#I just like to connect the dots for shows and make up canon explanations for things that only happened cause of decisions in our world

[iamsonormalaboutninjago]

TW: Heavy talk about death

I think the reason why Kai and Cole had such a radical emotional change after March of the Oni was because Lloyd died

We’ve had plenty of characters die in Ninjago, and it always had a horrific affect on the ninja emotionally. Despite all their adventures and godlike powers they’re still older teenagers and young adults- of course when their sibling or lover dies in the fight they’re gonna want to avoid the fight itself

I think it was different for Lloyd tho- Lloyd despite losing the golden power is still the most powerful ninja. He’s not meant to lose, out of all of the ninja he’s the one who’s least likely to die and I think they know that.

So when he died facing down the Oni, even briefly, that would make the ninja doubtful and even afraid of their own mortality-

Kai’s hotheadedness and desire for the fury of battle dies when he see’s his little brother unresponsive on the floor. If he can die, so can Kai

Coles stubborn facade and die hard attitude gets a reality check when the kid who defeated the incarnate of evil lies dead in front of him

It would just be a reality check for them. Both have had to look death in the eyes many times before, but experiencing death is something that they themselves wouldn’t often think about.

Just a theory

[millilps]

fuck it, we ball clown

so. Susan. Susan Triad. it was all a set up to trap the Doctor. all the mentions of Susan (Foreman) were just to give context to the new viewers. but you know what's interesting here? family.

"wtf are you talking about are you high or something" no no bear with me I actually have a point it's not just pure clowning. well, it is, but I swear I'm trying my best here to make it make sense

it's a long post so buckle up clowns we're going all in with this one

so, I was saying, if you think about it a lot of episodes in this season are more or less centered around or connected to the idea of family in some way:

Space Babies: I mean. yeah. it doesn't really need an explanation. and also the whole thing of being abandoned just like Ruby

The Devil's Chord: we know Maestro is part of the Toymaker's family, and technically also the kid we see at the start? I think? are there theories about that kid? is he just a normal kid and then became somehow the harbinger of Maestro?

Boom: the concept of family literally saves everyone

73 Yards: well, Ruby's family is present in the episode, but also it's interesting how Ruby's fears play out in the episode which is directly interlocked with her birth mother abandoning her, it's kinda there but not as central or as explored as other episodes

Dot and Bubble: it's... a bit more subtle. it's there, kinda. we do have the whole thing of all the people in Finetime being part of rich families, and we also see Lindy's mom, so it's better than nothing

Rogue: I actually don't know. the family of Chuldurs? the marriage proposal? I have absolutely no idea but I also feel like it's there somewhere

The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death: I probably don't have to say much as they are the episodes that actually dive in Ruby's story and the mystery around her birth, but yeah the family theme is obviously there

with the season following this theme, more or less, Susan was an obvious choice.

think about it: the Doctor has lost so many people he cared about that Sutekh pretty much could use every name ever. obviously they also had to explain regeneration to new viewers (hi, new viewers! hope you're enjoying the show!) so the list had to be shortened to only characters who are time lords or have the ability to regenerate, add a bit of "the Doctor regretting his past choices" and you get Susan. and this is tied directly with the theme of family, because she is the Doctor's family, technically the only gallifreyan family member we know about (Jenny, River, the Ponds and probably more that I'm forgetting/don't know about are also family, but in a different way) and also we have no informations whatsoever about her - sure, we have Big Finish, but it's kinda... not exactly canon, I guess? idk. nothing is canon and everything is canon at the same time in this show, you just have to live with it. still, she's one of the biggest mysteries of this show, because while other characters came back or were mentioned with information about them and/or their lives either in the expanded universe that is more strongly influenced by the show (yes I'm looking at Barbara and Ian's wedding in the 50th anniversary DMW that I can't find anywhere, idc what anyone says but that IS canon) or in the actual show at some point, she has never officially returned, and the Doctor has never officially gone back to meet her (sure, we have the story Fellow Traveller in the book Adventures in Lockdown, but it's probably not canon anymore at this point - although, it could be, if we clown enough). and with all the things about family in the season, obviously she had to be the key.

Ruby's family story is concluded: she found her birth mother, she also found her father, and now she has an amazing big loving family. but you know which one isn't? the Doctor's. we've met his adoptive mother, sure, but we know the Doctor had kids, we know Susan exists, and we know she's family to him.

she's out there somewhere. I know. she must be. she could've been mentioned in a lot of different episodes, a lot of different points, a lot of different stories, but she wasn't.

so why all these mentions all of a sudden? honestly I have absolutely no idea, I'm not RTD, I'm just a clown doing clown things, and the clown things on today's list is making theories about how Susan might come back

[sweetsunshinedarling]

Posted this on Twitter, but kinda wanna post a longer more detailed version here. Might at some point write up other theories and readings for YBG on here too, but we will see~

Long ramble on a theory I have had for a while (2021-22ish)

Your girlfriend game (abbreviated to just YGG from this point on) is actually going to take place before YBG. Twist will be TK was the Y/N of that game. Perhaps canon ending being they got out by divesting themselves of you the player & running away to where they work now. (kinda hammers home that you the player are one of the antagonists of the story to have an ending where they do that too. Like YBG having the hints and YGG spelling it out for you in case you missed it).

TK says at one point they know first hand what it's like dealing with creeps & seem to have move to a dead end job/bad neighbourhood despite having a loving & supporting family. Were they running away from someone? (Sarah?) Plus they pick up on Peter real quick. Could that be from having a very similar experience?

Other possible twist. Peter has a cameo in YGG. Real brief though. We're talking shows up at Sarahs home uninvited to get something. Maybe they have an argument that you can vaguely overhear but at first you can't even see him. Then she brings him in to get the thing. He sees you, all out gawks for a bit saying very little and she kicks him out again.

Basically he see TK/Y/N aka YOU, so he actually has the first feeling of falling in love for the very first time ever. Something he previously didn't think he was ever going to experience. (but he doesn't recognise what that is as never had it). And him finding you miles away was him trying to track down TK/original Y/N sometime after the events of YGG once he realises what it was.

But by the time he caught up TK was already divested from YOU the player & was by rights their own person, so he ended up finding the new Y/N instead. (all planned by the creator of course since they like to see themselves as an evil mastermind) He never connects the dots neither does TK as they would both look very different by this point/first time they meet it was brief.

The majority of the game, perhaps even most endings you wouldn't know it's TK. Maybe the Peter cameo could even be in some routes but it would be a great way to tie the games if YGG ever gets made lol.

I just think it would be an explanation as to why TK seems a bit different than the other 3? + them dying the hair green as a way to customise themselves in a way is a cool thing. Like making themselves their own person. Since Y/N is like a blank template. TK also shares somethings in common with Y/N. Being none binary, having or had to deal with a creep.

Plus, by different than the other 3 I mean they are the only one that hasn't been written to do anything untoward towards Y/N (lol wording). If anything they can ONLY be helpful. Don't really need to say anything about Peter but the other 2 aren't exactly innocent. Spoilers and these are things that the creator could change or go back on but Don has apparently been taking photos of Y/N and being creepy with them. Plus Lucy's sex scene could be read as just non con or dubcon. When you are very vulnerable she gets you drunk/high and then the next minute is on you when you don't actually have the option to consent. TK doesn't get a single hint that their inclined to do anything creepy toward you. They instead go out of their way to assist, kinda like they've been through it before and want to lessen the burden for you.

I feel like it's important to note that all 4 of them know they are in a game. Below image for evidence and to be honest I feel like I could post a whole discussion about the below too. Worth noting that my read of it is the 4 know they are in a game but Peter is the only one that doesn't reset ever and is therefore basically tortured by the game and may have even changed the game in small ways.

I think the games evolved and changed overtime, which is natural for any game in development. And while I believe YBG was more fully imagined first, I can see as it was becoming a more solid concept that YGG would get built up too. Giving the other 3 sentience opens it up to the idea that they could get up to shit too. So, the idea that TK was a Y/N that kinda said fuck this and bounced and made a place for themselves in this weird fake world isn't all that crazy.

Also cool take on self aware AI being like no fuck this narrative but then getting condemned in a different way because these are horror games after all.

Example of TK as a Y/N that I drew in 2022 when I first put down my thoughts on this being a possibility to show the vision lol. They would work well colour scheme wise as they could very easily use the opposite colours while maintaining a bland enough base for you to project your character on to. Not that Y/N has a model in game, only ever art outside of the game, but you get what I mean lol.

I like them having their beanie instead of the cap! Plus them keeping it for a bunch of possible reasons. Remind them where they came from, or as a comfort thing. And the glasses work well in place of eyes and having th Y/N wording on them while still mixing up the design so that there is a definite divide between the two games and the Y/N despite being a vessel for the player still feels like their own character.

I also wonder if the candle tattoo is a hint to them having been a Y/N?

Side note lol: Worth noting TK didn't always have freckles & still doesn't in game but I like to think of them & the tattoo as ways in which they have made themselves their own person. Same with the piercings and green hair. I can't be sure but I think the candle came a fair bit after too, as the creator was ironing out their own stories.

Tattoos can have meanings and a quick google search of a candle tattoo (which another side note, since they have no other visible tattoos and a candle is so fucking specific I feel like it HAS to mean something to the creator to give them it in the first place)

Possible meanings found when googling:

More than the sum of it's parts. Candles are just wax and wick and yet they are capable of producing light etc. In my reading TK gave themselves this as a reminder that they are more than just a Y/N, more than an empty vessel for the player. They have made themselves a person with just a little light (power) from their own actions.

A light in the darkness. Something people might get that have dealt with bad times in their life, they have managed to get through and found the light for example. Links in with something bad happening to them before the game as discussed earlier. Something that keeps them going. It being on their back does also show that they are literally leaving it behind them.

Or admittedly, it could solely be to represent that they are the light for the player. Since they are always so helpful etc lol.

I just think if this was a thing it would be a neat twist that would better connect the games while also adding to the horror of it all.

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Seeing as we've apparently reached the end of his story, what are your opinions/thoughts on Jack?

That is a good question, actually. What do I think about him?

I suppose... I expected to learn more about him. Because, he's mostly just been there, just as a lot of the captains to be fair. We've seen them fight, and we've seen them contribute, but mostly they've just been there.

