#the plot isn't as deep/complex as ever never after's

[rosellemoon]

I am cooking up a very exciting fanfic that will feature Rhian, Rafal, Sophie, Agatha, and others, and I need someone in the fandom to take me behind a barn and put me out of my misery.

#the school for good and evil #school for good and evil #i don't want to write another longfic but the idea i have is very cool and interesting imo #maybe it'll be the length of a novella or something #the plot isn't as deep/complex as ever never after's #or is it? #who knows by the time i finish the first chapter or two #will be told from rafal's pov btw

[cursedcola]

Prompt: "Will You Marry Me?" - Proposal Headcannons Characters: Everyone :) Part(s): Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde(here!), Diasomnia(Pt.1)(Pt.2) Fandom: Twisted Wonderland Warning(s): The relationship is kinda toxic because it's Idia and I have to be realistic - but it gets better as you read. Just know that there are themes of miscommunication, self-sabotage, self-neglect, and insecurity in both Idia and the MC. I gave him some character growth at least and some maturation to the character. Note: All Ignihyde has is Idia so I gave his piece some extra love(super long. Like, this isn't even considered a headcannon set anymore. I really went overboard, I'm so sorry). Not proofread for grammar since I'm a bit lazy right now. Also, I haven't finished his chapter in game because I'm too weak (seriously wtf is up with these fights). I know the plot mostly but forgive me if there's an inaccuracy in a reference

Idia had it made during his youth - and deep down he knows it despite all his complaining. He knows that he won the introvert lottery. For three years he was able to live in a reclusive dorm room with no expectations beyond showing up to class (via a tablet of all things) and doing his work. Sure, he had to return home at some point and deal with that hot mess...but it was a displaced problem. One to be dealt with whenever. As a full-time 'student' he had junk food readily available, his brother down the hall, all the games and tech he needed, and somehow managed to land himself a loving partner despite his quirks.

The Ramshackle prefect - someone he initially wanted nothing to do with. Chaos seemed to follow their every move and Idia wanted no part of it. He never expected to come within a twenty-foot radius of them without force.

For the record, force indeed was used. Unfortunately they had a nasty habit of being nosy. Very 'main character complex' of them, if you ask him.

Yet it worked in his favor. Their stubbornness and intrusive ways wormed a place in his stone-cold heart. It fueled his ego much to everyone's chagrin. Out of everyone - princes, busy bodies, future doctors and the literal fish mafia - you picked him. The noob cursed to lose all his 50/50s and rot in bluelight. Idia seriously questions your tastes, but hey! He beat the normies and that's all he cares about.

Well, at least that's how he phrases it. Underneath that god-tier ego is an inferiority complex that he tries to keep down for your benefit. Something about your mood dipping by 20% when he talks trash? He'd need Ortho to run another test on that. Just to be safe.

Unfortunately, he still can't reign it in all the way. Victories can be temporary and who's he to say that your relationship isn't a one-shot story? Nothing worthwhile is ever that simple. Good games always get sequels...so the question lingers, will he still be a main character in yours?

When Idia graduates, he fully expects for you to walk out of his life. He returns to S.T.Y.X and leaves NRC to fulfill his role back home. You have no reason to care about him when he's no longer nearby. Life isn't like an isekai manga. You won't wait for him - no, you'll get a taste for how life is without him and indulge. Slowly you'll stop texting him, calling him, playing games with him - well, he'll do it first! He refuses to be the second male lead that gets dumped when you finally find your prince. That's for chumps.

He'd rather you just up and leave this world! At least then he wouldn't be in this pitiful situation...but he's seen that crow's shitty work ethic. You're stuck.

Idia's scared to say the least. One could say that his self sabotage was in action before your relationship even began. Old habits die hard, and no one could stop his spiral. Not even Ortho. Idia left his little brother behind as well. The boy sent him off with a smile, promising to take good care of you in his big brother's stead. After all, you both were in the same year.

It's not surprising that he reverts to his old ways. A hard battle is even more difficult to win when you don't have the motivation to fight it in the first place. Idia loses his drive...and in turn his already negative outlook grows worse.

Needless to say, Idia ... neglects you.

Your relationship has always been more of an 80:20 than a 50:50 - with him taking more than he ever gave. You always set aside time and made sure he was comfortable. You respected his anxieties and dealt with his temper on more than one occasion. His jealousy. You indulged his hobbies, always tried to include him in on activities with your friends (even though he rarely ever accepted), wore your heart on your sleeve and always took the lead. You were always too good to be true.

Two years. Two years with him at S.T.Y.X and you at NRC. Not a day passed where you did not text him or call. Not a week passed where you did not video-chat or play a game with him. You made time. You checked in. Told him stories about your life an friends. Ortho often would send him recordings and clips as well. During vacations you'd make plans to see him and always invited him to come to campus for events. Even though he never accepted, you still always offered. Throughout it all he kept you at a distance, yet unable to fully let you go at the same time. He needed you to do it. He needed his inner thoughts to shut up and to have someone else to blame.

You. You. You. When would you stop? Why weren't you tired of him yet? On a good day he can be frustrating, so how were you not mad when he was physically trying to make you hate him? Were you waiting until graduation to drop the bomb on him that you'd leave for good? On another's arm or back to your world?

Imagine his surprise when neither happened. On the dawn after Ortho's graduation ceremony, Idia came out of his cave to greet him at the S.T.Y.X entrance. He would no longer be as lonely, and perhaps without Ortho around, you'd finally put distance between yourself and the Shroud family. All would be as it should.

He did not expect to see you at the gate as well. Ortho flew up to him with a bright grin and twirl in the air - babbling on and on about how he arranged for you to come work as a research assistant in the lab. After all, you had an extensive knowledge of blot as well as field experience. It was a win-win situation for the company and your relationship! You could now be a happy family! Isn't that just amazing?

"It was extremally difficult to keep this a surprise!...Brother?" Ortho halts mid-rant, his receptors going haywire, "Brother, your heartrate has increased and your temperature is dropping below stable levels. You must regulate your breathing pattern!"

White noise rang like television static in Idia's eardrum. He watched you thank one of the guards while handing off your suitcase. His pulse increased and mind went under water. How long had it been since you were together longterm? You looked different. More mature. Meanwhile he was still the same - physically and emotionally. Still the pasty shut-in with dark eyebags and energy drinks running through his veins instead of blood. He wasn't used to seeing you in person. How should he react? Should he hug you? Do you want him to? That's weird. He hasn't held you in a while - yeah, it would be creepy. Does he even deserve to? What made you want to work here anyways?! You could have gone anywhere. ANYWHERE. - Shit. You're looking this way. What should he do?! aHH! You're walking over!

He does what he knows best. Shuts down. You receive a disgraceful greeting. No affection. Not even a smile.

Idia's brow furrows at your approach and he buries his hands deep into the pockets of his lab-coat. When you lean in to kiss his cheek, he catches you by the forearms and holds you in place. "Since when were you going to work here? You do remember what S.T.Y.X is in charge of, right? Once you're in, there's no going back. Are you a masochist or something?" Ah. There goes the heartfelt reunion. Being home did bring out a more harsh and cut-throat side of him after all.

Despite his poor treatment, you don't react upset. Now the relationship has now become something of a 90 : 10. He knows you have no reason to come here other than for Ortho and himself. You really are an Otome protagonist, jeez. Willing to do all that for him? Giving up your future and friends just to be at his side...dammit. Don't give him hopes! Don't undo all the work he's put in to survive without you! Stop welcoming misfortune for his sake! You're stupid. Stupidstupidstupid .... man he loves that stupidity. Gods he missed it.

Shit. Not even an hour in and he's reverting.

You don't realize it but you're heading straight for a bad ending. He does though. He's read the guides and played more visual novels than he can count. As a pro, he needs to steer you off this villainy ending and towards the true route.

After all ... what was that one saying? Heroes will sacrifice you for the world, while Villans will sacrifice the world for you? He heard it from some normie bookworm...but it seems fitting right now.

Idia's no hero. He'll destroy his world if it means you get to be happy. Not that he had much of one to begin with. You...gave him a life beyond fiction while all he's offered is a curse. Literally and figuratively. Its time he returned what he so greedily stole. He'll make you move on through force.

The months are slow and difficult. Despite being nearby, Idia only ever seeks you out for work-related reasons. Even then he is very cold and dismissive . He also does not turn you away when you take the initiative. Just like old times, you linger around his room and prod him for attention. He wants you to leave, but also doesn't want to be cruel. So, he maintains this impassive position and lets you do whatever you please. Yet the situation is scarily similar to how you both were at NRC. Except instead of using his past as an excuse, he now uses your work dynamic to enable his noncommittal ways.

There really is only so much one person can take. After Idia left NRC, you pinned his switch in behavior on the lifestyle change and distance separating you both. You knew Idia would be someone you had to work hard for when you started to date, and so the situation was one you viewed as an obstacle to overcome. The solution was simple - you would go to S.T.Y.X and prove to him that you were willing to make it work. Without the physical distance, you hoped that he would let you in again. That you wouldn't have to hear reassurances from his brother anymore, and instead hear his feelings from his own mouth instead. Then you both could work out the details together in time. Seeing him reject you at first was discouraging, but you did not let it rest there. Perhaps he needed time and to get used to your presence in his home. After all, these were new waters. You would be patient. You would prove yourself capable.

Life becomes a time capsule. As the days went by, a bitter feeling grew in your stomach. Why wouldn't he laugh? Why wouldn't he look in your eyes anymore? Why is he retreating even further? What were you doing wrong? How could you fix it? Is it you? Your performance in the lab is outstanding according to your supervisors, and your work friends seem to find you agreeable enough. Can't he see that you've adjusted well and are happy here? There's nothing to worry about. How else can you prove yourself?

These thoughts plague your mind to an extend that Ortho felt the need to preform psychiatric evaluation. You dismissed his concerns with a long list of things about your new home that make you happy - including him. It pacifies his panic and somehow mitigates your own as well.

Until one fateful day, when you decided to take your lunch early and overheard a conversation between two senior S.T.Y.X employees

"Isn't the boss' partner kind of pitiful?" One technician spoke in a hush whisper, taking a bite from her salad, "He doesn't give them the time of day. I can't believe they've stuck around this long. Screw the job, I would have been out after the first week," "Shhh! Quit gossiping, it's bad. Especially about the one who pays our bills," The other scolds. "I know....but isn't it just sad. They're clearly being taken advantage of. I can't help but feel sorry" "It's not just you...to tell the truth, I had no clue Director Idia had a partner up until recently. If anything, I thought he disliked Assistant MC and kept them around for Director Ortho's sake. Imagine my shock..." They both snicker at the notion. "Yeah. I give them a few more months...maybe a year. Despite being smart in the lab, they clearly can't read the room:

It was the last straw. Like ice water being dunked over your head after a hot shower. The lunch pale in your grasp suddenly felt like it weighed ten times heavier, and a cold sweat dripped down your back. They were right. He didn't want you here. It was time to move on or else you'll just be living out an endless loop. Nothing has changed since your youth aside from the location. No matter how long you wait, no matter how much effort and time you offer ... the relationship is doomed to fail. You gave him everything...and it was time to stop waiting. To stop expecting and hoping. Time to accept reality.

Your lunch goes discarded in a nearby bin and your shift abandoned. You would not work another second for S.T.Y.X despite the facility not being the source of your anguish. Your shoes clack loudly against the tile flooring as you speed-walk to Idia's office, where he was lazily reviewing data on a recent experiment. His phone set off to the side with some automated gatcha daily playing.

You use your 'special' pass (curtesy of ortho) to get in. The metal door swings out as you march inside and turn off his screen without asking.

