#so i guess i enjoy them both equally for different reasons...

[todayisafridaynight]

‘Casting’ mine as hijikata really was perf cause similar to the actual hijikata i for sure thought he’d turn out to be a crazy dickwad but no he’s just genuinely pretty chill. Ignore the murders he’s MOSTLY pretty chill

[mtkay13]

WenZhou x Memes! and, of course, some thoughts. More memes below + explanations! (Very Long Post)

You know other men?

The first one above was based on a famous "you know other men?" meme, that Bichen suggested we take part in (in the TYK community). I wanted to make ZZS smile at WKX's antics because it makes him laugh, ofc, and because he's quite fond of that wife act WKX enjoys playing so much.

The Barbie meme

Interestingly enough, this one has sparked quite a bunch of discussions online. When we had talked about making the meme for TYK!WenZhou, both Moose (@butleronice) and I thought that having ZZS as the serious one felt a bit strange. I feel like TYK!ZZS as I know him is rather goofy and would be more likely to make fun of the situation and the authorities that he doesn't take seriously.

WKX, besides in ZZS' presence, in the book, tends to act very cold and not necessarily civil--especially if you think those would be Jianghu authorities. Not saying the reverse wouldn't work, of course! But for my conception of the characters, it felt off. However--on twitter, we both received more comments than necessary saying: "This should be the opposite." "WKX should be the fun one--", etc. I have to confess that this left me worried regarding ZZS' reputation, considering that more often than not, when I make him to be the goofier, more stupid looking one, I get surprised reactions. I wonder what exactly has given him these... serious, un-fun vibes for many people.

The way I see it, in the book, ZZS is quite fun, overly civil and polite in a fake-smiley way, gets himself in absurd situations and WKX comments on him as being ridiculous and goofy. Of course, in ZZS' presence, WKX himself acts in a very extra way, but overall, in the book, WKX is quite closed-off and cold towards others, and doesn't give those vibes of being fun, extra or goofy to me. (I won't lie, I do blame the first and most popular translations for that, as they make ZZS quite stiff in the dialogs and I feel like this doesn't help...) I don't think it's a problem if people see them differently, though! But it was upsetting to see how some people did (quite rudely in some case) allow themselves to tell us how wrong we were, especially considering the time and care we both put in our decision to characterise them this way (and work on their expressions).

I recommend going to check Moose's version on her twitter as well (@butleronduty)!!

Equal strength

This one was based on a meme posted by Choco (@kwehxing) on twitter; about how this dialog would be fun for WenZhou.

I, once again, considered that yeah, maybe the default would have WKX turn any situation into a reason to fuck--but at the same time, I wondered: is it really his style? Isn't he having plenty of situations in which he can bring that up, already? I like to read ZZS as having a certain competence kink, and I think he gets off of sparring and feeling WKX's strength. I thought it fun to imagine him getting really worked up from sparring and using that as an excuse to demand fucking because OBVIOUSLY what else. I guess that to me, this is a reflection of how his mind is working.

The Tintin parody

My friend Angel brought a tintin parody comic from the @tintinades account on twitter and instagram. Here is the original. I thought it could be really fun to adapt it for WenZhou with a little twist at the end. Of course, mastering qinggong, WenZhou probably don't really need the ropes--although I think that ZCL isn't able to safely cross the road yet which is why they wanted to make a way. However, WKX clearly got distracted and went on ahead, hehe.

The distracted BF

This one was suggested by Bichen again--a classic, which worked really well and was actually quite funny when using Hoboxu.

He wants to order

This was the first meme I ever drew for WenZhou, following the "he/she wants to order" pattern. Pretty self-explanatory!

[pageofheartdj]

All jokes and horny aside(I do love horny and specific position only🙏 and them fighting over everything always ever and ooc fun scenarious) radioapple are so interesting to think about, about their dynamics, and the characters in general. So I will!

As they are in canon now, Lucifer did not care for Alastor plus the general disgust(and guilt) towards sinners. And then the song happened and Alastor became Lucifer's enemy number one xD If Alastor will drop it, Lucifer won't have a reason to hate on him, but initial negative imperssion is still there.

And Alastor, he is a mysterious guy. The abusive dad is still a theory, him being momma boy and therefore connecting with women better doesn't say anything about his dad situation. The Lilith's deal is also just a theory for now. So for me his immediate negative reaction comes from the same place as his annoyance at Carmilla disregarding him. He wants to be on the top, the most unknown, the most powerful one, the most scary one. He loves attention, he loves keeping everyone alert with his antics.

And he loves being in control, his plans going exactly the way he wants them, not that he can't improvise. He immediately tenses when he sees the sign welcoming dad, he knows. The King of Hell has the ultimate power, the ultimate influence, the ultimate importance. Alastor does not mind someone being more than him in something like he is politely neutral with Zestial. But the hotel carries importance for Alastor's plans so he feels threatened. Before with Charlie's daddy issues I guess he did not expect to see him anytime soon. But here he is, threatening to pull Charlie from his influence, from her needing his powers.

But then we see him being completely chill and not antagonistic at all. One of the reasons I think is that he let his stim out, for a reason being restricted in his activities, the deals he can make, the souls he can take, the kills. And because Charlie needed Lucifer to arrange a meeting with Heaven, something that only Lucifer can do. And that's it. So he lets go for a bit.

Who knows what dynamic season 2 will bring, now that Lucifer stays at the hotel and Alastor took a hard blow at his ego and reputation.

In the wiki it is stated Alastor dislikes people who are like him, but likes people who are more like him, but who knows where is this line. He also said to like Willy Wonka character for being an entertainer and a dick. And Lucifer was told to be like that character. For now Lucifer is a depressed sad baby, but we saw how he can be when he is fucking with others. Alastor likes fun, no matter how this fun is done. Potentially he can enjoy Lucifer's presence. Not to mention, he respects power, at least when the whatever deal with Alastor is done, potentially.

Don't know how prevalent this is now, but both seem to enjoy collecting certain things, like ducks and those firby toys. Both were drawn to dance-vibe with each other.

Speaking of, both love music and play instruments, they can totally jam with each other, making their own little concerts.

Lucifer's idea of sinners will be definetely challenged with Alastor. It's one thing to meet a nice sinner and think 'ah they are not like everyone else'. But it's a completely different thing when this sinner is exactly what you hate about them, the maniac who loves violence. And then you have to come to terms that even THEY can become better, can have something to them. Lucifer drowned himself in guilt and shame, it would be nice to get a bit in touch with people in Hell. Because it seems like he stays away from most things sinners bring with themselves.

Alastor was told to like theatres, so it would be nice for them to go together, to try and see something good from humanity even in Hell. Something that can still keep not being corrupted. And humans creativity and artistism can definetely spark more hope back to Lucifer.

And I think Lucifer would appreciate someone who treats him as equal, it doesn't look like he cares much about being a King, so having someone who will not shy away at punching first can be good.

Lucifer's main support of course would be Charlie(and hopefully hotel crew), but having someone who he can rely to get things actually done is pleasant. He is a King of Hell but he doesn't often act like one, he surely will benefit from someone who can act appropriately spooky. (He can get scary, but I think he needs to get MAD mad for this side of him to appear and at that point you better have Charlie around to calm him down)

And they have to keep the beef part of their interactions, it's just fun to have someone you can freely argue with with no hard feelings afterwards, just a battle of words, their interests don't always aligning. And it's fun to mindlessly banter about them. Like their sweet and bitter food preference, or cooking techniques, etc. Small irrelevant things, or maybe even some clash of ideals, but it is oh so fun to let yourself go lose and not hold back.

It would be nice for them to develop mutual respect and learn to care about each other's boundaries, be it the painful personal history, or choices of leading the relationship.

Yes, the aroace situation. Start with simple, I do not believe Lucifer is straight(nor NT xD) and he is perfectly sex-positive(he started with no experience and no shame either xD). He is more on a demi spectrum for me, getting excitedly horny only with close people(one-times can happen, it's a grey(literally) area). And Alastor... he is touch-aversed until you are close, then the touching is required(both gentle and playful and rough, depending if he wants to sooth himself or get energised or let the stim out). The same with the bed situation. He gets attracted long after all the other bonds are formed. He is sex-indifferent, never wanted with anyone so never went there. He is perfectly content with himself. And when it starts, yet again, depending on what it feels like in the moment.(cannibalism was not the only thing he grew to like in Hell(¬‿¬))

[utilitycaster]

Would LOVE that essay on combat in dnd because full agree. But not even just for people watching live play, like, combat is an essential feature of dnd as a game system and it endlessly frustrates me when i see dms be like “yeah combat is just too complicated and no fun so i dont do it in my game :)!” Like i guess thats your right, but any non-caster class is gonna be miserable in your game. I saw a video recently talking about how dnd has kind of become the default ttrpg and is marketed as the perfect system for everyone and any style of play which is just. So not true. Combat in dnd is equally as integral as roleplay is and theres really no argument otherwise. Very valid if you hate dnd combat, it sure isnt for everyone, but in that case maybe play a different ttrpg where the characters arent constructed around combat abilities, i promise you’ll have more fun.

