#once he gets there i don’t think he’s spending time there bc imo the point of This Part Of Her Arc

[atopvisenyashill]

LISTEN obviously there’s what i think is LIKELY but that’s not the same as being confident i don’t feel particular confident of mine (or anyone’s) predictions on dany. HOWEVER. if she actually dismantles slavery in the bay it’s not gonna be This Time Around, i really honestly think if THATS her story it’s bc she gave up her pursuit of the iron throne to go finish what she started in essos, like i think she will try but i think it is finally sinking in that it might already be too late to get to westeros and she’s going to half ass something and that + whatever the fuck the iron bank has going on is going to send essos into a large scale collapse.

[mvrdermeharder]

Anyone who says that kaisagi doesn’t make any sense and there’s no romantic chemistry is just saying shit at this point… like cmon are we reading the same manga?? Is your reading comprehension in the room with us?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely fine if you dislike/hate the ship bc it’s not to your tastes, or if you’re just not a shipper in general, i’m not talking about that…

I’m talking abt the ppl who refuse to acknowledge the FACT that their dynamics have a lot of homoerotic undertones, and keep yapping about how they clearly hate each other (very true) and that’s all there is between them (not true).

Like cmon, Isagi has been considering Kaiser his ideal ever since the first nel game, it’s hate mixed with admiration, respect and desire (for his skills). The desire to “be alike”, the desire to “be chased”, the desire to “destroy him”. All of these feelings are prevalent in competitive sports AND when it comes to crushes/romance/sexual desires.

And i’ll say it again: IT’S FINE if you don’t ship it!! It’s fine if you interpret their relationship solely in a “they’re just rivals” way!

But it’s such bullshit to act like there is absolutely no romantic subtext. It’s such bullshit to outright DENY IT.

Oh and don’t even get me started on Kaiser: he’s literally positioning himself to “be chased” when he first meets Isagi, gets totally obsessed with the need to crush him to the point where he literally abandons all rationality and other thoughts to his own detriment (unhealthy obsession at its finest), then realizes that playing against Isagi makes him better, makes him evolve, and playing WITH Isagi is… fun????

Like,, hello??? That is fucking huge??

We’re talking abt a guy who thought that he’s incapable of feeling joy except for when he’s tearing others down (past), and a guy who is wallowing in self hate and has no sense of self worth aside from when he’s scoring goals (present). So for him to feel joy just because he’s playing by Yoichi’s side and to OUTRIGHT ADMIT IT is fucking crazy.

And admitting it is very very important for his character: especially bc i don’t think it’s true that he’s incapable of feeling brief moments of happiness. He’s just not aware of how his own intentions of manipulating Ness had been mixed with the inevitable genuine feelings that spending so much time with someone does to you… cue the first and ONLY time we see his (imo) genuine smile (shower scene w ness).

And getting back on track. The incredible angst that is the recent two chapters… Kaiser breaking down bc he thinks that feeling joy/being affirmed as a human by Yoichi’s side is what made him lose at the end… if that isn’t some “love makes you weaker” ass villain shit then idk what is. (And anyways, he didn’t lose bc he allowed himself to feel good for once, like ffs Kaiser, babe, you lost bc of your constant mistakes when it came to understanding Ness)

And the sus dialogue isn’t there just for shits and giggles either, the mangaka is intentionally and deliberately making use of this language because he’s aware of the homoerotic subtext when it comes to sports manga AND sports in general. The sus dialogue is the author being self aware, regarding the tropes he writes, regarding how similar the power struggles are between competitive sports and sexual relationships. He’s pointing it out and making fun of it with all the ridiculous and downright outrageously gay bllk lines.

And yes, i will reiterate for the third time: it’s okay if you only want to focus on the kaisagi rivalry from a non-homoerotic standpoint. It’s okay if you’re not a fan of the romantic interpretation. It’s okay if the ship isn’t up your alley. IT’S OKAY TO HAVE PERSONAL TASTE.

But ffs don’t even try to argue that the shippers are delusional, bc the material for the ship is RIGHT FUCKING THERE.

CANONICALLY.

Oh and don’t even get me started on all the PARALLELS. Nuh uh, i’d be here for days if i were to yap about all of their contrasts and parallels (visually, in their storylines, regarding personality and psychology, etc etc), all of which that make their dynamics so fucking peak.

And with that, thanks for coming to my ted talk<3

[sweetlikevanilaaa]

Matchup for @chizukimp4 ✐⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

dude I’m so sorry, i finished this earlier but i deadass don’t know what happened to the draft so i had to rewrite this ughh sorry for the wait

Your romantic matchup is…

Simeon!!

- i was initially set on giving you Barbatos not necessarily because you guys are similar but because i think you’d get along. Barbatos is also quite reserved himself and i don’t think you being quiet would be a problem. however, you did say you typically prefer more outgoing people so i thought Simeon fit better!

- I can see Simeon being curious about you at first and finding your shy nature endearing. I feel like he’d approach you first by formally introducing himself and Luke at the beginning of the exchange program and also offering to help you whenever you need it.

- I feel like he’d go out of his way to talk to you because he’s curious about you ngl i can see him making small talk with you whenever he happens to see you in the classroom a couple minutes before class starts or whenever Luke drops off some extra sweet treats to the House of Lamentation, he tries to talk to you a bit. But he understands that for someone who’s shy, it’s overwhelming to be bombarded with questions so he tries to take it slow.

- i could see him even asking you for help with homework or with technology (bc we all know he’s terrible with it LMAO) and he might even ask you to come over to the Purgatory Hall whenever he’s having a particularly hard time with technology.

- I think he’d genuinely want your help at first when he asks you to do these things for you, but once he realizes his feelings towards you are romantic, he would start to use it as an excuse to spend time with you, yk? unlike the demon brothers, he doesn’t live with you so he can’t see you 24/7. he has to get a bit creative! so i can imagine him acting like he has a hard time with technology even though he understands what he’s “struggling” with since you already showed him how to fix it. i feel like you’d bring this up at some point and he’ll try to dodge the confrontation LMAO

- I feel like you’d just laugh at him and still help him though. I can imagine that you guys would grow closer from how much you two interact, and I think it’d start with Simeon leading the convos but you eventually ease up around him.

- I also think that after a little while of being friends, Simeon would confess. Simeon knows that for someone who’s so shy, confessing might be scary so he just decides to make the first move when you don’t LMAO

- He’d be such a sweet boyfriend too. You said your receiving love language was words of affirmation? This man’s a writer, he’s gifted when it comes to his ability with words. Expect to be showered with compliments and declarations of his undying love for you everyday. He’s very much vocal with his feelings towards you.

- omg and i feel like he’d spent as much time with you as he possibly can. like i said before, he’s not like the demon brothers in the sense that he can see you 24/7. he doesn’t live with you so therefore any time you two get alone together is cherished. it kinda hurts him but at the same time, that means your time together is more special. i can see him planning cute dates (if you don’t) like picnic or cafe dates but if you prefer more traditional ones like a candle lit dinner, he’ll totally plan that too!

- I could also see you guys cuddling a lot! He’d love to sit down and watch your favorite shows or movies and just cuddle. I could see him being both little and big spoon, he’s pretty flexible imo but he just loves to cuddle you. He likes when you play with his hair too (please do it is so soft)!

- also feel like Luke looks up to your relationship a lot. Yk how some people idealize certain relationships? I think that’s how Luke sees your relationship, he wants what you guys have LMAO

- also Simeon is a bit of a tease but it’s lighthearted teasing, nothing crazy like Sol or Satan! But I think he’d def take advantage of how shy you can be and tease you with every opportunity he gets.

- Also Simeon can def be funny without even trying. We all know he sucks with technology but you’re more lively over text so I can imagine your convo texts being pretty funny. I can imagine Simeon hearing Levi say brainrot and seriously asking you what it means. “I heard Levi say ‘what the sigma’ earlier, what does that mean? I tried to ask Solomon but he kept laughing at me and wouldn’t tell me. What is a ‘sigma’?”

Runner Up… Barbatos

Your platonic matchup is…

Barbatos!!

- im ngl i think Barbatos has a thing for you but ofc didnt act out on it because let’s face it he’s not stupid and he can tell how flustered you get around Simeon and how you’re the only person who Simeon goes out of his way to see. He knows you two have something going on so he just admires from afar. He’s alright with settling as friends anyways.

- I think he’s always liked you. Your quiet nature is like a breath of fresh air because he’s so used to the chaotic demon brothers and Diavolo’s shenanigans, it’s refreshing to be around someone who is more quiet. Someone who doesn’t give him a headache LMAO

- I totally think he’d find your shyness endearing as well

- But anywho, he’s always liked you and found you interesting but the problem is, as Diavolo’s loyal butler, he has very little time to spend with you. He has so many duties to attend to. He has to worry about Diavolo’s wellbeing, RAD, and the castle. He’s almost always busy so he has no time to just sit down with you and talk, yk?

- I think how you two start talking is when you visit Diavolo’s castle to drop off some reports for Lucifer. Lucifer ended up having to clean up after his brother’s shenanigans and these documents had to get to Diavolo ASAP so Luce sent you to deliver them to Diavolo (I feel like Luce would trust you since you’re quiet and more responsible than his brothers) but Diavolo was occupied when you stopped by so you had to give it to Barbatos instead.

