#[ also; and this is where you'll learn more about my 'single-ship' self-- i love the concept of ningguang and beidou. ]

[orchideae]

In today's episode of 'Sae, do you (...)': the topic of Ningguang and Yelan, and I thought that I should note my opinion more clearly outside of my rules as it's very important information for my portrayal: I do not ship Ningguang and Yelan romantically.

Honestly, while this is of course my own opinion, I don't find that there's anything to really substantiate a romantic interest between the two. For starters, I don't think that Ning, as interesting of a character as she is with a past that might just be similar in its 'rise' to Yelan's (we're left with very little information on the latter's childhood), ticks the right kind of boxes for her, though to be fair: not many do. Yelan craves a specific sort of thrill in her life, I mean she lives it at the roll of a dice because she is, on some level, bored, and craves the unexpected, the unusual, the 'surprise', and Ningguang's life nor personality seem to play into that. Beyond it, Yelan would need a kinship within this very specific 'loneliness' that I talk about too often and I think that Ning is not one who quite meshes into that in the right way.

Second, despite their long-standing history that even predates their mutual involvement with the Qixing, there seems to be a certain professional distance between the two that I'm quite fond of that is shown in brief event cutscenes, and also Yelan's vision story, that I find inherently intriguing. Perhaps this distance plays more into Yelan's character of not investing too heavily, or rather not too easily, into social dynamics than it does Ning's (I'm not one to weigh in on her character), but it seems evident to me that there's also that semblance of professionalism that creates a line that takes away the possibility of growing closer on an emotional level. And whether that's a mutual decision or not is not up to me to judge, but I think it's one that's made rather clearly from Yelan's side. On top of that, Yelan is Yelan and it's my personal belief that shipping her is rather difficult.

Now I'm also inherently of the opinion (unpopular, I know, I apologize) that dynamics aren't always more interesting when written in romantic settings, and I don't think it's a benefit for all of them to veer into a romantic nature. And in my opinion (and most importantly: in my depiction and understanding of Yelan's character), I think that having Ning and Yelan cross the line from professionalism into something inherently more rooted in romanticism, would be a detriment to their dynamic. Because honestly, I think the fact that Ningguang being one of two people (other being Uncle Tian) to know Yelan best, without ever crossing that line, is too good. I would simply, well, just prefer to keep that not only platonic, but professional, but of course not excluding it of Yelan's quips, and the occasional 'confidant' element.

/rambles in tags because I feel like I have more to say that I shouldn't flood the post with.

#[ psa. ] seeing isn't always believing. and if you can't trust your eyes; you certainly can't trust rumors. #[ also; and this is where you'll learn more about my 'single-ship' self-- i love the concept of ningguang and beidou. ] #[ and i wouldn't want to take away from that dynamic /in my own head/. it's not about what others do/see/view. but about my own head. ] #[ if i did ship it-- it'd counter that dynamic and i don't like that (again: in my own brain). ] #[ i'm an odd rper in that sense; but i almost have difficulty straying from this... single verse concept. ] #[ in my head i tie specific characters to other specific characters after a lot of thought and i don't commit to those thoughts easily. ] #[ but then i construct this entire huge narrative in my head that's almost like its own book. ] #[ and so i can't easily 'copy' that multiple times for multiple ships. does that make sense? ] #[ but /because/ i do that-- i heavily scrutinize dynamics across the board and it's where a lot of my enjoyment as a writer comes from. ] #[ these analyses of specific characters and dynamics. why are they the way that they are? ] #[ it's psychology. i love it. it's not just saying 'i love finding out what makes characters tick' but it's actively really going... ] #[ 'yeah okay i could ship these-- but is there basis for it and /why/ and /in what capacity/ and specifically: /would they decide to/? ] #[ sometimes i tell myself that i'm not made for rp'ing because i'm too analytical meshed in with too much emotion. ] #[ because i get too invested. ] #[ but i just-- i don't know. i wanted to kind of explain why pointing stuff like this out is important to me and my portrayal. ] #[ especially for yelan who has such a... god; it's almost an unhealthy headspace. you can't mesh that with just anyone. ] #[ the person has to /really get it/ and understand it almost on this level that isn't logical for most humans. because it's unusual. ] #[ but it's important that it's understood /by another human being/. ] #[ and i also think some people genuinely don't mesh in /that/ way. some can mesh perfectly platonically in my head and then... ] #[ not at all romantically. but when /my head/ has decided that this is how it is-- i respect when people disagree; i do. ] #[ i will never say that my opinions are the be all end all for other yelans or even yelan's character in specific. ] #[ as much as i like to think i analyze-- /i could be wrong/. ] #[ but all in all; i do respect if people disagree. but there's just certain opinions i have for my own portrayal that i need to note. ] #[ but also-- a little explanation as to why i'm single-ship more often than not. i wish i could budge how my brain works. but alas. ] #[ /sips coffee past midnight. ] #[ it's been a day. it really has been a day; i need to make my own serotonin tomorrow. i miss writing. ]

