#which can make it hard to root for them bc the canon material just doesn’t Fit them

[cowboycereal]

thinking about what literati could have been if they had been given the care they deserved

[laryna6]

AU where JGS was not a bastard. 

Recognized that Madam Jin was not into him, but their families arranged the marriage. Arranged a pregnancy without penetration with research into dual cultivation (ritual for a boy) and after the child was born Madam Jin went to visit her childhood friend at Lotus Pier and never moved back. Madam Yu was much happier than canon with her ‘friend’ with her.

Bought a prostitute with major skills in literature, music, conversation and entertainment to host social events at Koi Tower: despite reassuring her that sleeping with him was not required it was obvious she’d feel more secure with that kind of relationship and also wanted a child of her own after helping take care of JZX. The two of them sleeping together and JGS making it fairly public and making it clear that he thought highly of her also helped discourage idiot insults, since pointing out that she was a former prostitute = implying that the sect leader was an idiot for buying a prostitute. 

JIn ZiXuan and Jin ZiYao growing up together. Madam Jin sending a letter saying she wanted the daughter she helped raise to marry her blood son (to substitute for her and Madam Yu not being able to get married) and JGS being ‘sure’ since his own arranged marriage worked out quite well and Jiang Yanli, growing up with her moms, would hopefully have heard their story and instead of being clingy or whatever would be open to sitting down with Jin ZiXuan and working out how to arrange for the two of them to be happy. 

Madam Yu and her husband were focused on the sect in general, so Madam Jin helping her daughter Yanli with her cultivation, although a combination of sexism and Yanli just not having the best spiritual roots kept her from being chosen for sect head over JC - not that the parents wanted the sects to merge/a couple to have to split their time between the HQs. 

Madam Jin sending a ‘what the hell?’ letter to JGS when gossip says he got a sixteen-year-old pregnant - he writes back that he went to Mo Village leading some trainees night hunting and in the process found a young couple had tried to elope but it ended in tragedy with the girl already pregnant. The girl’s family were not good people, so he decided to claim the child as his as an excuse to bring her back to Koi Tower. Mo XuanYu remains MXY due to not actually being a Jin. 

JZX and Yanli surprise all four of their parents by actually falling in love? Madam Jin visiting for wedding planning: JGY’s mother is nervous that she’ll want to reclaim her place but Madam Jin makes it clear that she doesn’t want JGS back since she’s not into dudes. JGS sending Madam Jin letters gossiping about their son’s fail attempts at being romantic. 

Jin ZiYao going to study at Cloud Recesses and crushing so effing hard on Lan XiChen, but the heir of the righteous Lan sect marrying the son of a prostitute? But things are heading towards war, and someone who turned the tide of the war would have a MUCH better shot at LXC, so JZiYao stabs Jin ZiXun for insulting his mother and defects to the Wens, sending his intel to NMJ because the Wen’s’d be looking for communications between him and his dad. Ends up killing WRH and saving NMJ”s life in the process, so NMJ swears brotherhood and becomes wingman in the LXC wooing, or rather Huaisang does because he has some idea what he’s doing in the romance dept. LXC is also pushing for the Lan sect to recognize gay marriage for the sake of his little brother’s happiness.

During one of Huaisang’s visits to Koi Tower for conspiring purposes *cough* I mean, ‘business with the chief cultivator,’ MXY crushes on him. Xue Yang is IDed as psycho and not accepted as a disciple. Instead the sects decide that WWX needs to destroy the Seal, and WWX doesn’t want to go to Gusu to work on it there, going to Lotus Pier would be putting that power in the Jiang sect’s hands since WWX is a sect member and the Nie said no since their saber spirits involve resentful energy and they don’t want the Seal near them, so the Jin sect is a neutral location with a library (also WWX is happy to be there bc shijie’s there doing wedding prep). LWJ volunteers to copy research material from the Gusu Library, so the gossip letters also contain ‘by the gods how can anyone be so clueless’ updates from JGS on the LWJ/WWX situation for Madam Yu to LOL at.

