so I'm rewatching ajtl (because I'm a sucker for the "squad of murder bffs who are also talented in their own field" troupe) and I NEED a liudaotang squad prequel please

because apparently

Qian Zhao says he has known Ning Yuanzhou for 20 years

NYZ is apparently 30, so they met as kids?

NYZ rescued a five year old Yuan Lu from a warehouse fire in the Hungry Ghost Realm

YL also mentioned that the Princess (Yang Ying) asked about NYZ, so the both of them were already acquainted before the Quest™

Ning Yuanzhou was just a scout from the Hell Realm before he became Head of the Six realms. (Sun Lang and Qian Zhao are commanders in their respective realms, YSS and YL were commanders too).

NYZ was in prison with YSS??? prison buddies prequel???

Can't remember if Yu Shisan and Sun Lang mentioned anything about how they got to know NYZ

TW// GROOMING, MANIPULATION breaking down tigerheartstar and dovewing and why i think its awful ik I said that I dont really like warrior cats anymore but recently i've been thinking about some stuff regarding the series and its fandom and there's one thing that's been particularly bothering me. dovewing and tigerheart. it's just crazy to see the shift of support for tigerdove considering early 2010s warriors fandom seemed mixed on them. now there seems to be this equivocal support for them, probably because most of the fandom's exposure to the couple has been the recent books which frames them as man who loves his wife x burnt out prophecy kid who will do anything for her malewife. which theres nothing wrong with that dynamic, i think it's cute, but people really seem to forget about how tigerheart straight up groomed and treated dovewing awfully throughout oots and even in tigerheart's shadow. it seems to be a forgotten fact that tigerheart was a full grown warrior by the time he was pursuing dovepaw, who was a newly made apprentice. for perspective, this was a 6-7 moon teenager with someone almost the age of her mentor (a little younger). people try to use the excuse "oh but they're cats" and "the age gap isnt that bad" but even the recent books acknowledge with frostpaw and splashtail, that a warrior and apprentice dating is WEIRD. tbf oots was released in the early 2000s, but the fact that canonically speaking the age gap is seen as a teenager and adult relationship gives me the ick. it really puzzles me to see people get on ships like dustfern and bramblesquirrel (both of which i hate btw) for their age gaps but come up with every excuse in the books to defend tigerdove. its not even just the age gap too, again, their relationship has consisted of tigerheart manipulating and grooming dovepaw to do what he wants. in the first two books (esp the second book of oots) dovepaw is presented as someone who got attached to the cats from the journey and doesnt necessarily understand why they must act like they shouldnt exist anymore due to the borders. this is something that tigerheart LEARNS and actively takes advantage of when dovepaw questions why hes at their borders (tldr its dark forest stuff). he shifts the topic and then goes on about the journey and how he felt that they almost became friends, and that if they were in the same clan things would be easier. this may not seem like a big deal, but this goes on for the rest of their interactions whenever tiger needs to pressure her to do something she doesnt want (meeting up, trusting him, etc.) He realizes that the subject of different borders resonates with her and uses it to his advantage whenever he wants something out of her. This can especially be seen in the next book, “Night Whispers”, which kickstarted their relationship. Dovepaw accidentally ran into ShadowClan territory while hunting, and Tigerheart happens to find her there. Once again, he gives her a speech about borders being meaningless, before asking her to meet up with him before the ShadowClan patrol catches them. There’s also other examples in later books where he coerces her into meeting up or trusting him since “that’s what friends are for” or even later in that book, where he manipulates her into using Ivypaw as a captive for herbs. 

When you take this into account, plus him as a full grown warrior, starting a romantic relationship with a barely apprenticed Dovepaw who is shown as having a childish/ immature perception on romance/mates (such as her argument with Ivypaw and claiming that she should “find her own mate”), Tigerdove feels very much like grooming to me. According to the dictionary definition grooming is, “the action of attempting to form a relationship with a child or young person, with the intention of sexually assaulting them”. Of course, in this case, since it’s a young adult book, it’s to form a romantic relationship, which could also be another goal of grooming. Groomers tend to display manipulative behaviors towards the victims in order to coerce them into trusting them more. Whether that be through compliments, gifts, trying to resonate with them or make them feel special. They tend to try to get them to keep and “share” secrets, which is another tactic they utilize both to isolate the victim and to get them to feel more comfortable. 

A lot of behaviors that Tigerheart displays towards Dovepaw falls under this, including the examples I mentioned. There are a couple of other comments that he makes which come off as creepy such as Dovepaw “being his favorite sister”, which as I established, is something a groomer would say in order to make the victim feel as though they’re special and garner their trust. Which is especially the case when you note that he makes that comment in reference to Dovepaw asking about his ties to Ivypaw, which he actively lies about, and quickly reassures her that there’s nothing going on. 

This tactic of manipulation, where he either makes her feel special, or even love bombs and dissuade her from standing up for herself, doesn’t stop when she’s an apprentice. It continues when she’s a warrior, and is constantly used throughout OOTS and “Tigerheart’s Shadow”. At one point in the series, Dovewing and Tigerheart get into an argument about Dawnpelt wrongfully accusing Jayfeather of murder. When Tigerheart defends his sister, Dovewing stands up for Jayfeather, which prompts Tigerheart to try and manipulate her out of the conversation. He jumps straight to talking about how much he loved and missed her, and guilts her by asking why they had to argue like this, and why they couldn’t just “meet like before”. As for Tigerheart's Shadow, he actively goes against what she wants (to raise her kits outside the clan) and actively pressures and guilts her into coming back, before she finally relents. He doesn't care about what SHE wants, it's always about him. Whether it be secretly meeting up, or in The Last Hope, he tries to pressure her to date him again (which she FINALLY refuses and scolds him for thinking about his own needs when they're right before a final battle. as she should). It's especially upsetting in the newest book that tigerheart seems to be the only think at the center of her character. when she argues with ivypool, it's less about the two sister's interpersonal conflicts and more about her and tigerheart's relationship. which...feels like a lot of missed potential to me? i want them to argue, i want dovewing to stand up to herself against ivypool, but why does the entire conflict have to revolve around him? why can't dovewing have her own thoughts and feelings without it tying back to her awful husband?

I've been asleep in the driver's seat I've been lost in my head for weeks Tryin' to find what it is I need Too god damned tired to sleep

My first drawing of Zachariah Trench based on the best Trench/Darling fanfiction The Days of Thunder by @wondrouswendy. If you haven't checked it out you should! Peek Trench and Darling characterization, drama and that wonderful romance!

As Trench is my favorite character (I know you're all surprised) it made sense for him to be my first "realish" full drawing. I know it's not great but I tried really hard. Trench is cool so here he is. He always needs more love and for more people to appreciate him.

im so mad that this is a side blog account and not a main account. i started this blog when i was still relatively new to tumblr and i think i was… like. fourteen years old or something. i never thought i would continue for this long, and i never knew so many people would like the content i put out here (i have over 9k followers which is literally mind-blowing, like wow….).

because this isnt a main account, i cant respond to replies left on my posts, i cant really reply to anyone unless i reblog !! i cant even follow people with this blog, it just comes up as my main blog (which is not pjo-related… rip my failed attempts at organising my fandoms to different blogs). so my avenues of interaction with a lot of you are seriously impeded.

so i just want to say i am so thankful for all of you, i read every single person’s tags who reblog my stuff, i read all of your replies and every time im crying screaming rolling around on the ground in agony over the fact i CANT REPLY!!

i know my posts are super inconsistent these days, im glad so many are still here! i think i may change some of my content eventually (never gonna get rid of the incorrect quote stuff, i’ll just be adding some other things like pjo headcanons or analyses or something), just to spice some stuff up on here.

guy who knows krav maga fights himself like a girl

progress on this wretched thang

recently I've been seeing a shit ton of discourse about Princess Bubblegum on twt and how some people kinda view her as some sort of irredeemable bitch who does not deserve to be treated kindly by marceline or anyone and like,,,though couple of pb's actions are certainly morally questionable at best and outright unethical at worst,, people must know that adventure time has like 10 main seasons worth of pb character plot right? and like,,,doesn't the whole "we were messed-up kids who taught ourselves how to live" verse from the monster song like literally sum up why PB was the way she was until she decided to outgrow that-

Thinking more trans Kokomi thoughts,,, ohh bby no one understands her like me,,,,shes the perfect pretty girl,,,,,

You deserve questions too sammy!

For example, which barbie movie is your favorite?

OH MY GOD IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS QUESTION

i have a few favs this is so hard 😭 in general its always been barbie fairy secret, mariposa and the fairy princess, princess charm school, and pink shoes.

whats urs??

I just finished watching Hbomber's video about RWBY, "RWBY Is Disappointing, And Here's Why", and I think a lot of it can apply to Sanders Sides.

A series that has potential to be great, but the lack of good writing and character building ruins it. A series that occasionally, genuinely, has good parts in it, but never elaborates on it or writes it out to focus on things that don't matter than what it could be. A series whose creator only responds to the rude "criticisms", rather than looking at real critique by fans who want to see the series be great.

OC-tober day 11 - hot cocoa palette!

reblogs off bc i dont want to start Conversations based on other peoples posts but re the whole "who is in control you or the character" question, i find it SO interesting because it's by letting myself discovery write that I (for me personally disclaimer) found the perfect balance between intuition and intention. which to preface "intution" is the easiest way to describe how the inside of my writers brain feels bc often i just get vivid characters/stories/images/scenes with little control at first and i have to figure out what they mean. anyway discovery writing is what works for my brain to make intentional decisions because i need to be amidst a draft to get the Story Cogs working, whenever i try to outline before a draft it's always been just throwing things at a wall bc it feels too far away, but because im also using the discovery element to do that it's like. that's where i think the whole i feel like my characters reveal themselves to me comes from. because im always discovering small bits about them even if i've written them for years just but because discovery writing is also what prompts me to be intentional about writing as i write something it's like both are happening at the same time. so the whole "who's in control" it's like...i don't think control is the right word for me at all because its not Me or the Character it's me trying to understand the character to understand + then write my intentions. like neither me or the character are in the drivers seat because there's no car we are in the middle of the story forest and at first i won't know what it means at all except that it is a Story. and my character will start going one way and sometimes i'll follow and pay attention to where they're taking me to figure out if this is the right path/where to go next. and sometimes i'll figure out how to read the compass first and realise i need to drag their ass in another direction

oh what a good time to be on the ikon tag today

Gossip Girl 2x25 "The Goodbye Gossip Girl" // 3x07 "How to Succeed in Bassness"

the day people finally understand whats the actual deal with mafukasa parallels is the day I will achieve inner peace.

I meant to send this yesterday buy Forgot but it's 3/20 for me now (yay :3) I actually had something else to say but got up writing this ask and that thought left sooo please any new thought for your au :3? Please say as much as you want, I would like to hear it the stage is yours!

hey ahhh I love okyakusan I love enablers . im going to be the most annoying person on this soapbox. also literally rewriting this because I lost the note this was in like I said not writing it in Tumblr post would be a better idea OH WELL ! I was just spouting nonsense there anyway what was I talking about. ohh right my Adachi rightt right….

The thing with Adachi and how he’s kept me up at nights is how much there is to do with him. In this case with gsaslau, he’s not just “empty,” he’s “emptied”

While I write like there’s a million subplots going on simultaneously in this au (which is. right) the thing about Adachi being the central character somewhat is because of his bond with Mim and what that means for everyone’s Gas Station Attendant Social Link

If we did consider myth, then yeah, we have Izanagi and Izanami; Souji and Marie, Adachi and well. Yeah.

There is significance to each other’s life by the motif of this myth alone. Not even being specific if they’re family, friends, lovers, or adversaries, because it could be that secret third thing (‘you have more than three options’ yeah I know that)

Mim and Adachi’s relationship is so special in a way that it’s like that Tumblr post it’s like. It’s like this

God’s goal of their social experiment was there to truly determine what humans wanted. Sure, they were born out of the desire to veil the truth and accept more palatable blissful lies, but they went out of their way to confirm that and see if humans had the strength to see past it all and live their lives in truth as they’d always been.

Choosing three human individuals with the qualities at the end of the spectrum and the in-between: to be full of Hope, or full of Despair, or to be nothing but a swirling black hole of Emptiness.

That Izanami tried to push the limits of these qualities as well. How far can Hope be hopeful before falling to despair. Can that of Despair actually stand on his own to feet and be hope for everyone else. Can Emptiness… not be empty.

Izanami saw a literal blank slate enter Inaba. Not anybody who’s lived in Inaba their entire life (Namatame), not anybody who’s returned to Inaba to live their life (Souji). God peeked inside a man’s hollow heart and decided to fill it. Besides taking the most convenient human occupation for that moment, the attendant may as well have come out of that mold and was there to be everything Adachi needed. Trimming out any excess, filling up bubbled spots, polishing everything here and there as time went by. Having to be there for the other pawns they want to keep a close eye on and changing and adapting like a clay doll, remolded and and reshaped to their will, but otherwise staying the same to the mold it first came out from.

Until the imperfections couldn’t be hidden. The fog was seeping, the maggots were crawling, the rot was wafting, the scars were showing. But there should be more to an attendant than working at the gas station, right? Let him have wishes to take care of his home. Never figure out where he goes when it’s not raining. Don’t ask for his name but rather know him by all the things he talks about that is everything but anything about him.

God just made a puppet just enough for the humans they needed to get close to. And what if the self-sabotaging man says he doesn’t like idiots, maybe that’s exactly what he needs. What if he needs someone so much that isn’t like him that he can just be himself. What if he needs something to take care of because he can’t take care of himself. Give him something he’s good at doing and he’ll do it. Give him someone who won’t care what he’s doing and just enjoy him for the person he is. Then take it all away just to see how empty he can get.

What’s worse than being having nothing the whole time—actually having something and now you lose it? What’s the point of learning to love having never loved before then all if it’s taken from you? Why be filled to the brim from a half empty glass only to be tipped over and have your heart spill all over the floor? Was it just better to be empty the whole time, or be emptied from being so full?

Mim literally had a Teddie moment and said “wow I’ll make something so loved and appreciated just so I can stay close to the things I need to monitor” then fucking realized “hey I like it this way actually maybe bonds are a good thing.” Then they remember they have a fucking JOB to do and they’re like “ohh just kidding im a fucking monster they won’t love the real me anyway (god)” and do a Marie and take everyone’s memories of them— the attendant. Because they don’t just want to make a separate sentient being of the identity they just accepted was their own self. If there was going to be an attendant, it would be them. But since they can’t be there, then there’s also no attendant to keep these memories and hearts occupied.

They ran away hoping to cut off all their bonds so people won’t regret associating with a monster, leaving a bunch of people with botched memories and holes in their lives. And they did a really bad job at cleaning up, that there are people who are still chasing after them because these people care. And they don’t WANT these people to pursue the truth because they’ll be so disappointed. Mim ends up trying to erase themself entirely so there’s nothing to chase. The world would be so free and pristine and clear of their influence because they’re gone DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU

Mim saw Adachi and said “how can I stay close to this fucking miserable man who I need to use to stimulate this city and get the results I need” then subsequently poured themself into a mold of the emptiness in his heart and out came the attendant. Look at this guy who’s so stupid, who’s an actual idiot, a prettyboy who knows nothing about the outside world, who has a skull so thick and a humor so odd. Literally everything Adachi isn’t—but that was the point. Bitch just interpreted the emptiness inside him and filled him and now they’re fucking worsties besties it’s ridiculous. This is what watching chair car adventure 100000000000 times does to a motherfucker

Mim’s stupid foggy attendant body starts literally melting in the summer heat. Anxious that people would call them out, but being sympathized with and being told they’re just not good in the heat, like other humans. Getting callouses so rough and actually bleeding from a cut on their finger when they thought fog would just seep out. Putting their hand in in their mouth and actually tasting the oil and wax they’ve been working with the whole time. Getting so hot or laughing so hard they actually get flushed until the tips of their ears. Wondering if the maggots crawling in their body made their way out, when the beetles they found in Namatame’s truck made their way into their sleeves and scuttle away. That maybe they didn’t smell like burnt rot, but rather car exhaust and gasoline and tomato juice they spilled on their pants. That maybe when they pull back their sleeves or look under their shirt it could be skin with lungs breathing and a heart beating rather than decaying flesh hanging off of bone.

Adachi learning how to open his heart to things and let things inside, while a puppeteer stops puppeteering and their smiles actually hurt their face because they can’t stop. Both becoming more human again in their own ways, the other quite literal. Both running away and sabotaging themselves for the sake of the people and the home they learned to love, neglecting to love themselves. I’ve made them both so alike it’s sickening even to me but it’s so fun I have dolls that are beaten up so much I drive their faces into the ground because that’s how I play with dolls and have fun SORRYY

And this is how they are best friends. Which is an essay that is just as badly structured but still expresses what I want to say probably. I lied actually. There’s more than one, but still.

THE two skits in visualive that matter so much to me https://m0e-ru.tumblr.com/post/690320733390471168/stopping-myself-here-but-i-hope-its-a-well-known

ESSAY 1 https://m0e-ru.tumblr.com/post/664354915309764608/you-dont-understand-how-much-chair-car-adventure

ESSAY 2 ✌️ft. more adachi I think https://m0e-ru.tumblr.com/post/667202694005587968/please-by-all-means-make-a-post-about-adachi-and

tohru “fuck this guy in particular” adachi https://m0e-ru.tumblr.com/post/691316103200276480/yknow-if-you-were-mentally-ill-and-watched-the

adachi touchy as hell compilation https://m0e-ru.tumblr.com/post/694208373929967616/adachi-touchy-as-hell-compilation