#I DIDN'T KNOW WUT TO DO FOR HIM

[scri--bble]

Geno won the 12th poll >:3

[zoe-oneesama]

I wonder what change would've you make Gabriel if he was an actual effective sympathetic villain the show seem to think instead of the pathetic display of canon. On the other note, what would've you make to actually have Emilie be this saint like character the show keep saying she is

To start, there'd have to be lines that Gabriel just *wouldn't* cross. No akumas that target his son, for starters, no "Chat Blanc" scenario where he finds out Chat's identity and then beats the shit out of him, and no making ridiculous decisions for Adrien like deciding his girlfriend.

Season 5 Gabriel cannot exist, it was actually inSANE of the writer's to put the worst version of him on display...and then play him off as the hero. Like, wut? WHAT?!

I fully admit that in the earlier seasons, I didn't consider Gabriel an abuser. I considered him a dick, but abuser felt too...top shelf of a word to use, though I also contend that his behavior felt like the starting signs. Mostly I just considered him pathetic and like Kids Tv Exaggerated Version of a Strict Parent.

But Season 5??? Uh, yeah, no discussion, this guy is an abusive dickbag and can burn in hell.

Just make it so the reason Hawkmoth fails as often as he does is because sometimes he holds back. Sometimes he gets close to the line and remembers his wife and just can't make himself do something SO heinous that his wife would be disappointed.

As for ACTUALLY selling the Emilie is a Saint Mom, it's super easy. Just have flashbacks. Where she's interacting with her husband and child and sorta not girlfriend? Like, they revealed these video recordings of Emilie in SEASON 5! It took FIVE SEASONS for us to hear Emilie's voice from Emilie herself! (Amelie doesn't count)

And, uh, maybe as a writer think about what you're implying with the things you include in your story. Like, maybe EITHER have Adrien not ever have a birthday party OR have his mom missing for only a year, so it doesn't seem like Emilie *also* didn't care about his birthday. Just, you know. Little things like that that don't accidentally inform us of her character.

[evilminji]

I think I figured it out?

My favorite thing to do with Danny? And the Zone in General?

Is to just... zoom out a bit, maybe move stage left, leave the trouble and (most of the) dramatics of his teen years behind and just? Discover that not all of Death is War. Not every Obsession is violence.

Sometimes it's owning a fancy little soaps shop. Or that PERFECT garden of their dreams, where they can share with EVERYBODY, that they could never manage in life. Maybe it's the universe biggest Comics library.

Yeah, when you can't die and pain is kinda subjective, a good ol fashioned brawl IS the best way to communicate. Fist to Fist, ecto to ecto, come out the otherside understanding each other a bit better. But like?

.....you could ALSO just use your damn words, you know? Maybe some of us don't WANT to fight.

The freedom to Do Anything? Means a good chunk of us will say "Nah, we good". And move on to do other, non-violent things! Not every Area of the Zone is the SAME you know. It's like countries. Or, well, Galaxies? Since it IS far more spread out then any country will ever be.

It's why Danny probably didn't notice. Thought his area was all there is. It's the standard "my neighborhood is the default. Normal for everywhere" mindset that people unknowingly tend to have before they travel much. It's not like he had any chance to learn otherwise.

He had school in the morning. Had to stick close in case a fight broke out. How FAR could he truely travel? The end of the metaphorical street? The next block over? The Far Frozen alone was pushing it!

But then! He defeats the Tyrant of his Area of the Zone. And it's like a map filling in, in the back of his head. Perfect outline of what's "his" and "not his". And??? Wait, wut?

Why is he not surprised the Observants fuckin Lied? Pariah wasn't King Of Everything! He was king of... *head starts to violently hurt as he tries to grasp the scale of things* ow, Ow, OW! Bad idea! BAD IDEA!!! A chunk? Yeah, big chunk! Let's go with that!

It was APPARENTLY like saying "ruler of the known world". Other countries very much still existed, just APPARENTLY didn't count. Good to know! AFTER THE FACT.

At least HIS territory likes the "Wooooo! Anarchyyyyyy!" Goverment model. Frees him up to do other shit. He can come back to it LATER. But FIRST? :) Get? :) The FUCK :) Off his lawn! :) *kicks everyone back through the portal* *closes it* AND STAY INSIDE THE ZONE!

Abuse of power? Sorry, he can't hear you over his magically recovering sleep schedule and GPA. The fact he might ACTUALLY graduate. His new favorite past time of watch the GIW slowly losing both their funding AND minds. Mmmmmm~ relaxing!

He graduates.

He is the son of crazy people with a shit GPA. His parents may have finally come around on ghosts, started over on their research... with a frankly ALARMING enthusiasm, but? You can't undo decades of damage. The Fenton name is untouchable.

He applies anyway.

Goes ghost for the first time in over a year.

Is... bigger. Starlight and ice. Royal. It feels right, settled in a way. More HIM then his skin could ever hope to be. He notes it, but doesn't linger. Decides to find out what's OUTSIDE "his" territory.

And...

Huh.

The answer depends?

In one direction? An endless battle. From horizen to horizon, like shooting stars. Crashing and smashing, weapons clanging and ringing. Mad blood stained grins. Worthy opponents. A challenge that goes on forevermore.

He...backs away slowly.

Going sorta, up-ish? Leads to a weirdly muted stillness. Muffled. He can't find anybody. But the doors here are pretty... worn. He doesn't want to keep pushing.

Finally, he tries at an angle to the right. And? Spots a patrol? They look nervous to see him, but hold their ground. He asks what's in this direction. Is polite. They look incredibly relieved.

Which is how Danny? Learns about the SINGLE BEST thing ever. The thing I actively fantasize about. Long for. And gift to him because I can.

Floating island cities FULL of highly specific little shops and passion pursuits. All for damn near free, because they are mostly doing it for THEM and you just happen to be there. The islands go one for days in every direction. Overflow with color and sound and the flash of ghosts flying too and frow.

Stunned, Danny, jaw on the floor. Wanders the streets.

Finds a space themed shop and feels his eyes dilate like a cat. Mine ™. He gets a book on "First Astronaut's of their Species" and some BESPOKE space meme socks. Looks around. Decides that this? This is where his doing ALL his shopping from now on.

He's pretty sure he sees a shop dedicated solely to canned food from across the Multiverse.

There is a sale on corn(non radioactive), apparently.

He tells EVERYBODY. Well, Fenton and friends "everybody". But you get the idea! The shopping trip they organize? Is legendary. His Father finds a Fudge shop and probably scares the local ghost population with his mad Fudge Glee cackling. Mom found a weapon smith. And an old fashion lace maker. Jazz? Lost to the world of intergalactic boy bands and psychology textbooks.

Tucker made a running slide straight for the nearest tech shop. Then the butcher. And Sam?

........m....maybe if he doesn't ask? He can claim plausible deniability?

@hdgnj @legitimatesatanspawn @hypewinter @lolottes @nerdpoe

[fuxuannie]

↳ pairing : miles morales x reader

↳ synopsis : shenanigans with your favorite classmate :) (maybe even a secret crush)

↳ authors note : i'm rlly trying to expand through fandoms, plzzz don't leave i promise i still write hsrr ;o; !!!!! i'm gonna be on a LONG atsv brainrot plz <\3 wuts a proof-read idk what that iz (/j)

MILES MORALES was the new student two years ago, some people thought he was an oddball since the first day encounter with his dad.. but you didn't really mind it honestly. You had much more important matters to attend to, like not listening to gossip.

After learning he was in some of your classes, you decided to try and get to know the guy. He seemed pretty cool, and you never passed an opportunity to know someone new.

"Morales, right?" Miles hears from behind him, it's currently lunch and so he turns his head to see you standing there with a tray in hand. "Mind if I sit with you?"

Since that day, you two hit it off like crazy, with sharing interests and hobbies it wasn't hard to talk every single day and run out of things to talk about.

