#figuring each other out and attempting to love each other despite their flaws

[candyskiez]

so, you've heard shows be recommended because they had gay characters. you don't really know what they're actually about though, and don't know if they'd be something you'd be into and are worried about spoilers. here's spoiler free plot summaries of em!

The Owl House

The Owl House starts out as a typical teenage girl goes into a fantasy realm story, but with a twist. Actions have consequences. The protagonist is a girl named Luz Noceda, who was being sent to a camp to make her behave normally by her mother after causing too much trouble at school. She ends up finding a place she's always dreamed of: a fantasy world. A world where everyone's so much weirder than she is. And she thinks, maybe if I don't belong out there, maybe people will like me here. Maybe I can be special here.

It's a story about found family, propaganda, erased history, living with disability, religious trauma, and neurodivergence. It's fundamentally a show about people who's brains work differently finding each other and making a family that treats them right. Definitely my favorite of the ones on this list. It's about people who've been oppressed being pissed about it and about finding yourself again after giving up on everyone around you for so long. It's basically a show about being a minority and trying to be understood and to understand yourself in the process. It's about growing up neurodivergent and how isolating it feels and figuring yourself out. It's about repairing broken relationships and parents who fuck up. And it's just. Such a love letter to anyone who was the weird kid in school. It's sad and heartbreaking and also so hopeful, and it's wonderful.

Content warnings: Abuse, Death, Grief, Animal Death, Suicidal thoughts, Vague suicide attempts, Depression, blink and you'll miss it s/h, body horror, religious trauma

She Ra and the Princesses Of Power

Adora was raised in the Horde since she was a baby, being fed propaganda about how cruel the princesses were. After learning how the horde actually was, though, she defects. But there's one problem. Her best friend, Catra, stays behind. Adora finds a sword that can transform her into She Ra, and might be the key to figuring out who she really is, while Catra takes her place as force captain.

It's a story about abuse, at the end of the day. Adora and Catra were stuck in a golden child and scapegoat dynamic, despite how much they care about each other. This leads to them knowing everything about each other but not understanding it. There's a fundamental disconnect between them, because both of their traumas are completely different. They have complete misconceptions about each other. Even in their initial split, they both have completely different perceptions of what's going on and why the other is upset. It's not a story about magic princesses, it's about the cycle of abuse and what makes it so complicated. Does it have flaws? Yeah. But ultimately I really really enjoy it, and when it does something right it does something RIGHT. Get through season one, it starts kids show-y but it gets very good during later s1.

Content warnings: Abuse (obviously), body horror, gaslighting (and I mean actual gaslighting, not what the Internet thinks gaslighting is), suicide, depression, flashing lights and eyestrain during the finale

Steven Universe

Steven Universe is a sins of the father story. Steven is the son of the leader of the rebel group The Crystal Gems, who's name was Rose Quartz. He navigates the confusion of being half gem and half human, as well as trying to figure out the mess of the rebellion and what his mother left behind. He's constantly in her shadow, for better or for worse.

It's a story about grief. How it impacts relationships, how it taints history, how it impacts family. It has some definite flaws, but ultimately it's about very flawed people who have lost so many people in their life trying to cope with it. Trying to handle what they lost and trying to adjust to life without them. It's about how expectations fuck a kid up and about agency and just a show about complicated relationships in general, at the end of the day. Also, it has some FANTASTIC music.

Content warnings: Grief, Abuse, body horror, very creepy people I don't know how to tag, heavy allegories for homophobia

Nimona

Nimona is a story about a guy who gets framed for murder. His name is Ballister Boldheart, a commoner who hoped to become a knight. It seemed everyone was waiting to watch him fail, so it was no surprise when he was the immediate target. Heavily injured and away from the man he loves, he's left alone trying to figure out a way to prove his innocence- until a strange kid comes into his life. This kids name is Nimona, and while he is intent on proving his innocence, she gave up on being anything but a villain a long time ago.

It's about deconstructing the model minority myth, trans rage, propaganda, and with a healthy dose of "FUCK the police".

Content warnings: Heavy injury, on screen suicide attempt, flashing lights

feel free to add more shows! just remember to keep the summaries as spoiler free as you can and add content warnings!

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Hii, I hope you're doing well!! This is my first time requesting so I was REALLY nervous :")) I saw some posts about Y/N accidentally calling some of the creeps their "husband", and I was wondering if you could do one with Jeff? I'm really curious of how it would be like with him and I really like him ^^

Listen. Listen. This man has been wormed into my brain for the longest time and my softness for him came out today, and this became like twice as long as I originally meant to to be, because I love him. I honestly ended up wanting it to be longer, but this took me way too long to write, so I cut it short. I hope you enjoy <3

While Jeff would never, ever admit it to anyone, he has spent hours thinking about what it would be like to be married to you. To be married to you, live with you, be able to wake up to you every single day, for everyone around the two of you to fully know you belong to each other. The unfortunate downside to that fact is that Jeff doesn't think he deserves it. He doesn't believe he deserves to be so happily married to you with all of the horrible things he's done, with all the horrible trauma he regularly has to deal with and make you put up with (despite you routinely telling him it doesn't bother you at all and you love him all the same, flaws and all). He thinks you're just far too good for him, and so the bitter, depressed part of his brain constantly tells him that'll never happen.

So, needless to say, Jeff is about to get his shit rocked mentally. The two of you were out and about, and you'd bumped into an old friend (i.e., someone important in Jeff's eyes), and introduced them to Jeff. Jeff, in his attempt to seem like a decent person under the watchful eyes of someone you have known for such a long time, does pull himself off pretty well, at least until you accidentally slip up and refer to Jeff as your husband. He feels like you've just punched him straight in the gut. He can't breathe, his heart is hammering in his chest, and he feels like he's gonna vomit, but he carries on with a passive smile, hiding all of his inner turmoil, keeping it locked inside until the two of you can get away from all of the prying eyes in this public space. The entire way home he still feels like he's gonna be sick, trying everything he can just to keep it together. The second you're through your front door he's wheeling around and pinning you to it, arms beside your head as his chest heaves, eyes slicked with a mixture of tears, confusion, and desperation. You can't tell what's wrong with him, and he can't tell why he's reacting so strongly, his mind foggy amidst his air-deprived anxiety attack. The two of you stand there, your hands comfortingly cupping his face while you coach him to breathe, to calm down.

By the time he's caught his breath, he's leaning on you, his body weighing against you as you rest against the door behind you. His arms are tight around your waist as his face nuzzles against your neck, and you're overcome with intense worry, unaware of what got him like this in the first place. "Did you mean it...?" His voice eventually trails off, and the emotion in his voice is untraceable, his trauma brain overtaking as your words replay in his mind over and over again. Your brows knit together as you try to figure out just what it is he's referring to, and he answers the question for you, saying he meant when you referred to him as your husband. He looks absolutely broken in your arms, and a lightbulb goes off in your mind as you finally realize why. You've heard it, the things he says to Liu, or BEN, his words about how he doesn't deserve you, how you deserve to marry someone better than him, soon followed by their chastising words about how that's not true, and suddenly his worrisome behavior from the last few hours that you've picked up on (because you always notice these things) suddenly makes sense.

You reassure him that of course you meant it, why wouldn't you? Jeff feels like he's being chastised once more, his cheeks puffed out in a pout as he avoids looking at you as you lecture him about how you'd love to marry him one day, and how he absolutely deserves to have you, how you're not too good for him, a lecture you should have given him long ago. He ignores the tears streaming down his face once more, ignores the thudding of his own heart in his chest, ignores the dying voice of denial in the back of his mind, but what he can't ignore is your lips slotting so perfectly against his own, or your fingers stroking along his scars in the way that always makes him fall apart. He's still not completely sure he deserves you, but goddamnit, with the way you're looking at him right now, he's sure as hell not gonna let anyone else marry you and take you away from him. Not with how tenderly you're holding him, how gently you're pressing your lips across his scorched skin, not with how lovingly you're gazing at him, as if he's the most beloved person in your life, because of course he is to you, just as you are to him. 'Husband' ends up becoming one of your favorite nicknames for him following that day, a nickname that always has his skin flushing red and his eyes softening in a way they only do for you. A nickname for now, and a title not too far into the future that he wears with pride.

[blah-blah-bee]

Third time’s a charm?

…a Bradley Bradshaw engagement saga.

An expansion on this post for daggerfest! (As prompted by @tgmsunmontue ☺️)

1.9k words

(Not proofread!)

ᯓ ✈︎

Everyone had expected the first one to go sideways. They hadn’t said it, obviously. Who would? But they were eighteen, stupid and straight out of high school. Golden boy Bradley and his high school sweetheart, Kiera or Krista or something. She was cute, popular too. Their relationship had only seemed like a natural progression.

