#a guy who approaches all of this with a cold logic that they don't know covers terror just as deep as their own

[enjoyvoidblack]

our big post was getting long and it won't let me message so I thought I'd just come bother you here asldkfjsad I am like. so 1000% certain there is mention in the text that the initial purpose and efforts of Jonah and the Institute were to research the fears and prevent their many catastrophes, and that somewhere along the line he came to the conclusion that this wasn't viable, that the world and the fears simply didn't function in a way that was conducive to meaningfully stopping them from doing anything. which was how he settled into the position of 'well then I am going to use the instruments of power to save ME and build a ladder to free myself personally from their clutches forever' I def don't know when he started to turn from that, but i'll have to go back through the transcripts and find it again.

I do get that the narrative is written with Jon as the focal point, and that doesn't leave a lot of room for Elias to be sympathetic--he certainly doesn't make himself sympathetic TO Jon, or any of the Archives crew (beyond what I find to be an interesting amount of patience, understanding, and restraint he shows for them), but I still think like. Part of the beauty of Jonny's storytelling is that there is a kernel of completely understandable humanity to most everyone that's presented with any depth in the series, even the people we DON'T like. The "people here don't have excuses, they have causes" is again really excellent wording. There isn't really a lot of the usual karmic style reasoning or justice in this series; it isn't about Good People doing Good Things or Bad People doing Bad Things, it's just. People Doing Things, while under the influence of powers that are at once cosmic and beyond us, and inherently OF us.

adsfkjas this is getting long too I'm so sorry you activated a trap card here but idk. He absolutely is both manipulator and victim. He did all that shit, and all the while it's being done TO him, and he's walking this incredibly razor thin line between feeding his god/being empowered by it, and bc of it's nature knowing in intimate detail every nasty thing that awaits him should he fail (and I think being deathly afraid of it). That gif from Knives Out lmfao, compels me.

(apologies this probably isn't hugely coherent but there we are)

Thank you I am chewing on this ask violently. You Get It.

Unfortunate that tumblr killed your paragraph breaks, because I now can't find the section easily, but that thing about Jonny's character work in this series entirely consisting of aspects of "completely understandable humanity" is SO deeply how I feel about it. This is part of why I love horror of this kind so much. The horror being the fact that no one can really do anything to stop it opens up a space where the characters don't need to be presented along clear lines of good and evil, or even helping a cause or hurting it. It's a lot closer to how real people react in a natural disaster, if anything. There is love and selfishness and incredible acts of violence and cruelty and understandable failings and greed and fear, and pretty much all of it has a root that you can see, if you know enough about the people doing it and the circumstances to really feel where their mindset must be. I'd say Elias is functionally the closest thing TMA has to a narrative scapegoat, but that doesn't mean he is one. I almost feel like he's there as a pressure valve for the story, to be a villain if people need one to make sense of what's going on without having to constantly confront head-on the horror of the way the setting traps everyone in it. He can be made that kind of scapegoat, but only really by ignoring the parallels to Jon and the letters sent to him in older statements, and the way both show how the Fears drive the people who learn about them into more and more desperate straits.

It's kind of like that with all the older avatars. Simon Fairchild throws people off of stuff for a joke, because he's had more than 400 years of being steeped in the knowledge that humanity is both insignificant in the span of the universe, as well as utterly incapable of stopping the course of the Fears as they exert whatever influence they will by the force of sheer bulk. Peter Lukas never had a chance - he was born into this, isolation was his family and religion and paradoxically from childhood his only possible road to belonging. Adelard Dekker thought he was helping, as did Gertrude, even as they both fed the things that claimed them alongside those efforts. Nikola Orsinov was so far away from having an identity anymore that she couldn't go back if she wanted to, if she had even had enough left to want. Her world would have just been a home that was more like herself, and who hasn't wanted that? They're easier to vilify because their outlooks are harder to understand until the very end of the series, but looking back it's so clear that they were also just people once, and the writing never really lets you forget that.

If I said I'd tried to make all of these replies short, you probably wouldn't believe me. And Yet. I am not NORMAL about this show and the way Jonny writes people.

[muntitled]

sungchan who’s been such a sweetheart your whole relationship until you decide that you want to break up because you’ve started to notice how absolutely insane the red flags were?? but he NEEDS you, and you need him…you just don’t know it yet. and he’ll do anything to prove that! you out of all people, knows that he’ll always get what he wants.

🎀 anon <33

𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 | 𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣

- Pairings: Jung Sungchan x Fem!reader

- Warnings: College!au, Established Relationship, Language, Angst, Jealousy, Possessiveness, Obsession, Slight Dark fic, Insecurities, Smut (+18 Minors Dni) Breeding Kink, Slight Dub/con, Daddy Kink, Car sex, Choking, Spitting, Grinding, Degradation Kink

A/N: I really liked this request so so so much. I'm not sure if I did it justice, but this was indeed very fun to write

The very ideology of commitment had always been a foreign concept in his head. Not for any self-righteous reason beyond the fact that Sungchan had just never been ‘that guy’.

For the duration of his college career, Sungchan had been all too comfortable, dedicating his time and effort to becoming the #1 draft pick, this goal being something akin to a holy grail in Sungchan's mind. He would honestly rather die than let anything beyond the court take precedence over his mind.

But now Sungchan is yours.

And your head is thrown back in a genuine guffaw aimed at the sky, as you hang on intently to every word another man is saying.

This is the very first thing Sungchan has had to see exiting the gym, with the rest of his teammates swarming around him.

Instead of waiting in the car, like you usually did, a book open on your lap while Classical music oozed out of your phone speakers, you're entertaining his teammate. Your textbook open as your explanations flow from your lips like a waterfall. Seunghan wears a permanent lopsided grin on his face as he cradles the basketball to his side, bending his tall frame down to you and your textbook.

Although you don't notice Sungchan approaching, Seunghan does. The smirk on his face is absolutely diabolical as he raises a hand robotically and waves, before nodding along to your explanations once again.

Unable to move any further, Sungchan chooses to wait out the interaction along the far wall until Anton and Sohee join him in a flurry of their usual banter.

You laugh at something Seunghan says but your eyes are still trained on your textbook. A thought, ice cold and incredibly vile strikes through Sungchan's brain at the very moment.

Maybe Sungchan just was not smart enough for you.

Perhaps that is why you were giving another boy so much of your precious time.

His frown only deepens with the birth of the vile, uncomfortable revelation. All those times he had droned on and on to you about sports, forcing you to watch highlights of basketball games while his head rested on your lap, raking your fingers aimlessly through his hair.

While he was in heaven, you were apparently in hell.

This illogical jumping to conclusions, seems, to Sungchan as your only logical excuse for entertaining another man so closely.

Sungchan does not bother to hide the grim emotions descending on him like a plague. He only leans his back firmly against the west wall, backpack hanging lazily from his broad shoulders while the rest of his teammates scatter on home. Unbeknownst to Sungchan, his face is lowered, causing a wide shadow to cast over his eyes.

"You're glaring."

He does not offer Sohee any justifiable response, choosing instead, to ignore him as he continues his blatant staring.

“What do you think they're talking about?" He asks instead, the confines of his white and orange letterman jacket feeling far too hot.

"Do you know how scary you look when you do that?" Anton snickers, "Borderline serial killer shit."

"He definitely wants to fuck her," Sungchan continues, locked in on this display in front of him. Your book is cradled to your chest now, and you're looking up at Seunghan with a small, imperceptible smile.

"He wants to fuck her, I can tell-"

"How anyone can manage to pop a boner in the presence of a Psychology textbook is beyond me..." Sohee grumbles, dribbling his ball in between his legs.

"In his own fucked up logic," Anton begins, "Sohee's right." He ignores the bewildered expression of the older boy, choosing to roll his eyes over to Sungchan as he explains, "They're probably just talking about school, like they usually do."

"Nah," Sungchan shakes his head, unconvinced, "They just finished an essay on Freud. She fucking hates Frued. Whatever they're talking about... it's not that." You would not be smiling like that if all you had to talk about was psychology. You enjoyed school, but not that much.

"Your fault for going for someone actually smarter than you."

The snicker in Sohee's tone alludes to the fact that it was somewhat of a joke and meant to be taken as one... but the tightening grip on Sungchan's backpack has Anton glaring daggers at Sohee over Sungchan's bowed head.

"B-But," Sohee injects his voice with optimism, "It's not like you don't already have that on lock."

Anton is quick to jump on to the bandwagon, "Precisely," he says, "Girls date from 100, so if she's already let you consummate the relationship-"

"Just say fuck, Anton for the love of God-" Sohee grumbles,

"-She most likely already sees you as the person she wants to spend the rest of her ride with-"

"Fuck fuck fuck, that's what people do in relationships- they fuck-"

"You're a degenerate." Anton murmurs quietly.

And while they bicker, Sungchan did not have the heart to tell them that, for your sake, he had decided to 'wait' on any intimacy because he was so intent on being the perfect boyfriend.

Your perfect boyfriend.

He had spent an embarrassing chunk of your relationship locking away any urges that arose when your kisses got too heated, refraining from stuffing his hands down your pants when you were grinding a little too heavily in between said make out sessions and stopping himself from absolutely ravaging you whenever you reprimanded him, scolded him or corrected him during your study sessions.

Sex was all Sungchan ever thought about whenever you were in his presence, but evidently, you divulge your attentions elsewhere. You did not need him. The farthest you two had ever gone was Sungchan guiding you to orgasm by the sound of his voice.

How pretty you sounded over the phone line, voice heated with lust and veneered with static as you came all over your fingers in your darkened dorm room, imagining it was his. He had uttered so many 'good girl's , so many fits of praise because it was all true. You were a good girl, and he would fight biblical forces if it meant he could preserve that.

"Nah, fuck that," Sungchan pushes himself off the wall, making his way over to you because now Seunghan has his hand on your arm, carelessly handling what did not belong to him, because regardless of the moral repercussions involved, you were his.

"What're we talking about?" Sungchan cannot forget the way your smile dims ever so slightly upon his arrival. It scribbles itself into his memoey like a traumatizing little etch-a-sketch, making his heart sink in vexation and his abdomen tightening into a knot of perhaps, maybe anger.

"Oh, hey-"

When Sungchan looks down at you, he imagines only his face as the only image reflected in your smiling eyes. You were his just as he was yours, and so it should not come off as a shock to anyone when he slyly throws his arm over your shoulder, pulling you unexpectedly into the heat of his letterman jacket.

Your frame is as solid as concrete, the smile you had once adorned now completely gone.

"Hey," Sungchan whispers to you, but he directs his attention to a smirking Seunghan. Very clearly, all too pleased at having roused his teammate.

"Seunghan just needed clarification on psycodiagnostocs," you explain, somewhat nervously, because Sungchan is splaying tiny pecks against the side of your head while never breaking eye contact with Seunghan "T-the paper we have to do on African Epistemologie-”

“I'm sure Seunghan has a tutor for that.” the arm on your shoulder is fashioned of concrete. You couldn't move out of his grip if you wanted to.

“Don't bore him with the details, babe” Sungchan says, keeping his glare stationed on a grinning Seunghan all while bending down to whisper along your ear, loud enough for Seunghan to hear.

“He still needs to work on that Euro step too-”

“Sungchan.” There is a deep tempest stirring in your tone as you glare up at him, wholly and remarkably unimpressed. Before you could complete your verbal annihilation, Seunghan raises a hand, silencing you effectively.

“I'll let you know how the test goes,” Seunghan says, rousing Sungchan more by completely ignoring him, which, evidently, was the goal. “See you around.”

⋆⭒˚｡⋆

To say you were fuming would be a gross understatement. You're absolutely seething as you charge towards the only other vehicle parked in the deserted lot.

Sungchan raises his hand to block away the orange sun, settling on an uneven horizon as he strolls lazily after you, seemingly unfazed by his barbaric display of possessiveness Your hands are shaking as they latch onto the Jeep's handle, and you're barely even able to jump up into the truck before he's grasping at your hips, begrudgingly pulling you up.

“I know how to fucking work a seatbelt-”

Sungchan only snickers, before clicking in the belt, “Watch your tone,” he whispers before motioning to place a kiss on your cheek. You block it, flinching away from him and effectively causing a dark cloud to settle over his once jovial countenance.

“You were unbelievably out of line.” You begin to explain, looking deep into Sungchan's eyes as he leans into the passenger, with his arm on the car roof, effectively caging you in.

“I can't believe you did all that, knowing I need people to tutor!" You exclaim, "Knowing good and damn well that that's more money for me.”

Sungchan's eyes are lazer focused on you as he shrugs.

“You don't need his money.” Sungchan begins, furiously trying to keep his voice even, “You don't need anything from him.”

“I don't need anything from you.”

All is quiet as your words seem to haunt the atmosphere like an archaic apparition come to assert its vengeance on two unsuspecting young lovers. You are unable to know what Sungchan is thinking behind those concrete eyes, all until a smile cracks across his visage. A toothy grin that has him chuckling into the air until he's pulling back and shutting the door.

