#it was an amazing experience to be in a fandom made up entirely of original characters!

[aurosoulart]

As an anon who followed you back in Ye Olden Days, your growth as an artist has been absolutely spectacular and phenomenal to behold.

Regardless of your roots.

thank you so much - this truly means a lot to me! it's been such a journey to have come this far, I'm excited for the future......

..... and the ominous spacing of that last sentence is DEFINITELY written by someone who knows I was in the onceler fandom

[kyouka-supremacy]

I was asked why I like Beast and why I prefer it over the main universe, so obviously I ended up with a 2k+ words essay on why Beast is great. Now I feel like it diverges too much from what the original ask was actually asking for, so I'm leaving it to its own post. Enjoy.

Why do you like Beast? So, first of all you MUST know that this is a question that could keep me talking for days to no end. I'm not kidding. Here there will be some disorganized rambles but trust me, if I had time to actually do so I'd keep going on forever.

Alternative universes are cool I love Beast. I think it starts off at a point when the bsd author was more experienced from having already worked with the main series for many years, and ultimately ended up making an alternative version of the work that is more mature and refined, while still maintaining bsd's core themes (and conservative worldviews at that lmao). Starting off, the “what if” concept is endlessly fascinating, pretty much the entire fandom culture is based on it. It IS unfailingly cool to see what could have happened if Akutagawa sided with the ada and Atsushi with the pm, it is extremely interesting to see what changes out of their personalities and on the other hand what stays the same, what is intrinsically them. About sskk, I find it really compelling how Beast tackles intimate aspects of their lives, pasts and traumas. The café scene is genuinely brilliant in the way it shows, completely unexpectedly and to the reader's full disbelief, them getting along in normal circumstances. Who could have predicted that! Of all things, Akutagawa and Atsushi getting along. But it happened, and nothing before had ever shown to that extent how similar they are, how much on the same page they are, how much they're meant to be– like yeah obviously I mean romantically, but even if you're not particularly into that, it displayed just how deeply connected they are. I'm forever grateful for that scene.

Beast Akutagawa is great But I think… More in general, I just really like Beast Akutagawa and Beast Atsushi, even better than their canon counterparts 😅 Again I do think at the point when they wrote Beast the author had already gathered a lot of experience from serializing bsd for at least five years, and ended up making characters that are more solid and compelling (although please don't get me wrong, I LOVE canon sskk and I believe canon Akutagawa's character arc in particular is amazing. It's just that at least to me Beast sskk is everything I could ever ask for.). I love Beast Akutagawa! It was so so capturing to see him grow outside of the pm. And especially it was infinitely interesting to see Akutagawa grow outside of Dazai. And don't get me wrong, I love the influence Dazai has on canon Akutagawa, I wouldn't have it any other way: it made Akutagawa who he is, and I love reading about his character. But I also found it wonderful and pleasantly refreshing to see how he would be if he had never undergone Dazai's training; I like this Akutagawa who's possibly even more immature and impulsive, wild and untamed than his canon counterpart. Beast is also the universe where Akutagawa gets his chance at being a good person - which is something he desperately strived for but never got to have in the main universe -, and in the end I am a little attached to Akutagawa, so I'm happy for him! His relationship with Oda and the whole ada are wonderful, I like getting to experience a universe where Akutagawa is loved and supported, unapologetically, for who he is.

Beast Atsushi is great Beast Atsushi is AMAZING. Like. Character molded appositely to my liking ahah. He's so cool! He's so tormented! He's sweet and cruel and utterly unstable! I love him so much. He truly is Atsushi at his full potential. I love this Atsushi who's biggest fear isn't the world, but rather himself. He's beautiful and horrible and deathly and kind. He killed his abuser to stop him from haunting his nightmares, but ended up turning those nightmares into his life. He takes his coffee with three sugars. He loves his little sister and would risk the safety of his organization and the boss he's endlessly loyal to for her. The only person who ever understood him is his most loathed enemy. He's one with death and indistinguishable from darkness. His laughter stops rain. He lives in perpetual physical pain due to a choker constantly piercing around his neck and yet even that is nothing compared to the damage of his psyche. He's so, so fucked up. He deserves the world. I LOVE HIM.

Beast Dazai is great Also, I really like Beast Dazai!!! He's always Dazai, but I think his character works out a lot better in Beast for the role he covers. In canon Dazai is this omniscient, all knowing figure, but he's also a protagonist, and him being so perfectly flawless doesn't go well in the long run. You've seen it in the last season 5 episode, it just gets boring after a while– it would be nice to see him face actual challenges and high stakes for once, but he's so overpowered, that never happens. In Beast, it's pretty much the same deal (author really loves Dazai lmao), but the fact that he isn't the protagonist and instead the main villain? I feel like from a storytelling standpoint, it works so much better!! I mean, his being omniscient works a lot better– he's not the one who the reader expects facing challenges and high stakes, the protagonist is. In addition, in Beast Dazai has almost universal knowledge due to his link to the Book, so that makes his being omniscient and even god-like a lot more feasible and easy to contemplate! I think that plot-wise it just works a lot better, there's an actual reason he's so overpowered, and that reason is explained, it's in the text. Oh and I LOVE his utter devotion to Oda. I know it's the same in canon, but still… There in Beast you can see it concretely, you can see it everywhere. That very universe exists how it is because of Dazai's love for Oda, because there's nothing he wouldn't do for him, because in the whole universe, in the whole multiverse, Oda's happiness is the only thing that matters to him. I think such strong feelings of love being put so explicitly is something simply wonderful to read, and makes Dazai infinitely more sympathetic than what he may be in canon. “But I do have one regret, Odasaku— I won't be able to read the novel you'll complete one day.” LIKE YEAH, SURE, ALRIGHT, JUST SHOOT ME TO THE HEAD ALREADY. That line alone is worth the whole novel, honestly. Oh and the thing about Oda harshly repudiating Dazai, the man who literally did everything for him, who dedicated his whole life for him… Man!!! That REALLY made me sympathize with Dazai in a way canon will never be able to. All those factors only contribute making Dazai's suicide in the end all the more emotional– which I believe works really well in the story, he is an enemy and he is a god and he had to die, but still makes for an extremely emotionally charged scene and a wonderful story climax. Imo Beast Dazai had to die so that canon Dazai could live (and, hopefully, find a reason to live!), and it's as bitter as it is beautiful.

The Beast ada dynamics are great And I love the ada in Beast!!! They feel infinitely more of a family than they do in canon. Kenji, Kunikida, Tanizaki, they all seem to love Akutagawa in a way that's hard to be found towards Atsushi in canon? The way they didn't falter to rescue Akutagawa even as he went, against all their advices and pleas, to a suicidal rampage was wonderful and heartwarming. They make it sound unbelievable that when Atsushi was (mind you, unwillingly) kidnapped their first response would be that it was an hassle and that he should have dealt with it on his own (this time I truly believe it was the author learning from their own mistakes, because seriously, who does that. It makes everyone instantly feel a thousand times less sympathetic). As people have said, the ada alone makes Beast feel like the “right” universe on the basis that in it they actually care about their members. All things considered, the ada treats Akutagawa as this kind of rabid murderous gremlin they just adopted who's going to bite everyone but that they still love no matter what, and it's super cute. Beast ada really is the bsd found family if there ever was one.

A cool plot The Beast storyline is just very compelling in general? The introduction chapter is amazing, I mean, The Heartless Cur is amazing. Again, Beast Akutagawa is such a great character, and the description of his struggle to find his own humanity, although in my opinion does fall weak in some points and has flaws, still treats a concept that's very interesting to ponder over nonetheless. I like how there's a series of more light-hearted chapters in the first half, it helps solidify the characters, and those chapters are really nice to read; not to mention having lighter chapters alternated with the strikingly more gloomy and violent pm Atsushi scenes makes the latter feel all the more frightening and disturbing, it's a great narrative choice. And the big crescendo of Akutagawa storming in the pm headquarters! His fight of physics and morals against Atsushi! Them telling each other they're nothing like the other when the reader knows the exact opposite is true! It's all very good, and again, Dazai's suicide makes for a perfect climax to the story.

Sometimes being a seinen can be good I like how Beast is a seinen way more than the main story is? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with shounen manga - which bsd seems to lean towards more often than not, with only occasionally tackling more adult concepts -, but at this specific time in my life those darker themes are just something I find more entertaining to read about. I feel like the gritty and often gruesome depictions, although maybe a little overused in the manga, really help emphasize the dark atmosphere of the manga and overall effectively convey the whole “beast” imaginary as wild / violent / unpleasant / animalistic.

It's got sskk in it And in general it's just… Compared to canon, Beast is very very sskk centered. It's significantly shorter than the canon manga, and in a way that helped focus on sskk specifically, because it only had space to narrate one story, which is sskk's. And I don't know what to tell you, I'm here for the sskk. Of course I like Beast best.

Beast Atsushi is great (cont.) Back to Beast Atsushi because he's everything, really. I love how when I went into Beast I was like “I mean, whatever Dazai is making of Atsushi under the pm, if can't possibly be any worse than the constant abuse Akutagawa had to experience 😊” AND I WAS PROVED WRONG. I mean, I think the fact alone that the author could come up with something worse is remarkable. Dazai's emotional manipulation and psychological torment is, I believe, the darkest facet of Dazai we ever witnessed, and it's extremely well executed. Beast Atsushi is so so unstable, so on the brim of mental breakdown and psychosis at every second. Him being made unable to let go of the past makes him live in a perpetual nightmare. And I feel like the way his character story is unwrapped is truly masterful, storytelling wise!!!! On the reader's first encounter with him, it's evident how deeply scarred and disturbed he is, but the reader can't tell why. That adds to the mystery and feeling of unsettling surrounding the character: his story is wrapped up by darkness and it's impossible to predict, just like he is– and it's deliciously unsettling, scary, to be unable to tell anything about what made him like he is except from guessing that it must have been something really bad. And yet even then /nothing/ could have prepared the reader to what his backstory really is? And when the traumatic event is finally unveiled, it's worse then any guess the reader could have made. Atsushi's back to the orphanage flashback passage is terrifying! He didn't undergo any harm, like it would have been easy to guess; on the contrary, his torment stems from having killed his abuser. But he did so at a point when he didn't represent a threat for him anymore, when he was proud of him, when he got close to resemble a father to his eyes; and all of this he realized too late; and now he lives in constant regret, constant terror of himself. It's great, really! And even then, Atsushi carries on with being. super cool lmao. Like yeah he's unstable and everything, he's wild and violent, but he's also still very kind. He's timid and blushes easily. He also feels a lot more mature than he does in canon, and it's nice to see. He's more confident and serious, and that's nice too. He REALLY is my favorite character.

