#I have other ideas but this is just a LITTLE look into her character

[taliabhattwrites]

Here's a mini-version so I can go back to Sifu.

A lot of people have voiced confusion at the backlash against characters like Bridget being depicted as textually transfem, or the general drive to refuse to name the transfeminine body as a woman's body in erotic media. While my transhet friends have talked to me at length about how cis queer men's transmisogyny does manifest in this kind of degendering--and how they rationalize it by considering transition a sort of 'betrayal' of their community, as though trans women were simply trying to transition to greener pastures--I hope it's obvious to everyone that gay men alone cannot sustain this kind of pervasive cultural attitude. Especially when homophobia and transmisogyny are coterminous in patriarchal societies.

So why do men, in general, and even people of genders beyond 'man', insist on third-sexing the transfeminine body? Wouldn't it be preferable, more stable for a straight man and his identity to consume the eroticized transfem as a woman?

Well, if you don't have time to read the 10,000-word article I just linked--though you should, I worked quite hard on it--the shortest version possible I can give you is that the sexual consumption of third-sexed populations by men doesn't destabilize their gender or sexuality as much as you might think. Patriarchy has always had "fail-states", the faggotized, degendered, un-manned subject that cannot be allowed to consider itself a Woman, but is definitely something Lesser than a full-fledged Man.

Given that modern sexual mores are no less centered around penetration than they were in Roman times, men can freely engage in that form of intercourse with the third-sexed, transfeminized woman without having to name her as a woman, and without that being disruptive to his place in the gender heirarchy.

Once you understand that, you realize what the value of the transfeminized sexual object is to a man that wishes to use her as such. The un-womaned transfem is abject, highly precarious, vulnerable, disposable, a dehumanized creature whose entire purpose has been reduced to taking it, whether we mean "sex" or "violence" (and oftentimes, both). She has value in her utter devaluation, in her reduction to a place below the respectable, marriageable Woman that can be taken home, introduced to the parents, and exploited for reproductive labor. The third-sexed, degendered transfem is the Platonic ideal of a fuckable object that can be discarded.

And while some of you might be tempted to kinkpost about that, when we're not horny and are trying to navigate through the world as people, being seen in that way constantly is a very, very bad thing. It's what gets us hurled out of society and locked out of the formal economy, left to subsist or perish on the margins as we are able.

So people are very attached to the idea that their favorite porn category is just that--a 'shemale', a 'futa', a 'dickgirl', an 'otokonoko', a 'ladyboy'--any dehumanizing, degendering term that renders her neither man nor woman, but purely a sexual fantasy. The idea that this sex toy they wish to use could actually be considered a person, a woman, or even a trans woman, that horrid, 'woke', 'political' individual with multicolored hair and multivariate pronouns, feels existentially threatening.

"What do you mean, I've been fantasizing about exploiting a person this entire time? Fuck you!"

Anyway, this little piece has focused exclusively on men's relationship to transfemininity. Do people of other genders have similarly exploitative relationships to us, and a consequent desire to third-sex us?

In a word, yes, but you might have to wait for me to write more essays before I go into it. So look out for those in the future. Quick disclaimers: I've focused this writing on why transfeminine abjection is attractive to those who wish to consume us, but please do not misconstrue this me as saying that cis women are always considered 'people' or 'respectable' under patriarchy--this is very much not the case. I'm simply discussing this as a matter of degrees, where the transfem is more easily and utterly dehumanized due to her being constructed as both failed man, unable to sire, and failed woman, unable to gestate.

Furthermore, entire classes of cis women are also often reduced to this kind of degendered, exploitable state. Degendering is a broader force that is core to transmisogyny, but is not the entirety of transmisogyny, and more women than merely trans women are degendered.

Okay, NOW back to Sifu.

trap hentai now blatantly shows their "boys" with obvious hrt titties but still calls them boys whats up with that. back in my day they they were flat chested but now its "draw a trans woman and misgender her"

[revelboo]

Hi can you do Cyberverse grimlock Valentines Headcanon >:3

i need some cyberverse characters in here lol :3

Valentine’s Oneshot-Grimlock

Cyberverse Grimlock x Reader

• “Ah, there you are, my little darling.” Head lifting at the booming, cheerful voice, you can’t help but smile because he’s smiling. The big bot kneeling to offer you his hands and there’s no hesitation when you climb into his palm and hold into his servos as he lifts you closer to his face. “You know I don’t like you wandering around down there under ped.”

• You’re so small and helpless compared to a Cybertronian he can’t help but worry. Not every bot pays that much attention to where they’re going. Thinks about the possibility of you even being down there. “I’m not going to get smooshed,” you protest, little chin lifting defiantly and it twists through him. Stirring his protectiveness. Do you have any idea what he’d do if you were hurt while under his protection?

• “Humor me. I worry,” he says, venting and you stiffen when Slipstream overhears in passing, the Seeker laughing. And you hear her call you a bug under her breath, but it’s not like you haven’t been called worse by other former Decepticons. It’s nothing you’re not used to, but you hear Grimlock beginning to rumble. Oh, no. “I’m sorry. What did you just call my companion?” He’s smiling, but he’s showing a lot of denta.

• “Grimmy, let it go. Don’t,” you plead, but he’s gently setting you down on top of a wall. Helpless to do more than watch as he grabs the Seeker by an arm, still smiling. Hear him say ‘I think you owe my darling an apology,’ but you don’t catch her retort. Only Grimlock’s furious ‘you dare?’ Before he’s transforming. Groaning as Cybertronians scatter out of the war zone and Grimlock snaps his jaws on the femme’s leg and slings her with a roar. Defending your honor in a full dinobot rage that’s going to spill over to anyone in the vicinity if you don’t rein him in.

• “You run from Grimlock?!” Infuriated, he chases after the fleeing Seeker, jaws snapping. It’s a sharp whistle that makes him stagger to a stop, still snarling. Another whistle brings him around, looking. There. Grimlock friend. Tail swaying as you lower your hand, he bumps you with his snout, venting against you. Head tipping, he gently catches you in his jaws, mouth open as he carries you away from the noise and press of bodies. Rumbling warningly as bots scatter out of his path. Carrying you home safe in his jaws.

[juniperskye]

The Nanny

Based on the following ask: @itzvenus04I was thinking of like sunshine soft girl reader x cloudy and broody serious Aaron meet as he hires her as Jack nanny because Jack liked her the best and of course Jack thinking his nanny is perfect he tries everything he can to get his dad and nanny together which ends up working and Jack is happy because he has another mommy now, not to replace Haley but to love him like a mom because a kid always needs his mom no matter what age

Aaron Hotchner x Nanny! Fem Reader Fluff Word count: 2185

REQUESTS ARE OPEN - not edited - please be kind. Requests are open and feedback is welcome if it's constructive!

Warnings: My blog is 18+, minors DNI, significant age gap (non-specified, but legal), Sunshine! Reader, Grumpy! Hotch, reader is a nanny, Jack being the ultimate match maker, boss-employee relationship/blurred lines, let me know if I missed anything.

I do not consent to having my work translated or reposted to any other site. That being said I do not own the characters portrayed in this story.

You had been working for Aaron Hotchner for the last six months. You’d gone out of your comfort zone and signed up for one of those nannying sites, the ones where parents would go on and select your profile…almost like online dating. The only thing is, you were looking for a live-in nanny position, see, you’d just graduated college and had been living on campus and now that you had graduated, you needed a place to stay until you found a permanent residence. You could only stay in your friend’s studio apartment for so long.

Aaron hadn’t been too sure about hiring a nanny, especially a live-in one. Jessica had suggested it, seeing as she’d become increasingly busy helping her dad and taking on additional shifts at the hospital. She told him that it would be good to have someone at the house taking care of Jack, running him to and from school and soccer, someone who’d cook and clean and…the more she described it, the more Aaron thought it would be like hiring a 50’s housewife.

He sat on the idea a while; he hardly thought it would be appropriate for a man of his age to hire some young woman to come into his home and play wife while he was out working all day. He figured the best thing he could do would be to look into one of those sites that match nannies to families based on needs.

That is how he had chosen you and honestly, you couldn’t have been more grateful for that fact. Jack had been the best kid and getting to watch him felt more like hanging out with a child of your own…he’d made you feel so welcomed and it filled you with joy.  You’d enjoyed the Hotchner boys, although you didn’t see Aaron all that often, when you did, it always stirred up a fuzzy feeling within you.

--

Aaron was out of town at least once a week each month, those weeks were hard on Jack, but you’d made sure to fill the time with building Legos, coloring, baking, and soccer practice in the yard. You’d made all of Jack’s favorite meals and read him and extra bedtime story on nights Aaron was out of town. Anything it took to make things easier on him.

Truthfully, you liked the weeks when Aaron was out of town, it made your life a little easier, because despite that fuzzy feeling Aaron gave you…he wasn’t always the sweetest person in the world. He was kind of a grump.

In the six months you’d been working for him, you had learned that Aaron was an FBI agent, more specifically the Behavior Analysis Unit. You knew he was in charge of the team he worked with and that they travelled quite frequently. Jack constantly referred to him as a superhero. You learned that he loves the Beatles and the most important thing in his life is his son.

The other thing you had learned in that time was that he detested you. He’d made an effort to learn as little as possible about you, promptly changing the subject any time you’d said anything, even remotely personal. Little did you know, Jack was sure to fill his dad in on all the wonderful things he’s learned about you.

--

Jack had formulated a plan; he was going to get you and his dad together. In the short time you’d been working with them he’d been able to see that his dad was happier and less stressed out. His dad had more time to spend with him when you were around. He also loves you; you are sweet, and you take care of him, and it reminds him of his mom. That had made him sad at first, but very quickly, he came to appreciate it.

So, he decided he would help you by giving you insight into his dad’s favorite things. On the other hand, he’d talk you up to his dad in hopes to break his walls down just enough to let you in.

--

“Alright Jack, your lunch is all packed, can you run and grab your shoes and your backpack?” You asked him.

“Okay! Did you put one of our brownies in there?” He asked, jogging down the hall.

“Of course I did!” You called after him. “Mr. Hotchner, I packed your lunch as well. I was planning on going to the grocery store after I drop Jack off, was there anything in particular you’d like for dinner this week?”

“Whatever works.” He huffed.

“Okay, well I will email over the menu I had in mind then and if there’s anything you don’t like, just let me know.” You offered.

“Will do.” Aaron grabbed his bag and turned away. “Bye buddy, have a great day today.” Aaron pressed a kiss to the top of jacks head before ruffling his hair and heading out to work.

“You ready bud?” You asked.

“Make a pot roast with mashed potatoes.” Jack said.

“What?”

“It’s dad’s favorite.” Jack smiled.

--

You were putting the finishing touches on dinner while Jack was working on his homework at the kitchen island. You had taken his suggestion and went with a pot roast for dinner, figuring it couldn’t make matters worse.

“Alright bud, go wash your hands and put your homework in your folder.” You requested.

“Okay!” Jack made his way down the hall.

You set the table with three perfect place settings, you’d poured jack a glass of chocolate milk, yourself a small glass of wine, and Aaron his usual scotch. You plated up the food, mashed potatoes, pot roast with carrots, and a small salad. It was moments like this, waiting for Aaron to some home that your mind drifted to thoughts of truly sharing this domesticity with him.

You imagine him walking through the doors, placing his briefcase down, coming up behind you, snaking his arms around your waist as he presses a gentle kiss to your shoulder. Complimenting how good the food smells and asking you about your day. In these little daydreams, he was warm and sweet, not his usual grumpy self.

--

The door opens and you immediately hear the huff that escapes him. Exhaustion surely seeping in after a long day of work. This is part of why you loved this job, despite his coldness, you enjoyed taking care of the Hotchner boys. It made you happy knowing that he could come home after work and not worry about anything.

“Daddy!” Jack hollered.

“Hey buddy.” Aaron knelt down and lifted Jack into his arms.

“It smells good in here, what’s for dinner?” Aaron asked.

“Well, Jack informed me that pot roast is one of your favorites, so I changed up the menu a bit and made that for dinner. I uh – I hope that’s okay.”

“Oh, that’s – that’s fine.” Aaron let out an awkward cough.

So, the three of you sat and ate dinner. While you ate, Jack rambled on and on about his day and all the things that happened while he was at school. You were desperately trying to attend to the conversation, but you couldn’t help but be distracted…Aaron’s gaze had been lingering on you for the last ten or so minutes.

“Hey jack, why don’t you put your plate in the sink and go get ready for bed huh? I’ll come up in a bit to read a story with you.” Aaron said, his gaze never leaving yours.

Jack nodded his head and followed the directions his dad gave him. All the while Aaron continued to look at you, surely profiling you. You were becoming uneasy, sitting there under his gaze.

“What is it?” You asked.

“Nothing. Thank you, for dinner, it was delicious.” He complimented.

“Oh, um of course! I’m glad you liked it.” You blushed.

--

It was a rare day that Aaron had off, on these days he likes to let you off the hook. This allows you to shop, go out with friends and get lunch, get your hair and nails done, the whole nine yards. Jack thought that a day out with his dad would be the perfect time to talk about you. They had been talking about how you helped him study for his spelling test this week which led to him getting 100%.

“Hey dad?”

“Yeah buddy?”

“Why do you hate her?”

“What I don’t – I don’t hate her. I just, I ugh…I don’t know bud. I don’t hate her, she’s great.” Aaron stumbled over his words.

“You aren’t very nice to her though. Which is weird because she’s really nice and she makes us both happier, I can tell.” Jack smiled.

“I’m nice to her!” Aaron defended.

“No, you’re not. But you can be! Her birthday is coming up, we should have a party!” Jack suggested.

