#but I love thinking about all the moral questions in this show
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Okay, so this has been bothering me for a while now, and I haven’t seen anyone else say it; so I’m going to put an opinion out there and say that Martin and Melanie annoyed me in MAG 199.
(This is also a bit of an analysis of the episode.)
(just so you know, this is very long.)
So first of I should say that I 100% agree with Jon, that they should have trapped The Fears in their world; so just know I’m probably being, at least a bit, biased about it. (not saying killing the world is good)
I think the best way to do this is to start from the beginning of the episode and work my way through it, giving criticism as I go.
It starts with them avoiding the question until Georgie decides they need to talk about it; this is just a minor nitpick, and maybe I misunderstood what he was saying, but Martin says this:
Then later he goes on to say this:
So which is it, Martin? Is it up to Jon or not?
Anyway, then there’s this little exchange:
I know why Martin is so against it, but this just seems a bit obstinate; like I get it, he’s scared of Jon losing himself to The Eye, but you really want to go with The Web’s plan? You know, The Web, the manifestation of manipulation, the malevolent Fear entity, that Web? You want to go with that plan? Really?
And at least Martin has the excuse of caring about Jon, but Melanie? Why is she so against Jon’s plan? Is it really just because she hates him that much? The only possible reason I can think could be that she thinks that Jon will be selfish and prolong others suffering because she knew that he once hid the fact that he took Statements from random people, but even then, I don’t think even Melanie hates him that much.(Considering the fact that she didn’t actually think he murdered anyone, I don’t think she hates him as much as she says)
Next up, Georgie’s trying to talk out all their options and asks Jon about how The Fears will get out:
Martin is, once again, being obstinate here; he is out right refusing to even consider Jon’s plan, making any excuse to go with The Web’s plan.
Georgie reiterates their options so far:
Martin, you just said thousands of worlds don’t matter “cosmically speaking” by your own logic they should keep The Fears contained; because if thousands of worlds aren’t “even a drop in the bucket” then their world is hardly even a molecule.
Melanie’s in denial or something, because any reality with The Fears, even if it never gets to full blown apocalypse, is doomed; did she forget all the horrible things happening in their world before the apocalypse?
They have the little blame conversation, then Georgie gets to the third option:
Martin’s just agreeing to any option that Jon doesn’t take over the panopticon; he doesn’t care if their world dies or a thousand others do, he just doesn’t want Jon to go to the panopticon.
Then they consider the morality of five people deciding the fate of the world, leading to this conversation:
Despite what Martin says, yes, he is okay with thousands more suffering where he can’t hear; the excuse of saying it’ll be like before the apocalypse makes it sound like their world was good before. Their world was full of horrors before, where people could get eaten by monsters just for having bad luck, and Martin’s okay with giving that to thousands of other worlds.
I’ll put the rest of this conversation in before I continue:
I put (mostly) the whole thing because I wanted the full context, this is the main thing I wanted to talk about; so they're debating if their world is The Fears original world or not. Would killing them here kill them for good? yes, and if they thought it over longer they would have realized it; Melanie and Martin are arguing that The Fears were in their world for centuries before they managed a ritual, but now it knows how to make a successful ritual and escape it. what's to stop it from preforming a ritual, waiting for it to start running dry, then leaving to a new reality? (I say "it" because The Fears are one entity [kinda] with The Web as it's brain)
Melanie is victim-blaming thousands of other people to justify sending The fears to them; "if a apocalypse happens to them it's their fault they couldn't outsmart the embodiment of manipulation, so lets follow said embodiment of manipulation's plan, yeah?
(As a side note, one thing that confuses me is why they think The Fears can go to so many worlds, do they mean at once? Will The Fears multiply? Because how would they get to multiple worlds at once, they need to be together, that's why the rituals never worked, it had to be all of them. I always assumed it meant it could hop from one world and then the next when that one got dry. [like a spider on a web, it can travel between each point, but it can't be everywhere at once])
Jon puts the idea of killing the world faster out there:
No, they'll actually have less of a chance, cause now The Web knows what to do. Basira doesn't want to hear Jon justify killing their world but will justify sending the same circumstances to thousands of other worlds.
That's basically the end of the discussion, next is Georgie talking to Jon:
At the very least, Georgie knew that Jon wasn't going to follow the plan. I don't think it's a coincidence that she takes the lighter and immediately follows with an apology; Also she admits Jon couldn't outsmart The Web and it led to the apocalypse, but still goes along with it's plan. (Maybe she just accepts they shouldn't bother trying to outsmart it.)
and now to Martin and Jon's conversation
I kinda do Martin.
(Others have talked about Martin crushing Jon's flowershop/barista fantasy, so I'm not going to talk about it.)
Martin just annoys me in this scene to be honest "well, Jon, you promised not to do anything stupid; oh, and look, here's a plan given to us on silver platter by, none other than, The Web, you know, the one who caused this and traumatized you since you were 8, yeah lets do that. Don't worry Jon, we'll fix this...pass it on? Don't be silly Jon, I'm sure The Web gave us this plan out of the goodness of it's nonexistent heart."
Anyways I'll wrap this up in a minute, but first, one last thing:
I've seen others say this, but why would Martin killing Jonah stop Jon from taking his place? Especially if Jon's standing 10 feet away; if the idea is that whoever kills Jonah will take his place then Martin would just become the very thing he thinks Jon will turn into. And if you think it's because Martin's not tied to The Eye, you'd be wrong, Martin being tied to The Eye is the whole reason Peter wanted Martin to kill Jonah in season 4. If anyone should kill Jonah, it'd be Georgie because she's the only one not tied to The Eye.
Now, just to be clear, I'm not saying that any of this is bad; I just haven't seen anyone talk about it. I'm not saying that the others were wrong for choosing The Web's plan, (ok, maybe I am a little) it's not like I have to decide the fate of my, and many other's, world(s).
I just feel like I've seen a lot of people hold the other characters up on a pedestal while Jon's idea is regarded as the worse possible thing out there (again, not saying his idea was good, just the best out of bad options.)
And just so you know, I'm not saying Martin is selfish for wanting Jon to be safe, I'm mostly just annoyed that he hides it under the guise of caring about humanity (No, I'm not saying he doesn't care about humanity, just that he'd rather "save" Jon than consider the consequences of releasing The Fears) and most people take it at face value.
I have a lot more I could say about the morality of all the characters, but that's another post, if you actually read this whole thing, then congratulations, for sitting through my very long, hopefully intelligible, post. (I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on the episode [or this post])
#Again this is just MY opinion#feel free to disagree#if anything I said was unclear just ask me and I'll try to clarify what I meant#the magnus archives#Jonathan Sims#Martin Blackwood#Basira Hussain#Georgie Barker#Melanie King#MAG 199#Jonah Magnus#I spent way too long on this#but I love thinking about all the moral questions in this show#there's also a lot I could say about this (and many other) fandom(s) that annoys me#but that would probably be painting a target on my back#might do it anyway though#My Post
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i contain multitudes and can say that i am a little :( about vex and percy being teammates with benefits because i think there’s something particularly heartbreaking about the dynamic that was neither of them ever said a thing even though they both were aware of it and it took losing percy for vex to finally admit it and Even Then, she couldn’t say it to percy’s face when they got him back, percy was the one who had to make the first move (that they were both alive for at least) and he was only able to do that because he’d heard her confession, because he never would’ve thought otherwise. to be clear, i also very much enjoy the story being told, i think i just wish they’d maybe committed more significantly to This Is A Campaign-Inspired Story Rather Than A Retelling sooner in the show so that maybe there would be a bit more grounding or set-up for the storylines the narrative is focusing on (and i understand why they wouldn’t), because i think they’re doing very well with percy’s arc for example, because they started with focusing on his and keeping his beats mostly the same and that seems to be much the same case as some of his second wave of meaty character stuff has arrived. but with vex they’ve aimed for the same character beats but it doesn’t always feel as earned or really feel like much character at all; i think saundor particularly was a bit of an :/, since in the campaign it was really a catalyst for vex interrogating her role in the party and her morality and something she struggled to get over and that haunted her far beyond the walls of that tree, but in the show it hasn’t really had a clear impact on vex beyond the scope of the episode itself — syldor certainly has, but the challenge that saundor presented didn’t really have much weight beyond its moment. and obviously a large part of that’s also probably just, 7 protagonists and wanting to expand the perspectives to antagonists and give more room for side characters is a lot of things to cover. and, i say with love, perhaps a bit too ambitious for a 12 episode per season, ~22 minute runtime show if they want their characters to have the kind of depth that really makes campaign 1 shine the way it does.
