#and it is partially hc. BUT. i think beyond what i have in mind for shana's personality

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

ymmv obviously this is just a take and half hc but i have to think abt how the wol fights or more specifically, who they fight with.

it always seems to transpire that for one reason or another, the wol fights a lot of their battles alone (in terms of npcs, obviously. you have other players but they're nebulously extant ingame). arr is a whole "throw the wol at the problem"-fest, it kind of doesn't even start to occur to people that "hey maybe sending them to fight this big bad alone isn't always a great idea" until like, stormblood. but even then, the scions and any other allies that are around are very often outright prevented from helping you for one reason or another.

frequently you're fighting a battle on multiple fronts, and there's no real option for them except to focus on their own fight and put their faith in the wol elsewhere. or they get taken away or left behind while you press on. then there's the fact that you're frequently fighting primals, which the majority of characters literally can't help you with for most of the game without jeopardizing their sanity. like, you have other people in the room with you when you fight a primal once, and it's actually a huge problem bc you and arenvald can't really focus on fighting when you're running back and forth trying to shield people from tempering. combined with the limited pool of people who are even on level with a primal in combat to start with, people who can actually assist you with those fights are few and far between.

but even beyond the material reasons! if there's a "canon" wol they're obviously someone who's almost comically obedient, but they do silently exercise agency on occasion... and it is almost exclusively to pick fights, usually alone. like, fucking zodiark. you get sent up to the moon, expecting to maybe fight, like, zenos, fandaniel, nope! the big guy himself. and the wol makes the active decision to not even phone home and say "hey, just so you know, i'm fighting the father of all primals, idk if there's time for you to get up here but. just so you're aware. just in case i cannot kill zodiark by my fucking self. that's what's going on on the moon right now." nah you just jump in there, no need to bother your friends, they're busy, you can take care of this one.

and then this obviously comes to a blatant head in ultima thule, where your friends all but say "we're prepared to sacrifice ourselves along with you if it means the world is safe" and the wol literally denies them that right. they pull the scions back from death and then send them away, and remain behind alone, fully aware they were facing a probably-unwinnable fight. (and i have a whole other fucking essay about the narrative ramifications of zenos' arrival in this context and others but. another time. this post is too long anyway) my point being that's one of the most blatant moments of pc agency and it's to remove others from a battle and stay behind alone.

idk i think a canon wol trait is a fixation on their own sacrifice, a desire to put themself in harm's way because otherwise someone else might do it and that's intolerable. and the narrative often conspires to validate them on this. and it's. interesting? i'm rotating it.

[monayen]

how about something sfw for a change? can you do a ranking of who’s best at cooking?

Cooking Headcannons

➷ Paring - Multi x Fem!Reader [Randal's Friends / Ranfren]

➷ CWs - very light mention of consuming blood and cannibalism. that’s about it !!

a/n - i feel like im a bit rusty at pure sfw stuff… but i will try for NNN ~_~ this isn’t a ranking, since a good chunk are either just bad or barely cook. mostly just hcs about food they like, what’d they’d make you, and habits etc. ratmen are excluded cus you know those boys scavenge rather than cook !!! also ignore any mistakes i wrote this really fast

Sebastian

While Sebastian did work at a pizza place for a bit before becoming Randal’s pet, it was just as a delivery boy

I like to think he was in the training process of learning how to make the food, but he got lost before he learned anything skillful. He does have half the recipe for garlic knots memorized though 

A personal hc is that his parents were semi-absent with him (which probably helped lead him to being in the adoption center in the first place), so he survived a lot on sandwiches and microwave meals since they were easy and available

He wasn’t a big fan of it then, but now he craves them a lot. His favorite were the microwaveable kraft dinner mac & cheese cups. Foods like that are a comfort for him, and he’ll love you forever if you manage to get some for him to eat

Luther doesn’t trust him in the kitchen, so even if Sebastian wanted to cook, he wouldn’t be allowed. Deep down, he doubts his cooking skills anyways

Randal

A terrible cook. He has no idea how to properly prepare a meal and his attempts often end in disaster

Randal doesn't understand the concept of recipes or following instructions. He just throws random ingredients together and hopes for the best. “How to Basic” levels of culinary skills

Despite his terrible cooking skills, Randal still insists on trying to make meals for people (or you) to try. Truly believes he's good and everyone else just can’t handle his exquisite tastes

Once, Randal tried to make surprise pancakes for breakfast. He used baking powder instead of baking soda and the pancakes turned out hard as rocks. He still ate them anyway, breaking a couple of his teeth in the process. Don’t worry, they grew back by supper

He used to try to cook at least a couple times a week, but Luther banned him after he 

somehow managed to set water on fire on the stove. Now he’s restricted to just the microwave. Which is alright, just remind him to add the water in his instant noodles before they explode

Randal will also eat almost anything if it's covered in enough sauce or condiments. He's been known to put ketchup on his cereal and maple syrup on his pizza. Swears by it, will probably make you try all his weird food combinations

Satoru

This little show off!

Cooks and bakes purely to give it away to you or Randal. He doesn’t even eat them himself, always insisting you try his new recipe

The reality is that he steals most of his ideas from cookbooks. While he has the skill to execute them, coming up with his own dishes and perfecting them is a bit beyond him—but that’s a secret he keeps to himself!

He’ll sit there, watching closely as you eat his carefully prepared food, studying your reactions and asking if it’s good, like a chef waiting for feedback

But he’s memorized what you like already, and he makes sure to tailor his dishes just for you, hoping to earn your praise when the flavors hit your tongue

Exceptional at chopping, so fast at it you worry he’ll cut a finger off or something if he’s not careful enough. A part of him doesn’t mind if you taste something that has a little bit of his blood in it…

Doesn’t exactly have a favorite meal or food, he likes whatever you like :) is a bit partial to Japanese cuisine though, especially sashimi

Nyon

Nyon's cooking skills are quite limited. As a catman, his preferences lean more towards raw meats and simple  foods. Or whatever Luther gives him

Doesn’t mean he doesn’t like a good home cooked meal, but if you put him in a kitchen with every ingredient and tool that could potentially make something avant-garde or delicious… he’d probably just end up making hard boiled eggs

He does have an odd skill of picking though. Pickled cucumbers, onions, beets, all in unlabeled, merky, mason jars. Has a goal to pickle everything that can be pickled, just to try

Keeps a stash of it in the pantry and munches on them when he gets high. Will share if you ask (he kinda wants you to, pickling takes practice!) 

Nyon has the stance that he’d much rather wash the dishes and put away the ingredients than actually prepare the food, as it’s a lot of effort and stress on his part that’d he’d rather avoid

Nyen

Really only ever cooks for himself. Not a fan of sharing and to be honest… you probably wouldn’t like what he makes anyways

Lots of slabs of undercooked chicken and beef, barely seasoned because “it doesn’t need that.” Protein buff, but not keen on eating beans… or eggs… or fish… Okay, usually just eats chicken to maintain his muscles

Unironically picky, doesn’t eat a lot of what isn’t what he usually eats. If you give him a plate of pasta or something, he’ll just stare at it like you handed him a severed cow head. Even Luther knows this, making sure he keeps the fridge stocked with Nyen favorite foods so he’s in the best condition to get through the day!

Does have a small sweet tooth, so you can coax him into baking if he’s in a good mood. His favorite are raspberry muffins :)

You still might have to do most of the work, but he’ll mix shit and keep track of the dessert in the oven for you. Don’t ask him for anything else—just hand him a muffin and clean up the mess, okay?

Luther

Quite the chef! 

He’s domestic, and even though Randal always begs him to get fast food to eat, he always prefers to make something at home

Uses “passed down” recipes. Passed down from who? Who knows. He keeps them all in a little old notebook, pages yellowed and worn out. The last ingredient in all the recipes is always “love ♡”

He’s also a big fan of those southern mom baking shows, especially during the holiday season, he’ll bake like a madman!

Likes nature, so he does have a small garden in the backyard of the house he’ll tend to when he has the time. Specializes in exotic vegetables you probably aren’t used to eating. Ask him how his kohlrabi harvest is going, he’s quite proud!

The type of humanoid to surprise you with your favorite meal after a long day. Makes enough for everyone, of course, but Luther puts in effort to see the smile on your face when he presents you with it at the dinner table

He does expect compliments after you eat any of his food, even if it’s something as simple as scrambled eggs. It means a lot to him, so don’t forget to do so. He might take it the wrong way if you don’t 

Luther swears up and down that he’d never eat a human. Cannibalism is wrong! But he did get very close to once… just to “expand his pallet”

[maxxandchesse]

Do you prefer Mystreet Garrance or MCD Garrance more?

And what are your head cannons of the two.

Honestly depends on the mood.

