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thisismysecondrodeo · 1 year

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hi! <3 i started watching ted lasso recently and fell into the fic reading pit and i came across your blog. i just have to say that operation seduce ted and game on were absolutely masterpieces and nearly KILLED me.

i wasn’t sure if you take requests or if they were open, but i did see some on your masterlist so i thought i’d just drop by with an idea - feel free to ignore me if you’re not taking requests right now though! basically, i am DYING to read some facesitting with ted. i have scoured both ao3 and tumblr and i’m yet to find a fic for it haha. just seeing how you write ted going down on the reader and how much he gets off on it, i figured you’d be the perfect person to give it a go? i’m thinking the reader is super hesitant at first when ted suggests it, but he soon wins her around, especially with the feel of that amazing moustache 🫠

AN: I could right like 5 fics set in this showers and honestly it took me a while to decide between Ted/Reader, Ted/Roy, and Ted/Trent (I think someone else has already written Roy/Trent!) but I got this request and knew EXACTLY what to write lol. But I would be remiss if I didn't recommend Chapter 3 of CatfishKid's Going Down because it is my favorite Ted Lasso facesitting fic even though it's unfinished lol

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Himbos Briefly Mentioned, Season 3 Episode 2 Shower Scene is constantly on my mind, facesitting, Smut, Dirty Talk, graphic description of p-in-v sex

Fic Masterlist

You weren’t usually in the locker room during the game, as the trainer you were either on the side of the pitch or in the training room. But after watching Dani take a ball to the face you knew he would never come find you so you decided to find him during the half just to make sure he was okay. You were a consummate professional as you looked over Dani’s uninjured face, only cutting your eyes over at Ted once or twice.

You would be mortified if anyone knew about your schoolgirl crush on the gaffer and you’d mostly managed to keep it under wraps. But every time your eyes met you couldn’t deny that the handsome, mustachioed man made your insides flip upside down. You didn’t think he felt the same—the man was friendly to everyone—but you’d had more than a few moments alone after hours, chatting and laughing in his office or walking to the Crown and Anchor that you couldn’t help but harbor some hope that the feelings were requited.

You were about to leave the men to discuss strategy when Trent Crimm slipped in. The room fell silent and it felt more awkward to leave than to stay so you tucked yourself into the corner of the locker room to take a seat behind Roy, who seemed rather pleased that silence had descended. Ted turned to look at Roy and you could see the frustration in his brow as Trent tried to take his leave.

“Trent, hold on a second. Roy, can I speak with you?”

You weren’t trying to eavesdrop, and you couldn’t even really make out what Ted was saying but his tone was low and serious…and really turning you on. It was embarrassing, honestly, the way his voice made your pulse race and all the things you could imagine him saying to you with that timbre. You crossed one leg over the other and tried to act like something very thrilling was happening on your phone, but when Ted and Roy returned you couldn’t take your eyes off Ted, even as Roy screamed, “Crimm!” Ted must have noticed your gaze because he gave you a small smile and a wink, that turned you to jelly. You had to leave and you had to leave now before he realized you were down bad for him. While everyone waited for Roy and Trent to return you hustled out of the room, missing the confused expression on Ted’s face as the door shut.

You managed to hold yourself together through the second half and on the bus back to Nelson Road. The boys didn’t usually get so raucous over a draw, but between that and the news about Zava, they were so rowdy you couldn’t have focused on your feelings for Ted even if you wanted to. The seat you picked was in the front, so you could be the first off and you figured you’d hang around and do some inventory in the training room to avoid running into Ted on the way out. You were being childish and you knew you couldn’t avoid him forever, but you were embarrassed and just needed a little bit of time to get your feelings in check.

Just as you’d finished resetting your medical kit for the next away match, you heard a small knock on the door. You swung the door open quickly and were greeted with a sheepish Ted in his Richmond puffer, a tendril of hair brushing just above his eyebrow.

“T-Ted, hi.”

“Hi, Y/N, can I—do you have a minute?”

“Sure,” you gestured for Ted to enter. You had no idea why he seemed so awkward, but you smiled trying to put him at ease. “Is everything alright? That was a good match, no injuries, anyway.”

“Yeah. I guess I just…” Ted scratched a hand at the back of his head. God, he was so handsome and flustered. You sat at your desk and rested your face on one hand, could feel the heat in your cheeks just from being close to him. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t make you uncomfortable earlier. During the half, I, ah, well I winked at you and you seemed to scoot out of there really quickly and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t overstep, because, ya know, I’m a grown man who would never want his feelings to get in the way of someone being able to comfortably do their job, so I promise, I won’t ever do that—”

Your ears perked up immediately, but you weren’t sure if you were hearing what you were hearing. But if Ted was standing here thinking he’d mortally offended you over a wink, you were willing to take the risk of being totally honest. “Ted. Do you….Are you saying you do have feelings for me? Because, to be honest with you and at the risk of you calling HR immediately, I ran out of there so quickly because I was embarrassed that you could tell I was, ah, hot and bothered.”

Ted’s eyebrows raised and his cheeks pinked. “Because of me?”

You ducked your face slightly, avoiding his eyes. “Always because of you. You and your dumb khakis and your silly little polo shirts, and that passionate fucking voice you used with Roy, I just can’t get you out of my head. I’m sorry—”

Before you could finish your apology Ted had stepped closer and gently placed his hands on either side of your face. “Y/N… I would very much like to kiss you right now.”

“Yeah, yes. Please,” you sighed. It was hard to process everything that had changed in just a few minutes, but you weren’t processing at all when Ted pressed his warm lips to yours. His mustache tickled as he moved fluidly, despite having to lean over you. You wanted to tug him close, wanted zero space between his body and yours but you were still sitting at your desk. Ted broke the kiss and looked at you with a disbelieving, adoring gaze.

“This is…not at all how I expected this conversation to go,” Ted chuckled, his thumb stroking lightly against your cheekbone. “I thought I had made a total ass of myself, there was never even the faintest idea in the back of my head that you might be interested.”

“Same here,” you laughed. “So what now?” Ted leaned against your desk, his leg bumping against your knee.

“Now? Well, I guess now I ask you if you’d like to go out with the boys and me to celebrate a draw?”

You stood up almost immediately, enthusiastic about getting to spend more time with Ted. Ted, who was looking at you as if he was afraid you’d turn him down. “I’d love to,” you smiled, leaning into his space and pecking his lips softly, just because you could, “I guess I’ll have to be on my best behavior then, huh?” Ted’s large hand found the curve of your waist and you shivered from that contact alone.

“I certainly didn’t say that,” he teased, before kissing you harder.

You and Ted may have just addressed your feelings an hour and a half before, but being out at the Crown & Anchor with him felt like you’d been dating for years. He was a constant welcome presence at your side, a drink in his hand for you that he’d never let you purchase. You kept bracing for someone to notice, to call you out for leaning into his side or making eyes at him over your pint, but no one said a word. It was still torture trying to keep your hands to yourself and when Ted pressed a hand to your lower back you had to bite your lip to keep from letting out a sound that would have been highly inappropriate in this very public space. You made a point of yawning to cover it up, with a quick side eye at Ted in hopes that he followed your lead.

“Gosh, it’s getting late. I’m gonna head out,” you directed loudly at no one in particular, leaving before anyone could cajole you into one last drink. You didn’t want to have any expectations for what was transpiring between you and Ted but you knew what you wanted. You wanted to peel off that puffer and kiss him senseless, you wanted to see what he looked like when you touched him, when he came, when he woke up in the morning. But there would be other times if Ted wanted to take things slow. You were calling a ride when you felt someone tug gently against your coat.

“Not to be presumptuous, but I could use someone to walk me home,” Ted said teasingly in your ear.

You slipped your phone back into your pocket immediately. “Lead the way.”

Ted offered you a drink and a snack but you turned him down in favor of pressing your body against his and backing him against the kitchen counter. He kissed you eagerly, his hands framing your face and his thigh slotted between your legs; of course, you couldn’t help but grind down against him. The only thoughts in your head were a constant loop of Ted’s stern voice from the match and the floaty feeling of remembering that he was actually into you.

Ted broke the kiss and looked as flustered as you felt. “Jesus, Y/N, I feel like I’m in high school again,” Ted chuckled. “Not that that’s a bad thing. But I don’t want you to feel like we have to—”

“Ted if you’re about to tell me we don’t have to have sex, I’m going to scream.” Your eyes were clamped shut so you couldn’t see Ted’s cheeky grin and you thought you’d offended him. “I mean unless you don’t want to! Totally fine,” you opened your eyes and laughed at his expression. Without saying anything, Ted led you to the bedroom, your hand in his.

“There is absolutely nothing I want more,” Ted said slowly as he undressed you down to your bra and underwear, his voice low and heavy, “than to make you feel good. Is that okay?”

You knew you were looking at Ted like he was from another planet, which very well could be true. “Of course that’s okay,” you laughed, reaching for his clothes but he dodged you easily. He sat on the side of the bed, still fully dressed in his khakis and polo shirt. He reached a hand out for you, pulling you to stand between his legs. His hands moved to caress your hips and butt, his mouth nipping and kissing against the softness of your middle, tugging playfully at the waistband of your panties. You were desperately, ridiculously wet.

