#years and years of war and tragedy have matured him and like he’s not the same person he was anymore

[youngyoo-apologist]

OG Choi Han they could never make me hate you cause if some random rich boy was yelling at me and telling me my family deserved to die like a day after it happened and all I wanted was to know how I could get help I’d beat him up too

This plus the added fact that the Harris Village people were the first people to take Choi Han in and take care of him after years and years in the dark forest. Like he’s obviously not going to be mentally stable after all that, and he was so young when everything happened to him like I cannot blame him at all. I don’t think I can ever hate OG Choi Han like ever, he’s flawed, he has problems, but I love him dearly. He deserves the world. This kid who had to fight for his life, was taken away from his family, and in the process had to give up parts of his own humanity to survive, and like went to war two years later, they could never make me hate u OG Choi Han…

Like yeah violence is bad I guess but OG Cale had it coming(saying this as an OG Cale fan, I love him, but he was mean as hell when he was younger!)

If I’m honest, I think they were both in the wrong to an extent. Like OG Cale shouldn’t have said all that no matter the circumstances, and OG Choi Han shouldn’t have beaten him up so much. But u say mean shit and you get hit, that is how it will work when you’re talking to the guy who just saw his entire village get murdered like idkkkk man

I understand where OG Cale was coming from, but he had many issues and while he wasn’t an awful person, he was capable of doing bad things because of his own internalized pain and emotions that he never got to properly process because of his emotionally distant childhood and relationship with his father who should have been there for him more when he was younger.

Okay speaking of his childhood, Deruth isn’t the WORST father in the world but there are a lot of things he could have done better. I think a lot of Deruth’s flaws come from his fear of failure and messing up. He’s scared of doing the wrong thing, and so he sticks to doing what he knows and using what he knows best. That’s why he uses his money, that’s why gift giving is his way of showing affection, he knows that it is one thing he cannot mess up.

The problem is that money and gifts is NOT what OG Cale needed. I think what that guy needed the most was a parent who wasn’t afraid to talk to him, to ask him questions. Not to say that Deruth gave up on OG Cale, but I think in a way he gave up on OG Cale by giving up on himself. Deruth didn’t trust himself to have the capabilities to talk to OG Cale, which is why he never did. It’s because that Deruth was scared, and didn’t trust himself, that he could never face OG Cale

If Deruth was able to trust himself a little more, and pull himself together, I don’t think OG Cale would have turned out the way he did. As a kid, he probably thought the only way he could help his family without relying on anyone(no doubt this whole ‘I have to do it myself’ thing came from the fact that he couldn’t rely on his father when his mom died, and instead was acting as a pillar of support for his father when it should have been the other way around) was to sabotage himself, the only heir. If he was shown to be unfit to be heir, then everyone else would have no choice but to direct their hatred towards him instead of his family.

If Deruth had talked to his son at least ONCE when he was a kid, asking him why he was upset or why he did the things he did, I think OG Cale would have told him. Why? Because he’s a kid!! A kid will obviously want to rely on his father, if he just had one sign telling him that he didn’t have to do it alone I’m 90% sure OG Cale would have said something.

Basically, while Deruth isn’t the worst father, he’s not really a great father either. I think he does do his best, but he has issues with communication lol

OG Cale and OG Choi Han are both complex characters and had their own reasons to behave the way they did. The thing is with people is that they’re complicated and have layers, so the situation with them would have layers behind it as well with multiple co-existing truths and stuff

[hannaxjo]

Alan Rickman, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman and all those are iconic in their roles in Harry Potter, but I’ll always be a bit sad about that casting, because having that ‘Marauders era’ cast be age appropriate would’ve just been so much better for the story.

Sirius wasn’t this old man who spent 12 years in Azkaban, no he got locked up at 21. He spent almost third of his life in a cell. He wasn’t this wise father figure to Harry, he was a reckless thirty-something who never really got the chance to mature past 21.

Remus was an exhausted, bone deep tired man carrying both physical and mental scars from the suffering he went through. Because he’s a werewolf, because of the war, because he lost all of his friends. And he’s only 33 when first introduced.

And Snape. Snape wasn’t an old bitter man who just hated everyone and enjoyed being antagonistic. He was 31 in Harry’s first year. He began to work for Voldemort as a teen, and as a double agent at 20. He’s a thirty-something bitter man, who never got to really live or make real connections. From Harry’s perspective he’s scary and intimidating, but really he’s just kinda…sad and pathetic. And then especially that scene where Snape is begging Dumbledore to help save Lily, and promising anything in return. (Because apparently Dumbledore needs something in return…for saving people.) He’s twenty. Barely out of his teens. Rickman was good in that scene, but having someone who actually looks twenty, would better show how scared, young, guilty and just desperate he was. That might not put Dumbledore in such a good light, though.

And then, the characters I think would’ve been the most important to cast age appropriately. And most people probably already agree and know who I’m talking about. James and Lily. They were 21 when they died. When Harry sees them in the mirror of Erised, they’re 10 years older than him. That’s the age difference Ron has with Bill. In that scene I might understand somewhat them being in their thirties, because that’s what Harry wants. He wants his life with his parents, he wants to have been raised by them. Though, I don’t know if the mirror could know what they might’ve looked like in their thirties, since they didn’t live that long. But then, in the cemetery when Voldemort’s wand spits the last spells cast, we see Lily and James as they were. 21. They’re telling their son to hold on just a moment longer. And they are 7 years older than him. In Deathly Hallows, Harry sees Voldemort kill them. They’re not this happy couple who’s got to love each other for a long time, only to have that happiness torn from them, no they started at Hogwarts ten years ago. They’re 21, and they’ve barely tasted that happiness. At the end of the book Harry talks to his parents. They comfort him and promise to stay with him, as he goes to die. Harry’s seventeen. James and Lily are four years older than him.

It wouldn’t have felt as nice. Harry being comforted by someone who looks almost his age. But it wasn’t nice. It was pretty tragic. Casting people who look 21, would’ve really made it land on the audience. It was a tragedy. They were barely adults.

[swallowtail-ageha]

Scrolling through your asoiaf tag and you have such good and correct opinions like how can anyone love just Dany or just Sansa or just Arya like how can anyone not see the parallels between Dany and Sansa it makes me feel so crazy like why are there so few people who love all the girlies?? I genuinely love every single female POV character and can’t imagine hating any of them. I mean sure yeah Cersei is a villain but you’re telling me her tragedy doesn’t touch your heart? Watching this woman desperately try to avoid her prophecy as it unfolds before you doesn’t have you in a death grip? Or like are you unmoved by Sansa telling an annoying snotty little boy how brave he is because she wants him to feel better? Dany comforting Missandei when her brother dies? Arya getting to the house of the black and white and immediately thinning to being a man a cup of water (or at least what she thought was water)? How about Sansa telling Joffrey she hopes Robb cuts his head off? Dany sassing the man who wants to open the fighting pits? Arya telling Jaquen to kill himself? Like please come on. All three girls are obviously different but they share so many very endearing traits. I am fiercely holding tight to my delusion that Dany and Sansa will bond over stories and songs and Arya will teach Dany about all the flowers in Westeros and then Sansa will show them how to make flower crowns and embroider little emblems on Arya’s clothes

First of all tysm!!!!

The whole arya vs sansa vs dany fandom fight frustrates me to no end, mainly because all parties involved seem to have little to no empathy to the characters whose stans they oppose. It's all maliciously extrapolating some parts of the text to make them see worse than what they are (ex: daenerys' "if i look back i am lost" getting twisted from "dany knows that dwelling on what ifs and turning your back after you have taken a commitment will only damage you in the long term" in "dany doesn't want to reflect on her past mistakes and will go mad and get stabbed to death" or sansa getting frustrated at sweetrobin being a sign of her being ableist and classist while it's. Just a normal reaction of a stressed and traumatized 13 yo who is otherwise very sweet to her cousin)

For loving the female characters same! Even those who commit outwardly villainous acts do get lots of humanizing moments, Cersei, as awful as she is, is simply a product of the hyper misogynistic society she lives in plus years of parental and spousal abuse (and the doomed by prophecy vibes) and. I genuinely don't get how people can look at the walk of shame and say it's a fitting punishment to her crimes

Overall all the hate for female characters that are more complex or more driven or more morally ambiguous than what most female characters are presented as in other media in a fandom who (supposedly) prides itself in liking morally ambiguous characters is.. frustrating, really. I blame both fandom misogyny but also the GoT series, as it's outright changes in female character's actions and stories to make them look better or worse than what they originally were skewered the visions of almost everyone in the fandom (arya is an egregious victim of this. Scenes such as her caring for Weasel or her befriending sex workers in braavos don't exist and they added that "all girls are idiot" scene that i hate and they removed all her plan to free the northmen from harrenal and she got turned from traumatized child to hashtag no one super cool assassin and her character got straight up murdered in the tv series.)

