#i just don't want the enjoyers of the ship to feel bad after reading this post

[ringsreforged]

Natalie's *deep* Haladriel thoughts - BEWARE

Pau - When you read this later, let me know if you want me to move it to my personal account, yeah? If it even still exists...

I’m not really sure what this post is going to end up being. A defence of the show and the separation? In part! A critique of the show based off leak spoilers and my own gut feeling? For sure! A desperate ramble in an attempt to get my head in order? Absolutely!

I will say before we dive in that I’m absolutely a Haladriel shipper, but the way I ship isn’t always in line with fandom. I ship what I see as part of the narrative because it’s the narrative, and everything else is a bonus. I make this distinction because I think this is why I’m so okay with a lack of scenes when some others are not, and I don’t want to come across preachy. I don't think I'm in any way superior for this by the way. In fact, I wish I could be more *normal*!!!!

If you came to this show for Haladriel alone, and simply want to see them share scenes week to week – that’s your prerogative. I’m not trying to say you shouldn’t feel that way. What I might try to say is that I don’t think that makes the shows bad or suggests that the writers have baited with this relationship. I think that’s ultimately what I find frustrating…

But anyway, let’s get into whatever this is. A reflection on expectations, a five-season arc, and those STUPID spoiler leaks…

AND THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. STAY AWAY. HISS.

Alright, so this post is mostly brought to you by a sinking feeling I have that the leak spoilers are real. Because everything in that episode 7 promo matches up.

STOP READING if you don’t want to know the spoilers. And honestly? STOP READING IF YOU THINK YOU WANT TO KNOW because living with this knowledge has truly made this season less enjoyable for me (credit to it, then, because I still think it’s incredible). IF I’M MAKING YOU PANIC, STILL STOP READING because there very much is a world where these spoilers aren’t that bad in context…but I prefer to keep my expectations low…

Have you gone???

HAVE YOU GONE?????

SPOILER TALK

Okay.

So, the leak spoilers say that there is no kiss between Sauron and Galadriel (which, honestly, I have no great issue with – more to come on that later). Instead, the kiss is ELROND AND GALADRIEL, and I absolutely do take issue with this.

I can only hope and PRAY that it works in context, but I can’t get my head around it. And yet, the promo…it’s all falling into place. Elrond will be sent to discuss terms with the orcs before the battle. He’ll see Galadriel in chains, and he’ll ask for a moment to say goodbye. Adar will allow it because he’s a gent like that. This is where we get the chin touch with the thumb everyone speculated over and then…HE LEANS IN AND KISSES HER TO PUT A NEEDLE IN HER MOUTH? SO SHE CAN RELEASE HERSELF LATER??

To clarify, most of this is my spec, but THE KISS TO PASS HER A NEEDLE IS A REAL LEAKED SPOILER THAT NO LONGER SEEMS FAKE.

It's just…so convoluted and weird??? Does he store needles in his mouth like a squirrel? Why couldn’t he have slipped the needle into her hand??? WHY ARE YOU PUTTING ELROND’S LIPS ON GALADRIEL’S?

And look, maybe this spoiler IS still fake! But the details were so specific, and everything about the context seems to be accurate, so that feels like it would be a bonkers coincidence to me. Maybe when we actually see it play out, it will be fine.

But that does bring me back to the Haladriel of it all, just briefly. With my whole heart, I do not need them to kiss. After season 1, I didn’t think it would be possible, and I’m okay with that. But if you’re willing to let ELROND’S lips touch her, then MY GOD, you could have let Haladriel have ONE kiss where she’s trying to distract him or some shit. OOF.

My only relief is that it happens next week, so we can hopefully get it out of our systems and enjoy the finale.

That said, if these leaks are true then that also means the finale leaks are true. Now, I actually never wanted to see any of these spoilers (hence me making it VERY CLEAR what this post is about, because I wouldn’t inflict this stress on anyone unwillingly), so once I got the Elrond kiss details, I tried to get away without seeing much else. But there was some information on the big Haladriel scene.

I’m actually not going to detail it here, because – overall – I think we’ll still super enjoy it (just…lower those kiss expectations) AND because I don’t think all of it was spoiled. At the end of the day, there will be plenty to unpack, they’ll be back on our screens, it will be meaty, it will be layered. I’m really looking forward to it, in general.

My one fear is that it’s a season 1 finale repeat. And again, that won’t necessarily be bad per se, but it will feel a little bit underwhelming. Now, I’m not somebody that wants a true corruption arc for Galadriel. Normally, I love that shit, but not in this IP and not with this character. I want to see her explore her darkness, I want to see her face it and accept it, and I certainly want to see her be tempted…but I don’t expect or believe we'll ever actually get the whole ‘dark queen of Mordor’ vibe. Prisoner? Maybe. But not an actual dark queen.

That said…surely this scene doesn’t play out the EXACT same way as season 1? Sauron shows her a vision, she’s tempted, but ultimately resists and tells him she’ll never be at his side. I just don’t get why we’d repeat that, when there are so many other options that still keep Gal on the side of light.

I keep coming back to Galadriel’s line to Elrond in episode 4 – when it comes down to it, he has to choose to defeat Sauron and sacrifice her. I feel like if I hadn’t seen the leaks, then I would be 1000% expecting this to be the outcome. Especially with how Elrond’s theme comes in at the end of The Last Temptation track. He comes upon the confrontation but chooses to do the thing that will harm Sauron in the long run, rather than the thing that will save Galadriel.

I hope so badly for this, but I do worry that it will go the other way. What if it parallels Gandalfanger’s destiny/friend choice, and Elrond chooses her because THAT is how light wins or some shit? Not that this will be a bad scene by any stretch – I love their relationship and want to see their FRIENDSHIP (grrrr) reforged…but, again, the S1 finale! Sauron left her in the water, and Elrond was there to save her.

There’s also Galadriel’s conversation with Adar in the most recent episode – you succumbed, I resisted – but I guess this could go either way? He succumbed, so she resists. She insists she’s able to resist, so she succumbs. URGH. MY HEAD.

There MUST be a difference. SURELY??? Like, this season has been so well written…I just can’t comprehend the copy and paste.

Again, this isn’t anything close to a deal breaker for me. I firmly believe the showrunners when they say this relationship will remain the core of the show, but…hmmm. Okay, on that note…

DAMAGE CONTROL – MOVING ONTO THE DEFENCE OF THE SHOW

So, this is where I want to get into some stuff that I just…don’t agree with that I’ve seen being thrown at the show by shippers. And I’ll reiterate here that I’m truly not telling anybody what to feel. You can hate the show for its choices and feel how you feel. You can express yourself in your social media spaces, and if anybody doesn’t like it they can mute/block/unfollow. This chunk isn’t really aimed at you guys.

This is more for other people like me, because I’m cursed to be somebody that generally wants to just…enjoy things for what they are, while also being susceptible to the mood of others. I want to scroll tags and have a good time, rather than see negativity because it lowers my mood (this isn’t just ship related by the way, I really love this show overall…it’s just this tag that has been impacting my mood most this season). Regardless of the nonsense that might be in episode 7, and even if the finale scene is a repeat of S1, I’m still going to want to focus on enjoying what we get, enjoying the narrative being told etc. So, for those of you that have a little sinking feeling in your gut after the first half of this post, hopefully this second half will help.

This isn’t a ‘typical’ ship. This is a true ENEMIES ARE ENEMIES dynamic where the bad boy is ultimately going to be (is already) pure evil, and where our heroine is the embodiment of light. There are certain things that we just have to accept when it comes to loving this dynamic as part of the show – there will never be another season like season 1. Nor should there be?

Do I wish for s3 to have them in close proximity for at least a few episodes? Of course! Do I think it’s possible with or without finale spoilers? Absolutely (given how quickly characters travel from place to place on this show, they could end the season at opposite ends of Middle Earth and this would still be on the cards…). I’m also anticipating Season 4 as a good time for them to be in full MIND PALACE mode – where the rings are all ringing, but Galadriel hasn’t yet worked out how to shut him out yet. By season 5, there might just be one final scene before the final battle. But, again, I really do think there needs to be a little bit of acceptance of that. Or, at least, expectation of it.

Something I really want to push back against is this idea that Haladriel was baited or teased, but the writers don’t actually care for it. Honestly, that’s nonsense to me on a couple of levels.

First of all, almost EVERY dynamic this season has been reduced to a handful of scenes here and there. The most consistent relationships have probably been Annatar and Celebrimbor, and Durin+Durin+Disa (off the top of my head). Elrond and Durin (probably the other most popular dynamic of S1) have been apart all season, Elrond and Galadriel have too. Isildur popped up to say hello and we might not see him again.

When you actually stop and look at this season…Sauron and Galadriel had to be separated. She could not be anywhere near him while he’s working Celebrimbor, and there’s no world in which they were ever going to change that narrative. And yet, the Sauron and Galadriel dynamic has been consistent across the season. With Galadriel predominantly (and depending on how the finale goes, I may have thoughts on this), but it has also been easier with her because people have talked with her openly about Sauron. It’s been harder on his side, but the fact that Mirdania seems to have been cast to look like Galadriel honestly – right now – feels like it was done with the express purpose of giving Sauron a Galadriel reference.

Again, I’m not saying you have to like the lack of scenes, but it’s not bad writing to respect the overarching narrative of an ensemble show. Galadriel’s season has been all about him, and we’ve had countless insights to make that clear – building up to their final confrontation. If Sauron was running around mentioning Galadriel every five seconds with Celebrimbor or with the dwarves, it would be horrendously out of character.

This next comment is…somewhat dependent on the finale…but as somebody that loves Elendil and Miriel, everything in Numenor has been somewhat crammed in. I would firmly argue that the Galadriel/Sauron dynamic across this season has been treated with care and reverence, all building to a climax designed as the high point of the season. Will we be 100% satisfied? Who can say! But it IS what the season is building to.

