#i don’t think they really fit into the trope but they def do not just hate each other imo

[astralisstar]

when people say the saiki brothers hate eachother sujshsjsjhe

[alevolpe]

What's the endgame in your hc given how you feel about SilMil? Would one or all of the senshi end up convincing Usagi not to build the next one? Or would she decide not to on her own?

Or would it be spoilers to say at this point?

I don’t have an ending fleshed out, I’m sorry to disappoint. I def know what I WOULDN’T do for an ending, but not really on what I’ll write. It’s one of those things I think will come to me more and more as I flesh out the story.

In my main timeline I definitely would NOT have CT be endgame, it doesn’t fit. It’s too much, too many extra factors, extra questions, extra concepts (especially given how there is not time travel in my AU) and it also destroys the concept of the cycle.

I’ll say that I have not thought much about the ending, but the main 2 that have crossed my mind the most are: (spoilers? For my AU)

Everyone dies. Yep, all the girls go fight Galaxia and her senshi and they all die. They win, but at a cost. This ending is mostly kept up by 2 factors: it would be WAY too depressing to kill half the cast unless I write it super well and also I cannot NOT kill anyone. It’s fucking Galaxia. A villain that has been genociding the entire Galaxy, the final boss, the one pulling strings all along and I just have all the girls be fine after the fight ..? Nah, stakes what is that>! Also no reviving BS, I’ve stated it before, no fake out deaths that kill the stakes. Sm is SUCH a victim of this trope omfg. I can only care so much after the 12th time the senshi get killed just to get revived 3 seconds later.

Everyone dies, BUT Usagi fulfills her final mortal wish and wishes a reset on the universe as they know it. In doing so, she gives up her whole existence and becomes the entity known as Cosmos, destined to wonder the Universe, slowly loosing emotions, memories, humanity… In this reset reality all the girls and other character are born as regular people, some of them end up meeting and being friends in different ways, but they all end up being present at that moment. Some of them never meet, some are very different, some.. not so much. They all meet at crown as adults as a sort of reunion meeting, a faint specter looking on longingly. Cosmos says goodbye to all her friends as she knows she’ll outlive them and eventually forget them as she becomes one with the cosmos, sharing an intimate, yet one sided (?) moment with each of them. No more senshis, the cycle is broken, yet the ultimate price was paid. Usagi has never existed.

These are both kinda sloppy, but I’m really early into the writing stages of the AU, so throw me some bones.

The important thing to me is not having a “happy ending”, as that would p much defeat the whole motif and purpose of the story Im writing. I don’t want a tragedy either! But I more so strive the Sweet sweet spot of bittersweet!

[toxicanonymity]

Do you ever struggle with feelings of discouragement or inadequacy if your fics don’t do as well as you had hoped?

I’m struggling with that myself. I try not to get so hung up on it but it’s very hard, especially when something I’m so proud of doesn’t do as well as my other works.

I don’t even feel motivated to write bc I don’t wanna set myself up for disappointment

Discouragement, sure, I think that's natural sometimes. But I really don't feel like stats have anything to do with adequacy. Baring my soul, yuck. But fuck it we ball. Sorry it's a long answer.

I don't think I've ever answered a serious ask aside from the time i created Dr. rock which hardly counts but I've seen a lot of people struggling with this lately and hope this might be idk comforting to a person or two without leading to debate/discourse.

You mentioned something you're proud of isn't doing as well as your other works, and I can see how that would be disappointing. For laughs, I'll compare 2 of mine. These fics are impossible to compare (as are most, I think) but I def understand the urge to measure yourself against what you see as the potential. Aches: <1k popular trope I banged out in no time, wasn't sure about it, literally thought "people don't have to like it" before I hit post. >4 notes per word. Left in Lincoln: >22k posted so far, challenging, writing it for months. Has possibly driven me crazy bc I had this passing thought the other day and not about TLOU. (I didn't feel like re-reading it all): "I should just rewatch the movie. . .wait." 🤡 The whole Lincoln series combined has fewer notes than Aches lmao. But it's far more rewarding in getting to see it come to life, quality of engagement, and stretching myself 😏. It's not for everyone, for various reasons. Surely would have better stats without the twist I went with. But at what cost??

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Often, if people don't read or like something, it's a reflection of their own interests, limitations, and assumptions. And the right "fit."

I don't rly read much in general, but specifically, I rarely read long stuff (if I do I prob scan a lot tbh). I normally only want, if any, just enough plot/premise to build sexual tension. I don't read fluff or angst. I don't have the attention span / commitment to get invested in original characters. I tend to avoid stuff similar to what I'm working on. I make assumptions - If there's no word count, maybe it's too long. I know a lot of the fics I skip for these reasons must be fantastic. Assumptions I experience - I've seen very popular fics in the wild that strike me as dark, creepy, or pervy but aren't tagged that way. So some things that are tagged dark, etc., including plenty of mine, might not be dark in the way people assume based on their own ideas, or based on what others do tag. Also some people think I only write dark when sometimes it's just horny (see master list).

I've sometimes found myself thinking "It sucks more people don't read this bc i bet they would enjoy it" (not just my own fics). It might sound egotistical but I think it's often true.

------

Of course I want engagement because that means more people reading something which can mean more interaction, discussion, learning what you liked, what you think, etc. that's what I love.

But notes aren't rly near the top of what I care about, even though it does feel great to get them and I truly appreciate every single one.

Night walks doesn't get nearly as many notes as some of my other stuff, especially these days, but it's fun to write and I like to feed his feral fans who only get more into him with time. Same with raider: among those who do read and engage, I sense rising enthusiasm, thirst, and rate of falling in love with him (my bad). That's all worth more than 1000 likes to me. I have a good time writing these guys, so I write them more than other ones that get way more notes 🤷. I'm not saying notes don't matter at all, I know they affect exposure and engagement. But if just did what gets notes, I don't think I'd have such high quality engagement bc I'd just bang out more stuff with the most popular tropes instead of our fave Joels and those destined to become our faves bc they offer something special.

My outlook was the same before I had so many followers btw. Rock Bottom (22k) was what I felt like writing, still more ambitious than anything I've done in the Halloween fandom. I was disappointed it got way less attention than my one shots, but I know it's a banger, just certainly not for everyone lol.

-

I'm sorry for what you're experiencing and feeling, but I think it's very common and hope you can reframe it to not feel inadequate. I especially hope it doesn't discourage you from writing. ❤️

[literaturewithliz]

matchup trade!!!

this is a trade with the wonderful @bokutosbiceps

Okay so I know this took a while but thank you sooo much for being so patient and your match for me was just wonderful! I hope you enjoy.

I match you with…. RORONOA ZORO

okay okay okay time for my little rant

so what REALLY got me was you saying you would do anything for your friends/family. I think that is so Zoro. I think loyalty would be a requirement for him if he were ever to pursue someone. And you fit the bill in more ways than just loyalty!