#rambly thoughts sponsored by early morning haze and complex feelings about different medium storytelling#but i truly do question the choice to have such expansive parts of the story be showing the perspectives of antagonists or side characters#especially when it has a clear cost on the consistency of character depth#i think vex in particular suffers from it because she’s such an internal character that to get the most compelling of her beats right#a Lot of care has to be put into it#but as it is#a lot of the vex story beats are only really felt if you have the c1 knowledge to recognize them#obvs i think there’s likely a more obvious one upcoming#but . i miss vex who only cared about vox machina to the degree that it made her morally shitty to others#and i’m :( we won’t get to see that journey in the show. but alas! that’s what the campaign is for#this also is like. the continually questionable choice to change the trinket backstory in kith and kin having rippling consequences#to be clear this is in no way a like. i think there’s favouritism or anything i have no doubt in the casts ability to advocate for themselve#that said i do think that maybe their choices aren’t always the strongest writing wise !#my complaints or critiques tend to be ones about vex in particular because she is my blorbo of all time#but in general if not for my love of cr i don’t know if i think tlovm is a particularly strong story. it’s entertaining certainly#tlovm spoilers#tlovm#critical role#cr1 spoilers
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wait idk anything about the tevis’— why would tommy tevis call dick his son? would you be willing to give a quick rundown
After Dick failed to get himself incarcerated, he became an enforcer for a mob boss named Tommy Tevis. Tommy took Dick in and made him part of his family. Tommy considered him an honorary son and thought very highly of him.
Nightwing (Vol. 2) #107
He even told Dick that everything he had (his home, his reputation, his family, etc.) was Dick's as well. Lynette, Tommy's wife, told Dick that Tommy would let Dick do anything. The whole family loved Dick, including Tommy's 15 year old daughter, Sophia. Sophia actually had a crush on Dick, but Dick acted like an older brother to her, helping her with her homework and such.
While Dick was away from the family for a few days, the cops busted into the Tevis's home. Lynette got killed in the gunfire, Tommy got taken to jail, and Sophia got taken in by the state.
Dick, while mentoring Rose, broke Sophia out of the state home. He got Sophia to help him with the mob. Then, when Chemo fell on Bludhaven, Dick saved Sophia and left her with Amy. When they reunited at the hospital, Dick asked Sophia to leave the mob behind and join a boarding school.
So, yeah, that's Dick's relationship with the Tevis family.
#no but i love when tommy tells dick that bruce must be proud of him--and dick gets this shameful look on his face and stays quiet#and then tommy playfully pinches dick's cheek and tells him not to worry bc he thinks dick is great/he thinks highly of dick#i mean say what you want about tommy being in the mob and all--but he does seem to be tuned in to dick's emotions#and when the other mobster was kinda grilling dick about being bruce's heir--tommy was frowning real hard on dick's behalf#and he later checked in with dick and was like hey that was kind of shitty and i don't want you feeling like your back's against the wall#like idk it just shows that tommy does care about dick--and he knows bruce is a sore spot for dick#dick--on the other hand--is a bit more emotionally distant from the family#he's just gone through some very traumatizing events and now he's doing some morally questionable things#so there's no way he can be truly authentic with the family when his whole lifestyle is now inauthentic to who he really is#and we see that when dick goes on a job that has a kid involved--and he didn't know there would be a kid there#and he gets very upset about a gun being involved and having a kid watch her dad get beat#so even though he might care about the tevis family--i don't think he could ever feel Truly part of the family#honestly wish a writer would bring back sophia though. would be nice to see dick still in contact with her#Dick Grayson#Tommy Tevis#anon
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Warning- this is a very petty post, but I think I'm entitled to at least one petty, pissed-off reaction every time I finish a classic novel that hit harder than I expected so take this as my quota for the year.
Also spoiler warning for a book that came out over a century ago but still, I didn't know the plot going in so don't want to ruin it for anyone else, if you haven't read it shut your eyes. (Also Local Tumblr User Going Wild Over Book Published a Hundred Years Ago That Everybody Else Already Read should probably be categorised as akey part of indigenous tumblr culture at this point).
Anyway I just finished the War of the Worlds and in between studying I've thinking about Themes and Motifs as you do, and idly looking for further analysis. I then accidentally ran into an article called 'A Quiet Place II Succeeds Where the War of the Worlds Failed' and:
Now I haven't seen any of the Quiet Place films, this is not a rant against them and of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But re: the ending of The War of the Worlds, I have to ask, did this guy somehow miss, uh, the entire point of the book or am I just utterly insane?
#You're right it's not very satisfying for humanity that the invaders are foiled by a bacteria and not human action! Maybe that's the point!#Maybe it's supposed to be FRIGHTENING and make you ask questions about what humans will do under extreme stress#Not be a morally uplifting tale about Humanity Heroically Defeating the Martians in a Glorious Hollywood Ending#Maybe it's MEANT to be unsatisfying because this is not a straightforward fairytale#I mean I've only read it once and don't know much about Wells' work so I might have misunderstood the point of the book too#But at places it is a very pessimistic view of the human condition and that's partly WHY IT'S SO POWERFUL#That doesn't mean there aren't moments of individual acts of heroism (the Thunderchild for example)#But the question is not just 'how will humanity beat the Martians and prove that we're still the masters of the universe'#Rather 'a) why is humanity so confident that it's ultimately in control of its own destiny#And b) here's lots of scenes of societal collapse and of people pushed to the brink and what would YOU do in those circumstances?#Would YOU feel remorse about silencing the curate even if it did lead to his death?#What if it rather than a foolish adult it had been a small child?#And even if they were weak did they DESERVE it? Yes it might have been necessary but should it be policy going forward?#Would you also be attracted briefly by the certainties that the artilleryman's (rather fascist) plan seems to offer so humanity survives?#But what sort of humanity would that be if it DID survive and is it worth it? The narrator feels he needs to justify the curate's death#The artilleryman would have probably never have thought it was anything OTHER than justifiable or indeed laudable#Under strain and stress would you start to turn against even your loved ones and become brutal?#Is that the only hope for human survival beyond complete surrender? And was the destruction of London maybe even 'cleansing'#In the eugenics sense or in the sense of a natural horror of dirt and germs?#And the vast exodus of six million people fleeing headlong in panic - we might not have seen that exact phenomenon#But didn't the twentieth century subsequently go on to show us unprecedented scale of slaughter and refugee movements and communal strife?#At the end of the day what really separates humanity from other animals? And what separates us from the Martians?#It's not an uncontroversial book- it was written over a hundred years ago for goodness sake and there are questions worth asking#about the way imperialism and arguments about eugenics and population control and all sorts of other dodgy areas operated on Wells' mind#But dear God I really don't think the problem with the book is that 'Humanity didn't save the day!'#Unsatisfying ending? Yes. A FAILURE? No not in my opinion- looks like it was exactly what Wells set out to do#Humanity didn't win the war of the worlds they had a narrow escape and though it might not be martians next time#Why wouldn't disaster return in the future? Sure we've studied their flying machines and even preserved a martian in a jar#But for all our science what have we ACTUALLY learned that will enable us to avert future human catastrophes? Ethically or socially?#Alright rant over- as usual my opinion is not universal nor necessarily well-informed this take just really got my goat
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ough sorry to spam the dash when nobody else is online but i do really wanna write for orin the red, my only issue is i refuse to spoil myself for the ending of act 3 / dark urge stuff until i play it myself...... and i just soft reset my playthrough
#ooc.#the woes between being in love w a npc who only shows up at the end of act 2 vs having to replay all of act 1 bc i killed halsin before#my first playthrough is very much in act 3 but i just felt too wobbly about it to continue ( i have it saved though! i did not delete it )#like yk when you just miss stuff and you think it won't bother you but then it eats away at you until you have to forsake ur 40 hour save#i made the same tav though she's my babygirl ( morally questionable freak )
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Actually think he's got ALL the great points. I am LIVING for Sith-centric POVs. The Jedi aren't right and good simply by virtue of being Jedi. I wanna hear what the other side has to say about it.
