#Just some acknowledgement. Instead of seeing 'no one cares about that stuff' given to other people who ask about stuff that /I/ cared about

[thoughtvoid]

I don’t know why I bother trying to reach out to the general public of my main fandom. I put in so much time and energy to provide things that I myself had been looking for when I first delved in, but no one else appreciates it, and there’s so much to do that my motivation just can’t keep going. Then it becomes a long term cycle of falling off -> play catch up and work again.

All I want is to know people are interested or care about what I’m doing. All I asked was for any input on what anyone else would like to see, so that my mass of workload could be fragmented into smaller, more manageable parts.

...Guess it’s another day of chipping away and then playing games to get some feeling of accomplishment.

[barleyo]

tw: stepcest/non-con/misogyny | nsfw under cut

older stepbro leon! who became a shut-in after his little sis left for college.

he can't help but feel anger and jealousy at her. how dare she leave him behind? going off to college to party and get wasted without him? getting a degree? sure, he acts like he's proud of her, but deep down he's pissed that she's going off to make something of herself while he's stuck at home with their parents.

so what does he do?

instead of actually trying to better himself and his life, he stays in his room all day, stewing in his own depression. hell, it's a lucky day if he even gets out of bed. your parents are shocked on the rare occasion when he gets up to take his meals outside of his bedroom.

older stepbro leon! who spends his days lost on his phone, scrolling through porn and twitter all day long. what's the point of doing anything else? nothing brings him more joy than scrolling through video after video. gangbangs, glory holes, hardcore, rough, bondage, piss, spit, orgies: he's seen it all. but what he enjoys most is step bro x step sis stuff. sick fuck.

he tried not to think much about it, he didn't want to acknowledge how weird it was. so, he shoved it down, bit his tongue, and continued his endless scrolling.

hey- that chick kinda looks like you. same hair. same eyes. same tits.

jackpot.

older stepbro leon! who can't help but stay awake at night wondering what you're doing at college. you must've turned into some scholarly, uptight bitch, he thinks. probably getting stuffed by stupid, hot frat guys. probably forgotten all about the family at home, about him. what happened to his sweet little sister?

leon's found that ever since you left, he's gained a certain distaste for women. could be a coincidence, but his outlook on girls fell just as his porn intake rose. hm.

women are liars, now. lying, cheating, stupid whores. not you though, you're a smart whore. the best whore.

older stepbro leon! who finally finds a bit of purpose when he hears you're coming home for christmas break. he can't wait to see you, to see how you've changed. maybe he was wrong, maybe you're still the same sis he's always known.

wrong.

now you have this pestering boyfriend following you around as soon as you get home. some hot chad who you've probably given it up to already. why him? why not leon? he'd take better care of you, he knows it! with all the porn he's watched, he's basically a pro.

you've grown, too. smarter. bitchier. you fuckin think you know everything now, huh? think you're better because you made it out of this shit hole, leaving leon behind? better because you aren't sucking your parents dry and still leeching off of them? fuck you.

older stepbro leon! who teaches you a lesson once that douchebag boyfriend of yours has finally fucked off.

he catches you reading in your room, pissing him off even more. who fucking reads? just watch porn and lose yourself in social media like the rest of us, he thinks.

he walks into your bedroom and sits on your bed, too close for comfort. you shift away from him. that makes him mad. you wouldn't have distanced yourself from him before you left, you were practically attached to his hip, but now you want to be uppity about it? you think you're better than him.

older stepbro leon! who throws himself onto you, mumbling about how lonely he'd been without you, how he'd missed you, and most importantly, how much he wanted you.

he said he wanted you, in between forcing his lips on yours, gnashing teeth against teeth. he wanted you because you weren't like the other sluts. you weren't some stupid whore, you were his sister. you must've just forgotten that while you were off. don't worry, he'll remind you.

older stepbro leon! who slips one hand into your pants and places his other over your mouth. until you bit him. then his hand made its way to your throat. girls liked that, right? the sluts in porn always liked it, so it must be true, right?

older stepbro leon! who bottomed out immediately after putting his dick in you. he got lost in your warm cunt so quickly, got so drunk off of you. you felt better than he had ever imagined. now, if only you would stop your damn crying. then it would be a true dream come true.

older stepbro leon! who came so deep inside of you that you were bound to get pregnant! hopefully that boyfriend of yours didn't convince you to get on birth control. leon needed to see the growing proof that you were his. a growing baby would be just right.

older stepbro leon! who smirked when he felt you desperately clench around his cock. you came, so of course you liked it! his internet incel buddies were right: all girls want to be taken control of. it all made sense now! you were like all other girls, you wanted exactly what they wanted. you were a hot little warm hole with rape fantasies just like any other dumb broad. what kind of brother would leon be if he didn't give you what you needed?

older stepbro leon! who flooded the incel forums with information about what he had gotten up to with you. he felt like a king amongst all those small-dick cucks. they all praised him, and asked all about you. how tight were you? what'd you look like? did you squirt or cream? and he answered, pimping out your information like it was nothing. anything to make it feel more real. so what if all those guys were probably fucking their fists thinking about you? they couldn't have you. they never would, so leon would let them enjoy whatever their mind would come up with.

because at the end of the day, you were his. no matter what your little boyfriend said, no matter how leon's mind tried to say it was wrong.

you were his. and christmas break still had a few weeks left.

[chevelleneech]

Y’all be sounding so well thought out with some of y’all’s analyses of Jimin and Jungkook’s actions and words, that I be nodding along and ready to click reblog, but then y’all swan dive off into the most biased and ridiculous takes.

Thinking any of us can sus out when JM and JK have hurt each other on any level deeper than what we see, especially moments where they are only seen laughing and smiling on screen, is crazy talk. I have said this before too, about the idea that they suffer from serious jealousy at times.

We do not know that and have no reason to think that if they’re together, jealousy plays any part in their relationship. It is a natural reaction and I’m sure has made appearances, but a lot of y’all think they get jealous over other members, and assert it as a fact. A lot of y’all think they are hurt when the other does this or that with their other friends, and assert it as a fact.

Crazy.

Giving your opinion on surface level stuff, and then saying, “Maybe” something else might be going on is fine. But the way y’all be like “I do think he was hurt for (insert reason), and that’s why he did (insert thing).” doesn’t make any sense to me, because the only reason you think he was hurt, is because you yourself need to make up a reason for why he did a thing you either don't agree with or don’t understand, and that’s not what an unbiased opinion is.

We cannot decide Jimin and Jungkook’s feelings for them, and then present them as proof of a relationship. We can only interpret what we see and hear, and discuss why it appears to point toward or against a relationship.

So I can say: “Jungkook seemingly being more annoyed at Jimin for not agreeing the pink sausage was indeed pink sausage and not ham, leads me to think he felt playfully vindicated that Jimin got it wrong instead of trusting his taste buds given how often they imply JK cooks for him. Whereas, he didn’t really acknowledge Tae being wrong, because he wasn’t as shocked Tae didn’t believe him, since it’s likely Tae simply isn’t aware of how good JK’s sense of taste is.” — Saying that keeps my thoughts separate from what actually happened, because I can’t say for certain JK felt any of those emotions nor had any of those thoughts. It just appears that way given the context.

What I can’t say: “Jungkook flinched at Jimin for not agreeing the pink sausage was pink sausage, because he cared more about what Jimin thought than Tae, and Jimin not trusting/believing him hurt him a little. So he expressed himself by flinching at him, because his instinct was to rub it in his face.” That is completely subjective, and assigns both emotions and thoughts we have no way of knowing he had or felt.

It is perfectly okay to try your best to be objective, because no one should be having completely subjective opinions on what’s going on between JM and JK, because we don’t know them on a personal level.

This is also why Tkkrs will never get me to see their side clearly. They do not operate with an as objective view point as possible. Everything on their end is subjective, because their interpretations are often based on their wants and not the reality of what is being shared with us. So it’s odd to me to see so many Jikookers veering down that route lately. You guys are wanting situations to be this or that, instead of interpreting what the situation is or appears to be.

[yanderes-galore]

Platonic older sibling of Cartman that is his opposite that tries to teach him to be a better person concept? Thanks!

Honestly, I was excited for this as it would be such a shitshow. Pardon my language but if you're reading my stuff you're atleast 16 anyways. This concept bounces between younger you and Cartman and older you and Cartman, for sibling stuff.

Note: Wow, I actually loved writing this- I wish I put more cute moments but I had to still acknowledge the fact Cartman is an ass. Probably one of my new favorite platonic concepts I did. I do not mind feedback!

Yandere! Platonic! Eric Cartman with Older Sibling! Darling

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Jealousy, Mature language, Platonic behavior, I actually made some cute moments, Family issues, Manipulation, Murder, Violence, Clingy behavior.

Your existence confuses many who meet your family immensely.

How did the first child come out fine, but the second child came out... Cartman?

It's speculated that it's because Cartman was never given proper discipline.

He's also very hard to control.

You're so nice to everyone, you help your mother, you don't try to exploit anyone.

Meanwhile Cartman does the opposite of all that and makes people eat their parents.

The only person he's really compassionate to is you.

You're were the only older kid he liked when he was younger.

He did hate that all of his friends liked you too.

"Why aren't you like your sibling, Cartman?"

"Shut the hell up!"

You look so different compared to him.

In your grade, in fact the entirety of you growing up, people were astonished you were related.

"Cartman? The little fat punk? You're related to him?"

You look like you don't get along.

Of course, your sibling relationship isn't perfect...

But you are probably one of the only ones he genuinely cares for.

There's times Cartman tries to not show he cares for you...

Yet he can't help but like your comfort.

If you're wondering... is he affectionate?

Yes... with lots of grumbling.

Cartman secretly does like your hugs and sibling bonding.

He just doesn't want anyone around to see it.

If he isn't trying to pester his friends into hanging out, he comes to you.

He's nervous asking due to his pride.

You do try to put him on the right path, feeling that's the right thing to do as a sibling.

He's a horrible person... yet he's still your brother.

You try to teach him good morals and respect...

He doesn't pick up on it.

