#{(thanks for coming to my ted talk)}

[eggavellan]

All of this and also to me this explains why the more ”flirty” banter comes so much easier for him with Neve, and Davrin and even at times Bellara, because why? Spite shows no explicit interest in them. It’s just ”normal” conversation, flirty or not, and while he is an awkward lil demi virgin bean, he’s a trained master assassin who knows how to converse with people. But with Spite in his ear yelling at him about every little thing Rook does, combined with these to him previously unknown feelings associated with Rook fluttering around inside of him, imagine the STATE of the guy. What is he meant to make of that?

Okay but imagine being Lucanis and going through thirty-something years of life reading romance novels and seeing other people fall in love and never experiencing that yourself so you just sort of accept that it won't happen for you and so you focus on being Grandma's #1 Assassin. Next thing you know you're being broken out of a torture prison by a walking hurricane of an individual and suddenly all those feelings you've read about start to happen. Which would be great if wasn't for the literal demon in your head declaring that they too like this person (platonically or otherwise, it doesn't matter). So now you don't know if your feelings are actually your feelings or if they're some sort of demon side effect because no amount of Crow training prepared you for this shit.

All I'm saying is it's not surprising Lucanis barely flirts with Rook until after Inner Demons, it's not just because he's bad at it (which he definitely is but in a sort of endearing way), but because until that point he doesn't know if his feelings are his own.

[ponkydraws]

BBC Johnlock rant;

What? A rant on a show that was popular in 2014 tumblr in the year of 2025? Yes, I’m an autistic queer 16 year old with a passion for literature and art, what else would I get up to?

Here’s a couple things that have been itching at me and I feel like I need to scream into the void seeing if anyone will listen. Yes, this is Johnlock.

Spoilers ahead, obviously.

1. Sherlock’s attraction to Molly and Irene. Now, I see a lot of fans of the show under the impression that Sherlock is attracted to either Molly or Irene, and personally I think the show made it very clear that’s not what’s going on.

Molly - Sherlock possesses the ability to mimic romantic attraction at need (see Janine), although even in those cases he won’t go any further than kissing, i.e “waiting until marriage” despite being an atheist. Molly’s attraction to Sherlock is evident from their first encounter, Sherlock seems to be aware of said feelings but actively and purposefully refuses to acknowledge them. When Molly asks if he’d like coffee he simply takes advantage of the wording of the question to reject her proposal without directly addressing the actual question - “black, two sugars please”.

He tries to use Molly as a John substitute but finds that he cannot stop thinking about John anyway, and even in that situation he makes Molly appear more like John rather than keeping her acting like herself. In The Final Problem Sherlock is forced to make Molly say the words “I love you” or she (allegedly) blows up. This is a manipulation tactic of Eurus’, where she exploits her brother’s emotional attachments. But the challenge is meant to upset Molly - not Sherlock. Sherlock is distraught because despite having a different set of emotionality he doesn’t want to hurt his friend. He breaks her casket because he is upset he has hurt his friend. And despite having only 3 minutes to make her say “I love you”, he buffers for an unnecessary long time to actually say it himself. This is because he DOESN’T mean it.

He feels bad for having to reopen a wound of Molly’s because he is not telling her the truth, he is being forced to taunt her with a flicker of hope that’s not there.

Irene - this is just my own personal interpretation of their relationship so you don’t have to agree with me but I found it quite clear that Sherlock is not attracted to her romantically. He strives to impress her. He feels intimidated and fascinated, he’s so keen on their conversations because he has found an equal and he’s testing her intellect (and she’s doing the same to him). Irene uses seductive techniques to try to throw Sherlock off his rhythm, and successfully so. Except it appears that she’s using them for shock factor, not to actually seduce Sherlock. Again; throwing him off his rhythm. He is still objectively trying to deduce her and even says “if I wanted to look at naked women, I would borrow John’s laptop” implying that he doesn’t want to see her naked, but the situation is what it is.

There’s a clear difference between Sherlock’s reaction and John’s reaction to Irene being naked. John feels exposed and uncomfortable because he recognizes the situation as sexual. He immediately looks down, either out of embarrassment, shock or because he doesn’t want to be caught staring down a naked woman. Even when she directly addresses John, he seems to make a point to look her in the eyes. Sherlock, despite understanding the motive of her method, is still viewing her from an objective perspective. He is looking everywhere, not because of attraction, but because he is trying to understand what she’s doing. When trying to deduce her, he finds that he can’t find anything out - so he switches back to John and has no trouble deducing him at all.