--

It was your birthday, you had been thankful it was on a Saturday this year, and Aaron was off which meant he’d likely give you the day off and you could spoil yourself a bit. So, after sleeping in a bit later than usual, you made your way to the kitchen only to be met with the Hotchner boys making pancakes.

“Well good morning!” You greeted.

“Happy birthday!” Jack shouted, wrapping his arms around your neck from his position on the counter.

“Thanks bub! Are you making chocolate chip pancakes? You know those are my favorite.” You teased.

“Yeah! It was dad’s idea to make them.” Jack informed.

“Oh – um thanks.” You were caught by surprise.

“Of course. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” You shyly smiled.

The three of you sat and enjoyed breakfast together, it had felt different than usual. Aaron had been different today, happy almost.

“So, I figured, since I’m home today, perhaps you could take the day off?” Aaron suggested. “I do have something to do around 6 though so if you could be back by then?”

“Really? That would be awesome, I really need to get my hair and nails done.” You laughed.

--

You had texted a few of your friends and met them at the nail salon, getting your fingers and toes done while filling them in on the latest…more specifically Aaron’s new kind side that he’s been showing.

They had told you it was because he likes you, to which you were quick to shut down. They all knew you had a soft spot for the older man, and they were sure he liked you back, especially when he was pushing you away. One of your friends claimed it was because he probably didn’t want to “corrupt” you.

 After getting them to finally relent in their teasing, you had suggested lunch. The girls treated the whole day, nails, lunch, hair and lastly a new dress from your favorite boutique.

“You should wear that one home.”

“Why?”

“For Mr. Hotchner…show off your hot self. Maybe get some for your birthday!”

“Oh my gosh, stop! It’s not like that.” You shook your head.

“Girl maybe it could be…just wear the damn dress!”

And so, you did. You changed into the new dress and had your hair perfectly styled and your nails done. You knew Aaron had somewhere to be at 6, but you figured you could at least catch him off guard prior to then.

--

You parked your car and made your way around to grab your bags, then headed up the two little steps that led into the house. Before fishing your key out of your bag, you paused, inside you could hear Aaron and Jack talking…something about balloons and streamers. You smiled to yourself, quietly letting yourself in.

“Hey guys! What’s all this?”

“You’re early!” Jack said.

You looked around and felt nothing but warmth radiating through you. There were balloons and streamers decorating the living and dining rooms, sat on the table was a birthday cake along with a few gifts. Pizza from your favorite place was sat on the coffee table and the living room had been rearranged so the guestroom mattress was laid out with cozy blankets and pillows, while your favorite movie was queued up on the TV.

“You did all this…for me?” You gasped.

“Yeah! We wanted to show you how much we love you.” Jack said, hugging you.

“You do?” Your gaze met Aaron’s.

“Yeah, we do.” He said.

--

That night the three of you ate pizza and laid on the mattress in the living room, watching movies. Before it got too late the boys made sure you had cake and opened your gifts, Jack had picked out a paint set for you, knowing you enjoyed watercolors. Aaron, well, he’d gotten you a first edition of your favorite novel. You’d been rendered speechless.

The three of you made your way back to the living room and laid down to watch a final film. Jack had been snuggled up to you, quickly falling asleep, and you fell not long after. Aaron smiled at the sight of you two, it had gotten him thinking that having you around may not be so bad after all.

Taglist: @bernelflo@pastelpinkflowerlife@just-moondust @khxna

[11queensupreme11]

I need to know how people are gonna react to finding out about Percy’s mortal spot 🫠

im ngl, i genuinely believed putting the mortal spot on THE BACK is probably THEEEEE DUMBEST fucking thing ever 😭 ur back is literally your most vulnerable spot and now she just made it 100000x more vulnerable 😭 i'm almost certain rick wrote it that way for poetic reasons cuz percy's fatal flaw is loyalty, mortal spot on the back, hence "the only way you can kill percy jackson is to stab her in the back" 💀 yes yes, very poetic, but i don't think the ror characters will appreciate it 😭

(gonna try and fit as many reactions here as i can, excluding beel and loki since they already know)

cú chulainn: this dude is a trained warrior. he knows everything about weaknesses and blindspots. and the back????? IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST BLIND SPOT THERE IS. he'll be screaming and ripping out his own hair in pure horror and disbelief when he finds out his dumbass lover put HER ONE MORTAL SPOT on her fucking BACK of all the goddamn places 😭

apollo: he's gonna throw up when he finds out and then he's gonna throw up even more when he learns that the LAST PERSON to have the curse of achilles was killed by HIS COUNTERPART. he prays to every deity and the fates that they won't be cruel enough to repeat that with them because he CANNOT lose percy 😭😭😭😭

poseidon: his jaw drops. he looks like a complete idiot all gobsmacked like this, but nobody even blames him because they're also just as shocked. he has half a mind to spank his daughter for her terrible idea, not just for the placement of the mortal spot, but for getting that damn curse in the first place. at first, he liked it because it made her 99.99% invulnerable but that fucking mortal spot just ruined it 💀💀💀

hades: buries his face in his hands and lets out the heaviest sigh ever. he loves his niece, he really does, but he has to admit... she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. he loves her so much though so he won't be TOO disappointed 💖

anubis: "BABY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he's screeching in horror when he witnesses the scene. welp, now he knows how she got the curse, but holy SHIT this is probably the worst curse ever (it's really not). he's literally gonna be begging her to stop when it comes up on the screen, but it's already too late

ra: USUALLY he would be busy restraining anubis from doing something stupid, but he's too busy gawking. percy was literally told that her fatal flaw was LOYALTY.... and then she goes and picks HER BACK as her one mortal spot???? "omfg the poseidon in that universe taught that child NOTHING"

rhea: "WE 👹 MUST 👹 GET 👹 HER 👹 OUT 👹 OF 👹 THAT 👹 UNIVERSE 👹 BEFORE SHE GETS HERSELF KILLED" no seriously, grandma rhea is WORRIED. if she were a human, she'd have 1000 heart attacks and her hair would've turned grey already. this baby is stressing her the FUCK out 😭

prometheus: would literally cry 😭😭😭 like "percy... my dear baby cousin, your back??????? WHY?????" 😭😭😭😭 he's usually very supportive of her ideas, even the most craziest ones, but..... the back???????????

izanagi: "oh bless her heart, she's trying her best 🥺💔"

sun wukong: does a very slow facepalm as he sinks into his throne because oh my gods this girl is FUCKED. he has never seen a more doomed person before in all his years of living 😭

aphrodite: "wait does this make sex harder??? should i have her try other positions instead? 🤔" (she's asking the real questions here)

lugh: gently grasps cú chulainn's shoulders and say solemnly, "son, i think the universe really hates you 😔💔" because this is the SECOND PERSON that cú chulainn cares about to have some sort of near-invulnerability. the first died thx to him, and now percy might follow 😭

odin: a little concerned at how similar she is to his baldur. pure-hearted and kind, a genuinely good person, with a near invulnerability. he hopes, for loki's sanity, that percy doesn't die too because the crashout would be catastrophic fr 💀

adam: absolutely HORRIFIED because she picked literally the worst spot on her body to be her mortal spot 😭

leonidas: "how tf is this kid alive right now 💀"

tesla: so it turns out it's not just math and science that he needs to teach her, but basic self-preservation as well! alrighty then, he's already getting the lesson plans ready as well as a VERY long lecture about poor decision-making skills 😭

basically, every ror character's reaction to percy getting the curse of achilles and choosing her back as her one mortal spot:

EVERYONE is horrified 💀

percy literally has so much stacked against her. everyone and everything in that universe is out to get her. she's the product of a broken vow. she's a demigod, so naturally monsters hunt her down on the daily. she has a cursed fucking sword that's cursed to fail her when she needs it most. her fatal flaw is loyalty. and then she goes and puts her mortal spot on her BACK 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 not only that, but the fates of that universe love love LOVE greek tragedy and percy is a walking greek tragedy waiting to for the curtain call 😭

[gogandmagog]

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery feat: Death of a Butterfly by Evelyn De Morgan

Anne of the Island, Chapter Fourteen!

Fearfully behind again, and shouldn’t jump ahead this way, but the significance of this chapter makes me froth at the mouth, so here I am, cheating! 

Some threads (the kind you can pull at an unravel a whole sweater) that I find particularly interesting in “the Summons.”  

For starters, the language of “poor butterfly Ruby,” because what are butterflies if not gorgeous creatures of grace with tragically short lifespans? It makes my heart squeeze itself. I’m reminded here of that passage in Anne of Ingleside where Walter spills a packet of poppy seeds, and Anne says (of the poppies), “They have only a day to live, but how imperially, how gorgeous they live it!”

Meanwhile, Ruby’s death scenes are a little bit of the ole copy/paste trick, wherein Maud liked to utilise/cannibalise her own short stories or lesser-known works to repurpose them into newer ones, and are therefore not especially specific or meant for Ruby in their origin. Some of Ruby’s coffin bits, and descriptions of her deathly handsomeness are ‘borrowed’ from a short in Further Chronicles of Avonlea (“There was a certain insolent quality in her beauty, as if it flaunted itself somewhat too defiantly in the beholder's eye.” - The Son of His Mother) for sure, but other larger parts come from somewhere else too iirc, only I can’t immediately remember from where... maybe the same collection of shorts, but I’ll try to hunt this up asap.

Ruby’s fear of death makes me wince, it’s so depressing, and not a little haunting... and we can even track it backward to Anne of Green Gables, specifically in the Unfortunate Lily Maid, and find clues of its existing when Ruby was much younger. In that scene/chapter where the girls are setting up to send ‘Elaine’ down to ‘Camelot’, Ruby refuses to act the part of Elaine, saying, “But to lie down and pretend I was dead—I just couldn’t. I’d die really of fright.” 🥹 When Anne ‘yielding reluctantly’ takes the role, Ruby still exhibits death anxiety, even just in pretense, and she says, “Oh, she does look really dead. […] It makes me feel frightened, girls.” It’s unlikely that Maud knew then what Ruby’s fate would be… right? 👀

Something to crunch on, semi-related, in terms of “why”... is that there’s a scholarly faction that believes that Maud liked to use supporting character death as a precursory rite-of-passage of sorts, to proper adulthood and in turn, all the things that come with adult relationships (basically, as they imply, sexuality). It’s a thing for Anne, that Matthew’s passing gives way to the first step of allowing Gilbert into her life (without Matthew going, there would have been no need for Gilbert to give up the school for Anne, or to receive the forgiveness that followed), and similarly in Emily of New Moon, after Emily “looked into death and read the riddle of a buried thing” (that Ilse’s mother had not in fact run off with a sneaky link but had fell down a well and died), Dean concludes that Emily has “left the childhood of her soul behind,” and the narrative firmly reiterates that, “one cannot go down to the depths of hidden things and escape the penalty.” This is an interesting theory (picture me stroking my imaginary beard) to tie to Ruby (who stirs Anne’s deeps into further seeking a meaningful life), the impact of her early death acting as a middle reinforcer of this transition for Anne. Later, of course, Gilbert’s brush with death serves as the final push to Anne’s Ultimate Growing Up, and the understanding of her own mortality when she realises Gilbert is vital to her very existence: “She knew that she could no more cast him out of her life without agony than she could have cut off her right hand and cast it from her … If Gilbert went away from her, without one word or sign or message, she could not live.”

Where previously “Gilbert, who could not connect the idea of sorrow with the vivid, joyous creature beside him, unwitting that those who can soar to the highest heights can also plunge to the deepest depths, and that the natures which enjoy most keenly are those which also suffer most sharply” is demonstrative of Maud’s strong ability to maintain core characterisation, in his relationship (or lack of understanding) to Walter, I have always felt that Anne’s disconnect from Ruby’s way to life, in this chapter, is also upheld in her later relationship with Rilla, whose Ruby-and-Phil-ish brand of frivolity and unserious nature sometimes dismays Anne (the same way Walter and Gilbert have a bit of a gap). Obviously it’s not a very admirable attitude in Anne, and she can and does come across to some reader as judgmental and haughty, but when Anne’s whole worth prior to and even well into her Green Gables adoption was based on her performance value and ability to ‘earn her keep’, imo it becomes a less-surprising reason (though notably not an excuse) for this ingrained viewpoint.

[fandom-rants-here]

Byler and Milkvan fans are so fucking different and it's in a way that pisses me off.

I'm not even going to touch on how Milkvan's have no media literacy and whatnot- we know. But I will talk about how they fucking hate Mike for some reason.

In "love triangles" (it's never a love triangle but instead a love point but y'all don't wanna hear that" you are SUPPOSED to love the person in the middle and be rooting for either of the other love interests, right?

Bylers do this. They love all the characters but the want to see Mike and Will in a romantic relationship.

Milkvans do not do this. They hate Mike. I have never seen a person who ships Mike and El actually like Mike as a character. They hate him so much. But they hate the idea of him being gay more, that is why they ship him with El.

I know nothing about Twilight, but let's use that love triangle at an example. People either want Jacob or Edward with her, and their reasons (from what little I've seen) always involve her chemistry with either boy.

Bylers do this. They focus on how Mike is queer coded and his already standing relationship with Will. Just look at The Byler Slides, it's mostly about Mike.

Milkvans do not do this. The only reasons I've ever fucking seen are about how "Mike isn't gay" and "they're canon". That's it. Never about now they work together(cause they don't), fucking nothing.

If you hate one of the characters in your own "totally canon and endgame" ship and can't even give proper defense to it, pick a new ship cause yours is not fucking happening and you need to stop saying it is.

[strawberry-seal77]

they turned her into... a marketable ice cream?!! 😰

As always, more thoughts under the cut!

