#but i've also been a fan of series where that exact thing happens so

[obsessedwrhys]

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ The Seven x Deadpool!Reader

t/w: loooots of dark humour/jokes, reader is insensitive and an asshole since they're also a supe working at vought, your powers are the exact same as Deadpool (even the skin condition), mention about killing, death, gore, r-pe, n@zis?!?!, alcohol, some intimacy (?). Also reader is gn!!

ᯓ★ here's a version with the boys <3

HOMELANDER

This man hates you so fking much

Has tried to kill you multiple times, he tried lasering you, tearing you in half and even throwing you into the sky but you just always manage to come back like the damn plague

Eventually he gives up trying to kill you and just had to deal with the fact you'll be kept alive... just temporarily though... he's still looking for ways to kill you

However, your powers gave you dozens of advantages when around Homelander.

He can be having a meeting about something serious and everyone would be listening to him due to their fear towards him, then there's you who'd be doing your own thing and just shout out unrelated things like "Donald Trump just blocked me on Twitter!! HAH!! SUCK IT CORNFLACKS!!"

Everyone turning to you with startled expressions while Homelander simply rolls his eyes before continuing his presentation.

You are a complete nightmare to the PR team, that's why for interviews or any events, you'll always be paired up with Homelander so he can keep you under control and stop you from saying weird shit that could ruin the company's image.

"So Deadpool, how does it feel being in the Seven working alongside Homelander? You've been working together for almost 3 years now" A reporter would ask as you two are surrounded by screaming fans.

"Like I'm in the twilight series, not because of the fantasy but because I'm still waiting for the part where he impregnates me—"

"O-kay! That's enough, just silly ol' Deadpool with those inside jokes"

"You can tell in this eyes that he wants to fuck me right now. HE'S GONNA FUCK ME!!" You shouted as you're being dragged away by him.

Obviously when you had found out about his relationship with Stormfront, especially her background, you had to say some shit about it. Not giving the slightest care about the fact he could be grieving over her death.

He'll be in his room standing in front of the window and you'd just storm in, being as loud as possible.

"I can't believe you dated a N@zi!! Is it because I'm Jewish?!" Which may or may not be true, nobody knows your origin.

He may hate your guts but if he ever needs someone to help him do some dirty work, you're the person for the job, you never ask why or how, which could be the only thing he likes about you.

"Y'know, maybe if you didn't have such a big mouth, you'd be tolerable"

"All the people I've slept with have said otherwise"

Compatibility? 50%

STARLIGHT

Before she joined the Seven, she had an image of what kind of person you were, she just didn't know it was this worse.

When you found out she used to work at this Sunday School Church, you just haaaaad to say something about it.

"So like, you say that prayer always works, but every night I pray for my hair to grow and it never does. Do you think God has me blocked? How do I get unblock?"

"Uh..."

You two surprisingly get along without one wanting to slice the other's throat, except sometimes the things you say can really piss her off. Which is why when the company assigned her a new costume, she was trying her hardest to avoid you, but you found out anyways.

"Holy shit Starlight! Nice costume, is this your Miley Cyrus breakthrough? Girl power!"

Insert her groaning out of annoyance.

Again, the second you discovered she was dating a guy behind the death of Translucent, you were heartbroken :(

"Of course this happens right when my therapist gives up on me!"

Despite your behaviour, you pitied her when it was revealed that she was taken advantage of by The Deep, so like any good friend, you took revenge by cooking his friend octopus and eating it happily in front of him.

"Revenge does taste sweet" You'd say happily while Starlight just watches by the side, both grateful and horrified at your actions.

In my opinion, you would definitely be the person she goes to once she starts working with the boys, you'll always be providing whatever information that happens in the company for her to use.

It helps her worry less about getting anyone killed 'cause you literally can't die.

Compatibility? 60%

QUEEN MAEVE

You're half the reason why she rethinks about her life choices when she wakes up in the morning

Not because you're a handful (which you are) but because you're always paired together on missions

"Deadpool! The hostages!"

"OKAY! God... you act just like my drunk uncle"

Which is a joke/nickname you like to address her by because of her alcoholism (yikes)

Whenever the company needs you for something, half of the time she's the one assigned to search for you.

There was this one time she caught you trying to have Anika track down Kanye West's location, nobody knows what shenanigans you were up to.

Another thing to mention was that you two were chosen by the company to sing a Christmas song for the year's Christmas ceremony.

Just imagine during the bridge of the song, she's singing normally while you're completely going off, your high note so high you were sure you had Mariah Carey a run for her money.

Even though she finds you a lot to deal with, you're actually her buddy to train with.

Since you're very skilled with Katanas, she likes to practice her swordsmanship with you.

You like to tease or make fun of her everytime she fails to strike you which is good motivation for her to get better. Maybe you guys bring out the best of each other?

Last thing I'd like to add is when she was found out by the public that she was a lesbian (She's bi but you get the running joke), you had gifted her a t-shirt that says, 'Biggest Dick in Town'

Compatibility? 80%

THE DEEP

Your human punching bag

If Vought was a high school instead of a company, you'd be the bully and he'd be the nerd getting stuffed inside the locker room.

For example, Homelander could be confronting Starlight about her relationship with Hughie and everyone would just start raising their voices til you come in yelling "SHUT UP!" to the Deep who had not said a single thing during the entire time.

Just imagine him staring at you like 😐

To be honest you also ate his friend octopus so you guys are actually never getting the chance to make up.

"Look dude, I don't appreciate your tone"

"I don't appreciate your haircut either but we can't all get what we want"

You may be a crazy person but you weren't going to be okay with the fact he violates every woman he sees, so not only did you cook the octopus but you also called in a male stripper disguised as a woman just for him to celebrate on his birthday.

Just imagine him all happy when you tell him the news and later that night he'll run inside your room, completely pissed off at your act after finding out but you just laughed and said.

"Happy April Fools 😚!"

"That's next month dipshit!"

Also, you never understood his weird fantasies. He has a thing for sea animals??You've caught him multiple times either flirting or getting off to one. It was concerning even for you.

"From how many animals you've fucked, you might just turn from the ocean's 'Seaman' to 'Semen'." You joked which he did not find funny.

Maybe you messing with him could just be your way of getting along with him since you're the same with everybody else, it's just he has more flaws to poke fun of and he's sensitive about them.

Compatibility? 5%

A-Train

He thinks you're fucked up in the head.

Half of the shit that comes out of your mouth just has him reacting like in the GIF

Buuuuuut you're the one he always brings to the club because you always know ways to give the party life.

You've somehow even got on the wall of fame, a lovely portrait of you with your hands making out a heart.

Also, you know about his business with Compound V waaaaay before anyone else did. He's still grateful you didn't tell anyone.

Just like everyone else, you also enjoy messing with him except he's fast and constantly avoiding you.

"Hey A-Train, how much do you wanna bet that I can die faster than you?"

"Dude... seriously?"

You guys rarely get sent on missions together because you're always slowing him down, not basing off the fact he's fast but because you get easily sidetracked with other things.

"Alright, we're here now, how much C4 do we use?"

"Fuck math! Let's use all of 'em!"

You ended up detonating all of the C4 on you before he could object the idea, he was able to run out in time, your action nearly getting him killed while you ended up dead.

But it's fine you'll just grow back.

You know that race he has against Shockwave? You'd be at the VIP section standing near where Homelander and Queen Maeve is, waving your huge banner that has a picture of A-Train's face and yours pasted over a figure carrying the other in bridal style.

Compatibility? 55%

TRANSLUCENT

He makes people paranoid but you make him disgusted.

There was this one time he was bored so he snuck in your room to see what you were doing.

At first he was confused why you had so many cute plushies but then the more he explored your room, he realised your room is basically every collector's dream.

You even had a huge teddy bear in the corner of your dressing room.

The reason why he doesn't like to spy on you is because the last time he did, he saw you putting your hand in the blender, then proceeding to put your private part into it.

Never again, he thought, never again.

He doesn't need to witness you carry out your intrusive thoughts.

Surprising enough, you're close with his son, I'd like to think that after his death, you practically became the kid's godparent. Though you can be sort of a bad influence, leading up to how he is in Gen V.

You always tell him you hate kids but he thinks otherwise.

After all, he can read people well.

You guys like to pull pranks on each other since you guys like competing on who's more sneaky

There was this one time, you woke up to find your suit gone so you ended up walking around the building, completely naked and unfazed by people's stares.

It was when you walked around the corner that you found your suit worn by someone else, turns out it was Translucent under it.

"Why is it so fucking tight dude? How do you stay in this shit all day?"

"You get used to it"

Compatibility? 85%

BLACK NOIR

Lovers.

He doesn't mind your attitude because he actually can't say anything about it.

No seriously... he can't talk.

But hey he's got a good shoulder to cry on.

"I just... hffgh... I can't believe my album didn't surpass lady gaga's... She doesn't even know how to use Katanas like I do!" You'd let out a loud sob while he just stares at you for a while before placing a hand on your shoulder, patting you gently.

You know the scene where he's playing the piano for one of the company's party? You'll be laying down on top of it and singing in your usual overdramatic high pitched voice.

He finds your humour amusing so he always does this little head tilt like in the GIF when you say some weird shit while waiting for his response.

Since both of you are the only members of the Seven that wears a full body suit, obviously you had to try on his but since it was impossible to achieve that, you just had the company make a copy for you.

He'll be walking down the hallway doing his normal routine until he notises another person in his suit, the moment you speak and he realises its just you is when he let's his guard down.

"I just got some transplants done to my ass, that's why I look different"

You both are never sent on missions together 'cause you guys don't work well, pretty much nobody works well with him since he's the silent type.

Example, you two were hiding behind some crates ready to jump on the bad guys who were snucking in illegal drugs. He gestured for you to wait as he went to check again, only to turn back to see you gone.

"Marry Christmas motherfuckers!"

He heard your voice shout and he found you standing on top of the stacked crates, machine gun in hand and began shooting aimlessly.

He didn't even do anything but just watch until you ran out of bullets. However, multiple survived and began shooting at you so you ended running towards where he's hiding at.

"Yankee yankee!" You yelped.

You know the video of the two girls taking off their wigs to reveal that they're bald and they start bonding over it? I'd like to imagine that's you and Black Noir with the skin condition under the suits.

One more scenario I wanna add, you guys could be having a meeting but since you were bored and you always hated meetings, you'd draw a big heart on a piece of paper and show it to Black Noir from across the table. Surprisingly he'd draw a heart back to you.

You were overjoyed so you began to draw you and him doing it, doggy style. He stares at your doodle for a while before choosing to just focus on the meeting instead.

