#otp: force bond

[mariahjade2]

We Belong

Pat Benatar

Many times I tried to tell you Many times I cried alone Always I'm surprised how well you cut my feelings to the bone Don't want to leave you really I've invested too much time to give you up that easy To the doubts that complicate your mind

We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better We belong, we belong, we belong together

Maybe it's a sign of weakness when I don't know what to say Maybe I just wouldn't know what to do with my strength anyway Have we become a habit? Do we distort the facts? Now there's no looking forward Now there's no turning back When you say

We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better We belong, we belong, we belong together

Close your eyes and try to sleep now Close your eyes and try to dream Clear your mind and do your best to try and wash the palette clean We can't begin to know it, how much we really care I hear your voice inside me, I see your face everywhere Still you say

We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better We belong, we belong, we belong together

We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better We belong, we belong, we belong together We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder

[atornpageold]

i’ve been rewatching way too much game of thrones and my mind did a thing. i don’t even know what half of this is.

1.1k mess of words (cw: brief mentions of sex as negotiating i guess?)

"Now, my dear prince, I am sure we can come to some sort of agreement." 

Obi-Wan liked to believe that he possessed some charm that would help Prince Skywalker see that an alliance between their two kingdoms was mutually beneficial for all parties, especially if Skywalker were to commit his men to the cause. In the Force, he could feel the swirl of emotions coming from the other side of the table; temptation and indecision at war. He understood that the choice he had put the young man in was not easy—it had been the very same choice he had needed to make months ago. There were many moments of self-doubt in the time that followed, but Obi-Wan believed that he was doing what was best for his people. He needed to believe that, or perhaps the cause would be lost. 

The man on the other side shifted, sitting taller in his chair and looking as regal as true royalty should. For a moment, Obi-Wan wondered if his ancestors had once looked the same before the King who Knelt. He knew he certainly didn't; he had been raised as lord, ready to lead his ancestral home and land, but never with the title of king attached to his name. No, that had been a surprise all its own. 

"I assume you want our army," Prince Skywalker said, blue eyes meeting blue. The color of his eyes was stark against his tan skin and dark curly blonde hair. 

Tatooine's army had been a brief and passing thought, but it was tempting now that the prince had brought it up. Obi-Wan's army wasn't small, but he knew the enemy forces were significant. Outmaneuvering them had been and would continue to be the main focus. But if the prince was offering...

"More men would, of course, be welcomed."

The prince raised a brow at that. "Anything else besides my soldiers and my safety?" 

That had been the original request—the safe passage of Obi-Wan's forces through Tatooine lands. For days after becoming king, he had painstakingly looked at every angle and kingdom to find the best advantage to surround the capital city. The safest choice was sending half his army to the south, to Tatooine, and then marching north. The path to victory would be a bloody one. 

But the crown needed to answer for their injustice. 

That was why he was here, sitting in this tent with two of his most trusted advisers and looking across at the prince of the desert kingdom. 

"That's more than I could hope for."

The prince sat back, the fingers of his right hand tapping against the arm of the chair in some pattern. For a flashing moment, Obi-Wan wanted to still that movement, wrap those fingers up in his own. The prince was by no means unattractive; he was confident the other man had suitors lining up from all walks of life just for a chance at a conversation. Perhaps, if he was desperate enough, that option could be on the table—he wasn't above using his body as a form of persuasion. Not if it got him the results he wanted, and it certainly wouldn't be a hardship to kriff the handsome prince. But that could come later, much later, and only if words and other methods failed horribly. 

One of the prince's advisers leaned down to whisper in his ear, her montrals brushing against his shoulder. The prince nodded, and the adviser moved away, studying Obi-Wan with intelligent and calculating eyes. 

"And how do I know you wouldn't betray me? Send your army here and take my kingdom?" 

Obi-Wan returned his gaze to the prince, his most charming smile gracing his lips. "Is my word not enough?"

"You're asking me to betray the king of the Sith and all its kingdoms. You can understand why we would want something a little more solid."

It wasn't an unreasonable request. Had he been in Skywalker's position, he probably would have asked for the same thing. This was where his true talent lay, the negotiating table. All those years of being groomed in diplomacy were perhaps finally ready to pay off. 

"What would you suggest?"

The prince and his adviser exchanged a brief glance before she stepped forward again.

"We would like to propose a temporary Force-bond," her voice was confident and firm, unafraid to speak even though she couldn't have been more than twenty summers. 

"I'm sorry?" Quinlan Vos, one of his advisers (mainly because the second Obi-Wan had decided to march south, he was already gathering the men but also because he had been his friend for as long as he could remember), asked in surprise.

"A temporary Force-bond," she repeated slowly.  

Obi-Wan wanted to roll his eyes because, yes, they had understood that part. It was the fact that they were suggesting the bond in the first place that was the surprise. While temporary Force-bonds were convenient in terms of an alliance such as this, they were also rare, as most people didn't want someone else in their head. They also tended to have... unique side effects. But still, the idea that you could feel your bonded's emotions through the link made the act of betrayal difficult. 

"And if we were to agree," Obi-Wan began, eyeing the pair across the table with curious eyes, "what guarantees do we have that you won't try to take advantage of our bond?"

Skywalker scoffed. "Unlike you, I don't have a stake in this. This is personal for you," he paused, his gaze turning sympathetic. "I am sorry for your loss. I don't believe it was said yet." 

Obi-Wan nodded firmly in acknowledgment. 

"Tatooine has primarily been outside Sith control for over a hundred years, living outside the fold. However, it would be gratifying to be our own kingdom again," Anakin smiled. "That we have in common."