Time Spent: 3.5 hours

This was really fun!!! Done as a kinda collab with @cowcowwow where we decided on a prompt + characters to include beforehand, and then split up to make our own drawings!!! All the fun of a character/ship week, with the freedom of making it up with your friend :3

The prompt was "food", and characters were Liko and Iono!! Though floragato and Pagogo both made it into our drawings with em FBDHJF

Okay facts . thoughts . hm. thinkin here . the digital sketch was made as a combination of two other ideas! The iono ice cream, and one where they were trying to stack the HIGHEST ice cream cone they possibly could.

Though, as you can see, that second one then evolved into already having that giant ice cream as a little background gag.

GLOOGYY!!!!!! GRAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! You see the image is somewhat unclean here, of course, but would you like to know just HOW unclean it was when I first declared it finished?

THIS unclean!!! Though im QUITE proud of how that doesn't actually make it less readable or anything . My messy lineart does the trick 💯💯 heheeee

also I JUST realized that I didn't draw the eye on her magnemite-ey things so thats gonna just be . real quick here

theyll never know. nobody will ever know. except everyone reading this part of the post but shhh that doesnt count

also look at all my SILLY LITTLE REFERENCE IMAGES !!!!

and OHMY GOD I forgot liko's hair thing.

nobody will evar know.

OK BYEE!!!!!!

[twin-wxngs]

Woah, these are really creative and interesting ships! Like in a very good way, ofc, I haven’t seen much on these.

Sooooo….

What’s your thoughts on the trio (Dogday x Simon x Allister), Catnap x Toullie and Poppy x Bunzo?

Dude. Thank you, first of all, for sending this and being genuinely curious. Second of all...

YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE. YOU WILL HEAR ME YAP.

1. Poppy and Bunzo! Okay, so at first when I was thinking about them, I was thinking of them as something platonic right? You know the whole deal with kids shows and having an animal companion, namely Dora with Boots, her cousin Diego with that Baby Jaguar, etc. But the more I thought about it the more I took a look at them aaaaand...

Thoughts of Jessica and Roger Rabbit came into my head. All because Poppy and Jessica are redheads. But using that lovely romance as a base, made me think the reason they work together is that Poppy would constantly stress herself out in my opinion. Bunzo however would see this and do what he's known to do, and make her laugh.

He's probably the only one that can tone down her seriousness and help her calm herself because she's busy worrying. It'd be this fun loving prankster that'd teach her how to look at the bright side of things. He makes her laugh, as Jessica would say. But I think Poppy would say that too and genuinely care and appreciate him for it.

And in Bunzo's case he probably did take one look at her and had an awooga moment, but instead of needing to impress her, which probably weirded her out, she just plainly tells him when they do start as friends that he just needs to be himself. And well, I can see it working out.

2. Catnap and Touille! Two tropes: Cat and Rodent. And then.. Yapper and Listener. I blame this guy for making me like it! @smilingcrittersthingig

But more on that, I like to think the part of Touille's character is that he's street smart and knows obscure things the others don't know, hence he's Bubba counterpart in that department, as they're both exceedingly knowledgeable in their own way. But the problem with Touille, like Bubba, tends to go on for a bit too much, that he never gets to talk about the things he likes around them and refrains from it.

But I can see Catnap being not only patient with him, but one of the only people that would actively listen to his rambles because he's heard it from Bubba. Unlike Bubba though, it would be different from what Catnap is used to hearing because it's not something that's brought up every day, especially if it's about your not too typical, obscure thing that can be used in an unconventional way, but still works. Touille has a collection of junk that he treasures in that regard that he doesn't show anyone, but I think he'd show Catnap.

Though I like to also think they started as enemies since they're in different groups, with Touille being a bit scared and attracted to said cat at the same time. But I can see Catnap thinking it's cute that he's scared too. He's a mischievous cat after all, and they like to "play with their food". So while he does scare him from time to time, it's ultimately lighthearted and he loves his little rat boyfriend.

3. THE POLY. LISTEN, I love all three of them. It originally started as SunCross and I still love SunCross a LOT, thanks to this idiot. @smilingcrittersthingig

BUT I FIGURED I'd throw a curveball. The reason being is that of Dogday's nature in comparison to the two Nightmare Critters. My thought process for this is Simon's greedy and selfish nature, compared to Allister who's laid back and lazy. I feel like Dogday would unintentionally get them both attracted to him when he decides to help them both get through their bad habits.

What attracts them is the way he acts. He has to be a leader, but people mistake this as him only being nice, but that's not the case. He's firm, he's to the point, and has to look out for everyone in the Smiling Critters as the Everyman, meaning he acts more serious than friendly. He's respectful, not friendly, but has a big friendly side. That soft side of his that helps the two slowly improve is what attracts them to him. And on top of that, it's how they treat Dogday that really puts the poor doggo in a chokehold.

Simon would proudly take him wherever he wants to go, buy him whatever he wants, and make it clear to everyone that this is his boyfriend with no shame, showing his love through material appreciation, but still meaning every word he says along with it, because what's the point of money if the one thing you want isn't made of money? At that point, it's something to be used to make that person happy. Although Dogday says money isn't everything, Simon at least thinks money can be used for something.. and if it can be used to make Dogday his, then he will do it. And upon him seeing him using his money for someone else other than himself would really make him appreciate it..

Allister meanwhile had a problem with his lack of effort and motivation, but I like to think a date would be where he tries to put everything he can into it, even if it's not much. He doesn't like all the attention, would pick a location just for him and Dogday to be alone. He'd prepare everything with a little help from say Bobby and/or Rabie to see what he likes, and would even get him a gift. And even though it's not much, he tried. The effort is there, and the doggo would wholeheartedly appreciate it. Although he didn't do much, he's trying. Dogday sees that and ends up just blushing hard.

So when it comes to choosing between Simon and Allister, he hits them with the "I choose both" and lets him hear him out on it, explaining that he can't imagine his life without either of them, because the two also taught him how to be himself, take breaks and relax, and share the obscure things he likes and knows how to do that he didn't get to show with the Smiling Critters.

And overtime, his love of the two would rub off on them and see the merits in the others (opposites attract yay!), with the three becoming a polycule. As a friend did say..

Simon with his two trophy boyfriends, Allister with the two people that he thinks are way too good for him, and Dogday with the two people that he helped improve, but helped improve him too.

[callsign-rogueone]

How do you think the fourth wing characters would be like with a little sister? Who would be overprotective and spoil you, who'd constantly tease and fight with you, or not be close with you at all? Obviously for the ones who have sibling(s) in canon we have some idea, but I'd really like to hear your thoughts, especially on Bodhi, Garrick, Imogen, and Xaden! 🩷🖤

I love this ask! sorry it took me so long, and that these are short. I had to think about the sibling dynamics for a while. my brother and I were never very close, so idk what’s “normal”, if that makes sense.

Imogen:

she’s the youngest sibling in canon, so if she had an even-younger sibling, she’d go protective mode times a thousand after your parents’ execution. you are not leaving her sight unless absolutely necessary, and anyone who doesn't pass the vibe check is not going anywhere near you. she’s fighting tooth and nail to stay with you when they split up the 107 for fostering.

she relaxes a little after a while — a little. but she’s still the one to interrogate you about where you’re going, with who, when you’ll be back…

she’s not the warm and fuzzy type by any stretch of the imagination, so the way that she shows you love might look a little different than “normal”. but if/when shit hits the fan, you know that she’ll come running when you call, and the other way around, too.

Bodhi:

he’s the one that spoils you, our sweetheart. anything that you need for any reason will just materialize in your room. (his family comes from money, so it’s fine).

his philosophy is that a) you deserve it all, and also b) you have enough to worry about with the current state of the world (because you absolutely know about all of that wyvern and venin stuff. he’s not leaving you in the dark about it) and having to eventually go to the death trap that is basgiath war college. just let him take care of you, and do the things that he can.

if you got split up, heaven forbid, he visits you all the time. and brings presents, of course.

he’s the touchy one. it’s common for y’all to be directly next to each other all the time, or for you to be laid on the couch with your feet in his lap, whatever. (these are probably bad examples. idk.)

no goodbyes without hugs, ever, because he knows that any day could be his or your last.

Garrick:

I’ve thought about this a lot because of sweets!!

he’s going to invest time in teaching you to protect yourself, as he won’t always be nearby to defend you (especially after he leaves for Basgiath and then graduates to go to Samara and you’re left behind). all of them would do that, but he's the one knocking on your door at the crack of dawn to go run 3 miles with him before breakfast — no days off for this one.

he’s also the one who teases the most. you two are gonna be bantering all the time. outsiders might be concerned, but you and those closest to you know that it’s out of love.

lets you borrow (steal) his clothes, especially when you’re cold or want to be extra comfy. some days you just need a sweater that hangs down to your knees, okay?

the sleeves are also way too long, so you whap him with one, and then he’s putting you in a headlock and messing up your hair until you apologize.

also; intimidates the shit out of any boy you would bring home, because no matter who it is, he could absolutely beat them in a fight. you have to bribe / beg him to stay away whenever you have company, because he’s scared off three potential boyfriends already. his argument is that if they’re too scared of him, they wouldn’t be able to protect you. and maybe he knows that somebody else likes you, anyway…

Xaden:

I feel like out of all the fw characters, I have the least grasp of Xaden, despite him being the MMC. anyway…

similarly to garrick, he’s putting you through the paces to get you physically prepared. maintaining the skills your dad taught you (because fen would have taught all of his kids to fight, regardless of gender), and building on them by practicing with brennan or the other elders.

he’s the one you have random, deep conversations with at 2am over snacks, where you say some incredibly profound, introspective things, and then never mention it again. you both silently understand that anything you tell each other doesn’t leave that room.

you understand how much weight he has on his shoulders, and so you try to take care of him too sometimes. lots of silent gestures between you — if he’s doing laundry, he’ll throw some of your stuff in too, if you’re going to town you pick up a piece of cake from the bakery for him… etc.

that’s all I have for now. might reblog and add more thoughts if they come to me!

[hrizantemy]

Veil of Silence

Chapter one

And she was wrapped in silence as the days / Went out in darkness, and the little stars / Were cold and far away, and in her heart / Was loneliness more desolate than all.

Pairing: Eris Vanserra x Nesta Archeron

Rating: E for Explicit. Minors DNI

Warnings: Power, oppression, misogyny, coercion, manipulation, violence, assassination, and implied torture, forced marriages, class exploitation, and psychological trauma.

AO3

A/N: This is my rewrite of this story after AO3 accidentally deleted it. Because of that, I’ve made several changes, expanding on world-building, character dynamics, and political intrigue. Given what happened, I’ve also decided to upload it here as well to ensure it doesn’t disappear again.

This story is heavily inspired by Welsh mythology, woven into the culture and traditions of Hewn City. It also serves as my attempt to deepen the world-building of the Night Court, particularly Hewn City’s power structures and its political games.

Rhysand and the Inner Circle are not portrayed as good characters here. This story does not idolize them—instead, it explores the power imbalances, control, and consequences of their rule, especially regarding Nesta’s exile. If you’re looking for a story where they are heroic or idealized, this is not that.

I also want to do Hewn City justice. The idea that they are simply “all evil” and therefore undeserving of depth has never been a convincing argument to me. No society exists in pure black and white, and reducing an entire city to villainy strips away the complexity of its people, its history, and its internal struggles.

This story explores Hewn City beyond its reputation, diving into the lives of those who navigate its dangerous halls—not just the monsters, but those who have no choice but to survive among them.

— — — — — — —

“One,” Amren said, raising a slender finger, “you can move up to the House of Wind, train with Cassian in the mornings, and work in the library in the afternoons. You will not be a prisoner. But there will be no one to fly or winnow you down to the city. If you want to venture into the city proper, by all means, go ahead. That is, if you can brave the ten thousand steps down from the House.�� Amren’s eyes glittered with the challenge. “And if you can somehow find two coppers to rub together to buy yourself a drink. But if you follow this plan, we will reevaluate where and how you live in a few months.”

Nesta’s nails dug deeper into her palms, her breath sharp as she glared at the female.

“And my other option?” she spat.

Amren’s expression did not change, did not waver. “You go to Hewn City.”

Silence.

Nesta went still. Ice poured into her veins, a slow, creeping dread curling around her ribs.

Hewn City. The Court of Nightmares. She knew enough about it to understand exactly what Amren was saying. She could either remain here, under their watchful eyes, under Cassian’s command, or she could be sent to a place where monsters thrived in the shadows, where she would be left to fend for herself among males who would love nothing more than to tear her down.

It was not a choice. It was a demand wrapped in false mercy.

Her lips parted, a bitter retort on her tongue, but she felt Cassian shift beside her. When she glanced at him, his jaw was tight, his eyes dark with something unreadable. Not pity, no. He knew better than to pity her. But there was something else, something akin to frustration—perhaps at Amren, perhaps at himself. Perhaps at her.

Nesta snorted. “Hewn City?” She let out a sharp, humorless laugh, shaking her head. “So my options are to be locked up in this prison of yours or thrown to the wolves?” Her gaze flicked to Cassian, then back to Amren. “Tell me, did you all draw straws to see who would deliver the threat, or was it just decided that I’d fold the second you snapped your fingers?”

Her blood burned, her skin too tight over her bones as rage curled in her stomach. The audacity of it. The sheer, calculated cruelty of it. They had already stripped her of so much, and now they expected her to sit here and listen while they pretended to offer her a choice. Like she was some unruly child who needed to be disciplined, who needed consequences to keep her in line. And of course, they’d chosen the one consequence she could never stomach—being trapped, whether in this House or in the festering, wretched underbelly of the Night Court. The Court of Nightmares.