I think this brings me around to a particular gripe I have, and maybe the people that believe this came to the show after S1 had fully aired or something…but there’s this idea floating around that the showrunners don’t like this dynamic and are just giving it crumbs to bait people into watching. This makes me want to scream.

These showrunners literally took a few lines about Galadriel being tempted by Sauron and PITCHED THE ENTIRE SHOW OFF OF THAT. The Tolkien estate wasn’t only pitched by Amazon BUT CHOSE THIS PITCH OVER ANYTHING ELSE. Season 1 was written pretty much like a prologue centred around GALADRIEL AND SAURON HAVING A PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH ROMANTIC UNDERTONES…and guess what?

They wrote all that…they filmed ALL THAT…before knowing anything about the audience reaction! That was ALL the showrunners, the writers, the directors, the actors. They ARE the narrative. They are not bait.

Does that mean the fundamentals of their dynamic will always please you, individually? No, of course not. Some people want outright romance, some people want soft Sauron, some people want Dark Galadriel. Will they kiss? I doubt it. Do I wish they would? Sure! Will they be separated again next season? Probably! Will I also wish that they could at least be stuck together for a run of episodes again? Absolutely!

But the idea that any of this is bait, or unimportant to the show drives me a little bit bonkers.

I guess my personal feeling of frustration comes from the fact that I feel so lucky they are exploring this show from the perspective of this dynamic, regardless of specific details/scenes. I’d bet my house (I don’t own a house) that every other pitch hinged on Elendil or Isildur as the protagonists of the show. Now, I love those dudes, but just IMAGINE? The fact that we’re on this path at all is still WILD to me.

ANYWAY, this is what happens when Paulina goes on holiday and I have nobody to ramble too. Sorry for the explosion, but I’ve been dreading the stupid kiss spoiler since I stumbled on it after EPISODE BLOODY 3 and so I needed to vent somewhere.

TL;DR: You are welcome to feel the way you feel, and if you hate everything you go right ahead, but maybe this makes sense to somebody. IDK. IDK.

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

Thoughts on Dalv x Starlo

Corn yaoi isn't really my thing. Part of it is because they've only interacted once, but we can speculate about their future interactions, so it all depends on how the person sees their dynamic.

It's not the differences in personality that are a problem either (it can go either way, again, it's all subjective).

The issue I see are: 1) different climates and locations, and 2) completely different lifestyles.

Dalv would have to move to Wild East, but I don't think he'd be able to adjust to the Ff's goofy antics. WE is a tourist destination and idk, honestly I don't think the vampire man would fit well there. He needs his children's books and his solitude (even tho he's becoming more social). The high temperatures would also be a problem

If Star went to live with him in Snowdin, even bigger problem. He couldn't abandon Ceroba, the group, or his role as an entertainer (his biggest dream), or even his family, which lives nearby. Also, the low temperatures aren't for him. Poor guy would freeze; he's cut out for deserts

El Bailador on the other hand lives in the Dunes + is deeply passionate about something just like Star is so there would be no "You're acting too crazy please calm down" + I feel like Bail would be completely supportive and understanding and open with his emotions (unlike Ceroba who doesn't understand the amount of dedication Star has). I'm not crazy for the Dancing Stars ship, but to me it makes sense in every way.

I'm not sure what it would be like with Dalv since there's been only 1 interaction, but if they can work out their differences personality-wise and if their love languages match, I see the potential 100%. It's the more "practical" side of the relationship that makes me doubt it would work out, though. Only if it's long distance, imo. Who knows, maybe they'd both be ok with that. This is a hc for Star, but I think long distance isn't his thing. Dalv would be fine with it.

Corn yaoi is a mixed bag to me (adorable art though)

[celaenaeiln]

is the dickbabs romantic relationship always as bad as in Tom Taylor’s run or is it actually enjoyable in other runs? i want to read more of dick’s og nightwing run but ik dickbabs is a recurring thing and i strongly dislike what i’ve seen of it in modern comics (absolutely no offense to anyone who ships it!!)

also sort of related, but have dick and babs really been BFFs since grade school or is that new canon? i remember the initial new 52 run referencing him and babs as on and off but nothing about being childhood besties.

finally- what would you consider to be key dick grayson runs?

Surprisingly Dickbabs is pretty nice to read in other runs. I know this sounds weird coming from someone who hates Dickbabs as a ship but really it's only bad like 85% of the time and the majority of that is because of the Batgirl comics. Batgirl comics treat Dick like shit and it's a losing tossup whether he's treated well in Oracle related comics.

But to get to your point, Dickbabs in Nightwing (1996) was originally pretty good. Tom Taylor's run of Nightwing is the weird one because in every other run you have Dick + relationships whereas in Taylor's you have relationships + Dick. That being said, I highly, highly recommend reading the og one. At one point it does get toxic but Barbara leaves almost immediately after that and aside from that the ship was pretty nice for the most part.

Dick and Barbara have NOT been BFFS since childhood or whatever and this gets on my nerves that Tom Taylor and Hope Larson did that. This is one of the problems I have with the Dickbabs ship. Writers who write them love changing the story to erase Dick's friendships with the Titans. They literally love to pretend Wally, Donna, Roy, and Garth don't exist. BARBARA IS NOT HIS CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND!! They literally keep deaging her and for what?? First she was like two decades older than him, then she's five years older than him, and now she's the same age?? Just let her be older! Barbara being the same age as Dick makes no sense because it takes away her maturity to turn her into this childish, selfish character she has no business being. She's not even enjoyable when she's deaged this far. I'm still on the she's 5 to 6 years older than Dick canon timeline and there is no way she was childhood besties with him.

The way I picture Dick and Barbara's relationship is this:

DC should've just let it at this, this was peak Dick and Barbara relationship.

Very narrow starting out list but some must read Dick Grayson runs are:

Nightwing (1996) - If you don't feel like reading anything else just read this

Nightwing (2016) - Really good up until Tom Taylor's run

Batman: Gotham Knights - pretty good and lots of cute Tim and Dick!

Titans (1999) - This is a must read if you're not interested in the original Teen Titans comics

Outsiders (2003) - Love him so much in this

JLA/Titans - Important for understanding his relationships with Titans and Batman

Nightwing (2011)

Justice League (2011) Issue #25 and Forever Evil - Same arc

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding: Nightwing vs. Hush

Robin era

Batman - One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze - If you want to skip the medal ages but still want to know what Dick was like as Robin, this comic is all you need to understand his character and personality and beliefs.

Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet - Dick's gauntlet test!

Robin: Year One - For fun :)

Dick!Bats era

Batman: Battle for the Cowl - To get into Dick's batman

Batman (1940) Issues #682 to #713 - Batman Dick. Incredible. Dick was such a good batman and so fun to read.

Batman and Robin (2009) - Dick and Dami!

Batman: Streets of Gotham - Also Dick and Dami <3

Justice League of America (2006) Issues #41 to #60- Dick leading his own JLA team as Batman! SO FUN!!

Detective Comics (1937) Issue #864 to #881 - Honestly Batman Dick was so good I can't tell if I like Dick more as Nightwing or Batman. Obviously it's better for his mental health if he's nightwing but he just did such a great job as Batman.

Spy era

Grayson - YESSSS. Just everything about this.

Batman and Robin Eternal - It was really good up until near the end but then it got better again

Dark Crisis - Definitely, without a doubt, no question

Additional: The ones above are focused on him but if you finish reading this then Tim's Robin (1993) Comic is a fantastic one. He doesn't appear in every single issue but he appears a lot and it's a lot of Dick and Tim characterization. Also Teen Titans (2003) for more Dick and Titans relationships.

[mays-simping-for-leona]

leona and ruggie homies

ok i wanted to talk about this so bad like really wanted, so let's get in the topic quickly

it is not about how i don't like making twst characters bi or gay but it's more like even if i was part of the lgbtq community i really just can't see leona and ruggie as a couple

first of all, guys..LEONA IS LITERALLY 20 AND RUGGIE 17, you know what im saying? shipping an adult with a minor even in straight ships is just doesn't feel right, 20 and 17 is not even close in mentality there's a lot of difference between them

second of all, i can't stop seeing leona and ruggie like the two brothers who fight all the time but in reality they are ready to die for each other, i can see ruggie being one of the few people who are close to leona and can mess with him and talk shit to him without leona questioning it, he will just give ruggie his angry cat face and don't do anything more

since leona is a royalty so it's obviously if he wanted to get married he should marry a woman for the sake of children, and i read a headcanon about ruggie actually caring about leona and wanting him to have a better life but he just thinks leona doesn't care about him, when leona actually made him his right hand even after graduation and made ruggie protect his wife and cubs, ruggie just realized at this moment that leona see him as important person because leona let ruggie be the first to hold his new born instead of farena

leona is obviously the type who won't say it out loud, he won't tell you how much he sees you important and always guard himself, trying not to show soft side of him and he just feels awkward telling ruggie how he appreciate his presence

i can see ruggie actually teasing leona about his marriage, or making fun of him for loving his kids and not loving other kids

leona will just sit and hear ruggie yap about his life and concerns because he cares, leona will allow ruggie to steal his wallet and jewelry because he doesn't mind helping ruggie financially but he just feels weird giving him money directly, his pride won't allow him to do this

not every cute and good relationship should be sexual and turn to be love, especially leona and ruggie i didn't care about any gay ship of twst characters except this one (and also jamil and kalim it doesn't work for me) i just realized how most of the people tend to make everything about dating and love (not judging just saying my opinion) and i think im the only one how likes when the characters have different kinds of relationships, things get really enjoyable and more funny when two characters have a brotherly relationship

i literally cant stop laughing when i imagine ruggie smiling intently at leona as he sees leona's wife have a bite mark or hickies, when leona kids calling him uncle ruggie and the three of leona, his wife and ruggie be a crazy funny trio, doing shit together and ruggie considered the family friend

leona as he grow up and have a better life with his small family, he will be more open with ruggie about how he sees him as his pookie, leona will actually be more friendly with ruggie as the years pass and he will help him and try to give more salary

leona will consider ruggie his only friend and actually sit with him at the middle of night, talking about his secrets and feelings, ruggie will do the same and hang out with leona, they will be gossiping about other people, bullying them, them putting their arms around eachother's shoulder and walking around and laughing after they made a truble or causee chaos in the royal palace, leona will take ruggie with him in the car and speed up to make ruggie scared and scream, mocking him, and later ruggie will so some shitty prank with the help of leona's wife to take revenge

imagine them just being friends like, actual friends and besties, nothing sexual and they care for each other and leona prefering ruggie more than all the other people, letting him playing with his kids and going out with them, helping ruggie to have a better life and seeing him as his actual brother

leona will smirk at ruggie when he finds out that ruggie is in love with a girl, he will be a pain in the ass for ruggie because he wont talk about anything other than love and marriage and his wife, teasing ruggie for all the annoyance he made leona feel for years

they will both have their cute little families, their wives will be friends and kids playing together

STOP IT IS JUST SO CUTE PLEASE I WANNA THEM TO BE FRIENDS SO BAD

[tevanbuckley]

Hey, there’s something I’ve been wondering for a while now. Why is it so important for (some of the) the bddie enthusiasts to show that their ship is secretly already canon?

