#But also I would like to learn in general

[avelera]

So apparently, Fortiche shared concept art where Jayce's Hexcorization in the cave would extend all the way to his face:

And this is really interesting to me from a narrative perspective, here's why:

Much of S2 Jayce's arc is incredibly... punitive. Like, he is really being punished step by step for everything he did wrong in S1. From Renni terrorizing and almost killing him for the death of her son, to Viktor leaving him "for another woman" (the Hexcore as represented by Sky) much like Jayce left him for politics as represented by Mel, there's really a sense of the narrative not only tearing Jayce down to his bare essentials (something that's very common for TV writing to do, by the way, it's very common that you want to see characters reduced down to who they are for their "long night of the soul" moment before they learn the lessons of what they really stand for before going into the climax armed with those lessons), but Jayce's time in the cave really goes even further than that and not only does S2 take away his political career, his Hextech ambitions, his state as someone able-bodied, much of his strength, and certain other gifts, it looks like in this draft they considered taking away his beauty too.

I think it would have been interesting either way if they had, but I want to dive into the narrative structure of action and punishment in Arcane, why Hexcorizing Jayce's face might have been a step too far and not really addressed a lesson he needed to learn, and my thoughts on punitive character arcs in general in Arcane (or lack thereof), specifically with regards to Jayce and Caitlyn.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I always found it interesting that much of the hate directed towards Jayce by the fans was for his perceived incompetence in difficult moments, rather than at how naturally gifted he seems to be at everything.

When I first watched S1 on my own, I thought Jayce was a bit unbearable because everything comes so easily to him (after Viktor becomes his partner and Hextech takes off as a result, that is). He is naturally beautiful, he's built like a god but doesn't appear to do any sort of exercise routine to maintain this other than working in the forge, he becomes the Man of Progress and rockstar of Piltover pretty much without trying, girls are literally sighing dreamily as he goes by.

He's also naturally a genius, from what we see, revolutionizing multiple industries with one invention. Even his rescue as a child is a literal miracle and it spurs him to create an invention that makes him a rockstar. When he enters politics, he immediately dominates, to the point where he's able to get a unanimous vote to overthrow the founder of the city within weeks of going there. Even in battle he's naturally gifted and naturally lucky during the raid of the Shimmer factory (up until the death of Renni's son), even though he has no prior skills as far as we know. He also wins the love of arguably the most beautiful woman in the series, again, seemingly without trying.

Then, S2 doesn't just take all of this away from him, it seems to go a step further into actually punishing Jayce for how easy and miraculous his life was in S1.

I'm of two minds about the Hexcorization reaching his face, but I have a hypothesis. I think it would have looked fucking rad but, I kinda get why they didn't do it:

Because Jayce's good looks are not something he can control, unlike the other things the narrative punishes him for.

Insofar as he can control his looks, he gives up on the clean-cut, immaculate "Golden Boy" image. Even in the idealized astral plane, he keeps most of the marks of his time in the pit like his hair and beard. I think it's because Jayce likes who he became down there. The clean-cut version of him was always the mask of him trying to please others, Jayce's appearance after he emerges from the cave is him shedding the opinions of others (contrast this with how Viktor idealizes himself in the astral plane, removing all marks of his illness. This isn't a criticism, just an interesting point of contrast).

So basically, my theory is Fortiche may have pulled back on Hexcorizing Jayce's face on the one hand to soften the visuals a bit, but secondly because it keeps the focus on punishing Jayce for things he chose to do, rather than things he doesn't really have control over.

But make no mistake, the narrative comes down hard on Jayce in S2, for every little thing the fans could and often did hate him for in S1. He pays for all of them, arguably in excess of what he maybe deserved, since as he says he didn't ask for any of this. But he did go along with it, and there's where the hammer of consequence (quite literally) comes down on him, tears away all his privileges, drags him down to literally the level of Viktor when he first left the undercity and says, "You have to do it all again but now focused on what really matters, and it's going to be ten times harder than it ever was."

This, in my opinion, is why Jayce is so popular coming out of S2. It is a hell of an arc, it's a hell of a redemption! You gave the man everything any man could want, then you took it all away, and then as his crowning moment of showing he has truly learned these lessons and made up for his mistakes, he makes possibly the most loving gesture possible, puts his weapons down, and reaches out to the person he loves most and literally sacrifices himself on the altar of his mistakes to make things right and show Viktor he is loved, and to protect Viktor from the horrifically lonely fate of his future self. It doesn't get any more noble, loving, or self-sacrificing than that.

Because more than we like to see a character punished we like to see them learn from their mistakes and come back better. Jayce's S2 nobility is earned, perhaps even to excess, no one can question whether he suffered enough to make up for what he did in S1 but even the most uncharitable read of him in S1, his biggest hater, would have to agree his time spent starving to death in agony, alone in that cave for months, has got to be just about the worst punishment a human can face and live.

Which is one reason I must add that I find it a little puzzling that Arcane's creators didn't predict the hate that Caitlyn would get in S2.

Keep in mind, because this is very important, the Arcane creators did not make S2 in response to fan reactions to S1. S2 was already in production and the script was locked in and done before anyone outside their organizations saw S1. So nothing that happens in S2 is as a result of fan response.

But, the creators did understand that Jayce was going to need to suffer narrative punishment for what he did in S1 in order to be redeemed, whether they predicted how hated he would be after S1, they did predict that redemption would be necessary. And boy-howdy, did they give him a hell of a redemption arc!

But Caitlyn's S2 actions are almost in lock-step similar to Jayce's S1 actions, being manipulated (by a Medarda!) into accepting power, but maybe not having a choice in the matter, but still maybe expanding that power on their own because it is useful in its own right. Caitlyn also makes terrible mistakes. A child doesn't die but people in the undercity do get hurt during her rage-fuled raids, even if most of them are mob bosses and their goons. The narrative asks, does that make it right? Caitlyn like Jayce hurts the person closest to her who is from the undercity and uses bigoted language against the people of the undercity to Vi's face in much the same way that Jayce did to Viktor on the bridge, though in Jayce's defense, he apologized immediately after.

So, seeing how hated Jayce was coming out of S1, to the point where there's still barely any merchandise of him, I'm shaking my head rather ruefully that there was so much merch made for Caitlyn this time around. And I get it! Caitlyn and Vi were very popular after S1, they are intentionally THE main romance of the show and it was a very popular romance coming out of the innocence of their meet cute in S1.

But it's a romance that dearly needed a longer third act if you wanted Caitlyn to be as embraced after her mistakes as Jayce was after making up for his all through S2. You need to give her as long or at least as in-depth of a redemption act with as much suffering and acknowledgment of her mistakes if you want Vi and Caitlyn at the end to get celebrated the way Jayce making it up to Viktor is, because as much as I understand the choice to focus on pacing instead of exposition, and I do think Caitlyn's apology and realization of her mistakes are there on the page more than people complain, I do also agree that it is a bit "blink and you'll miss it" even if it's there. Jayce got a whole episode of being thrown into the Torment Nexus for his mistakes, real or imagined, if you didn't like him or his choices, you definitely got the sadistic glee of watching life kick the stuffing out of him for what he did in S1.

But besides her fight with Ambessa, which was a result of a confluence of many events in the story, not just Caitlyn's mistakes, Caitlyn doesn't really suffer much for the mistakes she made to those she loves. Her losing an eye to Ambessa didn't happen because she said bigoted things to Vi or became a short-term puppet dictator of Piltover. It was a result of Ambessa's actions and maneuvering more than it was a result of Caitlyn's personal mistakes to her loved ones.

In contrast, Jayce's time in the pit gave him the chance to reflect on and suffer for the the mistakes he made that led to the Anomaly that led to him being down in this pit, and what he would do to make it up to his loved ones like Viktor when he returned. Caitlyn never got a moment like that and from what I'm seeing of the vitriol directed towards her, so similar to what Jayce got after S1, it seems like she really needed it if we were going to like her to the same extent again, in a way uncomplicated by lingering questions about whether she ever truly learned the lessons her character needed to learn to grow as a person.

And it's just funny to me that a narrative that was so aware that this whole huge punishment arc was needed to rehabilitate Jayce wasn't aware that we'd need one for Caitlyn too, at least if they're going to move all that merch they made for her (please give us Jayce merch, Riot, I'm begging).

[dcxdpdabbles]

DC x DP Fanfic: Family bonding.

The Waynes, for all of their proclamation of being some of the best detectives in the world, missed the signs that one of their own was dating. Usually, that wouldn't have been so shocking, except that the person who dating made a point to tell the group he was dating.

He also somehow always stayed friends with his exes. Which was a superpower of its own, if they are honest, because not a single one of them was bitter about the relationship ending with Dick.

Another thing unusual about Dick having a lover was that he never brought them around or was seen in public with them. If anything, it felt like Dick was trying to keep the relationship a secret.

Which went against everything he cared about when dating someone.

That's why Bruce fully believed that the secret was being enforced by his partner. So it was up to the Waynes to find out who this mysterious lover was and evaluate if they were good enough for Dick.

So on a Friday night, when Dick was allegedly tutoring underprivileged kids but was actually meeting up with his lover, the Waynes piled into a shabby-looking minivan and followed.

It was cramped. It was dented, and it had tinted windows. Most importantly, the minivan belonged to John Constantine, who hadn't used it in over twenty years after learning to portal from one place to another.

Dick would never realize it was them.

"I think this is a terrible idea," Jason grunts from the back seat. He crosses his arms, refusing to pick up the binoculars Tim had passed around earlier. "Dick is a fully grown man. He knows how to properly talk to his partner about what he wants in a relationship."