Compatibility? 90%

(This took a while cause I was on vacation)

[not-goldy]

Do you think Jikook's bond (whatever it is) is a goldmine to HYBE and they are trying to profit off it?

Thanks for such an intelligent question, having had one such mentally stimulating ask in a while.

Is Hybe overtly exploiting the chemistry that BTS has and that each pair has within the band, absolutely. I mean that bit should be so easy to wrap your head around.

Romance, bromance is one of the top selling genres of all time. The idea of BTS having a super strong fated bond between them is so commercially viable literal movies and songs have been written about them. 7 dates, bullet proof, and their recent Kdrama series etc to be exact.

And ships sell. I've said this since day one. The commercial viability of ships is just an offshoot of the commercial viability of bands as discussed above.

So yes, within that context, Hybe definitely would gravitate towards the two members with the most chemistry, who also happen to be two of the most liked members of the group, two of the most popular members and the most influential members of the group.

You don't go to war with your weakest soldiers.

Jikook is a very strong ship. We all know that.

They've had the most running in the group with some of the ships rising and falling over the years in terms of chemistry and popularity.

There's a lot to do with a pair like that. Reality shows, travel shows, documentaries, memoirs, tell all, cooking shows.

I watch a lot of reality TV and it's not hard to see how Jikook would fit right into that realm.

If BTS was love Island 🏝 Jikook would get their own spinoff after the season ended.

Fans love them, they get the most votes, the camera adores them and producers have so much they wanna do with them.

Am I making sense???

Going off with the Love Island analogy, just because Jikook are fan favorite, and the crew likes to follow them every where with a camera, and they are getting a spin off show of just the two of them don't necessarily mean their bond is fake that they are only existing for fan service or that the company is exploiting them.

There's just so much to do with them. They are fun entertaining adorable and a pleasure to work with.

So to answer your question I'll say yes and no.

Yes, they definitely a Goldmine for hybe in as far as content production goes.

No because they get to kill two birds with one stone. They can make money off of them, but also they create a safe space for Jikook to have that longevity to explore and nurture their relationship. They love being together. They love doing what they do. Hybe simply allows them to live their dreams and relationship much longer.

I've always said, if any queer pair in kpop were real you'd find them in a ship because ships would be their perfect cover for it. And we've seen jikook use this card very often to get out of trouble. Everything they do would be chalked down to fan service no matter how egregious they were. It can be invalidating and frustrating but In a way, it's also safe for them that way.

If I got paid to cozy up to my girlfriend, travel the world with her, eat as much as we can, hike, experience all and any culture- yall could call us anything you want I'm taking that offer🤣🤣🤣🤣

But we gotta give credit where credit is due because to me it's Jungkook that lay the foundation for all of this to be possible when he put of his first GCF with Jimin and later Jimin lay on top of him on a couch talking bout how they ought to do it again and how he would even model for him if filming is what he wanted to do.

I think they gave Hybe the idea of what it can do with them.

You can tell these things are things they both naturally want to do and have already done. During Run, they come up with a team name, they work well together, during rehearsals they stay behind and work on their routines tweaking it a bit, they come up with cooking shows to do, stay up all night doing nothing.

They are by themselves very creative and adventurous.

So like I said, I don't think this is hybe mining them but more so amplifying and giving them the production value to do what they already have been doing which they love, fans love and the company loves.

I'm sure if any other pair had this same organic pull towards eachother and wanted to be around eachother all the time too hybe would be just as curious and invested in them but as it turns out there isn't.

We are not stupid, we see them. And we see how some members act like they can't wait to get out of set when others keep it going even after they yell cut.

We see them all.

[genericpuff]

So there's this account I follow on Tiktok that critiques some webtoons and LO was one of them. They're discussing the finale and my god the comments are glorious. Lots of the people commenting either fell off the comic or were once die hard fans who hated what happened. Some of them even were fans of the series who recently started hating it after the hiatus. From what I saw this was what their concerns were.

Apollo not being punished harshly enough

Last minute queer rep with Hera

Certain plots being thrown in and old ones being tossed out

The ending feeling rushed.

Some of them are blaming Webtoons for 'axing the series' so Rachel had no choice but to rush it. Others are questioning why was there a hiatus at all if this was the pay off?

So now even some of the fans are starting to feel like we former fans do.

Yeeah you know it's not good when even the fans were left going "... huh?" And frankly I do feel bad, as much as I've talked shit about the stans in the past, so many of them hung on with the genuine good faith that it was all "building up to something". There are also people who are still praising it as the best thing ever which, okay, that's them, and people who didn't love the finale but are leaving it be like reasonable non-obsessed people.

I'm not entirely convinced that Rachel ended it willingly, I've seen Webtoons cut series short during their midseason hiatuses by telling the creators "okay once you come back you have this many episodes to wrap it up", so while it is shocking to see it happen with WT's golden goose, maybe they saw the decline over the past several months and realized it was time to cut it loose. But ultimately I can't ever know if it was Rachel calling it quits or Webtoons, not unless one (or both) of them come forward and say anything regarding that. I can only wonder, and in reality, none of what I wonder really matters because it's over.

Again, I do feel bad. I remember when the trial arc was going on and the whole Eris reveal happened and I had that sinking feeling in my stomach that maybe the comic wasn't all it was cracked up to be, that maybe it wasn't going where I had been hoping and assuming it would go. I imagine there are a lot of people feeling that exact same thing right now. I do hope, at the very least, they find their closure through whatever future projects Rachel does or through other comics that fill the void left by LO. I'm definitely hoping the same for myself, tbh, now that the comic is actually over for good I feel like I can finally put my obsession with it to rest, even just a little. Although tbf I'm really just refocusing that obsession onto Rekindled, which I have a much more positive relationship with LMAO but I'm very thankful to have it and I owe that to LO, in all its perks and quirks and flaws.

[legitimateluffy]

I was going to touch on this in my overall thoughts of the OPLA, but then I realised I had a lot to say about it.

This, to me, might have been my favourite moment in the One Piece Live Action:

And here's why. OPLA spoilers under the cut.

Nami and her character arc are the things that got me really hooked to One Piece as a teen. I was 13 and at the time, I had no idea if I'd ever finish (at the time) a 600 episode anime. But Arlong Park cemented me in as an OP fan for the rest of my life.

Obviously the Help Me scene was the thing that really got me in for life. But as I grow, I think it was also the way Oda made each moment with each character feel small while also being grand. The small moments make this arc for me. It's complex, and purposefully so.

Throughout the arc, and even prior, Nami is built up with small throw away lines and actions. Questioning why people do things for others, her over generalisation of pirates, her belief that she has no freedom.

She's an exact opposing entity of Luffy. Luffy IS free. He's the concept of freedom. Nami, by default, is not. She not once ever felt free. Her original village was destroyed, her mother killed due to lack of money, having to work for Arlong to survive. She never had freedom.

There's cases like this all over the manga. She's materialistic due to her trauma of lacking freedom. She has to do what she has to to survive. She will put her desire for money (to save the village) FIRST. Because if she doesn't, she will never be free.

I remember this moment so clearly when I saw this for the first time, the thought ingrained into my mind. When I saw she left and abandoned the crew, I was so MAD. I couldn't express my anger. But when I saw this scene, all I could think about was "I feel so bad for her."

I didn't know what was coming, but this scene alone made me feel so sad. And I didn't even know WHY. I felt gut wrenched for her. Looking back, seeing her finally no longer have to do everything herself and allowing herself to break down and ask for help, it also struck me.

However, this moment, now as I've aged, doesn't hit just because it's a relatable feeling. Finally breaking down and getting hope after you've felt so helpless. So many people want that. I wanted that. And seeing it there in front of me hit me hard. The reason why I think this ultimately made this moment work for me was this theme of freedom. The strawhats made her feel like she was safe for even a short moment. She could forget. Nami, for the first time in her life, even for one second, WAS free. She was!

Nojiko highlights this. It's a small panel. It's less than 5 words but it highlights an important aspect of Nami's character. For one moment, she was free, and that's why leaving them hurt her so much.

Usopp describing something as normal as having fun is something we take for granted. But Nojiko knew that this was an important moment for Nami. She knows she's never been free. Remember, Nojiko & the rest of the village KNOW what Nami is doing. Her sacrifice. Her lack of freedom.

So this bring me back to OPLA. There are so many short scenes of Nami where Usopp and Luffy are just goofing around and bantering with each other. Hell, she's not even participating! She's just watching! And then the moment happens.

She laughs. She's free! This one small moment, this blink and you'll miss it scene. THAT, is pure and utter freedom. And to me, that's what One Piece is. It's freedom. Nami, for the first time in her life, is free.

This scene hit me hard, because immediately I thought to that scene with Usopp and Nojiko. Everyone behind the live action understood the core aspect and themes of One Piece. It's freedom. It's always been about freedom. That has never changed. And seeing freedom be portrayed as such a small and humane action such as LAUGHING, for all of a few seconds, really encompasses what this series is, not just to the characters, but the audience.

[demonslayerunhinged]

Where do you think Sanemi went after he died? Breaks my heart reading the scene of Shizu and Sanemi reuniting only to get kicked out by his dad, Shizu did not deserve to stay with him. Wishful thinking on my part, I like to imagine he, Genya, and the rest of their siblings were able to convince her to come with them to heaven to be happy together since she was in limbo for so long already, maybe her sentence wasn’t as harsh as Kyogo’s. Unless Kyogo just kicked him out of hell and straight to heaven so he wasn’t around 😅 From my understanding, Shizu chose to go to hell from guilt, so that’s why I thought she could drift back to limbo. But I also don’t know the exact details of demon slayer’s heaven and hell aside from following the Buddhist concept. Honestly, my mind went on a tangent and it makes me wonder what happened to Shizu and the siblings after we were show the reincarnations/descendants (I will die on the hill that Sanemi’s descendent is also his reincarnation lol.) Genya was clearly so important to Sanemi, but he and the rest of the children also cared for their mother and it’s just so tragic for her. Anyway, what are your thoughts on Sanemi’s fate?

Hi anon! Sorry this took so long to answer, I've been swamped with work but anyways thanks for your question.

I believe Sanemi would go to heaven, he hasn't killed any human, he was just protecting Genya when he killed his mom. He may be prickly but he's an honest and good person.

For Shizu, I feel that she would still be in hell because she killed her kids. I don't think someone can be as easily let into heaven as they can into hell although, I haven't really done any research of Buddhism so I'm not really sure but I'd like to believe that her remorse would allow her to rejoin her kids. Kyogo can kick rocks, he's going to remain in hell and reincarnate as a turd floating in the toilet of an abandoned house.