Obi-Wan nodded, even as Vos began arguing again about the temporary Force-bond. In the Force, he could feel his guide pacing anxiously outside the tent, and he wondered what that image looked like; a sizeable gray loth-wolf, two humans tall, pacing back and forth in front of the cloth. Around him, the volume of the voices grew.

"I'll do it," he answered loudly, and Vos turned his head, his left eye twitching. 

"Are you mad?" His adviser shouted.

"We both have the same goal; to be our own kingdoms again," he nodded to the prince. "I don't see why this alliance can't achieve that." With both armies fighting for their freedom, there were better chances they would win.

"And besides," Obi-Wan continued, "it's only a temporary bond."

[me-writes-prompts]

Random + angst prompts:

By @me-writes-prompts

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[silviakundera]

Oooh I like duke su from the show but the one from the novel sounds so much more interesting tbh I love a morally grey character with his own goals who doesn't give a f*ck what the lead is trying to do but has their own agenda and it's a much slower burn. Though with how Chinese dramas operate these days it's no wonder they made him like the FL and start helping her extremely early I don't think they know or even can with how netizens are write anything else.

Though I too love novel Su guogong, I think we're in a real quandary for the adaption.

The censors won't let him be characterized as black as the novel version AND be allowed to survive (see: Eternal Brotherhood where we can have a main character who is a dark schemer with blood on his hands that adores his wife -- only because he's doomed, doomed, doomed!) Boooooo!!! I do not agree that this softening was required for this work nor Story of Kunning Palace. Grr!!

But the change to make the FL and ML interact much more and work together in the 1st half, rather than him observing coldly and uncaring about her life or death -- imo that's a quandary about different mediums and how the audience reacts to them.

I wrote a lil meta post previously about the live action adaption of MDZS and why imo the production was forced to change the WWX and LWJ backstory. Once they decided on a linear storyline, imo the otp had to eventually be friends in his first life with a mutually acknowledged bond. The audience simply CANNOT be asked to wade through 20+ hours of episodes before LWJ as love interest isn't repeatedly rejecting the protagonist. 25 episodes and weeks in real-time of him being only cold & standoffish is too much for most viewers. When consuming the novel, the reader both won't have that stretched out real time delay until the couple are on the same page. And it won't take them 20 hours of reading to get there.

Things hit different for a crafted romance on page than performed live on screen for a 40-50 episode drama.

I can still see the adaption's struggle with this. Su suogong is truly a minor character in the novel and frankly not an active participant in most of the problem > scheme > resolution sub-arcs. He has this whole other full life of his own separate interests happening..... somewhere else. The novel mostly leaves his weekly activities as a black box, an obscured mystery. Drama boy is out there somewhere moving his chess pieces & murdering people for power but the reader often just sees glimpses of him ominously sipping his tea & ordering his minions around. In order raise him to a main, the drama is forced to make him involve himself in the play much earlier - to give him a reason to be on screen that is fully tied in with the main plot & its themes. He has to care about FL by the 9th hour in, and want to support her.... or give up ML status to Ye Shijie. 🤷

We can see the strain of this as 3 episodes may happen and all the screenwriter can do is have Su guogong show up for 5 minutes just to flirt a little and remind viewers he's alive 😂😂 but that's what you gotta do with 40 episodes tbh. I can't disgree that this is a more enjoyable viewing experience.

[glorious-sunset]

LBFAD Opening Artwork – Hidden Meanings

The created artworks used for the opening scenes of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) are unique and have many hidden layers of meaning! Sheer genius on the part of the artists and designers :D Here are my interpretations of these stunning works of art.

Image 1: Bone Orchid (image above)

Although I’ve posted stills, each image actually moves. Here, flowers bloom on the Bone Orchid and leaves grow on previously bare branches around the sides. This is the original form of the Bone Orchid prior to DongFang QingCang (DFQC) transforming it into a bracelet for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) in ep. 9.

The two parts of the Bone Orchid, the crescent-moon-shaped bone and the vine of the orchid plant wrapped around it, each represent DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and XLH (who was disguised as an Orchid), and their close bond. This is a new magical artefact that DFQC created from his blood in ep. 9 (similar to Lady Yan creating the Heart-hiding hairpin). That he chose to give it a form symbolising a bond between himself and XLH is deeply significant! Consciously, he may have meant their connection through the one-heart curse, but subconsciously he already had deep affection for her by this time.

Orchid flowers blooming on the previously bare vines of the Bone Orchid represent the blooming of their love for each other. (As their love blooms, XLH bonds with the Bone Orchid to the extent that removing it would end her life by ep. 29). It also refers to the many times that XLH makes flowers bloom when DFQC does something to make her happy :D The leaves growing on the bare branches around the sides of the image symbolise XLH’s resurrection of DFQC’s Tree of Emotions and his healing process. The Bone Orchid represents the love between our Fairy and Devil which is the central theme of LBFAD, so no wonder it is the first image we see!

Image 2: Xiao Lanhua

Here XLH first transforms from an orchid flower tethered to its stem, into human form as a young and innocent girl. The white swirls around her represent her usual spiritual powers (not her green Goddess powers). When she uses her powers to repair destiny leaves, etc., her energy appears as white light (important note - we see a different type of energy later in the opening artwork!) The pink tinge to some swirls represent her femininity and affection. XLH appears weak and vulnerable but her love and tenderness are the most transformative force in the series. Her reflection in the water below shows an orchid plant only, not a girl – this symbolises the illusion of her orchid form in hiding her true identity.

