#and people definitely died because of that

[skhv67]

SFW and NSFW Relationship Headcanons with Nam-gyu and Thanos / Choi Su-bong

wc: 2k words overall

tw: NSFW (only +18 please), substance abuse topics, fluff, angst

nam-gyu

• SO, in the beginning this man is not gonna trust you in the slightest no matter how friendly and nice you seem. BUT he won't appear distrustful, if anything he's gonna be friendly with you to see what you have to offer that he could take from you.

• No love at first sight, I don't think he usually thinks outside business or convenience, so it's possible that in the beginning he uses you for his benefit. But as he gets to know you, the connection deepens and he stops seeing you as an object, he's down horrendous.

• Not a single person around him will not know about you, I feel he talks about their partner to anyone willing to listen to him.

• His love language would be physical touch and gift giving. Hands on you ALLLLL the time, he's CLINGY clingy. He'd also use the contacts he makes from the club to take you to cool or fancy places or get you expensive stuff.

• Unfortunately he's an addict and of hard drugs so this will affect his mood and life style 100% in the worst ways. I doubt he'd stop even for his partner because he's exposed to these substances in his job at the club all the time. Still, he doesn't seem the type to offer you to join him in this, the most he could do is offer you weed as a one time thing to have some extra fun.

• Will probably try to sabotage the relationship constantly because of his addiction, because he believes you deserve something better or because he's having insecure thoughts against you. Reasure him!! Drugs can make you paranoid and fuck your mind up so he's gonna need tons of reassurance that what's on his mind is not real and that you love him.

• Unfortunately it will be impossible to not find him during a trip. He's obviously happy when he's not sober, but I think if he was with you during these moments he'd feel guilty and try to harm you verbally to make you leave him or will just hurt himself.

• Suuuuuper prideful. If you've hurt him or you've argued he's definitely more prone to be hostile and close off instead of trying to solve the problem. Like the scene of him eating Thanos pills after he died, he'd probably dismiss your importance in his life to try to make himself feel better about the situation (he fails). He'd probably need someone super patient and understanding of his personality so this doesn't end up in a break up.

• Despite this I feel there's gonna be a lot of splits during the relationship, ypull be apart at least for a few days until one reaches out. He'd rather die than calling you while he's sober to ask you to come back but this man is definitely calling you during an episode and begging you to go help him.

• Masks his pain and protects his true feelings with desdain. In his worst moments (never to your face of course, only when he's using substances by himself), he will insult you and make himself think he's better off without you. This is only a way of self harm, he'd probably sob after thinking that because he'll make himself believe you don't love him and that he's not enough for you.

• Might look like he only looks for his own benefit (which he usually does with most people) but if you've won a spot in his heart he's such a puppy. He'd give you whatever you asked, and he's so soft spoken and sweet when it's just the two of you.

• If you're down for it, he'd want at least one subtle matching tattoo. He's already got a few and as soon as he realizes his feelings he'll be wanting to have you in his skin the very next day (and it'll happen even if you don't want to match with him).

• Hes the jealous type but he won't show it in public. The most he'd do if he got jealous in public would be not talking to you until you're home. A toxic trait of his is that when he's jealous he gets mad at you instead of the other person. He's aware it's not your fault, it's just a reaction of his insecurity.

• If you're ever sad or have a problem he'd handle it. He's not good with words or feelings so his way of comforting would be trying to get revenge on whatever has made you sad. If it's no one's fault he'd be a bit more awkward about it but he'd just hug you until you stop crying.

NSFW

• Heavily sexually driven relationship. He's the type to be infatuated with someone to the point to wanting to be inside their skin and what better way to do that than through sex :D Obviously he won't want you just for this but he sees sex as the most perfect way to show his feelings. He usually struggles with talking about his feelings sober, so this is the easiest way for him to be vulnerable with you.

• He's quite sadistic and if he feels safe with you he'll be less scared of showing this side to you. He loooves calling you slut or whore and overall has quite a degrading dirty talk. If you're sensitive he'll try to bargain about praising you while still using degrading pet names but he's totally fine with dropping this and leaving this side of him outside bed business if you sit down with him and reject it.

• Please fuck this man at least once while you're high. He doesn't want you to do this stuff often like he does but give him a treat every once in a while

• He's into sexting, specially when he's outside hanging with people or working because he's bored out of his mind. Spam this poor man with pics wearing revealing clothes (doesn't ask for nudes just in case he loses his phone) and he'd be texting you the nastiest shit in the middle of a hangout. The best part of this is that this man can't have a poker face for his life so you can clearly picture him smiling and trying to cover his face while looking at his screen.

• Loves worshipping you but let's be honest here, this man loves being praised. He doesn't ever feel appreciated enough so talk about how much you need him and he'll have a boner before you finish talking. If you praise him while he's degrading you in bed he might get a bit shocked at first and even a little shy but this will make him cockier and more confident in himself, which translates in more pleasure for you

• Treats you like royalty during aftercare. And once he's finished and goes back to bed with you, take advantage of how soft he is before he comes back to his shell. Maybe trace his freckles or his tattoos and caress him tenderly and you might even make him want to cry.

choi su-bong / thanos

• This man does NOT have a type, he will try to get with you no matter what. Girly? Into it. Masculine? Into it. Soft spoken? Into it. You curse like a sailor? Into it. You even dare to be unappealing to him? Don't careeee

• In the beginning it's gonna be like all the other relationships or flings he's had: chasing after you trying to charm his way into getting a date. He probably won't even think at first that you're gonna be so special to him but when you two connect he will make you know from minute one that you two are already together.

• He's quite shallow. Not in the sense that he will only care about your looks but they're important to him. As he doesn't have a type, this doesn't mean he won't like you if you don't fit with certain beauty canons, don't worry.

• Quite more thoughtful and softer than Nam-gyu. He might be a bit self absorbed but he's still quite understanding of feelings and he'd handle you with utmost care always.

• It's absolutely impossible having an argument or being mad at this man. Unless you betray him tremendously (please don't), a relationship with him is quite lighthearted and you won't have to be walking on eggshells around him because he never takes anything too seriously.

• Once you two make it official this man is putting you in all his music videos and cd covers. He won't be scared to show you off to his fans either, or to anyone. There's no louder man in this world so you better believe everybody's gonna hear about you (mainly against their will).

• His love language is words of affirmation but you probably expected it because this man is yapper3000. Expect corny improvised raps about you and just pick up lines even when you're already together. Will be flirty with you most of the time so don't worry about the relationship getting dull at some point (he'll make sure it won't).

• He's a user but I feel like he doesn't let it be a problem for him like Nam-gyu does. He sure uses substances for stress or when he's in pain but mainly for fun, and it doesn't really leave any awful consequences on him. It wouldn't affect your relationship and he would be quite protective with you about it, he wouldn't even let you try them under any circumstances. If you already do drugs, he still will worry about you but won't say anything about it unless it gets serious.

• Lives for impressing you, he loves to get a geniune praise or reaction from you. He'd probably push himself to be better just to make you proud of him, because he has you in a bigger pedestal than himself.

