#like it isnt about the politics that is the whole point | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lord-squiggletits · 7 months

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This might be bc of my personal reading of exRDI/OP bc I'm pretty sure the authorial intent was to just write Optimus as having some fall from grace/borderline tyrannical edge but like

I really kinda wish the story had been written as more of a political intrigue, almost GOT-esque thing (sorry for the cliche) where like, instead of Optimus being written as the narrative's scapegoat to be condemned both by the characters in universe and the meta narrative, he was just written as...morally gray? With more of a focus on "this is a shitty situation where no decision is good" rather than having Optimus just be some sort of white guilt stand-in of how oh, he's a Prime so that means the most important part of his legacy is how Cybertronians are awful and he's no better than the other ones etc.

Like Barber doesn't write Optimus as EVIL or in a way where he's unilaterally condemned as a person who did more harm than good, it's just imo the vibes of the story is more of a dark political/war story where no person is clean and there's no solution to the war that doesn't involve moral compromise. Instead Optimus is forced to make these moral compromises but then everyone else in the story loses their absolute shit and immediately starts calling him a tyrant or a fascist or something.

Like idk, it was partially an issue of the set-up. Because for one, it was really hard to take it seriously when the humans went "omg he's annexing Earth the Autobots were literally the colonizers all along!" (I think the dialogue was written almost exactly like that too sjdjsidn, so bad dialogue was also another issue) yet were perfectly fine working with the Decepticons led by 1. Soundwave who personally helped execute the attempted invasion of Earth and 2. Galvatron who constantly talks about wanting to kill these puny organics. I feel like I would've been able to take humanity's fears of being colonized again more seriously if like, they hadn't literally teamed up with The Colonizer Faction just bc Soundwave promised they were good guys again. So really it's just execution + plot holes + bad dialogue.

And another thing about the annexing of Earth specifically that I wish got talked about more (mostly by the fandom more than in universe) is that like. Basically the reason Optimus did that was because the neo-Decepticons were planning to invade Earth again, but since he's not actually a formal political leader any more he has no power to actually force a war to stop them/request military back up. But also, Starscream didn't give a shit about Earth and neither did the Council of Worlds, so appealing to the government for help defending humanity wouldn't work either. So Optimus annexing Earth was an absolute clusterfuck yes, but in a way it was also kind of a shrewd political move to force Cybertron to dedicate a spot in the government for humans and thus grant humans a say on Cybertronian politics.

What I mean is that in a story/with an author like that of GOT, where the setting is grimmer and every character is morally ambiguous, I feel like Optimus would've had way more room to be an interesting and compelling character. Bc then instead of the story immediately screaming "ALL HAIL OPTIMUS DID YOU KNOW OP ANNEXING EARTH TO THE COUNCIL IS BASICALLY THE SAME AS MEGATRON ATTEMPTING TO GENOCIDE EARTH," Optimus could have been played around with more as a political figure making the shitty decisions in an effort to stop another genocide. Instead of just unilaterally condemning Optimus and immediately comparing him to fucking Megatron of all people, there could've been more focus on the politics of it with maybe some sort of theme of how "being a leader in war is an inherently unethical position where every decision you make will lead to death/conflict/hate."

Like idk I just think it would've been more interesting if the narrative spent less time going "zomg Optimus is totally a tyrant now" and instead went all in on exploring the political conflicts and how far politicians (Optimus now being one, since he's declaring wars and forcefully acting as an ambassador that no one asked for) can go on manipulation and forcing people's hands for the sake of an ultimately good cause. I mean, Windblade was doing shit like covering up for Chromia who killed people in a bombing, making backdoor deals with Starscream, and conspiring with Optimus to bypass Starscream/overthrow him as Cybertron's ruler somehow. The difference of course is that Windblade and exRID were written by two different authors with genre/thematic differences, but as a reader it is really disappointing to see two different political narratives where "a hero turned politician turning to morally gray/unethical methods to outmaneuver a deadly opponent" is treated as clever and heroic for one character, but tyrannical and worthy of ostracization of another character.

Like for God's sake this narrative where Optimus gets lambasted at every turn sometimes by people who work with/are literal tyrants/terrorists themselves is so fucking exhausting. I'd rather read a story that focused more on the idea of, well what Optimus did was unethical but on a political level it was actually advantageous in several ways. Then you could write a story that really dives into a view of like, idk... Does power inherently corrupt or is it just situations like war that allow leaders to seize power and become tyrannical? Are politics an inherently dirty field where the only way to beat your competition (and secure a decent future for the nation) is to become underhanded and manipulative yourself? Is it okay to bypass or work against rightfully elected officials when those officials are turning a blind eye to things like war and invasions and historic racism?

ExRID did somewhat touch on these themes to be fair, but I feel like in Optimus' case they were either poorly executed or just thrown away in favor of having every other character talk shit about him and how he's the worst person ever. Bc like goddammit, I do think Optimus' polarizing and sometimes bad decisions as a character DO make him skirt on the edge of tyranny and shouldn't be downplayed, but on the other hand, I feel like no one (fandom or in-universe) ever tangles with the OTHER side of the story, which is just... Would it have been unethical for Optimus to NOT have done anything? Cybertronians literally put a colony on Earth, injected Earth with alien technology and sleeper agents, used Earth as an incubating ground for dangerous elements like Ore-13, invaded Earth and killed 1 billion people-- after all the shit Cybertron did to Earth, is it not fair (even morally obligated) for Cybertronians to clean up their shit and help Earth defend itself against a crisis that Cybertronians caused? And if Cybertron's government/the individuals within are racist enough that they don't care about Earth, don't see it as their problem, and don't even see human life as meaningful since they don't live that wrong anyways... is it not, in a way, a good thing for Optimus to have overstepped his authority and forced diplomatic relationships between the two planets? So that humans had an actual political channel to go "fuck you, we're in your Council so you'd better ally with us" and so that Cybertron would be forced to go "welp can't write off these humans as Not Our Problem, guess we have to help them." Doesn't forcing Earth to be part of the Council in a way legitimize Optimus' fight to help Earth, since without a formal political office he's just a rogue general fighting an unauthorized war, but with the government involved, defending Earth now becomes a politically sanctioned act?

Like idk. I guess exRID and OP did get into some of this stuff, but as a whole it felt like the story underutilized its political elements and got bogged down in shit like pointless crossovers, and constantly pausing the narrative to have Side Character #2847 talk about how Optimus is a fascist, and having Optimus go on white guilt-esque monologues about how maybe all Cybertronians should die and are unworthy/unable to ever have a peaceful society because their society colonized other planets.

Just so much wasted potential honestly. ExRID/OP as written felt like it was going way too hard into "omg Cybertronians bad and Optimus is actually a tyrant" instead of just writing a complex story and letting readers come to their own conclusions. And also lambasting Optimus for doing things that other characters did (or characters who did even worse things), but letting those characters exist in peace while Optimus has to just be some allegory for colonialism that has to be torn down at every turn because that's Deep and Intellectual.