Right now definitely MCD Garrence because it’s what I’m rewatching, but I really like Mystreet because of werewolf Garroth

HEADCANNONSSS

I don’t even know where to start so here’s a ton of random things. I did separate them by series, some of these could be said for both series so

Mystreet:

- Garrence cuddling here looks like Garroth laying on top of Laurence like a huge weighted blanket

- Zane is so tired of being around them because Garroth ALWAYS talks about Laurence and then when he’s with Laurence he’s constantly being asked where Garroth is

- Garroth likes to pick Laurence up and spin him around (it’s basically how they hug now)

- They are THE PDA couple. They won’t make out in public or anything gross but one of them is always clinging onto the other. Hand holding, arm holding, resting a head on the other’s shoulder, if they aren’t holding each other their legs are pressed against each other.

- They get each other flowers every anniversary or holiday. Laurence’s favorite flowers are roses, he knows it’s basic but he loves how romantic they are. Garroth’s are sunflowers. He didn’t have opinions on flowers until Laurence compared him to a sunflower, so bright and sunny. They’ve been his favorite since.

- When Laurence was in the Shadow Knights Garroth would doodle him on the sides of his notebook. This is when his crush on Laurence started to grow. (Working on a fic about this)

- Laurence realized he was in love with Garroth when they kissed in the play.

- Werewolf Garroth sheds A LOT. Laurence thought werewolfs didn’t normally shed but Garroth was already hairy pre wolf ears and tail. Laurence has his hair ALL OVER HIM.

- “Is this your hair or mine?”

- “…It’s definitely yours.”

- Garroth is beyond happy that Laurence wasn’t there at Starlight, but the fear of being used to hurt Laurence itches at the back of Garroth’s mind. Laurence still wishes he was there for him.

MCD:

- Garrence cuddling here looks like Garroth spooning Laurence or them both laying out like a star fish

- Laurence often has nightmares about the Nether and his transformation causing him to transform in his sleep. Garroth is always there to help him calm down and will hold him no matter what his form is.

- Garroth also has nightmares of Laurence being hurt or tortured, he checks multiple times in the night if Laurence is breathing before remembering Shadow Knights don’t breath.

- This post has a fun HC about that ^

- PDA for them is different, Garroth, trying to be formal, does show a lot of affection in private but rarely in public. Partially it’s his fear of someone hurting Laurence because they are together. Laurence would kiss Garroth in front of millions of people he does not give a shit. (Please don’t take this as Phoenix Drop is homophobic I truly don’t think most people there would be, it’s about Garroth feeling like everything Zane has done is his fault.)

- Laurence first realized he may like Garroth when he wrapped and dressed his wounds after he returned from the Nether. The kindness was overwhelming him. From that moment he wanted to get closer to Garroth and learn more about him.

- Garroth realized he loved Laurence in the Irene dimension, when he watched him leave.

[sleepingdeath-light]

how he confesses to his s/o hcs ; choso kamo

requested by ; anonymous (event)

fandom(s) ; jujutsu kaisen

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; choso kamo

outline ; “hi hi for your 4.4k event can i request how undertaker, choso and fyodor would confess to reader ^^ congrats on the milestone btw!! (*^ω^*)”

note ; unsure of my characterisation here, may revisit this post in the future…

warning(s) ; none, just fluff!

first thing’s first, it would take choso a while to realise that he has feelings for you at all — partially because he’s just not used to being human yet, and partially because he’s so focused on taking care of his brothers and adjusting to his new life with yuuji that he doesn’t really have the time or mental space to dedicate to sifting through and categorising all of his new emotions — so unless you or somebody else (like yuki) called him out for his crush it may be a good few months, or even over a year, before choso comes to recognise his fondness for you as something that goes a bit beyond just platonic appreciation

and once he does realise that he has a crush on you he just doesn’t know what to do with himself. like, yes, he realises that he’s meant to confess these feelings to you (his brother and his friends have told him as such and he’s watched more than his fair share of romcoms to know that that’s how this usually goes), but he doesn’t know how he’s meant to do that… and he also doesn’t know if he’s ready to put himself out there like that yet

(or if he ever truly will be ready)

but with some pushing and assurance that you feel the same way for him from yuki and yuuji, and some useful pointers from nanami and gojo (with the former being the more sound and reasonable of the two by far), he finally decides to take the leap of faith and tell you how he feels over dinner at a decently nice restaurant the two of you have been to a handful of times in the past

he’s a bit too dressed up for the setting and is visibly more anxious and fidgety than usual, but otherwise the evening is pretty uneventful for you both — filled with good food, fun banter, and the usual sorts of conversations you have when you’re alone together like this — up until the point where you’re having your dessert and choso finally manages to work up the courage to confess

… though what he blurts out is most assuredly not the well thought out, several times redrafted, and carefully worded confession that he planned on saying to you over dinner

no

it’s quick and straight to the point, spoken as bluntly as something that important can possibly be

just five simple words

‘i think i like you’

followed by a beat of still, flustered, silence before he turns bright red and tries to make himself appear as small as possible as he clarifies himself in a much quieter and meeker voice that he in fact means that he likes you far more than a friend should and, if you want to, he would really like to be your boyfriend

and then he goes quiet and just waits

and you’re still not saying anything

and suddenly the tablecloth is the most interesting thing in the world

and he doesn’t think he’s ever felt this scared and mortified in his life

but all of that fear and anxiety and embarrassment dissipate when you interrupt him with a confession of your own — and you can see him visibly relax the second your words register in his mind and he realises, truly realises, that you feel as strongly for him as he does for you

despite his past working with kenjaku and the other curses where he fought you and your friends

despite his unusual heritage and all that entails

despite the almost childish phrasing of his own confession and his utter panic afterwards

despite it all you feel the same way, you like him, and he doesn’t think he’s ever been happier

[pumpkinbxtch]

HI! I don’t know if ur taking recs,but I would wanna rec a fem!model!reader x frank zhang :3 extra points if she’s a daughter of hades.

the fic can be anything,all the power to u<3 maybe like just a cuddle sesh after a shoot?? I just wanna see a frank fic that’s not hcs cus no one writes him :((

u don’t have to do this ask if u don’t wanna :33 great writing!! have a great day/night <3🤍💗 :3

my cover girl

— frank zhang x daughter of hades!model!fem!reader

warnings: none, just too much fluff

.a/n: hiii always is a pleasure to write for Frank, he's soo ugh. Ilovehimmmm. Thank you and have a good night/ day

The flashes were partially blinding him, but he didn't care. He couldn't and didn't want to take his eyes off you, his beautiful, precious, and talented girlfriend.

— Simply dazzling!— the photographer said once another flash went off, voicing Frank's thoughts. He hugged your coat to his chest and couldn't help but smile when your eyes glanced at him for a microsecond.

The assistant brought him a chair, but he rejected it like before. He was just too lost in the way you moved for his mind to think about any kind of fatigue, but he imagined yours. For a little over an hour, you had been doing poses that he couldn't even achieve with all the training from Camp Jupiter. He watched the way your muscles tensed and your legs stretched, how your toes supported your weight, not to mention that you were only leaning on those heels.

He was relieved to know he had a box of ointments and medications especially for you in the glove compartment of his car, but what caught his attention the most were the microexpressions that only he could notice in you, the way your brow trembled between each photo, fighting not to frown. That's when Frank knew that beyond any physical fatigue, your social battery was less than half, as a daughter of Hades, you had some well-defined characteristics besides the intriguing beauty you possessed.

— One more! — the photographer shouted, and Frank eagerly stepped forward to greet you, ready to scoop you up in his arms to the car.

For your last photo, you turned your back to the camera and looked over your shoulder, searching for a point to focus on, and of course, that was your boyfriend.

Flash! It was as if another arrow had pierced Frank's heart for you. A few meters away, the assistant suppressed giggles at the stupid way Frank still smiled at you while you were already heading to your dressing room to change, and it was only a few minutes that he had to wait to see you return in much more comfortable and loose clothes, just as you liked after a session. He watched you drag your feet while a pout appeared on your face with each step you took towards him.

— There you are... — Frank sang, opening his arms, and you jumped into them to be enveloped and given that bear hug you loved. His cologne was soothing to your tired senses, almost like a lullaby, and he understood it by the way your weight leaned almost entirely on his chest.

The journey back home was like almost every time you returned from a session. Frank drove with the music barely audible, the heating on to give you some air, and you nestled in the back with a teddy bear that you had bought wich you insisted to Frank that it looked just like him when he turned into a bear, although in his opinion, he thought he simply looked like any other bear, but the thought that you could recognize him in any shape or way warmed his heart.

—Come here — Frank said, opening the back door once they had arrived. You rose slowly, but his hands climbed up your legs to lift you, and the only time you touched the floor was when he sat you on the edge of his bed. You looked at him for a few more seconds in silence while he took out some provisions and left them in their place.

— Frank —His head was buried in the refrigerator, probably inspecting what other supplies were missing.

—Frank....— You tried again, and your weak voice made him sit up a little so quickly that he did it before pulling his head out, causing him to hit the appliance. You only heard the thud.

—Yes?�� He peeked out while rubbing his head, and you smiled. You didn't say anything else, just opened your arms.

