#the braincells are clashing

[null404ish]

Also I am so sorry for the lack of art it’s just not happening and I want to try and write stuff idk lol

[flwrcrxwnlyon]

"Comfort"

Shhh he's sleeping

(Sorry, I should've posted this for Sycamore Sunday, but I was late! I hope you enjoy this anyway)

[meistoshi]

@tapuhauko sent : "Hey. If you were to fight a deity, how would you go about it? Fistfight I mean."

no clarifying question is asked. not because satoshi knows what hau's talking about, but just ... because it feels like a perfectly normal question to start off a conversation. what's strange about this ??

❛ hmmm ... i guess it depends on their typing. majority of any punch & kick could count as a fighting type move, so probably not very good for any of the weather trio or the tapus, especially tapu lele, & i think lugia's a bad match for that too ; i'm pretty sure a whole bunch are partly psychic ... oh, & absolutely useless if you're talkin' about lunala, or hoopa. there are a few pokémon punches of normal typing, & dark typed attacks that are mostly just fighting dirty ; those could work for some ... ah, there's only so many physical attacks the average human can recreate. ❜ if he glosses over special attack capabilities, it's because he doesn't see them being relevant right now.

a tilt of his head as he thinks more. ❛ if you'd asked me a few years ago i'd have just said i'd go in swinging, but ... there's way too much to consider ; they're all so different !! did you have anything more specific in mind ?? ❜

[rcbertleckie]

what made me tag characters w their full name on an hbo war sideblog

[lostusagis]

( I find Takasugi and Kamui teaming up to be really funny imo if you think about what happens with them off screen. Okay, Takasugi saves Kamui from being executed, they're a team now since Takasugi thought 'Hey, this guy seems like he'd be a good asset to my plan maybe it'd be good to have him on my side'

Kamui proceeds to be the most insufferable person imaginable, empties out 80% of the food supply on a daily basis, and constantly causes problems on purpose.

Just when Takasugi thought he dumped one idiot, he ends up having to deal with another )

[seaworthee]

my toxic trait is thinking tyrion and cersei could be GREAT friends if cersei just got over herself

[burst-of-iridescent]

You constantly portray Katara (in your posts and in your "dissertation") like some damsel in distress who is in a codependent relationship and does not defend her opinion in front of her partner, to the point that she allows him to mistreat her children. But the basis of her character is that she will never tolerate any shit from anyone. She always defends her opinion, and she does not oppose Aang precisely because their values are basically the same with Aang. You cannot agree with this, because then you would either have to admit that Aang is not the terrible person you paint him, or that Katara is not the perfect girl you want her to be. That is why you are forced to humiliate her and completely rewrite her character, just not to admit that she is in an equal relationship with Aang and their values coincide.

In addition, such a "katara" makes even less sense for zutara, because if her character has a tendency to codependence on her partner and a willingness to tolerate shit from him, then their relationship with Zuko would not be healthy, since Zuko is prone to self-pity, selfishness and outbursts of anger even after his redemption and he does not show even a tenth of the maturity that Aang has by the end of the show (and even if you do not agree with this, I hope you understand that if there is a tendency to codependent relationships in a person's character, then this tendency is realized in any relationship, regardless of the partner. And any such relationship will be unhealthy).

well i lost braincells reading this so i expect reparations for that, but i'm in a nice, salty mood today so... sure anon, i'll bite.

She always defends her opinion, and she does not oppose Aang precisely because their values are basically the same with Aang.

you must really dislike katara, because saying that the only reason she never challenged aang is because she never disagreed with him, rather than that her idealization of him blinded her to his flaws is... so much worse. are you telling me she thought it was right for him to recklessly burn her? or yell at her in the desert and abandon her to take care of sokka and toph alone? or kiss her without her consent? or give their airbending child preferential treatment over their other two children?

because katara doesn't hold aang to account for any of the things on that (non-exhaustive) list, and if your explanation for that is that she agreed with him, then we both know who here is really bastardizing katara's character.

do katara and aang share certain core values? sure. they're both kind, compassionate and hopeful people. but saying that katara's morals are "basically the same" as aang's is objectively untrue when they clash in both the southern raiders and sozin's comet over their personal moral codes on the sanctity of life and whether taking one can ever be justified.

neither of these conflicts are ever truly resolved, even by the end of the show. katara and aang never come to any sort of understanding or middle ground, or even raise the subject ever again, despite it being clear that they don't share the same perspective. katara even explicitly rejects aang's creed of blanket forgiveness by stating that she did not forgive yon rha and never will. i don't know about you, but that feels like a pretty major difference of opinion to me.

additionally, the fact that these are the only two times in the entire show that katara actually pushes back against aang's beliefs and decisions - and stands firm on it - proves my point, because she's only able to do so when she has absolutely no other choice. it's only the trauma of her mother's murder and the literal fate of the entire world that forces katara to challenge aang rather than excuse and coddle him. and that is unhealthy both for aang and katara, because an equal partner should be able to call you out on your flaws and mistakes without first having to be backed into a corner to do it.