So this is one of those things that touches on maybe 99% of my feelings on Experiencing Fiction in general and actual play in particular; I apologize in advance for the length and digressions within this response.

Here are the reasons I have seen or I surmise why people don’t like D&D combat, either in actual play or in home games:

It can get crunchy and involves a lot of rules

There are long stretches in which individuals do not necessarily act (not exclusive to combat but I think this is a factor)

It contains violence

There is a potential for character death

Now, it’s fine if you aren’t interested in D&D-style combat, for whatever reason, when you play ttrpgs. It’s just that this is a core feature of D&D. As you say, this is what the martial classes are structured around - and, frankly, no small number of casting classes/subclasses as well. By avoiding it when you play D&D, you’re avoiding the bulk of the game, and there are plenty of ttrpgs that permit open RP that aren’t combat focused that would probably fit your needs better (eg: PbtA and Savage Worlds are both generic systems that can support a heroic fantasy like D&D without the emphasis on combat skills). I happen to love and prefer D&D, but that is specifically because I love combat, and yeah, there are other games and people should seek out those games if they don’t like combat.

When it comes to D&D actual play though…skipping combat is just straight-up stupid. And to be clear I mean fully skipping it and not watching it at all; while this is piggybacking off my post about spoilers, it’s fine if you are the sort of person who needs to know how combat ends in order to enjoy it! That’s just a personal preference that I respect even if I don’t share it.

D&D combat isn’t just an inherent part of the game; it’s an inherent part of the story. The idea of D&D being split into combat and RP is a false dichotomy. There is RP and crucial story within combat scenes, and you simply do not achieve the same effects by reading an after-the-fact summary. To use examples from Critical Role, consider one of the most famous RP moments from Campaign 1, when Scanlan uses his 9th level counterspell in the Vecna fight. The weight of that moment derives from mechanics and from the fact that it is in the midst of combat and well into a climatic final battle. Or for lighter examples, there’s a ton of Beau/Yasha and Fjord/Jester mid-combat flirting running through much of Campaign 2 that informs those relationships. Molly’s death? Caleb going into a fugue state when he kills humanoids with fire? Yasha destroying Obann? Fjord dying mid-deep scion fight? Those are all moments that have deep character weight and meaning that are within the context of combat, and you cannot divorce them from that context and hope to retain the same effect.

This is what dovetails into a larger discussion of Experiencing Fiction which is a (in my opinion) worrying tendency among some people to truly believe that you can cut up media into the palatable bits and pieces and push all of what you see as icky vegetables to the side of your plate. I fucking hate this. I think it’s what drives a lot of things including a distaste for combat. This is how you get, for example, people who dislike combat because Violence And Death Bad, which, do I think that in the real world violence is most often a thing to be avoided? Do I think that in the real world death is heartbreaking? Yes, but this is fiction. There’s that great Brennan Lee Mulligan quote about how TTRPGs like D&D allow people who usually must be conflict-avoidant in real life to let out their anger and frustration in a place where it is safe and harmless, and I believe that whole-heartedly. I want stories about death because I want to know I'm not alone in how I feel about death. I want stories in which people can express their rage in ways both healthy and unhealthy, because big same. (I also think it’s absolutely not coincidental that people who believe they are ‘protecting’ people by circumscribing what is acceptable in fiction tend to be strongly associated with either bigoted, violent policies in real life, or harassment and doxxing online; maybe enjoy a fucked up movie, as John Waters once said, and you'll calm down.)

This idea that you can cut up media and only consume what you like is also what I think is behind some of the really ill-considered and overly granular timestamped content warnings I’ve mentioned previously. It is fine if there are things you don’t want to watch or which will be upsetting or even triggering to watch! It’s fine if you as an individual don’t like violence! But I think there’s a problem when people believe they are entitled to be able to watch whatever they want and have it mold to their exact wants and needs (and that it’s a failing if it doesn’t), rather than taking on the responsibility of seeking out media that already fits the bill. Actual Play D&D will nearly always have violent encounters. If this will be an issue this is not for you. It is not gatekeeping to say “you can come through this gate, but the gate is in fact here for your specifically requested protection"; and yet people think that instead, gates should be placed around everything else. So (to give an example) this is why the warnings for D20’s Neverafter strike me as a symptom of this larger problem - if you have discomfort with violence towards animals and children, that’s fine, but you are watching a D&D horror series in which over half the player characters are either animals or children. This is not something where you can skip a few seconds of a flashing gif that might be a migraine or seizure trigger, or a case where an exceptionally rough scene of gaslighting can be read instead of watched; this is inherent to the show, and if this is not for you, you need to go elsewhere.

To give one last example, I was looking for fanart for Worlds Beyond Number, and came across a picture of Suvi with a caption of “Suvi but without the imperialism” and like…Aabria has said in interviews that this engagement with the empire is extremely deliberate; that Suvi is intended to be tied into the political structures of this world as an intentional contrast with Eursulon’s status as an outsider and Ame’s role at the smaller, community level. Suvi without imperialism is not identifiable as the same character and it throws the entire story off-kilter; she is of this empire and that is the fucking point. Any story worth telling is not just items thrown haphazardly into a bowl; they are combined and mixed. Someone is giving you a plate of brownies and you are acting like it’s physically possible to take out the cocoa powder without fucking the end result, and buddy, it’s not.

(Truly, I was not joking when I said this is like, the load-bearing pillar of most of my complaints about fiction consumption patterns in general. This is about how people will deny the flaws in characters even though any reasonably intelligent ten-year-old, and I know because I fucking was one once, understands that person vs. themself is one of the core conflicts and overcoming one’s flaws is in many cases the entire story and if you start out perfect there is nothing to be said. Like…I think a lot of people genuinely just want to watch a nonstop Monterey Bay Otter Cam of their sufficiently sanitized, focus-group-tested blorbos baking cookies together, and are affronted when people with the tiniest sliver of empathy and/or curiosity want a story with plot and character growth, which in turn require conflict.)

Anyway. I think the takeaways here are that there’s this awful entitlement people have in which they think that they can simply consume anything and it is the failure of that media if it doesn’t cater specifically to them, rather than a failure of them to seek out that which they would enjoy (and I could go on this rant indefinitely; it is truly the most constant theme among Takes I Think Are Dumb); and also I really want to bake something right now, given my choices of metaphor. Combat is part of D&D as a game and as a storytelling medium, and it is incumbent upon people who do not like combat to find something that doesn’t have D&D combat, rather than try to pull out the vital organs of the story.

[theggning]

Different anon than who spoke to sapphire-weapon but holy shit give me ALL of your metaltango thoughts from both OG and Remake please! That pairing is somethin' else.

ALL of them? Oh, anon, there's far too many for that... I do have plenty of thoughts though so if there's any specifics you might like do feel free to ask.

What I will do here is lay out some differences between Leon and Krauser's relationship (hypothetically romantic or otherwise) between OG and the remake and thus two different flavors of metaltango. Because Leon and Krauser are both pretty different characters between versions, *especially* Krauser, the differences make for some really interesting contrasts.

OG METALTANGO:

Leon and Krauser literally meet for the first time during Operation Javier (Darkside Chronicles version.) They are much more equal in standing and prestige, where Krauser is a career soldier with years of experience under his belt and Leon is the government's golden boy. There is kind of a gesture towards Krauser feeling jealous of Leon for this reason, but... well, there's kind of a lot of vague gestures made about Krauser's motivations that have always struck me as silly. (Poorly executed, to say the least.)

Because they meet for the first time on OJ and Krauser is immediately injured, any canon-compliant relationship between the two is going to have to happen in the aftermath/weeks and months after the mission. I've always kind of liked the idea that Leon befriends Krauser and they spend this time hanging out while Krauser is sidelined/in rehab to recover from his injuries. This has kind of been my go-to headcanon here, because otherwise there just really isn't any time for these two to even befriend one another apart from what's depicted in canon.

Once he decides to join up with Wesker to get his arm fixed/POWERRRR, Krauser fakes his death in a helicopter crash. This is presumably the source of the scars on his face in OG. Also, because he was discharged from the military, we are left to assume this helicopter crash happened while he was doing mercenary work (OG Krauser is said to work as a mercenary when he's not on duty with the military, because he feels unfit for normal society outside of the battlefield.)

OG Krauser works for Wesker, is genuinely loyal to him, and seems to genuinely enjoy his job. He joins up with the cult perhaps a few weeks before Ashley's kidnapping... and it is implied that the kidnapping was his idea to begin with to win Saddler's trust? Which it does not, incidentally. But I guess Saddler decides to opportunistically capitalize on the kidnapped head of state's daughter anyway. (OG Los Illuminados are a bunch of incompetent chucklefucks and their plans are completely doomed from the get go, ask me sometime.)

