#to summarise; i feel like absolute shit now

[fingertipsmp3]

Why am I a fucking dumbass. Like genuinely

[violenciorp]

What if...? The Super Soldier Serum doesn't work and Steve doesn't become Captain America?

There is a 'What if…?' inspired (?) game ("""immersive story""") on the apple vision now. I have not played it (who the hell would buy an apple vision lmao) but I watched some lets plays (on youtube) and while I don't think the full experience is…. all that great, it does look very nice, seems congruent (canon-compliant?) with everything else from the What if...? show, AND there is a Steve plotline featuring Bucky, Hydra, Red Guardian and kinda Red Skull that has some interesting plot points that I feel are interesting both as character studies or as AU starting points, so I'll summarise and provide some badly screenshoted pictures as evidence 🥲 I'll put this under the read more just in case soemoen here does have 3.5k for useless equipment and wants to experience the 'game' themselves.

Basic set up of the little interactive experience/game; You get recruited by the Watcher to collect all infinity stones for… reasons, and to do that, you get zapped around different multiverses. To collect the power stone (purple), you get put into Siberia, where you learn the following: During the second World War, the allied forces tried to create a supersoldier to put a stop to the Nazis/Hydra -- just as they did in our universe

Unforunately, though, shit goes wrong, the serum doesn't work, and the machines explode, so that Steve doesn't become the hunk of a man we know and love but… well, red skull.

Don't get me wrong, he's still a good guy, but, in his own words: 'The allied forces had an ideal vision of a super soldier -- and that wasn't me.'

They basically didnt use them as propaganda because he's uggo now, lmao. Without touring as a motivational piece doing little shows, though, he also never really becomes Captain America.

And without a force to put their bundled hopes in, the allied forces fall apart, and Hydra wins (!) without a super soldier to stop them.

The timeline gets more fuzzy now, it is not clear to me if some/most/all of the events are meant to be happening at around WW2 time, or much later. 'Siberia 1988' was thrown around, but I'm honestly not sure if it's meant to be the date, or just some reference. However, one character shows up significantly aged at the end of the show, so it actually might be 1988, implying that Hydra did rule most of Europe (?) for 30-40 years. Either way, Hydra does start creating Super Soldiers using the purple Infinity Stone, the Power Stone. Steve, either on a solo-mission or sent by Shield (unclear), goes to Siberia to retrieve the stone, that is guarded by Red Guardian. Red Guardian refuses to give the stone to Steve, as 'the powers of the stone make monsters out of men', using it is "nothing to be proud of" and 'you don't look like scientist. you don't sound like scientist… well, uh… no, you have skull for face' (literal quote, lmao, love it), so they fight.

Steve looses the fight, BUT --- sees Bucky in one of the tanks, before he has to flee the scene, as he is just about to get his ass whooped.

Wanting to save his friend, Steve now helps you to collect all the stones, yadda yadda, intergalactic multiverse bullshit happens, blabla, i dont care. Once you do collect all the other infinity stones with some other marvel characters, there is a bit of a twist, a big showdown, and then you have two choices: Either, you give each hero the stone that they were after, or you "do the right thing" and destroy the stones.

If you go for the good ending and destroy the stone, Steve goes back to his universe. Without the stone being there to create all these Super Soldiers for Hydra Steve and Red Guardian team up to free Winter Soldier Bucky.

and together they form a 'nation-less alliance of superheros' to fight some bad guys which the red guardian calls the… musketeers.

[[It is unclear to me where Steve got a shield, considering that he absolutely didn't have one up to this point. I also wonder if 'nation-less' means that Steve rejects being an American here? Red Guardian not being American makes sense, Bucky not easily being allowed to return also makes sense with all the war crimes he committed, but I do like the idea of Steve doing the right thing here leads him to be a lot less patriotic than in our canon.]]

However: If you do give Steve the infinity stone, he brings it to SHIELD ---- which seems to be represented by the aged What if? model of Howard Stark from the second season of the show, making me believe that it might in fact be playing in 1988 --- which does lead the US to win the war against HYDRA, but also "unleashes the super soldier threat back home" with there being hundreds of supersoldier chambers being shown.

I'm assuming the implication is that shield = hydra or maybe just super soldiers = bad no matter where they are? Interestingly, there is no more mention of Bucky in this ending, so I guess Steve was too busy acquiring world domination or something to still care about him. Considering that Howard is his old-model here, this does imply that Steve only retrieves the power stone by the late 80's. Not sure what he has been up to for the 40 years until then -- was he also somewhere frozen? Do red-skull-supersoldiers just not age? --- but it does imply that Hydra was (openly!) in control of at least most of Central Europe for this entire time period, before the US finally had a chance to beat them.

They are definitly using the same models/assets as in the TV show, so I do wonder if we will see some of these elements in the next season, too, considering they already announced an episode featuring Bucky and Red Guardian. Overall, while I feel like it doesn't really fulfill the criteria of a good interactive game/experience, I found this plot line quite interesting, and having the serum fail Steve, and he therefore nor being the Golden Boy and rejected by the allied forces, plus the potential 40-year long rule of Hydra are super intriguing to me. Bucky and Red Guardian also not being created by the serum, but by the powers of the infinity stone also seem like an interesting starting point for some musings, AUs and fics. I also wonder what Hydra had been doing with Bucky for those 40 years for Steve not having known/heard about him in the mean time. Ie. if someone writes fanfic based on this, please send it to me haha. Or TL; DR: It's basically a "What if Steve was ugly?" (in the words of @tinaxpow )

[harringroveobsessed]

@robthegoodfellow @feedthefandomfest

All done! Thank you for this challenge, although I never need an excuse to binge Harringrove I’ve had a grand old time 🩷

Billy and max - these streets will make you feel brand new by whenyouwishuponastar @whenyouwishuponastar7

Another one of my favourites. Sneaky successful Billy and a flustered Steve trying (and failing) not to fall head over heels in love with the hot guy on the subway. Lots of Robin and Steve fun too. It’s so gooood, I’ve read it too many times to count and adore it every time!

Fix it - Billy Hargrove Is Not Dead melanie_bxx @harringroveera

Another of my favourites. I used to sit every Tuesday staring at my phone waiting for my email with a new chapter. Billy gets his man and a family all in one go. So much lighthearted fun and good vibes in this fic, it always puts a smile on my face. My ultimate fix it Billy fic of all time.

Soft Billy - spinning out (waiting for you) by unlikely_alliance

It’s season 4 with bonus added BILLY so naturally it’s amazing. Little found family action with Billy and the Byers/El which is sweet. Soft boys falling in love while vecna tries to kill everyone and end the world. It has everything you would want to read.

Gay Billy - .｡❅*⋆⍋* Warm Nights at Frosty Heights *⍋⋆*❅｡. By BouncyPickle

Harringrove antics at a fancy fucking 80’s ski lodge. Come on now that’s just fucking amazing. 9 chapters of Steve absolutely wooing Billy with everything he’s got. I smile whenever I even think about this one. It’s just super fun and lighthearted and COSY and makes me feel like Christmas came early.

Billy redemption- Something Like a Family by HashtagLEH

I’m forever obsessed with this one, season 2/3 with much, much more Billy. Like he’s there from the start. Billy & El are besties. Max and Billy fix their shit. Harringrove sweet sweet slow burn. It’s basically how the series would have gone if Harringrove fans could have had their way. Amazing.

Hurt Billy -What If You Loved Me by firstiwasliketheniwaslike

This fic broke my heart several times but it’s already on my reread list. Happy ending though obviously do not fear it just takes a long while to get there. Lots of good honest hurt Billy in this one. There is just so much story spanning over so much time I can’t even summarise anything. You just gotta read it to appreciate it!

Top Billy - California dreaming by writer_in_theory @writer-in-theory

6 years after Billy’s ‘death’ guess who finds him working in a tattoo shop (!)… Steve obviously. I love this one, anything with past lovers coming back to each other has me on board and this fic stole my heart. It’s just lovely and the boys get their happy ending on the beach. I couldn’t ask for more from this fic it’s perfect.

