#and it’s sad but there’s a strong sense of competition in this fandom

[hobismilitarywife]

ngl i don't understand whats so wrong about asking people to listen to the album? u dont have to go to extremes and leave a playlist on all night like they do on twitter but i would think if you're a fan, you'd want to listen? we wouldnt have to beg people to support JITB... cause honestly i dont think they'll have this energy for anyone else in the group so its just disappointing im sorry i'll stay petty

ig a lot of people are against streaming because they find it stressful and also streaming does at times really makes us not enjoy the song, it starts feeling like a job instead of enjoying your fav so i get their pov, they aren’t saying that they aren’t listening to the work, they just don’t stream which is fine, to each their own, though i don’t think it’s right for them to shame people who do stream; like i said before let’s respect each other’s choices

but yeah there are tons of people who do stream actively but didn’t stream jitb, they upload top 20 songs being streamed by armies daily on twitter and only 2-3 days back did more started appearing on the list, that too on the number 20 and 19 :// like you said, streaming is pretty easy, just put on a playlist while you’re busy doing something else/aren’t on your phone, and yet people completely refused to stream jitb, all the hobi accounts that i follow on twitter had been begging people to stream jitb since the mama nominations were announced, and yet they were completely silenced and labelled as solos :/ it’s really sad 😞

[lyranova]

Happy 3 year anniversary for your blog, Lyra~! That's so exciting! For your ask game, lemme ask...

1, 5, and 18 for Yuno?

And to go with Yuno, how about 3, 10, and 14 for Neva~?

Hiya Erika, thank you so much 😁! Ooo yay a question for YuNeva, I’m sorry this took a bit to answer today but I still hope you enjoy 🥰!

Yuno:

1 What is your favorite canon fact about this character?

That he wasn’t always “super powerful” and “aloof”. That he was once just an ordinary, shy, and quiet kid like everyone else, who wasn’t really good at fighting or standing up for himself.

5 What is one thing you would change with this character (it can be their appearance, arc, personality, etc;)?

Hmm, for Yuno I think it would be his personality 🤔. At least a bit. I’ve said it before, but I would like him to be able/to have been able to emote more 😔. I’m not saying to make him cry at the drop of a hat all the time, but just…have him show a bit more emotion. Like for example in the Golden Dawn filler episode (note: my memory of the episode is a little hazy) but he showed a *bit* of emotion in it when he confronted Langris and when he went on the mission with them. I think it was a good little “snippet” of emotion, but maybe there could have been more 😅?

Although on the other hand if he showed *too* much emotion it wouldn’t really be in character for him😅🤷🏻‍♀️. So I want him to show a bit more emotion, but not *too* much if that makes sense.

8 Is there a ship that makes the most sense for this character (can be romantic or platonic)?

Hm, Romantically it would be Neva /lh+j. But since she doesn’t exist in Tabata’s canon, and I don’t ship him romantically with anyone in canon, I’m going with a platonic relationship. Which is Asta 😆!

I think the reason why I love their relationship platonically is because they just seem like two best friends who support each other 100% even though they share the same dream/goal! Their rivalary seems very “healthy” to me, as in neither one is putting the other down, instead they’re lifting each other up and are encouraging each other while still keeping their “competitiveness” 😆!

Neva:

3 What is your favorite fanon/fandom fact or headcanon about this character?

My favorite fanon/fandom fact about Neva is that she gets shy whenever her friends/the Captain’s wives are talking about their romantic lives 😆! She’s usually kind of…stoic and serious, or at least she tries to be, so when she hears anyone talking about romance or “spicier” subjects she starts blushing and stammering which is kind of the opposite of her “normal” personality!

10 How do they perceive themselves and their actions?

Hm, I think Neva perceive’s herself as someone who is emotionally “strong, capable, and okay” and that her actions reflect that. For example, after she found out that William was the one that betrayed them she did her best to potray herself as this strong and “unshakeable” person. Because in her mind, if she showed any kind of emotion (such as sadness, hurt, etc) the Squad members would label her as weak and either wouldn’t trust her, or would see her as “less then them”. If that makes sense 😆!

14 What trait do they find most admirable and how often do they find it?

I think honesty is a trait Neva finds most admirable! She herself isn’t very honest, and she’s found that even those around her (*cough* William *cough*$ aren’t as honest as she thought they were. So i think that’s why whenever she see’s/finds someone thats honest, even to a fault, she automatically admires them and is pulled towards them. As for how often she finds it, not very. Whenever she’s thought she’s found it she’s usually proven to be wrong, at least until Yuno shows up.

[lacunasbalustrade]

made by @floppydoged

bold what applies, italicise what sometimes does etc etc

types of people - pjo cabins

Cabin One, Zeus - cold hands, smart clothes, sharp tongues, dark stories, acting on impulse, strong sense of honour, the leader respected by all, running through thunderstorms, grey wolves, overcast skies, stony beaches, fighting for their beliefs

Cabin Two, Hera - pure white, cleanliness, crisp sheets, rose tea, white marble, strutting peacocks, maternal nature, stern but kindly looks, jealous but never envious, simple hairstyles, sharp jaws, gleaming white teeth, feared but trusted, underappreciated

Cabin Three, Poseidon - horse rides through a rainy night, casual clothing, denim, alternative rock, quiet bravery, smarter than everyone thinks, walks along the coast, the feeling of warm sand between your toes, sweet tooth, thinks a lot but acts on impulse, tinted glasses, never wanting to get out the shower, hair blowing in the wind.

Cabin Four, Demeter - daisy chains, walking barefoot, ice-cold drinks, distant laughter, chartreuse, warm eyes, glowing confidence, hazy memories, visits to the zoo, incredibly caring, maternal instincts, passionate, fiercely protective, summer dresses, old music, activists, charm bracelets.

Cabin Five, Ares - punk and rock music, battered leather jackets, red lipstick, midnight driving, American diners, nights out with friends, usually a happy drunk, occasionally an angry one, sticking up for those you love, coffee, pride, competitive, rash, loves big cats, soft spot for animals, living life to the fullest

Cabin Six, Athena - vellichor, beautiful sadness, innovative, old soul, listening to emotional songs during long car drives, nostalgia, stacks of books, low energy, courageous, lots of tea, skipping breakfast, watching raindrops fall, looking up at the stars, nimble fingers, mentally stronger than most, seems to lack empathy but really just cares too much

Cabin Seven, Apollo - sunlight streaming through rooms, quaint villages, twinkling eyes, mischievous smiles, heading down to the bakery, quoting poetry, gleaming surfaces, the smell of vanilla, the refreshment of cold water, paddling in a river/the sea, drowsiness at the end of the day, observant, charisma, wild hand gestures, gentle nature.

Cabin 8, Artemis - silver jewellery, smoky makeup, humming when walking, the feeling of utter freedom, the click of a lock, a single star in a sky of darkness, wolves howling at the moon, pure honesty, fur-lined coats, everlasting friendship, reliability, high intelligence, sharp hearing, giggling, campfires, pulling all-nighters

Cabin 9, Hephaestus - slapping people on the back in congratulations, rough hands but gentle touch, gruff but kindly, can't wrap their minds around how people work, a stubborn nature, introversion, thick tangled hair, flushed face, dog-eared books, cogs whirring, the smell of petrol, dusting your hands, knowing handy survival skills, hard workers, insecurity, ingenuity, loves pockets

Cabin 10, Aphrodite - Polaroids, being drunk on love, happiness in making others happy, fluffy pillows, comfy yet cute clothes, holding hands, light boxes, lavender soap, messy buns, feminist and body-positive, hates manipulation, can read emotions, visits to Paris, croissants for breakfast, sipping cocktails, squealing during water fights

Cabin 11, Hermes - collecting gemstones, lots of fandoms, hip hop, amazing at three-legged races and jenga, always wearing jeans, a cool breeze, blue skies, breath being taken away at beautiful views, hiking up mountains, pouring water on your face, little charms, fountains, meme trash, beanies, loving intense speeds

Cabin 12, Dionysus - Fruit picking, nodding along to music, getting lost in happy moments, loving all food, bubbles up your nose, laughing so loudly people stare but not caring, helping the poor, rich colours, appreciative of luxury, hot dusty environments, standing your ground, good at heart, hot baths, party hats, sometimes sociable, sometimes withdrawn

[mobiused]

hi mobi! since im not good at following fandom dynamics, do you know if there is any particular reason orbits are hating on re:verse? (at least on twitter it was suffering a backlash). I mean i did saw most people saying that hyeju was there obviously against her will bc she hates ageyo and all and some people even said that we should make effort to eliminate her for "her own good". now im kinda worried abt this bc hyeju is really competitive and if this happen i think she gonna be disappointed and kinda mad lol, also if she really dont wanna be there she would do like hyunjin and self sabotage so.. i just wanted to know your general opinion abt all of this bc you seem to have a different view abt this than most of the people and i think thats interesting what you said abt hyeju trying to be more silly etc. also sometimes i get kind of unconfortable with those kind of orbits who seem to not know the difference between hyeju real personality (that is actually strong) and the idol persona that bbc gave to her and the get to patronize and infantilaze her(not in the good sense lol)

The answer is Twitter orbits are stupid and operate on a mob mentality. If one person with a large following says "Hyeju is participating in this against her will and if they debut itll tear loona apart 😡😡" then everyone will unquestioningly believe it. I think people are scared of the notion that heehye would leave loona over it, but did the G-idle members leave their group for KDA? No, right? There's literally no downsides to them competing, and only positive things like exposure, more music, and keeping the girls busy which is something the girls say they like to do - especially if we consider that 2019, the year they basically did nothing, took the hardest toll on them mentally by far. I know Hyeju will be talking this seriously (there's 12 members to choose from and she's the one, alongside Heejin, who is participating) so Orbits should too.

I'm honestly so tired of Orbits who are only capable of seeing the people they allegedly care about as one dimensional caricatures with no aptitude for personal growth. She's been an idol for almost 5 years now, of course she's changed - and frankly it'd be sad if she hadn't.

[somehowmags]

NAND THANK YOU 😭😭😭😭 VIL, IN FACT, WOULDN'T FORCE THE BODILY STANDARDS HE HOLDS HIMSELF TO ONTO YOU!!!! i once saw someone write a fic entailing epel's development of an ED as a result of vil and it genuinely did make me sad. epel and vil's bond is so beautiful. epel, despite his lower rank and duties to vil as his protégé, still has that strong spirit. he probably would just have another outburst at vil, attempt to challenge him, and/or run away. not to mention, vil genuinely cares about epel and loves him. he learns to embrace epel literally and figuratively, especially in chapter 6. sure vil would maintain a diet for epel and is extremely adamant on it, but vil isn't stupid. he wouldn't deprive epel of his right to eat sufficiently, or hold him to the strict diet vil maintains. vil would personally curate a diet suited to epel's needs and tastes. vil's watchful eye would probably sense if epel was struggling with his diet and would ameliorate that by either making changes to it, or talking to epel himself. rook is also there to gently chide vil if he ever did come to this (NO HE WOULD NEVER...) it's just. rggrgrhrghr. vil just wants you to make the best of yourself. follow basic hygiene. plus size? doesn't matter to him, as long as your body serves you healthily. skin full of scars? if you want a serum that helps clear marks, he'd readily provide you some. if you don't want it, atleast hydrate and keep your skin clean. crooked teeth? just remember to brush and flush regularly; if it impedes your health or self image, braces would help. point is, he wouldn't care in "fixing" these bodily "flaws" or other traits that do not personally align with what he holds himself to, but rather a general state of wellness and the effort in taking care of yourself so you are both satisfied with yourself and make the progress you are capable of. sure, he'd recommend it, but if you don't want to, he likely wouldn't bother to press you. because he just. wouldn't!!! do that to you!!!!!! if it's not in your interest to change that part of YOU, its not in HIS!!! and if you have any sort of mental illness that impedes your ability to take care of your hygiene, he would NEVER think of you as lazy! he'd very likely want to help you out of your rut! he does not like people who have every right and ability to make a change, but do not. or people who intentionally wallow in their own shortcomings. he does not have anything against people who are struggling mentally and emotionally! you are facing obstacles out of your control and as long as you make the effort to overcome them, even if it's the smallest step, even if you stumble and fail, even if you need time first, that's all he needs. that you try. if you do, he will, and he won't give up and as long as you won't. he's so pookie bear i want to roll him up like sushi and sell him on the conveyor belt for 2 dollars and 90 cents

YEAH i think people are like. a little too quick to make characters ooc for angst. like longtime followers of somehowmags dot tumblr dot edu will know that i am a frequent complainer about people making characters ooc for cheap angst but damn ive seen Some Shit. not as much in the twst fandom as in other fandoms that will be immediately apparent if you scroll down my blog for two seconds but there have been some abysmal takes from twsties as well.

i think people who have this take are misinterpreting vil putting nrc tribe on a diet for vdc (im NEVER calling it sdc my deepest apolocheese to the eng localization) which...i'm going to be honest with yall. granted i am not a dietician i read that in the same way that people do diets when theyre participating in athletic competitions. if you were training to run a marathon, you would probably try changing your diet a little to help you build up your strength, which is the same thing vil is doing. i think its intended to be more of a strength building diet, not a weight loss one. and again as a fat person and as someone who has been put on diets i get the kneejerk reaction of disliking diets, but i don't think that's whats happening here

ultimately i get why people think about vil but by god i do not have to like it alkdsjdfhlaksdfh

[anewbeginningagain]

I think the core audience for skating shows outside of the Olympic seasons are general skating fans who are attending CSOI (or SOI) as a brand almost and will be happy to see whoever is put in front of them. Of course having a big name like VM or Nathan Chen in the US would bring more casual fans but I tend to think that the casting doesn’t matter a whole lot as the people who go every year won’t mind seeing the same folks over and over.

I was never a big Weapo fan when they skated competitively but they are a good show skating team. They tended to be strong in lifts and that plays well in the show programs. I’m sure the Canadanes would be excellent too and would love to see multiple dance teams rather than so-so singles skaters honestly.

That said, as long as CSOI is the dominant brand, it’s not likely another show will be able to supplant it. I mean even VM could only sell out one tour immediately following major viral success/fame. (I know the fandom likes to blame the drop in sales for RTR on personal drama, but the fact is that there isn’t a sufficient audience to support 2 tours annually, and CSOI was earlier in the year and the established brand — I went to both in 2019 and RTR was a far better show — better skaters, choreo, music etc., but it wasn’t enough. If anything, it shows what an anomaly the success of TYCT was.)

Maybe IAM needs to consider branching out to do more virtual shows or something?

I think most of the current line up are good show skaters including WeaPo (though I will say that having seen them during TTYCT I only enjoyed one of their programs), I just think that for many years SOI and CSOI truly gave representation to competing skaters and watching the current seasons where 90-95% of the CSOI line up have been (very) retired skaters just makes me sad for the current skaters, many of whom are some of the top in the world.

It is true that in North America there's barely room for skating shows in general, and only CSOI is barely surviving (emphasis on barely). TTYCT sold amazingly as well as CSOI 2018, both were close to sold out in many cities, but it makes perfect sense considering the success the Canadian delegation had in PyeongChang, they had a lineup completely made from World champions and Olympic medalists, it was incredible. RTR sold not as well but it also made sense and as you said it had nothing to do with made-up personal drama or how it was promoted, it was a tricky time in the year and skating is not as big and most of the lineup was international (which tbh was amazing and for me a much better line up) which also might have been tricky for some viewers. Either way, having successfully produced two tours probably showed TS that the market is limited and that it's more effort than it's worth and I totally not blame them for it.

Bottom line is that CSOI is basically the only remaining show in Canada and them having a lineup that is so disconnected from the current skating field just disappoints me.

[problematicpervertpod]

recs on recs on recs

Yaoi/Manga I’m reading/have read. Please support the artists on official websites. If you have recs or want to chat about any of these get in my messages right the fuck now my dudes. Also spoilers, also this probably doesn’t make sense to anyone but me, also I think I’m funny sorry in advance.

Dangerous Convenience Store

Tags: Ongoing, self aware lead for the most part, gangs, smut, love triangle, possessive, not rapey, seme is like the fucking hulk compared to uke, college, age gap, good art, muscular bodies, seme is adorable/romantic in sp chapters, sexual awakening, meeting the gang (in two ways!), FAINTS OF CUTENESS/HOTNESS, the memes after every chapter got me gagged, HAHE hahahahahahahahahaha, OMG DO I GET SOME CNC?! (update: short lived), we stan a vocal man (Ahjussi), thigh fucking, my mans be like my thighs hurt fuck my ass instead DECEASED, ass smacking, these memes are so good god damnit, rimming

8/10, I live for Ahjussi (Am I spelling this wrong..)

