#who has the respect not of most but of the other skilled and ugly and broken people she's encountered (the hound and jaime to name a couple)

[friendly-emerald-emily]

with my recent posts about molly, i'd like to make this one a space to share molly-specific head canons! i'll start with my own :3 - molly's desire to be seen as special and important could stem from the history of her class, the GER S46. they started out as the eastern's premier express passenger class, but were being phased out of those duties starting in 1911, being demoted to less important passenger services, to then goods trains until the final 4 of the class were withdrawn in 1960.

- adding on to the previous point, molly also wants to desperately prove her worth because she fears being withdrawn from service, but her shyness prevents her from asking for help when she needs it.

- molly doesn't necessarily mind doing goods work, in fact pulling long heavy goods trains is a better show of her sheer strength (which it's canon that she's very proud of), but her insecurities rear their ugly heads when other engines start making passing remarks about goods work being inherently lesser than passenger trains.

- molly's shy and sensitive nature does make her very emotionally intelligent, and is one of the better engines to turn to on emotional matters, her sensitivity gives her a nasty habit of holding grudges. she is willing to forgive though, if she believes whoever wronged her made up for it - i imagine molly would get along with neville pretty well. i'll try to keep this point as molly centric as i can, but in my personal headcanon molly and neville are the epitome of 'similar, yet different'. while both are large, introverted tender engines, they differ when you look deeper. molly's self esteem is usually good when she's on her own or feeling confident, but it starts to crumble when others tease or, or she feels she has to try harder than usual to prove herself. neville, on the other hand, typically struggles with self-esteem because of how often he experienced bullying based on his looks (his irl basis was nicknamed 'the ugly duckling' poor guy :() and his self-view is usually only raised when he gets a genuine compliment. molly can hold grudges, however neville doesn't; he'll gladly accept anyone who's shown him any kindness...which can lead to him being a fair bit more naive than molly. - molly is a good judge of character. no one can really explain it, but when the usually sunny molly starts getting cranky around someone, you best believe that engine is up to no good. - molly and emily are sort of frenemies. they have more in common than they realize, both are eager to please and are proud of what they're capable of...it's just emily tends be louder about it than molly is. (also, emily doesn't make that comment at the beginning of molly's special special in my world. it's out of character because emily doesn't usually tease anyone without being provoked first). emily and molly may not like each other very much because of their different personalities, however they both have a mutual respect towards one another for being the only large female engines that are willing to get their hands dirty and haul long heavy goods trains - molly is friends with murdoch, but she finds him hard to be around sometimes because of how much of a downer he can be -molly's favorite holiday is easter. she enjoys the warmth of early spring and fun, bright colored eggs. -conflict stresses molly out because on her old line, many of her steam colleagues had plenty of verbal sparring matches with her old controller begging them to be kept in favor of the newer, often diesel, engines. in general, heated arguments dig up ugly memories for her - despite her deep-seated insecurities, molly is actually an optomist and tries to make the best of negative situations. - when it comes to mixed-traffic engines, she's easily one of the most skills when it comes to expertise on both passenger and goods trains, owing to her extensive working past in both fields. she's very capable in both and is one of the engines on sodor that gets herself into the least amount of accidents.

-molly has a good relationship with trucks. her gentle and patient nature actually makes the trucks quite fond of her, the fact that she doesn't bash them around or lose her temper with them alone is more than enough to make them respect her. - molly secretly has a large penchant for gossip. she never partakes in it herself, but she is curious about the happenings of other engines. murdoch is a good source of gossip, because of his quietness he often becomes a fly on the wall, but the trucks are always telling her about frustrated engines blabbing about how much they dislike another. that's why when big news starts spreading, molly usually has very little reaction to it. she already knew.

[aidenwaites]

Not to repost this quote by itself but ohhhh brienne. I love you

[lionleonora]

are you a lover of cult classic rpg, Disco Elysium? do you find Kim Kitsuragi and Harry DuBois’s relationship fascinating and moving? do you miss an era of greater popularity for DE? then i present to you…

Kim Kitsuragi/Harry DuBois Fanfic Recommendations for the Despairing Disco Elysium Fan!

i love disco + kim/harry fics, but like many of you, i have read the classics many times over. thus, i have compiled a list of non-classic, hopefully unknown to you kimharry fics that i personally love and that may pique your interest. organized in order of least to most hits. enjoy!

palewalker by chernobylslug - this is the only incomplete work on this list. at 744 hits, i feel it flies far under the radar! the prose is lovely and the premise is unique, with Harry being the vampire this time instead of Kim. i would be surprised if it were ever updated again (it’s been a year since it was posted) but it’s always a possibility, and certainly worth a read! rated E, but no smut as of yet.

Hunger by PositivelyVexed - another super underrated vampire fic, this time with vampire Kim. it has some of the best mutual attraction/pining i’ve seen—what i love about kim and harry is that they are two societally ugly men who are absolutely feral with lust + respect for each other, and this fic executes that incredibly well. rated M, which people interpret differently. here, it means that the smut is strongly implied, but never outright described.

Canid Instinct by twiaerose - rated E, and one of the rare ABO fics in disco fandom spaces. Harry is an omega and Kim is an alpha, which plays more to their personality traits than the other way around, in my opinion. a LOT of mutual pining and some good allegory!

Intricate rituals by randomisedmongoose - i can’t believe it’s been a year since this was posted…it feels like just yesterday that it had 50 likes and was on the first page of kim/harry fics! amazing exploration of kink, disability, trauma, and mutual attraction. very much worth the read. rated E!

Objects of desire by OrangeGaytor - alright, this is technically not kim/harry, but it’s close enough. very funny and surprisingly sexy, though not to the degree that smut fics usually are. a quick, funny E!

Stress relief by nevermindgrantaire - we’re getting into the territory of more well-known but not fandom classics; but i still think this one is underrated. an amazing depiction of kim, and some of the funniest depictions of the skills as well. and of course, mutual lust and attempts to curb that lust. this will be a theme for me. rated E!

Ham Sandwich by itsGERALD - CRAZY TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS ONE! that being said, this is one of the most innovative vamp fics i have ever read, and fits the gritty and ultimately disgusting world of kim and harry so well. if you can stomach the gore (which even i sometimes can’t!) it is absolutely worth the read. i think it should be a classic, but that’s just me. rated E.

The Personals Section by itsGERALD - some fandom members have (rightly) complained that many fan depictions of harry are sober, hot, and clean in order to get past the nasty stuff. this fic proves that you can have a hot romance while staying true to the fucked-up person that harry is. and boy, is harry and kim’s relationship weird - weird but good. my favorite of itsGERALD’s, and rated E.

The Erotic Adventures of Raphael Ambrosius Coustea by trr_rr - i also strongly feel this one should be a classic, and am kind of shocked it’s not. a funny and again, surprisingly hot crack fic about harry’s fantasies of getting dominated by kim. something revealing and bare about reading something so self-indulgent for “raphael”! rated E.

Shaving by itsGERALD - another great, quick PWP. they are desperate for each other! rated E.

The Gentleman Caller by ISKANDER_TM, Laura Kaye (laurakaye), Refrigerabo - this is the only multi-chapter fic on this list, and also has by far the most hits. however, multi-chapter fics usually get more hits as they’re updated, and i feel that proportionally, it is at the same level of popularity that the oneshots have been so far. this is a great vampire fic (sue me) and has my favorite trope ever: having sex WHILE pining. rated E, 8 chapters and around 50,000 words.

Bonus: Author Recommendations!

itsGERALD has been mentioned a few times here—they are one of my favorite authors in the DE fandom, and i think every fic they wrote is worth at least one read-through, if not multiple. they have 26 DE works in total and are incredibly talented, insightful, and creative. to me, they are a classic author!

nevermindgrantaire has some of my favorite underrated works. their whole series SHIVERS is worth checking out (a continuation of Stress relief!) and they have tons of other juicy fics in the DE space - 16 in total.

PositivelyVexed has written at least one of your fandom favorites. you’ve seen their popular stuff, so go check out their whole library - i promise it’s worth it!

if you’re still here, thanks for reading! these obviously aren’t NICHE or UNDERGROUND but i think they are underrated and not classics. i’m sure i’m not the only one who gets tired of sorting by kudos and then skipping a whole two pages when i’m looking for new fics. hopefully this was a good way to circumvent this! either way, i loved doing this. thanks for sticking around!

[togglesbloggle]

In Defense of Bad Things

'Bad' here meaning mostly 'amateur'; stuff made enthusiastically by people at an unprofessional level. Art with visible gaps between what the artist imagined and what they achieved, products of flawed craftsmanship. I suppose everybody can appreciate them to some extent, it's a rare parent that doesn't put up their kid's drawings on the fridge in one way or another. But it turns out to be a fully general skill you can cultivate, and the more I do, the more I'm glad I did.

Partly, it's the teacher thing; finding delight in amateur work is one of the ways to find delight in the process of learning. Cultivating a love of striving-qua-striving can help make you a force for good in the world, as people start to feel safe trying to do things when you're around, even when their efforts are wobbly. You get to participate a little more in the process of atoms spinning themselves into ideas, even when there aren't any illusions about whether you're helping cultivate some revolutionary genius in the field.

