#anyway i have a very limited knowledge of what their relationship is like in canon. i know armand is obsessed w lestat

[oldwitchsleep]

i think they should bring back the "22 episode series with multiple stupid filler episodes" tv format specifically for iwtv

[blitzbuckzowild]

On Stolitz, Kink and Power Dynamics, and Role Reversal - Stolas Centric

So, I have been thinking a lot about the kink dynamics between Stolas and Blitzø, especially how they are portrayed in the show vs. what is popular (or more popular than you’d think) among fan works. A lot of this has probably been said, but I am unsure what has and has not, and I have only recently begun to interact with the community.

For some background, I have about 10 years of experience within the kink/BDSM lifestyle including several long-term dynamics as both Dom and sub, attendance to events, extensive engagement in online forums, etc. I’ve been in many types of dynamics and have a good understanding of the culture.

We have very little knowledge on the intricacies of the dynamic between Stolas and Blitzø but from what I can gather its a pretty standard one without very much structure. This makes sense seeing as before recent canon events, their scenes are primarily limited to once a month. There is no evidence of switching that I can find in the show, most likely they stay firm in their roles of Blitzø as Dom and Stolas as sub. There is the comment during the Loo Loo Land episode, where Blitzø say “wait till her dad tries diddling your holes”, but the keyword being “tries.” Now obviously he could be receiving penetration, but I find it hard to believe that there is any actual control given to Stolas.

This structure obviously allows for some entertaining role reversal, and (on the surface level at least) mitigates some of the issues with the power at the same time. I find myself often wondering how people would regard the dynamic between them if Blitzø was portrayed as the sub. It obviously doesn’t really fit his character as he is now, but it is a thought.

Anyway, the point is actually to explore the idea of a role reversal between the two and what this can represent. Obviously, a lot of this has been touched on in fan-works, and probably other posts, but primarily in the framework of Blitzø’s experience subbing. I think that is well-established that a lot of the draw for Blitzø to submit is the idea of him being vulnerable and letting go of control. There are many works that focus on this.

But what about Stolas? That’s something I haven’t seen a lot of.

Stolas is passive. Even if he snarks back at Blitzø and does set some boundaries a bit at the beginning of Apology Tour, and he does tease and push, it’s really not substantial. Even with Full Moon, even with the crystal, he is still so submissive to everything that happens around him. He makes his grand gesture and throws the ball in Blitzø’s court until he can’t handle what that looks like. He let’s things just happen to him for the most part. So a lot of his character growth in the show focuses on him gaining confidence and taking initiative.

Even in Apology Tour, at the Blitzø Hate party, he makes it clear where he stands on what he wants his role in a relationship to be. He wants to be pursued, like a woman in a rom-com who stereotypically and historically takes a passive role to whatever confident or goofy hunk wants her. Sure, she wants him (usually), but typically she is not doing the pursuing. Instead she rolls her eyes and things happen to her.

Stolas taking on a dominant role, taking control, even in the context of kink, can be symbolic for him learning ambition and initiative. Everything has been decided for him and he’s letting Blitzø’s actions and responses make the decision for him. Even with Octavia, he acts as if he is collateral to her behavior and emotions. It’s fair for him to want Blitzø pursue him and to take accountability. However, at some point he needs to pursue as well. You could say that the crystal was an instance in which he did? But was it really when at the first sign of resistance from Blitzø, he folds and pull back.

All this to say, there can be some really great story telling using their BDSM dynamics. I don’t really expect the show to address this, because I think there are some intricacies here that can only be appreciated by those really involved in the BDSM lifestyle, and honestly I am not sure how knowledgeable the writers are about it outside of the mainstream knowledge (Well mainstream compared to someone like me.)

With the deal ended, and the power dynamics somewhat balancing out, the door is really opened for this type of thing. There isn’t as much baggage in Blitzø being portrayed in a sub role. The class divide is still there, but Stolas no longer holds all of the cards

There is waaaay more I can say on this in regard to the roles of sub and Dom and how they relate to Stolas and Blitzø but this is already so long. Some things to consider would be the the actual emotional needs that are filled by each role, the ways relationships in dynamics develop, different BDSM subcultures and theories on the nature of their dynamic, and more of my thoughts on how their current dynamic with Stolas subbing and Blitzø Domming impacting perceptions of their previous arrangement by viewers, how Blitzø is already submissive to Stolas in ways, the general emotional state of people when engaging in kink, etc. I could also provide my own thoughts on Blitzø subbing but I feel it’s already well addressed in the fandom.

Maybe I’ll do a part 2 if it’s wanted or I get the will. I would love to engage in any discussion (agreeing or otherwise) on this, I probably missed some things, or interpreted stuff differently than others.

And here is a Poll to wrap this up

[anonymouscheeses]

The Morningstar family :)

First off, king of hell himself, Lucifer! I incorporated all of the animals he transformed into in the battle with Adam scene(goat, horse, snake, and duck but i wont include duck since hes obsessed already) Because I kept looking up what animals lucifer has been depicted as and was like, yeah nvm let's jst use this one scene and call it a day. His wings are black instead of white with black tips to further imply lil bro is a fallen angel. Made him doll-like to be similar to his daughter a bit but also they aren't freaking carbon copies of eachother, she is unique I swear guys. He's also not an all powerful being, he has limits, he gets tired quickly and his physical strength is LOW ASF he cannot throw a punch for the life of him. Personality wise, he is judgemental, prideful, and neglectful. But it's okay cuz he's silly 😐 /j he is super different, and it takes years for Charlie and him to be on speaking terms. He's trying, but is that enough?

Lillith!!! The first succubi, from what I know. I didnt include succubi features because I'm an idiot and forgot that was a concept. Sure it may not be canon anymore, or at all maybe, but I would've liked to make it true ☹️ there's not alot known about her in the show and we don't know why she is in heaven (if that's even her tbh). So once we know I'll either rewrite that or keep it as it is, not sure. But this Lillith does own Alastor's soul, she knows that he is one of the most unusual and powerful sinner in hell, so once she flees to heaven she gains his soul to keep an eye on Charlie, in return she gives him influence over hell(being that she influences hell with her voice) The radio station and all, since that's pretty much all he wants. He gives her info on the hotel's progress and how Charlie is doing, she just wants to be there. Personality is uh, calm, ambitious, and generous, yet negatively she is strict and wants things her way. She is the one closest to Charlie and very dear to her, which is why Charlie always tries to call her instead of Eve or Lucifer. Even though Charlie knows now she won't pick up the phone anymore, maybe ever again. It still comforts her to call anyways.

Lastllyy, Eveeee!! She's a pretty silly lil gal. She ate the apple of knowledge, so she was cursed to forever be reminded of it when she sees her tail. Oh yeah, they are also all married! Lillith's ring is under her glove. Anyway, she is pretty powerful despite her having no demon form. She already looks demon enough to fit in. So she does, she goes into pentagram city often and creates bonds with the people. Some know she is Eve and some just see her as a friendly yet powerful individual. Her magic is similar to Charlie's, she got the fireworks coming out of her finger from Eve, and they both can heal their body parts. Charlie doesn't know it because she hasn't needed to yet. Eve uses her charm to be friends with the people of hell, Lillith uses it to gain an army for the fight against heaven, Lucifer couldn't care less and coops himself up in his castle. Personality wise, she is very golden retriever, peaceful, and honest, yet also neglectful being that she spends time with demons rather than her own daughter. (She's barely there with Charlie even before she disappeared along with Lillith. But when they moved to the hotel she tried to make up for it.)

She regretted the marriage. For years.

The potential of Lillith angst is immeasurable, it's painful. Imagine being the first woman, forced into a marriage with a controlling man, falling in love with an angel, the other angels forbidding that, you both try to get Eve to join your relationship, she takes the apple but evil and such take over the world, and then because of your lover's dreams you are all sent to hell. Freaking horrible.

Demon forms!! Charlie gained Lillith's demon form, but I may give her dragon wings to make up for it. Messy doodle I knowww *sob*. Eve doesn't have one because the elder angels stripped that away form her because they were terrified of all of them having stronger forms. They are also ALL cursed with different features. Soo uh, Lucifer has one red eye to remind him of his evil side, he also has all sort of animal details and doll features because he's a mess and a control freak! :3 Lillith has horns, hooves, and a tail because she joined the devil. Eve is blind, the angels ripped her eyes out because she dares to willingly see the devil and his bride, she has wings on each side of her head because she was also a fallen angel(it was hell, because she was unhappy in being Adam's wife, it was temporary as she made herself go to hell instead of being kicked out.) She has a snout and ears too, cuz goat, and a tail with a shape of an apple at the end. Eve was done the worse oh lawwdd 😭😭

BABY CHARLIE!! She at one point HAD to have worn overalls. Right? PLEASE?? I don't know how to draw toddlers bear with me here.

