#Does this sentences even make sense...???

[mydarlingclaudia]

cw : major character death, baby death, angst

Simon Riley who says he’s still married even after your death when people hit on him

Simon Riley who still wears his wedding ring and keeps yours on the same chain as his dog tags

Simon Riley who lost not only you, but the baby you were going to have the day you died

Simon Riley who keeps the nursery the same as it was when you painted it and set up the crib

Simon Riley who shows up to the pub on Fridays an hour or two later than the rest of his team because the show you used to watch all the time only airs at eight p.m. on Fridays, he hasn't missed an episode

Simon Riley who goes to you and your babies joint grave first thing each time he gets back from deployment, there's a third joint part on the tombstone for him one day

Simon Riley who keeps the house the exact same as you left it, he even unfolds and refolds your clothes and the babies when he can't sleep

Simon Riley who doesn't really talk about it, doesn't check in with your family, doesn't take Price's advice when he tells him he should take time off after your death

Simon Riley who wakes up some mornings thinking you're in the other room with your baby, only to remember you aren't

–

You met through a neighbor, your sink had broken and she had pointed you in the direction of the scary guy down the hallway who had fixed her shower last year. He was in your flat for three hours, came out a bit sweaty and with grease on his hands and shirt, but he made your sink better than it was before it started leaking and he walked back down the hall with cash in his pocket.

The next time you see him is when you ask him if he knew anything about cars and if he'd mind taking a look at yours. He gets the check engine light to turn off and makes that wrong-sounding whirring sound to go back to normal, instead of cash, you offer dinner.

He didn't even think to turn you down, he wasn't due back on base for another week, he could use some company. You learned Simon wasn't a handyman or plumber, it was just an odd job he got good at, the military is where his duties lay, no wonder you hadn't seen him around much before.

After deployments, he comes over for dinner each week, then you start going out for dinner and go out to see movies and he starts to show up at your doorstep with flowers. The kiss comes first, officially dating comes second.

The longer you were together, the harder it was to be away on deployments. And you're everything Simon could ever want. Too good for him, too understanding and patient. But Simon still comes home to you, he still kisses your shoulders and lets you wash his back, he still wants to marry you.

And he does, he puts a ring on your finger that looks like the one his mom used to wear before she just took it off one day and never put it back on. He buys you a nice house with a backyard and a fireplace, plans out the whole wedding with you, he does everything right.

Pregnancy comes next, he never saw himself as a dad, but he got more and more comfortable with the idea as your pregnancy progressed. The nursery was yellow, you put a little mobile with seals and starfish and otters over the crib, Simon put the rocking chair together and painted it blue.

He held your hair back when you puked in the mornings, cooked most of the meals you ate over the nine months, did all of the massages, went to all the check-ups, even took that paternity leave he was convinced he'd never use.

He held your hand all through the delivery, your baby girl came out completely silent, one of the nurses in the room with you was new and he didn't know why she started crying at first.

He had thought he'd seen enough blood in his life for it not to really startle him the same way it did when he was a kid, but you and bleeding out being used in the same sentence put a whole new sense of terror in him. The nurses actually had him leave the room, there was only one way it could go, he knew that, but he sat in the hallway bouncing his leg like he was waiting for good news.

He drove home alone that day.

Simon spends his days waiting around now. You were really the only one for him, he knew that far too soon, but by now, he would've been picking his daughter up from her first day of school, maybe you'd even have another baby on the way. When he's not deployed, going through the motions aimlessly, he's daydreaming.

He's sad, of course he is, what else are you supposed to feel? But he doesn't cry as much as he probably should. He imagines school pictures in his wallet and hanging on the walls of your house, birthday party invitations stuck onto the fridge and date night's marked on the calendar.

He goes into the nursery sometimes, like he's waiting up with the baby, trying to get it to fall back asleep. He'll spin the mobile and sit back in the chair that he was meant to hold his daughter in and just stare at it, even after it stops moving, he stays.

Your grave is so heartbreaking to see, but it's comforting, also. That you'll always be there, you and your daughter, and one day, he'll be right next to you again.

[max1461]

I just found out I got a postdoc in Austria that starts in like 3 months, so I need to learn german to the greatest proficiency I can ASAP. It seems from your wise and powerful Posts that you have strong opinions about what works well in language-learning. Do you have any advice?

Yes. This is what worked for me in learning Japanese; YMMV.

So, I think that language learning is mostly about volume of practice in/exposure to the language, although that practice does have to maintain a minimum level of quality to be useful (e.g. not duolingo, duolingo is useless). Here is what I would say:

Ideally, find a German class and sign up for it. You may end up outpacing the class but it will both give you a backstop and also give you access to people to practice with and a native speaking teacher to ask questions to and model your pronunciation on. If the teacher is not a native speaker, do not take that class!

Probably the class will come with a textbook. If not, or if you can't join a class or so on, get a textbook and work through it. Ideally find one with lots of exercises and do all the exercises. Use some sort of flashcard system or rote memorization for vocabulary/conjugation tables/etc. You may have to experiment to find out what works for you; what worked for me was writing out big tables of verbs and conjugating them all in order to memorize the conjugations, for instance. Don't be afraid of memorization. My Japanese classes had weekly quizzes + a few hours of homework each week night, which was mostly translation, vocabulary, and grammar exercises. I studied for the tests and quizzes by rote. It always worked. You don't have to do this as much as I did, obviously, but subject to your needs just maximize your volume of practice vis à vis grammar and vocabulary.

Don't try to make grammar "make sense". The grammar rules are what they are. Too many learners get stuck on grammar rules that don't feel logical to them. Get over this immediately. Whatever the rule is, that's the rule; remember it and use it.

Practice speaking a lot. If you can't find native speakers to speak with, speak with your classmates. Ideally find native speakers to speak with. You can look online for like, language meet-ups and stuff. The thing is that grammar rules don't always make intellectual sense but they make functional sense; once you practice them enough they start to feel natural. Vocabulary can be memorized, conjugation tables and so on can be memorized, but you have to practice the language enough that you're no longer using that conscious, memorization-based part of your brain, shit just has to come out. Practice speaking and listening as much as possible.

This helped me, but it may or may not help you: remember that, ok... grammar is presented as a bunch of rules, which implies like, limitations. "Do X and don't do Y". But this is not what grammar really is, and it is not how you should approach grammar. Grammar "rules" are in fact tools for building sentences. Without grammar, you just have a bunch of disparate vocabulary items. With grammar, you have a way to put them together into something with a more complex meaning. Do not look at grammar points as rules that you must follow, look at them as new tools you have to build even more complex sentences and express even more ideas in the language. This is a crucial mistake many people make.

[thepinkpanther83]

Hiya, I’ve come w a request lol I’m sucker for bully eddie. Lol like he and reader are in college or work w each other and he’s constantly just being a menace and she thinks he genuinely hates her but he’s flirting w her lol maybe he sees some guy trying to chat her up and he finally tells her he does like her and smut

Mean Streak

One-Shot Request: “Mean Streak”

Eddie Munson x Female Reader

💌 Author’s Note: To my dearest Anony, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting me with this idea. The moment I read your request, I felt it- every teasing smirk, every loaded silence, every glance that says more than it should. You planted the perfect seed for something chaotic, sharp, and surprisingly tender… and I had way too much fun making it grow.

This story quickly became a small passion project, and it wouldn’t exist without your nudge. Whether you’re new here or a longtime lurker, know that you’ve inspired something special, and I hope it makes you smile, gasp, and maybe even groan (in all the right ways). Thank you for being brave enough to ask!

To everyone else: if you’ve ever thought someone hated you when they were actually just obsessed with you… this one’s for you, too. 💋 ~Pinkie 🍒

Masterlist

Find me on AO3.

Read this story on AO3.