She scoffed, shoving past Cassian, needing distance, needing air, but there was none to be found. The House was vast, its ceilings high, but it felt like the walls were pressing in, like it already knew it had her. Ten thousand steps down, or nothing at all. “I’m surprised Rhys didn’t just order me bound in chains and be done with it,” she muttered, crossing her arms tight over her chest. “At least that would be honest.”

A voice—softer, smoother—broke through the tension before Amren or Cassian could respond.

“Nesta.”

Nesta stiffened, her entire body locking up at the sound of her sister’s voice. Feyre had been quiet, lingering just outside of the conversation, but now she stepped forward, her blue-gray eyes pleading, her expression wary—as if she knew how close Nesta was to snapping. “It’s not like that,” Feyre said gently, her hands held out in that diplomatic way of hers. “No one is trying to punish you. We just—we’re trying to help. To give you a place where you can heal.”

Nesta’s laugh was sharp as a blade. “Oh, is that what this is? A kindness?” She looked around the towering walls, the empty halls, and then back to her sister. “Funny, it feels more like a cage.”

Feyre winced but didn’t back down. “You don’t have to see it that way. The library—the priestesses—they’re wonderful, Nesta. They’ll give you space, if that’s what you need. No one is forcing you to do anything except—” Feyre hesitated, just a fraction, but it was enough. “Except take care of yourself.”

Nesta bared her teeth in something that wasn’t quite a smile. “And if I don’t?”

She didn’t give Feyre a chance to answer before she scoffed again. “No, really, what happens if I refuse your generous little offer? You throw me into Hewn City? And then what?” She turned her glare on Amren, then Cassian, but finally landed back on Feyre. “Would you all just toss me down into the darkness and leave me to fend for myself? Would I be expected to grovel before Keir and his ilk, scrape by however I could? Or would I just be left to rot there, abandoned?”

Feyre flinched, but it was Rhysand’s voice that answered.

“No,” the High Lord said smoothly, stepping out from the shadows of the hall. His violet eyes were calm, unreadable, but there was a steel edge beneath the words. “We made arrangements.”

Nesta stilled.

Rhysand came to stand beside Feyre, his power radiating through the room, filling the space between them with something cold and absolute. “You would live there. You would have a roof over your head, but you would be cut off from us. From everything. No money. No assistance. No protection. You would be alone.”

The words slammed into her, each syllable a weight pressing against her ribs, against the fragile, fraying thread of her self-control. Alone. Completely and utterly alone. In a place filled with creatures that would tear her apart, that would revel in the sight of a lost, desperate Archeron sister trying to claw her way through the darkness.

Nesta’s throat burned. “So those are my options? A prison or exile?” She let out a cold, hollow laugh. “Tell me, Feyre, Rhysand, which of you came up with this brilliant little scheme? Or was it both of you, sitting in your palace, deciding what to do with the mess of a sister you never wanted?”

Feyre’s face twisted in pain, but Rhysand remained unmoved. “You made your choices, Nesta.”

Her nails dug into her palms, her breathing sharp and uneven. Yes, she had. And now they were making theirs.

Nesta wanted to rage. She wanted to scream, to rip through this house with the sheer force of her fury, to let them all feel even a sliver of the fire burning through her veins. But she didn’t. She swallowed it down, forced it into the deepest, darkest part of herself where no one—especially not them—could see. She would not give them the satisfaction. Would not let them look at her like she was some storm to be weathered, something chaotic and uncontrollable. No, she would keep it in check. She would hold it in and let it sharpen, let it turn to ice instead of fire.

So instead, she lifted her chin, met Feyre’s pleading, careful gaze, and said, “What about Elain?”

Feyre blinked, as if she had expected Nesta to lash out, to argue, to fight. And maybe that was what she wanted—what all of them wanted. For Nesta to explode, to prove that she was reckless, that she needed to be locked away and reined in. But she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t give them anything.

Feyre took a slow breath. “If you choose the House, she can see you whenever she’d like.” Her voice was measured, even, as if she was trying to soften the blow before it came. “But if you go to Hewn City…”

She hesitated.

Nesta’s stomach twisted.

Feyre’s hands clenched slightly at her sides before she forced herself to continue. “If you go to Hewn City, then—if Elain wishes, she can see you as well.”

They both knew she wouldn’t.

The words hovered in the air between them, heavy and unspoken. Nesta didn’t need Feyre to say it outright, didn’t need to hear the truth that lingered in the way her sister’s voice wavered, in the way her expression turned pained and uncertain. Elain would not come. Elain, who was so firmly settled in this new life of hers, in the warmth and beauty and quiet of Velaris, would not dirty her hands by reaching into the darkness to pull Nesta out.

And Nesta couldn’t even blame her.

Her throat burned, but she only tilted her head slightly, let her lips curve into something that was not quite a smirk, not quite anything at all.

“I see.”

Nesta let the silence stretch, let them wait for a reaction she refused to give. But beneath her carefully crafted mask of indifference, her mind churned.

How long had they planned this?

Had it been weeks? Months? Had they sat together in that perfect, shining townhouse and discussed what to do with the sister who would not fall in line? Had they whispered about it over tea, over dinner, while she had been alone in her apartment, drowning? She wondered if Elain had been a part of the conversation, if she had sat quietly as Feyre and Rhysand mapped out Nesta’s fate, or if she had excused herself, unwilling to be burdened by the details of what would become of the sister she could no longer reach.

Or had it just been Feyre and Rhysand, the High Lady and High Lord, deciding for her as they decided for everyone else?

Nesta’s fingers curled into fists at her sides. What had been the final straw? The drinking? The gambling? The nights spent in places they didn’t dare to venture, places where she could disappear into the oblivion she so desperately sought? Had it been the money she had burned through, the coin she had taken without asking? Or had it been something else—something simpler? Had they simply grown tired of her? Had they woken up one morning and decided that Nesta Archeron, with all her sharp edges and unspoken grief, no longer had a place here?

Her gaze flicked between them, between Feyre’s careful sympathy and Rhysand’s unshaken resolve, and she realized she would never know the answer. Because none of them would say it outright. None of them would look her in the eye and admit that they had washed their hands of her long before this moment, that this little intervention was not about saving her—it was about removing her.

And yet, despite everything, despite the burning rage simmering beneath her skin, Nesta could not stop herself from asking, her voice quieter than before, but no less sharp.

“What was it?”

Feyre blinked. “What do you mean?”

Nesta cocked her head, pretending she didn’t care about the answer even as it clawed at her insides. “What was the moment you decided I wasn’t worth the trouble anymore? What was the thing that made you sit down and plan out exactly how to be rid of me?”

Feyre flinched—actually flinched—but Rhysand only watched her with that unreadable, unshaken stare.

And none of them answered.

Feyre exhaled, her throat working as if she was struggling to find the right words, as if she had not come prepared for Nesta to ask the one question they had hoped to avoid. But then her expression steeled, and she turned to Rhysand, her voice soft but firm. “I want to speak with my sister. Alone.”

Rhysand’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, his violet eyes flicking between them. He didn’t like it. Nesta could see it in the way his shoulders tensed, in the way his magic curled faintly around him like a warning. But to his credit, he did not argue. After a long, assessing look at Feyre, he inclined his head. “Fine.”

Nesta didn’t know if he was truly giving in or if there had already been an agreement made between them before she arrived—if Feyre had insisted that this conversation happen on her own terms, if Rhysand had reluctantly agreed but still hated the idea of leaving them alone together. It didn’t matter. He turned smoothly on his heel, striding for the door with that same effortless grace he carried everywhere, and within seconds, he was gone.

Amren was next, slinking past Nesta without so much as a glance, as if she had already said all she needed to say and had no interest in whatever conversation would follow. Fine. Nesta had nothing to say to her either.

But Cassian hesitated.

She felt it more than saw it, the way he lingered at the door, his presence a solid, unshakable force behind her. And then, as if he couldn’t help himself, as if he always had to do this, to look at her, to see her, he cast a glance back over his shoulder.

Nesta did not meet it.

She kept her chin high, her arms crossed, staring straight ahead, as if she hadn’t noticed, as if she didn’t care that he was trying to catch her gaze, as if her stomach hadn’t twisted the moment she felt the weight of his attention.

A few more beats of silence, a few more moments where she could feel him thinking, wondering, debating. And then Cassian sighed, a quiet, tired thing, before finally stepping through the doorway and pulling it shut behind him.

Leaving Nesta alone with Feyre.

Feyre didn’t speak right away. She only stood there, watching Nesta with that same cautious wariness, as if she were picking through the shards of something broken, trying to decide whether it was worth the effort to put it back together. Nesta refused to make it easy for her. She stood stiff, arms crossed, her face blank. She would not be the first to break the silence.

Finally, Feyre sighed. “Nesta…” The sound of her name from her sister’s lips was not a plea, not quite an apology, but something in between. Feyre shifted, as if bracing herself, before she continued, “This isn’t a punishment. I know it feels like one, but that’s not what we’re trying to do.”

Nesta let out a quiet, humorless laugh, but said nothing.

Feyre pressed forward, stepping closer, her voice gentler now. “I know you hate this, I know you think we’re controlling you, but we—” she hesitated, as if searching for the right words, as if they might make Nesta understand, ”—we’re trying to help. You’ve shut yourself off from everyone, Nesta. You barely eat, you barely sleep, and when you do, it’s not at home, it’s in places that…” Feyre’s throat bobbed, but she pushed on. “Places that aren’t safe. And I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m scared for you. We all are.”

Nesta’s fingers twitched, but she kept them locked around her arms, kept her body still. Scared for her. It should have meant something, should have stirred something in her, but all she could feel was the cold weight of resentment pressing down on her ribs. Because they weren’t scared for her. They were tired of her. Tired of the mess she had become, tired of waiting for her to fix herself, tired of watching her unravel and still refusing to reach out.

Feyre took another step forward, so close now that Nesta could see the pain in her eyes, the frustration, the exhaustion. “I don’t want to send you away, Nesta. I don’t. But I can’t just sit by and watch you destroy yourself.” She exhaled sharply, her fingers curling at her sides. “You have to make a choice. Either you stay here, in the House, where you can heal, where you can find something—anything—to hold on to. Or you go to Hewn City, and…” Feyre’s voice faltered, but she forced herself to say it. “And you’ll be on your own.”

The words settled heavily between them, final and absolute. Feyre watched her, waiting, hoping, begging Nesta to see what she was trying to say.

But Nesta only stared back, unmoving. Unyielding.

Nesta let the silence stretch between them, let the weight of Feyre’s words settle into the space where her anger burned low and hot. Heal. That’s what they wanted. That’s what they thought this was about. As if she were some wound that needed tending, some sickness that needed to be cured. As if the pieces of her that had been shattered—that had been broken beyond recognition—could be put back together just because they had decided it was time for her to be whole again.

Her fingers dug into her arms, nails pressing deep, grounding herself in the only way she knew how. Finally, she exhaled sharply through her nose and shook her head. “You don’t get to do this.”

Feyre blinked, her expression tightening. “Nesta—”

“You don’t get to pretend this is a choice,” she cut in, her voice colder than the wind howling outside. “You don’t get to stand there and act like you’re doing me some great favor, like this is some kindness.” She laughed, bitter and sharp, like broken glass. “You’ve already made your decision. You and Rhysand and the rest of them—you’ve already decided what to do with me, already decided that you’re done. So don’t stand there and tell me this is about saving me, Feyre.” Nesta’s eyes burned, but she refused to blink, refused to let anything but anger rise to the surface. “This is about making me disappear.”

Feyre’s face twisted in pain, but Nesta barreled forward before she could argue, before she could try to soothe and smooth over the jagged edges of what had already been done. “Tell me, Feyre,” she said, voice quieter now, more dangerous. “If this was about helping me, why did you have to corner me?” She let the question hang, knowing there was no answer Feyre could give that wouldn’t betray the truth of it. “Because you knew, didn’t you? You knew if you gave me a real choice, I wouldn’t come.”

Feyre’s throat bobbed, and Nesta saw it then—the way her sister’s hands trembled slightly, the way her mask of calm wavered, cracked. Because Nesta was right. Because they had been planning this, because they had known for weeks, maybe months, that they would have to force her hand.

The realization should have hurt. Maybe it did, somewhere deep inside that place she refused to touch. But Nesta only clenched her jaw, forced her voice to remain steady, empty. “You should have just let me be.”

Feyre exhaled, shaking her head, something desperate, something pleading in her eyes. “I couldn’t.”

Nesta let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “No, you just wouldn’t.”

Nesta held Feyre’s gaze, let her sister see the full force of her defiance, the steel that had always been there, long before either of them had been Made, long before magic had tangled itself into their bones. Let her see that no matter what she said, no matter what threats they threw at her, they would not break her.

“I’m not going,” she said, her voice low and steady. “You can drag me here, you can throw me into this house like a piece of unwanted baggage, but you cannot make me stay.” She lifted her chin, the barest challenge. “I will not train. I will not go to your gods-damned library. I will not sit in this house and pretend that any of this is for my benefit. If you think you can force me to play along, you’re mistaken.”

Feyre’s face didn’t change. No flicker of hesitation, no faltering step back. Just that steady, unrelenting stare, the same one Nesta had seen when she had faced down Hybern, when she had fought for them, for this court, for her. But there was something else in it now—something colder, something as unyielding as stone.

“You’ll go,” Feyre said quietly. “Even if I have to have you tied up and hauled there myself.”

Nesta’s breath sharpened. The words were not a threat, not spoken in anger or cruelty, but in absolute certainty.

And that was worse.