"H-h'-hey! What are you-" He shrieks and turns in his chair. "We need to talk" "Can't it wait until later? I'm busy working, if you can't tell" "No" Your tone is demanding. Definite. You all but yank the badge from around your neck and drop it in his lap. In that motion, he knew. Your eyes scrunch tight and teeth grind together. He was prepared for this. For you to lash out and yell at him for your suffering. Make him the bad guy in your story and finally beat the game for good. Not for you to deflate. Not for the glassy, disappointed stain on your eyes. Or the shallow breaths as you calm yourself - not letting your emotions frighten him like a spooked cat. "I'm quitting," "S.T.Y.X? You know you can't just quit. There's a process," He refutes, lazily pushing his chair back with an anxious fidget. "Not just S.T.Y.X...I'm quitting us. I can't do this anymore," "Oh. Alright. Let me get the paperwork," "Alright?" You whisper, gaping at him "...just alright? That's all you have to say to me? Not even 'why' ?" He pauses typing on a holographic keyboard, cocking an eyebrow at the question. "What? You want me to beg you to stay or something like that? We're not in an anime," His words die out at the end, and had it not been for your disbelief you would have caught the note of sadness in them, "you want to go? Then go. I warned you about this place" "No...you warned me about the facility. It's not the facility I have a problem with. I actually like it here" "So it's me then, huh? I warned you about that too," He grumbles and continues to type, "I'm not whatever it is that you saw in me. It's your fault for sticking it out this long. I knew this was how it would end from the start" A silence follows aside from the occasional noise from his computer. That's it. The nail in the coffin. You finally realized the truth. He was no good for you. He couldn't be 'fixed'. With an approving chime, he finally has all the departure paperwork pulled up for you to sign. "Alright. Sign these and I'll get you an escort," He holds out a tablet in pen without looking from his computer. You don't take it. "Hello? I said - " he turns to face you, irritated "....here" Silent tears stream down your cheeks and pool at the tip of your chin, dripping to the tile below. Wide eyes lock in his general direction. Your hands tremble slightly at your sides, as if your mind was thousands of miles away. His heart breaks. "You never even gave us a chance, did you?" He says nothing. "It wasn't about 'making it work' for you. It was always a matter of 'how long'. You've been waiting for me to leave you, all this time?" It wasn't a question. "All this time, I've been trying to prove myself. I've been thinking that I did something wrong...that I needed to be better" the word stings your tongue and seems to strike him, " but I was never even close to enough" we were never enough

With languid movements, you take the pen from him and sign the papers. You would not hide your sadness. Your grief. Your pain for a relationship that was never actually one. For a battle that only had one party fighting.

He lets you go, the metal door swinging shut and rattling him to his core. Idia's hands shake as he tries to return to his work. They tremble over the holographic keyboard, making his blue nails look like moving neon streaks in the air.

He had always thought you ere just being kind. That your self-sacrificing nature was natural, and that someone else was more deserving of it. He failed to consider the possibility that all the things you did...you did for him alone. You did out of the same anxieties and fears he felt.

In a way, you both were at fault. He led himself down a self-fulfilling prophecy - letting his anxieties and what-ifs become reality. And you? You thought everything could be fixed with time. With sacrifice. That eventually he would grow. You both were plants, one overwatered and the other left parched in the sun.

He did get one thing right. This was defiantly a bad end. Just not in the way he originally believed...

Somehow, life becomes worse than before you arrived at S.T.Y.X. At least when you were around, people did see him more out of his office or room. Seeing him revert to his previous ways without so much as an inkling of sadness for losing you....yeah, it did not look good. Worse than people not even knowing you were his partner at first. After your departure, rumors began to spread that you had finally snapped. The pity felt for you morphed into judgement towards his character. Others saw him as a heartless recluse, and the pity was extended to Ortho of all things. If Idia could toss out a loyal partner of years, what about the little robot? Perhaps despite all the gossip, the others at S.T.Y.X did not fully believe that he would let you leave so easily. That he wasn't as detached as the Shroud name dictates.

Little do they know that he's become a shadow of his former self. He can't even act self-depreciative. Pleasantries don't hit like they used to. Having you at a distance...well, was still considered as being with you. Now that you're never coming back, it's harder. Everything reminds him of you. Your favorite snacks are still stocked in the cafeteria, and there are blankets in his room that still have your scent. Occasionally a file will pop up with your work in it while he's doing reviews...and then there's Ortho. When you left, he was crushed. He pestered Idia for days - the security cameras giving him full knowledge of what happened. Yet no matter what the robot said about the situation, Idia didn't want to hear it. Eventually he took away Ortho's access data to his personal spaces.

That didn't stop the bot from talking through the door and spamming his brother's inboxes. Despite cutting off contact with his big brother, you still spoke to Ortho regularly. He refused to let his big brother lose all connection to you, and updated him on your well-being. Regardless of what Idia said, hearing about you made a difference. At first it increases his anxiety and drops his mood...but every time, like a scheduled delay, his serotonin levels will spike. Be it from a clip of your voice, a picture, or even just the mention of your name.

"Brother! I just finished a call with MC. Today they decided to adopt a cat! Would you like to see a picture?" His computer beeps with an incoming missive. Idia clicks it, and the screen displays a photo of you with a small white kitten in your arms. "They've decided to name it Grimm Jr. From what I heard, the predecessor was not pleased to be 'replaced,' as he calls it" Ortho laughs from the other side of the door, but Idia is too focused on the image on his screen. The curve in your smile and the way you gently cradle the kitten. You seem...happy. Much better than how he is doing. He fails to hear the door beep, granting access, neither the bot fly up next to him to look at the picture. "Big brother, why don't you apologize to MC? They would listen," Idia startles, clutching his chest as his hair flairs cherry red for a brief moment. He swivels in his chair and closes the image quickly. "I'm not apologizing for nothing. It's not like I miss them or anything. My life's great without having a normie relationship to manage" "Your body language suggests that you are lying" Ortho states, his eyes squinting cheekily. Idia hunches over, glaring at his keyboard and fiddling with his sleeves, "It's not like they'd want to see me anyways. I blew it. Only an idiot would forgive what I did," "That's not true! MC loves you!" Idia glares at him from the corner of his eye, "Yeah? They look pretty happy without me. They were miserable here" "Because you purposefully made them miserable! You are very smart brother, but even I understand emotions better than you and I am an artificial lifeform!" "Then what should I do, Ortho? Go beg them to take me back like some cringe sitcom?!" "Yes!" Idia blanches at the thought, but doesn't entirely dismiss it. Ortho glares holes into his head, causing Idia to shrink into his chair. "You are always afraid, brother. You lost them to your fears once...do you want to regret that? Are you really satisfied with pictures and stories? Why deny yourself wonderful things! We are not trapped anymore!"

Ortho leaves him with one piece of information - an apartment address. He sends it to all of Idia's emails and even somehow makes it the background of his tablet. He can't change it or take it off.

He stares at it long and hard. Searches the place up and even uses virtual reality to scope out the building. While perhaps a bit creepy...he hacks the security cameras and watches feed of you coming and going over the past moths. Some days you look perfectly well, and others you look worse for wear. If he went...would you even want to see him? Would you let him in? Kick him out? Is he willing to even try? What if you already moved on...no, Ortho wouldn't set him up for that if he knew you were happy with someone else.

Idia leaves S.T.Y.X for the first time in months. His request for leave shocks other employees. Yet he's gone the moment it's approved, afraid that he'll lose his edge if he thinks too long on it.

He finds himself at the door of a middle-class apartment in the Kingdom of Roses. Second floor, third door to the left, just like he memorized. He knows its yours from the ribbons tied on the doorknob, themed after one of your favorite animes. One he introduced to you...

In his hands is a small box of candies - a peace offering, just in case you want to kill him on sight.

His boney knuckles wrap around the doorknocker and thwack it three times. Sweat pools in his palms and he jolts away. The seconds like hours as his painted nails dig crescents into his palms. The door opens. "Hi, how can I -" You pause mid-sentence, your mouth going dry. Grimm Jr. snuggled in one of your arms while the other holds the door open, "I-idia?" "T-that's my name," He grimaces, looking anywhere but at you. "What are you doing here?" His tongue feels heavy and the tips of his hair fade to a pale orange. He studders and fumbles with the box of candies, holding them out to you with a grimace. "I wanted to see you...urk. I hope that's not weird! Can ... I come in?" You eye the box in thought, before reaching out to take it and opening the door further. It was a start.

You hear him out - through the stuttering and the self-depreciative comments that he hastily retracts. This isn't just about him. It's about you and everything else in-between. Shockingly enough, you agree to give him a second chance. It wasn't entirely his fault after all ... and you did still love him. Although now there are ground rules. You would not be returning to S.T.Y.X. You've finally created a stable home for yourself and have a life in this new city. You have a career, friends, and a life that doesn't include him. You need the individuality. You would no longer try to morph yourself for him or be placid. If he wanted to spend time with you, he would have to leave S.T.Y.X and come stay at your apartment. You would no longer be the one always reaching out, he would have to start showing initiative and making time for you. You would see how things progress from that point. He was not a child, and you would not beg for basic needs to be met anymore. Words would not be enough, you need actions. It was time for 50 : 50.

Weirdly enough, he agrees to all your rules without a single complaint. Not a normie comment or slang filled statement leaves his lips. He's still that nerdy dork you fell in love with at heart, but these 'normie' things? Well, Idia's accepted that he wants those things. As much as it is difficult for him to admit, they only grossed him out so much before because he always believed they were unattainable

He's true to his word. He calls you every day, first thing when he wakes up (in the late afternoon. He still is a hermit at heart). At first it made him anxious, and he'd hover over the contact for fifteen minutes before dialing. Yet it soon became easy, with his heart only beating fast from happiness. He takes the weekends off and comes to spend them at your apartments. Sometimes he brings Ortho and it becomes a sleepover with games - and at some point you start inviting your other heartslabyul friends from back in the day too. Eventually you do come around the compound again. It's awkward to say the least, considering how you left. Yet at the same time, it's a breath of fresh air. The others are shocked to see him out of his office, and he eats IN THE CAFETERIA. Woah. He calls you by your name and not 'assistant' when in public. Homie scares some people. That's what he does. He gives you a special watch for your anniversary. It's paired with on he has and solar powered, so you can contact him at any time. As a natural born worry-wart, he can't help but worry for your safety. Since watching the appartment CCTV is 'creepy,' he just asks that you wear the watch if you're going out anywhere. It won't die and with the click of a button he'll be alerted. In exchange, you can use it to contact him whenever you want. He'll always get back instantly since it might be an emergency. The watch is also directly linked to Ortho's system, so you can contact him as well. Who needs Cortana when you have Ortho?

For the first time, Idia feels secure in a relationship. He can't count Ortho since the boy is technically his creation. Ortho would always be there...and now? Idia's confident you will too.

Does that mean you should get married? Isn't that the next step in all this?

Well....shit (pleasant connotation)

He never would have tinkered with this idea before considering his 'family'. Who the hell in their right mind would marry a Shroud? A fool. Are you a fool? Maybe.

It's late evening on a Sunday night when you're both walking home together after hitting up a local diner for hearty eats. Wow. Look at him. On a date. So weird...pshh.

Idia walks at your side, forcing his pace to match yours. Not everyone is graced with his long stickman legs. His hands are buried deep in his hoodie and his posture is slightly slouched. Classic scary dog privilege for a nighttime walk - well, if his hair didn't scream valentine's day pink to the world. Although no one else has flaming hair other than the Shroud family, so he doubts anyone would interrupt.

You decide to take the long path home and through a nearby park. The night was still young for nightowls such as yourselves, and fresh air was always crisp at this hour.

Along that path you decide to stop at a cement bench by some vending machines and chill out for a bit. Despite having just ate, Idia gets you each a can of coffee.

He'd be leaving to go back to S.T.Y.X tomorrow. Like he does every Sunday. His gaze drifts to the watch on your wrist and thinks about adding some new features - maybe video chat? So he can see you throughout the day. He wonders what you'll be up to while he's stuck in the lab. Maybe you'll go shopping, or play a new game. Maybe you'll try out a new recipe or take Grimm Jr. out to play. He wishes he could see you during the week.

Ah. You're talking. He should probably tune in or you'll get mad at him. Why's it so hard to focus? He hasn't felt this uneasy in a while...

Why is he having these kinds of thoughts? It's weird.

"You okay? You seem a little spaced," You pull him from his thoughts, a concerned crease wrinkling your temple. "Eh. It's nothing. Just not looking forward to the week," he chuckles weakly. "I know that feeling. It's always a bummer when you dip. Not to sound clingy or anything" His golden hues spark for a moment, a pale pink dusting his cheeks as he whips his head to look at you.

"W-wait - really? I was just thinking the same thing...." "You were?" "Yeah. It's...kind of weird without you. Everything's emptier. Wow. That was pretty cringe. Sorry." He grimaces, internally screaming and knowing that this was going to replay when he tried to sleep later. You tilt your head at him, a slight frown on the cusp of your lip. Something tickles at his fingers and he looks down to see you lace your hand with his. "I miss you too," your words are soft. Genuine. He feels his neck grow hot, the pink glow radiating off him betraying him. Idia looks between your interlaced fingers and the drink in his hand. There...wouldn't ever be a 'right' time for this. Would there? You've waited long enough. He pulls his hand away and pops the soda tab off with deft hands.

"Hey..." he twiddles with the soda tab in his hands, "on a scale of 1-10, how are my odds of getting a yes?" "A 'yes' to what?" "To this, " he sighs through his nose, holding the tab out towards you with a shaking hand, "will you marry me?"

