#also for those who've been asking about king... there he is

[suffarustuffaru]

What's your thoughts on Wish Upon a Sin by HoboWizard

like all the other times people have asked me for my opinions on fics, im gonna link the author/fic and explain the fic’s plot really quick - so the link to hobowizard's ao3 profile is here if youre interested in reading his stuff!!

so wish upon a sin, for those who dont know, is a fic where every time subaru dies, he goes back in time (like canon, yes) only - his save point never updates. it's stuck at when he first got isekaied into the fantasy world, meaning that every time he dies he loses a Shit Ton Of Progress. which is an Extremely fascinating plot and hobowizard is one of if not the most qualified writer for an idea That Ambitious HAH.

and that being said. i really really recommend reading hobo's fics in general for sure. ive read the first couple chapters for wish upon a sin Ages ago and 1. i dont have much time for everything anymore rip :< and 2. i struggle with focusing on things sometimes so i often dont read or finish longfics, so thats just the case for me with wish upon a sin and hobo's other longfic (so maybe im not 100% the target audience), but yes ive read the first couple chapters for each of those longfics a while back!! and i cannot recommend them enough.

wish upon a sin is absolutely gonna be the fic for you if you want a Very long fic thats plotty and centered around subaru that Really explores all the different avenues he can take - like this fic has a very strong premise and then explores it to the Absolute fullest!! i cannot praise it enough hah. its really good!!! and ill always be impressed with hobo's work.

i think my only real criticism (and like all the criticism i give for fics i mean it very Lightly, and also hobo's work is really good already so HAH) is that hobo's biggest strength is plot. he's really really good at complex plot and writing very plotty fics!! but there were a few times in the first chapters of wish upon a sin where i personally wished that the story got to slow down a bit and explore subaru's feelings more in depth. its touched on over and over in the story of course, which is great!! but for my own personal taste i couldnt Feel the full emotional impact bc the plot had to keep moving and moving, if that makes sense? :o and this is a pretty small criticism imo too haaah bc hobo's grammar, writing style, plot beats, general characterization, etc are all very solid. and im sure that, as with a lot of long fics, hobo's writing improves even more with every chapter of wish upon a sin so <3 and i can definitely attest to that given hobo's recent fic!!

anyway i know this ask is mainly about wish upon a sin but id like to also shoutout hobo's recent fic, which is a collab with rajvir - people who've been Around on rezero ao3 mightve seen rajvir a bit (he's commented on several fics in the past!) but yeah their fic return of the lion king is a long fic centered on the fourier, felix, crusch trio. which is a rarity in terms of english fic!! its also been updating pretty regularly so if youve liked hobo's work before and you find this fic interesting id recommend checking that out too :o theres soo so many characters in rezero and id love to keep seeing more in depth fic for more of the cast, so this fic is great to see!! :o

[regaliasonata]

Also character ask ZIGGY

Character Ask: Ziggy Grover

First Impression

-Definitely falling under the average green ranger stereotype of being the silly but less engaged member of the team, though that is quite alright cause he'll probably give some positivity to the team due to the state they are in via the season

How I Feel About The Character/Impression Now

-.....I love this twink and honestly me and everyone else should love him, the fact that he was in a mafia, managed to escape, gave medicine and supplies from said group to orphans in needed AND GOT OFF SCOT FREE WITH HIS TOASTER BOYFRIEND speaks volumes.

Favorite Moment

-So far has to be that scene between him and the cartel where he's got that serious face, I'll have to go back and fully complete RPM but seeing Ziggy look so cold is amazing.

Idea For A Story

-okay think of this....Ziggy as a Peter Pan type character who was reborn in another world that raises orphans or children who've passed early and they live in this alternate world with magic, at the same time he's an assassin that's teaming up with Dillon and Tenaya(who also have powers based on fairy tales) to steal ancient treasure from a tyrant king in order to rule the rule, Once Upon A Time walked so this can run.

Relationships

OTPs

-Ziggy/Dillon....obviously, can't have a happy twig without his grumpy muscular emo boyfriend.

-Ziggy/Scott, Ziggy/Flynn. Both these work really well in my opinion.

-Crackship idea if this crossover was ever a thing...Ziggy/Jarrod/Dillon/Casey, imagine all that chaos together with those four like(I'd pay to see a one shot of this tbh). Heck not even a crossover needed because JKP exists in the RPMverse and assuming the entire team is alive then this could fly, crazy twinks and the emo duo.

BROTPs

-Ziggy/Dr.K, honestly feel like he understands Dr.K and they are really close when it comes to hearing each other out, plus Ziggy might actually get her to enjoy some hobbies.

-Ziggy/Casey...seriously Disney fucked us over from ever getting this interaction, be happy with marvel I guess but imagine the send off you could've had.

-Ziggy/Tenaya, she needs earplugs every time he talks about Dillon...

Unpopular Opinion

-Kinda wish we got even more of a backstory for him or seen Ziggy encountering other green rangers. I feel like both him and Trip would get along quite well to be honest.

One thing I wish would/had happened in the show

-....We serious? That Jungle Fury/RPM crossover obviously because ALL THOSE INTERACTIONS AND SUCH WOULD'VE BE LEGENDARY.

-Even if he didn't end up with Dillon we should've had Ziggy kissing some guy.

-Imagine a scene of Ziggy hacking Venjix down with his axe after he found out the program's intention for Dillon, or if Venjix succeeded and Dillon died...it would've been brutal like Ziggy would be shown Venjix why the cartel kept him around🗡🗡🗡🗡🗡

Headcanons

-The RPM team technically has sentient zords because in reality they hold secret Engine Souls like their Go-Onger counterparts. This is actually a result of humanity evolving and without the vitality from Earth's nature so their animal spirits evolved into Engine Souls, thing is the team hasn't unlocked them but when they do the zords will be able to talk(a little fib of my JFAU movie arc idea with RPM cause we deserve that crossover).

-Ziggy's fingernails can turn dark green because of Venjix exposure, some humans after being exposed to the virus during their apocalypse developed small traits via their survival(Scott having sharper canines, Summer being able to detect metals for tools, Flynn when growing out his hair has white highlights and can absorb radiation, Gem and Gemma can see people's dreams and Dillon can purify dirty food and water).

-Ziggy sleeps with a huge dolphin as a pillow or just something to hold whenever he's sad. If he can't morph then he'll fill it with rocks and beat down venjix monsters with it.

-Sometimes when he would leave the dome(before the world began to return to normal) he'd walk miles until making it to the ocean since it wasn't fully destroyed and enjoyed watching the waves. Plus that spot is the only one in the world where the stars in the sky are still viewable.

-After RPM Dillon, Tenaya and Ziggy ventured out into the world to see what needed to be fixed, they built a railroad and it oddly began to glow with energy. This led to the team getting powers via trains and soul power with imagination, humanity's will to keep going(ToQger adaption), villains born from the deceased malice of humanity aim to take advantage of this world and others leading to the team having bigger stakes than last time.

[unluckyknight-21]

i've decided that the Good Place is real.

I finally know the answer to the question that has been asked since the dawn of man or at least since Greek philosophers have been making people think about stuff. ("Plato", f**king nerd).

The question in question is: "What happens when we die?".

The answer is: It's on Netflix in the form of a series called: "The Good Place".

For those who don't know, 'The Good Place' is a hit American comedy-fantasy series created by Michael Schur, It aired between 2018 to 2020 on NBC.

(⚠️SPOILER WARING⚠️: For those who haven't watched 'The Good Place')

The show revolves around 4 humans who've died and went onto the "Good Place" or so they think, they soon find out that they're actually in the "Bad Place" and they've actually been partnered together by a demon in a perfectly designed experimental 'hell' so that they can torture and make each other miserable for eternity.

But to the surprise of everyone in the Bad Place, the 4 humans actually helped each other be better than they ever were on earth, the demon in charge of them would try to wipe their memories and restart the experiment but the 4 humans would always find each other, become better by helping each other and outsmart the demons.

It became such an inconvenience that the main demon eventually gives up and teams up with the humans to try and get them into the real Good Place but then we find out that there is something wrong with the system of how people are judged when they die.

THAT'S where my religious girlfriend (God bless her or whoever is up there) got kind of sketchy about the show because her religious worldview couldn't accept that "Heaven" was flawed.

And I can understand that because most religious people, no matter what religion, would find it hard to believe that there is something wrong with the afterlife, the very thing that they've been told their entire lives they will go to after they die.

First of, the afterlife is the most mysterious thing that humans believe in because no one knows where or what it is, even Shakespeare made a whole speech thing about it because being a white guy during the 1500's he had the privilege of thinking about death while others were too busy being either poor or slaves and I have a feeling that they didn't enjoy it.

And secondly, Being humans, we couldn't handle not understanding something, so we created different versions of the afterlife using religions, but every religion had the same rules: Follow a certain way of life and be good so that when you die, you will be granted eternal happiness.

And that was the flaw in 'The Good Place', the protagonists in the show discovered that the rules to get into heaven were too broad, life on earth became too complicated because when you try to do good, you are setting off a chain of events that causes misery for others without even knowing it and that makes it impossible to earn enough "afterlife good points".

And so what do our protagonists do? They fix the afterlife, they make it so that no matter how you live your life on earth, when you die, you will get into a specifically designed hell that will test you until you become the best version of you and, only then, will you get into the 'Good Place'.

And it doesn't stop there, after you've had your eternity of fun, pleasurable bliss and you finally feel at peace, you actually have the choice to leave paradise and become one with the universe.

That to me is the definition of a perfect afterlife and is the reason why I've decided that the Good Place's version of the afterlife is what will actually happen when I die.

Now you might be thinking: "Wow, that is denial on a whole new level, I can't believe this guy is not just handsome but is he is also so scared of not knowing what happens when we die that he chooses to believe that the made up heaven of some tv show is the real heaven AND he's also handsome".

