#my crack ship has been validated

[sunnydayaoe]

scene redraw... they did this... gwosh original under cut.

#okay to tag as ship; I personally don't see this as shipping still but it's okay ifyou do... I guess... #they are so cute togeather #they are a like.. a qpp to me #they might make me write fanfic for eel #it's terrible #my crack ship has been validated #I think I need to lay down #I havn't been thinking straight since I saw the video #tpot #tpot two #bfdi two #ii mephone4 #mephome4 ii #mephone4 #object show community #osc #jbird's art

[third-generation-female-warrior]

As we get closer to the finale of the Bad Batch, I'd like to post something that's been in my head for a while.

I want to take an in-dept look at the theme of the show and how I think that shapes the ending.

Firstly, we'll need to look at the theme of the show.

The Bad Batch is a story about a group of rogue clones who must survive the rise of the Empire. Okay, that's what happens, but that's not the theme.

The theme is what the story is about. The lesson you want your audience to walk away with. It is the singular thing that shapes the character arcs and choices, from the protagonists to the antagonists.

I would argue that the theme of the Bad Batch is, "Our strength comes from our individuality and differences" and "We need to make our own choices and let people make their own choices; blind allegiance is the downfall of us all." There's also an ongoing argument about loyalty, but that's a different rant.

From the beginning, it's all been about individuality, and how stripping that away is wrong. The inhibitor chips was the first overarching plot device to further this argument.

The chips take away the individuality of the clones by making them a part of a monolithic hivemind. Gone are the individuals who fought with the Jedi, and in came the Empire. The sterile, uniform Empire where individuality and free thought is treated as dangerous and treacherous.

Our heroes, the titular Bad Batch, retain their individuality and differences and disobedient streak and are celebrated as a virtue, and, for the most part, do not fall into the trappings of becoming the monolith.

Now let's talk about Crosshair, specifically.

Crosshair, however different, fell into the Empire, thinking he was going to be heralded as better and superior than the other clones. His choice to stay with the Empire was a choice at first, but even when it was, this was treated as bad in the narration. Even if it was his choice, he came to ultimate realization that... no, he's not different than the other clones in the eyes of the Empire. He's not treated different or better. He's a number. He's cannon fodder. His blind allegiance almost led to his death (not for the first time (Bracca, anyone?)). It led to Mayday's death as they both realized too late: "We were good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?"

So the first choice Crosshair makes for himself? The first free choice that he makes that contradicts the blind allegiance?

He shoots the Lieutenant.

And it was great! Narratively, it was treated as the right move because it was!

Okay, it lands him in Tantiss, but through that series of events, it eventually brought him back to his family. He was redeemed.

Moving on, let's look at another interesting character.

Emerie (beloved)

Dr. Emerie Karr, I would argue, is a woman who never had a choice.

I mean, how could she? Shipped off of Kamino, into the clutches of Hemlock?

Look me in the eyes and tell me that you think Hemlock (derogatory) was an affectionate father-figure to Emerie. Yeah, that's what I thought.

Emerie never had a choice. She was not in the battlefield or even with other clones to learn what her free thoughts were. I would argue she was raised to be afraid of the consequences of what Hemlock would do to her if she stepped "out of line" wherever that was when growing up.

She's constantly warning other clones what happens if they don't cooperate with Hemlock. She's constantly held back by her inability to think for herself.

Until Omega.

Time and time again, Emerie regards Omega as her sister in what way she can, in what little vocabulary she has for such a meaning.

Because Omega, Emerie breaks protocol, just in the little way she can, and returns the straw Lula to her. We see the beginnings of the Imperial bonds start to loosen. It's the first crack in the mirror, so to say, when Omega shows her what it could really be like, to have siblings to love, instead of whatever validation she fights to earn from Hemlock. (There's more on that, but again, another rant, another time.)

It keeps going for Emerie, when she's let into the Vault, all coming to a head when she meets Echo.

"I didn't have a choice," she says. "I've heard that before," he retorts, disbelieving.

She has a choice now, is what's not being said. Do the right thing, make a choice, for once in your life. Don't go along with what the doctor wants.

.

So, what's all this to say?

The ending of the Bad Batch will be dictated by the themes of individuality and free will.

It will all come down to a choice.

Omega, the protagonist, will have to make a choice.

Over this season, in Point of No Return especially, Omega sees how relentlessly the Empire hunts for her. Willing to do anything to get there hands on her.

It's this injustice that makes her angry. She can not let people suffer for her sake.

She won't let her brothers get hurt for her sake.

This drives home the foreshadowing of The Harbinger.

How Ventress warns Crosshair and Hunter, that if Omega was Force-Sensitive, she'd need to leave them to be properly trained.

When Ventress tamed a giant beast with the Force.

I know I'm not alone when I say that I think this will work with Omega's recent discovery of the Zillo Beast, in foreshadowing her and the other kids in the Vault using the Force to "reach out" (which Omega couldn't do with the distraction of her brothers) and tame the beast into wrecking the base and eating Hemlock.

With this discovery of abilities, and newfound charge over these young kids, Omega will be faced with a choice.

Stay with the Batch, or leave for them?

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb s3 #tbb s3 predictions #tbb meta #tbb omega #omega bad batch #tbb crosshair #bad batch crosshair #emerie karr #tbb emerie

[kittenjammer]

Hi! So I was going through your snape tag (btw sorry for the million notifications you probably got), and I noticed you weren’t very much a fan way back on the early days of your blog. Feel free to completely ignore this if you don’t feel like answering (it is truly none of my business), but I’m always fond of hearing people’s “how I came to like this character” or “why I changed my mind about this character” stories and I was wondering what yours was :)

Hiii! Thanks for the ask! (No worries on the notification spam lol) and I appreciate that you reached out!

Yes! I think he was one of the characters I had the most difficulty empathizing with because I had such a strong, emotional reaction to him. Especially after OotP forward. He's divisive! (Also looking back through my Snape tag has me internally cringing a bit with how little grace I extended to the poor guy...ah well. With age/maturity comes wisdom...? D: )

I'm ngl, after reviewing some of the earlier posts, my immediate reaction is to delete them as my opinions have definitely changed, but maybe it's good to leave it as a record of my evolving mindset towards the character? lol

Ok, so what changed?

Well, it certainly helps I'm now closer to adult Snape's age from Book 1 than Harry's age when I was first reading the HP series as it was being published. I didn't give much thought to Snape beyond he was a mean teacher and a bully, for the first four books at least.

I got into the HP fandom around when GoF had been released so I was discovering plenty of fanfic and fan meta. Snape was one of the more ... well ... fans reactions to him that liked him or even wrote him sexually with the cast confused middle-school me, to be honest. I was more interested in the child characters than the adults, so I was vaguely aware of how he was portrayed in fandom but didn't really engage.

This changed after OotP was released, and we finally got some explicit Severus Snape backstory and history with the Occlumency lessons. I had a really an emotional reaction to SWM and some of the memories we got a glimpse of. I was empathetic and not completely surprised to learn Snape was from an abusive home, that he had possible trauma and issues that explained his actions and why he was so cold and angry. Like Harry, I was really disappointed in how his father and Sirius treated Snape. There's just no excuse for how they sought him out to pick on him for fun. I was on Harry's side with confronting Sirius and Lupin about how his dad and they acted.

Also, I read everything with shipper eyes, and immediately felt there was more to Severus and Lily's relationship beyond her just coming over and reacting to James actions lol. They called Jily a crack!ship but it looks like they were validated in the end lol.

However what really made me emotionally react with anger was that we are basically being shown that Severus knows what it's like to be a scared child being abused and tormented by authority figures and other children, but he does it to his students?? I could not understand his actions at a time but I would get genuinely angry when I did think about it. To child me, this felt like a betrayal, both for a fictional character and when actual people did this. Looking back I was reacting so strongly due to my own personal experience with trauma in the home and with authority figures abusing children.

I recall not caring much about him in HBP or DH. I was much more upset with Sirius' death than Dumbledore's, so Snape's "betrayal" was just not something I recall reacting emotionally to. In DH, I definitely remember reading his memories and just feeling irritated with him. To me, he was a guy with trauma and emotional issues, sure, but I felt his behavior towards Harry, Hermione, and Neville was not excused for me. At most I felt begrudging respect for him and acknowledged he was not a completely terrible person. Harry naming one of his son's after him felt so bizarre, and I just could not understand why Harry wanted to honor him. Forgive him, sure I could understand Harry doing that, but naming his child after Snape just left me feeling confused. I could not understand how Snape could have loved Lily so much, but treated her son like he did.

I know I'm basically rambling, but it really has been a journey. :P

When I grew out of HP and the fandom after DH was published, I never gave much thought to him or his circumstances until I (unexpectedly) returned to the HP fandom last summer. I reread all of the books as an adult and I had the life experience and maturity to understand that:

A) Snape was funny! A lot funnier than I remember.

B) His actions throughout the book were too subtle for teenage me, but they made me really question my previous feelings for the character.

C) Everyone Dumbledore was kind of terrible to him!