The shared love for working out?? Chefs kiss. Imagine the dates. Imagine goofing around while doing push-ups or something (can u tell I don’t work out). I think that for Zoro working out is more than about getting stronger, but also a way to stay disciplined. I think he holds himself to the standard of always getting better, which looks like something you do too, considering you study and work out frequently. As for studying, I can’t honestly say he would be of much help or find it very interesting but it’s my belief that Zoro’s love language is acts of service and so if you want someone to be there with you and keep you company or call out vocab words he will do it no complaints. (Okay maybe some complaining but he always shuts up with a kiss)

another thing that made me think of Zoro for you is how chill you are. Zoro doesn’t strike me as the type of person to really think deeply about most things, because he sees things for what they are, and just that way. It’s very rare that he applies emotion to things, and I think he would need a partner who doesn’t sweat the small stuff, you feel me? He needs someone who can look at the bigger picture the way that he does. All of this to say, that doesn’t mean he is incapable of digging deeper. Especially if someone he cared about (you) needed him too. So on those days where you are feeling philosophical, he would listen to you talk about what was on your mind, and would entertain your questions.

I wanna talk about your love for sunshine for a sec bc Zoro would eat that up. The way he naps on the Sunny? He understands totally. You might not even be napping with him but your presence and the sunshine kinda just makes him naturally relaxed I think.

one other similarity between the two of you is seeming intimidating upon first look, but being really chill once you’ve gotten to know someone. I think your meet cute would def involve a mini staring contest trying to size each other up before eventually relaxing. It’s giving bar vibes. Like if you are a sailor and stopping at port getting a drink, he went to the nearest bar for some sake. Y’all stare each other down before just like talking about the most random shit and some things that are pretty common upon first meeting.

but also, let’s talk about the DIFFERENCES. The main one being, of course, how social you are. Your life of the party attitude and his reserved one work quite well, because you both understand and accept each other being that way. Zoro understands that every good thing must have balance, and he applies that rule to your relationship. So he doesn’t get annoyed or anxious at seeing how energetic you are, he just goes with the flow because that is you, and he loves you for it. Zoro would never ask you to change any part of yourself because, again, balance. With that being said, he definitely appreciates your quiet side too. Being able to sit in silence and still be comfortable with you is so therapeutic for Zoro. Just having someone be there and not expect anything from him is very comforting, dont be surprised if he falls asleep.

teases u for not keeping ur plants alive

tropes:

idiots in love

bubbly x stoic

he fell first

[tfw-no-tennis]

FOR THE FIC TROPES ASK THING: modern/coffee shop AUs (lmaoooo), Hanahaki, human experimentation/medical horror, and amnesia!! 😎

LMAO FUQ YEA LETS GO

Modern/coffee shop AUs: starting off easy I see…my controversial onion on this is: F. I literally blacklist ‘AU: modern setting’ when I look for fic lmao. Idk I’m just not interested in stories not set within the canon universe, generally - and I especially don’t care for fics where characters don’t have whatever superpowers they usually have in the canon. It takes a really good writer to transfer a canon into a modern AU in a satisfying way, and I’m just too picky to even try.

Hanahaki: hmmmMMMM I’ll go C I think! Maybe a bit harsh - I do enjoy hanahaki a lot, but if it isn’t done well enough I peace out pretty quickly. My dream would be a hanahaki fic that is extremely medical with it and goes into excruciating detail about systemic symptoms and lab testing and alternative treatments and such. lol

Human experimentation/medical horror: oh wow good segue from hanahaki lmao. I’d say B - I like it a lot IF it’s done in an anatomically/medically accurate way. I’m here for that aspect, not so much any angst or even horror. I like the horror part if it’s focused in on the body: like the ways that the human body will compensate for injury through means that might make you feel like shit but will save your life, and how resilient the body is…I’m the bitch who wrote the Law Dissects A Dead Guy To Woo Someone fic so I’m defs into this lmao

Amnesia: slam dunk easy A I LOOOOVE amnesia yea BABEY !!!!! I adore anything to do w themes abt Sense Of Self (meeting AU/past/future versions of yourself, selfcest lmao, deaging, time travel) and this fits the bill for sure. Aren’t we our memories? What happens if some or all of those are gone? Being reset to factory settings can make for incredibly interesting character and relationship studies…no wonder Sabo Onepiece is my muse (ily Mr amnesia)

TY FOR THE ASK!!!!

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

Gulps…, hellohi.. confession I’ve been daydreaming about angst recently and that cult leader Geto drabble u wrote only made me think about it even more… <///333 ignore that I’m a little bit obsessed with the mentally ill/traumatised reader + stsg trope but… can u really blame me ☹️ they would be so good and I think they would be the best comfort u could possible have :((

Ok but. more specifically reader with a rough childhood (a lil like sugu.. he def has some sort of daddy/mommy issues i will die on that hill) or some sort of abandonment/trust issues that has a habit of self sabotaging or intentionally distancing themselves. More specifically maybe grown up stsg where they’re a little more mature and have more of a grasp on how to help you better.. maybe reader has a nightmare or something, goes out for a smoke on the balcony etc etc.. sugu meets them out there n. They just have a good old fashioned talk like :( just being honest and vulnerable because it’s late and u just need a hug most of all :(( def ends with him carrying reader back to bed n playing with ur hair until you fall back asleep GODDDD KILL ME NOW ☹️☹️ moments of tenderness/vulnerability are my absolutely favourite thing in writing/shows/etc ESPECIALLY when it’s from characters that usually don’t display those sort of feelings because you just know it means there’s such a strong bond between them…. Can u hear my heart breaking

^^ either this one or reader with trust issues that’s a little cat-like personality wise (which I think fits so beautifully because stsg are the most wolf coded boys ever) who’s fully convinced they’re better off on their own, they don’t need friends or people to rely on. Until they meet stsg!!!!! Because suddenly there are two irritatingly charming losers following you around and worming their way into your heart and you just. Physically cannot bring yourself to deny them, even if it’s a little scary allowing people in. And god i think it would make them feel SO special once you started warming up to them. Allowing satoru to greet you with hugs or pinch ur cheeks… letting sugu baby you a little…… (distant screaming)

THIS HAS BEEN ANOTHER YAP SESSION BY ME ^_^ it’s literally so late at night rn I don’t know why these ideas always come to me just as I’m about to sleep ffs ☹️ N E WAYYYSSSS im looking forward to that satoru fic/drabble thing u were talking about :3 a mix of scared and excited ngl I feel like I gotta prepare myself incase it’s angsty….. but WHAT HAVE U BEEN UP TO?? It’s literally just been grey n windy where I am so I hope ur getting better weather where u are 😞😞 I HOPE U HAVE BEEN HAVING FUN N TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF!!