{A soda tab from canned coffee. Not the most charming offering, and it barely fits around your pinky finger. Yet, Idia's always been impulsive at his core. Had he not acted in the moment, he likely would have ran countless possibilities over and over in his mind. While not your forever ring, the tab will remain a sentimental piece}

{Idia is not a man with a keen eye fore jewelry - but he knows quality. Combine his eye for perfection with his craftsmanship and behold - a ring made from purified blot. The center gem is a piece of magestone in it's most refined state. The band is titanium and there are small sapphires along the molding. Since he would be wearing a matching band, Idia decided to keep the design simple. He prefers functionality over all. Yet he does want you to feel proud of his handiwork, so he includes vintage molding on your band only. He wears a smooth black band on his ring finger, and never removes it}

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twst scenarios #twst imagines #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #twst idia shroud #idia shroud x reader #idia shroud #twst idia #IM DEAD #THIS TOOK FOUR HOURS #I LEGIT WAS NOT PLANNING TO WRITE ALL THIS #MY HANDS

[ystrike1]

Mystic Prince - By Aheuredal (8/10)

Do you hate harems? Don't worry. There's loads of unrequited love here. Our female(?) Protagonist is a mystery. The entire story is a tournament arc. There's a bratty yandere, a loyal yandere who was sired by a loyal yandere Emperor, and a starving lovestuck demon. Mystic Prince is not just a yandere story. You will have to be in it for the action and intrigue, and the uncertainty.

I'm going to say it right out the gate.

There is no slavery in this one. Only voluntary servitude. In this particular fantasy setting Demons and Gods exist. Demons have white hair. Gods have black hair. The Gods grew emotionless. They stopped caring for humanity, so they gave humanity the power to protect itself as a final gift.

Regular humans live for about a hundred years, but there are special demi-gods now! They can defend the humans and rule the land! Great! Also the Emperor is decided through various tests and trials, not by blood. Great! The Emperor must maintain a Barrier around his nation to protect it. If that barrier breaks well...chaos. So, that means the tests are extremely hard. Great!

Oh, did I mention that the Emperor must be male? Yes, there are NO female demigods. Only pretty priestesses who spend their entire lives in captivity, waiting for the chance to oversee the Emperor Tests.

The gods send down a signal 500 years late, because they really don't give a shit, and a new Emperor can finally be chosen.

One candidate is the handsome and heavily scarred Yeon. He always bathes alone, because the deep marks on his chest are disgusting to look upon. He wants to be Emperor so he can ascend to Godhood after his reign, and he plans to bring his half-demon attendant with him. Biseol struggles with the urge to eat his leige, whom he secretly loves. Biseol and Yeon are both outcasts. Underdogs. Unwanted. Yeon in particular seems to have a persecution complex, due to the abuse he faced for bring born female.

You see the gods made an error when they gave demigod powers only to male princes. Sexism is rampant in the glorious kingdom of Yeol. Can you imagine? You’re a wife in a great family, and you only birth girls. That means your family never, ever gets the chance to participate in the "fair and balanced" Emperor Tournament.

Women who give birth to too many girls are often thrown out because of this.

The First Prince is the son of the current Emperor. Fair is fair....but a head start is a head start. Doha has struggled with his feelings for Yeon since he was a child. He is very much like his father. He struggles with the urge to follow his crush around. To be clear Yeon and Doha are not on speaking terms. Doha struggles with the idea of being attracted to a "man", and Yeon only sees Doha as competition...until he constantly starts sacrificing himself to save Yeon.

The most qualified prince actually isn't interested in becoming Emperor.

Doha entered the tournament to look for answers. You see, his mother was a commoner. A mortal with red hair. Priestesses and the like usually marry Demigods because they can live about two hundred years, which is a little better than a pitiful human. She was the current Emperors only lover, ever, and by the way the Emperor is 1000 years old.

Yeol has lived in peace because it's what she wished for. Upon her death he planned to kill everyone and let demonkind into the kingdom.

His existence is torture. He has been longing for death ever since, but he does love Doha.

He knew Doha never wanted to be Emperor, so he shares the truth. His mother was never treated with respect. She was only happy with him, but the snakes in the castle never relented. She died shortly after giving birth to Doha.

We meet a classic snake/cockroach type prince. He's kinda the weakest plot point. His stupidity pushes the plot forward too much, and he becomes a running joke. I think the story would have been better off without him.

Doha starts protecting Yeon because of idiots like him.

Yeon also struggles with real, actual anger issues. She is no saint. Pursuing the throne to become truly immortal, instead of just long-lived, with your bestie is kinda really selfish. I do think Yeon would be a fine Emperor though. She's better than the morons. She wants respect and power, and she's highly capable.

Also, Yeon does identify as female.

She just can't....be that to be respected. It's awful. Her secret is extremely well kept. Her breasts have been completely cut off from what the art implies, and she packed on muscle during her fire training. The only giveaway is what's under her skirt, and that's why she bathes alone.

She hates to see Biseol disrespected, because he knows her. She can relax around him. By the way she only has fire power. The other princes, who are male, have the ability to use any element if they apply themselves. Yeon only has fire, and a demonic attendant who is sometimes more unstable than her.

Yeon had a loving mother.

A little sister.

A father who wanted a son.

Being born female ruined her life. She was able to become a "prince" and obtain the long life Demigods have by lying and gaining the support of the weakest Sage. Every Prince has a Sage and an Attendant supporting them. That's why Yeon blends in. It's why nobody really suspects she's a woman. The lies run deep, and she does have support.

It just...feels fragile.

It may fall apart like a house of cards.

Yeon is especially kind to women, because men are not. She uses her position of power to get justice for wronged women on several occasions. We see the ugly side of love, again and again.

We are left to wonder if Biseol or Doha would respect her opinion if she didn't have her powers.

Powers which were born from the unfair abuse she experienced. Yeon accidently burned up her entire family. The father she hated, and the mother she loved. Her baby sister too. She had no choice. It wasn't on purpose, but she wouldn't have died anyway.

Her father decided to kill her. Her sister and her mother too. He called them useless and he threw them out of the house. If Yeon didn't use her rage and fire she would have died in the street, with her mother.

Hamil is a nasty example of a bratty yandere. Yeon trusts him and he takes advantage of them. Yeon thinks Hamil is cute and sunny. Hamil is the only prince Yeon is close friends with. Biseol knows Hamil is manipulative, but he doesn't tell Yeon...because Yeon would never believe it. Hamil is meticulous. Kind. Even the female servants love him, and that's how he catches Yeon. She sees sunny, bright Hamil innocently chatting with maids. Always kind to women (when she's around) and she trusts that.

Hamil knows she is a woman hiding her gender, and he does anything and everything to appear cute...to make her depend on him for comfort.

Doha....gets over it but he's tempted by his own selfish desires for a long time. He wants to protect Yeon. He wants Yeon to choose him. He wants to be alone with Yeon. He doesn't want anybody else to touch Yeon. He doesn't want Biseol close to Yeon. He doesn't want Hamil close to Yeon.

He fails and fails. Yeon doesn't notice his love, because its so twisted and repressed.

Eventually, Doha decides to support her bid for the throne out of love. He decides to stop thinking only of himself. Yes, he is the endgame love interest. Who would have thought the second generation yandere who is also the most powerful would win. I totally didn't haha...

I'm kinda worried that Biseol will die or become the villain.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #webtoon #Mystic Prince

[space-blue]

Hi, I'm not sure if you've talked about this before and it might be silly to ask this, but I'm curious about your opinion:

There was a scene that surprised me quite a bit in episode 6 when Vi escapes. Initially, Silco was sitting calmly, and then boom! Everything explodes. It's understandable, but it's strange because Silco has always reacted in a cautious and calm manner, except for one time in episode 3 when he was talking to Vander. After that, he has been someone who knows how to stay calm. I've seen people say that Silco's reaction is because he's a megalomaniac who doesn't like anything being out of his control, but I don't think that's the case. I think it's something more complex. I see Silco as someone who internalizes everything to maintain control or appears to have it, keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself. That's why you see Silco exhaling or releasing tension before and after meeting with his associates, but I might be wrong. Anyway, I'd like to know what you think is the reason for Silco's actions.

And I'm sorry if I made a mistake in my grammar, I don't speak English very well

Hello anon! Thank you for reaching out and asking me this question... It sends me back to my Arcane meta days with a big smile on my face.

But honestly, I don't know who looks at Silco in that episode, having finished the story, and thinks he screams because he's megalomaniac. Not only does this not go with the rest of his character, it just fails to comprehend his character arc.

Silco doesn't want power. He wants freedom, and he wants his mission to realise itself. Silco has more of a religious fervour to him. He's a zealot. He speaks of the 'Nation of Zaun' with an air of rapture. He believes it, lives only for it. Just because we may not like his ways doesn't change that. I mean look at this guy :

#fully lost in the sauce

A character who really wants power would be Finn. We see him fallen to the trappings of wealth, plotting to uproot Silco from his position. Finn never shows any care for the cause. He only cares about supplanting Silco.

If Silco truly cared about power, then why is he still leaving down deep, on top of a night club? If he's a megalomaniac, why are his list of conditions for Jayce not covering him, but demanding amnesty for his people and equal access to the Gate for commerce?

No. Silco isn't a megalomaniac. He definitely wants to be in control, but that's hardly surprising for a leader. We also only ever know Silco at crazy important moments of his life, where his plans are running wildly or exploding in his face. It's not exactly every day Silco.

Most of the people we see him interacting with also tell us things : of course he needs to be ruthless and in control while facing Marcus. That man would lash out at the slightest show of weakness. Same with the other chembarons, who actively turn on him after the factory attack (that makes him look weak).

Silco isn't a control freak to be a jackass. He's like that because he's a Zaunite, and a Zaunite in a dangerous position of power. He's shaped by his environment too.

Anyway, why does he lose his cool in episode 6?

It's actually a very short answer! It's because of Jinx.

Jinx is his everything. Across my many meta posts I covered how codependent they are. How she physically abuses him, yet he never reaches out with any force towards her. The most violent he is, is after she nearly ruined his life plans and won't listen, and all he does is snatch a pen from her hand to make her pay attention.

They exchange caresses, rest against each other. He keeps her gifts on his official desk and actively uses them. And in the end, he can't accept her mortality, and sacrifices everything he's suffered and fought for his entire sad, fucking miserable life, because he loves her more than his cause.

So why does Silco lose it? Because Vi is alive, Vi is looking for Jinx, and Vi is the only person who could actively take Jinx away from him.

I mean like a day or two prior Jinx lost her shit and nearly killed Sevika because she saw a pink haired girl. Silco takes her to the pilt to try and soothe her and put her demons behind her, the only way he knows how. And then she happily gets to work! She's doing well!

But Silco isn't dumb. He knows Jinx is unstable and unpredictable. And finding Sevika hung like a ham from the ceiling? With a broken arm? Yeah, he knows she knows, and she's pissed... And he KNOWS that he just told her that VI IS DEAD. Which he 100% believed! Since when Sevika tell him about Vi being back he's like "From the dead???" in total horror and disbelief.

Marcus completely blindsided him, and it's a race against time now.

A race in which if Vi lives and finds Jinx... His Jinx, the only person he thinks he has... The girl he loves more than his cause, even if he hasn't fully realised it yet... Might hate him. She might decide to leave him.

Then he'd be alone again. And uhm... IDK if you all noticed but like... Silco isn't exactly a picture of clean mental health either. He's trauma ridden, set in very harsh ways, and has a solid spark of paranoia (which has kept him alive, but also isolated).

So the Silco screaming and spitting and kicking is a Silco who thinks that potentially everything will be fucked up now. He's stressed about the developing situation (the one where he asked his unstable daughter to basically make a nuke with stolen uranium, while juggling an increasingly strained sheriff and actively traitorous colleagues), AND the potential idea of his ONE person, his one broken, fucked up, twisted emotional bond, potentially being ripped from him.

Last time that happened, Vander was trying to drown him.

So he's just in a Bad Place™️

Cut the poor man some slack ahaha. I think it's normal that the mask finally cracks and reveals his emotions.

Silco isn't a cold character! His speech to Vander shows his zealotry and his passion! He has a dark humour too, and is aggressive and bitter when cornered. Silco wears a mask of cool professionalism when it's convenient, which is very often, as a leader in the undercity. But he also shows lots of emotions whenever suits.

I don't think you can be a cold character and stay riveted on your insane freedom fight for like 20+ years. He's got a big fire burning in there, and the scene in episode 6 is the proof of how hot it gets when he thinks he's about to lose it all. All your examples of him 'reining it in' are great too! He clearly has strong emotions. He just manages them a lot.

I hope this answers your question! AAaaaahhhh look at me, I just went and gushed, didn't I?

