#we are the best fandom in the world don't lose faith

[sheeple]

Miracles don't exist | 40: As the world caves in

Genre(s): Riddle!reader / Slytherin!reader / kinda slowburn / little happy moments Fandom(s): Harry Potter Pairing(s): Theodore Nott x Reader / Harry Potter x Riddle!reader Summary: Being the Dark Lord's daughter and raised under the strict supervision of the Malfoy's is no easy life. Especially if you start crushing on your father's arch-nemesis, Harry Potter. And that while being engaged to one of his follower’s sons. Warning(s): Death A/n: The epilogue follows asap lmao [Masterlist] [Mini masterlist] [Playlist]

"Can you walk?" Theo holds out both of his hands for you to take. You nod and hold on tightly to his hands. He heaves you up and you stumble before finding your footing. Holding up a hand, you stumble a few more times before finally being stable on your feet.

"How do you feel?"

You take a deep breath, straightening up. How do you feel? You don't feel any different than before. However... something feels different. Something's missing. Your best guess is that that is the part of his soul that has left your body. "I don't- I don't know. Lighter?" 

Theo hums, his thumb tracing circles around your waist. "Are you sure you're well enough? We can stay down here. Stay safe."

His suggestion makes you frown. Stay down here and wait the fight out? It's a sensible thought. But why does it make you feel so uneasy? Yes, it's the safest option to wait the war out. But you've come too far, seen too much to do nothing.

"We have to help, Teddy. I want to see with my own eyes how he loses."

A deep sigh escapes Theo and he rubs a hand over his face as he mumbles something about his wife being too good for her own good. It makes you smile widely.

He wraps an arm over your shoulders as he peeks his head outside of the potions classroom. Once he deems it safe, with his wand in his hand, he makes sure you are stable enough on your feet.

You climb up the stairs slowly and surely, finding the silence and emptiness of the entire castle jarring. "Where is everybody?", you whisper, looking around the great hall.

"There", points Theo as he sees the last people exit the castle.

Students stand around as the entirety of the Dark Lord’s army stands at the entrance of the battle-worn courtyard. A triumphant look on his face while Nigini slithers between his feet. Hagrid — bound with ropes and held in place by two Death Eaters — holds something in his arms, a sorrowful look on his face. 

Oh no… that can only mean one thing…

“Harry Potter… is dead!”

Ginny cries out while running forward. Mr Weasley manages to pull her back before she’s hit by a spell.

“Silence! Stupid girl. Harry Potter is dead. From this day forth, you put your faith in me.”

The courtyard is filled with dreadful silence, students silently sobbing as they look at Harry’s corps. Your hand reaches out to Teddy and you clutch him tightly, scared that if you don’t hold him, he’ll disappear. 

The Dark Lo- no. Voldemort. Voldemort looks back at his supporters as they laugh at their victory. He spreads his arms and looks at the crowd. “And now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us. Or die.”

Bellatrix climbs on top of a broken pillar so she has an overview of the battlefield. She has a wide smile on her face, a look of pure enjoyment. It sickens you. It makes you want to hurt her. 

But the gleeful look soon disappears from both of their faces as nobody moves. Voldemort’s eyes search the crowd, searching for something it seems. And once they lock onto yours, they stay. He reaches out a hand, his palm open. “My Heir. My daughter, join us.”

Students around you step out of the way, terror in their eyes. Theo’s hold on your hand tightens and he pushes you behind him. He shakes his head, but you lay a hand on his shoulder. With a whisper you reassure it’s all going to be fine and that you won’t let him win.

Slowly, you make your way down the rubble towards Voldemort, who stands with his arms wide open. You stop just shortly out of his reach, fists balled and wand in the ready. 

“Ah. Well done, my Heir. Well done.” He expects you to come to him. But you stay where you are, staring him down.

“It doesn’t matter that Harry is gone. You’ve lost. And you helped to bring your own demise by killing him. Don’t you think I wouldn’t figure out what my special mission was? What you’ve made of me. What you made of Harry.”

Voldemort pulls his hands back to his side, an unreadable look on his face. “You insolent child”, he hisses as Nigini slithers dangerously at her master’s feet, her eyes set on you.

You glance at the snake, twirling your wand in between your fingers. You look back at Voldemort, your eyes silently telling that you know. You know that she’s the last Horcrux. And it’s only her before he’s dead. 

“You’ve grown weak, Father. And Death is waiting for you.” You fire a blast at him, but he reflects it. You jump out of the way as his spells and curses barely miss you. 

While you’ve distracted Voldemort, Harry rolls out of Hagrid’s arms and tries to set the snake on fire. It deflects and hits the Death Eaters behind her. 

The crowd of Hogwarts students flee inside while the Death Eaters either advance on the group or flee in puffs of smoke. In the flurry of people, you see a head of platinum blonde run across the courtyard, towards his parents and disappear with them.

You manage to make your way inside without getting too gravely injured. It’s mostly scrapes and burns. You’ve also lost the interest of Voldemort, as he’s going after Harry. Instead, you have Bellatrix hot on your heels. She cackles and calls after you, wildly firing curses that barely miss you. 

Somehow you’ve ended up in the Great Hall just as she corners you. You’ve stumbled over something and landed on your ass. Just as she raises her wand to give the final blow, she gets lunched off her feet. She hits the wall behind her with an ‘oof’ and slumps down. 

Theo runs towards you and pulls you back on your feet. You give him a nod before turning your attention back to Bellatrix. The two of you stand side to side, your wands raised and a determined look on your faces. 

She jumps up, running towards you with snarled teeth. She laughs as you yelp and try your best to stop her. Theo and you fight in tandem. But she’s more powerful than you thought, easily deflecting each spell. But she can’t keep this up, and it shows. Her moves become sloppy and she actually gets hit a couple of times.

While she gets sluggish, your moves only become more powerful and vicious. Blow after blow, you hit her with more vigour until you hit her square in the chest and she halts in the middle of the air, a petrified look on her face. 

You reel your arm back and just for a second the killing curse flashes through your mind. No. You won’t lower yourself to their level. Instead, you concentrate all your might and power on your wand and fire a red blast towards her. She floats for a moment before dropping dead, her body contorting strangely. Her wide and lifeless eyes stare up at you.

Your chest rises rapidly as you watch her Suddenly, it connects. You’ve killed her. You’ve just killed Bellatrix Lestrange. As your eyes keep their focus on hers, you stumble backwards in the arms of Theo. Looking up, you find comfort in his own brown ones. They say you’ve done well. It was a necessary evil.

"It's okay", he whispers, pulling you away to have you not look at the corpse. "You had to. It was you or her."

His words bounce around your head, but they don't land. You're still dazed. Theo makes sure to tuck you under his chin, keeping you safe until the air clears and the word spreads Voldemort is dead. Harry has defeated him and the Dark Lord has dropped dead like an ordinary man.

The two of you stay glued together sitting on a bench, mugs in your hands. You don't move until you see Sirius, Remus, and Tonks approach you.

You jump up from the bench and hug Sirius tightly. He engulfs you while pressing a kiss to the crown of your head. You keep your arms around Sirius until they grow numb. And even then you don't want to part ways. 

Theo replaces Sirius in holding you and you melt into his arms. "It's done", he whispers into your hair. "It's finally over."

A tired smile grows on your face. "The war is over. Let's go home."

Taglist (bold means I couldn’t tag you): @the0doreslover @lqndkxlmqma @st4rrry  @choppedpartymuffinwinner @ledtassoo @literallyobessed @lestat-whore​ @vanishingcherry @harrysnovia @pietrobae @ireallywannasleep127 @yeolsbubbles @fruityfrog505 @fluffybunnyu @theroyalmanatee @shinrjj @hegdus @kermits-bitch @m1kasawps @noah-uhhh-what @mypolicemanharryyy @fals3-g0d @decapitated-coffee @thatgirljas13 @slytherinambitious @raineisms @mastermindmiko @timmytime17 @regsg18 @supernatural-lover @bubybubsters @lafrone @hermionelove @the-sander-fander @akengii @aliciacat20 @unstablereader @burns-in-the-sun @rachelnicolee @damagelove @mqndrqke @llpovi @clairesjointshurt @222244445555 @jolly4holly @padf00ts-l0ver @fandom-life-12 @prettyb1tchsblog @pari-1 @f14ever @nopedefe @randomgurl2326 @rinalouu @yazminetrahan @ellen3101 @comfyvic

#harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter scenarios #harry potter x reader #harry potter x y/n #harry potter x you #harry potter x slytherin!reader #harry potter x riddle!reader #draco malfoy #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy scenarios #theodore nott #theodore nott scenarios #theodore nott x reader #theodore nott x y/n #theodore nott x you #theodore nott x slytherin!reader #theodore nott x riddle!reader #hogwarts #hogwarts scenarios #hogwarts x reader #hogwarts x y/n #hogwarts x you #hogwarts x slytherin!reader #hogwarts x riddle!reader #hogwarts!au #slytherin!reader #riddle!reader

[class1akids]

Another all might vs AFO rematch is so unnecessary and really shows that hori is doing whatever he thinks is "cool" for this final arc and throwing logic and writing out the window. This honestly brings down all mights character for me.