That Feyre truly believed she had no other choice, that she had made up her mind long before this moment. That she was willing to use force if she had to. Nesta searched her sister’s face, looking for any trace of the Feyre who had once bargained her life away for them, who had fought so hard to bring them here, to bring them home. But maybe that Feyre was gone, lost to power and duty and the relentless burden of always being the one to clean up the mess.

Nesta let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “And here I thought you weren’t trying to punish me.”

Feyre flinched—but she did not take it back. Did not try to soften it.

Because she meant it. Every word.

And Nesta realized, with cold finality, that there was no way out of this.

Nesta’s nails dug into her palms as Feyre’s words settled between them, solid and immovable.

Tied up and hauled there.

It wasn’t an empty threat. Feyre meant it. Nesta could see it in the unwavering set of her jaw, in the quiet steel in her eyes. There was no way out of this. She would be taken to the House of Wind, one way or another. Locked in that grand, empty palace atop the mountains with no way down, no way out.

Her stomach twisted as her mind spun forward, unspooling the future they had decided for her.

Training. With Cassian.

Nesta swallowed hard, the thought alone making her pulse hammer. Being forced into the brutal, exhausting drills she had watched Illyrian warriors endure. Training with him. Sweating, aching, her body pushed to its limits as he barked orders at her, as he forced her to fight when she had spent so long letting herself waste away. She didn’t want it. Didn’t want his sharp eyes assessing her, didn’t want his words scraping against her defenses, didn’t want the inevitable moment when she failed and saw disappointment flicker in his gaze. Because she would fail. She had never been built for war, never wanted the blood and steel and violence that ran so easily through Cassian’s veins. And yet, they would make her do it anyway.

And the library.

Nesta’s throat tightened as she thought of the priestesses, those silent, watching females who whispered and murmured but never ventured far from the shadows. They would put her there, among them, force her to exist in a space filled with quiet, careful ghosts. Did they think she belonged there? With the broken, with the ones who had been shattered by the horrors of the world and never quite put back together? Feyre and Rhysand could pretend this was about healing all they wanted, but Nesta saw it for what it was. They were putting her away. Placing her somewhere safe, somewhere they could contain her, keep her out of sight until she was palatable again.

Her breathing turned uneven, but she fought to keep it steady. She would not let Feyre see. Would not let her glimpse the raw, roiling emotion beneath the surface.

They had taken everything from her.

And now they would take this too. Her own ruin. Her own choice to drown.

It came out so fast she barely heard herself. “Hewn City.”

The words slipped from her lips before she could stop them, before she could even fully form the thought. And for a second, for the briefest of moments, she wondered if she had only imagined saying it, if the words had only been a whisper in her mind.

But then Feyre’s eyes widened, her entire body going rigid.

“What?” Feyre’s voice was barely above a breath, like she hadn’t heard correctly, like she refused to believe what had just come out of Nesta’s mouth.

Nesta blinked, her own pulse thrumming in her ears, and then—“Hewn City,” she said again, stronger this time, deliberate. Final.

A beat of silence. A thick, suffocating silence that seemed to stretch for miles between them.

Feyre’s lips parted slightly, her throat working, but no words came out. And Nesta saw it then—the crack in her sister’s composure. The slight unraveling of the mask Feyre had worn since the moment this conversation started. She hadn’t expected this. She had thought Nesta would fight, that she would rage and curse and push back until there was no choice left but the House. But she had not expected this. Had not expected Nesta to take the one thing she had been using as leverage, the one option that was meant to force her hand, and accept it instead.

They hadn’t wanted her to choose Hewn City.

They had wanted her to be afraid of it. To recoil at the thought of being thrown into that wretched, rotting place, alone and powerless, with only the monsters lurking in its shadows to keep her company. But she wasn’t afraid. Not of that. Not of them.

Nesta lifted her chin, refusing to let her voice waver. “You gave me a choice, and I made it.” She arched a brow. “Or was that a lie, too?”

“Nesta, wait—” Her voice was tight, urgent, not the cool, calculated tone she had used before. There was something raw in it now, something fraying at the edges. “You don’t want this.”

Nesta let out a sharp, humorless laugh, folding her arms over her chest. “Funny, I don’t remember asking for your opinion on what I do and don’t want.”

Feyre’s jaw clenched, but she didn’t move, didn’t back down. “You’re not thinking this through.” Her hands curled slightly at her sides, like she wanted to reach for Nesta but knew better. “Hewn City isn’t like Velaris. You won’t be safe there. You can’t just disappear into your vices like you do here, Nesta. There are people there who will see you as an opportunity, who will—” She cut herself off, exhaling sharply, eyes burning with frustration. “They’ll try to use you. Hurt you.”

Nesta met her stare without flinching. “And that’s supposed to scare me?” She tilted her head. “Are you actually afraid for my safety, or do you just not want to feel guilty when you send me there?”

Feyre’s breath hitched. Just a fraction. But Nesta saw it.

“It’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it?” Nesta arched a brow. “You handed me a choice and expected me to pick the one you wanted. But I didn’t. And now you’re scrambling to take it back.”

Feyre shook her head, her fingers tightening into fists before she forced them to relax. “That’s not true. I never wanted to send you to Hewn City, Nesta.” Her voice wavered slightly, but she didn’t let it break. “I was hoping you’d pick the House because it would help you. Because you could—” She swallowed, eyes pleading now. “Because you could find something good there. A reason to keep going.”

Nesta’s throat burned, but she forced the fire down, forced herself to stay cold, to let the words slide right off her. “You don’t get to decide what’s good for me, Feyre.” She took a step forward, meeting her sister’s gaze head-on, daring her to argue. “You all decided I was too much of a problem to keep in Velaris, so you gave me two options. And now that I’ve made my choice, you suddenly don’t like it?” She let out a low laugh. “What a shame.”

Feyre exhaled, long and slow, like she was trying to steady herself. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter, laced with something softer. “Nesta, please. I know you’re angry. I know you feel like we’re forcing you into something you don’t want, and maybe we are. But I also know you. And I know you don’t want this, not really.”

Nesta’s entire body locked up.

Because Feyre said it like she meant it. Like she knew something Nesta didn’t, or maybe something Nesta refused to admit to herself.

But Nesta refused to break. She refused to let Feyre see the small, splintered crack in her resolve, refused to let her words burrow under her skin. So she only lifted her chin, her voice smooth and unyielding.

“Then you shouldn’t have given me the option.”

[kookies2000]

MY TOP TEN THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS SHIPS!!!! 🎪

I was gonna do this on Valentine's, but let's just say Valentine's Day is also my two little sisters' birthday. So, I thought today would still be ok to post my top TADC ships. And why I ship them.

#10 Gloink Queen x The Fudge 🍬 🍫

LOOK!!!!!! I just like the idea, ok. I shipped these two the moment I saw the image of The Fudge and just went “What if Caine plays with his AIs like they were dolls. And he makes these two kiss for fun?” I'm just saying! Two giants in love is everything to me!

#9 Mean Jokes, Kaufmo x Jax 🤡 🐰

This one grew on me thanks to my buddy Gen Toon who also ships them. I really like the idea of Kaufmo possibly telling really dark jokes that Jax would love. Also, because he was supposed to be a character in the show that was similar to Ragatha so hey, opposite attract. My favorite dynamic! Also! Jax trusted Kaufmo with his bowling ball. You don't just trust anyone with your bowling ball!

#8 Pomni x Gangle 🎭🃏

Girl failure x girl failure equals soft girlfriends crying to each other. Two girls being soft and emotional with each other is just very cute in my head. And I love it! And Episode 4 definitely fed me what I wanted. I just like this ship.

#7 Ragatha x Gangle 🎭🎀

My original first tadc ship! It started with the idea of Gangle being a bow in Ragatha's hair if Ragatha ever lost her bow. Or tie around her waist when trying on new dresses. Like a corset. Gotta help your girlfriend look nice! That and just like with Pomni x Gangle, two soft girls crying to each other when the world gets too hard.

#6 Funny Gummy, Pomni x Gummygoo 🐊 🃏

Come on, who doesn't ship this. It's such angst and sweet potential. I enjoy the ship a lot because Gummygoo and Pomni have a lot of chemistry together. They were able to be open with each other in just a few moments in a way that feels natural. And I love it!

#5 Funny Bunny 🐰 🃏

So to the top 5. My favorite ships of the show. Funny Bunny is just funny. I like their dynamic in the latest advertisement in Japan. It's so cute and fun to see them bicker like an old married couple. It's basically my favorite trope, opposite attract. Jerk trying his best to make others suffer x anxious girl trying her best to help others. You gotta love it.

#4 Checkmate ♟️

I will only say a few words because I cry over this ship. My heart broke for this old married couple that deserve all the happiness the world has to offer. They would've made great parents to the entire circus gang. Soft dad x tough mother!!!!!

#3 Showtime 🎪 🃏

Started like most Showtimers. I felt uncomfortable with the ship at first until I saw a super cute comic with the two. About Caine and Pomni going out for a walk and Pomni tells Caine about what humans are like. She gets cold and Caine hands her his coat. The comic did give me a new view on the relationship. A version where Pomnu tells Caine everything about humans and what they like. And Caine doing everything in his power to make it come true to make her and the other humans happy. He'll make mistakes here and there because he is just an Ai, and Pomni would get frustrated but correct him. It's such a cute concept and has a lot of potential for comedy as well. Where Caine can misunderstand human sayings and make them literal and Pomni is just pulling at her hat trying to make him understand. Along with angst potential. Imagine Pomni choosing between leaving for the real world and staying with Caine after he worked so hard to make her and the others happy. It has great story potential! And I love it!!!! And again, opposites attract. Caine being the overly happy and naive man while Pomni is a realist and more serious.

#2 Abstragedy 🔺️🎭

I shipped this since episode 1. It has great potential! Soft girl x tough gender fluid soul. I also believe we should have more representation in romantic stories involving non binary and gender fluid people. Especially in media where kids are around. The Owl House did a great job putting in a non binary character in a romantic relationship with a woman. Something my little sisters understood on the spot. So having a gender fluid person x a woman is also a great opportunity to introduce a new couple to my sisters. I know it won't be canon but it be great to see people/kids ship them. I also love their dynamic since episode 1. Where Gangle was the only one worried for Zooble after she got kidnapped. Episode 3, just the way Zooble says “Gangle is too shy” to Caine is so tender. And the same in episode 4 where their relationship is just that, tender. So damn tender that it melts your hearts!!!! And again, I love opposites attract! Zooble is tough, outspoken, and not afraid to speak her mind while Gangle is very timid, sensitive and keeps to herself. Their relationships with Jax also reveals just that. Gangle lets herself get pushed around by Jax while Zooble doesn't hesitate to choke Jax on the spot for using her hand as a back scratcher. Love the dynamic!!!

#1 BunnyDoll 🎀🐰

So let it be known that I have a super personal attraction to this ship. It's the ship my little sister ships the most. She is a romantic and ships everything that moves but admires Bunny Doll the most. And the most I'll say is she's been in and out of the doctor's office/hospital for heart problems that can go south easily. So my connection with this ship can't ever be broken. And will always be #1 to me.

Along with this personal connection, I do have other reasons as well. Since the teaser clips with Jax tripping Ragatha, I knew I would ship them. The clear opposites attract dynamic here. Jax is a jerk, and Ragatha is a sweetheart. And love the scowl Ragatha gives to Jax in that teaser while Jax just smiles. The clear indication that these two are gonna have a lot of old married couple bickering. Episode 1 comes, and something that makes me laugh is how both Jax and Ragatha didn't care about Zooble being kidnapped. Jax just asks if they want to do something else, and Ragatha goes along with Jax on the idea. Love that because Ragatha is not the pure of heart she tries to be, and I'm sure in another universe, Jax loves that about her. Just trying to be a nice person, but he knows she isn't and wants to see that meaner side to her. Something to notice is how Ragatha and Jax seem to be the two leaders of the gang. Jax tells everyone what to do in episode 1. And Ragatha basically backs him up in his plan. Trying to be the emotional support for everyone. Guiding Pomni into the digital world mentally and emotionally.

Episode 2, same thing. They bicker around like an old married couple. Ragatha is trying to keep Pomni safe, and Jax just throws Pomni out of the truck. Gives off the vibe of the mother trying to teach her child to swim in a gentle way while the dad just drop kicks the kid in the deep end and yells “SWIM!!!!” And this is where I adore their relationship more where Ragatha seems worried for Pomni while Jax tries to knock sense into her that they are littery in a ditch of boiling chocolate and they should worry about themselves. A dynamic I love. Ragatha tries to be kind to others, and Jax is pulling her into thinking about herself for once.

Episode 3, it was all talking about husbands and wives. And the one scene where Ragatha gives Jax the look after Martha says they know how men are. It just gave off the vibe of wives talking about the stupid stuff their husband's do. Love it!

Episode 4 is where we get more as well. Ragatha hates Jax but doesn't want him to hate her, and Jax clearly lets that get to him. He most likely knows Ragatha isn't genuine in her kindness. And I like that. Angst potential.

In another universe, I would love to see Jax trying to poke more of her meanness out of her. Or trying to make her think for herself for once. This is my favorite type of opposites attract. One thinks for himself, builds walls, mean as a way to cope and never lets anyone step on him. But he needs to learn to be more vulnerable with others. The other is kind, very vulnerable, positive, but needs to learn how to be assertive and think for her own well being. One side has what the other needs. And if written well, can become a super healthy and romantic story.

♥️🧡💛💚💙💜♥️🧡💛💚💙💜♥️🧡💛💚💙💜

All in all, this is my top 10! I ship everything and anyone! It's very rare for me to not ship something. Hope you guys enjoyed my rambling!!! 💜💜💜💜💜

[acknowledge-reigns]

Triple Threat | Jimmy Uso x Naomi x Black fem!OC | SMUT (18+!!!)

