#I would go to war for her and I'm not kidding

[gayslutbehavior]

i really admire the way my mom raised me when it comes to books. she always let me pick what to read, and she usually read the same books along with me so that we could talk about them. she likes reading YA, so that helps. i remember she really liked a series of unfortunate events and would help explain some of the funnier lines that might have gone over my head.

if there were books that either of us thought might be upsetting or hard for me to read, she would read them first and tell me what she thought. she wouldn't say i could or couldn't read them, she would just give me a heads up about things that might be challenging. for example, when i was about 10ish i wanted to read the sixth harry potter book, and she told me (with permission wrt spoilers) that an important character dies and that she found it really sad and thought i might too.

there were also books that she read before me and said she thought would be fine and then i ended up feeling uncomfortable about it for some reason and stopped reading. so she knew she could trust that i would take care of myself when reading. i had a panic attack when i read mockingjay for the first time because the war felt so real, and i took a break, calmed down, and came back to it later. but i'm still really glad i read that book because i think it was really good and taught me a lot.

it was the same way with movies - i watched little miss sunshine for the first time when i was pretty young, and she didn't try to keep me from seeing the more inappropriate parts, but she did explain things that i didn't understand. the only part she warned me about was when the brother realizes he's colorblind and can't be a pilot and gets really upset. she said he's going to yell and it's really sad. it wasn't the sex or the raunchy humor that she focused on (she knew that i knew what sex was), but the parts that were upsetting or scary, which makes sense to me.

pulp fiction is one of her favorite movies and we had a poster of it on the wall in our living room, so of course i wanted to watch it, but she told me that i should wait until i was older, not necessarily because it was inappropriate, but because it's the kind of movie that's hard to follow and requires a lot of cultural context to understand. i listened and when i ended up watching it for the first time i totally agreed that i wouldn't have understood it when i was younger.

she used to watch house when it came on and most of the time i didn't watch it with her even though she never said i couldn't because i really didn't like the parts where it would show the inside of a body. if i did want to watch, she would fast forward through those parts for me. i vividly remember watching house with her when thirteen comes out as bi. she paused the show to explain bisexuality to me and it was a huge moment for me as a queer person! the fact that she didn't brush past it or try to hide it from me helped me to learn and grow in my own identity.

the point is, the times when i was most confused or upset or alienated by a piece of media, it was rarely because there was sexual content. having warnings from my mom helped me to be prepared for things that might be beyond my expectations, and with her help i learned how to process and move through those things instead of ignoring them. i also learned that it was okay to feel like i wasn't ready to watch/read something. and i think that's a much safer approach to consuming media than trying to prevent kids from seeing or reading anything challenging until they're a certain age. it's all a process of growing and becoming ready for that kind of thing imo

I keep seeing aggressive "don't let kids read Wicked, it's inappropriate!!!" posts, and they're deeply irritating.

Would I recommend the novel to a random 12 year old I don't know? Probably not! But I first read Wicked at 12, and it's not like it permanently scarred me. It's not like I couldn't follow the plot. I didn't understand all the sociopolitical and religious commentary at 12, but that's why I went on to re-read it multiple times throughout my life. I get more from it each time.

There's sex and violence, yes, but I knew what sex was at 12, and I was seeing violence and war on the news every day. Why's the fictional sex and violence worse? Why should a kid not challenge themself with a book outside their comfort zone? Every kid deserves the chance to wig themselves out with a weird book they don't fully understand yet, and Wicked was mine.

My wife is very fond of a Mitch Hedberg quote I think is relevant here: "Every book is a children's book, if the kid can read."

(Also I think it's weird that people fixate on the puppet sex and the BDSM club, and not the parts where Elphaba bashes someone's skull in, or Turtle Heart gets lynched, or the soldiers abduct Fiyero's entire family as political prisoners. The "sex is evil, violence is fine" moral panic is eternal.)

[juchily]

Yellowjackets S3 Ep1 thoughts

Spoilers below ⚠️

not them buttering us up with the cute fun scenes like them playing tag so they can hit us with the horrible stuff later... I see you showtime

edit: MARI CALLED SHAUNA GAYWAD WHEN SHAUNA TACKLED HER?? ALSO JUST IGNORING THAT SHAUNA IS COMPETITIVE IT WAS INDEED VERY GAY THE WAY SHE WAS MANHANDLING MARI

Taivan taivan taivan taivan!

taivan broke up after rescue 😞

Travis is one of the girls ✨🧚

Shauna's freaky as shit... But like 🙇

That whole scene with Melissa and Shauna was gold, "You have a personality?"?? Be fr the extra gets her first real line and the writers write in a character pointing it out this is so funny

Melissa being so eager to suck up and impress Shauna, two girls telling each other "yeahhh", Melissa wants that cookie. Genlissa shippers it's OVER

what do we think Nat got arrested for when she was 24?