Thanks a lot Anon. And your English is better than some native speakers I know, so don't worry! <3

#thank you anon #silco #arcane #arcane silco #arcane meta #it's been a while #he just came out of his little office in the back of my brain #strutting out being like #somebody called? #jinx #arcane vi #silco and jinx

[chronurgy]

23, 37, 49 for the fic writer ask!!

23: What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

Five Durgetash AUs I'd love to write someday:

Gortash finds Durge in the mindflayer colony and tries to dissect them (I have it plotted out!)

A minotaur in the labyrinth AU where everyone needs to start asking who is really the monster here. Here's the only part I've written, which is the introduction:

Everyone knows that there is a monster in the labyrinth. It's what labyrinths are for, after all. And like labyrinths, monsters have a singular purpose: they are for slaying. Many a man has gone into the labyrinth to greet that monster with its purpose, but none have ever come back out. They wander still, those lost men, searching for home or for glory. So just meeting someone in a labyrinth isn't enough to name them monster. After all, they've also met you.

Gortash tries to summon and bind a demigod Durge to his will instead of turning to Bane (think ritual magic a la The Bartimaeus Trilogy, if you're familiar with that)

Pirate AU that's totally normal until it becomes clear that there's something deeply wrong with Durge and that their father, the Pirate King Bhaal, is in fact a giant kraken in human form

The gang goes to kill Gortash but when Karlach goes to deliver the killing blow Durge panics and throws themself in front of him. Gortash takes advantage of everyone's freak out to grab the severely injured Durge and trigger some sort of escape mechanism.

A trope I'd love to write: Timeloop (you got me thinking about Durgetash timeloop and now I want it. No idea what to write though)

37: Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

Oh a deep cut hmm...I'll give two options:

Tasting Notes: Franc Peartree (Full-bodied White) was never going to have mass appeal given the subject matter, but if you're looking for fun, visceral, weird writing it's probably some of my best.

Then They Who Seek to Deceive is probably the best Durgetash I've written in terms of complex insanity from both parties but has half the hits of Departure from the Vulgar Crowd which kinda surprised me? It's probably the length and being third in a series (you don't need to read the others for it to make sense though!) working against it, but I'm still a little surprised by that.

49: What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

I'm currently working on a Wyll pov fic set during Gortash's coronation ball:

He's been watching Gortash dance too, at this coronation ball of his. Not that it’s hard to miss the man, dressed as he is, and when the whole of the ball’s society seems to rotate around him. He’s not a bad dancer per say, but he can hardly be called good one either. His steps are quick and precise, sharp somehow, and his feet are always too exactly where they should be. They come crashing down with exactitude at the precisely correct moment, giving his partner’s feet absolutely no quarter. He moves with rigor, executes every turn, dip, and move competently, but he doesn’t seem to feel the tug of the music.

#ask games #thanks that was fun! #anyway i am an endless font of fic ideas that will probably never get written

[martyrbat]

Hi! Um, I thought I would offer you these panels from utrh of Dick with a knee brace, as per your last few posts about disabled representation in comics. Also indirectly answering that other anon who said that representation in comics isn't exciting and can't work with them being superheroes...

And I mean, you can totally write intriguing and interesting stories about a character coming to terms with their disability and figuring out that while it makes them different from who they were before, they're still a fucking hero. (Like Babs becoming Oracle after losing the use of her legs. Making her walk again and be Batgirl again... Idk how you can call that anything other than ableism?? She's seriously cool as Oracle, that def didn't need any retcons.)

Anyway, I think the problem is that many people associate being disabled with ableist prejudices of helplessness, without even being fully aware of it. Which is exactly why more rep in any type of media would help!

my friend! your post is as wonderful and insightful as always and thank you so much for the panels, i forgot which comic they were from! this it was exactly what i was referring to and imagining when talking about his knee brace, thank you again!! i love how its something that allows him to continue being a hero and that it just exists instead of being a big plot point. just casual and normalized use of mobility aids my beloved <33

and absolutely agree in it creating interesting stories of them adapting and handling the changes they need to make because of their disability and how it doesn't make them weaker! i think to this panel from the batman chronicles specifically:

[ID: Barbara Gordon smiling at white birds as she's in her wheelchair. Behind her un-detailed people are walking as they go about their lives. Her hair flows slightly in the wind and her internal narration boxes read, "A little over a year has passed since my old life ended, since I died and was reborn. The shadows remain, but only to give contrast to the light. I am no longer a distaff impersonation of someone else. I'm me - more me than I have ever been. My life is my own. I embrace it, and the light, with a deep, continuing joy." END ID]

the entire issue is so well done in her voicing her discomfort and fear and anger at her sudden disability and the change. because of course its frustrating to have that sudden change. of course she feels lost when she based her purpose on being batgirl, something that depended on her being physically abled. and seeing that voice and feelings being represented alongside of it highlighting and showing that she still has purpose and is just as powerful and capable of doing what she loves is so <3 she found her identity, not as an extension of anyone else but just as herself, as a disabled woman. and how happy she is!

i think abled people tend to be so uncomfortable with the idea of disabled people (especially physically disabled people) being happy or still being powerful. they hate the idea of disabled people not being weaker to them while also hating the anger and frustration that can come with being disabled. they hate seeing us successful and just as capable and hate seeing us as human rather than a "poor victim" to put up on a pedestal for inspiration porn that makes them feel better about themselves.

we're allowed to "motivation" to them as they simultaneously think its unnatural for us to be happy or successful on our own. we're either looked down at or held to standards that abled people arent - never to be equal. im allowed to be just as pissed off as someone that can walk and move around freely. i should be allowed to be as messy or rude as someone thats neurotypical without being viewed as a child to pity or as someone that should be better than them in my behaviour. i should be allowed to be smart and sexy and funny and complex as anyone else. my disabilities doesn't make me more or less of a person. it just makes me a person thats disabled.

disability is such a broad spectrum. from paralyzed, needing canes or wheelchairs or any mobility device, needing hearing aids or anything that's physically noticeable. to chronic pain and neurodevelopment disorders and other invisible disabilities. and everyone's experience is different with each one and its so vast. the opportunities it allows and how fascinating and empowering it'll be to see this range and how these characters handle it is unbelievable and such wasted potential. from dealing with the sudden frustrations and limitations to it just being part of them.

it can literally be one panel in a random comic that says nightwing needs a knee brace because of worn cartilage and have it be part of his character casually and consistently. have an ongoing arc and theme of random brain injury side effects because of the head trauma hes taken and have a moving moment in being reassured and how he struggles with it. have something.

theres so much they can do and just refuse not to. the only reason disabilities isnt represented is pure ableism, there is no excuse.

#again its always so nice to see your posts :) #hopefully my reply is coherent as im sipping my brain soup with a fork bc i have NO spoons but #anyways. tired of not being allowed to casually exist as a disabled person. #im not anyones victim and im not inspirational just because im alive and disabled. its condescending and insulting #barbara gordon #oracle #nightwing #dick grayson #the d in dcu is for disabled #company in the crypt #nature my beloved #calling all my mutuals and favourite accounts my beloved my beloved... <3

[thespoonisvictory]

Another reason why trw feels weird with what it tries to fit into its runtime (and also just generally falls short of its potential) to me is that, by its nature, I can't help but compare it to both acoc AND exuc. And neither of those comparisons put it in the best light. Comparing trw to its in-universe counterpart of acoc makes trw look so much less dark and so much more clunky with its attempts to show complex political machinations. But then you also can't help but see Matt Mercer open with "Water" and remember Brennan's "Fire" and. Suddenly, you're holding up this story that feels like it's sprinting to cover multiple years, shoving aside characters and plot beats that would've been cool to really hone in on because for some reason we have to go go go! You're holding that up against what is to me a genuine masterclass in storytelling that delves as deep as it possibly can into The Worst Single Day Ever. And yeah. Of course in these contexts, trw is going to come out feeling even more janky to me. It's got so many good bits to it, but when held up against acoc (its universe partner) and exuc (the Big Dark Prequel Short Series DMed by Another Guy Covering A Major Event in History)... Its whole vibes feel out of place.

intentional comparisons to both properties by both matt and brennan have been made, so I think it's fair game with the caveat that obviously it isn't a 1:1 at all.

I agree completely with this! It feels like the rushing is also compounded by the fact that trw has a bit of an identity crisis over whether it wants to be an acoc in terms of being an in-depth political fantasy with Big Consequences and Realistic Stakes, or exu calamity in terms of being about antiheroes getting up to shit who are hit with a potentially world ending or changing event, real grand fantasy stuff.

The issue with that is that on top of the rushed timeline, you're also trying to shove two radically different stories and tones in. the first half of the season, we're largely focused on the source of the blackmail, the political aspects of the FDA, and the killing of Pamela Rocks. Then in the back half (particularly eps 5 and 6) we take a wild shift into underground mushroom society that never really... shifts back to finish the political stuff. for sake of brevity, I'll just say that both storylines suffer from having to share space. the political aspects are left unfinished or unexplored after setting up some really cool stuff: the cheddars are left untouched, amangeaux's child is never brought into the plot, we barely get to know karna's deal. the fantasy aspects feel a little out of left field and underdeveloped, with no pcs except raphaniel feeling a well tethered connection to it.

in a longer campaign, I'd love both of these stories! at this length, it really probably should have been just one.

matt is a really talented storyteller, but it doesn't get to shine here because so much of trw feels spread thin. I love what we got! it just needed more clarity and focus, and a lot of elements simplified.

for tying back to the ask, exu:calamity made the very smart choice to start with 6 pcs who already knew each other, in one city, in the course of less than 24 hours. the political aspects are thrown out the window bc nothing will matter in the apocalypse, which clears the way for brennan to really narrow in on the aspects he wants, namely go crazy with the religious and scientific plots

#trw #d20 #I love this discussion sm it's fascinating to me

[kedreeva]

hi, me again. thank you so much for your reply and taking the time to explain☺️ I've seen some discourse about Eddie being a bad influence on Chrissie for selling her Special K and that he would get her off the straight and narrow or in general for selling drugs and I wanted to hear your take on it since I feel you have such deep understanding of his character. I don't consider him "problematic" or the likes, and I feel it doesn't take away from his character being the protector of the group. Most blogs talking about the two scenes with him and Chrissie are Edissie or anti Edissie and it's difficult to find blogs who would look at it in a realistic way that focuses on the characters with their complexities and not on their dynamic as romantic or not romantic☺️

Not my typical fare but okay!

The first thing I have to say up front is that I'm p o s i t i v e that both sides of this are discussing the issue as if the characters are real people who have real agency and could have done anything differently. They can't. They never could have, because they aren't real people and they have no agency. Regardless of ANYthing else, Chrissy went to Eddie because the plot needed Eddie to witness Chrissy die in order to drag him into the shenanigans, and she went home with him because the plot needed Eddie to be on the run because he's suspected of Chrissy's murder. That's it. EVERYTHING else is flavor text. There's no "he could make her worse" or "she could make him better" because they're both dead tools of a bad plot.

The second thing I want to make clear is that SALS is a backbone of fandom and should remain so. I don't care who ships what. I don't care. Also I don't care if someone considers a character "problematic." If you see shitheads calling characters problematic, just block them! It's very easy. One button click will VASTLY improve your experience of fandom. The people who call characters problematic are people I don't want to interact with like.... ever. Because they haven't learned critical thinking skills and we will not get along. "Problematic" is a purity wank word used by people who haven't figured out that things are not black and white and that media doesn't need to be morally pure to be good or to be liked. "Problematic" is a fucking meaningless word used by people who haven't grown up enough to just say "I don't like this character and that's a me problem."

BUT. If we want to talk about the flavor of the text, we shall do so on the condition that we all agree you can't argue taste. In this context, I use this to mean that I'm not going to argue anyone's headcanons, because that's literally all the above arguments you've listed are. He cannot lead her down any paths- they are both dead. We can extrapolate where things might have gone, we can have favored headcanons for how they might have interacted later on, we can have reasonable ideas of canon-divergence paths. But it's all headcanon. It's all supposition. It's taste, and I won't argue it, I'll just tell you what flavors I taste.

To answer your question(s) (finally), we have to look at what we know about Chrissy. Which is.... not a lot. She's a cheerleader with insecurities, particularly about her body (given the hallucinations of her mother's nagging her about her size). She is dating Jason (poor life choices imo, but also the choice that makes the most sense for her social status and societal pressures of the times). She's seeing a counselor who isn't able to help her (through no fault of the counselor's or Chrissy's). She's suffering physical and mental pains due to being hunted by Vecna, because Vecna is going after her for the same reasons he'll go after the others- socially/emotionally/communally, she's somehow isolated herself from other human connection that should have been able to support her and help her (the same way we see Max cutting herself off from her friends and family over her issues).

