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#like their dynamic is just so interesting to me
simmyfrobby · 3 days
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☕️ 8888?
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i will never think about anything else ever again.
"we were children together" is such a good dynamic. it is SUCH a good dynamic. they're both such interesting personalities. the fashion interest is one thing, but the way they both behave just in general is so fun and interesting and different. pasta who's smiley and enthusiastic and bursting at the seams w joy, and willy who is laid back almost to a fault but can Turn It On on the ice and shows up in big moments. dominance. star quality. weird fucking vibes. they're interesting. they're kinda weird looking (hot). they're FUN. they both fill such interesting roles on their respective teams. pasta as the undeniable nr 1 in a hockey market that loves him without question (but then the only player on the team to get publicly called out by his coach) willy number 2? 3? on a team thats held to a high standard, under impossible scrutiny, having gained the reputation of "the only player who produces during the playoffs" (but then misses games because he has the audacity to be injured). the fact that the leafs hate the bruins and that pasta has said he enjoys beating the leafs more than any other team. the fact that willy's season ended with pasta's OT goal. the fact that they grew up together. the fact that pasta still spends his summers in Sweden. everything about them is so interesting to me i want to know everything there is to know about their friendship i want to study them like bugs.
add. notes.
pasta's active listening face in the last two gifs
Their Language Thing
"have you spent some time with William" "yeah" :)
weird guys weirder fashion
i just like them
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so mcuh
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Watched more Dungeon Meshi. The shapeshifter episode, while very interesting and worthwhile, laying down many necessary things, isn't really an episode I have many thoughts on sadly, as it's not really my favorite. That part about Laios and dogs is probably one of my favorite parts of the entire series though.
But man... Izutsumi... I already adore this character. It's hard to articulate but everything about her just makes me feel like. Fuck yeah girl GO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO MAKE A BETTER LIFE FOR YOURSELF! BE RUDE BE MEAN IDGAF YOU DESERVE IT!
Also just... Senshi being so kind as always... I adore Senshi in so many ways... it's amazing how everyone in the main crew feels like glue that holds the entire narrative together.
Also, the nightmares... god this is so fucking deep with the Nightmares... so much I can say about how the reflections on those dreams say so much about Laios, Marcille, and their relationship with eachother.
Do keep in mind Laios and Marcille's relationship is one that I believe is quite strictly platonic. I also do think that many people tend to misconstrue their dynamic as one that isn't friendship when really. You can see that Marcille did care only about Falin from the start, but as the journey goes on, you can see her heart open up to Laios, willfully listening to how passionate he is about monsters, even excitedly answering back his little tidbits when he hands them out! And she's enjoying the food a lot more now! And most of all... although I don't think I can give my full thoughts on how the nightmare hits deep in this post, I can say this, Marcille describing her dream just perfectly symbolizes the sort of relationship between Marcille and Laios, boiled down to it's bare essentials, with Marcille as a little girl, and Laios jumping in as a big goofy dog and accompanying her, keeping her company, and keeping her safe and happy.
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artydonsgf · 3 days
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Okay so hear me out. The daughter of a famous tennis player, she doesn’t play tennis (maybe she’a like into something completely different like painting lol), but falls in-love with Patrick. Just an idea lol. I guess it could work as headcanons but also like a proper Drabble or something. I think it would be an interesting dynamic.
anon you are a GENIUS. this is non tennis player reader x patrick!!
The ball soars in the air. Your eyes are steadily trained on the bright green ball heading toward you. Slowly, you bring your racquet level until you’re in position to smack the ball. You swing, fully expecting to hear the satisfying sound of connection. Instead, the racquet smacks open air and the ball hits the fence behind you. On the other side stands your mom, racquet in hand and exasperation etched on her face.
“Sweetheart! For the last time, fix your stance!” She cups her hands to yell. You flail your arms in response.
“Mom, maybe I’m not meant to be a tennis player,” you yell back, hands cupped. “You’ve been trying for five years and I still can’t hit the ball properly.” You drop your racquet, smiling when it hits the floor with a dull clang. Serves the cursed thing right. You plop down, closing your eyes to let the sun hit your face. Turning away from the sun, you let your eyes scan the empty seats surrounding the court, trying to imagine what it’s like playing in front of so many people. Mom described it as exhilarating but it only seemed scary to you. Your mom starts to yell something back but you tune her out, guilt free. Contrary to whatever the tabloids say about you, you weren’t sad about being a disaster on the court. Your mom was a tennis legend and everyone seemed to believe that not being able to carry on her legacy was a fate worse than death. To you, it was freedom to do whatever you wanted. The sound of loud whispers caught your ear. When you turned in the direction of the noise, you were met with the panicked look of two teenage boys. They were crouched behind the fence that surrounded the court, shoving each other. You gave them a frown, confused. Once they realized they were caught, they stood up straight with nervous smiles. You looked back to your mother only to discover she was gone. Great, she’s given up on you and now you had two weird boys staring you down. You heaved yourself off the ground and took a few steps until you could clearly make out their faces.
“Yes?” You ask, trying to mask your annoyance with a smile. Had they seen your awful display of tennis? Now that you were closer, you could tell they were handsome. The thought aggravated you more.
“You suck at tennis,” the brunette informed you, a hand weaving through his hair. Your jaw falls, shocked at his bluntness. The blonde one reaches over and smacks him instantly, eyes wide.
“Patrick! Why would you say that?” He turns away from you as if that motion would somehow make his words quiet to your ears. The two exchange a series of looks, the blonde one coming out on top when Patrick rolls his eyes and puts his hands up in surrender. The blonde turns back to you, a placating smile already working its way onto his delicate face.
“I’m really sorry about my friend here,” he gestures to the boy he called Patrick. “He’s not good at talking to girls,” Patrick is rubbing his ear, grumbling but lets the insult fly past him.
“I’m Art. Donaldson. I’m Art Donaldson,” He points to himself as if you’d somehow get the wrong idea and think he was someone else. You smile, finding it endearing. “This is Patrick,” he gestures to his friend again. Your eyes scan Patrick’s face.
“You’re a dick,” you pointedly inform him. He grins, all carefree and beautiful.
“I’m a dick who’s good at tennis,” he says, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Tennis isn’t my thing,” your eyes narrow and Art disappears from your mind. All you could focus on was this boy and his annoying smile.
“Why not? Your mom is a star, those genes didn’t get to you?” He gestures in the general direction of the door where your mom exited. You give him a tight lipped smile.
“I’m not good with a racquet. My strong suit is sewing,” you gesture to your outfit. “Home made.” You do a spin, pleased to see the way their eyes follow you. Being your own designer meant your ass would always look good in skirts.
“I’m good with a racquet,” he leans closer until his face is nearly pressed into the fence. “So is Art,” he waves to his friend. Your eyes dart to the locked door. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you run to unlock it. That’s how you spent the first day you met Patrick and Art. Smushed between them as they tried to show you all the tennis skills they were bragging about. It became apparent early on that Patrick was the expert between the two. He had a stance that your mother would praise and he knew it. Art was good but whenever he caught the cocky smile Patrick wore, his step faltered.