...WWX and JC being bridezillas. Shijie’s wedding MUST be perfect!

Oh, Qin Su - the Qin sect leader is impotent due to a qi deviation but he didn’t want that to get out/didn’t like the people who would inherit if he didn’t have a kid, so he asked his BFF to do that getting someone pregnant ritual. His wife was not happy about this until she was assured there was no penetration involved. Supposed to be a guaranteed son but strong yin energy something something Qin Su was determined to be a woman apparently. There wasn’t a second try for a boy because JGS was like ‘yeeeah it’d be kind of a dick move to contribute to my bio daughter getting passed over in favor of a guy,’ so she remained sect heir.

WWX finding out about the conception ritual and idly finding a way for two guys to have a kid (although they still need a surrogate mom) as a favor to Jin ZiYao’s attempted Romance and not at all because he’s thinking of LWJ. When the two hook up, Wen Qing volunteering to be the surrogate in the name of Research into methods for ensuring easier/safer pregnancy and childbirth. 

Many years later, asexual!JC deciding that JGS had the right idea with buying and freeing a prostitute and then hiring her to provide the social graces he lacks and also he reallyreallywants a kid and his bro and sis refuse to let him kidnap theirs. So he gives Jin ZiYao’s mom like a ton of money and she goes to several cities/brothels and buys like a dozen people who seem nice and sends them to Lotus Pier for the job interview. Most of them end up sticking around so JC gets the harem master rep despite not sleeping with any of them. People doing harem intrigues to secure their children’s futures is averted by JC doting on ALL the kids instead of only one or two faves. There are so many puppies. And so many kids that JC, not JGS, ends up the one with the sex fiend rep.

(LIke, Madame Meng going ‘OFC you’re free to go, here’s some money, but if you want a job social manager for a Great Sect is a sweet gig I highly reommend, you get room board, lots of $ and Wen Qing as your family physician, the health care is A++ also cultivators to beat the shit out of anyone who looks down on you for being a former prostitute.Jiang Cheng doesn’t want to have sex with you, which is a bit unfortunate since cultivator guys are freaking hot’)

[ksatriya]

i woke up and read this little rant about nasuverse and heroic figures and myths written by @ostrumregalis  and then another rant by @solaetis which absolutely spurred this on:

i want to start by saying that i’m not a practitioner of Hinduism. but when i pick up muses like Parvati, Indrani, Shani, Rati, and Rama, i do my utmost to keep in mind that they are still living gods. that many, many people do worship them, and i want to be respectful in my writing. i do as much research as i can, i try to curve how much i lean on fate’s preexisting lore for them, bc that lore, those views on the current Indian servants are colored by what material the writers can get a hold of at the time, and how tv may portray these characters vs the written source material. and i’m aware that there isn’t a single writer behind every character, so personal views do color characterization.

Rama’s portrayal is one that i have mixed feelings on. in his debut chapter he is more akin to the hero i’ve seen on the Ramayana serials. he’s still this heroic prince out there trying to find his way back to Sita. and i know he’s a king taken from the point where he has sent Sita into the wilderness when she’s pregnant. and it’s a very heartbreaking moment in his life. i get why Rama is written as seeing his youthful adventurous self as his ideal moment in life, and that’s one thing I do take issue with. because someone like Rama, who is closer to his true self, i.e. Vishnu, than Krishna, ought to have no preference in his life. least of all that moment in his youth? Rama was 90% on the verge of a mental and emotional breakdown when Sita was kidnapped by Ravana. Lakshmana, his brother, is the only one keeping him from actually killing himself by constantly reminding him that he will get Sita back. and i’ve spoken about his curse a few times, which is another thing that bugs me? but you know, it is what it is. and then there’s the question of his godhood. i do love that Rama is still an unchanged Avatar, that even though he is a god, he is a god in mortal flesh. he gets to sit on this funky pedestal of technically being a god breaking the rule of you can’t summon gods to chaldea. ditto with Arjuna Alter. and yes, I’m aware that they’re supposed to be at a fraction of their power, but let me have this.