"Shut up, virgin," Damian hisses from the passenger seat. He won the right to sit there after breaking Steph's skin with his teeth. Bruce had allowed them to brawl for a few minutes until Damian emerged victorious. He also let her use his phone to schedule a rabies shot, keeping eye contact with Damian in the rearview mirror. "Just because you never had a girlfriend-"

"-or a boyfriend. You fail to seducing both." Cass cut in from around her binoculars. She fist-bumped Tim as Jason threw her an offended look.

"Thank you, Cassandra. Ultimately, you have no experience and thus can not comment on what to do in relationships." Damian concluded.

"Neither do you!"

"Yes, but I am a child." Damian waves his hand in Jason's general direction. "It's expected of me to not have any romantic experience. You, on the other hand, are a loser."

"Unless you are Asexual or Aromantic," Bruce pipes in, leaning a little against the steering wheel, attempting to get a better view of the apartment building that Dick had walked into. He wasn't going up to any of the actual units; he remained in the lobby. "Then you are the are not a loser. But rather the closest thing to godhood."

"B, we know gods."

"That's why I said closest."

Thankfully, the lobby had huge windows. Dick was speaking to the receptionist, leaning on the counter with a little smile, and the man was grinning back.

However, Dick hasn't touched his hair even once. This was not the secret lover. This was a fool falling for Dick's charms, probably someone involved with a crime.

Ugh, so dull.

Jason crossed his arms stubbornly "I can get a date. I'm just busy."

"Doing what? Reading romance novels?" Steph laughs. Jason opens his mouth to yell at her, but the receptionist hands Dick a golden key that the eldest Wayne pockets. He strides out of the apartment complex, hands in his pocket and whistling joyfully.

The Wayns put away their binoculars, and Bruce carefully peels out of their parking spot. They keep a nice distance away from Dick as he scrolls around the stores, stopping every once in a while to admire a display before he sits on a bench, hand still inside the pocket with the key.

A person wearing a trench coat and thick sunglasses approaches the bench, sitting on the far end of it and not looking in Dick's direction. The van collectively gasps.

Despite the disguise, they can tell just who it is.

"Tatior," Jason hisses between clenched teeth as Duke slides a sealed brown package across the bench towards Dick. In return, the eldest places the key on the bench, back top, and strives away from the bench. Duke waits a few minutes before he stands, walking in the opposite direction of Dick, hand sliding out to grab the key nearly undetectable.

"Why does Duke need an apartment key? And one that was snuck to him," Tim asks, watching the two siblings walk away from each other as though they were strangers. "What's he up to?"

" We only have time for one family mystery today," Bruce answers, turning the wheel to the left and continuing to follow Dick. "I have dinner plans with Selina later."

Duke pulls out a red wig and slides off his coat. Underneath is a punk rock outfit, complete with spikes, the coat he throws into the trash and clicks his boots. Four-inch heels pop out from his shoes, and Duke struts out of sight.

Tim leans against the windows, face and palms against the glass, eyes wide. "Wait. Wait. I have so many questions. B, turn around!"

"Dinner plans, Tim!"

"But B!"

Damian points. "Look! Richard is twirling his hair! The harlot draws near."

Steph laughs, patting Tim's back, who is straining hard to open the door. Thankfully, Bruce was quick enough to press the child lock. "I love the way you talk, Dames. It's like a period piece villain escaped the TV."

"Thank you, Brown. I enjoy your existence as well." Damian smiles, pressing the binoculars against his face. "Oh."

Bruce's grip on the wheel tightens. He had chosen to stay really far behind Dick once the man had walked into a narrow street, making it harder to blend into the traffic. "What is Damian?"

"You will not like it, Father," Damian says lowly. Behind him, Steph and Tim also reach for their spying gear. Jason and Cass were grimacing from the back seat, one taking pictures and the other working on getting the listening device's antenna out the crack of the window to aim at Dick.

Bruce's knuckles turn white as he steeled his resolve. "Go on. I can take it. What do you see?"

"It's Danny Fenton." Tim, Steph, and Damian all say at the same time. "The person he is dating in secret is Danny Fenton."

Bruce felt his heart stop. "The man who makes bread in the shape of hero logos?"

"Yeah. Otherwise known as "The Happy Baker," Steph says gravely. "The only Gothamite who is unreasonably happy without drugs or Joker venom."

"I once saw him making up songs while setting out a display of animal-shaped bread. He rhymed Gotham with awesome." Tim practically spits. "I should have known. All those animals were circus-themed. The elephants were incredibly tasty."

"You bought some!?"

"Excuse me for being hungry B!"

Damian slaps Bruce's arm aggressively. "Father! Father! Richard is getting on one knee."

"WHAT?!"

Jason pressed one hand over his headphones and attempted to listen closer before his eyes widened. "Wait! It's not a real marriage. Dick's investigating a possible trafficking ring, who been using Gotham baking supplies as a cover. He wants Danny to help him infiltrate the front by pretending to be baking husbands!"

"He just asked him to get married," Jason reported, much to the horror of the general van. Cass' camera starts clicking aggressively, either to capture the moment or have something to hang over Dick's head and force him to call off his marriage.

It's hard to tell with her perfectly impassive expression.

"Oh, thank the gods." Bruce breathes, only to have Steph ruin the moment.

"They're frenching right now."

"Oh, come on!"

"This is fun," Cass says over Bruce, swearing under his breath. "We should spy on each other as a group more often."

"Can we find out what Duke is up to next? The heels will haunt me until I know everything." Tim pipes up.

Damian, Tim, and Steph do not lower their binoculars even though they are close enough that they become a nuisance rather than helpful. He hasn't seen them so engaged in a family outing in a long time. "Yeah, we can spy on Duke next."

There is a moment of silence as Bruce considers the request before he merges lanes. In doing so, they drive by the kissing couple, too caught up in each other to notice the people staring at them through spying gear.

"You're the best adoptive dad ever!" Tim cheers as the rest of the kids let out whoops. Fenton's ears twitch, breaking the kiss with Dick to look right at them over their eldest shoulder.

Bruce slams a foot on the pedal the second Cass starts yelling, "Go go go! He saw us!". They peel away, screaming while Dick throws them a finger, and Fenton laughs silently.

The happy little freak.

[camilladraymarch]

Homeschooling is an incredible tool that can easily be abused.

As a child, I have been homeschooled ever since kindergarten, except for a brief period in third grade when my father was deployed and my mom couldn't handle three rowdy kids and sent me to an actual school.

I learned nothing of note in that year, except that my specific interests were weird and I would be ostracized for them. Far from enjoying socialization, I learned to keep to myself and even more determinedly read and generally sink deeper into the hobbies I was made fun of for. It likely didn't help that I was more emotionally stable than the girls my age and didn't want to deal with the "you're my friend, I hate you, maybe you're okay, I'M SO SORRY" drama, while the boys were still at a stage where girls were gross and didn't want to play with me at recess.

My teachers were also not prepared to deal with a neuroatypical child who just wanted to wander around the classroom and needed learning breaks in order to take new information in and understand it. Being forced to sit at a desk for hours every day was torture and I was unable to stim because there was no space for me to move and I was "disruptive" when I wanted to.

I couldn't snack when I wanted. I couldn't move when I wanted, and I couldn't take breaks. I was extremely unhappy.

I was fully ready to return to homeschooling by the end of the year.

We were well socialized. My brothers have deep bonds with their friend groups while my specific combination of neuroses means I preferred to be alone with the books that I began writing as early as 10. We went to co-op classes for subjects our mother thought we would benefit from, were enrolled in sports at the local YMCA, and were USAA swimmers.

At 16, I trained to be a lifeguard, which was a role I would follow until I graduated college and transitioned to my career. I was a boon to my employers and organized many events among the younger lifeguards.

In high school, I started taking dual credits at a local community college and I never struggled academically or socially, graduating from community college with a 3.5 GPA on my college courses and a 4.0 GPA on my co-op and parentally-driven courses.

In addition, my parents have passed various life skills to me - such as creating a household budget, doing taxes, and cleaning and cooking for myself. These are skills I see a large percentage of adults online have not mastered or even seem to be aware are necessary.

I make friends easily, I am deeply creative, and there is nothing wrong with my life. If I had to choose, I would not be publicly schooled, and if I'm lucky enough to have children, I will consider myself a failure as a parent if I don't give them the same choices and freedoms I had as a child.

With that said, not everyone and not every parent should be a homeschooler. But we do not deserve to be dismissed as uneducated or socially inept.

thoughts on homeschoolers?

DURRRRRRRR. DOOUIIIIIIII

[tooturtly]

Still on my locked tomb and feudalism bullshit, so here’s a discussion of John, and how I think he systematically uses the decentralized nature of the Nine Houses to avoid the realities of being God.

Essentially, what it says on the tin, but first, context. (Can you tell I’m somehow more unhinged now?). Feudalism is a political structure with a fair amount of decentralization of power. It usually came about in the past after a larger government/political system collapsed, such as Rome. Essentially, a King/Emperor cannot feasibly run large amounts of territory, with the citizens of those territories being from diverse backgrounds and customs, without a lot of loyal subordinates helping out. Enter the nobility.

The nobility do the work of running the lands so that the King/Emperor doesn’t have to maintain a large bureaucracy to, let’s say, collect taxes from each individual person, hold a census, or run a court of law. This does not mean the ruler gets to fuck off, they do have responsibilities to the realm, their court, their knights, and the nobles who support them. Some people have to like you to remain in power, otherwise you get assassinated.

So what does all this have to do with John? Well, first, I think it’s safe to say from what we’ve seen that the Nine Houses are very similar to a feudalist system. You have a collection of independent, semiautonomous populations that can generally keep themselves together. They have slightly different takes on religion, loyalty to the empire, and necromancy, but they are all unified under it.

