#thinking about that post i reblogged earlier about the best ship dynamic being 'i love you so much it's terrifying - a love so profound so

[freckleslikestars]

You and your timing.

FARSCAPE | 4.22 Bad Timing

[prumanoenjoyer]

Doing this thing because I got blorbos on my mind

A - Current OTPs/OT3s etc.

It may not come as a surprise but I am absolutely rotting on PruMano at all times and have been doing so for basically a year now. It's beginning to melt into my personality and nothing can be done about it. Whenever I'm released from the iron grip of PruMano rotting I enjoy GerIta and FrUk like the normie that I am. The BTT are definitely getting together for threesomes when they're all single and I like them as well.

B - Pairing I initially didn't consider

This might shock you after reading the first bit but. PruMano. See I'm not new to this circus, I first watched Hetalia in 2015 but focused mostly on the Nordic 5 with SuFin and DenNor. This was before PruAus 9/11 (Hima suddenly announcing they're cousins) so I think I was on the PruAus rot.

Other than that I got a friend who I dragged into this hellhole (you know who you are) who has infected me with Frain and TurFra. I have some Thoughts about TurPru but uhh. let's leave that for now.

C - Ships I never liked and never will like

All the ones where there is an unbalanced power dynamic (age gaps, having interacted when one was a child and the other way older etc, former colonies and oppressive states, having a relationship that implies being related etc). I am a seasoned hater of these and I do my best to block anyone who as much as reblogs it. I do not care if it's "just fiction" you guys are weird and not in a good way xoxo

D - Ships I just can't get myself to like

Due to the aforementioned PruMano rot I just don't feel seriously interested in any other pairings I fear. Nothing against PruCan or LietPru for example, I am just so rotted on PruMano that it doesn't make me feel anything lol

E - My crack contributions

I may just be the only person who has even considered TurPru and I have done it in the most unbearable fujoshi way possible </3

Other than that I'm helping out with spreading unrequited GerFra, Frain and TurFra which I do also enjoy on the side.

F - Longest I've been in a fandom

I wanna say this one?? Not actively so, I jumped ship to other things such as Love Live and JJBA in early 2019ish (Love Live even earlier in 2017), but even during my longer breaks from Hetalia I've always ended up rewatching it at some point or posting about it.

G - First OTP

For Hetalia it's definitely been GerIta from day one. Do I even need to say anything? To me they're canon.

H - Favorite way of consuming fandom stuff

It's mostly anime series and TV shows I'd say, I do sometimes read but am a bit too busy to properly sit down and do so.

I - Has Tumblr made me dislike fandoms

I think it would take less time to list the fandoms Tumblr HASN'T made me dislike tbh. I try to keep a tight knit circle for my own sanity and rarely interact with the fandom part of stuff apart from my own and my friend's contributions. Highly recommended btw.

J - Fandoms I didn't notice until Tumblr

To be honest I'm not really browsing Tumblr at all. I like to upload here because the image quality is way better than on Instagram. I suppose I highly associate some fandoms with this site (Undertale for example)?

K - Say something nice about someone

You should all go like and subscribe to fruktual on Instagram for more FrUk and Frainposting

L - Say something nice about a mid character

Lithuania I'm sure you are way more interesting than I give you credit for and I care about you the most out of the Baltic Trio (which I honestly forget exists at times)

M - Something nice about a ship I don't like

I'd honestly rather pull a tooth out than say a single word of praise for things such as UsUk or Spamano 🤢🤢🤢🤢 And that's on periodt!

N - Things I wish to see more of in the fandom

More PruMano please please please please please pl

O - Song that reminds me of a ship

Til There Was You by The Beatles makes me think of GerIta, as well as Kingdom Come by Red Velvet

As for PruMano it would be Tales Of Great Ulysses by Cream because I had that on repeat writing my Ancient Rome PruMano AU lol

P - New AU

I'm working on/will be working on a Frankenstein PruMano AU where Gilbert is a much more empathic Victor Frankenstein and Lovino is too traumatized from dying and being resurrected to be out killing people. Look forward to that...

Q - Ship I've abandoned and why

PruAus because Hima came in with a warhammer and bludgeoned it to the cousinzone R.I.P </3

R - Pairing I think no one else ships

Again with TurPru, I seriously wonder whether it's been considered at all. Most likely not.

S - Personal headcanon

Okay more or less true I guess if you bother to read the source material but Gilbert is just a silly loser guy. Like, he's a total himbo. I love him and need to gnaw on him.

T - Headcanons I'll die defending

That Gilbert and Lovino who share a passion for chivalry and knights would definitely go visit museums and LARPing events such as medieval weeks and whatnot. Just warms my cold little heart <3

U - 5 faves from 5 different fandoms

Oh boy. Forgive me for what I'm about to share.

(Hetalia) Gilbert Beilschmidt

(JJBA) Dio Brando

(Madoka) Kyouko Sakura

(Love Live) Yoshiko Tsushima

(Gakkou Gurashi or School Live) Kurumi Ebisuzawa

V - 3 OTPs from different fandoms

(Hetalia) PruMano (shocker, I know)

(Madoka) HomuMado

(Love Live) YohaRiko

W - 5 ships ft 5 kinks for said ship

So obviously gonna skip over the ones featuring minors.

PruMano - Verbal degradation, sadism, masochism, somewhat fear aspect, leaving marks

I do also just think they love each other and have normal sex and that's fine too, but I did write a fanfic where the abovementioned happens

X - My top 5 babygirls

1. Gilbert, I bully him a lot but don't you ever seriously say something mean about him because I will be so sad </3

2. Lovino, he's a flawed man and some of you are MEAN to him for having it rough

3. Rome, some people who haven't read source material claim there's some favoritism going on, he does visit Lovino as well okay? The allegations are canonically false!

4. Ludwig, I think most of us agree he's a good person but for the rare few who claim he's "verbally abusive". Go outside and touch grass no he isn't. GerIta has always been them antagonizing one another, the battlefield is even or perhaps even in Feliciano's favor. Ludwig will never be able to escape the nightmare and I don't think Feli wants him to. They're bound together forever and love it.

5. Roderich, gets slack for various Chibitalia related things, does not deserve it at all, it's all whining and he and Feli are on good terms in modern times. Relax.

Y - Fandoms in-law

My current close friends are into Baldurs Gate 3, Watch Dogs, Dishonored, Evillous Chronicles (Vocaloid), Utena and more. But these are the primary blorbo shows in-law.

Z - Rambling time

Okay if you've gotten this far down I admire your attention span lol thanks. I don't really have all that much to say that is concrete and comprehensible but I am thinking of PruMano and of warm days by the Mediterranean Sea and skies later lit in vivid shades of red and orange as the hot sun sets and the cities come to life. I am also thinking about them cuddling, which I do quite a lot.

Anyway that was all for me bye

[acacia-may]

Hiya there Acacia~! Saw the Hallmark Movie AU post thing and like I said earlier, it looks like fun and seems like it'd be pretty funny. I don't really watch Hallmark but I hear that their movies are pretty goofy and I often get a chuckle listening to or reading commentary about them. Anyways...

So for the “If it was a Hallmark movie” game that you're doing, do you think you'd be willing to give it a try with Morgen x Josele? 👉👈 I'd love to see you interpret/play with my ship.

If you're not so sure about Morgsele though, how about a Hallmark Movie AU for Mitsuri x Obanai? 💖

Hi Erika! Thank you so much for the ask and for reblogging my game! I really appreciate it. 😊 I was really happy to see your tags that it looked fun and hilarious since that's definitely what was I was going for when I made it up. I hope you enjoy it! 🥰

I'm not a big fan of Hallmark Movies myself, honestly. I usually don't enjoy romance too much just as a general rule, and I especially find Hallmark-Style Rom Coms to be too soppy, goofy, and/or predictable. That said, I can appreciate that they are usually feel good and wholesome, but that's generally not enough to make it through the whole film without chuckling to myself at how unrealistic it is. My mom and sister, however, absolutely love Hallmark Movies and have whole marathons of them, but I have a reputation for being the cynical family member who watches 2 minutes of the movie and predicts the whole plot... (They don't really let me watch with them anymore unless I promise to be quiet 😅😂).

That said, there have been Hallmark Movies I have genuinely enjoyed but those generally break the mold of the usual tropes. My favorite Hallmark Movie, for instance, is called Christmas With Holly, and it's the story of three brothers who try their best to raise their niece (Holly) and put together a perfect holiday season (Thanksgiving & Christmas specifically) for her after the untimely death of their sister/Holly's mother. It's heartfelt and hilarious in a good/intentional way because these are three single guys who know absolutely nothing about cooking a thanksgiving feast or raising a 6-year-old little girl. 😂 I try to catch that one every year because it's so wholesome and I love the characters and the focus on family relationships rather than the usual romance (the romance really takes a backseat to the brothers sibling relationship with each other and their familial relationship with their niece), but the usual run-of-the-mill Hallmark Rom Coms generally aren't my cup of tea even if I've seen a lot of them thanks to my family...and that's kind of how the game came to be created. 😊

I would love to make up a Hallmark Movie for Morgen x Josele for you! It's very flattering that you'd trust me with your OC, and I hope I've done an okay job. (I know what I've come up with is a little goofy even for a Hallmark movie 😂). I really like Josele, and her and Morgen's relationship is really sweet and adorable--perfect for a Hallmark Movie, I think (A/N: though just between us, I think I prefer her dynamic with Nacht...🤫 That's just a personal preference though. Both ships are great, but I'll admit I imagine them as very separate things in my mind since I don't like love shapes--it's kind of similar to how I think of Finral x Finesse and Langris x Finesse as totally separate things even if they're (arguably?) all kind of connected in the canon, if that makes sense?) Anyway, without further ado, here is a Hallmark Movie AU for Morgen x Josele. I really hope you like it. I'm going to take you up on your offer to do an ObaMitsu one as well, but I'll make that it's own post (and tag you) since this one is kind of long. Also Morgen and Josele deserve their own post, in my opinion. They're great! (Hopefully I'm not totally off the mark with them here 😅). Thanks for the ask! 🥰

Morgsele If It Was A Hallmark Movie...

The Perfect Man: Josele is a somewhat cynical (for a Hallmark movie) journalist who works for the city newspaper, but she is still waiting for her big break as a reporter. She mostly reports on feel good stories and puff pieces like grannies who knit sweaters for cats, bakers who make dog treats for animal shelters, and schools that have toy drives for orphans. While this is all nice and good, Josele can't shake the somewhat cynical (for a Hallmark Movie) notion that most of the time things that seem too good to be true usually are, and she wants the opportunity to do some real journalism work.

She is assigned to write a story about a local doctor, Morgen, who saved an elderly man from getting run over by a vegetable cart during the harvest festival, and quickly learns that he is by all accounts "the perfect man." He helps pediatric burn victims, raises money for the local orphanage, offers to work pro bono for sick children in need, volunteers at a soup kitchen to provide food for the homeless, gives yarn to the grannies who knit the cat sweaters ect. ect. Josele finds it hard to believe that there isn't something wrong with him and mentions this at work where she is then tasked with discovering his dark side and/or deep dark secret and revealing it in an exposé piece for the newspaper. At first, she is sure that he's hiding something and couldn't possibly be that perfect, but as she gets to know him better and starts to fall in love with him in spite of her reservations, she begins to feel very guilty about this and realizes that he truly is a genuinely kind and good person.

Morgen, who was smitten with her from the start, falls in love with her quickly and eventually trusts her enough to reveal the dark secret of his past: that he couldn't save his brother from becoming a delinquent and leader of a local gang of hoodlums who commit as heinous of crimes as allowed in a Hallmark movie such as jaywalking, riding bicycles in the middle of the street, vandalizing flower arrangements, and occasionally stealing candy and purses from little old ladies. Josele must then make the difficult choice of deciding whether to reveal Morgen's secret, but how can she choose between her dream reporting job and her heart?