Oh and also for kickstarting the whole jonsa vs jonerys thing which i'm pretty sure is the origin of the stupid dany vs sansa wars

And yes!! Dany Sansa and Arya should get to meet and reunite! While i do think that there will be some slight tensions between Sansa and Arya because they left on Not So Well terms, they have also matured a lot, so i do think they would have an heartfelt reunion. Meanwhile Dany and Arya could bond because of both their connection to Braavos and Arya's admiration for those who free slaves, and Dany would empathize (and feel a common ground) with Sansa for her being a child who had all her family die and got married extremely young while beeing creeped on by older men, while Sansa, who is shown to admire women like Margaery or Myranda, who are shown to be very keen regarding politics or social issues, something that Dany is

In the end, i genuinely hope that all three of these traumatized little girls get their happy ending and none of them dies, they all are interesting and complex characters that share parallels with each other, and it sucks that because of stupid ship wars or discussions on who would get the throne they get pitted against each other. THEY WOULD BE FRIENDS Y'ALL

[herohimbowhore]

The Lost Generation of Formula 1

Generation Why by Conan Gray is perhaps the anthem of F1's current lost generation.

So you may ask - what is the lost generation?

The lost generation is defined as the generation that reached maturity during and just after World War I, in which a high proportion of the men were killed during the war years. A lost generation is a generation with unfulfilled potential that missed out on the opportunities that were enjoyed by their predecessors and will be enjoyed by their successors.

For F1, at least currently, the lost generation would be drivers who entered Formula 1 sometime between 2010 and 2014.

Of the 2023 grid, the lost generation would include:

Nico Hulkenberg (2010)

Daniel Ricciardo (2011)

Sergio Perez (2011)

Valtteri Bottas (2013)

Kevin Magnussen (2014)

When they entered F1, they were hopeful of their chances of winning a championship. The years prior had been highly competitive with no easily identifiable dominance since the Schumacher/Ferrari era came to an end with Fernando Alonso's 2005 championship win. Alonso had won the 2006 championship, then Kimi Raikkonen won in 2007, Lewis Hamilton in 2008, and Jenson Button in 2009.

But as they were entering the Red Bull or Mercedes dominance was beginning. They became valued and experienced drivers during the Mercedes' dominance era. Now as they reach the latter years of their careers, another dominance has begun but with new championship hopefuls.

________________________________

Go wherever we want 'cause no one cares that we're gone

The lost generation of F1 isn't filled with the Lewis Hamiltons, Max Verstappens, Charles Leclercs, Fernando Alonsos, Sebastian Vettels, and so on.

Daniel Ricciardo is one of the most well-known drivers in F1 right now, Sergio Perez drives for the current dominant team, and Valtteri Bottas drove alongside Lewis Hamilton after the brocedes dissolution and throughout some of Mercedes' dominant years.

But in the end, they're not World Champions, nor are they in the conversation for being world champions as often as they once were. The expected challengers to Max Verstappen right now are assumed to be Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso (if he gets the right car), and so on.

With the exception of Daniel Ricciardo, who became the person who brought fans to the sport through the access he gave Drive to Survive from the start, people wouldn't necessarily care as much about the lost generation retiring as they would about Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Max Verstappen.

You and I haven't got much to lose

So do you wanna rot in your room like we always do?

Talk about how fast we grew

And all the big dreams that we won't pursue

Every F1 driver comes into the sport with hopes of winning - winning races, winning championships, just winning.

That is the big dream that they want to pursue and have dedicated their childhoods to. Giving their blood, sweat, and tears to this goal.

But with F1, timing is everything.

They entered Formula 1 as the Red Bull or Mercedes' dominance eras were beginning. From 2010 to 2013, Red Bull was the team to be in. Did others challenge Sebastian Vettel? Yes, but in the end, he was dominant. Then beginning in 2014, the Mercedes dominance era began with two highly competent and competitive drivers - Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

They grew into experienced drivers during the Mercedes' dominance era. From 2014 to 2016, the battle was always between the Mercedes drivers - a living Greek tragedy. And after that, the dominance was so clearly by just Lewis Hamilton.

And now, well we all know the story of the 2023 season. We are now in the era of Max Verstappen with a younger generation of drivers coming in to challenge him.

Bookended by dominant eras, F1's lost generation grew up quickly and never got to truly pursue the dreams and hopes they came into the sport with.

Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why

We're livin' night to night

Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why

Since we're bound to die, oh

Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why

Oh, what's the use in trying?

Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why,

And it's exactly why

The lost generation is living race to race, season to season. To keep their place in Formula 1, they need to show their value to the teams that they drive for.

They're not guaranteed a seat for as long as they may like in the way that proven world champions are. If Fernando Alonso wants to race well into his 40s and 50s, some team or another will provide him the race seat to continue on. He could have a horrible season and still be guaranteed a race seat unlike the members of the lost generation that need to keep showing their value.

For Haas, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg bring two experienced drivers that aren't costing them millions in damage. Haas doesn't have the capacity to develop drivers so they need the experience offered by their current lineup and they don't have the ability to bring drivers with expected WDC potential. On a similar note, Valtteri Bottas brings experience and stability to Alfa Romeo/Sauber as they wait for Audi to come in.

Sergio Perez was brought in to help Max Verstappen's championship campaign from 2021 onwards and be there when Max Verstappen couldn't be to maximize points potential for the team. And while the current season has brought that into question, he was able to help Red Bull secure their first 1-2 in the WDC.

Daniel Ricciardo is perhaps the anomaly in this lineup. While he didn't win a championship, he made his mark on Formula 1 as a highly regarded driver and someone who is often cited by fans as the person who brought them to the sport. Daniel Ricciardo brings to AlphaTauri/Red Bull his marketability and experience. AlphaTauri has cited his arrival to the team as a resurgence in morale and form after a lackluster beginning of the year. There's also been new sponsor interest due to his return.

But they're bound to eventually leave the sport, and unfortunately, it will be sooner than later.

As time progressed, members of the lost generation left F1 for one reason or another until only 5 have remained.

Other notable members of this generation included:

Bruno Senna (2010)

Pastor Maldonado (2011)

Jean-Éric Vergne (2012)

Jules Bianchi (2013)

Marcus Ericsson (2014)

Daniil Kyvat (2014)

Alexander Rossi (2014)

[moonshine999]

Spill your post trailer Helaegon ideas with us please😩

hellooo, I will try my utmost best to articulate them.. sensibly

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as the teaser stands, the performances by Tom and Phia genuinely look phenomenal. It seems stealing the spotlight worthy, especially Phia. Since this is the first season we get to explore her character and also her last season because damn you writers, it looks like she’s really giving it her all and I’m genuinely so excited to see that. details? Love that they grew Aegon’s hair out, the Helaena shot of her looking up might be one most ethereal shots I’ve witnessed, the aegon strut was legit everything. things I am not much a fan of though is the costuming (for them, more so Aegon because we haven’t seen any Helaena dresses in full, at least officially). Because though I love the sunfyre embroidery on his outfit now, it literally looks no different from the coronation costume at first glance. Sure it is dark green instead of black but like cmon. Give aegon pretty costumes 😌. Also sad we didn’t see Sunfyre, Dreamfyre is understandable but come on, we see Syrax and not the most beautiful dragon in the world? Not the dragon who had the strongest dragon-rider bond in history with Aegon? Not the dragon who ends up killing Rhaenyra?? THE FUCK.

but I’ll stop complaining because the teaser is nice and these are just nitpicks about the definite bias. .

. Okay the next things I’m gonna cover are more so ideas for scenes rather than a breakdown or analysis cuz we literally got 2 shots of each of them 🥲

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🕯️Helaena’s visions

I did see quite a few posts saying/implying that we will dive more into Helaena’s visions this season. So I do think it would be interesting to understand that dynamic with her and Aegon when she has them. Like has he matured enough to understand that even though he can’t comprehend his wife, she needs his help OR he still thinks that she is acting idiotic as he did in s1. The leak that said something along the lines that Aegon will first be seen at the council, bored but then is called to attend to his queen could also tie into this. Maybe Helaena isn’t crouching over due to pain of pregnancy ,as some have speculated , but due to the suddenness or pain of one of her visions.

(also I have put a one shot surrounding this in the W.I.P folder along with the thousand others lying there so expect it in about 80 years 😃)

🕯️just them handling being king and queen

this is a pretty vague thing but literally just show them. Just show them getting along, sitting at councils, dragon riding, sleeping in the same room, all before b&c rips everything down. Even one scene of them together handling this can work, in fact just one scene of them being soft with each other would just go to show what it was like and what it could have been like had the war not happened. Just adding more tragedy to their story.