OG Krauser is sent by Saddler specifically to kill Leon, a task which he takes up with gusto due to... I don't know actually. If there's one constant with Krauser it's that his hatred for Leon is never really adequately explained, though at least the remake gives us a boatload of subtextual interpretations. I think OG metaltango is funniest if you interpret Krauser's grudge against Leon as the over-the-top actions of a jilted ex who left Leon on read when he got the breakup text (and also faked his death.) Anyway, one thing that really strikes me is how much fun Krauser seems to be having in OG. He's like, genuinely delighted to be attempting to murder Leon and with his plans to hand Leon's corpse over to Wesker once he's dead. (Put a pin in this one, it's a BIG change in remake.)

Leon is a lot more irritated with Krauser in OG and at least doesn't show an *unwillingness* to fight back. Only once Krauser has fallen does he lament that he "used to be a good guy..." He also seems really upset at Saddler boasting that he never trusted Krauser and the implication that Saddler was only using him.

Ada being the one to "really" kill Krauser in OG is dumb and has always been dumb, imo, and is more than likely an artifact of OG SW's clumsy development and what assets they had to work with.

REMAKE METALTANGO:

okay there is... a LOT more to work with here. Chiefest and most obviously, Krauser is now Major Krauser, and was Leon's commanding officer/mentor. This gives the two of them a much closer and more personal relationship, as well as 4+ whole years to work with, timeline-wise (Operation Javier happened in 2002.)

The mentor/student relationship provides another really delicious power dynamic to work with, shipping-wise. Yes, it's inappropriate for a military officer to have an affair with one of his subordinates, but we are also right in the middle of Don't Ask Don't Tell here so it's also literally forbidden for a soldier to be anything but heterosexual and still keep their job. Also consider, it's hot? Also like, bruh... if you're looking for Pure Wholesome Shipping Dynamics you are looking in the wroooooong ship.

Krauser is fulltime military this time around, no merc work to speak of (or at least no evidence of it.) He also never fakes his death in the remake. He has current contacts within the Secret Service AND is running around using his REAL NAME and ACTUAL military credentials to buy ordnance for Saddler (per SW,) there is absolutely no way we're meant to believe this man is legally dead.

There is evidence that Krauser showed special attention or favoritism to Leon, at least a little bit. Not only is Leon allowed to keep his hair while training (getting your head shaved/your hair cut short is like Basic Training Day One stuff,) but in the opening cutscene we see Leon and Krauser training in private in what appears to be a storage room- not a normal training space. Leon is the government golden boy here, but Krauser is also in charge of a whole unit of special forces guys. Somebody is getting private tutoring from the Major.

Leon respects and trusted Krauser. Krauser is said to have always been "an asshole" but also a man of honor. He is suggested to have been a difficult commanding officer, but also one who cared very deeply about his men and is traumatized by their avoidable deaths in OJ. (This one's my personal opinion, but I really can't stand the interpretation of Krauser having been an awful abusive piece of shit from the get go. Kind of wrecks the tragedy of his fall for me when he was always a cruel bastard. Why exactly would Leon trust, respect, want to emulate, or mourn such a person?)

So you could kind of intuit some trauma into OG Krauser, if you squinted. But there is absolutely no question that remake Krauser is suffering from some pretty massive PTSD. Along with his general unhingedness, all of his actions fit perfectly when viewed through a lens of a very, very traumatized man, used and abandoned by the government he trusted, desperate to gain the power that could have saved his men, and himself-- and the power to keep himself relevant so he can't be used and hurt again. I interpret that Krauser had his face scarred in OJ as well (he doesn't have the scars in the flashback scene with Leon.)

Remake Krauser joined Los Illuminados of his own free will, because they offered him the power to fix his crippled arm-- and the aforementioned power to unsuccessfully "fix" his trauma. But also, maybe it's just me, but I feel like remake Krauser does not give a fuck about the cult. He's loyal to Saddler, yes, but he openly disbelieves the cult religion ("Faith is for the weak, only power matters.") He commands the island mercs and helped set up the defenses, but he's also out here buying warheads under his own name. There is no way he doesn't think he's going to be caught by the U.S. sooner than later-- he just doesn't care. None of his notes read to me like somebody who genuinely thinks the cult has a chance to take over the world. Krauser joined these idiots so he could drink the juice, now the juice is all gone and he's still empty inside.

OG Krauser seemed to be having fun and set up his Leon deathmaze/training ground/mating display for a laugh. Remake Krauser, on the other hand, seems absolutely batshit out of his mind at this point-- alternating between the maze being a "final lesson" for Leon and a deathwish enactment mechanism for himself. Like... between Krauser's general demeanor and the "finish what happened two years ago" talk, this does not feel like a fight that Krauser wants to walk away from, whether or not he kills Leon. If OG Krauser killed Leon, he planned to bag him up and present him to Wesker like a trophy. If remake Krauser did... like, what's he going to do? Can you possibly picture him washing his hands of his blood and going back to work for Saddler? Because I sure can't. (I have a much longer meta piece in mind for this point... like I want to dissect the remake Krauser boss fight and his motivations therein at some point. Let me know if this sounds interesting.)

Remake Leon absolutely does not want to fight Krauser. Krauser forces every single encounter the two of them have. Even though Leon says "you won't get away with this" after Luis' death, he has absolutely no desire nor intention to hurt or kill Krauser back. He asks, over and over, if Krauser is "sure about this" and tries to talk sense into him. He is ready to straight up run away from the boss fight the first chance he gets.

I could probably write a whole other essay on Krauser's final moments and Leon stabbing him, which was one of the most shocking and powerful moments of the remake for me for several reasons. Like... god damn. Did anybody else think Leon was going to do the whole "I'm not like you and I won't do it" thing? (Though arguably it was more heroic/merciful/kind of Leon to put Krauser out of his misery here. Krauser clearly wanted it!!)

I was going to go to Capcom and chain myself to the doors in protest if they put the dumb stupid Krauser boss fight redux in Separate Ways after THAT absolutely poetic ending for him. Glad they didn't. Glad they actually showed Wesker picking up his corpse this time rather than handwaving it offscreen years after the fact.

If somebody has a heterosexual explanation for that picture of Leon in Krauser's tent, I'd certainly like to hear it. Because... bruh.

Well that felt extremely disjointed and pointless... But I hope it was useful or at least gave you some delicious food to feast on? (Or other ideas to interrogate me about, lmao.) Krauser is my favorite RE villain. For OG Krauser it was mostly for comedy reasons, but I am absolutely delighted that the remake gave him some real genuine pathos and a really compelling relationship with Leon.

Anyway, tl;dr metaltango, OG or remake: I ship it and I think it would be hot if they banged.

[bloogers-boogers]

Ok so since I can't be anonymous anymore it's time I reveal myself so hello, ur literally my fav artist! Here is the image

Firstly I want to say that it still baffles me that I'm ur fav artist, I'm super flattered but also very grateful, thank you!! That makes me emotional 😭💖💖

Also, in regard of your ask, these are the three main ships I like! 💕

I have hc of each one of them, but I feel it would be a long ass text, but I will try to sum them up for you in the shortest way possible!

Kyman: a bickering hate/friendemies/friends/love romance that pretty much begins with the two disliking each other from the start of their friendship bc of their very different opinions and the way to handle things. They are equal! Mentally and physically; they have different reasons to put their skill and intelligence for, which is why they fight a lot. Kyle would use these qualities for good or right while Cartman refuses to use his abilities for the right and rather go for the wrongs. Their strength is basically based on what they find necessary to do. Cartman is seen as weak when it comes to confrontation (mostly with Kyle) but if Kyle were put himself in trouble all that weakness is vanish, he is strong af, he's just lazy and has no need to put it to use unless it's Kyle in danger. When it comes to Kyle however he uses it to correct Cartman or save him, but normally he doesn't feel the need to waste his energy on punching Cartman when he's his usual neutral dumb self (just one punch and he knocks him out).

Also they're very similar in the way they act; Kyle is just more easy to shrug off while being around an actual menace with no shame. The perfect example of the same coin.

A odd pair that throughout the years developed a bond and trust like no other duo to how obsessed they are with each other. Very obsessed. And yeah, conflict feelings, they fall in love and are even more obsessed with the other but more relaxed. Obnoxious but relaxed nonetheless.

Stendy: Their first and childhood love/highschool sweethearts! It's starts as innocent and cute, then the type of careless and "toxic" you'd expect from literal kids; which is why it's hard to expect much seriousness from it. They care for each other a lot! But unfortunately they have lots of breakups until they finally just had enough (I hc Stan ending it for good in six grade!) But the pair falls again throughout middle school but refuse to make any advances besides just enjoying being friends. They find comfort in their company. Highschool changes that after a long period of being good friends, secret pinning and nervous outbursts. Stan confesses again but this time they're both sure of what they want and starts taking their relationship seriously. They decide to put their relationship on hold while going to college and agreed that if the other no longer had any feelings for the other after reuniting again they would just end things peacefully. Ofcourse, theirs some dating here and there but they find their way, again, to each other. They can't help it, they just have that chemistry, the type that's hard to let go. Nostalgic, maybe? Warm and at home feeling. They get together, have a couple of dates and get married immediately. Cartman thinks it's gay tho.