• He might be disrespectful to other people but if he loves you best believe you're never getting rid of him, he's the most loyal person you're gonna meet. Won't say a bad word about you under any circumstances and will make sure you know where he stands with you.

• I'm deeply sorry for you if this man gets jealous in public because he's gonna make a scene. He's definitely gonna try to fight the other person to 'defend your honor' so please keep this kid out of trouble.

NSFW

• You could quite literally convince this man to do whatever the fuck you want during sex, seriously. He obviously has his own kinks but whatever you want to try he's up for it. He won't be weirded out about anything and is willing to take whatever role you propose him.

• Make out king. He loves sex but what he loves more than sex is starting it. Both the initial make out and the foreplay are where you'll find him enjoy himself the most. Might elongate the make out session just to do some dry humping tbh, he won't feel ashamed of cumming in his pants. Geniunely, try to make this man ashamed of anything, I dare you

• The give and take is quite balanced in your relationship but he'd be lying if he said he doesn't have a preference for being between your legs. As I said he's more into foreplay than sex itself so good luck when he's trying to get the seventh orgasm out of you only with his tongue.

• The sex is QUITE dynamic... He's too active, the most slow he's gonna be is when you're making out. Enjoy getting manhandled to the moon and back, and good luck with the next day's leg pains.

• Quite chill with aftercare, probably cracking jokes or trying to make you laugh just being himself while he cleans you up. Will watch some TV with you or play some games when you're both finished because he's still quite active.

dividers credit: muffiinss

[skiagraphe0]

I know exactly where it comes from: the idea all adults are evil predators who can only be in fandom spaces because they want to prey on kids. For years, people have been freaking out about adults being in the same Discord as a minor (gasp!) even though the server's topic is Animal Crossing, or been freaked out teenagers are on Reddit where adults are even though the only subreddits they have in common is r/watercolor. "Be afraid!" people scream, eyes wide in fear, "I heard a grown-up might be there and they'll unalive you or grap3 you!"

It used to be - and definitely was when I was growing up - that an adult speaking to a minor was not considered a massive risk. Adults were not seen as suspicious in hobby spaces, because it was understood that adulthood didn't mean giving up everything you'd ever liked. As the moral panic got worse, however, a sinister motive was assigned to pretty much everything. You're an adult, but you read books? Uh, books are sold at stores, and minors go to stores! You're an adult, but you play video games? Uh, minors also play games! You write fic and post it to the internet? Uh, don't you know minors are online? You're so scary!

There's also this idea a lot of Gen Z kids have that adulthood = the death of joy. When I got my master's degree, I was in classes with 18-24 year olds who were absolutely stunned that I still watch anime, play video games, read books, sew, draw, write fanfic, listen to pop music, etc. It was very odd, explaining to them that I just never thought of not doing things I like. I could tell this explanation was both confusing to them and made perfect sense. They had been told you become a husk at 30 and simply work, poop, sleep, and then one day die. They could also piece together that it wasn't logical for me to stop listening to music and drawing because I'd hit an age.

"But you're not weird about it, right?" was a question I got, often said with genuine anxiety. I would furrow my brow, confused, and ask, "I'm not sure what a 'weird' way to listen to music is? Or how to be weird about playing a game? I guess I don't, like, make room for Jesus when I make my Animal Crossing island or anything."

My dad is 84 and reads Star Trek fanfic/keeps up with the new shows.

My neighbor is 54 and loves Disney and is helping sew cosplays for her granddaughter/teaching her granddaughter how to sew.

The manager at my local Joann Fabrics is 60 and she just did her first cosplay.

Animator/artist/illustrator Tyrus Wong was still drawing and working on concept art for an idea to pitch when he died at 105.

The notion that adulthood means being miserable and sobbing in corner somewhere (if male) or tending to children (if female) and nothing else until you die is extremely recent. It's not supported by basically anything other than their own anxiety about anyone older than then being nearby. But the thing they don't seem to grasp is that their fear about someone posting someone or reading something isn't what anyone else is going to base their lives on.

If it scares you that someone has a hobby past the age you think that should be allowed, I'm sorry for you. That genuinely sounds like a lot of anxiety. Your life sounds really hard and really miserable.

But you're not my patient and I'm not a therapist. I can't help you. I can pray you get better, but that's it.

I'm not going anywhere. Neither are most people - if anything, fandom going more mainstream means we're going to see an increasingly higher number of adults getting into it, at the same time as kids into it age into being an adult.

If adults scare you, fandom isn't the hobby for you.

Fandom Problem #7211:

As someone who's almost 30, I legitimately do not understand why people on this site treat you like you're totally geriatric and incapable of having hobbies or interests. It's always "lol this person is THIRTY, they must have no life!!". I find age is weaponized most of all with censorship advocates who go, "imagine being 30 and still shipping characters on TUMBLR 💀".

[purrlockswatson]

Love Never Dies, we have beef!

This was... painful. But I think I can ramble without roasting. As always, if you're a fan, don't read, because I'm still serving beef!

I first watched it, I was so bored I had to play it on 1.25× speed. Nothing seemed to be happening even as every new thing wrecked my faith in the creators' intelligence a little more.

"The Beauty Underneath" had unbelievable visuals. People in fish tanks horrify me. In a good way. But when the Phantom decided to yeet his mask like that, I wanted to reach through the screen and shake him. Mate, the kid doesn't hate you. He just got randomly jumpscared. Of course he ran away.

I loved Ramin's sassy Phantom in "Devil Takes the Hindmost," but the premise of the song is so bad it deserves a whole roast post.

All this could be a problem of my personal taste in music and storytelling. But I can't forgive how thoroughly they destroyed Phantom's character. In Ramin's version, Mme Giry was roasting him to his face, and he didn't pull out the lasso? Met Raoul drunk in an empty bar and didn't drop him off a pier and make it look like an accident?

Look, we all love "poor unhappy Erik," but Phantom does not have a heart of gold. No, he's not a monster, but he's not a hero either.

Call me doomy and gloomy, but I don't believe that Phantom would give a hoot if Meg died. He definitely wouldn't show the compassion and repentance he did in that final scene.

The worst thing a PoTO story can do is to make it all about his appearance, which I feel LND did. The greatest reasons Phantom is doomed by the narrative is:

1. Society alienates him for his appearance.

2. How he acts because of his self-hatred, fueled by his alienation from society.

When the narrative puts too much weight on one or the other, it loses direction.

More POTO adaptation rambles here!

[postcardsfromheapside]

What a crazy fucking thing that people are mad that VG doesn't make you the most important person in the world.

I do wonder how many of these people ever leave their fantasy world where they're desperate to be the hero, and do anything actionable in the real world. Away from keyboard, you aren't the main character.