For the second question, this may be controversial but I don't consider the reincarnation story line as canon. I think it was just a way for Gotogue-sensei to placate the fans who were sad that their fav characters died. Maybe the Shinazugawa babies reincarnated as other children but still it's weird not to have them interact with r-Genya and r-Sanemi seeing how family was so important to them.

I feel the whole thing is one of those information gaps that plague the series.

Hope this answers your question :)

[azuphere]

Okay but you still haven’t explained what the glitch theory is, like what does it mean??

omgg lore dump time this is so exciting, more under the cut but the glitch theory basically revolves around this merch from phil from november 2019 !

(re: this ask)

so like at the time, this piece of merch had ppl like 👀👀 bc the concept and the graphic novel vibe and the way it said ‘to be continued’ had ppl thinking this might be a hint at a secret project!

and over the years, phil would keep hinting at wanting to channel his creative energies into a project, and how he'd love to do smth interactive like bandersnatch ! esp in 2019/early-2020:

in 'The Scary Reason I Didn't Buy A House' (april 2019), he said: "I do actually have a story in my head, I'm just not quite sure how I wanna tell it yet. So it could be a book, it could be like a TV series-style screenplay, it could be a movie script. I just need to consolidate all these ideas in my head and turn them into the thing. But I have been thinking about it for about five years, so it's just when the right time is to actually release the ideas."

in 'draw my life: part 2' (august 2019), he said: "maybe for the next secret big project, it's time for Philly to think about the big dreams he's always had! [...] What I've always dreamed of doing is writing stories and directing films to take what's in my mind and share it with the world on your screen, maybe even a bigger screen. Now remember the rule of secret projects! Who knows what's going on and if it'll ever be real, but let's just say some writing is happening."

in an interview from february 2020, he said that his plans for 2020 included: "a few projects on the burn which I'm not ready to announce fully yet. They all involve writing. There are some stories I'd like to tell, so with some hard work and a bit of luck I might be able to share these with you on-screen on in print next year."

in the TalentWorks podcast from vidcon london (february 2020) at about 29:35 (youtube link), he said: "I think I've reached a point where I'm ready to sink my teeth into a new big project [...] I'm ready to do something new that's also very Phil and very my own thing, so I've been looking into- I'm really obsessed with interactivity. I think there's been a big boom of it since Bandersnatch [...]. I already pitched one interactive thing which didn't work out, but I got a lot of other ideas that I'm thinking of."

and in one of the stereo shows, dnp also confirmed that they tried pitching an interactive show to netflix but it fell through cause of covid ! and there was this insta story of dan being in LA in january 2020, which aligns with the timeline mentioned in the podcast. a transcription of that stereo moment is here

so it was never confirmed whether the glitch hoodie was actually supposed to be smth greater or if it was just a fun merch idea, but it was a common fan theory that glitch was supposed to be one of phil's projects!

and i think one of the most notable theories that supported the glitch concept was that a couple weeks after the merch release, phil tweeted this:

bc the suspicious thing is that it's nearly identical to smth he tweeted 4 years prior on literally the same day and almost the same exact time ! so we’d joke about how it was like a glitch (!!) in the simulation and he even responded to a tweet about it. and he also talks about it in this liveshow (at 24:39), where he just jokes about how he's living in the matrix

so yea! tldr: glitch is just one theory about what (one of) phil's secret projects is <3

[arceespinkgun]

What do you think it is about Earthspark that makes it the target of more criticism than other media? I've only watched one episode myself

This is an interesting question... but a tough one to answer. I've wondered about why this is a lot. I think it might be that it's a show that centers people who are marginalized. Of course, there are people who are bigots and don't want marginalized people represented in a show in a positive light (e.g. all the reactionaries who threw a fit because Nightshade is a heroic non-binary transformer).

Then there are marginalized people watching the show who have super strong feelings about how every little thing is being depicted because they want to see themselves in media. Unfortunately, I've often noticed that people in this situation can get super attached to exactly how they want something to go in media even if it wouldn't be as good of a story, or get super anxious and or disappointed about the smallest details, and sometimes seem to have super bad faith takes out of fear. I've also often noticed that sometimes people forget that even people within the same group can have and enjoy different types of stories.

And then... okay, I feel like this take may be upsetting to some people, but I think it's part of what's happening and you asked, so... I'll say it. I think some people like to act like they want representation like the kind Earthspark has, but actually aren't interested in things like it or even potentially have some internalized biases they need to work through. And I think sometimes they would rather try to frame a show like Earthspark as somehow bad than admit they're just not into it and would rather have something else that might be way more problematic. I used to take people's opinions in good faith far more, but seeing how popular blatantly racist and sexist themes are in fanon, plus how so many people adore this upcoming film where it looks like there are only two major women who are pitted against each other, the comedic relief, bad guy, and guy who gave the heroes powers are voiced by Black people while the male and female leads are voiced by white people, there was that clip released of Bumblebee hitting on Elita-1 while she is irritated and ignores him... it's made me kinda cynical, I guess. Sometimes I even think it would be easy for people on here to not even realize Earthspark has real, actual positive queer representation in it, for example, but that this movie absolutely will not and the trailers and everything make it very clear it does not. Earthspark is a show with a very gender-balanced cast that is racially diverse, and it has themes of prison abolition and anti-colonialism, and to see it's attracted so much hate in contrast to literally every other piece of TF media bothers me.

Hey, was anyone in the Steven Universe fandom? Spoilers for that series below because I feel like how people reacted to that cartoon is so incredibly similar to how people reacted to Earthspark that I can't not mention it:

I saw all of SU as it came out but wasn't very aware of what fans thought of it. Eventually, though, I learned about how it had been relentlessly scrutinized in this exact same way and for I think similar reasons? A great example of how SU was treated by fans was that a huge number of them were infuriated when main character Steven didn't kill the authoritarian big bad villain White Diamond, but instead embarrassed her and convinced her to start to change her ways instead. Fans took this as him "forgiving" her and felt like the fact he hadn't just killed her was teaching kids imperialism is good... somehow. This became such a firestorm that the showrunner was asked about Steven forgiving her in interviews and had to literally say he had not, in fact, forgiven her... which was already obvious from the show!

Then the sequel series set after a timeskip came out. There, Steven reacts to all the trauma White Diamond had put him through by trying to murder her. He's horrified by this impulse in him and is full of self-hatred and feels like he's lost the innocence and goodness of his younger days for this and many other reasons, but eventually he gets help from his friends and family and starts working through his trauma. ...But this pissed off fans all over again because then they accused the show of saying "traumatized teenagers become murderers!" So they both wanted him to kill her... but also didn't want him to try and kill her?! And all I can think is that they wanted the villain to be killed by the hero, but in a way that was portrayed as an unequivocal moral good and not borne of trauma... even though part of what makes a villain is that they traumatize people. They just wanted punitive justice and hated seeing any alternative. It was so stupid and the show could never win. That's how people treat everything Earthspark does, too: "I think the show is too soft on Decepticons, no now it's not soft enough." "I wish there were Decepticon-aligned Terrans who actually fight their siblings, no, not like that." "This show taking a pro-immigration stance using Terrans as an example is somehow actually racist and anti-immigration."

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

First I must make it clear that I came for Yves, stayed for Cyprus, and found Mont to be my true love. And Blanche as my confusing friend in the midst.

As a new fan that has been searching through this all, my knowledge isn't the best but I'm trying.

Yves is so interesting but also expansive that I'm having a bit of a hard time grasping it all. He's your personification of infallible unconditional love that people can display right? The mother of mothers.

Yet I can't find myself wanting to be open or close to him even with the knowledge that he won't judge me or that he'll take care of me like I dream of. Almost like I'm expecting him to be this way because I'm already viewing him in that parental role since I can't find mysel liking him romantically.

In contrast the thought of Cyprus doing the chores and cooking like in the Yandere coworker series, it gives me a warm giddy feeling like most yanderes would for me. Because I view him in a more romantic light.

I think that says a lot about how he's written and portrayed subconsciously by you. Since I read about him hating children and pets making me decide not to pursue him romantically it made me view all the other works of him differently.

But what I also found jarring due to that view is the first chapter of [the best and worst of both worlds] where he's so flirty and fun while the reader is this nervous failure in response.

From what I've seen Yves wants to mother and while you did say he would change himself for the reader, he wouldn't upheaval himself.

So what does he do when the reader is someone who wants to mother someone else, much like that one ask about Yves being a monster in law against Monty.

Now that was Yves just not being with reader and reader already with Monty. So if [tbawobw] (I'm sorry lol) had a far more put together reader that didn't stalk or fawn over Yves, how would he go about getting their attention?

Another thing I want to question is about Yves with a guarded reader. Now we know that he's 'okay' (debatable) with a reader that just chooses to keep him as a friend. And that if reader would hate who Yves is as a person, he would manipulate the environment to get their views to broaden before approaching.

But Yves with a reader who is very friendly, warm and caring to everyone but will not get close to them. Texts are dry, conversations never steer into Reader's personal life, such questions get obviously ignored or clearly told 'I'm not comfortable with that' and reader keeps even family apart mentally from their inner thoughts and feelings.

Now Yves has all the info, he's Yves but it means nothing if he can't get the reader to actually open up to him even when they do meet. They could be near homeless and still say 'I'll be fine, [insert clear conversation chang].'

Sure he can gift them all the money and gifts, they'll accept and use it. Only telling him that they used it wisely and appreciated his kindness before keeping the convo minimal. The kind of reader that has no shame in telling Yves that they feel uncomfortable with his amount/type of questions and/or visits.

So let's say he drives them into a corner, not too traumatizing but enough so that reader is forced in his vicinity when they breakdown from stress. He comforts them, reassures them, helps them and what happens?

The exact same thing. And if he does ask why they won't let him of all people close even when he is the first person that reader has broke down in front of, the response he gets is a 'I have never seen you become as unstable as I was in front of you. That dynamic felt unfair and uneven so I'd rather us return to our old one where we both were equals without faults.' and they just end it saying they understand if Yves doesn't want to be friends anymore.

What does he do then? He won't break down, he promised himself after all he's been through. So faking a breakdown won't work but just telling false information doesn't work either. Anymore traumatizing could be permanent too.

Yves could just use his drugs and subtle mind control thing that I'm still not really sure how it works, to nudge reader to accept his kindness. But we've seen it with Yandere Brother before, where some people are stubborn enough to require direct methods. Reader could have that same mental fortitude.