Well, I say to you, thank you, I am handsome but also, just like what my college professor told the dean why he has liking all the bikini pictures of my female classmate on Instagram: "Let me explain".

You have to remember one thing: All versions of heaven are made up.

That's the point I've been trying to make since the start, humans couldn't handle not knowing what happens when we die so we created religions, created rules into getting to heaven.

AND to a horrible extent, some of us created cults so that people will give them money to tell them that they're getting into heaven and that is simply despicable.

I'm not pointing fingers at any religion, although, when I mentioned money-grabbing cults what was the first one you thought of? And why was it 'Scientology'?

And if you're filipino, just like me, you know which one I am thinking of.

That is my problem with religion, they instill fear and guilt to their followers to keep them subservient and they wage war to anyone who thinks otherwise, but enough about christianity.

Meanwhile, in the "rules" of the Good Place, you simply need to do one thing to get into heaven: Be Good.

Be good to yourself, be good to others and put out good into the world. No subscription or body count needed.

I'm not saying that other religions scriptures/bibles/teachings tell their followers otherwise, I truly believe that they are no bad religions, just bad people. True good people, use their religion to impart good onto others and I believe that even without they're religion they will still be good. Good people are just that.

And then comes along this little comedy show, tells me that I need only to be good to get into heaven? Umm...yes please!

But if you think: "Then that means you're just being good because you want to get into heaven!", then what do you think religious people are doing? They're told to be good to get into heaven and if they don't? Eternal damnation. I don't know about you but that will definitely motivate me to be good.

But keep in mind that I don't really believe that the heaven in 'The Good Place' is real. Of course it isn't! it's just some comedy show that a white guy made, another Shakespeare situation if I ever saw one.

But I CHOOSE to believe it, just like any other religious person chose to believe their religion, because we're all scared of not knowing what will happen when we die so we cling to a belief that makes us feel safe.

Religion can be beautiful, I love seeing people become passionate about being good, I love when they dance and sing in choirs about how you should love others and spread happiness. God knows, I want to join in with Whoopi Goldberg and the other nuns in Sister Act when they were singing their hearts out, THAT is what heaven is all about.

But religion is flawed due to human error, divinity was defined by a humans a few thousand years ago and we've been suffering from it ever since. You want to tell me that God is perfect? Homer wrote in the Odyssey that Zeus turns into a swan to have sex with women. That's not perfect, that's means Homer had a furry kink.

The Good Place, isn't perfect either, especially in season 4 when some episodes definitely felt like they were just trying to run out the clock but it's message is, to not focus on what happens when we die.

My personal view on the afterlife is to not think about it too much. We spend so much of our lives trying to mold our life and our choices to align with the views of our designated religion or belief so that we get to be rewarded in the next life, when what we need to do is focus on the here and now.

To live your life on earth, the way you want it BUT also remember not to hurt others and even to put out some good out there in the world. Sounds unfair? It is.

But no matter how evil the world is, it's up to us to make it a little bit better for others and hope, just HOPE, that others will do the same thing.

And you might be saying: "Well, that's not how the world works" and the sad thing is you're right (Wow, bummer much?).

People will be bad, they will be selfish and they will choose to feel pleasure rather than suffer so that others would be happy, some greater than others, but yes, everyone will do that.

...I genuinely don't know what to write next.

I can't tell you things will be better when you do good because all of human history is against me, we try to do good, we wage wars, people die, the one's in charge learn a lesson, impose that others should be good, everyone forgets and then the cycle repeats.

"But what about technology, no more slaves and Captain Marvel movies?"

No, there's still slavery, human trafficking, sexual harassment, global warming and bad marvel movies. There will always be evil.

But there will also be good.

The cycle repeats not because people are always bad people but because there are always good people. And what 'The Good Place' also teaches us is that YOU can always be one of the good ones, as long as you try.

So why don't you get your phone (that was made by a child in some Chinese sweatshop), subscribe to Netflix (a streaming service owned by a billionaire) and watch the Good Place (a pretty forking good show) now.

[mysticalsoot]

Everything you've said on this situation is something I 100% agree and stand with and honestly is such a breath of fresh air to see after spending so much time in the official Lovejoy discord.

People in there were at first being civil with their opinions despite the tense emotions, but it's quickly turning into a "Fuck Wilbur" train since many are straight up convinced he was the one Shelby was talking about, while those trying to stay neutral or are wishing Wilbur luck in changing for the better should it actually be him are being attacked. Mods have been trying to calm the attackers down but it hasn't worked too well from what I've seen. And it's only gotten worse since one of the Sr Sootmods came out and said how they're all leaving their mod positions since they're also convinced he's the abuser. What especially hurts is that one mod went into the chat and even said "Abusers will always be abusers" as if people can't genuinely change for the better.

Also, while we're all here speculating and all that, what happens if it's officially confirmed that it wasn't Wilbur and was instead one of the many other British musicians who had an ant infestation and mold problem (both of which are very common problems in the Uk from what I've heard)? This isn't something you can fix with an "Oops sorry for jumping ship without proper confirmation." It just feels like it's quickly gotten to a point where "Damned if something is said, damned if not."

Sorry for rambling/ranting, but that discord group really got me heated up. Keep your chin up, king. You deserve the crown on your head for sticking to your guns and dealing with the assholes coming to you.

Honestly the more messages I get agreeing with me, the more I'm shocked. When I first started questioning things, I felt if I even uttered them to my sister I'd be crucified. So many people agree and support me and it's insane. It outweighs the hate by millions. (i say that as if my chest wasn't so tight earlier today that I couldn't breathe!)

i checked the lvjy server and wil's server earlier today. lvjy I didn't read much on, and when I found that wil's was closed, I wasn't surprised. i was told by an anon ask that the mods know more, but if they did, I feel as though they all wouldn't have waited until the rest of the internet said it was wilbur.

people can change. hurt people who hurt people can change. abusers are a different level, and oftentimes are unwilling to change or are aware they can. sometimes they do! I've seen it, abusers can change but it's so so so very rare.

but jumping on the bandwagon based on rumor and speculation and then saying that shit is not cool.

something I've been trying to say is that those who've left and abandoned ship will most likely regret it when and if things come out in favor of wil (which my gut leans to yes, but we'll see), theyll have to deal with the consequences of being rash.

i understand not wanting to support a possible abuser, but Shelby didn't say a name. she didn't say one for a reason, whatever that reason is, I don't know. and I have my own feelings on that but I won't voice them yet.

don't apologize for rambling, I understand your frustrations and I see you. thank you for the kind words and the support, it means a lot and it's helping me keep going<3 I will continue to say my piece until I can no longer do so, for whatever reason.

anon asks are off, don't try sending hate to me or the asker

[dragongirlmesilune]

Stealing Fire

(I wrote this for my friend @ibrithir-was-here it's based on their Endless Heirs AU, plus the recent 'The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country' comics, which I feel would fit into their AU quite well, as it seems a certain golden eyed anthropomorphic personification is messing with their older brother YET AGAIN. Also, Daniel is about 18 in this.)

The last thing Madison Flynn remembered was her dead friend Kells snapping her neck on the orders of two murderous gimps, while said dead friend was being stabbed by a man with teeth for eyes who was apparently not only a serial killer, but also a dream, and now she was in some unending white void, probably dead, and her only remaining friend Robbie would probably be joining her momentarily.

She was pretty sure the situation could not get any weirder.

She was quickly proven wrong.

"Um... Excuse me? Madison Flynn?"

She whirled around at the sudden voice- and came face to face with a guy about her age.

Or, at least, it had the general shape of a guy about her age.

It- he, really, was white, unnaturally white. From his skin to his hair (which seemed to float about in defiance of gravity) to the robe he wore, everything about him was as white as a piece of paper. The only exceptions were the emerald that hung from a chain around his neck, and his eyes, which were black voids dotted with pinpricks of light.

Stars. Madison realized.

He has actual fuckin' STARS inside his fuckin' EYEBALLS.

The being seemed to notice her discomfort and took a step back, a slightly worried look on his face.

"You- you don't need to be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you..."

It took her a moment to find her voice. "Am... am I dead?"

"Unfortunately."

"Are you death?"

He snorts a bit at that. "No, I'm not Death, thats my auntie. I'm Daniel. Cori asked me to talk to you."

It took Madison a moment to realize who he was talking about. "The Corinthian?"

"Yeah. He kinda works for my Dad, and he asked him to save you. Except, Dad is a bit... intimidating, so he decided to let me do the talking instead."

"Who... Who exactly is your Dad? What exactly is he?" Madison had a feeling the answer was going to be something big.

Daniel smiled gently. "Dad has a lot of names. Lord Shaper, King of Stories, Kai'ckul, Onerios, The Sandman... the name he uses most often is Morpheus, but his true one is Dream of the Endless. As for what he is... well, I think of him as a very polite Lovecraftian eldrich horror- insanely powerful, but you can't perceive his true form because your mind would melt into goo."

"I... see." Madison said, even though she really didn't. "And what does that make you?"

"I'm... complicated." Daniel scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "You ever seen that movie Wolfwalkers, where the people's spirits become wolves while their bodies sleep? I'm kinda like that, except instead of a wolf, my spirit turns into... this." He gestured to himself.

Madison was silent for a moment, before she finally responded. "So which one of you is responsible for those bullshit dreams about my middle school bullies apologizing to me?!"

"Actually, neither of us is." Daniel said, his voice grave. "And that's a huge problem."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Whenever a being dreams, they come to a place called the Dreaming. But when Dad examined your body, he discovered you hadn't been there since you were little. Somehow, something has taken your ability to enter the Dreaming and has been feeding you false dreams in its place. And this 'Smiling Man', this waking nightmare you keep seeing who looks a little like Cori? Neither Dad nor I made him, and we've literally made every dream and nightmare there is. And it isn't just you either. There have been at least fourteen other people who've seen the Smiling Man- and most of them have died horribly in the past six weeks. Cori wants to hunt it- and whoever is behind it- down, but he wants your help doing it. I'm probably going to be coming along too, just so he doesn't start eating eyeballs again. And before you ask, no I won't be looking like this, like I said before, I'm a human when I'm awake."

