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ominous-auburn-orbs · 4 months

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More sick Caine but this time within the circus?

I wanted to do this one for a while, but I wasn't quite sure how.

Heavily inspired by Caine VA's Twitter post about what Caine might be like if he got sick. I can't find it but if you know you know

Also warning for some very suggestive jokes.

The circus troop had just finished doing their theme song and were waiting on the stage for Caine to announce that day's adventure. He always gave them some time to socialise before they started it, finding it also gave them an opportunity to mentally prepare.

However, Kinger had noticed something off with the ringmaster. His voice during his introduction had sounded stuffy, and he could swear he had heard Caine unexplainably say something about a 50% off deal while he was talking to Bubble.

"Uh, Gangle?" She was trying to stay as far away as possible from Jax when Kinger approached her, startling her slightly. "Did you notice anything different about Caine? It's kinda hard for me to tell with this stuff. In case I'm just, y'know, making it up or something."

"W-well Kinger, you know Caine better than anyone, so you're probably right. Something does seem a bit weird with him today. Maybe you should ask him about it?"

While Gangle was concerned, she secretly hoped that whatever was going on would get them out of that day's adventure, or at least delay it. It was also a great opportunity for Kinger and Caine to spend more time together, which was something she always loved to see.

Just when Kinger was about to start searching for him, Caine flew up above the performers, his energy seeming a bit more forced and draining than usual.

"Hello, everyone! Are you all ready for today's- for... AHC[CLICK FOR NEW IPHONE]!" The other's jumped at the sudden yelling. They all couldn't help but compare it to a sneeze, if a very peculiar one at that.

"Huh. I guess Caine's got a cold today. Well, I'm going back to my room, tell me if he starts feeling better so I can try to make him worse again." Jax turned on his heel and walked towards the hall, followed by Ragatha and Pomni's glaring.

Turning back to Caine, Pomni cautiously inched closer to him. "Uh, are you okay, Caine? You don't sound well. And what do you mean about a 'new iPhone'?" The ringmaster looked at the floor, his gaze seeming unfocused before his head snapped up.

"Don't you fret, my dear, I- [YOU'RE OUR 1000TH CUSTOMER]" Caine made a loud string of glitching noises into his elbow, desperately trying to speak through it, "I-I'm doing just fine..."

The quiet groan that followed his words convinced Pomni and the performers otherwise. Pomni glanced back nervously, unsure if this was a regular occurrence. The confusion she found in her friends' eyes told her it wasn't.

Kinger at least now had confirmation that he was right. Something was wrong. "Caine, I really don't think you should host today."

"W-what?! Nonsense, nonsense!! The show- [CLICK HERE]- n-needs- [FOR 10 GRAND]- a host!" The troop had begun to back off while Kinger had gotten closer. While they all just wanted to have a calm day for once, Kinger was far more concerned with Caine's health and safety.

"Maybe you can just get Bubble to do it today." Out of the corner of his eye, Kinger saw the other performers frantically shaking their heads in response to the idea. "...or, rather, we just don't have an adventure today. Take a little break. You definitely sound like you need one."

"B-but-!" Before Caine could say his excuse, his eyes began quickly spinning around in his head, resulting in him having to close his mouth tightly to keep them inside. When they stopped moving, he slowly opened up again. "Alright. W-we'll just have a day off today."

The chess piece moved to put his hand around Caine's shoulder as he lowered further to the ground. While the others immediately went to their rooms, trusting Kinger to handle whatever was going on, Pomni lingered behind to check on the two.

"Are you, um, do you need any help, Kinger? I mean, I-I don't really know what to do, but if I can do anything..." Pomni trailed off, not really sure where she was going with this. She didn't want Caine to be 'sick', just as she didn't want anyone else in the circus to be unwell either. Well, maybe Jax, but that's more than reasonable.

"Oh, no, I've got it from here. You can go and relax, I can handle Caine." Pomni gave him a look of mild uncertainty just to be sure he was being honest. Kinger returned it with a reassuring smile. "It's my specialty! He'll be well again in no time."

The jester smiled, taking his word for it and heading towards her room. As she was leaving, Caine came back into reality again and frantically waved his hand, yelling, "Byyyeeee, Pomniii!!!"

The sudden burst of excitement sent him into another fit of high-pitched crackling noises. Kinger's hands moved to further support him. "Maybe just try and use an inside voice for once, dear."

"S-sorry. Thank you for helping me. I'm- [5 STEPS TO BECOME A BIG SHOT]- still not used to this happening." Caine leaned against Kinger, letting out a light sigh of relief at not having to put as much energy into keeping himself upright.

The chess piece began to walk him to the hall that held their rooms. "Do you know what's happening?"

Caine moved his feet to keep up with Kinger, although he went at a slower pace. "It's probably something wrong with my code. It doesn't seem too severe, so my built-in defences are currently working on fixing it. Buuuut it does take a bit. [TOP 30 ANIME DEATHS]!" The ringmaster looked somewhat embarrassed about his various short outbursts. "H-hopefully it doesn't take too long."

The next time his foot hit the floor, Caine's body suddenly spasmed before his head fell to the ground. His top row of teeth landed close to his bottom, but his eyes bounced and rolled further down the hall. Kinger startled, quickly moving to support Caine again and staring in disbelief at the pieces of his face now scattered across the floor.

"O-oh no- I'll get those back for you, honey!" He only moved forward slightly, not wanting to accidentally drop Caine, while one of his hands flew through the air to catch the ringmaster's eyes. When they finally lost momentum and stopped rolling, Kinger was able to pick them up and bring them back. Not knowing what to do, he placed them in the top of his robe, moving on to putting Caine's head back together.

Kinger started by trying to put Caine's bottom row of teeth back on top of his shoulders, but it was like working with very weak magnets. He eventually got it to stay floating, which allowed him to move to the top row. Caine talked to him throughout, which did make it a little harder, but Kinger could never complain about hearing his voice.

"I'm so very sorry about all of this, my dear. You should be enjoying this day off anyway, I can handle this." Placing Caine's eyes back into his head, Kinger moved his hands around him again to continue walking.

"Don't be ridiculous, I love spending time with you. Even if you weren't 'sick', this is exactly where I'd be." Kinger pressed his face to the top of Caine's gums. "Right next to you."

The ringmaster leaned into Kinger's chest as they walked, chuckling nervously. "O-oh. I hadn't realised. In that case, this is- [HOT AND THIRSTY TWINKS NEAR YOU]!"

Caine slapped a hand over his mouth, or rather his eyes and bottom teeth. He buried his face deep into Kinger's robe, attempting to hide his bright red face. The chess piece was startled, his own face heating up as well. He put his hand on Caine's back comfortingly and smiled at him.

Kinger's voice quietened somewhat. "I know, darling, believe me." Caine let out a quiet groan of embarrassment into the fluff of Kinger's robe, making him laugh. "Come on, I'll just take you to my room. Then you can rest while your system fixes itself."

Pulling his face away, Caine kept walking alongside Kinger. The pair eventually made it to the chess piece's room, with Kinger setting him down in his pillow fort. He sat down next to him, gently rubbing circles on his back. The ringmaster leant against his shoulder, sighing with content.

"Thank you for all of this, my love. I'm already starting to feel better, although I'm still not entirely fixed. Just be wary, in case I have one of those little outbursts again." Kinger returned his sweet smile as best as he could with his eyes. Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by Caine suddenly yelling again. "[PLAY WITH ME AND YOU'LL BE CU-]"

Kinger quickly put his hands on either end of Caine's head and snapped his mouth shut, waiting for him to finish before letting him go. Both of them were blushing profusely, with Caine's eyes heavily avoiding the other's. Kinger grabbed one of Caine's hands and rubbed his thumb back and forth across it.

"It's fine, dear. I know you can only do so much to keep your programming in check. We can just stay here until it's fixed." Caine gave him a small nod and rested against him once more. The less he did, the easier it was for his code to solve the problem. The chess piece put a gentle hand around Caine's waist. "I don't really mind you saying things like that, anyway."

The ringmaster wrapped his arms around Kinger and held him close, clearly flustered despite trying to disguise it. "Shush. I thought I was meant to be resting."

Kinger chuckled, but agreed, their peace only disrupted by Caine's occasional glitches or advertisements. They eventually stopped, signifying Caine was well again, yet neither of them moved for a long time afterwards.