The proposal was… fine. It wasn’t that Bradley didn’t like her, he did! He loved her. He was pretty sure he did, at least. They were at a nice little Italian place with her parents (oh, how Carole had desperately wanted to make it, how she wanted to see her baby propose to his alleged dream girl. She would’ve given anything not to be all sick.)

“Krissy…” he started, a sweet smile on his face, “I’ve been thinking about this a lot— about us a lot. And I think, um, I think…” he trailed off, his mouth getting dry and his hands getting sweaty, the ring box burning a hole in his pocket. “I think we should get married.” He said, clumsily fishing it out, scrambling to drop to one knee in front of her. He thumbed it open, placing a hand on her knee, “I— I want to marry you,” he didn’t know what he expected from her, or from her parents. He didn’t know why he was shocked when she grabbed him, pulling him into a tight hug,

“Oh, Bradley!” She yelled, happy tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, “Yes! Yes! I want to be your wife!” That word hit him straight in the chest. It was all getting so real. So final, like one thing was ending and something far scarier was beginning. But she was already sticking out her hand, and he was sliding the cheaper-than-he’d-like-to-admit ring on her finger, grinning and pecking her on the lips, hugging her mom and shaking her father’s hand.

“Welcome to the family, son,” he said gruffly, and Bradley grinned, attempting in vain to ignore the pit forming in his stomach.

Carole had immediately known something was wrong when he got home, shutting the door with a heavy sigh and hanging up his jacket. She sat him down next to her, turned him to face her and asked him what was wrong, pushed when he insisted it was nothing.

"You'll figure it out, birdie," she mumbled once she finally got him to crack, gently rubbing his back like she did when he was a kid. "You'll figure it out."

Krista called off the engagement two months after he proposed, just after the fifth time he'd evaded any and all questioning about planning.

“It’s like you don’t even want to marry me!” She yelled, and then, after a beat of silence, of Bradley opening and closing his mouth, grasping for the right words to say, “fuck you. Keep your cheap ring,” she said, her voice rife with anger, with hurt. He didn’t find the words until she was nearly gone,

“Krissy—!” He called out, but the apartment— what was supposed to be their apartment— was empty. She was gone. He should’ve been sadder, he thought, but a shameful sense of relief overcame him.

He didn’t date again for two years, and he was stupid when he did.

Sierra was a dream, a blur of red hair and unshakeable confidence. This was his dream girl, and hell if he wouldn’t do anything for her. So he responded accordingly when she proposed to him.

They were dancing, freshly twenty one and all up on each other. It wasn’t especially romantic, but Rooster didn’t mind. He was entranced— enamored by this new sensation in his life, Sierra Stepanov. To him, despite her numerous glaring flaws (ex: chainsmoker, peer-pressurer, didn’t wear deodorant) she was the absolute perfect girl. The picture of his ideal woman.

“Fuck,” she’d panted as she leaned up against him, sticky and sweaty, “let’s get married.”

The comment had left him speechless and breathless and in awe of her confidence, the way she practically glowed in the bar's dingy, yellow lighting.

"What?" he breathed out once he found the words, she grinned even wider,

"Married. Hitched. Let's tie the knot, c'mon. It's not a big deal," She persuaded, turning to face him, running a hand over his jawline, down his throat, to his chest.

"Yeah," he responded, his voice airy with surprise, "Yeah, no yeah, lets... lets do that. Lets get married," she laughed and leaned in to kiss him, it all felt so surreal.

It did not feel so surreal, though, when he woke up the next day, bleary eyed in a cold bed, in a cold house, with a cold spot next to him where Sierra should have been. He called, and texted, and called, and texted, and called again, and this time, a woman picked up.

"Lord almighty, who is this?" A woman with a thick southern accent grumbled, "Why're you callin' so much?" Bradley's eyebrows furrowed, he sat up in bed,

"I'm, um, I'm trying to reach Sierra Stepanov," he said, "I'm her Fiancé?" The woman on the other line scoffed and Bradley could hear rustling, and then Sierra spoke, she sounded frazzled.

"Bradley? Wha— um, why are you calling, sweetie?" She asks, and he can hear her stumbling around, zipping up her jeans.

“I was just worried— who was that? Who picked up the phone?” He shot back, more confused than anything.

“That was no one, sugar, that was… Lisa. You know her, from the bar.” She assured him. It did nothing to soothe his nerves.

“Who?” He repeated, his voice more pressing now, “Who the fuck is Linda, Si?”

“Calm down, Bradley, don’t get so crazy,” she huffed out, he heard her pulling the phone away from her ear to wrestle her shirt over her head.

“I’m not—“ He started, and she swiftly cut him off.

“God, you’re so needy,” she complained, her voice accusatory with a lingering sense of… relief? “Look, if you’re gonna be so controlling, maybe this isn’t a good idea.” Bradley was at a loss for words.

“Wha— huh?” He stammered out,

“I said maybe we shouldn’t do us.”

“Sierra you’re not—“

“We’re not getting fucking married, Bradley! It was a stupid idea!” She yelled, and stayed for a few brief, tense, silent seconds before she hung up.

“…Sierra?” He asked quietly, “Sierra, I’m sorry, I didn’t—“ he pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the phone, a photo of her and Bradley on a date, Sierra hoisted up on Bradley’s shoulder. It felt like a gut punch.

The next few months weren’t the brightest time for him. For the most part, he threw himself into his work, hardest worker in his class at the naval academy. His father, as his Uncle Tom told him, would be proud. He was in and out of hookups’ apartments, he sleazed around bars and a shell formed around his heart. Two engagements had proved to be enough for him, time being.

So, Jake started as a one night stand. Then a two, three night stand. They had this familiar, enemies-with-benefits sort of thing. Never not at each other’s throats. Bradley liked him— liked is a strong word, he enjoyed sleeping with him— because he reminded him of Sierra. At least that’s what he thought. That’s how it started.

Bradley had never caught feelings for a guy— Bradley hadn’t caught feelings in nearly a year. Jake was just a warm hole, for lack of a better term. Until Bradley started laughing at his jokes, and smiling at his texts, watching a little closer when he bent over the pool table, clad in his barely too-tight khaki uniform.

So, Bradley fell hard.

And they started out slow. Their first date could hardly be considered a date, besides the fact that he picked Jake up and dropped him home, ironed his shirt before he left, nearly burning a hole in it getting distracted by the game on tv. He was never very good at the domestic things.

They went to the Hard Deck, had a few drinks and played a few rounds of darts. Bradley payed.

The thing about Bradley Bradshaw was that he loved with his whole heart. Casual was not a word in his dictionary, no matter how hard he insisted, no matter how hard he tried, and distanced himself from people. He was like his father in that way.

Him and Jake gained momentum quick.

But in two years, they never moved in together, and Jake remained touchy about saying ‘I love you’, no matter how loose Bradley was with his words. Bradley’s rose colored glasses remained firmly planted on his face.

It happened on a warm, lazy Sunday, when him and Jake were both off, sprawled across Jake’s California king.

“Jake?” He mumbled, one arm strewn over his boyfriend’s back, Jake’s face pressed against his bare chest. Jake hummed in response, not bothering to open his eyes, “I’ve , um, I’ve been thinking—“

“Shocking.”

“I’ve been thinking about something kind of important, Jake.”

“My god, Roo, it’s nine in the morning. First you tell me you’re thinking now it’s about stuff of importance?”

“I’m serious.”

“And I’m listening,” Jake insisted, turning to face Bradley and resting his head on his fist.

“I really like— I love you, and we’ve been dating for two years now—“

“Bradley—“

“I think we should get married, I— I want to marry you, Jake.” He smiled, his eyes full of love and adoration and hope, for his future and his marriage, his family.

“You don’t want to marry me, Roo.” Bradley’s smile fell. That wasn’t what he was supposed to say. “I’m not meant to get married, Bradley. I’m—“ he hesitated. He didn’t want to say this. There was no trace of his usual cocky facade. “This relationship started as purely sexual. Maybe it should’ve stayed that way.” Bradley couldn’t afford to hesitate this time. There was something here he couldn’t afford to lose, something he didn’t have with Krista or Sierra. Jake was the best thing he had.

“Jake don’t do this. We have a good thing going here. We work.” Bradley insisted, “we— we’re meant to be, you’re my one! I want to marry you,” he was nearly pleading. Just begging for him to stay. But Jake was already up, pulling on his jeans and hurrying out, leaving his key on the counter.

Bradley was far from the unshakable person he wanted to be. He was a real romantic, as terribly cheesy as it sounded, as much as he hated when people said that. Jake had just made him better, they made each other better.

Maybe that’s where the animosity started between them. All of it, the slights in passing, the distinct, crackling sexual tension, the near fist fight during debrief. They balanced eachother out. They knew each other so intimately that they could cut deeper than anyone else. For two years they were each other’s rock, and then… nothing. Gone.