“You got it Art,” you were seated in the shade, your back against the fence, watching them play. He turned to give you a smile. Your eye caught on Patrick, who’s face had darkened. Art threw the ball and served with such strength, the ball didn’t even touch Patrick’s racquet before bouncing and flying behind him.
“Ace!” Art yelled, grinning. Patrick smiled at the display fondly before rolling his eyes. The game continued and Patrick came out on top. The two rushed over to where you still sat, your hands now occupied with a needle and thread.
“So?” Patrick plopped next to you, Art following immediately. You looked up from your project, confident enough you wouldn’t poke yourself.
“What?” You asked, confused. The boys exchanged looks, seemingly speaking to one another through those looks. Finally, Patrick makes a noise that could only signal defeat.
“Your number. We want your number,” he points at your phone sitting in your lap. You raise an eyebrow.
“Both of you?” Your eyes fall on Art before going back to Patrick. They nod eagerly. You stop sewing long enough to gesture between them. “Would joining this make me third place?” The moment the words leave your mouth, Art already has an explanation to shut it down.
“There is no this. Number?” He fishes his phone out of his pocket and drops it in front of you. You oblige, tapping your number in. He nods, satisfied and knudges Patrick to do the same. You hold your hand out for his phone but he instead reaches over to grab your phone. He gestures for you to unlock it and for some reason, you do.
“I’ll give you my number instead so when you’re thinking about me at 2 am, you can tell me,” he has the audacity to wink and your stomach has the audacity to flip. Art has a crumpled look on his face before he smooths it quickly. The boys stand up and leave, wiggling their fingers in goodbye. You look down at the new number in your phone, the only number in your phone at the current moment and smile. Being god awful at tennis finally did something for you, besides putting you on gossip sites. Maybe tennis wasn’t that bad.
hello! tbh i didn’t like this as much as my other writings but the show must go on😭 also it’s obvious but i kinda forgot my tennis terms, high school tennis wasn’t enough for my brain to remember apparently. please enjoy, i hope it’s obvious that this is about patrick.
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faetreides · 10 hours
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you nailed how i imagined modern!feyd to be (batshit crazy) but you think he‘d let cute hello kitty reader put like stickers and bows on his motorcycle and stuff lmao? would he be an ass and be mean about it or would he allow it because reader is all sad and mopey otherwise 😔🎀 (maybe brat reader? like how would mans handle that in the modern au because in the canon verse pissing him off is a bit too scary) and alsoooo i laughed my ass off when you wrote he would debone coryo like a fish because yuh that twink (he could do bad things to me) wouldn’t stand a chance fr
he would actually make coryo so concerned, like they’re both from well off families (feyd just does underground fighting bc for the #love of the game) but coryo will be like “these poor people are CRAZY.” coryo gives off the vibes of he’d tell someone to kill for him (especially when he gets older, or he wouldn’t get his hands dirty if he does it himself & he’s methodical), feyd is tearing out throats with his teeth. he’d tackle his uncle and start stabbing, he’d gnaw his own arm off just for fun like you can’t compete where you don’t compare tbh. (coryo’s still my bf tho <3)
anyway,
cw: 18+ mdni, typical feyd warnings, spanking/pain play type stuff
modern!feyd would only let you put stickers on his bike if they’re the ones that are like hello kitty holding a gun or something. it’s not like he’s afraid that the softer ones will undermine his masculinity or anything, feyd’s ripping into other men with no real regard for keeping their bodies intact, it’s just that the cutesy stickers go on his helmet. he’ll let you tie a ribbon around his bicep and film videos of him flexing and making it pop off. he would wear matching pjs with you, but he doesn’t want to get blood on them so he sticks to his trusty sweats. he’s the kind of person to wear black in the hot summer sun because he’s spiteful enough to not give a fuck about heatstroke, like it’s something he could fight lmao. gets a matching dear daniel x hello kitty tattoo with you i fear, or a my melody x kuromi one since that’s more your dynamic.
brat!reader with canon era feyd does scare me to death, but with modern!feyd it’s fun to think about…. to a degree. like if you keep it up, he’s pausing the match and dragging you inside the ring to spank you in front of everyone. open palm strikes with half of his strength, if he used all of it your ass might fall off. his rings add even more sting. you learn quickly to know when to pack it up and throw in the towel, because he will NEVER be the one to test out your devious little ideas and macinations out on. he’ll shove a vibrator up your pussy and take you for a long ride on his bike, ignoring the way you try to hump him as he points out the sights he thinks you’d be interest in. weirdly punishes you by fucking nice and slow when you want your shit rocked, he doesn’t even edge you or anything, he just gives it you so soft and sweet and holds your hips down so you can’t try to buck them.
in some ways, you being at his matches has helped his abilities. (you do have to come to his fights btw, if you’re not there expect the rumble of his engine to be heard outside of wherever you’re at. feyd will get his unlce to cancle the match if you’re not there, he’s ultimately a certain kind of performer and if the key audience member isn’t there??? what’s the point.) he has to keep an eye on you, which helps him multitask. he’ll be punching some fuckin’ loser into an unrecognizable pulp while, out of the corner of his eye, making sure that no one’s trying to drag you into any wagers or into their cars. he’s curious if you could cum just from watching one of his fights, from hearing the agonized whimpers of his opponent as feyd effortlessly conquers them. something about you must be sick, because the more ruthless he is in a fight, the higher you’re jumping on him and the more marks you’re sucking into his neck.
you’re so clumsy with it, always putting too much teeth into your hickeys. but that’s just the way he likes it, because you know he’s actively holding back from biting you so hard that’s nearly cannibalizing you. (side note: loves gorey horror, nothing too funny or artsy, he likes shit that cares more about the pure carnage than quips or wide camera shots. hannibal is too “fancy” for him, he always asks you to explain what the fuck they’re talking about.) definition of mauling you like a bear, fucking him is like meeting God if they were an eldritch horror and you were on the brink of death. it is NOT for the weak, his thick arms holding you in a headlock as he pistons his gigantic cock into your cervix. he makes you cum until pass out, then he makes you do it again to wake you up. really good at resetting your brain if you need him too.
modern!feyd who gives you the ultimate scary guard dog priviledge. you’re going about your business in a store and he’s practically vibrating behind you, foaming at the mouth and waiting for some mf to try it with you so he can berserk. but no one ever takes the bait, just one look at his deranged ass and they’re swiftly turning on their heels and high tailing it out of the apple store (you’re taking too long to pick what color imac you want.) copies whatever pictures you saw on pinterest, acting as your little prop. wrapping a tattooed hand around your throat, mirror selfies where he’s holding you over his shoulder by your ass, gross close ups of his long tongue wrapped around yours, insta stories directed at paul specficially bc he won’t stay out of your dms. asks his opponents for date ideas while he’s beating their ass 💀, made his uncle organize a remartch (even though feyd won) with the guy who limped over to your adorably clad in pink form and asked you to get boba (because he noticed feyd giving you your favorite before his fights).