I read a lot of really well written meta on the characters and HP. Specifically I think it was @pet-genius posts on reddit I found that really helped me put my thoughts and feelings regarding HP, primarily Harry, in order. And I can't help but compare and contrast Harry and Severus as characters and how they each approach their trauma and grief.

@ashesandhackles metas on Snape was also really helpful in highlighting the examples in the text that showed how Snape's actions sometimes directly contradict with what he said, especially to Harry. He's always presenting himself as this cold and controlled person, disparaging emotional reactions and connections. Yet he's one of the most emotionally reactive characters in the series next to Harry!

I was able to see clearer a lot of things I liked about him. That he's an incredibly skilled and hardworking person. That he cares very deeply for people he does allow himself to have feelings for and connections to. That he was scared, so scared, probably all the time after Voldemort's return to power, but he never wavered in his determination to continue to show up and fulfill his duty. Him making the Vow with Narcissa to try to protect Draco. The incredible pain he must have been in when he used the Killing Curse on Dumbledore, the one person left that knew everything about him and still valued him. That he dies keeping silent about the Elder Wand ownership, protecting Draco from becoming Voldemort's next target.

I also viewed his relationship with Lily as so much more complex than unrequited love. There's a meta out there (I will edit this post and link it if I find it again) that argues Snape wasn't really in love with Lily, and that "Always" quote is so much deeper than a romantic, or sexual, type of feelings for her. I think it argues that Snape elevated Lily to a symbol of Good, or at least used her memory to guide him on morality. I felt so much more respect for the guy that he had dedicated his life as penance, basically, for betraying his once-best friend once more.

This is getting long, I hope this wasn't too much. I have changed my feelings on how Severus treated Harry and the other kids close to him in that year's class. Looking at how he acts to others and comparing to how he acts with Harry, I now now I feel Harry was a very specific trigger for Severus and he showed Harry and Harry's potions class a side of him that he generally did not show to anyone else. This is just my personal interpretation based on how other adults, from Dumbledore to even Lupin, and kids speak of Snape as a professor and seem to think Harry is just exaggerating that Snape hates him. When, no, Snape really is projecting his hate and rage and grief about James and Lily onto Harry and he does actually hate the kid. Which, it's probably easier for Severus to think he hates Harry rather than hates himself.

I could keep going but I will stop here for now. I hope that answers the question? But feel free to chat more :) I hope you don't mind I responded with a blog post, I can take it down if you would rather it be answered privately lol.

I suppose the tl;dr version is that Snape makes me angry because he makes me feel things about myself that I don't like, but with age and reading other people's thoughts on the character has definitely made me come around to they guy!

#severus snape #hp meta #hp

[bubblybloob]

Which voices do you ship with eachother? I mean, I've already seen Opportunist/Skeptic (which I haven't seen much of in the fandom and I really like your take on them btw ^^) and Smitten/Cold come by, but are there other pairings or dynamics you haven't got to draw yet, but would like to?

Haven’t been too big on the Voice shipping scene aside from jokes but sure, fuck it, let them by gay.

The Opportunist Skeptic comic was meant to be interpreted however people liked, but I think Skeptic’s inquisitive nature and somewhat reassuring presence by sounding like he knows what he’s doing, and Opportunist’s need for validation and to be wanted go pretty well together.

Contrarian and Hero sound fun, because of the Stranger route it’s almost like they know each other the best, except Contrarian is still a little shit, but Hero has a relatively high tolerance given what he puts up with, so they’d have fun banter probably.

I think Cheated with anyone would be funny, particularly Stubborn, they’re like drinking friends that had a little side thing that went a little two far and now they hold hands and they both love hate it.

Smitten and Cold is like a crack ship to me, if you lot are more invested in it y’all can try to change my mind on that one, it’s not like I’m deep set on that opinion.

Paranoid’s a really fun character, I guess he’d get along well with Hunted, they’re both so afraid of everything, might as well be afraid together. Or get kidnapped in winter, that works too I suppose.

Hero and Paranoid too btw, their dialogue when you choose to go upstairs with the Nightmare is fantastic, their tense yet silly quarrel and back and forth with the Narrator was amazing and part of it was even one of the first things I drew for stp. Them arguing was also my first impression of the game, so yeah, they can be gay too.

Idk what else at the moment, these are just the thoughts I had at the moment. I try to go in depth with my responses because if I like to read that kind of ramble shit, I know others might too.

#slay the princess #stp voices #asks

[akookminsupporter]

Rosie, new fan and follower here. Really like your rational approach. Not an ask, but just a thought: I have been around shipping Jikook from 2018 or so. And as I watched yesterday’s live, I exactly imagined for this to happen. The largest shipping fandom being thrilled about J being Jungkook, the Vkook live being the epitome of true love or even a stepping stone to their coming out defying Hybe and Jkkr folks fully having a meltdown because J above M isn’t for JM.

I have nothing to say about Vkookers. I don’t mind any ships really, I find some of them adorable actually- like Taegi makes me crack up and Minomoni energy is so FREAKING cute. Ship whoever man. It’s a fragment of your imagination any way. What we think isn’t influencing reality in any way. But I draw the line at hating on another person to make your ship valid. So if you are gonna tell me JM is the reason Vkook isn’t together and you have to paint him in the most horrendous paint to sustain your ship, miss me with it. I can’t stand that. They have all been friends for a decade. And while I agree that they might not be as thick as they were once, they still are what you call second family. You don’t live together for 7 years and not have some kind of fondness for the other person. None of them are actively trying to cause damage to each other.

My bone to pick with is with JKKRs: I am sorry what? What did you all think he will do when he started explaining his tats? Even if it was meant for JM (which it isn’t from what he said), he would scream it out to the world? Yes, I am mentally married to my bandmate from the biggest music group that’s responsible for at least tens of billions each year? My country(which is extremely homophobic) thinks of us as the proud sons of Korea and we are considered a national treasure, we are a part of the President’s convoy, our everyday life is deeply intertwined with bureaucracy, business and even national GDP, but screw it, let’s throw caution in the wind? I am a south East Asian dating an East Asian in a very Queerphobic country. I live in Asia and I can promise you, despite how powerful you are, you just can’t ever admit to being Queer publicly without ultimately getting your ass whopped. In this case, there are 5 others and a whole ass company they love and want to protect? What’s with these expectations? Do we all think coming out as typically as you would see in a Netflix movie is the way it works? This isn’t a western centric situation where you get out pours of support when you come out. I don’t think the fandom even fathoms the scale of reaction that would erupt if any of them announce they are queer. I come from a very progressive family, they still don’t know my sexuality. Only my closest friends know, that’s it. Unless I am moving to a a country where queer relationships and marriages are legal and is safely tolerated, I will never be able to say it loud. I can get lynched, mobbed, honour killed. I will for sure be an outcast, I will lose relationships over this. I know BTS will never face any of these, they will get protection and all that, but man, I can’t believe that’s what we are expecting. Sure he could have not talked about his J tattoo, would that leave more room for confusion though? That boy wanted to show off his tattoos. Let him live Jeez.

We don’t know a 100 percent if they are/were together. We see some things that we relate to and make our assumptions. I love them together. They are my comfort space, I appreciate that they share little nuggets of their lives with us. But that’s all we have, little crumbs they left that has since been edited , proofed and vetted. Or things that slip out of them while on lives. We don’t know the full picture, we don’t even know one hundredth of it. They don’t owe us anything, they don’t do things to appease us. That man sang Vibe and only knew JM’s part (lol me), he did the signature move, dropped honorifics with JIMIN when he saw the poster and said he was cool. None of this registered, we couldn’t be happy because he didn’t tell us his tattoo on his ring finger stands for his supposed partner? Let’s please do better. Also the whole bunch complaining about he lives alone with Bam. Yes, folks have their own places that they can go back to routinely, because they are adults? Especially in a country where property ownership is public information? Also, you saw an empty room with hangers and a karaoke machine. How do you know he’s alone? I truly believe we will never catch them together in their houses or whatever reflections on TV. If they are together, they would be SOOOOO very cautious about even remotely creating suspicions. They know to tread the line of carefully of being implicated and deniability. Please just chill y’all and enjoy the moments. Not everything they do is to validate what we think. Please let’s just take a breather and be sensitive yeah?

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. I am tired of them being treated as drama characters who need to have an ulterior motive for everything they do. They deserve to just exist.

Anon, THANK YOU for your ted talk. More than one needs to read this. Welcome to my blog, we are cool over here, I promised.

Please just chill y’all and enjoy the moments. Not everything they do is to validate what we think.

Yes to this and to everything you said, thank you!

OPINIONS.

#anon #ask #JK #JM #JKJJMP #jkkrs #insecure jkkrs #jikookphobics #wlive

[moongothic]

I LOVE your crocodad theory I'm an obsessed believer but did u ever get romantic vibes from crocodile & robin business relationship? Many people get lover vibes from them & I never understood why. They seem VERY strictly business/stab each other in the back relationship. (Plus crocodile is TERRIFYING).

I think Croco/Robin as a ship exists kind of like... out of circumstance? Kind of?