Emo Charlie! Yayy.... she got her period so now she's an adult. 💀 little does she know it's actually a trauma response to being neglected so she tries to get attention by being weird!! 😃👍 (I ruined emo Charlie now)

(I have no idea how to do aesthetics... I'm in pain.)

When I said Lucifer is judgemental, prideful, and neglectful, I meant it. He's a horrible person. But he's trying to be better. That doesn't make him good nor excuse his behavior, he deserves the consequences. Which is why I don't like Lucifer in the show. He is NOT a good person but in one episode he is deprived from the karma of YEARS of neglect and shame. He just says "oh ill support you now" despite two episodes later the message is that actions speak louder than words which only applies to Vaggie for some reason. Why is Lucifer all of a sudden the exception? Oh right cuz he's a silly dad with depression so it's fine(Sorry but this genuinely pisses me off). And people in the fandom have demonized Charlie for being "mean" to him, when she is honestly so valid for reacting like that. The thing is, I don't hate Lucifer. Which is why I hate him if that makes sense. I hate that I like a character that shouldn't be liked yet. This should have been an arc for season 2. This scene should have been the start of the journey. The scene I drew out above is in ep 5 and it's the only interaction they get (it replaces the more than anything scene)

Charlie has no idea how humans/sinners work. She likes to observe them but never quite gets the purpose of their actions. She's emotionally unintelligent like in the show. Which lemme just say, is a FLAW. Characters have FLAWS PEOPLE. If I see another person shaming her for indirectly hurting Angel in episode 4 I'm going to lose it 🥰 she doesn't get emotions, she doesn't understand how people work, because she's been in isolation her entire 200+ years of living maybe less. But still this is all new to her and she is not at fault at all for that (im projecting probably) 🙄 (this is before Vaggie is revealed to be a fallen angel ofc). She's so in awe at her people, it's like a new world and she just wants to understand. It's kinda creepy but y'know it's a Charlie thing. Vaggie also is emotionally unintelligent but that's because she never used to focus on relationships or bonding. Which causes bad communication and problems between the two, YAY DEVELOPMENT!!

Idk bro I just wanted to draw her full demon form again. Uhh from the last time I drew I gave her... a new outfit, darker fur to match her skin, uhh, and dragon wings. Ya thas all but I like this one so much more already lmao. I got the fire hair idea because when she gets angry in the show(+pilot) her hair would defy gravity and it would remind me of yknow.. fire.

They're first meeting went swell! Unlike Lucifer and Vaggie's... but that's for later. Emily grew up afraid of hell but especially Lucifef and turning out the way he did. She still is but she's getting used to having the monster of her bed time stories be a short gummy bear. (Takes place when Charlie and Lucifer are in... better terms I guess) Also, Vaggie and Lucifer's first meet? Not great. Let's just say... Vaggie replaced Alastor and it become "Hell's Greatest Pal" or somthn like that. But yeah, Lucifer didn't really like Vaggie, not because she's a woman n homophobia hellll no his wives are wives, but because he didn't think she was good enough for her. Being a sinner n all. He's a hypocrite like that 😭 plus, he knew Vaggie was a fallen angel but he's not a monster so he didn't say anything. Just passively jabbing at the fact she is in the song to make her scared.

And one last doodle before I sign off!

These six bro... my absolute favorites <3 if you want please send in a request of them and their relationships I'm so desperate I love them sm (especially chaggily butttt lucifers stolen wives(that's the ship name I made 😭) too)

I hope you liked my rambel... my rewrite.... my redesigns.... and my stupidness... have a great day lmao

[the-s1lly-corner]

hey, may i request hcs of laughing jack + slenderman x nonbinary, afab!reader who gets misgendered/bullied a lot but is too scared to correct/stand up to ppl? happens to me a lot :[

laughing jack and slenderman x afab!nonbinary!reader

im so so sorry you keep getting treated like dookie- as a fellow afab nb i totally get your pain with the misgendering, people just need to hush up

notes: reader is afab and nonbinary, established relationships, both canon characters have limited knowledge of lgbt topics but thats mostly because they hardly interact with people or media

cws: transphobia, canon typical violence, mentions of stalking

laughing jack

doesnt get to interact with many people much, so hes a little limited on his knowledge- and given that he originally started existing in the Victorian era? hoo boy- hes not transphobic or otherwise lgbtphobic but there is some ignorance

can see himself as using some labels once he gets more educated on it, though! always headcanoned laughing jack to be gnc!

tries to help you appear more androgynous or masculine if thats what you want! he doesnt mind playing dress up with you, and hes definitely going to take it as a moment to turn it into a game and try to cheer you up!

openly mocks the people who bully you, as well as outright saying that theyre just a bunch of jerks who... dont deserve nice things to head their way.. to keep the description vague

similar to slenderman, hes going to go out and get some vengeance if things get ugly enough

he doesnt like going out without you, hes a bit clingy.. but the sight of you being so distraught really makes his insides coil like snakes.. does not like it at all

even tries to push for you to carry him around in his box so he can just jump and slash anyone who says anything- though thats not a very good idea... would give him away quickly

slenderman

he doesnt understand much about gender, and honestly? i can easily see him being agender, or maybe gender apathetic simply due to him not showing interest in his own identity. he rarely wants to be perceived anyway

despite not knowing much about it and not caring how others see him, he can understand just a little bit on why it matters to you- especially when youre seen as something youre not and harassed for it

rest assured that if he ever finds out someone is harassing you, he will silent them quickly. out right offing them or stalking them over a period of time, the result will end in you having one less person on your back... then two.. then three.. and so on

actually the fact that people seem to either go missing or skip town not long after messing with you makes many keep their mouths shut- and before you even think that might prompt someone to harm you under the guise that its YOU doing it, slenderman isnt going to let that happen

he listens to you if you need to talk about your feelings on it, hes unsure of how to verbally help you affirm your gender identity but if you outright ask him how he views you; he tells you that you pass in his eyes regardless of if you present more femininely, masculine, or androgynously.. though that may be because of his aforementioned limited knowledge on the topic... hes supportive nonetheless!

[flightfoot]

Can you recommend angsty fics which don't revolve around the main duo?

Hope you like these! I avoided fics that revolved around either Marinette or Adrien.

---

Can’t Sleep Either, Huh? by EmeraldButterfly

Chloe gets up late at night. Turns out she’s not the only one who’s worried about Pollen. (AU where former Miraculous holders have an empathetic link with their kwamis)

This is a very interesting AU. Chloe and Zoe are both able to feel Pollen’s emotions and even things like her hunger, and end up taking solace in each other to try and cope. It’s just really sweet.

---

oh, no, not again by @bittersweetresilience

Félix doesn’t want to broach the subject, but he won’t be able to after they leave.

So this is a glimpse into a time-travel fix-it story, with various wielders being sent back into their younger selves. But Felix doesn’t think he’ll be helpful, because well… his backstory. He would be unable to step out of line. It’s pretty angsty and I love Chat’s reaction to learning about how bad Felix had it.

---

Changeling by @unecoccinellenoire

Gabriel makes the Wish believing that he regretted everything with Adrien. The results suggest that he in fact regrets Adrien

So this is interesting. It’s giving a glimpse into a universe where Gabriel and Emilie never found the Peacock Miraculous, and they (along with Amelie and Colt) just adopted. Which unfortunately meant that Adrien and Felix as we know them never existed, and Gabriel finds that he misses his original son, which is especially acute when interacting with his new adopted son and knowing how much he’s NOT Adrien.

---

Late Bloomer by @generalluxun

On what might very well be the last night of her life, Sabrina Raincomprix pulls out a very special scrapbook, pressed between the pages is the past, the past she has never shared with anyone. She relives how she got to this moment one page at a time, preparing herself for the end. A phone call interrupts her self-imposed exile and brings news that could change her life forever. Even if it does though the question looms… change it how?

Sabrina-centric Hanahaki AU here! I love how it goes into Sabrina’s relationship with Chloe over the years, the good and the bad - and even what happens post Revolution. 

I love the description of some of the plants involved, and what they mean, what they represent. If you want a fic that delves more in Sabrina’s character and her relationship with Chloe, this is a solid choice.

---

Spread Your Wings by @myladynoire

Set before the Finale. Félix uses his Kwagatama to summon his father’s memory and has a talk with him.

I love Colt’s characterization here, how we see his mindset, his beliefs, and even what made him the way he is. We have a limited amount of knowledge about him in canon, only having the play Felix and Kagami put on to go off of, but myladynoire made good use of it! I’m glad Felix got some closure here as well.