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers (February 22nd, 2021)

Hello! Here’s another collection of anon ask answers all put together in one big post.

This might be strange considering how upbeat yall are about the fandoms for your games in general, but is there any particular trope or ship you WOULDN'T want us writing/drawing/etc. in relation to your stuff? (IE, any canon you don't want us 'overwriting' or something like that?)

Of course we would want the fan content people make to not be racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, harmful, etc. But in terms of generally doing non-canon pairings or adding in headcanons or stuff, we really don’t mind that. People are welcome to have fun and explore their own ideas.

for the 1.2 Android update was it meant to download as a  separate app? I really want to keep my previous save files but they don't show up (also thank u for the updates I'm really excited to get back into the game!!)

We had to change the name of the file and unfortunately for some phones that meant it’s treated as a brand new game. I’m sorry your saves didn’t transfer over to the new version. You can try to look up your specific phone and see if there’s a way to access save files for games on your device and then transfer those saves over to the new build manually. It may or may not be possible.

I'm having some trouble figuring out how to get the update from Itichio without losing my save files? Is it the same game or a folder I can put in the properties? Sorry if this question is not worded well or if this isn't the avenue you'd want to take technical questions on

Are you using Android? If so, the above answer may apply to you. If you’re on PC or Mac, the save files will automatically still be included.

Hey. I really loved playing our life. It was a fun experience and I never thought I would like it this much. I do have a question, I am currently replaying the game and I am choosing choices I never chose at first. In step 2 during the road trip arc, I decided to ask Cove about what he liked to see on people. One of his response was anklets and black eyes. My MC have just happens to have black eyes. Do Cove say black eyes cuz my mc have it or it was just a coincidently programmed into the game?

He uses your eye color intentionally! If you changed your eye color he’d change what he said.

Will step 4 have 10 moments like steps 1-3? 

Step 4 is only an epilogue. It plays like the openings/endings of the earlier Steps where it’s a bunch of scenes all in a row, there aren’t any individual Moments.

hi! who was/were the artist(s) for our life? 

&

who is the artist for Our Life: Beginning and Always?

Main Sprite and CG Artist: Addrossi

Main Background Artist: Vui Huynh

Main Interface Artist: Winter Slice

Other artists who helped out can be seen in the credits of the game.

In the new ol, there are two main love interests... Would it be possible to pair them together or is that weird? 

You can’t stay single and pair them together. If we are going to add all the extra content to have a route where the two LIs get together, it’d be a full poly route where them and the MC were all dating. And that’s not a for sure option yet because it’d add a lot of extra complications. But either way, in OL the relationships all gotta be about the MC, haha.

In OL2, there will be extra LIs in form of DLCs? Like Dexter and Baxter. 

Maybe! We’ll see how it goes.

Since Cove will have 2 diff body types in s4, will the storyline and dialogs reflect this? Or all of it will be the same? Btw love the game and sorry for bad english. Hope this doesn't sound rude 😅 

Some descriptions and pieces of dialog will change, but it won’t impact the story really. And you don’t need to apologize! It’s all good.

Will you ever release the transparent sprites of the Our Life characters? 

Probably not, I’m afraid. They’ve got a lot of pieces and it’d just be kind of hard to deal with, aha.

Something I was curious about, what was your inspiration for making a game with so much customization?

Initially, the idea was just about having a romance where you actually grew up with the LI. But it was pretty stressful to try deciding how fast the relationship would progress with it taking place over such a long period of time and with no real storyline carrying it. People might not wanna play a game where the characters don’t get along as kids, but other people might not bother with a game where kids immediately liked each other. So the obvious answer came, just let the player pick themselves how it goes. From there we simply continued to add more flexibly with the MC due to the same thought process of wanting to make sure people were onboard with how their life was going.

What made you decide to change the artstyle for ol 2 so much? I of course respect all your decisions and will buy the shit out of everything related to ol 2, but i love the original style and i m honestly not a fan of the styles shown on patreon, despite me liking the painterly style in general. (I don t mind the style being changed, just that the examples shown so far all feel like there s something wrong with them.) 

We’ve always used different art styles for each of our projects. They all have distinct looks from each other. It’s just nice to do something new. I’m glad you really like how the first game looks, though. And those samples were only general concepts, rather than the exact options being decided between. We wanted to see reactions to different options. The art style we’re going with won’t be exactly like those, though I personally like all of them. I think players are gonna enjoy the style Our Life: Now & Forever when it’s revealed.

Hey! Is it ok to ask what gender ourlife2 protagonist will be and if we'll be given the same opportunity to customize an MC? Totally understand if you're keeping this under wraps for now if u don't wanna say! 

OL2 will have the same type of MC customization as OL1, but even more refined! So their gender will be up to you.

Hi! I happened upon Our Life on Steam by pure chance. It is such a great game, I am super excited about the DLC, and I just want you all to know that you are awesome! :D I have a question, and I'm sorry if it's been asked before. Do you have plans of making more games similar to Our Life, with customizable player character? The customizable player character was probably the one thing I personally have been desperate for in romance VNs. So glad there finally is one and would love to see more.

Thank you! And yep, we do have plans for more games like Our Life, most notably is another game in the franchise- Our Life: Now & Forever. We’ll also likely have other, non-OL, games with customizable MCs, though we may still have some games with set MCs in the future as well.

On the patreon dlc just curious but is it possible to play it without actually sleeping together/getting the nsfw content? I just want to spend more time with Cove 

Yeah, you can still choose not to go that far. Though the event is shorter if you pass on the 18+ stuff.

At the beginning of Step 2, did Cove end up accidentally falling asleep in your bed? Or did he fall asleep on the floor? 

He fell asleep sitting on the floor with his body/head leaning against the side of the bed.

This may seem like a weird question, but what exactly is the difference between "direct" and "relaxed" on the comfort scale?

Direct is blunter and more teasing, relaxed is lighthearted and goes with the flow.

can the MC have tattoos in step 3? 

Not in Step 3, but you can in Step 4.

how would Cove react if he visited somewhere like North Carolina in winter where it can get in the 20s(F) at night sometimes? 

He would be shocked and unprepared for what serious coldness is really like, haha. The poor beach baby would wanna go home.

Hello! I just joined the PATREON!! It’s amazing! I love your games! I have a question, approximately how much after will the nsfw be out? After or before the dlc 3 and step four? Sorry my English isn’t the best!❤️❤️❤️ 

Thanks so much! The NSFW DLC will be out after the Step 3 DLC but before Step 4. And you don’t need to apologize for that ^^.

This might be obvious but, will step 4 have dlcs? Also, where will the nsfw dlc happen? Won't bother me at all if it s in in our or his house but i do think it d be moderately funny 

Step 4 will have the Cove Wedding DLC and the Derek and Baxter romance DLCs each add a lot of new content to Step 4, though they’re also partially set in Step 2 and Step 3 respectively. The NSFW DLC happens in Cove’s room.

I keep wondering what would've happened if Mr. Holden met Lizzie first instead of the MC. I can't see that turning out well somehow lol. 

It wouldn’t have made a difference. He met the MC’s parents first and they told him about their two kids. He wanted the MC specifically to be Cove’s friend because the two were the same age.

Even though we have a way to go I'm really excited for OL 2! I was curious though, is the next main character going to be adopted again? I thought it was really clever to make the first main character adopted so when players are customizing,  they can make them look how ever they like without worrying about pesky genetics. Just wondering! 

The OL2 MC is not adopted. We wanted to go for a new dynamic. Instead their parents are their biological single mother who is partially customizable and an off-screen sperm donor father. So the mom will look generally like the MC and any other traits not from her can be assumed to come from whoever the father was.

—– —– —–

Thank you so much for all the asks ^^

FAQ   If you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[princekirijo]

For the character asks, Shinjiro?

Oh nice my boy!!!

Give me a character and I'll answer:

Do I like them:

Oh god yes absolutely. I love him so much!! He’s such a complex character and he’s just so interesting. Like I absolutely adore his relationship with Ken and Akihiko, it’s honestly one of the the best written in the game. I think he’s a super realistic character too, I like how he deals with his guilt if that makes sense? Like shutting himself off from his friends and society makes a lot of sense. And I absolutely love how he comes back to SEES to protect Ken. I also love his love of cooking and how he gets on really well with Koromaru (I adore that scene in the movie where Aigis catches him feeding Koromaru and he’s wearing that apron it’s so funny and cute).

5 good qualities:

Well I talked about this a bit above but I love his relationships with the other characters (Akihiko being the stand out), I love how he handles his grief (even though it’s better to go see a therapist Shinji PLEASE), I love his voice acting I think it’s really well done and his persona design is awesome too. Also probably a little controversial BUT I do like the way he can be saved in P3P. Not just because it’s like yay Shinji doesn’t die but also because it isn’t as against the themes of the game as some people think it is? Like OK I saw something about this somewhere recently (can’t remember for the life of me where) BUT it’s supposed to be like a different way of looking at death? Like by having the ability to save Shinjiro, the FeMC is showing him that life is precious and can be taken away at any moment so you should live it to your fullest, which resonates with the games theme of death and living your life the best you can. The post I’m thinking of puts it way better so if I find it I’ll reblog it (if it was on here that is curse my shitty memory 😔).

3 bad qualities:

OK this is tough because I love him so much. I guess my only point here isn’t really on him BUT I would have loved to have seen more of his relationship with Mitsuru? I mean like he’s know her the second longest after Akihiko so I think it would have been nice to see them interact more. I honestly just want more senpai squad content I love them. Oh ALSO I wish we got more interactions between him and Minato. Like not even a full on social link but just some more interactions would have been nice.

OTP:

OK so I am torn between two here: Akishinji and Shinjiham. I love them both so much. There’s so much I like about both that I really can’t pick. I love Akihiko and Shinjiro’s relationship in game and I think they work together romantically. Plus there’s like a ton of amazing content out there for them. And as for Shinjiham I really love Shinji’s social link and I can see how much Shinjiro cares for Minako. It’s really sweet.

BROTP:

Shinjiro and Mitsuru. Like I said earlier I want to know more about their friendship!! I saw a post that was like their friendship is just them daring each other to ask their crushes out and that is literally perfect. I also think they tease each other a lot and definitely LOVE teasing Akihiko. They’re very good at it too, unfortunately for Aki. Also just the senpai squad in general they are my kids.

OT3:

OK SO HERE ME OUT: Akihiko/Shinjiro/Minato. I’ve wanted to talk about this one for a while but basically: I love Akishinji. I love Akimina. SO why not combine the two? I also think that Shinjiro and Minato would really get along (emo solidarity lol) and they would have a lot of fun teasing their crazy boyfriend (Akihiko is getting BULLIED tonight Shinji approves). I just think the dynamic between the three would be really cool and I want to make content for them because I think I’m the only person who ships this oof.

NOTP:

Mitsuru and Shinjiro. They’re friends and Mitsuru’s a lesbian all Mitsuru/male ships make me super uncomfortable oof. OH also Senpai Squad OT3. I don’t know why but this one makes me super super uncomfortable it’s probably my least favorite ship in persona :/ (no offense to anyone who ships this go you for doing so, it just actually makes my stomach hurl I don’t know why I have such a violent reaction to it 😔)

Best Quote:

This is how it should be. No I am not sorry.

Head Canon:

He’s non binary! I like the idea of Shinji being a he/they I just think it’s neat. Also after the events of P3 where he’s saved, he moves to a small town (Inaba maybe ahaha) and he opens a small restaurant and adopts a load of dogs.

[zhaozaipalooza]

I saw that there might be more kinds of various paloozas in the future and I just wanted to say that sounds very cool. I also recognize the mods are pouring a TON of work into making this event happen. So I wanted to ask, how did you find each other and decide to do the event? I'd be open to helping mod something in the future, but I think I'm more or less alone in shipping my little rarepair. 😞

ray:

I was a private eye stashed in the seedy district of Rarepair Hell… or so the locals called it. Devils they were, crawling around abandoned tropes and daring dynamics, pushing the boundaries of the unknown like my late partner who went down in ‘42.