And partly it's a fabulous way to build community. By necessity, our professional-level skills tend to be at the service of other people, performed for economic benefit; that's kind of how you get professionally good at something in the first place. When we're acting for our own sake, and among friends, most of what we do with one another is amateurish. I only cook middling-okay, I can't hold a tune that well, I'll never be a speed runner for anything. If you can only enjoy singing from the hundred best singers in the whole world, manufactured and polished by major studios, then you and your friends will sit shoulder-to-shoulder and passively listen to music. But it's so much richer an experience to sit face-to-face, actually singing together, even badly; you expose yourself to so many new ways to appreciate and respect one another, building relationships on what you've accomplished and not just by witty criticism or liking the same things.

And partly it's because some of the most powerful and innovative artistic experiences are in high-churn environments with low expectations and low barriers to entry, if only because those catch the passionate and driven young people that have been otherwise overlooked by our systems. The golden age of webcomics meant that a ton of the actual art involved was pretty lousy, but it also produced work that people still talk about today. D&D began as a profoundly unpolished collection of handmade rulebooks sold at cons in a plastic baggie. By the time these products of enthusiastic amateurs filter themselves through various levels of popularity and absorb mainstream cash influx, they're often risk-averse and missing a lot of the bold spark that inspired their fans in the first place; others will simply never drift towards the mainstream at all. I'm not saying you should be the person who goes out to dig through the slush piles of the internet looking for overlooked art, unless you want to be-- but sometimes a work of actual staggering genius also happens to be a Supernatural fanfic by a first-time author who's a little hazy on commas, and if that's a dealbreaker, you're going to miss out on some profoundly valuable experiences.

And hiding behind all of these things is, like...

Our appreciation of beauty has an odd structure, right? When things are done very skillfully, by brilliant artists with years of training, we can usually appreciate those accomplishments. And when we're looking at nature without human influence, and especially when we think very deeply about natural processes and understand them in context, we often rediscover that sense of beauty. There's just this bizarre hole in the middle where we declare things 'ugly'; as if a little skill is worse than none at all.

I really don't trust that gap. It feels like a trick my brain is playing on me, you know? It has me suspicious that a lot of what I consider 'ugly' or 'bad' is not a very direct experience of the world at all, or an informed judgment. That it is, rather, a declaration of (self-, social-) identity; a desire to be seen as a person of good taste, or as somebody who does things well, or just more primitively as one of the monkeys who is in the good-stuff-tribe and not one of the monkeys who is in the bad-stuff-tribe.

[bananaactivity]

Im not finished with Carlos fully but he looks good enough for right now ( he’s 22 in this picture here)

I changed Carlos and Evie up, so now Evie is a vain witch like her mother who is fashionable but she doesn’t sew her own stuff. ( which is for the better cse wtf was that ugly ass dress she made for Mal in D2???)

Carlos considers himself to be a very expensive person and can be pretty big germaphobe. He hates getting anything on his clothes and he refuses to wear the school uniforms at Auradon Uni because they’re ugly. He wears lots of black white grey and red, with gold accents usually. He does theme around dog associated items like gold bone cutlets, paw print lapel chains, and a tennis ball brooch. He often wears red gloves and his favorite shoes are his collection of red bottom dress shoes. He likes hiding red on the interlining of his clothes too, such as his jackets and hats and vests.

A lot of his own person style is derived from 1990s London fashion ( as the artist that means I get my references from the 1996 101 Dalmatians live action movie, the styling of Cruela in that movie is ICONIC AND IMACULATE, and I MUST reference her for Carlos.

PURRRR

Of course he wears REAL animal print. And he’s not a weak touch me not prick like some think. He’s still tech savvy and does Anyalitics and specs for the core four. He also loves GUNS 😄. Think of him like a sharp shooter who stays in the back of turf wars and snipes people. The isle doesn’t have many marks men ( they all really like swords for some reason) so he’s pretty dangerous. He builds his own weapons too.

His passion started out as a way for him to collect his own furs but Harry gets him most of what he needs plus he always needs Carlos to redo his wardrobe ( he gets… messy… after a couple days work) Carlos hates that Harry ruins his creations so fast but he pays him well and gifts him rare fabrics and samples from Auradon.

Because Carlos has no magic Mal always underestimates him. She sees him as only a stylist and ranged weapon specialist. Even tho she acknowledges him for his wit and tech skills she still doesn’t listen to him. Sometimes he wishes he could stay with Harry but then he’d have to do more work up front. Harry understood what Carlos was capable of and respected him a lot. What Harry doesn’t understand is that not everybody likes to be covered head to toe in hot sticky blood 24/7. Harry had also promised him a suite on his boat that nobody else was allowed to occupy, but even if Harry’s crew feared HARRY they wouldn’t mind having an attitude with CARLOS for preferential treatment, even if it is what he deserves 🙄

Harry and Carlos’s relationship is the definition of there are two wolves inside you. Carlos smokes and drinks but he’s more of a Marlboro and Merlot type of guy and Harry’s a Rum and Cigar kinda lad. ( I’m using cartoon logic and say that those habits are purely aesthetic based of iconography from the original Disney moves, Cruella smokes and Capt. Hook smokes two cigars at once)

Carols isn’t really scared of dogs anymore but when he arrives at Auradon he “befriends” his roommate Chad ( now an animal lover like his mother) who has pet rats and a entourage of wild animals constantly in their dorm, and threatens to shoot and skin them all every single day to make a new line of coats ( when Chad rebuttals that his rats are too small to make coats, Carlos says they’d make the perfect fuzzy gloves 💀) He also uses Chad as a living mannequin for his designs. They have a goofy relationship with each other, Carlos does make Chad do all the dirty work of skinning and draining the animals he hunts but despite how traumatic that is Carlos is a fun sweet guy so it’s okay 💀💀💀.

Jay is jelly of Carlos due to his closeness with Harry. ( I guess the way to Jays heart and respect is by holding him at sword point and threatening to gut him and hang him by those very guts over shark infested waters and watch them nibble away at him 💀)

Next I’ll find up Carlos and do some fit designs then I’ll redesign Jay and tell that gutting story 😛

[hana-no-seiiki]

PLATONIC! YANDERE SIBCON! DEATH THE KID x READER

888 FOLLOWER SPECIAL (Thank you all so much!)

warnings: incest but as a joke. reader is biologically related to dtk, death and asura so they implicitly look alike. reader is described as perfectly symmetrical. angst.

status: unedited.

i.

Your father couldn’t have been more blatant when it came to favoritism. It was always [Y/N] this, and [Y/N] that. As the youngest out of all your siblings you were given special priority as a child up until the present.

‘[Y/N] is just the cutest, can’t you see?’

What was even worse was that Kid absolutely enabled such behavior.

Instead of being bitter like a normal person, he joined in on the spoiling.

You wouldn’t have minded it if it was just that. Who wouldn’t love to be spoiled by gods themselves?

But Kid always piled nagging on top of it all. In fact, it was twice as much as how he’d drown you in gifts.

‘[Y/N], fix your posture! What if you get back problems at a young age?!’

You were slouching for just a moment. In your room. Alone. How’d he even get in—

‘[Y/N] what is with your hair ? Your symmetry, it’s ruined!’

You only had a single lock of hair out of place. You had just woken up. Your breakfast was abandoned as he had yanked you to take a bath and style your hair.

“[Y/N]—“

“兄上!” You yelled. Swerving your body so fast that you almost fell down just to meet him eye to eye. You took a deep breath first, calming yourself as to keep your voice steady. “Please leave me alone. Aren’t you supposed to be away on a mission ? “

“But—“

“They’re right, Kid. Besides the sooner we wrap things up the sooner you’ll get to hang out with [Y/N]-様” Liz came to your rescue. Honestly if it weren’t for her, you were sure Kid would have been literally glued to you with how clingy he could be. He treated you like the most entrancing painting there could ever be, as if a second not looking at you would kill him.

At the realization of such an idea. Kid finally composed himself and dashed off. With not a farewell or goodbye wave in sight.

“Don’t worry, [Y/N]-様! We gotcha covered.” Patty squeezed your cheeks. Even she wasn’t immune to your cute charms.

“My wish to be left alone extends to the both of you. ”

“Eek!” The two teleported 5 feet away from you as they heard the tone of your voice. Despite being a powerless Shinigami, your presence demanded fear and respect. You were known for being an even more uptight version of your brother which was an achievement in itself.

“R-right! On our way!”

ii.

As the son of the embodiment of law and order. Death the Kid had a terrifying obsession with perfection. Particularly the perfection that is symmetry. The beauty of balanced reflection in its most immaculate form. The aesthetic of faultless proportions and details that make the whole so pleasing to the eyes.

The aesthetic of you.

It was natural for siblings to lovingly hate each other’s existence. Kid has literally battled his own brother.

But in that principle’s wake was your existence.

His passion to beat Asura seemed so human, so insignificant when it came to you.

Unlike him you had no ‘Lines of Sanzu’ and was thus never considered to be a candidate to become a Death God. You were never a threat. So he had no problem accepting his Father’s doting nature towards you.

You were always so cute. Always working hard for a future you wanted. A future that’ll never be yours. Your ambition was so infectious that along with succeeding his father, he wanted to be perfect for you.