"So, my Uncle Aaron took me to this crazy place like 2 years ago maybe? But yeah, it's where I did one of my first graffiti art." He explained, leading you through the dark traintracks while holding your wrist so you don't lose him in the darkness. "Sounds cool! Is it the same one that you used in your essay?"

You listen to the echo of his laughter. "Yeah, it is.. He was a great man, made me who I am today."

The way he talks fondly about his Uncle makes your heart sting a little. Though you were never able to meet him yourself, the way Miles talked about him to you made it clear he was a man who loved his nephew like he was his own son, and it was like you could emphasize with his pain of losing him.

However your thoughts are interrupted at the loud sound of a light switch turning on, illuminating the room and different graffiti art drawn on the walls. Miles laughs at your breathless expression, admiring the way your eyes seemed to glow at the art all around you.

"Heeey, look at that!" You chuckled, pointing at the 'Expectations' graffiti you brought up earlier. "You were so much shorter back then.." And Miles rolled his eyes at that comment, knowing that you were referring to the silhouette on the wall. "Very funny."

Then you realize theres a section of the wall thats covered with cloth, and he notices how you take notice of it. Miles immediately clears his throat, puts a hand behind his neck and looks at the ground. "Oh, uh.. that's a work in progress. I wouldn't want you to see i-"

Suddenly his spidey-senses go off, the second he looks up he already sees you right infront of the wall and about to touch the cover. "(name)!"

Pulling it off, it reveals a wall full of.. you? You were surprised that the details were down almost perfectly, your nose shape, your eyes and your smile. It was all so perfectly done that in a way it could either be flattering or a tiny bit creepy.

Of course, Miles being your best friend, you may or may not sketch or write about him every now and then (or rather all the time) depending on which one you felt like doing, but he didn't have to know that.

"I'm.. honored?" You laugh, looking back at your poor friend whos pulled his hoodie over his head and his hands covering his face. "Oh, come on! It's not that embarassing- And it looks good I promise!" You tried to reassure him, but the boy has no intentions on budging.

"I forgot I had that." Miles mumbled to himself, ignoring how you pull on his arm to try and get him to show himself.

At some point you've given up, and let the guy wallow in his own embarassment for a while. Your attention shifts back onto the art wall, seeing the several doodles and actual art pieces that you can only assume Miles was working on for the past 2 years you two were friends.

The much smaller doodles were your favorites, ones where he made you a tiny little creature were the cutest ones, and at some point you noticed how so many of them involved.. him. He drew tiny moments of you and him holding hands, going on walks, sharing earphones and little cliche date stuff.

You were about to say something, but are stopped at the realization Miles was right next to you while his eyes never seemed to break contact from yours. "Miles?" You say in almost a whisper, seeing how focused his gaze was on you.

"I mean, we're both smart enough to realize it.. right?"

The urge to play dumb was strong, it really was, but Miles could see through you like he was staring at glass. That's how well he knew you, and how transparent you were with him.

"And maybe I'm stupid enough to make up delusions in my head but.. do you.. feel the same?"

The question leaves you stunned, stammering to find an answer, but the serious facade Miles kept up melts at your nervous reaction. He begins to laugh, digging through his pockets and pulls out a paper you recognize all too well, it had to be either a drawing or a poem you had written for Miles and considering one of your recent ones going missing.. if what he had in his hands was that one, it gave him more than an answer.

That realization makes you gasp, and Miles' laughter only grows stronger as you've now realized what's happening in its full extent. Miles liked you, and he knew you liked him too.

"You cheeky-" You try to grab the paper from his hands, but the tall piece of shit tip-toe's just to make sure you couldn't grab it. "Whaat? What am I, hm?" He'll playfully taunt at you, still unable to control his smile as he knows that deep down you enjoyed this banter just as much as he did.

You two continue to playfully argue for a while, laughter echoing throughout the abandoned area as hours passed on and on. The talk about either ones feelings never came to light, but you two were content with the moment, and in another time you'd talk about the confusing thing that is the feelings you both mutually share.

You had all the time in the world, right? Miles Morales wasn't going anywhere.

[phoenixyfriend]

Remember my post about Anakin pulling a Mike Murdock? Yeah, no, I have a full on AU concept now (with contributions by @threebea! indented)!

He lies so hard about having a brother that the universe invents a twin from scratch for him. It happens when Anakin is like twelve.

Anakin was just committing to the bit on a mission because he was bored.

The Force was also bored.

Oh no Anakin force manifests a sibling Obi-Wan: …That's not how the Force works. Anakin: You tell the Force that. Obi-Wan: Well, I suppose this would be your half-brother since the Force is your shared parent. Obi-Wan after the initial shock: This might as well happen.

New brother is better at some things and worse at others, as any person is. Anakin is, naturally, a fucking mess about all that, worries he'll be replaced, etc.

Obi-Wan just brings this to the Council and nobody can DENY this Skywalker from the Jedi after they already took the first one. So. Mace volunteers.

This Skywalker is a bit more Force than Anakin, got glowing eyes and visions and the Animal Communion buff. But is worse at flying, worse at tech, and unfathomably worse at people. Which is a FEAT, since Anakin's not too hot at social skills in the first place.

Mace has his hands full in many ways, including "keep this child from walking face first into the wall."

Obi-Wan: We are not calling him Anagain.

Anakin had many mixed feelings but! If he's going to have family then he's going to commit!

The other option is that the brother is younger by enough that the Older Brother instincts kick in, but I think the one-sided twin rivalry is funnier.

Anakin: I'm a big brother now. Anagain: I think we're supposed to be twins. Anakin: I have more worldly experience. Anagain: I'm taller. Anakin: wut Anagain: alpha twin alpha twin (that's his nickname until you come up with actual name lol) Obi-Wan: Well, I'm taller than both of you, and while that is the case you both need to listen to me. Anagain: (flash of foresight) So, not for long Obi-Wan: What? Anagain: Nothing. Mace: (the Shatterpoints are blinding) Yeah, I'll be taking this one. More seriously tho, Anakin definitely torn between what if everyone likes him better he's born from the force what if he's the chosen one what if and also: I have a brother I have family I need to take care of him. Probably some fun twin force bond too. Oh man Sheev after digesting all of that would definitely try to get some jealousy going.

Anakin talks about the new brother with terms like Freshly Hatched and Innocent Baby and it's mostly a joke except that now HE thinks Palps is a creep when it's aimed at Not Him.

Palpatine: When do I get to meet him? Anakin: [absolutely not] Mace won't let him [Yeah that'll work] Mace: Yeah, absolutely not, he didn't help save Naboo there's no reason for my Padawan to have a relationship with the Supreme Chancellor

I've decided to call the brother Aion (EY-yon). I like the whole thing about Anakin's name being based on Ananke, even if it's a disputed thing, so I go for Greek myth when doing alt names for siblings.

Mace still bitter about having to let Palps get time with Anakin not about to do the same if he can help it. Although that comic takes place later eh (handwaves) still The Jedi might try to be hush hush about where aion came from anyway since he would fall directly under Jedi business

Help I'm imagining Mace and Obi-Wan on a walk and the twins are on child leashes. Anakin because ADHD will have him trying to run off to look at something. And Aion because he's going to be so distracted by visions that he will walk into traffic.

"Can we send a letter to mom so she knows he exists?" The other thought was ANAKIN holding the child leash for Aion, and then Obi-Wan or Mace holding the one for Anakin. Lil chain.

Aion: Hey… I know I've only existed for a few months, and yes my memories of before are sort of built by the Force, but I'm pretty sure the Supreme Chancellor is evil. Mace: You saw that in a vision? Aion: No, he's just super creepy. Bad vibes.

Obi-Wan: Of course he's evil, he's a career politician. Anakin: What about your friend from Alderaan? Obi-Wan: That's different.

One of these boys is constantly zoning out. The other is smiling, but the smile contains murder.

