#I feel like this will explain a lot about my writing….

[callipraxia]

I’ll admit it - thinking of ‘but what will people think of me?’ has stopped me short of writing things before, in everything from writing actual content to writing part of a review on a friend’s story. “What will [Friend] think, seeing that I know that? Even if I explain the actually relatively innocuous reason why I know it, would they even believe me? This is an issue of how something is portrayed in media that I feel pretty strongly about, but in context, it might be better to just…drop it.”

I…tried actually including a detailed example of my next point here, drawing from Anon’s Robert Jordan remark, but it ended up breaking the thousand-word limit before I even got past the introductory explanations, so I guess I’ll write a separate essay about why I don’t really agree with the “dudebro is secretly obsessed with lesbians and BDSM” line of thinking, maybe link it back here later if I remember. In the meantime, the point was - if I start thinking “dang, I think Author X has an Issue with Y,” it’s usually a lot less because of what the author leaves in than what the author leaves out. As an author, one deliberately chooses to explore certain topics, including dark ones that reflect the issues that preoccupy us (isn’t Anne Rice’s work supposed to be kinda messed up? I mean, I’ve never read a word she wrote that I can recall, but aren’t they all, y’know, horror novels?). As distasteful as we might find it, incest and pedophilia and sexual assault and suicide and all those other words you can’t use on YouTube are real things that happen every day. There’s a plethora of reasons why any given author might want to explore such issues in writing, and at least half of ‘em have nothing to do with sex. I’ve never heard anyone imply that Dostoyevsky must have been really, really turned on by the thought of attacking pawnbrokers with axes, much less that he ever committed a murder in real life just for the heck of it. From what I’ve read - though to be fair, my reading on the subject is not extensive - Nabokov probably wasn’t really a pedophile, and Mario Puzo probably had nothing to do with real-life organized crime. I have heard a few people suggest Stephen King must be a perverted serial killer in real life to write what he writes, but those people were idiots. And so forth. Point is, an author examining evil through a certain point of view really should not lead to the assumption that the author has done or wants to do any of those bad things. That’s why we say that authors use their imaginations when they’re working.

Plus, well…nine times out of ten, nobody’s going to make you read a book. If you really can’t read a book without getting uncomfortable because you can’t stop thinking that X or Y means that the author might have wanted his wife to put him on a leash and spank him, you can almost always just…put down the book and go read something else. You can also do this if you’re uncomfortable with Anne Rice apparently having conflicting feelings about God - that isn’t a potential theme that bothers me, but I know people who would be upset for days about reading something that even hinted at someone Having Questions about the divine. Heck, I have a few books I 99% enjoy and I just skim over or entirely skip parts that involve actions I find uncomfortable - my one hard rule is that I won’t willingly even skim anything where bad things happen to pets, but even then, I don’t assume that everybody who ever earned a Newbury Medal is a bad person who likes thinking about such things. I just don’t read their books. Unless you are compelled to do otherwise for a class* or the like, just do thou likewise.

*I was, very reluctantly, compelled to read two books in my undergraduate Adolescent Literature class where bad things happened to dogs; it was the first and last time in my life that I’ve ever tried to get out of reading something, but the professor didn’t believe what I could bring myself to explain about just how negative of a reaction I knew I would have if I read any books with dying dogs in them. Now I still have one of those scenes lodged in my carousel of intrusive thoughts that drive my anxiety level up and make it really difficult not to engage in compulsive behaviors whenever they rudely shove their way up to the front of my brain, but I don’t think badly of Sherman Alexie because of it.

Do you think authors sometimes don't realize how their, uh, interests creep into their writing? I'm talking about stuff like Robert Jordan's obvious femdom kink, or Anne Rice's preoccupation with inc*st and p*dophilia. Did their editors ever gently ask them if they've ever actually read what they've written?

Firstly, a reminder: This is not tiktok and we just say the words incest and pedophilia here.

Secondly, I don't know if I would call them 'interests' so much as fixations or even concerns. There are monstrous things that people think about, and I think writing is a place to engage with those monstrous things. It doesn't bother me that people engage with those things. I exist somewhere within the whump scale, and I would hope no one would think less of me just because sooner or later I like to rough a good character up a bit, you know? It's fun to torture characters, as a treat!

But, anyway, assuming this question isn't, "Do writers know they're gross when I think they are gross" which I'm going to take the kind road and assume it isn't, but is instead, "Do you think authors are aware of the things they constantly come back to?"

Sometimes. It can be jarring to read your own writing and realize that there are things you CLEARLY are preoccupied with. (mm, I like that word more than concerns). There are things you think about over and over, your run your mind over them and they keep working their way back in. I think this is true of most authors, when you read enough of them. Where you almost want to ask, "So...what's up with that?" or sometimes I read enough of someone's work that I have a PRETTY good idea what's up with that.

I've never read Robert Jordan and I don't intend to start (I think it would bore me this is not a moral stance) and I've really never read Rice's erotica. In erotica especially I think you have all the right in the world to get fucking weird about it! But so, when I was young I read the whole Vampire Chronicles series. I don't remember it perfectly, but there's plenty in it to reveal VERY plainly that Anne Rice has issues with God but deeply believes in God, and Anne Rice has a preoccupation with the idea of what should stay dead, and what it means to become. So, when i found out her daughter died at the age of six, before Rice wrote all of this, and she grew up very very Catholic' I said, 'yeah, that fucking checks out'.

Was Rice herself aware of how those things formed her writing? I think at a certain point probably yes. The character of Claudia is in every way too on the nose for her not to have SOME idea unless she was REAL REAL dense about her own inner workings. But, sometimes I know where something I write about comes from, that doesn't mean I'm interested in sharing it with the class. I would never ever fucking say, 'The reasons I seem to write so much of x as y is that z happened to me years ago' ahaha FUCK THAT NOISE. NYET. RIDE ON, COWBOY.

But I've known some people in fandom works who clearly have something going on and don't seem to realize it. Or they're very good at hiding it. Based on the people I'm talking about I would say it's more a lack of self-knowledge, and I don't even mean that unkindly. I have, in many ways, taken myself down to the studs and rebuilt it all, so I unfortunately am very aware of why I do and write the things I do most of the time. It's extremely annoying not to be able to blame something. I imagine it must be very freeing. But it ain't me, babe.

Anyway, a lot of words to say: Maybe! But that might not stop them from writing it, it might be a useful thing for them to engage with, and you can always just not read it.

Also, we don't censor words here.

[contamination-zone]

What do you think will happen if Fresh needs a host desperately or else he will die and the only one near by is CB?

Would he take them as a host or will he just die?

maybe I wasn't clean in that last ask? [this one] but yeah, the only reason Fresh Didn't eat CB when they first met was that CB has a lot of connections to the void, as in, soaked in it. Actively food poisoning, Fresh couldn't eat him if it tried. It would only kill him faster.

Some yipping about the hows and whys of Fresh and CB's friendship + more general thoughts on how Fresh would be friends with anyone at all. which I think...? I can add to this post? feels congruent. to me.

There are a few criteria I go through if I'm seriously figuring out how to write Fresh being friends with someone. If I can't figure something out for all of these, I have to make excuses and stuff and it really just gets out of hand/starts feeling contrived.

1.) why fresh wouldn't just eat them: - explained by the aforementioned stuff earlier.