---

Eat, Pray, Duck by @trishacollins

Gabriel Agreste split his twin sons apart when his wife died, keeping one with him and sending one to London with his sister. Unfortunately, the Supreme was not willing to let this be. He wanted a matched set. Felix is a weapon, a servant of the Supreme. On a mission to retrieve the stolen Miraculous. In a world that has outlawed kindness, sometimes the most dangerous person is the one who chooses it anyway.

I love this glimpse at what might have been going on with Felix back in Shadybug and Claw Noir’s world, I did wonder what might have been going on with him. Poor kid, he managed to have it even worse than he did in canon. I really loved seeing his interactions with Luka, the Couffaines rebel through kindness it seems!

---

Trapped by @consistent-chaos-corporation

Felix asks to visit Adrien as soon as his father is gone. Gabriel catches him snooping, looking for Adrien’s Amok. Everything gets worse from there.

Damn, poor Felix. He came to try and help Adrien, but instead Gabriel stole his Amok, forcing him to obey his commands, holding him prisoner in his basement for months. If you want some quality Felix whump, this is the fic for you!

---

Justifying the Means by @ashes-555

When the worst happens, Alya finds that she may be willing to do the unthinkable. Is any sacrifice to big to make for her friends?

Once again, Ashes comes out swinging with an Alya focused fic! 

Basically, there’s a major, destructive akuma attack. During it, Ladybug orders Chat to cataclysm a building in order to stop from being trapped. Unfortunately the building collapses, injuring or killing a lot of people - unbeknownst to her, including Chat Noir. Gabriel releases the akuma, which means she has no way of fixing the damage, either.

A lot of of focus is placed on Alya and Nino worrying over Adrien, who was found in the wreckage barely clinging to life, in a coma, with the doctors unsure whether he’d make it. Shadow Moth takes advantage of their distress to make an offer: if he gets the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses, he can make a Wish to fix everything, including saving Adrien. With as dark a place as Alya and Nino are in, they seriously consider it. Especially with how unhappy both of them are with Chat Noir supposedly “abandoning” Ladybug and Paris as a whole, and Nino being angry with Ladybug for failing (since Alya knows that Marinette is Ladybug, she’s far more understanding on that front).

I love how much credence Alya’s thought and emotions are given here, and that she doesn’t go for the more drastic option right away, either - she talks with Ladybug about it first, tries to do it her way. She understands the costs, but... her friends are important to her, and she’s desperate. I think this was a really good way to present a more antagonistic sort of Alya. She’s still very much herself here, and still considers Marinette her friend, willing to do things her way to an extent, and understanding why Marinette doesn’t want to use the Wish, even though she disagrees with her. Alya’s mindset, her emotions, her problems, are given respect and credence by the narrative. She’s still willing to talk things out, she’s still sympathetic to Marinette and the enormous trauma and guilt she’s going through, she just disagrees with Marinette’s approach. She wants her friend back.

If you want a fic that has some solid focus on Alya as a person, on her emotional struggles and mindset and just... dealing with things, I highly recommend checking out “Justifying the Means”.

---

I Won’t Let You by @generalluxun

After Gabriel’s defeat, two individuals not party to the celebration run into each other, and find each other.

The summary doesn’t give much of an idea of what the fic’s about. Post-Hawkmoth Defeat, Chloe and Felix run into each other at the celebration of Gabriel’s downfall, and vent about their problems. Neither of them think the other one has it too bad - Chloe’s worried about disappearing, since her worth was entirely tied to her family’s prestige and wealth, and being seen as friends to a terrorist is gonna cripple both of those, while Felix is on edge about Ladybug having the Peacock Miraculous, since she has the ability to kill him at a moment’s notice (yes this is a Sentifelix fic). 

They both make each other understand the turmoil the other is going through in extremely visceral ways, showing the other what it’s like to be them, in the circumstances they’re in. I don’t want to spoil what, exactly, they do, but needless to say, it’s worth a read.

[irenespring]

House MD Characters and Their Mentors

Oh look it's more of this very niche character analysis. This time I'm looking at which of @lorata's District Two Victors would be good mentors for House characters. House fans reading this: you would really like Lorata's writing. Only limited Hunger Games knowledge required (basically you need to know the premise); lots of messed up people making the best of things, found family shenanigans, emotional angst, and queerness.

Anyway, time for mentors!

James Wilson: Devon. The essence of a Devon tribute. Really wants to make the world better. Fairly messed up and depressed, but does genuinely care about the district, and even the kid he volunteers for. The one bit of really key information we are provided about Devon's tributes is that Devon's dreamers burn bright, but flame out as the reality of the Games shatters their world view. This reminds me a lot of how House says that "Wilson thinks that if he cares enough he'll never have to die" contrasted with Wilson's feelings of betrayal and devastation that he, a oncologist who gave his life to treating cancer, is dying of cancer. He served the Capitol, believed everything the Center told him, and the truth of the Games ---the pain and the guilt and the injustice of it all--- is a sudden betrayal that completely unbalances him. The only way he wins is through temporary Arena madness, the kind of desperation that caused him to double his dose of chemo in a last ditch effort to survive and make the world make sense again during canon. Devon's main challenge post-Arena is helping him rebuild his shattered sense of self: Wilson thought he was a good person, but you can only win the Hunger Games by being vicious. Devon, as someone who had a similar break, is the best choice to help him form a cohesive identity. Devon can see him for who he actually is, all of it, and still say he cares. Devon can cite his own struggles with accepting care without "enough work" in return to get Victor!Wilson to step back from compulsively ignoring his needs to "earn" affection. Devon can pull him out of spirals about how his mental state is worse than his brother's now and show him how there is a way forward. The Victory Tour almost kills him, all those people hate him even though he only ever did what was asked of him and what he thought was right. Along with Devon, there is probably only one other person who could help him embrace that he does not need to be perfect or liked by everyone, which brings us to...

Gregory House: Adessa. I went through multiple avenues with this one. First I thought Callista, because viciousness and unapologetic attitude. Then I thought Lyme, because abusive childhood, resentment of the rules, and attachment issues. So we had option A and option B...and we somehow landed around option L. I dismissed Callista because of the reasons I thought Lyme. I moved away from Lyme because she works best with tributes who want to open up but can't until after they win. Claudius wants a family, Misha wants affection, etc. House wouldn't want to open up--- he would want respect, validation, and someone to make everything make sense. The reasons Adessa wasn't a good fit for Nero would make her a great fit for Victor!House. Nero wanted to be told Adessa loves him, but House wouldn't trust any obvious display of affection---instead perceiving his mentor's care for him through nonverbal actions she takes: exactly what Adessa expected to be true of Nero. Adessa can make recovery and all the chaotic, swirling feelings fit within a reasonable framework. She can answer his questions and treat him like someone with a rational mind. She knows that if he opens up, he probably doesn't want to be touched. She understands why he doesn't want the cuddly relationship that Victor!Wilson would have with Devon. She wouldn't pressure him to talk about feelings before he was ready and would give him space when he was ready. She understands his intellectual curiosity. She's probably the only one who could get him to invest in therapy. He wouldn't go based on "I've been there" talks or "I care about you" talks, he would go because "after a significant trauma the logical course of action is to seek medical care, so that one can be assigned medications to regulate neurotransmitters, and to remove unwanted chaos so one can better focus on more important matters." Oh, and also if John House every showed up to take credit for shaping his son into a Victor, Adessa has a briefcase full of knives and decades of fantasizing about taking revenge on behalf of her Victors. They would find his body in pieces...probably. If Adessa was feeling nice and wanted Blythe to have closure.

Devon is terrified when Adessa requests a meeting with him. Misha asks him what he did like fifty times and he doesn't know. He almost calls his mentor, but doesn't because he's a mentor too now, dammit and Adessa totally shouldn't scare him anymore. When he shows up she opens with: "Our Victors appear to have significant romantic attraction to each other. Shall we hasten their union via jointly planned manipulation, culminating in an arranged one-on-one meal over candlelight, perhaps involving the exchange of flowers?"

Lisa Cuddy: Nero. This one is hard. Cuddy is a lot more difficult to analyze than House and Wilson even though I actually prefer her over House (Wilson is my favorite, he just has so many problems, weird habits, and hidden depression). She has a lot of contradictions. She's manipulative, but empathetic. She genuinely advocates for the rules, but allows for crazy ass things to take place. She seems to argue for the rules because she has to, but is inherently drawn to the more chaotic, vigilante tendencies of House. She puts on a show of obeying regulations set by those above her, but seeks power so that she can facilitate what she thinks is right (she repeatedly says she's the only one who would employ House). This is reflective of a Nero tribute. She doesn't know why she is drawn to violence and competition of the Centre, but she is. She completes her kill tests with the highest scores in her year, but she mainly only feels guilty for not feeling guilty. She doesn't have a rationalization for why she is like this the way someone with House's history has. She should want to join the Peacekeepers or be a medic. But the more time passes in the Centre, the more she wants to win the Hunger Games. She goes into the Games a year early, the youngest District Two volunteer in history, and even though she knows the killing is wrong she still wants to win because why shouldn't it be her? She's better at this than the others. However, the inner conflict causes problems post-Games, as the criticisms from other districts actually hurt her, because she agrees. She knows there's something wrong, she fears she might secretly be evil. Nero, with a lifetime of dealing with conflicted, crazy tributes, knows how to reassure her that even if that something is actually wrong, she still has people who love her.