"So, my options are to help a serial killer and a demigod solve the mystery of my death or just like... fuck off to heaven or something?"

"Pretty much."

Madison thought about it. From what Daniel had said, someone had been messing with her head for a long time, and whoever had done it was not only responsible for her death, but the deaths of multiple other people and judging by the way they had torched her dormroom and butchered Kells, they didn't care about collateral damage.

She had every right to rest in peace... but she couldn't.

Not when innocent people were dying and she could do something to stop it.

She stuck out her hand. "I'm in."

"Great!" Daniel said, grabbing the offered appendage. "Now hold still, I've never made a once-living person a new body before, and I don't wanna mess up."

"Wait- 'New body'?!"

Everything went white.

-------

The door to Limbo opened, and the Prince of Dreams stepped through, into the bloodstained living room where his Dad, Matthew, and the Corinthian stood waiting amongst several sleeping humans.

"So?" Dream asked.

"How did it go?"

Daniel smiled. "See for yourself."

There was the sound of wings, and a raven came to land on the floor. Unlike Matthew, however, this bird had plumage as white as Daniels robes. The raven glared at Daniel with black eyes for a moment before opening its beak to speak in Madisons voice. "You could've said I was gonna come back as a bird!"

He shrugged. "Well I couldn't exactly bring you back in your old form could I? Walking around with a dead person tends to draw unwanted attention, and this way you can go between the Waking and the Dreaming without my help. Plus, now Matthew doesn't need to run himself ragged trying to keep an eye on both me and Dad."

"Well I still would've preferred a warning! And who's Matthew?"

"That'd be me."

Madison let out a squawk of fright as she laid eyes on the tall, eerie figure of Dream, swathed in night colored robes with flame-licked edges and with an omen of death perched on his shoulder.

No wonder he let Daniel do the talking.

"Madison, meet my Dad, Dream of the Endless, and his raven Matthew."

"Hi."

"Greetings, Miss Madison." Dream nodded before looking at his son.

"She is white, Daniel."

"Hey, it was my first time! And I think I did a pretty good job, all things considered."

"I was not criticizing your work, merely stating a fact."

"Uh, my Lord?" The Corinthian said.

"I don't mean to alarm you, but Agony and Ecstasy are gone."

Sure enough, despite Dream having put them to sleep, both murderous gimps had vanished without a trace.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Daniel shook his head in disbelief.

"Interesting..." Dream mused. "It would take a considerable amount of power to recall them without my notice."

"Narrows down the suspect list, I'd imagine."

"Indeed. I suggest we return to the Dreaming for now, to formulate a plan of action."

"Sounds like a plan to me Dad."

"W-Wait! What about Robbie?"

Dream shook his head. "I can do no more for him, unfortunately."

"If its any consolation, he'll probably think this was all a dream." Daniel said.

"Hes holding my dead body!"

"... mostly a dream."

"Enough. It is time we leave. I trust you will be right behind me, Daniel?"

"Of course Dad."

"Good." Dream pulled a worn leather pouch from within his robes and opening it. "Corinthian, Matthew, with me."

"Of course, my lord."

"Sure boss."

Sand began to swirl about the three like a tornado, engulfing them completely until it stilled, revealing an empty space where they had been moments before.

Madison just stared. "... wow. That was... something."

"You get used to it." Daniel said, tilting his head away from his left shoulder.

Madison let out a caw and flapped her wings, steering herself towards Daniels open shoulder. "It's funny."

"What?" The young demi-Endless asked as she settled herself.

"I just remembered an old story I heard about a white raven." She said as he pulled out his own pouch.

"Apparently Raven was originally white and had a beautiful voice, but when the gods took fire away from mankind, he flew up to the sun with a twig in his beak to bring it back. His feathers were charred black and his throat was half cooked, but he returned to earth a hero."

"Well then," Daniel smirked as the sand began to swirl around them.

"Let's go steal fire from the gods."

[melestasflight]

🐉and 🪄 plus the bonus card for the Silm, if you'd like!

Thanks for the ask!

🐉 A lot of figures in the Silm have weird Eldritch powers or possibly biology. Tell us about your headcanons for one.

I have so many hc-s on this, but my absolute favorite (and most commonly used in writing) is the Songs of Power. They are thrown all over the place in the Silm and seemingly have no rule to how they are used, but I strongly believe that Song is at the core of elvenness. Being so attuned to Arda and starlight, Elves can feel the song of creation much more than mortals, and those who've been tutored under the Valar have learned to use it to their advantage with incredible mastery.

It's what makes the High Elves special in that sense, they are able to use Songs of Power for individual healing (Fingon upon Thangorodrim), collective healing (Maglor and his Noldolante), to inspire others in battle (Fingon's cry at the Nirnaeth), do actual fighting (Finrod with Sauron), etc. Something that the Noldorin descendants inherit and some of that power lingers even if not so dramatically expressed even far down Elros and Elrond's line.

🪄 You can change how one (1) Big Event goes down in the Silm - either in favor of something in HoME or something you made up. What happens instead? Tell us the cool stuff!

Fingolfin lives! He actually wins the 1:1 against Morgoth and plucks the Silmarils from his crown. Fingolfin would remain High King and terrible events like the Nirnaeth, the ruin of Doriath, and the two kinslayings wouldn't happen.

But, I anticipate all sorts of other political challenges. In this scenario, Sauron's rise would happen much earlier, probably around the end of the first age, and the question of who owns the Silmarils would inevitably cause strife among the Noldor. The Fëanorians claim them as their birthright, and Fingolfin has them as his sole victory over Morgoth. Does he hand them over? Where does Fingon stand in this debate? And what kind of task does Thingol assign to Beren when he asks the hand of Luthien?

I don't have a single answer, but the possibilities are totally ticklish!

I think this also takes care of the bonus question haha, is it cheating? Give the card to daddy Nolofinwion!

Ask game prompts

[theothershin]

More Fic Writer Asks

(Using it for original works and fanfics, since OP said that's okay)

the last sentence you wrote "Raising his hands in surrender, Gunther said, 'Take me to Arthur.' " - Heroically Foul

a character whose POV you’re currently exploring "And so he was loved because he was good at operating the kingdom, but only we know his black heart and dark ambitions." - Preservation of Those Three: Tybalt Arthur Verrell

how you feel about your current WIP Confidant. I feel like I'll get this done in a year or two, and well. There'll need to be rewrites and edits, but not much. Excited to put my thoughts down and share it with the world.

a story idea you haven’t written yet What if Romeo left Juliet, and she decided to marry Paris, and discovered he isn't all that bad after all?

first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP "But how to get to him?" - A Dream, a Heroically Foul side story

the word that appears the most in your current draft (wordcounter.net can tell you) More, been, and one. Not very interesting, but then again, I just barely began.

your preferred writing fonts Lobster for titles; Bad Script for chapter titles; Architect's Daughter for narration.

if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for… Help, video game fandom Aragami 2. it's a very in-depth and detailed version of one of the quests in the game where you play the main character, Kuro, or Warrior, going mad with anger and the desire for revenge - but you have lots of freedom. I took away that feeling of freedom, to show that he was doing what he was doing automatically, out of obligation, rather than because he really wanted to. I would write a sequel and even prequel cuz the game has great moments that would be great if narrated.

start to finish, how long did it take you to write the last fic you posted? A little under a week, I believe.

what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it? Years. Let's leave it at that, yeah?

a WIP you’d like to finish someday Previously called My Lord, now renamed A World of Shadows, and more names pending, the fic is for the fandom, The Saga of Darren Shan/Cirque Du Freak, by tween Master of Horror Darren Shan. In the original book, two sides are fighting a war, and the fate of both sides lie with the main character, Darren Shan(has the same name as the author), and his friend, Steve "Leopard" Leonard. Darren, warned that his victory would eventually cause him to stray from righteousness in arrogance, sacrifices himself to kill Steve. In my fic, he kills only Steve - not himself. It explores Steve's mentor, Gannen Harst, as he tries to deal with his friend's death, his allegiance, losing the war, and his own brother - all while Darren slowly begins to lose himself to the dark side.

a trope you’re really into right now Medieval power struggle. Yes, I know. I told my sister just the day before writing this, "They're annoying in real life, but..." and then realised that isn't true. Sure, they can be annoying, but they interest me. Look into the morality/psychology, especially when there's sour kings who've gotten the wrong hand and are right but also wrong.

a fandom you’re thinking about writing for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The lore is vast and endless, and in a story where the main character's personality doesn't already exist yet they aren't just a blank-looking person and there's space to build a unique personality for them and act on it, there's lots of space for a fanfic.

where do you get your inspiration? Everything - literally.

favorite weather for writing Spring weather - it's ample time to sit down and write, but the weather itself is lovely. The birds are chirping in the sky, and sometimes they swoop down for a few seconds to grace you with the sight of their feathers; the ocean waves(I especially would love to write by the waves) crash against the rocks and sometimes splash on your face - but that's okay, because it feels good, and the bright, warm sun dries your book - and the sounds of nature helps you think.

favorite place to write I'm generally not allowed to sit and write when we're out and about, so on my desk. There's the most privacy, and I've written there so much that there's a vibe.

talk about your writing and editing process It changes over time and depending on which story it is and what type of story it is. I write fanfics between my originals - in school, between chapters, during writer's block for a specific story - and for originals, I write them every chance I can. I write down ideas for them whenever I can and have the notes stored away. When the time comes, I take out the notes and pour over them, changing them according to what I believe should be different and so on... I write down most of the events(then gradually all of them) and write them out of order(choosing from writing prompts), then put them together and read them in order. Then I edit them in order.