But when he saw Jake again in the air— his savior, this time, it was like the first time seeing him. All the animosity and anger and indigence was gone because, god, Jake cared, and he was saving him.

Back on the tarmac Bradley clung to him like a lifeline, a breathy laugh escaped his lips.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry—“ he said, fingers digging into Jake’s shoulders, “I’m sorry I rushed you, I shouldn’t— can we— could we start over? Clean slate?”

“Fuck that!” Jake yelled, “We’re gettin’ married!”

So Bradley found himself doing something he never thought he really would. He settled down.

a/n: ok, now I can confidently say we’re back!!! This took way longer than I wanted but it’s okay.

@howlettsangel @sandy-balls123

[arcainworms]

MJV but it's their relationship flaws

(I love living in happy fluff world as my fic output would indicate but let's be realistic here)

Jayce is a chronic fixer. He hates seeing people he cares about upset at him, and thinks that if he can somehow logic them out whatever's making them feel that way it'll be better. It doesn't fix it, especially when he's in a relationship with the two most stubborn people in the world.

In my MJV headcanons Mel and Viktor were together first, and that's given Mel a tendency to speak for him when Jayce asks him a question i.e. trying to figure out his preferences about something. This is a triple-edged sword, because Jayce has a tendency to treat Viktor like he's made of glass, and Viktor appreciates Mel's attempt to deflect that for what it is.

When he's actually mad about something, Viktor is just. The biggest bitch. He says shit that he doesn't mean and then immediately apologizes. Mel forgives him, never forgets a slight and will bring it up years later if they're being hypocritical. Jayce, on the other hand, will be sad about it for days.

Jayce almost always has to be the bigger person out of the three of them and play mediator whether he was involved in the argument or not, because neither Mel or Viktor will ever admit to being wrong under any circumstances. Mel does this for his arguments with Viktor. When it's his turn to mediate, Viktor tells Jayce and Mel that they're both being stupid 90% of the time.

Similarly, Jayce is in a near constant state of being exasperated by the fact they never talk about their own feelings, despite being happy to hear whatever he has to say. This is worse with Mel, who's rarely even willing to admit she's upset about something. When Jayce is feeling particularly self-pitying, he'll get mad at them about opening up to each other more than him.

Viktor gets super defensive about anything he takes as passive aggression, and will escalate minor irritation into a fight. Jayce, maybe surprisingly, gets the worst of it on long nights. He has a tendency to convince himself things don't bother him, and let them build over time until he explodes.

But they all love each other and they all know they love each other and they fix these things over time by talking to each other.

[tsukiyo-7]

NO．6［ナンバーシックス］再会 #1 by あさのあつこ 批評 ・Review

Spoilers ahead for the first book!

Japanese is not my first language (or the second or even the third, actually); this means for me reading this book was a bit of a challenge. For starters, Asano-sensei's writing is littered with figures of speech, and there was a lot figuring out going on my part; but I embraced this challenge both to honor the trust the author and the publisher put in me by letting me read this book in advance and because No.6 is so very dear to me.

I honestly was flabbergasted when they replied positvely to my request to read and review the first draft of the book; I only sent it halfheartdely because I thought "why not?", it's not like I held any real aspectations. Well... Look how that turned out!

Fun fact! My nickname, Tsukiyo, comes from this book!

And this is also why I tried my best to translate this review in Japanese as well, but I'll spare you all on this website my surely terrible attempt, and I hope I didn't make too much a fool of myself in front of an author I deeply respect (altrought this english version I'm posting here is longer than the Japanese one, for the reason stated in the very first line of this wall text).

Therefore, for a decade I held hope in my heart to witness - finally! - the famous reunion; and what a reunion it was! The relationship between Shion and Nezumi has never ceased to compel me: its depth and complexity, despite their young age. And I can see now that I’m pretty close to my thirties, how painfully young they were and still are and how much weight and sorrow sits upon their shoulders.

I was pretty young when I first read No.6, 14 or 15 years old, full of angst like only teenagers can be, and the only way I can describe it is that it soothed something deep in my heart. It is also one of the main reasons I bonded with the person that is now still my best friend, more than ten years after I first picked up the book. I think I have read it at least nine times since then. Talk about obsession, eh!

The fact that Asano-sensei showed us what it went on in the aftermath, the painstaking reconstruction after the long awaited destruction, what it truly means to bring on a revolution and how it’s not easy as they make it sound to simply pick up the pieces of a relationship from where you left them, made my admiration for her, and the affection for these characters, grow even more.

The deeply political nature of the book, as well, wasn't lost in the sequel: Shion is faced with new challenges, with what it means to be a leader, but a different kind this time; he yet again has to step up because no one else would. And in this same line, we meet again another central theme of No.6: how the characters are shaped by the world and how they try to shape the world in return.

They say that love isn’t enough – in a relationship – and I agree. Shion and Nezumi do love each other but it wasn’t enough to make Nezumi stay the first time and it wasn’t enough to restart everything like nothing had happened when he finally returned. And it may seem strange to some, but I really appreciated it. It was genuine, authentic. Real human beings with real emotions and flaws, they never felt like imaginary characters and that’s the magic of Asano-sensei writing.

Overall it was a rewarding read - with me screaming about all the kanjis I didn't know to my friend 🥴 I think I need to reread this book just as much as the first one to truly grasp its many facets, and I can’t wait to obsess over it for another ten years.

[theweirwoodfiles]

The Weirwood Files: Rhaewin (Rhaenyra x Harwin)

Subject: A defense of Harwin Strong and an analysis of his relationship with Rhaenyra.

I want my first real post to be a deep dive into the beautiful relationship that is Rhaenyra x Harwin, a relationship that team green considers shameful, while team black (mostly staunch daemyras), finds it shallow and boring. I believe both interpretations are incorrect, as even with their limited screen time together, Emma and Ryan managed to tell a beautiful love story, even in just the way they looked at one another. With a single look, so much was said without a word being spoken. 

One thing that Rhaewin has begun to get criticism for lately, is the idea that Harwin is no better than any other man in Rhaenyra’s life, that he too has groomed and taken advantage of her, that perhaps he is no “saint” as he seems to be treated by the fandom. 

The truth is, there is nothing within the canon to suggest this. The first moment we get between them is when we see Harwin giving Rhaenyra an encouraging look after she returns from killing the boar. Nothing here implies he is lusting after her. Instead, Harwin merely just stands out as being the only one at the hunt to look at her with admiration while everyone stares in confusion or judgment. 

The next two scenes we are given of them also definitely don’t have any hint of predatory behavior from Harwin. He runs into her after she snuck out with Daemon and presumably decides to keep her secret, and the one after that he carries her away out of the chaos during her wedding after being given permission by his father, the hand. 

There is no canon evidence to support Harwin groomed her. Grooming implies a pattern of behavior over time that we do not see from Harwin. He and Rhaenyra have no pre existing relationship before they conceive Jace, Harwin does not even put himself forward for her hand during her marriage tour. Harwin does not commit any predatory actions towards Rhaenyra. 

This quote by Sara Hess is the closest we have to an official canonical description of Harwin, and while granted, Hess has said her fair share of questionable things in the past, there is nothing in the canon that disputes what she said. 

“He’s one of the more unambiguous characters, he’s just a good dude. You don’t see him off doing morally questionable things, which almost everybody else is doing. They’re so flawed and human and messy. He was able to be a paragon of decency and generosity and handsome strength. He’s one of the guys you could just love and feel great about loving and then he’s ripped from you too soon, before he does anything that could fuck that up for you. He’s our perfect angel.”

With this settled, I want to move on to their actual love story. We know they did not have much time together before they conceived Jace, considering the timeline of events. What we can put together at least, is that Rhaenyra was in a vulnerable position with Laenor. After they tried several times to conceive and failed, she needed to secure her position quickly and found solace in Harwin, who proved himself to be one of the only trusted figures she had in court. 

The next time we see Rhaewin is after the time jump. They have already had two beautiful sons together and another has just been born. Despite this implied intimacy, they have to hide their affections, only able to give each other coy smiles and a playful line here and there. Harwin holds their newborn son and Rhaenyra looks at the sight with adoration, yet also a hint of sadness, as if she is thinking of a world where they could be open about their love. In the night, they are in each other’s arms and make sons, princes of the realm. Yet in the day, these stolen moments are all they can afford.

The next time we see Harwin, he points out Criston Cole’s lack of care in his son’s training. He attempts to teach Jace as distantly as he can, and it is very clear he is increasingly frustrated with only being able to go so far in his son’s teachings. In the end, Cole still provokes him, and Harwin unleashes his anger on him. All the pain and frustration of only being able to love Rhaenyra and their children from afar is let out in the form of this beatdown on Cole. 

It would not follow without consequence however. Harwin is ordered to leave his position as Commander of the City Watch and go back to Harrenhal, away from Rhaenyra, away from their sons. Ryan Corr does an amazing job in this scene and you can just feel his utter devotion when he says one of my favorite lines from the show “you have your honor, and I have mine”. 