pierced dick, would sharpen his teeth and make his tongue forked. face tattoos + whatever piercing’s more painful. big in body mods overalls like he sees himself as an extension of his motorcycle that he’s always illeggaly modding, fast and furious type specs that no court of law would deem road safe. but he always devotes part of his brain to making sure you’re safe when you ride along with him, reaching behind him and his black painted nails rubbing comforting little circles into your plush thighs. ambidextrous by choice and practice, for sure has a cauliflower ear. whenever you’re sad and pouting, he’s grabbing your chin in between his thumb an pointer finger and lifting your head up so he lovingly teases you about being a crybaby and so he can lick your tears away. (and he doesn’t even do it with sexual intent, feyd’s genuinely just trying to consume your sadness directly since word’s aren’t his strong suit.) could fall asleep in an ice bath, has done it before, dad type snoring like you wouldn’t believe.
loves it when you ride him in any kind of water, you have to pack extra strength sun screen if you’re going to be out in the sun though bc he WILL burn more often than not. still has your pussy gorilla glue gripping his length though, there’s no pain on earth that would put him out of comission & that’s a promise.
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nariko-senpai · 18 hours
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I FUCKING HATE PEOPLE WHO SHIP CIEL AND SEBASTIAN FROM BLACK BUTLER!
There is so much wrong with this ship and I have a full LIST of reasons why you are disgusting if you ship it.
1. CIEL IS A MINOR. HE IS 13. I don't care that he acts like an adult sometimes or that he's emotionally mature, he is thirteen fucking years old.
2. Sebastian is like a thousand years old. He's ancient. Enough said.
3. Sebastian cares about Ciel mainly because of the contract. I'm not saying that's the only reason, but Sebastian is mainly with Ciel so he can munch on his soul and have some fun before he finds a new contractor. I do believe Sebastian might have grown more attached to Ciel, but at the end of the day, Sebastian just wants his soul ¯\(ツ)/¯
4. I'm aware that there are rumours that Black Butler was going to be some gross hardcore yaoi series, but the author changed it. I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF THERE ARE SOME REMINENTS OF WHAT BLACK BUTLER MIGHT'VE BEEN, THEY AREN'T A SHIP.
5. There is next to no evidence that they will/are canon. Fight me on this.
6. Some people say it's because the series is old and the people who used to read this were desperate to be with Sebastian or Ciel whoever, and tried to ship them to feed their own dreams but SERIOUSLY. Get a life please 💀
7. Ciel doesn't have a romantic chemistry any characters apart from Lizzy, and he doesn't even seem overly interested in her ngl 💀 And again, he's 13 let the kid just be a kid.
8. The series is most likely never going to go down a romantic path. It's about demons, mystery, and crime fighting. There's a lot more but those are BASICALLY THE MAIN THEMES. not romance.
I could think up so many more, but my fingers are sore from typing. Don't get me wrong, I'm all here for platonic sebaciel because I find their dynamic interesting, but pairing the characters romantically? 🤮
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utilitycaster · 1 day
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I was asked by several people to elaborate on why I thought people hated Essek and specifically treated him as some spontaneous disruption rather than a choice driven by cast members, and so here it is.
An overarching theme is this: Matt, the creator of Exandria and DM for Critical Role, created Essek. The entire cast of Critical Role likes him. Liam O'Brien, as Caleb, chose to romance him. Now, none of this prevents you from disliking him, but I think people pile their hate on Essek because they don't want to admit they are upset with choices the cast members have made. (For what it's worth, this is why I think it's healthy to be able to express that you are frustrated with a cast member's character choices or with developments in the campaign or creative choices generally, and treating expressions of dislike as taboo or worse, inherently problematic, ultimately makes for a far more toxic fandom than one in which people can comfortably say "I don't like this"). Essek is an NPC, and as the post that led me to write this up states, he is a character who represents Matt's narrative decisions and the cast's choices in Campaign 2. To be mad at him is to be mad at a puppet because for whatever reason you are unwilling to admit a dislike for what the puppeteer is doing.
Now: why Essek specifically?
People who shipped Caleb with Jester do this a lot. I'll admit to my own biases re the C2 ships but I do reject this being pure fanwank because people who shipped other Caleb ships and were still around in the late campaign either mostly acted like adults, or just kind of threw Essek into the mix. The thing really is that a lot of people who shipped Caleb and Jester are very big fans of Liam specifically, and Liam and Laura's dynamic, and are loathe to say that Liam decided not to have Caleb significantly pursue the relationship; that Laura chose to have Jester act utterly unaware of the relationship; and that Liam decided, instead of having Caleb pine endlessly, to pursue another potential romantic interest. I also suspect that some abuse of power in specific fandom spaces gave people false hope and inflamed resentment. A lot of these people also hate on Fjord but tend to be quieter about that because it's harder to pretend a PC isn't deeply tied to a cast member.
There is a subset of fans who treat mlm ships and wlw ships (or male and female characters) as locked in some kind of zero sum game in which the existence of one dims the light of the other. This is preposterous. I cannot imagine a more wretched and unhappy fandom experience than miserably tallying up fics and art and judging success not by quality and enjoyment of what content there is but rather whether there's more for your ship or more for other ships. I have joked that when my favorite character is popular I enjoy that they're popular, and when they're not, I enjoy that I clearly have refined and superior taste and I recommend others adopt this mentality. I also have half-joked that it would be fascinating to do a survey tallying the quantity of posts complaining about, say, Caleb and Essek's relationship someone has made, vs. how many posts they've made about (for example) Beau and Yasha's relationship, because a lot of the time the energy spent complaining, or worse, harassing others over their preferences could have addressed the problem had it instead been devoted to creating fanworks for your ship of choice.
Also very generally, while it's true that there's no shortage of annoying fans of Essek, I promise, there's no shortage of annoying and shitty fans of basically every character and ship including the ones you like.
For his appearance in Campaign 3 specifically, I think people are blaming Essek for the fact that this is the Chickens Coming Home to Roost, Avengers Assemble campaign. If you take issue with the characters of Bells Hells being overshadowed by those from past campaigns, the time to make that complaint was when Laudna and Orym showed up as PCs with strong ties to Delilah and Keyleth, or at the very least when Keyleth was brought in as a ringer to help resurrect Laudna (and, as someone who did make those complaints at the time and has since accepted this is the Past Campaigns Campaign...this has not been the case). Multiple party members (as played by cast members) expressed interest and excitement in Aeor before Essek (even as Seth) was mentioned. Bells Hells (as played by the Critical Role cast) want to go to Aeor. You do not have to like it, but this is not Essek's fault, as he is an NPC as part of the story driven by the cast's choices.