AND we all know this situation would be killing Yves, as he loves to coddle and mother reader. Would sending anyone ahead of himself before they meet even work? Only Yves would have the means necessary to make reader break down and someone else comforting them, someone who does break down in front of reader too making it 'equal' earning Reader's trust and closeness would only backfire.

Because now Reader would have someone to turn to for their emotional needs. Even if Yves killed that person off, Reader would just grow even colder to everyone outside of themself.

If he went the drugging then it goes back to reader continuously only giving in when having breakdowns/being drugged. Both which are harmful long term. And mainly that reader isn't truly turning to Yves out of their own violation but out of habit. It becomes emotionless, almost like a chore. They find no real comfort in Yves fixing their problem or caring for them or being with them. The true reader is even more guarded to him.

I feel like this dynamic would be very depressing for him, this situation in whole would be triggering Yves motherly instincts on full throttle while not letting him do as he wishes to help.

But yeah I only know so much so if there's another ask that goes on this road just link it for me please. If not, I would love to hear your take on how Yves would handle it.

Shifting to another point of Yves, lets rewind to how Yves actually feels not being readers partner. We know he won't date them if they can't handle not having sex or not being faithful.

He becomes the monster in law but there's 3 specific post that I really want to focus on. 1 - how Yves reacts to a respectful reader that ends the relationship 2nd date due to the sex. 2 - how he reacts to Monty being the husband. 3 - a post about how being just the friend is killing Yves in the inside. [the one comparing him to Pearl from SU]

So going for 1, in the post Yves is all 'okay' and smiles and just wants to be close with reader. And it's very clear that reader would have dated Yves if not for the sex. Yves vets all the possible partners for the future and only allows the one that fits his standards to stay.

But then it all comes crashing down when we get to 2.

This scenario doesn't touch on how the timing between Reader meeting Yves and Monty. It seems to imply that the whole sex thing wasn't a factor.

As previously stated, he feels that Monty is bad and absolutely nothing good but Yves pushes himself to get along somewhat with Monty to make reader happy. Monty is a yandere and honestly? A big variable at first since Monty's obsession with reader is pure chance.

So if reader is more put together then [tbawobw] leading to a more subby and controllable Monty making them much more compatible without Yves romantically in the mix. Reader could get attached and start dating Monty before Yves can gather enough info against Monty that ultimately doesn't matter because all Monty cares about is reader.

(and my computer is dying, I should speed this up)

Now in the 2 post, Yves has this breakdown about why reader didn't want to be with Yves in all his perfection and instead went with Monty who is his opposite. He says that they could have chosen someone better.

But what exactly does that mean for Yves?

Now on the surface it's just that Yves really wants reader to have the best possible and be well taken care of since Yves can't be their partner due to sex. But that isn't really how he feels. If reader chose a 'good husband' Yves could at least pretend like it doesn't bother him much.

But he just can't with Mont, not with the differences between them. Yves glaring hatred for not being readers husband, for having it taken from him in general is made so obvious and that. That right there is what's pushing him to breaking down in the form that he hates.

Post 3 confirms it all. But it doesn't bring up the topic of sex. Something that he already has so much trauma with. It's hard not to bring up some self loathing even though Yves (rightfully) wouldn't change his boundaries.

So in the worst case scenario, a guarded reader that I described above, rejects Yves respectfully due to the sexual incompatibility, proceeds to open up naturally to MONT and marry him keeping Yves always as a friend at best.

Just how deep in hell is his life? Would something like this expose new actions from Yves? I, uh, do have one more thing about Yves but I think I should just send it like this. It's long enough.

W anon

holy shit W anon u put the W in win bro

a WHOLE ASS THESIS omg thank u so much i love analyses holy crap like a whole well structured and well written essay on Yves's character and his complex feelings of being cucked

ultimately he wants you to be happy, but technically faking breakdowns can work if he does it convincingly enough. His breakdowns will never be about his TRUE past traumas. He thinks you're too delicate and innocent to handle that without accidentally traumatizing yourself too. HOWEVER, he may give you very ,very watered down concepts of what had happened to him- or downright fake events.

He would stage slips of sanities strategically and breakdowns too to coax you out of that shell. But not too much to raise suspicion out of you. Just enough to manipulate you into thinking he can be anything less than perfect. Remember, he's a terrific actor. Anything vulnerable about Yves is probably not real and is probably a highly calculated move

but yes, let's say you rolled a nat 20 on perception checks every time and you caught his bullshit, and he KNOWS that you will catch onto it, AND you fell in love with Monty because he's not fancy pants rich mcgee.... its spirituality and religion time. He will be literally doing black magic rituals just to keep himself in check, he knows that it probably won't help, but this is just for him to not fall into the abyss of despair and insanity, just to retain his sense of self in a reality that loves to erode it exponentially.

so basically, rule of thumb for Yves: if it's anything that he cannot solve without either destroying his boundaries or destroying your happiness, he's drawing those fucking sigils on his attic floor with his blood, lighting candles n shit (just like when you want to die while suffering from dementia, but he keeps you alive because he's selfish)

[5-pp-man]

another tierlist because ppl actually liked that first one;

the crème de la crop;

the first 2 eps i thought it was fine, but it didnt really captivate me as much as id hoped. but then ep 3 changed everything for me. i started to think "how could living armour work logically? everything so far has been edible, so this must be too, right?" i actually managed to think of the exact thing that this series did. that really made me realise the worldbuilding in this was something unique, and it only got better and better with each episode. its really managed to captivate me and i look forward to "delicious donderdag" every week :)

ANIME ORIGINAL LETS GOOOO absolutely bonkers show that almost slipped by me because it initially tried to fool its audience into thinking it was a regular dramatic military show. it still is but theres also a giant robot who plays by saturday morning cartoon giant robot rules. if that sounds like tonal whiplash to you, trust me, it is. and its amazing. have i mentioned how homoerotic this one is as well? yeah. originally a tier below this one, but immediately after finishing this post i watched the newest ep. i had to make an exception and edit the list because ep 9 changes everything. i havent been gobsmacked by a show this hard in a while.

(return of the) show(s) that execute their own premise very well;

i havent read the manga for yubisaki to renren so i cant compare, but the quality of this adaptation has been very consistent. you need a little sweet romance every once in a while :) this is one of those series where the characters really grew on me the longer it went on. im always a fan of mixing realistic struggles with romance and this one has been doing it well so far

adaptations that are ok (i read the manga for both of these);

i've been a mashle fan since before s1 aired. and the anime has some good changes and additions here and there! but its not very consistent in terms of quality, it does that shonen thing where the animation quality suddenly spikes for certain action sequences, but it also frequently had a lot of scenes where they recycle shots a lot and nothing interesting happens on the screen for a considerable amount of time. still! its a fine adaptation. and yeah the op for this. blew tf up lmao? very strange to see happen in real time

i actually rlly like the manga for this one. i read the whole thing up until vol.6 before the season started (all that was available back then) and it made me cry multiple times throughout. i was sort of missing that connection with the show, though some of the later episodes still hit. its mostly to do with the animation quality, which isnt that great unfortunately. the voice actors are knocking it out of the park though

wghere am i;

is this show good? i. uh. will you hate me if i say yes...? objectively, i know its not that good. especially in the animation department. but if you like other Umatani shows, you'll like this one. it's got the same brand of goofy reactionary humour mixed with gimmicky tacky characters and crazy stupid plot twists. ive been faithfully watching this one each week and I'm afraid i've become very invested. overscientific indeed

bro you fell off...;

i was so beyond excited for this one. i replayed the op a million times, watched each preview, rewatched multiple episodes. and then. ep 5 happened. and i started to realise. oh this show kind of sucks doesnt it? the pacing of the first ep was great, but the rest? way too fast. it became clear with ep 6 that theyre trying to do a double cour show with half the length, which is why they started hauling ass plot-wise. now. i was an arajin apologist for the longest time. but at that point i honestly started to loathe him. even when he stepped up, his praise still felt sort of unearned. and to top it all off, shindou's motivation sucked so he felt like a lousy antagonist. ep6 was better than 5, but it really made me lose my enthusiasm and hope for the series. and right as we were talking about them probably not having time for a filler ep, ep7 happened. feels like a waste of time to do an ep like that when you've still got a whole 2nd arc to go through. but who am i

it started off pretty good honestly. but then chris went to the hospital and it kind of just dwindled from there. this season does so much with characters that have not even been properly introduced like how am i supposed to care about these people if i barely know who they are. the stuff with finn and leo respectively was good though. but the lore dump? lord help me. also vijay just kind of. exists to be there in the background huh? i would not call him a main character they never give him any attention. wendy had another ep again and he didnt get shit. again. also i think finn was stupid as fuck for not listening to lala but again. who am i. i know we cant destroy high card because we need a show but. cmon man.

i am severely behind on these;

reason why im behind is because most of the eps are a bit heavy so i kept. not watching them. its starting to get rlly interesting though so i'm def gonna catch up this is one of those robo-racism shows so i have to really watch out to see where its going. dont want another marginal service situation...

sorry this is just. a little too boring for me. its charming, sure. but i think this wouldve worked better as something with an 11 min timeslot instead of 23 min. theres just a bit too mu- or well, too little for me to rlly get into this. i think reading it would be more fun for me personally

[walker-extended-universe]

Walker Series Finale Review

This one's going to be a little different than my normal reviews. I'm not going to give a full recap and I'll focus more on my reactions, my hopes, and my (very minor) disappointments.

I have a lot of love for this show and it's very hard for me to see it end, but I think the ending we got was very good and I want to focus on those feelings and hopefully spark further conversation with y'all.

So, let's dive into it.

One of the things I want to talk about first is that, while it didn't feel like a Series finale, it was very satisfying. I think Anna and the team made the right choice choosing not to film an alternate "final" ending. I think if we'd gotten a "proper" finale, it would've been an hour of unearned character moments and rushed dynamics. Everything about this episode felt so natural and while I wish we were getting more, I can appreciate the endings we got.

One thing I really appreciated about the ending was how light it was. I feel like everyone got a happy ending (or close enough to one at least) and after this season, that's what we all needed. Abby and Bonham figuring out their retirement goals, Stella looking forward to a more relaxing college experience, Sadie sticking around the Walker-Broussard family..... All of it was perfect. While I don't have much to say on those plots specifically since there wasn't much to them this episode, I think they ended well.

Now, I want to go over the Big Endings we got and do a little gushing.