🕯️flashbacks

another pretty vague one. But as I said in this post , I really do think we should have seen them as kids, how they get along and especially their wedding. They could perhaps fit it in, in the episode of the funeral. Aegon or Hela looking back on that day, when things were arguably simpler and their only concerns were stopping Aegon from crying during sex. (IM SORRY, WE ALL KNOW IT HAPPENED)

okay more seriously though, them reminiscing on the past i.e. the day their union was first formed on the day it all broke apart. They as parents should be allowed to feel that grief, with each other and I genuinely hope we don’t get robbed of that. speaking of them as parents though…

🕯️the kids

it is actually so unsettling that half the fans didn’t even realise that they have kids until b&c started being talked about.

Again I beg, SHOW THEM. show them talking to Jaehaerys about becoming heir, how Aegon would go back to his memory of his mother doing the same to him (could also come under flashbacks). Show them trying to stop Maelor to stop crying, show them sitting with their kids at the feast, show them trying to manage their duties as well as their kids.

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but alas it’s just speculation, half of them just wishes. Let’s hope we get some glimpse of their dynamic is season 2 because my god helaegon nation is starving.

[profoundbondfanfic]

Born to be yours by zation [Explicit, 72k words]

Castiel finds a curious creature in his backyard. Or, The one where Dean wanted an apple but found himself a human instead (and also an apple).

Breathing Into You by casblackfeathers [Explicit, 110k words]

‘Beware the deep sea, that’s where the monsters come from.’ Dean had heard these words since birth, his father’s warnings shaping him into the man he is today. That’s not the root of Dean’s hatred for merpeople, though. Twenty years after the day tragedy had touched the Winchesters’ lives forever as well as the end of the Great War between humans and mer, Dean is still haunted by that moment. But loving the sea is just as much a part of him as the dread for the merfolk, so when he isn’t working at the local bar, he is there, underwater, immersed in the vast blue his mother used to speak of in her bedtime stories. Dean knows, however, that the sea can be as ruthless as it is soothing. When he is caught in the middle of a storm and faces the anger of the waves, the mysterious appearance of a stranger with blue eyes as clear as the waters Dean loves losing himself in forces Dean to question the truth behind his father’s old mantra.

carving deep blue ripples by dothraki_shieldmaiden [Mature, 85k words]

With his little brother at Stanford and his father searching out leads on the monster that killed his mother, Dean Winchester is left to hunt alone. It's fun, except in the ways that it really blows. Things start to turn around when he meets Castiel Novak, another hunter. Castiel is aloof and maybe a little too sarcastic, but he's good backup (and pretty easy on the eyes. Not that Dean's looking or anything). After a few hunts, Dean is willing to make his and Castiel's partnership permanent (and he's not exactly averse to adding another component to their partnership either. After all, he's caught Castiel looking at him just as many times as Castiel's caught him looking). But Castiel is hiding a secret, and it's so explosive that it threatens to not only tear them apart, but also tear apart everything Dean believes in.

Convenient Husbands by Annie D (scaramouche) [Explicit, 39k words]

"It's only temporary, right?" Dean says. "Just until you're healed up, and then we'll never have to see each other again. So what do you say, Castiel, do you want to marry me or not?"

Dragon Hunt by peanutbutterjelly-pie (Aleakim) [Explicit, 171k words]

What is a former knight fallen from grace supposed to do when one day, after almost a decade of scouring the outskirts of the kingdom for his missing brother, he finds himself confronted with a powerful, terrifying and also ridiculously weird dragon? Yes, exactly: team up with the guy and scam oblivious people out of their money! Easy as that, right? (In which Dean ends up stumbling upon a strange, blue-eyed dragon and before he even knows what's happening he is in way too deep to get out again.)

It's a Small World (aka the Worst Ride at Disneyland) by ireadhpinenochian [Mature, 45k words]

Dean's life didn't start out great. With his mom dying and his father taking him and Sam on wild goose chase after wilder goose chase to track down her killer until Sam couldn't take it anymore and ran off, it pretty much sucked. But now he has Cas. And Cas is great--perfect, even--definitely the best thing that's ever happened to him, even if he isn't quite human. He's been living so long in domestic bliss that he completely forgot to be worried about waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which is, of course, when his giant of a brother strolls back into his life sending Dean into a panic that he and Cas will have to uproot their perfect apple pie life if Sam finds out Cas' big secret.

Like Lightning Under Your Skin by A_Diamond [Explicit, 24k words]

Desperate for a way to save his brother from a demon’s clutches, hunter Dean does the unthinkable and seeks out a supernatural creature for help: a powerful lightning elemental, the kind he and his family should be killing. When his attempt to bind the elemental goes awry, he finds himself psychically connected to it instead. The creature’s emotions bleed into his; its pain echoes into him. Rather than finding the solution to saving Sam, Dean’s given himself a new and even more time-sensitive problem. He has to find a way to master the bond before the rest of the hunters decide he’s too far gone and put him down. The trouble is that the more time he spends connected to the elemental’s thoughts, the more he starts to wonder if they don’t have it all wrong. Maybe the creature, which calls itself Castiel, doesn’t deserve to be slaughtered; maybe the rest of its kind hadn’t deserved that, either. Or maybe that’s just Castiel’s voice in his head.

Man in the Wilderness by OneHundredSuns [Explicit, 68k words]

Dean Winchester is fresh out of Purgatory along with every other Tom, Dick and Wendigo that called the cesspool home. As the monsters lay waste to the Earth and eat anything they can get their hands on, Dean sets out to find his only remaining family so that they can hunker down and fight the assholes head on. He doesn’t mean to stumble upon Castiel Novak and his adorable twins in the middle of the apocalypse and he sure as hell doesn’t mean to offer them a ride to wherever they are trying to get to. But the world is a dangerous place now and he’s always been a sucker for blue eyes and cute kids. So he’ll help them out and just hope it doesn’t get him or them killed in the process.

Miasma by ValandraWrites [Explicit, 13k words]

Dean's grown up with a monster under his bed. They kind of became friends. Then they kind of became more than friends.

The Graveyard Shift by PurgatoryJar, riseofthefallenone [Explicit, 620k words]

Dean’s favourite coffee shop, The Graveyard Shift, is only open after the sun goes down. Which is perfect for him, because that’s exactly when he craves coffee the most while doing the overnight at the fire hall. The coffee shop’s owner is pretty perfect too, but it’s kind of a bummer that Dean never gets to see Cas during the day. In a world where the supernatural live more or less in peace with the rest of humanity, it’s a little impolite to ask Cas just what he really is - or what his dark past entails.

[mamadarama]

I was going through some posts I missed and came across the “tatsumi is mature but still does 19 year old things” and I just wanna say I’ve never been able to put it into words when my friends ask but like. That’s exactly what I love about this game.

We’ve got scandals and drama and weird crypto currencies and convoluted backstories of implied murder or identity theft or military shit or relations to underground gang activity or so SO much more and yet the writers still succeed in reminding you that this is a game full of high schoolers.

Natume was one of the five oddballs and suffered through so much during the war where it affects him to this day, but he also refers to his tech savvy and love of the occult as magic and loves the junior he “adopted” to death. Despite Aira struggling against every odd to become a real idol he still buys merch and looks on the internet to look for content of the ones he likes. Rinne was destined to become the monarch of his homeland but ran away in an attempt to find happiness and acceptance and is an amazing strategist who uses it to take down corruption, but his sense of humor is entirely made up of sex jokes and romantic teasing like Aira being “hiiro’s little girlfriend”. The amount of characters that assign themselves the mom friend role just because. Trickstar. I don’t think I need to explain Trickstar-

Like this game has made me cry so many times and it has its ridiculous moments but it also has its genuine ones while also being the most teenage shit I’ve seen in my life and I feel like so few media can balance those and still have a decent story like that. Sorry for the long ass post I just have so many feelings about this kind of stuff 😭

YEAH this is exactly what i was talking about in a previous ask when i said i have nothing meaningful to add to the enstars cast that isnt a headcanon . its all very well thought out and the interpersonal relationships are nuanced enough to feel realistic but outlandish enough to be interesting .