Sometimes he found it hard to read you. Taking care of you as you did of him was important to him, so he always took the time to look into everything, while for you, although you appreciated that, some days all you wanted was... him, and he often forgot that because he never thought you would prefer to lie down with him rather than enjoy some delicious food or have him do all the cleaning alone. As he walked towards you, he felt his cheeks tingling.

— Sorry, it wasn't my intention to forget you— For you, it wasn't like that, in fact, it was quite the opposite, but you just kept your arms open with a sleepy smile that almost made Frank blink slower. He bent down to be at chest level with you, and with his arms wrapped around your waist to lift you so that both of you could fit on the mattress. Unlike other days, you wanted to settle into his arms facing each other, and his stomach churned as he was able to smell those expensive fragrances that suited you so well.

—You're the best — you whispered, your eyes struggling to stay open, and your well-manicured hand caressed his cheek. He had won you over, nothing could be better than cherishing your affection, but if things could be better, it was with that.

—No, you're the best.— he cooed as he gently traced the features of your nose with his finger, causing you to close your eyes. When you smiled slightly, gradually falling asleep, he gave you a soft kiss and held you to his chest until he had the same need to close his eyes.

[mofsblog]

Pipe dream (lillith/scratch x fake edward william allan) is genuinely such an interesting ship to me because there's different ways to look at it. Insanely self indulgent ramble under the cut:

Like, canonically, what we know for sure is that they were both using eachother as a means to an end (she wanted to enter the world and he wanted to see the realm of the gods) and that he ended up fracturing her (and we can infer that she most likely killed him). But we also know that he canonically was observant enough to notice she had a facade on, wondered if she was a prisoner and was partially in awe of her (and implied to be attracted to her). Also we know that while she appeared as blurry in the beginning(like she did with arthur and its implied she does with most people), over time, she "came into focus" in his dreams and like. He saw her clearly enough to paint her (oh also I am writing this with the headcanon/theory that she was trapped in a pocket dimension type thing which isnt technically canon so keep that in mind)

Now with that, I feel like a straightforward interpretation of this would be that she was purely manipulating him and probably using her powers to partially seduce him so he'd be easier to control. Her appearing more clear over time in this interpretation was then simply a manipulation tactic to make him think she'd put her guard down around him and make herself look more approachable. And then she killed him when he stopped being useful but he didn't particularly mean anything to her outside of being a hindrance (when he fractured her). To add onto this, you could interpret her as being desperate for freedom and that their relationship (whatever it was) was one born out out of desperation rather any actual attachment. Similarly, you could also interpret him as not really caring about her and his mild attraction to her only being a symptom of her influence rather than an organic feeling and that eventually, he snapped out of it long enough to create a failsafe that would fracture her

Either way, it's not hard to interpret their relationship as purely transactional (which is also a fun dynamic tbh) but what if! It wasn't! (Also considering the fact ""Edward"" had enough autonomy and self awareness to consistently write about how little he trusted her and eventually create a failsafe to fracture her, I do feel like he had some kind of resistance or tolerance to her powers and it wasn't like he was completely brainwashed which could imply a part of his attraction to her was genuine)

Anyways, yes, I interpret them as using eachother. Yes, I interpret them as never really trusting the other. But even with that, I still think there was some genuine attachment there and occasional glimpses of vulnerability. I don't think either of them loved eachother but I think they almost did. Like no, I don't think ""Edward"" ever trusted her completely but he almost wanted to. No, I don't think either of them were ever honest with eachother but they almost were. No, I don’t Lillith was ever fully herself around him but she had moments where she almost was and that has be worth something, right? I just feel like she did eventually grow fond of the companionship (I hc her as thinking human affection is a weakness and something inherently stupid but also something she does long for because a part of her is deeply lonely, both, because of the whole being imprisoned thing, but also her lack of being herself with anyone she interacts with/manipulates, even if I don't think she'd ever admit either of these things) and I also think ""Edward"" enjoyed their more scientific discussions and he probably did have a bit of curiosity about her as a person beyond her otherworldliness

I think the thing that makes me insane about them (or my interpretation of them) is that the love was almost there but even if it was, I don't think it would've changed anything. They really weren't doomed by anything external forcing them to act like this. They both doomed eachother because they cared more about their own goal than they did the other and that led to both of their demise in a way (even if Lillith got Scratch back later eventually). I don't think Lillith was like completely grief stricken when he died but I do think a part of her was saddened by it even if it was in a deattached way (I hc Lillith as not really grieving ""Edward"" in a human way, because well, she's an elder goddess who probably isn't all that attached to humanity. Like she'll be sad about it but it's a subdued sadness that's more akin to the "oh man I liked that thing and I will miss it" sadness you'd feel if idk your favourite shop closed down and less the "oh my life will just fundamentally never be the same ever again" sadness you'd expect from someone who just lost the one person they were probably ever semi close to. But it's still a form of grief). Idk there's something so interesting about an implied relationship where the only thing we can be certain about is that they functionally destroyed eachother

OH I ALSO ALMOST FORGOT BUT THE INHERENT PRIVATE EYES PARALLEL? BECAUSE HE DOES CALL HER "THE ENTITY" ONCE HHHHHHHH

[chairteeth]

have u ever explained ur aro-ace hcs for tounemu

Hmm, I don't think I have. They're partially based off of my own experiences as an aroace lesbian as well as those of my partner and other members of the community, which I felt vibed with the characters. The headcanons vary depending on the fic/AU, but there's some general stuff I can easily share, I think. A lot of this is just gonna be vibes and what I believe fits the characters/is most interesting to play around with. Since this is a sexuality rant, fully expect me to talk about the characters beyond the scope of their ages in canon. In case it gets really long, have a readmore.

First, assume a lesbian layer under the aspec layer of the characters. So, let me try Touka first, because she's probably easier to talk about. I like to headcanon her as demiromantic specifically, because I just cannot see her getting crushes or falling for anyone she doesn't already have a significant emotional connection to, but she does seem like she would feel romantic attraction. Only in a very demi way, though. Very "over the course of years of having a close bond" type. She doesn't feel to me like she'd be interested in traditional romance in any way, shape, or form. Sexually, I'm... I'm so tempted to say demi sapiosexual you have no idea. That's because I feel like both Touka and Nemu (especially Touka) are attracted to high intellect, mind you. If I had to say, though, for Touka I'd classify her as a gray-ace. It feels right. I believe that she has this base, very mild relatively "constant" level of it, ssssorta like the allo way, but when she does feel strong sexual attraction, it hits her like a powerful and relatively sudden slap in the face and is only triggered by highly specific things. And also you have to know exactly how to work her, etc. I really, really think it's more about the mind games and stuff for her, that's what she's into. Same for Nemu, but I like doing something a tad different with Nemu, give me a second to rant.

I have many gripes about what people do with characters like Nemu, especially when it comes from people who are clearly ignorant or insufficiently educated on the aroace spectrum. See, Nemu has a very specific set of traits that often make people go "oh I see her as asexual" but attaching that headcanon to these specific traits when you don't even have a solid basis of what that even means grinds my gears pretty bad. Some of these traits are: quiet, glasses, bookworm/nerd, wheelchair user/physically disabled. Fandom culture around these kinds of characters is rancid. And whenever I've seen people write ace characters, it's one of two things: exotic allo or completely celibate. Which is just so far off from reality. The aspec is a lot more varied than people may think, and while being asexual does not equate to being celibate, that also doesn't mean that sexual experiences are the same for an ace person as they are for an allo person. You cannot simply say "oh they're ace but they enjoy sex" and then depict them acting exactly like an allo person, the approach is completely different. And then there is the camp that thinks ace = celibate. Some aces are celibate, some aren't. Don't even pretend libido isn't a completely separate thing too. So most of the time, it feels like internalized ableism, ignorance, the general assumption of "nerds don't fuck" (while this is the case for some, a majority of nerds are freaks) etc., and since it especially applies to female characters, also some level of internalized purity standards or something. Which absolutely maddens me.

Anyway, I see Nemu as grayromantic asexual. To elaborate a little, I feel like through her passion for literature and just how much poetry and how many books she must've read, Nemu feels some level of curiosity towards romance and approaches it from a pretty writerly perspective that would likely only ever work on another weirdo. It feels like she's more of an observer, but although rarely, she does feel romantic attraction, and in a relationship it's like a permanent little warmth in her chest. Not overwhelming, not loud, but like the tiniest ever-present flame of pure fondness. My ace interpretation of her, however, differs from others I have talked to. For example, my partner does understand my interpretation but sees her as gray-ace instead. Now, I see Nemu as completely asexual, but much like Touka, academically interested in the whole... everything surrounding sex and kink. My personal explanation for that one "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Touka" scene in Miyuri's MGS is actually just that, simply put, the girls probably have conversations about sex and kink/fetishes. Not in a sexual way, but in a curious, intellectually-driven way, and that curiosity is what may lead them into experimenting when they get older.