I just like the kinds of stories about politics that play around with the ethics of it all, like, "this politician is a shitty person but their policies actually prevented some sort of disaster from happening" or "this person did something illegal and defied the law but they did it because no one else was doing anything" or even "everyone hates this person for forcing them into a political deal they didn't want to be involved in, but the fact that they were all forced to become allies actually allowed them to cooperate and save themselves in a way they wouldn't have been able to alone" (which is pretty much literally how the annexing of Earth ended up going).

Like man I don't want to sit here being lectured/having my favorite character be lectured about how much tyranny is bad. I want my favorite character to do shitty things and then go "whoa that was shitty...but also kind of smart...but also caused a lot of problems...but also solved some other problems that could've turned awful if he hadn't forcefully resolved them."

#squiggposting #idw op love #it's less like i want OP to be framed as sympathetic or good and more like....#'yeah what he did was fucked up but it was also in many ways a good option'#like i wish we'd gotten a more politically interesting story where the goods and bads were explored #instead of it being almost unilaterally the characters all gasping and screaming any time OP #does something morally gray. even tho the entire universe is morally gray and he'#isnt even close to the worst person or political leader in it #like idk what it really comes down to is that a lot of the story felt more like #it was trying to make OP some embodiment of colonialism and how everything bad is on his shoulders #regardless of his personal actions just bc he'#s prime. it feels like it was some weird white guilt allegory pasted onto robots #instead of just writing a cool story about politics and moral grayness and how far one can go #before morally gray means turn into morally gray ends #i feel like under a different writer the story couldve been way more interesting #and it couldve even kept OP's whole tyranny arc thing but just been more well written #treating him as a character who MAY HAVE HAD POINTS ABOUT SOME THINGS #AND MIGHTVE BEEN THE ONLY PERSON WHO GAVE A DAMN ABOUT HUMANITY #AND CLEANING UP THE MISTAKES CYBERTRON CREATED THAT HARMED HUMANS TO THIS DAY #but nah instead of just letting OP's moral grayness stand on its own for reader to judge #he had to literally write in characters going 'zomg the Bots were the colonizers all along'#'[OP's leadership] is LITERALLY FASCISM' (actual dialogue btw)#ppl going surprisepika when OP decides to just kill the genocidal asshole from the golden age #like goddamn could you let OP breathe and be allowed to be morally gray #w/o having the whole story exist to make him some white guilt colonialism allegory that all the other characters scream at

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dimensionhoppr · 3 months

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One day I will be able to properly break down the themes of authoritarianism, bioessentialism, and the VERY flawed "hero and villain" dynamic in MHA and then it'll be ALL over for you...

#.txt #superhero media is basically always full of copaganda so its no surprise my hero has its fair share #but MAANN. the politics of this series are pretty bad.#and like the only people who ever really face consequences for their actions are the villains bc they're all ''the bad guys''#no matter how fucked their circumstances are #or how much they've been abused by systems meant to protect them #a lot of the later stuff that challenges the hero system (questioning hawks actions. lady nagant as a whole) feel so...shallow. idk #im not very good at expressing my thoughts about this concisely so it all just rattles around in my brain #its like that one post going around like ''isnt it weird how the bad guys in things who bring up good criticisms of systems of power always #have to like kick puppies or something too so you know they're Bad so you shouldn't listen to their points''#my hero does a LOT of that #mha #also im not quite sure bioessentialism was the proper term to use but the fucking. i dont know how else to phrase it #quirk racism. basically. all of the treatment of heteromorphs by society and how quirkless ppl are looked down on.#idk it goes pretty unchallenged and is written pretty poorly imo.#like the stuff with spinner. that was so. poorly written and in general trying to do racism allegories doesn't.#pan out very well in most shounens #that's a whole other nuanced topic that i wanna properly gather my thoughts on for now i just. don't like it lol.#mha rewrite tag

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butchshepherd · 8 months

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this is the information that we had about D dog. that's the info on her page (put through a translator, but its accurate) regarding how she is with other animals, and during the interview reactivity was only mentioned as a possibility not as a known fact about this dog. only dog? no problem. no cats? even less of a problem. potential for reactivity? sure. it can happen with any dog. known aggression towards other dogs? why the hell are you waiting for people to apply and go through a fucking interview before letting them know a week later that they're not fit for this dog and that that's the reason why. all that does is give people false hopes and upset that could be avoided by clear, direct, honest communication of a dog's issues/challenges. i heard about the specific language/way of wording things shelters and rescues use but i had hoped it wouldnt be a universal thing, at least not something i'd experience myself. turns out i was wrong!

maybe im being immature and unfair to these people, they probably dont all have the same amount of knowledge of the dogs and communicating all that inbetween volunteers/workers/and us can be difficult. but im angry and im allowed to express that ffs.

#mine #back to puppy plans and not terribly happy about it and not optimistic either #(more than)half expecting every breeder we get in touch with to assume we're in it for the looks or cool factor #or that we wont be active or involved enough and basically tell us to fuck off in polite terms #idk if im resilient enough to have to explain how invested and enamored i am with those breeds over and over only to be rejected -#- because i wasnt born doing 50 diffferent sports with a dog #maybe im wrong and it'll be a great and supportive experience. find that hard to imagine at this point though #which is also why im trying and mostly failing to think about other things right now. bc ik this isnt a good mindset to be in.#i just want a dog. why does it have to be so fucking complicated #it seemed like we were finally going somewhere and we werent and this whole deal was pretty much all for nothing

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vero-niche · 8 months

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a fellow english major, really happy to see someone who's proud of their degree <3

you know that "no love, no matter how brief, is wasted" line? i think the same applies for knowledge too - no matter how useless it may seem, knowledge acquired is never in vain.

#honestly like. idk what your age is but when i was attending uni i kept getting told that i shouldve gone for IT. because the future #- and the money - is there.#now look at the IT companies. the whole thing is crumbling #not to mention the arrogance. that IT degree didnt make you immune to the same old scam tactics did it. how are your nfts doing btw #honestly i never really expected it myself that a humanities degree would prove useful in a daily life type of way #like. sure i knew it wasnt useless but still. its entirely different to experience it in real time yknow #and the whole new wave ''it isnt that deep'' trend is honestly pretty dangerous bc there usually IS something deeper.#a narrative an agenda a propaganda etc.... or simply just capitalist greed #so its needed to read between the lines and see what the point/intention really is #- and thats what literary and other art analysis is making you do! it makes you stop and think #this is all not even mentioning all the political historical and cultural stuff we learned about all the anglo-saxon countries #which all prove to be pretty useful in light of recent events......#so yeah. anyway. dont listen to all those who say its useless (and theres a lot of those even among the ones who chose this major too)#its clearly not. but even if it were it wouldnt matter ehat they think #(i do wish tho that i couldve attended it already on the right meds bc i feel like i forgot A Lot bc of my mental state at the time #but oh well. what can you do)#thank you for the ask it was really nice of you 💞💞💞#ask #anon

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snekdood · 6 months

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woah you made the "swarthy" looking fellow in your story a creepy pervert who crosses peoples boundaries? ground breaking.