None of that has anything to do with Eddie. At all.

Eddie comes into the picture because Chrissy chooses ("chooses" but remember as a character she has no agency and cannot choose this, the writers chose this for her because they needed things to happen for the plot) to handle her problems not by talking to her friends or trying to connect with human beings, but by seeking drugs to escape. Where and how she acquires them actually has no bearing on Eddie's character. If Eddie hadn't been selling drugs, Chrissy still would have sought someone to buy them from. That's NOT Eddie's choice, that's Chrissy's choice. It is ALSO Chrissy's choice to ask him if he has anything stronger than what he initially offers.

This is not Eddie "leading" her anywhere. He seems genuinely surprised, a little suspicious, and kind of annoyed about doing the deal at all until he sees that she's clearly having some problems, at which point he switches to concerned. Before that, he offers her an out with "We don't have to do this" and saying all she has to do is say the word and he'll walk away. At this point, it's not his business why she wants the drugs or why she'd back out of the deal. To be clear, I've never sold drugs in my life, but I feel like it's the sort of business where you just don't ask questions about why someone wants them or what they're gonna do with them or anything. It's not your concern, and frankly I feel like the less you know probably the better.

And... well, to be perfectly honest? Outside of shipping goggles (which I will don at will), the two don't seem to really know each other at all. The last common ground they are cited to have was a middle school talent show, which was, what, like 6 years prior? 6 years when you're 18-20ish is like. a third of your life ago. They've been going to the same small high school where people clearly, like, Know Everyone, and the last instance either of them can recall an interaction was when Eddie was in middle school? I'm sorry but to me, that just doesn't speak to him having a lot of influential power over her. EVEN in a vulnerable state.

She's there because she asked to be there, she follows him home because she asked for more. She went to him, not the other way around.

And we absolutely CANNOT forget the extra factor that she was literally being hunted by a supernatural monster capable of warping her thoughts and feelings, who was using her shame and guilt against her to an extreme degree, causing her to hallucinate, giving her headaches and nightmares- the whole shebang. She's NOT in her right state of mind AND Eddie has NO WAY to know that. imo, neither one of them is at fault here, they are both victims of their own and each others' circumstances. It's unfortunate for them both, but it is what it is.

But it DOES leave a few questions that you may find relevant.

First: If she HAD been in her right state of mind (ie, no vecna), would she have gone to Eddie for drugs in the first place? No, probably not; according to Jason, who arguably does know her best USUALLY in TYPICAL times, she would not have touched the stuff. As much as I think Jason is a total douche, given the surprise from Eddie that Chrissy came to him in the first place, I actually believe Jason's belief that Chrissy wouldn't do that.

Second: If she HAD NOT come to Eddie first, would he have gone to her? Given that they have not interacted in the 6 years he'd been in HS, with several of them being the same years as her, and not interacted since he was in middle school... I'm gonna have to go with no, he wouldn't have. Why would he? They obviously run in completely separate social circles and he's left her alone the entire rest of the time.

Third: If Eddie had KNOWN about the reasons she was not in her right mind (ie, vecna), would he have tried to sell her drugs still? It's hard to say for sure, but given that he doesn't try to sell or give Max any drugs, or suggest that as a solution to anyone else in the group, I'm gonna go with No, he wouldn't have. Why would he? That's not gonna solve the problem and may, in fact, make the problems much worse. In normal times it wouldn't have solved the problems either but I feel like he probably has some sympathy for wanting to escape real life for a little while- considering he also plays DND, he seems familiar with the desire to escape real life for a little bit, any way he can.

And in fact, the most we see him interact with any substances outside of his stuff with Chrissy is a) to request beer from Nancy and b) to have his cigarette swatted away by Robin (which he reacts to with mild disbelief/annoyance and nothing else). He doesn't push anything on anyone else, he doesn't talk about it to anyone else. The drug dealing seems to be, at best, a side hustle for some cash under normal circumstances. Which, given his life circumstances, and the way he talks about his dad, it's probably not even something he is terribly invested in doing a lot of, but also may not see much of a choice if it's something easy that he's good at that helps him and his uncle get by. And, at least in my own mind, may be something he does to be less of a burden on Wayne (not that I think Wayne would ever think that, not that I think children are a burden on their caretakers, just that I can see where Eddie might see that for himself, or even that he just has things he wants, like his guitar or his DND supplies etc, that he may not want to ask Wayne for the money to buy).

In conclusion, I don't remember the question, but I hope this answers it.

#asks #anon asks #dash stretcher #stranger things #stranger things meta #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #also nonny the start sounds aggressive but i promise it's not #and it's not directed at you specifically #i just didn't want anyone misunderstanding where i was coming from

[owlbearwrites]

WtW Ghost Gala - Day 6: Vampire

Tell us where you find motivation and inspiration

Motivation: I sort of... don't need it? *ducks projectiles*

No, seriously, I'm aware that this makes me sound like That Person. You know the type. They wake up before 6 naturally, enjoy green smoothies, journal every morning, eschew caffeine, and so on. So let me preface by saying I'm not That Person. I've never voluntarily gotten out of bed before 9 am, I require many carbs to avoid going on a rampage, and the concept of morning pages makes me want to drown myself in my grande caramel macciato.

But motivation isn't really a factor in my writing. Telling stories is a deep and visceral need for me, and if I go too long without writing, I slip into a serious funk. Moreover, my brain needs a storytelling outlet: after a week or so without writing, even if I had other intellectual tasks to occupy my brain, and I start having extremely vivid dreams with complex plots.

So, in a way, I literally need to write regularly in order to sleep at night. Go figure.

Inspiration: a lot of my inspiration comes from games, movies and TV/Netflix shows. For my current WIP, the biggest inspirations were the Fallout and Borderlands game series. I also have a lot of Feelings about Tony Stark/Iron Man in the MCU, and some of the character stuff and relationship dynamic in my WIP has been influenced by his story, too.

This is also where I make up for the previous answer that made me sound like a holier-than-thou writer, and admit a grievous writer 'sin': I have real trouble reading fiction these days. I was a voracious reader where I was younger, but at some point in my 20's, some kind of wall came down in my brain, and reading fiction for enjoyment has been really difficult ever since. I can do it if I put my mind to it, and in very specific circumstances (like on a plane), but it's always a conscious effort, and therefore, tricky to do for fun. Go figure, take two.

#wtwevent #wtwcommunity #wtw ghost gala #writeblr #preptober

[real-life-senshi]

Thank you @hikamaus for the tag! I'm answering this as a way to get myself back onto making blog content for this blog!

The Rules: Tag (9) people you want to know better and/or catch up with, then answer the following:

Four Ships:

Reinako (Hino Rei x Aino Minako from Sailor Moon franchise, but specifically in live action PGSM): Please feel free to visit my blog to fully understand the scope of my love for this ship. Words alone within a post is not enough! lol I think Reinako as a ship isn't necessarily considered officially canon, though the original manga's Stars arc suggest them favourited by Takeuchi Naoko to be together. Frankly it kinda came out of nowhere until the Rei and Minako's Girl School Battle side story, and then they are like glued together in the last arc of the manga, so it's a suggested slow burn? The live action is a whole different beast, these two were thrown into each other's lives like a tornado. Their story beautifully complex and messily dramatic for a supposed kids-oriented sentai-like serie. These two had me at a choke hold and my heart and soul was theirs ever since.

Swan Queen (Emma Swan x Regina Mills, Once Upon A Time): The ship I suffered heart aches from the most. The Savior and redeemed Evil Queen co-parenting a son, their character history and dynamic was filled with so much artful subtext and plot parallels, it was such a waste they didn't end up together. They had so much potential, but screw heteronormativity in consumed media. Literally they would have become the canon main pairing of the series had one of them been a man. *deep breath and heavy sigh*

Royai (Roy Mustang x Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist): " I want you to protect my back. Do you understand? To entrust my back to you means that you can shoot me from behind anytime. If I step off of the path, shoot and kill me with those hands. You are qualified to do that. Will you follow me?" from Roy to Riza pre-main story "Don't go where I can't follow." from Riza to Roy at the end of their series. They have so many other iconic moments together, but these two quotes will stay with me forever as the most romantic thing I've ever read. They are basically canon in a way where these two are confirmed to be at each other's side for eternity but their shared goals meant they'll likely never act on their feelings overtly. It's all about the subtext and knowing the shared layered history, and more importantly, the sins they wish to atone for, striving to make the word better.

Bumbleby (Blake Belladonna x Yang Xiao Long from RWBY): After 8 volumes and 6 chapters with the most amazing slow burn story done well in mainstream media, these two officially became canon very recently. But at what cost? (jfc the developments of V9C7 and V9C8 was soul-shattering) But seriously though, Blake and Yang's chemistry was made clear from the very start. There's even significance to their character design - eye colours that mirrors each other's aura colour - the colour of one's soul! Like the signs were there even before the series STARTED. Then the darker, heavier elements of the story revealed itself starting the end of Volume 3, and we see both Yang and Blake making personal sacrifices for the sake of each other, without understanding the devastating impact of their different act of self-sacrifice had on each other. Both had personal challenges and barrier to overcome before they could commit themselves to each other. And boy, oh boy, how they bounced back stronger and more beautiful than ever! "She's not protecting me, and I'm not protecting her. We're protecting each other!"

(Y'all all my ships are blonde x dark haired lol)

Last Song: Worthy sang by Casey Lee Williams, even if it's only the preview. I can't wait for the full song to be out. Yeah I'm still in the honeymoon phase of V9C6, trying to ignore C7 and C8.

Currently Reading: I've not really been reading anything, just trying to lose myself in video games. I'm slowly chipping away edits on Echoes of Time, so I guess I'm reading when I'm also writing?

Last Movie: I've not watched a movie in so long, I honestly have no clue. lol

Craving: I'm eagerly waiting Legend of Zela Tears of the Kingdom's release! I'm also wanting to get back to making gifs, illustration and liveblogging for the blog, but it's been tough. :(

Tagging: absolutely no pressure doing this. I'm just tagging coz it's the rule, though I certainly don't mind getting to know people better! I would love to get to know the folks who I consistently see supporting my work across the years but I don't think I've really chatted much with. Even though I don't always reply or react, I love seeing your names pop up in my activity! :) @myucornerorg @sailorscooby @sirazaroff @izazizan @koroktorok @luna-whiskerskers @papillon82fluttersby @zaruba-needslove @primasylph @fiftyen3 I wanted to tag you but I think you have tagging disabled? :(

#tagged #khmyh replies #me #tag game

[variousqueerthings]

high school musical 3 is a fascinating journey to go on, because it's not coherent as such, but it hits some very interesting beats before sharpishly walking them back or does some bland needs-to-be-there stuff that it then promptly forgets about (mainly around pairing the spares), because you'd never be allowed to outright depict the highschool romance not lasting into college, or that the father is emotionally overbearing if not abusive in the ways he pressures his son (and ofc there are some queer overtones in the "don't do theatre, do sports!" thing), and you absolutely can't explain why the male best friend who's sleepwalking through a non-romance plot is obsessed with the male lead spending his entire life with him/choosing him over the girlfriend, whom he definitely never really liked

RIP sharpay and ryan are pretty sidelined in this plot (esp considering the growth in the second movie), although at least ryan continues to be an mvp in terms of performance and clothing style, and kelsi brings us more non-binary Fits so there's that

you have tensions that feel like they exist outside the film, hurriedly correcting like it's a slapstick "the show goes wrong" type of deal --

two seconds of kelsi and ryan paying lip-service to pairing the spares, before it's never relevant again, but it's been written now, don't worry, they are Straight, see they composed/sang 1min of a duet that wasn't actually for or about them in the story

another mini-arc that lasts all of 5ish minutes of chad asking out taylor, before both of them phone it in and have separate conversations with their besties about how your boyfriend/girlfriend in highschool isn't that important (and chad of course from then on is only interested in whether troy will go to college with him, like they'd always dreamed of)

gabriella going away early to college some thousands of miles away and calling troy right before prom to say she's not coming back for it, or for graduation, because she's decided not to see him again in order to move forwards with her life, which is a pretty clear boundary to set (if done in a somewhat terrible way), only for him to... get to where she is somehow? and his presence simply convinces her to not care about any of her previous decision-making

troy's dad once again being the worst character while he guilts his son over having an interest in theatre (same as in the last 2 movies), instead of following in his exact footsteps, only for the story to shrug it off at the end, because there was never going to be follow-through on something like that

and I know it's not that deep, don't get me wrong here. I'm just interested as someone who's seeing the bits where the structure it's been building (someone Chose To Write This) get dropped in favour of it not being that deep when... it could be a better, more complex movie, possibly if it weren't disney channel I'm guessing. but then, it didn't have to have these arcs to begin with, it could have been a much lighter story, it chose not to be --

and some of the corners it wrote itself into due to law of sequel character-growth stagnancy, because it's about writing the same story three times with slightly different covers, so chad has to be annoyed with troy for choosing gabriella over hi- uh, basketball? sharpay has to try to steal the show/troy, troy's dad has to guilt him before supporting him, gabriella and troy have to have a moment of Sad before working it out (quickly, the Sad cannot last for too long), etc. but because the structure simply changes when you write a different story (they are going to college after this, they won't be seeing each other every day again), these storylines feel different/get written differently

it's kind of a sad movie overall, with its whole idea of this'll never be forgotten best years of our lives type rhetoric ("Who says we have to let it go? // It's the best part we've ever known // Step into the future... but hold on to High School Musical"), and it brings that sadness into the plot -- it could have gone way harder on "we're so excited for the future and what's to come" but it didn't

I am so into movies like this. poking at them to see all the limitations that exist outside of them that work against telling a good story, but the good story is in there, somewhere. when for some reason production has decided that stagnation is more important. people don't want to see stories about people who change, they want them to stay the same forever (and ideally go back and watch the first movie again afterwards I guess)

anyway troy's "anxiety nightmare in the school" song was actually great + encapsulates 90% of the tension the movie has that it never actually manages to work out, but just brushes under the carpet, it's perfect:

"I don't know where to go // What's the right team? // I want my own thing // So bad I'm gonna scream // I can't choose, so confused // What's it all mean?"

you wrote this song hsm3: senior year team! c'mon!