Kenrietta: their relationship is based on rituals and curses! Mostly Kenny's curse~ Henrietta actually starts getting along with Karen after the little girl couldn't stopped looking for her in advice of her new goth phase and ofc looks up to her. So Henrietta just accepted her around, eventually however, Karen would reveal to her about her "guardian angel" which she would eventually just talk endlessly about him. She then told Henrietta it was mysterion and that's were Henrietta would blurt out "the poor kid?" (I hc that the goths know who mysterion is) but yeah, ofc Karen laughs it off guessing Henrietta was just assuming and let's it go. She meets Kenny when the bastard literally crashes inside her window (firework incident, typical main 4 shit) during a ritual with her friends and Karen. He greeted them causally as he walks dizzily to the center of the ritual unaware of whatever thing they were doing. Kenny gets sacrifice during that! And the next day it was like nothing happened until Henrietta and the goths start feeling some weird connection towards Kenny and they assumed it had something to do with the ritual 'that Kenny messed it up for them and ran off from'. After all that, they drag Kenny's ass into their mess (mostly Karen had to convince him) and eventually start hanging out with them thinking their dark stuff was cool. Eventually getting closer to Henrietta, falling in love first and telling her also about his curse. She believed him oddly enough for his surprise! But he was very grateful unlike with his friends who didn't believe him at all. And yeah that's how their thing started. They have their own thing going on outside the other so they're not together most of the time, but their closest friends and family know they're a "thing". They're not possessive or the slightest clingey type, they understand if the other is in need of space and will give it if necessary. They're pacient, very pacient with the other if they're acting "dumb" and will never back off to point out their bullshit if they're being dismissive about it. They have a lot of dark humor too.

Sorry if it's long! But if there's another ship you're interested in me doing just ask! Those are just personally my main ones Cx

[rocketturtle4]

The Eclipse Takeaway - It's about the kindness

Alrighty folks I hadn’t decided whether I was going to write this post or not because all of ya'll already know the show is great, but right now I feel like doing it so might as well.

@wen-kexing-apologist @plantsarepeopletoo @thegalwhorants @grapejuicegay @dropthedemiurge you all enjoyed my eclipse journey so tagged in case you want to read this

I already did a much more self-indulgent post of how Akk affected me personally but I wanted to talk a bit about how much the kindness in this show resonated with me.

The Stairs Shot

The first time I was utterly struck by the kindness of the show was with this moment with Khan and Ayan on the stairs

After watching Khan spy Ayan with first Akk and then Thua, combined with his previous warnings to Thua, on how dangerous Aye was, I full expected this confrontation to BLOW UP.

The framing of this initial shot and the power dynamics implied by this difference in height did nothing to temper those expectations

And yet…

It doesn’t blow up, and not just because Ayan keeps a level head, but because Khan never loses his in the first place. He approaches the conversation softly, mostly trying to make sure that Ayan isn’t toying with Akk or Thua’s feelings and then apparently giving him his blessing to date Thua, even as Ayan correctly notes that Khan wishes to date Thua himself (even if he can’t admit that out loud.) This scene also resonated with me for the way, as both parties speak with kindness they move closer onto the same level (literally) as Ayan moves up the stairs.

The kindness makes them more equal.

This got me thinking about the way kindness to used in so many parts of the show to connect our isolated characters in together.

Khan being Bruce Wayne

Khan choosing to reach out to Thua via an anonymous internet friend is a beautiful example of this kindness, not for how it helps Thua (who I’ll get too) but for how it helps Khan. The closeness he gains through anonymity to check in on Thua and try to keep him safe makes him realise how much he wants to be able to do this in person. Which in turn leads to him prioritising Thua over his prefect responsibilities when he goes to the rally and reveals his identity.

Khan choosing kindness once, makes him more able to choose kindness again.

Uncle Dika

It is clear from the beginning of the show that Dika’s presence had a pretty clear impact on the school when he was there, at least for our main cast. Akks visceral feelings of betrayal at his absence come from the belief that someone he trusted has abandoned him for (he believes) no reason.

Dika’s kindness is seen again in the moment in episode 7 when Khan is acting out different characters (specifically the teachers) for his friends to guess and when he acts as Dika his words and actions are unbelievably kind and EVERYONE knows immediately who he is enacting despite the length of time it has been since they saw Dika (it’s also realistic enough to trigger poor Ayan)

Ayan himself is obviously a wonderful example of his uncle’s kindness with every flashback we see of them (and Chadok and Dika as well) is irrevocably altered by Dika’s kindness even though, with Dika’s death, we see Chadok’s regression and fear forcing him back into a space of repression and unkindness.

Ayan

Ayan is undoubtedly the heart of kindness in this show and it was so unexpected to me that, given what he knew from the beginning about Akk and his Uncle’s death, he continues to choose to be kind. This kindness is shown throughout the show to be the means of far greater change and persuasion than any other tactic used (Fear, Anger, Defiance, Hate, Financial Enticement, Neutrality etc.)

We see this with the World Remembers Gang, when he successfully gets them to leave their location with a quiet suggestion that they’ve done enough that day (Leading Akk to even more suspicions whoops)

We see this with Khan in the above conversation and again later with his encouragement to Khan to tell Thua the truth

We see this with Thua and the way Ayan notices he’s not okay and sets up the conversation with his mum. Ultimately, in my opinion, it is Ayan’s kindness that convinces Thua to fight for the change (regardless of what you think of his methods) where all the other pressure he was under only left him to sink down, Ayan’s kindness causes him to rise up.

Akk

Before I talk about Ayan’s kindness with Akk, I want to talk about Akk’s kindness with Ayan, because their entire relationship comes about (in my opinion) because even as they are suspicious of each other, they do remain fundamentally kind. We see this in the early stages most clearly in this moment

And when Akk asks the teachers to be responsible more managing Ayan.

But even before this, the sitting together in class and the volunteering to help train him in the martial arts class weren't steeped in malice. Yes, these things were about keeping tabs (and maybe wanting to be close for unacknowledged reasons) but regardless of complicated motivations Akk takes these things seriously and does not use them as a chance to bully or otherwise make Ayan’s life at school more difficult (think semantic error style) even if he wishes Ayan would just follow the rules already.

Additionally a key moment of understanding and softening between them comes from a moment of pure human kindness, when Ayan see’s Akk feeding the dog.

This friendliness builds up because as Akk remains kind, despite his suspicions, Ayan responds with kindness despite his suspicions (and actual knowledge of Akks actions)

Ayan again

Ayan’s support of Akk through all this is incredibly central to the story so I’m not going to go into it in detail. His kindness towards Akk extends to the point of covering up his wrong doing as he sees Akk for who he is and prioritises Akks mental safety over finding out the truth of his death. But all this came about because throughout their initial antagonism, harm was never Ayan's primary intent.

Another moment

Another moment which struck me on my initial watch through was this moment

Where Akk apologises to The World Remembers gang even as he follows his orders and takes away the things they’re using to protest. (I think it's around episode 10?) The shock and confusion on their faces as he does this, and their immediate relinquishing of their things compared to their loud anger over his removing them on other occasions (when in the past he stepped forward not with apology but instead with anger) highlights to me how he has changed, and how his new kindness de-escalates the situation (in much the same way Ayan’s had some episodes earlier).

Related thoughts on the Isolation of the Characters

The isolation of Akk, Thua and Khan at the start of the show is a grounded foundation. Akk is desperately scared of being perceived as weak (in terms of his authority and management - this later is added to by his fear of being gay), Khan is desperately scared of being perceived as Gay, Ayan is isolated as a newbie and Thua is isolated as an ?out gay person in the school. (Thua’s identity seems to be known by his classmates but not his teachers so not sure on the details here but he is definitely isolated). It is these characters reaching out to each other in kindness, and continuing to reach out to each other in kindness despite the difficulties that arise as their identities shift and grow that results in positive change within themselves and within the school.

Brief mention of Thua

Just to officially state my opinion on the record I am absolutely including Thua as part of this without caveat, he is the most isolated character and his change is wrought by Ayan’s kindness causing him to wish for change. His anger came from a place of hurt and I don’t view his actions as more extreme than Akks, especially as neither the banner or the fire were likely to hurt anyone. His goal of drawing attention to the wrongdoings of the school made sense and though it was NOT driven by kindness, it was pushed on by the desire to have a kind place for all people, (especially LGBTQIA+ people).

Forgiveness

I loved how everyone in episode 11 got to be angry, Thua at Ayan, Ayan at Chadok, Khan and Wat at Akk etc. They were allowed to have these emotions and express these emotions and in doing so they didn’t end their relationships or loose their friends. Everyone’s anger was used to create understanding because THEIR ANGER WAS MET WITH KINDNESS.

The forgiveness of ALL our teenagers in the final episode underlined this theme of kindness with the welfare teachers standing up for Akk and Thua, The World Remembers gang forgiving the boys because they sincerely apologised and were regretful.