I've said this before but it bears nonstop repeating: when the CR cast says it's their table, it does not mean "it's their table and above criticism." It means "they are making the choices they make to play a game that they will enjoy." You can and should say that you're not enjoying it. It won't change what they do, but you'll feel better. But Essek isn't a real person with real agency. If his appearance is upsetting you, you need to attribute that to Matt's choices and decide if this campaign is still something you wish to watch and if this fandom is still something in which you wish to participate. Acting like Essek is some kind of horrible natural disaster ruining your lovely picnic and not a very deliberate choice by Matt is a transparently absurd denial of reality.
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malenjoyer · 2 days
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CACKLING. The whole “spoilers are the least of your worries, NW solo runs are actual ass” thing is so true. My boy cannot catch a break.
Bruno Redondo, I love your art, but I canNOT for the life of me get into Devin Grayson’s Nightwing.
That last anon made me curious, do you have any favorite eras/stories with Nightwing in it? Obviously doesn’t have to be a NW solo run. I was thinking within the DC continuity in general (if that makes sense).
if we’re asking just generally, most of the comics that I prefer are where nightwing are more decentered and often the support/mentor of the story. Like when he becomes Batman in Batman and Robin or he comes back to gotham to bond with new robins. These are all one shots that fall into dixon’s nightwing, I think. Probably, idk. There’s that specific art style of the era where he looked kinda ugly.
Most of my favorites are early nightwing/disco wing. My reading preferences tend to be on the goofy comics side.
Off the top of my head, I was recommended Batman prodigal by an anon here. I liked the dynamic between Tim and Dick and it was a good entry for someone who didn’t really know Tim that well before this. When they did laundry together, it was really nice. I like that mundane closed off world stuff. I do like it more than Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin (I know. Tomato, tomato, tomato. Damian traitor🍅🍅🍅).
I think my other favorite ones are the two stories of Dick riding on top of trains. Dick not only rode on top of trains once, but twice. Each time with a different robin. It should be under Nightwing but I don’t remember the numbers of the issue.
Here’s Jason:
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And here’s Tim:
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At least Jason wasn’t blindfolded. Tim was just like yeah, whatever.
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I did like the era of shot in the leg dick (Nightwing vol 2, ~108) because he found a family outside of the bats and dealing with not being nightwing anymore. Then the story fell off…. many such cases. I’m not a big romance reader despite (waves) everything. Especially if they choose to throw brainless love interests at nightwing for plot. I’ve become some kind of single life activist for him. I don’t want romance!
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sterekunhinged · 3 days
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LET'S GOOOOO Thank you to everyone who participated and became unhinged with me <3
tumblr fic here! by @cantgetoversterek
Worth Fifty Thousand Words by Definitively_Different_Drivel T | 344 words | tags: crack treated seriously, rated T for language/references to porn
Summary: Stiles gaped after Mrs. Brooks. Derek stood beside him, eyebrow raised. Stiles pulled out his phone, searching frantically. "You're not looking that up." Stiles typed away. "Fuck off, do you really think I can just- ignore that possibility?" Derek grimaced, scraping his fingers through the back of his hair. Stiles sputtered beside him. "Holy shit I found it! Oh my god, this was a bad idea, Derek, why didn't you stop me?"
In which Stiles hears some interesting information about his father's past career aspirations and proceeds to makes literally the worst decisions possible.
It kills me to love you by TalesoftheEnchantedForest E | 5958 words | graphic depictions of violence | tags: canon divergence, a hint of dark!Stiles, Pack Alpha Derek Hale but the pack's not in this fic, Getting Together, A bit of stalking, freak4freak, Cum drinking, brief armpit and feet kink, Jealousy, Marking, Bottom Derek Hale/Top Stiles Stilinski ,fucking on corpses, Breeding Kink, Mating Bond, Angst and Porn, Stiles is 17 at the beginning but it's not explicitly stated
Summary: "How did you know?" Derek asks because he didn't mention the date to anyone, and maybe that was a mistake he shouldn't repeat in the future. "I put a tracker on your phone," Stiles says casually, and yeah, that sounds like him. Stiles and Derek's relationship might not be the healthiest, but it works for them, so does it really matter?
Trading Ties by Definitively_Different_Drivel E | 4181 words | tags: Porn With Plot, Kidnapped Stiles Stilinski, Magical Stiles Stilinski, BAMF Stiles Stilinski, Morally Ambiguous Stiles Stilinski, Accidental Knotting, Manipulative Stiles Stilinski, Dubious Consent, Kanima Venom (Teen Wolf), also acts like viagra because fuck it it's smut, Dubiously Consensual Blow Jobs, spell for instant lube/prep, Topping from the Bottom, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Bondage
Summary: "You're awake." Hazel eyes bore into him as he cursed his luck. Stiles frowned, heaving his head up to rest against the back of the chair. He must be getting sloppy. "So," he eyed the man, took in the classic posture and subtle nostril flaring that lay beneath all that leather and gratuitous muscle. He cracked out a brittle laugh, playing the victim. "big bad wolf thought he could waltz in and steal the weakest link, eh?" The man eyeing him scoffed. "Bullshit. You're the linchpin." In which Laura and Derek return after Scott's pack is well established and they're stupid enough to kidnap Stiles as a test. Little do they realize that the guy they thought was the cowardly human strategist is actually a terrifying magical enigma. He's also disturbingly horny, which may be the key to avoiding Derek's impending demise.
Wolf Kissed by Gia279 E | 69,565 words | 38 chapters | tags: Mates, Mates by Choice, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski Gets Bitten, Original Characters - Freeform, Scarification, Stiles Stilinski-centric, animal consumption, werewolf violence, Werewolf Culture, Gore, Violence, Biting, Full Shift Werewolves, Alternate Universe, Pack Dynamics, Hunters, BAMF Stiles Stilinski, Torture, scars are important in werewolf culture, Explicit Sexual Content, Serious Injuries
Summary: Stiles has been smothered under the weight of running his dead mother's tavern for years. When the wolves return from the mountain, when Derek Hale strolls into his tavern and offers him a way out, he leaps at the chance. His abrupt departure fractures his town and turns everyone against his new pack. He's determined to set things to rights after he discovers that the Argents have twisted his choice to leave into something more sinister.
Bring Your Hunger by lanalua M | 2110 words | tags: Magical Stiles Stilinski, BAMF Stiles Stilinski, Getting Together, Nemeton Stiles Stilnski
Summary: Derek was used to tragedy. Used to waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was tired. This, he decided to enjoy.
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a-grayscale · 2 days
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Okay hear me out on this one, you know how during your run ins with the bishops during Crusades and such during the game they all seem relatively okay despite their injuries? (Relatively as in they’re definitely not actually okay, but they can still function just fine) Is it just me, or is that relative okayness most definitely because the crowns helped hold them together?
Like, the most obvious example of this I can think of would be Heket being able to speak during our encounters with her despite not having her throat. I feel like it’s pretty obviously the case there, right? The crown is allowing her to speak through it. I think that the other crowns allowed the bishops to function with their injuries by sorta holding them all together in godhood, yeah? We on the same page there?
Okay, hear me out. Narinder has serious, possibly chronic pain in his arms and probably also legs.