Boy, had I hit a goldmine for unapologetic crime. I’d reckon I was home.

Got straight to work defying the anti-shipping crowd. We had canoes, kayaks, sailboats held together by grit and spunk alone, tiny but almighty crews I grew to call mutuals aboard The LuZhao and S.S. Zhaozai. Then hit quarantine, the kind of snowed-in null of buzz and song that had us all baking in burnout. Folks called it the Covid Crunch, a stifling few months colder than my ex’s heart, Val… You’d think it was time to hang my hat.

Instead, the grandest imaginable wellspring of creativity and passion brought every gang and crew of Rarepair Hell together. A glorious time. This frigid heart might have thawed a little. And in walked her, the dame of my dizziest daydreams, looking like a million bucks and then some… at the center of it all.

Ah, did I have a sharp nose for hot leads. And she was, indeed, a brilliant tack. An ember in the concrete jungle, lighting the way for a celebration from sea shanties to love in all shapes and sizes, across all stretches. I never minded the wayward side of the wind again.

Should invite her to dinner sometime… polish my best dress shoes, order us moon peach pie. I’d get Miss Crooked towers of gold if it weren’t for this thin wallet. Dream on, they say.

Half of this Palooza is just Ray and I writing love letters to each other, though she writes them far more eloquently and creatively than I ever could. Bear with us, Anon. Your message is lovely and we do answer it in full. Eventually.  

crooked:

I was a young lieutenant, sifting through the sands of time and fandom, scouring tumblr for early Zhao content with which to stock my queue. Early days for me, naive of the purity police and the anti-shippers, unknowing even of what OTPs lay within my own heart. All I knew was that I liked villains, and I hungered for what others had to say about them.

And behold, glittering within the muck of expedient promotion jokes and sideburn slander, there she was. A light in the dark, a ray of thoughtfulness and taste, humour and brilliance. This gleaming jewel beckoned, promising riches and wonder if I would but only brave the deep. Like any good archaeologist I dug.   

Truth be told, Anon, Ray and I began our journey as mods of this event as so many do. We stumbled across each other’s content for one reason or another, hit the obligatory Follow button after liking and reblogging so many posts it felt weird not to acknowledge that, and have continued to swim in similar pools as mutuals ever since.  

The Palooza itself came about -- in true fandom fashion -- out of sheer bloody-minded spite. 

It came to our attention earlier this year that, quite out of the blue, a Zhaozai Week was being planned. We were intrigued -- after all, most of the villain shipping community knows each other, and yet most of us were unaware who was behind the event, which added an element of mystery to it all. We were also naturally very excited, only to then discover that the organizers were not serious about the event and in fact had designed it as a mean-spirited exercise with the express purpose of mocking genuine participants. It was, as another esteemed Admiral says, A TRAP. 

The open disapproval that followed was sufficient for the organizers to reconsider and cancel, but the damage had been done, the carrot dangled, and it became clear that a week for Zhaozai was something that many desperately wanted and were disappointed to have been deprived of. Not to mention be made fun of for. 

The notion of hosting a legitimate event started floating around, with Ray and a few others leading the charge, but concrete plans seemed illusive, largely due to complicated schedules, availability, and the fact that not a single one of us had ever run a fandom event before. 

Nevertheless, we persisted. Hot on the heels of the wildly successful @avatar-rare-pair-ship-challenge I had an idea of what a fun event looked like and made further inquiries as to how the organizers navigated things and made that possible. Armed with this precious info I approached those early proponents of the event, and from there planning with Ray began in earnest. If you think how we’re running things now is ambitious, you should have seen some of the initial palooza plans...   

To conclude, Anon, circumstances conspired to create a environment that was ripe for Zhaozai, and like Rohan we answered the call. 

Future paloozas or character/ship weeks would be amazing, and we’re sure that there is just as much of a demand for them. All that such an event needs is someone (or a couple someones) willing to champion it -- and most importantly, who will have fun while doing so. When the dust has settled from this inaugural run, we’d love to hear from you (and anyone else) who might like to turn the Zhaozai Palooza into a noble, annual tradition. 

And fear not. If our time in the archives of the internet has taught us one thing, it’s that somebody somewhere ships it. Or shipped it. Or will ship it. You’re never truly alone that way, and the more you openly love something, the more it seems that others are drawn to and share in that love.      

[legacyofabsolutewalnuts]

Fandom Meme - A, R, T

A -  Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s)

Ooo this is a fun one. You brought up the idea of Viticalia/Lana and I’m now thoroughly obsessed with Vits/Lana/Thomsyn bc they’d be so good. Bel/Theron which I think is...probably obvious, I give Bel a lot of screentime, although I have the idea of Bel/Theron/Balkar in my head AND THAT I think would be great. Also Keiral/Biron - come at me I wanted more from them okay.

R -  A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

Hmm, I definitely have a few, but I’ll stick npcs and then one extra which I’ll explain. Keiral/Biron as I stated above, bc I loved them. Also I know I reblogged a post about it earlier but um Vector/Quinn esp for an Agent!Quinn au. I think they would be really interesting together. OH also Phi-ton/Agent/Vector bc when I first played a female agent I thought Vector being okay with that marriage was very sweet and also that Phi-ton and Vector both seemed like they’d be legitimately interested in learning from each other at least. 

I’m pretty sure I saw this elsewhere, but I cannot remember where and for some reason Doc/Scourge is the funniest and best pairing I have ever heard I kind of wanted it.

I do have one that’s a bit weird, which is that I very much ship Viticalia’s older sister Dapatica with Senya in an au where Daps survived the Eternal Empire’s attacks.

I’m also gonna out myself here and just say that a friend got me into Hellblazer and Demon Knights and JLD in the DCU and I heavily ship John Constantine/Jason Blood and I will die on that hill. Give me that chaotic punk warlock and immortal queeny witch pairing pls.

T -  Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)

I tend not to change my decisions for ocs about like gender and sexuality and race once decided, usually bc I make them for a reason, but other than that not so much. Oh I will die on the hill that Kaliyo, Malavai, Doc and Vector should 100% have been bi romances (or at least added like some of the others in the expansions) bc the dynamic the three of them have with the player character male or female gets really deep and sometimes very homoerotic and I just pretend those were options in fics bc I can. Yes, I know Doc is a womanizer but like...man could that have been fun. 

I have some personal headcanons about Imperial, Republic, Zakuulan and Alliance culture but like, only stuff I would toss in fics, not anything I care about anyone else using.

This got long and I’m so sorry but thank you so much for asking!

[absynthe--minded]

So far I've been reading the Silm by looking up characters that seem interesting in the index & reading those passages. And Fingon is 100% next on the list & I the irresponsible reader am 100% here for even your most spoilery thoughts.

AAAAAAHHH OKAY SO

I love my boy.

I’m gonna start by saying that Fingon does three things in the Silm that people really know him for - he rescues Maedhros, who is his half-cousin and at the very least his close friend, from imprisonment in Angband; he becomes High King of the Noldor and rules briefly (twelve-ish years); he dies. Saying he dies is both a spoiler that I do in fact feel bad for bringing up and also kind of like saying that someone in Les Misérables dies, because odds are if they’re a named character who do something important they’re gonna die, in either book. Of these three things, Fingon’s rescue of Maedhros is the most popular subject for fanfiction and fanart; in fanart it’s almost a requirement that if you draw a lot of Noldor you have to at least attempt to illustrate the rescue. And it’s a really dramatic rescue, so I can’t blame them!

Since you’re a new fan I’ll also say that you can spot Fingon by his braids; artists draw him as part of a wide range of ethnicities, but he’ll have at least one braid with gold ribbon/wire/passing thread in it. This comes from a line in (I think) The Peoples of Middle-Earth, talking about how the “fin” in a great deal of the names (Fingon, Finwë, Finrod, Fingolfin, Finarfin, etc) means “hair” in Quenya, and how Fingon wore his own hair plaited through with gold. This is where the common assumption that he and his family aren’t white comes from; there’s some more fandom history behind that but its roots are in this passage.

and now on to my like. actual thoughts.

Fingon gets a lot of love in fanart and I’d say he’s a popular character in terms of being a guy you can safely bet will show up in art/being an uncontroversial choice for Favorite Character, but he also tends to come as part of a matched set. I talked about this a little bit in an earlier reblog about Russingon (the name of his ship with Maedhros) and trauma? But I feel like a lot of Fingon’s popularity comes from his relationship with Maedhros rather than him being an interesting character on his own. And it’s funny because a lot of other fandom favorites really aren’t like that - Glorfindel is an extremely minor character who dies like a badass and he’s got two relatively small ships that he’s associated with, but his presence in art and fic is based entirely on he himself, for example. Same with characters like Rog, or Fingolfin, or any of the non-Maedhros sons of Fëanor. Fingon is the only one for whom his entire fandom presence seems to stem from Being In Love.

And with that, on to the ship.

I love Russingon (Maedhros/Fingon; the name comes from a Quenya nickname given to Maedhros and from the Sindarin translation of Fingon’s name) to death. It’s my OTP to end all OTPs, over and over again. I think their dynamic is incredible, even if I don’t always like fandom takes on it. I love their loyalty to one another, their devotion and continued cooperation, I love that so much of their story is canonically defined by love to the point that even if you don’t ship them you’re left with nothing but evidence of how deeply they cared for one another. I think Fingon specifically loves very earnestly, very totally, very wholly. And I think that his love is also a massive flaw, to an extent we don’t see in characters often.

I said this in my earlier post, but Fingon does terrible things for love. He doesn’t hesitate to do them. He plunges in with both feet, impulsive and brash, and only stops to think about the consequences afterwards, and this is done out of love for the people around him, particularly love for Maedhros. And this, at least, is canon, it’s not projection on my part. Whether or not that’s romantic love is up to you the reader? But I’ll always see it that way. I focus on this because Tolkien’s tragic heroes and best protagonists act with love as a primary motivator, and so many of his villains’ flaws have to do with love turning sour somehow, or turning to selfishness, or rotting into obsession and the desire for control. It’s also interesting because I think what keeps Fingon from losing himself completely in that love is his sense of duty and responsibility - unlike others, such as Fëanor or Maedhros even, he never stops remembering he has a job to do and a people to serve.

What a good character, honestly. Holy shit.

[hotchocolatefanfics]

Reboot PoTA Couple Theme Songs and their Meanings

Boy did this take me a while to finish! This is something I’ve been working on almost all of 2019 and I’ve finally finished it (2019 was not nice to me-my classes were, but everything else was a blur of getting sick and going from no anxiety to anxiety attacks happening daily. It was just a mess!)

Like the title says, it’s a theme song list for our favorite Planet of The Apes shippings and couples (I only did a few to save time but if this gets popular enough, I could do another involving any shippings and couples that aren’t present here (such as Will X Caroline or Malcolm x Ellie)).

Each couple have their own five theme songs (because one isn’t enough to tell their full story) and each song represents something unique about the couple dynamic or how the shipping can be interpreted and will include a description underneath (some may be longer than others (the more I know on that shipping/more I have to say, the more I write about them)-I apologize in advance for that!). If there’s any information that is missing or details that I overlooked (or even if you disagree with the description) please feel free to share! 

Please note that you are not obligated to listen to these songs and you are completely and totally free to add a song to these couple lists. Part of the reason why I made this was in hopes that maybe it would spark a conversation amongst us PoTA fans about our favorite PoTA shippings/couple and explore other shippings. 

Also, I didn’t include OC relations here but feel free to add them in your reblogs(you may also re-use songs that are already on these lists if you feel they could describe your OC x Canon shipping)! All love stories are welcomed on this post! (the only rule is there can’t be any underage or huge age difference couples).

My information sources are:

All three Reboot movies, Firestorm, Revelations, The Planet of The Apes Fandom Wikia and also reading a couple of stuff/peaking around on AO3, FanFiction.net, DeviantArt, and Wattpad.