worldbuilding and character design is one of my special interests and i say this any chance i can get: the most important part of building a character (and a story in general) is realizing the importance of comedic irony and comedy as a whole regardless of genre or tone. it makes characters feel more 3 dimensional and relatable because people arent stagnant and theres multiple facets to any individuals personality (this is also why some of the most popular animes of all time have filler episodes or funny bits that show the characters personalities, every event hits with 3x emotional impact the more you know about the characters as people but that's a different discussion) enstars does a really good job of this . like for example if wataru were to have had a realistic reaction to eichi starting the war it wouldnt be nearly as good of a story. the fact that eichis ridiculous ass backwards plan to get wataru to fall in love with him actually worked is a perfect example of comedy used to make a story more interesting. another thing similar to this is how sometimes its better to not detail something and let characters do things for a mundane reason or even no reason at all . for example subaru hating chiaki just because he annoys him, or shinobu being on the broadcasting team despite his character not being associated with technology otherwise and therefore having no real backstory on why he likes radio stuff. its all really well planned worldbuilding with an insane amount of subtle details , which is why enstars is one of my favorite stories to analyze . the only thing i could possibly want more out of it is hardcore tragedy but thats entirely a personal preference rather than a critique because im a slut for catharsis and i love sad endings , especially ones where characters die . (don't worry im in therapy)

[damianbugs]

I read your pinned Jason post and just wanted to comment on how smart and compassionate he was while also being emotional and occasionally brazen, and how his negative traits were exaggerated to make him appear destructive and doomed from the start. But one thing that got completely overlooked was how mature he was for a kid his age. Like he was a parentified kid taking care of him mom, he never once blamed her or Willis for their misfortune. Hell, Robin-Jason’s morals barely encompass petty crime, addiction, etc. as “evil” traits. Nowadays, this obsession with portraying Jason as a completely immature, hair-trigger, child in hysterics, and the emphasis on having "daddy issues" without directly clarifying what they are and where they stem from; is so dirty. it's as if the writers looked at fanon's soulless (also classist) interpretations of him and called it a day. Their misunderstanding of poverty and crime prevents them from offering nuanced perspectives on the subject (also because utrh was released during a spike in the War on Drugs era), so there exist a million canon and fanon works of the bats explaining poverty to the homeless guy. (this is also not me saying he's even been right as RH, but the fact that they refuse to add any nuance to the conflict outside of Bruce irritates me.)

perfectly put anon. HEAVY on the differing perspectives of what constitues as 'evil' crime robin jason had in comparison to, for example, bruce. he was an incredibly complicated and mature boy who was a victim to classist writing in every single aspect of his story. even after the introduction of tim drake and how he was basically the exact opposite of everything that made jason jason you get the feel of, oh, so even in death he is ridiculed for who he was.

'Their misunderstanding of poverty and crime prevents them from offering nuanced perspectives on the subject'

this is so real. i think a very recent example would be the 'cheer' story for batman urban legends, which, to my dismay, is often said to be the best jason writing in recent years (to which, uhm, task force z, hello!) because of how the entire situation with the boy and his father was handled. obviously the father was in the wrong, and jason knew that — but suddenly, all the compassion and reasoning jason has for being a character like the red hood is completely pushed away until AFTER he kills the guy. he mentions something along the lines of having orphaned a child and he can't believe he's done this or something and i was sat there like.. what on earth! not to mention the atrocious young jason writing which shows him contemplating murder(?!)

dc has this staggering inability to separate the idea of poverty with crime and again, it is almost laughable how it is not even hidden in subtext. it is very obviously there. children of drug addicts and criminals MUST be evil, for some reason, no we will not explain why.

i agree with you in that the real tragedy of red hood is that he's become a consequence of bruce as opposed to batmans mission. when he was first introduced dc were setting him up to be, what i believe, a permanent spot in the gotham rouge gallery. meaning he would have been developed and stayed separate as his own anti-hero for gotham, being the ultimate enemy that can never be defeated by batman and alike BECAUSE they are doomed to be on opposite sides of a solution.

that obviously never stuck. and now we get jason in stories he doesn't need to be in, or written terribly all in order to emphasise his broken relationship with the other bats. which, maybe, could be done well, but most the time, isn't. red hood aka angry red bat 'daddy issues' extraordinaire jason todd.

maybe one day we'll get a writer who truly loves what jason can mean to a place like gotham and respects his origin but also how that would affect him into adulthood. one day.

[danpuff-ao3]

I was wondering if you had any recommendations for fics with jealous Snape? I love love love your work - Cruel Summer introduced me to your wonderful writing, which lead me down the Snarry rabbit hole 🥰🩷

Hello there! What excellent taste you have 😎 With the jealous Snape, I mean. I'm a sucker for jealousy in fics. All those ugly emotions other people don't like very much? Sign me up!

I'm also so glad you loved Cruel Summer and have read more of my work! That makes my heart so glad to know, thank you! 🥰

There's not half enough jealous!Snape fics for my liking, but I've gathered a few here and I hope you find some you like! I won't bother self reccing as you're already reading my works 🤭 Happy reading!

Foundations (or Where Do We Go From Here)

by avioleta. Rated: E. Words: 17,788. Hogwarts Eighth Year. First Time. Angst with a Happy Ending.

After the war, Severus retreats to the solitude of his dungeons. There are potions to brew, repair work to be done, and lessons to plan. But then Harry Potter begins turning up at all hours, wanting little more—it seems—than to irritate Severus. Severus doesn’t know what Potter wants. But he doesn’t know what he wants, either. From the original prompt: Severus knows it’s not love or even affection that brings Harry Potter to his rooms at night.

A Long Time Coming

by Conzieu. Rated: E. Words: 191,133. UST. Harry/other. Happy ending.

There are signs from the days after the battle of Hogwarts that there is much more to Severus and Harry’s relationship than the conflict and hatred that had define it until then. It will take ten years of changes, personal growth, and maturing, as well as one year when both of them change careers and return to Hogwarts, for their feelings to finally overcome their prejudices, assumptions and fears and for the love of these soulmates to triumph.

Blowing Smoke

by DawnofTomorrow. Rated: E. Words: 231,967. Slow burn. Getting together. Self-discovery. Bottom!Snape. Oblivious!Harry. Pining. Awkward flirting.

Harry doesn't care about Snape beyond having to sit detentions with the man despite being of age. He doesn't. He asks him out for a drink just to get out of detention. So what if it's... nice? So what if they become friends? So what if Snape *is* lonely? It's not Harry's problem - at least not until he realises he's accidentally befriended the man, and just how much he cares for Snape. Well, shit.

Tart

by gracerene. Rated: E. Words: 652.

Written for the prompts: Pairing: Severus Snape/Harry Potter Prompts: This desire is eating me up… Word Prompts: jam, jealous, jackhammer Kink: Partially clothed sex

The Potter Phenomenon

by ines_iz. Rated: E. Words: 31,548. Internalized homophobia. Angst. Eventual fluff. Postwar. Coming out. Professor Harry Potter. Pining. Jealousy.

When Harry Potter, queer star of the Wizarding World, returns to Hogwarts as the new Defence professor, Severus Snape is not happy. In fact, he is positively outraged. Not only does Severus have to endure the man's obnoxious behaviour (not to mention his ridiculous sense of fashion), but he also ends up being dragged into Potter's attention-seeking plans — and, ultimately, is forced to face a few demons of his own. Or: Harry Potter Goes Gay (and the entirety of Hogwarts Goes Gay with him)

Appearances

by Queen_of_the_Castle. Rated: G. Words: 186.

Harry and Draco spend a lot of time together. Severus suspects Harry of cheating.

Pandora Awakes

by whitecotton. Rated: E. Words: 1,390. Harry/other. Tragedy. Angst. Voyeurism.

Legend has it that hope is left inside Pandora’s box. However, it is the other things that were released when the box was opened that hold our attention.

[homomenhommes]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … January 4

1750 – France Bruno Lenoir and Jean Diot are caught having sex in public for which they are arrested. A year later they were executed. There was general surprise in France at the severity of their sentence. Their execution was the last in France for consensual sodomy.

1877 – Marsden Hartley (d.1943) was an American Modernist painter, poet, and essayist. Hartley was born in Lewiston, Maine, where his English parents had settled.

In 1898, at age 22, Hartley moved to New York City to study painting at the New York School of Art. Hartley was a great admirer of Albert Pinkham Ryder and visited his studio in Greenwich Village as often as possible. His friendship with Ryder inspired Hartley to view art as a spiritual quest.

Hartley first traveled to Europe in April 1912, and he became acquainted with Gertude Stein's circle of avante-garde writers and artists in Paris. Stein, along with Hart Crane and Sherwood Anderson, encouraged Hartley to write as well as paint.

Finnish-Yankee sauna

In 1913, Hartley moved to Berlin, where he continued to paint. Many of Hartley's Berlin paintings were further inspired by the German military pageantry then on display, though his view of this subject changed after the outbreak of World War I, once war was no longer "a romantic but a real reality." The earliest of his Berlin paintings were shown in the landmark 1913 Armory Show in New York.

