#& i think the reason for that is. if not even something as inconsequential and silly as a fun little pirate romcom is allowed to exist

[bookshelfdreams]

ofmd wasn't "profitable" enough but I didn't even get the feeling hbo wanted to make money off of it. They didn't promote it when s1 dropped, and the promo for s2 was erratic at best. They don't sell merch. Or physical copies. There's no bts documentaries other than what actors (shoutout to Samba ilu) make themselves in their spare time.

It took more than a full year for me to be able to watch s1 legally! I still can't access s2 legally anywhere! It's not that ofmd is unprofitable, it's that hbo refuses to profit off of it, because - well, because profiting off of it would mean investing work and money into it.

And like. Of course, when you compare it to the juggernauts hbo holds rights to, like GoT, ofmd is small fishes. But.

How on earth do these clowns think cult classics happen?

A Game of Thrones was first published in 1996 and didn't make it on the NYT beststeller list until 2011. The first edition of the first Harry Potter book was 500 pieces. And yeah, TV shows are different, but if you look at today's media landscape, would things like Star Trek, or Buffy, or Doctor Who stand the slightest chance? These things take time, is my point. A piece of media doesn't become a massively profitable, beloved classic over night. It takes time and effort to build that kind of franchise.

And the thing is! Nobody who makes these decisions even likes stories. I'm convinced that whoever is in charge at hbo, at amazon prime, even at disney, thinks storytelling is dumb and for idiots. They think it's enough to just slap the name of something people love on whatever garbage they spit out, for it to be profitable. They think it's the brand that sells: Look this has "Lord of the Rings" on it! Look, this one has "Game of Thrones", you like Game of Thrones don't you? Watch my show, boy.

But this isn't how this works. It's not the name that sells (unless, I suppose, you're the MCU, and even there one gets the impression the trick is finally stopping to work), especially not when the product is bad. People aren't idiots.

But it's not about making something good. It's not about making a meaningful piece of art, or telling an engaging story. ofmd served its purpose; it drew in all the subscribers it ever would, so there's no point in letting it go on. Even in the s2 that we did get, this is evident: the penny pinching is palpable, it's clear that the studio didn't want to spend any more money than absolutely necessary on it, and then cut the budget by 40%.

It's not about art. It never has been.

And it's not even about profit, because to be profitable eventually, stories have to be allowed to thrive first. You tell a good story first, and success happens later, often much, much later.

And ofmd was incredibly, astonishingly successful. It was the most in-demand series for weeks after the s1 finale. But even that wasn't enough, it's never enough, ofmd could have made record-setting profits and it still would have been cancelled, because -

Well, I don't know. Because we live in a bad time for art. Because Orwell was right, and stories have become commodities, like shoelaces. Because. Well. It's not about telling a story, is it?

What's the point of a story? What's the point of making something for the joy of making it? What's the point of a piece of art, existing, if it cannot be transferred into numbers for the stockholders?

idk how to end this. I hope David Jenkins finishes the story he wanted to tell, even if just for himself. I hope, against all odds, that weird, fun, heartfelt, beautiful little stories like ofmd continue to happen.

But goddammit.

#i knew this would happen but im still devastated #& i think the reason for that is. if not even something as inconsequential and silly as a fun little pirate romcom is allowed to exist #fuck #anyway ik its not that important but sometimes one just has to rant #our flag means death #thoughts

[hom3landr]

Morning Musings

Enjoy my five am ramblings because I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. No plot, just tooth rotting fluff.

It’s one of those perfect mornings, where your nose is just a little bit chilly in the early air but the rest of your body is bathed in the cozy heat of a shared bed. It’s still dark outside but if you look close you can see a faint orange hue on the horizon, about to overtake the city in a wave. There are no press conferences or contractual appearances today so you indulge in the sweet lazy satisfaction that comes from knowing you can easily slip back into slumber for as long as you wish. You’ve always been that combination of early waker but late riser. You’ve never been able to sleep in but you don’t mind because it means you have ample time to observe him.

He barely needs to sleep at all with all the V that runs through his veins. You didn’t even know he could sleep during the first year of your dalliance. Neither of you have yet acknowledged that whatever this is has long evolved past the fuck buddies arrangement you made ages ago. It was only after you found him catnapping on the couch one day after a particularly rough interview that you realized there was a difference between needing to sleep and needing to sleep. So you began coaxing into bed with you, not for sex, but to encourage him to rest and allow himself that comfort. Once he began to let his guard down, you discovered that he can sleep like a rock, all those years of denying himself such a basic need has left him powerless to escape its clutches.

You don’t mind. Especially if it means you get to hear his cute little snores that he doesn’t realize he does. You won’t tell him, he’d only get sour and insistent that he would never. It’s almost like your own little secret. It’s such a inconsequential thing but you feel like it belongs to you and nobody else. No matter what happens, you can keep that tucked away inside you like a candle on a stormy night.

You reach out and gently brush a lock of his hair back into place. He looks so innocent and boyish in sleep. All of the sharp cunning and cruel edges fade away until he appears as harmless as a kitten. It would be hard to recognize him as the indestructible man who always has a tinge of iron in his scent no matter how much he showers. Your fingertips gently brush the gentle skin of his cheek and wonder what could have been if Vought hadn’t dug its talons into him. You doubt he would be as cruel but it amuses you to think he’d keep that sharp wit. Maybe, without intent to maim.

He practically purrs at your touch although he remains deep in slumber. He always seems to know when your hands are on him. You give a light scratch at the closely shorn hair of his undercut, enjoying the way he huffs and snuggles deeper into his pillow. You would keep him like this all the time if you could, and you’re willing to admit that the reasoning is entirely selfish. You chuckle at the thought of you saving the world simply because you know how to cuddle. Surprisingly, the soft noise causes one blue eye to crack open hazily.

The way he looks at you takes your breath away. All of that sly malice and creeping paranoia, all of that decades old pain and fresh indignity, all of Homelander, is gone from his gaze. He has that look of contented shyness that comes from someone enjoying something they aren’t entirely sure they have the right to but that they shamelessly indulge in nonetheless. He looks so young, with all of that baggage briefly stripped away. You wonder again what he could have been if he had been raised properly. You’re especially fond of the image of him as a little league coach, telling a group of downtrodden kids after a loss that they’re heroes for trying. It’s a ridiculous fantasy, but you feel like you’re entitled to a little silliness.

“G’morning” he slurs out, voice still gravelly from sleep. He wraps an arm around your waist to effortlessly tug you against his chest. He buries his face in your hair and inhales, huffing your scent like it’s some kind of drug. It’s always so interesting to see how his senses inform his behavior. He’s incredibly tactile, always wanting to cover you in his scent or drown himself in the sound of your heartbeat. It intimidated you at first, how attuned he was to you. None of your other lovers even noticed if you cut your hair, much less be able to warn you before a migraine hits purely because your scent would reflect the disturbance in your brain chemistry. You worried that such an intimate knowledge of your body would push him away, but he revels in the fact that he knows you better than any human grunt could ever dream of.

It’s easy to lose yourself in these moments and forget the work that goes into this relationship day by day. You are not immune to his petty jabs or his sour temper. He’s never hurt you physically but his ruthless tongue has left you sobbing in the bathroom more times than you can count. He’s testing you, trying to find the breaking point where your love will no longer be enough to withstand him. He’ll never find it but it doesn’t make the battles any less exhausting. It’s why mornings like this are so precious to you. These moments are why you let your heart be bruised over and over.

You love him, probably more than you’ve ever loved anything. You think he knows even if he doesn’t trust in that knowledge.

He shifts, rolling on top of you in one smooth motion. Your legs spread instinctively, expecting him to slip inside for an early morning romp. It tears your heart in two when instead he uses it as a way to snuggle in even closer, to have as much skin to skin contact as possible. You remember when every touch was a calculated effort to get in your pants, because it’s the only way he had ever received reassurance or comfort from touch. You’ve noticed lately that he’s started to enjoy contact for its own sake, not just as a means to an end. You aren’t deluded enough to think you can fix him, or that the love of one person is enough to erase an entire lifetime of emotional neglect. So you don’t try. You simply love him for the sake of it.

It’s for this reason that he allows himself to be vulnerable, even if he doesn’t realize it. There is no agenda. There’s just two people who are no longer alone. Sometimes, that’s enough.

#homelander #homelander x reader #x reader #homelander headcanons #I'm going to meow meow-ify this horrible man #and you can't stop me #but...he's committed atrocities? #I hear you ask #too bad I'm giving him morning snuggles anyways

[naneun-no]

✨New positive self-talk phrase unlocked! ✨

(unrelated to BTS heads up).

I hesitate to even share this 1) because it’s kind of vulnerable and 2) because it’s probably so obvious to so many of you, but I think maybe it could help someone who struggles with a harsh inner critic like I do so here goes. A couple of days ago I started using a new phrase when my inner critic comes out pointing fingers at something I (debatably) didn’t do exactly right, and here’s what it is:

“Ah, I didn’t do it perfectly this time.”

That’s it.

Lemme splain. Like most anxious, highly sensitive people (like many of you probably), I am a perfectionist. Debilitatingly so, sometimes, and it’s really silly, because I KNOW that I cannot achieve perfection. I know it consciously, at least. But subconsciously, the quick as lightning, mean little voice in my head that criticizes me every chance she gets must actually believe it’s possible. And I realized that when I say it out loud it highlights how futile and unrealistic that expectation actually is.

I was walking to my car and noticed that I parked a bit wonky. Not even that bad, I was well within my lines, but it wasn’t perfectly straight like I for some reason expect it should be every time and my little inner critic was like “wow nice parking job dumbass, didn’t your dad teach you to swing wide and cut sharp? What’s wrong with you?” And I just decided to chuckle and say, “ah yeah, I didn’t do it perfectly this time.”

And boom, it was like suddenly the voice in my head was the dumbass, not me. It made the expectation that I could park perfectly every single time sound petty, and very inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, and like something that I could try next time, since I will have countless more opportunities to park my damn car again and it’s literally a nonissue.

Last night I was consolidating expressed breast milk into one bottle, a task I commonly undertake in the dark of the night by light of a kitchen nightlight and while operating on about 2 hours of sleep in the last 24, and I spilled some. It sucked, and breast milk isn’t the easiest for me to come by, and I wanted to actually break down in tears but instead I said, “Ah, I didn’t do it perfectly this time.” And whoosh, what a sense of relief. There’s always next time.

Obviously there are times when that phrase won’t work, when there’s an actual problem and you need to take accountability and figure out how to not do it next time because it causes actual problems, but when it comes to the snarky inner critic?