#high school musical 3 #hsm3 #yeah catch me analysing this film #troy bolton is bisexual ofc #you can only write so much lyric about *not knowing what team you belong to* before it begins to sound Like The Metaphor It Is #long post #yeah yeah yeah i just watched hsm3 im going to bed now #10/10 experience enjoyed it a lot -- terrible movie

[thunderheadfred]

🤚The Second Worst (Pt. 1/?)🤚

Part 2 of my Shigaraki Thesis Headcanons. HC's // The Second Worst: 1 - 2

The half-mad ghost of Shimura Tenko is in love with you, and your life is about to become a tragic wreck. -- AKA here's when I gave up on bullet points and went off the fuckin rails

I'm self-conscious about writing so much, so uhhhh, please be kind, hahaaa. This is rather long and involved. Are these still even HCs or just a self-indulgent AU outline? There are some mysteries we may never solve.

This is on AO3 now, if you prefer reading there. Anyway. Minors do not interact.

- - - - -

You met Tenko before the League existed.

Believe it or not, there are a million ways it might have happened, but in the end: you were both bargain-binning in Akihabara.

You reached for a copy of a collectible bullet-hell cute-'em-up (near-mint! CIB!!!) and accidentally bonked hands with a complete stranger. He flinched about five million feet away from you. Ouch. You're just a nobody, quirkless and average, but you didn't think you were THAT repulsive.

(You're not. Hell, even if you were, this guy couldn't care less. He barely registers that you have a face.)

(Shigaraki is accustomed to getting in and out of this shop in seconds. He always comes in before anyone else and goes straight home. -- Is that really home? Is 'home' a real place? -- ANYWAY he's already pirated this shit, god, why does he even care? He doesn't need to be here. Father doesn't like it. Is that why he's here? Just to do something Father doesn't like? That's pathetic.)

He's had at least ten complete internal arguments with himself before he so much as looks at you.

You know in the tenth of a second he actually meets your eyes... this fucker is going to fight you to the death over this game.

- - - The death match ends in a draw. He was not expecting you to know the first fucking thing about this game. Nobody knows about it, even in Japan. Who the fuck do you even think you are? Oh, no, he's still taking it. But... maybe he can show you how to play it it. He'll give you a little taste, just to make you jealous. He's got his hoodie pulled down like he's going to commit an act of terrorism. What little you can see of his face looks twitchy and messed up. If you have any survival instincts at all, they're kicking in right about now. But... why not. You're not going anywhere with this dude unsupervised, so you suggest a crowded web cafe down the street. The cafe has the necessary console... but the retro gaming booth is laughably small. The TV is about four inches across and you end up having to practically sit in his lap. You were sure this guy was a nasty fucking creep, but he's................ only mostly terrible. Way too angry, for sure. Has no idea how to have a normal, friendly conversation. Inadvertently insults you every other sentence and seems to have a deep-seated persecution complex.

You'd prefer to be mad about the awful company, but... he's obviously deprived of human contact. When it's established that you two share a lot of media fixations, he calms down and starts treating you a little more like a human being. Or at least like a fellow elite.

Wherever he came from, he doesn't seem to want to go back. He keeps pushing you to play one more level, pretending he wants to beat your score. You feel kinda bad for him. You get the distinct feeling that his life is a disaster. He looks like he's never had a full night of sleep in his life. He trips your trigger hairs in that 'is he gonna follow me home?' kind of way, but... up close, he's a lot more depressing than scary. At the very least, you want to buy him a stupidly cute dessert. Just... as thanks. For letting you try out the game and stuff. It's not a big deal, so just pick a flavor, okay? The world isn't actually that awful, y'know.

It's not even that impressive... Definitely not a great cafe. But he takes practically a full hour to eat a single slice of strawberry cake.

When the hoodie comes down. He's all shriveled and dried out, like someone left him him in the desert to die. He chews on his peeling bottom lip and nervously scratches his neck. He doesn't thank you for the cake. Which is fine. It's not a big deal. Actually, you wish he would eat faster; you feel weirdly responsible for him now.

Under all that mess he's... gorgeous? His hair is stunning: a bright, gleaming silver that catches the light. His bone structure is flawless. If it weren't for all the scars and the misanthropic slouch, he'd look like a fairy fucking prince.

You were not prepared for that. In another life he could have been a model, the type of guy who would never even look at you. But something bad happened to him. Something... very bad. Do you even want to know? You have no idea how to ask. Has anyone ever been nice to him? It doesn't seem like it. Should YOU be nice to him? You sort of want to try. - - - This becomes a regular thing. This weird little secret. You should probably tell someone when you see him, just in case you don't come back one day, but you say nothing; how the hell would you explain why you want to see him so bad? You don't know his full name. Maybe he's on a watch list. When he gives you a long string of random numbers so you can schedule meet-ups (is THAT his e-mail, really?) he tells you to just... call him Tenko. Or whatever. It doesn't matter. (He sneaks out when Father is deep in his plots. As long as he comes home on time, it doesn't really matter where he goes, right?) He brings a different game every time. He has an insane collection. Where does he get the money for all this? You know he doesn't work. God, is it drugs? It's probably drugs. Wherever these hidden gems came from, he proudly shows them off to you, like he's never had an audience before. It's sort of cringe-inducing, the way he one-ups and rubs every little victory in your face, desperate for attention.

But at the same time, you are becoming too... something...to mind. Do you... like him? He's not funny, but he thinks you are. His mouth is huge when he laughs. He seems to hate everyone but you, and you've had to earn the distinction of being merely tolerable. Still, he gets really excited about random shit like the garage kit black market and haunted dolls and the price of weed on the dark web.

And... strawberry cake. The realization hits you both at the same time when the waitress brings one piece with two forks. God, what the fuck, are you... are you dating? Quick, think. You look forward to seeing him, and don't even mind sitting close to him anymore. Sometimes you push your leg up against him just to see if he'll still flinch away... and he doesn't.

You jealously notice the way he touches everything but you: with delicate precision, one finger at a time. His large, elegant hands always have a pinky up like he's aspiring for a fiefdom, and you wonder what his skin feels like. You go home and dwell on the way he plucks flowering weeds out of the pavement in front of the cafe. The way he stands rooted to the spot as you leave, just... looking at nothing, unsmiling.

You watch his lips too much, and not just because you want to buy him chapstick. You catch him gaping at you all the time. You thought he was just creepy like that, but maybe... Yeah. I guess you are dating him. Shit. - - - Okay, so, yeah. Bringing him back to your place was definitely a bad idea. You know you shouldn't trust him, even if he is... apparently... your boyfriend? Sort of? You still don't have his phone number. So. Um. What now? You order overpriced pizza and queue up a campy horror movie. What the fuck are you even doing. You don't really think he's going to murder you anymore, but... still. Is the suburban massacre scene gonna give him ideas? Turns out, no. He doesn't like gore, even when the blood is neon pink. He gets upset. Like, really upset. Shaky and green, like he might puke on you. He can't stop scratching that scaly spot on his neck.

Tenko, are you crying? Fucking hell, did you just trigger him? Of course he has a traumatic past, it's carved all over his face. You're so fucking stupid. You don't know how to make it right. You want to hug him, kiss him... anything. But he's never really touched you, and you're too afraid to push now. It ruins the whole night. He leaves without explaining anything. Doesn't even say goodbye. He just. Leaves. Maybe you'll never see him again. Maybe that's for the best. Your chest hurts. - - - He shows up at your door a few weeks later. You haven't heard from him since that disastrous movie night. You had pretty much accepted that you'd broken up with a boyfriend you never actually had. But no. Apparently not.

This time, he’s brought his own entertainment. He's holding a boxed set of some show you're not familiar with. You're distracted by these weird little half-gloves he's wearing, like a cyberpunk hacker. That's a new look, and even if it's a bit edgelord adjacent, he makes it look cool. You tell him as much. It's the first time you've let on how attractive you find him. He's wearing a tight black shirt with a deep, deep V-neck. That's distracting too.

He clears his slender throat and doesn't look at you.

You try to apologize for before, but he's acting like it never happened. What are you even talking about? Have you seen this OVA or not? Get out of the way and let him in already. You've watched three episodes now, but you still have no idea what this stupid anime is about. You can't pay attention to a single frame. All you can think about is how his arm has crept up behind your shoulders. A few inches more and he'll be holding you. Does he... want to hold you? You lean toward him so slowly your spine creaks. One molecule at a time. After a thousand years, your head slides nervously under his chin. His arm comes down, locking you in, fingers clutching your sleeve in a death grip. Even that snobby little pinky. His head tucks down into you hair. A sharp collarbone bites into your cheek. His heartbeat is hard, fast, and irregular. There's not a scrap of fat on him, and as you wrap your arm around his stomach, you think you see a twitch in his pants. Is that just you being desperate? Or... hopeful? This is really happening. --- Soon, you learn that Tenko is a clumsy kisser. It doesn't matter; the fact that he's kissing you at all is good enough for now. His lips are dry, but not half as dry as you expected. There's a slick of menthol helping things along; he's been using something medicated on his lips. Plus, his mouth tastes like he drank a gallon of mouthwash.

All this thrills you more than a little, because it means he came here wanting to impress you. Wanting you. Full stop. Underneath that minty sting is a strange, worrisome aftertaste, like something rotten. Your brain fires off an alarm. Stop kissing him. Right now. This thing will make you sick. But his hands nervously slide over your body... and you decide not to worry about it. Instead, you kiss him deeper. He makes a sweet, startled little noise. Your brain is a fucking liar. It occurs to you he's probably never done this before.

When you lace your fingers in his and try to pull one of his gloves off, he rips his hand away.

Don't. That’s the only explanation he gives.

No need to ask if it's a quirk thing or a trauma thing. Judging by how jittery he gets, it's probably both. You remember the way his hands almost float over objects without ever holding them. Maybe his touch is dangerous. Maybe that's why his face looks like that.

Maybe you should learn more about him before things go way too far...

No. It can't be that bad. Now that he's in your arms, everything frightening about him evaporates. He's vulnerable. He's alone. He's shaking a little. Has anyone else ever seen this side of him? You want to keep him all to yourself, just like this.

So what if he has to touch you with gloves on? You've heard of worse quirk-related inconveniences.

It's okay, Tenko. Do you want to keep going?

You put his hands back on you and wait for him to kiss you again. It doesn't take long.

---

You open his pants. He's long and thin, calloused even here. Every part of him feels untouched, unloved. You hold him tight and squeeze.

It doesn't seem to occur to him to please you in return. He looks afraid. Confused. You're sure you scared him earlier with the glove thing. Is this too much? No. He gasps and leans into you. The tiniest, broken please.

He cums in your hand right away, face buried in your shoulder, his eyes wet and hidden.

I have to go, he says. Over and over and over.

It's okay, Tenko.

You know he doesn't want to.