Image 3: Haishi Rescue

In this scene from ep. 3, initial obstacles to their love are presented including their power differential (symbolised by her small size within his giant hands), his view of her as an object and his underlying lack of emotions. The city of Haishi is below, the giant Sun made of DFQC’s formidable Hellfire is to the left, and the floating debris represents the destruction DFQC has wrought and is trained to continue to wreak. His mission is to destroy Shuiyuntian and conquer the three realms.

XLH looks vulnerable, her cloak resembles an orchid petal, and white/pink swirls of feminine energy again surround her. However, DFQC has just saved her life and continues to shield her within a protective bubble – an important ongoing dynamic of their relationship.

Images 4-7: Flashback

Images 4-7 are artistically presented as a series of opening doors, like opening the pages of a history book. They are a flashback to events 30,000 years ago and set the scene for current events and obstacles to the love between the OTP.

Image 4: The Two Tribes

The two different tribes that our OTP belong to are presented. Shuiyuntian is light and airy, and floats above the clouds with dozens of golden birds flying in the sky. They are the emblem of Shuiyuntian (as the crescent moon is for the Moon tribe) as shown by the golden bird brooches worn by celestials. Similar to Shangque transforming into a black dragon, the true form of some celestials may also be of golden birds and they can transform into this form. The position of Cangyan Sea below Shuiyuntian, the darkness in which their people live and their comparative lack of manpower (there is only one black dragon in the image) suggests that they are oppressed by Shuiyuntian.

Image 5: Battle of Two Tribes

Prior to Lady Chidi’s sacrifice, the people of Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea fight each other, their forces coordinated by Lord Dong and DFQC. This is the culmination of a hundred millenia of warfare between their tribes. Again there is only one dragon, and Lady Chidi in the forefront leaps into Cangyan Sea territory to confront it. Her red cape traces her active path through the battlefield. White and red swirls of energy (+/- blood) emanate from her.

Image 6: Lady Chidi’s Sacrifice

After invading Xuanxu realm of Cangyan Sea, this is the pivotal moment where Lady Chidi explodes her spirit to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon tribe. Red blood sprays from her body and her earth magic envelops the Moon Tribe soldiers, sealing them within the earth. Her sacrifice foreshadows XLH’s own sacrifice in ep. 31.

Image 7: The Capture of DFQC

After the sealing of his soldiers, a weakened DFQC with white hair is suspended within the circular Haotian tower, his arms and legs magically bound. Magical glyphs surround him to seal him in place, representing the magical seal of the Haotian matrix.

Image 8: Xiao Lanhua of Arbiter Hall

Back to the present - the series opens by introducing us to XLH of Siming Dian (Arbiter Hall). The archways in this image are similar to the archways in the lower level of Arbiter Hall. Vines grow around the pillars, symbolising that XLH’s primordial spirit is connected to the plants at Arbiter Hall. The trees behind her may represent the nearby Shuyu Forest that she frequently visits. As XLH moves to the right, new white trees start to grow in front of the black trees, demonstrating her ability to create new life and make plants grow. White swirls of her spiritual energy again surround her.

In line with her selfless and giving nature, XLH offers up her spirit! She does this four times in the series: 1) In ep. 1, she offers up her life and spirit to protect Changheng, whose destiny leaf had changed and was destined to have his body and spirit destroyed (more detail here). 2) Also in ep. 1, she fuses part of her spirit to DFQC’s, restoring his spirit and body and giving him a part of her spirit (which he later extracts in ep. 33 to resurrect her). 3) In ep. 31, she sacrifices her life and spirit to protect DFQC’s life, to resurrect everyone that died on the battlefield and free the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe. 4) She promises the Great Turtle in ep. 33 that she will sacrifice her spirit to defeat Taisui and bless the Three Realms. XLH’s fate to sacrifice herself is another obstacle to her and DFQC’s love for each other :(

Image 9: DFQC’s Tree of Emotions

Thanks to XLH’s resurrection of his Tree of Emotions in ep. 1, DFQC begins to grow beautiful glowing golden leaves on its previously bare branches, symbolising his breathtaking transformation.

Image 10: The Great Turtle

I believe this is another flashback. At the end of XLH’s first life in Xishan, her parents disguised her as an orchid plant with no human form. At this time between her first and second lives, she meets the Great Turtle. The orchid flower sprouting from her hand is the new form she transforms into, and orchid petals float around her during her transformation. The Great Turtle calls XLH an old friend in ep. 9 as they have met before – in this scene.

To the left of the image is a crescent moon with a dead tree growing on it. This symbolises DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and his Tree of Emotions which was dead at that time 30,000 years ago. There is a wisp of haze around the tree indicating that it has the potential to regrow. Despite XLH’s destiny to sacrifice herself for the Three Realms (which she might have discussed with the Great Turtle here), DFQC is waiting in the wings to change her destiny!

Image 11: Our Fairy and Devil

XLH gazes upward in hope, while DFQC’s eyes are closed and his head bowed, portraying both his reserved nature and that initially he was emotionally closed off, aloof and distant. The asymmetric gold crown that DFQC wears indicates that this scene is from after their return from the mortal realm back to Cangyan Sea – XLH also wears Moon Tribe attire.

On the Bone Orchid between them are flowers in full bloom, representing their love, which is now in full bloom :D Also between them is DFQC’s Tree of Emotions, now fully regrown with gorgeous white blossoms similar to the scene where he sits beneath his tree in ep. 24.