Sungchan rounds the car, head full of the weight of your words and what they essentially implied.

You did not want anything from him.

Or perhaps, you think you didn't.

Once Sungchan is behind the steering wheel, he does not move. He is only swinging his head sideways after a very agonising beat as he says. “You think I'm stupid?”

Your brows furrow, and your heart kickstarts as Sungchan sits back until his head is resting on leather headrest. His hand is stationed on your thigh, and you're not sure why, but a very stark shiver shoots down your spine, one that is not completely separated from feelings of absolute excitement.

“You don't wanna be seen with your stupid fucking boyfriend, do you?” he's not yelling, in fact his voice is perfectly normal. As gentle as the movements of his hand framing your exposed thigh and nearing the lining of your skirt with dangerous precision.

“Babe-” you shake your head, correcting yourself, “Sungchan, where is this coming from?

“You're ashamed of me,” He says, all to plainly before slotting his large hand underneath your skirt. You exhale shakily as you imperceptibly, almoat shyly open your legs further. Never had your boyfriend admistered any physical intimacy, no matter how anxiously you craved to experience his large hands on hour skin.

Did you need to get him mad to have him claim you?

Your morals and values completely dissolve as you throw your head back, allowing Sungchan's hand to delve deeper under your skirt.

“I see how it is,” he whispers, heavy eyes stationed on his hand under your skirt. The very moment the tips of his fingers brush against your soaked underwear, you're immediately grinding into his hand, hoping your desperation will transfer in your stilted movements. He watches, mesmerized.

“Do I need to be smarter for you?” He asks, mouth salivating at the sight of you grinding so heavily against his fingers. “What do I need to do better? It's almost like-” Sungchan's hand disappears from underneath your skiirt and you nearly whine at the loss of stimulation.

“It's almost like I need to get you pregnant in order to listen to me.” He whispers, seemingly to himself before dragging his gaze to you…

“Is that what you want?”

His eyes are piercing into yours as his hand slowly encircles around your throat. He's bringing you over the center console by a single grip on your esophagus, having your hips straddling his.

All in slow, calculated movements.

The rest of the world disappears as Sungchan attaches his lips to your throat, dragging your hips along the bulge in his sweatpants.

“Is that what you want, baby?” His voice is laden with lust. All his previous emotions spilling out of him in the form of sloppy, wet kisses on the side of your face. “Tell me you want me to cum deep inside you,”

A whine bleeds from your throat, immediately snapping his restraint before he's lifting you to uncover his red, leaking cock. Your eyes widen at the side of it, heart pulsing in your chest when it twitches under your palm.

“Fuck, don't look at me like that,” Sungchan murmurs before crashing his lips onto yours.

You're immediately stroking his cock as the kiss deepens, and Sungchan lifts you again, before guiding himself inside of you.

You're sinking onto his cock with bated breath, and he watches you with a pained, euphoric expression. His cock stretches your walls and you shudder as he forces himself deeper and deeper, mumermiing drunken confessions as he assumes a steady rhythm.

“ I've needed to fuck you for so fucking long, fuck,” he is already delirious as he pushes his hand under your shirt, pawing at your sensitive breast.

“F-Fuck Chan,” your eyes roll to the back of your head when Sungchan acts on an intrusive thought and forces his fingers inside your mouth.

“Open,” he practically growls before hooking his fingers inside your mouth. He drags you closer as he continues to fuck up into you with desperation and urgency. Sungchan slithers his tongue out, dragging it lazily against yours before spitting directly into your mouth, all with his fingers still flattening against your tongue.

“Fuck, you're such a slut,” He whispers breathlessly, causing your cunt to clench unimaginably tighter around his aching cock. “You like that, baby?” He asks, returning his hand to your throat. “You like being my perfect fucking slut-”

“Fuck- Daddy,” the words tumble out of your mouth, not for any other reason beyond it just feeling absolutely positively, right.

They evidently have a large effect on Sungchan because his once confident thrusts stutter into shallow motions, as of he was om the brink of cumming right then and there.

“Fuck- oh fuck, I'm so close.”

You can't even begin to explain to him that you're right there with him because your mind is so utterly consumed with pleasure. Your hands are on his shoulders, nails sinking into his letterman as your eyes go hazy with overstimulation and he watches your expression with that same, fucked out, open-mouthed expression.

“F-Fuck, you're gonna make me cum,” he whispers, “You're gonna make fucking cum inside you, baby-”

He twists your nipple, immediately causing a whine to spill from your hips, your cunt tightening around him again.

“Tell me to cum inside you-” He whispers, cock already twitching in warning, “Tell me now-fuck!”

“Please, please,” He's already spilling inside you as the words try to claw its way, out your throat, and you ascend unto your own orgasm. You scream into the stillness of the car as you push yourself down on Sungchan's stuttering hips, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he murmers broken praises and affirmations.

He tells you you're so pretty.

He tells you youre body is fucking perfect.

He tells you every little thing that has your heart swelling more and more in its cage. All for the boy in front of you.

“Fuck,” he whispers, allowing his thumb to ghost over your nipple while you both breath out, absolutely breathless. “Fuck- I thought I was going to kill him-”

“Why would you wanna do that?” You whisper, “You're such an idiot sometimes, you know that?”

He only nods slolwy, a small grin spreading across his face as he keeps himself still very much inside of you.

“Now go buy me a Plan B, please.”

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Tango in the Sky [W. W]

Willy Wonka x fem!reader

word count: 1.6k

[Timothée masterlist]

note: LISTEN, first of all I want to say a huge apology because I was literally stuck on this. I had like two weeks with the document started and I just didn't know how to do it, so I'm sorry if this is horrible. I think the problem was that I wanted to make everything the same as the movie and aaagh, I don't know. I know you wanted a kiss but I also had a hard time writing that because they barely know each other haha 😫

I will catch up more these days with everything on my inbox (which is quite a few, thank you for that beautiful people) and I appreciate the nice reception, I love you!

Special thanks to @fivesumbrella5 for leaving their name, it makes me happy to know who requests it :)

“Have you done this before?” you asked, gently petting the snout of the giraffe in front of you. Willy was downstairs, milking her so he could get the milk needed for her chocolates.

Noodle was supposed to have helped him that day, but the poor thing had caught a cold and you had been the lucky one (not really) to be driving the delivery cart. Although it had been a drastic change of plans, you had to adjust to it.

"Once. In Africa. Magnificent beast”

“Was she wild?”

“Wild? She was absolutely furious! But once my hands warmed up, I think she kind of liked it” Willy responded and then you giggled.

It was nice to have his company, that most eccentric guy who had come to rock everyone's world at the laundry.

“The way you left your coat makes it look like a person,” you pointed out, looking down at the coat rack on which he had left the red piece.

“Huh? It's true,” said the boy, smiling. Willy got up from his seat, humming a song, and then approached the structure taking a few steps and turns that ended in a mocking bow. “May I have this piece?”

You were watching his occurrence from above and when he started dancing you couldn't contain your laughter. He even started singing, showing you that he had a really beautiful voice.

"You like dancing?"

“I love it, actually,” he confessed. He had already put his coat and hat back on. “Especially when my partner is human.”

How curious, you were a human. And now that you had seen him dance, you were sure that you could become that dance partner he needed.

You started to go down the stairs, trying to ignore the vertigo that doing so gave you, and when you were two steps from the floor one of your feet slipped. You screamed as you fell, but you were lucky that he reacted quickly, managing to stop the impact by holding you by the back.

"My God…"

“It was close, right?” he laughed, still sounding agitated. “You have to be careful.”

You only managed to nod your head, slightly embarrassed, and then he helped you to step completely onto the floor. He was smiling, he always did, as if his cheeks were made to handle that.

“Do we have what we need?”

“We have it, my dear lady,” he replied, showing you the metal can that was filled with milk. At least something positive had come out of it all. “So it's time to go.”

“Thank you, Abigail!” You exclaimed towards the giraffe. She shook her head as if she really understood and the two of you got out of there.

It was cold outside and you felt strange seeing the zoo so desolate, although at the same time you were happy. Before the arrival of the chocolatier you could barely leave the laundry and now in a single day you had done wonderful things.

"No way…"

"What?"

“Have you ever flown?” He said with enthusiasm reflected in his bright eyes. You, as was logical, immediately denied, “Do you want to do it?”

"What?" you repeated, this time more acute and convinced it was a joke.

"It will be fun! Come on, trust me” he murmured and without giving you time to respond he took your hand to start running on the snowy road.

You were learning that you had to be careful with these occurrences and you had a feeling that this would not be the exception. You understood what his idea was the moment the bunch of balloons entered your field of vision and when you tried to react, he had already taken them with his free hand.

“It's not what… no, no, Willy…” you tried to stop him, but he wouldn't let you.

You ran out of pure inertia, knowing that if you slowed down you would probably trip and everything would turn out horribly. You were heading towards the lake and you closed your eyes as you imagined your destination, but it was nothing like you expected because the tips of your light feet barely touched the edge of the water. A second later you were already lifted into the air and then you clung to him with all the strength that existed in your body. You didn't even want to breathe for fear of falling and he noticed it.

"Open your eyes! You miss the show” the boy laughed, as if flying at night was the most normal thing in the world.

You ignored him and continued hugging him while the wind hit your face and ruffled your hair. You thanked God when your feet finally touched a firm surface, thinking it was the floor, but when you opened your eyes you noticed a glass floor illuminated from below: the panic returned when you realized that it was not a floor, but a ceiling.

“Willy, we're going to fall and die…” you half-screamed, launching yourself into his arms again. He was still holding his bunch of balloons and looked as cheerful as at the beginning.

“Nothing is going to happen to us. It's like walking on a tightrope."

“I have never walked a tightrope!” you replied fearfully. He let go of you and started to walk you away from him, slowly, and then he saw the terror in your eyes.

“If you've never walked a tightrope then it'll just be like dancing, okay?” he smiled, while he took your hand without getting rid of your means of transportation yet. “Do you know how to dance?”

Of course you knew how to do it, but this wasn't exactly what you were expecting when you wanted him to ask you.

“Look, just take one step forward,” he continued, pulling you towards him and moving in the opposite direction. “One back, one forward, two back…”

The boy hummed the instructions kindly and you tried to look him in the eyes just to avoid noticing how many meters high you were. After a couple of sequences you had begun to relax, but when he suddenly placed the balloons in your hand and let you go, you let out a little scream again.

Thanks to his help you did a couple of turns in the air and then he held you again, by his waist, until you were right in front of him.

“Don't let go of me” you asked in a whisper and Willy promised that he wouldn't.

Under that commitment you continued dancing to the rhythm that your friend set and little by little you were feeling more excited about what was happening. You had literally flown through the air and now you were on the damn roof of the gourmet galleries dancing with the most handsome chocolatier you knew; How likely was it at the beginning of the day? None, in short, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Willy guided you to the top of the dome that adorned the galleries, using the balloons to fly again, and suddenly you two stopped to hold onto the metal rod at the top of it. You were smiling from ear to ear and his hand had ended up on yours, while he also had a happy face.

“Didn't I tell you you'd be fun?”

“You are completely crazy, Mr. Wonka. I mean it in the best way” you sighed sincerely, managing to get a giggle out of him.

The man seemed to love heights, unlike you, and he wasn't about to let the moment between you last so short. So, careful not to let go, he began to bend over himself, taking you with him, until you were left sitting on the glass ceiling.

“Just breathe and take a second to appreciate the view,” he asked you, still holding your hand in an attempt to keep you calm.

If you looked down you could see the interior full of shoppers and if you looked forward you could see the entire city. However, the best view was to the side, right where Willy could be seen closely. Until that moment you noticed that the flamingos seemed to have followed you through the air and were now flying freely.

It was actually nice to be in that position once you had put your absolute terror of heights aside and as if you were suddenly aware of everything, the hand holding yours made you blush. Like this you were silent for a minute, with only the sound of the wind filling your ears.

“You know, Willy?” you started to say, not really looking at him. You were focused on the bright lights of one of the mansions “I haven't felt like this in a long time. It's nice to go out into the world."

Were you happy perhaps? If so, then he had achieved his goal. The truth was that one of the reasons he had done everything he had done was in the hope of making you smile and even with the difficulties that had arisen along the way, he had achieved it.

He was about to respond when the feeling of your lips placing a kiss on his cheek stopped his breathing and stirred his thoughts.

“I only worry about one thing though,” you exclaimed again. He looked at you carefully to listen to what you were going to say to him. “How are we going to get down from here?”

The boy laughed and the hand with which he was still holding the balloons waved in the air. You let out a whimper.

“Did you expect anything else?”

“An emergency staircase or something,” you joked. “But I guess it will be flying.”