I got into the show this year, after it got a lot of attention here on Tumblr, so I arguably joined the fandom at a strange time and might be missing some context/history. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen fans of a show (a good one or a bad one) have such a difficult relationship with the canonical before.

In my experience fandom and fan works have always been about supplementing the show (or book or whatever) itself. Whether that is rewriting parts of the story in ways that feel more satisfying to you, or speculating about how characters would act in a situation or relationship that we haven’t seen yet, or filling in the blanks in creative ways. (Or seeing two good-looking actors and thinking it would be hot to see their characters get it on, that’s fair too.) The show and the canonical events of the show are a starting point, but surely from there on out anything goes?

For a ship especially, I don’t think it needs to be canon to be compelling. I don’t think bddie needs to be justified through advanced exegesis to be enjoyable or valid.

So why does it seem weirdly personal to people? I understand really wanting the show to go in a direction that you find compelling, especially if it’s a ship you’ve been engaged in for a while and where you’ve read so many ways in which it could happen and how it would be like. But there’s a difference between hoping for something with all your heart, and divining it as an absolute prothetic truth read in the entrails of the show…

Why are some 911 fans struggling so much with this?

Something you need to understand about bddie stans is that a lot of them don't see it as "just" a fanon ship, and haven't for a really long time. I remember during earlier seasons i'd see posts defending the show from queerbait accusations essentially because "bddie isn't like all those other ships, they're actually gonna do it! we just have to be patient." And if that's your pov I can see why bi!buck would feel like the smoking gun that proves you were right all along.

Except that's obviously not what happened, by the end of s7 there was absolutely no indication bddie canon was on the cards, and the clearer that became the more they had to twist the evidence to match their theories. So you end up in this ridiculous paradox where the only way to satisfy their craving for the "status" of canon is to wilfully disregard what's actually happening on screen.

And ftr I don't think there's any one true/correct interpretation of canon, but "omg, buck and eddie experienced emotions in front of each other! bddie canon guys!" is not exactly compelling analysis imo.

Why've they become so fixated on canon? I think part of it is in the grand scheme of fanon slash ships, this feels like the closest anyone's gotten to "winning", and to a certain degree i get that desire. But at the end of the day, that's not really on tim minear. It's frankly insane to lay the task of making up for every shitty piece of queerbait at the feet of the guy who already took a massive swing by making one of his main characters bi seven seasons in.

[shinyzango]

So, about that "A Steampunk Carol" graphic novel...

I totally did not forget to make the post about it like I promised I am so sorry.

For those who are not familiar with it, long story short a while ago I came across a Kickstarter project for what seemed to be a steampunk adaptation of the Nutcracker story and was bummed that I missed out on it and wasn't able to support and secure a copy for myself, but a fella made me aware that it did actually get published in Italy a few years ago, and that it was sold on Amazon. And after discovering that there was literally only one copy left, I bought it on a whim to both read it and to hopefully attract more attention to it for reasons I'll discuss in just a bit.

I'm just going to say that I'm very back at writing reviews so apologies if this doesn't say anything at the end or if you didn't get the answers to your questions dkfjgn

Alright, now for the book itself.

First things first, the story. I won't go into details right now as I do not want to spoil folks in case this does get released in english to a wider public, but I can add a Spoilers section in the future where I explain in detail what happens if I get asked about it.

The story, like I said, is an adaptation of the Nutcracker And The Mouse King, but it is quite different in many elements, and spices things up quite a bit, especially after the introduction.

Sadly it feels quite rushed in its execution imo, I assume it's because they had to fit everything in a single volume. Which is a shame because there are many concepts and ideas that are very fascinating and interesting, both for the plot and for the characters themselves.

Speaking of the characters, they are quite unique and interesting.

The main kid, Caitlin, who is the Clara/Marie of the story, can be a little sassy, but she still feels grounded and has a good balance between putting down her foot and being nervous about the situation. I don't mind her character.

The Nutcracker, who is only called Schiaccia (just a shortened "Schiaccianoci" which is nutcracker in italian. I assume he's called Cracker in english if they kept that logic), feels solid. He's a loyal soldier, skilled but does show hints of insecurities. A good lad.

The mice are great as well, I'm really intrigued by the lore they cooked up for them, and the Mouse King is actually not bad, and I like what they did with his character.

There's also another supporting character, a tin soldier who goes by Sergeant Idle. He is basically a companion to the Nutcracker. He is basically a plot tool, helping with the backstory and moving the story forward, but not in a bad way. He's very enjoyable.

I would have loved to see them all explored further, but like I said it all feels rushed probably because it had to stick all in a single volume. I don't know if the authors ever considered this to become a series or if it's just a one-shot story, but I would honestly love to see this evolve into a series, if only because I love the characters and I would love to know more about the lore they cooked up for it more in detail, letting all the elements have the time to shine.

Moving on to the graphic...

I love Lorenza's art style. It looks very sketchy, with a clean roughness to it if that makes sense. And I really like all the designs of the characters.

(Apologies for the glares, I tried my hardest to limit them as much as possible. also ngl I'm giggling a little seeing how Schiaccia looks similar to my Hans skdfkjhn)

All in all, I really like this adaptation. It's unique and enjoyable, if only a little rushed.

Like I mentioned before, this was Kickstarted a while ago to get properly published in english. It was successfully funded and as far as I know, they're currently in the process of printing copies if not even shipping them for the backers. I still don't know if the folks at Last Ember Press are planning in making it available to purchase outsite the Kickstart, but I really hope so because I do think this deserves to be available to everyone.

[rising-volteccers]

So this is just a self indulgent piece exploring a silly idea I had, where Friede latches on to the closest warm object when he's out of it. Thanks to @gem-in-the-horizon for giving me the idea to write up a sort of 5+1 piece and for inspiration on some of the scenes written here! I decided to fully embrace the self indulgence by framing some parts from the perspective of polycule Volt Tacklers (a ship between Friede, Orla, Mollie and Murdock) + a bit of Friede being a dad towards Roy haha!

Oh and Amethio gets to suffer a little too. Anyway, hopefully it's an enjoyable read! Spoilers for HZ033-HZ034.

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Friede, Ludlow, Orla, Mollie, Murdock, Roy and Amethio

---

Ludlow was no stranger to how unpredictable the seas could be. Seeing a smattering of gray clouds in the distance, he knew it was time to leave. While it was a shame to cut their fishing trip short, Ludlow preferred to be on land when the storm inevitably hits.

“Huh? We're heading back already, Gramps?” Friede questioned once he stored away his fishing rod.

“Mmhmm. The weather's changing. No sailor wants to be out on stormy seas if they could help it,” Ludlow explained, shuffling his way past Friede towards the helm.

“It's going to storm? Doesn't look like it.”

“Hohoho. You best not underestimate nature.” Ludlow’s hands were on the wheel. He lifted his head, peering at the clouds slowly encroaching. After a beat of silence, he opted to release his trusty Quagsire.

“We might need your help soon, my friend,” Ludlow spoke to his Quagsire. The amphibious Pokemon waddled past Friede who joined Ludlow by the helm. 

“Is it really going to get that bad?” Ludlow caught the undercurrent of worry in his voice. He turned to look over his shoulder, his thick mustache lifting alongside the smile he flashed towards Friede.

“Don't worry. I'll make sure we get back to shore safely.”

True to Ludlow's claim earlier, they were met with rough, choppy waves once the storm fully rolled in. He masterfully steered the Asagi–with Quagsire’s aid in guiding through larger waves–back to Porto Marinada. 

Once he docked the Asagi by the main port, only then did Ludlow release his hands from the steering wheel. Shoulders slumped alongside his soft sigh, it took several seconds for him to recall Friede's presence.

Looking behind him, Ludlow spotted his young charge huddled by the corner, knees drawn to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. It didn't take much for Ludlow to realize that this was possibly a terrifying experience for him. They were never out on the seas with anything less than perfect weather before this after all. 

Feeling his heart twinge with concern, Ludlow shuffled his way towards Friede. He gently placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“Friede… it’s alright. We're back–ough!?” Ludlow's eyes briefly flew open when Friede's arms suddenly wound up around his small frame. Pulled against his chest, Ludlow didn't even think about struggling once he noticed the light trembles.

Ludlow relaxed his body to make it a bit more comfortable for himself. He raised a hand to gently pat Friede's back, offering quiet assurances for however long it took for him to calm down.

–

When Orla poked her head into the meeting room, her gaze softened upon spotting Friede fast asleep on the spare couch. From the scattered pieces of paper all over the ground, it seemed that he really was studying hard to earn his pilot license.