They're both adhd but with wildly different sides of it.

EXACTLY

Also.

Aion: [silent, a bit upset but mostly chill] Anakin, holding his hand: He asked for no pickles!

[respectthepetty]

As if My Stand-In wasn't rude enough, remember that poster of Ming new Joe first saw when he was leaving the hospital?

It's the same shirt Ming was wearing when he broke Joe's heart.

And remember when I wrote Joe had core strength because he was lifting Ming's shirt up with his mouth since his hands were tied behind his back?

He is wearing the same hoodie in episode four's preview, which means Ming is probably going to do some real stupid shit for Tong.

Remember those ridiculous pillowcases Joe bought?

How could we ever forget them?!

They are laying on each other's in this scene. Ming is on Joe's and Joe is on Ming's.

But Ming takes his when Wut shows up.

Oh, and in the trailer, Joe is laying on his.

And Ming is leaning on his.

And they are clearly in Joe's house because the picture on the nightstand is the same as the first time they had sex.

But . . .

On the very first night they tried to have sex, Ming was wearing white pants and Joe had on these yellow-ish boxers.

And in the trailer they are wearing the same outfits, YET we didn't get THIS scene in the first episode.

BUT . . . those damn matching pillows are on the couch.

They normally are on the couch AFTER JOE BOUGHT THEM!

So that scene from the trailer isn't their first night together. It's later! But how much later? Because these bowls show up in odd places too.

You know, the green and gold bowls Joe bought before Ming broke his heart?

The ones they ate off of like a cute couple when Wut brought them food?

Yeah, the bowl is behind Joe in this scene from the trailer.

And that shirt is the same shirt under this jacket from this scene in the trailer.

Ming is also wearing the blue watch in this scene.

And we know Ming had that suit in the past because it was hanging in his closet.

And we know the fight continues to the house because of this promo picture.

Which would make sense why Ming is sitting there all sad with the green and gold bowls waiting for Joe to return.

BUT . . . why would they be kissing by the gold and green bowls if they are breaking up in episode four and Joe is about to die?

So either Ming wakes up, Joe says nothing, Ming puts in a great effort to cook and sex up his man, only to fuck him over for Tong which leads to them fighting in the street and death.

Or Ming is still living in Joe's house in the future with their green and gold bowls and king of heart pillowcases and we will see those two scenes later.

Or Ming could eff over Joe and still be living in his house two years later since this is the same guy who broke a man's heart in a blue and red striped shirt and wore that same exact shirt a year and a half later when he started working for the same company his ex worked for.

Which is something he never had an interest in.

So to recap, Ming is possibly a sentimental asshole who has been holding onto meaningful items and conversations from his relationship for the past two years and he is acting because he no longer wants to be himself since he doesn't have Joe.

Cool beans!

[rey-jake-therapist]

Okay, I cooled down, watched the episode again and... cooled down because I was pissed off again, mostly at the terrible lines that came out of Galadriel's mouth during that fight... "Do you want to heal me?" (that was so random lol), "the free people of Middle Earth will always resist you" (cringe intensifies), "You want to heal Middle Earth... Heal yourself !" (Peak cringe).

I already ranted about all the things I didn't like in other posts, I didn't change my mind a bit, so I will focus on what else I liked, especially after rewatching.

There are moments of the Haladriel fight I really enjoyed. Starting with this :

(gif posted by @tpmind)

This little smile, the first time we see him soften since season 2 started, and... god, I wish we could put sound on gifs because this "Galadrriel"... oh my heart. He was really glad to see his wife !

Then this, which was comedy actually :

(gif by @letthefairyinyoufly)

First, Evil Barbie looks very cute, I want to kiss him. Ahem, I derail. But this moment made me laugh so hard. Galadriel and all of us think of Sauron of this brilliant master mind who's got 320 plans in his head, is always ahead of everyone and manipulates us all like puppets, and here he's just like.... "Wut? Nah, I improvise often actually". I liked this line because it made him a more realistic villain, finally. There's a lot he can predict and plan but he can sometimes be surprised too ! Like at at the end, when Durin and his dwarves came at the rescue : he thought the Balrog had killed them all, probably. Sauron really doesn't like these dwarves lol

And I know it was not everybody's cup of tea, but I loved most of this duel. At least the beginning ! It was everything I predicted : she was the enraged gremlin, while he calmly avoided blows and barely struk back. At some point his face even said, "she serious? She wants to keep fighting? Boring, but if that's the wife wants..."

Because this is literally what happens. As he tells her, he doesn't want to harm her at all ! That's why he doesn't use any magic against her. It would be so easy if he did. Galadriel didn't best Sauron, he let her best him, at least until she rejected him again and angered him doing so. That's only then that he changed and became actually agressive. And even then, he effortlessly owned her. The only reason why she managed to scratch his face is probably that he was pissed and caught off guard by her refusal to be with him.

We saw how easily Sauron can kill someone when he really wants to. With a hand wave he would have thrown Galadriel against a tree if he had wanted to harm her or kill her, c'mon. He toyed with her like a cat with a mouse and it was delicious to watch. Galadriel wasn't nicer with the Numenor boys in season 1 than Sauron was with her during this fight. She was stronger than he thought though, he underestimated her, hence why she made him fall on his back.

And the sexual tension during this fight ! Incredible, and it just kept culminating until he stabbed her with Morgoth's crown. I'll come back to that in a minute. And the height difference, let's not forget the height difference !

I liked that we finally got the confirmation that earlier in the season, he used Nenya to communicate with Galadriel with visions, like I suspected. I didn't like how it was executed (shapeshifting into Celebrimbor to make him repeat "Aren't they the seeds you planted?" was a bit of an overkill), but I'm glad they clarified that, for her and for us.

Halbrand's appearance ! His puppy eyes! He was totally manipulating her like a puppy begging for food, but still, so cute... Man, he's good lol

Galadriel frozing, closing her eyes when he repeats what he told her and dropping her defensiveness! I loved that moment, too bad it lasted what? 5 seconds, then it was gone? I know many of us, me included tbh, thought he was just manipulating her again, even mocking her feelings (and ours as well), and that the way it was executed could make it seem like Halbrand was really fake, after all. I blame the terrible execution of this scene for that, tbh. Not Charlie's acting! he was perfect, he always is.

But back to the point : I think what this moment tried to convey, very awkwardly, was that he reminded Galadriel of this moment in the woods, and of her own words earlier in S1, as an echo to what he said just before: "Not all of it". And he did that not to manipulate her or to mock her, but to force her to force the truth that she refuses to admit : they're not that different. But again, it was terribly executed and suffered from a complete lack of emotions. It was supposed to be his "hit her with the truth" moment, I guess? If it was the purpose, it obviously missed the mark.

But wait, I said I would only post positive thoughts...

Now of course there's THIS :

Man, that was insane. I have no other words for it. It was horrible, yet disturbingly HOT. I must say on my first watching, I screamed "nooooo, you said you wished her no harm, what are you doing?!", and seeing him insisting to get Nenya really annoying. So that was it? He only cared for his freaking rings now?

(crédit @spellofwinter)

Trusting how he looked at her straight after stabbing her, I'd say not. He may say what he wants, but that's the look of a Maiar who's still down bad for his she-Elf. I mean look at him.

I liked his speech about how he would have not rested until all Middle-Earth worshipped her and all that, I loved it. It was ridiculously romantic, especially considering he was literally twisting the knife crown into her wound. It was really, "you hurt me, my turn now". He's such a petty bitch.

Galadriel's awful "The free people of M-E will always resist you" line kinda ruined the mood for me, and not just because she wasn't vibing as he was ; why does Sauron have the best lines of dialogs while Galadriel gets all the crappy ones? 'seems very mysoginistic to me.

Then I read some posts here and came back to the scene to rewatch, and wow, some of you are really good, you know that? And no, I'm not referring to the obvious sexual innuendo behind this move lol But as it's been observed by others :

He stabs her with Morgoth's crown, just as he was by Adar.