And of course Akk coming out to his parents.

Final thoughts

Kindness isn’t perfect of course, in some ways Akks parent’s kindness lead to his own warped self image and Ayan’s kindness to Thua in part lead to some of the not kind choices he made.

Many shows have examples characters choosing not to forgive and that is a valid and healthy choice (one we could all stand to make more often). I’m not saying that always being kind to everyone is the right choice, and it’s certainly not a sustainable one.

Instead I’m highlighting how this show used kindness in defiance of isolation, in defiance of jealousy, in defiance of anger and in defiance of hate.

For the record, rating wise this show got 97% making it equal third overall out of 77 BLs and counting. I loved it for so many reasons and I honestly can’t wait to watch it again.

[toska-writes]

hello i just find u'r blog and immediately fall in love with u'r works, i just want to say thanku so much for all u'r beautiful writings! it's just not easy to find platonic fic and I'm really grateful to find u'r blog 😭❤️ if u don't mind please make more codywan x padawan reader, no pressure tho only if u want it. once again thanku and have a nice day love 🥺❤️❤️

Thank you! I love this ship sm

“Dinner Party”

Paring: Codywan x padawan reader (Platonic)

Warning: mentions of food and eating if you don’t like that kind of stuff but nothing else

Word count: 1189

Notes: so I didn’t do a great job with the Codywan and it’s mainly just Cody so…. I’ll have to give this prompt another go

Obi-wan tapped his foot absentmindedly under the table. Over and over again. You seemed to be the only one to notice as the rest of the room was filled with loud chatter from the many different senators.

Looking around for a second it seemed that Cody had also taken an interest of Obi-wand nervous habit- it was quite hard for a young padawan and a Clone commander to find common ground with the many different people that filled the room.

Of course your master didn't seem to have the problem when he wasn't lost in thought.

You had to admit Cody looked quite odd in a military uniform instead of his sunburst armor that apparently can come off. But a change in pace can be good sometimes.

As your master came back to reality since he wasn't really invested in what a highly decorated senator was saying he looked between the two of you clearly puzzled by your stares. "Is something wrong?"

Both you and Cody made eye contact and a huge smile played at you lips. "Oh no Master I was just wondering how you view Senator Gunrays insights on Coruscant and weather you believe in any of them."

He stared at you for a moment then shot a quick look at the person you were talking about.

A quick nod from him then he said. "Oh yes my young padawan it seems he did say some very interesting things." He fished around his mind for some words. "You can learn many things from the people around you if you just listen."

Cody leaned over from your left side giving Obi-wan quite the look who was sitting to your right, basically asking if he was serious.

"Any more insightful tips to give your padawan sir?." Cody said in quite the formal voice but his eyes said other wise.

"I'll let you know when I think of another dear" was all he quipped back when the clatter of dinner trays filled the room.

You felt a slight nudge to your shoulder as Cody leaned closer to your ear. "Thank the maker I'm starving."

You really could only nod in response since you were also ravenous and a plate full of food was being sat down in front of you.

It was your turn now to give your Commander a quick nudge as you looked to see his eyes blow wide, taking in the abundant food.

Looking at your own plate you felt sort of.... Disappointed?

Not that you weren't grateful to be sitting in a lavish room full of very important people about to eat a full meal that just came out hot, because you were.

The food just didn't seem right for you.

A lump of grayish blue mystery food sat towards the edge of your plate decorated with unusually green ferns.

The main course was- using your best guess some sort of fish. Forks and drinks clanked together as you watch many others enjoying what seemed to be the same meal, but the smell that wafted through the air from your plate made you question if they were really enjoying it.

It would be rude if you didn't eat it though right?

Picking your fork up after choosing what you hoped was ‘the right one’ from the multiple that sat beside your plate you gathers some of the food onto the fork.

To your right Cody clearly was trying to slow down but when all you get is ration bars this must be heaven. This was one of the many reasons you discovered as to why Obi-wan fought so hard for Cody to sit next to everyone at this party as an equal and not just a soldier.

The smell got stronger as it travels closer and closer to your face. I don’t want to be rude, you thought once again and stuffed the dinner into your mouth.

In that moment it finally answered the question of what the underside of a Bantha would taste like.

It traveled roughly down your throat leaving an odd burning sensation in its place.

“Are you alright Y/N” Obi-wan turned to you now as he once again somehow stomached the food in front of him.

“Oh yes master, just taking my time enjoying my food.” You reluctantly scooped another bite and ate that too under the watchful eye of your master.

Before he could respond a loud senator near the head of the table called for Obi-wan to be apart of whatever they were discussing. Weather it was an act under the influence or sober was up for debate.

You were grateful that something on the table was familiar and you downed that water like there was no tomorrow.

The need to eat food and the fact that it was gross was fighting with eachother inside of you as you took yet another bite.

If you didn’t want to scare the senators off by throwing up all over the table you decided for the best that that was your last attempt to be nice.

With a huff you leaned back in your care, crossing you arms over your front. “Not a fan of the food sir?” Cody inquired setting his cleaned off fork nicely on the plate that matched it.

The best answer you could give was a simple nod then you had to add.” Since I’m telling you Cody it tasted like absolute bantha shit.”

Cody laughed at your remark nearly knocking over a few glasses in the process. The odd looks from other senators went unnoticed by the pair as they continued to laugh.

“I’ll have to be honest Y/N I think it was that too.” Cody added after you collected yourself.

“I can’t believe you ate that.” You laughed again. This conversation seemed more like two siblings joking at the dinner table then it did two commanders pretty much sitting in at a political meeting, strange how somethings are.

“I think I have a few snacks on the ship if you didn’t like the food but I’m afraid I can’t get them now.” Obi-wan added under his breath when he finally got away from the talking for a few moments.

“I can mange until then but thank you master.” Without another word and before being pulled back into another ‘very interesting’ conversation Obi-wan pulled some of your untouched food onto his own plate.

“No need to offend the chef now.” He spoke before his name was called yet again.

You felt Cody shuffle beside you, digging in the pockets he wasn’t every used to and tried to find something.

After a moment and satisfied with what he found he slid you something across the table. “Taste like sand but it might be a little better then nothing at all.”

You couldn’t even spare a question as you opened the ration bar and started eating it right away. “Is that the only thing you could find to fit in your pockets since a blaster wouldn’t do it?” You asked with a smile.

“Oh no Crys is just a picky eater.”

_____________________________________

Taglist: @arctrooper69 @thereforepizza @padawancat97

[ender--slime]

i wanna share some thoughts i have about. some stuff i guess!!

i think the way people treat post canon, no matter which team was writing it or which version of it you’re looking at, is also similar to the way people treat. literally any other artist in this fandom. which is “your interpretation is Wrong and that means your art and morals are Bad”

which is sad to me because. we all took english classes right? we all learned about different literary lenses and different ways to interpret a piece of media. and that everyone can have different takeaways from the same thing. and they might not be equal or even the authors intent but like. that’s okay. it’s not that serious. sometimes a person is 14 or like. just cares more about Background Character than anyone else. and that’s okay!

i’ve been reading homestuck with a friend who’s never read it before- she works on the fanadventures with me and it’s simply required reading :p And she said something a lil bit ago, basically that she reads the kids as a lot older than 13. she doesn’t feel as though they are written as realistic 13 year olds- 15-16, for sure. but 13? to my friend, not so much.

and that got me thinking about the way people treat HSAU. “why’d you age them up? they were written to be 13 for a reason!” is definitely a valid critique i think, if you yourself had that interpretation of the original character writing. but if you’re my friend, who feels as though they act a bit old to be 13, aging them up probably makes a lot of sense. i think she’d really like HSAU. also because i showed her the ranma 1/2 june scene and she CRIED. on that note- “why did june come out so early?” probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to someone who enjoys post-game adult trans headcanons, but it’s simply the same thing post canon is doing. a What If. What if Egbert realizes she’s a woman at age 40? What if she realizes it at age 18? What are the different themes and interpretations that can be found in both of these headcanons? what personal experiences and interpretations of the post canon and HSBC writers can be found in PQ trans vriska? or middle aged june egbert? what personal experiences and interpretations of a certain content creator can be found in a teenaged june egbert reading ranma 1/2?

artists rip out their hearts and draw them, paint them, write them, compose them onto a canvas for Us to see. what more must they do simply to get Our approval? in this late late late stage capitalist society, must we demand that artists make art for Us? and not for themselves? are we not lucky to be surrounded by so many cakes?

i have all the drawings my partner has ever made me on display in my room. she doesn’t draw very well- but they are so special. they look about the same as an elementary schoolers art skills- like the Little Chuck E kid who visits me at work. but to me they are the most amazing pieces of art in the world!!

all the art we make has our own hearts and souls poured into it. and that’s pretty cool.

this is my tumblr exclusive opinion twitter doesn’t get to see this one shhhhhh also i am not accounting for every nuance of media literacy and analysis ofc im just yapping. so plz don’t kill me or whatever

[sapphire-weapon]

The scene when Clive took Jill's powers came across kinda funny to me, it was like she was putting the idea out there for discussion and then Clive was already sucking the Eikon juices out of her before the words "are you sure?" had finished leaving his mouth. Like chill bro, maybe let her confirm it first.