Bonus! Ducklings:

Foreman: Brutus. He's just here to do his job. He knows he's better than his Centre rivals, so his job is the Games. Trying to make it right or wrong will only drive you crazy.

Chase: Lyme. Daddy issues, alcoholism in the family history, wants the authority to like him. Lots of weird hidden triggers.

Cameron: Emory. Wants to be a decent person, just kept going in the Centre because she figured no one would pick her and she owed it to her district to keep trying. She had a baby Victor crush on House and Adessa had to take Emory aside and be like "the baby is making my Victor uncomfortable, tell her to calm down."

Thirteen: Misha. Rules are for suckers, enjoy your life while you have it, desperately try to find meaning in the world while pretending you don't give a shit.

Kutner: Lyme. Wants to find a place to belong, shoves his emotional issues down because he thinks nobody cares. Thinks outside the box, but still responds well around authority he respects.

Taub: I have no fucking idea. Seriously, the more I try to think about this the more I have no thoughts, head empty. Maybe Odin? Odin has a "do what you're supposed to do no matter what, no matter the cost" ideology that would cause a mentor mismatch like Adessa and Nero but at least that mismatch is something.

Anyway if one (1) person requests a Victors!House/Wilson I will write scenes so you have been warned.

[yuri-official]

give me a pitch for korekiibo!!! i wanna hear! :)

OKAY SO

Korekiyo's whole deal is being obsessed with the beauty of humanity, right? Studying how different people behave under different circumstances, sort of observing from the outside. Despite the love xe feels for humanity, there's this sort of alienation. Xe ends up watching everyone else from the edge of the room during class events, xyr this kind of tall, dark, unnerving presence with greasy hair and a mostly obscured face and unconventional interests. In a lot of xyr interactions with the rest of the V3 cast, xyr classmates seem really uncomfortable or even actively distrusting of xem.

And Kiibo's matches up really well with Korekiyo's, their through line is how disconnected they feel from humanity despite being like. The ultimate reflection of everything humankind is. Kibo aspires to be more human, and feels outright offended when their classmates insinuate that they're less than human, or that their life doesn't have the same value as any other person's. They feel like they need to be useful or provide something of value to their friends in order to deserve a place in their circle

(side note I am Not going to use he/him for either of these characters ever. transfem Kiibo + nonbinary Korekiyo supremacy. these are mostly the versions of them i’ve made up in my head anyways so who cares that's all shipping is anyways)

Korekiyo would be the perfect person to affirm Kiibo's value as a person and humanity imo, while Kiibo is a good in-point for Korekiyo to start socializing with more of their friends. I won't take this as an opportunity to shill for my Korekiibo fanfiction, but I have a whole speech from Kiyo written out talking about how Kiibo is the culmination of humanity's desire to share the experience of sentience etc etc

Robotlover Korekiyo Shinguji, you can pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands. What's more human than something created by humanity the way they were created in the image of 'god'? etc

It's really cute!! Korekiyo Does Not Shut Up but thankfully Kiibo loves listening, and there's a lot of substance in what xe says. Even if it rambles for an hour on end, there's information to be gained there, and that applies especially to Kiibo. I think xe would be really interested in the ways Kiibo tries to be more than just the ‘Ultimate Robot’, how they strive to be as close to humankind as they can despite being a robot.

I think Kiibo and Korekiyo would find comfort in each other's shared distance from their peers, too. Korekiyo clearly has a very non-traditional or even distorted view of intimacy and relationships, and likely an extreme discomfort with feeling like xyr out of control. Xe likes to be the person who has information and knowledge to give in xyr relationships, kind of taking up the role of teacher in most conversations in canon.

Kiibo is sort of new to the whole idea of interpersonal relationships, but still goes out of their way to seek out that king of intimacy, as shown in their free time and love suite events. They seem like the type to be eager to learn, which fits perfectly with Korekiyo's affinity for teaching. I can imagine them cuddling while Korekiyo infodumps for hours on end about the entire history of fortune telling or something lol

And now: Things I Just Think Are Really Cute About Their Dynamic

- Consider that Kiibo could probably pick up Kiyo and have xem perched on their shoulder like a weird bird if their strength limiters were turned off. That beast probably weighs about as much of a stack of paper cups wearing a military uniform, xe’ll blow away like a napkin if you roll down the windows of a car on the highway

- Korekiyo is Wife Guy: Evil Edition in my mind. Xyr the type to send xyr partner flowers and the first unlucky person to upset that partner a pipe bomb. Kiibo finds this very reassuring but is working on helping xem find ways of expressing affection that aren’t also felonies

- Korekiyo says things like ‘I think if I were to eat you you would taste like strawberry shortcake’ and Kiibo is just. Okay ❤️ Yay ❤️ All of xyr compliments are incredibly unnerving but Kiibo finds them endearing anyways

- The visual contrast between the two is just. Augh. Tall and flowy and gorgeous and a little terrifying and 5’3 robot with spiky white hair and chunky armour and shounen protagonist demeanour. They are so Connecticut Clark and Malfina to me

- Korekiyo is a BDSM aficionado and Kiibo does not know what sex is

- THIS IMAGE. KIIBO IS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE GAME THAT KOREKIYO CALLS ‘MY DEAR’. I AM INSANE ABOUT THIS

i have. more

so much more

Thank you for coming to my ted talk

[blitheringmcgonagall]

The most annoying part of the canon v fanon Sirius debate is that canon Sirius never had a romantic partner but people will insist that he does. I’ve seen bullying over this and that’s when the debate stops being a bit of fun y’know?

I think that we need to let people come up with their own ideas! Bullying is never okay. As I previously mentioned, while we get a reasonable amount of backstory regarding Sirius, he’s most definitely NOT the main character in the series.

Just because we don’t get information about his love life, or lack thereof, doesn’t prove or disprove what his sexual orientation was and whether or not he was interested in dating/sex etc?

JKR clearly says that canon Sirius is not gay for Remus. She more or less invented Remadora to prove this point as apparently lots of HP fans were convinced Wolfstar was canon (but it being the 1990s etc, they thought that she couldn’t say it openly) and she wasn’t happy about it.

I genuinely think all options can be defended:

Asexuality/ace spectrum/Grey-A (canon says he had no interest in girls/boys looking at him and no GF/BF is mentioned in the books)

Gay (for RJL - the whole “embraced like bros, Lie Low At Lupin’s, 40 line stare, buying presents together” etc)

Straight (he’s got posters of muggle women and motorbikes on his wall)

Bi/pan (both of the last two)

Personally I’ve read really excellent ace!Sirius and Blackinnon fics. And as you probably know, I personally think of Wolfstar as canon. @plecotusauritus explains it really well in a humerous post:

Plus, they are the star (brightest star Sirius) and moon (Moony) in canon. And JKR herself confirmed lycanthropy = equivalent of AIDS in 1980s etc (yeah I know, it’s not great and in fact terrible/horrible comparison when you add Greyback etc; but anyway the AIDS link unwittingly despite herself gave Remus a non-straight background, in fact the way she wrote Remus and Sirius had the director assume Wolfstar was canon!)

Having said all that, in canon, while the classmate was ogling Sirius, he was completely oblivious of her interest as he was too busy staring at James Potter. Ahem. Make of that what you will…!

I completely respect you thinking he never had a romantic partner. Who knows? JKR says that he was too busy playing hard/messing with his bros on his flying motorbike and fighting a war to want any serious relationship. She doesn’t confirm did he have one night stands or other types of encounters. And most people at this stage don’t really care what JKR thinks of Sirius.

The whole point of fandom and shipping and fanfics is to imagine/reimagine all the massive gaps in our knowledge of a character. It’s ok not to stick to the canon info, otherwise the fics we read would be extremely limited, short, and all very similar and boring after a while. I personally prefer when a character’s personality isn’t changed completely (ie when they retain the features that make them recognisable from the original story). But I am very happy to alter other aspects of them - like their race, colour, sexuality, religion etc. Also if you are writing a comedic piece, the characters will not be written the same way as when you write a more dramatic/in depth/ Angsty fic or a very fluffy one?