- I can imagine that Barbatos asked you about Lucifer and where he was and you outright told him what happened and all he does is chuckle and nod. Since Diavolo is occupied, Barbatos has some time to spare so I can see him chatting with you a bit. He’d probs hide behind the excuse that he has to check in on his King’s exchange student but really, he just thinks you’re cute and wants to get to know you.

- I can imagine him being extra attentive with you and probably trying to drop hints about his true feelings but ofc, he’s the loyal butler so he has no time for a relationship. Plus he sees how you and Simeon are so he just gives up lol

- I think he’d still offer his support tho whenever you need it!

Honorable Mention… Luke

[freshie-owo]

I definitely do think that Tengen would immediately assume all heats are sexual, because if I remember right the RLD distract was one of his areas that he is supposed to often monitor (which is something the series brought up once and then literally never again lmao.) so I imagine that a RLD district would be full of omega’s and omega’s being sold in their sexual heats.

So on top of that paired with just a severe lack of omegan sex education, Tengen would immediately assume his kid is gonna be super fucking horny under his roof. And Zenitsu having to explain that no his heat is more akin to being…. Sick? (Or you could even say it’s like being on a period) And not sexual, would again like you said earlier only cement the idea of Tengen being an asshole-alpha. And if his moms aren’t Omega’s either then he really, really would feel extra isolated on top of pressured to spend his heat somewhere he is just not comfortable doing so.

So yeah the situation really would go from a 10 to a 20, and I think there would be words exchanged that both Zenitsu and Tengen regret fully, with Tengen letting some biases slip through and hitting Zenitsu where it hurts badly bc I assume he’s never liked being an omega but he especially doesn’t like it now where he knows he comes from a beta-alpha lineage.

But with that being said, and instincts slowly calming down. I do think imo this is where Tengen/the wives would go and educate themselves properly because Zenitsu isn’t the best teacher and he values a lot of details he’s embarrassed about. And they’re surprised to learn how much different Zenitsu is to them biologically and yet not at all. It would really really fuck with Tengen’s perception even more.

If they’re speaking to Shinobu personally (just because she’s the doctor and would know a lot abt sex education) — I can imagine her calmly flipping out on them for pressuring an omega to spend their heat somewhere they aren’t comfortable, and while they don’t want to hear it, they can’t push Zenitsu into their pack Willy Nilly and expect everything to just be a-okay.

But I do think at the end of it all, Zenitsu would sneak or grumble-ask for some garments for his starter nest, although I think the sneak idea is much more cuter hehe.

And just to reply to the other ask!! I’m definitely trying to branch out more in 2025, there are a lot of things I want to improve and a lot more things I want to write. And I think playing with the ABO!Zenitsu Uzui will be really fun and really fresh. I have projects I need/want to complete before then; but trust me. I will have at least one Zenitsu fanfic out there.

As for the rewrites and updates — again please take your time!!! I would rather wait a year+ for an update where you’re happy with what you’ve created and the continuity is on point rather than something rushed to please your readers. Because I’m of the belief an author should only update if they are having fun with their project.

And don’t worry, I get it! Piece by Piece is one of those special fics for me that makes me go bonkers. I’ve had readers with the same devotion underneath my works, and it truly is such a wonderful feeling. And honestly even you just humoring me with these headcanons and rambles is so fun and good enough for me. I’ve really enjoyed everything we’ve spoken about!

As per usual, have a good night/day and I’m excited to see whatever you put out! (Especially jealous papa tengen HEHE.)

Oh, definitely they would go and get educated once they realize they don't know. I also think it would tie into their guilt, because, even if Zenitsy wasn't with then growing up, shouldn't they have been prepared for him to present as anything? And they weren't. So I think they'd be very driven to understand once they learned heat isn't always sexual.

And Shinobu for the absolute win here because she would totally do EXACTLY that.

Sneaking is way cuter, I agree - but I bet he'd "think" He's sneaking it but really Tengen and the wives totally know. It's their house and considering their background I feel like he wouldn't be successful at being all sneaky. Not that they'd tell him they know, because they don't want him to stop taking their things 🤭

And the number one rule of fanfic writing is to have fun, so def when the time is right for you you should do the ABO Zenitsu Uzui - or whatever Zenitsu fic strikes you as the right one!! Regardless of what you write with him in it sounds like you'll enjoy yourself ^-^

Thank you :) it helps to know that people are happy to wait. I'm not one to rush an update for my readers, but sometimes I wonder if folks will get tired of waiting, and I feel bad even though I really can only write what I write when I can write it!!!

I've had a lot of fun reading your theories and ideas, and getting to bounce stuff back to you. It actually gets me back in the zone for these characters by thinking about them, and is making me eager to make some more progress on PBP. Thank you so much for sending the asks, it's been tons of fun to talk and discuss the blorbo with you!

Thank you again, and I hope you have a good night/day too, and a happy upcoming new year!!!

[trailmix5252]

welll today was eventful, and so was last weekend

where oh where to begin

over the weekend i got a ton of likes on hinge bc i was in austin and honestly my goal was to make out with someone before i got back home. and i did

1) person number one: aakash. aakash asked me out on a date pretty immediately and i was excited bc i like meeting new people and it was pretty fun. we met before acl at around 11 and i had to drive him to the date, and somehow i became the worlds worst driver and i kept on fucking up the directions and just being awful. then we got to the date which was actually a super nice spot. he bought me a matcha which was pretty yum, and then we talked about indian culture bc he was straight from india. i guess he did college here and has been living here for a while

we just talked and i slowly realized how uncultured i am and it was just so embarrassing for me imo. then we walked around lady bird lake and talked for a bit, we started talking about dating casually and what that looks like. i told him the coughing in my vagina story, which is my roman empire . we hung out and he told me a story about how he got super drunk and hooked up with a girl and his friends kinda encouraged him to, which just irked me a bit. then we got into my car and he made a comment about how small my hands are which like annoyed the fuck out of me, but i’ll let it slide. i told him he could hold my hand if he wanted to, so he did. and he held it tightly, and then i said you can ask to kiss me if you want to, so then he kissed me as i was DRIVING. haha. we kissed a bit as i drove, and he made a comment about finding a place to make out, to which i said idk i don’t live in austin. we drove up to his complex and made out a bit and it was overall mid. he kept on using a spiky toungue, and kept moaning which i just thought was so weird and horny. he left and i was free to go to acl

2) the next sexual prospect was kevin. me and kevin had been talking for a day or so, i think probably starting night one. kevin wanted to see me night two and kept on sending me horny messages, to which i told him he was too horny for his own good. he asked me about my coog radio stuff and was genuinely interested in my life, but i was too busy to hang out. i sent him a text at one point and it didn’t go through, so he sent me a goodnight text and i felt bad.

day 3 he sent me his full fucking address, so i knew i had to go. i brought my laptop with me so i could write up the articles in the press lounge, so i had more time to spend with kevin. once i got back to the hotel i just had to eat and edit my photos and freshen up a bit. then i got over to his place at around 11:30. i couldn’t figure out how to get in so someone helped me, and then i drove up to the complex, and he was waiting for me waving which was cute. i had to park in handicap bc there was no other parking available. it was a huge moral dilemma, but i somehow got through it. then we went up to his place… and i’ll stop there for now bc i’m tired of writing up this post

[blueskittlesart]

ooo i’m here for another google doc essay thesis on all the zelda trans narratives <33 lol cited sources and everything (if you have time of course, i love reading all of your headcanons on loz)

god. okay this is every mainline game ive played (excluding sequels with the same characters) except skyward sword because i forgot about it at first and now im tired. here

oot/mm

Basically the entirety of oot is a super-intense wartime coming-of-age story, dealing specifically with the trauma of losing one’s childhood to war/being a child in wartime. Any coming-of-age can be easily analyzed through a trans lens imo, but oot lends itself particularly well to this reading.

For the first nine years of his life, link is told that he is a kokiri. He spends all of his childhood trying desperately to fit in with the kokiri, even though he and the kokiri he grows up with can tell that he is out of place somehow. When he leaves the forest and grows up, it clicks into place that he was never kokiri. And it HURTS. He was lied to. But he suddenly finds himself BELONGING for the first time, among hylians. One of the most impactful npcs in the series is, imo, malon, who link bonds with, feels connected to, and who GROWS UP just like him. She is a representation of everything link gains by leaving the forest. The chance to grow up, and the chance to be among people like himself and understand for the first time who he truly is. 

I don’t think i have to explain the subtext i'm getting at here. Replace kokiri with gender-at-birth and you have yourself a trans story. 

There are also, of course, points to be made about link’s lack of bodily autonomy throughout the story and his reclamation of it in mm. Link is, in the eyes of basically every adult in oot, a pawn to be used to win a war. He is something to be molded into the shape THEY need him to be. This is a common conflict in loz--the hero NEEDS to be the hero, and so he is given no room to define himself otherwise. 

Again. Do i have to explain the trans reading of this?? Adults who feel entitled to you for whatever reason refusing to let you define yourself in a way that doesn’t appeal to them, and viewing you as an object to be shaped into THEIR perfect image. Classic trans kid experience. 

Zelda i think is even more obvious because she literally physically transes her gender in the game. For no reason. A female ninja would have been fine. Female ninjas exist in this world. Impa is the obvious example. Zelda became a boy because he wanted to be a boy. This is factual, canonical story. I dont even NEED to go on but i WILL because i can.