He aimed for the shoulder while he could have very well gone for the heart (proving that even then, he didn't want to kill her)

There's an undeniable significance in the fact that he stabbed her with Morgoth's crown and not with Adar's sword. As @apoloadonisandnarcissus pointed out in this post, it contains a very powerful dark magic, that will leave Galadriel forever marked with a wound that can never fully heal. Sauron knew that, and he chose this weapon on purpose.

One of the reasons why I never thought that the show would give us Dark!Galadriel at the of season 2, is that Sauron himself doesn't want her to become his "dark queen". He's drawn to her light ! That's why he wanted her to be his queen, because she's already the Lady of Light to him. He wanted her to touch the darkness, not to be wrapped in it like he is. She was supposed to balance him, that's the whole point... But now that she's determined to shut the door on him, he realizes that if he lets her go now, he'll lose her forever.

So he stabs her with Morgoth's crown, knowing fully well what it will do to her. Saying "I would have put a crown above your head etc." is Sauron putting the blame on Galadriel for what he is, as he believes, "forced to do", exactly like he accused Celebrimbor of forcing him to torture him. It's Sauron's playbook all over again : "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice", "you did that to yourself", "I'm the victim here", etc.

My first reaction to this scene where he asks her to give him Nenya was to believe that he was only interested in the ring. But Ioved the fact that he talked in her head, because it's the first time he does that. And it's probably because of the wound he just gave her that he can do it. I didn't like the scene in itself that much because it looked like he was woodoing her more than anything else.

But the fact remains that he didn't take Nenya by force. And that's when @apoloadonisandnarcissus strongly disagree about Sauron's intent here :) You think the bond he created by stabbing her was accidental because his plan was to steal her light and turn her into a ringwraith, I'm saying it was his intention since the start to bind her to him. She was supposed to stick around though lol

Seriously, he could have just taken Nenya from her finger and let Galadriel become a ringwraith. Why didn't he just do that? It's not cryptonite to him, he could have just taken it. He renounced her, right? She didn't want him, he didn't want her as his queen any longer, so why asking her to give Nenya to him instead of just taking it, if he didn't care about Galadriel at all? We saw with Adar that Nenya will "work" even if it has been stolen, so Sauron didn't want Galadriel to give it freely because he thought he woudn't be able to use it if he just took it from her.

So, my theory may be delulu but is supported by Sauron's facial expression : he was still on a power trip. Clearly lol. He knew he could heal Galadriel with Nenya, and he intented to because he didn't want her dead, but only... if she gave her the ring herself. He wanted her to submit to him, entirely. He could have told her he wanted Nenya so he could heal her, but then she would have given it just for that, and that's not what he wanted.

Of course, he didn't expect her to jump instead. He tried to catch her hand to stop her fall, again, why? Why would he care if she lived or die? If the point of it all was to get his hand on Nenya, all he had to do was to walk down the cliff and go pick up Nenya down there. He had more than enough time before Arondir and Gil-Galad would find Galadriel. But he didn't do that. He just remained stunned, he couldn't believe what she did. Then he lashed out on Glug who just happened to arrive with his complaints at the wrong time. Though, tbh, Glug wouldn't have survived for long anyway, being sort of the unionist of the Uruks. Sauron's not exactly a democrat... Plus he hates them.

So, I'm convinced that Sauron's plan at this point was to bind Galadriel to him, forcefully, since he can't get her to join him willingly. He stabbed her with Morgoth's crown so he could possess her. His design was of course way darker than what he had in mind first - making her his queen and not resting until all Middle-Earth worship her - , but I don't think that making her a ringwraith was his purpose.

Now of course, we'll see what the writers do with that, maybe he'll just keep antagonizing her which will prove that binding himself to her but not totally enslaved was purely accidental, but it has the potential to take a very interesting turn, anyway.

Last thing I liked, and which also convinces me that deep down, this moron stilll cares about her, has also been noticed by several other fans. @galstelperion published a great edit of the shots that look like very much as if Galadriel was being watched by an eye from above, by Sauron. The first one is when she's found by Arondir and Gil-Galad.

Even when Gil-Galad tries to save her from the darkness that's taking her, it looks like they're being watched (I took a screenshot but it's really more obvious if you watch the edit)

Then, that's the effect we see from Galadriel's POV, when she wakes up after Elrond heals her :

And then again when the camera turns on her. See how she puts her hand on her wound (also her heart, ahem) immediately? It could be because it still hurts, of course, but it could also be because she feels Sauron's eye on her. In LOTR, Frodo's wound made him suffer each time the Nazgul who stabbed him was close.

Also, Galadriel's wound looks like an eye if we look at it with attention.

So my point is : Sauron DID check on her after he realized she was still alive. He knows she's fine because he's got his 24/7 livestream now. Fanfic writers, have fun with this information ;)

Why didn't he check on her immediately then? Easy answer : petty bitch. That's what he is, after all. It's possible he was conflicted ; not happy that she may be dead, but thinking that maybe it's for the best that she is, as @darklinaforever suggested if I'm not wrong?

And to finish with a very delulu theory that will certainly never be proven true : when Gil-Galad says the darkness is too powerful and he can't save her, Elrond answers with an absolute certainty, looking at Nenya : "I can". Then he puts on the ring, which we know is a very difficult thing to do for him because until now, he was totally against the use of the Elven rings.

Where does he take this certainty from, I wonder? I know he saw Galadriel use Nenya to heal Camnir, but Camnir was wounded by an Orc arrow. It's not even remotely similar as the wound that an object as powerful and dark as Morgoth's crown, Elrond would know that (and Gil-Galad would have probably saved her without Nenya, if it was such a wound). So how is he so certain? Probably because Nenya showed him. And who proved during this fight that he was the one using Nenya to send visions to Galadriel, in the earlier episodes? I mean, maybe not of all them, but we know he was the one who showed her visions of Celebrimbor prisoner of "the seeds that she planted" at least...

Who knows, maybe Sauron did save her after all hahaha. Maybe that's what Charlotte Brandström hinted at, when she said :

"I think Sauron even really loves Galadriel and you will see that at the very end."

What else showed in this episode that he really loves her?? I can't think of anything else. Binding her to him, with the potential intent to turn her into a ringwraith? from Sauron's POV I guess it's love, but it doesn't happen "at the very end". At the end of their encounter yes, but who would look at this scene and think "this real love right here?" While Galadriel's healing happens... at the very end of the episode. I'll let that sink in...

The main obstacle to the idea that Sauron still loves Galadriel is episode 7 : Galadriel is put in a cage by Adar, threatened by a spear which he uses to make her bleed, and yet we don't see Sauron reacting to that. It can make us think that he didn't care at all what could happen to her, but the thing is : we can't be sure that he even saw that she was prisoner of Adar, since we don't know what he can see from the walls where he's standing. We don't know if he stayed on the walls to watch or if he left immediately with Celebrimbor.... We don't know if the scene where Elrond charges is happening right in front of him, or in a totally different place... We know nohing, so there's still room to think that he simply has no idea where Galadriel is at this moment. For all we know, he believes she's still with the Elves. Or he saw her but also saw Elrond going to meet Adar, and assumed he could handle this on his own. Or we will learn in season 3 that he mind palaced everyone and was in fact masquerading as Elrond (lol, I hardly hope for that now).

That's one of episode 7's many plot holes : since they didn't stop showing Sauron obsessing over Galadriel, they should have adressed this, either by filming him while he looked at the scene, either by filming him while he left the walls with Celebrimbor. At least, we'd know.