#woah he has dark hair and dark features and is somewhere between the range of fair olive skin to dark skin? ground breaking #extra points if hes anything outside of western european #extra EXTRA points if hes middle eastern or southern/eastern european or french or spanish or hispanic or mixed--#i wonder what possible political motive someone might have to create a character like this !!!#surely it has nothing to do with white supremacy ! and demonizing anything that could be seen even slightly as less white !#to instill fear in young white girls about engaging with men like this so they dont and only date the palest man in the room !!!#surely theres no political motive around demonizing people who are the closest to being white as far as skin tones go #but who might maybe perhaps if you squinted be somewhat ethnic if you're a race realist #you dont think someone would demonize other people like that so only the most pink & pale of white people date and marry #eachother-- right?#and cause fear in anything that could possibly 'taint' that Pure Whiteness so everyone whos not pale and pink get shoved away?#you dont think someone would do that do you ? ? ? ???#oh even MORE extra points if hes animalistic or pagan/not christian in some capacity.#'snake why would u be calling this out u have fair olive skin and dark hair and are animalistic--' yeah i wonder why i have a problem with #this narrative its a mystery really.#having fair olive skin dark hair/features and being animalistic isnt bad in of itself but adding in the whole 'hes a rapist' part kinda uh #well its sending a message and probably not the message you think it is.#you're not warning people to beware of creepy dudes you're warning people to beware anything thats Not western european #and Uncivil and Unchristian.#so the girl in your story can run away from the very very bad pagan non-western european swarthy man and into the arms of your #pink and pale western european brunette hero who probably has angel wings ! aren't you just such a good person totally looking out #for women!

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thestarsarebrightertonight · 5 months

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oh baby its blue flame // tom riddle x fem reader

"will-o the-wisp, babe oh baby its blue flame!"

playlist : blue flame - lesserafim

summary : tom is cold and closed off , theres something off about him and most people know that. so why are you so drawn to him like a moth to the flame?

ravenclaw reader , use of y/n , tom is nicer, AU he isnt voldemort or evil LMAO

masterlist

"youre staring again. even a blind man could see youre staring." your best friend cassandera stated blankly , sat next to you in potions and watching you stare dreamily at a very focused tom riddle.

"i cant help it! hes just so handsome and interesting dont you think?" you whispered back , trying not to gain the attention of mindlessly waffling slughorn.

"handsome? 100%. interesting? more like terrifying!" she whispered back.

you rolled your eyes at this , "i dont get why everyone is so scared of him , hes beautiful and polite."

"yeah well the devil was once beautiful too," she mumbled in dissaproval as you gasped dramatically.

"you did not just compare him to the devil!" you gaped in suprise and slight amusement.

"he seemed pretty devilish when he took away house points because we were in the corridors one minute after cerfew!!" she whisper shouted , reliving the anger she felt when a uninterested tom riddle took away 10 points each from us.

"that was kinda mean of him," you nodded in quiet contemplation.

"oh dont act like you were upset- you admired him and said 'yes tom' like a lovesick puppy!" she scoffed.

"its not my fault the darkness of the corridor made his complexion a little more angelic than usual!" you shrugged as you both gigged.

"miss y/l/n , question 4?" slughorn asked , snapping you back into the harsh reality that you were currently meant to be doing potions.

"huh? oh uhh...well....pheonix feather?" you asked timidly as the whole class laughed only to be shushed by slughorn who held a disapproving look.

"maybe you would know the question if you werent so focussed on talking to miss cassandera." he shook his head as you sheepishly apoligised ,"mr riddle do you have a question?"

you eyes shot to tom who had his hand up , awaiting slughorns attention.

"amortentia," he stated simply as slughorn nodded , stating he was correct. you watched tom for a second longer , startled when his eyes looked at you , a visible smirk on his lips.

you widened your eyes in suprise and looked away quickly , startled and nervous.

"please tell me you saw that." you said sternly , staring forward at nothing as cassandera who did the same nodded with an equally shocked face.

"he smirked." she stated as you nodded.

"and it was hot."

---

later that day you sat on a stone bench , reading with cassandera beside you doing the same thing, until you were interrupted by a shadow blocking the sun that shone on you just seconds before.

groaning in frustration you look up to see who had blocked your light , completely paralysed in shock to see tom riddle looking down at you.

"i thought ravenclaws were smart. however you dont seem to even have the capacity of focusing in lesson." he said so coldy you felt a chill run down your spine.

"what? i...i just got distracted." you stuttered , flustered by his presence and rudeness.

"by me." he stated simply making a bright blush heat up your cheeks , "youd be suprised how easy it is to hear someone sat two rows behind you in a relitively silent classroom."

your whole body burned in embrassament as cassandera pretended to be interested in the floor , secretly listening to the conversation you had with tom.

"oh merlin i- im so sorry i-" you stuttered , not even wanting to make eye contact.

"your confidence was endearing." he again said so blankly , "itd be a shame if i found you in the corridor after cerfew tonight, no? id have to deduct points no doubt."

you were shocked by his flirting? what in the world is happening.

"yeah itd be a shame, i do have a lot of homework to catch up with at the library , i worry it could run over cerfew," you finally looked back up and regained your lost confidence.

he looked down , a faint smirk on his face , "funny thing i cover the librarys corridor. see you then."

he then walked away again , leaving the courtyard and disappearing into the crowds , leaving you to gape after the ghost of his presence.

"i never thought that man would be capable of flirting. never." cassandera muttered in pure shock , both of your jaws on the floor.

"i need to go to the library." you said throwing the book you held and grabbing your satchel in a hurry before walking away.

"hell yeah you do , run bitch!" cassandera happily cheered for you from the bench.

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mythicmanuscripts · 1 month

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god i love your writing so much. i saw your ask about the jealousy thing, what if it was the other way around and someone flirts with their wife and the wife just very pointedly and proudly introduces them. like "have you met my husband" like aemond or daemon is the sweetest person on the planet. for all our boys please.

Ooo I love this!!! I think I'm gonna write a little bit about a few different characters and then we can always expand on something or if you have your own thoughts then feel free to send them in!

AEGON:

As we all know, Aegon is extremely needy and very very much in love with his wife. The entire kingdom knows this, and they all know what an amazing change in Aegon you managed to bring out, but of course they arent stupid either, they know that Aegon is still prone to emotional outbursts.

