#i like my boys to be traumatized and evil which is exactly what he is so <33333333333333333333 i can see why everyone loves him

[emiliosandozsequence]

literally all it took was rhysand being described as 'amarantha's whore' for me to become obsessed with him

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for arguing with someone over ships?

🧀⛵ so i can find this later

Yes, this is ship discourse AITA #294729472 you can scroll away, english isn't my first language, my apologies.

So I (16M (But 13-14 at the time)) am in a very niche fandom. As in, we didn't have any new content for the past 5 years and media is old af (2013), very few fans, most of us know each other already.

I used to have these mutuals Cheese (Not their real name) (around my age i think?? I can't remember) and Breadstick (Not his real name) (18M).

We all had our little ships, ok? I like the little (dumbass golden retriever boy) x (badass traumatized man) ship, Cheese liked the little (badass traumatized man) x (literally the same thing but evil and abusive) and Breadstick liked both ships.

I met Breadstick before meeting Cheese so we were already friends before i met Cheese. I thought "Cool, another person likes this little niche thing i'm hyperfixated on!" So we became mutuals.

I didn't anticipate that we would argue about ships, but oh well. So, i'm a very chill person regarding ships, literally any, although i do have NOTPs, i'm not really toxic about my hatred, i just go "Ah, not my thing" and scroll away not without blocking the person, but really nothing personal and no hard feelings, i can perfectly be friends with someone who loves my notp.

In fact, that was the case with Cheese. They shipped my NOTP, like A LOT. But I was okay with it, i mean these are just characters and all we're doing is being silly. I didn't take this THAT seriously. However, when I seemed to talk about my ship, Cheese seemed uncomfortable in some way.

When I was talking about my fankid (call me cringe idc) of my OTP, Cheese got very confused and asked who was i talking about. Breadstick came in and introduced my fankid to them, since he knew about it before. Cheese just started being rude, literally saying swear words (Not against them but, the context didn't really call for it? No one was being mean or mad), saying, and i quote as best as i can, "I don't know what the fuck made you think i knew who the hell [Fankid] was".

I got very mad about it, so i privately dm'ed Breadstick about Cheese's attitude. We began trash talking about them, which, i admit was a very trashy thing to do and definitely asshole material™.

Reason why may i be the asshole: over time, Breadstick just started complaining a lot about Cheese, and I could honestly agree, it came to the point of us disliking them to some degree but not telling them and not breaking the mutual, that could be considered two faced behavior.

This was partly influenced because of another incident. So Cheese and Breadstick where rambling about an OT3 (3 person ship) they had in common, basically sharing ideas and stuff. I thought it would be fun and went "Hey, I have an OT3 too, maybe i should post about it too". So I went and posted about it, but Cheese felt very uncomfortable with that, since basically my OT3 was exactly like Cheese's OT3 but one character is different, "basically".

They said "You have your thing, let US have ours". Felt bad and honestly, maybe i shouldn't have intruded their ot3 rambling. I didn't expect such negative reaction out of them.

In other occasions they complained about me posting a little too much about my ship, even though they did the same thing with theirs. And they also had a mutual that said "If you ship [this character] you suck and i fucking hate you. [character] is too abusive to be shipped with anyone and you can't just make an AU, that would just change him as a character completely" which, dear god, that language wasn't needed, right?. And despite that crazy person saying that, Cheese agreed with their take, despite literally shipping the character in question with another one. And abusively too, which like you do you, lord knows i do that too, but agreeing with a take like that while doing exactly what it is complaining about is weird. On the other side, that person wasn't my mutual, so it's unrealistic of me to expect Cheese to control their mutuals over me, Cheese can mutual whoever they want, but i can still be weirded out right?

That is without including them telling other people to kill themselves over shipping, so it was clear that Cheese took this shipping thing seriously while me and Breadstick to some degree didn't. Honestly another reason why i might be an asshole, clearly they felt their otp was personal and me not liking it + ignoring it caused a bad environment, mala mía, but what else could i have done?

So, clearly Cheese is kind of an asshole to some degree. But i think what makes ME an asshole too is when I trash talked behind their back and cut them off way later than i should've. And also, i guess i shoved my ship down their throat taking by how mad they were about it? I didn't do it intentionally though and i could definitely say they did the same thing too when 80% of the fandom and character tags was them posting about their ship. Again, small niche fandom for old unpopular media, we are keeping it alive ourselves.

What are these acronyms?

[storytellersnek]

Memes are cool but we do not stan Father Jim Defroque in this haunted satanic house. Fucker is an antagonist in the story.

He's not cute or a fun dude to party with. As much as the video is funny and the tune catchy, the comedy is only the sugary coating to make it easier for some to see how vile supposed 'men of god' are or can be. And to some of us, its a very real depiction of people we actually knew.

He's the guy that will beat the shit out of the boy he strings along or out him. Jim will use, exploit, discard and condemned women. He upholds the status quo and gets to do what he wants with impunity. He's an abuser, a predator. He's the dipshit who preaches for our rights to be taken away. He's a grifter who panders to the alt-right.

He's the scumbag who says its divine will when someone in a minority gets their 'comeuppance' and prays for their soul. He applauds the monsters that make it impossible for trans ppl to use a public bathroom or receive life affirming care but his most searched category of the Hub is trans. He is the snake oil salesman who says he can cure the terminally ill and/or says its demons. He preys on people and hides behind a book to feed his ego and habit. He's the fucker who rather we die than have the right to abortion. He's the piece of shit who will give you a sermon about the glass of wine you had but does Nazca sized lines. He's a liar and a thief and a predator.

People like him exist IRL. People who berated me and verbally, emotionally, and psychologically abused me for anything I did from being queer, sexpositive, wearing black eye-shadow, and listening to rock/metal or liking horror stories. To simply being raised aethistically or just the opposite of their own perfect family so therefore must be evil and wrong. My aunt hated me and called me a devil worshiping wh*re because I didn't drink, have boyfriends, or go out like her perfect god fearing kid did. My Nana was convinced I needed to be saved and used a very low point in my life when I was very vulnerable, leading me on line by line to welcome Jesus into my heart. Like some kind of trap or twisted deal.

He's a satirical form of some really shitty fuckheads. And potentially awful predatory people. Yknow like the Inquisition, holy wars, Christian nationalism, all the shit in the Vatican & Catholicism, fucking billionaires and the ever infamous tele-evangelists (which is exactly what the song is abt FYI)

He's a villain and the very thing this band talks about in their music. A hypocritical, self serving, lying, coward. A manipulative little parasite. An ego driven, shitstain who uses god and a book to hurt and use as many as they wish. To get what they want no matter the cost or who pays it. All he cares about is that he keeps his power and doesn't have to face any consequences. He's got a whole flock of sheep and plenty of scapegoats as a pastor. You'll never find him practicing what he's preaching. Won't see him sacrificing. He's got a congregation to do that for him.

He would hurt the characters of the band if given chance. With out the shadow of a doubt in my mind because people like him have hurt me for much less than what any of the characters in Ghost lore are or have done.

He's not a blorbo. Or a secret fling of one of the Papas. Defroque is the asshole who might have traumatized them. He's the conservative fucker trying to set the Ministry of Ghost on fire. There is no enemies to lovers trope here. He's the fucker who wanted to exorcise me for listening to ACDC and Iron Maiden

Needless to say Jim Defroque fans dni.

Edit: The Hockey players are apparently minors? Like Teens. So yeah I stand by what I said. Defroque can choke.

[meksters]

So...about the boys in Wednesday...Let's be honest they aren't that great. But i kinda think that's the point. Obviously, spoilers ahead.

Disclaimer: I was not in this fandom before yesterday so I love Enid but i don't ship her with Wednesday. Completely fair if you do but personally i don't dig that dynamic for a romantic pairing and i think Enid is too good for Wednesday 😭 I really thought we'd have more Bianca x Wednesday but alas

Now the "Love Triangle", was it is even one?