There's a pretty good, if culturally limited, Great Courses series by Tom Shippey called "Heroes and Legends," whose first episode starts with Tolkien, and the unlikeliness of Bilbo and Frodo as some of the most popular heroes of all time. Even if you never listen to the rest of the series, that first episode is worth listening to for the insights into Tolkien, and because it delves into why hobbits were a new kind of hero, unexpected and yet somehow waited for. (I have a point, I promise)

Cultural norms about heroism had drastically changed in Tolkien's time. Two world wars, rapid industrialization, pandemic, and death on an unimaginable scale (among other issues) had turned people cynical, and the image of a traditional hero was no longer viable. The episode talks about how regular, ordinary people were being called to do impossible things, from serving in the trenches to average citizens on the homefront living with increasing effects of total war. It was a different kind of bravery, unsung, unrecognized, and often you screwed up your courage in the dark with little support from others. These people weren't prepared to go through these odds, they weren't trained to handle the kind of mechanization and sickness and depletion and death these wars leveled on them. And yet, they rose to the challenge. That's what these hobbits ultimately represented. Shippey uses lines from both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings to exemplify the "cold courage," the "3 o'clock in the morning courage" Bilbo and Frodo must summon. The kind of courage to do deeds that ultimately won't be recognized by their peers when they come home, as veterans often are.

I've thought a lot about this with Rook. Rook is just "some guy". Yes, Varric picked them because they're good at lateral thinking and holding a team together. But they aren't "a chosen one." With the exception of the wardens, none of the factions Rook works with are "traditional heroes". And even by the time of VG, the wardens are still suffering the tarnish from Adamant, led by a First Warden who seems more politician than military commander. Many of the quests Rook goes on are tasks that earn them favor with a faction, but not necessarily with the 'head' of that faction - it's often something you do in private, unlauded except by one or two individuals who don't really have social or political standing. You're literally doing things because you're a nice person, who cares about people in the communities you're trying to achieve ties with. If you sink into the character of your Rook, these tasks aren't easy. It's not "easy" to chase down darkspawn as a non-warden in catacombs. It's not easy to chase down demons. It's definitely not easy to fight a giant blighted dragon no one will ever know you faced because it's in the crossroads, and who is going to know about all those Venatori you chase down dark alleys? You don't get public recognition for these things.

I think about Rook a lot because in the past 10-20 years, our world has also drastically shifted. I think about the factions and how except for one, they aren't specialized military forces, they're just people, and the one special force has been drastically, purposefully depleted. I think about how in the real world, despite everything that's happened, people are still being told to get up and go to work as if things haven't gone utterly mad. As if we didn't live through a pandemic where millions died, and we moved on in the name of capitalism. As if fascists aren't taking over (as they were in Tolkien's time, because it's all just a little bit of history repeating). As if technology isn't being used to police us.

Rook isn't "main character enough" because Rook is meant to be every one of us - someone capable of standing up as long as they keep on trying, with a whole team beside them. Because the point was that Rook couldn't save Thedas without everyone else. This wasn't about killing one archdemon, or sealing a breach. It was too big, it needed the whole team, it the factions. Just like it's going to require more than one person to save us from where we're headed IRL.

Heroism is shifting, because the world is shifting. We have to think of ourselves as parts of a larger team working for the common good, not the lone-wolf hero.

That was the whole point of foiling Rook against Solas.

[king571]

Hi, I’m back with another Arcane rant. Because I seriously don’t understand how some people in this fandom are reacting so inhumanely toward these characters, especially when this show is about humanity. I don’t understand the rejection of basic empathy toward these characters when the show is constantly asking you to do just that and step out of your own feelings and biases to see the narrative. I don’t get how some people are trying to fit this show and its characters into a mold they’ve created in their heads, when the entire show is about breaking free from that. Let me illustrate this rant with an example:

“If my mom died, I wouldn’t gas a whole city”

Oh boy, there’s so much wrong with this statement. I know that some amazing folks here have already debunked this reductionism and how Caitlyn’s journey wasn’t just about losing her mom, or how she wasn’t gassing a whole city. So, let me ask you this: 

How do you know that? 

Did you happen to live the life Caitlyn Kiramman did, go on this journey, and indirectly cause the death of your mom by a terrorist attack that happened right in front of your weary eyes? Moments before you had the chance to stop it? Do you have the experience of getting kidnapped and tortured? Do you know the definition of empathy? Let me lay it out for you:

Empathy: the ability to share someone else's feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person's situation

Aren’t you aware that by overlooking and misreading the character’s journey, feelings, and experiences you are completely failing the definition of empathy? Therefore, you are completely failing the mission of Arcane. The audacity to put the “I” in these sentences really baffles me. When are you going to realize that this show is not about you? What you personally think or feel about certain characters or actions holds no value as criticism of this artwork because it goes against the narrative of the show.

[christanbrowneyedgirl]

This was definitely one of the best parts of this episode.

But also, what if it’s even a bit more literal? Some kind of foreshadowing?

SPOILERS FOR EPISODE

So, Ava was captured but seems to be escaping fine on her own. So what I’m thinking is what if she’s not Euridice what if Caspar is. Because I’m the episode before this one we get this line

Ava “You’re great.”

Caspar “What?”

Which is implying that Ava of all people is making the first move into a new direction for their relationship. Not Caspar, the guy who recently learned to be a much more open person. But Ava, the woman who was launched into space by this man and seems to be disdainful of most things and people around her.

But while this line may sound out of character when explaining it, it’s actually a rare window into Ava’s brain. It shows that she too has been thinking about, well Caspar at least in the same way we know Caspar is thinking about Ava. 

It’s completely in character for this woman to think things over for a long while and come to some conclusion out of nowhere. The same way she does a lot of things.

If you haven’t heard about the myth of Orpheus and Erudice, this paragraph is for context.

So basically Orpheus is a really great musician in the human world and he lives with his wife Euridice. But one day she dies and goes to Hades or the underworld. Orpheus is destroyed by the loss of his love and the gods take pity on him. They tell him that he can visit her just once in the underworld to get some closure. He goes and meets Hades and Persephone, the gods of the underworld, he manages to convince them to let Euridice come back to life. They tell him to get out of the underworld and not look back for Euridice will follow him out. But if he sees his beloved wife before they reach the surface than Euridice will remain dead. And spoilers, Orpheus can’t hear that Euridice is behind him so literally feet didn’t eh surface he looks back just to be sure she’s behind him and he wasn’t tricked, he sees her and her sad eyes before she fades back away to the underworld.

Anyway, the point is that Ava is escaping on her own and you just know that in Midnight Burgers hunt for Ava and the Mucklewanes that at least Caspar will get into a whole bunch of trouble and probably be at least detained for a bit. Or hurt.

And with the fact that Ava has The Sisters on her side, I have no doubt that when they finally all reunite it will be Ava saving Casper’s behind in some form or fashion.

first of all, caspar didn't deny there is something going on and second of all THE EURYDICE AND ORPHEUS COMPARISON? HELLO?

[wisteria-lodge]

Speaking of Tom's parents why does Tom hate his father when it's his mother who tainted his blood by being with Tom Sr? The reason he became a halfblood was because of her, her bloodline was even among the best, although the Gaunts have fallen they are still part of the sacred 28 and Slytherin's bloodline. But why not blame his mother? (Ignoring the if Merope didn't do that to Tom Sr Tom Jr won't exist anyway) or is this because of JKR's mother's can't do wrong and are the best bs?