speaking of Arjuna Alter, he more or less has become an Avatar to the amalgamation of gods... or someone akin to Para Brahman, as Karna more or less becomes this combination of Adi Narayana (Vishnu) and Parama Shiva. Hinduism is complex, has many. many variations and very interesting concepts.

but it goes without saying that not all Indian servants are treated equally. there has always been this unrest about who is the better brother, Arjuna or Karna. who was right and who was wrong, who is the villain? and that’s not just something with their portrayals in fgo, that’s all around the world. it’s preferential. i will admit that i love Karna way more than Arjuna. i have a huge soft spot for Karna. it’s the underdog thing, you know? and his death is so fucked up that i love it.

in fgo, Arjuna has been stripped of a lot of his characterization to fit a certain mold, i,e, chuunibyou. but we get moments that reveal the complexity of his character, like his second interlude - according to the translation I read. this peak into his psyche reveals deep rooted insecurities and the trauma he would be dealt with by taking his brother’s life. how he blames this dark side of him which has been imprinted on his memories of his charioteer, Krishna. the best part about it is when we look at the Mahabharata and Krishna’s role, yeah, Arjuna isn’t wrong in blaming Krishna for this moment. for doing something as dishonorable as killing an unarmed man. (i’m still working through a slightly more cohesive translation of LB4 so I hold my tongue on that.)

and we turn around to look at Karna. sweet, perfect baby Karna. can do no wrong, Karna. so charitable he’d rip his armor off and give it to you if you just asked, Karna. like... Karna wasn’t nearly as charitable as he’s often written? and I’ve said it in the past, and I’ll say it again, Karna’s charity was based on whether he was praying to Suryadev atm or a bhramin was asking a boon of him. he was also noted as having a sharp tongue, and let’s not forget how he tears into Draupadi during that horrific moment during the dice game, you know the one. Karna’s a suta, neither here nor there in the caste system, and he’s treated as an outsider all of his youth. he has this idea of being a kshatriya - and he is, on a technicality bc there are sutas who are kshatriyas. he’s also the son of a charioteer, and god knows you owe your life to your charioteer. in fgo, the focus is on the more positive side of Karna, showing him as being overly generous, as being far more heroic than the texts play him out to be.

the choice to write them this way to fit nasuverse’s idea that servants are merely copies of their true selves influenced by humanity’s perception of them, but i don’t think it’s that hard to just sit back and go “are these really the qualities that we should be focusing on”? and that idea doesn’t quite cut it. this argument fails when you look at Teach, for instance. Black Beard was a terrifying pirate, an amazing pirate. he was a man with very specific morals and ideas, and none of those views paint him as the MISTAKE that fgo’s portrayal is. NO ONE would look at the name Black Beard and thing “that guy was a huge otaku/lolicon/pervert/etc”. are you fucking kidding me? I think of Black Beard and I imagine a towering giant of a man, his hair blue-black as the ocean depths, his beard  long with some braids in it. there’s a sharpness in his eye, a deep frown on his lips as he views the world. he’s a calculating man. he’s terrifying and awe inspiring all at once...

so... who is this joke we see in fgo? 

we get heroes turned into jokes, their genders flipped, turned into lolis or big breasted mother figures who nearly cross that line between mother and lover. you can’t expect historical accuracy or an accurate portrayal.

so when i write, i write with the idea that the Indian muses I pick up deserve a world of respect. that i separate the ideas that fgo might place on them with how i personally feel that they should be written. i write with this idea of canon divergence. i don’t have to love how fgo treats Rama, i write him as i think he should be written.  i don’t have to like how fgo portrays Arjuna or Karna, or Parvati, Kama/Mala, Ganesha, Ashwatthama, etc. i write with that in mind so i don’t burn myself out on comparing the canon to my portrayal every time. it’s difficult, it’s heartbreaking watching characters I’ve grown to love be pushed into one trope or the other, knowing that they shouldn’t be that way.

