#descendants fandom has problems
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How do I tell my husband he got scammed into buying a lion?
✧ jing yuan x gn!reader
✧ summary: during one autumn afternoon you're suddenly faced with another one of your husband's impulsive purchases. only that this time it's a living being.
✧ content: established relationship, fluff, humor, might be a bit ooc
✧ a/n: hello there hsr fandom! i have unfortunately lost the battle against myself on making another sideblog for jing yuan, the man who has singlehandedly occupied my mind since his first appearance in the beta. i do hope that this will actually appear in the tags, but every infomation you would need if you want to request something is all up on the blog if you so wish! i hope we can have a pleasant time together !!
also this is not beta-read, we die like how fast my resolve to not create a jing yuan blog died.
Being the spouse of the Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu comes with it's share of benefits and disadvantages. For one you're regarded at a higher position than most of it's citizens, often being stopped on the side of the road when taking a walk to exchange numerous pleasantries with merchants from outside of Xianzhou, various store owners or cloud knights on duty.
Another factor is shouldering the burden your husband has on his shoulder, an oath you had taken yourself the day you accepted Jing Yuan's nth proposal. You considered that a fair trade with his vast knowledge and insight into a possible future and doing everything behind the scene to avoid colliding headfirst into said problem. A feat that attracted you towards the general in the first place, minus his dashing looks of course.
The biggest disadvantage of publicly announcing that you were indeed the Arbiter-General's significant other was doing everything within your power to not throw your husband's famous title away for a newer, more terrible one. (more utc!)
Because as you see him walking up the steps of the Seat of Divine Foresight, your gaze is not locked with your husband's smiling face, rather it's fixated on the small being he has cradled in his arms. The soft smile you had quickly spreading into a more nervous and confused smile as you glance over at Qingzu, the counselor looking at you with just as much confusion.
How in the world did you manage to leave him alone out in the market area for an hour and he comes back with a lion cub?
"[Name], darling! Look at this grimalkin that a merchant had!"
A what now?
"... A grimalkin, you say?" Every book that has recorded history had specified that the grimalkin species had gone extinct, and you were well aware that your husband knew this fact. And yet here you were, faced with his smile directed down towards what you can clearly tell is a lion cub, his thumb pressing down at its paws affectionately.
You're starting to think that Yanqing's impulsive purchases with his sword collection aligns with your own husband's impulsiveness.
Coughing loudly into your hand, you take a deep breath before descending down the stairs to be on the same level as Jing Yuan, peering down onto the cub's face. It was indeed cute, and judging by how enamored Jing Yuan is, you can clearly tell that it's small stature is what attracted him to it in the first place.
Oh he's going to be crushed when it grows up, "It's adorable, Jing Yuan," you settle on saying, waving a finger over the lion's grimalkin face, the animal lifting its paws to try to grab it. You shoot a look towards Qingzu, a silent command for her to look into which outer merchant was now scamming people into buying literal lions. The counselor quickly excusing herself to look into the matter immediately, Jing Yuan only giving her a smile and a wave of his hand as she scurries down the stairs.
"Right? I decided to name it Mimi," he muses, and your heart breaks a tiny bit for him, but there are more pressing matters at hand than the fact that your husband once again got scammed because he was most likely bored out of his mind.
You would rather that the Xianzhou citizens know him as "The Dozing General" instead of the general that gets scammed a few times too many. How does one even go on about trying to tell their husband that the grimalkin in his arms is actually a lion?
"A fitting name indeed," you mutter, raising a hand to caress Jing Yuan's cheek, a simple gesture to make the general direct his attention to you. However, you could still see that his guard was slightly up with you. You only chuckle at that, leaning in to slide your lips over his own, Jing Yuan wasting no time to press back.
Another well hidden secret reserved for the walls of the Divine Foresight is the fact your husband is incredibly weak for his own spouse.
"... Want to tell me how much you paid for Mimi, dear?" you ask in a whisper when your lips part, thumb caressing over the mole under his eye.
Jing Yuan merely smiles, twisting his head to press his lips against your hand instead, "It was from my personal wallet, dear. Please don't fret over the small details."
"Darling, I hope you're aware that the small details would be the necessary funding for accomodation, toys and food, right?" you say with a chuckle, your husband freezing with his ministrations upon remembering that fact.
Oh well, you want to see how long it takes before your husband comes to realization that it's a lion. You just have to be extra vigilant towards the numerous fundings in the meantime.
While scrolling through your schedule for the next morning, your phone dings with a message from Qingzu. You quickly look down at Mimi whose resting on your belly and then at Jing Yuan whose sleeping self is still snoring away by your shoulder before letting out a small sigh in relief that the loud noise didn't awake any of them.
Qingzu:
Do I even have a say in this?
Was the message sent by Qingzu, attatched to it is a picture taken of what you can only presume is one of Jing Yuan's "diaries". The contents of it making you let out a low laugh, the shaking making said man beside you grumble before pressing his face into your neck.
Attatched image:
"Eventually, I paid hefty sum for the grimalkin, named it "Mimi", and took it home. Only that I'm too busy with official business and have little time to take care of Mimi. After thinking it over, chores like feeding it and changing its water should also be entrusted to Qingzu. I do wonder why [Name] looked so distraught when they first saw Mimi though. Maybe they didn't think I would favor the petite and small animals instead of the usual large and strong ones?"
[Name]:
So Qingzu, do you have an idea what the easiest way to tell someone they got scammed is?
Qingzu:
That is the role of the spouse, not the counselor.
#honkai star rail x reader#hsr x reader#honkai star rail imagines#star rail x reader#hsr x you#honkai star rail x you#jing yuan x reader#x reader#reader insert
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Fandom Problem #4605:
Bad-faith readers not understanding the difference between
"some of the characters' ideas and actions are pretty reprehensible, they are SUPPOSED to be and it actually gets addressed directly within the text itself", and
"some of the characters' ideas and actions are pretty reprehensible, and the author doesn't especially go out of their way to explain that this is bad, because the characters behave in realistic ways and in real life people say or do some iffy and off-color things WITHOUT a guardian angel descending from the heavens to explain to them why this is Wrong, because the author is writing for an audience that is presumably older than TV-Y7 so assumes their audience already has some prior grasp of right and wrong before picking up this book", and
"the author actually DOES hold these attitudes and opinions in real life and the text IS an actual reflection of their real-life morals".
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What we miss when we don't talk about friendship (in MDZS)
I'd like to open with the statement that this is not about shipping -- none of my thesis is to say "don't ship this" or "this ship isn't real." People can and have shipped whatever the hell they want and should continue to do so for as long as it makes you happy. It's not even a question of "sure you can ship it but it's not CANON," because the MXTX canon is wonderfully good at being ambiguous and supporting multiple interpretations.
What this thesis is to say is that some of these themes and motifs to explore are about friendship, and they don't tend to get talked about much, because people are mostly focused on the romantic and sexual dimensions of a dynamic. Romantic and sexual dimensions are great, but they don't annihilate or even subsume platonic dimensions -- yes, sometimes you can be a lover and a friend, but sometimes you can just be a friend and not a lover and that's no less important. As a post I saw recently said which stuck with me -- don't remember the poster, alas, but it was something in the vein of -- "it's not about the intensity of the relationship, but the flavor of it." Platonic character dynamics can be just as obsessive and consuming as romantic dynamics, they can be discussed and analyzed separately without needing to invalidate romantic and sexual dynamics.
So! That disclaimer aside, let's talk about: FRIENDSHIP IN MDZS, and what we miss when we don't talk about friendship as a dynamic in this story separate from romantic and sexual interest. Friendship shows up repeatedly in this story with its own sub-plots and arcs and undercurrents and hazards separate from the romance that's going on, and it's mostly going on with the Lans.
Part 1: Lan Xichen and friendship
A cornerstone of this analysis has to do with a meta post I read very early on in the fandom about the Lans when viewed through a Confucian lens. Lan Qiren in particular is a very, very Confucian character, and he raised his nephews to those traditions and values. The pertinent one here is the topic of the "Five relationships" which outline the relationships that a man of authority can expect to have throughout his lifetime: self to ancestors, self to descendents, self to authorities and subordinates, self to marriage partners, and self to friends. Each one comes with a set of strictures and requirements which when added up combine to a world that is very, very emotionally taxing and extremely short on interpersonal and emotional support. He is expected to obey and submit to guidance from his seniors, but he can't ask them for help. He is expected to lead and govern his subjects, but he can never be wrong or show weakness or doubt. It's especially important, I think, that Lan Xichen is raised to expect that even any romantic relationship he might have (read: marriage to a woman) would not actually be emotionally supportive to him in any meaningful way; it would be another set of obligations to uphold, another place he would be expected to be remote and poised and never show weakness or ask for help.