Make the snarky inner critic look rude, by exposing how unrealistic its expectations really are.

Try it on your inner critic! Or outer critic, next time your mother-in-law or rude family member or friend who’s actually kind of a bully makes a snide little remark about something you didn’t do perfectly. Cause at the end of the day, you did it, and that’s a hell of a lot better than the alternatives.

#inspirational thoughts #inner critic #random thoughts #if you follow me for solely shipping/BTS stuff I’m sorry to randomly wax philosophical #I promise we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled programming once I get some sleep

[agoldengalaxy]

Bluejay at Sunset

read on Ao3

words: 1631

“He was always…” John sighed. “He was always lookin’ out for me when I first joined the gang. Back then I was just a kid. Dutch and Hosea showed me the ropes, but Arthur was the one who kept me straight, savin’ me whenever I was in trouble. That night, on the mountain, I felt like I couldn’t return the favor. Seeing him like that, so sick and still being the one to save me, I…” he looked down, feeling his eyes burn. “It don’t feel right. I never got to say goodbye.” While he fought the burning in his eyes, a gentle hand came up to rest on his shoulder.. Charles was soft as ever. “It was his choice, John.” That was what made it hurt more.

--

John pulled on the reins carefully, murmuring a soft word of encouragement to his horse as he approached the ridge. He pat her neck gently, then slowly slid off of the saddle, letting her graze nearby.

His heart was pounding, and he couldn’t quite tell why. It was so small, so inconsequential compared to some of the things he’d done in his life, but this felt like the absolute hardest thing he’d ever have to do. Inhaling shakily, he willed himself to walk forward.

The sun began dipping toward the horizon, bathing the world in golden light. It was almost too bright, but John pushed forward, lifting a hand up to shield his eyes. Finally, he reached the small monument, adorned in flowers that were still blossoming. He wondered if Charles was the one to put them there.

With a long sigh, John knelt down on one knee, reading the name etched into the wood. He could still hear him telling him to ‘be a goddamn man.’ Carefully, he took off his hat, resting it against his chest. “Hey, Arthur.”

A slow breeze blew by, and a small bluejay landed on top of the post, tilting its head at the man. John felt utterly ridiculous, but after all these years, he knew he had to pay his respects, even though he was sure the man in question would be laughing at him now if he could see him.

“Jack’s twelve now. He’s still reading all those silly storybooks, and gettin’ real good at it, too. Abigail keeps asking him to read to her.” He smiled, looking down at the grass. “He remembers more than I give him credit for, I guess. He told me about the time you took him fishin’. He still doesn’t like it, in case you was wondering.”

“And Abigail…well, she and I are getting married in a few days. I mean, for real this time. She thought I was joking, y’know? Guess I can’t blame her. But I’m real happy now. Got a house and a farm. Uncle and Charles have been staying with us for a while. Sadie, too. She’s a bounty hunter now, can you believe it? Well, I’m sure you can. She’s just as fierce and sharp as she was before. She’ll outlive us all. She…she misses you, I think.”

John glanced toward the skyline, the sun still not fully set. The bluejay flapped its wings, but didn’t seem to want to leave. “Hell, I…I miss you, too. I think about you all the time. The entire reason I’m happy, and free, is because of you, Arthur. I’m never gonna repay that.” His voice trembled, and he gripped his hat a little tighter. “I don’t care whether you were good, bad, somethin’ in between. You’ll always be my brother.”

Before he could continue, a twig behind him broke, and he knew it wasn't his horse. His shoulders tensed, his hand drifting toward his belt when a dejected sigh stopped him in his tracks. “Sorry. It’s just me.”

John paused, then glanced over his shoulder. “Charles? What’re you doin’ here? You should be resting.”

Charles glanced down, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but John couldn’t tell if it was because he got caught or something else. “I’m fine. Abigail…wanted me to check on you. Coming here for the first time, she knew it’d be hard. She cares about you, y’know.”

The bluejay atop the wood flapped its wings again. John watched it hop for a moment, his heart twisting with so many different emotions. “That she does.” He inhaled sharply, but let the breath out slowly. “Thanks for appeasin’ her.”

“I only said yes because I wanted to check on you, too.” He hesitated for a moment before walking over, kneeling down beside him. Because it was Charles, John didn't even think about shooing him away. “You know…buryin’ him was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and I’ve buried a lot of folks.”

John eyed him carefully. There were always dark circles under his eyes, and he always looked tired no matter how much sleep he claimed to have gotten. He wondered how many times Charles must’ve visited this site after burying him. He exhaled slowly. “Arthur would be glad to know it was you. He always thought highly of you.” When Charles quickly looked away, John wondered if he’d said something wrong. In any case, he continued. “It’s been years, but I still think he’s gonna show up at the ranch someday, tell me it was all some big joke.”

“I know what you mean.” 

“He was always…” John sighed. “He was always lookin’ out for me when I first joined the gang. Back then I was just a kid. Dutch and Hosea showed me the ropes, but Arthur was the one who kept me straight, savin’ me whenever I was in trouble. That night, on the mountain, I felt like I couldn’t return the favor. Seeing him like that, so sick and still being the one to save me, I…” he looked down, feeling his eyes burn. “It don’t feel right. I never got to say goodbye.”

While he fought the burning in his eyes, a gentle hand came up to rest on his shoulder. “It was his choice, John.”

That was what made it hurt more, he thought. He could still hear it in his mind. “He said it would mean a lot to him. If I made it out alive.”

“He knew his time was up. I guess he wanted his death to mean something. Helping you was the best way he could think of doing it.” Suddenly, his grip on John’s shoulder tightened. John wasn’t sure why until he watched a tear fall from his face to the ground. Stunned, John reached up to touch his own cheek. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried. He was figuring he was more shocked than sad until Charles hesitantly spoke. “Are…you okay?”

The question was a simple one, but it had always been so hard to answer. “Yeah. ‘Course,” he choked, and the floodgates immediately opened.

Suddenly he was twelve years old again. Everyone was big and scary, and he felt so alone. Back then, he had Arthur, begrudgingly sharing his bedroll, offering him a cigarette, telling him jokes. Today, Arthur was six feet below him.

As he tried to force air into his lungs, Charles let go of his arm, and instead scooted closer to place an arm around his shoulders. “It’s okay, John. Let it out. It’s okay.”

John didn’t fight it, squeezing his eyes shut and letting the tears roll. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but when he opened his eyes again, the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, and the sky was a deep blue. Charles had been patient the entire time, sitting there, holding him, probably watching the sunset.

When his tears subsided, he didn’t pull away just yet, and Charles didn’t move either. The latter exhaled shakily after a few minutes of silence. “…I loved him, you know.”

Glancing up, he watched the bluejay upon the wood, surprised he hadn’t scared it off with his crying. For a moment, he felt uncomfortable, even felt like he shouldn’t be this close to him, but he trusted Charles with his life. After everything he did for him, whoever he chose to love shouldn’t matter. “I didn’t know you swung that way, Charles.”

“I didn’t either, ‘till I met that poor bastard.” He sighed softly, carefully letting go of John’s shoulders. “Never got to tell him before…well. It was probably for the best.”

John blew out a breath. He couldn’t have been sure about what Arthur was thinking, but he could guess. “Maybe. No matter how he felt, though, I know he liked you. Probably the most out of any folk.” Charles looked away, a blush rising up to his cheeks, and John smiled slightly, wishing things had been different. He decided not to dwell on it much. “Was it you that’s been leavin’ the flowers, then?”

“Yes. I’m…gonna miss visiting him when I leave for the north.”

“Do you really gotta go?” John asked, feeling a little more like himself now that his eyes weren’t leaking. “I mean, you know you can stay as long as you want.”

Charles smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m grateful for that. Really. But I need to…I have to get out there. I have to move on.” He nodded toward the grave. “Seeing you, and Abigail, and Jack…makes me wonder if I could have a life like that. It just won’t happen here.”

“I understand.” Glancing up, he noticed the sky had become deeper blue, littered with faint stars. The bluejay flapped its wings and took off, soaring toward the mountains. John watched it go. “Well, I don’t have any concerns about you havin’ that kinda life. You’ll find a nice lady - or, uh, feller - and you’ll be happy.”

Charles smiled again, this time a bit more genuine. “How can you be sure?”

“‘Cause you’re the best of all of us. If I can do it, you sure as hell can do it, buddy.” Taking a deep breath, strangely feeling much better, John stood up, offering his hand. “C’mon. I got a bottle of whiskey with our names on it back at the ranch.”

“If Uncle didn’t get to it first.”

“If he did, I’ll kill him.” They began walking, but each paused for a moment to look back at the grave one more time. John placed his hat back on his head. “Goodbye, Arthur.”

Together, they mounted their horses, and rode back home, reminiscing fondly, because Arthur would have preferred it to tears.

#red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #john marston #charles smith #arthur morgan #charthur #im so unwell honestly #fucking cowboys #anyway enjoy #john deserves to cry a little #as a treat #my writing #agoldengalaxy #my post

[insomniac-101]

I have to say, after having gone out of my way to see what the alternative interpretations of the overall plot of the RTD era are on YouTube and reddit, it confuses me how often I see people fall into the trap of thinking that the 10th Doctor is the hero of his story. A mere victim of circumstance that was undeserving of the end he got.

Although we see him do many heroic acts throughout his run, he is not incapable of doing any wrong. And when I say this, I mean way before the time lord victorious arc.

He is not faultless. He is capable of making selfish decisions and calls. At times he makes decisions not because it's what's best for the people around him, although he tries to convince himself otherwise, but because it makes him feel better knowing that it is no longer his responsibility to deal with. That it is more comfortable to ignore the problems around him, then confront them because that would mean acknowledging it's existence.

Hell one of the biggest examples of this is the tension filled interaction Rose and Sarah Jane had upon first meeting. That in turn, arose because the two women unintentionally took out the frustration they had towards him, on one another.

The doctor should have told Rose that she was not his first companion.

The fact that Sarah Jane had to find out through Rose, that he had not mentioned her, in spite of the deep friendship they once shared, is heartbreaking and rightfully a reason why she was so frustrated upon finding out. Here you have, the most wonderful man who so suddenly disappeared from her life, come back by chance and she's so excited! Elated to see an old friend who she feared had suffered something terrible given he never visited, only to be confronted by the reality that he indeed moved on. In her place, a young woman who is both pretty and brave who up until now was unaware she wasn't the only one.