Quick disclaimer, I only got into OP in like 2008~ish at the age of 13, I can not comment what it as like being in the fandom before that because I wasn't there (and when OP began in 1997 I was like two whole years old). So whatever I say here doesn't come from like, a fandom veteran who knows the entire history of the OP fandom or anything. I'm just attempting to rub my braincells together here

Like in the year of our lord 2023 we have many wonderful Crocodile ships to classify as OTPs and NOTPs etc, but if we go back to like 2006 or so, long before the Summit War Saga was even a thing, try to think about what characters you would have shipped Crocodile with? Because for a long time, the only canon material Crocodile had appeared in was just the Alabasta Saga (+one brief cover story), and we don't really see Crocodile interact with that many characters during the story. Like. Really the only character Crocodile has multiple, extended interactions with aside from Luffy and Vivi is Robin. All the other characters he interacts with maybe once or twice for very brief scenes, so based on canon material alone, there isn't much for fuel for shipping purposes.

It really wasn't until Marineford when we finally started getting other characters to ship with Crocodile, mainly the Ever Loyal Daz who seems to be willing to follow Crocodile anywhere (romantic as fuck) and Doflamingo after he and Croc tried to kill each other twice at Marineford (people seem to love a tsundere Croc) And now with Cross Guild we also have Mihawk (and Buggy) as far as shipping options go. And of course there's MORE than just these ships, there's the more crack-leaning ships (like Dragodile and whatever you'd call the Cobra-ship) and some others (Jinbei, Whitebeard, Ivankov, Galdino, Luffy even) etc etc

The only difference is that Croco/Robin got to kind of be like, "the default Crocodile ship" for like 8 years without major competition. And because the ship has "history", even when new ships pop up the one that has been around the longest will still stick out. Not to mention, although we have options now, even those have very little canon material to actually work with when compared to Croco/Robin. Like Dofuwani exists because the two had like three whole pages worth of interactions, but compare that to the screentime Croc had with Robin? It's not even a competition

Not to mention, Croco/Robin is just. Like it's kind of the mandatory het ship. Like there aren't many straight options with canon material to work with, and there's gonna be people who really want to have a het ship with Crocodile if you know what I mean. But also, let's be real. There's a lot of straight women who're horny for Crocodile. Valid as fuck. And Croco/Robin could have like, a self-insert-y quality to it, like some people might be able to see themselves in Robin? Also valid. And that can apply to some straight men too, like I'm sure there's cishet men who look at Crocodile with that "god I wish that were me" energy, who love seeing Crocodile ship fanart with Robin, as they can project onto Crocodile etc. This is also valid. Point is that the ship appeals to cishets by simply being a het ship, but also it might make for an easy ship for a lot of straight people to project onto for one reason or another.

But to be fair, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I think Croco/Robin has the potential to be a really interesting ship. Like they ARE the Baroque Works Boss Pair, literal partners in crime, the most powerful members of the secret criminal organization who run the whole operation, they worked together by themselves for four whole years, Crocodile protecting Robin by allowing her to hide under his wings. They were together, ready to take over an entire country and obtain a weapon of mass destruction And then Robin betrays him. And Crocodile admits he never trusted her to begin with.

Like on paper alone, this is great material for a juicy romance.

Especially now when we understand why Robin was on the run and why she feared being betrayed, and how looking back at Crocodile's reaction when Robin "reads" the Poneglyph for him, he genuinely seems a little sad about her betraying him (mystery trauma etc). This is a genuinely interesting character dynamic, like even without any romantic context I would love to see Crocodile and Robin meet again in the storyline and like, see what Crocodile thinks of Robin having joined the Strawhats vs what Robin thinks about Cross Guild, how the two might interact etc. They are interesting to me

Like personally, I agree, I don't think the two were actually ever romantically involved with each other (frankly I don't think Crocodile trusts anyone anymore enough to let them get close him like that, dude's been voluntarily celibate for like two decades lmao), their relationship was surely just business-only. And while the ship doesn't personally interest me (just kinda "meh" for me), I do understand why the ship appeals to others and why it's popular to this day

But yeah, I do think a lot of the reasons Croco/Robin is as popular as it is due to circumstance. It's been around the longest, it still arguably has the most canon material to work with, it appeals to lots of people. God knows shippers don't actually need the characters to like each other, otherwise people wouldn't be shipping Croc with Buggy as we speak

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Sir Crocodile #Nico Robin #Long post #I feel like I should tag this with the shipname because this IS about the ship but while it's not explicitly negative don't wanna bother pp #I don't know how this turned into a psuedo fandom history lesson (based on vibes alone and no actual facts) I am so sorry man #My brain just started running and I had to release the worms #Sometimes a ship that's just big scary powerful murder man and small murder woman makes brain go brrr #The appeal is not lost on me #(Personally I've just become an absolute sucker for CrocHawk. I am so invested in these two. Oda I need to see them more together)

[kiriosenpaii-sam]

Some reasons why I like Kirio: a compilation

Note: if you hate him, this is literally just all my opinions on him, so… maybe you don’t want to read this.

1. He’s actually a very interesting villain who modifies and changes the stereotypical “sob story” archetype, which, while fun in moderation, annoying when overdone. He also has a clear trauma and point in which he “cracked”, so to speak, which is actually a real thing that can happen to people psychologically. One might even argue that he probably doesn’t know what he actually felt that day and he’s probably just written over it again and again, changing it slightly each time, as people in traumatic situations tend to do.

2. I very much enjoy watching someone obsessive. Call me old school, but yanderes are still cool. I like how he has something that makes him so “excited”, as it were, and I also like how it isn’t prettied up by the books. Oftentimes obsessions are made more palatable for the public, but Kirio’s weird love-lust-hate relationship with Iruma is as shocking and unsettling (to normal people) as it is sexualized. I would also argue that logically speaking, most sadists have a sexual component to their fantasies, as far as the psychology textbooks I studied a few years ago outlined (correct me if I’m wrong. Those textbooks were a little out of date). So yeah, it’s weird, but not unrealistic.

3. I sort of ship Iruma and Kirio, but I actually do it for a very interesting (I think so, anyway) reason. There’s actually evidence (in my opinion) that Kirio doesn’t actually want to kill Iruma. I’m pretty certain that it’s actually a circumstance where someone has a kink they don’t want to fulfill, because he seems to genuinely be interested and fulfilled by Iruma’s presence. He seems to enjoy being around him. Do I think there’s a moral component to his want to keep Iruma alive? No, and if there is it’s probably minimal, but I do think that he has a motivation behind not killing him that would prevent him from actually doing it.

4. I hate to say it, but he’s the first fictional character I’ve been truly invested in in a while, so it’s mostly personal bias. I like Kirio because he’s sick, but I also like him because he’s very real. His motivations are clear to me. His investment in things is pulling. There’s something about characters that are obsessive that I love. Their interest makes you interested, you know?

5. Oh, and he’s also a nerd who wears glasses. I relate to him there. People immediately know I’m a nerd because of my damn glasses

#ami kirio #irukiri #iruma #mairimashita! iruma kun #welcome to demon school iruma kun #iruma suzuki #character study #character analysis

[phantomram-b00]

Okay I wasn’t going to be active today, but I saw this post about Crowley, and I do recommend you check it out it bring up many good points. It does inspire me to make a post about something I’m kinda surprised no one talks about exactly (or maybe they did idk.)

Now keep in mind, I do love Crowley and Aziraphale, they’re both my favorite characters and also my comfort characters/ship. Not just for their good deeds and characterization but also because they flawed. Or as they said in the blitz episode, they shade of grey. 🩶 I just feel like Crowley behaving a bit stupidly here. (But here might have more validity but still felt it was unwarranted)

Now onto the post, probably wondering what I could be talking about The Jim Situation all the way back in season 2 episode 1

So I’ve been meaning to talk about this, but I wasn’t exactly sure if it would be well received or wouldn’t make sense. But I think the post I linked help me have some confidence, as I do feel that people when talking about it forgot that, Aziraphale DID NOT want to help Gabriel at all. He never wanted to see him again after 2019; why would he, he not only approve of the first armageddon but also wanted to execute him (specially but also crowley) and overall was passive aggressive asshole towards him. Why would he ever want to help his toxic ex-boss? He kinda didn’t have a choice here, now he did say no at first when Gabriel asked to come in (I mean— idk about you but your ex-boss who’s naked want to come into my house I wouldn’t let them inside neither just no-) but he did bring him inside because he felt obligated because everyone is looking at him and the naked man friend, I think if things were different I think Aziraphale wouldn’t even think about helping him as another thing, Aziraphale moved on from everything that happen, he’s living his life, he even said so to Crowley when talking how he doesn’t report to them anymore. So the have this happen, just felt like ABBA song “Mama Mia here I go again”.