Despite the beautiful development of their love and of their characters, war between their two tribes is imminent. The image of Shuiyuntian between them sports a red flag, indicating their impending invasion of Cangyan Sea. Cangyan Sea is outnumbered, represented by one dragon vs. dozens of golden birds, and they face annihilation at the hands of Shuiyuntian D: Another reason for DFQC to bow his head, as he faces both the destruction of his realm and the loss of his love at this time.

Image 12: Peace Reigns

Just look at the swirls of energy emanating from XLH and DFQC as they float in a boat along the Oblivion River! There are again white swirls for XLH, but DFQC has red and gold swirls for Glazed Fire!! This scene occurs after DFQC’s return at the end of the series! :D The red belt around XLH’s waist is reminiscent of blood pooling from her wound in ep. 31 when she stabs herself with the Zhengying sword. This image (and the opening theme song Jue Ai, “Farewell Love”) pays homage to both her sacrifice, and DFQC’s sacrifice in ep. 36 which produced his Glazed Fire. Only through both of their sacrifices, were they able to bring about first a ceasefire to war, then lasting peace between Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea, breaking through a hundred millenia of unending conflict!

Only by creating peace are they finally able to be together happily. The boat is deeply significant for our OTP - there are three situations where they are alone together in a boat during the series. XLH reminisces fondly about this in ep. 24, and Siming sends a boat for DFQC (and fireflies for Changheng!) as a sign that she knows their most significant connections to XLH. To the bottom right are the peaceful waters of Cangyan Sea with the watchful eye of a black dragon at rest. To the top left is a peaceful Shuiyuntian with Yunzhong’s watchful “Eye of Heaven” (seen in ep. 14) accompanied by a flower in bloom, symbolising peace and prosperity. The positions of each are in poetic parallel to image 4 which showed conflict – the defensive black dragon in image 4 is now restful, and the golden birds also seem to be resting :)

Here is a link to my article: How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[tea-earl-grey]

For the character ask game: What about Tuvok and Michael Burnham?

from this ask game

Tuvok:

how i feel about this character.

i love Tuvok so dearly. i think he's the strongest Vulcan character of the whole franchise and Tim Russ does such a masterful job portraying him. i really can't think of a single scene where i don't enjoy Tuvok's presence in some way.

all the people i romantically ship with this character.

just his wife t'pel. i can't think of any other tuvok ships i've seen that i hate but there aren't any that really interest me either.

my non-romantic otp for this character.

Tuvok & Janeway without a doubt. they make such a good best friend pairing. all of their scenes alone together make my heart melt a little with how much they care for each other

unpopular opinion on this character.

hm... the only thing i can think of that might be controversial is the fact that Tuvok and his morality is flawed. i think so often he (and other Vulcan characters) are seen in the fandom as the paragon of reason and sense and i think that flattens characters somewhat and also doesn't reflect what we see in canon. there are episodes like Meld where Tuvok advocates for the death penalty or Learning Curve where he's shown to hold his crew, especially his Maquis crew, to unrealistic standards or Resolutions where the crew has to basically mutiny before Tuvok considers going back for Janeway and Chakotay. yes Tuvok does have a strong sense of justice and yes he almost always follows logic but he's also very much a utilitarian and sometimes his morality is at odds with the audience and the rest of the crew which i like and i think should be considered more often.

one thing i wish would happen/had happened in canon.

that he got more stories... i mean it's not a secret that we only really get three-ish stories stories in the last four seasons that truly focus on Tuvok as a character and not just on him as a supporting character for others. i think he gets some strong supporting roles as a mentor and friend but i wish we got more stories actually centered on him.

Michael:

how i feel about this character.

MICHAELLLLL! Michael has by far one of the strongest arcs and characters in all of Trek. while early disco is a bit hit or miss for me, Michael is such a strong & compelling character that it makes up more it.

all the people i romantically ship with this character.

i love Michael/Book and am very happy with how they ended up in s5. i also do like Michael/Laira too because even just a few scenes i think their chemistry really jumped off the page.

my non-romantic otp for this character.

i do really love Michael & Saru. the few times they hug in s4 and s5 really took me out and i love the mutual respect & trust they've managed to cultivate despite their rough beginning in s1.

unpopular opinion on this character.

i mean i think it was a common (non tumblr) fandom opinion that Michael cries or emotes too much and that's obviously just some racist and misogynistic bullshit. Michael's whole journey is about throwing off the repression she was forced into as a child by growing up on Vulcan and live her life on her own terms and part of that is embracing her emotions. like probably one of the best scenes in the whole show is the sheer joy after she makes the time jump to the future at the beginning of s3.

one thing i wish would happen/had happened in canon.

i would have really liked Michael to have explored her relationship with Vulcan culture/society more, especially in s3 and beyond. like she obviously had a difficult time growing up but Vulcan culture is still her culture and i would have loved to see her more with post-Burn Vulcans and Romulans. even just her and T'Rina bonding over a Vulcan holiday or something would have been so good.

thanks for the ask!!! <3

[gizkasparadise]

final leg of a journey to love thoughts!! (eps 35-40). this got so gd long so under a cut it goes. spoilers, of course:

PLOT STUFF/PACING

pacing for the plot definitely got shredded in the last chunk, which is a damn shame because otherwise i've been finding the pacing pretty much perfect. eps 35-37 in particular felt like they could have been like a 10 episode arc. ep 38, which mostly dealt with wu palace politics, should have been cut or streamlined imo and more time given to the characters we've actually been riding along with the whole story. by the time we get back to the pregnant empress, prince danyang, the first prince whose name i dont even remember, and the prime minister, i do not care about any of them and i think this subplot was simply just trying to fit too much shit into one bag

that said, this show still let the emotional moments hit and breathe and linger. i love the grief for the fallen liudao comrades as we go, as well as the less heavy but still emotionally important moments like yang ying and tongguan bonding over their upbringing. and we got a wedding /;3;/!!! for this show, the relationships and characters matter more than the storyline so im not mad about anything at all

side note: it's so gd millennial to have a story about a bunch of 30 something year olds who want to fake their deaths and retire into obscurity but instead they go and die for a boss they hate

CHARACTER STUFF

this show consistently brought a lot of depth to its side characters (and side side characters!!). i said it in an earlier post, but it bears repeating that even someone like deng hui i didnt expect anything from, but he got such good development and writing that he became a stealth fave. his dying words essentially being "dude, quit fucking around" ? iconic.

i didnt like tongguan as much as everyone else, so im pretty meh about everything regarding him. the attempt to force-wed ruyi was tonally really weird and didnt make sense (i assume there was some cuts made surrounding it). but LOL at him reusing all the outfits and decor immediately for his wedding to yang ying. baby duke, you tacky motherfucker. i ultimately think yang ying deserves better than him, but the good thing is that she knows this, so she'll be able to hold her own and then some entering into this partnership

shisan really was the heart in a lot of ways--the mom to yuanzhou's dad for the liudao. i was not expecting him to break my heart the way he did, but the fact that he held both qian zhao and sun lang as they died and then tried his best to remove yuan lu from harm and saved chu yue and was just very much a nurturer all the way through got me. his character couldve been cheap comic relief but the writing + performance really elevated him into one of the (imo) most memorable wuxia characters. his line wondering who would get to behead his beautiful skull!!! and how his mantra was always that he was going to drink the best wine, see the most beautiful women, and make the best of friends and he dies having lost the ability to see and having just had wine in memory of qian zhao, yuan lu, and sun lang. like. shut up!!

ruyi and yuanzhou were both so great and they're gonna be the drama OTP to beat forever. i loved the gender reversals, that they both were so respectful of each other, and that they also felt very mature in how they handled things and communicated. they were really interesting characters both together and apart and that's always a win-win. they had a schroedinger's ending where it's not super clear if they're alive or dead (i interpreted it as the latter), but what's kind of beautiful is that either option is satisfying to me. if they both died, they're reunited and with their comrades and the story is truly about the journey and the meaningful short connections we have. if they both survived, it's a bookend with the beginning where they each faked their deaths to escape. A+

COSTUMING

i gotta just separately mention the costuming for this show because it was 15/10. the textures, shisan's accessories, the way red became integrated with yuanzhou's wardrobe and blue with ruyi's. the details on the liudao name amulets!! SO GOOD. i love when characters' clothes tell a story on their own

overall i just really loved this drama it is probably my favorite wuxia ive seen so far! it's gonna be in my brain for awhile lol feel free to send fic prompts if you've made it this far :'D

[ammy246]

Just saw some Narusasu shippers shitting on Bakudeku, and as someone who's first gay ship and otp used to be Narusasu instead of Bakudeku, I have some thoughts.

I remember the heartbreak I felt the day Kishimoto ruined Narusasu by forcing them to be romantically involved with women without a single bit of relationship development. Naruto ended up with Hinata in a filler movie despite having ignored her even after her romantic confession to him, and Sasuke abandoned Sakura after having a child with her. This was not the ending any of us wanted. We wanted Naruto and Sasuke to peacefully resolve their rivalry, and find love in each other after all they've been through. But unfortunately, that's not what happened as Kishimoto had to force a next-gen onto us, and permanently friendzoned them. It's tragic and felt like a betrayal, but shounen had not been ready for queer relationships, so Narusasu being shafted was ultimately inevitable.

While I cannot say for 100% certain, I can say that Bakudeku has a much greater chance of becoming canon than Narusasu ever did. Horikoshi once stated that he will tell the story he wants to be told and not follow the stereotypical formula, contradicting Kishimoto who went with the shounen ending we've seen many times before of the protagonist accomplishing their goal and marrying a woman and having kids (even though they have no chemistry with said woman or a lack of feelings for them compared to their rival).

Horikoshi had the chance to make Izuocha canon. They could've confessed before the war, but they didn't. The two moved on with their lives, and have made no desire to talk about feelings for each other, but are rather focused on other peope (Bakugou and Toga) as that's where their hearts reside. Bakugou also has no other potential love interest aside from Midoriya as he is the one he is closest too in the entire world and knows the most which is different than Sasuke who had some moments with Sakura scattered throughout the series from the start.

Bakugou cares about Midoriya in a way that's beyond friendship. He means the word to him to the point he was willing to sacrifice himself and even die for him, and will make himself vulnerable around him and nobody else. Midoriya has hidden feelings for Bakugou as his thoughts regarding him are hidden, and his heart always spirals out of control because of Bakugou, but we have not yet been directly told why. Midoriya does not act like this around his other friends, and he has many.

Naruto and Sasuke resolved things right after their final fight, and their friendship returned stronger than ever before, but that was it. Yet even after Bakugou's apology, there are still unresolved issues even though Midoriya chose to forgive him, meaning something must still be said between the two. Midoriya did not want an apology; he wanted to deepen their bond beyond friendship, but was too afraid of rejection hence why he never confessed and hid his feelings instead.