The subtextual reading of trans zelda is even more fun imo. This is a kid who grew up functionally powerless. She KNEW ganon was going to destroy hyrule but she could not make adults hear her, and when things went wrong it was her fault. Sheik is, in many ways, a rejection of zelda. She does away with the ancestral name denoting wisdom because she was not wise enough to save her kingdom from ruin. he chooses sheik instead, a name derived from the historic guardians of hylia, and by extension hyrule. he reclaims the power he lost by, again, defining himself where he was never allowed to before. 

Personally i consider oot zel to be nonbinary and use she/he and the names sheik and zelda interchangeably. I really love the idea of a kid who grew up with so little control over anything in her life taking it all back and then deliberately fucking with some established rules anyway, just as a little show of power now that he has it. It’s what she deserves. 

Alttp

A LOT of my reading in this is totally rooted in subtext/analysis rather than actual canon material. If you haven’t read my analysis of alttp in my analysis doc i suggest you do bc some of that context may be needed to explain what i say here, since alttp is an older game so there’s much less actual canon characterization to go off of. 

There is a moment in this game, once you have gone through several dungeons and claimed the master sword and fought the secondary antagonist twice, where link is transported into the dark world. A mirror dimension in which his human form is distorted into a form that “reflects his inner self.” He looks into the mirror and he does not recognize the person looking back at him. 

The form he takes is a rabbit, which is, in my opinion, a reflection of his inner fear and the fact that he doesn’t want to be a hero. This link is a young boy who basically loses the only family he has and is then instantly thrown into the midst of a conflict he doesn’t fully understand. 

There are two points to be drawn from this. The first is the distorted self-image revealed in the dark world, which. The connection to transgenderism should probably be obvious from here. I’d say looking in the mirror and not quite recognizing yourself is a near-universal trans experience. 

The second is that, although this game is much less obvious about it, this link is in a very similar situation to oot link, in that he has been thrown into a conflict he doesn't understand and doesn’t really have any stake in, in order to be used as a pawn to win a war. (worth noting that if we follow the timeline, oot link has to DIE for this game to happen. They never fucking learn ig) so we have a repeat of the same situation in which link’s autonomy is taken from him by adults who want him to be a hero. Ive already explained the trans reading of this. You get the idea

Im skipping zelda in this one because it came out in 1991 so zelda is barely a character. Shes trans because i say so. Next 

Tp

Twilight princess did not do very well on a multitude of things. We all know how i feel. HOWEVER. There is something to be said for the fact that when link approaches people in wolf form they recoil in fear and disgust. And he canonically doesn’t expect this. It disturbs him. He KNOWS these people. He’s still the same person inside. Nothing has changed for him except the way he looks. But now no one will so much as look at him. 

To be quite honest. The wolf form was a bit of a thematic L in my opinion. I don’t think it had much narrative purpose and my best guess is that it was there to give tp a “brand-new fun gameplay” draw. But the fact that everyone is TERRIFIED of you was a good choice imo. I wish it had been followed through on thematically but I digress. There is transgenderism here. When you go back to your hometown and nothing has changed, as far as you’re concerned, but people avoid your eyes now. You haven’t changed, not really. You just look a little different. But the people either hate you or don’t recognize you now, and in some ways you’re glad, but in other ways you feel… alien.  

Zelda also isn’t a real character in this game but it doesn’t get an excuse because it came out in fucking 2006. We knew women were people by then guys come on. Anyways shes also trans because i say so. I dont feel like thinking about twilight princess any longer lol sorry

Ww

Im going to start with zelda/tetra here because i have a lot more to say about her lmao

Tetra is a wild, loud, stubborn, angry pirate. She is the exact opposite of what your average hylian might imagine a goddess-blood princess to be. She’s rude, she’s volatile, she looks out for herself and no one else. This is an image she has curated. But she is also kind. She lets link on her ship when he begs her to help him save his sister. she slips him a good-luck charm before he storms the fortress. She takes aryll home and never asks for payment. She is a pirate, but she does these things that seem so strangely… at odds with herself. I think a lot of her tough exterior is a curated image, for the benefit of her crew, yes, but also herself. If she is stubborn and loud and angry and unlikable then she is less likely to get hurt.  

Tetra learns who she is, and she is suddenly a new person, a different person. She’s zelda. And she’s so CONFUSED. She tries her hand at being a princess. She sits and waits patiently for her hero to come back to her. But in the end, she can’t even do THAT right. Things go wrong again, all because of her.

During the final battle of this game, zelda fights alongside you with the bow of light. I believe this was one of the first games in which she does this. 

This is a nonbinary narrative. Tetra tries so hard to fit into one box or the other, princess or pirate, but can never quite master either. During the final confrontation, though, she finds a happy medium. She is kind, wise zelda, in her regalia with her hair untied, but she is also stubborn, angry tetra drawing her bow to fight alongside link. She will not be defined. 

she/they tetra ftw lol. anyways

Wind waker link honestly has much less textual evidence for me than like. Any other link because imo wind waker is almost completely a clear-cut coming-of-age. It’s very easy to read (almost) any coming-of-age as a trans narrative but much less easy to actually explain that read. 

My stance kind of boils down to this: link has a clear-cut arc of growth in this story from a weak, inexperienced kid into a soldier who is capable of taking on ganon. This arc is kickstarted by him leaving home and no longer being confined by the limited perspectives of the people he grew up around. Unlike other links, this one doesn’t have too much pressure on him to be a hero. In fact, I would consider his growth into a hero to be framed very positively in this game as it gives him the agency he lacked at the beginning. This is an interesting departure from most other games in which link lacks a lot of agency. 

Basically, i think that while most other games can be read as kind of… tragic trans stories, about the struggles of not being allowed to define yourself, etc, wind waker link is the story of a kid who is finally GETTING to define himself. It’s more similar to Majora's mask in that way, in that this kid has already HAD the chapter where he’s confined to other people’s expectations and is now beginning to break out of it and reclaim his own identity. 

Botw

Jesus. God almighty. Okay

Like. not to keep beating a dead horse but this link is the most obviously negatively affected by the expectations and perceptions of those around him. He explicitly goes mute BECAUSE he knows people expect him to be a hero above all else, and it will be easier to conform to that expectation if he keeps quiet. This poor boy is so terrified to be imperfect, to be something that hyrule might not like, that he SHUTS DOWN. he is essentially nothing BUT what hyrule wanted him to be, because he never allowed himself to be anything else. 

I have already explained the trans read of this. Reread ocarina of time’s segment. Holy SHIT. he is so transgender. Also he’s 5’2 and has shoulder-length hair come on

Side note but i think botw is cool because it explores BOTH facets of the usual loz narrative (lack of agency/reclamation of agency) within the same game, while most other games go for one or the other. When link loses his memories he is FORCED to define himself, as he has nothing to go on anymore, which is a reclamation of the agency he had lost pre-calamity. Essentially pre-calamity is the oot segment and post-calamity is the mm segment of the narrative. It’s cool. Anyways

Zelda. GOD.

She is not the daughter her father wanted. She knows this. She tries SO HARD for SO LONG to be the daughter her father wanted. But she can’t. She will never be good enough in his eyes. Eventually she gives up on doing exactly what he wants. She hopes she can win his approval in other ways, with things she is good at. Things she CAN do right. But it’s never enough for him because all he sees is the daughter he wanted. The daughter she should have been. He doesn’t care that she can’t. He only cares that she Is Not. she knows she will never win his approval but she keeps trying anyway. 

Do i really need to explain this. Babygirl you are so trans gender

[quinnslogan]

Why Quinn runs away theory time

DISCLAIMER: What I think is going to happen doesn’t mean it’s what me/most of the fandom necessarily want to happen. Unfortunately, we didn’t write the movie so we don’t really know what to expect. I do trust though we’ll be happy with it the amount of insta comments Erin and Matt liked/responded to basically saying we as fans will be happy with how Quogan goes in this movie ❤️

Tbh I don’t think why Quinn runs away from the wedding is going to be super complicated. I think she’s kinda tired of how different her and Logan’s life is than it used to be judging by her telling Zoey “it’ll be the reunion we all need”. And that’s fine IMO i’m sure Logan’s world of rich is different than what she’s used to and it’s scary.

Then Logan being Logan is full bridezilla. I think Quinn tries to get him to relax a little and remember to have fun but knowing Logan she fails. Plus I bet his family isn’t going to be easy either. Also if you look closely in this pic Quinn looks super annoyed with Logan lol

And then or before the above scene whatever tf Zoey’s going to say in her rehearsal speech is going to make her more nervous about how much her life is about to change. So Quinn gets more nervous. I’m sure some point throughout she talks to Zoey about how she’s worried and Zoey brushes her off because in her head Quinn’s life is perfect and hers is the one that needs to be dealt with and overall just isn’t the maid of honor Quinn wanted her to be and overall Quinn just doesn’t feel like she has anyone to talk to. Logan’s definitely not indenting to make her feel like this at all (he loves that girl he’s been with her for FIFTEEN years and looks just as in love as he was when they were 16) but he’s just become obsessed with the actual wedding event and kinda lost track of what the wedding means (aka him and Quinn choosing to spend the rest of their life together <3)

Then they get to the altar!! Idk what exactly happens here but some little thing probably happens at the altar where like Logan forgot to write his vows bc he was too obsessed with making sure everything went perfectly he forgot to? (idk anyways something Logan does that makes her not want to get married THIS WAY). I say this way because in the reproposal scene she’s still wearing her engagement ring so it’s not like she dumps him she just doesn’t want to get married like this.