Everyone should feel free to use their imagination and also not worry about people bullying them for their alternative views. We should all be secure enough in our views that we don’t feel the need to bully others who disagree with us. I’m sorry if that’s happened to you or to people you know 💗💗💗💗💗💗

[ksficrec]

Hi! I just wanted to say that I love this blog, and I also wanted to take the opportunity that so many Kakasaku stories are shared here to express some frustrations I have when I’m reading a fic.I wonder if maybe there’s somone out there that share the same opinions so that’s why I’m here with a little list of things that bother me in a Kakasaku fic:

1- The “Sakura-Chan” thing. Kakashi does NOT call her like that, and frankly it only makes sense when Naruto says it. Kakashi calling Sakura like that is very ooc and not cute AT ALL for me.

2- Ino always being portrayed as the “sex expert”, pushing Sakura to dress sexy or whatever as if Sakura was a virgin prude with no sensuality of her own. It pisses me off, like why humiliating Sakura like that?

3- Sasuke being portrayed as a villain in OU fics: Sasuke suffered a lot of trauma and was heavily manipulated by Itachi, Orochimaru and Obito, but even if he was rude to Sakura sometimes, it was because he felt he had to push people away so he didn’t loose loved ones again. He deeply cared for team 7 so in OU fics, there’s a lot of ways you could write a good Kakasaku without having to bash Sasuke because canon Kakashi and Sakura understand Sasuke very well, it doesn’t make sense for them to hate him.

4- Last but not least, let’s be clear about what is slow-burn: slow-burn is when the relationship and chemistry are being constructed gradually, not rushed or urgent. They go slow with respect to each other’s limits. Writing a scene when the couple is about to have sex and then something/someone comes up and gets in the way is NOT slow-burn!!

Anyway, I just needed to take some things out of my chest because these little details really bother me when reading a story. Thanks for the attention, and keep up the good work!

Hi! Firstly, thank you 💕 Then,

This is where I realised I forgot most of canon and most of my Naruto knowledge now I think is purely from fics because I don't remember at all if Kakashi calls her Sakura-chan in canon or not! I don't mind it so much in fics, plus when it's used there is always a moment when feelings happen and he stops calling her -chan, so I don't so much mind this one. But I also prefer when he doesn't call her -chan, but instead sees her more as an equal in the field also (but idk if this is maybe a wstern bias I have and perhaps am not interpreting the japanese suffixes quite right).

I don't like the shy virginal Sakura portrayals either anymore (I think I did when I was a teen because I could relate to her that way). But also given the age difference and that in many fics Sakura is 18-19, I get the shy angle. But I just don't like reading that anymore, give me bamf, confident, sexually secure Sakura any day. However the flirty Ino is a trope I LOVE in fics.

(What does OU mean?) I get this but also I never really liked Sasuke too much. As an adult I understand that all his problematic behavior stems from being hurt and manipulated like you said, but the way he treats Sakura in canon is still very poor, traumatised or not. I get where it comes from but it's still not good behavior. Anyways in fics I also prefer when he is not such a bad guy, but a more sort of complicated situation. I also like the fics where he is dead but Sakura has only lovely and loving memories of him, which also complicates the situation

I am not sure what the actual fandom definition of slow burn is?? I am realising?? Because when they keep getting interrupted it's slow burn for the reader cause you want it so bad but it keeps getting delayed... but yea that's not so much slow burning feelings tha tthe characters have. While what you are describing is also friends to lovers (alt enemies to lovers) which is its own tag... so idk!! I'll take your word for it tho

I love this ask, you are all welcome to sending this kind of asks!

[un-local]

Rogier 7 8 9

7) Ship(s) with them that I like or at least consider:

[1] Past Rogier and D. (Now very divorced) (This will not change) Love that one. To copy paste my end notes from an upcoming chapter:

I just don’t see a way they can have a meaningful relationship without one of them folding and giving up the respective principles that they hold onto so tightly. With the tangled union of Darian’s grief and faith, and Rogier’s... everything, I just don't see that happening. And with their differences in ideology, I don’t see Darian bringing out the best in Rogier, not really. Since to maintain what they have, Rogier is always going to be the one accommodating that—in all his usual, (well-meaning, usually unintentionally) deceptive ways. A bummer, but I think they can still have their somber moments, like in this chapter.

[2] Fia/Rogier. (ONLY with ulterior motives on both sides)

I love them as a dynamic. Neither of them are upfront with their motives, really. (Rogier wasn’t in Stormveil—he only is after he’s injured, and the player helps him with the knifeprint.)

Now, I don’t think they’re liars, persay. I just think that they’re dishonest—in that they’re both playing things close to the vest. It influences what they say and when to a major degree. Especially to each other. Their oppositional goals drive their dynamic, and that's what makes it fun to me.

I do I think they have a certain respect for each other, despite it all.

[3] Rogier/Tarnished I think could be great.  D and Fia are too ideologically opposed to Rogier's goals to be anything but bittersweet. A Tarnished who’s sold on Rogier’s vision could be a game changer for him. 

It’s something I’m… flirting with… in Still Waters. We’ll see. Atm, its really only there if you want it to be there. 

What can I say. (Slowly) escalating, unspoken bi4bi tension is my favorite dynamic. That quiet, undying loyalty that comes only after truly knowing someone... Oh baby. Hell yeah. BUT, like I said, nothing's set in stone. The main plot is written to be wholly focused on an exploration of Rogiers character—as he is now, and his evolution after surviving deathblight. 

8) Made-up connections with other characters that weren't in the canon 

(friends, enemies, whatever)

Now this is my jam!

[1] Roderika. This is something that’s gonna be in the next update of Still Waters. I have some relevant thoughts in my end notes I'll condense into something shorter:

I’ve noticed a focus on fairness with her. Reciprocity. Seeking a just balance in interpersonal affairs. So when Rogier gives her comfort, but denies her the ability to offer the same, that’s what gets her. The inequity of being shut down like that, especially from someone who is so clearly full of it. (Clearly to her, at least.) Roderika’s impulse here to speak kindly is sweet. And with her abilities and similar background, she can parse through his bullshit better than most. It's what he needed to hear, but certainly not how he needed to hear it.

[2] I think he’s partial to Hewg. His sword is upgraded +8 when you get it, I think Hewg was at least in part involved in that. (It could have been upgraded before coming to The Lands Between, but I like to think some of that work was Hewg's.) 

[3] I can't imagine he’s too fond of Gideon. Who is, by the end of things, though?

[4] Highly improbable, but it's funny: If he's found Sellen, she’s sick of all his questions. He's relentless in his pursuit of knowledge, and even she has her limits.

I'd love to think that boss outside her chambers was to keep him from pestering her specifically.

Again, this is absurd, but it's a funny thought.

[5] In a world where he's teamed up with the Tarnished, I think he'd happily do wonders for Boc's self esteem.

Idk, I think one good talk with Rogier would circumvent that whole thing with Rennala. (But Boc definitely still deserves to hear his mother's voice again. Maybe they both try to make Boc feel better. Tag team of emotional support. Lol. Anyway.)

[6] On the idea of traveling with the Tarnished: can he see Melina? He can’t see grace, so it's funny to imagine he can’t see Melina either. The Tarnished he's traveling with just suddenly starts talking to thin air.

In my fic, he's surviving deathblight, and I'm going to have to address this somehow. Such is the nightmare-logistics of writing ER long fic. 

9) Backstory Headcanons

I answered this already here, but I have a few more! 

[1] In my fic, he landed on the shore of the Mistwood. His first death in The Lands Between was absolutely by Runebear. Naturally, this will be played for comedy in due time.

[2] In his life before The Lands Between, he's held his own in a duel. He was certainly not the one who proposed it, though. 

(Now, how dangerous the duel itself was or wasn’t—readers preference.)

[3] His first death, where he realized he was Tarnished, was blessing to him—an opportunity to get out of the life he was expected to live. It was the perfect way to get away and start really pursuing what he cared about. (Glintstone Sorcery. For real. Not just as a status symbol.) (Which, based on the prisoner class description, it was a status symbol of some kind.)

But he does miss the food, though. 

Hmm... a drastic way out of a life he never wanted? Sounds familiar... You bet I'm getting to that eventually ;)

[4] The impossible standards, emotional deprivation, and lack of true support wasn't just something he faced from high society. He dealt with it as much in the home as he did outside of it. It's where he learned to keep his real emotions at bay.

He spent his "entire" life behaving with detachment—I can't imagine it started anywhere else than in his own home.

[ Ask Game Link! ] Send me character and a number!

