#not just in fandom but the characters too

[ame-to-ame]

the thing abt dunmeshi is that like. yeah i will admit as a wlw i finally checked it out bc of farcille content. and like often in media and fandoms when there's a ship, the fanon interpretation is much more complete and furnished than whatever scraps the source material provides because like. most media are too pussy for it. you have to infer and interpret and sometimes it really feels like looking for clues in the smallest of cracks. and then you go in excited for some grand devoted yuri and just get at most. "they are just good friends that really care about each other!" from the source material.

but dungeon meshi does not fucking disappoint. (spoilers ahead) the lesbians are fucking intense. The author is feeding her characters well and she's feeding us well as well! Marcille quite literally uses forbidden arts to revive Falin with no hesitation. Marcille, who has a need for cleanliness even in the dungeon, going into the corpse of the red dragon to help piece Falin's skeleton together. She arranges her bones with no complaint of labor or disgust. Marcille, who throws a fit at the idea of eating monster meat, who refuses to have anything from humanoids as her last line of defense, helps eat meat that comes straight from Falin's body. Not just dead humanoids, but from an actual person she knows. She commits cannibalism(ish?) for the sake of bringing Falin back better this time-- Not knowing if it will work and be for anything, knowing that Laios would not have forced her to eat if she was truly uncomfortable. Like that is a level of devotion you might not even see from married couples. How many people would really be willing to slay a dragon, put together your skeleton, risk imprisonment to revive you, go insane, and also eat actual flesh carved and cooked from your body? Like. It's good yuri. It's the yuri we've deserved.

Like yeah I'll kill for you I'll die for you is cool and all that but damn. I will go through all sorts of unhinged things that challenge my habits and fears and beliefs all just to bring you back to life.

What I'm saying is, Dungeon Meshi really did not disappoint. I love farcille. good yuri content.

[bunnwich]

Rituals☁️(Leona x Reader)

Leona is low on spoons after the Tamashina-Mina tournament and needs some attention. Also what better way for him to sneakily court his favorite creature?

Curated from my 200k+ words Leona x Yuu fic

Characters: Leona Kingscholar x Yuu!Reader (GN. No physical description for Yuu. Yuu knows massage therapy.)

Words: 3k, 3rd person

Notes: I saw a meme the other day about how: “Liberalism leaves people’s bodies when mental health starts to affect someone’s hygiene” and I thought of how the fandom used to treat Leona. Also, I really wanted to make the “he uses you as a pillow” cliche not icky. 

Tagging: @comingyourlugubriousness @nammanarin @twst-the-night-away @twstinginthewind @ephemii @the-monday-witch @anevilbunnyinthehat @stagefullofsilly @theshipthatneversetsail @patrioticarcreactor @ice-cweam-sod4 @beaniz @the-nightingales-song @efsstash @cyn-write @porcelain-animatronic @lowcallyfruity @bestmannequin2018 @h0rr0r-10ver-69

-

It was baffling enough of a request that Leona Kingscholar invited Yuu to his home, but even more so was the thing he asked of them now.

“What? Am I your servant now, too?”

“No, course not.” He seemed deeply offended at this implication, nostrils flaring in indignance while his ears flopped backward against his hair. “I’m…askin’ you.” His ears flipped back up as he took a step closer, awaiting their response.

“Wait. You're serious…?” Yuu asked with a crinkle of their nose.

“Please…?” The word was barely audible, the man’s green-eyed stare never breaking from theirs. “If you’d be so kind…” He smirked, putting on an air, propping a hand on his hip. It was a warm day at the palace and he donned a pair of loose linen pants and a matching cream-colored tank top, all embroidered with gold.

Yuu swayed their head back and forth while they considered the idea, unimpressed by the sudden “princely” act. What was he up to? They gazed down at the object in their hand as if it held the answer. Well, it wasn’t often that they heard that word from Leona Kingscholar. “Fine, okay.” 

Was it really such a big deal, brushing his hair?

–

The hammock below the two of them swayed with both their weights as they sat face to face, each teetering on each edge of the colorful canvas. Late afternoon light filtered through the stained glass over all the greenery of the palace gardens, gilding everything it touched. 

Sighing, Yuu made another move, leaning forward to grab another section of the dark waves from the man’s shoulder. They hadn’t even ended up using the brush much so far. The only thing it had been good for was hitting the man when he talked back. 

“Well, the good news is…I got most of it.”

On their way here, Yuu grabbed their bag, bringing it with them to the gardens. Luckily, they kept a few favorites with them at all times. A small vial of rosehip oil; that would work. It could be used for both skin and hair in a pinch. Removing the dropper from the bottle they dripped some more into their palms, rubbing them together before applying it to the end of the man’s loose curls.

“Stinks.”

Yuu couldn’t help but roll their eyes at him. “It’s just rose. It’s nothing compared to that eye-watering cologne you bathe in every day. They sighed, working it through his thick tresses in the silence, pulling it all through to the ends of each section. “...I shouldn’t really be brushing it when it’s all tangled like this, you know.”

“Tch, I know that,” He said indignantly, his lips pressing into a small pout, eyes downcast to watch them work. “Everyone just assumes my hair is like my brother’s…”

They pressed their lips together. “Hmph. Then do it yourself, next time, huh? ” Letting out a huff, they released the bushel of soft curls, the dark curtain falling over Leona's neck. His hair honestly wasn’t as bad as he had made it seem. It just needed some moisture and careful detangling.

“Naw, why would I…when you’re already doing it for me.” The man reclined forward, propping his elbow on the canvas. “Mmm.” He watched them move on to the next section, meticulously separating the frizz and smoothing it over with the oil. Releasing a small sound in his throat,  he stared up at them with lethargic eyes, seemingly in a trance. 

Yuu shook their head at his comment, knowing that secretly he was just eating up the attention.  Keeping their eyes down on their work, they were careful not to pull too hard on his strands.

Leona muttered something as his lids fell completely closed, the end of his tail tapping on the edge of the hammock by their knee. A steady drumbeat.

They took their time with the rest, with only the noise of a few birds calling and Leona’s occasional sigh or grumble. It wasn’t long before, their lids lulled down too. It was relaxing in a way, quietly detangling someone’s hair.

Every once and a while their eyes flitted to the man’s face, catching the little twitch of the corner of his lips. After Yuu was done the detangling, they pulled two equal parts of the bottom sections forward, trying their best to get them even. They stuck their tongue out while they focused, before braiding them as neatly as they could manage, in the way he normally wore them. 

“There, you look more like yourself...” Yuu shrugged when they were done, tugging on one of the braids, and making sure the man wasn’t actually asleep.  “Better?” They crossed their arms, raising a brow over at him.

“Yeah.” The man opened his eyes slightly, the edge of his mouth falling into a crooked, but satisfied smile. “You did good.” His voice crackled just like the way a warm fire would. Like the bonfires at Savanclaw. He may have been sincere, but everything Leona said was always dipped in just a little bit of patronization.

Yuu palmed him on the forehead, pushing his face away slightly before letting their fingers drift up to his scalp, moving some of the hair out of his face.

“Hm?” He questioned, shifting slightly, turning his head to look up at what they were doing.

“Are you uh- still having those headaches?” They began to work their finger into his crown, between his twitching ears, pressing gently down on a few familiar pressure points. “I have to tell you, I’m the best.”

“I always have a headache when you're around.”  He sat up erect, suddenly seeming full of energy, grabbing their calves and yanking them closer to him, practically into his lap. He kept going until the backs of their legs were hooked over his thighs. He chuckled in delight at their bewildered deer-in-headlights reaction. 

Yuu froze at his boldness, pressing their lips together into a pout as they stared up at him with blinking eyes. 