You only deserved the best brother. One who had his lines completed. One that didn’t look like ugly, asymmetrical pig that he was in the present.

You weren’t home, as always. But Kid had gotten skilled at finding where you are. Call it his brotherly instincts but the most it would take for him to find you was a day.

You were gone for a month.

When Kid found you, you looked even more aggrieved than usual. The scowl on your face made heavier when you saw him.

The talk on the way back home was awkwardly silent. Despite that he still cherished the moment. It was rare to have someone as amazing as you alone all to himself.

“兄上?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you such a creep?”

“[Y-Y/N] . . . “ You gaze at your brother as crocodile tears fell from his beautiful face.

“If I disappeared that means I don’t want people to look for me. So don’t waste your time searching. Why can’t you understand that I want to be alone?”

“But—“

“Look for me and I’ll hate you. More than I already do.”

“You . . . hate me ?”

“Wasn’t it obvious?” You blew a strand out of your face that Kid often waxed to keep things ‘perfect’. Surprised that he doesn’t comment on it. His eyes have completely dimmed.

“. . . No . . .”

“If you died I wouldn’t care. At all. So don’t extend your sympathy towards me. It’s disgusting not to mention patronizing.” The distance between you two grew more as he stayed still and you kept walking.

Your final words to him goes unheard at that point. “You’re the next God of Death. Respectfully speaking, act like one.”

Kid couldn’t stop thinking about your words from before. Siblings naturally had love-hate relationships. But hearing you say that up front still left him shaken.

During battle, he kept muttering and muttering, completely unfocused. He would have been hurt terribly if it weren’t for the others shoving him around. Even then, he didn’t so much as budge as he was thrown to a wall. “No . . . it couldn’t be . . . have they perhaps . . . “

“What’s up with him?” Black Star stared at him while cleaning his nose with his pinky. The fight wasn’t dire at the very least and he was used to Kid’s unorthodox personality, but this time the young Shinigami was somehow more out of it than usual.

“Less talking, more fighting.” Maka scolded. She had long since given up trying to get Kid to fight and instead instructed Liz and Patty to wield each other. It wasn’t ideal but it was at least functional, unlike a certain raven-haired young man right now.

“That’s it! They must’ve hit puberty!” Death the Kid suddenly shouted. The side of his fist hits his palm as a lightbulb switches on in his mind.

“Not this again . . . “ Liz rolled her eyes. She tried moving him from an incoming attack but he doesn’t budge an inch.

“Oh, my poor [Y/N] they must be so confused! They don’t hate me, it’s just that I’ve been lacking as a brother!” His eyes sparkled at the revelation that hit him. “I must go back and tell them how much I love them!” He took off, forsaking the rest to find [Y/N].

He gets about a meter away before Liz carried him back.

“Nuh-uh. We have a kishin to take down!”

“My sibling takes priority!” He flailed around in her arms, slapping her in the process.

“Even I’m not like this towards Patty. You need to stop worrying about them so much. You’re more like a nagging wife at this point! Face it, Kid. They don’t like you much less want you around all the time.” Liz scolded him. Getting more and more irritated at his behavior by the second. You’d think she’d get used to his sibcon tendencies, but it still managed to amaze her how little he cared for anything but [Y/N].

“Oh no . . . what have you done?” Maka covered her mouth in shock.

“H-Huh? What do mean? I just talked some sense into—“ Liz doesn’t notice he stopped thrashing til he screeched into her ears.

“That’s it! You’re a genius Liz!”

“I am?”

“In order to keep my baby sibling safe and sound I have to marry them!”

“Wait what— That’s not what I meant—“

“I’ll get the papers sorted right away!”

And he’s gone. Poof. Just like that. Liz completely frozen in place.

“I pray [Y/N]-様 extends you their mercy.” Tsubaki, now in her human form, bowed. Genuinely fearing for Liz’s well-being.

Patty, on the other hand, stuck her tongue out. “Bye Bye, sis!”

“Patty, not you too!”

iii.

MONTHS EARLIER…

Your Father was an eccentric being. He annoyed you to no end but thankfully not as much as your brother did.

You inherited his obsession with Peace. Something that you defined as moments that you were alone. Free to just exist and not worry about being perfect all the time. Peace to you was the lack of your brother, the embodiment of chaos.

You’ve always wished to be separated from him, but knowing there was a potential for that to actually happened gave you the first taste of fear.

Is this what humans felt? This adrenaline rush, this excitement? All that in addition to dread and sadness at the same time?

“Is it true?”

“What is it, my darling?”

“Is it true that when 兄上’s lines connect . . . you . . . “

“Where did you hear this, child?” Death moved forward. His large body shadowed yours.

You neither move away or closer. Instead you stayed still. Eyes firmly kept in place. On his.“Answer me, 父上.”

“Yes.” The god looked to the skies. Even he had a time to depart from this world. Death was something not even the divine can escape.

“Will I also . . . ?”

“I don’t know.” His large gloved hand extended to pat your head.

“Then he’ll be all alone?”

“Hopefully not. Are you worried for him—“

You replied before he could even finish, “Why would I be? He’s the one responsible for worrying between the two of us.”

Death then picked you up. Holding you close to his face.

“父上？”

“Yes, my darling?”

You said nothing, stepping forward to hold your creator in an embrace.

“I love you too, child.”

iv.

THE PRESENT…

“[Y/N]?”

Death the Kid isn’t human. Far from it. He’s a god. He represented Law and Order; Death.

But in the face of all this, his responsibilities, his status, his entire being. He feels so utterly meek, so awfully human when he was with you.

Gods aren’t supposed to have favorites. Gods are supposed to maintain a balance when it came to their affections over mortals.

But for you, and only for you. Kid lowers himself. To love, to fear, to worship.

“What?” Your small hands barely half the size of his reached to cup his face. “Spit it out, 豕.”

“Will you stay with me . . . for the rest of eternity?”

“You’re my family aren’t you? Of course I will.”

“Yes. Yes, of course. You’ll always be here for your brother.”

“Tch. Misplaced worries is a weakness, get rid of it.” Your hands moved to leave his face, but he doesn’t let it happen. Instead he traps it there, where it belonged.

“Anything for you, my dearest sibling.”

Right. Kid had nothing to worry about. You were here with him. Living, breathing. Still as perfect as you’ll ever be. You were all that he had. You were all that he needed.

Still. He could not shake away the feeling of nothingness within his heart.

Notes: [These are mostly for me + explanations so feel free to skip] Y/N uses formal speech and ways to call their family members.

For Kid they use, Aniue and for Death they call him Chichiue which means exalted or honorable brother and father respectively.

It’s only when they asked Death to answer them that they drop the formalities and use casual language. But even then they still call him exalted father.

From what I studied, formal speech in some situations can be quite rude and robotic. So despite seeming like they respect their fam they’re actually being condescending if not distant. I might be completely wrong though so feel free to correct me.

It’s kinda like going up to friend of yours for years and using the same extremely polite language you might use for strangers or seniors in work.

Lastly, in case you didn’t understand; in part iv DTK replaces [Y/N] but made them more childlike, completely changing the way they spoke. Mirroring the way Death created him to be a better version of Asura. Also 4 / IV sounds like Death in Japanese.

Anddd a little reminder that whenever I tag a character as Yandere that means they have unhealthy ways to love. Please do not romanticize or seek to replicate it in real life. Despite adoring his sibling, Kid subconsciously looks down on them and sees them as powerless. True love always comes with respect people. He also changes a ton of personality traits for the replacement, only keeping their looks and disdain towards him. He only ever ‘loved’ certain parts of them.

Thank you for reading and for the 888 (now 900+) followers!

TRANSLATIONS:

兄上 — Aniue — (Archaic) Exalted / Honorable Brother

様　— Sama — Formal suffix/honorific.

父上 — Chichiue — (Archaic) Exalted / Honorable Father

豕 — Buta — Pig

©️ hana-no-seiiki 2023

[secret77778888]

LUKOLA FANDOM: The bad and the ugly

DISCLAIMER: This is LUKOLALAND only. Skip this if you're not a shipper. This is only my point of view. No harm intended

Luke

Luke has recently found himself at the center of an undeserved hate campaign. Luke is not only a talented actor but also a genuinely kind and down-to-earth person. Those who know him personally often speak highly of his warmth, and strong work ethic. His colleagues frequently commend his positive attitude on set, his dedication to his craft, and his ability to bring a nuanced, relatable charm to his characters.

Despite this, Luke has been unfairly criticized for a range of baseless reasons. One of the most prominent accusations involves "Papgate," where he was allegedly involved in a publicity stunt that some claim detracted from the show's success. However, it's important to recognize that Luke has always been committed to the success of Bridgerton. As a professional, he understands the importance of the show's reputation and would never intentionally jeopardize it. A professional PR team would never have advised Luke to engage in such a stunt, especially given that there was no pressing need or benefit in doing so, after all, the hard launch has yet to occur. It's clear that Luke genuinely admires his good pal Nicola and values their relationship too much to have intentionally ruined their night. The lack of evidence to support these accusations further highlights the unfair nature of this criticism. His hard work and talent should be celebrated, not overshadowed by baseless accusations.