#shout out to the slopcord for giving me a bunch of ideas #if that hadn't happened I would simply be dead #caine x kinger #kinger x caine #kingleader #royalteeth #I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

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maddsmallow · 10 months

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finally!!! my month and a half late dutp mermay pic is DONE. i have a whole, like, story idea for this pic, which you can read here on my twitter! EDIT: fuck twitter, i deleted it, so the story idea is now under the cut if you're interested! i think signy and audwin from time princess' swan lake story can work really well with a mermaid twist on their characters. also i just want mermaid audwin and human signy to smooch a lot uwu

also. nothin' like drawing mermaids to kick your ass into figuring out how tf to draw water lmaooo

the story goes something like this: signy is the daughter of some rich guy and they've always been by the ocean (maybe the company has something to do with the ocean?), and i haven't quite figured out what he does, but either he or uncle arthur start getting into some shifty shit and maybe get into offshore oil drilling, or something that will hardcore pollute the water. she's expected to take over whatever the company is, but she doesn't give a shit and like, just wants to be a marine biologist. she has her own boat (bc rich people privileges) and often goes out into the water to just get away from it all and chill, and maybe she does some diving to look at the fish and coral n stuff. idk how any of this works irl lmao. but anyways, audwin has been watching her for a while, because humans are very interesting, before she finally spots him. after freaking out, she decides to keep him a secret because even as a marine biologist or whatever, she knows a find this big would be more dangerous to the merman himself than beneficial for any research. so she goes out to their meeting spot to hang out with him most days, and even though they cant communicate, she talks to him and he seems to understand. he brings her gifts and she brings him human stuff to look at. eventually she says something like, "i wish we could talk, i so badly wish to know more about you," and audwin's like. welp that's enough consent for me. so he uses his magic to turn her into a mermaid. and of course she FREAKS but then she's like!! oh fuck!! we can talk now! i can explore without needing air!! tell me and show me EVERYTHING. so they explore and they talk. audwin explains, a bit vaguely, about how he "doesn't belong with the rest of the mer people" even though they are a social species, so having to fend for himself for his whole life has left him a bit scrawny and, while he would have been riddled with scars from having to fight with other creatures on his own, has become very good at magic to defend himself. and now that they can understand each other and have an actual mutual conversation, audwin's like. oh heck. i like this girl a lot (assuming he didn't already consider her his mate because of the constant exchange of gifts).

just before she's about to be like okay this was fun but i gotta get back to my life on land, they spot a body floating in the water, and before audwin can pull her back signy goes to it and pulls the unconscious man to the shore and performs cpr and brings him back. he looks weirdly like audwin. she can't speak in any human language anymore (mermaids in this universe don't have the right vocal chord structure or whatever to speak human language), having taken the form of a mermaid, but he seems to understand what she's saying anyways? how could that be? she turns to audwin for an explanation and he's like, yeah so uh, the magic i used to give you a tail actually just swapped your human parts for another mer person's mermaid parts. so i guess this is the guy you swapped with and he's actually a mermaid, so he knows what you're saying. and signy is of course PISSED she's like this random other mermaid dude coulda died just for me to have a bit of fun?? that's fucked dude. and audwin's like, "why would i give a shit when i was cast out as a baby from the rest of mermaid society? YOU are my only friend." and then the other guy, who introduces himself as aldous (and i guess a side effect of audwin's magic is that he can fluently speak english or whatever now lmao), is like. yeah that's cool and all but, this is actually terrible fucking timing. some dude just came into my kingdom and is fucking everything up hardcore and i need to be there to fight him off. but even if audwin switched their tail/legs back, aldous would be too weak from, yknow, almost dying from drowning to actually fight whoever is fuckin shit up. so signy is like ME AND AUDWIN WILL DO IT and before audwin can even say anything, she grabs her cell phone from her shorts (let's just assume her clothes are on her boat and the boat is nearby lmao) and has aldous call her friend ben (the guard from the story!) and relay a message to him to meet her at the shore. he does and he sees the situation, and with aldous translating, signy tells ben to take care of this random dude she found on the beach. "dont ask questions its just REALLY IMPORTANT." and he's like. fuck okay sure. and just before signy and audwin go off to see what's going on with the mer kingdom, aldous gives audwin a pendant that will grant him access inside no matter what. every mer person has a pendant that has magic to allow them into their respective kingdom, but aldous had always had two of them, a gold and green one and a silver and purple one, and he feels that maybe the purple one belongs to audwin.

so aldous goes with ben to ben's place to rest and recoup, and signy and audwin go to the kingdom to see what their deal is. i dunno what's going on there, i haven't quite figured it out, but basically the king, aldous' (and audwin's) dad, is losing his marbles and made some kind of pact with a human who ends up being signy's dad or uncle, but then her dad/uncle was just going to betray the agreement and kill them all for access to an oil drilling spot? i dunno. but i have a scene in my head where they hide in what seems to be some kind of abandoned prison with one cell, and there ends up being one mer woman in there who ends up calling audwin's name when she sees him. audwin is shocked, and approaches carefully, and she cries while she explains she's so happy to see him alive and well. she tells him that his father separated him from his family just a bit after she'd birthed him and her brother because he was certain he was going to fulfill some kind of prophecy and overthrow him, and then he cast her into prison because she was so heartbroken that she was deemed "mad." the king brought up aldous as an only child with no memory of his twin brother or his mother, but always had an inkling that something was missing because of the second pendant he'd always had, which was given to him as a baby by their mother before she was taken away. audwin despairs at the fact that his mother and the life he should have had were ripped away from him by one man, and hugs his mother tight before swearing to take the king down.

some big climax happens and they take down the mer king and throw him in the cell that used to house the queen (cuz im not creative enough to come up with a non-prison sentence even tho fuck prisons and also acab irl), who then takes her rightful place back at the throne, and they also take down signy's dad/uncle or whatever, i dunno, i haven't figured this shit out yet lmaoo. but anyways, they sort it all out and they fall in love n all that shit. audwin speaks to his mother and tells her, he's never belonged to mer society and trying to integrate now would majorly suck, especially without signy at his side, who has to go back to land to give aldous his mer body back. he'd rather be by signy's side, separated by land and ocean, than not be near her at all. she's his one true friend. his mother understands, and bestows a new pendant to signy that, when worn, will allow her to understand the mer language even as a human, and allow her back into mer society should they ever return. they go back to the surface and they get ben and aldous back to the shore and audwin swiches signy and aldous' human and mer bodies back. it's a sad occassion. signy doesn't want to leave audwin behind in the water, and it's clear that aldous and ben have developed some kind of feelings for each other (do i have aldous and the guard fall in love in every dutp swan lake story i've ever thought up? YES). ben suddenly pipes up and is like, audwin switch with me!! and everyone else is like HUH?? ben explains that he doesn't really have anything in the human world to miss, he's not leaving behind much [insert some kind of tragic story for ben that i haven't thought up yet], and if they switch, they can both be with the people they want to spend their lives with. so they switch. audwin becomes a human and ben a merman, and then signy's like. welp, guess i don't need this anymore, and gives ben her pendant. they're all smiles and hugs, and then before they say goodbye and leave, audwin turns to aldous and says, "hey, say hi to mom for me." and aldous, who doesn't know they're brothers, is like WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE--

and anyways. aldous gets to meet his mother (who will know exactly what happened with signy and auwdin the second she sees ben with her pendant and it makes her smile) and stay with ben who adapts to mer society fairly easily, and audwin gets to stay with his best friend and love in the human world. signy's dad's company tanks which she is glad for, and maybe she and audwin use the money she has to open up some kind of ocean clean-up project or something. standard cheesy barbie-like plot haha. wham bam, signy x audwin mermay story

will i ever write it? nope. if anyone wants to yoink this idea, go ahead! just credit me (and also @ me so i can read it hehe) !!!

i based the boat off of this pic of a greenline 39 yacht

consider supporting me on ☕ ! ko -fi. com / maddsmallow (without spaces)

#dress up time princess #dutp #time princess #dutp swan lake #dutp signy #dutp audwin #signy x audwin #mermay #my art #the blogger says words

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elkkiel · 2 months

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fuck it I know I said yesterday I'm gonna hold on and wait but I just need to get some thoughts out of my head.

Content covered: love and empathy to Caiti, why he's taking so long to get his statement out, and frustrations with balancing personal mental health vs understanding that this isn't about *you*

1) Love to Caiti

I can't even imagine what she's going through right now. Regardless of if George had innocent or malicious intentions, it's obvious that this situation was incredibly traumatic for her. And I'm so glad that she has friends that are publicly willing to support her. I talked about it when Shelby spoke up so I won't bring it up again, but I get what she's going through and how much it fucking sucks. Hopefully, no matter the outcome, she can find peace and healing moving forward.

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2) Why he's taking so long

*I'll make statements empathizing with how difficult the self-defence process must be, but it in no way condones or excuses his potential behaviours or actions involved in this situation. He is a grown man and can deal with the consequences as such

The rush to get a statement and potentially closure to move on is understandable but still super stressful all the same. Given the severity of how this will impact his entire life moving forward, I wouldn't be surprised if he's seeking legal counsel or other advice before proceeding with a statement. Additionally, this is likely a situation where there may be little to no evidence that proves he didn't do anything, so whatever he presents has to be circumstantially rock solid with little room for doubt.