“Don’t be all shy, now. Prove it. I think I got a big one coming on.” He purred at them.

Still playing, hm? “Hmph.” They huffed out a breath at his shenanigans.

Leona didn’t let them get far though, keeping his hands locked around their ankles, leaning over to study their reaction. “Feel free to say no.” He released them, holding his hands up innocently. “...If you’re not up to the task that is.” A bit of his white fangs gleamed as his sneer widened, leering at them through his dark lashes.

“You-” Yuu stuttered, resigning themselves. They were falling for it. This is what Leona was best at: pushing others into “proving themselves” by gently prodding them from their comfort zone.

“Fine.” Saying nothing more, they only lifted their hands to evaluate him once more, taking in a breath before tracing their fingers down the sides of his muscular neck. 

Ah, the man seemed a bit surprised to see them agree, but he quickly masked it with another smug smile as he lifted his jaw to accommodate them.

Leona’s skin was much warmer than theirs and surprisingly smooth, his excited pulse fluttering under their fingers. “Hm. You are tense.” They muttered aloud, pressing their thumb into one of the hard muscles there. “That hurt?”

“Ack, what do you think? Beast…” He hissed, his ears lowering slightly, grabbing their wrist to stop them.

Yuu smirked, most people didn’t expect that kind of strength from them…until they gave them a chance to prove it. “Sheesh, sorry you big baby. I was just askin’.” They rolled their eyes and swatted his nosy hand away. This allowed them to focus again, laying their palms on both of his broad shoulders. 

They could see it clearly now, his shoulders were rounded forward, and his left side was higher–signaling to them he probably held more tension there.

The man was studying them again, one grumpy eye barely open. 

Yuu chuckled, no one expects how much it hurts. Though as much as they enjoyed hurting the man, they went in softer this time, gently kneading his shoulders and neck, before they bothered to poke him anymore. As they worked closer to his jaw, they became enveloped in his signature smell. Traces of cinnamon, hints of orange, and star anise lingered on their fingertips as they explored his exposed skin, taking care to not pull on the golden necklace that hung from his neck.

“How…did you know?” Leona asked through a groan.

 They had hit the right spot.

“The way you walk, for one. You know, with your head forward. For royalty…your posture is terrible, you know. You heard Vil. Anyways, I can just tell by feeling most of the time.” Yuu added, continuing to work on the tightest areas first.

“Tch, you’re one to talk,” He said through his groans, brown ears flopping to the sides as he began to relax into their skilled touch. “...I recall us both getting reamed by Schoenheit at those practices.”

“Hey, I’m not the one on trial here. You asked for my expert opinion.” They continued, reaching around to the back of the man’s neck to rub circles in the base of his skull, moving up into his thick hair.

Leona made a rumbling noise in his chest at this, letting his head nod forward until he went completely limp in their hands. Somewhere, between the ticks of both their breaths, he had slumped his whole weight on them. A whole lion in their lap.

“Mmm.” He nuzzled his forehead against Yuu's shoulder, moving his hand from their calf up onto their arm, running a finger across the loose thread of their sleeve.

Yuu tensed, the man’s warm breath tickling their neck. It felt a little surreal to think such a powerful mage lay against them now like an oversized house cat. It was sort of an honor that he felt so relaxed around them. Sort of. 

They shook their head, trying not to giggle, and straightened their back to accommodate the new weight. Yuu kept on working as if nothing had changed, ignoring the fluttering in their guts that his soft breaths over their cheeks stirred. 

After they finished with his scalp, they worked back down to his shoulders, grabbing both of them and twisting them to one side, signaling wordlessly for the man to turn around for them. The hammock squeaked as he rearranged himself and Yuu pulled his head down into the center of their lap.  

Going by cat behavior, he had shown them his belly, a small sliver peeking from the edge of his tank top. Now, with a completely malleable lion in their lap, Yuu couldn’t help but smile. He was totally at their mercy, moving whichever way they pulled him.

Some people they had worked on, like Jack, could never fully relax for them, no matter how many times they reminded him to. However, the oxymoron of man before them seemed to have no problem flopping over like a sleepy kitten, ready to be petted. 

Their fingers made their way up and down his neck shoulders and even a bit of his chest, respecting the barrier of his tank top.

Every once in a while, Leona’s lips tumbled open with a deep rumbling sigh of relief, pressing himself in their touch with each stroke, seeming to crave more and more. Their face grew hot, and some part of this felt…too intimate. No, no. It was just a massage, but the man’s touch-starved reactions were becoming harder and harder to ignore.

 It was only when Yuu’s fingers reached up to his jaw did Leona open his eyes once more.

As their fingertips settled on the sides of his face, his shoulders went stiff under their care. Yuu could feel Leona’s pulse ramp up for the first time during the massage.  His jaw tightened as they brought their fingers up to the temples of his grimacing face, trying to soothe him. 

He couldn’t be nervous now, could he?

“You…hold a lot of tension in your face too,”  They said calmly, urging his head to the right side, “Especially your…jaw.” They moved down to press their thumb into his cheek, easily finding the small, rigid muscle on the left side of his face.

The man grunted, “Easy.” 

Yuu shook their head again and eased up some. “...Just breathe.” They sighed, rolling their eyes as they massaged his jaw. “That right there is probably a big culprit of your headaches, you know.”

“Hmm,” He replied thoughtfully, his face softening some at their more gentle method. 

Their fingers worked each side of his face some more, then trailed slowly up his nose, rubbing circles across his sinuses. When they made their way up to his “third eye” area they rubbed extra hard to make a point, trying to get him to relax once more. “Sorry, just trying smooth out that permanent wrinkle you got there…”

Leona scoffed, dipping his head back into their touch, and closing his eyes shut again. “Tch, yeah well, every time I come home to visit it ages me five years, so...” He chuckled.

Yuu let out a light chuckle too, taking the strokes they made on the man’s cheeks upward and into his hairline, brushing against his scar a few times.

Leona’s forehead creased, an uncommon expression gracing his usually stern or sarcastic face. His broad nose curled in discomfort and they could see his eyes flicker anxiously under his lids. He was even holding his breath.

“Hey…Just breathe I told you!” They repeated with another soft laugh. “It helps with circulation.”

“Mmph.” The man said nothing and grunted at them before exhaling loudly. They would have thought they were doing something painful to him by his expressions.

Yuu tilted their head, realizing exactly what this was all about. They cupped their palms around his cheeks before dragging the stroke up, one of their fingertips running over the edge of his scar again to test the theory. 

The skin was dryer there and slightly raised. It created extra pull whenever they went over it. But, besides that…it was no different than any other part of his face. The Leona Kingscholar couldn’t be self-conscious, could he? No one ever really commented on it, and it surely did nothing but, to quote Rook: add to his “handsome and rugged charisma.”

But, the more they thought about it, they could understand why he was so dodgy about it. A memory like that, couldn’t have been pleasant.

The more times Yuu went over it they sensed a strange pull of energy from the area, like deep space. They were sure it was something the man had buried deep, so he could convince himself that he didn’t remember what actually happened anymore. 

Can’t remember every little scratch, he said once. How many people knew the real truth, they wondered. Or if there were any legends behind it in the palace.

“You don’t have ta’ touch it.” The man blurted out, trying to keep a straight face. His lips pressed together hard before he feigned a usual smug grin. “Though, I know that you’re a professional and all.”

“Wha-” Yuu almost wanted to roll their eyes at him for how dramatic he was being but, they didn’t. 

 “And- Why…would it bother me?” They asked casually, continuing the face massage as normal.