Summary: You’re convinced Eddie Munson hates your guts. He’s loud, smug, always in your space, throwing jabs and cracking jokes that leave you flushed for all the wrong reasons. Or so you think. But when jealousy sparks, tensions ignite, and feelings start slipping through the cracks… You might have to admit that hate and heat aren’t so different after all. Enemies? Rivals? Or just two idiots flirting badly? One thing’s for certain: things are about to get messy.

Click "Keep Reading" below the cut to read. 😘

“Mean Streak”

You’re halfway through highlighting an entire paragraph when your marker vanishes.

Literally- gone. One blink and it’s disappeared from your fingers, right as you're about to underline the one godforsaken sentence that actually made sense in this sea of academic jargon.

You turn. You already know.

Eddie Munson is standing there. Smirking. Holding your highlighter like it personally offended him.

“Do you mind?” you ask, reaching for it.

He lifts it out of reach, eyes twinkling. “Just doing my civic duty, Princess. You highlight everything. At some point, the words lose all meaning.”

You blink at him. “Are you stalking my notes?”

“I’m saving your GPA.”

You grit your teeth and go for it again, but he pivots easily, keeping it just out of reach with his absurd wingspan. You consider lunging. Maybe throwing your iced coffee in his face. Or yourself, just to knock him down. But then his eyes flick to your notebook again, the smirk morphing into something a little darker. “Also… your handwriting? Offensively cute. Are those little hearts on your i’s?”

Heat crawls up your neck. You slam the notebook shut.

“Do you need something, Munson, or are you just here to be annoying on purpose?”

He leans a forearm on the study table, close enough that you can smell him- leather jacket, cheap cologne, and some vague cinnamon warmth like a damn Red Hot. The nerve of him.

His voice drops just enough to make you hate your heartbeat. “I dunno. Do you like being annoyed?”

You blink. “Excuse me?”

He grins again, all teeth and mischief, and then- boop, taps your nose with the stolen highlighter before setting it down in front of you like a gift.

Then he walks away.

You stare after him, your mouth open, a single bold phrase looping in your head like a cursed mantra: What. The. Hell.

This has been your week. Your month. Your semester.

Eddie Munson has made a game out of ruining your peace. He steals your pens. He critiques your music. He once swapped the keyboard on your computer to Dvorak and grinned when you found out.

And he always- always, calls you things like Honor Student and Princess, said with the kind of condescending tone that feels two steps from a hate crime.

You hate him.

...You think.

You just wanted peanut M&M’s.

That’s all it was. That’s all you were trying to do. Five minutes to breathe between back-to-back lectures, a vending machine on its last mechanical legs humming like it’s preparing for death, and you- tired, over-caffeinated, toeing the line between a B+ and a nervous breakdown.

And then, of course- Eddie Munson, again.

You catch the whiff of cheap cologne and cigarette smoke just before his voice slinks in beside you.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Miss Honor Student herself. Treating yourself today?”

He’s right beside you. Close enough that you can feel the heat from him. He’s leaned on the vending machine like he owns it, like it’s just another extension of his usual bullshit territory, and you already feel your pulse stuttering from sheer proximity.

You sigh. “Can I help you with something, Munson?”

He tilts his head and eyes your snack choice like it personally offends him. “M&M’s? Wow. Real rebellious.”

You press the buttons harder than you need to. “Not everything’s a personality contest.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he says, eyes skimming you from head to toe. There’s a curl to his lip. Mean. Appreciative. Annoyingly unreadable. "You wear those leggings on purpose, or do you just like making campus a dangerous place for the rest of us?"

You feel heat crawl up your neck. “Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying-” he lifts both hands like he’s innocent, which is a goddamn lie, “-those pants are against the dress code. And basic decency. If I walk into traffic, it’s your fault.”

You scowl, snatching your M&M’s when they finally clatter into the tray. “You’re so weird.”

“And yet, here we are. You. Me. One sad vending machine. Fate’s got jokes.”

You spin on your heel and storm off without another word, but he follows. Of course he does.

Because Eddie Munson isn’t done until he’s thoroughly gotten under your skin, and this? This is his favorite game.

“Hey, Princess,” he calls after you, all mock-affection. “You dropped something!”

You glance back- and realize too late he’s holding up a pink mechanical pencil. Yours. Your favorite. From your pencil pouch.

Which means-

“You absolute thief-”

His grin is infuriating. “Guess you’ll have to say please.”

God help you.

You’re going to kill him. Or kiss him. You haven’t decided which yet.

“You think you’re so clever,” you mutter, stomping toward him, palm out.

“I know I am.” He wiggles the pencil just out of reach. “Say the magic word.”

“I will throw you down a stairwell.”

“Oh, Princess,” he coos, “don’t threaten me with a good time.”

You lunge. He steps back. It becomes a weird little hallway dance- your hand swiping, his hips dodging, until you nearly crash into a bulletin board. He finally lets you snatch it back, but not before dragging his fingers down your wrist in a lingering, teasing glide.

You ignore the shiver that snakes down your spine. Or try to.

He grins like he knows.

“Ever consider therapy?” you snap.

“Ever consider dating someone who doesn’t bore you to death?” he fires back, and somehow, somehow, that flusters you more than anything else he’s said all day.

You hate that your heart’s pounding. You hate that it feels like he’s flirting. You really hate that you don’t know for sure.

“Oh my god,” you say, exasperated, “do you treat everyone like this?”

“Nah,” Eddie says, slouching against the wall, thumbs hooked into the belt loops of his ripped jeans. “Just you.”

That... actually stuns you. Just a little.

He sees it. Smirks. Doubles down.

“Guess I’ve got a mean streak for good girls.”

You open your mouth to reply, but nothing comes out.

Because that?

That sounded an awful lot like a confession.

Later that night, at a campus party…

It’s already too hot inside, and someone’s aux cord privileges should’ve been revoked three songs ago. There’s no real theme, just sticky floors, half-assed fairy lights, and a keg cup that you’re pretty sure tastes like floor cleaner.

You spot Eddie across the room before he sees you. He's in his usual uniform: ripped jeans, black band tee, a red and black flannel tied low around his waist, all devil-may-care smirk and feral curls. He’s laughing at something a guy says, but he barely looks engaged- until he notices you with a double-take.

Then he lights up like it’s his birthday.

“Honor Student,” he purrs, suddenly beside you like he teleported. “Didn’t expect to see you at a den of sin like this.”

You raise a brow. “Didn’t expect you to look like you’ve showered recently.”

“Ouch,” he says, a hand over his heart. “Why so cruel?”

“Why so here?”

“Maybe I was hoping to run into you.”

You snort. “Sure you were.”

He leans closer, voice dipped in that rough, teasing edge. “You always wear leggings to parties too, or did I just get lucky?”

You roll your eyes so hard it almost hurts, but the heat in your face betrays you. And Eddie- being Eddie, notices.

“Careful,” he says, mouth brushing your ear with the next words. “You’re gonna make a guy think you like being teased.”

You elbow him. He laughs. Loud. Unapologetic.

And when some overly confident frat guy stumbles over to talk to you a few minutes later, Eddie doesn’t leave.

He looms.

Not subtle. Not polite. Definitely not quiet.

The guy’s name was something like Trevor or Travis- someone with a rich-kid watch and too much cologne. He’s nice enough. Smiles at you like you’re the only girl in the room. Asks what you’re studying. Laughs when you make a joke.

But Eddie doesn’t laugh. Eddie stands there, arms crossed, jaw tight, eyes flicking between you and Fratboy like he’s calculating the most efficient way to bury a body.

“Hey, bro,” Eddie says, voice as fake-sweet as poison. “You lost or something?”

Travis blinks. “Sorry- do you two know each other?”

Eddie grins, wide and sharp. “Oh yeah. She’s my favorite honor student.”

You shoot him a warning look. “Eddie-”

He doesn’t take the hint.