Let me start with Xavier. Besides the tortured artist boy being a least favorite trope of mine (ironic considering i am this trope) he just didn't have much depth. He doesn't get along with his dad, he's rich, popular, into Wednesday. What else? He's obsessed with Wednesday. Like i know he can't help seeing her in his dreams but the way he goes about his interest in her is icky and not in the fun way. Xavier is Bianca's ex bf (side note: can we get more Bianca love pls?) And broke up with her bc he felt she was hypnotizing him. Which is ironic considering he asks her to make him forget about Wed. Glad the show touched on how not cool that was.

Other than him just not really having much depth, he is also the "love interest" and i use the term loosely that Wednesday is the least interested in. She only ever entertains either boy when she has an ulterior motive (which y'know girl slay gas keep), but Xavier really never had a shot and I hope the end scene was more them becoming friends than anything bc imo they had negative chemistry. Wednesday doesn't care about Xavier's feelings. She doesn't care about his warnings. He is just of no importance to her until he seems like the killer. I really hope they give Xavier a glow up and keep them as just friends, we need more m&f friendships that don't turn romantic.

One to the other (more successful) love interest. Tyler.

Now i didn't put love interest in quotes this time bc he actually got a kiss. Lemme make this clear, Wednesday would have never gone along with Thing's shenanigans if she was interested in Tyler. She would have never gone on the date or kissed him if she didn't want to. Of the two dudes, Tyler is imo the only real love interest of s1. Xavier is just some guy who likes her. Tyler may or may not have been into Wednesday but she was into him. If you disagree with any of this that's fair but i think we watched different shows idk. Wednesday was definitely into Tyler in the end, but was he into her? Was any of it genuine or was it all an act? Idk for Wednesday Addams, i think a manipulative monster is probably her dream guy just saying

With that established, I need to admit that Tyler is my preferred love interest. Now lemme explain before you run away, Tyler is a manipulative POS but that's exactly why he's great for Wednesday. She's an Addams, they are a family full of manipulators, criminals, and altogether twisted people. Yet at the same time they're lovable and loyal to each other. Wednesday canonically tortures her brother, she's not called toxic for no reason, she's the most malicious Addams we know. Even Fester is mostly just a goof, a murderous goof but still. With the caveat of Tyler getting a redemption arc in next season, i can totally see the show overlooking his murders bc we still don't really know what being a Hyde entails and like i said, the Addams don't seem to care if you killed or kill people, just don't wear pastels. And honestly it's a bad look to just cast aside the traumatized, abused, and neglected kid as evil and leave it at that. With our protagonist being who she is, i hope the writers give Tyler some more screentime bc i can really see him being a great rival/frenemy to Wednesday and personally i think if she does get a romance, enemies to lovers is probably the best trope for her.

If you made it this far, damn sorry you did that to yourself. If you're a wenclair girlie, I'm rooting for you but it's just not my cup of tea tho I'd love to be proven wrong in subsequent seasons

[megashadowdragon]

bnha chapter 393 adds to my theory of decay being izukus original quirk

izuku x ochako is obviously being pushed  people comapred shigaraki and ochako quirks due to them requiring all 5 fingers touching and now ochakos evolving to extending to things she hasnt touched just like with shigarakis quirk evolution

if  decay  was izukus it would mean that that both ochako ( a quirk that would help with construction) izuku ( help with demolition/destruction) and both can work as a rescue  with izuku after evolving it would get rid of inanimate objects that would bury someone ( if he trained it to control what he destroys

“

there are parallels between   Tomura Shigaraki and Izuku Midoriya (who are of the same generation) Just as Midoriya is chosen to be All Might’s successor, Shigaraki is being groomed as the successor for All Might’s archnemesis all for one(AFO)

for more on izuku and shigaraki being foils check this post out :

hamliet . tumblr . com/post/182207900119/hero-vs-villain-foils-shigaraki-tomura-and-izuku

at the start of the story both of them are pretty terrible at what they try to do and have to learn from their mentors. Izuku is trying to become the worlds greatest hero, Shigaraki is trying to become the world’s greatest villain at the same time. (shigaraki is the evil  counterpart to izuku midoriya)

so it would be an interesting parallel if shigaraki was like izuku originally quirkless   and their respective mentors all for one and all might gave them their quirks but all for one gave him a quirk decay unwillingly and without his knowledge  so that he would accidentally kill his family

this person gives a lot of evidence for shigaraki being given the decay quirk by afo though makeste thinks afo stole shigarakis quirk and replaced it with a new one instead of being quirkless :

makeste . tumblr . com/post/183799846838/bnha-222

.

AFO engineered this entire situation in order to traumatize Nana’s grandson and manipulate him into becoming the deranged little villain boy we all know and love today.

evidence:

it’s safe to say that Tomura’s quirk isn’t anything like Nana’s, or else All Might and Gran Torino probably would have put the pieces together a lot sooner. so that means that Tomura either got his quirk from his mother’s side of the family, or else this isn’t his original quirk

AFO just happens to find Baby Tenko in the aftermath of him having accidentally murdered his entire family. and he knows exactly what happened. and the circumstances just so happen to line up perfectly for him to gain Tenko’s trust and manipulate him to hate All Might and heroes in general. what I’m saying is, clearly none of this is actually a coincidence. which means AFO either killed Tenko’s family himself and then fudged Tenko’s memories to make him think he did it, or else he engineered things to make it so that Tenko would kill them

Tomura admits to having no clear memories prior to meeting AFO, so he was either traumatized to the point where he suppressed all those memories for his own self-preservation, or his memories were purposely manipulated by AFO. I don’t doubt AFO is capable of this, and right now it seems the more likely option to me. AFO seems fairly confident that Tomura won’t regain those memories but will still retain the emotions

lastly, AFO and Ujiko were clearly not above “tinkering” with him, since Ujiko asked AFO whether or not he should do so after Tenko had his mini-breakdown upon seeing the hands. idk about you guys, but I got a feeling they had already done something and he was talking more about fine-tuning whatever it was, but AFO decided against it

afo stole decay quirk from izuku as an infant maybe the doctor found a way to detect what a kids quirk will be during infancy and allow afo to steal it and gave it to shigaraki  who was actually born quirkless. or izukus quirk first appeared  when  izuku was a baby

I mean the first quirk user was found in a glowing baby so its possible

and it would make an interesting connection between shigaraki and izuku

and add to the parallels between them

while izukus quirk was stolen shigaraki was given that quirk and neither of their fathers wanted them to be heroes

“

All For One having been the one to give a Quirkless Tomura Shigaraki the Decay Quirk would be a good story decision and another great parallel to Izuku Midoriya and All Might.

“the itching being his body rejecting the quirk because it’s not his own or the random stranger who found Tenko on the street and just after that the quirk got activated)“

I may be reaching this theory may be crack  but hey bnha is ending soon so I just want to make at least one more theory post of my own 

[low-budget-korra]

Comments on House of The Dragon s01e08

The acting

Everybody gave us a show. Olivia when Alicent learned what Aegon II did to Dyana, holding back her tears for what her son did. Emma when Rhaenyra talked alone with Viserys. Paddy in every scene he was in. Gosh the acting in the series is being amazing so far but this episode was phenomenal. So much was said, and so much was said just by the actors gaze. Amazing

The Sea Snake

Okay, I genuinely understand Vaemond claim it's a fair one and it fits one of the shows subjects about the second son always have to fight for something, we saw that with Daemon, with Otto and now with Vaemond.

But c'mom man. Rhaenyra wasn't wrong, you may be concerned about your family blood but you also want the power of being the lord of Drifftmak. Corlys isn't even dead and Vaemond is already plotting against his lord, Corlys, wish's and his wife. Corlys was the Sea Snake but the one who acted like a Snake was Vaemond

And finally someone was punish after saying that Rhaenyra kids are bastards.

The Kids that are no longer kids

To people in the fandom really believe that a rapist would be a good king? Aegon II is disgusting and just mean. I get you are traumatized or wherever by the toxic environment you grow up but doesn't make it okay all the shit you do.