Some pretty cool scenes are in it Moving on, Beast has some truly amazing scenes. The Heartless Cur is amazing and builds up such an awesome character, Atsushi's introduction is petrifying, the Kenji / Akutagawa conversation is as deeply moving as it is cathartic. I won't be talking about the sskk café scene. Akutagawa's whole assault to the pm headquarters is rich of emotional scenes. I already talked about Atsushi's flashback and Dazai's suicide being wonderful passages both from technical and emotional standpoints. And the manga ending is just so good!!!!!!! Like it truly is the perfect ending– the way it ties up with the main story! How it feels like ada Akutagawa's story has just begun, a conclusion but also hope for what's to come. The “out behind our company's building there are some people of low character hanging about”– I can't stress enough how emotional this line, a final and definite tie to the main story, makes me, how meaningful it is in its quality of being both an ending, and a beginning. The last page showing Akutagawa at the center of the ada, it just moves me so deeply to see him being the protagonist, surrounded by a crowd of people who love and support him, getting his own chance at a life in the light 😭😭😭 “I'm going to live as an agency member. I'll solve cases, rescue the weak, and prove that I'm not evil.” Crying my eyes out 😭😭😭😭😭😭 And don't get me started on when Akutagawa and Atsushi's voices mix up to speak as one; I could never hope to be able to express what that makes me feel.

Siblings dynamics are my jam I also love Beast because one of the main aspects that drives the plot is Ryuunosuke and Gin's relationship, and I /love/ siblings relationships, and I //love// Ryuunosuke and Gin's relationship. I don't think Gin's character was written well at all (because the author literally can't write female characters for the life of theirs), but eh, at least it reinforced the concept that Ryuunosuke loves Gin terribly and would be able to do anything for her. Atsushi and Kyouka's relationship, too, is to die for.

The designs and manga art style slay Besides, the character designs are beautiful???? Akutagawa's Beast outfit is my second favorite out of the whole franchise, it's just such a look™. I love in general how rabid and messy Akutagawa looks in Beast, he feels so much more free? And like, good for him. In my head Beast Atsushi is the most handsome man in the entire franchise and I don't think I can take criticism on this. I find cutting off his longer bang such a witty way to represent not only how this Atsushi is different from the one we know (after all, that's the most remarkable and eye-catching feature of his appearance!), but also to symbolize how the cut with his past at the orphanage was harsh and violent. Characters designs aside, Hoshikawa's art style is GORGEUS. It's hard and rough and messy, it's dark and unpolished and violent and beautiful and exactly everything Beast is. It's PERFECT for the story, it's like it was made to portray it.

Sskk is always great And that's just talking about the canon content but like. Beast means a Beast sskk. Which is basically new and improved sskk. And I like sskk. And I like every version of sskk but especially this version where they're even more violent and fucked up and madly in love with each other and evidently meant to be. So yeah.

And this is like, just the very tip of the iceberg of what I love about Beast. Humbling offering you this Beast love letter in hope we can all give this novel the appreciation it deserves (๑˃‌ᴗ˂‌)۶

[olderthannetfic]

I was an undiagnosed autistic until after I graduated, so for a long time I had a lot of difficulty making friends, particularly in IRL spaces. By the time I was 16 literally every friend I had was online, and since the adults in my life weren't ideal, this online group was really the only support group I had. Unfortunately they were all antis, but they were never the aggressive kind, and I wasn't very well versed in anti/pro discourse at the time anyways, so I just dealt with it. I'd have fun with "problematic" stuff quietly and in private, and everything was alright.

At some point I came across a group of more aggressive antis, and the way that they treated artists in our shared fandom that they didn't like was so jarring to me. I ended up getting into it with them and they held a grudge against me for a long time after that, following and harassing me even after I cut ties and went on with my life with my original friend group. They just would not leave me alone no matter how much time had passed. I'd never seen that before and just tried to ignore them, but fuck were they persistent.

I'd been dealing with a lot more stress after this started, from a wide variety of IRL issues, and aside from not knowing I was autistic, I was also dealing with a lot of other random mental problems that I still don't really fully understand. I think all the stress in my life, from a lot of horrible things that I honestly think I might have PTSD from now, put me into some kind of paranoid mental break. I started behaving really erratically, very publicly. I know it was obvious because I'd constantly get concerned messages asking if I'm okay. People knew I was going through a lot and that I wasn't mentally stable.

With all that being said, this group of antis LOVED seeing me like this. It didn't matter what I was dealing with, that it was destroying my mental health. They had a grudge over some petty fiction stuff, were still upset that I told them off for harassing random people, and they used this fragile period of time for me to amp up their harassment and stalking. I started losing friends I'd trusted for reasons I couldn't understand, and it turned out they'd been telling them I wasn't trustworthy and that they should cut contact. They thought it was so much fun to feed into my pre-existing issues and make things worse.

I don't mean to trauma-dump or anything, so sorry if this is too heavy, but my point is that antis do not and will never care about how much they hurt someone, and that it's likely the entire point to begin with. Even the friends that supported me at the start ended up turning against me once I became too much of a social hazard to associate with. Even the ones who seemed like more "rational" antis, who never went out of their way to hurt anybody. They all turned out to be the same and it never made any difference what our history was or how important they knew they were to me.

It's not worth it to stay. It's never worth it to stay with people like that. Even to this day I'm amazed at how horribly these experiences affected me in the long-term. I go to therapy and end up talking about this period of time more than anything that happened during my childhood. Lots of people I trusted decided I wasn't worth the risk, not even because of anything I did, but just because I said harassment wasn't okay, and because I wasn't in a healthy state of mind. They saw my stress and paranoia and thought "Well, this isn't someone worth helping. People already don't like them. I don't want to throw away my social life for that." All over fiction. I still can't make friends anymore, this destroyed my ability to trust people. The isolation isn't worth the short-term friendships.

Everyone deserves better than that. If somebody is friends with antis... just leave. Trust me. Just get out.

--

What bullies want most is for you to cry in public.

We might not like to admit it, but deep in the core of many people is a seed of sadistic delight in public humiliation, and not the fun kind you do with consenting partners. When people feel small, when they lack control, when their real enemies are faceless or unreachable, they want something soft and defenseless and small to hurt.

Re your "friends", most people are cowards when it comes down to it.

The ones that aren't are 1. going to get harassed too and 2. are the sort of people who walk into that on purpose, which often means they're pretty confrontational and aggressive the rest of the time. Look at the life of any great activist whom we all thank from afar for what they did for our community... and you will often find a person who's not an easy or calm friend day to day. Not always, but not infrequently.

My actual friend friends that I can rely on are not only older but also usually out of the reach of the sort of people who send me death threats. I don't generally reveal their fandom names on here because it would bring a lot of nuisance down on their heads. (And, tbh, a lot of them are quasi-lurkers anyway.) The Fandom Olds you'll see openly associating with me on Tumblr generally have a cast iron stomach for wank and either like fighting or just find all the combatants so pathetically irrelevant that nothing's going to get through to them emotionally.

Antis do suck, but if you look at any sort of big fandom drama or even offline bullying, you'll see that many people will quietly slither away when the public ostracism of their "friend" gets too much. It's sadly not a property unique to antis.

Most would like to think of themselves as that fictional hero they love who stands up for the downtrodden no matter what the cost. Most are lying to themselves.

It doesn't stop me from being friendly to new people, but yes, I absolutely assume they will fold like wet tissue at the first sign of trouble, especially if I only know them online. They're not all mean people, just weak.

But yes, avoiding people such as antis who've openly told you they're hypocritical cowards with bad values is a step in the right direction.

[karniss-bg3]

Salute, Larian Studios

Heya folks! It’s been a while, I hope everyone is doing well. I’m breaking my hiatus to discuss the recent announcement made by Larian Studios on their steam development blog. I will add the link here for those who wish to read the blog in its entirety but be warned, there are patch seven spoilers within. I wish to focus on a particular section in the final three paragraphs of the document, which reads as follows:

“Being given the chance to develop a game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe has been a dream come true for all of us. But as Swen recently confirmed, we won't be introducing any major new narrative content to the story of Baldur's Gate 3 or its origin characters and companions, nor will we be making expansions or Baldur’s Gate 4. As an independent studio since 1996, we value the freedom to follow our creativity wherever it leads. In this case, after six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, we’ve decided to seize this opportunity to develop our own IPs. We’re currently working on two new projects and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store. It’s still early days - we’ll tell you more about those later down the line. But know that even as our focus turns to these new games, the sensibilities that brought you Baldur’s Gate 3 are alive and well here at the Larian castle. We’re fueled by the very same fire in our bellies, one that drives us to create immersive experiences shaped by your choices, and we can’t wait for you to join us on this next adventure.”

I will admit, when I first read this I felt a tinge of disappointment. As someone who had a lot of hope in seeing some stories continued, Kar’niss especially, this feels like the once open door is now sealed shut permanently. To be entirely fair, I always looked at an expanded Kar’niss story with skeptical optimism; hope for the best but expect the worst. After all, Kar’niss was designed as a throw away plot device that had no real bearing on the over-all narrative. Most of what has been derived of the character is entirely fan driven and not based on anything confirmed by Larian as a whole. Furthermore, there were many fan favorites that had a larger base than our dear drider and chances are even if Larian did decide to do an expansion, Kar’niss still wouldn’t make the cut.

