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#from what i remember they were the most dysfunctional family in the series though
best-book-siblings · 5 months
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Round 1, side A
Propaganda under the cut
Twinyards propaganda:
their relationship is so fucked up. they're twins (TWINYARDS) but got separated at birth and didnt meet until they were 16. and they communicate so poorly that they both think the other hates them except they are both desperate for connection and stability that they've never had... and despite this they are so devoted that THEY HAVE LITERALLY KILLED FOR EACH OTHER... and even that didn't clear things up for them skfsdjfhd they are SO FUCKED UP its incredible
They literally killed for each other.
These two are just absolutely bonkers: their healthiest way of relating to each other is by absolutely despising each other, they won't speak to each other but they are violently protective of the other's physical wellbeing, they're identical twins who were total strangers until they met as teenagers, one is gay and the other is passively homophobic, they have quite literally killed someone to save the life of the other (but both resent the other for it). Twins are usually pretty messed up in fiction but these two take it to another level, they are literally the dark mirror version of the other. I've never read a more toxic sibling relationship and I love it.
Tldr: they're dysfunctional assholes who kill each others abusers and make (and break) the ultimate bros before hos pact.They're the most fucked up bitches in the world <3 they're identical twins but they didn't even meet until they were thirteen because their mom put Andrew into foster care. Then when they did meet, they do NOT got it off, Andrew basically tells Aaron to fuck off and not contact him. BUT this was actually to protect Aaron from his shitty home life. Andrew ends up giving up the adoptive family he desperately wanted so that his abuser wouldn't end up hurting Aaron. THEN after Andrew kills their mom who was physically abusing Aaron (despite Aaron's wishes). AND THEN they make a pact that they won't have any close friendships outside of each other and especially no romantic relationships despite hating each other's guts (don't ask). OH AND YEAH, remember that abuser Andrew gave up his family to protect? He comes back in the worst way imaginable and Aaron kills his ass! And remember that intense bros before hos pact? Well you guessed it! They both chose hos. Also they're so dysfunctional that their teammate forced them into family therapy becuase their antagonism was fucking up the vibes of the team. I love them <3
They love each other. They resent each other. They have killed for each other and would do it again. They only spend time together at their joint therapy sessions. Truly, they are the Guys Of All Time.
They didn't grow up together, even though they're identical twins, but would(and have) killed for each other.
they are SO MESSY. so their mom was not expecting twins so she wanted to get rid of them but changed her mind last minute to keep aaron. so aaron grew up w her and faced a lot of abuse and andrew grew up in foster care and also faced abuse from there. anyway andrew and aaron realized they exist when they’re 13 and aaron tries to reach out but andrew loves him so much w/o even meeting him and wants to protect him, so he says no to keep aaron away from andrews abuser. they eventually live together when andrew is out of julie when they’re 16 and andrew kills their mother by crashing the car when he realizes what she’s doing to aaron. they have a deal to always be by each others side and even though aaron was angry at andrew for killing their mother they went to play college exy together and their relationship is rough. they don’t talk at all at the start of the series, but they still sometimes switch places when they need too and andrew always no matter what protects aaron with his life. they go to joint therapy together. thyre working on it but they both really love each other and want to protect each other deep down.
be gay do crime
they’re identical twins. they didn’t meet until they were fourteen. they’ve got a bros before hoes deal that they keep breaking. they’ve each killed someone for the other one in the most insane ways possible. oh my god they even play collegiate sport
Twinyard supremacy
Literally killed for each other but also hate each other but also love each other but also met as teenagers
Baudelaire siblings propaganda:
They time and again save each other from peril with not superpowers or magic, just their wits (and sometimes teeth)They are relentlessly pursued, kidnapped, shot at, hypnotized, and almost get murdered like a hundred times, but they never lose hope and they always stick together. It's them against the world, as anyone who isn't actively trying to hurt them is horribly incompetent
They survived thirteen books of constant mortal peril together. That is quite an achievement.
The Baudelaire siblings are The Siblings Ever, they have gone through SO MUCH SHIT together but they still remain strong and they love each other so much. These guys would literally die for each other, they've risked their lives countless times to ensure each other stay safe and get out of awful situations okay. Not to mention they're all definitely autistic and accept each other for who they are through everything, no matter what. Also they're wet cats.
They're everything to me. They stick together through the worst stuff imaginable and always manage to save each other. And they're all fun characters apart too, even Sunny, who's a toddler. Do you know how hard it is to make toddlers fun and interesting? But she still fits so well with Violet and Klaus who are older. Idk they're just really great.
nothing ever goes right in their lives but they always have each other and get thru it together and they deserve the world <3
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youcanseethecosmos · 2 years
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woah i didnt expect anyone to like the au HAHA just putting it out there. but i Do have more thoughts and it's going to be about the legacy family of actors: The Endless. I'll make another post about Hob soon!
to check out the first two posts about my dreamling actors au go here or here
The Endless
All the Endless siblings were child actors. Shining stars of the industry from the moment they were born.
Out of all the siblings, Desire loved acting the most. They loved the flashing lights, the constant attention, and the legions of adoring fans.
Dream loved stories ever since he was a little kid. He acts because he wants to be a part of the kinds of stories that inspire others, invoke emotions within people's hearts that couldn't be possible if he pursued writing instead. Although, he is a ghost writer on the side and no one knows his pseudonym except his parents and Death.
Just like in canon, Desire and Dream have a little bit of a sibling rivalry. But their movie genres are vastly different so Dream doesn't really see it as much of a rivalry – which pisses Desire off even more.
Despair is the only sibling who hates being in front of the camera. So her parents got her to start voice acting instead and she liked that more because she could essentially work in her pajamas. Desire misses her though because they used to do almost everything together. Now they are more apart than they are together. This causes a small rift between them.
Death and Delirium are the singers of the family. Death in particular was musically gifted in almost every way — playing instruments, composing, arranging music. Although all the siblings trained in theater, she was one of the only ones who continued to do theater regularly. She's won two Tonys so far in the span of her career.
Delirium never truly got out of her child actor phase. She's the kind where people still remember her from when she played a five year old girl in some old sitcom. So she broke away from TV and film and followed her eldest sister in theater. She even changed her stage name from Delight to Delirium to reflect that she's not a little kid anymore.
Though Death is more musically gifted, Delirium is the better singer. She sometimes posts covers on Social Media when she has the time and everyone is always mesmerized by her voice.
Destruction had a few critically acclaimed films in his early career. After that though he sort of went off the grid. He hasn't starred in a movie or TV show in years. He does a few voiceover commercials here and there, a cameo in a series once or twice, but he is notably the one sibling who has the least amount of projects under his belt.
Although he's sometimes seen playing the guitar for Delirium in her song covers. He really only ever shows up when Delirium asks him for help.
Destiny is way older than the rest of The Endless — around a decade older than Death. So he had been acting way before and way longer than everyone else. By the time he hit his thirties he was like "Yeah. I'm done." and became a Executive Producer and Director. He much more enjoyed working behind the scenes anyway.
Each of the siblings have been in a Destiny™️ produced/directed film at least once. It's a rite of passage.
However, none of the siblings have ever been in a project with their parents.
All the siblings were once in a production of Into The Woods when they were younger. It's the only project where everyone was there — Also the last time Dream and Desire ever got along.
Dream has had his fair share of off-screen romances with co-stars — none have been successful (yet)
Those are the headcanons I have for our favorite dysfunctional family <3 Let me know what else you wanna know through my ask box or replying here !! Especially stuff about Hob bc I'll make a post about him soon hehe. Thank you for liking this idea as much as I do 🥺
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galaxythreads · 2 years
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lore on Five out of Five is an Ideal You Can't Have please!! I love that one soooo much 👉👈
your wish is my command, anon. <3 thanks for the ask.
LORE FOR FIVE OUT OF FIVE:
it was based on this fic
I've tried to do a sensory deprivation fic for Loki more than once. This was the...third? attempt
After watching SPN, writing THor and Loki's relationship was a little easier. Taking the messy dysfunction from SPN and finding areas where it overlaps between the brother pairs was interesting
After taking a break from MCU for the better part of a year, this was the first fic that I wrote and I finished and I felt so accomplished and happy with myself....only for someone to promptly tell me what a terrible job I was doing with the characters on another fic. Made me want to sit in the shame corner, lol. Actually, that's what this venty tumblr post is referring to.
a big portion of this fic was me exploring Thor's relationship with Sif and the Warriors, trying to figure out WHY Thor was chilling with them when he was ignorant to the way they treated his brother. The reason that Thor is so desperate to keep their friendship is because of how severely he and Loki were isolated as children. The fact that anyone would willingly choose to spend time with him outside of their family is utterly baffling to him and something he's desperate to keep
I have absolutely no idea what they killed at the beginning of the fic
I started the fic in Jan of 2021 and then finished it in may 2021 after a run. I very distinctly remember coming back and just wanting to finish something. I think I was about 10 pgs in and just shoved my way through the last bit
I had actually intended for THOR to be the one who was losing his senses when I started this, but it didn't end up that way
"Ranging from books to entire tables and something that Thor suspects is some type of stove" -- this is 1000% a reference to the classic "and even the kitchen sink was there" joke, which I thought was absolutely hilarious
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^^^ this is a jab at the Loki series. Most of this is a jab at the Loki series, honestly. Wait. When on earth did I write this--
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Oh dear. I was already taking pointed stabs at it and it hadn't even been released yet. Well. That's embarrassing for MCU.
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^^^ this was inspired by watching SPN where they would bless cursed objects and that would often fix them.
"Though the cold hadn't bothered him, Sif's continued shivering had made them stop for the night. Loki had pointed her toward his newly made flame without a word." -- this is a reference to The Weeping Siren where they were all making fun of Loki for not being able to light a fire
"Loki's not a witch, but the Norns know he gets the funny feelings of one." -- This is a reference to BBC Merlin fics, where the Knights and Arthur refer to Merlin's magic as his "funny feelings"
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^^^ Loki already knew something was wrong right here and didn't say anything because Thor got angry. The effects of the cloth-thing were almost instantaneous.
"There isn't a lot that Loki won't approach if Thor has first and vice versa. Their stupidity often goes hand in hand. And Loki wouldn't even go past the doorway, despite the giant monster that was attacking them. That's…that's probably more than just a funny feeling." -- there is no loki without thor and no thor without loki and that includes them being idiots
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"His mother has told him endlessly that one of the easiest methods to disperse curses is through fire or some other purifier. Salt sometimes works as well."