[ash-and-starlight]

hi. So. I feel like I’ve reblogged enough of your art going rabid and screaming about it to actually come here and just tell you. Your art…. I am forever indebted to it. I’m not even joking rn I literally saw your art, realised the link was to tumblr and said: yep. I’m getting tumblr now. I could literally (I’m honestly not exaggerating) write a thesis about how much I love your art buuuuut I feel like that may come across as mildly creepy so I’ll limit it to one ask. Your art is absolutely BREATHTAKING. I cannot express how much I adore it with a passion. Every single time I see it I literally screech and grip my pillows and roll around and cry. You are one of the most talented artists I’ve ever come across. Like I don’t think u understand the sheer POWER that u hold. It’s unmatched, truly. I’ve literally never been so affected by someone’s art in my LIFE and if you ask anyone I know irl who ash is they’ll say: oh it’s that one artist who Sofia is batshit crazy about. You have the most incredible understanding of colours, anatomy, dynamics & poses, linework, emoTIONS, I could go on forever ever. I just hope you know how beloved you are in my eyes and everyone else’s, like we ADORE you and your art. Anyway to summarise this possibly stalker-ish ask. You’re literally the best person ever and your art is my reason to keep going. THANK YOU FOREVER !!! <3333

HIII!! god your tags had me giggling and blushing and kicking my legs for the past few days thank you so muuuuchhh you have no idea how much that means to me 😭😭 and giggling weeping crying abt this message too hello this IS an essay it’s even better than an essay okay!!! holy shit!!?? augh thank youuu thank you thank you so much i have no words like my brain is now just [very loud boiling teapot whistle]

i will think abt this forever and ever, i’m so glad you like my art that much and to know that it affects you so deeply thank you THANKKKK YOUU for taking time to reach out and write so many nice things omg 😭😭

also right back @ u?? im still shook by how you can draw so fast and consistently Good like your style is so distinctive, dynamic and full of life actually let me go get eye enlargement surgery to look at it more

aaaudhshshgds tysm again i’m going to print out your words 2947373 times and use them as wallpaper on my entire house

[natequarter]

I was reading your posts about how badly most/all historical fiction and period dramas are when it comes to faithful portrayals and was wondering about your thoughts on Wolf Hall, whether you read it, watched it, or both. And also, are there examples that you feel do it well? Or are there examples where they get it wrong but you still enjoy them? (Can you tell I’ve been on a historical fiction kick lately?) I know that’s a lot of questions, so please don’t feel obligated to answer them.

oh boy, this is... complicated. i'll start off with wolf hall, because that will probably be easier: necessary disclaimer that i have not watched or read all of wolf hall, but i have read a significant chunk of the first book.

firstly, i actually enjoyed reading wolf hall a lot. there are a couple of bits that grated me when i read it (iirc it suggests that henry viii was to become archbishop of canterbury before the death of his brother, which is emphatically not true; nitpicky, i know, but it's one of the misleading "fun facts" you often hear about henry viii), but for the most part i found it rather refreshing. i have to praise hilary mantel's writing style, of course; it's beautiful prose, and a relieving change from first person present tense narratives, which are bad. (disclaimer: this is a personal opinion. i happen to think that 99% of all first person narratives are utter shit.) in terms of plot events, i think my favourite parts of wolf hall are cromwell with his wife and children, and him grieving his wife and children; the quiet reminders of their absence are heartbreaking.

now, onto the things i didn't like. i didn't love the tv show; nothing wrong with it, necessarily, it just didn't click with me - and it probably didn't help that when i watched it the screen light to room light balance was very off. and as for mantel herself... quite a few people have pointed out that her treatment of the women (notably anne boleyn and jane parker, her sister-in-law) in her series comes off as misogynistic, and i personally find the treatment of thomas more grating. essentially, she buys into a lot of the old narratives of jane parker being 'scheming' and betraying anne boleyn and her brother george; and her depiction of anne can similarly come off as that of a scheming woman and nothing more. there is an argument to be made that we're seeing this through cromwell's eyes, so naturally he's going to be biased against certain people - but mantel is the writer and she chose what she wrote. she seeks to balance out the classic depictions of cromwell as scheming and more as a literal saint, but it tips over into just making more look like a villain - things such as him choosing to educate his wife are warped into more being... evil? somehow? there's a double standard with cromwell vs the other characters: when cromwell is pious, it's devotion; when more is pious, it's fanaticism, and the same with cromwell vs the women in the books. finally, hilary mantel was transphobic. i'm not here to argue about that one.

granted, i don't think these things make wolf hall unforgivably bad, by any stretch of the imagination. i think it's a complex, flawed book and the same applies to the show. i think this youtube review summarises it well overall - and of course these things are always nuanced and complicated and so on and so forth.

there are shows which do historical fiction absolutely horribly, like the spanish princess. i have no interest in defending that, because, as far as i'm concerned, it's a mess not worth attacking; that's been done to death. i would also consider the vast majority of books by philippa gregory and alison weir to be a major waste of time. weir is also a non-fiction writer, and her non-fiction is exactly as bad, so for the love of good, please don't pick those up either. both authors like to draft in rape, magic (dear god, don't talk to me about the fucking magic), not-like-other-girls female characters, incest (???) and a bucket load of misogyny in lieu of actual plot. neither of them are good writers, either.

onto works which do an alright or complicated job. i think wolf hall belongs here - it does some things very well, some things... not so well. i'd also put becoming elizabeth here - as you've said, this is one where they get things wrong but i can still enjoy it. the show covers the reign of edward vi (1547-1553) and the teenage years of elizabeth i (about 13-19, so literally her teenage years). the good parts? it's a fantastic depiction of edward vi and mary - both are brilliantly cast and the acting from them is amazing. it incorporates black characters into authentic period roles, the clothing is really well done, and it shows most of the important parts of edward's reign. the bad parts? well, elizabeth is played by a woman in her late twenties. this lets the whole thing down, frankly. it's supposed to be a show about elizabeth, and yet edward or mary could easily replace her as protagonists - i don't think the actor playing her is great, personally. and then there's the fact that this show portrays the grooming of elizabeth by thomas seymour. the show actually makes their relationship out to be genuine and the two sleep together, a deviation from history and a particularly troubling one given that the real elizabeth was uncomfortable with seymour's advances and actively tried to avoid him. it also spends six of its eight episodes on seymour when seymour was beheaded a third of the way through edward's reign. thus, it has its upsides and its major downsides - oh, and the characters say fuck a lot, which is mildly annoying. but i can enjoy it, as long as elizabeth's not talking and they're not focusing too much on seymour... a bit of a letdown from a show supposedly about her.

there's also the tudors, which is a bit of a mixed bag - it makes some inexplicable changes from history, but it often uses quotations from tudor sources in its dialogue. the casting can be a bit... wonky, but it does have its moments, and offers a somewhat more balanced version of more vs cromwell. i don't particularly like it because it often modernises the characters a bit - and i don't want that! making characters act like modern people seriously misses the point: this is historical fiction, not a modern thriller or whatever. the girlbossification of historical women who were often seriously held back by the men around them and wielded influence in rather different ways to what we think of as strong women is exhausting.

and there is historical fiction which i really enjoy. dissolution (and its sequels) is a murder mystery series by c. j. sansom, narrated by the fictional matthew shardlake, a disabled king's commissioner working for cromwell. he ends up investigating the murder of another commissioner at a monastery in scarnsea. it deals with the issues of religion, gender, and disability in very interesting ways; matthew is not infallible and clearly holds some very tudor views of the world. it's a richly-written world and it really does feel like you're in 1530s england, and i really recommend it. i also like becket (1964) and the lion in winter, neither of which are particularly striving for accuracy - but they're good dramas and brilliantly acted, and, you know, maybe henry ii was secretly in love with thomas becket. (both are heartwrenching films and i will never be over: 'You give the lions of England back to me like a little boy who doesn't want to play anymore. I would have gone to war with all England's might behind me, and even against England's interests, to defend you, Thomas. I would have given away my life laughingly for you. Only I loved you and you didn't love me. That's the difference.') my feelings on bill (2015) are more or less the same - it's an intentionally ahistorical film, and it works because it's well-written and not trying to accurately represent the past. the '70s series like the six wives of henry viii and the shadow of the tower are really enjoyable, too - because they actually cared about making decent series about the tudors relying on the actual events which transpired during the era!