Sherlock is not comfortable around Irene, but he is drawn to her intelligence. He feels a need to prove himself to a fellow genius, and to detect what she’s got in return. Even Irene points out how John and Sherlock supposedly are a couple, insisting she’s right even when John denies. Later in the show, John brings up Irene a couple of times in an attempt to peak Sherlock’s interest but it still seems like John is more interested in the relationship between Sherlock and Irene than Sherlock actually is.

All of these women acknowledge either Sherlock and John’s relationship or Sherlock’s lack thereof with them

“You look sad. You look sad when you think he can’t see you.” - Molly

“Somebody loves you” - Irene to Sherlock, and looks at John, “we’re not a couple” “yes you are” & “I’m not actually gay” “well I am. Look at us both.”

“I wish you weren’t…whatever it is you are.” - Janine to Sherlock

Even John’s girlfriends acknowledge how John prioritizes Sherlock over them, i.e “you’re a great boyfriend. Sherlock Holmes is a very lucky man. No, it’s heartwarming. You’ll do anything for him.”, “don’t make me compete with Sherlock Holmes” and even Mary taunts both John and Sherlock for their clear affection towards each other - “I don’t shave for Sherlock Holmes” & “see, neither of us were the first”

In conclusion, Sherlock can be manipulative when it favors him and he can mimic attraction if needed, but it is not genuine. In all of these cases, the care displayed for them was directly tied to a case, as to where the affection he displays towards John is unwavering and unaffected by whether or not there is a case. Why? Because he doesn’t view John as a tool, nor does John view him as one.

John makes a difference in Sherlock’s life because he is not getting anything out of him other than genuine human connection. He praises Sherlock when he’s impressed and scolds him when he does something wrong. Sherlock, who is clearly not used to being addressed as a regular person, is obviously surprised by this behavior as displayed in the first episode, i.e “fantastic..” “are you aware you’re doing that out loud?” “Sorry” “no it’s…fine..” & “that was…amazing” “really?” “Of course it was” “..that’s not what people usually say”

John treats him like a person, he doesn’t tiptoe around his intellect worried he’ll do something wrong, no, he grabs him by the collar and redirects him when he’s not acting properly. And John is the one to uncover his flaws. Sherlock prides himself on being this genius detective whose intelligence cannot be penetrated by the weak forces of emotions - but that’s not right. He’s very emotional. Both John and Mrs Hudson are aware of the fact that Sherlock is emotional, and acts emotionally. “Not Sherlock, no, he’s more…emotional, isn’t he?” - Mrs Hudson

What emotion does Sherlock display when John gets married to Mary or talks to his commander? Jealousy. He’s obviously distraught about the whole marriage thing, so much so that both John AND Mary are aware of it. When John meets his old commander, Sherlock seems skeptical of him and doesn’t like how John is acting around him. Mary says how “he’s the most unsociable man he’s ever met” to which Sherlock replies “HE’S the most unsociable man he’s ever met? Well that explains why he’s prancing around him like a puppy” which kind of implies that John finds himself drawn to unsociable people - and that Sherlock has actively noted that trait because he does it around him, too. He also leaves the wedding early, and like Molly says, he looks sad once John is not looking at him.

Another case of emotional behavior is when Moriarty tells Sherlock “I’ll burn the heart out of you” to which Sherlock replies “I’ve been reliably informed that I don’t have one”. Moriarty counters with this with “oh, we both know that’s not quite true.”

And what happens a few episodes later? John ends up in a bonfire. “I will burn the heart out of you” and then the show tries to burn John. Hm. This can also be tied to Sherlock’s previous statement of “funny how fire exposes our priorities”.

Moriarty is aware of how much John means to Sherlock and actively uses him as a tool to manipulate Sherlock. He tries to make Sherlock feel bad by telling him how many people will be upset by his death, but Sherlock does not react until John is mentioned. He tells Sherlock how his friends are in danger and Sherlock immediately goes “John!”.

In the final problem, Mycroft tries to manipulate Sherlock into making shooting him a lot easier, so he starts berating John. Not Sherlock. John. He tries to rile up Sherlock enough to get him to pull the trigger so he insults John in front of Sherlock. Sherlock recognizes the technique which means that he’s well aware that Mycroft is using his relationship with John in an attempt to manipulate him.

Romantic or not, Sherlock clearly loves and values John more than anything or anyone, even more than his own life. He would die if it meant John could live. I can easily write like 15 of these but I’ll start with this bite sized analysis. Thank you.

[a-nybodys]

the dirt under your nails

[teacupbug]

My controversial opinion is that I think chronically ill people should be able to fight one doctor a year

[shouts-into-the-void]

I feel like the aftg fandom has just swung hard from one mischaracterization of Neil to another.

Yes, Neil is not an innocent little soft-boy like a lot of fans made him out to be pre-TSC, but he isn't some cold, calculated badass either.