^^ i try to make a point in fics to have Thor not be completely ignorant of magic. Look. my sister is really REALLY into rocks and has infected me with knowledge of them despite my best efforts. there is no way Thor hasn't picked up something from listening to Loki rant about it for literal decades.
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^^^ Loki knew what was happening (mostly) throughout the entire fic. He just wasn't saying anything. From the moment the cloth touched him, Loki couldn't use his magic. He didn't know what to do and he was terrified, but he didn't know how or if he should tell anyone.
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""You should just speak up," Thor chides patiently, "I'm sure there must be something interesting underneath all of that hair," " -- shameless reference to Dean making fun of Sam's hair for all of SPN.
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Thor sighs. "Why don't you lay down? I'll get some supplies so we can start bringing down your fever. You should have said something."
A flash of relief and gratitude flickers across his sibling's face, brief, but intense. He wasn't expecting that, Thor realizes. " --- the last time Loki received help for something was..... WHEN??? POINTED LOOK AT HIS ENTIRE FAMILY.
Also this is not me projecting my family issues into this. Nope! (it is. My family issues are everywhere in this)
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"Thor allows him the moment of weakness, cupping a hand against the back of Loki's neck, trying to reassure him" -- I'm not sure if this is actually true, but I saw on BBC's Sherlock post that you only let people you deeply trust touch the back of your neck. I remember trying to research that as I wrote that line, lol. I never found an answer.
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^^^ I tried to make a point of showing how differently the Warriors were handling this and Thor. Thor actually addressed the problem and SAW loki, the warriors just ignored him until he annoyed them enough. It's like. The Warriors tolerated Loki and kind of pretend this whole thing wasn't happening. I didn't want them to be complete assholes, but it was a tough balance to write. They mostly ended up being assholes, lol.
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"Frigga smiles warmly at him, but her eyes are distant and dark. Thor looks, but isn't surprised that he can't see his father anywhere." --- ALSO making a point about how ABSENT Odin is from his children's lives. Frigga is there. Odin is just GONE.
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"Mindlessly, Thor dumps off his part of the recovered stolen items to the palace's head of artifacts and goes to give his report to his father." --- Loki is in the hospital and he is dying. They know this. Odin is in the throne room. He wasn't busy. Thor talked with him almost instantly. Odin was in the throne room by choice and couldn't be bothered to make an appearance in the healing wing. This wasn't an accident, it was intentional character placement.
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""If your brother had been killed, you can't imagine the realm-wide mess—" Odin releases a breath, stopping himself, -- I firmly believe that if Loki were to actually die, he would revert to his Jotun form and that would cause the realms-wide mess Odin is talking about.
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"—a witch created that to kill her enemies quickly and painfully by removing their senses then shutting down organs. I'd only heard rumors that her enchanted objects were still around. She created more than a dozen to send to her enemies." --- I like to imagine this was one of the witches that raised Frigga. That's how she recognized it so quickly.
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One of the few stories that I didn't end on a happy ending. It's kind of a bittersweet ending and this was intentional. I read this fic where Loki got possessed by like this mirror thing (mirror,mirror by lise, a03), and it ended as a MESS and it was so satisfying. XD
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adultswim2021 · 1 year
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That Crook'd 'Sipp #1: “That Tree of Strife” | May 14, 2007 - 12:15AM | Special
This show is so bland and unappetizing that my body practically rejects it. What is this? Okay: It’s sorta like Arrested Development but it’s in the south, and sorta but not-really has to do with hip-hop, which I guess is big in Atlanta. I mean, that’s like, a motif in the show, and has characters who are rap guys in there. It’s like Arrested Development because it’s about a big dysfunctional white family that’s fallen from grace. Not from any big incident or whatever; they just let themselves crumble into mediocrity. Okay, I should have said this at the beginning: It’s like Grey Gardens meets Arrested Development. That’s how I should have said it. It’s in the South, though, too. And there’s rap guys who are around.
The plot concerns a little girl trying to figure out who her daddy is. A guy in a wheelchair shows up purporting to be the dad. There’s wacky characters in the family who all have a thing going on. It’s rendered sorta like Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. I think there was some cross-over behind the scenes? Maybe? I might have made that up. I think maybe both of them are derivative of the UPA style, but I’m not a devotee of UPA either; in fact I’ve seen very little UPA stuff.
I remember almost nothing about this show from when I first saw it, and that whole body-rejecting thing I opened with really isn’t far from the truth at all. I find this show to be so lackluster and repugnant that I remember the first time I sat through this and thinking the whole thing felt foreign. Like they were speaking an entirely different language. Everything is sorta ironically detached. Old-fashioned cartoon noises are used in a quasi-ironic way. The dialogue is mostly delivered in an intentionally disinterested tone. The characters are all wacky but only in surface level ways. It’s so BORING. It’s SO FUCKING BORING. The first time I saw this it washed over me and I wasn’t even sure what I saw. I HATE IT AND DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT ANY MORE. Fuck this fucking show. There. I wrote it up! FUCK YOU.
Oh, I have to say stuff about what happened with this show. Okay. This show, I think it was initially picked up as a series but it never happened. Instead, it eventually morphed into Freaknik: The Musical, which I don’t remember too well, but I remember it being better than this. GOOD!
MAIL BAG
What if you did a writeup every other day, give you more breathing room, or take a few weeks off to build a backlog :)
You’ve picked up on the fact that I’ve taken a few random nights off in a relatively short span of time. Most of those were coincidental, where I neglected to add whatever write-up I was doing to my publishing queue, and found myself unusually away from my computer. But yeah, I’ve been needing some time off, so random nights off might be a recurring thing from here on out.
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aboveallarescuer · 3 years
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I love that Daenerys Targaryen has significant parallels with all the major ASOIAF characters (as well as with many of the minor and the historical ones too). I love that comparing and contrasting her with them almost always highlights her epicness and/or how special her place in the narrative is.
Daenerys Targaryen is not just a queen, she’s a queen regnant and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, i.e., a she-king. This means that she can be compared and contrasted not only with Cersei and Margaery or with Alysanne and the other Targaryen queens consort, but also (in fact, especially) with Stannis and Robb or with Aegon the Conqueror and the other Targaryen monarchs that succeeded him.
Daenerys Targaryen is not just a claimant to the Iron Throne like Stannis, Young Griff and Renly, she’s the only one of them who is a POV character.
Daenerys Targaryen is not just one of the POV rulers, she also happens to be the only POV ruler with power in her own right and who isn’t in a subservient position in any way (Jon is Lord Commander, but he’s also the king’s advisor and is running the equivalent of a penal colony, so the stakes are much lower than Daenerys ruling a city and dealing with opposition from half the world; Tyrion and Ned are Hands of the King; Cersei is queen regent, which means that her power stems from Tommen’s kingship). Also, Daenerys has the clearest parallels with Aragorn and her ADWD storyline was deliberately written by GRRM as a response to the lack of information from Tolkien about what makes Aragorn a good king. Finally, if one compares her ADWD storyline with Jon’s, one can see how many roles she occupies at the same time: the administrator (Jon), the monarch (Stannis), the most magical character linked to fire and prophecies (Melisandre) and the leader of the disenfranchised (Mance; note that Daenerys was forced to leave her homeland, was enslaved and currently doesn’t belong anywhere - that’s the exact same situation of many of the former slaves of Slaver’s Bay, who come from different places and have different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. Daenerys empathized with them right away because she is one of them. Her detractors may accuse her of being an outsider, but that’s because they prioritize the viewpoint of the Ghiscari slavers. The freedmen, like Daenerys, come from many different places and are outsiders to the noblemen too).
Daenerys Targaryen is an extraordinary conqueror and strategist. Aegon the Conqueror made the Westerosi bend the knee with the help of his dragons, 15-year-old Daenerys Targaryen overthrew the slave masters primarily thanks to her own battle plans, not her dragons. Robb Stark captured castles in the westerlands motivated by personal injury and his actions had local impact; Daenerys Targaryen conquered three cities motivated by her desire to abolish slavery and her actions had worldwide impact.
Daenerys Targaryen is not a typical member of her family, she is the main leader and representative of House Targaryen in a way that Jon/Bran/Arya/Sansa or Cersei/Jaime/Tyrion can’t ever claim to be. Their fathers Ned Stark and Tywin Lannister had large roles in the main story and, in the Starks’ case, their older brother Robb is more well-remembered than any of them (at least so far). Meanwhile, Daenerys’s father Aerys II was already dead before she was born and before the main story began, which allowed her to carve her own path outside of his influence. Moreover, her accomplishments are already greater than both of her older brothers’. She became the face of her family in a way that matches (in fact, even surpasses) Ned with House Stark and Tywin with House Lannister.
Daenerys Targaryen is not a typical mother, she’s both Mother of Dragons and Mhysa. Her motherhood is transcendental in a way that Catelyn’s or Cersei’s aren’t because it is not related to blood ties or to her fertility. Instead, it’s associated with her unprecedented feat of reviving an extinct species, with her ability to make up the magic as she goes along, with her leadership, with her revolutionary nature, with her compassion for thousands of people. Additionally, unlike the other major mothers, Daenerys is the only one who isn’t doomed to go “mad” despite all the losses and hardships she faced.
Daenerys Targaryen is a hero, which is especially clear when her actions are contrasted with House Stark’s, whose brand of “heroism” has been mostly to react to personal injury so far. Ned Stark participated in Robert's Rebellion because his father and brother were killed. Ned’s son Robb wanted Northern independence because his father was killed. Ned’s vassals want to start another war in the name of the Starks because of their loyalty and their outrage about the Red Wedding. Their motivations, sympathetic as they may be, have never involved the commoners. In contrast, GRRM had Daenerys empathize with the former slaves, start a war in their name and abolish slavery despite them not being associated with her through oath of fealty or blood relations or lands. She was specifically singled out by the author as the one leader who “wants equality for everyone”. It’s a stark contrast (pun intended) to the actions of the main family (at least as a unit) of the story. Sadly, it’s easier (for some fans) to root for the heroes mostly reacting to personal injury who never made any mistakes of large scale consequences since they never got to be in authority. Or for the heroes fighting against ice zombies (though, to be fair, Jon haven’t even faced them in ADWD, his main challenge was to conciliate the Free Folk and the Night’s Watch, so the stakes of his storyline are much lower when one compares his problems with Dany dealing with enemies from all over Essos raising armies to defeat her). It’s harder to do the same with the hero who takes an active stance against social injustices and who wrestles with hard questions about when political violence is justified (which never have easy, clear-cut answers) and all the negative ramifications that come with them.