2.) what does fresh Gain from a relationship: -Cb is a Little Guy, [popular trope to have big monster and little dude, so Fresh thought it would be good to drag him along [after a bit of convincing by CB]]

3.) why didn't fresh freak out and kill them / distance himself / whatever, once he figured out he found he liked them [I talk further at the end too***]: -CB operates on cartoon logic [part void part just how his au works to me], so there would be... a lot of comedic near-misses as Fresh tried to kill him but failed. [I do have an emotional moment where stuff winds down and Fresh has the opportunity to stick a bone thought cb's back, ala. pacifrisk reference, but is unable to go through with it as well. because. its cute :-)]

so!! yep. Fresh is stuck with that little freak </3

***usually in canon I see this as... characters like pacifrisk, who were very, determined? very willful about being friends. Fresh could not push them away, no matter how hard he tried.

A normal sans like characters I don't think have the will-power to do something like that... to make friends with a murderer. Like how sans reacted to the anomaly, he didn't try to befriend you after a bit, he just tried to get you to give up. Papyrus could make friends with Fresh, believing him able to get better, I just think Sans would be too cynical the vast majority of the time. [I think... that is a bit mean to say, because he felt bad for the anomaly at one point. but in the genocide route, even when he tries to appeal to you [if you really were his friend], its all in service of making you give up. He doesn't really think you could be friends at that point, he's grasping at straws, nearly given up.]

Characters who either gain a Lot by Keeping fresh around them [how nightmare falls into this for me] or characters who care very deeply about and would keep pushing no matter how desperately Fresh tries to distance himself. [color :-)]

[note! I am very nervous about my analysis, so I will not take critique on this. I will block you. sorry!!! fragile state in my life✌️]

[hoonieyun]

now playing...

i'll still be here - leigh-anne

pairing: lee heeseung x reader x sim jaeyun

warnings: i dont think so but pls lmk if i need to add anything, 18+

pls ignore timestamps and possible typos lol - this is partially written, please be sure to read the written portion to fully understand the story <3

wc: 468

your phone was endlessly dinging, making it hard for you to focus but you tried your best to focus on the lady sitting in front of you. she had a sleek bun, wire rimmed glasses, and a pen and paper sat in front of her. 

“do you want to get that, yn?” she asks and you shake your head. 

“no, not important” you say with a smile as you quickly switch the ringer off to mute all of the sounds. 

“what is it, anyway?” she asks and you explain that it’s all of the people reaching out to you regarding your new song and because you kind of dropped it out of the blue; a lot of people were pleasantly surprised. you also added that you were planning to just drop the song and kind of go MIA to stop yourself from obsessing over every single thing that people say about you online. 

“that’s good, i’m glad you’re doing your best to listen to my advice but don’t feel like you need to be so strict with yourself. i know you’re a popstar so being on the internet is a part of your job; just know when to get off when it’s becoming too much, ok?”

she was so knowledgable in everything she said, it always made so much sense and whatever she said to you brought so much clarity. which was a good thing because it was her job at the end of the day. 

the rest of your session with your therapist goes very smoothly, talking about your goals for the week and habits that you’ve wanted to get into that you haven’t and other habits that have been hard for you to break and how you can get to a point of releasing those habits. 

it’s only been a few days speaking with this therapist but since she was a part of the mental health retreat you attended previously, she had your information from the retreat so you weren’t completely starting from scratch. 

you bid her goodbye with a small hug and you make your way to your car, pulling out your phone and quickly scrolling through all of the notifications before driving to your apartment. deciding that you’d respond to your texts when you got home. you listened to your new song on your drive home and you don’t realize you’re crying until your version gets too blurry. it wasn’t tears of sadness but something of release. 

like you’re releasing so much weight off your shoulders without the guilt your old self would feel for putting yourself first. as if you had become a totally new person in the last month and this new era of your life was focused on just you. 

choosing yourself and not feeling guilty for wanting to be happy.

masterlist - back - next

hoonieyun notes: guys u need to listen to this song its so beautiful like truly one of my favorite songs.. the lyrics and overall melodic value of the song is so impactful.. anyways omg now playing is almost overrrrr wahhh

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[gingernut1314]

Could you write some luffy dating headcanons?🫶🫶🫶

Dating Luffy would Include...

Content: gender-neutral reader, more love bug Luffy, what I think dating Luffy would be like

Word Count: 700+

A/N: Umm....yesss!!! I'm always so down to write fluffy Luffy things!! If there are any specific dating escapades you'd like me to write about, just let me know! I hope you enjoy!

↞ to One Piece Masterlist | Request Rules | Blog Navigation ↠

Luffy would be the softest, most kind person you’d ever dated

This man is peppering you with kisses every chance he gets

Hugging you every chance he gets

He’s just always finding ways to touch you

He needs to touch you, it’s his love language obvi

If you’re across the ship or somewhere doing something without him, he’s gonna stretch his arm or leg so that he can hold your hand or wrap an ankle around yours

Has close lined about half the crew cause of this

In his need to be close to you, expect to carry him a lot

Cause he’d gonna latch onto your back like some weird backpack

He’ll nuzzle his face in your neck and kiss your skin and tell you all the butterfly-inducing things he thinks of you

Luffy’s gonna say he loves you first

He might even say it way before you two start dating

This guy just loves his friends--you guys are his family

But when you two start dating, you might have to explain that you love him in a different way than you love the crew

Luffy might take a few moments to think this over, but I believe this guy is super emotionally intelligent so he’d know the difference 

And he has no problem letting you know he loves you in this different way too

Be ready to be the first person Luffy’s bringing his strange show and tell things too

Whether it’s a stick or a rock or a very creepy crawly bug, he’s gonna shove it way too close to your face and explain with a big old bright smile on his face what it is and how cool it is

Sometimes he’ll find cool gems or treasures and gift them to you

Sometimes, while on an island, he’ll see something that you just need to have

Of course, this man doesn’t have a single berri to his name, but he’ll beg Zoro or Sanji to buy it for him

And if he’s truly desperate, he’ll brave asking Nami for money

He’ll brave anything for you

He’s gonna do anything to see you smile and hear you laugh

He’ll do bad impressions of the crew or tickle you or even draw you something

He thinks you’re the most beautiful person in the world 

And he is not shy when it comes to telling you that

He’ll grab hold of your cheeks and tell you over and over till you feel like you might explode from the sweetness of it all

Luffy loves food

He lives and breaths food

Because of this, food, none cooking sense, is one of his love languages

Because while he will not share with anyone

You’ll find him not stealing food off your plate once you two start dating

You’ll find him making sure you’ve eaten enough before he vacuums down the rest of the food laid out for you all

If there was something you really were looking forward to eating, and Luffy has it on his plate, he’s gonna let you have a piece

You might even ask Sanji to teach you to cook something simple so you could cook for Luffy

And though Sanji assures you Luffy would beg for boiling water and eat burnt to near charcoal foods, he’ll understand you want it to be nice

Luffy will be brought to tears when you present your meal or snack to him

And he’ll attack you in hugs and kisses 

He’ll insist you share the food you made

I think any nicknames he gives you are gonna be food-related

“You’re my little rice ball or meatball” 

Might get the occasional Sunshine from him, but he’s coming up with these nicknames on the fly

And there are definitely ones that are better than others, but they are cute all the same

Ever since you two started dating, there hasn’t been a single night you two didn’t sleep in the same hammock

There really was rarely a night you two didn’t sleep together before you made your relationship official

But it’s mandatory now

And you are more than happy to be wrapped up in his strong, stretchy arms

Say goodbye to blankets cause Luffy is your blanket now

[miwiheroes]

Hii <3

Respectfully, can you show me your pov? In my mileven pov, Finn did confirm that Mike "lied" during the confession, which is weird to me, I never percieved it as lying (he said he knew he loved her, he didn't say he loved her since moment 1)

It just puts down a lot of byler theories, they say Mike genuinely has feelings for El, at least, in seasons 1-3, the supermarket is like a checkpoint, since he says to her that it's the first time he likes someone like that, so I don't think he liked Will at that point. I thought he did like Will until the love confession. He is a teenager who is scared of people leaving him, so it makes sense that he didn't say it because he feared losing El.