i'll leave the question of costuming out in the open; i think this youtube video has some good points on whether period-accurate costuming is essential. i like it, personally, but i'm not going to be furious at a missed french hood; the only thing that will truly make me furious is a french hood with no veil. either bother, or don't bother! don't... don't do neither, jesus christ! as for historical accuracy in general - i think that's a question which will never have one true answer. personally, i do value a rough adherence to the historical timeline, at least for fairly well-know facts like, i don't know, henry viii having two sisters? why does the tudors merge them into one person? what? anyway. i think these posts offer some valuable insight into how vague and murky a concept historical accuracy really is and how it can be wielded as a weapon against people rather than in the interests of a good story (read at your own peril - they are quite long). there is also the problem of hindsight - as readers, we know that edward vi will die at only fifteen. the average person at the time did not! well, not until 1553. the point is, books where the narrator has seemingly prophetic powers or knowledge of future events are unrealistic. what i think is most important is writing stories that more or less accord to the timeline of history in the general details and capturing the attitudes of people who lived in the past decently. this is what really brings historical fiction to life, in my opinion. these also offer up good opportunities for parody and satire - a film which intentionally gets history wrong Because Incest is frustrating, but a film which intentionally gets history wrong to parody it, like blackadder, can be incredibly entertaining. inaccuracy is not always bad. that said, if you don't make henry viii ginger, i will hate you forever. soz. as for language - it's ridiculous to expect dialogue to be written 100% in middle english or what-have-you, but the occasional 'god's bones!' instead of 'oh my god' would be nice, and an avoidance of just putting a load of fucks in there...

and finally, for the elephant in the room... misogyny. there are certainly other -isms which permeate historical fiction as they do everything else, but this is the big one. so many depictions of women in historical fiction uncritically buy into the narratives of misogynistic medieval commentators which we have inherited from centuries of men recycling them. like calling women sluts, or witches, or writing them as genuinely sleeping with a male relative - taking the slander against them literally. like boxing women into a few stereotypes - docile and submissive; scheming bitch; old hag; and whore. like sexing up rapists and groomers. like forgiving historical men for things we condemn historical women for.

i hope this helped! i have many thoughts, none of which are easily summarised. i don't know if there's a right answer to this. but i do know one thing: the white princess is bad. thank you for the ask!

[draxua]

Quick tarot reading for @mysicklove <3

Ace of swords reversed 6 of wands Queen of cups + others

"What do you think of Mello? + any messages you think she may need"

• A very sexy but overly confused girl boss, it's ok to be socially unaware, girl. we love you for that!

• People shouldn't let your socially unaware moments cloud their judgement on your intellectual you're actually extremely intelligent your mind is sharp and you're able to cut through confusing situations and equations, your intellectual engagement is high I forgot what exactly you major in right now but its less vocational and creative and more on the academic side, something to do with problem solving, communicating with others and helping them stay in tune with themselves if not in education this can take other areas of your life like relationships, it may be something you offer to people you love or try to offer ; open mindedness, advice and overall just being a support system in a more physical sense I don't think your best communication is through words but more actions like acts of service or physical touch to which I have a feeling either one of those or perhaps both are your love languages or you attract a wide variety of people who look for these qualities within a relationship, to which you are happy to provide with them

• People feel like they can confind in you, you have that guidance counsellor we all loved as kids because she was cool and genuinely loved her job but got sacked because she got caught smoking marijuana on school site, moving swiftly on!

• You're quite an intimate person, honestly people are lucky to get into a relationship with you. You bring harmony but strength and empowerment to your relationships it's something people who have earned your intimacy actually love about you, you're capable of making strong bonds with someone else whether it's mutal or one sided. You carry an energy which makes people chase and get heavily attracted to you after receiving a bite out of you (with you and this scenario its vice versa) absolute alpha behaviour, you go girl!

• The cards wish to congratulate you on your most recent tumblr milestone, 6 of wands acknowledges public acknowledgment for your hard efforts. That aside the 6 of wands encourages you to give yourself a big hug, you did so much girl they know things didn't turn out exactly as you had planned but you did amazingly, but please be reminded to not let guilt or fear for the future stop you from getting opportunities and stand in the way of your success you still got a looooong way to go, you'll look back at that "moment of panic" and think things turned out for the better.

• The Queen of Cups has beautiful imagery of a woman, she sits on a throne nearby the sea just at the very edge. She holds a golden, that have handles shaped like angels. Most of the cups in the Suit of Cups cards are open this cup is closed (arent you special) – The Queen’s true thoughts and inner feelings are veiled and only arise from the very depths of her soul.

• To summarise you have some deeeeeep feels that are only uncovered through creative processes, because duh you write shit for the girls on tumblr and we eat it up everytime

• Ittu bitty thing I wanna slide in there try looking into moon cycle rituals 👀

I'm also seeing some confusion. You're lacking clear sight of what's to come. Lately, your emotions have felt at the top of the glass. It's close to overspilling. It seems that now you're in a difficult position. You're beginning to give up on your dreams, take this as a lesson to learn to see things from a different perspective, and see things aren't as doom and gloom as you think. Success is in reach for you dear, right now what you need is persistence they're telling you to keep going!!

[spicymcdilucs]

“is this what falling in love feels like?”

— scaralumi

lumine is looking at him. shit— his palms are sweaty, for some reason. (he doesn’t even have a heart, but why does his chest feel like it’s constricting?)

in which scaramouche discovers what falling in love, feels like.

“i’ve been feeling weird, lately.”

“could you specify more on that feeling?”

“…i don’t know,” scaramouche frowns. it’s foreign, new and absolutely nothing like he’s felt before. tighnari purses his lips at this reply and hums.

“i mean— it doesn’t happen all the time, just… ocassionally.”

“and this happened while you were in the forest?” tighnari queries.

“yeah. but i’ve been here before. it’s not like i’m not used to those weird ass mushrooms,” scaramouche scoffs. “the withering has little to no effect on me either.”

tighnari frowns. if it wasn’t the spores from the mushroom nor the withering zones affecting this man, then what was it?

he mentioned symptoms of random heart palpitations, stomachache but without the constipation— and a slight fever, but only on his cheeks?

tighnari sighs.

was there some sort of new mushroom species he hasn’t discovered yet?

“could you tell me when this started so i can align the timeframe?”

maybe there were more secrets to the avidya forest that he hasn’t discovered yet, or maybe scaramouche has been hallucinating.

“uh— ‘bout a week ago.” scaramouche nods. his symptoms are gone now, but it distracts him more than he thought it would when it randomly appears.

“were you alone by then? no researchers around?” tighnari suspects the usage of incense, maybe that would’ve triggered the indigo-haired male.

“no researchers,” scaramouche shakes his head. “just… her. and that stupid floating glutton of hers.”

‘her?’ tighnari blinks. was he referring to lumine?

“was lumine there to see your symptoms?” tighnari flips his notebook to another page.

“she was— i think she noticed it first,” scaramouche scratches his cheek. “then she took me here. ‘said you’re the best around.”

tighnari warms at the comment.

“tighnari!” lumine knocks a few times before entering, a small smile on her face while she greets the male. “how is he?”

oh.

it’s back— the symptoms are back.

scaramouche feels his stomach churn, but it doesn’t hurt. he places a hand against his stomach in concern before shifting his attention to the blonde.

“you’re here,” tighnari waves and nods. “i’m still trying to figure out his symptoms, but perhaps you could help.”

“me?” lumine points at herself and blinks, while tighnari nods.

“he mentioned the symptoms started while you were around. maybe your elemental skills had triggered something around the forest, or maybe scaramouche himself.” he deduces, and lumine walks closer to scaramouche.

“my elemental skills? on him?” lumine’s only a feet away and scaramouche feels his heart race.

goddamnit— it’s coming back. the uneasy feelings felt by his body, and when he turns to look at her, their eyes meet and he feels his ears stain pink.

“doc.” he mutters, hand on his cheek to feel for warmth. the heat that radiates confirms it.

tighnari raises an eyebrow at the nickname.

“it’s— it’s back.” scaramouche frowns. “i don’t feel well.”

lumine frowns, looking at her palms to see if she had been unconsciously releasing dendro energy. there’s no pulse where her ‘vision’ lies, and her elemental sight isn’t activated, so— why?

“please, take a seat,” tighnari directs scaramouche to his bed, settling him down and fishes for his notebook. “care to describe what you’re currently feeling?”

“just like i said before,” scaramouche mutters, irritant in his tone. “it hurts, right here— (he points to his chest,) and then there’s that stomachache. like i swallowed a bunch of crystalflies.”

“i… feel warm, too.” scaramouche places a hand against his forehead and frowns. tighnari hums, taking a step back to summarise his thoughts regarding scaramouche’s conditions so far.

“i told you relying on your hat wasn’t going to save you from the rain,” lumine moves towards scaramouche, settling down on the bed beside him with a worried scowl. “now you’re sick.”

she says, worry in her tone akin to a mother doting on her child and places a hand against his forehead. she invades his personal space like it’s secondary to her nature, and scaramouche flinches at the sudden contact.

her hand is cold, and he can feel his cheeks warm up.

“y-you— you’re the reason why i’m like this!” he points an accusing finger at lumine’s bewildered face.