In a world where conceiving bastards is considered sinful and shameful, Harwin sees their union as one of love and honor. His sons are not treacherous reminders of sin and lust, but worthy princes born of love.

Rhaenyra and Harwin’s final scene together is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the show. Rhaenyra is losing one of the only trusted figures she has in court, the man she sought comfort in and who fathered her three sons, and Harwin is losing everything that means the most to him. And once again, despite the privacy, despite the fact that this is their last moment together, they still cannot be open about their love. There is no final kiss goodbye, not even a hug. There is only a single look between them that says all we need to know, and a hopeful promise that Harwin will return. 

One of the most tragic things about this scene is that Jacaerys picks up on everything between them. He sees the looks shared between them, the desire for a hug or a kiss, he sees it all and he knows what it means. His mother and father have a love story that they can never tell anyone about, not even their own son. 

TL;DR: Rhaewin is a beautiful yet tragic twist on the knight and princess love story trope. Those that see this relationship as shameful have had their brains rotted by team discourse who buy into the “bastardphobia” present in universe (despite the fact that that is constantly criticized by the narrative itself), and wave it away as a “mistake”. There is nothing at all shameful about their relationship, and their sons were not made of sin, but of love. Rhaewin is also far from boring or shallow, to say this is to insult the work done by Emma and Ryan. There is a very beautiful, and rich love story between these two characters for those that have eyes to see it.

[sweetvixen1996]

Looking at the Kiss the Villain Playlist: Part 2/14

Addicted To The Wicked & Twisted -Palaye Royale: The meaning of this song is pretty simple. This is a song about being with someone who you know is bad for you, but you find yourself unable to leave them. It's also about how this intense dichotomy results in anger and self-loathing. It's not uncommon for the highs and lows of toxic relationships to be compared to the feeling of drug addiction, and it is a motif we'll see several times within this playlist.

The Summoning -Sleep Token: This is one of the few songs on the playlist that is not about a relationship, at least not direction. In this song, the singer desires someone who is not yet his partner. Even more than attraction, he seems to be on the verge of obsession, to the point that the singer is starting to believe that this girl may be his one true love. This is despite the fact that he doesn't seem to know her very well. The singer even ponders if she'd be a good match for him, though he also believes he can work through her flaws.

Teacher's Pet -Melanie Martinez: An intense song about the disastrous and inherently twisted nature of student/teacher relationships, it follows a girl who has entered an unhealthy and predator relationship with her teacher. It plays the eroticism of the fantasy of such a relationship with the girl's attraction to and infatuation with her teacher against the stark, unpleasant reality that the girl is just being used and abused by this male authority figure. However, this song has a somewhat positive element in that, with each verse, the narrator realizes the truth of the situation. With each line, she becomes more becomes more independent and defiant until she is finally able to reject the teacher's 'ownership' and attempts to control her. Overall, the song warns against the dangers of power dynamics in inappropriate relationships, as one party could be taken advantage of by the other for their own selfish reasons. It also demonstrated the harmful emotional impacts of such a relationship, particularly since the mistreated partner is often too young to fully comprehend the situation.

Swim -Chase Atlantic: I've heard this one is about oral sex. I will make no comment on this idea. But other than that, this seems to be a song about an individual who is mentally troubled (or, at least, working through a difficult time) but has also met a lady he is really into. And, despite his issues, the singer has decided to simply enjoy the thrill of this new... situationship and see where things go.

Want Me -Stephen Dawes: There isn't much info or analysis about this song online, which is a shame because it's a bop! Overall, the clearest meaning of this is that of a narrator in a new relationship with someone they perceive as being out of their league but is so happy to be with this person that they're just going to embrace it. Also, while the narrator is clearly identified as male, their partner's gender is ambiguous; I don't know if this was meant to be an LGBTQ+ song, but it can be interpreted that way.

So, what can these songs tell us?

Well, for one, this set of songs is actually more positive than the first five. It probably doesn't seem like it at first, and, honestly, it is more like the relationships in this set are just... less bad, but there is some good stuff, too.

While I think the infatuation shown by the singer in The Summoning is reminiscent of the worrying way people will build up near-strangers in their heads, only to be disappointed (or enraged) when they don't live up to the fantasies. However, if you choose to be optimistic, it's a song about that rush of meeting someone you think is fantastic, and even though you know it's silly, you find yourself imagining a whole future together. Same with Swim. There is something to be said about finding reprieve in the rush of a steamy new connection, even when the rest of your life and the inside of your head is a mess.

A lot of these songs seem to be saying that even when a relationship isn't the healthiest, that doesn't mean it can't be fun or even a genuinely good experience. The pedestal that Want Me's narrator holds their partner isn't a good foundation for a relationship, especially when several lines hint at an age gap between the two and the singer being under their partner's control. However, both parties seem to be enjoying this relationship -even if it is potentially doomed- and the thrill that comes with it so much that it's impossible not to smile along with them.

However, Addicted To The Wicked & Twisted is undeniably dark -almost angry. The conflict of wanting to stay in a bad relationship is one of the most painfully human ones, and it shows the difference between a messy yet fulfilling hookup and trying to find happiness in an unhealthy relationship. And then there is Teacher's Pet, which depicts the dark reality of a seemingly 'hot' taboo relationship, mainly based on betrayed trust in an authority figure, groom, and misuse. But it also gives us hope the narrator will recover. One of the interesting musical touches is that, with each verse, there is an ominous, villainous-sounding laugh (presumably the teacher's) that starts off loud and strong but gets weaker with each reoccurrence as the student breaks away.

So how does this all relate to Gareth and Kayden?

It's important to remember that I'm taking all the songs and mood board pictures at face value for the purpose of analysis because it is more fun that way, not because I think they should be treated as gospel. Some of these songs may just be here for the vibes, so to speak. Teacher's Pet could be on here since it is one of the few mainstream songs about a student/teacher relationship (it's actually one of my favorite songs, period). The Summoning could just be one here since it's a popular Tiktok thirst trap song. We shouldn't expect Gareth to end up killed and cannibalized just because Ethel Cain's Strangers is on the playlist, is what I'm saying.

However, I think it's important to pay attention to the recurring themes and motifs of the different songs. And the biggest one that we can see, even in the first 10 songs, is an element of unhealthy relationships brought on by unstable psyches.

Even by this point, I think we'll be seeing a situation in the book where Gareth comes to want a more genuine, open relationship with Kayden, only to be rejected. If this rejection comes from Kaden initially only approaching Gareth with the intent to manipulate him for some further goal or trauma on his own side remains to be seen.

I've speculated with a few other people that, at a certain point, we will see the two break up only to get back together after a time jump. And part of the reason is that it will allow for Gareth to graduate. While uneven power dynamics are parred for the course in dark romance books, and in most of them, there is a ridiculous, fantastic element to this that adds to the thrill of the pairing. I call this 'the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood dynamic'. However, the power difference between student and professor is... real in the way that it isn't in Kent's other pairings. While that dynamic is one of the appeals of this book, I imagine it will also want to be something she resolves before the end.

I do find it interesting that Teacher's Pet seems to be the only song on the playlist that directly addresses the taboo of their relationship. Most seemed to be focused on overall unhealthy dynamics and manipulation within them. If this isn't true, I will address it later on the line.

I also wonder if it's going to be brought up that Nikolai Is confirmed to have hooked up with at least one of his professors in the past, and I believe it is implied that Killian has as well. These encounters are narratively treated rather neutrally, with their purpose more to show off the level of sex appeal these men have. Whereas it seems that Gareth's relationship with Kayden will be given a lot more weight when it is eventually discovered. Now, is this just because it's an actual relationship as opposed to just sex? Or is it because of the inherent double standard that exists between male and female professors sleeping with their charges? In that, a male teacher or professor will always be viewed as more predatory for the action than a female would.

[faejilly]

@rebelren requested the deeply complimentary if slightly broad "I WANT TO KNOW ALL YOUR RICKY/ESTHER THOUGHTS" and I have so many thoughts

let's see where I ramble, huh? There is no plan here? This is mostly just season 1 stuff because that's where I am in my very slow attempt at fic writing.

They very much have a Lois and Clark vibe to me and that is one of my foundational OTPs, so.

She's too smart and sharp for almost everyone else she's ever met but that is in fact what he likes about her. He's deeply impossibly committed to actually being nice and kind and doing the right thing ALL THE TIME without any ability to tell how that's even more unusual than his superpowers absurd good looks and physical abilities and she recognizes that about him.

Ricky is not subtle about his crush on Esther, but he is completely respectful about it. He texts her whenever he has a thought, but that's because he wants her thoughts back, not because he's trying to make her think about him, if that makes sense?