Oh, and have I mentioned that Daenerys Targaryen is the character with the most overt clues of being Azor Ahai/Prince That Was Promised/Stallion Who Mounts the World? Like with the birth of the dragons, uniting all the khalasars and then leading humanity to victory against the Others will be two more unparalleled feats of hers among the characters of the current timeline. Additionally, as she becomes surrounded and influenced by prophecies, we get to see how Daenerys has a healthy relationship with them in contrast to other characters like Cersei and Stannis.
All these attributes and accomplishments are made even more remarkable when one contrasts them with what doesn’t necessarily make Daenerys Targaryen unique. Yes, Daenerys became the most powerful person in her world, but she also lived in poverty among lowborn people without the privilege of a castle or a formal education, which lends itself to comparisons with Davos and Melisandre. Yes, Daenerys is a queen, but she’s also a young girl who loves songs and stories and idealizes her family members, which lends itself to comparisons with Arya, Brienne and Sansa. Yes, Daenerys is a loving, compassionate mother, but she was also raised by her abuser throughout all of her formative years, which lends itself to comparisons with dysfunctional families like the Lannisters, the Greyjoys and the Cleganes. And so on.
Daenerys Targaryen has a very special place in the narrative, which I think should be acknowledged not only to appreciate her character, but also to understand why GRRM chose to isolate her from everyone else. Why would GRRM be confident that his readers would still be interested in Daenerys despite the fact that she doesn’t interact with any of his other major characters for most of the story? Is it merely because of her dragons, as her detractors say?
No.
It’s because, as the list above showed, Daenerys’s narrative importance and accomplishments are unmatched. They had to be. Daenerys’s character and storyline had to be connected to pretty much everyone else’s in significant, thematic ways in order for her to earn an entire continent, as well as her place as the Fire of ASOIAF. That is why Daenerys is guaranteed to have a major role in all the three main plotlines of ASOIAF. That is why Daenerys is so iconic and represents this book series in a way that no individual Stark could ever do. That is why Daenerys has to be so many things at the same time: a POV character and a claimant to the Iron Throne, a mother and the main representative of her family, the most powerful person in her world and a former slave, a ruler and a conqueror, a she-king and a young girl, quite possibly the story’s main hero and savior. That no other ASOIAF character can come close to her narrative importance or to her in-universe accomplishments is kind of the point because Daenerys had to encompass everything that is great about ASOIAF in order to carry her own storyline. And I'm excited for TWOW because, as she moves closer to Westeros, her importance will only increase more and more.
Daenerys Targaryen is like fine wine. She gets better and better the more time passes, the more you think about her and the more you realize how all the other ASOIAF storylines somehow lead back to hers. Dany’s storyline almost always looks that much more epic and greater in comparison to them because she carries her storyline on her own, so the author had to make sure she caught our attention.
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dudeandduchess · 3 years
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Yakuza!Kyōjurō x F!S/O: Sugar and Spice (Mafia!AU, Modern AU, NSFW Series)[Chapter 4]
Summary: Kyōjurō and (Y/n) meet at a party, only to find out that their lives would change forever— since they had been arranged to be married.
Note: Since it’s my birthday today, here’s a little something for y’all. Yaaaay! I was supposed to do a double update, but I got busy. But I hope y’all like like as much as I loved writing it. Can anyone guess where Kyō and (Y/n) are going though???
Warnings: Mild Smut, Teasing, Making Out, Dysfunctional Family Relationships
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 5
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Breakfast was a silent affair in the (L/n) household; as usual. Even more so when it was just (Y/n) and her mother— Akari— sitting stiffly at the dining table and picking at their meals.
(Y/n)’s back was ramrod straight, even if she was feeling all of the tension pooling at the base of her spine. She knew that she had to keep her posture as impeccable as ever, ‘as is fit for a Prime Minister’s daughter’; like her mother always said.
She couldn’t even take a bite of her food, in her apprehension of earning her mother’s attention. So, she pushed it around her plate at best.
However, her efforts were still all for naught, since Akari spoke up. “What are the things on your agenda today?”
And from the corner of (Y/n)’s eye, she saw Rin straighten up— ready to prattle off the same list that she’d gone through earlier— when she answered for the woman. “I have charity events all day. Why?”
“Just asking, since you have to maximize your appearances for the family while you can.” Akari finished her sentence with a quick look up at her daughter, before turning back to her food and taking another bite of her salmon.
Another reason why (Y/n) couldn’t eat her food: she was sick of having the same thing whenever she ate with her mother. Poached salmon with a poached egg right on top, green beans amandine on the side, with a spot of jasmine tea to wash it all down.
For the past fifteen years that she and her family had been in residence at the Prime Minister’s mansion, her mother had always picked out everything for her whenever she could— from the way that she used to dress, down to the things that she ate. And whenever she tried to protest, she was always branded as too ‘rebellious’ and ‘ungrateful’; so she’d learned to just stay quiet— if only to avoid conflict.
It was a godsend that her father had finally let her move out when she started university; on the condition that she would always spend her breaks with the family.
“Yes, okaa-sama,” (Y/n) muttered under her breath, not in the mood to even talk to her mother. She just wanted breakfast to be done with already, so she could get as far away from the house as possible.
Fortunately, her mother’s secretary announced that she was already running behind for a meeting— so without even a single glance at her, Akari walked right out of the dining room; causing (Y/n) to finally let go of the breath that she’d been holding since she had sat down at the table.
“Do you have some candy, Rin?” The young woman asked softly, wanting to wash out the taste of the jasmine tea that she’d taken a sip of earlier. And when the other woman handed her a piece of cherry-flavored candy, she wasted no time in popping it into her mouth. “Thank you. So, what’s the first thing on my agenda again?”
However, for the second time that day, Rin was cut off before she could even answer; that time, with a loud series of honks from the outside.
“(Y/n)-sama,” One of the housekeepers hastened into the room; a little flushed and breathless from having exerted that much energy, before continuing, “You have a guest.”
“Who?”
“Your fiancé, ma’am.”
She couldn’t help but close her eyes and pinch the bridge of her nose, because that was just what she needed after dealing with her mother: another difficult person to handle.
Still, she found herself feeling a little better— and a little flushed from remembering what he had done to her just the day before— since he was a good distraction. Not to mention, total eye candy. And with a little sigh, she began her walk to the front door.
When she got there though, it was to see Kyōjurō pinching one of the fresh calla lilies between his fingers; only to jump when he heard her words clear as day.
“Those are real.”
The blond grinned at that— bypassing the center table that had the vase of flowers that he’d been admiring— as he closed the distance between him and (Y/n); boldly wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her flush against his chest. “Really? Not as real as this kiss, though.”
With those words hanging in the air, Kyōjurō then leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss; smiling into it when he felt her respond for a brief second, before pulling back a little. He wasn’t having that, however, so he chased after her lips while his free hand cupped the back of her head.
He could hear a few housekeepers gasping in surprise a few ways away, but he couldn’t care less about any of them. Not when he could taste the candy that (Y/n) had in her mouth. So, even more boldly than before, he snaked his tongue between her lips, and slowly coaxed the piece of candy right into his own mouth.
A little breathless from his antics, he finally broke away from (Y/n)— but not before pressing one last gentle kiss against her lips. “Didn’t know that you liked cherry, baby.”
“Shut up,” The young woman whispered, chest heaving and cheeks aflame with a blush. But she made no move to push herself away from Kyōjurō; not because she wanted to stay there forever, but to save face— since she could feel the beginnings of an erection pressed up against her. “What are you doing here?”
“You tell me to shut up, and then you ask me a question. You’re so confusing, sweetheart,” Kyōjurō teased, but still supplied her with a decent answer. “I’m here to take you out for breakfast.”
“I already had breakfast.”
“Then a second breakfast.”
“I have a charity even to go to later,” (Y/n) protested.
But Kyōjurō wasn’t having any of it. “I’ll take you after breakfast. So go and get everything you need, baby.”
***
“Wait, wait!” (Y/n) almost screeched, as she sat down on the buttery leather seat of Kyōjurō’s flashy, red Audi R8. “What about security? I was supposed to have-”
Before she could say anything more, the blond leaned down and pressed his lips against hers— effectively shutting her up— before jerking a thumb at the car behind his own. “You think I would bring you anywhere without thinking of your safety? Over there are two of my most trusted men: Shinazugawa and Tomioka. They don’t necessarily get along, but they get things done…”
And to add to that, Kyōjurō continued, “Besides, you have me to protect you, baby.”
With that, he stole another kiss from (Y/n), before grinning down at her and getting her settled in her seat. He didn’t know why, but taking care of her like that sent his heart fluttering wildly in his chest; maybe it was the novelty of actually doing it for a woman, or maybe it was all because it was her, and the fact that they were going to get married, but he loved every minute of it.
It wasn’t even that he wasn’t a gentleman to his past lovers— he was— but he didn’t really care for them at all. They were good for one thing, and he only kept them around for that, since he was busy with running his family’s business.
But with (Y/n)… he couldn’t even explain it. She was special.
Trying to suppress a smile, he walked around the car to get to his side, before buckling himself in and turning the engine on. However, when the radio turned on, it was still connected to Kyōjurō’s phone— and it had (Y/n) wide-eyed for a second, before she burst out into a fit of giggles.
“I wouldn’t have thought that you were the type to listen to Arashi,” The young woman teased, her giggles getting even louder when Kyōjurō decided to be silly and dance and sing along to the chorus of ‘Turning Up’.
When (Y/n)’s giggles calmed down into a smile, however, the thought that maybe— just maybe— spending time with him wasn’t that bad crossed her mind; and it had her silently agreeing. Especially when she looked back up at Kyōjurō and saw him grinning as he pulled out of the driveway.
When he wasn’t being a teasing horndog, he was okay; at least to (Y/n).
“What time do you need to be at your charity event?” The question had her jumping in surprise, but she quickly composed herself and rifled through all of the mental notes that she had made before leaving the house.
“Ten. And then I have another one at three.”
“Do you like doing these things?” It was such an offhanded question, not meant to be prying at all, but (Y/n) felt it hit much closer to home than her fiancé had intended. Still, she wasn’t mad at him for it; in fact, she felt… relieved, and happy.
Because, for the first time ever, someone had finally asked her what she thought. It was something small and insignificant, but to her that meant a lot— and it had her warming up to him just a little bit more.