I mean, Tom does also hate his mother. Back when he's an orphan who doesn't know anything about his parents, he primarily hates his mother, because he resents her for dying, and has convinced himself that she must be a muggle because she died?

“Was my father a wizard? He was called Tom Riddle too, they’ve told me. (...) My mother can’t have been magic, or she wouldn’t have died,” said Riddle, more to himself than Dumbledore.

Tom does some research, and tracks down both the Gaunts and the Riddles, and I have to imagine that in both cases he is... kinda disappointed? But he also steals the Gaunt ring and makes it into a Horcrux. So it's like he's *claiming* this family heirloom. It's his now, not theirs. He is the REAL gaunt heir.

(Tom has a FASCINATION with heirlooms, and enjoys low-key stealing them away from their original families. We see him go to a LOT of trouble to get his hands on Hepzibah Smith's Hufflepuff heirloom, the Slytherin locket, and Ravenclaw's diadem. I also think that if he was planning on making his sixth and final horcrux with Harry's death, the object he was planning to turn into a soul-container was almost certainly Gryffindor's sword.)

We see Tom's pattern of kill the relative, keep the legacy when he murders his father and paternal grandparents... but keeps the house. Other families move in, but quickly move out. It's very possible he cursed it like he cursed the Defense position - this thing SHOULD have been his, but isn't, and if he can't have it no one else can. Circa Book 4 the house stands empty, and the official story is it's kept vacant by a wealthy man for "tax reasons." Honestly I think it would be hilarious if Lucius technically owns it, but either way, Tom clearly has control of and USES the Riddle house. He finds his family and absorbs anything about them that he finds cool or impressive. Then, deletes all the aspects he doesn't like (his father's name, his father's looks, the family members themselves...)

This is the point where he makes the diary, and frames the situation like this:

You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father’s name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother’s side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch?

Which is definitely... a way to interpret what actually happed, Tom.

What this says to me is that he's locked onto Merope pretty much by default. She's the only family member he's never met, and so he can't be as viscerally repelled by her as he is by his father, grandparents, and uncle. But I imagine he probably does think she was weak for dying, weak for having her head turned by a handsome muggle, and for loving him enough even after he left to name her son after him. Tom is not a terribly well-adjusted person.

I actually think it's harder to find people who he DOESN'T hate. Even when he plays the charmer during his Borgin and Burkes' era, he doesn't LIKE any of these people. Slughorn he might respect a little... but probably mostly sees him as pathetic and easily manipulated. Dumbledore scares him. (Dumbledore also gives Tom a hard time for calling his Death Eaters "friends.") And when it comes to his "slippery friend" Lucius, and even Bellatrix... Tom thinks they're stupid and careless:

"It would be prudent to alert Snape to the fact that the boy might try to reenter the castle . . . To tell Snape why the boy might return would be foolish, of course; it had been a grave mistake to trust Bellatrix and Malfoy: Didn’t their stupidity and carelessness prove how unwise it was ever to trust?"

I am sure there are some fantastic Bellatrix/Voldemort fics out there, but I do think as a *canon ship,* it's really hard to make it work. He doesn't respect her, and bullies her for fun. That might be why she's just absent from the Cursed Child, even though she's MASSIVELY important to the plot. It was just too hard to do an on-screen canon Bellatrix/Voldemort interaction.

Barty Crouch Jr. seems to be the only person who Voldemort actually LIKES, and actually TRUSTS (even snape, he only like... half-likes, and half-trusts.) It is baffling there are only 47 Barty Crouch jr./Voldemort works on AO3. This is how he talks about Barty when he's plotting his return:

"By that time, my faithful servant will have rejoined us — (...) I need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never wavered"

And this is how he talks about him to the assembled Death Eaters:

"one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service (...) it was though his efforts that our young friend [Harry] arrived here tonight...

and this is how BARTY talks about HIM

“My master came for me (...) My master had found out that I was still alive (...) my master knew that I was still his faithful servant — perhaps the most faithful of all (...) He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door.” The smile spread wider over Crouch’s face, as though recalling the sweetest memory of his life. (...) “It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. (...) And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn’t been in years.” (...) “He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him."

like... I'm just saying. Barty calls him "Master" every other sentence.. And the DADDY issues here? off the chart! Barty was mind controlled by his cold, abusive neglectful father and then RESCUED by Voldemort?

"I will be honored beyond all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter . . . closer than a son. . . . The Dark Lord and I (...) have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers . . . very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure . . . the very great pleasure . . . of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!”

There's just so much here!!! why are there 6,676 works shipping Barty Jr./Evan Rosier, and 1,618 shipping Barty Jr./Regulus Black, but everyone is sleeping on toxic daddy issues D/s Barty Jr./Tom Jr.???

(this post... may have gotten away from me a little, I apologize.)

[lezleonardo]

Every once a while Wen Qings death and just the general nightless city ordeal haunts me, because imagine being Wen Qing and your brothers accidentally kill the heir of the clan that's been itching for an excuse to stage an official attack on your family, You know time is limited, But the Jins send an ultimatum " give your life up for your family and we'll leave you alone", you accept of course (you always knew you were never going to make it that far anyway, atleast your family would get an extended chance) so you burn, burn as people cheer around you including a man who owes you and your family a debt greater than any other (Jc) But even than you die at peace knowing your family would have a chance, knowing the man you now consider a brother would have a chance.

But that doesn't happen either way, Your whole family dies except one, the man you consider a brother gets supposedly thorn to shreds and the only living family member whom is a child is in the care of a bedridden man (who's bedridden for defending you family in the first place)

I feel like What happened with the Wen remnants really gets idk ignored by the fandom a bit, maybe not ignored but like it's definitely softened up, I personally don't believe that Wen Qing genuinely believed the Jins would keep their promise of peace Wen Qing is to smart to fall for their lies, though I feel she could've deceived herself in a moment of total desperation.

[foxes-and-magic]

She's kinda weak that caitlyn. *definitely a bit more than tipsy* I mean look at her getting manipulated because her mother died. Boohoo. I lost both my parents and I didn't threw a temper tantrum and let people coax me into being a bitch.

@foxes-and-magic

Hey kid. Wanna grab a drink?

[mafagafo-amancebado]

More things about my dummy silly nevermore theory about

How Annabel Lee and Lenore died

Or how I think they did... Part 2 I guess

Again sorry about anything in this text that do not make sense my english is not so good sorry.

Also this is a part two about my theory that you can see here. The theory by itself is there so please go check it because now I will just point more things that make my believe in that.

In a summary I believe that Annabel asked Lenore to murder both of them after someone exposed Lenore as a woman in their wedding and here I will point somethings that make me think this.