“I said I wanted to make you feel good,” Ted teased, looking up at you. You scratched gently at his scalp and he hummed.

“Alright, I’ll bite. How do you want to make me feel good?”

“Well we can circle back around to biting, but I was thinking we’d get these off of you,” he lightly snapped your waistband and you giggled, “and you could take a seat.” Ted pointed at his mustache so there was no misunderstanding his intent and you laughed in surprise. Sure, you’d been with a decent number of people, and, sure, most of them had gone down on you but you’d never sat on someone’s face before and you were instantly insecure. You were nervous about being heavy, you were self-conscious about doing something solely for your pleasure, and, above all, you were worried about doing something wrong somehow. Ted read it on you instantly.

“Hey, hey now, where’d you go? If you don’t want to that’s a-okay, but if you think I’m just doing this as a favor for you—well that would be like thinking George Clooney was the best Batman, it's just plain wrong.”

You rolled your eyes with a small smile, knowing he was pulling out metaphors just to put you at ease. “I…Well, I don’t know if I want to because I’ve never done it before, but I gotta say, the way you’re looking at me right now makes me want to try.”

Ted beamed at you, his hands sneaking around you gently to unclasp your bra. “Well, why don’t you tell me what about it makes you nervous, and maybe I can ease your mind?” It was a wonderful suggestion in theory but it was much harder in practice when Ted was kissing your bare chest, his mustache brushing against your nipples. The more he touched you, the more convinced you were that you’d sit on a cactus if it meant he never took his hands off you.

“I guess, just, ah, worried I’ll do something wrong. Or hurt you. Or look silly,” you sighed, stroking your fingers through Ted’s hair again as he continued to press kisses to your quickly overheating skin.

“Baby I promise, I’m not going to let you be embarrassed. Why don’t we take things slow?”

“Slow sounds g-good,” your voice hitched as Ted licked a pert nipple into his mouth. “Fuck Ted your mouth feels so good.”

“Good,” Ted smiled against you, switching breasts as he eased your panties down your legs. He stroked your inner thigh and your whole body shuddered, enough that he brought a hand to your hip to steady you. “Why don’t you come up here,” Ted suggested, scooting back to lay in the center of the bed, his legs hanging off the end of his rather small bed. “No funny business, not yet,” he promised, tapping his belly for you to straddle his waist.

You crossed your arms, a playfully defiant look on your face. “Only if you lose some layers.” You expected some pushback but Ted quickly shed his shirt, undershirt, and khakis before laying back down. Your eyes were drawn to his erection like a magnet—sitting yourself on those cute stripey boxer briefs would be no problem at all. You climbed into Ted’s lap, your hands pressing into the hair against his chest and you smiled down at him before leaning into his warmth and kissing him deeply. Ted’s arms circled you tightly and you’d never felt safer...or more aroused. You didn’t have to look to know you’d made the front of his underwear damp from rolling your hips against him. The idea of crawling up his body to feel his tongue where you needed it most was no longer making you nervous, it was making you whimper against his mouth.

Ted used a hand on the back of your head to tilt your face slightly and give himself access to kiss along your jaw, a well-placed nip behind your ear making you whine.

“What do you want darlin’,” Ted asked softly in your ear.

“You,” you responded immediately, punctuating the sentiment with a grind of your hips against Ted’s hard length. He groaned, his eyes falling shut and it was nice to know you weren’t the only one going out of your mind with lust.

“And what do you want from me?”

You looked at Ted, eyes wide, and you knew from that very coach-like expression on his face what he was encouraging you to ask for. Leave it to Ted to not only motivate you to try something new for your pleasure and your pleasure only, but to insist on enthusiastic consent. “I want to sit on your face.”

“Yes ma’am,” Ted agreed immediately, bringing his hands to your waist to help you shift up his body. You were close enough to lean into the headboard, your hands tight against the wood and holding most of your weight. You waited to see what would happen next, could feel Ted’s breath tickle against your inner thighs. His warm hand ran gently along your leg as he got your attention. “Baby, you’re gonna have to relax. It’s okay I got you. I promise.”

You took a deep breath and lowered yourself slightly, and Ted craned his head up to make direct contact with your clit. You hissed with pleasure, surprised enough that you relaxed even more of your weight and Ted gladly took it, his tongue sliding inside you easily before circling your clit again. “Shit,” you threw your head back as Ted picked up his pace, his hands encouraging you closer and closer, the sound of him lapping at you vulgar and so incredibly arousing that you couldn’t help but rock your hips. His nose made contact with your clit and you tensed with the shock of pleasure, leaning forward to chase that sensation again. Your hand slipped from the headboard and found Ted’s hair and he moaned underneath you, curling his tongue inside of you.

No one eating you out before had ever made you feel like this. Like you were literally about to explode and you couldn’t control your movements, your hips rocking faster against Ted’s face. No one you’d ever been with had acted like Ted either, like you were doing him a favor by gripping his hair and fucking his mouth like he was a sex toy. “Fuck, fuck, Ted, I’m—shit, I’m going to come, Ted, I’m going to—”

You tried to swing your leg off Ted’s face but he only held you tighter against him, his tongue never stopping as you clenched your fist in his hair and came hard. Your thighs clamped hard against the side of Ted’s head, but the waves of orgasm washing over you distracted you from feeling bad for it. Ted slid out from under you, easing you off of his face and onto the bed. He rested on one elbow over you and watched you closely as your chest heaved. “Hey there, you okay,” he asked gently as you opened your eyes again and you smiled at his damp face. You pulled him into a heated kiss and could taste yourself on his tongue.

“That was fucking amazing,” you laughed and Ted grinned.

“Anytime. Hell, every time. I know you don’t believe me when I say it’s my pleasure but I mean it.”

You smirked at Ted, as you slid a hand into the front of his boxers, stroking him lightly just to make him groan. “Oh well if this is anything to go by, then I certainly do believe you.” Ted kissed you like you were single-handedly providing him oxygen. It was hard to imagine that just this morning you were convincing yourself to be on your best professional behavior because there was no way Ted was interested in you. And now here you were, tugging his boxers down as he retrieved a condom from his nightstand and pulling him over you so he could fuck you senseless.

Ted entered you slowly, gingerly and it felt like heaven every inch of the way—and he was not lacking inches. He sighed when he was fully seated inside you and you kissed every bit of his skin you could reach. “Fuck me, baby. Please.”

Ted nodded, locking his lips with yours as he started to thrust, his chest hair tickling your nipples as he moved over you. “God you feel so good, darlin’. So fucking good for me,” Ted praised you when he broke the kiss and that voice really did it for you, the dark tone and cursing going straight to your core.

“Keep talking, Teddy,” you begged and he smiled.

“Yeah? You want to hear how much it turned me on to have you dripping on my face? Or how tight and wet you feel against my cock? You’re so gorgeous darlin’, you’re so perfect.” Ted adjusted his position, one hand supporting your leg so he could drive into you deeper. You couldn’t stop cursing as he picked up the pace, repeatedly hitting the perfect spot inside you that made you dig your fingernails into his biceps. The whole time Ted talked: about how beautiful you were, about how long he’d been thinking about you, about how many ways he wanted to have you. You couldn’t help but clench when he told you he fantasized about locking the training room door and lifting you onto the table. Ted’s rhythm stuttered and you knew he was close and so were you, his stream of dirty talk had turned you into a puddle underneath him. You wedged a hand between your bodies to stroke your clit as Ted placed open-mouthed kisses along your neck and chest.

“Shit, Ted, come with me. Let go for me, baby, I want to feel you.”

Ted groaned, his hips picking up pace as he chased his own climax and your fingers matched him, both of you racing for a finish that hit like a truck, your eyes slamming shut as Ted gasped and twitched hard inside of you. You pulsed against him as he came and collapsed against your chest. He tried to shift his weight off of you but you held him tightly and you could feel his smile pressed against your neck.

“I guess we should hit the showers,” Ted suggested when he had caught his breath and you laughed.

“You in the showers is what got us into all this,” you teased. “If you weren’t in there being all sexy and disgruntled I would have ignored my feelings forever.”

Ted sat up, pulling you with him and towards the bathroom, “Well I guess I’ll have to find someone to get stern with more often.”

“Why do you need to find someone when I’m right here?” You winked and got into the shower without waiting for Ted’s reaction and you laughed when he followed behind you so quickly he almost slipped.

“Yes ma’am,” Ted grinned and you couldn’t help but grin right back.

#ted lasso #ted lasso fanfiction #ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso x reader #x reader #reader insert #reader

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bagopucks · 1 year

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A group of Michigan Brothers and their tall friend

🤝

A group of Michigan Brothers and their tall friend

From one hyper fixation to the next. If you wanna know where I’ve been, it’s with my music.

If there’s one thing I’ve loved all my life, it’s been music. It has been so long since I’ve genuinely invested myself in a band I felt meaningful or enjoyable. Modern music is not my favorite thing. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I just don’t enjoy the vast majority. This however, I can get behind. Nothing beats modern rock that sounds like it was pulled from the 70’s. I’ve always been envious of older decades that had such beautiful music, and I can’t even express how wonderful and fulfilling life has felt with the one thing I’ve wished for since I was old enough to listen to and comprehend music. I can’t explain it in a way to make anybody understand, but this music, this fashion, this time feels almost.. like a reality in a way. Like it’s actually within my grasp. It’s something I’ve always loved but I never had the privilege of loving in the present time. Now I do, and the love I used to hold for music has returned at such an overwhelming pace that life feels so full again.