when i started writing Arpita, and this re-imagining of the Mahabharata, as inspired by one of my friends in India and her own friends, i wanted to see what it’s like writing a character from the other side. i wanted to see if i could maker her fit into nasuverse... and it’s difficult. it really is. i cannot make light of the way women were treated in India during that era. I cannot make light of a vast and beautiful religion and all its figures. i cannot make light of the struggles and the trauma and the pain and suffering that these characters have to be put through. i don’t know how they do it, the writers for fgo. i don’t get how they chip away at characterization, how they settle on the ideas they do. yes it isn’t all doom and gloom for Arpita, bc obviously there’s plenty of light hearted moments she would experience. but it’s just not for me...

i guess i’m trying to express that fgo’s portrayal isn’t always right, that if you like a character well enough, maybe you should see what they’re like outside of the canon. you’ll find that your current interest might just be more amazing than you think? and don’t worry if you prefer fgo’s portrayal over the reality, it doesn’t matter what others think. you do you.

[authenticparanoidghosts]

how would you have ended naruto?

I’ve been thinking about this question for days and I’ve rewritten this answer twice and talked to my brother about it for over an hour and I never get any closer to brevity or coherency, so I’m just going to go for it I guess.  I’ll try to cut it down to the very minimum of what I would do if I had the power and also didn’t give a fuck about what other people thought

note: I read all of the available Naruto manga when I was 12-13 (which was, I believe, at least 600 chapters) and then watched…I want to say the first 130 episodes, most of them in three parts on youtube.  I have not consumed any canon material since, please forgive my memory

Danzo is the big secret villain at the end

fuck Madara Uchiha

on another note: fuck that thing with Zetsu

like he’s still there in my version of the story but only for as long as it takes to get Obito up and running around

honestly I would have kept Obito dead but that’s probably just the part of me that’s still bitter that death doesn’t mean anything in Naruto. as much as it pains me, we would probably need him for this 

Pain is the big face villain and his attack on Konoha is pushed back until after Akatsuki has basically all the other tailed beasts - they do a simultaneous strike to get KB and also Naruto bc they’ve…caught on to what’s happening…and they don’t want to give them any more time to prepare

Pain’s philosophy is important for Naruto to encounter and think about (and then counter that philosophy by yelling a lot) and it’s also important that Naruto actually takes care of this pretty pressing global threat and also gets in a really good big fight, but then afterwards the story changes

simultaneous strike bc we need some of those fuckers to be away somewhere they can come back from later, for after Pain dies

narrative is redirected inward, towards the rebuilding of Konoha

Danzo makes a power grab, like he always does, like he always will

[jaunty hand wave] some stuff happens and other stuff comes to light and they have to fight him

he probably pulls some strings once things really go to shit and gets the surviving Akatski to back him/help him/etc. maybe promises them the kyuubi if they support his move for hokage (he would never intend to deliver, they would probably know this)

LISTEN (I’m gonna backtrack here) what Naruto wants MOST IN THE WORLD is for his hometown to like him.  that’s what he wants.  he wants to live in a community where he has friends and even family and he’s trying to become hokage to prove to everyone that he’s worth attention (and also worth, you know, love and praise, because he is strong and he is brave and he is trying so fucking hard and that deserves recognition)

his goals are all centered around protecting the people he loves (from others and themselves) and proving himself to his community

he LOVES Konoha even though he hardly has a reason to - even though throughout the beginning of the story he gets shown again and again why there’s no reason to trust a hidden village to love its citizens

1) everyone hates Naruto. you know this one 

2) Sasuke’s family was slaughtered (was executed without trial by one of their own on orders he could not refuse, and both survivors were deliberately alienated from the community that had a duty to support them)

3) it’s apparently legal for the Hyuugas to do that

4) literally everything to do with ROOT

5) literally everything to do with Orochimaru

6) everyone on Naruto’s genin team (save maybe Sakura) has been personally victimized by the village (himself, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sai, Yamato) like are you fucking kidding me

7) Suna - everything that happens to Gaara. you know this one too.