With that said, I respect Larian in their choice. To expand on other characters would cost a lot of money and time. To juggle that alongside making new games would be unrealistic, and I understand their point of view completely. We also don’t know what is going on behind the scenes which could’ve influenced their choices all the more. Over all this situation mirrors the old saying, “Don’t cry because it’s over, be happy that it happened.” I am happy, and grateful. Without Baldur’s Gate 3 this blog wouldn’t exist. All of the amazing interactions I’ve had over several months would’ve never occurred, nor would I have found the courage to publicly publish stories to the internet. While I don’t consider myself an awful writer, I never believed my work was good enough for those outside of my personal circle. To say that my confidence has blossomed over the last few months is an understatement, and I owe that to the fantastic support of those in the fandom as well as those close to me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

With Larian closing up the BG3 shop after the next few patches the question becomes, what’s next? For me, I don’t know. Sadly I’ve been swamped lately and it’s not destined to slow down until the middle of May. By then I hope to have a sufficient breather so I can return to projects I’ve left on the back burner in the interim. The Kar’niss blog will remain in place along with all of the archived stories, theories, and miscellaneous posts that are present. I still have a few writing requests that have waited a lot longer than I anticipated, so forgive me for the delay. I may also make a new blog that is dedicated solely to writing and other fandoms of interest. When the time comes I’ll post it here and folks can follow it if they wish but I’ll understand if not. Regardless of what the future holds, I am very stoked with the experiences I’ve had within the Baldur’s Gate 3 fandom. I’m a painfully shy individual and I am not a spotlight seeker by any stretch of the imagination. This section of the internet allowed me to expand my horizons a bit proving that you can indeed teach an old writer new tricks.

I look forward to seeing what is in store for Larian Studios. So long as they stick to their passion for making good games and treating their customers like people instead of money cows to be milked, then I will support every game release that comes in the future. While I’m sad that the many questions I had about Kar’niss will go unanswered, at least the drider will live on through the stories, art and other creative works made by his fans. In that way he is eternal, as are all of the other characters we’ve grown to love over this journey.

I hope to return on a more regular basis soon. Until then drider army, take care of yourselves and thank you for your continued support.

[megafreeman]

I was talking about Saints Row to someone who never played Saints Row recently, and they asked me why do I invest myself in this series' story if I hate it so much which is so funny. But you know what? I'm beginning to think that's what makes this series so appealing in the first place.

Thinking about it, Saints Row 1 was an amazing entrance to the series, and the start of the Saints saga. Not to mention that it was literally ahead of time in the terms of delivering a deep, thoughtful storyline that took itself seriously. And then, they did something insane, something that GTA never did (this is really important, considering that at time, the reputation it had was "GTA clone"), but did a direct sequel to the first game, with a lot of returning characters. All while perfectly capturing the mix of wacky fun and serious storytelling, and all that the same Rockstar rebooted GTA with brand new cast and direction, which made Saints Row stand out on its own as a series in comparison.

And then it just went downhill from there, getting further and further from the original deep and serious direction, even being a Mass Effect parody at one point (That's the part that made the person ask me this originally btw). This usually causes the fandom to pick a favorite entry and then base their entire perception of the series on the tone set (usually SR1 and SR2 claiming the majority)

And that's where it gets fun, where you form a unique bond with series. The fanart, the fanfiction, the fanon. Because every has their interpenetration of the series, everyone tends to reimagine their own take on the individual games to fit this interpenetration. From small things like adapting Saints Row 1 to be about a female Playa, to completely rewriting SRIV and removing sci-fi elements from it.

Dex and Troy are a perfect example, where everyone has their own take on the two characters because Volition did a terrible job writing them post-SR1, and we just soak that up, take notes from each other??? Can you imagine doing that in some other fandom? Imagine going to someone in Mass Effect fandom and telling them you rewrote their favorite character in the later games because you hate the direction devs took. You'd literally be put in witness protection.

And because everyone is doing this, this creates an unique environment in the fandom where we aren't really toxic to each other and our takes on the series, because we understand its just our different experiences of the series. Especially since almost everyone I met on Tumblr fully understands that fanon is something personal to a person writing it, and it makes the experience of sharing it and consuming it a lot better compared to someone on YT or Reddit writing their "ideal" SR sequel that always seems pushing their fanon as "one true canon" compared to being a cool little story you make and share with your friends.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

thank for that amazing analysis of Izzy apologists. I'm so very tired. I adore some friends I've made in this fandom, but some of them are so deeply drunk on the Jizzy I can not *stand* talking about the show with them or Izzy anymore. It's either "Izzy is just a little guy he can't hurt anyone!" or "Izzy is gay he can't be femmephobic!" I'm so tired! He's the antagonist how is that controversial!? They see themselves as such victims too, the pointing of Izzy flaws is seen as an attack. Sigh.

im so very tired too, anon.

i really dont get it. i've been in fandoms where the fanon content all comes from a deep misunderstanding of what the original text is supposed to be. but like, it was marvel. or voltron. or that transphobic wizard school series. something where fans were actually coming up with a better version of the source material

i came into this fandom not because i wanted content that fixed what i disliked abt the source material, but because i wanted more of the source material, and there was only so many times i could rewatch the ten episodes that we have. this show is fucking phenomenal and has brought me so much joy, and talking abt this show and chewing on good analyses of the show has been so much fucking fun.

it's just disheartening, i guess, that so many people fell down this gradual pipeline of liking the weird little gremlin antagonist to having their entire fandom experience revolve around a version of izzy that reflects fanon more than canon. it makes me fucking sad that there are people who genuinely believe he's the show's secret protagonist and that season one is full of undeniable references to his inevitable redemption arc but also he doesn't need to change anything to be redeemed because he's the skyler white of ofmd (???) and he's a victim of an abusive relationship but also he doesn't know he's in love with his captain who is so mean and unfair to him and doesn't even notice how izzy dedicates his whole life to him and–

like. these people don't even like the show anymore. they just like izzy. rather, they like the version of him they've made up in their heads. it makes me so fucking sad, bro.

we got a gay romcom, y'all. we got a show that revolves entirely around the romantic relationship between two middle-aged men. we got a diverse cast. we got polyamory. we got nonbinary rep. we got fat characters whose fatness was never made into a joke. we got a character with a lisp whose lisp was never commented on. we got so fucking much from this show.

do you remember how it felt to watch this show for the first time? do you remember that joy?

i just dont understand why so many people in the ofmd fandom don't like ofmd anymore

[queriesntheories]

how do you do?

I love to make Stuff: writing things, artsy things, music things, whole buncha things. I also post a lot of nonsense thoughts, and share the cool things I find around the web, especially artsy fun things and stuff that makes internet surfing a little easier.

You’ll see some swearing in the tags, but any jokes on the ruder side I keep tagged; block #not so family friendly if you don't want to see that.

I have a Good Omens sideblog on @bananafishgorillashoelace (with a dash of nutmeg) :D

I'm proudly queer and genderfluid! Not entirely out everywhere, still figuring myself out but generally just trying to do whatever feels fun. All of my trans/queer/questioning siblings out there; I see you, I hear you, and I love you /p (and to folks who are aspec in any form, you're the freakin coolest and I hope something nice happens to you this week! this is entirely unrelated to me, I just hope you have a great day!)

If you need anything tagged just shoot me a message, I’m easy going and don’t mind it. Actually just message me generally I like talking to people :>

More info about this blog and the stuff I do under the cut, but thank you for stopping by regardless of the reason why ^^

And remember folks: Don't like what you see? Blocking is free! (and constructive criticism is recieved gladly!)

I exist on YouTube as AychTooOh, making music shitposts, playlists, and the occasional fan edit! I try to upload when I can; if you have any playlist ideas send them my way :D

I have made a Wug Picrew, so you can make a cute creature from child linguistics (this is one of my favourite things)

Sometime I write fanfiction on AO3, on the rare occasion that a silly pairing or a scenario socks me in the face with inspiration

I exist on Themeplaza too, occasionally making silly fun 3DS system themes/splashes! (and if you have any requests, shoot me a DM and I'll see what I can do!)

I have some old art on Newgrounds; very very inactive over there, but that's where you might see art I post for collabs :P

Aside from my GO sideblog, I'm also working on turning my tag #q’s internet trinkets into a neocities page! Check back soon for updates, and please send me stuff you think might fit ^^

I also have a pretty hefty original project of my own that I've been chipping away at for the better part of two to three years! If the fates align, you might see it this year!! ;D

Here are some cool people I think are very neat that you should follow too

@paperoxalis - very skilled 2D and stop-motion animator, sculptor, artist, and writer too! They recently released an adorable animation you can watch here :)

@scottysee - artist, writer and animator working on so many projects; always amazed by their work! You can join their Discord server here :)

@unknown-is-aaaa - very talented artist with an interest in plenty of fandoms, and a heck of a cool-looking art style! They also have a Twitter you can check out here :)

@galandrielle - long-time writer with a heck of a story to tell! Check out her work here! (I’d recommend starting with Michael and John - A Story of Friendship)

@canceltheact - more like a group, but these guys on the theory team are the best and are such wonderful friends to have! <3

@midnightnautilus - artist/animator/writer/squid, creator of the amazing Markiplier AU “A Bit of Madness”!