(Also irrelevant but I was just about to add a silly image to finish and I stumbled across this image of satoru and I’m laughing my ass of why is he so lanky?????? I could NOT be his friend I would just make fun of him for being built like a fucking STICKBUG 😭😭😭 LOOK AT THE RESEMBLANCE)

(Yes I made the second image myself what do you think of my artistic talent ^_^ ignore the flag)

HELLO HI MY DEAREST OLLIE i am gulping right with you ……… this made me so insane 😔😔

i’ve said it before n i’ll say it again . ariollie STAYS synced up i’m convinced we share a brain……. your scenarios always make me feel so ill (affectionate) and this scenario just means sm to me :((( they really would be the best!!! a reader like that would be treated so tenderly and with sm understanding…. especially since suguru and satoru had rough upbringings too!! (not canon for sugu maybe but i agree w you 100% ollie i literally can’t see his childhood being anything but messed up…. he def has both mommy and daddy issues i know my own kind 🙏🙏)

aaaaa just!!! yeah. reader isolating themselves when they feel down and overwhelmed and being taken care of so effortlessly… stsg just wouldn’t let you face your struggles alone. you’re a team!!! and yeah grown up stsg would for sure be the best at this. i think that as teens they won’t know exactly how to help/might be a little overwhelming….. but as adults they’re more mature and grounded and have a better understanding of your struggles and their own!!! goshhhhh the balcony scene 😔😔😔 ollie do you want my heart to shatter (also what if i told you that exact scenario has popped up in my head multiple times we’re so linked) suguru would just be so vulnerable and patient and caring :(((( our papa bear…. carries you to bed and lulls you to sleep. for sure makes you a warm cup of tea too… sighhh i need him i fear 💔💔

AND AND ANDDDD a catlike reader 😵‍💫😵‍💫 one of my personal favs. independent and a little distant….. used to being on their own……. very picky with who they allow close. it’s just PERFECT for stsg (WOLFCODED BOYS SO TRUEEE)… ollie the way you describe it all makes me feel ILLLL they really would feel so honoured 😭😭😭 cue satoru melting into a puddle when you finally wrap your arms around him….. suguru literally grinning like an idiot (he’s trying DESPERATELY not to but it’s impossible) when you shyly ask him for affection. yeahhhh their hearts would explode i think

ANOTHER BANGER YAP SESSION FROM OLLIEEE i look forward to them sm yknow!!! i can always trust you to have the tastiest stsg scenarios ready to go 🙏🙏🙏 i’m a lil late to this BUT i hope you had a cozy sleep my friend <3 AND WAHH i’m so glad you’re excited for bfb!satoru!!!! i’m gonna try to get it out by next weekend…… i promise not to make it angsty hehe it’s just a lil bittersweet!!! a tiny bit!!!! (depends on how you feel abt the unrequited love trope though 😭😭) IT’S GRAY N WINDY HERE TOO i’m hoping for more sunlight soon………. and i’m doing well hehe i’ve been playing a bunch of pj sekai + watching my favorite streamer play zero escape >:33 WHAT ABT UUU OLLIE what have you been up to?? good things i hope!!! pls remember to rest up and take care of yourself as well <333 it’s what stsg would’ve wanted!!!

(also PHDKDVDJDJYFU NOT THE SATORU SLANDER?????? 😭😭😭 LEAVE MY STICKBUG ALONE???????? i snorted so loud thank you for the free art it’s beautiful <333 i’m gna print it and hang it on my wall.)

[tenelkadjowrites]

hello!!! i hope you’re doing amazing <3 i have two questions, cause i’m obsessed with ur blog and you’re the sweetest human ever to answer things, so i’m not scared of u (some blog owners just kinda gives me not so good vibes)

first, have u ever considered writing a best friend’s brother fic? i can picture it with anyone u write, but fr i think san would stand out more for the role iykwim

also!! u don’t rlly write about the other members, is it because u find it harder to fit in one of ur works? or anything else?

anyways, i hope u didn’t find anything i’ve said here offensive or anything. have a good week <3

this answer is gonna be long so i'm gonna add a cut.

first off, thank you so much for calling me sweet <3 it is really important to me that this blog feels comforting and welcoming (as much as a blog can be with the type of smut i post lol.) and that ppl can feel safe sending in questions or comments or even just random things about ateez or whatever.

as far as writing a best friend's brother, i haven't written that trope altho i've written reader sleeping with their brother's best friend with the idol taemin and my current seonghwa fic i am working on is also reader with brother's best friend. i just haven't gotten any inspiration to write best friend's brother yet, i just kinda go wherever my brain takes me lmao. altho that trope does sound fun! def a lot of promise for something smutty and enjoyable lol.

as for why i don't write about other members, it isn't anything against them. i love every single member of that group, they are my comfort and a source of great joy for me. but my brain leans into seonghwa because, when it comes to idols, he is just very special to me. i feel a kinship with him (as much as one can with an idol you know from a distance) in that he is oftentimes the caretaker (as the older sister, i relate.) he is extremely considerate, thoughtful, kind, and loving. i love that he is so open with his emotions that he isn't afraid to cry openly (not to get too personal on this blog but i cry a lot whenever i feel the need to since its healthy to do so) and his dedication to ateez and atiny touches me. on top of that, i think he is an incredible performer and he has an energy to him on stage that speaks to me. and of course, i find him just...insanely attractive.

because of all those reasons, he ends up being my muse and my inspiration for my fics. when my brain lobs me an idea for a fic, it is typically tied to hwa. if i swapped hwa out for another member, it wouldn't feel "the same" in my brain and therefore i believe the work would suffer for it if that makes sense.

i have gotten asked before, on and off this blog, about when or why i won't write for other members to the point where sometimes i catch myself debating if i should swap hwa out for someone else for a fic due to demand. but then i think that is a disservice not only to the member i'd swap with, who wouldn't be getting the proper treatment i give all my fics and characterizations, but also to myself as a writer who is now writing for the blog vs writing for myself and then posting it on the blog on the off chance others might enjoy what i write.

i've also said this before but it bears repeating because it is truly important to me but writing is me. writing is my heart, my soul, my joy and my passion since i was around six years old. it's saved my life, it's given me purpose, it's given me a happiness nothing else has. i write these fics because of the pure joy it gives me and i try very very hard to stick to that and share the stories to hopefully give others comfort and a place to escape to during moments of their life where they want to shut the world out. so i stick to writing mostly hwa because that is where my heart and creativity lies and my work is better for it! <3

i know this answer was soooo long and i hope that is okay if you, or anyone else, took the time to read this lol! but i really wanted to give this a good answer! thank you so much for taking the time to send in thoughtful questions and i hope i answered them in a way that made sense. <3 have a wonderful night/day!

[m1ckeyb3rry]

SHINAH SO REAL bring my man back….

I’m ngl I fully forgot Lorenzo existed errrrr but yeah there’s the purple eye rep..!! Wait you know what kinda confuses me is Nanase’s aura….his name means rainbow so I was assuming it’d be rainbow but it’s some sort of blueish white? Maybe it’s a reference to how when all the colors come together they make white but anyways….considering his name they could’ve made his eye color a little more interesting but whatever I guess

I’ll be waiting LMAO just thinking of the ideas makes me want more beach day esque side quest shenanigans between the characters!!

Hoping this last match helps boost their rankings a lot because just looking at it right now the rankings do NOT seem accurate LOL

FIC INFLATION REAL my perception of length has been so thrown off these past months

LMAOOO imagine 60k kiyora fic /j quite literally would be carrying the entire tag on your blog HAHA

Imagine you did convert to gagamaruism though that would lowk be really funny

HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED omg…ok but I get it some edits are fire and are way too good at converting….lowk I think a tabieita edit was what pushed me into tabieitaism….it’s ok you got cleansed by other edits you’re in the clear for now o7 ok but wait drop the edits?? If you still have them saved LOL

FRRR WAIT STOP THE OTOYA IDEA IS FIRE??? Otoya getting trained into a gentleman and y/n becoming a heartbreaker bitch LOLL Its funny because we keep discussing ideas for people being wingmen for other characters LMAOOO atp it should just be the wingmen series

Also BAROUUUUUUU>>>>>> ok his little moments where he’s eating or has his hair down doing some sort of wind down/cool down routine>>>> if u20 Barou doesn’t get a glow up the Ubers match one fs will….but manifesting s2 glow up for Barou!!!