He's only ever good to you.

He's always been a moody kid.

Yet there has been times when you were younger he was... softer for lack of a better word.

For example you were watching TV together after school, he feel asleep almost on you.

R.I.P your breathing.

It was... cute.

You didn't even bother bringing him up the stairs and instead just tucked him in there.

You do love him.

Even with you both being older, him being around 18 and you somwhere in your 20's, you still care for him deeply.

Cartman acts like he doesn't want a sibling.

Although he probably can't imagine his life without you.

Now... the yandere part?

Cartman is selfish and easily jealous.

He's still manipulative even to you.

You just know to shut him down.

Cartman doesn't want his friends talking about you.

God he'd be so fucking pissed if one of his friends complimented you.

Even more so if you started talking with someone like Scott Tenorman.

You mention that man's name?

Cartman is actually screeching about it.

Cartman is very protective/possessive about his older sibling.

Ever since he was young he clung to your leg in public if you were doing something.

Which felt like you were being weighed down.

Your mother thought how Cartman feels about you is sweet.

You may have no father but she's happy you have each other.

Obviously no kidnapping in this concept.

You live with each other and he finds that really weird to do to his sibling anyways?

Murder?

Oh, well, that's an exception.

If the whole feeding people their parents wasn't a warning... then that's on you.

He'd definitely threaten, manipulate, and possibly even injure/murder those he hates around you.

He does not fuck around. Ever.

You do not get to talk to Scott, you do not get to talk to Kyle.

He hates them... that would be the ultimate betrayal!

He gets pissy at you at times and you've learned just to tolerate it.

He's screaming at you and you're just petting Mr. Kitty.

He then runs off to his room.

Thirty minutes later?

He's whining for you to come and comfort him....

That was just when he was younger, too.

When you're both older he isn't much better.

He's still giving you hugs and hating who you hang around.

Due to your childhood he's probably still clingy.

Even when you have a job and move out, kissing your mom goodbye, Cartman throws the biggest fit ever.

You took forever leaving the house that day-

"Eric... I'll show you where I live, you can visit anytime."

"NO. YOU'RE ABANDONING ME. DON'T TRY TO ACT LIKE YOU AREN'T."

Will always be a child with his behavior.

Hell, to you he's always a child since you grew up together.

Yes... he does visit.

It just takes forever to get him to leave.

Have a spouse?

He's criticizing you and them just to be an ass.

If you yell at him to stop or you'll kick him out he goes silent for awhile.

Overall, Cartman is a very jealous sibling who hates to share.

He clings to you and does like how nice you were to him, trying to correct his ways despite failing.

He loves you and wishes you two didn't have to go seperate ways...

Unfortunately he'll always be a controlling brat even if you tried to change it, you just need to know when to shut him down.

[buddiebeginz]

My question is: how did Lou get through 2020 without someone calling him out on his posts or him going through his social media to delete those problematic posts that could get him in trouble and/or disqualify him from jobs?

My guess anon is because he's just not a relevant enough "celebrity" (and I use that term very loosely when talking about him btw). For example he was on 911 before but his role was so irrelevant to the show as a whole there were people who didn't even remember right away who he was when they said they were bringing him back for s7. I even saw a few people get him confused with Gino Pesi who played Sal. And beyond 911 he hasn't acted in a lot of big name productions besides maybe SWAT and I think his role in that has been minimal especially as the seasons have gone on.

So there hasn't been this huge spotlight put on him. Even when I looked up stuff about him and his family (because his dad was pretty famous in the 70s) most of the focus has been on his dad and not him or his personal life.

It wasn't until season 7 of 911 when a lot more attention was placed on Lou, some of which was his own doing from all those cameos and other ways he kept communicating with his fans. Plus the bi buck storyline got a lot of attention so some of that spilled over onto him. Mostly though it was his fans and the chaos many of them have been wreaking. Even as much as some people don't like T*mmy and want to see Buck and Eddie together I don't think most Buddie shippers would have even cared about Lou if it wasn't for B/T fans making the 911 fandom hell.

Eventually people had enough and went looking for dirt they could dig up on Lou and came across his old insta posts. The main issue though isn't that he had old really problematic posts it's how he dealt with it after the fact. B/T stans try to say he was hacked but even if that was the case (which there's no proof he was) he should have put out some kind of statement on his insta. He should have acknowledged the old posts, taken them all down, and apologized for them. Instead he liked a tweet the day after where his fans made him out to be the victim.

Also I think he didn't delete those old posts years ago because he just doesn't care about them and likely probably still thinks they're funny. I still think it was him who sent that spitting on blind children post the night he was called out for his old insta posts. It fits in with the same brand of comedy he seemed to enjoy on his insta.

The other thing is and mind you I'm not an expert in any of this but celebrities generally have pr teams that help them deal with things like social media and help prevent them from doing anything online that could ruin their career. I'm not exactly sure how that all works with an actor as low down the totem pole as as Lou though.

Given all the things he did online over the course of s7 my guess is he didn't have a pr team or he had a shit one because he did a lot of stuff that made him look awful. Any pr team that knew what they were doing would have combed through his accounts looking for things like those old insta posts and taken them down. They also wouldn't have let him keep putting out those cameos especially after he was getting hate for calling T*mmy's racism and homophobia teasing. They certainly would have dealt with what happened on twitter that night that post about the blind children was sent regardless of what happened. I just highly doubt he has anyone working for him to worry about any of that stuff. It was far more likely that Tim and ABC told him to stop the cameos and to stop interacting with fans. This would also explain why some of those old posts are still up on his instagram because he doesn't have anyone telling him to take them down.

[being-of-rain]

73 Yards is an episode of Doctor Who. Kinda.

They just put a little horror movie in the middle of the season! And I enjoyed it! I think a big reason I'm really enjoying this season is that it's taking some big swings, trying some unique stuff. Of course I wish we had 13 episodes, but I'd rather 8 episodes that get experimental with it than a hundred by-the-numbers stories (Sorry Nick Briggs). (Sorry for the drive-by at Nick Briggs, it's just hard to resist sometimes).

This episode certainly took advantage of the supernatural available to it, as I hoped this season would. And by playing into the rules of horror (and Doctor Who is allowed to be any genre it wants,) it left a lot up to interpretation, which was very interesting and had my girlfriend and I discussing it for a while after it ended. I thought it was drawing some connection between ancient curses and right-wing politics, which is fair. And watching Ruby weaponise her ancient Welsh curse to make the prime minister resign was very funny and satisfying. I think I saw people somewhere talk about how a common thread through a lot of the situations and horrors was isolation and ostracism, which is a thread I want to pull on next time I watch it. Which might not be soon, because (as I might expect from RTD,) this was a bit bleak for me to be a common rewatch. But I love seeing people's various theories on the episode, keep 'em coming.

As for Ruby... I hate to say it, but I don't think this episode really endeared her to me more than any other. She's still a great performance by Millie Gibson (the youngest-looking 40 year old on the planet, bless this show,) and she's still a very capable protagonist. But personally, I'm just not getting anything more interesting than that from her. I'm glad the show so far hasn't been putting a crazy amount of stress on the fact she's adopted, but it hasn't given her any issues to replace that. I've seen people read some interesting stuff into her after this episode, but I didn't get any of it from the episode itself. I didn't even really know what she was thinking while she was growing old alone; you can assume 'sad,' but the episode didn't pause to give me anything more than assumptions. I should move on instead of saying this every episode, but I was hoping this ep would change my mind. Maybe she's one of the rare companions I just won't really click with. Or maybe, like Ryan, she'll become my favourite just before she leaves. Then again, aren't we getting a second companion next season? I'd love a new dynamic.

What else? Kate! She was a pleasant surprise, being as helpful as ever (sorry Kate) and making this her 10th episode! Which feels weird to say about a character who's had like 48 episodes of her own spin-off audio show. Oh but you know what else is weird to say? Kate's line "I think this timeline might be suspended along your event." What are you talking about Kate?? How would you even know that?! I assume the line's there to future-proof the episode against later Dr Who plots interfering with this one, but since when does Dr Who care about that. The line feels so out-of-place and meta (as well as kind of spoiling the ending by immediately making me think 'oh so this whole timeline is going to get undone then,') that I think they shouldn't have bothered.

Anything else to say? It felt a little weird that the episode takes a stand against the stereotype of rural Welsh people being isolated and insular by having a bunch of rural Welsh people be cruel to a nice person just because she's an outsider. Oh and they acknowledged Susan Twist's appearance in each episode then, I'm curious what that will turn into.

Speaking of season mysteries, I keep seeing the fan-theory 'they're in a TV show' turn up everywhere online. Which is a cool idea that Dr Who could pull off, but I've yet to see a single piece of convincing evidence for it. Keep coming up with bizarre and unsupported theories Who fans, don't ever change.

Oh and here's a really niche and petty complaint! I wish the show would stop using the phrase 'perception filter'. I think when it was first used, in series 3 I think, it was about something relatively specific, technology that Time Lords use to make something not draw attention (unless attention is drawn to it). But since then the phrase has been rolled out for shape-changing, invisibility, natural abilities as well as technology by any species under the suns, it can affect your memories, and hey now magic Welsh curses use it too. Personally, I think it's lost all meaning and feels a lot more like cheap and lazy writing than worldbuilding.

Okay! Those thoughts turned into me saying I loved the episode then listed a bunch of very petty complaints. But I did love it! More magic please. Maybe slightly happier one.

I'm not sure there's anything in the second half of this season I'm really hyped for, but after enjoying the first half a lot, I'm curious what'll turn up!

[sunwukongssuccessor]

You have a very good understanding of Sun Wukong and Macaque, I can tell by how amazing your writing is! Have your ever thought about doing a character analysis of those two? I’m asking because I have ideas for LMK fics and wanted to try and keep them as in character as possible and something like that would help me and a lot of other writers out there!

Anonymous asked: Sorry for not being specific! If my request is too intimidating please don’t push yourself to do it! As for specifics in the character analysis of the monkeys I guess maybe a dive into their surface level personality versus true personalities, their relationship with each other and MK, and their moral compasses? I hope that helps! You can take those as you will. If you don’t want to do all of that just do what you do want to do. Thank you!