Anonymous asked: I guess quirkless deku could've been a hero, all he needed was an iron man suit apparently lmao. If all might holds AFO back for even a minute, it's going to make AFO look super weak and all the people who had quirks trying to stop him look even weaker. I mean hori built the whole story up as you need a quirk to do hero work and then he just gives all might a iron man suit out of nowhere just to have him fight again? Yeah that's bad writing.

I'll take these two asks together. Admittedly, I didn't read the EN fandom reactions to this chapter, bc I loved it and I didn't want to see the inevitable negativity, but I really don't get why people think this ruins anything.

The manga has spent almost 400 chapter at this point of deconstructing hero society, the Symbol of Peace and I think some things should be abundantly clear by now:

A strong quirk doesn't make a true hero (Bakugou's, Endeavor's arcs)

Saving someone is about reaching their hearts in time, not about beating them down

Quirks and personalities are connected, but the quirk is not the same as the individual (Shouto's arc)

You don't need a quirk to be someone's hero (every person who left little Tenko to wander the streets alone)

Skill, training, tech can all elevate a person beyond the strength of their quirks (Best Jeanist, Hawks' fight after he lost his wings, Hatsume matching the hero kids in the SF with tech, Detrenat, Knuckleduster in Vigilante, etc)

It was inevitable that we'd come back to this question:

When All Might said in Chapter 1 that you need a quirk to be a hero, he was saying that bc at the time he truly believed that everything he was, was due to OFA.

He spent the entire time after losing OFA being "lost and wandering" (just like Shoto, btw) trying to figure out his own place. By trying to teach Deku, by becoming a better teacher to all the students he tried to find a sense of purpose, but basically he lost the ability to see himself as a hero. That's why he pulled back, offered no leadership even after the war, as things were completely falling apart.

It took watching Deku spiral as he tried to shoulder everything by himself and seeing Class A offering support to him that All Might started to doubt the path he was on. Because, seriously - Ojirou, a martial artist with a tail - Shoji - a guy with some extra arms - Mineta - with his sticky balls - all believe that they CAN support Deku, can be part of his fight.

While All Might, with his 4 decades of fighting experience, a huge amount of wealth, access to the world's best tech through personal connections can offer nothing?

It took talking with Stain to realize that there is an entire spectrum of doing nothing and doing everything by himself. And the ideal point is to do what he can.

All Might stepping up has been on the cards since then. We knew he was planning something.

Of course, All Might has earned his retirement. He could be just a living relic of a glorious era. Obviously, even with tech, he's not going to have the godlike powers he did before.

But right now, the end is in sight. Everything is falling apart. He just sent two 16 year olds to run into the core of a ticking nuke on the blind faith they'll be able to do something about it, because it is the ONLY chance. One of his students had his heart explode. There are no heroes left.

All Might KNOWS, he knows better than anyone how dangerous prime!AFO is. But he also knows his personality, his buttons to push. He doesn't have to win, he just needs to delay, and he has a good hunch that AFO won't be able to ignore him. Whatever minutes, seconds he can buy can mean the difference between life or death, victory or defeat. So of course, he will try. Because that's who he is.

Remember - Deku in chapter 1 running into danger with a backpack got OFA because he reminded Toshinori of himself. Quirkless Deku stepping up, acting heroic despite his lack of power made All Might RECOGNIZE himself. Losing OFA never meant he lost his hero heart or instincts - he just lost faith in himself, because he bought into the hero society rhetoric. The scale of what he could do changed, but his heroism didn't.

So that leads us to the last question - is there a place and need for heroes who are less than superman. If there is a Symbol who has the power to solve any crisis by himself, do you even need the lesser ones?

And I think the story has affirmed again and again that yes, people with little power can make a huge difference and heroism comes in many shapes and forms. Also, that no matter how powerful, nobody can get there alone. Everyone needs support. A strong net is more stable than a lone pillar. A person's value or ability to change things is not tied to their quirks.

All Might stepping up is the culmination of everything he learnt and is totally in character for him. Moreover, it's the natural narrative endpoint of everything that the series has been talking about.

He can't win, he'll probably needs someone to save his ass (maybe Stain, maybe Bakugou, possibly both), but he'll also tick away precious seconds from AFO's rewind time and make a difference.

And this is why I also expect Deku saving Shigaraki not be just beating him up with more OFA, but Deku being Izuku should be the decisive factor in it. And also, I personally think Deku losing OFA but learning that he can be a hero without it would be a good writing choice and a good endgame.

HK already drew Deku's quirks as support items - so I think it's not a stretch that he could be a tech-based hero.

As someone who is a huge fan of tech-based heroes operating in the world of super-powers, it is my favourite endgame for Deku.

#c1a asks #bnha meta #all might #toshinori yagi #i would have hated him being rewound to his prime #ofa #midoriya izuku

[strixcattus]

I'm supposed to be working on other things right now but I'm thinking about that question on the survey that asked about which ending you preferred/considered canon. And I'm about to say a lot of things that may or may not make sense or all be related to one another, and I'm not sure they'll come out in a parseable order, so I may or may not even end up putting this in the main tag. We'll have to see.

I chose the answer I consider best. Or, least bad. And not in a narrative sense—after the update, I like the scene of the "And? What Happens Next?" ending better than perhaps any other. But I chose the one that I believed led to the most favorable scenario after the end, which would be the loop ending. And I've got a post in my drafts, half-written, that explains in detail why I consider each ending to be a "bad ending" for the world or the characters or both in some form, which I had to put on a back-burner because I wanted to ensure I wasn't doing some sort of bad-faith reading on the Shifting Mound during my discussion of one ending, and even though with the benefit of distance I can see I generally wasn't I've never gotten back to it. To sum it all up, each ending requires you to trade away something the game's story makes you value (unless, I suppose, you come to hate the Princess and by extension the Shifting Mound, or the Shifting Mound and by extension the Princess, on a nonnegotiable level) in order to resolve the narrative, but the loop ending allows you to put it off ad infinitum. What you're sacrificing is the resolution itself. So you lose nothing, and gain nothing, and probably something really horrible happens to the world, but you don't have to think about that part.

But I consider the canon ending to be "There Are No Endings." Maybe it has something to do with it being the first ending I got. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I consider it the optimal outcome for the world—you sacrifice everyone who's unconditionally been on your side this entire time (Shifty doesn't quite count, since she wasn't present in the same way the Voices were) in order to maintain balance and surety. Maybe it just says something about what I value, and that unseen value says something about the endings.

Shifty's right. She doesn't get it right about what you, the player, feel and value (unless your values happen to align with hers—mine don't, but I know some people's must), but that's how people are. She says it—and normally I'd go sifting through the files or the game itself for when exactly she says it, but it's late and I have other things to do, so I'll just say she says it very early on—she says very early on that she cannot know your mind, because you are not her.

It's the same way as your final words to the Voices in the mirror. None of your options are poorly worded. If you expect the Voices to take the harsh truth gracefully, that's an honest mistake, because you can't know what's going on in their heads. Your options are to lie kindly, or tell them a truth that will make them hate you, because just as you can't see inside their heads, they cannot see inside yours, and they will assume you must have some other choice. You don't. But you don't get to articulate it. Lie or hurt them. Those are your only options.

But aside from that Shifty is right. I've seen people ask—and this was early in my entrance to the fandom, and I don't know how much discussion went around about it because I wasn't in the circle, so to speak, even less than I am right now, but I've seen people ask if Shifty could have killed us.

That's not the question to be asking. Of course she could have killed us. She can do anything we believe her to be able to, and if we believe her able to kill us, she can. She always could have killed us.