[sirensea14]

How did you actually come up with mayhem x not cup? It seems like such a weird yet canon ship I love it I want to learn more

Oh i actually had art of that ship waaaaay back before posting on tumblr

Made this around the middle of last year. And then i posted this when i first started tumblr (you long-time fishies/followers out there who was with me with my first post might remember this lol)

From all i could remember from my past-self's thoughts, Not-Cup was, from what i imagined, a hollow and black eyed version of Cuphead that appeared in real Cuphead's dream in the labyrinth. Which is waaaaay different cuz in the canon, its actually just the usual cuphead that we know, except evil with toungue. I was wondering why he was in the Tear—was he an anomaly like mayhem? Was he an illusion like ava and black hat? Or is he smth else like i dunno, a future cuphead that is potentially possessed by an ink machine part? (As you guys know, when a character gets possessed by this shit, their eyes turn black like Cog!Holly, Cog!Cala and Instument!boris and sarah. Except the brush with mick tho, i dunno why is that)

But anyway, this question gets unanswered leaving me to headcanon that he is an "actual" character and not just a manifestation or illusion of the labyrinth. Just like Mayhem who we thought was an illusion till she's revealed to be an actual character in the series. (This question regarding Not-Cup is still unanswered lol, regardless of an answer, im still shipping them)

Now, onto the actual question, well i dunno if u ship cuphead and holly (i do) and if you'd notice, witchbrew is (obviously) a parallel of the colly ship. Colly are in the hero side, while Witchbrew is on the villain side. I would love to see an actual couple be villains, it sucks that theyre always single XD. If Cuphead had his Holly, then why cant Mayhem have her Not-Cup, hm? Nah-uh aint gonna let that happen

And then boom! This shit--i mean ship is created. Lol i dunno if this makes any sense 😭

Also this ship has ties with my theory regarding of Mayhem's origin and if there will be a canon origin of her story thats gonna be different from my theory, well, lets say this might just be a small fanon ship that randomly came outta nowhere XD

Regarding their origin love story, it starts with my theory that Mayhem is the future Holly that is fully possessed by the cog when the questers went to the desert (forgot its name) to finf the machine. Cuphead goes desperate and asks help from a part? (Eh, i really havent thought about how cuphead got possessed lol) And then he teams up with Mayhem.

The problem is, Cuphead did it out of love, regrets (regret that he didnt manage to save holly even tho it wasnt his fault), and guilt. While Mayhem got possessed by the Cog due to her previous connection to it that got stronger. So i this ship, its painfully one-sided. Painful truth.

But when interacting, they act a bit like a bickering couple, Mayhem being the terrifying teaser she is while Not-cup is the sarcastic serious one. Tho he sometimes act like the actual Cuphead Dish from the questers. They may also act a bit like the duplicates of Colly in appearance.

Not-Cup likes to help Mayhem mess with the Questers as they try to hunt down and restore the duo.

And as for Chaos the Cat... I dunno where the fuck does he fit in lol

From what i remember i think i had a digital version of Mayhem's Tango? Its burried deep down in the ocean... Btw Mayhem's tango was inspired by the song "You'll be mine (Alice's Tango)" by Chi-Chi. I also had other songs that i associate mayhem with (mostly its just bendy fansongs lol) but i dunno if u wanna hear abt it :/

Welp i think thats it? I covered up all about teh WitchBrew origins. Send me another ask if my explanation's not clear XD

Im also glad that you love this silly lil ship i made! It was odd seeing someone like it when i expected no to actually like it XD (tho i dunno out there if anyone actually paid attention to my mayhem x not-cup ship way back then cuz it was a bit random) if u want more infos abt them, go on and ask! I have a bit more from store actually... Hidden for so long... (/jk, its just for 2 years lol)

Stars i feel like ive made an essay...