This isn't twitter drama where you can link a few screenshots and a twitlonger, or hop on stream quick to spout out your perspective. He stands to lose absolutely everything in his life today and it all depends on what he has to say and how he manages to say it. I know if I was in a situation like that (in the case that he legitimately believes he hasn't intentionally done anything wrong) I would be preparing in every way possible, short of a lawyer speaking for me, to clear my name to the best of my ability.

It makes sense that he's taking so long. He's probably not trying to ignore it and move on, but the lack of clarity on timelines certainly doesn't help him either. I wish he'll say something now too, but there's nothing wrong with taking longer than anticipated to detail out (probably with some fairly intimate detail that may be uncomfortable for anyone to share at such a scale) the most important stream of his life.

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3) Autism and grieving a special interest

There are (or were) a lot of neurodivergent people in this community. Like, a LOT. Some of us are able to drop hyperfixations or special interests and move on to something new with relative ease. Others struggle a hell of a lot more. You're not a bad person if you mourn the loss of a special interest in your life, it's just important that you keep the right perspective about it.

It's not as strong now as it was years ago, but the dream team have been a special interest for me since like July 2020. Emotionally, it honest to goodness feels like a loved one has died and I'm having a really hard time coping with it. Fuck, like I called in sick to work today because I the mental toll is so extreme I'm feeling physically ill.

Things will be okay and I'm so grateful to have Sleep Token right now, otherwise I don't know if I would be in a very safe place at the moment. It's really fucking hard and your pain is valid, despite what neurotypicals or neurodivergents with different experiences may say. The important thing to keep in mind is that your pain does not outweigh the pain of those genuinely hurt in this situation (Caiti in this case)

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4) Moving forward

I guess it all hinges on what's to come later today. Regardless of the outcome, things will never be the same here and I would be very surprised if any of the dream team carry on with their careers in the same capacity. I'm glad that people seem to be self-blaming less this time compared to the drituation. It still hurts to see this once-vibrant community crumble in such a short period of time.

I don't know what I'll do from here but I don't think the last 4 years were a waste. The dream team was a huge source of happiness during some of the darkest times of my life, and I don't think those memories could ever be tainted.

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Much love to everyone, whether you're still hanging around or not. I hope everyone finds happiness wherever they end up and that the truth will prevail in the end

#tw: sa mention #fandom discourse #elkk.txt

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slime-sandwhich-nom · 10 months

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Back in this fandom for the fourth time, will be giving headcanons.

> The snatcher wasn't always evil, he was once a very sweet guy. And i don't mean the prince, even as a ghost, he was once a very sweet guy! It's after eating souls and actually participating in the "monster" role that he found out he had a particular liking to bring suffering to others.

> Deep down, he still loves vanessa. The sweet, caring and beautiful Vanessa that somehow got replaced by that possessive monster roams around the manor now. He just can't look at the current one and say "yeah, that's my girlfriend" no, it's not. It's vanessa. Not his princess. That's the queen.

He's hurt by her, very hurt. But he wants to be his prince again, well, he wants to be his princess's prince again.

> the snatcher is chaotic neutral. He's that type of guy who never actually goes a certain direction, he only does whatever HE wants and whatever will grant him the advantage. He's here for the DRAMA. but he doesn't wanna be involved in it. He wants to watch it.

He can be both good and bad, as long as he gets entertainment in return.

> the snatcher is aware that he's in a game, hat kid isn't. Whenever he talks about "icons" or regular stuff that appears in games (example: "all of the minions who are awaiting mail, will have an icon above them, once you're done, come back here, and "clock out", get it?") hat kid is always left confused, but always knows what to do for some reason.

the snatcher also knows about memes. He knows about Twitter and everything, and will joke about it, despite hat kid not getting it.

> The snatcher always joins whatever hat kid is doing, why? It's fun. He always goes around as another hat kid because it's easier to move, since he's not a big noodle.

> Since he was a kid, the snatcher was always a bit mischievous, a little silly, if you will.

> Vanessa wasn't always an obsessive and possessive person, which made her turn into the monster she was now, it somehow..was her mother passing that struck a nerve. She was a good person once.

> snatcher dosen't really hate his minions. He acts like a goofy villain who has these little guys helping him and always tells them his secrets and plans, and they enjoy it!

> Snatcher eats the souls, the minions take the goods and throw the bodies in the swamp.

> Snatcher is literally those sassy Disney villains

> both Vanessa and the prince had powers. Ice and fire. Both had to keep their cool to keep it under control, which wasn't too hard, but even a snap could lead to at least one room frozen. Or worse.

Vanessa usually had her feet frozen and ice spreading slowly the more she got angry, but the prince? (aside from hardly ever showing anger, he was the literal definition of joy.) He would get on fire like hades does in the Disney movie.

It never hurt the two royalties, the ice never gave Vanessa any sides effects or the fire ever hurt the prince, but if it got out of hand, it could corrupt them.

> Somehow only royalty (by blood) could reach power such as magic (ice, fire and all), so they had several lessons to keep it under control. It's a little special thing that only these specific people had, no one else did.

> The prince had the habit, and still does, to brush aggressively his hair with his hands until he would accidentally rip his own hair whenever he was stressed or upset. Bad habit.

> Vanessa instead always touched her hands a lot and fidgeted, or paced whenever she was alone.

> the snatcher always had that booming laugh of his.

> The snatcher can sing. (Reference to his VA)

> the snatcher is Italian, Vanessa is German. Subcon is somewhere in Europe, specifically in Germany (the prince comes from a kingdom in Italy, but he started living in Germany with Vanessa in subcon)

The conductor is Scottish.

Mustache girl is British (meaning the land mafia town, is in England, but the mafia is not British.yet. I gotta decide.)

[Need to figure out the others]

P.S. technically speaking, all the characters are from different places, so they don't really speak the same language or English (aka: the prince and Vanessa technically would speak German (and Italian, for the prince)) aside from who is from England, Canada, the united states ect. But for the sake of everyone (to understand what they are saying) the game is in English and everything will be said in English.

plus everyone at least KNOWS some English, to communicate with everyone around the world, so everyone (when they figured out that hat kid didn't understood them) kinda spoke English to hat kid. Helped a little because everyone spoke the same thing, but as an alien she had to force herself to understand.

> the snatcher has always greeted people with a "why hello there!", Rather loud too, but in a cheerful manner, rather than the current one.

> the snatcher didn't have a big scary change or transformation, he just can shapeshift, and thought the form he uses in the game is scary (it's not. It's rather cute in my opinion.)

> The prince has the little habit of always standing and stare at Vanessa from behind whenever she would brush her teeth or hair before bed, and always gave her a little scare by just letting her realize that there's someone behind her by looking at the mirror. He enjoyed doing this a lot and always gave a few small chuckles without waking up the entire subcon with his loud laughter.

And as much of a scare Vanessa would get, she would laugh along.

> since the prince didn't spoke German, and only communicated in English, he was a silent character for quite a while. Once he actually started speaking some German thanks to Vanessa, he started speaking more. He was always the talkative type, he just couldn't be understood.

> the snatcher has a bush cat as a pet. Y'know, those little cats with a bush as their bodies? Yeah that.

He treats it like this

But he loves the little feline.

#HAHAHHAHAHA FOOOOOOOLLL!!!#NO ONE ENTERS MY BLOG AND LEAVES WITHOUT MY HEADCANONS!!!!!#But seriously #the snatcher is my favorite #can you tell?#ahit #ahit headcanon #ahit headcanons #the snatcher #the snatcher ahit #ahit the prince #the prince ahit #vanessa ahit #queen vanessa #the conductor #mustache girl #(only mentioned ONCE.)

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elvisabutler · 1 year

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dove career anon back again! do you have any sfw hcs for dove and austin? like the first time they met each other's families or visited each other's hometowns? any pets they may have (for some reason dove strikes me as a cat person)? just general light goofiness between them

no idea what we're talking about? see the little dove series masterlist for slightly more info, note it's not safe for minors at all. and note i'll eventually get out the next chapters.

you mean how austin charms the hell out of her mother despite knowing that "ah yes this is the idiot who broke my baby girl". and how dove tells austin's dad he's got a villain mustache and it's somehow still cute? dove career anon, i definitely have these.

consider. consider that any actual proper visits happen post cannes smashed in between elvis press tour dates or in the tiny sliver of time austin had pre dune and bikeriders filming. dove has to make her own tweaks to her schedule but it's not as massive as mr. go go go. after all, she gets her oscar nom but she's against some heavy hitters, when warner bros and baz and austin and everyone talk about the award press junket she kind of just says whatever happens happens.

for arguments sake she ties with stephanie hsu because i do whatever the hell i want in this. and i want austin to say that stupid line i envisioned him saying drunk.

the funny thing is though, austin's been in new york city before and she's been anaheim before but never being shown around by someone who calls or called those places home.

consider! he shows her his old elementary, she does the same. he drags her to all the places his mom would take him and she walks him to the theater stages she grew up with. her stomping ground of wanting to be in theater and acting since she was small. his stomping ground of wanting to be an actor once sports failed and he realized that it's weirdly the shy ones who do great work on film.

her trip to disneyland is one where they both keep getting stopped and the pictures except for the pap ones stay confined to small twitter circles and maybe tumblr. no annoying articles about him taking his baby of a girlfriend to disney.

she doesn't know who is more thankful about it, him or her.

when she meets his dad she can't help but blurt out about his facial hair and austin in that moment makes sure he grows it out for bikeriders because of it. just to see her reaction to his own.

his dad laughs and reminds austin that he's got to keep you because she fits right in. dove rides the high of that praise for weeks after. same thing goes for when she meets his sister and gets called her favorite one.