I bring this up because all of the above means that people generally arent dumb enough to flirt with you, and certainly not to flirt with you when Aegon is in the room somewhere. Most people tend to think that if they tried anything with you then they'd be killed, which actually isnt the truth. Aegon would certainly be upset, but because of his insecurities he'd never try to hurt the other guy because if he's honest, the other guy would probably be a better husband than him anyway.

So when someone hits on you and you respond by actually calling him over? You motion for Aegon to come to you and of course he's on his way immediately. The moment he's next to you, you wrap your arm around his waist and give it a little squeeze. Then you introduce the man that was flirting with you to Aegon and say very clearly that you love your husband so much.

When the guy walks away Aegon is positivity BEAMING.

AEMOND:

Aemond is in complete shock when you respond to flirting by actually pointing him out? The shock comes from the fact that he's honestly never had anyone be fully satisfied with him alone and not think of him as second fiddle to his brother. He's never had someone actually be proud of him, and not just proud of his achievements but actually proud of him, as a person?

His stomach does several flips when he realises you're motioning to the man you're speaking to to look at him. You smile at him when he catches your eye and soon after the man walks away.

Aemond comes to you then and asks why you were pointing at him and you just smile and inform him that you the man you were speaking to was trying to get you be with him instead and so you just politely showed the man what a beautiful lovey husband you have and how no one else could ever come close.

Which... well done he's now crying in the ballroom.

JACE:

You learn pretty quickly that Jace's methods of dealing with emotions is the tried and true method of bottling them up until the bottle explodes in a massive mental breakdown before getting a new bottle and starting he whole process all over again. After a while he starts to come to you when he can feel he's beginning to struggle because then he knows you'll keep a close on him.

Besides just that, you also start trying to understand what triggers him and makes him this upset so that you can try to avoid it in some way. One such thing is when another hits on you, especially when they insinuate that they'd be a better husband because their lineage has never been in dispute.

Previously you thought the best way to handle this was just to turn the guy down and move on, often without telling Jace at all. But this runs the very real risk that if he does find out he will be devastated.

You have since found a way to stop the jealousy from impacting him at all, and that's why bringing him into the conversation and allowing him to hear you defend him.

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yunhoszn · 5 months

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ateez & the carne

i think im pretty vocal about being latina bc im proud of being a brown queer woman #tripleminority but one of my favorite things to do is headcanon idols as latine and the teezers are no different so here’s how i think they would be at a carne + their latino names <3

@atzhouse @juyofans

𖥔 hongjoong would be a hit at the carne tbh. like alllll the tias would be on him asking him all these questions about what he does and stuff LOL he has the most latino energy imo and i feel like he would be chopping it up spilling chisme and learning all the family drama 😭 his latino name is hector btw.

𖥔 seonghwa would also be a tia favorite. they would NAWT be leaving him alone i fear… they’d get him in the cumbia circle QUICK brother isnt leaving without dancing to el baile del gorila by massore at least once. i feel like he’d love the music yk? his latino name is sebastián.

𖥔 yunho… sweet sweet yunho… everyone loves him bc he’s so kind and respectful. the only reason he wouldn’t be hounded by the tias is bc all the little cousins are HOARDING HIM TO PLAY WITH THEM!! he’ll take a break to eat and the kids are like NOOOOOO COME BACK :(( and it’s so cute. but his favorite part is obviously all the meat LMFAOOO his latino name is diego.

𖥔 yeosang is a family favorite. an all rounder if u will. he would make his way around the whole backyard to meet everyone bc he wants to know the whole family </3 he would get along best with the older cousins and their s/os i feel bc he’s so funny and so polite. his latino name is rafael.

𖥔 san is also a family favorite. he gets along with the tios most bc yk… beefy man and they wanna see what all the hype is about. the older male cousins are asking him his workout routine and EVERYTHING LLWMSKWNE but also like yun, the little cousins are dragging him to play with them and whining when he takes a break. the tias are gushing about how handsome he is. his latino name is santiago.

𖥔 mingi is another tia favorite! he’s tall and handsome and his stupid jokes makes them CACKLE they jajajaja the night away with him. but the older cousins are also invested BC he’s so funny LOL i’m picturing him in a setting with my own family and they’d also mess with him so much bc he’s gullible as shit 😭 but they’d love him trust <3 his latino name is miguel.

𖥔 wooyoung… now wooyoung is the type to jokingly flirt with the tias and they feed into it HELLA 😭 but he’s also super cool with the tios esp bc he likes cooking so he’s like learning alllllll the carne seasoning and marinating techniques and how to barbecue with them and that’s major brownie points for him. they’d coerce him into taking shots though bc that’s the only way to stop him from being a gremlin. his latino name is mateo.

𖥔 jongho #1 ladies man tbh the tias would think he’s so cute. he would probably feel a little overwhelmed at first bc carnes are LOUD and OBNOXIOUS and that’s just… not for him. but he would do anything to make his s/o happy and if that means attending these to win over ur family he will! he would kinda stick by his s/o’s side the whole time until he opens up and then he’s drinking with the older cousins and the tios like nothing! his latino name is josé.

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stardustfanfare · 8 months

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the thing about shilo is that he is incredibly good at manipulation. and of course he is such a polite young man and he is so pleasant and such a fun character and i feel like it is easy to forget that basically his whole character is built on some kind of warped idea about how the world works because he has lived his whole life cooped up in a small room, served blood from a chalice. and i think the chalice is almost symbolic of his whole carefully constructed view of humanity and love and all that kind of stuff that he only knows from the pages of books, and even then he would frankly prefer to think about pheasants. and thats kind of it isnt it. he would frankly prefer to think about just about anything else. of everything shilo is best at looking away. we can see visibly how central manipulating others is to his character but id also like to raise the point that hes really good at manipulating himself too. when he is given a body to drink from he cannot even look at it. he needs it served to him, necessarily separated from the source, anything to avoid guilt, anything to avoid guilt, anything to avoid guilt, anything to avoid guilt, anything to avoid guilt and i do not think he could look grefgor in the eye and truly say he loves him because he is not sure if he does. but if he doesnt think about it its probably fine right. if he can convince himself it must be true. so he looks away

#sorry for another shitty ans pretentious sounding character analysis post guys. hit me with your cars #junebug season #jrwi #the suckening

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oddly-casual · 3 months

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Gaap Goemon appreciation post/ Character Analysis

because I need y'all to hype him up as much as I do.

I was a fan of the Mairimashita Iruma Kun anime many moons ago, and just recently I got back into it. Finished the manga. Walked away loving the entire Misfit class. Most of all, I see a criminal lack of Gaap content. So, here's why I love Gaap and why I think you should too.

By all accounts, there isnt a whole lot of focus or information about Gaap that goes beyond the depth of a kiddy pool. (It's like that for most of the misfits tbh...) Still, Gaap gets more focus than most.

Kindness and care:

The thing about Gaap that stands out the most, is how much of a natural caretaker this kid is.