Aemond saw Daemon being all cool murdering Vaemond and thought to himself "I wanna be as cool as my Uncle". And with that in mind he almost ruined one actually sweet and happy moments between Greens and Blacks, what a dick.

Jace and Luke are such sweethearts. Always by each other, by their family. Jace always protecting Baela, such a gentleman. Rhaenyra raised those boys pretty well.

The Dinner

That dinner really was the calm before the storm type of scene. Say wherever you want about Viserys be a weak king but overall he was a good man who only wanted to see his family together and happy and in his final moments he saw exactly that.

Rhaenyra once again trying to make peace with Alicent and this time, Alicent being reciprocate. How Alicent runs to apologize and reach for Rhaenyra arm, I felt that she really does feel sorry for what happened last episode and wanted peace at last. And after what Aegon II did, he may have thought to herself that her son didn't deserve to sit on the throne.

The prophecy

I like how they remember the Song of Ice and Fire dream, making Rhaenyra claim don't look greedy or anything. She was happy in DragonStone, she may have thought that may not be worthy be possible war for her to sit in the throne. Reinforce that promise to her is reinforce her claim and motivation. Which I think it will be important when her son's start to die.

I just don't get it way they made Alicent heard the prophecy. She is already a deep character with deep and conflicted motivation's. For the Dance to happen she didn't need to thought that Aegon II was the chosen. Which also supports her claim. I get that they may not wanted to make the good and evil sides so visible to us, that they wanted to make the "evil" ones be more pleasant towards the audience but still

[opinated-user]

Ok so I've never watched Owl House but I will say, everytime I see Lily shittalk Hunter, comparing him to Kylo Ren and whatnot while putting up pictures of him I have to laugh because, he does not give me That Vibe at all. His design makes me think "awkward troubled boy", not "generic angsty evil guy" ("adorkable" would be another good word to describe him tbh).

And from what I've seen, teenargers tend to put him in the "he's just like me" box, as opposed to "omg he's so hot". Especially transmasc teens tend to relate to him I've noticed.

It's just so funny when Lily says something like "generic angsty white guy" and on the screen you see Hunter with the goofiest smile like, girl I'm not convinced sorry.

tbf a person can relate to a character and also find them attractive. hunter is a fictional teenage so if teenagers girls or boy or non binary people find him attractive, there's nothing wrong with that. it's only wrong when an adult woman feels entitled to judge them because of doing the most normal thing any teenager can do.

hunter starts as a dark and mysterious villain with sassy moments, which is when and how LO liked him to be, but the more is known about him we find him to be just a traumatized boy who wants to belong somewhere and have friends. he's not my favorite character, but i can easily see why it would be the one for so many other people and why he became popular in fandom. the experience of seeing a character evolve and change makes them more interesting than the characters who stay the same the whole way through, which is exactly how LO wants all characters to be.

[ben-the-hyena]

I GOT HIT BY AN EPIPHANY

I GOT THE BEST IDEA FOR A HEADCANON

I HATE THE ENDING OF THE PETIT VAMPIRE MOVIE RIGHT ?

SO @papabirdurskeks AND I FAN REWROTE IT ?

BECAUSE THR OFFICIAL ENDING NOT ONLY FEELS WRONG IT IS INCREDIBLY CHILDISH AND ANTICLIMACTIC JARRING WITH THE PERSONALITIES WE KNEW

REMEMBER PANDORA ERASES AND POSSIBLY MODIFIES PETIT VAMPIRE'S MEMORIES ABOUT BEING CHASED NY THE PRINCE ?

WHAT IF WHAT WE SAW IN THE MOVIE WAS A NEW MEMORY SHE PUT ON HIM AND MICHEL SO THAT THEY ARE NOT TRAUMATIZED BY SEEING THE GIBBOUS BE RIPPED APART BY THE VERY GOD WHO HAD TRIED TO EAT THEM CENTURIES AGO SO TO PRESERVE THEIR INNOCENCE SHE AND THE CAPTAIN AGREED FOR A "and they lived happily ever after, the end" MOMENT PUTTING IN IT THE REASON OF BOIS DORMANTE'S DEPARTURE TOO SO THAT AS OOC AS IT IS IS POSITIVE AND WHAT WE SAW IN THE MOVIE IS JUST THE KIDS' PERSPECTIVE ? THAT WOULD EXPLAIN WHY THE BATTLE SUDDENLY STOPS A FORCED WAY, BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY *IS* FORCED

Because when the end starts sucking, see how DRASTIC AND SUDDEN it is, hence why it shocked me initially, see how the Captain is in danger of being killed and the Gibbous charges at him with an evil grin ready to do it, Pandora rushes to protect him, and SUDDENLY gives the incel who ruined her life all the time a "this is not good !" speech gently-firmly scolding him and he is sad and agrees. Come to think of it it feels like Pucci the dog going "I must go, my people need me", something created at the last moment and feeling artificial for that. Little Vampire remembers this and is weirded out because it is weird to have done and said for all parties especially for Bois Dormante's "choice", but that's what he remembers so it must have happened and he won't remember a horrific vision of an eldritch deity double-killing someone by eating them

And she did that to Michel too because she grew attached. Possibly the 3 other monsters as well, since they are essentially kiddies at heart especially Marguerite, since they didnt remember the Gibbous before I guess she had erased their memories in the prologue as well

It is NOT very ethical but she did it once, she can do it more if it means "protecting the children's innocence", Pandora isn't perfect either and even less her pirate husband

Imagine how awkward it is at a lunch

Michel "I do miss Bois Dormante"

Petit "me too, but at least she's happy with her new boyfriend !"

Michel "right, good tye Gibbous wasnt so bad after all^^"

Pandora and the Captain chuckling and nodding but really they are sweating inside

Plot twist : one day Bois Dormante coincidently comes visit out of nowhere because she does miss the Captain as her friend and old crush for his surprise and Pandora's rage ("I THOUGHT WE WOULD NEVER SEE HER AGAIN?!"), she did move on from him and presents them her new boyfriend who coincidently looks EXACTLY like the Gibbous when he was a human so PERFECT now it can be a perfect alibi to the kids and they ask her to pretend that she only remembered them recently and asks him to pass as the Gibbous which weirds him out not even knowing who he is and that poor human finds himself having to catfish children (but not weirded out as much as the Captain and Pandora themselves because they feel like seeing the asshole again and it just knots their stomachs whenever they see him at first)

[cafeleningrad]

ah yes, the character who called Sansa a stupid little bird is hated for his looks

am I going to take the bait of bad faith reading? Well, why not.

I already sat through an entire discord server who demonized Tyrion and Sandor but shipped Sansa only with handsome men, so yes, albeism and lookism may not be an apparent factor in the Stansa circle but yes, at some point it is noticable how wilfully misread Sansa's POV chapters are in her relationship to Sandor (and Tyrion to that extend). I also ask myself if you can't handle the ambiguity in general, ambiguity of a character's personality informed by trauma but still living on and by default having to interact anyway with people, and to some extend beauty and the beast motives, if ASOIAF is the right reading material for you.