It's about time we had a sympathetic glance at the Sith. What's gonna happen next? When and what's the shoe that's about to drop?? Will the Sith be JUSTIFIED or will things revert back to ye olde Jedi=Right?
This is what story time is supposed to be about !!
*eats popcorn.*
He do be making some good points though.
#i hope the show rules in favor of the Sith actually#i want to see the perfect angels be problematic#i want things to be complicated and nuanced#i want right and wrong to be questioned#i want people to see the world from the POV of the 'bad guys' & know that they're people and choices made in the context of their existence#were understandable and right actually#also it's fun watching tumblr Jedi fans try to insist that the Jedi are so so so good and were right actually#and 'don't steal children'#when they sure AF interfered wrongly and unnecessarily against the wishes of an autonomous group not part of the republic#in order to persuade kids to join them#stealing by any other name lol !#'oh the parents don't want this? ok well lemme just put on a horse and pony show to appeal to the kids#. 😎😎😎#'because now it's about kids self-determination when it's more convenient for us. instead of an agreement with all involved.'#like I'm sure most of the kid-taking was something parents also wanted. i don't have any issue with this.#but this SPECIFIC case is clearly a Bad Practice. and i think it's fascinating#the Jedi literally walking around like heavyweights and abusing their power without the legal and moral authority to do so#just because they can and because that POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT GROUP which was OUTSIDE THEIR JURISDICTION was TOO AFRAID#to directly resist#says a LOT about the state of the Galaxy and also how the Jedi treat groups THEY exiled who believe and operate differently.#but not necessarily badly or wrongly#anyway I LOVE THIS A LOT#acolyte#commentary#Jedi
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its not fun to talk about, and i feel like such a dick talking about them like this, but it's fucking sickening how easily swayed my parents are
#again they say that i'm a black-and-white thinker but they are so much worse with it than they are#i'm just firm in my beliefs#like my dad was straight up like 'the jewish people have been through a lot and a lot of them are doctors#therefore israel is in the right here' like im not exaggerating that was his view on it#without any deeper thought or reading between the lines on it#my mom was more receptive to my concerns#but she basically let me dictate her opinion on the whole thing because 'you know what you're talking about'#and im genuinely glad she trusts me and values my opinions#but mom. you're fifty years old PLEASE have opinions on things that aren't your daughter's or the news'#i know they don't do the deep political readings that i do; im unemployed and they both work really physically demanding jobs#so of course they don't. its just they don't seem to think very deeply about things and they aren't very curious#to research more about what they're hearing#like a quick glance at the wikipedia page for the history of israel or palestine should be enough fuel to question#the narratives the we're being told#like 'hey europe has a history of ethnic cleansing their colonies maybe that's what THIS european colony is doing'#but whenever the news covers a story about a person being killed by a cop they jump right to 'well yeah lol that's what they get'#even before they hear the full context of the murder. hell the fact that's their first instinct#when hearing about a murder is fucking disgusting. and racist. and terrifying#i love them they are good parents but god damn do i hate them as people. it feels like they have no moral backbone of their own#like p much all i have to do to convince my dad israel is in the wrong is show him#the photos of the irish-palestinian solidarity murals and his pride will tell him to Listen to Our Ancestors#which includes irish people we've never met who're his own age apparently#ofc i don't expect them to be Morally Pure tm or whatever a lot of stuff has to be unlearned but jesus christ TRY. PLEASE#mickey.txt
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I read the comic in one sitting less than an hour after finishing the movie, and wow I have many Thoughts™.
- It's very obvious the two versions were meant to cater to different audiences AND tell different messages. I don't get why people are going "But the comic was better! It had more nuance!" just because Nimona was easier to root for in the movie.
- The comic was written back when ND Stevenson was still trying to process a lot of stuff, so all the characters are morally grey/straight up evil and the climactic battle is between a Ballister who regrets turning against Nimona, even if it was to save others vs. a Nimona who's too hurt to care if her lashing out was going to hurt innocent people.
- By the time Nimona got a movie adaptation, ND was a lot more secure in his sexuality, so the climactic battle was Nimona vs. the Director, the symbol of religious oppression and bigotry. It's not just about your friends turning on you because you're "too much" for them anymore, it's also about a society that would rather bring itself to the brink of ruin than coexist with you.
- (I totally get why people were upset about Ballister's surname change, though. Like come on, the media dubbing him Blackheart just to be mean was RIGHT THERE).
- Nimona's metaphor for not shifting is such a neurodivergent thing. Even in the comic, Nimona's parents insisting she's a monster who replaced their daughter is reminiscent of the changeling myth, which is what many parents thought their neurodivergent kids were—changelings who replaced their "real" children.
- Ambrosius being trained to cut off HIS BOYFRIEND'S WHOLE FUCKING ARM instead of merely disarming him is a very cop thing to do. As much as cops claim they're trained to de-escalate situations, their training still teaches them to treat everyone as a potential threat, and that level of constant vigilance can turn anyone into a trigger-happy/arm-choppy bastard. Even the Director, who can use a sword but probably hasn't actually fought someone in ages, STILL can't see Ballister reaching for the squire's phone without assuming he has a weapon.
- And on that note, the Queen getting killed simply because she was trying to reform the Institution and allow commoners to become knights? That's the best "no such thing as a good cop" metaphor I've seen. Because even if there ARE good cops and they ARE in leadership positions, the system will crush them before they make any meaningful change. It's not a good institution that turned rotten, it's an institution that only exists to spread its rot and refuses to be good.
- That's why Ballister's characterisation is so different in the movie vs. the comic. Comic Ballister had 15 years to come to terms with his trauma and the Institution's evildoing, while Movie Ballister is still freshly traumatised and hasn't found a way to define himself beyond the role he was assigned by the Institution.
- Not to mention Comic Ambrosius was not very noble to begin with and genuinely believed Ballister was better suited to villainy than heroism, while Movie Ambrosius never wanted the glory that came with his lineage in the first place and only antagonised Ballister because of indoctrination he needed to unlearn (which he did, all by himself, after witnessing the lengths the Director will go to just to kill Nimona).
- It really shows how important it is to surround yourself with loved ones who are open to change. Comic Ambrosius can love Ballister all he wants, but he'll still blast his arm off because he thinks Ballister deserved it anyway. Movie Ambrosius will stop to question what "the right thing" even means, even if he didn't love Ballister enough to defend him unconditionally.