The New Employee 

-love love love

Tags: ongoing, we stan supportive boyfriends, healthy relationship, boss/employee, smut, office setting, good art, 10/10 will re-read, muscular bodies

Love Shuttle

Tags: completed, ABO, enemies to lovers, possessive, coworkers, fake relationship, strong omega, the art sucks but I like the story, art gets better after the 1st season, alphas eyes change colors when happy/anxious, muscular bodies, 7/10, update 10/10 art is meh but fml this storyline is basic af in the best way and it’s the fluff/smut I need, when you’re caught by the folks *cringe*

Hold Me Tight

Tags: ongoing, boss/employee, bodyguard, gio can’t feel heat until felix comes along, uke is strong af, horny bastards, smut, possessive, tragic childhood, moving in together right away, rich seme, felix in a bunny costume though *heart eyes*, dialogue is great, rape in a technical sense but the vibe is written like both characters are all good after? Ex. hospital scene…dub con, ART IS GREAT, hand holding during sex, 10/10 will re-read, muscular bodies

Yours to Claim 

Tags: ongoing, love triangle, Dom/sub dynamics, smut, main is big switch energy, reincarnation, jealousy, manipulative, possessive, self aware lead for the most part, toxic af, GREAT ART, college, rich semes, 10/10 will re-read and not even finished, SONOFABITCH that cliff hanger!! Season 3 come thruuuu (I have to wait until November? *cries* BUT MAH LOVE TRIANGLE!!, I want a THROUPLE GOD DAMN IT

The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Tags: obsessed with this story, will the incense burner scenes make it?? No tags because I'll never forget this one haha wangxian 5ever, send me all fanfics/fan art you have about this story, love Dark Wangji, Jadecest, ABO/omegaverse, Bottom Wangji/Top Wei Ying, and honestly anything regarding this fandom

Bj Alex

Tags: completed, great art, 11/10 will re-read, cam boy, fanboy, seme is an asshole, uke is so sexy, jealously, rich seme, enemies to lovers kind of?, CHANWOO IS MY BOY FOR LIFE, Chanwoo MD supremacy, BDSM (like really really), fuck I love Chanwoo, college students, rich seme, emotional rollercoaster, uke soft body, mean seme, college life, that one nosy bitch ass guy trying to expose my boys needs to fuck right off, seme split/fake personality, dub con 

Anti PT

Tags: ongoing, 11/10 re-readable, porn with feelings, love triangle, jealousy, attempted non-con, personal training wink wink, main love interest is actually the best, second male lead is a god damn creep, first time, smut, great art, sex addict/constantly horny uke, I WANT A HWI, 

Related: https://www.anime-planet.com/manga/anti-pt/recommendations 

Payback

Tags: ongoing, both are psychopaths tbh, revenge, gangs, uke sells himself to seme, violent seme, entertainment industry, brunette supremacy, what this motherfucker gonna do? hehe , great art, muscular bodies, dead dove do not eat, my mans must be GOOD looking/animal magnetism cause everyone losing their fucking minds, okay this is a comedy I’m dying, he tried to scare him with wanting to be a top but my psycho said REVERSEUNO BITCH I’M A VERSE (wait jk apparently *sigh*), anonymous masked sex (sad n’ kinky)

My Suha

Tags: ongoing, wow this gets dark, possessive af like holy shit, terrible people all around uke, rape, boss/employee, office politics/family politics, smut, characters that are punchable, dead dove do not eat, *velociraptor noises*, avoided this for a while but I’m back because nothing can be more emotionally devastating than Banana Fish, TIE HIM UP, FUCK HIS FACE ALKSJD:ASKD, FUCK SUHA UR SO HOT that dirty talk though YAS, glad I picked this back up lmao, GOD DAMN IT just when the package arrived then this red head fucker *screams*

Shame Application aka Dirty Vibration

Tags: completed, friends to lovers, model seme, cute af uke, love triangle, entertainment industry, smut, kink, all kinds of sex everywhere, realized feelings, mutual pining, jealousy, rich seme, blonde seme, big brother 1984 always watching, 10/10 would re-read, porn with plot, they were roommates!, ~straight~ seme, first times, great art, remembering some cringe but considering the story it’s par for the course

Will You Subscribe

Tags: ongoing, season 1 completed, enemies to lovers, cam boy, office politics, boss/employee, hiding a secret, public sex, stalkers/creepy men, emotionally stunted characters, mutual pining, idiots in lust, lingerie company, slut shaming, jealousy/possessiveness, season 2 bebeh, HOLDING HANDS *velociraptor noises*, LMAO okay my mans is not THAT old how tf does he not know netflix and chill, BUNNY COSTUME (quickly becoming my new fav trope in manga, A+ gang), oh we stan a good boy, wtf is wrong with wanting to do cam work, ‘I wish my marks could become permanent’ *omegaverse wink*, *works for lingerie company* *doesn’t understand where bf gets sexy costumes* like wut kind of fuckery…, cross dressing ftw, roleplay, classic BL miscommunication trope

Hyperventilation

Tags: completed, high school crush, unrequited love, mutual pining, smut, quickie (short story), class reunion, apparently furry with the extra chapter turning my man into a bunny but c'est la vie! https://myreadingmanga.info/korean-bl-animation-hyperventilation-engsub/ this is the animation of the same story, different endings but same in tone (this site is spammy AF but the English subs are so hard to find for this) 8/10 

Unmei no tsugai ga omae da nante

Tags: only one bed, ABO, office setting. Coworkers, enemies to lovers, competitive, equality in the omegaverse, dubcon, real dicks and not lightsabers, fated pair, art is cute af 8/10

K’s Secret

Tags: buckle up buttercup, dead dove do not eat, angst, pining, somnophilia, dub con, non con, boss/employee, manipulative, stalking, forced relationship, tragic childhood background, weird art but gets better,  uke: don’t threaten me with a good time but seriously stop threatening me, possessive & obsessive, seme is like the fucking hulk compared to uke, wow were going full psycho stalker hm?, dating a narcissist is all fun and (mind)games, con non con… ? honestly who tf knows, domestic!, OW MY HEART, the t/n WAP note sent me, ch 51 translated by gen z, do special ep= furry? Wait there’s a maid costume, bunny costume, directors friends keeping it real, rough translations 8/10

Enthusiasm

Tags: ongoing, dead dove do not eat, uke buys seme, masc boys, muscular bodies, fight club, master/slave, rich uke, revenge, real dicks not lightsabers, rough sex, cuckholding, daddy issues, suicide, wow the end of ch 5 punched a hole in my heart, penile implant life,  rough translations makes the storyline wonky, nvm back to lightsabers *star wars noises*, HAD ME FEELING SOME TYPE OF WAY I CAN NOT, shibari, possessive, wait this is cute *velociraptor noises*, angst, no kithes for you “bestie”, OBSESSED, honestly choke him pupper, STAY THE NIGHT ALKSDJA:SLDKJAS:LKDJA:SLDKj, problematic but I’m riding for these two, 

Ichimai Goshi Fetish

Tags: completed, short, fetishes DO start in childhood don’t they *ruminates*, author: describes ML as a beautiful 2D character meanwhile: ML IS 2D character, fellas is it gay to kiss the homies?, “real dudes don’t interest me” is a MOOD, comedy, jealousy, college setting, dialogue is A+, not lightsabers but not dicks either, first time, when you’re fucked so good you think you’ve died, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4uEq5Nx6ko, hero/villain roleplay. Fluff n smut 10/10

My Purrfect Boss

Tags: completed, tooth rotting fluff because blondie is so FUCKING cute little sensitive soul, golden retriever boyfriend, pure comedy, DECEASED, MY MAN JUST DID THE SLOW BLINK, office setting, boss/employee, ~wasted~ (red dead redemption meme),  FFS SO CUTE, he put a ring on it right away beyonce would be proud af, he protecc he attack but most importantly he hit it from the back, jealousy, honeymoon phase of dating, the ex is a snake (update: oh wow literally), I’m picking up abuse/PTSD vibes based on how Kang reacts to his ex :(, classic BL miscommunication plot, immediately no meme audio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6XWSGfYnps) ,  I WILL STRAIGHT UP MURDER CHA WTF!!!!!!, gang rape, spiked with drugs that force heat, me rn:*screaming/rage*, psychotic ex/abuser, HE PROTECCC, actual relief after that scene jesus fuck, okay YES kings I see you, okay this is giving me cuteness aggression, hi yes I’d like to adopt a cat and a dog please 9/10

Following Namsoo to the Bathhouse

Tags: completed, same author as, “My Purrfect Boss”, A+ comedy once again, JUNIOR, gay awakening, “fap myself to death” DEAD, facial expressions are ridic, my minds telling me no but my body, my bodyyyy’s telling me yaaaaa, ya boy is literally losing his mind over this, actual lightsabers lmao, FLUFF, permasmile, 6969, THINKS THEY’RE GOING TO EAT RAMEN, dense gay, own your skin wtf okay hannibal calm down, everyone is officially cray,  ah I also am barfy when drunk, denial really is something hm, classic BL miscommunication plot, when people pleasing too far, happy ending 🥺🥰, side story: our crazy gets his very own crazy (ashton Kutcher from spread vibes), public sex, sex sparkle 9/10

Alien in my Closet

Tags: ongoing (maybe completed but def ongoing on the site I use), not rapey at all?? You’d think it’s impossible in this medium ffs, anti pt vibes, cute art, fluff ‘n smut, red head!!, they were roomates!, sex toys, bsdm, D/s (brat)dynamic or maybe owner/pet, bondage, *tiffany hadish voice* this is noiceeee, con humiliation/degradtion, SANTA CLAUS, edging, marking, one lotus please (he’s clearly read the 4 agreements and karma sutra), con non con, exhibitionism, the wrist thing stays on people, Katoptronophilia,  roleplay, is it stalking when you bring your friends?, lotus: welcome home cheater, the chin on the head thing gives me cuteness aggression, the twins are my favs, when ur crush vanilla af 😭, haesung: experiment on me daddy, no dick until halfway through/fingering supremacy, bedroom sessions has me gagged, voyeurism, wait they haven’t kissed this whole time I forgot (audio: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryley/video/6976701880277748997?lang=en), sunbae is sus, YES FINALLY A FUCKING SWITCH COUPLE AKJSDHALKSJDHASKLJDHALS KJDALKSJD (update: sort of), there’s a missed opportunity for an anal probe joke, damn it okay maybe sunbae is chill, 3 musketeers, my heart*implodes*, *velociraptor noises*, 12/10 would re-read such fluff my heart 

On Doorstep

Tags: completed, age gap, reese has ptsd, jimmy going from 0 to 100, jimmy really got down on his knees at work, ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) deepest part you say, real dicks, ride him like a rodeo, quickie/short story, porn with plot

Gorani Jeon

Tags: ongoing, omegaverse, no alpha though, animal hybrid, art is beautiful like it's drawn on paper not a screen, 40 inch weave yours came in a pack, historical (non-modern), lord send me a sexy man pls, the memes after each chapter are golden, taking the phrase licking wounds literally, is that an eggplant or are you just happy to see me hehe, ahhh so inhibitors do exist here, vertical 69, here lays Bau fucked to death by Ran, WHY HE TOUCHING MY MAN, these chickens are dope, stomp on his dick, that’s what I call a happy meal, fucked right out the front door I’M DEAD, mpreg, i need a tiger+mountain god spin off (whoops dad/son my bad), slice of life, cute fluff 8/10

Room to room

Tags: completed, college setting, A+ dialogue, absurd size difference, unrequited love,  sexsomina, dubcon, angst, death by a thousand cuts emotionally, insecurity, body envy, pining, friends to lovers, they were roommates!, homophobia, sexual assault, PTSD, gays in denial, the tattoo 🥺 ow my heart, truly this is 90% smut, “going from unrequited love to fwbs is shittier than I expected”, dowan *bad blood by t swift* when he sees garam, ch 22garam reminds me of my ex and that’s not a compliment, I’m not gay but my boyfriend is vibes, triflers need not apply, spanking, 😭😭😭😭😭 my heart hurts, is anyone getting a bit of a puppy play vibe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vni9ZWmDXis, handcuffs, lots of head we stan, dowan’s gotta a touch of a foot thing or maybe body worship thing, asdlfgkjs ;dlkfgjsd;flkgj;sdflkgj;sdlfgjs;d/gkdf SO CUTEEEEEEEEEEE, roleplay. They broke the bed no use of crying over spilled milk ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), side stories delivering man in uniform and sex toys AND puppy, asdlkjaslfkasdjfl;askdfjasdf the shirt thing is so hot, watersports, I take it back this is 98% smut 9/10

Mistake Lover

Tags: completed, when ur bff is back on their BS, love triangle, coworkers, i swear all these ukes look the same to me at this point (which is very cute), GE!!!! (wangxian flashbacks), wait no smut?.... Paused

Yagi to ookami no hatsujou jijou

Tags: completed, quickie/short story, literally on my reading list because a comment said “nice cock 10/10”hahahaha, animal hybrids, scifi/aliens, me during chapter one: am I a furry? No. Am I? Relevant audio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noJNIqvDfoo, hotties when human GOD DAMN, bi king, okay I stan this girl changing gears take your opportunities honey!, does blondie have a tinder or how is this happening? (update: called it), feminization, dubcon/noncon, marking, heats, idk about 10/10 cock but not lightsabers, translation is ruff (get it?), a yankee hahaha, literal wound licking, googles chimera, *claps* yes king selfish call his ass out, tail holding caaaayoooot, not that isn’t usually copious amounts of cum but really this is a lot 8/10

Make Me Bark

Tags: completed, $250 a month rent?? *cries in Californian*, god damn it these grey haired 2D men are really hot fml, “next months rent is a looming concern but I hope it’ll get better” followed by apartment on fire is how I feel about reality, rare characters that smile way more than they frown, sex toys, kink, puppy play, owner/pet dynamic, sugar daddy/baby, college setting, harness, muzzle, leash, tail plug, shirt thing!!, soaked briefs, playing barbie IRL, omg meet cute at the adult store, intercrural sex, possessive/jealousy, ah fuck yes I saw this panel on IG but it didn’t have the source but now hehe, whipping, choking, spanking, *bookmarks*, simp city, childhood friends, side couple cute af, yeonsoo: sorry I’m an anti romantic, size queen, mens lingerie, domestic, mutual pining,  these bestie pairings are *chefs kiss*, skinny but muscular bodies/no ridiculous size differences, “does he have a big dick?” “probably” “well tell him to come” GAGGED AJKSDHALSKDJHA this dialogue pure comedy, exhibitionism, human auction, maid costume, men in heels, topping in a dress, girl at the bus stop HAHAHA, ffs this is so cute, side stories: it’s a small world afterall, dynamic role reversal, pink haired boy is guru, SCREAMING AKDJA:SLDKJA:LKDJA:LSDKJLAKDJA:LDJAL:SKDJASLKDJA:SLKDJLAKSDJLASDJ:LASJD:ALSKDJASL:DJ:ASLJDPUTARINGONIT!!!! 11/10 

Gurume no fukurami

Tags: completed, quickie/short story, food fetish, feeding fetish, age gap, throuple-eqsue? There’s 3 people involved, paused ch 1 pg 30

Under the Green Light

Tags: ongoing, thank you IG for rec’ing this, brunette supremacy, neurodivergent?, lmao @hag, this statue is everything I wonder if it’s based on a real piece?, we went from talking art to being pinned to the ground REAL quick, translations rough but not as rough as my mans here, draw me like one of your french girls vibe, sass master, these dicks are ridiculously huge which is saying something for this genre, i love a verse/switch, “first time he’s asked someone to stop so his self-esteem is hurt” HAHAHAHA, stealing bae’s shirt, facials galore, car sex/public sex, jin not into praise kink clearly, sort of slut shaming jealousy, marking

Walk on Water

Tags: completed, for being about porn it’s not that smutty (i take it back), “don’t even think about running away” got me like https://giphy.com/gifs/VABbCpX94WCfS, actual dicks (lightsabers later must be the cleaners not the OG), muscular bodies, blonde seme, brunette uke, k mcqueen is everything, honestly haven’t loved a couple this much since chanwoo x MD and I LOVE THEM, jealousy, orgasm denial, the angles/frames of the art in this are insane (11/10), emotional intimacy CUTENESS HASIHDLASKDHJLAKSJDH, i wanna lick lick lick you from your head to your toes, dirty talk A+, bestie you turned out to be Judas you judgy fuck how dare you touch my man, Ryan is 50 shades of fucked up bb needs therapy, Chang and yeowoons sexual tension is *chefs kiss*, I ship it/all my ships sailing, woof non con but expected tbh, YEAH BABY YEAH *Austin powers voice*, fml I don’t want this story to end, meeting the Hets ™ would make me nervous too, spiderman kith, mirror sex sjkadfhasldjkfh, 34+35, JOI but with a partner? Not D/s, promises are made to broken hehe, that feeling when you understand the title, omg the fan art is so cool!! 15/10 would re-read seriously I can’t explain how well the artist used angles/how she portrayed the scenes was fucking MASTERFUL

Woof Wolf

Tags: that's my best friend (saweetie), red heads, werewolf au, college setting, students, shoot a shot in your mouth while I'm riding, facials, marking

Sexual Awakening of an Ex Delinquent 

Tags: completed, quickie/short story, sexual coercion/non con/dub con, tiddies, bondage, nipple play, edging/orgasm denial, candy in ass wow, food kink, kink in general, rich seme working class uke, lightsabers,  big dick Jesus fuck, exhibitionism, public sex, men's lingerie, Blondie is a sweet baby angel, self hatred/homophobia, sexual narrating that has me like oof 😣 that's not how this works but okay, the sweet spots thing is a great line, man is a slave to the sweets, lmao at the meme at the end of ch 9 fucking facts, kidnapping plot, rapey guys all around this story, tattoo/back story reveal has me like *nods head yes*, my throats broken has me gagged, crazy amount of sfx noises that distract from the art (I really appreciate cleaners I realize), first times, rushed ending feels,  would rate 6/10 not terrible but probably won't read again.  