In Berlin, Hartley developed a close relationship with a Prussian lieutenant, Karl von Freyburg, who was the cousin of Hartley's friend Arnold Ronnebeck. References to Freyburg were a recurring motif in Hartley's work, most notably in Portrait of a German Officer (1914). Freyburg's subsequent death during the war hit Hartley hard, and he afterward idealized their relationship. Many scholars believe Hartley to have been gay, and have interpreted his work regarding Freyburg as embodying his homosexual feelings for him.

In addition to being considered one of the foremost American painters of the first half of the 20th century, Hartley also wrote poems, essays, and stories.

Cleophas and His Own: A North Atlantic Tragedy is a story based on two periods he spent in 1935 and 1936 with the Mason family in the Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, fishing community of East Point Island. Hartley, then in his late 50s, found there both an innocent, unrestrained love and the sense of family he had been seeking since his unhappy childhood in Maine. The impact of this experience lasted until his death in 1943 and helped widen the scope of his mature works, which included numerous portrayals of the Masons.

He wrote of the Masons, "Five magnificent chapters out of an amazing, human book, these beautiful human beings, loving, tender, strong, courageous, dutiful, kind, so like the salt of the sea, the grit of the earth, the sheer face of the cliff." In Cleophas and His Own, written in Nova Scotia in the fall of 1936, Hartley expresses his immense grief at the tragic drowning of the Mason sons. The independent filmmaker Michael Maglaras has created a feature film Cleophas and His Own, released in 2005, which uses a personal testament by Hartley as its screenplay.

1946 – Arthur Conley aka Lee Roberts (d.2003) was a U.S. soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".

Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964 – "Poor Girl", "I Believe", and "Flossie Mae" – on the Atlanta based record label, National Recording Company.

In 1964, he moved to a new label (Baltimore's Ru-Jac Records) and released "I'm a Lonely Stranger". When Otis Redding heard this, he asked Conley to record a new version, which was released on Redding's own fledgling label Jotis Records, as only its second release. Conley met Redding in 1967. Together they rewrote the Sam Cooke song "Yeah Man" into "Sweet Soul Music", which, at Redding's insistence, was released on the Atco-distributed label Fame Records, and was recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It proved to be a massive hit, going to the number two position on the U.S. charts and the Top Ten across much of Europe. "Sweet Soul Music" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

After several years of hits singles in the early 1970s, he relocated to England in 1975, and spent several years in Belgium, settling in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in spring 1977. At the beginning of 1980 he had some major performances as Lee Roberts and the Sweaters in the Ganzenhoef, Paradiso, De Melkweg and the Concertgebouw, and was highly successful. At the end of 1980 he moved to the Dutch village of Ruurlo, legally changing his name to Lee Roberts — his middle name and his mother's maiden name. He promoted new music via his Art-Con Productions company. Amongst the bands he promoted was the heavy metal band Shockwave from The Hague. A live performance on January 8, 1980, featuring Lee Roberts & the Sweaters, was released as an album entitled Soulin' in 1988.

Conley was gay, and several music writers have said that his homosexuality was a bar to greater success in the United States and one of the reasons behind his move to Europe and his eventual name change. In 2014, rock historian Ed Ward wrote, "[Conley] headed to Amsterdam and changed his name to Lee Roberts. Nobody knew 'Lee Roberts,' and at last Conley was able to live in peace with a secret he had hidden – or thought he had – for his entire career: he was gay. But nobody in Holland cared."

Conley died from intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, Netherlands aged 57 in November 2003. He was buried in Vorden.

1962 – Peter Steele , formerly Lord Petrus Steele , actually Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk , born in Brooklyn , New York, was an American musician . Steele was the singer , bassist and songwriter for the metal bands Carnivore and Type O Negative.

Known above all for his powerful bass-baritone voice, Steele first worked as a singer and bassist with the heavy metal group Fallout and then with the thrash metal band Carnivore. After Carnivore had disbanded for the time being, Steele, who was still working for the New York Park Authority at the time, founded the music group Type O Negative together with Sal Abruscato, Kenny Hickey and Josh Silver. Steele was particularly controversial in the early years of the band due to supposedly right-wing extremist ideas in the public. He himself always denied such allegations. He later created the Vinland flag , inspired by the Nordic flags and his own Scandinavian ancestors , which was henceforth to be found on the band's releases.

In August 1995, Steele, who was an imposing figure with his stature and height of 2.03 m, posed naked for the US edition of Playgirl. However, when he learned that around 75% of the readership are homosexual men, some of whom would now make advances to him and he was then exposed to the malice of the other band members and fans, he wrote the song I Like Goils (dt. I like girls ).

Peter Steele died on April 14, 2010 of complications from an aortic aneurysm . Steele's companion Sal Abruscato (formerly Type O Negative drummer) said they were in the process of getting Steele into an ambulance when he passed away before leaving the house. Before his death, Steele had been drug free for nine months and was in the process of making plans for a new Type O Negative album.

1969 – Richard Hake (d.2020) was a journalist and reporter for WNYC, where he was one of the hosts of the weekly morning program, Morning Edition.

Richard Scott Hake was born in the Bronx to Richard James Hake, a New York City police detective, and Joy Mekland, a clerical worker and secretary. He graduated from Carmel High School in 1987, then from Fordham University in 1991, and began working at NPR in 1991 while still at Fordham. He became a news host and reporter at WNYC in 1992. He was openly gay.

He spent 28 years working as a radio news host, reporter, and producer. He featured on several local and national NPR programs, such as Morning Edition (which he hosted), Weekend Edition, All Things Considered, and On the Media. He also broadcast on MTV, the BBC, WCBS, WBGO, WOR, and WFUV radio. Hake hosted for MTV's Logo Network's The Advocate News magazine program. His documentary work includes "The Perfume of the Bronx" and the "Coney Island Cyclone Anniversary."

For his reporting, Hake was awarded accolades from the Associated Press Broadcasters Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. Hake made his Broadway debut as a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins.

In his Twitter profile, Hake noted his unique role in the bustling Big Apple, writing: "I wake people up and tell them stories on the alarm clock, the app, streaming, in the shower, in the car, etc."

As coronavirus cases surged in the city and officials told office workers to stay home, Hake set up a makeshift studio in his one-bedroom apartment, complete with an art deco "on air" light and various microphone flags bearing the station's logos over the years.

Hake died on April 24, 2020, at age 51, in his Upper East Side home. His manner of death was ruled to be a result of an accident, according to the City's Medical Examiner.

1970 – Christopher Klucsarits, better known as Chris Kanyon (d.2010), US Professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, under the ring names Kanyon and Mortis.

In 2006, after Kanyon's release from WWE, he began a gimmick in which he was an openly homosexual pro wrestler. This included a publicity stunt wherein he stated that WWE released him from his contract because of his sexuality. Kanyon later told reporters and even stated on a number of radio interviews, that this was just a publicity stunt and he was heterosexual. However, he later retracted these statements and acknowledged that he was in fact homosexual.

Before his death Kanyon was working on a book, Wrestling Reality, with Ryan Clark. The book was released November 1, 2011, and it features Kanyon's struggles as a closeted gay man as a prominent theme.

1984 – Illinois repeals its "lewd fondling or caress" law, more than two decades after repealing its sodomy law.

[sokkastyles]

On "being mean to a 12-year-old", i think one of the problems with how Aang is handled is that he is treated like a 12-year-old and the Avatar at the same time. While in some ways both things are obviously true and must be acknowledged, in situations like "how to deal with an invading force of genocidal imperialists", no one is going to be asking a twelve-year-old to make any meaningful decisions. Aang's opinions only matter insofar as he is willing to act as the Avatar. If he is unable or unwilling to act with the maturity that position demands, he should not be acting at all. This would be abuse of any real-world child, but fortunately, Aang is an imaginary animated one who lives in a world where children are actually in positions of power and not just nominally powerful but actually under the guidance (or more likely "guidance") of an adult or adults.

The conflict between Aang being twelve and Aang being the Avatar is where the story happens. Like you said, this would be abuse of a real twelve year old, but Aang isn't real. Child heroes of stories meant for children live in this limbo between being relatable to real children but also getting to be part of an adult world that children get to experience vicariously through watching or reading a story about a hero who is like them in some ways getting to be part of that adult world and having larger than life experiences.

I'm recalling that popular post about how it's a greater sin for a fictional character to be unentertaining than any number of things that would be actual flaws in real people. In the real world, nobody expects a twelve year old to save the world. In a story about saving the world? Unless it's a tragedy, there is an expectation that that story promise is actually going to be fulfilled. So if the writers don't follow through with their promises (e.g., setting up the conflict of how Aang is going to defeat Ozai, and then giving him an easy way out) it hurts the story. I'm here because I want to be entertained in seeing how that problem gets resolved, not because I want an easy answer. If everything in the story were solved easily, there would be no story. Real life is not like this. In real life, we want to solve problems, not prolong them. This is one reason why we don't make twelve year olds fight in wars. But this is also why treating Aang like he's a real twelve year old is silly.