With that said, enjoy the theme songs!

Caesar x Cornelia 

Stand by you - Rachel Platten

Better Together - Jack Johnson 

Say Something (I’m giving up on you) - A Great Big World

Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down 

The Call - Regina Spektor

Description: 

As this is a couples list, it only makes sense to start it with the king and queen themselves!

I think it’s more than safe to say that these two loved each other very much. 

We saw Caesar and Cornelia’s relationship grow from Rise, Firestorm, Dawn, Revelations, to War and during that time, we’ve seen them grow closer (I actually think that, as their relationship progressed, Cornelia made Caesar a better leader-as she pointed things out to Caesar that he either ignored/didn’t realize/know in Firestorm). 

When I personally think about this couple, I think about Caesar: The life he grew up with, the family he left behind when he chose to stay in the forest with the apes, the hardships he had to face in the earlier days/years of freedom and I think about all the stress and the anxiety that he had to have felt during those times. He had to have felt that he had to show strength in the presence of his followers-that would have meant not thinking/talking about Will, Charles or Caroline or letting it be known if he missed them at all. 

Then I think about Cornelia. As his wife, she had to have known everything about Caesar. From his childhood to anything and everything he feared and worried about as king and leader. If there was anyone in the whole colony that Caesar could have shown that side to him, that uncertain, missing his family side to him, it would have been Cornelia, and I would imagine that she understood that he missed his human home. That she listened to his worries and comforted him-possibly reassured him if he needed it.

I didn’t know if it’s talked about very much but, as king and queen they’re very similar in personality: Both being compassionate and kind, but also fiercely protective of both the colony and of their friends and as parents, both are (also) protective and loving towards Blue Eyes and Cornelius (examples being Caesar protecting Blue Eyes from the bear and later protecting both sons from Carver in Dawn and Cornelia keeping Cornelius safe in Revelations). 

This couple is featured in nearly every fanfic out there and every Planet of The Apes role-play that Tumblr has but I feel like we don’t talk about it enough. In War, Caesar was more than devastated by Cornelia’s death (and by the death of Blue Eyes) as he became vengeful, murderous and (pretty much) ready to kill because of it (remember that man with the wood at the oyster farm where they found Nova?). 

If you really want to go there, it says a lot about his and Cornelia’s relationship during the war. That (maybe) the war took such a tool on Caesar (mentally and emotionally) that she became his strength. That (maybe) Caesar was already on the verge of losing it well before the attack on that hill (like having a breakdown or panic attack)-and I wouldn’t be surprised, as he was betrayed by Koba, then by Red and other followers of Koba, and his apes were being attacked, threatened and/or killed by the soldiers.

Maybe Cornelia kept him grounded, reminded him of who he was and what was important and when the Colonel killed her, it broke something in Caesar and when he lost her, he lost part of himself and may have forgotten who he was (only remembering when he realized he couldn’t kill the Colonel). 

Blue Eyes x Lake 

Kiss The Girl - Ashley Tisdale 

Love Story - Taylor Swift 

Colors - Halsey 

It’s all coming back to me now - Meet loaf

When you’re Gone - Avril Lavigne

Description: 

Blue Eyes and Lake clearly loved each other in War. We know they grew up together and played with each other as children though their (romantic) feelings for each other likely came later (around the time of Dawn/Revelations). 

We didn’t get to see much of their relationship (due to Blue Eyes dying and/or being sent away in Revelations) but, considering that Blue Eyes was protective of his friends and family (and openly affectionate towards them in War), I think it can be assumed that he would have been a loving husband to Lake and would have protected her if she were in danger. 

Lake appeared to love children, so it is reasonable to imagine they would have had children together and she would have, more than likely, been a wonderful mother to them. Lake was also brave (as seen when she defended Caesar in War), which makes it likely she could have assisted Blue Eyes as his queen (if he had lived to become king). 

And now, the Fan-Made couples!!! 

Caesar x Koba (aka: ‘Caba’)

Little Do You Know - Alex & Sierra

Hold On - Chord Overstreet

A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson 

Breathless - Shayne Ward

Teddy Bear - Melanie Martinez

Description: 

Yes, I absolutely had to start with this one as it’s, if I’m not mistaken, the most common shipping in the fandom (and it’s also my favorite too!).

Caesar and Koba were obviously very close in Dawn (as best friends and honorary brothers) as Koba saved Caesar from that bear in the beginning and Caesar later gifted the pelt to him. This relationship was created when Caesar rescued Koba and other apes from Gen-Sys and continued in Firestorm.

I can’t remember if I got this far into Caesar’s Story, but I wanna say there was a part in the book where it talked about Koba having feelings for/falling in love with Caesar(?)(Please correct me if I’m wrong).

It all came crashing down when the humans showed up and Koba’s hatred of them was reborn and it became clear to him that Caesar still ‘loved’ humans (when Koba said “Caesar loves humans more than apes” he may have actually believed that-it is also possible he may have thought Caesar loved humans more than him). 

It eventually leads to Koba shooting him (which means he, essentially, abandoned his love for Caesar in favor of his hate for humans) and then declaring war on the humans-and later, resulted in Caesar having to kill him. Koba’s betrayal deeply hurt Caesar and so did killing him (let’s not forget that Koba’s ghost haunted him in War). 

What I’ve noticed with this shipping is it’s all about the vulnerable and damaged side of Koba’s personality and about Caesar’s protective and compassionate heart. 

Fanfics of this shipping sometimes follows the story of Dawn (with Pope as the bad guy or with Koba’s betrayal being deeper than just about revenge on the humans) and other times it’s completely different (nodding at the ‘Caesar and The Bonobo’ Beauty and The Beast AU on FanFiction and all other Caba one-shots(all deserve a read!)) but in all fanfics and fan arts of this shipping, there’s always a sense of heartache for the couple (either due to how Koba suffered before Rise or knowing how their relationship ended in Dawn).

Everything about this shipping is tragic and (when well-written out) heartbreaking but at the same time, it can be adorable and beautiful (I’m also tempted to call it irresistible for many fans-seriously, look on AO3, DeviantArt Wattpad, FanFiction.net-literally all of these sites has three or more fanfics/one-shots of this shipping (though I would advise you all to be careful as some of them may be, let’s say, ‘Rated R’)!).

I have not found any role-plays of this shipping on Tumblr (yet!) so I wouldn’t know how the shipping is portrayed in that category (Seriously, are there any role-plays of this? Cause I’d like to know!).

Koba x Stone 

I Still Love You - Josh Jenkins 

Yours to Hold - Skillet 

Grenade - Bruno Mars 

Hero - Enrique Iglesias

Immortal - Evanescence 

Description: 

I’ve, sadly, only seen this shipping on role-play blogs here on Tumblr so much of this is guessed (if anyone reading this has role-played this shipping before or have more experience with it, please correct me if I’m wrong!) 

Stone was one of Koba’s friends and first followers in Dawn (aside from Grey) but his motives for following Koba are never talked about (also in Revelations, it says he’s dead but he’s clearly seen alive in War…Does he have superpowers or did he just disappear and showed up again for War?) 

(Here’s my guess) Stone likely disagreed with Caesar’s role (to some extent but I doubt he was as extreme about it as Koba was) but what if, his main reason for following Koba had more to do with him having secret feelings for the bonobo than anything else? What if Stone saw and knew that Koba was still haunted by his past and comforted him when no one else would? And by the time the humans reappeared in Dawn, Stone developed his own hatred for the species that had hurt his love?

Meanwhile, Koba, who likely doesn’t feel comfortable talking about his past with anyone and felt betrayed and angered when Caesar disregarded his hatred of humans, probably would have resisted Stone’s affection for a long time before he finally let him in and fully accepted the comfort and love from the chimp (it is also possible Koba used that very sympathy to manipulate Stone into doing his bidding but I’m not sure if he would have needed to as, again, Stone would have already hated humans for torturing Koba in the past anyway).

Now about Stone’s death/survival: Let’s say that Stone survived Dawn (as seen in War). If he really did have feelings for Koba, it’s likely he would have felt guilty and somewhat responsible for his love’s death as he had chosen to agree with him that the apes should go to war with humans instead of talking Koba out of it (to be fair I’m not sure if Koba could have been convinced otherwise after the fight with Caesar in the dam but I think Stone would have had a better chance of reasoning with him anyone else).

Now let’s say Stone had actually died and Koba wasn’t defeated by Caesar. I think it’s more than safe to say Koba would be screwed if he was the one to have to go to war with the Colonel in War instead of Caesar (and it may be reasonable to suspect he may eventually realize the gravity of what he did and would regret it all as the war continues) but if this war took Stone early on, and if Stone and Koba were romantically involved, it’s also reasonable to assume Koba would have regretted that most of all-seeing Stone as the last (and by the time of War, the only) to love him and care about him and feeling lost and alone without him.

All in all, this shipping has a love lost and a sort of ‘dam(sel) in distress’ feel to it.

Koba x Cornelia

Sk8ter Boi - Avril Laringe 

When I was Your Man - Bruno Mars

Uptown Girl - Billy Joel

Bad Boy - Cascada 

Dear in The Headlights - Owl City 

Description:

I have the same problem here-total guesswork! 

Based on what little I know of this shipping so far, it reminds me of the ‘outcast falls in love with popular person’ scenario that is sometimes seen in high school movies. But this shipping could seriously work as a love triangle story! 

Koba and Cornelia have little to no interaction in the books (the ones I’ve read so far anyway!) or in the movies but it is known that they see each other as honorary brother and sister (due to Caesar and Koba being honorary brothers). It’s reasonable to assume they had mutual respect for each other and that Cornelia was just as betrayed by Koba’s actions as Caesar was. 

However, it is never revealed what Koba’s plans would have been for Cornelia had Caesar truly died (there is a chance he could have forced her into marrying him but I also think there's a chance she would have rebelled against him and Koba could have decided to kill her (or kill Cornelius as punishment and then kill her? I dunno know)). 

Also, what if Koba had wanted Cornelia as his wife all along and only decided to kill Caesar when he did because the humans ‘conveniently’ showed up (unlikely but maybe)? I think this shipping was born from the idea that Koba always had a secret crush on Cornelia but kept it a secret because she married Caesar and knew he had no chance with her.

Another thought (and this is highly unlikely but still): In the wild, chimps would have multiple mates (Rocket in Rise for example) so there's also a (tiny) chance that Caesar could (in theory) be married to both Cornelia AND Koba-I have never heard of this particular thing happening and I’m not sure if the Caba and/or the Koba x Cornelia shippings are popular enough to warrant that sort of dynamic but it would make an interesting fanfic. 

Koba x Pope 

Issues - Julia Michaels

Battles Scars - Guy Sebastian Ft. Lupe Fiasco

Love the Way you Lie - Eminem Ft. Rhianna

Next To Me - Imagine Dragons

Courage - Superchick

Description:

For those who don’t know, Pope is the main villain from the Dawn comics. He’s very similar to Koba (as they’re both apes that came from labs) but worse as he enslaved primitive apes and saw them as lesser beings-going as far as calling them ‘stupid animals’. 

Anyway, me and a friend made this one up a while back in our discussions and, from what I remember, we had two or three(?) different scenarios for this shipping. 

One being that since they were both abused and tortured by humans, they may find comfort in each other (finding it easy to show vulnerability to someone who’s equally damaged) and fall in love from their shared experiences. 

In the comic, Pope’s past is only hinted by Koba when he says: “He was like me…A lab ape. Bad Things, maybe worse.” and then his past is never mentioned of again however, Pope does say: “Never show weakness.” after the killing of a human later in the comic. Based on that, it’s reasonable to suspect that Pope may harbor a similar hatred to humans as Koba does and may suffer from demons of his own but keeps it well hidden from other apes.