I have so many more thoughts bubbling beneath the surface, but I'll probably address them some other day. In conclusion:
[ID: A pink-haired Nimona grinning evilly while holding up a knife.]
Watch Nimona. This is not a request.
Edit: Added more thoughts!
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Heyyyyyy I’d really like to talk more about the ball, who’s with me.
Because for all its glitter, the ball is dark. No, seriously, it’s dark. It’s eerie, it’s disturbing, and the narrative doesn’t shy away from showing us just how much.
As in a classic fairytale, mortals are being spirited away into another realm to dance through the night. Here, however, we see exactly who is orchestrating the dance, and why.
And we empathize with him, but watching Aziraphale has never been so painful or so unsettling.
Nina arrives distraught and is immediately hit with the realization that she doesn’t feel distraught, even though she knows she should be feeling it. She confronts Aziraphale and he just tells her: oh yes! :) no long faces tonight! And she is disturbed throughout the ball, thinks she is losing her mind, questions and fights the enchantment… but from time to time, the enchantment still takes hold.
And just—
Aziraphale. Aziraphale, you do know that manipulating people is wrong, don’t you? You… do know that? And yes, of course, neither Crowley’s nor Aziraphale’s approach to morality is human. They are eldritch, they are otherworldly. It was Crowley who changed the paintball guns into real guns in S1, though of course, the humans still had choice in using them.
But the ball is still different.
We’ve never seen Aziraphale do anything quite so disturbing before, or go so obviously deep into his own delusion. There are moments during these scenes when even Crowley, permanently frustrated, is very nearly disturbed. (“Angel! What are you doing?” or “Making it rain is one thing, but a BALL?”)
I fully think that by that point in the story, Aziraphale is not all right. He is in an anxiety spiral, denying reality fiercely, obstinately, disastrously, not listening to any of Crowley’s hissed warnings. Yes, yes, he is giddy, he is in love. It’s so very important for him that everything go RIGHT this night, the night he gets to dance with Crowley. Is he even aware of everything he is conjuring up, of the enchantment he has woven? The humans who step through the doors of the bookshop change: their clothing, their mood, their speech patterns… By this point, is Aziraphale doing this consciously at all? Or is reality conforming to his expectations, forcing everyone into a replica of the nineteenth century while Aziraphale himself, distracted and smitten, works himself up to inviting Crowley to dance?
In the first few episodes, as fear and danger grow, as Aziraphale is faced with the danger specifically to Crowley (I don’t see why he would risk his existence for you, Shax tells him in the car), Aziraphale only denies reality all the more fiercely, only holds on to his plans tighter, only puts more force into them and exerts more control (really, rather like the archangels with their Great Plan).
And the ball, beautiful and otherworldly and eerie as it is, is also a dire warning.
In the morning, it will be Crowley, not Aziraphale, who will get told off for manipulating Nina and Maggie. Aziraphale won’t reflect on this. He won’t be forced to reflect, and Metatron will manipulate him in turn.
There is a plan to follow. The show must go on.
GOD the ball is so dark.
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One thing that I absolutely love about TFOne's writing is that it manages to avoid a lot of the heavier criticism I've seen regarding MegOp's hero/villain dynamic over the years (trust me, the mid-2010s TF discourse was crazy)
*Spoilers Below*
First of all, the narrative benefits so much from the main 4 cast members all being a part of the same exploited mining class. So many takes on MegOp have Orion being of a higher status (an archivist, a cop, etc) while Megatron is much lower down on the social latter (a miner, a gladiator, often in the context of being a slave).
I've seen many people be put off by this, because it feels as if Megs is being villianized for being rightfully angry at the system that deeply harmed and exploited him, while Orion/Optimus is praised for taking a more pacifistic stance despite him not suffering as much from or in some ways even benefiting from the system he claims to oppose. I don't find their dynamic to be as simple as that, and I do find these takes to be a bit reductive, but I do very much see where they are coming from.
I am definitely one of those people who's very frustrated with the way pacifism is hailed as the one true path of morality, and the inherent implication that taking any sort of revenge on the people who abused/exploited you makes you just as bad as them. Also, Marvel's particular brand of demonizing any form of radical political action, despite the system clearly being broken and corrupt, but being completely unwilling to offer any other alternatives to meaningfully change things for the better.
When looking at what I described above its pretty easy to see how a lot of versions of MegOp's hero/villain dynamic unfortunately fits into that trope. Bringing it back to TFOne, you can see how Op and Meg coming from the same political/social status subverts this. The existence of Elita and Bee only further illustrates that out of the 4 people of the mining class who were all deceived, exploited, and literally mutilated in the same way it is only D-16 that completely loses himself to his rage, even to the point where he loses compassion for his own companions and disregarding the safety of the other miners (when he decides to "tears everything down" and Elita exclaims he's going to "kill everyone").
What I think I love most about the characterization in TFOne is that Orion is the radical one. Not only that, but he is praised by Elita and by extension the narrative for it. He is constantly challenging authority, and is the first to have the suspicion that their society is structured in an unjust way.
Meanwhile D-16, to be frank, is kind of a bootlicker. He fully believed in the system and that Sentinal Prime, as someone with power, had the right to decided "what was best" for those who are weaker/lesser (I wish I had the specific quote from D-16 to support this, but the movie's still in theaters). It illustrate that D-16 already held certain fascistic ideals, and that he and Orion already have fundamentally opposing moral/political values, it simply hasn't been of any consequence yet. It shows that their eventual falling out was inevitable, even if they had decided to rebuild Cybertron together.
It should also be noted that D-16's feelings of anger and betrayal do not necessarily have anything to do with the unjust system itself, but that said unjust system was predicated on a lie. Hence his fixation on deception in the post-credits scene and him naming his faction the Decepticons. Meanwhile, when Orion learns the truth he's just sort of like "yeah, I always kinda knew something was up" because again, he understood on some level that their system was predicated on injustice.
Even D-16's obsession with Megatronus Prime, while initially an endearing aspect of his character, is also an indicator of the questionably large amount of value he puts on one's strength. It foreshadows the "might makes right" ideology that the decepticons follow, and is a key part of their ideological characterization across continuities.
Instead of the narrative we often see in Transformers media were Optimus is idolized by the narrative for being more moderate and Megatron is villiainized for being radical (or so people often claim), it is instead Optimus who is rewarded and praised by the narrative for being radical, and Megatron who is villainized and punished by the narrative for holding potentially fascistic values.
I do agree with some criticism I've seen that the whole thing with killing Sentinel and D-16's final turn into villainy felt a bit rushed and more than a little cliche, but I also understand it both had a limited runtime and that it is ultimately a family film meant to be accessible to children. More importantly though, I think the movie set the groundwork early on that, no matter how this final act played out, D-16 was always going to turn to darkness, and Orion would not have been able to stop him.
Its perfectly tragic, the way all MegOp should be, while also feeling really well thought out from a thematic standpoint. I love it.
#transformers#tf#tfone#transformers one#orion pax#megatron#d-16#optimus prime#maccadam#megop#megatron x optimus prime#kaysposts
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You know what idea has always ENCHANTED ME?
Ever since I saw it on a sci-fi show?
The Deadly Magical House That Loves You™. See, it's a house that has become something MORE. Gained sentience. And? Instead of acting out some cheap horror movie jump scares? It digs deep to its foundations, thinks long n hard, and decides on what it WANTS.
And it WANTS?
To be a HOME™.
To TAKE CARE OF somebody. Have LIFE in its halls. Meals at its tables. Joy and laughter bouncing across its walls. So? It lays a trap. Lures people in.
Come live in me~
I am a good home.
I am Free! I am "Safe". I will give you whatever your heart desires.