“Hmph.” Leona let out a huff, one side of his mouth arching upwards into a small smile. “I…see.” When he opened his eyes again, they were shiny, reflecting the tree tops around them. “Not many people have uh-”

 “Feel better?” Yuu lifted their hands from his face as they finished, saving him from the awkwardness of elaborating further. They had seen plenty enough to know how relieved he was at their response. That was enough.

“Mmhm.” He answered, clearing his throat before sitting up to face them again, the whole hammock groaning in response.  “....Thank ya.” He muttered, reaching behind to rub the back of his neck. “Much looser now-”

Leona sighed, eyebrows curving up over his eyes. Then, all at once his gaze snapped up to them, taking them in from head to toe. In one smooth movement, he let his body settle down against theirs, his strong shoulder pressing against them. 

Yuu’s heart hammered against his, mirroring the same fervid beat. No, this was more than just hair brushing. They hadn’t considered the implications until this moment, those of beastmen courtship and personal hygiene that they had read about. The concepts were often interlinked. Sacred.

A hug? No, he was just still just staring at them now, inches away, like a cat ready to pounce. The usual slits of his eyes were dark pools of space, reflecting back their own baffled expression. 

Yuu swallowed. They were so gridlocked by his intense stare, it was hard to speak or even breathe with him pressing them so firmly to the canvas hammock. He seemed at odds with something, his worn gaze downcast. “W-What…what’s wrong, Leona?” They whispered through an unsteady chuckle, managing to keep their head.

“Nothin’. Nothin’ at all.” He whispered, letting his weight sink further into them. There was a peaceful smile on his face as he reached up to grab a section of their hair from behind their ear, twisting it between his fingertips, tail flopping behind him lazily.

It felt like they were being chosen for something.

“Wha-” Their eyes widened, it took them a whole 30 seconds to realize the man was braiding the pieces together, calm and methodical, like when he was arranging his pieces on a chess board. Part of the plan. It was obvious Leona knew how to braid hair but it was…surreal to behold it.

When he was done the corner of his mouth turned up more, creasing a dimple into his cheek. His eyes fixated on the sight of his results, he was so…proud of his work.

Yuu didn’t even have time to speak before he turned his head away, lying his cheek on one side of their shoulder once more. He had done it so casually as if he had done it a hundred times before and would do it a hundred times more.

They understand why he did it, the two of them were…a matching set now.

He chose them. Their heart squeezed as the man draped his arms around their waist, locking them in place once more as something shifted between them.

 Leona’s cocky air had all but dissipated. “...Is this okay with ya?” He muttered so softly they almost missed it. He was asking permission, asking if they would accept him.

“Oh um…Y-yes.” They let their arms fall around his back, tugging on the end of his curls as they held him. Yes, he was getting way too comfortable, but it was their fault for allowing it, right? Yuu laid their head on his, letting him know for sure that: yes, it was okay.

“Hey, I know you're not falling asleep right now.” They grumbled playfully, tugging on his hair and furrowing their brow. Meanwhile, they curled their legs around his torso like a koala as he held them tight, making sure there was no space between them.

They knew it was all a lost cause. He had set the board how he wanted. He would not let them go again, and they didn’t want him to.

“Shh,” Leona mumbled into their shirt, inhaling deeply. “ You’ve been real workin’ lately hard, right? Rest wit’ me.”

“But I-” Yuu yawned, their eyes watering some as they did. The action had forced their eyes shut. The breeze also was not helping, rocking them both gently inside the hammock.  “Fine. But just for a little while.” They breathed out, their own shoulders finally relaxing. Yuu’s head slumped over to gently bob against Leona’s. 

“You win…this time.”

The man only chuckled at their admission of defeat, a warm note buzzing against their chest. 

The last thing they saw was the colored glass of the greenhouse, filtering in pink light through the serrated leaves of the palm trees.

Leona’s sighs of contentment traveled through their body, as his warm fingers kneaded into their back. 

--

[mushramoo]

I feel like we don’t talk enough abt how Vanessa is literally implied to have killed at LEAST 5-6 kids before Gregory showed up. And multiple therapists. She may have been mind-controlled but SHE STILL DID THAT. (I am a Vanessa simp btw)

[cupcakeslushie]

Hey slushy, would u mind explaining the difference between all samurai’s Leo’s shipped with … theres so many different ones (yuichi usagi miyomoto…)

I’m just asking you bc I don’t know who else to ask :,))) but yes they are confusing

So nearly every turtle except Rise has had a crossover with Miyamoyo Usagi written by Stan Sakai. The creators of TMNT have been creating crossovers with his comic “Usagi Yojimbo” (meaning Samurai Rabbit). A lot of people get confused and think Yojimbo is his name but that really just means “bodyguard”, so it’s more his profession.

Usagi’s first cartoon TMNT appearance was in the original 1987, where he was misnamed as Yojimbo (lol even the writers do it!)

Then he was in the 2003 series as an every now and then guest. Usagi and Leonardo were close friends, who bonded almost instantly during the Battle Nexus Championship, and later Usagi even came in to help Leo during a time when he was doubting himself and his skills.

In 2012 Miyamoto Usagi was introduced in the three part special “Yojimbo” during the 5th season. He and Leonardo butt heads at first, both thinking they knew the best way to lead, but eventually they learned to work together. In 2012 I’d say their friendship wasn’t as focused on as in 2003 or the comics, but those three episodes are probably the best episodes of the 2012 series. I’d definitely give them a watch even if you don’t want to check out ‘12 as a whole.

And then, unfortunately in Rise, we never got to see Miyamoto Usagi. I think there were plans, but most of the fandom saw Netflix’s new series “Samurai Rabbit: the Usagi Chronicles” and its main character Yuichi Usagi

Yuichi is the descendant of Miyamoto Usagi, and seemingly much more carefree and goofy. I can’t say for sure, as I’ve never actually seen the show, but I believe that’s what drew a lot of the fandom to his character for Rise Leo. They both have similar temperaments and were airing at similar time frames. I think us older fans tend to go with Miyamoto, since they’ve already got the history of being friends, but Leo x Yuichi is certainly interesting too! It’s definitely up to fandom interpretation, since we never got a canon personality or name drop for him!

🐰🩷🐢

[grind-pantera]

koba x reader pls pls he doesn't get enough love compared to caesar

We love 1 ( One ) Bonobo on this Blog. I really hope this is good, I'm the worst with trying to pick apart new characters to write for AAAA.

Title: End Of Day. Fandom: Planet of the Apes. Pairing: ( Slightly, just a tease haha. ) Implied Koba x Reader. Words: 3K+ ( How? I don't know don't ASK ME. ) Rating: T ( Mentions of aggression, animal abuse. ) Summary: Your favorite thing to do? Annoy Koba. ( I am bread crumbing here. Someone eat my bread crumbs and ask for MORE. )

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・●・○・

Koba was sure to make sure you knew your place. From the moment you stepped into the Colony, with every move you gave, every word you either said or signed, every breath you took was accounted for, almost painstakingly so. It wasn’t your fault you were found by Caesar’s army, half dead and dragged back, nursed to health by some lovely Chimps wearing intricate face masks, that in your heated haze of injury, looked remarkably like medical masks.

It wasn’t your fault that Caesar offered you refuge after you explained the circumstances that left you almost dead; you were turned on by your fellow group of Humans for expressing the opinion that maybe… The Apes were not so bad, maybe they were just trying to survive much like you all were. Bad choice of opinion to have in a group of people who were terrified of the sun. Rather than just letting you out with you opinions, they ended up beating you to a bloody pulp, taking all the things you had scavenged for, and left you in the woods. Fear made Humanity turn against itself, and that was your clear cut example.��

So, that’s how you found yourself where you sat. Perched rather comfortably in front of the fire of the Colony, taking in grace the way that the flames roared in front of you. You could see Caesar and Maurice from your position, signing away without any caution. What were they talking about? You had no idea, the heat from the fire resulted in the warping of the air around you and the signing looked blurred. You had just wrapped dinner up, enjoying the regular assortment of Fall dishes.