And Rose, finding out that he had a history of leaving behind his companions without even the bare minimum: a proper goodbye, felt uncomfortable at the revelation. Because again, the uncertainty of the nature of her relationship with the doctor is likely a touchy subject, given that he has a habit of withholding his feelings. So here she is confronted by someone who personifies that very possibility. Someone who appears to have been close to him at one point, but yet he so callously left behind and never mentioned. She is left to face this fact with no warning, no reassurance, and no real reason to believe that she is the exception. All while Mickey, taunts her about it.

So can someone explain to me why people boil down this very nuanced interaction into a cat fight between two jealous woman who were in love with him? When in reality:

1) Sarah Jane never indicated that she cared for him in that way. Her jealousy does not stem from romantic interest, but from the hurt she feels at having been thrown out and replaced by a person she considered a beloved friend (in her perspective, because again the Doctor has yet to give a valid explanation)

2) Both were justified in feeling wronged, and from how easily the two make up, it is quite obvious that the interaction was not that deep. Both were mature enough to realize that the problem was in fact, him, and even bonded over it lol (talk about girl power)

Because again, the narrative demonstrates the perspective of the three involved but subtly separates the time lord's perspective from that of the humans. After all, this is the episode where the inevitable truth that one day Rose will die is confronted, and so it's not far fetched to think that this was indeed the intention.

We humans don't have long to live. We're aware of that fact. And so, we derive value from such inconsequential formalities such as goodbyes because we reason that it's best to anticipate never having another chance to say it. To a time lord, this is silly given how long they live. They are guaranteed a regeneration in the case they die, and given how very little time they spend with him on average (not lasting more than a few years, or until they die) he doesn't see it as wrong to leave without saying anything, because they can move on. Live a normal life, have a family, and have security.

His life is not one that grants him that privilege of hanging on. He knows what happens when humans die, they cease to exist and out of the duty of preserving his own sanity, he leaves them long before it ever reaches that point.

So with that in mind, the episode makes both sides confront these two drastically different perspectives. If it had been merely a romantic tiff between the parties involved, then the first question Rose would have asked is what are we? But no, what truly bothers her is how easily he can simply forget the people he claims to treasure.

"how many of us have been traveling with you?"

"does it matter?"

"it does if I'm just the latest in a long line"

The doctor makes them feel special. Valuable. Irreplaceable. She assumed that what they had was special, but upon seeing what happened to Sarah Jane she begins to reconsider. Viewing herself as a mere assistant or friend, rather than something more.

"I've been to the year 5 billion, right, but this... Now this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind."

She doesn't assume she is above Sarah Jane, or that she is more important. If her hurt had been out of mere romantic interest, she would have asserted herself as his partner. Someone that is owed an explanation because they chose to take part in a relationship. But no, she advocates for herself and Sarah jane.

Mentioning how he never mentions her in spite of having been so close to her once. To her assumption, perhaps on the same level.

When she asks if he will do the same to her, he tells her that no she's the exception but that is not enough of an answer. She wants to know why she was never mentioned because it's important to them, to know their place in his life. She never threatens to leave, but the least she deserves is an explanation so that her heart doesn't suffer the backlash. They give him the time and patience to be honest about his intentions, not out of the threat of leaving but out of sheer decency.

But one of his main flaws is that he has this knack of withholding feelings, because he fears the repercussions that may come from giving in to said endearments. He's emotional and incapable of repressing said feelings, the complete opposite of what is expected of a time lord. He should be above this, according to his people. And yet with a body born out of the love he holds for humanity, can one really blame him for the internal battle he is experiencing?

Well we can confidently say that the episode ends with the conclusion being he can suck it up lmao.

Because when presented with the chance at achieving godhood, he almost caves. Not because of the power that it grants him, but because the thought of no longer experiencing loss is something he craves given how traumatized he is by it. This is what separated him from other time lords, thus showing that he is indeed capable of growing and maturing. But ultimately it's not him who makes the call. He has to be reminded by Sarah Jane, someone he hurt deeply by his inconsiderate actions, that the pain and loss matters. That it defines us just as much as happiness and love but that eventually everything ends, but that in itself is not enough of a reason to avoid it.

Because it's that pain of having left her behind that allowed him to find other great people and change lives. And in return, it's that pain that also allowed her to pursue a life that is just as great. Granting her a son of her own and the opportunity to help out in a manner fitting of her.

Had the episode been advocating for his perspective, he would have been validated in his assertion that he should avoid pain at all costs. But no, the episode ends with Sarah Jane finally getting the farewell she wanted. No longer allowing him to run from the issue, but instead, confront it.

Not to mention, it can also be asserted that he took this lesson to heart given that later on he even burns a sun in an attempt to grant Rose that final goodbye. And he makes it clear to the companions after her, that there had indeed been companions prior to their time on the TARDIS. A brilliant young woman by the name of Rose Tyler that inspires him to keep going, being one of the many.

His treatment of his companions is something that the narrative often criticizes throughout the RTD era. Ranging from the manner in which he unintentionally takes them for granted, explored heavily throughout Martha's time on the TARDIS and how he often decides what is best for them without asking. Time and time again we are shown that the doctor is flawed. That he makes mistakes and is capable of falling into the same problems humans do.

By him insisting to impose his views of situations in the manner a time lord would, he dismisses the importance of human customs which in turn, heavily affects the outcomes of his relationships. This is why the lives of the people he holds close often improve after they leave. Because while they embrace the change of perspective they have while exploring the universe, he stubbornly refuses to do so. Instead feeling comfortable in the self pity and misery he imposes on himself and unintentionally pushing away the people who love him. It is no coincidence that he falls into the same bad habits of self hatred his ninth self was privy to after Rose is taken from, because with the reason of his initial change being gone, he is left to heal on his own from scratch.

All this to say that the story the RTD era is not one that is always explicit. It's relationships are often filled with many subtle details that allow for numerous interpretations. However by not acknowledging the faults and shortcomings of all the characters alongside the good, you risk taking away the nuance that makes the story so special.

#tenrose #ninth doctor #10th doctor #doctor x rose #sarah jane smith #tenth doctor #doctor who #introspective #scene analysis #character analysis #rtd era #rambles #school reunion #dr. who

[emeraldspiral]

Top 10 Invader Zim Characters Besides Tak, Skoodge, and Zib Who Should've Made a Comeback in No Particular Order:

#1 Ultra Peepi

There's like a million Godzilla movies + giant robot anime to draw inspiration from for a sequel. We saw at the end of Hamstergeddon that Peepi crash landed back on earth somewhere. So he could be in hiding, burrowed underground, or he could've mutated further and grown gills to hide deep in the ocean. Just invent another monster so there's an excuse to go and awaken Peepi to fight it and make the concept as stupid as you want. The show even already established that a giant Santa monster revisits the planet annually, so the return of Ultra Peepi could double as a sequel to the Most Horrible Xmas Ever. Give me Ultra Peepi King of the Monsters.

#2 Iggins

A big issue with Gaz is that being apathetic and wanting nothing to do with Zim or the paranormal as core facets of her character makes it difficult to create interesting storylines for her. So she mostly ends up just existing to be someone Dib delivers exposition to and to make snide remarks at his expense. GameSlave 2 worked really well for her because there was actually something for her to care about and you got to see how Not So Above It All she is compared to Zim and Dib when it comes to the few things she's passionate about. So it seems like if you want to do more episodes centered around Gaz it'd be a good idea to bring Iggins back as a recurring thorn in her side. Maybe it starts off with her not taking him seriously and beating him without much effort, so she can still see herself as not being like her brother. But then Iggins starts to really get under her skin and she feels like she has to teach him a lesson, but he just never learns. Like Zim, Iggins is too egotistical and overconfident to admit defeat, and it starts to drive Gaz crazy after awhile and eventually she becomes just as obsessed as her brother with trying to beat him and prove once and for all that he sucks.

#3 Service Drone Bob

I would love an episode about him fleeing the empire after they attempted to kill him and joining the Resisty. Actually, what would really be funny is if they did the concept I came up with where they do a Resisty story, but troll the audience by only showing them little slivers of what sounds like a really exciting story as cutaways from a silly, inconsequential no-stakes story completely disconnected from it. But like, in those brief glimpses, you'd get just enough references to what's happened off-screen to form an impression of this whole Zuko-esque character arc that Bob's been through of having his eyes opened and unlearning Irken propaganda and being at war with himself before finally deciding to join the Resisty and then having to win their trust and establishing deep bonds with the rest of the group. And then it all ends with one cutaway indicating that they're about to go into the final all-or-nothing battle and then the last cutaway reveals that everyone died and their actions made no impact on the status quo and will never connect back to Zim in any way.

#4 Chammy Wamboo

I think there was a lot of missed potential with Chammy's first appearance. It's hinted that she has actual supernatural abilities, which makes her vaguely unsettling, but the story didn't really go anywhere with it. I think a good way to bring her back would be if she just appeared with no explanation and started harassing Zim and Dib again but this time it seems like it's actually working and it's freaking them out. Eventually, they figure out that Chammy got back to earth by using her powers to brainwash everyone in her path into being her friends and cooperating to help her get home. Now that she's back she's not going to try to reason with Zim and Dib anymore, she's going to make them be friends whether they like it or not. So it's no longer even a question of whether Chammy's just wrong about their relationship or if Zim and Dib are just being stupid, stubborn idiots who can't see that their lives actually would be better if they became friends. The issue now is that their free will is being violated and she's treating real people like dolls she can mash together and make kissy-noises with.

#5 Invader Tenn

I think a lot of Tenn's popularity is owed to her being one of very few female Irken characters and one whose brief appearance in Megadoomer gave rise to a lot of speculation about what might've happened to her next. The earliest versions of the fake fanon Invader Dib storyline involved an attempt to rescue Tenn from the Meekrob, but I kinda like the idea of her ending up in Moo-Ping 10 and teaming up with Tak to escape. Really though, there's an infinite number of possibilities for whatever happened to Tenn after Megadoomer. Was she left for dead? Did the Tallest blame her for failing her mission even though it wasn't her fault and banish her to a place like Dirt or Foodcourtia as punishment? Did she ever find out Zim blew up her Megadoomer?

#6 Zorphic aka "Madness"

The dog that terrifies Zim turning out to be an alien was such a good twist and I wish we could've seen him make good on his promise to get revenge on Zim for his betrayal. I think he has an interesting personality that sets him apart from a lot of the Zim cast but we never got to see what he's like in retribution mode.