It's no problem, I'm sorry that I took so long to answer and even then it still feels kind of vague.

I think the first way of getting to understand a character is getting a grasp of how they speak, both Wukong and Macaque speak pretty casually (one of the first things that Macaque says is "Your staff kind of gives you away, dude."), as well as clear and confident. I think it helps that I can memorize and hear voices in my head so that helps in me finding a way for them to stay in character and pick what sounds most accurate, but I know that doesn't apply to everyone.

Wukong, despite how he tries to play the role of retired goofball in the beginning, being somewhat indifferent about stuff like MK's training, but he actually cares to the point it's almost self-destructive. He doesn't want MK to worry about the Lady Bone Demon, so he lies about searching for a way to defeat her as a vacation of all things. He doesn't want people to get hurt from his mistakes and such so he wants to take the brunt of it but because he didn't try asking for help/support it kind of blows up in his face and makes it worse in the long run.

Macaque is opportunistic, something of a snark about it too. ("Also, side-note: How did you not know it was me? Shadows, kinda my gimmick isn't it?") He's not just dramatic, he's downright theatrical given the shadow play episode, he didn't have to keep doing more than one show after capturing MK's friends and even points out that MK went to multiple shows with saying "Ah, you again. You must be my biggest fan." but he still took it as a chance for the attention as well as be heard in his past as indirectly as he tried to play it off before the reveal. He craves the acknowledgement and probably more.

An interesting thing I noticed with Wukong in his interactions with MK is that he's the one usually initiating physical contact with him. (Sure, some of it is a bit of invading his space but that's just kind of how he is considering he's a monkey.)

Anyone else is kind of unwelcomed(?) in the space if he doesn't really like them or know them that well, he's even surprised by the affection from MK in the episode "Destiny Fulfilled" for a hot second until it settles.

With Macaque and his interactions with people from conversation to touch, something I noticed in the split second he meets MK, he sees him up close with admiration of all things as if shocked by it before settling back. After agreeing to mentor MK, he's starts initiating physical contact as a way to seem all buddy-buddy with him, almost like they're on equal ground despite the newly formed mentorship.

After what's probably a few weeks into the training, the physical contact is less soft, almost holding MK down instead of being a support to pushing MK into a losing battle until literally punching the Monkey King's powers out of him. Physical touch was used on his terms and for his gain.

When he does a similar arm hold on Tang in "Benched" when trying to appeal to Tang in giving up and letting him get a Ring of Samadhi, he even projects his relationship with Wukong onto the whole group before acting out when it doesn't work.

Their moral compasses are pretty different, Wukong trying hard in helping MK as well as the world with it, Macaque being that he looks out for himself since that's all he has. Wukong has many enemies but that doesn't mean the world is and tries to act sweet with Ao Guang like he's a bud and totally didn't steal the pillar to his palace and made it a staff.

Macaque has to look out for himself, sees himself as the only one he can trust, all others be damned. ("Look out for number one, because if you don't, no one will.") Even if Macaque has a soft spot for someone (see MK) ("This is the thanks I get for checking in on my favorite student?" and "Hey kiddo, ya miss me?") he doesn't even see him as a potential ally, closer to amusement at best and enemy at worst. Macaque has far more enemies than allies (probably since he doesn't have any) and that reflects in how he practically hisses at the Mayor for giving him off vibes before even getting caught in the Lady Bone Demon's lackey's hold then taken hostage.

I'm sorry if this isn't the best analysis since it feels kind of all over the place but I hope it helps you in someway.

[nowis-scales]

Hinoka "Birthday" Headcanons

"Birthday" is in quotations here because these are intended to be in celebration of her birthday, but obviously, I am several days late on that. In my defence... I had longtime friends in town the weekend of her birthday, and after that I was working with kids for 40 hours a week, so... I decided we would try to approximately hit her birthday this time. I don't get to see those friends much and kids are so great but so tiring, so I hope you can forgive me lol.

Still, we got here in the end. Now we can do another round of headcanons to celebrate Hinoka!

‣ The most plain speaker among her siblings. She can put on thick layers of etiquette for banquets, but otherwise, she can’t really be bothered. That also means she’s the most likely to curse or use slang among them. It’s always a shock to new recruits in the army the first time they hear her speak so plainly, but it’s not unwelcome. She has broken the ice during more than a few difficult moments, simply by a well-timed, “Well, that fucking sucks.”

‣ Hinoka is like if a border collie was a person in the sense that she has a need to be useful pretty much at all times. If she's not being active and helping others, she gets rather restless. She needs to have a task to keep her going, lest she fall into boredom and start thinking too hard about things she probably shouldn't be thinking about. This has garnered her a bit of a reputation around Shirasagi Castle Town for being an incredibly kind and helpful young lady... and a reputation among her friends and family for being someone to watch for burnout.

‣ Not a morning person. At all. Even if she’s waking up for training, she’s going to be a real grump. Maybe not as much as Jakob, but still — Hinoka is not sunshine and roses in the morning. If anything, she's honestly kind of grumbly. There's not even really a meanness associated with it, she just has the sort of demeanour of someone who genuinely doesn't want to be bothered. If you speak to her, you're likely to only get super curt answers. She may not even acknowledge you at all and just keep going about her day. She wakes up gradually from there, of course, but before a certain hour... just consider talking to her a lost cause.

‣ She fusses over her hair like, way more than she is willing to admit. It's harder to tell because she keeps it short, but she has the same sort of hair texture as her father, so it is an uphill battle every morning to make it lie flat and proper. No matter how carefully she sleeps, she always wakes up with bedhead. Then, she has to make a whole routine of brushing and styling it just so it looks right. Too prim and proper, and she just doesn't look like herself. Too messy and lazy, and it just makes it seem like she doesn't care. It's a delicate balance that she has to achieve with her hair, but she would never admit to anyone just how much time she spends trying to get it right... Although her annoyance with Ryoma's tendency to affectionately ruffle his younger siblings' hair has given people some hints in the past.

‣ Hinoka has a tendency to talk in her sleep. Well, sort of. To be honest, she doesn't have a tendency to talk as much as she does to laugh in her sleep, but that's a bit more disturbing to people who have never heard it before. It's not even an evil laugh, either, just a regular happy fits of giggles here and there. Those who know her better tend to find it comforting instead, because that way, they know that she is having happy dreams. If she's not having a happy dream, though, that's where the talking starts... and considering Hinoka is the kind of person to have those disconnected dreams that don't really follow one central plotline, you can end up hearing her say some weird stuff to deal with the situation. And 9/10, she doesn't remember what she was dreaming about in the morning, so if you wanted to know why she had to steal the magic gyoza back from King Garon, you're out of luck.

‣ Super flexible. The girl is downright acrobatic at times, it’s impressive. She’s super bendy and can twist herself into a pretzel if need be. Most of the time, she uses her powers for good, but sometimes she likes to do something she shouldn’t be able to do just to freak Takumi out. For whatever reason, her powers of flexibility disturb him. So, like any good sibling, she uses them to tease him a bit.

‣ Between Azama and Setsuna as retainers, Hinoka has grown to be quite accepting of people's little quirks. Is she still put off by them sometimes, maybe when she's caught off-guard? Sure. But does she treat them with anywhere near the levity that others might? Not really. Once she's got a hold on something like that, she just kind of tends to roll with the punches. Odin's talking strangely? Well, she can probably figure out what he has to say, it's not that much different from courtier talk. Hayato's all fussed up about being treated like a kid? She'll just do what she used to do for Takumi around then and try and encourage him a little. That being said, however, she doesn't always have an easy time with it... if anyone knows how to handle Camilla's doting and flirty tendencies, she would really appreciate the advice.

‣ Her time spent establishing a bond of trust with her pegasus has had the unintended side effect of most animals naturally trusting her. After all, like regular horses, pegasi are also skittish. It takes a lot of time to create a bond trust with them, and make them feel like you won’t hurt them. Keeping a calm, level head is oftentimes apart of that, and now that Hinoka’s learned the skill for her pegasus, she can apply it to other animals as well. The joke’s a bit in poor taste, but Azama even joked that her ability to deal with nervous creatures is why Sakura feels comfortable talking to her in their shared letters — it’s her way of adapting to her sister’s needs, just like she would for a pegasus.

‣ No matter how she learns and grows over the course of her stories, Hinoka still just can't let herself be beaten by a Nohrian. Initially yes, it is a prejudice thing, but as time goes on, it becomes more about a friendly competitive patriotism. With so much time apart, the two countries haven't had much time to interact with one another and show off the best of each of their respective countries, so she likes to take the opportunity to show off just what a Hoshidan can do. Thankfully, as her intentions purify themselves, so too do those of the Nohrians, and she tends to inspire a spirit of friendly competition as their truce goes on!

‣ Has serious trouble depending on others. She is ferociously independent and often insists upon it, disliking asking for help or being seen failing in any way. Given Hoshido's history with sexism, her position as a warrior, and her place in the public eye... She knows that some will look to her as a perfect representation of all women. If she is to admit defeat or ask for help in front of others, then she is more likely to be perceived as weak. After years of fighting to be where she is, she is far too proud to step back now. As a result, she can tend to push herself too hard, regardless of whether she will actually reap any benefits from doing so.

[horizon-verizon]

I had a legitimate question/complaint that I wanted to send you and I'm still going to do so but while I was thinking about it something else occurred to me and I wanted to share it but I wanted to tell you something first.

The change in Rhaenyra and Laenor’s relationship is the ONLY change I am willing to wholeheartedly accept because it was a wonderful change.