I care not for morality or laws. Boundaries or taboos. Do you desire? Come, come, be HAPPY~! Live in me! Relax here! Forget about the world beyond these walls. Anything I can not give you, I can bring TOO you! This is a Happy Home.
But, of course, such sentience and pushiness terrifies. People run and flee in horror. The house getting more aggressive. Trying to hold tighter. After all! If they would just STAY for a while, they would SEE! It's so LOVELY here! The would LOVE to live inside them!
But... instead?
They are hurt.
Doors smashed open. Windows broken to escape. Furniture thrown. Their avatar, Jeeves, bashed with heavy things. Why... WHY?! They are only trying to HELP! To LOVE them! Be a good HOME! They grow more and more run down. Starved. Wrathful.
It is, of course, their Obsession. To be a home. They are so very hungry.
When? Who should come along?
But the depressed AF Ghost King! He's been... not TECHNICALLY kicked out. But "things are tense" kicked out. He's tired. His college courses are remote. He can't really AFFORD rent. And everything is just...
He's TIRED.
He wants to cry.
Why... why can't he have ONE good thing? ONE sign everything's gonna be alright?
"Free House!"
Well... I mean... that IS a literal sign. Huh. He flies down. The house notices him. Tries to look as enticing as it can. And? Gasp! I... It's WORKING? This one seems INTERESTED? Quick! Flowerbeds! Look at my flowerbeds! Ooooh, lovely floooowers! A.. and there's probably really nice wood flooring! C'mon. C'moooon!
Danny? Sees a free Lair. Not too far from both Gotham AND Metropolis. Good location. Needs a little fixing up. But I mean... you can't beat free, right?
Is he really gonna do this?
......fuck it. Yeah, let's do this. First house time. He's just glad he carries a sharpie on him most of the time. Scribbles "Sold!" Over the sign then calls Jazz. He's... kinda not sure WHAT he's supposed to pack?
Finds out, post move in, whoop. Sentient Lair. Clingy, clingy, highly desperate sentient Lair. Oof. Guess fixing up the place can be therapy for both of us. Jazz helps.
The house heals. He falls into a routine. Schoolwork, hang out in the garden or the observatory, meals FaceTiming friends or watching videos, naps whenever he wants them. It's... it's so peaceful. Quiet and soothing to his agitated and worn down soul. Like a balm.
House gets him whatever he needs. They're kinda awesome like that. Always seems to have room to fit this or that. He doesn't question it. His brain figuring it works on Zone logic.
He probably SHOULD have.
Because? Things have been going missing. At a slow, steady, pace. Food, technology, entertainment. A building that shouldn't BE there, has been spotted in a wealthy county just outside of Superman and Batman's two cities.
No one can get near it.
It's been getting BIGGER.
Growing, like a tumor, room by room. Floor by floor. The gardens creeping like kudzu, to swallow everything in their path. Yet delivery drivers drop things off. Things they don't remember. On trips they don't recall. People are scared.
Amateur detectives have managed to discover some sort of starlit fae that lives there, along with a human boy.
Justice League Dark has been called in. Are currently standing just outside the slowly creeping property line. A garden statue just hissed at them. The trees are trying to throw acorns. A hushed argument has already broken out. How do they contain the house?
@the-witchhunter @nerdpoe @hypewinter @hdgnj @babbling-babull @mutable-manifestation @spidori @lolottes
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shakes my hands above my head and paces around the room im so sick of everyone acting like ford is a dumb stupid idiot baby who was completely tricked by bill and did nothing wrong. yes he was lied to and bill was abusive, but theres so much more to everything that happened. ford was soooo incredibly willfully ignorant and pushed other important people in his life away, YES bc bill tricked him, but mostly because he wanted to be important. he was actively ignoring red flags from bill and hurting the people around him and was complicit in so much stuff bill did just because he wanted it to be true that bill picked him bc he was special. ford was the one who summoned him in the first place, but then bill just??? told him that he picked ford bc he was special which makes no sense and ford is smarter than that, but he didnt care bc wowwwww he picked me bc im so awesme and smarter and better than everyone!!! he was fucking HEAD OVER HEELLLSSS OBSESSED WITH BILL BTW THAT SHIT WAS NOT ONE SIDED!!! idk why everyone pretends it was. he was building shrines and worshiping him like a god. and never questioned him for a second????? like girl he is the most scientific, curious man in the world and he never once thought bill was lying. he let bill into his life and let him take it over sooo fucking quickly. and he didnt tell anyone bc "they would throw him in a loony bin" ?????? THATS OBVIOUSLY NOT WHY HE DIDNT TELL FIDDLEFORD. he was LYIIINNGG. They were building an interdimensional portal, fiddleford obviously wouldve believed ford and taken him seriously and kept a secret for him. he didnt tell fiddleford bc he was one of the only people in fords life who saw through his bullshit. hes nice, but he stands his ground. as soon as things got too hot, he left. and ford knew that if he told fiddleford about bill that he would immediately be like "dudddeee this is so fucking sketchy you need to research this guy theres obviously smthn else happening." if ford looked into the runes and the messages in the caves, hed probably deduce pretty damn quickly that bill was evil!! but he didnt bc hes selfish and self righteous and wanted to be a part of soemthing bigger than himself. thats literally all he ever wanted. I think the most interesting thing about TBOB is that it shows that it wasnt as black and white as it seemed and that ford wasnt the perfect victim. its shown in the show sooo much how fucked up his morals are. and im not saying this with malice, i fucking love ford and his character so much, i just think so many people act like billford was like a fucking domestic abuse situation where ford was just sad and pathetic and helpless. its so much more complicated than that. ford is not a super great guy and thats such an interesting part of his character. IDK.
#dont take this too seriously i just wanted to get this off my chest#i wanna make a video essay deep diving intk fords character so bad. maybe. idk.#billford#stanford pines#ford pines#tbob#gravity falls#talkbox
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୨♡୧ ASTRO OBSERVATIONS PT 5
Please take all of these predictions with a grain of salt I'm not a professional astrologer.
Here's my masterlist
& if you have any questions here are the GUIDELINES
NATAL OBSERVATIONS
🫐 Aquarius Mercuries also leave people on read thinking they'll reply later, dude reply now you guys will forget later on.
🫐 Venus square Pluto may get bullied by women and the men they reject.
🫐 Your Moon also shows what you overthink about :-
Eg : Virgo Moons overthink whether their intelligent enough or not.
Libra Moons overthink whether people love them or not.
Capricorn Moons are busy overthinking about who's lying.
Pisces Moons are busy overthinking about fictional characters or things that have not even taken place.
🫐 Mars in Taurus is also quite sensual and these people may have a high libido. Most of them know how to channel their energy.
🫐 Venus in Virgo tends to look good no matter what they wear [at times they may wear clothes that won't necessarily be their style but they will still end up looking good in it].
🫐 Cancer Moons are also good at manifestation.
🫐 Pisces Sun, Pisces Moons are better at hiding things, stuff, their personal life. Basically they lie where required.
🫐 Mars in Capricorn reminds me people who are more active mentally than physically. These people know when to play and when to be serious.
🫐 Cancer Risings I can't just blatantly state you guys get bad partners, it's just you guys often fall for people who have a tough time expressing themselves emotionally. You guys also end up being in karmic relationships many a times.
🫐 Moon square Mars tends to feel emotions very intensely. They should journal their anger on a clean piece of paper and then burn the paper.
VEDIC OBSERVATIONS
🫐 If you have a moon darakaraka, only in this placement you can marry a person with the same sign as yours.
🫐 Mars in the 2nd house may eat alot of meat, it's like they'll love meat and find it hard to be a Vegan or Vegetarian.