Love Callie for that... I've never hated her be real she's too much of an icon to hate

Im going to be real, when those girls talked about the girls eating pig blood and then having a druggy orgy I did infact go "we all wish" because do we not?? The writers KNOW what we want at this point lol

did Shauna know pre crash that Lottie was schizophrenic? Did she find the pill bottle post crash? If she knew this, would this be a fuel for her hate for Lottie because of her visions, miracles, etc

Lottie being a therapist... God she's too much of everything I can't even begin <3

Lottie and Travis as a duo are so cute (AS NON ROMANTIC, I HATE THEM ROMANTICALLY THAT)

...i thought Van and Tai were going to go at it in the restaurant bathroom ngl, dining and dashing and fucking in an alley is cool too

also that scene in the restaurant where Van seems to be feeling weird... And then right after that the waiter guy dies (supposedly) and we see that onscreen effect go away... Just saying

Id eat the shit (read: spit) out of that soup...

Mari and Shauna getting treated like misbehaving dogs... They low-key are. Poor Mari honestly. And Shauna gaslighting...

SHAUNA AND CALLIE BONDING OH MY LORD CALLIE'S A MINI SHAUNA AND I DONT KNOW WHETHER I SHOULD BE SCARED OF THAT

i can believe Ben finding a war/apocalypse prep container especially considering Cabin guy's insane amount of ammo, but I find it odd that the case is pristinely clean despite being covered in a pit of dirt and dust. Maybe they just didn't bother making it look weathered and I'm looking into it too hard.

NAT HALLUCINATION PLUS CHERRY BOMB 💥💥🎉

Honestly I think Walter may have lied to Misty, on the other hand Van and Taissa were getting down and dirty and Shauna was actually bonding with her kid for once

they make memorial for Javi, then Jackie, then Wilderness baby, im just confused on the fact they don't mention Laura Lee? Especially that Lottie of all people wouldn't mention her. Also the five lanterns I still think that's a clue to a death count this season (past and present, maybe just past timeline)

Ben is up to some evil shit... I don't think Mari dies in that hole though from some of the teasers we've seen

callie pocketed that tape... Didn't anyone tell you not to open other people's mail young lady 🤓

CAKE, they played CAKE, oh I can die happy

Ending thoughts:

Wtf is that sound Travis heard? Does the sound have something to do with being drunk? He hears it first when he's high, and the other girls hear it after the feast (they had like wine or something).

The no eyed man... come on let's get a good look at 'im

Who left the letter? Will the other Yellowjackets get a letter like the one that was supposed to go to Shauna?

What will happen to Mari? What is Ben's purpose of making that trap and what does he plan to do now that he's catched one of the girls. Furthermore, this would prove he knew they survived the cabin fire. Will this lead to the girls finding where Ben is?

Laura Lee erasure... 😭

[goldfades]

ok congrats girl u got me into dbook... could you write a little something about devin being whipped for his girl xo <3

heheh mission ACCOMPLISHED!! my dbook agenda is working. this is such a cute concept i'm obsessed<3 i hope you enjoy!

Devin Booker was whipped.

Not in a pathetic way—not in the way his teammates joked about, calling him soft every time he left the gym early because you called, or the way they side-eyed him when he was on FaceTime mid-road trip, listening to you talk about your day like it was the most important conversation in the world. No, it wasn’t that. It was deeper. Quiet. Engraved into his every movement, into the way he carried you in his mind, in his hands, in his heart.

Because it wasn’t just that he loved you—it was that he liked you. You were his person, his peace, his everything. And everyone around him knew it.

It was in the way he never let your gas tank go below half, even if he had to sneak out at midnight just to fill it up. The way your iced coffee order was saved in his Notes app, down to the extra caramel drizzle because, God forbid, they forget it and ruin your morning. The way he listened—even to the small things. Even to the things you swore he wasn’t paying attention to.

Like today.

You had mentioned—once, in passing—that your favorite bakery had a limited run of some seasonal pastry you used to get as a kid. It was an offhand comment, a memory laced with nostalgia, nothing you expected him to think twice about.

But Devin? Devin heard it.

Which is why, despite practice running late, despite being dead tired and fully capable of sending someone else to pick it up, he found himself standing in a tiny bakery at 7 AM, waiting for them to open because he refused to risk them selling out.

“Man, you are gone,” one of his teammates had laughed when he mentioned it.

And yeah. Maybe he was.

But he didn’t care.

Because seeing your face light up when he handed you that bag, watching you take that first bite, eyes wide with surprise that he even remembered—that was the whole reason he did it. Not for credit. Not for a thank you. But because you were worth it.

You’d always be worth it.

--

You were still curled up on the couch when Devin walked in, the scent of warm, buttery sweetness wafting through the air before you even saw what was in his hand.

He looked too smug, standing there by the door, holding a small brown paper bag with that cocky little smirk playing on his lips. His hoodie was slightly damp at the edges from the early morning chill, and his sweatpants hung low on his hips, like he had barely taken the time to get dressed before running out the door.