- - - - - (oops I wrote more)

#Shigaraki #Shigaraki Tomura #Shimura Tenko #Shigaraki x reader #Shigaraki x you #Shigaraki x y/n #gender neutral reader #shigaraki headcanons #mha #bnha #fred writes

[purplerose244]

Thoughts journal Ninjago season 13!! 🖤🖤 (4/4)

Here we are, at the end of just another season of Ninjago! And I've gotta say, until now it has been very good, I think I'm liking this season better than Prime Empire and Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu. I liked them too, but this one feels more complete and deep, also LILLY GOT A BACKSTORY HECK YEAH 😍😍

Prime Empire had one really great ending, so I'm very curious how this season will conclude! Spinjitzu burst? Some last minute plot twist? Cole and Vania confirmed...? 🙄

Here we go!!

THE DARKEST HOUR

So I'm guessing the guys aren't doing too good at the moment 😅

I know this is kind of a tense situation, but honestly Kai looking so confused at having to lead cracks me up 😂 "Do I have to say it? Is that what being in charge means?"

Lloyd: YOU

Jay: SHALL

Kai: NOT

Zane: BE GRANTED THE PERMISSION TO TRAVERSE BEYOND THIS POINT

I have no words, that was such an obvious reference in full Zane style so in character, I have tears. Beautiful 🤣🤣

Also they all look SO COOL 💚💙❤🤍

My ninja babies fighting together screaming NINJA-GOO!! Really this season feels like we're back in the old days, so cool! And they are so in sync, Kai lifting Lloyd up and Zane pushing others away and I LOVE THE FIGHTING ANIMATIONS ��

Poor Skull dude, he's trying to do his big bad guy monologue and he keeps getting interrupted 😂

It was cute that both tribes immediately refused to surrender, not sure if it was for pride or they actually care about their new ninja friends, but it was nice

Aahh, near death life experiences, the best way to elicit teamwork 👍 Nice scene, nice cute scene

Nnnnnyyyggg, Lloyd, that's the sacrifice look right there 😱 At least they just turned themselves in peacefully after reuniting the tribes... aaand of course he was lying, I hate that Skull dude 👿👿

THE ASCENT

Back to team Cole! Back to the Upply! 🖤 Quick guys, we're only three episodes left!! NEED TO GO BIG!!

Heeeeeyy, Wu back in business! I kinda missed him a bit taking control of the situation, it used to be him because he was the master. It really is a jump into the past this season! 🤩🤩

Sure let's go with the explosive cart, not like Cole and the other ninja haven't been piloting a falling apart rocket back to Earth before 🤷‍♀️

A Mech on rolleskates, why not? Does Cole even know how to go on those though? He was already out of the Tournament of Elements during Chen's Thunder Blade so I don't really know...

Lolz the monster was actually waiting staring at the wall, guess you don't get much fun in this mine 😅

COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE COOL FIGHTING SEQUENCE 🖤🖤🖤

And a poor old couple of civilians traumatized. They need to be trained by the people of Ninjago City on how to deal with weird appearances 💪

I guess we're doing this 😅 Gonna be honest, this is the first very evident sweet look I see from these two. I like Vania, a lot, but another classic love interest? Uuuuhhh, Idk, Imma see the rest of the season and see what happens 🤷‍♀️

A baby dragon on a giant spider, one of my favorite things ever on one thing I fear... I'll let it pass just because Adam is a good boy 🕷🕷🕷

GO VANIA GO GIRL LET HIM KNOW WHO IS THE BOSS HERE!!! 💛💛💛

THE UPPLY STRIKES BACK!

I really like these DnD guys, they've grown on me, let's see what they have in store! 😁

Munce and Geckles under chains, ninja in a cage, the Skull dude has the control, we're back when we started... sucks to be a ninja sometimes 😅

Omg I'm loving that this dude is trying so hard to be menacing and he keeps getting ignored 😂😂 Aww cute, you think you're the first that wants to destroy the ninja? Such a special little snowflake 😘 Evil monologue, we've been going for 13 seasons now with various specials and a movie, we heard it already 🤷‍♀️

Also the reveal, and he's all "Your friend Cole is dead" and Lloyd "That's what they all say, buddy" 👌👌

Poor Cole just wants justice for his mom HELP EMOTIONAL AGAIN

I'm all for Cole's personal team, they should do missions together, like Jay's team in Skybound!... that technically never happened, BUT STILL COOL 🖤💙🖤💙

Oh boy oh boy oh boy got the swords, confrontation ready, BRING IT!! Ninja team is all in for this!! ❤💚💙🤍🌊

REVOLUTION!!!! 💪💪💪💪

Swords aren't usually Cole's weapon of choice... BUT DANG IT HE CAN SWING THEM, HOLY GARMADON!!! THIS IS THE FIGHTING SCENES I WANT!!! 😍😍

How is this the episode prior the finale? It already feels like the finale! What else is going to happen?

SON'S OF LILY

Oh with a title like this, it's a given that I will not survive. Oh boy, here goes, the FINALE!

Chaos, chaos, beautiful dragon of death and distraction, also gently reminder that Mino is also a very good boy 💕 Are the skeletons connected to the skull? Are they gonna stop reform when Cole defeats the Skull Sorcerer?

The swords are not actually magical? Huh, first weapon in this show that turns out to be a fluke, apart maybe the Dragon Armor of the Firstborne... that one stayed intact at least 😅

HERE COMES THE VALKIRIES!!! *classic related music plays*

THIS. FIGHTING. SCENES. ARE. SO. FREAKING. GOOD 😍 Also wow sensei, full kamikaze with a dragon? I guess the sacrifice gene really runs into that family 😅

COLE NO DON'T HURT ROCK BABY 😭

"Always." KIRBY STOP MAKING ME CRY WITH YOUR AMAZING VOICE ACTING SKILLS ALSO HOLY HOOLA GANG

THAT'S LIKE A SPINJITZU WITH THE TRUE POTENTIAL OMG HECK YEAH SHINE COLE SHINE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

A bit red, could mistake it for Kai's, but it's an orange earth lava burst so I understand

Cole: okay guys, done my part

Cole: wake me up when next season is out

LOOK AT VANIA BECOMING THE QUEEN WITH THAT BEAUTIFUL ATTIRE AND USING COLE'S MOTHER QUOTE BECAUSE SHE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM COLE AWWW 💛

Okay, since there weren't evident references to Nexo Knights this season, can I pretend Fungus shooting fireworks is one? Merlok used to do that almost at every season finale... IMMA PRETEND 🙃

She is so adorable, I really love her. Wished we've seen more of her bond with her father, it felt a little easy her giving up on him. Idk, Sky and Chen didn't have that much of a bond but she struggled a lot! But she is super cool and cute, I ADORE her 💕

This sounds like a pretty good experience for Lloyd who FINALLY spent a season without being scarred for life!!! He even met a princess who didn't plan his death!!! Montgomery things are getting better 💚

Well, that surprised me, I guess Cole and Vania like each other but not heavily? Just a very light mood, like they care a lot but no other step further. I'm very happy about this choice, you can see it as a couple if you want, but you can also say they are just good friends. Nice 👍

Oh no, Wu got his midlife crisis, SOMEBODY STOPS HIM 😱

Wherever the wind will take them okay, wherever the producers will decide to torture them 😗

Overall, great finale! 😁

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think I enjoyed Prime Empire's finale more than this one, but this season with all of its episodes was absolutely AMAZING 🖤

The Skull Sorcerer wasn't necessarily a bad villain, but the story kinda went into another direction in my opinion so his part wasn't fundamental. Which isn't a bad thing for me, it's actually new and exciting see the attention to the story instead of the villain, and I did enjoy how they made fun of how cliche he was being 😂

Vania was GREAT. Wished we had more time with her father to really establish what kind of bond they had, but overall I loved her, new best girl acquired 💛💛💛

FREAKING ROCK MOM!! FREAKING LILLY!! I'm so emotional just thinking about this family, omg, THIS is the content I want for Ninjago! Impactful, that makes sense, connected to the heart that makes you so much closer to a character! Finally the Rock family is getting more complex 🖤

I think this season really gave Cole justice, we got her mom's story, we've got him leading a team again, we've got him with a cool new power! 😍😍

For the other ninja it was okay, I really liked the shenanigans with the tribes and the cultures were really fun to explore. Was kinda like a side quest and for me didn't bring that much to the main story, but it was fun and it's fair, Cole had all the attention he deserved 👌

FIGHTING ANIMATION OMG HECK FREAKING YEAH 10/NINJA-GOOOO ❤💚💙🖤🤍🌊

Beautiful designs for the characters, in particular the Shintaro citizens, and also wonderful backgrounds and sceneries, that I thought were starting to lack but here seems much nicer to look at 🤩

What can I say? Ninjago still knows how to mess with my heart, and I'm so very happy about it. I think the so wanted Cole season was definitely worth it 🖤🖤🖤

Now, I heard voices about a possible Nya season... ABSOLUTELY YES, YES TO EVERYTHING, QUEEN GETTING HER OWN SEASON YES YES YES!!! 😍😍😍🌊🌊🌊 Besides that apparently Maya will come back, which is a dream coming true, if they give Nya the same attention they gave to Cole this season, I will be happy 😊

#i am so happy #ninjago outdid itself #really #the cole season #worth the wait #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago cole #cole brookstone #ninjago kai #kai smith #ninjago nya #nya smith #ninjago jay #jay walker #ninjago zane #zane julien #ninjago lloyd garmadon #lloyd montgomery garmadon #lloyd garmadon #ninjago vania #princess vania #ninjago spoilers #spoilers #ninjago season 13 #ninjago master of the mountain #ninjago wu #sensei wu

[thejudgingtrash]

Love coming into this blog and seeing someone else say Hera isn't all bad 👌🏽👏🏽

Thank 👏🏽 you 👏🏽

Just know that every time I see someone go ”I hate Hera soooooo much!“ I’m essentially just screaming internally. Why? Literally why? Because she stood up for herself or one of your favorite characters had a shitty encounter with her? Both? If you think deep enough about it and perhaps try to integrate multiple perspectives you may come to a surprising result.

It’s okay for all the characters to have multiple layers, especially for the male characters but once it comes to the female characters... nope. Annabeth is the only female character that is allowed to be the likable asshole apparently, because she (has that white privilege)’s so popular and her being in the main ship with the protagonist shields her from getting that much hate.

The rest of you female characters should all be kept in the easy-going, pretty and nice corner (literally saw someone go off at Silena being the spy in the end in a post?! The spy was meant to be someone you would’ve never expected? Lack of basic reading skills again). Being different is not okay any more? Being complex and having many facets is not good enough? Especially for side characters? Hokay.

Also Hera as the goddess of marriage, family, children, etc. all that stuff, gets blatantly disrespected and ridiculed (by her family and mortals but especially her husband) and people expect her to be okay with shitty treatment and to be the silent trophy wife? Literally what in the fuck. I guess a lot of you are the chillest people ever because I would also just lash out when hubby brings product of an affair #5433 home.

This is so ironic. And sexist. Especially when Poseidon is one of the worst fuckers in canon myth and in the Riordanverse (Percy literally beats around the bush with the rape of Demeter and his perspective makes his father someone he isn’t? Poseidon only used Percy to prevent an inconvenient war in the first book and was like lol fuck off, kiddo after that) and now he’s supposed to be the cool dad when in fact he isn’t close to that???

People are clinging to the flimsiest excuses to blatantly hate Hera. I’m not apologizing for her actions towards demigods and the other women (I can understand them to a certain extent). They are terrible and inexcusable. But also let’s not forget that Riordan set up the messed up plans and characterization for her as he as the author makes all of the decisions. Sure, many decisions from him are stupid/questionable/racist but he is steering the boat and had some thought about the direction of the plot (!)

Additionally, many people forget the skewed narrative and perception of Percy, the other demigods and Riordan’s own views on the myths. All of this adds to make Hera the (in my opinion) cheap ”evil queen“.

I still stand by what I said when I meant that sexism is very present in the pjo fandom as well as most (if not all of them) characterizing people into either good or bad, with no gray areas that are being allowed to be between those positions. This will continue to tear this fandom apart. That’s also the reason why you constantly see the same discussions about Luke being wrong/right/great/terrible flare up.

But no people it’s all cool. Continue hating on someone like Hera that’s standing up for herself despite being abused and disrespected 24/7. The only goddess that actually helped out in HOO. It‘s all cool and gucci.

I hate the partial hypocrisy and denying of antithetical characters having the same right of in-deph discussions like the protagonists. Of accepting their complexity. Guess straight up hating instead of giving it a thought or two is easier.

I have the feeling that I’m anti-meta on so many (niche) topics in this fandom but good to know that I’m not the only one lol

#hera #pjo #ask #percy jackson #hoo #heroes of olympus #rick riordan #my rants

[chaosstar290]

Reasons try out Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore.