I spent most of the first campaign being very 'she likes him back?' but not sure if I really thought that based on anything she was doing, or I thought that was how the story was being built/structured and it was just gonna... happen. And I was honestly fine with that because Brennan and Zac have such good chemistry, plus the aforementioned respect in approaching the relationship, so I was just gonna take what I got and be happy about it.

BUT on a rewatch (or transcript re-read on the wiki) it becomes increasingly obvious surprisingly early that she is INCREDIBLY KEYED IN ON RICKY AT ALL TIMES and it makes me *pterodactyl screech* a lot A LOT A LOT:

See how quickly she responds to all his texts every time! In group settings even if she hasn't said anything lately she'll usually answer a Ricky-question before anyone else can! She legitimately seems to enjoy figuring out how to rephrase things she's said that were too academic for him to follow!

Like, she's not just humoring him, she is in fact interested in how his mind works and the way he feels his way around information whether or not he understands it in at all the way that she does.

Usually not, obviously, but that doesn't mean his perspective isn't valuable to her.

And also funny, sometimes entirely on purpose, which is again a Lois/Clark thing because Clark is absolutely a bit of a troll about making terrible Superman jokes for no one except himself and eventually also Lois, and Ricky and Esther give me the same "we're in this nonsense together" vibes whenever Zac managed an especially good dumb-but-hilarious-and-not-actually-stupid Ricky line.

I guess what I'm getting at there is that, even beyond the quality chemistry and adorkableness, they genuinely enjoy each other's company, yk? They like each other even when there's an invisible barrier that the audience (and Ricky) can only sort of tell is there that prevents a deeper relationship/understanding during s1.

There's a really good line in a fic, tenets of devotion by fensandmarshes: "[Ricky] took his Oath of Redemption to the world; he took Devotion to Esther, he thinks, no matter that that’s not really a thing." which is I think incredibly accurate and is a thing I am weak for, the conscious deliberate explicit choice to devote yourself to a person because they are perfect for you (even if you are completely aware of their supposed flaws and weaknesses and humanity at the same time). THEY'RE BOTH JUST SO COMMITTED Y'ALL, I'M LOVE THEM.

While I have no problem with inter-party romance and am deeply fond of battle couples and all that stuff, I do think it's important that Esther is not an active party member, and while incredibly competent at it, is not explicitly designed for combat in the same way the PCs are, because despite his skillset, Ricky is pretty damn conflict adverse personality-wise, so it's nice his partner is a research nerd and not usually a combatant.

Because Ricky never wanted a blade. He accepted the Questing Blade but he didn't choose it, it chose him. (Obviously his weapon-searching-arc in s2 makes me feral. Someday I will manage fic about it, hopefully?)

This is a recurring theme in TUC actually, that except for Cody who is definitely the other side of that coin on purpose (sorry not sorry) most of the PCs and their primary NPC friends/relatives/whatever did not go looking for magic or power, but DID accept the responsibility once it happened. (This adds a nice depth to their relationship, the fact that part of why they're careful getting together is that sense of responsibility, so I'm including it here even though it's more about the setting/campaigns rather than Ricky/Esther specifically.)

They have not even been on a date and her curse is broken and they are immediately "let's live a dangerous life together" aka they are my favorite kind of batshit, 100/10, no notes

(I mean, obviously I have a lot of notes. I have all these things I just wrote down, and a fic about the almost-year before s1, and one about the campaign itself from Esther's POV, and a thing about Ricky cataloguing all the ways he'd broken the tenets of his Paladin Devotion Oath as part of his transition to Redemption, and a thing that takes place between campaigns that is mostly smut and crying for probably obvious reasons, and a s2 epilogue mostly about the proposal, (not currently anything during s2 unlike Esther's POV for s1, but I suppose that might change if I ever figure out the stuff that takes place before it), and possibly an AU where the curse wasn't broken before the final battle so when Ricky dies, Esther falls, and an entirely different Curse Breaking Thing After That, so.

So many notes.)

[fricc-darn]

More dating B.E.N hcs but sprinkle in some love

(some BEN angst if you squint n slight warning for toxic relationships)

When it comes to BEN and affection it's a tricky situation. It only cares about other moon children in the network. For other people, the concept of love is not on their mind. Due to that, it's not often you'll experience loving moments with them.

Their love is rare and will take time to form as this is reserved for a specific kind of person. Someone who it enjoys the presence of. A person who's a pleasure to mess with but isn't too easy. Someone who keeps things interesting. The perfect toy? In a sense yes! This type of love is genuine. It's truly a weird scenario because BEN continues to be a menace while attempting to be sweet.

Of course, these acts should be appreciated to some degree. At least attempts are being made. Despite how flawed these acts are, it's treatment others don't see. You should feel lucky that you're an exception. The last thing BEN wants is for you to end up dead. Though if you have gotten this far, you'd certainly know to appreciate these moments.

BEN's words of affirmation are just as concise and vague as their regular speech. When it compliments you at worst it's backhanded. At best they come off as someone talking to a beloved pet. Occasionally, it'll complement you in an odd amount of detail. Pointing out quirks that you don't even notice.

Now, if they really like you they have a tendency to info dump. Though they try to keep it at a minimum. They wouldn't want you getting too curious and becoming nosey.

For the most part; simple phrases like "I love you." or "Cute." work fine. It'll take time for you to figure out whether or not BEN is being genuine. Even when you get the hang of it, there's still a nagging uncertainty present. This process would be much easier if they weren't so deceitful. The first time BEN loosely said the words 'I love you' it was out of the blue during a flurry of obsessive messages and threats. They refused to elaborate until much later and took whatever response you had as a yes.

At first, it only communicates with you online or through poltergeist-like activities. They'll even appear in your dreams as individual moon children. These dreams are surprisingly pleasant in comparison to the nightmares. With a substantial amount of trust, you learn more about the spirits as individuals.

Hearing the bits and pieces of what they remember about their past really makes sense of their behavior. Just don't even think about pitying them. Even if its well meaning, the outcome won't be in your favor.

None of them can stand being vulnerable. Especially if they don't have the means to take over the situation. In those almost unthinkable scenarios, it would trigger them into emotional distress. Which isn't something you'd expect from BEN of all people. To avoid that, they lead you to the information with breadcrumbs.

When BEN decides to appear physically, things really get fun!

They aren't too fond of physical affection. You can ask, but it will often result in a no. They have to be the ones to initiate it. There are plenty of reasons but it's mainly for the comfort of each moon child. You'll quickly learn who hates being touched, who doesn't mind, or who enjoys it.

Dealing with BEN is like dealing with a cat with an awful attitude. A spiteful shithead to its core. When they're not toying with your stuff, they'll come up to you whenever they feel like to bother you. From hugging, breathing down your neck, or maybe even biting you. The ladder isn't always ideal since BEN has way too many teeth. When this happens, it doesn't have much of a care for what you're doing or if you want to be bothered. BEN has some major cuteness aggression towards you. They play rough and oddly enough they're pretty strong.

Hugs and hand holding are the most common form of affection you'll get. When you're asleep they might even decide to cuddle with you. Be warned, BEN will take up most of the bed for no good reason. You also have to be prepared for potentially getting scared half to death in the middle of the night. Besides the distorted whispers, it's uncanny generated face will stare at you while you sleep. When you sleep with them it doesn't feel like a person is sleeping next to you. It's more like a general presence. BEN's skin is cold more often than not. Its skin seems to get warm off of your body heat or if there's something going on inside of its head. At least they're soft and squishy.

Can BEN kiss? Sorta. Its kisses are chaste and usually on the cheek. They're a prude, and a super hypocritical one at that. If they happen to kiss you on the lips it's essentially like kissing a mannequin with synthetic skin. It's cold and awkward. They're artificial in almost every sense of the word. Its mouth is the texture of gooey silicone with a long tongue and plenty of teeth. Kissing it is an experience that only you get to have. BEN really tries to be a good kisser but it just doesn't work out. It may be a questionable kisser but it's not sloppy. For that has no appeal, BEN prefers kisses to be simple and clean.

[cursedwithwords]

Okay, who fell first and who fell harder? For everyone.

You said everyone so I'm including ocs in TBOTS 🫰

But starting with jeddy, I used to say James fell first and just didn't realize it but honestly I think they both fell at the exact same time and equally as hard. Like they're fucking obsessed with each other. The moment they see each other again on the platform it's instant sparks, but they're both damaged so they didn't realize it until much later. James has the baggage of "I can't be loved" while Teddy has the baggage of "I can't love", so. God I'm obsessed with them. ANYWAY, NEXT!

Scorbus is also a hard one cuz I sort of see them falling in love pretty slowly through years of friendship. Like they sort of slip into it so slowly and effortlessly that there's no sudden "oh" moment between them. It's something obvious and inevitable. It's not so much "oh" as it is "duh". "Duh of course we'd fall in love". I think Scorpius fell first, though, realizing it while he was in the alternate verse without Albus and having it hit him that he just can't live without the guy. Albus falls harder, a little bit later. He is VERY protective, which I think he inherited from both his parents tbh. I kind of imagine him being the most protective person out of all his siblings because he's got such an equal share of their parents, but anyway.