[memryse]

that post about misogyny in mcyt fandom/shipping has made me think a lot about how i approach area unknown so. slight introspection time. i think it’s silly to discuss misogyny/bigotry if you’re not willing to reexamine your own behaviour and biases

bc my attitude to ausmp has always been “i got into it for scott’s character because that’s the exact sort of awful character that i go deranged insane for”. so i class au!scott as one of my favourite characters ever but i barely know the rest of the smp. and i’m absolutely interested in getting to know the other characters, but i’m busy watching a lot of stuff already and a lot of vods are completely lost anyway, so in practice all i’ve seen are scott’s vods and some aimsey vods.

since not many people in this side of the fandom don’t know as much about that sphere of mcyt, me talking about au!scott usually means people ask me what even is area unknown. and so i don’t rlly get to take that stance of just blorboposting when that happens. because of my limited knowledge i usually end up talking about why i like au!scott/demon brothers and then when explaining the smp as a whole often mentioning au!sunshipduo being canon, but not wanting to conflate promoting the whole smp with promoting the canon sapphic relationship because i don’t like the idea of making anyone out to be the “main character” (the most i’ll ever say is scott is undoubtedly the antagonist) nor do i want to reduce sunshipduo to Just the romance aspect because that feels icky to me. and i figured that was fine because i don’t know any like active ausmp fandom members and looking through the tags on here and ao3 i almost exclusively saw sunshipduo content and barely anything if anything at all for anyone else including scott

but then looking through the tags of that post i saw someone say au!scott has more enjoyers than au!sunshipduo and i’m like. huh. they might be wrong since it doesn’t align at all with what i’ve seen of the fandom content or maybe number of fanworks don’t necessarily reflect the true amount of casual fans whereas sunshipduo have more committed fans, i don’t know. but either way it really made me think huh am i actually contributing to that problem. and then it also made me think well i’m not particularly into romance of any kind anyway so it’s not surprising that i personally am not likely to become a sunshipduo stan once i watch more vods. however i still feel myself vibing harder with flower husbands despite them both being similar flavours of reincarnated romance and is there a reason for that? is it that i vibe more with the less seriously roleplayed flower husbands because i’m aroace and prefer only a hint of romance or is it just some very deep set internalised misogyny. or perhaps both. we’ll find out when i finish watching the vods i guess

ordinarily i wouldn’t post stuff like this but i think it’s fine as a reminder to reexamine your biases every once in a while especially if you’re going to discuss issues in fandom because chances are you’re not magically immune

[roobylavender]

Your post earlier made me think about how Bruce is really dedicated to learning and acquiring knowledge and how over the course of his life he has acquired a wide array of skills across multiple fields and it just really makes we want to see a version of Bruce who loses his wealth somehow and has to do a normal job in any field because I honestly think it'd pull him out of the doom and gloom mentality and make him genuinely happy. I'm not that far into my Batman reading but I really think it would be an interesting move to make Bruce a normal dude given all the discourse around billionaire superheroes right now and it's probably the best thing for his mental health/general issues to actually be around people.

I also would like to see how it would affect his relationships with his family, friends and allies because he would be out in a position to genuinely experience their reality. Also would love to see him get a job utilising one of his obscure skills that he genuinely likes. How do you think an arc of Bruce having to live like a normal person would go? I love your comic book insights and would love to hear your take

To clarify the previous ask I know he loses his money in current canon but he still seems to be a billionaire? I think? I don't know I cannot get through most modern comics. Anyways good luck with law school and I hope you have a nice day! 🌻🌻🌻

i'm not reading the current dc or batman run and haven't been for the past few years so i am as clueless as to that situation as you are! (and thank you for the well wishes hehe i am sat in criminal law right now utterly bored out of my mind)

i couldn't agree more though! a slight tangent to this idea but one criticism of the dark knight rises that i have noticed bleeds over into opinions of bruce's future in the comics is this idea that he can only ever be batman and if he does not intend to die as batman then the writer behind that decision has failed to understand his character. it's one i'm very confused by and heavily disagree with. before bruce is batman he's bruce. batman exists bc of bruce. it took at least a decade before the specific idea of batman was even implanted into bruce's head if we're going by classic takes on the batman origin story. he had interests before that! he had a life! we are able to see on several occasions that he still wants to have a life even though it grows increasingly difficult to do so while he takes responsibility for being the city's savior. which is what i think makes the concluding thesis of the dark knight rises (for all of its well-criticized flaws) so, so good bc it allows bruce to acknowledge that he doesn't have to carry the world on his shoulders alone, and that acknowledgment isn't reproachful in and of itself, esp where he has people to carry on the cause

i've talked here before about critics' attention to the nihilism of the nolan movies and their focus on the batman as a singular, crucial savior without whom the city falls to pieces, and i totally agree that criticism of building vigilantism on nihilism's foundations is viable. but i also think it's a criticism conveniently made for that movie bc the scope of bruce's immediate posse is incredibly limited. at most he is only ever closely accompanied by two people in any given movie so it's easier to be skeptical of the idea that gotham is presented to only ever need one savior bc there aren't many others to choose from. i do think the dark knight gets close at challenging that notion with the boats set-up towards the end but nolan fails to really see it through when he carries it forward via john blake, who is not only one person, but also a cop. there's a great idea there in bruce indirectly inspiring someone else to do good and act of his own volition but whether its impact is completely effective is debatable and i think most people would agree using the actual robin would have been a far better alternative. the novelty of batman comics in comparison to the nolan trilogy is that superheroes are everywhere. people who do good are everywhere. we are all heroes inherently if we so choose to be. bruce has an entire support system he can trust to carry forward the same faith and duty that he has been for years if he happens to lose it all or need a break or whatever

and i know you're only specifically talking about him losing his wealth so my sincere apologies for going off on such a wild tangent lol! but i do imagine the loss of wealth or even voluntary removal from it would be attached to a departure from batman as well, whether temporary or permanent. i think there's an interesting thread to follow there with how bruce's wealth not only isolates him from certain realities but also enables his dedication to being batman bc he simply always has material and resources at his disposal by way of that wealth (he kind of has to bc otherwise he's more exposedly human). what does he do when he doesn't have immediate access to those things? how does his awareness of ordinary people's circumstances increase and how does that in turn influence the way he chooses to live going forward? it's a really great way to connect him more deeply to people like selina and leslie whose entire survival is premised on their brutal understanding of normalcy and its tension with survival in a place that is anything but normal. bruce has a good head on his shoulders and an even more sympathetic heart but i want to see him really come face to face with the things that only ever exist in his periphery bc his attachment to resources always demands that he fights the foes to match those resources. get him involved with the community on the ground and lead his inclination towards good will to its natural conclusion of people interaction. bc bruce loves people! he craves companionship. if he could spend the rest of his life working with people and for people i think he would. so on the note of what i think he would do i genuinely feel like bruce would love anything to do with community service. involvement in things like student mentorship programs are great bc they're a huge well of creativity for teachers trying to inspire kids to be passionate about their interests and skills. and bruce definitely has the experience from how he trains his robins (esp how he used to in the olden days when it was all chummy gymnastics and boxing friendlies!)

[seoafin]

do you think megumi and tsumiki aren't close siblings in the manga? otherwise, wouldn't megumi have noted that his sister was acting out of sorts in the latest chapters? i read a meta recently that talked about how the one interaction we see of them is when she throws milk at him and doesn't seem apologetic. do you think that was deliberate in the sense that gege was trying to subvert the woman in fridge trope? anyway, how does this affect your canon understanding of megumi's personality? can't wait for the new fic!!

also, personal question since i'm obsessed with him, how do think gojo would be like in a relationship post kfc breakup in canon? also, in your family au, when do reader and gojo get married?

they are close! while they may not be the type of siblings that tell each other other their innermost secrets, they obviously care about each other. even as children, i'm sure having no parents in the household brought them together as they only could rely on the other. megumi's first thought when gojo approached him was how being a jujutsu sorcerer would affect tsumiki, and even as a six year old her happiness is one of his biggest priorities!! they might not be best friends, but they have a familial bond and they care for each other

keep in mind i haven't read the latest chapters more than i've skimmed over them, but i think it's stated in the chapter that the cursed user inhabiting tsumiki has access to all her memories, and based off that could nearly perfectly replicate her mannerisms and personality, which is what fooled megumi. i think megumi was just so relieved and happy to have found her, it blinded him, and he momentarily forgot about the possibility that it wasn't actually her. once the initial euphoria wore off, it is a possibility that he would've eventually realized it wasn't her! upon realizing tsumiki wasn't tsumiki, he was so devastated that sukuna used that moment to invade his body.

as for your second question i'm not sure i completely understand? to my knowledge, i don't think the fridging women trope necessarily applies because tsumiki is still alive! if tsumiki does end up dying (all to further megumi's character arc) then akutami would definitely be guilty lol ESPECIALLY since nobara died for yuuji's AND he killed off tsukumo yuki 😭

as for that scene, i think it was more to show their contrasting ideologies in how they approach life and see other people. i think tsumiki was very rightfully fed up with megumi's (admittedly immature) way of treating people and obviously as his big sister it falls on her to straighten him up!!! i feel like he was also just Mentally not in a very good place in middle school and full of bitterness and resentment towards everyone. he does undergo a character change from middle school to high school, which the readers can assume is because tsumiki fell victim to a curse. it's the reason why he's trying so hard at being a jujutsu sorcerer, all to help her.