But it's... Jack is one of the characters who has a large, supposedly magical, marking on his face, and I expected to learn more about it. Where did it come from? What's the symbolic meaning behind it? Because I do believe that there are meanings behind all of the symbols, and not just those that are on the Fire Vermillions (which I think are the only ones explained, despite a lot of the characters having a mark of some kind).

Though we did get a backstory for him, it somehow... felt incomplete to me. I can't really put my finger on it, what it is about the story that feels left unsaid, or if I just didn't read carefully enough when it was told. Because we haven't gotten all of the backstories of the captains, I expected that he'd be... more meaningful to the story? I mean, we know far less about Kaiser than we know about Jack. If there was a captain that was most expendable, it'd be him. Not Jack. Though I supposed the Purple Orcas suffering the loss of 2 captains in a couple of years might start rumours of the squad being cursed or something.

I also expected him to be a hybrid, just like Charmy, though I can't say where this idea came from. Perhaps from him having a ... freaky look about him? Though partly I thought that to be a part of his aesthetic. And there's something about his ... determination to be able to slice through anything and everything that feels very Black Clover to me. Because he's focused on "his thing", being the dude who can cut anything and he's striving, pushing forth with that. It's almost like a bull mentality. In that aspect Jack isn't a complex character, but I do think that there is something about him that is very Black Clover.

I've mainly seen him as a comic relief, especially while placed in the same room with Yami, but it's just that... Why is Jack having these flashbacks about Morgen? There is something about it that bugs me (pun intended).

The easy explanation is that Tabs needed someone to make the mistake, and Jack was there. Jack would have hung around Yami, as they were both commoners, and have been friends for quite some time, and thus is sensible to have witnessed Morgen and Yami teaming up. But even then keeping it as one side comment, aside of having all these flashbacks as Jack is dying, makes it seem... almost unnecessary. This isn't the first time we've had flashbacks in canon, and there has, I think more often than not, been a good reason to show them.

I can't say that his death... wouldn't make sense, because it does. But it feels almost... too convenient to have him have all these memories and flashbacks, and then just kill him off. Out of concealing something more. Again, usually when we've had flashbacks or stories, there has been something more to them. And I'm waiting for Tabs to connect all the dots for us in a brilliant finale. But that's more about BC as a whole than just about Jack.

I just... expected more. I expected him to have more of a role, I suppose. Again, we know about him more than about Kaiser. We've gotten his backstory, unlike Kaiser's or even Dorothy's. (Though Dorothy's is deducible to an extent.)

But... if nothing else, at least Jack got one last slice, at life. And his death isn't meaningless

Thank you for the question ^^

[real-sizzlipede]

I think it’s very interesting bc I’m on tumblr and twt for Tristamp content and god all the interpretations of this last episode are insane :)) bc like I’m not good at making connections like people have been so far idk why my brain is just like ��wow these sure are 2 dots” instead of connecting them lol but like the leg prosthetic theory being possible is so cool like I said on twt I want it to be explicitly shown/said before I’m like “omg prosthetics!” And we better get an explanation abt them too bc like god but like his legs d o look wacky they d o look like prosthetics! And like I want it to be canon bc it would be so cool!! But also like I want it to be said so so so bad before I jump to conclusions. Also all the discussions of how vashs bodily autonomy is constantly taken away from him is just wow it’s so interesting and like Jesus it’s tough to watch and read abt as an afab person in a country where my bodily autonomy is not respected but it’s just very very interesting to see all the connections people make with that messaging and imagery but also last and not least, the audience interpretation of knives is very wacky bc I’m seeing two groups of people so far. One who interprets the “I finally have you back” moment as knives finally has a version of his brother that is like when they were younger and wouldn’t really fight back against him which means he’s trying to get vash back to use him and then the other group that interprets that along with the imagery of vash with his arm back to say that knives wanted an unharmed version of vash because he didn’t want him to experience any pain so like he was trying to get vash back because he loves and cares for him and like d a m n if those aren’t two very different interpretations but also d a m n if I say I see them both!! I see where both sides are coming from and honestly I think that it very well may be a combination of both!! Like god I love this show so much so so so so much also??? Wolfwood just up and leaving this ep?? Like I’ve seen people be like “he’s gonna come back” but at this rate I have no idea what’s going to happen at the end of this so like Adhfksjdhs g o d i love this show so much I’m very sad that next Saturday is the last stampede Saturday (at least for a while bc everyone’s pretty confident abt there being a s2 and it wouldn’t make sense to not have one at this rate) but yeah that’s it thank you for seeing my rambling if you did I’m just going a little bit insane over here 😎😎😎😎😎

[flowery-king]

PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT HOLLOW MIND IN YOUR AU BECAUSE A. I FEEL PAIN FROM THAT COMIC /POS

BAHA Glad yall like it!!

(a Basic summary of an episode but AU flavoured under cut)

So like I've said in a previous post, the au story very much starts leaning away from the canon plot right after Yesterday's lie. Some weird stuff goes down almost immeadiately after Luz comes back from seeing her mom.

Point I'm making is the episodes after Yesterday's lie either just don't exist or follow a somewhat similar plot up to a point. Hollow Mind is one of those that still does happen... kinda

Eda still works with Raine at this point, finding any detail they can to use against the Emperor to show how much of a fraud he really is while still bustin out as many wild witches as they can. Darius and Eberwolf had still caught Eda and Raine in Eda's Requiem, but it was all a misunderstanding, they just wanted in on the plans Raine is conducting. Eda does not apologise for kicking Darius with mud. All this is to say they reach out to Eda when they come up with the plan to check out the Emperor's mind. Eda is very intrested but does not tell her two children because they will want to join, especially Luz.

They arrange a time and place. It's the night market and ,like before, Eda plans to fix Luz's cape as a distraction for the two youngins while she goes out to do the actual work. Prim, the shopekeeper with witches wool, accepts the task, motivated by the several wild witches being freed by a mysterious group. Eda tries her best to sound like she doesn't know who the group is either, but secretly eats up all the compliments.

Eda tells King and Luz they should wait for the cape to finish while she stocks up on more Elixir, she'll be back momentarily. King and Luz shout their goodbyes to Eda as they gain interest in Prim's telling of how Witches wool is made and other enchanted cloth.

After a while the cape is done and Luz gets to leave with her patched up cloak, but Eda still isn't anywhere to be seen. She fits on the cape again to twirl around, temporarily giving Eda's jacket to King. Mid twirl she spots a coven guard prowling about. This makes her worry for Eda even more and she grabs King to go find their witch mom.

After a bit of a search, she finds Eda and the others and accidentally scares off the coven heads since she was wearing her cloak's hood over her head. Luz questions Eda about what all this is, they don't break into an argument, but it is a serious conversation. Luz is upset that Eda didn't tell her about her secret group against the Emperor but accepts her explanation as to why and makes Eda promise that if they need extra help, they'll ask Luz. Eda laughs, yea of course, even if she said no Luz would still find a way to get involved.

At that moment a coven guard spots them, shouting questions on what they were doing in a suspicious alleyway, making Luz take a step back... on the potion, breaking it. Before Eda can grab her out of the circle Luz disappears, owl lady panik time.

Eda goes back home to evade the Coven guards and use a safer place to bring Luz back. The Coven heads greet her at her home and Eda needs to hold herself back from snapping about how stupid they are for leaving the potion on the ground. Right now she needs them to make a spell to bring Luz back.

Meanwhile, Luz wakes up in Belos' mind, pretty confused. Everything is dark and colourless and the trees surrounding are withering away. She finds her glyphs and creates a trail of light to see better as she searches around for a trace of Eda.

This is where these drawings take place!

At first she doesn't know she's in the Emperor's mind, but once those memory portraits start appearing, she connects the dots.

Belos looks just as tired as he did that time after she encountered him in the boiling rain and some weird part of her almost feels... bad? It's weird. However, this is replaced with the rising excitement she feels when she realizes HE'S HUMAN TOO! The greatest witch to ever live?? Is human?? Omg.

King suddenly remembers he has a walkie talkie and Eda uses it to confirm Luz's safety. She confirms and prepares herself as they announce they're just about ready to pull her out. Luz looks over to Belos again, his stare unfocused. What a sad lil guy. "Hey." Belos' eyes focus on Luz. "It's not too late to start fixing things." Belos frowns. Luz shouts a farewell and he pretends not to hear her saying something about seeing him later and she's gone. He doesn't know how to feel, but he's not going back to that dark part of his mind again.

Luz appears in the owl house and Eda makes sure she isn't overwhelmed. She's dizzy but fine! The coven heads question if she'd seen anything important, anything that could help them. Luz thinks. The human thing won't really do much to prove he's bad, so she shakes her head. She wasn't in there long enough. They accept this answer, she really wasn't in there for long and continue to get scolded by Eda (mostly Raine).

[ct-multifandom]

Addressing common AINI criticism

Canon-divergent takes on story events that made people go hmmm :///

IMO Lien would be a really likable character if not for the y’know,,, pre-timeskip stuff. I think making small changes would make a big difference. If he didn’t initially approach Kizuna with a confession, but instead just enthusiastically complimented her routine, that would already be a lot better.

I also think it’d be more natural if he shot his shot after the first time they met, and he just asked her on a normal date that she turned down and asked to be friends instead because this is too soon.

I thought the time capsule thing was actually pretty cute. I’d love to see more of Lien genuinely being one of The Girls with no ulterior motives in addition to the throwaway dialogue about their video night. Imagine meeting the four of them in the park or at one of the restaurants and they’re just hanging out.

So yeah, I feel like most of the weird simp stuff was very early on, because later, Lien was pretty fine with being Kizzy’s friend and they cared about each other for real post-timeskip. If he made a good first impression on the player as a sweet himbo he’d be a lot more enjoyable.

The Gen-Amame ending… I think we all agree that that one part added like nothing to the story. It would be way more meaningful if Gen saw Amame in a familial way instead of having a crush on her. Especially with his somnium showing that he views her as someone to protect.

Gen who grew up without a family latching on to Amame who has divorced parents and works illegal hours to support her family at the cost of her education. After Komeji dies, Amame goes to Gen for support, and he doesn’t really know what to say because he can’t relate at all, but he’s ready to fill the father figure role.