But another thing is that, Aziraphale also (while hesitantly) want to know what happen to Gabriel? Why has he forgotten about himself or really everything? And asking him or the empty box didn’t solve anything at all. As patient as aziraphale is, even his was running really thin as he talk to Gabriel. Not to mention of the fact Gabriel revealed that something terrible might happen which understandably terrifies Aziraphale. So, he turns to Crowley, which gifted us Nina asked about the naked man friend (Sorry I love his face when she drop that, the expression speaks so much volume I love it! XD)

Okay back to my ramble, now at first I’ll give the benefit of the doubt of why Crowley was kinda suspicious at first, Aziraphale wasn’t being up front about it at first (though to be fair, trying to tell someone “hey my naked ex-boss is in my bookshop and doesn’t know who he even is” is probably the most bizarre to even try to explain or tell anyone). And then as they go inside the bookshop, he got spooked rightfully so, this was the same person who wanted to kill Aziraphale, even saying the worse thing he can ever say: “shut your stupid mouth and die”. So to see him again, yeah, being scared is a valid response even as well as being showing keep resentment.

But, as they went to the very Va-Va-vroom yellow backroom, Crowley first idea was to take Gabriel somewhere far away, which if you really think about, wouldn’t solve any of their problem. It like putting a bandage or tape on a crack, sure it might help for now but more cracks will come up and will eventually break (I’ll get back to this later). What aziraphale said kinda valid, Gabriel does need them because who knows if this something terrible would only affect Gabriel, it could very well affect him or even Crowley or earth, so in Aziraphale’s view helping him out might neutralize whatever’s going on or will happen and taking him to dartmoor as Crowley stated do anything.

Now okay to give more benefit of the doubt, again, I do understand why Crowley was acting this way, and Aziraphale selflessly helping Gabriel is infuriating for him. As Crowley seeing this as “how can you help the person who want to murder you? How can you look past and forgive them this easily? How can you possible find it in your heart to help him after everything?”, which is pointing out Aziraphale’s flaws, him being selfless and need to help. Gabriel could’ve curse him out or bring him down to his lowest yet he still want to help. Now, there nothing wrong with being selfless, it an honorable thing to do, however, it become an issue when your selfless without thinking how it’ll affect you or the person involve. But, as I mention before, Aziraphale never wanted to help Gabriel, the only reason Aziraphale’s want to even do far as help this angel is because 1) he was obligated to as who else could possible help an amnesiac angel? 2) Gabriel mention something terrible will happen, so aziraphale want to know what can that be to prevent it. And 3) he’s pushing away his qualms against gabriel aside just so he can help him. So I don’t think Aziraphale’s exactly wrong for not wanting to sent Gabriel away as it wouldn’t solve the something terrible.

But Crowley doesn’t want to help (at first), so Aziraphale despite desperately loving nothing more but for Crowley to help him; said he’s welcome to go. He’s at least giving Crowley the opportunity to choose. Even though, Aziraphale want his help more than anything as the one thing both of them share is that, they don’t want to see Gabriel anymore. However, with aziraphale telling him he can go, Crowley well leaves. But not before (granted he did try to calm down though):

Aziraphale while most likely understands why Crowley left, I feel given his expression just wished Crowley tried a little harder rather than just walking away that easily. I almost said maybe he also feels envious that Crowley got the choice to walk away from this but I don’t see Aziraphale as someone who’s envious to that degree, but I feel Aziraphale wasn’t at least wishful he could avoid this whole Gabriel thing more than Crowley. But it just their luck.

Okay back to Crowley again, so we back to see him inside the car and then he is teleported back to hell by Beelzebub, there Ze tell Crowley what Shax mentioned before that Gabriel is gone and try to bribe Crowley by saying he can name his own price and even get his job back. Then tells Crowley that heaven up and arms about the disappearance and will dealt with anyone who’s helping Gabriel with extremes sanctions. Which absolutely mortified him because then there that possibility of being erased from the book of life.

And no, I don’t think Crowley’s original plan would’ve solved anything because in a way, that’s still helping Gabriel in some way. Does it more or less benefit Crowley and aziraphale yes but not by the long run. Like I said, it’s putting a bandage/tape on a crack, it could hold but not for long as it will ultimately fall apart and they would still be punished by doing this. So I think that’s why I never got why he still said “no no no aziraphale what have you done!?” Like sure even though I said my benefit of the doubt, I feel he should’ve at least understand this wasn’t Aziraphale’s choice neither, or even that this isn’t all on aziraphale anyway. It was Gabriel that just showed up and came to Aziraphale’s bookshop in the first place, so this was sprung on him. So I felt this was kinda irrational for him to think this way as Aziraphale never wanted this at all.

So Crowley comes back and Aziraphale decides to play petty (which sure valid since he did walk away but he did give him a choice? Idk it complicated), and Crowley goes on to say he was right which prompted to aziraphale wanting the apology dance from him (which okay imma be real, I have a headcanon where I think Aziraphale was dying to see this day. Been waiting until they first invented it which— I’m curious who idea was this.)

Now, you can debate if this thing was apology dance worthy but frankly, to see the dance, peak performance. But this isn’t about the dance, it about the grey heroes so let get back into it. Now Crowley does decide to help after all, and they decide to do what it seem to be the most powerful miracle anyone probably have ever seen or ranked. And it was only a half miracle. Which is really interesting. But I think even though Crowley does decide to help, I felt his earlier action was not exactly stupid but was unfair toward Aziraphale but at the same time it valid because of what I’ve stated and his underline trauma towards heaven period, so I can’t really call him stupid for this, but more or less deeply flawed here. However while the situation itself was unfair for Aziraphale as he want to help whatever going on I felt he should’ve also been more considerate about Crowley’s feeling with this whole ordeal as was equally unfair to Crowley in a way too. But I think the most common thing is that they don’t want to do this and want this thing to be resolved so they can move on with their lives. And even if Crowley did what he did, at least Aziraphale foot at forgiveness :) (I hate myself for making that joke— someone sedate me)

Now that’s my thought, this probably is controversial, so you’re welcome and valid if you disagree or even agree with this. Tell me what you think or if you agree/disagree tell me why? If you guys do have good omens question or question in general you can ask me on the AMA. But if you have any commentary on this blog you can unleash them, just please be mindful that’s all I ask. I have more analysis I got plan but for now, imma head to bed and relax. I’ll go haunt with you guys later but for now I’ll go haunt somewhere else. Hope you enjoy this blog and please check out the post I link on here, it was an interesting take and help me inspire me to make this one ^v^ so hope you enjoy that post too.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #good omens 2 #good omens fandom #good omens discussion #good omens analysis #aziracrow #anthony j crowley #good omens season 2 #aziraphale good omens #good omens aziraphale #they’re both flawed but that’s why I love them #i love this ship so much #i can talk about them forever #good omens beelzebub #good omens jim #good omens gabriel #good omens apology dance #good omens is here to stay you guys #give me season 3 or give me death #crowley good omens #brainrot #good omens spoilers #good omens crowley #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #this one a long one I’m sorry I just have so much to say #please no hate

[fadobeijaeu]

in my humble opinion rddk is lowkey deku's best ship and it shows in their mbti. ENTP x INFJ is infamously known as a "golden pairing" because they're complete opposites of each other in ways that challenge, energize and inspire both parties, while still being fundamentally similar enough to understand each other easily.

One of the many ways this shows itself is the how INFJs are known as the most extroverted of the introverted functions while ENTPs are known as the most introverted of the extroverted functions, so the two are excellent at meeting each other half way and bouncing off of each other.

In Deku's case, his INFJ shows up strong in how formal he is around most people, even his closest friends, thanks to a mixture of anxiety and the desire the to please others and keep the peace, rather than risk the chaos & uncertainty that might come with revealing their overly emotional and passionate selves.

ENTPs, with their impish charm and sense of humor, have the uncanny ability to disarm INFJs completely. They are the INFJ's chill pill, excellent at making them at ease, safe to reveal all of their passion, their ideas, their personality. The ENTP's knack for chaos makes them appreciative of other people's uniqueness, which in turn makes them attracted to the basket of quirkiness that always come with INFJs.

That last scene of rddk laughing their asses off despite the world almost ending and the both of them casually bleeding from severe wounds is like the most INFJxENTP shit I've ever seen.

We've rarely, if ever, seen Deku treat such dramatic situations with such gaiety because while many people wouldn't, INFJs much less so. INFJs can be such serious, intense people with very set ideals of what's okay and what isn't. But with the ENTP at their side ready to crack the perfect joke at the perfect moment to break the tension, everything goes out the window and the INFJ realizes that things don't have to be so serious when actually they are quite fucking funny because what the hell. From the outside, it'd look as though the INFJ becomes a different person around the ENTP. In reality, that person has been there all along, but requires the right kind of energy to show themself.

Deku has a lot of other ships that are totally valid for all sorts of reasons but man you've gotta admit none of them unveil Deku the way homeboy Rody does~ <3

#rody soul #rodydeku #rddk #irl im an infj whose partner is an entp so this is a dynamic i LOVE and know TOO WELL

[jiminsass-istant]

https://www.tumblr.com/jiminsass-istant/740934106304626688/bye-bye-old-bts?source=share

There’s a lot of assumptions here I don’t agree with. The west is embracing new jeans and they haven’t had physical promo like bts did. The reason why bts is not getting really embraced by the gp is cos the music they promote to the west is generic meaningless boy band music which is very unrelatable. And authenticity is a big thing in the west. If they gave Mots7 or any of their albums before that the level of promo dynamite or butter had, they would have gotten more of the gp appreciation.