"of course she's your favorite, you don't have another." "shut up daddy, let her speak." "she's the only one i've called my sister, austin."

if it happens before the press tour is over that was supposed to be a hint. if it happens after, she's just being honest and truthful because dove is the only girlfriend he's ever married.

as for when austin meets dove's mom? and to a lesser extent her managers/agents who act like her dad? austin is scared shitless.

it's understandable though because all three of them read that boy for filth and threaten bodily harm if she ever come home or come to them as sad as she was after australia. he swears on his life she won't ever be like that and after that, well he gets dragged to The Diner she enjoys going to with her mom and her managers. and it's a sweet lunch/dinner.

also they have the elvis cat. who was the first pet they ever get even though austin wanted a dog first.

the two dogs come post getting their own house together and during austin's and dove's month break after the oscars to just breathe.

well one of them does. it's a little golden retriever that if they're not around to take care of she goes to stay with austin's dad. her name is jolene.

the second dog only happens post their first baby and that one is a female husky named jenna.

#austin butler x priscilla actress reader #little dove series #dove series #you read your lines so cleverly and never missed a cue #( dare i add the tag. )#austin butler #austin butler x reader #( oops my hand slipped? )#ally writes #spoilers: this is queued.

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walks-the-ages · 11 months

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Okay guys I thought we'd gone over this when JKR (scum of the earth) first ~confirmed~ that Dumbledore was Gay on Twitter.

Why are we now suddenly accepting Word Of God Tweets as canon?

Especially for shows/characters that didn't have a single HINT about xyz queer identity in the actual show? Especially when half these modern shows these days are *explicitly* filled with other rep?

This obviously excludes things in older media where the creators were clearly fighting tooth and nail for inclusion because it's visible in the show in appearances/how characters behave etc even if it's never given verbal direct lines--

--looking at Steven Universe never actually saying the words Gay or Bisexual or Pansexual or anything-- while still being full of gay and bi representation including a literal gay wedding--

-- also looking at a certain reddit thread I found by accident for the EDAs with Eight and his boyfriend (whose name I can't think of or find on Google) in the Doctor Who novels of them being a ship and the author not being able to include the more...ehem. explicit content between them, but their relationship is still there strongly enough in the text you can grasp what's happening behind the scenes.

ALSO looking at the Eighth Doctor being canonically nonbinary without using the word, with multiple instances of them saying things along the lines of Janet from the Good Place's "not a man" --

I think we need to bring it back again--

"if it's not in the [media] it's not representation."

The author of the Animorphs saying "you can Headcanon whatever you want" does NOT make the Animorphs canon queer representation.

The creators of a show that has canon gay and bi rep tacking on comments on Twitter about how a side character is "ace" without ever actually showing that in the show like the other queer identifies were given? NOT representation.

Saying a character is trans/nonbinary/neopronouns representation purely because the main character is a robot that agrees with its assigned-at-construction "genderlessnsss" and uses it/its pronouns because it is a robot (and literally every single robot in the entire series also uses it/its, there are no robots who are trans and want to use different pronouns) is NOT proper nonbinary or trans representation. It's representation for it/its users, but just barely, considering it's told in first-person perspective, so the it/its pronouns are never used for the protagonist unless someone is speaking about the main character as though it's not right there in front of them. The fact that many readers come away assuming either she/her or he/him pronouns for the main character after the first book, under the impression the use of it/its pronouns for the main character by the other characters in the first book was just a sign of being seen as just an object is evident enough of the problem .

Especially if the series is allergic to the concept of asking people their pronouns and everyone ~magically~ knows everyone's correct pronouns based on their physical sex listed in their space Facebook. It is not trans or nonbinary or neopronoun representation. The one time someone genuinely uses neopronouns they're immediately rushed off screen after being confirmed to exist for brownie points.

It's 2023. Queer representation is everywhere that cares actually to include it.

Does a piece of media need to explicitly say the words "asexual" "nonbinary", "transgender", "neopronouns" etc to be represention? Not necessarily; are they actually showing the representation? Is it clearly visible with the media? Sure, go ahead! You don't need to say the word "transgender" out loud to establish a character is trans--

do they wear a trans pride pin?

Do they wear a binder?

Do they have top scars?

Do they wear a padded bra?

Do they have old photos that look different to their current self?

Do old friends not recognize them right away?

Do they take birth control pills or have patches?

How about a character that is nonbinary and uses they/them or other neopronouns?

Here's a shocking fact: if you want real representation for nonbinary and neopronouns, you DO in fact have to include conversations about pronouns in your media if it's not a written text where things are literally spelled out for the reader!

You do NOT need to have your non-binary or trans or neo-pronoun-using character experience any kind of transphobia to establish their pronouns. You can literally just have a conversation go like this.

"Hello, so nice to see you again! Have you met the project lead and computer expert, Ian, yet?"

"No, I haven't met him yet, but I've read some his work!"

"Some of their work, actually. Ian uses they/them pronouns."

"Oh, my mistake, thank you! I cannot wait to meet them!"

Another, extremely simple thing to do is. Is literally just have the character wear a pronoun pin. These are things that exist for a reason, Especially for neopronoun users .

You cannot magically guess someone's pronouns based on appearance, and if you *insist* that every character's pronouns CAN be magically known based on what they look like ..... Congrats. you're being transphobic.

If you want to actually include representation for any gender identities in your work you HAVE to do the most basic thing and actually be comfortable with the concept that characters, like real life people, should be comfortable introducing themselves with their pronouns, wearing pronoun pins, and correcting someone who is misgendering someone without it always being malicious or a big deal.

Having everyone magically know someone's pronouns are it/its because the character in question is a literal robot in a world where literally every single robot uses it/its pronouns is NOT the representation you think it is.

Anyways.

If your new favorite modern media doesn't have explicit queer representation in the confines of the show/text/etc and only tacks it on in a random comment on Twitter?

Congrats!

This media does not contain canonically queer rep.

Stop advertising it like it does.

#large text #walks talks #i am tired of this shit #queer #queer representation #word of god on twitter is not representation #asexuality #ititspronouns #transgender #nonbinary #capslock

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reelvibes91 · 1 year

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Harry Potter TV Series Thoughts

Harry Potter is one of my favorite all time book series. They still line my shelf to this day. The movies that came out were great representations of those books for many reasons. Now Max, a revamp of HBO Max has decided to go forward with a new 10 year commitment to a Harry Potter TV series.

For many reasons, this has me skeptical. The movies eliminated most of what was filler and streamlined the story so that many people who may not have read the books could easily follow the story. That and the cast was damn near perfect. The trio will never be topped. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson are these characters for so many reasons. There have been some fairly dumb arguments online about why this series is necessary. Emma Watson ended up too pretty being one of them. That is not even a valid conversation, and it seems unfair to Emma over the years of growing up on screen. That is the pressure that led to the trio debating on leaving the series altogether.

I can't even imagine the pressure this generation will put on the new cast, especially with Twitter as a new way to fly off the handle when we don't like something. Basically, all that can be added back in is filler and scenes that don't really progress the plot forward at all. If they do all of the filler, there will be about 3 to 4 episodes that deal with each books main plot, and the rest of the episodes will be filled with the meaningless stuff that happens in between.

People claiming this will allow for better character development over the course of 10 years are fooling themselves. The trio had plenty of growth throughout the films, and you don't need 70 hours of television to get a good pace with solid characterization. The stuff that was left on the cutting room floor was done so for a reason.

The biggest issue this series is bringing to the table is giving JK Rowling another 10 years of relevancy and a platform to speak. She absolutely unequivocally does not deserve this after the comments she has made about trans people. She is problematic, and those who are turning a blind eye no longer have the right to then call out other problematic people. If you are choosing to watch the Harry Potter series knowing she is involved, you can no longer throw shade and use problematic stars as a reason to avoid other franchises. Don't twist this. You are free to watch Harry Potter. Just stop throwing shade at others for watching whatever they want to as well.

There are a lot of issues I foresee with this series. The film's casting department was phenomenal, and it is doubtful they can do such a great job again. Some of these actors have passed away now, and their roles in those films are truly held in high regard. I, for one, can't see anyone else as Severus Snape other than Alan Rickman. It does not work for me.