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis fics where both Louis and Harry are virgins. Check out these fics and be sure to show them love. If you enjoy our rec lists, please be sure to like and reblog this post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Falling Down For You | Explicit | 14750 words

If there was an alpha that Louis wanted to call his, it would be Harry. But what happens when an arranged marriage, a hungry press, and doubts get in the way?

2) Fumbling in the Dark | Explicit | 21599 words

Louis is straight, Harry is not. They still shag a lot.

3) Supposed To Be | Explicit | 26611 words

The Geek Charming AU where Harry's a film geek, Louis' a popular jock, and they both need each other to get what they want.

4) To Be Loved (And To Be In Love) | Explicit | 30227 words

Louis’s popular, Harry’s not and they bond by trying to get their friends together while accidentally matchmaking the entire school.

5) Canyon Moon | Explicit | 40895 words

For as long as Louis has remembered, he has been promised to be mated to Harry, his best friend and the future pack alpha. But Louis’s heart belonged to the forest and to the hunt more than he could ever imagine it belonging to Harry.

Then Harry’s father dies in a violent accident, and Louis’s future alpha disappears on the wind.

6) A Promise Lives Within You Now | Explicit | 45925 words

A Lord of the Rings-inspired Middle Earth AU. Louis is an Elven prince, next in line to become King of Mirkwood, and Harry is the orphaned Human boy who grows up alongside him. They fall in love, but Louis’s obligations to the throne, Harry’s mortality, and impending war threaten to tear them apart.

76) I Found A Love For Me (Darling Just Dive Right In) | Explicit | 46652 words | Sequel

Louis, an omega with very little control. Harry, an alpha with a lot of emotion. Neither of them have any idea what do to with this little thing called love, but they'll be damned if they don't put up a good fight.

8) American Rose | Mature | 53270 words

The story where Harry hears in colors and Louis’ voice is multicolored. Harry hates his disorder, Louis hates to be gay. Little they know, they’re meant to be.

9) If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow) | Explicit | 55916 words

Harry looks so intensely into Louis’ eyes it’s as though he’s reaching in and touching his very soul. “I never thought… I never… I’ve been searching for so long, Louis, but I never gave up. I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop trying,” Harry says, bottom lip trembling as he strokes the backs of Louis’ knuckles. “I just knew that if you were out there, I’d find you somehow.”

10) Sweet Creature | Mature | 66753 words

It’s not that Harry expected high school to be easy. He heard all the stories from his sister and he knew that he was in for four years of hell. However, he didn’t exactly expect that hell to also be populated by Angels.

11) To Embroider Your Waist With Corals | Mature | 100656 words

The first thing he notices is the light cyan wings and the humanoid body with bird like feet, clearly a harpy, a child one at that. Harry thinks the best thing to do is to grab him and pull him above water as quickly as possible, so air can make it into its struggling lungs. That was his plan, until he made eye contact with it for a split second and that’s all it took for a flood of emotions to hit him like a sailfish.

12) Halfway Home | Mature | 103158 words

Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were improbable childhood friends, much to Harry's dismay. They were thrown together each summer when Harry was forced to visit Louis' grandfathers' ranch in Black Hills, South Dakota. With each passing year their friendship blossomed into something more. When trail rides turned to stolen kisses, and tragedies turned to confessions, until they could no longer deny the inevitable draw they felt for one another.

Though life and their future plans soon set them on different paths.

Ten years later, Louis is the proud owner of Halfway Home Wildlife Refuge. Harry returns to the ranch to escape the perils of his past in London, and though their memories still haunt Louis, he won't let that deter him from his goals. However, someone has been keeping a close eye on the refuge, and possibly Louis specifically, and Harry's return may have unleashed more that just old passions. There's a hunter lurking in the Hills, someone who's decided they've bided their time long enough.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[sweetcarrotsandroses97]

Winter Event | OT7 Masterlist | 2023

Snowflakes divider by @samspenandsword

Prompt list by @flightlessangelwings

~Key:

|❤️ = fluff |💙= angst |🖤= heavy angst |💛= comedy/crack |💚= au | 🤍= mature/heavy/sensitive themes|

☕Caffeinate me so I can keep on writing! ☕

A/N: This is my last post of 2023, darlings. I wish to see you all next year as I have a lot planned to share with you all! I want to thank everyone who has read, followed, interacted and shared my work. Thank you all for your support of my writing shenanigans, I hope you had enjoyed it too. 😅😅😅

I started this blog on May of 2023 and I can't believe how much I've written in the course of eight months and, even though it wasn't as much as I would have liked, I'm glad I began this little hobby of mine and thank you again for every support you have given me.

May you all have a blessed 2024, full of happiness, riches, love and passion. Let's meet in 2025 when the boys are back, thanks for all the love I've received in my short time here and let's pray for more years together!

Happy 2024, darlings! 💜

~Total Word Count: 12.2k words

Prompt 1: Found family ✔ ✔

Title: Melted Promises (married! au, war! au) ❤️💙💚

He made you a promise that he sealed with a kiss. He said he'd come back to you after the war was over. You could only hope, with a heavy heart and melted dreams, that Yoongi would keep his word and find his way back home.

Prompt 2: Hot chocolate ✔ ✔

Title: Silent Desires (best friend! au, non idol! au) ❤️💙💛💚

Kind and soft-hearted. That was your childhood best friend, Hoseok who had been in love with you for so many years. Maybe this time he'd get to open up his silent desires to you, and maybe, hopefully, you'll feel just like him. In love.

Prompt 3: Saying “I love you” for the first time ✔ ✔

Title: Aşk-ı Memnu (non idol! au, forbidden love! au, cheating! au) ❤️💙💚

What is prohibited, it's desired the most. Or in which you tangle yourself in a forbidden love with Jeon Jungkook while being married to an older man. Yet it is also said that forbidden fruits taste the best.

Prompt 4: Snuggling by a cozy fireplace ✔✔

Title: Flames Of Love (royal! au, historical! au) ❤️💙🖤💚🤍

A tragedy. A new reign. A cruel order given by the king. Prince Jimin was forced to leave his home in the palace while trying to save both his and your life. Yet you both ended up burning in the flames of your love. Wrong time. Wrong life. Right person and a story that crumbled to the ashes of destiny.

Prompt 5: Getting snowed in ✔✔

Title: The Fine Line Between Love & Hate (non idol! au, e2l! a) ❤️💛💚

Trapped in a car with the person you hate the most in this world you come to notice that perhaps Kim Taehyung is not the most despicable human being to ever walk on this earth while he realises your presence might be tolerable. In the end, the line between love and hate has always been a very fine one.

Prompt 6: Warming your hands by holding theirs ✔✔

Title: Echoes Of Two Worlds (idol! au, hybrid! au) ❤️💙💚

Trust is gained in drops but lost in buckets. Or in which you open up to Namjoon and he was left to dream that you'd want him forever. Singing a song only you two could hear, repeating the echoes of the two worlds that separated you yet united you at the same time.

Prompt 7: Getting away from the cold ✔✔

Title: Love Me Like You Love The Moon (non idol! au, established relationship! au) ❤️💙💚🤍

Life is neither black nor white, however as you are drowning in the darkest shades of your life and hideous thoughts, you have Seokjin to show you that life is not dark nor light, that you don't have to fight your battles alone and feeling cold is not wrong. Because he loves you just like you are, with all your darkness and all your light, a beautiful resemblance of the moon.

December/31/2023

~Masterlist

☕Caffeinate me so I can keep on writing! ☕

[thekatebridgerton]

In another life: (a Violet Bridgerton time travel drabble)

In another life Violet Bridgerton wakes up a day before her husband's death and decides to ban bees from her home.

She gets to keep Edmund for longer this time. Even when she knows she can't make him avoid gardens and all pollinating flora forever. She tries.

And so, Anthony gets to be a son and a brother for a while longer, Gregory and Hyacinth make memories with Edmund, Violet gets to tell him she loves him one million more times. And Edmund teaches his children to accept fate and love when it comes knocking.

In another life Violet suggests that Anthony introduce his friend Simon to Edmund for advice on how to be a better duke than his father. And Simon becomes a frequent addition to her children' games and rabble rousing. Edmund mentors Simon like he would another young friend and the boy who was once a rake focused on revenge learns he is not doomed to be like his father.

In another life Violet secretly sends a servant of hers to help a young girl named Sophie in another nobleman's household as soon as she hears about the Earl of Gunningworth's death. When Tilly returns a year later with a bruised sixteen year old Sophie in tow. Violet opens her home and does the best she can to have the girl trained as a ladies maid while hiding her from the stepmother who would rather squander the poor child's dowry.