But she never would have, because she knows. She knows something as a god that you cannot know until you choose to raise yourself to her level—she knows that a universe without either one of you may not be a universe worth living in. She knows that she needs her counterweight. She may not value people on the same level you might, but she does not want them to suffer—she specifically wants them not to suffer, or at least not to suffer in a way she could have prevented. She is a detached god, not a cruel one.

She's right. She's forceful, but she's right, and she can't understand why you would rather be a person than a god, because she has never been anything but a god, and her Vessels are as much a part of her as your Voices are a part of you, but while you lived alongside your Voices as a person before cannibalizing them, she only welcomed her Vessels back upon their absorption. She does not know firsthand what it is to be a person, but she is right about everything else.

(I have to wonder if she is less cruel to her Vessels than you are to your Voices. Hers maintain their form throughout.)

And now this has me thinking—what if the Voices are you? Not in the way in which they're obviously you. I mean that you live your life, you make your decisions, and then you die. And then there is a new one of you. But the new one is not the Voice that has appeared in your head. The new Voice is the old one, fully realized into his own person with a personality you can no longer mold, just as the Vessels are not their own persons until you make the choices that make them into real people. The new entity is you, unmolded, without any personality save what you, the person who does not exist in this world, pour into it.

#slay the princess #I don't actually know how comprehensible this post is #someone tell me if even one point makes any sense

[peridot-tears]

I realized that Ratohnhaké:ton's story is another level of tragedy and trauma, but he had encouraging figures along the way. AC3 is as much a story of community and the village raising the child as it is about fighting to protect that village (figuratively and literally).

Imagine watching your mother burn to death in front of you after being attacked by a bunch of men in the woods when you're fucking four years old; that alone would have me killing and eating people. That level of trauma is enough to set anyone on a maladapted path rife with severe emotional development roadblocks.

But no. He grew up to be -- yes, stoic, traumatized -- driven for the rest of his life by tragedy, but instead of becoming numb to it or becoming part of it, he fights to prevent it. He keeps an open mind toward others' ideology. It doesn't stop him from forming meaningful bonds. Knowing that Haytham sent him to die didn't stop him from wanting the chance to work with his father.

It's because of those around him.

It's in the narrative from before he speaks his first word. Kaniehtí:io shares her fear that her clan would treat him differently because of his heritage, because his existence is formed on taboo that she broke -- but they don't. They love him all the same. The first inkling of his existence is unconditional love.

After she dies, we don't see the rebuilding of the village, but we do see his candid conversations with Kanen'tó:kon and Oía:ner. Once more, nothing about their interactions conveys anything but trust. He shares his fears with them. Oía:ner agrees that he find Achilles, despite her wariness of breaking their semi-isolationist policy. Kanen'tó:kon keeps his spot in the longhouse open for him. A longhouse they rebuilt from the ashes of their burned kin. All signs of people who held each other up as they recovered from a tragedy.

Even up until Ratohnhaké:ton starts attacking his clanmates, Oía:ner greets him with nothing but welcome, and expresses that she considered and followed his direction by letting Kanen'tó:kon work with Charles Lee.

Don't get me started on Achilles. I know parts of the fandom talk about how he discourages Ratohnhaké:ton at several points, might have manipulated him by getting him involved with the Assassin-Templar conflict, and how they can't go through a single scene without arguing, but the one thing that transcends every one of them is that Achilles does treat him as his own son. Lessons, guidance, discouragement against what he thinks is folly, keeping the door open for him -- all of it.

And Robert Faulkner taking his kid under his wing and teaching him the ropes, entrusting his Aquila with him into adulthood. Sailing with him through a war, even when the fucker wants to ram a bunch of man-o-wars and bombard a goddamn fort. What a madman, Robert Faulkner probably thinks, let's fucking GO. He helped groom this kid into leadership, with a whole-ass crew that would readily follow him into the madness.

(Also, I don't like praising white people for doing the bare minimum of not treating BIPOC like shit, but like. In a world where it inevitably happens and the colonists know Ratohnhaké:ton on sight as "half-breed," Faulkner did That too.)

Ratohnhaké:ton is met with tragedy from young in so many ways that could have easily turned him into someone who's like Haytham at best. He could have been a master manipulator, a man who follows the Order even after losing his faith in it, the kind of man who kills in front of children, whose greatest act of kindness was not letting his son die. Or God forbid, something worse. But because of the village, what came out was compassion.

#ratohnhaké:ton #ratohnhaketon #assassin's creed 3 #ac3 #ac 3 #connor kenway #connor #ac connor #ratohnhake:ton #i'm projecting again #like i always knew this but the narrative hones in on his bonds with achilles and haytham #i need to take this moment to think about the rest of them #tears falling like peridots #ac

[caernua]

re: your arcana post - i literally don't even go here but i live for drama.... if you were ever to do a video essay or even just a write up in a post about the situation.... i want to know what happened, can't resist 👀👀

oh my goodd it's so eerie to explain it to someone who wasn't involved but this silly little mobile dating sim was just an initial passion project from a small team of employees of an indie game developer that was basically given six weeks to turn in something completely self-indulgent and it quickly got a backing on kickstarter around 2016-2017? beyond that it was quite a classic case of a project becoming more famous than its creators expected and it turns into a bit of a mess bc of their lack of experience. and by that i mean they got very close to the fans, and that's bound to open a can of worms. they used to make weekly q&as and you can't imagine what an exciting event that was, oh my god literally everyone was in a discord server losing their shit bc the devs had opened the askbox and we could ask the stupidest questions in the world about their characters and they would answer bc frankly they were very funny and the characters were all like... established in a funny enough way that it was so easy to make good jokes about them.

and i think what makes it very interesting is that the fandom was actually pretty small, but it felt HUGE. those q&as seemed like the most viral posts you could run into when you logged on tumblr but really most of them had a couple thousand notes at best, even when the arcana was at its most popular. it was literally like living in a small village where everybody knew EVERYBODY. if you posted something, high chance everyone in the fandom would see and reblog. it was like a hive mind.

also part of the reason why it felt so huge was bc everyone was churning out fan content like CRAZY, i don't think there was ever any fandom i've personally been in where i've seen so many people create so much damn stuff and frankly i think it's one of its strongest features. idk what it is about this game but everytime i revisit it inspires me so much, suddenly i wanna pick up my tablet after months, i wanna try writing again, etc. it's just wonderful at urging you to create and i have no idea how one even achieves that.

but yea the fandom slowly disappeared partly due to controversies, some of the creators were found to have been into some questionable stuff back in their not so olden days and they stepped away from the limelight, afterwards i believe a lot of the team stepped away from the game altogether. but it was weird because the controversies were constant, not just towards the creators but also within the fandom itself 💀 and given the huge volume of them they of course ranged from reasonable criticism especially regarding the representation of the characters of color, or the absurd microtransaction to stuff like 'his eyes are drawn bigger in this cg so the artists wanted to make him look like a child so this game caters to pedos actually' dkjgdkfj i saw some CRAZY takes and the bad faith criticism definitely overshadowed the reasonable voices in my opinion, it was not balanced at all. they stopped doing the q&as, the posts they made on their official tumblr became way more sanitized, and actually in a way so did some aspects of the game, and little by little it grew quieter.

and now it's... silent. but it's so near and dear to my heart, i think it's an absolutely wonderful game and what i love about it the most is how much it inspires people to create. and i think the reason why is bc unlike in many games like this (at least i think, i'm not sure cause i haven't played many) your character doesn't just suddenly meet every love interests. they have a connection to some of the love interests and a past they don't remember so it's very interesting to peel those layers back, BUT because it's your character the story stays quite vague about the past. so it's incredibly fun to speculate, to create a backstory, etc! that's i think one of my favorite things about it and it's not a coincidence that arcana went on to inspire some fans to venture into the visual novel genre as creators themselves.

and yea overall it just felt like a close positive community (well. mostly really, we are talking about a fandom on tumblr here so) and a super creative and inspiring one. the jokes were super fun, the art was top notch, the writing was also good. so yea i kinda miss it and it's sad to see how empty it seems now? like i see people from 2020 onward go 'ohh i just discovered this game' and i'm like... MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD... YOU HAVE NO IDEA.... YOU HAD TO BE THERE.... and ig i didn't really answer your question bc i kind of glossed over the drama but i went through the whole phenomenon bc i think it was. really interesting to witness 🫡

#can't believe i'm blogging about the arcana in the year of our lord 2023... 2024 almost #anonymous #asks

[comradeboyhalo]

I agree with you a lot

I don't understand why people are excusing quackity so much. He should've been aware of all this and should have done something.