A young Ren and Shoko caved into societal pressure to have kids, but couldn’t, so they payed a shady clinic for secretive IVF treatment. The clinic was associated with Horadori, and sent the viable cell samples to them for experimentation, then lied that none of them were viable. During the next six years, Ren and Shoko hear tips about the underground human experiments from their mafia connections. They connect the dots, and after some investigation find out that they have a biological child in Aioen. They feel morally obligated to adopt Mizuki, but only take the baby one ‘cause they’re shitty. Cue Shoko regretting “having” her.

A scene at Date’s apartment after the SAT scene like the one in the Shoma-Komeji ending where Date and Mizuki just talk for a while and catch up on Mizuki’s life since the explosion. Also Mizuki yells at Date a lot more.

More Bibi characterization that differs from Mizuki. I realize that this is probably in the plans for AI3 along with a deeper look into Bibi’s relationship to Boss, but it’d be cute to have past Bibi express interest in some things and then we find out Mizuki actually hates those things or vice versa. Also I feel like there should be an explanation for the hair, clothes, and scooter being the same, even if it’s silly.

More Datomi besides the catboy scene

I think Ryuki’s memory of “Yukuto” should have had more significance, even if it’s just him asking himself what his brother would want, because as of right now it feels like it was just added as a red herring.

It would’ve been cool to see a scene where he hallucinates his dead brother talking to him, maybe after the part where he betrays Bibi, but for timeline reasons it could be read as referring to Date and the explosion ending. Yukuto comforts Ryuki by saying that he’s not a bad person because he knows that Ryuki will always put family first.

Uchikoshi’s tweet about Yukuto being a beta idea for the brother’s name that they may change implies that he will become more relevant later as well. Say Yukuto Kuruto ten times fast

Overall, I hope the next game goes back to the more character-driven focus most of us want that explores their thoughts and feelings over sacrificing characterization for a mystery

So Sejima inexplicably dies in the diverge ending

[iatheia]

There is one thing that I like about Chibnall’s writing the most - the more you engage with his writing, the more sense it makes, the more enjoyable it becomes.

RTD’s seasons wore everything they wanted you to think and feel front and center. Sure, it is a recipe for good, solid writing, you don’t miss any thematic links, all conflicts are pretty clearly set up, all references are lampshaded so that you’d be aware of them, everything is resolved, there are almost no missing plot threads. It makes for a good prime-time TV that could be enjoyed by almost anyone, and is exactly as good the second time as it is the first time, even if you watch it out of order.

Moffat’s writing makes less sense the more you think about it. There is a pretense that you need to be 400 IQ genius with Moffat’s sized brain in order to understand it, but, the emperor is naked. His writing is generally incoherent, flying by the seat of his pants, stringing the plot together without giving a single thought about how it impacts what came before, even if it is an episode he wrote just prior to the current one. He just throws glitter in your eyes to distract you, he keeps promising to resolve some sort of singularly grand mystery, but by the time he gets around to it, it morphed into something unrecognizable. He keeps aiming to “outsmart” the viewers by making sure that you can’t possibly guess what he is planning to do by outright lying to you - while at the same time “subverting expectations” by veering to the left in the least narratively satisfying way possible. I’ve heard more times than I want to count -“You’re just not smart enough to follow this story, here is the explanation” (continuing to summarize what is explicitly been mentioned in the episode via exposition and nothing else) - yeah, no, I got that, but it makes zero sense on the subtextual level. One thing that stuck with me after all these years is a conversation I had with someone who liked his writing who said that you aren’t really meant to rewatch it. You should just watch it once for the spectacle of it all, and never think of it again, because otherwise it kind of falls apart. Some are into this type of thing, I guess, it makes for striking individual scenes that stick in your memory.

Chibnall, though, he plans. He doesn’t write episodes - he is arguably not that good at writing individual self-contained episodes, he writes sagas, epics. He accommodates the requirements from higher-ups, but you can tell that these plot threads have been years - decades - in the making in his head. He will resolve the main emotional story beats, but along the way he would introduce dozens of other plot threads that he just doesn’t have time to follow up on. Even though a lack of immediate resolution may not feel the most satisfying when you just get an episode - It makes for a richer universe that is ripe with narrative opportunities, either for himself to continue in the future, for other writers (be it future showrunners or in EU), or left as an exercise to the viewer to imagine. Sometimes he seeds up certain beats so far along you wouldn’t recognize them as important at the time, and it takes a repeat viewing of past seasons to connect the dots, to have that moment of epiphany. It really does become 6d chess, delivering nothing more and nothing less than what he set out to deliver from the start. It does require engaging with the show in good faith. It does require openness of imagination. It does require willingness to consider possibilities, and not bury your head in the sand bringing up the same three “plot holes” over and over that have rudimentary answers if you just deign to spend more than a second thinking about it that barely even worth explaining at this point. But if you do, there is such a meal in front of you, ripe for analysis, ripe for theorizing, ripe for exploring subtext, ripe for canon-wielding, ripe for fantasizing and exploring the widest breadths of the universe.

For being the latest installment of the franchise, I have already rewatched a number of episodes from S11-13 a surprising number of times, more than I had even with my absolute favorites from the previous eras. And every time, whenever I let go of my impatience, my anxiousness to get to the end of the epic, I almost always enjoy it more the second time than I do the first, especially if I come back to it having seen what was built on its foundations.

Not everyone can afford this level of engagement with a fictional world. I guess, in contrast, it wouldn’t be as popular as a more self contained narrative, or a spectacle that just sweeps you along in a singular moment. Still. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

[the-insomniac-emporium]

I love your writing.

if it's not too much trouble may i make a request? I'm thinking the Dimitrescu women meeting and/or courting a fellow immortal.

the circumstances of the immortal's powers and possession of immorality are entirely up to you. I just like the idea of them meeting someone they could literally spend forever with...because they deserve it ❤

I wasn't sure if you wanted a story or headcanons? I went with HCs, here, but if you wanted more of a drabble or whatever just lemme know and I'll write something like that.

Also, I got excited and carried away so this has the whole Dimitrescu family, plus shorter ones for both Mother Miranda and Donna. Admittedly Alcina's is also a little on the shorter side? I tried to write everything that came to mind, but I am kinda tired right now, sorry. Might reblog this and add some more later.

(Under read-more for length)

Cassandra:

Tries (and fails) to hide her excitement. Mortality is one of the bigger things that has made her keep her distance to others, at least in the past. Every Maiden she’s ever been the slightest bit smitten with, up until this point, has been incredibly fragile. Seeing as she’s not exactly the softest person, one can easily imagine why that would be a turn off for her. But now that’s no longer a problem!

On the other had… having an immortal partner gives Cassandra pause. Why? Because what if they breakup? Normally, she can just, ahem, “dispose” of any exes (regardless of how much it hurts) so she doesn’t have to see them/deal with them anymore. If that’s not an option, she’ll definitely take longer than usual to do anything about her feelings. She wants to be sure, 100%, before she gets in over her head. Chances are she won’t hold back for as long as she wants though.

Likely to have a loud, messy confession. She’ll have been avoiding you for a few days, always ducking out of whatever rooms you enter, leaving you both hurt and confused. After enlisting the help of her sisters, you’ll be able to corner her outside. She’ll tell you, under no uncertain circumstances, to leave her alone. But you’ll refuse, demanding an explanation.

“I thought we had something. I thought you cared,” you’ll snap, eyes watering. “If that’s changed… if I was wrong, just tell me. I’ll leave and I’ll never come back.” Cue thunder and raining (because tropes) and Cassandra dramatically pulling you into a kiss, holding you so tightly you think you might bruise. Then she’s demanding that you stay, refusing to apologize but making it clear just how much she does care.

Being immortal, you’re not as defenseless as some of Cassandra’s past interests. Naturally, she doesn’t get quite as protective as she normally would. She’ll still have your back no matter what, ready to fight by your side against any foe, and will probably consider doing so a “fun bonding activity”. Oh, some lycans are encroaching on Dimitrescu territory? Time to go destroy them, as a power couple!

Despite having all the time in the world, Cassandra won’t change much of her actual courting behavior, nor the rate at which things advance. She’s still gonna get handsy fairly early on, still gonna “rah!” at you in the hallways, and still going to struggle with her jealousy.

Immortality Compatibility: I can see Cassandra going for another vampire (or vampire adjacent) creature, or someone demonic. She likes her lovers a bit rough, with some nice bite to their personalities. If you’ve got sharp teeth, or claws, or glowing eyes? Oh boy, she’s gonna be making heart eyes at you all the time.

Bela:

If your immortality isn’t immediately obvious, Bela is over the moon with joy when she finds out. Her eyes will go wide for a moment, before she tries to seem calm (so as to not freak you out), but her heart is pounding. This is what she’s been hoping for. As much as Mother Miranda has done for her family, there’s no guarantee that she’d be willing to give more. Even if Miranda granted Bela’s lover her “gift”, there was no telling what the results would be, or if the lover would survive. Now that there’s no need for such a transformation, it’s far easier for Bela to imagine herself in love (and eventually be in love).

Slow-burn romance over a decade or longer, oops. Doesn’t even necessarily mean to take things so slowly, just doesn’t feel a need to rush things, preferring that they develop organically. With both of you having unlimited time, you’re both used to working on a very large timescale. Maidens watching the two of you probably place bets on how long it’ll take you to hold hands for the first time. Everyone knows it’s coming, but no matter how much Cassandra and Daniela complain, Bela refuses to jump into things. By the time the two of you are officially together, you’re probably madly in love with each other.

More protective than Cassandra, if only because she knows just how rare you are. Immortal or not, you likely still have a weakness, and Bela will do everything in her power to make sure no one else knows what it is. If applicable, she will also ensure she has a countermeasure readily available. For example: If you were weak to fire, she’d make sure that the castle keeps extinguishers handy, just in case. Though they should probably already do that. Not that the Dimitrescu family cares much for OSHA compliance.

Somehow grows more in love with you with every passing year, and makes sure that you know this. Whether you’ve been together for one year or one century (because in this house we ignore canon), she’s always performing little acts of love, giving constant reminders of how strongly she feels. Gifts, special dates, book recommendations, etc.

Immortality Compatibility: Bela seems like the type to go for someone with a calming presence, and perhaps somewhat of a contrast to herself. I can picture her with someone somewhat angelic, or druidic, someone very in tune with nature. She’d love to feed deer with you and relax in the forest! Or lay against a tree by your side, listening to you talk about various microorganisms for hours at a time.