1. Annabel Lee manifestation

Annabel spectre was manifested after the Deans told her that she was murdered by the person who loved her above all else and later she said that the memories she has of her death are confusing so it would make sense for her be angry to Lenore for that but in any moment she shows to hate Lenore for that and still cares for her very much which is kinda weird (I mean how could you be so okay with the person who betrayed you, huh?). But if her last memory was something like be desperate for something she doesn't knew exactly what is and asking her loved one to kill her this thing of "you killed me but I still love you" would make sense (I think).

2. They devotion for each other

They both have a huge passion and devotion for each other with and one would literally gave the life for the other.

Every time Annabel thinks that Lenore is going to leave her she looks devastated and starts to cry, felling physical bad even so if Lenore have killed her from rage she would definitely not be so okay in the afterlife. She have said that there is no point in staying in Nevermore if Lenore isn't there and would literally give her life letting Lenore killing her if it is her will. If she was murdered by Lenore it would kinda of make sense for her to say those things since the only reason why she chose to die was to not be separated from her and there would have no point for her in want to be alive again without Lenore.

And Lenore also cares very much about Annabel, she often do anything that Annabel asks her to do without much complaining. When they were alive, she wrote Annabel a song even after say that she wouldn't and when they fight because Annabel is Leaving her she stills go to find her and burn her hole house (possibly killing some people) in the process. After dying, she follows her plan without fully understanding. Even when she's mad whit Annabel she still cares and thinks a lot about her. When she find out that she tried to murder Duke she gets angry but stills comforts her when she started to cry. When Duke and Pluto tried to kill Annabel she didn't even think twice before jumping to help her even though she was angry with Annabel at that time. And in the end when she found out about the hunt attacking the students the first thing she thinks about is Annabel.

3. Why Annabel keeps their death a secret

Again this last part must be only me going nuts but hear me out. When Lenore asks Annabel if they died together (Ch 29) she gives an ambiguous that could be because she was just playing with Lenore but also could be because she really doesn't know. I mean, if Lenore killed Annabel first there is no way for Annabel to know for sure how Lenore died so an ambiguous answer could be her realising that she doesn't really know if Lenore really committed suicide or if she was murdered by someone else.

And when Lenore asks again for Annabel to tell her how they died (Ch 63) Annabel says she does not want to tell Lenore how to think and feel about before she can remember herself because she is worried with Lenore reaction.

I mean, in the flashback of their death Lenore looks angry so she could have gotten angry with Annabel for proposing such a thing (dying together) but end up doing it anyway when she couldn't think of anything else to get them out of that situation. So I guess Annabel Lee doesn't want to tell Lenore how they died because Lenore got mad when she proposed this when they were alive but if she remembers herself she would understand that there was nothing else that they could have done at the time.

And that's all i have to say, thanks for reading my awfully written theory. Farewell hope I survive season 2

[dickgraysonisnothereforthis]

didn’t realize this was the liberal arts, part 2

Jason decides to ask you out for coffee. turns out you’re an asshole.

Part 1 is here

Back again. It’s a series, I’ve decided. This was born because I’ve already written reader as a bitch but it’s funny (see my vampire!reader series), now I want to write reader as a bitch but it’s mean. Jason’s still sad. Like I said, you’re mean.

Swearing. No use of y/n I don’t know how long this is.

————

Jason decides to scout you out. He finds nothing.

It’s extremely irritating. He would expect that there would be something, anything, to suggest that the person he sits next to in his seminar is the same one who goes out and cracks heads at night. But there’s nothing. You seem to be perfectly normal, you act in class like any other person would. Your emotions aren’t heightened, you’re never deeply angry, or deeply upset, or deeply confused. You’re not deeply anything. The most he can say is you get mildly frustrated.

Which is fair. You get frustrated when someone makes a frustrating point. He gets it.

But that’s it. You giggle quietly when someone makes a joke, you purse your lips as you consider a question, you nod when you agree with someone. Other than that, you give him nothing. It’s almost enough to make him believe he didn’t see you beating up his perp last week.

Almost. But he’ll never get the image of you scowling at him, standing over a knocked out drug dealer, out of his mind. That’s there rent free, as it were.

He studies you. Your clothes are exceedingly normal, you wear jeans and sweatshirts. Nothing noteworthy, except Jason does a double take one day because that’s definitely the sweatshirt you wore when Red Hood caught you in the act. And you’re wearing it again like it’s no big deal. At least you’ve cleaned it.

Are you a psychopath? Is this some Patrick Bateman, American Psycho shit? Maybe. It doesn’t seem like you have that many friends. Or any, really. While the other people pair off or leave class in groups, you walk out on your own. Again, fair. He’s a loner, too.

Besides, Jason doesn’t think you’re a psychopath. You weren’t coolly beating the shit out of the guy when he found you, you were furious; uncontrolled anger pushing you forward.

Heh. Been there.

Jason does a cursory search for you online, which also comes up empty. You don’t have any social media accounts, and your last name is an extremely common one that gives him no leads. He could slip into Red Hood and illegally widen his net, but that feels…invasive. The obvious place to start is to take a crack at the Gotham U servers and see if he can access your student account. That’ll get him your phone number and banking info, at the very least. But doing that to a fellow student doesn’t sit right with him. That’s not the only option; he could break into your apartment, or even snatch your phone out of your bag. He doesn’t like that, either.

Jason decides to do an experiment. He asks you out for coffee.

It’s weird. Really weird. It’d be easier if he were working undercover on a Red Hood op, then he could slip into any number of personas. But you already know him as that one dude from your lit class. And if he declares as an English major at the end of next semester, which he probably will, you might be in other classes together. He can’t slip into and out of your life on a whim, he has to do this as Jason.

That makes it a million times harder.

It is hell getting up the courage to talk to you in the first place. Maybe this should surprise him, but it doesn’t. He hasn’t talked to a normal person since before he died. Everything from that point on has been cold, cruel planning, or rebuffing the clumsy attempts of Bruce and Dick to get back in touch. The only people he talks to on the regular are the criminals he’s scaring crapless. And he sure as shit hasn’t made any friends at the university, whether that’s by his design or rough coincidence. This is his first time trying to make a friend in years.

Is that what he’s doing? Does he want to be your friend? That one confuses him. It’s the first time he’s tried to get close to anyone his age since he woke up. Definitely the first time he’s done it as Jason. Does this count as making a friend? If he’s only getting close to you because it’s easier than doing it as Red Hood?

It makes him scratch his head. That’s above his pay grade.

So, asking you out is hard. He decides to rip the bandaid off after your next class. While everyone is packing up, he clears his throat to get your attention.

You look up from your bag. When you register that it’s Jason talking to you, your eyes become guarded. It makes him lose his focus. What was that for?

“Yeah?”

“Uhh…” your gaze becomes disbelieving as he fumbles. “I’m Jason.” He winces.

“Yeah.” His face flushes. This is humiliating. Is it his imagination, or are the other students giggling at him? Is the prof looking at him in sympathy?

Oh my god. Why is this so fucking hard?

“Are you…do you want to get coffee?” He runs his hand over the back of his head. Somewhere, Dick is laughing at this, Jason’s first time asking someone on a date as a college kid.

Is he asking you on a date? His eye twitches.