“She tutors me,” he says, smirking now. “Real smart. Good with her hands.” He says suggestively.

Your mouth drops open. Travis looks between you both, visibly weirded out.

“I… uh- I’m gonna go get a drink,” he says and quickly bails.

You round on Eddie, fuming. “What the hell was that?”

Eddie shrugs, like it’s nothing. “Didn’t like how he was looking at you.”

“And you care why?”

You expect more snark, some bullshit comebacks- but what you get instead is him blinking, caught off guard by the question.

He hesitates. Just long enough.

Then his voice drops, rough and low, barely audible over the music.

“‘Cause I saw you first.”

Your stomach flips. Your breath catches.

And for once- you don’t have a comeback.

​​You blink at him. Once. Twice.

The music warps around you, thudding louder somehow, but it’s all white noise now. You’re too focused on the smug tilt of his mouth, the flicker of something not smug in his eyes.

“Do you even hear yourself?” you say, laughless. “You treat me like crap every time we talk and now suddenly you’re- what? Jealous?”

Eddie’s expression shifts. Barely. But enough.

“You’re always messing with me, Munson. Always.” Your voice rises before you can stop it. “If you hate me so much, why do you even bother?”

His mouth parts. Nothing comes out.

You shake your head, heat prickling at your cheeks. “Seriously- why do you care who I talk to or what I wear or what I’m doing if I’m just some joke to you?”

A moment of silence passes.

And then- quiet. Uncharacteristically raw.

“Hate you?”

It’s not mocking. It’s not amused.

He huffs a breath, rubs the back of his neck like he’s trying to physically scrape the tension off himself.

“Sweetheart,” he says, and for once, there’s no irony in it. “I’ve been flirting with you since the first day you wore those fucking strawberry earrings.”

You freeze.

“What?” you ask, but it’s barely a whisper.

He looks pained- like the words hurt on the way out. “Yeah. Those stupid earrings. The ones with the little green leaves. You sat next to me in Lit 203 and kept twirling them while you took notes. I couldn’t focus on a damn thing.”

He shrugs, half-defeated, half-defensive. “So I started being an asshole. Because it was easier than- y’know. Admitting I kinda wanted to lick fruit-scented lip gloss off your lips.”

You stare at him, breath caught somewhere between your ribs, and disbelief.

Eddie looks back. Waiting. Bracing.

Like he just handed you a knife and isn’t sure whether you’ll cut him open or carve your initials next to his.

You blink again. “You’ve been flirting with me?”

“Yeah.” His voice is rougher now, almost sheepish. “Terribly. Obviously.”

You both stare at each other. The party noise around you fades into meaningless static. Adrenaline and confusion melt into something warmer. Sharper.

“You could’ve just asked me out,” you breathe.

He licks his lips. Nervous. “Yeah? Would you have said yes?”

“Maybe.”

He steps closer. Inches away now. “Let’s find out.”

He tugs your hand without asking, threading your fingers through his like it’s the most natural thing in the world, like you haven’t spent months bickering.

The night air hits your face the second you’re outside- cool and biting, like a slap that wakes you all the way up. Or maybe it’s just the way Eddie looks back at you as he leads you toward the lot where his van is parked, curls wild in the wind, lips parted like he’s one second from losing every ounce of his self-control.

When you reach the passenger door, he fumbles for his keys, but you’re already grabbing his face, dragging his mouth to yours like something in you has finally snapped. The kiss is clumsy and urgent, hot with months of pent-up want.

He groans into your mouth, low and wrecked.

“Shit,” he mutters, fumbling the door open behind you. “Get in. Please. Before I do something very illegal out here.”

The second the van door slams shut, you’re on him again- hands gripping his shirt, teeth dragging across his bottom lip like you’re trying to bite the words right off his tongue. He’s stunned for a half second, breathless, eyes wide- and then he’s kissing you back with all the pent-up tension of a guy who’s been dreaming about this exact moment and never thought it’d actually happen.

You push him back against the seat, climbing into his lap, the worn leather creaking beneath you. The kiss deepens, filthier now, tongues tangling, your hips rolling just enough to make him gasp into your mouth.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” he groans, his hands skating up your thighs, greedy and reverent. “You’re gonna kill me.”

You smirk against his lips. “Don’t be dramatic.”

His eyes are glassy, pupils blown wide. “You don’t know what you do to me.”

But you do.

You do- because you feel him, hard and twitching beneath you, and it sends a dark thrill straight through you. And maybe it’s that thrill that makes you shift off his lap, dropping to your knees on the floor of the van, palms braced on his thighs.

Eddie blinks down at you like he just got smacked in the face with a dream he’s too scared to believe.

“Wait, are you-”

You reach for his belt.

“Jesus Christ,” he hisses, head thunking back against the seat, hands scrabbling to help you, or maybe just worship you. “You don’t have to- fuck… you really don’t have to.”

You look up at him, pupils dark and wild. “Let me.”

His mouth falls open. No witty comeback. No smartass reply.

Just stunned silence and the sound of his zipper lowering.

You free him from his jeans and- god… he’s thick, flushed, and already leaking at the tip. You wrap your hand around him and begin to stroke, and he whines, hips jolting like he’s got no control left in his body.

“Fuck, baby, slow down-” he pants, eyes glued to you, like he can’t believe you’re actually on your knees for him. “I’m gonna- shit, I’m not gonna last if you look at me like that.”

You drag your tongue up the underside of his cock, slow and teasing, watching him twitch in your hand. His thighs are trembling already. You hollow your cheeks and take him in, inch by inch, until his hand flies to the back of your head- not to push, necessarily, just to hold.

Just to anchor.

“Holy shit,” he chokes out, jaw slack, lips parted in some desperate, reverent daze. “You’re fucking amazing, you know that?”

You hum around him, and he bucks his hips with a broken groan, knuckles white where he grips the seat, like he’s trying not to lose his mind entirely.

“S-sweetheart, you gotta-” His voice cracks. He’s panting now, thighs shaking beneath your hands. “You gotta stop. Or I’m gonna cum in your mouth and you’re never gonna get rid of me.”

You pull off with a wet pop, licking your lips slowly, just to see the way he shudders.

“Who said I wanted to get rid of you?”

Eddie stares down at you like you just shot him through the heart in the best possible way.

“Marry me,” he says immediately. “I’m serious. We can drop out right now and live in this van.”

You laugh, breathless, and he reaches for you- pulling you back into his lap, wrapping both arms around you like he never wants to let go. His mouth is on your neck, your jaw, your shoulder, desperate little kisses between heavy pants.

“You’re gonna let me return the favor, right?” he growls, voice rough and dark with promise.

You blink. “Eventually.”

He groans again. “You’re gonna ruin me.”

You grin. “That’s the idea.”

You’re straddling him over the bench seat like instinct took the wheel. He’s gripping your hips like they’re the only thing tethering him to the planet, mouth hot and hungry against yours. His rings are cool on your skin when they slide beneath your shirt.

“Fuck, baby,” he mutters, tilting his head back as you grind against him. “I’m gonna wreck you.”

You bite his lower lip, pulling it with your teeth. “That the goal?”

He growls- growls, and pulls you in harder.

Clothes disappear in chaotic bursts. His hands never stop moving. Neither do yours. There’s laughter and cursing and soft, reverent swearing when he finally gets you bare over him.

When you sink down onto him, it’s slow- torturously slow, until you’re fully seated in his lap and both of you are gasping like you’ve run miles.

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie pants, his head thumping back against the seat. “You feel- fuck, baby. I’m not gonna last long if you keep clenching like that.”

You roll your hips, moaning as you do, and his hands tighten at your waist.

“You’ve been teasing me for months,” you say, voice breathless but wicked. “You can take it.”

He grins- wrecked and adoring and so goddamn filthy. “Ride me, princess. Show me how bad you really are.”

And you do.