Is Sandor a nice man who gives Sansa the comfort she needs? Heck no. But he does object Jeoffrey's commands to abuse Sansa further by Boros, he saves her from the KL riots whereas everyone who acts courtly left her on her own devices. Sandor' so deeply caught up in and can't physically escape from trauma (Gregor is still alive, under Tywin's generous protection for Sandor to get away), he is an unpleasant, rough person but Sansa's compassion leads him to be, in spite of demeaning words, more knightly to an actually unprotected person than anyone else in Jeoffrey's court. And may I add, that Sandor was unsympathetically ready to slaughter a defenseless butcher boy yet for the one person who showed campassion to him he's ready to refute royal orders - by the same king who ordered him to kill the butcher boy when the king was the status of a petulant prince. Also weird tend how people are ready to let the Lannister's who pushed Sansa into social isolation and towards Sandor (in this case literally by Jeoffrey), and Tyrion get away in a lukewarm manner. Tywin moving Sansa like a pawn to shut up his hated son and the Northern calls for revenge for the Starks? Gets barely mentioned how he sees Sansa as an unperson. Maybe people oversee it because this is how he sees mostly everyone else, especially women. Cersei? Yeah, I know, we love evil women apparently on tumblr. But for Cersei's very complicated way to deal with her own sexual trauma and womanhood, she has no qualms to do to Sansa exactly what was done to her by Tywin and Robert. Not to mention she finds amusement is seeing how humiliating the wedding looks for Tyrion. But not treated by the standom as big Sansa antagonist, ok. Jeoffrey? We all dislike Jeoffrey. But let's be real here: One one hand, Sandor is rude to Sansa, talks her down for using the only defense she has left: diplomacy and courtly politeness. On the other hand you have a power tripping teenage boy who makes forces her to watch the decapited heads of the everyone from the Stark household she liked and even loved, orders repeated physical and sexual abuse to the extend which is executed by apathetic knights. Even Arys who was internally sorry for Sansa did participate in her beatings ordered by a king who isn't of legal age, even in Westerosi standard. (And because I will be pesky about it, yes, Tyrion did put an end to Sansa's public humilitation, Jaime later greatly criticized his fellow White Cloacks for executing Jeoffrey's orders because refute was an option.) Read what I read how you like but in my book, what Jeoffrey did, how Cersei and Tywin thought then treated her is far more abusive than a guy who is unfriendly but in the end protective. (Not to mention how Sandor is a plot device in Sansa's journey of disenchantment but I digress.)

Look, Martin even said so himself, he inteded to write characters not everyone could like. There're also characters I prefer over others or don't get why people like them so much. Sandor is in a category of sympathy over actual liking category for me. Yet reading Sandor as the one who uniquely traumatized Sansa is not disproportionating harm, it's greatly misunderstanding plot.

[figureone]

Yk i used to really disagree with your theory about the mindflayer, mostly because it's a trope i really dislike, but now I'm seeing all those completely insane theories/analysis about henry never having murdered anyone, Henry having clones and I'm like ????? Suddenly the mindflayer influencing Henry is a great idea in comparation, at least it makes some damn sense, i mean, people can theorize whatever they like, i know it's supposed to be fun, but acting like it's 100% canon and everyone else is stupid for not noticing it is annoying, they used to mock Henry apologists and now Henry is a saint and he has an evil brother/clone or whatever that is the actual murderer, they now claim to love Henry but for some reason ignore everything Jamie has ever said about his character unless they can twist it to fit their narrative

Anyway, i really like how you talk about Henry, and how you write him in your rp blog, do you have a degree in psychology or something? Because you write really well

Its been a ride hasn't. I mean they explicitly made posts mocking and dragging me personally for my posts only to turn around and start saying some of the exact stuff I said that they mocked me for, ONLY instead of actually being logical and normal about why they think xyz they started coming out with these absolutely batshit insane and outlandish theories of why Henrys cool actually while simultaneously maintaining this horrific shit about how hes a pedo and rapist. Like I dont get it?? What?? I mean, I think I blocked everyone in the tags (save for my followers LOL) about the time they started saying Henry's actual crime is rape and it was VIRGINA (Who is also a pedophile and a rapist, and Henry's rapist specifically -shudders-) who ACTUALLY committed all the murders and also something about "Peter Ballard" being Henry's gay lover or whatever, I don't know, I refused to read most of the posts and after blocking I haven't seen any for ages. Like I def missed the clone stuff and surely A LOT of other out of touch shit, lucky me. But EXACTLY! You're right. This is meant to be fun and I like(d) reading different peoples takes and thoughts, even if I don't or didn't necessarily agree. HELL I love making crazy AUs and playing with concepts that aren't even canon and just having silly fun like that but like. They had the audacity to be mocking me and other Henry fans for being Henry fans, then turning around and coming out with all that and then suddenly calling themselves Henry fans. What in the fuck? Never seen a lack of self awareness quite like it before. The self-absorbed, holier than thou tone and way they imposed this on "stupid Henry Creel apologists" like me only to get to where they are now with the shit they post is just ??? They're really like "I can excuse pedophilia and rape, but I draw the line at murder in self defense." Also I love how that watchman anon was a whole thing, bc ofc they had be going on about how Dr Manhattan was in his 30s and having some relationship with a 16 yr old or some crap and that this is relevant to Henry which is literally not and then Jamie came out and confirmed thats all bullshit like I hate to say I told em so but. Then I've seen folks making posts about shipping Henry/Vecna and Will and at first I thought they were joking / mocking but now I'm sure they're serious. I even had like an ACTUAL blog for shipping Will/Vecna follow me the other day (which I promptly blocked like that was low key traumatic for sec there, like the edits made me feel unwell give how UNDERAGE Will clearly is and looks as a young boy / teen vs Henry/Jamie's pics who def looks like a grown ass fucking man in his 30s ... Ugh.)

And this all isn't actually surprising to me bc a lot of assholes I've encountered in fandoms like this usually have all these secret "taboo" turn-ons (like pedophilia and non-con) and have secret accounts on sites like ao3 and twitter and flist and whatever to produce content surrounding that sort of stuff while acting like the head purity police in public on tumblr. Which is why I think some folks come out here talking so much nonsense surrounding those things, like its secret psychological fetish mining because suddenly people are agreeing like "oh yeah this character could be / is a pedo / a rapist / haha vecna has a crush on will / vecna raped will / this is all so obvious!!" etc, like its all just... So far out of touch with the source so canons def not where its coming from or why they're obsessed with those takes and that kind of stuff, and when ppl rb it and spread it, it validates them in a sort of roundabout or even direct way. And given the first ever post like that I saw from that group about Henry/Vecna as gay (and a rapist/pedo) was spoken about in a weirdly self indulgent, hurt/comfort, wump/wumpee, fanficcy type of way including Mike having to like, win Will with his pure gay love vs Vecna's evil gay lust. Took me back to 2009, I thought they were gonna sign off with some shit like "YAOIZ FOREVER!!! SO SMEXY!!! xDDDD :3 owo" Really makes you wonder. ANYWAY, big ol ramble aside, THANK YOU! Maybe I can turn you into a mindflayer theory truther 😉 sjfkhfjkd. Also thanks so much about the writing, thats been the highlight of my day ;_; TBH I don't have any professional skill at all. I taught myself to read and write (I mean that literally as the autistic kid everyone not subtly gave up on.) so I'm kinda blown away by that as a compliment. 😭 I think it maybe just comes down to the fact that I have personal experience with child abuse / abuse / mental illness / trauma / neurodivergence and also a big love of the horror genre and those things are mostly where I write from so they probably work well for Henry/Vecna's POV, but IDK. Tysm. ❤️❤️

[purble-turble]

So I've got some thoughts about DKR and TT if you'll indulge me for a moment, Purbs. Not plot stuff but like, Meta thoughts.

I've always found it a little odd about myself why while the time travel Au is highkey one of my favorite lmk AUs in the Fandom, and I absolutely ADORE TTRed, I could never really get into DKR other than as the villain of TTRed's story. But i've been in a lord of the rings mood lately and I think i figured it out

so everyone knows that speech Samwise Gamgee gives in Two Towers, yeah? the importance of still keeping hope alive even in the most dire of circumstances because a new day WILL come eventually. the folk in those stories had plenty of chances of turning back but they didn't because they believed that there was enough good in this world to be worth fighting for, and all that.

And keeping hope for the sun to rise even when lost in the darkest of nights is kind of TTRed's whole thing.

Whereas there's very little HOPE in the DKR universe without TTRed there swearing to change the course of fate, which is kind of the point, yes, but the fact that the only permanent solution that's not a full stop bad-end is DKR dying since nothing else will stop him for good as the Calabash storyline proves. and the only way for that to be narratively satisfying is for MK to be the one to kill him, putting more pain and trauma on someone who's already suffered far too much at DKR's hands. leaving that finale while on some level cathartic for the end of a nightmare, still a phyrric victory at best.

i'm not sure if i have a point to all of this so i'm just gonna go reread Test of Time and cry about that one terry pratchett quote and think about the poor traumatized muffin (and btw thats the cutest pet name for TTRed poor dear) "Let there be goblin hordes, let there be terrible environmental threats, let there be giant mutated slugs if you really must, but let there also be hope. It may be a grim, thin hope, an Arthurian sword at sunset, but let us know that we do not live in vain"

Oh my gosh Anon, yes, thank you for this, you absolutely hit the nail on the head here with this analysis!