I mean, the guy was chained in place for a thousand years, there’s no way that’s not painful. More on that, considering we don’t know exactly HOW MUCH leeway those chains had(it’s obviously not a lot, but we don’t know if there was any at all or if it was one or two possible positions ever for 1000 years) there’s a good chance his bones and muscles and the ligaments and everything weakened over time to the point of being really fragile and brittle. We don’t know if he always had skeletal arms, maybe that was a symptom?
What does this have to do with the crowns holding the bishops injuries together? Well, what if the reason he didn’t move a whole lot during the boss battle was because he didn’t have his crown and thus, was in a lot of pain? I mean, we’ve all seen the boss battle, the dude hits hard but it’s almost always with chains or fire, or summoning enemies while he floats around. What if that’s because he hurt too much to move any more?
I think that’d add a really interesting dynamic between him and his desire for the crown, as well as his dynamic with the cult as a whole. A big reason he might want the crown back is because it helped dull the pain it’s bearer felt, just as the other crowns did to keep their respective bearers from falling apart.
I think it’d affect his dynamic and relationships within the cult because, like the other bishops post indoctrination, he wouldn’t have the luxury of a magic crown that helped with the pain. I’m not too familiar with chronic pain, but from what I’ve heard and seen and been told, it fucking sucks. I can’t imagine Narinder’s being any less sucky, at least not for a long long LOOOONG time. And when I say long time, I mean LOOONG TIME.
I think it’d also affect his relationships with say, the other bishops for example. Not to say that everything about them isn’t an absolute MESS already, cause it absolutely is, but I think they’d all feel at least a little guilty about the injuries they caused each other, even if they don’t admit it aloud. I mean, I’m no emotional undertones expert, but some of the dialogue leads me to believe they still at least CARE about each other somewhat as family. (Mostly mean Shamura’s dialogue during their bishop encounters, Narinder’s dialogue when receiving the silk from silk cradle, and Leshy’s line still calling Narinder his brother when asking the Lamb to retrieve his eye) Again, I’m no expert on feelings so I might be wrong here, but if you care about someone who you see is hurting, hurting BECAUSE OF YOU… I mean, even if it was self defense I’d still feel pretty fucking guilty personally, so there’s a good chance they’d probably feel the same.
I also think this pain Narinder has could affect his relationship with the Lamb(regardless of if you ship them or not, I do personally but you do you boo <3) I mean, they ARE still the leader of the flock. Narinder is now part of said flock. So he really is their responsibility. I feel like it would be a learning curve for both of them to at least SOME degree. Narinder hasn’t been without a crown that can dull the sense of pain until now so he probably doesn’t know wtf to do, and while The Lamb might have more experience from helping their followers who could also have had chronic issues, they’d still be pretty in the dark about it. I think it’d be a rough but necessary road for them both to cross in order to understand and help Narinder.
But this is all just head canon talk, so it might not matter. Idk but I hope it was interesting at least, or that it helped form some lovely little brainworms! Goodbyyyeeeee-
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yannaryartside · 2 days
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Sidetrack Love
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One of the most used plot devices in romance is to give your main couple (the one you want to get togueter at the end) two respective love interest previous or during the time they get to know each other.
So we assume Sydney and Carmy are the main couple and Marcus and Claire are the respective sidetrack love interests. The goal of using these characters is to:
a. Make the main characters question their goals in love, their insecurities and wounds.
b. Show the audience their attachment styles and dynamics
WHAT THEY WANTED VS WHAT THEY NEEDED
Most of the time, is about the main characters realizing they want each other, despite thinking at the beginning of the story that they wanted or needed something different.
Claire was a popular girl in high school adored by Carmy's family. She is easygoing and accommodating to someone like Carmy who had to beg for love his whole childhood. For Carmy, love was expensive (buried in hurt and toxic dynamics), and Claire gives love like it is free, free of compromise, expectations, or even definitions. It is not like that is healthy either, but surely someone like Carmy would be extremely attracted to that. This ties to my post "The Lie that Carmy believes" because I think he has been fighting this notion that he needs to sacrifice a lot, even himself, to deserve love.
With Marcus is more tricky, but it sums up the fact that he is a stand-up guy. He has a few flaws but is probably one of the healthiest men in the show. He is kind and patient. Sydney and Marcus have a good dynamic, their attraction could have been based on a solid friendship. There is a part of me that wanted Sydney to notice Marcus, because she may carry a burden due to a broken heart. I wanted Marcus to heal Sydney the way Claire is set up to heal Carmy.
Funny thing, it looks like they could continue the sidetrack love plot in season 3 if Carmy continues to pursue Claire and tries to figure out if she is good for him, while Sydney may find a partner in Luca, or even come back to Marcus.
My point is that the show is giving both these characters easy routes to love, maybe in the context of letting us know the difficulties a romantic relationship between Carmy and Syd could have.
AN EXCUSE: COOKING VS LOVE
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Carmy used his relationship with Claire to run away from the restaurant. Even when he was in the restaurant he denied and avoided responsibilities like crazy. It makes me wonder if his heart is in it anymore, or if cooking just became a coping mechanism to deal with his trauma (season 3 teaser), like cooking is the only thing he thinks he is good for, cooking and love (especially unconditional love) cannot exist in the same space at the same time for him.
Sydney was so focused on the restaurant that never actually suspected Marcus liked her like that. She may have noticed the looks and the flirting but I think she may have assumed it was friendly. Or was she just so consumed by her own worries to even think about love? it is an interesting parallel to Carmy and Claire nonetheless. Can cooking (her dreams) and love exist for her at the same time? What does she believe love is?
Would Carmy make that impossible for her in season 3? Would he be the killjoy of her passion and goodwill? Or would they grow closer?
This was all over the place, but thank you for reading
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asherashedwings · 2 days
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ARS GOETIA OCS (And Paimon redesign ig)
Long post ahead 💀
So like, after the release of the new Helluva Boss trailer, I got SUPER fixated on the Ars Goetia. So I wanted to try my hand at designing my own takes on members not yet shown in the series, as well as crafting some self indulgent lore about the group.
So, I imagine that there are 4 main Goetia families, with each of their houses being in one of the cardinal directions of the Pride Ring. 3 of the 4 families have both a king and a queen at the head, with the 4th only having a king (we’ll get to that).
The couples, and their directions go like this:
Belial (North)
Paimon and Balam (West)
Vine and Zagan (East)
Beleth and Purson (South)
These are just where the kings and queens live. Offspring often move out to other rings, so there’s Goetia influence all throughout Hell.
Each of the kings and queens are also fallen angels, having fallen with Lucifer after the battle in Heaven. For this reason, their crowns appear more halo-like, floating above their heads. Two of them don’t have this on their refs, but that’s just because I designed them before coming up with that idea.
Anyways, to the designs!
Belial
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Belial is one of the most powerful members of the Ars Goetia, rivaling the power of the sins, and many mortals think of them synonymous to the Devil himself.