In another life it's the Bridgerton servants who embrace the abused orphaned Sophie Beckett with all the love of a family and finish raising her into adulthood.

Edmund at Violet's side fully supportive.

In that life Violet is given a chance to live with her love. And when a bee inevitably stings him years later on a hunting trip with some noblemen. She's able to grieve more healthily... And softly let go.

In another life her Anthony becomes a Viscount a year before Daphne's presentation to court. He grieves as he should, he doesn't hide himself from his responsibilities in raking and gaming. He leans on his mother and siblings for support. And in the wake of Edmund's death, they grow stronger and more United as a family.

In that life, Simon is there to support Anthony Benedict and Colin, but more importantly, he's also there for Daphne.

And in the process of consoling her in her loss. Simon finds that out of all the young ladies he knows, there's nobody who's side he'd rather be during a tragedy, than his best friend's sister.

Simon asks for her hand the day Daphne is presented at court and out of respect for the passing of her father agrees to a long engagement.

In this life Daphne becomes Lady Basset long before holding the title of duchess. And Violet prefers it so. It gives Daphne and Simon time to mature.

And despite his father being alive. Simon doesn't invite him to his wedding. Or visits any place the Duke could meet him with Daphne and his children until the Duke is truly dead.

In another life Violet Bridgerton is more attentive to her relatives. More insistent on supporting Marina's marriage to her original betrothed before he follows his dream and goes to war for king and country.

In another life young Eloise Bridgerton meets eccentric Oxford student Phillip Crane during Marina's wedding to his brother George. And finds him the height of funny.

In another life George Crane gets to meet his children and see them to their second summer. And when he still decides to do his duty to the country and go to war to escape his father's judgmental eyes. He does so having already secured the Crane line of succession with his son Oliver.

In another life Eloise first letter to Phillip is sent to Oxford. Expressing her condolences over his brother's passing and her well wishes for her Marina and the twins good health. Now that Phillip has to look after the Crane family estate until his nephew comes of age. The letters continue from there and though Violet knows, she never says anything.

In this life, by an entirely coincidental visit to Marina's estate with Eloise and Penelope that causes her to miss a fortnight of balls during her first season. Destiny sees Francesca married to Michael Stirling at the tail end of the season.

Violet herself was surprised to find that in an effort to see her 'interesting' Oxford scholar, Eloise had enlisted Francesca and Penelope on a scheme to visit their widowed cousin behind Violet's back and with Anthony and Benedict's blessing for a fortnight. Ironically also taking their maids with them including Sophie.

As a result of that trip, Francesca had missed the majority of balls where John Stirling had attended and made it back to London with Eloise in time to be introduced to Michael Stirling. His cousin. A merry rake who just needed one conversation with Francesca to be convinced she's the woman of his dreams.

In another life Violet is privy to the birth of young Lady Whistledown in the hands of little Penelope. And even encourages the darling wallflower to be more present in balls. In this life she doesn't nudge her son's to dance with Penelope as much, but she does encourage Penelope to expand her circle of friendships and be more outspoken about her interests. As well as covertly taking any occasion of Featherington celebration to gift the child a new dress.

Here it only takes a small nudge from his mother for Colin to realizes his attraction to Eloise best friend and gravitate towards Penelope in a natural way. What was once eight years of ignoring his feelings for Penelope rapidly reduced to three as soon as he understood that traveling the world would not lead him anywhere unless Penelope Featherington was also with him.

In another life Penelope Featherington has the opportunity to reject two very respectable marriage proposals behind her mother's back before accepting Colin's suit. Attributing this to Violet and lady Danbury encouraging her to show her natural wit more often in the ballroom rather than the library.

And in another life, where he's not scared of bees or afraid of living past his father's age. While shepherding Eloise around her first season, Anthony Bridgerton meets a woman who also has a younger sibling to marry off and lost her father years before too. A bright intelligent woman who dislikes his arrogance and constantly challenges his opinion.

In this life Anthony's leftover grief over Edmund's passing, is healed by his stubborn decision to have a long courtship of Kate Sharma just to see her fume. The smile slowly comes back to Anthony's face with every exasperated gesture from a disbelieving Kate anytime he gives her flowers. While she insists he's a lunatic for courting her when he doesn't even like her and he remains adamant that he really wants her to be his wife.

In another life Violet rejoices in Anthony following his heart instead of his head. Because in this life it's the sister of the diamond who makes the Viscount stop in his tracks abruptly enough to lead him on a merry chase. And it's never Edwina who catches Anthony's eye.

And then there's Benedict.

In another life Benedict grows up with a little more attention and a little more support from the father who was there for him trough most of his life. Benedict finds the love of his life at home cleaning the library. In this life, Benedict paints to his heart content and fills his sketchbooks with the same face.

His sister' lady's maid. Sophie. The one maid his father made him promise not to joke about with when he and his mother brought her in. Sophie who is kind and good and always treats him like a normal person. Who volunteers to clean his art room often and was there to hold him when he broke down after his father died. He'd once snuck her out of her duties during a masquerade ball when they were younger just to dance with her. Because he... Didn't know anyone better than Sophie in the world.

In this life Benedict pouts when Violet laughs at how tragic he believes his unrequited love to be. And understands her position when Violet confides that Sophie probably hasn't returned his advances because she's lived her life hiding from her stepmother.

In another life Benedict Bridgerton listens to Sophie's fears. Not as a master and a maid but rather as a friend. Understanding that the bastard daughter of an Earl wouldn't be accepted in society any more than a maid was. And in another life a more mature Benedict proposes to Sophie regardless of any sacrifices he must make to be the man she deserves.

In another life Phillip Crane decides to earn more recognitions at Oxford before broaching the subject of marriage with Eloise Bridgerton, despite loving her very much. She agrees to wait and they blissfully extend their unofficial courtship for years without a care for society's opinion. In this life Eloise becomes Mrs Crane, wife to Dr Phillip Crane the Bothanist. Aunt to the heirs of Romney Hall instead of their stepmother. And Violet is happy to note that Marina (now dowager lady Crane) looks as pleased with their marriage as the rest of the Bridgerton family.

In this life Marina lives to see her children grow up, she lives to eventually remarry someone like George. She lives to find her happiness. And Eloise is there with Phillip to support her. As are Benedict and Sophie in My Cottage.

In another life Hyacinth meets Lady Danbury's grandson during a childhood tea party and announces quickly to her father how she intends to marry the mischief making Gareth StClair and the boy enthusiastically agrees. In this life there are no diamonds or a convoluted treasure hunt to bring them together. Just a note in Edmund Bridgerton's will that states that if Gareth still wants to marry Hyacinth when she comes of age, there's a place for him with the Bridgerton table and a property he's welcome to work on, should his father disinherit him for something or other.

Hyacinth's future marriage is decided among laughter and celebration. From a man who went away to travel and returned to find that he still wanted to marry the little girl he loved in his childhood, now turned into a wonderful young lady.

As for Gregory. The gallant knight in shining armor. Violet merely requested his help in protecting a young miss who's uncle was a traitor to the crown and was willing to put her in danger to achieve his nefarious deeds.

In another life Lucy Abernathy did not even know she'd been in danger before her uncle was arrested on charges of treason and her brother almost implicated on it. Had it not been for the Bridgerton family who vouched for the siblings so strongly Lucy might have lost all hope.

In another life Gregory Bridgerton takes one look at Lucy Abernathy and promises to protect her from all the dangers of the world. Including her beautiful but stupid best friend Hermione Watson.

This is the life where Gregory's grand declaration of love from a balcony is heard by all the ton and Lucy's acceptance of his suit is received with cheers and congratulations.

In another life Violet Bridgerton lives to correct mistakes and make her children's life easier. She sees everything she missed the first time around and endeavors to fix it.

In another life the Bridgertons manage to be happy without quite so many scandals or painful stories . And Violet Bridgerton lives long enough to see the beauty of it.

[tsukuyomii45]

Naruto and Obito's Dynamic

I've been giving this a lot of thought and people often take it so lightly or even shit all over Naruto when he told that cunt Black Zetsu that Obito's nothing but awesome to him...

And there is a reason why that Naruto respects Obito so much despite everything that happened.

That's because Naruto would have done the exact same thing if he was the one who snapped and turned evil.

Naruto realized that he had absolutely NO place to judge him, when he knew that if things had just taken the wrong turn, he'd be just as evil. The best thing about Naruto is his maturity and self-awareness at his age because of everything he went through. His best power is empathy.

How, you may ask? Well... taking a look at Naruto's past... wasn't he always lonely and isolated by the villagers for a fate that he had no control over?