8) Kiri - No Human Rights In Kiri

8.1) but like you know. specifically the killing of everyone with kekkei genkai and also their fucked up academy

9) hell, we could probably get a point in about Kabuto too, but I don’t actually want to talk about him much 

10) I know I didn’t hit everything but you’re getting the point. Naruto knows about the nasty shit the village (all villages) does and/or could do

if the story is about a boy who has been treated unjustly by his village but who still wants to earn that village’s respect and become capable of (and responsible for) protecting everyone in it, and he’s repeatedly being shown all the terrible, cruel things that happen to people inside that village - people he loves - because of that village, then why isn’t the story about him working to fix the fucking village

he’s just chock full of compassion and forgiveness which is sweet, but that’s why I need Pain to fucking rip the place apart and then use my authorly powers to stop the major villainy that would drag Naruto away from the rebuilding process

saving Danzo for the end to reveal his like. crimes and shit. misdeeds. human rights violations. refocuses the story inward on Naruto’s desire to protect Konoha (even from itself)

more united growth for the Konoha Nine!

they get to step up as young adults/leaders in their community and confront some of the problems that have touched their own lives

“our children are our future and this whole village is our family” thanks, Will of Fire, these kids ARE the future and they’re here to rip up the fucking floorboards and air out all the crazy shit you hid in the basement in order to make sure theirs is a good one

I change Sasuke’s arc until I finally like it

but yeah uh

no big shinobi world war

basically instead of fighting The Fucking Moon Goddess For Whatever Reason, Naruto’s big final struggle is against Danzo, and also symbolically for A Better Future For The Community That He Loves

[yuzuria]

whatever points u havent done yet, if it's fandom then gntm

heeey nice, thank u bio-chan :*

under the cut because this is gonna be long, i know you want only gntm but i took the liberty to add my dr opinions bc i won’t prob have this opportunity to voice them out prompted (not rly) in the future

a - ships that you currently like a lot. (they don’t have to be otps because not everyone has otps.) friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

the otp atm is obviously komahina, it’s incomparable for me, i’ve been in rare otp fandoms for years so it’s like being enveloped by a fresh sea breeze when i got into it, it’s the most popular ship in dr, has the most fan content where the good ones outweighs the bad ones, and their relationship was fulfilling, it’s also the closest otp of mine that has reached canon.

other ones i love a lot right now are:

dr ships: hinata/servant (it’s komahina but i’m so invested in this dynamic in particular and there’s almost no content for it), kamukura/komaeda, kaede/miu, tenko/mikan, kirigiri/sayaka, touko/komaru, sonia/akane, lowkey shinguuji/amami and pekoyama/koizumi

dr friendships i’m invested and want to see more: komaeda/sonia, komaeda/kirigiri, komaeda/any girls tbh let him have platonic relationships with girls, familial komaeda/monaka, amami/kaede, hinata/natsumi, tsumiki/asahina, sakura/asahina, dr1 girls

gintama ships: tae/sacchan, kagura/nobume, takasugi/zura, kyuubei/tsukuyo (guess which ones are your influence)

hnk ships: diamond/bortz, ghost quartz/lapis lazuli, rutile/padparadscha, cairgorm/phos, cinnabar/phos

c - a ship you have never liked and probably never will.

dr: all het ships minus celesgami but i also grew out of it eventually, they’re all mediocre at best and i dislike the popular hetero ones-- namely, naegiri, hinanami, kamunami, kuzupeko, sondam, souda/sonia, akanidai, saimatsu, kaimaki.. also i never saw the appeal of chishimondo and the pairs involving the three. mahiyoko is forced in my opinion and their “moment” which gained them an alternate title “soapies” was distasteful. soudam is simply boring while i dislike hinadam out of spite. nobody asked but my most hated ships are komaegi, komamiki, hinaegi, kamuegi, and komahinaegi (stay those out of my sight)

gintama: shinsengumi centric ships, joui centric ships minus sakagin and takazura (i entertained the idea of the former but never beyond platonic), gintoki/every girls minus tae, sakamutsu, hijimitsu, tsukisachi, mutsumata, bantaka, takahiji, konzura, the gross pedophilic ones, okikagu, kamusoyo, sabunobu, ginshin, etc

d - a pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

i don’t really have pairings i “wish” i liked because i know what i love and what i don’t tho the hnk one is an exception, i think i have the need to say that,, but i guess i feel envious with the content victuuri is getting i wished i i liked it so i have a lot of merch to buy whenever i go to cons but nah... im happy with my own otp

e - have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? if so, what?