In conclusion to all this, I'd just like to say that episode 8 was still very disappointing, but all these points I've found redeem it a bit to me. At least if I'm right about Sauron's intentions when he wounded her with Morgoth's crown. If his intention was only to make her a ringwraith and steal her light... It's even worse than I thought and it's indeed probably not doomship anymore, but sunkship.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Now I'm imagining a courtnapping sequence with Wukong and Macaque. Like... for soem reason I get the feeling it'd be Wukong who gets kidnapped in one of these? Tbw Great Sage Equal to Heaven would be a very tempting potential mate and it's not like her and Macaque were very public before.

Well. It's about to become VERY public when a very young Macaque goes full jaiju for the first time in an attempt to save Wukong and reverse courtnapping him. The reason Wukong couldn't fight back was because he was young, arrogant, and drugged. This was during the Journey, but Wukong doesn't remember it happening due to the fact he was knocked out for the majority of the time.

Years later, DBK tells the story to a very embarrassed MK who throught the way he acted when Redson was taken was unbecoming of the Monkey King's successor. He'd heard it from Tieshan, who heard it from Macaque.

Prev.

When MK finally snaps out of his feral state, he's apologetic af. He comes to in his apartment, his whole sleeping area turned into a makeshift nest, and wrapped around Red Son like he's a body pillow.

MK, nearly jumping to his feet: "OHMYGOSH! RED SON, I AM SO SORRY!!!" Red Son, chilling: "What for?" MK: "Didn't I like-!? Demon kidnap you!?" Red Son: "Yes, and you reverse-courtnapped me from that despicable mara. You have my gratitude... and my unending loyalty." MK, not understanding: "Wut?" Red Son, disappointed sigh: "You don't even know what courtnapping even means do you?" MK, quickly hides phone: "Maaaaybe... maybe I knew about it, and sorta forgot when I thought that guy was gonna hurt you...?" Red Son, moves to get out of bed: "I should have know..." MK: "Does this mean we're like, dating and stuff? Cus Pigsy says Tang did this to himself before they got married." Red Son: (*chokes on air, flames briefly flicker pink*)

Even if MK seems to be oblivious to the situation... it's more that he's genuinely happy but unsure if Red even thinks of him "that way". He doesnt want to rock the boat, especially in case Red is only sticking around cus of the Egg.

Mei, look of disbelief: "You're having a baby together, bro." MK, drinking cheese tea: "Yeah. But like, as friends." Mei: (*looks at her livestream audience like she's on The Office*)

MK of course apologises to DBK and PIF; bringing Wukong to vouch for him. The Monkie Kid is disappointed in himself for losing his self-control in that moment, pregnancy hormones or not. But all the adults look... amused?

DBK, fond chuckle: "This all reminds me of a certain sneaky simian, who rushed to reclaim what he thought was rightfully his King." PIF, smiling with a hum: "A simian who nearly stopped the Pilgrims' Journey in its tracks because he believed they were keeping his mate from him." MK: "Wait. Do you mean-?" Macaque, popping out of the shadows: "I know you ain't gossiping about me, sis!"

The demon bull couple proceed to dunk on Macaque for the next hour; regaling MK and Red Son with stories of how often Macaque would fly off the handle at any perceived rivals for Wukong's affections.

Turns out MK isn't the most possessive of the monkeys! XD

Wukong: "How come I don't remember that story?" PIF: "I'm not surprised. Your suitor had drugged you. It was during your Journey, and though you were not on best of terms; Macaque felt it necessary to save you from a dishonourable courtnapping. I assumed he already told you." Wukong, amazed: "Really, plums?" Macaque, blushing and hiding face in scarf: "Is' no big deal." DBK, bellowing laughter: "HAHA! No big deal?! You transformed into your Smoke-giant form and tore that demon to shreds! I'm surprised that you had the sense to return him to his Pilgrim brethren afterwards." (*Macaque sinks deeper into scarf as DBK and PIF laugh. Wukong smiles at him with a newfound appreciation. MK feels a little offended hearing that his actions reminded them all of Macaque.*)

Note: if a similar courtnapping of Wukong were to occur in the modern day; Macaque would still show the same level of ferocity. He'd just have backup in the form of adoptive-cub MK wanting his mentor back.

Pigsy can't say anything about how MK busted out his Kaiju-form out of jealousy. Lets just say a certain scholar got hit-on at a bar once, and they came face-to-face with a giant snorting boar demon glaring them down. Tang brags about the incident to this day. ("It was hot.")

[vidavalor]

It's really funny that Aziraphale didn't-- from the get go-- just miracle Gabriel some damn pants.

Instead, he was all well... hello, supreme archangel that my husband once said was beautiful... it does appear that you really have *no memory of who you were whatsoever and are just colossally hot and dumb* oh Lord, this is both terrifying and absolutely hilarious, wait 'til Crowley sees this... here, just drape yourself in my thin, tartan blanket, Jim... that's it, oh that's perfect actually, you look like I'm living out some Roman fantasy over here... just don't answer the door and stand there... wait, no, you need to be doing something... here, take this YELLOW. FEATHERED. duster and clean our books... oh, at this point I don't know if I'm trying to make Crowley jealous or amused or both or if after he gets over the shock, he's going to very into this and I don't really care which... ok, don't answer the door, I'll be right back with my demonic paramour who once asked me on a date around making fun of a statue of your dumb ass and who literally loathes you for trying to murder us and for being an all-around general prat and once he gets over the WTF anxiety fit he'll have and the fact that we need a plan for this disaster, I really think he's going to be very amused that it took me all of fourteen seconds to turn you into our domestic house boy... not actually, old chap, don't worry, we've evolved into a serial monogamy we don't really talk about at this point but one day, he will laugh very hard at this and I do so love to make him laugh...

*goes to coffee shop to explain that there's a bit of trouble and it's terrifying but it's also, at the same time, hilarious and just wait 'til Crowley sees who's playing tartan toga servant boy in the bookshop... whole bloody neighborhood now thinks (knows) he's the kinky old gay bookseller so might as well just lean into it... this'll top even making the Archangel Michael miracle me a bath towel, Crowley...*

Nina: Morning, Mr. Fell! Details, please, on the stark naked Don Draper that just walked up the street and hugged you hello in front of the entire neighborhood.

Crowley: YOU WUT

Aziraphale: Thanks a bunch, Nina. I never know what to get him for his birthday and now you've ruined it.

[tealfling]

Down

(F!Tav) Coren x Rolan

Read on A03

A/N + Warnings: I'm not very creative so this is a pretty basic M! receiving oral (as he should!) with swallowing.

18+

Summary: This sprung into my head after reading THIS headcanon from @dutifullylazybread. So this is Coren, my blue tiefling Storm Sorcerer giving Rolan head. I was going to trash this, but @faerunsbest encouraged me to post it. I have never written anything this adult before. 🌶️ Under the cut.

He was so close.

Coren could feel the flexing and tightening of the muscles and tendons of his thighs around her head. Hear the way Rolan’s breath grew ragged as he mumbled through his incoherent praises and prayers as she drew her tongue around the ridges of his length. Any second now he would tell her he was about to come, but there was no need. Now a permanent resident of Ramazith's Tower, the new lovers spent much of their free time learning each other's bodies. Enthusiastically exploring their own art of lovemaking. And as a wizard and sorcerer, both were adept learners in their own right. Through practice, repetition, and instinct.

The little blue sorcerer was feeling particularly confident as Rolan seemed to be struggling to resist the urge to thrust up into her mouth. Wanting more of what she was giving him. He didn't seem to know what to do with his hands as they flitted between desperately grasping sheets, threading her hair, and caressing her cheek. Each little whine from his lips she rewarded by swallowing him as deep as she could. And for each of his moans, she replied with a lusty satisfied hum vibrating deep in her throat. When she would drag her tongue from his base to his tip, her hand would follow gliding and twist, giving him the pressure he missed, while her thumb would stroke the most sensitive vein between his ridges and her tongue teased his tip. Lips leaving kisses in her wake until she repeated herself.