Idk, I don't see why would they break up hehe

Hi, I'm just a bit confused by ur wording in the first paragraph because you say that "he said he knew he loved her" which is true, but then you say that "he didn't say he loved her since moment 1".

Here's what happens in the monologue. Mike describes "the day we found you in the woods" and then goes on to say "i knew in that moment that i loved you". So yes, he did say he loved her since the very first moment he met her 😭

I would understand your reasoning if Mike made it way clearer and said "I know in that moment that I loved you", rather than making it past tense. Making it past tense and saying "in that moment" makes it seem like him in the past knew that he loved her already, when the evidence clearly shows that he did not know that, nor did he feel it. Even if Mike didn't know it at that point, I still don't think he had those romantic feelings, because, as Finn and the Duffers have said multiple times, Mike felt the way about El as Elliott did about ET (which is not romantic love?? its just a fascination, curiosity and deep care for someone in trouble).

I would believe the monologue perfectly well if the writers didn't write insta-love. If Mike had just said something else about loving her, then I would have maybe believed it. But the writers chose to write a provable lie, which is not the easy way out if they wanted to make mileven endgame.

I understand why you don't want to believe byler theories, no matter how provable they are, because they go against something you really like. But believing that Mike's love monologue is something to be taken at face value is not going to work out in the long run. It would have made more sense to have mileven's story end with the love monologue, rather than have S4 end with it. There are still so many questions like:

Why did Mike call her a superhero and say that she can fly and move mountains when she specifically hated being called that and threw those words in his face previously? (yes i know finn added that part but they kept it in)

Why did Mike say he knew he loved her when he met her when he only ends up keeping her when she points to Will in the photo in S1?

Why did Mike say he knew he loved her when he met her when the writers could have just made him say he loved her without making a provable lie?

Why did Will have to be the one to persuade Mike to say I love you?

Why did Will's queer feelings that cause so much pain for the viewer become a tool for mileven's love without pay off?

What will happen when Mike finds out that Will lied about El saying all that stuff? The stuff that made Mike want to say I love you to her? And that Will actually meant all that stuff instead?

Why did El look so angry when Mike said I love you?

Why didn't the love monologue work to save Hawkins?

Why didn't Mike and El talk after the love monologue? Why didn't they simply write a scene where El talks to Mike and is happy about him expressing his feelings?

Your point about the grocery store scene I have explained in this post.

And yes, Mike is a teenager who is scared of people leaving him??? Exactly?? That's why he felt the need to say I love you to her. Some of u ppl have no concept of care and love outside romantic love and it shows-- Mike was scared of El not needing him anymore, he was scared of losing her. Which is why he was so scared of telling her the truth and explaining himself. He felt that the only way that she could be saved from harm was to say I love you.

But he needs to be wrong. He should be wrong about needing to say I love you to not lose her. She needs to express, or Mike needs to find out, that he does not need to force himself to love El to not lose her. If that makes sense?

If Mike ends up being right -- that means that he was forced to say I love you to save her, sacrificing his true self to not lose her. But he doesn't understand yet that he did not need to do that. Mike still has the view that he had at the beginning of the show: El needs me to say I love you in order for me not to lose her as a person. But in S4, El finds out that she does not need him to say I love you to know that she is not a monster. Her opinion on that front changes without Mike's knowledge.

Mike does not yet know this. So she should tell her that she did not need him to say I love you, in order to relieve him from being scared of losing her by her finding out the truth.

okay oof thanks so much for ur ask, hopefully that all makes sense.

TLDR: Basically, Mike can't lose El, yes, but he only says I love you because he's scared to lose her, not because he actually loved her in that moment he met her.

If you want more on Mike's heroic obligations to say I love you to El, read this post please <3

[darlingdaisyfarm]

You know I've been meaning to ask.. is everything okay? I mean your pfp is blank. I understand you're uploading, but I also want to make sure you're okay

idk if i have some mental connection with you, anon, because how else i can explain that you sent this ask right when i felt so bad??? but yeah i should really put a pfp, i just can’t choose the right pic and at same time im lazy….

honestly i promised myself i wouldn’t vent online and irl because i don’t wanna be annoying or be the kind of person people get tired of. but i guess i just feel emotional rn sorry again

well 2025 kinda kicked me in the face already LMAO, it already reminded me that some people will always pick someone else and some things are just not meant to be yours. i just got reminded once again that i’m super replaceable to person i really loved and cared about. so now im realising that i was just there to pass the time until they found smth better, someone better. and they did, they did and that’s just unfair for me, i literally loved this person for 10 years and that's how i ended up

not exactly the fresh start i was hoping for lol

been feeling like a ghost in my own life lately so i guess i made this blog to just be somewhere, to talk to people, to share things i love, to feel like i exist in some small way. to find friends? idk. sometimes i wonder if i’m just taking up space here, but deleting this blog feels dramatic so whatever. although i thought bout this a lot and still think about it, but i guess im just being... yeah, dramatic, i mean i am, ive been told. so, i don't know, deleting feels rude ? and i don’t wanna be rude, i hate being rude :( i still hesitate every time i post though. and i don’t want to be that person who craves reassurance but damn, it gets lonely and im embarrassed to even say that rn

+ last year drained me so much that i couldn’t even start anything for a whole month. its about my work, i just felt stuck, exhausted before i even tried. things are getting better now with my work, though. it’s actually tied to people and honestly, i love that?? i mean, i love people very much. in general. so whenever i meet someone kind or understanding in my work, it lifts my mood

but when it comes to writing or fics, i feel like i’m always fighting myself. actually i enjoy writing, ive been writing since… 14? 13? so i try, i push through, but nothing ever feels right lately. i don’t know if it’s just a phase or if this is how it’s always going to be. why i always feel like i could’ve done better or that maybe i shouldn’t have posted at all

anyways….. i don’t usually post stuff like this. i really don’t want to be like this, i hate sounding so negative, i really do. i promised myself i wouldn’t. i usually just keep things to myself, but you seemed like you genuinely cared, sweetheart and i figured i might as well be honest, i appreciate your worry! thank u sm angel! ♡

[hitomisuzuya]

Hi Suzu, how are you?

Could I request a fluff fic with reverse isekai and harbinger! scaramouche please :)

harbinger!scaramouche x fem!reader. fluffy fluff fluff. reverse isekai.

i know my fluff doesn't hit as well because i know that's not why you guys are really here, but, i enjoy writing fluff so 😊

scaramouche wasn't an idiot. once he'd discovered that the stars in teyvat were fake, he got to thinking. the idea of the stars had to come from somewhere else. the second he mysteriously arrived in your world, he sure got his answer.

your world's stars have to be the blueprint for teyvat's stars.

that wasn't the curious thing though. the curious thing was you. at first, you were just a means to an end. somewhere to stay until he adjusted to your world and then he would dip.

or so he thought.

he totally didn't expect this world to deal him a hand of cards in his favor. you sure are strange to him. you are well versed for some reason about where he has come from, so he didn't really have to explain anything to you.

once you got over the shock of him actually being here right in front of you, it didn't take him long for him to figure out that you are really, really in love with him. which stretched his ego in ways you couldn't possibly imagine.

so sue him if he used that to his advantage. it was sweet how often you dote on him.

needless to say, thanks to you, it was incredibly easy for him to adjust. your worlds mechanics are more similar to teyvat's than he thought.

as you would like to say, scaramouche was soaking up reality tv like a sponge. the overblown drama was the funniest thing in the world to him. and 95% of the time, these people did it to themselves. and he got to sit back and watch it all without even lifting a finger.