#inky mystery #babitim #bendy and boris in the inky mystery #mayhem #not-cup #witchbrew #ask

[miraculouscontent]

We're four seasons in and Lukanette has literally had more progression and we'll-paced development than the so called "endgame" of this show. Like, c'mon, the love square is one-sided and everyone knows that sadrien will never develop feelings for Marinette unless he finds out she's Ladybug. He was never interested in her, and she was never interested in Chat Noir.

Also, I'm pretty sure Lukanette is way healthier than the love square. They talk their feelings out and they have a very good dynamic. Meanwhile, sadrien keeps guilt tripping Marinette as both her civilian self and Ladybug. Yeah, I think Glaciator's "oh, so you didn't go on a date with me and I'm mad that you're playing with my feelings even though you never said yes to me. so now I'm going to stop helping you save Paris because you won't apologise to me, cause you won't be able to defeat this villain on your own so you'll have no choice but to cater to my feelings." is a very prominent example.

Remember the one time he found out her identity (in a, quite frankly, extremely far-fetched and desperate jump to conclusions) and he lied to her instead of telling her the truth? He did that just to date her. He knows that she values honesty and hates liars, and he lied to her (that's not even the first time either, remember that time he lied about their relationship? yeah, the couple of the year thing never would've escalated so far if he'd just STOPPED and respected her feelings).

Like, that's not to mention the number of times the cat took threw tantrums whenever things didn't go his way. Threatening to abandon Paris while it was flooding? Sure, he's such a good partner. Distracting his partner and not taking their battles seriously in an effort to flirt with her? Wow, that's so romantic. Nearly cataclysming Scarabella and actually causing property damage because 'oh, he's sad'? He's such a good hero. Learning that his partner is actually annoyed at him because of his romantic advances and not even giving her a proper apology? That's fine, because he knows that she'll fall in love with him eventually and forget all about it!

And let's not forget how forced this ship is. Literally everyone tries to get them together. Alya is the main instigator for this, and she keeps trying to push them both into situations that usually end up with the blonde personification of an idiot being stupidly oblivious and Marinette being left embarrassed and humiliated. Heck, the whole of Paris is trying to force Ladynoir together even though Ladybug clearly stated that she isn't interested in him! They're the heroes of Paris, and the people they save can't even be bothered to respect their privacy and their boundaries? Even if they were in a relationship, they could be, you know, keeping it a secret in case Hawkmoth tries to take advantage of their feelings? Most of the adults in the show are literally shipping children together and getting mad that Ladybug actually knows how to say no. Like, seriously? this ship keeps feeling more and more forced each episode.

Whenever I see these scenes my already negative opinion on the love square and in sadrien in general is reduced to rubble. Like, this show coddles sadrien so much to the point where it's getting extremely frustrating. But I'm kind of sensing a trend here: rich, privileged white boy gets everything he wants. And yes, that does sound very familiar.

Hey, remember when Chat “””apologized””” in “Glaciator 2″ only to then go right back to wanting to get Ladybug to love him at the end of the episode? And then literally one episode later in production code order (”Hack-San”), he guilted her into promising to never abandon him?

That’s the love square in a nutshell; everything is stacked in Adrien’s favor and weighed against Marinette in every single way to put her agency in a choke hold. Ladybug has known and felt guilty over Chat’s feelings for two+ seasons now, Paris ships them no matter what she says and Glaciator mocks her when she tries to correct things, and meanwhile you have Adrien blissfully unaware of Marinette’s crush so he doesn’t have to think a thing about it.

According to the show, the problem in LadyNoir is Ladybug not wanting it (because everyone else wants it!!) and the problem in Adrienette is Marinette because she “just can’t seem to confess” (because she’s getting help from everyone else so it’s clearly only her fault if she’s hesitating).

How do the writers keep making love square episodes that just end up being an itemized list of why it’s awful?? Like--really, how??????

#category: salt #episode: Ephemeral #salt: love square #other: ask and answer

[deathbydarkelves]

I decided to make playlists for Cathala and Tarinne plus explanations for why I chose each song because I entered one of those ADHD fugue states and if I didn't finish this task I would die

Anyway here are the two links (they're youtube playlists because I don't have spotify. I would obviously recommend using an adblocker if you're just gonna watch on youtube) and the explanations for each song are below the cut :) Each playlist is about an hour long.