That is why you are forced to humiliate her and completely rewrite her character, just not to admit that she is in an equal relationship with Aang and their values coincide.

i really adore this recent trend in atla fandom of insisting that it's zutara shippers who are responsible for adultifying katara or humiliating katara or any and all problems that exist within katara's narrative as if we personally wrote the show instead of just... pointing out what already exists in canon.

i'm not the one who robbed katara of all agency in her relationship, or refused to give her arc equal narrative space with aang's, or turned her into a subservient trophy wife with no legacy or voice. you can go take that up with the creators.

believe me anon, i wish i could manipulate canon for my nasty zutara agenda, but alas you can't have everything in life.

Zuko is prone to self-pity, selfishness and outbursts of anger even after his redemption and he does not show even a tenth of the maturity that Aang has by the end of the show

zuko didn't throw a hissy fit because the girl he liked didn't like him back, pressure her for an answer, force a kiss on her, or be preachy and judgemental towards her during one of the most difficult times of her life - but hey, whatever floats your boat.

(thank you for providing no evidence, by the way. saved me a ton of time reading more batshit insane misinterpretations of canon, or lies, or both.)

In addition, such a "katara" makes even less sense for zutara, because if her character has a tendency to codependence on her partner and a willingness to tolerate shit from him, then their relationship with Zuko would not be healthy I hope you understand that if there is a tendency to codependent relationships in a person's character, then this tendency is realized in any relationship, regardless of the partner.

i'm genuinely bamboozled as to why you seem to think that i called katara codependent, because i didn't. i don't think katara and aang are codependent, and i have never once said that. but i understand that sending anonymous, bad-faith arguments is a difficult, underappreciated job, so let's take the hypothetical and assume i did to help you out.

fictional characters are not real people, and so it is possible for them to have different dynamics with different characters. that's why i can ship taang or zutara or mailee but not kat.aang or mai.ko. because each of these relationships are written to fulfil different narrative purposes, the characters involved are not doomed to repeat the same patterns of behaviour in each relationship as real people might be - and the difference between the zutara and kat.aang interactions in canon proves it.

[doyou000me]

I'm sorry, okay? This thought crowded the rest of my braincells into a corner and refused to let go, so I had to share.

We all know how abusive Qian and Lili's mother was. We've seen the way she kissed Qian, held him, touched him. It wouldn't surprise me if the love of a parental figure has been forever tarnished for Qian.

Now Qian, as the oldest brother, guardian and main provider for their little family, has that parental role - and Yuan has romantic feelings for him. Yuan wants to kiss him, hold him, touch him.

I wonder if we're going to see Qian struggle with this in the coming episode, his own experience with abusive parental love (if it can be called love at all) clashing with the feelings Yuan has for him.

Will Qian fear turning into his mother? Will he be terrified to touch Yuan in the wrong way? Will he expect to see the disgust and discomfort he felt as a child reflected back at him through Yuan's eyes?

Will Yuan, with time, be able to show him the difference and help Qian heal from the past?

Yeah, the things this series has me thinking about on my morning commute...

[dumbass-duo-showdown]

Propaganda for Zoro & Luffy

I could rant about them for actual hours but like it's so hard to put thoughts down. But literally an actual quote was someone telling Zoro that "you promised you wouldn't cause trouble" and Zoro replies, EXACT WORDS, "I had no choice because I ran into Luffy." There was also an exchange where Zoro was giving Luffy food and Luffy warns him it might be poison while eating it and Zoro is just like "huh, so that's why my stomach was hurting". They also both swung from vines once and BOTH decided to Tarzan yell. They agreed it was a requirement. Also, Luffy once said he didn't wanna be a hero because heros would share their meat and he wants all of it, and Zoro entirely separately says the SAME THING BUT WITH BOOZE INSTEAD. There are so many examples of them sharing a single braincell. More than I could ever list. But those are the examples I thought of off the top of my head.

On the surface, Zoro seems to have some common sense, and only follows Luffy’s dumb schemes out of respect. Then Nami joins and you realize that Zoro’s seriousness IS his dumbassedness. He and Luffy have one track minds for their own goals and wants, and while they may clash, they have a decent amount of respect for each other.

haven’t finished one piece yet but one example: zoro when stuck figured cutting off his feet would be a genius idea and luffy is luffy. there’s never any thoughts going on in that head

When I first started One Piece I thought Zoro was going to be the badass smart counterpart to the dumbass protagonist just like Vegeta or Sasuke. Turns out I couldn't be more wrong. Him and Luffy are besties and share one brain cell and even thou Zoro uses it most of the time it's still one.