The most fun thing about my interpretation of ace Nemu, in my honest opinion, is how it combines with other traits, like her high libido (headcanon we derived from canon, there are words in the background of Nemu's henshin and they're all philosophical concepts or other relevant stuff except for the word libido, that's where that headcanon comes from and it's interesting, so we're keeping it), her being a Buddhist, or her sadism, or the funny kink we suspect her of having (if you know you know). This is something I tend to touch upon more in AUs by honing her trauma to specifically highlight the issues she already has. Ace + high libido is already a potentially fascinating combination of traits, but when you add the religion thing and the kink aspects born from trauma, not to mention the rest of the trauma? It's so incredibly crunchy to rotate in your brain and analyze and play around with.

I think both of them would enjoy planning outings and the like just because they like planning things and they love quality time. They'd probably be trying to one-up each other often, Touka would delight in finding ways to fluster Nemu I think, and same in reverse, but Nemu does tend to be more dramatic, so she might enjoy the occasional theatrics as part of their little ludus thing. Who am I kidding, Touka "let's explode in a cool pose!" Satomi is also dramatic. I mentioned in my love styles essay that I feel like physical touch is vitally important to them, because of sensory craving and having been touch/affection starved as kids (yk, in a hospital, particularly Nemu), so that is one part of why I think they'd enjoy physical affection, from handholding to sex. The intellectual aspect of the kink experience also feels important. You can explore so much fascinating stuff about a character through their sexuality (general usage of the word, not specifically referring to identities here), and it bugs me a little that most nsfw works I've seen (not necessarily TouNemu), particularly Eastern ones, are just... character assassination galore. From my point of view, I don't understand why you'd ever want to do that, but I can at least comprehend the concept of "this is meant to be fapping material and that's why it's like that". It's not what personally interests me about nsfw, so I tend to stay away from any that isn't produced by myself or recommended to me specifically by someone in the aspec who I trust.

To summarize:

Touka demiromantic gray-ace

Nemu grayromantic ace

Both dramatic enough to pull off romantic stunts for funsies

Both hungry enough for enrichment and/or horny enough to indulge at some point (probably their teens, maybe their 20s if they're stupid enough, I could easily see them sharing a house and possibly a bed for like ten years and acting every bit like a married couple without realizing- this includes sharing a bed because as per new canon info, Nemu requires a body pillow, and Touka is probably the perfect size to be hugged while sleeping), but not the way an allo person/couple would. Being the freaks they are though, you probably couldn't even tell they're aspec as an external observer

[numericalbridge]

As someone who also used to have Raine as one of their favorites I really feel like most of their dynamics with characters that aren't Eda got unexplored, like for how little there's of it Darius was one of the best cases, Raine relationship with The BATTs never gets brought up again past ER, they practically never interact with Lilith and their scenes with Luz & King are almost none. Like I love Raine, but I always held onto hope that they were going to be explored beyond Raeda and I was kind of disappointed in that regard.

And as you said, the possesion plot would feel like it had more meaning if Belos & Raine have some sort of interaction before that, because before S3 you're not even given reason to think Belos knew their name beyond "well he gotta know what the Coven Heads are called right?", and being Raine a rebel it feels like a waste to not have Belos at least acknowledge the rebellion in a meaningful way.

They're still a good character with great characterization but it's clear where the writers priorities lied and I wish it wasn't so obvious.

(Although in regards to their dynamic with Darius and he indulging them in a lots of ways I always hc it as Darius coming to see them as a friend and Raine eventually matching up, even if canon doesn't give me much to work with. But your commentary now gave me the idea of Raine not quite matching that up and having complicated feelings over it even if I don't think Darius would mind and is certainly a concept.

In any case what little the writers put there gives foot to an interesting dynamic both in canon and post-canon and I wish they realized).

Sorry it took me ages to reply, but i wanted to rewatch Oh, Titan first.

But yes, i agree. The fandom has a strong reaction when someone talks about the way Raine barely got to interact with anyone but Eda, but compared to Darius - he has less screentime but still has meaningful relationships or hinted relationships with resolutions with Hunter, Eber, Raine and Alador and a backstory with his mentor that all are at least partially shown through his PoV... Raine who is supposed to be more important has... Darius (briefly), Luz (and their most important scene is about Eda) and Terra (with barely any resolution/focus on Raine's feelings), but not even a background reunion with the Batts, no real interactions with King, no personal rivalry with Belos until the final episode. And them constantly losing their agency without satisfying resolution (well, at least for me the resolution wasn't worth all that happening to them, but some people think it was good) doesn't help.

I think Raine and Darius are definitley positioned as equals and equally friendly/annoying to each other in Oh, Titan, but it is just sad it never got continued even for a backgound scene of them interacting in a montage. And tbh when i rewatched their scene it was still awesome, but i also always half-suspected it was made just to make the episode's ending more wholesome and there was no futher thought to their relationship and so it is retconnable, and it frustrates me, lol.

[jonathankatwhatever]

Taking a break from manual labor, from emptying the entire filing system of 30+ years into garbage bags. I thought I threw out all my old journals and the like, but I found entire boxes of them. I’ll keep them for now. If I’m proven ‘sane’, then they will be incredibly valuable. If not, they could be used to document how this form of dementia arises and how it takes hold.

If I define irrational as a contradiction which can’t be removed, then I’m not yet entirely demented. But it looks to anyone other than me that I am because this is not only absurd to look at, but there’s no objective, 3rd party validation that I’m correct.

I wonder if that’s where I am. Every time I come near that, it deflects. I’ve pulled out many reasons for this over the years. One is that it’s clear I haven’t been able to understand enough well enough to be persuasive. An example is I found some old writing, and turned randomly to a page where I said something about Gödel proving something about systems, and I handwrote in complex because I knew at the time the idea is that this applies to a formal system’s ability to describe itself and used complex because that reflected my state then. I thought for an instant how these aren’t drafts but exercises to see what I could get out and in what form.

It’s only now that I feel confident enough in what I know to describe in a holistic manner how reality constructs, how the HC works, how D-structure works, etc. And I realized last night while looking at a long calculation on video involving a bunch of integration tricks that I was thinking about what was happening, like what raising some x to e means, so I could start to see what was occurring. That kind of material was impenetrable to me before: I have a strong resistance to manipulation without that understanding level. So, if this follows trend, I should be seeing that better quickly.

When I sat down for this break, I said to myself I would convince myself that I’m not demented because the math works out that way. While I was going through the cabinets, I thought about you as my point at infinity, as the End in the HG which acts as a filter from beyond the way Jews do for people looking for some indication there’s a holy plan. Funny how that works, isn’t it? They come to this conclusion because Jews get along everywhere people let them live. That means, as we’ve discussed, they’re friends and allies of your enemies, which leads to you’re not us, to you’re not loyal, to you must be lying, to you manipulate, etc. The metaphor is an hourglass, an HG, where Jews are the center End and the grains of sand fall on the people. Flip it over and you can hear them reaching out, but blocked in their minds by the Jews. That is why the Palestinians make this existential: this would prove they are central to the world and of course to God. Killing to earn God’s favor. Sounds familiar.

Am I demented? My conclusion is yes or no. I’m looking at this pile of my old work product and I’m thinking maybe I should toss it all. Then I could say to myself: I realize now that I’m demented and that this identification of you as an actual human being at the other End of a cross-twisted, etc. creation runs into the contradiction that you don’t know who I am, that you are involved with someone else, that you’ve been involved with others while I’ve been maintaining this delusion that we are connected, that we are working on this together, and that being apart has therefore been a necessity in order for the all-important mission to become a reality. I write that out and I can see my life ending soon as I realize this ending is the only one I’ll ever get. Or not. Because right now I have to get to work so I can afford to at least partially redeem the vast harm I’ve inflicted on the people who are closest to me because I have had to sacrifice so much to do this work. As I told Debbie, my hope is that I’m correct and that will not only explain but give a good ending, a sense of accomplishment that this was worth the struggle, worth the pain, worth the deprivations and the worry and the anxiety.

[witchie-writings]

I love your blog sm❤️ I love your Halo hcs they are the best and You’re like one of the only blogs that has written for the bayverse Megatron and for that, I think you amazing🥹 Whenever you feel like it, do you think you could write more bayverse megatron x reader? Absolutely no pressure and take all the time you need❤️

YOU

Take my heart. Bayverse Megatron is one of my favorite versions, so it’s nice to see someone request more HCs for him! (Well, I guess I’m writing again lmfao) I will admit, my views on him have kind of changed, so these might be different from the first set of headcanons I wrote.

Trigger warning for abuse.

During the war, Megatron could only see the blinding promise of power. He craved it like it was the energon that flowed through his inner pipe-lines, but… admittedly, despite his never-ending rampage for his next fix for absolute control, he does have an inner weakness that he’d rather die than reveal to those that serve him: his S/O.