Daniela:

Practically tackles you when she finds out/connects the dots. This is just like one of her romance novels, where a lonely (attractive as fuck) immortal spends years in isolation before finally meeting the love of their life, who they get to spend the rest of eternity with. Absolutely ecstatic about the whole situation. Won’t stop kissing you and pulling you close, rambling about how great it’s gonna be to spend your lives together. Honestly? Kind of overwhelming. You might have to remind her a few times that you don’t have to rush into things, considering you have all the time in the world.

Introduces you to people as her “super cool/rad immortal life partner”. Genuinely cannot bring herself to not brag about you. If her sisters haven’t found someone like you yet, you can bet that Daniela will tease them about it all the time (much to their annoyance). If Momma Alcina doesn’t, though? Dani will keep her thoughts to herself, thank you very much (being grounded at her age does not impress the s/o).

Tries not to show it, but she’s actually very nervous. You’re immortal! You’ve probably seen a lot of shit (she certainly has)! Worries about keeping you interested in her, though she would never admit it. This tends to lead to her performing ridiculous acts to showcase her affection, regardless of the cost or, like, whether or not you’d even enjoy whatever she has planned. In order to counter her anxiety, you’ll want to reassure her whenever you can, and give her plenty of “I love you”s.

Strikes a decent balance between Cassandra’s nonchalant attitude and Bela’s protectiveness. Will defend you if you need it, playing up the romantic aspect, but also entirely willing to hide behind you in a scary situation.

Immortality Compatibility: Having probably read Twilight… Dani would date a werewolf, as long as they weren’t the smelly kind. Also interested in a sort of “magical”/elemental type, especially if their powers are influenced by emotions. In other words, if someone flirts with her in front of you, and your response is to subconsciously light your hands/the other person on fire? She thinks that’s hot, pun intended.

Alcina:

“Oh? Interesting,” she’d say, smiling softly (and trying to ignore the heat rushing to her face). Similarly to Cassandra, she’d try to play it off, not wanting to seem too excited. And, well, she’s not as excited as any of her daughters are. After all, she’s had more time than them to “get used” to the idea of outliving any potential romantic interests. So, she’s not exactly desperate for a relationship, even with someone she could spend an eternity with.

That being said, if she is romantically interested in them, she’s very relieved. Outliving a loved one can be incredibly traumatizing (fuck you c*pcom, you know what you did), and knowing that you’re safe (or at least safer than most) brings her no small amount of comfort.

Also, just glad to have another person close to her age around. Her daughters are somewhat stuck as young adults, and I imagine Alcina would want someone who gained immortality a little later in life, such as herself, as opposed to, ya know, reminding her of her children. That probably goes without saying. Hopefully.

More so than her daughters, Alcina would change her level of protectiveness depending on her s/o’s power level. If you’re a shapeshifter who can also turn into a big ass dragon? Then she’s not going to coddle you. If you’re immortal but still vulnerable, then she’s going to do her best to keep you safe, even going so far as to enlist the assistance of her daughters. “If you see a single Maiden growing mistletoe, or bringing some in from the village, let me know immediately,” or something like that, depending on your weakness.

Immortality Compatibility: Definitely would want someone in a situation similar to herself, having once been truly human, only to be “elevated” by something. Bonus points if you’re another disciple of Miranda, double bonus points if Miranda specifically “made” you to be Alcina’s boo/honey/darling/dear.

Bonus! Mother Miranda:

Oh god finally someone who won’t leave her (can’t leave her). No one can take you away from her, and that’s a relief that she’s been craving for over a century. Even if romance isn’t high on her priority list, she welcomes it with open arms, glad to have someone by her side through all of life’s chaos.

Admittedly slow to trust at first, probably just using you as a tool at first. But prove yourself enough, show that your devotion is more than just misdirected self-interest, and she’ll start to warm up to you. Forming a real relationship would likely take a couple decades, similar to with Bela. Once you are together, however, the two of you are inseparable in all matters.

You’d be her #1 follower, most trusted adviser, and the only person allowed to understand 100% of her thoughts and motives. While Miranda wouldn’t allow you to be seen as the same level as her (sorry), you’d still be a legend among the villagers. To them, you’re Mother Miranda’s champion, the epitome of a devoted follower that they all aspire to emulate. Not that they know the two of you are a couple, though.

Immortality Compatibility: No gimmicks, no cheap tricks, she wants (and respects) a fellow scientist, someone who clawed their way through adversity and forged themselves into something indestructible. Double the interest if you did so for a similar cause to her own, as she would appreciate your ability to relate to her suffering.

Bonus! Donna:

Someone to play with! FOREVER! No more losing people she cares about, no more accidentally breaking people, no more people scrambling to leave. Now that she has you, she can finally spend some quality time with another (living?) person. Honestly her dolls (or at least Angie) are just as excited as she is. Regardless of her relations with the other three Lords, Donna much prefers the company of a lover.

For real though she’s shy as hell and you might not even realize who’s pulling the strings until you’ve been in her house for over a year. She’d probably use her powers to trap you inside, at least at first, though they’d be nice hallucinations. You’d have to treat the dolls nicely, especially Angie, before she’d let you interact with her.

Eventually you’d be allowed to leave, and you’d be given a key to return whenever you wanted to. Assuming that you do, in fact, come back, the two of you would have a very, very slow romance, if only because of Donna’s anxiety. Hand holding makes both of your faces turn beet red, seriously.

Immortality Compatibility: *chanting* GHOST GIRLFRIEND GHOST GIRLFRIEND POLTERGEIST PARTNER POLTERGEIST PARTNER WOOHOO! Something with a flexible, only-sometimes-tangible form, who absolutely could have left at any time but didn’t because they wanted to stay.

[wolves-in-the-world]

unfortunately reminded myself of one of my worst Eliot readings / headcanons, which I have refrained from sharing previously because it... isn't pleasant.

(emetophobes, consider this your warning.)

so. right. whenever I start thinking along the lines of Eliot "let's make sure these civilians are safe" Spencer etc I inevitably, uncomfortably end up reminded of the Morning After Job in an attempt to make that fit - specifically the witness they had to take back to jail, lost & recaptured, and ended up leaving in the trunk of McSweeten's car. because neither Eliot nor Hardison (I'll be focusing on Eliot here, though Hardison being part of it makes the second explanation below more likely) were very sympathetic to this poor schmuck who testified against crooked cops and was basically terrified for his life the entire episode.

Possible Explanation 1: the Eliot in my head is softer and more careful than canon Eliot. probably! I'm okay with that.

Explanation 2, Doylistic: it's a comedy, and here the comedy undercuts the more serious Eliot Is Surprisingly Ethical For A Punchy Guy theme (and the broader The Team Are Surprisingly Ethical For Bad Guys theme).

(...yeah, this might be less about Eliot and more about a slight deviation from the usual tone of the show, tbh - they don't normally show innocent-in-the-eyes-of-the-story characters suffering with that little sympathy. it's not my cup of tea, but I'm kind of sensitive about these things.)

Explanation 3, Watsonian, WHICH I CANNOT SHAKE EVEN THOUGH IT'S AWFUL: look, Eliot's gruff, Eliot's grumpy, that's normal enough. but where he starts getting unsympathetic and scary (from the witness' perspective) is when the guy starts sounding like he's going to be sick, and then is. which. um.

look. I don't necessarily want to connect these dots but Eliot has been knocked out, drugged, taken captive etc many times. he has absolutely vomited in horrendous conditions with no opportunity to get clean anytime soon. what with his clear revulsion here (enough to treat a terrified guy in his custody pretty uncaringly), and with the similar reaction in Redemption when I think Mr Wilson has a difficult time post-fight, like. it isn't a pleasant thing to be around for anyone, but still, his reaction seemed extreme.

am I suggesting that being around other people being sick yeets his brain right back to the bad place: yes.

am I making it one step worse by speculating that it might not be him being hurt that he gets thrown back to, but him hurting other people? also yes.

add to that the witness being actively terrified and pleading for his life...

there is no good way to end this line of thought.

unless it's the old draft I just found and apparently never posted:

very occasionally I think about the fact that we have twice (if you include Redemption) seen Eliot react strongly and negatively to ppl vomiting, and I get as far as thinking "huh, I wonder if there's a reason for that" and just glancing at his Entire Backstory and then just. stop.

[ezrasarm]

Coming Out As Asexual/Aspec

Pairings: Javier Pena x reader, Marcus Pike x reader, Din Djarin x reader, Ezra x reader, Frankie Morales x reader

Word count: 2.3K (oops)

Warnings: discussions of sexuality, depictions of main characters as Aspec

A/n: I apologize these were meant to be head canons and a few of them wound up turning into mini fics. I would like to thank @dishonouringmycow for supplying many ideas and helping me concoct these for you and @kiss-evans for her insight as well. These were a lot of fun to write! We’ve written these HCs in hopes that they will be inclusive and relatable to most ace/demi-/greysexual folks and anyone in between. We hope you like them!

[masterlist]

Javier Peña

Telling Javi is a little tricky.

Given the time period, and the fact that asexuality was hardly a word let alone a widely accepted concept, Javier didn’t stand a chance when you went about explaining to him your “unconventional” relationship with sexual attraction.

You didn’t even fully understand it yourself at that point which is why you were terrified when you felt you owed him an explanation for turning him down.

You and Javi had been dancing around each other since pretty much the moment you landed in Bogata.

You knew you cared about him more than the average coworker and Steve didn’t hesitate to tease either of you mercilessly for it with every chance he got.

But there was a reason you had been avoiding acting on those feelings you harboured for him and a reason you were so terrified when he reciprocated them.

Silence overwhelms the small stakeout vehicle when you tell him.

He doesn’t get it.

“Oh.”

The disappointment that pours off of him is palpable.

This really wasn’t the reaction he was expecting to the heartfelt confession he had mustered up the courage for only moments ago.

“Javi,” You sigh, “It’s not like that. It’s not personal. I don’t feel attracted to anyone that way.” You reiterate but he still seems convinced that this is just an elaborate attempt to spare his feelings.

“You don’t have to do that, you know? You don’t have to let me down easy.”

“That’s not what this is. I really just don’t operate that way.”

You had seen the girls coming and going from his apartment across the hall. You knew how he chose to blow off steam after stressful days at work and you knew you couldn’t keep up with that.

“I don’t think I can be there for you like you want me to.”