The exception is friendship. Friendship is the only relationship structure Lan Xichen can have in his life that has any hope of actually being nurturing and emotionally supporting to him, a place he can let down his guard and ask for help with the expectation of receiving it. It becomes very clear from very early on that friendship means everything to Lan Xichen as a character. He enters the story with a strong, supportive friendship with one of the only true peers a man of station can have (Nie Mingjue) and it's clear that this has formatively set his expectation of what a friendship can and should be. Lan Xichen really wants to be the Friendship Is Magic guy. He believes that friendship is the best way to solve problems, and that everybody would be able to solve their problems if only they had a friendship like his, and that belief is a lot of what runs him into a meat grinder later in the story. He thinks that Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao are capable of maintaining a friendship post-war, and does not understand why they cannot, and his attempts to friend-matchmake the two of them ultimately lead both to disaster.
Part 2: Lan Wangji and friendship
The header says Lan Wangji, but this is actually about Lan Xichen again, and about Wei Wuxian. A pretty common joke in the fandom is that Lan Xichen is "the #1 WangXian shipper," that he recognizes Lan Wangji's sexual and romantic attraction to Wei Wuxian from very early on and supports him in pursuing such a relationship. It's a nice joke, but I think it misses the mark, because the looming specter of their parents' disastrous and traumatic marriage means that Lan Xichen would never approach the idea of his brother entering into a romantic relationship so cavalierly. (Lan Qiren, in some ways, had a clearer notion of what shape Lan Wangji's interest in Wei Wuxian had the potential to be than Lan Xichen did, perhaps because he doesn't have the same obsession with friendship; if he has any close friendships of his own, we're not shown them.)
Lan Xichen is not encouraging Lan Wangji to have a romantic summer fling. Lan Xichen encourages his association with Wei Wuxian specifically because he thinks Lan Wangji needs friends. Not just in the sense of any parent or adult wanting their child to make friends, but specifically in the context of these restrictive hierarchical relationships that hem in their world. Lan Xichen is afraid that Lan Wangji will be alone, and emotionally starved, and have no one he can ask for help or rely on, because that is his experience of a world without friendship. (Lan Wangji, of course, is not in the same position as Lan Xichen because he has Lan Xichen to rely on.) Lan Xichen wants Lan Wangji to have the same kind of friendship that he himself has with Nie Mingjue, and he thinks that Wei Wuxian has the potential to be that kind of friend. That is the context in which he encourages their association, and tries to arrange for them to have time together, and to become closer; not as a potential romantic partner but as a steadfast emotional and logistical support through Lan Wangji's adult life.
If Lan Xichen knew that Lan Wangji would fall in love with Wei Wuxian (had already started to,) I'm not at all sure that he would have encouraged that. In pretty much any arc past the Lan Lectures, he doesn't, both because Wei Wuxian stopped being a good candidate for supportive friendship (he's clearly got too much of his own shit going on) and because he realizes that what is developing in Lan Wangji bears very little resemblence to his own relationships. He might not outright try to sabotage the relationship but he's clearly worried about its potential to bring disaster on Wangji -- and he's very correct to be worried, as it turns out.
Part 3: Lan Sizhui and friendship
So, All Of That Happens; Wei Wuxian dies, Lan Wangji is laid low for years and seems poised to grieve for the rest of his life; Nie Mingjue dies and takes Lan Xichen's support with him. Now we come to the present day, and the present day has Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi.
Let's take a moment to step back and ask from an analytical perspective: Why is Lan Jingyi, as a character, in the story? Assuming that in a novel as polished as MDZS, each element is included for good reasons. Why is Lan Jingyi in the story and why is he Lan Sizhui's best friend? In the new world we're introduced to, the Lan are already represented, and very positively represented by Lan Sizhui. Lan Jingyi provides a convenient avenue for both exposition-dumping and sass -- saying the things that everyone else is too polite to say -- but we could have gotten that through another character (Jin Ling also plays this role) or introduced another Junior who isn't Lan, like Ouyang Zizhen. Why is it important to the story that Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi are friends?
The Juniors in general represent hope for the world to change, hope for the new generation. In Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi, we see that the terrible loneliness that drove their seniors to disaster in the previous generation, is averted. Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi have a friendship that is close and true, and we are never given reason to doubt it. Their priorities are aligned; it's unlikely that Sect politics or personality conflicts will ever drive them apart. They have what Lan Xichen craved: a friendship that will support them through tragedy and disaster. Their friendship stands to demonstrate that in the new generation, things will get better.
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Title: Eye of the Hurricane
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial
[NOTE: I had to create this gif as no existing gif that I wanted of this scene previously existed in the gifs search. This gif belongs to me.]
Word count: 1,004
Rating: G
Summary: Poseidon cannot change fate, but he can be there for Percy when he is needed the most. In the only way a god can.
“Do you want to talk to him?” Sally asked, her voice tremulous as the storm Poseidon had conjured outside upon his arrival. “I know you shouldn’t but maybe just to hear his voice.”
It was easy for a god to covet things, to wish for wants, and demand them to appear. It was easy too for a god to change perceptions of reality, if only to bend the rules for a moment. Poseidon tasted that potential for a sliver of time when he glanced back at the patterned pane that separated him from the young boy. He could see glimpses of Percy through that inch of glass. A boy with eyes like the sea, with blond windswept hair, and a mustard yellow sweater.
Thunder shuddered the walls of the diner, rumbling in those few seconds that brought the truth back into focus and reminded Poseidon who he was…a god who could do nothing.
It was difficult for a god to be powerless.
Poseidon forced himself now to never glance in Sally Jackson’s direction—to never tempt himself with forming something permanent with the mortal he loved.
“One day,” he said so only she could hear. “One day, when he’s ready. When he knows who he is and where he belongs. And fate has revealed to him his true path. On that day…I’ll be right by his side.”
The scent of smoke and burning chocolate syrup mixed with sundae ascended from the tall glass cup that divided them. He could still feel the tingle of desperation in his ichor, the call of a human to his domain.
He allowed himself one look. One last look at her before he left. Her eyes were closed, the single tear that had escaped her eye finished its journey down her cheek, and he imagined what it would have been like if he could hold their son between them instead of holding their distance.
When he left, he knew the rain had continued its deluge upon that little town in Upstate New York. He permitted it to happen. What else could he offer?
That autumn day, he stood on the beach at Montauk. Alone because the humans who went there thought the waters too cold apart from the summer season. The ocean lapped at his feet, the breeze a welcome comfort.
Montauk was not his most awe-inspiring work. The waves were turbulent, the climate too unforgiving to warrant many seasonal visitors. Not like plenty of his other haunts where the sands were powder and the ocean a clear sapphire when much of the world froze. But Montauk was an aspect of him. Of rocks, surf, and pebbles hidden in shores. Of sharp sea glass, short cliffs, and gray waters.
Montauk was Sally. Montauk was Percy.
Poseidon stepped into the tides. He descended as easily as he always had. A current roared overhead, so strong that it could drag any careless swimmer under in a matter of seconds.
“Lord Poseidon?” chirped a hammerhead shark in his mind. “Lord Delphin wishes to meet with you about the upcoming dolphin migration from the Carolinas. The riptides might deter them from moving any faster.”
His eyes snapped to the shark. The creature stiffened with fear.
“Riptide,” Poseidon said. He looked above him once more at the same current that had pushed him below.
“Ye–yes,” stammered the shark. “That is indeed part of the problem.”
“Or it is part of the solution.”
The water bubbled and Poseidon disappeared. He called upon a force of old, a force he had not called upon for thousands of years since the time of Heracles. That familiar thing tugged at his core and in the palm of his hand, burning and thriving.
And so, when he reappeared, he was on the shore of Long Island Sound. Night engulfed him. Apollo completed his duty. There was silence on the beach.
He walked through the forest and past curious wood nymphs who melted out of trees. He felt their eyes. He felt their words. He let them pass.
Upon the hill, he saw the Big House, its glass shimmering with starlight. A shadow shifted on the porch.
“Chiron,” he remarked as he approached.
The centaur looked startled. Chiron unfolded himself from his resting position on the deck, a mortal book about architecture in his hand. “Lord Poseidon!” he exclaimed. “It is a surprise to see you here.”
Poseidon hummed. He lifted his hand, the object he had willed into existence thrummed on his skin. "I have a task for you."