- Karasu anon

shinah…hak…kija…bring my boyfriends back to me 😭 honestly the author of yona of the dawn ATE w the character designs!! like even though all of the dragons were a certain color they still felt interesting?? maybe it’s the eyes like kija + zeno i think having the blue, shinah’s being absolutely gorgeous, and jaeha’s being purple iirc

LMAOAAO lorenzo is always in the back of my mind bro is such a phenomenon…for some reason i pictured him having brown hair and brownish reddish eyes?? and i haven’t seen many colorings of him so ig i never realized he has my fav color palette 😓 maybe it’s time for me to convert to loreonzoism /j also i didn’t know that abt nanase!! that’s def annoying that they made him knockoff isagi when there was the potential for smth cool 😭

hopefully after the nel arc we will get more downtime and fun ☝🏻 and next req should be up shortly!! like within the next three hours i think 😏

i’ve done it to myself too tbh 😭 consistently writing 100-200k word fics has made me view anything less than 100k as short…like unless it breaks 100k i won’t even consider it a true long fic!! i need to write smth that massive for bllk though 😵‍💫 hollyhock might make it but that one will be slow going because it’s a lot of external work to write 😩 peregrine i don’t think is going to be that long though 😓 i think if i do undertake a rlly long fic like that it’ll have to be for one of my absolute favs (so nagi karasu barou) or else i won’t have the motivation to finish it

HAHAHAA bfb kiyora’s version fr except he doesn’t have any sisters…i’m trying to think of what trope i want for him 🤔 i have some vague ideas but we’ll see what sticks!! i’m actually more worried abt karasu FJDKKS i’ve written sm for him that coming up with something different might be a struggle…what if i pick zantetsu for that req instead /hj

YUP IT WAS HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED!! although technically reo mikage would’ve fit in the censor too LMAOAOA but yk i’d never censor reo…only an itoshi bro could get that reaction from me 😫 and yes i saved all of the ones that cleansed me hold on i’ll post them here

barou edit

otoya + aiku edit

nagi edit 1 and nagi edit 2

third nagi edit that i just thought was really funny

not the edit i was referring to in that post because i didn’t save that BUT the edit of rin that made me post abt bllk on tumblr for the first time and get convinced to watch it by my mutual

the amt of saved edits i have is crazy 😭 mostly karasu and nagi ones but there’s more than a few otoya reo and barou ones in there 🤩 plus a couple of sae and rin ones that i couldn’t help but save

THE OTOYA IDEA HAS ME CACKLING especially if i do like a split perspective thing with it?? omg i’m just envision a line like “you had a crush on eita otoya, which meant you had to go to the one man on campus even worse than him: oliver aiku” and it’s all dramatic for the reader meanwhile aiku thinks it’s SOO funny that someone like her likes OTOYA (and conversely karasu and yukimiya think otoya is trying to be a gentleman to manipulate the reader better so they’re like “fuck no we’re not helping” but then they realize he’s serious so they lock in and do their best to help him)

barou…barou…barou…i think my 50 reblogs of my own post sum up my thoughts atm very well 😭 omg wait is BAROU my third rewatch man 🤔⁉️ that’s crazy if so but lowkey no complaints 🤤 the best part abt liking nagi and barou is i KNOW they’re not going anywhere for a while because they’re two of isagi’s main rivals + episode nagi is literally right there 🤩 so lots and lots of content coming for them (although lowkey epinagi artist does barou dirty at some points i fear…rn their hard work is going solely into nagi and karasu though so i get it)

[minustwofingers]

Just read your response to my last message. You’re fine. I am the same way with the fanfics both with writing them and reading the ones I like reading. I am very picky myself and tend to gravitate toward the ones where they are themselves and the respective scenarios that follow. I like seeing how the characters would react in the different scenarios, whether it be a crossover with another fandom or a scenario within the respective fandom itself, and then see the character growth, etc... as the story goes on. So, I get it. At the same time, it definitely feels that way like some writers will take those characters and use them as shells of themselves or a mould and then use their appearances like you said while changing almost everything else if not everything else. To each is own I guess for those who like those fanfics and don't care if characters like Ellie act like themselves or not within a story.

yesss u and i are def on the same wavelength! there was this great post on here from someone who deactivated a while ago who really delved into this genre of fanfiction and raised the question of whether or not it could even be considered genuine fanfiction if it’s not really about the character and is more about just propping them up as an actor for some sort of fantasy.

i’m not sure if i really agree with the idea of policing what can or can’t be considered fanfiction bc all of us are just here to have fun and like it’s not my business if something isn’t my cup of tea, but that was the first post that really put the general recent confusion i’d felt about what seems to be deliberately ooc work in fan spaces into words. in sum i think everyone should write what they want but to me personally i only read things that take the same approach to fanfiction as i do

(also as a separate rant i feel like i’m seeing the same problem in newly published works too in a way and i don’t have any qualms w saying that those books suck and shouldn’t b honored w the distinction of getting published) (i am so sick of seeing people market books based off of how they fit into pre existing tropes) (give me cool characters for once i BEG)

[humanoidtyphoons]

i do think days of hana is an improvement to orange marmalade, and i feel like the cutesy art style fits the story more, as well as promising something... darker

haru’s a mixed bag tho. on one hand, i do think him being a werewolf is... like i’m more comfortable with the possessiveness in a sense? i’m still not wholly on board with it, but uh. i’m happier to let it slide bc werewolf stock tropes, even tho i’m still not happy with it. it’s better than orange marmalade.

haru/hana doesn’t work as a ship. yeah, i guess you could say it’s the master/servant aspects of it. or the fact that they essentially grew up as siblings, so it feels more incestuous than i think the story means them to be. both are... pretty good reasons not to ship it. i like them as siblings, tbqh! and haru pining for hana is just... uh, not a fan. he’s cute, but! don’t particularly care for this ship.

the friendship group feels more organic this time around? OM group was... meant to be flawed humans but uh, i didn’t like most of them, and never really got endeared to them, bc they felt too superficial. this group seems better...? more likeable? but i like haru and his werewolf friends.

jeff is... yikes. but he’s def. supposed to be this time around, so i kind of like him better than OM’s ML. (even tho i know he’s not the ML, but hana likes him right now, so.)