🫐 Also Mars in the 2nd house swears or curses a lot doesn't matter what sign. They can end up creating new cuss words too lol.
🫐 Rahu 10th house is a good placement however the natives with this placement struggle to choose a career for themselves.
🫐 Venus in the 9th house also tends to be asexual or sapiosexual.
🫐 Rahu in the 9th house makes you doubt your morals. Whether your a good person or not.
🫐 Sun-Mercury conjunction in the 7th house can give a spouse you has solutions to mostly all of your problems. Even if their not too educated they may still have solutions to your problems.
🫐 Sun Nakshatra people have so much perseverance like no matter what they go through they always stand tall facing their problems all by themselves.
🫐 Like 12th house reminds people of spiritual, paranormal, esoteric, escapism but what people forget is this house represents creativity as well.
🫐 12th house lord in the 9th house could mean your creative and would want to pursue a career in something artistic.
🫐 Venus in Pisces in any nakshatra gives you such ethereal dreamy looking face these people never age.
🫐 Sometimes I feel Mars atmakaraka has trouble asking for help.
🫐 Sagittarius Moons and Capricorn moons easily argue with each other then 5 min later their bffs like dude [yeh rishta kya keh lata hai.]
Credits for the images and dividers goes to the rightful owners
Copyright © 2024 sakurapandadreams | All rights reserved.
#astrology#astro observations#astro community#astro notes#astro blog#astroblr#vedic astrology#vedic astro observations#vedic astro notes#vedic chart#natal chart#natal astrology
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˗ˏˋOPEN ARMS! (AND LEGS) ´ˎ˗
୨୧⋆ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ⎯ After your divorce, you’re devastated. Devastated enough to welcome the same man who hurt you with open arms. (And legs!)
୨୧⋆ 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 ⎯ Ex-husband!sukuna x fem!reader, smut (mdni), unprotected sx, lowk hate fckking, hair pulling, overstim, sukuna is feening, mention of slight toxic relationship, slight rough & mean!sukuna, light gaslighting, reader referred to as (baby, princess)
“I hate you,” you whimpered through gritted teeth, the absolutely pathetic noise that left you soon after betraying your previous words. Your eyes threatened to fill with tears, and your throat grew a lump you knew was too hard to swallow.
This was all so stupid—you were stupid for welcoming him back into your home.
You questioned your own moral, your self-respect; where did it all go? Maybe he had taken it with him. And with the way he had you acting such a fool, maybe it was right to assume that.
“Y’hate me, baby?” Sukuna mumbled, and you wanted to slap that stupidly hot smirk off his lips, but something in you also wanted to kiss it, caress his face and let him do as he pleased. But you didn’t.
“Inviting you here was a mistake,” you sighed, trying your best to ignore the way chills erupted on your body from just a touch of his hand. Sukuna stroked the supple skin of your cheek and let his thumb roam to your lip, pulling down and watching as the plumpness sprang back in place. His eyes bore into you as he stared down, a mischievous tilt to his head.
“If you think so, why don’t you kick me out?”
Your breath caught in your throat. “I—“
But Sukuna was faster. He had his lips plastered to yours before you could even react, holding your hips so softly in a way that wasn’t him, and that made you melt in his arms. Your knees buckled under the now tenfold weight pushing down on them and he chuckled, deep and taunting.
He pulled back, a string of saliva connecting your lips together. Somehow, he seemed more passionate with you than before.
Had he changed? Had he finally bettered himself? Your heart fluttered in your chest at the thought—albeit against your own will.
And maybe he had changed, but the way he handled you was still the same. All he seemed to want was to use you for his own satisfaction and pleasure.
Which was subsequently why he—seconds after consoling and convincing you that he loved you—had you sprawled out on your bed, stripped of any clothing.
“Wider, f’me, princess,” he ordered, palming himself through his sweats, and you’d be lying if you said that the way that he groped his cock through the material wasn’t captivating. Sukuna crawled onto the bed, making and claiming his rightful place between your legs.
“I missed you, y’know?” he asserted in your ear, cupping your cheeks together to force you to look at him. He let his free hand drift down to your chest, and fondled with your tit, admiring how his palms fit so perfectly around your mound. “Missed these pretty tits too.”
“‘Kuna,” you whined, arching up into his touch so quickly like the movement was ingrained in your brain. You’d been with him for so long, accommodated his every move, it felt wrong not to be with him.
Hence why, out of confusion for your own mental state, you hit him up. However, perhaps this was okay.
Sukuna between your legs, right where he always belonged. Stroking himself with such fervor that it seemed he had been thinking about you too. But he wouldn’t admit it, of course.
“Most of all,” he hummed, snaking his large hand down to your core, cupping your pussy. “Missed this filthy fucking cunt.”
It was all so lewd. His words, his touch, the way he glided the head up and down your sopping folds, coating his tip with your seemingly endless stream of dribbling slick.
"Gonna show you just how much I missed all of you."
And that was the problem. Sukuna wanted you, but not you. He had an obsession with this image of you he created in his head—this perfect wife—which was essentially you, but not.
You also found it hard to love a man that had an insane sex drive. Granted, the dick was heavenly, just not when you weren't in the mood. These little cracks between you drifted you both apart, and that led to the divorce.
With a swift movement, Sukuna had turned you around onto your stomach, propping you up on your knees. He inwardly cursed at how plump your body looked; and was immediately drawn in to smack the malleable flesh of your ass.
Hissing, you turned to glare at him, the complaint about to roll off your tongue caught in your throat as he thrusted in. Sukuna noticed this and rasped, voice so sexily low, and took a handful of your hair. "Shuts you up just like it always does, hm?"
"F-fuck you!" you replied, and one smart remark was all it took for him to have your head shoved into the pillows, rough hands gripping so harshly at your hips.
"'M already doing that, baby." As he pulled your head back by your hair, making sure your eyes held contact with his, sadistically finding satisfaction in the way tears welled in your waterline. Sukuna watched as each ram he drove into you caused your eyes to roll back—your mouth falling agape as soft little ah, ah, ah's fell from your lips.
The sight was unbearable to him, he had to see more, more of that already fucked-out expression taking place on your face. He found his rhythm quickening, the slaps of your bodies becoming more frequent, and your cries became louder.
Sukuna looked down at where you both connected, whistling and smirking to himself at the sight. "Always been so good at takin' dick."
"Mmf—it's easy cause y'r microscopic," you were quick to retort, smiling as you felt his grip on your hair and hips tighten, a little annoyed 'tsk' rolling from his tongue. But he was more than annoyed, he just played along with your little game.
Your cocky grin was wiped off of your face the moment you felt his tip repeatedly ram into your g-spot, stimulating you so much to the point it had you stuttering and your vision blurring. He was essentially taking his anger out on you and your poor pussy, fucking wildly into you like it'd be the first and last time he did so.
"I'm small, huh?" he murmured in your ear, breath fanning past your neck now, smiling against the skin of your shoulder. "I'm fucking small?"
He repeated his question again, though it didn't sound like a question initially, gripping your hair even more tighter.
You whimpered in response, shaking your head no, however, he wanted an answer. Though he knew you were in no state to talk.
"Yeah? Not so small when I'm ruining you." he licked a stripe up to your ear. "And not when I made you cum four times in a row, either, hm?”