On the days where Orla worked on turning a fool’s dream into reality, Friede busied himself in Rustboro’s flight school, clocking in his flight hours and doing tests every other week. He returned periodically, both to see her progress and let her know of his own, all beaming smiles and wild hand gestures that never failed to draw out Orla’s own smile. His excitement was infectious, while his genuine awe and gratitude at her handiwork caused warmth to blossom in her chest. 

Quietly closing the door behind her, Orla got to work in picking up the papers, stacking them on the table so she didn't accidentally step on it. After that, she grabbed a spare blanket from the pile of boxes tucked at a corner before making her way back to the couch.

Looking down at his slumbering form, she couldn't help but find him rather cute like this. Messy bangs covered one side of his face, lips parted slightly from the soft snores slipping out–she just about resisted the urge to reach out and brush back his bangs.

Orla briefly shook her head, then began the process of carefully draping the blanket over him.

When Friede shifted underneath it, she froze, hands still on the blanket. Orla looked at his face to see golden eyes slowly opening, blinking a couple of times before they flickered to her.

“Orla?” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep.

“Hey Friede, sorry for waking you up,” she began in a whispered voice. “I was just–”

Orla didn't get to finish her sentence. Faster than she could react, arms suddenly shot up from underneath the blanket, wrapping themselves around her back before pulling her down. 

She let out an undignified yelp, just about throwing her hands out to prevent a collision with Friede's chest. Orla’s heart rate picked up when she realized the position she was in; half sprawled over Friede, her cheek pressed against his torso. 

“F-Friede! What are you–!?” she squeaked, feeling her cheeks warm up. Orla tried to push herself up but Friede's arms trapped her in place. 

“Mmm… warm…” came his confusing response before his breaths evened out, falling back into slumber. 

Orla took a few deep breaths to calm down. Right, so it seemed that in his half awakened state, Friede decided to latch onto the closest warm object. She knew of his sensitivity to the cold, craving warmth even if he was struck by a simple breeze. That was why she wanted to cover him with the blanket, knowing full well that he'd whine about it later.

She knew that the best course of action was to pry herself loose from his arms. Orla still had a lot of work to do if she wanted to finish the airship on schedule.

Yet when an experimental wiggle prompted Friede to rest his cheek atop her head, mumbling cutely about passing his tests, she didn't have it in her to disturb his slumber.

Orla heaved out a deep, resigned sigh. Despite her feelings on the matter, a smile still curled her lips. Might as well get comfy if she had to play the part of an oversized Teddiursa bear.

(When his steady heartbeat eventually lulled her to sleep, Orla found herself dreaming of her childhood, to a time when they were two small kids with big dreams, where their whole worlds revolved around one another).

–

With a small paper bag tucked underneath her arm, Mollie exited the infirmary with her Chansey toddling behind her. She headed towards the living quarters located on the lower deck, passing by several of the wild Pokemon that opted to join them on their travels. Mollie flashed them a light smile before schooling her features once she spotted Orla standing outside.

“Hey, thanks for keeping watch,” Mollie said in lieu of greeting. “He didn't try to make an escape again, did he?”

“No problem! And nope, think he got the message last time. Or at least he’s finally exhausted himself enough to just stay in bed,” Orla replied, slightly shaking her head. “Honestly, he should have done that in the first place but…”

“You and I both know that he's incapable of staying still for long. Still, he needs plenty of rest if he wants to recover quickly.”

Mollie quickly learnt that Friede, when under the weather, became quite the menace of a patient. She wanted to believe that he wasn't intentionally crossing her orders but she could only take so much of his escape attempts before enough was enough. 

She had a responsibility for the health and safety of this ship's occupants, which included making sure the sick stay in bed even when they really didn't want to. Luckily they were docked for a few days while waiting for Friede to get better, so Mollie employed Orla's aid whenever she had to grab stuff from the infirmary. 

“It's pretty quiet in there so my guess is that he really did fall asleep. Means you'd have to wake him up.”

“Shouldn't be too hard,” Mollie uttered, passing by Orla to give gentle raps on the door. From the lack of a response, she slowly pushed it open and peeked her head inside. 

True to Orla's assumption, Friede was fast asleep on his bed. He had his back to the wall, giving Mollie easy access to his peaceful, dozing expression. 

Momentarily she felt guilty to wake him up but it was necessary that he took the medicine on time. Mollie switched on the light before crossing the short distance to his bed.

Looming over his form, Mollie placed a hand on Friede's shoulder, giving it a few light shakes. 

“Friede, wake up.”

“Mmm…?” It appeared that she roused him from his slumber. Friede raised a clumsy hand to swipe at his face, yawning.

“C’mon, it's time for–”

Mollie would deny that she made any sort of noise when Friede, faster than she could react, reached up to wrap his arms around her. She’d insist that she did not squeak upon realizing the precarious position of being on top of him flushed against this chest. It was just the surprise that increased her heart rate, the close proximity to his fevered skin that made her cheeks warm.

Mollie had little chance to free herself. Friede already had more (defined) muscle mass in the first place. His surprisingly strong grip with his (toned) arms reminded her of an Octillery that caught its prey (not that she'd see herself as one but–)

“Orla help!”

“Mollie? What happened–oh.” Orla had rushed in at the call but paused once she took in the sight. Much to Mollie's rising embarrassment, Orla stifled her giggles behind a gloved hand.

“It's Friede he just–grabbed me like this!”

“Yeah he does that sometimes. When he's out of it, he tends to grab the nearest warm object within arm's length. In this case, I'd say you were unfortunate. Or maybe fortunate…?”

Mollie didn't think it was possible for her cheeks to get any redder. In any case, Orla did eventually help her out (but not before snapping a photo). 

–

“Hey Murdock. Muuuurrdooock…”

Murdock paused in his task of drying off the plates. He mentally counted down from three in his head before looking over his shoulder, expression schooled into a light smile. 

“Yes Friede? What is it this time?”

“Nothing. Just wanna–wanna say you’re preeetttyyy….”

Arceus above please grant him strength. Murdock fought to keep his smile in place even as warmth crept up his cheeks. He nodded once in response, then went back to his task before any more distractions cropped up.

Who would've thought that Friede was such a lightweight? After the success of a rather lucrative mission, the crew decided to celebrate. Murdock had the chance to make some nice cocktails as a rare treat, though nothing too strong as per Mollie's request.

It became apparent after the first glass that Friede didn't hold his drink very well. He became a rather giggly sort of drunk, spouting off whatever that came to mind. So not too different from his usual self. 

Except he lacked even more of a filter, or maybe he was honestly revealing his true thoughts when he waxed tales of how beautiful Orla’s eyes were, how much he loved Mollie's hair and–oh boy, did Friede have some words to share about him.

Murdock tried not to melt underneath the barrage of drunken compliments. It didn't help that Mollie and Orla joined him, being in various degrees of tipsiness themselves. Though not as nearly gone as Friede.

In the end, Murdock convinced his partners to get some rest before they partied too hard. After he made them drink some water first, that left him alone with Friede, who was far too sloshed to make it to his room safely. Murdock wouldn't put it past him to trip and break his leg or something in his drunken stumble.

Hearing him babble about anything and everything was rather endearing, albeit distracting. Especially when Friede felt the need to call for him, just to spout off a compliment about how pretty he was for the umpteenth time. 

It never failed to make Murdock feel a tad embarrassed, not used to such words given to him. He was still finding his place in this relationship, and while he didn't feel like he lacked anything in comparison skill wise, he just didn't think he was as physically attractive as his partners. 

So while Friede was influenced by alcohol in his system, Murdock didn't doubt the sincerity of his words. That was one of the reasons he fell for his captain in the first place after all.

Eventually, Murdock cleaned the kitchen enough to be satisfied. The only thing left to do was to bring Friede back to his room before retiring to his own quarters for the night.

Murdock approached his drunken partner, who by that point had fallen into a light doze. Friede rested his chin atop folded arms, a healthy flush coloring his cheeks. Maybe Murdock could see about having him drink water too later. 

For now, he gently placed a hand on Friede's shoulder, giving it a light shake. That appeared to rouse him, so Murdock got a nice view of Friede blinking sleepily, one hand clumsily swiping at his eyes.

“Hey, how about we get you to–woah!” Contrary to how he looked, Friede's reflexes didn't match his drunken state. Murdock suddenly had to offset the abrupt weight clinging to his front, his arms automatically wrapping themselves around Friede.

“Murdock! Murdooockk missed you!” Friede giggled, and Murdock just about short circuited when he felt the nuzzling against this chest. He didn't think it was possible to get any redder than he did earlier but clearly, he was mistaken.

After he took a few breaths to calm down, Murdock decided that it'd be a waste of effort to try and get Friede to let go. He heard stories of how strong his grip could be, and Murdock just didn't have the energy to deal with that right now.

So what he ended up doing was hooked his arms beneath Friede, pulling him up further so Murdock could carry him. At the shift in position, Friede wound up wrapping his arms around Murdock's neck, resting his cheek against the crook of it, still giggling softly.

“Murdock. Muuuurrdooock. Love you…”

While Friede might not remember this in the morning, Murdock still responded with, “Love you too.”

–

Crossing paths with the Rising Volt Tacklers meant an inevitable clash against their infuriating captain. Amethio wasted no time in issuing his challenge when he came across Friede, who foolishly parted from his crew upon realizing his approach.

“No need to drag anyone else in this. This shouldn't take too long,” came his simple reply, lips set in a challenging smirk.

Amethio’s left eye twitched from that taunt, though he kept himself composed to release Ceruledge. Friede mirrored him by bringing out his Charizard. For a moment, no one issued any commands, both Trainer and Pokemon staring down their respective opponents.

Friede broke the stalemate by ordering a Dragon Claw. Amethio ordered Ceruledge to block it, thus activating its Weak Armor. Now with the speed advantage, he had Ceruledge use Psycho Cut to create some distance.

Predictably, Friede ordered Charizard to pull back in order to dodge the psychic blade. 

“Night Slash!” Amethio took that brief moment by having Ceruledge press its advantage, dashing towards Charizard with its glowing arm blades. 