“What’s that?” you asked, stretching lazily, still wrapped in the blanket you had dragged from the bedroom.

Devin just shook his head, walking toward you with slow, deliberate steps before plopping down beside you. He handed you the bag, his fingers brushing against yours, warm from the heat of whatever was inside.

“You tell me,” he murmured, watching you expectantly.

Curious, you peeled the bag open, the scent hitting you all at once—something rich, sweet, a little nutty, and somehow nostalgic, even though you hadn’t tasted it yet. You blinked, pulling out the delicate pastry, your breath catching for a second.

No way.

It was exactly what you had mentioned weeks ago, in passing, with no expectation that he would ever remember.

A golden, flakey rozaliak.

Not just any pastry—something so ridiculously specific that you hadn’t even thought about it in years. It was this obscure little Eastern European dessert your grandmother used to buy for you as a kid—made with layers of sweet, honey-soaked dough, filled with walnuts, cinnamon, and the faintest hint of orange zest. It wasn’t something you could just pick up at any bakery. You had offhandedly mentioned that a tiny shop downtown had started selling them, recalling how it was one of the few things that reminded you of childhood winters, sitting in your grandmother’s kitchen, watching her warm them over the stove.

You had said it once.

And here it was.

You looked up at him, eyes wide, fingers still gently holding the pastry like it was too perfect to be real.

“Devin.” Your voice was soft, almost in disbelief. “How did you—”

“You said they were hard to find,” he said simply, leaning back against the couch, stretching his long legs out. “So, I found them.”

You just stared at him, your heart swelling with something indescribable.

“You woke up early for this?”

He shrugged, all nonchalant, like he hadn’t just proven for the thousandth time that he was the most absurdly thoughtful person you knew.

“I mean, yeah. Bakery opens at seven, so I had to be there before they sold out.”

You gaped at him. “Devin.”

“What?” That smirk tugged at his lips again, but this time, there was something softer behind it.

“You—” You exhaled, shaking your head as a slow grin stretched across your face. “You stood in line for this?”

“Only a couple of people were ahead of me,” he said casually. “Not a big deal.”

Not a big deal.

Like it was normal to wake up at the crack of dawn after a late-night practice. Like it was nothing to drive across town, stand in the cold, and wait outside some tiny bakery just to grab a pastry you had once mentioned liking.

You broke off a piece, the flaky layers crumbling slightly between your fingers, and took a bite. The moment the taste hit your tongue—the warm honey, the slight crunch of walnuts, the soft, citrusy hint of orange—you swore you could feel your childhood come back to life.

You let out an involuntary, contented hum, your eyes fluttering shut for a second.

Devin chuckled beside you. “That good, huh?”

You turned to him, still chewing, and without thinking, you grabbed his wrist and pressed the pastry into his hand. “You have to try this.”

He hesitated for a split second—because he wasn’t much of a sweets guy—but then he let you guide his hand, taking a small bite where your fingers had just been.

He chewed, his expression unreadable for a moment before he nodded slowly. “Damn.”

“Right?”

He huffed out a laugh, licking a stray crumb off his bottom lip before leaning in, close enough that his voice was just for you. “See? I know what I’m doing.”

You shook your head, grinning, your heart aching in the best way.

“You are so whipped for me,” you murmured, teasing but utterly affectionate.

Devin didn’t even hesitate.

“Yeah, I am.” His voice was soft, sure. No denial, no defense. Just the simple, easy truth.

Because he was. And he’d do it all again tomorrow, just to see you smile like that.

[maxdibert]

I wished lily wasn't the reason for Severus' loyalty. The revelation of his love for her (platonically or romantically) was truly important. You have the incident that kickstarted the prophecy. Severus' switch to the order. Voldemort giving Lily a chance to choose. Severus playing an important role in the second wizarding war. All because of a friendship of two people from spinner's end.

JKR should have developed it more. I understand that she went for the twist, but when the thrill of the discovery is gone there are so many questions that are unanswered.

first, I do not like Lily as a friend. She forgives the marauders for the years of bullying, see her 'best friend' being hanged upside down and threatened to have his genitals exposed. Who the fuck does that ? Also when Harry asked if his mother knew that James still bullying Severus in the seventh year, remus answered with "she did not know too much." so she knew something...

I do not like Lily as a sister, why did she not let James know that vernon probably doesn't know anything about the wizarding world before they went on dinner. I mean wth is Petunia supposed to say to Vernon ? "Oh yeah my sister is a witch and she went to this magical school". Not the best way to make a men fall in love with you. Is Petunia even allowed to tell Vernon all of this under the secrecy law? (I'm aware that restaurant scene is not canon, but that's what I thought when I read it on the website).

I don't like the way she uses her other friends opinion of Severus and their friendship, who clearly don't like Severus, as an argument to why Severus should stop hanging out with his Slytherin friends. Why are your friends even discussing Severus?