Demon King Red is about a person losing himself into madness because he doesn't understand what it means to love, and when he's forced to choose between two things he loves he tries to force them both together and it ends up destroying all of them. It's a story of devastation and ruin and nobody comes out of it better than they went in. Meanwhile, Time Travel Red Son's story is about seeing that horror and the cruelty and selfishness and deciding that he will not let it be his own fate, and in doing so he learns what love truly is. It's not something you have or take, it's something you give and receive, and it cannot be forced. And while he doesn't exactly get out of it unscathed either, he's still always working to be a better person and that intent is the most important thing about him and his story.

TT Red is definitely the hope of morning to DKR's black, somber night. So it's completely understandable that you weren't so interested in DKR's story without TT Red there to give it that spark of hope. I definitely agree that a story with only a bleak outcome possible isn't quite as interesting. It's fun to make characters evil and have them suffer, but when it comes to having a full narrative, the lack of hope certainly makes it less appealing. Which is why the traumatized muffin's story is the one I chose to tell in full via a fleshed out fanfic (and yes I agree, that's the best nickname for him lol) and not to spoil anything for that fic, but you're definitely right about the only good ending is going to end up in more trauma for MK (and you're even more right that the story demands it to be MK who kills DKR ultimately) And that ending is only possible because of TT Red's presence.

Also I'm super mega flattered that Samwise Gamgee, the goodest boy of all, reminded you in any way of my story and my traumatized muffin. And that Terry Pratchett quote, it’s one of my favorite quotes by my favorite author to boot! You're gonna make me blush bringing these amazing things up in reference to my silly lego AU lol 🥰

[willel]

this is going to sound a bit harsh, but I genuinely wonder why Mike is such a celebrated character within the ST fandom (at least on Tumblr and twitter anyway) like I always see mike icons, mike edits, mike theories, "we must protect mike, he's just a baby" basically constant infantilize of him, and I never see that same level of dedication for consistently good characters like Dustin and Lucas. I get if some liked Mike from 1 and 2 and they're still holding on to that, but he's gone downhill to the point where it doesn't make sense to still be in the top favorite (if I'm being honest i do feel like it's bc Finn Wolfhard plays him and ppl are obsessed with Finn, basically pretty privilege)

Everyone has their favorite character, and they want their favs to get more screentime and do more things and I teract with more people.

As you said yourself, people have reason to like Mike because of season 1 and season 2. Although Mike isn't in my top 10 favorite characters list, I don't hate or dislike him. With some tweaks on the writing, I think they can really round out his character arc.

His arc is not as dramatic as say, Will or El's, but it's there and it can turn out nicely. (This in refence to me speculating that Mike is meant to be the average normal one so that he can bring a guiding light through Vecna's darkness since the rest of the party is quite a bit more traumatized than him at this point)

Like I wrote many years ago though, I just wish some of the most avid Mike fans would stop trying to put down literally every other character to make Mike look good. Mike is wrong sometimes, and that's ok! He's not evil or a villain, he's a silly teenage boy. We've all been teenagers once and sometimes we say or do stupid shit. Not out of malice, but when you are that young, you're still going through many "first times". Your first day. First kiss. First breakup. First fight. First everything.

I don't think these are reasons to hate a character, just a reason to hope he'll grow up a little bit. When fans try to wipe away his little mistakes as someone else's problem, you start to breed resentment among fellow fans... Which is exactly what has happened.

[11queensupreme11]

Omg is there like a specific reason Mizuhime has attracted the ppl around her to go yandere for her? Like normally it’s HER family that are the yanderes so is there like any explanation?

If you mean if there’s any evil entity that out there to ruin her life (aside from me) that’s purposely throwing a bunch of yanderes her way, then no. It’s just me messing with her 😅

I do try to make actual reasons as to why these guys would be obsessed aside from the boring old “yandere sees her and is obsessed at first sight” bs. Most, if not all, of these guys are canonically dark/grey/unstable characters from the beginning, so it’s not too far off that their love wouldn’t exactly be the most healthiest. 

Gojo: Unstable af, has lots of trauma from BOTH of his lives so ofc he would be a fucked up lover in general, but he does has a very specific reason that he’s so obsessed with Mizuhime, but that’ll be revealed later (when I reveal what happened in the Heian Era)

Yuta: Also very unstable and traumatized from having to witness all the times Rika hurt someone to “protect him”. Because of Rika, he lived a very lonely and isolated life; he had to push his own family away from them to keep him safe, bullies saw him as an easy target because of his skiddish demeanor. Mizuhime is not only one of the few ppl who showed him kindness in years, but he also sees her as a savior of some sorts since she was the one who told him all about the sorcerers and got him to transfer to a better school which eventually led him to his canonical character development and all that. 

Megumi: Not very traumatized as the other two, but he’s pretty grey and had a shitty life because of his dad abandoning him and his sis, his sister being put in a coma, and now he’s stuck working for a corrupt society. He has this fixation of only protecting good ppl, and he sees Hime as one of them. His yandere-ness isn’t completely out yet, so who knows what he’ll do 😃

Now... slight spoiler underneath, I guess??? It’s about the remaining characters that have yet to show up. I won’t give out too many details though.

Yuji: If you’ve read the manga, then you can see that his life is going downhill FAST (Gege please just give our boy a break 🥺). Baby’s getting traumatized left and right and he’s losing almost everyone he loves. He’s the most kindest and rational of the yanderes, but now his mental state’s being chipped away. He doesn’t want to commit any of these dark thoughts on Mizuhime, but it doesn’t help that he has two certain characters (👀) trying to push him off the edge. 

Sukuna: HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. You’ll see the full reason once I start writing about the Heian Era 💖

Choso: If you’ve seen the manga, then you know that Choso loves his brothers fiercely in a way that people aren’t used to seeing. So already it’s in his character to be intense and passionate for those he cares about, and that’s just for familial love 😩 Pls he’s basically already a yandere

Ryu & Hajime: n/a

Sorry but I’m still planning out the details for these guys, and my plans for Ryu are especially scarce. I don’t want to write anything in here for them because I haven’t fully decided on concrete ideas yet. 

[gregrulzok]

Tokyo Revengers Died:

Aka a collection of disjointed thoughts and ramblings about the latest chapters of TR and how they've been... Not... Good...

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️ Up to Ch.271. also this is very negative.

I don't even know where to begin with this.

I loved Tokyo Revengers so much. I was entranced. I hailed it as one of the best modern manga I'd read.

The Bloody Halloween Arc in particular was a standout. The emotions, the action, the suspense was all so palpable and it resolved in such a satisfying and yet devastating way. I won't hesitate in saying that Baji was the highlight of the series.

Sure, the anime was weak, but that didn't matter. The manga was g o o d.

And honestly? By the time of Pah-chin's wedding every bone in my body felt and believed that this should be the end of the manga. At that point I'd already known that it wasn't the last arc, and yet I could not help the growing feeling that it absolutely should be. The only unresolved plot-point - the implication of a second time leaper - had been dropped so suddenly and baselessly that it may as well had never happened in my eyes. As far as I was concerned, that was the weakest point in the manga, anyway, so if Pah-chin's wedding had been the last scene, if Mikey had just shown up and all been well, I'd be satisfied leaving that plotline unresolved. Who knows, maybe it'd even be a fun open-door mystery.

As it stands, though... Ugh...

In theory the idea of Takemitchy now having to save Mikey rather than Hina isn't ... A bad one. It works.

Mikey at this point was definitely flawed, but highly sympathetic. We were all rooting for him.

And yet, for whatever unknown reason, the moment of Draken's death marks the death of Tokyo Revengers for me.

Like a switch being flipped, Mikey went from a sympathetic, traumatized character in need of sympathy and help, to...