if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic I don't keep them, though it would be cool to be able to look back at it. I sort of keep originals, but I haven't published any yet.

the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic Prison. In my fanfic, Timeline, the main character goes to jail and rots away there until the end of his life.

in what year did you publish your first fic? 2021

when did you publish your most recent fic? 6 Jan 2024

do you ever worry about public reaction to what you’re writing? how do you get past that? Sometimes I worry, sometimes I don't. I write for myself. I got upset by some hateful comments once upon a time, and told my sister about it after following the criticism that they were saying, and she told me that they were wrong, and that they were only being hateful. I realise that since then, if the comment isn't nice, I block the comment and decide whether I'll adhere to it or not. I'm not a popular writer so I barely get comments and/or kudos, but when I do, it strengthens my resolve to be a great writer, but I don't let it affect me beyond that.

pick three keywords that describe your writing Messy but Organised

how do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative? Organise notes. Read stuff. Play games. Do anything but be creative.

besides writing, what are your other hobbies? Reading novels and non-fiction. Playing games.

are you able to write with other people around? No. I don't know why. but the words fly away from me.

your favorite part of the writing process When everything's clicking together and my creative drive is never-ending and I get into flow.

your least favorite part of the writing process When the creativity dries up.

how easy is it for you to come up with titles? Not easy at all. I do it as I go along, but usually I get the right one when I'm done writing it.

share a fic you’re especially proud of Talk, for the novel series The Demonata by Darren Shan. It was inspired by Zukos_Honour and it's simple, to the point and savours the slowburn-one shot feels.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I guess that because of your last ask questions about sex in media are fair game? But don’t answer (obviously) if you don’t want to. What are your favourite sex scenes in shows of movies? Or shows/ movies that depict sexuality in a way you like?

Yeah, totally fair game, I love these kinds of questions.

Soooooo as far as my favorite scenes off the top of my head...

Obviously, I enjoy pretty much all of the scenes in the 365 franchise, though the boat scene remains king. For me, I just enjoy how far those movies are willing to go, the way they kind of just revel in sex and female pleasure and this man being totally on display. Also, there is a ton of focus on oral sex in those movies, and idk. There's just something nice about seeing sex onscreen that isn't JUST like "and he sticks his dick in and she gets off".

Sense8 had great sex scenes, imo. The first psychic orgy was particularly great. I also enjoyed the s2 scene that went between Kala and Wolfgang and Capheus and Zakia. Super sensual, loved the use of water, the connections between the couple seemed really good. Sense8 did a great job (imo) of portraying sex that was hot but not necessarily the type of sex we're used to seeing onscreen, right? It is a little dirtier, a lot more queer, less... white. I also loved the final orgy scene that depicted all of the couples and triads, especially because SUN AND MUN GOT IT IN FINALLY. I loved Nomi and Amanita's sex scenes too, not just because I loved the ship, but because they played really sweetly as this couple that had been together a long time but weren't tired of each other, whereas much of the sex we see onscreen is like... between people who've only just connected.

Of course, Outlander's wedding night scene is kind of legendary. My favorite sex scenes on that show, though, are probably the infamous "I mean to make you call me master" scene a couple of episodes later (so fucking over the top, the blade at his throat while she rode him, FAB) and the parting sex scene in the s2 finale? Like, yes, it was fully clothed, short, I don't even think she got off, but that's not what it was about. It shows you that sex scenes can also convey like... more that just desire, but sorrow and love and emotionality. This is why I hate people claiming that sex scenes are solely gratuitous or unnecessary. This felt REAL. She was leaving him forever, this would be their last opportunity to be skin to skin, he thought he was dying... It was supposed to be the last time. This wasn't fucking for the sake of fucking, it was connection between two people who loved each other dearly.

The Americans had some GREAT sex scenes with AMAZING musical cues. And it was a show that understood the complexity of sex and the way it could convey sexuality and desire but also be completely divorced of it. The two leads are Soviet sleeper agents posing as an American married couple--and the first season does largely focus on their relationship becoming "real" for the first time in over a decade of partnership. But it's not just about their sex with each other, but the way the two of them (imo, especially the man, Philip) do not.... have the same perspective on sex as most of us would. Yes, Elizabeth as the woman is also a honeypot agent at times, but Philip is very literally a Romeo agent; he can fuck anyone, make it seem super convincing (which physiologically and socially, let's be real, is harder for cis men much of the time) and convey emotion. He literally has another woman as his "fake" wife who has no idea who he really is, and she 100000% believes that he is this animalistic fuck machine who wants her and only her... But when his "real" wife asks him to be that for her, he refuses until she puts a lot of pressure on, and it's a super traumatic experience as they are essentially both sexually traumatized. She's been very directly raped in the past, and he's (willingly technically, but with no true knowledge at the time that he agreed that it would be like this) been trained to be this Romeo agent by having sex with so many people, including those he has no attraction to.

Aside from that, I would also say that between Philip and Elizabeth, who do have a genuine romantic relationship... The sex is hot. Like, sometimes it deliberately isn't, but when they do connect you see... The difference. I think the two scenes that stand out for me are the infamous "Under Pressure" sex scene where Keri Russell looked like her soul left her body at one point (added context being that she was pregnant, hiding her pregnancy in the sex scene, and having simulated sex scene with her offscreen partner/baby's father lmao) and the scene in the pilot where Elizabeth and Philip had spontaneous sex in their car after dumping a body together. While "In The Air Tonight" plays. This show spared no expense in terms of music.

On a very scaled down level, I actually would call out Reign for having really good sex considering the fact that it was airing on the CW? I mean, yes, it could be a bit goofy--the King of France does fuck someone out a window (they did it first!). But it could also be kind of sexy and a great way for the characters to connect? Also, a lot of focus was had on female pleasure and the female gaze for a teen show on the CW--I still remember a scene where Mary (context: married to the dauphin of France, supposed to pump out babies) basically apologetically tells her husband that she's not in her fertile window and there's no point in having sex. And he's like lmao that's not what this is about. And then he drops to his knees and eats her out while she's standing up in a public setting. On the CW! Love it!

The Great does sex really well, I made a whole post about it lol. But basically, aside from there being a fabulous degree of emphasis on the importance of cunnilingus... The show really does a great way of tracking the relationship between its protagonists in terms of how they sexually interact with each other. First, as a means of him controlling her and attempting to get her pregnant, with neither one of them wanting to interact with each other. Then, as a means for her to control him and for him to like... prove that he has value as a husband lol. And finally, as a mutual coming together (and COMING TOGETHER) where they're able to connect both physically and emotionally at the same time.

Through My Window was actually a really fun teen movie that did a great job with the sex, imo. I have called it like... 365 DNI meets The Kissing Booth, but it's sooooo much better than The Kissing Booth in every way. There's such a joyful sex montage in that one that kind of just conveys how into each other these two kids are, and like--the realities that teenagers, do, in fact, get it in. Sorry guys! They do! Also, one of the only examples of a guy getting his ass eaten by his girlfriend I've seen onscreen. ARES AIN'T ABOVE IT. But nah, I think what I loved about this movie is that they fucked a lot but they also seemed super just emotionally sweet with each other. In the end the boyfriend leaves for college and he's crying on the plane when he realizes his girlfriend put her panties in his pocket while they were saying goodbye. It's like... You can be kinda dirty but also be sweet, y'all.

I'm gonna call out Lust/Caution because the sex in this is... so hot, yet so fraught. Tony Leung and Tang Wei really, really got vulnerable for this shit. But it's not a romantic movie. It's an erotic thriller, but it is deep and it is difficult to watch, and there is sexual assault. The heroine is basically an undercover agent attempting to get information on the guy she's fucking, as he's working with Japanese forces in occupied China during World War II. He rapes her before they ever have consensual sex. However, the movie charts how their sexual intimacy gradually gives way to emotional intimacy, and Tang Wei's performance as she... self-loathingly begins to have feelings for this man, which are wrapped up in the sexual pleasure she gets during their encounters and the inevitably vulnerable things she learns about him... It's just so deep, and you couldn't possibly accomplish this without the explicit sex scenes, imo. Sex is not always important to plot, but damn, it is SO IMPORTANT to plot in this movie. Also, the scene where she covers his face with a pillow during sex so that he doesn't catch on to what's happening, preying on his fear of the dark while also triggering like this total ecstasy (maybe adjacent to subspace?) is... incredible. The acting in that movie is amaaaazing all around.

Y Tu Mama Tambien, for obvious reasons. Like, the homoeroticism in that movie. The moral ambiguity and discomfort triggered in that movie. Again, I say that you could not have gotten what you needed to get out of it without the sexual explicitness. The buildup in these two guys going from masturbating together to that kiss. And of course, the development of Luisa as you realize more and more that she is facing her mortality through sex? Amazing. The chemistry between Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna in this is great.

Another Gael Garcia Bernal movie--The Crime of Father Amaro? Another movie that does involve sexual assault, but like... The depth of the way it deals with Father Amaro's crisis of faith? The scene where he dresses her like the Virgin Mary before fucking her? Lol dude.

I mean, speaking of, a show that does a great job with dealing with the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church and its attitudes towards sexuality (despite the inherent... sensuality and lustfulness ... of Catholic practices) is of course The Young Pope. Lenny, the titular Young Pope, actually never has sex on the show, but his latent sexuality--the famous fantasy sequence of him on the beach in a white speedo with all the bikini clad women wearing crosses, one of which is dresses to look like the Virgin being JUST ONE OF MANY WILD MOMENTS--is such an important part of the show. His desire for love and sex, his fear of it connected back to his abandonment by his parents and particularly his mother... Which can be, of course, connected to the feelings of abandonment religion seeks to quell in general among worshippers. Though I also have to say, this show does feature a threesome between a bisexual cardinal, a random hot guy, and a hot mobster's wife, and it is.... incredible.