First, I want to cover Ben and Liam's conclusion. We've seen them take small steps this season with Ben becoming more integrated into the Walker family and Liam letting his guard down more for him. It was a small part of the season (and one where most of the progression happened off screen) but one I enjoyed nonetheless. We finally get to see them take that finale step toward a complete future together with Liam asking Ben to move in together and start looking at houses. It was a very small, quick moment but one that I loved, especially the actual conversation XD I love Liam and his inability to be normal about things and I'm sure "I want you to use normal words" is a phrase we will hear often in the future Walker-Perez household.

Before I dive too deep into the big emotions of the episode, I want to talk about August's character development. The reveal that August had applied for colleges behind everyone's backs and decided against going to the military was a relief for me. And just the statement of "I guess I'm just that disciplined" shows me that he learned he doesn't have to do that to be worthy of love. While I wish we knew more about his exact plans for the future (and how the hell he got the money for the application fee to Harvard without anyone noticing), I'm happy to hear he's not so self-depricating anymore.

Next, I want to talk about Cassie. I've been feeling a lot of feelings about her for the past few episodes since Anna killed Luna off for no reason (by her own admission too -_-). While I'm not a big fan of her becoming James' lieutenant, I had a feeling that's where the story was going and since she can't have a happy personal life, I appreciate that she got to have at least that dream come true. I also really loved how the show portrayed and handled her grief over Luna. She's struggling, especially with her relationship with Cordell, but she has a lot of support around her and she's glad for it. That scene with Cassie and Kelly and Geri on the couch will be living rent free in my heart <3.

One big thing that I appreciated about her arc this episode is that she's not completely 1000% back on her feet. She's still grieving Luna. She's still wondering if she made the right choice to stay in Austin. She's still conflicted over Cordell. But she wants to get better and move on to a brighter future. So, she forgives Cordell. She gracefully takes the promotion. She opens herself up to her close friends. It felt very natural and comforting and it's more than I could've hoped for for the finale. I wish we could've gotten to see her settle into her role and learn to manage all her new expectations and guidelines dynamics, but there's always fanfic <3

Of course, I can't review this episode without talking about Cordell and his journey. We've seen him hit his lowest point this season and his time in the finale was dedicated to trying to fix some of his messes. His conversations with Stella and August really hit a cord with me and I'm so glad we got to have them before the show ended. That and the constant repetition that he really just need to be there for them. He didn't have to be perfect or set aside all his other ambitions; he just couldn't forget about them.

This translates well to his contentions with Geri. He wants to be the kind of man Geri needs, the kind who's there when she needs him and doesn't leave her feeling neglected. But he needed to learn that that also means letting her be there for him. It means that when he starts to spiral down a dark road, he still leaves a trail for her to follow. No more lying and pretending things are Fine just for the sake of it. And he's willing to make those changes, starting by taking a leave of absence and taking the whole family on a well-deserved vacation. It's the start of a new chapter in his life and I wish him the best.

This episode made me emotional in the best way. While I'm sad we won't have any more adventures with the Walker family, I'm satisfied with where their stories are headed. And, with an open ending like that, who knows what we might get in the future?

But those are just my thoughts. What are yours?

[7grandmel]

Rip of the Week: 01/07/2024

KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter)

Season 8 No Album Release (Read More) Carnival Night Zone (Act 2) (Nov 3, 1993 prototype) - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

Ripped by Madinstance

I pondered long and hard about this post, of what rip to make it about - I'm sort of back in the groove of things after my break, and I'm happy to see people are enjoying the graudally-increasing trickle of variety posts already, but I also feel as if I'm still regaining my footing in how to pick these rips for the blog. Alas, amidst all the requests and the all-time classics, I do inevitably hold recency bias close to my heart - bias you've already seen with rips like Last Freight-train Night, and that rears its head once again with KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter). Because no matter what happens to me or the blog, I am but merely a Sonic fan, an Undertale enjoyer, and an absolute CONNOISSEUR for Madinstance's work. The madlad's done it again.

Like, look - I've featured the guy so many times before, I've featured Undertale music on here so many times more than even that, blah blah, blah blah...can you sincerely blame me for picking this one? Madinstance has been featured on here plenty for their incredible arrangements like M-O-O-G City and Thwâmpröck Desert, and I've always sort of taken them as the kind of ripper who puts their heart and soul into rips of games and music that they genuinely just care tons about, most evident with their Minecraft tributes like Fell From a High Place (Reprise). But lately it feels as if that view may have been wrong - or Madinstance is just growing as a ripper to where they're becoming willing to take on any arranging project so long as it sounds cool. Honestly though, I can't blame them with a concept as sick as this - meshing together prototype Carnival music from a Genesis Sonic game with Undertale boss music is the kind of lunatic concept that I don't know how one comes up with but also wouldn't be able to help myself to pursue.

There have been a lot of times where I've worried that I've covered too *much* Undertale music for the blog...but the more I sit on it, the more I realize just how core Undertale's music is to both SiIva's viewers and its rippers. Undertale blew up just a short few months before the SiIvaGunner channel itself did, and its fans have thus grown in almost direct parallel with SiIvaGunner's own fans - and on top of that, Toby Fox is the exact kind of online meme freak that SiIvaGunner itself attracts the most. Is it any surprise that we've had banging Undertale arrangements on SiIva like Hoopache, SUNGORE, and indeed Madinstance's very own Fell From a High Place (Reprise), since the very beginning of the channel, from just about every one of the team's rippers? Undertale is endlessly beloved, and moreover - endlessly versatile for arrangements, its leitmotifs and melodies so well known as to becoming a series of online anthems all in their own rights.

Compared to the more popular tunes like Megalovania and Death By Glamour, it feels as if ASGORE doesn't get as much attention from remixers and rippers. And perhaps that was part of what made me fall head over heels in love with KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter) right from the moment go - it shows such a profound respect and understanding for not just the original ASGORE theme, but the iconic Bergentrückung prelude that introduces the battle, here weaving the two together damn seamlessly in the rip's intro. It's immensely impressive just how atmospheric and intense the rip still sounds despite, again, it's baseline track being the borderline juvenile carnival music used in Sonic 3's recently-unearthed prototype versions, a series of cheerful clapping samples introducing the track yet never overriding the emotional sincerity of the melody leading the rip. I feel like the emotion in large part also just comes from how fucking cool of a sound Sonic 3's music in general has, a lead synth that sounds unlike anything else on the genesis playing a sort of melodic back-and-fourth with a second synth lead that sounds just as distinct yet far more chipper and bright, almost reminding me of something from Rivals of Aether...? The back-and-fourth feel is an amazing touch either way, is the point!

KNUCKLES (Smaragdwächter)'s final touch, of course, comes toward the finale, the section in which the original ASGORE battle theme takes a step back from its intensity to reflect, a calm in the midst of the storm. Madinstance brilliantly uses this interlude to throw a complete curveball that still fits the arrangement perfectly: using samples and sounds from the *finalized* Carnival Night Zone theme, the one created by Michael Jackson's soundteam, and featuring that distinct glass shattering sample from Jam. I talk about escalation in rips a fair bit on here, but it wasn't as it the rip was in any need of it here anyway given how amazing the arrangement already was. It's just the sort of thing that pushes the rip from great to godlike, the kind of touch you'd mainly expect to see from a Sonic the Hedgehog superfan committed to their rip, akin to what MtH did with Youkoso Twinkle Park e. But again - perhaps, somehow, I've underestimated just how far Madinstance will go once they've landed on a concept they truly click with. Season 8 may well be the silly season in many ways, but it's all too clear that each one of the team's rippers are growing more powerful by the day.

[raylin-creates]

What Tears of the Kingdom Means for the Timeline

(The timeline I made as reference for my major LU+First Hero fanfiction project, I mean, but a lot of it, most of it, applies to canon as well)

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR TOTK AHEAD

---

Surprisingly TotK actuality fits pretty well with the larger Zelda timeline I put together for my Toss Another Stone AU.

I know a lot of fans headcanon Sky as the first king of Hyrule, and I've read some amazing fics where that's the case, but seeing how Skyloft functions and Sky's personality I just couldn't see that happening. So I had Sky and Sun co-founding the surface settlement and the kingdom being established from that settlement generations later and Sky being posthumously named the first king when the monarchy is established.

So Rauru and Sonia being the founders of the kingdom of Hyrule fits extremely well and saves me a lot of work with the half baked backstory I was trying to build for the founding of the kingdom. (It was mostly the names. I am shit at naming things. Luckily Rauru and Sonia have names! Unfortunately the original sages still don't.) Making Sonia be Sky and Sun's descendant makes it fit even better, especially with my headcanon of Hylia being the goddess of time and Sonia's time power.

The game didn't confirm my theory about this being the end of the cycle, but it didn't refute it either and we don't know what effects swallowing a secret stone and having that stone destroyed could have so I'm keeping that the same until a new game refutes it.

My Link OC I've been calling Wraith who I based off of the sealing hand in the trailers we now know is Rauru, can no longer be claimed as canon compliant, which I expected but I'm still reluctant to part with him. Though honestly Wraith's backstory that lead to him becoming a spirit hand is actually very similar to Rauru's so other than the exact timeline placement (Wraith sealed Ganondorf a couple centuries after 10k while Rauru's era is clearly long before 10k since we have no sign of Guardians or Sheikah tech even ignoring the 'founding Hyrule' thing) it doesn't affect events too much, which I'm happy with.

There are two main tangles the backstory of TotK throws into my nicely constructed timeline.

The first, which is less of a tangle and more of a missing detail my brain won't stop chewing on: WHERE IS SONIA AND RAURU'S CHILD?? For Zelda to be their descendant they have to have had at least one kid and we don't get even a hint of their existence. It's easy to see how the developers maybe forgot about this detail with all the *gestures in demon king* you know, and it's easy to imagine they exist outside of the limited scope of the handful of memories we see, but it's something to think about. Also who ruled Hyrule after them? Rauru and Sonia are dead or as good as, and Mineru and Zelda, the only known relatives of them, are ALSO unreachable now. The kingdom must have been a mess after. You ever think of how those poor sages had to deal with the fallout?

The second, bigger tangle:

If this really is the original founding of Hyrule as a kingdom, it would take place before every other game except Skyward Sword, but Rauru seals Ganondorf and Zelda has the sages promise their powers will reawaken when the demon king rises again... but what does this mean for every other time Ganon/Ganondorf rose up as the enemy in another game (which is most of them)?

I can think of two explanations at the moment:

One: This is not the original founding of Hyrule.