i personally really really like megumi's current character arc as much as i dislike the culling games. his resolved has hardened and he knows what he has to do. there's no more room for doubt, only survival. furthermore, he's growing at an exponential rate, and at this point in the manga the sky's the limit since the mental barrier he's imposed on himself is gone and i really can't wait for him to develop more although the events in the manga are.....yeah 😭 i also think the events of the manga so far have shown us that megumi is indeed ready to put the people he cares about over the greater good. god i hope he and yuuji and tsumiki make it out of the culling games alive!!!!

personal opinion: i don't think gojo is ready for a relationship immediate post-kfc breakup although i can see him rushing into one as a result of it haha

uhhhh i think rip!mc and gojo get married arounddddd 22????? sorry rip!mc that's so unfeminist of me 😫😫😫😫

[cassyapper]

if i could pick your massive brain for a minute, what do you think kakyoin and avdol's relationship is like?

they have criminally minimal interactions in canon with one of the only ones coming to mind being the "your own stand could kill you if you're not strong enough" convo which was more of avdol seemingly info dumping on kakyoin unprompted in the manga. at least the anime made it a bit more of a conversation... really thinking on it the anime added an... alright? amount for them what with moments in the n'doul arc (even if they were snatched from jotaro) and the moment in the hospital after that. bless the anime's added moments

HIII OMG I'M ABSOLUTELY ECSTATIC THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN MY AVDOL AND KAKYOIN THOUGHTS <3333 I DO THINK ABOUT THEM SO MUCH WAHH

i agree with what you said, their on-screen interactions are INCREDIBLY limited and it makes me so fucking sad because they're the best characters of part 3 like GOD DAMMIT araki can't you do fucking anything right on purpose. anyway but based on what we DO have:

kakyoin definitely looks up to avdol a lot i think. avdol is one of the people he very much respect, which is why he enjoyed listening to avdol rather than making avdol listen to Him for a change. i conclude this because of avdol being the only other lifelong standuser he's met (so far) and being someone who was able to avoid the sway of dio and prevent himself from getting fleshbudded. i think kakyoin kinda forgets avdol is a person at first though; i think every time he sees him, he sees who he wants to be but was too cowardly and closed off to become

avdol on the other hand sees kakyoin as kinda a ghost of standusers he's met in the past (ie, the standusers they meet on the journey. avdol clearly knew them beforehand considering his knowledge of them, and since they're almost all from cairo, i assume they grew up together or at least near each other). i think he sees kakyoin as someone he wants to protect if just so he doesn't have to see kakyoin become like his ex-friends, if just to soothe his own conscience

however, as they both interact and spend more time together, they start to see each other as real people and not just the impressions they got. i think kakyoin drags out the humorous side of avdol; he refuses to believe avdol is just always 100 percent patient and polite and kind. avdol laughs at kakyoin's mean jokes and kakyoin is like "vindication." ironically, considering kakyoin is the one that looks up to avdol, i think avdol learns self-acceptance from kakyoin irt his personality and his stand. i think both kakyoin and avdol loved India a lot and i think they explored it a bit for the time they were there together. i bet after yellow temperance, kakyoin and avdol have some chai in the lobby near the fireplace and avdol talks about his previous adventures in India, and kakyoin is listening so intently and butting in with "did you do x cultural norm or y cultural norm in z city?" and avdol answers all his questions patiently and just UGHGHG KAKYOIN FEELS HEARD THEY BOTH DO

kakyoin never stops looking up to avdol and avdol never stops feeling protective of kakyoin, but it adjusts into something easygoing, camaraderie. avdol is able to take care of kakyoin (such as patching up wounds (avdol is the one with the first aid kit in the first part of sdc), giving advice, etc) and kakyoin is able to accept it because he looks up to and trusts avdol (also it helps that avdol isn't smothering in his care; he treats it like it's natural and kakyoin can almost believe it). i think they're both able to rely on each other pretty quick

^ that's why kakyoin cries when avdol gets shot and he thinks he's death. avdol was who he wants to be and avdol was one of the only people who was gentle with him in a way he could accept, in a way that doesn't wound his pride, and he got stolen from him only after a couple of weeks. he's pissed

cut to avdol joining the team again, i think avdol is the only one kakyoin tells about death 13 after the fight. he's just desperate for someone, anyone to believe him, if anyone would understand it'd be avdol, avdol knows, avdol's been in the same trenches he has, avdol would know. and avdol does know. he didn't know mannish baby but I'm sure he's seen dream stands before but also most importantly, avdol trusts kakyoin's judgement irt stands. he knows enough about stands to know kakyoin understands them too. it's a world they both grew up in. and it relieves kakyoin so, so much

im sure kakyoin asks about avdol's ties to tarot and im sure avdol explains his complicated history with it (this goes into my view of avdol's backstory but that's another post.) i think kakyoin understands where avdol is coming from and i think it takes some weight off of avdol's shoulders. im sure avdol does a tarot reading for kakyoin once, speaking of

when they get wounded in the n'doul fight I'm sure avdol demands they be put in the same rooms cause even if he's not staying long, he wants to make sure kakyoin is okay. kakyoin is snappy about it cause he's stressed out and scared but he doesn't tell avdol to fuck off and when they get the news kakyoin's eyes will probably be fine avdol hugs kakyoin and kakyoin can't find it in him to push him away (he hugs him back)

when avdol dies for real i think kakyoin just doesn't even allow himself to think about it, he needs to focus on other things or he knows he's going to get scared. he's already scared. he's shaking in the manga when they find out. but he can't dwell on it because he knows avdol would say they need to focus on the mission first (similar to what avdol said to polnareff and iggy)

but then kakyoin follows in avdol's footsteps and dies the same way. I'm sure some part of him feels vindicated that in a way, he did become like avdol. he did grow enough to be on a similar level

anyway when kakyoin dies and goes to whatever the jojo afterlife is i think avdol sees him and bursts into tears and cries and screams cause "you were only 17 you weren't supposed to die kakyoin you were so young you weren't supposed to die" and i think kakyoin cries too then, mourning both his own life and avdol's. they were both too young

anyway basically i think they both see a chance for salvation in each other; kakyoin sees a future version of himself he wants in on in avdol, and avdol sees a past version of himself/old friends that he can save now in kakyoin. and as they accept the other as whole people, i think they joke around and tease and become like brothers. kakyoin definitely is ruthlessly screaming at avdol about "THE FRENCHMAN??? REALLY? FUCKING REALLY????" and avdol is like "shut UP!!! SHUT UP NORIAKI!!!!" also i know i know i know avdol makes some joke about taking in moody strays (iggy and kakyoin) and kakyoin and iggy are both like SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!! with the same snarl it's very funny. i think kakyoin feels truly safe in avdol and i think avdol feels secure enough to be himself around kakyoin; he doesn't need to be the stiff, neutral, polite, competent version of himself he portrayed at the start. this is his friend, his brother, and he deserves honesty. kakyoin won't let him hide he drags it out of him. anyway yeah

[baizhuo]

❥ ; other regions - MONDSTADT .

because i do think it is a bit necessary to , at the very least , give some sort of verse for each region , & give an explanation as to how & WHY baizhu would be in the other regions . & because I like to give some sort of uniqueness . but also , i would like to at least write down somewhere my thoughts . i suppose we should go in order of release - for what i know . 

this is to also HELP other people who write characters that are not native to liyue .

i still start with the anemo region(s) , since it has been out the longest . i will post - eventually - the rest of the regions , but i also don’t want to like write all of them in a single post . which is why i am breaking it up like this . 

the summary :

MONDSTADT - knows kaeya & klee ; research  DRAGONSPINE - knows albedo ; research

more under the read more .

also please note that i DO list canon REGION CHARACTERS that baizhu would have a POSITIVE interest in interacting with . i always support all kinds of interactions though & while some characters are not listed this DOESN’T MEAN that i am not interested in interacting with other characters . there will be some that baizhu has a more NEGATIVE reaction / (dis)interest in and the like but are not listed . so , again, just remember that just because a character is not listed , doesn’t mean that baizhu will straight up ignore them . he will probably just have a neutral / negative opinion on them . and unless we have discussed , this will be the automatic default .  