“Tch–Air Slash! Don't let it get close!” 

Charizard did as such, its wings briefly glowing white before a bevy of air slashes were fired off towards Ceruledge. 

“Now, use Phantom Force!” 

Ceruledge parried one of the air slashes with its blade before jumping back towards the formed portal. Both Charizard and Friede paused, eyes going this way and that to seek out where Ceruledge would pop out. 

“There! Spin tail before using Dragon Claw!” Just as Ceruledge emerged behind Charizard, the dual-type spun around, using its hefty tail to nail Ceruledge. Though before it could follow that up with Dragon Claw, Ceruledge's Weak Armor activated, granting it another speed boost to just barely avoid those glowing claws.

“Psycho Cut! Don't give it any breathing room!”

Ceruledge first jumped back to create distance once again. Then it fired off several blades of psychic energy towards Charizard.

What Amethio didn't take into account was the Pokemon’s distance from Friede. Charizard dodged or parried most of the Psycho Cuts but one did veer dangerously close to Friede. 

Amethio saw how the older Trainer dodged, causing the blade to hit the bush behind him instead. There was a miniature explosion from the impact, though nothing that would stop the pair from their battle. 

That was, until an angry looking Shiinotic popped out from the damaged bush. Amethio found himself calling out a warning instead when the Grass-type puffed up.

Friede turned around just in time to get a face full of glowing spores. Charizard and Ceruledge paused in their battle at the eruption of coughs, and Amethio felt a small chill trail down his spine when moments later, Friede just… collapsed. 

As much as he wanted to beat him, Amethio didn't want Friede to actually get hurt. His steps carried him towards Friede's fallen form while Charizard angrily chased after the Shiinotic, furious at its attack on its Trainer.

Amethio fell to his knees, eyes immediately roving over still body. At least Friede seemed to be breathing based on the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He couldn't tell how badly affected Friede was from the spore so Amethio took off a glove, intending to check for his pulse.

That proved to be a huge mistake on his end. The moment Amethio leaned in and had two fingers to the side of Friede's neck, an arm suddenly shot up to wrap around his waist. Moments later, Amethio collided against Friede's chest when the guy abruptly pulled him close. 

That moment knocked the breath out of Amethio but it didn't take long before he started struggling.

“What are you–let me go!” he snarled, any hints of concern evaporating once he heard the soft snores. This guy was just fast asleep! How dare he grab him like this?

Amethio didn't expect such strength from Friede's lanky arms. No matter how much he struggled, the guy held on like a Grapploct. Even Ceruledge just sort of stood nearby, uncharacteristically hesitant in the face of its Trainer’s desperation.

Briefly Amethio considered ordering Ceruledge to Bitter Blade Friede's butt into next Sunday but his pesky morals kept buzzing at the back of his mind. He released an aggravated sigh, then redoubled his efforts into freeing himself from the Vice Grip. 

At some point, Amethio thought that getting into a different position would give him enough wiggle room to slip out. His plan of rolling on their side backfired horribly when Friede (who remained infuriatingly asleep) lazily rolled half on top of Amethio instead, one leg now pinning both of Amethio's in place.

As if to add insult to injury, Friede lightly nuzzled the top of Amethio's head, messing up his hair.

Only Ceruledge saw how apoplectic with rage he became. If Amethio elbowed the guy in the stomach or kneed him at a spot where the sun didn't shine, well, it was entirely deserved.

Maybe if he got lucky, Amethio could get out of this mess before anyone saw him. 

(He was not lucky. Amethio very nearly considered asking for Spinel’s expertise in erasing a snapped picture that now existed in one of the RVTs Rotom Phones but he wasn't that desperate. Yet).

–

After his talk with Diana, Friede quietly left the observation deck, mind filled with various thoughts. Today had been more action packed than usual, filled with danger that they narrowly avoided.

Had Terapagos not… shifted like it did, Friede wasn't keen on their chances of getting past Rayquaza unscathed. He already had his hands full in keeping Roy back, and after the Legendary became enraged at Amethio's abrupt challenge, he didn't think even Charizard and Cap could stop its rampage. 

Speaking of Roy, he recalled the surge of fear when he saw the shockwave heading towards the boy. Roy might not have gotten badly hurt but Friede didn't want to risk it, his body surging forward to cover Roy in a protective embrace. 

He remembered the growing frustration of his insistence in fighting Rayquaza. Roy did have a one track mind when it came to the Legendary but he didn't realize it was to the extent of not recognising the danger they were in. While Friede typically supported his goal, that wasn't a moment to let Roy do what he wanted. 

Friede promised his grandfather to keep Roy safe after all.

Above all, Friede couldn't shake off the mild concern at Roy's despondent mood throughout dinner time. Sure it wasn't as lively as usual (unsurprising considering the day they had) but seeing Roy eat only two servings as opposed to his usual three was rather surprising. 

Roy waved off Murdock's worried question, citing his exhaustion for the lack of appetite. No one pushed him about it, so dinner ended with everyone choosing to retire early for the night. 

Well, mostly everyone.

Sighing softly, Friede raised his hand to gently scratch Cap underneath his chin.

“Guess we should get some sleep too, eh Cap?”

At the nod, Friede made his way to the lower deck. Just as he rounded the corner towards the living quarters, he paused in his steps.

There, sitting right outside of his room was Roy. He was hugging Fuecoco to his chest, chin resting atop the Fire-type’s head. Even from where he stood, Friede could tell that the boy was fast asleep.

Now the question was why did he come here? 

Friede quietly approached the boy, glancing down at his half slumped form against the door. He crouched down till he was eye level with Roy before placing a hand on his shoulder, giving it a few light shakes.

“Hey Roy, wake up. It's more comfy to sleep in your room–huh?”

Friede barely had time to react when one of Roy’s arms suddenly shot up, hooking itself behind Friede's neck, his other one still holding on to Fuecoco. Roy then pulled himself close to Friede, tucking himself against his torso.

On Friede's end, he just about kept his balance from the sudden added weight. He remained crouched, one arm going around Roy’s body to keep him secured, an instinctive gesture for the most part.

“Pika?”

“Ah… guess I'm in a bit of a pickle,” he murmured, eyes flickering to Cap. Then it went to Roy, who remained blissfully unaware of the predicament he placed himself in. 

Briefly Friede considered his options. In the end, he decided that it was easier to just bring him back to his room instead of waking him up. With that plan in mind, Friede hooked one arm underneath Roy’s knees. Using the wall for balance, he slowly rose to his feet, carefully adjusting his grip on Roy until he was standing upright.

Roy merely nuzzled his cheek against Friede's chest. Once he got to Roy’s room, getting the boy to let go had been quite the challenge but he managed it in the end. Just as Friede tucked Roy and Fuecoco in, he just about caught faint mumbles that sounded suspiciously like thank you.

Friede didn't know if Roy was even awake but it sparked something warm within his chest, a feeling that he carried with him all the way back to his own room much later.

[cosmiccherrylimeade]

Tales of the Empire review, the problem with Filoni

Spoilers for "The Path of Anger" below

So, to start off with the obvious, Dave Filoni has never read a single Cannon Thrawn novel. The timeline of events in this episode made no sense for the timeline of the novels. Thrawn was an admiral, yet he was already accompanied by Rukh and Pallean, whom he wouldn't even MEET until he reached grand admiral status. At this point in the Cannon novels, he would have been accompanied by Eli Vanto, not Pallean. In fact, he wouldn't even meet Pallean until the events of Treason. The choice by Folini to overhaul this story erases the conical nature of the "Cannon" Thrawn novels.

Before I get into my real point on the problem with how Filoni writes, I'll give my review of the episode as a whole. It was fine, not much to write home about. The animation was beautiful as to be expected, and very expressive. The writing was... just ok. The empire was depicted as cartoonishly evil, though it is a cartoon so, maybe that's justified. For a short that was supposed to teach us more about Morgan and her motivations, I feel like we didn't learn much about her that we didn't already know? She's good with ship design, she wants revenge and power, etc. Nothing new. Personally, I found the pacing of the episode to be quite boring, it was very slow despite the short runtime. Overall, I don't know if I would recommend it, though I thought the episodes following Barris were quite enjoyable.

Now for the real problem I have with these episodes: Filoni's insistence on his own version of cannon at the cost of others' work. I don't deny Filoni is a good writer and director, Rebels is one of my favorite shows of all time! But he's been on this power trip after being essentially being handed the reigns to Star Wars. There was a period where Star Wars was a collaborative effort between a ton of creatives working on something they loved, the second golden age, that made it into a beloved franchise for a new generation. But now it's just Filoni, and he decides what part of other creative works he'll pick and choose to tell his own story. I feel so bad for Zhan. He created this beloved character, and wrote AMAZING NOVELS, only to have his incredibly complex character be forced into a 2d stereotype. Filoni needs to do better because if he keeps going down the path of writing he has been Star Wars is going to be a shell of its former glory.

[twstjam]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR TWST BOOK 7 CHAPTER 5

Lilia's love for Meleanor and Revan: Romantic, Platonic, or Familial?

Short answer: ALL of them. ANY of them. A secret third thing. Take your pick!!

Long answer because even though some people have explained it already I haven't felt like anyone has NOT come off as aggressive towards shippers so I thought I could help get the message across?:

So there's been some dispute in the fandom about Lilia romantically loving Meleanor and Revan because Meleanor said that Lilia loves her and Revan, but the actual kanji used by her is a lot less simple than just "love" as explained by @/ventique18 in this post. (which I suggest that you read first before this one so that you understand the true and full picture if you haven't!!)