“Well… to be honest, no. I don’t like it.”
Kyōjurō was just about to ask why she still did it if she didn’t like it, but the brief glance he cast at her— making him catch a glimpse of the melancholy look in her eyes— had him speaking before thinking. “Fuck those charities. Let’s just go out on a date today.”
“My mother would have my head!” (Y/n) exclaimed with a shake of her head, feeling a rush of excitement coursing through her at the possibility of rebelling; but still trying to stay rational and do what had been asked of her.
However, the blond already beat her to the punch, since he had pressed one of the numbers on the screen— making the car extremely silent, save for the revving of the engine, and the steady ringing of the line.
When someone on the other end picked up though, Kyōjurō didn’t even waste time on pleasantries. “Can you call my mother-in-law’s secretary and tell her that I’m taking (Y/n) out on a date? For the whole day.”
And with that, he dropped the call, letting the car be filled by the song that had been playing before; acting as if he hadn’t just sealed his fate by making his future in-law severely dislike him.
“She’s going to hate you.”
“Too bad, I’m still taking you out on that date.” And, as if to prove his point, he pulled the turn signal before making an illegal u-turn. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any other cars on the road.
(Y/n), completely shocked, screeched, “That was illegal!”
“Baby, you’re marrying me; you’ll be finding out all the illegal things I do for a living very soon."
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Zero to Six ~ The Death of Six - Edited version.
Greetings and salutations! So I know this isn’t what everyone wanted but people are still reading Zero to Six and I’m honestly so grateful that a year on, people are still loving this series.  But I never felt like I wrote it properly, the chapters where always too short and I felt like they were never detailed enough so I wanted to bring to you an edited version (that probably still won’t be perfect.) one that I’m more satisfied with.  I will be keeping the original version up just in case people prefer that one, maybe one day I’ll take it down? who knows but yeah so enjoy! <3 P.s I’ve missed you all so much and I’ve really missed this series. Hopefully sometime soon the Prequel will be out which I have started and named ‘Before there was Six, there was Zero.’
Characters: Four X Zero (OC) Summary: Zero was the first person to be ‘saved’ by One, she was his first honorary Ghost.  Her knowledge in tech meant she got the role of ‘Hacker’ she recruited new team members, looked for missions and locations and made sure every security measure was looked at. You know normal hacker spy stuff.  But her tough up bringing meant that if needs be she could fight, she was maybe even better than some people on the team knew. But due to One’s protectiveness over her she had to stay hidden, she was more of an actual ghost than the rest of the team was. This didn’t mean she couldn’t have her fun though, over the months of being with the full team she had formed quite a passionate love/ hate relationship with the handsome Four.  Who knows what sparks would fly if they were ever to meet.  Warnings: Slight swearing, some suggestive flirting in later chapters. 
Tagg list: (I know this is a edit of my original story but if anyone wants to be tagged let me know.) @raylan-c​
Zero to Six ~ Part 2. Edited Version.​ Masterlist.
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“You’re stalling.” 
“I’m not stalling.” Zero could practically hear the smirk in Fours voice over the coms. “I’m simply just working myself up to it.” 
She laughed. “You always say that, and you’re always stalling.” She was playing on his last nerve, she knew it but this would be good for Four and entertainment for her. He always worked better when he was frustrated and no one stressed him out quite like Zero.
Four had been doing parkour for most of his life, or that’s what he told them. Yet he was still fearful every single time, still I guess that’s what made him great at it the fear of always falling gave him the adrenaline he needed to make the jumps. 
Another breathless laugh fluttered through Zeros left ear. “Don’t test me darling.” Now it was his turn to make Zero sweat, this always happened. Zero would insult and tease and Four would flirt right back, although most of the team were used to it by now they still broke them up from time to time. 
“Whatever monkey boy, just be ready for when Six gets his ass in gear!” She clicked her tongue. “I can hear you mocking me asshole, remember I hold the key here I can make your life a living hell with just one click of a button.” 
“You already make my life hell darling, But I live for it everyday.” 
“Swear to god Four, you’re a pain in my ass.” She mumbled as she typed away at the computer trying to figure out their next move so she could be ready with any instruction they needed. 
“I’m sure your ass is pretty fine, I can’t wait to see it someday.” She could practically feel the smirk.
“Yeah? And I can't wait to punch the smirk off that pretty face one day, only you could be in a life or death situation and be thinking about my virtual ass.”
“Wait, did you just admit to fancying me Zero? Guys she called me handsome, I think I’m getting somewhere.” 
“Go for Four!” Saved by the bell it seems, One’s voice rang through coms. Zero silently thanked god for she did fancy Four, who wouldn’t fancy that absolute Greek god of a man? With that honey voice and the moves he had! moves he could use on her, she shook her head hoping the images of him forming in her head would magically fall out of her brain never to return, but she wouldn’t be so lucky.
“Shut the hell up, stop thinking about ways to seduce Zero and get your ass down here we need you!” And just like that, it was go time. “NOW!”
Zero had been working with this team for a while now, but she was more on the surveillance side of the missions, which meant that she had never officially met the team face to face. The only person she had actually met was One, who had recruited her. He would visit from time to time, she liked to think they had a special bond. She was in fact the first person in need that One had found and ever since then he had become a sort of father figure to her. 
Two was next who was sort of cold at times, Zero put this down to her CIA training but she had never been anything but caring towards Zero. Then she found Three, a hitman who she was reluctant to look into at first but she knew now it was the best thing for her and the team. Despite his past he was one of the most sweet and caring men she’d ever met, and he never failed to make her smile on a bad day.  Ever since recruiting Four, she felt the atmosphere in the group shift slightly, there was nothing bad about him but they both couldn’t ignore the growing attraction between them, and this was just over cyber space.  She then found her best friend in Five, she was different from the rest. Not as violent and rash but still amazing at what she did and protecting herself and others, Zero knew if she ever needed someone the first person she’d go to was Five. 
Six was her latest recruit, one that she knew was extremely talented in not only driving but in all things mechanical too, they had chatting a few times about servers and bots and he’d promised her a round in their shared favourite video game once this mission was complete. 
She’d be lying to herself and everyone else if she said she didn’t want to meet them all in person, they were the closest thing she had, had to family. However she knew that if she was to meet them nothing could ever come of her and Four. One would definitely not allow it, and most likely lock her straight back up.
Still they were sort of this dysfunctional family, and she was definitely the odd one out. She couldn’t remember the last time she had, had a normal conversation with someone who wasn’t ‘dead’ the only time she was allowed to leave the flat was when One said it was moving day. He didn’t like her staying in one flat too long, she must have moved at least four times this year already. While she was alone in her flat eating ready meals they were all back at base eating together, she sometimes pretended she was there eating with them. Three telling her some stupid story that no one else is listening to because they have heard it at least a thousand times, but she would just be so happy to hear his beautiful accent in person that she would listen to anything he was telling her.  How she wished she could hug three in real life. The closest she had gotten to eating with them was over coms, sometimes they would leave the line open for debriefing but it still made her feel like an outcast. 
“I’m coming down!” Everything was going wrong, Six had gone the wrong way. Which Zero wasn’t surprised to see as everyone in the car was shouting at each other, she sat there in her gaming chair drinking Dr Pepper and enjoying her fried chicken meal while everyone was losing their minds in the field. Maybe getting to stay in the comfort of her flat wasn’t so bad after all? 
“Good boy.” She praised Four. “Finally putting those parkour skills to use, other than robbing some innocent person.” 
Even before he started to speak she could tell he’d started to run because his speech came out in huffs. “Shut up, at least I can do parkour which makes me cooler than a girl who sits at her computer all day.”
She had to laugh. “What are you? Five years old? Try again when you can think up better come backs, I can’t take you seriously right now.”  
Wherever One moved Zero was never too far away from where the team worked, the first time the rest of the team worked this out was when Zero first used the drone to help navigate them someplace safe. That was also the first time she finally got to see Four in action, the image of him running along the rooftops like a monkey in the jungle both amused her and impressed her. Hence the nickname she had given him. But there were also times when he would have close calls, where he had nearly fallen to his death that’s when the breath would get knocked out of her and she would only calm when she knew he was safe on the ground again. 
“Right over you guys.” He said in a strained voice while leaping onto another roof.  
“So guys, just look out for the flying monkey above you. That will be Four.” Most of the teasing with Four was just to pass the time while they were out in the field having fun and mainly it was just way too fun to hear him get so frustrated.  
“Zero, that’s not helping us.” One said in a sing-song voice. 
“Maybe it’s not helping you, but it is definitely helping me pass the time.” All she could hear was a disappointed grunt from One which just made her chuckle,it was also very fun to piss One off.
“Six! SIX! Wrong way god damn it!” 
She cringed at how loud Four had screamed down the coms. “Come back! I’ve got an idea.”
“Ladies and gentleman, for the first time in his life Four has an idea!” She said mindlessly typing away trying to find the best route for them to escape by.
“You know what Zero, when we finally meet I’m going to run that fine ass of yours into the ground.” He all but growled.
“You can try monkey boy, but you’ll have to catch me first.” She smirked to herself, she secretly hoped that, that was more of a promise than a mere threat. “Oh, challenge accepted sweetheart. I’d love to have a game of cat and mouse with you.” 
“You two do remember that we are on a mission right now, right?” Six moaned. “What with you two flirting, and these absolute idiots fighting beside me in the car. I’m finding it very hard to concentrate on driving!” With every word Six’s voice got more agitated and louder.
“We are not flirting!” Both Four and Zero exclaimed together. 
“Aww they even said it at the same time!” Zero just rolled her eyes at One’s teasing. “No one cares, now both of you shut up so we can all get out of here.” 
“That’s it Six, keep coming towards me!” The drone was filming just above the action, once she’d wiped her hands and they were free from the grease on her chicken. She finally realised what Four was about to do. 
Suddenly the car that was tailing Six was being impaled by five metal tubes. “God, okay I’m definitely done eating now. That was so gross.” 
Then the screaming started to fill the coms. “Guy’s, what the hell are you doing?” All Zero could make out was something about an eyeball. 
“This is so stressful! Can everyone stop arguing and speaking over each other?!” Zero was getting agitated now. 
“YOU THINK YOU’RE STRESSED?! I’M TRYING TO DRIVE WHILST ALSO TRYING NOT TO KILL ANYONE, DID I MENTION I ALSO HAVE AN EYEBALL ON MY LEG?!” Six all but screamed down the coms, loud enough that Zero had to remove her earpiece until she was sure he was done with his rant. 