With Your Tail Yes

Tags: ongoing, IG rec, quickie/short story, on man brunette looks EXACTLY like a different character by another artist like for real duplicate, home boy pulled Elle Wood’s Bend n Snap and we are HERE FOR IT, lingerie/cross dressing, okay compilation of short stories, great artwork but wtf these are far too short (maybe uploaded wrong..?), *immediately makes deal with the devil because yum*, ah okay previews THEN stories, human animal hybrid situation, lightsabers, fucking imagine your crush delivery the sex toy you ordered online HAHA *dies*, buys toys because men ain’t shit is a VIBE, you know he’s always wearing matching sets because he’s 100% that bitch, dub con/non con, knotting (unexpected), exhibitionism, public sex, good ol’ fashion blackmail to get your lover to stay with you trope, sexual assault/attempted rape, victim blaming, shibari, leashes, D/brat dynamic sort of, copious amounts of cum, lube? What lube?, marathon sex, first time, 75 hours?? Immediately no meme, 7/10 mostly for art/concepts but not execution

Heat and Run

Tags: ongoing, IG rec, omegaverse, friends to enemies to lovers, multiple couples as main to sides then sides to mains, my heart dropped because I thought the first sex scene was incest but then realized I’m mixing up all the characters derp, dense gays, this is america (the shooting comment WOOF reality feels bad man), blondes have more fun, real dicks, dubcon/CNC dealers choice, mutual pining, idiots in love, big alpha energy BDE, there are moments I feel Hayoung on a spiritual level and not sure that’s a compliment hahaha, orgasm denial/edging, istg if he bonded without Hayoung permission *jenna marbles BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII YOU BETTAH NOT*, also I was hoping the idol was him but realizing it’s probs his sis, *deep sigh*, BDIRL, wow racism, oh no oh no no no no no meme audio, listen everyone needs to get into therapy to break that generational trauma is all I’m saying (not excusing abuse at all, trauma isn’t a free pass), NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY A GAME WITHOUT KNOWING THE RULES :ALKSDHJALKSDJA:SLKDJTRUE, matthew singing bo burnham: I’m problematic *background singers ‘he’s a problem!’*, i ship it yolo, JAEHO STAN (no means no!), mpreg, god damn it I am so worried about him getting roofie and the party scene hasn’t even started ABO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TOO ME, OH THANK JAEHO, dayummmm that clapback was real fuck him UP, me clapping: MARK HIM MARK HIM, GOD DAMN IT WITH THESE ONGOING FUCKING CLIFF HANGERS FML, marked via knotting? Okay that’s new, but also like normal marking I think, fucking til bottom pees trope

Heaven Officials Blessing

Animated series season 1 complete. Live action currently filming (same director as Untamed too UGH SO HAPPY)

Tags: ongoing, same author as my fav ever MDZS, just finished season 1 animated on netflix and can no longer avoid this because I LOVE THEM, all the memes on IG make sense now, Prince voice: Dearly Beloved (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXJhDltzYVQ) we are gathered here today to dive deeper into a fandom I will never escape, ART IS AMAZING (https://tenor.com/view/incredible-talented-lady-brilliant-gaga-gif-14857187), group chats are always chaotic tbh, wait a minute meme audio: bride = bottom? How tf did I not get that the first time round *sigh* always hoping for a verse couple, the asst. Boys I ship hard, the sass, fuck this is going to just be pure angst isn’t it *straps in, has fluffy manga queued*, even if no smut 11/10 gege porn, not subtle, god FUCK this ART IS SO FUCKING GOOD THE TALENT skjas;ldkfja;, 🥺, traumatic cliff moment *mdzs flashbacks*, HC smirk is my new favorite thing, no fucking but lots of touching, size difference, horror, gore, wuxia, great side characters, my ear feels tingly too lmao, SOMEONE BETTER GET THESE MF SNAKES ON THIS MF PLANE (cliff), umbrella moments got me uwu, gimme at least didi pleaseandthankyou, FUCK I LOVE THIS ARTIST she keeping us WELL fed with these extras DAYUM, wind/earth master ship please sail, CALL ME DADDY IM DEAD, HC has LWJ energy like you are not qualified to talk to me LOL, WAIT this totally counts as there was only one bed trope, also I’m already excited about omegaverse ff (send me recs please please please)

4 week lovers

Tags: ongoing because apparently I want to torture myself, mutual pining/”unrequited love”, college life, friends to lovers, blackmail ur crush into sex trope, public sex, I was going to tag possessive body language but possessive in a general sense apparently (starting strong yessss), sure jan @unrequited love dialogue, THEY WERE ROOMMATES *cackles*, sus haha, rough translation, pure comedy, shirt thing!, casual abuse :( (back story, traumatic childhood), I’m getting TharnType vibes (but not quite…), that note is precious, cry during/after sex, great angles, dialogue A+ 

Burlesque Night

Tags: completed, quickie/short story, stripper/body guard, coworkers, lust at first sight, magic mike vibes, fridays = getting fucked on stage O-O, well that was traumatizing af, took a bullet, real dicks, LDR, CUTE, I’m not in love with you… sure jan, OH WOW MASTER dlksaj;alsdkja;lsdkja;sld, gay awakening/first time, the art detail is *chefs kiss*, disappointed but not surprised :( :( :(, we stan a yes and lover, shirt thing, still not sure wtf the vertical anus thing is but full circle moment haha, you know what fuck it I’d re-read this 9/10

My one and only cat

Tags: ongoing, cat hybrids, god damn it I’m totally in furrydom ffs, ah well here we go, idol hot = loneliness wahhh /s, so hot he literally transforms other beings, omg a cat cafe CUTE, fuck that cat is cute *so fluffy*, stalker status, comedy, real dicks, I think the uncle would be supportive/jealous even I hope they talk about it I’m dying to know his thoughts, big tiddies, if this ain’t the cutest shit FLUFF/SMUT, copious amounts of cum, ate it with the panties on, CAKE, xmas, his milkshakes bring all the boy(cats) to the yard, trifling bitch

Imitation Mate

Tags: completed, omegaverse, alpha x alpha. Class rivals YAS, childhood frans, enemies to lovers omg this is all the shit I want, manipulation 1000 but yolo I ship it

Mr. 100% Perfect

Tags: ongoing, so relatable, OCD?, hoarder, when I read the title I thought mental illness and I was right, masks ugh RELATABLE, getting back together w ex, woof sibling drama/manipulation, suicide attempt, omg their communication regarding the psycho is REFRESHING, OMG JEJU ISLAND I see it in every fucking kdrama ever but this is the first time I’ve seen it mentioned in a manga *hm* interesting, furry furry everywhere, eye contact, finished reading season 1 pause for an omergaverse cause, okay I’m back and season 2 starting STRONG #1 men are gross #2 mans just went right to a blowie while mf was trying to pee lmao i can NOT the germs barf, fuckboi extraordinaire stressing over a textback is *great*, that istg face is perfect, HYUNGGGG, hand on his heart OW MY HEART, vibe check LOL, here for this plot dev, END OF SEASON2 NOOOOOOOimnotready. Head bonks CUTE

The origin of species

Tags: ongoing, omegaverse, sex tape, blackmail, i already don’t like this teacher, size difference, ‘JUST DIE’ hahahahahaha, I’m in love with noona, wait Ahjussi means uncle/mister? Dangerous convenience store has a new meaning to me now, DECEASED @they won’t, copious amounts of cum, alcohol to have intimacy *sighs in early 20s*, also WTF THEY ARE FUCKING AND THERE’S NO PHERMONE STUFF! What’s the point of being ABO without smell *swaggy p meme???*, wait okay ch 11 it begins, stockholm syndrome but since childhood I’m fairly certain *looking at you teacher I don’t trust these mfs*, dubcon obviously, also the can’t be knotted thing has me *cardi b meme that’s weird that’s sus* obvs poor bb about to get preg af, five word horror story: I won’t hurt you again *why tf you lyinggggg why u always lyinggg meme*, white collar crime, what’s the point of a contract when there’s no actual choice

How to Chase an Alpha

Tags: ongoing, lowkey been avoiding this one not because I think it’ll be bad I just..idk the brain is a weird thing, page 2 and I love mains attitude fucking gagged sass me bb, starting with rough translation but it be that way sometimes, GROUNDS HIMSELF BY TOUCHING HIS BLACK CARD I CANTTT, pheromone city fuck it UP, MC is a MOOD, mutual pining, when u and bae both hire PI’s to get info on each other, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, shirt thing, fucking chuffed about the rival fucking bring it, funny art, cheated on ugh mah heart I saw it coming and it still hurt, pure comedy this airport scene is so funny to me wtf, LDR, good ol murica fuckboi, LOVE HIM RIDE FOR UR MAN/MORALS, liams a little rapey rapist hm? No one’s ever said no… well being flooded with pheromones isn’t consent my dude, istg liam = I love it when they struggle, obvs jealousy/possessive tag but such is ABO, cat suit, BUNNY suit, sexy costumes, god damn it I love them that proposal/mpreg so cute, imprinting AW, ugh baes fam is so cute I needed that bc I wanna strangle wooyoungs dad, THE SECETARY is my fucking fav never stops being A+, SEC+LIAM?? Here for it *i ship it*, FUCK SO CUTE 12/10 re-read, fluff n smut, excited for how to chase an omegaside story hyung needs love!, JINI is mood, sales king I’m dying, that collar is ~hot~ btw

Egoism

Tags: completed (because jesus I can’t with ongoing, theheartbreakTM), UPDATE FML THE HEART BREAK IS REAL also no smut, omegaverse, hey stepbro, starts with rape, possessive/jealousy (isn’t all ABO?), age difference (6years, alpha is younger *can I get hyung plz lord*), HYUNG, woof this dad SUCKS, child abuse, rape culture *sigh*, I wanna get jacked like rick and summer and beat tf out of the dad, me n my cat, TELL EM HONEY I love this MC, traitor indeed, beta x omega btw, fated pair, coercive sex, didi going to be his own demise, BREAKUP/TIME SKIP NO this is BL hell, the rona is mentioned in this, ALL I WANT IS TO HEAR YOUR STORY WAHHHHHHHHHH also YES MY SHIP IS GOING TO SAIL I CAN FEEL IT, okay honestly frustrating a bit but also liked it yah 7-8/10, won’t re-read unless I’m looking for hurt though cause the comfort is BRIEF

Yarichin bitch bu

Tags: ongoing, reading because I watched this anime after seeing it mentioned in the comment section of -im-being-harassed-by-the-sexiest-man-of-the-year, anime was 2 eps a fucking wild the way this is uploaded SUCKS, no reality porn what plot rape-y ridiculous and now I need to read the source apparently haha, I need to know much more about yuri and blue hair guy ASAP (they have the spin off*adds to list*), high school setting, smut, studentsxstudents/teachers, photography club my ass, sex toys, kinky, crossdressing, gay awakening, unrequited love, jealousy, fake relationship, two faced people, OCD, COMEDY, rich people problems, hoarder, inferiority complex, one bed, toono is a dumbass in this love triangle or denial might be a better word, they are cousins my dude stop shipping it (I say to both toono and myself LOL), I wanna see Yuri’s face laksdjf;aldskf, vibrator #18 line is fucking iconic, yaguchi is about to get real interesting (BPD?), lies/manipulation, oh toono you sweet summer child, YURI i can’t wit chu, wait did he just punch the student because he won’t kiss him or???, dubcon/noncon obvs, finally my verse couple but they’re not a couple (yuri/tamu), they all care about each other is a weird way awwww, love confessions to pet vibrator scene are ICONIC MY DUDES I CAN NOTTT, lowkey living for Yuri’s drooling at this point, Jimi gives me such bad second hand embarrassment, Yuri the switch verse bb I’ve been looking for need more!, internalized homophobia, blackmail, MIDDLE FINGER IN THE AIR YAS KING, the heartbreak of ongoing/hasn’t been updated in years

Yarichin bitch bu dj wa

Tags: not completed I think, years old though, see above you know what it is, so cute omg, FIRST KISS AW, degradation kink?, MY VERSE COUPLE I’ve finally found you, biting, choking, rough sex, sex toys, they had fun together for another two hours DECEASED

Fucked by my Best Friend

Tags: ongoing, friends to lovers, body swap, Porn what plot, cannon threesomes in past maybe??(MFF for sure but MMF??), beach life, revenge, he became a HOT woman so honestly get over it, sloppy seconds, first off you’re both sluts second lmao this is going to be wild hm?, fellas is it gay if you kiss the homies, classic did you cum guy jfc, that’s how you get preg dumbass, ah the joys of being a woman /s assault in der clrub, *DEEP SIGH* @ you almost being raped turns me on, YES TURNING BACK DYING, gender has nothing to do with this LOL but true. Also yes cannon threesomes/orgies, googles frotting, mans like narrating playtime, intecurial sex public sex, lingerie, this is the closest thing to straight manga I’ve read hahaha, THE SCIENCE OMG FUCKING RIDIC :you need a mass amount of semen within you SURE JAN, possessive. Objectification, she trying to fuck without Shion LMAO, 34+35, do you think he’s on r/nofap, dry orgasm honestly impressed with mans rn ngl, spit as lube, anal fingering, just helping the homies find their prostate, bottom shaming (disappointed but not surprised), bis/gays in denial smh, question if he has a wet dream will he turn into a woman?, shirt thing, lol at female orgasm =anal in switcharoos mind, paging doc perv, shion is enjoying dressing up hm? Same dude, biggest reality gap is believing shion got admitted to a college HAHA, bad anatomy all over the place dude, rui is a dedicated exhibitionist, HE SO TIGHT BECAUSE THERES NO LUBE team no lube over here apparently not even a courtesy spit, yandere territory sort of?, Mayu with the dick wet comment is *chefs kiss*, THE HEARTBREAK OF ONGOING WAHHH I can’t believe I read all this but I can? 8/10 problematic possessive porn

[fragranceman]

what makes the dsmp’s story stand out

Why the dsmp is so special and why it distinguishes itself amongst the insane amount of media that we could be consuming instead right now.

So basically, this is really obvious and simple and i think we all kinda know it without thinking about it but i still felt like writing it down because it’s super important to me.

The thing that makes this story stand out amongst so many others (apart from the fact that it’s a mc rp lmao) is that all the character’s are treated like people. What i mean by that is that they can’t be treated simply as ways to further the plot, they can’t just kill off characters in favor of contributing to some other character’s arc, they can’t have stuff like “manic pixie dream girls”. and that’s because each character IS a real person, if they tried that, if someone suggested that stuff someone in the discord call is gonna go “hey, what the fuck man, you can’t just kill me off like that”.