#7 Bill

Outside of Career Day I think we only see Bill once more briefly in Chickenfoot and then again in the Lil Meat Man story, where I don't remember him really doing any of his usual schtick of wasting Dib's time and making his field of expertise look bad, they just kinda drive around together trying to catch Zim but always getting to where he's been after he's already left. I think there could've been some more funny episodes with Bill stepping on Dib's toes. Like Dib needs to follow Zim into a location but Bill is blocking him because he thinks there's a real monster in there and Dib's trying to convince him that it's just a cereal mascot and the real threat is Zim. Or Dib and Bill are investigating the same phenomenon but they disagree about what's causing it. What it actually is is plainly obvious to Dib, but people either believe Bill instead because some poorly timed coincidences make Bill's theory look right, or they just buy into his absurd leaps of logic because they think the complexity of the theory makes it more well thought-out than Dib's simpler, more straightforward explanation. Basically Bill is like a YouTube pop culture theorist making garbage arguments and Dib is the person making debunking videos that unpack all the logical fallacies, glaring omissions, and outright lies used to support his flimsy thesis that ignores what's overtly communicated by the text.

#8 Dwicky

I feel like there's a bit more mileage that could've been gotten out of getting Dib's hopes up and teaching him a harsh lesson by having Dwicky repeatedly promise to help him, only to flake out, until Dib finally realizes that just because he's an adult and he believes him doesn't make him reliable or a worthwhile ally.

#9 Membrane's parents

We only see them briefly in the comics but I really want to know more about Dib and Gaz's grandparents and what relationship they have with them. Are they even still alive? Do they visit ever? Membrane apparently chooses to believe in Santa because he can't bear to think his parents would give him socks for Xmas, so he must otherwise have positive feelings toward them which makes the disappointment of getting socks feel too contradictory to his perception of them to reconcile with. But then again, Dib and Gaz seem to be pretty fond of Membrane, but as outsiders the audience can see that he's a terrible parent and hope that when they get to be teenagers they'll start to realize it. I just feel like if we got to know more about their grandparents we could understand better why Membrane is such a bad father. And who doesn't love a good story about unpacking generational trauma?

#10 Snarl Beast

It's a fucking crime this space cat didn't become a regular cast member. Like I've said before, Snarl could've been like Dib's GIR. An adorable-on-the-outside-but-actually-horrifying little creature who fucks things up for Dib more than he helps, but Dib would never dream of parting with it, and Hot Topic could print money off of it.

#invader zim #snarl beast #chammy wamboo #bill the paranormal investigator #dwicky #zorphic #madness dog #madness chihuahua #invader tenn #service drone bob #iggins #ultra peepi #tenn

[izvmimi]

Matchlit - Chapter 5

cw: alcohol mention.

Masterlist

“Have you been able to reach June at all?” You ask, eyes fixed to the television screen as you try desperately to come up with a movie to watch that the three of you can actually agree upon. Lili is in the kitchen of your apartment and says something slightly unintelligible over the crackling of homemade popcorn and you shake your head.

“Never mind,” you whisper under your breath. Your stomach growls; you check the estimated time of arrival of your pizzas, and let out a frustrated sigh. Then, just as quickly, you chastise yourself, feeling shame at the irritability you’ve suddenly been letting set into your bones these past few days. You know all of it is for one silly reason, and you are deeply embarrassed that like a schoolgirl, you are stuck on one thing, a boy.

Lili arrives with three large bowls of popcorn balanced in her arms and sets them down on the coffee table, bending down to pick up the few stray kernels that roll off the mounds. You reach for a handful out of any one of the three, knowing that you’ll all end up serving yourselves from each other anyway. 

“Yeah, I don’t know why June isn’t responding but I’m going to assume she’s fine. It’s not like she’s been on patrol recently.”

“Yeah.”

Lili plops down on the seat next to you, folding her legs into a cross-legged position.

“Honestly, she’s probably asleep and forgot we were meeting this Friday.”

“I guess,” you sing, adjusting yourself a bit. You lean back into the sofa as well, and Lili tosses you the other end of the throw blanket. Like this you feel like you’re in high school again, even though you’re grown adults, having a sleepover while your heart secretly pines for the same boy since your days at UA. Perhaps you should say something to Lili, you think, but you can’t tell if she’ll admonish you or be just a little too supportive, especially given that you’re being actively avoided.

Don’t kiss and tell is the old adage anyway. At least not when everything is up in the air. 

Pizza arrives and between warm slices, you end up talking over the movie. Lili tells you about the patients she’s seen this week, including a little boy with a terrifying Quirk who was absolutely adorable once just a teensy bit sedated, and you tell her about your growing portfolio.

“Have you considered actually setting up an exhibition for once? Your stuff is too pretty not to share,” Lili encourages and again you come up with one or two reasons why it’s too much work, but part of you considers that it’s a welcome distraction from silly, inconsequential things like kissing and unrequited love.

“Maybe this time.”

Lili fake rolls her eyes but doesn’t press upon it. Soon another message pops up from June that shows the outside of a restaurant, and as both of you squint over the magnified photo on Lili’s phone, it’s clear that it’s one of the most expensive places in town.

“Todoroki,” the two of you say to each other in unison. 

Bring me a doggie bag, you type back to her. 

She sends a cheeky emoji and you shake your head. Lili sets down her third slice of pizza and sighs.

“Man, I feel so poor all of a sudden,” she says, forlornly. You laugh, and she laughs too, and it keeps the feeling that one of your longest, most confusing friendships might have finally come to a murky, nondescript end at bay. 

---

Katsuki hates being late, much more so when he knows his tardiness can be held against him, but Kasumi is poised and unaffected when he finally arrives and pulls out a gilded, high-backed chair, to sit across from her. She barely looks up at first, still looking at the waiter who is pouring out her favorite red wine, then acknowledges him politely with a glance through long, dark lashes. 

“Thank you for making it on such short notice,” she says evenly. Katsuki realizes he hates her voice, even though many would call her soft manner of speech elegant.

He doesn’t respond, instead pouring himself a glass of sparkling water from the bottle placed in the center of the table and throwing it back. She watches him as he swallows so intently, he wonders if she’s intrigued by the way his Adam’s apple bobs. 

“What did you call me here for?” he asks, now uncomfortable. This particular dining establishment is new to him and even the part of town is, and some of the table settings are overly elaborate to the point of being tacky.

In his humble opinion, at least.

Kasumi snorts in response to his gruff remark but somehow even that seems well-mannered. “To continue our conversation from last week.”

Katsuki glances at the menu, stomach growling, then looks back at her. 

“I’m not ready to announce our engagement.”

“Would you rather it be to your PR team before your friends?” Kasumi asks, before taking a sip of her wine. He feels a rock forming at the pit of his stomach as he thinks of how you’d feel hearing about his engagement on television before he got the chance to speak to you about it… or even face you again.

The waiter now addresses him and he’s thankful for the interruption, ordering the first entree that catches his interest. He responds with something in French which also manages to irritate Katsuki although he holds it in. His bad mood has nothing to do with the clientele.

“Give me until next week.”

Kasumi laughs, a musical sound that rivals the live violinist’s piece. Katsuki feels a headache coming on. 

“Why are you acting like this is a death sentence?” she says, leaning in.

Because it might as well be, he thinks, but doesn’t say. He’d rather die than tell you this news to your sweet, unsuspecting face.

“How close are all of you in the hero field?” Kasumi asks, only partially changing the subject as she reaches with finely manicured nails into the bowl of bread. Buttering a piece with a knife, painting it really, she again looks up at him waiting for his response and he can feel his neck turning warm. He wonders if that’s how she flirts, looking through those extra-dark lashes, keeping her voice soft, the movements of her graceful wrists appearing idle, but he is sure that she doesn’t like him, not one bit. She resembles a snake in the way she narrows her eyes at times, venomous in comparison to your earnest, honest nature.

“Turns out when you nearly get killed with all your classmates regularly you get pretty close,” Katsuki answers, matter-of-factly. He doesn’t reach for the bread basket, anticipating she’d try to ‘accidentally’ brush her soft hands against his.

“Who is your closest friend?” she asks.

“What’s with the direct questions?” Katsuki replies, immediately defensive. “We just met.”

Kasumi sighs.

“Is civil conversation so hard for you?”

Katsuki grumbles.The truth is he doesn’t have a good answer to that question. Kirishima probably, but also he acknowledges a strange bond with Izuku despite the fact that he annoys him, and then there’s you…

“Sir, your coq au vin?” your always just-in-time waiter responds. Bakugou’s ears redden as he hears the correct pronunciation. Turns out Cock-Oh-Vine is not exactly accurate, but if the waiter is making fun of him, Katsuki would not know from his professional, appropriately neutral expression. Kasumi on the other hand seems to read the sheepish look on Katsuki’s face, and it’s the first time he hears her real, genuine laugh.

---

By the time Kasumi makes it back to her penthouse hotel after her awkward, yet not catastrophic meeting with her husband-to-be, Hiriko is already sitting in her living room, in a bathrobe and Kasumi’s very own slippers, her eyes glued to a soap opera played at a volume louder than is acceptable for normal human ears. Kasumi can feel her blood pressure rise, but she holds a breath in, and greets her mother politely. 

Hiriko does not look up, unable to hear her daughter whose temporary home she’s invading, over the noise. Kasumi moves closer then taps Hiriko on the shoulder who jumps up nearly ten feet in the air before clutching her pearl necklace and calming herself down.

“Ah, it’s just you, darling!”

Kasumi considers reminding her that she lives there, not the other way around, but instead takes a seat next to her. 

“How was the dinner? I understand that he’s a tough nut to crack, however-”

“It was alright.”

Hiriko frowns, expecting more detail.

“That’s it?”

Kasumi cracks a half-smile. “Did you expect me to fall in love instantly, mother?” 

Hiriko scoffs. “At least try to love your husband.” Kasumi’s chest hurts at the very thought, but smiles sweetly. Hiriko takes a sip of now-cooled tea set on the glass table before her, then turns to her daughter again.

“Any useful information at least, then?” Hiriko asks.

“Yes,” Kasumi offers. She pulls her hair to the side and starts to braid the long tresses for sleep. “I think he’s in love with someone.”

Hiriko nearly spits down her drink.

“Ridiculous.”

Kasumi finishes the end of her braid before continuing while Hiriko waits for her patiently to keep speaking. Kasumi secretly loves when she’s quiet, holding her silence for just a few moments longer but then finally shares her observations.

“He has to be. I can tell.” 

Hiriko scoffs.

“Ridiculous. Mitsuki told me he had zero prospects.”

Kasumi rolls her eyes. “It seemed like Mitsuki would tell you anything you wanted to hear.”

Hiriko seems pleased by this statement although Kasumi does not mean it as praise. “That is true,” she replies haughtily. “However, you don’t have any proof.”