It takes a moment for it to dawn on him what you mean and you think he finally takes the hint when another ‘oh’ escapes him.

“I don’t need-“ He starts up but cuts himself off when you give him a pointed look.

“I really, really wanted this to work.” He says after what feels like hours of you discussing all the reasons you would wind up resenting each other if you went down that path. All the fears you had of starting something up with him.

“Me too.” You hum solemnly when you deflate to lean into his side and rest your head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

He’s quick to shake his head and whisper a quiet “Don’t apologize.” When he wraps an arm around you and places a kiss to the top of your head.

You both walk away from that stakeout with heavy hearts but lighter shoulders and although it takes some time to heal you learn to show how much you care about each other in different ways.

Now he slings an arm around your shoulders when you’re getting unwanted attention on a night out.

You stay up drinking with him so he doesn’t have to brood alone after a particularly tiring day.

Soft touches and reassuring words come easier between you two.

Most importantly you’re both happy and you haven’t lost each other.

Marcus Pike

Marcus is a little less clueless.

He knows Asexuality exists and has a vague sense of what it is, he just doesn’t know a whole lot about it.

There’s not much pressure when you tell him.

It comes as a bit of a disclaimer early in your relationship and you try not to make a big deal of it. You just want to make sure that he’s aware as your relationship progresses.

Marcus, ever the sweet and compassionate boyfriend is attentive and understanding as you speak.

The words that seem to stick out in his mind come at the only point when the slightest bit of doubt weens it’s way into your voice, “I just wanted to make sure that that’s- that I’m enough for you.”

His heart stops and he’s overcome by a feeling of both shock and sorrow that you could ever think such a thing of yourself.

“Of course. Of course, you’re enough.”

“You’re more than enough. You’re… you’re everything.”

What you don’t see is the way that after this conversation he finds himself wracking up more and more questions that he’s too scared to ask you. Not because he’s afraid of the answer but because he doesn’t want to overstep or make you uncomfortable.

So naturally, he turns to the next best thing.

The internet.

What he fails to realize is how broad a spectrum of asexuality there is and all he gets is more and more confused.

Marcus accidentally develops a following on Aspec Reddit forums for trying to ask people questions and them all just going “aww, Hun” at this poor clueless bean and swooning over how much he cares about you.

Despite the enthusiasm and volume of their responses, they don’t really add much clarity beyond “Hey, maybe you should ask your SO”

Instead, he runs around treating you like glass while he tries to buck up the courage to actually talk to you about it until on a movie night as he awkwardly tries to contort himself around you so he’s cuddling you… without touching you, you finally snap.

“Marcus! What is going on?”

That’s when he finally and rather sheepishly admits that he wants you to tell him more about your sexuality.

“Oh.”

You pause the movie and give him your full attention as you try and talk him through as much as you’re able to explain until suddenly you’re stuck for an answer and you look up at him with rather watery eyes as you admit you have no idea and suddenly you’re the one having the existential crisis.

“Oh, oh no. It’s alright, we can figure it out together! Shhh, it’s all fine. Please don’t cry! Reddit didn’t tell me this would happen!”

“Who-ddit?”

Din Djarin

Coming out to Din is rather anticlimactic.

He doesn’t have much to say beyond “Okay.”

You’re a little confused at first.

That went… too well.

It’s a while later when he brings it up again that you begin to realize why.

There’s no hesitation or taboo, he’s quite straight forward when he asks why you were so nervous.

At first, you’re not so sure what to say. Wasn’t that kind of obvious?

“Not everyone takes it so well.” You shrug thinking back to past relationships where your partners seemed to expect you to give them more than you were willing to.

You could practically see the gears turning behind his visor and it’s only now that you connect the dots and his reaction from before seems to add up.

To him, that was the norm.

It makes sense the more you think about it.

In all the time you had spent travelling with him, all the objectively beautiful women, men and everyone else in between that had crossed your paths, all the slurs that had been thrown at him by drunkards in cantinas about how he fucks with all that armour on, all the rather compromising situations you had found yourself in with him before and you had never caught his gaze wander or heard him express any indication of interest in yourself or anyone in that way.

You had always put it down to his creed. As far as you were aware such things were forbidden for people of his faith but you’re left with an odd sense of comfort as you realized that wasn’t the case.

Perhaps this was his strange little way of letting you know you weren’t alone.

Ezra

When you met Ezra you were prepared for the worst.

A guy as cocky and loquacious as him and you just trying to keep your head down in the busy bar and enjoy your drink in peace after a rough day.

You didn’t have high hopes when he swung into the booth across from you and started down whatever elaborate story he had decided would impress you enough to get you into bed.

“It’s my missing appendage, isn’t it?” he asks when you quite clearly don’t bite.

He’s already moving to leave you be when your eyebrows knit together in confusion and your eyes blow wide as you’re hit with a sudden wave of guilt.

You had grown used to deflecting advances like this but something about the way he said it, the bold, charismatic man suddenly looking like a kicked puppy made your guts churn.

You didn’t normally give an explanation, you didn’t feel you owed anyone that, especially not a stranger and yet here you were.

“What? No! No, I actually think you’re very good looking and charming and all those things people look for in a partner, I’m just not particularly one for casual hookups.” You say looking around the room where you now felt wildly out of place with just about all of its inhabitants presumably looking to get laid or trying to forget someone they couldn’t do so with.

“...Or any hookups really.” You correct yourself and watch as the disappointed look on his face morphs into a glint of curiosity.

“You a uh- a spade?” He asks resettling into the booth, an oblivious smile settling on his cheeks when you laugh at him.

You spend until last-call deeply enthralled in conversation and comforted by one another’s company.

That’s all either of you were here for in the first place, to feel a little less lonely.

You’re only pried apart by the closing of the bar, the nag of sleep hot on your heels and the promise that this wouldn’t be the last you saw of each other.

Frankie Morales

Frankie knew you were asexual.

You had told him before, he just didn’t entirely understand what that meant until much later on.

He seemed familiar with the term but his knowledge of the concept didn’t seem to extend beyond a basic definition.

Frankie’s first wife was his first for a lot of things. First girlfriend, first kiss, first love, first lover, first breakup.

He took the divorce pretty hard, as anyone would.

They’d gotten married so young, before he was deployed, that the guys had never seen him single before and neither had he really.

It took a long time for him to recover and by then he was content. ‘not in a particularly big rush to start down the relationship path and get hurt again’ is how he had phrased it to you once in confidence.

But another factor that he failed to recognize fully at the time was that he just hadn’t found anyone he was interested in in that way.

He’d tried going on a couple of dates but none of them clicked and it just left him feeling more alone.

It was after Tom died, almost five years after his divorce that the guys finally called him on it.

At first they just assumed the way he had been acting was about Tom and in a sense it was, Tom was the only one who had been through a divorce before, he was the only one who really understood and talked him through it when the going got tough.

Will was the one to put the pieces together and realize that the issue wasn’t Tom so much as Frankie getting more and more tired of being on his own.

His intentions were well meaning. They were just trying to help.

All they wanted was to see him happy but the more the boys seemed to try and set him up, the more resistance they were met with and even Frankie couldn’t figure out why until he was sat, venting to you about it one night.

“How did you know you were ace?” He blurts out suddenly and you’re a little lost for words, you weren’t really expecting this conversation to go this way but it was obviously something he had been considering for a while.

“Sorry that wasn’t a fair question,” He says when he notices you’re struggling, “I just- they keep trying to set me up with, who I’m sure are some really great people, but it’s all on this little tiny screen and all you see are a couple photos and maybe a blurb if you’re lucky and there’s just no…”

“Connection?” You suggest. Those big puppy eyes shoot up to you from where they were fixed on the counter in front of him and he gives you a slight nod.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He sighs and your heart breaks a little looking at him like that before you round the counter and pull him into a hug. “I’ve felt attraction before but I look at the guys and it feels like it takes so much more for me to get to that point than them.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you.” You assure him gently, brushing your fingers through his hair when you pull away to give him a reassuring smile. “Sounds like you could be on the asexuality spectrum.”

“There’s a spectrum?”

[masterlist]

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[bigskydreaming]

About that last Cass meta, I wanted to correct or elaborate on something I realized in hindsight lends the wrong impression. This happens a lot with me, especially the longer a post gets, because I’m just trying to cram SO MUCH stuff in a post as is that I leave stuff by the wayside, and it typically tends to be the stuff I think is so matter-of-factly obvious to me personally, that in the moment it seems to be the most obvious thing TO leave out, as I instinctively think of it as the thing most people would figure out or connect the dots on themselves. Most of my posts I tend to write stream of consciousness as though I’m literally just speaking to anyone who follows me, and aren’t like, made with either the intention of gaining new followers or even REACHING people who don’t follow me, so like, just because I’m thinking ‘oh anyone who follows me would already know I think this’ like....that isn’t a valid assumption to make about anyone who just might read a particular post. And like, this isn’t reasonable on my part and does tend to lead to a lot of misunderstandings. So.....that’s a thing and its also a mea culpa.

In this particular case, the thing I need to elaborate on is my stance on how Cass is written speaking. When I spoke of the racist tropes I think are evident in a number of Cass’ depictions, even if unintentionally, this was NOT meant to reference or invalidate peoples’ conscious choice to make Cass have trouble with the spoken word due to various disabilities that might stem from the way her brain’s very wiring has been messed with in her backstory and appearances.

Writing Cass as disabled and having various speech impediments or trouble translating her thoughts into speech for neurological reasons is one hundred percent valid, and I should have used more nuance when describing my issue there. Personally, I tend to write her as being dyslexic and having aphasia, but she hasn’t had a specific speech or learning disability NAMED in canon as far as I’m aware, and there’s plenty that could feasibly apply.

But what I was talking about specifically is like......for instance, some people write Cass as struggling with ENGLISH, specifically, but fluent in not just sign....but say, Cantonese or another Chinese dialect as well. This is when red flags go up for me because I’m like, hmm, that’s an interesting choice that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with story logic, because see, Cassandra’s only issues with language are due to something that affects her equally with ALL languages. She only BEGAN learning languages not long after her first appearances, and the barrier that kept her from doing so previously like.....it went down in regards to ALL languages at the exact same time. 