Cruel Intentions, of course, because as incredibly over the top and ridiculous as it is, I can't help but love the way it divides between sex used for callous purposes (pretty much everything Sebastian does up to his sex scene with Annette) and sex used to express love. It's not a super shocking take, but I love it every time. Also, the way the movie just... delights in shocking the audience. Is the SMG/Selma Blair makeout over the top and purely meant to bait a het male audience? Yes. Did it do more than that? In my opinion, yes. Definitely... did not only bait het males, even if that was the intention.

The Dreamers is a WILD fucking movie, and I think it definitely broke some boundaries in terms of how sex was depicted. Of course, the really interesting aspect of the movie is that its use of sex is so... ambiguous. It focuses on twins, Theo and Isabelle, and this random American Matthew, who they bring into their web. Theo and Isabelle are incredibly... close, and he kind of assumes they've fucked? Understandably, they kiss on the lips and do weird tickle fights and she does in fact make Theo masturbate in front of her, and he does have a random picture of her in a bikini in his dresser drawer, which Matthew subsequently steals and hides in his boxers. But it later turns out that Isabelle is a virgin (at least... in terms of p in v sex, I'm not convinced about everything else). And you basically spend much of the movie wondering if she and Matthew are actually romantically a thing, or if she's basically using him as this proxy for her relationship with her brother, who also a (resentful) homoerotic tension with Matthew that really should've been taken all the way, but we'll have to settle for the three of them lounging naked in the tub together and Theo hitting on Matthew... a lot. Resentfully. Because he's jealous of Matthew for fucking his twin sister. Mess! This movie is super ambiguous and there are a million ways to interpret it, but I don't think it would be the same movie without its incorporation of pretty graphic sexuality.

Controversial, but I do also like the sex scenes in The Handmaiden. I get the complaints, I do, and the male gaze is evident in this movie. But I think what I enjoyed a lot was the way that they were kind of... absurd? Like, super explicit, hot, connected the heroines, but they were ABSURD. In a similar manner, Park Chan-wook also did Stoker, which I love due the bold "will they/won't they" between an uncle and niece. Rather than a traditional sex scene, I'll highlight the piano scene, in which she... has an orgasm? Maybe? While playing the piano with her uncle? It's powerful, lol. The movie focuses a lot on coming of age through the lens of her burgeoning sexuality, while also aligning that with the idea of coming of age... as a murderer. It's a lot.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll think of more, but these are a few!

[gondorosi]

In honour of the Jon and Dany who were, are and will continue to be.

For someone who's been vocal about ignoring 804-806, I sure have failed at also ignoring the people who post about those three D- English Comp assignments. I've been unnecessarily adding to my stress levels by getting agitated over posts by people who are either lashing out in grief, or never cared about one or the other of them in the first place. 🤷

My Jon isn't the showrunner's Jon. He isn't a cowed, meek and hesitant man who wants to run away from responsibility and duty. My Jon is a leader first and foremost. My Jon's integrity and courage is unquestionable. My Jon carries the scar of bastardy so deep that it colours his every thought, action and value. My Jon would have been ANGRY after the reveal - at Ned, at Rhaegar, at Lyanna - at the world. My Jon would have gone to Dany with this discovery which has shaken his very core and ASKED her to help him deal with the emotional mess. He would have raged at her if her first reaction would have been 'But MY THRONE!' My Jon wouldn't walk away after Dany's ominous words - he would know what it means when she says all that's left is fear. My Jon isn't a blank canvas without any of his own thoughts - ripe for manipulation by Sansa, Tyrion and Arya.

My Dany isn't the showrunner's Dany. She wouldn't let the North's hostility get to her so much because she would know that no matter where she goes, she will have to prove herself. Westeros doesn't know her, and in a deeply rooted feudal society, you are who your family was. My Dany has enough faith and belief in herself to ignore the hostility - she's here to rule, love of the people can come later. My Dany would be ashamed of her immediate reaction to Jon's parentage, even though it's likely that the reaction itself wouldn't change. My Dany would try to find common ground with Sansa but once it's obvious there's nothing to be gained - she would be on alert. And my Dany would never so blatantly ask Jon to choose between her and his family. And my Dany would never annihilate a city of millions and be fucking unmoved by it.

My Jon is also not the Jon painted by angry Dany stans who've only seen him as a prize at the end of Dany's struggles. My Jon isn't a gaslighting abusive boyfriend who takes advantage of his innocent girlfriend's absolute trust in him to kill her. My Jon isn't someone who is afraid of women in power. My Jon isn't someone who 'got a happy ending at Dany's expense'. In fact this isn't any Jon - but a strawman created by angry fans desperate to blame someone in universe.

And lastly, my Dany isn't the Dany of the vicious Dark Dany fantasies. My Dany wouldn't EVER think an entire continent should be punished because Sansa, Tyrion and Varys plotted to remove her from the throne and place a puppet Jon. My Dany would never be sadistic and bloodthirsty enough to want to raze the North for not immediately loving her or for the rest of Westeros to not know the depths of her sacrifice. My Dany would HATE herself if she were to come back to life and be confronted with what she's done. Because in spite of how so many on this site think that the deaths of unnamed, unseen innocents is unmoving and unimportant - Mhysa never would share their opinion. If the Daenerys they paint actually reigned on Westeros, it would be the Dany I know who would be coming to end her.

My king and my queen, as they shall be remembered.

[theangrypokemaniac]

Sinnoh has massive flaws as an era, although it's starting to feel like the good old days compared to the present piss-poor offerings.

The major drawback is the amount of 'recurring characters', ones not good enough to be in it fully, but inflicted upon us nevertheless.

I did care about Ash. I did care about Team Rocket.

I was prepared to care about The Misty Replacement, as in the girl shipped with Ash.

I was prepared to care about The Brock Replacement, that is the older brother figure who does all the cooking, carries the medicine, and knows about Pokémon.

I don't give a toss about extras who outstay their welcome.

Hoenn only had Drew and Harley. What was wrong with that?

There are just too bloody many.

Why does Dawn require so many opponents, as if she's of the greatest importance? Why won't Jessie suffice?

I accept the necessity of Paul as The Rival, and we were at least permitted to resent him initially, before the writers fanboy'd like there was no tomorrow.

I admit I liked two of them. They therefore featured the least.

Typical.

Nando

The Blondel of Iberia

A softly-spoken, raven-locked troubadour, roaming the many pathways of life, playing his songs for those weary travellers he encounters on the road.

He's wearing a cloak! The finest use of material to ever be invented!

All this ethereal grace considering the dub lumbered him with the most appallingly unsuitable name possible.

It could've been Raphael, or Dante, or Leonardo.

Oh no, let's name him after a restaurant chain. That adds gravitas.

His lyre pays tribute to Mew, because Nando knows she's The Rarest Of All Pokémon, thus refuses to be impressed by any deformed horse like Arceus throwing its weight around.

Damn straight.

Ursula

A pretty girl with lovely clothes and the spark of a proper personality.

You're not wanted round these parts, love.

I have no particular animosity towards Dawn, but it irritates me how the world revolves around her whims, where if she's lost in the woods, it's a major disaster, and if an attack heads in her direction, she must be protected in case she shatters.

It makes a refreshing change to find someone firmly inoculated against the lures of the temptress.

Also, alongside Ursula from Dinosaur King (the real Jessie), I'm glad of any attempt to reclaim that name, considering most of my generation, upon hearing it, think only about evil old octopus women.

As for the rest?

It's that bad I prefer the Unova bunch to these.

Reggie

Reggie is even more of a knob than Paul. As above, being Ash's enemy meant that, if only by narrative, he was intended to be somewhat disliked.

Not Reginald. No, he's the kind one.

Oh really?

When Ash and Paul have their showdown, Reg starts wittering that it's just as well Chimchar took up with Ash, since he wasn't suited to Paul's 'battle style'.

Battle style.

Is the what he calls mental and physical cruelty?

In Reg's amoral cesspit of a mind, there is no right and wrong, so do whatever you feel.

Reggie is quite aware of how his brother tortures Pokémon, and not only is he unconcerned, he excuses it with euphemism, hoping the audience will obligingly forget too.

What's more, he implies it's Chimchar's fault for not pulling his weight, and Paul abandoning him was the compassionate thing to do.

Cynthia

Suffering severe Bridge Nose Syndrome.

She may be Champion, but I don't remember Lance turning up all the time where he wasn't wanted.

She doesn't even use her influence properly. Rather than give it straight to Paul, order him to shape up and stop spanking the monkey, she fannies about with her cod mysticism, emptily preaching about how Ash and Paul are spiritually linked, with magical, beeyewteefull events taking form just because they met.

That's right, don't bother about Paul clearly being a psychopath, for 'tis ART!

It's the same as trying to convince me that Ash, Dawn and Brock were the Divine Trio because they all saw Something Nasty In The Lake District, as if they have an intrinsic bond foretold in ancient prophecy.

The writers pull this knowing two thirds of the Holy Trinity, plus Paul the Fallen Angel, will be leaving, at which point we'll be expected to stop being overawed at the great majesty they all apparently possess and transfer allegiance to their usurpers.

What's the point?

Angie

Yet another smackhead from that lunatic stare.

What shining genius decided giving all the characters contracted pupils was a good idea?

She looks like one of those kids whose parents dealt with nits the traditional way:

Shaving the entire head and painting it purple.

A barnet resembling privet hacked at by a paralytic gardener before he conked out.

I've seen her arc three or four times, and I still remember nothing about her, except for the amazing skill she possesses to make Ash sneeze on command from a distance.

Conway

One word: nonce.

A clichéd weirdo fitting into Pokémon's Four-Eyed Freaks fixation, where anyone with a slight visual impairment is a weedy, know-it-all bastard or on a register.