Sometimes, in Hollywood and in business, you need to realize when Greed has just taken over. This is one of those instances. Harry Potter is a rich IP filled with untapped potential for original stories. Choosing to reboot the 7 books we have already seen done before seems like a choice based on pure financial greed, and I can't be convinced otherwise.

#Harry Potter #TV Series #Max #Streaming #Hogwarts #Wizarding World #daniel radcliffe #rupert grint #Emma Watson #Alan Rickman #Ron Weasley #hermione granger #Severus Snape

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destinyc1020 · 1 year

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Just read that anon about the video, and I have to say it actually sounds legit. I don't see them asking for privacy unless they felt invaded and they were promised privacy at this resort in that way so it should've been respected. As far as I know, they've never really asked for stuff especially regarding privacy not even when that tik tok girl recorded them at the Crazy Horse place in Paris, and that was actually invasive. For all we know she recorded conversation and just didn't release it. That was invading for sure. I think the lack of respect we as fans have sometimes is so telling and it's sad. Two of the nicest celebrities and we can't let them alone for a little bit. And YESSS girl, I stand with you on social media. It's not everything. Someone said, Tom has changed. I don't think he has at all actually. Definitely more mature, but, still playful and loving from what I see on the outside. He's too diplomatic I think honestly, he let's people say things but doesn't really respond and when he does people attack him because they aren't use to him responding. He ain't passive, he just seems to always take the high road. Very admirable. This is about to be a married man, he is doing exactly what I would want my man to do celebrity or not. Protect me boo, and I will thank you later for it. Adore them as a couple and I hope the constant scrutiny they each endure, especially him, doesn't ruin anything. This world could really use the kindness, we see so little of it. Especially on Twitter. That's another story . Anywho, love your blog ma'am. Keep up the great work. Stay neutral and kind as always.

Awww... thanks Anon for the kind words about my blog. ❤

In answer to your ask....I agree with everything you've said.

I promised myself I wouldn't discuss this anymore, but I keep breaking my promises..... 🤦🏾‍♀️

Anyway, I agree w/you...

I feel like the main issue in this case was the fact that they were on vacation with each other and they had more than likely chosen the place/location specifically for its privacy. So to see that someone deliberately broke resort policy and not only filmed them w/out their consent, but also went out of their way to POST it PUBLICLY for the world to see? 👀

Yeaaaa.....I can see how that didn't go over too well with either of them. 🥴

I don't blame them for feeling a little violated. It wasn't even the paps who caught them (who celebrities realize they just can't control, no matter how much they wish they could), but it was a fan/hotel guest!! 😳 Someone who doesn't even make their living trying to get celebrity photos caught them. I can see how TZ were worried that it would start to cause an influx of fans and maybe even paps to catch on to their location and snap even more pictures and post them online. 🤦🏾‍♀️

So yea, I totally get it why Tom and Z weren't feeling that too much. 🥴 I don't see anything wrong with them speaking up about it, especially if the location they were vacationing at was supposed to be private and had a strict policy against photographing guests against their consent...especially celebrities.

Re: Social media, lack of respect, etc

Yep! I agree with this also. I think social media has caused fans to overstep their boundaries a bit when it comes to celebrities. 👀 Just being honest. While I can totally understand the excitement and whatever, I think some fans need to just put themselves in the shoes of their celebrity faves for a hot second. Think about how YOU would feel if strangers did certain things to you! It might not feel all that nice.

That's not even going into the haters who post hurtful, mean and unkind things to celebrities on their posts, or tag them in tweets bashing them for no good reason, etc. 😔 Yea, some ppl can say, "well just ignore it" (and I'm sure many celebs try to), but at the end of the day, they're still human, and sometimes words hurt! Especially when you know that these ppl don't know a thing about you personally, or lies have been spread about you all over the internet and ppl are reacting to the lie instead of the truth that you know. It's just crazy. 🥴

Re: Tom...

Yea, I don't think Tom has really changed who he is as a person either! I mean, I'm sure he's seen the downsides to massive fame, and has kind of learned a bit how to be more wise with his fans and fame level. But overall, he's obviously still the nice, kind, good guy that we've always known, and fan encounters and the things that ppl say about him reflect that! 😃

And yea girl.... I want my man to PROTECT me too!! Shoot lol.... 😂 If anything, ppl could argue that he was really protecting Zendaya with that plea to take down the video, because in all honesty, Tom's back was to the camera, so he could have been any old dude walking along the beach. But it was Zendaya who's face could be clearly seen in the video, on her bikini, splashing in the water.....

Anyway....

I adore them as a couple too Anon 🥰, and I really wish that this world would be more kind to others.

I believe it was the Dalai Lama who said:

Be kind whenever possible. It is ALWAYS possible. - Dalai Lama

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fandomjoy · 1 year

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Quantum Leap 2022 is GREAT!

The "radio silence" here on Tumblr regarding nuQL is because the fans who are loving the new show are gathered on Twitter and Reddit and Discord. And plenty of us OG fans have been LOVING this sequel and can't wait for the next 10 episodes!

The Calavicci family has always had a big role in the show & they had plans to try to get Dean a small on-screen appearance, but then he passed while things were still being developed. Yes, Al has passed (it's implied that his death was the same time as Dean's); it would've been too hard to emotionally accept the implication that he's alive, but we'll never get to see him.

Janis isn't an antagonist. It may seem like it, but only on the surface. The subtext says she has good intentions, but is willing to do anything to succeed in her plan. Her conversation with Beth really gives away her aim: she wants to bring Sam home so that Al doesn't spend his last couple decades of life depressed because Sam never came home. Also, as per the pilot script, Sam was working with her and said her dad would be proud of her; of course she's not evil! Don't know how anyone can interpret her that way! Things are never so black and white.

Ben was never established as aiming to save Sam Beckett. The closest we got to an implication that the Project was re-built to find Sam is that Magic is the one who petitioned to re-start the Project. Ben was never even supposed to be the Leaper; Addison was (and that likely ties into Ben needing to save her, whatever that ends up meaning).

Ben was the one who contacted Janis for help; we just don't know how he learned about whatever it is he's saving Addison from.

The two of them have different goals, but those goals move in parallel. Ben Leaping to save Addison doesn't preclude Janis' aim to bring Sam home.

As for Ziggy not speaking, it's pretty obvious that the new Project was built from the ground up. Al obviously took as much of the original with him as he could before they fully mothballed the Stallion's Gate location. So, of course the Ziggy at the Topanga Canyon* facility can't speak. That quantum supercomputer does not currently have the Heart of Ziggy; it is an A.I., just not sentient, and likely was named Ziggy in honor of the original.

*(pure fan conjecture based on where Ben & Addison's apartment is located & the location of mountains near the cold ocean, which allows the Project to be underground [confirmed visually in the show] but also have close access to a large body of cold water [gotta love that icy Pacific!]).

I am of the belief that Al took the Heart and it's among the equipment Janis is using. BTW, what I refer to as the Heart of Ziggy is the blue orb we see in The Leap Back. The description of it in the script goes as such:

The shimmering blue light is emanating from a glass sphere floating without visible support above the center of the room. The sphere is filled with living brain tissue immersed in a nutrient solution. THIS IS ZIGGY.

The living brain tissue is probably where the sentience stems from.

Once Janis reveals her intentions fully and joins the Project (because it's obvious that'll happen), once she realizes that she can trust the Team, she'll help Ian install the Heart into the present supercomputer and BAM! We'll get to hear Ziggy. We may not get to hear her until the end of the season, but that'd be such a great way to start the summer break before season 2!

As for the questions about the Waiting Room and body vs mind Leaping and all that ish... There's been twenty years of scientific and technological advancement since the original Project was mothballed; of course this new, rebuilt Project is gonna have different coding and different ideas on quantum physics. Change is inevitable when it comes to science.

And I will leave y'all with my theory on what Janis is planning to do:

She would never want to straight-up erase the good that Sam has done while Leaping. So there's no way the plan is to warn 1995 Sam not to Leap. Plus, if someone warns Sam not to Leap, he's just gonna come back with "Wait, it works?" And if the messenger mentions his changing time? He ain't gonna give up Leaping if he knows he can do good in the world!

So, I don't think 1995 is the year Janis is aiming for. In fact, she's probably not aiming for a time; I think she's looking for a place, which just so happens to be Al's Bar, which her dad probably told her about over the years when lamenting about his last time seeing Sam. Since that's the last place Al saw Sam, that's where Janis is aiming for.

What does she plan to do once she finds Sam? I believe it's to convince him to come home, but "home" would be Stallion's Gate immediately following the events of Mirror Image. He'd be reunited with Al and Donna and Sammy Jo, but the Leaping and the Project would still have happened, so no paradox.