He took out a hit on Grayson over Thai food. He doodles fox paws in his notebooks and hates vegetables. He insults FBI agents' parking jobs and he spent a bus ride staring over the back of his seat making heart eyes at his boyfriend. He manipulated the agents while eating takeout in the interrogation room. He canonically internally panics and overthinks the entire time he's attempting to manipulate anyone. He uses people's family trauma to manipulate them. He misses his mom.

Neil Abram Josten is a multifaceted character

[holyblanchett]

This entire scene leading up to the kiss. Agatha reaching for Rio's face, the vulnerability Rio shows in that moment as she stares into her eyes. Rio's gaurd is down in this moment because the woman that she loves is finally returning to her arms after centuries of being apart. THIS version of them, falling back into the muscle memory of their love will forever be my roman empire.

[quyeningellvar]

“Sollavellan is the dragon age true canon”

My inquisitor lavellan was a MAN getting fucked RAW by DORIAN

[unicornpopcorn14]

Chuuya's reaction to Dazai getting hurt during the Lovecraft fight has always been so interesting to me...

Because it's the kind of worry you'd never expect from a character as gruff as Chuuya, who had displayed nothing but hostility towards Dazai so far. Usually, characters that are labelled as "angry" or "anger issues" (which Chuuya is much more complex than that but you get my point) act more as a tsundere type of way when the one they "don't care about" gets hurt. And show their care in very, very subtle ways (ex. their eyes widen, their mouth parts and closes again, etc) before putting up their front once more.

Chuuya, however, is open, and vocal about it. His worry is clear not only to us, but to Dazai himself, the one he shouldn't be displaying the concern to (as per the cliche). Shouldn't it be some sort of secret that Chuuya does care? Isn't that what skk's dynamic has been shaping up to be until now?

I'm telling you- the way my mind blanked when Chuuya just casually.... showed concern not once, but twice, was a sight to see.

Besides, the context makes it much more confusing, because Dazai isn't some rookie, and Chuuya knows that more than anybody. He was the youngest executive in Port Mafia's history, of course he can handle a hit or two. Of course he'd seen him handle a hit or two, sometimes without batting an eye.

Heck, Chuuya himself was hurling Dazai like a ragdoll in their reunion, which was their last meeting. And you could argue that he was going easy on him, but Dazai has mostly withstood the same damage (as far as I could see), and Chuuya was as bitter as ever.

So that kind of contradicts both what we knew of Chuuya so far, and how their dynamic was shaped to be. I mean, that just makes Chuuya a hypocrite, yeah? What makes him care now, all of a sudden? What makes him care at all?

Well, to me, this backasswards reaction implies one (or more) of the following:

- Dazai rarely got physically hurt during their partnership and thus this is an unexpected thing for him to see (during a mission).

- The four years of separation made Chuuya unsure of how much Dazai can withstand physically now. Also the fact that he isn't in the mafia anymore, aka fighting enemy organizations on the weekly, would naturally make Dazai lose his touch in a way, what prompts Chuuya's reaction.

- Dazai getting taken off guard took him off guard which led to panic. Especially since the situation was (momentarily) out of their depth. Seriously wtf even was Lovecraft?

- During the dungeon scene Dazai was an enemy, while in the Lovecraft fight he was as an ally. The difference might be significant to Chuuya.

- This has always been Chuuya's reaction to Dazai getting hurt regardless of the situation.

- "Only I can hurt him like that" ahh logic

- Asagiri was still experimenting with their dynamic and thus there are some inconsistencies.

This scenario didn't play out again (after their reunion) for me to exactly determine which one is more plausible, but it is 100% canon for Chuuya to shamelessly show his concern and run to Dazai to check on him before properly dealing with their opponent, which I find to be such an appealing layer to their dynamic, and a good spin on the type of character he gets stereotyped as.

Bonus: Dazai also becomes a softy when Chuuya's hurt, especially post corruption. Dead Apple alone displays that multiple times.

All in all, Skk are doing a terrible job at maintaining their 'hostile' and 'antagonistic' relationship post their reunion. Freaks.

[wonderlandwalker]

There's been so many different takes that I've seen come by about how caitvi ended and here's mine.

Because no Caitlyn did not explicitly apologize, but she did so much more than that, she showed it. And I've seen this brought up before but I haven't seen people talk about how it's not just more meaningful in general but how it's more meaningful to Vi specifically.

Vi has spent the majority of her life being told and being promised things that would all inevitable end up changing again, and she probably has a hard time truly trusting someone because of it. I fully believe Vi herself is someone who thinks actions speak louder than words, which is why Caitlyn's actions actually manage to break through the wall that she's build up over the years, manages to get through to her in the moment she starts to doubt it all again, it resonates with her better than anything else could have.