(here's a few screenshots to sum up what she said though for the sake of this post)

That clears it up, but there's more to this conversation I'd like to point out. As a Briar Throuple shipper I'm making this post to explain or at least shed some light on:

Why people read Meleanor's words as romantic and why they ship Lilia, Meleanor, and Revan

Now, I'm not saying that Lilia having romantic feelings for his friends is the one and only correct view (if you do think that, did you even read the rest of this post?). I'm saying that people viewing it as romantic have a very valid reason and it's not just people shipping because they like to ship when they see the word "love". People shipping Lilia, Meleanor, and Revan are not automatically disregarding any familial and platonic interpretations of their relationship. (or at least not all of them are and I am asking you to not assume.)

Translators are free to mention it if this translation I found is incorrect BUT STILL—

Okay so, if you'll notice, in the conversation between Meleanor and Lilia, after saying that Lilia loves her, she specifically brings up the time he proposed to her 200 years ago. Right after that, she says that Lilia and Revan, her husband, spent more time together than a married couple.

There are a lot of valid arguments that are against these things being proof of Lilia having romantic attraction, like: Lilia and Meleanor were just kids playing house, Lilia and Revan spending a lot of time together is normal because they're besties, and also Lilia himself says that he was just a stupid kid which can imply that it was just an old crush and he doesn't feel the same anymore.

But look at the big picture!! Look at the words Meleanor specifically used!! The kanji used for "love" is indeed for pure, platonic, and familial love, but immediately after saying it Meleanor mentions things specific to romantic love: Proposal. Marriage.

She could have easily used a different example of Lilia's love for him. She could have easily compared Lilia's time spent with Revan with literally anything else, but she didn't!!! She mentioned a marriage proposal from when they were kids. Even if it might not be valid anymore she still mentioned it out of anything else!! And she compared Lilia and Revan to a married couple!!

The words used in this conversation, like the kanji for "love" and the specific romantically-associated words, both point to Lilia's love being either romantic or platonic/familial. The kanji says specifically pure love, but Meleanor's argument and comparison has romantic tone. It's either. It's both. Anything you want it to be. A secret third thing.

That concludes my ramble folks <3 Shippers are not disregarding platonic and familial love, please don't just assume they are. Not to mention, most of the people doing it are DIASOMNIA FANS. THE platonic/familial love enjoyers of the fandom!! Why have I seen people have such bad faith in them? Just because someone says one thing doesn't mean they don't also enjoy another thing!!

Still though, translators helping to explain the wording correctly is still very much appreciated, but it doesn't disregard romantic views nonetheless nor does shipping disregard platonic and familial ones.

Although, I do understand why some people are a bit frustrated seeing as romance IS more prevalent in media and is often wrongly seen as "higher" than other forms of love, which is a valid frustration, but it still frustrated me a bit how I've seen some people be so quick to be aggressive to shippers.

[kalinara]

There is no position that gives me a headache more than anti-anti fans.

Look, I get that "anti-fandoms" are annoying.

It is ANNOYING to post things about ships and characters and have people make assumptions about you based on your feelings about fictional characters.

I've had it happen to me. Hilariously, it wasn't even about one of my actual problematic ships, but because I had a "meh" reaction to the idea of pairing characters from the Umbrella Academy of all things.

But, I'll disclaim right now, I have plenty of ships that an "anti" could confront me about. There's a reason I don't always stay logged in when I peruse AO3. No one needs to review my fic reading history, including me.

So yeah, I get that it's annoying. And some folks take it too far. There's no excuse for threats or insults. Personally, I don't think this behavior is limited to antis, but as mentioned, I've seen some do it.

But I will always have a knee jerk disgust toward people who act like the very act of criticizing a ship or the reception of a character is the same damn thing.

There's some Bat-shipping post going around that equates people being disgusted by Bat-shipping to homophobia and real world oppression. And no, sorry. That's not the same thing.

I think you can definitely make the argument that moral panic can lead to some terrible decisions, particularly legislatively. Frederic Wortham decided that Batman and Robin were in a pedophiliac relationship, after all, and eventually we all got saddled with the comic code.

But, you know, we can still point out that IF Batman and Robin were in a relationship, while Robin was canonically 12 years old, in a comic book intended for children, that would have been categorically NOT OKAY.

Fans love to try to sidestep any criticism by equating their critics with some kind of censorship boogeyman. As though the average fandom critic has any kind of ability to legislate a form of media. Heck, disgusted fans can't even get AO3 to set limits on blatant extreme underage shit.*

(* Disclaimer: I respect AO3's very consistent position on content bans and censorship. I may not personally agree with every decision that they make, but I respect that it's their right to make it. My point is that the average "anti" has no real influence or power here.)

Here's the thing. If you ship something gross. More power to you. I do too. But you also have to deal with the fact that someone out there is going to say "Hey, that's gross." They may not be talking to you directly. Common fandom etiquette means that they probably shouldn't (unless you're invading the anti-tags, in which case, you're asking for it). But they're allowed to have opinions and say them. Free speech works both ways.

The older I get, the more protective I find myself of the right of people to be negative about things. "Don't yuck someone's yum?" I can yuck if I damn well want. I just need to remember that it's not your problem.

My own position is that fandom goes too far to protect the enjoyment of their largest groups, to the point where anything that could possibly cast a pall on said enjoyment is quickly shushed. We can't point out that a ship involves abusive tropes, because this is fiction. We can't grimace at the thought of an incestuous relationship, because that's judgmental. We can't point out hopefully-unconscious examples of racism and sexism because that would make someone feel bad and discourage them from writing.

I still remember how slash fanfic writers started bemoaning about how they can't possibly write FinnPoe anymore because they keep getting called out for racist tropes. The idea of actually making an effort to IMPROVE somehow never seemed to make it into the discussion.

Here's the thing. If I don't like a pairing, I'm going to say so. If I don't like a character (or maybe more accurately, fandom's treatment of said character), I'm going to say so. If I don't like a trope, for whatever reason, I'm going to say so. It's not my job to muzzle my own opinions to make random people on the internet feel better about how they get their rocks off. Why do you care what I think anyway?

Again, harassment's bad. But I think a lot of "anti-antis" are quick to equate "having a negative opinion that makes me feel bad" with an attack. Not the same thing and we all might be a lot happier if we kept that in mind.

[miyuskye]

VADD NOVEL SPOILER ALERT ❗❗❗

After reading those chapters (158-159), seeing this cover hurts like hell. Eckles was (mind the past tense) my favourite male to ship with Penelope. (My overall fave has always been Callisto but he's like PERFECT so) I knew Eckles was twisted, when he threw those tantrums because Penelope wasn't spending time with him in s3, I thought 'it's fine, he's like this'. I always liked the yandere character type, after all. But the way that scene it's written in the novel, the way he victim-blames Penelope for his crimes is... too much.

"I don't care if I have to become a traitor who sells out his kingdom and his people..." (...)

"I want you, Penelope Eckhart." (...) "That's what you've done to me. You made me this way, and every time you pretend not to notice what you're doing to me, wearing that innocent look on your face... It makes me lose my mind, but what else can I do? You're still so lovely..."

Those words are terrifying. He says he loves her, he says she's lovely but in the same sentence he says that he hates her. The description of the favorability bar being a combination of love and hate (emphasis on hate), and how Eckles goes from praising her to blaming her for things she has no fault of... (she used him, but she never told him to kill Ivonne or betray his people!) it's so well written. I like to draw the line between fiction and reality, and I always like, in fiction, some toxic dynamics I would never condone in real life, but... The way it's written in this novel is too realistic to enjoy in a "romantic" way.

I feel like sometimes yandere characters are written through lenses that make them enjoyable despite their wrongdoings. Allendis from TAE is first rejected from the FL and then he goes crazy. This doesn't justify him of course, but it makes you feel sympathy, in a way. Jumin from MysMes never actually blames MC in his bad ending.

I love the narrative in VADD because there's just no way to feel sympathy for Eckles. As much as I liked him, as much as I wanted him to be ~the one~ for Penelope, it just crashed down the moment he revealed his true self. It made an impact to me because I felt as she felt. I knew some spoilers about him, I knew he was the yandere, but I didn't know it was this intense. That's probably what Penny felt too. She knew he was sick in the head and she wanted to just use him to escape. He fooled us with his fake submissive demeanor and destroyed us in the end. Penny, because she couldn't escape through him, me because I actually thought his love for her would eventually turn out to be good-natured. But those words he said to her cannot be excused, not even in fiction.

They are still an interesting toxic relationship to explore! And I LOVE the parallels between this relationship and the one she has with the man the myth the legend Callisto. The author did such a good job with the romance description in this series, I feel that, probably due to the whacky translation, the brutality of some scenes mellowed out. But I can't wait to see this in the webtoon

[bosskie]

Draw Abe and Molluck kissing.

'You know, Abe, I always somehow liked you. I didn't name you the employee of the year for nothing. I designed Mudokon Pops look like you for a reason. I would still have enjoyed killing you, I wasn't even supposed to like you, so killing you including my own feelings toward you would have been the right choice. You, blue bastard, ruined my life but also saved it... I have dreamed of crushing you but now, instead of that, I feel another kind of desire of a crush. Kiss me, you schmuck!' Molluck told Abe after they had done their parts of the deal of helping each other.

I'm actually glad that you suggested me to draw that since I have been joking about Molluck and Abe turning from enemies into lovers but never said a word about it. So, thank you for giving me a reason to draw it! (Y) Yeah, what an odd couple they would be but hey, it's Oddworld! The best 'from enemies to lovers' thing I could still imagine (I know nothing about this stuff though, only the concept).

Frankly, I'm kinda surprised at how little Abe x Molluck stuff I have seen, just one 'spicy' drawing... (I don't know about fan fiction, I don't read it.) So yeah, I personally like this ship. It's not easy to explain why but it just has depth, is odd but 'makes sense'... It's just would be quite interesting in general.