i don’t even know if they’re considered hilarious, probably annoying which are a lot in my twitter, this one is my fav wholesome headcanon though

this one is my first dr post which somehow has the most notes i have ever gotten

i don’t think i have one in gntm

f - what’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

i’m not active in atla but it’s basically my first fandom and i still love and enjoy the fandom content so yeeep

g - have you ever had an otp? if so, do you remember your first one? who was in it?

embarrassing but toph/aang

h - what is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., tv shows, movies, books, anime, western animation, etc.)?

anime but most of the time it’s just a way for me to get into a fandom and i usually like the source material (manga, games, etc) more

m - name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

anego

n - name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

gintama: tae fighting and an arc of her own, gags with nobume or takasugi, in general less of that blue pubes and more about girls without their respective dudes’ influences which suck because the girls are amazing yet the arcs they’re centered in still revolves around dudes i am so tired

dr: more focus on asahina :/, kirizono and kaemiu content pleaaase, and komaeda making friends other than his boyfriend??? 

o - choose a song at random. which ship or character does it remind you of?

I got Lucky Stars by Lana Del Rey, yeeep, komahina

p - invent a random au for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

i’ve always wanted spies/mafia au with best gintam girls, guns and aesthetic black or white clothing or military clothing whatev keeps me going 

q - a fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

sports anime fandom, i used to be in multiple sports anime fandom but after getting into gintama i dropped all of them and lost interest,, give me sports anime girls you coward... other than basketball or volleyball idk moe catastrophe or the most “feminist” game of the century that is keijo

r - which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

sasaki/nobume, kagura/tae, and gint*ki/tama in gintama

komaeda/monaka in dr

s - show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

my default headcanon is all my fav girls are lesbians

after sasaki’s death, rather than going with the shinsengumi or military in general i want nobume to stay with the yorozuya

nobume becomes a transfer student in 3Z and wears a black sailor uniform with long skirts, sports a nailed bat, and an honor student. sasaki adopted her from young age and is the most doting father ever during the festivals and always cheering for her, “yes that’s my elite daughter, nobume-san” i teared up. kagura, on the other hand, had a growth spurt in the middle of their third year so she looks like her yorozuya movie design with her glasses up and taller than nobume.

i have a hc how komaeda/hinata/kamukura would look like as girls too

komaeda: has a long messy hair, wears the same clothing as the regular one (pants and not those sexy short shorts with thigh highs and garter belt, regular komaeda would wear that though ;) ), petite and still 180 cm

hinata: same hair, around 165 cm, regular bust size and has strong arms that can carry her tall gf, pretty packed, wears skirts with suspenders

kamukura: same features as hinata but her long hair is tied in a low ponytail, then same clothing

t - do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

kagura never had interests with boys and when she grows up that’s where she realizes she’s a big lesbian and in love with nobutasu ;;

komaeda feels EXTREME distaste towards memes and puns, he doesn’t like them at all, he leans in a poetic side when he speaks, make him a pretentious john green character than a meme fuck (remember when he said if the sunflower is the symbol of hope then he’s the ground where the roots cling on?? and also one of his few hated gifts is a ring with a bad pun??)

w - a trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

girls who only serve as a plot device especially a manpain, bonus point if she’s pining on the said dude but ends up being sacrificed for the dude

MC dude whose dick wants to be sucked by almost everyone, it’s tiring and gross

pedophilic themes

moe slash fantasy slash harem slash romantic comedy slash ecchi

pretentious characters with god complex

y - what are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

v*ltron unfortunately

saiyuuki a bit bc of you and emilia

fire emblem/persona (i played some games but never finished it so i mostly don’t feel too attached with them)

some other video games

kpop