“The proof is the conversation I had with him. Why else would he be wanting to buy time?” If there is anything Kasumi has grown up knowing, it is that she is prime marriage material, even from a young age, whether she wanted this to be true or not. Money, brilliance, beauty so undeniable it could be a Quirk, you name it. She wouldn’t want to be so gauche as to call her station in life a curse, it had its advantages. Sometimes.

“Because men don’t like to be married,” Hiriko answers as if it is the wisest thing ever said. Kasumi says nothing but rises to her feet.

“Either way, it’s something to consider.”

Hiriko sets down her teacup just a touch too loudly and Kasumi winces.

“No, it truly isn’t. Whether he’s interested in someone or not, this arrangement has already been made.”

Kasumi can feel her pulse quicken again but she breathes in and breathes out and she’s normal again. Perfect.

“Sure. Anything you say, mother.”

---

With the three Heroes settled back into their normal routines in Tokyo, it turns out that not only is Katsuki tossing and turning in his sleep trying to figure out his life’s predicament, Izuku is too, overburdened by too much information and too many lines connected. Unfortunately for him, Lili can catch this immediately and sighs as she turns in bed, then looks directly at him.

“Tell me.”

If Izuku could freeze any more still, he’d turn into a block of ice.

“W-What do you mean?”

Lili tilts her head as though the question itself is somewhat silly, then moves closer to him, pressing her hand on his chest.. “What’s on your mind?”

Izuku shakes his head. “Nothing.”

“You’ve been sighing loudly since you came home, and you keep hitting me with the “oh, it’s nothing” and it’s been days .”

Izuku pauses, then smiles, gaze shifting to teasing. “I’m surprised you could notice anything else after how good I just-”

Lili narrows her eyes, and his smile fades. He twists his mouth to the side then looks to the wall. 

“I overheard something.” He finally admits. Lili shifts again, bending somewhat shaky knees to move closer to him and leans in as though he is about to whisper in her ear. And he does, even though no one else could possibly be in their bedroom.

Lili’s eyes grow wide as Izuku shares his information.

“No way,” she starts first, shaking her head. “There is no way that guy is hiding someone after all this time… first of all, who would even…” her voice trails off, and she deviates. “___ is gonna be crushed.”

Izuku’s eyebrows furrow. “Obviously, don’t tell her!”

Lili frowns, and opens her mouth to protest, but realizes she has very little information to go on. Instead she takes to biting her thumbnail, and Izuku mirrors her as though it isn’t a habit she picked up from him, and the two of them lay together in silence.

“Fine. I’ll keep it a secret.”

It doesn’t mean she won’t go on an investigation of her own.

#bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader imagine #thoughts: bakugou #mimi's notes #daydreams: bnha #mimi writes: matchlit

[maurice-memes]

hi. im back witih another ask (sunglasses emoji) why do you like maurice so much? (+ i rlly like ur design for him hes silly)

Thanks for asking about Maurice!! I do love him so much, even enough to make a blog based around him lol

It actually took me a little bit to get to this, and I fully intend to answer your ask about Piggy as well eventually!

I don’t really know how to introduce this topic, so I won’t, I’ll just say that I liked him mostly because he’s seen as the jokester of the boys. Because of the way people saw him was the “memer” because he made those kids laugh in that one scene. I thought he was funny! One of my favorite lines in the book is so simple and so silly, and it was the one about Maurice having both his legs in one side of his shorts (I actually drew this a couple years ago and never posted).

Initially, I just wanted to make a meme page, and Maurice fit the bill for a suitable mascot for the blog, but having him as the face of my blog made me a lot more conscious of him, and he became my favorite over time.

What I’ve come to realize is that I tend to like more pure-hearted characters, which is also the reason I tend to like children’s media. Because the protagonists are all pure of heart and not as cynical as characters from more mature media. I think I had a positive first impression of Maurice when he was introduced in the book as “grinning all the time.” He’s happy and simply being what he is, just a kid.

I realize that Maurice is eventually lost to savagery like most everyone else in the book, but his appearances in the first fraction of the book depict him as being carefree, and at times, more conscious of others than the other kids and even himself later on. Given, this is only because society had imprinted on him so heavily.

In this scene depicted below, Roger and Maurice walk toward the beach from the woods, and they both kick down sandcastles on their way. But as soon as Percival begins to cry, Maurice stops because someone at home had raised a hand to him for hurting a child sometime before his arrival on the island. It might just be how heavily society influenced him, but it shows that he was raised well and that he was disciplined and conscious enough of others’ feelings the least amount to refrain from making Percival cry more despite there being no one to punish him anymore, unlike Roger. It says something about his personal character, even if it’s not very strong (since he gave in later). I honestly doubt that Roger had zero discipline in his life, so that was an act of him disregarding the respect for others he should have been taught at a minimal level (hence why he isn’t my favorite character, though I still love him).

As for design, even if you didn’t ask about it, the reason I gave him a middle part is simply because everyone else seemed to be doing it at the time too. And the reason I gave him a big purple bow has nothing to do with canon at all. I just wanted a way to set my Maurice aside from everyone else’s. I had just watched Beauty and the Beast’s live action, and Belle’s father, Maurice, had a tiny little bow to tie up his hair, and I happened to incorporate it into Maurice’s design. Actually, his bow was small and off to the side the first time I drew him, but it got bigger over time, until it framed his entire lower half of his head. My association of Maurice and purple was also completely random. Purple was just the first color I saw when I was coloring his bow that first time. I really like seeing people associate purple with Maurice! It makes me happy, even if it is by pure coincidence!

TLDR: I just think he’s sweet and silly! He’s the more lighthearted, inconsequential character in the book, and I like that!

Thanks again for asking about my favorite boy!

#lotf #lord of the flies #lotf fanart #lotf headcanons #lotf roger #lotf maurice #lotf percival #percival wemys madison

[3point14a]

OK SO SOME PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN OUR PUPPET AND ILL TRY TO EXPLAIN MYSELF OVER HERE because 1) I dont think it's a good explanation really :,3 (still working on it) and 2) since we are still working on it (magic system killing us) I don't think i should put it on my art blog or whatever given it may change ToT not how they (the twins) are per se but the explanation of why the hell they r even like that

so yeah! a lot of text under the cut! i don't guarantee any of it makes sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok so first of all: Choco you were so right about most of those guesses you did holy shit.

It's both. Pup is trans and identical to Mai and they r both afab, demi-boy he/they, Mai is demigirl she/they, silly as hell. And for the horrible part?? Uh buckle in because this is a lot of us just trying to make ourselves understandable at all

Ok so. Ok so. What the hell are shadows. 

Fhs (Mainly Zero) tells us that shadows are a manifestation of people's negative emotions, the worst sides of them. We really really don't like this, shadows being "things a person is suppressing" 1) because we just don't really like it as a trope?? Like, the demons will get you in the normal people way, you will explode in the normal people way, we don't need magic to make you explain what's wrong with you it will show eventually. (we also think  it takes away some responsibility to the characters, if they act out, bc of their shadow instead of that just being a human quality.) 

And 2)  because Fred being grouped in there just feels bad, we know he's the "exception" and that's why he's special but we don't like it irregardless, it takes away from his personhood to be in that shadow category if theyre going to overall be categorized as smth that “is” someone else's, and therefore we just have to come up with a new magic system!!! easy peasy right?!?!?! (no)

In canon, we really just do not know what's up with mai and pup (puppet) (pup is shorter and they match with 3 letters lmao). Like, Pup just gets into the shadow world??? for no reason??? And they don't even look like a shadow at all? Why is bro still the same, what were they doing there, how did he get there? are they a shadow or not or a secret third thing?? what is going on, someone help. We also thought it'd be fun to make them opposites to fred and freddy. So if those guys are 2 people in 1 body, then Mai and pup are 1 person in 2 bodies (not really) ((kinda?))

Like,,,,what in the world is up with jitter doll?? if you read the lyrics none of it really? makes any sense? it has a bunch of machine imagery and language that doesn't really serve any purpose? Lyrics go on and on about the singer (pup) being sort of a machine, cables and malfunctions and unable to love, and he's also weirdly chill about it ??? Like hes over there saying "I feel like I'm going to blow up and they'll get rid of my body. They'll kill my foul heart" and smiling??? Like incredibly chill about it?? So we smashed our heads trying to give the twins something cool and also make ANY HEADS OR TAILS out of jitter doll.

So.  Machine stuff. Shadows. Something something. Here's what we have right now and what will maybe probably change: Shadows are sort of souls leftovers.

Souls (for now) Have limits? They hold feelings and thoughts and stuff, but when something is too much to handle or when you forget something inconsequential or when you cry or laugh or yell and get rid of excess emotion, that doesn't just disappear. It kinda groups together and becomes a weird invisible thing laying motionless in a corner.

"How do you end up with a shadow?" You are,,,, fundamentally empty. The shadows just by innersia look for some sort of host or vessel or whatever. If your soul has enough space (you don't really feel much or do much or whatever, fundamentally empty) Then they get in there, which doesn't really happen often?? Because most people aren't just empty lmao, sorry Freddy.

Once there the body does some fuckery unconsciously and realizes there are 2 people in here and separates both souls and whatever, like i said, work in progress magic systems are hard and they are killing us. But yeah it doesn't happen often,,, but there is another way shadows start existing,,,,,,,,,,,, and it's by the love put into a craft.

So when you do art, you put "your soul into it" right? Well, when you put passion into a project and pour your everything into it, and when that thing is still somewhat broken, they can take over it! So let's say, haunted painting? Yeah that's a shadow, that painting was made with love and care and yet it remained unfinished because the painter died. But here is where our entire thing will get weirder to explain: Video Games.

Passion project video games, and that good old trope of "The game becomes self aware" but forrealsies. Sometimes you take your silly game with you and it gets possesed?? It's somewhat normal in their society by now. Not fully normal? Like, they still get treated weirdly because "why is that video game character alive" or questioning if they are even alive, dehumanizing stuff and somewhat feared! The inherent human terror of "the creation betraying it's creator" and the "machine uprising" that already gets said in our world, is a lot worse when the machine ACTUALLY becomes sentient. But it tends to follow a certain pattern.

For no rhyme or reason, SOME copies of some games have characters gain conscience, the government in fear of the aforementioned "machine uprising" makes them a body that's as human as possible to keep them from lashing out (whatever that means), they pass off as humans. There are 2 exceptions to this, Pup (the one you care about) and Red (oc)((who invited her))

This isn’t about Red so I’ll refrain from explaining them beyond “didn’t take over a character but over a bunch of glitches”. Pup Didn't take over a game at all! 