"i wish i could've taken you to a harbinger banquet. the drama that can be stirred up is just as good as this," he has probably what you would describe as a shit eating smirk on his face as he watched this woman cry about one guy she likes not returning her affection because she slept with his best friend.

scaramouche struggles to understand sentiment sometimes. this woman was waxing on about how she couldn't stop thinking about the guy she realizes she has more feelings for. about she even thought about him at night while she fell asleep. but she was losing sleep because she always was thinking about him.

"what is this shrew even talking about?" he scoffs, "she talks in a tone like all woman are like this. you either think about him while you fall asleep or you don't. how is she losing sleep thinking about him then?" he glances over at you, and immediately grits his teeth.

why did you have to look so cute right now?

you are having a delayed reaction of sorts. oh you heard every word he said, but you are still processing something he said before his rant. you had a soft, happy smile on your face while you fidget with your fingers. 'i can't believe he just said that to me. he said he wishes he could take me to a harbinger banquet. that would make it kind of like a date, right? should i bring it up later? or-'

"did you even hear a word i said?" scaramouche's voice cuts right through your pounding heart in your ears, and your racing thoughts.

"i think she is being truthful, at least in that respect," you reply, quickly trying to gather yourself. things have been very hard for you lately to say the least.

you enjoy actually being able to dote on scaramouche in ways you thought you never would've been able to. he is a fictional character, this shouldn't be possible. but sometimes you can barely handle being in his presence. it really reminds you of how in love with him you really are. he just flusters you so much.

and it shows all over your face.

scaramouche's eyes widen for a moment. what was with you? you usually made fun of these people with him. but there was something about your voice that sounds different now. like you relate to what she said a lot. "oh?" he raises his eyebrow in indication for you to continue.

"mhm, i do think she is being truthful," boy, did you know what she was talking about. "i have lost so many hours of sleep thinking about you. what she meant by losing sleep is she tosses and turns in bed thinking some kind of activity will force her to stop thinking about him, but it doesn't work. she can only think about him while her tossing and turning keeps her from sleeping," once you start talking however, you can't seem to stop.

"i have lost so much sleep doing exactly that. there is not one girl, no scratch that. there not one person on this earth that doesn't have someone they lose sleep thinking about like that," you took a breath to steady yourself, very firm on standing your ground. any second you knew scaramouche was going to cut in so you have to quick.

"for god's sake, i barely sleep knowing you are in the room next to mine. especially when i know i would.." you trail off in a fit of shy. you can barely bring yourself to finish what you are saying.

that you knew you would sleep so much better if you could be curled up next to him.

scaramouche snorts, and taps his index finger on your lips. "i hear you up at night, you know," he teased, smirking as your eyes widen for a moment as the blush on your cheeks darkens.

"huh? you do? i tried to be as quiet as possible. the last thing i wanted to do was disturb you," how?! you worked so hard to stay quiet at night.

"it's not disturbing me. i just have extra sensitive hearing," you couldn't help but smile a little bit at his response. it was his bristly way of reassuring you. this is why you are so interesting. you just confessed to being in love with him without actually saying it. it feels strangely...nice to him when he has these moments with you.

"since you humans are fragile enough to need sleep, i will sleep in the same bed as you so that you can sleep. i am not opposed to it," he glares at you, daring you to protest.

"you aren't?" you reply with shy hesitation that he quite frankly found adorable.

"i don't like being in debt to people. so consider that as repaying my debt you," things would've been a lot harder for him without you. and it didn't even make sense to him that you stay in a separate room at night.

"you are such a man, scara. and i mean they in the best way," you reply, smiling at him. it startles scaramouche how much he has been anticipating your smiles lately. you usually look away shyly at moments like this. and he was glad you didn't.

oh please, go on. he knows how great he is.

"let's watch these people implode themselves more," he clears his throat and unpauses the tv. he didn't even realize he automatically did it when you started talking. he glances at you and sighs.

you seem unsure of what to do now. you kept giving him side glances, looking at him for some sort of guidance. he realizes he can genuinely get used to the feeling of you depending on him for once.

sighing, he put his arm around you, bringing your head to rest on his chest. he mimics breathing for you to relax

[room-surprise]

It IS very vague and some of that is because of Japanese language, and some of it is because characters don't have names (his brother, his crush) and also there are a lot of information gaps where one could assume a lot of things.

We should note that when World Guide came out, Kui hadn't yet drawn the comics about Mithrun's recovery, or completed the manga. She may not have had the details fully worked out yet, or she may have wanted to make it as vague as possible to avoid telling readers too much information or writing herself into a corner. She just knew that Milsiril showed up and told Mithrun she saw a demon in Utaya, and that's what motivated him to get out of bed and return to the Canaries.

I always assumed that Mithrun was sent to join the Canaries as soon as he became an adult (like Pattadol, like many mandatory military services in the real world, including ancient Greece), and so was living in military barracks ever since he left home...

This assumption is also built on the fact that people getting their own homes and moving out just because they attained legal adulthood is a relatively modern idea, and usually even when people got married back in earlier eras, they would just move into the family home of one of the spouses, depending on the culture and time period. Living alone was uncommon and usually meant you didn't have anyone, or you had gone far from home for some professional reason (school, job, etc).

The only reason I could see for Mithrun leaving home would be if his family was trying to hide him, but I feel like Kui would have mentioned that if it were the case, since that would have had a big impact on him I think.

But you could also assume that the Canaries taking people that young is a new phenomenon and has only started since Utaya, and because we don't have a canon confirmation we can't say for certain! And you could assume that elven society is a lot more modern than the rest of the Dungeon Meshi world, and that single people sometimes live alone.

Hiring extra servants to take care of Mithrun after he was hurt, no matter where Mithrun was living, seems logical to me. Even if Mithrun was living in the family home, I can't imagine his brother (who is physically disabled, sickly, and also wealthy) personally giving him the physical care that he needs when he's bed bound. That kind of work is something servants would do, both because it's seen as menial and because it would be a 24/7 job for multiple able-bodied people.

I also always interpreted the servants taking care of Mithrun as being specialized servants, like healers or nurses (because of the way they're drawn and their matching outfits), since he doesn't need normal servant assistance (helping him dress for fancy parties, cooking fancy dinners for parties he is hosting), he needs medical help at that stage of his life.

And as for Milsiril... like you said, there's nothing about the scenes where they're shown together that tells us where it's taking place, it could be at a hospital, it could be at the Kerensil family home, it could be Mithrun's home... The only place it probably isn't is Milsiril's house, because she shows up wearing her Canary uniform and says "I'm visiting" and then mentions that "they" told her things about Mithrun's health... Implying someone is taking care of him and Milsiril learned about it from them.

Sorry this got a little bit long, my point is, I completely understand your assumptions and that's why I wanted to explain some of mine as well (and point out where I'm making assumptions as well, and why!)... But ultimately this is all speculation and assumption until Kui explicitly tells us more.

帰る does indeed mean come home. It can mean "return" but the implication is returning "home." いつでも is whenever and 帰って来い is the request "come return home" so in this case at least Yen Press got it right.