They share one single braincell at the same time: after being seriously injured in a battle, one wakes up to drink sake the other to eat meat. One almost cut a Noble (which means being pursued til death by the most powerful marines), the other actually punches said Noble. One gest stuck between buildings, the other inside a chimney for absolutely unrelated reasons

Their solution to everything is to fight it. They never have a plan and just rush into everything. Somehow they are technically the leaders of the group as captain and first mate. They have both at some point attempt to cut or tear their legs or arms off to get out something. They used the same metaphor to explain why they aren’t a hero without hearing the other say it (a hero would share their meat/booze I want to keep it all to myself).

they said let us cut/punch a hole trough a giant tsunami and they did it <3 also one time they were suppossed to lay low, but well they both immediately started robbing and attacking a town and being recognized and labeled as criminals in a new country. they don't even share a braincell, whatever braincell they had before immediately leave as soon as they both are together, also King of the Pirates and World Greatest Swordsman dreamteam, also for lasagne thing not only would the house be gone, the city be burning and they are fleeing the police while also fighting the police

They're just soooo stupid. Zoro can't walk to steps without getting lost. So Luffy will yank him miles through the air to land on wood. Or stone. Or some other hard substance. Luffy would fight someone on accident for meat. And Zoro for booze. And they have no brain cells between them. Zoro new Luffy for approx. 3 seconds before he decided he would die for him. And Luffy heard about this big scary bounty hunter who was captured by marines and went. I need him on my crew. They're perfect for each other.

I dont where to begin. One of their latest feats though is them going into the enemy base, Meaning to sneak in, Luffy went in after another guy, Zoro after Luffy, luffy then Announced himself, started a fight bc ppl wasted food on purpose, ZORO hearing a commotion, SLICED THROUGH A BUILDING TO GET TO LUFFY AND THEN REPRIMANDED LUFFY FOR FORGETTING THE PLAN AND BEING UNABLE TO BE QUIET. THEN. T H E N LUFFY SAYS HE SPILT FOOD ON PURPOSE AND ZORO IS INSTANT LIKE oh ok. They gotta die. (Theres more to it but thats the gist. And thats not even. Much. They r just so stupid together <33)

they both get lost very easily, they will throw hands with anyone, very stupid but very understanding, were a 2 person pirate crew that sailed around on a rowboat, motivated entirely by fighting, meat, and sake, neither is particularly literate one time luffy got his hand stuck in a bottle and zoro tried to get it out by cutting his hand off, yes this happened in a canon episode

look, I have a tag for them that's literally #pair of idiots.

[ego-meliorem-esse]

Could you talk a bit about Matthew and Alfred relationship? Our boys need love too

The lads! The fellas! The absolute units!

Bear with me here I wanna give a little bit of a context and a personal explanation as to why I'm really fascinated with these two countries in general.

If there is one nationfolk relationship that comes as close to pure and friendly as it possibly can, it would be the Us-Can one. Of course, it has major problems and unavoidable disputes. But let me tell you, as a balkan, ex-yugoslav cretin, I cannot help but be intriqued with the way these two comunicate. They make fun of eachother sure, they have disputes and squables, sometimes outright clashes, but when there is crisis in the US for example, all I hear is Americans straight up saying "ok well time to move to Canada". It's fascinating to me! As a Croat who, after returning from Serbia from a 3 day trip, brought home souveniers (key chains mostly, with the Serbian flag) I was yelled at by my dad who afterwards didn't talk to me for a few days. All because I dared to bring this enemy countrys flag into our home. Now, I was born in 1999. I have no connection to the war 8 years prior. No excusable, personal vandetta. But still it' s very much acceptable to hate so strongly. And even if it wasn't 8 years that passed, but 80, there still would be a widely accepted resentment. But alas, I am not talking about people, cus frankly people are just people. Alliances and relations between countries are another thing. Imagine sharing a huge fucken border with another country and being friends. My euro brain is imploding. Uncomprehensible.

Now I do understand the US is often described as a bit of a phycho, and frankly Canada is an expert at dealing with the phycho. Kudos. Keep the yanks from whipping out their home protection assault rifles and unleashing hell fire is risky shit. Canada manages tho. What I'm really interested in is the USA's view of Canada. They aren't a threat. They aren't suspicious. They are a force to be reckoned with tho, but they are friends. If there is one ally the USA can rely on its the maple sucking french/anglo bastards up north. So much history in such a short time. Fascinating.

To relate this to the bros, I think these two understand eachother better than most. Matt is quiet, obsetvand and passive (mostly), while his unit of a brother is loud, idealistic and prone to thinking the world owes him time on the world stage. And it works. Matt is the one to talk to his brother in a way that gets Alfred to listen. H speaks Alfreds language and can communicate with him freely. I think that that is a skill and in the modern era, a privilage that not many have. Not many dare to tell Alfred to his face that he fucked up majorly, but Matt can. He knows he can. Alfred knows he can. So he does. Matt can pull his brother aside after an outburst, and for the lack of a better word, humble him.

Alfred respects his brothers oppinion more then other nations'. He went from seeing Matt as a weak, self-pitying and ambitionless dominion, to accepting his views, ideas and even asking his oppinion on certain matters. I like to draw a parallel here. Matt had to sacrifice everything and himself to have Arthur call him into the war room and ask Matthew for his oppinion. Alfred is not much different. It takes time for Matthews voice to be heard, but when the time comes, it's desperately needed.