You still haven’t answered, and Jason’s hoping you’ll turn him down just to put him out of his misery. He’ll leave with his tail between his legs and resigns himself to breaking into your apartment.

“Yeah, okay.”

Jason picks up his head, eyebrows shooting to his hairline. Oh. Great. Mission accomplished.

Something inside jumps at the thought of anyone wanting to spend time with him. Like a flower stretching toward the light.

He temporarily ignores it. Again, above his pay grade.

“Now?” you ask quizzically. Jason shrugs.

“Yeah, why not?” Might as well get this over with.

“Okay.” You finish packing up and follow him out of the building. When you realize he’s heading toward the student center, you frown. “There?”

“Uh, yeah.” It was the only place that had come to mind. “There’s a cafe inside.”

“Do you mind if we go somewhere off campus? This one jacks up the prices.”

Jason tries something he’s seen in movies. “It’s on me.” He gives you an awkward smile.

Your eyes narrow. After staring at him for a few seconds, you shake your head. “No thanks. I’d rather just go somewhere else, if that’s cool.”

Huh. “Yeah, sure,” he says easily, and lets you lead the way. Maybe your refusal should seem strange, but it doesn’t. He’d have done the same thing.

You’re silent as you lead him off campus and a few blocks over to a nondescript coffee shop. It’s not cute or anything, the decoration is minimal, and there are only a few people inside.

He coughs. “You come here often?” On its way out he realizes it sounds like a pickup line, but he genuinely wants to know.

Your eyes narrow at him again. “Sometimes.”

Wow. If you’re going to have a stick up your ass, why’d you agree to come with him in the first place?

Moving aside, you gesture at him to order. He gets a small black coffee with room for milk. You order the same. He finds himself wondering if that’s deliberate, or just your normal coffee order.

You both dump in milk, and Jason notices you sprinkle some cinnamon on top. This is a useless detail.

He hears you scoff. Glancing up, he sees you’ve caught him staring into your cup. He flushes, but lets a sheepish grin unfold on his face. You ignore it, turning and stalking off to a table.

What the hell is your problem? He trails after you, dropping into a seat across from yours. You set your coffee on the table and fold your arms over your chest, glaring at him.

“So, uh…” he racks his brain. “How do you like the class?”

“It’s fine.”

He waits a moment, but you don’t ask any follow up questions. “What do you think of Paradise Lost? Do you like it?”

“Oh, sure. ‘Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven,’” you recite easily.

Jason resist the urge to analyze your choice of quote. For one, it feels stupid, and for another, it’s arguably the most famous quote in the whole poem. That’ll get him nowhere.

“Yeah,” he says lamely. You raise your coffee to your lips.

Again, he waits for you to ask him a question, but you remain silent, drinking your coffee steadily. Damn. Why the hell are you so closed off? He squints at you, and you stare back openly. You’re deliberately trying to keep him in the dark. But then why did you agree to get coffee?

Faced with your hostility, he relaxes. You clearly don’t like him, so what does he have to lose?

“What do you think you’ll study?” he asks you.

You flick something off your sweatshirt. “Literature, probably,” you say off-handed.

He nods. “Me too,” he offers, but you stare at him blankly.

He chuckles. Seems like you’re an asshole, but this is actually kind of fun.

“Why’d you come to Gotham U?” he prods.

You shrug. He opens his mouth. “Really? No reas—”

“Why did you come to Gotham U?” you cut across him bitingly.

That stops him short. He can’t help it, he shrugs, knowing you won’t like it.

You roll your eyes. He stifles a grin.

“Did you grow up in Gotham?”

“Yes.” You don’t elaborate.

“Where?”

“Did you grow up in Gotham?” you parrot instead of answering.

He inclines his head at you, smiling. “Yeah.”

“Where?” Jason doesn’t answer, smiling knowingly at you. You scoff and look away.

“You got any siblings?”

You hesitate. Jason clocks it eagerly. “Yeah,” you say, a second later.

“How many?”

“You got any siblings?” you ask instead of answering.

That pulls Jason up short. He should’ve seen that one coming, probably should have avoided it by not asking you in the first place. He pauses, for much longer than you did. He half notices you catch it, but his mind is elsewhere.

Does he have any siblings? That would mean he has a father. He can’t go down that path.

He chews on his lip, absently watching you watch him. Bruce might not be his father, but Dick…he and Dick are something. Not friends, definitely not friends. Maybe brother is the best word.

“Yes,” he settles on eventually.

You raise an eyebrow, and he braces himself, but you don’t ask him how many. Instead, you look away, gulping down your coffee.

You’re obviously not going to make an effort. Jason tries again. “What do you do for fun?”

“Nothing.”

He bursts out laughing, and you look at him accusatorially. He can’t help it.

“No sports or anything like that?”

“No.”

“No martial arts?”

This gets your attention. “Maybe,” you say begrudgingly. “Why do you want to know?”

Jason leans back in his chair. “Just trying to make a friend.” He looks at you earnestly, barely hiding his glee.

“Pick someone else.”

That makes him laugh all over again. What crawled up your ass and died? By the way you’re acting, you’d think it was Jason.

His laughter seems to make you furious. “What do you do for fun, then?” you shoot across the table.

Jason smiles, laughter dying out. “Nothing,” he looks at you innocently. Actually, it’s the same shit as you.

You glare at him, lifting your coffee to your lips. Jason realizes your cup is almost empty. You’re probably trying to escape, but Jason’s having too much fun to let you get away. Besides, he’s still got some questions.

“You done? Here, let me get you a refill.” He jumps to his feet before you can stop him, all but running to the counter. Getting your coffee gives him time to think.

So martial arts, huh? That’s what he’d thought. He’s seen you move around campus, you can’t be that well trained, or you’re taking great pains to hide it. Jason’s got good eyes though, and he thinks you’re pretty unskilled. That’s enough to get the drop on most petty criminals.

He considers this as he pays for your drink. You’re not well-trained, and you don’t have any weapons or tactical gear. You’re probably not trying to break out as Gotham’s newest vigilante. It seems like this is a short-term thing, you’re on some kind of mission.

He remembers how angry you were as you beat that guy to a pulp. Some kind of revenge mission, maybe? Plenty of reasons to want revenge in Gotham.

Jason looks back to you, half expecting you to have left when his back was turned. But no, there you are, holding a five dollar bill between your fingers. He chuckles, adds milk and a splash of cinnamon to your drink before returning to the table. You wave the money in his face, and he takes it from you.

“I get to keep the change, then?”

“No.”

He smiles, fishes out his wallet and hands you a dollar. You squint at him, holding out your hand for the remaining fifty cents. “That’s my tip, because I remembered to add cinnamon to yours.” He grins wildly.

“Okay.” You rise to your feet, pulling on your jacket. “This has been great, but I’ve got shit to do.” You pick up the coffee and walk out.

“We’ll do this again?” he calls to you. You don’t even look back at him.

Jason smirks through the rest of his coffee. He didn’t learn shit about you, but damn. This ‘date’ just made his whole week.