It wasn't about taking her Eikon; it was about having and seizing the opportunity to be bonded as one with Jill. The entire scene was a metaphor for sex (which is stupid because they actually have sex for real after it's over, but I guess the devs wanted it to be as clear as possible without having to actually render and animate Clive pounding into her), which is why he's both overeager about getting started and also why he asks for consent several different times.

He did the metaphorical equivalent of pressing the tip of his cock against her hole and then stopping and going "wait, I want you to be absolutely sure, before I do this."

That's why Joshua is so fucking pissed off when Clive tells him that he took Jill's Eikon -- why he insisted that Jill didn't "really" consent; she just didn't say no. We, as the audience, know that that's not true and she actually truly did give her consent (it was her idea in the first place), but the whole thing is so sensitive and personal and intimate that Joshua has every reason to think that Clive actually took advantage of Jill. ("You knew damn well she'd never refuse you!")

He knew how much Clive wanted her -- has always wanted her -- and the idea behind the conversation is that Joshua's screaming at Clive for using "hey I might die" as an excuse to manipulate his way between her legs -- to use her instead of letting the relationship progress naturally with the two of them continuing to stand as equals. He's basically accusing him of pumping & dumping her.

It was such a weird decision on the part of the writers to frame it this way, though, because like...

Clive doesn't actually enjoy taking people's Eikon powers from them; it's not like he gets off on it normally. He actually resists it every single time it happens -- and, in Odin and Phoenix's cases, actively tries to fight against it and begs for it to stop. It's both physically painful and intrusive for him, and it alters and takes away something from both parties that can't be undone or given back (or, at least, that's what the game wants us to believe, until the end of the game happens and Jill still retains all of her ice powers and Dion can just control Bahamut again and w/e it's fine shut up plot and gameplay contrivances are happening).

This scene also happens right after Barnabas tells Clive that his purpose in life is to feed, and, the more that he does it, the more that he'll want to do it. So, it almost comes off as Clive hearing that and then turning around and going "you know what, he's right. Hey Jill--" before going right back to not wanting it/resisting it immediately after.

But FFXVI has a lot of problems with its storytelling like this, where the game sets something up and then it goes nowhere and is completely forgotten about and never mentioned again, so I mean.

You know, whatever.

[veethesnake]

The Fuck You Bouquet

Words: 824

Universe: MCU

Warnings: swear words I guess?

-

The rest of the team was sitting at the breakfast table when Tony entered the kitchen.

“Ooh, what’s that?”, Clint asked.

“A bouquet of flowers”, Tony replied, still staring at them, like he kept doing for the last thirty minutes since he had found them in front of his door.

Nat whistled. “Looks like someone’s got a secret admirer.”

Fascinatingly, Steve’s face went pink. Usually that only happened when someone made a very vulgar comment, or the moment before he started chewing someone out. Neither was the case. Or he knew the same thing Tony did, and was appalled by the rudeness.

“More like secret hater”, Tony said, and decided to put the offending bouquet in a vase. It wasn’t the flowers’ fault that they hadn’t been sent with love. Even if they were dead and wouldn’t know a difference. Whatever.

He put the flowers on the table, because he knew both Bruce and Steve enjoyed some decoration.

“What do you mean?”, Steve asked, looking baffled.

“Well, my dearest Avengers, I might seem like I don’t care about flowers - which, to be fair, I don’t - but I’m also running an international business and was a professional playboy, so of course I’m well versed in the art of flower language.”

Steve made a sound that almost sounded like a whimper. Maybe he hadn’t slept well?

Clint snorted. “You? Flower language?”

“You only send Bruce Wayne a bouquet that says ‘fuck you and your dead parents’ once, believe me.”

“Why were you sending Bruce Wayne flowers?”, Bruce asked.

Clint piped in: “Both rich bi men known for sleeping with anyone who’s willing to, I couldn’t imagine a reason.”

Tony gave him a look. “We’ve actually been friends since we were kids, and yes, that’s because our parents were rich. It was a ‘welcome back home from your super long mystery journey where you apparently studied the meanings of flowers’ bouquet, not a ‘please sleep with me’ bouquet.”

“You’ve sent a lot of those?” Nat asked, amused.

Before Tony could admit that yes, he had, but also no, it was his assistant who actually sent them, Steve interrupted him. “So, what’s wrong with these flowers?”

“Well, you see, this one can symbolise stupidity, this one says ‘you have disappointed me’, and lastly”, he pointed at the bouquet, “hatred. Most flowers have multiple meanings, but combined like this, the message is pretty clear.”

“Or maybe they’re just pretty flowers with pretty colours.”

“Unlikely”, Tony said dismissively. “I know enough people who love both passive aggressiveness and sending gifts to people. I should ask JARVIS who delivered these, maybe I can find the person behind it and send them an equally nice gift.” With that, Tony stood up. “I’ll be down in the workshop.”

When he had left the room, he heard someone following him. He turned around - Steve. “I’m coming with ya.”

They entered the elevator. Tony pressed the button for the workshop.

“You know”, Steve started.

“Yeah yeah, you got it, Cap, I won’t send anyone any mean gifts this time. I’ll try to be above that.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” He shuffled his feet. “The flowers…” He sighed. Licked his lips. Stared down at his hands. Then back into Tony’s eyes. “They were from me.”

“You?” Tony blinked. “Look, I get the disappointment, but the hat-“ He stopped. “You don’t know flower language.”

Steve shook his head. “Not a bit. Well, despite knowing you shouldn’t give someone red roses on the first date.”

Tony considered this. “Why were you putting flowers in front of my door?”

Steve threw his head back in exasperation. “I now know that flowers have the weirdest, most specific meanings, but in general, there’s one very obvious meaning of receiving flowers.”

“You think my rooms are in need of decoration?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point. Come on, Tony. I know you know what I mean, and I’m not going to say ‘April Fools!’ if you say it out loud. It’s August.”

“You…” Tony chose his next words carefully. “Wanted to show your affection?”

“Exactly, and ask you out on a date. I actually forgot to attach this because I was freaking out internally when I put them in front of your door.” He pulled something from the inside of his jacket. A card.

Tony opened it. “‘Will you go on a date with me?’ Signed, ‘Cap’.” He looked up. “Absolutely.”

Steve was finally looking more relaxed. Well, he was almost grinning from one ear to the other. “I promise I will read up on flower language before the date, so I won’t give you flowers that say ‘I despise you and have never been on a worse date, and also, fuck this restaurant and the chef in particular.”

-

For the @stevetonygames Team Past, square Flower Language, challenge Time Runs Out (52 minutes).

[undercoverpena]

Sorry to ask but you always give really good advice to people. When you post your writing, do you have a margin of what is a flop or not? I’m really struggling with likes and reblogs but I am new so I guess it’s normal? I just feel so discouraged. Sorry if this is a lot.

you're not a lot, promise! i'm not overly sure if i'm the best person to answer this, but as always, I'll give it a go.

i would be completely lying if i said to you i didn't notice notes, because i do and it's okay that i do. however, i don't have a metric for what i deem good or bad—because for a multitude of reasons i cannot control how it performs. such as:

the fandom

the popularity of the tropes

i can write one trope for one pairing and on the outside it looks like it hasn't done well. i can then redo that trope, with the same pairing, and it do so much "better" in terms of notes. but, the thing with both of those isn't the notes that i judge them on, but my enjoyment of writing them.

equally, sometimes it's a slow burner. like i POURED my heart into one non, and legit no one saw it. for like a week. and then it just trickled up, and now it's done "well"! (i keep putting things in " because everyone has different levels, and like yeah).

but all of this to say, writing, drawing, gif'ing should be fun. all of this SHOULD feel fun.

for me, i enjoy writing. i enjoy sharing. and i am hyper aware that i am not everyone's cup of tea, that i may not be what someone fancies one day to the next. so, the metrics i would use to measure myself sorta become moot, you know? but the one thing i can judge myself on is whether i'm proud of what i wrote, whether it brought me joy, whether i felt happy when i wrote it.

some pieces, i won't lie, i've written and despised writing and even if to others the notes are 'amazing', i hate it. the thing that has barely any notes, could be my favourite.

all of this to say, you said you're new and lovely one, you need to find your people, because really that's what all of this is for.

the community, the connections, the shrieking to someone at 1am in the morning about an idea (you may never write) but them being equally as excited because WRITE THIS IDEA BITCH. and you spend another hour (when you should be sleeping) going back and forth to flesh it out.

find those people. because honestly, hand on heart, it's those people who i talk to daily, the ones i want to read my work. you know?

but also if you're struggling, don't give up. i know how it feels (and it feels so tough, i know) but keep at it - because if not, how will your people find you? i'm so sorry i can't give you a magic spell or potion to rid this part, but if you're enjoying doing what you do, don't stop, lovely.