When Coren felt his cock grow impossibly harder on her tongue, she knew he was there. Their tails were intertwined between their legs, but as the tension in Rolan became unbearably taut, his tail stiffened and straightened. Coren’s own tail untangled his and lifted shamelessly behind her, curling and flicking in her own excitement.

His stomach clenched and she met his teary, fiery gaze with her icy one. She couldn't help but admire her poor little wizard whimpering as he was about to release for her. Starting from his tip she sucked him down again with cheek hollowing pressure making sure to run her tongue down the hills and valleys of his ridges. Coren smiled when Rolan’s watery eyes rolled back, hissing as his orgasm hit him. 

“Ah, Coren-” he sobbed. Rolan shakily hunched forward choking on his gasps. “I love you.,” he whimpered.

“Wut?” Coren gagged on his cock at the back of her throat causing tears to pool in her eyes. She knew he, in fact, did love her. He'd confessed he cared for her after Lorroakan;s defeat and had expressed his feelings very often since, but it had always been with enchanting wizardly prose. He had never used the word love before. She began to lift her head, losing concentration on her current task. Eagerly wanting to ask, or tease, him about his confession.

With a panicked expression, Rolan grabbed her by the base of her horns and held her head in place ensuring his load shot into her throat as he’d intended instead of splattering her face. The first explosive burst quickly reminded Coren of her current venture and she hastily sealed her lips around Rolan, refusing to spill a drop. His legs quaked and his back arched. The symphony of his intense groans and whimpers filled the room. Coren’s first gulp must have been a little too vigorous for Rolan as his hand quickly knitted through her hair as if to pull her back. She eased off, working him more tenderly through his climax. His body stuttered and shook beneath her. He didn’t often come that hard. Coren ran her hands over the inside of his thighs, massaging them in an attempt to help ease Rolan down.  

She watched carefully as his body slowly stilled and he began to relax again. When his chest heaving shallowed, and his breaths evened, Coren dared to move her mouth again. Using her tongue and her fingers, she guided the remnants of his release up to his cock’s head. Locking eyes with Rolan, she smeared the last drop of it on her tongue in what she hoped was a fanciful display of showmanship. Rolan made a grab for her horns again as he whined about sensitivity, but Coren had already popped back on her haunches. She gingerly kissed his shaft and playfully nipped his inner thigh with her fangs before crawling forward to meet him at the head of the bed. Their tails naturally found each other again as she aligned her body along his. Rolan pulled her into his embrace, resting his hands on her back.

His face was beautifully flushed. It only served to highlight the adorable sprinkle of rust colored freckles on Rolan’s face, Coren thought. She trailed the snub of her nose over the bridge of his as she kneaded the base of her horns into his own. A deeply intimate and soothing gesture reserved for the closest of tiefling lovers. It earned her a heavenly little contented sigh from deep within Rolan which reverberated through his sternum. Creating a sound other races might mistake for a purr. Such a sweet sound. Coren brushed her lips over his. Too bad she was about to ruin it. His lips tried to catch hers for a kiss, but instead of meeting his she turned her lips up in a mischievous grin. 

“Oh, my dearest Rolan,” she purred. “If I had known all I had to do for you to confess your love for me was suck it out of you, I would have started trying so much sooner.” Wanting to catch his expression she perched herself on her forearms while her fingers petted along his disheveledhair and face. Only now regaining his faculties, Rolan’s brows pinched in confusion while his eyes searched her face.

“What?”

“You said you loved me.”

“I always tell you I love you.”

“No.” Coren sat up, reaching over to the nightstand, “You always begrudgingly tell me of your affections. Or poetically describe your feelings for me–water? That was the first time you actually said that three word sentence. And so forwardly I might add.” She teased scandalized, handing a goblet to Rolan. Coren reached back and opened the nightstand drawer, retrieving a golden tear drop ring.

After a long drink, his wits began to return and Rolan smirked, “Oh, don’t be so pedantic. You’ve always known what I meant.”

Coren slipped the ring around her middle finger. With mock offense she pressed the same hand to her chest as the other contorted into signs. “Did a wizard just call me pedantic?!?” A soft, refreshing, golden glow spread through Rolan. “Such hypocrisy from the Master of the Tower. You are probably the last person that would have the right to say that to me. Save, maybe, Gale?”

Rolan pouted at the name of another wizard leaving her lips in their bed. But then he noticed she removed the ring and put it aside with the goblet. Confused as to what was going on with the ring, he asked, “What are you doing?” 

She paused. Her arms were crossed over her chest, holding up the gathered skirt of her linen night dress, exposing her naked lower body, but stopping right as her breasts threatened to spring free. “What do you mean ‘what am I doing?’ The love of my life just told me he loved me for the millionth time. So, I’m obviously about to show him just how much I reciprocate his feelings.” It was clear that Rolan was staring, taking her in, apparently lost for words again.  Coren lowered her arms ever so slightly to feign pout, “Unless, of course, you want me to stop? But that seems like such a waste of a Greater Restoration.”

“Of course I don’t want–wait, did you use Greater Restoration on me?” His face contorted running through his thoughts. Coren lifted the weight of her dress until the undersides of her breast were revealed. His cock throbbed, back to the painfully hard state it was in before she even started on him. “Did you use a Greater Restoration spell on me so I could get back my erection?!” he snapped, typically sounding worse than he intended. They had experimented with lesser, easier, spells before, sure, but not one of such difficulty before.

“Yes.”

“Where did you even get it from?!”

“The Vaults.”

“You stole from the Vault?”

“No. I borrowed it from the Vault. When you and Lia work late, Cal and I have a lot of unsupervised free time.”

Rolan rubbed his hand down his face with a groan. That was luggage for later.

“I have a Dispel Magic scroll. Do you want me to stop?” This time she lowered her arms fully.

“Absolutely not,” Rolan threw his arms open, “get over here, now.”

“That’s what I thought.” Coren pulled her dress over her head, allowing her breast to finally bounce free, and flung the garment over Rolan’s head. When he frantically ripped it from his face, she was already there to capture his lips in a passionate kiss.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Catching up on My Stand In episode 6, and I gotta say - I understand Joe.

I'm not talking about whether he's made all the right decisions or not, there's a lot to consider on all sides, but I do understand why he would take the deal with Ming.

It would be lovely to live in a world where it's possible to borrow money from friends & family without strings, but we don't. The nature of our society's relationship to money doesn't allow it.

There's a reason so many marriages fail due to money. There's a reason groups of siblings will stop talking after their parents' estates are distributed. There's a reason friends will fall out over 50 bucks, much less thousands. Money changes relationships.

Because it's never just money.

Sometimes the strings are ones of love, and guilt, and shame, worries that you are letting someone down, or holding someone back.

Look at the relationship between Joe and his new mom - absolutely one of unconditional love. And they are both utterly wracked with guilt about the financial cost the other one incurred due to their illnesses. His mom was ready to fucking die! Over money!

Taking money he doesn't feel like he's earned causes pain for Joe, because it is a huge fucking deal and he knows it. There will be strings. And it will change things.

And I know Joe is a trusting dude and only consciously thinking of not being a burden, not bringing his problem to people he wants to keep as friends, but also, subconsciously, it makes sense there would be hesitance with them.

Wut has been helpful to new Joe, yes, but when old Joe revealed he had been literally kidnapped, what was Wut's response? Sorry, can't help. He didn't even try to talk to anyone, didn't try to problem-solve, come up with a way for Joe to still work - maybe he doesn't go to sets, maybe he trains the new crop of stuntmen, maybe he learns to do something else. The point is, Wut just shrugged and said sorry. That's when old Joe decided to take the dangerous job. And sure Wut feels guilty now, and is trying to make up for it, but - but what would he do when the chips are down? What would he do if Joe struggled to pay him back? If it impacted his wife, his kid?

And sure, Sol may generally be a "good guy", but he still didn't give a shit about knocking Joe to the ground while fighting Ming. He's not entirely selfless. And what happens if he decides he likes new Joe? Wants to date him? You think Joe would feel like he could say no? Striiiiings.