It is in fact, a refounding of the kingdom after a time when the kingdom fell and the monarchy dissolved. This is not unheard of in the series, for the kingdom to be defeated or destroyed. In the Adult timeline the kingdom is swallowed by the ocean and destroyed entirely and is refounded later in the timeline. In the Fallen timeline (I haven't played the Adventure of Link yet so lmk if any of this is refuted in that game) There's still technically a princess and a castle at least, but the world is overrun by monsters and the people we see are mostly hiding and fending for themselves. The "kingdom" seems to exist in name only and the monarchy is defunct as a governing entity. Rauru and Sonia could have founded a new kingdom of Hyrule after the Fallen timeline, or during any of the large gaps between games.

Two: Ganondorf had not qualified as the true demon king until now to bring those promises into action.

Anyone who's played Skyward Sword to the end knows of The Bringer of Demise: the literal Demon King that put the entire cursed cycle into motion, and Ganondorf's... predecessor? Creator? Regardless, Demise is certainly responsible for why Ganon just keeps coming back in one form or another. And in TotK, when Ganondorf transforms into the "Demon King Ganondorf", he looks A LOT like how Demise appears in SS. I believe that this Ganondorf is closer to being the demonic god of hatred that started all this than any other prior instance of Ganon. He's more powerful, more obsessed, and had more time to let his hated fester. (So much so that that hated manifested as a writhing semi-sentient mass of malice known as Calamity Ganon, but that's a different topic.) He's become the Demon King on a level prior Ganondorfs simply hadn't achieved.

I think the most likely answer is a combination of both.

I think it makes most sense for Sonia and Rauru's era to be taking place prior to the 10k Calamity but after the three timelines either merge or become synonymous (with botw's and therefore totk's canonical timeline placement being "at the end of all of them"), after an unseen event causes the kingdom to completely collapse and they refound it as a new kingdom and reestablishing the royal lineage of Hylia's blood.

This easily fits within the looseness of the canon timeline and avoids contradictions with having Ganondorf sealed by Rauru while another Ganondorf is running around causing havoc in Ocarina of Time.

I Also think that this Ganondorf DID become a being closer to Demise than a mortal man when he took the secret stone (which,remember, amplifies the power already there, which in this case would be his connection to Demise), his appearance, speech, and powers all reflect that.

TL;DR:

TotK mostly fits well with my headcanon timeline, the main snag being: if Rauru is sealing Ganondorf underground from near the beginning of the canon timeline all the way to the events of TotK, what does that mean for the games that take place between that period where Ganondorf/Ganon appears? I've concluded that Sonia and Rauru are in fact refounding Hyrule in an era after the other games but still long prior to the 10k Calamity, and that the Ganondorf in TotK became something closer to Demise than any other version of himself.

[hotwaterandmilk]

No Accounting for Taste

I've never been accused of having "good taste" when it comes to, well, any type of media. However, when it comes anime/manga I find I'm accused of being contrarian or ignoring genuinely "good" titles in favour of "bad" ones fairly often.

While that's not exactly groundless, it doesn't paint the full picture of what I find interesting and why it intrigues me so I thought I'd write about it a little.

I like a lot of popular, agreed upon "good" titles where a masterful artist or team or artists executes a beautiful vision that may not get everything right, but still manages to tick the majority of boxes and leave the audience remembering the experience for years to come (something like Shoujo Kakumei Utena or Cowboy Bebop, for example).

However, these series don't tend to be the ones I obsess about and collect things from and that comes down to the fact that I just love an interesting mess. Something that catches my attention in a unique way despite not having the story weight/talent/etc. to pull it all off.

You know those series with a fantastic concept but terrible execution? Or series with a couple of genuinely fascinating characters and mediocrity across the board otherwise? Yeah, those are what I love.

That doesn't mean I turn my head and ignore these flaws (Akihabara Dennou-gumi for example has a fantastic backdrop of alchemy, but that doesn't excuse the disgusting fanservice or explain piss-poor overall production).

If anything, I find those flaws intriguing in their own right (how does something with so much promise end up failing to stick the landing? Why were these the directions these titles took?) and learning about why they happened can continue to fuel my interest in the titles years after I've first experienced them.

And of course what is "good" and what is "bad" is extremely subjective, not everyone will agree on what the "best" title of all time is no matter how many fans you survey. I think what matters to me at the end of the day is that, for whatever reason, an eclectic assortment of titles have just hit me at the exact right point in my life for me to become engrossed by their eccentricities, flaws, and yes, even their successes.

That's why you'll find me sharing the odd scan from genre-defining titles like Sailor Moon, but when it comes to tearing apart art books and tracking down obscure pieces of stationery, I reserve that kind of dedication for Wedding Peach because it just hit me different 25+ years ago and I still can't shake it (despite the series being what it is).

Anyway, Saturdays are a real brain fog day for me because Friday is when I take my weekly meds so, err, this isn't a particularly articulate examination of my interests or anything. I just got to thinking last night that I find Ryuu-ou Mahoujin more intriguing than GALS! despite the former being a short-lived, break-neck paced mess of a production and the latter being a clearly thought out and popular title from the same author.

I'm also currently re-watching Kamichama Karin and it is such a hot mess of things I can't stand and things that make me genuinely go "what was Koge-Donbo* thinking?" but these flaws compel me to keep pressing play on episode after episode.

I just feel that at the end of the day there's enough room in the world for all of us to enjoy different problematic faves and to highlight successes without pretending failures don't also exist. Every project whether it ends up "good" or "bad" has a team of individuals doing their best on it and I think that's something that resonates with me even if the end product is a total mess.

Sometimes a project veers away from the course it was meant to take and never becomes what it could have been, but those trace elements of brilliance can get noticed by someone who experienced the title at the right time and vibed with the core concepts regardless of the execution.

So creators, take heed, even if the project you work on doesn't end up an iconic series with millions of fans there will always be weirdos like me out there that love the memorable parts of what you did manage to do while also noting the bits you got wrong. Sometimes one person's trash really is someone else's treasure (and yes you'll have to pry Wedding Peach et al. from my cold, dead hands).

[shinysamurott9]

How I nuked my 400 Hour Save of Pokemon Heartgold

So, recently I've been playing through the Pokemon Generations doing a Ribbon Master Quest, obtaining every Ribbon a single or set of Pokemon can possibly obtain by sending them up through the series. Just yesterday I was on the tail end of finishing the Gen 4 segment of the challenge.

I have a team of 5 Ribbon Masters currently; Mushi, my Shiny Heracross from Pokemon Colosseum which I hunted specifically for this Ribbon Master Quest, Velos and Seibzehn, a Latios and Metagross I raised to use in Emerald's Battle Frontier, Sparda, my Shiny Arceus I hunted using the void glitch in Pearl and Nero, my Shiny Giratina from Sinjoh Ruins. The only ribbons left for them to get was the Legend Ribbon for beating Red and most pertinent to this story, the World Ability Ribbon.

For those unaware, the World Ability Ribbon is obtained by reaching Rank 5 or higher in the Wifi Room in Gen 4's Battle Tower. Despite what you may think, this is still obtainable thanks to fan made servers which restore old wifi functionalities in Generations 4 & 5. The thing is though the Wifi room is bullshit. The opponents you fight are recorded teams from other players and unfortunately, on top of the highly optimised teams you’ll encounter, you'll also encounter many teams of blatantly hacked stuff like Machamps with OHKO Moves or Sturdy Shedinjas.

This is where I mention the fact that I just so happen to have a modded 3ds, which, among other things, let's me backup save data. So since the game was blatantly cheating anyway, I decided "Fuck it, I'm cheating too". How I did this was to fight one battle in the Wifi Room, and after winning, I'd use the rest option to save and exit the game. Then I'd backup that save file, so if I lost the next battle, I could restore that backup and try again, letting me continue my streak. A slow process but it would mean eventually, I would be able to climb the ranks high enough to get the World Ability Ribbon.

As you can imagine though, I was doing this process of reloading and backing up a lot, and at one point I restored a file incorrectly, taking out the game too early, causing the file to go blank. No problem I'll just restore the file again and if I was competent, that's wherethis would have ended. But, because of how much I was using Checkpoint, my muscle memory got a lite crosswired, so instead of restoring my file, I made a new backup over it, effectively erasing the entire thing.

For reference this included:

400 hrs of Gameplay, A Pokedex roughly 2/3rds complete, A fully developed Safari Zone, Several Pokemon from my various Gen 4 Playthroughs over the years, Every Arceus Plate, (Which are actually pretty difficult to get in HGSS), All 5 of my Ribbon Masters

And perhaps worst of all, my entire collection of Gen 4 shinies. This included:

My near back to back Shiny Luxio and Luxray from Platinum,

A shiny Darkrai and Shaymin I hunted with the Void Glitch

Several Radar and Safari Week Shinies

And a shiny of each Sinjoh Dragon.

Needless to say I was both pissed and devestated. There was some consolation, since I had backups of Gen 3 and Platinum, my Ribbon Masters and Battle Tower mons were safe. Everything else though, initially I was resigned to either losing them forever or trying very likely in vain to recreate as much as I could in PKHex which has it's own issues both logistically and ensuring they were legal, not helped at all by how bad the legality checker in PKHex actually is.

BUT

There was, one, just one saving grace. Fucking POKEMON BATTLE REVOLUTION

The way that Battle Revolution works is that you connect a Gen 4 Save File and it will make an exact copy of your boxes so you can use them in BR's various Colosseums. And of course I just so happened to have copied my boxes from HG a few months ago just after Safari Week meaning every pokemon I had nuked still existed! I had to hack my Wii U to dump the save file but because of that I was able to completely restore almost every single pokemon by copy pasting them back onto Heartgold.

Obviously still lost a lot in other areas but I really can't complain considering what I managed to restore.

As a sidenote, there was a similar incident way back where I accidentally erased my friend's Ruby Master File no shinieswere lost just a lot of progress. I think his reaction speaks for itself.

[agirlwithdemonblood]

The Broken Fan - Chapter 6

Pairings: Jensen Ackles & Reader (Read as first person!)

Series Summary: Always a nobody, always invisible, will this convention change things?

Chapter Summary: Jensen and I face some hardships that shouldn't have occured, and he gives me a wonderful surprise.

Warnings: Fighting, mentions of physical assault, descriptions of physical assault/fight, swearing, mentions of injury and blood.

Series Masterlist here! Main masterlist here!

Jensen's POV

The auditorium was filled with people who were cheering and screaming my name, but the only sound that came out clearly was that of my own heart pounding loudly in my ears, like a heavy drum or the rain beating on a window pane.

The memories of our previous conversation was on loop in my mind, the excitement nearly overtaking my body. I couldn't wait. But it was also terrifying at the same time, maybe more in a good way.