I basically had two ideas for this but I chose this one since I got this 'from enemies to lovers' idea, and well, now I 'came out' with it. I wasn't sure about where to draw them but they are somewhere at Nolybab where the sun doesn't shine, underground I mean. Molluck's name has been cleared and Abe could meet his mother, and it was all thanks to their collaboration. They were reluctant to work together at first but their relationship developed during that, and Molluck let his softer side come out more. This is idea is basically behind this Molluck x Abe thing. I know, it can sound so odd but it's not the first time if I'm odd for something I like; I have heard it for so many times already. Oh, and yeah, maybe you also noticed that Abe has no longer his stitches; it makes the kissing easier too. (Y)

And yeah, this came out more 'proper' than I planned but it's still 'quick-ish' since it's not fully rendered and looks kinda sketchy. This was also challenging to draw and I wasn't' sure of how to draw them kissing, like I didn't want it to be 'too intimate', so something simple enough. I hope that this looks okay at least. I just felt really bad about my drawing skills last night out of nowhere, so I just wish that my art doesn't look like Slog shit. I just kinda don't like how this came out but that 'better image' I have inside my head feels 'too intimate'... Just didn't feel like going 'too far' with this. Also yeah, I used a bit different style here since I'm still trying to figure out my way to do digital art, even I have done it for so many years... It's just that it feels like I'm never pleased with my art style; it makes difficult for me to feel like I had any artistic talent... I'm still always just trying my best.

Let's just say that posting stuff like this in public is difficult for me, even I still would like to post stuff like this... I don't even draw proper self-ship stuff and I rarely even draw it, even I think about myself with Molluck every single day. I guess it's mainly due to my self-hatred, like why I would spend so much time on drawing something only I'll see. I just have never drawn anything as proper as this about me and Molluck. Maybe I should but I cannot help myself but think that it's waste... I'm sorry but I just feel so awful about myself... Last night was just another night when I asked Molluck to eat me... I'm so sorry for this vent but I'm just so tired of this and cannot be silent, pretend that I was okay when I feel like crying...

I still hope that my stuff is enjoyable, even when I feel like I should just delete everything here... It's just because I can see my stuff looking so awful sometimes. I just don't feel like I draw Molluck well enough; he is still challenging to draw... I think that I should end writing for now; I just feel so bad about my stuff right now...

This doesn't really relate to the drawing, anon. This is just the usual stuff my condition makes me feel... But hopefully you like it and don't regret suggesting me to draw that kiss. I really liked drawing this still and that's probably why I painted this more than I planned; the idea of this drawing amuses me. (I tend to enjoy creating stuff in general but I rarely like what I created, the outcome I mean... Oh, and I don't really mind Molluck being with someone else than me. They are just different stories and I'm just glad that Molluck gets love!)

I just have difficulties with expressing love in public (even if it didn't relate to me, being about a ship like this), even I do have done it many times here, told you how much I love Molluck but, it still feels challenging... Like posting my 'Molluck love sculpt' was kinda scary actually but I still posted it, especially because I put so much effort on him. I don't even know what I was afraid of, I'm already used to people seeing me as a weirdo. Maybe I'm just afraid of love because this self-hatred just makes me even wish that no one loved me. But my heart still tells me that it's not true that I'm not someone to love.

Even I love Molluck with my whole heart, wish to hug and kiss him, enjoy his body every single day, it kinda scares me to be loved back... I know, it can sound odd but it's just that I don't see myself worth loving and just wish good for the others when I try to prevent them from loving me since I feel like I'm only waste of everything. My condition really makes me act and think like this. Even I realize how this is unhealthy and I imagine Molluck being confused about this behavior, it's still so difficult to feel like I'm someone to love... But the important thing is at least that I always imagine Molluck loving me, even it's difficult for me to receive that love. Even I do enjoy imagining that Molluck enjoys and loves me too, I still can feel like it's better for Molluck if he didn't... It makes me feel bad/sad but it just feels 'right' since I'm not someone to love...

These awful thoughts just don't wanna leave me alone... And if I sometimes do not vent to my posts, it doesn't always mean that I felt better. It can also mean that I feel like I should be just silent, I'm only ruining everything with my vent... It's just making me feel a bit less alone with this shit when I write this stuff here, and hopefully I can give some peer support. Also, if one day my stuff is gone or if this blog seems abandoned, you know why. I don't wish to bring more negative energy to here but I just cannot hide my condition; I'm just trying to save my life.

~ I really appreciate your tolerance and support!

[trainwrecksys]

If you want to share, what are your hcs about the relationships that Bentham has with people he has in his household :)

ooooooo good question! long post ahead

nim: theyre close, they share enjoyment for a lot of things like the museum and reading etc etc, and sometimes they can sit and talk about these things, i think bentham was just a bit dismissive of him in LoS bc he needed to get on and talk about important things with the kids (over tea ofc). They overall know eachother better than any other people, even family (though that's hardly surprising). I also think nim's got some sort of emotional attachment to bentham and found it hard when he became "permanently indisposed" and bentham and him spent a lot of valuable time after caul fell asleep in TDoDA catching up lol (ToT). in my au where bentham didnt die at the end they take more time to just settle down as a duo (i dont necessarily ship them but i defo see the angle) and nim enjoys being able to get bentham more to himself because he's not working for anyone anymore, and theyre both ramblers but both also really like to listen to the other talk, sometimes for hours. they'd also both stick to loops, even after there was no need. it's more comfortable.

kim: a bit more distant, kim's probably like Sharon in the way that he has to stick by bentham and help him with the panloopticon because bentham helped him somehow, but that doesnt mean he has to like him all that much lol, theyre probably very different and kim only really relates to him because they both have in depth knowledge on the panloopticon, and despite being able to complain all day about him he still has respect for him at the end of the day due to the fact he invented it. Bentham is very chatty with him, trying to get him to come out of his shell, and even when kim isn't in a very talkative mood bentham tends to ramble, mainly about the panloopticon and all the technical things- he keeps talk of more emotional topics for nim

sharon: a lot of it is apparent in the books, they were friendly before the end of LoS, with sharon just being a tad bit uneasy around him since, yk, hes not perfect. he thanks him for helping him off ambrosia, like, a lot, for obvious reasons, and bentham tries to be as nice to him as possible, but any sensible man would stay a safe distance from someone who has people in his museum and suul on a necklace. After the end of LoS, he loses a lot of respect for him, and since he's gone, he probably feels free to be open with that. Bentham's first choice for general overseer of the Panloopticon would definitely have been Sharon.

mother dust: they rarely ever talk (through reynaldo of course), and if they do, it's shortlived and would only be when necessary. she used to be more comfortable around him when they first met, and he respected her, but i really don't know what happened- bentham isn't quite sure himself after all this time. he buries it, even in his own mind, he can justify a lot of the things he's done but that stays firmly out of bounds. after a while, even he began to believe they were made of wax... it was almost like his mind was protecting him from himself. like it was a bad dream. mother dust tries her best not to think or speak of it, and her and reynaldo have a shared understanding that it was unspeakable. the day the "figures" were liberated was extremely cathartic.

reynaldo: even one look at him fills bentham with regret, and reynaldo doesn't want to look back at him. reynaldo has definitely conspired to escape their house and i'm not sure why they stay, but i know he would try to leave if he could.

[dsmprarepairbb]

i'm very excited for this as a rarepair enjoyer! this is a great thread on the subreddit that might be a good starting point to think of cut-off qualifications: https://www.reddit.com/r/FanFiction/comments/eohtgm/what_exactly_counts_as_a_rarepair/

while i'm very on board with this event, i think trying to say 'anything but dnf' can feel too targeted, and i don't think it's the intention at all, it might make people feel singled out or unwelcome here. for instance, i think karlnapity and quackbur are also ships that are worth disqualifying (and i say this as someone who loves those ships XD).

good luck with putting this together though! i know a lot of work goes into these things <3

I held onto this ask for a long time for a very specific reason: I really enjoy spreadsheets. I wanted to wait until after I had closed the interest check so I could go through all of the submitted ships so I could get some data to back up my reasoning.

And back up my reasoning it did.

A total of 75 ships (including DNF) were listed by people who said they were interested. I took all of these ships and looked them up on AO3. I decided to look at AO3 for this as this is going to be mostly about content creation, and I feel that utilizing the otp:true function helps a lot.

Of the 75 ships, 15 didn't show up on AO3 at all, no matter how much I looked. For the rest, however, I noted down the number of works both in the tag as a whole, and with the otp:true filter. I put this into a spreadsheet and generated a pie chart using the otp:true data that looks like this:

Due to this discrepancy, I feel that it is valid of me to make this current rarepair big bang only exclude DNF. I am retracting prior statements of excluding XDNF, as that ship was lower than I had thought. In the future, the list will be refined, but for now, the only ship excluded is DNF.

Further reasoning below the cut.

So, this is not the only chart that I did. I also did a pie chart of the unfiltered ships as well.

As you can see, this percentage is lower that otp:true, but you can still see that the gap is quite large. No other ship even compares. Also worth noting is that in this view, fics where a poly relationship is present can skew the results, as many chose to tag their fics not only with the poly ship, but also the individual pairings (or smaller groupings) of that ship.

I also generated a bar graph, but due to the amount of ships its very hard to read. The first label, DNF, is even pushed off the view so you can't see it, but I will attach it here anyways as reference.

yeah its...bad lol. Its so hard to read.

I am aware that in the link you put, there are multiple ways to go about this. As I said, in the future this will be changed. I am most likely going to make a tier list of sorts for these ships based on this data. Also, I did not calculate based off of percentage of fics in the fandom itself as so many of these fics are crossovers, and I felt it was a futile effort.

Also, for those curious, I'm going to post the data I collected just for funsies. The ones with a -1 were the 15 that didn't show up at all. They had to be denoted this way to ensure that they were sorted correctly. You can see that Karlnapity (#8) and quackbur (#4) are also listed!

(I also calculated what percentage of ships tagged like that were also true because I'm a nerd who likes writing formulas lmfao)

I love dnf! Its fun! But you gotta admit that its reach is significantly more than other ships'. Also a fun aside from a friend:

[flightfoot]

Hey, do you have any recommendations for Lukanette, Adrigami, and/or Julerose fics?