Some fish, an Elk caught by Caesar’s hunting party earlier in the day, more nuts than there were berries; just a circumstance of the weather. All things you enjoyed, but not as much as you enjoyed antagonizing your favorite Bonobo. Tilting your head at that thought, you took a moment to glance around the Colony. Speaking of the devil, Koba was nowhere in sight. He usually sat himself along with Caesar and company for meals, taking in some refuge to talk about strategies about the human camps that were too close to the Colony. Koba always suggested just attacking. Caesar always shot him down.

Koba would then look at you like Caesar’s reasoning was solely your fault. You’d stare back at him, unnerved and knowing that if he were to do anything to suggest harm to you, Caesar’s fist would come down on him again. Metaphorically, of course. Apes together are strong, apes do not kill apes. 

If you could record the interactions between Caesar, Koba and yourself, it would make for some good Reality TV. You laughed at that to yourself, knowing that no one else around you was going to understand unless you explained in detail what you were talking about. You had patience for many things, but explaining brain-rotting TV to the Colony was not on your bingo-card, at least this evening.

Shifting your body just a bit, you pulled the sleeves of your shirt down to encase your forearms and let your eyes trail back around so you were looking at Caesar and Maurice again. The Orangutan must have noticed your stare, giving you a slight gesture with the move of his head. Smiling at him, you fell pensively into the flames in front of you and how they moved. Admittedly, there wasn’t much to do when you were by yourself, when Koba wasn’t around. He was seated drama for you, and at least you got the pleasure of communicating verbally when with him, even if it was all aggression and arguments. You recalled in almost vivid detail your first spark of aggression from him. It wasn’t the absolute mad-dog stares he gave you when you finally emerged from the medic portion of the Colony. Or when you sat for the first communal dinner, not sure of the etiquettes. You imagined he complained to Caesar the entire dinner about your mere presence. Oh, no no. He avoided you deviously then, and tried his best to do that going forward. Out of sight, out of mind for Koba though he admittedly found himself a bit obsessed with the hatred he had for you. It was all humans, but now it was streamlined to just you for the time being. 

You were placed in a delicate situation of circumstances. The streamline had to have started when you accidentally mistook him for a Chimpanzee. The absolute animosity as he went off the rails, telling Caesar things like how stupid you were to not know the difference, how you didn't belong there, how you were too human for any of them and needed to know your place and that Caesar needed to do something about you before you tore down the Colony with ignorance. 

It was an honest mistake, you tried to explain in the moment. It wasn’t your fault once again that… Chimpanzees and Bonobos looked remarkably similar. The only times you had seen either were in Zoos when your were a child! Koba did not look too kindly on either and absolutely tore into you in broken English and a few signs at the mention of a Zoo falling from your lips. A place, to him in his resolute mind, that meant nothing but torture and was just a means to keep them in cages, away from actually experiencing life, only getting glimpse from the hands of humans. He hated it, he hated how loosely you had talked about it. He hated you. You were tentative to leave the conversation, more offended than anything at the fact that he got angry at your ignorance and didn't even offer the chance for you to explain yourself or apologize. 

You apologized to Caesar later that night after dinner, who took the apology as sincere and who gave you a bit of insight about Koba as a piece of mind; sensing that maybe you needed the information to make your own judgment about his friend and not just ones based on pretenses. The years he spent in facilities after what happened with his mother and caretaker from the TV stunt he did. He was literally being tortured again and again at the expense of Humanity's gross negligence and sadistic curiosities. Caesar explained his scars - all of them against his arms, legs, his face and his eye. 

With each word the Ape King told you, your heart sank a bit more in empathy. No creature, as nefarious as Koba acted or not, deserved such things and it opened a door for you to be a bit more accepting and understanding that his bias towards Humans, towards you, were rooted in deep fear and alienation. Caesar told you to never take what Koba said to heart, Koba was bred to fear, bred to run from any notion that Humans could be good and nothing you were going to do or say would save him from that. You nodded in quite understanding to Caesar. 

And that’s how you fell into your enjoyment of annoying him. You had tried to be kind to him multiple times with no avail, each time mentally beating yourself up at the fact that Caesar had warned you that goodwill was not going to be reciprocated or appreciated. So, you began to give it back to him just as hard as he gave to you. It was a fun game, most of the time. Koba usually got caught by your bitter remarks towards him and he’d stand down before aggression really bubbled to the surface and he’d do something to garner the wrath of Caesar. Instead, you opted into the enjoyment of staring at each other during breakfast, mid-day meals when they happened, and dinner. You found it mildly endearing the way that he complained to Caesar that things around the Colony were starting to smell like humans. Starting to smell like you. 

You chuffed at that and smelled your sleeve. It smelt like the creek you washed it in. You had no idea what that comment was about. You were just as smelly as the rest of them, actually more than you really cared to admit, for your own tastes but that was down to the Simian Flu taking the advantages of showers and soap from you. If he was going to say something mean, he needed to do it about something you had no control over and that’s how you ultimately kept yourself rather level headed in the game you had going with Koba. He took offense to your personal issues without really knowing the deeper meaning, if there even was one.

Every step you took was full of intent to Koba. Every blink you had was full of malice to Koba. Every breath you made was just the worst to Koba. It meant you were still alive. All everyday activities were scrutinized, and you just had to laugh at that. How much he despised you to the point of obsession. You’d joke around with him and imply that maybe he didn't hate you, that maybe he actually really liked you, but that was taking it a bit too far and you wondered if that was going to be the straw to break the camel's back, to get him to actually lurch at you out of defense. The sun had set at least half an hour ago, your back now feeling the chill as the brisk air of the ocean came rolling over the land. Always at the same time of day during the Fall, always right at bed time and you found yourself wrapped in many pelts just to cope. Maybe he got busy, you thought to yourself and began willing your body to get enough energy tohead back to the nest that Caesar was so gracious to offer you for as long as you wanted to stay. A voice absolutely tore you from whatever state of consciousness you were floating around in, reminiscing about when you arrived, thinking longingly about the things you left behind from the Flu… Whatever they said, you made the assumption that they were not talking to you. Why would they? You were just minding your own little--- Ah, the voice spoke again, you noticed the gruff nature, the harshness inflicted into each of the words. Koba. And he was asking you what you were still doing out, sitting by the fire. You really had no excuse and looked over your shoulder at him, raising an eyebrow at wonderment at where he had been for dinner. You had no entertainment.

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear what you’re asking me over your loud breathing sounds.” You were referencing the huffing he often had around you, the anger palpable from his body at the release of your comment. He sauntered towards you, your internal primal instinct being that of fear but you just peered up at him when he was right next to you, arms apart in defense, legs holding himself to look larger, more intimidating. It surely worked, the gait he used coming towards you put your heart into a skip and it felt like it was sitting in your throat with realization.