Another point of contention has been Luke's personal life, with some fans unfairly speculating and judging his choices. However, Luke, like anyone, has the right to live his life privately and without undue scrutiny. We might raise an eyebrow at some of Luke's associations and choices, but that's something we can ponder in the privacy of our Lukolaland without spreading negativity. Luke wasn’t jobless; he was taking a well-deserved vacation after months of hard work with his friends before returning to work in August, just like many do. There's nothing out of the ordinary here. It’s important to remember that we don’t have all the details, so we shouldn’t be quick to judge without knowing the full story. I trust that both Luke and Nicola will navigate this situation wisely and come through just fine. He has conducted himself with integrity, and the assumptions made about his relationships are purely speculative and often harmful. It’s wrong to attack him, his family and friends.

Luke Newton is a promising young actor with a bright future ahead of him. Beyond his undeniable talent, he is known for his kindness, and humility. Luke has always been a good-looking guy, though attraction is subjective. If he’s not your type, that’s fine, but many others do find him attractive, and it doesn’t make sense to broadcast your disinterest across Lukolaland. If you’re not a fan, simply move on without trying to ruin it for others. What truly matters is the work he’s done. Luke plays Colin with skill, bringing depth, relevance, and nuance to the role, with a performance that is both detailed and deeply empathetic. If his performance wasn’t to your taste, feel free to critique it constructively, but keep the focus on his acting. Luke is talented, passionate, and generous, and those who know him appreciate and love him for that. Even his Barbie, I mean-his costar, Nicola has nothing but kind words to say about him. While fans may have opinions, it is important to approach these with empathy and respect, rather than extending unwarranted criticism.

Nicola

I've come across articles and comments that unfairly critique Nicola’s appearance, suggesting she isn’t attractive enough due to her so-called "average" or "oversized" body. The only thing average about her body is that it fits an average size. Let's set the record straight: Nicola is neither fat nor skinny, she’s simply herself. And let's stop equating body size with beauty. Fat people can be stunning, just as skinny people can be less so; it's a fact of life. To claim she doesn't meet certain standards of beauty is not only incorrect but downright absurd. Have you seen her? She is a definition of beauty, both inside and out. Her radiance is undeniable, fitting most conventional beauty standards effortlessly with her baby blue eyes. She embodies all the qualities we value collectively in terms of feminine beauty and her body is a Roman empire.

While you might not personally be attracted to her, that view is far from the majority. Nicola outshines 99% of the population, and among the remaining 1%, she’s in the top tier, thanks to the beauty that comes from within. Her intelligence, brightness, and wisdom add to her allure, making her truly captivating. It's absurd to claim that Luke isn't attracted to Nicola simply because she doesn't fit someone's narrow idea of "his type." Attraction is highly personal and goes far beyond superficial traits. Luke and Nicola share an evident deep connection that likely transcends physical appearance, focusing more on personality, shared values, and mutual respect. Moreover, the idea that Luke wouldn’t be attracted to someone as radiant, talented, and charming as Nicola is equally baseless, if anything, she embodies qualities that many find irresistibly attractive. And we have no definitive idea of what "his type" is as both of his exes looked different and the only trait that they have in common is that they’re attractive talented genuine and kind women who are actresses; Its therefore not wrong to assume that Nicola could fit that description and not the contrary. Just as some may assume Nicola isn't his type, the reverse could be just as true, maybe she is not attracted to tall, dark and handsome men with a remarkable shade of blue eyes, which only underscores how irrelevant these superficial judgments are. Nicola is human, at least I think that she is, and like all of us, she might make mistakes. But unlike many, she is thoughtful and deliberate in her life choices. Nicola has every right to choose her own partner, and while we may wish otherwise, that decision is hers alone. She’s independent and career-driven, and she’s certainly not desperately waiting around for just anyone, only for the one who truly makes a difference in her life. That’s likely why she hasn’t publicly claimed anyone yet. Thankfully, we can trust her judgment, as she knows best who brings happiness and adds value to her life.

Tifaine

Within the Lukola fandom, some creators have been unfairly attacked for their dedication and hard work. Tifaine, in particular, has faced criticism despite her contributions to the community. While it may seem unusual to outsiders that grown people dedicate so much time to shipping real people, it is essential to understand that this community is built on love and admiration, not harm. The only people who have the right to criticize this are Luke and Nicola themselves, and they have expressed appreciation for the support they receive from fans. If Nicola or Luke ever express discomfort or a desire to reassess those boundaries, most of us would comply or, would stop because, contrary to popular belief, we are functioning adults with full lives.

Tifaine's work in the fandom has been invaluable, and while disagreements may arise, it is important to recognize the effort and passion she brings to the community.She has certainly sacrificed time, money for the cause and she puts herself out there which attracts a lot of negativity. Based on my understanding, she was merely presenting facts mostly well-known and non-detrimental ones that do not undermine what’s happening between the two leads. She has consistently shown that she cares deeply for both of them and genuinely wishes for their success, whether individually or together. I trust her intentions and appreciate the significant effort she has put into her work, which is far from negligible. Her dedication is commendable, and her contributions have helped create a space where fans can come together to celebrate the love and success of Luke and Nicola.

In conclusion, I believe that the recent wave of negativity in the community is both unwarranted and harmful and frankly quite counterproductive. And if none of them is above criticism, it is crucial to remember that behind the screens they are real people deserving of respect and kindness. As fans, our role should be to support and uplift, not tear down. By fostering a community built on love and understanding, we can ensure that the fandom remains a positive and welcoming space.

[bougiebutchbitch]

listen I just think [nsft under cut]

trans croc should fuck buggy using his own cock as a strap, all while forcing him to call himself croc's naughty little girl <3

buggy should warm croc's dick while he's doing paperwork because that's all he's good for, and croc pretends to be getting annoyed that he's so squirmy and hungry for stimulation but he's actually getting off on it

mihawk's first time with buggy should be fraught with mihawk asking himself (and buggy) 'what did shanks see in you?', and buggy returning the favour. it was bittersweet and a bit brutal. mihawk actually felt a bit bad after.

mihawk should be in an established relationship with croc that's built on mutual respect, if not love, and appreciation of each other's skill & rep <3 they're steady, mature, and sensible about it. they have a genuine, deep connection that they never expected to find in each other, but now it's there, it would take a lot to break.

he and croc are very relaxed and kinda gentle and versatile and switchy with each other? But then they both see buggy and internally say 'I want to obliterate him'

It takes quite a while for mihawk and croc to admit this to each other though. When they finally do, it's a big relief - they just... shake hands, exchange a nod, and get to work

To start with, they really don't give a shit about buggy at all, they just wanna fuck him. but he's... kinda adorably flustered and fun and responsive and... hm. He's a worthless little worm. But when they tell him that, he tearfully agrees and gets hard? Cute.

mihawk is suuuuper quiet but buggy and croc both find any vocalisation they get him to make a HUGE turn-on

mihawk has cold-dom'd buggy to tears

croc has rough-dom'd buggy to tears

both of them have death-threat'd him to begging and tears mid-sex, but he never safewords because he's soooo stupidly horny about the danger and degradation

buggy just ugly-cries a lot okay

mihawk is surprisingly good at aftercare, even if he approaches it in a very regimented, methodical autistic af way. He's the most invested in the future of the Cross Guild, and somewhere deep within that mysterious brain he's planned their throuple marriage. Even though he still despises buggy and croc alike on some days.

croc is kinda standoffish and leery about showing affection at first (to anything but his bananawani). With mihawk it wasn't a big deal - but buggy is absolutely, 5000% a snuggler. Not to mention a terribly rough, mobile sleeper. And though he always bitches, croc can't imagine waking up without a foot wedged under his chin or a disembodied arm hooked over his knee. He doesn't know when he got used to having these two idiots as semi-permanant fixtures in his life, but he's kinda pissed that he doesn't want them gone.

buggy is still 90% terrified, 10% horny, but that's better than 99% terrified, right? He still thinks of himself as an intruder - a business-only investment who's only alive because he's a useful scapegoat + fucktoy. Of course they don't actually like or respect him. Who would? He's out for himself, like he always has been. Ready to split if the water gets too hot or a better opportunity comes along.

...but his followers love him.......and the sex is good (even if it inevitably leaves him a shaking, whimpering wreck).........and he might actually have a chance at snatching the One Piece if he has two awesome powerhouses in his pocket.................... and.... and look, the sex is really good, okay?