I think Quinn’s going to blow up at Logan and Zoey. Logan for whatever he did at the actual wedding and for forgetting about her in their wedding and Zoey for not being a very good maid of honor (bad rehersal dinner speech + constantly leaving the wedding for work or something (she’s not there the morning of the wedding in the trailer scene they’re all in PJs + if you look at the trailer she’s literally on her phone DURING the ceremony).

Anyways, Logan and Zoey feel guilty. Zoey probably brings up PCA she’s obsessed with that place and Logan gets the idea to buy PCA (Jamie’s insta post yesterday showed a pic where PCA was on sale) and him and Zoey are going to throw the wedding there. They get everyone together and we get the new trailer scene of Zoey going “alright everybody let’s get to work” and from a BTS pic that tumblr is being annoying and won’t let me upload everyone except Quinn is there in that scene. Then, I think Zoey makes some excuse and gets Quinn to PCA (Quinn is wearing a PCA shirt under her jacket when Logan reproposes. AND LOGAN PROPOSES (i’m so excited for this scene you guys don’t understand) and if my theory of him forgetting to write his vows or something is true then it goes in line with him giving a heartfelt speech about why he loves her and realizes he’s needs to remember to live more in the moment (symbolized by his tie in his hand)!! Quinn says yes they get married and live happily ever after!!

Once again this isn’t necessarily what I WANT to happen it’s just what I think will happen. I really really really do not like the bride runs away at the altar I mean I could’ve dealt with her running away before the wedding but her deciding while up there to run away is so awkward i’m sorry. Also most of this theory goes in hand with Erin’s insta comment about how the movie shows women struggling to move to the next phase/with change because change is scary (like that’s not just Zoey’s plot in this movie it’s Quinn’s too). Plus I do empathize with her Logan is my fave character but he probably isn’t the easiest fiancé haha (I imagine this being a very mondler like wedding situation except I don’t think the fear is necessarily about commitment like it was for chandler but for quinn it’s about how absorbed Logan got in the wedding she feels like he forgot about her and she loves this man it’s why she’s upset he’s so wedding obsessed she misses him like emotionally and for Logan he loves her obviously it’s why he’s trying so hard for their wedding to be perfect!!!

In general if you managed to read to this point idrc what happens i’m just so excited we’re getting out endgame like childhood me who would watch zoey 101 reruns is screaming

[scoopsgf]

another anon here but “both logan and dean had a habit of reducing rory to this thing they couldn’t let go of, but they never prioritized her” really punched me in the gut and i fully agree, but it also it made me realise how much jess does do that! he certainly had his issues but most of them (imo) boil down to the fact that he left when he shouldn’t have, which is really just him not wanting to overstay his welcome but drawing the line too soon, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what dean and logan do. but other than those miscalculations, he always puts rory first. making sure she’s ok after the crash; leaving (when he visits yale) when she tells him to; and in the paul anka episode, not expecting anything but rather just letting her be there on her own terms and letting her decide what her visit will be like; not expecting anything from her when he comes to show her his book…. sorry for rambling but he makes me so insane

NO ANON THIS TAKE IS SO CORRECT!!!! jess never does anything to make her feel smaller or less than him, he never demeans her, he never degrades her. like you said, he does leave, but i truly believe that came down to him thinking he wasn’t good enough for her, not the other way around. he’s definitely the kind of guy to treat her as an equal. it’s established that he values her opinion and wants to make an effort to be better for her (like spending time with lorelai, or going to the dinner with emily and agreeing to go again even after it was bad—not even dean did that). i think what jess really needed was a better sense of self worth and once he obtained that he was like, the perfect guy for rory. he found himself, he discovered his niche, and that gave him confidence. the lack of those things were really what broke down their original relationship. but anyway, not to get off topic bc ur right: he has always prioritized her and respected her ambitions, unlike dean (who made her feel like shit about wanting to go to harvard) and unlike logan (who encouraged her to ‘loosen up’ and mess around more, which ultimately lead to a really low point for her). i’m firmly in the camp that him asking her to go to NY with him in s4 had nothing to do with ‘leaving yale’. he was proud of rory for going there, so why on earth would his opinion change? i really, really think he was just worried about what the hell dean’s intentions were given his marriage to lindsay, and he wanted a chance to recreate that day in NY they’d had before + talk and smooth things over. he said they had to get away because of how much meddling had gone on before in their relationship, which really influenced their trajectory as a couple. plus yale is literally like an hour and a half from NY and they were out for summer break, so i don’t think he had any ill-intentions (though i do still stand by rory for turning him down, it was a smart move on her part). anyway. god. yeah. i think at the end of the day jess is the only bf of rory’s who truly admired her for her intellect and passion, and instead of wanting her to be more like him he just wanted her to be herself.

[bananonbinary]

Time for a Salty Meta Post about Martin!

people who’ve followed this blog for a bit know that spending six hours combing through text for some goddamn sources is my specialty, so i compiled every time jon ever talked about martin’s work in season 1. which for the record, he stopped complaining about all the way back in episode 26, where he was angry that martin of all people got hurt.

things jon gets mad at martin for:

not being able to find records that don’t exist

not being able to find someone based only on a first name

the Dog

not wearing trousers in his off-hours

being the one that got caught up in the jane prentiss thing

mag 004 and mag 012 both have jon taking potshots at martin over research that was proven accurate by outside sources

things jon has never once complained about:

martin not understanding the filing system and just putting stuff away at random

martin being clumsy, constantly ruining things, spilling tea everywhere everyday, etc

martin turning in incompetent, poorly-edited, or badly formatted reports

martin not understanding the terminology used, skills expected, etc., and generally being extremely new to the field

please for the love of god stop making martin the silly bumbling idiot who can’t do anything right just because he doesn’t have a formal education. there’s zero evidence for it in the text, and it’s really weird to act like a 4 year degree would outweigh the *10 years* of job experience he has, not just in academia, but in the institute itself by season one. my boy has worked there longer than ANY of the rest of the main cast. screw you guys.

tl;dr: martin is never once shown to be bad at his job, jon pretty much only ever gets mad at him for the really stupid first impression and also not finding stuff that no one else was able to find either. after martin got hurt, jon talks about his research basically the same way he talks about tim’s or sasha’s work.

fucking proof under the cut:

(i didnt include the s1 finale or martin’s statement bc that’s just...two entire episodes of them talking to each other, but there isn’t really any notable Martin Complaints in either of them imo)

I swear, if he’s brought another dog in here, I’m going to peel him.

[pre-launch trailer]

.

Well, technically three, but I don’t count Martin as he’s unlikely to contribute anything but delays.

[...] Alongside this Tim, Sasha and, yes, I suppose, Martin will be doing some supplementary investigation to see what details may be missing from what we have.

[MAG001 Anglerfish]

.

Martin couldn’t find any records of Ex Altiora as a title in existent catalogues of esoteric or similar literature, so I assigned Sasha to double-check. Still nothing.

[MAG004 Pageturner]

.

I had Martin conduct a follow-up interview with Mr. Woodward last week, but it was unenlightening. Apparently there have been no further bags at number 93 and in the intervening years he has largely discounted many of the stranger aspects of his experience. I wasn’t expecting much, as time generally makes people inclined to forget what they would rather not believe, but at least it got Martin out of the Institute for an afternoon, which is always a welcome relief.

[MAG005 Thrown Away]

.

Martin was unable to find the exact date the original house was built but the earliest records he could find list it as being bought by Walter Fielding in 1891.

[...]

We cannot prove any connection, but Martin unearthed a report on an Agnes Montague, who was found dead in her Sheffield flat on the evening of November 23rd 2006, the same day Mr. Lensik claims to have uprooted the tree.

[MAG008 Burned Out]

.

According to Martin, who was here when they took this statement, it was at this point in writing that Mr. Herbert announced he needed some sleep before continuing. He was shown to the break room where he went to sleep on the couch. He did not awaken; unfortunately succumbing to the lung cancer right there. Martin says the staff had been aware of how serious Mr. Herbert’s condition was, and had advised him to seek medical aid prior to giving his statement, but were told rather bluntly by the old man that he would not wait another second to state his case. I can’t decide whether this lends more or less credibility to his tale.

[MAG010 Vampire Killer]

.

“Veepalach” might also be a mishearing of the Polish word “wypalać”, according to Martin, which means to cauterize or brand. Admittedly, if Martin speaks Polish in the same way he “speaks Latin,” then he might be talking nonsense again, but I’ve looked it up and it appears to check out.

[MAG012 First Aid]

.

I sent Martin to look into this ‘Angela’ character - not that I want him to get chopped up, of course, but someone had to. Apparently, he spent three days looking into every woman named Angela in Bexley over the age of 50. He could not find anyone that matches the admittedly vague description given here, though he informs me that he had some very pleasant chats about jigsaws. Useless ass.

[MAG014 Piecemeal]

.

Martin declined to help with this investigation as he’s “a bit claustrophobic”

[MAG015 Lost John’s Cave]

.

There simply aren’t enough details given in this statement to actually investigate, short of Martin confirming that Mr. Vittery did indeed live at the addresses he provided.

[MAG016 Arachnophobia]

.