Lilyander is an easy fun one. Lily fell first, though she hid it way better. She thought Lysander was super fun and super silly. She thought he was interesting and always felt comfortable around him so at some point she's like "I think I could be with this guy forever". Lysander falls harder. Like HARD. Lily is one of the only people Lysander feels at ease around. She's someone he's never felt the need to impress because she's so open about insisting she likes him exactly the way he is. She makes him feel more comfortable in his own body despite all his perceived flaws. She makes him feel like he's worthy of his family name.

OC time 😌 cuz you SAID everyone!

Imamu fell for Roxanne first, and has been attempting to court her and ask her out since the moment they met despite her constant rejection. Roxanne falls harder, once she gets to know Im a little better and discovers what kind of person he actually is; because he comes across as very suave and savvy, he's charming and very good with his words. He's a remarkable pianist and drummer, good at writing music and a born performer. He seems perfect at first glance, which used to irritate Roxanne. Overly confident men bothered her. It's only when he let's down his guard and is vulnerable around her that she starts getting interested in him. He's a mystery to her, she can never figure out what he's thinking, and that's both fascinating and infuriating.

Louis fell for Julian first. First from curiosity and fascination, then because he genuinely thought the man was handsome. Jule consistently pulled away and avoided Louis, though it was obvious he felt SOMETHING along the lines of interest for Louis. Something held him back and that immediately drove Louis to pursue him. Julian fell harder. Way fucking harder. He thought Louis was gorgeous from the moment their eyes met, but he's a cautious person by nature and was scared to get too close to him. It's actually Louis' persistence, kindness, and fearlessness that had Julian finally bending.

Last but not least, my lesbians. Adrien fell first and Malika fell harder. They were hard to decide on because I think they loved each other pretty quickly and simultaneously. I think Adrien was drawn to Malika's courage and cheerfulness, the fact she seemed like a crazy bright light, but she held back because of some personal issues, worried about pursuing something for fear of hurting Malika. Malika had no such fears. She thought Adrien was gorgeous, literally stunning, and was surprisingly protective of her despite the fact she was a squib while Adrien was more than capable of protective herself. She liked making Adrien blush and liked to hold her. They compliment each other almost too well as silver and gold. Malika is the only sunlight that doesn't burn Adrien.

Fuck I'm obsessed with all of them fr.

[novastar-creations]

Awauughghd… so close to completing Leila’s team… art fight

This is Sage Fleischman, AKA Ate-Bit. They’re crazy smart and good at coding and hacking and basically any kind of tech… except the mechanical bits.. that’s Leila’s strong suit. They’re the top of their school, head cheerleader, and a student councillor, and are in a bajillion and one different clubs that they somehow still have time for despite the fact that THEY ARE LITERALLY A SUPERHERO. They were born with a mouth in their stomach and their parents basically called them a freak all their life and they decided to gain affection by working quadruply hard, and it worked, but it does mean that their parents love is entirely dependent on their grades, how much money they make and how “normal” they are. They have an older brother who sits around like a leech and somehow he’s still the golden child. Because of all the effort they put into life, they have all these otherwise useless skills like fencing, knot tying, and a bunch of other things, and they’re like the definition of Jack of all trades master of many.

They have dyslexia though, so their English grades aren’t quite as good as the others.. I’m talking 98.2% people, absolutely shameful. (/j I would KILL for a 98.2%. It also probably doesn’t help that they’re trying to learn German and Mandarin because their dad is German and their mum is Chinese and they wanna impress their parents, but yk.. ANYWAYS, they make a lotta money from freelance coding and paid hacking (specifically companies pay them to hack into their sites and tell them the flaws)

They met Leila on a tech forum where they were both trying to find a coder and hardware developer respectively, and it was geek buddies at first dm. Sage didn’t really have any close friends, just popular people in their circle, so Leila was their first real friend. Eventually, Sage’s parents decided that they were going to move back to Germany, and they took Sage with them. Sage told Leila this, and Leila asked if they wanted to meet up because she was sorta close-ish. It took a lot of pestering of the parents from both ends but eventually the two met up in Amsterdam and they stayed there for about a week before there was a robbery at a museum they were visiting. The two jumped into action, with Sage trying to scare the robbers off (not knowing anything about being even slightly heroic), and Leila, having built the hardware for her shadow bracelets and attempted multiple heroic deeds, started teleporting and fighting. At the end of the battle the two confronted each other, but eventually decided to become heroes and start a team. Sage started working doubly hard to earn enough money to buy a base for them, and eventually they found River and Amaya after seeing news articles about them. After some light kidnapping, the team was formed.

Sage is super competitive and stubborn, and as stated a bajillion times, spends most of their time working their ass off for approval. They’re desperate for affection and attention and throw their whole heart into everything they do, whether it’s joining a scout group or chess club. This confidence and do-or-die attitude gives them a natural charisma and leader-y vibe that makes people flock to them like moths to a flame, making them very popular.

They don’t really have time for hobbies or figuring themself out, and as such they often feel like muddy water - unclear, and not that useful. This causes a lot of self doubt and anxiety, which they push back in order to focus on school, or work, or heroics, or literally anything else.

@bagels-and-cream-cheese333 eat up :P

[artbybai]

Do Bulma and Vegeta know about Baiya's crush on the kaioshin of their universe? And how "stupid"(or no) would this girl act around Shin during her crush phase before it passed? Your girl watches Goku grab the god of the universe like a little chihuahua dog, has she ever done the same?

Omggggg this is the funniest thing ever

Gosh… If I think abt it, honestly, I imagined that Baiya would’ve mostly been around Shin in the Sacred Lands during her training/studies under him and Kibito (let’s roll with it for now since I still need to bang out the how and why lol) so Vegeta & Bulma probably wouldn’t really be aware of what their interactions/Baiya’s attitude towards Shin would be like.

I think, at first, Baiya would be at least a bit nervous when she meets Shin and Kibito (bc holy shit, the Kai, and the SUPREME Kai, at that!) She’d likely default to her usual (attempted) diplomatic persona that Vegeta’s tried to train her for, as a Princess.

As Baiya eventually spends more time around Shin, I think he’d mention something along the lines of, “You don’t have to hold yourself back to appeal to me, as either a student… Or a friend. I can hear your thoughts, anyways, so there’s little use in denying them.” Baiya slowly gets more comfortable around him, seeking his counsel for even minor things, involving him more in her personal life (and… Learning to think a little quieter, lol.)

Of course… This eventually leads to Baiya getting her lil crush on Shin.

He’s got poise and tact, eloquent, traditional… Honestly, Shin could very much pass for a Prince himself! Along with his gentler approach to encouraging Baiya to reach her full potential, and to embrace her flaws and work with them instead of around them, she’d absolutely develop a strong attachment to him.

They’d have teatime in the Grand Temple Gardens. They’d stroll the grounds side by side, with Shin proudly showing her off to the other Kai as yet another of his various mentees, their arms linked together. Shin would teach her Kai history and language, their traditions, invite her to join him in various ceremonies or rituals… Inviting her into his world, literally and figuratively. That’d be pretty important to Baiya, who’s felt like a bit of an outsider since her creation, despite her loving family and friends.

Baiya would teleport to the Sacred Lands, happily running to join Shin in his study for their next week of training and studying together, joking and gossiping together, with Baiya informing Shin in return about life on Earth as a mortal…

And, maybe this would lead to Shin occasionally visiting Earth more often than most other Kai ever had before.

The first time Shin pays a visit to the Capsule Corporation household, I believe Bulma would treat him like most any other guest, or how she’d behave around Whis. Vegeta may not pay him as much attention at first, but he’d be respectful as he would be towards any of the gods. Then… Shin and Baiya greet each other with a hug, and she grabs his hand as they run upstairs together, and they dash out the door moments later with Shin dressed as “incognito” as he possibly can be for a day out and about in West City.

Bulma and Vegeta look to each other, slack-jawed. Bulma would probably laugh it off as “puppy-love”, something sweet and innocent but destined not to last. Meanwhile Vegeta’s white as a sheet and can hardly believe his eyes. “She’s flirting with a god. My sweet pea dressed up a God of Creation like a legally-distinct Ken doll, to go out for whatever the hell “boba” is. How.” I have a feeling Vegeta would feel a mix of pride and mild fear.