So powerful they can actually reproduce by themself. For this lil hc, I made them a California Condor, a species of bird known to have reproduced without a mate. Also, the look of the condor just goes well with the whole pestilence thing Belial has going on.
I think their cloak is actually wings that come from their back, remnants from their time as an angel. I just didn’t draw them in that second picture cuz I just didn’t feel like it 💀
They’re one of the two I drew before I came up with the whole “halo crown” thing, but I have drawn a doodle of what they would look like now with that concept. It’ll be shown later in the post.
Also, I imagine them being agender, so go with the vibes of “being so powerful, the concept of gender means nothing to them and no word can ever truly describe them”, if that makes sense. Idk, that’s just the vibes I get from them. So I usually refer to them with they/them pronouns, but you can really call them whatever you want.
Paimon
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I actually don’t mind Paimon’s canon design all that much. Think it actually goes pretty hard. I more so just wanted to change his species cuz with how I imagine my tweaked version of the Ars Goetia, the parents’ species has no effect on what species the offspring will be. Just as long as they’re bird. So Stolas is still an owl, don’t worry. I decided on making Paimon a raven because Stolas is sometimes described as a raven instead of an owl, so I wanted to pay homage to that.
I also gave him wing arms because he has been said to be able to fly.
That’s about all I got for Paimon
Balam
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Balam is Paimon’s wife and also Asmodeus’s sister. I made this decision because when looking at their descriptions, Balam and Asmodeus are described very similarly. They are both chimeras with the head of a man, a bull, and a ram, and both possess a serpent tail. So I decided “fuck it, they’re related now”. This also means Ozzy is Stolas’s uncle, which I think would be an interesting dynamic.
I made Balam a bearded vulture mainly for the fact that Balam is also described to have “fiery eyes” which gave bearded vulture to me, idk.
I imagine her other two heads usually only appear in her more demonic form. They can prolly appear normally too, but I think she doesn’t let them show often.
Vine
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Vine is a demon known for construction, and I imagine he built most of the Goetia manors. He makes structures using vines that sprout from his wrists, which then morph into the desired material after the creation is finished.
I decided to make him a Montezuma Oropendola, which are birds known to build large nests out of, you guessed it, vines.
Vine is never escaping the spelling of his name.
Which is also the reason I made him very plant themed. Idk, I just find something so nature-y and alive existing in someplace like Hell to be interesting.
I even wrote a lil world building tidbit about him:
To the east of the Pride Ring rests an overgrown forest, with trees so dense that no light hits the dead grass below and roots so tangled that one cannot hope to get through without getting caught within the knots. But if one ventures far enough, they will see this monstrous forest transform into a lavish jungle. The plants are radiant in their green color, the several ponds sprinkled throughout filled with water that almost sparkles. Within this sanctuary, in a clearing with no true location, sits a grandiose manor; a looming structure almost resembling that of an old European castle, encased in hordes of vines and flowers. The home of King Vine and Queen Zagan — the rulers of the East.
Speaking of Queen Zagan-
Zagan
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Zagan is known to transform liquids, turning water into wine, blood into wine, oil into water (which can then be turned into wine). She just makes a ton of wine. But I wanted to mainly focus on the blood to wine part, since I realized I could go with a vampiric aesthetic when designing her.
For this reason, I also chose to make her an oxpecker, which is a (sometimes) parasitic bird known for pecking at wounds on large mammals and drinking their blood.
I decided to pair her up with Vine because they’re both creators. Vine’s creations may be more grandiose, with being literal buildings and all, but Zagan’s creations are probably still useful. I mean, she can also create coins.
Oh, and now that I’ve shown both of them, this is what Belial and Zagan’s crowns would look like now, with the whole halo crown thing
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Beleth
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Beleth was very tricky for me to design at first. Beleth is described as appearing intimidating and fierce when summoned, in order to test the courage of the conjuror. So I wanted to make her intimidating, but was struggling to figure out how exactly I wanted to do that.
Thankfully, my good good friend @braveboiart helped with ideas, and suggested the armor and shadowy cape.
I also made her a shoebill stork, cuz when I think of a bird a lot of people find intimidating, I think of the shoebill.
Purson
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And then last but not least, Beleth’s husband, Purson. I decided to pair them up because I wanted to depict them both with armor. They’re a warrior duo.
I made Purson a harpy eagle mainly cuz I thought it’d be cool, but also cuz they’re one of the heaviest birds of prey, and I read somewhere that during the battle it took a swarm of angels to take him down. Idk how canon this is to actual bible lore, but I like it so I’m stealing it /lh
I imagine Beleth and Purson manage some sort of military, and probably train the knights in the Ars Goetia ranking. Idk, I’m still figuring lore out.
Anyways, that’s all I have to show off today. I’m working on redesigning Stolas, Stella, and Octavia, so look out for that I guess.
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spent a bit of time today writing out some thoughts on ford as a character and thought it might be fun to put them here. I think ford is a really interesting commentary on heroism and his role in gravity falls is specific and pointed. theres a lot more i COULD get into (the way he and Stan act as foils for example) but here I just want to explore the fundamental ideas of his arc which includes parts of his dynamic with Bill Cipher and Dipper.
I really love the way gf combines the ideas of the lone hero/adventurer (a classic hero trope) with the ideas of the mad scientist (a classic villain trope) to reveal the way they're really based in similar lines of thinking and emotional pitfalls. Ford's isolation & paranoia, his tendency to put his own body on the line, his (relative) willingness to endanger others for his cause...it all points out a neat overlap between the guy who wears all black and carries a gun at his hip and the guy who WOULD inject himself with some kinda substance in the name of Science. I think that's part of why from what I've seen the fandom can be pretty conflicted on Ford--even on a basic design level, he evokes strong and conflicting feelings.
A key moment to me in establishing the ideas of Ford's arc happens at the very beginning of Weirdmageddon--a strange point to choose maybe since it's so late in the show, but I feel like those three episodes beautifully encapsulate Ford's failures and his development. After realizing what's happened, Dipper is desperate to find Mabel and make sure she's all right. Ford tells him, there's time to find her later--right now we have to stop Bill before the weirdness spreads. I love the way that the show presents throwaway moments like this: they're not questioned in the moment, but they stick out to you anyway because they run so counter to the philosophy of the show. Through the past 2 seasons, not only has the show proven that saving Mabel is more important than stopping Bill, it's also proven (and proves again after this) that saving Mabel is essential to stopping Bill. Evil isn't defeated by one guy being brave enough to shoot a gun at it, it's defeated by a community that works and fights together. And, hilariously, Ford is captured within the first 7 minutes of the episode, making everyone else's jobs way more difficult.
To be clear, it would be a complete misunderstanding of the character to say that Ford prioritizes stopping Bill first because he doesn't care enough about Mabel or her safety. It's precisely because he cares so much that he doesn't look for her right away. Ford has bought thoroughly into the lie that Bill fed him, which is that devastating personal sacrifice is not only right & good, but necessary in order to accomplish great things. As long as Ford believes that lie, he remains Bill's perfect prey—even with a metal plate in his head, even 30 years after the initial manipulation. Ford will easily give up sleep, food, friendship, family, sanity, and his own life, if he can be convinced he's doing it for the right reasons. And he's very easy to convince! Ironically, despite being arguably one of the most formidable characters in the show, he's also arguably the weakest and most gullible of the main cast, because he's so obsessed with the idea of giving up everything for something greater than himself.