So you're right, Caitlyn never said "I'm sorry" because she knew Vi well enough to know a better way.

[heauxplesslydevoted]

I’m sorry, but if you think Eddie Diaz’s—a single dad, a Catholic, Hispanic war vet from Texas, who has an already complicated relationship with unsupportive parents—coming out story only matters in the context of Buddie, you don’t really care about Eddie.

That story has potential to be incredibly complex and moving on its OWN. And it deserves to be told on its OWN, agnostic of a ship.

[meanbossart]

I want to expand a little bit on this paragraph from the last ask, not because of the ask itself, but because this topic is always kind of at the sidelines of other questions/exchanges I have here, but I feel as if I never have the opportunity to actually elaborate on it.

I am always very surprised when people draw conclusions about these characters' sexual dynamics based on casual exchanges of intimacy, or even just positioning/body language. I, of course, understand that the human experience is vast and varied, but I do feel extremely confident in saying the following:

There is no secret body language, glossary or code that you can use to determine what people do or don't during sex. "Bottoms" sometimes put their arms around a "top", "tops" sometimes sit in their partner's laps or wrap their legs around them in an intimate moment, "bottoms" may be the persistent or more dominant partner while their "tops" might enjoy being pursued and sought after. And most importantly - these labels themselves are often fluid, if not completely irrelevant. Intimacy is simple and hare-brained, and unless the people involved are taking part in some sort of performance, they will not keep track of where their arms, legs, junk or mouths are going or how that translates into a specific dynamic.

This doesn't mean that people don't or can't have strict sexual roles that they self-determine! But... Please. If you see something sensitive, something vulnerable, especially in art or story-telling, try to not look at it through these goggles of bottoms and tops 🤷

[angst-buritto]

People say Charles was like “I can fix him” with Erik when he first looked into his mind but I respectfully disagree;

Charles didn’t look at Erik and see something that needed to be fixed, because Erik wasn’t broken. Charles looked in Erik’s mind and saw a man that was full of grief and pain, and forgot that what love felt like, but he had a core to him that overflowed with so much love

Charles saw a man who loved with every facet of his being and yet thought he was an unlovable, unfeeling monster himself. Charles saw a man who dedicated his life to the love he felt for his mother and his people in the only way he knew how. Charles saw a man determined to protect, a man who was willing to die to bring his mother’s spirit peace.

Charles saw everything Erik was and could be.

Charles took one look into Erik’s mind and said:

“I can love him.”

[a-nybodys]

im doing a little series for lesbian visibility week of my favorite lesbian music artists, so heres everyones favorite midwest princess

[jelestes]

jennifer jareau has possibly the WORST case of internalized homophobia/comp het i’ve ever seen in the history of television, like she legit has a coming out scene in 3.17 (they made it about will but WE KNOW what she meant by saying the unsub was targeting gay people because they saw the freedom in their victims they wished they had like BE SO FUCKING FR) also her small town/implied religious upbringing?? another unsub calling her a lesbian in 9.20 for legit no reason?? (jigsaw spewing facts lmao), the whole fight she has with her mom where her mom goes “a daughter who never saw 17 and the other…” and jj is like “the other WHAT mom?” and after a considerable amount of silence her mom replying “…left”, the fact her own family is broken so it’d make sense she would marry the father of her children so she could give them and herself some stability??? pls i could honestly go on and on and on… free my girl from that closet.

[xjulixred45x]

As You may know, i'm a BIG fan of Ariadne and Dionysus as a couple, and FINALLY IN HADES 2 WE HAVE THIS PICTURE OF HER:

SHE IS FRIKING BEAUTIFULL

And some people think that for the vague dialogues of Dio in Hades 1 they MIGHT not be a couple in the Game, but i don't believe this for 1- most of the relationships that dosen't include incest are the same in the game and Mythology, 2- this dialogue of Dio

3- when Theseus use the boons of Dionysus THEY HURT HIM TOO, kinda personal.

And then there's this little easter egg(?) if You could call it that in Ariadne's desing, that makes me CRAZY.

You see, in the myths, when Dionysus marries Ariadne, as a weeding gift, he gives her a TIARA and even makes the same tiara a constelation.

And then i look up in the desing of Ariadne, AND THOSE BLACK SPOTS AND THINK "OH MAN, THOSE THINGS ARE THE TIARA".

Idk, just want them to be a thing, i think they're neat.

[wolvesandshine]

*Regulus talking to James*: I’m surprised you can walk in a straight line

*Regulus when James is brought up in any situation*: You mean my boyfriend James Potter? The literal personification of the sun and everything good and kind and amazing -