I don't generally read Lukanette. The pairing's fine in and of itself, I think that Luka and Marinette would have a happy marriage and a good time together, but I've had so many bad experiences with Lukanette shippers vilifying Adrien, Alya, and the class, that I can't really derive any enjoyment from the ship, I just have too many negative associations with it. Lukadrienette and Lukadrigaminette are fine since I've never had bad experiences with other characters being bashed to promote the poly, but Lukanette... no.

I had about a year where saltfics NEVER LEFT MY HEAD and I kept on having flashbacks to my favorite characters being demonized and vilified and punished for it, with those flashbacks running through my head for hours on end while my throat choked up like I was about to cry, for hours at a time, on a daily basis. I REALLY can't stand anything I associate with that. I still can't stand saltfics, but my throat doesn't close up and I don't get a ton of flashbacks anymore when I see them at least, I just get angry.

There IS still one Lukanette fic series I've liked and recommended, but it's less because of the Lukanette and more because of the exploration of Luka's and Felix's characters (and it turns into FeLuka later on).

As for Adrigami... it's a nice ship, but there's very little content for it, especially in more recent years. It mostly vanished once season 4 got going, and it wasn't exactly common before that. I've got some Adrigaminette and Lukadrigaminette recs if you're interested in those though?

---

Boomer!Luka: FeLuka Ending series by @19thsentry-blog

In the Shadows (the first fic in the series) summary:

On one side is Luka, 140-year-old Snake Miraculous holder and keeper of the Guardian's secrets, on the other is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a relatively newly minted hero of Paris and Guardian of the Miracle Box. Each is looking to fulfill their promises to their now gone mentors to reunite the Kwamis and keep them safe. Sounds simple--until you throw in a rocky start, the Atlantic Ocean, Félix Graham de Vanily, and a whole host of secrets…and suddenly simple becomes complicated (story of Marinette's life, right?).

So this is obviously way outside my normal wheelhouse. I don’t typically read Lukanette fics, even ones that turn into FeLuka later on in the series (though boy it becomes apparent quickly that the author’s fascinated with FeLuka’s dynamic.) But this one is really good, with the best Luka-centric fics I’ve ever read, and some of the best Felix-centric content as well. I love how Luka has his own baggage here, with all the pressure of wandering around for over a century, looking after the few Miraculous he found, trying to keep what’s left of the Order alive, unaware of Fu’s survival or of the Miraculous user’s re-emergence in Paris. There’s a lot of focus on Luka’s own feelings and thoughts and problems, not just on helping other people with them. 

The plot works even without the romantic aspect, so even if Lukanette isn’t a pairing that draws you in, I still recommend this fic, so long as you don’t actively dislike the pairing itself. And even though it’s a Lukanette fic, Adrien and Alya are treated fairly and with respect. Adrien may not end up with Marinette and is bummed about it, but the narrative is still kind to him overall, there’s clearly no ill well towards him, or Alya for that matter. (There are later fics in the series that focus more on Adrien just healing and coping and living after finding out that his father’s a villain and his mom’s been in the basement this whole time, and in the multiversal travel fic, Alya gets some standout appearances as Scarabella which are fun).

And FELIX - it’s clear that 19thsentry has this whole conception about Felix’s psychology. He’s wrapped in a ton of self-loathing until it started to consume him, made him lash out. Him being a sentimonster, wanting to get the Peacock Miraculous, actually gave him some direction for that at least. And he’s just in this pit of his own making, until he meets Luka, who can see through him when no one else can, who cares for him even though he doesn’t understand why, who’d been through so much over the years and yet kept himself kind. He’s attracted like a moth to a flame, infuriated that he cares, yet not able to stop himself from caring about this mysterious, infuriating musician. 

Yeah if you can’t tell this is the series that really sold me on FeLuka as a couple.

Oh yeah, one of the fics in here is M-rated, and it does earn the M rating for sexual content, though it’s nothing too major.

---

Three’s company by @torvalvt

Kagami has been doing her best for years to ignore her feelings for her friends. It doesn’t help that Adrien and Marinette insist on spending as much time as possible with her, even going so far as inviting her along on their dates together. If only the affection she felt for them wouldn’t get in the way of their relationship. Because it is growing harder and harder to tamp down her feelings with how close they are getting to her.

This is adorable. Adrien and Marinette really want Kagami to join their relationship and she just doesn’t dare hope for it. If you want some adorable Adrigaminette from Kagami’s perspective, I recommend checking this fic out!

---

Hold Me By Both Hands by @angelofthequeers

“I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.” How differently might the events of season 2 have gone if Adrien had also known of Master Fu from the start?

Look I've literally written a series of essays going over the various aspects of the plot threads in this fic, it's one of the best ML fics I've ever read if you've wanted a fix-it for seasons 2 and 3. Especially with the way Chloe's redemption arc was handled, it's STILL the best Chloedemption arc I've ever read in a Miraculous fic, and I've read a LOT of Miraculous fics.

---

You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess by @mexicancat-girl

With Team Miraculous now full-time holders, Ladybug has them patrolling in pairs like her and Chat Noir. New partners Pigella and Purple Tigress get along phenomenally, their easy banter and similar wavelengths making working with each other a joy in and out of combat. But sometimes Tigress is surprised just how close she is with her partner. Sometimes she tries not to feel too guilty thinking about it.

There’s some nice Julerose here! I love them kinda getting into a lovesquare with each other, though it’s not as much of a problem as it is in canon since it’s reciprocal in every relationship and they’re both down for a poly. It’s fun, and I love the “Luka attempting to woo some of his love interests” plot going on in the background XD.

---

How Could I Not? by SorryJustAnotherPerson

In fairy tale books, Princesses were saved by nights from ferocious dragons. Those books were not their story, but Rose was happy to flip over a new page with her Juleka every single day. Many years ago, she was put to this tower by her parents and her kingdom, along with a fire breathing dragon, so she could find her prince charming one day. How foolish for them to not calculate her falling in love with the dragon. I mean seriously. How could she not?

I love fairy tale type stories, especially fractured fairy tales. And Juleka being a dragon is awesome. This is just a fun and adorable story.

---

The echoes there of me and you (The voices that are carrying this tune) by @tiredfloridianbutverygay

Juleka finds herself gifted an old castle in Scotland by an auntie she never even knew she had. At first, she's thinking she'll use it as a vacation home. Then she meets Rose, a ghostly blonde woman from another time who's been alone for decades and who's achingly in need of a friend. Juleka's never believed in the paranormal, the supernatural but it's hard to deny the blonde's existence. It's also hard to deny her growing affection for the specter. The specter, who Juleka knows should be moving on and the specter who Juleka knows might just need a bit of help doing so...

[morningstargirl666]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

thank you @garglyswoof and @stars-and-darkness for tagging me!

How many works do you have on ao3?

12, though 2 of those are moodboards so don't really count.

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

553,036. Huh. Lower than I expected. No doubt that will shoot up when the tbbw rewrite is done [fake laughter, hiding real pain]

3. What fandoms do you write for?

TVD, TO a.k.a Klaroline

4. Top five fics by kudos:

The Big Bad Wolf, Into Eternity, The Little Wolf, The Red Wedding and Falling For You.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I try to respond to every one as I love talking with readers. I figure if someone spends time to write a comment, I'll return the favour and reply. In fact when I'm updating fics regularly, if my reply to your comment turns up in your inbox it's often a pre-warning that a new chapter is about to drop, as I read over comments I've missed before updating.

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

Does Damon murder count? [I don't really do angsty endings, I need my happily ever after]

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

Probably Into Eternity. It's really sappy and makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. What can I say - I'm a romantic at heart.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes, kinda. Is it hate if it's just wild interpretations of the characters or plot? Some people leave comments that just make you blink repeatedly and think...are they reading the same fic I'm writing? I remember one time someone left a comment calling Caroline a pushover (honestly had some kind of vendetta against her showing ANY kind of emotion like okaaaaay mate) even though in that very same chapter...she literally kicked Klaus is the balls. Man, that was a weird day.

9. Do you write smut?

No. Not yet. In the future? There may or may not be scenes planned. 😏 I'm picky with smut, I need feelings and the eMoTiOnS, I need to be INVESTED. Porn with plot, rather than just smut for smut's sake.

10. Craziest crossover:

Haven't written a crossover - unless intending to drop Dracula into tbbw at some point coints. There's some great ones in the fandom though, just not really my thing.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of [narrows eyes]

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No! But I'd be flattered if one ever was, as long as its translated on ao3 and given credit to me.

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

No, I haven't. I might be open to it though, if it was a round-robin kind of thing where the writers take in turns to write the scenes.

14. All time favorite ship?

KLAROLINE!!! NOW LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!!

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

I really want to finish Divided We Fall, Falling For You and Songs of the Sea. I wouldn't say I doubt I'll ever finish them, just that I doubt I'll finish them while I'm still writing the tbbw series. Too much of the klaroline brain rot is invested in that fic alone.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told it's shifting between moods? So I can give readers whiplash in the emotions department - one minute you're crying, the next you're laughing. I like to think my strength is dialogue though. Even the way I write is focused around it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Historical accuracy. I'll fall down a rabbit hole researching stuff like any writer, but the researching is more out of obligation and crippling writer guilt rather than actual enjoyment. Which is why I often take creative licence and go fuck it, history has its own au now bitches (sorry ella).

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

If its little words here and there - even a sentence or two - yes. Full conversations though unless you're fluent yourself are not fun to sift through.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

Star Wars? I want to say Star Wars. Idk those fanfics are over on my ffnet account which I will not be going back to anytime soon. I dare not go where the light doesn't touch, Mufasa speaks wisely.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

It used to be The Red Wedding but I actually love The Little Wolf more now. That one's a true labour of love, fueled on rage and spite, curtesy of Julie Plec.

I will tag @galvanizedfriend @kirythestitchwitch @marxandangels @bellemorte180 @impossiblekryptonitecolor @the-road-betwixt @purplesigebert @that-sarcastic-optimist