Nintendo's been pretty casual with porting Wii U games over to the Switch, and for good reasons. Normally, I'm not all into porting games that I've already played, but my personal favorite games on the system that lack good marketing and advertising are now getting the attention and love they deserve.

Take Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for example, one of my favorite 2D platfomers. The game originally sold 1.72 million copies worldwide on the Wii U. Not very good numbers, huh? However, the Switch port managed to beat those sales numbers with 2.25 million units sold worldwide by the end of March 2019.

So while this could be seen as a way for Big N to earn more $$$, this is also a way for those who never owned a Wii U and missed out on some of the system's best titles to give these games a shot. Now we just need a port of Xenoblade Chronicles X and The Wonderful 101...and Star Fox Zero, I guess.

But that's a topic for another time. This post is specifically for my favorite JRPG on the Wii U only to be tied with Xenoblade Chronicles X....Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.

This'll be a long one, so here's hoping you'll stick with it until the end.

Development

Before I get into the reasons, lemme educate you guys a bit. Back in January 2013, both Atlus and Intelligent Systems made a teaser trailer for a potential Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem crossover for the Wii U.

The trailer was mostly just a slideshow with various character artwork. Despite this, there was a decent amount of hype surrounding it. But development around the game was pretty silent. That is, until we fast forward to the Nintendo Direct in April 1, 2015. We got a trailer of the ambitious SMT x FE crossover that fans were waiting for...but this was the final product.

Needless to say...neither SMT nor FE fans were happy about this. The fandoms were incredibly salty and foaming at the mouths, basically calling it a Person 4 Lite with a hint of FE. Heck, they're probably still posts on this site from 5 years ago that'll show that.

Fast forward to the games initial release, and you'll see quite a few positive reviews and thoughts about TMS. Unfortunately, the sale numbers were not all that great for the game. Obvious reasons being that it was a Wii U game, and many fans of both SMT x FE were not happy with how it turned out.

And to be honest, I wasn't feeling the game myself at first. It seemed too lighthearted and upbeat, and the J-Pop, anime-ish aesthetics were very off-putting. However, the more I saw about the game, the more I was drawn into it. Somehow all that disappointment I had about TMS originally just washed away. And considering it was a new IP, I decided to give it a chance. And hoo boy...I was generally pleased.

With that outta the way, let's get into why I'm excited for the Switch port of game, and hoping people will give it a fairer chance.

The Setting

The plot of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is mostly simple. You start out as high schooler Itsuki Aoi, the main character of the game encountering his childhood friend Tsubasa Oribe at an audition event to become a idol. It isn't until moments later in the game that the area gets overruned by shadowy creatures known as Mirages that suck out the creative energy known as Perso-- ah I mean Performa from the other idols and audience.

Poor girl doesn't know what's gonna happen next.

Despite our main characters seeming unharmed by the effect, the Mirages drag Tsubasa into their world known as the Idolsphere. And of course, courageous Itsuki takes action to follow and rescue her.

After trying to make a daring rescue, Itsuki gets bombarded by a Mirage, but somehow manages to awaken it. Taking the form of Fire Emblem Awakening's protagonist Chrom. Itsuki does the same with the Mirage that captured Tsubasa that takes the form of Cedea from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon. The two awakaned Mirages, however, suffer from a bit of amnesia and can't quite remember who and what they are.

From there on, Itsuki and Tsubasa form a partnership with Chrom and Cedea, encountering various characters trying to reach their way to stardom while trying to draw back the opposing forces from taking over Tokyo and the world. Typical RPG stuff, am I right?

It's a fairly standard and slightly cliche plot with some common anime tropes, but for this game...it works. It's a plot that's incredibly silly, upbeat, and over-the-top, but again...it works for this game. And I love it. It may not be original, deep, or complex, but the story does its best to not take itself too seriously, and it doesn't fail to keep a smile in my face.

Aside from the vanilla cookie-cutter MC Itsuki, the various casts that you meet are incredibly charming, and go through their own personal growth as celebrities. Though you mileage may vary on this.

The Gameplay

The combat is the real star of Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Basically, it's your standard turn-based combat system...but with a few twists. If you've ever played a SMT or Persona game, then don't be surprised that elemental weaknesses make an appearance here. Along with that, the Triangle Weapon system from Fire Emblem also makes an appearance in the game.

But if you're not familiar with either franchise then give you a basic example how this works. Say that you've encountered an armored Mirage wielding an axe. The weaknesses on that enemy are both lightning and swords, and Itsuki just so happens to have both the necessary element and weapon equipped.

In case you're wondering...how the Triangle Weapon mechanic works in FE is that Swords beat Axes, Axes beat Lances, and Lances beat Swords.

The interesting thing about this is that once you exploit an enemy's weakness, other characters will jump in and combo extra attacks. These are called Sessions, and their not only powerful...but also flashy as all hell and it's glorious. Not only that, but there's also Duo Arts where two certain characters will sometimes perform a song that unleashes a powerful attack...which also strings up more Sessions. As broken as this sounds, it actually is pretty strategic for taking down harder enemies, and they can also form Sessions...so be careful.

There's more to the gameplay like roaming Tokyo, exploring dungeons, and upgrading your characters and Mirages by Tiki from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon as well.

There's mixed opinions on the dungeon aspects of Tokyo Mirage Sessions, but...I personally enjoyed them. Aside from the first one. Once you get past the first dungeon, they get better as the game progresses. From exploring a darker version of Shibuya where you have to avoid giant cameras from sending you back to the entrance of the of the room you currently entered, to venturing through a maze-like TV studio.

There's also side-missions that you can do with your main cast that'll help them grow and develop even further. You'll be rewarded with either a special cutscene or a special attack. Or maybe both.

The Visuals

Go go...Persona Rangers?

If it wasn't obvious from the amount of images I'm posting, Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a very colorful game. Fitting with it's lighthearted theme, the amount of colors the game throws at you makes visuals aesthetically pleasing. Heck, you could make these your personal wallpaper on your phone or something.

Sure, Tokyo Mirage Sessions isn't nearly as strong as Persona 5 graphically or even artistically, but like most Nintendo games...what their games lack in terms of detailed ultra-hyper graphics, they make up for it with giving their games gorgeous artstyles.

Also, this game has some reeeeeally good artwork.

The Music

J-Pop plays a pretty big role in Tokyo Mirage Sessions, so expect a lot of vocal tracks. If you're not into this kind of genre of music, then you might wanna stray away from this game. If you are (or if it doesn't bother you), then you're in for a treat. As someone who really isn't into J-Pop myself, the songs in this game are incredible and catchy followed by some beautiful cutscenes. Reincarnation from Kiria Kurono and Feel from Tsubasa Oribe are some of my personal favorites.

The music from outside the vocal tracks are pretty good too. The normal battle theme and the Illusion Shibuya dungeon theme are just to name a couple.

What's New?

Like I said before, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is a port of the Wii U version, but with added content. Any DLC that was added in the original game will part of the base game in the Switch version. But let's talk about the new stuff.

EX Story and Songs

The EX Story is basically a dungeon that you explore in short bursts. Here you'll find new costumes such as a Joker outfit from Persona 5 for Itsuki, or an Annette outfit from Fire Emblem Three Houses for Mamori Minamoto. Or you can have a much easier time grinding for EXP. Also, much like the side-stories, this dungeon will also explore the main casts' issues and help them grow.

New songs will also be added in this port. A duo song called "She is..." sung by Tsubasa and Kiria is one of them.

Sessions

By making Sessions even more powerful and ridiculous, unplayable characters like Tiki, Maiko Shimazaki, and Barry Goodman will also join in Sessions.

In addition, a Quick Session option will be added. Which is a major upgrade in my book. One of the big issues the Wii U version had was while the Sessions were fun to watch, they took forever to get through with the more characters that joined your party. There are also smaller improvements like the Switch version having faster loading times.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this long as hell post will spark some interest into those who'll give the game a shot. I know there's small nitpicks like the lack of English voice acting and censorship, but the latter is a topic I'd rather not delve deep into.

Regardless, these small cons are greatly outweighed by the large pros this charming game has. If you're an Atlus fan, a lover of JRPGs, or wanting to play something that'll ease the wait for Persona 5 Royal, I highly recommend you give Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE encore a shot.

If you're also waiting for Persona 5 to actually come to the Switch like me, this game is next best thing we've got for the time being.

This is one of the most stylish menu screens ever.

#tokyo mirage sessions fe #tokyo mirage sessions fe encore #atlus #intelligent systems #nintendo switch #wii u #persona #persona 5 #fire emblem #shin megami tensei

[marsreds]

I read your post, and yeah I get the symbolism. And since we know as trivia that Zuko was thought of as a love interest for Katara, that isn't so far fetched. But I'm kinda more curious about what makes people find them compatible, like personality-wise or similar things like that. Like what makes people ship them. And yeah, I'm genuinely curious, not trying to start a fight :)

( @eyebulb​, eyy, web stuff’s a bit on the back-burner for me lately, so it takes me a while to get to things, also, heads up, a lot of links)

Well, I mean, how to put this… The symbolism is the point? For me at least.

Like, the whole reason why Zutara is so loved, so enduring, and people were—and still are—so upset over canon is because the way the narrative is constructed paints them as perfect for each other:

You have the not-at-all subtle foreshadowing with the story of “The Cave of the Two Lovers”, that introduces a mythical/mythological aspect into their relationship, which in a story as full of mythical, mythological and spiritual themes as AtLA causes it to make far more sense than any other romantic relationship for these characters on a meta-textual level.

Not only that but by making it a reincarnation romance that has already ended in tragedy once, having them get their happily-ever-after now ties neatly into the general themes of moving forward and new generations undoing the hurt of the old ones and does so in a beautifully poetic manner.

Speaking of tying in neatly into the themes of the show, a relationship between Zuko and Katara would be a very beautiful, very poetic, very symbolic illustration of the “Illusion of Separation” concept. Mainly, Zuko and Katara have, continuously throughout the show, been learning from one another* and coming out better, stronger because of it. It’s only natural to assume that this would continue, and in fact get only more pronounced as they grow closer.

*Most obvious example being all the waterbending moves Zuko uses in the Book 2 finale.

Then you have the way their stories mirror one another—their bending*, their deep, burning sense of justice, their mothers (more on this later), and the way they both hinged all of their hopes and dreams on the Avatar.

That last one is especially interesting because it sets them up, for the first two seasons (a.k.a. the Half-Of-The-Best-Series-Ever-That-Got-Followed-By-A-Mediocre-Self-Insert-Fic seasons), as mirroring, opposing forces with Aang as the axis around which they revolve; The push and pull, if you will.

*By this I mostly mean how they both took a while to come into their own, how they did it at around the same time, but did it in contrasting ways. Mainly, Katara finally found a Waterbending Master and received a formal education after years of struggling trying to learn from alternative sources, while Zuko after struggling for years with a Firebending Master finally found his footing once he turned to alternate sources of wisdom.**

**This is a stray observation, it’s not all that relevant, but I still find it interesting.

Then, to get to your question, you have Zuko and Katara as individuals.

Firstly, Zuko and Katara are, fundamentally, very similar. This is a good thing. They are driven, determined, have a strong sense of justice and, above all, are deeply emphatic and compassionate people.

These are important characteristics to share with a significant other. Having similar goals and aspirations is a fundamental part of a good and stable relationship. (More on their similarities here, on Zuko’s character and its misinterpretation here and here and on Katara’s character and its misinterpretation here. Also this post, just so we’re all on the same page.)

Secondly, they have experienced a similar trauma. This, combined with the above mentioned empathy and compassion, helps them reach a level of understanding that they do not have with any of the other characters in the show. Least of all, ironically, their canon love interests. (More on this here, here, here, here aaand here)

Finally, there is the fact that the very plot of the show keeps pushing them together:

They spend every season finale fighting together (in all meanings of the phrase), their most emotionally charged moments are spent together, they are the characters that are shown having the most equal, mutually supportive relationship of all and, above all else, the actual, real emotional climax of the entire show is hinged on their relationship.

So, when you take all of these elements, you get one of the most beautiful, meaningful and complex romances in animated television… that was never made canon because the creators’ petty self-insert fantasy overrode any scrap of creative integrity they may have had.

Oh, well. It ensured that the Zutara fandom to this day remains one of the most enduring, productive, creative fandoms in existence, so the loss doesn’t sting as much as it could’ve.

Well, hopefully this helped you to at least somewhat understand where Zutara shippers are coming from, if you’re interested in some additional reading, I highly recommend @theadamantdaughter and @araeph‘s Zutara (and AtLA in general) meta, as well as my Avatar meta tag, or feel free to hmu, though as you can see, it may take me a while to answer.

#zutara #zuko #katara #avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #m avatars #m asks #m metas #eyebulb