“Six sweetie,” she said as calmly as she could, trying not to laugh. “Are you okay?” 
“DO I SOUND LIKE I’M OKAY ZERO?!” She knew he would say that, she finally let out the chuckle she was trying to hold as to not irritate him further.
“Sorry I was just asking. I swear I‘m not using your painful situation to make myself feel better.” She held her hands up in defence even though he couldn’t see her.
He just let out a huff. “I’m going to ignore you now Zero, you’re pissing me off more than these guys are.” 
After the commotion things went quiet for a while, there was now a helicopter tailing them so all effort and concentration went on losing it. While there was little chatter over the coms the main sound that dominated the air was the gunfire, Zero silently prayed to herself while she watched the drone that everyone would make it out of their first real mission alive. One finally found a route for them, conveniently inside of a building that would shelter them enough to lose the aerial surveillance they were under. 
“The drone will meet you on the other side, good luck and please try not to make too much of a mess in there Six. There are some priceless statues in there we would all like preserving.” Just as Zero finished her sentence she heard a loud crash.
“You were saying?” Six chuckled nervously. 
“You didn’t.” Zero stared shocked at her screen, mouth wide open. 
One was the one to respond to her though. “Unfortunately he did, don’t worry we’re all just as disappointed in him.” 
“Okay we finally lost the chopper, Zero do you have a visual?” One asked surprisingly calmly.
“You mean the bright green car, kind of hard to miss. Good choice Six you really blend in.” Zero laughed. “I see you, there are two black vans heading your way. Shake them off then head to the arranged rendezvous spot where Three will be waiting for you.” 
Six’s voice was strained when he spoke. “Listen, fast and convenient was what I was told to get. So that’s what I got.” 
Zero would have responded but she was more distracted by the sight of Four on a skateboard holding a launcher. He jumped off the board and leaped up onto the stone wall just as one of the black vans passed, he aimed and shot, never missing the mark. She was impressed for a moment but then saw the smug smile on his face, he looked directly into the drone and winked at Zero. She just scoffed, what an absolute show off.
“Seems like we have a superhero on our team.” Six laughed impressed. 
Zero scoffed again, but this time loud enough so everyone could hear it over the coms. “I wouldn’t exactly call him a superhero.” 
“Then what would you call me darling? A Greek god?” This is the thing about Four, he’d never met Zero in person but he knew exactly how to push her buttons. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the banter from time to time. 
“Hurm more like a vein asshole that thinks far too highly of himself.” She snapped back.
But he just laughed, the complete opposite of what she was expecting. “I mean everyone else loves me, might as well love myself too.” She rolled her eyes, She really couldn’t blame him though he was a very handsome man but no way in hell was she ever going to tell him that. “One day you’ll fall for the charm that everyone else falls for. I know you’re already obsessed with me.” 
“In your dreams Four.” 
“It already happens in my dreams, every night darling. I’d be happy to elaborate later on in a private chat.” Zero audibly gagged. 
“Guy’s can we please cut out the flirting until after the mission? We’re nearly there and I don’t think any of us want to hear whatever this is.” One sounded tired and Zero just laughed at how much their fighting annoyed the other members. 
“Yes boss!” She added in a salute even though One couldn’t see her, he could feel she was mocking him. 
Just then the drone cut out. “Shit! Someone shot down the drone. You’re on your own from here guys.” 
There was a commotion through the coms, one that didn’t sound at all good. Car tyres screeched, bullets rain down on the metal of the car Zero held her breath as she waited for anything. Even just a breath so she knew at least someone was still alive, her heart stopped when the line had been silent for too long she had to know what happened. 
“Guys, come on talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you all being so silent? What happened?” There was another breath of silence and her mind went straight to Four, she shook her head. No! She wasn’t going to let herself think about that, she scolded herself for getting too attached to the little shit.  
The was a crackle over the line, Five cleared her throat. “Six is dead, we’re in the van, the space is clear.”  
Zero sucked in a breath, she felt like her lungs were burning. “What?” 
“Zero listen to me, you need to turn off coms now.” One must have turned from the group, he was using his quiet, serious voice. “I’ll handle this okay, I’ll check back in with you later.” 
Just like that he was gone, she clicked the switch to turn off almost absentmindedly. She sat back in her chair, only snapping back to reality when she felt something wet fall on her hand. She softly touched her face to find her cheeks were wet, when had she started to cry? Six wasn’t someone she knew in person, he had been the last member of the team but still a very important piece of their puzzle. She thought about the game he had promised to play with her after the mission, this would never come to pass now. Now he was really dead, and it was all her fault.
For the first time Zero started to think about the whole team and if One’s master plan of being ghosts to take down the world’s evil was such a good idea after all, why had it taken a real death in the team for her to even think about this. What if it had been Four, she didn’t think she could live with herself if anything ever happened to Four, maybe it was a good thing they had never met. Seeing him in person, hearing his deep honey voice, feeling his warmth would definitely make her fall deeper then she already was. He was just a voice over the coms but behind that was a real person, one that probably wouldn’t even share the same feelings towards her. So she thought ‘Yes, It’s a good thing I’m behind this computer screen and not with them in person.’ She had to try to distance herself from now on.  
 ......
Just wanted to say one last Thank You! for the continued support for this story <3 
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veliseraptor · 3 years
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got tagged for two fic writer memes yesterday! the one from @ameliarating first:
How many works do you have on AO3?
509.
What’s your total AO3 word count?
3,432,24. dang! that’s a lot of words
How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
I have written for...counting the MCU as one fandom, on AO3 I have written for 32 fandoms, including at least one work in:
MCU, The Sillmarillion, Caliban Leandros, both DC and Marvel Comics, the book Barebacked by Kit Whitfield, Doctrine of Labyrinths, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars, Black Jewels, Dragon Age, Lucifer, Dexter, Temeraire, Gentleman Bastard Sequence, Supernatural, A Song of Ice and Fire, Greek Mythology, Lymond Chronicles, Merlin BBC, Code Geass, Good Omens,  Death Note, and White Collar.
this is not a comprehensive list of every fandom I’ve ever written for, because it is not including ones that live only on FFN or Livejournal.
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Life In Reverse tops the list (11066), aka my 200k Loki-centric post-Thor AU fic that I wrote between 2012 and 2018 and with which I have a decidedly complex relationship at this point. I love it but also I no longer think it’s my best work but also I credit it with teaching me a fuck of a lot about writing and writing longer projects in general.
With Absolute Splendor is rapidly catching up, to my astonishment (6559), despite having been posted for less than half as long. Aka the wedding planning fic that’s really just me mucking about in my Jiang Cheng and my Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian feelings, at length.
some good mistakes (4618) was my first foray into the Untamed version of “characters who hate each other going on resentful roadtrips together, feat. Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng.” I have gone on to write others and will continue to write more.
Unraveling (3069) is a little bit of a surprise but also not - it was originally just sort of WWP stuff for my ‘what if people remembered that blunt force trauma is a really bad thing actually’ problem that pops up sometimes, re: Loki at the end of The Avengers, and then it kind of turned into a whole thing. I personally think it’s the weakest of the installments of the series it belongs to, but it is the first one and also the one that gets least into the broader family dysfunction and depression stuff that probably is less everyone’s thing (but is what came out this fic that mattered more to me, personally).
I am a little surprised to see Steve Rogers’ Halfway House for Notorious Supervillains (3068) here too! I was expecting one of the more...idk, mainstream concepts from the MCU to win out? But I also wasn’t expecting two Untamed fics to make it here, either. But I am stupid proud of this fic even if it is very extraordinarily unfinished. This is one of those unfinished fics that will nag at me unless and until I finish it, at least a little, because the concept - if I do say so myself - is so goddamn good and I think I was executing it pretty well, too.
Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Pretty much never. I was never very good at it and now I’d feel like I had to go back and reply to all of them and I just. I can’t do that. and when I do try to just start at the beginning I get overwhelmed very fast and start avoiding it.
Basically I decided that if it’s a decision between wrestling with myself to reply to comments versus actually doing more writing I’m going to end up landing on the latter as feeling both more doable and more productive.
What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
probably it’s The Worlds Forgotten, the Words Forbidden for sheer level of “so then what was the point” of it all. but like. I’ve definitely written a few extraordinarily miserable fics, and by “a few” I kind of mean “a lot.” Other nominees I’d put down might be nor autumn falter (for currently personally making me suffer most), once there was a way to get back home (for I think having the ouchiest summary), and Waiting for the Summer Rain (which remains one of my personal favorite Supernatural fics I wrote).
but like. there are 43 fics I have marked with Major Character Death warnings and every single one of those, pretty much, has a downer ending.
Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?
I have written several though not in a long time! My craziest probably remains the Morgoth/Cthulhu short I wrote that actually got sporked because someone took it seriously (???) enough to do that. But the craziest that actually has any merit, (I’d argue) is probably the Maeglin/Viserys one.
not linking to either, if you want to go find them I don’t think it’ll be that hard.
Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Yeah, a few times on a few different things. More if you count “people who seem to like the fic but love telling you how much they hate the female characters you’re writing about in it” as ‘hate’ which I would but isn’t, you know, quite as straightforward. If I had a nickel for every time someone bitched about Jane in Life in Reverse, though...lots of nickels.
Do you write smut? if so what kind?
Sure do! But what does ‘what kind’ mean, I don’t know how to answer that question. I feel tempted to just put in my “Mike’s Hard Kinks” image edit in this space.
I guess usually I tend to write smut that at least involves a little bit of a kink? I don’t think I’d feel comfortable writing entirely kinkless smut. I think I’d feel weird about it, the same way I do when I write really nice fic, generally.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I think I did back when but I don’t remember anything about it. I feel like it was one of those mass data scraping things where my fic happened to be among those caught up in it.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
I have! several actually, mostly into Russian and Chinese. every time it happens I’m immensely flattered that someone wants to put in that kind of work on something I wrote.
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
I think I’d be very, very bad at it.
What’s your all time favorite ship?
Depends on when you ask me! I could probably give you a top five but then I’d remember six that I forgot to mention five minutes later. I guess if I were to think about ships that feel like they hold very special particular places in my heart... Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen, Steve Rogers/Loki, and Min/Rand come to mind.