........and maybe he likes how mihawk is quietly thoughtful, showing care through little actions rather than words (fixing little things Buggy's complained about, always somehow knowing which part of his back to rub)

...............and how croc only cares about money and power, but still sometimes gets this strange, soft look in his eyes when it's a quiet evening and the three of them are sitting together sharing space, but all doing their own thing. he always looks oddly scared about it, like he doesn't quite know what to do with whatever he's feeling, and buggy has this stupid urge to cuddle up beside him and rest his cheek on his big shoulder and just share his warmth

but he doesn't because he doesn't want to get punched into next week

.........until one night he does and croc just looks down at him with those unfathomable eyes and smiles

and across the room, mihawk's deep in his book, feet curled up under him in the chair, but he's smiling too

and now Buggy's the one getting all choked up, though he doesn't know why

This is all to say that Buggy is the last one to catch feels. One day he busts into The Meeting Room (sex dungeon) in the middle of an actual meeting and shrieks 'ARE WE DATING????' to which croc and mihawk blankly stare and reply buggy. buggy we have been in a dedicated polyamorous relationship for five years

[inchidentally]

Um, these 60 seconds of recent content between Lando and Oscar made me realize one thing, are these two really only knowing each other for a year or their whole lives?

the audience does not know !!!

like there's a very specific 'united front' thing I can see in a lot of partnerships and it's founded on different things but ultimately manifests in a feeling of cohesion between the drivers. (and I am so sorry bc I saw in passing someone else made a similar post to this but I cannot remember who so lmk bc I don't want to be ripping off their idea !! I have my own separate feelings about it so it's not a copy but still I wish I could have kept that on my dash long enough to rb)

like most teammates fall in the neutral category of professional politeness and friendliness but also the need to push for their own advantage wherever possible. totally fine and normal. also allows for a few fireworks occasionally which is just as good for fan engagement - sometimes more - than if the drivers were always cool w each other.

aberrations like Senna and Prost, brocedes, and sebmark are not to be included - way too unique. could even throw Esteban and Pierre in there.

you've got consummate professionals Lewis and George who are both careful about cultivating their own separate images and who hold a baseline of genuine respect for each other - but part of that respect being that they both know they'll look out for themselves first. so they're very much similar and equals even in operating very independently. ultimately they want the mess to get cleaned up and to shake hands and do business as usual. I could see them genuinely having to hash out something truly ugly and shake hands and move onto their own lives no problem. which like, they clearly have lol.

then there's a situation like Alex and Logan where the dynamic is so incredibly imbalanced BUT you have someone as humanly decent and warm as Alex (even if he maybe wishes he were less so for competitive reasons) and Logan has already become very skilled at dealing with being an outsider/almost unwanted :( and it's clear that they both see how hard-working they both are and what a massive thankless task they have in trying to just achieve points - undetermined if they're mostly friendly out of trauma bonding or will remain friends after being separated but there's absolute friendliness and respect.

then there's The Charisma Guys of Daniel and Carlos and now Lando (who mooched a lot of his F1 charisma off of Carlos and then Daniel). Daniel and Carlos replicate an almost identical dynamic with all of their teammates and it's predicated on what most drivers are already well versed in, which is: playing gay for fangirls, bromance hugging/camaraderie/ribbing for sports media and fans, and taking care of their own brand and career separately from their teammate. it's a powerful tool to have especially for leveraging the popularity of whatever bromance they're in towards their own image without having to lose power over their own image. individual sponsorships being a driver's second goal after winning races and WDCs also makes this an exceptionally good skill to have. it only starts to break down when the personal fortunes of one of the drivers start to hit hard times (current example being obvious).

the Carlos and Charles dynamic absolutely pulls a lot from the charisma/bromance stuff but the huge difference is that Ferrari would - like any F1 team - not give a shit if they didn't get along and just hitched on a bland smile for the cameras. Ferrari aren't remotely behind C2 being what it is, that's all Charles and Carlos. don't get me wrong Ferrari social media teams are MORE than happy to jump on! and sure, the challenges and content are a fun bonus thing to sponsors but three things here: one is that Ferrari IS the brand and they're a top 3 team like they're not grasping for sponsors asflgaslf. two is that as many partnerships have shown, you really don't need to do that much to satisfy the brief. and third, sponsors are like 99.999999% interested in the team's standings and the drivers' individual popularity with partnership popularity coming dead bottom - the bromances are only worth it if they're engagement darlings like carlando. and charlos doesn't do anywhere near those numbers or that widespread corporate social media appeal. you gotta do major impact with crazed fans for it to at all influence a brand's decision where to put their money. so all of the pop off the screen fun and genuine enjoyment we see Carlos and Charles have is fully legit. when they're being tongue-in-cheek levels of cutesy they literally say so. 2025 onward will see how much of a friendship there actually is, but as far as them being very happy with the partnership and collaborating exceptionally well within it, they're far more rock solid and natural at it than most. and the fact that they're if anything even tighter when there's zero incentive for it ?? and when their families and fanbases and their team principal and garages are constantly feuding ?? like it says everything about how much they respect each other and actually feel affection for each other to remain such a united front and so happy and affectionate. nobody else benefited from Carlos asking his team to tell Charles' team to come celebrate his win with him. nobody else in Ferrari or on the grid made bank off of about Charles rushing to congratulate Carlos while he was still in the car. (especially not when carlando did a quick hug and it got brands and official accounts posting tiktok ship edits to the predictable delight of thousands of fangirls. and for them all to cough cough conveniently ignore the embrace with his gf to push the image further.) there is no PR benefit behind C2 that would justify them hitching on such a dramatic facade - and if anything the people around them would prefer they kept separate so that they could celebrate one without the other. whatever their relationship is after this there will always be that massive respect IN SPITE of what the world around them wants.

but Lando and Oscar are such a major aberration not just in them both being so incredibly young and arriving into F1 so hot and already being so close in ability, but their specific 'history' and personalities. they were already such an easy fit together that it surpassed the professional need for a bromance buffer - and at the same time their bond being partly on how naturally private and shy they are made them poorly suited for a PR machine.

Oscar had already said - and a lot of fans already knew - that there were several friends in common and that the shifts in careers and being separated professionally by more years than their ages is the only thing that meant they'd never crossed paths before privately. as K said back when Oscar originally opened that TikTok acc it was so long ago that he followed Max F but that Lando didn't even have an one yet.

but also as many people close to Lando have said (good example that was posted recently) and that we can often still see in streamer Lando - Lando is very much like Oscar as a person at his core. pretty much all of the 'famous person' stuff we saw him become happened after 2019 and directly because of latching onto the social lives of guys like Carlos, Daniel and Martin. he's always referred to as extremely shy and he's said before he likes for others to lead. but his comfort place is still either hanging out in private with close friends only or to get on stream and laugh with his friends. Lando himself said that he considers Oscar to be very similar to him as a person outside of F1 and for all that in some ways that seems surprising, when you look at who Lando is when he's not in Professional Mode or Party Friends Mode he genuinely really fits in with someone quiet like Oscar who loves spending hours gaming w his friends and not being in public. I don't know enough about Martin Garrix as a person but I rly honestly see that with him as well. yes there's the Party Friend aspect but for them to travel solo for two entire winter breaks in a row ?? clearly Martin is a peaceful, quiet guy on Lando's level <3

and ofc I go onnnnn and fucking on about how while we all hate it bc it means we don't get as much content, the fact is that Lando and Oscar are the type of friendship/partnership where it's quiet and private and not something that translates to a bromance on camera. it's never going to be strategic.

so the fact that they have this "twinning" thing isn't that they are identical or that they even look all that similar, it's down to actually slotting in really well with each other as people! as always who knows how deep these friendships actually go but the whole mind-reading and synchronization and total lack of drama between them as drivers comes from genuinely being similar people and liking each other - that's what we're all picking up on when we watch them together.

the fact that they honestly find it awkward as hell when the media try to get them to "package" their friendship in bromancey soundbites or when they look at the camera a bit like an intruder that's making them dance their friendship around for media, like. that's so incredibly relatable for how any of us would feel with one of our actual friends having to do all that. having a camera aimed at us and some stranger being like "so you two get on really well huh?" and practically leaning in for an expected answer ???? it would be so stupid and weird and the whole way Lando and Oscar work together in unison to dispel how weird that is is so natural !!

idk it's like there's different things to take from different partnerships and literally all of us are suckers for a fun bromance and great professional chemistry. but I think this whole universal 'twins' thing that everyone sees in Lando and Oscar is genuinely two guys who are similar in all the fundamental ways and who actually slot together in ways where they naturally just agree on everything and therefore can predict a lot of what the other person is thinking if that makes sense ??? like yes Lando has Single Guy Party Times and professional motivations where Oscar does not but for a friendship and partnership to work, those are the two least relevant things to need to be similar about y'know ??

[torchwood-99]

Action Heroines Deserve Your Respect

I hate, hate, hate the fact that we've now moved into a space where action heroines are written off as "girlbosses" "nlogs" "yassified queens" "acting like men" and other bullshit like that. I hate that after centuries of women being oppressed through the enforcement of gender roles, female characters who cross gender boundaries are dismissed with a "ugh a woman doesn't have to fight/act like a man to be strong. women can be feminine and strong too".

I hate that people don't see why there will always be a strain of feminism in the action heroines because her existence; whether she be written well or not, and acceptance is a sign that we're moving past attitudes that have kept women confined and limited.

I hate that an action heroines has to be ten times better written than a male action hero because people; both men and women, are just waiting for the chance to rip her to shreds and dismiss as her as "lazy feminism" "girl boss pandering" and a "not like other girl girl".

I hate that there can be male characters who have little personality other than badass and people can just enjoy them for what they are and take them in the spirit in which they were created, whereas a female action character must never be allowed to be a badass bit of escaper lest she be the worst thing to ever happen to feminism.