Description: Tatiana realizes a potential complication in her relationship with Jimmy and Naomi.

Chapter: 2/5

Face Claim: Arsema Thomas

Warnings: Mentions of Dom/Switch/sub dynamic, petnames, nothing else really.

This is the Jimmy and Naomi x Tatiana sequel to Swipe Right, Rivals With Benefits, Kiss It Better, Baddie and The Beast and The Nanny. As always my stories are NOT about real people and does not reflect their character. This is very much an 18+ BDSM based romance with some comedy thrown in there. If kink content isn't for you, please scroll. You have been warned.

Word count: 2,185

My masterlist can be found here.

Taglist: @lov3rla03 @acute-crashout-jeyuso

Tatiana wakes up the next morning feeling both satisfied and giddy. She's still feeling a bit sore from the previous night's activities, but she can't help but smile as she remembers how good it felt to submit to Jimmy and Naomi.

As she walks into the kitchen, she sees Jimmy and Naomi preparing breakfast for her. They both greet her with warm smiles and kisses, making her feel even more cherished.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Jimmy says, pulling out a chair for her at the table.

Tatiana sits down at the table, her heart fluttering at the simple gesture. She can't remember the last time anyone had been so sweet to her.

Naomi sets a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of her, and Jimmy pours her a glass of orange juice. They both take their seats across from her, their eyes filled with affection.

"Did you sleep well, baby?" Naomi asks, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Tatiana's ear.

Tatiana nods, a shy smile on her face. She's still a little embarrassed by how submissive she was the night before, but the way Jimmy and Naomi are treating her now makes her feel so cared for and strangely enough subby, just in a different way.

"I did," she says softly. "Thank you for breakfast. You didn't have to do all this for me."

Jimmy chuckles, shaking his head. "Of course we did," he says. "You deserve to be pampered after being so good for us last night."

Naomi nods in agreement, reaching across the table to take Tatiana's hand.

"You're our good girl," she says, her voice filled with warmth. "And we'll always take care of you."

They finish breakfast together, Jimmy and Naomi both making sure Tatiana eats enough to satisfy her hunger. They exchange flirty banter and lighthearted conversation, all while continuing to dote on her.

As they clear the table and begin to clean up the kitchen, Jimmy turns to Tatiana with a hopeful expression.

"We were wondering, babygirl..." he says, his voice soft and persuasive. "Would you like to go on a second date with us?"

Tatiana's heart flutters at the question. The idea of spending more time with Jimmy and Naomi makes her feel both nervous and excited.

She glances at them both, her eyes darting between their faces as she considers her answer. She doesn't want to seem too eager, but she can't deny that she's very much interested in spending more time with them.

"I'd love to," she says finally, a small smile spreading across her face.

Jimmy and Naomi exchange a pleased look at her response.

"How about this weekend?" Naomi suggests, stepping closer to Tatiana and wrapping an arm around her waist. "We could go have a picnic in the park, and then maybe take you back to our place afterwards..."

Jimmy nods in agreement, moving to stand on the other side of Tatiana. He places a hand on her hip, his fingers brushing against Naomi's as they both hold her between them.

"Sounds perfect," he says, his voice low and husky. "We'll take care of everything, all you have to do is show up looking as beautiful as always."

Tatiana's phone buzzes in her pocket, interrupting the intimate moment between the three of them. She frowns as she pulls it out and sees the text message from her brother, inwardly groaning a bit.

From: Devon

URGENT! meet us at the office.

Jimmy and Naomi both look concerned as they see the expression on her face.

"Everything okay, babygirl?" Jimmy asks.

"It's nothing," Tatiana says quickly, tucking her phone back into her pocket and forcing a smile onto her face. "Just my brother being dramatic as usual."

Naomi raises an eyebrow, clearly not convinced by her explanation. She can Tatiana is lying, she's always been one that was good at peeping game but she doesn't press the issue.

Jimmy looks like he wants to question her further, but he seems to decide against it. "Alright," he says instead, still looking a bit skeptical. "Just making sure you're okay."

They say their goodbyes, with Tatiana giving them each a quick kiss before leaving.

She heads to her brother's office, feeling a mix of irritation and anxiety. A part of her had just wanted to stay in her little bubble just her, Jim and Naomi and learn more about the couple that she so quickly was falling for. But alas, work had to be a buzz kill.

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Tatiana arrives at the office, a small and unassuming building on the outskirts of town. She takes a deep breath before entering, mentally preparing herself for whatever this was that so urgently needed her attention. She scanned her palm on the keypad gaining entry to Cara's computer room, that's where the three of them would typically debrief on new cases.

As she enters the room, she sees her brother and Cara standing there, both looking serious.

"Hey," she says, trying to keep her voice light. "What's going on?"

Cara has known Tatiana and Devon for years, since she and Tatiana were in kindergarten in fact. She's an extremely skilled hacker and investigator who handles the cyber stuff for their cases. She's like their very own Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds. Well, maybe her fashion taste wasn't quite as colorful and out there. And in place of blonde pigtails she rocked chunky box braids.

Devon is Tatiana's older brother by 4 years. When he headed off into the real world and started his PI business it hadn't taken his baby sister very long to decide she wanted to follow in his footsteps. Despite being a total pain in the ass at times, Tatiana loves him dearly and trusts him with her life.

Devon looks up as Tatiana enters the room, his expression stern.

"Took you long enough," he says, crossing his arms over his chest. "We've been waiting for you."

Tatiana rolls her eyes, plopping down in the chair next to Cara.

"It's not my fault you summoned me so suddenly," she retorts, giving him a cheeky grin.

Devon huffs in annoyance, clearly not in the mood for her sass.

"This is serious, Tatiana," he says. "We have a new case."

Cara chimes in, turning her attention to the computer screen in front of her.

"And it's a big one," she adds, tapping away at the keyboard. "It's going to require all of our attention."

"So basically, we have a 61-year-old woman named Beatrice who's hired us to dig up some dirt on a wealthy wrestling family," Devon explains, pacing back and forth as he speaks.

Cara nods, continuing to type away on the computer. "Her daughter is dating this guy" she adds pulling up a photo of Jimmy's brother Solo Sikoa. Holy shit! Amanda's mom has hired them?

Tatiana's eyes widen in shock as she sees the photo of Solo on the screen. She tries her best to keep her expression neutral, but a small gasp escapes her lips.

Cara and Devon both turn to look at her, their eyes narrowing slightly as they notice her reaction.

"Something wrong?" Devon asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Huh? No. Nothing. Just.. This is the bloodline we're talking about. Like The Rock and his folks. Are you sure we aren't biting off more than we can chew, Devon?" Tatiana tries desperately for a reason to reject the case.

Devon rolls his eyes at her concern. "Don't be ridiculous, Tati," he says, waving a dismissive hand. "We've handled much more challenging cases than this. And besides, this is a big opportunity for us. The payout on this one will be enough to set us up for a while."

Cara chimes in again, nodding in agreement with Devon.

"He's right, Tati," she says, giving her a sidelong glance. "This is our chance to really make a name for ourselves. If we help in something as high profile as this.. it could mean huge things."

Tatiana groans inwardly, knowing that her protest would fall on deaf ears. She can't exactly tell them the reason she doesn't want to take the case is because she has a personal connection to Solo. That would just lead to more questions and suspicion.

She sighs, resigning herself to the fact that she's going to have to get involved in this mess whether she likes it or not.

Devon notices her reluctance but decides not to press the issue further. He knows his sister well enough to know that when she gets that look on her face, it's best to just let her stew in her thoughts for a while.

Cara glances at Tatiana, sensing that there's more going on than she's letting on. She makes a mental note to talk to her about it later, when they're alone.

After a few more minutes of planning, the three of them come up with a game plan for how to approach the case. They spend the rest of the day going over details and figuring out where to start.

As the day comes to an end, Cara grabs Tatiana by the arm as they're leaving the office.

"Hey, wait up," she says, pulling her aside. "We need to talk."

Tatiana raises an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look.

"What is it?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Cara glances around to make sure they're alone before speaking.

"I noticed you seemed a little... off, when we were discussing the case," she says, her tone gentle. "Like you didn't want to take it."

Tatiana sighs, knowing she can't hide her true feelings from Cara. The woman has always been able to read her like a book.

"Yeah, well.. it's a bit complicated," she admits, looking away from her friend.

Cara raises an eyebrow, sensing that there's something Tatiana isn't telling her.

"Complicated how?" she asks, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms. "You can talk to me, Tati. You know that."

Tatiana hesitates for a moment, debating whether or not to confide in Cara. But in the end, she knows that she can trust her friend with anything.

She takes a deep breath before finally speaking.

"Solo Sikoa... he's not just some random wrestler," she says quietly, avoiding eye contact.

Cara's eyes widen in surprise as the realization dawns on her.

"Wait a minute... you know him, don't you?" she asks, her tone full of shock.

Tatiana nods, finally meeting Cara's gaze.

"I do," she admits, her voice barely above a whisper. "And it's complicated because I kind of.. Have this thing with his brother and his sister in law."

Cara's jaw drops in disbelief.

"You have a thing with his brother AND his sister in law?!" she exclaims, her voice rising slightly. "What the hell, Tati?!"

Tatiana holds up her hands defensively, trying to calm Cara down.

"It's not what you think," she says quickly. "I mean, yeah, It kind of is.. It's like a poly situationship."

Cara's eyes widen even further, if that's even possible.

"A poly situationship?" she repeats, clearly stunned. "You mean, like a threesome situation?"

Tatiana winces at Cara's choice of words, but nods nonetheless.

"Yeah... something like that," she admits, looking down at the floor. "But it's more than that. It's deeper than just some threesome."

Cara takes a moment to process this new information, her mind racing with a million questions.

"You cannot utter a word of this to Devon, okay?" Tatiana sighs.

Cara snaps out of her shock and nods firmly.

"Of course not," she says quickly. "Your secret is safe with me."

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As Tatiana drives home, she can't help but feel a mix of emotions. Excitement at the thought of seeing her new partners again, anxiety about taking on this case and hiding it from her brother, and guilt for keeping secrets from both him and Cara and pretty much everyone.

She couldn't tell Jimmy and Naomi about the case, not without compromising it.

Hell, it was already compromised though wasn't it? She's biased. She has intimate connections with the family of the target.

By the time she reaches her apartment, her head is spinning with conflicting thoughts and feelings. She enters her home and throws her keys onto the counter, letting out a frustrated sigh.

She needs a drink.

Tatiana walks over to her liquor cabinet and grabs a bottle of whiskey. She pours herself a generous glass and downs it in one gulp, relishing the burn as it goes down her throat.

She pours herself another one and heads over to the couch, flopping down on it with a groan.

She takes a sip of her second drink, staring blankly at the wall as she contemplates her situation.

She's a private investigator, for god's sake. She's supposed to be objective and impartial, not involved with the people she's investigating. And yet, here she is, caught up in a complicated relationship with Jimmy and Naomi with an insane conflict of interest.

And now she's taking on a case that involves Jimmy's own brother.

What the hell kind of entanglement has she gotten herself into?

Previous Chapter ●◉◎◈◎◉● Next Chapter

[astrylx]

Supernatural S.5 Ep.2 - Good God, Y'all! - Liveblog

Welcome back welcome back, let's get started liveblogging. This appears to be a somewhat Castiel centered episode based off of the episode summary, and that makes me happy because his character really intrigues me!

Dean is struggling with the idea of Bobby not being okay it seems. Which I can understand. It's never easy to deal with the struggles of a parental figure, and we've seen how everything with John impacted him. I can understand why he just wants everything to be okay.

The X-Rays of the ribs are really cool. Is it bad I kind of want a scene where when can see the actual ribs, not just the X-Ray of them? Like, one of the brothers gets their chest carved open? I just really want to look at those ribs and study them...

Cas is cut off from Heaven. That's what I expected after what happened with the archangel. I do feel bad for Bobby though, because I know he was counting on Cas being able to heal him.

"I'm gonna find God." That's. Yea. Maybe some people on tumblr need to take one from you and do that too (I SAY JOKINGLY)

Seriously though, you know how a few posts ago I said moments in this show make me feel sacrilegious? That's the start of one. Not that I can't watch religion based shows, or shows that satirize and criticize elements of religion, but sometimes there are moments they make me, as a pretty religious person, feel like I'm doing something wrong.

Castiel not understanding sarcasm, I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE-

Watching Castiel lose his faith, have to kill his brothers, only for Dean to criticize his desperation, oh Castiel you are a stronger man than I am, Dean would be on the FLOOR by now.

"I did all of it for you" I know what you are I know what you are I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE

The necklace Sam gave Dean is basically a God metal detector? I love that- I knew it was going to be relevant. I'm honestly surprised he's giving it away so willingly.

ELLEN!! I missed her. Very glad to see her again. She seems mad at them. Does she know? Does she know they started the apocalypse? Oh never mind, she was holding it safe because they were outside.

Dean doesn't trust Sam... That's what this is about. Ouch.

Demon blood... I fear this won't end well. It's not that I don't trust Sam or believe in his strength but... Please don't do it, it's not worth it. Please, Sam. The scene is done really well though. I can see the distrust in Dean's eyes. I don't like seeing that look.

To Dean, Sam shoving him was basically proving his point... Ouch I don't like these episodes, I don't like what they're doing to me. I don't like seeing Sam and Dean fighting.

Wait I'm confused. Jo's eyes are black but she seems to think Ellen is possessed?

Sam is kidnapped. Why do I get a feeling they're going to uh... donate some blood, so to speak...

Wait what? I'm actually very confused right now. They seem to think that Sam and Ellen are demons, but are they not demons themselves? What is happening?