Tbh he should have never allowed this situation to happen. Imo he was ignorant at best, and negligent at worst.

While he was travelling the world and receiving prizes and recognition, his employees and volunteers were working day and night with little to no pay.

It's good that there's pressure on top of him. His name is attached to the server, to the brand. It's his responsibility. He needs to fix this.

I'm more willing to believe workers that have nothing to lose than a guy who can lose it all.

Sorry if this is too long, or too heated. I'm really disappointed at how the fandom is dealing with this, in its majority. And im glad there's someone who shares the same pov as me.

(i started rambling on this ask im sorry. i didnt word this perfectly so hopefully no one takes this in bad faith.)

almost the entire fandom + the ccs are seeing the best in him, and really really want qsmp to continue. a bit of public pressure doesn't hurt imo. as long as there's clear communication, qstudios' rep shouldn't take a hit - we're all rooting for him. its completely understandable that these reconstructions take time, that people will have to be laid off, but as long as there's clear communication between him and his workers, it should all end up okay.

i totally get all the points that the third party information may not be accurate, that its jumping the gun and sending people on doomposting spirals, but i genuinely do think there is nothing wrong with going public about working conditions. its prompted multiple admins to speak up now, and its let the head admins know that mistreatment will be caught now. having all information solely coming from the company's side is worse. and that's not being distrustful of quackity - that's just being understanding of natural bias.

its important for the fandom to amplify the voices speaking out. this doesn't mean we make crazy conspiracies on how it's all over or whatever, but qstudios has a platform to speak out on, and the workers don't. the doomposting is an unintended consequence, but this is internet fandom after all lol.

#ask #discourse #its also important to note that q probably handpicked the head admins #meanign he might take their word first and foremost #and again thats human error so allowing workers to discuss openly about their treatment should prevent that from happening #and thats not me picking on q #hell ive heard ppl have that issue with unban requests and munchy back in the day #invaded too #its natural #but this is (obviously) on a much larger scale so these biases cant be brushed aside

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Writing Amy Pond & A Different "Doctorification"

I'm not gonna lie- I appreciate the arc that the show had going for Amy when they weren't actively messing it up/contradicting it/writing borderline unwatchable episodes (y'know, the whole losing faith in the Doctor/growing up/choosing a life outside of the TARDIS thing), but I am having so much fun teasing out Amy's characterization in this fic series. This characterization of her that is highly based in how she acts specifically in The Eleventh Hour/Beast Below/Vincent and the Doctor, this sort of kindness with an edge, the girl who can figure things out because of her empathy and her ability to think outside the box.

We always think about Doctorification in sort of "dark" terms in this fandom, especially when it comes to the example of Clara. Like, these characters who find themselves becoming these more dangerous, ruthless version of themselves, like with Martha and Clara and Davros' whole "Children of Time" speech in Journey's End. (And I do like Clara's corruption/obsession/ruthlessness/mutual-codependence-until-it-destroys-them arc, trust me, even if I find it a little weak in places- it fascinates me.)

But what I am finding when writing Amy is that she's getting this sort of "Doctorification" arc. There is something buried in her backstory that has always struck me as desperately lonely (outside of the one-episode Mel reveal), this kid who was considered "mad" or just a "troublemaker" by everyone she knew and yet instead of letting that make her resentful to the world, it just made her kind. (Sounds familiar, doesn't it?)

And the character arc I'm writing for her is about her learning how to use her kindness/empathy to save the day, especially when it comes to her developing relationship with the TARDIS and how she connects with it on a level really only seen with the Doctor. She's already "flown" the TARDIS twice in this series (though it was nearly entirely the TARDIS who did the flying itself) and was the one to figure out that Idris was the TARDIS, because of the connection she's made with the TARDIS itself over the years, this sort of love and understanding that passes between each other due to being mutual "thieves"/"mad"/lonely/having care/love for the Doctor.

It's about how she can pick locks, which I know is a detail only mentioned in the Beast Below but I think that it points not just to the fact that Amy clearly got into trouble as a kid, but that she is clever in a way that the show didn't always let her be. She can think outside the box.

And I think it's these three things: loneliness, kindness/empathy, and cleverness/thinking-outside-the-box that I think are allowing Amy to sort of get her "Doctorification" arc in the middle of her other arcs involving her relationship to River and her romantic relationship with the Doctor/Rory.

And I really hope I can pull off something cool with it in the middle of balancing the Doctor's arc (especially as he becomes Thirteen), Bill's story, River's story (and the associated Clara story), and Rory's arc as well. It's a bit harder to juggle it all when they're not all pointing in the exact same direction (as they were with the Master arc) but I'm doing my best to pull it off. There might be slightly longer gaps between updates (maybe three days instead of two) at times, but right now it's really shaping up. I've just got to maneuver all the pieces into place.

For now, we have a reunion fic to get to and maybe some proper flying lessons for Amy and River- they've earned it by now, don't you think?

#doctor who #amy pond #eleven x amy x rory #rory williams #eleventh doctor #aletterinthenameofsanity #my fics #fanfic #ao3 #amy's doctorification arc #I wanted to see a...nicer doctorification arc #if that makes sense #not to say that Amy isn't going to get to get mad/make some big decisions/take charge #writing progress #writing process #listen I have some feelings about early amy pond #and at this point she might be ooc from the show but i can't bring myself to care #she's literally lived over a hundred years at this point that's gonna change a person somewhat

[martsonmars]

Alright people.

I need you all to tell me that it's fine if it takes me ages to finish the 8 (though 2 — Like We Had A Clue and where I belong — are going to be finished soonish — which could mean months, I'm just saying that I'm actively working on these two, so maybe I should say 6 and not 8 when talking of currently hopeless WIPs) WIPs I started posting on AO3 and haven't updated in months/more than a year. Or if I never finish them. (I want to finish them all, but life is unpredictable and long term commitments give me so much anxiety, so I need to hear that it's fine if I never continue them.) I know it is, but I need people to tell me so I can get this weight off my chest.

I need you to tell me that it's fine to start other projects even if I'm not working on the ones I already shared with the world. I need you to tell me that it's fine to chase creativity, because I'm writing fanfiction for fun, because letting stories that CURRENTLY are not the ones I want to tell stop me from creating other things is worse than being happy and writing stories that bring me (and hopefully other people) joy.

I love all of these WIPs dearly, and I'm aware I made so many mistakes when I signed up for so many fests and then failed at delivering complete fics, because things kept piling up and now they're weighing on me so much. But it was my first full year in a fandom with actual events, and I had so many ideas, and I got carried away. I'll try not to make this mistake again. I'll try to start posting only stories that I'm confident I can finish.

I actually have a plan to slowly work my way through these 6 WIPs. But it might never happen for whatever reason. And even in the best case scenario, it will take so long, because I sadly also have a life (I would honestly love to take a gap year and write fanfiction all day but I'm afraid it's not possible 🤣).

So yeah. I need to be told that it's fine to be inconsistent with updates (really inconsistent, inconsistent for years or forever). That this is fandom and there is no police ready to arrest me if I don't finish a WIP. That you appreciate whatever I'm sharing.

I am extremely grateful to all the people who started reading the fics I'm not currently continuing. Your enthusiasm meant so much. It's what makes me wish I'll have time to complete those stories one day.

And I humbly ask you not to lose faith in me. Because I'll likely start to post more long fics in the future, and I'll understand if people will be like “ah they never finish their WIPs, I'm not going to read that” — I really understand, also because I don't read WIPs often myself, though it's mostly because my brain fights me and I can't keep up with updates — but I want to do better.

This autumn I was only writing stories that brought me joy, without worrying about my other WIPs, and I felt so good. I had finally found a balance with my creativity in fandom, and I want to get back there.

And I need you to tell me it's okay.

[sokkastyles]

I'm reviewing atla right now and I want to skip all the scenes with Aang. He is so annoying and immature. Unfortunately, he will remain immature by the very end of the series. He will just get superpowers to solve all his problems. I love naive and positive characters, but Aang is not like that. He's not positive and he's not naive. He deliberately ignores what he doesn't like. He chooses those cultural traditions that are important to his comfort. He has a toxic masculinity and selfishness. And those qualities don't go anywhere. Aang's selfishness caused the world to suffer for 100 years. Gaang suffered from his selfishness ( and Aang is indirectly to blame for the SWT genocide). Aang still doesn't have the ability to take responsibility for his actions. He runs away and it reflects badly on the world. As always, I was pissed off by the episode with Bato and The Fortuneteller. Aang sexualizes Katara, also shows great disrespect for her culture. Aang doesn't apologize for this disrespect. Aang acts like a rat and an egomaniac in these episodes. I still don't understand why Aang has so many fans and why he is considered the best partner for Katara. People ignore so many bad things about Aang.