Also, I don't like the way she idolize Albus Dumbledore. Severus' got bullied for years, and Dumbledore did nothing. Severus was nearly killed by a werewolf and Dumbledore made Severus swear to never talk about it. What did he do, he made James head boy. Yeah if that happened to me and this man was the leader of the order, I might have asked for the death eater sign up too. Ridiculous.

By making his love for her so pure and selfless, it makes me wonder why he loves her so much. We know nothing, and the things we know just make me go "bruh really.... her ? .... she would not spare a thought for you if your funeral was announced in the papers".

Listen I was never part of the cool kids, so perhaps I don't understand her. But then again, for a Gryffindor, she really is a social coward.

It makes everything so bloody tragic. I sometimes wonder if I'd wished Severus stayed a death eater in the story but then one with guilt because he started caring about the professors and children through the years of working there.

It was honestly funny to read all of this because it feels like listening to myself when I was 16 or 17. I mean, even before I was a fan of Severus—because that came with time—I had a pretty neutral opinion of the character. I didn’t dislike him because I understood his motivations, but I wasn’t particularly a fan either. And if I wasn’t a fan, it was precisely because of everything you’re talking about.

A lot of people say Severus was an obsessive incel who spent 24/7 thinking about Lily, but I never saw it that way—I just thought he was an idiot. I thought, Wow, what an absolute moron. Like, did he really sacrifice his entire life for a woman who was actually kind of a piece of shit? Did he really give up everything to protect the son of his bully and the woman who married said bully? Could you be a bigger loser? No, seriously, could you be more pathetic? Because that woman not only let him be bullied for years, she almost smiled at his bully while he was publicly stripping him. She practically blamed him for her lack of popularity because she was seen with him, and somehow, he was supposed to be grateful. She gaslit him when he tried to tell her about what his abusers were doing to him. She literally told him he should be grateful to one of his abusers. Like, this woman was a piece of shit who was just looking to climb the social ladder. She loved being Gryffindor’s golden girl, just like she was the golden girl back home, and she hated that she had a weird, ugly, nerdy friend with questionable associations who tainted her image. On top of that, she loved having Gryffindor’s rich, pureblood king fawning over her because it was yet another symbol of status—but, of course, she had to play hard to get because good girls always resist bad boys.

That’s how I saw Lily Evans (and honestly, how I still see her), and it seemed absurd to me that Severus would have given so much for her when, honestly, I would have told her to fuck off. Like, if I were Severus, I would’ve dropped her the first time she gaslit me about my abusers. But if for some reason I had still stuck around after that, the moment I saw her almost smiling at my main abuser while he was stripping me in public, I would’ve beaten her so hard she’d have lost all her teeth.

That was my mindset when I was younger, before I learned a lot of things. Back then, I didn’t know what toxic friendships were or how easy it was to fall into them. I had no idea what codependency was, nor did I understand what an attachment figure was. At the time, I grasped some of these concepts vaguely, but over the years, I not only understood them more deeply but also experienced them—both personally and through people around me.

As I got older, I realized that the fact that Severus came from a home where he felt terribly unsafe, and that Lily represented his first safe place as a child, played a huge role in his cognitive development and psyche. In some way, he was always going to be grateful to her for probably being the only good thing in his childhood. And those childhood attachments are some of the strongest and hardest to break because they’re so deeply ingrained in a person. On top of that, Lily was his friend for years, during key developmental stages, and he probably didn’t see all of her flaws—he had her idealized. He grew up in a house where violence was the norm, and his classmates at Hogwarts also treated violence as normal. Lily was different, so he simply wasn’t capable of recognizing problematic behaviors that anyone with a healthy upbringing and healthy role models would have seen immediately. Because he didn’t have those things.

We’re not talking about a character who had examples of healthy behavior, affection, or attachments—we’re talking about someone who had the opposite. So, of course, he wasn’t capable of seeing anything bad in Lily. To him, she was the good in his environment. She was his moral compass, a kind of lighthouse to guide him when he wanted to know if he was heading in the right direction. It’s even possible that he never blamed her for marrying James, and instead, just thought it was normal that she gave in—because she was so good that she could see the good in even horrible people like James. Or maybe he believed James had somehow deceived her.

Severus’s attachment to Lily is kind of like a child who idolizes their mother and is completely unable to see her flaws—even when she acts like a complete asshole—because she’s their mother. And if she does something bad, well, it’s probably the fault of the people around her, not her. That’s exactly how Severus saw Lily.

When I understood all of this, I felt like I finally understood the character and his motivations better. I think it’s important to look at it not from our perspective as outsiders forming opinions, but from his perspective as someone inside the situation—someone who was emotionally dependent on her and either didn’t see the truth or didn’t want to see it.

Over the years, I’ve toned down my discourse about Lily, but my opinion of her hasn’t changed all that much from when I was a teenager. The only difference is that now I rationalize it better. But I still think she was a self-centered social climber. The only thing that’s changed is that before, I just thought she was a shallow, frivolous person—now I give her a little more credit and think her behavior was based on an inferiority complex stemming from her working-class background and her Muggle heritage.