That lie of the moral necessity of self-sacrifice, the lie that makes it possible for Ford to give up his brother, lock himself in his basement, be angry when he’s brought back home, and nearly destroy the world, is heavily in the offing through the Ford-Dipper plotline of Dipper and Mabel vs the Future. Ford offers Dipper apprenticeship and tells him that he’s capable of handling it—but it would require personal sacrifice, giving up his childhood with Mabel to join Ford in his self-imposed isolation. A test of Dipper’s aptitude for that kind of sacrifice occurs in that episode: Ford nearly dies, and orders Dipper to let it happen so that the rift is kept safe. Dipper doesn’t even think before disobeying him. He doesn’t seem to consider it a decision. There's no thought of the greater good when his uncle needs him.
Later, talking to Mabel about the idea of joining Ford as an apprentice, he says how ridiculous it is--sees it for a fantasy. The image of heroism Ford presents is appealing, but it's a lie.
For Gravity Falls, a show with two central protagonists, a show arguing over and over that the only way to change things for the better is to work with, trust, and care for your loved ones, Ford's position is an interesting one. I'd argue that thematically he stands in a more relevant antagonist position than Bill Cipher. He represents everything that the show is poised against. He's set up carefully as the epitome of Cool, with a masterful buildup to his entrance, badass styling, and hero worship from Dipper (the closest thing GF has to an audience insert.) And then, slowly and subtly, the show reveals how the lie of the lone hero has convinced him to hurt himself and everyone around him, nearly to the point of destruction.
I love him dearly. The best awful guy of all time
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maingh0st · 3 days
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I just wanted to say that I admire your dedication to taryn x garret/taryn since noone likes her lmaoo 😭😭 probably one of the only taryn truthers out there 🥲
asdkajsdkas thank you. I really didn't care that much about taryn after finishing the books—like she was interesting, and I thought holly had done something clever with her and jude's relationship, and the thought of the ghost/taryn dynamic gave me something to chew on in my free time, but that was it.
but then I came on tumblr and saw that people like. really see this 17 yr old traumatized girl as an irredeemable monster? and the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous that seemed to me?? like yes she genuinely makes bad, harmful decisions; I don't deny that. but damn, I'm glad my family & friends allowed me the chance to grow past the person I was at 17. we already see her growing in tqon, and it's clear from the new oak books that she and jude have made their peace (to the point that her disastrous marriage to locke is the butt of a joke!)
I'm also aware that for some people, taryn-hate is just a meme. that's fine, I get it, I've been in fandom spaces for most of my life at this point. but I truly believe you have more fun with the books when you read her as a whole person, and I'm also sad that we hold girl characters to much higher standards than their male counterparts—to the extent that we're so comfortable treating this teenage girl like the scum of the earth. and that's not even really to speak to the media analysis aspect of conversations surrounding taryn
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fleetinggill · 2 days
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Hey fellas. I just watched episode 19 of Dungeon Meshi and OH BOY AM I BEING VERY NOT NORMAL ABOUT IT. You know what else I’m not normal about? Life Series, and Hermitcraft as well.
I might finally get back into fic writing exclusively to write a Dungeon Meshi crossover. It won’t be a direct 1:1 thing; like, it’ll keep the same basic premise of “this member of our party died and we have to go back into the dungeon to resurrect them!” and it will retain the core plot elements. A lot of the same monsters would appear, especially ones that hold more weight to the plot, but some of the earlier ones will be replaced with Minecraft mobs to tie the universes together more and to force me to get more creative with the food descriptions.
However, the character dynamics will be different. The person who they’re trying to rescue may not be a sibling. The number of people in the other groups they encounter may be different and such. There will be no X = Laios and Y = Kabru and so on. The most direct parallels will be Falin, Senshi, and the Mad Mage; even they will not retain the same personality, dynamics with other characters, or backstories.
It will have the same world-building and a similar but not identical plot line. I think it would be way more interesting than a 1:1 direct translation into one specific season of either Hermitcraft or Life series.
More on this to come as I flesh it out more!! I might just do fics, but I may try to do art for it or ask someone else to do art for it…
I dunno. I guess, like, let me know if this sounds interesting? Or not lol. I’m gonna do it either way but I might invest more time in it if people actually like it
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ura-niia · 2 days
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Yknow, on a retrospective, it is interesting how the COTL fandom puts Narilamb as a devoted and hateful relationship.
In other words, I would actually love to know why we love this ship so much.
I’d love to know your point of view!
I finally have time to answer this!! I am SO GLAD that you asked.
I was extremely interested about the dynamic of this ship, you could watch it from all angles and it would still be a lovable duo; whether it be comedic, overly toxic, unrequited love/devotion, requited romance/devotion, it would still be enjoyable for everyone in the fandom. I believe that there's no bad version on how anyone portrays their relationship!
It's kinda difficult for me to see them in a light-hearted angle. Other people in the fandom have shown this kind of dynamic very well and they have all my applause.
How I portray my vision of narilamb, I still haven't fully fleshed out their story, but basically when Narinder was still a god, Lamb's devotion is for him entirely because they truly thought that The One Who Waits was their saviour and shining grace, handing them down a chance to live once more and avenge their kind. Narinder didn't pay this no mind, then plays the lamb around like a tool, speaking of honeyed words to keep the lamb up on their feet.
And by the time when Narinder told the lamb that he was just using them for his freedom and they'd just die once they surrender the crown to him, everything just came crumbling down to them. The dawning realization that there will be no hope for lamb kind, and that filled them with so much intense emotions they ended up killing Narinder along with his disciples.
Time has passed, Lamb became the new god of Death and continued to serve for their cult. Though they still pray as if there's still any other god be because that's kinda how they cope with all the change. Unaware of the forces that were trying to come back up. Narinder has used up every last drop of his divine magic to resurrect himself with the intention of killing the lamb by his hand and take the crown, but that ended up being a fail so...
Now that Narinder was in the lamb's cult, they feel obligated to watch over him. They think it's really pathetic that the former god is ultimately struggling in the mortal life. One time Narinder tried to run away from the cult and got himself in danger during it so Lamb has to swoop in to save his ass.
“It seems like that you are still in need of me." They said, but there's no smugness in the tone, it's pure disgust and malice. “You don't get to pull the strings anymore, my lord, you're under my domain now.”
I'll make this one very quick bc this is becoming long 😭 So anyway, Narinder (begrudgingly) stayed in the cult because he didn't know how to stay alive in a mortal body, and the more Lamb took care of him, the more dependent he became of them(albeit extremely pissed about that realization and acted aggressively at first then came acceptance that he's hopeless without them), the lamb was aware of this, however thought that this was just another tactic of him to get their guard down, so they pulled the strings so they wouldn't get attached again.