He greets everyone he meets with respect. Often using the honorific "Dono" Which google tells me translates to "Lord" or "Master". Almost every time he greets somebody he always has an offer of Hell tea and onigiri. He always makes sure to take care of his guests and his friends. This kid has no shortage of manners. So polite.

In the Harvest Festival arc, Gaap is the one who goes out to save the other students even when Agares has valid points about why rescuing a bunch of demons they dont know wouldn't benefit them in any way. In the festival, where the entire point is to be a cut above the rest, what did Gaap do?

We see little examples of Gaap's kindness. How he defends his friends and is usually on the front lines whenever someone's well-being is cause for concern.

This boy is the mom friend who always had a painkiller and a stack of bandaids on hand. He's such a mom friend that he canonically fights with Jazz when it comes to taking care of their classmates. (They both have a caretaker complex.)

It's also the way Gaap responds to stress! In the Heartbreaker arc, Gaap is paired up with two first-years who won't stop fighting. This obviously stresses the boy out, because he had high expectations of getting along with his first years, but it didn't turn out that way.

The first thing Gaap does is try to offer them food, something we see Gap do to Agares when he snaps at him. When the offer of food doesnt work, he instead tries to assure the first years that everything will be fine. Even if Gaap isn't confident, his first instinct is to try to appeal to and take care of people. Even if that's not what they want.

It’s interesting, because Gaap doesn’t physically get in between them, like you would expect him to do. He avoids conflict when it gets physical, despite being such a capable fighter. (Though when it comes to saving others, he has no problem acting.)

Friends and Habits:

We get to know Gaap the most when he's around other people. Obviously, because he's a secondary character. I think another aspect of this is because Gaap is a social creature, he thrives around people. We rarely see Gaap standing alone and this makes sense because his goal is to have 100 allies.

In the demon world, we know that demons usually dont care about saving or helping others if it doesnt help them. Nor do they have the drive to see their efforts to the end, because they get bored rather quickly. Gaap breaks out of this status quo, along with the rest of the Misfits, by stubbornly pushing towards his goal even when the fruits of his labor dont bloom right away.

The biggest showcase of this drive is the person Gaap takes care of the most, that we know of.

Chapter 111 shows us that Gaap came to Agares' house every day. check it, every day. Gaap would go out of his way with breakfast and pick Agares up so he could make it to class.

Agares clearly doesnt want to go, but Gaap takes him anyway, refusing to leave him behind. From what we can guess, he's been doing it before they started training together. Which could mean Gaap didn't know this kid, but saw he wasn't going to class and went to go take care of him. (Classic extrovert adopting their introvert friend).

We see how that kindness affects Agares as a result. Agares feels guilty when he snaps at Gaap and goes out of his way to visit Gaap when he doesn't show up for class. (This could also mean Agares went to class on his own, without Gaap having to force him.)

Agares was also willing to help the people Gaap saved. Even when telling Gaap not to go out and save those people, Agares still houses them, keeps them safe, and even plans an escape route for the other students when things look bad. It's a lot of hassle for a character who hates being bothered. Gaap's kindness is contagious, even if it's not obvious at first glance.

Oh, Maybe He's Kinda Fucked Up?

No one escapes childhood unscathed.

Gaap is a caretaker, he does it happily. Even so, when you put yourself in the position to take care of others, there are parts of yourself that fall into neglect that you dont realize.

After the Heartbreaker arc (Chapter 272), Gaap is noticeably absent. We find out later, what happens when you fuck with the nice guy too much.

Maybe it was his crushed expectations, the stress of failing and losing, or maybe Gaap was just tired of being nice but he goes apeshit. Accidentally slipping into his Wicked cycle and nearly driving two students mad with his fucked up face.

We learn that showing your true face is a big no-no in the Gaap household. It's literally written on the walls, and Gaap feels immense shame and embarrassment that he broke a family rule.

He hides his face in his hands, and puts a bag over his face when Agares comes over. He's afraid of hurting someone again, even though the stress of those events have passed.

We dont know his parents' reaction, (because aint no way they dont know) Whether Gaap was disciplined by his parents or not, Gaap put this huge weight on his shoulders. Not blaming the stress of the situation, but blaming himself for losing control.

Gaap specifically said, “I panicked”. Which could mean that with all the stressors, he snapped and just lashed out. Gaap didn't willingly enter his wicked phase, I think he just gave in to his instincts. His bloodline originally started by warding off predators with their maddening appearance. What is panic if not your brain responding as if your body is in danger?

Despite Gaap reasonably getting upset, he still feels terrible for the trouble he caused and the students he hurt. The first thing he did after waking up was to ask if he could apologize to the first years for mentally scarring them.

Gaap’s ambition is to make 100 allies. It's pretty sweet. When a teenager says it(Gaap looks 17 yrs old), It just sounds like he wants to have friends. Pair this up with the fact that Gaap rarely asks for anything in return, and suddenly his wanting a ton of friends makes sense for someone who looks his age. Gaap takes care of people because he wants them to like him. (Even if he can drive them away with how much he cares.)

I have no idea where this desire comes from. If it's something his family drills into him, to be sociable and network, or if it's just a personal goal because of his ugly ahh face.

Regardless, this moment makes me want to lie down on the road while it rains:

Despite how much his ambition means to him, he is willing to isolate himself as long as it means no one else gets hurt. This speaks to his good intentions. It isn't just about the popularity or all the favors he could have from knowing so many demons. It's about forming genuine relationships with other demons and providing them a soft place to land and build community.

Look at my son, he tries so hard.

My final point:

Look at how cool he is. This is Chapter 76, my boy came out the gate swinging with powerful bloodline magic. He's got the position, he's got technique, he's got flare. What more could you ask for?

Gaap started out as rank 2, and since then has had no problem leveling himself up. Gaap always stays on his feet (Hence his nickname Busy Body), not letting himself fall behind his classmates. He aced his training and had since learned to use Wind as a companion and not as a tool. He even developed a full-range attack where he can pick which targets get hit by his swing and which dont. He is leveling up in the world. Dont hurt em now Gaap.

Conclusion:

I'm the equivalent of those parents who show off pictures of their kids from their wallet.

Gaap as a character, in the story he's in, isn't anything really new or groundbreaking. Even still, in a story like Mairimashita Iruma-Kun, the Misfit class are demons that are different. We get to learn why they're different, and how they learn to overcome these challenges despite how they threaten to hold them back.

Gaap is a good kid that you watch succeed from the background. We see him struggle and fall apart, but he never stops caring about others in that process. He's that good-natured kid in your life that you hope succeeds because in a cruel world, they make the decision to be kind.

If anyone made it this far, slay. Even if you never noticed Gaap before, I hope you have a new appreciation for his character. Nishi took time and love to write him out, I think that deserves attention too.