But that doesn’t change the core of the issue. And honestly? I think she and James Potter were a perfect match—two absolute assholes who deserved each other. In fact, I’ve never been bothered by Jily because I’ve always thought they belonged together. Equally insufferable.

[oh-no-its-bird]

This comment on the recent One Step Three Steps chapter possessed me and I ended up doodling Ichigo in one of those cute bo-peep dresses

This whole thing is made cuter by the fact that Ichigo's mother, Keiko, is in fact one of the clans sheep headers.

I am obsessed w the idea of the Hatake having sheep. I need it in my life. The Hatake wolves and their little known sheep,,, They are quite possibly the best protected sheep in all of the elemental nations, constantly surrounded by wolves (some summons, some normal wolves) who know to keep them safe

I can feel myself starting to itch with the urge for a Hatake lore dump so actually, that is what we are doing now. Sorry not sorry, I have too many thoughts and opinions to not take this opportunity to ramble now that I've found myself here

In the warring states, the Hatake were farmers-- they interacted with other clans very little because in general, everything they needed, they made or grew for themselves, Including wool products.

They would collect the wool in the summer, spend spring and fall preparing it to spin-- cleaning it, sorting it, dying it, etc. Then in winter, when there was little work to do compared to the rest of the year, they'd begin to weave. Blankets, tapestries, clothes, etc.

The wool is distributed among those who wish to weave based on a mix of merit and favor. The Hatake themselves are a very communal bunch, sharing pretty much all of their tools and resources, and their small size only makes them closer.

So, when it's time to hand out wool, the finer wool goes to those with the skill to make something truly great out of it. Then the slightly less as good wool goes to the next in line, and so on.

There's a whole weaving hierarchy within the clan, with some doing it just for fun and to kill time (and thus being given the more bottom of the barrel yarn) while others spend all year planning to make things intending to sell for the clan to earn coin (and then those people are given the better quality yarn)

I'm actually going to expose myself here, take something I wrote for a possible far in the future Here Before and After Me chapter, from what is supposed to be the Hatake's introduction:

Instead, Haruka was busy poking through the thick blankets presented to her. Piled up high on a wheelbarrow, the labor of love of so many hands over the winter. "Hoo, the weaving this year really is spectacular. I'm almost tempted to say we shouldn't sell them." She ran her hand across the thick pelt of a blanket lined with rabbit fur. Keiko's work, she recognized instantly. 'Good shit,' as the kids say. Besides her, Tetsuo, her young chosen heir, pet a blue and brown quilt thoughtfully.   "They could make for an impressive gift, if we're ever in the position to have to give one." "As good an excuse as any to keep one or three." Haruka chuckled, picking a more intricate blanket out of the pile and holding it up to admire its pattern.

^ When winter is done, everyone who made something will donate at least one thing they've made to an overall collection, which is then sorted through and (usually) sold.

(With occasional exceptions to save more impressive works to keep as a clan treasure, or future gift or bribe if they need one)

He sorted through them, trying to separate by quality and method of craft. But, seeing as they all shared space on the same wheelbarrow, there was really only so much separation he could do. "Ugh, Tsuki." Tetsuo cursed under his breath, picking out a tapestry carefully embroidered with near hypnotic spirals that seemed to go on forever. "We can't sell this, it'll end up cursing someone." He tossed the supposedly cursed tapestry over a shoulder, burrowing through more thick sheets before he paused. A disgruntled expression passed over his face as he plucked out an already tattered blanket, more bundle of half-burnt rope loosely woven together than anything. "Who let Sora donate to the pile again? She was supposed to be banned, after last year's disaster." When he examined it closer, it seemed like it was made only from scraps of the thick wool they'd spun specifically for their winter weaving. At least no one had given her anything valuable to destroy then. It joined the spiral tapestry slung across his shoulder. "Daisuke, at least, as good as always." He noted, picking up a thick weave of color. Seeing how brightly colored this year's project was, suddenly he understood why the man's hands had been dyed so thoroughly for most of the winter months. Although... Tetsuo brought the blanket up to sniff and then made a face. "Ugh, we'll need to wash out the tobacco smell. His nose really must be failing him, to have left it this strong."

^ quality will vary, and so you'll also have different works that get disqualified from being sold. (And, inevitably, some people who have been told to stop putting their disaster creations into the pile.)

The Hatake's weaving being really high regarded and high quality,,,, them doing something to the wool when they treat it that makes it extra good,,, I need it,,

Anyways, just. The Hatake and their sheep. I need it. There's so much potential there, like. From aesthetics to references of the relationships between sheep and wolves, and beyond.

I love it !!! Give those wolf people some sheep to protect.

[syrupmap]

I have been thinking about this for months. And now this post is popping up in my reblogs again. So I thought I'd write down some of my thoughts on this.

For his sixth birthday, (this might have been just after his mother died) little Benton wanted to play in the mud with a toy bulldozer. But he got a book. Was he even able to read at six? Did he at least get a book with fun pictures?