Baiya would go so stupid for Shin at first asdfghjkl

AND she’d jokingly hoist him up and carry him around sometimes (…if Shin lets her. I kinda imagine that Kai can simply choose to be Immovable Objects™️ when it comes to mortals weaker than them, so… Technically, that’d mean that Shin would play along with it to an extent)

I imagine Baiya to be a “harmless prankster” type; bubbly and sweet with a dash of mischief. A playful older sister that’s still figuring out how the world works and how she fits into it, essentially. She’d enjoy teasing Shin, talking him into silly ideas, maybe even flopping onto her bed after a visit, hugging her plushies and kicking her feet excitedly, etc. So basically, Typical Girly Stuff™️.

Eventually, I imagine that Shin would recognize that Baiya’s caught feelings for him, and as much as he might even be flattered at her affection, he probably would let her down as gently as possible, or encourage her to pursue other potential suitors. Mortal suitors. Suitors that she might get to grow old with, even as a Saiyan, and have a “proper life” with… As much as it could pain Shin to admit. Baiya knows it, too, though.

Baiya & Shin would still absolutely be on excellent terms afterwards, and she’d continue to seek his advice and company. Tbh, this is the one friendship I think she’d build that rarely ever would have actual rough patches or strains between them… :)

Thanks for asking & thanks for listening/reading my ramble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Made my day to gush abt them asdfghjkl

[waddledoodledee]

Day Seven: Love Language

Decided to write some ficlets for this one! Hope you enjoy :3

Words of Affirmation

Shadede watched fondly as Meta sparred with his crew. It always amazed him that he could never find flaws in Meta’s form- the knight seemed to be a master, well-trained and easily the best swordsman the king had ever seen. He continued to watch, Meta currently sparring with Trident Knight. The two patiently danced around each other, looking for the perfect opportunities to strike.

“You’re doing great, Meta!” Shadede called out. Meta’s wings morphed from his cape, fluttering- a surefire way to tell he appreciated the praise, even if his mask hid his blush. Unfortunately, the distraction provided the perfect opportunity for Trident to disarm their opponent, leaving Meta to surrender the match.

Meta retrieved Galaxia from where she had landed and stepped over to join Shadede, mumbling. “Mi amor…”

Shadede chuckled. “Sorry, Meta. I didn’t mean to cost you the match.” He gently brushed down a patch of messed-up fur with his hand. “If it’s any consolation, you did great. Easily one of your best matches lately.”

“You really think so?” Meta asked, poofing up a bit before attempting to smooth his fur again.

“Of course,” Shadede said. He smiled. “Here, let me see your face.”

Meta removed his mask and looked up at Shadede. His face was painted with sparkly purple blush, and he had figurative hearts in his eyes as he looked up at his partner. Shadede leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“You’re so handsome,” he said. Meta’s blush grew stronger, eliciting a snort from Shadede.

“You are… handsome as well…” Meta stuttered out, putting his mask back on. 

Shadede continued to brush Meta’s fur, humming. “I love you so much, Meta.”

Meta leaned against him with a smile under his mask. “I love you too, mi amor.”

Physical Touch

Despite how stoic Meta and Shadede seemed on the outside, it didn’t take long for the two of them to realize they were both extremely touchy people.

It started subtly at first- lingering a little too long on the pats Shadede gave on Meta’s head and back, Meta brushing Shadede with his wings during a spar, Shadede taking Meta’s hand as the two of them read in the library. It wasn’t until the two of them decided to start sleeping together that they each realized just how touch-starved the other was.

The brief hugs they shared before getting in bed had evolved to Meta lying on top of Shadede, sleepily kneading biscuits in the heavy blanket. Purring filled the room as he got comfortable.

“Meta?” Shadede said.

“Yes, mi amor?” Meta groggily responded.

“Come under the blanket, I want to hold you.”

Meta nodded and got up, settling back down under the blanket. In only a few seconds, Shadede had wrapped his arms around the knight. Meta closed his eyes and breathed in, relaxing with a sigh in his partner’s arms. “I agree, this is much nicer.”

Shadede smiled and pressed a sleepy kiss to the top of Meta’s head. “Good night, qíngrén.”Meta nuzzled Shadede’s chest. “Goodnight, mi amor.” And with that, the two of them drifted to sleep, smiles still present on their faces.

Acts of Service

Shadede stood at the kitchen sink, washing the bowl of peaches and apples he had picked earlier that day. As he worked, he picked out the fruits bearing bruises and holes. He wanted this to be as perfect as possible.

Once the fruits were washed, he dried them off and got to work, pulling out a knife and making quick work of the peaches’ peels. Fruit after fruit, a small pile of peach cubes rose on the plate next to him. The apples took more work. Coring and slicing was quick enough, but Shadede wanted to make it special. With a little extra knife work, Shadede was able to cut away part of the peel, creating an illusion of bunny ears on the slices. He smiled to himself, hoping Meta would appreciate the gesture. After washing juice from his hands, he grabbed a handful of blueberries and put them on the plate.

He went up to the study with the plate of fruit, quietly opening the door. Meta sat at the desk, tiredly filling paperwork. Shadede walked over and placed the fruit in front of Meta with a hum. “How’s the work going?”

Meta sighed. “Tedious.” He eyed the plate of fruit, before pulling up his mask and taking a few blueberries. “Did you have this already prepared?”

“Nope. Just put it together now,” Shadede said. “Thought you might need a pick-me-up, especially since you stubbornly refuse to get up until you’re done.” The last part was said teasingly, with a hint of exasperation.

“My apologies, I didn’t realize just how much work I had,” Meta responded. He took an apple slice, smiling at the bunny ears cut into the peel. “How long did this take you?”

“About forty minutes. I cut a few extras for Skirby as well.”

Meta looked up fondly at his partner. “It’s delicious, thank you.” He gestured for Shadede to lean down. Upon complying, Shadede was gifted a kiss from the grateful knight.

Shadede pulled away, smiling. “You taste like blueberries.” 

Meta laughed. “Well, I’d certainly hope so. If I tasted like strawberries, there might be something wrong with the fruit you gave me.”

“I suppose so.” Shadede leaned down again to kiss Meta on the top of his head. “I’ll leave you to finish your work, okay?”

“Sounds good, mi amor. I’ll see you at dinner.”

Shadede smiled and left, quietly closing the door behind him. Meta took another apple slice, smiling as he thought about his partner. The fruit was sweet, just like Shadede. Munching on the fruit, Meta started getting back to work.

[motherstone]

Do you have any Emily thoughts?

This ask made me realize why I struggle so hard trying to revise Emily and why I'm probably the last person who is qualified to tell her story. Y'see, while Kazu lost the ball early on, the entire point of Amulet that he's established from the start was supposed to be about loss. Loss of innocence, loss of comfort, loss of a loved one. It's about grief, it's about loneliness, it's about not letting it destroy you and it's about letting people in.

So to like, achieve the good ending (to me anyway!), Emily has to like, learn how to deal with loss and let people in her life and form connections with others! Except like, w the story in my head that I've been sharing with you was like the worst-case scenario and she failed at all those things so it's up to the people around her that's left to pick up the pieces themselves and attempt to succeed where she failed :P but tbh it doesn't have a set ending bc mostly the Story In My Head is just me messing around having fun with scenarios, not necessarily sending an important message.

Half bc me, frankly I'm still figuring out my own personal flaws that I haven't really resolved, so it's a lot like a fixing someone else's problem similar to mines when I haven't solved my own, so I can't solve theirs either. Half is my being a lil cynical and enjoying some tragedy. Yummers.

But also like, Idk. If I were kazu I'd make her more human and flawed. We barely know her and understand her. I really wish Kazu didn't write Supernova 💀 character assassinated her ass and gave her all the powers instead of sticking wo what he established, and her powers doesn't feel like there was any build up. Call me petty, but it was insulting af that Kazu made her perfect at barriers and nerfed Trellis in the same book by Trellis creating a half-baked shield, like are you shitting me? Where the FUCK did that come from? We see Trellis able to generate barriers sturdy enough to crack the earth and withstand deep ocean pressures but can't stand the pressure of a flamethrower, meanwhile despite defense established as Emily's weakest skill, she's able to create one that doubles as a magical oxygen tank 💀 fuck that. have these two extremes of each other. It would be so fun if these two developed their own fighting styles and that they eventually trained together to develop their own that could compensate for each other's weaknesses. I have more thoughts, but this is what I will say for now.

[nikofortuna]

The Legend of the White Snake (2019) First Impression

I would like to preface this with the information that I am only somewhat familiar with the original tale and the only other retelling I have experienced thus far was the White Snake animated movie of 2019. For this series I’ll be going off of the English subtitles from Netflix. Additionally I am a queer individual, so expect some queer reading on my part. Mild spoiler warning for the first twelve episodes of the series!

In light of Netflix removing the series soon I have decided to sit down to watch it before then and ended up binging the first twelve episodes in one day. Needless to say I really enjoyed it and would like to get my thoughts and appreciation out here.

To briefly touch on the visuals before getting into the characters and story, the overall vibe I got is comfortable. Like it is colourful but not oversaturated. The costumes are pretty but not over the top, similarly the makeup is clearly there but looks simple enough to not be distracting to me.