@backlitrabbit - ARG enthusiast, aspiring writer and all-round very cool human. Check out their YouTube channel here :D

#putting this in my pocket for later - stuff I save for future things

#things q thinks are cool - posts that make me go “:o” (I have many a subtag for this that usually starts with "and by cool i mean (adjective)")

#Q’s creations - the stuff I make :D (don't question the capital letter, i messed up)

#friends of q - things from my friends :)

#q’s internet trinkets - Fun/useful internet things I find that you can use (mostly free if I can help it, bc fun is essential to the human experience even if you’re tight on cash)

#q rambles - my funny little soapbox

#asks go brrr - asks :D please send me asks they're very fun

#not so family friendly - Not entirely PG-13 stuff I find interesting/funny, but still want to share. Block this tag if you want a clean dash, I won’t judge.

#bag of rainbow things - like the things I find cool tag, but LGBTQ+ community/education/history related. (and also probably personally related to me ahaha ^^;)

#yay recipes! - recipes from places! Some of these may also be in the pocket tag; I’ll work on sorting them eventually

#q’s crow obsession - for all your Corvid needs

#wiggly frequencies - the hills are alive with the sound of muse (yes I’m making a DaThings reference on my pinned post cause her stuff rocks. Anyway this is where the music stuff lives)

#because funni - *slams whiteboard* LAUGH!

(ps if you're wondering where I got these cool little gifs from they're from blinkies.cafe and they rule <3) (I also got this star divider from here!) (last updated 12/05/24)

[nodirectionhome-ao3]

Heyy. I saw the post you were talking about Sandy, one of James's exes before Lily, and I loved how you didnt minimize her into just a love interest but someone with a personality and life aside of their relationship. Thats something you rarely see in fandoms and I appreciate how nuance you make these characters. This made me wonder,

1. How long was the time line was James and Sandy's relationship? Were they on again off again or were they stable?

2. Was Lily in any significant relationships ? I know from a fic you wrote that she had one bf, and went on a date with Aubrey(if it wasnt obvious I read all your work and am obsessed with writing from all the speculation🙈) but were there more? Lily stuck to me as someone with a lot of experience on relationships and dating than James but Im curious to know your take

3. What was Jily like as a couple? Were they private about their affection or did they have alot of PDA? How did their friends react when they found out? Did they keep it a secret for a while

Anyway, would love to know your takes on these and pls dont feel obligated to do so. Just KSFM always go a place in my heart and just consider this a love letter to all your amazing work I've been bless to read

Hey!! Thanks for this ask!!

I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed what I wrote about Sandy! I definitely agree that it's unfortunately far too common for female characters in fandom (and original fiction too) to be reduced to love interests and nothing more, and it means a lot to me that you find my characters to be nuanced. So thanks for that!

As for your questions:

I'm not entirely sure how long it was exactly, but I definitely think it was an on-again-off-again type of situation that happened in their sixth year. I think they had some good moments, but ultimately they just weren't the right fit for each other. (Different personalities, interests, senses of humor, etc.) I also have this idea that it started because James thought dating someone would help him get over Lily (in the aftermath of SWM). Spoiler alert: it didn't!😅 So yeah, I'd say they were together for a short time (A month maybe? 2?), and it was fairly tumultuous. But they both ended up finding people better suited for them!

I definitely think Lily had more experience in the dating department than James did before they got together. I can see her having a few boyfriends before James, and having at least 1 of those be a serious relationship that lasts for several months. (a big deal for teenagers!) But outside of those relationships I think she went on various first dates that were terrible before finally accepting that she fancied James. For Bertram Aubrey specifically, my headcanon was that it was kind of a Hermione/McLaggen situation – meaning Lily agreed to go on a date with him because she thought it would make James jealous but then the date was so awful she couldn't bare to go on a second one.😂

I sort of go back and forth on this. I think there's many interpretations that are equally fun. But I do like to think that Lily took her Head Girl role seriously and tried be good example for the younger students, so I think they tried to keep PDA to a minimum around strangers/acquaintances. But they were very comfortable with each other and didn't mind annoying the other Marauders and Lily's friends with their coupleness when it was just them😅 As for the secret dating thing, I think they tried to keep it a secret from the school at first in an effort to maintain some Head Girl-Head Boy professionalism, but I don't think that lasted very long because they just couldn't contain how crazy they were for each other. Plus, there was no way they fooled Sirius for even one second. James simply could not lie to him!😂

Thanks again for these questions, and for your kind words. I'm seriously touched to hear you've read all my fics and that you enjoyed them!! So consider this answer a love letter right back to you for this ask!!! 💕💌

[lithefider]

I really love your aburame art/cosplays! They are really amazing and the fanfics were amazingly written too!

I'm sure you get this a lot but do you have any plans on maybe doing more with your buggy characters? Maybe not finishing the original fics since it's been so long but like writing new stories/chapters about or with them?

Ahhhh beloved Aburame clan, that's so sweet of you! 🥰🪲🐞🦗🐜 It makes me so happy to hear my art, cosplay, and those fics I made to flesh out the clan left an impact in the fandom. 💖

At this moment I don't have any plans, my writing energy is a bit more focused on TF2 ( and my Otto/Curt fic that hasn't been updated in a year and just started 💦) but the characters are indeed in my thoughts, and I had a great experience chatting in a Discord server this past year with some fellow Aburame fans. If I did revisit I think I would prefer to pick up where I left off on Aburame Ichizoku 2. What I would end up doing is an entire repost onto A03 before continuing (as FF.net is ad riddled now), going back and tweaking and editing a few things for grammer / added details. ☺️

[thisiskatsblog]

who was angela? 🌼

Oh anon, this question almost broke my heart! I'll explain why

Angela is the beautiful, crazy intelligent, most warmhearted and kind lesbian woman who ran a Tumblr blog that can now be found at lapelosa-blog.tumblr.com.

When I stumbled upon the Tumblr Larry fandom after reading a blind that was reportedly about them in February or March 2013, her blog was THE discussion place for all things Louis, Harry and LGBTQ+ . Her insights and analysis were spot on and she was a person a lot of LGBTQ+ fans struggling with their sexuality could talk to. It was a fandom hotspot for the LGBTQ+ young people who felt both inspired by Louis and Harry and hurt by what was happening to them.

She was a huge fan of Louis and she started the original Lesbians Love Louis club, LLL club for short. (Might be confusing as this is a name that Amy, who was then still called gossip-candy, later took on, but it was definitely Angela who came up with it).

My first interaction with this fandom was a request to join the LLL club. I sent her an ask hoping she'd accept me even though I was bi, not lesbian, and I signed off on the ask as Kat, which is not my real name, but short for my middle name, as I wasn’t out at the time. My ask to Angela/lapelosa to be allowed, as a bi person, to join the Lesbians Love Louis club, and her reaction to it changed my life, and ultimately also this entire fandom.

She said yes, and was extremely welcoming about my bisexuality, with some excellent analysis about the nefarious power of heteronormativity, bi erasure and monosexual bias. It was the first time I'd come out to someone, gay or straight, who made me feel better rather than worse about my sexuality with their reaction to it.

In the months that followed, Angela and I talked loads - she was an amazing person to share ideas and analysis with, and to discuss LGBTQ+ politics with. Eventually those conversations inspired me to set up a blog to combat homophobia in the fandom at takemehomefromnarnia.tumblr.com - It's through that blog that I met the people with whom I started Rainbow Direction. Without Angela's Lesbians Love Louis club there would have been no TMHFN, no Rainbow Direction, no Harry waving flags, no rainbow lights actions during SOTT, TPWK, Matilda or Lights Up, and no flags for Only the Brave.

But that's just my experience with Angela - she was so important to very many LGBTQ+ people in this community, her blog was really the "place to be" for the LGBTQ+ crowd. So many people shared their experiences there, and talked about what Louis and Harry meant to them on that blog.

It is Angela’s blog to which the anon “receipt" about Louis' encounter with an LGBTQ+ fan was submitted in July 2013, and while that fan may have been the direct inspiration for "Saved by a Stranger", because she was able to let Louis know what he meant to her directly, I would say that Angela's blog was full of such accounts and it could very well have been the broader inspiration behind the song. Her blog was a testimony to what Louis and Harry meant to LGBTQ+ fans, including herself and myself. And I think that is why she would have been very important to Louis and Harry. I am 99% certain they would have known about and read her blog, and that it meant a lot to them. Louis would have known her first name, but not her last. 

Angela left the fandom in 2017 for a combination of reasons. I cannot speak for her, but after 1D split the atmosphere became brutal around here, many fans left, and it wasn't an enjoyable place. I also suspect her professional commitments became much larger and more difficult to combine with a blog as intensive as hers. And I know that Jay's death affected her a great deal as well, it made her sad to be here and constantly be reminded of how dark Louis’ life was at the time. She is dearly missed. 

[alittledizzy]

I want to hear everything about your trip! Where you went in London, your thoughts about London, what you thought of Dan's show, highlights, emotional moments, food, shopping, everything!

This feels overwhelming to answer but I'm gonna anyway before I forget things.

The highlight of my whole trip was just getting to meet people. I loved London so much, and I love Dan so much, but there's such an emotional high of connecting with people that you've known online and never thought you'd get to actually meet. The day of Dan's show we did a meetup in Hyde Park and the turnout was so great!! We gave everyone black and orange landyards (@ahappydnp's brilliant idea) and plied people with snacks and @calvinahobbes made phannie bingo that we all had to talk to each other to play and it was perfect for getting people mingling. If I listed all of the people that I was excited to meet here then this post would be way too long and the links would probably start to break but trust me, if you were there, then I was so delighted to see you. There are a couple people I wanted to have conversations with that I didn't end up talking that much too but I really tried to at least have a few minutes with everyone. (And some of them even let me talk them into hanging out with us more the next day :D @heartsopenminds.)

The meet and greet with Dan was... it was? I don’t know words. It just was. (In the best way possible.) I had a nice little moment with him and took an instant photo and then he also offered to do one on my phone. Oh, and he got a bag of American goodies to take back home too and the first words out of his mouth were, “Phil is going to eat this.” so I’m just gonna enjoy that in my roughly hundred and twenty seconds of dedicated Dan time I invoked a Phil mention. 