[hoes4hoseok]

enhypen as 1989

ty to @lethekoo <3. this is not edited (again‼️) hope you all enjoy!

sunghoon as style

“when we go crashing down, we come back every time ‘cause we never go out of style”

WOOOO I def see sunghoon as the type to be in an on again off again relationship which is basically why I chose him

but it’s the whole idea of it being a low key toxic situation but you’re both so into each other that you’re stuck in this cycle of going back to each other AAAA it’s so good 😩

“you’ve got that james dean daydream look in your eye” it’s so perfect because sunghoon is hot too yk 🤩 (I would say that I’m joking but I’m not)

jay as out of the woods

“the rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming color”

okay I definitely have a theme going with him considering my last two enha posts had him as tell me why and the story of us, but I truly believe that it’s for a reason

the whole idea of your love being a chase from the public and that driving a wedge between you screams jay–that’s why I considered giving him wonderland too, but settled on this song because the vibe matches him better

heeseung as I wish you would

“you say it’s in the past and drive straight ahead; you think I’m gonna hate you now ‘cause you still don’t know what I never said”

I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss heeseung even if he stomped on my heart 🙄💗

in all seriousness, it’s mainly the idea of heeseung having no idea that you still love him and want him back that makes me think it fits him well

and like he would definitely be admitting his wrongs and thinking that you deserve better yet you want him AAAAAA “I miss you too much to be mad anymore” MHM

ni-ki as this love

“when you’re young, you just run, but you come back to what you need”

holy moly I can’t begin to explain how much this concept grew on me after sal suggested it

a relationship with ni-ki might require taking a break from each other after a few months but I think you’d find your way back together after some time apart

from that, I think you’d learn to lean on each other when one of you needed it and it’d end up being healthy and safe yay :)

jungwon as wonderland

“we found wonderland; you and I got lost in it, and life was never worse but never better”

I was having trouble coming up with an explanation for this one because it just makes sense to me but sal said “if I was trapped in wonderland with jungwon, I’d feel safe” and I was like 😧 BRO that makes so much sense

there’s a pattern in this album; a lot of the songs are about finding love when all eyes are on you and I just think that having a relationship like that with jungwon would feel like an adventure :) a scary adventure but AN ADVENTURE (shhh we’ll pretend it ends well for two seconds)

jake as you are in love

“one night he wakes, strange look on his face; pauses, then says ‘you’re my best friend’, and you knew what it was–he is in love”

jake seems like he’d fit the friends to lovers trope very well and I think that this song just encapsulates the feeling and realization of having fallen in love in a such a gorgeous way

she describes love as if it’s a tangible thing and i think it fits jake because of the pure honesty of it all

if you haven’t heard this song before go listen to it right now; you probably couldn’t convince me that this song isn’t jake’s if you tried

sunoo as new romantics

“we’re so young, but we’re on the road to ruin; we play dumb, but we know exactly what we’re doing”

I think about this song as an anthem realizing who you want to hold close to you and what really matters when it comes to the large scheme of things

and the lyrics “I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me” and “the best people in life are free” just make me think of all that he’s been through and all the hate he got–I hope that he’s happy and surrounded by people he loves 🥰

txt version ☆ speak now version ☆ masterlist

[bred-crumbs]

Hmm. Something I would like to bring up with Jade, Jake, Roxy, and Dirk, is that honestly I think their perception of gender is very much effected by their isolation. With Jake of course he has for more of an external influence than the rest of the three because of the sheer amount of movies he watches, but it's still something where only having the influence of Hollywood and not having people around him, his idea of gender is very much based in those movies. Funny enough I think one of the reasons where I think he would be okay with his chest is because of those absolutely shredded actors where they have massive pecs. To him having a chest, mixed with his muscle structure, is just like the guys in the movie he looks up to.

Then we look over to Jade and Jade is someone where her only external influence of gender is some stuff online and the paintings upon paintings of women that her grandfather kept. I think this, mixed with her autism, makes her feel very isolated from any sense of "feminity" because she isn't curvy and she doesn't have perfect hair or anything. I think Jade Harley has a disconnect from the gender binary and I think her isolation generally adds to this.

Then with Roxy and Dirk, the total destruction of society as they know it gives them the chance to have their own version of what gender is. I think that if you asked them what being a guy was and what being a girl was they would give you fundamentally "wrong" answers. They have built their identities, and ideas of identity, in reflections of shadows. When you are the only two people in the world left, your idea of social constructs are going to be different than what they were back when there were people to enforce them.

(btw of course the autism effects more than just Jade's gender, it effects all four's genders. I just felt it was incredibly noteable for Jade)

HOO OK TIME TO TRY TO ANSWER THIS ONE AGAIN

Honestly I don’t tend to primarily think of jake as a trans man but I really love this hc, and yeah he was far more affected specifically by movie media and it’s tropes than any of the alpha kids and it’s interesting how much it’s built into his character and gender. Like for me his idolization of femme fatale characters and girl characters in general is huge on why I hc him as transfemme/nonbinary, there’s just so many ways to interpret him along with the media he like

🤝 Somebody said it ty, no matter how u see jade that gender can autistic 🤝

Ok the thing with dirk and roxy is Jesus is gender perception warped, building your ideas about identity based on what little knowledge remains about a dead culture you were never apart of is rough to say the least. I love to interpret them as transmasc and transfemme respectfully bc they took what they looked up to from a era they were never part of and tried they’re best to imitate it even if it came out somewhat wonky traditionally. They’re hanging on by thread to something they can’t experience but still have to attempt to fit in with its culture, but they’re def still trying to do it their own way

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. Ok so this is more of a proper comic book but if history, but there’s a DC heroine called Power Girl who is infamous for her oversexuslized costume, with the whole emphasis being on her overly hourglass shape, especially focusing on her breasts with a literal boob window as her costume. Since her introduction many decades ago people have critiqued it as grossly misogynistic and juvenile, but DC had the good sense to ignore it … until a few years ago where they tried to actually claim her oversexualization and boob window was actually the peak of feminism and empowerment with such excuses as:

She refuses to wear a Superman symbol on her chest, because she's her own woman. So her cleavage window is actually a mark of independence

She's never been able to find a chest emblem that truly fits with her beliefs and ideals. So her cleavage window is actually a poignant symbol of her search for identity

She uses it to distract people from her face, explaining how she keeps her identity a secret without wearing a mask. So her cleavage window actually has a practical purpose

As you can guess, absolutely no one buys this and find it’s rather pathetic they can’t admit to her actual purpose. Anyway, this exact sort of reasoning is exactly what I see from Rachel and her defenders over how they excuse how Persephone is depicted as an over-sexualized teenager, and how they want to try and hide under a fake veneer of “feminism”. They try to desperately claim that her constantly  being naked without her free will, sexualized at every moment by Hades, and designed quite literally like a male sexual fantasy is somehow actually feminist and empowering, and think making up any ridiculous reason will somehow cover up the reality. No one would care this much if they were just honest they want to gawk at young, hot women, but maybe admitting your “empowering and feminist” series is actually only about how a man should basically control and consume a woman for his emotional and physical needs while she’s no more than his borderline underage sex prize with no life, goals, or relationships outside of him doesn’t exactly align with the marketing. 

2. You know why stuff like PJO, Disney, and HADES isnt as critiqued as LO? It's because they're either all stuff that's more suitable for children or a grinding video game, but none of them claim to be an accurate retelling of the mythology (arguably PJO is the most accurate beyond the demikid stuff) but LO is trying to be for older readers and claims it IS accurate to the mythology, so when it fails doing so that's when it opens itself to massive critique. It's really not hard to get why this is.