#character essay #character appreciation #m!ik #mairimashita! iruma kun #welcome to demon school iruma kun #gaap goemon #agares picero #manga panels #To the three Gaap fans out there I hope i did our boy justice #He's just such a sweet kid #Can you tell how the manga affected me? Is it obvious?#Kinda tempted to do posts like this for other characters because this was fun to write! And I also like reading about characters I like.#We all love an underdog story and some of us were the kid that felt out of place growing up and for me the Misfit class is like a comfort #Like the best case scenario yknow?

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moxielynx · 4 months

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i genuinely believe that if Morro ever appeared in dragons rising he wouldn't be upset with not having powers anymore at all. Like i think he'd look at Euphrasia and go "thank you for using my power better than i did" because we see in Day of the Departed that Morro clearly moved on from from trying to be the green ninja (or a ninja at all really) and is just a polite little guy now, like he didnt raise his voice once and was pretty chill throughout the whole special, he even willingly went back to being a statue at the end of the special without any sort of hesitance or arguing. plus morro clearly made amends with what happened between him and Wu so he genuinely just cares for him and the team now

at this point he's probably just done with ninja stuff and if he were to ever come back he would probably just want to be left alone, but also i can totally see euphrasia coming to him for advice about her powers since she was so nervous about them before and morro just gives her some pretty good advice, especially since wind is such a powerful element that not even the first spinjitzu master could control (along with water)

except i have a feeling that if morro were to ever come back the writers would just ignore this entire special and just make him an angry bitter guy again that just isnt evil now 😭 the DR writers have done a great job so far dont get me wrong but also its ninjago so literally anything could happen, i would love to be proven horribly wrong tho i genuinely just miss morro and wish he got a better fate :[[ i wholeheartedly believe he should've been given a second chance and the entire special was one huge missed opportunity for morro's character

#he was like 16 when he died man give the boy a chance..............#rambles #ninjago #lego ninjago #dragons rising #ninjago dragons rising #ninjago morro #morro ninjago #morro #lynx posting

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kitchenisking · 10 months

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Seires Fic Rec Part 13

Eighth Night of Chunnuka

Hot Nerd Alert by alisvolatpropiis - (Hot Nerd Alert) - (Rating: Not Rated, Words: 4,537, sterek)

Derek can't believe he's actually doing this: taking a selfie snap of the guy he’s been crushing on for weeks to prove to Danny that one, yes, he really does exist, and two, he really is that hot and thus he is totally justified in being too scared to make a move.

Or you know, even talk to the guy outside of the class they share.

In his defense, this isn’t just any guy. This THE guy. Hot Nerd. The utterly adorable but still somehow insanely sexy freshman in his twentieth century American Lit class who he’s been lusting over since the first day of the semester. If there were ever a time for him to be that person who tries to be subtle while taking snaps of other people, this is it.

Inspired by this super cute fanart by prettiestalpha.

This is Home by JoMouse - (This is Home) - (Rating: T, Words: 3,451, sterek)

Derek gets a letter carrying a familiar scent from an unknown person. He drops everything and returns to Beacon Hills for the first time in fifteen years.

Written for A Very Sterek Summer. Day 5, Theme: Reunion.

If the ley lines you should follow by forestofbabel - ( Ley Lines ) - (Rating: T, Words: 52,111, sterek)

And Derek just stood there, staring at Stiles like he was a ghost.

“Dude, I know it’s been a while but you don’t have to look at me like you’re that surprised I’m hung over in the woods. It’s practically a tradition at this point.”

“Stiles?” Derek whispered, the name falling from his lips like a punch to the gut. Stiles watched, confused, as Derek took a deep breath in and took a shaky step forward then back again. “You’re not- you can’t be. Who are you?”

All I Ever Wanted by gabby227 - (Presidential Stiles and First Husband Derek) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 24,297, sterek)

Based on a request on tumblr:

In the midst of all of the Election 2016 craziness, I have discovered that I need President & First Husband Sterek. Either could have either position, but I’m really desperate for the ‘First Husband’ to be more interested in continuing their current career than getting involved in anything political. They show up for the really important stuff, but they don’t put much stock in the whole the ‘President’s spouse must do a political song and dance for the masses’.

Or, rather, the first of several stories surrounding presidential!Stiles and first husband!Derek.

Reunion by Rising_Phoenix - (The New Hale Pack) - (Rating: G, Words: 5,221, sterek)

Stiles is in Beacon Hills, just in time for his ten-year high school reunion. Having been convinced to show up there, he meets the last person he wants to me, one Scott McCall, the werewolf who once had been his best friend, his brother, before he had told him that humans can not be part of a pack and abandoned him after graduation. But it's Scott who will be surprised by not only Stiles being there, but also by the backup that has decided to show up supporting him...

Pretty Little Wolf by ItsMe_Basil - ( Pretty Little Wolf) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 82,164, sterek)

Derek has heard stories about the Spark -the kind of stories that would have his younger self cowering under the blankets. The kind of stories that had Derek stick close to the pack. But when Derek is in trouble, and the pack isnt around, Derek finds himself in the care of said Spark, and he finds out fairly quickly that he's not all he seems to be. Stiles, he finds out, isn't a villain at all. Derek's only heard one side of the story for four years, and now it's time for him to hear the other side from his mate. *-* "Pretty little wolf," he hummed, stepping closer and kneeling beside Derek. Even in his death fogged brain, he recognized the words spoken. The words that were tattooed along his hip bone. The man reached a hand out, long bony fingers brushing against Derek's jaw. That's when recognition dawned on him. He knew this boy -not personally, but he'd seen pictures. This was the Spark. The one Scott had warned him about since Derek had returned to Beacon Hills four years ago. His mate. "Fuck me," Derek gasped out, dropping his head on the step. "Let's get you better, first, shall we, Puppy?" The Spark hummed.

Not Quite According to Plan by Phlinting - (A Spark of Hope and the Butterfly Effect ) - (Rating: Mature, Words: 23,261, sterek)

It's been eleven years since Scott was bitten by a feral werewolf and, despite his pack's many victories along the way, Gerard Argent's influence lives on. As the knowledge of the supernatural spread to the general population so did the hatred and fear of the unknown. The McCall pack has been picked off one by one and Stiles, Sheriff Stilinski, and Peter Hale are the only three left, on the run and barely surviving.

But Stiles has found a spell. He has the magic, the spark, and his belief. He has his dad and Peter to help power it and he has the will and desperation to succeed.

He's going back to the Hale fire and this time he's going to stop it ALL before it starts.

It's the perfect solution. Too bad things never go quite according to plan...

Another Alpha by ThePornFairy - (Wash your hands) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 1,147, sterek)

When Stiles comes home with news, things don't exactly go as planned.

Wash your hands as thoroughly as Derek scrubs another alpha's scent off of Stiles skin

Blue Light (i'm waiting for it, that) by zanni_1 (zanni_scaramouche) - (In Your Eyes (the light, the heat) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 19,743, sterek)

Derek pays him to dance, Stiles enjoys the sex on the side, and that’s all that ties them together. Whatever else the enigmatic man does is none of Stiles’ fucking business.