Dan's show: amazing. More emotional than I expected. I don't want to post any spoilers so I guess I'll leave it at that, but truly great. I liked the preshow best though. Just Dan sitting there absolutely chill answering question after question? It was like the least anxiety inducing version of a liveshow ever. He talked about Phil freely in it, too. I mean he didn't say anything super exciting or groundbreaking but the casual mentions were plentiful.

On Saturday we did a whole day of recreating the Day in the Life tour (bit of the original London one, but of the Festive DITL) and the process went through such cool parts of London so it was the perfect blend of phannie-specific sight seeing and actual sight seeing. We got boba in Chinatown, we went by the Astrology Shop, we saw Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park. We shopped in Forbidden Planet. There's more I'm forgetting. It was literally a seven hour tour, it was fucking brilliant. So many props to Emma for guiding us through it all.

(I even got to take a picture with @spaceisviolent in front of the Capital Radio studios. I mean, Jimmy wasn't there, but it still felt right.)

I got chips and got to try halloumi (which isn't something you find where I'm from in the US) and then later that night a smaller group of us (airbnb roomies plus @europeansoul and @kavat, and let it be known I did not want to allow either of them to leave) ordered a bunch of Indian to make our own little tasting menu and the whole night was just hours and hours of sitting around talking about Dan and Phil and fandom stuff and other fandoms and I could live in moments like that forever, really.

Sunday was more chill and very full of delicious food. Me, @ahappydnp, @irrationalqueer, and @blackbearddan had reservations for afternoon tea. We killed some time beforehand walking along the river and drinking coffee and it was such a nice, chill time. The food was fucking amazing during the tea and I finally got to try clotted cream and the desserts were good and our view was good and the entire experience was 10/10 even if I felt disgustingly full afterward.

I also got to see some dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, which was brief but I thoroughly enjoyed, and after that I got to experience one of the most random and amazing moments of the trip. I met Amy in Glee fandom in 2012 and we used to email back and forth for literal years and have still kept in touch in a way that's pretty special to me, even if we don't talk regularly. She's not from England but she somehow happened to be in London at the same time I was and we got to hang out for not nearly enough time but it was still just SO fucking cool. It was the icing on a very magical feeling cake of a weekend. And then we had vegan asian food which was just fucking delicious and I slept in Judy Garland's actual bed.

I'm gonna be honest and say I'm not great at telling people (even in fandom, even my friends) that I care about them, and I won't pretend that Dan and Phil's fandom has always been a pleasant experience for me. But there are good people here and a good community, even if you sometimes have to fight your way to it, and getting this kind of connection just meant a lot to me. People like missemma and @europeansoul that I've known basically since I came into this fandom, and some people I've just started talking to this past year or so. Thank you especially to @ahappydnp but also just to everyone because this was my first time out of the US, much less to England, and it really couldn't have felt any more special and that's down to what I was there to do and who I was there to see.

Anyway. I wanna do it again, when can I do it again.

[angelasscribbles]

Dad's on the Edge: A Bad Romance One-Shot

Series: Bad Romance

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings for series: Riley x Liam, Liam x Max, Riley x Max, Riley x Drake, Riley x Rashad

Paring this chapter: None, this all the guys dealing with the children.

Rating: R

Warnings for this chapter: Language

Word Count: 3,784

Disclaimer: It came to my attention, after I named these kids, that both Alexander and Charlotte are names used by @debramcg1106 for the children in her Driam pairing. (If you haven't read it, you should, because it's AMAZING!) I reached out to her and offered to change my kids names but she graciously declined my offer. As always, any similarities to other people's works are unintentional and coincidental. My DM's are always open if you see something that you feel I should be made aware of. Thank you.

A/N: This is my offering for @txemrn father's day fic idea! Can you imagine all the Bad Romance guys trying to wrangle kids that have BR Riley's DNA? 🤣 You don't have to imagine it....here it is, hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

A/N2: Habibti means sweetheart in Arabic

A/N3: Ellie (Eleanor) and Xander (Alexander) are Liam's. Jax (Jaxon) is Drake's, Jace (Jason) is Max's and Charli (Charlotte) paternity is unknown.

My other stuff: Master List.

“Why am I here, again?” Rashad asked with a slight frown. When Liam had asked him to attend the public celebration of the queen mother’s years of service to Cordonia as she prepared for her retirement, he had assumed it was in his capacity as Riley’s lawyer or as a member of the Cordonian court and Liam’s inner circle. Not as a babysitter.

“Because Riley is quarantined with the flu, and we needed backup. You are their godfather.” Liam stated matter of factly.

“Yes.” Rashad responded carefully, “But I’m not the only one. Leo is too, and he has more experience with-”

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but Leo isn’t sleeping with my wife.”

“Touché.” Rashad held his hands up to indicate surrender, “But they have godmothers. What about Hana or Olivia?”

“Hana is also down with the flu.” Liam replied.

“And Olivia?”

Liam waved his hand dismissively in the general direction of where Oliva was seated, “Oh, feel free to tell Olivia she’s more suited for this because she’s a woman.”

Rashad’s eyes went wide as they flicked to Olivia and back, then he cleared his throat, “So, what do you need me to do, exactly?”

“You’re just going to help us corral the kids during the ceremony. Here they come now.”

Rashad watched apprehensively as Drake made his way over to them with a diaper bag slung over his shoulder, Jax and Jace in tow, both trying to wriggle free as he gripped a small hand in each of his own. Max followed carrying a squirming, two year old Charlotte. Xander and Ellie trailed behind, bringing up the rear.

“You’re going to be in charge of Charlotte.” Liam informed him.

“Me? Why me? I think I’d be better suited to watch over Ellie or Xander!” Rashad protested.

“Of course, you think that.” Drake smirked at him, “They’re the easy ones!”

At 12 and 9 Ellie and Xander had more maturity and more experience with these types of events and were, indeed, easier to contend with during one. Usually.

The younger boys, Jax 6, and Jace 4, were more rambunctious and much harder to convince to sit still for any length of time. Then there was Charlotte, who had whole heartedly embraced the entire tenor of the terrible twos. High spirited was the term Riley used for her.

“Not gonna lie, Charli scares me a little. One time I woke up and found her standing next to the bed just staring at me like she was in a trance.” Max shuddered.

Drake rolled his eyes, “You know she was sleepwalking, right Beaumont?”

Max ignored Drake and leaned closer to Rashad, “Did you know Riley originally wanted seven to nine children?”

Rashad blinked, “What?”

Max nodded somberly, “Charli is the reason she tied her tubes after five.”

Rashad’s eyes shot to the small child in Max’s arms, her angelic face arranged in the most brilliant innocent smile he’d ever seen. No, that wasn’t true. He’d seen that exact smile on Riley’s face. Innocent and brilliant was her most disingenuous and potentially dangerous smile. He swallowed, hard, his mouth suddenly dry.

“We can do this, guys!” Liam asserted, he ran an entire country for God’s sakes, how hard could it be to wrangle his own children for one event? “I mean Riley does it all the time, she handles all five of them by herself at these things and they behave perfectly.”

“Yeah.” Drake responded drily, “Because they know better than to cross their mother. But they know some of us are pushovers.” He looked right at Max when he said it.

“Hey! I am not a- “

Liam gave him a look, “You let them eat flaming hot Cheetos for breakfast last week.”

Drake asked, “Why do we have a water slide in our backyard at Valtoria?”

Even Rashad joined in, “I believe I was called in last month to coordinate appraisals of a fleet of BMWs after an art project gone awry….”

Max huffed, “Ok, you know what? I believe in letting children express themselves, ok? They need to know it’s ok to be themselves-“

“Sure, Max,” Drake interrupted as he put the diaper bag down, then turned to address his question to Liam, “How are we going to divide five kids between four adults?”

“That’s easy.” Liam replied, “Ellie and Xander go together because they’re the easiest.”

“I’ll take Jace.” Max volunteered.

“No!” Liam and Drake both shouted at the same time.

Max looked at them in confusion, “Why not?”

“Because you don’t reign in his worst impulses, you tend to encourage them.” Liam said. Drake nodded in agreement.

“Jace needs a firmer touch. Here.” He pulled Jace over to Drake, “Max, you take Jax. Ellie and Xander can come with me.”

Backpacks, water bottles, jackets, toys that they had been told to leave home but had been brought anyway and various electronic devices were shuffled around so the appropriate adult had possession of the items belonging to the children in their care.

“Ahem.” Rashad interrupted the activity, directing his question to Liam, he asked again, “Why do I have to take the little one?”

“Because” Liam stepped closer, leaning in so they wouldn’t be overheard, “She might be yours. Look at it as a bonding opportunity.”

“Mine?” He asked in astonishment, “No, I mean….”

“Look at her features, Rashad. Those eyes…”           

“Green, like her mother’s!”

“Hazel, there’s brown around her irises.”

“That might rule out Max, but not Drake, that’s still three potential-“

“She has Riley’s features, but our coloring, mine and yours. There’s brown in her eyes and black in her hair. Not to mention, Charli can be a very serious, calculating child. She’s extremely intelligent and studious, already at two. I love them both, but there’s no way she has Drake or Max’s DNA.”

Rashad and Liam both tilted their heads as they studied the curly headed quiet child in front of them.

She was the spitting image of Riley, but her hair had undeniably darkened as she had gotten older, trending now more toward the ebony hues of both Liam and Rashad than the russet brown of Max’s or the even lighter chestnut shade of Drake’s hair.  She had Riley’s curls and the auburn was in there, streaking the black with brilliant shades of red when the sunlight hit it just right. Her nose, her lips, her chin, all her mother’s.

The seriousness and intelligence might come from one of them, but her intensity and temper was all Riley. Which was why none of the other men wanted to deal with her during a long, boring proceeding. A bored Charlotte was a dangerous Charlotte. She was Riley, with a two year old temper and lack of impulse control.