Each character is therefore special, none of them can be 2d because they are people, they all exist as people instead of being plot devices. There aren’t any extras (except arguably the guests like drista, lil nas x, etc) there aren’t really any side characters*, because it’s everyone’s story, all the characters have someone sitting there that actually care about them and are interested in making that character special, they won’t be neglected.

that’s also why, often the characters just… don’t fit in tropes. they don’t really exist the way normal character’s do, they don’t have this “purpose” that movie or books characters do, like hero, trainer, soft character that teaches the main character about love, comic-relief, or love-interests that’s only there for 3 chapters because they die for the mc to teach them about grief.

They’re only there as, themselves. They don’t fit in one trope because people don’t do that, there’s more to them then that, they’re complex. they’re closer, more similar to real people than anything that’s been made in a really long time, and that’s because they all have a person to take care of their little character. 

there was this really cool thinking written by @/mt-words which i’ll link here about techno not fitting in a trope and that possibly fucking with people’s expectation of his characters. i think the idea that we’re so used to getting the same tropes regurgitated back to us over and over again that we don’t know how to handle stuff that doesn’t fit in them is very funny (and also a bit sad). Like, has media really become THIS repetitive and unoriginal??? But i digress.

anyway, time for quick examples, i was watching the “healthy competition” stream from 07/26 and i noticed something cool. So basically c!wilbur asks c!ranboo to ”pick his brain” and then asks him a bunch of questions about his morals and they discuss his alignments and other similar stuff right? And we can see clearly that c!wilbur is completely baffled at the stuff c!ranboo is saying about him not disliking anyone and not really having any strong stances at all. he just genuinely doesn’t understand c!ranboo and can’t relate at all.

Yet 10 mins later, he’s pouring his heart out to him and more importantly he’s talking about how he feels like c!ranboo really gets him. Obviously they are super similar in lots of ways, like their paranoia and anxiety, how they’re both kinda people pleasers, etc.

the fact that they can be in complete agreement on a topic and be so similar in certain aspects while also being complete opposites and being genuinely confused at the stuff that’s coming out of the other’s mouth on other topics really shows how multifaceted the character’s are, how 3d and real they feel.

I’m going to be adding another example from a post i just read by @/shrugofmud here it is :). It’s basically about how c!jack and ghostbur are cool because they balance comedy and drama. I’m gonna talk more about c!jack here. basically he’s comedic relief and he leans into that role right? but he’s also so much more than that, the way he balances the jokes and the clear comedy of his plotline with the sadness and loneliest he clearly feels and let’s that seep through in his jokes. He’s more than one thing, he’s more than comedic-relief, he copes with humor and covers his desire for a sense of belonging and to be heard by a bitter hatred and desire for revenge on c!tommy.

They’re more than just one thing, they aren’t reduced to a trope or a key personality trait the way characters often are. there’s so much to them, different parts of their personality that work together to make a whole, like a person :)

I also believe this is why the fandom as so much character analysis material and just keeps going, but it’s also why there’s so much disagreement on the characters and their personalities, like “oh people are villanizing c!wilbur too much” or “people are reducing c!niki to her villain arc and turning it into a ‘girlboss moment’” or “people are making c!tubbo too soft”. the character’s are harder to write into fanfic properly or analyze because you have to take into account all the different subtleties of them.

some people chose to focus on certain aspects of the characters, aspects they find more interesting or aspects they relate to, while other’s chose to focus on other aspects, which causes a bit of confusion.

It’s what makes this story so original and cool to think about and make the character’s so fucking compelling. It’s what makes me sit down for 6 hours straight and watch VODs so i can better understand different characters, it’s what makes me excited for each lore stream. it’s how human they are, how real they feel.

And this is why i’m the biggest believer and will always push for STUFF CAN BE TWO THINGS!!

[silentfcknhill]

FAVORITE SHOWS IN POSTERS

Well, we’re back for another installment of this tagged meme, this time for TV shows! I also stole this from/was indirectly tagged by @jcmorrigan. My taste in shows also differs a bit from my taste in movies, as I tend to like a lot of comedy shows with not as many horror ones. I’m not into shows as much as movies overall, but there are some that I am very passionate about so I picked twenty again. So, here we go for part 2, in order:

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra (2005-2014)

I'm including these as one show since they take place in the same universe and tell a continuation of the same overall plot. Altogether this is probably the best piece of media to ever exist, including movies. It has so many great characters and villains especially and some of the most epic sequences, charming humor and heartwarming moments ever. I've never met a person who didn't like these shows, even people who normally don't like cartoons. My dad, who is biased against animation? He loved it. My mother? She loved it, watched it with her multiple times. My grandmother? Loved it. My ex-boyfriend? Loved it. My best friend? Loved it. I dare anyone not to, and I'm so glad it's making a resurgence since it's on Netflix for a new generation to enjoy.

2. Black Butler (2008-2014)

I never was big into anime growing up and only really started watching anime when I was like 16 and above, but this is one of the exceptions because holy shit is it ever dark and epic. I'm not sure I'd really recommend it for kids, it's more of a teens and young adults kind of anime and that's probably why it's so good, because it isn't afraid to explore dark and mature topics and do it with all of the intensity and gravitas required to do said topics justice. It has lots of great characters, and the story of demons who make deals with children who have a dark side is fun to watch play out.

3. Seinfeld (1989-1998)

My dad was a huge fan of this show so I watched it growing up since I was a toddler and it became a classic for me. I've watched thw hole show through at least 8 times, and I'll never stop because it never gets old or boring. It's also my only comfort show when I'm having a panic attack because of one time a few years ago when I was having a drug-induced psychosis episode and watching it calmed me down, so now it's like the opposite of a trigger and whenever I'm having an episode or something I watch it to bring me back to reality. For that reason it's more than a show to me, it's a medical treatment and I'm forever grateful to it.

4. The Good Place (2016-2020)

The big four shows made my Michael Schur all made it on this post (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office and Parks And Recreation), either in the main list of the honorable mentions, but this is my personal favorite of the four. It's so funny, quirky, relatable and basically tailor-made to suit my interests. Not only is it an entertaining and wholesome show, but I think watching it helped me come to terms with a lot of things like mortality, ethics, philosophy, religion and my relationships with other people. It gets  alot of different viewpoints across and if you're a very analytical and philosophical person like me you'll probably enjoy seeing it all play out. Not to mention, every single character is 'favorite character' material. It's rare you find a show with no filler characters in the main cast, but I genuinely can't choose who is best.

5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-?)

Another of Michael Schur's shows, this one is just barely under The Good Place and to be honest it was tough to pick my favorite between the two because they're both equally funny. I know it's kind of controversial right now because of the whole law enforcement thing, but I actually think they do a good job of handling social issues in the show and remaining respectful of real-life systemic problems. As for the characters, this is another one of those shows where every single character is gold and I think that tends to be a trend among Schur's shows in general. He produces damn good comedy, and damn good characters. I can't wait to see what they bring next.

6. Rick And Morty (2013-?)

This is unfortunately one of those cases of 'great show, horrible fandom' and for that reason I don't get involved in the fandom even though I love the show. It's a shame because it really is a great show, so funny and, again, such good characters. I think it's a lot more accessible than the fandom likes to claim, so I'm hoping more people will give it a chance and not get put off by the intellectual elitism of the fandom because it does have some of the most entertaining and batshit crazy episodes ever, poking fun of some of the staples of science fiction in media while also poking fun of itself the whole time. Unlike the fandom, the show doesn't take itself seriously and that's enjoyable nowadays.

7. Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019)

While this show is a comedy, it is also a lot of other things and it's probably made me ugly-cry just as many times as it's made me laugh. Well, maybe not as often, but those few scenes (if you've watched the show then you know the ones I'm talking about) made me hysterically sob hard enough to be worth like fifty minor sads. But I didn't even mind because the show is just that good, and it makes you /feel/ something in a real way. Probably because of just how real it gets in terms of telling stories that happen all the time in the real world, sometimes with inevitably tragic endings. But these things do happen every day, and it's important to shine a light on that. It's not just representation for LGBTQ+ but also for POC, the neurodiverse, the poor, and many more. Give it a watch to broaden your perspective!

8. Big Mouth (2017-?)

This is probably the grossest show I've ever seen but by god is it ever funny. Maybe it's because I have an immature sense of humor or something, but I love this show. It definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea and I don't recommend you watch this show with anyone else around because it will get awkward. I think part of its appeal to me is that everyone I talk to who likes it considers it so relatable to their lives growing up but for someone like me who grew up on the autism and asexual spectrum and who was physically an early-bloomer by years, nothing about this show is relatable to me in any way so it makes it all the more crazy and bizarre watching how the people around me must have experienced things. Did y'all really have these experiences with puberty in middle school???

9. Dexter (2006-2013)

I recently heard that this show is coming back for a reboot soon and I'm so excited because this is my absolute favorite drama/thriller show, as evidenced by the fact that it's the highest one on the list so far that isn't a comedy. I love the idea of having a protagonist who is sort of a villain (or at least morally dubious), and the idea of a serial killer who only kills bad people is particularly satisfying for some reason. Maybe because he's the vigilante we all deserve and want in this unjust and evil world of modern times? Idk but the very premise of this show set it up for big things and aside from the ending I think it delivered consistently.

10. Once Upon A Time (2011-2018)

This show took us on some journeys, and you can't deny that. Sure, maybe it didn't always finish what it started and didn't always end in the most satisfying way, but part of its charm is that you didn't care because the experience was just so much fun. They took characters and stories that have been told to death and somehow managed to put a unique and unexpected twist on them, and that alone is admirable. Good twists, good villains, and pretty much every cliffhanger known to man will keep you hooked on binge-watching every episode.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-?)

A bit different than the other entries on my list in that it's not fiction but a reality competition show, but I couldn't leave Drag Race out because it's just so fucking iconic and perfect. Even when you disagree with the judges or can't stand a certain contestant you'll still be having a good time. It's got the personalities you love to love, the ones you love to hate, and the comedy that's completely meme-able. I mean just how much has this show contributed to pop culture and the internet? More than most of us, henny. I've watched every single season, even the international ones and all of the spinoffs. This show will probably be on for another thirty years when Ru is throwing shade from a hospital bed and I'll still be watching.

12. House (2004-2012)

Some people hate on this show, and I don't get it. I love House. Yes, he's an ass. That's the point. He's supposed to be unlikeable, and that's why I like him. Maybe because I always love the rude, sarcastic, misanthropic jerkass-genius characters for some reason. And I also love procedural shows, so it's a win-win. I also work in the healthcare field so it appeals to me for that reason too, because obviously the whole premise is outlandish which is what makes it funny. Of course it's not realistic for a hospital, so just enjoy the absurdity and don't get too hung up on the details of medical accuracy and professional ethics and you'll be fine.

13. The Office (2005-2013)

The third of Michael Schur's show and the last one that made the main list (sorry Parks And Rec, I love you too but there was just so many good shows to choose from and I saw you last so the nostalgia isn't as strong!) I don't think I need to hype this show up any, it's already a classic and you can't even turn around online without getting hit in the face by a dozen Office memes. You'll have to pry this show and it's relatable characters (especially Michael Scott) from my cold, dead hands.

14. All Hail King Julien/The Penguins Of Madagascar (2008-2017)

Like Avatar/Korra, I also consider this as one show for the sake of this list because it also takes place in the same universe (Madagascar, specifically) and I just couldn't choose one over the other because they're both so perfect. They're funny and I love all the characters (it cut out the weaker links of the Madagascar film series and just focuses on expanding the standout side-characters like King Julien and the penguins). It also delved into some lore, particularly the first show, and even though I didn't also agree with the directions it took (you may have seen me get salty about the ending because I cared too much), I can't deny how much I love it.

15. Bones (2005-2017)

One of the other scarce non-comedy shows on this list, it still has it's funny moments. It's also, like House, another procedural show that involves some medical stuff, but this time on a more scientific and forensic level which is even more interesting. It's nice to see a lead female with Asperger's, too. There's a lot of cop/law enforcement shows where they try to solve crimes, but this one is the best, and I'm saying that as a fan of CSI as well. Don't fight me on this, I'm right. Oh yes, it's corny, it's campy, it's cheesy, but I love every minute of it. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach though.

16. The Simpsons (1989-?)

We all grew up with this show, don't lie. It's been around longer than most people on tumblr have even been alive. Should it have ended seasons ago? Hell yes. But that doesn't take away what the first like 20 or so seasons gave us (there's a lot of argument about when the show jumped the shark, for me it wasn't until much later than the popular consensus). The characters are amazing, but the secret to the show's longevity is that they always return to status quo and there's comfort and nostalgia in that. Bart will still be in 4th grade when you're out there pushing 90. This show is persistent. This show is eternal. This show will outlive us all.

17. Ash Vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018)

Sorely underrated. This show is hilarious, gruesome and campy as hell and I love it. I don't think you necessarily have to watch the Evil Dead movies beforehand in order to get the plot of the show, although it would probably help. In my opinion this show ended way too soon and I'm hoping someday we'll get a comeback because Ash is the reluctant, self-absorbed hero we all need and it's 2020 so at this point there really might actually be a demon-zombie apocalypse and who's gonna save us then if not for the impulsive womanizer with a chainsaw for a hand?

18. Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006)

Another show I grew up with, I don't think it gets as much credit as it deserves. It has some damn funny episodes and great characters, and it did a lot of the popular sitcom tropes before they were 'cool'. Some other great sitcoms, The Middle in particular, took a lot of influence from this show and it helped pave the way for the future of sitcoms at a time when they were about to make a comeback. If you want a good show about the real experiences of growing up, this is a much more accurate representation of the highs and lows of being an awkward tween from a dysfunctional home.

19. A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Unlike most people I actually liked the movie version from the early 2000's, and I read the books growing up so I was excited when I saw there was a live action television adaptation of it on Netflix because I felt like they cancelled the movie franchise too soon. I was interested to see how new actors would handle the roles, and I was not disappointed. I wouldn't say I liked either portrayal of the characters better or worse, they both added their own twist to it and this show is a great and loyal adaptation to the books, probably because the author was so heavily involved. He knew just when to stick to the books and when to improve upon what he had done with the benefit of hindsight. This show is basically the books, but remastered.

20. Winx Club (2004-?)

Sort of an odd one out on this list, but I really love this show even as an adult and it may surprise you to learn it is still going on and the most recent season came out last year. They take big breaks sometimes in between seasons, but it's still going strong and in multiple countries. The only thing I don't like about watching this show is all the different and inconsistent dubs since the original show is Italian and each dub only goes for a couple seasons so by the time you get used to one set of voices/names for the characters oyu have to abruptly switch to another, but it's still worth it for the beautiful animation and cool characters (especially the villains!)

Honorable Mentions: 

13 Reasons Why, America's Next Top Model, American Horror Story, Arrested Development, Bates Motel, Battlestar Galactica, Black Mirror, Care Bears, Chernobyl, Courage The Cowardly Dog, Criminal, CSI, Duck Dodgers, Goosebumps, Kenny Vs. Spenny, Kim Possible, Kingdom Hospital, Lazytown, Lost, Making A Murderer, Mayday, Mindhunter, Modern Family, Monster High, Obsession: Dark Desires, Parks And Recreation, Prison Break, Project Runway, Queer As Folk, Queer Eye, Salem, Schitt's Creek, SCTV, Spongebob Squarepants, The Emperor's New School, The Good Doctor, The Haunting Of Hill House/Bly Manor, The Middle, The Pretender, The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Through The Wormhole, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Unsolved Mysteries, Yugioh

Tagging: @bullet-farmer​ and anyone else who wants to!

[kpopmakesmequestionmylifechoices]

Kingdom Round 3: "Plagiarism", rigged voting and fanwars.

[Disclaimer: It is possible that for fans of certain groups I'll come off as offensive. I like each of the groups, I possess albums of TBZ, SF9 & SKZ, and I watched HOURS of content/debut programs of ALL the participating groups. Nevertheless, I will ALWAYS say my honest opinion. If you want to fight me, you're ofc allowed to do so but I hope you're all mature enough to not feel offended by opinions.]

Act 1: Tbz, where do your ideas come from?

So what I've noticed is that there's a massive difference between tbz behind the scenes and other groups'. Not only in this episode. So far, tbz simply DID NOT show how they create ideas, stages, how they practice. They picked a song, fooled around, and then met up with RTK members. It was cute sure, but it had NOTHING to do with the stage. The other groups showed practice scenes, showed their ideation process, showed who taught them and how. The boyz didn't. No practice, no ideation. Only song choice. We didn't see them practicing the choreo, we didn't see how they even got the idea for this stage. Their behind the scenes footage sadly has NOTHING to do with their performance. I really wish we could see them practicing and coming up with ideas.