[unforth]

How did it feel to go from the 80’s to the explosion of acceptance around the 2010’s? In terms of being queer?

hm, interesting question. First, a couple disclaimers: I am not an expert in queer history, I was not involved in queer activism in anyway growing up, and no one in my family was queer. I was born in 1982 and am currently 42, and my mother had a lot of gay friends, but she intentionally sheltered us (my brother and I) from a lot of that once they all started dying from AIDs. For my own queerness, I worked through a lot of identities because I was an extremely confused asexual who didn't actually learn that asexuality existed until I was 30; I'm afab and was already married to a woman before I realized I was ace (I now ID as aroace, agender.).

All that said, I grew up in New York City, in a very accepting city and with a very accepting family. I knew queer people from a young age and my mom was sick of watching her friends die and got involved as she could (she was a New York City public school high school teacher; a lot of queers gravitated toward public schools because it was a stable job with decent pay and no one would care if they weren't married, in fact it was often considered a plus in the 60s and 70s for teachers to be single, and when mom got pregnant with my brother in 1976 she says multiple other teachers pressured her to quit because okay fine she was married and a teacher, but married and a teacher WITH KIDS? Appalling. needless to say she didn't quit.)

Anyway. Sorry. I lost the thread.

Honestly, the answer to this question is: utterly unbelievable.

If you had told 1990s about-to-start-high-school me that this is where we'd be in my lifetime I'd have thought you were out of your goddamn mind. I was obsessed with To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. I'd walked in AIDs walk and raised money with my mom every year starting in 1990. Mom and I saw the original off-Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the original Broadway production of Rent. I was about as in-the-loop and accepting as a kid in that era could be, and I spent my college years thinking I was bi (I feel the same about everyone! that's bi, right? lmao, so young and clueless). And I never, never thought that nationwide gay marriage was even in the cards. I never dreamed that trans people would be able to live as openly as they do now. I didn't even really think we could do much about AIDs beyond slowing the spread.

I am only 42. I don't even consider myself middle-aged yet (though I'm definitely getting close to that particular tipping point). I grew up with my mom's even older stories, about being friends with the gay men at Cornell when she was in college in the early 60s, and her discussions of how far things had come in HER life (she's 80 now) and yet I was the one who pointed out that my great uncle, who died before I was born, was clearly mostly definitely bi and maybe gay (the look on her face when I said that and she realized I must be right. I keep meaning to post some of Natie's photographs.)

When my wife and I got married in 2013 we planned where to live, where we could travel, where we'd have kids, all around where it would be safe. My wife has health problems; if we traveled and something happened to her, we had to be sure that we were in a state where they would recognize our marriage and let me visit her, or else we wouldn't go there.

Sorry. I'm not holding the thread of narrative in this post well, I've been pretty sick with strep throat and my brain is just refusing to make this very coherent, and also it's just... so much. The amount I've seen, how far we've come, since I was a kid, is so fucking much.

I still sometimes don't believe how far we've come, nor how quickly we've done it.

And that's exactly why conservatives are shaking in their boots. These trends challenge all the things they believe true about the nature of authority and societal control. If they let up for an instant, then they'll have to accept that cis hetero white christian men actually have never been any better than anyone else, and their whole worlds will crumble, and that scares them to death because they're also old, most older than I, and they remember exactly what every queer person when I was a kid lived with. They remember Matthew Shepard, and all the hate crimes that the queer community survived, they remembered all the slurs that we've strived to reclaim and how they were used such that we had to reclaim them, and they really think that equality is a demotion for them, and that true equality would mean they're subject to the same things they've subjected us to, and that terrifies them.

Ugh, sorry, rambling again.

What I think about the changes is that they're fucking amazing, and that if I could somehow convince 13-year-old me that any of this would happen, she'd have sobbed with joy. Especially about the asexual part lmao.

We're in a down-swing of acceptance now, but the pendulum still won't go back to where we were during the AIDs crisis, much less back to where things were a hundred years ago.

We've come so far.

We're not going back.

[moowithmidnight]

Okay! My ranting nonsense thoughts on the fight Peggy and Jarvis have in the desert after Ana is shot and Jarvis tries to kill Whitney Frost

(I couldn’t find an easily accessible scenepack for screenshots so rewatch the scene if you need to!)

1. Peggy is a very mixed bag in terms of her reactions when she’s upset- throughout agent Carter she slides fully across the “stiff upper lip” to “unrepentant volatile emotion” sides of the spectrum but it’s also quite simple. She restrains her emotions more (note: not fully bc that’s so important to me) in situations where she feels unsafe.

The perfect example of this is in S1 when Howard tricks her into stealing Steve’s blood- we see her realize that Howard lied to her and grow upset, but before she can leave she runs into Thompson. He has his whole “no man will ever respect you” speech, and she’s clearly upset by that too, and while it shows, she doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset. He isn’t “safe”.

Howard, ironically, in this situation actually is- despite the blatant misogynistic manipulation he tries 2.5 seconds later, Peggy knows that Howard knows how much Steve meant to her, and she recognizes how much Steve meant to him. There’s no need for pretense.

When Jarvis says “everyone around you dies”, we are shown Peggy clearly trying to compose herself before turning back toward him. Jarvis becomes “not safe” because she doesn’t want to reveal how much she agrees with him. Right now, she doesn’t think Ana has any lasting damage from her attack, so while she’s carrying guilt for the shooting, it’s easier to lash out and point out Jarvis’ hypocrisy.

The language she uses it very cutting and precise, but the calmness she’s trying to project actually speaks to how truly upset she is I think.

1.5. Agent Carter also does a good job of showing the way Peggy reacts faced with one vs multiple stressors, which I feel like way too many shows neglect- of course someone is generally going to have a bigger reaction faced with twenty issues compared to only one. And in this case, it’s definitely a multiple stressors type of situation, but that’s for another day-

2. She blatantly self soothes before she turns to face Jarvis!! This ties into the stuff British upper lip, but you can see her physically rub her hand against her clothes multiple times between the first and seconds shots.

Originally I thought she was clutching the wound she got from Whitney earlier in the season but that would be on the other side.

She also does it again after Jarvis reveals that Ana can’t have children- idk why that’s so special to me but it is.

3. When Peggy retaliates against the claim, the reason her reaction is so sharp and pointed and seemingly angry is because she knows (and believes) that what Jarvis says is true.

Throughout the series, as a general rule, Peggy doesn’t react strongly when people accuse her of something that isn’t true. She’s not immediately angry when they accuse her of treason or when Jack hands her the fake file of her “crimes” during WWII.

But she believes that she gets people killed, so having someone else say that, especially someone who knows how much she believes it, hurts more.

3.5. On that point, she very pointedly never denies what Jarvis says. She disputes this particular example (although only until the moment Jarvis reveals that Ana actually will have lasting complications from the wound) but she never says “you saying everyone around me dies is wrong”.

4. Also!! The words she chooses and her tone are all so telling. She says “lucky you” at the end, and it’s a dig, but the way she says it is loaded with genuine envy. She does think he’s lucky, she wants that. The whole speech is so reminiscent of Dottie’s speech to her at the end of S1, where she’s trying for anger but says how jealous she used to be of girls like Peggy.