“You have laid a shroud of Mist over it, I see," Chiron observed.
Poseidon nodded. “The world outside is dangerous. Humans do not understand our world. I do not expect them to.”
"It is a curious choice to disguise a weapon as a pen."
“A gift,” Poseidon corrected. “One day, there is sure to be someone who needs it more than I.
“The story of this blade is a tragic one, but it does not have to be. You must keep it in your possession. Do not let anyone who is not worthy take it. Do not let anyone know you have it.”
“How will I know who is to own it?” Chiron asked.
“You will know.”
Chiron studied him, and Poseidon felt like a demigod would if they were one of the centaur's pupils.
“The blade is called Anaklusmos," explained Poseidon. "Riptide.”
The name rolled off his tongue, and like a whirlpool forming in the deep, clashed against the currents that had prevented him from remembering it. A reminder that even the powerful were not invincible.
“The master of that blade will drown their enemies in the depths of the raging sea. It will protect them.” He glanced away. “I will protect them.”
Chrion took Anaklusmos from his hand.
Poseidon knew this desire of his was a fool’s quest for the impossible. But though a god could not change fate or ancient laws, he could try.
Poseidon was the sea. His son was born from defiance.
Also available on ao3.
#pjo#pjo tv show#pjo tv show spoilers#flash fiction friday#a fool's quest#fff237#percy jackson#poseidon#sally jackson#posally#percy jackon and the olympians#percy jackson and the olympians#itsmoonpeaches fanfic#pjo fanfic
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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 民国奇探/My Roommate is a Detective.
My Roommate is a Detective is a 2020 drama about the Jazz Age shenanigans of a terrible OT3: a useless noodle boy, a spoiled journalist girl, and a handsome thug-turned-cop, who together solve Agatha Christie mysteries in 1920s Shanghai.
I mean, seriously, have you ever wondered what Hercule Poirot would be like if he were a 6'2" Chinese rubber man? If he had a long-suffering sugar daddy from the wrong side of the tracks and a spunky sugar mommy who owned their shared apartment? The answer is, it would be a laugh-out-loud-funny series about a ridiculous and charming assortment of weirdos solving only slightly believable murder mysteries in charming period clothing.
This is another one of those shows where I'm kind of shocked at how not well-known it is, except I'm not, because I can see exactly the problems that keep fandom from descending on it like horny little vultures. Nonetheless, I think it's a good time that more people would enjoy if they gave it the chance. Here's five reasons why you should:
1. Equal parts smart as heck and dumb as butts
On the one hand, especially given its tone and tenor, this show has many surprisingly clever turns and thoughtful moments, carried along by some talented actors. On the other hand, [.gif of a guinea pig in a rollerskate being pushed merrily down a hallway]
This show is not a complicated intellectual exercise. It's an action comedy about a goofy sleuth, a rich-girl reporter, and the cop who should be the straight man in this trio, except he's as much of a goober as the other two are. If the promotional tableaus are giving you real "cover of a Clue box" vibes, you've understood the kind of pastiche it's pulling off.
The mysteries are preposterous. They're all the kind of thing that exemplify the Doyle line about how, when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever's left has got to be the answer, no matter how ding-dang improbable it may be. You know the type: tons of overly elaborate setups, unbelievably perfect timing, coincidental long-lost relatives, people hallucinating right and left. They're also very short -- most full cases take only 2-3 episodes to introduce, investigate, and resolve, even when interspersed with the larger goings-on in these weirdos' lives. The DramaWiki page for the show lists 23 separate arcs over 36 episodes, so you do the math.
And yet, it's way more thoughtful and clever than its doofy little setup would indicate. Its attention to detail surprised me on more than one occasion. Add to that a bunch of solid performances from an ensemble of real characters, and what you get is definitely more substantive than a junk-food waste of time. You can't turn your brain off while watching it, but you sure can turn it down, and that's great.
It also doesn't hurt that everyone is super attractive and wearing great outfits. The whole show's worth it for the wardrobes.
2. THE GIRL
Fuck the haters, fuck everyone, I am going to climb right up on my little soapbox and tell you all why Bai Youning is awesome.
She is insane. She's a troll. She's a clever little monster. Every other character's response to her is, oh my god, you are literally the worst. And she is! She has been spoiled beyond belief by her incredibly rich Crime Dad, and she has learned to leverage her uwu just a widdle girl status to get her whatever the hell she wants. She simply cannot hear it when someone says the word "no." She will look her future sister-in-law in the eye and point a loaded gun at her own head without blinking. Every ball she has is made of brass.
She's hardly perfect. During the course of the show, there are some times where her entitlement runs face-first into the brick wall of reality. She's not nearly as good at her chosen career path as she's been told (mostly by the people who get paid to tell her she's good). She's rarely prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions, especially when she can't just throw money at the problem.
So she learns, and grows, and changes. She's always going to be a stubborn bitch, but she can become a stubborn bitch with a more accurate conception of her relationship to the world around her.
She's actually a really good romantic foil for Lu Yao, who is equally stubborn and spoiled and obnoxious as hell. It is a pure brat4brat relationship, where each one thrives on comically enraging the other. What this means, though, is that when they actually start showing one another some vulnerability, it's really sweet.
Now: I'm pretty sure that you could not have made a female character in her position that everyone did not hate, no matter how cool you made her, because that is the fate of all girls who theoretically keep the two boys from kissing. (More on that next point.) If she were less outgoing and friendly, she would've been hated for being too cold. If she were less headstrong, she would've been hated for being a pushover. If she weren't as into the boy, she would've been hated for being frigid. I know the "god forbid a woman do anything" meme is a joke, but ... man, god forbid this girl do anything. She gets a level of hate entirely disproportionate to what she's actually like. As I said with Eom Dada, it's not always sexism, but sometimes, yeah, it's sexism.
(Real talk: Her character is also fighting both how she's definitely not written as well as the boys are and how the plot sometimes needs her to be artificially stupid and jealous for Straightness Drama Reasons, so that's a legit problem on a structural level. Also, she's dubbed by someone else and the boys aren't, which gives her voice an annoying not-quite-there quality that's hard to ignore. The deck is stacked against her real hard even before she steps onscreen.)
So here's my advice: Go into this show wanting to like her. Embrace her terribleness as a positive, intentional quality. Don't be mad at her for straightening up an endgame that was never going to be gay, even without her. Welcome her contributions to the chaos. Realize that she is exactly as entertainingly irritating as her boys are.
Truly, this is a story of three terrible people in love. They're all just awful, and you wouldn't want to be in a room with any of them for longer than you had to. Left to right up there, Bai Youning is spoiled and self-absorbed, Lu Yao is arrogant and lazy, and Qiao Chusheng is suuuuuch a fucking cop. If you're into the kind of dynamic that can only be described OT3: You All Deserve One Another, then this one's perfect for you.
3. Do you really miss '00s queerbaiting?
Like, really? Are you just super-nostalgic for being able to see the showrunners go, ha ha, girls, we know you're watching and we know you want these cute boys to kiss, which they never will -- but what if we pretended for just this one scene??? Do you just carnally ache for that with every fiber of your being?
Yep.
Now, why am I calling the occasional really gay moments between these two gentlemen "queerbaiting" and not "bromance"? Because these moments are a) obviously intentional, b) completely sporadic, and c) never spoken of again.
For example: There's a scene (which you can see a gifset of here) where the two of them are at a restaurant frequented by the cop, who brings a lot of ladies there on dates. When the waiter points this out, useless noodle boy says, I'm his date. The waiter looks mildly surprised by this, the cop says not to listen to his bullshit, and that's the end of it. The scene moves on. There is no further discussion of this comment. It does not affect their relationship.
That's the essence of queerbaiting: that little on-purpose nod to the homoerotic tension between the two, in a way that isn't a joke but also isn't not a joke, and either way is never going to happen. (In fact, the show is going to go out of its way to make sure that ship gets sunk, so, uh, get your fanfiction lifeboats ready for that.)
A true queerbaiting move is something that should make a difference in a relationship, but doesn't. It should make a difference that our cop is so comfortable in the noodle boy's personal space that he invades it at will. It doesn't. It should make a difference that noodle boy keeps getting real weird every time the cop has a date with a girl. It doesn't. Those are some real romantic moves the two of them keep pulling, and then nothing comes of them.