Another big problem I see with this, is that they literally don't explain where their ideas come from. Now for people who know Game of Thrones (GoT hereafter), it probably appears rather obvious that the previous and also this stage was inspired by GoT, right? The white walkers? Ice and fire? The throne? The freaking red wedding??? I can't be the only one who sees a connection between their stages and GoT. ATEEZ said they were inspired by Pirates of the Carribbean. SF9 said they were inspired by film noir and showed how they worked with an actor on their storyline. iKON explained how they associate inception with dreams and put together their ideas. But TBZ didn't freaking talk about any of this. Either it was never recorded, or it never was aired. In any way, it's extremely suspicious in my eyes. Moreover it's just pretty shit to not say where your idea comes from. Especially not when you even name your stage after the iconic red wedding... Now IF they were NOT inspired by GoT, then it would be some... extremely huge coincidences... especially the stage title is just a bit too much tbh. But more to that stage later.

Edit: It came to my knowledge that according to deobis, Cre.Ker will post the content after Kingdom on tbz social media. Whoever took that decision needs to be fired tbh. If the content will be released, I'll link to it and add some few words to it.

Act 2: The good, the bad, and ... All hail king Juyeon?

Let's talk about the performances now.

SF9: What I dislike is the fact that as I stated in my previous Kingdom post, they are forced to do such dramatic musical/movie stages to even be recognized as part of the show. Moreover, I found it weird and unfitting that they held guns during the group dance parts, to me it seemed a bit off. Also, at times, their energy level seemed a bit low.

What I liked is that even tho it was a MASSIVE set, the performance still was extremely easy to understand and follow. They all looked insanely good tho, SF9 simply is mature and manly. I liked the concept, it was fresh because it for once had no fantasy vibe but actual criminal mafia energy. My favourite parts were Jaeyoon's fighting scenes because they were very well choreographed. Altogether, I really enjoyed it and also found it interesting how they referred to the Boyz crown scenes on RTK.

The Boyz: In my eyes, this is already the second GoT inspired concept they did. Not a fan of this. Moreover, I'm a bit pissed that it looks as if they are selling all that as their own ideas. As I said before, I believe this is GoT inspired, the name at least definitely was - but it's never said that the inspiration comes from there, because we literally have no information about where their ideas come from and if it's even their own ideas. To me it has the bitter aftertaste of wanting to hide sth the viewers aren't supposed to see. But this is not tbz fault but the fault of whoever writes/directs/edits their footage.

With the title of the stage given, I actually thought I'd see a wedding. But what I've seen was a woman in a bird cage. And then many more women. I failed to see what this all had to do with a wedding, and I moreover failed to see the connection to "THE" red wedding. And I failed to understand the plot once again, and because they didn't explain it beforehand, I'll never understand it.

What I liked is that the performance was way less dramatic than it was ever before. It didn't seem like a stunt show anymore, it didn't seem overdramatic anymore. It was easier to focus on the performance. Sadly, I noticed that this "downgraded" (aka slow-paced and less dramatic) stage was unfortunately underwhelming in comparison with what they did before - which was sth I predicted from beginning on. At some point you can't go bigger anymore, and if you tone it down it'll automatically seem underwhelming.

Edit: It's sad that they have this pressure to outperform themselves because they've won RTK. But honestly, it was clear that the winner would have this pressure on them. I don't see why I would pity them for this, after all, each of the groups feel pressured anyways and I rather feel sorry for ALL groups together because this whole ranking/competition thing is just unnecessarily stressful. But once again, I don't understand why you all blame MNET for this. Don't forget that the companies have contracts with MNET and knew that shit would go down. If you blame any bigger instances, then please also the companies who put their idols on the show. It's not like they got forced to make their groups participate.

My biggest criticism this time however is the fact that they give the most screentime to Juyeon (and Sunwoo because of the rap parts), and the rest of the members barely appear, or basically aren't shown at all. I already felt before that there was a strong focus on Juyeon, but now it's srly showing very clearly. I really like Juyeon, but I don't find it fair. I think that doesn't do justice to the other members, which deserve screentime as well. In conclusion, tbz on kingdom is an extreme mess in my eyes, with lots of communication- and management flaws.

iKON: I belong to the group of people who heavily prefers THANXX over inception, so I was a bit sceptical about the song choice. They really made a YG version out of this tho, I was pretty impressed. The stage concept was pretty nice, iKON surely knows how to use light. Now the stage seemed very inspired by Inception (the movie) which makes a lot of sense - but wasn't communicated either. Just mentioning this because I critisized tbz earlier, so I think the same applies here to some degree. I didn't recognize the song anymore tho but I found it pretty refreshing. In my eyes they did the best so far in making another group's song their own. This could have been an iKON song for sure. As always, a fun stage.

My personal ranking will follow after the other stages.

Act 3: About cheating and faking.

The Voting looks as follows:

Views: 1. SKZ 2. iKON 3. ATEEZ 4. BTOB 5. TBZ 6. SF9

Online Voting: 1. SKZ 2. SF9 3. iKON 4. BTOB 5. ATEEZ 6. TBZ

Btw if anyone knows the overall voting, please comment or send a message, because I somehow missed it?

I said it before, and I say it again, this entire voting is rigged and I totally don't care about it anymore at this point because it's absolutely not trustable. Experts didn't know about the budget differences, who even are the experts, why did SF9 get zero on-site votes, and then ofc the fans who created 50 accounts to vote...this voting is a joke. What I can totally not understand is how ATEEZ and TBZ can rank last for online voting. Sth seems off here to me, especially the fact that SF9 ranks last in views but ranks 2nd in votes? I'm sorry to say this but I think that's the result of the ZZZ fanwar. My assumption is that there must be a big mass of people who purposely voted NOT for TBZ & ATEEZ, and my guess is - no offence - that those were stays. In accordance with the fanwar, they didn't give their 2 other votes to the other ZZZ groups but to whatever other group. Or in general the ZZZ fandoms purposely not voting for each other. That would explain extremely well why SF9 could suddenly rank 2nd. I'm tired of this voting, of fanwars and all this drama and I decided to not care about the official voting anymore.

If you got to this point, I wanna let you know that I feel very blessed that you made it through this long post hahaha. Thanks! And for the next week, I expect BIG THINGS. I'm the most excited for BTOB. Them covering back door is the most absurd thing I've imagined for a long time hahahaha. But Eunkwang with tattoos really is a good sight, isn't it ;)?

[akookminsupporter]

I want to see if anyone else went through this. When I started checking out BTS, I found Taekook videos and watched them. I'm a curious person and it was the start of covid-19, so for about a month I think I was a Taekooker and I felt like I had consumed every theory, analysis and piece of information I could find on them. I think I wasn't intrigued by the rest of it, and I started watching RUN and BV so that took my time. Still I was looking for clues, thinking I could see if there was really something there. Instead I ended up noticing that JK and JM were really close, which wasn't hard. I'm JK biased and I focus on him alot. I payed more attention to them and found out more stuff about them and it was kind of apparent to me they're more likely to be a couple, really natural and attuned to each other. So I get confused and kind of fascinated when I see Taekookers being very adamant Jikook are fake but still hanging on to TK. I have been in the fandom for more than a year now, and all I see TKers doing is being angry and sad all the time over the lack of moments and proofs. Sometimes I find tweets and threads from 2017, 2018, 2019 complaining about the same stuff and lack of moments and evidence that they complain about today. Word for word. I'm like what are they still hanging on for if it's something that has no real proof and is actually making them miserable and toxic? I rationalize that maybe it's because I saw the full picture on both sides, and I didn't have YEARS of investment in the ship, I wasn't attached to it in a way, nor did I have any prejudice against JM, the way so many tkkrs seem to have. Sometimes they act like they're shipping TK and hating on Jikook/Jimin JUST because Jimin seems like real competition and threat, as in he realistically could be with JK. It's more real so it means less room to fantasize and project. Jikook threaten their desire to have JK for themselves, like the "love triangle" where JK is tugged between Tae and JM awoken some unhealthy possessiveness in them. Also, I feel like JM has a strong dominant personality + he is clear and persistent on things he cares about (JK) which rubs them the wrong way because in a way, it means JM gets more of JK, for real compared to anyone, and they have less control over JK. Alot of K-pop fans do want a sense of ownership and control over idols, let's be honest. These fans seem to expect a certain image from JK and want him to act a certain way. When he doesn't, they get angry (taking it out on JM/Jikook). Example, not feeding them with TK moments. Meanwhile TK are more farfetched, require more conspiracy theories, and suspension of belief which allows more room for fantasization, imagiantion, dubiousness - like deep down they know TK can't be real and that makes shipping them easier. They can pretend so it palacates the fear of the possiblity of Tae and JK being in any real relationship. I find so weirder how I always came accross TK shipper proclaiming they were against "homosexuality" until TK made them see it was ok or that they're against it unless for TK which also means alot of these people are homophobic and harmful and are really in it for the possessive fantasies.

I have noticed that for tkkrs it doesn't matter what the reality is, what matters is the reality in their minds, and there taekook is real. That's all that matters. That is the only "truth" they accept. Why they continue to ship taekook, I don't know. habit, stubbornness or like I said, they believe it to be true. That it's real. They have an excuse for everything. why Jungkook and Tae don't spend time together, why you don't see the same complicity between them that you see in jikook or vmin. In their story there are two bad guys that don't allow tkk to be happy: Jimin and BHM.

They really prefer to live in their invented reality. They prefer to use edited photos that originally are Jimin and Jungkook, but someone replaced Jimin's face with Tae's, instead of using real photos of Taekook that exist. They prefer to call Jungkook and Tae liars instead of believing what they say. They prefer to insult them by saying that they are being forced to do or not do something, just to fit into their made up reality.

The last part of your message is problematic and worrying, and would honestly explain some things.

[opbackgrounds]

Hi there Sarc' ;) I am sorry if the question has already been asked but I thought it could be interesting to have your opinion about this. While I love most of the female characters in OP and think that most of them are well developed and can be truly good role models for girls I still feel that Oda sometimes has a sexist view on female characters (the jokes about the naked bath scenes for example or Kororo being considered ugly make me really uncomfortable). What do you think about it?

Ah, I wondered when I would get this question. 

When people talk about sexism in One Piece they typically are referring to two different things: How women are drawn, and how they’re treated within the narrative. While there’s some overlap here, there’s enough distinction that I want to address them as two separate points in two separate posts, because I guess I had Opinions, and by god there should be a limit to how much text one tumblr post can be expected to hold. Consider this an introduction.

Buckle up, kiddos. This is gonna be a long one. 

Nami Face Syndrome Isn’t the Problem...

An important thing to remember with Oda’s art and storytelling style is that almost everything is hyper exaggerated for effect. You don’t go into One Piece looking for realism. You don’t go into One Piece expecting the characters to act like normal people. Everything--from the art to the humor to the battles--is stretched and pulled to its absolute limit in hopes of garnering a particular reaction. When a character is sad they cry big bubbly tears with dribbles of snot coming from their nose. When they laugh their mouths take up half their face. 

And when a girl is hot, her tiddies are two great big watermelons stuck to the center of her chest.

What is often dubbed “Nami Face Syndrome” within the fandom is somewhat misleading. After all, why was Wanda, who is a literal dog that walks on two legs, decried as yet another Nami clone at her introduction? I would postulate it’s less to do with her face and more to do with the fact that from the neck down they are virtually identical, something that’s made more obvious because Wanda is literally wearing Nami’s clothes

What makes this frustrating for a lot of people, myself included, is that it’s not that Oda is incapable of drawing more diverse body types, but that he often chooses not to. Take for example the Kuja tribe

or the Charlotte family daughters (thanks to Arthur at Library of Ohara for the resource). It’s pretty clear Oda has the chops to make his women as weird as the men, and he often does! For important characters, even. And yes, as the Kokoro example given above sometimes the gonkness is brought attention to, but for others like Lola and Chiffon it’s...not. 

(more on mermaids later)

But Sarcasticles, one might protest, even Oda’s “ugly” characters have ginormous boobs! Where is my itty bitty titty committee representation >:(

To which I can only shrug. For Oda, boobs on a woman are like abs on men. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense, they’re gonna have ‘em

Seriously, Oda. What the fuck.

...So What Is?

I have a theory that’s impossible to prove, and that the problem isn’t so much Oda’s character design so much as the ratio of his male to female characters in general. It’s not that every female character is a Nami clone, but Oda has a template he uses for attractive female characters ages 16-25, the same way he uses Robin as a template for attractive women ages 26-35, which is how you get cases of mistaken identity like Viola for Robin or scenes during Reverie where one could be forgiven for thinking Nami’s supposed to be an identical triplet

 Oda does this for his men, too. It’s not as obvious because 1) Even men with similar facial features can have a wider variety body types due to Oda having a sliding scale of buffness he’s willing to attach to a pretty face and 2) There are more men. 

There are a lot more men.

In groups where the male to female ratio is more or less equal (Baroque Works, Big Mom’s kids) you get a wide variety of designs. But there’s only one female Supernova. There’s one female Warlord. CP9 only has one female agent. Only one of the Revolutionary Commanders is a woman. There are very few female background characters in crowd shots, especially among marines. Big Mom might be the only female Emperor, but she’s not young, In fact, when drawing her at age 28, Oda defaults to a much more generic “pretty girl” face before giving her much more striking, memorable features in her 40s

If you look at Oda’s male characters, the ones that are supposed to be hot are often given the same square jawline and the thin-bladed nose that at one point in time was reserved for Robin. Both Coby and Sabo had very distinctive noses before their glowups, while Ace must have had a laser treatment done on his eyebrows sometime between Alabasta and Marineford. 

But the biggest difference on the men has got to be muscle mass. The overgrown noodles of early One Piece are lost to the annals of time. Shanks alone must have gained 30 pounds of pure muscle from the time Luffy got his first bounty to his appearance at Marineford. 

Now, I will acknowledge that there is a difference between the increasing sexualization of female characters and the male power fantasy of giving Zoro bara tiddies post-timeskip. While I do think there are certain male characters specifically designed to be the Hot Dude, what I’m trying to emphasize here is that Oda works with templates for both men and women, and both of those templates have been exaggerated over time. Bigger boobs for women, more muscles for men. And when you’re only slotting for one girl in any given group, and that one girl has to be The Hot One then you’re going to have a lot of ladies that end up looking the same. 

My love for Otohime on this blog is well known, and I want to use her as an example of what Oda can do when he works beyond this template, because it’s really freaking good  

Otohime is neither conventionally attractive nor gonk. She’s dressed in very conservative, traditional clothing and has a narrow waist and small chest. 

There are no sharp edges on Otohime. Not her eyebrows, not her jaw, and most of the time not even her hands, emphasizing her gentle nature. You don’t see it as well in this panel, but Otohime’s head is often drawn wider than her shoulders, emphasizing her frailty. Oda gives her a longer neck to compensate, and the overall effect is a very soft, willowy figure. 

Her headpiece looks like a sunburst. The audience never sees her fins, so Oda gives her a scale patterned kimono-dress-thingy (my knowledge of Japanese clothing is, uh, not good) as a visual reminder that she’s not human. The sash that circles around her head harkens back to Japanese mythology as a symbol of divinity, similar to a halo in Western culture. And fun fact: Otohime is named after a god, just like Neptune, while her goals and ideals are pure enough to be heaven-sent. 

I’m not an artist, but this is a really damn good character design. A lot of Oda’s older female characters are. Dandan, Tsuru, O-Tsuru, Shakky, Kureha, Big Mom, and Nyon are all instantly recognizable and have strong designs, even if a few of them fall into the hourglass figure that Oda often defaults to. It’s just...there aren’t that many of them.

So the question becomes why aren’t there more women, and I think the answer is because, ultimately, One Piece is a series geared at boys. While I wish there were a few more important ladies, I can understand why there aren’t. 

Note, that doesn’t mean I think it’s right or that Oda is obligated to include more women. It’s just one of the facts of the shonen manga industry at this point in time. 

A more important question, I think, is why does every younger woman have to be attractive? And why do the attractive ladies have to wear outfits that are blatant fanservice? This is something I don’t have an answer for. Oda has said on more than one occasion that he writes One Piece with his twelve year old self in mind. It could be that it’s a calculated move to appeal to his audience, in which case it’s certainly worked because said Hot Ladies are constantly used in marketing and merchandising. It’s the Hot Ladies that top the popularity charts (although, to be fair, who’s there for competition?). In the most recent chapter a new Hot Lady was introduced, and the fandom went batshit crazy for her.