Okay, this is...a lot.

Whenever I rewatch, I actually do love Aang more than I enjoy interacting with his fandom because I feel like his fandom makes him into something he isn't (and a feminist hero is one of those things).

I do want to address what you say about Aang not being as positive as other people think, and that gets to something I said in my last rant about the way people talk about Azula and toxic positivity in fandom. There's a difference between being a positive person and denying anything negative in favor of "being positive."

I don't think it's fair to say that Aang is responsible for the war and the genocide, but I do wish we saw more of his grief and guilt explored. When it's brought up in "The Storm" and Aang is confronted with blame by people who suffered during the war, like the fisherman in that episode, that character is derided as horrible and forced to learn a lesson about what a hero Aang is, and Katara declares that Aang won't have nightmares about running away anymore. Why? How is Aang's trauma solved that easily? Why is the poor fisherman who suffered from the war painted as the one in the wrong for losing faith in the all-powerful hero when that hero never came?

I feel like Aang stans are actually a lot like Azula stans in that they both have this idea that they stan a character who is wrongly maligned and that feeds most of their interactions in fandom, and that does create an environment of toxic positivity, especially when they believe their fave is righteous (or in the case of Azula, enough of a victim). The biggest example of this with Aang I think is "The Southern Raiders," because people paint Aang as positive and morally good for promoting forgiveness. I've written a lot about what's wrong with Aang's attitude in this episode, but it boils down to the same thing when we try to portray Azula positively because she was "nice" to Zuko in a situation where she was clearly taking advantage of him. The main difference is that I don't think Aang was aware of how much he was hurting Katara by insisting she forgive her mother's murderer, but the end result is similar to Azula telling Zuko that he's stupid for daring to question the imperialist regime that has kept him under the thumb of his abuser his whole life. In both cases, Katara/Zuko both get to the point where they no longer are listening, and then they get painted as the negative ones for questioning the status quo and fighting back.

Because in the end, positivity and "why can't we all get along," when one side continues to believe that they have the right to abuse the other, only benefits the oppressors. There can be no tolerance for intolerance. Those two things don't go together.

The hypocrisy is also easily highlighted when you question why Aang was pushing Katara to forgive Yon Rha, but ignored how she was constantly quarrelling with Zuko. If Aang was really a force for positivity wouldn't he want to create harmony within his own group first?

Moreover, is remaining naive the same thing as being positive? That's why Zuko called what Aang was saying in that episode "Air Temple preschool" because he's all too used to being told that he shouldn't be angry at being hurt.

I feel like a better moral would have been an exploration of Aang's duty in relation to how his absence led to the creation of Jets and Hamas and Yon Rhas and Zukos. And that includes how war forced Aang to take on a role he wasn't ready for and that made him run away in the first place. That's not really a fault of Aang but I feel like the show wants us to see Aang as above it all too much, rather than acknowledging that his inability to face conflict is in fact a symptom of the war as much as any of the other characters are shaped by it. A lot of people like to say that Aang is the symbol of childlike wonder that the post-war world needs when in fact, Aang was a child who should have been allowed to be a child longer and Gyatso knew that, too, which is why he wasn't ready for Aang to give up his childhood, either.

I saw a post recently that said something interesting about how if there had been any Air Nomads left in the present timeline, their culture probably would have evolved and adapted to fit the changing world. The post claimed that therefore it was a good think that Aang never came into contact with such people, but WOULD that be a bad thing? It would be tragic, yes, but ultimately it would have also presented a learning opportunity for Aang to grow, and fit with ATLA's themes of learning and growing and changing, something that should absolutely go with the element of air.

#the discourse

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Just saw ur webb post. I can def relate to losing interest in someone/thing u used to like. I'm a big fan of Brydon (he hasn't said anything bad yet) and I have my ups and downs with him. I think hes not a royalist (he never acknowledged the queen's death funnily enough) and he's said he has mixed feelings on his acceptance of his mbe. BUT sometimes it feels like I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop with him because he just never has an opinion on ANYTHING. or rather, he doesn't voice his opinions. There's pros and cons to this, I rly think, but no room in asks to go in depth. So some days I'm bummed abt not being able to enjoy wilty because I've lapsed into convincing myself there's a big chance he's a transphobe and worse.

(also I could've sworn dm also defended rw on twitter when it all went down but I can't find anything abt it, have I made that up? have I been lowkey disliking dm for no reason?)

I know what you mean, with comedians or any celebrities who are vaguely apolitical and you don't quite know where they stand. And the answer, obviously, is don't get so attached to celebrities that you'd be disappointed with their political views. But since I'd be disappointed by certain political views from anyone I even mildly like, this would preclude even mildly liking any celebrities, and that would curtail all of fandom. Also, people you do know in real life can turn out be disappointing in this way all the time too, so the only way to avoid ever feeling betrayed by liking someone and then finding out they're a dick is to never like anyone, and that's not really a good way to live.

I know it's a good idea to avoid getting attached to the idea that celebrities you like are decent people, but I can't claim to have successfully avoided that myself. I'll admit right now that it will pretty much dissolve whatever tiny scraps of faith in humanity I have left if it ever turns out that Andy Zaltzman has done anything wrong in his entire life.

Anyway, more to your specific point, I see what you mean. The comedians who rarely express political opinions probably have a shoe that might drop someday. It has occurred to me before that if I ever heard David Mitchell list every political opinion he has, I doubt I'd come out of that liking him as much. I don't think I'd come out hating him or anything - I don't think he's a secret UKIP supporter. Just that I'm sure he's not up to the standards of my aggressively left-wing beliefs. And maybe it's not fair to expect people to be, but also, I think that maybe is a fair expectation, if we're counting "don't be silent when your longtime friend and collaborator is sitting right next to you perpetuating harmful disinformation about an extremely vulnerable group" as an aggressively left-wing belief. I also didn't know about him defending it on Twitter at the time (I don't know much about the situation as a whole, a while ago I read the original Tweet and then listened to that 2021 interview he did alongside David Mitchell where it came up, that's it), but it wouldn't shock me. Basically, I try to have David Mitchell be someone I enjoy watching on panel shows, but I don't tie the scraps of my faith in humanity to him being cool. Probably safe to do something similar with Rob Brydon, you're right.

Every once in a while it occurs to me that this probably applies at least a bit to VCM as well, which is mildly heartbreaking because she seems like a perfect ray of light in the world, but I probably don't want to know everything she's ever said about every issue.

In case I'm coming off as a bit "cannot be accepting of anyone's view that even slightly deviates from mine" here, I am actually okay with people who've accepted royal honours. I mean, I don't think it's the best thing to do, I think the perfectly ethical choice would be to refuse them. But I don't think I can blame people for accepting them if offered, if we refused to accept awards from corrupt institutions then no one could ever accept an award from anywhere. I think "I accepted the award but had the decency to feel conflicted about it" is a perfectly admirable stance.

...Have I put together that viewpoint just so I can continue to believe that Sandi Toksvig OBE has never done anything wrong? Maybe a bit.

Anyway, this response has wandered pretty far beyond the parametres of your original message, the point is that I know what you mean. It's disappointing, even if we strictly shouldn't be attached to these things, and I hope Rob Brydon turns out to be all right.

(And if Britcom fans really want their faith in humanity protected from being ruined by popular comedians, never ever Google "Noel Fielding teenage girl" - or just do what I do and really hope it was invented by the tabloids. Though if your scraps of faith in humanity are attached to him then you've already been studiously ignoring the blackface in The Mighty Boosh, so actually nothing is good.)

[iboatedhere]

If you feel like talking about it, can I ask how you feel about last night's storyline now that you've seen the whole thing? I think in the past that last scene would have had me swooning for a couple days. But now I just can't. I don't know if I'm realizing that a small resolution with minimal actual communication between them just isn't enought for me, or if it's the fact that the scene with Carlos acting so dismissive and uncaring still proceeds it which means that there still hasn't been any signs of growth and so I'm just fully prepared for the next conflict to be treated the same with secrets or non communication getting the flippant treatment.