Nothing touches my soul deeper than a beautiful voice and meaningful lyrics. Something poetic and fun. I’ve been an artist since as long as I can remember. I feel incomplete if I don’t have good music to listen to, or a muse for drawing and physical art. Music is beautiful in an indescribable way.

Due to the transition period I’ve started, from high school to college, and a lot of change, my OCD and depression has been spiking on and off like a switch. I’ve been pretty busy these past few weeks, seeing as everybody at work simply decided to quit, so my hours are through the roof. I’d like to take a break to focus on my art and my future for a month or so. Possibly until the new season opens. I’m not saying a permanent goodbye, I promise I’ll be back. I just need some time for myself, and I’d love to explore my other interests some more while I have this past summer as a ‘kid’.

Always feel free to check in, submit thoughts, questions, just talk if you want to talk. I’ll still be on tumblr, just not writing. Though I’ve kept my accounts separate, with this break, I’d like to extend the opportunity for anybody to follow @teddydrawshockey (my first account) if they’d like. I’ll probably continue to post art there from time to time. Requests for art, drawings, anything of that nature is always welcome on that account as well.

I want to give a sincere thank you to all of those who have followed and remained consistent through the few months I have done this! It has been so much fun, and I can’t wait to return to writing soon. The support, interaction, and love for my work was what kept me going. This account was initially created so I could get some of my own ideas down on paper. Then interaction came in, and I decided to make something out of it. I thank all 800+ of you who have followed for the ride. And the ones who popped in every once and a while to check out my works and spam my account. I am eternally grateful, and I do hope you all stick around for my return.

I promise this is not the end, I’ll be back

-Ella

#ella’s thoughts #ella’s nonsense #ella’s updates #ella’s asks #ella’s inbox #small hiatus #i’ll be back #quinn hughes #jack hughes #luke hughes #trevor zegras #jake kiszka #josh kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner

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megarax-ponyo · 3 days

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I'm sorry for bringing this up, but it's about your Welcome Home AU Would you be comfortable with someone continuing or taking heavy inspiration from your au? I know that you are most likely not going to continue it so I was just curious how comfortable you would be with someone continuing the AU or taking inspiration from it, and if so, would you like credit or not? Do what makes you happy, I hope that some day the Welcome Home Fandom (which I'm apart of) can learn to be less toxic. <3 <3 <3 Love your art <3 <3 <3

Before starting everything I think about it, I thank you very much for the importance of the Au... I thought it was not so loved if I am very honest with everyone. Because of everything they have told me and "exposed" me to being the worst when really nothing is like that... it made me believe that no one liked what I did with my Au

It is comforting for me to know and read these beautiful words ❤

Okay... look, most of you know that I hardly express what I think or feel on the internet, since I love being anonymous and a total mystery

But I have to clarify this for people who follow me here on Tumblr or people who follow me on other networks At once I'm apologizing, because I will be very direct and sharp with my answer, to a point where it may sound somewhat rude, but the intention really is to "cut everything clean" so that people don't come later hungry or opportunistic to want to take advantage of my idea

To avoid further detours - The answer is NO

I will specify myself better - I am not going to give ANYONE my Au. More than anything because this is an idea that cost me a lot to polish and I am proud of what I have created, I am not going to leave it to someone since it could ruin the story or turn it into a more horrifying spectacle than what I had already raised

Now making it clear that I will not let ANYONE continue my story If someone is inspired by my story, the kindest or most respectful thing they can do is give me credit that the original idea is mine, since they can inspire you and many people have been inspired by my story, but if more people think about doing it, I ask them I strongly recommend that you give credit to the person you based your story on (in this case me)

In short, YES, I would like to receive credit for it and NO, I do not feel AT ALL COMFORTABLE that someone continues my story

Since I plan to do two things, that my story stays as long as I left it and that the concept can be used for random drawings in the future

Or redo the story with different characters but much softer, since really the original concept of my story is very hard to see, even for adult people

Again, I'm sorry to be crudely honest but I have to be because there will always be people who want to take advantage of it, so you always have to make things clear from the beginning if you want to avoid problems in the future

For now I want to start another project that is much more lively and fun, I will leave aside the dark and cryptic stories for the moment, it also means that I want to start off on the right foot in another Fandom A Fandom that has really shown me support and I like it Because in WH they have only classified me in the worst ways and many artists blocked me without me doing something wrong... more than just writing a dark story

Adding that Fadom is being consumed by toxicity and cancellations all the time... like you really don't want to continue in a community like this, Where everyone is in a pitched war to see who is the worst

That's why I preferred to leave the war in peace, Just leave because I was tired of everyone seeing me as a monster or something worse... *Sigh*

Anyway - I don't like showing my feelings much on the internet, since I think it's useless So I'll leave it here and I hope my answer has been very clear about my decision with my story

Very soon I will return with new things and fresh drawings ✨❤ I love you all and thank you for your support of my work ❤✨

#meganixart #welcome home arg #send me asks #answered asks #ask me anything #welcome home #welcome home au #send asks #ask #welcome home fandom #my stuff #feel free to ask #welcome home puppet show

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jacksgreysays · 26 days

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Hello, this is Mergen! I read your response to my comment in Ao3 and really, there is no need to apologize, considering that I am also not giving my answer soon. Since you spend more time on tumblr, I decided to respond here, and then I got sucked into your other passages for weeks. Thank you for giving this idea a chance and if you don't mind, I'll throw some more in for you.

Even if the math doesn't work for Souichi to be Shikako's son, you mentioned that you see the solution to the Konoha civil war in Shikadai becoming Hokage, but he is still young and there is no guarantee that he will become strong or respected enough for the title of Hokage to replace Naruto. He will have the support of half the clans, but this is just politics. So I will again turn to your OC Nara and propose to make Souichi Hokage, he is much older and judging by the description, have the will and motivation and intelligence, some can even get Deja View second coming Shikako.

The second idea was inspired by your fic about Shikako meeting Shinki's mother. I love Gaara and Shinki's relationship in canon, the best thing in Boruto, so I want to reunite this duo and while one is not born yet, we need to confirm Schrödinger's Gaara status. Since Shikako is the only one who has the opportunity to continue the search for Gaara without drawing attention to it, without hope ti find him alive, I wondered what could kill Gaara in the desert. After Gelel, he is the strongest being in Suna. So...

...what if he's not dead?

Back in time, when the war is over, his sister recently married Shikamaru and is about to have a child, everything is going well, Suna is strong and the world is at peace. What if Gaara wanted to sign the summoning contract after seeing how well Naruto and the others did with their summons and how effective they were? Perhaps he lost Shukaku and decided to compensate for his fighting strength by becoming a sage. So he uses reverse summoning and moves to some kind of summoning world. Then there are a dozen developments of events to suit your taste:

1. Gaara failed the test, he was eaten and his body will never be found. Dark enough for a primadonna Au to be real but if you go this route I will cry. Just saying.

2. Time flows differently in the world of Summons and for him 12 days may have passed when for others it is 12 years. He returns to meet a much older and tired Kanuro wearing a Kazekage hat.

3. Shikako finds the domen of the summon, which is located in their world, just very well hidden. Gaara either turned into stone and she will save him in her sage mode, or he meditates for a long time to become a sage and didn’t even notice the passage of time. A punch to the jaw from Shikako is part of the reunion.

This may be an unnecessary plot point, but it will clear the air for Gaara's family and friends.Feel free to use the ideas or not, anyway thanks for your attention!

Hello! I’m glad to see you over on tumblr since, like you said, I really am better at responding on tumblr than I am on ao3—but I do still very much appreciate your ao3 comment as well!

I do love your enthusiasm/affection for my silly Nara OC Souichi, I’m glad that he’s endeared himself to someone besides creator, lol. However he’s not actually THAT much older than Shikadai—or, well, I suppose in the world of shinobi he could be considered much older—I’ve mostly been vague about the timeline, but Souichi is 18 and Shikadai is probably 10ish. He’s due to graduate from the Academy soon. So eight years for a shinobi is a lot, I guess, especially so early on in their careers, but I would still consider them the same generation. Additionally, while he has the motivation and intelligence (and quirkiness) he really is “just an average Nara chuunin.” He made chuunin at 16 years old which isn’t BAD per se, but I think in terms of “Hokage potential” is pretty late in regard to making that international name for himself. Additionally, I know I haven’t explicitly said so, but Shikadai is ALSO motivated and intelligent. The way I see it, Shikadai is more similar to Shikako in her more desperate times, than Souichi is to Shikako in her fun relaxed times, and considering this is the bleak!Primadonna AU, it’s that desperate, battle-oriented Shikako that people would be looking for than an eccentric innovator.

Also, Shikadai doesn’t have the strength/power or the respect/influence NOW, as an Academy student, but that is roughly why if I were to write a “how to resolve the situation in Konoha” it would be a Shikadai-centered fic about how he gains that either through missions or over time or by interacting with other will-be-important figures his age.