Hard. Slow. Grinding and bouncing and losing your mind with every slick slide of your bodies.

Eddie’s loud, filthy with praise and curses, his hands everywhere- your ass, your back, your thighs. He meets every thrust with an upward snap of his hips like he’s desperate to stay buried as deep as possible.

When you both finally shatter, it’s loud. Unapologetic. Like every repressed bit of tension finally lets go all at once.

You collapse against him, both of you shaking, panting, holding each other like you’ve got no plans of moving any time soon.

Eddie kisses the side of your face, then your jaw, then your lips again.

"That Travis guy? Late to the party. I’ve been front row since day one," he smirks.

And you laugh, even as your heart races. “Shut up, Munson.”

But despite his cocky bravado, you kiss him again anyway.

Who loves Eddie Munson, show of hands! 😂 Let me know if you want to be added to my tag list! @justalotoffanfiction, @yorshie, @jackalope-in-a-storm, @v1per1ne, @daveythorntonslocker, @cokepowder55, @kelsiegrin, @ash-stardust, @meankenna, @kellsck

Masterlist

[socratesgirlnextdoor]

spoilers for ginny and georgia

you guys are free to go im done with s3. oh ok crazy ending.

season 1 ending was ginny running away. fine. makes sense for the season

season 2 ending was georgia getting arrested for tom's murder AT her wedding.

season 3 ending is georgia pregnancy bomb. it does make sense because they were foreshadowing it with the whole ginny thing but.

ok so obviously season 4 is gonna be "who's the father" and dude if it's paul. that's so boring i don't care that is so dull get him out of here we're done with paul ugh but it's probably gonna be paul's jesus fucking christ. because they don't want joe and georgia happy yet. no no no no! too nice for them

though speaking of? my theory was right. joe did not give a FUCK about the murders. he's the only sane one of the show but he is still georgia's number 1 superfan. i know this is a soap opera drama but whatever

obviously if they're going down this route im team joe. show it's bad enough that you had this man go to her wedding to paul after he confessed his feelings and then you had them reach this lovely little mutual understanding by the end. georgia wants to be better for her kids so she isn't diving into another romantic relationship so she can focus all of her attention on them. joe is absolutely on board with this. this man was prepared to visit her in prison possibly her entire life sentence okay YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW LONG HE HAS WAITED. luke danes waited 7 years. JOE HAS WAITED 16 YEARS. unknowingly but still. please ginny and georgia end after season 4. they're obviously ending up together so don't have this man watch her have a baby with paul fucking randolph okay?? i don't like babyplots but if you're going down this road have it be joe's OR false alarm. please? please?

im weirdly very passionate about this show. anyways! onto other topics of discussion of this show. the baker family. okay so the final few episodes were a LOT. marcus was doing pretty well in this season but then his mental health got crazy terrible like pits terrible and he was less iconic in the last few episodes. i am so happy LIKE STOKED that they're making max more sympathetic now. in the final episode they fully season 1 abby'd max crazy hard. oh my fucking god i understand that max was bad but i am 100% a max defender now and the show is too. like max is ignored for most of the season and then everyone is like "max is just getting so dramatic at us" i know you guys are kids and max has been a lot but can you have like a grain, a drop of perspective here. or just stop being friends with her. you hate her so much let the theatre kids take care of her.

im usually a ginny defender but woof idk guys. idk chat. ginny is doing that weird thing again where she goes all evil mode. ginny i get it but yeah watch out. props on rescuing ur brother but...

austin's becoming a really interesting character. he's obviously very resentful of what he had to do in court and even if you know your parent is a violent guy dude (no offense to ginny) being forced or at least pressured into accusing your dad of a murder you know he didn't commit when he personally hasn't harmed you but you do know that he has harmed others its a lot. breaking the glasses was crazy holy crap plus he shot his dad last season? can he pretty please go to therapy now

wolfe was a funny fucking character this season. when he first showed up i loved him a lot ngl and i still do. but That's Wild is so hilariously bad. i understand him but that reaction is the funniest most chaotic thing ever. he literally went "damn thats crazy" and drove away LMAO that's so terrible. but! im glad the show didn't go "and now he deserves to die so we'll hate him into oblivion" because as immature as that reaction was, like ginny said, she does not think he's evil. i really liked him lol he was so chill the entire time, even when he knew he was an active rebound. he still hung around. he came back another day and was supportive of ginny. wolfe wasn't so bad guys <3 but for the love of god condom next time okay. glad he and ginny ended up chill in the end. though ginny did fr go through an emotional shit storm and he did not support her at all until later work on that

hate georgia being pregnant. bad. i dont like it. i don't care for it. please im so done with paul the show massacres paul in this season

obviously i still love joe it's joever fr. joe won't get the "i didn't put anything there that wasnt already a part of you" talk. georgia could probably stab him and he'd be like "hey that hurt! don't do that again please :(" and stay with her. my favourite thing about joe is that he is the sanest person on the show he is the most logical but also he is okay with georgia being a serial killer. he really went "shit. oh wow that's a lot of information. can we kiss now" yeah it's joever

no more paul randolph please. no paul randolph baby im on my knees begging

ok end of review it was just me loving joe as it should

p.s. padma <3 and also abby was mostly cool, netflix is obsessed with fairy smut apparently, mousse was really cool oh!

and marcus going to rehab. have fun king excited to see you in two years get better

ginny and georgia show dont make me wait so long cheers

[celestiallydesigned]

you know, now that i think about it, i think it’s very interesting that Sophie Nelisse interpreted travis saying “the slumber party make outs” as “Jackie kissing all the boys Shauna wanted to kiss”. i know she’s straight (and maybe she interprets things differently since she’s French-Canadian, like she could have interpreted the verbiage differently and i’m the one who’s wrong?), but wouldn’t the culture of sleepovers being girls only, especially back then, affect the way that sentence is perceived? because, to me, the phrase “slumber party make outs” implies that the makeouts were happening at the slumber party, which would negate the presence of boys. but maybe it could be interpreted as talking about making out at the sleepover instead of actually doing it? (but i think another layer to this is yes, travis is taunting shauna, but i took it as him taunting Shauna with the memory of Jackie rather than the memory of the boys Jackie kissed. and the reason being for that is travis says those are his favorite memories that he can hear, because with the stereotype of boys liking to see girls kiss, why else would he enjoy them so much if it WASN’T about two girls kissing?) (even though he probably made it up on the spot because Travis is definitely becoming one of the girls.) idk i just think it’s so cute that that didn’t cross her mind, with Shauna having a whole bisexual storyline and she still thought of it as Shauna being jealous of Jackie / potentially them talking about this as besties. she’s so precious 😭 but it also makes me wonder what she’s thinking in all of the scenes where we see Shauna yearning. like,,, does she think she’s yearning for something else? is she even intentionally yawning at all or did we all just assume she was because she has such soft puppy dog eyes? does Sophie portray Shauna as yearning to be Jackie/be like her rather than be with her? but then that wouldn’t explain the TaiVan joke about the clothes. (but i feel that would also still add to the experience of her being bisexual because Jackie being Shauna’s first girl crush and Shauna misinterpreting that as envy and awe feels very on brand) i desperately need a copy of her script, i wonder if she writes little notes. in conclusion, i’m not always Shauna’s biggest fan but i love Sophie and want to squish her and i have ultimately spent too much time thinking about something that other people have already analyzed and broken down

none of what i just said makes any sense at all but whatever

[purple--queen]

What is it with marvel always let their characters falling to their dead???