“Here.” Max thrust Charlotte into Rashad’s arms before he could protest again.

Drake tossed him the diaper bag, “Good luck.”

“Ah…..” He looked wildly around at the other three men, but they had all turned their backs to him, dealing with their own charges.

“Ok.” Liam breathed out a sigh of relief, sure that they had this under control, “Xander, Ellie, come with me.”

Rashad’s head snapped up in panic, “Wait, you’re leaving?”

Liam shrugged, “Sorry but, you know, I’m the king and this is a state event. Responsibilities and all that. I have to go give a speech. Ellie, Xander, let’s go.”

“It’ll be fine,” Max assured him, “Liam gives a speech, Leo gives a speech, a bunch of other people give speeches, we all applaud and then there’s a parade or something.”

“That sounds horribly boring for young children.” Rashad responded doubtfully.

“Oh, it is.” Drake laughed at him, “Why do you think I said good luck?”

Max and Drake situated themselves between the boys, so there were two adults between them. Drake turned his attention to opening a pack of goldfish crackers for Jace as Max pulled out his cell phone and stared trading Pokémon with Jax. Rashad turned his head to peer into Charli’s eyes. She was adorable. He decided that it couldn’t be that bad. She was only two after all.

As he stared down into her bright, sparkling eyes, he felt a twist in his chest. What if she was his? The idea of this beautiful child being part him and part Riley wasn’t the worst feeling in the world. He’d never wanted fatherhood, and his lifestyle and work schedule wouldn’t permit it even if he had. But then, no one was asking to him to fill that role. Regardless of DNA, Charlotte had a father. She had three, actually.

It wasn’t surprising to him that Max was a good father, he had a nurturing side to him that Rashad assumed was critical for parenting, as well as having managed to maintain a playfulness that endeared him to children.

And Liam, of course Liam was a good father. His love for all five of the children was evident in all his interactions with them and in the unmistakable pride in his voice when he spoke about any of them.

Most surprising, to Rashad at least, was Drake. Rashad didn’t dislike him, precisely, they’d been friends since their teenage years, but that was more a function of them both being friends with Liam rather than any real connection between them. They were too different. It was more that Rashad had never understood what Riley saw in him. He understood why she was in love with Liam. Or maybe that was a function of conceit since he considered Liam and himself to be very similar in many ways. And while Max could be exuberant and irreverent at times, those things were also true of Riley, and he could also be respectful and decorous when the situation called for it.

But Drake was pure force of will, often getting his way through brute force and intimidation. He lacked subtlety and finesse. Which is why it was so surprising to Rashad that Drake was possibly the most competent of the three when it came to parenting. Though perhaps those qualities were precisely what made him good at parenting. Rashad considered that as he watched Charlotte’s face slowly collapse into a scowl. “Oh no…. what’s wrong, Charli?” He tried for a soothing tone.

Her face reddened and her brows drew together as she leveled the full force of her two year old fury at him, “Want Mommy!”

“Mommy’s home sick, Habibti, remember?” He patted her back and rocked her gently as he’d seen Riley do many times.

Her face got even darker, “Want. Mommy! Now!”

“Listen sweet baby girl, what if I get you a snack?” He said cajolingly as he dug through the diaper bag with his free hand.

“No snack!” She started to wail.

“Ooooh, look! How about some cheerios?” He offered.

“No snack!” She struck his hand, sending cereal pieces flying everywhere, “Want mommy!”

“Charli, please, we don’t scream in public-“

“M-m-mo-moooooooommmmmiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!” Big, fat tears slipped down her face as the wailing increased in volume and pitch.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” He began to jiggle her faster, “Shhh-shhh-shhh, it’s ok, it’s ok.”

“NO!” She screamed as she pulled a chubby little hand back and smacked him in the face as she kicked him then went rigid in his arms and slid right through them onto the ground.

Rashad scooped the truculent toddler into his arms, kicking and wailing and hissed at the other two men, “Let’s trade!”

“With who?” Drake demanded.                        

“Both! I’ll take both the boys and the two of you can take Charlotte. That’s two adults to one child, this is a deal you should take.” Both boys were sitting quietly, Jace kicking his little legs out in front of him as he consumed his weight in goldfish crackers and gummy bears, Jax completely absorbed in a video game.

Max protested, “I don’t know…Liam said-“

Drake tried to explain, “They seem easy because we have them separated; I don’t think you appreciate-“

“No, I don’t think you appreciate how little I understand toddlers! Please!” Rashad shoved Charli into Drake’s arms and motioned for Jace to follow him.

Jace shot a questioning look at Drake, who was trying to soothe Charli. When Drake shrugged, Jace followed Rashad back to his seat asking, “Do you have any snacks? What about a juice box? Are you coming to the palace later? Daddy says they’ll have baklava at the party tonight and that we have to be good because this boring speech thing is for grandma and Ellie says I talk too much, but I don’t think I do. I talk the normal amount, Jax is the one that talks a lot. How long are you staying this time? We’re not in trouble again, are we? The thing with the cars wasn’t our fault, Xander said-“

Rashad gritted his teeth and tuned out the barrage of questions as he settled back into his seat and tried to focus his attention back on the speeches. Liam was at the podium. Ellie and Xander were standing on the stage behind him with Leo, some members of the royal council, Leo’s oldest son, a few visiting dignitaries and the queen mothers long time personal assistant standing behind him. Regina was in a private box looking out over the stadium where the event was being held.

As Liam shuffled the notecards, laughter rippled through the crowd. He looked up and out over the audience in confusion. The laughter got louder. His face paled. He whipped his head around to look behind him.

“Eleanor! What are you doing?” Then cursed himself because it was caught on mic.

She froze before responding with, “Uh…dabbing.” With a tone that clearly implied he was an idiot for not knowing that.

“Well, please stop.”

“Yeah, please stop.” Xander shoved her in the side.

There was some more laughter in the crowd and a few appalled gasps.

“Hey! You little shit!” Ellie elbowed him, hard.

This time the appalled gasps and the laughter were louder. Leo moved over to place himself between the two, effectively forcing a détente. Liam gave him a grateful smile before apologizing to the crowd and continuing with his speech.

In the crowd, Rashad whispered, “I thought they were the easy ones?”

Drake gave Rashad a conspiratorial smile as he tried to snuggle a wriggling, fussing, climbing on him like he was a jungle gym Charli, “Usually. Looks like Liam’s not getting off as easy as he thought he was. Ellie is a firecracker and Xander is just usually sneakier than the other two boys. When Jax and Jace get caught doing something they’re not supposed to be doing, Xander is almost guaranteed to be the one that put them up to it, he just retreats before suffering the consequences. But if anyone can bring out his inner demon, it’s Ellie.”

Rashad marveled at the way Drake carried on a conversation as if a rabid toddler weren’t using him as an obstacle course, while continuing to keep said toddler on his person despite her obvious attempts to be put down so she could run amuck. He was so busy being intrigued by it that he completely missed what was going on with the children he was supposed to be watching, as a quiet tussle over the video game started behind him.

Max snickered as he leaned toward Drake, “Remember the time she tricked him into cussing by insisting that a cat is called a putty tat, like tweety bird says?”

They had gone back and forth with the putty tat, pussy cat argument until Ellie had finally raised her voice and yelled, “Putty”, causing Xander to shout out, “Pussy!”

“Yeah.” Drake chuckled softly, “Poor kid. The look on Riley’s face when Regina heard that!”

Drake’s focus was on Charli who had placed a foot on his shoulder and attempted to launch herself into the row behind them when Rashad’s voice pulled his attention as he whisper screamed, “Jace! Jax! Get back here right now!”

It was too late, both boys were off and running down the aisle, Jace gleefully screeching with laughter as he ran away with his brother’s Nintendo Switch, Jax in hot pursuit, murder in his eyes.

“Fuck!” Drake swore, shoving Charlotte into Max’s arms. As he passed a distraught Rashad he muttered, “You’re fucking useless.”

The boys were running up the stadium steps as Drake raced after them. He caught up just as Jax tackled Jace to the ground. A scuffle ensured as they fought for possession of the Switch. Drake picked Jax up and lifted him easily with one arm while glancing down at Jace, holding his other hand out, “You ok, kiddo?”

Jace took Drake’s hand as he scrambled up, “Jax hit me!”

“Uh huh. And what have we said about taking other people’s stuff?”

Jace crossed his arms and stuck out his bottom lip. Drake sat Jax on the ground and knelt down in front of him, “I know he took your game, but you know that hitting is not ok, right? Remember your conflict resolution lessons?”

The lessons had been Liam’s idea, Drake had scoffed at it, but he couldn’t deny that it had helped. Too bad it hadn’t helped today specifically. Drake presided over the exchange of the game and apologies. As they headed back down the aisle, a woman smiled at him, “Good parenting skills.”

Jax looked up at her, eyes going directly to her very pregnant belly. “You’re pregnant!” He informed her.

“Yes.” She smiled at him as she lovingly cradled her bump.

“I know how that happens. The daddy puts his peanut in the mommy’s kerchina and then-“

The lady’s face went red as Drake’s hand clamped down over his son’s mouth. “Sorry.” He muttered as he ushed the boys back to their seats. He settled them back in their original seats as he told Rashad, “I told you they have to be kept separated at these things.”

“Tata, who’s that?” Jace’s voice was unnecessarily loud.

Drake’s head spun to look in the direction Jace was pointing, and staring, mouth opened at the jumbotron. Drake answered him, “Uh….that’s the pope. He couldn’t make it in person, so they are having him video call in to give his regards to grandma.”

“No. They guy behind him!”

Drake’s brow furrowed for a moment because there was no one behind him. Then understanding dawned on him as he noticed the huge crucifix with the image of Jesus with the crown of thorns hanging on it. “Oh. That’s Jesus.”

Unfortunately, there was a pause while the pope gathered his thoughts, so Jace’s voice carried clearly over the hushed crowd as he loudly exclaimed, in horror, “JESUS IS DEAD?!”