I had this show sold to me as being incredibly shippy, to the point of being even more so than its censored-BL contemporaries. And ... well, it is and it isn't. It has textually gayer individual moments, but it is much less pervasively gay. It's clear from the start that it's going to throw all its actual relationship points into its canon het romance. When it comes to these boys, the show is toying with you. It knows you want to see those boys smooch, just as much as it knows (and it knows you know) they're never gonna.
How you feel about this is entirely up to you -- and indeed, it may be a dealbreaker on the whole drama for you. If you are inclined to pitch a fit when your ship does not become canon, you'll be happier somewhere else. If, however, you see this as a delightful opportunity to do whatever the hell you want with the situation as it is presented, all the while enjoying little moments of startlingly blatant homoeroticism between two handsome dudes, well, here you are!
(I mean, if you want my take on it, what needs to happen is that the cop and the girl need to fuck while the useless noodle boy watches with asexual bisexual interest, and then they all need to snuggle with the noodle boy in the middle so they can both annoy him appropriately, but your mileage may vary.)
4. The multicultural extravaganza!
1920s Shanghai had a lot going on in terms of cultures and languages, and this show actually does a fair job of representing that.
By now, I've seen a number of shows set during this era, and they all at least acknowledge the international nature of the city -- usually by mentioning the French Concession and having a handful of evil Japanese characters. However, this is the first time I've seen a show go to such lengths to actually show so many non-Chinese characters onscreen, even to the point of making one a recurring character supporting the main squad.
Salim is the best. Whatever he is being paid, it's not enough. He's Qiao Chusheng's right-hand man, which means he is also the dude who most often has to put up the main trio's bullshit. (The actor himself is also a dude with a pretty cool backstory, which is another great layer.) He's sharp, he's loyal, he's patient, and he looks great with his shirt off. He's got it all!
Other non-Chinese characters include a white Jewish art collector (I'd issue a warning for period-typical antisemitism, except … honestly, it's mostly just confused), a sadistic priest who maybe is supposed to be Italian, a completely different priest who [last episode spoiler], and three whole sinister white dudes behind it all.
It's not just the world coming to China, though! A large number of the Chinese characters are said to have spent significant time outside of China, whether for business or for schooling. Near the end, when some characters are discussing moving away from Shanghai, they consider a number of foreign cities as potential destinations.
Here's a delightful detail: When Lu Yao and his sister speak English, they're dubbed by actors with posh British accents who sound like native (or near-native) English-speakers. This makes perfect sense, because both of the siblings did a lot of their schooling in the UK. When Bai Youning speaks English, she's dubbed by someone who speaks English very well but also has a noticeable Chinese accent, which makes perfect sense for her character's background. And Qiao Chusheng never speaks English at all, because he's a street tough who has no reason to know more than three words.
...This is also kind of weird to say about something literally made in China, but go with me on it: Everything's kind of got that Art Deco Orientalist vibe to it. It looks like China's idea of what Britain's idea of China during that period would have looked like. The result comes across less like what 1920s Shanghai would actually have looked like, and more what an ad for 1920s Shanghai would have looked like. It's a fascinating aesthetic, and more so for how it's mostly pretty subtle. The show isn't some visual extravaganza, but it's always very nice to look at, and I appreciate that in a show.
5. A wonderful horrible protagonist
A lot of mystery-themed prestige television involves an asshole genius detective who gets away with being a dick to everyone because he's sooooo smart, while all his long-suffering friends and colleagues spend a lot of time doing damage control for him because, sigh, he's an asshole but we need him, genius excuses all dickhead behavior, we'll always make exceptions for him because he's just ever so special. (Watch histrionic sage hbomberguy's video on Sherlock if you're unfamiliar with the trope.)
Lu Yao is an asshole genius detective, but one who winds up spending most of his time being an asshole to a) people who deserve it, or b) his horrible friends who will be assholes right back at him. When he is awful to the people who don't deserve it, the show smacks him pretty hard on the nose for it and makes him apologize.
This is a show where you'll figure out pretty quckly if you'll love it or hate it, because if you love Lu Yao, you'll love it, and vice versa. He carries most of the show himself, with his goofy charm and his incredibly bendy slenderman body and his ability to make the one competent person he knows both protect him and give him money.
Like so.
For my own part, I find him intensely charming, and I think a lot of this has to do with Hu Yitian's ability to play him as an affectionately bullyable weenie who needs to get shoved in a locker for his own good. He's the worst, and it's comically endearing instead of offputting because at the end of the day, he really does have a good heart. He's just also lazy as heck and disinclined to do anything that he does not want to be doing, and really, aren't we all?
As I alluded to in point 3, he comes across as real asexual. He's just not that interested in sex, and he is in fact pretty uncomfortable in situations where he finds himself the subject of someone else's sexual desires. He's perfectly capable of romantic feelings! I mean, not only does he get Bai Youning as a love interest, we actually meet one of his ex-girlfriends. He's just not partciularly horny about them -- which is even more noticeable as a sharp contrast to how extremely horny Qiao Chusheng is for just about everyone, but this exasperating little dork in particular.
(Like seriously, 90% of the time, Chusheng is about to explode with sexual frustration at Lu Yao's skinny oblivious ass.)
This isn't to say you couldn't get Lu Yao into bed, because you absolutely could, and he'd probably have a good time. You'd just have to remove all distractions from the room, lest his ADHD ass wind up running off to solve a crime mid-coitus.
Twiggy little nightmare man. Garbage-animal boy. Love him.
sidebar: A word about the ending
I'm going to be vague and talk about general vibes instead of specific events, but you should still skip this section if you want to remain completely unspoiled. Jump to the picture of Chusheng holding the sledgehammer.
Okay, so, a lot of people do not like the ending, and I'm including myself in that number. I honestly don't know if they got rushed and had to wrap everything pretty last-minute, or if they thought they might get a second season out of it and were leaving things open-ended accordingly. Either way, it's incredibly unsatisfying.
I think there's a clue that the show didn't actually want to end this way, and it's not actually in the text of the show itself. Every episode, between the last scene and the start of the credits, you get to see a couple still frames from the episode (usually some of the queerbaity ones). After the very final shot of the series, you get two images: the boys hugging goodbye, and Chusheng's upset face. That's not a resolution! That is at best a "to be continued..." ending!
But no, that's it. That's all, folks.
It's not quite an ending so bad it ruins the rest of the show, mostly because it doesn't feel finished, so it's less like you're watching a car being deliberately driven into a wall because someone thought that was the best route to take, and more like you're watching someone leave a car on the railroad tracks because they figured they'd have time to move it later.
As far as I know, there has been no noise made about a second season. These 36 episodes are the entirety of the narrative. It had the distinct misfortune to start airing in March 2020, which wasn't exactly prime time for planning sequels, and that seems to have been that. (There is a 2022 show called Checkmate that stars the two main guys in extremely similar roles, also adapting Agatha Christie stories, but it's apparently pretty meh? Somebody else who's actually seen it, go ahead and weigh in here.)
I'll say that if you turn off the episode right after Lu Yao gets out the handcuffs, you'll save yourself the worst of it the awkward and unsatisfying moments (though I'm impressed at your willpower to stop watching something five minutes from the end). That's not all of it, though. Structurally, there are several situations rushed to a resolution and loose threads left flapping untied in the breeze. I guess stopping before the last five minutes simply saves you the hope that it'll pull a good ending out of the fire, because it won't.
And let's be real: The more you hate Bai Youning and her romance with Lu Yao, the more you'll hate the ending. (Not that liking those elements will necessarily make you like the ending, of course, because I'm a fan of hers and I still think the ending is butts.) The ending is already like a pair of uncomfortable shoes; if the het romance especially makes you grind your teeth, the ending becomes a pair of uncomfortable shoes that also have a rock in them. A lot of the comments online indicate plenty of people dropped the show when they learned the het romance would be endgame. It's a pretty common dealbreaker.
Oh well. Bring on the fanfic, I say! Those of us who are used to taking a sledgehammer to canon are unafraid.
Smash it, baby.
Still want to see some of these mysteries?
Both iQiyi and Viki have the answer to your sleuthing!
It's not a perfect show -- as evidenced by my digression about the ending -- but it's a lot of fun. If you can handle the occasional foible and some eyebrow-raising moments, you're in for a good time with some attractive people that occasionally tastes very gay.
Every roommate crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man
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DFF Ep11 Spoilers: New/Phee Braindump
@bellamygate asked me to turn the Phee/New discussion in the replies of this post into its own post and I DO keep thinking about them, so:
After Tee and New throw away their futures for Non, in a deranged and desperate kind of self-abasement, White descends from a different, happier genre to avert Tee's depression trajectory and get him back onto a path with some hope, but New has no one. New is completely alone, clinging to his ghosts of the past for warmth as he burns down his entire future. Then @turtlesocksv2 brought up Phee, and his role and potential role in New's life!