Hybe is not just only promoting jk, but they were also hampering other members promo. Look at how lackadaisical they were with shipping jh, Jin & RM albums. How poorly they scheduled Face, the many issues we faced during Face era that jk never experienced. We had to tag them for basic things that a label should already know about. How they shaded jm in their own article and are several times refusing to acknowledge his no1. It goes beyond promoting one member and more into trying to stifle the rest to present an image the label has the power to make a pop star. And is probably also why they give this promo to songs the label premade and not the artist’s authentic music that the artists makes

Thanks for the ask, anon. I'll share my thoughts to your ask in parts: (and sorry for the long essay in advance, kindly read, i swear i get to a point lol)

Western GP (New Jeans vs BTS): Can I be very very honest? New Jeans music is extremely catchy and has that hyperpop element that western audiences eat up. With rise of artists like PinkPantheress, hyperpop is gaining even more popularity, and Y2K aesthetic is back. NewJeans are all that- the music and aesthetic both. I'm not sure what were their digital promo methods, but perhaps playlisting on streaming platforms? And the collab with Apple was very strategic too. Let's also not forget they have english chorus in their songs and went viral on tiktok. New Jeans are in top 5 kpop groups in tiktok. I cannot speak for NewJeans much, because I have only listened to their songs, and do not follow them.

Let's talk about OT7 songs promoted in the US first- as in Dynamite, Butter and PTD. Let's take Dynamite - a very well crafted product, basically a completely American song with American references and MJ inspired choreo. It was meant to catch western attention and did its job. But the problem was- it was a single, not an album and it didn't really showcase the range of their artistry. Yet it did the job of exponentially increasing the fanbase. It was pandemic time, people were in their rooms, with internet and Youtube. Those who were meant to find BTs, found them.

Could BTS have achieved long lasting attention with MOTS 7 promotion? Honestly, it's hard to say. BTS's music is not conventional. You will never hear a BTS song and think- 'oh! i've heard something similar', in fact, sometimes it is even difficult to comprehend what genre their songs are. A different language, a different genre, 7 different voices, with no two albums that sound similar, no viral tiktok songs. Do you know how difficult it is to crack the western market? It is a lot of information to feed. I will come back to the MOTS 7 issue later.

How does one build a fanbase for a band like BTS?

BTS's popularity and long lasting fanbase has always been formed by the story they sell. Bang PD, right from the start, wanted to show the world 7 authentic, real boys who wanted to share their original thoughts, happiness, feelings and struggles. Added to this, their underdog story. Yes, their struggles from older days are all real and valid, but knowing that story makes you relate to them. Because, aren't we all some type of underdog before we achieve something big? People have often been drawn to BTS via word of mouth, friends, 'i just wanted to know their names' and ending up watching the Taylor Guide, 'my wife took me to their concert and now all my friends love BTS', 'they taught me how to love myself' etc etc. BTS has always inducted fans who were searching for something in their lives, or are curious, or are 'willing to learn'. You cannot sit an American down and show them a BTS US interview and ask them to listen to the album and make them a forever fan. Do you know how people in the west don't watch an international film just because they refuse to read subtitles? The language barrier might be easy for armies to overlook because we are invested, but it's not easy to convince a monolingual westerner to start reading subtitles to get into an entirely different fandom.

To sum up my points above:

BTS sell their story and relatability and group dynamics, which is not possible just through basic promotion. One has to dive into BTS voluntarily and go through the plethora of content, one by one.

BTS songs are usually not tiktok viral for some reason, considering how big of an act they are. Barely any bts tracks have gone viral- BST remix, black swan instrumental (maybe), PTD dance challenge to name a few. I don't know the reason why because I have barely ever used tiktok. Because armies only interact with each other on that app and even then, they don't use bts songs as audio.

The pre-requisite is to be backed by a western label for radio, playlist, western ads etc. Because the US won't allow an outsider label to make money off their GP, simple. It just takes away the money that could have stayed with western labels.

Coming to individual member (JK) promoted in the US: I did mention in the post of mine you have linked- that Golden lacked depth. Quoting my own words directly - " While they paid attention to heavy promo, charts and playlisting for Golden, they failed to create a connection with the music- which seems highly non-personal and lacking in depth and has a non-interesting concept. The promo did do the work of making jk a common name, showcasing his talents and introducing him to the industry. But for a lasting impact, they have to create better stories with the music. Idc, army are acting too defensive when people are disappointed that he didn't write his songs. It's okay to not write, but the very least singers can do is connect to song meanings and relate to personal experiences during the promos."

And anon, you are right, to have a lasting impression in the west, one needs authenticity. Actually let me list down the non-compromisable parameters required for success in the US-

Affiliation to US based label/Connection to industry mammoths. (Give money to US/US based part of the company)

English song/ lots of english lyrics + recognizable genre

Character/ brand of the artist (which the audience calls 'authenticity', but is actually the 'brand' of the artist created by the label. People hear the artist's name and know what to expect. You hear Olivia Rodrigo and you know you will get teenage, angsty, heartbreak tracks.)

Last but not the least- tiktok push. (somehow extremely essential today)

Hybe gave JK 1,2 and 4 from above list. They tried to build up on his character, but it is incomplete and lacks depth. The character they have built for him is- Korean hearthrob who can sing and dance, inspired by Michael Jackson, the ONE member to look out from the massive band BTS (Justin Timberlake trajectory). They gave him catchy songs directed at het women, dressed him up in clothes fitting that image and made him perform live at TSX. Thanks to the massive ads and promo, people know him now. But unless he shows the true depth of his character and brand to the GP, a lot of people (non-army) won't look forward to his future works. And whether we like it or not, him not being being able to interact freely and share his thoughts in english in the interviews is still a drawback for him. (personally, i wish that was not true).

Even when some celebrities of colour get the limelight in US pop culture, it's because they are connected to the US. They emerge as this messiah for their 3rd world country, can speak english and work for US labels and production companies. The US gets to keep the money and awards, and also gets to flaunt 'diversity'. It has always worked like that when the west opened the doors for a POC.

MOTS 7 would not get GP acceptance without being backed by a US label. And would a US label ever accept a full Korean album with all Korean artists? Why would they invest in an artist of a foreign language? Can Bang PD's assistant call up US radio and get them to play Dionysus? No. But if Scooter does it, they will pay attention.

An English speaking artist can convey their feelings through words on a radio, but how will a Korean artist do that on the radio with no subtitles, to an audience who refuses to read subs in the first place? You know how the US GP reacted when Parasite movie won an Oscar, right?

Ever since 2017, BTS have tried for that hot 100, did everything they could, backed by their Korean company, tons of US interviews and what not. But at the end of the day, they had to compromise with meaning and depth and churn out an all english, MJ inspired, disco pop track which finally gave them their #1. I am not downplaying the significance of Dynamite, or saying that it's a bad song. But I simply mean that only a marked shift in genre and strategy gave them that #1.

Anon's words: "Hybe is not just only promoting jk, but they were also hampering other members promo."

You are absolutely right. The only properly done solo work was that of Yoongi I feel. He knows his priorities and influence on the company, and has always had a very strong connection to both inside and outside the company. I'm not sure if D-Day was mismanaged, though am sure some yoongi biased army will have things to point out. All the other members have faced mismanagement. Jimin the most, I feel. Even recently, there's a Weverse article where they wrote that "jhope led the contemporary dance with Jimin", in spring day. All respect to Jhope where he deserves because he is the dance leader indeed, but he did not lead the contemporary dance in spring day, as amazing as he is, respectfully.

Anon's words: "It goes beyond promoting one member and more into trying to stifle the rest to present an image the label has the power to make a pop star."

I felt the same thing. I share the same sentiment with you here. The way they downplayed Like Crazy's achievements was disappointing and hurtful. That day it became crystal clear to me that Bighit did NOT see that achievement coming. None of the member's releases was meant to make this much noise, not before their Scooter backed project. They grossly underestimated the extent army can go even for 1 member (arguably the 2 most popular members in US are Jimin and Jungkook). Honestly the type of promotions JK got would never be given to other members because the other members would NOT agree to singing english songs that have zero depth and zero connection to their own feelings. JK was willing to take up that offer because.. well it's his choice. It was a golden platter, why not take it up? His image is moldable, he can sing whatever he is given and has the talent to pull it off. No matter whom we bias, JK has been the center of almost all BTS songs, a non-replaceable voice. But at the end of the day, the reason he was the one member who Bighit wanted to stand-out from the group was, it was his consent and agreement to everything the company planned for him.

I do wonder what it would have been like if all members received that kind of promo with their own artistry. But the entire premise of them being backed by Scooter/US collapses because they refuse to sing songs written by Scooter's writers. So I also agree with anon when they said "And is probably also why they give this promo to songs the label premade and not the artist’s authentic music that the artists makes."

Instead, Hybe is focusing on the other kpop groups under them. It's like the 6 members were just given their own individual management teams to manage their solo works lol. At least, let's be glad that the 6 members are getting full creative freedom for their work. I just want their solo works to be better managed. And I hope their managers, and planners, especially those on Jimin's side have learnt their lesson and come up with a foolproof promo for their next projects. I don't expect anything from BangPD, that man has been showing a certain pattern I don't want to discuss. (solely because i refuse to think what goes on in his mind).