What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
oh god do you want the whole list cause honestly I could just like. screencap the entirety of my “in progress” folder with a crying emoji watermarked over it. and that’s not getting into the fics that are like...half formed babies in my consciousness but not anywhere on paper.
and also I just hate to admit that I might not finish something.
you know what? the Lucifer/Good Omens crossover I started would’ve been a lot of fun. I’m probably never going to finish it, but it would’ve been great if I had. I know other people did it too but my contribution could’ve been amazing.
I can say this very boldly with the near certainty that I’m not going to finish the fic so no one will be able to disagree.
(...also the Last Herald-Mage fix it. that was going to be a good fic too, and also will probably languish unfinished forever.)
What are your writing strengths?
I’m pretty sure dialogue is my strongest point. Dialogue and emotions, which is why I always end up just wanting to write about characters talking and having feelings at each other.
What are your writing weaknesses?
Writing action sequences throws me into conniptions every time I have to do it and I will take drastic actions sometimes to avoid doing it at all, which probably weakens the work as a whole.
Also, I don’t plan ahead and this means I write myself into corners kind of a lot. If I wasn’t writing long, dense fic it wouldn’t be a problem but here we are.
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I tend to avoid it unless it’s in the context of, as in CQL/MDZS fic, leaving certain terminology untranslated. I’m pretty sure I almost never write full exchanges of dialogue in a different language than I’m using for the narration within a fic, and generally speaking my reaction to other people doing it is at least mildly negative.
What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Harry Potter was technically the first fandom I wrote for, but it was a crack fic I wrote to make my friends laugh more than anything; I tend to count Wheel of Time as my first actual fandom for which I wrote my first actual fic.
What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
some days the answer is “all of them” and some day the answer is “I don’t like anything I’ve written in my entire life” and I never like giving this a definitive answer. yesterday I reread efforts in a common cause (the bound copy!! thanks @spockandawe) and you know what, that was a good fic and I’m proud of it, so I’m going with that one, for this meme, today.
tagging: @mostfacinorous, @jaggedcliffs, @silvysartfulness, @mikkeneko, @kasasagi-eye, @curiosity-killed, how many people am I supposed to tag for this one anyway
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hellonoblesky · 3 years
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School got me worn out so here's my team dynamic HCs
It's Kaeya, Xingqiu, Diluc, and Ayaka atm hngjfhgdjfg
Kaeya
This man is so tired, Archons please let him rest
Has to pick up his week's paperwork from Jean every Monday when we go to Mondstadt to buy food supplies and stuff before fighting Andrius, gets to work on it while Diluc and the Andrius team go at it
Actually is the person who keeps the whole party safe, has pulled Xingqiu away from ledges while he's reading more times than he can count, makes sure everyone has food at all times, and keeps the schedule in line
Has a flask of Death After Noon that he keeps on him, has to actively keep it away from Xingqiu because the kid's curious
He is so tired he is the reason the party only gets up to leave at like noon because he sleeps in
Thinks he's good enough at hiding his anxiety that no one else has noticed
He is not, they've all noticed him shaking visibly at high speeds in 90-degree weather and the kids will do their best to avoid fraying his nerves on a bad day
Very kind to Xingqiu and Ayaka, kinda like a cool uncle? Buys them things even though they can afford it
Kinda lets the kids do what they want and chat while he keeps them safe and the whole party on their way
Absolute tank, balances his skillset out so he can manage most threats alone, no one has to get hurt, they can just travel, it's fine it's fine
Pretends to casually bring up stuff the kids want to do (after meticulously making sure the party would be in the right place at the right time)
"Xingqiu, we have time to kill, care to show us to the Wanwen Bookhouse? We can see if they have the next issue in that book series you're always reading! :)"
"Ayaka, you wanted to try some Liyuen cuisine, didn't you? We have a dear friend who just so happens to be a chef at Wanmin Restaurant! And since we're in Liyue anyway, we should swing by, shouldn't we?"
He tries his best to find something Diluc wouldn't mind doing too! Usually, Diluc turns him down but Kaeya has scored on occasion!
"C'mon Diluc, you can't have lost all your taste for reading, right? I hear Inazuma has some interesting books nowadays, what with all the isolation..."
Basically, he just tries his best and is so tired please let him rest
Diluc
This man is angry all the time but he doesn't mean to be. He's just unnerved because he's basically back to hunting Fatui in other nations. He just isn't alone this time and the Fatui aren't the focus
He's so annoyed that they don't leave until Kaeya wakes up, actively in denial about the fact that he himself wakes up only an hour earlier and everyone else is waiting for much longer
Runs right into danger all the time please someone tell this man to calm down he is the reason they need so much food
Does and takes a whole lot of damage at the same time and it stresses Kaeya out so much
Was not Pleased to find out he'd be stuck traveling with Kaeya, puts up with it because he can't bring himself to turn down the Traveler's request. Because in his eyes they're just a kid trying to find their family and he really can't turn down their plea for help in
Gets along surprisingly well with Xingqiu, they both enjoy reading, and often recommend books to each other! Diluc has no idea Xingqiu wrote Legend of a Sword, but the only reason for that is that he literally forgot the book name
"Hmm... in Mondstadt we have this book, The Fox and the Dandelion Sea? For a traditional Mondstadt fairytale, it does remind me of Inazuma, funnily enough. There are versions of the book that are watered down for younger children, but if you have the time I'd recommend the full novelization."
"Tales From the Waves? No, I haven't read that. Is it good?" ... "A novelization of an old ship captain's life? That does sound interesting... I'll pick up a copy when I can"
Gets along well with Ayaka as well, they both appreciate the arts and such so they talk about that
"In Mondstadt we don't have nearly as many festivals as they do in Inazuma... but when we do they're quite the occasion, and very dear to people's hearts. There would be rioting in the streets if the Windblume Festival was postponed..."
"Oh Mond has its fair share of dance traditions, but they fell to be a staple of the Lawrence rule, so not many traditional dances remain... although if you wish to learn more about them you could ask Kaeya to introduce you to the Knight's Recconacance Captain. She doesn't like me very much"
Is the one person who actually doesn't realize that Kaeya is anxious All The Time, literally could watch him shake uncontrollably as Venti walks by and think it was his Vision acting up, he has all the pieces to put the puzzle together but has lost interest in it
Xingqiu
Top ten reasons the party gets sidetracked, number one: Xingqiu finding a book and getting so into it that he doesn't notice people
Actually besties with Ayaka he thinks she's really cool!
Top ten reasons why Kaeya actually gets to sleep as long as he does, number one: Xingqiu jumping up and yanking Diluc's hair when he tries to wake him up
"You're 22 you can go get breakfast by yourself, my leige"
Infodumps about his books to the whole party while they're eating dinner regardless of if they're listening or not (they are, they always are)
Pulls out relevant trivia out of nowhere?? Like they'll be stuck in some ruins and Xingqiu just
"Hey, you know this specific style of ruins are known to be built with metal hatches that always lead to escape routes :)"
Or like
"Oh yeah, the coloration in the animals is different here because the plants in Inazuma so often have purple and blue pigmentation, and Inazuma is so naturally isolated, that the animals adapted to get their pigments partially from the foliage!"
And no one knows how or why he knows this much but he Does??
Also, knows everyone's favorite bird for some reason and talks about them, why? Idk I think he'd like birds!!
"A peacock? Oh, I've never even seen one of those! I hear they're lovely, but a little noisy. Sometimes we get feathers imported for design reference at the Feyun Commerce Guild though!"
"Umbertail Falcon, right? Ohh I hear they can be very loyal, right? Ahh, so that's why yours flys down to check in on you? That's lovely! Owls? Oh yeah, those are cool birds, you know their feathers are fanned out just right so they're entirely silent while flying!"
"Herons? Oh yeah, that's what your title is, right? Graceful... I think they're more stealthy, very good at waiting to strike. That's how they hunt, you know? Just being patient and stealthy, then striking. That's also why they're so graceful standing there all the time!"
Bummed that he's the only person in the party without a bird as his constellation tbh, but he's alright with it because he's got books!!
Mentioned Albedo and Kaeya almost choked on his food, Xingqiu thought this was hilarious
Routinely plays pranks on Diluc and occasionally manages to pull a deez joke on Kaeya, leaves Ayaka alone with the pranks though because he knows she's new to all of this
Ayaka
Oh this poor girl, Lumine just dropped her off with Mondstadt's most dysfunctional siblings and a kid who reads at the speed of light and said have fun
Really gets along well with Xingqiu!! Having someone with a somewhat similar background is definitely a relief, especially because Kaeya and Diluc intimidate her, what with them arguing most of the time they interact
She recognizes the anxiety in Kaeya (because she also has it) so she's a little more comfortable approaching him because of that
She's happy to talk about Inazuma's ruins and is fascinated by Kaeya bringing up similar ruins in Mondstadt and Liyue
She really appreciates him remembering what she's interested in and making time in the day for it!
Diluc on the other hand?? She has... some idea how to talk to him? But?? He is either aggressive or glaring off into the distance at all times, and she's been around long enough to know that he doesn't mean to be like that but it's still unnerving to her
However, she Can talk to him! She is still a little confused because he constantly sounds so grumpy, but she's realized that he's actually really good at listening, and is absolutely willing to talk about Mondstadt traditions! Because she does really like to learn about other nations
Plus, she can go to Xingqiu to answer most of her questions!
"Xingqiu, I- I hope this isn't an odd question, but ah... how exactly do you get used to Kaeya and Diluc? I don't think I've quite figured it out yet..?"
"So in Liyue... the Merchant stalls are on the docks? Like Ritou but it's all on the docks? Interesting..."
"You're the second born of the Feyun Commerce Guild? Oh! Forgive me, I thought you were the eldest, my brother handles most international relations..."
It was really hard for her to adjust to the team, just because of how ragtag it is most of the time, but she's got it by now!
She actually kind of likes the scrappy chaos! She hasn't completely gotten used to it all but she finds it like kind of a break from having to uphold her image at all times
Top five Ayaka quotes and who she said them to:
"They fight a wolf ghost every week...?? Are they ok??" (To Kaeya, about the Andrius team)
"So this is Morax's old... dragon friend...??" (To Xingqiu)
"Wait, you do this every week?" (To Diluc, about the domains)
"Oh!! Oh it is spicy!!!" (To Xingqiu, about Xiangling's cooking)
"Ah... OH! Yes um I uh- *gay hand flip* ?? Is that right??" (Xingqiu was talking about Chongyun)
Also the party went to Dragonspine and Ayaka was actually really interested in Durin because she didn't know that other nations also had odd giant dragon skeletons
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pineapple-lover-boy · 3 years
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Cursed Child Could’ve Been Better and Here’s Why:
Part 1?