And it got me thinking about how alone together Phee and New are. How they start out theoretically aligned in their grief and thirst for answers and accountability, but Phee wanders off their shared path into the woods with Jin pretty fast, and New spends the next two years trying to yank him back next to him in their partnership with brute force.
New has no relationships and nobody to help him process his grief or his pain or his very existent mental illness; the only people he has in his life after losing his ENTIRE FUCKING FAMILY are the high school kids who tortured his brother to death, and Phee. So yeah, when he calls Phee a slut and accuses him of cheating on the brother I believe New believes in his heart is fully dead, what I really think he's accusing him of is cheating on New. They're in this like unhappy arranged vengeance marriage, which New originally told Phee he could leave at any time and finish high school, but even after the passion went out in the first few months New's been hanging onto their partnership for dear life because Phee is all he's got.
ALSO: The cinematic parallels between New accusing Phee of cheating on Non when what he's actually mad about is Phee "cheating" on their shared project, and Phee accusing Non of "cheating" on him with Keng, when the real betrayal (which I don't believe Phee has ever admitted to himself) is that Non went outside their little codependency cocoon for help, and didn't trust Phee to be a superboyfriend who could singlehandedly fix all his problems.
(@turtlesocksv2 pointed out New is right there begging Phee to be his murder superboyfriend! What's the issue even!!! Why can't Phee commit!!! Are New's tears not delicate enough?? Does he smell too strongly of weed and loathing? Is he too tall to cradle protectively in ur arms?? Too much older than you to bottom??? Stop buying into fandom discourse about assigned roles, Phee! >:()
I also just love the idea of slippage in New's mind, between where Non ends and New begins. Phee tries the "Is this what Non would have wanted?" shit and New nearly laughs in his face, because New wants retribution: it's personal for him. They took his entire family. What they did to Non, they did to Non and New's parents, they did to New. I want to know how much he identifies with Non, how much he's lost sight of what Non would or wouldn't want, how often he deliberately hallucinates Non to talk to him, to consult with him, etc. (New is so alone did I mention how alone he is), but it's fascinating to me that his response to Phee isn't "yes he would fucking want this, I know him best" but, very clearly: "do you think I care what he wants right now?"
#this post is a mess i just wanted to get all the thoughts in one place!!!#guess who i love yes that's right it's PRATHIPSITS#dead friend forever#dff#dff spoilers#new prathipsit#dear diary
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Old theories I had
(most of them received a correct explanation from Ransom live, but I still want to share)
Why is Miss P limping? My theory (and probably that of the majority of the fandom) was that Caul broke one of her legs. And I was based on the fact that Bentham also had a limp, Was it just a coincidence that Caul's two brothers had leg problems? It sounded a lot like Caul's modus operandi to me. Your favorite torture. He broke the legs of the brother who, in theory, he liked the most,So it's not hard to imagine that he would break the legs of the sister he's hated since he was a child. (Ransom explained live that she limps because she has arthritis 🤡)
Victor was brain dead. In the book, Victor was so well preserved that Jacob thinks he is sleeping. He was killed by a hollow, so his body shouldn't be in such a good state. I was based 100% on a fact from the library of souls, where a peculiar who had regeneration tried to fight a hollow The hollow couldn't really hurt him, so it hit its head against one of the bars and knocked the man out. This is what I imagined would have happened to Victor, He had enough strength to defend himself from a hollow, but his head was unprotected from a full-force attack, and so he was killed. ( On live, Ransom explained that in fact Victor is not preserved, he was completely sewn up, so his body is not in such a bad state. His body was damaged by the hollow)
Caul and Bentham were only born with the gift of turning into birds because they defended themselves from a powerful ymbryne. As we well know, Miss P is descendant one of the twelve great ymbrynes who closed the library of souls. This explains the high power that Miss P has. She is heir to the gifts of the ancient Peregrine, the one who sealed the abaton rift. The powers of this original ymbrynes would be so strong, Which ended up causing a phenomenon never seen before, men being born with the powers of ymbryne, at least the part of transforming into birds. The power of the first peregrine was so great that it was divided a little and went to the brothers of its true heir, Miss Alma Peregrine. (In live, Ransom doesn't talk about this specifically because at the time I left it to ask this in the live of the last book that he hasn't done yet 🤡, but he talks about an ancestor of this family, Jeremy Bentham, he appears in the Peregrine museum, but doesn't say his peculiarity, and says that they probably inherited their gifts from him.)
Ok, it was getting huge, I'll post a part two later with more theories.
#mphfpc#peculiar#miss peregrines home for peculiar children#ransom riggs#myron bentham#caul bentham#alma lefay peregrine#alma peregrine#theory#miss peregrine book
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For anyone in the Legend of Zelda fandom and Linked Universe, I have an idea for a story. You can use the idea because I’m horrible at keeping track of what I want to write. Good luck!
The Plot: Unknown to the heros, the shadow goes back in time and kills Warriors after he and Artemis seal Ganondorf in order to weaken the Chain. The effects on Time itself shows in Hylia’s heros. The group of 9 are reduced by 2 since Warriors was now killed before the journey starts and Wild is erased due to the fact he was a descendent of Warriors. Time (the hero) is now more jaded and full of anger due to watching the one considered his big brother be killed in front of him. He is more reckless and quick to anger. His markings are now complete and has the power of the Fierce Deity without the use of the mask. Wind, who was there in the war shortly after turning 13, is also jaded and wanting revenge for Warriors’ death but not as reckless as Time. The others are more or less unaffected outside of being very concerned with Time and Wind’s health and sanity.
With the exception of Legend who, thanks to his royal blood, remembers Warriors and Wild and is unaffected by the time change. With Hylia’s direct help at last, Legend takes Sky, Four, Hyrule, and Twilight back into the past in order to save Warriors’ life and in turn, Wild’s existence.
There’s just one little problem.
They must not be seen by Warriors, Artemis, Mask, or Toon or the Golden Goddesses will interfere and possibly stop them.
#legend of zelda#linked universe#writing idea#lu legend#lu time#lu wind#lu warriors#lu wild#lu sky#lu twilight#lu hyrule#lu four#goddess hylia#what if the shadow changed the past#I headcanon Wild is a descendant of Time Twilght and Warriors#Time and Twilight through his father and Warriors through his mother
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Hi guys, it's Vic! Also known as:
Round TWO at addressing the extreme racism in the CoD fandom!
So it’s both odd and funny that my Indigenous fem!OC has pissed off so many random people, especially with the fact that I created her to ship with Ghost.
(A fictional character that has NO canon love interest, FYI. Sorry to bust y'all's little bubble. Well, there's Mara and Urban Tracker....)
Anyways, I really don't care if this post sounds bitchy in nature. I really don't, not anymore. Some of y'all need a damn wakeup call. Several months ago, in December of 2023, I made a post (here) regarding the sudden influx of hate I began receiving following the posting of my OC, SilentDove Reyes. For around two weeks after that post, the hate died down, and I felt motivated to create more content involving Dove and Ghost.
Until the hate picked up again with every little thing I posted that related to my OC x Ghost.
However....this new hate incorporated the MMIW. A bold ass move, in my opinion.
If you are not aware, the MMIW stands for "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women." Alternate spellings include the MMIWG & MMIWGTS (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirits). As of 2023, statistics indicate that Indigenous women face a 10x murder rate than any other race/ethnicity. I have made a previous post regarding the issue, seen here. The unfortunate truth is that young Indigenous girls are more likely to be SA'd and murdered than to attend college. Let that sink in for a moment.
Now, I am an Indigenous woman. That is no surprise there; I fashioned my OC to provide myself (and, by extension, others) with Native representation in a franchise I greatly enjoy. What IS surprising, however, is that me doing so has pissed off so many people. I'm very certain some of y'all must descend from Andrew Jackson, or John Wayne cause, christ on a bike driven by a pike.
Here is a screenshot of a hate anon I recently received:
Listen, I don't care who you ship Ghost with. I really don't. I've blocked numerous shipping tags, remained mindful of the content I'm interacting with, and surrounded myself with fellow mutuals who also have personal OCs. It is really that easy.
What I do care about is the fact that some of you CANNOT separate fanon headcanons from canon material.
Exhibit A:
So let’s clear some stuff up!
Soap x Ghost is NOT canon.
Ghost being queer is NOT canon.