Those relationships would never be the same.

But with Ming - Ming already destroyed his life. There's no guilt in taking from Ming. Joe sees it as going to work, to once again being a stand in. The strings are laid out upfront, he knows just who Ming is, and thinks he can manage it (which of course we know is not true, but he's trying to believe it!)

So yeah, I get it Joe.

[notafraidofredyellowandblue]

Hello honey! I hope i'm not disturbing you but there is something i want to ask. Do you know why Christoph left Feeling B?

Hi! Thank you for the ask, I always love the asks that make me go dive in the various Rammstein (or Feeling B) books ❤️

Schneider stayed in Feeling B pretty long, he joined Paul, Flake and Aljoscha on their trip to the USA in 1993, but did indeed eventually leave the band.

For this one I'm going with the way Schneider says it as a side-note in the book 'Feeling B - Mix mir einen Drink' (page 373 in my copy) when he talks about getting started with Rammstein (roommates Richard and Olli asked him, then asked Till to join, and then the four of them were looking to see who else to get to get in the band).

"Wir überlegten, wen wir noch dazunehmen könnten. Wir waren vier und es lief schon einigermaβen. Einige wollten natürlich nicht mit Paul arbeiten, ich zum Beispiel. Denn ich hatte schon die letzten fünf, sechs Jahre mit Paul gesplielt, und Paul ist ein anstrengender Typ. Ich erklärte: Ich mach unter der Bedingung mit, dass Paul nicht mitmacht. Ich war bei denen ja ausgestiegen. Da waren wir zu einem Feeling B Konzert in Ilmenau, da hattte ich eine Riesen Wut auf die. Alles war da chaotisch organisiert. Aljoscha war alles egal, der wollte einfach nur ein bisschen rumfahren, aber ich war noch jung und wollte noch etwas. Wir spielten dort ein extrem schlechtes Konzert, ich hab ihnen gesagt, ich mach nicht mehr mit, sie sollen sich einen anderen suchen. Ich hab meine Trommeln abgebaut und ins Auto gepackt. Eigentlich wollte ich die alle nicht mehr sehen. Aber sie waren mir auch ans Herz gewachsen, und dann wollten die anderen Jungs, Till und Scholle, sie dabei haben und haben an ihnen rumgezerrt. Flake wollte partout nicht, er wollte Feeling B zu neuem Leben erwecken. Er hält gern an Altem fest und will nichts Neues. Wir mussten ihn richting überreden, denn wir wollten sein Instrument dabeihaben. Er war einfach der beste Mann dafür und nicht so wie andere Keyboarder."

translated

"We thought about who else we could include. There were four of us and things were going pretty well. Of course some people didn't want to work with Paul, me for example. Because I had been playing with Paul for the last five or six years, and Paul is a tiresome guy. I explained: I'll take part on the condition that Paul doesn't take part. After all, I left them. We went to a Feeling B concert in Ilmenau and I was really angry at them. Everything was organized chaotically. Alyosha didn't care, he just wanted to drive around a bit, but I was still young and wanted to achieve something. We played an extremely bad concert there, I told them I wasn't playing anymore and they should find someone else. I disassembled my drums and put them in the car. I actually didn't want to see them anymore. But I had also grown fond of them, and then the other boys, Till and Scholle, wanted them there and pulled at them. Flake simply didn't want to, he wanted to bring Feeling B back to life. He likes to hold on to the old and doesn't want anything new. We had to really persuade him because we wanted to have his instrument with us. He was simply the best man for it and not like other keyboard players."

--

In other words, Schneider was basically fed up with the chaos that was Feeling B 🍀

(more quotes from Rammstein books)

[buttercuparry]

Tell me why would Joe take on more debts to pay off the loan his adopted mom accumulated while caring for "him"? What sense is there to take on loans from not one, but two people, to keep off loansharks at bay and then working again to pay off those debts...

Listen I know Wut and Sol are Joe's friends, but they don't know that this new guy is THEIR Joe. This makes a difference in itself.

So Joe offering up a year of his life to Ming is not him choosing Ming over them. This is where people are making a mistake! There is no Wut/Sol vs Ming. If you absolutely have to compare, then a better fit would be Joe going to Tong vs Joe turning to Wut.

Wut is ready to take out money from his own savings to help pay off the hospital bills of this newbie, who reminds him of his old friend. As a good boss he would do it. As a guy who feels guilty over his friend's death, Wut would do it. But Joe REFUSES, ABSOLUTELY REFUSES to take handouts! He keeps on saying that his death is no one's fault but fate's decree. So he would rather work for a asshole and earn the money. It is who he is as a character, what the fuck can you do about it?

And about Sol? Again Joe refused Sol's money but accepted the job offer. That's a thing he did! He didn't dismiss Sol, and stupidly serve himself up to Ming.

Also let's talk about what happened back at Mrs Ing's house when Joe asked Ming to leave.

" I always get what I want" , this was Ming's threat to Joe. This is Joe getting threatened by the same guy who uprooted every single inch of Joe's previous life just because of his jealousy. Tell me why wouldn't Joe be afraid of Ming doing something drastic when not only is there a disease eating away at his new mom, but there also is the threat of bodily harm from goons. Why is it then so wrong of Joe to fight fire with fire? Why is it wrong of him to actively take control of a situation and make a deal with Ming.

And yes, Joe is being a active character here by listing his expectations of payment and the time period of his service. It is not Ming who made the deal. Joe managed to seal the deal before Ming could act out and destroy both Joe and his mom's life.

[miss0atae]

The grieving process in My Stand-In:

I found interesting in this episode how the characters are dealing with the loss of Joe in their life. They all act and react differently. Grieving can be painful and come with powerful emotions and we could see it through different characters.

On one hand, we have Wut. He is still feeling the loss of Joe. His grief comes with guilt. He feels responsible in some way for the way Joe disappeared from his life. He believes everything would have been different if he stopped Joe. It's quite frequent while grieving to feel guilty. I think he is stuck in the “Tyranny of the shoulds” and he is putting to much significance in what he didn't do and what he should have done. It's a kind of torture. It must be even worse because in the span of two years between the loss of Joe and the appearance of New Joe, he also lost one of his children. So, he had to experience twice the hardship in grieving. However, when it comes to Joe, Wut is also feeling angry. Anger is a natural response to grieve, especially towards something we can't control. His anger works hand in hand with his guilt. Ming is the culprit of Joe's disappearance for him and Wut also felt he didn't do enough to protect Joe from Ming.

On the other hand, we have Ming. He reacts totally differently from anyone because in his mind, he refuses to admit Joe is dead. This loss doesn’t feel real and he will not accept it. I don’t know if it’s truly denial or knowing how possessive and obsessive Ming can be, he simply decided Joe couldn’t leave him for real. So that’s why he must be alive somewhere. Joe can’t be dead because he must be with Ming. This is probably why Ming reacts with anger when anyone may suggest Joe is dead. When he had the diner with New Joe he wasn’t really expressing anything until New Joe talked about Joe’s possible death. At this moment, anger could be seen on his face. He chased away New Joe and told him to tell Wut to stop saying this. He also warned him to be careful when talking about Joe. He became really protective of this idea. Anyone mentioning Joe’s death is stripping Ming from the illusion he may come back and Ming is not ready to let it go. It also brings him back to the difficulties of facing the loss of Joe in his life, as it was shown when he met the shaman.

I'm still waiting to see more about Sol's grieving process. We know he went away in Korea after Joe's disappearance, but now that heis back in Thailand we may see more about his coping mechanics.

[joykai]

A silver fox

I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED a logan in the multiverse that was gonna die the same way wade's OG logan died and wade, logan AND laura were sent to go stop him so that his universe didn't get destroyed because so much other shit in his (I'm funna call him logan and call wade's logan TWW) logan's universe that needs to happen hasn't happened yet, so wade, TWW and Laura head to that universe and track down Logan and kid laura, they end up meeting and laura explains the whole thing, they decide that they still need to protect kid laura, so the gang have to follow logan on his journey and basically make sure he doesn't die ya know?