I see

Mithrun during his recovery would barely leave his bed so it wouldn't make sense for him to be the one to go visit

Smh EHScans can I trust nobody

[pressplay-if]

I'm actually going a little bit feral in the most positive way rn over this IF. Like I was a bit hesitant at first due to the interview format but oh my goshhhh it's so unique and almost cathartic in a way I love it!! It's like when you're imagining yourself as a celebrity on a talk show explaining stories of your life. Totally started playing for Lincoln cause I love an obsessive fan RO but Zima just grabbed my heart in some kinda way and I can't imagine picking anyone else. All the characters feel so real and I really can feel the respect you have for your audience by the way you introduce concepts and ideas gently and let us fill in the gaps without telling us everything in explicit detail.

Anyway sorry for the rant but I'm totally buzzed with excitement over this!! Thank you so much for sharing your story with us!!

(PS as a longtime Florence + the machine fan I was delighted to see the lyrics from Free before the Psych scene.)

Thank you very much! Hearing people gush about Press Play in so much detail really boosts my confidence in my own writing, so I really appreciate the support. Also, I'm always happy to hear from another Florence + The Machine enthusiast; I've been an avid listener since I was a tiny little bit of a thing. Her music has seen me through a lot. Since you like Zima, I feel obligated to mention my favorite Zima/MC coded song, What Kind Of Man. I'm sure you already know it, but ye. It reminds me of Zima and MC so so much, mainly through Zima's perspective.

[witchyliterature]

PLEASE PLEASEEE could you do like unreciprocated love w touya i’d be so grateful 🙁🙁 maybs based off of the song chest pain by malcolm todd or promise by laufey either oneee! n i have no idea what format it could be so whatever you think fits best :)

this is actually my first time writing proper angst sooo IDK. i chose promise bc i know that song better which made it easier to write to. i think this was ok? I REALLY DONT KNOW but yeah. anyways, it’s post war period, rehabilitated touya au, mentions of death, reader is a little mean to touya but one could argue it’s justifiable (depends on perspective, idk im just the author yall). did a normal one shot format cus i can only do 10 images on mobile and i knew i wanted this to be a lot longer (it’s only 1.6k words but still). touya living with shoto canon cus i said so. use of the name dabi but only for metaphorical comparisons. gender neutral reader. hints to musician dabi (like one line). uhhh yeah i think that’s all, HOPE U LIKE

promise; touya todoroki

dabi was never a romantic.

the bubbling burnt feeling of hatred consumed him wholly and swallowed any other emotion - he was a vessel for hatred, for not only did he carry his own, but also his family’s who couldn’t express their own feelings toward endevour.

yet, touya found out he was.

after the war and a long rehabilitation process, he had realised there are other things to life, hatred was not the only emotion in sight, it was not the only emotion he deserved.

so when touya found out that he had feelings for you, the only friend he had ever made by himself after the war that didn’t have any villainous intent, he had been terrified.

he couldn’t explain it at first, why his heart would leap when speaking to you, or why he tried to hard to impress you when you both went to the gym, or even why he had made a song about you and all the lyrics sounded oddly romantic.

then, when even his socially inept brother could tell that he had some form of feelings for you, it finally clicked.

so then, he made a promise, to distance himself until these childish feelings resolved themselves.

touya didn’t deserve to love or be loved, not after all the destruction he caused or all the suffering he made others feel - even his own family.

for 16 days, he avoided you like the plague. airing your calls and texts, avoiding you at work (which was damn near impossible) and when he did have to talk to you, he kept it short and sweet, even then, his palms got sweaty and his smile would grow double its size when you were around.

but, at some point, he broke his promise.

he didn’t exactly understand why he did, he just saw someone that looked like you when he was walking home from work and decided that enough was enough.

shoto had hyped him up, telling him that this was going to be fine, you had to have want him as well after everything, or at least you would give him a chance.

touya’s confidence was built, he knew what he was going to do, he was going to ask you out.

on call though, he was still a shy little boy on the inside of it all.

leading for him and shoto to be sat on the kitchen island seats across from one another, calling your number while putting you on speaker.

“touya! oh my goodness, here i thought you were going to end our friendship! what’s going on, why have you been ignoring me?” your sweet voice rang through, it felt like he could see your small cute pout as you said that, hand on hip attempting to look serious.

“i would never, i’m sad you would think that.” touya chuckled.

“yeah well, ignoring me for 16 days is really something, you know?!” you laughed.

“my deepest apologies, you can burn me at the stake if you truly want to.” touya responded smugly.

“i would but that seems like it would turn you on.” you scoffed, he laughed in response.

“alright then, but you won’t get to know why i called you.” touya sighed playfully.

“do tell oh great touya takamani!” you said with faux respect.

that was the last name he told you, the one the government gave to him. they allowed him to keep his first name since not many people remembered him at touya anyways, as well as to allow him to keep at least some part of his identity.

“listen, you’re like really stupid sometimes, and it gets me angry sometimes. you talk way too much and you love spoiling movies for me.” touya stated.

shoto looked at him confusingly, touya flinched as he realised he was just insulting you and you were remaining silent.

“wait- i- ugh, i didn’t meant it like that. i had this whole other part to it but…” touya stammered.

“it’s ok, i know you didn’t mean it. you’re terrible at talking about your feelings but, i’ll be patient with you, i always will be.” you said calmly.

shoto looked at touya shockingly, he had met you once or twice and understood… the physical attraction to it. but hearing you talk to his brother in such a fashion made him realise where touya’s love for you come from.

touya’s own heart fluttered tremendously at that, you were always paitent with him. even now when he has ignored you for over two weeks and you never shouted or screamed, you just, waited.

“i just mean that, those traits are things i don’t even hate. i love them, and you, i love it all.” touya blurted out, his legs bouncing with anticipation while shoto gave a thumbs up.

“aw, you’re so sweet! i love you too, touya!” you responded.

“no, i mean it as though, i love you… romantically. i want to go on dates with you and take you to your favourite places and think of a future with you. in fact, i don’t even care what we do, i just want to be near you while we do those things. i.. don’t exactly understand how these things go, ive never been in a relationship or have seen a successful one other than my brother’s friends but even then i don’t really see them. i’m willing to try, as long as im yours, im willing to do anything you want me to.” touya had explained, his gruff voice softening out as he spoke.

as he spoke, it felt like you could see the starts twinkle in his eye, the ones that only show themselves when he looks at you with that look. full of love and hope, with his heart raw and beating on his sleeve. yeah, you could imagine it vividly.

and you hated it.

you hated how you can see him gazing in his house dreaming of a future with you, or how you can imagine his blushing while thinking of you, or those moments in work where his eyes are stuck on his figure and you pretend to not acknowledge it.

because you did not want him to think of you that way, you never desired to be his and you never held out hope of you two being together past friendship.

and you didn’t care if that hurt him.

“touya, i hope you’re not serious.” you laughed pitifully.

shoto and touya froze.

“i-i am?” touya responded slowly, as though he knew what was coming. he was in the danger zone and the alarm bells with ringing violently as he pretended that they were just precautionary measures.

“i know that you’re dabi.” was all you said in response.

touya’s eyes widened, his breathing quickened and his hand ran through his white messy hair.