For Tarinne’s:

1. Foggy Nights: I consider this her theme so putting it first as a sort of intro only makes sense.

2. Here’s a Health to the Company: I think this works as an example of her general disposition. She’s a people person, and always a fan of singing these sorts of songs in taverns, on ships, or what have you. It also kind of feels like a sendoff to soldiers, which I imagine symbolizes her joining the Sentinel Army and quickly thereafter fighting in the Third War.

3. Wartime Prayers: Somewhat self-explanatory, this is symbolizing her seeing war for the first time, but I also included it because the last line transitions SO WELL into the next song.

4. The Hollow: This song is an intro to an album I've never heard so I don't know the context, but I really love it because it sounds like someone praying to their deity and like I mean c'mon. Elune. Tarinne's praying to Elune to guide her through the war. Do I need to elabo-

5. Wave Walker: KILL DEATH MAIM AHAHAHAHA

6. Isil Elun’falo: Just a super rad fan-made night elf song that's basically "wow we sure do love Elune" said in twenty different ways for four and a half minutes. But it ROCKS and I LOVE it.

7. Chewing Cotton Wool: This song is about losing a loved one (I did have to check but yeah that's what it is) and I use it to symbolize Tarinne losing her mom during the war. The last line, which includes the song's title, I especially like. It's referring to how morticians (apparently) put cotton gauze in a corpse's throat and mouth to keep body fluids in and make the face look more natural. So there's a fun fact for you.

8. See U Soon (Song for Dad): Just a short lofi piece to rest a bit, and it was also chosen because the title's in reference to Tarinne growing closer to her dad after losing her mom. She still visits him at his leathers and furs shop in Stormwind fairly often, especially after dangerous adventures. She just wants to make sure he knows she's alright ;-;

9. No Lullaby: Right back into it with a song that I use to represent Tarinne's general feeling of not being able to go home because it's not there anymore. She's felt like this since the end of the Third War, but it's especially strong since the whole Teldrassil thing. But I like the ending, "who said you're on your own," because it contrasts the repeating of "alone" in the rest of the song. And it's kinda like "hey, listen, you're not the only one who feels like she can't go home." I mean that's probably how basically every single night elf feels right now skxnks

10. The Moss: This song juxtaposes classic fairy tales with scientific facts about the world and I love it to BITS. I'm using it here to represent both Tarinne's love for storytelling but also her sort of... part-time historian/archaeologist/conservator career.

11. Rasputin: I just associate this song with her for some reason and this was the best place to put it.

12. Electric Feel: Moving on to focus more on Tarinne's relationship with Cathala now. This is an extremely great and somewhat 😏 song that I also included because the electricity theme is appropriate because Cathala has lightning powers and y'know it's from Tarinne's perspective or whatever.

13. Bedroom Hymns: You know why this is here.

14. Movement: I can't talk about love songs without talking about Hozier, okay. This is just a nice, slower song to relax a bit with.

15. Never Let Me Go: I have an entire goddamn music video in my head with Cathala and Tarinne for this song and it’s very dramatic and emotional and I had to include this song or I’d die. Basically just listen to near the end of this song when she's repeating the title over and over, and imagine the two of them seeing each other at opposite ends of a battlefield after the dust settles and they rush towards each other and fall to their knees holding on as tightly as they can because they got separated early on and each thought the other was dead. Then you'll know how I feel when I listen to this song.

16. Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control: First of all I love the title, and second of all there's a big section in the middle (1:49 to 2:47) that I like to interpret as the two of them grappling with the fact that they're not really quite sure who or what they're fighting for anymore. Their people, yeah, but there's so many alliances and semi-permanent enemies and only-on-every-other-thursday-enemies all intertwined and the world is just so very confusing and they're trying to make the best of it. Elf school didn’t include international, interracial politics in its curriculum. It did however include how to properly plant trees, and AP calculus (this is a joke).

17. In Dreams: I like to imagine this song is something the two of them would say to each other, as a way of saying “even when everything we know is gone, even when the world ends, I will still be by your side. And if I’m not, don’t fear, for I will find you.” It makes a nice note to end on :)

For Cathala’s:

1. muse: Just a nice lofi intro to get us into things :) I don't see this song as her theme, like I do with Tarinne and the first song in her playlist, but I like it quite a bit. I don't actually really have a theme for Cathala yet, I'm currently going with a version of Way of the Monk from WoW's OST but I'm still looking for something better.