Well, to an abelist stereotype, quite frankly?

He's MENTALLY ILL and that makes him a MONSTER he had DARK IMPULSES or a SECOND PERSONALITY OR SOME SHIT OOOOO

And what's worse this isn't a result of the death of his brother as was assumed before no no no !!! He's been like this since he was a child ! He was BORN A KILLER !!!! He's DANGEROUS !!

Ugh. The trope of mentally ill/traumatized characters being evil and having a dark side that will kill and maim everyone in sight is... Not only gross, but also, from a writing standpoint completely completely lacking in nuance. Which is almost insulting considering how /well/ TR seemed to be handling it, previously.

So now that Mikey is this weird warped parody of himself but Now He's Joker™, he's also become entirely unsympathetic.

Far gone is the little boy who was scared and messed up, but did his best to protect the people around him. Far gone is his sense of humor and care and companionship. Which in theory sounds good, but in practice... What reason do we have left to root for him? What reason do we have left to care about this empty husk of death threats and violence, with absolutely no heart or depth of character behind him?

This isn't Mikey. It just isn't.

(and none of this seems to be in response to Draken's death, either - there wasn't even any significant scene reflecting his reaction to Draken's death. In fact I struggle to remember if he even KNOWS he died. He and Draken hadn't been interacting for a while at that point. It's literally implied on some level that this is just how Mikey is now, regardless of Draken.)

And how is Takemitchy meant to "save him" exactly?

The only two ways this story can end is if

A. Takemitchy doesn't manage to save Mikey, which is predictable at this point, and would be wholly unsatisfying because it meant he risked and KILLED MULTIPLE PEOPLE for the sake of someone who he didn't save anyway.

Or

B. Takemitchy pulls some magic of friendship bullshit out of his ass and suddenly Mikey is Good Again except the fact that he lost everyone but It's Fine See He Laughed He's Healed.

Which is... So stupid, and contrived, and not how mental health works.

The manga has written itself into a corner, and there's no way it can conclude that would feel right anymore.

And it almost feels as though it knows that. As though Ken Wakui has realized what a shithole he's gotten himself into and is desperately trying to pull himself back up /somehow/.

What the hell are these predictions Takemitchy gets?

Why does Sanzu carry all this importance?

How does it make any sense for Shinichiro to have been a time leaper, when the only reason we know there was a second time leaper at all was Kisaki, who never even MET Shinichiro?

Why did Shinichiro even become a timeleaper by killing a timeleaper, when nothing like that happened to Kazutora when he killed Shin?

Hell why is Takemitchy a timeleaper when he never killed anyone ?? Why do his timeleaping powers (activated via handshake) seem to work totally differently from Shin's (activated via??? Suicide? Near death situations??? But not when Kazutora kills him????)

None of the new plotlines make any sense and none of them feel even remotely like they were set up in any way.

Don't even get me STARTED on the whole paraplegic Mikey thing. I don't even have words to get into how fucking stupid it is - it makes no sense, comes out of nowhere, goes nowhere, it's literally Just Shock Value in a vain attempt to let us regain some semblance of pity for Mikey.

Hell, let's zoom out for a sec...

Who are all these people?

Seriously.

Half the cast now are characters that showed up out of nowhere, and maybe like 3 of them have any sort of backstory, and 2 any sort of depth.

The characters we've spent time setting up and getting to know have gotten pushed so far into the background they may well not even exist, and they're instead replaced by these generic Gangster Types all with two personality traits a pop if you're lucky?

Where's Hina? Where's Naoto? Where are Akkun and the gang? Where's Peh-yan? Where's Kazutora? What happened to Hakkai, Chifuyu, the Kawata twins, the Haitani twins, hell even Taiju showed up just to do absolutely fuck all?

The only ones who we know and love and got any sort of attention lately are:

- Pah-chin, who got two seconds of glory.

- Mitsuya, who got a fairly touching moment (and was much more affected by Draken's death by his literal best friend and MAIN CHARACTER Mikey was), and has now been shafted to the background again

- Koko and Inui, who actually got a nice storyline, thank god.

Look I'm sorry, I know people like Sanzu and Wakasa, but besides that does anyone actually care about anyone else here? Shion? South? Takeomi? Their characters are so lackluster I struggle to put a face to any of their names, and frankly I literally can't remember a single new character introduced because they're just that fucking boring.

I don't even wanna talk about Senju.

There was so much potential there but now SHE'S just gone as well and what development we did get from her was so lackluster it failed to leave any impression on me.

And through all of this Takemitchy's devotion to this, to Mikey, has grown from concern for his friend to downright an unhealthy obsession. He's fucking insane, it's like he doesn't give a shit who lives or dies as long as he can accomplish his goal.

He doesn't give a shit about Hina, Chifuyu, Pah-chin, Toman, Naoto, himself, Draken or anything else, and frankly it no longer seems like he actually cares about Mikey either. This isn't even about him anymore is about doing

Something.

As discussed, there's nothing he can actually do to accomplish his goal, anyway.

It's just. Futile.

And this entire manga, very much so, feels futile right now.

Which, considering just the sheer amount of potential this manga had, the heights it did reach, is just so... goddamn disappointing.

[transskywardsword]

i remember your complete adoration for character playlists and love encouraging ur hf so QUICK THINK FAST DAMIAN PLAYLIST

JOKES ON YOU I ALREADY HAVE ONE MADE. it's much longer than this but these are some of the ones on there

the main character -- will wood

So, God forbid I'm seen just as an average human being I mean, imagine if antagonists lacked any evil scheme I'm the gap between a tragedy and comedy Don't come at me I'm the main character, and you have to like me

i see this as recently coming to gotham damian, who is facing a lot of mistrust or downright hatred that, after being raised the way he was, is deeply different than what he thought meeting his father would look like. he's used to being treated a very specific way and had a LOT of very specific misunderstandings about bruce's character, and finding himself alone while feeling these things is,,, rough

brutal -- olivia rodriga

I'm so insecure, I think That I'll die before I drink And I'm so caught up in the news Of who likes me and who hates you And I'm so tired that I might Quit my job, start a new life And they'd all be so disappointed 'Cause, who am I, if not exploited?

and also

All I did was try my best This the kind of thanks I get? Unrelentlessly upset (ah, ah, ah) They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear Ego crush is so severe God, it's brutal out here

this is a more adjusted but still new to gotham damian-- he knows how he's viewed, what he is, who he is, and while he's been raised to accept it, now that he's on his own, without any ally, well. it's starting to get under his skin

teenagers -- my chemical romance

do i need to explain this one. do I. do I really need to

rat -- penelope scott

i wont post the whole song but like. every lyric in it works. so you get a lot of em.

I come from scientists and atheists and white men who kill God They make technology high quality complex physiological Experiments and sacrilege in the name of public good They taught me everything, just like a daddy should

I studied code because I wanted to do something great like you And the real tragedy is half of it was true

'Cause we're so fucking mean, we're so elitist, we're as fucked as any church And this bullshit west coast dogma has a higher fucking net worth I bit the apple 'cause I loved you, and why would you lie? And then I realized, you're just as naive as I am Oh, you're so traumatized, it makes me wanna cry

Well, I don't wanna eat the rich, I'd have to eat my heroes first And my tuition's paid by blood, I might deserve your fate or worse

i can see this song applying to any of the robins and their relationship with bruce, but damian def fits the most out of all of them

oh no! - MARINA

I know exactly what I want and who I want to be I know exactly why I walk and talk like a machine I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy One track mind, one track heart If I fail, I'll fall apart Maybe it is all a test 'Cause, I feel like I'm the worst So I always act like I'm the best

just because damian is self aware of his trauma-- which I very much believe he is-- and how it affects him down to his very blood and breath, he can't undo what has been done to him.