“m-me?” lumine points at herself, appalled at the accusation. “what did i ever do to you?!”

“…i don’t know, but you— you better stay away, because these.. these damned symptoms keep showing up when you’re near.” scaramouche stands, frowning. “you better take respons—“

“…i figured it out,” tighnari turns, tail wagging slightly with an innocent smile on his face. “heart palpitations, sudden increase in temperature, randomised flutters in the abdominal region—“

“my brother scaramouche, it’s called ‘falling in love’.”

“…”

“…you’ve got to be kidding me.”

— end.

[spinderella-umbrella]

i’m so curious about the cycle breaks with us. snippet pretty please 🥺

Oooh! This one is actually on A03, you can find it here: The Cycle Breaks With Us. It's on hiatus right now, but I will be returning to posting once I'm done with trans fest because I want to see it through. Having said that, my writing style has likely shifted and developed since I started posting so it might need a cheeky re-write.

I am super fond of this fic. It's a Regulus and Wolfstar raising Harry AU/ Horcrux hunt, if I'm going to summarise it.

I've thrown in a wee little snippet under the line from Chapter 7.

He was smiling down at Harry when he noticed someone had stopped in front of them. Feeling eyes on him, Regulus cautiously peered up as he subtly drew his wand from his sleeve so he could feel the wood in his palm. 

He was not prepared for what he saw. 

Remus Lupin, wide eyed, turned on his heel and rushed back for the front of the bus. “Stop the bus!” He begged in a panicked tone.

“Absolutely not.” Regulus stood up quickly and Harry giggled, apparently unaware of the distress Regulus was feeling. If fate was kind enough to have them cross paths, he was not going to lose Lupin now. The bus stopped regardless of Regulus’ disapproval, and he snatched up his duffel before running off the bus after Remus.

“Remus John Lupin you stop right now!” Regulus shouted, which causes Harry to cry. “Shit.” he mutters, quickening his pace nonetheless.

Remus was running. Regulus groans, rolling his eyes as he fires a tripping jinx, apparating quickly despite the already distressed child to catch up to Remus who is now pulling himself up off of the ground. As he stands, Regulus aims his wand under the taller man's chin. Remus glares down at him, jaw tight. 

[storiesbyrhi]

I just re-watched season 3 of Stranger Things (a.k.a. nobody checks on the children for four days straight) and here's the takeaway for me - whoever I was when I watched it in 2019 is not the girl you see before you. I have a wayyyy different interpretation of the characters and the show.

(Season 1 thoughts here. Season 2 thoughts here.)

Sorry to go all My Favorite Murder on you, but here's Correction Corner:

I should have mentioned Sam Owens in my S2 thoughts; I was suss of him in 2017. Still suss in the rewatch.

It was cool meeting Sinclair and Henderson families. Obviously, Erica was iconic from the get-go.

Needed more Scott Clarke.

Alright, it's Scoops Ahoy season, baby!

I'll never be as funny as Erica. I'm so glad someone realised that Priah Ferguson has impeccable comedic timing and tone. She makes the show better.

This is totally my personal feeling and definitely relates to the trauma I have experienced IRL, but I am so uncomfortable and scared of Hopper this season. I understand why he is so protective of El, but for me it crosses the line. The drinking. The way he reacts to Joyce not showing up at Enzo's. How he talks to her after. Gives me the ick. He's chilled out by the end but season 3 Hopper is not my fav.

Oh, hey, just another season of Joyce being absolutely fucking right from the get-go. When will people just believe her? As always, she's so great. Also, Joyce looking out for Alexei is so in character.

Alright, we're back on the Billy discourse. I saw someone write a post about how he wasn't the best choice for the Mind Flayer host because he was already an asshole so there wasn't enough contrast (I'm summarising, also if I can find the post I'll tag and link here). They're totally right. We don't get much character development for Billy because he's flayed by the end of episode 1, so I guess my opinion of him from season 2 stands? We get the backstory, but it still doesn't justify shit imo. This is probably a controversial opinion, but his death was less like 'I'm going to try to save these kids' or whatever, and more 'I'm awake and pissed I was mind controlled, so fuck you monster!' PSA: Adults shouldn't perv on teenagers. The Billy fan club by the pool makes me so uncomfy. Even if this is a thing lmao. Can't one single adult treat this kid right?!

I love Steve this season. He's totally himself for the first time. He's romantic, unhinged, smarter than people give him credit for, and a really shitty babysitter! He was always a great character, but Robin really makes him shine. Steve is so babygirl this season.

Karen Wheeler is a star. Not a perfect woman, but a brilliant character.

I forgot how smart Robin is? Why did they dumb her down in season 4? She is multi-lingual, a musical genius, generates a lot of the plot-driving ideas in the season, and is a charming mix of "hyper" (as Steve puts it) and warm empathy. She is also brave as hell; the way she spits at the Russian? I never really understood people's issues with season 4 Robin, but I get it now. She should have been more than just comedic relief - this season proves that.

Needs more Scott Clarke.

Will is so sidelined this season and I fucking hate it. He is the heart of this show. I know Mike is their star and by this point everyone was frothing Finn Wolfhard but man, they didn't need to bench Will. I understand that we're watching the boys grow up while Will feels different* and left behind, but surely there could have been more for Will to do? (*I'm not even gonna go into the queer subtext because it's way too much for this post.) Also, it's a goddamn shame that Will never gets to be in Hellfire and have Eddie as a DM. He'd have loved Eddie so fucking much.

I know how Nancy is treated at the newspaper is period accurate or whatever, but it sucks. She's such a hard worker, always out there researching and writing, and caring so, so deeply. I love her. She is constantly MVP. Glad they keep giving her guns.

Jonathan has lost some of his likeability, but I think there are a lot of interesting interplays between him, socioeconomic/class status, and Nancy. I totally get where he's coming from, and I think it says a lot about his character that he can admit when he's wrong.

Hive Mind Army isn't as creepy as anything we've seen before in the show because it's just like like... super cliche idk? I forgot they all turn to sludge to form the Flayer. The scene at the end of episode 6 where they just... melt... is kind of fucking horrifying though. Love that.

Mike gets more lackluster each season?

Lucas is funny and smart. I love him and Erica. I love him and Max. He's great.

Part of me wishes Dustin wasn't separated from the others, but Scoops Troop was so unexpected and works so well that I can't be mad.

It's kind of a joy to watch El come into herself more. I still would have liked more El/Will bonding but ya can't win them all. At least she gets Max, who also gets her own multifaceted personality this season too.

Murray last season was a non-event to me. Could take him or leave him. I vibe him this time around.

I remember loving Alexei. I was right to. God, his death sucked. It's almost like... hmm... no... almost... surely not... they... keep... they wouldn't... writing good goddamn characters and then kill them off instead of giving any real-life stakes to their plot-armored main cast?!?

I don't vibe Jopper as a ship this season.

Suzie demanding The NeverEnding Story in the middle of an emergency is the same energy as Eddie deciding the only way to distract the demobats was to play Master of Puppets on the trailer roof.

Every season ends with a time skip forward. I had forgotten that. Makes the season 4 one less weird.

Speaking of season 4... That's next, baby! I have re-watched it so many times but I'm doing it again, now armed with my brand new updated opinions and feelings! Yewwwwww. Here we go!

This has been a Stranger Things Rhi-Watch.

[luthientinu]

A Drunken Tale- Namor/K'uk'ulkan x Shuri

My gratitude goes out to @the-last-dragonfly for being a great writing buddy!!

This oneshot was inspired by Chapter 7 of the fic 'From Eden' by Tytue 

Xhosa and Yucatec Maya is in bold and in italics. Flashbacks are in italics.

Shuri woke up with a groan and immediately covered her head with her palms and rubbed her temples trying to soothe the throbbing headache. Shuri hadn’t felt like this in years. She was glad the curtains were still covered but letting in weak light. To summarise she felt like shit. She heard footsteps coming her way and squinted up to see her husband and their children in tow. 

“Ah! My Queen is awake! Good morning In Yakunaj. How are you feeling?” K'uk'ulkan smiled at her, keeping a tray (she assumed it was breakfast) on the bedside table and he gestured to Itzel and Aphiwe to keep the water pitcher and a little jar which contained a mystery clear liquid. 

“Good morning Umama ” the twins chorused together and they sat on either side of the bed and grinned at her.

“Good morning! I am not feeling fine at all…in fact I feel absolutely terrible. What happened?” Shuri looked at K'uk'ulkan who had a smug look and the twins were trying not to grin at her. 