3. lo hades def looks like rachel tried to make a Tumblr Sexy Man™️ without realizing the whole point to those characters is that people latched onto them bc they're often unhinged villainous weirdos with zero game and not overly confident capitalists who lust after barely legal young woman with a forced sob story about how his dick is broken. hes the exact opposite of a tumblr sexy man. he is anti sexy. even tfreaking he onceler figured out capitalism is bad at the end.

4. This new Canvas webtoon called P**** popped up, and I dunno if it’s just me but it gives me serious Lore Olympus vibes? Celestial beings with abnormal skin and hair color, huge height and age difference between ML and FL, ML is an old guy with a weird pointy nose and ending a relationship with a beautiful yet “petty and selfish” woman, ML not shown negatively for cheating, FL insecure with (hinted at) parental and abusive relationship issues, FL lead working at ML company, ML and FL meeting accidentally when one is drunk… are these just tropes or do you think it‘s an intentional rip off?

From OP: I censored the webtoon name so if you know, you know. But yeah, me and some other antis saw this and also thought it was way too similar to LO. The creator claims it’s not inspired by LO but I don’t buy it. Especially since in one of the character sheets, her ML’s image looked like it was traced/heavily referenced from one of the LO Hades’ panels.

5. i literally do not care whats happening in this comic. i just want to know how artemis' cat and murder wolf is doing. where is cerberus, wheres that one puppy persephone got then forgot about after all of an hour. i only care abut the pets.

6. if persephone buds off a kid or they adopt baby dionysus or smth the actual issue will be persephone will care more for the kid because just going off how he treated thanatos hades literally does not give a damn about any child in his care, especially if theyre not related to him. he at best is ok with hebe but thats because shes a mini hera. maybe if the budded off kid is a mini persephone clone it'll be fine but im not holding out for that. rachel is p clear he only wants mini hades so 🤷‍♀️

7. idk how anyone is shocked rachel's fancast as almost entirely white people. only white people would bemoan theyre the real oppressed ones while they have all the money and power, abuse anyone below them, only care for the "good" people in the lower class/races, corrupt the politics and justice system in their favor only while the rest get worse punishment for less, get away with murder, and own literal slaves. like that screams white people 💀

8. I have the impression that RS doesn't have an actual plot for the story, she has an obvious ending but no plot 

9. am i reading this wrong or is it true the second lo book only covers 26 to 49, so 23 episodes down from 25? are they seriously going to milk this until its at best two episodes per book? the further it goes on the episodes only get shorter too, how exactly does that work to put LESS content in?

From OP: I don’t think it’ll get that bad. Also, not going to 50 was a good move in this case. The book will leave off on the eye thing which is a good ending point tbh (Episode 50 is a pretty big cliffhanger).

10. the stans need to get over the idea popularity =/= good. its very easy to made mediocre products makes sales/get high readership when it has a huge marketing campaign behind it. thats why when they actually out big marketing into other comics (like everything is fine and boyfriends) they also pop off in popularity. ask any random LO reader and they'll likely tell you they only found out about it via a Youtube/Instagram/TikTok ad. it's really not /that/ hard to put two and two together here.

[iooiu]

who are your top ten favorite black clover characters and relationships (platonic or romantic)? talk about them!

oooh OK I THINK I WILL buuut ten is a lot so i think im gonna put this under a cut or smth so i don’t bother anyone lol

ok SO OK black clover has such a huge cast that it’s actually unfair because every character is to die for buuuut relationship-wise:

asta & yuno: i’m so so so basic BUT I JUST?? LOVE THEM SM??? and i’m always a sucker for rivals/best friends but i think what gets me here is how healthy their relationship is?? they both acknowlegde each other and push each other to do their best without being harmful and it’s such a refreshing breather from tropes where only one person in a rivalry really cares about the relationship. i see them as the best of friends who always confide in one another and know each other better than anyone else, but recently (and it’s all lily’s fault for ranting about it) i’ve fallen in love with their ship too. which is surprising becuz i’m not really a shipper but these two.... they did it for me

the vermillion siblings: GOD THEY JUST??? I LOVE THEM SM! mereoleona is my absolute queen and the way she embodies that violent older sister who expects the best from her siblings kills me. i love how leo looks up to his siblings and the way all their personalities fit their sibling role is so so so perfect.

noelle & vanessa: love love love the sibling-vibe i get from these two! i wish they had more scenes together because their dynamic is so great. i love thinking about how vanessa pushes noelle out of her shell too!! 

nacht & asta: i don’t think i’ve ever loved a favoritism relationship as much as i love this one. THE WAY NACHT SAW ASTA AND WAS LIKE “yup ur mine now” IS SO FUNNY HE JUST UP AND ADOPTS HIM ON THE SPOT. but nacht’s soft spot for asta IS SO CUTE and honestly i reallllly hope we get to see some scenes where nacht interacts with the rest of the bulls and everyone notices the blatant favoratism.

luck & magna: do i even need to say anything? chaotic stupid friend and chaotic stupid friend combine to make one whole brainless duo. 

yami & the bulls: LISTEN. LISTEN. WHY DOES YAMI FIT INTO THE ROLE OF 28-YEAR-OLD SINGLE FATHER OF A GROUP OF MISFITS. he really just up and adopts any problem child he sees like “yeah ur funny oh ur insane ur fucking crazy i want all of you”. i looove how he’s so soft for his squad but refuses to admit it AND OMG THE LATEST CHAPTERS? WHERE THE BULLS SAY THEY LOVE YAMI AND HE SAYS IT BACK?? GOD I THINK I ACTUALLY DIED.

zora & nero: this is new and they’ve only have like one scene together BUT THEY WOULD BE THAT ONE DUO THAT JUST JUDGES EVERYONE. i love how they both hold the only braincell of the group and i think there’s a lot of potential bonding that could be done between them. tbh the latest chap is what did it for me

secre & lumeire: does this even need an explanation?

yuno & noelle: smmmmm potential involving two salty friends who become friends based on their mutual friend (asta) and team up to make fun of said mutual friend

gauche & grey: 

asta & liebe/yuno & sylph: i know this is technically 11 BUT OH MY GOD THESE TWO RELATIONSHIPS ARE SO GOOD. SO SO GOOD. being bound to life to a demon/spirit? so much potential for the perfect dynamics i CANT

honestly though like. every relationship we’ve seen is so wholesome and i love them all smsmmsmms i could def go on and on about each and every one of them buuut these are what came to mind ^0^

[feathered-serpents]

The Oasis Is Real: A Theory 

I am so sorry for how long this is going to be 

I wanna talk about this house. Upton House. The house I called a “Spooky Web House” earlier but have since changed my stance: I don’t think Upton House is Web. I don’t think it’s spooky. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Upton House at all. 

I’m serious

Upton House is a genuine oasis. A paradise in the face of horror. The apocalypses didn’t find this place and never will. In this house you can eat real food, you can sleep without nightmares, you can take long walks in a garden made of trees and flowers and fruits. This place is safe. This place is free. Jon and Martin could live here forever, they really could. They could be happy here, in this big house with some- strange roommates but hey, it’s alright. They could have a life here, they really could.

All they have to do is ignore the suffering of billions. 

Do you see what I’m getting at? 