Alfred tho, is and always will be Alfred. And if somthing else catches his attention, he will ignore the house on fire across the street. He is prone to isolation and ignoring his brother for extended periods of time, just sending him a tiktok every month or so. That being the only indication to Matt that his brother is alive. Alfred has so much shit going on and his 13 braincells have to spread evenly across to cover it all. His brother is a constant in his life, stable and therefore forgotten.

That being said, I don't think there is another person on Earth Alfred loves more than his brother. Showing it is not something he ever learned tho. He knows he cannot buy his way into showing his love for Matt, so with his lack skills of other forms of love expressions, he does nothing.

As for Matt, he checks up on Alfred as much as he can. His history and past have tought him to expect nothing form the people he loves. So he doesn't. He knows Alfred is his closest ally and best friend, but doesn't ask for anything Alfred himself isn't giving. He is a person who waits to be asked to hang out on Saturday instead of asking his friends himself.

So while almost all I talked about is sad and somewhat negative, I do think the bond and conversations these two share are one of the most honest and true expressions of brotherly love. And by god I usually don't use the world love when describing nation-folk relationships, but in this case there isn't a replacement.

sorry for the personal shit and Alfred slander, I love him.

[oneshotdepresso]

aaaaree youuu still doing the "give me a made up fic title" ask?

heres something to wiggle the braincells—

the term "double copula" has made my brainworms writhe ever since i found out what it is. i'd like to see how would a theoretical bojere fic with that title will go.

arrrrre youUUUU?

yes im still doing those!

just looked it up and oh, i didnt know there was a term for that phenomenon omg,,,, the more you know 🌠

while double copula seems to refer only to the double "is", ive noticed that english has a lot more examples of these awkwardly repetitive, but somehow grammatically correct or acceptable phrasings

is is, has had, that that.

i can see a fic titled "double copula" to be a lil introspective character study oneshot. probably bojan-centric bc he's the one who's more fluent in english and would more likely notice the phenomenon. but i could also see a jere-centric version— he's trying to improve his english skills and finds himself reading or hearing a double copula, and his curiosity spurs him to learn more abt it.

but let's go with bojan bc he's the overthinker here LMFAOOOO

anyways, the fic could start off with bojan reading a book during his rare free time. his eyes pass over a sentence with double-is. he looks it up, discovers the term "double copula", and his mind starts to wonder. he and jere are two peas in the same pod. "we have the same dreams, the same goals... we love together."

they're very similar to each other despite their surface appearances. contrary to the belief that opposites attract, bojan and jere gravitate to each other like magnets. that's when bojan starts to compare them to double-is

is is.

bojan and jere.

the thing is, a double copula is generally considered to be grammatically incorrect. or at least, an editor might advice u that there's a better way to word things. this is the point where bojan begins to spiral. at the same time, he and jere exchange messages, feelings obviously brewing between them. he notes how much they match, how perfectly they'd twine with each other. but the double copula continues to haunt him: the long distance, their clashing schedules.

fast forward to bojan visiting jere in finland. tension rising between them. neither can help it, they keep coming back to each other, attaching themselves to each other's hip. it culminates into a confession and some sloppy making out.

jere blabbers on in his crappy english and bojan comes to the conclusion that grammar is fucking stupid.

who gives a shit abt whether something is "wrong" or if their love seems like an impossible task?

that shouldn't stop them from trying.

back home, he scrolls through his phone while lying in bed. he suddenly realizes two things:

the usage of "is is" can be valid in a pseudo-cleft sentence, and;

what true love is, is whatever the two of them have.

[peridot-tears]

Thoughts on what if Shao Jun met every assassin protagonist?

Between her and Altaïr, it would be complete and utter respect. Until he does something stupid, like stare at the Apple way too long. She'd be sneaky and snatch it away from him.

Edward. Edward. *sigh* She has a chaotic streak, but she'd also think he's too much. She'd run off with Kidd and Anne Bonny instead. Adéwalé would watch her go off like, "Ah, finally, a working braincell."

I wrote a modern AU headcanon where she and Ratohnhaké:ton train in shengbiao in Beijing together, go to the Beijing Zoo, and spend a long time at the panda exhibition because who wouldn't. During Ratohnhaké:ton's storyline, though, she would spend time at the Homestead with him and Achilles and train him as well. I think they'd bond over their shared desire for revenge. She would eventually think of revenge as self-destructive and try to dissuade him, but be proud of him regardless when he gets it. She doesn't approve, but she understands.

Kassandra is such a himbo, she'd follow her along like, "Yes Kassandra," "whatever you say, Kassandra," because they share a love of the high seas and compassion for the people around them. Shao Jun would be very fond of her. Depending on how old they are when they meet, they'd probably sleep with each other.

Nothing but respect for Bayek, oh my God. She'd be like a niece to him and Aya. Although, I think she would clash with Aya a lot during the game's storyline. Not because their personalities clash, per se, but because Aya is so cold and driven by a singleminded focus that they would miscommunicate like hell.