As for your second idea—actually it was your initial theory about Souichi that made me bring up Shinki in this series, because the way I’ve written him, in my other DoS Shikaara future fic he is raised by Shikako while Kankurou is his clan head. And I realized, with your initial Souichi theory, that Shinki is probably the closest thing to a child that Shikako and Kankurou could feasibly/safely have in this bleak!Primadonna AU. Especially since Shinki, with his confirmable Magnet Release (as opposed to Shikadai with his probable-but-not-tested Magnet Release) would be the Kazekage heir and thus slightly alleviate some of the stress on Shikadai.

In the ficlet in which Shikako meets Areki (made up name for Shinki’s mother because I don’t know if she has one in canon but I kind of assume not considering what the source manga/anime is) Shinki is definitely already alive. It’s also earlier in the timeline than the first installment/ao3-chapter, so Shikako meets Areki when Shinki is probably about 8 (putting Shikadai at about 6?) and then basically adopts both of them and sort of mentors/helps raise Shinki so that he can safely be introduced to the world as the heir to the Kazekage when the time is right (as opposed to putting that target on the back of an untrained child before he’s ready)

But, that’s not your point: Schrödinger’s Gaara. I super agree with you that after Gelel he is the strongest being in Suna. I also agree that he’s probably not dead so much as like… transported elsewhere (or else-when if we’re getting time travel-y with it) or trapped somehow.

I had briefly though of Gelel Empire related things—like, just because the Dead Wastes are where the “heart” of Gelel’s power was, doesn’t mean they didn’t have other sealing arrays elsewhere through their vast empire. Also, considering sandstorms and since Gaara can control sand, it wouldn’t be to surprising if something was uncovered and Gaara went out to investigate it alone since, after all like you said, who could possibly be a threat to him in the desert where he is strongest? And then mumbledy mumbledy he gets transported somewhere (or some-when) and either can’t find his way back, or doesn’t realize how long it’s actually been, or is stuck. (I did, even more briefly, consider a sci-fi vibe, in the sense that Gaara discovers a Stargate or an old Jedi Temple or something like that but abandoned that since it would be bringing in a crossover and huge genre shift to something that already required a lot of implied background/worldbuilding from readers)

But the summoning realm is very good. And I’ve also previously posited that maybe the summoning realm is not necessarily just for summons. Like, perhaps it should more accurately be called the Spirit Realm, because while most of them are summonable creatures that theoretically look like animals, there could be other non-animal/non-contractable spirits there. I think I also considered writing a fic where the Shinigami and other gods kinda lived in that same alternate plane of existence? However, like you said, the summoning contract card is already so plentiful by itself that I don’t necessarily need to throw in spirits.

1) Oh noooooo, don’t eat Gaara! He’s a good lad TT_TT But that is maybe a little too dark for the bleak!Primadonna AU. Like, I know I have Shikamaru being assassinated, but the idea of Gaara being eaten by summons and never found again is just too dark for some reason? The assassination has political causes and ramifications at least D: Gaara in some boss summon’s stomach is noooooooooooo

2) Time flowing differently is almost… ooh… like, if he were to come back after 12 years and it’s just because time flowed differently. Like, obviously it’s not his fault, but I can see how frustrated Kankurou and Temari and Shikako (and maybe even Naruto?) would be with him if it’s like. THIS ALL COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF YOU HAD JUST COME BACK SOONER. There’s something to be said about those Fair Folklore and similar mythologies about a human going to another world and dancing for a night and then coming back and realizing a century had passed. Like. It’s almost more forgivable if Gaara comes back AFTER Shikadai is an adult (and possibly Hokage) and everything has resolved itself in one way or another because that’s a scale of time that almost seems like—well, there’s nothing he could have done. Versus any time before that would be frustrating. They wouldn’t be mad at him, but god it would be so frustrating.

3) I will always be so fond of Shikaara, so my heart does love the idea that Shikako—who is the only one who can/still believes enough to keep searching for Gaara—does find him trapped somehow (either turned to stone or in a seal or a sand cocoon that was meant to protect him but then backfired, etc etc) and not freeing him with True Love’s Kiss but, like, practical treatment either via Earth chakra or seals or, as you said, a punch to the jaw, lololol.

It’s the mystery of the ages, truly :)

Thanks again for your comment/asks, Mergen!

#jacksgreyson #mergenfox #review response #primadonna girl (says no thank you)#dreaming of sunshine #shikadai nara #shikako nara #sabaku no shinki #sabaku no kankurou #sabaku no gaara #asks #answers #archiveofourown

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yuraslefttoe · 6 months

Note

hey, it's me again! I came to pester you with questions!! *there should be a scary laugh, but it sounds more like mean giggles*

(by the way, I’m thinking about sending you such long texts with questions (because I have a lot of them!!) once one or two weeks, if you don’t mind. . . . . . .you don't mind..??? (god, I hope you don’t get tired of me..!) I'm so sorry, please, I'm just very interested!! *qwq*)

ok, let's start with the sweetest part, prelude. ACTUALLY, I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT YOU REPLY SO QUICKLY, GOD, NOT PASSED A FEW HOURS!!!!!! I THOUGHT YOU HAD TOO MANY QUESTIONS SO I DID NOT EXPECT A SO SOON REPLY!!

I’ll remind you once again how much I adore your work (after all, you deserve it!!), and I’ll also say that I specifically shouldn’t talk about posts tagged with the adm, because I’ve read your tumblr and twitter in its entirety several times, I even have a separate album in my gallery with answers that particularly interested me, there are several hundred screenshots there and I don’t regret anything! (sorry if my hyperfixation may be intimidating!!)

*=^._.^= ∫*

and now the questions!!!!

1. my wife doesn’t have a tumblr, but her suggestion interested me and can be seen in the first two screenshots(the translation sounds like: “after the release of “red hour” I have an assumption that andrey is more... athletic than misha. either this is because of ferry’s drawing style, or he really has such wide shoulders")so now we are interested to know about the physique of your characters!! maybe some of them are thin, or vice versa, a little overweight. and what about physical training? did you have any headcanons for this??? ( by the way, when I ask about “characters” I mean not only misha and andrey, but also europe and maya, because they are also worthy of attention <зз)

2. what about the abbreviation "dyusha" for andrey? in russian it is... not used very often, but still, it sounds very cute. so it would be interesting to know how you would feel about this? 3. I also want to hear about the names of the characters!! how did you choose them? I mean........ how did it happen that from ☺europa☺ you switched to 👹MiKhAiL👹?? (I'M SO SORRY, BUT MISHA'S FULL NAME SOUNDS SOMETHING THREATENING. MY UNCLE'S DOG HAS THE SAME NAME EHE- *ᕕ(ಥ▽ಥ)ᕗ*)

4. and lastly, let's return to my wife for another moment. she suggested that andrey was now also in a time loop. what do you say about that? and also in enigma, she noticed that misha seemed to be addressing the second person in the lines: "and if you wanted to be anything more than just free" and "you’ve seen a hundred lies I see that all the time". is this second person a viewer? or maybe one of the previously mentioned characters??

the last photo, by the way, is one of the sketches that I found so far in my gallery! ^^

initially it was planned to attach two sketches, but andrey turned out TOO bad, I’m ashamed to show him. someday I'll redraw it into something normal.... maybe. but! I really like the pic with misha and the wolf(I hope this is the wolf you were talking about lol. google didn’t show me anything else, and I’ve never been to ikea myself, ehe...)

(and I don’t want to post all this yet, because running a tumblr was certainly not part of my plans, haha)) I registered here solely to read your blog, and not to maintain my own)

sorry again for possible illiteracy, and also for the chaotic nature of my thoughts, haha, I don’t know how to adequately express them in english.. and also, I’m really REALLY apologize that the text was too long, next time I’ll try to be shorter...

okay im gonna try and answer everything here in a coherent way so sorry if nothing makes sense

im just fine with lotes of questions :) answering asks and responding to comments is one of my favorite things ever and i brings a verry big smile to my face

on andrei: i consider him to be a skinny little gut but not exactly unathletic, and in addition i think he would have basic combat training and probably be good with firearms. misha is probably a very average bodytype, nothing special, not particularly athletic.

i do not speak russian (though ferry has recently encouraged me to learn so maybe in like four years ill be able to form a sentence) so i dont know anything about the short forms so you can do whatever you want. if you coin it and peoples tart calling him that i will not stop it from happening

i do not name my characters, i usually let me friends name them (i think that the only one i named was europa and his partner). going forward maybe ill try to make it more cohesive

the time loop idea im seeing thrown around alot is really cool and while i havent particularly wrote any of my songs about that in general i see it fitting into the loose narrative i have going on. also in enigma misha is definitely talking to andrei whenever he says the word "you" but it could also be to the listener because the entire theme of enigma is 4th wall breaking and meta shenanigans like that

that sketch is SO CUTE oh my god

#asks #adm #misha #andrei #deepest lore

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mackerelphones · 10 months

Text

The Politics of Oz

Now for the upsetting conclusion to my series of Oz posts.

The entire essay will not be here on Tumblr. What you see here is a preview, just the first part of the longer whole. You can read the rest on my website here.