[regretismyconstantcompanion]

Albus stood very still as Harry spoke, not out of shock or discomfort, but in quiet respect for the honesty unfolding in front of him. He didn’t rush to interrupt, didn’t flinch at the confession, or the chaos behind it. When Harry finished—shoulders tense, head bowed, voice trailing off into the Highland wind—Albus waited a beat longer before answering. "Harry," he said gently, his tone as calm as ever, but lined now with unmistakable understanding, "shame thrives in silence, and it feeds on the idea that to feel something is to betray everything else you love. But feelings aren’t betrayals. They are signs that you are still trying to make sense of your place in the world—even this one, especially this one." He stepped forward just slightly, not imposing, simply present. "You didn’t plan this. You didn’t deceive anyone. You’ve been handed a disorienting truth in a world you didn’t expect to find. Of course you’re confused. Of course you’re overwhelmed. You came here expecting to see a version of me you had already mourned. And instead, you found someone different. Someone alive, and real, and close enough to the man you loved that it tore something open. That doesn’t make you unfaithful. It makes you human."

Albus’ expression softened, his eyes never leaving Harry’s. "You love someone else. That matters. And you owe her honesty, in time. But loving her doesn’t erase whatever this is. Nor does this erase her. Love is not a single thread—it’s a web. Complicated. Imperfect. And very rarely easy. You don’t have to decide what this feeling means today. But you do have to stop treating it as a sin. Attraction isn’t treason. It’s not the end of the world. It’s the beginning of a harder conversation with yourself. One you clearly have the courage to start."

Albus studied Harry for a moment longer, and something unspoken passed behind his eyes—curiosity, yes, but also something softer. He remembered, distantly, what it had felt like to be young and full of ideals, to love too much and too quietly. The mention of Gellert hadn’t gone unnoticed. Perhaps Harry had discovered more than just the facts. Perhaps he had seen what Albus had tried, for so long, to bury beneath titles and time. And perhaps... he had envied it. The idea that someone else had once known Albus’s heart in a way he had never offered to Harry. The thought stirred something bittersweet within him—he was flattered, in truth, and a little humbled by it. Not because Harry’s feelings were simple, but because they were real. And because they came from a place of longing that Albus, in his own quiet solitude, understood all too well. Albus offered a quiet, almost rueful smile, the kind that came from years of carrying emotions too heavy to name. "Attraction," he said softly, "is not the end of the world, Harry. It may feel that way now, when everything inside you is in conflict, but I promise you, it isn’t. It’s not a betrayal of who you are, or who you’ve loved. It’s not a sentence. It’s just a feeling. A moment. One that asks to be acknowledged, not punished." He let the silence breathe again, just for a moment. "You are allowed to feel drawn to someone. Even someone unexpected. Even someone inconvenient. That doesn’t undo the rest of you."

Albus Dumbledore was sitting on the couch, staring into the fireplace that was across from him. The crackling of the flames was the only sound breaking the silence in the cottage that was nestled in the Scottish Highlands. It was isolated, miles away from even the nearest village. He had chosen it for that very reason, desperate for solitude even if it wasn't something that had been forced upon him. He had lost the duel against Grindelwald. He had known that had always been a possibility. There were equals after all and had known each other painfully well. They had spent that summer duelling, friendly but pushing each others boundaries. They had grown and changed and become more powerful but their tendencies had lingered. The fight had lasted well over an hour but in the end, Gellert had just gotten the better of him and managed to disarm him and send him flying backwards. His only minor consolation was the fight had left them both panting and injured. But it had been clear who the winner was. There was no backing out of the agreement they had made. His time in Nurmengard had been brief. A chance to recover from the duel before Gellert gave him an ultimatum. He could remain free if he agreed to leave Hogwarts and retreat from the Wizarding World. Albus had already known he would leave the school, for certainly he had lost that right when he had failed his students and the Wizarding World as a whole. He had agreed, knowing Gellert wasn't giving him a choice and not agreeing would result in either his death or being imprisoned in Nurmengard forever or the deaths of those he cared about. And so here he was, over a year after the duel. Staring into the fire, sitting beside a cup of tea that had long gone cold. Books had been removed from the overflowing bookshelves, scattered around the room. Some had been read, some he hadn't even yet opened. Plain parchment piled up on the desk. Few knew where he was and so letters came rarely. He had picked some of the fruit and vegetables he grew in a small garden he tended to. Perhaps he would make some jams and chutneys if he could find the strength and motivation. It came sometimes, mixed in with the heavy weight of despair that seemed to fill his waking hours. He had failed. He had let down the wizarding world and now he banished just beyond the world he loved so much. He knew what was happening there, of course. He did his best to learn of Gellerts ongoing plans and rise to power. Without him there, there was nothing to stop him. He knew the few Ministries that still existed moved against him but it wouldn't take much for them to fall. Everything would be lost then and Albus knew he was powerless to stop it. @johamfated

[mossytrashcan]

is it considered “new” art if I just repost the gideon update that no one liked the first time

[begled]

Ok so yes of course gemma casey haunts the narrative because shes the entire reason it exists in the first place. shes not only in all of outie mark's actions but in everything mark s does as well because without her there is no mark s......... her absence created him. ok yes the viewer is also choking on her ghost there is nothing we can see through mark's eyes that doesnt have a gemma coloured filter Or Whatever Idonteven care its not even it doesnt matter to me affirmations

[kaos-living]

I want to write something where Neil, having about zero examples of a normal relationship with others, just goes full swing into the monsters dynamics, Im talking no hesitation. Cause the only person he really stuck with was Mary, and we all know how that went. So of course the monsters would be like that, how else are they supposed to make sure no one gets kidnapped by the mafia? Safety in numbers bitch

[kaiasky]

just me or is this article.... bad. even as an introduction for/advocacy for close reading?

Granted, 'here's how to do close reading' is a hard task given that the core flaw of close reading is that it's not a method, it's at best a style to imitate & a gesture at what ought to be analyzed. & i recognize that the article is giving that example in the form of his own close reading My Struggle and and a gesture at Mimesis. These are... odd choices, no? Like. Mimesis is doing comparative literature. The example given is

Rather, in the kind of inversion that has become routine in the humanities, but nevertheless in Auerbach’s hands still dazzles, “The concept of God held by the Jews is less a cause than a symptom of their manner of comprehending and representing things.”. ... We can learn about a people through its style, its literature, which bears an ineradicable record of its version of reality.

Now look, first off. Personally I would be really hesitant in 2025 to endorse "by reading the Bible against other works, we can come to understand the racialized mind of a people or ethnicity". But like--more crucially, it seems really odd to use a historical & comparative analysis as an example when you are simultaneously talking about the origins of close reading in New Criticism?

... Richards printed poems with their authors redacted, sent them home with his students, and asked them to produce commentary. They did, and their commentary, from these otherwise good students, was riddled with errors. Without the context of who wrote the poems or when, the students failed to make out the plain sense.

Like--there's a largely unacknowledged contradiction here about what close reading is! There's a huge swathe of literary criticism that would outright say that "the reader's surprise" or "Homer" or "the Jewish mind" have absolutely 0 place in a close reading of the text.

Again, not to say that Auerbach isn't doing a close reading, but if I was writing an introduction to close reading, I feel like I would choose something uncomplicated that highlighted the *method* of close reading. instead of the sweeping conclusion I found most profound. (of course, Sinykin isn't actually writing a guide to close reading here, he's sucking his own dick about how good he is at writing/reading & how profound close reading lets u be.)

Beyond that. Does Sinykin even believe the thing he wrote about "We can learn about a people through its style"? Because he ALSO says that close reading is non-virtuous and non-productive. It simply cannot be both--either close reading is a tool to understand the truth of texts, and through them, truth about material reality (this makes it incredibly useful and productive) OR it is a fun intellectual game to play with fríends (so you just said some antisemitic shit with zero fucking evidence, for fun).