Two being more about their personalities: Both Koba and Pope are capable of hurting people (as seen when Koba killed Ash and shot Caesar and Maurice in Dawn and when Pope killed the alpha, killed Fifer and Cora and enslaved all the primitive apes in the comic) and both are described by the PoTA Fandom Wiki as ‘cruel and tyrannical’ (with Koba being described as ‘belittling’, ‘unstable’ and ‘manipulative’ and Pope as ‘immoral’, ‘arrogant’ and ‘egomaniacal’). 

Considering these traits, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine one of them to perceive the other’s vulnerability as ‘weakness’ and actually abuse the other (like Pope abusing Koba or Koba abusing Pope). Based on their personalities, it’s possible the kind of abuse they’d inflict on each other would likely be physical, emotional, or mental abuse (or all three).

Third (and this is more of continuation of the second one!), even if Koba and Pope weren’t abusing each other, their relationship would likely be argumentative, unhealthy, troubling, rough and just very dysfunctional. 

These are two very damaged apes with traumas that were not properly dealt with or given help for and full of pent up rage and hate towards humans (plus Pope hated Caesar and disrespected his rule). If they were to be a couple, their own traumas and hatred would feed off of each other and may, inadvertently, make it worse (this would likely not be a problem if Pope and Koba were with other people as a person who doesn’t have the same experiences or resentment as them would likely help ‘heal’ them). Maybe their relationship could work but they may need therapy (psychotherapy and/or couple therapy) before it gets there.

Red x Winter 

Sorry - Halsey 

Please Don’t Leave Me - P!nk

Accidentally in Love - Counting Crows

Secrets - OneRepublic

You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

Description:

Eeeeeek! This one is my second favorite! I can’t wait to share this dynamic! :D 

Both gorillas are first seen in Revelations. Red being manipulative, defiant, aggressive and violent (as shown when he manipulated Grey, lead the soldiers to the building where the colony was hiding in, tried to kill Cornelia (twice and one being while she was trying to help another female ape give birth!) and also when he slapped Cedar) and Winter being fearful and timid (as seen when he faced the wall after the building next to the colony’s hiding place was blown up and when he failed to kill Cornelia (which Red manipulated him into trying to do anyway)). Both are seen again in War, where Winter proves himself as a coward and Red a traitor. 

Needless to say, both of these gorillas have very different personality types. The interactions they had both in Revelations and in War weren’t enough to say they were friends (let alone romantically involved) however, Red clearly knew Winter was easy to control. Why else would he consistently manipulate him? And Winter appeared to be afraid of Red. This could be because Red was more aggressive than him and Winter feared confrontation. 

However, there’s a lot about the two gorillas that were never revealed (backstory wise. I actually do have a backstory theory for Red but that’s a post for another day). For example, Red was shown to have a lot of anger built up in him and while it is believed to be due to Caesar killing Koba, it feels much deeper than that. 

Koba was only leader for a day and or two (or less, my math isn’t great) and Red was willing to kill Cornelia, manipulate and endanger other apes and betray the colony over that? No, this anger didn’t develop overnight. It had to have been there BEFORE Dawn (and it somehow has something to do with Caesar)!

Then there’s Winter. We know his father died before he was born but we don’t know how or what his relationship was/the whereabouts of his mother (this does open the door for speculation of whether or not the circumstances of his father’s death and the relationship he had with his mother could have anything to do with Winter’s fearfulness).

Finally, their relationship: What if Red’s anger and hate was all a mask? What if, deep down inside, he was actually a very hurt, troubled and damaged person and only knew how to show it through anger? And what if Winter’s greatest flaw was actually his strength? Winter was more open about his feelings in both Revelation and in War (whether it be fear, shock, or worry) while Red was very closed off. 

What if that difference was what originally attracted Winter to Red? What if Winter, despite being intimidated by Red, viewed him as mysterious and was drawn to him by that. Meanwhile, what if Red was secretly jealous of Winter being so open about his vulnerabilities-even if he knew others would look down on him for it.

With all that said (sorry it was that long!), Red and Winter’s relationship would be built on shared (either expressed or hidden) vulnerabilities and traumatic experiences. Both have flaws and neither of them are weak. They just depend on each other for strength and (in one-shots where they survive War) for belonging as they have no one else.

Blue Eyes x Ash 

Bad Day - Daniel Powter

Dark Paradise - Lana Del Ray 

Perfect - P!nk

Complicated - Avril Lavigne 

Count on Me - Bruno Mars

Description:

This is another shipping I’ve only seen briefly-I’m not sure if there are any role-plays of it on Tumblr (but then again I never really looked either!) but there is a fanfic or two out there of this pairing (again, if I miss something a detail regarding this shipping, please let me know!).

Ash is first seen in Dawn when he and Blue Eyes are fishing together. Right away, it’s pretty clear these two are close friends and likely grew up together (which would make sense as their fathers are so close). Based on the interactions between him and Blue Eyes in that scene and the council meeting scene, Ash can be described as humorous (such as when he poked at Blue Eyes) and confident in himself (like when he was teasing Blue Eyes over the bear incident) and Blue Eyes, is protective of him as he (presumably) protected him from Carver before Rocket and the other apes intervened. 

Blue Eyes is left devastated and deeply hurt after Ash’s death and, throughout Revelations, thinks about him constantly and later having a dream about him. 

Since I don’t know that much about this pairing, this is where the guesswork comes in: As these two grew up together, it’s more than likely they also knew each other on a deeper level than their parents did-for example, Blue Eyes could have told Ash all his secrets, whatever worries or fears he had, maybe ranted to him about his anger and frustrations with his father or about being prince. 

I don’t know if Ash had any issues with his parents (as he and Rocket appeared to be very close as father and son-and we don’t really see Ash interacting with Tinker) but if he ever had a bad day, he’d likely talk to Blue Eyes about it just like Blue Eyes would. 

This relationship would be founded on childhood friendship, turned best friends, into lovers. Likely turning into a ‘you’re the only person I trust with my secrets’ kind of relationship while also being a very supportive and protective kind of relationship too.

McCullough x Caesar

I Hate Everything - Three Days Grace 

Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne 

Hold Me Down - Halsey 

You Don’t Own Me - Grace Ft. G-Eazy

Hellfire - The Hunchback of Notre Dam

Description:

I dabbled on this one in my Whumptober one-shots but if anyone’s interested in more of this shipping, there’s a few on AO3 (it’s easily the black sheep of this list but I think it deserves a place here for clarification as to what this shipping could be versus what it sounds like). It’s a weird pairing but it’s worth checking out! 

I think we all know Colonel McCullough as the most evil human in the reboot movies (as he is willing to kill apes and any human who is infected with the virus-his own son for example) and seeing how he treated Caesar in War (chaining him up, forcing him and the ape colony to work, having him whipped and tied to a cross with no food or water for days, killing Cornelia and Blue Eyes) it’s easy to see why this shipping would raise eyebrows but it all depends on how one looks at it. 

For example, I see the shipping as a possible twist on War: As the war between the apes and AO soldiers unfold, McCullough’s desire to capture and/or kill Caesar turns into something else. He becomes obsessed with the Ape King and decides the best way to defeat him and get rid of the apes would be to destroy Caesar’s life. So he deliberately kills Cornelia and Blue Eyes knowing it will provoke Caesar to go after him and later in the base when McCullough has Red and Preacher bring Caesar to his office, he blackmails Caesar into marrying him (saying that he’ll let the colony live if he agrees).

As a result of it, Caesar becomes McCullough’s “chimp-wife” and is a prisoner in this forced marriage, the ape colony thinks he’s abandoned and/or betrayed them, the AO soldiers and the Donkeys are confused by the whole thing and Red and Preacher (who witnessed the Colonel’s blackmailing marriage proposal to Caesar) are thinking “WTF is happening here?”.

Another way one could see this shipping would be as something funny. Yes, it’s dysfunctional but that could be the point! If one wanted to make a fanfic of this shipping, they could use the dysfunctional aspects of the relationship and make it funny. Think Marge and Homer Simpson for example.

For those who have an issue with this shipping, I 100% agree this relationship would be doomed from the start (if we decide to take it seriously). If McCullough and Caesar were to be married, I can picture the Colonel being abusive and predigest towards Caesar and his species, blaming him for all things wrong in the world (such as the virus, the fall of the human race), likely never showing any love or affection towards Caesar, and poor Caesar would become depressed and miserable from this awful marriage. 

Bon x Pope (from the Dawn comics!)

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis 

Follow Him - Peggy March 

I would Do Anything For You - Foster The People 

Just The Girl - Click Five

All You Wanted - Michelle Branch

Description:

To be honest, I’m not sure if Bon was really this close to Pope as he only appeared once or twice in the Dawn comics BUT! he was one of his loyal followers and while it is possible he only disagreed with Caesar’s rule, there’s another chance that he may have had feelings for Pope (much like my description of the Stone x Koba shipping).

For those who didn’t read the comics, let me sum up the interactions between these two: Bon was one of Pope’s followers and is seen returning back to the zoo after (unsuccessfully) searching for an ape named Fifer who escaped them and informs Pope that there are humans nearby. Bon also took part in the battle between Pope and Koba and was later banished along with Pope’s followers while the primitive apes followed Koba back to the Ape Village. 

As this shipping, almost no leg to stand on (and is more made up than the others on this list) allow me to explain it here: Much like Grey and Stone towards Koba, Bon (and a gorilla named Rex) followed Pope-presumably because they also disliked Caesar and/or his rule. As Pope didn’t actually plan on killing Caesar until later in the comics and didn’t realize there were primitive apes, in the beginning, I don’t think there was any manipulation going on from him.

Now let’s look at Pope for a second: Pope was an ape who looked down upon anyone who showed weakness or was primitive and had no problem with enslaving, torturing, endangering or murdering other apes. Like I said in my description for the Koba x Pope shipping, Pope was also a lab ape (with fishnet scars on the left side of his face, shoulder and chest giving us a hint as to what he was put through-though it’s never actually discussed) so it is reasonable to imagine he may have his own demons and traumas, much like Koba does (unsurprisingly, Pope also hates humans). 

The thing about Pope that I’m curious about is if he is traumatized from what had been done to him at the hands of humans, does he show it? He likely doesn’t as he appears to dislike seeing it and other apes showing weakness but that would mean that, much like Koba, he’s holding things back, probably much more than Koba was (as Koba is seen in Dawn talking (briefly) about what he went through with humans to Caesar). 

Now looking at Pope and Bon, it makes me wonder if Bon could have picked up on that. Like what if Bon saw the pain that Pope was covering up and reached out to him? 

That, and it is also possible Bon was into the ‘bad boy’ type.

Phew, glad that’s over! XD

[bellamygateoldblog]

Blog Summary Tag Game

Find your fandom kru and help them find you. Answer the following and include the tag #the100blog in your answer, then tag some of the blogs you follow.

created by @johnmurphysreddit tagged by @blodreina-noumou !

1. What are your primary topics?

My blog is pretty much divided 70/30 between t100 & skam italia (i do tend to follow more t100 blogs!) Sometimes there’s the odd post of other shows I watch/have watched.

Most of my posts are spacekru, but i reblog lots of pretty gifs/edits of anything from the show because they are beautiful and creators put lots of work into them! I’ll probably also be posting about Octavia, too, throughout s6 because i’m particularly interested in her arc.

I’m not the most eloquent writer, but i do write & reblog a fair amount of meta, some of which are very lengthy, and i understand it could be frustrating if this doesn’t interest you, so I always try to tag them as “#meta<3″ so you can filter them if you wish. (note: my blog is disorganised atm, i’m still pretty new & only just getting the hang of it lol but my newer posts are tagged properly).

2. What tags should a visitor check?

#meta<3 is where i store meta about the show, it isn’t necessarily all my own, but i do comment on quite a bit!

#anti clarke griffin is where all of my Clarke posts go, even ones that I don’t necessarily class as negative, because i think my general feelings about her character give off a negative impression regardless.

I tag with full names (e.g, #bellamy blake) and i do this with any other show besides t100 that i spontaneously reblog, too (such as #deadly class).