And, most definitely, Ghost being a woman abuser who would harm/abuse/murder a woman (either physically, emotionally, psychologically) is NOT canon.
What IS canon is his and Soap's strong bond. In my eyes, that is a brotherly bond, reminding me of a big brother/little brother relationship; in my fanfiction, Soap is Ghost's children's uncle. In fact, his son (second-born child) is named after him.
You are, of course, free to view them as romantic; what you are not free to do is attack OC creators/non-shippers for not perceiving them like that.
That is just fucking weird and delusional behavior. Knock it off. You're giving your fellow normal shippers a bad name.
ALSO! Let’s clear things up!
1. I’m not straight — I’m bisexual and demisexual.
2. I’m only half white (Spanish, with Mexican heritage). I’m QUITE LITERALLY an enrolled Native, so I guess the best way to describe me is “biracial.”
3. It’s y’all ruining the canon gay representation by shipping Laswell—a GAY woman—with Price, despite the fact that she canonically has a wife.
4. My OC does not have a “dumb fucking name.” Her name is an Indigenous name with a specific backstory to it; it’ll be explored further in future fanfics once I find the motivation to return to writing.
Anyways, I highly doubt this will be the last post I create regarding this problem; apparently, a nice chunk of the fandom has this intense animosity towards fem!OCs, fem!Y/Ns, and BIPOC!OC creators. Alright. With that being said, I invite anyone who has similar experiences to share yours, either in the reblogs or in separate posts.
As sometimes we say during pow wows:
“The floor is all yours.”
Thank you!
#vic talks#fandom psa#fandom discourse#call of duty#call of duty modern warfare#cod fandom#call of duty fanfiction#cod mw#cod mw2#cod mw3#cod simon ghost riley#cod simon riley#simon ghost riley#simon riley#cod ghost#ghost#cod oc#call of duty oc#orginal character
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Out-of-Fandom Longfic Recs
Looking for something good that you can sink your teeth into? Not necessarily LoZ? I can recommend some masterpieces and favorites. :) all these are complete!
Harry Potter and the Problem of Potions by Wyste. 180k. Yes yes HP I know. It was still a formative part of my adolescence and this is just fanfiction. Very satisfying fanfiction, in which Harry becomes a real character who desperately wants to be a potion master despite Snape's every attempt to dissuade him. Lots of fun.
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by LessWrong. 661k. Longest thing on this list but HOO BOY is it worth it. Written by a guy to teach people about... well. Methods of rationality. Applies the scientific method to the HP-verse, makes Voldemort actually smart, and is a lot of fun the whole way through. You can read on FFN or by downloading an epub or PDF. At least try the first chapter I am BEGGING YOU.
The Dragon-King's Temple by Kryal. Avatar: the Last Airbender (show) & Stargate SG-1, 200k. I knew nothing about SG-1 going in, had only seen the movie, and really enjoyed this. Once again, the worldbuilding and the mystery are very very good. Like legitimately. Zuko & Toph focus!
Thrower of the Dart by Vathara. Avengers & Artemis Fowl (books) crossover, 100k. Picks up after the first Avengers movie and AF book 5 (the demon one.) Very nice plot, good character interactions, fun worldbuilding, mostly in the AF side.
let the shadows fall behind you by Sweetbriar15. Disney's Descendants (just the first one), 155k. Did you ever feel like the movie was a bit of a waste of a good story premise? This will help. Picks up after modifying the end of the first movie, introduces a lot of awesome character and worldbuilding information. Mal-focused, but not too heavily.
Phantom of Truth by Haiju. Danny Phantom, 58k. DP is full of whump fics, and this is probably one of the very best. Its sequel, Shadow of a Doubt, has stopped updating on AO3, but it should still be on FFN. SoaD is, iirc, 100k+, and quite good, dealing with the aftermath of the first.
Bandits and Bravery by LettdViolet. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, 28k. Linhardt/M!Byleth, modern college AU, the events of the game are played out by a group playing knockoff D&D. Themes of grief and mourning a parent's death, and finding comfort. Linhardt is like a sleepy version of Vio without as much evil. Shortest on this list but I LIKE IT OKAY
Carpetbaggers by cofax. Chronicles of Narnia, 120k. Fills in some of the time post-LWW with adventures and working on gaining trust. Feels a lot like a continuation of the book, though without the heavy-handed allegory.
#fic rec#harry potter#atla#sg1#mcu#avengers#artemis fowl#disney descendants#danny phantom#fe3h#chronicles of narnia
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topics of contention among historians of Gondor:
whether Ar-Pharazon or Tar-Miriel should be considered the last ruler of Númenor. Pharazon is traditionally named as such, but once in a blue moon you have someone point out that he was an usurper and these aren't supposed to count. the refutations tend to come in the form of (a) but we're reluctant to make changes in the books (b) that it's definitely Pharazon's actions that are what comes to mind when you think about the last years of Númenor and Miriel shouldn't be linked with them
the rohirrim (not) being descended from the house of Hador. this is a story someone had more or less made up wholesale based on very little evidence, but calling them close relations makes people feel better about Gondor having given up a third of it's territory in their favour. every once in a while some young scholar realises this, tries to make his case, and is promptly shut down.
a slight lost-cause-ism problem regarding the kinstrife in some circles, for that matter, though thankfully it's a rather niche view (or at least one mostly kept silent about)
whether assorted first age figures were villains or tragic heroes. kind of like this fandom, tbh, though with way fewer uncritical fëanor stans and a lot more you do realise he would have hated you, right? (no morgoth fans though, because first of all, what the heck, and also that would be a very hard position to defend when his most important servant is actively trying to genocide you)
whether the ship-kings' conquests were that needful or advantageous, actually, and just how much historical reason the peoples of harad might have to not like gondorians
do. not. cite. the legend of beruthiel. as. a. historical. source, please! (seven stars! she hated gondor, gondor hated her, she was suspected of nefarious doings and tarannon had her sent back home. that's IT. she MIGHT have had cats, and the rest is common fancy)
who actually raised the first king of númenor after his parents, um, entered the realm of legend. yes, I know what the most fanciful story says, but it has to be just story, right? it would be so weird and ironic and our legendary progenitor can't have been raised by murderers...
surprisingly fierce battles over very obscure first age edain with legends attached. you can't imagine how much shouting can get involved.
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How wealthy is Hob Gadling?
Look, there's just so many ways to talk about how wealthy Hob would be after 600+ years alive, and obviously every fic writer is going to approach it differently according to their tastes and the story they want to write, and most likely no two takes will be the same which is the point of fandom.
In addition, we have 1689 as canonical proof that it's possible for Hob to reach the heights of prosperity only to come crashing back down to earth when history and circumstances and pure bad luck come into play.
H o w e v e r, just speaking for myself, it is inconceivable to me that by the 21st century, Hob isn't so ungodly wealthy that he no longer needs to work again, ever, and just picked up teaching as a way to stay busy. The man is walking, one man, generational wealth with the added benefit of no dispersal across multiple family branches and financial literacy to boot, along with having learned the lessons of 1689 to make him especially cautious about ever being in a position again to lose it all.
In 1789, Hob even says he's been socking money away all over the world because he's worried about the global political situation after all these revolutions, like in America and France. Hob has learned the lessons of 1689 and he's not going to get caught without an emergency fund somewhere ever again.
Even if he gave it all away after 1789 in compensation for his role in the "shipping business", in the 200+ years since all he would have to do is put some money away in a bank for safekeeping and then leave it there for a bit as he went along for him to be ungodly wealthy by today. He might need to move the money around at times to keep it in active institutions, but there are absolutely 200+ year old banks/investment vehicles (Lloyd's Banking Group has within it institutions that go back to 1695, just as an example) and so long as he stayed nominally on top of making sure he kept money scattered around and moved it before a place went under, there'd always be seed capital for him somewhere.
Did I mention one man generational wealth? At a certain point, it really would just make more sense for Hob to set up a family trust and use various shell companies to keep things anonymous. Given the man has been in business in one fashion or another on and off since the 1500s I'm going to credit him with a certain amount of financial literacy. The 1600s were truly unusual with being brought up on charges as a witch, because he would have lost everything and gone back to zero, unable to even reclaim those assets as a distant relative, because he was tried and convicted for witchcraft and his assets were almost certainly confiscated by the Crown/by greedy witch hunters.
Again, with just a little diversity of investment and where he stored his deposits, Hob should never fall back to 1600s levels again. He could literally just store some of his older, more valuable durable possessions (like jewelry) or bury a purse of gold somewhere, and know that the historical value of such coins and or items will only appreciate over time.
If he just did as Benjamin Franklin did and put in that day's value $2,000 dollars in a normal bank it would, by modern day, be worth $5,000,000 in today's money by interest alone, doing nothing else. Do that in a few dozen different banks, especially anonymous Swiss accounts or equivalent, and you don't even have to worry if most of them don't make it to modern day.
I cannot stress enough, generational wealth is usually lost because it gets dispersed across multiple children, or because the later generations are not as good with the money as the previous one. Hob does not have that problem. He isn't just generational wealth he is money savvy, dynastic wealth, he can build the same sort of wealth that noble families like the Bonaparte descendants sit on for centuries. Whether or not you think that's the moral thing is beside the point. There comes a point in truly staggering amounts of wealth where it's almost impossible to give it all away, Bezos's ex wife talked about how she made many huge donations with her billions from the settlement and it barely made a dent because of interest on that money.
Could Hob have simply lost money over the years in ill-considered ventures or given it all away? Yes, of course, and it would be very human and thus very Hob of him to do so. But given his convertible in 1989 and being the owner of the New Inn in the 21st century, to me there are more signs canonically that he has put together a pretty decent safety net at the very least all the way up to being very wealthy, we're talking low to mid double digit millions, in my opinion, at minimum, with the upper reaches possibility of very wealthy or more (triple digit millions or more) if he's done things like make good investments throughout, for example in new technology, and socked it away in Swiss accounts and set up an anonymous family trust with some use of shell companies. All of that is on the table as possibilities of the level of wealth he'd have when you factor in two hundred years of business sense and decent business practices, with a healthy dose of paranoia about losing it all again.
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1st Dreamling Nation Fic Exchange: Victorian Soldiers Edition ✨
“A mini bang of fics all written by members of the Dreamling Nation discord server, revolving around the same prompt, in which we were all given the same two pictures and, outside of brainstorming plot ideas together, were left to our own devices to create a story.”
It is with great pleasure that I present this collection of fics, fruits of the first Dreamling Nation fic exchange!
When I made this discord server back in December, during a Christmas induced Big Sad(TM) moment, I could never have imagined the amazing community we were creating, and now, almost a month later, we’ve got more than just these fics to show for what this server has given us. I’m incredibly blessed that one moment of deep sadness led me to meet such great people, and that we can keep inspiring each other and celebrating creativity and this wonderful fandom space that The Sandman has given us.
This event was only made possible by @littledreamling’s gentle guidance and kindness. Thank you, my love! I hope this will be the first of many! 💖
Now, with no further ado, the fics:
⭐️ When I Wake Up, There Are Only Your Eyes to Greet Me, by @virgo-dream
Rating: Explicit / multi chapter / warning: graphic depictions of violence
Five times Sergeant Robert Gadling woke up to Captain Morpheus Apeiron. One time Morpheus woke up to Hob.
A very unlucky battalion finds itself in the command of one Captain Morpheus Apeiron. He doesn't seem particularly worried with their survival, but mostly with ending the war as soon as possible. Sergeant Robert Gadling seems to be the only thing keeping all these young and inexperienced soldiers alive. After one particularly heated fight between them, Hob ends up discovering there is much more to his Captain than meets the eye, but is he seeing Morpheus as he truly is, or through the prism of his own desire?
⭐️ Golden Heart, by @littledreamling
Rating: Teen and Up / multi chapter
The first time he had ever clapped eyes on Morpheus Endelas, son of Lord Chronos Endelas, Hob knew the man was no soldier. He had floated through the camp, his feet barely brushing against the dry leaves, his head held high and haughty. There had been a massive red jewel around his neck and a white-breasted raven perched on his shoulder, equally lordly, if a bird could ever be described as such. Hob had simply rolled his eyes. He didn’t know why Lordling Endelas was parading through their camp, but it was also above his pay grade. He was just a first lieutenant, practically still rolling around in the mud with the common soldiers. So he had shrugged and rolled his eyes some more, right up until someone helpfully informed him that Morpheus Endelas was their new Captain. And then he had started reconciling his relationship with God, because the Lordling was sure to get them all killed.
⭐️ Ananke, God of Compulsion, by @aquilathefighter
Rating: Teen and Up / multi chapter
Lieutenant Hob Gadling is planning on deserting before his deployment. He has everything planned from faking his death to getting to the US. However, a wrench is thrown into his plan when Captain Morpheus Endeleas asks him to be his assistant for the week leading up to the company’s deployment. Now under close watch by a man Hob thinks despises him, he cannot escape his duty. What will come from a week working closely with Cpt. Endeleas?
⭐️ Tirra Lirra, by The River, by @quillingwords
Rating: Explicit / multi chapter / warning: major character death
Little Hob Gadling meets a strange boy by a river, and their lives become intertwined over decades. A love story set against a backdrop of war. A tale about memories, dreams, and making choices.
⭐️ After The Storm, by @immacaria
Rating: Teen and Up / multi chapter
The war was over. They had won. It was finally over. But Hob knew that at the moment they stepped into London, Dream's family would descend upon them like vultures and try to seperate them. No problem, though, Hob fought four years in the war. The Endeles family would not take Dream away from him.
#the sandman#dreamling#dream of the endless#hob gadling#morpheus#dream x hob#fic exchange#dreamling fic#dreamling fanfic#the sandman fic#the sandman fanfic#hob x dream#hob x morpheus#morpheus x hob#ao3 fic#dreamling au#dreamling nation
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Brutally honest thoughts on each character?
...*Each* character???? bruh thats so many, okay ill keep this short cuz im waiting for a haircut rn
well start with the vks cuz thats easy
Mal-started off strong and then just became...THE WORST, love hate relationship for her. shes my art block fix but also i hate her
Jay-i dont have strong opinions on him, he actually never stuck out to me other than 'obligatory jock dude of the friend group.' i wish i liked him more but im more attached to his fandom self over canon Jay
Evie-got boring after D1, i wish they let her keep her chemistry stuff, love her vibe but shes kinda boring to me. SHOULD'VE BEEN THE MC OVER MAL!!
Carlos- lots of lost potential with his tech stuff from the first book and movie. easily could've been an engineer or inventor but they just made him an animal lover and i got bored of that real quick.
Uma-my queen, my idol, can do no wrong i love her so much i WILL kill for her.
Harry-i love his dumbass so much YALL DONY EVEN KNOW I WANNA BITE HIM SO BAD
Gil-one of the few characters i felt actually...grew up? idk but hes one of the few characters were it actually feels like time passed for.
Dizzy-oooooooh honey, honey honey, sunshine baby, please, put the glue gun down.
Celia- they should've gone with her trailer persona. Her outfits are so bad and i wish she got better writing and designs, so much lost potential, also she should've been Jays pick.
Smee twins- why the fuck are they even here they had one line and no significance. also they should've had a Harry scene.
Aks
Ben-puppy boy, deserved to have doberman energy. got turned into a doormat by the writers and is unfairly hated.
Audrey-bitch queen, shes not a nice person and thats okay~ girlboss.
Chad- should've been the D3 villan they had that all set up in D2 with his weird ass attitude over Ben getting kidnapped on the isle.
Doug -....honestly gives me the ick, especially in D3, i HATE the long hair his actor had/has. gold is NOT his color and neither is pastel purple or green. he looked good in D1 but ICK for 2 and 3.
Jane- bby gurl, blue bird sweetheart. yeah she did some fucked up shit in D1 but she was an insecure 14 year old girl who got manipulated by Mal and other aks!!!
Lonnie- deserved so much better, shes Chinese why is she getting Japanese style stuff?!?! her plot in D2 didnt even do anything it just happened and no one cared and Jay just shoved his problems of girls playing roar onto her.
Beast- *inhale* i wanna kick his ass, and i could, lemme at him. how dare he force an entire kingdom on Ben at 16 when he didnt become king when he was 28(when he married Belle)
Belle- they took away her backbone, shes not Disney princess book worm and independent Belle. she just, lost the spark
FG- they turned her into a preschool teacher, GIVE ME MY OL COOKY FAIRY LADY BACK
Leah- *seething rage*
vk parents
Maleficent- fuckin love her, shes such a manipulative bitch and feels like a gone crazy version of a Maleficent made for kids. def not the mistress of all Evil but i love her nonetheless
EQ- shouldve been the head villain, SHE WAS THE FIRST DISNEY VILLAIN CMON! def not the same character from the animated movie but shes dramatic and sassy and i adore her.