The new Project can still happen - maybe Sam's return is kept a secret so he can just disappear off the grid and enjoy the rest of his life in peace, with frequent visits from the Calavicci family. So Sam would still be on record as missing, so Magic would still want to revive the Project, but Sam and Al would both have had happy endings.

#quantum leap #quantum leap 2022 #nuQL #OG QL #QL89 #QL22 #I LOVE THIS SHOW AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT HALF OF THE SEASON #PS Ian Wright is my favorite new character and I identify super heavily with them (they have some heavy Autism coding)#But I also love Ben and Addison and Jenn and Magic and...#Well I just love the whole freaking show!!! IT'S SO GOOD!

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kaizenproductions · 1 day

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Natsu does NOT have any previous experience with romantic love

This is the (better) Tumblr version of my post from Twitter. Given the format of this website, I'll add some details to what's already written.

Before starting with this, I want to clarify that the motivation to write this post has little to do with nalu itself (it will be mentioned to highlight a point though). Having previous romantic partners DOESN'T really make any ship invalid. You'll find the actual reason behind this essay under the cut below.

This is about how Natsu, as a character, is never presented or seen by others as someone who has experience with love and such idea is never hinted or implied anywhere in the canon material. This lack of experience explains why Lucy thinks he has no interest in it.

As we will see later, Lucy isn't the only one who thinks like this... Let's get started.

Year 2024. Why writing all this? Some weeks ago I was involved in a discussion about whether Natsu was being OOC during a filler (non canon) scene of the anime where he snaps at Lucy in a way he never does with any of his friends in canon material. The discussion led to this...

I didn't want to assume that this person was taking Lisanna as some kind of first love. At the end it turned out that was exactly what was happening. The proof? The most platonic reunion ever... with Happy reacting the same way as Natsu and comedy being included. It is important to highlight that Mashima never makes two people between whom there have been romantic feelings reunite like this, with comedy references in between that downplays the seriousness of the moment to some extent. While this post is about Natsu and his feelings, I could also mention Lisanna's reaction to this, something that proves that there wasn't even a one sided love: after noticing this Natsu is the same one from her real dimension, she doesn't start crying because of him but because of her siblings.

Let's ignore the part where this dude started calling me and some other users "retards" because that speaks volumes for itself about his lack of real arguments. After all, he has been fighting for at least 4 years with teens over power scaling, a topic he may seem to be knowledgeable about but actually isn't so much, plus he has been banned from at least one Discord server because of his r4pe threats. It seems this individual was so obsessed with that specific thing that he said Zeref did it to Mavis and that's how August was made... That also speaks volumes about his media literacy and the fact that even if it's true that he did read the manga so many times as he claimed during this discussion, he has serious problems with reading as a normal person. When it comes to the topic of this post, the problem is that he has some influence within the fandom, at least on Twitter, so whatever he says is something that many of his followers will start repeating.

What does Mashima do when Lisanna finally comes back to her original home and she gets a proper reunion with everyone?

After the initial shock from seeing Edo Lisanna in Earthland and the big reveal, this is how Natsu reacts.

This isn't a reunion that suggests that Lisanna is special compared to everyone else in the guild, and particulary to those who grew around Natsu. Also, we can't say Mashima just doesn't know how to write such scene properly... because he's written it at least once (in Rave).

The emotion you can feel in this scene, the way ONLY both lovers are on the spotlight and the rest of their friends are in the background until the end... Well, the difference is so obvious that it's ridiculous to say more. Given how well Mashima handles the emotional dimension of his characters in his mangas, the possibility that he didn't know how to depict two lovers who got separated from each for some time due to circumstances beyond their control is off the table.

Also, notice how the end of the Edolas arc depicts this.

The difference with her reunion with Natsu and the others is so obvious that there's no need to say more.

We can also discard Lisanna as a former love interest because there's no akwardness between them once she's back to the guild. They can be seen playing together and briefly interacting from time to time, so it's not like they're avoiding each other.

Is it implied somewhere that they had something beyond friendship? Not in any kind of canon material. Every time Lisanna is mentioned in regards to Natsu she's presented as a close childhood friend. We have, for example, her profile from one of the first chapters where she's back home and the information of the official magazine that was released 10 years ago.

But what if they simply stopped loving each other due to being separated, as a fellow nalu shipper told me on Discord? Making characters fall out of love is something that Mashima also references (see Macao pic a bit below). It also goes against what we saw regarding Erza and Jellal, who still had romantic feelings for each other despite their antagonistic positions for many years, or against the whole Zeref and Mavis thing. In other Mashima mangas we have more couples like this. Elsie and Justice still loved each other despite being sworn enemies, and Let still loved Julia (and vice versa) when he discovered she was alive, a kinda similar scenario to Natsu and Lisanna if they had been lovers. Given that Natsu and Lisanna weren't even enemies to each other at any point and they were only separated for two years, we can't say they had something canonically and they simply got over it with no actual reference to it.

There was a very good moment to reference past feelings in 100YQ: when Touka includes Lisanna in the group of women "around Natsu".

Instead of offering us a comment like "it's not like that anymore", Lisanna just says something that implies they're not that close. After all, Natsu is hanging out with his team most of the time since it was established.

What's the reason this fandom has been so many years discussing about this friendship? Because the first anime adaptation goes beyond that friendship and the manga omake where both of them take care of Happy's egg, something Lisanna decides to help with because she loves animals and she felt Natsu wouldn't do it properly. The first season includes several fillers that pave the way for a love triangle, presenting Lisanna as a girl who is VERY interested in marrying Natsu when they're adults. In addition, Happy is presented as their son, something that totally goes against the source material. Even if Natsu is the one who saw Happy be born and was living with him since then, Happy is never considered as his son and is always called a nakama/companion/friend.

This long thread has everything that A-1 and Satelight added in regards to Natsu and Lisanna. As we can see in the info provided in one of the first tweets, Mashima let them "edit" the story the way they wanted to and it's mentioned explicitely by both him and Ishihara (the director) that Ishihara is responsible for those additions, not Mashima. We also can't say the additions were something Mashima asked for because he couldn't include everything he wanted in his manga for some reason. This is supported by the fact that Lisanna is never presented in the manga as any kind of romantic interest after she comes back.

It's also important to say that these fillers aren't canon: they're not referenced in the source material (the starry key arc was, even if Mashima wasn't involved in the writing), they're not referenced in the anime itself after Lisanna comes back and they have no impact in the events of the story during and after Edolas.

Currently, thanks to Mashima's Twitter Spaces, we know two things: he revived Lisanna because some people in the anime staff liked her (Ishihara is one of them for sure), which explains why she's not very relevant and is always tied to her siblings, and he once considered to include a love triangle between Natsu, Lucy and Lisanna after Edolas, but he liked Natsu and Lucy's dynamic by then enough to not introduce such storyline. He also said Lisanna was "だめ" in regards to that triangle that never came to be, implying that she would have been the one that doesn't get the boy in that scenario.

So is Lisanna our supposed former love interest? As far as the canon material goes, no. Was she close to Natsu? Yes. Is she dear to him? Yes, just like everyone in his family, the guild, is (I can't believe I'm writing this in fking 2024). Now, what if there was someone else? The assumption that characters may have dated another (unnamed) character offscreen isn't totally crazy. After all we saw how Juvia dated Bora, even if it was a narrative tool to show that not even dates would make Juvia stop being depressed. However, we can't say there was someone else as more than a headcanon unless it's implied or mentioned somewhere explicitely. We know Macao was married but got divorced thanks to the official magazine, for example.

When it comes to Natsu, nothing is ever mentioned.

100YQ, the official FT sequel, has several pannels that go against the whole idea of Natsu being experienced with romantic love. As I mentioned at the beginning, even others from the guild, and especifically Macao in this pannel, who knows Natsu since he was a kid, have a hard time believing he's interested in love.

This part of the story includes a very interesting pannel that also debunks the whole idea that Natsu felt more than frienship for Lisanna before she was transported to Edolas.

Why would Lisanna's brother react like this over such comment if Natsu and his sister had romantic feelings in the past? Easy: because those feelings never existed.

Even Lisanna is a bit surprised when Touka expresses her interest in him.

Previous romantic experience would also mean that Natsu's relationship with Lucy would be more advanced than it is as of now, not to mention this recent scene.

Natsu is still quite dense with romance, even when it doesn't involve him, and while he talks about his and Lucy's kids they still have a long way to go due to his total inexperience in this area as of now. Someone with past love experiences wouldn't be like this. I could say more about this but this isn't the post for it so...

Conclussion: the first season of the anime did a lot of damage that resulted in many years of discussions, fights, misogyny towards both Lucy and Lisanna. There was no childhood or teen love, no jealousy from Lisanna when she saw how close Natsu and Lucy were as a team and nothing suggests that Lisanna was more than a friend in canon material. Claiming the opposite at this point of the story is useless.