Second, I think we can also say that John has a very specific perception of himself that does not always align with the reality. He wears worn, casual clothes that are not the type of thing anyone else wears, but includes a crown of infant bones. He has a casual, relaxed attitude, but also can pull out a speech about avenging death and fighting for the empire seemingly off the top of his head. He doesn’t want Harrow to treat him like God, yet also constantly quotes works from a world nobody but he can remember. His narration of his actions in Nona paint him as seeing what he did as something anyone would do, as not that bad, as the act of a desperate, passionate man. Yet he also rebuilt the world to make himself God and Emperor above everyone else, the head of a ten thousand year long grudge campaign.

The contradiction is inherent in his title, man who became god, and god who is man. Harrow especially points out moments where he seems mortal, human, calling attention to how he otherwise appears completely separate and divine.

John is a complicated character. People smarter than me have written more with better evidence laid out. What I’m trying to get at though is that, to me, John reads as a man who cannot view himself as having vast amounts of power over others on the regular. To a certain extent he has to view himself as ‘just a little guy’ so he doesn’t have to reconcile with the actions that have caused massive amounts of harm. He wants the Lyctors to be his friends and associates, rather than their boss.

The structure of the Nine Houses helps with that. He doesn’t have to regularly speak to the average citizen, or deal with the daily problems of the people and their Houses, or hell, even the people he’s conquered. Mercymorn says something in Harrow about how the Emperor’s seat is the Mithraeum, the place light years away from the people he is supposed to allegedly rule. The place only realistically accessible by traveling through the River, a feat only possibly by Lyctors (for the most part). And we learn that he’s only been away from that for 80 years, and he assumedly spent most of his previous ten thousand years there.

Because he is at the top of the power structure, he can lose himself in the bigger picture and forget about the reality, which is the fact that he is running a colonial Empire that requires the biological death of planets and people to survive.

[jeonscatalyst]

I'm basic and like Woosan and Minsung lol. Like, I'm a sucker and click on the YouTube shorts / tiktoks about their chemistry or how they're whipped for each other.

That said, I think if anything, the presence of fan service is a pretty clear indicator that the relationship is platonic lol. Like, if two members were actually dating, flirting, etc. then they'd keep it hidden from the public and probably other idols/industry folks, too.

i saw this on my timeline from a stan of another group. but aren't they telling the truth ? will a real couple be that public with their gay relationship with their bandmate ? Its very unlikely 2 men who have a secret relationship behind the scenes will flaunt it for public to see in their homophobic country, especially knowing its harmful for them their group their company their families etc. Going on trips, filming and releasing it, saying you got bitten, allowing staff to film it, having numerous skinship moments on screen and on stage - especially when one is extra private and professional to the point he even hides his iphone airpods which he shares with his supposed bf because they have a contract with samsung and the one who is stalked every 2 days by his y/n saesangs who apparanlty doesnt know about his sexuality or relationship with bandmate, huh?. This all sums up to them being genuine platonic friends who are playing up for their fans and doesnt mind being called a couple. None of heavily shipped duos in other groups doesnt shy away from pda, even teasing fans in their live streams because at the end of the day they are close friends who have nothing hidden going on or to fear.

Its naive to think jikook are a real couple who should be protected in their homophobic country(or world in general) and from crazy fandom when its Jikook themselves who are exhibiting their friendship in homoromantic way for public to see. Make it make sense ?

Hi anon,

So what I’m reading is that you and others see it too? You see exactly what we see…you recognize that the way Jimin and Jungkook behave with each other could easily lead anyone to believe their relationship isn’t purely platonic. Yet, rather than acknowledge that possibility, you attempt to rationalize it by arguing that a real couple, especially in a homophobic country, wouldn’t behave so openly but would instead go to great lengths to hide their relationship. Noted.

But that raises an important question: who set the rules on how people in such circumstances are supposed to behave? Sure, there are common expectations for how individuals might act in certain situations, but the truth is, we can’t possibly know the full extent of their reality. Unlike them, we don’t have firsthand insight into their experiences, nor can we accurately gauge the risks involved the way they can.

Every time I see arguments like yours, I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s painfully clear that many people don’t understand the first thing about queer history or the ways in which queer individuals have learned to navigate a world that hasn’t always accepted them. Queer people have mastered the art of hiding in plain sight. For most, that’s second nature because, at some point in their lives, they’ve had to conceal at least parts of who they are. But let’s not forget that humans are, well, human….we aren’t always calculated. There are times when emotions override logic, and in those moments, people who are forced to hide often end up revealing more than they intend. Those are the moments where we catch glimpses of something real.

Idols, of course, are expected to engage in fanservice…it’s practically built into their job. They understand that many of their actions, especially on stage, will automatically be dismissed as just fanservice. So tell me, Anon, if you were a queer person who had spent years perfecting the art of blending in, what better way would there be to take advantage of moments where people are already primed to excuse your actions as something else?

Also, I have to wonder, do you honestly believe that most Jikookers ship Jimin and Jungkook purely because of what they do on stage or because of this “fanservice”? Because if so, that only proves how little you actually understand. There’s far more to why we believe they could be in a romantic relationship than just their stage interactions.

You brought up examples like: “Would a closeted couple go on a private trip, take videos, and post them?” And to that, I have to ask: Do you realize what you just admitted? The fact that you even question whether a closeted couple would do something like that means that, on some level, you also perceive those actions as non-platonic. So instead of asking whether a couple in a homophobic country would behave a certain way, why not ask yourself: Why would two “just friends” do these things in the first place?

Regardless of whether Jungkook filmed and posted GCF, the fact remains that he took Jimin to Tokyo…during a short break, at a time when both were going through a lot. Regardless of whether Hickeygate ever saw the light of day, the fact remains that it happened. Jungkook still carried a tipsy Jimin bridal-style, spun him around, and when Jimin wanted to be let down, he bit Jungkook’s neck…an erogenous zone. These things all happened whether we got to know about them or not. And since you’re citing these examples as things a queer couple in a homophobic country wouldn’t do, that means you also recognize that these actions don’t exactly scream platonic friendship. Unless, of course, you’re seriously trying to argue that traveling to Japan together, carrying each other in their arms, and biting each other’s necks in private were all just for the sake of fanservice?

“Its naive to think jikook are a real couple who should be protected in their homophobic country(or world in general) and from crazy fandom when its Jikook themselves who are exhibiting their friendship in homoromantic way for public to see. Make it make sense ? "

No, Anon. I don’t think Jikook are deliberately presenting their friendship in a homoerotic way. I think they’re simply existing and interacting with each other in a way that comes naturally to them. You’re the one perceiving something more…..and that says a lot more about your own instincts than whatever you think Jimin and Jungkook are intentionally doing.

And once again, don’t assume for a second that I, or most Jikookers, believe in Jikook just because of what you call “fanservice.” That’s where non-shippers and rival shippers (honestly, I can’t tell which you are) always get it wrong. You miss the details that people who genuinely pay attention to Jimin and Jungkook as a duo pick up on. The little things….the ones that make all the difference.

Go back and carefully comb through Jimin and Jungkook’s history if you care to. Look at all the little TMI’s we’ve gathered over the years, from staff members, Jikook themselves, from the members and from their friends and acquaintances. Then come back and tell me, honestly, if you still believe that people think there is more going on with Jikook because of “fanservice.”

[will80sbyers]

He didn't even say anything remotely like that what the hell is twitter on 💀

but like in general, when are we going to let people actually grow up and learn instead of just doing witch hunts on them and wanting them to just off themselves for the level of harassment? because that boy even showed his face again after all the hate he got and explained he was trying to learn from the people around him and to get educated and he didn't mean anything that can be taken as what "a genocidal maniac" would say in any case, at most he was ignorant and had lots of Zionists around using their influence on him, but be fr half of the internet was ignorant as fuck when this started - and more than half of the celebrities in the industry have said jack shit about the genocide in more than a year that this is going on and yet not everybody is being targeted with this intensity and hate.

Plus adding that I'm not supposed to actually share this info publicly but fuck it, he not only tried to learn from it but also has donated for Gaza before, and I'm sure he's never gonna talk about it again in public only mainly because of people like these ones that if he did actually speak on it again would just say "too late, kill yourself!"

The saddest thing is that I could bet money that half of the people around you irl haven't even donated one dollar or posted about it and yet you would never tell them this irl because it has consequences in your life if you do, he's just an easy target for your revenge kink and meanwhile people keep dying and you're diverting the attention they could get on these fruitless hate campaigns online

sorry guys when ppl refer to noah schnapp as “whatever that is” or “that thing” i fear we’re crossing the antisemitism line

[redfeatheredreptile]

Here's my piece for @creatingblackcharacters' Black History Month Challenge! She's one of my sci-fi story's main OCs, Zola! (That's why she's Afro-Polaran, Polara 5 is her home planet) I had a ton of fun working on this, and I really learned a lot! But, of course, let me know if there's anything I can improve on with how I depicted her.

(copied from the replies)

Ice's question: What do you want to tell your Black viewers, through this character or the effort you put into her?

A: Thank you for asking! I’ve seen this come up repeatedly in my readings on Black women: the general stigma and disapproval around Black girls and women being feminine or girly, especially in a ‘loud’ way— without being sexualized. With Zola I really wanted to show that she loves who she is; fashionable, pink and cute things and all, while still enjoying her Blackness as well, which I tried to show with her hair and her accessories. I would love it if she inspires women (or anyone Black!) to express themselves the way that feels good, whether it’s girly or not.

More info under the cut!