His S/O would struggle with this version of Megatron. He was undoubtedly ruthless, far more than any other version of Megatron, and this extends partially to them. He can be abusive, both physically and verbally, and depending on how his emotions festered within him that day dictates how bad it can get. It’s agonizing, oh painfully so. I would never blame S/O if they one day decide to abandon the cause, for any sliver of the Megatron they once knew was seemingly gone.

Oh but that wasn’t the case. Despite all the things he does, his spark mourns for the times before the war, before the Fallen had entered his processor and twisted his mind into shattered pieces. There will be times that his spark breaks through, temporarily silencing the raging thoughts that echoed inside his helm, and this is where he shows weakness. He knows all of the things he’s done and how he’s hurt his S/O, and so, his care is so tender, so genuine. His digits would grace over his S/O’s platings with the utmost care, even as they trembled violently - the emotions boiled within Megatron, oh Primus, what has he done to them? 

During these soft moments, he orders the other Cons that he and his S/O are not to be disturbed, any sign of disobedience will be immediately punished with a torturous death. 

His S/O would be pampered beyond belief while his spark shines through. He shows his love through acts of service, whatever they need him to do, Megatron would do it without any question or hesitation. The only thing he has slight reluctance to is cuddling. His body was mangled and mutilated into a twisted version of his previous self, sharpened blades and riddled with cracks of silver. It’ll take coaxing, but he’ll cave, and he’d melt if his S/O would give him words of affirmation - he needs it, he desperately does.

Whenever he falls back into his tyrannical mindset, it’s painfully hard to suddenly switch back to how it was before his spark broke control. He acts the same as how he was before, but it’s as though part of him has softened. Megatron’s processor despises this feeling and will take it to his late grave, but he feels strangely at peace, a sense of tranquility he never knew could feel so alluring amongst the calamity of war. It makes him feel weak, and he loathes it, wishing to rip apart his frame just to claw out this specific feeling. But he can’t, and now whenever he tries to be the ruthless tyrant towards his S/O, his inner workings shatter. He can’t reveal this weakness, no, he can’t, if he could barely handle himself causing pain to them, then how would he even handle the other Decepticons tormenting, torturing, or even killing his S/O?

No, he won’t let it happen. He would try his hardest to show how much he ‘hates’ his S/O, and that they were a fool to ever believe that things could go back the way it came. But he can feel the anguish brewing. How he so desperately wished things could go back to the way they were.

[sammys-magical-au]

How the Torchwood team had their queer awakenings~

*quick disclaimer: this is partially a shit post partially a headcanon post, but not at all meant to be taken as an argument against your opinion. I have my own headcanons on the team’s sexualities that I will probably touch on here but if you’re just going to yell at me for that, leave. I’m not joking. Your bullshit won’t be tolerated here. Go on.

I’ll start with Jack because I think he probably never thought for a second that he was straight. Like not even once. He probably always called himself omnisexual. Maybe his first word was “omnisexual” idk lol. Bc first off his biological dad was pan and his biological mom was bi so it wasn’t like he wouldn’t be accepted. In fact there were times where he went through short periods of thinking “oh no what if I’m straight?” and then he’d see a cute boy and think “never mind we’re fine I’m def not straight”

Sam was probably similar, the only difference being that her family (specifically some parts of it) weren’t as accepting or understanding (bc y’know 1980’s vs the 51st century). She found out what pansexual meant on her own - also it should be noted that all of Sam’s siblings are queer. And her dad later came out as pan.

Owen probably realized he was bisexual when he was a teen. Like some friends dared him to kiss another boy and he was like “hope this doesn’t awaken anything in me 😏”. And then it did.

Toshiko’s identity went through some transitions so it’s a little difficult to pin down. I think she identified as bi before joining Torchwood and never really questioned it until much later when she realized (through getting to know Sam and Jack) that the queer community is much vaster and more complicated than she thought, which led her to do a bunch of research and realize “oh, wait, I think polysexual might fit me a little better”

Ianto didn’t realize until he met Jack. Yes, he had a few crushes and things before then but he hadn’t actually thought about it until he fell completely head over heels for Jack, which is when all those weird dreams and things started to make sense. As for a specific identity though, he’s not sure. Bi, pan, omni, and ply all seem like they would fit but he doesn’t feel like labeling himself as one over the others would feel right, so he just goes with questioning.

And last but not least-

Gwen didn’t realize until she joined Torchwood. I was originally gonna make a joke and say that meeting Sam and all her genderqueerness was Gwen’s bisexual awakening but I legitimately think there’s actually something to that. Symbolically, I think it would really speak to Gwen’s character if she never considered she wasn’t straight until joining Torchwood, similar to how she never thought there was anything beyond her safe, normal, sheltered life before then. Also I’d love to imagine Gwen coming home from work one day all flustered and Rhys is concerned like “what’s wrong love? Something bad happen at work?” and Gwen just goes “I THINK I’M BISEXUAL”. Ofc Rhys is accepting and immediately lets Gwen know that he’s fine with that and still loves her just the same (tho he’s a little confused as to why and how this came up) bc he’s a good boyfriend like that (plus i hc Rhys as heteroflexible/mspec straight)

[liquorisce]

Maybe this isn’t the perfect way to explain it but Mikasa’s potential to have genuine love beyond Eren is much larger than him being able to have love beyond her 😩

Eren is just so full of something and there’s this draw to him that people can’t ignore in my mind. He can have all these different dynamics and relationships with people but they burn quickly. No matter what it all comes back to Mikasa.

Mikasa as I mentioned is just so genuine in all her actions 😭 she’s not like Eren in the way that people are drawn towards him in some magnetic way but rather when you find yourself within her orbit she’s like an addiction you cannot live without. Once you’re there you’ll always remain 😔

Partially my explanation why I think Eren is more capable of “flings”, the rashness and fire in him allows him that ability to commit to acts without thought. It’s only when he thinks does he crumble bc when he thinks all that persists is Mikasa. I just think Mikasa is too cautious with her love for “flings” <\3

Also my explanation for enjoying jeankasa, the love she has is always genuine and would exist for Jean if they do end up together, she’s not cruel enough to string him along and Jean is not nearly as pathetic as people like to portray him as when it comes to her (though I do like the idea of Jean and her finding love through her grief) She’s just so capable of loving 😭

i really love this analysis! also I totally hc jeankasa finding each other thru grief I have a huge wip for this already 🥲

[a-model-of-propriety]

Characters: Lisa, Lucy, and Utterson? :)

:D

Lisa:

First impression: “oh, she’s cool I guess. Kinda reminds me of Marguerite from Scarlet Pimpernel” (gee I wonder why)

Impression now: I love her so much I would die for her in a heartbeat.

Favorite moment: “Comments on style should never be made by those who have none.” I love sassy Lisa okay.

Idea for a story: I have a Very Angsty Idea that is essentially her breaking up with Jekyll around Once Upon a Dream. Maybe someday I’ll actually write it.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t know how “unpopular” this is but her name is LISA. NOT EMMA. No matter what version I’m talking about I always call her Lisa.

Favorite relationship: Her and Jekyll. I’m boring I know.

Favorite headcanon: My favorite one I’ve come up with is that Lady Beaconsfield was her tutor or something. Idk I think it’s a cool idea and it gives a bit more depth to the “comments on style” dig.

Lucy:

First impression: I legit don’t even remember. I probably thought she was cool???

Impression now: I love her. Personally, I prefer Lisa (projecting reasons? never /s) but I still am a huge Lucy fan.

Favorite moment: In Sympathy Tenderness when she says “I feel like a lady” and Jekyll says “You are. A most extraordinary lady.” It’s just so cute I just- *cries*

Idea for a story: idk maybe her first coming to the Red Rat? I don’t really write her pov very much.

Unpopular opinion: I’ve seen mixed on this but I really don’t mind Good and Evil all that much. Sure it’s not as good as Bring on the Men and it’s a little in-your-face, but I like that it adds the detail of Lucy inspiring Jekyll to test the formula on himself. It adds a bit more significance to her character beyond simply “another love interest”.

Favorite relationship: She and Nellie are married. No I’m not taking criticism on this.

Favorite headcanon: kay okay so going off of my Lucy/Nellie otp y’know how in Girls of the Night Nellie says she has a child? (btw the kid’s named Charlie in my head) I hc that Lucy is fantastic with kids. She’s a great mom to Charlie and he adores her.

Utterson:

First impression: he’s a lawyer I guess??? Oh and he has a gun. Cool.

Impression now: Mr. Seek! He’s great. (all my responses were pretty similar I guess I don’t really have issues with many characters)

Favorite moment: probably when he first sees Hyde turn into Jekyll. In the proshot rehearsal (I’m ignoring that the proshot exists) Merritt has such a stricken look on his face that kinda cracks me up he’s really not having a good time is he. Or for book canon the “If he be Mr. Hyde I shall be Mr. Seek” line. Love me some pun-master Utterson!

Idea for a story: I’m working on a multichapter fic from his pov actually! It’s an AU where he’s there for Jekyll’s first transformation. Might start posting soon if anyone’s interested.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t really care if he’s called Gabriel or John. I tag him as “Gabriel John Utterson” but always call him John in my fics. “John” flows better in the songs, so I don’t really have an issue with it.