But close reading is not just for academics, and it deserves a bigger audience. Not because it’s virtuous. Not because it makes us better people. (I know some great close readers who are real assholes.) But because it’s a thrilling way to think with others, to claw back some of the time taken from us daily by tech oligarchs (I have looked at Twitter impulsively several times while writing this pointedly long, difficult sentence), and relearn some of our capacity, atrophied into passivity by algorithms, for aesthetics, a term that arose in modernity to name a storehouse of values in dialectical opposition to those of capitalism: above all, treating texts as ends in themselves rather than as means to productive ends—treating them, that is, as art. 

look like. i get it right. oooh complicated sentence it will confuse people, they will slow down and pay attention to the actual words. they will, without even knowing it, be doing the start of a close reading.

if u were going to do this. u didn't need to point out that u were doing it. his fuckin dick is out & he's looking at u the reader sadly going won't anybody suck me or am I gonna have to do it myself?? 🥺. pathetic. deeply deeply embarrassing. I read this paragraph and realized that I needed to come here and spend an hour writing about how much I hate this stupid fucking essay.

if u needed to point it out u should have done it at the end. this is more clever arrangement of the terrible bit he's doing

world record champion for most unsupported assertions fit into a single paragraph of all time. does truth or evidence for ur claims matter?? evidently not

I rly don't relate to his description of "relearning our capacity for aesthetics". If I'm close reading something I already know how it sat with me as an aesthetic object. when I'm close reading it I'm interested in it as a technical object--at best I'm trying to understand why it hit me some way

again. fuck you

I think it's interesting to look at the presumed "bad reader" placed opposite the noble sports-star close-reader. Roughly: Somebody who reads the wrong books (perhaps even self-published ones!) in a familiar comfort-zone, for the plot instead of the beauty of the written word, enjoys it instead of being ~intellectually stimulated~. Oh look it's some stupid mishmash of old "genre fiction" stereotypes & "booktok" stereotypes.

This is, to be clear, pathetic. But it's also a hugely missed opportunity! Like look. It's fucking insane to say that genre lit fans are not paying attention to details. I do not think brandon sanderson fans are known for particularly insightful commentary but damn if they haven't scrutinized and theorized about every kind of what if A and B were mixed together. Is this close reading?? Or more interestingly--why do close reading instead/in addition?

You must acknowledge that its words are how they are for a reason, their placement is purposeful, thus meaningful. Every word is a clue.

There really is no shortage of 'reading for details' that i have no doubt Sinykin would not consider "close reading" that nonetheless follows this! powerscaling! finding 100% definitive proof of ur ship being canon! tvtropes! matpat voice "but thats just a theory...a LITERATURE theory."! cinemasins ding! finding every microaggression the author could plausibly be blamed for and taking them to task on twitter!

Or yknow... one particularly striking example--hey do u ever carefully look at each word and how they go together to determine if something is written by chatgpt? hey that might be an interes--

Every day, AI produces more of the words we come across, making it hard—maybe impossible—to care about reading them.

no, you dipshit, says Dan Sinykin. not only is it sososo important to know biographical details about the author to understand the text (it cannot stand on its own w/o the context surrounding its creation) (btw this method was invented by new critics). but fundamentally you CANNOT do a close reading of it.

If you're writing an article (ostensibly) advocating for everybody to practice close reading & some tips to get started. A baseline respect for ur presumed non-close-reader audience i think should compel you to at least address why you think close reading offers something to expand or improve the reading and interpretation they're already doing. That shouldn't be hard, since close reading IS great! Alright, Dan, knock it home!

Nunez, by publishing her cryptic novel, confesses her faith that readers persist, and that if fiction works it is thanks to those readers. Not just any readers, but those with faith, in turn, in art: close readers.

christ. i mean thats a thesis statement i woulda been embarrassed to turn in as a high schooler. this is the final demonstration of the vaunted power of the close reader!?! And putting aside the analysis of the book--as a conclusion to the article? Literally just fart-huffing praise for close-readers and lazy, incurious contempt for everybody else.

shoulda stuck to sports.

Close reading is untimely. It bristles against today’s universities, which treat students as customers to please and as future workers to train rather than as people in pursuit of human flourishing. Jeff Bezos’ empire—Amazon; Goodreads; Kindle Direct Publishing, which dominates the perfervid world of self-publishing—encourages readers to “talk about a book as if it were just another thing, like a dish, or a product like an electronic device.” Social media compels us to attend to what we’re seeing for as long as it takes to scroll by. Every day, AI produces more of the words we come across, making it hard—maybe impossible—to care about reading them. I’m sure there were college courses this semester where students completed their work with AI and professors graded it with AI, cutting humans from the loop. It’s easy to see why close reading, which demands patience, openness to others, and slow, careful thought, is having a moment among academics. (...)

How would you begin if you’ve never taken a literature course—or if it’s been a decade or three? You must acknowledge that its words are how they are for a reason, their placement is purposeful, thus meaningful. Every word is a clue. No skimming. You must (metaphorically) listen to the text: what is it trying to do—to you. You might start with a poem or a novel you’ve read before, one you’d like to understand better. You might already have hunches about what it’s about. These might be confirmed upon rereading, or pleasingly foiled. As you read, a line might hit you. You feel struck. You pause. Here’s where close reading happens. Hold up. Linger with that line. Read it again, a few more times. What gives it its force here in its immediate moment? Work out its power. Does it reveal something about the text’s project?

[fifthseraph]

There is never a moment where part of my mind is not Here

[prophetleodes]

was discussing this in the iliad community i'm in, but i think that agamemnon is rlly underrated and misrepresented as a character. i do understand why he is portrayed so negatively in so many modern adaptations, because a lot of his actions in the iliad have.... uh, not aged particularly well. certainly when i first read the iliad and approached it from a modern perspective i hated him, but now, i rlly like him as a character. like, yes, he does do bad things (the way he treated chryses was horrible), but i think a lot of his flaws can be put down to pride, and he's not the only character in the iliad to cause problems due to his pride

i do think that modern depictions of clytemnestra as an unproblematic 'girlboss' has led to agamemnon being portrayed as Just Plain Evil and. sigh. i can understand why ppl don't like him because of his treatment of chryseis and briseis, but you can't act like he's the only man in the iliad to be shit towards captive women. like, fundamentally, he is not a modern character, and should not be treated like a modern character. he only appears to be evil and horrible because you've taken him out of context

[dodofoge]

you bringing to life all the great little haikyuu text posts means everything to me thank you for your service

AHSHDHHSNSNDJSJ THAK YOU SM IT MEANS A LOT TO ME!!!! I love the text posts and love doodling for them!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alexdswfan]

Thank you so much for reading! 💗💗 Yeah, it’s just so wild to me that Hange hate is still happening and we’re in 2025. Personally, Hange is my favourite commander and the reason for that is precisely because of how they navigated the entire geopolitical tensions leading up to the Rumbling. That Hange was trying not to start a genocide does not make them a “lesser” commander as some people like to claim. They were incredibly suited for the role, but they doubted themself a lot, constantly comparing themself to Erwin which is totally understandable as to why they even had such doubts, but that doesn’t make them less competent than Erwin, it only makes them different from him, which is completely valid. When Levi says that no one could ever replace Erwin, he’s right because no one could ever replace Hange either. So it always annoys me when people try to use that sentence to somehow prove Erwin was a better commander or a “more valuable” commander because what Levi is expressing is simply Erwin’s uniqueness that no one can replicate because there’s only 1 Erwin like there’s only 1 Hange, with different commanding styles, neither better or worse in terms of commanders. That Hange is my favourite is my own personal taste.

And yeah, some people in this fandom try so hard to dismiss Hange’s importance in Levi’s life that it’s almost comical. How dare Levi care about other people who are not Erwin and how dare Hange save his life. But because these people know saving one’s life is a huge deal, they try to twist it into telling us that Hange actually didn’t mean what they did, that they only saved Levi because “they had to”. And while it’s true Hange would’ve come to any soldier’s aid regardless of who they were, that soldier Had to be Levi to make sense narratively speaking. Something these people hate with all their being which is why they spew things like “Hange was not even Levi’s friend”. Because they hate how important Hange is to Levi like any other character for that matter.