For his seventh birthday, he asked for a go-kart. Instead, he might have gotten Huckleberry Finn. For his eighth, he asked for a Johnny Seven. Maybe he got On Civil Disobedience or The Little Prince. At nine, he just wanted a guppy. He could have been handed On The Rights of Men or To Kill a Mockingbird instead. When he turned eleven, he probably put another book in his toy box and realized it didn’t contain a single toy at all.

Just books. Seditious reading material he calls it. So, banned books? Revolutionary manifestos? Things too big for the mind of a boy who's not even a teenager but given to him anyway, because his grandmother decided he didn’t need to play. He needed to learn.

And it’s sort of funny until you picture it... A little boy sitting on the floor, turning The Social Contract over in his hands, wondering if he should rip up the papers and fold them into a model airplane.

A kid who never crashed a go-kart and got scrapes and bruises, never launched a plastic missile from a Johnny Seven while dramatically yelling and fake dying. Who would he even fake go to war against? He never named a guppy something ridiculous and cried when it died (but Benton, one single guppy? In a traveling library in the freezing cold? I must agree with his grandmother on this one).

Little kid Benton wanted to play and was told, no, you get this instead.

But the person who did this to him wasn’t cruel. She was trying to make him strong, heroic, like she was. When a fire surrounded her schoolhouse, she waded into a freezing river, held onto a burning tree, and kept the children alive. The heat melted her hair and burned her skin, but she didn’t let go.

She raised him to hold on, no matter how much it burned. And now, years later, here he is, in the middle of City Hall, filibustering into the night, gripping that podium like it's the last tree standing in a fire, refusing to sit down, refusing to shut up, because this is what she taught him to do.

And maybe she was right. Maybe the books were exactly what he needed. Maybe they made him the kind of man who could stand alone in a room full of power and not blink. They made him into a hero.

But that boy with no toys is still in there, somewhere. And he never learned how to let go.

“I never give up, it's not in my nature.”

This also made me think about his Christmases. And how he didn't really get to spend a lot of time with his dad. And how that also shaped him. And about how he's even a bit too intense for Bob Fraser. How his dad is proud of him, but also finally sees what this has done to his son (the branch that cannot bend must break).

Bob: So what are you hoping to get these wise men to do?

Fraser: Their duty.

Bob: Theirs or yours? You know, son, not everyone thinks the way you think, not everyone has your dedication, your commitment, your, your, well, frankly, your rigidity.

Fraser: I'm only doing what you taught me.

Bob: Well I've learned a few things since I died.

Fraser: Such as?

Bob: Well, I wish I'd spent more Christmases with you. And the branch that cannot bend must break.

---

Fraser: Ray, just think about it, two good men, one who should be accorded the respect due his age, one little more than a boy. They are frightened. They're frightened and ashamed. And they've good reason to be frightened. They don't think they can stand up to the Warfields of this world. Well I can. And I will.

---

Fraser: Do you think I'm being selfish and single-minded?

Bob: Oh, you're more than that son. You're obsessive, overbearing, possibly even arrogant.

Fraser: Well, thanks a lot dad, that makes me feel a whole lot better.

Bob: But you've been right.

Benton Fraser's birthday wish list

Age 6: toy bulldozer

Age 7: go cart

Age 8: Johnny 7

Age 9: guppy

Received: the most seditious reading material available through mail order

[advocaado]

Have you ever seen a woman so beautiful you cried?

[psychomusic]

induced to me by my contemporary art exam AND a rewatch of rebels after years that. got me into sabezra unexpectedly AND i updated krita and there were many new brushes i wanted to try

refs (IF U CAN PLS HELP ME FIND THE ORIGINAL COSPLAYERS i can't find anything EDIT: found them!! they're starwars_irl on insta and @rebelartistwren / lionesscosplay on insta. thank you guys <3) and ✨colored version✨ under the cut

i can't find themmmmm I've been looking for 2 days but all i found were uncredited reposts

anyway they look amazing

i really wanted to try greyscaling but I'm not sure it looks good. idk. + while i was making it i was listening to i love you by fontaines d.c. (GREAT SONG FROM A GREAT UNDERRATED BAND) and. the grey fit into that mood much better

also two versions without the sketch lines. where ezra looks happier even if they're uglier

[obsidianmichi]

The crazy part about Star Trek Online is that it's stuffed full of cameos and missions that repeatedly star characters from the main cast of every major Star Trek show except, I think, Enterprise, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks.

Like you can go on a fully voiced adventure with Michael Burnham and Seven of Nine in her Fenris Rangers era to decide whether the Excalbians will embrace good or evil and fight Seven's evil simulation created body double.

Worf, voiced by Michael Dorn, Worf is in the major Iconian missions and a central figure for Klingon players as they shoot up the ranks.

Martok, voiced by John Garman Hertzler Jr. (rescue him from the Tzenkethi and go on so many missions together as random space adventures, and he's just like he is in DS9.)