Her dynamic with Jacob and Evie would be: Jacob: Idiot who runs headlong into bullshit Evie and Shao Jun: Idiot who pretends they're too good for it but is secretly just as bad. Jayadeep: The only sane one who gets dragged along on their mishaps.

She would be so mean to Arno. It would be completely out of concern for him, especially when he gets drunk at Versailles, but dear God, she only has so much patience before it runs thin. It'd be like "get off your ass and drink this jug of water, we're going Templar hunting."

Same with Shay. At the beginning, she'd lend an ear to him, unlike Hope and Achilles. At the end, though, she'd be the one throttling him from behind like, "You killed your best friend?????"

[fluffydice]

I'm bored so I'm bothering you. Do you have any Saiki K psykickers headcannons you feel like sharing? It's ok if not 🥰

What have you done,,,

I don't have any specific headcanons, but I can talk a bit about their dynamics because I've thought (and written) about it more (and we'll inevitably get headcanons mixed in!)

The Pyskickers are interesting characters all on their own, but when you put them together, you get a mess that really shouldn't work as well as it does. Which is. The same for most ND friend groups asdfghjkl

A big thing that's important to me about them is that they have to be able to work without Saiki. Maybe not be functional, competent humans—especially because, like all of Saiki's friends, the more they group up the more braincells they lose—but they need to work as a friend group. Saiki, unlike with his other friend group, doesn't always feel the need to babysit the Psykickers. Toritsuka, maybe, but he's in a weird spot since he joined so early. Saiki and him were the only ones for a while, so he's kinda an in-between. But for the most part, Aiura and Akechi are usually actively helping Saiki with something. Toritsuka, too, even if 7/10 he's being threatened and/or bribed, 2/10 he's trying to help but failing—him succeeding that 1/10 already puts him in a separate category than most of Saiki's friends.

I went on a tangent there; point being, Saiki isn't constantly mother-henning and helicopter-ing them. Ergo, Saiki can't be the only reason they stick together. I don't want Saiki to be the only reason they stick together in my writing, mainly because I do like reinforcing the fact that not everything is about him—even if it's subtle. Things happen around him that Saiki is not always privy to, and this includes his fellow and honorary psychics' dynamics.

Akechi and Aiura are easy for me. Funnily enough, despite likely having the best relationship, even including Saiki, I have little to say about them. It's likely because they lack a lot of the complexity the others have: they're just really fucking cool with each other, and get along swimmingly. Honestly, when I write them, it's often with at least a hint of a romantic undertone. They're comfortable with each other physically and emotionally. Akechi trusts Aiura's judgement on when he should keep it short out of necessity, not because he's being annoying. Aiura thinks Akechi is wicked as hell, and also trusts his value judgements on people and situations.

From a literary standpoint, Aiura as a character tends to get in over her head and overly emotionally-invested in things—Akechi can provide a good counterbalance to ensure things can remain on track in the story, as well as help avoid any potential mini-conflicts that might arise from characters clashing due to simple communication incompatibility.

Speaking of communication incompatibility, Toritsuka and Aiura are full of it. Despite them seemingly being the most similar on the surface-level, their motivations, intentions, and moralities conflict. A lot. Take this scene I wrote of them, for example:

“Of course they were mad! You can’t just act like you don’t have emotions whenever you feel like it. Or, if you do, you can’t get depressed when they start treating you like it.” “If you don’t shut up,” Aiura hissed, grabbing a fistful of his sleeve. Toritsuka yanked his arm away to no avail, then settled for glaring at her. “I’m gonna—"

Here, we have Toritsuka actually making a good point about something; it's his wording that muddles it up. Aiura is quick to defend against him because she's protective of her loved ones, and is also aware that their beliefs differ sharply. Neither are quite in the wrong here; or, neither of them are any more right than the other. Aiura is right to assume the worst because that's typically what Toritsuka shows. Toritsuka is right to point things out about the situation. These are the mini-conflicts that Akechi smooths over by being essentially a bridge between their ways of communicating:

“Wait, Mikoto,” Akechi piped up. His fingers were in front of his mouth, his thumb cupping his chin, in a classic sign of thinking. “The wording was harsh, admittedly, but Reita is, in fact, not wrong.”

At the end of the day, though, they are friends. Aiura might be a tiny bit more willing to admit it, but both her and Toritsuka do care about each other. When they work together, big things happen. They just need a bit of oil to help smooth things along between them. Most of their dynamic, however, comes from their utility in stores:

From a literary standpoint, Toritsuka helps balance out Aiura's optimism to a reasonable point. Saiki's cynicism is often a big contributor to conflicts in my stories—he's unreliable, both in dialogue and in narration. Toritsuka is a milder version of that cynicism (albeit rough around the edges). Aiura can't always be right about the way of things, but Akechi is too prone to taking the middle ground; essentially, pointing out all the benefits to her way of thinking while also providing the downsides. Sometimes, though, it's necessary to just have someone completely shut it down, and fast. That's where Toritsuka comes in.