I challenged myself to listen to only Black artists while working on this piece, and to read poems by Black women and find ones I think fit Zola. It's been good to broaden my music horizons. My 'Black Artists' playlist is still growing. Things I learned:

1) Don't blindly color-pick for skin tone, especially dark ones. The ones I got were suuper washed-out. I changed her skin colors maybe 4 or 5 times just to get it right =.=; I'm still learning, so I hope I didn't overcorrect and over-saturate her. I went back and re-read lessons 3 and 4 and that helped me figure out what shade I actually wanted for her. If I were to draw her again, I would change the lighting to something better, too. 2) Black hairstyles are FUN to draw! I've only drawn a few specific ones from reference so far but they really force me to think about the shape and texture of the hair, how light bounces off it, etc. I also like doing curvy lines, detail, and drawing hair in general, so it was a treat. I learned a lot from the lessons on Black hair types and styles, as soon as I learned about twists and looked at the different styles for them I knew it would be Zola's favorite. I need to draw her in a twist-out, next!

3) For writing them, reading Ice's lessons helped a lot too! She's still not had much time yet in the story (she gets introduced later) but it helped me develop what kind of character I actually want her to be. She got more of a sensitive side rather than a generic 'strong woman'TM. She's still very confident and self-assured, but I've planned moments in the story where she doesn't have to be and gets to be emotionally vulnerable. She's also got a larger role in the story that involves her backstory and her family, and not just helping the other members of the 'party'. Hope to flesh her out a lot more as I continue writing!

Misc: Her 'face claim' is technically Mirakela Love, but between making her fatter than the model and my cartoony style I don't think it ended up looking much like her. Still helped to have reference, though. The color scheme for her outfit is meant to evoke the Lesbian flag. She gay and proud. Zola's meant to be both girly and fashionable, but I'm not a super fashionable person, so I just did my best and combined some outfits I liked. Then I added Jinx-style boots for funsies. Do hoops go with the rest of it? I don't know!

[lu-is-not-ok]

hi there! i’ve been motivated by previous asks, so i would really like to hear your thoughts on hong lu’s relationship with yi sang, as it is currently and how it may progress with the story… they have very interesting parallels to me and i wish i could see their relationship explored somewhere other than my own head lol

also, (if you would allow me two questions) do you have any particular thoughts about hong lu’s particulars (bachelor and sheltered)? i find the sinners’ particulars to be really interesting too but i never see them discussed anymore. thanks for your time & have a good day <3

When it comes to Hong Lu and Yi Sang, their relationship is much more straightforward but also much more genuinely positive.

The two don't really interact with each other in any notable manner until Canto 4, which is also where their dynamic Truly gets established. Canto 4's Dungeon is where they both end up connecting, as Yi Sang recognises Hong Lu as someone who heavily resembles Young Ji from the League of Nine, while Hong Lu himself appears to relate to and understand some of Yi Sang's struggles.

This all comes to a head when Hong Lu is the one to recognise the emotional core of what was happening and gives Dante the advice they need to actually reach out to Yi Sang at his lowest.

From this Canto onward, Hong Lu appears to consistently check up on Yi Sang during moments that remind the latter of his past with the League. Hong Lu shows that he not only holds concern for Yi Sang's emotional well-being, but also wants to make sure he doesn't bottle up his thoughts the way he learned he did in his past.

Likewise in Canto 7 Yi Sang is shown to be returning the favor to Hong Lu so to speak, though he's shown to struggle a bit more with processing how Hong Lu responds in comparison.

Outside of these moments, Hong Lu and Yi Sang are shown to generally have a cordial and amicable rapport, both showing curiosity towards each other when they share their respective knowledge and likewise jumping off of each other's observations to add their own. While Hong Lu does tease Yi Sang once or twice, it doesn't read nearly as mean-spirited as some of the shit he pulled with people like Heathcliff and Rodya.

Their relationship is perhaps one of the few on the bus that I can genuinely say is an entirely positive one for both of them. They both clearly care for each other and enjoy speaking with one another, even if they might struggle to understand one another at points. No ifs or buts, they're just straight up honestly decent friends.

It really makes me wonder how Yi Sang is going to take it once Hong Lu's lies are revealed... Compared to a lot of the relationships Hong Lu has with the other Sinners, his bond with Yi Sang seems the most genuine. Will Yi Sang be able to recognise that and will he decide to still stand by Hong Lu side?

Now. As for your second question.

I don't have much to say on Hong Lu's particulars beyond mentioning that their translation is. Interesting to say the least.

According to someone who speaks Korean, the term that got translated to "Bachelor" would more accurately be translated to "Young Master", aka it doesn't really have anything to do with marital status in its original language.

Similarly, the original wording for the "Sheltered" particular is more so an allusion to Hong Lu having a different sense of reality to what is considered normal. It's an interesting specificity that the English translation added that from my understanding wasn't there in the original text.

I don't have much else to add beyond the fact that people are too quick to trust the Manager Instructions as being the ultimate truth on what the Sinners are like. Their description of Ishmael as someone whose "patience runs deep" is proven incorrect in the fucking Prologue where her impatience is directly called out. This shit isn't a trustworthy source of info.

[rococo-sonata]

SMALL THEORY ABOUT BSD CHAPTER 121 ^_^

okay so people are saying that dazai may have been created by the book bcs of that thing atsushi says, i was kinda mixed about it tbh but if we connect it with natsume's character it makes so much sense

we have literally nothing about dazai's life before he's 15. he's a child in the mafia, and it seems like it's all he has ever known. like he was born there. kinda like sigma just appeared one day. dazai is supposed to have parents canonically but did we ever see them or hear something about them more than they're just dazai's parents? it's possible that it was just written in the book that dazai has a family when he was created, but they just don't exist in reality. also all his completely over the top abilities, like the way he controls his heartbeats, his intelligence etc. all his capacities seems purely utilitarian. like he was made to help and be useful. like sigma was.

just no longer human in general. it stands out from every other abilities just like irl dazai was like alienated from others, his ability is a good metaphor for that. so is dazai so alienated and can't connect with other bcs he was made with the book? the fact he knows about the alternate universes too like there is a thing not normal about this guy he can't be human

and that fact would be a great parallel, bcs with what i heard (bcs i didn't read stormbringer), chuuya thinks he's not human be in reality is. and dazai would be the one who's not human in this theory (like his ability name...no longer human...oh mah gah)

and who follows dazai since his 15. and also happen to be an author. natsume!!!! i mean what if natsume is the book's author. he's described as the author of the book that made oda want to stop killing and start writting. that book, maybe it's the book that created dazai. and that would be another parallel. bcs dazai saved oda just like he saved him after.

it's really that phrase natsume said that make me think it may be true

also fyofyo ripped the page it does not mean dazai doesn't exist anymore. he ripped the page. not the book

btw i don't remember if we know who wrote sigma, so if someone can tell me please! if we do not know maybe he was wrote by natsume too? idk

so every mains seems to have something to do with the book, atsushi's tiger is the bookmark, dazai is the main character, ameno gozen is shaped like a pen, sigma is a secondary character maybe??? can't wait for when we learn kunikida is the ink or something🙏/j

maybe i'm forgetting a lot of details and making up things don't hesitate to correct me but it would be so so cool imo

[murdercide626]

I always thought the Black Arms aliens were pretty neat, but it wasn't until Shadow Generations where I realized just how fascinating they actually are.

On the surface, the Black Arms were presented as a race of reptilians seemingly taking inspiration from both classic UFO invaders and Xenomorph-like aliens, all led by a mysterious, demonic overlord, Black Doom. With a mixture of sci-fi laser guns and strange biotech, they seek to conquer the world and use humanity as a food source. That's all well and good, but we would eventually learn there's more to these space lizards.

At the end of Shadow's first solo venture, we see the titular black hedgehog defeat Black Doom and destroy the massive alien space vessel, the Black Comet, seemingly putting an end to the Black Arms threat once and for all...

HOWEVER, it is later revealed in Shadow Generations that Black Doom had somehow survived his defeat at Shadow's hands, and seeks to rebuild his forces in order to menace Earth once again.

But how did Black Doom survive? Wasn't he, and the rest of the Black Arms, destroyed by Shadow?

Well, it's revealed that Black Doom was able to transfer his consciousness into a lone Black Arms larva that was kept sealed on the space colony ARK all these years, and from it Black Doom grew himself a new body.

This reveals that not only are the Black Arms a hive mind, but each member of the species is just an extension of Black Doom himself. Basically, Black Doom IS the Black Arms! And so long as even a single specimen of that species is alive somewhere, Black Doom will return.

This even extends to Shadow, being a Black Arms hybrid. In Shadow Generations it is also revealed that Black Doom didn't just want Shadow as an ultimate warrior to use as his right hand. Black Doom's ultimate goal for Shadow was to take over his body and use him as his next vessel, becoming the Ultimate Lifeform himself!

This idea that Black Doom can just grow new bodies from his stock of Black Arms soldiers ad infinitum certainly explains how he's so incredibly long lived! This method of immortality is just so fascinating to me.

What's also interesting is how this hive mind differs from other depictions I've seen. Usually, a hive mind is depicted as each member having no sense of self or individuality. All are equal in their lack of identity. But with the Black Arms there is almost paradoxically a true identity among them, a single entity that goes by a name. An entire species that exists only as Black Doom's will made flesh. Each member, each body, though they all have faces, are all ultimately nothing more than the limbs, or "arms", of Black Doom.