Favorite relationship: in book!canon I ship him and Jekyll so hard, but it’s complicated in the musical. I love Lisa too much to push her to the side, so Utterson just kinda ends up pining the whole time :/

Favorite headcanon: My mind is blanking on Utterson headcanons rn, so I’ll just kinda say something random. I think he was at least partially expecting Hyde to come out at the wedding/reception and that’s why he made sure to bring his gun/sword-cane-thingy. OOOH here’s a headcanon: Jekyll TOLD him to bring his gun just in case something went wrong. Thus the “we promised, remember?” line.

Thank you!!!

[coinofstone]

5x12 The Diamond of the Day pt 1

Final two episodes! Big finale! Why am I making myself cry in the middle of the afternoon! Both eps in this post.

I do love that they made Arthur a sore loser

Enter treacherous white woman #2. Srsly it was lazy writing when they did it for Mordred, it's worse now with Gwaine.

I do love the actual Round Table war room discussion but a) why isn't Merlin seated at the round table and b) why does Leon have so much goddamn faith in Camelot's walls? Like??? You literally said the same thing last year and yet Camelot *did* fall when Agravaine brought an army through the tunnels!

Poor Aithusa. Kid's had a rough life.

I do love Arthur responding to Merlin presenting him with all his supplies ready - which he prepared without his magic mind you - with suspicion 😂

But then he calls Merlin a coward and it's sad

Katie has such a great voice. That entire thing in the cave from her taunting to her laughter to the spell, it just just beautifully played.

Whole ass battle to prepare for and Arthur is just walking around moping cuz Merlin isn't there

So, Merlin's father-vision telling him he's magic itself and he just needs to believe in himself to get his magic going again, does this mean he *didn't* need to go to the cave to get it back? Cuz it seems like he needed to recharge in the cave itself, his injuries were healed when he woke up. That seems like magic cave stuff to me.

Also that "always have been and always will be" - I'm taking to mean 'always have been' in the sense that since he's 'magic itself' even before he was born, his magic existed in other, intangible forms, like we are all stardust etc. But now that he is, he will always be, aka he will not die.

Arthur waking up with his wife in his arms and Merlin's name on his lips, jumping out of bed to act on dream-info.

Balinor telling Merlin to trust in what will be.... like bitch that is literally not how this ends.

5x13 The Diamond of the day pt 2

You know that gif of the cat knocking everything off the table? That's literally Merlin shooting lightning at everyone from his perch on the ridge.

I have a lot of snarky things to say about Merlin coming out of the cave in full Dragoon gear and riding a horse instead of teleporting like the other witches but I'ma keep that to myself.

Mordred is a bitch and Aithusa has terrible aim. At least Aithusa's loyalty to Morgana makes sense.

Arthur said oh shit I'm magic - oh wait no it's that old man again

He also straight up "No! Bad dragon!"-ed Aithusa

Y'know, for all I've watched this episode and screamed about Arthur's death, I don't think I've ever focused on the exact moment he gets stabbed before.

Mordred catches him from behind and he meets it, no fault there. But as soon as he realizes his assailant is the knight who turned on him and joined Morgana, what does he do? HE LOWERS HIS FUCKING SWORD

He leaves himself wide fucking open and vulnerable and Mordred seizes the opportunity. I understand wanting the moment of recognition for Arthur, but on what planet is a trained warrior going to drop his sword mid-attack because he recognizes his attacker as a dude who only just recently decided to forsake him? It's soooooo dumb

There was a whole sequence a few episodes back where Mordred and Arthur are sparring, the point of it was to show that Mordred has become a skilled swordsman. So what exactly was the point in having Mordred run Arthur through as soon as Arthur idiotically lets his guard down? This should've been a meticulously choreographed sword fight, with Mordred getting the upper hand and sticking Arthur properly. Not this nonsense. Look at Arthur's FACE! Oh, Mordred... 👉👈 do you maybe wanna be friends again- STAB ... guess not

Uther's been rolling in his grave but he's taking an extra tumble watching Arthur forget all his skills and training in that moment.

I do appreciate Arthur getting Mordred back though. Like that moment of merciless anger followed by the hurt and regret playing on Arthur's face, warring with surety and responsibility. It was good.

I've rewatched the big confession scene about 16 times just now.

I don't quite understand why Merlin took Arthur to the woods to begin with. Instead of bringing him to the med tent in the battlefield or back to Camelot. What was the reason?

Merlin saying it feels strange (to use magic freely in front of Arthur) and him just going 'yeah' completely deadpan makes me laugh every time.

I really feel like Arthur's head should be elevated at a further incline if he's going to be fed.

Gaius refusing to outright expose Merlin as the sorcerer but nonetheless letting Gwen figure it out on her own warms my heart.

My God Arthur is sitting there dying, feeling betrayed about his best friend 'lying' to him, and still he can't stop himself from looking at Merlin's mouth.

Percival summoned MUSCLE POWER

Hey um random but why does Gwaine even know where Merlin and Arthur are headed? Why would Gaius tell him?

Arthur looks at Merlin so lovingly after he's killed Morgana 😭😭

And now he's literally grabbing at the man's hand 😭 "just hold me, please"

That's gotta be the gayest death scene in television history. If you can watch that without thinking Arthur puts his hand on the back of Merlin's head because some part of him wants to bring him down for a kiss, or that "just hold me, please" is in any way shape or form a 'bros' thing, and certainly not at all an intentional mirror/callback to Isolde dying in Tristan's arms, then I'm afraid you are what we professionals refer to as a dumb-as-nails fucknugget, more commonly phrased as 'willfully ignorant'.

"All that you have dreamt of building has come to pass" yeah except for the whole, y'know, magic still being illegal thing.

I've said this before, but, while I'm sure there was a determined intention to have Arthur die in his armor, probably in some kind of attempt to make sure the audience knows he's died a warrior's death, I *really* think it was kinda stupid that Merlin never removed it, despite Arthur being weak, despite the fact that there was something like five days between him getting stabbed and him actually dying, despite that for the duration of that time they were traveling or hiding out. Merlin managed to produce a cloak to put on Arthur, why did he need the full armor on that whole time? Like even if they left the chainmail on, those plates on his shoulder were just getting in the way, and it looked quite uncomfortable.

Also not for nothing but Lancelot got like, every flower in the forest surrounding lush verdant greens in his death boat, Arthur gets a bunch of sticks.

It suddenly occurs to me, watching this now, that the reason Leon/Percival is such a common side pairing in Merthur fics, is because these two motherfuckers are the only original Knights of the Round Table to survive the series. 🤦‍♀️ I dunno how I failed to notice that before now. My stupidity amazes me.

I'm *really* glad they decided to do this scene with Gwen wearing the Pendragon red dress instead of the black mourning dress. Yes she looks fabulous in it but it's more the symbolism than the 'reality' - with Gwen wearing her house's colors it represents a continuation rather than a finality. Camelot will go on, Gwen will undoubtedly end the war on magic and with Morgana dead (and frankly, I think by now she already brought about the death of all the angry incel type rulers in Albion) there stands to reason her reign will begin with a period of peace, possibly longer than Arthur's. We kind of have to assume that the 'time the poets speak of' is, inevitably, Gwen's reign - which only came about through Arthur's death. It's a little bit toooo subtle in my opinion, but at the same time, I understand the need for the focus on Merlin and Arthur - after all, this show was their journey - not leaving much time to focus on Gwen and Camelot in the aftermath of Arthur's death.

I will just say, the first time I watched this that fucking truck scared the ever living shit out of me. I also just immediately, viscerally hated that scene and declared it invalid - but I think it was because the truck made me jump out of my skin. It has since grown on me, particularly once I started reading 'Arthur Returns' fic.

Everything beyond this point is post-series spec and headcanon, so if that's not your jam you can exit safe in the knowledge that as usual, if there's anything worth commenting on in the S5 extras, I will create a separate post!

For those interested, my go-to post-series fic is We Begin Again by katherynefromphilly I fully headcanon this series as the continuation of the series.

I have a lot of thoughts about Gwen and Merlin post-Camlann.

For one, poor fucking Gwen. She's lost her father, her brother, and her husband, all by what, age 30? That's rough. And who knows what happened to her mom, that was pre-series and I don't think it was ever mentioned.

Merlin, dear god poor Merlin. First of all, I just wanna say straight off that my instinctive headcanon about Merlin was that he never returned to Camelot. I couldn't really say why exactly. I just don't think he could stand being there after Arthur's death. But practically speaking, Merlin's still got Aithusa to deal with, that dragon needs some godsdamned house training asap. He's still the last Dragonlord, it's reasonable to assume he'd immediately take that on considering Aithusa is partially responsible for Arthur's death (the sword Mordred killed Arthur with, only succeeded in killing Arthur because it had been forged in Aithusa's fire-breath) so he's either going to attempt to train the bad behaviors out of Aithusa, or...well...