Also, Toritsuka and Aiura often act as the representation of the doubts and hopes of Saiki, respectively. They're essentially foils to each other, which is helpful when your main character is a hot-and-cold tempered little bitch. A sort of good-cop bad-cop for him, if you will. By having them verbally duke it out, it helps guide the reader a bit about what's true about Saiki's view and what's distorted by his way of thinking. Chances are, if they manage to agree, it's a lesson he's going to have to learn.

And finally, Akechi and Toritsuka. Though they're comfortable with each other to an extent, they lack the romantic undertones I put in for Akechi and Aiura. Akechi makes Toritsuka uncomfortable: it's hard to argue with him, for one, and he often calls out Toritsuka in a way that's hard to hide from. Akechi is the most successfully mentor-like to Toritsuka out of the rest of them—Aiura is too automatically competitive and Saiki can smother. There's also the fact that Toritsuka can sometimes trigger his trauma in certain ways, so Saiki tends to lash out. Akechi, however, is patient and steady. Anything Toritsuka says rolls off of him like water. Akechi is hard to catch off guard with words or actions, and deep down, Toritsuka really does need stability and an unwavering personality to help him grow as a person. I think Toritsuka is fascinating to Akechi as well, as I don't think Akechi is a naturally sexual being. He's not averse, but the kind of brain-rotted attraction and horniness that Toritsuka often exhibits can teach Akechi a lot about other people. The biggest thing that Toritsuka offers Akechi is a better understanding of other people. His down-to-earth nature can help Akechi connect his practical knowledge about psychoanalysis and anthropology to actual people.

From a literary standpoint, Akechi acts as a milder reign for Toritsuka. Aiura may be right to disagree with him, but sometimes a defter explanation is needed than Aiura's often emotion-driven responses. This is where Akechi comes in, especially because Toritsuka's language and laziness can make it seem as though he's not to be trusted as a rational view. He is, and Akechi helps uncover that.

Also, Toritsuka can sometimes act as the audiences natural reaction to Akechi's tangents. Akechi obviously likes to ramble, but Aiura won't interrupt him and Saiki won't confront people. Toritsuka cuts through a lot of that easily and naturally, which helps keep them both in character while still allowing the story to move on.

Overall, it's kind of easy to see what utility I get out of these characters. Akechi is an intermediary who bridges gaps of understanding, both between characters and the audience and the happenings of the story. Aiura is the outgoing one, the one to get things started. She provides a force against Saiki's heavily biased world-view and acts as a moral compass for her group. Toritsuka helps cut through a lot of bullshit and acts as healthy dosage of reality these personalities need to keep their heads on straight.

Plus, I think they're in an unofficial QPR. So.

[snuffink]

I doubt I'll ever actually make a MCD rewrite, gods know my fixation will die down long before I'd get anything on paper or even finish rewatching the whole thing, but it's still fun to share what ideas I have come up with, so here we are!

In a hypothetical rewrite, I would change a bunch of dynamics. If I were to write mcd, a large portion of season 1 would be relationship focused. And I DON'T mean romantic necessarily, I mean building relationships, fleshing out the town, making the audience really get to know the characters and how they interact with each other.

My biggest focus is on Aph's closest friends, so here are my current ideas and hcs!

(Note here: I mention aroace dynamics, I am aware that it's a spectrum, I myself am on the spectrum, I just haven't decided how it would work with Aph herself so it's vague.)

Garroth:

Still in love with Aph

Laurance is his best friend, depends on him when he can't depend on Aph

Views Dante as a younger brother or son

Much less jealous and possessive over Aph, accepts that she may never feel the same, though is causes him heartache.

Has a habit of "adopting" people, most likely due to his past and feeling like a failure to his younger brothers. (Zenix, Dante, Levin, Brian etc)

His closest friends are Aph, Laurance and Dante. Unlikely friendship with Dale and Logan along with Cadenza

Laurance:

Likes Aph, though mostly mistakes his loyalty and fondness and genuine friendship for love. Aph is just as important to him as she is in the series, it's just not romantic love

So much less pushy. So so much less pushy.

They play flirt with Aph, as they do in the series. (Example, the table scene in s1)

Puts his feelings for her aside whenever needed. She needs a guard? He's there. She needs a friend? She's there. She needs to gossip? Girl, what'd they do this time?

Tries to gently push Garroth to do something, anything about his feelings. The pushing turns less gentle after the SK business though it's not his fault

Father/Big brother figure to Malachi.

He's closest with Aph and Garroth and Cadenza, very close with Dante as well, though they don't know each other as deeply as the others do.

Probably friends with Katelyn and Nicole as well, they spar together from time to time.

Gossips with Lucinda from time to time, they shit talk over tea

Yip probably really likes him

Dante:

Sibling like relationship with Aph

Ridiculously loyal to her

Definitely closest to her than anyone else

Had a super good relationship with Nicole, would have stayed together had their interest not clashed.