I think it’s SIGNIFICANTLY more thematically appropriate if this place is real for two reasons: 

1. It adds to the tragedy. Jon and Martin are offered a genuine place to be together and be happy and have to leave it. Not even “have” to leave it. Choose to leave it, because they cannot stay here knowing the pain that’s outside. No matter how tempted they are (and I assume they’ll be very tempted, wouldn’t you?) 

2. It fits the anti-capitalism metaphor superbly. This place is real, yes, it’s wonderful, yes, you can be happy here, yes. But only a tiny amount of people can ever actually reach it, everyone else must suffer, and to enjoy it, you have to ignore that. THAT’S what makes this place evil. And honestly? I bet this isn’t even an accident, I bet there’s more of these places and they are there by design of the apocalypse, what is fear without hope? What is capitalism without the promise you’re working towards something better? 

BONUS: Subverts the trope of “Place that looks beautiful and idyllic in apocalyptic setting but is actually sinister and they eat people in the basement or something” 

The fact that this place is currently occupied by two canonically queer men, one of which grew up under great financial strain, and two canonical people of color, one of which is a black woman MEANS- SOMETHING. I don’t know what yet, we’re gonna have to find out as we continue, but Annabelle and Salesa know the purposes of these places and def have Plans™ for them. What are those plans? I don’t know. Not yet. But what I do know IS:

*dramatically points at poster that reads Annabelle Cane Isn’t Evil Actually*

Hear me out 

I’m not saying she’s good, no one in Magnus is “good” unless you’re Adelard or Gerry and in both cases you’re dead. Annabelle is morally ambiguous like everyone else but she isn’t evil. It just can’t be that simple. 

The Web is going to be integral to setting the world back has been a theory of mine since more or less I joined the fandom. Sparked after Peter’s “The Web doesn’t need a ritual, it likes the world as is” I think Annabelle is being 100% honest when she says she wants to help, and I’m not even sure she has an ulterior motive. At least, no motive other than “Set the world back so the Web can start fucking with people again” if that. I think Annabelle is a victim, like Jon, I think she and Jon have a lot in common in their early experience with the Web and being made Avatars more or less against their wills. Annabelle is not evil. Annabelle is genuinely here to help.

This doesn’t explain the phone call, I don’t know what’s up with the phone call. I don’t know what’s up with a lot of things but I feel like I’m on to something 

In conclusion 

1. The Upton House is a real oasis 

2. Capitalism continues to be bad 

3. Annabelle Cane isn’t as villainous as everyone thinks 

4. 

[nate-shaw]

Is that NATHANIEL SHAW? Wow, they do look a lot like JACOB ELORDI. I hear HE is a TWENTY year old JUNIOR who are studying ENGINEERING at Luxor University. Word is they are a SCHOLARSHIP student who is FOR The Unhinged. You should watch out because they can be OVER-SENSITIVE and AGGRESSIVE, but on the bright side they can also be LOYAL and PASSIONATE. Ultimately, you’ll get to see it all for yourself.

THE ESSENTIALS

Nathaniel Shaw hates rich people. Raised in a poor family, by an on-and-off single mother thanks to his absentee father, he had to work for every single cent he’s ever had. He dealt with this with bitterness and resentment, choosing to take it out by punching whoever pissed him off, getting into fights and trouble more often than not as he was growing up. With his athletic talents, it was enough to get him a scholarship to Luxor, but not enough that he’d ever get the chip off his shoulder about being the poor kid around the unbelievably wealthy. He’s over-sensitive, withdrawn, and tactless, but if you get on his good side, he may just allow you to share his weed and show that underneath that, he does have a pisces stellium, and does in fact have feelings beyond just letting them get hurt so he can start hitting people. 

CHARACTER INSPIRATIONS

ryan atwood  (the oc) - jj maybank (obx) - william magnusson (skam) - tim riggins (fnl) - jess (gilmore girls) - matt murdock (daredevil) - ryan atwood, again - no, like really. he’s just costco ryan atwood - marcus baker (ginny and georgia) - dan humphrey (ew i hate that) (og gossip girl) - nate macauley (one of us is lying) - johnny castle (dirty dancing) - the ninth doctor (doctor who) - roy kent (ted lasso) - the hound (game of thrones) - cassian (acotar series) - tyler durden (fight club)

TV TROPES 

dark and troubled past - the stoner - byronic hero - abusive parents - disappeared dad - fish out of water - scholarship student - the casanova - jerk jock - delinquents - book dumb - tall dark and snarky - sour outside sad inside - hidden depths

LUXOR UNIVERSITY 2021-2022

Major:

Engineering

Extracurriculars:

Rowing, Swimming, and Soccer Teams

CONNECTION IDEAS

connection page here

and always down to brainstorm and put nate into anything that would fit !!

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Nathaniel Shaw

NICKNAME(S): Nate, Natey (only from his younger sister, if anyone else calls him that, they’re consenting to be punched in the face)

DATE OF BIRTH: march 23rd

AGE: twenty

ZODIAC SIGN: aries sun, pisces moon, aries rising, pisces mercury, pisces venus (in retrograde), aries mars. have fun!

OCCUPATION: ????????????? part time pool boy, idk beyond that

HOMETOWN: sag harbor, ny/melbourne, australia

NATIONALITY: american and australian dual citizen

ETHNICITY: a white man?! no!.gif

LANGUAGE(S): english

GENDER & PRONOUNS: he/him

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: straight, to make it worse

RELIGION: definitely an atheist

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: i don’t think he has political opinions other than eat the rich

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

FACE CLAIM: Jacob Elordi

HEIGHT: 6′5″ 😏

EYE COLOUR: brown

HAIR COLOUR + STYLE: dark brown, worn long-ish like this or maybe occasionally.....like this (yes, the mullet, sorry)

ACCENT + INTENSITY: Australian - it comes and goes with how strong it is. He lived in Melbourne from age 4-14, so it’s definitely there, but it also is faded at this point, especially on certain words, though it can definitely come out stronger as well

TATTOO(S): here

SCAR(S): probably a lot

PIERCING(S): one in each ear lobe - wears a plain gold hoop in them

GLASSES: yes, a la this photo, but he doesn’t wear them 99% of the time. is this man just wandering around blind? very possibly

CLOTHING STYLE: honestly i imagine a lot like Jacob Elordi’s more lowkey style which is cool - something like this, this, this, this, or this. bonus felix fit for inspo too. def including the rings too 🥲

PERSONALITY

MBTI TYPE: INFJ

POSITIVE TRAITS: passionate, loyal, independent, honest, brave 

NEGATIVE TRAITS: all of them. over-sensitive, short-tempered, aggressive, pessimistic, cynical, crass, withdrawn, resentful, impatient, reckless, (overly) competitive, attention seeking, tactless, brash, intense, aloof

GOALS/DESIRES: literally nate barely even wants to be alive, so no, he doesn’t have any goals

FEARS: turning into his father

HOBBIES: ....smoking weed, contemplating the misery of his existence, punching people in the face, fucking bitches and getting money (except the money part because he’s poor), playing the guitar/lowkey fucking around with music production

HABITS: his habits include smoking a joint daily, punching marcello whenever he sees him......there’s probs more but that’s what i got tbh

SMOKES? weed, constantly.