“Eat some breakfast first and then we’ll tell you what happened. Children help your mother up.”, to which the kids promptly responded. Seated and having her breakfast, Shuri looked at the three quite suspiciously.

“What are you three up to?”

“Nothing Mama. We just wanted to see you” Itzel sweetly replied to which Aphiwe nodded quite serenely, which made Shuri even suspicious. She didn’t ask anymore questions and after breakfast K'uk'ulkan handed her the little jar, claiming it will help her with the hangover and that this has been made by the Talokanil healers.

Shuri lets out a huge sigh and dejectedly asks, “What did I do?”

“Why Itzia ? Don’t you remember yesterday’s glorious night?” Shuri gives him an apprehensive look which did not mask the panic in her eyes as she tried her very best to remember something about last night. Shuri does remember that it was the annual celebration for the alliance. She does remember dancing with her husband and oh no…

“ Umama you started flirting with Baba and in front of everyone…” Aphiwe informed her quite gleefully.

Itzel jumped in and continued, mirth shining in her brown eyes (she looks so much like K'uk'ulkan noted Shuri). “You asked whether he was single mama…” Itzel noticed the smirk on her father’s face and the mortified look on her mother’s face. “When Baba replied no you started crying..” Itzel could not stop the laughter from ringing out which immediately set off her brother and father. She swore she saw her mama’s lips curling into a smile and they all began recounting last night’s events with gusto.

It was the annual celebration held to commemorate the alliance between Wakanda and Talokan. Everything was perfectly planned to the dot and spirits were high with everyone in a celebratory mood and dressed to the nines. Shuri had spent a couple of minutes observing everyone- She was glad to see the Wakandans and the Talokanils mingling with one another. Shuri spotted Toussaint, Itzel and Aphiwe making their way to the buffet table and making a beeline towards their grandmother (Shuri had given the now sixteen-year-old twins stern warnings as not to get caught drinking). Nakia, Namora and M’Baku were engrossed in deep conversation. Shuri was slightly taken aback when she saw Attuma pull Okoye to the dance floor but it was no surprise to her. Her musings were interrupted when K'uk'ulkan insisted they too join the dancing. 

“ In Reina '' he said, offering his hand to her. Shuri accepted it more than delighted, it was something she had discovered after marrying, she loves dancing with her husband and he never fails to sweep her off her feet. In moments like this she could forget every problem or royal obligation and just be herself. The couple had a great time and after a couple of dances Shuri dragged K'uk'ulkan towards the bar wanting to have a drink, knowing very well she cannot get drunk due to the herb.

Shuri makes an offhand remark to K'uk'ulkan lamenting the fact that she cannot get drunk anymore. K'uk'ulkan gives her a winning smile and begins his explanation.

“I suppose you are familiar with Pulque ?” Shuri nodded, having had the drink before. “My people after going underwater experimented with different types of ways to recreate Pulque or Chih . The brewers after much trial and error were able to create it, but it was quite different and similar at the same time. This concoction is quite potent and strong which I think may have the ability to bypass the herb. We tend not to drink too much of it and we only bring it out during important festivals and celebrations.”

“That’s amazing!” Scientist Shuri had thousands of questions but she held all of it at bay, wanting to try it out first.

“Hand a glass over Husband!”

K'uk'ulkan hands her a glass. “You need to take….” Before he could continue, Shuri grabs a glass and downs it in one go. “....small sips…”

“This is great! Where have you been hiding this all this time?” exclaimed Shuri, quite excitedly, pouring herself another glass.

“Shuri slow down…this is not going anywhere.”

“Come on K'uk'ulkan! Have a drink with me!”

Shuri is flat out drunk by the fourth drink. K'uk'ulkan is quite amused and intrigued to see this side of Shuri. He sees the lovey dovey eyes she is directing at him. Their children approach them and Itzel asks, seeing the carefree look on her mother’s face.

"Is mama drunk yuum ?”

“Why would you assume I am drunk umncinci wam ?”

“ Umama is definitely drunk Baba ” 

Shuri looks at K'uk'ulkan. “My love, why don’t we…” she paused, hiccuping. “...ditch all of this'' she gestured to the room. “...including our kids and get a room. Just like before they were born.”

K'uk'ulkan choked on his drink while the kids made exclamations of disgust and covered their ears (“Eww..Mama! Please stop!!”) 

He lets out a laugh. " In Yakunaj not now." Shuri gives him a pout and doe eyes which took all his willpower not to give in. Having the kids near helped ground him as he did not want to scar them for life. Itzel and Aphiwe took this as their cue to get away from their parents for now.

Shuri gets more and more flirty as the alcohol from the four glasses starts to kick in. Okoye, Attuma, Namora and Nakia approached them having been told by the twins that Shuri was drunk. At this point, Shuri was singing out his praises- how handsome and charming he is. K'uk'ulkan was trying not to laugh out loud. Attuma and K'uk'ulkan shared a smirk to which Namora sighed and face palmed herself. Shuri leaned towards Nakia and Okoye and whispered something, which made the two splutter in disbelief. “Oh Bast…she really is drunk '', muttered Okoye, looking amused.

Ignoring all those in the room, Shuri turned to K'uk'ulkan. “Are you single handsome?” K'uk'ulkan heard groans, the loudest were the twins.

“No Shuri.” he replied with a smile.

To his and the others' surprise Shuri bursts into tears. K'uk'ulkan knew that it was high time for them to retire for the night. “Alright In Yakunaj off to bed with you.” He began leading her out of the room, but failed when she began stumbling in her heels and long dress. Sighing he swept her into his arms. Shuri spots the twins sporting amused looks. She throws in another compliment at them. “I love you both my little prince and princess…mama is so proud of you.” (“We love you too umama …now please go rest”) Shuri giggles and fiddles with his cape. “See love, we make beautiful children.” K'uk'ulkan hears the amused chuckles and the embarrassed groans from the twins (“PLEASE GO TO SLEEP MAMA!! WE DON’T WANT HEAR THAT ABOUT BABA!!”) 

“You’ve had quite the evening haven’t you Shuri?”

K'uk'ulkan will never forget the look of absolute mortification on Shuri’s face for the rest of his lifetime as he and the twins relayed last night’s events to her. He did not stop there and continued with a smug smile. Bastard’s enjoying himself mused Shuri to herself. 

“I had to feed you dinner too Shuri because if you had slept without eating you would feel even worse and you acted like a petulant child love. Itzel and Aphiwe were not that difficult when they were small.”

“What?!” Her incredulous tone was the last straw for the kids as they howled with laughter.

“Laugh all you want my loves because I have all the videos of me and Baba feeding you when you were both toddlers…you both were extremely messy eaters. We wouldn’t want your friends accidently seeing the footage now do you?” Shuri called out, mock glaring at them. The children immediately stopped laughing but it didn’t stop them from telling Shuri about her embarrassing moments from last night. She will have to review the video footage and delete it from GRIOT’s database.

“Why mama you told everyone Baba is quite handsome and charming” (which is quite true but Shuri wanted to bury herself and never come out after seeing the smirk on   K'uk'ulkan’s face).

“You also wanted to leave the celebration early and get a room.” whispered K'uk'ulkan, leaning back to observe her.

“I SAID WHAT?!”

Itzel and Aphiwe did not need to think twice to guess what he had told her and it was too much to bear as they both dissolved into laughter once more.

Shuri wanted the earth to open up and swallow her. She threw a pillow at her husband who was grinning at her and buried herself under the covers. How will she face the others? Oh Bast! Umama must have seen her acting like a complete fool and T’Challa must be having a good laugh at her expense in the ancestral realm. This will be the last time she will ever drink for Bast’s sake!

K'uk'ulkan dragged back the covers to reveal a pouting Shuri. “I am sorry In Reina but you are quite entertaining when drunk.” He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. “Rest up. You will feel better after some time.”

Translations

Xhosa- Used Google Translate & Translate.com

Umama- Mother

Baba- Father

Umncinci wam- My little one

Yucatec Maya- Used Microsoft Bing & Translate.com

In Yakunaj- my love

Itzia- Princess

In Reina- My Queen

Pulque (Chih)- An alcoholic beverage originated and made in Central Mexico. It's history extends to the Mesoamerican Period where it was considered sacred and limited to certain occasions and classes of people (Wikipedia)

Yuum- Father

I went on full research mode to find a alcoholic drink (when I never ever had a proper alcoholic drink lol). I selected Pulque and took some creative liberties to adjust it to suit the Talokanils. If there's a mistake please inform me about it as my only sources were websites (which I will be linking). Link 1 Link 2

Please tell me if there's any mistake with the translations. English is not our first language so please feel free to point out any errors.