[tutuandscoot]

One question is I’d like to ask Scott and Tessa is how they define leadership, in general, but mostly how they defined leadership within their partnership and what their roles in their partnership meant to them. I know they were once asked who was the leader of the Davis/White partnership and Scott answered that Meryl and Charlie led in very different ways. The way the question was asked struck me because I had mostly to that point only been interested in Tessa and Scott and the idea that just one would take on the “leadership role” was funny to me because they are so equal in my eyes and seemed to have such an equal partnership. But I suppose the dynamic of many partnerships, on and off ice and including theirs, has elements of one person taking on certain roles and responsibilities and the other person taking on different roles and responsibilities. And I suppose we could call that leadership in one area versus another, but I’m just curious how they would answer that since I would consider both of them to be role models and leaders. Do you have any thoughts?

Ok first off anon, I’m incredibly sorry for how atrociously late I’m answering this.

Secondly I love how you had a whole discussion on this topic yourself I enjoyed reading it and made me more curious! 😄

I agree I would love to hear them talk more about this. I can’t imagine the number of hours they spent discussing these things with councillors/ psychologists/JF in Montreal.. I find the whole psychological aspect of their partnership super fascinating.

I guess I’ll break some of my thoughts down into two main sections:

1. Leadership on the ice

So my view of this on the surface and from an occupational/dancer’s perspective is he is the leader on the ice. That is the rule in basically any traditional/classical form of dance (and it is a truely masterful skill for a team to perfect) so in compulsory dances/ballroom based programs that is the dynamic in terms of initiating movement. It should never look as though she is moving before he moves her. Ie if they were to start improvising he is the one leading and she goes where he takes her, or if you watch both Tango Romantica and/or Golden Waltz, the bit of chore both times in the top right corner (from the judges view) there is a ballroomish step where they are turning and stepping around each other (in TR it’s just once in GW there’s 3 of them) and he is very clearly taking her around each of those turns- so initiating her movements. This lead-follow dynamic is an area VM EXCEL in. I have always felt a strong responsibility of leadership from Scott and I love that bc as the girl in the partnership there is nothing worse than feeling your partner isn’t protecting you, doesn’t have your back, isn’t making you look your best- and T never had to worry about that. It’s also something that comes off to me as a very emotional part of their partnership- watching them skate and legitimately being able to feel that sense of protection, commitment, safety from him. This male partner-leadership extends into their more modern programs as well that aren’t as traditional in style/execution such as Carmen/latch/MR, you still feel him in charge despite in some of those T being the dominant presence. He manages to lead the movement/structure of the program without stepping in the way of T’s character intentions, he doesn’t out-shine her character but instead plays perfectly complementary to her.

Him being such a strong male partner and leader within this on-ice partnership is one of the things I find most attractive about Scott/ one of the many reasons I respect him so much.. this coming from me as a dancer. Tessa is one hell of a woman to have to lead and (I’ve said this before) for him to have found and settled into that role-as he has said he was always intimidated by her 😭, I’d say very early on- like the first few years of the partnership (AT LIKE 11/12 YEARS OLD) is remarkable. There are ice dance teams I watch who are in their 30’s and the men still haven’t figured that out. For me as a female it is unnerving to watch a team and feel like the man isn’t leading. In a dance of two people and especially being the non-lifting (while it is still a male/female team sport, so- the female) partner, if it looks like the girl is doing more work, having to make herself shine, feels like she’s one beat ahead of the man, it feels uncomfortable to watch, and while from the audience pov/knowledge there may be strong male leadership, if it doesn’t look like there is from the audience it makes harder to watch* (*feel secure watching them skate). In VM’s case its not to say Scott didn’t work incredibly hard at it (they as a team) but as he is so clearly a naturally gifted skater/mover/artist this too seems to be a quality he was capable of perfecting.

In this discussion of on ice leadership though, it’s important to say that it is not all on Scott to be solely *the leader*. For this to work it is just as necessary for Tessa to be responsible for her role in this. I like how when they were doing an interview after a performance of Carmen that Scott pushed back on the idea that he is ‘taking a back seat to Tessa in the program’, this is a great example of their roles in their partnership in remaining -him leading, despite the flip in typical character dominance.

The (one of many) reason they are the best team ever is the way they approach their respective roles, this is where I would want/need to hear far more from them on this topic, but the way in which S leads T is made possible by the way T let’s him lead her. And the reason he makes her look as good as she does is because she is not waiting for him to make her look good- she does everything to be prepared for him to then put her on a pedestal and shine. While their roles may be slightly different, what is crucial is that they work in complete harmony- it’s like Yin and Yang..

I was watching one of their comps recently- I can’t remember which, but comparing them to other teams- in this instance I’m comparing them to WeaPo, the difference (at least to me) is: you are drawn to watching Tessa bc Scott makes Tessa look good and makes you watch her bc it is all he is watching and thinking about, WeaPo I watch her-not bc he is making her look good, but bc she is out-performing him/the performances they are each giving do not feel compatible-there is always something a bit off about it. Now, without knowing much about that team (in the way I understand VM) I wouldn’t go into more detail/assumptions. I’m sure they had what they felt between them was chemistry, but it didn’t come off anywhere close to as natural as VM’s did. As I said, VM work in perfect harmony- the ebbing and flowing of their role’s in their partnership, characters in any given program, who is having an off day/a bit injured, setting their literal rhythm as breathing humans to the exact same timing several times before every performance/practice using the hug… there is so much nuance there and as much as they worked for it I would say a huge amount is written in the stars chemistry ✨

2. Leadership in general

This is where I want to push back- not on something you said, but the way people in these team situations are asked by others/the media etc, who is the leader.. as if there is some definitive black and white answer.

[and not that I feel this is always the intention, but when you think deeper about it there is an element of sexism there- like the man SHOULD be the leader but if the team says the women is the leader in their partnership there are then negative assumptions made about her.. I DON’T think about it this way but it is inevitably an element of it].

Having said that, as I said above, in an ice dance partnership (a heterosexual, man/woman) the man SHOULD be the leader- but in that fact I don’t think the media/ most people probing this question understand the nuance of that and how much equality there is (In VM’s case their is, idk about others) in a dance partnership.

I think equality is a huge thing for VM and I don’t think they think of themselves as one being the leader over the other. I think it is predominantly the media that tried to put that label on them. Off the ice I also see them as equals, though it’s clear T has always had that stronger interest in the business side of their business partnership- though I (personally) wouldn’t label it as a leadership role.

Without them giving more detail on the topic of leadership I think it is hard to speculate/come to our own conclusions. The closest thing I can remember them saying in the topic was when asked who is the team captain and they insisted they are both the team captain and they are incredibly proud of that fact- that they share everything (water bottles, medals, heartbeats, etc), and while they each have their strengths and “weaknesses” they work incredible hard as a team to embrace everything about each other that makes their partnership the best ever. They respect each other IMMENSELY and if they were asked point black, imo I really think they would say neither of them is the leader/they are both the leaders- and when they would change every cringey/rude/none of anyones business question about their private lives into talking about how much they respect each other and how proud they are of the work they had put in for literally 25+ straight years at this point (they.will.always.be.partners.) it really is bc it’s the truth- and I think in the fact that it is hard for us on our own to determine who of them was the ‘leader’ in various aspects of their partnership- just goes to show all the work they put in and how they truly are equals who could not have achieved everything they did without anyone else by their side but each other 💖

[piratefalls]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @ninzied! thank you friend!

How many works do you have on ao3?

40!

What's your total ao3 word count?

169,903, which is a shock to me because it really doesn't feel like that much.

What fandoms do you write for?

previously teen wolf/sterek and hawaii five-0/mcdanno, currently taking my first stab at rwrb/firstprince

Top five fics by kudos:

(Waiting) Until the Sky Falls Down on Me (sterek)

Today and Every Day (sterek)

I'm Gonna Give All My Secrets Away (stanny)

Man, Interrupted (sterek)

it's my (pants) party and i'll cry if i want to (sterek)

Do you respond to comments?

i do my best! sometimes i'm terrible at it, but i try!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really do angsty endings! I'm a HEA kinda girl.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

probably either Today and Every Day or it's like taking a guess when the only answer is yes because they both end in proposals lol

Do you get hate on fics?

never hate, but i've had a comment here and there that wasn't necessarily appreciated

Do you write smut?

not really anymore. i got myself to do it because it felt like the only thing that got traction and maybe if that was good enough it'd be a gateway to the stuff i enjoyed writing (and, frankly, stuff i spent far more time on). and i don't think i'm particularly good at smut anyway lol. but if given the choice between smut or funny/introspective i'm gonna go with the latter every time.

Craziest crossover:

I haven't done a crossover!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

so idk who remembers this but a while ago there were people who would post people's fics to Goodreads and one of mine wound up there and those reviews hurt my feelings enough that i quit writing for a while after.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

not to my knowledge!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

haven't, but i think it could be fun with the right partner!