DRINKS? yes

DRUGS? nope. for now. 😏

Most of Nate’s personality is negative. Even what could be a positive trait (such as competitiveness, honesty, sensitivity, intensity....) he tends to turn it up to 1000 until it’s damaging. But honestly, most of it just negative to start with. He’s very withdrawn and broody, spends most of his time and interactions just glowering at people, and yet has an extremely short fuse, so will go from no reaction to swinging in the blink of an eye. he basically throws tantrums like a toddler, albeit a very large, 6′5″ toddler who actually knows how to fight. 

However, he is extremely loyal if he decides someone is worth it - spoiler alert, most people aren’t - he will be there for them in the best way Nate knows how. Still tactless, but like, he tries his best. Basically his way of showing emotional support is being like so, uh, you wanna smoke a joint? Because at the end of the day, Nate is not very smart. Emotionally, or in a book smart sense. Why he’s doing engineering, I have no idea - someone probably told him too and he just said sure it’s not like I have any hopes or dreams of my own. He can come off a bit of himbo, just with his attempts to be charming and flirt with women (when he wants to). Plus he’s hot. And he knows it. And isn’t afraid to use it. 

When it comes to women (ladies, please run), Nate likes to be pursued. He hates having to make the first move - probably due to of feeling like he isn’t worth it, more on that below - and he will flirt, charm, seduce, but when it actually comes down to it, he wants the other person to make that final leap. Some sort of validation or something. He likes when girls pay attention to him, and tries to coax it out of them. However, he also has a lot of resentment towards his mother for chasing after his father and bending over backwards to try to make things work, so he also loses interest as soon as a girl is too interested. And when he loses interest, he won’t say anything, he’ll just ghost or cheat. The only kind of confrontation Natey boi is good at is one that involves his fists. 

Nate’s very dry, prone to swearing (he did grow up in Australia), and his sense of humor is very deadpan. If you actually talk to him, you realize there’s a lot of sarcasm in his cynicism, put the issue is that he’s extremely withdrawn from most people, and honestly doesn’t even see the point in having conversations with them. He also uses this to hide a lot of his fundamental insecurities - he genuinely feels like he’s not going to amount to much, mostly because he’s been made to feel that way. He acts brash and confident, but he really does struggle with feeling like he’s worth anything. It’s part of why he gets so over-competitive, because he wants to prove he’s good at something. 

FAMILY

FAMILY INFO HERE

SOCIAL CLASS: lower class

FATHER: Luke Shaw (Frank Grillo)

MOTHER: Ella Shaw, née Finnegan (January Jones)

SIBLING(S)? 3 - older brother; Liam Shaw (Nick Robinson), older sister; Melanie Shaw (Virginia Gardner), and a younger sister; Finnegan Shaw (Olivia Dejonge). Plus one surprise half-sister; Navy James (Kendall Jenner)

CHILDREN? do not let this man reproduce no matter what you do

BIOGRAPHY

Nathaniel Shaw is the 3rd of four children to a very unhappy couple. Ella was twenty, and Luke, her very new Australian boyfriend - a deadbeat musician who wasted any money he got on drugs and alcohol - was twenty-seven, when they got pregnant the first time, and spent the next five years popping out four children. Ella was from Sag Harbor (aka the Hamptons), and she planned on raising her children there, but when Nate was three years old (Finnegan, the youngest, was two), Luke decided to go back to Australia, not giving many fucks if Ella and his children came with them. Ella, having felt like the last seven years of her life would be a waste if she let him walk away, despite their tumultuous, on and off again relationship, picked up the four kids, moved them to Melbourne with their father, and married him. Even married, they broke up a lot, Luke going off and disappearing for months at a time. Ella was inattentive, cold, and distant to her children, even though it never managed to extend to their asshole of a father. All of her emotional output was in that relationship, and her four Shaw siblings ended up holding themselves together to raise each other. 

When Nate was thirteen, after ten years in Australian, Ella decided she had enough, moved back to Sag Harbor, and immediately began the process to divorce Luke. The sibling’s were all shocked, a move around the world confusing enough when you’re a toddler, but nearly impossible for teenagers. Especially for lower class teenagers moving into a place like Sag Harbor, where people - the people who actually lived there - were comparable to them, but there were mansions worth millions of dollars, celebrities, and whole shit ton of wealth that came there to vacation. Nate took the move the hardest, and he started getting into a lot of fights while refusing to adjust. Nate and Liam had always had a rough relationship, and brawled as siblings do, though they tended to get more violent - egged on by their father, who could contribute little, but could contribute how to throw a punch. 

After a few months, one of his fights ended up constituting as assault. It was bad enough, and the other kid had no chance to get any fighting back, so Nate ended up in juvie. He had no idea what he was going to do - he knew his mother couldn’t afford to pay for a lawyer, and he pretty much resigned himself to staying in there for however long he got sentenced for. Luckily, the charges were dropped, which would make you think would scare him straight - perhaps get him to stop fighting, but no such luck. Instead, all through high school, Nate had a bit of a reputation. He was a stellar athlete, particularly in swimming, but even more than that, he was spectacular at kicking someone’s ass. 

Unfortunately for Nate, he ended up rubbing shoulders with a lot of rich, trust fund brats. When they were in the Hamptons for the summer, or sneaking out there during various other vacations to party with no supervision, Nate (and often his siblings) would be invited along. And for the first couple years of high school, he was fine with it. But as he got older, as he got more aware of the opportunities they would always be presented that he would never even get a chance to sniff at, he grew resentful, he grew bitter, and he grew to hate them. Enough so that even though he had been dating one of them - Parker, a senator’s daughter - for over a year, he had no qualms about ghosting all of them at the beginning of his senior year, bitterness coating his every thought and opinion towards the rich kids he had previously tolerated. His partying may have gotten more under control - slightly, just due to the lack of access - his fighting got worse. There were multiple times where he was almost caught, almost in serious trouble, but everyone managed to cut him a break. They felt for the Shaw kids, especially Nate, with his talent and yet no parent to support him. So his teachers and even a cop or two, cut the kid a break, knowing that so long as he got through this last year of high school with his nose relatively clean, he’d be able to get out of town with a scholarship.

And he did end up getting a scholarship. He got a full ride to Luxor for his athletic talents, and even though it wasn’t the type of place he wanted to be, knowing the crowd of students would be much like the ones he grew up seeing descend on the Hamptons every summer, he went anyways. He had no other choice - it’s not like he could pay for college on his own. 

SOME FUN FACTS

yes, nate has felix’s jacob’s real australian accent

worked as a pool boy and mowed lawns and shit during the summer once he moved back to the Hamptons as a teen to make some extra cash, so rubbed shoulders with a lot of rich kids, which just made him more bitter about all of it

he did in fact sleep with several milf housewives while he was doing above jobs

he is basically ryan atwood and i regret nothing

 he came to luxor as a freshman in college, but he’s ~not very smart~ so he’s in classes with sophomores even though he is a junior. he may or may not have failed a class or two.

plays the guitar and piano and likes to fuck around with music production in his free time - his father is a musician so his lack of acknowledging this/sharing this/actually allowing himself to enjoy it is due to his ~daddy issues~