Oh yes, and this lad comes with hidden delights, because his glasses gleam like a giant cockroach, just in case he wasn't creepy enough.

Zoey

The human black hole. Has the incredible ability to suck all the joy out of a room just by appearing. A personage of absolute lead.

Too nice and over familiar, lacking a single detectable personality trait.

Bland, empty, and with the charisma of vomit-sodden cardboard.

Sinnoh is a prolonged saga as it is, padded with nonentities like her and Kenny.

Alright, episodes must be devoted to Dawn's Contest career, however tiresome it is, but why exactly do we need any about Zoey and Kenny? Why should we care?

Every time I sat through a competition Dawn lost, I resented that she was no further along on her quest, equating to another episode eaten away by this shallow, blackened hymn to superficiality.

Compare this indulgent treatment to the sneering disrespect shown to Jessie, an actual main character, who not only had to win her Ribbons practically off screen, but the writers delighted in hammering home how worthless she was in only scraping into the Grand Festival because Princess Salvia took pity on the deluded wretch.

They favour their own inventions over the original cast, then dump 'em as soon as the next generation arrives, so how could they ever matter if even the creators eagerly cast them aside?

After all the effort on my part to put up with the entire witless farce, Zoey beats Dawn in the finals!

Why?!

I understood the unspoken law of Ash not being allowed to win a League until the very last series, for fear whatever came after would be anticlimactic, but why should this deadening failure apply to May and Dawn?

By the culmination of the Contest rigmarole, it's obvious they'll be making their exit for the next region's Girl, so why couldn't either bid farewell to the fans with a victory?

Why must they be incompetent too?

Even if achieving their dream dampened any hunger to carry on, they're departing anyway, so what difference does it make?

At least Ash will continue, but for May and Dawn, it's the end.

How could any fan be satisfied with a smarmy vacuum of a creature like Zoey succeeding instead?

Barry

Eyes of molten evil.

The second-worst character ever created (Iris is top of the ranks), Barry is a smug, arrogant, screeching dweeb jabbering his oh-so endearing catchphrase about fining anyone who slightly irks him, so sure is he that his feelings should come above everyone else's

He truly believes he has a God-given entitlement to demand lesser lifeforms should arrange themselves to suit his pleasure, that they are morally compelled to shield him from  meagre inconvenience.

Twat.

Knocking the little geck out of the League was the most noble thing Paul ever did. It practically redeems him.

This is what I cannot comprehend:

Ursula is openly conceited, rude to Dawn, and brags about her own excellence even after losing.

We're asked to dislike her.

Barry slags Ash off constantly, is convinced of his own divinity, and jeers at Team Rocket.

We're supposed to see him as a 'good guy' and welcome his arrival.

Why? Are Ash and Team Rocket fair game, but offending Saint Dawn's intolerable?

Again, it astounds me how temporary, region-specific stars seem to count for more than those who've been here since the beginning.

Whilst they're here, that is. Once gone, you wouldn't know they'd existed.

Kenny

He wears a matador outfit to compete.

It's a crying shame Tauros was never given the opportunity to gore him.

As usual, it's Piplup I blame.

Each generation likes to flaunt the starter Pokémon, presumably in the hope of flogging more games, that's why Ash usually catches all three, or they're spread out amongst his friends.

It's about time Team Rocket had one.

Can't do that, they only appear five times per series now.

Piplup is a whiny attention whore who refuses to evolve. In consequence, he can't advertise the next stages in the evolution chain, so we have to keep seeing Barry and Kenny instead, that's why Empoleon and Prinplup are always walking about.

This equates to three characters having the same Pokémon, albeit in different incarnations.

There's variety.

However, Kenny's true purpose is much more grim than that.

Fans will ship Ash with The Girl, a useless endeavour when it's destined to come to nothing when she's kicked out.

In Hoenn and Sinnoh, an effort was made to wean shippers off in preparation for the upcoming split, so alternative suitors were introduced, with the girls effectively pushed on to them.

May got Drew.

I don't mind that. He had some refinements.

Dawn got Kenny.

...

What, you want me to cheer for such a revolting couple?

Have I not suffered enough?

What unpardonable crime did Dawn do to deserve such a horrible fate?

She's not a bad-looking girl. She can do better than an ugly, portly, shrunken, pie-faced cretin! 

You do this to me when Nando exists?

Sod the age gap, that never concerned anyone here.

This being the Kenny who spends four years belittling Dawn by constantly reminding her of a humiliating childhood experience, even giving her a nickname too!

Dawn is visibly distressed when he does this, but he's a fine candidate for romance?

She has to settle for a sweaty, lecherous herbert like him, who doesn't even try to atone for his unfortunate mug by being kind?

I suspect the whole Sinnoh adventure was really him wearing down her self-esteem until she believed he was the best available, wanting her to be grateful for his slobbery attentions.

It won't stop there either. He'll trap her for the rest of her life by isolating her from friends, followed by accusations of how undeserving she is of his 'love'.

Such is Dawn's lot: absent father, pushy mother, whinging penguin and abusive boyfriend.

Kenny's already a perv:

He's not looking at her face.

She knows he's not.

Ash and Pikachu have noticed an interesting feature further down.

Aipom likes it too.

[dog-day-morning]

THIS AIN'T LEGAL

Have you ever heard of absolute immunity? Federal officers who violate the Civil Rights of American citizens in an attempt to do harm with recorded video evidence of the violation in action or officers who willingly falsify a police report of a violent attack in order to frame the victim while the antagonist sits before a judge and jury perjuring herself with alligator tears before an all white jury with her blonde locks, and blue eyes, damn devil, and goes free while an innocent child spends 17 months behind bars. To say that Amerikkka is unjust is an understatement. Too many times Black people are dragged into a court that's already biased, having to face a judge, and jury who may have a vested financial interest in the private prison industry, but let's be real. The school to prison pipeline is not a myth, it's a bloody bruise on the face of Lady Liberty. Liberty, and justice for all never applied to the indigenous people of Amerikkka or any of the ADOS, and FBA citizens whose roots are entrenched in the Earth bleeding from a wound the wicked do not want to heal. The above mentioned scenarios actually happened to one of your own Amerikkka, and a child from the Middle East. It's funny that Amerikkkans appear to want peace seemingly always, but you're forever raising hell outside of your jurisdiction? Joe Biden is deporting Haitian refugees out of the country ASAP, while transporting inland, and giving amnesty to Afghan refugees, and South Americans even so far as to offer them free secondary education, and housing. The culture of Amerikkka is against a Black man ever rising up to experience the American Dream in a Taliban like Aristocracy or Totalitarian society that started centuries before Biden became president. He's not the answer to our problems nor is he the root of the issue. Amerikkka is a canker sore, and a blight that impedes the progression of a once dominant, but humble people. No one needs to preach of racial superiority and use terror tactics in order to justify a calloused approach to validate this viral disease that affects everyone with a modicum of common sense, decency, and compassion. Amerikkka was a Nation before Amerigo Vespucci set foot on these shores. Alkebulan was inhabited by some of the most brilliant minds, and still is before Scipio Africanus named the dark continent after himself, an albino. Ohhh the irony, and moral hypocrisy. Timbuktu, and the city of Alexandria were well established kingdoms in Alkebulan where Greek, and Roman scholars went to gather much needed knowledge because they were dumb as hell. Egypt is a mystery that none can determine for now. When the prophecy is fulfilled by the Father whom the Prophet Joel spoke thereof He would pour His Spirit down upon all flesh, the truth will set you and I free. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. What's impeding us from this prophetic word? Keep your thoughts to yourself. That's a luxury I haven't had since the age of stupid. Not wanting to call you out on the sins of your fathers, but you are just like him. I hope, and pray the Father fulfills His will in time before our hearts wax cold, too late. Amerikkka’s public enemy will not be our Black sons or daughters that are trying to follow the rules of man whose lawlessness has revealed itself to be an entire race of people. You create the laws, and break them leaving everyone with a bad taste in their mouth except those who profit from our pain. Chris Rock said this years ago. “The white man is the only one who profits from everyone's pain, especially a Black man’s.” you see how they treat us, and you have no inclination of what your future will hold for your people in the aftermath of the Zombie Apocalypse. I hate this form of pop culture rhetoric. There will be souls inhabiting these bodies that were once dead, and decomposing. God will deliver the dead from the sea, and He will deliver the dead from death, and hell.

Isaiah 26:17-21

17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.

18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain..