Oh I get it. Someone/something is manipulating the situation. Making them think the other is/are demons. I'm wondering about this dude.

The four horsemen- That makes sense that makes sense! I'm a little disappointed I didn't get it to begin with...

The horseman toying with Sam, calling him out on how he wants blood. Jared's eyes are so emotional in this scene, I normally hate eye contact but I'm actually struggling to look away. The slight tremble in his facial muscles, I always adore this kind of acting and Jared is doing it so well.

Okay so they cut his fingers off and got the ring, where did War go? How do they destroy it.

OH IS SAM COMING CLEAN? He is- Oh Sam...

No- No this can't be the end- They can't be separating- No- I hate this-

Fuck. I was expecting a Castiel episode and instead all I got was an emotional wreck. This fucking sucks.

I don't know if I can handle this season, this is hurting my feelers.

[jackoshadows]

Well, I get the feeling that you just skimmed through my post which I even made in bullet points for easy reading!

You claim that talking about how misogyny in fandom targets Sansa Stark is somehow itself misogynistic, and then you pivot to praising Arya as if she’s the only “normal little girl” worth defending.

Nowhere did I say that Arya is the 'only normal little girl' - if that's your reading then maybe you should go back and read what I wrote.

I was disagreeing with using words like 'normal' to define girls and how they perform femininity. Who are you to decide what's the normal way of being a girl?

And I defended Arya because of your implication that Sansa was getting hate because she was just a 'normal girl who has realistic reactions' unlike Arya and other female characters in the series and I was outlining how Arya is also a normal girl like every other girl in the series.

I said bullying is not normal. Do you agree? Do you agree that Sansa and Jeyne Poole mocking Arya's looks and calling her ugly should not be normalized as the done thing?

I said Sansa has flaws - do you think having flaws makes us abnormal? It's what makes us human! And having flaws makes a character open to critique. You seem to think that having no flaws is what makes someone normal and disingenuously argue that Sansa gets hate because she 's a 'normal girl' unlike other female characters in the series.

Frankly, your argument not only misses the point entirely but also ends up reinforcing the very biases you pretend to oppose. So, let’s break this down, this is gonna be long so...

You seem to be missing the point of my post and why your post was a misogyny fest so yeah, let's break it down.

Look, the idea that Sansa’s embodiment of traditional femininity—her sensitivity, her grace, even her vulnerability—is a “flaw” is where you first go off track.

Again, maybe go back and read my post line by line if you did not get it. I am not sure if you are disingenuously and deliberately misreading and misinterpreting what I wrote to make a point or you really are not getting where I am coming from.

Nowhere did I say that 'sensitivity, grace or vulnerability' is a 'flaw'. Point to me where I said it.

This right here is your problem. You see someone say 'Sansa has flaws' and immediately jump to 'OMG they hate Sansa because she's sensitive and graceful and vulnerable'! This is why all the gaslighting and strawmanning and disingenuous statements happen.

How is that possible? Why would anyone hate a character for being sensitive? What's the point? This just sounds so much like made up BS.

Not to mention other characters are ALSO sensitive and vulnerable. Arya is sensitive and vulnerable, so is Dany, so is Brienne, so is Arianne, so is Missandei, so is Bran Stark, so is Jon Snow, so is Robb Stark, so is Tyrion Lannister, so is Theon, so is Jaime. The list goes on. GRRM's characters are multifaceted and complex and even the villains show shades of sensitivity and vulnerability.

Feminist theorists like Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler have long argued that traits associated with traditional womanhood are systematically devalued.

And you are adding to that devaluing by associating traits, like intelligence and the ability to nurture and wisely lead, with men and only men when those traits also belong to women. As a woman who works in STEM, the hurdles and obstacles and twice the hard work I have had to put in to compete for the same academic jobs as men is an example of how traits like intelligence and leadership have been devalued and stripped from women and we have been othered and looked down on because we are seen as not belonging in what has been deemed traditionally male spaces.

Then there is the fact that you selectively associate some traits as feminine because it's how Sansa performs her femininity and argue that this is what makes for a 'normal' girl. Arya is nurturing, loves nature and animals and flowers - where does that fit into your scale of femininity?

Sansa, with her courtly manners and her initial naivety, isn’t weak; she’s a product of a culture that’s been set up to dismiss exactly these qualities.

Except she is not? We see other examples of girls like Sansa who are a product of that culture - Margaery Tyrell who knows how the game is played, Arianne Martell who plots her own games, Catelyn Stark born for leadership, Alys Karstark who got on a horse and rode all the way to the Wall in the harshest of Winter to seek help from a son of Eddard Stark.

Catelyn is one of the smartest politicians of the game, the brains behind Robb's campaign. Is she not a product of the very culture that Sansa grew up in?

Time and time again, we see how in real world medieval, patriarchal feudal kingdoms, a lot of the time it's the women and the queens who wield all the power behind the throne. I was just reading this book called 'Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of The Chola Empire' about the Chola Empire who ruled the South Indian subcontinent between 8th to the 12th century AD and according to historical accounts the Queens were the real power behind the throne, engaging in soft power politics. And these were medieval, patriarchal kingdoms engaging in conquest and warfare with a strong military.

Then there's the fact that you are the one applying words like 'weak' to characteristics like 'naivete'. That's on you, not me or anyone else critical of Sansa's flaws. No one is saying that Sansa is weak apart from you putting words into the mouths of her critics to disingenuously dismiss that critique by twisting it as misogynistic.

Let’s talk about the male gaze—a concept that’s essential to understanding why traditional femininity gets such a hard time in popular culture. The male gaze isn’t just about objectification; it’s about shaping how female characters are seen and, more importantly, which types of femininity are valorized. In most mainstream narratives, the version of female strength that’s celebrated is one that mirrors male characteristics: aggression, decisiveness, physical prowess.

This is also the version of female strength that is criminalized and attacked by right wing chuds. From attacking Brie Larson playing Ms.Marvel to Daisy Riddle in Star Wars to all the misogynistic double standards that the character of Daenerys has been subjected to from the time the first book was published in 1996. Why do you think there is a campaign of continued hate against Daenerys?

You mentioned the show in how it treated Daenerys. Why do you think the two men who wrote her, wrote her that way? Since you are the expert in feminist theory and femininity, what do you feel about their male gaze towards Daenerys?

Here are different ways the show and the fandom 'valorized' Daenerys:

When Jon Snow executed prisoners it is the done thing and fans celebrated how bad ass it was. When Dany executed prisoners both the show through Tyrion and the fans argued that she was a tyrant.

D&D - exhibiting the same sexism you are - talk about how Dany is a bad woman for not crying while executing unknown prisoners while Sansa is a good woman for crying while executing her mentor of 7 seasons. Jon who also does not cry while executing prisoners is exempt from this comparison because he is a man.

Jon brutally kills people in war - bad-ass, heroic! Dany brutally kills people in war - mad, tyrant.

Mad Queen theories about Dany because she is a Targaryen descendant, no mad king theories about Jon despite him being a Targaryen descendant and being subjected to more trauma than Dany considering he has just been killed.

Actual posts in fandom about how Dany is a bad rape victim because she talked about her rape unlike Sansa who is a good rape victim.

Incredibly sexist posts about how Dany deserves to die in all sorts of violent ways, how Jon will turn into LF, seduce and manipulate Dany and then murder her violently for his true love Sansa.

How Dany as queen is wrong and bad because feudalism is bad but somehow feudalism and ruling over peasants is acceptable if Sansa becomes Queen.

And so on and so forth. A person must be blind to not see how incredibly sexist both readers and the TV show have been towards Daenerys precisely because she is a female character in fantasy fiction that is bold, unique, powerful and holds a place normally reserved for male characters - that's where the hate for the character from right wing spaces and reddit dudebros comes from.

If anything, Daenerys' most fervent fans are women. As is the case with Arya Stark. Women and girls who see themselves in these characters, in their raging against the patriarchy, against being told to be a certain way, who are heroes the same way as the men are. Isn't that what feminism is? Where the male and female characters are treated with the same importance by the narrative?

In fact there's a reason the so called traditional femininity has been co-opted by the right. There's a reason Sansa is an incredibly popular character among Reddit dudebros unlike Arya - who they think is a damaged sociopath with no happy ending - and Daenerys - the tyrant mad queen doomed to die. There's a reason fandom assigns Sansa Queenship, romance, marriage and babies while the same fandom assigns death, doom and misery for Arya and Daenerys.

As a woc who thinks intersectionality is also important in these discussions, tradwife culture is also rooted in white supremacy and even this is evidenced in fandom where a skinny, little white girl Arya is drawn in popular fanart with dark skin and bigger than Sansa and as Sansa's executioner and protector when in canon Sansa is the bigger, elder sister. This is not just misogyny at this point, but misogyny with added racism. Fandom has managed to introduce race and racism into a series where there are no major POC characters!

Arya and Daenerys are both intelligent characters - one has to be to lead men in a patriarchal culture and strategize and outwit other characters. But time and time again, both the fandom and the TV show keep stripping away their intelligence and political know how and reducing them to brawn, brute force, sociopath, tyrant, mad queen - why do you think that is?

Sansa’s journey, however, is far more nuanced. While she certainly evolves into a politically savvy leader, much of her early story is steeped in what might be seen as “soft power”—diplomacy, emotional intelligence, and strategic patience. Instead of recognizing these as genuine strengths, a lot of fans, including you, seem to dismiss them as mere signs of weakness. It’s like you’re saying, “If you’re not out there swinging a sword like Arya, you’re not really strong.” That’s a tired, binary way of thinking that not only undermines feminist theory but also does a disservice to the complexity of female characters.

There you go, disingenuously putting words into my mouth to make the straw man argument that Sansa gets unfair hate because she does not use a sword.

Nowhere, NOWHERE, have I seen hate towards Sansa because she does not swing a sword. Point to me any examples of this from tumblr or elsewhere, of someone hating Sansa because she is not fighting someone with a sword. SHOW ME. Go search all my posts on the Sansa Stark tag if you like and point to where I am attacking Sansa for not swinging a sword.

While she certainly evolves into a politically savvy leader,

Where does this happen in the books? Can you point out which trade deals and negotiations Sansa has participated in? Which wars she has stopped? Which insurgencies she has tackled? What loans she has taken? What politics she has tackled? Which adult leader has she done political deals with?

much of her early story is steeped in what might be seen as “soft power”—diplomacy, emotional intelligence, and strategic patience.

Do you understand what 'soft power' means?

In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (in contrast with hard power). It involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Soft power is non-coercive, using culture, political values, and foreign policies to enact change. In 2012, Joseph Nye of Harvard University explained that with soft power, "the best propaganda is not propaganda", further explaining that during the Information Age, "credibility is the scarcest resource".[1]Nye popularised the term in his 1990 book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power.[2]In this book he wrote: "when one country gets other countries to want what it wants might be called co-optive or soft power in contrast with the hard or command power of ordering others to do what it wants".[2] He further developed the concept in his 2004 book, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.[3]

Now point to where in the books Sansa actually engages in Soft Power and diplomacy to influence or change an outcome politically?

Examples of actual soft power in the books is Jon Snow arranging a marriage between Alys Karstark and the Magnar of Thenn, thus integrating the Freefolk into the North and enacting foreign policy change through marriage alliances instead of war. Or Dany suing for peace in Meereen by agreeing to a marriage with Hizdahr.

This is also where a lot of the criticism of the character and her fandom comes from. In the books Sansa still does not have a lot of agency and she has been a political pawn for much of her story. She has yet to do anything political despite which her fandom keeps hyper-inflating her traits while at the same time stripping these characteristics from the other leaders like Dany and Jon who are actively engaged in political strategizing.

Instead of recognizing these as genuine strengths, a lot of fans, including you, seem to dismiss them as mere signs of weakness.

So no, I am not saying these are signs of weakness - you keep using the word 'weak' for some reason - I am saying that Sansa is yet to engage in soft power and diplomacy and until she is in a position of actual power and participates in actual politics as a leader I will reserve my judgement of whether she is good or bad at it.

Jon and Dany gets judged on their actions as leaders and whether they are good or bad with a huge dollop of sexist bias included for any analysis of Dany. Meanwhile Sansa is framed as this perfect leader who would be the best Queen simply on the basis of her gender when she is yet to do anything or make any political decision . Her femininity and how she performs femininity is not what decides whether she will be a good ruler or not.

By insisting that Arya’s overt physicality is the only acceptable form of female strength, you’re subscribing to a dangerous double standard.

Me in my post: "Arya is nurturing, loves flowers and babies, playing with dolls, is a horse girl, a daddy's girl, loves running around - a typical NORMAL little girl"

You in your reply: "By insisting that Arya’s overt physicality is the only acceptable form of female strength"

What even is happening? Do you even understand what I am writing? I can't even argue against this nonsense because it seems you have not even read my post and are just randomly reacting to stuff you have made up in your mind. Or are you reacting to a different post?

My point is that it is WRONG TO REDUCE ARYA TO BRAWN AND BRUTE FORCE AND FRAME HER AS MASCULINE like you are doing!

Now, let’s address your fixation on Arya. You’ve repeatedly tried to use her as a counterbalance to Sansa’s supposed “flaws.” But here’s the irony: invoking Arya as the standard of “normalcy” is not only a red herring—it’s downright hypocritical.

AGAIN, I AM NOT THE ONE CHARACTERIZING LITTLE GIRLS AS BEING NORMAL Or NOT BASED ON HOW THEY ARE PERFORMING FEMININITY. YOU ARE.