If you had thought that going up into the air had been a nightmare, going down to the ground again turned out to be much worse.

taglist: @dyieying @reallysparklychaos @silverchainbee @amethyistheart @shadowygladiatorlight @lavendarhearts @lou-multifandoms

[tomatopers]

biggest peeves with genshin x reader fics

I'm going to preface this by saying you can write whoever you want however you want and no one is gonna stop you; heck, it likely won't even affect your likes and stuff. These are my personal peeves stemming from character portrayal <3 Characters A-D

Albedo ;; He isn't very heavily emotive; He is shown to approach almost everything from a logical/analytic standpoint!! My guy expressed concern with the most nonchalant voice, so he clearly does care, just not in an expressive/passionate way

Alhaitham ;; Similar to Albedo, but slightly more expressive! He clearly has things/people that he values, and his own ways of showing care differ from societal norms, which is why he comes across as cold and indifferent!! Even the vulnerability that comes slowly with trust isn't immediately obvious, but this is definitely something that's interesting to explore in works⎯ Would he change the way he feels comfortable expressing himself into something else for you? Would you want him to?

Aloy ;; fuck what genshin did to my girl im skipping aloy

Amber ;; One of her main personality traits is the lack of deliberation!! Even with people she really cares about and loves!! Overthinking? We don't know them

Itto ;; Let bro be silly. Let bro make mistakes. Let bro have no idea what he's doing, but know he's giving it his all no matter what⎯ This is the Arataki Way.

Arlecchino ;; Gonna be honest I know jack shit about her but everything I read sounds hot <3 I do think she isn't the type to get frazzled/embarrassed but boy oh boy you can try

Baizhu ;; bffr he would NOT let you neglect your health like... Look at the man 🤨 I don't think he's the yelling type either?? Like he'll stand up for you obviously, but wouldn't start a fight imo; He got them dangerous snake eyes and scary words fr

Barbara ;; idk i don't read minor x reader things + i don't think i've ever seen a barbara x reader ever 💀 I do think she'd be patient and caring to the point where doing anything bad would make you feel guilty asf :/ not even in a romantic way, just like⎯anything. The kind persona isn't actually an act, she's in a role where she cannot be seen as anything else but it isn't hard to be kind as she would act that way, idol or not. More of a character thought, not a fic peeve </3

Beidou ;; She would start fights for you and she'd win, we all know this. I do think that many fics don't explore her emotions to a deeper extent, like motives and such? I think there's a lot of flexibility in that, and many avenues to explore! Not a peeve either, just a thought.

Bennett ;; Minor again(?), I don't read Bennett fics aha 😭 Grasping at straws here, with such a brave face shown to everyone, taking it off to share the sadder stuff sounds hard

Candace ;; Dunno much either 💀 Nor do I see any fics about her...

Charlotte ;; Would she love and cherish you? Yes. Would she leave her job for you? No. Would she feel bad about always being busy chasing headlines? Yes! Would she only really do well with a partner who supports her career and aspirations? Yes!

Chevreuse ;; Sorry guys I don't even know her 😭

Chiori ;; Would also start fights for you, would also win; Clearly takes no shit, I imagine certain compromises would take a while to reach? Canonically fairly headstrong, I doubt she'd be a pushover with an s/o

Chongyun ;; Minor 🧍

Clorinde ;; Her showing vulnerability with you definitely means a LOT. Beyond her career and the things she does for it, I just know there's so much going on in her head :( Let my girl share, give her a safe space, be patient to eventually emotionally connect

Collei ;; Minor 🤨

Cyno ;; He does not seem like the dominant/aggressive/pushy type :( I bet there's complicated feelings between the way he acts as a General and the way he acts with a lover⎯undeniably would never want you to be scared of him. Teasing type, likely nothing worse.

Dehya ;; I haven't seen her done dirty, so I'm pretty content

Diluc ;; High-functioning man, having dealt with varying stressors over so many years I doubt anything could interrupt his work flow⎯having said that, yes that means issues with a relationship making him struggle to work would mean more; Yes, i still believe that's highly unlikely

Diona ;; No.

Dori ;; No. Also, I hate her.

[soarelesiluna-ao3]

I would love to read a Bojere getting together scene that involves showering together. Maybe at first they joke around about one joining the other in the shower until they take the jokes too far and realize neither of them were joking at all

Yes yes yes!! Since BoJere week is rapidly approaching, I think I'll post this as a warm-up. I'm not yet sure whether I'll take part on it but I'm beaming with excitement over them since the last time they saw each other 🥹💙

Also just wanted to thank everyone for the 18 follows, it means the world to me to know there's people reading my silly little stuff 💙

I'm slowly going through my askbox - you can keep leaving stuff in the meantime. Have a great Labor Day and take well deserved rests!

Content under the cut!

Ps. I do love writing Jere's broken English. I truly do.

First night with Jere in Slovenia. The first night of a very few productive days upcoming. They had been talking over the phone about these days, excited like children who were about to visit the zoo. After such a long time of not seeing each other, it was just logical to be so hyped about reecountering their favorite people in the world, right?

Bojan's apartment sufficed for Jere to stay in - his friends understood the need for closeness with him, after all. Kris' old room was rearranged and made available for the stay. All day, the Finn had been talking about getting a shower, because he felt tired from the flight and needed a rest, but also wanted to get things done. Bojan, in turn, had started another inside joke to add to the collection - if he was too tired to take a bath, maybe he could help him out with that.

The thing of having so much of a bond with someone, is that you never know where the line between truth and joke is drawn in some occasions, and this was one of them. Bojan helped him figure out the shower and was about to leave, when the rapper let out a small whine.

"So you not shower with me?"

This made the Slovene stop for a second, as if trying to process a foreign language.

"What?"

"You said if I was tired you'll help me shower", Jere continued. "And I, uh, think I am, yes."

"Jerč... I don't think we'll fit into the shower..." Bojan bit his lower lip at the thought.

"No problem, nothing I not have seen before", the way he said it caused them both to laugh. "Come on, I'm sure we have good time!"

"Okay, sure..." Bojan grinned, and started taking off his clothes, leaving them in a messy pile by the sink. Soon, the both of them were standing in front of the other in the shower, warm water hitting their skin. It felt nice, it had been quite cold lately, so the warmth was pleasant. And the company was even better.

"Okay, now what?"

"Uh... I don't know", Bojan shrugged. "I think... I could help you out. Just relax and let me work my magic."

"Ooh, magic. You magic man, you. I like that."

Gentle hands reached for the shampoo bottle and pressed some of it into his palm, before starting to massage the dark hair to make foam.

"Your hair is growing again", the Slovene smiled. "Like it used to be back then. When we met."

"I still handsome guy, right?" Jere's question came out as playful.

"You could be bald and I still think you'd be the most beautiful man on Earth", the sweet words rolled off Bojan's tongue so easy it surprised him, despite it being three years of them together. "Don't do it though."

"Nah, I don't think I will. That's too much", a moment of silence passed before the Finn spoke again. "Will you wash me, too?"

"I'm here to help you out, am I not?" Bojan leant over his shoulder and left a small kiss, before grabbing a sponge and the bar of soap he always used. Then, he started gently rubbing it against his body. Another moment of silence. "I missed you. I missed touching your skin, having your scent close, knowing... I have someone to hold when I wake up."

"Oh, Bojan... I miss you too. Everyday. I know we talk a lot. But it's not the same. Never it's not the same. You are special. Very special. That's why I asked you to shower with me."

"Huh? How so?"

"Because... If I feel you, I know this is not dream."

A small smile appeared on the singer's lips, as he gently patted Jere's shoulder to tell him to turn around. Wrapping his arms around his neck, he leant in and started kissing him. A very slow kiss, as if his lips were trying to remember how it felt, despite having kissed many times since his arrival. A long-lasting kiss, that ended with Bojan hiding into the crook of his neck.

"I hope... This helps you a bit."

"It does", Jere left a kiss on Bojan's ear. "I'm so glad to be home. In your arms."

[meabh-mcinness]

Chronicles of a Second Chance

Chapter Five: I'm a Fortune Teller Prowl...A What?

Once again there is a lot more swearing in this chapter, along with another semi-panic attack for reader, and a small mental break for Prowl. He'll be fine…..probably

Your heart was hammering in your throat, and you fought to maintain control. You had to think fast, to buy yourself even a second of time. But the tension in the air, the precision with which Prowl observed you as he carefully drove off, was suffocating. Every breath felt like it might be your last.

"I—uh," you stammered, swallowing hard. "Look, I don’t know what you're talking about. I was just guessing. I don’t know anything about anything or...this Bee guy... or—"

Prowl didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. His gaze locked onto yours with such intensity that you could practically feel the weight of his thoughts pressing against you, dissecting every word, every movement and you fell silent under its weight.

"To have seen the usernames means you’ve likely seen the journal along with other things," he finally said, his voice colder than before, "and you’re aware of more than you should be. That's an issue."

The way he said issue felt like a loaded gun, just waiting to be fired.

You curled up the best you could in your seat, heart racing even faster now. The whole situation felt unreal. Only the painful digging of the seatbelt tearing into your skin seemed to remind you of just how real this was. “I’m just... a random person who made a good guess. Really."

His fingers drummed on the door again, but this time, it was a deliberate pattern, a methodical series of taps that resonated like a countdown in your head. Was he going to arrest you? Detain you? Worse?

But then, to your surprise, Prowl didn't escalate. Instead, he shifted the gears in his voice just slightly, making it sound more... neutral, if still intensely scrutinizing. "You don’t look like a random person. You’re too aware. Too perceptive for someone who claims to be clueless. After all,” he paused, eyes looking directly to yours through the rearview mirror, “you didn’t question how the belt was able to buckle itself around you."

The silence stretched out. You could almost hear the mental gears turning behind his optics. You knew he was processing, compiling, considering. And you were just sitting there, trying to hold onto the pieces of your composure, hoping you didn’t shatter right before his eyes, because he was right. You should have immediately panicked and thrown a ton of questions at him the second the seatbelt moved by itself, instead you had focused on him and deflecting his questions.

But then, as if to shift the entire balance of power, Prowl did something unexpected.

"Why don't we start again?" he suggested, voice still calm, but now with a cold undercurrent. "No more games. You know things you shouldn’t, and I don’t like that. But maybe, just maybe, we can work something out."

You blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his approach. Was he giving you an out? Or was this just a tactic to put you on edge, to see how you'd respond? To trick you into thinking he was playing nice before offing you somewhere else.

"I—" you began, but you were cut off by the sound of a faint mechanical whirl from his car. The air around you seemed to grow denser, as if the vehicle itself was watching you, waiting for your next move.

Which in retrospect it probably was, you never did figure out how Cybertronians were able to see while in their alt forms. Was it through their mirrors? Their headlights? Were there tiny camera sensors all over that fed feedback to their processer? Could they even actually see at all in this form, or did they guess based on a bunch of other factors and sensors?

The questions swirled in your mind like an uncontrollable storm. But the one thing that stood out the most was the sharp, cold logic in Prowl’s voice. He was waiting for you to answer, to make the wrong move, to slip up. You were caught between trying to stay calm and trying to figure out how to avoid getting yourself even deeper into whatever strange web you had stumbled into.

Your mouth felt dry as you tried to gather your thoughts, weighing your next words carefully. You didn’t trust him—not by a long shot—but you couldn’t afford to make him think you were completely uncooperative either. The Autobots may have been toted around as the good guys, but that didn’t mean they were innocent, that they hadn’t committed their own crimes to achieve their goals. If Prowl truly thought you were any sort of danger to his faction, he’d off you in a heartbeat.

The sound of the car's mechanical hum only added to the eerie tension coursing through your veins.

"I didn’t mean to make anyone suspicious. I don’t want any trouble," you said quickly, deciding to be honest for a change. "I’m not some secret agent or... anything. I’m just a person who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn’t ask for any of this."

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Prowl’s optics flickered briefly as if contemplating your words. For a second, you thought maybe he was about to say something, but he didn’t. He just kept his gaze forward, his hands steady on the wheel. The faint hum of the engine was the only sound filling the car.

It was unnerving how little he reacted, so used to human emotions as you were. He wasn’t dismissing you, but he wasn’t accepting what you said either. He just existed; and that frightened you more than anything.

After what felt like an eternity, Prowl finally spoke, his voice low and deliberate. "I’m giving you one chance. I want to know everything you’ve seen. Everything you've figured out. If you want to avoid any further complications... start by being honest with me."

You froze, your heart leaping into your throat again. The weight of his words sank in, and you realized there was no way out but forward.

"I’ve... I’ve seen some usernames, the journal," you said quickly, "I didn’t realize how deep it all went. Honestly, I still don’t know everything. I’ve just... been getting these flashes of... things."

Prowl’s grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, but his expression remained neutral. "Flashes," he repeated, his voice filled with careful curiosity. "What kind of flashes?"

You hesitated, unsure if you should have even brought it up. Despite your hairbrained plan to make the bots think you were some kind of seer, the further in you went the more uncertain you became. The flashes in question weren’t just memories anymore. You’d thought them over so many times that it almost felt like they had evolved. Pieces of information that appeared unbidden, like fragments of someone else's thoughts.