Even the fans who are very vocal about how Oda sucks at drawing women. It’s interesting how that works out sometimes.

Or maybe I’m giving Oda too much credit, and he’s just horny. Not having direct access to Oda’s mind, I don’t have an answer. If I had to guess I’d say it’s a little of Column A, a little of Column B, because that’s usually how life is. 

But in a vacuum big tiddies are just a design choice. An exaggerated aesthetic, in a series full of exaggerated aesthetics. It’s when that design choice is paired with in-story comments, actions, and decisions where things really start to get heated. But that’s a whole other ball of wax, and there should be a limit to how much one tumblr post can be expected to hold. I promise I’ll get to the meat of your question next time.

Thank you so much for your patience. I really do think it’s important to start here before diving into everything else, if only because it helps keep my thoughts organized. I hope you’ve found this helpful, and if not, I hope to do better next time. 

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

for the fandom ask, the silmarillion

the first character i ever fell in love with:

Oh gosh, it's been so long! I remember writing a very, um, untutored poem about Fingolfin for a now-defunct Tolkien fan forum that I got banned from for being too young in 2004 or thereabouts, though. So maybe him?

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not:

I've gone back and forth on Maedhros and some other of the sons of Fëanor a lot over the years, but the one I consistently really don't care about now even though I once liked him a lot is Curufin, and it's entirely because of the ~2012-2015 era of the fandom's agonizing habit of insisting against all reason that he, like all of his brothers, Did Nothing Wrong.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not:

I don't dislike Caranthir/Haleth now, but it's no longer my preferred answer to what's "up with" either character involved, relationally speaking.

my ultimate favorite character™:

Galadriel, or maybe Lúthien given that Galadriel is only incindentally involved in most of what goes on in the Silmarillion itself and most of her importance only kicks in later. In general this is a fandom in which I prefer to actively prioritize the female characters beyond their in-text importance, which has led to some friction with my best Tolkien-fandom friend since she tends to be more content with the canon narrative and character focuses.

prettiest character:

Lúthien, obviously, but I also tend to feel like Nellas--who's technically only in Unfinished Tales, not the Silm as such--is probably lovely.

my most hated character:

Tar-Aldarion, who's technically also an Unfinished Tales character but is Silmarillion-relevant because he's from the Second Age, is someone for whom I have next to no patience at all. He's an absentee husband and father obsessed with Navigating and Exploring as a form of personal self-aggrandizement; we're supposed to see the good in him because he provides aid to the elves in Middle-earth, but Númenor under his rule also begins a colonization and conquest process that later turns it into a polity that's in some ways even worse than Mordor. Not a great guy!

my OTP:

Beren/Lúthien feels "too easy" somehow so instead I'll say Míriel/Indis; there's not a ton of canon evidence for this obviously, but in my head Indis pursued Finwë mostly due to their mutual love for and sense of having lost Míriel, and there's nothing in canon that contradicts this either.

my NOTP:

First Age: While obviously this doesn't justify Fëanor's treatment of his stepmother and half-siblings, Finwë and Indis's marriage itself pisses me off big time due to lurking suggestions within the canon that Finwë was thinking solely of his own perceived needs in his decision to remarry, in particular his desire to be sexually active again and his desire for a larger family size; neither of these would be a huge red flag in a widower contemplating remarriage IRL, but considering that this is someone who has to have the gods bend the rules of the world to accommodate his desires, I don't think it's a good look.

Second Age: I hate, hate, hate "the Zimraphel draft," although I've written a fic that tries to receive it charitably and harmonize it with my own reads on the characters.

favorite episode:

N/a

saddest death:

Maedhros's death is really gut-wrenching considering the sheer futility of it, especially since it comes after the victory has been won. There's obviously a ton of very strong competition, though! A more interesting question is least sad death, to which Beren, Lúthien, and Fëanor (since it's extremely difficult to argue he didn't bring it on himself) are imo the strongest answers.

favorite season:

N/a

least favorite season:

N/a

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate:

something something early 2010s something something Fëanorian/whiteNoldocock stanning something something. I do like most of those characters, but I'm apprehensive about devoting too much fannish attention to them due to the awful history there.

I'm also fairly anti-Melian, but I think that's a more common opinion than it used to be.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave:

I mean, it's the fucking Silmarillion. Anyone from Thingol to Caranthir to Finrod to the cast and crew of The Túrin Turambar Experience Featuring Beleg could fit.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave:

Andreth is the only character in the Silm who comes even remotely close to this, unless you include "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" and parachute in the LotR cast, which feels like cheating to me. Since Andreth is a History of Middle-earth character, in the published Silm itself there might literally not be any. Maybe Barahir or someone like that?

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship:

I used to feel this way about Angbang (Morgoth/Sauron) until I realized that people were taking it seriously and engaging in genuinely dangerous far-right-adjacent/Objectivist-adjacent moral and political revisionism of the canon over it.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship:

Most of the canon ships that I haven't already discussed in this post, tbh. It's also my opinion of Maedhros/Fingon, the biggest fanon ship and one with surprisingly strong textual support if you're willing to invoke the right Classical and medieval models. Tolkien doesn't generally write bad relationships unless they're supposed to be bad, mostly because his characterization is too lapidary to accommodate huge amounts of everyday interpersonal drama.

send me a fandom and i’ll tell you…

[stellar-imagines]

HEADCANONS REQUEST: ❝S/O who loves to wrestle.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia & Kimetsu no Yaiba ] [ Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Shinsou Hitoshi, Togata Mirio, Hashibira Inosuke ]

「Headcanons of Bakugou, Shinsou, Mirio and Inosuke with their robust girlfriend who likes to wrestle them. It mostly starts out playfully but it devolves into NSFW territory.」

HASHIBIRA INOSUKE

♤ Please don't encourage the feral/boar lad too much. Because it boosts his ego. And Inosuke with his ego boosted is super cocky.

♤ Inosuke, raised by boars and away from normal humans. That means, he has never been in a relationship before nor did the thought of romance crossed his mind. His first relationship was with you and all he understood was that the fuzzy, fluffy feelings that you made him feel were dubbed as love. Thanks to Zenitsu and Tanjirou who knocked some sense into him and made him realize that he was just in love with you.

♤ He's a very competitive person and you can't deny that. As a boy, he has his own pride. You're strong, he admits that. But the one screaming "FIGHT ME" is him and not you. However, you never refuse whenever he picks a fight with you. Of course, they were harmless little fights that are most of the time playful. At least to you but Inosuke is usually serious. And he feels like you're making fun of him.

♤ This happens a lot between the two of you, at the most random time and the most random place. You'd be in the Butterfly Estate helping Aoi with her errands, and once you spot Inosuke you'd just tackle him, yell "Fight me!" and the wrestling will begin.

♤ Over time, he understands what this playful banter meant and goes along with it. He can't say that he hates this playful wrestling.

♤ Poor Inosuke has never touched, courted and make friends with a girl because he's raised as a wild boar. How sad and unfortunate, was what Zenitsu has said once. And it was so true. He has no idea what is considered romantic and what isn't. One day, he just mentioned how he likes the way you hold his hands, pat his head, give him kisses and whatnot. And all of a sudden, he adds wrestling to his list of being romantic.

♤ When it gets a bit out of hand―either you end up in a position where he was pinning you down or you straddling his waist. He's confused while you're embarrassed. Inosuke likes it. He feels like he has won something. Especially when it escalates to the point you two have sex. He's fairly new to the intimate side of a romantic relationship so you'd have to guide him a lot but he's a fast learner.

♤ Usually, he'd have you pinned down with his entire body pressing on your own. He doesn't understand but feeling your body pressed intimately against his turns him on. And seeing you underneath him roused his primal instincts to claim you.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

☆ It's actually very beneficial. At least, that's what Bakugou thinks. You're a strong individual, blessed with a strong quirk. But he didn't fall in love because of that. You were beautiful, nice to look at, even on the inside. He likes being with you but is too prideful to ask you to hold hands, cuddle or whatever. Bakugou lets you do whatever you want. You'd initiate hand-holding, give him hugs when you think he needs them―he thinks your intuition is just too good.

☆ You were pretty sweet in everything you do. Always gentle, calm and patient. So he assumed that you'd be the type of girl to go on cute dates. Go to the movies, eat at a nice cafe, walk back as you enjoy the sunset but no. Instead. "Katsuki, let's go to the gym and fight." Cue Confused Bakugou.jpg. And you both really go and fight. It was nothing serious, more like a sparring session between the two of you.

☆ And it became a habit. The two of you could be relaxing in the common room together with your legs tangled up. It would always start with one of your legs placed on top of the other which was the start of a long rally, trying to be the one on the top. It gets to point where you're poking is his sides as he pulled at your cheeks.

☆ Honestly, everyone is just very confused because the two of you act like siblings fighting over who gets to play the new toy.

☆ Bakugou hates to lose. You know it, Class 1-A knows that, his mom knows that, heck, maybe the entire world knows. Even if it was playful, he wants to get the last laugh. He'd look at you with this smug look that can either tempt you to slap him or turn you on. Usually its the latter.

☆ He likes it but doesn't say it out loud. There were a few times that you'd manage to pin him down and come out victorious. He hated to admit that it was pretty hot when you straddle his waist, hair all messed up and out of breath.

☆ Bakugou is not the type to start the playful banter but he's willing to play along when you initiate it. Even if its a not so serious thing, he still can't help but want to win.

SHINSOU HITOSHI

♡ Shinsou's quite the playful type but you'd not know about this unless you're one of his closest friends. Before you guys even dated, you started out as good friends which meant you had plenty of encounters with the personality that he kept hidden. You learned that he liked cats, prefers indoor dates, and tons of stuff.

♡ He likes to tease you. When you're mad, he mimics or mocks you. But that could go in two ways, either you crack up and tell him to stop or you get even more pissed off. However, Shinsou knows his limits. He treats you like a child too which often results in you wrestling him and threatening him to take those words back.

♡ So, playful wrestling and all that, is pretty much common between the two of you. Shinsou loves it when you get on top of him, straddle his lap with your hands on his chest and that smile you wear when you emerge victorious, it's just so cute. And he pretty much doesn't mind when he loses.

♡ You love to pick fights with him, suddenly coming up and demanding that you want to fight him. The two of you took it as sparring at first and an opportunity to get stronger in hand to hand combat. 

♡ Yes, it was super innocent and very admirable at first. You'd invite him to fight with you and the two of you would sit together afterward to talk about your mistakes and whatnot. Over time, it became something you do for fun.

♡ The first time it got a bit too out of hand, it was unintentional. He had won at that time, pinning your hands with one hand. You were squirming to break free which caused him to push your entire body down with his own. And with your butt hitting his crotch, how could he not get hard?

♡ He's usually the reason why it always ends up with you two having sex! You'd be on top of him, sitting on his stomach and he'd say, "Babe, you're looking pretty hot and sexy sitting on my lap like that." What annoys you even more is that he'd act smug about it which makes you flustered.

TOGATA MIRIO

♧ Mirio, your bundle of sunshine, is eager to do anything with you! He's almost like a dog. He's happy to see you, likes to hold your hand when you walk together and craves attention. 

♧ As he was dubbed as a student who's basically good enough to be called a Pro Hero, you initiated fights with him. It was a great opportunity to learn from someone who can utilize their quirk so well! Mirio doesn't hesitate and immediately drags you to the nearest gym.

♧ He's usually not the type to tease but he makes jokes. He's not the type to act all high and mighty or smug so when it comes to your playful fights, he's all smiles and laughs. If he ended up losing, he'd just laugh it off saying that he lost. Sometimes he willingly loses to you just to see you happy. Of course, there are times you'd get upset from him doing so.

♧ But when actually teases you, he doesn't really mean it and it's mostly unintentional. To be honest, he's the type to say embarrassing stuff with a smile on his face. And afterwards, he'd get a bit flustered, laugh out loud and say it was a bit embarrassing.

♧ You were strong enough to stand your ground when you train with him so he didn't have to worry about holding back or going easy on you, that'd be an insult. Mirio is constantly looking for ways to improve his skills and tries to work toward his goals by accumulating different experiences to learn from them. And from that, you've improved a lot.

♧ The two of you weren't the type to argue over things and it's pretty rare of you to have arguments. Mirio was the type to talk things, he doesn't like the two of you to be at disagreement for a long time. Of course, this entire playful wrestling is not an actual fight so, nothing to worry about.

♧ When the fights devolve to the more intimate territory, its mostly unintentional. But once you both get into it, it's hard to stop. There are times where Mirio tries to act all smooth, making it look like an accident but he fails.

Total: 1607 words Published: 16.10.2019

We’re open for some limited edition prompts featuring Fall and Halloween! Read more here!

Thank you for requesting! *｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و*｡ First-ever request with a Kimetsu no Yaiba character! We’ve both seen a lot of blogs out there accepting requests for Kimetsu no Yaiba and we wanted to join in on the fun. It’s a very interesting anime with great animation! Hope you enjoyed it, anon! ― author Hibiki/Lou

Thank you for requesting! It’s totally fine to request characters from different fandoms. Inosuke is a very lively character and we had fun writing for him. Sorry to make you wait so long, anon. ― author Natsuki

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

[mackinmacki]

The Growth of Winter (White Rose Week #4)

Fandom: RWBY

Pairing: White Rose

Word Count: 7424

Rating: G

Synopsis: As the goddess of winter, Weiss is used to being lonely. She's ignored by the other gods, and cursed by the humans below for her season. She expects an eternity of that, until a little goddess decides she wants to step into her life.

Prompt: Goddesses

Links: FFN | AO3

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There was nothing wrong with the season that she had become associated with. She found winter to be beautiful, with its chilly mornings and freezing nights. To compliment the temperatures, she had created a white, powdery substance that the humans called 'snow'. The name felt right, and on some cold nights, she would walk down the lonely paths the humans had made with their footfalls and make snow fall around her. She loved to watch the ground turn from brown to white, becoming so beautifully pristine. In her more fanciful moments, she thought of falling into the snow and just sinking into its embrace.

However, not everyone loved the winter like she did. When the temperatures started to change, the humans below would bemoan the death of their crops. They would pray to the goddess of growth for assistance, and in the same breath would curse her for bringing such a cold season upon their lands. She would scowl at such cheek, as the land had been created for them. They did not own it. In an instant, she could erase the world and their existence from the chaos. 

More than anger, though, she felt an irreparable sadness. When the snow would melt, and the sun would shine brightly, she would watch the humans cheer. They tended to their fields, and they would make offerings to the goddesses of growth and fire. Watching them pay such respect to other goddesses and not to her made her feel miserable inside, which in turn only made the winters colder. The few sacrifices she ever got were from humans that she suspected were better off not being associated with her.

She spent most of her time alone because of that. Even when there were gatherings of the gods, she kept her distance from the rest of them. None of them paid her much mind, and that was fine with her. Even if it ate away at her insides that not even her fellow immortals wanted to associate with her, she had to pretend that it was fine. Showing weakness would only make things worse for her. Besides, she didn't need any companionship. With her powers, she could make friends. She could carve wolves and bears out of ice and breathe life into them. They would follow her to the ends of the earth if she so willed them. It just wasn't the same as someone wanting to be around her without coercion.

That all led to the day where everything changed. It was at another gathering that she went to reluctantly. During the summer, she felt more comfortable staying in the place she had carved out for herself in the world. It was an area that was far from civilization: always cold, always foreboding. Whenever she went to those gatherings, she never felt like she was home. There were gods and goddesses all around her, yet she never felt more alone. That was, until for the first time, she was approached by someone.

"Hi there!" She had just been sitting in her chair, keeping to herself like she always did. Naturally, she was startled by the sudden appearance. Jumping onto her feet, she found herself staring right into the most arresting eyes she had ever seen. "You're Weiss, right? We've never spoken before, so I wanted to come say hi!" It was Ruby, the goddess of growth and younger sister to the goddess of fire, Yang. That was quite unexpected.

"Yes, we haven't." She felt on edge, wondering if there was some ulterior motive to Ruby coming to talk to her. It just didn't seem likely that she would just appear out of the blue to initiate conversation --- she was too important to humanity for that. Like the other gods and goddesses, she knew all about Ruby. Crafted from starlight by the god of the sun and entwined with the reddest flowers on Remnant, she was beyond reproach. The other gods and goddesses adored her cuteness and her constant, beautiful smile, while the humans praised her for the growth she brought their crops. It was the kind of praise she herself would never receive. "I know who you are."

