover and time travel otaku who had no friends to share those particular passions with and stumbled unto a fan patched version of the visual novel. To a time where I was completely engrossed in that world. For months, I live in Steins;Gate’s version of Akhibara.

I remember once overheating my laptop while playing and having it unexpectedly shut down and refuse to start up again. My only concern was that I might not be able to find the game and mostly the English language patch again. I couldn’t care less about the computer itself, everything else on it or my progress. The first time I found Steins:Gate, I found a place where all my disjointed passions came together in a format that was my preference. I found a home.

A decade later, fearful and suspicious, I stepped back into that world that had meant so very much to me. I was suspicious and defensive. How can you possibly catch lightning in a bottle twice? And then, I was home. Only this time, for the first time, I get to invite friends over.

little Suzu is the embodiment of adorableness

I told you this was not going to be a review…. OK this is the deal, Steins;Gate 0 is a lot like the original and also very different. By now, enough has been said on both that my post is unlikely to either sway or inform you. Instead, this post serves as a place to hold all my feeeeelings about the season but also to tell you a bit about this final episode.

Shocker: I liked it. What can I say, I’m a girl in love. It’s not as if I’m completely blind though. I realize there were some issues. We never got back to the second Reading Steiner. Judy’s role was useless and a lot of the characters are dreadfully underdeveloped. Farris the great is lost forever in the folds of time. That’s just tragic. The darkest future lacked the narrative connective tissue to make the emotional impact it could have. Why was Moeka with Maho in the first episode? You can tell that in the editing process meant to adapt a multi branching VN narrative to a basically linear one, some plot threads where excised not quite a cleanly as they could have. I don’t care, I loved it.

And really, the final episode wasn’t perfect either. Those directorial choices were plain to see. This was a story cut down to fit the format and the director obviously had to pick what would stay and what would go. The action is streamlined and half skipped over. Only a few characters get to grab unto the spotlight. These were hard decisions but the fact is, if you want to get somewhere, eventually you have to pick a path. Steins;Gate 0 picked the prefect one.

cried when I watched it, cried when I got the screencap, cryin’ now…

Visually, the episode opens as a parallel to the ending of the first season. Okabe backlit and depressed in the streets of Akhibara. The episode itself twined around and intermeshed with the ending of the original Steins;Gate in one glorious Ouroboros. We finally got the full view of how both stories fit together, crossing paths for only one second and changing the future for eternity. Cynically you could call it a huge load of fanservice for fans of the original. At least at first sight. I call it beautiful.

Thematically though, it was quite different from Steins;Gate, and that’s what I adore about it. We never saw Kurisu again and Amadeus is gone forever. This time, the difficult choice is made. This is the worldline where love doesn’t conquer all. It’s also the worldline where decisions have eternal consequences. If Steins;Gate was about having it all, Steins;Gate 0 is about the importance of compromise. But closing one door in order to open another is a powerful gesture. There’s something deeply comforting about that. A sense of purpose and urgency that brought out the very best in everyone.

only Mayuushi can save Mayuushi!

Mayuushi was a force to be reckoned with. This is a character that was essentially a walking, talking damsel in distress trope. And yet, our eternal little victim saved absolutely everyone through sheer strength of will and never faltered for a second. The damsel in distress was allowed to pick up the sword and become a hero. It took a decade to get there, and it was well worth the wait.

The unfortunately underused Moeka was given a sliver of agency and more importantly hope, for a second she looked like a real person and not a puppet. Moeka has always been one of my favorite characters and generally favorite villains. The idea of an average someone being so deeply broken that they willingly make themselves into a weapon as it is less painful than being a person, was as terrifying as it was sad. Her every appearance in Steins;Gate 0 send a shiver down my back. Giving her a chance at a different life, brought a smile to my lips.

As for Kagari, her trajectory is similar. In essence she’s also nothing but a tool. But Kagari had something Moeka never had. A mother who loved her. As we bid goodbye to the season we also saw Kagari as her best self. A small child longing for her mommy.

now that’s quite the ensemble

And Suzu… My dearest Suzu. It’s not that much longer to type out Suzuha but I always shorten her name. It’s a nickname, you see. We have a rapport Suzu and me. Few characters have endured more. It would have been easy to write her as an ultimate badass having sacrificed all emotions in order to survive. She tries to pretend sometimes. But Suzu did manage something amazing in the eleventh hours. She actually figured out how to be vulnerable without being weak.

This was an episode full of heroes.

Somewhere along the twisting and turning timelines…uhm worldlines… Steins;Gate matured. 0 is no longer the insecure kid that needs it’s leading man to be everything to everyone. It’s secure enough to spread the glory around. It can handle ambiguous relationships that aren’t clearly defined and long term friendships that don’t lead to dating. It’s also grown up enough to trust us, the audience. To let us figure out what it was saying without over explaining everything. That’s what happens when you get older, you learn to let go.

I think so too!

I adored that no one got the girl. In the end, there’s no real indication of who “the girl” even is. This time that’s not what it was about. Everybody got a turn at the wheel. For everything it failed to do, Steins;Gate 0 finally gave the little girls lost a chance to chose their path and find themselves. That’s worth a whole lot in my book

But where would Steins;Gate be without the Mad Scientist of the hour! Few characters have gone through as much growth and regression and regrowth as Okabe Rintaro. The man has his faults. Many, many faults… He can be frustrating, annoying, unbearably selfish. When he’s not being a cringe inducing doofus, he’s a complete downer. Who could blame you for being over the guy? But you still got to admit, that Hououin Kyouma’s got some swagger!

‘Cmon, don’t tell me you did cheer out loud when his silhouette came into view at the last second. Now that was an epic Big Fat Hero moment.

I mean it… don’t tell me. In my worldline we all applauded and cheered, laughing loudly. We hugged and danced around the living room. Buddy watched us, confused. It was a great moment. Don’t take it away!

I had a great time these past few months. I was really happy you were there too. If ever you want to take a stroll back down memory lane, you can relive the good times with me:

Steins;Gate 0 Ep1 – In Memory of Things That Never Were

Steins;Gate 0 Ep2 – Kindred Spirit

Steins;Gate 0 Ep3 – Little Girls lost

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 4 – Confabulation

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 5 – The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 6 – The Best of Times and The Worst of Time

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 7 – Strange Bedfellows

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 8 – Okabe And The Real Girl

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 9 – The Comfort of a Familiar Ache

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 10 – Space Time Oddity

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 11 – Anti-Thesis

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 12 – MEAMs

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 13 – Discrepancy

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 14 – The Disapearance of Kagari Shiina

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 15 – Hope for the Future

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 16 – Those Who Fail to Learn From History…..

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 17 – The Second That Lasts Forever

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 18 – Never Trust A Professor

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 19 – Meaningless Consequences

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 20 – The Once and Future Okabe Rintaro

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 21 – Going Back to Yourself

Steins;Gate 0 Ep 22 -A Nostalgic Sorrow

I’ve been reducing the number of pics. They slow down my site. Also Crunchy roll has recently changed making image capture much harder. Still I couldn’t resist this week. Here are a ton of pics. Doesn’t that Mayu and Suzu pic have slight yuri vibes?

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Steins;Gate 0 – Time Heals All Wounds Genre: Everything that Irina Loves Episodes:23 Studio: White Fox It's amazing how quickly something can seep into your normal.

#action #drama #friends #Mystery #sci fi #Steins;Gate #Time #wow

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