Oh, he’s off sick this week. Stomach problems, I think.

Blessed relief if you ask me.

[...]

I asked Martin to try and hunt down Mr. Adekoya himself for a follow-up, but have been informed that he passed away in 2006. 

[MAG017 The Boneturner’s Tale]

.

MARTIN

Well, I need to tell someone what happened, and you can vouch for the soundness of my mind, can’t you?

ARCHIVIST

…

That is beside the point.

[MAG022 Colony]

.

Martin! Good lord man, if you’re going to be staying in the Archives, at least have the decency to put some trousers on!

[MAG023 Schwartzwald]

.

Martin found one other thing while combing through police reports for the Hither Green area. About a month after this statement was given, on May 15th, 2015, police were called out to once again investigate the chapel.

[MAG025 Growing Dark]

.

I know, but it would have to have been Martin, wouldn’t it? I mean, anything goes wrong around here, it always seems to happen to him. Anyway, we’re getting off topic. Why didn’t you report this?

[MAG026 A Distortion]

.

Martin made contact with the son, Marcus McKenzie, but he declined to talk to us, saying that he’d “already made his statement.”

[MAG027 A Sturdy Lock]

.

Tim and Martin had a bit more luck investigating Tom Haan, though only really enough to confirm that he seems to have completely vanished following his departure from Aver Meats on the 12th of July.

[MAG030 Killing Floor]

.

Martin’s research would seem to indicate the place employed a reasonable number of international staff they preferred to keep off the books

[...]

TIM

Ah well, that’s actually what he was asking, huh! Um, apparently Martin, uh, took delivery of a couple of items last week addressed to you. Did he not mention it?

ARCHIVIST

No, he… Oh, yes, actually. I completely forgot. He said he put it in my desk drawer, hold on.

[MAG036 Taken Ill]

[petz5]

no one asked but real quick here r my opinions on ranma pairings that come to mind!! obv i’m not trying to say u Cant feel differently abt them, these r just my own thoughts

ranma/akane - if uve followed me for even half a day u already know this is my absolute fave one. yes it’s canon no that doesn’t make it boring, they understand each other on a level the other characters don’t even come close to

ranma/shampoo - die in a fire they r SO bad for each other (shampoo is significantly worse but ranma’s also not great to her)

ranma/ukyo - don’t love it but i suppose she’d be the next best choice after akane (at least as a pairing that could realistically happen in canon bc there’s no way something like ranryo would ever happen). i love ukyo but not with ranma, she doesn’t listen to his wants and honestly i think he’d hold her back, and i also don’t think she ever really was in love w him and just kinda felt obligated bc “oh shit if I cant kill him and I don’t marry him then I’ve wasted my life.” LOVE these two as besties tho

ranma/kodachi - literally dont feel like I need to say anything here, ive never seen anyone ship them

ranma/ryoga - not my cup of tea but I can see why ppl like it. genuinely it’s mostly bc i cant see ranma liking men lmao i mean he flirts w them for free food and whatever but he always gets grossed out when they try to respond. i personally see ranma as a lesbian

ranma/ryoga/akane - same as above except i understand it less. mmmmaybe if akane and ryoga both loved ranma but not each other?? ryoga and ranma had some actual chemistry, but akane and ryoga……… eeehh. speaking of!

akane/ryoga - don’t ship at all. ryoga is kinder to her than ranma if you’re judging on the surface, but he doesn’t fundamentally understand her the way ranma does and doubts her ability a lot more. (to the point ranma has to physically stop him in one episode to tell him “this is akane’s fight, she’s got this and will be mad if you meddle”) also the whole p-chan thing is creepy. i enjoy ryoga as character but i don’t think he fits w her at all

akane/shampoo - don’t like it. i mean i’ve read fics where shampoo admits to liking akane (or even just respecting her as a fellow female martial artist) but also like… that exists outside of canon shampoo to me lol. canon shampoo doesn’t care about other people, and she in particular is homophobic towards akane to her face

akane/ukyo - i like it to an extent! if it were in canon i wouldn’t want it to go beyond like akane blushing when ukyo saves her and maybe offhandedly saying something like “she’s so cool” and ukyo, after spending some time w akane, admitting to herself that she can understand why ranma likes her. i think it’s cute to think abt

akane/kodachi - i love this but only one-sidedly. in canon i’d want kodachi to be Like That with ranma purely to rile up akane bc she wants her attention. i mean literally already in canon kodachi seems to not know what to do once she actually gets ranma other than dangle him over her alligator and wait for akane to save his ass. it’d be a funny twist for her to be doing all this just bc she wants to see akane and doesn’t think to just talk to her like a normal person

shampoo/mousse - don’t like at all

shampoo/ukyo - no real thoughts but I don’t love it. maybe similar to how I feel abt ranryo but while my feelings for that as neutral/positive this is neutral/negative

ukyo/ryoga - i can see why ppl like it and I believe I did too back in 2011 or so when i first watched it, but i feel like most ppl who ship this have only watched the anime (valid! but their manga partners are both great characters imo). I didn’t rlly see it at all upon rewatch and reading the manga put the final nail in the coffin. they’d be fun as friends tho! i like that they have a silly friendship similar to akane and mousse’s friendship where they’re more Worsties than anything but will hang out with and help each other if they need to

ukyo/tsubasa - no. i have very mixed feelings abt tsubasa as is, but ukyo has no interest in him and sees him as an annoyance so i wouldn’t want her to be w someone she doesn’t like (side note: used he/him for tsubasa bc he’s very open abt being a crossdresser. i know that crossdresser is used as a transphobic insult in the series, but… eehhh… tsubasa isn’t really like ranma and konatsu who are both pretty blatantly not cis. he declares himself as a guy all the time, which yeah ranma does too, but ranma’s whole character development is how that breaks down for him)

ukyo/konatsu - yes, i think they’re sweet and konatsu is very supportive of ukyo’s goals. i think this pairing would need more development before i’d really want it declared Officially Canon. i mean it is, but obv ukyo still has some feelings to work out similarly to ryoga and his canon gf, and i think she’d need to more clearly let go of ranma before this could truly blossom in canon. i love konatsu and i love ukyo and i think they’d be good girlfriends after a little work

ryoga/akari - love it, it’s sweet and i LOVE akari. like I said i think ryoga needs to work thru some shit/let go of akane to truly appreciate akari, and it’s annoying he’s still attached to her when he has a gf but i understand it’s difficult to just Stop liking someone you’ve liked for prob a solid year or so just bc u got asked out by someone else

these are all the ones I can think of rn but ur more than welcome to ask if u want my thots on any other ones lol

[curiosity-killed]

Lang Qianqiu deserves more love goddammit: a post, unfortunately

This brought to you by the wonderful @veliseraptor & @/yuer on Twitter but also mostly out of spite and the fact that it’s preventing me from writing a very dumb poke-the-bear post abt the entire weird social media culture around The Minors

As always ✨SPOILERS!! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE✨

So first off: when I hit the scene where lqq confronts xl and screams “I will never be like you” I sat up in bed, did a little shimmy of delight, and hissed “fuck yes” at like 2 AM so. Now you have a preview of wtf this train wreck will be

1 ) lqq is a good character

We don’t get a ton of time with lqq because tgcf is 87 side characters running across stage with The Most Interesting Concept constantly one-upping each other before vanishing. But what we do get is, I think, enough to make a pretty compelling story: Lang Qianqiu is a kind and generous prince who is also the sole survivor of the bloody massacre of his entire family, committed by the people dearest to him (both in his belief that Gusohi Fangxin did it and in the reality of An Le’s involvement), who goes on to peacefully lead his fractious nation into a peaceful reign before he ascends as a powerful enough (aka beloved and worshipped enough) god to be ranked among the top heavenly generals. That’s like. Pretty fucking classic protagonist vibes right there.

And, as usual with mxtx’s characters, we get a lot more than this lovely little backstory. In his interactions in canon, lqq is capable of great grief and anger; he is willing to sacrifice himself if it means avenging his murdered family; and he simultaneously holds both great hatred and great respect for his old teacher. And, of course, he winds up raising and taking care of his enemy’s son which shows a remarkable depth of compassion and emotional messiness that I find terribly compelling. He struggles with a simplistic view of justice that is supported by lies told to “protect” him and that is uprooted by the truth and forces him to try to make sense of the world without the guardrails that others installed around him (looking at you mister fangxin sir).

Also I’m stealing my own tweets bc I’m Right but:

*pulls up single barstool to lqq is a good character table* I think it’s interesting & Says Things abt the continued relationship btwn lqq & xl that lqq *didn’t* recognize xl, implying that he left fangxin’s mask in place even when he went to kill him

Like here is the man who killed his family & best friend, who left him abandoned in bloodshed on his 17th bday—& here is also the man who saved his life, who taught him, who lqq looked up to & wanted to be like

Even when lqq *does* recognize xl, he still has so much respect for him paired with that hatred that it’s honestly rlly tragic? Like man. There’s so much grief in lqq’s repeated demands for a duel & insisting it’s fine if xl kills him as long as he doesn’t hold back

*pats lqq pompom* this bb is so sad. And so much more like his teacher than either of them seem to realize or necessarily want

Despite being a pretty minor character, lqq gets a lot of complexity and nuance! Look at this child trying to be grown up while desperately turning to his old master for guidance and “the truth”! Look at him! Be sad!!