As fans, all we can do is support the solo works we feel connected to and support BTS as a whole in future OT7 projects.

#bts analysis #bts chapter 2

[esta-elavaris]

Flufftober Day 6: Hot chocolate - alternate prompt ~ James Norrington/OC [1,365 words]

My Flufftober '23 masterpost can be found here, and my behemoth of a main fic about these two is here 💜✨

Notes: Drinking chocolate was actually the most common form of chocolate in this time period, but I have decided that I am flouting historical accuracy here. Alternatively, given that this is a world where Beckett existed and he was a horrible little fuck who hated joy, I like to think he and his ancestors were on a lifelong campaign to stamp out drinking chocolate from the lives of those in their sphere of influence, and James has therefore never heard of or tried it. Not only is this a reasonable headcanon to have, it’s also so valid and so wise. Okay? Okay.

James had lost count of how many voyages he had undertaken under the banner of Norne Maritime Protection at this point. Enough for the crew of their flagship to stop grumbling over Theodora’s presence – both in matters of business, and on a literal level – which could only mean that there had been many. A combination of James’ firmly making it clear that disrespect would not be tolerated, combined with Theodora’s nature, the one that had her rubbing shoulders with pirates like it was nothing, soon disabused their men of any notions that she should be sneered at or talked down to. Those who did not come to this realisation in a timely manner soon found themselves without employment.

Unsurprisingly – at least to James himself – those who lasted any sort of time before ultimately being let go only did so at her insistence. He would have them off the ship from the first moment of disrespect, to make the no-tolerance policy very clear. It was Theodora who insisted on having a chance or two at cracking them. Usually through stomach-dropping feats like scaling to the top of the rigging to do some repairs herself or, on one memorable occasion, almost costing a man his finger in a game that involved taking turns with a knife and unfailing hand-eye coordination. Unfailing in his wife’s case, at least.

James struggled to decide which of the tactics he liked least. More often than not, however, they worked – especially now that the bulk of their growing pains were behind them, and this…this thing of theirs was running smoothly. Consistently. This voyage had been a particular success. There had been but one glimpse of a pirate ship, and it had turned around the moment its captain realised that the merchant vessel they’d sailed with was accompanied by a force to be reckoned with. Their fiercest foe had proven to be the cold, with winter swiftly nearing, but Theodora adored the cold so that he could hardly grudge her the happiness it brought.

Conditions above deck were frosty as he moved about, looking this way and that for the telltale red hair of his wife. She hadn’t been in the cabin, and with the day drawing to a close he was hoping they might eat together and then retire, but he would have to find her first.

It was one of the men aboard who directed him to her in the end, answering his enquiry of ‘Mrs Norrington?’ with ‘the galley, sir’ which boded…suspiciously. James wondered what combination of bread and cheese he was about to be confronted with this time. The crew having long since eaten, he found his wife alone in the galley, an enormous simmering pot of milk to her left and a slab of chocolate to her right, which she was massacring with a vigour that was both fearsome and oddly enticing.

“What are you concocting?” he asked in the way of greeting.

Theodora looked up, then she smiled at him – something he always had no choice but to return – before she returned to her efforts.

“Concocting?” she echoed. “Are we resurrecting the witch rumours, then?”

“Didn’t you know? I was the one to start them the first time around. It was my way of warding off any competition I may have had.”

Approaching, he moved to stand behind her, his chest at her back as he watched her work from over her shoulder. Theodora chuckled.

“Oh? You like your women on fire, then?”

“Evidently,” he teased, lifting a hand to tug gently at an errant strand of her hair.

Laughing softly, she set the knife down and leaned into him, taking up a chunk of chocolate she had not yet cut to shreds and holding it up towards him in offering. After a quick glance ensured none were about to bother them, James leaned forward and ate it directly from her grasp, his lips enveloping her fingertips and sucking the swiftly melting chocolate off of them as he did so.

“Your hands are cold,” he murmured, feigning ignorance to how her eyes had become hooded as he teased her.

“You needed your mouth to assess that, did you?”

“An old naval trick,” he said with a great deal of mock-solemnity.

“I’ll verify that with Groves, you know. We write.”

James doubted it was an empty threat, knowing Theodora.

“I’ll confiscate your quill,” he countered casually.

“This is how it’s going to be, is it? Not allowed to read or write…what’s next? Chaining me to the stove?”

“My love, if I was going to chain you to something, it would not be the stove.”

A beat passed – not because it took that long for her to understand him, he knew, but because she was second-guessing whether she’d understood him correctly. Turning her head, but remaining in his arms as she did so, she caught sight of his smirk and her eyes widened in dismay that he knew her far too well to believe.

“James Norrington!” she gasped, before smirking up at him. “I’m sure we’ve spoken about your threatening me with a good time.”

He chuckled lowly, keeping the close proximity and watching as she worked. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

His intrigue grew as she loaded the pot of simmering milk up with the chocolate she’d just demolished, stirring it until the milk turned to a pale brown colour and a sweet smell permeated the galley. Then, she added a pinch of cinnamon and, after tasting, a touch of sugar.

“I do hope this isn’t some strange manner of soup,” he commented.

“It’s hot chocolate.”

“You’re…warming chocolate? Wouldn’t that just be melted chocolate, then?”

“Not literally hot chocolate. Drinking chocolate. I’m surprised you’ve never had it – then again, it’s not really suited to Caribbean climates. I knew it’d get cold while we were out here, so I brought what we’d need with us. Then I started making it and realised I’d feel guilty if I didn’t make enough for everybody…hence the vat. But we get first crack at it.”

James watched, intrigued, as she ladled some of the hot chocolate into two tankards she’d set aside, evidently expecting him to root her out sooner or later. He smirked at that, and only stepped away from her when she handed one of the tankards towards him, knowing if he tried to drink that from her hand things would take the gesture from flirtatious to ridiculous. Then again, given his wife’s penchant for the ridiculous, perhaps she’d enjoy it.

She turned to watch him, sipping from her own cup as he tried this hot chocolate – and then beamed when he, after scarcely a mouthful, stopped to stare at her in amazement.

“See?” she grinned.

“I can’t believe you’ve kept this from me in all the time we’ve been married,” he hummed, taking another sip, relishing in how it warmed him after all those hours above deck.

“Have to keep a few things up my sleeve to keep the spark alive,” she said drily, topping up their mugs despite the fact that neither were yet half-empty.

“Oh?” he played along. “What else do you have stashed up there?”

“Well I know you’ve got chains up yours, so I’ll have to set about outdoing that.”

He chuckled – not least because of the pink tinge her cheeks adopted as she said it, however much she tried to act unbothered as she teased him. There would never come a time, he knew, when he’d tire of making her blush. Not least because it seemed a privilege granted only to him.

Links: AO3 -- FF.net -- flufftober masterpost -- dividers by cafekitsune

#esta's flufftober '23 fills #james/theodora #james and theodora #james norrington/oc #james norrington x oc #flufftober 2023 #flufftober2023 #james norrington fanfic #james norrington fanfiction #POTC fanfic #POTC fanfiction

[eosofspades]

so i'm seeing some ideas going around that this (horrifying) scene from the trailer -

- isn't our Ghost, but a Ghost, and i wanna talk about it.

i do think this is our (the player's) Ghost, for a couple of reasons! for starters, there's the obvious - the classic shell they use for The Guardian's Ghost in trailers, the Guardian being a Titan (also what Bungie tends to depict The Guardian as in trailers), the fact that in a trailer of this significance, it seems really unlikely that they'd be showing us something as intense as this with an unknown/unnamed character, etc.

but more importantly, a lot of people seem to be thinking that this Ghost and Guardian are... actually getting sliced up, which i don't think they are.

bear with me for a bit! while that's absolutely what looks like what is happening, i'm at least 80% certain this scene is going to be the Witness giving the Guardian a terrible vision/hallucination (similar to what happened in Shadowkeep where we encountered the Dark Guardian in the Black Garden.) and there are another couple of reasons for this!

(the rest under a read more - this one really got away from me.)

for one thing - purely from a technical standpoint - the Young Wolf and their Ghost just... straight-up can't die; at least not permanently, at least not yet. they're the player character; you're going to need them to actually continue playing the game.

(i've also seen people suggesting this can't be our Ghost from a technical standpoint because that would mean Bungie having to do the slicing animation for every single Ghost shell in the game, which, to be fair, is a completely valid assumption to make - but in my opinion, based on the sheer volume of detail within this game's scenery and animation, and the unbelievable attention to the smallest possible details that most players won't even notice - i would absolutely not put it past Bungie to put in that effort, and, moreover, i have another idea that goes hand-in-hand with the "this is a vision" thing; that they didn't have to animate every single shell - but i'll get to that in a bit.)

now, from an in-game perspective, it doesn't make sense to me to have this not be our Ghost, or to have it not be a vision. for one thing - if what the Witness is doing is actually slicing up all of these Ghosts and Guardians and ships, that's just… a little bit nonsense. yes, the Witness is unbelievably powerful and terrifyingly dangerous, but if it is actually capable of unmaking living, paracausal things with a single flick of its finger, that seems… unlikely in terms of power, at most, because if that’s the case there truly is no fight to be had. the Witness could obliterate the Guardian before we even had a chance to draw our gun. it just seems unrealistic that if the Witness was that overtly powerful, there could even be a compelling battle against it.