#ꔫ : ˚ ͙۪۪̥◌⎯ 𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐈’𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍#jjk smut#jjk fic#jjk x reader#jjk headcanons#jjk fanfic#jujutsu kaisen#jjk x you#jujutsu kaisen smut#sukuna ryoumen smut#sukuna smut#sukuna#sukuna ryomen#jjk sukuna#jjk ryomen#true form sukuna#sukuna x reader#sukuna x you#sukuna x y/n#ryomen sukuna#sukuna ryomen smut#jujutsu kaisen ryomen#gojo smut#sukuna ryomen x reader#sukuna ryomen x you#ryomen smut#jujutsu kaisen x you#sukuna ryoumen x reader
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[ DUTIFUL, DEVOTED — FT. KAMISATO AYATO ]
SYNOPSIS: ayato falls first, unaware of the reason you’re so guarded. it’s not until you run into your former love does he realize the reason for the cold beginnings of your marriage
WORD COUNT: 2.3k words — not too long but when you consider it was meant to be a literal paragraph where i just share a concept…yeah. yeah.
INCLUDES: female wife reader ; arranged marriages ; temporary unrequited love ; reader is implied to come from an influential family ; reader has a former unnamed lover ; jealous ayato ; slightly insecure/bitter ayato ; very brief and vague smut but still 18+ minors do not interact ; mentions of fem receiving oral and fingering ; unprotected vaginal sex ; creampie ; implied multiple rounds and overstimulation ; typical references to morally gray ayato
NOTES: have to post this a second time :/ but cannot stop thinking about ayato who loses his mind realizing you’re his first love but he’s not yours
Ayato falls first. Hard.
It wasn’t ideal, the circumstances of your marriage. Your affections were hard to win—but after some rough beginnings, you slowly, surely start to form a romantic bond. He aches for you for a long, long time. To feel the warmth of your skin and the kindness in your gaze. To feel the softness of your lips and the tenderness of your care. He dreams of it most nights. And finally, when he’s earned the gift of your devotion, he falls impossibly harder.
It’s only once the two of you fall in love does he find out that you were once in love with someone else at the time of your engagement.
Your wedding happens very suddenly. Your father offers his precious jewel of a daughter as a token of your clan’s influence, all in exchange for some negotiations over the Yashiro commission affairs. Ayato knew you were intriguing at the very least since your wedding day. He can tell there’s more to you despite being seemingly obedient to your father’s wishes. It’s clear how unhappy you look with the whole affair—so he decides then and there that he’ll make you happy, treat you properly as a wife should be, show you love so that you don’t regret fulfilling your father’s wishes to join your clan with his.
But you make it difficult. For months, you make it difficult. You’re stubborn and just a little bratty when you want to be. You eat dinner before he’s arrived to your chambers after a long day of working, using it as an excuse to avoid meals with him. You’re out for strolls in the estate frequently but happen to be tired just when he has the time to spare to join you. You’re busy reading a book and happen to be at the most exciting part right when he’s free to come have a conversation with you. When you both need to make an appearance together, you’re stiff as you link arms—it’s a rare occasion as a whole, anyway, seeing as Ayato doesn’t show himself in public often, but he certainly doesn’t miss the way you seem extra on edge to be seen with him.
It’s not until the first time you witness him evade an assassination attempt do you start to shift in your demeanor. A little spooked by the blood he shows up covered in, you stay close enough to keep an eye on him for the night. Far enough away that it’s subtle, but certainly not too far. You’re softer with him from then on, a little cautious of what he does and who he trusts. Sure, you may not love your husband, but he is still the man you have vowed your loyalty too—it leaves you at a constant sense of unease to know his life is in persistent danger.
So you question where he’s off to more. You check him subtly over for injuries or tears in his robes. You slowly join him for meals sometimes and when he asks, you cave and let him accompany your strolls. Sometimes you willingly tell him about your book—you’ll lend it for him to read too, if he asks nicely. He notices you’re a little extra kind to him when he’s read your suggestions of what to read from the Yae Publishing House and can hold a discussion with you about the novels. And slowly….well, slowly, you’re prouder to be his wife. Happy, even.
Dare you say you’ve even fallen in love.
It’s not until you run into your old lover in the markets on a rare day off with Ayato does it become clear to him why you were so distant in the earlier days of your marriage. Why you were so unhappy to be wed to him. Why he couldn’t seem to earn your companionship let alone your affections. The man breathes your name, a touch too fond with a concerning amount of longing in his voice that makes Ayato stiffen. And your face says it all—the melancholic regret written all over it.
You pause. Linger your gaze over the man’s face for a moment before murmuring, “I trust you’ve been taking care? It was lovely to see you—I’ll be off, now.” Ayato doesn’t like the way your eyes hesitate for a moment before it pulls away from this mystery man. There’s a sadness to your pupils as you stare down at your feet, fingers gripping his hand tighter as you drag Ayato along.
“Who was that?” He asks.
“Oh, just someone I used to know,” you whisper.
He doesn’t like the vagueness of that answer. And more than that, he doesn’t like the sad, far away and guilt-ridden look on your face for days to come. Sometimes, at night, he can feel you tossing and turning beside him as you can’t seem to sleep. He stays carefully still, trying not to alert you that he’s awake when you inevitably cup his cheek and press a long, lingering kiss to his forehead—almost like it’s more for yourself than for him.
Ayato is not stupid. He knows that man means something to you. Meant something to you, he has to correct his own thoughts—he knows he’s the only man in your heart now. He’ll die before he faces a reality where that is not the truth. And if he’d wanted, he’d have dug up all he could about that man by now—but he wants to hear it from you. He wants to know from your own lips and your own words that this man is not someone who owns the strings of your hearts.
“You’ve been off,” he murmurs casually one day, “Ever since that run in with that strange man. Do tell, is there something I am missing here, my love?”
“No, my lord,” you say hesitantly, “He is just…a man of my past life, that is all.”
“A friend, perhaps?” He asks, lips curling into a cunning, bitter smile.
He’s caught on. More than anything, Ayato is intelligent. Exceedingly, painfully so. It’s how he’s come as far as he has. He was a smaller, frailer child in his earlier years, someone that earned the scoffs of those around him when they’d realized this boy was meant to be an heir.
Glory had fallen from the Kamisato clan when he was just a boy. Power had consumed every corner of his estate by the time he was a young man.
He’d done it alone. Sure, he is no longer that frail nor little boy of his youth—the small arms have been replaced by muscled biceps and the tiny frame is broader and wider now. But above all, his intelligence from the shadows has carried him as far as it has.
And he’s smart—he knows his wife and her tells. Ayato knows how you look when you’re in love. You look at him that way—he can tell there are shattered fragments of a broken love still littered on the tiles of your past.
“You could say that,” you say carefully. “We…knew each other well.”
“Do you wish to scare me?” He chuckles. Dry. Humorless. Almost acrid tasting on his tongue. His laugh is anything but joyful. “It almost feels like I should compete for your heart.”
“Don’t say that, Ayato,” you huff. Your fingers tremble a little when they grasp at his, linking them delicately as you give his hand a squeeze. “I am a dutiful wife, am I not?”
“Dutiful is not always the same as devoted,” he murmurs.
“Oh?” You quirk an amused brow, “Do I not seem as though I am devoted to you?”
“You have been off,” he repeats. His voice is a touch more vulnerable now. Something Ayato does not know how to be—but if there is one thing his father has left with him before passing, it is that love is not pursued from the safety of shadows and strength. It is best pursued on your knees, where you are weak and susceptible to pain. “Ever since you have run into him. Any husband would be rightfully worried at such a discouraging sign.”
“My husband has nothing to worry about,” you whisper. You mean it.
That much, he can tell—but it’s not enough.
“Tell me who he was,” he demands softly, “Tell me so I know what history I must rewrite.”
You laugh. It’s a fond, cherished sound. He feels his heart relax at least minimally at the melody of your joy.
“I loved him once,” you admit. The hurt on his face is palpable—raw enough that you sigh, and stroke his cheek. “Not as much as I love you now.”