Mai and pup are based on the puppet from fnaf right? There's another puppet in fnaf called "security puppet" which we were like "haha their mom" and it snowballed. To have that puppet that was in charge of looking after children, associating the fnaf puppets with tears (tear marks), and the immediate neuron activation of the hit song "its been too long" I was like "she's super protective of her child" and the reason for that protectiveness was insanely warranted.

To put simply, marinette (mai's legal name) ((the og child)) was just sick. Always, forever, just incredibly sick and frail and it hurts to look at because damn that little girl should be jumping on trees and not just in pain at the hospital. Her mom cried over her a lot. All that was on that girl's soul was mostly pain, sorrow, sadness, all of that stuff.

One day! her body had enough!!! and wanted to literally die! It didn't! however, to save "her" her soul sort of split into two and got rid of what was always overflowing (negativity), the puppet has this entire thing of “giving gifts and giving life”, a second chance to live and a gift to be able to not be sick anymore. And so, parts of shadows and parts of her actual soul mixed and mixed and left her just fundamentally wrong. And the phone that she had to call her mom in case of emergencies (or if she felt bad at all) was pretty bare bones and somewhat broken (old), and it only really served as a way to call, it had no games or apps or anything except for some photos of Marinette. Jumpscare, the photo is now alive. 

Anyways Pup gets a body, and first of all that just creeps the hell out of their mom, obviously. New thing just starts existing and looks identical to your child, talks like her but without any real emotion behind it? Her husband left her over keeping Pup because they never really agreed to have TWO children and it was enough with ONE thing that just went in and out of the hospital and burnt money. And yet her child was healthy again after it, and they looked identical, and it’s hard to hold a grudge against someone who has the face of the person you love the most, and it’s also hard to look them in the eyes.

Pup's mom loves him, for sure, she was definitely relieved when he came out as trans and was way more visibly unlike Mai. She couldn't just leave a child that looked just like hers to fend for their luck in another place. It's complicated, with good reason, that woman is stronger than I could ever be.

Pup and Mai both ended up messed up, because that was never meant to happen and because souls and shadows aren’t meant to mix and they lost stuff on the way of splitting (sort of spilled out?) So they both lack a lot of stuff, and also are insanely dependent on each other to function (one in the same).

Mai is overbearing, just by nature, she can’t feel sadness and she can’t feel most of anything that isn’t happiness, she’s impulsive and easily distracted, she can’t read people feeling bad and she can’t give any other insight than “just get over with it and focus on the good ^^” (inspired by her advice in al reves) because she can’t really do anything aside from that. Every bad thing they have felt either registers as somewhat inconsequential or doesn’t really feel like actual sadness, it’s just an excess of energy that makes them angsty and hyper and stuff. Mai also cannot taste stuff, and also does not feel temperature at all, pup does that for her. Both of them are unable to really feel fear, awesome for them (it’s not).

Pup is sort of nothing, they are not empty but sort of insanely muffled, he feels strongly for nothing and doesn’t have any passions or any desires or any anything, he also cannot feel pain, Mai feels it for him. Calling back to Jitter doll, his chill nature to absolutely deranged stuff and the machine language and fred “having something he could never have” is explained that way. He doesn’t fear stuff, he isn’t angry at stuff, he cannot love people, or not in the way that most or any people describe love at all. He doesn’t understand feelings and he doesn’t understand people and he doesn’t understand himself. And he searches for some sort of answer to what they hell they are. Because both of them are aware they were the same person, both of them are aware that they aren’t anymore, and both of them are aware they don’t really function how people should. 

You might have seen that we draw them with eyepatches (or have started to do that) ((new lore called for new designs lmao)), and that is the greatest indicator of them being connected in a weird way. Marinette had a birthmark on her eye, Mai (as the original body) has it on her covered eye and Pup has it mirrored because haha the photo was mirrored. The eye with the birthmark is actually the eye of the other twin, and when they don’t have it covered they just share thoughts, which obviously gives them both a massive headache, which is why they cover it. "wasn't pup unable to feel pain?" fun fact! headaches are not really actual pain (for the most part), they are pressure and tenderness in the scalp and stuff like that! So they are not free from headaches lmao

Pup wants to feel fulfilled, like an actual whole person, and he has no clue how to achieve that in the slightest. But because they perceive what happened to them as supernatural (how else do you describe that) they both went into ghosts and stuff like that. 

They both walk around and try and find ghosts and ask them stuff, they ask people stuff about local legends and local hauntings to try and get some lead on what they are and how (or even if) they can fix themselves. Pup reads a lot more than Mai and is a bit more obsessive with understanding what is up with them. Because while Mai is also messed up, she at least is still regarded as the child they both were, their mom looks at her in the eyes. Hence my little drawing of him with a bunch of books and torn apart pages. In the stories they’ve seen ghost take over lives (took over marinette’s face), they are uncaring (like pup), and a daughter WAS lost, neither of them are Marinette anymore. 

Pup, by feeling all muddled and devoid of most feelings at all, is still attached to the idea that they could become one again, while Mai, who is unable to be anything but positive, is certain they are different people now and forever. Pup is also attached to not seeing himself as alive (?), as a program (what ppl like him r called) and being technically artificial he thinks of himself as a robot, as something lacking that human spark, hence the entire robot thing in jitter doll, they use that as a way to sort of cope with how wrong they are because otherwise it really just sets in that they are simply unfixable. A robot or a ghost or an android or some spirit, whatever you want, except an actual alive person. 

Also calling back to them both just sort of appearing in Fred and Freddy’s mind in the show and all the weird meddling they do with them both. Like how pup is implied to remember meeting fred in the shadow realm thing cause he says “haha this feels familiar” when freddy asks for their name, or like mai saying “it's easier to notice someone's absence when they are always beside you ^^” and stuff like that. They have some dream insanity at camp.

Camp to us us is the end of the world and an insanely important event, due to close proximity all the people related to shadows sort of start sharing dreams, which is nice for no one, and which definitely sparks those two to be insanely invasive in hopes of discovering something new in their mad chase for any answer at all, Rip Freddy and Fred I’m sorry they are like that (inspired by them being voted as enemies in the series, at least according to the subtitles, i think she says friendemies but that also works irregardless) 

They are just not really good friends to most people, and even worse to Fred and Freddy. They sort of see Fred like a thing, like something they can get answers out of and something they can learn from, they dehumanize him a tad and it’s not done with actual bad intention, they aren’t trying to be bad people or anything, but then again they are just fundamentally wrong, and the absolute worst at feelings. Pup in general already dehumanizes himself so what’s the damage of doing it to someone else?? 

They also make Freddy feel unwanted, they treat him as a gateway to see Fred, and that messes with Freddy because everyone always asks for Fred, like, people like Fred more than him, and he’s just the means to get that. 

HGHGHGHGHG ANyways if anyone got here thank you so much, sorry this is so long and if it answers nothing, like we said, magic system is killing us. However I love them both too much to not draw them even without a set magic system so i couldnt hold back from drawing them </3

Last thing: Did you guys know mai and pup's songs respectively start at the same time in their episodes???????? That's so creepy why would they do that??? t2e7 6:56, then t2e8 6:56. What.

But yeah to anyone or everyone who was curious thank you so so so so much for showing interest :D And I'm very sorry if our answer is not that sufficient lmao, <3 <3 <3

#fnafhs posting #our au #fnafhs au #also did anyone but me notice jitter dolls subtitles being messed up?? #they skip over a whole part at 1:33 #Also they say “guardar” instead of borrar at 1:25 and that might be just me being bad at making words out but i SWEAR it says borrar #ANYWAYS YEAH SORRY THIS IS A LOT OF TEXT

[taylorswiftstylequestions]

Hi Sarah! I just needed an outlet to rant about something inconsequential for a bit. I’ve seen so many people ever since Red TV but especially since the Speak Now TV announcement talking about how they’re “hoping for a ten minute version” for Dear John. I know a lot of these people are probably joking, but I’ve definitely seen some of these comments that were meant entirely seriously —like people fully believing there’s a chance she’ll release a ten minute version for Dear John because she did it for ATW— and it just bugs me for a multitude of reasons.

I think the main one is that it just misses the point of ATWTMV? Like they want it to be this big powerful statement where she “gets back” at John in the same way she “got back” at Jake, and I feel like that attitude makes not only those songs but this whole project in general all about the men who may have inspired the original versions and misses the point of what she’s doing. She’s reclaiming her work while trying to make this as special of an experience for the fans. ATWTMV is something that fans have known existed in some form since 2012, and recording it really represented a capstone on that entire era of her career, really letting things come full circle after a decade. It wasn’t something she just suddenly made up for the re-record— like even if you believe that it was written more recently than she claims, the idea of it has existed in fandom lore for 10+ years. It’s not just a cheap trick she’s pulling out to avenge herself against shitty ex boyfriends.

And honestly— I feel like WCS is the “ten minute dear John” that people want. No, it’s not actually ten minutes long, but that is the deeper look at pain and ramifications of that relationship that people seem to want from a ten minute Dear John. And neither WCS or a hypothetical ten minute version belong on the re-record because neither of those things would be coming from the vault— it’s not like with ATW, where it was well documented that she originally left half the song on the cutting room floor. I know a lot of it is that a lot of these people are new fans who don’t know the full backstory to ATWTMV, which isn’t wrong or anything— I don’t want this to come off as gatekeeping. It’s just irksome to see this comment pop up everywhere when it just a) makes no logical sense and b) entirely misses the point of ATWTMV.

Anyways. I don’t know if any of that makes any sense. It’s just a pet peeve of mine I wanted to rant about for a bit

Asking for a 10 minute "Dear John" misses the point of "ATW10MV" as you so rightly said. Not only because 1. There was precedent for it 2. Releasing it was like a special 'gift' to fans as she set about reclaiming her work and made the project that much more special and integrated into the 'lore' of her songwriting.

The added irony that I see far too much "ATW10MV is overrated" and "I wish the 10MV wasn't played on tour, it's been played too much now" so what makes anyone think we so much as deserve another song of this caliber if we have the silly audacity to complain once we get it?