#fairytail #natsudragneel

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saffronapplemanga · 1 year

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Untitled Blue - アンタイトル・ブルー

DRAMA, MYSTERY

Untitled Blue by Natsume Yukiko

(2 volumes, ongoing)

JP only - English summary in this post

Links to my other manga posts here

I've started out this year strong by completely ignoring my 2023 Manga Reading Goals post, which is very on-brand for me tbh, with Momo's Medical History, Yume no Shizuku Kin no Torikago, A California Story, and probably other stuff I'm forgetting. I have my reasons so leave me be. I decided to actually consult my list this time and was debating between Untitled Blue and Tenjou Renka. Knew practically nothing about either but went with Untitled Blue after skimming the samples for each. All I DID know beforehand was it had something about art and suicide, that's it. (***Trigger warning for suicide*** because it is indeed in there.)

This one’s for you Colleen *finger guns*

Once again, since this isn't available in English, I'll summarize it like I always do for Japanese-only manga. Spoilers for volumes 1-2 will be labeled and my thoughts will be after that. Twitter reading thread here. Twitter link to this post here.

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

Anyone else get labeled a “gifted/honor student” growing up? Ugh…

Ogihara Akari was called an art prodigy as a child but fizzled out when she got older. On her way home one day, she swings by the ocean to scavenge driftwood for the art prep school she works at. To her surprise, while she's there a young man emerges from the ocean in front of her eyes. Akari offers to call for help but the boy tells her not to. If she does, he'll die right here, right now. Unable to walk away, Akari brings him home where he proceeds to pass out on her couch. She tries to find an ID but instead finds an expensive watch engraved with the name of a big financial conglomerate.

It’s fine! On my second day in Japan way back when, I got in a stranger guy’s car in Ishinomaki who was fixing graves without a second thought because I got lost looking for the ferry. Sweet guy! I’m alive and didn’t get kidnapped! Don’t tell my mom... Don't do what I do guys, be safe. I speak Japanese and knew what I was doing.

The boy wakes up and wanders into a storage room in the house that's full of art supplies. When Akari realized where he went, she finds him painting and having read about her youth. While watching him paint, she sees childlike joy in him and he produces a beautiful piece of the beach where she found him. She asks him if he does Japanese painting but he says it was his first time using that kind of paint. FYI 日本画 nihonga or Japanese painting uses a specific type of paint. More info here. I met a nihonga artist who was getting ready for an exhibition at the art prep school I used to go to in Tokyo and I realized, "Wow, there's a lot about nihonga I don't know." I've seen nihonga materials at art supplies stores like Sekaido Shinjuku and PIGMENT TOKYO in Shinagawa, and I don't even know where to start tbh.

I mean, look at all this. At least there's cool stuff to look at on the long hike to the immigration office - PIGMENT TOKYO (Shinagawa)

The boy suggests that they sell his work under Akari's name because for reasons, he can't put his name out there. She insists that it won't be so simple but he goes, "You're a former prodigy. Let's just list it for like ¥800,000 or whatever."

¥800,000??? Sir??????? At first, I thought he said ¥80,000 which is like, yeah okay. But honestly? Ask for your worth artists!

Akari is envious that he was able to capture the feeling of the beach when she had drawn the same scenery over and over, but failed. Her work wasn't valued, but his painting of the beach actually sold for ¥800,000. Not only that, it was bought by Iwakura, a well-known artist in the nihonga scene. Akari thinks that the boy should come forward as the artist of the piece. Instead, he asks her how much time ¥800,000 would buy him to stay at her place and says, "Let me borrow your name and I'll give you fame and fortune." I am... screaming.

This is making me feral, both in a friendship way and a potential romance way. Porque no los dos?

While he's telling Akari that he thinks she never wanted to give up on art, her little brothers come home. She tells the kids that this stranger is... going to be living with them... Middle schooler Toma is a sweetheart who invites him to dinner, while high schooler Nagisa is also a great kid but more skeptical, pokes and prods, and is against it. We find out the boy's name is Omi and learn that Akari's parents died 8 years ago. Omi convinces Nagisa to let him stay because he'll make them ¥10,000,000. Nagisa agrees because he wants to make sure they can send Toma to college.

Later, Omi and Akari are talking and she asks him if he's somehow related to the financial conglomerate. She also expresses hesitation in letting him crash with them. This seems to hit a sore spot for Omi who feels like a burden and clearly has baggage.

Oof…

They discuss their arrangement and Omi talks about carving themselves into the world and having something to leave behind. One thing leads to another, and Akari ends up getting featured on Iwakura's TV show and a spot in an art gallery. She has a few close calls where she was at risk of getting exposed for not being the artist behind the piece. Akari's sudden success has also led to others feeling animosity toward her. However, Akari starts to show signs of coming into her own, and acknowledging her "sins." It looks like she's going to try and really get back into painting herself. Volume one ends with a “long-time fan” of Akari's coming to the gallery and confronting her, claiming that he knows she's lying.

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME TWO***

The “fan” seems to know something is up, possibly that Omi is staying with Akari. It seems like he might be some gangster or perhaps works for the big financial group? We’re not told who he is yet.

Akari starts putting her all into art and taking it seriously. Back at the Ogihara household, Toma is showing an interest in art as well. Nagisa however, snaps at his siblings. I think it's from a place of worry for their future as well as discomfort with all the changes since Omi showed up. His outburst reminded me of parents who want their kids to pick “safe” paths that are more likely to lead to a secure future, hence why he’s so worried about sending Toma to college. They’ve all had to grow up quickly after losing their parents.

Nagisa runs off and everyone goes looking for him. During their search, Akari's mind starts spinning, feeling guilty for ever letting art come before her brothers and dropping the ball at home. Since their parents passed, she's had to step up as the eldest. She thought that as long as she could protect her family, she'd be fine, even if that meant giving up on her dreams.

While my life is not beat-for-beat like Akari’s, there are A LOT of similarities and… oh man… this hurts…

Stuck trying to balance sacrificing for the people she loves, part of Akari can't give up on her passions for her own sake. After she finds Nagisa, she tells him to watch her paint. He goes on to say that he's worried she'll get hurt again, so she tells him, "I hope you'll be there to help me so I can come out of it okay." Which, omg, yes. Allowing yourself to ask for help and not shouldering everything alone is good! All these kids are just so precious, honestly.

Meanwhile, Omi gets a letter from the Amasawa financial group which sends him into a mental spiral. We don't get to see what's in the letter exactly, but he starts to think things like, "I'm running out of time." We later find out the letter is threatening to drag the Ogihara family into things if Omi doesn't contact them.

Hello darkness my old friend~

Akari goes to check on him and takes him outside for a change of pace, where they discuss some plans to participate in an art fair. Omi seemingly out of nowhere tells Akari they should have a contest and, "If you win, I'll give you your name back." Of course, Akari is confused as to what he means and turns him down.

In the second half of chapter 7, Toma is skipping school for the first time ever. The "fan" guy, whose name is Hijiri, had run into Toma before and takes him on a ride on the back of his motorcycle. Basically, this grown-ass man is trying to build camaraderie with a literal child so he can use him to get at Omi. He manipulates Toma's insecurities and I hate it. Toma, sweetie, get away from him!!!

I’m gonna throw hands, I swear if he touches a hair on Toma's head (ง’̀-‘́)ง

It turns out Hijiri is Omi's cousin, specifically the son of Omi's younger paternal uncle. Because of this, Omi was set to be the heir of the Amasawa family, leaving Hijiri to live in his shadow. To make matters worse, Hijiri's dad was a hobby artist and started giving Omi more attention when he showed greater artistic talent than his son. To make matters even worse, Omi has everything Hijiri wants, but he doesn't want it himself. Omi tells him that if he wants to be the heir, he can have the position, then immediately threw himself off a balcony and into a lake. Good lord... Hijiri is furious that his cousin doesn't appreciate everything he's been "blessed" with, and he's going to drag him back home to get money and stop the Amasawa group from looking down on him. Get help bro, sheesh.

I'll be brief about the second half of this volume:

We get loads of emotional beats that made me absolutely lose it. So much so, I actually shot up out of my seat and pulled a muscle LOL. The ending of volume 2 just... crushed me. I'm so upset and I need to know what happens next right this instant. I won't say much more as I think it would be best to read those parts for yourself when it's available. I know I keep saying this for a lot of my reads recently, but please license this.

***END OF SPOILERS FOR VOLUMES 1-2***

As I mentioned in my Blue Period post, I'm an art kid. It's a big passion of mine. Having a well-written, realistically portrayed struggling artist/creative is always a plus in my book. I just wanna feel seen guys... This series delivers with a side of the kind of plot that we come to shoujosei for — chef's kiss.