"I see things. Places. People. Sometimes it’s just... feelings," you muttered, trying to explain it without sounding completely insane. "I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s like I'm seeing things from someone else’s perspective." The camera’s perspective perhaps, but a different perspective, nonetheless.

 “I’ve seen things – beings – who are like you. Sometimes they were just living out their lives best they can in a foreign place, sometimes they were fighting, and sometimes they,” you paused, taking a deep shuttering breath as the images flew by, “sometimes they were dying.”

Prowl was quiet for a long time, his optics scanning the road ahead as if processing your words. The tension in the car thickened, and for a moment, you couldn’t tell if you had just revealed too much, or if he was actually trying to figure out the puzzle you had stepped him into.

You sunk in on yourself in not-quite-pretended defeat, wrapping your arms around your knees and curling your head to lean against them, face towards the window as you watched the scenery go by. Houses spread out more

“I really don’t know how to explain it,” you muttered, breaking the silence first. “I think I’m just... seeing the echoes. The future, maybe? Or just... things that could happen.” You swallowed hard, glancing back at him. “Sometimes, it’s like a movie, playing in my head. Other times... it’s just feelings. Panic. Anxiety. Hope. Death. It’s all mixed up.”

Prowl’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, pale skin going whiter as he absorbed your words. The car’s hum filled the silence again waiting for your next move.

“Are you telling me that you’ve been seeing the future?” Prowl’s tone was incredulous, his logic processor whirring to keep up with the information you provided. You knew that certain bots were what was called ‘outliers,’ they had abilities that the rest of their kind simply didn’t have. Skywarp with his teleportation, Blurr with his speed, Bluestreak’s aiming skills – all were outlier abilities that many bots coveted but usually came at some kind of cost.

There wasn’t a single bot who could see the future though, as far as you aware at least, with the exception of Optimus Prime. Vaguely you wondered if he even counted since it was through the Matrix that he was occasionally given glimpses rather than anything he himself possessed. Regardless, you doubted Prowl, as ‘logical’ as he was, would be willing to believe that some random human he found could have such an ability, when even his own highly advanced kind couldn’t.

Which was valid considering you couldn’t actually do so and simply had the foreknowledge due to being someone that enjoyed media about giant alien robots in your past life.

Foreknowledge that wasn’t helping considering Prowl wasn’t even supposed to be here – and no, you were not getting over that anytime soon.

“I’ve never seen you though,” you couldn’t help but admit into the quiet space.

“But you have seen someone who looks like me,” not quite a question, not quite a statement, but something in between. “And that’s why you were so frightened the moment you registered my form.”

“If there’s any truth to what I see then they’ll be on their way here soon if they aren’t already.” To be fair it was mostly the truth, you weren’t certain where exactly Barricade and Frenzy came across the information to hunt down Sam. They could be hacking in right now for all you knew. The only thing you were certain of was that when the weekend ends Sam will be presenting his project, getting Bumblebee and then starting off the whole procession that would climax in Mission City by the end of the week. 

Tears started to gather in your eyes as the weight of everything pressed down on you. You felt in no way shape or form, ready to deal with all of this. No matter how much you tried to prepare yourself, the reality of it was suffocating. You had knowledge you shouldn’t, tangled yourself into a war you didn’t belong in, and now you were sitting in an Autobot who was dissecting your every word, every movement, as if you were a puzzle he just couldn’t quite solve.

Prowl remained silent, but you could feel the intensity of his stare even without looking at him. The hum of his engine and the occasional crunch of the tires against the road were the only sounds filling the suffocating space between you.

You wiped at your eyes quickly, trying to keep your emotions in check. Breaking down again wouldn’t help. You needed to focus. Needed to figure out what to say next without giving away too much or painting a bigger target on your back. There would be time later, when you were safely in your bed, to mentally break and have a good cry.

Or so you hoped.

“Who?” You bit your lip at his question, worrying it between your teeth until you could taste the faintest bit of sharp copper, wondering how much you should let out.

"Barricade and Frenzy," you muttered, as if the words slipped out before you could stop them. “They’ll be coming. I think they’re already on their way.”

That was the real kicker, wasn’t it? You had braced yourself for the usual suspects—Optimus, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jazz, maybe even Ratchet if things really spiralled out of control. But Prowl? He wasn’t part of the lineup you knew. Not in this version of events.

So, where the hell had he come from?

You curled tighter into yourself, mind racing even as you kept your expression schooled into something nervous but honest. This was dangerous. Every second you spent talking dug the hole deeper, but you couldn’t just stop now. Prowl was too sharp, too perceptive. He would pick you apart like a puzzle until he found all the missing pieces slotted nicely together.

And if he found the right ones?

You didn’t want to think about it.

Prowl’s silence stretched, his fingers tapping out that same slow rhythm against the door. It was calculated. Measured. A test to see how you’d react.

"You do understand," he finally said, voice low and edged with something unreadable, "that if you're telling the truth, you're a liability."

You forced yourself to meet his optics in the mirror, swallowing down the instinctive flare of fear. "And if I'm lying?"

His fingers stilled. "Then you’re something else entirely."

A shiver ran down your spine. There was no good answer to that statement, no version of this conversation where you simply walked away unscathed. Prowl was analysing every breath you took, every shift of your gaze, and you could tell he wasn’t convinced of anything yet.

Which meant you still had room to manoeuvre.

You exhaled slowly, letting some of the tension bleed into your posture. "Look, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t understand it myself. I just see things. Maybe it’s the future, maybe it’s just… echoes of something. But I swear, I’m not trying to cause trouble."

Another long pause. Then, unexpectedly, Prowl gave a small nod. "I know."

You blinked. "You…know?"

"I believe you—"

That was a lie.

"—for now."

That was the truth.

Your heart didn’t slow, but at least you weren’t being thrown out of the moving vehicle and turned into a pancake. Yet.

Prowl shifted gears slightly, his attention flicking back to the road. "But that means I need to make a report. If you are a genuine human outlier, then the others will want to know."

Your stomach dropped. "Wait—"

"It’s standard protocol."

Standard protocol, my ass. You knew what happened to potential threats. To unknown variables. If they didn’t deem you useful, they’d contain you. And if they couldn’t contain you—

No. You weren’t letting it get that far.

Think. Fast.

You forced a nervous chuckle, playing up the jittery, overwhelmed act. "I—look, I get that you have rules and whatever, but do you really think anyone’s gonna believe this? Some random human who can ‘see the future’? That sounds insane even to me, and I’m the one it’s happening to!"

Prowl didn’t react, but you could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

"Besides," you pushed on, "if you report me, what happens next? Do I get locked up? Studied? Thrown into some dark hole because it’s ‘safer’ for me that way?" You shook your head. "I don’t want that, and I hope you don’t want that either."

A calculated risk.

Prowl valued logic above all else. If you could frame this as an inefficient course of action—something that would cause more problems than it solved—he might hesitate.

Seconds passed. Then, finally:

"The Autobots are not like that, you would be treated fairly."

You bit back a scream. The hell they weren’t, nobody in their thrice damned war was innocent. Even sweet bots like Bumblebee had probably committed more war crimes than there were humans on the planet in his lifetime, and that wasn’t including the Autobots who were actually deranged like Pharma or Nominus Prime. Hells bells Prowl himself was considered one of the most ruthless Autobots simply due to his tactical mind and using logic to do whatever it took to complete his goals.

It was why you were so bloody terrified right now, you were arguably sitting in one the most dangerous transformers, and he wasn’t even a Decepticon.

How messed up was that?

Prowl was staring at you like you’d just rewritten the laws of physics before his optics. His fingers tapped once more against the door panel, a habit you were quickly realizing was tied to his processing speed.

"You expect me to believe that?" His tone was sharp, controlled, but there was an underlying note of something else—uncertainty.

You licked your lips. "You asked me to be honest."

Prowl was quiet. His engine rumbled softly, almost thoughtfully, and the tension in the car felt like a wire pulled too tight.

"You said you've seen us fighting." His voice was deceptively mild. "Dying."

You hesitated. "Yeah."

"Have you seen a bot named Jazz?"

Your breath caught. He was testing you. Trying to pin down just how much you knew. The problem was that you did know. You knew what would happen to him if the timeline followed its original course.

You swallowed hard. "Yes."

Something shifted in Prowl’s expression. A minute twitch at the corner of his mouth, the barest narrowing of his optics. "How?"

"It’s not pretty," you admitted. "It’s like I said. Flashes. Sometimes it’s clear, sometimes it’s not. But..." You hesitated. "He doesn’t make it, Prowl."

His fingers stilled, then the brakes slammed short. A startled yelp left your mouth as the seatbelt did its job from launching you at the sudden stop. With a pained groan you gently rubbed at your collarbone, already knowing a bruise was forming.

If you were lucky, that’s all you would receive from this confrontation.

The air in the car felt suffocating, heavy with unspoken words. Prowl’s processor was undoubtedly running through every possible explanation, every potential scenario. He was a strategist, a tactician—he lived by probabilities. And you’d just thrown something at him that had no logical precedent.

"You’re lying." His voice was hard, every bit of his form from the false holoform to the belt slowly tightening around you was tense.

"I wish I was."

Silence stretched between you. Then, finally, Prowl spoke again, voice quieter this time. "Tell me what happens."

You exhaled shakily, your mind racing. Telling him the truth was dangerous. But lying outright? That could be worse. You knew, of course, that a large part of the fanbase had shipped Jazz and Prowl together based on their interactions with one another, believing them to be conjuxed without ever actually saying so.

Based on his reaction now, you weren’t so certain that it was a fans dream after all.

And so, carefully, you began to speak.

“At some point there will be a battle in Mission City, about twenty miles north of the Hoover Dam. Jazz…he leads a distraction against Megatron to protect something from his grasp.” You swallowed harshly, eyes closing as you try to picture and word out what happens while not giving to much away. If you wanted to play the seer game then you couldn’t be to overtly powerful, you had to know things without knowing too much. The images flashed through your mind; Megatron standing atop a tall building, Jazz climbing up cannons blazing while throwing taunts, “He gets several shots in before … before.”

“Before?” Prowl questioned gently, despite already guessing the answer.

“Before Megatron rips him in two-” Prowl’s engine revs harshly at your words, cutting off what you had been planning to say next, as he sped off harshly. A startled shriek left you, your legs drew back up, hands grasping the seatbelt tightly as if it could in any way help you despite being a part of the very being who was potentially threatening you.

You listened to the tires squeal against the pavement as the world outside flies by, using every bit of ounce of will power you have to continue breathing and not suffer from another mental break as you watched houses fade away until there was nothing but desert as far as the eye could see.

Oh gods, oh gods. You were going to die for speaking the truth.

Which you supposed was how it generally worked but gods damn it you wanted to live longer than this! You had so many things you wanted to accomplish in this new life, and you couldn’t do any of them if you were buried six feet under the sand dunes! You had to think –

“He dies a hero” you blurted out suddenly before promptly wanting to smack yourself upside the head. He was obviously upset about at the very least a good friend, if not his literal other half, dying. Why on Earth did you decide to push it in further? Before you could scramble to fix it, the belt was retracted, the door flung open and Prowl was turning in a tight harsh circle.

Your body was flung from his, landing harshly in the gritty sand before rolling to a stop, your bag slamming into you. You barely had time to scramble up, coughing the coarse grains from your lungs before the familiar sounds of a transformation echoed in your ears.

Once you would have killed to hear that sound in person.

Now, as 13 feet of pure angry robot alien slammed his fist on either side of your far smaller body, one of which flattened a boulder into dust with no issues, you could only wish the sound was once more locked to behind a screen.

“He shouldn’t have to die at all,” Prowl snarled in your face, bright blue optics dimming to an almost purple shade – and oh gods he was losing it. You nodded quickly in agreeance; in the hopes he would calm down.

“You’re right, of course.” You clutched your bag to your chest as you scooted back a bit from his bared dentae, eyes wide as your body shook from the terror coursing through your veins. “He shouldn’t have to die, no one should. But maybe we can save him?” You ventured out hesitantly.

His optics narrowed at you as he leaned in closer, servos digging large grooves into the sand in the process. “How?”

You swallowed, flinching minutely at the small grains scratching down your throat and heavily wished for a bottle of water.

“Jazz was alone when he took on Megatron,” you forced yourself to look directly into his optics, focusing on the all the gears and shifting parts that moved behind the glass making up his sight. “He doesn’t have to be alone this time. You weren’t anywhere in my visions at all, that means if what I’m seeing is the future, then things are already changing. You can still save him. As long as he lives, there’s always a chance to save him.”

At least from that fate, you thought to yourself. You weren’t quite dumb enough to speak that out loud though. One near death experience was already more than you wanted, thank you very much.

His optics clicked and whirled as they went off and then onlined again, a shuttering breath leaving him as he pulled back. “You are right, of course. Jazz is still alive and we are going to do everything we can to make sure it stays that way.”

You nodded aggressively before freezing, “uhm…we?”