So while it definitely is reasonable to have Cass being more comfortable signing than speaking out loud due to the fact that she prioritized learning sign language first, is less familiar and thus potentially comfortable with being part of spoken and verbal conversations period, and perhaps depending on what specific speech or neurological disabilities you write her as having is physiologically more adept at translating her thoughts into sign language without any trouble than she is selecting verbal words......what DOESN’T make sense is Cass having somehow picked up Chinese over the past several in-universe years, but its English specifically she struggles with and has a barrier conversing with her siblings in it. THAT specifically is where I would say hey maybe if this is a choice you’ve made in your own writing, this is one where you should look at what made you make that choice and second guess it like mmmm what WAS I thinking there precisely, and was that thought something I want to stand by, upon reflection.

Similarly......there is a certain WAY that people go about writing Cass struggling with speech that raises red flags for me......and that’s when they write Cass speaking the broken English I referred to specifically in that post, as in, the way Hollywood depicts caricatures of Chinese characters speaking non-fluent English. There’s a very familiar and evident cadence to that, which I believe a lot of people simply default to when writing an Asian character who has speech issues, but again, this is something that you should probably subject to more self-scrutiny. Because a Cass who has speech issues due to a neurological disability is going to display those issues in a fairly consistent way no matter how long its been since she started learning whatever language it is she’s speaking, albeit with some variance that accounts for workarounds she might have developed or learned to compensate for any issues she has there. But what she’s not going to do, IMO, is perpetually speak English in a cadence that lends the impression that she’s just not familiar with the language or struggles learning it or just hasn’t become proficient with it regardless of however many years she’s supposedly been learning or using it at this point. I’ve heard a lot of people with various speech or neurological disorders speak, but personally? I’ve never heard someone speak with a speech or neurological disorder that manifests in them speaking like a racist caricature of a Chinese character according to Hollywood depictions. THAT, specifically, is my issue there.

(And related, my reference to Cass being as much a genius as anyone in her family in that last post was meant to specifically highlight how well and how quickly Cass DOES adapt to a society she was not at all raised to be a part of, once she’s given resources and support in order to enable her to do so. Cass picks things up with TREMENDOUS speed in the comics, and so part of my ire about that last trope in particular is how often I come across fics where by their DEPICTION of Cass’ speech issues, it seems a lot more like she just hasn’t become fluent in English yet. And although its of course true that she had a very late start, if she’s been a member of the family for years at this point in your fic and you’re not bringing up any specific speech or learning disability affecting her ability to learn English, and thus it basically looks like despite years of practice Cass simply hasn’t managed to attain enough of a command of this particular language to comfortably converse in it with her family.....that’s when I go scrunchy-eyebrowed. Because like I said, Cass is SMART and she picks things up damn fast, and without any other explanation provided in narrative for why she’s struggling here specifically, I AM going to draw my own conclusions about why you’re writing her speech the way you are, and you probably aren’t gonna like my conclusions but that’s really more of a you problem at that point, IMO).

And finally, I think but don’t quote me on that, I’m a mind changer, I change my mind a lot......the last issue I have where I see red flags go up when it comes to Cass and communication is when Cass is struggling with speaking English but without direct reference made to her doing so because of a specific speech or learning disability....and at the same time, the author of the fic shows no acknowledgment of any other character’s disability or any desire or intention to depict any of the other characters with some canon disability or another as actually disabled. I’m not gonna lie, although Babs is able-bodied in canon at the moment, if someone’s writing Babs that way while writing a Cass that seems plucked out of pre-Flashpoint continuity rather than based specifically in her Batman and Robin Eternal origin......I’m not gonna be all that inclined to give the author the benefit of the doubt there and assume their depiction of Cass’ speech issues is due to an actual desire to write her as disability rep. I mean, it could be that I’m wrong and they are! I don’t actually know! I’ve been wrong before, I’ll be wrong again, either way the world WILL go on! I’m just saying it like it is.....point blank, if there’s no sign of a single other disabled character in your work and Cass just so happens to visibly struggle with speaking English, I’m just not gonna automatically assume its because you’re writing her as disabled rather than just writing her while racist. And if you ever do end up called out for that and its only after the fact that you suddenly seem to backpedal and insist you were just writing her as disabled all along, my skepticism, it will still abound. *Shrugs* It just is what it is. Do with that what you will. Literally just like, my opinion dude.

But anyway! That is the nuance I should have included at that part in my already behemoth-esque post but didn’t, but that is very much a mea culpa and so please take this as a wholly necessary post script. Disabled Cass one hundred percent has my support and I should have been more conscious about implying otherwise, no matter the point I was trying to raise at the moment there.

[creampievampire]

Could you go into the difference between the subtext and queerbaiting in it, I'm still kind of -well it's obviously gay but nothing was really ever said or shown that says that expect for people talking about it- Like are the characters and their relationship just queer-coded (positivly ofc lol) but the baitiness comes from them sort of confirming it off the show?

of course! im assuming by ‘it’ you mean merlin, but rather than explaining the reasons why i think bbc merlin is a matter of subtext (or queer coding) and not queerbaiting, i think it would be easier and more productive to explain the difference between the two in general. they are very similar - which is why i think a lot of people are unable to tell the difference between them - but they have important differences

just a warning, this is going to be a LONG post lmao ive bolded exactly what each term means below, after which i go into more detail on the whole issue. this is something im passionate about so,,, ♥

queerbaiting specifically refers to a marketing technique in which creators hint at but dont actually depict a queer character or relationship. They do this in order to attract a queer audience with the suggestion of a character or relationship they can relate to, while also avoiding alienating their queerphobic audiences

queer coding is the subtextual coding of a character as queer through the use of things like metaphor, allegory, hinting, recognisable traits/stereotypes/experiences, etc. This is done to build believable characters and create more complex plot lines, and it is also regularly used by people who want to tell queer stories but are unable to do so explicitly. it CAN be used negatively to enforce damaging stereotypes, but that is just a small part of its usage

both of these things utilise subtext in order to work. subtext is not only a crucial part of the creation of any piece of media, but is impossible to avoid.

an example of the most basic types of subtext is when a character tells someone that everything is going to be okay, but you can tell they dont believe it. or when youre watching a story unfold and you suddenly connect the dots and realise whats going to happen before its explicitly stated - you used subtext and the hidden meanings and hints to figure it out!

the people involved w a piece of media create their story with a specific purpose or meaning in mind, and they construct the subtext of the story to reflect that purpose/meaning. HOWEVER, the viewers dont always see things the same!

your experiences and personality shape the way you view and interpret every piece of media you consume. if you hate cops youll see the insidious undertones in cop shows - if you grew up with an abusive parent youll see the biting implications in a characters dialogue that others find innocent - if youre queer you will search for and fine queer characters everywhere, regardless of the creators intentions

now, both queerbaiting and queer coding use subtext to function, right? so how do you know which is being used and whether or not its a bad thing? its all about intention

to give a specific explanation of the difference im going to use two examples that are (arguably) very similar in the way their queer characters became canon

example 1: adventure time featured the characters marceline and princess bubblegum, who have been forever depicted as a couple in fan content. their interactions in the show were read into and latched onto bc we saw ourselves in them and we saw it as positive queer rep. but their relationship was never explicitly discussed during the course of the show and was only confirmed at the end of the final episode.

that makes 10 seasons in which their relationship existed only in subtext, and when it did finally exist in canon it was only for a few minutes, if that.

example 2: supernatural featured the characters dean and castiel (lol) who have been depicted as a queer couple pretty much since the first episode cas appeared in. i personally hung on their every interaction, analysed every glance between them, bc i interpreted deans character as a parallel to my own childhood trauma.

cas joined the show in season 4, so that makes 11 seasons in which him being gay existed only in subtext, and when it was confirmed he was immediately cut out of the show. the exact nature of dean and castiels relationship still remains in subtext.

so why is it that adventure time is widely considered perfectly fine but supernatural is dunked on as being the poster boy for queerbaiting?

its bc adventure time involved queer creators and was an earnest representation of queer characters, but they were boxed in by their publisher, Cartoon Network and thus the only way for the relationship to exist in the show was through subtext.

supernatural, however, consistently neglected their queer character and employed transparent tropes and stereotypes - bringing him in just sparingly enough to keep queer audiences interested while never being gay enough to alienate their macho manly man queerphobe audiences. they would have dean and cas stare into each other eyes for a full 30 seconds and then almost immediately follow it up with an episode about dean banging a disposable female character.

so imho adventure time falls under queer subtext, and supernatural falls under queerbaiting

when it comes to a show like bbc merlin i see a lot of debate about whether or not its queer coding or queerbaiting, and my intention is not to convince you of either. merlin was very much a product of its time, and i have argued the same about seasons 4-6 of supernatural as well, before the queerbaiting escalated and became exhausting to me

the purpose of this post is to start giving you the information you need to analyse any piece of media and come to your OWN opinion as to whether or not its queerbaiting or whatever else

people will ALWAYS have differing opinions about this shit yall. i have debated so many times w so many people about where the line is and whats okay and what should be ‘cancelled’ and if consuming something deemed problematic makes you a bad person or not

and my conclusion?

if youre capable of acknowledging the flaws and issues w a piece of media without trying to defend it as a shining beacon of purity simply bc you like it, then you do you. enjoy whatever you want to enjoy - if i think its reprehensible i simply will never interact with you lol

at some point everyone has to stop regurgitating these generic woke speak cancel culture speeches and buzzwords and formulate their own opinions

my advice to anyone reading this is to learn how to do close reading (ill provide a link to a wonderful short guide on it in a reblog bc tumblr hates links) and start really considering where you draw the lines with all types of content. decide for yourself whether merlin or supernatural or adventure time crosses the line into content you cant stomach, but respect other people whose interpretations differ from yours

i know a HUGE amount of people think supernaturals confession scene was homophobic and toxic - a slap in the face - but when i watched it i saw myself reflected in dean. a repressed bisexual whose emotions had been stunted by lifelong trauma, who wasnt ready to face his feelings for cas but quickly realising that his chronic avoidance and fear was about to tear them apart possibly forever. to me it was tragic and beautiful, and i loved it

i also think merlin is a tragic and beautiful love story, and to me its a pivotal piece of queer media that changed the way i viewed love and made me believe that it was a possibility for me bc i related so deeply to arthur

i hope that you can draw a satisfying answer from this, anon, and i apologise for this post being a full essay lol but i believe it needed to be said  - i dont think there is a right or wrong answer here

[mangoofthesea]

So I'm rewatching Yuri!!! On Ice for the first time since 2016 and I'm finding it fascinating watching a piece of media while being in a different time of my life is showing me about how my view of the world has changed and giving me a mad level of comparison for my past self vs my present self (heads up this will be a ramble evaluating how I've changed in the last 5 along through contemplating my relationship with how I have experienced watching yoi then )

So firstly let me set out who I was when I first watched yoi. In 2016 I was a lonely, sad 14 year old struggling with my mental health and struggling with feeling much of anything. I watched yoi over a couple nights lying on my bed hanging out in my room as was the only way I existed at that time when not at school. I had joined tumblr the year before but only started using my account at the beginning of that year. This was also the year I had got into fandom but I had not got very deep and it was before I had made any fan content myself either.