3. What do you love about The 100?

I love the dynamics between a lot of the characters, and i tend to focus on them a lot! There are plenty of instances where there are personality clashes, and where they’re forced to challenge one another. The dynamics also give pretty good indications of who are best suited as units or teams, and who can be percieved as being outliers to the rest.

I like that pretty much every character is presented as grey, it makes it more enjoyable to analyse them, their motivations, and their strengths and weaknesses. It’s possible to view a scene from multiple different perspectives and understand where each of the characters stand during that point in time, even when we don’t necessarily agree with them. I love the redemption arcs of both Bellamy and Murphy, I was always taken with their journey’s of seeking atonement, reflecting on their morals and place in the world, and growing as people as a direct result of their actions and the consiquences of them.

I like to be surprised; I can be a fan of major character death if it’s executed properly (no pun intended), and if this end point is consistent with the rest of their arc. I like when the trajectory of a character’s story changes suddenly, such as when Murphy went along with Jaha to the city of light, and then later regrouped with the rest of the mains, but as a member, rather than an outsider. Another example of this, just to be clearer, was Luna’s refusal to take the flame despite all the suspence and mystery surrounding her character, and i like that they didn’t result to compromising who she was in order to drive the plot!

I’m drawn to post-apocalypse/dystopian future style shows and movies for the new and exciting challenges they pose compared to the here-and-now. These types of shows are a great way of exploring ideas that wouldn’t otherwise be appropriate, such as corrupted morals, the difficulty of survival, and taking extreme measures in the face of danger. LOVE fight scenes, especially involving combat weapons, and the thrill the comes with them; they’re much more entertaining than guns.

I love some superficial drama in the midst of all the chaos, usually relationship and friendship conflicts. I feel it just brings so many more layers to the narrative, and makes the world it exists in seem bigger and deeper, while also serving to make the show more engaging by giving us something we can relate to better, no matter how silly it seems within the context of the show. This way, it doesn’t feel too plot-orientated and gives the viewer a breather from the darker aspects of the show. I think t100 did this better in the earlier seasons, especially with Octavia and Bellamy, as the dynamic conflicts that came later on all seem to be plot-related in one way or another.

I love the whole idea of finding your place in a world that works hard to suppress you.

My favourite characters are spacekru + Octavia & Diyoza (both bad bitches which i truely cannot resist). Deceased favourites: Luna, Jasper + Finn (I like the peaceful damaged ones okay)

I don’t focus too much on ships, but i have a strong preference for Becho!

4. What do you hate/what frustrates you about The 100?

Hypocrisy and double standards that exist within the narrative, and especially within the fandom. A lot of the time this is concerning Clarke.

The fandom climate in general! explicit and implicit hostility directed towards people who disagree with popular opinion, people unable to distinguish between actor and character, people opting to attack rather than discuss, people viewing the entire show through ‘shipper goggles’ and ignoring key elements of the narrative in favour of creating their own canon (people who ignore and twist past the point of it just being individual interpretation).

The wasted potential of Jasper & Finn as insights into the harmful affects and futility of war, and the puncture it makes on a person’s psyche. As much as these deaths had me shaken to my core, I could never quite get past the blatant killing-off of two of the more explictly mentally ill characters. Rather than a recovery storyline, the only solution to their struggles was death, and i’ve always felt like the writers had so much potential to address PTSD and depression more directly, through them. I think it could’ve made for an interesting storyline, and it would’ve given the writers more personalities, dynamics, and challenges to play with.

The belittlement/mocking of peaceful characters, which in a way expressed that hating violence and war made you weak and not to be taken seriously (Lincoln & Luna specifically, but also s5 Monty and s1 Finn).

Additionally, the lack of world-building. We were only given minor glimpses into the past of some characters, we didn’t get to see details on how the ark evolved, or how the present culture was formed from it’s history. We see the same approach with the grounders; we learn that every clan is different, but then we barely see how they are different. The small appearance of mutated animals and then no future mentions is another confusing point. I know most of this is simply due to time restraints, but there came a point where we didn’t learn any more than was necessary to advance the plot, and it just made the world and conflicts in it seem smaller.

Characters I dislike include Clarke, Kane & Abby (both equally as frustrating and eye-roll inducing).

5. Is this exclusively a The 100 blog?

No, but i usually only use one other main tag (skam italia) which can be filtered!

6. What else should people know?

I love engagement with my posts! You don’t need to be reluctant to add your own thoughts. Conversation is welcome as long as it is kind and respectful!

I usually don’t speak too openly about this, but I have depression, which means I sometimes go M.I.A and sometimes i’m here most of my time to keep myself busy. It varies! so if I fail to reply to anything, it may be because i don’t have the energy to just yet, but it isn’t personal!

I talk a lot in my tags, sometimes commenting on the post when i’m trying to avoid hijacking, and sometimes talking bs and tagging Bellamy “big sexy”

I have a lot of unpopular opinions in this fandom, i’m well aware of it lol but i don’t appreciate hateful anons (which i have had in the past, and they aren’t pleasant!) I prefer to keep anon turned on because some people are just more comfortable interacting that way, and that’s fine! but don’t take it being turned on as an invitation to attack me.

I don’t follow many people, but here are some people who’s blogs I love, who i tag to do this if they want to (though i know this kind of thing isn’t for everyone!)

@bound-by-stardust @fleimkepakosskairipa @awkwardnarwhall93 @fleimkepajohnmurphy @ringabellamy @spacekru-defense @skaiengineers @alrightsnaps @bunker-boyfriends

Sorry if you were already tagged!!

[fangirlunderground-blog]

Meta Monday

Fandom is an escape, but it's so much more than that. An escape is passive, a place to hide (or perhaps a show to marathon) until you’re strong enough to face your life again, but fandom is active. It's taking that show and building an entire world around it that never existed before. It's an open map that's constantly growing and changing, and while we each have our own plots of land, the real magic happens where we connect and collaborate. The relationships we build in fandom are everything; all of them, from that silent follower who always likes your posts, to the loyal reader leaving comments on every new chapter of your fic, to the best friend you attend every con with. 

That’s why the anti movement is so awful: it makes us afraid of our fellow fans. Instead of just choosing a different neighborhood to build in, antis want to tear yours down. They'll claim it's because you've done something wrong —that your home is dangerous, that you're dangerous for building it — and that you deserve to be condemned. 

That’s bullshit, of course, but I can see it changing how we interact. Some of the changes are subtle — triple checking that blog before you follow it, not posting about that one ship you love, staying silent on discord — and some are huge — deleting all your artwork, never finishing that fanfic, quitting fandom entirely — but all of it keeps us isolated, and all of it fucking sucks.   

If you need a little encouragement or validation, today’s meta rec list is for you. And, frankly, it’s for me, because this stuff has been really eating away at me lately. If you like this list, please make sure to let the original authors know by reblogging and liking their posts. And if you’re looking for more on this topic, check out my past meta lists, purity culture and fujoshi. 

Fandom - Antis

Anti-Anti by @freedom-of-fanfic, [...] ‘Anti-anti discourse’ doesn’t stop people from critiquing fanworks, or figuring out ways to make fandom safer for both teens and adults, or talking about the potential harm that dark content can cause. By asserting that deeply personal things like what kind of romantic dynamic pings you or what sexual kinks you have are personal, and you are free to indulge that (and others are free to avoid/ignore it), it actually makes fandom criticism less loaded, more nuanced, and more enriching, letting everyone think for themselves instead of being scared into silence. (Mirror Link)

Fandoms Have 1% Toxic Fans Theory by @cancerously, @niibeth, and @laylainalaska,  [...] Basically, the 1% Theory dictates that in every fandom, on average, 1% of the fans will be a pure, unsalvageable tire fire. We’re talking the people who do physical harm over their fandom, who start riots, cannot be talked down. The sort of things public news stories are made of. We’re not talking necessarily bad fans here- we’re talking people who take this thing so seriously they are willing to start a goddamn fist fight over nothing. The worst of the worst. (Mirror Link)

Focus on what you love; don’t bash what you hate by @isabellelovelxce, I’m sorry but if you can’t have your own opinion over a character without being ugly about it and are unable to accept that not everyone agrees with you and not everyone should, then perhaps online fandoms are not for you. (Mirror Link)

Monsterblog Guide: How to Survive Tumblr by @themonsterblogofmonsters, As we all know, tumblr is a hellsite. At any one time it may be malfunctioning in some capacity, the algorithms and search capabilities are usually reliably broken, and the various social groups on tumblr are (at present at least) largely engaging in the purity culture wank, attacking anyone who they deem to be shipping Problematic things, often without considering the fact that what it is they are doing - attacking people - is also #Problematic. Tumblr is a hellsite people, so lets all put on our hardhats. (Mirror Link)

Things I Wish I Knew Earlier in Fandom by @lokenna, [...] Block people who cause you stress. It’s not worth your time to focus on parts of fandom that don’t make you happy. (Mirror Link)

Towards a working definition of “anti” by @shinelikethunder, Most of us know it when we see it, but I figure any discussion about fandom antis and how to respond to them would benefit from having a solid answer to “what even is an anti, anyway?” Laying out the exact characteristics that distinguish anti wank from every other kind of wank also helps clarify what, exactly, is going on here, why it’s appalling, and also why it’s appealing to those who engage in it. I’m going to define it as a behavior rather than a particular type of person. The anti movement is... (Mirror Link)

Vi’s Guide to Dealing With Antis by @who-gives-a-ship, So you’re a fanartist/fanfic writer who has recently gotten some hate for your content. Not about whether or not you draw good, I can’t help you with that, about how a stranger thinks you’re a bad person for your ships. You try to avoid discourse whenever possible because that’s what fans with common sense do, but suddenly discourse is thrown onto your doorstep like a half-drowned cat that has definitely tasted human flesh before. The last thing you want to do is get mixed up in a big argument or somehow become the next Tumblr pariah. What should you do? (Mirror Link)

You are just as responsible for your fandom activism as creators are for their fanworks by @shinelikethunder, More so, in fact, because your primary purpose is telling people what to do or not do. Any instructive value in creative work is understood to be subordinate to entertainment and self-expression, but if you’re out there explicitly advocating for something, you’d damn well be ready to own it. Including all its implications and potential negative effects. (Mirror Link)

[riskeith]

hi babe ! its snowing so much here today i’ve been cold all day :( but i got some chai latte and made snow angels so i’m feeling a bit better,.. <3

i wish there was a way to trade objects or send them away!! ik it would spiral into hacking, scamming and would probably defeat the purpose of the game by making it much easier but still :( it would be nice to help out friends with some objects.. :(

actually the most annoying thing about mobile is the camera. it sometimes glitches especially during battle and i find myself stuck facing a mountain bc the camera. so i see why people might complain. also sadly NO :( i wish!! i have an old laptop i thought of using but idk if it can handle it. i think i wanna try it out though. do you use a laptop or pc?

that’s true. i wish we could like... unable easy mode and just chill LMAO hsjshdhdk. but combat does get more fun the more you progress, i’ve started to really enjoy it. now i get why you started to like dragonspine.... i think.... i’m still iffy about that place... 🤔 fuck the cold.

dude. they’re sooo good. i love how they just.. angrily reassure each other constantly. kageyama’s just ARGH *literally smacks sense into hinata’s head* and hinata’s just EEE *takes the compliments and spikes like a mf*

i actually didn’t know much about voltron when i first started watching. i only knew about shiro because an acquaintance had posted about his gay announcement but i never checked it out. i actually got into it in a funny way... i was on yt one day and i saw a video titled ‘are keith and lance gay?’ and i was like who the fuck are keith and lance? then because i’m such a gay person myself i decided to check it out and i saw keith and was like... wow that’s a cute boy... then i saw their dynamic and said WOAH. and well... i just started watching and got hooked and i thought everything was neat and fun so i watched up until season 3 without engaging in any fan activities so i had no idea what people were saying...,, then i did and i was greeted with the shit storm. and the rest is history. but i can imagine it must’ve been so fun... the excitement of not knowing where the story will go and getting new content and being in the fandom while it was alive despite everything.... ahhh how did you find out about the show?

dude YEAH!!! do you feel like university affects the way you handle your fandoms? we talked a bit about hobbies and stuff but what about fandoms?