#opinion

[insecateur]

i was writing counter-meta for some takes i disagreed with in my head in the shower (as i am wont to do) when i had a thought

so, to me, team flare has three layers of goals/motivations:

making the world beautiful in the sense of getting rid of perceived ugliness, like people who are deemed "unworthy" due to factors outside of their control (i.e. team flare grunts talking about how team flare is going to get rid of ugly poor people who are polluting the world by being poor and cringe and unfashionable)

making the world beautiful in the sense of ensuring that it won't succumb to the negative aspects of human nature and will be preserved for people who are deemed "worthy" due to factors that are mostly "lysandre said so" tbh (there is some intricacy to that i think but for the sake of this argument this is enough) (i.e. lysandre talking about well. more or less exactly that honestly)

lysandre wanting to make a difference and be remembered as the person who's made the world better/more beautiful/less likely to be corrupted by others/war etc (in a "triumphant hero" sense mostly, tho i do think his enthusiasm @ the protag & friends hints at him also being willing to be inspiring as a villainous figure also)

now there is reason to believe (based on things lysandre says and his notes) that that third reason was inspired by AZ and AZ's legend/story, where AZ is remembered as the king who, yes, killed millions, but also ended the great war and made it so that kalos could prosper and thrive in the future

i always idly wondered why lysandre doesn't recognize AZ; it's kind of a silly, inconsequential thing that i guess serves to highlight the fact that he's so blinded by what he's undertaking that he doesn't even make the connection that the inhumanly gigantic man in possession of the key to the ultimate weapon must be AZ

but actually, now that i've thought about it (in a tangent about something completely unrelated, which is hilarious) the dramatic irony of it is that... lysandre, who wants more than anything to make an impact on history, who wants to be recognized as the man who changed the world for the better... couldn't even recognize his own ancestor, the nearly mythological figure he was likely inspired by

i do wish they had actually talked to each other tho. but i guess their one interaction is more thematic than anything else. lysandre barely even acknowledges him as like... a real person. i mean ffs in french he calls him a circus freak 😭 anyway not in the right headspace to elaborate on this more rn but... much to think about

#samthoughts #i guess i will allow myself to say this is meta in a way if only bc i don't use that tag nearly enough LMAO

[princessfbi]

To Nonnie:

I will not be publishing your ask as I am not interested in subjecting my followers to the shame I believe you intended to inflict with it. That is not something I will allow anyone to do to my readers nor will I allow you to do it to me. However, you posed your first comment of your ask as a question so let's discuss some of your concerns. Number one: Every one of my fics that contains any sort spicy scenes, discussion of sexuality, and any further mature themes are tagged accordingly with care and respect to the people who may or may not want to read such content. The fact that you have, according to you, read my fics implies that you went in knowing exactly what you were about to read. So the accountability of what you consume as a reader is on you.

Number two: Each and every one of my fics that contains this content also includes many other themes through the fic that go beyond the sexuality of that fic. These themes include consent, boundaries, healthy communication between partners, safe sex practices, continued negotiations, a person's self worth, expectations of relationships such as the needs of the partner outside of the scene, the importance of honesty and trust, acknowledgement of self destructive behavior, kink exploration, coming to terms with expressing one's own wants and needs, and most frequently, love. If those discussions to either achieve or maintain a healthy relationship with two partners that love each other very much bothers you, perhaps your issue isn't with hyper sexualizing. Your issue is that you're willing to slut/kink shame to soothe your own discomfort. Even if a fic didn't contain any of those themes and was simply a PWP, your superiority that entitles you to slut shame isn't the flex you think it is. I would encourage you to actually learn what fetishizing and objectification actually mean. I have even written a few fics on the matter as have many others in the fandom. Number three: I noticed you weren't so concerned about Eddie who is also present in those same fics you have read. So are you only concerned with Buck? Or are you implying that Eddie is just inconsequential? Number four: Is this really what you want to spend your time being outraged on? Can I point you in the direction of a real thing in the real world for you to be concerned with? In case you weren't aware, there was a natural disaster in Turkey and Syria who could actually use your outrage as their death toll continues to rise by the minute. Several of those minutes you wasted by coming into my inbox and trying to make me your punching bag for something as silly as my headcanons for a fictional character.

If for some reason you needed help directing that rage, please let me help you now. Attached below is a link where you can donate so that those people who are actually suffering can receive much needed resources.

You also could perhaps take that energy and go for a walk or call an embassy and see if they need any donations. Here's a link to what's needed here.

In short, I'm not going to allow you shame me or my readers, get some perspective, and thanks for reading.

Warmest Regards,

Princessfbi

#anon #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #writing talk #royal decree #signal boost

[i-am-thornqueen]

For absolutely no one who ever asked or ever wondered, in the world of A Werecat in London/The Monsters of Paris, if Adrien Agreste and and my OC John Moon were to ever be forced to exchange Christmas gifts, you know full well those gifts would be the most passive aggressive bullshit presents either of them could find.

John would give Adrien, a werecat, a scratching post.

Adrien would give John, a werewolf, a chew toy.

They'd be grinning fangs at each other until one of them finally snapped and lunged at the other to start their latest brawl.

I have so many inconsequential thoughts on Adrien interacting with an original character. Some of those thoughts are scribbled down below the cut.

Adrien's prickly dynamic with John is actually one of the things that I really enjoy about writing them interacting (or letting them interact in my head where no one will ever see them).

Adrien in the show is an incredibly polite person. I imagine some of it is his natural disposition, but I can also see some of it being a result of his extremely controlled and repressive upbringing. He needs to be polite and controlled at all times with his father, in his home, in public. As a public figure, particularly a young one with a father who'd ground him into oblivion if Adrien ever failed to live up to standard, Adrien would likely be extremely aware of how he presents himself in public and how he interacts with others. He needs to be carefully polite to those of lower social class so as not to give a bad impression of his brand and controlled among those of higher class who have the power to make or break him. Even with friends, he's still incredibly controlled when it comes to displaying negative emotions. He's fine being happy or silly, but very rarely is he ever truly mad or upset or outright rude.

John is one of Adrien's few chances to be negative without consequence. They are of nearly equal social and economic class - both coming from wealthy families somewhat involved in the fashion industry. They're near in age. In the context of my stories, they are both werebeasts. Adrien has absolutely no reason to try to impress John, since John already thinks he's an idiot and will probably never change his mind. John's personality tends to be on the acerbic side - he'd terribly dry and has no patience for fools, but he also has the quite doglike quality of forgiving quickly if someone is the least bit sorry for something.

With John, Adrien doesn't need to be polite, and unlike with his friends, he doesn't always want to be polite, either. He can be angry and upset and rude, and John will roll with it easily. Adrien wants to be snarky? John is a world-class snarker. Bottled up anger? Much needed rudeness? Pent-up frustration? Adrien doesn't need to moderate himself for this one person, which in itself is a strange kind of relief. Adrien gets to see a side of himself that he doesn't let out very often. It's freeing for him, especially because there is very little consequence for exploring the expression of his own negative emotions when the one he's expressing them to doesn't hold a grudge when its over.

Adrien's relationship with John is particularly helpful to get the werebeast equivalent of the zoomies out. They can poke, prick, and prod at each other until someone finally loses their temper and both of them can rip out of their skins and have a proper tooth-and-claw brawl - something Adrien has literally never been able to do. He fights akuma regularly, sure, it's his job and calling, but he's never been able to simply get in a knock down drag out fight with another person, rolling around in the dirt until either of them were too sore or too tired to keep going. With John, Adrien gets to experience being an idiot teenager, he's allowed to have a temper, he can talk shit and get hit; he can throw a punch and not feel bad about giving someone a good whack.

This is far from Adrien's least healthy relationship with another person, but it is his most violent and, in a way, he sort of enjoys it.

Or, at the very least, he enjoys giving John shitty dog-themed gifts for Christmas and receiving shitty cat-themed gifts in return. ^_^;

#a werecat in london #the monsters of paris #story lore #i think? #more like character dynamic #adrien agreste #john moon #original character

[rainbowsky]

Hello admin,

I became a turtle in March’22. I love reading your answers that you give to several Qs. And it is one of the reasons I believed in them and I thought they are really dating. But yesterday I saw a clip of WYB where he was dressed as an old man. It was a clip from Day Day Up episode 20210829. When asking about kids he said “3 children? That is too much for me. 2 is OK. Any way I must have a son. I will teach him motorbike, skiing, skateboarding.” This answer of him shook me. I heard that it is very difficult for gay to adopt child in China. If he is gay and dating XZ then he should say “I have not thought of kids now.” But he sounds pretty confident about having a son. Then I kept on questioning myself. Am I missing something? Am I exaggerating their good friendship into romantic relationship? I am really sad and confused now. I know you believe that their relationship real. I also believe that they are real but I also think that the Qs of mine is reasonable. Please enlighten me with your views from this topic.

Thank you.

Hi new turtle! 💛🐢💛

Normally I'm fine with people calling me by whatever comes to mind for them, but 'admin' feels scary. I'm not an admin - that sounds like too much responsibility! 😅

Feel free to refer to me by one of my many appellations, or to come up with something appropriately silly. 😅

I'm going to do my best to answer your question as gently as possible, but I apologize if I don't quite succeed. For reasons that will become clearer, I find this question somewhat unsettling.

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

I don't think you realize how offensive it is, but your line of thinking comes across as "A queer guy in China who is serious about wanting kids can't really be serious about his gay relationship," and that rubs me the wrong way. It's like holding up the oppression that queer people experience, as proof of the lack of viability of gay relationships. I know that's not what you intended, Anon, but when you reflect on it I hope you can see why it feels that way.

This is a form of bigotry that queer people constantly experience, and is a huge part of how and why queer rights continue to be held back across the globe. Queer people are prevented from marrying and having kids, and then the same people who are standing in the way of those rights turn around and say, "See! Gay people are just a bunch of oversexed promiscuous pervs whose 'lifestyles' are incompatible with decent family values!!"

So when I hear you fall into a spiral of despair and doubt about DD really loving GG, just because he states openly that he wants a son... well, Anon... it just makes me so sad. It tweaks all my sensitivities about queer rights and sociocultural attitudes toward queer people - gay men especially - and it lands on me (totally unintentionally, I get it) in this saddening sort of way.

Just to be clear: DD is totally allowed to want a son - even to be determined to have a son - and still be totally gay and totally in love with and devoted to GG.

We don't know what their long term plans are, we don't know what the situation is going to be in China five or ten years from now, we don't know what queer people do in China to get around the laws, we don't know if they intend on leaving at any point... we just don't know. And it's also totally fine for DD to speak openly about wanting something that he might not yet be sure how he's going to achieve. Never underestimate that man. If there's a way, he will find it.

I find it similarly disappointing when turtles claim to believe GG and DD are a real couple, but then constantly question and challenge their relationship and fall into a wailing pit of doubt about it over the most inconsequential things. It lands on me in a very similar way. Perhaps without even realizing it, there is a strong thread of heteronormativity/homophobia that runs through a lot of that stuff.