I hate that there's less than one female action heroines to every ten make action heroes and their existence is still treated as a scourge in fiction. I hate that a poorly written male action hero is no more or less than a single character who wasn't written well, whereas a poorly written action heroine; whose threshold of being well written is much higher, is seen as an attack on the genre.

I hate that in genres where action and battle sequences are a staple and often provide massive emotional/plot climaxes, people refuse to see why female fans may want to see female heroines in those scenes.

I hate that people who aren't that into action heroines themselves can't just sit stand and shut up and think for a second why their existence means so much to fans of their characters, how long it was for fans to see characters like that become mainstream, and why for girls who see themselves in these heroines more than any other, it's bloody exhausting to hear them dismissed as "shallow" and "only liked because they act like men".

The moments when the music is the most dramatic, the moment everything has been building up to, when the chills are going down your spine, when every split second decision matters, when trust in friends is vindicated, when humanity is stripped down to its bare essentials and you see who these characters are when there's nothing left to lose. When nothing is pretty and soft but harsh and desperate and brutal and ugly. These moments matter so much, and are such a crucial part of the genres they exist in. They are so thrilling and cathartic and moving to watch, and of bloody course there are girls who want to see themselves in.

Not because these action heroines are acting "like men". Because these sequences tell us that the traits exhibited by the heroines in these sequences, the strength, physical and emotional, the resilience, the quick thinking, the camaraderie, the skill, are not exclusively the domain of men. These women aren't "trying to be men". They're trying to live. To defend. To advance a cause. To partake in the world around them on their own terms and have their lives in their hands.

Yes, yes, yes, there are lots of ways to be strong and proactive and admirable but fuck it, a good action sequence is moving and inspiring and fun and can make you feel like you've been on a roller coaster. And when I watch a sci-fi or a fantasy epic, I want to see women in those sequences. To be a part of that onscreen phenomena that is so pivotal to the genre.

When I watch an epic fantasy or sci-fi show, where there are beautiful and thoughtful and terrifying and emotional battle scenes, I want to see female characters partake in them. I want them to be the ones giving the speeches, being in that charge, wielding their swords, terrified, bloodthirsty, rage filled, righteous, merciful, valiant, exhausted, sweat, brutal, honourable, sly, messy. I want them to be in those moments for those moments in themselves.

[naamahdarling]

Do you have a favorite musical?

If so, what are your favorite lyrics from it, and why?

ALW's CATS.

Is it a surreal mess? Yes! But I love it before everything else.

The lyrics are silly but very clever. Most are at least partly by TS Eliot, drawn from a wonderfully nonsensical book of poems.

I think my favorite song is the Invitation to the Jellicle Ball, neck and neck with Mr Mistoffelees.

My favorite cat is Mistoffelees by a lot, followed by the Rum Tum Tugger. They are in love.

But the part that makes me feel the most in my heart is Grizabella. The only cat I relate to is Grizabella.

Memory is the big number that everyone knows and I do absolutely love it, it's one of my favorite songs and probably the best in the musical as it was before CATS 2019 introduced a new song, but I feel that out of context it simply doesn't have punch. It gets trotted out to showcase a singer's skill, as a bit of a tearjerker if you're a sentimental person. It is so much more than that.

I didn't understand Grizabella properly until I was well and truly an adult and had taken in multiple cats off the street, and lived near a colony, and watched my own cats become frail, which are all painful things in many ways; AND until I had begun to really feel the weight of my marginalization as a disabled person and an ill person, which means confronting almost daily the fact that I am unlikely to come to the sort of end I would like.

Hold on because I'm going to be unhinged about this cat for a minute.

Grizabella is an aged stray, once welcomed, now abandoned and unloved, considered ugly even by others like her (who are shown to supposedly accept differences and value, or at least respect, most everyone...but not her).

She lives in a haunted, lonely state unacknowledged by anyone except to be driven away. She can no longer care for herself, she is filthy and matted and scarred and probably in a lot of pain, she is starving, and she has nothing but her memories of better times, and every single dawn is both a gift and a miserable curse. She gets to remember. She has to remember.

If you watch, Grizabella is onstage a LOT, she's just off in the background, usually poorly lit, where she tries to mirror the dances happening on the main part of the stage, dances she knows because that was once her, there in the spotlight, shining. But now she's in too much pain to dance and her body isn't working right anymore. I have no doubt Grizabella is dying. The question is whether she will get to do that well, comforted and with dignity, or do it badly and alone.

I cannot HANDLE Grizabella.

If you have even the tiniest inkling of love for cats, if you believe every cat's life is worth something, her story should destroy you.

The legendary Jennifer Hudson's performance in the movie brought a really angry and confrontational turn to her, and it was flat out amazing. A rebuke of a performance. It really hurts to watch but it's what the role has always needed. She isn't just weak and sad, she clings to the tatters of her dignity and is angry that the others don't see her as a whole person. Just a miserable shadow to be avoided. A cautionary tale. We are never told what terrible thing she did to deserve her fall, and given that most of the Jellicles are young, I don't know that any of them really remember.

I will physically fight anyone who says she should not have been selected to ascend to a new life. She was the only choice. Even Gus. Even him. He can have his turn next year. Grizabella does not have another year in her.

And I'm going to make some folks mad but I love the 2019 movie (it's bad) and the new song, Beautiful Ghosts, is amazing, and I DO prefer Taylor Swift's version as the movie version is a little more timid (fitting the role and musical way better) but TS fucking BELTS IT and I get chills every time.

The lyrics are incredible and the song is gorgeous, gorgeous. And strung together with Grizabella's song, it finishes the musical in a way that it was a bit unfinished before. It uses an actual full song to connect Grizabella to the Ball and the Choice more directly than any choreography ever did or could:

Victoria, the White Cat and viewpoint character, still almost a kitten, has been dumped in the street and into a terrifying and beautiful new life.

After being swept up into its wonder, she sees Grizabella, utterly rejected, hissed at, made fun of, despised, and aches with the injustice of it -- Victoria was snatched right up by the other cats the instant her paws hit the ground, but nobody will take in Grizabella. Not even her own kind.

Victoria sees how strangely similar they are and feels a kinship that has no pity in it at all, but wonder and respect.

So Victoria sings this new song expressing the first admiration Grizabella has heard in god alone knows how long, reminding her she has had an amazing life worth envy and renown, and she pulls this horrible decrepit old mess of a cat into the Jellicle Ball, where she is FINALLY relieved of her pain.

Like? I'm crying right now?

It isn't a serious musical, but Grizabella's story runs through it like a cold current, something real and terrible, surrounded by absolute ridiculousness. Her numbers are deadly serious, never played for laughs. And ultimately it is her story that turns out to be the most important one, the truest one, and it is dark, and it is hopeful but only in only the most painful and grief-stricken way. She isn't brought back into a comfortable life with other cats to be happy and surrounded by love. She essentially...dies and goes to cat heaven. She embodies hope itself to the others, and her ascension represents a deeply humbling lesson in humility and grace. Her suffering and her ascent represent the possible future of every one of them, and now they have to confront that, and their treatment of her. She was rewarded, and for all their beauty and charm they were not.

Anyway I'm not normal about it.

The lyrics from Beautiful Ghosts that I love are:

Perilous night, their voices calling. A flicker of light, before the dawning. Out here the wild ones are taming the fear within me. Scared to call them my friends and be broken again. Is this hope just a mystical dream?

and

And so maybe my home Isn't what I had known, what I thought it would be. But I feel so alive With these phantoms of night, and I know that this life isn't safe but it's wild and it's free!

Like, come on. It's a lovely song and it took my breath away in the theater.

Ugh this musical touched me as a feral cat girl of 10 and it touches me again as a sad catguy in their 40s. Truly a very stupid work of weirdly meaningful art and one for the ages.

There are much better musicals, but none of them are part of me.

[rocksibblingsau]

I been having a lot of country Brickory and general Hickory thoughts and wanted a place to ramble. So where we go

This is kinda of an unpopular opinion, but I always loved how Hickory acted after his liar reveal. He looks so sad revealing himself as a liar to Poppy, like a pathetic wet kitty really and even after that, he still has this goofie and stupid smile on. There no bravado or confidence anymore, he kinda just a pathetic failure of a guy. And I love that about him.

Anyways, country Brickory. How I view that their relationship plays out is that Branch IS attracted to the confident, work working, competent and charming bounty hunter that unashamedly flirts with him, but that's as deep as it goes. That is nothing uniquely appealing about Hickory that Branch can't find on almost every single bachelor and bachelorette in town (hard working? competent? fearless and possibly deathly? that could describe literally anyone on Lonesome Flats)

No, what makes Branch really fall for Hickory is what he sees when he's vulnerable, a kinda pathetic boyfailure of a german boy, who has a too wide and honestly kinda ugly grin, who screams "HAYOOOOO" when Branch finally allows Hickory to take him out on a date and that tears up a little bit when his latest attempt to make his mother-in-law like STILL doesn't work. Someone who he can see himself in.

Because, just like Hickory, Branch may not be putting up a facade (they are both truly very competitive, confident, hard working and honestly? deathly people), but he's still has a part of him that he conceals. Branch IS the ideal of country troll, but there will always be a part of him that still is that vulnerable troll that wants to be held and loved, that deep-down still hopes his brothers will come home to him and live with him a underground hideout, that giggles of the thought of Hickory tenderly kissing him on the cheek and singing foo uim.