You’d never been alone with Koba- you always had your buffer. Caesar, usually, had the easiest time taking his friend down from the ledge, but Maurice has taken his due diligence, as well as Blue Eyes when Koba said something about you he didn't agree with, who very much like his father, told you not to take anything Koba said about you seriously. “Caesar…” You narrowed your eyes as he began to speak, already aware that his one good eye was more than good enough to see you in impeccable detail despite the only light source being from the bonfire that was slowly dying. “Has you waiting for Koba?” “I’m honored you think I’m waiting for you.” Rolling your eyes at the audacity of his statement, you stood up. He was only an inch or so taller than you when he was bi-pedal, but the fact that he was pure muscle as compared to your very slinky form of human was enough to give you a slight pause as you considered sizing him up teasingly. He’d probably think it was a real threat from you and tear your face off. Quickly, you decided against it and muttered to him, “Move. I want to go to sleep.” He didn't. You sighed, rolling your eyes again and tried to move past him but with every step you took to the side, he followed suit. You didn't have any excuse to wait for him by the fire--- IF!! That was what you were doing, which it definitely was not. You simply lost track of time and didn't move. Good justification, you patted yourself on the back and looked at the Bonobo in front of you.  A part of your heart shifted. You had been close to him plenty of times, usually when he charged at you before Caesar had to tell him to back off. But, now, this close and without any movements, you really got a good look at his face and how… How almost sad he looked. 

The scarring on his face against his natural skin was jarring, so bleak and faded from years, his bad eye was ghosted with white but you swore it was looking right into yours with the intensity of his gaze. The fragment of empathy you always had towards him surfaced. You felt a tiny urge to reach up and lightly trace th--- Oh my GOD what were you thinking? You blinked that thought right out of your mind and stared at him again, focusing on the expression of his face rather than the minute details. It was perpetually as grumpy as ever, his expression. But it was often capsized by a look of anger or annoyance, depending on how he felt that. Anger when you said or did something stupid, annoyance when you were just hanging around for no reason. In this case? A little bit of both, but more annoyance. Swallowing softly, you felt your fingers twitch as Koba’s gaze pierced you like a thousand knives.. “Why are you so late?” You muttered finally, your breath expanding onto his face from the mere proximity. Koba scoffed at you, now returning you the absolute pleasure of having his breath in your face before dropping to all fours and heading to the left to pick some food before bed. Your eyes followed his movements, always mean and hard, but maybe that’s just how he felt he needed to hold himself after what he had been through. “Not… Human business.” That was a fair and valid point, and in most instances, you would leave it alone but you decided to push, having not gotten enough stimulation from him during the day. “Well, we really missed your cheery attitude. I had to eat all by myself, no Koba staring longingly at me.” There was sarcasm leaking through every pore of your being. Koba bit into an apple; his canines shone in the light of the flames of his action. The bite he took was large, chewing just as roughly as he had bitten into the fruit. “Had... things to do.” “Like what? Bring me with you next time so I can start to annoy you on your outings. I get bored here.” Koba growled ever so slightly. He didn't like being questioned by anyone, especially by you. It felt oddly like an interrogation. And the suggestion? He’d rather gouge out his other eye than take you with him, anywhere. Well, not that… He’d take you with him. If it meant he could beat you to an inch of your life, his fists taking relished silence in how they’d crush your ribs, how they’d beat you to submit to him, how he’d bring your face closer by holding your hair and make you admit all your ignorant human mistakes. Submit, submit! That idea lingered in his brain before he forced it back out. No, no. He did not want you to submit like you had submitted to Caesar, a topic of conversation that Koba did not enjoy. A topic of conversation that Caesar denied, being in any sort of advancements with you, being intimate with you. Koba was just making accusations to get you to go away. 

“No.” You tilted your head at his answer, the fact that he didn't give you anything snappy in return like he so often did before he turned, picking a few more pieces of fruit up and trailed away. You watched him in shattered silence. He had to be up to something, you figured as his figure disappeared into the darkness, towards the nest he had made for himself so many years ago. You wanted to follow out of loneliness, now left to your own devices for the rest of the night but you stopped yourself. He’d probably bark at you for following… Tell you to back off, maybe even snarl at you in the typical Koba fashion. But, he wouldn’t do anything, Caesar would make sure of it. He’d sit in petulant aggravation as you bothered him about the details of your day. You thought about that and weighed your options. A few seconds later, your feet were pattering on the ground as you followed him, talking once Koba was in range of your hearing. You could see his shoulder tense, figuring he was out of the woods with your relentless chattering. He never understood that about humans, how absolutely grating the small talk was. In fact, Koba sometimes took solace in the mere idea of ripping your lips off. Then you couldn’t talk back, couldn’t ask him things, couldn’t address him. He liked that idea. He liked that idea a lot. He didn't bother to turn towards you as you trailed next to him, Koba’s feet taking him a few steps ahead of you. He’d refuse to walk side by side with you as he took to leading.

 “Seriously though--- Where were you today?” Koba growled in frustration at the sound of your voice. Yes. Very, very annoying the concept of small talk with humans. With you.

[castleofravens]

a lot of people in fandom spaces will hate/demonize female characters for the same reasons they love/romanticize male characters and sometimes it’s not holding male villains/anti heroes accountable for their actions the way that female villains/anti heroes are and sometimes it’s hating female heroes/anti heroes for their personalities/flaws/attributes/trauma responses whilst romanticizing male characters for having the same or very similar characterization?? like hi why so many double standards??

ALSO some of these characters are teenagers??teenagers are really fucking messy, like they’re not gonna make perfect decisions all the time and they might seem unlikeable at times bc they’re … still children …??

[theglamorousferal]

DPxDC is a fandom in and of itself now. I think we've established that.

It's probably the only fandom I am so avidly a reader of such wildly different things.

I ship Danny with two of the Batboys and also their dad.

I can't think of a ship as good as Jazz/Jason for either of those two characters.

I am obsessed with the demon twins aus where Danny is Damian's twin. I'm obsessed also with my personal thought that it's Sam that's Damian's twin.

I am obsessed with Amity Parkers showing up and just chaos happening.

The Fenton children getting adopted by any number of different villains or heroes. (But especially the villains).

I am here for reincarnation aus, whether it be Danny reincarnated as a batboy, a formerly inviable clone, Thomas Wayne. More Sam Reincarnated as Harley and Ivy's daughter, Martha Wayne, an avatar for the Green. More Pharaoh Tucker, reincarnated as a modern techno-wizard.

Queen Regent Jazz. Queen Regent Maddie. Queen consort Jack. High Prince Danny. Princess Ellie. Prince Dante. Duke Vlad? Plant Queen Sam. Pharaoh Tucker. Ghost Royalty Amity Parkers.

I'm here for Jazz raising de-aged Danny, perhaps also with Ellie and Dante. I'm here for Danny raising de-aged Ellie and Dante. I'm here for de-aged anything really, the thought of being able to re-live childhood marginally better with the knowledge of myself I have now that is just too compelling for me.

I'm here for Danny being an immortal ancient being that the JLD call in during hopeless situations or situation involving direct citizens of his domain. I'm here for him pretending to be an ancient being when summoned.

I'm here for unknowable eldritch Danny. Unknowable eldritch Amity Parkers in general.

I'm here for Just Some Guy ^TM Danny. He has shit luck and is found everywhere by all the vigilantes of whichever city we've dropped him in. He is also an impossibly powerful person who could easily KO the JLA's heavy hitters in minutes.

I just can't get enough of any sort of anything in this crossover. Just everything I can get my grubby little hands on I am here for.