Almost the entire cast of Deep Space Nine, including René Auberjonois's final voicework as Odo before his passing, the same for Aron Eisberg as Nog, Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys, and there's an entire episode where you play as Quark and his Ferengi friends stealing from Iconians. Even Salome Jens pops up as the Female Changeling to play a villain in the Gamma Quandrant arcs. Plus, Chase Masterson got in ahead of them all to chew through the scenery as Leeta's Mirror counterpart, Admiral Leeta!

Levar Burton as Geordi LaForge!

Janeway and Mirror Janeway voiced by Kate Mulgrew. (Mirror Janeway is a Borg Queen!)

Denise Crosby as my Romulan main's new adopted mother, Empress Sela and her mother, Natasha Yar. There's also Tuvok (my love!), Tom Paris, Harry Kim, Seven of Nine, Jason Isaacs voicing Prime Gabriel Lorca (!!) in the Discovery missions, Tilly and my much beloathed nemesis Mirror Tilly, Stamets, and Michael Burnham. Most recently we've gotten Mirror Wesley Crusher and Mirror Doctor Crusher during Picard's third season, and Ezri Dax in the latest episodes.

There's also Leonard Nemoy, who voiced the major exploration sections and Fed character level ups in the initial game but that's been in at launch.

It's honestly impressive. Every time I turn around it feels like another Star Trek alum is lending their voice to the game. Star Trek Online is somehow the most blessed and the most cursed tie-in game in existence. The dream and the hellscape for Star Trek fans.

Also, the space combat is genuinely really fun.

[itspileofgoodthings]

.

[bereft-of-frogs]

I finally did it, I asked someone on reddit WHY they think Indara faked her own death in the first episode. Because I don't see any evidence of it and idk I just don't get the sense they'd throw out that much of a curve-ball without any foreshadowing? I feel like she'd definitely be coming up more. They almost never mention her except in the list of targets/the bit where Jecki is arresting Mae. But this theory keeps popping up and it's on my list of 'things that would tank the ending for me' if she turned out to have faked her death in some bizarre 5D chess match that hasn't been telegraphed in any way in the text. It's definitely way more foreshadowed that one or more of the witches is alive (see: 'my mother could do that' from last episode).

I get too wanting more Jedi Master Carrie-Anne Moss, but I think she's really just going to be in the second flashback episode and I'll take what I can get even if that ends up being a combined total of like 20 minutes of screentime XD

[randomnameless]

Typing about the best wildlife scholar made me realise something -

We know Dheginsea's extremist isolationist and non-interventionist policies were motivated by his wish to stop the propagation of wars, or at least, not to create a situation where the entire continent would be engulfed in War, else Ashera would wake up and erase the population.

Which is what he ultimately believes happened - that's why we fight against him in FE10, because the plot is stupid and cannot have Yune tell him "hi! We were woken by Galdr, Ashera mistakingly believes the inverse!" before his ultimate defeat.

But thinking more about it -

The Three Heroes (tfw Lehran's not part of the gang) made a pact with the Goddesses : they had to ensure 1k years of peace else they would stone Humanity. If they wake up in 1k years and the world is in chaos, they would stone it. If not, then kumbaya.

If they wake up before those 1k years due to war, the world is stone. If they are awoken by Galdr, they should, uh, talk to each other to decide what to do.

To Dheginsea, the only person who could sing the Galdr of Release, Lehran, lost the power to do so when he lost his abilities as a Laguz : ergo, without any possibility to wake the Goddesses up with Galdr, the only way to avoid Ashera's judgment was to avoid wars for 1000 years, even if it means... well, ignoring people suffering and letting them die at your doorstep.

So, Dheginsea, if he revealed the truth about Lehran, would have started a war against Beorcs (there's no way Laguz who know the truth will accept the status quo that if they live too closely with Beorcs they die), and without Galdr : Ashera wakes up "with war" and stones everyone.

If he intervened like Lehran wanted, and had Goldoa stomp Begnion/Beorcs who enslaves Laguz? Ashera wakes up "with war" and stones everyone, since she can't be waken up with Galdr anymore.

Hell, if Dheginsea terminated Ashnard and Daein as he planned too after losing Rajaion and Almedha (what FE10 tells us... but can we seriously believe this when in FE9 he dgaf about the situation?), again we have the same situation : Ashera wakes up due to war and stones everyone.

The only reason why the cast "won" and Tellius isn't stoned anymore is because unbestknown to Lehran, Dheginsea and well, everyone in Tellius, Lehran's branded descendants (who conveniently weren't all wiped out!) can actually sing the Galdr of Release and release Yune, who can circumvent the "Ashera wakes up with war and stone everyone".

-> When Lehran lost his powers and couldn't act as an alarm anymore, the only way to "wake the goddesses before 1k years happen" is with war and their judgment would be to kill everyone.