Likes, Reblogs and comments are welcome!!

Posted on Ao3 and on Fanfiction.net

Previous- Surprise?- One Shot 2

Next- Meeting Mishaps- One Shot 4

Namor/K'uk'ulkan x Shuri Masterlist

Main Masterlist

[lbulldesigns]

What If AU

I was watching the Enemy music video and the part that shows the GIF above gave me an idea for a what if AU.d

So, for context, the events leading up to this "argument"a.k.a Vi kinda losing her shit at Powder and shoving her was best summarised (from my POV) as Powder getting a bit cocky and pretending to shoot the Enforcers, which I think was encouraged by Mylo going by how annoyed Vi looks at him when he does the finger guns at the airship in Ep 1.

My guess is that Mylo was talking big game about shooting Enforcers down and doing the finger guns at them when they weren't looking, and Powder decided that she would show Mylo how brave she is by doing the same thing to the Enforcers faces.

Which results in the Enforcers frisking them, because poor big men felt threatened by an eleven year old girl pretending to shoot them 🙄, and Vi being Vi took all of her worries, anger, and frustrations about the situation by yelling at Powder and then shoving her.

This isn't meant to be a dig at Vi, she's pretty young herself and isn't well equipped with handling her emotions that well yet; she's albeit better at handling them than Powder is but at this age she's still developing her emotional control, and the environment they live in doesn't help much with that development.

Vi does apologise, this is indicated at the start of the video when we see Vi hugging a distraught and crying Powder 🥺

So where the what if scenario comes in is, what if Powder broke her arm when Vi shoved her into the floor?

I think that the GIF above wouldn't happen because Powder might be reluctant to speak or go near Vi afterwards because:

She's a little afraid

She's angry at herself for being afraid and for making Vi angry at her,

And, she's angry at Vi for hurting her but tries very hard not to be because she believes Vi has every right to be angry at her because Vi wouldn't hurt her unless she deserved it 🥺💔

Vi on the other hand would be absolutely devastated and consumed with guilt and now is terrified of Powder not feeling safe around her anymore, she's also filled with so much anger at herself for not controlling her temper.

Vander is also filled with guilt because he doesn't feel like he's doing enough to persuade Vi into channeling her frustrations into less violent means, and because he was so busy calming Vi down he didn't realise that Powder was hurt until hours later because she didn't come to him for help or comfort, and Mylo and Claggor were busy doing their own thing; a.k.a Claggor was keeping Mylo busy so that he wouldn't lay into Powder and call her a jinx.

So for hours Powder sat on the floor of the basement cradling her arm, feeling hurt both physically and emotionally. When Vi and Vander go down there and see she's sitting in the same spot sniffling, Vi rushes over to hug Powder and comfort her but when she grabs Powder's arm (the broken one) she's taken aback when Powder screams and lashes out and clocks Vi in the cheek.

Vi almost loses it again but then sees Powder bawling her eyes out and cradling her arm, when she tries to see what's wrong Powder flinches away from her and scoots away from Vi because she's scared Vi's still angry at her.

Long story short Vander takes Powder to a medic and it's determined that her arm is fractured and she needs to get a cast, she's able to get a pink cast because the medic has a great deal of respect for Vander and went through the process of dying the plaster pink upon his request, Vi keeps apologizing and Powder keeps saying it's "okay" but otherwise is pretty quiet around everyone now.

So the events of Arcane would change quite a bit because Powder wouldn't be present during the robbery, so the explosion would never happen. But the crystals are still stolen because Vi finds them and hopes to use the money from selling them to get some books and treats for Powder, she also decides to give Powder the music box (although she doesn't know that it's a collectable).

Unfortunately when Jayce returns to his apartment and sees a glimpse of Vi fleeing from his apartment, there isn't any explosion to distract him from persuing. Although there's no need for an explosion to distract him because he's unable to follow the robbers and he can't go to the Enforcers because of the illegal nature of his experiments, he has a lot of fun explaining this to Caitlyn who wants to report to the Enforcers.

Spoiler Alert: she confides in Grayson who then decides to approach Vander unofficially, so there's no Enforcer army marching through the Undercity nor are the Council looking for their pound of flesh. But Vander still has to deal with this headache.

Because Jayce can't make an official report he decides to go to the Undercity himself to get his life's work back. But doesn't really know his way around so he goes to Viktor, after Heimendinger mentions how his assistant is from the Undercity when Jayce tells him he's planning a trip to the city, and asks for a guide. Long story short, Viktor and Jayce bond during their trip in the Undercity and Jayce tells Viktor all about his research and eventually they become partners.

This post, like all my posts, is getting a bit long. I don't know where the story would go from here so I wanted to throw this question out there.

What else do you guys think would change in this What If story?

[rein-ette]

Okay I know its been a while but everytime I come back into hetalia I just fall in love with your England relationship chart every time!! Its so good!!! I love the little things like the same time he's married and deeply in love with Portugal he's getting his back blown out by Spain his husbands brother like wgrgshegqgsy sorry 😭 its just a great chart I love it!! But I was wondering if you can would you be able to tell us your own hc for his relationship with people like China, Russia, the nordics? Its okay if not!! Again I love all your England hc!! :^)

OKAY i was going through (one of my many) hetalia withdrawal phases and being crushed by work but now that im on break I just had to answer this ;-; thank you so much for loving my content enough to send an ask even though I've been dead for so long ;;-;; <3

I cant guarantee the quality of these hcs (when could I ever) but here are some of my thoughts on England and China:

I must say to start off that being ethnically Chinese and having grown up in Tianjin, I deeply disagree with Himas portrayal of China, so lets just forget that ever happened~ :,)

So what do I think China’s actually like? Its impossible to summarise in a couple words, but my overall impression has always been that he is simultaneously a very warm and very cold person. In fact, perhaps its best to say hes a reverse tsun? In this sense he is in some ways the opposite of England — with acquaintances and colleagues he is courteous and good-humoured, with friends he is generous and lively, with family he is fussy and scolding — but with almost no one is he truly honest or vulnerable. This trait means everyone who have known China can be generally split into two groups — those who are completely comfortable with his mode of interaction and either aren’t interested in his inner thoughts or don’t mind not knowing everything, and those who are made distinctly uncomfortable by his inscrutability.

I would say England belongs more to the second group. As pointed out, this is because in this sense they are opposites. Arthur prefers to come across as respectable, serious, even cold when it suits him, but is actually a warm-hearted and deeply passionate man. Even as he puts on his front, he hopes to be understood. China, on the other hand, is not at all interested in being seen through. Perhaps people will understand if I say he is much like France in this sense — for them, good humour is both a basic and essential form a respect towards others and a shield, which obscures that which is truly important to them. England, despite all his scheming, has little patience this kind of emotional obfuscation. When it comes down to it, England would much rather get to the point and either reach a mutually beneficial agreement or come to blows, so the fact that he feels China is often not being entirely straight with him is at best unsettling and at worst infuriating. When he was younger (and brasher), this sometimes led to loud declarations and privateer-style chair-kicking (think Opium War era, where Arthur thought he was absolute shit + a healthy dash of racism), which was always met with either disdainful silence or barbed comments. As he has matured, he has grown to respect both China’s grace as a host as a virtue in and of itself, and his emotional reservedness as a sound political/diplomatic strategy, though he has not gotten over his personal discomfort.

For his part, China views England very objectively, with no particular positive or negative emotional attachments. One might think that because the Opium Wars and general Western arm-twisting brought to an end China’s monarchy and to some extent its glory age as a world power, he might harbour resentment towards Arthur. But — and here is where I draw from actual personal experience for my hcs — most Chinese dont have any particular feelings of anger towards Europe or America, as opposed to the way they might feel towards Japan, for example. In fact, China admires and acknowledges Europe and England has having become very “refined,” artistically and technologically innovative, and generally sophisticated. Personally, I don’t like thinking of human development as being linear and of any culture as reaching a higher level of sophistication than any other, but there is definitely this feeling in China that Western culture has “become” something worthy of respect. While he once might have been angry, and he certainly found many of England’s methods in the 18/1900s boorish and distasteful, overall for China the strong dominating the weak is a political reality, and in the 1800s he was weak.