“Uh….Max?” Drake turned to Max in panic as Jace started to cry, loudly.

“On it!” Max traded seats with Drake, passing a squirming, whining Charli back to him in the process.

Max tried to soothe him, “Hey buddy. It’s ok, that’s not real, it’s a plastic statue.”

“So they can make Jesus look fake dead?”

“Yeah, yeah, exactly.” Max nodded, feeling pleased he’d explained it so well.

Jace’s face crumbled again, “Why would they do that?”

Drake’s attention was drawn away from Max and Jace as Charli slipped from his grasp and crawled under the seats. Drake had to get on his hands and knees to reach her. He reached under the seats then cussed softly through clenched teeth as he jerked his hand back when she bit into it, her teeth digging into the tender area between his thumb and index finger.

Drake crawled around on the ground trying to reach Charli as Max continued to try calm down a very distraught Jace. When he finally managed to pull her out, he handed her back to Rashad, “Your turn.”

Rashad looked up in surprise as Charli crashed down into his lap. “Oh..uh…hello again.”

She glared at him, “Want down!”

“How about a new toy?” He asked in desperation.

She stopped fighting and cocked her head curiously, “What toy?”

He dug around in his pockets and came up a keychain made from a heavy medallion. It was silver and green with a crescent moon and star on it. Rashad did not consider himself to be a religious man, but his grandmother had given it to him as a symbol of the faith she devoutly believed in, and he had kept it because it reminded him of her. He detached the medallion and held it out to Charli.

Her eyes widened in delight as he offered it to her, “Oooh, pretty!”

Rashad sighed in relief as she took it and settled into his lap, then anxiety surged through him again as she shoved it directly into her mouth. “No, no! You can’t swallow that, you’ll choke!”

Drake was about to offer Rashad some advice when Jax tapped him on the arm. He looked down and asked, “Yeah, buddy?”

“I have to pee.”

“Can it wait?”

“No.”

“Shit.”

“Mommy said you’re not supposed to say shit in front of us.”

“Oh, fuck me.” Drake mumbled.

“You’re not supposed to say fuck either.”

“Oh for the love of- You know what? Come on, all of you, it’s time for a break anyway.”

Drake stood and took Jax by the hand, Max followed behind him with Jace. “You coming?” He asked Rashad.

“No, I…I think I’m good.” Rashad replied.

Drake shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

“Grandma’s really old, isn’t she?” Jax asked as they stepped out into the aisle, “Is she going to die soon?”

Drake sighed as he guided him up the aisle, “We really need to have a talk about what is and isn’t an appropriate question.”

“He’s not wrong, Drake.”

“Really, Max?”

Rashad settled back into his seat after having shifted a little to let the others out, his arms tightening around Charli to keep from disturbing her. She had finally settled and was rubbing her eyes sleepily. She mumbled something as she rubbed her face against his chest. It sounded like shod. “What, habibti?” He asked.

She lifted her face and gazed up at him with heavy lids, her little hand coming up to pat his check softly, “You. ‘Shad.”

He jolted in surprise; she was trying to say his name. “Yes, I’m Rashad. And you’re Charli.”

She smiled at him sweetly, “Luf ou, ‘shad.” She mumbled before dropping her head back onto his shoulder and falling asleep.

He felt his heart melt into a molten puddle inside his chest as he gripped her closer. Her breathing became even and deep, her back rising and falling evenly under his hands. He kissed the top of her head, inhaling her sweet baby smell and whispered, “I love you too, habibti.”

[lostcauses-noregrets]

ASDFDSADF I am sorry for showing up uninvited but oh my god that other asks speaks to me! I joined Eruri fandom in January and the whole "you are a fake Eruri if you love Levi more than Erwin" thing (someone posted several screenshots of Eruri shippers and blamed them for liking Levi more????) happened back in the first or second day of February so I was pretty new to Eruri and its fandom and it ruined my entire vibe because I'm not interested in fandom dramas I just want calm and nice fandom interactions. You probably understand me considering how I have never seen you involved in any shipping or fandom drama. Anyway, that really made me feel :/ about this ship and 2-3 days later I saw someone mocking OC shippers and L*vihan shippers "oh he's a gay man he'd not fuck you you can't call yourself a Levi stan if you don't ship him with Erwin" and I was only a baby Eruri, only for a month and I thought no matter how amazing the ship is the fandom was terrible but luckily I saw how the fandom reacted to that first tweet they were all joking about how they are fake eruris for random reasons and thank god I stayed around to see that because for me honestly Eruri is the best ship ever and I really enjoy all the fan arts and fanfics but that tweet still haunts me SDFGdsadf some people need to realize that Erwin's position didn't allow him to get close to anyone else and his deepest bond was with Levi so a huuuuge majority of Erwin stans ship Eruri while Levi is extremely popular especially in Japan and he interacts with other characters more and he's "shipping shaped"/perfect for shipping so I think his stans are often multishippers and that's why it seems like Eruri is an Erwin ship to that other person, there is no consipracy theory or anything, it's simple as that. I know some Eruri fans pick fights or argue with other Levi ships but my experience after that tweet was very calm and wholesome, I think it's because Eruri is a mature ship? Most Eruri shippers I see are adults. (Sorry if I sent this twice I am drunkish but I got excited because lol that was my first Eruri drama and I never saw anyone else mention it before) love your blog by the way lots of love <3

Ooh....right! This is actually starting to ring a bell now! I do remember seeing people posting the most hilarious shit about being fake Eruris, but I missed the original tweets that caused the whole drama in the first place. This is invariably what happens, I miss the actual drama and end up catching the tail end of the fall out which leaves me completely confused. Literally me when there is drama on the timeline 😂

Fandom, by its nature, attracts people who tend to be...a little obsessive (to put it mildly) and no fandom is immune to drama, no matter how old or supposedly mature the fans are. The Eruri fandom is no exception. However I do think that with an older fanbase there is a better chance that drama will be viewed more dimly and shut down more rapidly when it inevitably arises. This is a case in point. I have no idea if anyone took the original posts serious or not (I hope not) but the fandom was pretty quick to turn the whole thing into a joke and pour ridicule on the idea that you were a "fake Eruri" if blah blah blah.

Anyway, I'm so glad you didn't let this nonsense put you off the Eruri fandom Anon and I'm glad you stuck around to enjoy all the amazing fic and art that we've been blessed with over the years.

[juniperhillpatient]

The Awakening

It was interesting to re-watch this episode because I remember being annoyed with Aang a lot during Book 3 the first time I watched this show & because the comics/parts of fandom / more thinking about it have increased my dislike for the Katara/Aang romance, I expected to be angrier at Aang. But, I actually feel like thinking about it more made me less mad at Aang for running off & behaving the way he does than the first time I watched.

I still don't think it's fair to send Katara away when she's trying desperately to help, but I get why he does it. Aang has spent the entire series learning to accept his destiny as the Avatar & a huge part of that is being a symbol of HOPE for the world. Learning that he has to be a secret now? That the world thinks that he's gone & that he failed? I can see how that would lead someone to push people away & want to do everything alone...Especially because Aang is also struggling with how awful he feels about the fall of Ba Sing Se. So, I hate how he pushes Katara away, & I hate that he tries to abandon the Gaang, but...I'm still sympathetic to him, possibly more than the first time that I watched, having put more thought into it.

Alright, shocking to no one the dynamic between the Fire Siblings is the most interesting part of this episode to me. I also found the scene where Mai checks on Zuko & tells him not to worry really cute. I need more of the Dangers Ladies Feat. Zuko as a group in my life. I'm sad we didn't see Ty Lee, but I guess there wasn't time. Zuko is struggling with fears about coming home & it shows.

[ID: Azula standing & looking at Zuko. end id]

Alright. The turtle duck pond scene. Let's talk about it.

Everyone shut up I am thinking about how cute it is that Zuko goes right to the turtle duck pond to feed them it's probably one of the few places on the palace grounds he finds comforting...

The million-dollar question in the fandom seems to be - did Azula already know that Aang had survived?

I obviously have a bit of an agenda here I won't deny that. I'm a huge fan of Azula. I do think she was redeemable, & I have chosen fire siblings reconciliation as possibly the main focus of my fandom experience or at least A Main Focus. So, like, I'm not gonna pretend to be unbiased. BUT I do think that I've hopefully made it clear that I'm not interested in denying anything evil Azula did, or making her a victim where she wasn't, or whatever. I just like to examine character motivations & make them make sense. So - long story short - I do not think there is any way Azula could have possibly known that Aang survived before Zuko gave it away because he sucks at lying.

Let's look at the scene in context:

Azula: You seem so downcast. Has Mai gotten to you already? Though actually, Mai has been in a strangely good mood lately. [smiles]

Zuko: I haven't seen Dad yet. I haven't seen him in three years, since I was banished.

Azula: So what?

Zuko So, I didn't capture the Avatar.

Azula: Who cares? The Avatar is dead ... [Zuko looks away.] unless you think he somehow miraculously survived.

Contrast this with the way they were both welcomed home - as war heroes. Lo & Li give a huge speech about how Zuko & Azula are heroes & amazing & everyone should love them etc (& they're so right.)

I have consistently brought up Zuko's inability to lie throughout this rewatch & I think it bites him in the ass here. Azula is smart. She's a good lair herself, & she can pick up on it when other people do it - especially Zuko.

So, I think that Azula's original intention was to bring Zuko home as a war hero. She genuinely viewed Ba Sing Se as a victory & believed the Avatar was dead & the Fire Nation was doing amazing & to her, that was great. I think that what people who want to view Azula as an evil mastermind forget is that she kinda still IS one if you read it from this perspective, you just need to keep in mind her ACTUAL motivations. Azula's world doesn't revolve around bringing Zuko down, her world revolves around SERVING THE FIRE NATION & her father. Azula bringing Zuko home a hero doesn't take away her villain card or whatever it is people who refuse to see it this way are worried about. It just remains consistent with her motivations. Azula would want to see the royal family intact. You have to remember, Azula views herself & the Fire Nation as the GOOD GUYS. It's what she's been taught. They're not, & pushing Zuko to betray Iroh was objectively bad for the protagonists. But from AZULA'S perspective, she was doing a good thing for the royal family.