I hate it though. I see others losing their minds over it and thinking it's so great and such progress and I respect their but don't agree. But I'm also so frustrated that I can't just make myself agree with them so I can continue to enjoy the show I once loved so much. The show and fandom have just become so frustrating for me that I've stopped watching and unfollowed all but two blogs that regularly post about it.

I'm basically in the same boat you're on.

Like, listen, I'm not going to complain (because I already did that to Sonia last night) because we got a hug and kisses which is what I've been begging for all season but I'm not on board with the great communication praise because that was, nearly beat per beat, a copy of what we saw in 2.4. I think great communication would've been them explaining why they want, or don't want kids to each other instead of to their parents. Or keep Owen and Andrea but shave some time off that first rescue (which went on way too long, we seriously did not need to see that couple joyriding for as long as we did or the second rescue which I feel like the set up to it went on too long) and gave TK and Carlos the time to talk to each other. If we're going with the reasoning that Carlos doesn't want kids because he doesn't feel like he's going to be good enough at it (which is in character) then I feel like TK should know that. And he should also be going to therapy and taking Gabriel with him. The decision to have or not have kids is a big deal and it's make or break for a lot of couples. The same way I personally couldn't be talked into having kids is probably the same way people can't be talked out of having kids and if they genuinely reach the conclusion one way or the other with all their cards on the table then that's fine. But right now it feels like Carlos has this trauma he's carrying around (shocker) that's holding him back but now it's also kind of holding TK back from what he wants. The way that that needs to be dealt with is obvious (kid talk aside) but my faith in it actually being dealt with is low. I'll believe it when I see it and not a second beforehand.

Long story short, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting but it's also not as good as it could be which does seem to be the theme of the season when it comes to Tarlos. Maybe I'm just so jaded by them and feel like they've already dug such deep a hole that it's going to take a lot more than this to pull themselves out of it. Like, do I want to write a 5+1 fic of them traveling the world and living their best life and then coming home and sleeping in their own bed, kind of. Am I there yet, no. Will I ever be? I don't know. This was definitely a step in the right direction but I want more for them and for us. Their part of the episode was fine, but I'm not losing my mind over it, and maybe I never will again. But it does suck to feel like that Spongebob meme where Squidward is watching Spongebob and Patrick frolic outside his window. I wanna frolic but I've locked all the doors and windows and I can't get out.

#ask #I'm gonna be the girl at their wedding dancing until 2am even though I told them to break up a dozen times

[aemke]

Hello! I like your blog, so I'm going to ask you questions. You can answer as many or as few as you like.

What is your favourite thing about Ben?

What is your favourite NHIE scene?

Have you read/watched Jaren's interviews?

Do you read fic? If yes, do you have a favourite?

Any songs you associate with Ben as a character?

Do you ship Benvi?

Do you want to see a picture of my cat?

Well hello!

Thanks for the questions; did my best to answer them below.

I would say my favorite thing about Ben is his wit. I love snark and sarcasm, especially when paired with intelligence, which our Ben has in spades. When you add to that the fact that Ben is genuinely a kind and faithful person (even though no one on the show has once returned that friendship to him in kind), I just love him to bits.

Favorite NHIE scenes? How long do you have? My fav is probably the exchange with Howard in 3x6 but since that gets mentioned so often I'll add a few less noted examples. I love in 1x10 when he tells Fab and Eleanor that friends don't take breaks. Its not like its the most well acted of his scenes or anything but I think it says a lot about who Ben is as a person (I also hate Fabiola- I find her boring and judgmental- so I like Ben putting her in her place). Another favorite is Ben and the pear. Jaren does such a great job of showing Ben's transition from 'this is stupid'' to 'I see why this matters' and its done in such a convincing and understated way. Also love Ben telling Devi they're not even; again we get a lot of insight into Ben and where his head and heart are at with limited screen time. And Trent walking down the hallway to ravage Eleanor-comedy gold.

I haven't seen many interviews, but I am very impressed by the one's I have seen. I love to hear actors talk about their craft and you can tell that he is truly an actor who puts care and thought into his performances. He would definitely excel in future projects and I hope we get an opportunity to see him take on new and more challenging roles. I know you and others have talked about his fearlessness and vulnerability as an actor and you can definitely see that that approach is indeed intentional in his interviews.

I love fanfic! I am new to the NHIE fic fandom but I have read a few works I've enjoyed recently. Your recent A Ghost in the Back of the Room is an instant classic of course! I love fics solely focused on Ben and they are few and far between as I know you realize. I've read others I've enjoyed but I honestly can't remember them right now. I typically don't like things too sappy or out of character so anytime an author gets the voices right I'm usually along for whatever ride they want to take me on. I'm also trying not to read too much because I can easily lose myself in it all day and forget to live my actual real life, lol.

I very much doubt this is a musical list that is likely to inspire anyone but I have an old fashion (and probably bad) taste in music so here you go. Simon and Garfield : I am a Rock (obviously...just listen to those lyrics!) The Police: So Lonely (are you sensing a theme? Perfect for 'The Loneliest Boy in the World' and I feel like the manic energy of The Police is perfect for Ben), And of course Johnny Cash: A Boy Named Sue (while I doubt Ben and Howard will come to fisticuffs, its a song about troubled relationships with fathers and how our struggles make our character which feels pretty spot on for Ben)

Yes in so much as Devi is what Ben wants and I want that for him. Truthfully I would be ecstatic with a world in which all the characters had the hots for Ben and fought for his affections!

My chonky 18 year old kitty just passed away recently leaving a giant hole in my heart so I would very much like to see a picture of your cat :)

[ninjago1direction]

Attention Directioners:

Don't forget to stream drag me down and story of my Life on YouTube, we're almost to the anniversary and still have a long way to go

#we are the best fandom in the world don't lose faith #one direction #liam payne #niall horan #zayn mailk #harry styles #louis tomlinson #1d #1direction #drag me down #story of my life #music #ot4 #ot5 #bands #fandom #boyband #big time rush #city is ours

[mittensmorgul]

On one hand, I think the line "I'd rather have you, cursed or not" is very romantic and amazing, and I can totally understand why it's one of the biggest destiel quotes.

But on the other hand, that quote is prefaced by dean saying "you know what, bottom of the ninth, and you're the only guy left on the bench." Which makes it seem like Dean is basically saying "even though you're not very good, you're the only option we have left" which doesn't feel nice at all.

I really want to love that quote. And by itself it's lovely. But with the context, I'm not sure how it's supposed to be sweet? What am I missing?

Hi there! and honestly I appreciate this question, because you are looking at more of the context of this line and trying to understand it that way, and there's just so much bad faith interpretation happening out of context in the world these days that it's refreshing to see folks try to dig deeper! Really!

But if context is what you seek, then you're still only looking at a convenient snippet of the conversation and larger context of the scene. To understand the fullness of the significance of this line, you have to understand all of s7 really.

Dean spent the better part of the season coming to terms with the loss of Cas, only to finally get him back and then "lose" him again in one go just a few episodes ago. And then when he began to recover-- sort of, to the extent that Cas wakes up and is walking and talking for himself again by this point in the series, despite clearly being not-quite-right and burying his own responsibility for their current situation under this mountain of denial and avoidance that manifests as what the fandom commonly shorthands to "crazy!Cas" even if I personally don't see him as "crazy" here but deeply, deeply in denial and horror with himself-- when Dean thinks maybe he might have a chance of getting his friend back, what he's left with is so incredibly frustrating to him.

I mean, look at Dean's own life. He's never been able to truly lay down this burden of "fixing everything." And he's TRYING to be understanding with Cas, but he's honestly out in territory that he can't even wrap his head around. Think back to the whole "your PLAYING Sorry" scene two episodes before, where he's trying to shake Cas back into recognizing the reality of their situation and just being that person Dean had known before... between Dean feeling the urgency of their situation and Cas deliberately and repeatedly glossing over his own part in it, he sort of reached the end of his rope. He is trying so hard, though.

By this point in 7.23, he's come to an acceptance of Cas as he is now, though. Cas won't fight, Dean knows that. But he also knows how Cas CAN help, without fighting. Cas can bring him back to where his car has been hidden all season, and Dean WILLINGLY allows Cas to teleport him there. Which, in itself, is something of a miracle, you know? Dean HATES teleporting :'D

He's trying to meet Cas on his level, but again, Dean is also feeling the burden of now having to fix everything on his own. He's accepted that this will probably be his Last Stand against evil in the world, you know? He believes there's a very good chance that this is a suicide mission, and that this could be the last chance he has to even talk to Cas at all.