I sure would appreciate someone seeming to consider something I wrote. If you know people who might be interested, you could share it too. What do I have to do, grovel? What do you want from me bah whatever okay here's the preview (grumble grumble)

1. The Riches of Content: Oz as Pastoral, Feminist Socialist Utopia

In the original 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Land of Oz is fecund and full of friendly people but still a dangerous, socially unstable place. After Ozma ascends to rule the Emerald City of Oz in the second novel, she “civilizes” Oz. L. Frank Baum frames the civilized Oz not as a land of peril and adventure but as a land of wonder and delight. (“Civilizes” might seem like a questionable term for me to use, so put a pin in that.) Ozma’s “civilized” Oz is a counterpoint to the “big, cold, outside world” (Road to Oz 196). This outside world refers to the mundane labor and economic deprivation of the cruel, bleak United States and also the various analogous scary and unfriendly people and monsters who live outside Oz, including Evoldo, the Mangaboos, the Scoodlers, the Phanfasms, the Boolooroo of Sky Island, the Raks, Cor and Gos, and other tyrants and evil spirits. Chief among these is the Nome King, the only major recurring villain in the series.

A number of commentators have interpreted Ozma’s Oz as a utopia, including Sally Roesch Wagner in “The Wonderful Mother of Oz” and Suzanne Rahn in “Beneath the Surface of Ozma of Oz,” both of which I will return to below. Jack Zipes also understands Baum’s Oz as a socialist, matriarchal utopia in “Inverting and Subverting the World With Hope” in Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion. All three of these writers take Oz as a rejection or condemnation of American capitalism, though bizarrely Wagner and Zipes both interpret the Oz of the original novel, where travel is deadly and there are multiple slave-driving dictators, as already utopian. I will start by exploring what values distinguish Oz as good and correspondingly define the nature of evil in the Oz novels, concentrating on the first six books but drawing from Baum’s later work as well.

Content warning: This portion will not be on Tumblr, at least not now. But to spoil the big twist, this essay will quote and cite some very racist material. I will also discuss, with nothing graphic or detailed, genocide and other heavy topics that might be upsetting to some readers. I do not present these subjects to be shocking but hope to ultimately teach something or other.

Because Baum originally intended to end the series with The Emerald City of Oz, it serves to an extent as a statement of the series’ values overall. In this novel, the utopian, nonviolent Oz is pitted against the decidedly not-utopian Nome King and the Whimsies, Growleywogs, and Phanfasms, who want to pillage the land and enslave its people. Fittingly, for the first time, Baum describes the Ozite economy in detail. At least, this is the economy of Oz after Ozma and her allies “civilize” the land. The entire passage is relevant:

[The Emerald City] has nine thousand, six hundred and fifty-four buildings, in which lived fifty-seven thousand three hundred and eighteen people, up to the time my story opens.

All the surrounding country, extending to the borders of the desert which enclosed it upon every side, was full of pretty and comfortable farmhouses, in which resided those inhabitants of Oz who preferred country to city life. [Later novels contradict this claim, filling Oz with jungles, dangerous mountains, and other urban centers.]

Altogether there were more than half a million people in the Land of Oz—although some of them, as you will soon learn, were not made of flesh and blood as we are—and every inhabitant of that favored country was happy and prosperous.

No disease of any sort was ever known among the Ozites, and so no one ever died unless he met with an accident that prevented him from living. This happened very seldom, indeed. There were no poor people in the Land of Oz, because there was no such thing as money, and all property of every sort belonged to the Ruler. The people were her children, and she cared for them. Each person was given freely by his neighbors whatever he required for his use, which is as much as any one may reasonably desire. Some tilled the lands and raised great crops of grain, which was divided equally among the entire population, so that all had enough. There were many tailors and dressmakers and shoemakers and the like, who made things that any who desired them might wear. Likewise there were jewelers who made ornaments for the person, which pleased and beautified the people, and these ornaments were free to those who asked for them. Each man and woman, no matter what he or she produced for the good of the community, was supplied by the neighbors with food and clothing and a house and furniture and ornaments and games. If by chance the supply ever ran short, more was taken from the great storehouses of the Ruler, which were afterward filled up again when there was more of any article than the people needed.

Every one worked half the time and played half the time, and the people enjoyed the work as much as they did the play, because it is good to be occupied and to have something to do. There were no cruel overseers set to watch them, and no one to rebuke them or to find fault with them. So each one was proud to do all he could for his friends and neighbors, and was glad when they would accept the things he produced. (29–31)

The Tin Woodman also clarifies some of the economic system in The Road to Oz:

“If we used money to buy things with, instead of love and kindness and the desire to please one another, then we should be no better than the rest of the world,” declared the Tin Woodman. “Fortunately money is not known in the Land of Oz at all. We have no rich, and no poor; for what one wishes the others all try to give him, in order to make him happy, and no one in Oz cares to have more than he can use.” (164)

In “Beneath the Surface of Ozma of Oz,” Rahn draws parallels between Baum’s description of the Oz in these two novels and the socialist utopia in William Morris’s News from Nowhere (Rahn 26). The civilized Oz certainly resembles a utopian communist dictatorship but wears the clothing of a hereditary monarchy. There is no rule by the proletariat, for there are no proletariat, landowners, or bosses in Oz, yet there is a single ruler whose legitimacy rests on her being the daughter of the king who ruled before the advent of the Wizard and the Wicked Witches. Private property has been abolished through, paradoxically, the universal private ownership of all property by Ozma, who allows this property to be shared equitably among the people—how fortunate for the Ozites that Ozma stops aging. The abundance of material wealth, particularly gems and precious metals, is used in ostentatious displays, but these resources are common enough that they are ubiquitous among all Ozites. The people receive everything they desire. They work and produce of their own free will for nothing but satisfaction and the benefit of themselves and their neighbors. Baum might as well have included the famous socialist slogan “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

In the “uncivilized” Oz of the original novels, the economic system is contrary to that outlined in The Emerald City. The Wicked Witches force the Munchkins and Winkies to live in terror and perform slave labor to benefit their rulers, and even among the Ozites themselves there are property-based class differences. The law of the uncivilized Oz is exactly the opposite of that of Ozma’s communal utopia, as the fraud Wizard makes explicit: “You have no right to expect me to send you back to Kansas unless you do something for me in return. In this country everyone must pay for everything he gets” (128). Of course, the Wizard says this knowing he cannot pay Dorothy what he owes her. The contrast to this earlier Land of Oz emphasizes the utopian nature of Ozma’s socialist Oz, which rejects the harsh American “no free lunches” morality the (as yet) unenlightened Wizard carries over from his US homeland. Hence it is civilized, while what came before is not.

The existence of multiple monarchies means Oz cannot be communist in the sense leftists would usually understand the term. However, a communist ideology, as history attests, is by no means incompatible with dictatorship in the normal sense everyone uses, as is present in Baum’s Oz, rather than in the less intuitive sense of the class dictatorship that capital-C Communists intend. Furthermore, the material conditions of Oz are the most ideal version of a one-person communist dictatorship, so the dispute is only semantic, particularly because, unlike existing countries with lived complexity, none of this is real.

Another central aspect is that Oz is pastoral. Even the Emerald City, the largest urban center, has a tiny population of 57318. As Richard Tuerk points out in Oz in Perspective, this is the size of a small town and so a suitable capital for an idealized rural country (197). Note also that the above description of the economy features agriculturalists and artisans but no factories. There is metallurgy used to ornament buildings and people with the abundant gold but no industry or machines.

However, electricity is used: Ozma’s throne room contains “two electric fountains” (Emerald City 54), Oz has the infrastructure for the Shaggy Man to construct a wireless telegraph in The Patchwork Girl of Oz, the Wizard invents cellular phones decades early in Tik-Tok of Oz, and illustrations depict Jack Pumpkinhead’s house having electrical wires (Road 4) and Ozma keeping a telephone on her desk (Emerald City 192). The question of electricity generation is not explained at risk of undermining the fantasy of the redress of all social ills through mutual aid and abundance created without coercive authority. The answer is presumably magic, which Ozma strictly regulates.

In effect, for Oz, magic may correspond to industrial and electrical technology. Consider that Tik-Tok, a robot man, is explicitly a machine but is also magic, proven by how he can only function in fairy lands and not in the mundane world. “I do not sup-pose such a per-fect ma-chine as I am could be made in an-y place but a fair-y land,” as Tik-Tok says (Ozma of Oz 52). The utopian element is in the careful regulation and control of technology, preventing it from overwhelming people’s lives and destroying the idyllic natural beauty that Baum’s narration frequently describes. In the uncivilized Oz, magic runs rampant, the Wicked Witches using it to terrorize and enslave people, while in the “big, cold, outside world,” figures such as the Nome King use magic to similar ends. As Gore Vidal observed, “[C]ontrolled magic enhances the society just as controlled industrialization could enhance (and perhaps even salvage) a society like ours. Unfortunately, the Nome King has governed the United States for more than a century” (quoted in Zipes).

In “The Wonderful Mother of Oz,” Wagner argues that Baum infused his novels with feminist and theosophist concepts in conversation with his mother-in-law, the suffragette Matilda Joslyn Gage. According to Wagner, Baum modeled Oz off of the prehistoric feminist utopia described in Gage’s 1893 Woman, Church and State. Wagner writes, “Gage described a period of matriarchy in the world’s history before private property, industrialization, and organized religion introduced inequality, greed, and genocide. The female principle—the creative principle—was held sacred and supreme, and cooperation, not competition, was the order of the day” (10). While the girls in Oz are traditionally feminine save only the Wicked Witches, they also dominate the land. By the time of The Emerald City, the most powerful individuals in Oz are Glinda, Ozma, and Dorothy, later joined by Trot in The Scarecrow of Oz. Even in the “uncivilized” Oz, men such as the Wizard and Omby Amby (the Soldier with the Green Whiskers) are ineffective, whereas Dorothy, the Wicked Witches, Jinjur, Mombi, and Glinda possess genuine cunning and power.