Hate the Cursed Child. The play is a good play on its own but it doesn’t match up with Harry Potter as much as it should’ve, we all know this. But I want to present some ideas on why Delphini COULD have been the coolest villain ever and how she could work (plus a few extra improvements over all):
Main point against her is that Voldy couldn’t have children cause he split his soul. How about this: he could have children, but they end up having a fractured soul as well. They are sickly beings.
With the live potion conception, or as I like to call it “Merope r@ping Tom Riddle”: because of the love potion conception Voldy couldn’t feel love. That could work for Delphi too except to a less degree because she was most likely made from consent (Bellatrix would obviously say HELL YES and she definitely couldn’t sneak one on Voldy). She could still not understand love but she can kind of feel platonic/familial love, again, still not being able to understand it which can cause her to become overwhelmed and set up some sympathetic and angsty scenes for her
Voldy would never do the do, ever: Maybe not, but let’s remember that this is just fanfiction from two guys that JK signed off on. I could see him having a kid on the rarest occasion though. Having children only builds his future empire and if he still hasn’t won the wizarding world by the time they can do decent magic he’s at least got himself a new recruit. Plus we know and he knows that he’s strong, his magic is strong. Bellatrix’s magic is strong. This guy is basically magical H1tler so he is probably down for some experimentation between two very powerful wizards. And having a baby while in the middle of a war isn’t that far off. Literally every person in Harry’s year was born during a year when Voldy was obviously winning. And to have a child during the war as a safe goat isn’t a bad idea for someone like Voldy. Yes he is prideful and thinks that no one can defeat him but it was only a few years after he came back. Harry still defeated him as a baby through powers unknown to him. He may think he’s the best but there had to be at least one seed of doubt in his mind.
“What about the story? It’s trash, and Delphi only makes it worse!” I hear you say. Well here are some improvements I’ve thought of:
1. No time turners. JK specifically destroyed them for plot hole reasons. Cursed Child is a plot hole in itself while using them
2. Have it center around Delphi rebuilding her fathers empire instead of trying to bring him back. If Delphi is anything like her father then she’s smart enough to know that time travel only complicates things
3. Because of the live thing I mentioned before, have Delphi have some feelings. Yes her father couldn’t live and her mother was crazy, go off of that. Have her find out how dysfunctional they both were and have her ask herself “if they were so insane and failed, is it really smart for me to be doing this?” Have her feel something towards Albus and Scorpius, a sisterly feeling towards them. Have them convince her in the end that what she’s doing is wrong and have her completely brake down. Make her a relatable human being that just wants to make her parents proud because that was the only reason for her to be brought to that Earth.
4. Make it a book. Listen, having it as a play is fine but having it as a book first I feel fleshes out that characters more and then when we really know them we could have a play. Most plays are based off of books or movies because they want to see the characters break down in song or have the conversations in front of them but if you want to make the Harry Potter fans happy than please make it a book first. It doesn’t even need to be a series.
5. Let Harry be a loving father. Seriously. How could they mess this up? He was an abused child by his only guardians after his parents died. There’s no way in hell he’s gonna say something bad and then not immediately take it back. It’s ok to make him have mistakes and misunderstandings as a parent, after all they’re probably still suffering tons of trauma after 19 years, but to not have him feel sorry right at that moment is an insult to Harry and what he went through.
6. Keep Draco’s redemption arc. It was actually good. Probably the best thing in the play.
7. Show how the world is crumbling under Delphi’s destruction. Don’t go to alternate realities to show it, cause we know that they haven’t happened yet and can be fixed. It creates more tension because how is this going to be fixed? They’ve probably just finished making everything alright in the wizarding world and now it all goes to shit again. Show the desperation in the characters. Their want to get things right again. Not just some “oh no this is terrible! We have to fix it!” Type of stuff. That’s why a book is the best format, you can show these tiny details.
8. Stop the queer baiting.
9. Show how the older characters are still suffering from their trauma, in different degrees, and how they deal with that while taking care of children. Show them trying not to have ptsd flashbacks or panic attacks in front of their children, show it actually happening.
10. Don’t have Rose be a total asshole. Have her be a bit wary around Scorpius but ultimately trusting him because she trusts her cousins decision. Have have be the new Golden trip but in their own ways. Mesh the original trios ways into their own: Albus has the brave leader (like Harry), Scorpius as the heart but has still got plenty of brain (mesh of Ron and hermione), and have Rose be another strong and brave leader while also being a bit of the heart too. (Which can cause some tension between her and Albus cause they both want to lead). Also mesh some of the other characters too. Scorpius can be like Neville, unsure of himself and how brave he can be but having a moment of confidence where he knows he’s capable. Have Albus be be as open minded and spirited as Luna, let him have moments where people look at him weird for some less than logical ideas but him not caring. Have Rose be as competitive and fiery as her aunt, Ginny, don’t make her be snobbish but let her have a temper that makes people say “wow!” instead of rolling their eyes in annoyance. However these characters are portrayed, let them be similar to the multitude of trios in the second generation, but different enough that they are their own people.
That’s all I have for now. Please tell me any other ideas or critiques, I know there is a lot more. I genuinely think that they could’ve had the character of Delphini and made it work but they just made her a Great Value version of her father who uses unconventional methods of getting him back. I honestly loved the character of Delphini when I first read the script and I still do, she just needs to be fleshed out more and have a better story. Also having her be sick as a part of being birthed from a guy that had barely any soul could be and interesting plot point too. Her being unsure coupled with the fact that it’s hard for her to even live normally could contribute to the fact that she can’t keep on fighting anymore. Anyways, thanks for reading this, I know it’s long. And please tell me your thoughts!
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cmtuckerly · 3 years
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25 Things I learned by 25
1. A dream isn’t the same as a passion. Publishing a book is a dream, but writing is a passion. You can’t take away passion. 
2. Don’t expect to become an adult during undergrad. You’ll definitely grow, but you’re still figuring things out. You’ll make mistakes. Undergrad is when you can still have fun, do whatever you want, and not be answerable to anyone (rejoice in not yet having a supervisor or boss to report to). You can take whatever electives you want. You can choose to study for that midterm for as much or as little you want. It’s one of your last times to be chaotic (whatever chaotic means to you) before going into the workforce or starting grad school, where you have responsibilities have and to answer to a supervisor. 
3. You don’t need to impress anyone with your life, especially not your friends or relatives. It’s your life and you’re the one who’s going to have to deal with the choices your make, not them. Their judgements and approval aren’t going to be what sustains you. It only matters whether you’re happy with what you do. 
4. Age differences matter less when you get older. When you were 18, it felt weird being in the same class as a 19 year old. But when you’re 25, you’ll be working on projects with people who are 22, 33, and 50, and everyone’s opinion has comparable weight. You gain a lot of wisdom and maturity when you work with people outside of your age cohort. Also, stop putting so much stock into your 20s. After having a year taken away from my 20s due to the plague, I’m trying to tell myself that being young is more of a state of mind than an age range. Likewise, I find the label “old soul” pretentious as heck. 
5. Living harmoniously with your housemates means that you should communicate clearly what your expectations are for the bathroom and kitchen. Tell your housemates to clean their own hair from the drain after they shower instead of letting everyone’s hair clog it up after a month. Tell your housemates to clean their food from the kitchen drain after they do their own dishes. 
6. No matter who shames you, don’t feel bad about staying up til 4am and waking up at 2pm. In a way, sometimes it’s a privilege to have a school/work life that allows you to have a dysfunctional sleep schedule. Embrace it while you can.  
7. Don’t feel regret for the mistakes you made or the things you didn’t do. You only wish you made a different decision now because you have hindsight. At the time you made that decision, you didn’t know any better and thought that was the best choice. Those series of decisions and mistakes you made helped form the person you are and the wisdom you have now. So why regret that things that helped make you you?
8. It’s okay to lie to your family and friends in order to make it easier to get some space to breathe. You don’t owe anyone your time or explanations. 
9. ”Your vibe attracts your tribe”. Something I heard from a youtuber. There will always be at least one person out there who likes what you do, no matter how niche it is. You’ll always find an audience for your voice. Keep doing you.
10, Some deadlines are flexible and some rules are bendable. Don’t always do things by the book. Things will work out. They’ll be fine. Rejection also doesn’t mean you’re not good enough or not capable. Rejections means you weren’t given that opportunity, but it doesn’t mean you are incapable to learning that knowledge. It’s also why going to college and having a post-secondary education isn’t necessary for success. Likewise, don’t take failure so seriously. Learn from it, yes, but it’s not going to matter in the grand scheme of things years from now. 
11. Don’t mistake being nice for flirting. You’ll make yourself too vulnerable that way. 
12. Invest mental energy into something meaningful. Staring at someone’s instagram profile or a celebrity’s photos on google images isn’t going to change anything. Similarly, that trip to Paris you took, the fairy lights in your room, or the hipster cafe you spend your time in doesn’t make you more artsy or cultured. The great plague of 2020 taught me to re-evaluate and redefine what’s left of my personality when I’m stuck at home for a year. 
13. My favourite form of therapy: wandering solo. Whether it be walking through a city, a summer music festival, hiking through a forest, driving, or going to a museum or art gallery on my own. There’s a lot of freedom when you’re alone and anonymous.  
14. Go eat alone in that restaurant (when safe and appropriate). No one is noticing. And if they do, take pride in the fact that you’re more open-minded and confident than they are. 
15. No one remembers the mistake or embarrassing thing you did in your meeting or presentation. People have better things to remember and think about in their lives. 
16.  Fate is just meaning that we choose to give to certain coincidences. It’s not real. 
17. Meet-cutes don’t end in happily ever after like they do in the movies. But they do make for interesting stories.
18. Don’t expect to meet the love of your life at a cafe, bookstore, social dance night, or whatever special event. People are mostly there to work, find a book, practice their dance skills, and socialize with their friends. They’re not paying much attention to people around them. 
19. Maturity is being able to have a celebrity crush and knowing that it’ll never work out in real life and being okay with that. It’s all about learning how to have a healthy balance of emotional attachment and emotional distance. 
20. I think one martini gets me just as tipsy as 3 glasses of wine. I need to do more tests to find out though. 
21. A good conversationalist and someone who has the same interests as you doesn’t mean they’ll be a good partner. There are lots of people who fit that criteria. That’s why we have friends. 