The CGI is stylized. It doesn’t try to bend over backwards to be photorealistic and I personally like that. It work for me, it’s, again, comfortable to watch.

Continuing with the characters, the one that stood out to me right away and who I grew to like very quickly is Xiao Qing.

She reads very queer to me starting off with her cultivation of a male human form for so long despite being afab. Now this was due to a desire to protect her mother and attempting to follow established gender roles thusly in a way, though she also had no apparent personal issue with it other than the transformation being a little more difficult, likely because it is a bigger change.

Then she basically flipped to a female human form on a dime out of convenience, so she could accompany Bai Suzhen. Her gender non-conformity persist in that form and all this combined to me paints a picture of her not quite caring about her own gender as such. Nevertheless I wouldn’t put any specific label on her, both because it would not be my place to do so and because I don’t see any for her other than maybe gender non-conform in a general sense.

However you cannot tell me she doesn't have a small crush on Bai Suzhen at least in the beginning.

Aside those things, the small quirk of her enjoying food is very adorable too. So far she has undergone some good character development as well becoming a better person and learning from her elders while still being true to her personality, I quite like that. One would think she’d be an annoying character at first, but she grows into a solid and likeable person.

Now to actually start from the top in terms of characters, beginning with the strong female lead Bai Suzhen.

Not only kind and compassionate, she gained enlightenment through the presence of Guanyin go figure how that might have factored into this, she is also very educated and skilled in martial arts. She is kind but not a pushover, strong willed but not obnoxious. Both a healer and a fighter depending on what is needed at the moment. Capable of handling herself, but not rejecting help when offered. All in all she’s just a great person and a highly likeable protagonist in my eyes.

The supporting ladies like Xu Jiaorong are wonderful as well when they come up, being very helpful where they can.

The male protagonists are nothing to sneeze at either! Of course our male lead Xu Xian is a kind and caring physician already making him quite likeable.

Additionally he falls in love with Bai Suzhen specifically because she is his equal and shares his values. Seeing them work together and help each other as physicians is so cute and really makes you root for them.

He is not without flaw however, much like the rest of the cast, and I am not just referring to his health troubles. While not being a particularly big character arc so far he does grow as a person and his past thus also his past growth is revealed, making his a well rounded character.

Then we have Li Gongfu.

He might not be quite as bright as our leads but is still capable in his job. He is also aware of his own shortcomings and accepts help and advice. And of course he is very loyal to his wife and clearly loves her, which is just so nice to see.

And the four immortals, which are initially with Qing and then Bai Suzhen as well, are great support characters. Funny, caring and useful! The one fight scene where they displayed the abilities of their animal forms was particularly enjoyable to watch.

So far the antagonists have been well balanced usually through an antagonist lady being paired up with antagonist men and both taking equal part in causing trouble. They have also been fleshed out rather nicely with motivations and goals as well as personal grievances.

Plus some were even somewhat sympathetic, particularly the mother who yes has done very bad things undeniably so, but has been pushed to a degree to act like that to begin with. Really a more tragic character than outright evil in my opinion.

Then we have Jin Ruyi of course, who is the classic jealous love rival.

Rather early on I developed hopes for her undergoing character development. Not necessarily in the direction of outright getting along with Bai Suzhen, but maturing, learning to see Xu Xian as his own person and subsequently letting those two be even if she might not like it. And I was pleased to see such an arc beginning towards the later end of the first twelve episodes.

She is not quite where I would like to see her yet, but she clearly has undergone development becoming less spoiled after tragedy struck her. And she can’t be blamed entirely for still being stuck to Xu Xian given how she has been strung along for a scheme by the Hu Kexin.

When speaking about character development we cannot forget about the monk Fahai.

In previous iterations he has been mostly an antagonistic force, but this time around he is here to learn! With a kind master to start him on his journey he still had to make the decision to follow his instructions of not harming the demons if his cane does not deem it necessary. Thusly he is gradually unlearning his prejudice and seeing the nuance in the world more instead of viewing it purely in black and white.

Jingsong, oh Jingsong, he messed up and he messed up big time, a supporting character turned antagonist in my eyes.

If he had decided to help with Xu Xian’s poisoning, like I believed for a moment he might, I could have seen him getting redeemed. But now that he is still so stuck in his ways and completely disregarding Bai Suzhen’s agency, no matter how ‘well meaning’ he might be, he has lost me. His mouse form is still funny though.

Last but not least shout out to Guanyin, my favourite bodhisattva, always happy to see her.

On the story overall there is not much miscommunication being the cause of problems, it is mainly other people deliberately trying to keep our two leads apart. However the two physicians have clearly growing wise to this and do not trust other peoples’ words about each other so easily anymore.

The theme of nuance is woven throughout those first twelve episodes and I am expecting this to continue. The protagonists have their flaws, some technically good people are shown to do bad things for one reason or another and some antagonists aren’t all bad either and generally have a motivation behind their actions.

In summary while it is mainly a romance drama, there are also plenty of funny moments, intrigue and suspense. I would definitely recommend giving this series a try if one has even a modicum of interest in it.

[wispfear]

𖡎 MORE INFORMATION.

01, ABILITIES.

Dream Control:

Ri-Chan creates dreadful nightmares from sweet fantasies. He can ensnare victims in dreamscapes that materialize their darkest anxieties.

Fear Manifestation:

He brings out the phobias and concerns that are hidden in other people. Temporarily uses these anxieties as weapons to bring them into the real world.

Darkness Manipulation:

He directs shadows and darkness to move and serve as manifestations of his will. Able to move, fight, or conceal by using shadows.

Fear Absorption:

Feeds on misery and fear to gain strength. Long-term exposure to Ri-Chan can damage victims' bodies and sap their emotions.

Teleportation:

Ri-Chan is able to travel from one place to another in a speed of light but cannot do it consecutively.

02, MOTIVATIONS.

Ri-Chan's fascination with comprehending fear in all of its manifestations stems from his dual identities as the Bringer of Nightmares and a neuroscience student. Fear, in his opinion, is the most basic feeling and has the power to influence others, more than love or hope.

Ri-Chan is still haunted by the boy who cowered in the forest. His existence is a statement that he is no longer a victim, nor merely a part. He proves to himself that he has overcome the powerlessness of his early years with each nightmare he conjures up and each mind he manipulates.

Ri-Chan views himself as a teacher and a tormentor who uses fear as a tool to try and change others. He thinks that humans can only realize their full potential—or their frailty—by facing their greatest fears and surviving their worst nightmares. In his mind, every nightmare he whips up serves as a lesson, making others either stronger or weaker. However, underlying this flawed reasoning is a more profound reality: a desperate attempt to satisfy the emptiness inside of him and justify his behavior.

03, WEAKNESSES.

Light & Hope:

He is weakened by direct exposure to clear light or excessive hope.

Emotional Bonds:

He becomes vulnerable when he interacts with people from his past.

Over-reliance on fear:

His abilities weaken and he becomes mentally and physically exhausted if he isn't supported by fear.

04, HEADCANONS.

Dream Journal: Prior to his transformation, Ri-Chan kept a journal in which he diligently documented his dreams. Now that he no longer dreams, he reads it just to reflect.

Ice Skating Routine: He continues to skate late at night when no one else is around, despite trying to show how uninterested he is.

Coffee Obsession: In order to sustain his double existence, Ri-Chan is excessively dependent on caffeine. He occasionally drinks Matcha, but his favorite beverage is a black Americano.

Obsessive Note-Taking: In lectures, his notebook margins are filled with doodles of shadowy figures. In reality, he does this because of his short term memory.

Great Fainting: When he was young, before his transformation, Ri-Chan would often faint because of exhaustion and overfatigue during training or his daily activities. This triggers his fears and darkness to manifest outside his physical body and haunt its prey—usually someone desperate and filled with fear.

The Tall Shadowy Figure: Faint shadows cling on Ri-Chan for hours when he utilizes his powers heavily, giving the impression that he is always standing in dim light.

Emotional Loop: He experiences fear as well as projecting it. He is emotionally and mentally exhausted since it is more difficult to get rid of the emotional residue.

Unintentional Weakness: His abilities may manifest in the actual world if he becomes overly emotionally disturbed. This has resulted in uncomfortable circumstances, especially when he is under stress from academics or personal issues.

Silent Melodies: His favorite music is classical and ambient pieces, which help him concentrate when he's studying or thinking. Some of the items bring back memories.

Unseen Acts: In spite of his sinister image, Ri-Chan occasionally lends a helping hand in some ways, such as calming a troubled child's dreams or giving someone who is about to give up a glimmer of hope.

Protective Brother: Despite his remoteness, he quietly keeps an eye on his sibling to make sure nothing bad happens to them. They are among the few who have the ability to briefly reveal his more vulnerable side.