The only thing is, I do not believe Merlin would abandon Gwen, or Gaius. So my hc is inherently flawed. I do think Merlin probably spend a couple months with his mum, and I do think he ultimately settled near lake Avalon waiting for Arthur's return.

But I do wonder, what must their relationship have been like? Gwen, surely, would've sought his guidance in establishing laws governing the use of magic. And surely, peace cannot last indefinitely, so Merlin absolutely would've defended Camelot and protected Gwen. There's just no way he could've completely turned his back on them, but I doubt he could bear living in Camelot. And Gwen is both strong and practical enough to get on without him there 24/7, even though I'm sure she'd miss him.

I also think she would've found love again. Whether with Leon, as many people hc, or someone else not in the series.

ANYWAY.

Thanks to everyone who came on this journey with me. I will post comments on the extras if I have anything worth saying - and I think I'll do a master post linking all these episode posts after I clean them up once I get time to sit at a computer and do so. Until then! 💙💚

(Gif source) (h/t @shut-up-merlin)

[hellguarded-a]

Morning Anon!! It's been a while, but I see you're feeling a bit down and definitely you deserve praise and admiration!! I've been reading all your cute hc's about Ignis and he's very cute and very inspiring. Tell us about how you came up with such a good concept!? One day I'll stop being shy and intimidated, and approach you for writing! Until then, know that I really enjoy you and your content and art on my dash! Please keep up the good work, you're doing wonderful!

ahah oh well i think that’s a little exaggeration but uhhHH sure history of this character go--

THREE YEARS AGO.  slowly creeping up on four, some fandom drama made me go fandomless, although i felt absolutely idea-less at the time and felt like i couldn’t really come up with a brand-new concept from the scratch, so i actually went through an extensive list of mythological monsters n was like...  what do i want to write...  because i was dead-set on writing a monster boy like the disappointment that i am

so i wanted something...  not just a species, but some specific creature from mythology and settled on cerberus.  so that’s what i originally wrote.  same url and everything.  was more fitting back then i think, but its still alright and i’m attached to it.  especially when i later saw someone using the url hellgvarded so i was like hehe i did it first

so, cerberus, right.  meaning i wanted to do something funky with some sort of split personality thing given the three heads n such.  well i...  couldn’t do it?  but partially i blame the fact that i couldn’t really connect with his muse in general, nor the world i put him in.  my plotting  /  shipping partner at the time didn’t really help that much.  it was very dull, set in a more cyberpunk-ish setting as compared to a modern parallel to today’s world as his canon is now, he was even supposed to have some cybernetic implants and such, not that i ever decided on those.  admittedly, that part then fuelled shinjou’s focus on that, but i digress.  his human alias was still ignis, his lover at the time was called  noctis  ( hint hint as to how i drew inspo for his brother lmao but really the name is the only connection because i liked the duality )  and he was still some sort of secret agent  /  police force thing, although i never decided on how he’s gotten to earth in that incarnation.  basically he really had no background or anything to him besides that.

so i abandoned that blog due to my inability to connect, and also partially because i managed to feel so completely overwhelmed on it within two days as it literally  exploded.  the promo got such immense traction for w/e reason that i had 200 followers within those two days, which sure it stroked my ego a lil but at the same time?  well first off, it barely let me settle in and also made me feel awful because i felt like i owed ppl a lot...  and i didn’t want to disappoint.  so many ppl jumped in on that concept and????  i actually didn’t have any muse for it?????  so rip.

so i dipped after that and made the  kitsune twins.  which stayed with me for another 2-3 years so i’d call that a success.  i still off-handedly write them on discord and at least one of them is actually important to ig’s canon.  or rather, i eventually revisitted ig to make him a plot device for  shinjou.  before  that, however, he still existed in the back of my mind in a prototype of what  the gonchiye  is today.  the gonchiye actually gave me a platform to revamp a lot of my old muses which i’m actually rly happy about, but.  anyway, back then it was a german-based organization called  die jagdhunde  ( same deal lmao )  but instead of being entirely supernatural based it was a group of humans actually hunting the supernaturals due to supersitions and stuff like that.  sometimes they’d capture some of them and force them to work for them, ig being one of those,  kalisha  being another.  it’s what made me lowkey ship them, but in the end ig ended up having a strong male preference so him and lisha are just kinda like bff’s in their current canon.  by then, i simply had ig as a regular hellhound rather than being cerberus himself as i wanted him to be  mine  rather than being a known mythology being, but he had no background nor development beyond the fact that he was  always  supposed to be a  mature, gentlemanly, but somewhat uptight individual with fire and shadow magic and the ability to phasewalk.  that’s all i had on him.

but again, i tend to hyperfixate so it didn’t become much more than a simple concept like many others, as i focused on the order of the lotus and the twins’ story.  but you know.  eventually i reached a stalemate and i had a lot of background for  shinzou,  but not his brother.  so that’s how the gonchiye became to be, being based on an ancient supernatural pit-fighting organization of which jou was once part of.  i involved  lucius  in all that, made him be the big bad, etc etc, and then had jou be bought off by the yakuza so that’s how he was raised.  i then really wanted a plot for him of infiltration and betrayal, but instead of making a whole new muse for that, i just took one of my old concepts and used that instead.  which was ig.

ig’s muse was also spurred by nata’s  ( @hellhunted )  desire to ship him with her falcon splice, which then alone led to further development of the gonchiye and their scientific endeavors.  anyway point being i made ig, as part of the gonchiye, infiltrate shinjou’s yakuza to get him assassinated, and the whole plague thing got added in a bit later, but it worked out alright.  again, one of my older concepts that i had in the twins’ old canon but wanted to reuse because i didn’t want to drop the idea completely.  so that’s how i got more involved in ig’s character, and then i finally lost the twins’ muses completely  ( much to my dismay, i miss them )  so i focused on ig?  it was surprisingly easy to connect to him afterwards and give him some background,  frankly  i don’t remember how i made him be a hellhound  /  fury  crossbreed  ( i do remember it being nata’s idea but i just don’t remember what prompted it ), but i  did  purposelly lowkey base him off of cerberus to stay true to his origins.  maybe it’s a little on-the-nose to have him be the  ‘son of cerberus’  but i’m honestly quite proud of my cerberus hc which makes it very flexible to work with.  similiarly, to how cerberus had an older brother called orthrus, i had always wanted ig to have a brother, so he  always  had a vague concept for one, so  nox  was around for a hot minute but again.  it took me a while to actually do anything concrete with him as a character.  originally, they were both hellhounds.  now ig is a crossbreed and nox is a pureblood fury.

n really then it was just a matter of writing on discord to get him to where he is now ---  i wrote him in private for about a year before bringing him on tumblr, but that’s how he came to be.  heavily inspired by the cerberus as we know him, and then adapted to my impending apocalypse canon.

[fleshpurifies]

THE BIG BLEACH HC MEME centering around politics, repost & fill out! For anyone who wanted to explore those aspects more, considering it played a big role in the story. Some things may be unknown to your Muse, just think in WHAT IF then & well, have fun and take your time!

BASICS

Name:   Unohana   / / /    Age:  3000+   / / /      Gender:   nonbinary woman Race:   Shinigami / Quincy / Hollow / Fullbringer / Visored / Human / Other Currently lives:   Soul Society / Hueco Mundo / Silbern / Living World / Hell Exact Location:  Seireitei Group(s):  Gotei 13, Squad 4, Squad 11 (formerly)

QUESTIONS

- Would your muse consider themselves more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - Would your muse consider their group more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see them: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their race: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their group: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ?

- Is your muse considered a threat: YES / NO ?   By whom?:  Central 46 , to the Soul Society governed by laws and ideals of justice , to any living creature in any and all realms on an instinctual level - Is your muse powerful: YES / NO ?  Could they be considered OP:  YES / NO ? (probably... but i love op women so keep them coming) - Did your muse commit any crimes: YES / NO ? (sweaty emoji) - Does your muse think they are doing mostly the right thing: YES / NO ? - Would society think the same: YES / NO / MIXED OPINIONS ? Does your muse think they are treated unfairly: YES / NO ? - Does your muse feel understood from others: YES / NO ? - Is it important for them what others think of them as a person: YES / NO ? - Would they welcome death:  YES / NO ? - Will they ever find peace:  YES / NO ? 

01.0.  Do they fully stand behind the group they are part of? YES / NO. Why is that? Explain: As one of the founding members of the Gotei Thirteen, Unohana’s loyalty to Yamamoto and resolve to uphold the governing laws have never once wavered.