GG and DD are real people. They've been together for years. They are clearly deeply in love. They shouldn't have to constantly prove it to us in order to keep us from going bald.

I get it, Anon, I really do. Heteronormativity is a powerful force, and we are all heavily conditioned to believe that straight relationships are normal and natural, and gay relationships are a rare, fleeting, inherently troubled thing. Especially for people who lack a certain degree or type of experience, it can be difficult to get one's head around the idea that gay relationships are actually totally normal, and are happening everywhere around us, all the time.

It's also common for new turtles to struggle to find a balance between their excitement about GG and DD and their uncertainty about GG and DD, and I don't want to be a total heel who isn't sympathetic to that process which a lot of fans seem to go through. But I think a lot of that upheaval is totally unnecessary, and fairly easily remedied by a shift in mindset.

Of course some doubt is understandable and even healthy, but to swing wildly from fervent belief to gut-wrenching doubt as some turtles tend to do, that's a sign that perhaps it's time to self-reflect a bit on what you really feel about GGDD, and what you're really trying to get out of being a turtle. Perhaps it's time to focus on things that will make you happy.

Of course everyone experiences things differently and everyone has different values and approaches, but from my perspective, fandom should be - first and foremost - about having fun. Fandom involving stars like GG and DD should be - first and foremost - about supporting them and enjoying their works. Getting overly invested in whether they're in a real relationship will only make the experience of fandom stressful and painful.

And I feel the need to point this out because it's incredibly important: no one is obligated to believe BJYXSZD. You aren't obligated, nor is anyone else. It's totally OK, totally normal, and totally fine to be unable/unwilling to believe, to falter in belief, to have never believed, to go back and forth, to still be weighing the evidence, etc. etc.

SZD might come to you or it might not, but GG and DD are always here to enjoy and support, and that's the most important thing we can focus on. Clownery is meant to be fun. If you find it isn't fun, or if you're starting to feel doubt and despair, just put your clown wig on and remember this is all fake.

I don't know if this is the answer you were hoping to get, Anon, or if it's made you feel better or worse, but hopefully it's helped a little bit.

And if my words have failed, surely GG and DD themselves are the real remedy for what ails you.

EDIT: A couple of articles about gay men and surrogacy in China were shared in the comments that I think will be of interest to readers.

Four years, two continents: a gay Chinese couple’s journey for a surrogate son

LGBT parents challenge stereotypes in China

There's also an interesting documentary about this on YouTube

#fandom reflections #bxg perspectives #ggdd forever #ask

[shihalyfie]

Honestly the Frontier stage drama is anything BUT “disposable material that shouldn’t be considered canon.” Given the character arcs from the main series, the drama script itself, and the tones and voices the VAs used on stage (Tomoki’s deadpan tones rank #1 on that list, and it was a joy to hear), it’s very much something that could fit into the canon perceptions we have about each character. After all, this takes place just two years after the story, while the drama CD takes place (as you or someone else mentioned) several years later when everyone’s much busier and gotten used to being close with each other for some time.

Also, that fanart from Twitter was so delightful and perfect, and never have I seen something that so aptly conveyed exactly what would have happened had this script been animated (still holding out for more Frontier official art)

Trust me, when I was lazily scrolling through Twitter reading liveblog reactions from people attending the event, the entire timeline was just full of people going "how dare you put this kind of quality content in a vanishable stage reading?!" To give a frame of reference about what kind of content you'd normally expect from stage readings:

A silly crossover skit from 2003 with Adventure through Frontier characters discussing what constitutes a Digimon protagonist (cute, but basically just for fun as a crossover special)

The one tri. one from 2016 where the boys talk about how to hit on girls (this one actually did get on Blu-ray, but 2016 was a bit of a special case)

The Kizuna one from 2019 where the Digimon debate on what to give their partners for August 1 (cute but also canonically inconsequential compared to the official media from the movie)

The Tamers one from last year (which...I think most of us would like to forget if possible anyway)

...and, well, Frontier material is so scarce that anything is valuable, but at the same time they really just barraged us with a whole wave of extremely important material all of us were dying to know. In a vanishiable stage reading. That really is offensive. Thankfully, even questionably legal stuff aside, we had multiple people like the above-mentioned fanartist liveblogging and keeping records and summaries of what happened, but...!

(Actually, the thing that revealed these apparently aren't supposed to be canon is from a certain writer from last year being extremely salty about the fact he couldn't make any long-lasting additions to the Tamers timeline, due to the fact the official stance was that anything that goes into a stage reading is to have all records wiped. The reason is that these events tend to be rights nightmares, so other than 2016 being a special case they usually can't clear the rights to have these on preservable media and therefore don't want to have future canon depend on temporary things like this. But it's not like Frontier is all that likely to have media that contradicts any of this in the future, let alone much canonical media at all, so as long as we all agree that we have enough records of this story to acknowledge it for the time being...)

Given the way they've been handling anniversaries and based on the dates the Tamers one spanned and the Frontier one started, it seems like the air date in April is actually being used as the start and end date instead of having it be January to January, so we actually have more than six months left in the Frontier anniversary. I wouldn't rule out more new art or merch!

And that artist's work (referring to this) is super lovely, isn't it? I really appreciate attempts to preserve and visualize the contents of it, and that artist's passion for Frontier is super clear and passionate. They've been liveblogging their rewatch with fanart, and I definitely recommend checking going to their profile and checking it out.

#digimon #digimon frontier #shiha's ask box #ominous-meme

[cebwrites]

CEVVV buddy ol pal. this request might be a little odd, but may I request headcanons on how Katakuri and Law might interact with or think of each other?

(and to be clear, i dont mean in a shippy way. perhaps with Kirin/Rio as the reason they meet?)

*evilly responds to this*

MEWWW you're making my brain rattle!!! my silly little thinking cogs turning for our silly little scrunklies kissing maren on the cheek for your brain muah muah ily 💖💕

as an aside i also found out that locomotives are sometimes called iron horses while looking stuff up for this and that’s so 🥺😭😭💖

thoughts on each other (Katakuri and Law)

gen, he/they law, oc x canon word count: 0.9k

Ah yes, another worst gen supernova on Kat’s lawn askdnfkslhf

Rio talked about a lot of things in their little moments of peace together, about his time with the rev army, the people he met long his travels, his captain; Kata was one of the only people he could vent to in his little canary cage, after all - Law and his crew were thrown in here and there

So going into it, he has some idea of what kind of person Law is, even if through Rio’s (correct) dweeb accusations and vague threats of what he’d do to him if that “punk” hurt his captain while he was gone

Actually meeting though, given that they’re not in a life or dead situation, it might be a little awkward - namely because I’m not sure if they’d have that many overlaps in interests

Both their personalities, or at least what they pretend is their personalities to the general public, lean into the “cool, stoic” types that brood in the corner away from anything fun, so I’m thinking any early interaction they’d have would probably fall into that

Law doesn’t think much of Kata at first, or rather not a lot about him, like “oh, another one ally from Kiri-ya’s side, ok”

Is Law surprised at all that Luffy also had something to do with fundamentally helping changing the viewpoints of someone who could once be considered an enemy to them? No, are they still mildly amused and god forbid they’d ever admit it to anyone proud? Yeah, maybe a little 

They’re both powerful pirates in their own rites with fearsome reputations but aside from that what are they gonna talk about, the weather? Lmao with what social skills

Once they’re a little more comfortable around each other though, probably with Kirin to break the ice or Rio picking a fight with Law that gradually fizzles into a regular chat because they’re both great greasing the conversation I can see them having small talks here and there

It’s nothing big and never lasts too long but it’s a start, eventually they’d talk about just things on their mind, inconsequential stuff that doesn’t matter but it feels nice to air out anyway, and sometimes it’s just nice sitting in silence next to one another knowing that there’s no pressure to have to talk, that just each other’s company is enough

I’m thinking of when we talked about Katakuri building/running little model trains and god Law and Kata would go HARD for their hyperfixations

They take turns explaining things at first, but once something gets the ball rolling on Law’s Sora lore (literally just mentioning it) or Kat’s little steam engines (back and forth questions make him SO happy that someone’s listening in and taking note of his interests) - they kind of end up talking over each other at times and circling back to different branches of ideas because they’re going on so many tangents because they’re so excited to infodump to someone who’s actively and enthusiastically participating

You know they’re 100% combining interests and coming up with pages worth of additional Sora lore on how trains were actually a huge part of that lil comic world because they were funded by Germa to privately transport eeeevil supplies and now there’s an entire arc dedicated to it in Law’s canon for it

For a gift exchange once Kata gave Law a wooden model train painted with the Germa 66 colors and Law give Kat a teddy (Katakuri sized, so it was like as tall as them) dressed as a little train conductor, both handmade, they then both proceeded not to feel anything at all like “real, manly men” were supposed to

(Law was faced down on his bed for an hour and Katakuri was hesitant at first but once he held Mr. Walter Puffington III, Rio had to convince him to put the plush away after two consecutive nights in a row of being the third wheel to it when he went to bed)

Lastly I absolutely do not think that these two can smile on command, like if they’re put on the spot, leaning more to Kata’s end but also looking at Law’s first bounty poster?? Hello sir why do you look evil????

They try, they really do, but more often than not it kind of just looks a little stiff if not uncomfortable for them to hold their faces in that position; Kirin and Rio still absolutely adore them either way, Rio’s kissing all over Kata’s face and his teefies, and Kirin’s got Law in a vice, laughing and smooching all over his ‘adorable’ mushroom while Law tries to fight his way out, conveniently forgetting that he has the ability to shambles away

Plus, all this means is that when Kata and Law do smile without realizing that they are, and it’s sweet and endearing even if a little awkward sometimes and god damn it Kirin and Rio are on the floor (internally, for the latter, he has some reputation to keep up, after all Kirin’s just a gay bitch in love)

Bonus:

I think Law would (secretly) find Maren’s style cool and if those two had to do their own things in the same room together they’d be able to vibe in the silence for a while like he/they bitches do but for the love of god once Maren opens his mouth with teasing intent it’s all over Law’s spending at least an hour faced down in Kirin tiddy to decompress and recharge, no bully them he’s trying their best >:’c

#cebwrites #one piece #one piece imagine #one piece law #trafalgar law #trafalgar law headcanons #trafalgar one piece #trafalgar d water law #op law #law one piece #law #law x oc #lawrin #katakuri #charlotte katakuri #katakuri x oc #katario #oc x canon #oc x character #fluff #nakamaship #NO ONE is nt in this house if i have anything to say about it