Anyway, I’m sorry if this reblog was a bit long lolol, and thanks again for your comment!

The importance of Hange's character in AoT and in Levi's story

This is a rant of mine that I've always wanted to express since I entered the AoT fandom, because the fact that an argument like this can be made where the fandom questions Hange's importance in the story, a character integral to the story and part of the most important side characters, has never sat well with me, especially for someone like me who has Hange Zoë as one of their all-time favourite characters not only from AoT, but from any media ever. The fact that Hange receives such claims from the fandom while other important characters, like Levi or Erwin for example, are not subjected to these sorts of claims, has always rubbed me the wrong way. I never really understood why these claims even exist in the first place and target Hange specifically, but perhaps sometimes there's no explanation to these things. I do want to specify that Hange has slowly gained in popularity especially after the release of season 4 as compared to previous years when Hange hate was definitely more prevalent in the fandom than nowadays.

But with that being said, this claim is unfortunately never truly gone from the fandom, and despite the fact things have improved, it's always relevant to remind the fandom why Hange is important to the story and cannot be so easily erased from it. Maybe for some people, this post won't make a lot of sense as to why it even exists since they already know Hange is an important part of AoT, but I still feel I need to enumerate in greater detail why Hange IS important to AoT's story AND to Levi's narrative as this fandom often times seems to overlook this fact as seen by this reply I've received to a comment I made stating both Hange and Erwin are equally important to Levi. (I might be annoying with this, but it’s something I cannot slide easily. In the end I decided to show the full reply just so you could see for yourselves the extent of some people’s delusions when one is too engrossed in their favourite relationship and fails to recognize the importance of others, which is why they had no problem saying Hange could be erased from the story.)

There are many incorrect facts in this reply and I won't go through all of them as some are very shippy-biased and many blogs out here have already discussed and debated these claims in full (like the Ackerbond which has been debunked by the manga countless times or again the infamous take that Levi chose Erwin over humanity), but I'll counter-argument the idea that "you can take away Hange from Levi's story and it doesn't change anything", going further to explain why it's impossible to erase Hange from the story and from Levi's narrative from the manga's perspective.

(Before I do that though, just want to share a newest reply I received after I called out someone still spewing the same old argument that Levi doesn’t like Hange because Hange is unhygienic and this is how they answer me:)

(To imply Levi and Hange are not even friends, or that Isayama showed that Hange means nothing to Levi, is mind-boggling to me. As you can see, the hate Hange receives from this fandom is unfortunately still relevant.)

Hange's importance to the AoT plot

The first reason why Hange is essential to the story is through the intellect they're showcasing which helps the entire cast to devise plans out of their discoveries or theories that happen to be correct. This intellect actually helps the plot moving forward. One of the best examples of such importance is shown in chapter 37, Southwestward. Hange is the one to prove the walls are made of hardened Titan skin like Annie produced and the idea to use Eren's Titan later to seal the wall in Shiganshina, which is the whole purpose of the second part of season 3 in the anime, comes from Hange. Although Armin also speculated on the fact the walls are made of hardened Titan skin (in chapter 34), Hange is the one to scientifically prove it. Without this important discovery, the whole mission to go to Shiganshina to seal the wall and the reason Eren needs to train his Titan to harden his body later in the story wouldn't have been possible. The rest of the story leading up to the expedition in Shiganshina is shaped around that single discovery made by Hange. Without their scientific approach and their deduction skills, the plot would've come to a halt. Here are panels from chapter 37 showing how that important discovery was made and how Hange (and Armin to a certain degree) exposed their findings to the rest of their teammates in the cart.

Hange is also essential to Erwin's strategic plans. Both Armin and Hange are, but I'll concentrate more in this post on how Hange's theories and ideas are what fuel Erwin's own plans. The example with the discovery of the hardened Titan skin is definitely one of them, as he then plans an entire expedition in order to let Eren use his Titan abilities to seal the hole in wall Maria which will also lead to his own death. Another example where we see how Erwin plans around Hange's theories is in chapter 28, Choices and Consequences. This is after Annie summons other Titans to eat her Titan form in the forest and Erwin orders Levi to replenish his gas and blades. Erwin reveals later to Hange since Hange asks him why he told Levi to do that as they're all in a hurry, and he says he was inspired by one of Hange's theories when they theorized for the Colossal Titan's disappearance someone with ODM gear could've escaped using steam as cover, even though Hange didn't believe in the theory anymore due to Eren's state when he emerged from his own Titan the first time. However, Erwin keeps that idea by theorizing Annie could have done it unlike Eren, which he happens to be right. By giving Levi that order, he knows Levi shouldn't meet with her since Annie goes straight for Eren and Levi's squad as we all know how the story goes. Therefore, without Hange, his strategies wouldn't be as efficient, which is why Hange is not only essential to him but to the plot as a whole. These are the panels showing how Erwin was inspired by Hange's idea to make this plan on the spot.

Not only Erwin respects Hange's theories, but Levi can also be seen respecting Hange's theories multiple times throughout the story, and not only respecting but actually acting on them and basing his own plans around them. One example of this is in chapter 62, Sin, where Hange explains why they find Rod Reiss' testimony suspicious about the destruction of the chapel in which his entire family was killed (we find later by Grisha). That pushes Levi to accept investigating the chapel since he remains the head of the 104th even if Hange joined their group, swayed by Hange's arguments, and this is how the group later finds Eren and Historia. Here is the panel clearly showing Levi following Hange's lead.

Another example where we see Levi clearly be inspired by Hange's theories to act is in chapter 133, Sinners. After the Alliance processes Hange's sacrifice and pitches ideas for how to stop Eren, Levi proposes killing Zeke as one of the ways to stop the Rumbling, inspired by Hange's hypothesis. This then adds a new reason as to why Levi wants to kill Zeke (and not only for Erwin as some people might want to believe), but also to save humanity, guided by Hange's reasoning. And we see later that killing Zeke does stop the Rumbling, at least temporarily, but enough for the Alliance to think of another plan. Hange is then essential to the Alliance even after their death through Levi remembering their sharp intellect.

Related to how Levi acts on Hange's theories, he also praises Hange's leadership skills, like we can see in chapter 52, Krista Lenz, where the Survey Corps are into hiding to help Eren improve his Titan hardening skills. There's a moment when Hange hesitates on the next course of action, but Levi brings the determination Hange needed to fight back by laying out what options they have left. When Levi then compares Hange's answer to something Erwin might have said, he is recognizing the same leadership skills needed to be a commander that Erwin possesses in Hange, which not only is a sort of foreshadowing for what's to come in Hange's storyline, but it shows how both Levi and Erwin see Hange fit to be the next Commander (Erwin naming them as his successor later in the story is proof of Erwin's own trust in Hange's skills). Therefore, this means that the Survey Corps are in good hands regardless of what might happen to Erwin in the future, and we can see later how both were right (despite some people in the fandom criticizing Hange's commanding skills or actions later in season 4, how it's "their actions that led to Eren activating the Rumbling" as that framing is flawed but I'm overlooking that for now).

Hange is also essential for being the mastermind behind the thunder spears, helped by the engineers, weapons that can fight against the Armoured Titan and that will later be the weapons of choice for the Scouts (except Levi because he is a boomer until he does use them and yeah, that doesn't go well for him. Poor Levi :( ) So without Hange, no thunder spears, which wouldn't have gotten the Survey Corps as far as they've come. Here is the panel where we see Hange present the weapon to the rest of the Survey Corps from chapter 76, The Thunder Spears.

It’s thanks to Hange’s sacrifice the Alliance can keep going and the plane can take off with the rest of the Alliance. Despite this still being debated in the fandom, whether Hange's sacrifice was truly needed and whether they killed enough Titans to allow the Alliance to take off, the narrative is definitely framing it as necessary, and that without Hange's intervention in chapter 132, the plane could not have taken off. So Hange is essential for the survival of the rest of the Alliance.