Because, no matter how much Branch tries to pass himself as purely this hardcore and ruthless troll, when taking being loved and loving, he is always be the biggest sap. He's tender, caring, thoughtful, kind and affectionate, and most importantly, he is vulnerable. Branch can never truly love someone and get close to that someone if he can't let his guard down and be very single part of himself with the one he loves. And there is probably still a part of a Branch that is afraid to be vulnerable with the rest of his community, I mean let's be honest it's Branch we're talking about.

Branch looks around at all these confident and charming trolls from his town and likely its feels a part of him that is still afraid of rejection. Will these trolls still like him if he's vulnerable? If he still afraid of rejection and craves the love of people who abandoned him years ago? Who doesn't truly care about big shows of competence and skill, who just wants to hold his partner's hand and talk about nonsense in the dead of night? It's too much of a risk for Branch, to hypothetically lose the respect and sense of belonging he worked so hard for. But not with Hickory. And not only he could easily ran Hickory out of town if he rejected him or broke his heart without anyone questioning him (though that certainly helps)

Because with Hickory he doesn't have to wonder anymore if he can show something besides all of the charm and skills. He seen the side of Hickory who is unattractive, goofy and vulnerable, the side that feels real, raw and imperfect. Branch is very attracted to Hickory's bounty hunter attitude, hunting with him, flirting over a bound criminal, confidently throwing bickers and pick up lines to each other. But what he loves about him? The Hickory who gingerly kisses him on the cheek like some teenager boy with his first love, who still wants to impress his older brother and make him proud, who burned down the kitchen trying to bake Delta's favourite pie and who stutters over a love poem that likely sounded better in german. Who tenderly holds his calloused hands and calls them soft.

Branch hates being called soft or pretty, except when Hickory does it, because it's not a hidden insult or a denial of his hard work as an adult. Hickory knows how much Branch works and does his all for his community, but he also sees the Branch who tenderly tucks his niece in, who feeds his sickly grandpa soup every evening, who bakes and knits for his own enjoyment and who lovely wraps Hickory's bandages no matter if they came from a dangerous hunt or a scrapped knee and kisses them when he's done. He doesn't ignore the rough feel of his skin and the strength that could only came with hours of backbreaking work, he just thinks that despite it all they still have the capacity do be soft and caring, like Branch. He also doesn't ignore the fact Branch was grey or loves him despite it, he runs his fingers through his hair and calls it as pretty as midnight, because he genuinely finds it as pretty as midnight or thunder clouds.

Sorry if this is absurdly long, I just love how even in canon Branch went from this emotionless hard working and rude troll to this affectionate and silly troll with Poppy and how country Branch, while still in a WAY healthier state of mind, should still likely have this hidden tender and vulnerable side to him. And then I thought of how pathetic and unconfident Hickory acted after the real and my mind just made the connection. I love them so much, need to lock them in a box and lowly feed them lettuce. My little mentally ill 6 cm tall stupid creatures.

(also anyways, I didn't explore much of Dickory and Branch relationship but wanted to include as an ending note that I really think that Dick absolutely loves Branch as a brother-in-law. He probably likes Branch more than he likes Hickory as brother lmao)

I don't have anything to add to this, I just love it and need everyone else to read it

[thatfeelinwhenyou]

KINDRED — profile 1

It’s your final year of highschool, and your only goal is to graduate top of your cohort, as usual. Except as student council president, your advisor can’t seem to leave you alone. What happens when you take Decelis Academy’s top student, their star athlete and put them in front of a camera?

❥･• yn homework club

note: they are all 19 years of age except for ni-ki (17)

Park Y/N, Decelis Academy’s top student and President of the Student Council. You have never once lost the number 1 spot throughout your time at the academy and the faculty absolutely adores you. Nothing is more important to you than excelling in your academics, as your dear mother have told you multiple times that people only remember you when you’re at the top of the pyramid. Despite your name being well known and talked about among the student body, you often keep to yourself and the exception of your inner circle. Thinking with your head rather than your heart, you have a hard time empathising with people, which explains your relatively small friendship circle. Have the most insignificant beef with Yang Jungwon, which you instigated by the way, but you’d never admit that.

Huh Yunjin, president of Decelis Academy’s theatre club and most probably the closest person to a BFF to you. Imagine Regina George but minus the unhingeness, that’s Yunjin. Despite her popularity, she’s actually a really sweet angel and would 100% drop whatever she’s doing for you. You first met in freshman year and is inseparable ever since. Her personality type enables her to empathise with you more so than others and you appreciate her for that.

Chanelle Moon, executive commitee member of the Decelis Student Council. For her, you’d imagine Janis but minus the black gothy aesthetics. Probably the most unbothered and coolest person you know (provided you don’t know much people anyways). Similar to Yunjin, she’s your ride or die and you can always count on her to literally hiss at the girls who would pick on you in the library.

Shin Ryujin, president of Y/N’s fanclub. Would literally sell her soul to hold your hand. Came to know her through Yunjin. You used to find it weird that she would openly simp for you but now you’re just used to the unhinged shit that comes out of her mouth. Despite her undying devotion, she respects your boundaries. You call Ryujin, Yunjin, and Chanelle the powerpuff girls because of how protective they are of you.

Choi Beomgyu, member of Decelis Academy’s media club and your unofficial hype boy. You got to know him after he came to the council room looking for Taehyun. The two of you clicked immediately. You were aware of your ‘poor’ interpersonal skills and he was like your personal trainer, he’d call you out for being too straightforward or that you should smile more when addressing the student body. Without even noticing, you’d go to him for advice and he’s always more than happy to help (well in exchange for your chemistry notes and answers of course).

Nishimura Riki, member of Decelis Academy’s dance club. The only member in your small clique that’s currently in their Sophomore year. Despite the age difference between him and the rest of your group, he somehow managed to wiggle his way into your inner circle even though most people would just outright ignore you. The aura and pressure of being friends with the top student wasn’t the most appealing. At dance practice is where he first met Heeseung, Jay, and Jake before subsequently meeting Sunoo, Sunghoon, and Yang Jungwon.

Kim Gyuvin, member of Decelis Academy’s media club. He used to find you scarily intimidating but that was before he actually got to know and work with you during school events. Gyuvin is like the brother you never knew you had. You also find him pretty funny, though most of the time you end up laughing at him laughing rather than the joke he tells. Oh, he also has a super ugly dog, and you never fail to tell him that.

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♡。·˚˚· ·˚˚·。♡

authors note: ik it’s a little long 😅 but i figured it’ll make more sense if i explain their characters a little instead of just jumping straight into the smau like i did with hands on you

taglist open! send ask, comment or submit form to be added!

[usedtobethelegendcreator]

To follow up on the “Velvette would be in deep shit if she was ever disrespectful to Alastor” thing, I’m going to explain why…with a song analysis!

The most characterization we get for Velvette is her song “Respectless”, so if we put this together with what Alastor tells Husk in “Dad Beat Dad”, it paints a very ugly picture.

So, Velvette starts off the Overlord meeting by calling everyone there “a joke”. Bold words. Now, she spends almost all of her time specifically antagonizing Carmilla, but I think it’s safe to say that she’d do it to anyone, considering how she talks to Vox in “Radio Killed The Video Star”. With this is mind, let’s get going!

“You’ve got it twisted,

I’m not the one who needs a new attitude.

Maybe you missed it, but I’m that #Bitch,

And I will do nothing less than what I please, woo!

I’m the backbone of the Vees.

Mad that I acted respectless?

Well, it’s ‘cause no one could respect this.”

She says, right off the bat, that she doesn’t respect them and what they’re doing…which is taking consequences into consideration. Velvette doesn’t seem to care about common sense at all, and shows a remarkable lack of self-preservation skills. Remember, she’s not saying this to average sinners. These are Overlords, one of which is the Radio Demon—remember that guy?—who could quite easily kill her if they wanted to. I mean, Carmilla has angelic steel on her shoes. There seem to be other angelic weapons on display outside the meeting room. And she’s also falling for the old he-doesn’t-look-powerful-so-he-must-be-weak trick Alastor has been actively using for decades.

And, well, we don’t know how powerful Velvette is. We don’t know what she can do. So far, the only power she’s displayed is being able to change a girl’s clothes and make potions. And if we take Alastor’s line about the Vees in “Stayed Gone” as something that goes for the other Vees…ouch.

She came to this meeting alone. Knowing that the Radio Demon was back and would likely be there. Compared to Zestial, who she calls a “fossil”, Alastor isn’t nearly as ancient. He’s still much older than her, but he died in 1933. Television was around by then. Then again, Vox calls Alastor a fossil too.

“Sorry, group attending,

Since when are Overlords too scared to fight?

You’re long past trending,

Sorry, bae, but I ain’t swiping right!

You lost your relevance!”