The Marvelous Land of Oz may appear to contradict the general feminism of the series. However, Wagner offers a feminist reading. The novel concerns a group of boys (Tip, Jack, the Sawhorse, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Woggle-Bug) who face the all-woman Army of Revolt, unserious and childish girls parodying suffragettes. The woman soldiers are frivolous and incompetent, and their leader, Jinjur, does not aim for gender equality but to rule over men, as in the ugliest anti-feminist caricature of the period. However, women are genuinely powerful. The male-dominated Oz is completely powerless and easily falls, and the Army of Revolt prove competent antagonists. When Tip and his group reach the Emerald City and find men engaged in wifely chores, the Scarecrow has this interaction with one of the exhausted husbands that highlights the value and difficulty of domestic labor:

“I’m glad you have decided to come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald City.” “Hm!” said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully. “If it is such hard work as you say, how did the women manage it so easily?” “I really do not know,” replied the man, with a deep sigh. “Perhaps the women are made of cast-iron.” (170–171)

Wagner takes this to mean that the men have a newfound appreciation for the value of feminine labor. Jinjur ultimately loses but not to any men, none of whom are capable of the task. Instead, Glinda defeats her with a different all-woman army. Unlike Jinjur’s comical soldiers who fight with knitting needles and want new jewelry, Baum treats Glinda’s militant women with relative respect and seriousness, demonstrating women can be effective. “[T]hese soldiers of the great Sorceress were entirely different from those of Jinjur’s Army of Revolt, although they were likewise girls. For Glinda’s soldiers wore neat uniforms and bore swords and spears; and they marched with a skill and precision that proved them well trained in the arts of war” (237).

Furthermore, in the end, the boy hero Tip must become or even mature into a girl, Ozma, to prevail over Jinjur, though Wagner overstates when claiming the story “exposes the social construction of gender in all its complexity” (11). Jinjur’s childish scheme to invert gender roles fails, but a girl, Ozma, nonetheless ends up ruling with the authentic womanly power that Jinjur wants to see enthroned. The women also celebrate liberation from Jinjur (282–283). Instead of the supremacy of women, Ozma ensures equality.

The ascendancy of kind women instead of conquering Wicked Witches and a false Wizard is pivotal to the civilizing of Oz. It is Ozma’s gender equality and feminine power that changes the bleak albeit colorful land into a utopia. Later injustices are also corrected through the elevation of women and the removal of power from ill-intentioned men. In The Scarecrow of Oz, the Scarecrow, acting on behalf of the female Glinda, deposes Jinxland’s wicked King Krewl, a man, and Gloria, a woman, ascends the throne, ensuring peace and justice. Oz is a feminist utopia, particularly by the standards of the early twentieth century, when women in most of the United States were legally barred from even voting.

The legitimacy of power in Oz stems from mutual love enshrined in metaphorical kinship ties between ruler and subject. Good rulers, in Baum’s stories, are those who keep their subjects satisfied and who rule by consent. The people are Ozma’s “children,” whom she “[cares] for” (Emerald City 30). The series furnishes ample evidence of the love and devotion the Ozites have for Ozma:

“The Wonderful Wizard was never so wonderful as Queen Ozma,” the people said to one another, in whispers; “for he claimed to do many things he could not do; whereas our new Queen does many things no one would ever expect her to accomplish.” (Marvelous Land 285)

Everywhere the people turned out to greet their beloved Ozma. (Ozma of Oz 256)

And now they came in sight of the Emerald City, and the people flocked out to greet their lovely ruler. […] Thus the beautiful Ozma was escorted by a brilliant procession to her royal city, and so great was the cheering that she was obliged to constantly bow to the right and left to acknowledge the greetings of her subjects. (ibid. 258)

Everything about Ozma attracted one, and she inspired love and the sweetest affection rather than awe or ordinary admiration. (Road to Oz 204)

They [the people of Oz] were peaceful, kind-hearted, loving and merry, and every inhabitant adored the beautiful girl who ruled them, and delighted to obey her every command. (Emerald City 31–32)

A similar order prevails for Ozma’s subordinate rulers in the individual countries of Oz. The Wicked Witch of the West rules the Winkies through terror, using the people as her slaves. After her death, the Tin Woodman becomes the Emperor of the Winkies not through coercion or hereditary power but because “they invited him to rule over them” for his role in defeating her (Marvelous Land 121–122). Baum is concise: “Every one loved him, and he loved every one” (Road 164).

Wagner claims there is no coercive authority in Oz. While Ozma maintains a military, they are a mere twenty-seven people, adults pretending to be soldiers by dressing in military uniforms. A single infantryman, Omby Amby, is present in the first three novels, but his subsequent promotion means that the Emerald City military cannot execute violence. Afterward, Omby Amby becomes the single policeman in Oz instead. For Oz does have crime and punishment.

The Patchwork Girl furnishes an example of the legal system when Omby Amby (probably—his identity is inconsistent) arrests Ojo. Baum emphasizes this is extraordinary. Ojo is the first person arrested in Oz in “a good many years” (188), long enough that Omby Amby believed there was no reason for him to be the country’s only policeman. As stated in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, crime almost never occurs: “the people of that Land [Oz] were generally so well-behaved that there was not a single lawyer amongst them, and it had been years since any Ruler had sat in judgment upon an offender of the law” (237). Presumably, self-actualized and with their material needs satisfied, few people in Oz have any reason for crime, at least in the portions aligned with Ozma rather than “uncivilized” regions such as Jinxland.

The system that exists is humane. The prisoner’s identity is hidden from the public so that his reputation will not be damaged, and the prison itself is a luxurious house plated with gold and gemstones. Ojo receives lovelier meals than many impoverished people in the US, and the jailer, Tollydiggle, is more a kindly innkeeper than a guard. “The purpose of prison” in Oz, writes Wagner, is not “vengeance” as in the US but “helping the offender to build strength of character” (11). Ojo requires scant rehabilitation before his trial, where Ozma and the Wizard quickly find him guilty on the basis of their surveillance but pardon him no less swiftly. Ozma and Glinda maintain the peace through nonviolent means.

Furthermore, mercy and forgiveness are recurring valued traits. The good Ozites forgive not only minor offenders such as Ojo and Pipt but even seditious, dangerous enemies. Ozma spares Mombi’s life despite the years of abuse she personally endured as the latter’s slave, for instance, and Dorothy accepts Ugu’s heartfelt apology for his coup in The Lost Princess of Oz. While Oz has rulers, then, they do not possess or exercise coercive authority. “Ozma’s decision-making power rests literally and absolutely in carrying out the will of the people. Embedded in a truly egalitarian system, power comes from the people; it is not exercised over them. Respect for differences is a given” (Wagner 10).

Finally, Oz indeed respects difference, likely at least part of the reason for its lasting appeal among queer audiences, as Dee Michel describes in “Not in Kansas Anymore: The Appeal of Oz for Gay Males.” Michel primarily focuses on the MGM adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but he does not neglect the novels. In particular, he notes the presence of non-traditionally masculine men such as the compassionate, tearful dandy the Tin Woodman or the Cowardly Lion, a “sissy” who wears a bow in his mane: “they are about as un-macho as one can get and still be recognizably male” (Michel 34).

While Michel mentions the high level of physical affection present between the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, he neglects to note more overtly queer themes present in Baum’s text. Ozma is often read as transgender: seemingly a boy, she is a girl whose true nature the “uncivilized” version of Oz conceals from her until she succeeds in becoming her authentic self. Ozma and Dorothy’s mutual affection may appear to extend beyond what modern readers would take as just friendship. The two hug, smooch, and hold hands; live together; never show any romantic interest in any boys; and appear kissing each other on the lips in at least two of John R. Neill’s illustrations. Chick, originally appearing in John Dough and the Cherub before meeting Dorothy in The Road to Oz, is gender ambiguous or nonbinary, rejecting both boyhood and girlhood. Scraps reads as a queer allegory. “I must be the supreme freak. […] But I’m glad—I’m awfully glad!—that I’m just what I am, and nothing else” (Patchwork Girl 57). She rejects the birth name her oppressive parents Margolotte and Pipt intend for her, defiantly and joyfully embraces her unconventional identity, and rejects conservative gender roles in the country of the Horners.

“You have some queer friends, Dorothy,” [Polychrome] said. “The queerness doesn’t matter, so long as they’re friends,” was the answer (Road 184).

Queerness, then, is welcome in Oz—especially uncommon given that Baum wrote them from 1900 to 1919. Michel proceeds to observe that diversity is a key value of Oz and quotes other writers on the subject:

Willard Carroll notes that “[Oz is] a community that celebrates the ultimate in creativity and diversity.” Similarly, Suzanne Rahn observes that “the characters themselves…are…fiercely tolerant of the outlandish, respecting, cherishing such rickety, sagging, unlikely colleagues as the Frogman, the Shaggy Man and Prof. H. M. Wogglebug, T.E.—a community of eccentrics. In Oz, they belong” (34).