Hange is the one who created the Alliance that can retaliate against Eren. They're the one to bring everyone together, from the Paradis side to the Marley side, which is no easy feat considering the historical tensions and divides between the two nations. But Hange is the main instigator, which makes them incredibly important for the existence of the Alliance in the first place. This panel from chapter 126, Pride, perfectly shows how Hange is the one to approach Pieck and Magath to create an alliance with them and Levi, followed later on by the 104th, Gabi, Falco, Annie, Reiner, Onyankopon and Yelena.

This is another reason why Hange is essential to the story, maybe overlooked but incredibly important, and maybe more so in our current times. Hange is the only character who says overtly “genocide is wrong”, and despite the Alliance definitely agreeing with them as well on that, I think it's important to be said explicitly since people still misunderstand this sentence even when stated explicitly. I've seen some people in the fandom say that what Hange said isn't nuanced or is too "simplistic", but the truth is that genocide is among one of the very few things in life that are actually very black and white. There's no grey area when it comes to genocide, no nuance, no "good reason" that can justify it, no historical trauma that can justify mass exterminations like Eren's or the ones we see nowadays in certain corners of the world. It IS wrong. Case closed. Therefore, Hange's statement is crucial, but more so, they're not afraid to call out their own people (in this case Eren) committing war crimes, even if it's painful or uncomfortable, something that for some reason is still incredibly hard to do even in real life. And Eren isn't just "another Paradis Eldian" to Hange or the Paradis side of the Alliance: Hange and Levi see in Eren something deeper than a mere subordinate (and I know the fandom likes to joke about how Levi and Hange are like the parents of the 104th, but pretty much) while the rest of the 104th with Mikasa and Armin mostly see him as their closest friend, making the heartbreak at having to fight him even more tragic. So that Hange is able to hold Eren accountable after everything he represents to them because genocide is just that wrong and horrific is incredibly strong and courageous, and absolutely necessary. We should definitely take example from Hange's moral clarity as well. Here are the panels in chapter 127, Night of The End, where Hange clearly expresses that genocide is wrong to Jean and Mikasa and then later during the stew scene in the forest where they tell Magath that no one wants a genocide.

Hange’s clear statement about genocide also completely invalidates the criticism AoT sometimes receives for “endorsing genocide or fascism”. The narrative is not neutral: it clearly supports the Alliance and sees them as the right side, so Isayama was not subtle about the message that the Rumbling is wrong. But again, who truly remembers Hange saying that? This is why Hange is essential to the plot and their statements should be remembered more often by the fandom or else people risk misinterpreting the core message of the story.

Also, can we appreciate how insane Hange is for saying that (still from chapter 127):

I think a lot more people should remember Hange's words here instead of using ancient history to justify war crimes. Their moral clarity is spot on (and hats off to Isayama for writing that).

Hange's importance to Levi's narrative

Alright, so you’ve probably all seen me come with this, which is the most straightforward and simple reason to explain why Hange can't be erased from Levi's story, and it's that they save his life after Zeke exploded the cart in which he was too with the thunder spear. Pretty self explanatory, and here is the panel from chapter 115, Support, that clearly shows how Hange is trying to save Levi by lying to Floch so the Yeagerists wouldn't shoot him on the spot.

I'm going on a little tangent here because there's something I want to discuss about what Hange saving Levi means in terms of queer theory. This is obviously an interpretation I have of the scene, so I'm not stating Isayama necessarily intended to add a deeper meaning to this scene except only to show the culmination of Levi and Hange's own theme of mutual care, but I've noticed something about this scene that I find interesting. So, Hange's character as a concept is inherently queer due to their gender ambiguity. I'm not here saying Hange as a person is necessarily queer or that Isayama wanted necessarily to make Hange queer, but that ambiguity makes the concept of their character pretty queer. So it's interesting to see a character like them representing queer concepts about gender save a masculine character that on the other hand represents healthy masculinity: Levi emulates that masculinity through his compassion and empathy and desire to protect others, which is what masculinity actually should be about. To see a masculine character who usually is the one doing all the saving be now saved by a character without a conventional gender subverts the traditional trope of the male character saving others. Not only is he shown in an extremely vulnerable position, but someone else, neither really male or female, ambiguous really, protects him now, which is in my opinion a very interesting interpretation of this scene since it plays with gender roles. What is expected of Levi as the male character is now pushed onto Hange who doesn't have a clear gender, which makes the scene even more compelling from that perspective.

But Hange saving Levi's life is not the only reason why Hange is important to Levi. This reason is too obvious and easy to find and I want to go deeper than that as the person from the start of this post believing Hange could be erased from the story was not considering this reason as very important as seen by the reply below.

So why Hange IS emotionally important to Levi since apparently for some people, saving one's life is regarded as unimportant to someone's narrative? I will show how Hange is important to Levi beyond the trifling matter of saving his life (let me be sarcastic for a moment here lolol) and how this fandom time and time again struggles to truly understand the relationship between Levi and Hange, which is actually quite interesting, because I think Levi and Hange have one of the most straightforward relationships to follow in the story, and yet, some people still manage to misunderstand it.

Hange is emotionally important to Levi since Levi would've been a lot more depressed in the Survey Corps had Hange not been around. He would've been a lot more misunderstood by the people around him without no one to make poop jokes with or to give into his snarky comments, and Erwin cannot replace Hange here as he would've been more distant as the Commander and also in relation to his own dream and struggles around it. Levi needs someone like Hange to act as his "partner in crime" or the Survey Corps' experience for Levi wouldn't have been the same, and that is as important as any story narrative since it would've shaped Levi differently if Hange wasn't around him. I'll link my previous metas about Levi and Hange's communication skills and how Hange treated Levi when he first entered the Survey Corps for more explanation on why Hange is so important to Levi as I've gone into more details in those specific posts. But if I can resume rather quickly, it's because Hange cares for Levi exactly like he cares for them back and for the rest of the AoT cast for that matter, and Hange is among the very few who can perfectly understand his world view. Therefore, Hange cannot be erased from Levi's narrative due to this strong closeness they share together, no matter how hard some people in this fandom wish they could.

There are probably a lot more reasons why Hange is important to the story, but these are the ones I could think of. This post also doesn't cover fully how Hange is important to Erwin even if I showed it a bit, or to Moblit, or to the 104th, or to their own squad, but I wanted mostly to answer the claim of how Hange is meaningless to Levi since that was the topic discussed with that other fan, and this post would've been a lot longer than it already is. I wanted to make a post like that to counter-attack this claim that can't be more wrong and disrespectful to Hange's character and what they represent and to their fans, with the hope that perhaps I won't have to see it anymore circulate among the fandom. I know this is naive as claims like these always persist, and people who strongly believe Hange is not important to the story will continue to cling to that belief, but I'll try to end this already very long post on a more optimistic and positive note: this claim is slowly declining in the fandom like I've stated at the start of this post, especially after the release of season 4, which can only be celebrated. I also hope that with this post, the fandom can cherish Hange a little bit more and remember why they're such an incredible and amazing character to the story, to Levi and to other AoT characters, and to stop spreading this claim that they can be erased once and for all. If Isayama made Hange, it's because they serve a purpose in his story, and to state otherwise is to misunderstand that purpose in the first place.

[meowsticmarvels]

the dehumanization and infantilization of the players in squid game makes me insane. they're all assigned numbers and only referred to by staff as that. they aren't people, just numbers. gi-hun says that they treat the players like horses to bet on (and they do!). the trackers in their skin. the way all the games are inspired by games for children; all of the competitors are grown adults. the tracksuits that look like school sportswear. even simple, accidental, human mistakes are punished. they aren't meant to be seen as human. they're just players of a game, in the eyes of the creators.