“Oh yes,” He moved till he was kneeling on one knee, the other curled up beneath him as he poked you in the chest, eyes once more blazing blue as he smirked. “You are going to help me keep my idiot conjux alive little seer. If it’s the last thing you do.”

Later that night, as you collapsed on top of the covers of your bed still fully closed, you made a mental note to yourself to never mention Jazz’s potential death ever again.

It might actually just end up being the last thing you ever did.

Prev Next

[lena-thinks-too-much]

Batdad's Mediocre Parenting

It should be noted that this headcanon is my take on fanon Bruce and has not resemblance to canon Bruce mostly because Bruce's parenting skills are wildly inconsistent in the comics.

So Bruce is kinda of a head over heart kinda guy right? As someone with a dad who approaches emotional problems with pure logic and nothing else, I kinda get it. Genuinely, if I hear "think like an engineer" while I'm going through a crisis one more time I'm going to break something. (I love him though, he's doing his best)

Bruce Wayne who loves his children and isn't great at expressing it. Bruce Wayne who wants to make all their problems go away but isn't particularly cognisant of how they would want to go about that.

Bruce Wayne who appeals to their logical side because that's what he understands best.

I think this is why, when his kids mess up, Bruce has a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth. Emotions muddy the mind and make decisions difficult. Solution? Push the emotions aside and focus on cold hard facts. But his kids are teenagers who aren't as emotionally constipated as he is so they can't actually do that.

So everytime he fires or benches someone, he thinks it's obvious it's out of concern. "You're acting rash and impulsive" or "you disobeyed direct orders" translates to 'I'm afraid you're going to get hurt'. But they don't hear that part.

I think the source for this theory is actually from Tim's run as Robin. I know I said I wasn't going to bring canon into this but it's relevant.

So right before Tim officially quits as Robin because Jack Drake finds out, he was actually indeterminately benched(it was like a couple weeks or so), followed by him quitting. Actually they day Jack forces him to quit Tim had just made up his mind to be Robin again

This was because of a series of events where a villain attacked Steph and breaks her leg, while threatening to kill her and Tim loses his shit and starts whaling on the guy. Then I think the guy disappears or disintegrates or something? I don't really remember but Tim fully believes he just killed a man and it really fucks with him. they find out later that the guy survived but that's irrelevant to the point

because Tim is convinced he just committed murder, he kinda starts losing control in the field. It gets bad enough that Bruce basically tells him to either get his shit together or stay home because he's a liability. Tim gets pissed off at Bruce's cold lack of empathy for his struggle and basically quits on the spot.

The reason I bring this up is because that conversation could have easily been read as Bruce appealing to logic instead of emotion. After all, Tim was the robin most similar to Bruce and Bruce is a logically driven person. Bruce probably relates to time via facts and logic. Bruce tried to put it in terms that he thought Tim would understand: logically pointing out the objective observations of behavior and why they're a problem, when Tim was too emotional to think logically.

so yeah. TLDR: Bruce is a good parent who cares about his kids, he's just really bad at speaking their language

[lunarflux]

I'M SORRY -

YOU KNOW WHAT -

Here are my unhinged thoughts about Aemond because I'm rewatching the "Inside the Episode" for ep6, and when Fabien says that Aemond can't be manipulated, and someone else is saying that Aemond is cold and rational - I FUCKING LOVE THAT, I'M OBSESSED, KEEP GOING WITH WHATEVER IS HAPPENING RN

Aemond is the ultimate perfect "villain" because (wait, hear me out) he has absolute reasons and logic behind his decisions. I totally disagree that he sees everything in black and white because logic is how you argue your way out of the gray area. The gray exists, but he can claw his way out of it. It's so easy to find faults in other villains, but with Aemond, he can argue against most points on the board. If you're a painfully logical person, you might almost find actions taken with emotional rationale to be kind of... annoying? I'm literally being reminded of a time a coworker told my boss that I was mean to her, and this was the actual conversation that followed when she approached me about it -

"Is it part of the job description to be her friend?" "Well, no." "Am I being mean to her or am I just not going out of my way to be nice to her" "No, you're not being mean. I think she's upset because you guys aren't friendly." "That's a personal issue then."

LIKE. I don't even have anything intelligent and long-winded to add here. I just get it. Emotional pleas annoy me. Sentimental pleas annoy me. However, I will say that I am like this now as a result of being someone who was very emotional and sentimental, and too often, those traits were thrown in my face. I tell people now that the "emotion has been trauma-ed out of me" because being emotional has never served me in a way that ended up rewarding unless it was being used for people I absolutely trust above all others (and there aren't many). Those people know that my behavior is driven by the fact that being emotional has betrayed me way too many times.

[reigenaratakasleftear]

Tower Of Hell - JJK x Reader

Heads rolling across the floor, scattered limbs flinging themselves lifelessly to the ground like gnats only to be mercilessly reconstructed back into their respective bodies. Not even being blessed the ability to bleed, to feel. Nor the sweet release of death. Only the repetitive occurrence of dying and being reborn, the curse of immortality burdening their puppeted corpses and.. the high pitched screeches of iPad kids on voice chat?

...You were playing Tower of Hell. It was a nice Saturday evening; lazily slouched in your bed with a bag of chips crinkled next you that you would occasionally stick a hand in and mindlessly munch. With a glass of fresh cold water and your headphones fit snugly over your ears, a random chill playlist you had found on Spotify blessing your ears, your mood couldn't possibly be distur—-—-

"YUUJI! YOU IDIOT! BAFOON! I WAS COUNTING ON YOU TO BEAT HIM!" A very pissed female voice rung through your headphones, causing you to push them up a little so your ears quite literally wouldn't combust.

"I-IM SORRY! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO WRAP AROUNDS!!"

three avatars gathered around in the towers bottom floor in the middle. Two bacons, one preppy. You observed from the sidelines. Why not listen in to some drama? I mean, there was a stage on this round you just couldn't climb past anyway.

"..sigh.. Why don't you two just do your own competition? You don't need t—-"

"SHUT UP!" simultaneously said the preppy and one of the bacons

You snickered at the sight, raising a brow. It was always silly seeing interactions like these with the voice chat. Poor guy though, he was actually trying to use some logic for whatever was occurring, it seemed. You snagged a handful of chips.

BoOoOooOoOing

BoOoooOooOoOoOing

A large, lag inducing rainbow 'creature' appeared in front of you with a blue sparkly gravity coil. This kid sported tons of limited items, the hell- how do you even equip that many expensive things? WHO would equip that many expensive things?!

The three chatting among themselves paused and the preppy girl quickly hopped over

"YOU! STOP BUYING GAMEPASSES! WE CANT WIN LIKE THAT!"

"And your point is~? You aren't even trying~" He bounced into the air again away from the three, making his way back up the tower. You were left squinting at your screen. Oh. Oh, that is not a kid.

This guy sounded way too old to be playing this. I was expecting an 11 year old with a Fortnite kid level screechy voice. One of those cousins. That happened to snatch his parent's credit card for Robux. Not this.. oddly attractive cocky twinkling-twinkle-twink voice.

A laugh was heard from your side, the green bar in the microphone above your avatar jumping for a split second. One of the bacons approached you.

"Excuse me miss, are you good at parkour?" He asked with a desperate undertone. So polite..

"Uh.. decent," he paused and you shifted your avatar a little from first person, the awkward silence enveloping the two.

"Perfect!! Can you please try to bea—-"

"Mm. No use. He bought a bunch of game passes, we can't beat him." The other bacon approached the two, avatar tilted toward his supposed friend.

BoOoOooOoOiNG

"Hahaha~ you wouldn't beat me anyway, you're all weak~"

"I WILL SPEED COIL YOUR ASS TO HIGH HEAVEN, OLD MAN!"

-

wc: 540

[mercurytrinemoon]

DIFFERENT LOOK AT SIGN TRIPLICITIES PART 1: AIR SIGNS

Aka things about Gemini, Libra and Aquarius that people don't talk about

Sometimes it's hard to talk about a certain sign and not bring up other signs of the same triplicity at the same time. I always strongly encourage a hollistic approach to astrology - this is why I wanted to talk about signs from an elemental point of view - because, if you filter each sign through the characteristics of the element, you'll understand it a lot quicker.

The first triplicity I wanted to talk about is air. In my e-book on astrology, I wrote:

Air signs are all about communication and the intellect, the social life, humanity and knowledge. Thought-driven, usually great with people or sciences, they inhale information quickly. They also have a tendency to detach and use logic to cope with situations, which can potentially make them too cold and impersonal.

So, this is what they ALL have in common. Gemini is not the only one who's into communication, Libra is not the only one who's social. And Aquarius is not the only one who uses logic. They're all built on the same foundations. So let's talk about it.

Impersonality of air signs

I was thinking of an encounter I had with a Libra Sun a few months ago... TWO times I was around the guy and both times he was like a light breeze that just gently brushed the social situation he was in. You know how you often say about Aquarius people that they're super friendly but detached?? People don't talk about Libras in the same sense but that is kind of like an airy thing overall. He was suuuper friendly but there was something shallow about his interactions (and this is where the Venus aspect kicks in with being superficial). It's as if he wasn't REALLY there.

Which is funny cause I, as an Aquarius rising, can be the same, especially when I meet people the first time and I have NO INTENTION to get to know them better.

And to contrast it: his friends that he's close with? Each of them has Sun in a different element (I know, I know... and they all perfectly complete each other and that's truly beautiful). Out of all of them, that airy guy is the most elusive and outgoing one. He'll be like "hey guyssssss" *small talk noises* *smiley face* *laughs at everything* *giggles* and then you blink and he's already somewhere else, just glancing over the people around him while vanishing into nothingness. It's also worth noting that his Mercury is in Libra as well. So it just adds to that type of communication and social interactions.

Air signs are floating above everyone's heads like a light cloud - you can definitely see them, but to pull them closer, you need a stronger anchor that will tickle and encourage the less impersonal side of them. It's the same with their attention, they can be busy doing their own stuff and then suddenly bombard you out of nowhere with an intricate observation or story that happened, just as if there was no radio silence between them and you in the first place.

Geminis can be similar but for them it's just the quickness of their mind that may make them seem not invested - they'll be buddies with everyone around but they won't put much thought into it. Like sure, if you're talking to them one-on-one and if you spark their interest, they will want to spend more time with you and get to know you better. For Geminis, it's their curious mercurial nature that will want to investigate you and gather as much information as they can. But if they're in a group setting, they will probably be too scattered to really focus on one person as they want to impress everyone around with what they have to say.

Libras and their masculinity

There is something about Libras that people don't understand. The sign is ruled by Venus but it's an air one - therefore a masculine one. It's the intellectual sign that thrives on ideas; it's also cardinal so it's not a passive energy. This is why you find a lot of Libra Suns, who are playing with different styles and who often gravitate towards more "masculine", tomboy-ish or rebellious themes. This also probably has to do with Sun being in its detriment here, as it may often find it hard to grasp its own identity - or, it just simply can't decide Libra-style. (I've touched on that a bit in my birth chart analysis of Doja Cat.)

But while people subconsciously expect venusian folks to be, well, stereotypically venusian, sometimes that is internalized by the sign itself. A healthy ego is usually non-judgmental of others and, as I just mentioned, Libra is not the best place for the Sun. Libra's fixation with having to appear "perfect" is a common thing and it often leads to them being picky towards those who break the conventional standards of beauty in any way.

Funnily, who's known for being one of the most judgmental signs? You've guessed it, it's Aquarius with their exiled Sun. The "I am better than you" narrative is something both air signs go through at one point in their life (or the majority of it if they're on the unhealthy side of the sign).

And then there's Gemini, thinking they have all the answers.

Constantly in their heads

Air signs all communicate with themselves in their heads. Internal monologue is especially true when it comes to busy minds. Geminis and Libras will probably be the ones who also blab and gossip in front of others (while Aquarius will stand in the corner, quietly judging them and questioning their intelligence) but all three have the tendency to battle with their own thoughts.

The sign of Gemini is associated with the nervous system and I always say they're the most jittery sign of all (wiggling in their chair? Nervously touching their hair? Stumbling on their own words? Yup, a Gemini... or Aries, but that's for another time). Well this nervous behaviour is also often present in their own heads. As a Gemini Moon collector, I always laugh how my mercurial pals will often have a look on their faces as if the cogs in their brains were starting to malfunction and they space out for a split second. In this very second, they either experience an overheat from all the information they process or they just had a massive light bulb moment. Or, alternatively, they were proven to be wrong.

Which Geminis hate btw.

Libras, on the other hand, will torment themselves over the options they have. Which, some might say that is a blatant stereotype, but have you seen a Libra's post on instagram? It's the same 5 photos but with them doing a different face expression or placing their hand in a different spot. What is this if not them just not being able to make up their mind and post only one?

Exactly.