All time favorite ship?

this is an impossible question and i can't choose. i love them all equally, just for different reasons.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

good lord my person of interest post-canon fic. will anyone read it? very unlikely. is it the principle of the thing? yes.

What are your writing strengths?

i genuinely have no idea. i've never given it any real thought. i mean, the build of what i write is some form of introspection mixed with humor, so probably those things.

What are your writing weaknesses?

plot and world building. i'm useless at it, for the most part. and like i said above, i don't think i'm great at smut. it's passable at best.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

i love it. though i do miss the days when people regularly utilized that hover function that would show the translation if you left your mouse over the phrase for a few seconds. way better than having to scroll down to the notes for the translation.

First fandom you wrote in?

teen wolf. much simpler times.

Favorite fic you've written?

I don't have a single favorite so I'm gonna go with a few for different reasons

humor: Got Your Body On My Mind (I Want it Bad) - mcdanno & co get sent to a sexual harassment training seminar. chaos ensues.

character analysis: Written in the Scars on Our Hearts - steve mcgarrett and all the ways a person can be touched and the

most cathartic: & lift him back up again - working through my own grief by making a character sad

crack, my beloved: it's my (pants) party and i'll cry if i want to - every time stiles orgasms his dick sounds like a party horn. there's glitter come. i might have been hammered.

tagging @wellhalesbells @priincebutt + i feel like doing an open tag for anyone who wants to share what they love about their work!

[james-beaufort]

Scream 6 thoughts

I saw the movie last night and I have a lot of thoughts and I just wanted to get them out. There will be spoilers below the cut - read at your own risk

I really liked the opening and enjoyed the twist of unmasking the ghostface, only for that ghostface to be killed by the main ghostfaces of the film

Sam’s arc in the movie is a highlight and I liked her a lot more in this compared to Scream 5

Sam’s therapy session is hilarious - when she said “i stabbed him 22 times and slit his throat” the therapist’s reaction was hilarious

I found it unintentionally hilarious when Sam was looking at Billy’s robe in the glass case with her hand to the glass like she was ready to be possessed by his spirit of something 🙃

Gale dodging Sam’s punch only to be hit by Tara is a highlight

Some people might think that Gale still writing about the Woodsboro murders that happened is a regression in character but honestly it feels true to Gale imo

Like that they mentioned Sidney - honestly don’t mind her not being in these films because it means she got her happy ending which she deserves

Meta commentary was weak and they didn’t have much to say (“we’re in a franchise now” - mindy pls this is the sixth installment 😭)

Very glad to say Gale and Kirby survived - I thought for sure Gale was a goner and mentally prepared myself for it to happen

Liked that the kills are a bit more intense/violent compared to other films in the franchise

Certain scenes feel like they serve no purpose other than to mislead the audience and make little logical sense to me (e.g. Ethan helping Mindy off the subway - why not just let her die or finish her off? nobody on the subway even noticed her. It is just in there to throw suspicion off of him. Det. Bailey calling the FBI to ask about Kirby only exists to make his assertion that she snapped more believable to the viewer)

Seeing two ghostfaces kill together and do a simultaneous knife wipe was so cool

I had gotten the feeling from language used in interviews that there were three killers pretty early on before the film so wasn’t too shocked by that reveal

Detective Bailey and Quinn are the most obvious killers in the franchise in my opinion - faked death is always a big red flag in this franchise

I didn’t guess Ethan because honestly I forgot about him dsjflkajdlk

The super secret cameo that had been hyped up being Richie is super disappointing for me

The scene where Kirby and Mindy are geeking out over horror movies is cute (but do people REALLY like both Candyman movies equally... I for one don’t)

Gale scrolling the Stab reddit sent me for some reason

Gale’s first ghostface call... it’s been a long time coming and ghostface taunting her about dewey nearly killed me

Also is it just me or is it dumb how Gale shoots like 5 shots at the door?

I find it kinda amusing that this movie marketed this ghostface as ‘something different’ yet so many of his victims miraculously survive

In a way I’m happy that all the returning characters survived as I like them all, but it does make the stakes feel a lot lower (esp Chad, he was stabbed so many times smh)

This movie feels like the requel version of scream 2 but scream 2 is so much better

The killer family angle is kinda weak in my opinion and this was probably one of my least favourite killer reveals

You can really tell they’re Richie’s family cos they’re so lame

Chad and Tara are kinda cute

Danny had literally no role besides just standing around lmao

Love the nods to previous films with the shrines and the way that the killer’s masks were being left at the crimescenes

Sam killing in Billy’s ghostface robe was great

[skinnytuna]

(i'm anon who replied to your long post about audience validation and art)

thank you for your response, it's very interesting. it's actually kinda funny because I used to be a person who never, ever shared anything I did with other people (online or in person). I wouldn't talk about the media I enjoyed or showed the drawings I made. it always felt too intimate - I was only doing it for myself and so having other people's eyes on it wouldn't add anything to my enjoyment apart from shame from not liking or creating the 'perfect' thing. if I imagined what I would do in the future, it was only from the perspective of what I would actually create, rather than the validation it would give me.

and then my world view flipped, I guess as I became increasingly exposed to online validation. I still dont share anything I make but if I (indulgently) daydream about creating something, it is rarely purely the process of creation that I think about. I cant separate the stuff I do and the response I would get like I could as a kid. this is probably partly because of watching numbers rise online. but maybe it could also just be the sad reality of transitioning into adulthood? when you are young the stuff you make is never going to get you shit. but when you are older, you are expected to view the world with a transactional slant: whatever you give, you must get back in return.

idk how into fandoms you are but I love them because they are a way to remove that dependence on transaction (both monetary and inter-personal validation) we have. obviously, fandoms mostly exist in an online world and so some people are going to be more successful at creating than others (and some people might even manage to make a tiny amount of money) but mostly they are pretty equal. most artists (fic writers/fan artists) are only creating for the sake of creation. they like something, want to improve it or want to explore a world and so they create. some fanfic writers will never get past 100 kudos on a single work, but they still write thousands and thousands of more words. this is because, for them, writing is a hobby and a way to have fun. they are literally unable to monetise it, and the possible size of a response is often limited by the tiny size of a niche fandom.

fan fiction is wholly and unapologetically amateur. it can be a great quality, but writers have the freedom to create imperfect things and learn as they go. there are no critics, book sales or best seller lists - you can just make shit and put it out there if you want.

idk if any of that made sense but yeah

it's funny you say that about adulthood because there are so many like. 13 year old rappers now who are solely in it for the money or dont understand why they are doing it and their parents are encouraging them to do it for the money so like. childhood for us was very different to what childhood currently is, right now this year.

but i personally cant remember a time when i wasn't desperate for validation like when i was playing guitar when i was 8 or 10 i still had that "i hope im good enough i want to be good enough without trying" feeling it's just the people i wanted to impress were like, authority figures. i wanted my guitar teacher to think i was cool. i wanted my moms friends to think i was funny. i'm still afraid of doing anything i haven't already learned how to do, writing is the first New thing i've attempted in maybe my entire adulthood.

it's kind of funny, when i was younger i didn't realize how bad i was at writing music and that's the only reason i stuck to it long enough to learn anything. i was like laughably bad at it in high school and no one really went out of there way to grab me by the shoulders and say "hey! you suck at this! stop!" though a bunch of people did tell me it kinda sucked. i mostly just thought they were wrong. they weren't. but now part of me doesn't believe i could ever be any good at something that isn't that. like when i write fiction i know on a cognitive level if it ends up being good it's not because i worked hard or earned it or anything it's just a complete fluke. and i don't even really believe people when they tell me it's good. even though obviously i'm only posting it so people will tell me it's good.

in a way i feel like i'm sort of shifting back to the way i was in high school... every piece of art i make im like "this is the best shit ever" and then i post it and if people tell me it sucks im like "lol. incorrect. your tastes are Unrefined" and then i keep making more whatever crap whatever. which honestly is the best way to live i think. i have some people in my life who really like, respect and admire that i make whatever the fuck i want without ever really considering whether or not i should. which is funny because i have a lot of people in my life who are like, Normal artists, who Think before they make something, and try to make Good Things and i envy them greatly because it really comes through in the work.

though obviously as an evil bastard communist i am a strong believer that "Bad" Art Is Radical and "Good" Art is Bourgeois Idealism and i find myself constantly torn between, the allure of timesinks and iteration and the mystique of hyperprolific stream of consciousness artists and i feel like i'm the worst of both worlds by not being fully one way or the other! but i guess not everyone can be Lil B and not everyone can be Frank Ocean and some of us need to sit in between those two extremes...

look at all this me talking about how i never stop and think about the art while i'm stopping and thinking about the art... i'm an Olympic level liar rn.

i've never read a fanfiction in my life (outside of like.. homestuck smut when i was fifteen. which i guess Technically Counts.) but as the form is widely derided i'm sure it has the most artistic merit of any thing. i think a lot about what a world would be like where money and art are completely unrelated. and all art exists completely separate from how much dollars it can make a corporation. would being popular even matter? would people still seek fame... complicated questions. Way if we pees form butts