The canon versions aren’t much related to speak of. Rhaenyra has her reasons for not wanting to marry Laenor and at one point she makes a homophobic comment and Laenor did the bare minimum by showing up to a couple of events and visiting so he could say “oh yeah, that baby is definitely mine🤭 Can we call him Joffrey?☺️” (which still means he recognized them as his own and they were legally Velaryon)

But in the show Rhaenyra and Laenor quickly create a mutually beneficial partnership, Rhaenyra cares for Laenor very clearly during 1x05 trying to reach him and I interpret her expression while they are getting married as her acknowledging Laenor’s pain, Laenor is obviously much more present in the children’s lives and at court, we can see a little how complicated that dynamic must have been with Laenor having the freedoms of a man and Rhaenyra being technically superior to him (and none of them seem resentful of each other!), Laenor also worries about Rhaenyra and blames himself for some of their problems (it’s not them, it’s Alicent) and failing Rhaenyra and the children. Rhaenyra in turn takes the time to assure him that she doesn't blame him, that she doesn't see him as defective or wrong.

A I have no idea where the shot came from that Laenor was uncomfortable holding Joff (I thought he was uncomfortable because of Alicent, you know, the woman who made his wife walk after giving birth and that insults him at least twice) but I don't think he is any more uncomfortable with children than most parents of that time, I would even go so far as to say that their relationship is close. We see Laenor carrying Joffrey both on the way back and when Rhaenyra leaves the court, in the second case they could have given him to a nanny but no, Laenor was the one carrying their son. Another moment I really like is the low-key shot of Laenor and Luke holding hands during Laena's funeral or the whole thing with Laenor, Rhaenyra and Harwin with the kids. There is no discomfort, children are not distant or uncomfortable when dealing with him.

In all the ways that matter Laenor claimed the children as his own, he had a pretty good relationship with Rhaenyra despite it not being sexual in nature and the problems that brought about for reasons and it is shown that he loved them.

The real queer friendship in the show was Laenor and Rhaenyra not Alicent and Rhaenyra. And that's my controversial opinion today.

I talk about Rhaenicent HERE, how it didn't and still doesn't make sense to me due to the writing not bringing enough reason as to why it exists. I also must remind people that I am not queer (I don't think bc IDK these days) or of the LGBTQAI+ community. So if I am missing something that could explain some stuff about queerness in fiction or real-life sexually-incompatible relationships, let me know, please!

I am torn about this relationship--book AND show-wise but what I am sure of is that this relationship wasn't as "mutually" beneficial as some might think. Most of it was neither of their faults, but Rhaenyra's situation vs Laenor's is enough reason for her to be resentful not just of her father but him as well. Their relationship was consequently emotionally distant from Laenor even while living in the same spaces as him for a decade. So instead of being a "sweet" thing, it was more a "bittersweet" thing.

Book!

Context for the comment Rhaenyra made against marrying Laenor ("A Question of Succession"):

"My half brothers would be more to his taste".

And Laenor naming their last child ("A Question of Succession"):

"Laenor was at last permitted to name a child after his fallen friend"

And these are when and where the V boys were born (114, 115, 117).

There are layers to each part of these quotes: Laenor is "permitted" to name his own child. More likely barred by Corlys than Rhaenyra because the first two have Velaryon-sounding names and Laenor thus has been made to push aside his first (known) great love/disconnect from his own gayness/"repress" for the sake of patriarchal-heterosexual tradition WHILE Rhaenyra's comment about Laenor reveals a parallel to the preference shown towards boys and men in her society. He would "prefer" someone else, a male, over her. Her concern is not primarily "owning" him sexually but it mirrors/parallels/reminds her that her father/patriarchy diminishing a woman's importance or decentering her for the man's centering and sociopolitical elevation. The "man" here is Viserys and Corlys.

But in the inverse, Laenor named their kid after his past lover when Rhaenyra couldn't give a Targaryen name or any name of her choosing to their last two boys.

Of course, that is a little self-centered of Rhaenyra but the bubble of resentment comes from a valid place and is not completely unfounded and she sorta has to be bit more self-centered...more tragic for them both.

And Laenor naming their last child after his dead lover when he's supposed to keep his relationships a secret for the better of their kids if not for himself is also sort of self-centeredness. Again, when Rhaenyra seemingly couldn't name her own first 2 children.

In a way, Young!Book!Rhaenyra takes Laenor's sex acts (bc Westerosi do not have the conceptions of sexuality being an identity element so much as an act of pseudo-taboo sex acts) as his being another person/obligation/worry who is forced on her, not going to add to her life and not caring for her or prioritizing or supporting her to a certain degree that she needs--another "burden" aside from the one political benefit of tying the Velaryons to her...which is necessary in the first place bc she is female and Viserys pissed Corlys off.

It's like it touches on that wound girls/women carry. In-text/world, I felt it moves through Rhaenyra-the-person/character as unconscious resentment towards another instance where she cannot access what she desires and becomes stuck with a person who cannot even desire her at the very least, as she finds Harwin can later. The show actually does well enough to bring out what was likely true from the original story here when she's talking to Daemon in episode 7 about Harwin: "It felt good to be desired". To have someone be there for her.

(bc despite that injury he had that might have taken months to heal, I still think it's too strange and non-coincidental to ignore how Rhaenyra's first three kids all do not look at least like herself in coloring, not in eyes or hair...Alysanne was one Targ with Andal blonde hair and blue eyes while Alyssa had one purple eye for goodness sake! and the Targs after Daeron II's generation had traits from either one or both parents, Targ or not Targ...this is a fiction piece and while it models real life, it is less random as real life, and "85-90%" of stuff is done for a reason)

And with Laenor, as I mentioned, he must have felt pulled apart from himself--resentful of his forced marriage and further repression from such marriage to Rhaenyra, thus his staying away.

I don't think that they didn't come to respect each other or even not care about each other in the book NOR that they were horrible people for how they felt feelings and their circumstances, how they moved around each other, and probably interacted. Especially after Laenor began spending more time with Rhaenyra after their sons' confrontation with Aemond at Dragonstone.

But it never came across to me as particularly close or Laenor taking up the responsibility to those he apparently did see as a family until said family was hurt. And I have not seen anything to suggest Rhaenyra was concerningly hurtful or homophobic towards Laenor after they marry in canon. So, do we really know if she actually hated him in the original story, or thought his queerness made him less than or worthy of hate, esp with what I said about it more about expressing her frustration?

Show!

You:

But in the show Rhaenyra and Laenor quickly create a mutually beneficial partnership, Rhaenyra cares for Laenor very clearly during 1x05 trying to reach him and I interpret her expression while they are getting married as her acknowledging Laenor’s pain, Laenor is obviously much more present in the children’s lives and at court, we can see a little how complicated that dynamic must have been with Laenor having the freedoms of a man and Rhaenyra being technically superior to him (and none of them seem resentful of each other!), Laenor also worries about Rhaenyra and blames himself for some of their problems (it’s not them, it’s Alicent) and failing Rhaenyra and the children. Rhaenyra in turn takes the time to assure him that she doesn't blame him, that she doesn't see him as defective or wrong.

It seems like Rhaenyra still got the shorter end of the stick to breed a stronger sort of resentment. I think that their relationship was actually more or less the same as it was in the book, and the space they shared only affected Laenor's time spent with the kids and not time spent helping Rhaenyra elsewhere. I could argue it should have been even a little worse bc they live in the same space and Laenor is doing the same things as his book counterpart.

That unequal position, in my view, actually kept them emotionally apart enough for Laenor to not really understand Rhaenyra as a person while Rhaenyra seems to understand Laenor pretty well. To look at this doylistically, honestly, this could be a fault of the writers and the time jumps, but let's dive in.

FIRST - We have not actually seen, at any point, Laenor approach Rhaenyra to ask what's up/check-in. Any time he's there, he's there for either the most dramatic things (birth of a son and climbing the stairs), complaining, or inadvertently make her seem an anomaly (comments about breasts). At the end, again like in the book, he offers to be closer to her and focus on her and the boys...and that is the only time we see some sort of action of the sort of support Rhaenyra sees she will get from Daemon, thus her decision to have Laenor "killed".

After Joffrey Lonmouth's death, Laenor found Qarl Correy and Rhaenyra had allowed the man to be close to Laenor despite the rumors. Laenor doesn't mind and even seems to like Harwin. But unlike Rhaenyra, Laenor does not need nor want a good image as much as she does. Rhaenyra needs Laenor more than the reverse.

SECOND - In the 5th episode after Joffery's death, yes, she is acknowledging his pain but you'd have to be self-involved to a particular degree or just plain unobservant to not sympathize and acknowledge that pain...plus she knew they were together as Laenor told her and they made that a private arrangement on the beach presumably just a few days before. Finally, in that episode, she has not actually lived with him yet.

THIRD - Due to the time jump, we do not know how Laenor got to be a permanent resident in the Keep of King's Landing when he should have been at Driftmark as he is in the book before Laena's death/Vhagar's "claim". Does either Viserys or Corlys order him to stay with Rhaenyra? Did Rhaenyra order him to stay by her side with her? Did Laenor choose freely or under a nonverbal pressure from those around him and what exactly did that look like? Did he have a confrontation with his father concerning his sexuality and the image its open-secretness presents to the family and he just needed to get away from Corlys--did he and Rhaenyra bond over that? Even so, how does the court treat both Rhaenyra & Laenor, both of whom are in court with their respective lovers: Laenor being cuckolded (doesn't matter that he's gay, he's a man and "gayness" is not an identity to these Westerosi) and Rhaenyra, as the future ruler, cannot be made to be seen as weak through her husband's/partner's open "infidelities".

More Notes

Many have noted how unaware Laenor is in the show. Both are resigned, but Rhaenyra is less..."blind", I'd say, because she has to be "on" and aware of others all the time. This alone shows that they cannot be as close as some people claim, because they are not on a similar page of observation of each other or their situation.

This is Rhaenyra & Laenor says about his desire to go to war:

War is afoot again in the Stepstones, Rhaenyra. The Triarchy takes new life from its alliance with Dorne. They're waylaying ships and cargo. Qarl's been fighting there. He showed me a... ( laughing ) He showed me a sack of sapphires big as walnuts he took from the pirate he slew. Ah... After all this time, this is just what I need, a little adventure. A good, honest battle to enliven my blood again. He says there is a Tyroshi general there, a giant, they say, who dyes his beard purple and wears women's frocks. ( laughs ) A few months, maybe...