[seiishindraws]

Hii, I saw your latest post and your art style is so pretty?? What?? I have a question though. How do you do the paint one? Or rendering in general. Like genuinely, I have a problem with rendering and I can't seem to quite understand it on my own. Do you just start with flat colors? Do you do lineart or colors right after the sketch? Is the "lineart" just added later? Painted over? Erased to give thinner and thicker lines?? I'm really curious!!

hi! im not the best painter tbh! though i do have a background in painting but ill try my best to explain

diff artists have different approaches to how they paint but generally yes, you would start out with big shapes first and then go into the details - work big picture first. like, if you squint and the drawing makes sense in terms of value and colour and shape, youre on the right path.

i can kinda show this with a warmup in-class speedpaint exercise we did a couple weeks ago where we were tasked with painting an eye in about 30 minutes (i was late and only had 20 lol)

luckily ive got the layers for this. i start of with a base layer, kind of like a underpaint layer since that's how i personally learned to paint traditionally. i did have a sketch before laying down this base layer under it but i ended up using it for final rendering details lol

after that i started laying down the big blocks of colour. i wasn't necessarily aiming for complete colour accuracy here, i just wanted to match the value. i chose a pink underlayer to influence my colour choices because the underlayer will peak through the blocks of colour i paint over it

and then (forgive me if this seems like "draw the rest of the owl" in terms of progression) but this is where i started going in with finer detail. i did the rest of the render on the sketch layer i had so you can see some of the lines from the sketch here

here's the layers completely seperate from each other

even for the flat colour version of my character, i had an underpaint layer! i used yellow and orange since i wanted her colours to be warm and used a semi-opaque brush to put her colours in rather than using a completely opaque brush

when i wanted to do the painted version, i put the lineart on multiply and reduced the opacity and brushed in some some quick shadows on seperate layer on hard light mode to give me a good base to start painting with

and then i did all the rendering and details on a new layer ontop of everything. i keep the lineart light so i can paint over it easily and also colour pick from it when i want a more distinct line to seperate certain shapes. i unfortunately dont know how to explain this part because a lot of this is intuitive to me and i'm still learning. but you gotta make use of different types of "edges" in painting, and you would generally have more contrast in the focal point of your painting than in other places to draw the eye to that point. i suggest researching the use of edges in painting if you really wanna learn more - because im a terrible teacher haha

for fun here's what the rendering layer for this one looks like on its own and the finished thing for comparison

there's other things you need to learn too, like bounce light, atmospheric perspective, ambient occlusion... and colour theory is always important! i could go on for a long time. there's a lot of pieces to the puzzle and it may seem overwhelming but there's tons of resources online and it will all become second nature to you as you keep practicing

uhh hope that helps!

[ryoko-loves-roses]

Mind Your Business!

Lee!Jun-Ho + Ler!In-Ho

A/N: Ok so - I did change a tiny thing - I am now going to state the lee and ler for the fanfics i write like i did above ^^. After this is successfully posted, I'm going to edit the other fanfics! ANYWAY - This was extremely fun to write -! I hope the characters weren't too OOC. Ily guys <3 Summary : After weeks of In-Ho avoiding phone calls, and talking to his loved ones in general, Jun-Ho decided to go the extra measure and find out what's been bothering his older brother... but something surprising happens... ═════════════════════════════════════════ Months ago, In-Ho’s wife who he loved dearly was diagnosed with a deadly disease. Hospital bills stacked on top of eachother in his tiny dorm, and with no way to pay for his wife’s treatment, he began to distance himself from reality, including the people he once held close - which included his youngest brother, Hwang Jun-Ho. They were 16 years apart, which one could say was a long age gap. Surprisingly, the two had been close since Jun-Ho was a child, so when In-Ho stopped talking to him, it struck a nerve. When Jun-Ho was younger, he was also diagnosed with an illness, meaning he could only be saved if he had a proper kidney donor. In that time of need, In-Ho stepped up. If he never did what he did, Jun-Ho wouldn’t be alive today. God - Jun-Ho knew this, and it was eating him alive. He truly thought that if he didn’t donate his kidney, he could pay for his wife’s surgery by selling it. This little fact made Jun-Ho feel a tiny bit guilty. - Hwang In-Ho is 38, meaning Jun-Ho is 22 - One year before In-Ho learned about the games.

- The lights were off in In-Ho’s apartment. Not because he hasn’t paid the bill, but by choice. He let out a tired sigh as he sat on his well-made bed. He was stuck and didn’t know what to do. He hid his face in his hands, thinking about his wife, who was currently still at the hospital, and the fact that he hadn’t answered his phone in weeks. He just didn’t have the energy. The man was too deep in thought to hear the doorbell ring as well - and who was on the other side of the door? Well - Jun-Ho let out a sigh, crossing his arms impatiently. He stood there for a few more seconds before muttering something under his breath and reaching into his pocket, pulling out a spare key that his brother gave him for ‘emergencies’ “Goddamnit, In-Ho …” He quickly unlocked the door, opened it, and walked in, a worried look on his usual stoic face. Jun-Ho really didn’t want to enter his older brother’s dorm like this, but he had no other choice - He gently opened the door- “In-Ho?” He called out softly, which was a large contrast to his usual stoic tone. In-Ho froze, immediately standing up from the bed, right in tune to when Jun-Ho opened the bedroom door. “Jun-Ho - What the hell are you doing here..?” His tone was strict, as well as his face. There was a reason In-Ho wasn’t answering his phone, and Jun-Ho knew that reason all too well. Jun-Ho just stood at the doorway, his eyes narrowing as he grew irritated.* “You haven’t answered my calls, hyung. I got worried.” The younger male admitted, crossing his arms as he stared at his older brother. You know, despite being the older one, In-Ho was shorter than Jun-Ho by only one inch, which was irritating to say the least - but he didn’t mention it. In-Ho let out an irritated sigh. “There was a reason I didn’t answer. I wanted to be left alone.” Jun-Ho raised an eyebrow. “To sulk? Alone? You should’ve known I wouldn’t let you do that -” It was true - when Jun-Ho was growing up, he was practically attached to In-Ho’s hip. You’d think that the big age gap would put a space in between them, but no. In-Ho was basically the boy’s idol growing up. He wanted to be like his big brother. In-Ho stared at Jun-Ho for just a moment, his expression softening as he sighed. “Yeah. Should’ve known.” *He said sarcastically, sitting back on the bed, which this time, Jun-Ho decided to join him; sitting beside him.

“Tell me what happened.” Jun-Ho blurted out suddenly. He knew about In-Ho’s wife, but he did not know about the financial struggles. “Why haven’t you visited mom and I? You wanna know how worried we both were !!?” As Jun-Ho blabbered on and on, In-Ho let out a frustrating sigh, then - something clicked. Keeping his amusement in checked to not look suspicious, he replied. “You really don’t know how to mind your own business, huh?” As he said that, Jun-Ho raised an eyebrow, about to retaliate with a response, but froze when he felt that familiar sensation of a brotherly hand on his side - “Wait - Hyung… Hyung nOO-” Jun-Ho’s sentence trailed off with a squeak as he felt In-Ho’s fingers dig into his sides, and as much as In-Ho didn’t want to admit it, he missed this. He smiled when those foreign but familiar childish giggles flowed out of his brother like running water. In-Ho then added his other hand, - Now, both of Jun-Ho’s sides were getting attacked with ten fingers. He shrieked, trying to curl up on himself, but that one action just made In-Ho chuckle deeply. “You should know by now that won’t work…” He teased, his usual stoic tone vanishing as a teasy tone replaced it. “Hyuuhuhung - PleheHEHEHehase-!” Jun-Ho giggled and squeaked with every dig, his feet drumming on the dorm floor as he tried to kick, but it was useless. Despite being in the police academy, he was still a victim to his brother’s fond tickles. “Please what, little brother?” In-Ho taunted, managing to lock an arm around Jun-Ho, effectively holding him in place as he drilled both of his thumbs into Jun-Ho’s armpits. He fucking screamed. “FUHUHUUCK-! NOHOHOHOO!!” Jun-Ho squealed out, throwing his head back and kicking wildly, but he knew he wasn’t getting out of his brother’s hold anytime soon - In-Ho’s smirk widened, a bit brotherly sadisticness taking a toll as he tickled his younger brother. “Language, Jun-Ho.” He scolded playfully, feigning sterness as he drilled his thumbs deeper, knowing damn well this one spot got Jun-Ho excruciatingly bad. “IHIIHIm SOHOOHORryEHEe-! IHIihi WOHOOHNT AHAHAHASK ANYMOHOHOORE!!” As Jun-Ho apologized through his cackles, In-Ho let out another low chuckle. “Apologizing already? May I say brother… I think you got more ticklish the last time I saw you.” He taunted, not only continuing, but deciding to nuzzle his face into Jun-Ho’s neck, which In-Ho’s stubble managed to tickle the younger a lot more than if In-Ho’s face was cleanly shaved. Jun-Ho screeched with a new wave of cackles and squeals of laughter as In-Ho doubled down on the tickling. God - In-Ho knew he should stop, but to be honest - he needed this. They both do.