(it’s also worth mentioning that the Witness’ entire thing is visuals and appearances over actual physical confrontation. it doesn’t even appear in the flesh to Calus at all times - in fact, the trailer makes a point of showing that it speaks to him through a cracked mirror, and in the final Seraph cutscene that it appears to Eramis via a screen; there’s the fact that the Darkness is constantly waving around this motif of visuals and appearances (the Dark Guardian vision during Shadowkeep; Deepsight; the Nightmares on the Moon, etc.) and even that it’s name is the Witness - you get it.)

there’s also the matter of emotional impact. like, don’t get me wrong, this is fucking horrifying. actual, full-body dread and fear at this scene when i first saw it. but you cannot tell me you would be just as distressed and unsettled if it were a random Ghost paired with a random Guardian we’ve never seen before - our Ghost has been getting so much character insight and development in the last two DLCs (his fear -> reluctance -> hesitant acception of the Guardian using Stasis, his complicated feelings regarding his faith in the Traveler explored during Witch Queen or his hostility -> understanding towards Fynch, etc.), i can’t imagine Bungie is going to give us this close-up, visceral, nightmarish scene with a Ghost we don’t know and have no attachment to.

(also, i made a post about this already, but in this trailer alone i am seeing SO MANY parallels to The Red War campaign - the fact that the Ghost and Guardian are in the exact same position as we were during the Red War intro is not lost on me. this also ties back into my “only animating one Ghost shell” thing - if it is a vision, i think it’s possible that the reason the Titan in the trailer is in “older”-looking armor is because you’re seeing yourself and Ghost in what could be a potential callback to the Red War - hence having Ghost be in the Last City shell, and the Guardian in “older” armor; because what’s happening here is not what is real; it’s supposed to be the Witness getting into your head. (or, again, maybe the Titan is just in that armor for the trailer and Bungie did animate the Ghost shells! at the very least, i doubt that having a non-player’s Ghost be in the Last City shell is probably not going to happen, since that’s the shell we tend to associate with our Ghost.))

what i think is actually happening here is one of two things: either the Witness giving the Guardian a horrifying “vision” in order to scare us/make us understand why it believes the Traveler heralds death and needs to be eliminated (i’m going to shamelessly plug in my obsession with Unveiling once again, but the Winnower explicitly explains to us at least couple of times that it believes existence is full of suffering and many things would be better off not existing at all to spare ourselves the torment. i can absolutely see the Witness trying to intimidate/terrorize us with a vision like this in order to get across its point that the Traveler will allow us to suffer and writhe and never be able to escape it.)

the other guess i have, which is unlikely but still something i think would be very very neat, is that - with the Witness’ whole shattered glass motif and the way its hands move, like it’s altering reality as it exists - it would be incredibly interesting if the Witness were actually “dismantling” us, so to speak - even if just for a moment, maybe before summoning us to the final confrontation of the campaign, just as a sheer power move. so when the Guardian gets there, they’re afraid and disoriented and unable to focus (this is, again, incredibly unlikely, probably, but i really really want to see some threats from enemies on an incredibly personal level. i have been dying for an enemy to get to us in an uncomfortably up-close and personal manner, or at least for the Guardian to have actual reactions to things. i would love to see another callback to the Red War, maybe, with the Guardian and Ghost collapsed and the Witness towering over them.)

obligatory disclaimer that i could always be wrong, of course, and if it turns out to be a random Ghost and Guardian getting ACTUALLY sliced up i’ll admit it and eat my words, but with what we’ve seen at this point in time, it really doesn’t make sense to me that it would be anything other than a vision being experienced by the player Guardian and our Ghost.

#HELLO THIS GOT AWAY FROM ME #this is over 1k words and 2 pages long and its three in the goddamn morning #im so normal. i am sososo normal about this game and i have proportionate reactions to stuff #destiny 2 #mine #lightfall #lightfall spoilers #eos destiny essays

[adoredmarigold]

Questions!! Yay!!!!!! I've got a lot to ask about, I'm sorry

1. What are your favorite ships other than david and lingard (tbh in some way that ship reminds me of kirk x bones, not sure if youre into star trek tho xd)

2. Ava or Tripp?

3. Favorite S2 characters? Do you have any S2 ships?

4. What do you think are the best possible and your favorite endings of S2, S3 and S4??

5. And of course, I wanted to ask, whats your opinion on Bonnie.

I feel like I've been asking you some questions before but I dont remember excstly what it waasszzzzzzddsdszs if I already asked some of these questions IM SO SORRY but I cant say no to asking twdg questions

hello :) 1. VIOLENTINE!!!! It's such a lovely ship I will defend it with my life, istg Violentine haters have yet to bring up a valid point as to why they don't like it. I have some crack ships like Eleanor x Kate or Eleanor x Ava, I don't have much to say about them I'm just gay and wanna ship my girls together lmao. hmmm, I've been seeing some Mark x Lee stuff to and that looks pretty cute. Ermmm this is making me realize I actually don't ship much in twdg lmao, I guess I also ship Clouis and Gabentine Clouis is sweet and has good moments but I just don't find them as compelling as Violentine (sorry Clouis shippers). As for Gabentine I guess I would say I ship it, but more so in a "first crush/puppy love" kinda of way, The relationship never becomes anything serious they're just kids with a crush on each other and honestly I don't need them to become anything more than that. aaaannnd I know nothing about Star Trek but you're gonna make me look into Kirk x Bones now, thanks. 2. Well if we're just talking about the characters in general then Ava, she's so underrated imo. BUT, if we're talking about whether I choose to "save" Tripp or Ava during the execution, I always choose to let Tripp live. I'd rather have Ava die here than get that stupid fucking death she gets in ep 5, Tripps death in ep 5 is a lot better cinematically and writing-wise. 3. Sarah :) She's been my fav season 2 character since the season first came out and I will never forgive the writers/fandom at the time for how they treated her, SHE DID NOTHING WRONG. As for ships I guess I don't really have any for season 2, I mean Alvin x Rebecca I suppose though I'm not particularly invested in either character. Never been a Nick x Luke fan, I get the appeal but it ain't for me. 4. I can't really say which ending for each season is the best cause it's all pretty subjective, but I will give you my favs :) I guess I don't really have a fav ending for season 2? I choose the alone ending each time just cause I can't deal with Jane and Kenny's bs, don't hate either character but Clem doesn't deserve to put up with their bullshit anymore, she's the main character it's fine let's just ignore the logistics of an 11-year-old going off alone with a newborn. I also like the Wellington ending alot though! Not only because it's the best location for Clem and AJ to end up at but it also gives a satisfying conclusion to Kenny's character imo. Kenny spent all of season 2 trying to keep Clem and in the end AJ by his side for ultimately selfish reasons and he became extremely violent and unhinged in the process. So to see Kenny finally be selfless and be willing to give them both up to ensure their health and safety really redeems him for me. Kenny loves Clem and AJ but I really don't think he's fit to take care of them, this is the best possible Kenny ending for me. 5. Bonnies cool. It's been awhile since I've played season 2 and 400 days so I am in a desperate refresh of her character, but from what I remember she was interesting. I def think the fandom goes WAY too hard on hating her, from what I remember she's not really any worse or better than any of the other adults in season 2, she's extremely flawed but hell who isn't in The Walking Dead. I get being frustrated with her but the lengths people go to shit all over her character is kinda insane to me. So overall I guess I don't have much of a strong opinion on Bonnie, she's an interesting character with alot of flaws but I don't think she's evil or cruel. I hope her and Mike where able to get away and join a community or something. Also, I distinctly remember her being my fav 400 Days character and having a crush on her when I was a kid lmao. wowie okay that's all I gotta say, and don't worry you're all good! If you (or anybody really) send me a question and I don't reply it's probably just cause I forgot to or I'm stumped on what to say. CRIES

#twdg #Oh I also ship Joan and Clint

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 Perfect on Paper Book Review 🦇

❓ #QOTD What's the best advice you've ever received or given? ❓ 🦇 High school junior Darcy Phillips has a secret identity as the relationship advice expert behind Locker 89. Leave a letter along with $10 and she'll provide the perfect solution to your relationship woes. So far, she hasn't been caught...that is, until Alexander Brougham catches her collecting letters. He'll keep her secret...if she can fix his relationship post-break-up, that is. Can Darcy help Brougham win his girlfriend back (without strangling the entitled, rich, yummy-Australian-accent-slinging swimmer) in the process?