[artsy-waffle19]

I think the reason why the fandom is so divided about what to think of the cat king is because this character fits into very different concepts depending on how you chose to vibe check him.

so if we decide to vibe check him by supernatural/fairytale standards he's a typical trickster with a goal who pulls of a bunch of smart tricks in order to achieve them. He also follows a very stict code of "an eye for an eye", most of the time throwing a characters own actions right back at them in an unpleasant way. In fairytales and folktales the whole deal with "the king saw them and immediately fell madly in love, demanding their hand in marriage" is a pretty common occurence so that fits that too. The task he gives Edwin is also very fairy tale like as it's a task that sounds impossible but the hero manages to outwit him and beat him, which earns them his respect even though he might temporarily consider going back on his deal. So if we vibe check this character he's just a morally neutral character that unfortunately functions as an inconvenience in the heros main story.

however why a lot of people have issues with him is because it's also a very valid approach to vibe check him by real life standards which does make him a predator. (Let's be real if our friends irl were in this exact situation Edwin is in, we'd get out the cricket bats ourselves while telling them to stay as far away as possible from that person and better yet get a restraining order on that guy). Instead of "trickster who tells the hero to solve a riddle and asks his subjects to keep him posted about what the hero is doing" we get "guy who won't accept a no as an answer and keeps stalking somebody who already rejected him", just like instead of "morally neutral character goes by 'an eye for an eye' does things that might be uncomfortable for the protagonists but are technically fair" we'd just see "petty guy who keeps throwing a tantrum about random stuff but won't behave any better". So it really depends on wether we go by folktale morals or real life morals, which both offer very plausible interpretations of the character. And this is intended as the show repeatedly shows us this supernatural world but then the villains are always normal people doing very bad, very real things to their victims. Devlin is just a guy who is obsessed with control. He's not a supernatural being or posessed or anything, he's just a bad person. So are Edwins and Charles' bullies, Charles' father, Brad and Hunter and David as he is a demon but it's not his being a demon but his abusive behaviour that traumatised Crystal. So the show actually makes us view it through that real life lens and vibe check all of the characters by our real life standards, according to which the Cat King is moving in a really dark gray area, while also being set in the supernatural world with entirely different standards, that we are also aware of.

So yes: The Cat King is a fun and interesting trickster character, who influences the character development of one of our main characters in a positive way and is otherwise no more than a minor inconvenience with a fun character design and yes: if he were a real person he'd need to get punched in the face, go outside and touch some grass and then get like a decade of therapy. These two things can be true at the same time. That's what makes the character so good.

[2sw]

hey guys. I don't mind people reposting my gifs on other sites to express their own love for sam, I love to see it actually, but please do not use mine for archive/gif accounts. thanks xx

[wisecrackingeric-2]

Can I be mega autistic here and vent for a second and ask if anyone else is lowkey scared for whatever the next RE game is HSBWHDNDJ

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I read Hussie's author notes and they were so disappointing. He dismisses Eridan and gamzee as one-dimensional nastyboys, he claims Rose and Dave's true arc was to refuse their quests and they just needed to stop feeling guilty about it, and he says karkat's final frog didn't even matter and he was just worrying over nothing. There's so much potential clearly written in and he just throws it all away bc lol. Your analysis is so much more nuanced has so much more thought put into it both with regards to who these characters are as people and the role they serve in the plot. I'd take your ideas over what hussie thinks is canon any day of the week.

this is super funny to me because i absolutely take what hussie says into account like all the time HAHAHA

Like genuinely I go back to their formspring/tumblr/forum/book notes all the time to see how on-track i am with my analyses. If you like whatever bullshit i'm talking about, then you like hussie's writing!

[shadowqueenjude]

Uhhhh anyway I don’t think anyone who dislikes Elain is misogynistic simply for disliking or not being interested in Elain, but I will say that I HAVE seen some exceptionally problematic takes SURROUNDING the character that make me question your way of thinking.

And a shitty take that I’ve seen from Elriels is that her story is going to revolve around choosing Lucien or Azriel. Like…you seriously want her entire character arc to revolve around which man she’s choosing? Talk about self-insert.

I’ve ALSO seen Elriels who want to turn Elain into a spy or a warrior and want her to basically be Nesta, and other Elriels who want Elain to “cure” Azriel of his shadows and pain (yuck purity culture), and let me just say the influence of booktok is staggering, and it’s terrible. Also, the way it drags on women who exhibit typically feminine traits and fulfill typically feminine roles is awful. These kinds of characters always seem to generate the hate of fandoms too.

I’ve also seen some anti-ICs blame Elain for “locking up Nesta” and I have to defend my girl here, SHE DIDN’T DO ALL THAT. CAN WE PUT THE BLAME WHERE IT BELONGS ON THE IC INSTEAD OF ELAIN. ELAIN HAS NO POWER THERE.

Yes, Elain said some questionable things in ACOSF. Sjm had a…weird way of having Elain show her claws, which I blame more on SJM than the character. But let’s not pretend like Nesta and Elain aren’t BOTH being mean to EACH OTHER like normal siblings.

Also, Eluciens ARE interested in Elain’s journey as an individual, and we see Lucien as the perfect companion on that journey of growth and self-realization.

Anyway thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[suhmingo]

I, uh, don’t know how to actually preface this. It’s really just a mini rant/pseudo-analysis of chapter 167. Which was pretty crazy. But, I loved this chapter, and yes I’m typing this with two hands.

But first let me try and do some housekeeping.

It’s perfectly fine to have an emotional, even visceral reaction to 167. That’s the point

If you feel grossed out, betrayed, unnerved, dumbstruck, or any form of bamboozled by today’s chapter then good! That means the emotional weight of the scene is working, and that you are a proper, feeling human. The

The whole point of fiction is to explore themes that would be difficult, even dangerous to experience from a place of safety. To me that’s, like the entire reason I ever wanted to become a writer, one of the most unsung broke boy jobs in the history of the world. My desire for Denji to get better in a world that is dead set on making him fail is the entire reason I have an emotional investment in the first place. Stories are inherently about conflict and the struggle with resolving conflict, that should make you uncomfortable.

Say what you want about Chainsaw Man. I can take it, I’m a big boy. But one thing that it has always had since Chapter one is a well-defined through line about the complexity of our innate desire to find some type of love fighting against the pain-wrought pathway that it leads us down. In a good story, every chapter should have some way of showing the highs and lows of that theme, and I’m pretty confident when I say that 167 perfectly shows us that.

It’s bad. Don’t let people who brag about their trauma tolerance tell you otherwise. You are well within your right to feel. But I think it would behoove people to 1. Realize that this is fiction, and its effects, though evocatory, are ultimately abstract, and 2. Realize that exploring dark themes allows people, especially a 16-25 (Or whatever the target audience for CSM is) to grapple with and think on human concepts as all encompassing as love.

From a writing standpoint, one chapter has escalated the tension of the entire story more than anything that has happened in Part 2 so far. It’s admittedly a bit early to call it peak. But looking at it as a simple story beat, that’s a fantastic chapter as far as the medium goes.

Listen, the whole point of stories since, like, Mesopotamian times was the tension between wanting a character to achieve happiness vs the hardships and trauma that life happens in life. They’re supposed to put you in a sensitive state emulative of a tense environment. I’d argue that the prevalence of escapist fiction and fandom has changed how we emotionally digest fiction. But that’s a whole nother essay.

The events of 167 aren’t some horny non-sequitur. Everything that happened is entirely a logical, if graven, extension of how we know characters.

Denji is at the lowest point we have ever seen him at. He was literally dismembered and put back together less than 10 chapters ago. The last chapter literally had him groveling on his knees at a cauldron’s brew of his own weakness, immaturity, stupidity, and horniness. I think we can all understand why he would not be in a good mental state to just lose himself in the moment. You can’t even blame Denji in this situation. He was in an entirely vulnerable state that was exploited entirely by

Yoru. Who is the literal embodiment of war. If you think that someone who represents the human fear of war is going to play fair. Turn on the news for five minutes. Yoru is a character we are not supposed to like. She’s fun, because she’s a work of fiction, but she’s arguably less trustworthy than Fami. She’s a violent, exploitative being who possesses a dead teenager. There is no “too far” for her if it’s the fastest way on the road to conquest. Reminder that before she caught feelings, her plan was literally just to castrate Denji because she thought that would further her goals. The fact that it turned into kissing was actually sparing a worse fate. IMO that savior was all in the actions of Asa.