2. Frogs Singing: I included this because it's about just appreciating nature, which works because night elf and also mindfulness and meditation is a whole thing.

3. Tongues: This is a song about feeling distant from your peers which is like Cathala's whole existence! She's this weird mix of two cultures and ultimately she feels out of place regardless of where she is or who she's with. Also the theme with not understanding what people are saying works because the poor woman had to learn Pandaren from scratch and that shit ain't easy. I think blizz said somewhere probably that Common is just a language that EVERYONE knows inherently because Video Game but that's bullshit in my opinion. I'll allow spells that let you understand foreign languages to an extent (Comprehend Languages from D&D lets you understand the LITERAL meaning only, which I like), but every culture and species in the universe knowing Common is silly if you think about it for more than two seconds.

4. Kung Fu Fighting: I'm legally required to include this song. Also I prefer the Kung Fu Panda version, I'm sorry.

5. Harder Better Faster Stronger: I vicariously experience having a great work ethic through Cathala and that's why this song is here because she has 999 Determination and does Too Many push-ups every day or something idk. I was gonna say "every morning" but I have a headcanon that elves only need to sleep every couple of days (sort of a nod to "elves don't need to sleep at all" from D&D, and to explain why NIGHT elves are active at all hours of the day) so that doesn't work.

6. What's Up Danger: This song is Cathala's whole Vibe. Almost zero threat assessment skills in this woman's brain. If it can be punched, she will punch it.

7. Eye for an Eye: Fairly self-explanatory, it's a song about wanting revenge so... yeah. Checked that box. It was this or The Vengeful One by Disturbed but ultimately The Vengeful One's religious symbolism probably makes it fit better as a Tyrande theme lol ("I'm the hand of god, I'm the dark messiah." Did you mean: the Night Warrior)

8. Survivor: Cathala's survived a lot of shit and this could kinda be her making fun of herself for it because "Gods, man! Don't I deserve a break!"

9. Ashes: Really the reason I include this song is the last chunk (2:42 to the end) because holy shit. Listen, if I was gonna include a song with fire motifs, it was gonna be a somber one like this.

10. Into the West: This can kinda represent Cathala just trying to fucking breathe and recover from Teldrassil. Also works because I dunno it has stuff to do with the elves in LotR, I haven't seen those movies in a while. It sounds nice and is melancholy so I included it.

11. Like Real People Do: Cathala loves Tarinne a lot you guys have I ever menti-

12. Into the Wild: Tarinne changed Cathala's world for the better and she's super fucking grateful she has her by her side. Kinda goes without saying but you know.

13. Chasing the Moon: I have a vague music video in my head for this of them falling in love and it's very cute so there's that. Also it's in this specific spot because hey she may be deeply traumatized but she's still got a fair number of things/people in her life that make her happy so :)

14. Follow My Girl: I've got a theme going in my head that while Tarinne is fairly certain of her place in the world, Cathala is still trying to find hers. She outlived all her connections on Pandaria because Elf Lifespans(tm) and the only members of her family still alive are distant relatives she never knew very well.

15. Wish That You Were Here: This works both to represent Cathala on Pandaria feeling super homesick, and for more recently after Teldrassil. Either way, it's a message to her parents and sister.

16. Mr. Fear: She does her damnedest to hide it but she's absolutely terrified something like Teldrassil's gonna happen again! That fear drives her to do everything in her power to protect who and what she can. As long as they're not Forsaken, cause she's still got her biases, that compassion even extends across faction lines. She never really got the whole Alliance/Horde thing anyway. Innocent people shouldn't have to die, regardless of who or what they are.

17. Ordinary Day: Not to get super out there but I think this song works as symbolizing Cathala really trying to hold on to her faith in Elune, but ultimately feeling pretty abandoned. I mean she can clearly see Elune's influence everywhere. But Elune sure ain't doing Cathala any favors as far as she can tell! It also ends the whole playlist on maybe a bit of an uncertain/open-ended note, because this "losing faith" aspect is a new thing with her and will definitely be something she continues to struggle with for a while. On a related note, I should say Tarinne is still very much devout but she gets what Cathala's feeling and doesn't force anything on her, and vice versa. And Cathala wouldn't become atheist, the night elves aren't monotheistic and she still worships all the other deities, it's just specifically Elune she's a little :/ on.

#cathala #tarinne #oc playlist