The Ogihara family (including honorary member Omi) are lovable, interesting characters. I adore great sibling dynamics in stories, and this has great sibling dynamics! Akari and Omi are so different, but the same — two sides of the same coin? And Akari realizes this herself. Our main duo understand each other in some respects but don't at all in others. I liked how Akari understandably asks Omi personal questions the first day they met but doesn't pry when he clearly doesn't want to share. She leaves him be for the most part, not pestering him, but not to the point of letting him wallow around too much. But when she does push, it's from a place of caring and concern, and she does it in a way that makes that clear.

"How about a change of pace?"

"... Don't wanna... sounds like a pain."

"Oh, don't be like that! We're not going anywhere far." (Then she dragged him outside lol)

I'm sure some people are thinking, "You idiot, why are you bringing home some stranger and letting him live there? You don't even know who he is." And yeah, I feel that. But when Akari met Omi the way she did, she realized he was in a bad place, he was hurting, and desperately needed a hand to reach out to him. So, she took his hand. How could she leave him there? At the same time, I think Akari needed to meet him as much as he needed to meet her. I love that for them.

And Omi never crosses any lines with her. He doesn't have ulterior motives toward her in that way. There is potential romance, but there's no anime bullshit if you know what I mean. Omi is respectful, aware of the fact he's crashing at this stranger's house, and tries to contribute in his own way, albeit awkwardly. This guy was brought into this family and it warms my heart.

Initially, I was thinking that Akari would simply continue to be the face of the art while Omi produced it. I'm delighted to see that they're actually working together to be two halves of a whole! I think Akari was afraid to put her all into art while Omi might be putting too much of himself into his art. He's escaped a suffocating environment and could be going too hard pursuing the only thing he truly wants to do with his newfound freedom.

The art in Untitled Blue is lovely and does an amazing job of conveying how characters feel and nailing the mood in a scene. I enjoy the pacing as well.

Love it when you can feel a page!

This page feels like a visual representation of a panic attack but after the overwhelming thoughts, instead of the mental clarity she reaches here, your brain goes blank for a whole day. Glad you got the mental clarity route Akari.

These pages are sick, actual chills.

Speaking of art, there are some cool things that come up in the story. There's commentary on what makes art compelling, as well as scenes about art that's more realistic/photorealistic versus more stylized art.

"If you're getting this close to the real thing, why not just take a picture?"

"Is he serious? That's better than my drawing? It looks like something that took 5 seconds to draw." Isn't this basically what people say about Picasso's stuff? There was a line in Blue Period about this too.

I'm not saying photorealistic art is bad or less than. There are various opinions regarding this topic. A lot artists learn a foundation of what things are supposed to look like (still life, figure drawing, etc.) to learn the "rules" so they can break them. Some argue that "art normies" find realistic works more appealing than those with a more decerning eye. And this does come up in the manga.

There's also lots of talk about the value of art in various senses, and where they discuss the monetary value of art that I found interesting.

Yes, art is more than just the money, but artists are professionals that deserve to get paid well for their craft.

Loving the exploration of various ideas!

I'm not sure if this series is going to have romance or not, and whether it'll be more of a sub-genre or a big part of the manga. There are some incredibly tender scenes that could be taken as romantic, but could also be vulnerability and platonic love as well imo. MAL says it's drama/mystery/romance, but Renta! just has it listed under mystery/suspense, no romance, so idk. I'm cool with things being platonic or romantic as long as it's done well. Although, I kind of want more platonic relationships.

I'm reading this on Renta! and romance series like うるわしの宵の月/In the Clear Moonlit Dusk are tagged with 恋愛/romance. Untitled Blue doesn't have the tag though.

I was looking around to see if there was a release date for volume 3, but it turns out that there hasn't been a volume released since September 2021.

Volume 1 was released June 2021, and volume 2 was released September 2021.

But the mangaka tweeted this in November 2022:

"Untitled Blue volumes 1-2 are available 🎶 Volume 3 will release in the near future, so now's a great time to catch up 🎶”

Haven't seen any release dates, but it looks like we can look forward to volume 3 soon! I enjoyed Untitled Blue WAY more than I was expecting to and I can't wait to read more!!! After the end of volume 2, I need to know what happens... It actually made me tear up. I mean, aren't the best reading experiences the ones that make you bounce off the walls and scream at the page?

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If there's any Japanese-only manga you want me to check out, let me know! No promises, I'll only read what I'm interested in, but I'll take suggestions into consideration. Preferably, shorter manga or newer manga with a few volumes out since I like to take breaks from longer series I'm reading :)

#untitled blue #アンタイトル・ブルー #manga recs #manga recommendation #manga discussion #漫画 #おすすめ #shoujosei #josei #josei manga

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multitrackdrifting · 11 months

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Going to fire off a hot take for once but spoiler warning for Across The Spider-Verse underneath

So there's people on twitter saying that they feel that Spider-Verse is copaganda, and obviously, no person or representative of any community can speak on behalf of others - everyone is different but I feel like challenging this idea nonetheless because it doesn't hold that much weight.

There are a couple moments that might give people pause:

1) Gwen saying to her father that he's in his position so that bad cops can't be in his position (you don't have to spell out this dynamic, I'm not 5 y.o.). Basically "bad egg" rhetoric

2) Miles and Gwen's fathers are cops that are shown to be decent people but it's rarely if ever framed that it is because they are cops.

I think the notion that the movies (plural because the first movie is also accused of this) that it humanises police and is pro-police is just an argument by aesthetics.

In ATSV one of the major plot points is that Gwen's father completely rejects her role as spider-gwen because he had assumed Spider-Man was a murderer that had killed Peter Parker of her universe.

In criminology there's a phenomena that has a decent amount of literature studying "police culture", and the whole alienation and rejection of his interpersonal bonds in favour of his duties as a police officer [creating a literal us. vs them paradigm in ones own community], while it's not a literal attempt by the authors to discuss that idea it incidentally explains it either way how incapable he is to love his own daughter and fight to protect her because it conflicts with what he is tasked with doing as an officer of the Law.

Of course, I think it's just best to hand-wave a lot of these arguments as an overly critical look at a movie that is largely not about these cop characters rather than a story where they are present, and they're not particularly described in a positive light despite what Gwen happens to say to her father.

In the scene where she says that she's just being conciliatory because that's what she knows her father as, this detective that's raised her as a single-parent some "by the book cop" but the movie showed how flawed he was as a person despite supposedly being a "good cop".

If you can't take that in and like just be objective about it then you're not really interested in the dialogue and you're just saying thing because the aesthetics are there but the ideology is not.

I generally have a no discourse rule I try to adhere to but this shit is just ridiculous man, it's such a good and heartfelt movie with really careful character writing and it's mostly about fate, freedom & identity - not whatever some person on twitter is fixated on.

The copaganda you're actually scratching at is a symptom of the super-hero genre and its relationship with law enforcement & the military industrial complex (which the MCU is far more egregious with) - it's not a primary feature of Spider-Verse specifically.

You know what Gwen's dad does to mend his relationship? He quits his job as a cop because it's not serving the community if he can't even do right by his own daughter. And the whole spider-society trying to uphold and protect fate and prevent people from defying the canon is more of a commentary on power structures than anything, I don't even know how you can conceive of this idea unless you hinge everything on the comic book super-hero genre itself having somewhat uncomfortable elements of fascism that are nigh-inseparable from it [which means that every Spider-Man would be at the mercy of this very idea].

It's not gonna hold I'm afraid because that's not the angle of attack people are taking and honestly, it's very fake deep as someone who has actually read the literature they're doing a very flimsy job of explaining.

I criticise pretty heavily in my own analysis that taking a bad faith interpretation of a work that is not even saying the stuff you're alleging is not critical analysis, it's just an "ass pull" argument. Gwen's dad literally had her at Gunpoint and kept her there after he knew she was Spider-Gwen because his authority as a police officer overwrote his concern for her as his own daughter.

The movie showed more dysfunction with cops (and authority like the Spider-Society) than it did endorse them but if you can't understand that argument because you're fixated on the copaganda train then yeah like, there's no serious dialogue to be had with you because the mere shadow of an object, is proof of its presence even though it's not talking positive about the air force, or the CIA or whatever the hell which is super prevalent in MCU movies by comparison.

With my admittedly limited knowledge of the broader spidey canon, the comics aren't even anti-cop, but they tend to hate spider-man but he's just willing to work with them where it's logistically reasonable to do so - but that doesn't really act as a heavy feature of his stories in my experience. It is a heavy feature in the PS4 Spidey game (which is a good game but yeah this aspect is asscheeks).

Besides, a lot of the movie was about Miles fighting the Spider-society, I genuinely scratched my head for a while at seeing these takes..

There's a world of difference between ATSV & like Brooklyne Nine Nine, Hawaii Five-O or Law & Order or even just the average MCU film and its casual discussion of intelligence agencies and thelike.

Just another day on the internet where you get bludgeoned over the head for free.

P.S. I do not care to deliberate this, if you can't smile and enjoy a genuinely good movie then you're not the kind of person I want to talk to in the first place.

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