Stiles works at a club owned by infamous Derek Hale, leader of the largest criminal organization this side of the country. As they twirl closer together police and rival gangs start to gain the upper hand, forcing everyone's loyalty to be questioned.

Body On My by nymphe - (Losin’ All My Innocence) - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 2,333, sterek)

“I’m serious, Derek. Like really sensitive,” Stiles says, a little muffled by where he’s shoving his face into Derek’s shirt.

Stiles’ neck is sensitive. Derek takes advantage of it.

#sterek #derek hale #fanfiction #stiles stilinski #stiles x derek #kitcheniskingficrecs #seriesficrec

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crushedsweets · 7 months

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Jdjejfjsjd can we know more about ninajack????? Pleasssseeee sucker????

I GOT YOU. i organized it by concept rambles, then if i were to write a 'getting together' one-shot thing.

A SORT OF BACKGROUND/GENERAL CONCEPT..

nina has a crush on everyone. usually its veryyy short and fleeting and she realizes it was moreso admiration and appreciation rather than romance, but its like she's hardwired for romantic love. even when she's "with" jeff (she calls him her boyfriend/fiancé but neither are very loyal), she's crushing like crazy

so, when she's introduced to Jack through Clocky.. he's tall, mysterious, has a nice voice, polite, freaky. SHE'S CRUSHING HARD. REALLY FUCKING HARD. like running off with clocky squealing and spinning and going 'I THINK IM IN LOOOVEEE HE'S SOOO FINEEEE' and clockys like no. you are not. please.

nina would start asking clocky/toby "ohh we should visit jack today i bet he's lonely lets go see him" and they see right through her shit. clockys more likely to be like 'i do not want you bothering him, i dont think he can take it' since she'd be aware of the whole... falling in love with jenny only to be horribly betrayed fiasco.... and even if she loves nina, she doesn't trust her not to hurt people. but toby is more likely to think its funny as fuck and bring nina along.

another big point is. nina's appearance matters a lot to her. she used it all her life to get what she wanted - ranging from when she was little and using doe-eyes to beg her dad for toys, to being a sexy, fun chick at the bar getting drinks from randos... but jack can't see her. he has thermavision and echolocation, so he gets the gist of her appearance, but it'd really mess with her. she doesn't think theres anything about her to love, other than her appearance and what she can give. but he really thinks she has a sweet voice, at least

A CURRENT STORY/ONE-SHOT CONCEPT

it would be after she officially breaks things off with jeff. jeff stabs her in the stomach, liu drags her to jack, and jack tends to her wounds.

they'd require her to stay with jack for a few days, just during her recovery.

nina's depressed, understandably, after the whole ordeal. jack gives him her room so she can actually lay down, and he sleeps on the couch. she never leaves his room, is always in there moping and crying and trying to contact jeff - but he's blocked her on literally everything, so..

it'd start by jack bringing nina meals. breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he'd bring her something and insist she eats. some days she would, some days she'd cry and beg him to leave and take it with him. he'll leave it alone for a while. "this isnt my problem" or whatever, but... she wont heal properly if she's not eating. so jack would eventually try collecting her, pulling her out by the hand and quietly asking her to come eat dinner with him. he'd insist it's for him, that he's been lonely, something like that - a little bit of manipulation, but it works. it gets her to eat.

he'd do it more often, and she'd think she's doing a good thing. he'd start bringing her out to cook with him, all that.

maybe one day while theyre cooking together, nina would be in such a good mood after a long time of moping, and he'd just comment on how nice her laugh is. and immediately she's like oh. woah. ok.

maybe that night, just like he asks her to eat with him so he's not lonely, she'd ask him to come lay with her so she's not lonely. then jack finally gets his fucking bed back. and nina, i guess....

bonus points cuz she'd be wearing his clothes. BIG AS FUCK ON HER. theyre so cute

#ninajack #hcs #creeped #nina the killer #eyeless jack

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greyborn2 · 2 months

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Elisif headcanons now! (friendly tone ofc <3) Why do you think she would be a good marriage candidate? I'm curious :)

Yesssss!!! Okay - so this boils down to two categories. Personal interest in it, and underrated narrative JUICE. Starting with the former because its easier to begin with. So Elisif is just... she's neat. She's simultaneously one of the most politically important people in skyrim while also being COMPLETELY overshadowed by the men around her (Nobody talks about her, really, they talk of Torygg. The civil war isnt her vs ulfric, its TULLIUS vs ulfric. Her own decisions in court the first time we even see her are seemingly overruled on a dime by her own court, by Falk.). Its like she's this big thing of incredible importance and is constantly hidden away both in narrative and in game. But despite that, if you actually sneak in a bit, ignore all the big figures standing in front of her and propping themselves up on top of her, she has a surprising amount of meat to her.

Most of the Jarls are like... a few word summary at best. Greedy idiot boy, honourable honorman, paranoid bigot, old seer, etc etc etc. You get an initial impression of them and thats kinda it. Ulfric has a lot more, obviously, because he's a major character but it would *SEEM* that Elisif should be on the lower end of content. It takes so much to seek her out in her overshadowed little corner after all, but she has so so so much surprising stuff around her. The necromancer potema plot revolves around her, a whole big dialogue tree that isnt super common to see for a jarl, some touching personal quests that go into detail about how she saw her late husband. Its just all super compelling to me to have a character that, despite being so important, is *soooo* hidden away actually have some meat to her. Plus she's just a nice person!!! ANYWAYS!! PART 2!! The JUICE!!

For starters, I think, there should just be more opportunities for the dragonborn to play the political game if they want. Beyond just choosing a side in a war or ticking off their 'thane of everywhere' list, actually getting in on climbing the ladder and enmeshing oneself with the politics of the land they're in. BUT BUT... same can be said for Ulfric. Absolutely true. I do think he should also be a marriage candidate. BUT...

I think Elisif PARTICULARLY makes sense as a marriage opportunity that isn't one you seek out, but one that is put forward to the player. Specifically with an Imperial victory in the civil war.

The war is won. Alduin MAY or MAY NOT be slain. But either way, no matter what, at this point the dragonborn is a war hero, a champion of the people, and decorated imperial legate. And this would be fucking FRIGHTNING, I think, to the politicians back in Cyrodiil. There's a *history* of war hero dragonborns, popular with the people, turning on their commanders and declaring themselves emperor afterall. Oh boy is there a precedent. Suddenly they're the big figure in a war that was supposed to be Tullius' duty and they might start sweating in their boots a little.

SO... after the war is won... the legion starts... pushing. Just a little. A few letters, a few comments, that the dragonborn should maybe marry Elisif. Become High King by marriage. Lock them in and satisfy the war hero with a political title off in the ass end of the empire before they turn their gaze toward a ruby throne. Don't give them time to think on it. Ooooh look tasty treat right here shhhh dont think yes you did very good dragonborn yes yes be high king.