When our Lord Christ Jesus does this work how do you think those who've hated, and betrayed us for a season of sin will react in the oncoming horror set before mankind? God has placed us on the Earth for a purpose, not to suffer. I can't put the blame on Joe Biden or those who came before him for what this nation or planet has done, and is doing to us; psych!!! The God of our fathers will judge you according to your works which has wrought death and destruction. The wrath, and judgment Joe Biden, trump, and their people will incur, and experience is worse than any Stephen King novel or Jordan Peele, and M. Night Shyamalan movies can induce in your alleged, fragile psyche. I've told Jacob, and warned the gentiles of God's incoming judgment, but no ones willing to heed the words of an idiot savant. I'm guilty of many things by way of my woeful condition. I'm compelled to elaborate these truths to you as they become relevant at a particular hour. Watch out for your young children who may be a pain, but they're innocent, and they're yours. The world sees us as prey, a potential payoff for an organ harvest, and fodder for the wickedly unjust. This woman that they have been searching for these last 5 or so days in a National Park has this Nation all a buzz. Who is she? Do you know how many women of Jacob go missing everyday without any press from the media? We can blame them, but are they at fault? Hell yeah!!! Continue to read. Our people have been limited by those who control the information, the social media platforms, infighting within our own tried Black media organizations that have blessed us over the years who are left open to attack by oppressive censorship that purposely restricts what they can, and cannot reveal to the Black masses. I was amazed to find out in 2017 that Coretta Scott King, and her family successfully sued the US government over the assassination of MLK Jr.; that was in 1999. The Atlanta Black Star might have covered the litigation process, but I didn't hear a peep from anyone I knew or even hear about it on any news media platform, especially from the major media news networks. That's how they've Silenced the Lamb with threats, and bullying tactics. We've come too far to go back to Egypt. The only time I wanna hear mention of going to Egypt is if my Church takes a sabbatical to the Motherland, and my Apostle takes the trip with us to seek the truths that have been denied us. Reference Joel 2:28. Those who stay committed to this ministry will see beyond the veil. If you placed all of your faith in me or Apostle Johnson you have overlooked the reasons God led you to this Church, Elders, Evangelists, Prophetesses, Deacons, Ministers, and the entire Church family. He nor I can do anything without the will of the Father, and I’m stuck on dufus. Get yo tail back to Church ASAP!!! We place our faith in men who have let us down many times. Apostle has done much for me, but Jesus has done everything. God will do a good work in all of us. I want every man, woman, and child in this ministry to reap what they have sown; don't leave. When the sky turns black, and the heavens roll back, peeling back the clouds, that's when you will see or hear the Son of God coming for His faithful. Apostle has taught us of the temporal mental mindset many times. Evidently it’s true as many of us have forgotten his teachings. My mind went off on a tangent, excuse me, where was I ? BET is owned by Jews, who used to own us. They run the entertainment industry that Buck breaks our men, and you wouldn't believe what they do to black women, and children who are all looking for a way to display their talents in order to get wealth, and their name up in lights. Leroy has the talent, all Mr. Epstein can offer you is a bogus contract that rips you off in the end leaving you po, broke, and lonely with a busted a-hole. Those who beat the system at their own game wind up 6 feet deep. Why do you think they murdered Michael Jackson, Prince, Sam Cooke, and James Brown? Michael owned half of SONY BMI. Prince owned all of his Masters that his

siblings sold for pennies on the dollar. Sam was going to start his own label, and brother James who had a label, but the IRS falsely audited him several times forcing him to sell his label keeping Soul Brother number 1 from becoming the first billionaire recording artist decades before JZ did. THIS AINT LEGAL. All that glitters isn't gold people. Ask Mr. Goldberg who runs several porn studios in Silicone Valley California. They run the majority of that particular industry as well as recording, movie and TV production studios while controlling the financial institutions. The majority heads of the Department of the Treasury including the current, Janet Yellen have been Jewish. Not trying to be a dissenter, but someone’s getting screwed. It's the middle class, and our fat, Black… ? William Randolph Hearst made the movie Reefer Madness which was a propaganda film not because hemp was a gateway drug to other crap, hell a pack of cigarettes has killed more people than ten thousand blunts. Smoke a blunt, and 30 minutes later you wanna eat. Smoke crack, and 30 minutes later you're sucking d**k. Hemp can be used in a vast amount of ways that would’ve crippled Mr. Hearst’s other industries. You can use it as fabric for clothes that's stronger, and more durable than cotton. The hemp plant had more useful potential than the soybean, and peanut combined!!! Marijuana isn't a drug at all, it's an herb. The Egyptians used it to cure many ailments including cancer. If I were still on Instagram Mark Suckerberg would personally shut my page down himself… again. That's why I no longer use white run social media websites. Mr. Hearst's only interest in getting the government to make hemp illegal was to keep his financial, investment interests ever increasing. In the end it turned out to do more harm than good. Now that the government has managed to tax the herb, they've made it legal. Why in the hell are Black men, and women still serving draconian, archaic prison sentences for minor marijuana drug offenses that don't make sense to a mongoloid retard?!! Like I said: “THIS AINT LEGAL.” Babylon the Damned will fall on its pancaked derriere soon enough. Pray to God the Zombie Apocalypse runs right past your abode or get some pads from your son's football uniform in order to appease the dead in Christ who may want a ham sandwich or your daughter Becky. This too shall pass. Try lamb's blood? The closer I get to death or that visitation with someone I've been wanting to see for a long time because I can't see, the more these things come back to my remembrance. This is enough for today. Whatever God reveals to me in the next few days hopefully I’ll relate some of that information to you. I thank those for judging me as a simp, punk b**ch, p**sy a** n**gah, punk a** n**gah, sorry a** n**gah, faggot, and everything you project or judge according to your flesh. I have no secrets so what am I trying to hide? Get your house in order Jeff, your life may be required of you, and ya boy in the wheelchair. Still someone else's identity Yippie Yai Kai Yay mother!@#$%& 9/21/2021

[blvckmozelle-blog]

we all can affirm experiences where someone has hurt us personally and/or we’ve witnessed a friend or loved one be hurt by an experience. it sucks (really, it does). but how long can you hold on to the pain of an experience before that pain destroys you and everything around you?

an ongoing situation I have a window to has become surreal and frankly very sad. over the years I have watched something very close to me but, out of my control slowly spiral into a very sick and dark place. and it makes me very angry...

angry b/c someone I love has been hurt. angry b/c it involves children who are unaware they are being hurt. angry b/c I experienced a very similar situation earlier in my own life so I know how this situation pans out.

As black women and mothers more often than not, the very ppl we have expected to support, protect and even sustain us, our black men - have let us down and, in many cases have even consciously inflicted harm upon us. No doubt.

my recognition of this type of pain was first at the hands of my father. a man whom, from as far back as I can remember was not only my dad but to me, was a King. really, he was

at 6’3 and a solid, long and slim build of about 240 lbs, dark and extremely handsome, intelligent, very clean and well dressed at all times...a man of incredible presence and stature in ANY space, my father was the shit.

and as a young, smart, creative, boisterous, bald-headed, skinny and blacker than midnight little black girl, my father nurtured me and taught me to believe I too, was the shit.

my father always built me up and for 12 very short years of my life, I felt invincible. and then he suddenly died.

his death depleted me. instantaneously, I felt lost...

over the years, that emptiness and hurt turned into anger. at about 16 I began to blame him for his own death. my father was an overall hustler. he boosted, gambled and sold cocaine in the 80’s, living an extremely fast life. it was all he knew and he was good at it.

that lifestyle was also the reason he died young; leaving me - his daughter and the youngest of 10 kids out here to fend for myself. at a time in this world where black men were the most abusive towards black women.

in my mind, I should have been important enough to him for him to slow his life down so he could live longer, for me.

he let me down; I felt cheated. and to this day losing him is the absolute worst pain I have felt in my entire life.

through the years, like many BW who came up in the 80’s with their teenage years expanded within the heart of the 90’s, I got involved in many relationships with young men who did not respect me. largely because I was seeking my dad's love

so, I chose street niggas; niggas who've images reminded me of my dad. though I never regarded my father as a “nigga”, and those niggas were nothing like my father’s true character, that’s the type of young men I was choosing.

I was confident and a firecracker as a young girl but lost and insecure as a young woman. naturally, these relationships with these niggas began to harden me. I became a very offensive woman. I developed an attitude of a nigga - I’ll hurt you before you have a chance to hurt me

when I was 21, I married a man who loved me. he was not perfect but he was handsome (that’s important 🙃), conscious of himself and my needs and treated me better than any man I had previously been involved with

but due to my hostile, angry, and problematic nature at that time, I did not know how to receive his love.

I was in pain. every disagreement we would have, I would lash out physically. did this for seven years and he never hit me back. until he had grown tired and finally fought me back. he whooped my aass,in fact,that was the end of our marriage. my behavior played a very large part in ruining it. iIam accountable for that

though he has forgiven me and we fight to remain friends for the sake of our children, it’s my not-so-flattering truth.

share all of this to say, I could have easily flip the tables, and played the victim card and not have owned up to my behaviors and the roles they played in my destructions.

I could have used the pain of my father’s death as an excuse to stay in pain

I could have continued to make the men in my life responsible for pain the previous cat had inflicted upon me

I could have been vindictive and made my ex-husband’s ability to build a relationship with his children hell for the pain I was in after we broke up.

all of my feelings were valid and weighed heavily on me. but I had no time to be a victim. I had a daughter to raise. I did not want her to see me as a victim. I knew she was watching how I moved and knew it was imperative to her future to witness my strength and consciousness

I had a son to raise. it was a matter of life or death that he understood that women are to be loved and protected by him and that he should never intentionally hurt nor should he ever accept being physically hurt by a woman.

I realized that my misery was my own, no one else’s and I had to CHOOSE to do something about it.

I had to choose to let go of the things that hurt me in my past, starting with the death of my King.

I had to choose love over hate, begrudgery, vindictiveness, and self-pity.

I had to accept that by divine order, The Creator had assigned me such life. and therefore ask, what’s the purpose?

I had to stop resenting my father for leaving me so soon and I had to stop excepting every man to stay with me (especially when I was on some bullshit).

relationships, whether romantic or not are two way streets of accountability. no one owed me anything but, i owed everything to myself. in order to open myself up to receive everything I had coming to me, I had to come to terms with my pain and then let all that bullshit go.

I had to come to terms with the woman I really was and the woman I was trying to become. it was not easy.

being hurt by someone you love is enough to break the strongest person down. but why should that pain destroy you and everything around you?

we are living in a time where women are fed up with being hurt, not being supported, ignored, devalued, and abused. but we can’t lose sight of simple life’s principles

treat others like you wanted to be treated,

love unconditionally (the universe will reward you),

be accountable - recognize the root of your emotions and stop making everyone else responsible for making you feel good.

there’s nothing I value more in this realm than peace of mind. And POM is impossible when holding on to the burdens of your past.