2 ) lqq is an excellent parallel to xl

Okay stealing my own tweet again don’t look at me I yell the same shit everywhere

Xl didn’t want lqq to become like him (self-sacrificing, vengeful, alone) but lqq not only became alone, chasing vengeance, & willing to sacrifice himself for revenge—he also became kind, open-minded, & remorseful!! & he still clearly respects xl @ novel end 🙃🙃

We all know hc’s “they’re not very alike at all” and yeah sure baby go support your man but narratively, there’s a lot of importance given to cycles, parallels, and foils in mxtx’s writing and most explicitly (compared to mdzs, haven’t read svss) in tgcf. For example, *gestures at beefleaf, gestures at Xianle Trio vs Wuyogn Crew, gestures at Xie Lian & Jun Wu’s whole uh. Deal.* And while I’d argue xl and lqq are part of a triumvirate rather than a pair, we’re not including mister three-face in this conversation so just looking at xl and lqq:

Both adored and sheltered crown princes

Both taught by a guoshi who was seeking to prevent the repetition of their own tragedies and in their efforts, lied/omitted information and failed to protect their charge from tragedy

Both were betrayed* by their closest friends

Both are the last living members of their respective royal families

Both caught the interest of supernatural beings from a young age

Etc etc I’m getting v bored and distracted writing this so moving on

Most importantly to me, we have their betrayal by a very close and adored mentor and how they react. The confrontation I mention at the start of this shitshow is really imo one of the most important scenes in the novel because it a) illustrates the differences in xl and Jun Wu and b) sort of gives you a preview of how xl ultimately wins

So a) Jun Wu and Xie Lian both take a talented, marked-for ascension young prince under their wing. Jun Wu sees himself in the boy and obsesses over shaping him into Jun Wu’s own image in the belief that this will make him the perfect heir. Jun Wu pushes his chosen heir into situations where Xie Lian is repeatedly harmed in an effort to show that the common people are fickle and cruel and don’t deserve his compassion and care.

Meanwhile, Xie Lian is reluctantly roped into mentoring his prince due to his inability to stand aside when he feels he could do something to prevent hurt or injustice befalling another (simultaneously his great strength and great weakness! God I love him). Xie Lian tries to teach his student to believe in and care for the common people and not to sacrifice himself (see: flashback convo re:taking the force of the sword strike into his own body).

When Xie Lian refuses to bend in the shape Jun Wu demands, Jun Wu bashes his head into the wall. When Lang Qianqiu cries “I will never be like you!”, Xie Lian laughs and says “Good!”.

B) this of course feeds directly into foreshadowing! Like Lang Qianqiu’s bold words, xl ultimately refuses to become like his mentor and remains defiant even when it would stop him from being hurt. Xl beats lqq and says so what if I tricked you, so what if I lied, I still won. Naturally, xl beats Jun Wu not through standard swordplay but by using a trick he learned while forced to busk and wander the earth alone and unlucky for centuries.

…okay so I have fully forgotten what I was actually saying here! Anyway!

Like Xie Lian, Lang Qianqiu spends a time consumed with the need for vengeance, hunting his enemy and rejecting the heavens. And like Xie Lian, he winds up caring for his enemy’s “son” and trying to both comfort him and maintain what’s left of Qi Rong’s life force despite having previously been hellbent on destroying him—bc he sees the impact it has on another person. In the end, he even gives a gift to Xie Lian—his mentor, his role model, and the one who killed his father—that was once given to him as a symbol of unexpected kindness. Sound familiar?

But, importantly, and contradictory to what I have been yelling abt but whatever it’s 12:30 am, Lang Qianqiu is not a direct mirror of Xie Lian but a closing of a vital loop in the story. Lqq is very similar to xl (I will die on this hill!! Only I won’t bc I’m stronger than y’all and will keep swinging these pots and pans) but bc xl tries to do better and keep lqq from suffering the way xl has, lqq is able to have a gentler and more optimistic path forward. He’s proof that even a small act of kindness or even kindness to only one person still matters and has a ripple effect that can’t be seen when you’re in the middle of it—a thread started with xl giving the coral pearl to Lang Ying and closed with Lang Qianqiu returning the pearl to Xie Lian.

So I have no idea if any of this is coherent or compelling but I meant to be asleep two hours ago and the points are:

A) Lang Qianqiu is good actually

B) parallels!!!

C) look ive already started another wip about Lang Qianqiu and Xie Lian and I didn’t want this but no one else wrote it so now I have to so pls just accept this as a warning

*sort of air quotes around this for Xie Lian bc frankly Mu Qing was right & Xie Lian kicked feng xin out BUT on the other hand, it was experienced as a betrayal and we also again have all of Jun Wu’s shit so it evens out

[gmwsuperfan5467890]

Nhie 3x1

-I’m glad Devi is starting to learn not to care about what others think of her.

-Paxton was a great boyfriend! I’m really glad that tv shows nowadays are showing the guy backing off when the girl looks uncomfortable without her having to say anything bc it shows that consent is not just saying yes, it’s being enthusiastic about that yes.

-It was really sweet that Trent was so protective of Paxton. Tho hitting Paxton where the sun don’t shine is not funny. This reminds me of when Trent’s mum thirsted over him in season 1. Newsflash, guys getting sexually harrassed and sexualized is not funny ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY’RE UNDERAGE.

-I don’t really care about Trent and Eleanor dating, I have to be honest.

- I can’t believe that one of the posts on my Nhie season 3 headcannon list came true! Fab and Eve are on the rocks their interactions in this ep once again prove to me that Fabiola deserve much better. Fabiola is over-exhausted to the point where she is constantly falling asleep just to make time to talk to Eve but Eve can just say anytime that is convenient to her? Fuck that shit, I’m fucking pissed. I’m glad that Fabiola realized after unfortunately underperforming in school that she can’t go on like this and that she needs to prioritize herself. I predict that she will get a love interest at the end of the season. Idk if there are any few female characters this season but if there aren’t, maybe she’ll date Aneesa? They could be good together.

-Imo I think Ben is stressed about something and that is why he obsessing over his grades so much, bc when you are stressed over something you can’t control, you try to tighten your grip on what you can control. This is like far-fetched wish but if they approach it from a certain angle, then they could make him have an OCD storyline. Like let’s say after that 100, he gets extra-credit in another class so he’s like, “it was bc I did this in the morning” so he makes it a ritual, then something bad happens and he’s like “it’s because I didn’t tap the door 7 times before leaving the house” and then soon he has all these rituals and gets agitated when someone interrupts him or questions him and he eventually spirals out of control.

- I definitely expected Ben and Aneesa to be together in this ep but I have to say I really hope she doesn’t get hurt in this situation tho I know that she probably will. It has also been confirmed that Ben does not like that Aneesa does not score grades that are as high as his and that she doesn’t really know where she wants to go to college. I think that’s shallow, but unfortunately very unrealistic, I could see some of the smart kids in my old high school doing that. I hope he realizes that type of stuff doesn’t matter and if their relationship ends, it’s because they mutually realize that they aren’t compatible romantically and not because Ben thinks that ‘she’s not smart enough’ for him, ick I would hate it if they went in that direction.

-They’re really trying to make Aneesa look dumb, huh? 84 is a decent grade, especially when you spend hours training. Her grade is only 2 points higher than Trent? So what?? That means that Trent studied and so did she. And maybe school isn’t her thing but at least she’s putting in the effort and she’s doing decent. Academics is not the only indicator of intelligence and I’m sick of tired of people thinking that it is.

- I’m glad Kamala and Prashant broke up and I hope that she will be single for a while. I am intrigued to see Kamala in the hot seat with her family for once, well with Nirmala mainly.

-I am not a huge fan of the ending scene, Devi getting a text insinuating that Paxton is not great is a weird plotline. Like if they wanted to cause problems in the relationship and eventually break them up,it should be because of something Devi or Paxton did or them realizing they are not compatible, not because of a rumour. I am hoping that this is a subversion of some sort.

[mingying]

[spoilers] hospital playlist s2 ep 7; ikjun/songhwa

Hello!!! I disappeared a bit after Ep 4 bc I’ve been busy and I thought there weren’t much for me to talk about so I didn’t make time to write this post. But since I cannot stop thinking about Ep 7, here is my usual casual ramblings about the IkSong moments we got from Ep 7!

It won’t be too long, just my usual nonsensical takes on Songhwa’s POV as we once again were given only implied crumbs, rather than express (I really do hope we will get a proper conversation between them soon).

TL;DR: A potential glimpse of Songhwa’s past and Ikjun’s realisation that maybe this isn’t enough for him?

Ikjun the inssa and Songhwa who is forever amused and clearly looks at him in an endearing manner. All of these smiles were directed to Ikjun and probably happened in a span of 10-15 minutes on their way to the cafeteria? Anyway, I will always love any scenes where Songhwa smiles/laughs because of Ikjun’s antics. She truly does have him in a special place in her heart (romantic or not).

It seems that after lunch in the cafeteria, Songhwa continues to spend the remaining free time she has with Ikjun. She even brings him coffee and watches Uju dancing in the video Wang imo sent him.

Ikjun realises at once that Songhwa is cold, and without hesitation, hands his jacket to him. She accepts it gratuitously and wears it again without hesitation. Hmm~~

Will I ever shut up about how much Ikjun makes Songhwa laugh? Never. The answer is never.