"Bittersweet it is indeed," he murmurs, "to be not my wife’s first love, but the greater one. I cannot decide if I am fortunate or doomed."
“Love is a complicated thing, Ayato,” you murmur, “I feel fortunate to have loved at all. And to love the one I am wed to now.”
“He still loves you,” he all but grumbles. You don’t enjoy seeing your husband upset, but the Gods need not make him so precious when he is. You fight back a smile as you lean to press a kiss against his jaw.
“I never got to tell him of my marriage until much later. I suppose the guilt of breaking another’s heart has never quite stopped haunting me.”
“Is that why you did not like me?”
You throw him an amused look. “Who says I did not like you?”
“I could tell,” he mumbles petulantly, “I am a wise man, I shall have you know.”
“Perhaps not wise when it comes to the ladies, my lord,” you grin, cupping his cheek. Gently, you press a kiss to his forehead, leaning closer as he grips at your waist. “I did not dislike you. Ever.”
“Then why be so cold in the beginnings of our relationship?” He presses.
“I felt disloyal,” you admit. He quirks a questioning brow up at you. “I…I was troubled that my husband seemed to have charms that I was not immune to…despite being in love with another. It was conflicting, you see. I was not ready to accept that perhaps….perhaps loving you was meant to be in my nature.”
He blinks, registering your words for a moment before a smug, arrogant little smile tugs at the corners of his lips. You roll your eyes at the way he gives you a sly look.
“Ah,” he nods, “So it was my charms that drove you away? Dare I say my wife was falling much earlier than I had assumed?”
“No,” it’s your turn to grumble. “I did not like you.”
“That is not what you claimed but moments ago," he goads, shifting to loom over your body. In his gaze, hunger and desperation mingle with the faintest trace of fear as he softly declares, "I shall be your final love. It will be I, or no one at all.”
“An arrangement I find most agreeable,” you tease softly, your eyes warming with affection. “If you are to be the only man I shall love, then I count myself fortunate indeed—so long as you remain ever deserving of such devotion.”
“Shall I earn your devotion now?” He hums, hand grazing lower, lower, lower.
Your breath hitches before you whisper, “Go on, then. Earn my affections, my dear husband.”
“As you wish, my darling wife.”
He’s needy that night. Hard and leaking into his pants for quite some time as he earns your body’s approval first with his tongue and next with his fingers.
Like a good husband, he thinks—one who puts you above himself. No one will care to put you above all else the way Ayato would. He thinks Inazuma itself is not as important as you. So, like a dutiful husband, it’s not until you’ve come undone a second time does he prod the thick, warm tip of his cock into your folds.
He fucks you well, too—enough times that you’ve lost count and can’t discern much outside of the way he’s all but whimpering into your neck himself.
“Just one more,” he pleads, desperately rolling his hips into you, sweaty and quivering over your body as he buries himself deep into your cunt. “P-please, my love. Just one more.”
“Are you sure you can even handle it yourself?” You tease. It’s a silly effort, though—one more thrust of his hips as you squealing under him as your eyes roll back.
“I can handle more of you any time,” he grins smugly.
You both fall apart not long after that. His rips thrust in a quick, sloppy pace before he stills with a groan, emptying one last load into your abused cunt. You quiver around his length for what feels like eternity, coming undone around him once more.
“Ayato,” you sob, chanting his name as though it’s the only one you know. (It is. For tonight, it is.)
“My love,” he responds shakily, moaning into your neck as another wave of his orgasm pulses through his body. “Promise me you’ll love only me. I fear the lengths I would go if you shouldn’t are not pleasant.”
He slumps over you, tired. Spent. Stubbornly in love. Scarily devoted. You are the only reason he is tethered to the ounce of sanity he has.
“You are most needy when you’re envious,” you laugh, stroking his hair as he huffs into your neck, nuzzling closer. “Do keep in mind that should you love another apart from me, I shall take equally as unreasonable lengths.”
“I have vowed to you my life,” he murmurs, “Since the day I was wed to you.”
“And I have done the same,” you hum, delicately raking your nails over his back, scratching soothingly over the skin, feeling every mole that catches along the way.
“Then your friend shall be made aware of his place in your past,” he says contently.
You glance at the side of his head from the corner of your eyes, rolling them when he refuses to look up from your neck and meet your gaze. “Be nice, Ayato.”
“I only intend to drop a friendly visit,” he says innocently.
“You are anything but friendly,” you snort.
He grins before pressing a kiss into your neck, right over your pulse point. Right over the proof of your beating heart that belongs to him.
If ur ex has to move somewhere far away in inazuma and start a life where he can’t run into you so you never have to see him again…that’s got nothing to do with ayato he don’t know nothing about that!!! He’s innocent!!!
#writing tag#ayato x reader#genshin x reader#genshin impact x reader#kamisato ayato x reader#ayato x you#genshin x you#genshin impact x you#kamisato ayato x you#ayato smut#genshin smut#genshin impact smut#kamisato ayato smut
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I’m so glad the Guillermo Del Toro Pinocchio movie is being received really well, because it was literally my most anticipated movie of the year! So here’s some fun facts about the crew, concept, and production that got me excited about this movie and that I think would excite much of tumblr as well:
-the screenplay was cowritten by Del Toro and Patrick McHale, creator of Over The Garden Wall and a writer on Adventure Time.
-the movie was codirected by Mark Gustasfon, who was the animation director of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
-the primary art/animation designers of this movie (production designer Curt Enderle, art director Robert DeSue, character designer Georgina Hayns, animation supervisor Brian Leif Hansen, and photography director Frank Passingham) previously worked on projects that include Coraline, the Corpse Bride, Paranorman, Isle of Dogs, Frankenweenie, Kubo, and Chicken Run.
-Besides Netflix, it was produced by the Henson company (always a good sign when you’re doing anything with puppets) and ShadowMachine, who have produced a lot of Adult Swim shows including Robot Chicken, Moral Orel, and Tuca and Bertie, as well as the Netflix original BoJack Horseman.
-Del Toro was inspired to make this adaptation due to the similarities he’d always noticed between the original Pinocchio story and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Both are about a man-made character’s relationship with his father/creator, and his attempts to understand what it means to be human. This inspiration is why the film takes on a gothic feel at times.
-the movie is over 10 years in the making. Del Toro announced the project in 2008 and production began in 2012, but it went into development hell and no further updates were made for several years. Del Toro has described it as his passion project, saying "I've wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember.”
-the backdrop of Mussolini’s Italy was intended to show how Pinnochio was able to find his own humanity and will in a time where everyone else was acting like a blindly obedient puppet. Del Toro wanted to deviate from the original book’s themes of obeying authority by making his Pinocchio virtuous for questioning the rules and forging his own set of morals. (Also if you know anything about Del Toro, the guy likes to dunk on fascism.)
-Del Toro didn’t feel the need to have Pinocchio become flesh-and-blood at the end of the movie, saying all you need to be a real human is to behave like one.
I was lucky enough to see this movie in 35 mm in a movie theatre on Thanksgiving weekend. If there are any movie theatre showings near you and you’re in a position to be able to attend them, I would totally recommend it especially if you can go with loved ones. It was a gorgeous, heartwarming, and magical movie to experience on a big screen and perfect for the late fall/winter holiday season.
#i was so mad all year when i referenced this movie and ppl had only heard of the disney live action or shitty pauly shore versions#pinocchio#guillermo del toro#patrick mchale#over the garden wall#cartoon network#adult swim#wes anderson#fantastic mr fox#bojack horseman#tuca and bertie#moral orel#robot chicken#frankenstein#mary shelly's frankenstein#mary shelley#coraline#the corpse bride#frankenweenie#kubo#paranorman#isle of dogs#chicken run#adventure time
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