This plotline is still unresolved as of chapter 405. Bakugou is now being honest about his feelings, yet we have still yet to see Midoriya's thoughts regarding Bakugou's death and revival only having been given face expressions. So if their friendship has returned and gotten stronger than ever before despite the series not yet being over, what else is there to develop aside from romantic feelings?

Narusasu shippers, I hate to say it, but we lost. We cannot change the past, but we can have hope for the future. Bakudeku has surpassed Narusasu long ago, and the two are closer to a love confession than ever before, which is something we never quite got close to with Narusasu. If Horikoshi is serious about not following the typical shounen formula, we might have a real chance here. We might not get a kiss or marriage, but if the two confess their feelings for each other and do not end up with women like nothing happened, then that would be a huge victory for the LGBT+ community, and hopefully open the gateway for more queer relationships in shounen jump for the future.

Both Bakudeku and Narusasu are amazing ships. I wish we could live in a reality where both became canon, but getting one would still be a major milestone. Do not attack each other over what could have been, but resolve your differences like Bakugou & Midoriya and Naruto & Sasuke did and look towards a brighter future where LGBT+ can be mainstream without us having to fight for it and fear losing.

[zedleaked]

AXIS MODEL 014 for the character ask thingy

favourite thing about them

I LOVE GRUMPY ROBOTS.. he is so silly and angry and funny the fucking thing... I love when robots are in love and kind of questionable...

least favourite thing about them

I dunno if it was just me that struggled with his chase sequence but that was a huge pain in the ass oufghgf

favourite line

"THE SHIMMER. THE COMPLEXION. THE C U R V E S."

and honorable mention: "7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN..."

brOTP

Methinks Dalv and Axis could get along as a treat :3 they can bond over the fact that they're loners,, maybe Dalv feels sorry that Axis was forced to kill the integrity human [especially since Dalv was there was Kanako was attacked]... methinks if they ever met he would invite Axis to his new home in Snowdin [maybe Axis helps him out with renovating his house,,,] and Dalv just listens to Axis talk about his spouse and how his life is going... my guy needs other people to talk to and I feel the silly vampire would be willing to listen to his woes

OTP

Axis and his spouse [Daisy] I suppose,, bro is enamored with that little thang,, he is going to do peculiar things with them

Also Axis and Trashy is really funny to me,, he loves anything that resembles garbage

nOTP

Eh I'm open to whatever as long as its not Clover [in romantic context]

His mechanical heart is reserved for his spouse,, maybe Guardener too if he really feels like it

random headcanon

When Axis said 'ROBOTS CANNOT CRY, I HAVE TRIED' I think the time he tried to cry was when he killed the integrity human [since he's shown to show remorse for killing them in the genocide route] Like he tried so hard to mourn but he just couldn't... the poor thing...

unpopular opinion

I dunno if he's been alive long enough for there to be any unpopular opinions but erm,, I wish we got to interact with him more after he calmed down,, like all we got was when you backtrack to see him on a date with his spouse but I need more..... I guess I gotta get writing

song I associate with them

Brass Goggles by Steam Powered Giraffe... me when the robots question why they have emotions......

favourite picture of them

this is a gif but I still find it really funny

[wofconfessionsblog]

I think the reason why I ended up enjoying qinter and moonjou more than winterwatcher/moonbli is because Tui is bad at writing romantic scenes when she INTENDS for them to be genuinely romantic. Like I can't be the only one who saw all the times any pov character thought about their love interest and felt like it was a bit forced at least 80% of the time. Like Tui wants you to remember that they had a love interest in the first place sooo bad so she keeps referencing them at random and the writing gets SUPERRR cheesy and obvious but the dynamic is never truly explored it's always some extremely shallow stuff like a handsome face or pretty scales or the way she smiles or some shit like that.

It was especially bad in arc 1 with Deathbringer and Riptide I feel.

But when that isn't the case and the characters are just. Meant to have a very strong bond that isn't explicitly romantic it ends up feeling more genuine and progresses more naturally idk. This isn't a diss on anyone's otp it's just how I felt reading

can we all agree fathigo is the best canon ship

[fifiophobia]

The Ultimate OTP Trio Dynamic Poll!

Explanation under the cut for a deeper explanation:

Tired Investigator X Parasite:

One of them works in a field that involves investigating crimes, they have a failing relationship, are messy looking, and a hidden dark side they try to repress in order to be normal (that is, until Parasite enters the picture).

The other is a dangerous villain often referred to as some sort of parasite due to how their influence drains the tired investigator of any good outside of them.

This is the Hannigram/Symbrock/Villanelle blunt rotation.

Emo Furry X McDonald's Forehead:

Once upon a time, I decided to make a series of posts comparing the cinematic paralles between Catra/Adora's relationship and Batman/Jokers relationship. I started the McDonald's Forehead X Emo Furry as a way to sort any more posts I made on their relationships due to Joker/Adora having large foreheads that formed an arch similar to the Mcdonald's logo; and with Batman/Catra, well you know...

But then, I began to notice similarities between Batman/Ekko and Joker/Jinx respectively. I started to connect the dots, and thus decided to add Ekko and Jinx to the McDonald's Forehead X Emo Furry dynamic due to Ekko having a gritty aesthetic with animal symbolism, and Jinx's arched hairline.

But I should probably give a similar explanation for these relationships like I did for the other dynamic.

Ok, one is a fighter with a tragic upbringing that forced them to learn how to professionally fight, and how to protect others from harm. They're a leader in their respective groups, and they rebel from their respective systems due to said systems being run by corrupt people.