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

Over the years I've kind of noticed that a lot of people (not everyone of course) who've Instagrams, Tumblrs or other social media dedicated to tv shows, celebrities, singers etc. have struggled with hard things in life, i.e. depression, anxiety, bullying and so on.... and that's why they've come into fandoms, because they needed some sort of happiness, a way to feel like they belong and just get a break from reality, sort of... (part 1)

(cont.) like being in a fandom helps people deal with whatever they’re going through in real life. For example, when I fell (literally fell, it wasn’t intentional) into my first fandom I was going through a pretty rough time in my life, but being in a fandom helped me and it gave me a chance to sort of get a break from reality and the problems I was struggling with and brought a bit of happiness, and it kept me going and not to give up.and I’ve just noticed that a lot of people in fandoms have struggled with various things in real life and I have this “theory” that is why they get drawn into fandoms, because that TV show, or that actor or singer or book series etc becomes a way for them to hold on and get a break from the hard things for a while. Fandoms also gives people a way to meet others who might feel the same way they do and can relate to each other and find comfort together… what do you think about that? this got way longer and messier than I had expected (I apologize for that!) but I’ve just been thinking about this for a while and I wanted to know what others think… and you always gives such a good perspective and thoughts into your posts that I felt like sharing, hope that’s ok and that you get what I tried to get through… 😅

Don’t worry, I understand what you’re trying to say completely. Of course, it’s okay for you to share this with me. Thank you for asking. It’s actually an important and interesting topic to discuss, particularly for me because I feel like being a part of Tumblr and the fandom world has changed my life. I think everyone’s reasons for being in a fandom is different but the common denominator is that it acts as an outlet in some shape or form. 

I’ll put the rest of my answer under the cut, since it’s pretty lengthy. 

Personally, I see the fandom as a hobby in exactly the same way as football, bird watching, dancing, drawing etc. would be considered a hobby. And hobbies are such important parts of people’s lives because they serve so many purposes. They’re a way to channel our energies and creativity, share our ideas, build communities and make friends, improve our confidence and/or mental/physical/emotional health. So hobbies are very important and special to people, although the experience and meaning of those hobbies is unique to each every individual. 

It has different sides to it just like any other hobby, so for me its: edits (gifs), meta and fanfiction and all of them are ways in which I’m able to express my creativity. Writing in particular is my passion and the fandom gives me an outlet for that in the most amazing way because I get to pair it with the passion of a show/movie/character/ship I love too. And it requires time, patience and care. Every day or every other day I sign into Tumblr, I reblog a post or make a change to my theme, answer an ask, respond to a request etc. just the same as any other hobby. And most of all it provides me with a release. When I’m going about my day (particularly when I’m at uni or writing an assignment) all I look forward to is being able to come onto Tumblr. It’s a form of relaxation and joy for me and for so many others. And I don’t think that the fandom particularly attracts people that are going through hard times, I think that is true for any hobby. When people are down, they’re struggling, they’re in a dark place etc. it’s only natural to seek out something to make you feel better about yourself and your situation. I think the difference is that more confident and extroverted people are more likely to go out and pursue an active hobby, whereas more reserved and introverted people are more likely to pursue that online. I know that for me personally, I’ve always struggled with my self esteem and there was no way I had the confidence to actually go out there and meet people and try to find a hobby (plus, I always loved writing and the best way to channel that is online anyway). But I think it’s just a natural thing for those that are introverted and/or not very good socially to seek social contact via the internet, because it’s easier than having to do it face to face. It’s easy to portray yourself differently online, to be the more confident you that you are on the inside until you’re in face to face social situations and I think that it’s a way for people to build their confidence socially. I also think that it’s a way for people to seek validation and acceptance. Particularly for those that have been bullied or just generally haven’t fit in at school or at home, the fandom is a place to find other people similar to yourself that will remind you you’re a good, decent and important person. And at the end of the day, that’s something that every human needs sometimes. We all just need to know that we’re not alone, that there’s someone else out there that feels/thinks the same way as us and more importantly that someone recongises our existence. I also think there’s a common feeling amongst a lot of people in the fandom whereby they feel out of place in their daily life and the world around them, which is again why they try to seek a place they feel more comfortable online.

I actually watched a news report about this recently. it was about how young kids are getting addicted to social media because each time they receive a follower or like or reblog or whatever it is, it releases dopamine in the brain and that’s a feeling I think everyone can relate to. Particularly for people that may not have many friends or have gone through their life never being popular, it’s kinda an amazing feeling to have people recognise you and want to talk to you, even if it is online. Each time we receive an ask or gain a follower or a note, it feels like validation and I think that definitely gives people a boost that they’re probably not getting in their daily life. 

I also agree with you that the fandom is definitely a place where people seek out others that love the same things as they do. Although I’ve spoken to a tonne of people, I’ve only made one real friend through the fandom. But honestly, it’s so great to be able to go to her whenever and be like “DID YOU SEE THE NEW EPISODE OF _____?!?!?” because there is no one else in my life I have to share that with really. And I think that sharing the love for a particular show/ship or whatever it is can bring people together because it opens doors and is that first step of talking to someone. But in reality with time those friendships grow to be something much more profound and although you’ll probably still talk about fandom-y things, it becomes a real friendship that’s about so much more than just that. And you can’t really put a price on friendship as corny as it sounds. Even though the friend I made from the fandom lives thousands of miles away there are genuinely days when I feel like she’s the only one that’s there for me and I talk to her about things I don’t talk to anyone else about. So I think the fandom is definitely a place people come to form friendships and it works too. 

For me personally, I actually joined for the opposite reason. Meaning, I didn’t want friends, I was looking for somewhere I could come and be anonymous, where I didn’t have to speak to anyone at all and could do my own thing. I loved that on here no one knew my name, no one knew my face, none of my friends were even on here and as cliche as it sounds, I felt so free with that. I felt like I could do whatever I wanted and it was for me. It’s not that I’ve ever particularly hidden my interests and likes from people, but I think until I found Tumblr I always felt like I had to downplay my passion for fandom-y things. My friends and family would always laugh at me (only harmlessly) for watching the same shows and movies over and over and for always reciting the script along with them, because to them that isn’t normal (whatever that means haha). Yeah, they all watch TV and movies but once and they never feel as strongly about it as I do. Since I was a kid I have been obsessed with watching things over and over again. It started with Disney (Lion King, Bambi, Aristocats to name a few), then it got to Harry Potter (seriously I could still write the Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire scripts from memory), I watched repeats all day long of shows on Cartoon Network (Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd & Eddy etc.) then it got to Zoey 101 and Drake and Josh, when I got to my early teens Friends, Skins. I could go on, but you get the point. But I would literally fall in love with these movies/shows (don’t even get me started on how many times I re-watched the episode of Zoey 101 where Chase finally admitted he was in love with Zoey, eeeeep!) and no one around me really understood it. So to be able to come to the fandom and openly express my love for these things was so amazing. I didn’t need friends or anyone to even share that with, all I cared about was being able to have somewhere to unleash that side of myself. Obviously over time, I naturally got speaking to people and made a great friend, but I do think that being a part of the fandom can be as much about just having a place to anonymously exist and express your passions without the want or need for friends. Unlike other forms of social media you can literally come on here, do your own thing and literally no one will bother you or question you and I think that’s pretty unique to social media personally. 

But I think you hit the nail on the head as to why so many people fall into the fandom or choose to be a part of it - escapism. Regardless of how happy or unhappy we are, it’s human nature to seek some form of escapism. Whether it’s through watching tv, writing, playing video games, reading, painting, listening to music - it’s all a form of escapism. It’s a distraction from whatever bad stuff might be going on in our lives, it’s a way to unwind and relax, to chat with friends, see the things we love. I often see edits on my dash and genuinely smile or laugh and it improves my mood when I’m having a bad day. I also think that in terms of the specific fandoms, shows, movies, characters and ships we attach ourselves to, they all kind of represent their own form of escapism. An example of that would be that one of my favourite characters is Prue Halliwell from Charmed and one of the reasons I love her so much is because I see all the qualities in her I wish I possessed (beautiful, confident, strong-willed, driven, successful, family-orientated, admired, passionate). My point here is that to an extent I almost live through Prue, imagining myself as who I want to be and putting myself in her shoes. That is just one example. Another would be that I love Sons of Anarchy because it is nothing like my life and I love being able to experience a completely different world from my own or my love for Cook from Skins because he is everything I’m not - reckless, adventurous, fiery, ruthless. All of it is escapism, it’s a way to experience different worlds, different lives, loves and emotions in a safe environment. 

I also think that the fandom acts as escapism in regards to providing us with an alter ego. Who we are in the fandom is not who we are in our daily lives (at least not in my experience). On here most people probably think of me as ameliapondsraggedyman or pruehaliwells, the faceless girl that writes unnecessarily long ass responses to all of her asks and bitches about Stelena not being endgame hahah. But that’s not how my family and friends see me. To them, I’m just Shannen (or Shan), the girl that eats coco pops every single morning for breakfast, laughs too loudly (and usually at inappropriate times), talks too much, is best friends with her cat (what a saddo) and has to make her bed in this really weird but particular way (don’t even get me started haha). How I’m perceived or how any of us are perceived within the fandom is not a true reflection of who we are. Or should I say, it’s not a true reflection of every part of ourselves. For example, you may know my exact thoughts and feelings on Stefan Salvatore’s death, but do you know what I did yesterday? But that of course is the appeal of the fandom. To an extent, you get to be who you want. It’s a different side of you, probably one you usually have to suppress or hide and it’s great to be able to escape from who you are everyday and be the other you for a while. 

Those are basically my thoughts on that subject. It can mainly be summed up as: I perceive the fandom to be a hobby like any other that acts as a form of escapism from the struggles of daily life and gives people the opportunity to make friends that they have common interests with, a way/place to express themselves and their passions or creativity and improve on themselves whether that be socially, emotionally or mentally. 

I hopefully managed to express myself clearly amongst that huge messy response haha. Thanks again for stopping by to share your thoughts and asking me to share mine.