So Dheginsea had to grit his teeth and accept every fucked up thing that happened in Tellius because Lehran - due to this world's crappy mechanics - cannot "wake up the Goddesses" earlier and ask them to withold their judgment : if there is a war they will kill everyone - they must endure for 1k years, else Tellius is doomed.

Tl;Dr : TFW "make love not war" backfired in Lehran's case, and completely fucked up the covenant they had with the goddesses and if Miccy chocked on a pretzel, Lehran's love for Altina (aka him losing his powers) would have led to Tellius being wiped out even without his own participation.

[yellowlaboratory]

I have come to say chapter 17 was everything it was too good. Like I love my babies so much. Then bonding and that kiss had me spiraling. The only thing, I’m son nervous for what’s to come because there are three chapters left and there probably be more drama and angst. I’m preparing myself to cry.

Anyways I love love love your writing and am so excited for chapter 18. Is it coming out anytime soon??

Also final thing to say, you excited for part 2? Any theories or predictions? I’m so excited I genuinely can’t wait!!

Have a wonderful day!!

this is so sweet!!!! thank you so much 💛💛💛

there are only a couple more chapters left and they are probably going to be some of the longest chapters of the fic. there's a lot I want to cover before we wrap this up. and I'm not going to tell you there won't be angst. :)

as for chapter 18.... well, all I'll say is that it literally ripped my psyche to shreds, but .... it's almost there. I need to go back and forth about a few things and then have my beta reader look at it but it shouldn't be too long now.

and I am SO EXCITED for part 2!!!!! worried nervous filled with doubt and thrilled as well!!! my opinion of part 1 is INCREDIBLY high. i think the one thing I'll say is that I left part 1 feeling like the pates really understood what I loved about the characters and the show, and as long as I can confidently say that about part 2, then I'll be thrilled. I'm not super good at making predictions, mostly cause the pates throw shit at me that I could never expect, but I'm thinking we'll see a non-zero amount of jiara and cleope angst and I'll be eating it up.

also please for the love of god someone please please please get pope and sarah out of that rat infested hole in the ground.

[a-treatise-on-velociraptors]

Whenever people call the existence of female characters "woke" I just remember when I was a kid and I goddamn wished there were more female characters. Jedi, transformers, any 'boy' property I liked I wished there were more girls. I promise you, little girls don't see Rey and think "oh wow look at the feminist girlboss propaganda what a mary sue", little girls look at Rey and go "holy shit she's so cool"

[phoenixiancrystallist]

"You've flowers in your hair," Astra said, and Susurrus turned to her, a wide grin on his face.

"A helm fit only for the bravest and most noble of warriors, milady," he said, melodramatic and overflowing with delight. The child riding on his shoulders giggled as she wove yet another blossom into his coppery locks. Astra found herself staring, in part admiring the contrast of the delicate, slightly squished blooms against the regal lines and planes of his handsome face. And yet, she also found herself captivated by the way he interacted with the children. Susurrus was the most powerful combative mage in the armies under her command, ruthless and efficient on the battlefield. Yet here he was, children dangling off of him and a smile fit to outshine the sun swallowing his hazel eyes.

Another child hit him at the knees and he tumbled, careful and controlled so as not to harm the little ones that clung to his arms. Astra did not see how it was done, but despite no less than two gangly, uncoordinated bodies weighing each limb down, Susurrus managed to flip the child riding his shoulders so that she landed on his chest. His rich, sonorous laughter rang around the plaza like bells, accompanied by the raucous laughter of the children.

"I've been felled!" Susurrus said through his laughter, and the young lad who'd downed him leapt onto him, a battle cry in his throat that sent the other children scrambling. "Have mercy, have mercy!"

Astra found herself giggling as the other children ran past her, dispersing themselves around the plaza and hiding in garden beds and flowering bushes to prepare for a merry game of chase. But she had need of Susurrus, and so clapped her hands to get the children's collective attention focused on her.

"Come along now," she said, "don't you all have lessons to attend?"

The unanimous whine that met her words forced her to smother a smile. But a stern glance from Susurrus sent them scattering to the winds, off to seek some other entertainment for the day. Astra offered her hands to Susurrus to help him up, marveled at the warmth and gentleness in them belied by the rough calluses and scars he'd earned through battle.

"Bad news?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair. Each flower dislodged was gathered and carefully cradled in his free hand, held tenderly so as not to crush them.

"Nothing we hadn't anticipated," Astra assured him, even as her eyes tracked a delicate, yellow, star-shaped blossom. He noticed her attention on the bloom, and reached out to tuck it behind her ear. Though the gentle smile he gave her held a hint of harsh steel underneath, Astra breathed easier to see it.

[martianbugsbunny]

it makes me inexpressibly sad that the person who comes home isn't going to be Hera's little boy, that's gonna be a whole grown man there and that's time they can never get back; that's time he's going to probably have been very lonely for, time she had a constant hole in her heart for. He had to finish growing up without Hera. The same boy who left her isn't the same man who's going to come back to her.

my little soldier boy, I need you home

brave soldier boy, come marching home