The other is a chaotic gremlin with campy flair, obvious mental issues, an unhealthy lack of fear for death, crummy backgrounds, a desire to be loved while causing havoc, and intelligent planners despite how their appearance would contrast this fact.

These two come together and form a Yin Yang bond in the battlefield; along with the themes of how people respond to similar traumas completely differently. Featuring light and dark symbolism!

[cerseistannis]

fic idea (stannis/cersei)

this is realllly rough so please don't judge me too much! i'm kind of just throwing stuff at the wall here. SO. here's the premise:

robert's rebellion fails. robert is killed on the trident and rhaegar takes lyanna as his second wife. lyanna (who is just a glorified hostage at this point) begs mercy for ned, who is sent to the wall, and for the family of her former betrothed (robert) to be spared.

with robert dead, tywin doesn't sack the city. instead he joins forces with rhaegar and forces the rebels to surrender. aerys, however, blows up the red keep, and elia/rhaenys/aegon/jaime all perish in the fire. (this makes jon the de facto crown prince? i suppose?) i'm not quite sure what i want to do with dany and viserys, tbh. (open to all ideas! but i think it'd be easiest for them to simply be dead)

stannis and renly are allowed to live because they did little more than starve for a year. stannis also reluctantly declares his brother a traitor to the realm and is "forgiven". that + i guess rhaegar can't really afford to cause more trouble in his kingdom bc the north hates him already + the riverlands loathe him + dorne is mad as well.

(side note, what could realistically happen to robb and cat in this scenario? would cat be married off to benjen?)

anyway so tywin is well. REALLY mad. and with rhaegar marrying lyanna, stannis is quite literally the only somewhat eligible lord left in westeros.

and that's where my crackship!otp comes in!

so we've got a young, distraught (jaime died!) cersei who hates the targs and a young, traumatised stannis (who also hates the targs) trying to make it in this new world--raising renly on storm's end and having a family of their own eventually.

with no jaime in the picture, no abuse, (stannis isnt that bitter either) and the Trauma to bond over, i do think they'd be somewhat content.

-timeskip-

their firstborn son would be named jaime (and he looks exactly like robert did, of course, we pumping all the dead brother angst into this shit) and they have two more daughters--shireen and myrcella.

about ten years after RR, the greyjoys rise up in rebellion and rhaegar is horribly injured in the ensuing war. meanwhile lyanna has had no more children. rhaegar is losing faith in the prophecy and getting...paranoid.

on jaime's 10th nameday, he's summoned to be fostered at king's landing. both his parents absolutely LOATHE this idea, but it's quite obvious that it's not a request. renly offers to go with the boy. cersei is furious, (this is where her first jaime was killed, after all).

meanwhile, whispers of rebellion are beginning to abound again.

[tg-pilled]

touka for the character thing?

favourite thing about them: I love that she was allowed to be girly while also kicking ass. I feel like in anime and a lot of modern media, people don't allow strong female leads to be girly AND strong, it's always one or the other. I love that she likes pink and fuzzy things and that her mask is still cutesy. Like imagine being killed and the last thing you see is a cute rabbit mask. THAT is badass to me

least favourite thing: Through no fault of her own, it was just the writing Sui Ishida put her through, but I don't like how she became so reliant on Kaneki in :re if that makes sense? I understand that she became pregnant (which is a whole other arc I fucking hate but anyways) and that she really did have a hard time with trust growing up and through Anteiku she learned trust again BUT in the same breath I feel like she was robbed of kicking ass in :re? Idk if that makes ANY sense 🗿

favourite line: "You pretend you care about other people but in the end it's all about you. You're just afraid to be left alone." GET HIS ASS TOUKA ‼️‼️

brOTP: Touka and Hide! I think they would be really good friends after everything goes down and that they's have gossip sessions IDKKKK. Hide would absolutely hype Touka up to ask out Yoriko. I also really love Nishiki and Touka too like they are clearly besties.

OTP: Touka and Yoriko :) They are the lesbians of all time ever. I made a whole little drabble and headcanon post for them and everything. They are SO sun and moon. I don't hate TouKen but I feel like their relationship should have been better developed.

nOTP: Anyone that isn't Kaneki or Yoriko I guess? Nishiki and Touka make me physically recoil so DEFINITELY not them. Plus Nishiki and Kimi are the heterosexuals ever.

random headcanon: She used to draw on herself when she was younger because it helped her calm down. She also drew on Ayato whenever he allowed it and it became a sort of way to bond and take care of each other before everything went to shit. I like to think that the last design Ayato drew on her arm was her first tattoo :)

unpopular opinion: She never needed to marry Kaneki to prove that she had value in his life. I know that it was to wrap the series up in a neat little bow and because she was pregnant BUT I feel like it was forced. She had value to Kaneki outside of just their romantic relations.

song I associate with them: Found Heaven - Conan Gray and Primary - The Cure

favourite picture of them: I have two and both are from the anime (I'm sorry) but her expression when she's called beautiful :( Breaks my heart every damn time bruh. And the second one is her being just,,,normal? She's just studying and calm and her bedroom is SO cute

[goldensmilingbird]

Hey, Golden! I'm gonna be really selfish and ask about my favorite Quantic Kid, Claude/Kid Mime for the character breakdown meme. : ) I also saw your headcanons post and it took a while out to come up with something. But I like believing that the Quantic gang actually did not know each other before Felix showed up at the school. The only two that knew each other was Bridgette and Allegra (since they're clearly implied to be best friends and that usually takes time). But Allan and Claude were off doing their own things. And Claude actually didn't like Felix at all at first because he seemed like such a snob but then Felix's bad luck combined with villian shenanigans accidentally causes some giant problem that forces these guys to get to know each other.