So bearing all that in mind, let's look at their whole conversation, not just the two lines you referred to, and I'm gonna break it down line by line:

CASTIEL: If we attack Dick and fail, then you and Sam die heroically, correct?

[oh my, a shred of hope for Dean-- is Cas including himself in this mission now, after insisting for days that he will not fight? But Dean won't push it, he's just gonna be honest and let Cas make his point in his own time]

DEAN: I don't know. I guess.

CASTIEL: And at best, I die trying to fix my own stupid mistake. Or... I don't die – I'm brought back again. I see now. It's a punishment resurrection. It's worse every time.

[yes, it looks like Cas is actually considering what his own role in this fight could be, but oh fuck, is this really how he views himself? his own ongoing role? this sounds borderline suicidal and awful, but do we really have time to unpack that massive suitcase right now? that's a rabbit hole dean can't afford to go down, no matter how much he might want to understand and help Cas come to terms with this, it's so far above his pay grade it hurts his head to wonder about, so he's gonna attempt a deflection]

DEAN: I'm sorry. Uh, we're talking about God crap, right?

[oh good, at least this got Cas to change the subject back to himself, back to territory Dean can understand, because Dean feels exactly this same way about himself... this is something Dean can address via the same coping mechanism he's used for himself his whole life, because this is does understand 100%]

CASTIEL: I'm not good luck, Dean.

DEAN: Yeah, but you know what? Bottom of the ninth, and you're the only guy left on the bench... Sorry, but I'd rather have you, cursed or not. And anyway, nut up, all right? We're all cursed. I seem like good luck to you? [CASTIEL stares at DEAN.] What?

[but lolololol of course Dean's own coping mechanisms for feeling insufficient to any task yet forced to pick up all those cosmic burdens his entire life involve baseball metaphor pep talks... tell me this isn't EXACTLY how Dean has felt about himself every single time he's had to confront the responsibility the cosmos has laid on him-- from having to raise Sam to being resurrected from Hell and forced into being Heaven's champion to "play his role" in the apocalypse... he has literally told Cas before that he wasn't the guy they needed, that it was all too big and he couldn't do it... and yet... he didn't really have a choice. He just had to nut up and do it. It's all he COULD do, you know? So this is what he has to offer Cas in this moment of mutual understanding-- his own sense of personal helplessness in the face of cosmic chaos, and the only coping strategy he has for himself, which sadly happens to be self-deprecation, acknowledgement of his own uselessness and powerlessness in this situation, and choosing to do the stupid thing anyway.

And after delivering that bit of The Worst Pep Talk to Cas, he acknowledges that he was also speaking about HIMSELF with the "i seem like good luck to you?" line, which is actually what finally makes Cas blink. Cas finally understands, Dean's NOT just prodding him to be useful, HE'S PRODDING HIMSELF to be useful, just as much. Dean ALSO feels terrified, guilty, and useless! THEY HAVE BONDED!]

CASTIEL: Well, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I detect a note of forgiveness.

[YES. Cas understands! This is Dean's attempt at forgiveness! Despite the terrible Dean-mangled words, Cas sees right through him and knows, and understands]

DEAN: Yeah, well, I'm probably gonna die tomorrow, so...

[and because this is still Dean, of course he deflects, but he's also sincere here... he really does finally forgive Cas for everything he'd been holding against him since the end of s6. They have reached an understanding, at least, and have chosen to give themselves a clean slate-- as Dean once promised Bobby and Sam they would always do for each other, again back in s6 at the funeral they held for Rufus... they would never carry a grudge to their death. All would be forgiven. And despite Cas not having been part of that conversation at the time, he understands anyway. These words sound dismissive, but there's deep Character Stuff about Dean backing them up as earnest, and Cas accepts them on that level]

CASTIEL: Well, I'll go with you. And I'll do my best.

DEAN smiles slightly and nods.

DEAN: Thanks.

This is so few words to convey SO MUCH about their relationship, about what they will be willing to set aside for one another, just because they understand, forgive, and accept each other where they are, and continue to do their best just because the other one asks and needs them. Even when they're both convinced they're doomed to fail, that won't stop them from at least TRYING to do what's right, the only thing they really can do.

So with the full context of that scene, does that clear things up?

#spn 7.23 #destiel #i love context!

[darkfinch]

Not to be another person in your inbox babbling about The AU but oh my GOD I cant stop thinking about hardison’s face when eliot tells them to stand down…because the rest of the team has kind of Known for a while, but hardison is so loving and optimistic and always sees the best in people and he has this pure blind faith in eliot that DOESNT EVEN COMPLETELY GO AWAY after it all goes down..but like eliot outing himself as being moreau’s this whole time, turning around, seeing hardison’s face, and THAT is the moment that completely breaks him

anyways thank you for blessing the fandom with this horribly delicious au

PLEASE come into my inbox babbling abt The Worst AU it is CONSUMING me (also we can all blame @dancingplague for this au bc they sent the og ask that ruined my life with it. criminal act. criminal)

but YEAH yeah hardison. hurts, in this one, hardison makes my heart hurt. because i think they're all, to varying degrees, waiting for the other shoe to drop? they all know there's Something, even though they don't know exactly what it is. something he's guilty about, something he's hiding, something bad that happens when he drops off the face of the earth once every couple of weeks and comes back quieter. like. they know there's Something.

(maybe something he'll find the courage to ask them for help with, someday; maybe something he'll let go of as the team grows closer together, who knows. but there's something. someone. something.)

but hardison trusts him!!! in every universe in every world hardison trusts him going into that pool, which I've always thought is a big part of why eliot brings him. hardison gives him the benefit of the doubt, hardison helps eliot squirrel some of his pay away into a secret account and doesn't ask why, hardison listens patiently to him talk around some big mysterious problem all night and doesn't pry too much, hardison has so much faith in him and sees some kind of Good in him, hardison trusts him to keep him safe—

—and then eliot walks him into the worst possible situation, against the worst possible people, and just...tells them all to stand down. and it works. because he's in charge, because he's the right hand man of the worst person they've ever gone up against, and he has been the entire fucking time, and it is just this Massive shift in perspective for him.

I don't even think hardison really processes anything that happens immediately after that? I think he's just. going over the past three years in his head, running through all the little clues there were, all the little comments eliot made—about moreau's enforcer, even, that he's a monster, that he can't be reasoned with and he follows orders without question—and tries to fit the puzzle together. can't quite line the edges up.

like that's not Eliot? eliot's his friend eliot does the secret handshake eliot would take a bullet for him eliot wanted them to have a fishing hangout. eliot sings. eliot gets grumpy when they're not eating well and then puts on an apron and makes them veggies and dip. thats eliot. so who is this person giving orders to moreau's people like he's one of them

like he's angry and he feels upset and betrayed but mostly he's just kind of heartbroken?

and hardison wears his feelings on his face, and eliot's holding it together pretty well until he glances over at him and just. there it is!! the thing he's been terrified of for three years!!!! his people are finally going to know what he really is, and they know the good parts of him, but they don't know This, and they're about to, and he's losing the only good thing he's had in his life for eight years,

oof. oof. just. hardison's the heart of the team and him looking at eliot like he's a stranger is absolutely some kind of emotional rock bottom for him here

thank u for the ask im in pain and i cant stop talking abt this au <3

#IM IN HELL AND IM IN PAIN THANK U <3 #undercover eliot au #finchtalks

[earnestly-endlessly]

Hey! I hope I'm not bothering you, I just found your blog and I love it sm, and I saw you sometimes do cherik fic recs. Do you have any Canon divergence aus/fix it, preferably after Cuba, that are 30k or longer and have a happy ending? If not thats okay! You don't have to answer this. Have a wonderful day!

Hi anon, thank you so much. I’m happy you both like my blog and my recs. You are certainly not bothering me, and feel free to send me an ask any time. I have plenty of recommendations for you. Some of them diverge a bit from your request because I couldn’t help but recommend them as well. I will put a note on those who diverge from your request. As always, I only recommend fics I have personally read and enjoyed and I sincerely you love them too.

-Canon divergence aus/fix it, post Cuba, 30k or longer, with a happy ending cherik fic recs-

Not Half As Blinding- keire_ke

Summary: Cuban beach AU. Charles discovers that death does, in fact, solve everything.

Lay down beside me (so still and so soft) – C-Gracewood

Summary: A different take on the events of the film.