Soon the lamb decided to let themselves get close to him while still being wary, then suddenly became "lovers". Narinder had thought that it was the right course considering how much time they spent with eachother, though hadn't acted on romantic actions. However Lamb thinks that this is just another one of their lovers they have to deal with, so it was still very unrequited.
Then by time it became a requited relationship, unknowingly truly falling for eachother in the process. They somehow know that they're terrible for eachother, but they still work on it. Their devotion for eachother became a devotee to genuine lovers.
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perpetual-blue · 14 hours
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it’s so interesting to me that vegapunk called joyboy the first pirate if we think about what that actually means.
it would make sense that in this case piracy is defined by what seems to be the “true meaning” in one piece — being free, and being on the sea. luffy becomes a pirate to be free, he defines the king of the pirates as the freest person in the world, joyboy is of course linked to complete freedom and liberation.
so joyboy took to the sea, which seems to have been something no one before him did (at least not as a lifestyle, maybe for trade and stuff), and did it in order to be free. we also know he was affiliated with (and potentially came from) the ancient kingdom, but probably decided to stop living there to become a pirate. so, to him, living on land/in the ancient kingdom was also restrictive.
we know the ancient kingdom had highly advanced technology (with a sustainable fire/solar source), and was essentially already living in the future (something maybe similar to egghead, but even more advanced because of the lack of resource constraints). but clearly, it had rules and maybe roles that someone like joyboy and luffy would have still found stifling.
the other thing that’s itching my brain is the relationship to the sea. we know that the sun/sea dynamic is important and symbolic in one piece in many different ways. the sun represents freedom, but so does the sea in some ways (at least living on it in the way pirates do). pirates (in the true/joyboy sense) live at the confluence of that freedom of sun and sea — you have to have both. not be trapped under the sea like fishmen, where certain resources are scarce, and not be bound to land where there are rules, structures, responsibilities and duties. even when those structures aren’t oppressive (like they currently are under the tenryuubito) they’re not what some people would consider freedom either.
so!! we know the sea is important. we know it’s likely only this planet has a sea/oceans (for example the moon doesn’t). the sea represents mother nature to some extent. we also know the sea is deadly to/hates devil fruit users, because they are unnatural (as material representations of people’s dreams). the sea, mother nature, is to some extent the material reality of the world — dreams can the impossible possible, can make almost anything real, are so so powerful, but they still have their limits in nature and the tangible world. there has to be balance.
this is also where we see the difference between luffy and blackbeard — blackbeard says there is no end to people’s dreams, luffy talks clearly about the end of his dream and what that looks like. freedom doesn’t mean constant accumulation and infinity and hunger to luffy, it is actually something material, collective and shared with everyone in the world. freedom is something everyone chooses for themselves in their own way, but freedom requires material conditions to be met (food, safety, companionship etc). and it is for everyone, not just the strong or the few lucky ones.
this is where i have been thinking about imu and the gorosei, and the theories around them. i know the main theory is that imu is linked to the sea somehow, and probably a/the sea devil. i don’t fully disagree, but i don’t think a) imu is the sea itself, more likely has managed to harness its power somehow. because to me the sea in one piece has to be a neutral, natural balancing force. and b) i think that if imu is closely linked to the sea, they can’t have made the devil fruits (ive seen that theory too). that wouldn’t make sense, since those two things are naturally enemies/opposed. and if vegapunk’s theory is right, devil fruits are unnaturally evolved from people’s dreams, which again contradicts the laws of nature/the sea. also, just in naming, the enemies of the gorosei are always called “devils” (of ohara, potentially the will of D), so it wouldn’t make sense for imu to have made the devil fruits (unless they did make them/their initial aspects but they were stolen or turned against them somehow). it still makes more sense to me that devil fruits came out of the ancient kingdom.
i do think imu is linked to the sea in that they want to use it for their purposes, i.e. flooding the world, and it’s strongly hinted they’ve done so before during the void century. they have some level of connection to it and maybe power over it (via the island-destroying weapon which is probably uranus). their preferred way of “cleansing the world” is through using the sea. but it’s also interesting that they want to be as far from it as possible, with marie geoise being high up and well-protected from the sea. to me imu is a “sea devil” (even in the imagery it’s clearly similar to an umiboshi) in the sense that it can use the sea to its purposes of control and destruction of freedom and dreams. i’m dubious that imu has a particular magical/power connection to the sea, but i could be very wrong on that.
to me pirates’ and joyboy’s connection to the sea, including their affiliations with the people of the sea (fishpeople, merpeople, etc) is actually much better stronger and deeper, even if it isn’t always a harmonious one. pirates and devil fruit users fear the sea to some extent because they respect it, and still they choose to be in relationship to it, just as they choose to be in relationship to risk, danger and death. they know it’s something that can check them, something that can take everything away. and that’s a much healthier, balanced relationship to something that is a pure, immense force of nature. nature humbles us, nature isn’t always nice, nature takes as much as it gives. that’s important, i think.
i would really love to see that last part play out somehow, in showing that people like joyboy, luffy etc can work with the sea and adapt to it. we’ve had hints of that with noah, and wano. the answer isn’t to isolate/save yourself and kill everyone else by keeping them down, it’s to work together to adapt. and i would love to see imu and the gorosei’s use of the sea for control and oppression fail in their world-flooding/cleansing plan because they haven’t accounted for people’s ability to do that.
the sea isn’t something you can escape or fight or fully control, it’s something you can only try and shape your own relationship to. you can’t fuck with the rules and cycles of the elemental force that is the sea, as we see with devil fruits. it is unimpressed with pure imagination/desire/dreaming. it says “ok, sure. now what are you willing to risk and suffer because you are a part of this dirt-bound, salt-soaked world.” the sea requires body, flesh, blood, bone. the sea is the sacrifice made for the dream, the price you will pay if you reach the hubris of thinking you are beyond human and humanity. if the sun is the flame of hope and desire living in the heart, the sea is the muscle and sinew that has to carry the dream, and pay for it too.
(incidentally, this is also why i feel very sure the gorosei and imu actually are shit scared of the sea. we know the gorosei af least would be vulnerable to it too so i hope it gets them somehow lol).
there’s something perverse and twisted in imu’s use of the mother flame (something derived from the sun) for destruction, and i think their use of the sea parallels that to some extent. the sea, just as much as the sun, should not be controlled/used for those purposes. the sea represents a form of freedom too — what is, and changes, and supports the world like a shifting foundation. the sun is the freedom of what could be, what’s unreachable and intangible but consistently shining.
anyways it might be that the flooding just doesn’t come to fruition because luffy kills imu and the gorosei, which would make part of my theory moot (i wouldn’t be mad about it). but i also wouldn’t be surprised if we at least get some more sea level rise before that, to the point where it seriously starts to harm and endanger people.
just my insane rambling braindump after chapter 1114!! idk if it makes any sense but if you’ve actually read this far i am sending you flowers ✨
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