But what people don't talk about is, Geminis are similar in that regard. Gemini will not be able to make up their mind, especially a Gemini Mars. Directing your energy into one specific area? What is that? That is why they're a jack of all trades, master of none. They simply can't focus on one thing. Researching 5 different things at once? Completely normal for them. Tell me, Geminis, how many times you've googled a random anatomy fact while cooking dinner?

Now Aquarius is actually a fixed sign so their asses are stubborn af and if they decide on something, they just stick to it. They do still fixate over things in their minds though. From having an existential crisis and critiquing themselves to having so much creative ideas that their heads hurt. Texting you at 4:00 in the morning? Sleeping is not an option when they're caught up in the new convoluted project that they came up with a few hours earlier. Their notes app? Hundreds of files. Their web browser? 20 cards open at once.

Aquarius loves people but hates people

And speaking of which, Aquarius folks are known for being the friendly one. Modern astrology went one step further and gave them a badge of the nutty social creature thanks to the association with the 11th house and groups of people (which, you know we DON'T do it here). And of course, Aquarius is going to be friendly and communicative... because it's an air sign. But it started being painted as the ultimate social butterfly when in fact, most of them actually hate people.

Now hear me out.

They love to be in their heads, they love tinkering with whatever makes their minds busy, like lil crazy scientists. But let's go back to what I've said about them sometimes being judgmental. Especially in their youth, being a snob is an Aquarius thing. Whatever is popular, they will dismiss and say "it's crap and people know nothing about REAL valuable quality things".

Just to give a real-life example, I just listened to a podcast with Mike Shinoda, an Aquarius Sun/Mercury/Mars, and he talked about how when he was younger he had this kind of snobbish-above-everyone-else type of thinking. He gave an example of this cheerleader from high school whom he didn't like and how he once saw her wearing a Green Day patch and he thought "first of all, she doesn't really listen to Green Day, she probably knows only one song; second of all, I now hate Green Day because she likes them" (this is btw, the same energy he gave 20 years ago when he said "slow death" when answering the question of "what do you prefer: Backstreet Boys or N*SYNC"). And I was listening to it, and I thought, THIS is exactly what a young Aquarius would say. Also, that just rings a bell cause I can be like that to this very day, oops.

So as far as Aquarius folks will be welcoming in a social setting, due to them liking to collect data and share thoughts with others, they will probably much rather be on their own or with their close besties. Also, if they're not the smartest and most awesome person in the room, they much rather not be in there at all.

Being the leaders in change, especially when it comes to social (or science) things is a byproduct of them being an air sign ruled by Saturn. So they think of changing the current status quo or innovating the old ways of being. The change should be sudden though (remember it's a fixed sign, there's no inbetween), if you don't adapt right away, you're automatically deemed as mentally stuck and dismissed.

Mind comes first

A note on Aquarius folks: they like to ask questions, they can be kinda quirky in their interests and whatnot but generally, they are not a crazy conspiracy theory fanatics (which sometimes they're painted as such). Aquarius is ruled by Saturn, it likes things to be in order and making sense. Aquarius also likes to back up everything with science - that's so against being a flat-earther or something. Sure, as an air sign they like to explore new territories and like to know what's out there so there may be an interest in space, sci-fi, aliens or anything that acts as an exciting piece of knowledge that fires up their brains… They're just massive geeks in that regard. But don't make it so dramatic, look to Scorpios for crazy fanatism and paranoia, bahahahaha.

Like I just heard an Aquarius Sun say "I always try to rationalize things". Actually I hear that from Aquarius folks a lot.

Either way, they can walk with their head in the clouds but there's always something thought-driven about them. Even if they experience a lot emotionally, they most likely will try to either find a solution to it or find a logical explanation for it. Orrrr, they can talk or write about it just to get these thoughts out and sort out the library in their brains.

You gotta understand that with air signs mind and thoughts come first. Obviously you take the whole chart into account and mesh it all together so it's rarely all black and white but if we were to highlight an air sign's DNA, it's all about ideas. They're not driven by fiery hearts and the physical feelings that come with experiences. They're not driven by sentiments and the need for emotional unity. Nor are they driven by the material, seeking the groundedness in the world around them. Sure, air signs can be passionate about their projects, they can be dreamers, they can be builders... but they're almost shapeshifting throughout their journey of life to try to fully experience whatever mental inkling they have at a given moment.

[sunhated-a]

Okay I got more questions…. (hope I’m not annoying you in any way. I’m the same guy who asked the nihilists question.)

This is more directed to muzans canon backstory.

So a observation, since one of narcissisms root causes is also being emotionally neglected as a child, i think that muzan was never giving enough emotional attention by his parents or anyone really.

But did he ever think about his past and know that he was abused in someway? Or did he just surpass everything about his times as a human that aren’t useful? Or did he just ignore it since it was a long time ago and he thinks it doesn’t really matter at this point?.. or does he not care about it?

Hello anon, I'm glad to see you back! And please, don't worry about annoying me with questions like these, I adore them. They are a huge reason why I made this blog so feel free to come and ask anything whenever.

NOW! To answer your question. For canon Muzan? I absolutely think you're onto something there. I don't know about diagnosing him with Narcissism as a personality disorder. NPD is a very complicated and extremely misunderstood disorder that should be approached with empathy and care. However! He does display some of the traits of what we colloquially call narcissism.

I think Muzan deludes himself into thinking that perfection is his own escape from his past. The way it reminds him of weakness, but the way that he forcibly makes his demons dependent on him does indicate a need to be needed, and his demands to be worshiped by them definitely comes across as someone who deeply craves attention, love and respect. To be seen as perfect in their eyes and nothing less. The way that lack of control over a situation or one of his demons will lead him into a rage, to the point that he is exacting and utterly merciless.

It all leads me to believe that he is deeply affected by his human life.

I went back to the extended flashback scene that we were given in the anime recently. And while Muzan did live in lavish conditions (especially for the time) and was surrounded by servants, we never actually saw any of his family members. We never really saw a scene between himself and his mother or father, or his siblings, or much of a relationship between him any anyone really. So it's not too much of a reach to say that he did suffer from emotional neglect, or some sort of abandonment. Which would explain his resentful and hateful feelings towards much of the world.

Now why he seemed to face this abandonment-- if at all-- is still up in the air. Maybe his parents just weren't sure how long he'd be alive for, maybe they didn't want to get attached, maybe they sucked, maybe they're dead. It could be a lot of factors there.

I think that while canon Muzan remembers his past with stunning clarity, he engages with it with the same cold logic he does with everything else. If he has some resentment towards his family, he doesn't seem to show it. Didn't even mention them whenever he narrated his own story.

I, however, think Muzan's past affects him deeply still. He just doesn't show it. Or at the very least, in an outward way. He's far too fixated on his future to really think back on his past, and the person that he once was. Maybe he isn't even aware of how neglect and abandonment has affected him because he shows a lack of introspection throughout the series, especially when it comes to his relationships to others.

But we do see him display a deep fear of abandonment at the end of the manga, which I won't get into detail to avoid specific spoilers, but if you know you know.

But it lends credence to the idea that Muzan never had any substantial relationships.

[luviddreqms]

Can you tell us more on inverted dreamswap characters personality traits

HELL YEAH

Cw: Mentions of drug abuse, alcoholism, and other stuff that may not sit well with you

Revion (Dream's invert) : He's that one guy that people tell you to avoid interacting with as much as possible. Revion wants to watch all of humanity burn and make life as uncomfortable as possible for what he sees as mistakes of creation. He flirts with people to objectify them and give people motives to become criminals. If he doesn't do these things to you, congrats, he likes you. This is partially Bex (Ani's invert)'s fault, Bex killed whatever sympathy Revion had left in him. Even if he looks dumb he is emotionally intelligent. It's how he knows what gets people to tick and why he likes people who don't fit into social norms personality wise. (Also, he's a big drug addict and a alcoholic)

Bliss (NM's invert): The smallest things set him off, and he thinks everyone is against him even when they're not, which is why he has no friends. He has roommates, but just because you live together doesn't mean you have to like each other. The way he dresses tells you a lot about how he thinks about himself, too. He also has a pet fox, Lenny (Kevin's invert), that he neglects, so the other two have to take care of her instead. Lenny is literally the sweetest angel (literally) that you couldn't believe came from the same household as Bliss. Bliss is pretty smart logically, though.

Jioo (Ink's invert): The sweetest person ever, very popular with people, many friends, but his kindness often leads to him being a people pleaser, which leads him ultimately into situations he never wanted to be in. He's the yes men of yes men. It takes a long time before he eventually reaches his limit.

Hallow (Cross's invert): Despite his cold exterior, everything about him stems from his insecurities. From the way he dresses to how he acts, it's to make sure he's as textbook definition normal as possible so that he doesn't leave any kind of impression to people that he's weird. He approaches things logically, and even if he's blunt, the things he says are technically fact. He's still human, and he still has interests. They're just hidden deep deep down.

Robyn (Finch's invert): He's loud, reckless, and more open. He has way too much energy than the average person and sometimes just says things without thinking. An act before you think kind of guy.

Patch (Error's invert): Remember fanon Error? The "UwU-boy" Error? That's how he acts. Now, also add a victim complex in there, and you have Patch.

I just wanna explain the surface level definition of a victim complex before we move on; it's when a person feels they are constantly victim. People who suffer from this can start blaming others for their problems, take things personally, feel unseen, and isolate themselves socially. Another thing: just identifying with some of these surface level symptoms doesn't mean you have a victim complex or any other mental illness. Please check with an actual professional, this is just to give an idea on how Patch's personality is.

Rust (Blue's invert): In silly terms; he comes the closest to matching Bliss's freak. In actual terms; he has anger issues. But he can be nice to people he actually likes. He also very much enjoys violence and is a masochist.

Deslor (Hacker's invert): He is not a fan of intimacy. Specifically sexual intimacy. He's just got too much on his plate for that. After all, being a doctor in an underground clinic while having your medical license revoked for malpractice is a taxing job. He takes his job seriously and is a germaphobe

Randall (Randy's invert): You mention being a dad to him once, and he'll look at you with disgust. To him, Deslor and Servie are annoying coworkers. To him, all that matters is that the job is done and that he's paid.

Servie (Bobby's invert): He's a very calm and soft-spoken guy. He's really popular and is actually in school, studying to be a dentist. He plays baseball as an extracurricular and prefers to be in the great outdoors than be inside cooped up in a house.

[theradicalscrivener]

I think one of the reasons I like you so much as an author, is that your stories involving cock shrinking aren't always about humiliating the guy who got their cock shrunk. And that the shrinking is not a punishment for cheating or jealousy, or a cuckolding fantasy (which is the most common kind of stories I find that involve cock shrinking written with straight couples in mind). Maybe it's because your stories focus on gay men and relationships, so it doesn't get stuck on ideas of patriarchal masculinity.

It's very difficult to find anyone writing about small dick/cock shrinking where the guy appreciates it or loves it. I think that's one of the reasons I always will cherish Acorn.

Even though you do include humiliation in those stories sometimes... I just really like how you you approach it. I think I especially love when you add a little of appreciation even in primarily humiliation stories. Like in Gifted Exchange, where a small part of Blake seems to enjoy his tiny dick even if he is full of despair about it. He doesn't like it, necessarily. But a small part of him enjoys it. And that makes me crazy. I'm obsessed with that feeling.

Well, that's all I wanted to write. Hopefully I wasn't too weird.

Good luck on your projects!

Funny story up top. When I wrote No Dick December, I didn't know that this was an established genre or that there was a market for it. It was literally a comment I heard made by a douchey co-worker at work. He was like "girls who participate in no shave november are going to participate in no dick december" and I was like. Wow. What a douchebag and oh. That's a fun idea. It was fun because it let me experiment with some of my darker thoughts, but once I realized that this was a genre that was already established, I was like. Oh, that's really cool actually. I love weird transformation stories, but I get really burnt out on going really dark. Wouldn't it be fun if I did a dink shrink story that was also kind of fun?

It kind of tied into an idea that I enjoyed with hyper stuff. Like, there's a point where the initial rush begins to wear off, and the dude is like. Oh shit. This won't fit in my pants. This is a bad idea. I need to not do this, but there's a dark urge in the back of his mind like. Dude, this fucking rocks! I really love toying with the idea of like, the logical mind being like. Wait. This is bad, right? and the... maybe not horny mind. More like, the part of this person's mind that is honest with themselves even though it flies in the face of what others would say.

Like, Acorn was really big about this. I referenced Travis's gym bros repeatedly in the story but they never actually show up until the epilogue. Every scene, even the ones that don't take place at the diner, Travis is either alone or with someone who is encouraging him. I think that had he gone to the gym after his first training shift and it was there that he started to realize that his dick was a little smaller, he may have panicked. Like, his gym bros would have been like

"It's not that cold in here, dude," *snicker*

"Shut up. It's still way bigger than yours..."

I don't think Travis would have quit right then and there, but he would have spiraled harder.