I watched yoi and found it awesome, I loved it. It was a fantastic and I also realised that watching something with subtitles kept me engaged more than most anything else.

But I remember being confused by it, because I had heard it was 'the gay skating anime' and to me at that age I couldn't spot a canon gay relationship. I was waiting for a conclusive declaration of 'they are definitely together'. Only when the rings were exchanged at the end was I somewhat like 'yeah that seems pretty close'. But I was so cynical and thought 'well, it's fairly gay but I think it's a bit more fanon than canon' like the fool I was

Watching it a second time has been fascinating and I have honestly been able to appreciate so much more about it than the last time.

Where I'm at now is I'm 19, I have since left the school I was at and gone to college (UK college, not university) and got A levels in English and other analytical subjects which rely on studying what you are given and questioning it. I have been heavily part of many more fandoms in the last 5 years, primarily Supernatural (which you can read into for yourself on how that has changed my outlook on canon/not canon opinion for ships). I have made fan art and headcanons and written more than 80k of fanfic and plus other creative writing and written hundreds of essays on how to read into content into what is said between the lines.

I am also now in a far better place mentally. I have amazing friendships which I couldn't have dreamed of when I first watched this. I have friends both in fandom and out of it, I have an idea of what I'm doing with my life when in 2016 I couldn't see much further than the end of the year. And more than anything the way I am watching this show again is highlighting the difference. I now watch yoi lounging on my sofa in the living room, perched on my dining table in between doing college work and uni research, or curled on my bed before I go to sleep. I no longer feel isolated (even though I do in a different way because of the pandemic meaning I've had to stay inside for almost a year for personal reasons but that's different to what it was then)

It has been fascinating watching yoi in this period of my life. Now knowing what makes something good or bad writing, and also knowing that the way Yuri and Victor behave is not normal for any kind of platonic friendship (rewatching has also helped me realise how much more socially inept I was as well as lacking literary analytical ability as I somehow found it difficult to see victuri as as gay as it is because oh my fuck there is no heterosexuals explanation for so much of this show. I have spent the last few days mentally screaming at my younger self 'you needed friends and critical thinking ability so fucking bad you sad stupid little weirdo').

In addition to this I have also experienced being in a romantic relationship in the last 2 years and the amount that has done for my kinda aro/asexual ass in recognising romantic signals has been a wonder (I just copy and paste compare to my own experiences but it feels like I've been given a cheat code for this stuff it's amazing)

What I'm saying is it is fascinating too watch yoi again now because I can see everything people were picking out then. The words and phrases mean a lot more to me and I understand so much more what's happening. I watched episode 6 today and then spent ages contemplating the point their romantic relationship began and deciding it must have been post Yuri's returning performance to professional skating. I am having FUN picking up the clues, playing connect the dots with the looks and the words and the expressions of love that I couldn't understand as a quiet, sad, and unaware 14 y/o who was doing her best to silence any form of emotion. Watching the creation of what I can now appreciate as a layered piece of writing that is also just FUN to watch.

I am just so enjoying watching this show again and being able to appreciate the fun of this very gay soft show about these two adorable chaotic skaters.

[mwolf0epsilon]

First off, before everyone comes after my butt with their "No Fun Allowed" and "Cringe" signs, this is in no way something to be taken as gospel or insightful. It's not a prophetic enforcement of canon. It's literally a theory done for fun, and to try to piece the Bendy Crack up Comics into the general and messy lore of the BatIM franchise. 

Most of you get this and don't need a big wordy warning about fanon interpretation, but a lot of peculiar people tend to show up in my ask box hoping to start a fuss over my headcanons and AU ideas, so I thought to be nice and leave a polite and diplomatic "Kindly Fuck Off" sign at the door for them.

With that said, there will be mild spoilers, carry on of your own volition, down below under the cut that will definitely show up because Tumblr mobile is a functional app that's never given me trouble!!!

---

[[MORE]]

The Bendy Franchise has an established issue with cohesion in its lore. We all know what I'm talking about, we all have reservations about canonical character discrepancies (game vs novel vs guidebook) and we all have been racking our brains with a few holes in the timeline, as well as how BatDR (which is neither prequel nor sequel) will fit into this, since it's connected to BatDS and that's an established prequel to BatIM.

Granted I myself am missing a lot of pieces, having to scrounge around for info since I can't really get any of the reading material myself and rely heavily on @british-hero (who owns the novel plus got her copy of the comics yesterday), a very incomplete wikie, and analysis and theories from SuperHorrorBro's Bendy videos.

Heck, I also rely on a lot of gameplay footage, because BatIM has a bit of subtle storytelling through visual design of its levels, and hints of how certain characters work through a few game mechanics.

Through this mishmash of collecting puzzle pieces for the greater picture I even have a few notes on my phone to piece together certain events in established dates, something which comes very in handy for this theory since it talks about two particular characters, the Projectionist and Brute Boris (and I guess Twisted Alice to some extent but it's more of a note on some interesting thoughts I have of her).

Without further ado, here's what this theory is all about: Why did Norman become the Projectionist, and why did Twisted Alice turn Buddy Boris into Brute Boris?

If you think about it, there's only two creatures in the studio that really seem out of place in the world of BatIM, and that's Prophet Sammy and the Projectionist. Neither are inherently similar to any of the cartoon characters, nor are they considered to be Lost Ones. They're certainly not Searchers, but while we know Sammy is unique because his method of transformation was different, we never got an explanation for Norman's. It could be that it's a process similar to BatDR's new enemy type that's larger and seems to have bits and bobs stuck to it, but then those big guys seem like the equivalent to Swollen Searchers for the Lost Ones. The Projectionist doesn't really fit the puzzle.

Or at least he didn't.

With the introduction of the Crack up Comics collection, we get three new characters that were definitely designed in the same manner that the Butcher Gang was. Beginning with a corrupt monster forms and then giving way to perfect and pristine rubberhose toon forms.

I'm talking about Miss Twisted, the Brute, and Cameraman.

The villainous trio from the Souper Boris comic strip.

To us it's obvious the artists created them in parallel to Twisted Alice, Brute Boris and the Projectionist, but to the actual canon this actually has a bit of an impact on the Projectionist's existence.

Why, you ask? Because those characters were introduced between 1936 and 1940.

Bendy Crack up Comics table of contents, showcasing the publishing dates of the strips.

For anyone who doesn't know (either from not paying attention to the Joey Drew Studios channel audio logs, or from not owning the books) the Ink Machine wasn't conceptualized or installed until 1942/1943. Putting that into perspective, the only other thing that happened in Joey Drew Studios in 1940, was the conceptualization of Bendyland (which is likely the origin of the idea for the Ink Machine itself).

This means that Cameraman existed well before the Projectionist ever came to be, and that made me think about another thing: The Ink's apparent sentience.

I'll be frank, the Ink is very hard nut to crack. I consider it a form of alchemized entity, others consider it pure black magic, and I'm pretty sure Joey Drew himself had no idea what he was dealing with when he began using it. The fact of the matter is that the Ink is alive and that it has its own agenda. One that coincides with Joey's, out of mutual interest.

In the novels it seems to want to be free, but it can't exactly do that as a formless liquid, so it tries to body-snatch people (ex: Sammy and Buddy's grandpa).

When Joey tries to use it to give life to Bendy through nothing more than using the Ink and a template (likely a character model sheet) the Ink tries to follow the model but immediately becomes a distorted humanoid version of it (which honestly rings so many fucking alarm bells on its own). Things… Escalate there on out, with Joey trying to perfect the method and only managing to succeed through Daniel Lewek (and many other nameless Boris Clones), Allison Pendle and Thomas Connor.

An important thing to take from this, however, is that by trying to perfect this method Joey not only taught the Ink to reshape things into viable referenced material, but that he had to have lost control of just how many souls were being pumped through the Ink Machine for him to monitor and keep up.

Sammy started killing people when he completely turned, and it didn't seem to take long for him to cut down people in likely both the music and art departments. At this point he had no self-restraint and was completely wrapped around inky fingers and Joey's lies. 

Norman is one such potential victim, and Dot and Buddy even passed by his ink-wrapped body while fleeing.

Now, the thing about trying to follow a specific guide and not having the actual means to make it exactly the same thing, is an easy enough notion to get (as shows like "Nailed It", and years of trying to perfect visual style mimicry, have taught me).

The Ink likely had the template it needed (maybe a printed copy of Souper Boris that got thrown around in the chaos), the insight of what Norman's role in the studio was, the amount of mass it needed to consume and transform his dead body, but not exactly the right sort of… Centerpiece for it...

Cameraman using his lens to light up his path.

But what's a projector besides a bigger fancier camera? Both blink, both take film, same thing right? The ink doesn't see the difference and just stitches together this humanoid bootleg cameraman with the pieces it finds that are similar enough.

Mechanical blinky head? Check.

Strange round disc near the belly? There's a speaker. That's round! Check.

Film? There we go, a nice big round reel full of film in it, let's put it near the head, that's how it works right? Check.

Lastly, no Joey to actually direct this artistic recreation of a one-off character. The Ink did it all by itself while he was off getting his hand broken by a rightfully upset Buddy Boris.

If you look at it objectively it makes sense that being the projectionist tasked with not only recording and maintaining the projectors themselves, that the entity in the Ink would pick Cameraman as a template for Norman's transformed self.

It also makes sense that the Projectionist is so off-putting in the studio. He's almost perfect, but not quite because there just weren't the right materials. He's stuck in between Twisted Alice and the Butcher Gang clones as another failed recreation.