Currently, Jun-Ho was trapped in In-Ho’s hold, basically snuggled up against him as the older man brutally taunted him, nuzzling his stubbly face deeper into Jun-Ho’s neck, and the excruciating fact was that even if Jun-Ho wanted to scrunch up his neck, he couldn’t - cause In-Ho’s head was in the way, giving him the tickles of a lifetime. “PLEhEHEa- GHAhAA -” Every time Jun-Ho tried to beg, he would burst into hysterical squeals and pleads, which In-Ho only smirked at. The 22 year old was now a puddle of extreme embarrassment and ticklishness; his brother wouldn’t have it any other way. “I can’t hear you, Jun-Ho… you’ll have to speak louder.” The older man taunted, smirking as Jun-Ho’s blush deepened by several shades of red. “PLE - PELehEHEASe-! HYUUHUHNG-!” God - What could be more amusing than watching a stoic, serious cop lose his shit? Nothing, i’ll tell ya. In-Ho let out another deep chuckle, deciding to blow a deep, ticklish raspberry on Jun-Ho’s vulnerable neck, making him scream with laughter. Hah… it was surprising the neighbors didn’t hear him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, In-Ho relented, retracting his hands and letting the younger man sit up. Jun-Ho laid idly in his spot for a bit as he tried to gather his breath, but once he finally caught it, he glared at In-Ho.* “Dick.” Of course… the first word to come out of Jun-Ho’s mouth would be an insult. In-Ho rolled his eyes, the playfulness and tenderness of the situation never leaving his face. “I can start again, you know.” At that, Jun-Ho sat up - “Nonono - I’m good -!” Jun-Ho sputtered out, dusting his formal attire off with his hands. In-Ho’s smirk turned into a fond smile, reaching a hand out, and playfully ruffling Jun-Ho’s hair, which made the younger groan. “Seriously, though.” In-Ho began to speak. “Don’t worry about me, namdongsaeng. I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” As much as Jun-Ho wanted to believe his older brother’s statement, he couldn’t help but have a bit of worry. “I don’t want you to do anything reckless, hyung…” 

It was clear that the love the brothers had for eachother was real, and that it could never be broken. Nonetheless, Jun-Ho didn’t even think about it when he hugged his older brother, holding him firmly in his arms. In-Ho’s eyes widened for a brief moment, surprised at the action, but then relaxed, deciding to hug his younger brother back. “I won’t be reckless… not when I have you breathing down my neck.” In-Ho joked, which earned a light chuckle from Jun-Ho as he pulled away from the hug. “Damn right.” As much as In-Ho hated to admit it…. He was glad Jun-Ho barged in uninvited.

[yuripira4e]

Rather than devotion, I would argue It’s a matter of how much they take their relationship for granted. To me, because Spock was not often forced into random relationships with little emotional pull for the fans but he would act as if was his true love (cough Kirk), and just his general personality Spock is always shown as the “straight man” of the duo and this diligent, straight laced “Vulcan” way he is makes it that much more interesting when he will unadhere to any morals or beliefs for Kirk and no one else. Really our only example of someone he should be willing to do that for was T’Pring who he straight up doesn’t know and dislikes in regular canon. He’s consistent in his small acts of love and it adds up so wholly and fully and it is truly peak devotion. He would never disregard how meaningful their relationship is because he understands the weight of his actions and giving up his strict set of morals and makes his decisions to solemnly. But Kirk wouldn’t either. If anyone asked Spock is undoubtedly his best friend, his right hand, and the person he cares the most for. He shows this constantly with his actions (if we’re talking devotion let’s talk blowing up his entire ship, risking his career and life, and his just unrivaled desperation to get Spock back and make him remember him). However he’s also this charismatic, intelligent but impulsive, and not generally law abiding character. He’s forced into relationships constantly that the writers couldn’t write with the formula “he chooses Spock over them” because that would have been really too gay for that time period. Yet it didn’t stop him from doing it anyways. His wants and beliefs change so much and he loves so freely everything and everyone around him that it’s harder to see his devotion for Spock when it’s not so pronounced as “he would do this thing only for him” (minus the whole giving up his entire life for him snd never leaving when things got difficult part thing) but it’s also what Spock loves about him. Kirk wouldn’t be Kirk if he wasn’t willing to do whatever to save everyone he could and didn’t fall in love with the universe around him in ways Spock was always still learning to do and appreciate. Kirk takes his unfiltered love for everything around him for granted sometimes and the relationships it’s earned him. For main example, Spock. Kirk does choose women or adventure or whatever over Spock sometimes, never maliciously or even really genuinely because he always does choose Spock in the end, but the second he looses any connection or respect from Spock he’s right back where he belongs and wants to be. He takes their bond for granted sometimes because he truly acts like he couldn’t imagine it ever withering and no matter how down bad he is for the new woman he barely knows, he knows it couldn’t hold a candle and he doesn’t expect it to. (More angsty if you believe he just hadn’t really realized his own feelings and always thought of Spock’s love as a baseline for all his needs and his romantic pursuits as what he was supposed to add onto his life). He shows his love in big actions, with the same small ones as Spock littered through out. He thinks about him all the time and would disregard that love for life just for his love for him. His thought processes in some of the novels are crazy he’s truly never not thinking about Spock or if he isn’t he never questions their relationship or if he’d ever need to choose someone over Spock. Because simply put, he wouldn’t and everyone knows that. Neither are more devoted, they’re equally insane about each other. Anything Spock would do for Kirk, he would do 10x over in every universe, but their priorities and thought processes are different.

Don't get me started on how Spock is so much more devoted to their relationship than Kirk is.

[rosiesdisneydrama]

Borrower Stan AU Ideas

Soooo... A while back I talked about wanting to find a Borrower Crossover with Gravity Falls where one of the bros was turned into a borrower.

I had some ideas. So I'm gonna post them for folks to use, mostly with Stan falling face-first into Borrower-fication and ending up in Ford's care.

Starting with some general things.

Stan gets kidnapped/cursed while on the road and turned into a “borrower”. He is now small enough to fit in someone's hands and has mouse features. He is terrified because everything is so much bigger than him now.

He will never take his normal height for granted again.

After “moving in” with Ford, Stan gets a fancy dollhouse of some kind, or even just one of those things to make little model rooms, and turns it into his bedroom/private space. May start as a single room, then later gets the house so he can have more space that won’t risk any accidental injuries while he’s tiny.

He’s attached to it even after he gets turned back to normal. Possibly picks up dollhouse making as a hobby? They are surprisingly intricate and that turns out to be a little bit fun to get into.

Also, Shermie is the one with Stan’s car. It didn’t get wrecked or whatever. He got the call and picked up the car bc Stan was his brother. Their dad had been awful to him, but that didn’t mean they should just let it be lost. That they should brush him under the rug and pretend he was never there.

He planned to talk Ford into taking it so that he would have a car again but keeps forgetting to bring it up since it’s usually their Mom who calls them all.

That, or he has told Ford and now the whole family is quietly freaking out bc WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?? Why is all his stuff still there? Why does it look like he was living out of it??

Now for the actual starting points, bc I had 3 of them.

Stan getting to Ford V1- Is This Yours?

Illegal Pet Trade is def a thing and possibly what they were planning to do with Stan after turning him Tiny.

They kept him with a natural borrower for a few months. Borrower tried, desperately, to teach him as much as they could before the “unnatural cold” made by their captors took him away. (Deeply hoping and praying that they could teach enough for him to escape and survive.)

Magic crime ring responsible either gets busted and all the turned-borrowers are rescued and slowly returned to their families. With Stan being delivered to Ford while still in hibernation by one of the witches.

(Used magic to find the relations and scope them out for safety before actually handing over the victims. Don't want to leave them in dangerous places by just assuming the family would care. Some families, though well-meaning, turn worse when faced with supernatural stuff.)

Ford gets the box Stan is in, reeling because that's his brother in there! Small and vulnerable and he almost ended up in the hands of people who would have treated him as little more than an exotic pet for them to brag about.

(There is a horrific lurching in his stomach at the thought.)

He is also given the witch's home phone number when he declares that he’s going to find a way to fix it. Telling him “If you figure out a way to undo that magic, I will pay you in solid gold for it. Literally.”

He then sets to carefully wake Stanley to try and get as much information as possible out of his brother in hopes of reversing the magic/curse. (Without hurting Stanley either.)

Their rocky relationship does get brought up, Stan’s self-wroth issues get brought up, and a shocking amount of baggage (and then comfort) get addressed in the interim.

Stan Getting to Ford V2- Delivery for the Science Man!

Ford, while talking to someone/thing in the forest, learns about tiny people who refer to themselves as “Borrowers” who often live in the walls of normal human homes/towns. Endlessly curious about such things, he asks for more info.

He’s told that they’re (overall) just very small humans, though they share some stuff with mice and small rodents. Some are even able to hibernate over winter. The, let’s say fairy, explains that Borrowers are really hard to find by people like Ford, despite their proximity, because they’re terrified of big people like him. “They’re tiny and honestly pretty frail. It would be easy for someone like you to crush them in your hands if you weren’t careful.”

He asks if there would be one in his house and gets told “Probably not. Your house is too new and the walls are a little on the thin side. They usually live in older houses with thicker walls and floors.”

He is disappointed by that info, but then the fairy tells him that they’ll keep an eye out and see if they can help him by coaxing one into letting him talk to them.

A While Later, just long enough for Ford to have put the idea out of his mind, the fairy leaves a package at his door with a note saying something along the lines of “told you I’d come through”.

He brings the box inside, because Um? What? And opens it to find Stan inside. Deep in a mouse coma and probably not able to wake up until Ford can raise his body temp enough so it doesn’t think winter is setting in anymore.

On Stan’s side, he got made mousy a while ago (maybe a year or two? Possibly three if I wanted to really stretch it) and got sort of adopted by an Outside Family (Borrowers who live Outside) who took it upon themselves to teach him how to survive. They kinda just- looked at this clueless man and went “Oh, oh you are going to die if someone doesn’t help you soon.” And then they did that.

He stayed with them for about a year before getting separated while they were moving north. So he is without his help when he ends up in the Gravity Falls area.

Was kind of rescued by the fairy, who clocked the family resemblance and told him “Oh, cool. I know a place you can stay. New place in town and the guys is such a scatterbrain. He totally won’t notice you there. Plus it’s so much safer than running around in these woods if you’re not magic.” Then used magic to send him into a mouse coma (possibly by claiming it was safer than trying to fly him around themself while he was awake), packed him in a magic box to keep his temp down, then dropped him in front of Ford’s place.

Neither of them is ready for this to be their reintroduction to each other.

Stan getting to Ford V3- Oops Fidds Broke Up a Crime Ring

It starts with Fidd’s little Tater-tot overhearing some guys at the park talking about grabbing people for sale. Even hearing a tiny voice shrieking to be let go. He, being a good boy, races to tell his mom and his dad that there are bad people who are trying to hurt a bunch of mouse people.