I want to emphasize here that just because I characterise China this way, does not mean that I personally approve or disapprove of these worldviews. I have always hesitated to write about him, a country that I love and am arguably more familiar with than Europe, because of the imminently political implications, but I’m answering this ask now because I think not doing so is also doing a magnificent and deeply complex country a disservice. Hetalia is eurocentric enough as it is. I want to do my part to correct that, and it makes me happy that there are people like OP who are interested enough to listen. Thanks again for the ask — I hope it met your expectations!

[vesemirsexual]

What are your thoughts on different Geralt relationships? Shani Essi Triss etcetc

I’m a Yennefer girlie through and through so keep in mind that likely shapes my thoughts on this! Also, I don’t have my laptop in front of me or I’d be pulling text excerpts to illustrate some of what I’m going to say, but I will endeavour to reliably try and remember what I’m talking about lmao

(Also, now I’ve summarised some quick thoughts, this is kinda the relationships/kinda the women he has them with? A rare time you might see me bashing a woman character rip. Warning below that I may have shat on your faves a little, and for mentions of sexual assault/rape.)

• Iola - This is such a one night stand to me. This is Geralt is injured and moping and honestly just takes the opportunity there. It’s pretty clear from his reaction the next morning too. This comes up in the well-referenced Geralt and Sexual Assaults post as dubcon, which admittedly I hadn’t even considered at first, but considering that Geralt is fucked up and barely even remember what Iola looks like the next morning, yeah I can see that. This is such a non-thing to me.

• Triss - People can argue until the sun comes up but I’m willing to die on the hill that this instance was sexual assault/rape. The way she talks about hitting on a “propitious moment”, the use of magic, the fact that Geralt rebuffs her with every attempt at a follow up…This entire moment really changes the overall persona of Triss for me, and shows something really ugly under that sweet helpful girl-next-door exterior. I do not enjoy this ship, at all. And even in the CDPR land where this is endgame, I genuinely could not ever see it lasting. I think the entire “Triss died at Sodden Hill” and symbolism holds true to an extent: Triss is genuinely just chasing anything that makes her feel alive and emotion. I think she’d get bored of Geralt very, very quickly and she’d be onto the next, chasing the thrill and emotional highs. Triss, to me, gives the vibe of the woman who cheats with a married man, gets him to leave his wife, and then ditches him for the next one. It’s not about him; it’s about how it all makes her feel, and escapism from her own damage.

(I actually have said fucked up passage on my phone! This…did not do wonders for my perception of Triss.)

• Shani - Again, I don’t get the hype here. Shani is 17 when Geralt hooks up with her, and quite frankly, that old man is weird as hell for that one. I also don’t see Shani ever seeing Geralt as relationship material. I think her attraction rose from a) attention from an older experienced man and b) fascination about him being a Witcher (I hesitate to say fetishism, but definitely in the same vein). This is one I cannot ever see as a relationship: I genuinely think Shani would get tired of his shit real fast.

• Essi - My unpopular opinion is I hate this entire arc. I hate it, I’m sorry. Essi starts off as this amazing character, who devolves into a teenage girl throwing a tantrum and demanding sex. Sex between Geralt and Essi is incredibly uncomfortable because it takes wearing Geralt down, peer pressure and guilt-tripping to get there, he doesn’t want to, and this is another one I agree is dubcon. I am frankly, surprised more people aren’t icked out by this one. This relationship is one of the reasons A Little Sacrifice isn’t one of my favoured short stories.

• Coral - Complex feelings. I wanted to deck Coral when she’s winding Yennefer up about being pregnant, and Yennefer is quiet and sad. Geralt, stop banging Yennefers mean and manipulative coworkers who are absolutely going to use this knowledge to hurt her whenever works. Coral is such a dick, but at the same time, considering how her story ultimately ends, I find it difficult to really hate upon her, because if that isn’t punishment enough. I do like how we see Geralt draw a line when he realises Coral is not going to help those people, and I like how this relationship characterises him further.

• Fringilla - Fringilla drives me fucking insane. I despise the library scene with every fibre of my being. If Sapkowski had included the Fringilla/Geralt baby from the drafts, as I have repeated many times, I would’ve lost my shit. Fringilla blinds Yennefer at Sodden Hill (leaving her blind for a year and with massive mental scarring) and then has the audacity to be fucking her boyfriend while she knows Yen is being held and likely tortured somewhere, and then has the audacity to actually fall in love with him. Even though it’s her job and ploy for the Lodge, even though Geralt is also playing her, god. Fuck these two for this one.

• Sword delivery girl who’s name I’ve forgotten - Geralt, you’re honestly such a bitch.

[queenofgraveyards]

g you’re fr killing me with all that baby talk in ataraxia like im soooooooooo mentally far away from wanting a baby irl but you’re making me feel all types of baby fever recently but like minus the baby

and i need ivy to give h a baby asap!!!!!! like i can totally see her telling h she’s not made to work long hours and now that she’s experienced the stay at home girlfriend lifestyle that goes shopping for her family after brunch with friends i need her to just weaponize her spoiled baby girl tendencies. and i think harry would be even more excited than her cause that means shes one step closer to becoming his house wife and baby momma. he’d be all “of course my love and what about doing something during the day to keep your mind busy huh? maybe pilates? pottery classes? fashion design course? whatever you want my love!!!” and he’s totally doing that already projecting a future with ivy becoming a full blown soccer mom who goes to his office in the middle of the day bringing his lunch and to have sex before picking up the kids from ballet :’) i just want ivy to live her best life and harry is so gone for her he’s just nodding and happily footing the bills

ps dont think ive forgotten the housewife blurb you suggested a while ago cause i havent!!!!!!! somno won the polls yeah but just imagining the possibilities for that housewife blurb makes me 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

xxxxxxx 🥡 ily queen

you’ve honestly summarised it for me too like I loooooove the breeding shit and coming from bambi h? SO hot but I do not want a baby and I want to keep that shit so far away it’s not even funny but I’d let him talk that SMACK to me and it would get me OFF I won’t even lie haha and yah like ivy doesn’t even like children and she don’t want none of that shit but she’ll give him a child 😌 she’ll give him WHATEVER he wants and she’s aware that she’s wrapped around his finger she don’t care and h certainly doesn’t care he wants a FAMILY and he will pout at his wife until she gives him one 🤪 don’t you worry house girlfriend ivy is coming…and sugar daddy/daddy/breadwinner boyfriend h is coming…and he’ll find absolutely ANYTHING and EVERYTHING for her bc he wants her to be happy and as long as she’s giving him babies after babies she can do whatever else…also just thought abt how insane he’ll be when she gets pregnant and how he’ll go to every single appt she has for the baby (and even not just for the baby) in fact he’s the one BOOKING all the appts and they’re going to classes n he’s reading books and he’s talking to his mum all the time and his sister and he’s just so obsessed with ivy like EVEN MORE than he already is…she stops being able to do anything for herself (not that she does a whole lot now anyway lmaooo) okay sorry got side tracked that’s a whole diff conversation lmao oh YEAH im going to work that blurb idea into a chapter so don’t worry :-) i just need to decide if she’s quit her job n IS a housewife without the ring and he comes home or if they’re still working together n she just has a day off or something but it will be in there!!!!! LOVE YOU SO MUCH🩵

[katyspersonal]

Let me get this straight.

You were accused of several phobias based off of defense of a trans person that genuinely needed support? I just caught up on the posts and the responses and it looks like that person held some very problematic (cliche right-wing bs) beliefs but I can tell you didn’t support those beliefs per se. You wanted to prevent a trans person from being attacked during a bad spot in their life. You also didn’t mind sharing their fandom posts and being their friend because you knew that what they really needed was someone to help them. And it looks like they’re gone now?? Un-fucking-believable.

Now all of your mutuals are getting anonymously targeted by the same person that called you out? I am just a lurking witness but this person attacking you is the latent tr*nsphobe. They bullied and isolated someone for trying to help a struggling trans person. That is vile and I hope they rot in hell. Disgusting pos. Weaponizing tr*nsphobia is the number one no-no in fandom spaces and it’s a dead giveaway for who really care and who doesn’t. Helping a trans person through shit even when they are sharing harmful rhetoric takes balls. Good for you.

Gosh... This is always a heavy topic to talk about for me, especially when you put it THIS plainly. I think this is the most direct way to summarise the situation I've seen yet from a person that's not close to me (it is a compliment).

I must specify though - the "trans person" identified as trans man for about 13 years but since then revoked the term and now prefers to simply be described as GNC. In the end, he doesn't find the label he feels truly comfortable with, but this is still a person that is female in documents but male in fact and this IS an important bit in the whole story. Some people might argue that no matter what, but anyone not identifying with assigned gender counts as trans, that I get, but he has strong reservations and negative experience with the community that he shared multiple times - something the bully stalker you're referring to chose to ignore.