Asa. I genuinely believe that, subconsciously, Asa wanted to kiss Chainsaw Man. Not like how it happened. Never like how it happened, but her desire for Denji/Chainsaw Man's affection has always been evident. She gets irreparably upset when she’s stood up, she makes cringe poetry for Chainsaw Man, and her entire goal as of now is in some misguided desire to make him happy. I also don’t think Asa is actually demisexual, or averse to sex. She is afraid of intimacy, which stops her from ever acting on her urges. Notice that both times Yoru has kissed Denji, it was after the idea of sex and intimacy was explicitly brought to the conversation. To me that screams that Yoru is spurred on by her host’s innate desires. Hell, it’s been shown that in the same way that Yoru has made Asa more proactive of a human being, Asa has made her feel emotions. I don’t think it's a coincidence that Yoru is blushing while kissing Denji. None of that was part of her plan. That’s Asa’s emotional influence getting the better of her in what I predict to be a fantastic role reversal of their initial contract.

This is thematically in line with how Chainsaw Man presents love and sets up deeper themes.



Remember way back in Part One when Denji was just an initial horndog and everybody kinda hated him? I hated Denji back then! When I first heard of Chainsaw Man I genuinely thought it was going to be a mommy-kink fuelled power fantasy. But I was wrong. Wonderfully wrong. Fujimoto used the allure of that idea in Makima to present a story about how dangerous and manipulative the very idea of grooming is, and how damaging that can be to a person. The same way Denji’s desire to get the approval of Makima was poisonous to him is mirrored in his desire for vapid, instantly gratifying sex is being portrayed here. I genuinely think this chapter is going to age like fine wine, and I am absolutely willing to take egg on my face if I’m wrong.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

The ATSV fandom is dead! Everything is so slo-

The Hobie tag gets MULTIPLE posts a day. There's a least one Miguel fic published everyday, if not multiple. My favorite artist just posted hi-res Hobie art fully colored like a week ago. Ask 'you got one night with Miguel and a bottle of liquor. WYD' and watch you'll get like 45 responses saying the most smuttiest detailed choke-slam-into-a-train type BDSM in your inbox I PROMISE YOU

The Hobie and Miguel girlies DO NOT SLEEP.

'Dead' - Go hyperfixate on an anime that ended in 2002 who's only new material is Japan-exclusive one-off releases that have never been translated to English then get back to me.

'Dead' - You wanna hear dead? Go play around in the Big Hero 6 tags 💀💀

'Dead' - You remember Wednesday?? The biggest Netflix show of 2022?? Remember? Bet you don't!! Dead fandom.

'Dead' - Go watch all the seasons of Gossip Girl. Watch Vampire Diaries then go in the tags. THAT'S DEAD. That's MUMMIFIED. CREMATED at this point. Death Note and Buffy too.

Bruh you wanna know what my OTHER movie fixation is?

Bullet Train (2022). One off film adapted from a one off book. No sequel. No NOTHING. Go in the bullet train tag bro. We're STRUGGLING. There's like four of us in a huddle screaming about the movie Bullet Train.

We're not waiting for a next movie. Nothing's coming. Half the characters fucking die in the movie so there not coming back. We're just riding this sinking ship until our last goddamn breath 😭😭 ffs

If a character gets like 5 posts a day in their tag, that fandom is not dead girl count your blessings it ain't REALLY dead

Imagine not getting new art of Hobie for over a month. Imagine looking for Miguel smut you haven't read only to see the last one was written three months ago.

COULD YOU IMAGINE?

'Dead', girl this fandom ain't even on life-support and I'm GLAD

[dreamsinmoonlight]

Dude, I need part 2 of Yandere Alastor with Angel Reader, could you do it?

(HERE WE GO! Part two: Electric Boogaloo. I dedicate it to Hoizer's "It Will Come Back". Because, I mean, that song is a yandere song to it's depths.

Part One: Oh Doe

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Characters: yandere!Alastor, angel!reader

Genre: Same as before, yet maybe a little more? And a little hope even?!

Pairing: we both know what this is

Summary: After your reunion, you came to understand that you didn't understand some things. But other things never change.)

My Doe

In the weeks that followed since your arrival at the Hazbin Hotel, you come to understand more and yet at the same time you couldn't help but feel you didn't understand nearly enough.

Angel was a sweetheart, once you got past some of his stranger tendencies, the ease and constantness of his flirting and flaunting of his sexuality. At first you had been confused and flustered because you weren't used to such things, not at all, and you learned eventually there was an element of amusement to it for him, because as Husk liked to inform you "your wings show off way too much, kitten, and the spider loves watching you flounder". Which didn't exactly stop you honestly but you started to get past it and you started to notice the loneliness and the injuries and the sweeter aspects of him. No one liked to talk about it but sometimes you got him to agree to let you use your angelic magic to heal the worse of it and he's tell you such fascinating stories of hell with the brightest shine in his eyes, you couldn't help but like him.

Speaking of Husk he was much the same but it was more like getting past the grump and the walls the ex-Overlord had up. He had the most info to share with you, not to say that Charlie didn't but talking to her was like talking directly to a rainbow; she was sweet and optimistic and you loved and adored everything in that in her but when it came to the cold truth, it was Husk who seemed most willing to talk.

It took a few days before you found out why he knew your name and you learned he was in some ways like you: a collar and chain kept him tied to Alastor, unable to escape him anymore than you were to escape from your memories and past with him. There was a small edge of concern you caught early from his words to you, that Husk knew you were something Important to Alastor, in ways that made him all the more dangerous to you. There was some pity to it and you appreciated it to a degree though you tried so hard to smile and act as if it was nothing, as if you hadn't had nightmares again of that day, of the way Alastor had looked, had sounded, the feel of his hand on your cheek wet with blood, your own blood. Of the fear, of the pain, of the darkness before coming to as an angel in Heaven.

You met Lucifer, and he was a strange person who you felt oddly comfortable around because how could you hate someone who looked at their daughter with the love in his eyes? He was such a funny and energetic person and you were fascinated by the way he, this enemy of Heaven, could be such a shining light. And how much he and Charlie resembled each other.

You met Nifty, strange, insane Nifty, who laughed and ran around and ranted about bugs and looked at you with the widest stare before trying to stab you with the nearest implement; Angel had had to stop laughing first, Vaggie screaming as she held back the tiny cyclops, before he could explain what had happened during the battle. Ah, you thought; so this was the one who had given Adam the final blow. But the order to stab any angel she saw didn't seem to be completely gone and you just giggled and smiled and said it was okay. You didn't hold it against her in any way.

You met Cherry Bomb, Angel's friend, and you tried not to giggle because you knew her already so well. Sir Pentious spoke of her with such glowing warmth you couldn't see anything but what he surely saw when you looked at the punk explosives expert.

You learned about them, you became part of their group, and you worked hard to find all the ways you could possibly help the hotel, help Charlie, and you understood all that so much. But still you found you no longer understood Alastor.

The Alastor you knew had always been a gentleman and so was this Alastor but there was so much darkness to the way he moved. And you couldn't help but see something else when he smiled at you, hidden behind the cruelty, the violence, the obsession that you should have seen so long ago before it got too bad but no, it was far too late for regrets on that.

Always he was near, even now. You sat on a stool at the bar area, humming a soft tune to yourself as you waited for the others to come home; Charlie was out on a date with Vaggie, Angel had gone to his job and Husk was out gambling as he often did. Nifty was somewhere, she never left the hotel unless she was taken out by one of the others, and as for Alastor, well, he said something about needing to do a radio broadcast. Somewhere in the back of your mind you remembered the sinner who had whistled at you when you had gone out with Charlie the other way but you weren't too sure why they came to mind.