22. Fake it ‘til you make it. Feeling unconfident? Pretend that you are! Shy? Pretend to be the charismatic person you always wanted to be. No one will be the wiser. All the world’s a stage. Everyone’s trying to act out the best versions of themselves. As a shy introvert, I’m always worried about stuttering and betraying to others that I’m not as knowledgeable or confident than I actually I am. But I find that it somewhat helps to think less about what people think of me and to think more about the effect that I want to have on others. By projecting outwards, I become a little less self-conscious and ruminate inwards less. 
23. Spending a lot of time with someone doesn’t mean you’ll be friends with them. After pulling all-nighters for group projects and seeing my group members more than my own friends and family for 4 months at a time and then never speaking to the group again despite how much we’ve bonded during the group project, I finally understand why actors don’t always become close friends with their co-stars. 
24. Read. Learn how to tell stories, whether visually, orally, or textually. You’ll learn how to think more clearly. Unplugging from your phone and computer for 2-3 hours to do this really helps. 
25. Be creative, curious, open, and spontaneous. Make the most of a disappointing situation. Be positive. Everything is an opportunity, from being stuck in traffic to being stuck in a grocery line. Everything can lead to a story that can be told later. Drive aimlessly for an hour every weekend and notice how the landscape changes and how neighbourhoods shift. Be open to taking up new hobbies. Be open to reconnecting with an old friend over coffee, even if the homebody inside you wants to cancel everything. 
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monkey-network · 3 years
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Good Stuff: Kid Cosmic
The Cosmos Have Aligned Once More
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It’s been a while since we heard from Craig McCracken, huh? Since Wander Over Yonder to be exact, when Disney cut it prematurely to my crashed to eventually apathetic disappointment. I’d say there was 2016′s Powerpuff Girls, but we don’t have to remember that; CN sure didn’t. But hey, making cartoons isn’t like magic so naturally time would be had for the guy to make things happen and now with Netflix’s ok, 4 years later, he’s finally back and about time too. How does Kid Cosmic hold up?
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When it comes to animation, I say Mercury Filmworks is to TV what Dreamworks is for film. If you want a good looking animation for whatever style you have, they put the work in; they are there for the art. This really is no different than Netflix’s Hilda, Tangled the Series, Wander Over Yonder, the Mickey Mouse shorts, sure enough The Cuphead Show, Mercury really provided the life for both its style and action on top of the banger music. Mentioning style, especially with what the show wants to do story and theme wise, I very much love McCracken’s modern take on the Sunday strip like look, unlike anything I’ve ever seen, though in the back in my mind there was a comic IP that I figured fit this cartoon more than anything. A series that not only is a hallmark of superheroes, but perfectly captures how I similarly feel about Kid Cosmic.
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A familial feeling, you could say
While the MCU has (reasonably) left them out of the equation, at least for now, The Fantastic Four were basically what helped Stan Lee become the legend of comic heroes, what truly put Marvel comics on the map. Captain America preceded them, but the FF were the definitive epicenter behind Marvel’s rise in recognition. Why or how? They were imperfect, very dysfunctional at a time where heroes were always depicted as wholly virtuous, patriotic and when Stan Lee was almost going to writing quit all together. The Fantastic Four was a team of chaos, a refreshing way to look at heroes for more than their heroism, and above all, they were a family. You could see this in Pixar’s The Incredibles, in The Avengers, and where I say Kid Cosmic gets its influence most of all, intentional or not. Our cast is entertainingly energetic enough on their own, but having a found superhero family granted powers and seeks to do optimistic good with them despite personal hangups, taking the FF to its most logical, tongue-in-cheek extreme?
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You’re basically catering to me at this point
Show also reminded me of Scott Pilgrim, Sam & Max and Captain Underpants, but that’s beside me. Taking after Wonder Over Yonder’s more serialized second season, McCracken indeed has something going probably for as enough time as he sees fit (take notes, Nickelodeon). It’s an engaging thriller exploring the responsibility of heroism, knowing full well that it isn’t easy but grasping it’s about knowing what’s right. It uniquely bears the Marvel spirit just as The Powerpuff Girls was with DC. But above all, the game is fun. If it wasn’t fun, it would’ve aired on the CW. It’s not a fist clenching mastahpeece right now, but like Tartakovsky’s Primal and Faust’s Super Best Friends Forever, it ticks all the right boxes making a memorable cartoon to start off 2021.
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4 Out Of 5; A Solid Superheroing Adventure
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latraviesascott · 3 years
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What kind of dreams (or nightmares) do you think the Avatar characters have? Obviously Aang's got some wild ones and Sokka dreams about food eating people xD but what do you think The rest of the gaang and the Fire Nation kids dream about?
Okay so this is just my opinion but, even if Aang's dreams and nightmares in Season 3 were funny, they all came from the fear of failing that Aang had. So if the dreams/nightmares are influenced by the character's feelings/ insecurities then this is what i imagine each of them would dream about:
Katara- even though the fandom jokes about it a lot, she does mention/talk a lot about her mom in the series, and that is completely understandable considering the fact that she's dealing with that trauma since she was a kid. The North and South comics begin with Katara dreaming of her mom back in the SWT, and the dream was both happy and sad for her. She even woke up feeling nostalgic. Therefore i feel like Katara's more significant dreams consist of memories of her mom , and the good times she had in the water tribe before the Fire Nation altered that forever. Her nightmares could be heavily influenced by the amount of stress she has with being the "mom" of the group. She truly does act motherly with her friends, but it's all because she cares and she's has been doing so with Sokka since she was a kid. The idea of not being able to protect them probably haunts her dreams..
Sokka- i sometimes feel so bad for Sokka. Many people often overlook the fact that he was also a child personally affected by the war. In Season 1 we see that he feels this big responsibility to protect his tribe. After all, he is the oldest "man" left. That's a huge responsibility! He also has this need to prove himself as a warrior to Hakoda. Not only that, in the episode "Sokka's Master" we see that he also has this issue with being a non-bender in a group of powerful benders. This doesn't come from him being selfish, but he feels bad when he sees that he can't help people as much as the rest of the gaang does. So if you add that to his usual easy going, fun personality his dreams could honestly range from silly things like him being eaten by food, and him being awesome with Suki, to more serious nightmares that involve him not being/doing enough to protect those that depend on him.
Toph- out of all of the Ember Island players i feel like Toph's representation is most accurate 😭 that kid is tough as nails. The many statues she makes of herself in both Imbalance and later on in Legend of Korra make me think her dreams mostly consist of her being awesome in super badass scenarios! Or her being MELONLORD!!! Her nightmares however are the complete opposite. In "The Blind Bandit" she says she hasn't had a single friend in the 12 years of her life! like omgg bby let me give you a hug!!! And I thought it was super interesting how vulnerable she looks in the episode "The Avatar and the Firelord" when she asks if its truly possible for friendships to last more than one lifetime. She found more than friendships, she found a family with the gaang. In The Rift, her own father denied knowing her, which proves that family is not defined by blood ties. So letting go/ losing those friendships is a concept that seems to scare her. I feel like this is something she might have nightmares about.
Suki- because Suki is part of the gaang!!! She does have her own group with the Kyoshi warriors, not trying to erase that, but i consider her to be a part of the gaang too! With that being said we really do not know much about this queen, and i am so glad that she's getting her own comic! Hopefully we learn more about her! But from what we know, she began training since she was 8 years old! She is a brave warrior and a great friend. I feel like she takes her job as a Kyoshi warrior super seriously and is honored to be their fearless leader. I imagine that her happy dreams consist of her meeting Kyoshi herself. As for her nightmares, we do not get a lot of her (unfortunately) to really perceive her fears, but if Azula's taunting in "The Day of Black Sun Pt.2" are true, then Suki has been waiting on Sokka to rescue her for some time now. Seeing that time passed must have been hard for her. Her nightmares might have been influenced by her feeling abandoned, or her worry about the other Kyoshi warriors. (Also i love Azula, but Suki probably also dreamed of dragging Azula's big head on the ground.)
Zuko- omggg where do i even begin with this boy?! I feel like the Fire Nation teens are just so angsty! But when one's father burns off half of your face then that's the way it is igs. So I feel like the show was pretty in detail when it came to Zuko's character and his personality. Throughout the show, we see how he sometimes gets this flashbacks whenever he's feeling a specific way or when he's reminded of something. This was seen most in "The Beach". Despite being this angsty, emotional guy he is always remembering his early childhood very fondly despite being part of the most dysfunctional family in the Fire Nation. During his fever, we see his nightmares being this representation of the constant fight between good and evil inside him. Therefore i think this is what Zuko most likely sees when he has nightmares. (It is quite interesting how the "evil" blue dragon in his nightmare seems to represent Azula and the "good" red dragon is Iroh. That kind of made me wonder why Zuko seemed to associate the evil aspect with Azula rather than Ozai🤔). But back to the point. If the flashbacks he has are any indication, then his dreams most likely involve the good times he had with his mother and family during their vacations on ember island. (And because of his trauma, he might also relive the Agni Kai with Ozai in his nightmares.)
Azula- i could write essays on this girl. Her character is just so complex! And literally nothing in this world is gonna convince me that she didn't deserve better. Im gonna try to keep it as short as possible with her because quite honestly i could go on forever. But im having a hard time figuring out what a happy dream might be for Azula. Conquering Ba Sing Se?? Mastering Firebending at a young age?? Oh right she did do that! She wasn't like Zuko, in the way that she could look back on the past and remember it fondly. Quite the opposite actually, she refers to their beach house as "depressing". Then, later on in the bonfire, she treats everyone's emotions and confessions as a "performance". It's quite interesting to think that truly the only one who was trying to perform was her. Everyone else was very honest and open with their insecurities even if they didn't realize it. The fact that she thinks showing emotion is a performance of some sort makes it clear that everything she does is a perfectly put-together performance. Her nightmares could consist that facade falling apart, and her status as the perfect daughter being reduced to nothing along with her many achievements. The difference with Azula is that just as she became everything she dreamed of, she also ended up being everything her nightmares doomed her to be. ( I also have this hc that she dreamt of having a cat with ty lee and just living together at Ember Island after she got help and just lived their happy gay life of wtvvvv)
omggg this post is gonna be super long, but i had so much fun answering this! thank you for that! it was a nice surprise 🥰 i can do ty lee and mai later if you'd like just lmk! im just giving my thumbs a lil rest rn. hope this sorta answered the question😌
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