You know when you go to the fair and you see a ride you really want to go on, but the fear nearly talks you out of it? Your hands shake, your legs feel like jello, your heart almost skips right out of your chest and for a second you feel like you can't do this, you just want to leave, run away screaming, hide.

But whenever you finally get on that ride and it starts, the fear starts to dissipate and turn into adrenaline instead. Your grimace turns into a smile, screams into laughter, fear into fun.

That's what I was feeling. So excited, but so fucking scared of the uncertainty. What if it goes wrong? What if I ruin her? What if she ruins me?

Sitting next to my best friend, I couldn't help but wonder what he would think of all this. Was I being crazy? Was this too fast?

Either way, if this was wrong, than I never wanted to be right.

Back to me

It's only been an hour and a half since Jensen left for the panel but I already missed him with every fibre of my being. Was he thinking of me too? Was he okay?

I had to admit, as soon as he left I felt like I was suffocating. I couldn't understand how this is real life, how this is happening to me out of all people. Why would he ever want me this way?

My thoughts were heading straight into overdrive as I sat there, alone, and I couldn't handle it anymore. I had to get out of this stuffy hotel room, away from the silence and the scent of him that drove me crazy.

Quickly grabbing my purse, I headed down the hallway to the elevators, thanking Jensen ahead of time for having a private floor so I wouldn't be caught by any superfans up here.

I wasn't ashamed in any form, but I knew how it already looked by us being together, and I haven't even spoken to him about how this could affect our personal lives when word gets out. I couldn't do that to him, so I'd be as careful as could be.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, my chest tightened with anxiety. Fans were everywhere, crowding around the lobby, nearly pressed into each other. I checked the time and realized quickly why, the panel just ended and Jensen was going to be signing soon.

I walked around sheepishly as I stared at the booths set up, trying to stay calm in the sea of voices and screams. I never really was good with crowds of people, and this... well this was my nightmare.

Suddenly, a warm feeling rushed over me, one that I've only ever felt when Jensen was around. The exact same feeling I had when he stared at me from the stage on the day we met.

I lifted my head up as my eyes scanned the room, falling straight onto my person. He was standing at the back of the room in front of his table, a wide smile spread across his face as he waved gently. I smiled and waved back before walking towards where he was.

I was so distracted by his eyes on mine, I didn't notice the same two girls from the other day approaching me from behind. I didn't notice Jensen's smile fading as he tried to move, but was asked to sit down.

Vanessa's rough grip on my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts as she spun me towards herself and Amber. They smirked mischievously and I returned with a roll of my eyes, sick of their drama and pettiness.

"Y/N, Wow I didn't expect you to be back after you completely embarrassed yourself in front of Jensen yesterday." She stated smugly.

I laughed underneath my breath and turned to continue walking towards Jensen's tables, as I called out over my shoulder, "The only one embarrassing themselves is you, sweetie."

I was so close to him, only a few feet away but Vanessa wouldn't let up. She grabbed me once again and pulled me closer to her. "Are you one of those crazy fans? The ones that try to pry their way into Jensen's life?"

I scoffed in response, "Not that it's any of your business but you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh really?" She hissed, as she pulled her phone from her purse, a picture of Jensen and I at the bar last night facing me. I swallowed hard and kept my eyes down, avoiding giving any information out.

"Explain this than."

I yanked my arm from her grip and backed up, "I don't owe you anything, leave me alone Vanessa."

I managed to walk away and get closer to the table, my eyes catching Jensen's worried and concerned expression spread across his face. I offered a reassuring smile, hoping that he could relax and have a good time, he didn't need to worry about this, not now.

I took a deep breath as I tried to push the anxiety out, but as soon as I felt her standing behind me, my nerves only grew. I rolled my eyes and turned towards her, "Listen Vanessa, I understand that your obsessed with Jensen, maybe a little too much, but your not his mother. You aren't his type either so maybe just worry about yourself rather than worry about an actor that doesn't even know you exist."

With that, I turned towards Jensen and gave him a smile before walking back towards the elevator, but unfortunately only made it two steps before a rather large impact hit my back and I quickly fell to the floor.

I turned on my back and before I could react, Vanessa jumped on top of me and started throwing punches, one after another. I held my hands up to block the hits but the little bitch was quick, she threw punch after punch before somebody finally tried to pull her off of me.

I could feel my face bleeding as she kept hitting, kept fighting to attack me, for god knows what reason. I could have easily defended myself, hell I've had fights with people three times bigger than her, but this was Jensen's convention I wasn't going to stoop to her level, I wasn't going to cause a scene here, not in Jensen's place.

Her weight was lifted off of my body and a breath of relief filled my lungs when I realized security pulled her off. My head lulled back onto the floor as I tried to keep calm, praying that I didn't look as bad as I felt.

I turned to face Jensen who was standing only a few feet away, a deep look of heartbreak and desperation covering his face. He tried to come closer, but another security guard had their hand up, blocking him from leaving. I watched as he leaned closer, whispering something to the woman before he disappeared out of my vision.

She came closer to me, slowly helping me stand from my spot before grabbing my arm to lead me out. I was convinced she was kicking me out when she brought me down the hallways to a securely locked door, but when I looked at her with surprise and she offered nothing but a reassuring smile, I figured out what Jensen told her.

Before I knew it, we walked through a door with his name on it and I was in a room that looked like a lounge. She kindly helped me sit before offering to clean my wounds but I politely declined, all I wanted was to see Jensen. He would help me.

She left as soon as he walked in and he stilled at the sight of me up close. A look of dread and heartbreak covered his face as he rushed over to my side, crouching in front of me. "Jesus honey, are you alright?"

I nodded sadly and shrugged, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen."

He shook his head and leaned upwards, laying a deep kiss to my temple. "Don't apologize." He reassured as he grabbed a towel to clean the blood off, "Why didn't you hit her back?"

"Because I knew if I did, in the long run that would look horrible on you. If we ever became public people would know me as the girl who got in a fight at the convention. That's not fair to you."

He scoffed as he gently wiped the blood from my eyes. "So you just took a bunch of hits to protect my image?"

"Yes." I stated as I shoved his hand down, "And I would do it again in a heartbeat Jensen. I've been hit before, it's no big deal."

He flinched as soon as the words left my mouth and his head dropped, the image of me ever being hit tearing at his soul.

He shook his head and sighed deeply, "Sweetie, I appreciate what you were trying to do but I want you to defend yourself when somebody hurts you, I don't want to be the reason you get the shit beaten out of you."

I smiled and leaned closer to him, reaching my hand to his chin and bringing it up to face me, "Trust me, in another place I would have kicked her ass but not in a convention-your convention, not when we are about to start our life together."

He frowned as the towel dropped in his lap, his head falling slightly. Guilt filled me as I watched how sad and broken he looked, "Listen, I know you don't understand. But I promise, I'm fine. If I felt like that bitch was going to kill me, I would have 100% defended myself but I knew she was pissed off and was going to get stopped by security, and she did."

"I just..." He whispered, "I hate the idea that you have been hit before, and especially seeing it for myself today. I wish I could have helped."

"I know Jensen. But the way I've grown up, I've had to learn how to defend myself. I know how to handle it and when not to say or do anything. Today, I shouldn't have said anything but I did because she was insulting us. That was my bad so whatever happened after that was my-"

His face shot up as a stern look appeared on his face, "Don't you dare say it was your fault."

I couldn't help but smile at the protective side of Jensen, it was hot and cute at the same time and it made my heart melt knowing he cared this much about me.

"I promise I'm okay." I spoke softly, leaning closer to him.

"Okay." He smiled softly. "I trust you."

"Okay, well you have to get back out there before the fans start busting down the doors trying to find you."

A whole hearted laugh escaped his lips as he shook his head at me, "I will but first let me clean you up."

The room was filled with a comfortable silence as he worked on getting the blood off of me, occasionally placing bandages on the bigger areas that were still bleeding, and by the time he was done, I knew I was even more in love with him than I've ever been.

He smiled and leaned closer, capturing my lips with his in a passionate and meaningful way. I smirked against him as he seperated, standing to help me up off the couch and into his arms tightly.

“Okay I should go.” He sighed, walking back towards the door but stopping before he could turn the knob. “I’ll be back soon. Can you try not to get punched by any more crazy fan girls while I’m gone?”

A loud giggle escaped my mouth as I rushed towards the door, leaning on my tiptoes to peck his lips over and over. I couldn’t get enough of him. I smirked and pulled away, “I’ll try but no promises. Being with you might mean I piss off more people than intended.”

A loud chuckle filled his throat as he shook his head and I swore I’ve never heard something so beautiful in my life. He winked before opening the door and quickly shutting it behind him, leaving me in the room to wait patiently, if I could do that.

It’s been a good two hours since he left and the separation was already tearing at my soul. It was ridiculous, I should be able to get through a few hours without him, I lived years without even knowing him. What the hell kind of hold did he have on me.

I walked towards the mirror and froze at my reflection, laughing lightly at the site of the bruises and cuts all over my face. I’ll definitely give her this, for a small girl she could really hit.

It amazed me more than pissed me off, the fact that I allowed somebody like her to even try to hurt me like that, was a shock itself.

I’ve been in a few fights in my lifetime, I mean you kind’ve have to be ready for one when your living on the street and the more I ran into people who wanted to start something, the more I learned about self defence.

I wasn’t an animal, I didn’t want to fight or even learn how to, but being a young woman living in a car I’d occasionally run into the stray drunk men who didn’t want to take no for an answer, and local crackheads who wanted to steal my home.

And not once have I ever let somebody attack me or say the things they’ve said about somebody I cared about without hitting back but Jensen was worth it. He was worth everything.

A ping on my phone interrupted my thoughts and an instant smile erupted on my face when I saw his name.

>>Meet me in the back alley in 10 mins, I have a suprise for you.<<

My heart was pounding as I stared at the message, a deep confusion spreading throughout me.

I’ve never gotten a surprise before and the idea of Jensen sneaking around planning something for me, well it made me feel like an excited little girl on her birthday.

I made my way out the hallways and found the exit, stepping outside before my eyes fell on him. He smiled and pushed himself off the wall, towards a large item hidden underneath a tarp.

“What’s going on?�� I smiled nervously as he led me towards the covered mystery. His smile was bright and filled with joy as he led me towards the mystery present, hands holding mine tightly in his own.

“You know how yesterday you told me that you had no life here except for me? Well, I realized that this wasn’t the full truth. You do have a life here. One that you can bring with us.”

I titled my head quizzically before he moved towards the tarp and pulled it off, instantly filling me with shock. I gasped as I backed up, tears filling my eyes at my most prized possession. The home I thought I lost.

My car.