🐍 MONDSTADT 

yes , despite his physical health , baizhu does happen to trek into mondstadt from time to time , usually TAKING qiqi with him ( though it is a given that he will most likely have her nearby anyway due to his desire to keep her close / safe , but i will also elaborate in another post as well about qiqi ) . the reason for taking qiqi with him is USUALLY to have her play with klee . but there are a number of individuals in live in mondstadt that baizhu will interact with . 

kaeya is one such individual . but he also does have a few patients as well that he may do a surprise visit , if needed . ( though , usually he FIRST makes rapport with them directly in liyue but he may stop in to check on said patients at a later time if needed . )

usually , however , he finds himself more in the wilds of the region ( as he is in the other regions , usually ) . he prefers to procure wildlife samples himself - with the help of qiqi . but it is really to help with his own research . he doesn’t limit himself to liyue - & he shouldn’t . though , often times , he normally comes to the region if he has business with kaeya - & klee . 

it is actually unknown if he personally knows / talks to anybody else in the region deliberately . he does tend to AVOID diluc though . & will finds reasons to keep venti AWAY ( if the bard is actively pestering him ) . after all , he still wants to be a mysterious figure outside of his own region . but he definitely can be interacted with in the region . it’s just that normally he will be studying or taking samples of the flora . ( or the rare interaction with abyssal creatures like hillichurls - but that is already a given since he understands their language to some extent . )

TLDR : knows kaeya & klee ; research ; WOULD BE INVESTED IN TALKING TO : barbara , sucrose , lisa , mona , rosaria 

🐍 DRAGONSPINE

dragonspine is just an EXTENSION of monsdtadt itself HOWEVER ! baizhu has taken a deep & extreme interest to albedo & his studies . baizhu himself is on positive terms with the alchemist though & , quite OFTEN , shares information pertinent to him . this is usually in exchange for albedo’s knowledge , however there is absolutely no malicious intentions coming from the doctor . 

baizhu does NOT consider their relationship to be a a student / teacher one . it is more of a mutual / equal peer to peer relationship . baizhu is interested in the ore located on dragonspine , as well as other minerals / regional specialties that are ONLY found on the cold mountain . He also is extremely interested in the strange bones / teeth found there . because of this , albedo is not only a peer , but also serves as some sort of tour guide for baizhu . 

that being said , while biazhu’s condition is not suited for the chilling temperatures , he becomes more & more acquainted with the mountain the more he goes . & because qiqi is a cryo user herself so he’s slightly used to the cold . baizhu has learned to adapt , as well as bring the necessary supplies to survive the cold weather that dragonspine has . 

TLDR : knows albedo ; research  WOULD BE INVESTED IN TALKING TO : rosaria ( she’s listed here cause i know she frequents the area too )

[in-a-slanted-outhouse]

Ok so I’ve been thinking about Five and Delores recently and I honestly find the whole concept of Delores absolutely fascinating. I wanted to post this before season three in case I get contradicted and all of this work was for nothing

So today I present to you:

Why I think that Number Five can still be aroace and have loved Delores

An essay on comphet by me, a bisexual who is procrastinating the work he actually has to do and stayed up way too late for this

So I’m going to be talking about Five’s sexuality, a very controversial topic of which I could end up pissing off at least one person whilst discussing. So a little disclaimer: y’all don’t have to listen to a word I say. We can all have different headcanons. I just request that you please read the entirety of this before you reply

Anyways

Five does not have a canon sexuality as of when I’m writing this so it is therefore entirely up to interpretation

Here’s mine

A lot of people who argue Five can’t be aroace often point out that he had a romantic relationship with Delores or feel that saying Five is aroace undermines the relationship that he had with her. I’m here to say that that isn’t necessarily true. In fact, in my opinion, it could make their relationship more faceted and interesting if it wasn’t a romantic relationship

To me at least

Firstly, I don’t think Five ever explicitly states what his relationship to Delores was other than saying they were ‘together for over thirty years’ when Klaus has a brief discussion with him about romantic and sexual relationships. Now, this does heavily imply that they were in some sort of romantic relationship however, it could also be taken as them being partners in a more platonic sense because Five mentioning it seems more prompted by Klaus claiming him to have been alone (and Five feeling semi comfortable enough to take that as an opportunity to open up to him) more than anything else.

Secondly, (and here’s my main argument) their entire relationship will always be based off Five’s perception of how certain relationships work. If Five believes that him and Delores were in a romantic relationship then that can only be based on the way he perceives romantic relationships or more accurately, the way a sheltered thirteen year old perceives romantic relationships. And as Delores is an extension of Five himself, she will always have the same subconscious values and feelings that he has, as well as with him being trapped in The Apocalypse, he couldn’t have been told differently by anyone else.

All of how he sees romantic relationships is going to be based off the limited knowledge of what he saw around him. Majority of this would have been from late-nineties/early-2000s media as well as (and mostly) older literature that he was taught in class or burnt up books, magazines and newspapers in the wreckage of The Apocalypse.

Five didn’t have a very good model of what a healthy, loving, romantic relationship looked like, growing up. And he didn’t really have anyone that he could have fallen in love with other than his siblings (eek.) His two real life references for what a romantic relationship could look like would have been his father and robot mother; and his brother and sister unhealthily projecting their repressed puberty feelings onto each other due to their isolation from the rest of the world

Robot Grace was essentially a maid to Reginald and not a real romantic interest so I highly doubt that he ever saw them as being in a romantic relationship despite them both being his ‘parents’. This is backed up by the way that Diego reacts to finding out that real Grace and Reginald were dating in the 60s

Reginald (although I doubt that he would have wanted the Hargreeves to fall in love and distract from saving the world) seems like the kind of man to have very old-fashioned values that a man and a woman fall in love and then they get married. And all of the Hargreeves would have been influenced by that somewhat by what media he let them consume. As well as this, we have a very heteronormative society and back in 2002 the access to information wasn’t void but it wasn’t excessive either

Five, having a curious mind and always striving to understand everything, probably did have some idea on different relationships and sexualities but he still would have had limited access to those resources. He could very easily be aroace (or any other sexuality for that matter) but during his years at The Academy, had such little eduction on the matter that he couldn’t truly figure himself out. I doubt he would have known about sexualities other than being straight, gay or bi and could have had the thought process of ‘I’m not attracted to men, so I must be straight,’ or ‘I’m not attracted to women so I must be gay,’ or even ‘I’m attracted to both equally (equally not attracted) so I must be bi.’ He could have also had such little interest in romantic relationships that he just didn’t put that amount of thought into it/thought that everyone had the same internal nonchalance about it but that some people were just more externally excited about the prospect than others

His access to this kind of information would have decreased when he landed The Apocalypse, partly because there was no one else there to give him the information and partly because a lot of books containing said information would have been destroyed. That’s not to say they would have all been destroyed because obviously Viktor’s autobiography survived, but a large amount of them would have been destroyed.

Now, Five, as we’ve seen, is often described by the fandom as being a magpie in the way that he mimics the behaviour of those around him as a survival mechanism. Five, obviously knows what love is, and I have no doubt that what he felt for Delores was love, but for someone who, was separated from society at a young age and has a tedious reference for what romantic love looks like, it could be quite difficult for him to distinguish between romantic and platonic/familial love. Delores was very much created by Five as a coping mechanism to slow his impending insanity. It wouldn’t be far fetched for him to have created Delores and as he slowly slipped into believing she was real, he ended up developing a love for her -which could have been platonic/familial love- but based off of his knowledge of ‘when a man and a woman are in love they must be in a romantic relationship’ he analysed his own feelings of love and went ‘hey, this must be what romantic love is!’

And Delores wouldn’t be able to say any different because she wouldn’t know any different because she lives inside Five’s headspace

Essentially what I’m saying is that Five spending his teens (and entire life) in isolation with his only companion being a person who he made up, would realistically hinder his own sexual exploration and due to limited resources, could cause him to misinterpret his own feelings of platonic/familial love for romantic love. Meaning that with Delores he could have ended up subconsciously or maybe even intentionally mimicking the traditional heterosexual romantic relationship with his own interpretation of what he’s been taught is what happens when man and woman love each other, as a way of experience some semblance of the life he was missing/be able to live semi-in-denial of his suffering on occasion. Therefore, Five (and Delores by extension) could still be aroace and have been in a relationship

Five clearly loved Delores (and we know that he does love people in a platonic/familial way because his entire character/motivation is based off his love for family) and he clearly needed her but it’s never specified what their love entailed, and therefore their relationship could have been based off of a child’s misunderstanding of how romantic relationships work. They could have still been life long partners without loving each other romantically. Five could still love her deeply and strongly and in a meaningful way without loving her romantically. They could have still technically been in a romantic relationship if both parties (singular party technically) believed that they were.

Five could still not experience romantic or sexual attraction and still have loved Delores. He does it with his family every single day

And obviously this logic of Five not being able to explore his sexuality and having limited resources for that could also apply to him having any sexuality. I’m not denying that. I’m just using it as a way to show that him and Delores could still have loved each other and had a relationship that was just as important as a romantic one without it actually being romantic

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk