I'm doing a wip Wednesday to keep my motivated for this wips I'm working on because I'm finally on break and theoretically have the time SO up today we actually have two wips:

An update on my Imp!Milo fic I have in my wips (Imp!Milo loses Sweetheart and becomes unrecognizable)

An update on my 1920's Milo/Sweetheart fic I have going on

All below the cut <3

Imp!Milo

Milo’s vision tunnuled. “Where are you?” “West corridor, they have me surrounded, I’m still cloaked so I don’t think they know where I am, but-” The line crackled, then went dead, and Milo looked back at Asher, who was frozen a few feet behind him. “Sweetheart?” Milo asked. Silence. Milo could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his years, and he tried again. “Sweetheart?” The line came alive again, and Milo’s blood ran cold at what he heard. “Don’t you fucking touch him, do you hear me?! I swear to god if you touch a damn hair on his head-!” Sweetheart’s scream was cut off. There was a humourless laugh, deep and dark, that filtered across the walkie. “Looks like we found your little ghostie,” a voice said, the same person who was laughing. “Say goodbye little ghostie.” “Milo don’t fall for it, I’m fine,” Sweetheart tried to reassure him. “I’ll be fine, stay there, promise me that yo-” There was a sickening crack, and the sound of Sweetheart slumping to the floor. Milo didn’t wait any longer, dropping the walkie and taking off at full speed. Asher called after him, but Milo could barely hear it over the rush in his ears. He was shifted into his wolf form in no time. Milo, don’t be rash, Asher’s voice in his head. Again, Milo didn’t listen. He could only repeat Sweetheart’s name in tune with his heart as he raced forward.  Milo, Asher repeated, you need to think this through. Milo growled. Tell me what to do again and I rip you to shreds. My mate is in trouble. Either help me or get lost. Asher didn’t respond, but Milo did hear his pace pick up. Asher pulled up beside him, facing forward. Milo could tell by his stance he’s decided to help him. Whether to keep him from killing himself or because Asher doesn’t want to lose Sweetheart, Milo doesn’t care

2. 1920's Milo/Sweetheart

Sneaks couldn’t focus on anything that weekend, no matter how hard they tried. They had errands to run and were making stupid mistakes the whole time. They meant to get ahead on some of the cases that they had but never could get their mind to focus on what was in front of them. Their last interaction with Milo and his friends played on a loop in their head. “Aww, cheer up, Greer. You know we’re only teasing.” “Greer?” Milo had looked so defensive when they caught on, worry deep in those eyes of his. Sneaks would be too if they were in his shoes. But, this was more than just knowing his father. This was about the fact that Sneaks knew where they heard that name before. There is an ongoing case against Shaw Security. There are plenty of reports of their misconduct, but they were never able to get the suckers. Every investigation led to dead ends where they would have to let the pack member go. Sneaks was kicking themself for not realizing it sooner. David was the Alpha’s son, and Asher was a Talbolt, another family they had been having trouble with. The pieces were there, and they still didn’t put it together. It was almost like they knew, but didn’t want to admit it to themselves. On Monday, they still went through the files, just to make sure. They scoured every offence connected to that pack, heart sinking the more that Milo’s name came up. He was never properly convicted and never had any jail time outside of arrests, but Sneaks couldn’t believe what they were seeing. There were accusations of murder on the papers in front of them. They sighed, rubbing their hands down their face, leaning against the table. Sneaks almost didn’t want to believe it. Milo was just so… there was no way he did what he was accused of, right?

what is it with me and school/university settings because I can't stop thinking about having a nasty one night stand with König at some frat party and he becomes obsessed with you while you don't even know his name. you're just trying to get through uni without crashing and burning while coping using drugs and sex and there's just this fucking guy who you slept with once and now he's everywhere, caring about you to an infuriating degree

listen I know we're rooting for "white hair streak" Callum as a symbol / effect of dark magic, and while I think it's more likely than the alternative, given that it has largely been Claudia (and Ziard's) territory thus far, I think we're underselling the tragic potential of Callum being given the corruptive face instead of a white streak

The facial / bodily corruption physically manifesting has solely been demonstrated through Viren thus far, who is Callum's primary foil (even if he, like many others, also has parallels with Claudia and her dark magic use in particular)

We know that just one spell can warrant the corruption (Viren received his after healing Soren) and require it to be hidden

Seeing the corrupted face of himself was enough for Callum to reject being a dark mage in 2x08, but as we know, neither that nor the threat of Aaravos was enough to make him not do it again in 5x08

Just as Viren's dark magic face informs his duality and how honest he's being with himself and others, if Callum wears his / in the lead up to his immediate second possession, it could show a similar erosion of identity (i.e. that Callum has lost himself physically and mentally due to the possession)

We also know there's a way to heal heavy dark magic corruption other than just Purification given the Mushroom mage's spell with Zubeia. Possible symbolism of Callum being returned to normal / uncorrupted and healed once he breaks free?

Viren's corrupted face, even though he covered it up, is something he links to Lissa ultimately leaving him. Meanwhile, one of S6's inversions will seemingly be Callum likewise going to extremes / following in Viren's footsteps, and Rayla being the opposite of Lissa in refusing to leave

i'm so sick in the head over the stupid men that go beat each other up i haven't had a hyperfixation this bad since i watched stranger things this is Bad.

It had started because some people had misheard something Phantom said. One singular letter was responsible for the mess he was in right now.

They thought Phantom had said "Dad"

He had not, not this time at least, he was, admittedly, rather prone to accidentally calling Jack "Dad" because the man actually was. Though those moments were nothing compared to this.

It had spread like wildfire throughout the school, and then the city as a whole. Phantom had a dad, a dad who was visiting next week. That's what they knew, and theories and questions were already abound. Was Phantom's dad alive? Or dead too? What was their relationship like? Was this mysterious dad Phantom's blood (ectoplasm?) father? Or was Phantom adopted? How similar were they?

Dan just laughed at Danny over the phone when he tried explaining the situation to his older self before he came by to visit.

rating: G tags: established relationship, fluff, smooching prompt: Love is being late to work because you can’t ever say goodbye in a reasonable amount of time. @steddielovemonth

Eddie wakes up to a heavy weight flopping gently down on top of him. He comes to with a hum and a stretch that pops down his spine even as Steve wraps himself around Eddie, his face pressed into Eddie's neck.

Steve is already dressed for the day, green vest and jeans, his hair a little crunchy with spray, his deodorant fresh and bright compared to the warm smell of sleep. Eddie has to wiggle a bit to get his arms from under the blanket to wrap around Steve's shoulders in return.

"Mmm, you're a jerk, waking me up so early," he whispers, even as he shifts them until he can hook a leg around Steve's hip, blanket and all.

"It's eleven, lazy bones," Steve whispers back. He lets Eddie move them more, until they're all tangled up again. Steve will have to fix his hair, but Eddie doesn't care. He should have thought of that before waking Eddie up.

Not that Eddie minds—would probably call Family Video as soon as the door closed behind Steve to make sure he wasn't mad at Eddie.

Eddie starts kissing a path from the top of Steve's forehead down to his lips, tasting toothpaste and mouthwash, and wondering if Steve's ever grossed out by Eddie's morning breath.

He must not be, because he returns Eddie's lazy kisses with a happy sigh, holding Eddie a little tighter. It drags on like that, and to Eddie it's timeless, too short and an eternity, bliss in just being able to kiss Steve like this, the smell of Steve in his sheets and his toothbrush in the bathroom, and his millions of hair supplies in a basket under the sink. Wayne's no doubt asleep in the front of the trailer, and Steve would have been as quiet as a mouse getting ready before he snuck back into Eddie's arms to say bye before leaving for work.

Eddie loves this. Says as much into Steve's mouth, swallowing it up when Steve says it back, whispers lost between them and the morning sun.

"Gonna be late for work," Eddie sighs, even though he doesn't move except to run a hand down Steve's back.

"Robin shift," Steve murmurs, moving in to kiss Eddie again, like he can't get enough of him, the same way Eddie can't get enough of Steve.

Laughing, Eddie kisses him more, addicted to the warmth, the wet slide of their lips, the heat of Steve's breath. "Gonna get fired one of these days," he says when Steve has to come up for air. Laughs again, when Steve just dips back in to start it all up again. "Steeeve."

"Don't wanna go," he whines.

"I know," Eddie says. This time, he shoves Steve onto his back to he can press him into the mattress, peppering his cheeks and nose with kisses. It's gotta be going on 11:30 by now, and Steve will be a whole hour late at this rate. "Just for now, baby, and I'll come visit you later."

"Promise?" Steve does this thing that he must have picked up from a girlfriend, where he looks up at Eddie with big eyes and pouts his lips and bats his lashes at him, and it shouldn't work. But it does. Every time.

"Promise," Eddie breathes, smiling, and leans down for another kiss. And another. And another, another. And Steve doesn't get to work until well past noon. When Eddie comes to visit around five, Robin chews him out too.

Behind him, there is movement. The sharp, sudden clang of metal against metal. Lan Wangji glances briefly over his shoulder.

Perhaps predictably, Su She has decided to try and strike at his exposed back, like the dishonorable coward he is. A fool, as well, for having apparently forgotten the presence of the Ghost General despite insulting the man only a moment ago. The tip of Su She’s blade is trembling against one of Wen Ning’s chain-wrapped forearms, the trailing length of those chains pooling at his feet where they writhe like twisting like snakes, rearing to strike. Lan Wangji’s next breath brings with it the tang of resentful energy. He has already turned his attention back to the scroll.

There is more movement, though Lan Wangji doesn’t pay enough attention to discern what exactly may be happening. Wen Ning’s presence stays at his back, cool and steady as a fortress wall. “You!” Su She’s voice reaches an irritating pitch. “How dare you, you think even you have the right to look down on me?!” He makes a noise not unlike a wild boar before it charges. “You aren’t even human! I thought Lan Wangji was the most arrogant man I’d ever met, but you clearly outclass him there. You’re nothing but the Yiling Patriarch’s dog! Undead servant mutt!”

That, at last, gets Lan Wangji to pay more than a sparse fraction of attention. He has to peer around Wen Ning, who is still standing between them, a marble pillar separating Lan Wangji from Su Minshan. And, it would seem, the embarrassing clump of Moling Su and Lanling Jin cultivators slowly filling the cavern. “Dog?” Lan Wangji repeats, softly. Wen Ning does not visibly shift, but the black veins in his neck pulse, just once, ever so faintly. Resentment in the air smells like tar, sharp and thick.

Su She’s disciples pick up his call, loudly proclaiming the contemptible nature of the Ghost General, the Yiling Patriarch’s filthy, flea-ridden Wen-dog bitch, unfit to be even called a servant by way of his inhuman nature. Lan Wangji listens to very little of it. His eyes are on the part of Wen Ning’s face he can see from this angle, smooth and jade-pale as a porcelain mask, almost colorless in the low light if not for the yawning blackness of his eyes.

“You think he’s your dog, too?” Su She’s voice reaches a new and grating pitch, all inflated self-importance. “Hanguang-Jun, your arrogance knows no bounds! He’ll bite you the second his master has no use for you anymore. You’re not special, you’ve only fallen for the Yiling Patriarch’s tricks!”

Lan Wangji gives that statement exactly as much consideration as it deserves. Before Su She has even finished speaking, Lan Wangji is calling, softly, “Wen Ning?"

Wen Ning cocks his head to the side, bird-like, considering the embarrassment in front of him for a moment. Then he turns his face to Lan Wangji, looking at him with his big, dark eyes.

He answers: “Woof.”

Lan Wangji flicks a glance briefly at the advancing gaggle of cultivators. He and Wen Ning really are well and truly surrounded now. Then he turns back to the scroll, and once again lowers his charcoal to paper.

“Sick ‘em, boy,” he says. He does not raise his head again until the screaming has stopped.

okay okay okay i need everyone to look at this scene from the turtle titan episode where serling just scruffs mikey and carries him away

Podfic: "Captive Crown" by GerbilofTriumph

A shabby narration of GerbilofTriumph's excellent King's Quest fanfiction, "Captive Crown," complete with outrageous attempts at accents and enough bloopers to start a drinking game (with um, raisin juice. There are too many goofs for the real stuff.) This wonderful fiction, full of courage, nightmares, and healing, is gratefully recorded and shared with permission of the author, @gerbiloftriumph. Go check out her awesome creative blog.

All seven chapters are available at the link above, but if you just feel like listening to the first chapter while you scroll, voila:

Original text here:

If you're still doing them, how about top 5 MagiReco OTPs/NOTPs

Ah, it's hard to choose just 5 for the top of my list...! There are a number of ships I really like; I feel like I'm excluding some of my favorite children, haha. These are the ones I think about the most often, though.

5. Urara/Kurara: There's something really sweet about how Urara has seen Kurara at her worst and still loves her unconditionally. ;; On Kurara's end, it's more bittersweet-- she's painfully aware of how much Urara adores her in spite of how nasty and temperamental she can be, and it rips her apart inside because she doesn't feel like she deserves to be loved like that. I will withhold the "kurara loves urara too" essay for now for brevity's sake, but MAN Kurara loves Urara too!! She loves her so much that it's tearing both of them down!!!! RRAAAAGGGHFGDH it's too good......

I find it so cute that Urara refuses to give up on Kurara, even after they had such an ugly breakup. She knows that she messed things up by accidentally being insensitive, but she also knows that Kurara has issues of her own that she needs to sort out. In Urara's Kagome interview, she's like, sure, maybe things are bad right now... but people can change with time, you know? Maybe in a few years, they'll have grown enough emotionally that they'll be ready to make amends and give it another shot. I'm rooting for you, world's most patient clown. o7

Urakura can cover every base from fluff (remember, they used to be best friends!) to angst to hurt/comfort, making it very versatile and engaging to me. Combine that with the trope of "I love you no matter what, and I'll be here for you even on your worst days" (my weakness), and I never stood a chance.

4. Hikaru/Ao: My first Arc 2 ship, and still one of my favorites today! I remember seeing cute fanart for it way back when I first started playing the NA server and being super excited for the game to get to Crimson Resolve so I could learn more about them. :') While NA may have died before then, I am infinitely grateful that fan-translations mean I got to see these two anyway! (thank you hebinomiya and MUT for my life)

To explain a bit about why I like them, hm... They've got a nice dynamic in general! It's on the fluffier side without being bland, I think. Ao is playful in a way that feels a bit distant at first, but slowly opens up and starts to trust Hikaru more (a big milestone for how traumatized Ao is), while Hikaru gets a hit or miss crash course in Making Her Own Decisions. It's also interesting to contrast their individual ways of distancing themselves from their suffering (Ao trying to treat life like a game; Hikaru leaning hard into her role of "the Horse"), especially since they've both criticized the other for... doing almost exactly what they're doing themselves.

The way Hikaru tries to comfort Ao when she's scared or sad is cute, even if she doesn't know how to go about it. While Hikaru is largely numb to having to kill people at this point (wow, that's not depressing at all), she knows Ao isn't, and she gets worried when it seems like Ao is in over her head. Hikaru was the first person to worry about Ao after she accidentally killed Ryou, and when Ao seemed out of sorts in her MSS, Hikaru was the first person to seek her out. It plays nicely with Hikaru's struggle with agency as well-- she wants to help Ao, but she doesn't know where to start because she lacks experience and the ability to think for herself; she's caught between her personal desires (supporting a friend) vs. her duty to Promised Blood's goals; things like that.

As an added bonus, their designs compliment each other very nicely. Blue and orange is a solid combo. :> (And for one minor thing, I love that Ao has a swimsuit line where she's self-conscious about being a little pudgy, and then Hikaru has a swimsuit line where she says she thinks Ao is really cute. Tsuchinoko Real)

3. San/Miyuri: f4 could not have tailored a ship more closely to my interests if they tried. It's a little embarrassing... listen, you can't have san say "when she loses consciousness, she becomes my doll" and not expect me to think there's something going on These two pushed Neo-Magius from "kinda neat" to being my second-favorite faction. They're perfect as individual characters, and even better together; I adore the way they play off of each other. The way they want the best for the other and try to nudge each other towards success, even if that means enabling unhealthy thought patterns or behaviors and inadvertently strangling the other's personal growth, is fantastic.

And, of course, the lighter parts of their dynamic are just as good!! It's readily obvious how much Miyu loves San, but San loves Miyu too; she's just more subdued about showing people she cares for them. I think sometimes people forget how sad San was when Miyu started avoiding her out of guilt-- while it might not have been the same type of instant affection that Miyu felt towards San (at least until she saw Miyu dancing by herself and blushed over how pretty she was), San had very quickly gotten attached to Miyu as her baby, and was devastated to think that she might've lost her so soon.

They're more alike than they seem at first glance, and I think that's part of what makes their bond so strong-- San sees her old self in Miyu, and wants to watch her improve; Miyu sees herself in who San used to be, and admires that someone so timid can grow up to be so outwardly brave and capable. The whole thing is so sweet to me... ;;

... I might also mention that my headcanons for them help boost this up on my list, aha. I picture San as being very tall and broad-shouldered, and Miyu as a tiny little thing who could blow away in a strong breeze, which makes for a cute contrast. :')

2. Juri/Yuna: Oh man, where do I start? Everything about this ship is just perfect to me. I don't care whether they're friends, enemies, lovers, or what as long as they're together; their dynamic is flawless in every way. I'm stoked that they finally got a dual unit! ;_;

I am SO weak for the way Yuna cares about Juri. The gang wars could've been solved or prevented if Yuna had killed Juri before the situation got too bad, but she didn't want to do that. Yuna was so determined to leave Juri alive that she orchestrated that whole big fight in the first half of CR specifically to bring Juri down without killing her. It's not something that Yuna is proud of, but the fact that she manipulated a bunch of other girls (which unfortunately resulted in some casualties) because she loved this one particular loose cannon too much to kill her... man. Devotion.

Yuna is incredibly patient and understanding with Juri in general, which is extra cute to me because almost nobody else is. She knows Juri isn't a bad person, just struggling with mental illness and shitty circumstances, and no matter how Juri feels about herself, Yuna still loves her and wants her around. Not for her strength or holding Ryuugasaki together, but because Yuna cares for her as a friend. It's so... [clenches fist] AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH (´༎ຶོρ༎ຶོ`)

It's readily apparent how much this acceptance means to Juri, too. She used to rely heavily on Yuna for venting her stress since not only could Yuna go toe-to-toe with her in a fight (and willingly does so), she doesn't resent or demonize Juri for being the way she is. Even when Juri was hellbent on defeating Yuna in CR, she's greatly upset when she thinks that she might've actually killed her (or in the bad end where Juri does kill Yuna). For all of the animosity they held towards each other, they need each other; they don't honestly want the other to die. (Not alone, at least-- the scene where Yuna stops Juri from killing herself has an undercurrent of "how dare you try to leave without me", given that Yuna was also suicidal at the time.)

I am, as you can tell from this list, very weak for ride-or-die loyalty (or dubiously healthy attachment; take your pick), and juriyuna delivers that in spades, with all of the dressings and extras I like. Yuna's refined, serious, thoughtful personality and Juri's rowdy, aggressive, playful personality bounce off of each other in ways that are always enjoyable to see, whether it's something heavier like CR or fluffy like the Please, Yuna-san event. Top quality ship.

1. Bat/Ranka: "hmm, what if..." ← me haplessly coming up with an idea while reading CR for the first time 3 years ago, about to inflict an unbreakable curse upon myself

If I had to pick a number-one favorite ship in the series, it would be this. I am trapped in a hell of my own creation... We don't see much of their dynamic outside of CR or Ao's MSS (though Ranka does talk about the Bat elsewhere), and we've hardly gotten any of their relationship from the Bat's point of view, but that just means I can have a field day reading between the lines and piecing together a story from the scraps we do get. Enrichment!!

Ranka's "I need someone strong to follow or I'll die because I can't survive by myself" vs. the Bat's "I need someone prey on or I'll die because I can't survive by myself" is a great parallel that makes for a unique flavor of codependency. Sort of a "marionette and puppeteer" dynamic, I guess? Whatever you call it, it's 100% my brand; I go nuts for this stuff.

On Ranka's end, she knows that this relationship is unhealthy, but she keeps coming back anyway. Some of it is that she sees herself as too weak (physically and mentally) to make it on her own, so she clings to the Bat because being treated badly is better than being dead or alone. Some of it is probably that she sees herself as an awful person, and feels that she "deserves" to be hurt like this as punishment for how spineless she is (a feeling that compounds itself with every horrible thing the Bat makes her do).

It's a form of self-harm, in a way-- but even so, their relationship isn't always bad. The Bat liked Ranka enough to appoint her as her second-in-command, and for what it's worth, she did protect Ranka from the Futatsugi gang wars. She didn't take any issues with Ranka's abrasive, badmouthed personality, either! In fact, the Bat must've liked that about Ranka if she chose to keep her so close, haha. (And this is headcanon territory, but since Monzenbashi's base was an abandoned arcade, I have to figure that they shared an interest in old video games as well.)

In the end, Ranka is left in a thorny position where she hates what she has to go through, but can't bring herself to leave. After all, they have their good moments. The Bat loves her, probably. If she left, she'd be free from the abuse, but she'd lose the sense of safety and familiarity that the Bat gives her. That sort of struggle is super interesting to me-- I really like how this ship explores how loving and hating someone isn't necessarily a cut-and-dry thing.

On the Bat's end, while she does know that what she's doing is wrong, she adamantly believes that she needs to exploit others or she'll be the one to get exploited herself. She's a selfish coward who chews up the weak for personal gain and spits them out when she's through with them, viewing everyone else as either a threat to be disposed of or a tool to be used... and yet, despite all of this, she's shown to genuinely care for Ranka.

I am constantly thinking about the Ao-Ranka fight in CR where the Bat jumped to Ranka's defense, saying that she's going to kill Ao herself if Ranka is going to let herself get hurt like this. The Bat- the girl who gets a sick thrill out of torturing the helpless, who's too paranoid to trust anyone- loves Ranka enough that it made her angry to watch her get hurt. For as cruel and "save myself and fuck the rest" as she is, she has one person she wants to protect.

Something about the way the Bat wants to keep Ranka safe while also treating her like a pawn; hating the thought of losing her, but afraid of letting her get too close... fuckinf!!! Good Shit!!!!! Mix that in with Ranka's conflicting feelings about the Bat and I have a dumpster fire that will keep me warm for years.

I could be delusional (this ship is largely in my head), but it feels like a pretty realistic portrayal of an abusive relationship to me. There are all kinds of things to dig into here, from how it could get worse to how it could get better, and I just... auuuuggghhfhfh MAN im going to fling myself into the sun i love them so MUCH

(bottom 5 under the cut, both for negativity and because this is already super long)

If anyone's OTP is on this list, I apologize-- please know that none of these are a moral judgement or anything! 99% of my NOTPs are just ships I find annoying for one reason or another. It's nothing personal.

5. Rika/Ren: Truly the plain dry cornflakes of the magireco ship world. It's so Generic Yuri Manga that it manages to be frustrating in its lack of substance. I understand that it's one of the most popular ships (if not the most popular ship) in the fandom, but I'm gonna have to pass. :{

4. Ao/Ranka: Do you ever have a ship that bugs you, but you can't put your finger on why? This is one of those for me. Which is weird, because I am very much a multishipper when it comes to Promised Blood! And I adore the way that Ao and Ranka's relationship is written in canon! They have a really rich dynamic; I love watching them make that awkward, gradual shift from enemies to friends, where they clearly want to be closer but also don't quite know how to feel about each other. As a romantic ship, though... Eh. I've tried reading fics and stuff for them, but it's just not my thing.

3. Tsukuyo/Tsukasa/anyone: There isn't a single character who doesn't feel like a third wheel here. Sure, the twins might love her, but not as much as they love each other; she will always sort of be on the outside looking in. Tsukuyo and Tsukasa are so deeply, unshakeably intertwined that I don't even like shipping them monogamously with other characters (a singular exception being that I have a passive appreciation for Kanagi/Tsukasa), so adding a third girl to the mix is out of the question by default.

Yukika is probably the worst offender in terms of third wheel-ness because of her "Akatsuki-senpai" thing, but Amanes/Mifuyu wins the general awkwardness category by virtue of giving me the unfortunate impression of a mistress to a married couple. I tried reading various OT3 fics with the Amanes to see if I'd warm up to the idea, I did, but... it's regular amanecest or bust for me.

2. Kuroda/Asahi: it's not even about the abuse and general assholery on kuroda's end (heavy drama can be interesting with the right framework) it's that the idea of shipping asahi with a dude gives me hives

1. Himena/Hiko: het ship allergy strikes again, im sorry 😔 Sometimes I feel kinda dumb for this one because I know I'd probably like it if Hiko was a girl, but alas. Not only do I have negative interest in M/F, Hiko is the most boring self-insert-looking nerd guy they possibly could've designed. Ungh. (himena is a fun, fascinating character, i like her a lot, but the depths of my distaste mean that whenever a scene comes up where himena talks to/about hiko, i subconsciously overwrite it with "hiko is a girl" or "hiko is imaginary" to make it more palatable to me orz)

Plus the "unpopular boy gets bullied for dating popular girl" plotline feels super contrived to me-- while my experiences are obviously not universal, I usually find that unpopular guys get boosted up the social ladder if they manage to land a date with a popular girl. The whole "forbidden love" trope needs to be done in a very particular way in M/F ships in order for me to not find it stupid, and this one doesn't hit the mark.

... and this is a silly thing to be annoyed by, but it really does grate on me that whenever you ship Himena with a different character, there's an 85% chance that at least one person will come along like "what about hiko?" or "poor hiko" or "ot3 with hiko!" or whatever. Even if you specify that you've written Hiko out of Himena's head in some way or another (got his own body again, never existed in the first place, etc.), someone will make him the focal point regardless. It's happened to me, and it's happened to a few other people I've seen. :'| Frustrating to see an interesting comment on himesasha or w/e get derailed into "but himehiko!!", as if everything Needs to revolve around this one singular boy.

okey big w tonight I actually worked on the fic I'm supposed to be working on!!!

Kinda in the middle of planning a defense, no flirting pls (Patreon)

Bonus:

i'm genuinely mad that i have no motivation to write this fucking fic ;-;

finally getting to mention billy and tommy's smash mains in an ff fic do y'all know how long i've had these

i love how passionate and emotional fic seongjoong is when irl they're like... an arranged marriage... lol

THAT’S SO COOL????? I’m not into video games but GOD they reincarnate and are in love every time??? princess and knight??? also I’ve been wanting to say this for ages but link is sooooo gender. you get it

so. they are in love in the sense that nintendo is queerbaiting me. queerbaiting me with a "straight" couple (they are lesbians). they are not canon they kissed only in the second ever zelda game when there was only the barest story and they were nothing more than pixel sprites and they have not been canon since. and because every game is technically a different link and a different zelda, each individual game varies on how shippable they actually are? like, I'm not very far through twilight princess yet but I've heard they're pretty much just coworkers in that one. the three latest mainline games though, they're like. they're pretty much canon in all but name like you could say it's platonic but like at that point you are running on loads of denial. the three latest mainline games are skyward sword, which is the first link and zelda, the start of the cycle. the plot ENTIRELY revolves around how much link loves zelda. cause they're best friends, hyrule as a kingdom doesn't even exist yet (they live on an island in the sky) she falls to earth and is running around having to discover that she's a reincarnated goddess (that's a whole angst factor btw bc the goddess (hylia) had to fight demise and she won but knew it was temporary and knew demise would have to be defeated again, and that he would need to be defeated with the power of the triforce, which can only be wielded by humans, so she decided basically that she'd need a loyal human knight, and so she reincarnated into a human girl because a girl is loved in the way a goddess isn't and she knew someone would love a human girl enough to save her WHICH HAPPENS so basically zelda gets to have an identity crisis was she just dragging link towards this destiny the whole time? did she truly love him? did he truly love her? are they puppets in this grand plan? "I'm still your zelda" she says to him, but is she??? drives me nuts) and he, ever loyal, keeps running after her to save her again and again and again (link is so dog coded there's a great botw fic about this), and then they defeat demise and he curses them and link is just some guy who went through ALL THIS SHIT cause he LOVED zelda. what if you were in love with your best friend and it cursed you and your descendants for the rest of time this is so francesca by hozier I'd tell them put me back in it I'd go through it again if i could hold you for a minute. and then the next two mainline games are breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom and breath of the wild involves an amnesia plot so you basically watch link fall in love with zelda a second time and then in tears of the kingdom they are. common law married. they share a house. there's only one bed. do NOT get me FUCKING STARTED on the hateno house. and nintendo still plays FUCKING COY zelda's english va has to be like "they... have a really close bond...." this is how I know they're queer you wouldn't do this with straight people. and then people also ship ocarina of time (most popular and well known game of the series most praised for its story) zelink a lot but that's an older game I haven't played yet so I can't speak on them. zelda is so transmasc in that one though this I know. I talk about link being genderqueer a fair amount and everyone on this internet knows link is trans but trust. zelink is t4t