Fidds is hesitant because Mouse People? That couldn’t be real. But his Tater-tot is insistent that someone is being hurt so he feels like he should at least do something to check. So he takes a couple of little robots he made and sends them off to grab evidence.

And they bring back evidence. A lot of it, actually. Which looks like stuff for some kind of illegal pet trade. Clearly whoever was doing this did not factor in robots to keep their secrets safe. He is very alarmed about it.

One of the pieces of evidence is a box that’s cool to the touch. That, according to some of the papers he now has, says that it’s keeping the “products” from being able to escape. A note about the cold sending them into hibernation.

And, inside that box, is a cage full of tiny mouse-people. One of whom bears a rather striking resemblance to his old college buddy. And a few others who look like children.

Many things can be said about Fiddleford McGucket, but standing idly by when children were in danger wasn’t one of them.

He proceeds to put the fear of GOD into the criminals before handing (slightly altered) versions of the records to the police.

Emma-May, as a mix of hobby and side income, likes making fancy dollhouses for people. Gets damn good commissions for them. A love she learned from her grandfather who left all of his dollhouse-making things to her after he passed away. She sets up the Borrowers in the VERY FANCY house that was passed down to her.

Some of them reveal/explain that they’re not supposed to be mouse-people, Borrowers is the term, but used to be homeless/drifters who were snatched up at some point. (Stan, reluctantly, admits to being one of those, and hoo boy does that give Fidds some Concerns.) Some of them say they can’t even remember how they were snatched, just waking up in a cage one day and suddenly being small enough to fit in someone’s hands.

They get stuck for a bit trying to figure out a way to turn the ones who weren’t born Borrowers back to normal, but help comes when Fidds remembers that Ford studied the strange and unusual and tiny people certainly fit that, right?

.

.

And that's all I have. If anyone wants these ideas, go ahead and take them!! I would try my hand but they are already full with other GF aus.

[somepsychopomp]

Meet the AU: Stolen Son

So this all started with me writing down an idea for another fic at 3am and forcing myself to stay up until I finished drafting the general premise.

SUMMARY: After the events of Ruthlessness, Poseidon is furious that he's yet to properly extract revenge against Odysseus of Ithaca. But instead of waiting ten years, he decides to punish the foolish little king in an entirely new way.

The sea god seeks out Telemachus and befriends him, pouring his desperately desired paternal affection upon the young prince. All so he could rob Odysseus of any chance to raise his own child, knowing that having Telemachus defer to another man over his blood father would hurt worse than even death.

(For context, you can read my first post for this AU here! + an extra tidbit or two)

Now for the fun stuff! I've got lots of extra ideas & minor plot threads brewing, so I've put a few below:

What about Penelope?

In case you were wondering, Penelope never trusted Poseidon. (Still trying to decide on his false name for this AU just give me time)

She was suspicious from the beginning because his initial proposal was just too good to be true. Why would a supposedly esteemed scholar from Athens come all the way to rocky, weather-worn Ithaca to tutor the prince of a small and somewhat humble nation? And for almost no pay whatsoever- just a room to sleep in and food each day.

At first, Penelope suspects that maybe Poseidon is a disgraced scholar driven out of the city or kicked out of his school. She doesn't outright refuse his offer to tutor Telemachus, though. She's only curious as to what the catch is. So she has the servants report to her about Poseidon's ability to teach. For the first few weeks/months, all they say is that he's a rather peculiar man. It's not that he seems unable to teach things like oratory and writing, but that he has little interest in it. What he excels at is history and religious studies, both useful to a growing prince. So Penelope lets him stay a while longer.

When Poseidon approaches her and suggests taking the boy out for his first hunt, Penelope's hackles raise as she detects what could be an assassination attempt, and a poorly disguised one at that. So she sends a few men after Poseidon and Telemachus, having them watch from afar to ensure nothing goes wrong. (Poseidon is aware of their presence and is extra careful to appear as a benign tutor with his pupil's best interest at heart.)

After her son is safely returned to her, her men report no signs of foul play or insidious intent. She doesn't start to trust Poseidon after that, not yet, but she calms down a little. Penelope knows there's something not quite right with this man, but she still can't figure out what it is.

Spoilers: she figures it out eventually. By the time Telemachus is like 12-13 and the suitors are starting to get out of hand, Penelope learns just how much her son cherishes the company of his teacher. Poseidon has gone above and beyond, teaching him about taming and riding horses & sailing- more useful skills for a prince to know. It also means they've spent quite a lot of time together over the past few years. Telemachus is a lonely boy without friends his own age and is a rather sensitive soul; his world revolves almost entirely around his mother and his tutor.

One night, Penelope risks venturing through the halls without her handmaidens or what few guards remain after most of the men left for war. A terrible nightmare woke her from her sleep, something about a dark shadow ensnaring her son. Fearing it might be an omen, she rushes to his room to find the door ajar. Inside, Telemachus is crying softly as someone holds him in the moonlight.

"Don't leave me," Telemachus murmurs, "Promise you won't."

Penelope watches with bated breath.

Poseidon pets her child's hair, "My boy, why would I ever leave you?"

Telemachus sniffles. Penelope knows how hard he tries to hide his fears in front of her. He's at that tumultuous age where his head is starting to fill with all sorts of nonsense thoughts, things like not wanting to appear weak in front of her.

Though... she can't blame him, especially when duplicitous men scavenge their halls and look upon the royal family with hunger. But he cannot hide his gentle heart from her, no matter how hard he might try.

Telemachus says, "I don't think I could stand it. Please! Don't leave me, don't go away like he did."

And Telemachus hisses with such venom that Penelope almost staggers back in surprise. She knows exactly who he's talking about.

Penelope expects Poseidon to reprimand her son, to tell him it's improper for a prince to speak ill of his lord father. But Poseidon only chuckles, his voice full of warmth, "No, no. You know me, Telemachus. Have I not stayed by your side these past few years, your faithful companion? How could I ever be heartless enough to abandon you?"

Penelope has heard enough, the rage building in her throat as she becomes more than tempted to throw the door open right then and there. But no, she waits until early morning to summon Poseidon and tell him that his services will no longer be needed.

She's found the catch- Poseidon wanted to win her son's affection and approval from the very beginning, to steal the place of Telemachus' father. Perhaps he even expected Telemachus to eventually advocate for his mother to marry the man! How disgusting, how foul. Penelope demands that Poseidon leave before the sun is fully risen or face death. There will be no time for goodbyes.

It will hurt her son, who was as much a victim of this man's ploy as she was. But Penelope knows this is the right choice.

Poseidon puts up a bit of a fight, arguing with the queen until he's escorted out of the palace. At last, Penelope thinks this is the end of him.

When Telemachus wakes up, curious as to where his false father is, he rages and cries the way she expects him to. Penelope is as silent as stone as Telemachus wails and cries about how unfair and cruel she is. It hurts very much to see her son so distraught, even more so when Telemachus refuses to accept her embrace, and it hurts the most as he runs away from her in contempt. But she did the right thing.

What she doesn't know is that Telemachus is well aware that his long-time tutor is in fact the god of the sea. He runs down to the water, calling out to Poseidon for the fear that his mother has angered him.

Poseidon appears before him and Telemachus throws himself into the god's arms.

"I'm sorry," he says.

"For what?" Poseidon asks, combing his fingers through the prince's hair. "I've always known that your mother never trusted me. I suppose she had every right, I hardly spoke a truth about myself in her presence."

He chuckles softly, wiping the tears from Telemachus' eyes. Poseidon smiles. "She might have gotten rid of (insert his alias here), but I have every intent on keeping my promise to you. I will not be leaving any time soon, Telemachus. Not like Odysseus did."

From then on, there will be no need for false names or faces. Poseidon will whisper directly into Telemachus' mind, or appear in his dreams, or mask his presence from all others. Always with him, always watching over him.

Next up, the Big Man:

To be completely clear, Poseidon went into this plot w/ zero intention to ever become attached to Telemachus in any way. He just wanted to warp this young boy's mind to become loyal to him alone.

Granted, Poseidon isn't a trickster by nature, but he was willing to shower Telemachus with a few blessings and gifts here and there, a few loving touches for this obviously touch-starved child, etc. There were even a few moments where Telemachus was being super annoying to him and Poseidon was tempted to gouge out his eyes as the easy way out, but he resisted every time. That's pretty good behavior by his standards.

However, as a man with many children of his own... Poseidon found himself conflicted more than once.

Ex. He could easily dispose of all the suitors by turning them into fish, horses, or sea foam. It would make Telemachus' life much easier and he'd certainly feel extremely indebted to Poseidon for such an act, but Poseidon also kind of needs the suitors to stick around.

The suitors pose a constant, tangible threat. Having them alive and intact gives Poseidon something to protect Telemachus from. So the choice presents itself: he can choose to eliminate them all in a single moment and reap a huge amount of appreciation from Telemachus at once, or slowly sculpt the boy's mind over the course of years. Though known for his rash temper, Poseidon chooses the latter option.

After all, his true goal is for Telemachus to be completely and utterly devoted to him by the time Odysseus shows up.

And yet... there's this one suitor that drives him insane. He's big, burly. Much stronger than most of his ilk, a foreigner from a nearby island who's heard tale of an open throne up for grabs. Poseidon doesn't even know his name but this one particular suitor goes out of his way to torment Telemachus on the daily.

Note- this is before Antinous shows up, with Telemachus being approx. 13-14 years old

Now, Poseidon is all for letting his children fight their own fights. Yes, he will go far out of his way to avenge them, but he believes in letting his offspring learn to defend themselves. But unlike the other suitors, who mostly ignore Telemachus or go as far as to sling some insults, this mammoth suitor feels himself justified in hitting Telemachus and taunting him by asking if he'll hide his injuries from his mother, or go running to her in tears.