(MAKES A SECOND REROLL ACCOUNT JUST FOR THIS.... 🥺 omgggg imagine how cute that would be wait omg i’m actually like ahhhh.. we could go on dates at liyue... or watch the sunset at cape oath.... or have picnics at any mountain top... 😳 YEAH PLS that would be so nice... help is anyway nice to have and you’re such a op now you’d just murder the villains in a second... 😳 oo. although i checked earlier and my server is in america for some reason? i really hope they do the cross-server thing life would be SO good. i’d ask you on a date in a heartbeat. 😳 which characters would we use on this co-op date?)

KOSMO!!! BEST PART OF VOLTRON???? kosmo... come back to us please.. please. ok maybe second best part after keith in the bom suit..... god keith in purple just sits so right <3333 sooo right <3333 I VOTE FOR KEITH BECAUSE HE’S HALF-GALRA SO I GUESS THAT MAKES HIM THE FUTURE *LOVE-SICK SMILE* yeah... hahaha fucking fools. ‘rewrite where lance was looking for keith to confess to him bc they were going back to space’ CRIESSSSSSSSSSSS... CLUNAAAA... 🥺👉🏽👈🏽 hi.. 🥺 now i’m just gonna think about this all night and clutch my heart. thank you for that. btw how would you feel about a voltron movie ?

(i love how our topics just jump from genshin to voltron to genshin to voltron again lmao)

lots of kisses from your m.a. <3333

(okay this ended up being very long bc i combined your second ask too and talked a lot so i hope it’s okay i put it under a read more fkdsjhfks)

omg snow!!! is it all pretty and fluffy 🥺🥺 also ‘chai latte’ and ‘snow angels’ in the same sentence when you said you were cold made me fhfksfjs but i’m happy you’re feeling better! muwah 🥰

yeah same!! i said that to my brother when i first started playing i was like ‘i wish you could trade characters’ and he just gave me a deadpan look and was like.. why would they allow that FHDSFKHD sigh but it would be fun!

ah yikes no! sometimes the camera fucks up even on pc so I can’t imagine what it’s like on mobile in the pivotal moments fhdkfjsd. and i use a laptop! i don’t have a pc ahaha. ahhh i hope you somehow manage to find a laptop/pc to try it out thoo

AHAHAH come on m.a. give dragonspine another shot 🤪🤪 but yeah the challenge is fun sometimes! tho i tried to do a domain like 3 times today and kept failing so... it’s also not fun. (i also tried to find some vids about how to build my characters and got overwhelemd fkhsdfks i feel like i’m going about it all in the wrong way ahhhhhhhhhhhh)

FSHDFKJSDHFKSDHJF THAT DESCRIPTION OF KAGEHINA YES 💯💯💯💯 the accuracy omg.. they’re such chaotic idiots i love them!!!!

!!! what a story that is ahah omg it’s like fate... icb you got that vid recommended to you lolol iconic... and i found out about it from my dash!! someone reblogged a screenshot and i was like “legend of korra?” FHSKFJHSKF so basically i thought it was a korra comic or something bc the art style was so similar fhskdfjd. and then i went searching and gave it a shot! and fell down the rabbit hole..

ooo wdym by handle my fandoms? i do know that last year when uni got overwhelming i locked my twitter and made a priv to vent and just. didn’t really go on social media if that’s what you meant FHSKJSDHKF but yeahhhhhhh uni fkn sucks. sucks out all the motivation i have for anything... i type so many words for lectures that i don’t have the energy to write fic :// FJKDSHKSDHFKSHF don’t meant to get so negative but yeahh lol. hbu?

(all those options got my heart going doki doki 😩 who needs real life dating when you can date in the gorgeous atmosphere that is genshin? AHAH. and oh? america??? maybe they just did that as default hm. as for which characters.... i don’t know that we have any that make up the popular ships fhdskjfj (xingqiu/chongyun, zhongli/childe, beidou/ningguang).. tho i see xiao/aether and xiao/venti on the rise so when the time comes ... AHAH you can be the venti to my xiao <3 LOL)

!!!!!!!!! okay i’ll list that down as the fic idea.. but no promises once again sdjfhksdf but i’m also very 👀👀👀 at the concept so! will def keep it in the back burner. 

hm. i honestly don’t know if i would even pay any attention to it hfksdhfjds like voltron left such a sour taste in my mouth i don’t even know that i could consume any canon content ever again. but it’ll also depend on what the plot would be? lol. would you be okay with it?

(lmaooo we be balancing many convos at once look at us 🤪)

ALSO!!! i’m watching spirited away rn and omg. i love haku sm. i love no face too!!! (at least in the beginning when he (?????) was helping sen <33) all the characters are really good as well tho and ofc the art and music!! i really wanna draw something for it now...... and it makes me very excited to watch howl’s moving castle!!

‘I saw the person my younger self had been enraptured by. I saw someone who took my breath away. And when I blinked, I saw the present you. A soul which, slowly but surely, I’d started to fall in love with.’

UMMMMMMMM CLUNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! explain yourself right now.........., what is this goddamn beauty you hide ? why is that so beautiful..,,, i take it the last klance fic is a multiverse fic???? literally everything good in one????? i saw hints of royal au as well? 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 you do us so good i literally love you sm just reading those small snippets just Ahhhhhh..... i love them they sound amazing i just wanna exist in them yk... 😭😭😭😭😭😭

FHDSKJFHDSFKJ IF YOU THINK THAT IS GOOD JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU READ THE LAST SECTION!!!!!!!!! but at the same time i’m surprised by myself too... me @ past me you ain’t bad! shdfkds I legit have no recollection or writing the snippet you sent but i’m glad you like it 😩😩 and thank you for being so kind always ilysm too 😭❣💓💖💫💞💘❣💖

oh and to answer your question (oops almost forgot) yes it’s a multiverse fic!! that’s why i thought it’d be good for the last one ehehe. just shoved in everything i loved and made klance in love in them!!

hope you’re treating yourself!! loveeeeeee your c.r. <3

[araeph]

Araeph’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

Vol. 1 here.

It’s Araeph’s 1000th post! Thank you so much to all my followers, people who’ve messaged me for discussion, and fans who’ve filled my inbox with such thought-provoking asks. Below is the latest master list of my essays and fiction that I’ve compiled over the past year or so, as well as a few choice reblogs from other tumblr users that are mentioned by name. Have a fantastic 4th of July, everyone!

Fic Recs

A:TLA Friendship Recs Favorite Zutara writers

Araeph’s fics

Hatchling, Part 1 Spitting Image, Part 1 Breath of Fire Confidants Sunrise Moonrise Love Is a Marathon Defiance, Part 1 Defiance, Part 2 Defiance, Part 3 Defiance, Part 4 Defiance, Part 5 Defiance, Part 6 Defiance, Part 7 Defiance, Part 8

Other Meta

Araeph’s fandoms Mulan: contrasting messages in pop song vs. theatrical song The arranged marriage plot in Mulan 2 Mulan and Shang: military dynamics vs. a relationship What did you think of the Red John arc in The Mentalist? Was the Jane/Lisbon pairing in The Mentalist treated well? Did Lizzy marry Darcy for his money? What advice do you have for up-and-coming authors? What do you think makes a good romance? Are there particular directors you gravitate towards?

Steven Universe Criticism

What are your favorite critiques of Steven Universe? Who did Pearl belong to before she joined the Crystal Gems? How Pearl responds to toughness vs. niceness Can autism explain Pearl’s behavior toward Greg? What do you think of Pearl’s character and her treatment of Steven? Are there similarities between Aang and Pearl’s clinginess to their partners? The Diamonds: taking “compassion for one’s adversaries” too far What do you think of the "Rose is Pink Diamond" theory? Rainbow Quartz: requited love I miss the way they used to draw Peridot The decline of Steven Universe

A:TLA Gen Criticism

I just don’t know how to feel about Bryke! How do you keep A:TLA’s flaws from ruining the show for you? Should Teo, Haru, and The Duke have had bigger roles in Book 3? Should there have been a scene where Aang mourns the dead at the end of Book 3? The structure of the first half of Book 3 Is energybending Ozai enough to delegitimize his rule? Could Aang lying to the tribes in “The Great Divide” have been handled better? Was the Fire Nation secretly looking for the Avatar in the Southern Water Tribe? Parallels between the Fire Nation Royal Family and the SWT chief family Does the GAang idealize their parents and mentors too much? The significance of Momo How did the characters age visually throughout A:TLA? Was Ozai an abusive spouse as well as father? Do you think the Avatar universe has a legitimate afterlife? Detachment and unlocking the chakras Avatar cosmology @peacockarehot What happens before each Avatar is old enough to master the elements? How well was the challenge of being the Avatar told in A:TLA and LOK?

A:TLA’s Four Nations

Four Nations and childhood education Four Nations’ view of sex and gender roles Four Nations: a food contest analysis Four Nations eye color What is the best way for the SWT to develop? What is your opinion on Water Tribe betrothal necklaces? Why an earthbender shouldn’t be able to lavabend alone Is the Earth Kingdom united under a cohesive value? What is your opinion on the Air Nomad council of elders? Did the Air Nomads get shortchanged in development? Is Ty Lee an untrained airbender? Stormbending What kind of benders would mixed heritage kids be? Could firebenders draw power from the Earth’s core? Can waterbenders heat water to create steam? Part 1 Can waterbenders heat water to create steam? Part 2 What is your favorite nation and what type of bender would you be? Who are your favorite minor characters from all four nations?

Alternative A:TLA Finale and Book 4 Speculation

Zutara would have been a better bookend, even with only 3 books How would the Book 3 Zutara moments change with Book 4? What should have been the theme of the A:TLA finale? What do you find disappointing about the A:TLA finale? Aaron Ehaz’s plan for A:TLA and beyond @kataraaandzuko @terminaschosenone Anything you would like to see from an A:TLA sequel? How do you see the relationships of the Gaang progressing through adulthood? How would hidden airbenders have been revealed? Koh in Book 4

A:TLA Comics Criticism

Rosy colonialism in “The Promise” “North and South” : a settler’s fantasy  @fireladykatara “North and South” and the issue of progress The A:TLA comics do not follow A:TLA’s visual style Bryke’s interference in the comics What do you think of the role the Air Acolytes played in the comics?

Legend of Korra criticism

A:TLA vs. LOK: simple vs. complex beginnings LOK and inconsistent bending origins Which element is the hardest for an Avatar to learn? How would you write Korra’s development in Books 1-4? Mary Suyin How would you write Suyin Beifong? Suyin: complex vs. annoying characterization Zaheer and compelling belief systems Is Zaheer Korra’s foil? Thoughts on the Red Lotus What do you think of the concept of Raava and Vaatu? What do you think are the most well developed secondary characters in LOK? Varrick, Zhu Li, and abuse Could Makorra have become compatible? Bolin and Lavabending What do you think about the Dai Li surviving into the era of LOK? Bumi and Air Nomad colors Bryke’s extreme responses to fan theories How would a sequel to Legend of Korra play out?