Dante would have wanted to stay in touch but Nicole needed time to herself

Started getting close to Nana after their split

Loves children, father/big brother to Malachi and Levin

An absolute goof, loses braincells with Laurance, Garroth and Aph. (All of them are super capable by themselves, absolute dumbasses together)

Aph:

Not romantically interested in any of them (I haven't decided if she's on the aroace spectrum or just not interested in men, but I just don't imagine her liking any of the guys)

Views Dante as a brother, Laurance as her best friend and Garroth as a close friend

Has always kind of felt like there was a wall between her and Garroth, couldn't explain it

Genuinely unaware of Garroth's infatuation until the ending events of s1 or then the dreams of s2

Confused over Laurance and others teasing Garroth

Made an effort to get to know Emmalyn after their bad blood died down, recognising her own issues with boundaries and respecting people's space

Unlikely friends with Emmalyn, though it gets tainted a lil after the Irene discovery

(In case not aroace: Zoey is her wife, though this could also be interpreted as platonic. In any case, they are wives and share a friendship that could only be seen as soulmates.)

Considers Laurance and Zoey her platonic soulmates, feels as though the two understand her better than anyone could or would.

Bonds with Aaron particularly well, though they have no romantic involvement.

Aaron:

Not in love with Aph

Sees his late wife in Aph along with his son in Levin and Malachi, and they end up helping him heal over time.

Forms a special type of bond with Aph, and finds himself able to rely on her much more than anyone else

Begins bonding with the others first over their shared hatred of Zane

Due to his time as a lone wolf, he struggles greatly with talking to people for a while

'Fast' friends with Dante, the two bond over the loss of their villages and family.

Surprising friends with Logan, along with Brendon and Emmalyn.

Becomes a father figure of sorts to Dante, Levin, Malachi and other youngins in the town.

Enjoys sparring with people, but begins first doing it out of necessity to be stronger, though it overtime becomes something he truly enjoys

Soft spot for kids

Ferociously protective of Aph due to their close relationship and her resemblance to his wife.

Ends up finding peace in Phoenix Drop, willing to do anything to protect it

Helps Levin figure out lord stuff with Aph.

[lovecanbesostrange]

ouattober2023 Day 6: Fav Rarepair

Red Warrior (aka Mulan Rouge, fandom, it was right there, come on)

The gif speaks for itself already, Do I need to say more? No. Will I? Absolutely.

Back in S2 I was very happy. I had Sleeping Warrior to ship and also Red Beauty. Two good ships. But over the years there was the question "what if Mulan and Ruby ever met?". It seemed like a fun constellation. The honorable warrior, serious, focused, happily doing her duty. And the werewolf waitress who effortlessly talks to people, who can be mean if need be (and the full moon is out). Imagine Ruby showing Mulan around Storybrooke. She'd have her start her own gym so fast. (After being teased for so long, somebody should have taken Mulan to Storybrooke and let her watch a film already.)

I watched S5 spoiler free. No promos. It's fun. But there is always the guest cast list and seeing the names Jamie Chung and Meghan Ory when The Bear King started? EXCITEMENT! I was then mesmerized by the Mulan&Merida scenes, I almost forgot I was waiting to see Ruby again. And oh boy, THE WOLF! Once again foiled with magic, but that was okay. When Mulan arrives at the Witch's Hut next? A different kind of magic happening indeed...

Meet Cute noun; (in a film or television programme) an amusing or charming first encounter between two characters that leads to the development of a romantic relationship between them.

Yep, I'd say Mulan almost getting attacked saying "you're not a wolf" with a big smile "you just need a little help remembering who you are", then splashing that potion to reveal Ruby, now sorta sitting above her? Perfect meet cute you can talk about for ages. It calls back a pivotal point from Mulan's past and we get to see a mostly decent CGI wolf (in broad daylight). Especially because we know that Red has killed people before and it's so unclear how much control she has, what exactly the Witch has done to her, ending it with her all smiling as well, is great. Of course I have to cry about "My name's Ruby. My friends call me Red." (Sorry, Mulan should have called her Red later on, to hammer that home.)

Mulan has hearteyes from the get-go, Ruby sits there panting. Frame this and put it in a museum. A clashing meeting that is definitely cute. I mean, there's a sword and fur involved.

It's funny how Mulan forgets to even introduce herself and Ruby has to ask her name later on (because suddenly it's night, how long did they sit like that?). And for somebody who likes to overanalyze it's hilarious how they do manage that Mulan mentions Aurora - with the sad music swelling in the background, to remind us all how their last meeting went - and then we cut to Ruby saying goodbye to Snow. In my mind a good reason this pairing works is, that they can get drunk together and lament how terribly in love they both once were with a princess. It's a fun thing to bond over.

Mulan is clearly the rare holder of the braincell, she also brings in a lot of training, so a good fighting form. Ruby is the muscle, but especially for the EF she has a special kind of wit thanks to the curse!persona. The Bear King allowed us to see a darker side of Mulan, hitting rock bottom, being selfish and looking for a fight.So Ruby is a great person to have her enjoy life and find a balance between duty and fun. This is kinda the promise at the end of the ep, finding a path for Mulan, while Ruby searches werewolves.