"Yeah, I've heard that before." Ruby laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. It was hard to look away from her with how adorable she was being. She knew that others found their eyes drawn to Yang, as a goddess of incredible strength and attractiveness. While she wasn't there to judge, she was starting to wonder if their wandering eyes weren't better trained on the young goddess standing in front of her. Her cute smile was positively blinding. "I guess I should have expected such a pretty goddess like you to know what everyone's talking about."

"Pretty?" She blinked, wondering if she had heard that correctly. When she determined that yes, she had heard Ruby correctly, her face started to heat up. "Well, naturally. I always keep abreast of what's happening with the other gods and goddesses." She expected the conversation to end there, and for Ruby to go back to speak with the others. However, she instead stuck around, standing there and fidgeting as if desperate to say something else. "Are you alright, Ruby?"

"I like the snow you created." That took her aback. She had never heard someone say that they liked the snow. Sure, they would say that it was pretty, but the way their sentences dragged on without words, she knew they wished for clearer ground. It never made sense to her, and it fed into her sadness and isolation. To hear someone actually say they liked it was throwing her for a loop. "It's so pretty! Every time I see that it's snowing, I wanna just dive in and roll around in it. I wish we had snow in the spring."

"I don't think you want that." She rolled her eyes, sensing the naivety dripping from Ruby's tone. "The humans aren't as fond of it as you are." She could only imagine the uproar that would happen if it started snowing during the spring. All the crops would die when they were supposed to be blooming, and then she would be cursed again for her existence. The thought soured her extremely.

"But it's so pretty! Yang and I watch it snowing in the winter and I just love how it looks. It makes the world look so pure and beautiful. I wish more people could see that as well." She could barely believe what she was hearing. The cutest goddess in the entire pantheon was talking to her, and telling her how beautiful her creation was. It made her nearly speechless, wanting to try and hold on to those words verbatim as long as she could.

"I do too," she whispered, feeling an aching pang in her heart. If only the others felt the same was as Ruby did, then maybe she wouldn't be so alone. "It's nice to just walk in the cold of the night and let the snow fall around me, coating the ground in its purity. There's no better place to just be by yourself and think." She figured it was better if she didn't say out loud exactly what she was always thinking about.

"Yeah, it seems awesome! I wanna do it next time the snow falls!" She seemed so innocent and truthful, despite everything in her mind telling her that it had to be nothing but lies. Why would Ruby want to spend time in her environment, though? Most of the gods and goddesses stayed up in their home when the first flakes of snow fell, leaving her to wander the lands alone. To hear Ruby say that made her heart feel warm.

"Well, nothing's stopping you. I can always take you on a walk during the winter if you want." She didn't expect to see Ruby's eyes light up so brightly from such a simple offer. It felt like she was going to be blinded by those shining silver eyes. Only her sudden need to keep focused on Ruby kept her from looking away, not wanting to miss a second of the goddess in front of her.

"Really? You really mean that?" She nodded, wondering why Ruby would think she didn't mean it. Why else would she offer up the opportunity, then? "Ooh yay! I can't wait!" She started to hop up and down, drawing attention towards them from a couple other gods. Embarrassed, Weiss finally looked away from Ruby, trying to pretend that the two of them weren't in each other's company. "I wish it was winter already!"

"Why would you want that?" Both of them were surprised by the appearance of a third party. The wild blonde hair of the goddess slapping her strong hands down on Ruby's shoulders, nearly making her knees buckle, gave away exactly who it was: Yang, the goddess of fire, and Ruby's big sister. Closely related to the god of the sun, also known as her father, Yang was revered among humans and gods alike for her beauty as well as her strength. She was always willing to show both traits off. "Summer's the best, sis! It's so hot and perfect for competition!"

"I know, but we're always playing in the sun! Wouldn't it be fun to spend some time in the snow?" Ruby shrugged off Yang's hands, circling around to jump onto her back. "You scared of getting cold?" Yang's eyes started to burn, which made Weiss take a couple of steps back. It seemed as if the temptation of competition got her fired up.

"No way! I burn so bright that all the snow will just melt!" She reached back to try and grab Ruby, who slipped off her back and stuck her tongue out at her. The two of them then began to playfully shove and trash talk each other, forgetting that Weiss was even there. Lowering her eyes, she decided it was time to leave. Clearly the conversation was over, and there wasn't another reason for her to keep being there. So while the sisters were distracted, she disappeared from the gathering.

"Wait wait wait!" Ruby ducked out of Yang's grasp, looking to where Weiss had previously been standing. Now there was just nothing but an empty chair. "Where did she go?"

"Where'd who go?" Yang slung an arm around Ruby's shoulder, looking where she was looking. "Oh, Weiss? The snowflake queen's probably ducked out or somethin'. She never sticks around for our gatherings. Always been a loner and all that."

"Oh..." Ruby frowned, still staring at the empty spot. "That sucks," she muttered to herself, thinking about the extremely pretty lady who controlled all the cool-looking snow, and how maybe there had been something more in her eyes than she originally let on. "Everyone should have a friend."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There were different sounds around her humble, wintery abode that she had learned to ignore. The wind was always blowing outside, sending flurries swirling around the wood that her house was built out of. Occasionally, when her mood was as low as it was then, the wind would be enough to make the entire place shake a bit. She would have to ignore the rattling of her meager cooking supplies and other trinkets on their shelves. All of those sounds had become commonplace to her, but knocking on her door? That was unusual.

She cautiously walked to the door, holding her breath as she pressed her ear to the wood. It could have been something outside that hit her door, and it just happened to sound like knocking. If there was actually someone there, they would knock again- There it was: another knock. She stood up straight, frowning. Who in the world would be foolish enough to venture all the way into the tundra just to see her? Who even knew she was there? On edge now, she opened the door, expecting the worst.

"Hi Weiss!" Her jaw dropped upon seeing Ruby and Yang standing at her door. Ruby was bundled up in a large jacket that seemed to have been sewn together out of grass blades and different-colored flowers. On anyone else, she would have scoffed at such ridiculous attire, but Ruby made it look adorable. She looked so warm, comfortable, and so... so her. This fit the tales she had heard of the young goddess with ears tuned to idle gossip.

"Let us in," Yang huffed out through gritted teeth. Unlike her warmly-dressed sister, she was just standing there in a yellow top with a black symbol drawn on it. From what she remembered wandering about Remnant, it looked like a symbol of fire that the humans had made in honor of her. She didn't look particularly fiery at the moment. Between that top and her leggings that were cut off at the knees, she was dressed for a warm summer day, not the frozen landscape she found herself in.

Rolling her eyes, she stepped back and let Yang burst into the house. "Great Father, it's still cold in here! How do you live like this?!" Ruby followed in after her, laughing as she thanked Weiss for giving them shelter. She could only nod stiffly, struck dumb by how beautiful Ruby's laugh sounded.

"Because she's the goddess of winter, genius." Weiss shut the door, wondering why just seeing Ruby in her house was making her heart beat like crazy. She barely even knew her! "I thought you said you could handle this kind of weather. You seem, you know..." She sidled over to Yang, placing a gloved hand on her bare arm and whispering in her ear. "... cold."

"I..." Yang threw her hands up, groaning before bowing in defeat. "Fine, alright? I'm cold! I can't hack it, alright? You happy?!" The huge smile on Ruby's face showed that yes, she was very happy. "Ugh, can we get a fire going in here or something? Ah, you know what? Never mind, I'll do it myself." Holding out her hands, a ball of flames suddenly appeared floating in her palms. It grew larger, until it seemed to engulf her hands. "Ahh, that's much better!"

"Please don't set my chairs on fire." Shaking her head in disbelief, Weiss decided it was better to spend her time looking at Ruby. She just happened to look at her at the same time as Ruby turned to face her. Now they were looking in each other's eyes, and she couldn't take the purity inside them. She looked away first, a blush on her cheeks as she remembered that there was an important question she was supposed to ask. "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to see you, of course!" Ruby acted like that was the most normal thing in the world, when it most assuredly was not. Nobody came to visit her: nobody even knew where she lived! Which was actually a good follow-up question once she got a word in edgewise. "I was talking with Yang, and we decided that it wasn't fair that you had to live out here all alone with no friends."

"She decided that, Yang chimed in, sitting down on one of Weiss's chairs with her hands still on fire. "I came because I wasn't going to let my lil' sis get lost finding your crazy living conditions. If this is where you choose to live, I can't imagine where your followers build your temples."

"That's their business," she huffed back, deciding to not admit that she didn't have enough temples built in her honor to be picky about their locations. "... You know what? What do you mean by that?" She narrowed her eyes at Ruby, her initial question being forgotten by a newer, more-important one. "What do you mean by saying I have no friends?"

"Well, do you?" Ruby's blunt response caught her completely off-guard. She stood there with her mouth opening, trying to make words come out that would say that she had plenty of friends, or even that she didn't need friends. Instead, she looked like a fish flopping about on the bottom of a fisherman's boat. There was no need for her to even say anything at that point.

"No... I don't have any friends." She couldn't even put on a strong front because she knew how pathetic the truth was. The other gods didn't bother to spend time with her, her worshippers were few and crazy at that, and her family was... complicated, to say the least. For her, this was normal. Having someone like Ruby come all this way just to talk with her was foreign. "Don't look at me like that," she felt compelled to respond when she saw Ruby looking at her with the biggest, saddest puppy-dog eyes.

"But Weisss!" Ruby wrapped her up in a surprisingly tight hug which almost took her breath away. However, it wasn't because Ruby was squeezing the air out of her lungs, but because she had hugged her. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt such pure affection from someone, if it had ever happened. It was making her feel things that she knew she shouldn't be. "Everyone deserves a friend! Let me be your friend!" She let go of her and started bouncing on her toes, her eyes wide and eager. "Please please pleeease?!"

"Alright, alright! You don't have to beg!" She had never met someone quite like Ruby. There were a plethora of personalities within their pantheon, but never had she found a fellow deity who was just so uncompromisingly energetic and nice. It threw her well-crafted wall that tried to keep her from feeling too hurt out the window. She felt bare without that wall, with all kinds of emotions washing over her that she had tried so hard not to feel. Knowing that there was someone like Ruby made her feel lonely for having not known her sooner. "I suppose we can be friends, as long as you behave."

"Good luck with that. She's a real hassle to reign in." Ruby whipped around, looking crushed at Yang's utter betrayal. "If you turn around for one second, poof-" She flicked the fire from her left hand out of existence. "-she's gone. I'm surprised she's stayed still long enough to talk to you in the first place."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!" She drew her name out so long, Weiss was surprised she still had enough breath to keep talking. "Don't embarrass me in front of my new friend!" She whirled back around to face Weiss, looking legitimately concerned. "That's not true, Weiss! I can stand here as long as you want! I'll stay here all night if you want me to!"

"You... don't have to do that, Ruby." How could she just so casually say she would stay at her place all night? Nobody just said that so innocently like that! She knew that some of the other gods - well, most of the other gods - had certain proclivities that she personally did not take part in. Saying that she would 'stay all night' was par for the course, really, but it didn't sound like she expected it to coming out of Ruby's mouth. It sounded way too innocent for that.

"Well, then can I least keep coming to see you? Without supervision?" She shot a pointed look Yang's way, who just shrugged before bringing the fire back to life in her hand. "I can make it here without trouble, as you can see. Plus, I know how to dress properly." She couldn't help but get that last dig in, and even Weiss had to crack a smile at that. Yang couldn't even say something to the contrary: she was the idiot who had risen to the challenge.

"If you want to come visit me again, I'm not opposed to that. However, I believe you'll find my company rather boring." She didn't have a lot of long interactions to prove such a claim, but she couldn't imagine that anything about herself would be appealing to Ruby. This was clearly a goddess who needed to be free, and the slow shackles of ice and snow didn't fit. She would never want to spend more than one more day coming to see her, and then she could go back to her normal, lonely life. The thought made her feel hollow.

"Aww, I'm sure that's not true! You seem like lots of fun!" Now that she certainly didn't believe. She couldn't imagine a single person saying she was 'a lot of fun.' All of those farmers whose crops perished during her season would likely beg to differ. "I just have so many questions I wanna ask! And you don't have to answer them all if you don't wanna, but I just wanna know more about you!"

"I... suppose I could answer a few questions." Ruby was becoming overbearing for her lonely mind. It wasn't a bad thing, though. Secretly, she did want companionship, but she had resigned herself to being alone forever. Then suddenly Ruby decides she wants to talk to her, and then somehow find where she lived to spend more time with her. It was overbearing because she kept expecting Ruby to disappear, leaving nothing but a memory to prove she had been there at all. "How did the two of you find where I lived anyway? I don't exactly advertise my location."

"Oh yeah, we asked your mom where we could find you."

"WHAT?! You asked my mother?!" Ruby nodded happily, and Yang gave her a helpless shrug from across the room. At that point, with the deed done, she could only hang her head and sigh deeply. Somehow Ruby had gotten through the elusive, drunken haze that surrounded her mother every forsaken second. That was... she didn't even know what it was. How in the world was she going to deal with this?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

  The summer sun sank beneath the horizon, and the autumn leaves blew away into the night. As winter fell onto the lands, snow naturally followed. The browning grass was hidden beneath blankets of pure white snow, making a beautiful, pristine landscape. Due to the drop in temperature, most people stayed in the homes, stoking the fires in their furnaces and cursing the goddess of winter for bringing such terrible weather onto their lands. Weiss did her best to pretend people weren't thinking such things.

She and Ruby were taking a walk together, their first while the snow was falling. It was fascinating seeing Ruby watch it fall with such wide-eyed wonder. To her, snow was a common occurrence: it was beautiful, but familiar. However, Ruby was experiencing it in person for the first time, and she was clearly wowed by it. She couldn't admit it out loud, but it made her happy to see someone truly enjoying her creation. It wasn't something she got much of before.

"This is incredible!" Ruby shouted, running forward and spreading out her arms. She laughed as she started spinning in circles, sticking out her tongue to catch a few snowflakes. The scene was so childish and adorable that Weiss started to laugh. She covered her mouth to try and hide it, but she had been heard. "I made you laugh! Score one for Ruby!"

"You are such a child. Were you created yesterday?" It felt good to have those little back and forth conversations with Ruby. Sometimes she would go so long without speaking that she feared her voice would disappear. 

"Nope! I am a fully-fledged goddess, just like you." Sticking out her tongue like the fully-fledged goddess she was, Ruby suddenly dropped down into the snow. Lying on her back, she started flailing her arms and legs back and forth, laughing the whole time. "Look Weiss, I'm making snow people!"

"Careful you don't bring them to life. We already enough people in this world." She walked over to stand in front of Ruby, looking down at her with an amused look. "Are you having fun acting like a child down there?"

"Well excuuuse me for having fun! Haven't you ever wanted to play around in the snow before? I mean, you're the one who created all of this."

"No, I suppose I haven't." It seemed too childish for her to do, and Ruby showing her the proof helped explain why she didn't. However, it seemed that Ruby wasn't as fond of that answer. Sitting up, she suddenly grabbed Weiss's hand and yanked her down. "RubYYY!" She let out an undignified screech as she was pulled down, falling right on top of Ruby.

"Doesn't the snow look better from up close?" Ruby giggled, hands tight around Weiss's wrists. Weiss could only nod, feeling as if the entire world had just been flipped upside down. She was lying on top of Ruby, as close as she had ever been to the goddess that had steadily gained her affection. For the first time, she truly felt what she could only describe as warmth. It made her feel more like Yang. In that moment, there was no place she would rather be than lying on top of Ruby.

"I... I suppose it does," she murmured, reluctantly rolling off of Ruby and down into the snow. Staring up at the sky, she watched the snow come down and sighed deeply, feeling her mind getting lost in the dark cosmos above. She swore that the snowflakes falling above her were perfectly mimicking the constellation of Beowulf. "I have never had anyone to do things like this with."

"Not even your sister?" As loathe as she was to mention the details of her family to anyone, she had felt comfortable enough to divulge a feel details to Ruby one fall evening. Ever since, she had constantly felt that she had made a mistake, but Ruby didn't bring them up much, thank goodness. That didn't mean she never did, though. "Which, by the way, I can't believe your sister's name is Winter, and she's not the goddess of winter. I mean, she was named so perfectly!"

"She didn't ask to be named that. Blame my parents." She felt her stomach twisting uncomfortably. Conversations concerning her family were always awkward to her, and she had never really had to experience them that much before. Now she had a super curious goddess in her company, and sometimes it seemed she just couldn't help herself. It wasn't like she could blame Ruby, but that didn't make talking about them any easier. "I haven't seen her in awhile." She decided that being vague about how long 'awhile' was would be prudent.