seventeen - MARINA

Oh, you were embarrassed of me 'Cause I used my tongue freely Bet you wish I couldn't speak 'Cause when I do, you know I tell you why you appear weak

and

You teach me how to behave I felt you question the way I was brought up as a baby Well, you don't know fuck about my family

damian is very aware of how his family-- both talia and bruce-- are viewed, and how it reflects on him, and on his own behaviors. well, in his view, tough shit. he is who he is

little big boy -- madds buckley

Brimstone fire and eyes aglow Little big boy's making the whole world know his name Raised on pillars and shining lights, Breathing smoke for the right to keep his place Never satisfied 'till they all see How big this little boy can be Well the water's rising Tide's comin' in Does little big boy know how to swim? In a pond filled with fish bigger than him Oh little big boy's gonna see how little he really is

it's all fun and games until you're robin-- can league training really prepare you for the horrors of gotham?

interlude: i'm not angry anymore -- paramore

'm not angry anymore Well, sometimes I am I don't think badly of you Well, sometimes I do It depends on the day The extent of all my worthless rage I'm not angry anymore

damian is adjusting to his new family and new city and hey, even some new friends! but trauma doesn't go away overnight

lullaby - shayer james & kate douglas

Mother, all my life you taught me People can't be trusted And we have to fight to stay alive We'll always be the enemy Oh, eye for eye and limb for limb The blood that I've been swimming in Oh, mother, I've grown tired of this Mother, I've grown tired of this There's beauty and there's empathy Some people might've cared for me I hid my heart and stayed inside Instead of moving with the tide Oh, mother, I've grown tired of this

how do you rationalize loving your mother while also being aware of how she's hurt you, how she's forged you into a weapon? how do you live with that?

this is home -- cavetown

Get a load of this monster He doesn't know how to communicate His mind is in a different place Will everybody please give him a little bit of space? Get a load of this trainwreck His hair's a mess and he doesn't know who he is yet But little do we know the stars Welcome him with open arms Oh time is slowly tracing his face But strangely he feels at home in this place

damian is viewed as a monster and a danger, sometimes even by his own fellow heroes, but at the end of the day, he'll have people who love him for who he is, not despite who he is

[vrishchikawrites]

Are you still taking prompts?

Cause if so, I'd love to see a time travel fic where post-canon WWX and LWJ get yeeted back into their younger bodies, and land just before the GC transfer. And Post-Canon WWX - who's had some years of being a part of a loving, supportive family, in a non-toxic, non-abusive environment; and therefore no longer has any misconceptions about how much the Jiangs were not his family - takes one look at JC lying there on the table in the cave after WQ knocked him out (and is now in the middle of prepping for surgery); and just goes, "LOL, yeah; nope.😆 Been there, done that; 10/10, would not recommend.😝 Hey, WQ - change of plans!😎"

(Except, you know, not written like crack. 😉)

Not necessary to include, but a fun idea:

JC gets dragged along to the past as well because he has WWX's GC; so whatever sent them back mistook him for part of WWX and brought him along.

So when he wakes up from the anaesthesia, he freaks out about not having a GC anymore. And WWX has this whole story ready to tell young JC about how, "Oops, sorry; you can't have a new GC after all" - but this is Post-Canon JC; so he knows about the transfer, and knows that this means that WWX decided not to do it again.

Which means he ends up screaming at WWX about, "How dare you not give me your GC!"

So WWX feels exactly zero sympathy.

(Before that happened he was maybe feeling a little bit bad for young JC; because that JC hadn't done anything too bad yet - but he already knew how it would turn out if he went through with it. And he was not giving up his chance to cultivate to immortality with his hubby; just so that JC could Feel Like A Real Man, and go on to murder his way through life again.)

What would be really, really great about this, is if WWX had brought JC to Qinghe or Gusu; or somewhere the other cultivation sects involved in the SSC had gathered, before JC woke up. Planning to leave him there where he would be safe. So when JC wakes up and starts screaming, everybody hears him.

And they're all like, "...WUT."🤤

"You expected him to do what?!?"😲😨😱

So instead of all the sympathy and compassion, etc, that he would have gotten over what happened at LP (that he probably did get the first time), or for losing his GC; basically the entire allied cultivation world as a whole is collectively side-eyeing him.

IDK; I just think it would be really funny.

But mainly, I just want to see WWX a few years post-canon; having the chance to do it all again, and choosing not to go through with the GC transfer. LWJ going with him is because the thought of post-canon LWJ losing his WWX makes me sad; and I want them to stay together. 😋

Post-Canon JC going back and getting stuck with the coreless body he deserved is just for my own catharsis.

(The rest of that idea is simply for the lulz.) 😉

(I decided not to include JC traveling back in time. Hope this works and satisfies you!)

“No, I don’t.” Wei Wuxian sees Wen Qing blink and stare at him while Wen Ning stills in the process of making Jiang Cheng comfortable.

“What?” Wen Qing asks but rethinks it immediately, “No, no need to answer that.” She starts packing away her instruments immediately like she’s glad that Wei Wuxian has changed his mind. He looks at her and feels aching fondness rise in his chest. She must be frustrated that he made her go through all of that trouble and yet she still chooses to move before he can change his mind again.

“What… are we going to tell Jiang-gongzi?” Wen Ning asks tentatively but Wei Wuxian notes the faint look of relief in the boy’s eyes.

“We’ll tell him the treatment wasn't possible,” He says, glancing at his… former shidi. It isn’t an easy decision to make, because he knows Jiang Cheng would suffer for it. A part of him feels like he’s being unnecessarily cruel by denying Jiang Cheng his core.

But he has already paid his debt and it cost countless people their lives. Jiang Cheng’s actions didn’t just lead to the death of the Wens. Lan Zhan had told him about the numerous ‘demonic cultivators’ Jiang Cheng had pursued relentlessly. Even his love wasn’t certain how many people died or were tormented to insanity because of Jiang Cheng’s persistence.

While Wei Wuxian doesn’t intend to let the situation get so out of hand, it is apparent that Jiang Cheng can’t be trusted with power.

He is worried about how Jiang Cheng would react. Wei Wuxian had promised him a core, after all. But whatever happens, a powerless Jiang Cheng is safer for everyone.

“We’ll tell him that rebuilding the core is impossible because Wen Zhuliu destroyed his meridians as well.”

“He has,” Wen Qing points out, “I was about to repair them.”

Wei Wuxian frowns, “And can you repair them still? Without transferring the core?” That would certainly help Jiang Cheng heal faster and accept some spiritual energy transfusions. Wen Qing looks at Jiang Cheng with a frown and nods.

“Wei-gongzi… what changed your mind?” Wen Ning asks as Wen Qing goes to work immediately. Wei Wuxian knows that if he has to help the Wens, he needs to tell them the truth. While Wen Ning would trust him and accept his explanation without too many questions, Wen Qing wouldn’t be so easy.

Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, getting his thoughts in order. When he opens them again, both of the Wens are looking at him with frowns.

He grins wryly and spreads his hands, "I have a tale for you, my dear friends."

-

Jin Guangyao needed to have his last 'hurrah'. He just couldn't leave them be, even as he died. Whatever he did, whatever tool he used, it sent a shockwave of Resentful Energy that would've killed them all.

As always, Wei Wuxian stepped forward to protect people. As always, Lan Wangji stepped forward to protect him.

Wei Wuxian gritted his teeth and changed his plan at the last moment. At first, he wanted to absorb the energy and channel it somewhere else. But with so many people just lingering instead of running, he needed a different solution.

His mind flashed, he saw Jiang Cheng, and decided.

A forbidden array formed.

-

"I needed something that would use up all of the Resentful Energy and protect everyone, including Lan Zhan."

"So, at the last moment and on the verge of dying, you chose something as improbable as time travel." Wen Qing deadpans. Wen Ning is looking at him with wide eyes. Strangely enough, both look like they believe him. Well, he did mention a few things, personal incidents, that he had no way of knowing if the Wens hadn't told him.

Still.

"I'm not the one for regrets," He says softly as he looks at Jiang Cheng, "But I thought that array was the safest solution. It doesn't harm the current timeline so everyone is safe. Lan Zhan, I know, wouldn't mind following my lead in this." He did regret taking Zewu-jun's brother away from him after such a traumatic event but there really was no other option. Not with Jin Ling so close and so many innocent people in the vicinity.