02.0.  Do they like as things are in Soul Society? YES / NO. 02.1.  Is there anything they would change? Explain here: It’s not until she becomes ‘Retsu’ Unohana, that she truly begins to understand feelings like empathy and compassion, even if feigned at first to fulfill the role she’s taken. While she feels sympathy for those souls subjected to living in Rukongai in poverty, and genuinely wants the legislature of Central 46 to improve the quality of life for the poor outside of Seireitei’s walls, her sense of duty to the Yamamoto and the Gotei, as well as her own responsibility in regards to her personal ‘sin’ outweighs much else. She is capable of recognizing the nuance of morality to some extent, especially as Retsu, she firmly distinguishes right from wrong (her compliance with Rukia’s execution for example, despite recognising it was objectively too severe a punishment), but this code will in most cases come second to upholding Soul Society’s ideals.

- (this next area is tricky because I stand by the fact that there is a LOT of conflict with the image of ‘The Self’ that exists within Unohana, and as such, she falls into the category of both traits in a lot of these- bold is the more dominant of the two, italicized is secondary)

03.0. Would they ever actively try to bring change (in general)? YES / NO. 03.1. Is your muse more: passive / active ?  Introverted / Extroverted ? 03.2. Does your muse care more about: others / themselves ? 03.3. Do they trouble their mind over a lot of problems, others? YES / NO. 03.4. Do they mostly involve: the world / everyone / themselves / comrades / friends / family / elderly / kids / teenagers / home / workplace / strangers / souls / humans / quincy / shinigami / nobles / fullbringer / visored / hollows / espada / arrancar / former bosses / pets / animals / zanpakuto spirit / enemies / partner / lovers / soul king / god / other…(add more) 03.5. Name (up to) three which are the most on their mind (optional, adding names): - Kenpachi Zaraki. The burden of guilt weighing heavy on her shoulders, the promise of the heights he could rise to, should she raise him properly. - Isane Kotetsu. Her tender-hearted, earnest ally in everything; who she trusts to keep her greatest secrets (her greatest shame), the person with whom she entrusts her zanpakuto, who runs to her side when the nightmares are too vivid, who will proudly stand alongside her, and honor her legacy as Retsu. - Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. When monsters still roamed the realms and the balance of souls was in chaos, her strength was once sought out by one such demon in exchange for endless enemies to fight and cut down for him. She has never looked back. - Shutara Senjumaru. They once knew each other when they were nothing more than The Kenpachi and a noblewoman. Feelings, relationships, names, social standing, roles, identity— if everything about a person is subject to change, what is left remaining? Still, the threads connect; pulling, stretching, but never breaking.

04.0. Do they think frequently about politics? YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Why is that? Explain: Her position as a long-standing Captain and founding member of the Gotei Thirteen itself is highly politicized. As stated above, Unohana has a strong sense of objective “right and wrong”, but this always comes second to her duty to Soul Society. Specifically following Aizen’s betrayal given her direct role in partial discovery of his scheme, she gives deeper thinking to the flaws within the Central 46 governing system.

05.0. How do they feel in their current location, more: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 05.1. Why is that?: Positive is in response to her death, and Kenpachi absolving her of her sins and guilt over being unable to bestow him her title years earlier. Neutral & Positive also both correlate to her standing and service as the 4th Division Captain, as well as the post-canon AU I’ve given her.

06.0. Does your muse have any goal: YES / NO ?  BIG / SMALL ? 06.1. Does it involve anything world-changing: YES / NO ? (technically ig??) 06.2. If goal or not, any future plans? Share here:  To raise the next Kenpachi and correct her mistake. Though perhaps in itself a small goal, the ramifications on the world are large, and it is a largely character-defining goal for her.

07.0. Does your muse know about the original sin of soul society*: YES / NO / MAYBE ? * curious? Read about it here. 07.1. If they knew, would it change their views on Soul Society: YES / NO ? 07.2. More: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ?

08.0. Who is the worst person in their eyes?: Yhwach , Aizen 08.1. What should happen to them? Execution (quick / slow death) / Imprisonment / Stripped of their powers / Torture / Repay for their sins / Pay a Fine / Social Work / lose their loved ones / Exile / other… (add more). 08.2. Explanation:  I feel like they’re both fairly self explanatory, though extra points to Yhwach for killing Yamamoto because she is Not A Fan

09.0. Thoughts on the Quincy Massacre if they knew: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 09.1. Would they be alright with such thing happening again: YES / NO / INDIFFERENT ? 09.2. Would they try to prevent it: YES / NO / DEPENDS ? 09.3. Explanation:  They were a threat to Soul Society and the balance of souls between the realms, one that was eliminated in response to a rebellion they themselves started. Perhaps if circumstances were different (such as, the Mod Soul dump/genocide, where they were innocent), there wouldn’t have been a need for such bloodshed. But as always, everything is done in the name of preserving the balance of souls, regardless of the cost.

10.0. Would they ever switch sides: YES / NO ? 10.1. If yes, What could bring them to do so?:  N/A 10.2. Would they create a new one: YES / NO ?  or join a current one? If so, which:  In my post-canon AU, she “retires” to Rukongai and lives as an herbalist before being recruited by Yoruichi Shihoin to teach at the Shin’o Academy. So in that sense, she joins a current subset of the Soul Society faction with which she was aligned.

11.0. Does your muse follow a certain moral code*?:  YES / NO / GRAY AREA ? (UH... LOL) * (ethics) A written, formal, and consistent set of rules prescribing righteous behavior, accepted by a person or by a group of people. 11.1. What does it involve?: The laws and governing laid out by Central 46, though this is secondary to Yamamoto’s commands. The latter is especially important, given that Yamamoto’s own laws changed drastically over time. 11.2. What does it NOT involve?: This one is subject to the changes laid out above; torture, murder, violence, whatever earns you the title of The Most Bloodthirsty and Violent Criminal In Soul Society’s History.

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE GROUPS ?

Central 46:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because: they govern the Soul Society, but she follows primarily Yamamoto’s command.

Four Great Noble Clans:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because: She herself has no divisive opinion on the Nobility beyond her disapproval that certain members can buy their way into a high rank within the Gotei. Those positions ought to be earned by strength and skill, not monetary means. That said, due to the Nobility having extensive influence within Soul Society, Unohana has personally served as the attending physician to such distinguished houses, most notably the Kuchiki Household (with regards to Ginrei, Sojun, and Hisana).

Royal Guards / Gotei 13:   positive / negative / neutral .   ━   because: She literally helped to create the Gotei 13, so there is a certain amount of pride in that fact.

Fullbringer:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Other than the actions and fate of one Ginjou Kuugo, she has no true opinion on Fullbringers existing as their own “spiritual race”. 

Visored:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Not positive in the sense that she is perfectly fine with their circumstances, however she explicitly refers to them as her “comrades”, which is an especially interesting note given how other Gotei officers and Captains reacted with suspicion or out right disgust. Unohana has been known to heal enemy and ally alike, however, and likely viewed them as such given their shared history as Gotei officers, as well as already having proven themselves to align their interest with those of Soul Society.

Espada:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  As far as fighting beneath Aizen’s command, she disapproves. However, given the post-HM attempt at establishing relations between Hueco Mundo’s de facto ruler and Soul Society, there is a begrudging neutrality between their worlds for the time being. That said, Unohana was not opposed to healing Gantenbainne Mosqueda after arriving in Hueco Mundo, suggesting that she views Arrancar in general with as much autonomy as Humans and Shinigami.

Quincy:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Her prejudice against Quincies comes chiefly from their practice of eliminating souls vs cleansing them, creating an imbalance between the worlds, as well as Yhwach during the original Blood War. Prior to the TYBW, she was fairly neutral, if not perhaps somewhat pitying over their race for having stood and fallen against Soul Society. But she’s a firm believer that the Quincy genocide was a result of their own hubris; angels with wings of wax, etc etc. That said, she gets absolutely zero direct interaction with any Quincies during the TYBW, and I personally think that despite her stronger opinions, she’d be inclined to heal the likes of Bazz-B, Giselle, and Liltotto because they defected from the Wandenreich. It’s a whole nuanced thing.

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE (IMPORTANT) PEOPLE ?

Aizen:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Treacherous reprobate, etc etc. All the obvious reasons. I don’t think she’d disapprove of Shunsui’s decision to free him though, only because drastic times call for drastic measures. If that weren’t the case, surely she wouldn’t have been pushed to finally teach Kenpachi Zaraki the Art of Killing.

Yhwach:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Other than the obvious stuff, him cutting down Yamamoto was something she reacted to negatively and viscerally so.

Mayuri:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  His personality is infuriating, but she does find it hilarious to push his buttons and prod at his ego. She doesn’t agree with some of his crueler methods, but she really doesn’t have room to talk and in the end, it’s for the sake of the Soul Society.

Kurosaki:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  INCREDIBLE, INSPIRING, SHOW-STOPPING, BRILLIANT. Really fond of the kid, really worried for the kid. She kind of wants to fight him.

Soul King:   positive / negative / neutral. ━   because:  While his origins are dubious and objectively horrific,  his presence is necessary for the sake of the greater world.

CONGRATS, you managed till to the end, now tag your fellow bleach partners!

TAGGED BY: genuinely cant remember. it was prob either tom or hela TAGGING: anyone who hasn’t done this yet, feel free 2 steal!