Michel states, “All minorities would likely find Oz’s diversity compelling” (36). Put a pin in that. In addition to social outcasts, however, Baum treats Oz specifically as offering freedom from the capitalism of “the big, cold, outside world” in both The Road to Oz and The Emerald City. The former involves an American vagrant, the Shaggy Man, who “[has] slept more in hay-lofts and stables than in comfortable rooms” (196). In the mundane US, he is shunned and disliked, presumably for his frightening appearance and poverty. He steals the magical Love Magnet to force people to like him: “no one loved me, or cared for me, […] and I wanted to be loved a great deal” (208). The “big, cold, outside world” forces him to commit crime to have any hope of receiving love. However, in Oz, Shaggy is astonished to be welcomed into palaces and receive the treatment of a royal, for Oz “[has] no rich, and no poor” (165) and the people value only love, not money. So he chooses to remain there, though continues to wander the land for fun.

Similarly, in The Emerald City, Dorothy’s Uncle Henry and Aunt Em receive liberation from their poverty and debt in Kansas by moving to Oz. Baum depicts US life as brutal and withering. In The Wonderful Wizard, Dorothy, Henry, and Em inhabit a one-room shack. Henry “[works] hard from morning till night and [does] not know what joy [is]” (13). This life literally removes hope and happiness from Em: “[The sun and wind] had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray […] She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled, now” (12). After the cyclone destroys the house, Henry builds a new one, yet his health declines until he can no longer work. With the mortgage unpaid, the family is doomed to lose their home. In Oz, however, Henry and Em are overwhelmed with gold and gems and dressed in regal Munchkin clothing, with merry servants sparing them from ever working again.

“I’ve been a slave all my life,” Aunt Em replied, with considerable cheerfulness, “and so was Henry. I guess we won’t go back to Kansas, anyway” (269–270).

Slavery and freedom are major preoccupations throughout the series. The chief crime of the Wicked Witches, Nomes, Queen Cor and King Gos, and other powerful antagonists is the enslavement of others. Given the Em’s above comment, then, life in the economic conditions of the ordinary world is tantamount to slavery. The assorted evil forces outside of Oz correspond to the mundane violence of real societies, as Jack Zipes observes: “Baum draws a parallel between the bankers, who are merciless and crush old farmers who can no longer be employed because of bad health, and the Nome King and his allies, the Whimsies, Growleywogs, and Phanfasms, who want to enslave people to attain wealth and power.” Recall that Vidal similarly takes the Nome King to suggest the prevailing economic order of the US.

In The Emerald City, when the invasion of the Nome King and the evil spirits is imminent, Ozma and Oz further demonstrate utopian values in a nearly suicidal commitment to nonviolence. Ozma refuses to flee, believing she must share her subjects’ fate, and though the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Shaggy Man advise Ozma to fight the Nome King, she rejects violent solutions because “No one has the right to destroy any living creatures, however evil they may be, or to hurt them or make them unhappy” (268).

The Scarecrow peacefully outwits the evil legions, deceiving them into drinking Glinda’s Water of Oblivion that reverts these miserable backstabbers to childhood innocence. Importantly, the Lethe-like Water of Oblivion makes them happier by erasing their greed and hatred: “The frowns and scowls and evil looks were all gone. Even the most monstrous of the creatures there assembled smiled innocently and seemed lighthearted and content merely to be alive” (284). The wicked Nome King himself becomes kind, at least until Tik-Tok of Oz, when he reverts to cruelty as a consequence not of his nature but of his office. Instead of plundering, enslaving, or scolding her now-harmless enemies, Ozma sends every one of the invaders back to their homes unharmed.

This nonviolence is fantastical and has no practical analogue to the real world—maybe, put a pin in that—yet serves as an ultimate statement of values. In the tradition of (stated) Christian ethics, Oz not only responds to violence with love but also redeems the wicked: “[T]o have reformed all those evil characters is more important than to have saved Oz” (289). The Wizard, Jinjur, Ugu, and eventually the Nome King himself, who drinks the Water of Oblivion a second time in The Magic of Oz and lastingly becomes innocent and happy, all receive similar second chances.

In the conventional and probably intended reading, Ozma’s Oz is an agrarian utopia representing progressive values: the end of private property, women’s power, tolerance and acceptance, and even police and prison abolition. But to what extent do the Nome King and the Whimsies, Growleywogs, and Phanfasms really represent greed, exploitation, and mercilessness?

Find out the answer to this question (and much more!) by reading on over at my website...

#oz #wizard of oz #ozma #nome king #baum #utopia

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lansplaining · 1 year

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Why did JGY make trouble for Jim Zixuan on the night Wen Ning killed him by accident? I didn’t understand that part of the novel/cql.

i've talked about this before, but a) I can't find it because tumblr and b) I'm always really excited to talk about it again, because clarifying this moment really made such a huge difference in my understanding of JGY's character. also as soon as i started really digging in, it, uh, became a huge post. sorry.

so my initial instinct was to draw a really sharp delineation between CQL and MDZS, because the second flautist completely changes the tenor of the event. and to a certain extent, it does! CQL JGY had a reasonable expectation that JZX would show up and get killed, because he knew the second flautist could take control of Wen Ning, or at the very least cause things to totally go to hell, hopefully in a way that also resulted in Wei Wuxian being killed. but when it comes to the question of motivation, the two are actually way more aligned than I realized-- it’s simply a case of CQL JGY directing his feelings in a more active (”villainous”) way.

so, CQL first. when Lan Xichen asks if he “singlehandedly” arranged for Jin Zixuan to die, he says (from the Netflix subs), “It’s true I didn’t run into him by accident.” WWX demands details, and we get a flashback to JGY manipulating Zixuan into going after Jin Zixun. I guess we can assume he had a backup plan for getting him there if this very light-touch tactic didn’t work, but it does seem worth noting that he doesn’t even begin to explicitly suggest that Jin Zixuan should follow-- it’s really an amazing display of how JGY has gotten to know and understand Zixuan a million times better than Zixuan (who literally suggests that JGY should have tried to stop Zixun...... Zixuan please have you observed your family dynamics at all) has bothered to get to know JGY. Then we cut to Su Mishan playing the flute as JGY plays the guqin (remote control evil music??) and the implication seems to be that ‘kill Zixuan’ was directly part of the musical instruction Wen Ning received.

okay, so, as Jin Ling immediately asks (and can we give props to the mix of anger and sadness and disbelief and betrayal of the very obvious love and trust he has in JGY in his performance!!!)-- why?

JGY (after tearfully reaching for Jin Ling’s face and then recoiling!!! this scene makes me crazy!!!!) replies: “Why? A-Ling. Could you please tell me why? Tell me. Why do I put a smile on my face for everyone, yet I won’t necessarily receive the lowest form of respect in return while your father, who was arrogant and self-important, was sought after by people? Can you tell me why, even though we shared the same father, your dad could spend the day at home at leisure, with the love of his life and playing with his child, while I had to be deployed by my father by blood to do all the dirty work without even getting the slightest appreciation? Why is it that even though we were born on the same day, Jin Guangshan could host a grand banquet for one son and meanwhile, watch with his own eyes how his subordinate kicked his other son down the Carp Tower? He asked his man to kick me down the Carp Tower from the top of the stairs to the very end. A-Ling, now you tell me, why did all these things happen to me?

I believe this is our first time learning this story from JGY’s own mouth, and the first time we see the flashback of him actually being kicked down the stairs while JGS looks on.

He concludes: “It is not that I do not want to be a good man. To this father of mine, I once had hopes as well. In the past, as long as it was his command, no matter if it was to set Wei Wuxian up or to protect Xue Yang, no matter how foolish it was, how much hatred I would get, I would obey without hesitation. A-Ling, do you know what it was that made me lose hope completely? It wasn’t that in his eyes I was less than nothing to him when compared to Jin Zixuan, or that he took back Mo Xuanyu, or that he wouldn’t even let me hold you, or that he tried every possible way to make me a mere figurehead.”

by this point, he’s totally forgotten about JZX and we’re basically back onto why he killed JGS.

as for MDZS! from the ExR translation because that's uh the screencap I have saved from last time lol

then, WWX asks why, if that’s the case, he had to kill JZX, and JGY gives a sassy reply that basically dodges the question.

so, in typical JGY fashion in this scene, he starts out with the pettiest and most uncharitable interpretation of his own actions, the one he seems to expect people will most readily accept and jump to. but as he goes on, it gets a little more complex.

the thing that he barely touches in either version but is very distinctly present-- and that totally poleaxed me the first time I noticed it-- is that Jin Guangshan had ordered him to kill Wei Wuxian. and his very reasonable response to this is, 'okay, but literally how???'

the CQL version hammers home way more than MDZS, because of where and how it reveals information, that JGY is undoubtedly fueled by envy and resentment of JZX and the fact that he has the life JGY feels like he deserved. like MDZS, this bleeds into thinking about his dad, and MDZS ultimately lays it out for us (if we believe that line of narration) that it was really about hating JGS and not Zixuan at all. i think CQL’s arrangement of information nudges things back a little more to the envy argument, but it does so in a way where we’re given new, sympathetic information about JGY all in a rush, and shown it in flashback so that it can really actively hit. and I think the reactions we get from the characters who hear this are kind of sympathetic! they’re clearly extremely conflicted about this whole situation, but no one is reacting with outright disbelief or disgust. i think this works well in the world with a second flautist (my feelings about that plot device are for a different time, but you can guess, I’m sure)-- more active resentment of Zixuan specifically leads to him deciding more actively to murder Zixuan, not just try and make life hard for him in a way that will likely lead to violence, but not inevitably death.