Obligatory Doylian rant: Red Warrior was the plan. Whatever you wanna say about the writers, they knew this episode was a romantic set-up. There was a cryptic tweet, some drama and so it's all speculative, but I have made my peace that this came down to studio interference. The live action Mulan film was in the works already, it was coming, Mulan is an official big Disney princess and even though everybody with a bit of media literacy understood that Mulan was very much in love with Aurora, there was this plausible deniability and she wasn't like... that gay. Oh no. And this is why Dorothy got squeezed in, Mulan left with nothing. Clearly not what was promised to Jamie Chung. I have no proof, but it is the best explanation how we went from The Bear King to Ruby Slippers (zero hate for that episode or the Red Kansas ship!!).

I want to know what kind of adventures they had together. How did they go about this search? Any rumors about wolves? The maddening thing is how they managed to end up in Oz at all. I know there's a mysterious BTS pic for the ep. But nevermind, what we do get in the beginning is a duo with a routine, complete with a badass back-to-back protective stance. I always pictured them together in Storybrooke, Ruby showing Mulan around. But I guess what I needed was them out in the woods alone, traveling realms and kicking ass (I'm a simple girl, with simple needs).

Two wonderful interactions at the end of TBK are when the Witch arrives at the coronation. Ruby is ready to go on the offense, but Mulan holds her back. Just a few frames, but it's perfect. And then there's their little banter Ruby: "I might not be the best person to ask for dating advice. I kind of ate the only boyfriend I've ever had." Mulan: "Yes, that disqualifies you." [...] Ruby: "It's better than wallowing in self-pity." Mulan: "I don't wallow!"

THEY ARE ALREADY PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER! Endless teasing and running head first into enemies (don't worry, Mulan has a plan; Ruby dramatically takes off her cloak... sometimes even when there is no wolf moon, just to distract enemies).

[sorcerous-caress]

I’m a lesbian (tho gender is a bit Complicated so idk if I should call myself that) but I do love the idea of Minthara x male drow reader because the Forgotten Realms wiki describes a “functional” romantic relationship between a female and male drow as “a spoiled brat and her well trained, obedient dog” and this is fiction so 😌

Also the idea of him leaving the Underdark with practically an army at his back to find her, he’s scary and ruthless and commanding, but the second he finds her he’s just like “yes ma’am, whatever you need ma’am”

Anon we should trade braincells because this idea is fucking gold.

Drow Male Reader, who was just for her during her days in the underdark. Like any other servant Male in the Baerne house, battle runs through his blood, he was shaped by war.

Who Minthara claimed you as her prize from her first ever successful surface raid. Her red eyes landed on your figure between all of the other males and announcing to the matron of the house that she wanted ownership over you.

She was ruthless, never allowing you to show even a hint of weakness. Breaking and reforging you into the strong capable warrior that you are today. You were hers fully in body and mind, even after a full day of brutal training, she'd still expects you to be laying ready for her on her bed each night.

You've known her body more than she has, given her pleasure more than she thought was possible. You've made it your sole purpose to memorise and trace every curve and mole on her painting of a body.

Part of the reason she kept around for so long was because she could see clearly how determined and willing you were to serve her. While other princess switched males every other month like toys, Minthara has always made it clear that you were off limit. That you belonged to her.

You've never betrayed her, even with the pathetic attempt of the uprising happened you still stood by her side. Watching the other males be cursed into driders without even a hint of sympathy for them, to you they deserved a worse fate for even thinking they could lay a finger on your mistress.

So imagine when in one of her raids, a one she refused to take you on, saying how it would be a matter of a couple days at most before her return, she never comes back.

You're restless, barely even acknowledging your own statues as you march into the matron hall and voice your concerns for Minthara. Ready for whatever punishment your disrespect will ensure if it meant you get your lover back.

Somehow, through various methods of blackmail, backstabbing and even begging or seducing, you accumulate a big enough army to march it into moonrise towers. Having sniffed information from some half-orcs your intel kidnapped and tortured.

Not even the shadowcurse deters you from moving forward, even when half of your army dies or flees in cowardness.

Fate has it that you manage to infiltrate the tower and be at the perfect spot to be able to view her argument with Ketheric. That fucking male faerie who dared to sit down on a throne whole your Mistress stood. That sorry excuse of a walking corpse that dared to threaten her life and make her argue for it.

Immediately after it ends, you signal for your remaining army to march into the tower. Hundreds of drow warriors emerging from the Shadows as they clash with the absolute followers.

You don't care for them or their lives, your main objective is to get to your Mistress and get her to safety.

In the aftermath, when it ends, when it's just the two of you in a far away camp safe from the shadowcurse. You kneel against her legs as you offer your apologies for taking so long, she pats your head, spreading her legs to make space for you.

And like any loyal dog you immediately obey and sit on the floor between them, your head on her thigh as she holds your face with her hand.

An unspoken trust between the two of you.