“you do? damn i was-“

“don’t play this off as a joke. listen, i didn’t care that much when i first learned a couple months ago. i valued our friendship despite your past, but expecting a relationship between us is downright delusional. even if i were to give you a chance, it would never last. that war you started because of your own daddy issues caused a lot of my families death and financial issues, i can respect the change in behaviour and i don’t mind keeping you as a friend but i could never love a villain.” the sting of your venomous words seeped into touya’s bloodstream and stopped the rhythmic beat of his heart.

he felt dizzy and lost, he heard you speak again but it became a blur as his vision started to blur from the sting of tears the bullied its way out of his eyes.

touya was angry, sad, heartbroken and anything else under the sun. worst of all? he couldn’t even blame you. you were well within your right to reject him for that reason and he hated that.

the familiar bubbling started to boil in his gut again, his default emotion to any bad situation that was all consuming and ever so comforting in its perverse ways.

it was like a hug from his father, Lord knows that he never received that when he was younger much but the one time he did, the one time affection was shown to him, it felt like this. touya felt like everything he ever despised, all the darkness within his enveloped him within its grasp.

it was reliable, trustworthy and never lied him.

love wasn’t, it was sickening and tight on the heart. it was faulty and pretended to be there for you in times of need, but, like everything in life, was just a trick that got him vulnerable enough to make him tick.

touya finally locked back into reality, realising now that shoto and you were arguing. he has never seen his stoic brother that angry, but he didn’t know why. why would he defend the very villain that ruined his childhood? dabi was the very thing he seeked to destroy and it’s not like dabi and touya were that seperate.

touya was just dabi with a false sense of security.

“it’s fine, honestly. sorry for bothering you y/n, hang up sho’” touya suddenly spoke.

shoto hung up the phone quickly, placing it down as he looked at his brothers eyes. once full of life, stars and love looking exactly like it did eight years ago.

“are you-“

“i’m fine.” no he wasn’t, of course touya wasn’t, but what more could he do.

he shouldn’t have broken his promise, he should’ve stayed away and listened to dabi - the anti romantic voice in his head telling him to stay away.

because now touya realised now more than ever, that while it hurts be something, it was worse to be nothing with you.

[wyvchard]

Hear me out:

Agent Phoenix and John Juniper having "traumatized siblings with a strained relationship because of it" or at least "we grew up in the same messy family" vibes.

This is based on my own interpretation of Agent Phoenix and John Juniper but I wanna know what other people think.

A lot of people seem to write Agent Phoenix helping John Juniper get out of the explosion that destroyed the building. I also hold that same headcanon because of the potential plot points later on.

It's been shown that the agency is far from the best towards their agents, as shown by: A. the "vacation" but is actually a mission, B. getting cramped in the van after being declared dead (granted, it was quite the pragmatic solution), and C. being left on the beach after literally saving the entire agency (hopefully, they did come a few moments later). But what if this was something that they're honestly used to? "It is what it is" and all that.

It's also no secret that Hollywood, and showbusiness has a lot of scandals and dark secrets. John Juniper must've seen quite a lot of it, as someone in the industry, especially his status.

I can imagine the two bonding over the fact they've been stuck in organizations and systems that weren't exactly their best place to be in for their mental health but it was their "element" and they can't bear to leave, so to speak.

Due to fact I heard so much dark stuff about celebrities and the entertainment industry, I can easily imagine Phoenix knowing quite a bit of scandals to the point they and Juniper just understands the references immediately as some kind of an inside joke.

They're both affected by less than ideal systems and the foils on how they reacted to that reality is a possible fun thing to explore. John is more likely to lash out after the Peace Summit, maybe more outraged at everything that's going on, at everything that he lost. But Phoenix? They just deal with the cards dealt to them because they didn't know that something was missing in the first place.

John knows who can do what job from his time as a director. He knows who to contact with all the tasks that needs to be done in the proper way. He has to have gotten some passing familiarity with certain forms and rights. (He most likely has a legal team so some legal jargon might stick in his mind.) Maybe he can support Phoenix that way like an older member of the family would help someone younger get government issued documents.

Phoenix, in turn, gives back in the form of street smarts or at least some awareness, especially if we follow the headcanon that John's in hiding from everyone. They would also be the one guiding John when dealing with minor inconveniences he never had to and explain to him how certain things deviate from the paper.

The fact that they can't really confide in anyone else? (Sure, Phoenix may have Reginald depending on the interpretation of their relationship, but can he really understand?) The only ones who knew what it was like to get out of the ruins would be themselves. They saw the event in very similar lenses. In similar circumstances and choices in deciding to stay.

They could form a romantic connection from this give and take but what if what happened between them in the Spy and the Liar gave both sides so many conflicting feelings that they can't even consider it? Sure, they can be civil and come to help each other but that's it. Like how some siblings families meet each other and would help for the sake of sharing the same family but just ends there. They're civil but never close. Because what happened in the past is too painful to fully ever mend from.

Please note that this isn't an attack on the shippers but just another possibility. You can come with so many nuances from this angle.

Just throwing this into the void. I could be reading their relationship all wrong. /silly

[volvolts]

Wanted to run this by you since you keep your own writing very grounded in the text.

What do you think of AUs that take Philip's self-centeredness and reverse it? As in run it in the opposite direction, from Genocidal Bigot towards Guilt-Paralyzed Loner? Do you think there's a right and wrong way to do such AUs? Does it sound like a realistic departure from canon to you?

i dont remember if i ever saw one in a long time (i think defanged belos was only one that comes to mind that's similar rn). i actually haven't seen a lot of au philip stuff like this (i honestly struggle starting a lot of things i've been meaning to get into and also sometimes its hard to find lol). plus writing a guilt ridden character (especially as a main character) is hard since there's a fine line between reading about someone's guilt and just hearing someone wangsting and feeling sorry for themselves. it can get annoying real fast. i also can't properly imagine the right "turning point" for him.

honestly i'm willing to accept breaks from canon if it's fairly minor "quality of life" moments and his turn is believable within the confines of its story ya know? generally i dont think there's a right or wrong way to make this work and if i dont like it it's usually because it goes against my personal takes on the show and not because of "quality" if that makes sense?

though any belos turning good stories im very picky about who they villainize and how they do it. its hard to explain but i feel like if they try to make kikimora worse than belos then i'm not that into it. i think if its feels like the author singled out a character to make them the bad guy because they dont like them, or at least they just like belos more and need a scapegoat if that makes sense? i dont really find this one a lot in this fandom so we're pretty good there tho

as for one that follows canon? i remember a post i saw a while back (i think it was from @/levshany?? i dont remember) where they said a "canon compliant" belos realizing he was wrong and giving up is next to impossible because he would try to die due to the guilt and we would never have the plot.

for something like this to be "canon realistic", this would be my idea of it

(talk of suicide under the read more)

an evil to guilt pipeline belos would be one where he just tries to die. if we want him to live until luz's time then we would have an "immortal who wants to die" situation. he's far enough where it's hard to die easily but not far enough where he's the emperor or anything. and i firmly believe that he would still be the villain

we need to also keep in mind he's still being self centered. he may feel remorseful for his actions but he's so caught up in his punishment and "what he deserves" he doesn't realize that there has to be other avenues to take because this idea clearly isn't working. if we go the loner route, he's a cryptid the witches spread around because they have no clue what he is, he's a lone man who will do any favors you ask but in return you must try to kill him, if you fail he'll end your life instead. he's forgotten caleb and his own hatred for the witches. he only remembers his guilt and his need to die and his anger and self hatred that he can't. he doesn't even remember his why anymore.

if he has the collector, i can see a route where he tries to find a titan to free him. their exchange is this: philip frees the collector and in exchange, the collector either kills or imprisons him as a doll along with everyone else (meanwhile philip is just unconscious and in his own head and no longer feeling anything anymore also i dont remember if luz's dream as a doll was the exception or the rule or only happening when the collector brings you out to play with)

philip is trying so hard to die that he does not care who is going down with him. instead of being a genocidal bigoted maniac, he's more like someone that needs to be put down because he has no idea where to start "redeeming" himself. he would be frustrating and pitiful to watch as he self sabotages and descends further into darkness. he made himself irredeemable because he believed he didn't deserve it.

the problem then would just be this is a complete departure of what the owl house is. forgiveness and redemption isn't that big a theme in toh thats for certain. their themes is self acceptance and expression, among other things. weirdos stick together and all that. this could technically be paralleled to luz's guilt but personally im one of the people who found luz's guilt sudden and also completely unfounded (like she didn't know, plus her helping someone only to make things worse by trusting the wrong person was never treated like a major flaw of hers before. it was something she did but it was never presented as something she needed to fix ya now?)