Rumor Has It – blueink3

Summary: "Did I hear the doorbell earlier?"

"Yeah, but I'd steer clear if I were you. It seemed a little tense. I don't know what's going on, but there's a kid out there who looks freakily like the prof."

Nearly six months after Cuba, Charles' life is turned upside down for the second time. Though he's slowly learning to adapt to the first, he's not sure he can handle the second. Luckily for him, there are a few people out there more than willing to help.

Forward Momentum – AsYouWish

Summary: Six months after Cuba, Charles and Erik find themselves thrown fifty years into the future, where they meet their older selves, the Avengers, and a world that's very different from their own. Faced with the pieces of their broken relationship, an unparalleled adversary, and dealing with Tony Stark on a daily basis, Charles and Erik do their best to adapt while trying to find a way back home -- and to each other.

When an Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Optimist – ToriTC198

Summary: "You are always trying to save me, Charles." Erik mused aloud. "Ever since you dove into the ocean and dragged me out. Did it ever occur to you that I might not be worth saving?"

A genuine smile broke out on Charles' face as he brightly answered, "No, my friend, not once. I have every confidence you are well worth saving. But, I never truly believed I could save you. You are not the sort of man who someone saves. The choice to be a better man has always been yours to make and I hold no illusions that I can make that decision for you. I simply have faith that one day you will save yourself. I only hope I am still at your side to witness it."

What if Erik and Charles had been able to find a middle ground in the end?

Take the First Option – ShowMeAHero

Summary: When Erik becomes unbalanced, Emma presents him with three options: go back to Charles for three months and learn to deal with whatever he has going have going on, lose his Brotherhood, or let Emma control his mind.

He really only has one choice.

Virtue to Which We Aspire – varlovian

Summary: Nine months after Cuba, Charles is found by Erik's Brotherhood in the smoldering ruins of an abandoned CIA base, exhausted but alive. As the only known survivor of the CIA's vendetta against mutants, recovering Charles' memory of the incident—which he admits to having forgotten—just became paramount.

But the harder they push, the closer Charles gets to breaking point. When he finally cracks, the X-Men and the Brotherhood will learn the truth, but it comes with a price...

Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed.

Some minds, once broken, will never be the same again.

The Waking of the Red King – rustingroses

Summary: When Charles' heavy injuries on the Cuban beach conspire to leave him in a coma and living in fantasy of his own making, Erik, the man who once threatened to divide the mutant cause, finds himself desperately trying to hold everything together. First of the Red King trilogy.

Wake Up and Smell the Pancakes –  Ayra Sei Ethari

Summary: In one universe, Erik left Charles. In another, he stayed. So what happens when the two Eriks get switched? "At first, Erik thinks he's dreaming. Then he realizes that this is Charles. Who is not paralyzed. And kissing him.

Rage and Serenity – MagickMaker, TheFangedGoblin

Summary: After Charles is shot on the beach, he is rushed to the hospital and paralysis is prevented. Ridden with guilt, Erik finds that he cannot leave him. He helps him heal, and eventually, Charles learns to trust him again. But when they set out to rescue Emma from the CIA and accept her onto their team, tensions rise. Will love keep Erik and Charles together despite their differences?

No Yesterdays on the Road – pocky_slash

Summary: It's been two months since Cuba and things are settling down for Charles, Erik, and the beginnings of their mutant school. Right up until Charles disappears, that is. Faced with the possibility that a bitter Emma Frost has kidnapped Charles, Erik is forced to team up with Moira to hunt down the remainder of the Hellfire Club. From there, they hope to locate Frost and retrieve Charles, without killing each other along the way.

(Or: Erik and Moira Drive Across the Country and Talk About Their Feelings.)

What Can We Do Without You? – SwoopSwoop

Summary: Charles and the boys were holding onto a secret more dear to them than their own lives when Charles disappears into the night; Erik is betrayed and finds himself returning to Westchester in the hopes that the government was just trying to trick him. All the while the boys are stuck in the middle, left guarding the secret from the man they are most afraid of finding out who is weaselling his way back into their lives alarmingly easily.

Note: Includes Mpreg, but don’t let that discourage you from reading it because it’s a really great fix-it.

Survival Instinct – Lindstorm

Summary: It’s been months since Charles pulled Erik out of the ocean, and Erik is beginning to wonder how many more times he can choose Charles, and still keep his vow to kill Shaw. Cooperating with the CIA is straining Erik’s patience. When a fact-gathering mission goes wrong and Charles is kidnapped, Erik is left trying to hold their mutant band together while Raven and the rest of them fall apart. No one can foresee how the mutant Charles meets in captivity will challenge all his assumptions about his own power, and twist Charles’ telepathy out of his control. In the race to stop Shaw's nuclear ambitions from coming to fruition, Charles makes a crucial misstep. Erik’s decision between Shaw and Charles takes on unexpected ramifications when [spoiler deleted].

Needles (Series) – Skull_Bearer

Summary: AU where everyone's born Dominant or Submissive

Once a Dominant and Submissive pair is born, they are linked to each other, no matter how far apart they are. This link doesn't actually tell the Dom or the Sub each other's thoughts, but it does allow them to know how the other's doing and serves as a reassurance that there's someone meant for them out there.

Another one of the reasons that Erik hates Shaw so badly is because Shaw managed to break Erik's link to his Sub. Now Erik doesn't even know if his Sub's alive because breaking a link like that can kill a Submissive.

Meanwhile, Charles hates himself for not yet having telepathy strong enough to contact and help his Dom, especially after feeling the pain his Dom was forced to go through. He truly believes that his Dominant is dead. Hopes it, some nights when he remembers how his Dom was forced to suffer. It's better than to think of his Dom still being forced to bear that pain.

And then Charles pulls Erik from the water

Time to Grow – zarah5

Summary: In which you'll find chess dates which aren't dates (or maybe Charles is wrong about that). -- Based on First Class, this turns (slightly) AU during the beach scene.

Note: This fic is less than 30k words but it’s such a fandom classic and just a great read if you love your fix-its.

Faults for Fixing – beren

Summary: Charles sees the events of the missile crisis and subsequent weeks when he uses Cerebro to touch the mind of a mutant with the power to see the near future. When he wakes up he is determined that he will not allow them to happen and he will not lose the people he loves.

Note: A bit less than 30k words long but another great read.

It’s like one of us woke up – kaydeefalls

Summary: "You came here for me," Charles said, meeting Shaw's gaze levelly. "So let's not waste any more time."

Canon!AU in which Charles and Erik do find Shaw in Russia.

Note: XMFC fix it, but the events in Cuba don’t happen. 

Afterlife – Anna (arctic_grey)

Summary: A year after Washington, Erik wakes up in excruciating pain as sudden awareness washes over him: Charles is dead. Erik has to adjust to yet another future: no extinction, just a world without Charles. But the death of his former friend leaves Erik weak and his powers drained. His quest for answers leads him back to Westchester, where Erik has to face his past with Charles and put together the puzzle pieces of what happened to the man he once cared for.

The Burdens We Long to Carry – arcapelago (arcanewinter)

Summary: When mutant-supporter and ally President Kennedy is assassinated and all pro-mutant progress is dismantled, Charles is no longer so confident that he's on the right side, and extends his hand to Erik after a year of animosity. They settle tentatively into their old partnership, but not everything is the same as it was--and not everything can be. When Hank develops a metal frame to move the lower half of Charles' body for him if he wants it, Erik offers the use of his mind and his ability in order to make it work. Both find out what they're willing to do for each other, and neither knows if it'll be enough to keep them together.

Other Futures Than These – midrashic

Summary: In which Cuba doesn't break them apart, but that doesn't mean that their futures are tied together. (Except that it does.)

A Days of Future Past AU where only one person can defeat the Sentinels and save the future: the man whose imprisonment and torture created them, and Charles Xavier's ex.

The Winter of Banked Fires – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles Xavier has returned from the dead -- but is lost within his own mind. Rogue has cast aside her own power and doesn't know where she fits in the world any longer. The production of synthetic Cure means mutantkind itself is newly at risk. And Magneto, turned human against his will, is in despair until the day he feels a familiar consciousness tugging at his own --

Set after X-3 (with much desperate fix-it applied), during XMFC, and every time in between.

#cherik #cherik fic recs #asks #earnestly answers #for some reason Tumblr refuses to post my entire answer #feel free to ask me whenever you want anon #I really love making these lists