You were the one who started this discourse about how Sansa gets hate because she's a 'normal girl' and brought up how everyone loves girls who fight and talk and lead like men because of those masculine traits. I was pointing out that Arya is just as girly as Sansa, she is just as feminine as Sansa, they are both NORMAL little girls!

When you claim that Arya is the archetype of a normal little girl who stands up to injustice, you imply that any deviation from her model is inferior.

This whole post is funny. You said Sansa is a normal girl unlike the other female characters in the series. I said, what do you mean 'normal', here are Arya's characteristics and they are also normal, and you respond with - 'why you saying Sansa is not normal!' 😭

So saying Arya is normal means that Sansa is not normal? Only one female character in the whole series can be normal?

Little children including little girls stand up against injustice all the time! Children have an innate sense of right and wrong, sense of fairness and empathy. None of this is abnormal!

Is morality something we’re born with, or something we learn? Psychologists have found that kids have a sense of fairness by the time they start pre-school, when they’re three or four years old. And within the past few years, a small but growing body of research indicates that kids have a moral compass while they’re just toddlers, suggesting that fairness might be innate.

This is a classic example of what Bell Hooks critiques as the “imperialist” mindset that forces a single narrative of empowerment, one that often ends up marginalizing other valid expressions of femininity.

Ah, good now we come to examining imperialism and colonialism and it's effect on how femininity and beauty is viewed through a Eurocentric lens rooted in white supremacy and how valid expressions of femininity in other cultures, races and ethnicities are deemed 'masculine' because they don't match up with what white tradwives think femininity is.

To bring it back to Westeros, where the hobbies of the nobility and high born like sewing and dancing are seen as feminine and therefore Sansa is feminine and a 'normal girl' but Arya who cooks, cleans, bandages, washes clothes etc is seen as masculine because those acts are performed by the lower classes.

In your view, Arya’s toughness, her physicality, and even her rebellious streak are all markers of a “proper” female character. But what about the quiet resilience, the emotional labor, and the subtle wisdom that Sansa embodies? By putting Arya on a pedestal as the only acceptable form of female strength, you’re not just misrepresenting the original critique; you’re reinforcing a binary that has long been used to exclude and demean those who don’t fit your narrow criteria.

Still just making up stuff as you go I see. More and more strawman arguments. You can't just get it through your head that defending Arya's femininity must mean that I am arguing that Sansa is not a proper female character.

I can understand this confusion as Sansa fans seem to think that there can be only one feminine character and think that Sansa is somehow unique and special because she is feminine. So when someone argues that Arya is also feminine and so is Dany and so is Margaery and so is Arianne and so on their brain explodes from being unable to handle this new information.

The only one who is enforcing a binary here is you.

Moreover, you claim that anyone who criticizes Sansa is somehow failing to “side with the abused” because they’re not as proactive as Arya. Let’s be clear: true feminist critique isn’t about choosing one form of resistance over another; it’s about recognizing that all forms of strength, including those that are traditionally feminine, have value.

Oh but Sansa was indeed proactive. This is also the problem with Sansa fans like yourself. At every turn here you praise Sansa's 'emotional intelligence, subtle wisdom, strategic patience, political savvyness' and yet at the same strip away Sansa's agency and take away from her decisions and the choices she makes.

Sansa saw Joffrey sadistically abuse another child. Sansa saw Joffrey attacking and trying to kill Arya with his sword. And Sansa chose to side with the abuser instead of the abused. This was a proactive choice she made. No one made it for her. It was her decision. She should own it.

These are her flaws I am talking about and I am free to critique this which you disingenuously classify as 'Sansa hate' because Sansa is a 'normal' girl.

Similarly Sansa saw Cersei demand the death of a direwolf. Sansa knows that Cersei is responsible for the death of her beloved Lady. Ned tells Sansa that the Lannisters are not to be trusted.

That was Sansa's decision to go tattle all of Ned's plans to Cersei. That was her choice. Just as it was her decision to tell Cersei that Arya was the traitor and not her. Don't strip away Sansa's agency and frame it as some kind of resistance when she actively makes these decisions to side with the abusers.

When you pit Arya against Sansa as if only one of them can be a valid model of resistance, you’re doing a disservice to the rich, multifaceted reality of womanhood. It’s not a contest between being “normal” or being “tough”—it’s about acknowledging that both expressions exist and are worthy of respect.

Look in the mirror and then read this aloud to yourself. This discussion started because you pit Arya against Sansa framing it as if there is only right way to perform femininity and that 'Sansa hate' was because Sansa is a 'normal girl' unlike the apparently abnormal girls who 'talk, fight and lead like men'.

This bias is not accidental; it’s baked into the way we’ve been taught to view gender roles. Feminist critics have long argued that society tends to favor traits that are coded as masculine—decisiveness, physical assertiveness, and even a sort of cold rationality—while dismissing the traditionally feminine traits as signs of weakness. By aligning yourself so strongly with Arya’s style of resistance, you’re echoing this very sentiment. You’re saying that unless a female character rejects her “normal” self and adopts these masculine traits, she isn’t really empowered.

Like who are you even talking to with these same tired talking points? Society tends to value traits you see as Masculine in MEN! When women try to enter these male dominated spheres despite having these favorable traits they are derided and driven off. Haven't you been following US elections and how female candidates have been treated? Where are the US female presidents?

while dismissing the traditionally feminine traits as signs of weakness. By aligning yourself so strongly with Arya’s style of resistance, you’re echoing this very sentiment.

This binary thinking not only distorts our understanding of female agency but also perpetuates a culture of exclusion. It alienates those who find strength in what you dismiss as “traditional” femininity. It’s worth noting that many influential female leaders throughout history—think of figures like Indira Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, or even more contemporary leaders—have often relied on a blend of traditionally feminine and masculine qualities. To reduce the entire spectrum of female experience to a single, narrow form of toughness is to ignore the rich complexity of what it means to be a woman.

Exactly. Now look into a mirror and read it to yourself the next time you reduce female characters to masculine and feminine traits and make strawman arguments about how Sansa only gets hate because she's a 'normal girl' unlike the other female characters who apparently according you act like men.

You’ve also made some pretty bold claims about what it means to “side with the abused” and how that supposedly aligns with Arya’s character. Let’s be real: no one is saying that Sansa doesn’t fight back or that she isn’t resilient. In fact, her journey from a sheltered, naïve girl to a savvy political operator is one of the most compelling arcs in the entire series

Let me know when Sansa becomes a 'savvy political operator' in the books and then we can discuss if she has one of the most compelling arcs. For now she is still a political pawn enmeshed in LF's games.

And saying that Sansa sided with Joffrey against Mycah and Arya is a bold claim? Why? it's what happens in the books. Why is talking about canon events in the books a bold claim?

no one is saying that Sansa doesn’t fight back or that she isn’t resilient.

Yes, no one is saying that.

Your assertion that “Arya is as feminine as Sansa” while simultaneously implying that Sansa’s version of femininity is somehow less valuable is a glaring contradiction.

Lol, where did I say that Sansa's version of femininty is 'less valuable' in my reply. Please point to it. This is amazing. Usually Sansa fans just make up their strawman arguments in new posts. You are doing it right under my post.

Sansa's adherence to Westerosi Patriarchal ideals is problematic for her, not for me! She can be feminine however she wants! She can sew, sing, dance, romanticize toxic relationships, think songs and fairy tales are real etc. However those very patriarchal ideals she romanticizes is what leads to an abusive system where women have very little rights and are treated like cattle to be sold off in deals.

And then there’s your remark about education on misogyny. Telling someone to “educate yourself” might seem like a call to intellectual rigor, but when it’s used to dismiss a valid critique of systemic bias, it comes off as a thinly veiled assertion of moral superiority.

You started the 'moral superiority' showboating when you equated valid criticisms of a fictional character to sexist hate while throwing actually sexist hate at other female characters and then ending with how you 'don't educate misogynists'. Considering the sexism in the very post where you derided sexism, I simply suggested that you first examine your own sexist biases against the other female characters in the series.

So, here we are. Your reply seems to conflate genuine feminist critique with a narrow-minded preference for one type of female representation over another.

Nope that was you who did that by stating that there was only one 'normal' female character in the series and that's why she was getting hate unlike other girls who 'talked, fought and lead like men'.

By using Arya as a counterpoint, you inadvertently reinforce the very biases you claim to oppose. Instead of engaging with the complexities of Sansa’s character and the systemic reasons why traditional femininity is so often derided, you reduce the conversation to a simplistic “good girl vs. bad girl” scenario. That’s not only intellectually unsatisfying—it’s also a disservice to anyone who’s ever felt that their naturally gentle or reflective qualities were less valuable.

Sadly it looks like my post pointing out that characters like Arya and Daenerys are equally as feminine as Sansa seems to have whooshed past your head, where the only thing you have done in this reply again and again is regurgitate how Sansa is awesome because she is traditionally feminine and if anyone states the other girls are also feminine, you, for some weird reason, see that as an attack on Sansa's femininity.

If you’re truly interested in a nuanced discussion about misogyny in fandom and the ways in which female characters are evaluated, then you need to move beyond these binary arguments.

Again, look in the mirror and read this out to yourself slowly and carefully and learn more about how your OP is full of sexist tropes.

I hope this clears things up a bit. Instead of dismissing Sansa’s character for being “normal” or too traditionally feminine, maybe take a moment to consider how those very qualities are unfairly targeted by a culture that’s obsessed with a one-size-fits-all notion of strength.

I hope with this reply you learn that ALL the characters in this series are normal. They are all human. All the girls in this are normal girls. There is no one right way to perform femininity. Both high class and low class femininity are valid. Different cultures, races and classes perform femininity differently. They are ALL normal.

So next time you feel tempted to use Arya as a scapegoat to discredit a critique of misogyny, remember: embracing multiple forms of femininity doesn’t weaken feminism—it enriches it.

So think twice and educate yourself before you use Arya as a scapegoat to prop up Sansa as a 'normal girl with realistic reactions' and drag down the other female characters for not performing femininity to your standards.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to a more informed discussion in the future.

I think I am done. I have already spend an inordinate amount of time on this reply but thought it necessary since you were wildly strawmanning all over the place.

I doubt you will still get any of what I wrote. You don't seem to have understood at all my original reply. You seem to think praising Arya's femininity is an attack on Sansa's. You don't get intersectionality. You don't seem to get Arya as a character, which I get considering Sansa is your favorite. So at no point are we going to come to any sort of agreement.

Have a good day!

Omg Sansa Starkk!!!! The TV show did her so dirty. Holy shit, they took a complicated layered character (every character of asoiaf is complicated and layered actually) and gave her the most dismissive interpretation possible.

Fuck, when I heard the criticism against game of thrones, it being sexist and the depiction of violence against women, teenager me dismissed it. Then I read the books, and I agree with every criticism 😭

Sansa irritated me in the first couple episodes of season 1, until everything turned and it became a helish nightmare for her and then I felt immense sympathy for her. In the books, she became my instant favorite.

Even Arya had more layers and complexity in the books. Arya was much more human in the books, loved it.

The show assassinated several characters—it didn’t just simplify some, like Sansa, but outright destroyed others. For example, they turned Arya into a complete psychopath, period. The Arya from the last three or four seasons had literally zero personality; she was just a badass who killed people, that’s it. She would put on her psycho killer face, and that was her entire character. She was only there so the male audience could jerk off.

And then there’s Daenerys’ character assassination. And listen, this is coming from someone who can’t stand Daenerys and found her chapters in the books unbearably boring. But even so, I can’t stand it when characters are disrespected in certain ways, and what they did to Daenerys at the end was a complete disgrace. She went from being one of the main characters, always framed as good, positive, and revolutionary by the narrative, to literally a crazy, sociopathic, genocidal maniac—it made zero sense. I’m not saying it couldn’t have happened. Sure, you could spend two more seasons showing how she descends into madness. But don’t do it in three episodes—that’s just pure nonsense. Plain and simple.

And well, WELL—I won’t even get into the rant that is, for me, the biggest crime of the entire trash show: THE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION OF JAIME LANNISTER. Jaime is one of my absolute favorite characters in the saga, and his redemption arc is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s truly a masterpiece of storytelling. I can accept that the show’s Jaime was more meh and had less charisma, but what I can’t accept is that after setting up a redemption arc so well, they ended it like that. Like, WHAT. They should have just killed him off during the Long Night—seriously, I wish they had done that. It would have been less painful. What a complete disaster.

Anyway, back to Sansa. She has always been my favorite character from the very beginning, in both the books and the show. I also think she’s a particularly interesting character when it comes to analyzing misogyny within fandoms. Both book Sansa and show Sansa get endless hate for one simple reason: she’s a normal girl. Sansa isn’t a dragon queen, she isn’t a ruler, she isn’t a rebel like her sister. Sansa is just a regular aristocratic girl with regular dreams for a girl of her age and status—someone who has always lived in a bubble. And her reactions, her doubts, and her fears are exactly what any normal person in her situation would have.

And that’s what audiences can’t stand—first, because she’s a reflection of themselves, since most people would act and react like Sansa, not like Arya. And second, because in a patriarchal view of women, a female character is only acceptable if she has traditionally masculine traits (she leads like a man, fights like a man, speaks like a man). A female character with flaws, whose personality isn’t masculine but also doesn’t cater to male fantasies, is unacceptable—so she becomes a constant target.

So yeah, as I’ve been saying for over ten years: hating Sansa Stark is misogyny, and I will not elaborate on this because I don’t do free education for misogynists.

[circus-clownn]

uhhhh, ride the cyclone oc anyone?

This is Beverly, the most stagy girl in town (may change!!! not sure)

shes a crazy gal, she likes being dramatic, but is also blunt (for funsies) and shes super into old fashion stuff!! vampire lady/j

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

M'lady, doth this harlot bother thee?

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