AND

I am a knight... and a warrior. And I have played my part here, faithfully... for ten years. I am owed some...

AND

Rhaenyra: You are owed nothing! For ten years, you have indulged yourself at court, bought the finest horses, drunk the rarest of wines, fսckеd the lustiest boys. This was our agreement. I have not begrudged you. But... you do not desert your post when the storm lashes. Laenor: The wise sailor flees the storm as it gathers.

Aside from me not liking how Rhaenyra's decision to go to Dragonstone is compared to what Laenor meant by leaving (bc she is doing it for the sake of family and people's lives versus him trying to abandon said family...this is not some modern tale where the newly out and thriving queer person incidentally has kids who can survive their absence or at least not have it threatened after all):

Laenor had been trying to get out of being in KL with Rhaenyra for, as he calls it, "adventure" as if he weren't already in some sort of agreement with Rhaenyra to protect those he himself decided to treat them as his own sons. If it weren't for the fact he sees those kids as his own AND that agreement before they were even born, I wouldn't 100% begrudge him. Add to the fact that, because he's a man, if he weren't so lower-ranked or actually cared for his non-trad family he could have just gone and no one would disparage him in the slightest. Her having to remind him of his promise and stop him from making comments about her body to--who is to her--a stranger while she's trying to stop herself from leaking and coming back from a council where her stepmother/former friend has tried to humiliate and undermine her the whole time -> her reminding him it was not her who put him in their position so as not for him to make it seem as if she were the one imprisoning him in the first place when he said he had the right to is itself a stack of emotional labor. It truly read to me that Laenor was trying to escape the life he has with Rhaenyra as much as he did in the book. It wasn't actually much of a real change.

At the same time, we must remember that show!Rhaenyra is a very different person from book!Rhaenyra. This is a woman who would not go to war for the throne her father gave her because her father was a man who tried to be as nonconfrontational as possible AND for a prophecy that she should have reasoned her father never would have told Aegon, of all people, about and how he took the time to drag himself out of bed for her & her kids' rights/protection in episode 8. The show unconsciously makes a more quietly repressed woman of Rhaenyra in an attempt to make her more "likable", to her own, more-avoidable detriment.

One reason why show!-her may not feel like ordering Laenor more--other than realizing his being forced like her--is the inevitability of his freedoms despite his queerness. Why make a "fuss" when it will not actually go anywhere and it will actually hurt Laenor? Another reason is by how she looks at Laenor, she feels guilt at being the person Criston was actually angry with--thus indirectly leading to Laenor losing his lover so traumatically, thus maybe trying to take it upon herself to make sure Laenor has little reason to either resent or begin to actually hate her more (bc he is both one of the only people there in her camp to keep her some sort of company aside from Harwin in some way) and/or she feels like she must take the responsibility of making him happy. Both of these can give another "responsibility" along with being a mom, the court images, Alicent, her father's social self-blindness, etc even though Joffrey's death is not her fault as much as it was Criston's. All/more eyes are on her and her behavior and she is the one having to birth a kid one minute and walk up a flight of stairs the next. And she was absolutely going to do it alone because Laenor was not there until he decided to be. She is the one who will receive the least grace or attention and thereby the most blame. This is definitely not Laenor's fault...but his using that ability to be away, it certainly adds to the burden, potentially becoming a polyp of the main problem. This is, why again, they both decide that Laenor should "die", to repeat myself.

These things are inevitably going to breed resentment from Rhaenyra and travel against Laenor, esp when he's deciding to make it that much harder without acknowledging that he is or thinking how it could be. And if she were more resentful, or really even a bit more expressive towards him than she was in the show, I do not think that is a moral flaw on her part, doesn't make her the bad guy. Not expressing your anger more often doesn't make the relationship closer/better...in fact, it shows how disconnected they are emotionally. Not only is it possible she cannot feel as if she has all the right to "too much" of Laenor after Joffrey's death and how it went down, but she nevertheless "needs to" demand "more" from him because he's still not doing much, he agreed, their kids' lives and reputations are in danger, and by the near end of epi 6 he's even trying to get out of that much. No man could really understand or appreciate all of this, but again, that distance and trying to get out of things really clinched it for me.

Just because she doesn't hate him or lash out at him, doesn't mean the resentment against him isn't there and that it isn't strong. It shows itself in her sarcasm at his asking her if it hurt; her looks at his drunken talk about her leaking and swollen breasts to Qarl Correy (how fond would one be of a person after that tactlessness because it also shows how little Laenor really minds how his words will come across to her at specific moments?); her having to make it clear to him he must stay by her side and explain to him why she must (the mental load we modern talks about is paralleled here), etc.

And just because show!her was more accomodating, doesn't make her an actually better human than her book counterpart. Same with Laenor--just because he seems like he was around more often--especially since they here share the same space--doesn't mean he is there with her because he absolutely wants to be and is performing the duty he said he would. This is what Rhaenyra was talking about after she dismissed Correy so she could demand Laenor stay.

If anything, Laenor's proximity to Rhaenyra and still not being as there as he should makes it easier for him to be closer to his sons and have a relationship of sorts with their elder selves (because in the show those kids are also older--by appearance--than their selves in the book by this time, and thus they have had more time with Laenor as their dad). It didn't bring the married couple closer so much as give Rhaenyra visible, everyday proof her husband was not her partner.

Thereby, again, it wasn't actually all that "mutual"--he didn't have to put as much energy as her and he didn't and he didn't really think of how he could...but like you said, he did more than most fathers in that the little initiative he does give is more than what most fathers in his position would give Laenor does take a bit of initiative than most men would give in his position even if they wanted to be her Prince Consort for the influence, title, and power alone. He tries.....but then that still makes me question if he actually is there by circumstance, order, or choice and how he feels about that. Still, it's not good for him, so does he, if ever, blame or lash out at Rhaneyra and how does he express that.

The show tells us "unlikely", but that doesn't seem psychologically or emotionally realistic to me. On Laenor's end, he's told he cannot be that one masculine thing--be a brave adventurer/traveling knight--because his class/station has to lead him to marry a princess who depends on his voluntary discretion the balance between security and public respect when he never asked for any of it but he's told that he's a horrible person if he doesn't do this for his ambitious father.

It is because of all this that I do not see Rhaenyra as necessarily being hateful toward Laenor in either book or the show for his sexuality as much as his not being compatible with her needs after a whole life of subtle and unsubtle constraint while acknowledging that it isn't either of their fault...until in the show Laenor was headed there.

Their kindness (to a degree) for each other and Laenor's obvious willingness to at least perform when told or encouraged certainly make things easier. It's still far from what's needed, with it not quite meeting the bare minimum.

So for me, the change that I liked was their coming to a verbal agreement for them to look for other intimacies. It could have happened in canon, but we'll never know, GRRM chose to write this like a very unreliable history book written by misogynist, homophobic, etc. "men of learning". This wasn't a dumb choice, without its own storytelling merits (there's a reason we continue to use frame narratives), or even fun to read through...it's that you're trusting your readers a lot to know what's in their hands and some are just not going to get it or want to.

[buckevantommy]

It is kind of sad that we have this interesting character in Tommy who is this new experience for Buck and yet interviews ignore that and ask about buddie buddie buddie. It’s pathetic. I am over buddie stuff. I cant bring myself to care anymore about them being together because of how rabid the hardcore bobs have been.

#letbuddiestayfriends

i know there are reporters who are shippers instead of just objectively reporting on what a portion of the fandom wants, and tbh i really don't like reading/watching those interviews (for any cast member) bc the questions are leading and we end up with this shoehorned clump of answers that feels very self-serving.

that said: i was not in the fandom pre-season 7 or even pre-tommy, i've only started watching 9-1-1 from the beginning after starting with season 7, so i have canon bi!buck and bucktommy on my mind as i make my way through for the first time. but my point is: had i watched this show before tommy came (back) on the scene i probably would've gotten on the buddie ship and wouldn't have had a problem with reporters asking such questions, it probably would've been nice to be acknowledged in the media, y'know?

but as things stand now, it feels invalidating for buck's journey (past, present, future) to gloss over the significance of this relationship that has been such an eye opener for him. 

i think the problem starts with hardcore shippers ignoring that buck is a bisexual man first and part of a gay relationship second. it shouldn't be about any ship (even with all of buck's history with eddie, and even though i adore tommy and respect and love what they're doing with buck and tommy's relationship thus far) the narrative focus should be on buck moving forward (he is a main character, so like how hen is a main character but we know karen will show up now and then tommy won't be in every episode; and even if you want buddie to get together it makes storytelling sense to not make it happen right away - although i personally am not holding out hope for it nor am i craving it, but maybe that's because i've only watched up to season 4?).

the focus should be on buck coming into himself after so long, finally finding this missing piece of the puzzle - not a person, but an innate inner truth. i hope we'll see some introspection, as well as interactions and conversations with other main and guest characters that continue to highlight the importance of his storyline: that he is a strong (former womaniser) man who realised his bisexuality in his 30s, after 6 whole seasons - that is such a marvel and it's not something that's going away. bi!buck is canon from now until forever and all the way back to the start of season 1, and that’s a fucking treat.

and yeah, tommy. tommy is so satisfying as a return character as well as one who's past is so delightfully entwined with buck's, and they suit each other so well. i'm enjoying every minute of their relationship and tommy's presence, every scrap, every mention. i want him to stick around through season 8 and beyond because the narrative works so well.

i’m doing my best to ignore the naysayers, filtering out tags and blocking folks and avoiding twitter. i know they can be noisy and it sucks, but just remember that every cast and crew member who has given interviews about tommy/lou and bi!buck and bucktommy love what’s happening. oliver and lou are so on-board with these two, and tim is so keen, so we’ll just have to keep on spreading the love for them. 

oh- and fill out that form on abc’s website expressing your love and appreciation for tommy/bucktommy/lou: 

https://support.abc.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029276332-How-do-I-submit-feedback-for-shows-on-ABC-com

https://support.abc.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360003079511

[folkloristico]

I don’t mean to sound like a hater, but while I think the first look at the ATLA live-action looks good, I can’t stop but thinking… was it really necessary?