"Aww..." Ruby fell silent for a moment, meaning that all there was to listen to was the wind. "Well, I'll always be here for you!" She tilted her head to see Ruby staring at her, smiling her big, innocent smile that she had begun to fall for. "As long as I'm here, you won't ever have to be alone!"

"Thank you, Ruby." Her voice came out as a whisper, feeling emotions welling up inside her. Ruby was just such a nice person: there were no ulterior motives in her actions. She legitimately wanted to spend time with her, even if no one else would. For months and months, she had been coming to see her without a desire for anything but her company. It confused her, and it made her feel like the luckiest goddess in the pantheon. "I appreciate that."

"And I appreciate you spending time with me too!" Ruby sat up and scooped up some snow with her hands. She tossed it up into the air, smiling as it all came back down. "It's nice to make new friends, especially when they treat me like a normal goddess." For the first time, she saw a crack in the normally happy air that always surrounded Ruby. "Because of how I came to be, everyone treats me like I'm a special, precious object. As if I would break if they stopped watching me for one second."

That wasn't surprising to hear. While it had never been explicitly stated, she had noticed the way others acted around Ruby, especially Yang. For the first few times that Ruby visited her, Yang tagged along despite her aversion to the cold. It took a lot of pleading from Ruby to get her to back off, but apparently that wasn't the end of it. From what she had been told, Ruby's father, the sun god Taiyang, was likely watching over her from above. It all seemed overbearing, but she also felt a certain longing when she heard it. She wondered what it would be like to have family that cared enough to constantly watch over her.

"Well, you seem perfectly capable of taking care of yourself." She sat up as well, running a hand along the ground. Sometimes the snow felt like a representation of herself: a lonely, oft-undisturbed substance that people cursed with every breath. To see Ruby playing with it like it was the most fun thing she had ever experienced made her feel so much different about it. If she wasn't careful, her emotions were going to overwhelm her.

"Right?! What's the point of being a goddess if I'm not allowed to do anything?!" As quickly as she had sat up, she flopped back down, kicking her legs in a fit of petulance. When she finally calmed down, she let out a weary sigh. It sounded too ancient of a sound for someone so young and vibrant. "Sometimes I wish I was just a normal goddess like the others. I just want to be able to do things like everyone else."

"Then why don't you?" In a way, she could understand why Ruby's family was so overprotective. The more time she spent around Ruby, the more she wanted to protect her as well. Still, Ruby was her own person, and she should be allowed to dictate what she did with her time. "You're a goddess just like the rest of us. Whether or not you're special doesn't matter. We all have our powers and our domains, and you do as well. Don't let your family tell you how to go about your business."

"I wish," Ruby laughed, flicking the snow around with her fingers. "I say that I can take care of myself all the time, but my parents and Yang are just so protective. Maybe it's because Yang's-" She shut up in an instant, eyes widening for a second. "Uh, forget I said anything," she mumbled, which only piqued Weiss's curiosity. However, wanting to respect her only friend, she didn't pry. "It just sucks, you know?" She could only nod, not truly understanding Ruby's plight, but wishing she could do something to make her feel better.

"Well, as long as you're here with me, you're free to do anything you want. As long as you don't destroy anything." She meant every word, but seeing Ruby's smile was an extra bonus to saying it. Seeing Ruby smile at her always made her lose track of where she was. It felt like she was floating in the Mistral River, having nowhere to go and no place to be. If she could see Ruby smile like that every day, she would never complain about her loneliness ever again.

"Aww, you just had to take the fun out of it, didn't you?" She held the straightest face she could until Weiss's frown was too much to handle, bursting into giggles right afterwards. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't destroy anything, promise!" Once she calmed down, she resumed her normal, smiling ways, which continued to make Weiss's heart do a series of flips. "I'm really glad we get to spend time together, Weiss. You're such an awesome friend, and I really wanna spend more time playing in the snow with you!"

"I..." She swallowed thickly, a wave of emotions cresting inside her. It was taking everything she had to not let them overcome her. "I want to spend more time with you too. I'm just... surprised you're not bored with me yet." That had been a constant fear rooted in her mind. She had been so sure that her presence would be uninteresting to Ruby, and even after all the time they had spent together, it was hard to not believe it would eventually happen. The thought of Ruby not showing up one day, and never coming back, hurt her more than she ever expected it to.

"Are you kidding? You're lots of fun! Besides, we don't always have to be doing something. Like right now. We're just lying together in the snow, right? It's not 'fun', but it's nice because it's with you." Weiss blushed at that comment, wondering if she could hide it in the snow. It was too late for that, as Ruby was already giggling at her embarrassment. She didn't feel angry about it, though. There were other, much stronger emotions at play, and every word Ruby said made it harder to not let them overwhelm her. "Sooo, you said I could do anything I want when I'm with you, right?"

"I did say that..." She quirked an eyebrow, feeling suspicious about where this was going. "Maybe I ought to put in some qualifiers just in case."

"Oh no, it's nothing bad! At least, I hope it's not." Ruby laughed, but it was more nervous than before. She picked up on it instantly. "But you're sure I can do anything?" There was a hopeful look in her eyes as she waited for a response. Weiss wasn't sure she could say no, even if it ended up destroying something.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" She wasn't sure what to wait for, so she tried to prepare herself for anything. However, there were things she couldn't prepare for, and Ruby chose something that she never would have predicted: she leaned in and kissed her. It lasted for a mere second, but the ghostly sensation stayed long after Ruby moved away.

"Was... Was that okay?" Ruby slapped her hands against her legs, touching her lips with her tongue. "I mean, it felt okay, but maybe that was just me." She laughed, looking so innocent and cute and just... too much. Way too much. It was all too much for Weiss's fragile, lonely heart to handle. Without warning, tears started to fall down her cheeks. "O-Oh! Weiss, I'm sorry!" Panicking, Ruby started trying to wipe her tears away.

However, Ruby's eyes widened when she saw Weiss's tears turn to ice. As she wiped them away, the teardrops froze and swam around in the air, circling around the pair. The more Weiss cried, the more frozen teardrops appeared. Ruby was caught between awe and worry, watching it all happen while being unsure of what to do. All she knew was that she never, ever wanted to see Weiss crying like that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, staring at Ruby through blurry eyes. There didn't seem to be a way to stop herself from crying. "I didn't expect you to kiss me. No, that isn't it." There was more to it than that. The kiss was surprising: no doubt about that. However, everything had been leading up to her letting her emotions out, and the kiss was the final straw. "It's everything about you. I don't understand... Why do you care about me? Why do you spend so much time with me?" She had to choke back a sob before continuing. "Why do you like me enough to kiss me?"

"Well, because you're likable?" Ruby tilted her head, seemingly confused by all of the questions. "I don't understand, Weiss. Why would you think I wouldn't care about you? You're awesome! I mean, you're super pretty, and you have so much knowledge of Remnant. You're powerful too! I mean, the snow?" She grabbed some and tossed it up in the air, watching it fall with a smile. "It's so beautiful. I'm so happy you let me see it with you!"

"You're the only one," she muttered, feeling her tears finally starting to abate. "All of the humans hate me. The winter weather kills their crops, and they curse me for it. Only strange humans bother to populate my temples, and none of the other gods come to see me during my season. Not even my family..." Her tone was extremely bitter, cutting through the air like a knife.

"That's... That's terrible." Ruby let out a whimper, looking like she was about to cry as well. "They're wrong, though. The snow is beautiful, and winter is a necessary season. Every season exists for a reason, don't they?" Weiss nodded slowly, looking down at the snow. "If they can't see that, then they don't deserve to worship you anyway!"

"I appreciate that, Ruby." She actually laughed at that, wiping away a few more stray tears. The frozen teardrops almost completely encircled them, as if keeping them in a world of their own. "That doesn't change the fact that you're one of the few who actually care about what I do. It's hard not to feel lonely." She hadn't meant to dump all of that on Ruby. That was all supposed to be kept internally, her pain and loneliness for her heart only. There was just something about Ruby that made the truth easier to let slip out.

"Then I won't let you feel lonely! I'll always be here to spend time with you!" Ruby put her hands on Weiss's shoulders, staring at her with an intense seriousness. "Maybe they don't understand the beauty behind winter, but I do. I'll... I'll do something to show them that there's beauty in the season! I just need time to think on it." There was no hesitation or falsehoods in her eyes. Everything she had spoken was the truth.

"You don't have to do that, Ruby. Having you here is enough for me." She too meant those words. Smiling, she pressed her forehead against Ruby's and sighed softly. "I have no idea what I deserved to gain a friend like you."

"By being yourself," Ruby replied with a big smile. "I wanna be friends with you because you're you. I'm so happy that we talked at the gathering! Otherwise, I may never have gotten to know you, and I don't even wanna think about that." A light blush crossed her face before she spoke again. "So, uh, I can still do whatever I want when I'm with you, right?"

"Yes, that's still alright." Weiss started to blush too, having a feeling that she knew what was about to happen. When Ruby started to lean in, her feelings were confirmed. This time, their kiss lasted quite awhile longer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was unusual to see so many people coming outside in the dead of winter. In the warmest clothes they could make, they filed together to stare in awe at what had happened. Growing outside were flowers, their petals a perfect swirl of red and white. There were dozens upon dozens of them, all popping up through the snow-covered fields. Everybody seemed to be entranced by their beauty.

"They smell amazing!" someone exclaimed, and others murmured in agreement. They started to get closer, some kneeling to look at the flowers up close. Multiple people spoke of how wonderful the smell was, which led to one adventurous soul plucking one and giving it a taste. The others watched them in both amazement and curiosity, waiting to see what would happen. 

"It... It tastes good!" they shouted in amazement, catching the attention of everyone else. "It's sweet..." They bit into the flower again, confirming that it indeed was a sweet-tasting flower. "I bet we could eat these!" With that, everybody charged forward to grab a flower of their own, wanting to see if what had been said was true. As everyone would soon find out, it was just as sweet as had been promised.

"Wow, this is wonderful!" "Thank you, Weiss!" "The goddess has granted our prayers!" "We need to go pray for her blessings!" Everyone grabbed another flower before heading off towards the closest temple. Of course, that temple was abandoned, having been for a deity that no humans would remember. They were determined to re-purpose it into a new temple for Weiss, though.

"See?" Watching from the skies, Ruby turned to Weiss with the giddiest expression all over her face. "They love you now! I told you I'd figure something out!"

"I suppose you did." She could only shake her head in disbelief. While she had appreciated what Ruby was trying to do, she found it difficult to believe that anything would make the humans love her. Leave it to Ruby, the most wonderful goddess ever created, to find a way to prove her wrong. Though she didn't want to admit it out loud, she was in awe of her powers. "They should be praying to you, though. You're the one who grew those flowers."

"Aw, that's not necessary. They already pray to me enough. You deserve this." In their time together, Weiss had found out something surprising about Ruby: she could be very, very stubborn. Maybe the two of them weren't as different as she had originally thought. She was determined to make the people worship Weiss, and she refused to take any sort of credit. It was flattering, but also annoying.

"But you did it. It's because of you that they even care about me."

"I did it for you, though. If I was just trying to get more people to pray to me, I wouldn't have bothered." She crossed her arms, looking a lot more mature than she usually did. "I'm not budging on this, Weiss. I did this for you, because I love you, and I want everyone down there to feel the same way I do." She stopped, seeing Weiss's face rapidly turning red. "What? What's wrong?"

"You said you..." Weiss could barely get the words out, unable to believe Ruby didn't realize what she had said. "You said you love me, Ruby..."

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion, thinking back on what she had just said. "I did?" She went back, back, until Weiss wasn't the only one with a red face. "Oh... I, uh, I guess I did," she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Ahaha, I'm sorry, but... yeah, I do love you, Weiss. I mean, you're my friend, so of course I'd love you, but..." She clasped her hands together, biting on her lip. "I think it's become more than that. I, uh, actually talked to my dad about how I was feeling."

"You did what?!" What was it with Ruby talking to their parents about these things? First her mom, now the literal god of the sun. She could feel herself already melting away beneath the angry glare of Taiyang. There was no way he would be happy that his younger daughter was telling the least-liked goddess that she loved her.

"I didn't say I loved you," which was not reassuring in the slightest. As if Taiyang didn't have more omnipotence than most. "I just said I thought I had feelings for someone, and I asked for advice. When I told him how I was feeling, he said he had felt the same way about his wives. If I was feeling that way, then it must be something special." She smiled, taking one of Weiss's hands in hers, stroking her palm with a finger. "And they are special. You're special to me, Weiss."

"Ruby..." She sniffled, feeling tears falling down her cheeks. Ruby had this way of making her emotions come out in a way that nothing and no one else could. She had always had emotions, but she kept them bottled up inside where they belonged. It wasn't befitting of a goddess such as herself, and she had no one to truly confide in anyway. Now that Ruby had offered herself up in such a way, she found it too hard to keep herself in control. "I... I love you too."

"Yay!" Ruby happily jumped onto Weiss, kissing her with everything she had. Laughing and crying, Weiss kissed her back, holding on as tightly as she could. Snow fell as they confirmed their affections for one another, and the humans down below danced, sang, and prayed for the bounty of the goddesses above. The goddess of winter had never experienced a better winter than she had then.

For once, no one wanted the snow to go away.

[twopoppies]

Hi G, m new to the fandom and wanted to get a perspective of someone experienced.I love louis and proud of H success.but do u ever feel like a sadness on louis behalf.wen I see fetus louis or 1d louis also, he was so full of energy,wit,smiles..he was everything. The vast vast diff btwn HL career, whole industry promotes H,he has so many connections etc but louis feels like alone and just fighting against the tide.only fans promote him and nowhere he is known..his smiles seems hollow..

Hi love. Yes, of course I feel awful for Louis for so many reasons. He’s been defamed and held back and treated horribly by the people who have power over his career for years. On top of it, he’s had horrific personal tragedies in his life. I honestly don’t know how he’s still standing––he’s unbelievably strong and seems to have a really good personal support network. 

I think it makes no sense to compare his career with Harry’s because Harry was always groomed to be the breakout star and was the horse their label hitched their cart to very early on. But unlike some people in the fandom, I don’t think Harry willingly played that game or really understood the long term implications of it. And I don’t think he has the extreme power some people think he does. Many people in that industry only care about being with “the winner” (see Ben Winston, James Corden, Sivan Kotecha etc). And in some ways it can be difficult to stick your neck out and support someone who isn’t “the chosen one” because you get punished (for example, talk shows aren’t given interviews/access to the label’s top players and they’re instead given to the competition). It’s ultimately a big game where each artist is a product and each team tries to use their power and connections to make their product the ultimate big winner. 

I don’t think Louis is “alone”. He definitely doesn’t have the powerful team that Harry has and I think that’s very much because Sony wants to keep Louis chained to them. If he’d been allowed to leave like Niall did, I think his career would look very different. I don’t understand all of the reasons why, some of it may possibly be a personal vendetta for being the fly in the 1D ointment, but one thing I always come back to is that while it obviously allows them to control Louis, it also allows them to control Harry. Other than wanting a longterm successful career (which, obviously he does want), what else would motivate Harry to do things he doesn’t want to do? The threat or the promise of things done to/done for Louis. And all Sony really cares about, at the end of the day, is making money and they’ve put all bets on Harry to make that money for them. 

I know people who think Harry is a horrible person, and that he doesn’t give a shit about Louis, will laugh at that. But I disagree with so much of their argument for characterizing Harry as a monster, since so much of it is based on very personal opinion and manipulation of “evidence” and saying 2 + 2 = 5. 

And I don’t think Louis’ smiles are “hollow” at all. Did you see him while he was doing promo for Walls? While he was doing M&Gs? When he was performing those first shows before his tour kicked off? He was walking on air. He looked proud of his music and excited for his tour. Sure, there are times when he looks terrible/exhausted/down but I could say the same for any of the boys. I don’t think it’s fair to take a photo here and there and casually ignore the rest and then make a huge assumption. I just hate this characterization of Louis fighting all by himself with only fans at his side. It leads to some really warped thinking. 

I’m worried about his tour going forward. I don’t like that we haven’t seen rescheduled dates yet. I don’t like that he’s done zero promo for his album, hasn’t released new singles, hasn’t had any radio promo. Niall cancelled his whole tour, Liam had no tour scheduled, and yet both are on social media nearly every day doing promo and fan service. Louis is strangely silent and I wonder what’s going on behind the scenes because it’s just not normal.