During camping, we see IkSong continuing their usual rapport of ease and comfort. Notice how they talked from when the sun is still above their head until night time has befallen them and they drank from one can of beer to a few cans and it’s 1AM all of a sudden? They’re mighty comfortable with each other. They share conversations that range from anything to everything.

And nothing. At the end of this entire camping sequence, Songhwa bids goodnight to Ikjun and retreats into her tent, and Ikjun stares at her forlornly with a look we can only decipher as underlying sadness. Ouch. This is when I realised that he is still pining over her. That one year and three months where he has loved her unconditionally may not be the only thing he wants for the rest of his life. 

And that hurts. As a viewer, to see Ikjun react this way. The smile he has on his face as he looks after her retreating back is one filled with so much ache that I really hope that after this, he distances himself from Songhwa a bit, or at least let her know that whatever it is between them - it isn’t enough for him. Communication, please, both of you. 

I don’t know what ShinLee plans to do for IkSong - there are so many things left unsaid and this could have been the perfect moment to address feelings, but they didn’t seize this opportunity. I have a strong instinct that it’s because Songhwa is still afraid, for some reason, to open up her heart again. I say this because:-

Songhwa still remembers that Ikjun used to always play that one particular song in his guitar. Based on Martha’s (chocoscrunchies @ twitter) tweet, the meaning of that song is this:-

... :’))) maybe i’m not crying.

My interpretation of this scene is that because things are so comfortable between them, Songhwa let her guard falter - that careful wall she has built around her youth and first love. Of course she would remember something as trivial as that right, because it is her first love who had played the song throughout the year. And when Ikjun pointed that “you have a good memory”, she realised that she’d slipped and decided to once again seize control of the situation by retreating. That was why she quickly declined to hear the song that would probably stir some dormant memories in her heart that she’d carefully sealed away. She gave a feeble excuse that it’s bad manners to play music on a campground.

And then she said goodnight. 

But did she really sleep that night?

At this point, I’m a little tired that all we’ve gotten so far are implications. I’d be honest and say that I’m tired of guessing. We can harp all we want about Songhwa’s POV being all the smiles and laughter she had given Ikjun, but that’s just it, you know? They may well be platonic gestures at the end of the day so I want something concrete and express from Songhwa. 

I still believe they will be endgame though, but before that happens I really need them to desperately talk feelings to each other.

Songhwa needs to tell Ikjun the reason for her hesitation and what he used to mean to her. What he still means to her.

And Ikjun needs to tell her that this rapport between them is hurting him because it seems he does want something more.

I say this as the biggest IkSong stockholder, who loves Songhwa and Ikjun individually with all her heart; I just want both of them to be happy, and at the rate we are going it would seem that Ikjun is merely hiding his sadness behind all the smiles he would give her. And I just don’t think it’s fair for him to keep doing that. 

Songhwa on the other hand is clearly getting too comfortable with their currently label-less relationship. There needs to be something that triggers her into realising she wants something more with Ikjun because there is no way they’re going to remain like this forever, not when one party is already hurting silently.

To hoping the remaining episodes give our characters the happiness they deserve.

[asmolemmeeatyouout]

The boys with Autistic! MC! part two ! SFW

(Bc I’m self indulgent and like 5 ppl wanted it so yesyesyes)

(Had my first proper spoonie day in a while today so imma finish this after what 4 months? Whoopsie. Sorry if any of the points overlap I’ve not re read my last post, please shoot me an ask if you want anything clarified/expanded on !)

Lucifer:

Has to stop his brothers from constantly bothering you when you’re overwhelmed (they’re just worried)

You very quickly learn his office is the safest place to be when overwhelmed due to the dim lighting and the brother deterring curse on his doorway

He has a record player and SO much classical music for when you need background noise

This leads to impromptu slow dancing when you insist he needs a break and there’s music playing

If you have your own records, the *smoother ones will end up mixed in with his

*smoother as in less staccato /distracting because he is most likely working

Very much enjoys spending time in silence with you, he finds it comfortng to just exist with someone without having anything needed of him

Especially if you’re both doing your own thing, like you just being in the room with him (playing a game or reading or smthn) while he does his paperwork is so soothing to him

Mammon:

Have you seen his horns? They’re so smooth and shinyyy, a+++ stimming material

He loves head pats so he’ll willingly put his head in your lap when you watch movies

he’s very proud of his demon form but also kind of shy so it’ll take some coaxing to get him to let you touch his horns but when he sees how content it makes you? It’s his new favourite hobby letting you play with his hair and horns during movies

(That said they’re very sensitive (like him) so be gentle)

He WILL adopt your love language and mannerisms:

if you bump people he will start knocking into you constantly, (wrists, hips, shoulders, head, any and all on random repeat)

if you like to collect and give things to people he will a. Hoard them in a little shrine (that he Denys. having) and b. Start looking for things he can give you back

If you rub textures you like you’ll find him stroking your arms/face/jumper right back (sometimes with his face, but only ever in private because he feels vulnerable using such a soft form of affection)

Levithian:

You cannot tell me this man isn’t autistic

Communication is SO! EASY!

Then even If you don’t understand you can just ask. You can just ask and he’ll tell you. None of this ‘figure it out yourself’ nt bullshit

Our baby has anxiety anyway so he’s probably ‘over’ explained it before you can say anything

(Over explained in the sense of nt, personally I love it when ppl get really detailed)

In that case he gets embarrassed about how much he’s talking so it’s your turn to reassure him that he’s not boring you

The solace you get in realising you like all of his autistic traits soothes your own insecurities

That being said your anxiety (if you have it) is matchy matchy so don’t expect him to talk to the cashier for you

He’s very chill with you being non verbal because either he’s absorbed in his own game/anime/show or it means there’s more room for him to talk about his interests

That being said if your special interests/ hyperfixations don’t line up on any given day? The bickering over who’s turn it is to infodump gets intense (this is the one source of all your arguments)

All the other brothers are kind of terrified/jealous of your relationship, especially when they see you talking about a shared special interest because you talk rapid fire and very in-depth. to them it’s almost like you’re talking in code or another language because they know all the individual words but what the everloving fuck are you on about

Asmodeus:

Has specific outfits he wears when he wants you to hug him (which is always). They’re made out of the softest material, or any clothing of his you’ve expressed a texture interest in.

Finds it so amusing when you come rushing over to rub your face against his chest bc mmmmm softsoftsoft

Likes to text you in the morning to see how you’re feeling (and how sensory sensitive you are because god forbid his outfit with chains and jangles stops him from seeing you)

Understands better than Anyone that affection and love can be shown in a whole barrage of ways not just physically

Figures out how you show affection faster than any of the other brothers

Immediately starts reciprocating it (partly bc he’s selfishly trying to make you love him most)

Satan:

Will learn about your special interests so he can engage you on the topic

Is the ONLY person in the house you can talk about any special interest with, no matter how niche because he loves learning (although he does prefer the *academic* side of them rather than pop culture but he will listen to both)

*academic* as in something involving learning about something or crafting or *how* to do something, not just like, maths

You’re pretty much the only person who can keep up with him in terms of knowledge and enthusiasm (even if it’s only for very specific things) and thus you become the person he talks to about his interests

Originally kind of annoyed by how absentminded you are (because you forget several dates) but once you get settled into a routine he starts to find it cute how habitual you are, and then realises it could work to his advantage.

He then schedules a date into your weekly routine (or biweekly depending on your energy levels) so you start to get upset if it’s missed bc it’s part of your routine. (Satan is ridiculously smart and is very much willing to manipulate your routine to his (and yours) advantage, he is a demon after all)

Beelzebub:

Gives the best squishes. He’s just so big he can literally envelope you (in other news he is terrified of hurting you so he’s very nervous at first, he’s used to huggin ppl very gently bc he is a muscle mountain)

Maybe don’t use chew stims around him (unless he’s eating) because seeing you use them will either make him hungry, or he’ll ask to see it and oops it’s been swallowed hope you didn’t want that back (he’s very apologetic he really didn’t mean to but it was in his mouth and chewed before he could think)

Literally the kindest man in the universe, if you have issues with shame or *guilt* (especially if it creeps outta nowhere or it relates to not being able to do something) he will a. Reassure you and give you cuddles until you feel okay (or one on one bonding time if you’re too touch sensitive) then b. Go help with whatever task was too much so you don’t have to worry

Belphagor:

Have I mentioned the stuffies? This boy definitely has a stash of soft toys that all have names and personalities. This originally stemmed from the fact he was locked alone in an attic for a year, he needed some form of company or he was gonna go crazy, and sleeping alone is meh in his opinion. But then he became attached and after you showed him yours? And you weren’t ashamed of your teddy bears or how much you loved them he confided in you about his. (And you had a tea party)

Problems sleeping ? (Me too bud it’s 3.44 am lol) nonononno baby boy has got you, just snuggle up to him and you’ll be snoozing in no time (I HC that being around belphagor just makes you a little sleepy and the longer you’re there the stronger the urge to sleep gets)

You’re at rad (or out in public and can’t leave) and get overstimmed? Belphie has got you! He keeps sunglasses on him so he can secretly sleep when he’s not supposed to. Also (imo) he’s the king of hoodies, both his main outfits have a hood (and you can’t convince me he doesn’t wear one of them over his uniform as soon as lucifer dips), my boy will slip his hoodie on you and wrap you in a hug to get you away from the noise/sights

(I am now too tired to write anymore, hope yall enjoyed!)