Jafar- haha funny characature~ i wish he was more menacing like he had been. Jafar is not one of my fav villains so descendants jafar didnt exactly translate for me well.
Cruella- yeah they nailed her, no complaints about her. good design, good dialogue, good acting.
Hades- LEMME KICK HIS DEAD BEAT ASS, fucking 'daddy issues made you stronger' my butt. i hate his hair and honestly he doesnt fit the washed up punk design, he didnt deserve the speech at the end and didnt deserve to be forgiven by Mal.
Ursula- we only saw her tentacle and one line but she seemed spot on so yeah
Lady Tremaine- why the fuck was she nice in D3??? bitch is the EVIL stepmother.
Smee- spot on, i have words for his sons designs becuaee hes old not naturally white haired but hes chill, makes sense hed be a good parent, he never felt evil to me, just compliant
Facilier- such a vibe, his actor got him spot on, would've changed up his suit design but hes chill and i can see him being a family man(ignoring wicked world).
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Somehow I wrote 137k words of The Sandman fanfic in the last 5 months. Behold: the result!
This has been an incredible journey - I decided to step back into fandom while I was waiting on some publishing info and news, just as something to do to keep my creativity sharp. The community and reception I discovered, however, has been astoundingly welcoming. I feel reinvigorated and ready to tackle my revisions on my next novel!
THE HOB ADHERENT SERIES
In which Hob Gadling's Stranger returns, they start a weekly hangout, Hob becomes Morpheus' Emotional Support Human (tm), Matthew bullies Hob onto a Docudrama TV series where Hob pretends to be his own ancestor, and Morpheus is the King of Repressed Symbolism.
Status: Complete
Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Includes some comics canon, and some fun cameos from the wider Gaiman-verse, but it’s not necessary to know to enjoy the story.
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Discussions of grief and in-canon character death.
Relationships: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling, Eleanor | Hob Gadling’s Wife/Hob Gadling (past)
Primary Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling, Matthew the Raven, Lucien | Lucienne (The Sandman), Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Patrick the Bartender, All the Endless Siblings, Rose Walker, Jed Walker, Lyta Hall, Daniel Hall, Orpheus, Lucifer, (plus some cameos from other characters from the Gaiman Television-Literary Universe)
CLING FAST
Hob Gadling is a clingy bastard, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. He clings to life. He clings to hope. He clings to his love of humanity. He clings to his Stranger. He also, unfortunately, has a habit of clinging to his name.
Which means, when the BBC is looking for a new pet history expert to appear in their educational docudrama series “Elizabethan Manor,” they’re overjoyed to find a professor who (according to their meticulous research) is actually descended from the Master of the National Trust building they’re filming in - Gadlen House.
Only Hob knows how right they are.
Picks up a few hours after the end of Season 01 Episode 6.
CARPE DIEM
Hob turns six hundred and sixty-six, invites some fellow Immortals to his pub to celebrate, and receives a gift from Satan themself. Or, the Key to Hell was always going to Be a Problem(tm).
Set between the epilogue and chapter one of Cling Fast.
HOLD TIGHT
Hob is tasked with his first quest as Vassal of the Endless, Morpheus is bad at using his words, Destiny thinks he's so clever, Desire makes a confession, Rose Walker meets her Uncle's boyfriend, and Lyta Hall punches Dream of the Endless in the nose. Or, the one where Hob Gadling turns into everyone's therapist, and honestly, he ain't mad about it.
Set at the end of Cling Fast - after the premiere of “Elizabethan Manor”, but before the Epilogue.
KEEPSAKES
Short ficlets set in the Hob Adherent world, based on prompts received from readers. Includes tales of how Hob and Eleanor met and wed, Hob being a badass at a Ren Faire, some hurt/comfort and sleepy smut, and the story of how Hob met Orpheus.
TAKE ROOT
A deleted scene for a sequel I ended up scrapping.
#Late to the dreamling week posting#Dreamling Week#dreamling week 2023#Dreamling#centennial boyfriends#centennial husbands#the sandman#sandman#hob gadling#dream of the endless#matthew the raven#losyark#cling fast adjecent#cling fast#hob adherent#the hob adherent series#j.m. frey#dreamling week reblog#I know I keep reblogging the same thing#But I only have the one thing to share#hob x dream#hob is his own ancestor#professor hob gadling#lord morpheus#fan fiction#fanfic#am writing
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You ever think about how the fandom will go nuts trying to explain how Astarion is ~basically~ an elven child and how he’s absolved of all guilt for everything he’s done by the abuse he endured and yet… on the other hand we also have Gortash, who very literally was a child when sold to the hells and put through who knows what manner of abuse, saw who knows what messed up shit, who has had chances to do better, yes, but has also had to fight to survive and be more than just a beggar on the streets once he escaped. And he’s the totally evil and irredeemable one according to most fans. I’m not trying to woobify him btw, it’s just always interesting how every other character gets defended on the basis of “but cult conditioning/abuse/etc” but Gortash is uniquely the worst man alive. Which he is, but also. Cmon. Astarion has a long list of innocent victims and is a razors edge away from becoming the next cazador in any given play through and yet he’s a perfect uwu angel apparently. This isn’t about saying Gortash isn’t evil, this is about saying he’s not drastically more evil than a lot of other nuanced characters in this game who get defended by the fandom masses.
ANON if I could kiss you, I would commit tax evasion with you.
THIS.
Like I know Gortash is awful, but so is fucking everyone.
Shadowheart can become a Dark Justiciar and do awful things for Shar. Lae'zel and the githyanki are a bunch of pricks who kill their own kids for showing weakness and kill innocent people all the goddamn time. Minthara obviously slaughters a bunch of innocent refugees, if you allow her to, and as a drow, probably committed a cavalcade of evil actions.
Gale's blind ambition could've nuked a fucking town. He might not have intended to become a living bomb, but he did, and by running around Faerun, he WAS putting literally everyone within like five miles of him in mortal danger. Wyll would've killed Karlach if you weren't there, and he expresses this horror, because he has definitely killed innocents for Mizora before.
Astarion would've gladly become Cazador 2.0, if you didn't stop him. He might've started out ok, but he would descend into that same evil, using you until there was nothing left of you, and treating others the way he was treated, because he sees himself as a god now.
Even fucking Karlach...who is a sweetie, and god I love her...well fuck, didn't Gortash accuse her of knowing just how shady his shit was? She was a desperate kid, yes, and he definitely took advantage of her, but he explicitly calls her out for working for him, even though she knew he was shady (if not a Banite). Plus she was his bodyguard for years. As if your bodyguard wouldn't know you were being a peace of shit?
The WHOLE POINT of Baldur's Gate 3 is that you and your companions are defined by your choices.
The option EXISTS to SAVE THESE PEOPLE.
THERE IS NO OPTION TO SAVE GORTASH.
The game gives you the option of seeing him die one way or the other way.
I'm just SAYING it's not totally fair to act as if Gortash is truly irredeemable, when out of all the villains, he at least had an idea of a better world, even if it was still self serving and frankly awful.
He was slightly better than the Dark Urge, and they GET the choice of redeeming themselves.
He never does. And maybe he wouldn't have taken it, but that's really not the point.
You hit the nail on the head, bud.
Gortash is evil, no doubt, this is true, he is not just a victim of circumstances, he made every wrong decision he could've made...
But the fandom has no problem woobifying Astarion even though that scene with Sebastian is fucking soul wrenching.
They raise their hackles at Gortash, as though he's been alive for 200 years and lured thousands to their deaths/vampirism, and they forget that Lae'zel is absolutely awful, and approves every time you murder children in front of her.
And Shadowheart spent her childhood learning to torture people.
You can say well their crimes aren't equivalent- and yes, that is true, HOWEVER.
Remember that you have met them when they were powerless.
If given power...if they had never been mindcontrolled by parasites...well shit, they might've fucking killed you.
They might've become tyrants themselves. I know it's purely conjecture on my part, I just kinda...I don't even necessarily want a redeemed Gortash storyline.
I'm fine with him just being a villain!
I just also have a working brain that doesn't understand the reflexive urge to say, he couldn't redeem himself if he tried.
I think, in this fictional world of course, that redemption should be possible. I think if they are honestly trying, and they repay the debts they incurred, then it might be justified.
But we didn't get that choice, and neither did he, and honestly, with what the game presents...I can whole heartedly say no, he wouldn't have redeemed himself. Even if he could, he would not have done it.
But the possibility does exist.
Trying to deny it makes you look like a hypocrite as you insist Ascended Astarion is still an uwu baby.
Like nah, sweetie. Good luck with that.
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