(but im kinda just rambling at the end here though. obviously fanfic, or any media tbh, is not obligated to teach you a lesson or reflect themes. i dont go into someones au and expect a dissertation. i just hope the author is having fun and other people are too)

[stars0fthesea]

Hello! I’m so extremely bored so I’m gonna post a song analysis kind of thing? But it’s about Jason and Amelia. Uhmmm idk how to explain it soooo JUST READ!!!

Song: A Humans Touch (on Spotify by TWRP, McKenna Rae)

(TW: Mentions of child abuse and neglect. I don’t go into super details but it is mentioned.)

(ALSO ALSO These are my own versions of Jason and Amelia. They were childhood friends that grew up together!!! I’ll make another post about that or whatever.)

Jason and Amelia ^

The first bit could be applied to both of them.

“Am I toy to you, my love? Just a thing to play and then throw away.”

For Jason it’s the feeling of betrayal. he did everything for Amelia, kept her safe from the world. He was loyal to her and yet she betrayed him when he was at rock bottom. He believes that Amelia took all the “love” he gave to her without giving anything back. Essentially she “threw him away” after she realized she no longer needed him. Even though that isn’t what happened.

Jason just can’t ever blame himself for his own actions and the consequences that follow. He didn’t keep Amelia safe, nor was he ever loyal. He wanted control over her, and when he no longer had that control he became angry. That anger mixed with the exhaustion and burnout he faced ended up killing him.

For Amelia, she felt terrified— she was terrified. Always feeling as though Jason never truly loved her, only used her, manipulated her into having no one around her. Scaring her from ever making true friends and only having Jason, until the end. Which goes with the “Am I just a toy to you, my love?” Jason played with her, toyed with her emotions. Turned her once confident personality into a more confined one.

“I never asked for this”

Jason never asked his parents to neglect, abuse, and kick him out of the house all because he wanted to become a toymaker. Amelia never asked for Jason to treat her the way he did just because she was one of the only one to treat Jason nicely.

“I always did my best.”

Jason always listened to his father. Fixing any flaws his father would point out. He did everything to try and get his attention, try and make him proud— until he realized that nothing. Nothing. He did would ever make his parents happy. Everything he did was a mistake in their eyes. And so he tuned them out. Jason didn’t need them anyways. For gods sake he would show them just how amazing he really is.

…

“Without your love, I am a broken mess.” Self explanatory for Jason…after Amelia killed him he ended up being broken. His heart became more rotten after losing Amelia’s love for him. He turned into a mess, looking for a woman that can replace what Amelia left. A void in his heart, waiting to be filled.

This entire part is just Jason. ^

“I never did you wrong”

These words fit Amelia more. During their entire relationship Amelia didn’t do anything to Jason. She was supportive of his dreams, offered to help him succeed, she was an amazing friend.

Yet Jason still treated Amelia as if she was nothing but a toy. She did everything for him, but Jason treated her like a child. Hell she could have done so much more than the pathetic redhead and he’d still see her as something he has control over. Amelia knew that they would never be equals in his eyes, and she didn’t dare say anything about it. (If you couldn’t tell he’s a misogynist.)

For Jason these words just circle back to his entire belief being: His actions are justified because everything he did was to protect Amelia from the cruel world she didn’t understand. He didn’t do anything wrong to Amelia, she just didn’t understand anything. She didn’t understand the love he was giving to her.

“Until the new me came along.”

Amelia again! This kind of goes with the first part but I wanted to write it separately. We know Amelia didn’t do anything to Jason, yeah.

She eventually did free herself from his control, realizing what he was doing to her. It took a lot of courage and strength but she did it. She escaped Jason. And eventually she killed the man that manipulated her. Thus why the lyrics: “I never did you wrong, until the new me came along.” Fits her so well. This new version of herself took over control and got rid of the evil redhead.

“it was just you and me”

Jason from the very start of his life was neglected. His own parents didn’t want him. He was alone. At school nobody would speak with him. The teachers felt bad, but they didn’t do much with the children teasing and bullying Jason. He had absolutely no one.

But then.

Amelia showed up in his life. Amelia who was smiling brightly since the day she met Jason. She was talkative and sure a bit annoying, but Jason finally had someone. And it wasn’t bad. Despite all the other children whispering rumors about Jason, Amelia stuck by his side.

It was just Jason and Amelia.

Jason needs Amelia. Or at least that’s what he thinks.

He takes the lives of every woman that reminds him of Amelia. Whether it be their personality, their face, their looks, whatever. He desperately tries to feel how it once felt to have Amelia by his side. Call it obsession if you will…but really he just misses having such power and control over someone.

[minetteskvareninova]

I don't know if I agree with this; Alicent's writing, especially in season 2, is a burning dumpster fire, and some of OP's point are definitely spot-on:

Listen, gurl, they didn't even properly explain what this relationship is about, so her leaving the door unlocked is the least of our worries. Like, if she just wants to get some dick, why is Criston The Honourable indulging her? It's implied that he's in love with her, but she isn't with him, and somehow this is not a problem for, like seriously, WHY DOES NOONE IN THIS SHOW EVER SAY "I LOVE YOU"?! I've never seen a show so devoid of romance that wouldn't be just subtext and mindreading, yet at the same time teeming with possibly romantic relationships. This ambiguity could work, if we otherwise got a good look at the interiority of the characters involved, AND YET. I am serious when I say we have a perfect understanding of what Aegon the Trashy is feeling at any given moment, but Alicent, whom the show presents as an equally, if not more important character, is an enigma wrapped in a mystery.

I mean, at this point I am glad we at least got some development of her relationship with Helaena, even if it wasn't a lot and it was just as messy as everything else. This one is a general problem with the show, in that it is nominally about familial drama blowing up into a country-wide civil war, yet some members of the family are consistently designated as "lesser" and treated as an afterthought in-universe and out. Like even Helaena's reaction to the death of her child is extremely confusing - it COULD be that her relationship to her children and motherhood is dysfunctional in a way that may or may not be related to her implied autism, but how the fuck are we as the audience supposed to know?!

I mean, her contempt for Aegon is at least consistent and understandable? It wasn't very strategically sound, but how in-character do you think this stupidity was is kind of a YMMV in my opinion. Also not to say anything, but she couldn't have known what Aegon would do as a result of her words! Jeez, give the man and his infinitely bigger stupidity some credit!

I don't know what this one is referring to, and honestly I don't think she's THAT guilty, so that's fine with me.

Again, the fact that her relationship with her children is a bit troubled was well-established in the previous season, so I actually don't mind that. And I mean she did try her best to stand by Helaena, so...