💜 Perfect on Paper was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award (Best Young Adult Fiction - 2021) and it's no wonder. This was the exact book bisexual baby me needed a decade ago. Though I've read a multitude of books featuring bisexual FMCs, Sophie Gonzales is the first to capture the authenticity of internalized biphobia. I'll admit I was sheltered enough that it took me a while to realize bi was even an option for me. Bisexual erasure didn't help; once I self-identified, I was given the oh-so-cliche, "that's not real," and "it's just a phase." Bitch, I'm a moon goddess; I'm in a new phase every day of my life. ANYWAY. Darcy is authentic in her concern that a crush over a guy invalidates her bi-ness. The Queer & Questioning Club scene where Darcy's community validates her was everything (and truly got me misty-eyed).

💜 The advice column aspect of the story was brilliant. Darcy's letters are written in a tone that's patient and empathetic yet informative and encouraging. She'd obviously done her research and it shows, but you see her mentally unravel the moment there's personal bias and it's BEAUTIFUL. Darcy isn't perfect. She's a high schooler, still figuring herself out. Yes, she's flawed, but she's also self-aware, willing to grow and change and take her own advice (or the advice she gets from her AMAZING trans big sister, who I adored).

💜 While this is a queer YA romance, there are so many layers beyond that. There's a mixed bag of diversity and personal trauma (and with that, potential for growth) to explore.

💙 The story DID take a minute to pick up speed, so the beginning left me waiting for a catalyst for momentum. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm no a fan of the miscommunication trope. HOWEVER, it does fit here, and proves how easily a tiny moment of misunderstanding can completely alter the course of a friendship. I did have to put the book down at one point, when Darcy's best friend outs her (I was super frustrated on Darcy's behalf because that betrayal was intense). I was disappointed that no one stepped forward and THANKED Darcy for her advice when she was getting attacked as the person behind Locker 89. People were upset BEFORE their letters were taken, but no one thanked Darcy until LONG after the situation cooled. Given Darcy's self-proclaimed success rate (was there a mention of HOW she knew she was successful, beyond the lack of refunds?), I expected a lot more praise for her abilities beyond one person.

🦇 Recommended to fans of Leah on the Offbeat and Imogen, Obviously, with a hint of To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Netflix's Sex Education.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 💌 Bisexual FMC (w/ Internalized Biphobia) 💌 Queer Young Adult Rom-Com 💌 Lots of Rep 💌 Hate-to-Love 💌 Friends to Lovers 💌 POC Sapphic Side Ship

💬 Quotes ❝ "Do you think there’s a chance that [...] you’re intellectualizing things so you don’t have to, you know, feel them?" ❞ ❝ I was sitting in the space between a sound and its echo. Brougham had asked a question, and I had to answer it. It was that, or keep dreaming about love, and working toward helping others find it, while never letting myself risk it. ❞ ❝ In some ways, we mirrored each other. We shared cracks in complementary places. ❞ ❝ Bi people are part of the queer community, and their identity does not change depending on who, if anyone, they happen to have feelings for or date at any given moment. ❞

#books #reading #black cat #cats and books #queer books #queer book review #queer fiction #queer romance #queer #bisexual visibility #bisexual pride #bisexuality #book reviews #book review #batty about books #battyaboutbooks #book: perfect on paper #author: sophie gonzales #cats reading #cats

[poorlittleyaoyao]

14, 48, and 50 for A-Yao?

14. Most heroic moment

Oh, killing WRH, for sure. MY racks up all kinds of big heroic moments during Sunshot--saving LXC! saving QS! making sure civilians are out of the way! the whole spy thing in general!--but killing WRH entailed major risk and sacrifice alongside bravery. After all, MY has a pretty good thing going in Nightless City! Torturing people is, you know, not great, but he's the trusted assistant of the most powerful man in the jianghu. In novel canon, he's one of the few people permitted to greet WRH without kneeling. In drama canon, he has direct input on battlefield strategy. This is the most power he's ever had and the most respect he's ever had. Meanwhile, a good chunk of the Sunshot coalition has treated him like garbage. And there's no guarantee people will believe that he was a spy all along rather than a coward jumping ship at the last minute, especially if LXC has died in battle and there's nobody to vouch for him. But he kills him anyway, because it's the right thing to do. (And he saves NMJ, even though letting WRH kill him would make his life a whole lot easier, also because it's the right thing to do.)

48. Scariest moment of their life

In terms of immediate, adrenaline-rush sheer terror: during the non-horny realtime version of MY and NMJ's encounter at Nightless City in CQL, NMJ almost cuts him in half with Baxia and the poor guy looks PETRIFIED. MY is saved only because WRH grabs NMJ and hauls him away. That would be TERRIFYING, because 1.) he almost died, and 2.) he continues to almost die until WRH incapacitates NMJ, 3.) he's also plainly scared for as well as of NMJ. And, as stated above, it doesn't exactly bode well for his own fate post-Sunshot!

In terms of frightening on an existential level: also in CQL, the moment he hits the bottom of the Jinlintai stairs. JGS dispatches servants to get rid of MY in the novel IIRC, so there's some plausible deniability there; maybe Jin-furen or someone else gave the order and his father had no part in it! In CQL, though, JGS is right there the whole time. JGS looked MY in the eye and chose to violently reject him. There is no doubt that his father doesn't want him. His mother is dead, he's all alone, and his ONE JOB--the ONE THING he's meant to do--he failed. If he wants to crack an unhinged evil smile to cope, he's valid.

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

Given his eidetic memory, I think JGY's problem is that he can't block things out. He remembers everything! Much of it bad! Which must be exhausting not just because that sure is A Lot to carry around, but many of the things he remembers clear as day have been genuinely forgotten by the other parties involved, so if he tries to bring them up, people will be like "lol what are you talking about? that didn't happen."

So what I think he does INSTEAD is kind of... gaslight himself? Like he does these elaborate retcons of his own memories to enable him to compartmentalize better, chief among them being "the only reason my father doesn't treat me as his son is that external forces prevent him from doing so :) and I just :) need to do better :)" until the "not worth mentioning" scene breaks the illusion for good.

[roseburning]

I want a Good!Tom Riddle that is NOT Tom X Harry!

I recently read Chamber of Secrets for the first time and, as someone who watched the movies first, I was genuinely surprised about how much I relate to Ginny Weasley!

Tom Riddle is incredibly charming and, just like little Ginny, I completely fell for it (even though I knew he was Voldemort all along). I just couldn't help it, he plays the role of the sweet, innocent Golden Boy too well!! I genuinely felt sorry for him when he started blushing while talking about the orphanage he lived in 💔

Obviously it's just a facade, a mask he wears to manipulate people and not his real self. I'm not at all trying to somehow justify the actions of Lord Voldemort. I'm just saying that, like Ginny and Harry, I fell for him.

But when I decide to search online for Alternative Universes where he was actually this prince charming with a heart of gold (*hyperbole*) that he pretended to be, I only found disgusting Tomarry smut.

I do understand that this is a crack ship that shouldn't be taken seriously, but damn, I must say I'm deeply disappointed and sad. Apparently, Tom Marvolo Riddle can only be "good" when the author wants him to fuck Harry James Potter.

And those fanfiction don't even base his "good side" on what we actually see him performing in the book, but apply the most generic and cliche 'cold, no feelings boyfriend and only y/n can made him love again' personality, but y/n is just called Harry.

I'm deeply mad at this fandom. Tom Riddle could be such a layered and complex characters if we consider his Golden Boy Persona as real, or at least something he's trying to be.

I know that J.K. Rowling dives more deep into his past in later books and I currently only read books 1 and 2, but from I could see, good!Tom Riddle (canon based + a bit of my headcanons): Comes from a negligent (possibly abusive) household that he much rather not go back to;

Tries to be the perfect boy in school, in a desperate quest for acceptance;

Tries to do what he judges right, even if it hurts other people or himself, it's for the greater good;

Does not have actual friends because he can't bond with people (and some people think he's just a show off);

Is a Teacher's Pet because he subconsciously wants validation;

Spent 5 years trying to learn more about who he and his mother's family are;

(Probably has a pet Basilisk — who might or not have killed Myrtle);

Gets along better with snakes than humans, because he doesn't need to try so hard around them.

Speaks Parseltongue in his sleep.

I'm fully aware that it also sounds very cliche, and I the need to say that as I, myself, don't ship Tom and Harry at all, I'm not here to hate this ship or on its shippers. “Ship and let ship.„ You do you, guys. I can understand how the whole Dark Mirror situation could have been appealing to some.

I just wanted to vocalize my frustrations about this damn ship basically monopolizing the "Good Tom Riddle" tag on Ao3.

I'd love fanfiction recommendations about it if you have some <3

(I also think we should talk about more about the friendship between Tom Riddle and Ginny Weasley, but this is a talk for another post. Anyway, if you got some platonic recommend for them, I'd love to read! <3)

For the love of Merlin, fanon is not canon and this doesn't justify Voldemort's actions at all.

Love ya!

#chamber of secrets #tom marvolo riddle #tom riddle #Good Tom Riddle #Anti Tomarry #ginny weasley #Harry Potter #ao3 fanfic #fanfiction recommendation #AU #alternative universe #Ao3 #headcanon #harry potter headcanon #tom riddle headcanon #golden boy tom riddle #charming tom riddle