I think from there it could go one of three ways;

1) Last Dragonborn marries Elisif but with her actually agreeing to the union (after completing her personal quests) and she FINALLY steps out of the shadows. Rather than the expected you using her for power, she uses YOU for power. You allow yourself to be the thing she props herself up on and finally really starts coming into public view. Maybe to the nervousness of the Empire as she's a less eager puppet then they might have thought, now.

2) Last Dragonborn falls right into the trap the empire placed. You didnt do the quests for Elisif, she remains in the shadows, there's a loveless marriage and you get to be satisfied with a big title that hopefully keeps you occupied.

3) Last Dragonborn refuses all of this. Things seem to proceed as they do in canon but... well... maybe you notice a few more non-DB assassins using imperial weapons attacking you on the road then you did before. Curious.

#anyway. Longpost but a fair summary of thoughts #I just think its NEAT #I know if I ever wrote a headcanon last dragonborn fic this is the direction I'd take it #specifically with ending 1 #but yea #elisif the fair #tes #the elder scrolls

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maoxyi · 2 months

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To let go (part 8)

“…I wanted to stop him for the future…”

Luffys eyes squeeze shut as he lays his head on Aces shoulder.

“…there’s so many who can help you…”

He doesn’t want to hear them anymore.

“…let’s go home…”

Neither of them.

“Luffy.” He blinks his eyes open slowly but makes no move to sit up. “C’mon Lu, isnt it time to get up?” Ace says to him as Sabo kneels down to look into his sleepy eyes. Luffy thinks about it for a moment. For just a few seconds before pouting. Just being around his brothers makes him feel so small. He feels a childish spark zap through him and it’s almost as though they’re kids again. He pouts and squeezes his eyes closed.

“No.” He replied simply, feeling a bubble of pride in him.

“Now Luffy, you gotta get up.”

“No.”

“Luffy…” Sabo sighs exasperatedly and Ace laughs. He sees his crew on the ship when he opens one eye. He sees Usopp fishing with Chopper as Brook leans over to watch. Sanji hands the girls some beverages and turns to fight Zoro who did absolutely nothing. Franky was chatting with Jinbe and they let out a laugh that’s carried over to him by the breeze. Before he can take a look towards Law, Sabos pouting face comes into view.

“Luffy… my arm is nuuuuuuumb!” Ace complains. Luffy reaches around his brother and pulls him onto the sand earning a loud ‘oof!’ from Ace. Sabo cackles at them but doesn’t count for the fact that Luffy reaches over and drags him to the ground with them. Sabo let’s out a high pitched wail as he flops over his laughing brothers and Luffy has never felt like this. He doesn’t think he’s felt this whole for a long time. This full of pure, clear love for his big family. Pirate king becomes a secondary dream in his mind when he feels his brothers and crew surround him. He wishes this is how it ended. He wishes this was his world. This was the reality he would eventually return to.

“Luffy you’re such an idiot.” Ace chuckles. Luffy snorts at him.

“You’re the bigger idiot.”

“No you.”

“No. You.”

“You both are absolute dumbasses.” Sabo pipes up, as he stares at them. They stick their tongue out to him. Luffy sees Usopp and Chopper look over to them and smile. They wave. He waves back at them. They lay there for a while, bathing in the sun on the Amazon Lily beach. Ace huffs.

“Sabo, you’re heavy.”

“That I am Ace. I am a muscular man after all.”

“Not as much as me though.”

“No, no definitely more than you. I don’t need to be shirtless to show it.”

“…That isn’t the point asshole, get off I am literally suffocating.”

“Good. Die.”

“I just escaped death and here you are trying to kill me again.”

“Yes. Die.” Sabo smiles politely and Luffy howls with laughter as his brothers try to wrestle each other though it was more of Ace flailing to hit Sabo who simply refused to move. He looks up at the sky.

“So… what are you going to do now?” He asks. They both pause and look at him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… what are Ace and Sabo going to do now? That it’s over basically?”

“Well…” Ace starts and looks at the Sunny. “Pops has decided… to disband the Whitebeard pirates…” Luffy sits up immediately. This… this isn’t good. What should be bizarre is that Whitebeard even survived… but the fact that he himself disbanded them… huh.

“What?”

“It’s true. Of course I asked Marco if they refused. Of course they did. Why wouldn’t they? He told them though. He can’t…” Ace took a deep breath and Sabo sits up off of them. “…He can’t keep going anymore. He can’t keep leading us. He told us that after the close call of Marineford, it- it really showed him, he says, that the old era is over. The new era has risen and he’d rather be alive to witness it.”

“Ace…” Sabo puts his hand on his shoulder. Luffy stares. He’s unsure. Of course this never happened but…

“It’s ok Ace! Your old man is still alive right? That’s all that matters!” He knows there’s no need because he has to leave. He has to go home. He’s forgetting his crew is waiting for him. He’s forgetting. He’s forgetting…

“Yeah I guess… but it’s ok because Marco says that he’s going with him to a place where he knows they’ll be safe. Everyone else told me that…” Ace clears his throat. “That they’ll be ok. That we’ll see each other again soon. They’re going their separate ways.”

“I’m sorry… you didn’t go with them because of me didn’t you…” Luffy looks down. He feels horrible because he doesn’t feel bad about it.

“Nah of course I would stay with you! My little brother needs me! Of course you have your crew but I’m a big brother. It’s what I do.”

“Hey I’m here too!” Sabo pouts before turning to Luffy and smirks. “He was crying by the way. Him and the Whitebeard pirates were crying. So hard.”

“SHUT UP!”

“They were practically wailing and it took three hours for them to hang up.”

“ITS NOT TRUE SHUT UP!”

“It’s true and Whitebeard was laughing so hard. He even told Ace to shut up and hang up already.”

“Oh my goooooooddddddddddd-“

“Sounds about right.”

“LUFFY.”

“Anyways,” Luffy turns to Sabo, completely ignoring Aces glare. “What about you?”

“Well…” Sabo begins and looks into the forest. This felt like deja vu. “I told Dragon I would be spending some time away. There’s something I want to do. He was a little hesitant at first but he heard me out and agreed with me.”

“Oh…” Luffy looks down, regret for not regretting.

“No no, Lu. I decided this.” He looks at Ace who nods. “Actually, there’s something we wanted to talk to you about.”

And Luffy doesn’t know why he’s so scared. He doesn’t know why he shakes slightly. He has to grab his own hand. He’s never been so worried. Never. He isn’t ready for what this fake reality will tell him. He isn’t but… at the end of the day he’s still scared.

“Luffy.” Ace smiles at him with Sabo grinning excitedly. “We wanted to ask you-“

“Can we join you’re crew?”

And Luffy doesn’t think he’d ever be as surprised as he is right now for the rest of his life.

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