My eyes darted between my baby and him as I struggled to find the words. “Jensen… what did you… How did you…?”

He chuckled and stepped closer, hands resting on my shoulders to bring me back to earth. “Amber. When I went back to the signing, she came up to the counter and apologized for Vanessa, than she told me that she was the one who called the tow truck because Vanessa made her. I asked her what type of car, got the info and sent one of my handlers to go get it for you.”

The tears started rushing down my cheeks as I realized how much I really adored this man. He didn’t have to do this and he knew it, but he wanted to. This had to be the most thoughtful action somebody’s ever shown me.

“Jensen..” I whispered as I leaned my head against his chest, holding him tightly against me. “Thank you..”

He nodded, a gentle yet firm kissed pressed on top of my head as his arms tightened around me. “Of course. I know she’s a big part of your life, and she was your home before you met me, so I was wondering if maybe you wanted to take a road trip back home tomorrow. It’s a long drive so of course only if your up to it. We could always get her shipped out to Texas.”

My smile spread across my lips as I lifted my head to face him, “I’d love that.”

He leaned down gently before pushing his lips against mine, slowly leading me against the wall. My back was pressed as his hand move to my cheek, deepening the kiss with such love and passion I was seeing stars.

A loud clang interrupted our movements, and we quickly stood straight, trying to focus on where the source came from.

His face dropped when he noticed, his hand moving to my arm to grab mine and pull me away. I froze when I spotted what he was staring at, Vanessa.

Jensen tugged on my arm and I shook my head before pushing him gently behind the car to hide him away from her sight. I leaned against the wall and shook my head, “What do you want?”

She scoffed and stepped closer, inches away from me. “You got me kicked out of the convention you bitch.”

I all but laughed as I kicked off the wall, standing directly in front of her. “I actually didn’t do anything, your the freak who jumped me in the middle of the room.”

“Yeah! Because you are some sort of stalker fan girl who tricked their way into Jensen’s life. You have to be an idiot if you’d ever think he’d fall for a ugly homeless chick like you.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, footsteps started approaching us and I sighed. Clearly Jensen heard enough and was about done with this conversation, as was I.

The look on her face when she spotted him was nearly hysterical, yet aggravated me to the core. She was staring at him with such fake love in her eyes and it drove me crazy. She thought she loved him but she didn’t know a single thing about him, she didn’t have what we did.

“Actually Vanessa” I spoke, interrupting her trance. “He fell for me without even knowing I was homeless. Your attempt to break us apart has failed, it only brought us closer together.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes as she pushed passed me, nearly knocking me on my ass. I bit my tongue in anger as I watched her step inches from Jensen, her hand coming to his chest. “Jensen, I can offer you so much more than this piece of trash, dump her and let me show you how happy I could make you.”

Before Jensen could react or even respond, I lost my cool. I rushed towards her, my arm wrapping around her waist as I spun her to the ground. She fell on her knees and looked up at me with such anger and aggression I nearly felt bad for her.

She quickly stood and came closer until she was merely inches from my face and I instantly knew where this was going. I’ve been in this situation before and the two things I learned were to never show fear, and never back down.

Jensen grabbed my hand and shook his head, “No, this isn’t happening. C’mon.” He tried to pull me away but before we knew it, Vanessa jumped on top of me and pulled me to the ground, just like she did inside the hotel.

Jensen tried to jump in but my hand quickly rested on his leg, pushing him back. The last thing we need is for her to claim assault against him because he was defending me. No, this was my fight and I was going to end it.

I let her get a hit in before my arm came up behind her head, swinging her downwards until she fell directly beside me, causing me to jump on her and lay one hard hit onto her face. I stood up quickly and walked back to Jensen, nearly laughing at the way Vanessa was staring into space with such a confused look on her face.

I leaned closer to her and sighed, “You know why Jensen chose me? Because I don’t act like a crazy fucking bitch like you do. I don’t attack fans based on the fact that they got closer to the man they think they love. You don’t know him, I know him. The only damn reason I let you beat the shit out of me in there was because that was his territory, his place. It wasn’t mine to cause a scene, but you did that yourself. The only reason why I haven’t completely kicked your ass right here and now is because you are not worth it. So get over it. Get over the fact that Jensen fell in love with me and not with you and god damn it Vanessa, grow the fuck up.”

She stayed silent, a look of anger and defeat on her face as she stood from her spot and walked away, leaving us alone in the empty alley.

As soon as she left, I let out a shaky breath I didn't realize I was holding in, and swayed against the wall, head resting against the brick to try and keep my composure.

Jensen's hand immediately came to my shoulder as waves of adrenaline shook me to my core. His hand rubbed gently, easing some of the nerves I was still holding onto.

"Are you okay?" He spoke gently.

I shook my head and turned towards him, tears threatening to pour out at any second. "I will be."

His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he looked me up and down, "Did she hit you hard?"

"No, that was just.. really scary." My voice cracked as the tears started to fall.

For a second he looked surprised and it nearly made me laugh, but also made me feel so stupid. His arms pulled me closer into his chest and I breathed him in, the scent of his cologne relaxing me in a way I didn't know could happen.

"I didn't know you were scared baby."

I nodded against his chest, "Of course I was scared, I'm not a heartless monster. I hate fighting. I just do it because I have to, but you never know how it's going to end until it's done, and when it's finally finished, god it shakes you."

He nodded understandably as his lips pressed deep onto my forehead, hands rubbing my back in reassurance that he was here and I could finally breathe easily.

The silence was comforting and relaxing in a strange way, the sound of his heartbeat in my ear calmed my tense muscles and I swore I could just live in this moment with him forever.

His chin rubbed against my head as he sighed contently, lifting to take a look at my state. He smiled gently when he noticed the relaxed look across my face, a kiss being pressed gently against my lips. "Are you okay now?"

I nodded, "Mhm, i'm good. Thanks Jensen."

He broke the distance first, backing up and grabbing my hand tightly in his before he stopped to turn towards me, "I do.... you know?"

I stared back quizzically which made him chuckle, a deep red colour spreading across his freckled cheeks.

"Love you... You told Vanessa that I fell in love with you. I think you were saying that to piss her off but you know I do right?"

My heart pounded in my ears and I could feel the blood rushing to my head as those three words I haven't heard before fall from his lips. He... loved me?

"You do?" I questioned nearly inaudibly.

He nodded and this time he was the one who was filled with anxiety, he was the one who was scared. I smiled wide and jumped in his arms, loud laughter erupting from both of us.

"I love you too Jensen."

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Like, comment & reblog -feedback is my fuel ❤️

The Broken Fan taglist: @magssteenkamp @creative-writing92

[needcake]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

Thank you for the tag @shachaai!!

Anyone who wants to do it, please feel free to steal!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

42! Some older stuff didn't make the jump from ff.net and lj to ao3

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

357,987, half of that is for universal river alone haha

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now mainly Hetalia, but I used to write a lot of Naruto some ten years ago. I also dabbled a little with Captain America, Star Trek, Inuyasha and some other random fandoms over the years

4. Top five fics by kudos?

In this universal river - 196

Such sound and fury - 157

Contagious - 115

I hope this finds you well - 107

Arthur's obligatory day off - 104

Considering that these are all one-shots and universal river is currently 28 chapters long, I'd place it much lower on this list lol

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! Might take me a while because I like to do it from my computer instead of my phone, but I try to reply as quickly as possible. I feel so guilty over some older comments that I never replied to that I try to be on top of it as much as possible.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Mmmmmmm I think it's a tie between the For now we see through a glass, darkly and I held sugar between my fingertips, under water

As much as I like a cathartic ending, I really do enjoy a pit of despair every once in a while (The earth devours is also going to have a sort of bleak ending lol)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Such sound and fury and Old new beginnings, as in they don't end in a compromise or in a vague hopeful note. Characters went through the process and came out better for it on the other end. That's always a happy ending to me.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I received some, usually from England fans who think I'm massacring their boy

9. Do you write smut?

Yesss, smut is a lot of fun!

10. Craziest crossover?

I'm not really big on crossovers :(

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

That I know of, once. It was a Naruto NaruHina fic that a friend of mine found cross-posted on orkut, some kid thought it was good and wanted her friends to see it. I asked her to take it down and direct people to the ff.net page but I stopped following up on that after a while. This was of course some 15 years ago XD

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A faery song was translated into Chinese! But I'm not super comfortable with translations, specially when people ask me if it's ok to post them in different platforms. I'd rather keep it all on Ao3 where I can see what it's being used for.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@rein-ette and I did a collaboration on a Tokyo Olympics series and I also did a collaboration with @rosesandalfazemas where I wrote two pieces and she provided beautiful art <3

14. All time favourite ship?

Engport and McKirk <3

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Mmmmm I used to have two Naruto fics that I always hoped to finish but I have long accepted I'm never going back to them again lol and because of that I try to never go into bigger projects without having finished the full draft, so that exact same thing doesn't happen again. So yeah, might take me some time but I still hope to finish In this universal river and The earth devours haha

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told it's description, which I find funny because I always think I'm doing a terrible job at it lol but to me it's managing the tension. It's something I adore doing and I try to be better at it with every new fic.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions lol I feel like if I were writing any kind of original fiction instead of fanfiction based on a pre-existing work no one would know what my characters looked like apart from eye and hair color lol

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Eeeeh I'm kinda iffy about it. When used right, in the right context and with actual meaning within the narrative I think it can be cool as hell, but having Naruto as my main background I cannot tell you the amount of random japanese thrown in for effect that made no sense and pissed me offfffffff, so yeah, I don't really love it. For many years Hetalia was also plagued by this and I have to admit I did it too. I was learning russian back in college and I thought it'd be cool to throw in some russian in a fic, only to receive a comment telling me I shouldn't use google translate and that the word I used was feminine and not masculine as it should be. Which is, you know, the kind of mistake you make when you're learning a new language and haven't fully grasped gender rules yet. I felt so ashamed after that that I never tried it again lol

I will say this though, sometimes I prefer when people don't use foreign words when it's just thrown in there. I speak English as a second language and I don't mix it up with Portuguese unless I'm tired and/or drunk. I'd rather writers give me a reason why these characters are suddenly reverting to their mother-language and use that to add to the plot instead of just randomly throwing stuff there to give it a foreign color.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

Inuyasha!! Back in 2004! I wrote a behemoth of 38 chapters and posted it all in one thing thing on ff.net (I later cleaned it up and fixed it with 38 chapters lol)

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Forget-me-nots, 1212: fever dream (part of the 2021 whumptober) and And he became a pillar of salt (part of the 2023 hetaberia week) :)