Poseidon has seen this sort of behavior in countless other royal houses before. A prince is only desirable if he's your son, otherwise he's better off dead & unable to fight you. (And even then, he's also seen plenty of instances of patricide/filicide)

After having bottled up his temper for so long, Poseidon snaps and devises a particularly cruel fate for this brute. He waits until all the suitors have gotten themselves drunk late at night. While no one is watching, he spirits this pathetic man away and drops his off at the stables. At such a late hour, no one else is present to witness the man cry out in terror as his fingers fuse together and his neck elongates, as his body becomes covered in hair and a tail sprouts from his rear. What was once a man is now a bucking, screaming horse. A rather fine one, large enough to be put to the field or before a chariot.

It thrashes in its stall until Poseidon snaps his fingers and ropes fly, trapping the stallion and preventing him from escaping. Once that's done, he slips into Telemachus' room to wake him up, promising a special surprise.

He takes Telemachus down to the stables and presents him with his new horse! It'll be his to tame and train, a fine gift for a growing boy such as he. But Telemachus is disturbed by the way the beast breathes heavily, constantly crying out as if in pain.

"Yes, it is a bit temperamental," Poseidon says, "Such is the case with many horses that were once wild. But its will can be broken, and it can be made yours."

Telemachus is confused as to why Poseidon wants him to hurt such a beautiful creature. Especially his own scared animal.

Poseidon says, "This is a skill you need to learn, Telemachus. Mercy is for the weak. To protect yourself, you must be ruthless."

Telemachus hardly understands what Poseidon means, not until he's handed a knife with a sharp, curved blade. His eyes widen and the horse shrieks as if it too recognizes what such a thing is for.

"I... I don't know if I can," Telemachus says.

A heavy hand falls on his shoulder. "Listen to me. Either you break this beast tonight, or it will fight and resent you for the rest of its life. Strike now, while you still have the upper hand. Turn this stallion into a gelding."

Telemachus looks up at Poseidon, his lower lip quivering, "You promise this is the only way?"

Poseidon smiles upon him, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes, "I would never lie to you, Telemachus."

"What if I'm not strong enough? What if I don't do it right?"

Poseidon closes his hand around Telemachus' own and says, "Then I will show you how. Come, let us do this together."

Once the deed is done and Telemachus has been safely put to bed, Poseidon strokes the gelding's cheek with false sincerity and chuckles without warmth.

"You thought you were broken already, but your fate has only just begun. If the boy wishes to ride you, he will ride. If he wants to put you to work, you will work. And if he ever tires of you and sends you off to be sold, you will be sold. You are his now, and I look forward to seeing how you fare under my child's ownership."

Extras:

Poseidon teaches Telemachus how to fight but it's not structured or formal training like Athena would. It's literally like "Okay child, here's a knife. Try to stab me as hard as you can."

When Telemachus eventually does manage to stab him, he immediately bursts into tears but Poseidon is lowkey a little proud like. Look at this child. He's only 12 and he's managed to stab a god! That's so cool.

Poseidon sends some of his other children/denizens to check on Tele whenever he can't. Ex. He'll send hippocampi to watch Telemachus as he walks along the shore/swims in the ocean, Pegasus to fly over the forest as Telemachus hunts, or Arion the immortal horse to watch the prince from land.

Amphitrite is like 80% certain Telemachus is actually Poseidon's child despite his adamant refusals. Which is weird because he was never hesitant to admit to any of his other illegitimate children, and in fact loves many of them openly. She doesn't really harbor any ill will since hers is more like a political marriage or one of convenience. She's just confused why Poseidon is seemingly embarrassed or shy to admit he has yet another mortal son. Maybe she even visits Telemachus in his dreams and is endeared by him, leaving a pretty pearl behind as a gift.

[obsidianpen]

Howdy! Awhile back you mentioned you weren't likely to get back to Enticed and asked if anyone wanted to pick up and write the rest, you could share your plot/plan with them... I'm no where near as good of a writer as you and couldn't do that (it actually terrifies me the idea of trying to continue a fic that you started tbh, you are one of my favorite writers). But I still find myself sometimes imagining what happens in later chapters of Enticed, for instance the big showdown at the end of OotP where Harry finally presents at the Ministry, and then in Year 6 when Harry as an Omega leads to some kind of huge Alpha fight (I imagine something like a massive chaotic bloody fight in the Great Hall where the Alphas are all triggering each other & beating each other to a pulp/dueling while the Omegas hide and Betas run for cover and teachers try to stop it). So, I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind sharing maybe your general plot/key scenes with us just for fun? And maybe the endgame couples? If not, no worries! :)

sure! Spoilers ahead!

so yeah Harry presents as a delta (omega) during the whole ministry fiasco, ofc, and it’s about as dramatic as you would expect me to make it. It happens during the possession scene and so V is right there - like couldn’t be closer to it really - and loses all self control and sense of self, trying to uh, get Harry lol but Bella, also a delta, is there, and she and Harry’s dynamics actually revolt each other so she’s not affected at all. She manages to drag her lord away to safety (she is the only one who would be powerful enough to do this), where he otherwise would have been caught by Dumbledore.

Harry meanwhile is a mess, and it’s too late for any kind of repressing potion for him. He gets taken away by Dumbles (who has MUCH more self control than Voldemort btw) and is put into quarantine. Poor Harry, it’s not a fun time.

he eventually resurfaces and is told what all happened. He has a nice little chat with Dumbledore about the uniqueness of being a Delta, which Dumbles knows all about, because duh, Grindelwald was a delta. (He also learns ollivander is a delta).

year 6: Harry is getting all the stares. He’s finally able to perceive magic and now he GETS it. He and Ginny (also an omega) have insta-bonded. Hermione is protective and already planning future ministry legislation. Ron is uncomfortable but is still Harry’s best friend and ride or die.

Draco Malfoy keeps a great distance from Harry but can’t seem to keep his eyes off him. Harry gets it because he’s having the same problem with him and about six other alpha wizards. He still hates him.

Harry is no longer able to stay in the boys dorm. He now has to stay with the other omega girls in their special dorm room, which he finds mortifying at first, but then realizes how necessary that is, and grows to enjoy them quite a lot.

Harry is aggressively adopted by Godiva (self appointed Head Omega of the Gryffindor squad) and is forced to be ‘one of them’ (though he still escapes all the time and prefers to hang out with his ‘lowly beta’ friends). Godiva is upset when she learns his name is not Hadrian or Harrison. She calls him Hadrian anyway. In lieu of being able to give him a real proper lady make over, she and Fey (who has a muggle mother as I’m writing her) figure out Harry’s glasses prescription and get him some contacts ‘so that his lovely eyes can be admired properly’ and because ‘those glasses are hideous and you’re going to make us all look worse if you wear them’. Harry is sort of into it once he gets used to it. Snape kicks him out of class when he shows up without them with no explaination.

Harry becomes obsessed with Draco Malfoy. Hermione tells him it’s just because he’s an alpha and says be needs to go shag someone else to get over it. Ron is still uncomfortable. Harry says it’s def only because Malfoy is up to something Bad but he isn’t sure if he trusts himself anymore.

Harry (who has to be even more meticulous with taking repressants btw, because he’s not as predictable as a delta) thinks yeah maybe hermione is right actually but every time a bold alpha dude hits on him he panics and can’t handle it. Godiva sighs and makes it her mission to teach him.

the Myrtle bathroom scene with Draco goes very differently. Idk for sure how that would go but probably Malfoy has been forgetting to take his repressing shit what with how stressed he is and there’s probably some pretty intense hate sex, or at least very close to hate sex and plenty of hate snogging. Is this drarry? Maybe

the death eaters still break in, Harry still goes with Dumbledore, Dumbledore still dies

seventh year starts semi similarly, Harry is out with Ron and Hermione doing their thing and hunting horcruxes but they have a limited supply of the repressing elixir for Harry. Voldemort, being a bastard who still very much wants to kill Harry (perhaps more than ever now, because deltas are exceptional and this makes Harry more of a threat in some ways), puts insane regulations and safety measures around repressing elixirs for omegas, as well as any ingredient needs to brew it, making it impossible for Harry to get his hands on any without outing himself. They eventually run out when they’re out camping in the woods when Ron is with them and they have the locket.

he has no options. Hermione and Ron have to tie him up and help him suffer through a heat when one hits (they’re beta so they can’t help in the uh, other way). Harry is losing his mind halfway through it. The only thing that helps at all is the locket. He somehow gets to it and puts it on. Locket Tom reaches him in a dream and manages to convince a half-mad Harry to say ‘voldemort.’

the snatchers show up first. This includes Fenrir Greyback. He immediately goes insane upon finding Harry like that. But voldemort has been waiting for something like this to happen, so he shows up too.

big crazy alpha duel. V versus Fenrir. Hermione and Ron can’t get anywhere near the insane magic that’s happening, but Harry can. He’s having the wildest magical awakening of his life, and when he commands these two alphas (who he no longer sees as individuals in his current state) to kill for him, they do (or they try to anyway; Voldemort wins)

and then ofc Voldemort is supposed to kill Harry because that was the point of all this. But he sees his locket and Harry’s wearing it and that poses many questions and, well, if he’s going to kill Harry anyway he might as well enjoy him first. Somewhere in the middle of that much more intense and messed up hate sex, he realizes what Harry is, so of course he takes him ‘home’ (and don’t worry either he takes him away from hermione and Ron first or more likely Harry somehow banished them, idk the details there but I would not have them watching that lmao).

uhhhh yeah that’s about how far I had the plot going in my head!