I think feeling identically homeless is an awful thing - he cannot line with the cis heteros (you can't just will yourself to identify as a straight girl when you are a gay man lol), but queer community has become ridiculously toxic with infights, imposing stereotypes on each other, ruining each others' spaces, cancelling each other over thoughts 'out of line', claims that someone's different experience harms the rest of the demographics upon being spoken of and god knows what else. You could figure that even in his younger years, he was excluded from his own identity and grossly bullied and misgendered because of the notion of "you do not belong in the queer community / you are not a REAL trans person if you support the [insert an opinion that has nothing to do with being trans]".

This is absolute fucking HELL from the sound of it, and I can't imagine LIVING it. You are so RIGHT for calling Alfred-chan (aka Clod Frollo, aka Slander Man) a latent transphobe. That they absolutely ARE. They do not see trans people (binary, nonbinary, generally GNC, whatever) as PEOPLE, as human beings with their own lives, history, opinions and differences. They see them as ideological soldiers in the "war" against them nasty white cissie hets and they are the EXACT garbage type that will exclude someone from their own gender/sexuality if they fail to match the checklist of strictly western libertarian opinions. They believe that to be trans or gay/lesbian is to have only certain beliefs on everything else that is not relevant. If not seeing trans people as people is not REAL transphobia, then I don't know what is.

From how you're talking you must be familiar with the cases of imposing very suffocating and concrete opinions and behaviour standards on a person for them to not be bullied as "not real" or "not proper" queer person. Some trans/GNC people will be conservative, some will be Christian, some will say 'instead of making 60 abortions just exercise protected sex already because abortion is a murder'. Because they're people, they come to different conclusions in this life, and no one should be put under obligation to assume only certain values to simply have their identity acknowledged.

ALSO from how you're talking you must be familiar with the situation of abusing the sympathy pool for selfish goals. This is exactly how #metoo got a dirty name. Alfred-chan used a very painful, vulnerable topic (transphobia) to fabricate lies and manipulate narrative with the goal of removing the bitch they disliked (yours truly) from the fandom. In general they are ridiculously nasty towards anyone that speaks against them trying to bully certain group of fans - people that clarify nuances on G3hrman as a character, insist that Maria is not "canonically a masculine lesbian" but instead is up to interpretation (that she is) or simply like G3hrmaria ship. They are terminally unable to see people (or fictional characters) outside of stereotypes and cannot acknowledge variety of identities and experiences. Yeah, I was proclaimed a witch to burn over the awful sin of trying to listen and help someone instead of throwing them away like a trash, but even before that they had quite a beef against me; they joined the fandom, lured some audience with cute mari4deline art and then decided to divide us into "normal fans" and "nasty misogynist lesbophobes without media literacy" just after the disco horse in the fandom started to die down. And I said NO YOU DON'T. Still, when they cannot harass people over reblogging a meme from me, they harass them for having an opinion on Maria that isn't 100% like their.

They do not care about trans PEOPLE, they care about trans 'identities'. These are different things. They appreciate diversity of flags and labels, but not diversity of experiences, opinions and backgrounds. And if you do not fit - you are a broken gear in the machine, you are not a proper 'soldier', and you must be thrown away. And if someone picks you up? They are the evil one, if not MORE evil. Kindness, patience and understanding are the bad things, but violence, cruelty and exclusion are what makes you trustworthy and good by their logic! True face of the fighters for "acceptance and kindness" as you can see! Fuck the Golden Ord- errrr I mean fuck this hypocritical corrupted witch-hunting nonsense.

----------------------------------------

I'd also not say that his rhetorics were "harmful". Again, Alfred-chan likes to twist what someone says to benefit their witch-hunter narrative. You can explain yourself with maximal logic, nuance and clarity, only for that person to ignore absolutely everything you said except for ONE thing they COULD twist against you, base everything around that thing and then play a victim. If you had the misfortune of knowing a 'narcissistic abusive mother' - the type of manipulation is shockingly similar. He was always ready to explain things properly but witch-hunters are not interested in removing the conflict - they are interested in removing YOU.

I also believe that free speech reveals the opinions, not creates them. Basically, opinions do not cause harm - PEOPLE do. If all it took someone to support this or that right-wing opinion is to read a post from a stranger online? Congratulations, a person found their tribe. It is GOOD if everything is revealed and everyone takes their place, it is GOOD if groups define their territories so you know where they are,. If many people believe in a "bad thing" - this means that many people ARE bad, and dividing and silencing them won't change the truth, only conceal it until it inevitably breaks through. Scaring people never changes their hearts, only makes them strike HARDER when they're ready to do so. Like what in the Brador people try to say with hating the truth revealed SO much? sdfjhdshghds

Me and him argue quite often, but when you befriend someone, it is a very bad thing to argue with them publicly. It borders the level of abusing a friend. If you have a friend that consistently shames you on public - this is not a good friend, and you should inform them that you are not their means of looking virtuous before some strangers/guests. On the brighter note - yes, the person is gone from Tumblr, but he is living his better life now. He got a therapist, he goes outside more often, he found a new passion that gave him sense of purpose, overall his life is getting better.. and he is happy that I get to be a part of it!

[twenty-words-or-less]

Top 5 Best Films of 2019

Okay, so I don't normally do this, but I've seen so many films this year that I thought I would summarise them by making top 5 lists. This one deals with my top 5 best (or favourite) films of the year.

IMPORTANT: I shall keep these as spoiler-free and short as I can.

5. Midsommar

A film that feels like it was made by a 50+y/o European that was actually made by a 30+y/o American. I initially thought it was kind of 'eh'. However, it did lodge in my head, and the more I thought about it and the more analyses I read/ watched, the more I liked it. It grew on me much like grass grew on our poor beleaguered protagonist in the numerous hallucinations she has over the course of the film.

4. Booksmart

Like the female answer to Superbad only with zero period jokes (thank fuck). Legitimately funny, rewatchable, and the lead characters have great chemistry. Shame that only ten people saw it, but roughly seven of those people - including [REDACTED] and I - enjoyed it immensely. Special mention goes to Billie Lourd, who was a fucking delight to watch in every scene she was in.

3. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

A coherent, beautiful-looking action film that manages to be as good as its predecessors, which is highly unusual in a film series. I still care about the characters at this point, and I'd be happy to follow these characters through many more installments.

2. Doctor Sleep

The only TRULY good 2019 Stephen King adap, do not @ me. Despite one incredibly distressing scene, I would probably buy this on DVD or at least rewatch it. It's good to see Ewan McGregor get work again, especially as a ravaged, PTSD-ridden Dan Torrance, and it's fantastic to see Rebecca Ferguson get good work after the shitstorm that was "The Snowman" and the dull-as-fuck, grossly overrated "The Greatest Showman". Again, it's a shame that only five people saw it (basically). Genuinely good film.

Honourable mentions before we get to my #1, in no particular order:

Ready or Not: Samara Weaving gives it her all in this blackly comic slasher. I want to see her in more things. Also, on a more superficial note, her wedding dress in this was really pretty, even ripped to shreds and completely soaked in blood.

Crawl: A surprisingly good creature feature that was an absolute blast to watch. Also, the dog lives, which I am very happy about.

Knives Out: the best thing Rian Johnson has done since Looper. Strong cast and beautiful to look at (the film, I mean, not the cast), even if I did get a little lost near the end. Oh, and it automatically improves lad culture if you change the title to Get Your Knives Out For The Lads.

Child's Play: a remake that actually managed to update the setting and keep the things that made the original, well, the original? Holy shit. Also, the end credits song is incredibly catchy.

Avengers: Endgame: as anyone who knows me knows, I'm a slut for superhero films. Long as this was, it stuck the landing; it was a 3hr thank you for sticking with the franchise despite most of the films being 'eh'. Also, I LOVED Cap's ending, just saying.

And now, the most important one...

1. Brightburn

Or as I like to call it, We Need To Talk About Kal-El. Jackson A. Dunn was uncannily perfect for the titular role and the gore effects were fantastic (the car scene in particular). It works as a standalone film and the groundwork for any sequels, which I would happily go and watch, btw. I'd been looking forward to this for months, and I got exactly what I wanted from it. End of.

Whew, this turned out to be longer than I anticipated! Thanks for reading if you made it to the end. This has been my top 5 best; I shall post my top 5 worst later today (I'm seeing "Cats", and I anticipate it making the list). 🎵 Stay tuuuned... 🎵

~Mikey