If Naruto did not see any good in the world, he'd make sure that every person would taste the despair and solitude he felt all those years by taking away their loved ones too; just to show them what it felt like to treat him this way, and just to see them crumble and be consumed by the fear of solitude and loneliness.

Yet it was in Naruto's favor that he found his people; when Obito unfortunately had no one to support his views other than Rin.

In what way did Rin support his views, you might ask?

Obito was ALWAYS against the system of the shinobi world. He basically rolls the opposite direction - he was never a "sheep" to their rules. Prioritize the mission? No. Save your comrades first. Strike a war for power? No. Enough sacrificing child soldiers and strive for peace. Enough blood spilling, enough living in a world where it only takes, and takes, and TAKES.

And Rin also shared the same feelings too; we just needed to read between the lines to see that. She wanted to stop wars, she wanted to stop seeing people die for the sake of political powers, she wanted people to live happily, and she too, wanted peace. It's something that really tightened her bond with Obito even more, and that's why she wanted to support the struggling Uchiha because he wasn't all talk to her - she always saw how he was working so hard against his own imperfections to become a Hokage who would work so hard to bring peace and eradicate the injustice of the system; and she wanted to see her best friend reach all those goals because she truly, truly, saw his potential.

As for Kakashi, even though deep down, he was doubtful and struggling with the rules of the shinobi system, went with the flow because of the trauma he suffered from Sakumo's death. It changed him 180 degrees and he cannot be blamed for it. His father was everything to him and children often mimic their heroes, and his father was his true hero until the tragedy happened. Kakashi was left to fend for himself, and when someone tried to throw at his face how the rules are flawed, Kakashi only remained in denial and just scoffed and shut it down because he didn't want to hear any of it.

Obito was the only one who woke him up and showed him that being a sheep to the injustice only brings tragedy, and that it needed to be stopped - starting by prioritizing your comrades. The best thing is that Obito didn't give a single flying f-ck about what the villagers would say as long as he stood by what was right; and it took a brutal event to make Kakashi see that his own father was right all along.

Obito had no one except Team Minato.

But imagine feeling let down by your own teacher? A person who he always looked up to and was lucky enough to be his student? He could have saved her. He could have saved the team. He could have done something - but in Obito's eyes, he was just as bad as everyone. Just as bad as the system. Then watching the person you entrusted a promise to keep the one and only person who means the world to you safe - only to see that promise broken in the most brutal way because of the goddamned system that forced Rin to be a Jinchuuriki (only for Kirigakure's desire to destroy Konoha), and forced her to take her life for the sake of Konoha. The war never stopped. Blood spilling didn't stop... and it also took the person he loved so much.

The despair made his sanity snap like a twig and darkness consumed him. Madara's manipulation was not helping either - because Madara saw the world the same way too, and it only made Obito feel like Madara was the only one walking with the truth and with the solution to fix everything that everyone failed to do.

And Naruto was able to see through all of that, bit by bit. Obito tends to manipulate people by using their weaknesses and darkness against them like a true devil, in order to lure them to his own dark path, but he could NOT do that to Naruto because Naruto was pulled away from that path by the right people.

At the same time, Naruto couldn't judge Obito for being the way he was, but Naruto also knew that if Obito had the right people around him, then things would be different in the best way possible. He would've been the shinobi world's protector, rather than destroyer; and when Obito redeemed himself, that's all Naruto could see: Not the Obito that snapped, not the Obito that walked the earth in darkness and evil - he only saw the Obito that would have been the true protector of the world.

[very-grownup]

Numbered List of Manga

I don't really understand what's meant by the X to know me by thing going around, because I thought it was generally agreed that media consumption is not a substitute for personality, but here are 10 (licensed) manga series that stick with me.

Hikaru no Go (Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata)

Tokyo Babylon (CLAMP)

KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE (Eiji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki)

From Eroica With Love (Yasuko Aoike)

X-Day (Setona Mizushiro)

Pluto (Naoki Urasawa)

Goodnight Punpun (Inio Asano)

Otherworld Barbara (Moto Hagio)

Banana Fish (Akimi Yoshida)

Berserk (Kentaro Miura)

Hikaru no Go

The first sports manga I read and the gold standard for Shounen Jump sports manga. The slow maturation of Obata's art with Hikaru's character arc compliment each other so perfectly (when he does his own writing I don't have time for Obata), the triangle of skill/interest/desire in Hikaru's relationship with the game, JUST PUTTING A GHOST IN YOUR SPORT SERIES AS A MENTOR TO THE PROTAGONIST -- the natural end of the series is perfect (and not undone by continuing for several more volumes) and I still think about it twenty years later and get teary. Any subject can be engaging in the right hands.

Tokyo Babylon

My age and gender mean not including a CLAMP title would be a lie. It would be like a dude my age denying having seen any Dragon Ball. Tokyo Babylon is my go-to, with the heavy contrast of the art, chunkier and less streamlined than CLAMP's later titles, and the themes of death, environmentalism, and the disconnect between people and the world around them in post-Bubble Tokyo, are things I keep coming back to in contemporary series, and looking back is both nostalgic while showing me how things have improved in terms of what's accessible and considered marketable in North America. There was a time when the idea of Tokyo Babylon being licensed was laughable! And now it's been licensed, published, and had the license lapse MULTIPLE TIMES.

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

You should read Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Ask me about Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. It's a kind, primarily episodic horror manga with strong anthropological roots. It's supernatural and incredibly real, with stories dealing with xenophobia, the criminal justice system, homelessness, environmental destruction, war crimes, aging populations and the lack of support, isolation, idol culture, otaku culture, employability after receiving a liberal arts education, urban legends, aliens, the dangers of technological innovation, parental loss, revenge, abortion, infanticide, juvenile offenders, cloning, blackmarket animal imports, the continued military presence in Japan, cryonics, the postal service, immigration, what if Jack the Ripper was a ghost and he possessed a cool thing you had imported and continued his serial killings as a ghost. You should read Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Ask me about Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.

From Eroica With Love

This series started with superpowered teens, including one named LEOPARD SOLID, and Aoike decided that was boring and she made it a series about a British aristocrat with a secret identity as a flamboyant gentleman thief with amazing hair and a sexually charged rivalry with a German intelligence agent who hates him. It's amazing. It needs to be rescued. There's something like 40 volumes. The pope gets stolen. There's a car chase with a tank and a bazooka on the autobahn. It's perfect and outrageous and over-the-top.

X-Day

I love Mizushiro and she's been tragically unrepresented in English licenses (X-Day is an ex-Tokyopop license, for a one-two punch of tragedy). X-Day is about lonely young people connecting on the internet and planning to blow up their school. There was a panel that felt like my depression had been put perfectly, beautifully, heartbreakingly onto the page.

Pluto

Urasawa's one of the greats and Pluto sees him adapting another of the greats into a smart, often sad, science fiction mystery thriller, and I still haven't been able to bring myself to read it a second time, despite it being Urasawa's shortest series.

Goodnight Punpun

Have you ever read something so profoundly raw and honest and recognizable that you had to quit reading it cold turkey? I think about Goodnight Punpun a lot and I stare at it on my shelf and I know I'm still not ready to read the rest of it.

Otherworld Barbara

No one draws the way Hagio does, with lines that look like they will dissolve if you touch them, and she understands that soft, dreamy beauty should be able to encompass things that are hard and violent and bloody because girls love romance and dream realms and clones and question of identity and beautifully androgynous characters with dark starry eyes and cannibalism.

Banana Fish

I have often gone on, at length, about one of the core components of shoujo, especially classic shoujo, being BIG FEELINGS, and the hugeness of the feelings make the events correspondingly BIG AND POWERFUL AND IMPORTANT but Banana Fish ties that with extreme violence and a plot that becomes increasingly Metal Gear Solid, with impossible drugs and mind control and knife fights and snipers and torture hospitals and the American military industrial complex. And then it comes back to feelings. It's another title where you really see the art evolve, which I love, and it's one of those perfect tragedies, where you can feel bad things coming, sometimes see them coming, but there's a rightness in the tragic ending. It hits the catharsis necessary in real, proper tragedies.

Berserk

I resent how superficial readings of Berserk kept me from reading it for so long. Do I love the hyper-violence and the gore and Miura's obsessive attention to the tiniest details in his shitty, blood-soaked world? Yes, of course, it's powerful and visceral and shocking and wild, which makes the hope and the realness of the trauma and how difficult everything is and how exhausting just living is and the cycles the characters are trying to escape from more engaging. Despite everything it isn't constant, grinding misery. It's a series full of sparks of optimism and so much more than BIG MAN BIG SWORD, with hurts more complex than demonic abominations. But the demonic abominations DO look rad as hell.