In fact, I had originally written a scene where Travis runs into one of his gym bros at the showers before class. (After he and Curtis had fooled around in the cafeteria). It was... I don't think it was a bad scene, but Travis was very passive during it. Curtis basically had to defend him, and I was like... I don't think Travis is ready for this. I want him to be able to defend himself. It's important for his personal growth that he's the one standing up to this guy. Also, it was a bit of a downer and I really liked how fun and flirty the whole story had been despite teasing these ideas that Travis had these anxiety issues.

Come to think of it "anxiety issues" defines a lot of my favorite characters. Troy was a bundle of nerves at the beginning before the twins really got him to relax. He still spirals every so often, but he's not as anxious as before. Devon and Noah were side characters that were really not intended to have a major impact on the story, but I got kinda fascinated by them.

Devon isn't as overtly anxious as other characters, but he does have some issues that are more a result of like, he's a quiet/shy person but also intensely independent and he was kind of infantalized by his family so this whole wanting to be independent vs slowly realizing that he did need to ask for help sometimes vs not wanting to be treated the way he was treated by his family kind of made the core of his internal issues.

Noah, however, is very much the archetype I mentioned earlier which is this dude is super anxious and finds out that not only is he super into something kinda freaky, but he has the ability to reach out and grab it. He's that type of character cranked to 11 which makes him a lot of fun. Also, every time I get a chance to have Noah and Rex feed off of each others' vibes is a ton of fun. I know some people are like "why did you make Noah so small" the answer is, I set his size based off of Rex's. I wanted him to have an almost literal imp on his shoulder.

But typing back to your original point, I feel like I often like to play off this idea that even the humiliation is enjoyable to a certain degree, and that both feeds the enjoyment which feeds the humiliation which feeds the enjoyment... Even in a non humiliation setting this feedback loop of "I shouldn't be enjoying this, but the fact that I am enjoying it makes it more fuck uo, which makes the fact that I shouldn't be enjoying it even *more* fucked up which makes the enjoyment even great!" it just a very fun spiral to go down.

[midnightraine131]

Summary:

Prioritising Aruani porn over plot. Bye

Don't ask me what I'm smoking. Just read it.

Warning: Anal sex, Angry Armin, Filth, Lots lots of filth, Unedited so excuse for grammar mistakes.

‐----------‐------------------------------------------------

She seemed to notice the redness under his eyes as the smile quickly faded from her lips. To avoid unnecessary drama, Armin turned away from her. He needed time to process things that didn't make sense to him. He couldn’t just act on impulse. He needed a plan. A logical plan. Annie was cleverer than any other woman he knew. One mistake, and she would figure out that he already knew Pieck was present at the time Carly disappeared. What did the case have to do with the Leonharts? Were they the conspirators all this time? Were they the people behind the media blackout of Marco Bodt’s death that led to injustice? What exactly happened during that night 12 years ago? Despite all these questions swarming inside Armin’s head, there was a small space inside his mind where he wanted to believe Annie would not just kill Marco without any reason.

 

Was it going to be worth it to throw away Annie’s trust?

 

He needed to act, but he didn’t want Annie to figure it out too soon.

 

“Armin?” Cold fingers swiped across his cheeks, a feather-light touch that he almost didn’t feel her fingers. “You’re not okay. Do you want to go home?” Annie offered. Armin nodded. He was glad she never asked anything after that.

 

“I think I’m too exhausted to drive back to The Bronx. Can we stay the night at my place? It’s just a five-minute drive from here.” He forced a smile, glancing at her.

 

Her eyes lingered on him for a while, as if she was trying to read him through his eyes. “Fine,” she replied. “And Adeline?” She turned her head in the direction where Eren and Mikasa were. Eren held Adeline as they played with the confetti. Mikasa wiped a coin-sized sugary icing across Eren’s cheeks as the three of them laughed together. It was Mikasa who first noticed them approaching.

 

“Armin, you okay?” She met them halfway. “You look awfully exhausted.”

 

Armin smiled at her. “I know. We should head home soon. Can you take care of Adeline for tonight?” he asked.

 

“Sure, no problem with me. I live nearby. We could play some more. Right, Adeline?” Eren butted in, swinging Adeline up in the air. She was obviously high on sugar, which made her very awake.

 

“Eren, her bedtime is 9 pm. She should have been in bed two and a half hours ago.”

 

“Armin is right, Eren.” Mikasa held his arms to stop him from swinging the child.

 

“Boo! You guys are boring.” He put Adeline down on the chair. She glared at both Armin and Mikasa. “Is Annie staying with you?” Eren asked, wiping the icing off his cheeks with his finger and licking it.

 

Armin looked at his wristwatch; it was forty-five minutes past eleven. “Yeah, I asked her to stay with me. It’s already very late to drive back to The Bronx.” Armin lied. He knew very well Annie could drive at any time of the day. It’s just that he couldn’t let her get away. He sighed in relief when Annie didn’t say anything about that.

 

They bid goodbye to their friends who were still celebrating. They congratulated the newly engaged couple before walking towards the door, with Annie walking a few steps ahead of him. He looked around, and Krista was nowhere to be found. Probably she decided to leave earlier after their conversation. He was wrong. He should’ve expected this to happen. Krista always hated his job and what he had done all these years. There was no way she would help him.

 

Before reaching the door, Annie turned to Armin, catching his arms to bring his thoughts back to earth. “We should drive in separate cars. There are paparazzi outside. I think they came here for Krista, but they are trying to get shots of you too.”

 

Armin glanced through the glass panels; cameras were already pointing in their direction, ready to shoot. He was sure they could see them. The problem was Niccolo’s restaurant didn’t have security staff for crowd control. Perhaps he didn’t anticipate these kinds of situations—that Sasha’s circle of friends is composed of rich and famous people. He said the latter way too sarcastically in his mind.

 

Annie approached one of the waiters; the boy in the tux looked stunned just talking to her. The boy nodded and approached him, “Sir, please follow me.” He instructed as he radioed something on his walkie-talkie.

 

Armin glanced at Annie, who was standing still in her spot. “What about you?”

 

“I’ll be fine. I work with most of them. If they see me, they’ll be disappointed,” she jested, shrugging her shoulders.

 

Understanding the situation, Armin took one step closer to her and whispered, “I’ll see you at my place. Please be alright.” She nodded in response. He leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. They heard a wild clicking of cameras outside.

 

“Your fans have gone wild; what more if I start making out with you here? They will probably lose their minds,” she surmised, earning a chuckle from him. She turned her back on him and walked towards the exit, but before the waiters opened the wooden door, she removed her heels and picked them up with her hands like she was jumping into a warzone. Armin felt bad at that moment; is this how much she would sacrifice for him? For what reason?

 

“Sir, let’s go. Your car is ready. I will lead you to the back door; there are no people there right now,” the waiter instructed, and he followed suit. True to his word, as soon as Armin stepped outside the back door, there were no people there, only his car and drums of waste. It appears that their back door happens to be the staff smoking lane. The valet parker emerged from his car and passed him the keys. He hurriedly caught it, tipped both boys, and drove off.

 

Luckily, the place wasn’t too far from his apartment. He immediately spotted Annie’s car as he drove one round to park his car. He pulled up immediately, but it took him a while before leaving the car. He needed to cultivate a different persona before facing her alone. Growing up, he got used to putting on a mask every single day so it wouldn’t be hard to do it with Annie. He needs—

 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock. He exited the car like he wasn’t having an existential crisis a second before. “Hi.” He smiled.

 

“What are you taking so long?” she inquired, this time intending to walk behind him.

 

“Oh, I was just thinking about how my life changed in less than a month,” he lied, and they proceeded to walk towards the elevator.

 

“If you ask me, I wouldn’t be surprised. A mysterious celebrity case that shook the whole world is being single-handedly handled by the youngest D.A. ever elected in history…” She pressed the floor number.

 

“Elected by default.”

 

“…The same person who will be standing in the court with the case files that are anticipated to be the trial of the century…”

 

“Jean Kirstein and Levi Ackermann are in the picture too,” he interjected, and the elevator dinged, signaling they reached the floor of his apartment.

 

“…The same person who directly roasted the news media outlets and the P.I.O. live on T.V…”

 

“They deserve it.”

 

“…The same person who has a questionable dating history…”

 

“I can’t comment on that.” He opened the door for her. She walked past him and stepped on the pristine white marbled floor, turning her heels to face him.

 

“…The same person who happens to be a cutie…”

 

“Oh,” Armin was taken aback for a second before he refuted, “As quoted by Ms. Annie Leonhart, Chief Columnist and acting Editor-in-Chief of Luminary Times.” Closing the door behind him, Armin took a quick glance at his wristwatch; it was two minutes past midnight. He leaned into her ear and whispered, “Happy Birthday, Annie.”

Read more

[braintapes]

Musing, rambling a bit here about The Batman (2022), I kinda don't get the take that the last phase of the Riddler's plan was out of character or out of line or too disconnected to the build-up. Or, like, that it's a case of a villain making good points and then having to do something absurdly evil as a cheap way to make them morally gray/more villainous.

To me there's a very clear sense of escalation in the plan itself and it represents the logical thematic endpoint of the Batman's approach to vigilantism before he met Selina/Catwoman and started to realize, oh, he doesn't have it all figured out, actually.

Batman's original approach to vigilantism is what inspired the Riddler - Beat up [harm, enact violence on, etc] the Bad Guys, and then just kinda...leave anyone else to their own devices. We don't see a lot of Batman, like, aiding people, really. Just a lot of beating people up. It's how we open then movie. At that point in time, he only sees Bad People and Potential Bad People. He only starts to reconsider his preconceived notions when Selina calls him on his shit for it and stands up for Annika as an innocent person who, due to the city's corruption, no one else will ever stand up for. Before that, he's not looking for innocence, looking out for victims. Vengeance isn't about the Innocent, it's about getting your anger out.

Edward Nashton takes the idea of Vengeance and idolizes it, puts it on a pedestal. Consider: The Batman himself is very disconnected from regular ol' people in Gotham, with his outfit and the way he swoops in and out of places undetected. We, as an audience, get to see the Batman stumble and work his way through things, but to anyone else this guy might as well be a myth or something, y'know? Batman is terrifying at this point in time but also, undeniably mysterious and cool. A figure, more than a reachable, fallible human being.

Combine that with the fact that the Batman's approach gets results. Specifically, 'results' here meaning the Bad Guys get brutalized. That is what Edward wants, that is what he thinks is right. Violence and coldness is all he knows and all he expects from life. And he wants to be Batman. He wants to be the one dispensing Vengeance (for himself) upon the ones who've wronged him. Thus, Vengeance idolized turns into Justice.

I have...A lot more to get into with this but this got Quite long so I'm putting it under a read more. Read below for some lengthy thoughts on Edward, Selina, and Batman's characters and how their stories work and make sense to me.

The Riddler as we see him in the movie is very self-centered. I mean that in a descriptive, morally neutral way, btw. Rather, his self-centeredness loops in on itself and warps his perceptions, leaving him so deep and entangled in a hole of his own pain and misery he cannot see past it anymore. He wraps up his plans in the words of political change to rally others to his cause, and maybe he even really believes it himself to some extent, but at the end of the day it is not about that. He wants to Be the Boot. Edward Nashton wants to be on top, he wants to be superior and wants everyone to know it. That's a core conceit of his character, historically, his sense of superiority and his need for people to acknowledge that superiority.

[Stray thought here: His sense of superiority tends to manifest in his dynamic with Batman, his obsession with deploying schemes and riddles specifically for Batman to solve, with him considering Batman the only potential intellectual equal and therefore the only one worthy of his time. I'm neither here nor there about this version of the Riddler turning that onto the entire city of Gotham itself. I think I can understand it as a stepping stone to him fully becoming The Riddler(tm). I suspect, though, that in the context of this being the only movie we Have to go off of right now, and also how goddamn /noir/ it is, this is a big reason why a lot of people don't jive with This particular version of the character even when they're big fans of most other Riddlers. The vibes are definitely different and I can see where people would slide off of this one. Interested on people's thoughts on this, though.]

He is frustrated with his current lot in life and feels he needs more. Not materially, not in wealth, but in recognition. He desperately wants for someone to recognize him, tell him he's good. Not just good, but the best. The smartest. And to actually treat him like it. He wants the respect and power he sees people like his boss at work flaunt through ill gotten means. That is a fundamental part of his story in both the movie and the Riddler: Year One comics.

It's the messy, ugly, gnarled part of his story/character and it's the part that I find so fascinating, so compelling about him in the first place. His circumstances are undeniably tragic and sympathetic. He was failed, utterly, by the city. He needed and still needs help he never and likely Will Never receive. He has stared into the naked, dark heart of Gotham and seen the corruption so deeply rooted within it.

And then, seeing that, he chooses and plans to perpetuate the violence. Selina Kyle grew up in awful and undeniably tragic and sympathetic circumstances too. The daughter of a ruthless mob boss (THE mob boss of mob bosses no less!), raised by her mother who was basically trapped in her service to Falcone and then ultimately murdered, leaving the orphaned child Selina to fend completely for herself. Think about all that Selina would've had to face due to her gender, race, and economic class on top of that. Come on. But she didn't do anything approaching a mass murder about it all.