Wei Wuxian is quite certain that the blast would've destroyed everything around them, including the innocent people around the Guanyin Temple complex.

The siblings exchange glances before Wen Qing returns to Jiang Cheng's side, preparing to work on his meridians, "You're going to change things." She observes, "Save people?"

"Save you and Wen Ning. Save Jiang Yanli. Save innocents, yes."

Wen Qing freezes.

---

Lan Wangji doesn't know what Wei Ying did but he trusts his beloved. When he finds himself in the past, just before the Sunshot Campaign begins and shortly after the fall of the Lotus Pier, he doesn't hesitate.

He knows that his brother is safe and his uncle is managing things at Cloud Recesses. But he also knows that somewhere out there, his beloved is preparing himself for a risky, painful procedure.

Wangji can't let that happen. He thinks back on everything Wen Ning shared with him about the incident, particularly the location of where it occurred. He's probably too late to stop the transfer but perhaps not late enough to stop the Wens from finding Wei Ying.

It takes him days to reach Yiling without the aid of Bichen but he manages and immediately heads towards the approximate location Wen Ning had mentioned.

"Wei Ying," He breathes softly when he spots his beloved shopping for some supplies. He hadn't anticipated finding him so soon but is grateful nonetheless.

Wei Ying is dressed like a peasant and blends in well with the people around him but Wangji can recognize him anywhere.

Dressed discreetly and without his forehead ribbon, Wangji too is inconspicuous. He moves swiftly towards Wei Ying and catches his elbow, eyeing the people in red and white uniform at the far end of the street warily.

"Come." He whispers.

Wei Ying doesn't say a word, just paying the vendor and following Wangji into a more discreet location.

Wangji looks at his beloved's face, drinking in his bright silver eyes and sharp features with acute relief.

"Wei Ying, you… you look well." Strangely so, for someone who has just given up his Golden Core.

Hope stirs in his chest and Wangji reaches for Wei Ying's wrist.

His love's lips quirk in amusement, but Wangji ignores him, focusing on sending his spiritual energy through Wei Ying's meridians.

A strong core pulses in response.

"Wei Ying," Something bright and triumphant burns in his chest and he resists the urge to pull his beloved into a crushing embrace.

He would've supported Wei Ying's decision to give up his core and cultivate with resentful energy again. He knew it wasn't evil or harmful now.

But Wei Ying chose himself. His beloved had finally chosen to save himself.

"Aiya, Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying laughs, "If you keep looking at me like that, I'll do something quite shameless and embarra-"

Wangji kisses him.

He cups that precious face, pulls him close, and slides his lips over soft flesh in a tender expression of love he can't contain.

Wei Ying chose himself.

---

Jiang Cheng returns from his trip to the mountain with a thunderous expression on his face.

He disregards Lan Zhan and grabs Wei Wuxian's arm in a tough grip, dragging him away from the crowded tea house. Lan Zhan follows without a word, his expression frosty and eyes on Jiang Cheng.

"Your Grandmaster," He spits, "Is just as useless and worthless as you. All she could do is repair my meridians! My body was too damaged for anything else, she said!"

Wei Wuxian knows Wen Qing wrote the note they left by Jiang Cheng's side but he hadn't known what she had written.

It must've been reasonably convincing for Jiang Cheng to be convinced.

"That's-" He searches his mind to find words that would be appropriately sympathetic. Saying 'that's too bad' would be just rubbing salt on an open wound.

He may dislike Jiang Cheng, but some of the childhood affection still lingers. He doesn't wish to hurt his former shidi.

"I didn't know," He says finally, his heart throbbing in sympathy at Jiang Cheng's devastated expression. He briefly reconsiders his decision but Lan Zhan shifts discreetly by his side and Wei Wuxian remembers why he made that decision in the first place.

Jiang Cheng had been unworthy of the gift he had been given.

His shidi snarls and turns to Lan Zhan, "What are you doing here, Lan er-gonzi," He snarls, "Coming to triumph in our misery?"

Lan Zhan looks at him flatly, "I came to assist Wei Ying."

"Came to assist Wei Ying," Jiang Cheng mocks, his expression tight and furious, "Well, you're welcome to take him away! There's nothing left for him to destroy. Everything is gone. He invited the wrath of the Wens on our heads to protect you and that led to the destruction of my sect. He couldn't even repay that debt. His Grandmaster failed."

Jiang Cheng turns hate-filled eyes towards him, "You are a curse. My father should have left you to rot on the streets!"

"Jiang Wanyin!" Lan Zhan warns but Wei Wuxian places a hand on the Second Jade's arm to halt him.

"I'm taking you to Meishan to be with shijie." Wei Wuxian says calmly, "And then I'll go join the war efforts."

Jiang Cheng sneers before turning his head away, silent.

Wei Wuxian does as he says. He leaves Jiang Cheng in Jiang Yanli's care and heads to Qinghe with Lan Zhan. The war goes differently than before. He manages to kill Wen Zhuliu and Wen Chao early, which gives them a big morale boost. But that's the only thing that goes their way for a long time.

"I'm going to use it," He tells Lan Zhan once, when the scales tip dangerously in the Wen's favor.

Lan Zhan studies him before nodding gracefully, "I will help."

There's no way to avoid using his cultivation method, not if he wants to keep people safe. He's more careful and restrained this time and he doesn't create the Yīn Hǔ Fú. But Mo Dao is Mo Dao. It attracts disapproval from people regardless.

Wei Wuxian doesn't care and Lan Zhan stays by his side without paying any heed to the grumblings of his clan. He goes to sleep every night with Lan Zhan's guqin notes in his ear and meditates every morning with the Cleansing purging the Resentful Energy from his body.

With a powerful and active Golden Core, Wei Wuxian can't use Mo Dao liberally without risking Qi Deviation. But he uses enough to help them win the war.

Wei Wuxian successfully retakes Lotus Pier and Yunmeng from the Wens. Jiang Cheng's hatred doesn't diminish and even Jiang Yanli grows distant after a while. Jiang Cheng's suffering and downfall hardens something in his soft shijie.

Wei Wuxian accepts that consequence quietly.

He hands Lotus Pier back to Jiang Cheng and stays on the front lines, leaving most of the freshly recruited disciples behind to protect his former martial siblings. When the war ends, argues to keep the Wen cultivators in better conditions. He makes sure everyone knows how much the Jiangs owe the Wen siblings, and saves the children and elderly.

With Jiang Cheng out of the Cultivation World and Wei Wuxian's reputation as a war hero, saving the Wen remnants is easier than it had been before.

---

Everyone is baffled when Jiang Wanyin names a new head disciple and Wei Wuxian never returns to Yunmeng. People gossip, sect leaders question, and new Jiang disciple flounder.

Neither Jiang Wanyin nor Wei Wuxian confirms it but it is clear to everyone that the Jiang Sect has, foolishly, kicked out its most powerful disciple. YunmengJiang remains wealthy but the Sect's influence diminishes significantly once Wei Wuxian leaves.

Other Sects, big and small, scramble to find Wei Wuxian, ready to offer him a place and get a powerful cultivator in their ranks. Letters pour in promising wealth and prestige.

Wei Wuxian ignores them all and settles in Cloud Recesses. He's content to teach a group of eye-wide Lan ducklings now to deal with resentful energy and limit the risk of Qi Deviation. He takes them on Nighthunts, teaches them real-life lessons, encourages creativity, and becomes a well-loved senior.

New YunmengJiang disciples aren't near as strong as their predecessors without someone to teach them properly.

People gossip and speculate as the years pass. They hint that he is wrong to leave his former sect behind but he doesn't care.

Wei Wuxian has Lan Zhan and Lan Sizhui. Wen Qing and Wen Ning live happily in a small farming village not far from Gusu. They intervene before Jin Guangyao kills Nie Mingjue. They save Lan Xichen from heartache. Jin Ling is born and has both of his parents.

That's all he needs to be happy.

YunmengJiang is no longer his responsibility.