Of course, TB!

How I feel about this character: I like him. He reminds me of my younger sibling.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I like him with Felix and also I saw someone mention Chloe/Claude once which sounds cute.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Him and Allan, they're bffs 💖

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't know what the popular opinions are 😅 I don't see Quantic Kids content often.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Well, he's not in canon but if he was, I'd want him to be mute. It'd be interesting to see such an energetic and chatty character who is also mute, and also to have more than one disabled character in the cast (with Felix using a cane).

But onto the rest of your ask.

The headcanons post wasn't mine, I just reblogged it, but I hope the OP sees this 🙏 I tried to think of some headcanons too but nothing was coming to mind rn.

That's interesting. I see Bri and Alya as best long-time friends (since I like to include her), Claude and Allan as bit more recent friends, and Felix and Allegra who knew each other since they were babies but had a falling out and haven't seen each other in a while. I definitely think Claude wouldn't like Felix at all at first too, and it would take some shenanigans for them to bond.

[yell0wsalt]

For the OTP + Character Ask

Linzin 7, 17, 27

Linumi 5, 15, 25

And dealer's choice - any number and pairing you thing would be fun!

These were really good questions, many thanks!

Linzin 7, 17, 27

7. Who's clumsier?

In the day to day neither of them are all that clumsy. Consider that a product of their bending and training. However, there are instances when Lin might be more clumsy than Tenzin. Have her out of her element doing something she may not be particularly used to and she's on rocky waters so to speak, well, good luck to her 🫡 

Tenzin as a bender is not only self aware of his body/movements, but years of training as an Air bender he is particularly light/graceful on his feet.

If either of them catch a glimpse of the other’s booty, all bets are off and they’re tripping on their own feet.

17. Who is more competitive?

Ooh this one I can see going either way. Lin is blatantly more competitive when they are sparring and things like that. However, Tenzin also has the tendency to take things and himself too seriously. So he’ll make a competition out of the trivial things that don’t matter, such as how well either of their art came out or how much Oogi likes either one of them.

27. Craziest place they had sex?

I did answer that one here, suggesting Raiko’s office out of spite and a changing room in the shopping mall. 

Linumi 5, 15, 25

5. Who is the cheesier one of the two?

Bumi. He’s more expressive with his affection. Pet names, big gestures, PDA… things of that nature. Lin gets embarrassed and acts like she hates it, but she can’t deny that part of her secretly loves it.

15. Who's the first to cry during movies that don't seem sad?

Lin. She’ll be crying happy tears the main character, despite all the trials and tribulations they were put through, were able to get their happy ending. Bonus points if the movie had a found family situation. I can see her internalizing any of the conflicts the characters had in the movie and it ends up spilling over. Meanwhile, Bumi enjoys the movie for what it is and has a higher degree of separation of himself from the movie.

25. (a lil sappy, but..) What do they like about each other?

Lin loves that Bumi underneath all the foolishness he can exude, is actually a genuine and standup guy. He is quite adept when it comes to reading others, and it's helpful that she doesn’t always need to tell him what may be wrong or what’s on her mind. Somehow, he just… knows. He makes *a vague circular hand wave* everything easy for her.

Bumi loves that not only is she a strong and capable woman who doesn’t take shit, but there’s a part of her that would do anything for the ones she loves. She’s not afraid to tell it like it is and he appreciates that realness.

And dealer's choice - any number and pairing you thing would be fun!

I went with 1. Who is the better cook? (Linzin and Linumi)

Lin is technically the better cook. However, I say this meaning that she has a small rotation of dishes she cooks out of a sake of efficiency. But because she is so efficient in the kitchen, the few recipes she knows, she has on lock. 

When she takes time off, she’ll use that time to practice/try something new to swap in and out of her rotation.

Tenzin is not that great of a cook. He is an excellent baker though. 

With their powers combined, they eat well. They try to make kitchen activities a bonding moment for them.

Bumi is actually quite the excellent cook. He’s had to be resourceful and has also had greater exposure to local/traditional cuisines from around the world in his time in the United Forces. He’s gained knowledge on what spices and techniques to use and applies them to impress Lin on occasion.

OTP + character asks!

[tomicaleto]

[SLAMS DOOR OPEN]

ANAKIN.

Ehehehehe

GIVE ME A CHARACTER;

and I’ll break their ass down

Anakin!

How I feel about this character: he's my poor little meow meow, my beloved, my fave, my blorbo :P I love him, he really is my favourite Star Wars character

All the people I ship romantically with this character: This list is too long! ahahah my top ships for him are anidala and obikin but I love shipping him with all the characters haha rexani, codykin, anibail, anisoka, anidooku, maceani, I could go on and on and on

My non-romantic OTP for this character: LUKE I cannot explain how much I love the bond between Anakin and Luke, he literally managed to come back from the dark FOR LUKE ahhhhhh

My unpopular opinion about this character: ufff I have a lot xD I don't really think he's messy or as much as a human disaster as the fandom so much likes to paint him as, I don't think he dislikes meditation (we see him meditate several times during the movies and series), he's jealous and possessive but not in the macho alpha way that TCW made him during the Clovis arc, and he's blond, with wavy hair. I'm sorry but even if I like the wonderful art some artists share with us, when they make his hair dark brown it hurts my heart a little.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish we had got to see more Force shenanigans like the last season of TCW, also more episodes with Yoda, maybe some lightsaber building at one point in his life

Thank you for sending me my beloved! Feel free to send more characters!