Selina's experiences left their marks on her, no doubt. She keeps her walls up, remains extremely guarded and hesitant to open up to others. But when she finally allows herself she loves and cares very deeply. She took in Annika, looked out for her, was doing everything she could to help this poor girl even when it meant Selina had to go out of her own way for it. She didn't have to. She chose to.

Selina will lie, just as Edward does. Will try to project the image that she doesn't care, actually. That she's only in it for herself. She'll describe her bonds as 'taking in strays' when the truth is, Selina cares deeply for the few connections she chooses to foster. Then, when Annika ends up murdered (in a manner just like her mother) Selina's own rage and grief bubbles over and she seeks her own form of Vengeance / Justice.

And I need to take a minute to say that Selina's story is so, SO fucking core to the movie and I don't see as much discussion on that. The Riddler is a very obvious reflection of Batman but so is Selina! Both of them embody and reflect aspects of Batman/Bruce and that is their specific narrative purpose. They're still, of course, their own characters and that's why I find them so interesting to watch and rewatch when I come back to this movie. But I cannot talk about just one of the three main characters without talking about the others. The three of them work in tandem to form, propel, and then drive home the movie's thesis:

Vengeance will not save Gotham City. Vengeance will not save Bruce Wayne. The corruption of Gotham is founded on and enforced by violence – currently, primarily via the various mafia families in Gotham. The violence is all encompassing in form – physical, mental, emotional, economic, etc.

Batman is green in this story, still settling into himself. Bruce Wayne's central dilemma is coming to grips with why he's doing what he's doing as Batman. He has practically dissolved himself in this role, yet he does it without clarity of purpose. He thinks what he's doing is saving the city, but it's not. All he's doing is, as I said earlier, beating people up. But his battle is so much bigger than punching people can solve. He needs to come to grips with that and get out of his own goddamn head and isolated bubble through his interactions with Selina and Edward.

Consider the contrast in Batman's communication with Selina vs. Edward. Batman interacts with Selina face-to-face throughout the movie, interacts with her. Now, granted, he's still got his head in his own ass for a good portion of that and it isn't until a good way through that he actually starts to listen to her. But they back and forth, they learn about each other, they work together and most importantly form a connection with each other.

At the climax of Selina's story, she heads off on her own enact her Vengeance on Falcone and kill him. Gun in hand, she'd have fired off the shot with no hesitation had Batman not stopped her. In response to Selina's insistence, “He has to pay!” Batman responds, “You don't have to pay with him. You've paid enough.” I cannot overemphasize how important this exchange is. This represents the culmination of their connection and its importance. Selina admired Batman, admired Vengeance, yes. But she only takes that Vengeance to the extreme point of murder when she's caught, trapped in a vortex of her own grief, despair and rage. She's at her lowest point her, and it's Batman who goes to her, who provides the voice that says, you don't need to suffer anymore. You don't have to be stuck here anymore.

Killing Falcone, however cathartic it would've been, wouldn't have changed her suffering. Wouldn't have changed that she'll have to continue on with the grief in her heart for those she loved. That is a central point of Batman's character, reflected here in Selina.

And to be clear, I don't think the Batman of the beginning of the movie would've stepped in like this. He wouldn't have said anything, wouldn't have tried to reach Selina. He comes to care about her (in his own, weird, Bruce-y way, but he does care very much) and changes for the better as a result. On an interpersonal level (well. As interpersonal as can be had with these two lol), Batman has learned a bit more about why the people of Gotham end up in the situations they do and has learned some nuance compared to his rather black and white thinking from earlier. He is now ready to help people, to be not just single-minded Vengeance, but Hope. A hand, reaching out to others to lift, to save, etc.

Batman's communication with Edward, by contrast, is decidedly one-way. Edward has been trying to contact the Batman (as per the Riddler: Year One comics) but was unable to do so. When he finally succeeds, it's in the form of the Riddler leaving specifically addressed notes and encrypted letters. These aren't opportunities to exchange ideas, experiences, viewpoints. This is the Riddler leading the Batman along a path he laid out. That doesn't pave the way for connection or the kind of back-and-forth we saw with Selina.

Going off of the Riddler: Year One comics, I get the impression that Edward Nashton is someone who, as an adult, has cut himself off from others yet desperately craves connection – a kind of hedgehog dilemma type situation. For a very long portion of his life he has not had seemingly any close bonds with other people. No one close enough to call a true friend. No family. Not just no family, but getting bounced from home to home, constantly teased and tantalized with the prospect of a family that he only ever ends up denied. As an independent adult, he carries that with him. Feels different from everyone else for about a million reasons (said childhood, being one, along with an implied neurodivergence, and probably other stuff i'm forgetting?). He has no reference point for true, genuine, positive connection with others as far as I can tell. And that warps into a deep chasm of resentment.

Edward is markedly envious of others and this is like, THE root of his need to prove himself, his whole superiority thing. He's envious of Bruce Wayne – people feel sad for Bruce Wayne, people feel sympathy and care about Bruce Wayne, even though he and Edward are both orphan kids. And it's not fair. Of course it's not.

But Edward's actions as of the movie aren't about dealing with the system itself. It's about Edward, about him getting to finally sit at his (imagined) Rightful Place in society. I think, in his head, he envisioned himself ruling over the wrecked remains of a desolate and ruined Gotham with Batman as his enforcer. What else would there be to do, after all? After all the water has drowned all the rats? It'd all have to be rebuilt. He was planning on rebuilding it with Batman.

In order to do that, it has to be swept away, of course.

I get a sense of 'if they can play dirty, so can I' in Edward's descent to becoming the Riddler in the comic. Edward's idolization of Batman came before he found out the full gravity of what was happening, the seeds had already been there. But through his investigation, Edward watches more and more how the people with power in Gotham use, attain, and maintain it by playing out of bounds of what is supposed to be acceptable and legal. It's incredibly frightening and demoralizing. I think seeing Batman as an independent agent also outside of the law, outside of any official capacity, even, is what truly inspires Edward to become the Riddler and form his plan.

I'll close out here soon but before I do I want to think back again to the end of Selina's story. She nearly kills Falcone but doesn't. She allows Batman to stop her from firing the gun. Thematically, we understand this is a good thing for Selina. She's already been through so much. She's already paid enough. She can let go. She doesn't have to pay with him, now.

But Edward does. Edward does kill Falcone. He can't let go of Vengeance. And it drives him to the extreme. If Vengeance is the goal, then killing someone who needs to pay is right. If killing one person is right, then so is killing another. And another. But with the corruption rooted so deep in Gotham, the rats are everywhere, carrying their plague everywhere. There's Bad Guys everywhere who need to be beat up. Edward is streamlining Vengeance with the flood. Making everyone pay. Everyone deserves Vengeance as far as he's concerned.

He has no positive connections, has not received any of the help he's needed throughout his life, he holds no love for people despite wanting that, badly...And because of that, I think Edward's resigned himself to being the Riddler, to going to these extreme measures. But that is a choice he actively makes. He and Selina are both victims of the violence and corruption of Gotham City. Yet, Selina chooses to foster deep, close connections, however few they are. She is tempted to the extreme, but allows herself to be pulled from it by her connection [to Batman]. Edward chooses to hurt others, to make everyone pay because he's hurt.

To put it a slightly different way, Selina Kyle and Batman change, allow themselves to be changed by each other. When Edward is confronted by the failure of his plan, by his critical misread of Batman's feelings on the whole killing thing, he doesn't consider the possibility of change. None of the foundation was laid for that, and he's not psychologically in a place where he can let himself be open to anything other than his plan, his vision.

With all that in mind, I find his plans and actions within the movie to be fully believable for the kind of person he was written to be. He was corrupted himself, in a way, too - lying to others just to recruit them and then leave them to drown with the rest of the city. :p

Okay one laaaast last thing I promise. I really really wish we had a comic run for Selina/Catwoman too. I miss her and would love to have more supplementary material to talk about her with :( She adds a lot of heart to the film and provides the alternative to the Riddler's worldview imo and I think that's something that people tend to overlook when saying the Riddler is an example of 'characters making a good point but then doing something absurdly villainish so they can still be villainized' like. i get it. i feel that frustration often w/ superhero stuff in particular. But I don't feel that's this Riddler!

anyway thank you if you read all this novel of a post. i have. feelings about this movie and i havent talked about them really before now

[heinzpilsner]

I guess someone may be confused about why I didn't roast Zuko's behaviour in "The Awakening", focusing mostly on Mai.

Is it my favouritism speaking? Did I lost my Zuko roasting touch?

Well, I'm all too happy to try and go this path!

So... What do we have here?

Actually, answering with a self-reflecting monologue to the "Aren't you cold?" question is a bit of an overkill.

Zuko obviously needs someone to share his troubles with, and doesn't really check first whether Mai is interested in such a conversation, which is quite self-centred of him.

But... There are two little things to consider.

Zuko has reasons to worry.

Mai is his girlfriend. Who looks at him tenderly. Kisses him. And asks him if he's cold.

I doubt if it's possible for a girl to genuinely care about physical comfort of a guy without caring about his personal troubles as well. By all accounts, Mai should be interested. These things kinda go together as a general manifestation of love for a person.

Well, to be fair, Mai loves* a person. It's just the imaginary person who isn't really here.

(*I believe if she were cynically interested in using Zuko's body, she'd behave a little differently. ... Well, unless she's good at pretending and solely cares about Zuko's health because a guy with a cold wouldn't be so kissable. But... no, let's give Mai a little bit more trust here)

Anyway, what I mean is, it wasn't all that inadequate of Zuko to expect Mai's interest in his 'whole life story' after such a question.

And while in general your partner isn't obligated to discuss with you your personal troubles, it's just something they will want to do spontaneously if they love you enough.

Even if they're really tired and not in a state for supporting you when you need it, at least they will try to make it clear that they care in general. Well, if they value your relationship, that is.

What Mai does in this situation?

She bluntly lets Zuko know that his expectations weren't adequate, basically calls his troubles insignificant, and then... kisses him.

(Geez, I can only imagine how confusing Mai's behavior must appear for a clueless boy who has no experience in romance except for one failed date! and one weird encounter of unclear status in prison)

But... believe it or not, in Mai's own eyes acting like this equals emotional support - devaluing problems instead of dealing with them is a pattern that helps her in her life, after all.

The thing she doesn't realise though is what when it's another person's troubles she tries to devalue, her approach doesn't really work so well. Especially when a person in question is freaking Zuko. Especially if what he's trying to discuss is his inner changes.

But wait, someone may say. We don't know the whole context of their relationship by the time this scene occurs! Who knows what has been going on on this ship for months? What if there's more here than meets the eye?

Well, it's good you asked! Actually, I already tried to compose all the possible hypothetical scenarios in which Mai could be right and Zuko could be wrong in this situation! And I was really methodical about it, you know. I did Zuko really dirty in my imagination, hehehe. And...

... I found none of those scenarios to be possible. Because all the versions in which Zuko's behaviour with Mai was inadequate led me to logical contradictions.

Firstly, let's imagine their relationship started as purely physical and impersonal by mutual consent.

Well, even if it was like that in the beginning, now Mai's signals to Zuko are surely mixed as hell. Hence, his confusion in such a case would be perfectly understandable.

Let's look at another scenario. What if before that Zuko abused Mai's compassion and kept sucking her energy out non-stop with his constant whining? As if there was any energy in this girl to suck out in the first place, pfft

Well, in that case, I have one question. Why, after all of this, Mai still looks at Zuko so tenderly, initiates kisses with him and wants to be together?

I mean, Zuko is handsome, but there is no guy on earth handsome enough for a self-respecting girl to tolerate this kind of behaviour for long. So, nope.

Alright, another version. What if Zuko just wasn't all that invested in his relationship with Mai and didn't care about her much, but now expects her support selfishly?

Actually, it could be the case, but it raises another question. Why Mai wasn't perturbed by his lack of affection up to this point? Did she just... overlook it? Well, then it was her own (unconscious) choice all along to ignore the signs of Zuko's disinterest for the sake of satisfying her own selfish desires.

And what kind of love is that if you don't even notice when a person you keep kissing doesn't love you back?

A kataang kind of love, actually

And lastly... No, I'm not even gonna start to entertain here the idea that Zuko's troubles really were that laughably insignificant. Did you watch atla at all, geez?

I'm not stating here that Zuko's behavior was perfect, but at the end of the day, there's a simple fact:

Mai with Zuko looks much happier than without him - even Azula notices this.

Zuko with Mai, on the other hand... Well, he doesn't look completely desperate? It's a good sign, I suppose?.. 

And this is all you really need to know about their relationship's dynamic in "The Awakening".

Of course, if we believe the writers, this dynamic will shift soon enough.

But that is another story.

Something like this.

(And here's your usual friendly reminder that I ignore all the notifications ❤)