Zutara Meta

A:TLA non-canon shippers keep A:TLA fandom afloat Zuko and Katara: Color symbolism in “Cave of Two Lovers” @marsreds Zuko and Katara: character parallels “Zutara is toxic and unhealthy!” (again) Zuko and Katara, twin flames @peacockarehot Zutara parallels with Darcy and Elizabeth Zutara parallels with Beauty and the Beast Blue Spirit/Painted Lady parallels The Blue Spirit vs. the Painted Lady Were the Blue Spirit and Painted Lady connected? How Zuko shows respect when saving Katara from falling rocks @theadamantdaughter Zuko and Katara’s parenting styles Zuko jumping in front of lightning was sacrificial What would young viewers learn from Zutara? On Zuko interacting more with the GAang Thoughts on School Time Shipping

“What Would [X] Gain from Zutara?” Katara Zuko Sokka Toph Suki Aang Mai Hakoda Iroh Azula Ozai Ursa and Kiyi The Fire Nation and Water Tribes The cabbage merchant

Kataang Criticism

Irrefutable proof that Kataang was NOT always going to be canon @peacockarehot Do you think Katara felt some pressure to date Aang? Kataang and unwanted advances (with @theadamantdaughter) Aang’s possessive behavior toward Katara @theadamantdaughter Why Aang’s behavior in “Love Is a Battlefield” is dangerous Love vs. attachment Does Aang respect Katara? Why “The Fortuneteller” is anti-Kataang Fanon Kataang vs. canon Kataang Could Katara and Aang still be happy together? Katara is aged down in scenes with Aang Kataang and the magic aging (with @jasubb-8) Does Aang’s age excuse his unwanted advances? What if Katara couldn’t give Aang an airbender? Will-they-won’t-they and Kataang Aang’s romances vs. Sokka’s romances @peacockarehot Kataang’s lack of substance in “The Headband” Kataang’s lack of substance in “The Cave of Two Lovers”

Maiko Criticism

Would Ty Mai be more compatible than Maiko? Ty Mai and understanding each other Were Zuko and Mai’s relations consensual? with @theadamantdaughter Why Maiko is prime for failure @peacockarehot Maiko, Zutara, and Conflict @theadamantdaughter The pitfalls of Maiko @peacockarehot Is Maiko or Kataang worse? Is Maiko or Kataang worse? – part 2 Why do Maiko shippers ignore the problems in their ship? Mai never dated the real Zuko Pros and Cons of Maiko

Character Analysis

Aang How would you have written Aang’s character development from Books 1-3? Aang exalting Air Nomad culture above everyone else’s Should Aang’s introspection have followed Buddhist tenets more closely? Rewriting energybending to improve Aang’s character @terminaschosenone Should Aang have had a more prominent teacher or guide? Do you think Aang’s grief at the loss of the Air Nomads was properly presented? Why was Aang not worried about killing Ozai on the Day of Black Sun? Aang vs. the vulture wasp Aang’s reaction to the other Avatars’ advice Aang’s reaction to Yangchen’s advice Aang’s response to Jetara Aang’s anger vs. Katara’s Did Aang truly exhibit contrition for the EIP kiss? How Aang idealizes Katara Did Aang really know how Katara felt because of his own loss? Who would be a good match for Aang?

Azula Could the dragons heal Azula? Do you think any little part of Azula ever loved Zuko? Azula’s motivations for the lightning strike Azula’s motivations for the lightning strike, Part 2 Would Katara feel a moral obligation to help Azula post-A:TLA? How would Azula have compelled Mai to go with her initially if Mai had refused?

Iroh Iroh’s character journey Do Iroh’s values align better with Mai’s or Katara’s? Maiko shipper bashes Iroh and Zuko Zuko and Iroh’s relationship parallels with Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver

Katara Katara and her emotional iceberg Katara would have been more independent if she’d married Zuko Katara puts her emotional needs in front of Aang’s Katara is abandoned at the South Pole Katara crying over Aang vs. Zuko Did Katara’s character development stall? Should Katara have been at the Boiling Rock? Should Katara have forgiven Zuko earlier? Katara lashing out at Sokka during Southern Raiders How do you think Kya would feel about the Southern Raiders? Would it have been in character for Katara to murder Yon Rha? Why does Katara’s character become so irrelevant? @zuzusexytiems Why Katara is not a Mary Sue @daughter-of-water @theadamantdaughter Why do people continually try to make excuses for Katara not fighting in LOK?

Mai What would Mai’s ideal character arc be? Mai doesn’t understand Zuko’s values @honxrable What personality would be best for Mai’s partner? Was Mai originally going to be a villain? Is there any evidence that Mai was scared of Azula? Debunking Mai’s affection for Tom-Tom

Sokka Sokka’s quest to be a man On Sokka seeing Katara’s face instead of his mother’s Sokka’s protective nature

Toph Could Toph and her parents reconcile? Toph and law enforcement

Zuko Is Zuko emotionally unstable? How would Zuko handle the issue of bloodbending? Was Zuko more open in Book 2 or Book 3? Hair cutting symbolism in A:TLA Do you think Zuko has PTSD? Zuko and Aang’s relationship Locations of Zuko’s Agni Kais and their significance The symbolism of Zuko’s scar Zuko is not stoic (@honxrable) Why I Feel Zuko’s Betrayal Was to End Zutara @peacockarehot Piandao as Zuko’s mentor

[joulethieves]

Ri’s FFXII Fic Reclist

(posted 10/17/17; will update and reblog accordingly) I posted a while back asking if anyone would be interested in some recommendations and got a decent response. So, here you go! I’ll try to organize this in the best way possible with characters and pairings and timelines bolded so you can skim faster. If you know me, you know I’m a fervent Balthier/Vaan shipper--but never fear, this rec-list is spread out amongst other facets of the fandom outside of that ship. This is my first installation while I try to find others I’ve read in the past. However, I do have a love for pre-canon, post-canon, and Balthier-centric fics. I’ll try not to rate these in order of favorites, but I do have some top-threes that I’ll post first.

1) Four and Twenty Blackbirds by ColoredInk; Balthier & Fran, Bahamut-centric. as I wrote in my AO3 bookmarks, “the legend. my number one. for all you read in this fandom, read this.” being only shy of 6k, it’s modest, but so, so powerful; Coloredink is one of my favorite XII authors and their Balthier meta has inspired me greatly in my future worldbuilding. The imagery here, the pacing, the darkness the author puts you in. I’ve read this like 20 times, okay.

2) Haunted by Dreams Deferred by Person; Balthier/Vaan, post-Bahamut. This was, hilariously enough, written for me on LJ in 2009 for the BalVaan secret santa. I can’t remember what I requested; I think it was some postgame Bahamut BalVaan angst because that’s my favorite thing, and I think I requested Balthier suffering lasting injuries from it (hell yeah, suffering Balthier, my kink). I was expecting a simple oneshot; what the author wrote was 16k of what is my favorite Balthier/Vaan fanfic out there. It hits all the right spots. Their Vaan is absolutely charming - here he is just the right amount of everything. Their permanently injured Balthier does all sorts of things to me; how he deals with it, how Vaan deals with it, how they both come to deal with it. And Fran’s presence is perfectly placed between them. Really, this partnered with Four and Twenty Blackbirds has done so much for me in my worldbuilding for future XII fics. 

3) The Death of Balthier the Deathless by ColoredInk; Balthier & Fran, a beautifully-crafted postpostpost-game oneshot piece centered around Balthier dealing with aging, mortality, and the like. Airship meta, action scenes, aging Balthier and haunting landscapes really bring this beautifully to life.  And death. Well, what? - The title explains it all. 

more under the cut of various fics featuring Gabranth, Fran, Al-Cid, Vossler, Basch, Cid, Venat, more BalVaan

 Some Watcher of the Skies; Ffamran, Cid, Venat, pre-canon. Once again Coloredink’s interpretation of Balthier outside of canon timeline really adds so much to an already fascinating fan-favorite character.  Ffamran deals with Cid dealing with Venat. Touches on really fun small Balthier-details and a bit about how he meets Fran. Short. (I said interpretation earlier - I would say “understanding” but I find that to be an unfair pedestal to place a fanfic author upon; everyone has their own interpretation, and in fanfic, it’s less of understanding especially in pre-and-post-canon. Understanding is the basis, interpretation is the flesh around the bone. To say a fanfic author “understands” a character sounds too subjective to me.)

Across the Golden Hills - Ffamran-and-Fran-centric, pre-canon; who wants a cute Balthier Meets Fran Fic?? Wow in addition to writing amazing smut Laylah also kills it with the pre-canon meta (on another note, read her other fics re: smut. mmmm) I love reading about Ffamran escaping Archades and he is...so cute here. And Fran is great. I don’t want to give anything away.

Rendezvous & Amorio by ColoredInk - Al-Cid/Balthier, post-canon, two oneshots. Let me have this. They both tickle me. Smutty.

Making His Peace With It by sheffiesharpe - Vossler/Gabranth, Basch/Balthier by sheffiesharpe. Novel-length 100k+ Another Gabranth Lives story but... Wooo--sheffiesharpe. What an author! What a kinky author. I know the fandom has certain sides they take with the Vossler thing so take that as you will, it’s both equally-divided between this ship and I haven’t read the whole thing in many years but it’s excellent from what I recall. I keep trying to re-read it but I can’t find the time, however I totally recommend it. It’s certainly a dedication and labor of love from them and I really remember enjoying how they approach the dynamics between the two pairings. The Vossler/Gabranth is what you’d expect; manly-man things, S&M, macho, angst. The BalBasch is a nice diversion from that to break up that heavy pairing, because face it, BalBasch is cute.

A Clear Line of Sight by sheffiesharpe - Balthier/Basch, post-canon; kind of based off of the above but you don’t have to read the 100k+ fic to understand it, thus why they made this a standalone oneshot fic. It’s just really cute okay. Smutty.

All They Can See by sheffiesharpe - Gabranth, Basch, Drace in-game; a 2k narrative on the attack on Nalbina. Just some interesting meta. I’m not as crazy about the Judges as a good portion of a tumblr niche fandom is here but I find this to be very interesting. 

Something To Keep Him Here by sheffiesharpe - Gabranth, Larsa, beginning of game. Ugh damn I thought I wrote a review for this, I guess I didn’t. I need to. This is one of my favorites due to the absolute vibrancy the author paints into the landscape and action-scenes here. I took so many notes based on how they write. The descriptions are excellent. Gabranth goes on a midnight chocobo ride to get some fresh air and it escalates from there.

Balthier’s Guide to Ivalice by empyrean - Balthier/Vaan, ingame to postgame. Works like these validate this pairing beautifully, starting from the moment Balthier’s attraction is piqued all the way to the denial, discomfort, and finally the acceptance and embracing of his feelings. This work was such a treat. I highly enjoy their ever-aware, forward Vaan. The Vaan that renders Balthier to a sputtering, blinking half-wit. The Vaan that challenges Balthier and proves that, although kind of a dingus and a pretty face, he's no idiot. I wrote a huge review on this anyway so they know how I feel about it.

Way One Moves Time by rabbitprint - Cid, Venat, mentions of Ffamran, pre-canon. Okay--this? This is 10k of freaking excellent and completely 100% overlooked and underloved pre-canon gorgeous meta re: Cid meeting Venat, his struggles coming over to Venat’s proposals, a grieving Cid, an obsessed Cid, a mad and brilliant and infatuated-with-nethecite Cid. Really solid foundation for his character and on-point Occurian dialogue. 

All in Due Time by pennies-4-eyes - Balthier/Vaan, ingame oneshot. This was also written on a request of mine and has stood as one of my favorite little BalVaans ever. Pre-ship tension, a Vaan trying to impress Balthier with some dangerous stunt, Vaan getting hurt, and Balthier’s reaction to it. Oh--and Basch’s presence in this fic is absolutely excellent, a portion of it taking place in his perspective. The author’s understanding of guns and war and PTSD really fit in here. I really love the way the author handles a concerned Balthier as well--it just, hhhh, it hits all the right spots for me. And yes, I’m taking you to FFnet for that one. Sorry.

I Could Drink a Case of You - Balthier/Basch, Al-Cid/Basch, ingame, oneshot - This is so delicious, that’s all I have to say.

as a PS for now - I can’t remember any fics in specific but I do know Threewalls has written over 100 fics of FFXII ranging from long to short 100word drabbles alllll across the board with all sorts of characters and pairings so if you want to do some shopping check them out.