I also do think that yes, Azula wanted to help Zuko. The thing about Azula is that she is on the wrong side of the war, but she's not an unfeeling monster, she's a teenage girl. She likely did miss her brother & think she was doing him a huge favor.

The Bedroom Scene Tm. I said I had a controversial reading & you all assumed I meant Zucest vibes. And I did. But I also actually meant I just STILL don't view this as Azula being an evil monster lmao & I mean, that's not controversial among Azula fans, but it kinda is in the larger fandom.

[ID: Zuko glaring at Azula while she smiles. end id]

Zuko confronts Azula, & she teases him & insinuates that the Avatar might be alive. I read this as Azula trying to sus out whether the Avatar is still alive, TBH. Then, Zuko all but confirms what she already got from their turtle duck pond conversation.

So like, TLDR: Azula wasn't ORIGINALLY trying to use Zuko as a fall guy but once he made it obvious the Avatar might still be alive, THEN yeah, she was trying to save her own ass.

Oh, okay, & some quick criticisms of the #Narrative Framing or whatever...This is the first episode where we get a clear view of Zuko. I want to say that I do really love the scene between Zuko & Ozai contrasted against the scene between Katara & Hakoda, that was just an excellent parallel. It also shows us that our main villain is becoming a major player. I'm ok with Ozai as a background figure throughout Book 2, but I think that Book 3 would have been stronger if they leaned more into Ozai as the Big Bad rather than continuing to frame Azula as the Big Bad like she was in Book 2. This season we get a lot more of Azula's interiority as a character, & more sympathetic moments.

And just to be clear, I'm not against the fact that Azula is still a villain. Sorry fellow Azula Redemption truther girlies, but I'm of the belief that there was not time for her to have a redemption arc in Book 3. It could have been hinted at, we could have gotten a more hopeful ending, but there wasn't time for her to abandon her loyalty to the Fire Nation. So, I'm NOT saying "it was time for the show to STOP framing Azula as a villain." I'm SAYING.....Well, they could have given us more scenes with Ozai like the one in this episode to really concrete his spot as the Big Bad Tm. I liked what we got in this episode, I wish we could've gotten more. I guess that's what I'm trying to say.

Alright, so I've rambled enough about the Fire Nation royal family....Uh....There are other characters in this show...

I have nothing much to say about Toph or Sokka in this episode other than that Toph gets +1000 iconic behavior points for using metal bending to defend their ship. Katara gets +1000 for her use of water-bending to help. I don't dislike Sokka in this episode, he just didn't do much worth analyzing.

The only other scene that I want to focus on before I end this incredibly long review.....Is one of my favorite scenes in the series. I love the scene between Katara & Hakoda.

The entire buildup of Katara acting distant & angry from her father & talking about Aang prioritizing the greater good over what she needs & Hakoda realizing that she's talking about him too is just...STELLAR writing. I get emotional every single time. I also think that these feelings Katara is having, serve to explain further why she let Sokka reunite with their father last season rather than going herself.

[ID: Katara crying as she hugs Hakoda. end id]

Katara: [Embraces Hakoda.] I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I'm so sad and angry and hurt!

Hakoda: I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day when I was gone and every night when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache.

I'm not crying, you are.

And the ending of the episode serves as a nice thesis for the season. Aang does return to the group & agrees to go undercover. Having to hide his staff & his arrow....That's pretty sad. I think it shows how much Aang has grown throughout the series so far that he is willing to do it though. That's all I have for now!

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Hello!! I was rereading Little Favors (for the hundredth time now probably, it's just so good and wonderful and always gives me butterflies when I read it) and getting to the part where Kol says that he's never been anyone's best friend before just hit me so hard. Like when was the last time he'd been able to just be around someone? To be able to nerd out about magic without it being a life or death situation? To just have fun with people he can trust won't stab him in the back? It all just made me want to wrap him up in a blanket and let him relax and have fun.

(On a slightly lighter note, I was listening to the song Seven by Sleeping at Last and the whole restless wanna see and know and experience everything really reminded me of Kol)

Sorry for the ramblings, it's just every time I read your fics I just get so many thoughts and I had to share. Thanks for being your awesome self! -🍪

Okay, first of all...

Second of all...

Thirdly, you are so right! I thought it was so, so sad that we never once saw Kol make an actual friend without any drama or ulterior motives to hide. I mean there's that undefined period of time during which Kol pretended to be friends with Jeremy Gilbert but, honestly, that's just more sad. It's why I headcanon that Kol has BPD or Borderline Personality Disorder. It's highly likely that he believes he has to create an entirely different personality in order to be liked or cared for or loved - that just Kol himself will never be enough for anyone, that no one will ever love him for who he is instead of what he can do for them. Of course, he had Davina, but that relationship was drowning in drama and hidden agendas from the very start. Though she forgave him for abiding by Esther's mandates seeing as he really didn't have much of a choice, Davina still only associated with him after that for his "witch encyclopedia brain". I think that's just incredibly sad.

Edit: This rant was originally much longer but this post got messed up by Tumblr. I'm not sure how, but it did. Anyway, Anon, if you're still willing to associate with me after this train wreck of a post, I just wanna say that I listened to Seven. I love Sleeping At Last, but I'd never heard that song before and I LOVED it! You're absolutely right, serious Kol vibes there. Somebody should make an edit to that song. Not me bc I'm not good at editing and I'd never be able to do it justice, but SOMEONE NEEDS TO!

Also, never apologize for rambling. I can't express how much I love your asks! I want to hear every single thought you've ever had about my fics, or about the fandom in general. Heck, I'd love to hear what you ate for lunch today and how your day is going! Thank you so much for being here and supporting me. You're amazing and I love you and I hope you find a random treasure trove of free change in your pockets next time you do laundry!

Until you ask again!

[astrologypersonalityandcartoons]

Supernatural Favorites

(Note: I said I was gonna be doing this for all my fandoms, and here is the second one. For those who don't know, I'll be putting these out for all my fandoms listing my favorite charcters, a quote from them, a song or two that make me think of them for whatever reason, and the reasons I love them,as well as a song that reminds me of the piece of media with zero context on that, okay let's get started.)

Supernatural: I was here by Beyonce,Fire by Gavin Degraw, The Resistance by Skillet

Jack Kline-"I guess my point is that... if I don't make it... The stuff I'd miss... it wouldn't be things like Tahiti. Or the Taj Mahal. I'd miss more time with you. I'm getting that life isn't all these big, amazing moments. It's time together that matters. Like this" Songs that remind me of him/them-Let Your Heart Hold Fast By Fort Atlantic, Heirloom By Sleeping At Last, Reasons I love him: He started out as a simple comfort character that reaffirmed many of the other character’s choices and ability to choose, and ended being a slightly more complex character than any of them. Plus he had so much untapped potential for character moments that would have been great.

Castiel-"Now I realize that there is no righteous path. It's just people trying to do their best  in a world where it's far too easy to do your worst." Songs That Remind Me of him: Hey Jude- By the Beatles, Soldier By Fleurie Reasons I love him: Again mostly comes down to his connection with characters major and minor in this case, he never fails to see the good in a situation though in his beginning stages he sometimes failed to see the bad. He believes in chances for almost everyone even the son of his worst enemy and goes on to make a great character. Who while the love confession  towards his  best friend/ could have been boyfriend Dean was great did the writers have to use it to make his entire character and growth based on the person he loves romantically even in this case, and then have him die, No very clearly no.

Sam Winchester- “It doesn’t matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It’s your choice.”- Songs that remind me of him: Zero By Imagine Dragons, Breaking The Habit By Linkin Park,  Reasons I love him: My favorite most consistent main character of the bunch. He loves the helping part of the job is what it’s always seemed like to me.I especially love in later seasons how with so much experience in being the weird guy in the fam, he just goes full hearted on helping the other black sheeps in the families. He sticks up for choice consistently and believes in his own family . Overall the kind of guy who if he wasn’t a hunter, I could see myself getting along with.

Bobby Singer-“FAMILY DON’T END WITH BLOOD, BOY.” Songs that remind me of him: Bad Liar By Imagine Dragons.Reasons I love him: How does one describe why they love original Bobby Singer’s character? Well I’ll give it my personal take. He is not only a great father figure and balance between the boys when he is in the show, but also a great character in his own right. While I originally would put Dean higher before watching season 7-15,and Bobby Lower (still #5 don’t worry), that changed heavily based on the Bobby episode  Deaths door. It made me retroactivelly rethink about Bobby everything I knew,and made me love his character for the little time he had on the show moving forward. Also this, and what I’m about to say about Dean are purely my opinon,so don’t spread hate in my comments. 

Dean Winchester-“That's crap. You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die or you can keep fighting, no matter what.”- Songs That Remind Me of Him: All Alright By Fun, Shots By Imagine Dragons,   Old Time and Rock and Roll Bob Seger and the silver bullet band. Why I like this character: His character early on easily persuaded me on why he was one of the main characters, but eventually the show took Dean’s angry phases and almost controling/overprotective nature a little bit to far for my liking, and then kept doing it for long enough periods of time that it got very annoying very quickly. In the begging tho, I loved his character he hardley ever gave up, he cared about his family in a weird but understandable way, he was absolutely a delight to watch. In the end he end up making me almost keyword almost agree with the many that say that Supernatural should have ended in season 5. Because after that is when his character quickly started getting stale. But he started out great so point for that. But part of the only reason I’m even putting him on is people would have bitched otherwise. They did his character dirty, (yes dirtier than they did Sam’s) sorry not sorry.