Wade is being wade and is flirting with logan, but the thing is...LOGAN IS FLIRTING BACK!!!

WHY YOU MAY ASK????

WELL LOGAN HAD A WADE OF HIS OWN AND THEY WERE IN LOVE!!! So Logan is kind of happy to have his husband back but it's bitter sweet because he knows this wade isn't his. UNTIL he realises that TWW and wade AREN'T dating and oh...logan CAN NOT let that slide, so he does watches out and sees how TWW reacts when he brushes up against wade and because wade is wade he plays into it, It gets to a point were wade kind of tells logan he likes TWW and logan explains what he's been doing and now they're working in cahoots to get TWW to admit he likes wade.

He does eventually and logan is happy, when asked why he helped wade, he tells them that he had a wade but cancer took him and he knows that every wolverine needs his wade, they end up going back to the TVA to tell them that the job is done. but wade and TWW can't get that quote out of their head "what is a wolverine without their deadpool?"

Why did it make so much sense but none at all? they end up seeing B-15 who they also inform that they stopped the universe from ya know destroying itself and she is CONFUSED like miss girl is like "wut?"

She explains that the universe was always dying but logan dying would have killed it a LOT faster, they ask how if the anchor being is alive and she explains that Logan isn't the anchor being ALONE it was always Logan and his wade, a world where a logan doesn't have his wade is a world that is dying.

That is why wade's world was dying it wasn't because it didn't have a logan it was because HE didn't have a logan. This also meant TWW's world was slowly dying because he didn't have a wade (his wade sadly died before he could have met him). So when TWW and wade bonded the way they did, he had a logan again which solved his world.

(this also gives an opportunity for a separate fic where they returned all the deadpools in the void sent there by Paradox to their respective logans so that their worlds can be fixed).

[bunnakit]

my stand in ep 4 thoughts, feelings, etc

WOW WA WE WAA THAT SURE WAS AN EPISODE HUH - happy to report i went back through the episode slowly this week and took notes and really tried to gather everything i wanted to say (but i will inevitably forget something)

🌸 ok disclaimers because i have a lot of them for this particular episode 🌸

i'm just a silly guy on the internet, i'm not an expert in mental health, psychology, body language, whatever. most days i can't even take care of myself. i'm just saying things recreationally.

PLEASE do not put novel spoilers in my replies, reblogs, or tags without a warning notice. i've got an itchy blocking finger for it these days.

i am treating ming and joe and everyone involved in this show as if they were real life human beings. ming was not born some mustache twirling villain sent from hell to make joe miserable. joe is not some pure angel descended from the clouds to do no wrong. everyone in this show exhibits very human behavior and that can be distressing under certain circumstances. i'm just going to comment on them as humans. i'm not interested in a round table discussion on why a character is irredeemable, the scum of the earth, etc. i'm just putting my thoughts out there and you can take them or leave them.

🌸 alright yucky disclaimer time over 🌸

the episode really just picks us back up where everything left off - and yet joe still made ming breakfast, and ming isn't stupid (well right now at least,) he knows something is off.

i am confused why tong needs to get married on this specific day. and like bro how fast are you getting married? relax. the whole thing is just unstoppable force (trajectory of this producers career) meets immovable object (tong's fuckass stubbornness) and the collateral damage is massive.

and then there's the question of did joe ever want to play a lead? or did he let his impulsiveness and hurt put a target on his back? (only emphasized by the fact that everyone assumed joe would turn down the role)

i DO apologize for all my doubt surrounding wut. he, ja, and may are the only people in this show with any god damn sense. maybe jojo and yim. we'll see.

getting into the confrontation at joe's work, i really don't think it's that surprising when we keep in mind ming genuinely has no fucking clue what is going on. all he knows is joe woke up, was acting weird, didn't come home, and then told him to pack up his shit and leave with ZERO explanation. like, joe's completely in the right, but i'd also be confused as fuck. (i wouldn't go to someone's work about it but, y'know, we know ming acts in extremes.)

and to me this is where it really became obvious that joe has always been able to overpower ming, to get away from him, as we have seen joe's physical prowess, we've seen what he's capable of, but he never uses his body to move ming away from him - that's not who joe is, he's not someone that would put his hands on another person like that. it's just another way ming and joe are the direct antithesis of each other.

it's my thought that the argument escalates because ming is used to getting everything he wants - except for tong, and now joe. when joe begins to push him away and deny him his substitution for tong i think ming lashes out in his hurt with a thought of "it's happening again, why doesn't anyone want me?"

i will say while i do believe sol has good intentions for the most part his white knighting is getting a little irksome. while convenient, it just shows how much he's still hovering and laying in wait for a chance with joe - he, too, is not respecting joe's wishes. no is a complete sentence, sol.

and then things continue back at home and joe finally, finally throws ming's words back at him: if i'm so terrible to be with, if you're so great, why are you wasting your time with me?

and ming doesn't have an answer. what ming DOES have is another back embrace, arms wrapped around joe as he asks "don't you love me anymore?" but is he asking joe or tong?

"although i'm not as good as tong" even now joe's rampant self worth issues are still at play but at least he finally knows he's worth more than whatever this is.

then the phone rings and to me, ming looks skittish. he looks shaken. he's never seen joe so angry and he's scared and as the call progresses that fear morphs into rage when sol calls joe. and the thing is, regardless of who played the main role, ming was never going to be happy. it was either going to be joe or tong playing opposite sol and neither of those things would have been acceptable.

and then i said, out loud, in my quiet office: OH! and promptly lost my shit in the group chat.

ming doesn't look wholly present after his act of violence. his face is vacant, like he isn't completely seeing or grasping what he's just done. i get the impression that ming isn't mentally well; stress and fear and anger have a way of making people do really fucking stupid things and as these things happen you risk falling into the sunk cost fallacy - you've already gone this far, you can't stop now - which all aligns with the obsessive behavior we've seen from ming in the past.

as joe wakes up and they talk once again joe doesn't blame ming, he blames himself for not seeing the writing on the walls even though it was written in invisible ink.

"all these times we were together did you ever love me?"

"you can't tell?"

again, so much of the blame and emotional responsibility of their situationship is put on joe and ming refuses to communicate any of his feelings, perhaps because he doesn't know how to after repressing everything for so long.

WE DIDN'T GET HOT KINKY CHAINED UP SEX THOUGH, WHY DOES GOD HATE ME SPECIFICALLY

but the way joe looks at ming as they linger there in the wake of joe's request looks like a goodbye, the way his eyes soak in every detail of ming's face. despite all of this and the nightmare it has turned into he did love ming, perhaps still does, and he does have some of those good memories he was so desperate to keep.

though like.. joe.... maybe we could consider a different career path??? instead of just jumping to risking our lives? like sure food service sucks, cashiering sucks, etc. but you aren't in danger of falling off any cliffs, you know? and let's be real, he could just go into modeling with those looks.

it's my impression that when ming calls joe he looks haggard, like he's lost numerous nights of sleep (and we really don't know how much time has passed) but either way it does seem like he's at least done some amount of reflecting. his voice comes across soft, subdued, and sincere.

and after everything, back in the present, we see ming. he's still in the apartment, desperately calling joe's name all these years later, still unable to sleep and waiting for joe to come home just like he asked him to years ago.

maybe ming never wanted to enter the entertainment industry before, but he has now. perhaps it was never for the attention or the money, maybe he chose to promote those watches because it was a reminder of the gift from joe. and maybe this job, in this specific industry, is the closest he can feel to joe now. and maybe with new influence and connections ming can find out why he was never able to tell joe he loved him before he lost him.

WHO KNOWS, NOT ME, CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT THO