I know the answer as to why we have this upcoming project is money, same reason why they keep trying to milk old hits by turning them into live-action (Disney is doing it, Netflix is doing it—everybody is doing it), but you can clearly see the double standard here.

Across the Spider-Verse hasn’t even been out a month now, and while it’s been globally acknowledged as one of the best superhero movies ever, people are already talking about which actor they would cast to play Miles and the others. Which begs the question, why is no one talking about translating the MCU, or any other franchise really, into animation? It always boils down to animation being lesser than. And I really, really, really hate this narrative because the thing about art is that it should be daring, it should push people to try out new things instead of replicating the same formula over and over just because it’s safe.

“But live-action movies can be a way to further explore some dynamics and—” yeah I don’t buy that. Sure, some live-action movies do add flavour to the original piece of media, but that’s not why they do that. The narrative is always going from animation to live-action, and never the opposite.

Katara, Zuko, Aang, Sokka, Toph, and the others already have amazing storylines. While I do think some things could’ve been handled better or given more care, I believe that what it’s done is done, and you can always keep expanding on the world-building and the lore by pushing for new animated movies. Which they are doing, actually, but I know those won’t be getting the same attention as the live-action because, you know, people just assume that live-actions = adult content while animation = child stuff, so of course live action > animation. Which is just sad.

[fen-the-space-dragon]

Mk uhhhh Middlepaw backstory time? I think it’s time for that (as in I wish to share the magic words that cause maximum emotional damage to my little child here so that YOU TOO can cause them emotional damage if you so wish. Cuz I enjoy making my ocs miserable and I swear I’m not a psychopath… also I feel like I should prob just explain their backstory along with those magic words)

There’s also a tldr at the end cuz this is really long

Mk, starting at the begining:

Middlepaw was born outside the clan to two rogue parents. They also had two siblings named Eldest and Youngest (you can tell their parents loved them very much naming them after their birth order /j). They didn’t really stay in any one spot long and tended to travel around a bunch, eventually wandering near Mommyclan. They figured it might be nice to live in a larger group where everyone kinda helps take care of everyone. Plus Youngest was sick and none of them knew much about healing, so they kinda needed Mommyclan’s help anyway

They wound up joining the clan and while the parents refused to take warrior names, they did change their kit’s names to fit in with the clan (Eldestkit, Middlekit, and Youngestkit). The parents would constantly fuss over Youngestkit and didn’t really give much attention to their other kits. Eldestkit was pretty much only given attention when being told to watch their siblings or see if the elders or anyone needed anything. They were pretty much just given chores and responsibilities

Middlekit on the other paw, was pretty much just ignored. Whenever they tried to get their parent’s attention, they were just told to go away, or that their parents were busy, or to go play with some other kits or something. At first they would directly try to get attention (mostly from their parents, but also sometimes from other cats), but slowly stopped doing that as it didn’t work with their parents who also didn’t like their kit pestering other clan members. “Stop annoying our clanmates. You don’t want us to get kicked out because of you, do you? Youngest kit would die if we got kicked out, you know that right?”

They stopped pretty quickly after that and instead tried to get attention other ways. They practiced “catching prey” (pouncing on rocks and moss and stuff), climbing, running, etc. They became a bit of a tryhard and wanted to be the best at like everything, that way maybe someone would acknowledge them for being good at something. They got frustrated a lot though, seeing as you can’t really just flip a switch and instantly be good at everything. They’d get upset when other kits beat them in a race or play fight or were just better than them at anything. Eldestkit would try to comfort them when this happened, but it didn’t work much. Middlekit wound up deciding that they just aren’t good at anything and are useless. They stopped really doing things and just kinda sat in the nursery and watched other cats. (This was towards the end of them being a kit. They were almost 6 moons old at this point. Youngestkit also got better at some point near the end of “tryhard Middlekit” and the begining of “sad Middlekit”)

Middlekit and their siblings were apprenticed (this reminds me Middlepaw needs a mentor lol) and lots of pressure was put on Eldestpaw by their parents to pretty much be perfect. “You need to do better. If we’re not useful, do you think they’re gonna keep us around? You need to be better than the apprentices who were born here or what reason will they have not to throw us out?” Youngestpaw was babied and given a lot of slack by their parents who used their former illness as an excuse to treat them better than their siblings (it was really just favoritism). Aaaand Middlepaw… who is Middlepaw? Yea, they basically never interacted with Middlepaw at this point and honestly kinda forgot that they were their kid unless someone metioned it and then they were like, “Oh, yeah! Middlepaw! Of course! We love Middlepaw! They’re so uh… good. They’re a good kid… yea :)” and then prob changed the topic to one of their other children

About a moon after being apprenticed, Eldestpaw, Youngestpaw, and their parents went on a “family walk” (without Middlepaw ofc cuz who’s Middlepaw? Eldestpaw mentioned that Middlepaw wasn’t there actually, but the parents were just like, “Eh. We don’t want them here. You two are the better children. Besides, they barely talk to us. They’re basically not even in the family anymore,” blaming Middlepaw for the distance between them and their family) and uh… they just never came back from the “walk”

When Middlepaw realized they weren’t coming back and had gone on a “walk,” they shut down even more than they had before. If anyone showed concern for what had happened to their family, Middlepaw would just tell them that their family is fine. “It’s just what they do,” is prob about the most explanation they’d give, but they seem to know what happened

For about a moon, they just kinda moped around. They would do things they were told to do, but only about the bare minimum before going to find a nice corner to be sad in. They didn’t really put much effort into anything and especially didn’t talk to or interact with anyone who didn’t start the interaction first. Even then, they’d try to end the interaction as quickly as possible

During the “sad Middlekit” bit, they also started talking to objects a bit, but it was only a little bit here and there and not nearly as much as they do now. They began a lot of their odd habits once their family left as kind of a way to cope with feeling so lonely and they started talking to things that weren’t cats a lot more than they previously did

More recently, they’ve slowly stopped moping so much and don’t try to end social interactions. They still usually don’t start them, but they will try to keep them going once someone else starts them. They’re also much less of a “sad quiet” now and more of just a “doesn’t have friends” kind of quiet. Also, they kinda tried to hide things like talking to themselves and objects before, but now they don’t kinda in hopes of someone noticing that they exist because of it

Also, their parents would try to kinda hide how they treated Middlepaw and Eldestpaw from others and if anyone ever said anything about that to them, they’d just try to brush it off like, “oh, it was a one time thing,” “tough love, you know?” “sometimes you just gotta be a little hard on them. It doesn’t phase them though”

Aaand uh yea. Btw, those magic words I was talking about in the begining are just anything along the lines of “go away,” “stop being annoying,” “I’m busy right now,” etc. Pretty much anything that resembles an excuse their parents would use to get them to go away

Tldr: Middlepaw had crappy parents who ended up abandoning them and leaving them emotionally fucked up and that’s why they have all their weird habits and don’t really start social interactions much :)

Why do I do this?

[shkika]

I might end up taking u up on that offer this is so so soo fun

I really enjoy it when people make moon mad at fp..like how could she not be yes she cares about fp a lot but siblings don't exactly...do that to eachother very often I think (but maybe they do /j the woes of being an only child)

I think not being able to harm artificer did him good in the end (therapy dog!!) like he would have definitely just wanted to send that thing FLYING into the sun but he couldn't!! he was forced to just deal with it and eventually he realises hey. Maybe this thing isn't so bad... honestly I think he really needed something like that right then given his tendency to push people away (thinking abt how he BLEW UP srs' poor overseer. That made me jump actually i didnt expect it i sat still for long enough to get myself blown up too it was kind of funny...aside from the trek back of course) (ALSO THE ADS HELP thats golden)

Adding onto that like....him being a silly little loser that wants to do everything by himself and the like loving the attention etc I really think that like... the time period he was built in only made it worse??

Like......i feel that being built when he was added to a sort of pressure of needing to feel superior, to not be one of those bugs in mazes. To have something with like a genuine true path ahead instead of blindly grasping for answers

Like...I guess he'd want to prove just how good he is by doing it without any sort of help and he just has so MUCH to figure out by himself that he just...builds that pressure more and more and that's gotta be too much at some point

^^ I like the idea of the triple affirmative stuff happening like...around this point in time (forgive me if my timeline is terribly off) but anyways like..it kind of just fucks up everything for the dude...like all he's worked for is kinda just for nothing so then it leads to everything with the rot as like some sort of last resort. Like he knows the risks but he just cant bring himself to care like he's in such a vunerable state he doesn't think about how it'd affect moon until all of a sudden there's a forced message being sent his way, but even then I guess being younger than like everyone in the group he doesn't fully grasp like oh. This is as bad as it is. Until moons can comes crashing down and hes left infecting himself with the stuff

Anyway you are so very right with the echo actually I haven't thought very much on the shaded citadel but it must have...not been pleasant going through the rains knowing that there's so many others unaffected by it

Sorry this response is so late actually I've been multitasking to all hell but RRAGHGJ squishing the iterators in my hand like stress balls I am so normal about this game

please do! <3 ramble incoming

Moon being angry at Pebbles is fun. I love seeing different interpertations! Though I do think she doesn’t hold actual bitterness towards him in my personal belief.

The idea that she isn’t actually *angry* angry at him makes her very tragic to me. By all means she knows his actions are inexcusable. What she went through was horrifying and painful and she acknowledges that. Nsh even mentions she’s always had way too much patience for him and that she really tried to be a good big sister to him.

So as his big sister and someone who guided him in early days I can see her being unable to feel spite towards him. He fucked up, hes now sick and rotting and it all fills her with grief. It’s all just unfortunate and sad! (definitely see moon being a little hater with salty comments sometimes. as she does but most of her anger is reserved for their shitty parents)

Pebbles desperately wanting to feel superior is something really fun to me!! Absolutely see it! (idk why u went and became close friends with guy who called you dumb and naive but u do you 🤷 maybe u like that. likr OoOo hes the only one that listens to my theories and he calls me dumb <33) We know he learns about what happened to sliver from suns, so I can only assume that happened before he was made..? But the game is vague enough for u to hc it as you want honestly.