I am not sure if I agree; she was clearly plenty politically active during Viserys' lifetime, and was basically the regent in all but name (you could argue that Otto was her co-ruler, but splitting hairs). On the other hand, Aemond is (in the eyes of the council) the heir and a war hero, yes, but also an 18-year old, too young to be a good ruler in his own right, too stubborn to serve as a puppet king. So I could see a potential council member go either way, with misogyny potentially playing a part, but I am chafing a bit against the show seemingly assuming that just because Aegon's council doesn't support female succession, it's a priori against a well-established female political figure serving as a regent. For example, Ottoman or French succession laws were vehemently against female succession, yet both monarchies had plenty of powerful female regents, especially mothers of underage rulers. This is kind of a problem with show!Alicent, who had the chance to gain more influence during her husband's illness than her book counterpart, yet somehow is merely a person with some influence at court, just like book!Alicent. Is there really noone in the council who has, over the years, come to like and respect her (well, except for that maester, I forgot his name)?!

I mean that scene was extremely stupid for a lot of other reasons, but I could rant about for way too long, so I'll just leave it at that.

That one I sort of understand, in that she was kinda done with politics and the whole cause of her nominal faction in general; if she just fucked off to Oldtown with Helaena and Jahaera or whatever, with the intention to sit the whole war out, I'd get it. It's the "surrendering to Rhaenyra" part that I find baffling.

Okay, this is where I disagree with the OP the most; if Daemon was the future ruler, I'd get it, but he isn't, and I am pretty sure he'd have to contend with Rhaenyra if he tried to do anything. Would she come off of this confrontation as a victor? God knows, but in any case, I can see her giving mercy to Daeron, and maaaybe even Aegon - or at least I can see how Alicent might've thought that, even though she literally crowned him herself. But still, in Rhaenyra's point of view, Aegon committed the crime of usurpation, unless they are able to blame the whole thing on the Green Council "leading him astray" - which he could actually pull off, considering he had to be dragged into kingship kicking and screaming! But yeah, Otto is a toast in either case, and so is Aemond, who again in Rhaenyra's eyes murdered one of her sons. Like, Alicent must know that whatever happens, if Rhaenyra wins AT THE VERY LEAST Aemond is fucked. And it's not like Aemond, who owns the biggest fucking dragon in Westeros by far would take all of that lying down, either! Alicent opening the gates of the city to Rhaenyra gives some advantage to the Blacks, but doesn't end the war by a long shot. For Aemond, keeping his faction on the throne is a matter of life and death, and as long as a good chunk of Westeros is willing to stand by him, there is nothing Alicent could do to actually end the war.

...come the fuck on. You can't be serious. You just can't. "Doesn't have the decency to die" is such a stupid and needlessly mean-spirited sentiment. Go to hell OP.

Okay, I can actually suspend my disbelief in this case and say these people don't want war because of some vague sense of noblesse oblige and because even in a feudal system, civil war (as opposed to a war of conquest) is a supremely destructive enterprise that just needlessly devastates your future domains. You're supposed to feed the sheep, not torch it with a big fuck you dragon.* The problem of course is that, as I've pointed out a million times by now, THE WAR HAS ALREADY STARTED. There is no peaceful solution to this situation, period, and the show's attempts to pretend otherwise just reflect badly on the characters.

Those random things were meant to give us some insight into her interiority and I cannot overstate how much they didn't do that.

And your final conclusion on the character is... Wow. No words. Congratulations, you somehow manage to be even less charitable towards Alicent than the show and me, a Black partisan! Impressive. Gold star haterdom. Mahidevran sultan would be proud.

*A reference to the famous Maria Theresa quote "You need to feed the sheep if you want to shear it." Basically, this is how she justified the state-ordered limits on feudal rents and obligations, which were previously the sole prerogative of the landowners themselves. In other words, "don't keep the peasants that you live off of on the brink of starvation".

An analysis on how the show turned Alicent into an accidental villain (part 2)

The portrayal of Alicent in season 2 is bizarre to say the least. On one hand, it seems like the writers are trying to keep her as a "good" character. On the other hand, it seems like they are trying really hard to humiliate her.

First of all, this desire to “humble” Alicent seems very strange considering they’ve went out of their way to portray Alicent as possible by making her crown Aegon based on a misunderstanding, she wasn’t aware of the plan to crown him, she refused to have Rhaenyra killed. 

Second of all their attempt to make Alicent sympathetic or a victim also fail spectacularly.

Alicent's behavior this season is utterly self-centered, delusional and stupid. To the point that it's comical at times

In this season she :

sleeps with Cole while leaving the door unlocked

barely gives a shit when her grandson is brutally murdered. Seriously, Alicent's lack of care for her grandchildren is disturbing, does she even know their names?

recognizes that Aegon is eager to please, proceeds to do nothing about it despite her "intelligence" and later insults him while he's already down and causes him to put himself in danger

feels very shallow guilt for that

doesn't take time to help her children with their grief, even though it's not even like she feels any grief herself that would overwhelm her

never proposes any plan of action at the council, yet expects not only to be taken seriously but to made regent, even though making Aemond regent makes perfect sense since he's the heir and the Green's biggest advantage

has the enemy near her, unprotected, and lets her go because of sentimentality

after not being made regent, instead of trying trying to leverage her influence in other ways, she just abandons, and then soon after betrays her entire family and faction

SHE CONDEMNS HER FAMILY TO DEATH. Seriously, Aegon, Aemond, Daeron and Otto are all dead if Rhaenyra becomes queen.

She doesn't even have the decency to share their fate (since she's admitting her mistakes), she is ready to just go live her best life in peace (where and how exactly, we don't know)

In the show, she is largely responsible for the beginning of the Dance, since apparently Rhaenyra would not have done anything to her siblings if Aegon was never crowned and the King's word is the only claim considered valid, yet she acts all season like she has no responsibility for it and condemns violence (like what did you think would happen when you dragged Aegon to the throne????). Which also feels very shallow because as a youtuber pointed out in their video about s2 of HOTD, just because we believe war is bad, doesn't mean we will automatically buy that medieval characters would believe that. They needed to establish in s1 that Alicent and Rhaenyra care about the innocents, not just be like we'll they are woman of course they care ! That's lazy

Plus all the random things Alicent does while her family is tearing itself apart like getting eaten out before a council, taking baths, lighting candles, swimming fully clothed, which many find boring but I just find very funny in how absurd it is.

In conclusion of both parts of this analysis, Alicent is a crazy, petty, bitter, jealous, self-centered, dumb, incompetent, delusional, hypocritical, judgmental, treacherous abusive mother with no self-awareness who doesn't love any of her children except Helaena (and that's debatable considering she was willing to let Daemon get away with what he did to her, she's more of a prop to her than a daughter), doesn't care about her grandchildren, doesn't care about her father, brother and lover, who refuses to take responsibilities for her action and is ready to sacrifice tons of people for her "freedom".

Which is fine, but then go all in, make her a soap opera villain and make us love to hate her. They could do that by stressing the comedic elements of a character like that, example: Joffrey is horrible but he is often very funny to watch, Lucille Bluth is another good example of a horrible but incredibly entertaining character.

[nethhiri]

Oof chapter 51 was heavy af, but your ability to write gore is concerningly amazing 🤨 you don't have actual experience with torturing people do you? 🤔 Can't wait for 52, super excited, please tell me there will be loads of fluff (I mean after the super not fluffy revenge) I feel like I need some aftercare after that omg 😂

Ummmm no but close….. 😅 Observing at the state medical examiner’s office was eye opening to say the least. And I have quite a bit of autopsy experience. (To be perfectly clear though, I absolutely abhor doing them.)

YES THANK FUCK. I mean it’ll be a tinge angsty bc of the trauma but it will be sweet as well.

[lazylittledragon]

ok someone please correct me if i'm wrong but am i weird for thinking those 'audiobooks don't count as reading' posts are ableist as fuck????