[black-ajah-hq]

WoT S1E1 Retrospective Part 4

Final Part!

Spoilers below for the entire show/series

go to previous

^ I watched this episode with a friend (who knew nothing of WoT) and he was saying that the effects here look really weird/bad. I didn’t really care at first, but looking back there’s definitely something that just feels...off. I believe that this is partly due to the weird white back light that is being cast on Moiraine, which doesn’t really make sense...the weaves are all around her not just behind. I think a more subtle light to show her channeling would have been more effective. 

^ cool imagery, but again, I wanna complain about Moiraine’s choreography. Channeling here suffers from what I have dubbed “magical inefficacy” in which the magic user spends far more effort looking like they’re doing magic than actually doing magic. It feels inefficient. Her movements should have been snappy (they are in some parts) and instead the majority of channeling moves require so much effort to weave, it just feels like a trolloc could swoop in and take her out at any second. It simply does not seem worth the effort to channel because she’s not getting nearly enough output as work she’s putting in.  Vaguely this sequence reminded me of the bending in the live action The Last Airbender movie, but not quite as bad as that. I think...elemental magic is just difficult to pull off in live action.

^ THE WOMENS CIRCLE HAHAHA i love them

^ Laila fights with a hammer...interesting :)

^ so in the show Nyn is a ta’veren too...which means the Dark One probably wants to have a chat with her. I’m assuming this is why the trolloc dragged her off instead of immediately killing her. 

^ i’m not convinced this is the only reason why they took her! She’s a ta’veren!

^ I like the idea of Perrin killing someone accidentally to set up his story...but I don’t like that person being his own wife. At all. I really wish it was Master Luhhan (at least) because wife fridging just isn’t it...

 It really makes me wonder how they’re going to do Perrin’s relationship with Faile, because setting up that romance in the show where that starts in the book timeline is waaaay too soon. Perrin needs years of therapy to recover from this, realistically. 

^ the books could be very gory in parts but actually seeing it on screen makes me o.o

^ the acting!!!! holy crap

^ NO don’t pull it out!!!  jeez, you would think Lan as a warder would have at least some medical knowledge in case his Aes Sedai gets wounded. That is, unless they had to pull it out because the blade has Trolloc poison on it? 

^ not the Winespring Inn!!! ;-;

^ this was so dark, man, i feel bad for Perrin 

^ Don’t be rude, Rand, she just saved your father’s life!!

^ The fact that they cut right to Rand after Moiraine says “They’re here for you” feels a liiiiitle too obvious. But that could be just me since I already know who the DR is at this point

^ well, dang. There’s really no time here to “think” about going with Moiraine. The village is so crippled that that they can’t really fight off another wave of trollocs (honestly, they couldn’t fight the first wave either without moiraine). The urgency here is what forces the EF4 to make their decision without really weighing it. It’s either they go with a stranger who as an Aes Sedai probably knows what they’re talking about...or almost certainly doom their village.

^ At the very least I’m happy that we got the “The Wheel of Time turns...” iconic phrase somewhere in this episode. 

^ Sigh. One of my fave parts looking back at EoTW is Tam and Rand’s last chat before Rand decides to go. We were ROBBED! JK, i know it doesn’t fit into the story here (plus focusing on Rand too much would be a no no) Sadge. I will pretend it happened behind the scenes

Final Thoughts:

IMO this isn’t the worst episode, but it certainly isn’t the best either. Once i “accepted” the changes it makes it a little more enjoyable bc I’m not nitpicking the show based on the book canon. 

WoT desperately need the “Rings of Power Treatment”, where we’d get this first episode drawn out into two quieter episodes that take their time setting things up and getting us used to the characters. From what I’ve heard, many non-book fans had trouble connecting to the EF5, so a slower start to the story might have fixed that! Realistically, WoT is  incapable of doing this since WoT isn’t an established on-screen franchise and many who watch it are unfamiliar with the source material. The showrunners needed to focus on getting the audience “hooked” faster in order to retain their interest. It’s unfortunate but it’s what needed to happen. 

Has the worst cold open out of all the episodes. Grrrr

I enjoyed how they tried to give each of the EF5 backstories here, not just Rand

This goes for the entire season (excluding one episode) but it kinda feels to be like a high-budget fan production. I can tell there was care going into the script, but they also had to take many liberties with the story to make it work as a TV show and fall within budget and time constraints. However, a lot of the editing/lighting/direction feels very amateur, and this is especially apparent in the scene where Moraine enters the Winespring for the first time. There a general “weirdness” that’s happening with this show on the technical side. I’m praying it get’s fixed in future seasons.

To me, this still feels like WoT. Not exactly how I remember from the books but perhaps another turning of the Wheel. I can get on board with that 

The actors here are AMAZING. I think that’s the main reason why I think the show still embodies the spirit of WoT. The characters act for the most part like their book counterpart would act if they were in the same situation.

[liesoverthec]

Hey !! So I hope my previous ask didn’t come off as me saying I think buddie would turn out corny because they are a mlm ship, because that definitely isnt the case (although I totally understand the gender roll thing in lgbt relationships and how that makes couples come off) ! And agree with you that bathena, maddie/chim and henren are all beautifully written couples and that the writers do a great job with them. I think more of my concern with buddie is the proximity with which they interact with each other at work and how it might change if they become canon. For example, bathena and maddie/chims jobs overlap, but they don’t work with each other which allows them space to have their own stories, I guess. And we get scenes where they develop the relationship at work (like the ep last season where athena went into the building to save bobby, or the dispatch hostage episode). But because they have separate jobs its not all the time, so the characters are allowed to grow in the relationship but also outside of it. But eddie and buck are very well established as partners and I just worry that there would be blurred lines between work life and home life and given the fact that theres not really a strong comparable on 911 (closest would be bathena) and my distrust in network tv in general I guess that just makes me a little wary? And then I also think the way the other couples were clearly developed as romantic while buddie’s development so far has been more platonic/familial (once again imo - completely understand if ppl view their development differently) that it makes it hard for me to see how they would write buddie as a couple because I personally feel like writers haven’t written “romantically” for them yet, so I dont know what their romantic take on buddie would be. but on the other hand if they canon and their interactions remain mostly the same as they are now then thats great! I just personally cant picture it well (also like you said, maybe fanfic has a role in that too haha)

Hi anon, sorry I held onto to this for a little bit! (For anyone curious, the first ask is here)

Okay so I'm gonna start with your second concern first - bc actually you're wrong! Of the couples, only Henren was really MEANT to be together. Originally Eddie and Maddie were going to be a couple, so Madney was a shift, and Bathena was DEFINITELY not meant to be together (idk if you remember but they took a swing at Bobby/Abby first even). Going back to my relationship data, Bobby and Athena only had 12 interactions together in the entire first season (aka only 12 of 314 interactions total, so only 3.82% of the entire season had them together. Only 4 of those interactions were the two of them alone, and all 4 of them came from eps 9 and 10 so only 1.27% of the entire season was the two of them together). Plus Peter Krause has mentioned before that he didn't know he'd be married to Angela on show when they started. So when you say Bathena was developed to be romantic (as opposed to Buddie in particular), you're dead wrong! The romance actually came AFTER they got together. Which goes to show that they're capable of pulling a loving, convincing relationship out of a hat on a dime just because. So your worry there is totally actually based on completely wrong evidence.

As for your other point regarding their jobs, here's the thing. The incredibly simple solution to your worry about them blurring the lines between work and home is them having stories with people other than each other. And honestly - they're doing that already, particularly with Buck. Buck already spends copious amounts of time with his sister and Chim, and has stories related directly to his relationships with them, and not his relationship with Eddie. So they can just ... keep doing that. And Eddie has plenty of openings for the same thing (since I'm assuming you're worried that his stories with Christopher would be absorbed into Buck's) - he has two younger sisters, if he and Buck got together there's PLENTY of room for a story with his parents, hell it doesn't even have to be bc he's dating a man that he has issues with his parents, he could talk to Hen about queer identity, he could have an Army buddy come to town, it's all there. I can think of a million things they could write for both Buck and Eddie that have nothing to do with each other, and some of them are really, REALLY compelling - so I'm not really sure why you think the writers wouldn't be open to exploring those. They developed David as his own person w his own character outside of who he was with Michael, and he wasn't even a main! David was absolutely the side piece, in terms of the show. So I'm not really sure why you think the writers would do that for David and just ... not extend the same courtesy to Buck and Eddie, whom are infinitely more important to the writers as individuals than David.

Also - the thing is, most of the Buddie scenes where they're at work, aren't Buddie scenes. Things like Buck mentioning the telenovelas Eddie watches this week isn't actually a Buddie scene, they're talking about Toni and Clive and Hen, and they just happen to connect to one another during that. Which is a thing that happens between ALL the characters on this show all the time. So your worry that their work lives will always be about each other is something you're probably just viewing completely through a Buddie lens. They can have stories outside of work together, and still be together at work, and things they do that WE think are solely about their relationship won't really be. And it's okay that we see that, but it's also important to acknowledge that at moment, they're just two participants in a conversation about someone else's life. Not everything will be about them, bc rn now not everything they do is.

So I really think all your worries are unfounded, and I reiterate my statement that it's important to get to see them together BEFORE the finale, bc I know they're going to be treated right!