so this is how I interpret JGY's thought process in the moment he sent Zixuan to follow Wei Wuxian: he has been ordered to kill WWX, and presumably told to use his journey to or time at Koi Tower for the 100 Days Ceremony to do it. JGY recognizes that this is probably impossible, and definitely impossible without causing massive collateral damage. his resentment of Jin Zixuan hits a boiling point at this-- on top of everything else, their father is happy to basically send JGY to his death to attempt this assassination while JZX gets to happily plan a party for his baby and not think about these things at all. he thinks, “wouldn't it be nice if JZX had to deal with these problems for once,” and decides “fuck it, let's see what happens” (or, in CQL, “fuck it, let’s get rid of him”). in MDZS, he has no way of knowing that JZX or indeed anyone else would be killed, though I think he's not so naive as to think that violence isn't a likely outcome-- though one has to say that the form of violence that did take place was pretty unexpected to everyone involved! Zixuan’s a strong cultivator, he could have survived most normal fights, probably even against a normal Wen Ning. but as an active fratricide attempt, it's way too contingent and uncontrolled.

in MDZS, at the end of the day, I think that JGY was just really angry, wanted some petty revenge, and decided to see what would happen if JZX was in his place for once. the tenor in CQL is only slightly different: he actively chooses to try and get Zixuan killed, but the emotional push is the same, and I do think is likewisesomething that just comes together in the moment from a combination of the immediate problem (I’m meant to kill WWX before he gets here) and immediate circumstances (fuck JZX and his nice little baby shower while I have to assassinate the most powerful cultivator in the world).

#book reference #show reference #ask answered #okay also pointing out typos annoys me so i didn't want to do it in the body #but Jim Zixuan made me CACKLE

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blossom-adventures · 4 months

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WIP WED… Ummm… Whatever!

I was tagged in WIP Wednesday yesterday by @bougainvillea-and-saltwater thank you my dear for the tag ☺️💙

Sooooo… I’ve been so caught up with my cosplay work that I haven’t had time to sit down and write, come the end of February I’ll be intending getting back to it but currently I just have too much to work on…

However! I can share a little update on things ☺️

First things first…

🤍 - Cosplay! It’s a lot of work but I’m so happy with how things are going so far, the Con is at the end of February so I’m limited on time but I’m not panicking… yet

The Buster Sword for Cloud is nearly finished as is Ardyn’s wing, but I still have Cloud’s harness, armour and wig to do, as I don’t own a sewing machine all of it is needing to be stitched by hand so it’s very time consuming

💚 - Legacy of the Herald! I am making notes of potential scenes on my tumblr drafts while I have small breaks from sewing (or when I run out of natural light) and I have also commissioned @sneaksandsweets to draw 3 scenes for me (and I may even ask for a 4th next month)

💙 - Far Horizons & Ancient Stones! This is currently in a bit of a hiatus, along with Blood Prophecy, I hope to return to it soon but as I’ve said it’s hard to focus on stories when I have a deadline for 2 cosplays 😅

�� - Guard & Glaive! I’ve been working on this in my spare time, like with LotH jotting down ideas in my drafts, I am wanting to continue with this one the most at the moment and I am determined to get back to it soon! I have written 3 things in my drafts for this in the last week, relationship dynamics between my OC and canon characters mainly, but it’s still something ☺️

Thank you once again for the tag, and I’m sorry it’s not more, hope everyone is well 🌸

#blossom rambles #wip wednesday

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wildflowerteas · 3 months

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hey, hello. i’m not sure if you’ll recognize me, but this is mania.sama on ao3, and i just now found your tumblr on my for you page. i havent had tumblr very long, and it’s surprised just how many people i’ve enjoyed works of (writing, drawings, etc) are here. especially surprised to see you — not in a bad way, of course!

i’m not sure what to say. sorry, maybe, for not reading / up to date with your current fic. i want to be reading it, i really do, but i was caught up reading “crime and punishment”, focusing on my academia, etc, among other issues that’s kept me away from committing to any long-form fanfictions. i wasn’t even reading one-shots or writing anything for a little while. hopefully i will be getting back onto your fic so, because from what little i’ve read already when you first posted it, it’s going to be life-changing.

i want to say more, i think. ask a question or two? i’m just very excited to see that your also drawing — amazing artwork for the second perspective!! i genuinely couldn’t believe it was real at first — and also a similar age to me, which i find nearly unbelievable due to your insane talent and skill.

hm. i think i’ll ask this question: what are your top favorite books? this could be fanfiction, short-form stories, novels, series, etc. you can list as many as you want; if they seem significant to you, have changed you, or were simply that well done and enjoyable. you dont need to treat this as a book recommendation; think not what other people should read. just express your own thoughts on why you have chosen these works as your favorite! i’m excited to see what you have to say (should you chose to answer, of course!)

again, hopefully i will read the second perspective soon <3 thank you so much for all the work you’ve done so far.

OH MY GOD IT'S YOUUU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to start this off by saying you quite literally changed my life. I go back from time to time and I read our little conversation in my comments threads and I get a little teary-eyed ( embarrassingly ). You gave me such a different perspective on my own writing and I've spent a while wishing there was something I could do to make you feel the same way in return. Do NOT apologize for not reading it!!! I'm absolutely in awe and so grateful you enjoyed the first one so much and if you enjoy TSP too that would actually make my head spin. Also, we're the same age?????? Hello?????? I'm so glad to hear about your life in the interim, though. I hope you enjoyed Crime and Punishment ( isn't it so good??? ). Also, you briefly mentioned writing yourself, so I may have to go back and stalk your profile for your works now.

Hmmm . . . to answer your question. This is pretty difficult because I've loved a lot of books over the years for nothing specific at all ( some of them are quite ridiculous if I'm being honest ). But here goes nothing:

When I was little ( maybe three-four ish? ), I loved Tumtum & Nutmeg, a series about a mouse couple living inside of a refurbished cupboard, because the books always came with recipes at the back ( that I would make for my family ). When I think about reading/my favorite books when I was a child, I always go back to this blurry rose-colored vision of me sitting on the couch at seven a.m., Tuesday morning, waiting to go to school, and talking my mother's ear off about the pastries in the book while Planet Earth plays on the TV. Lately, though, I've enjoyed reading Breasts and Eggs by Kawakami Mieko. Which, for a lot of reasons, has deeply resonated with me and kind of ruined my life. Womanhood in Japan, and womanhood in general, is dissected so well and explored with a lot of different character perspectives. It's just an incredible work and deeply personal to me as a queer, Japanese, and afab person. Empire of Pain, which was recommended to me by a friend, has become one of my favorite books as well. I've never really done well with non-fiction, but reading about the Sacklers definitely changed that. No Longer Human, and School Girl by Dazai Osamu. NLH I read in a school context ( Japanese language-learning classes ) and I wasn't really allowed to love it because of that ( who likes required reading? ). But I went back to it a few years later, when I was really struggling mentally, and it became something to me that I can't quite name or place. Not really a comfort. I'd actually say it was more of a wake-up call to teen me that actually prompted me to seek out help and rip down the fourth wall I'd put up between myself and others. School Girl I love for more technical reasons. Dazai really was a once-in-a-century talent. Poor Folk, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, was my reading-for-enjoyment book during spring semester of my first year at college. I loved a lot about it, but it's on this list because I'm emotionally attached to the characters because we were together for so long. On a less serious note: Bungo Stray Dogs ( Obviously, despite whatever Asagiri is cooking up) and Yona of the Dawn by Kusanagi Mizuho. Next to BSD, it's one of the manga I've been a fan of for over a decade, and I just could not imagine my life without it. Flowers for Algernon. I read this . . . oh gosh. Years ago. And I never reread it. That's all I'll say about that. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata. Again, a Japanese author ( there would be more, but I'm keeping myself contained here ) who would have thought? I think, by now, it's pretty clear I'm Japanese myself. Kira-Kira ( a Japanese onomatopoeia/mimetic word meaning 'sparkling' ) was a tearjerker, yes, but it also made me look out into the world and at my own identity with a much kinder lens. I fell in love with my own name ( which is the mimetic word for 'smile' --- niko-niko ) all over again. And I think, for that, it makes the list.

Honestly, I'm not sure these are my favorites. They're just the ones that come to my mind when I think about reading and liking literature in general. I'm sure if I was an English major or a CompLit major ( or if I was feeling particularly pretentious today ), I'd have more to say about them in terms of actual 'quality' or about their themes, but I don't.

I also want to say thank you so much for reaching out and asking this!! it's been so fun ( especially since I just got done writing a mind-boggling mess of a chapter for TSP hehe ). I really enjoyed talking to you the first time around and now that you're here on tumblr!!! I hope we can interact more I'd really love to be friends :,) <3 tysm agh. I hope you're having the loveliest of days. niko <3

#ask #writing

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