Your wings were stretched out and you could feel the eyes from the shadows; they were everywhere and here they were watching you. The first time he'd popped out of them you'd been terrified and Angel nearly threw every book in the study at him with words that an angel like you should never have to hear. Alastor let you keep your wings but the price seemed to be the shadows were always watching you, just in case. You shivered and bit back a whine, instinctively pulling your wings back in to wrap around you, a futile attempt to hide from the staring and the sensations you felt. The result was the feel of fingers along your feathers and an ache in your chest you attributed to fear and anxiety maybe mistakenly.

"Oh doe, look at you hiding away like a scared little fawn" came that staticky but clear voice, digging its way into your ears and leaving you wondering if it would be easier to stay inside or come out.

"Alastor," you whispered his name like an old prayer; it used to be something that gave you comfort, in a life long gone, when the one it belonged to had been a dear friend, a close friend. When you'd felt you known him. Not this stranger with the same voice and memories and feelings.

Those fingers became claws and you tried to swallow the whimper that threatened to leave you as you felt him get so close to ripping into your skin. Your blood would be golden now, not red, not red anymore; would it make him happy or angry?

"I suggest, my doe, that you not keep hiding from me," he said in a whisper that almost sounded sweet, almost familiar; for a second you could pretend it was dear sweet Alastor, before it crackled, "You wouldn't wish to upset me, now would you?"

Of course not. You remembered, you remembered too well, you remembered more often than not now that you saw him so often. This stranger who had the ghost of your old friend.

You hesitantly unfurled your wings and looked out, eyes wide as you looked upon the face of the greatest threat to your safety you knew. Those bright red eyes, that large yellow grin full of large yellow teeth all in points, the two tufts that you recognized as ears immediately, still standing up tall. He was still pleased, he was not angry yet, he was not annoyed yet. He would maybe not hurt you-

A small crackle of a chuckle left his mouth and you gasped as you felt his claws dig into your wings, puncturing thin sensitive skin, narrowly avoiding nerves that would leave you grounded if harmed. Feathers stained gold fell to the ground and you could not help but cry, the pain intense; your wings, like any flighted creature, all too delicate, all too sensitive. The tears came without ever a chance of holding back, of stopping them, and the softness of your cry, there was obviously something appealing in the way you looked and sounded because you saw that terrifying face soften and for a second, through the tears, you thought you saw your Alastor again.

"Oh doe, my doe," he said and pulled his claws free to cup your face in his hands; how many times would he streak your cheeks with tears and your own blood, "Have I told you how beautiful your eyes are when they're brimming with tears?"

He wiped your tears from your eyes, leaving more blood on you in his wake, before drawing his hand to his mouth and running his tongue along his claws. He still smiled, he never stopped, he never seemed to do anything else; you looked up at him and saw the emotions instead in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," you whispered, shivering, shaking, bleeding, your wings aching in their urge to fold but unable to do so from the pain; you'd be fine, you'd be fine, you wouldn't die, you'd be fine.

"Don't apologize for being so brilliant to me," he said and his eyes narrowed, "Just never try to hide from me again; I haven't been able to see you in such a long time. I never wish to let you out of my sight again, that's why they're watching you after all."

"I'm sorry," you repeated and flinched as he reached out to touch your face again.

With your eyes closed you couldn't see his expression, not the way it wavered for a second, when the facade fell but returned long before you would ever know it was gone. Alastor stroked your cheek, admiring the way the golden blood painted your skin, and he tilted his head just a bit, just to the side.

"I'll forgive you, if you come up to my room," he told you and a jovial tone took over, "It has been so very long since the last time we sat about listening to music together, my doe, and I must say I have greatly missed it! The princess is a precious one and Husk does his best the dear boy but no one else I ever have known has understood the proper way to appreciate jazz as much as you do. Come, before the others return and surely drag you and/or I into another ridiculous and fanciful adventure; we're well overdue for one after all~"

You opened your eyes and looked at him and he was still smiling, still the same. Red and pink, deer demon, red eyes, yellow sharp teeth, dapper and torn all at once, fear and danger and violence in one neat form.

But you smiled back and you reached out to take his hand.

Alastor the Radio Demon you didn't understand. But you understood Alastor the radio host, the man who used to walk with you through the rain and scold you for giving away your umbrella every time. And that's who you saw smiling at you, even if just for a second.

[creatingblackcharacters]

This might seem like a weird thing to get hung up on, but in reference to your post about Wyll's hairstyling, someone made the comment that they imagined Mizora used magic to braid his hair as part of their pact. You replied that this was a racist idea and offered to explain why, but they never commented back. If you're still willing to discuss it, I actually would like the explanation. I'm not disagreeing that it's racist, I just think I'm missing some of the nuances/reasoning.

The only explanation I can think of is the way that Wyll's relationship with Mizora is treated, both in and out of game, just makes the joke really not funny. I hate that Mizora is treated as a quirky, love-to-loathe-her side villain when she's essentially Wyll's abuser. She should be treated with the same gravitas that the writers treat Astarion's relationship to Cazador, or Karlach's relationship to Zariel. Then you've got the fans, who can write loads of rants and analysis of Mystra "grooming" Gale on what I would consider very little basis (adults can have teachers too), but stay pretty mum about Mizora, who started manipulating Wyll when he was 17, isolated him from any support systems he might have had, and literally tortures him with the torments of Hell for disobeying her. I forget which conversation it is, but Wyll even describes her visits to him after he completes a task for her as her "saying all the right words" and "touching him in just the right ways."

Maybe I just haven't seen people talking about it because I'm not looking in the right places, I tend to keep most fandoms at arm's length so I'm not swallowed whole by their nonsense. I'm sorry if this turned into an extra long vent message, but I hope it shows I care about Wyll as a character and the work you're doing in general to improve the portrayal of black characters in fiction and fandom.

I mean, you pretty much said it all. I mentioned in my hair lessons that hair is very important to Black people, and that it's also a matter of consent. You wouldn't want just anybody touching your body, and that includes your hair, yes? So it would be incredibly violating for some white person that is essentially your abuser touching your hair, your body, something that is important to you! How can there be real consent if someone OWNS you? Hair is something that requires trust and intimacy. Especially with the idea that a white person would know better how to do your Black hair?! No thanks.

It's also something that ties into my most recent lesson with stereotypes, plus issues with how men are perceived with abusers. The idea that a boy should be "grateful" that a woman is attracted to/attached to them, even when it's inappropriate. For me, what I see when I see Mizora is a white coded woman allowed to mistreat a young Black boy into his adulthood, and treated as though he brought it on himself, as if he deserves to be mistreated by someone who took advantage of him. I see that people won't take that violation seriously, bc no one cares about the dignity of Black bodies nor do we offer them grace under fire.

Whereas if this were a young white girl, and an older Black coded male demon had done these things to her, all hell would break loose. Fans would immediately understand that that sort of relationship is not appropriate and we should not just assume that "oh well it's just sexy".

I mentioned in the last lesson that this sort of "attraction" has gotten Black boys and men killed at the whims of white women. It's not "funny" to me to think that some white coded woman is allowed to treat Wyll that way and everyone is just... Cool with it. I'd be very nervous to ask your opinions on real Black people.

It's honestly why I felt uncomfortable getting interested in the fandom to begin with, in addition to everything else involved with Wyll and his VA Theo. BG3 doesn't seem like a welcoming place fr, and I too have to keep fandom at an arms length for racism reasons, but as I've done with fandom before this: that's my chance to maybe create something that's missing. 👍🏾