Oh, Velvette. You #Bitch. “You lost your relevance”? Alastor fucked Vox’s shit up and casually dropped a diss track just last week. The Radio Demon might not be as politically involved as he used to be, but he is most definitely relevant to you and your safety. The entire pentagram lost power, shocking you so badly that your hair frizzed up and stood on end. And remember, he’s the Radio Demon. He can control radio waves. TV, Wifi, the Internet—they all rely on radio waves. If Alastor wanted to collectively nuke the Vees, he could.

Also, really? A Tinder reference? Are there Overlords on Tinder? Or is it Vinder?

At least she threw out a “Sorry, group attending”. It was probably the only thing that kept her from being eviscerated immediately.

“Ugh, no wonder I’m so respectless!

I could eat you lot for breakfast!”

…Bold words to say in front of two cannibals. One of which—and I cannot stress this enough—is the fucking Radio Demon. For someone who’s so trendy that she keeps changing her hairstyle, she sure is falling for an old trick. People have been dismissing and mocking Alastor since he manifested in Hell. Y’know, until he started broadcasting his victims’ screams. And no one consistently recognizes him as the Radio Demon when he’s in his everyday form, so it’s safe to say the disrespect continues.

And—okay. We haven’t seen any of the other Overlords in Hazbin Hotel (I don’t have a clue about Helluva Boss) transform the way Alastor does. Going off the pilot and Mimzy’s monologue, he seems to have multiple large forms, his most common being this:

…And that isn’t the form we see in “Dad Beat Dad”. The eyes are wrong. There aren’t any tentacles. The Radio Demon has multiple skyscraper-high forms and Velvette is actively saying she could “eat you lot for breakfast”. She’d better have a big fucking mouth and some sturdy ass forks. If she has any hands or arms by the time Alastor is done beating her up.

The rest of her song is directly to Carmilla, so it’s not really applicable to anything else. But with all of this, it’s safe to say that Velvette:

1. Doesn’t respect the other Overlords

2. Doesn’t see the point in considering consequences

3. Is either unaware of how her word choice could get her killed or doesn’t care

4. Sees herself as above the others

5. Sees the other Overlords as “a joke” and calls them irrelevant

6. Has a remarkable lack of self-preservation skills, considering the fucking Radio Demon is right fucking there

7. Is blissfully unaware of how fucked she and the other Vees are if the Radio Demon (who, again, controls radio waves) sees them as a threat

And, lastly…the reason she in particular would be fucked over.

“If you ever say that again, I will tear your soul apart and broadcast your screams for every other disrespectful wretch who dares to question me.

And if anyone had any doubts about Alastor and radio waves…it’s on the Wiki.

[jackoshadows]

I think most Jonsas looked around and were displeased with the guys GRRM wrote as potential partners for their fave so they landed on Jon because he is one of the few young, completely able-bodied and possibly attractive male characters around and he is not a jerk like Harrold or cruel like Joff. That's it.

Details like whether they give a sh*t about each other or if they are each other type's were completely ignored.

Fanfiction and AUs exist for a reason. If Sansa fans don't like her canonical story and relationships they can dabble in fanfiction. That's the purpose of fanfiction. Some of the most popular relationships in fandom are not canon. Not being canon has never stopped anyone. Personally, I find Jonsa to be bland and boring but go for it. People like what they like. Write all the fanfiction and draw all the fanart between the stereotypical disney princess and hot secret prince. That's never been the problem.

The problem is their insistence that Jonsa is canon, work backwards from there, mutilate and mangle the book characters, themes and relationships to shove Jonsa in there. And when this is pointed out, gaslight and attack book readers for being sexist haters of Sansa. It's tiresome.

Hence why we get utter idiocy about how Sansa was traumatized and bitter about Ned's favoritism towards Arya and yet Jon loves Sansa so much it's simply too painful for him to even think of her 😂

Jon Snow needs an entirely new personality and completely different story for Jonsa to happen and so we are stuck with a shallow, Littlefinger type who has a crush on the bully who mocks Arya for being ugly and horsefaced 🙄.

The issue with Jonsa shippers are their sexist, classist tirades on the tags against Dany, Arya, Jon etc. for daring to be tier one main characters with well defined central plots and complex themes that revolve around them, where the author has painstakingly written in relationships and leadership arcs for them, given them conflict and critical thinking skills and build this world of secondary characters to support these main characters.

Sansa fans read Jon's political intelligence and diplomacy, Arya's arc of being unable to fit, discovering her place in the world, her relationship with her father, the North and her siblings, the Lyanna parallels, Dany's revolutionary Queen getting the love of the people and want all that for Sansa. Hence the essays about how Jon and Dany are terrible rulers, how it's Sansa who was the outsider and outcast (Ned's so called favoritism is all about this).

The popular Sansa in fandom now is a self insert, a mish-mash of other characters and made up headcanons. Her most popular ship is a crackship, her relationships with Jon, Arya, Ned etc. has been rewritten. She is perennially a victim, has no agency. Right from Jon I AGoT, Sansa is an abuse victim. (All the while blaming Dany for not stopping the Khalasar's rape under Drogo!).

The fandom dichotomy when it comes to Sansa Stark is the insistence that only she be read like a realistic 11/12 year old and treated like a little child with respect to all her actions and yet she is also the most shipped character of the series!

As per fandom, Sansa is a little child who cannot understand when adults tell her a situation is dangerous or a drug is dangerous and yet she is also shipped romantically with a 27 year old adult who falls for this child. A child when it comes to her thoughts and actions, an adult when it comes to romance, love, marriage and babies.

Often someone will mention how much they love Sansa because she’s just so realistic, implying all the other characters are not realistic for their age.

And yet while we get called ‘pedophiles’ and perverts for shipping fictional children, fictional incest with age gaps etc. these same folks who appreciate realistic child Sansa will be shipping her with with Sandor Clegane, Jon Snow, Gendry, Willas, Jaime, Tyrion, Young Griff, Stannis, Littlefinger, Daenerys, Arondir, Rand, Harry Hardyng, Tom, Dick, reader etc.  

If Sansa is truly this naive and childlike, unable to understand when the physician is straight up telling her a drug is harmful and dangerous for a sick little boy suffering from epileptic seizures, why are the same readers treating her as being old enough to fall in love and have a romance arc?

Many of these Sansa stans have not read the books. They are fixated on a made up version, confront others based on this made up version. When we then ask for the book quotes they throw a hissy fit, block us, delete/change their blog name and then write essays about the evil Arya/Dany fans lol.

[lumenflowered]

Pelipper mail! A nightmare.

Your life has never been your own. You were born to a noble family, one well respected, whose every member is highly skilled in the arts of sorcery, each with your own specialties and your own interests. Your family leads one half of the great alliance, the cold moon as counterpart to warm and flowing gold. And you, as princess, were chosen.

Chosen, not by your own choice, but by a will greater than any you know. Chosen as a candidate, an option, as one who would be tested and tried and -- you are convinced -- ultimately discarded the moment a better Prophet is found. The moment any other could speak for that devious, all-controlling god, you would be cast aside just as the prior one was, after her great sin.

You would do anything to remove its hold over you. Its angel, that ugly, fleshy thing that speaks only in gestures, shall rule your destiny no longer. But first, you must cease being the pure one with infinite potential that you were born to be. You must become a monster, and you must die a most terrible death, and you must learn to bend others to your will the way that awful god meant to do to you.

So you do. You send your most loyal followers and students to battle the guardian of Death itself, to claw a piece of its treasure away, and when they return, you do not hesitate. You enact a terrible ritual to slay your brother and yourself, though he has done no wrong to you. But he was there, and he was sworn to and so beloved by that very Will you hate, and though anyone would have done, it is he who dies for your scheme. You rise again, free of the flesh that confined you. Your brother does not.

You are but a doll, now. Inhabiting a body carved by your own hands, no longer the human you were -- but in inhumanity, finally, there is hope of freedom. And still, you manipulate, you bind to service all who happen across your secret place, and you ask of them to retrieve yet more weapons of blasphemy and war.

A dread blade is delivered unto your wooden, bloodless hands, and you brave a journey back to the church of your childhood. You slay the angel, cease the fingers' pointing toward a role you never asked to play, and at long last you are free.

And then, as you travel back to your lonely tower to prepare a journey into the endless night, the horizon glows with gold. The sky rains its brilliance across all the lands, and to the east the Temple shines renewed as a gold-masked Lord is crowned.

You look to the moon, and cannot find it through the too-bright sky. The stars are locked away from you, and a heaviness overtakes your dry and wooden form. It settles over you, over everything, and you feel the chaos and the malice that you cultivated deep within be sealed beneath a universal set of truths. You hate it, this power born of meddling ones too great for human comprehension. You hate it all the more, knowing that all around will call this Order good.

There is no escape, not anymore. All your works, how terrible, have fallen just short of the end. You slew your brother, committed sins unthinkable, twisted countless malleable minds toward evil deeds... all for naught. You became a monster, and you died a most terrible death, in vain.

You have failed, utterly, and you are bound once more, not as prophet or princess, but as a wooden puppet cut loose without her strings, aimless and powerless and never again to be human, to be welcomed, to be warm. You have failed, and all the lands shall call it good.

I am . I amnot

I am. A person. I am a person. I do notharm others. I cannot harm o thers. My life may matter little, yet it is mineandI w ill make it matter. Tome .

I...

...Oh. Tho se are tears .