Moving on to the next question on why Twisted Alice turn Buddy Boris into Brute Boris, when she hadn't done the same to any of the other Boris Clones.

It's hard to say really, but I think it all comes down to who Twisted Alice really is. It's very likely that, as Susie Campbell, she would have knowledge of the comic strips. A few were most likely made into cartoon shorts even (which isn't an unusual assumption to make), and maybe Susie voiced a few background characters for said shorts.

Susie may have lost her role as Alice, but before Joey came to her with his proposition for the "special project" it's very likely that she remained in the studio, forced to do the voices of characters that weren't noteworthy or that she felt completely disconnected from (talking chairs and singing hens really don't become beloved fan-favourites) . Maybe if the Souper Boris story was made into a short, she might have voiced Miss Twisted (which honestly would be personally insulting considering she once had the role of the main heroine).

Point is, Susie knows her lore, and that translates to Twisted Alice's repertoire of insightful knowledge on the abominations lurking around the studio.

She never did turn other Boris clones into brutish lackeys because at the time she didn't need to. But it doesn't mean she hadn't considered it. Henry's disruptive behaviour is just what she needed to put that plan into motion.

There was already a "Cameraman" walking about, one that could easily rip apart anything it came across, so acquiring the means to recreate the "Brute" would have been benefiting from her point of view. The Projectionist doesn't take orders and can't be reasoned with, so if she could make something just as strong that took her orders she could, theoretically, be safe from most terrors in the studio. If that didn't work, she would still likely send others to their death by simply sending them down to Level 14, or maybe lure the Projectionist to them herself (just because he doesn't take orders doesn't mean she can't use him to achieve her end goals).

Miss Twisted, the Brute and Cameraman in their evil swamp lair.

But why Buddy Boris specifically? Why couldn't she have used any of the bodies laying around? Freshness most likely. Rigor mortis is probably still a thing, even for living cartoons. Easier to work a fresh dead body than a bunch of stiff wolves.

That's at least why I think Brute Boris is a thing. Susie's knowledge of most Bendy cartoon/comic strip characters, taking inspiration from the Projectionist's presence, and honestly a very twisted sense of humor and irony. In her quest to become a Perfect Alice, the heroine of the show, she ended up becoming just as antagonistic (although more sadistic) as Miss Twisted, a Bendy comic strip villainess.

[mertronus]

Secret Mission - Chapter 8 (Epilogue)

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who read and gave feedback on my first fic, I appreciate you all so much and now truly know the power of commenting on others fics when I read them. (I tended to usually leave a review but now more than ever I definitely will! Your reviews really lit up my little heart!)

Here's the conclusion, tie up some loose ends...and let's not forget, Hermione had a secret of her own didn't she?

****

"So," Hermione said softly, "Harry tracked down the two witnesses who heard McLaggen?" She was lying in Ron's childhood bed with him, his orange Chudley Canons blanket draped haphazardly over their glistening bare bodies as she listened to him recount the events of the morning. They were entwined in an intimate post-coital embraced as her delicate, ink-stained fingers toyed wit his long, calloused fingers lazily - almost as if they were conducting a slow, mesmerizing dance in mid-air. Ron's return followed immediately by the wedding, reception and basically spending the entire day celebrating the newlyweds with family meant they did not get a moment alone until they retired to Ron's bedroom after the festivities were over.

But, they did save the actual catching up for after Hermione properly welcomed Ron home, and he showed her just how much he missed her. In the afterglow came the questions and explanations.

"Yup," Ron said enthusiastically. "I don't know how he did it, but he found them and brought them into the Ministry to speak to Robards and a member of the Wizengamot. They told them everything they heard McLaggen saying, including the way he was talking about you."

"I can't believe he said those foul things," Hermione said in disgust, clutching the blanket to her chest as if the vile man was in the room at that very moment. "It feels...violating, the way he was looking at me. So to hear what he said?" She shuddered and Ron pulled her close, kissing her temple.

"I know love," he said, his voice low. "But he can't come anywhere near you. And he won't if he knows what's good for him." Hermione leaned into her husband, grateful for the way he made her feel safe. Ron kept his arms around her as he continued recounting the events of the morning. "And the great thing is, the witch from the Wizengamot agreed that he was out of line. She seemed like a right prude witch, probably even a bit of a - what'd you call it? Feminist?" Hermione nodded. "Yeah, so she was as offended as if McLaggen said them to her! She told Robards that it was her opinion that I acted accordingly - as any doting husband should act in defense of his wife - and that I should be released immediately. Her words exactly," he chuckled. "Robards still wrote me up, as a warning, but no further action will be taken."

"Oh Ron that's wonderful!"

"I know, isn't it? It also helped that the witnesses both stated that I did not actually use my wand on McLaggen, like the bloody tosser claims I did, and that they did not see me have one drink the entire time I was in the Leaky. Harry always pulls through for me." He smiled. "We always pull through for each other, really."

"Harry is amazing. Ginny too. Your entire family." She smiled and propped herself up on her elbow hovering over him slightly. "I'm so in love with your family Ron. I've barely been with them for 24 hours and yet...I can't explain it. I feel like this is home. More so than my own home has ever felt. I love my parents, but being here...I can't explain it."

Ron raised his hand to rest on her cheek, his thumb running lightly along the corner of her lip. "You don't have to explain, I get it. And I'm so happy you feel that way." He looked at her for a moment then remembered another important piece of information that was lost in the shuffle of the day. He sat up and rested against the headboard and grinned. "Guess what else?"

Hermione sat up and faced him, holding the blanket over her chest. "What?"

"We don't have to head back to France after all."

"Oh?"

"The team from Belgium came through. They captured the last three wizards who were on the run last night. Robards will be sending word tomorrow for us all to come in for a briefing on Monday, but he got word while he was with me so I was first to know." He smiled, then looked at Hermione and frowned. "Unless...you have to go back to France, don't you?" Ron realized they never actually discussed Hermione's plans after the mission. Where she would work and what it would mean for them. He felt a knot growing in his stomach.

"Well," she started, suddenly enraptured with a loose thread in his blanket, "I actually wanted to talk to you about...staying in London."

"Really?" Ron's heart raced happily, the knot disappearing immediately.

"Yes, really. I was speaking with your brother Percy earlier today, and he mentioned quite a few openings in a couple of departments that peeked my interest at the British Ministry. He already said that between you, Harry, him and Arthur and probably even Robards and Ledwig, I could get any position I set my eye on at the Ministry. I already have the connections on top of my education and experience -"

"And your brilliance," Ron added with a smile.

Hermione blushed and rolled her eyes playfully at the compliment. "Yes, well...anyway...I had already spoke to my boss in Paris about the possibility that I may stay here. I've been helping with research from afar, and may have to travel to Paris soon to tie up a few things, but as my only real task these last few months was the mission with your team," she shrugged and looked back up at Ron, "I can pretty much make a clean break."

"So...you'll stay here - WE'LL stay here - and you'll work in the British Ministry?"

"That's my hope?" She smiled but then her face got serious. "But as an Auror MAC, you may have more extended missions, won't you?"

Ron nodded slowly. "But, I was talking to Robards about that today, and he said we can discuss if I want to remain with the Auror MACS or make a switch. If I stay with the MACs though, and do have to leave, at least knowing that you'll be here, surrounded by my family...I'll hate to leave you but I'll feel better about it."

"Just don't go falling in love with an intern helping the team in Bulgaria or something," she joked. Ron pulled her into him, pressing her body flush against his own.

"I could never," he whispered, dotting her cheek and jaw with light kisses. "You are it for me Hermione Granger-Weasley."

"Good, because I quite like you too."

They settled back into the pillows holding each other close, then Ron cleared his throat. "So, we have some work to do Mrs. Weasley."

"What's that Auror Weasley?"

"Well, I figure step 1 is we'll need to find a home. I don't fancy shagging my wife for much longer in my childhood bedroom."

"A home? Like...a house?"

"Well, yeah. We could just get a flat in London, but that might hinder step two."

"And what is step two?"

"Step two is to put a baby in you," he growled into her neck while spreading his large hand over her bare stomach.

Hermione bit her lip and grinned, then she shook her head. "Oh Ronald. You did it again."

"Did what again?" he asked pushing up on his elbow over her with a concerned look. "What did I do?"

"You skipped step one...and went right for step two." Ron stared at her puzzled, then chuckled when he remembered that his plans were not for Ginny and Harry to know about their marriage first, but second.

Suddenly he sat all the way up, thinking about what Hermione just said. "I did wh-what now?"

Hermione sat up too, and took his hand and placed it back on her belly. "Step two...you've already done." Ron's wide eyes darted between her stomach and her own deep brown eyes. "I was feeling poorly a bit this week, so I went to St. Mungo's yesterday to confirm. I'm pregnant Ron," she whispered the last sentence.

"Y-you're...I'm gonna...we're...really?!" Hermione nodded smiling. Ron pulled Hermione onto his lap and peppered her entire face with kisses. "Oh Mione!...This is...so amazing...Merlin!...I love you...so much...so fucking much!" He continued planting kisses all over her cheeks and jaw and neck in between his professions of love as Hermione giggled in his arms. He lay her down tenderly then moved the orange blanket from over her. He touched her smooth stomach lightly and tried to imagine how it would look as the months went by, growing rounder right in front of him. He leaned in and kissed her stomach reverently. "I love you too, little one." He looked back up at Hermione and saw the tears in her eyes. "Oh love," he whispered as he straightened out to lay next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply.

"I love you too Ron. So much. You insufferable prat," she teased.

"You love me because I'm an insufferable prat or in spite of?"

Hermione's laugh filled the room. "Hard to say!" She said through chuckles.

"Merlin, I love your laugh," Ron breathed out.

"Good thing you're relatively funny then!" Ron rolled his eyes and tickled her, delighted to hear the sound of her laugh once again reverberate around the room.

****

A/N: All the secrets are out! Yay! This was a really fun fic to write...so much so that I already have a few one-shot ideas that will be based on this AU so keep an eye out on FFN/AO3! I think we need to see more of Ron and Hermione's growing love in France, don't you? Or maybe I'll write the "before" story...hmmmm... We'll see! Now that I've "popped my cherry" and shared my first fic (and received so much love!) there's definitely more to come! I'm working on a massive one right now that I'll start to get out to you all shortly, and another completed fic I'm sitting on. So, until next time...Mertronus OUT 3