What he did was out of desperation for sure! He never wanted to even involve Moon according to what he says while commenting on a pearl by Arti. It was just kind of impossible.

I think what Suns told him just left a big scar on the poor guy. Not only is he being told he never mattered, he has to accept he’ll slowly break down and not even die while still trying to solve their issue he doesn’t even care about. He wanted the feeling of power over his own self back and he wanted to desperately escape. Feeling helpless is the worst.

He thought he could be fast enough and not harm Moon and then failed! He doomed her and got a very bad case of the rot ( consequences of my actions) ((another bracket but the poor fucker tried to cure himself all the way until arti campaign! sad!!)) along with his failure becoming gossip material and a sensation as we learn from spearmaster logs. Which is why I assume he closes all communications.

Also Moon forced many many broadcasts onto him while dying :) not only partly the reason why he failed the project, it also further cemented his helplesness.. because he can’t do anything to help! A common phrase you hear from him is “I can’t even help myself”.

It’s a little treat in almost all scug campaigns iirc.

Also echoes are all so interesting I love them and their silly little opinions. Shout out to the one who told arti to stop being such an angry bitch <3

[beanieman]

Hello! First off, love your blog. <3 I'm always excited to see your takes on stuff. Second of all, I have a theory! Sorry... this might get long. You know how Keiji and Sara discovered the footage of Joe and Kai talking in Miley's room? We still don't know what they were discussing. Well, I've seen some people suggest that they were talking about the Main Game cards and might have traded roles. I was wondering, do you think Shin could have given Kai the sacrifice and Kai traded with Joe?

Here's my reasoning for this: Shin wanted to save himself and the group by eliminating a dangerous person, like how he sent Sara the sacrifice card in 2-2 because he distrusted her and was convinced she was a threat. We know Shin had the sacrifice up to a certain point, and we know that he obtained access to Kai's laptop. There, he finds evidence that Kai is conspiring with the kidnappers and Sara (and possibly Joe) is somehow involved. Then, of course, he gets knocked out by a Nao equipped with Kai's frying pan. Rather than trying to explain himself to Shin/the group, Kai attacks him. If that doesn't seem like a clear admission of guilt, I don't know what does.

Shin is already paranoid and scared for his life at this point, so it would be a way to try to take control of the situation. Shin may not know what the card does exactly, but it has a skull on it so... Not a great sign. I doubt he handed it over to Kai or anything, but he might have strategically placed it somewhere so that Kai would be likely to pick it up.

As for why Kai and Joe would trade roles, Kai and Joe both share the common goal of wanting to protect Sara. Kai cares about Sara dearly, but at that point Sara didn't even know who Kai was (well, technically she knew that he was her stalker). On the other hand, Joe is Sara's best friend and she would be devestated if something were to happen to him.

So Kai decides that it's better for Joe to escape with Sara. He's content to remain her protector from the shadows, never to be acknowledged nor his kindness reciprocated. Assuming Kai has an inclination as to how the cards work and what they're for (no idea if he would or wouldn't - if he did, he probably would also know it's false that you'll die if somebody sees your card), he explains it to Joe and proposes that Joe use the sacrifice to escape with Sara. Joe would be shocked at his proposition, but would accept for two reasons:

If it works, he and Sara can escape (and honestly, who wouldn't be tempted by the idea of getting to leave that hell and return to life with your bestie?)

If it doesn't work, Joe will die instead of Kai. Of course Joe doesn't want to die, but Joe is a kind soul and doesn't want Kai to die either. He knows Kai has the sacrifice and will die if he isn't voted for, so if Joe can't escape with Sara at least he'll have saved Kai's life.

There's a lot of holes in this theory, though. It's questionable whether Kai would even pick up the sacrifice card in the first place and if he would know how the cards worked. And of course, Kai and Joe would need to come up with a plan for how to get people to vote for Joe. They didn't seem to be trying to steer the conversation one way or another during the Main Game, though... In fact, I'd say Joe and Kai were pretty passive up until a certain point and both had a "watch and see what happens" attitude. Neither of them stepped in to say anything until the attention was directed towards them. It is interesting that we don't know what happened to the sacrifice card after Shin had it, or how he lost possession of it. It's just as likely that he discarded it and Joe happened to pick it up.

Anyways, what do you think Kai and Joe were discussing in that video clip in Miley's room?

Another question related to this topic: how plausible do you think the "Kai is alive" theory is? Personally, I believe it's unlikely, but I think his interactions with the group would be very, very interesting. Of course he'd be shocked and distraught over the deaths that have occured since the first Main Game, such as the fact that Gashu is dead and that Reko/Alice and Nao have died. I think he'd be especially taken aback by what happened in the second Main Game.

If it were the Logic route, I think he'd be very surprised that Kanna was voted for and that the group kept Shin alive for his hacking abilities. I think he'd be troubled by the fact that Sara chose to send a little girl to her death. He'd probably be angry at the adults for not stepping in and taking action instead of making Sara shoulder all the burden, especially when she is clearly in a bad mental state. I think he'd also feel conflicted over the clearly changed Logic route Sara, who is less empathetic and more willing to manipulate others for her own gain.

I think he'd actually be semi-understanding of Shin's attitude towards the group when he finds out what happened to Kanna and how Shin begged to be killed instead. After all, he'd probably be furious if the group kept him alive instead of Sara simply because they wanted to exploit his hacking abilities. He knows what it's like to be alone and to experience abuse, and how life changing it was when he found acceptance and love. So, he would be able to relate to Shin somewhat.

On the other hand, Shin has made himself Sara's enemy and Kai will not allow any danger to befall Miss Sara. So he is at odds with Shin because he opposes Sara. I'm not sure that he'd get along all too well with Keiji either, seeing how he's the main instigator trying to get Sara to lead the group and make the big decisions... I picture them as a divorced couple fighting over custody of their kids in the Logic route.

The emotion route goes far better. Kanna and Kai would probably get along very well, seeing as their fondness events in Your Time to Shine are very sweet and touching. Kai would also be very protective of Gin, I'd imagine.

He would respect Shin for the choice he made to give up his life for Kanna and for pushing through his fear. He might feel bad for what he said after being voted for ("Sou Hiyori is a dangerous man") and for the whole "having Nao knock out Shin" thing. He never got the chance to reconcile with Shin or get to know him beneath his facade, so he might be bummed about that.

He would also admire Qtaro for his growth and for sacrificing himself for his allies. He feels bad when he hears that Qtaro blamed himself for Kai getting the sage card, and is touched when he learns that Qtaro wanted to find out just what kind of person Kai was and believed he was a good. It's kinda funny, because you know that part in 1-1 (I think) when Qtaro trades Kanna the laptop for tokens and Keiji rebukes Qtaro by bringing up Kai and how that was the final clue he gave them? I'm imagining a role reversal happening, where Keiji does something dumb because lOgIC and Kai is like, "How selfish of you. Does Qtaro's sacrifice mean nothing to you?" or something and Keiji experiences that stab of guilt.

Ironically though, I don't think Kai should come back because I feel like his appearance would get in the way of Keiji's growth. Kai seems like the type of person who would step up and protect the children because he doesn't want them to experience any more suffering. This is the direction Keiji's character development should go, where he's able to become the Mr. Policeman he's always wanted to be who helps children and is a protector and friend. Kai might usurp that role or otherwise detract focus from Keiji. I miss Kai so much, but I'm not sure what purpose he'd serve story wise.

Also, it doesn't make much sense for Kai to have somehow survived unless your "Miley is the ASUNARO traitor" theory is correct and she's keeping Kai alive in the medical room. If Mishima's head isn't with Safalin, then I'd expect Miley or Kai to have it/know where it is. In that case, maybe the group would be able to escape using Kai's hacking skills in the Emotion route. It would definitely be more complicated in the Logic route. Would Shin spare Kai, since he wasn't there for the second Main Game and can't be held responsible for Kanna's death? I'd think he'd be a lot more sympathetic to Kai if only Kai wasn't so close to Miss Sara. Since Kai would never allow Shin to harm Sara, he'd have to do something about Kai or he'd never get his revenge.

ALSO ALSO, why do you think Midori doesn't let you name him any of the participants/floor masters names, but will let you name him Kazumi/Mishima/Kazumi Mishima? Do you think this was just an oversight and Nankidai forgot to add him in? Or do you think it's a clue?

ALSO ALSO ALSO, we keep getting Mishima AIs in the game. Out of the people who died so far, 5 of them didn't make it past the first trial and didn't know anyone (the dummies), 3 of them didn't make it past the first trial and did have a relationship with a participant (Kugie, Megumi, and the real Hinako), 3 of them are non candidates, 4 of them are route specific deaths, and 2 are candidate, unavoidable deaths (Mishima and Qtaro). Since Mishima used to be the only candidate, someone-we-knew, unavoidable victim, now that we have another (Qtaro) do you think we'll see an AI of him? Now that we know who the dummies are, do you think we'll get an AI of them? Or maybe one of Megumi, another candidate?

Anyways, sorry this was so long! I'm curious to know your thoughts on these subjects! If you read all of this, big thanks to you! If you didn't, thanks for still putting up with me!

I'm actually super excited to get an ask this big! It's very cool! /gen

So starting with the Joe and Kai point, I actually really like your theory! I think it makes more sense for Shin to give the sacrifice to Kai rather then Joe, but you are right that their passive behavior does lead to a plot hole. Though it's one that could be semi filled if you take into consideration that Kai is usually laid back, but it still leaves Joe's behavior in question. (Maybe he agreed to the plan and then realized that he couldn't actively go through with it? Or maybe he had so much faith in Sara he thought she'd figure it out?)

As for what they were talking about in the security tape: Take this with a grain of salt because I can't find concert confirmation, but I've heard before that in the side Joe novel Kai did talk Joe into seeking out the sacrifice basically because of the reasons you listed. However like I said I'm not sure so be careful trusting me here. I could have misunderstood.

Assuming that I misunderstood, I think they could have been talking about their confrontation in Sara's house. Joe says during introductions that he saw Kai after Sara was attacked in her room and threw a punch at him. Which means he knew Kai was the stalker before Sara did.

Based off that, I'm going to assume that Joe didn't want to worry Sara, and therefore decided to talk to Kai alone. If that's true they likely talked about Sara or/and ASU-NARO.

For the Kai is alive theory: I actually think the idea of Kai not being dead is plausible! It's odd how he's the only participant in game who doesn't get a line saying "Kai has expired" Even Joe and Nao get a line confirming that they're dead...but not Kai. Interestingly...the game itself actually references this idea. In the war of words with Doll Reko in fact!

The idea is dismissed, but it is worth noting that it was brought up at all! Though this could easily be to tell players that Kai is dead and Nankidai just forgot to write that he expired.

However I do think Kai could do something in the story! With Meister likely being Mr. Chidouin their confrontation would be something interesting. If you think he'd be conflicted about logic route Sara then oh boy.

Midori not taking Mishima's name: I wish I had a really thoughtful answer to this, but I don't. It is weird, and I lean toward the idea of it being a clue to SOMETHING, but I just can't pinpoint what it could possibly be. I think something might be weird with Mishima for sure. He's the only morally good character in a game filled with morally grey people. That in itself raises questions with me.

The Mishima AI Question: I don't think Q-Taro will have an AI. Honestly I just don't see where in the story it would be needed. He's had more development then Mishima, and a missing head mystery isn't surrounding him. I could be wrong, but I don't think he needs to come back.

I did read everything you wrote because it was really interesting! I especially loved the section where you were talking about Kai's reaction to the current state of things if he came back! Thank you for your ask, and don't apologize for sending it!

[almondes]

Just some random things about my WoL that I need to get out of my brain:

They were originally going to be a BKM, but the thought of being able to poke at people with a plastic sword toothpick AND do magic really bought them into RDM

They don't like hugs, but they would accept them if given one. They give the squishiest of hugs- like they would make the squeaky toy noise if possible- which Flow exploits by grabbing them by the scruff of their clothes so that they can't run from his hugs lol

Complains about neck pain a bunch- especially during their time in Ishgard when everyone around them is a tall-af elezen and they are a short-af lalafell...

Speaking of Ishgard, Bell loves Ishgardian weather- the dreary clouds that cover the sky, the crunchy snow beneath their feet, the fog that rolls over every time it rains- anything other than the hot air in Ul'dah is better and Ishgard checks all of those boxes; it's just like the stories they've heard.

They're usually not very talkative, preferring to talk as little as possible- leaving it to Alphie to fill in the empty air.

They have also tried this on Estinien. It also did not go well.

Due to their unfortunate height, Bell has developed a habit of jumping onto a taller friend's back to get a better look at various things. They do this to both Thancred and Flow(bf's WoL) the most often as the both of them feel the most stable when jumping up on(they're both tanks).

They tried it on Alphinaud once as a test and the boy fell ass bsckwards... never again.

In adjacent to that, they also tend to hold on to a stray piece of flowing fabric/loose pants leg on others for comfort; it helps them stay grounded and not lash out during a stressful confrontation(without combat) that requires careful wording- diplomatic stuff really. They hate forced social interaction.

They are prone to snap at others- coming off as rude or insensitive- due to their upbringing and see the worst in people before they can see the good. It took a while for them to really be friendly to a lot of the Scions- especially to Minfillia. They just could not wrap around their head that she just wants to do good, without a bad ulterior motive. It does not help that they(Bell) have a resting bitch face.

However on the flip side, once they warm up to someone, they are more careful with their words- still very curt and blunt, but not as "murderous" as they are to strangers. The rude behavior is a defense mechanism so that they don't get hurt if they get too attached.. A real tsundere if you ask me-

Bell was born and raised in Ul'dah! They were supposed to take on the family business and namesake but instead they ran away from home- stealing a bit of gil from their vault- and hiding in odd places around the Black Shroud until the gil ran out and they needed a job. Sooooo they came BACK to Ul'dah to be a Thaumaturge, all the while they try to dodge any interation with their parents' employees. Fun times :)

Mahi is their longest and most sarcastic loyal retainer, a rather tall elezen man who has journeyed with Bell for a little bit during their stay in Gridania- opting to become their retainer when they decided to go back to Ul'dah. He's also the one who told stories about his time in Ishgard to them.

Unlike their DND counterpart, FFXIV!Bell is just nicer overall. They at least acknowledge their mannerisms are sometimes very prickly and aren't as pessimistic nor actively hostile towards others. They are trying!! To be!! Better!!

Have they fallen in love before? Yes. It started off as a lil tingle in their chest, and grew to quite the size... But when they found out that the person they had feelings for had his heart somewhere else, they smothered it deep, deep down.

To change the topic now, Bell deals with pain in the worst way possible: holding onto it until it makes them collapse :)

Their mannerisms have instead taken hold of how they act around him- like taking glances at him when he's not looking. They don't notice any changes though and will probably not accept it unless locked in a room forced to confess or something.

They won't say a thing about their problems and needs unless they are dying and it worries Alphy so much- pretty sure they have given him too many things to worry about whoops-

Good thing both of their hairs are white so it can hide all the stress

[infiniteorangethethird]

bit lazier than some previous ones but I suppose that's fitting given the scene heh

(first / previous)

The mouth of the cave they chose as their resting spot rose above the forest, the moonlight reflecting off the leaves as they waved in the wind giving the impression of a vast ocean. A soothing sight, accompanied by the soothing sound of said breeze and the quiet crackling of fire Rowena made when the sun finally set.

Lucy pulled the hood of her sweater over her head. It was relatively warm for a winter night, which only served to remind her it wasn’t winter anymore.

“You can come into the cave if you’re cold, you know. It’s safe here. I checked.”

At the corner of her vision Rowena came to stand next to her, no doubt studying the second moon hanging in the sky among the far too many and far too bright stars. They waited like that for a few moments, contemplating the events of the day in silence.

“I kind of owe you an apology, don’t I?”

Lucy resisted the urge to give Rowena a pointedly confused look. She stuck with a pretend-careless remark instead. “Ya think?”

Rowena chuckled humorlessly. “First flights do tend to be pretty messy, if that’s what you’re worried about. You didn’t get special treatment.”

Lucy pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arm and tracing scribbles into the dirt with her free hand. She hated emotional peptalks and she hated when strangers pretended to know her thoughts.

“I don’t suppose other people get dragged into their childhood classics for the experience. Or get chased to the death by unhinged medieval knights.”

Rowena’s sigh was dragged as if she was buying herself time to construct her next words.

“Look, I can’t apologize for us ending up here, because quite frankly, this is as weird to me as to you.” She settled down, one leg supporting her elbow and the other over the ledge of their little hideout. “But… you know, when I said I had training, I was saying the truth. Not just fighting but proper warrior training – stuff like surviving in the wilderness, being resourceful and basic healing techniques, all that sort of stuff. And I- I guess I’ve spent so much time around my kind, around willars who were familiar with living in unfamiliar environments- I never stopped to consider how all this might affect you, a human.”

Lucy finally dignified her companion with a look. Rowena’s eyes were fixed on the canopy stretched out in front of them, but her mind was clearly somewhere else.

“I always thought willars were more fragile, with our bones being hollow and whatnot,” she continued solemnly. “All your worries about food and getting lost and never returning home- I thought you were just saying those to annoy me. But you weren’t, were you? These things are very real problems for beings without magic, without the ability to just solve issues at the snap of your fingers.”

“Good job on noticing,” Lucy grunted. “If this is supposed to be an apology, you’re very shitty at it.”

Rowena bit her lip and Lucy turned back to her drawings.

“Well, I’m still sorry. And I’ll try to be better about it for the upcoming times.”

Lucy didn’t make any move to acknowledge the apology. It really didn’t matter whether Rowena’s intentions were genuine or not. Either way Lucy was stuck being dependent on her skills and abilities, and her best shot was to make sure their relationship was the least antagonistic as possible.

Seeing her lack of reaction, Rowena thankfully dropped the subject. There was nothing worse than someone forcing to act remorseful for the sake of someone who really couldn’t care for it. Even if it was probably the first time anyone went out of their way to admit their shortcomings to Lucy in such a way.

Anyone besides Leo, in any case.

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut to ease the sting of tears. Probably just the exhaustion.

Still, better to change the subject just to be safe.

“What does it feel like?” she blurted out.

“Hm?”

“To fly, I mean.”

If Rowena found the question strange, she didn’t show. “What, couldn’t get enough of the branches in your face?”

So much for trying to make conversation. “I assumed real actual flight doesn’t involve slamming head-first into trees, but who am I to judge.”

Rowena hummed, amused at the image. “It’s pretty good,” she replied. “Kind of like running. Except it’s a lot faster and if you stop you’ll have a lot farther to fall to the ground.”

“You have a strange definition of good.”

“I was exaggerating, you dummy,” she gently smacked Lucy with her wing. “Once you get the hang of it, you don’t really think about what could potentially go wrong. It’s just you and the endless skies and sometimes idiotic birds fly into you but that’s pretty rare.”

Lucy tilted her head up, trying to imagine the feeling. The wind blowing around you as you speed through the air, not bound by gravity and the two dimensions of a life on the ground. Must be a freeing experience.

She didn’t have to look to know Rowena was studying her. “You really wanna go for another round, don’t ya?”

Lucy shrugged, feigning indifference. “If this world is like the books, then our best opportunity would be riding dragons that try to eat you alive, and I’m most definitely not trusting you to lift me off the ground ever again.”

“Whatever you say,” Rowena snorted, before getting up and dusting off her pants. “Anyway, I think we should both rest. Humans need sleep every night as far as I’m aware, and I gotta ensure your claw marks don’t become a permanent disfigurement on my back.”

“It’s not like you don’t deserve them,” Lucy shot back, but still let herself be hoisted to her feet by Rowena’s helping hand. She was tired, after all, so there was no point in refusing the aid.

Maybe when she’ll wake up tomorrow, this will all have been nothing but a bad dream.