5. I think the thing that really destroys Peggy here too is the fact that it’s Jarvis saying this. Replace him with any other character- even Daniel- and I truly think her reaction would’ve been different.

For one, Jarvis is the sole person who she confided in about how she believes being around her gets her loved ones killed, and this was the beginning of season 1. “Maybe lose is too nice a word- I get them killed”.

The other thing is that it’s Jarvis. Bumbling, well-meaning, kind of naive, very sweet and endearing, thinks so highly of her Jarvis. So to her, if he finally sees this as the truth, then she really is doomed.

6. The fucking tear, dear lord. After Peggy starts to walk away again, we get very clear shots of her face as Jarvis fades into the background. But it’s only after she whips around to face him that the lighting shifts and we see the tear sliding down her cheek- sick and twisted truly.

7. Peggy’s last sentence before Jarvis reveals Ana can’t have kids is “the moment we escape this desert, we can escape each other forever” which is obvious harsh. And while Peggy’s tone is very sharp and jagged, it doesn’t really reach angry when combined with her facial expressions- she’s clearly upset. It speaks to her attempt at restraint, especially the way “forever” is clearly choked compared to the rest of the sentence.

She wants to hurt him and lash out, yes, but I also think it’s partly her tendency to push everyone away from her peeking through again for a very important reason- Jarvis was the original person who encouraged her to form connections. He was the one who told her she couldn’t (and didn’t need to) take on the weight of the world alone. His encouragement led to her forming relationships outside of the SSR and eventually to letting him tag along with her, the thing he now resents her for.

8. In the gif set my original reblog tag was on, the first gif is right after Jarvis says that Ana “is married to a coward, who can’t bring himself to tell her [she can’t have kids].”

Hayley Atwell’s acting is this is incredible- the way Peggy clearly wants to reassure him at first, her face screaming “you aren’t a coward” but physically can’t bring herself to speak because you can tell as soon as she does her voice is going to break (which she does).

But even after that, you can see the exact moment where she fully processes and internalizes the blame. Before this, like I said, she’s so clearly jealous, because as far as she knows, while Ana did get hurt, she’s 100% fine. All of a sudden the rug is pulled out from under her and she has to reconcile with the fact that, oh shit, she did get someone else hurt. You can see her eyebrows kind of furrow and her face scrunch up slightly more as she goes through that process, leaning toward “I’m going to start sobbing” as her chin literally wobbles.

9. Jarvis’s apology. Jesus. “It’s not an excuse for what I did because it is inexcusable. But I am truly sorry.” Not only was it so incredibly genuine, but it’s so telling- the way his words are left purposefully vague so the audience can’t tell what he’s apologizing for— trying to kill Whitney and/or lashing out at Peggy— is delicious writing.

10. This is technically after the scene ends, but Peggy denying Jarvis’ obvious attempt to plan out their next move by saying “no, Mr. Jarvis, you need to be with your wife” is also very telling. It isn’t her holding a grudge and being petty, it’s the result of their argument but only because, again, she fully believes that what Jarvis said is true.

The obvious guilt she was carrying from Ana being shot is now multiplied into oblivion, especially because- simile to Colleen, who’s death sparked her confiding in Jarvis about this in the first place- Ana is entirely non-involved in this. She isn’t part of the SSR, a veteran, or anyone who has a stake in their job the way many of the other dead characters were. She was never supposed to get hurt, she was never supposed to even be at risk.

—

Anyways. Peggy Carter I love you and your terrible tragic life and I wish you could have had a long hard cry after this because you deserve it!!

Also I wrote these out of order- because rants- so the ones in the middle are probably a lot stronger than the beginning rip

(This might be my longest post ever I am so sorry @malewifegradyruewen LMAO)

[oopsiedaisiesbaby]

KMITD prequel? Pretty please 🤯

I gotta know how this all started, did John approach first? What was Gales initial reaction!? The details 😮‍💨😆

This is liable to change as I continue writing and whenever I start to edit buuut… here’s a super unedited snippet from when they meet 😘

“Buck?”

Startling, Gale ripped his attention from his book and let it land on the voice of the man falling into the seat next to him.

“As I live and breathe.”

Gale cleared his throat to politely dismiss the stranger that was suddenly crowding into his space. His voice died in his throat as he took in the most obscenely handsome guy he had ever seen.

Dark messy curls fell over mischievous ocean blue eyes while an outdated but attractive mustache twitched above a devilish smirk. His cheekbones were high and sharp, almost elven, his jaw strong and sturdy. He was so broad, thick, and masculine, it had Gale’s knees weak despite his seated position.

“Man,” the devastating stranger crowed, picking up Gale’s tea and sniffing it. “What’d the bartender put in your drink, Buck? Might have to order that next so I can be on your level.”

Realizing his lips had parted in shock, Gale closed his mouth and snatched his drink back, clutching it to his chest like it was a lifeline. The interloper leaned back in his chair with a grin, picking up what looked like a draft beer and taking a healthy swig. The table was small enough, their chairs close enough, that when the handsome guy shifted, his knee knocked into Gale’s thigh.

“My name’s not Buck,” Gale finally replied, taking a sip from his still warm tea.

He originally chose this particular bar because it was a brewhouse/coffee shop combination the locals seemed to avoid. It also had a shaded patio in the back that he knew most people wouldn’t step foot on with the oppressive summer heat. It was the perfect place to go in this hick town Gale had stuck himself in just a few weeks beforehand if one wanted to avoid being bothered.

Unless you were this guy.

After laying eyes on this guy though, Gale couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to be bothered by him.

Even when he was silent, he seemed to have a loud presence. Gale was shocked he hadn’t noticed him walk out onto the back patio he had been holding down alone for the last couple of hours. He had been pretty absorbed in the book he had been reading though, even if it was a reread of one of his favorites.

“Course it is,” the stranger scoffed, like Gale was being silly. “Look just like my old friend Buck, so Buck it shall be.”

The guy was clearly trying to wind Gale up and Gale couldn’t get enough of it.

“My name’s Gale,” he corrected, voice starting to come out stronger now that he had taken a moment to adjust to just how attractive the interloper was.

The guy’s smile widened, his shoulders dropping slightly as he opened his chest up even more towards Gale.

“What kind of a name is Gale?” He teased, foot nudging Gale’s under the table. “Definitely more of a Buck.”

It was brazen for the public setting. It might have been 2024, but they were in a small Midwestern town and Gale was well aware of what that meant for a man like him. Apparently a man like the one next to him too.

“Really?” Gale questioned, setting his book down and arching an eyebrow. “What great name do you have that allows you to be so judgemental?”

The handsome stranger’s eyes fell to Gale’s lips, the dark blue seeming to churn like the ocean before a storm. Gale had to fight the urge to lick his lips when his mouth flooded with saliva. He took a sip of his tea to distract himself.

“Bucky,” he answered easily, lips pursing and brows furrowing contemplatively as he watched Gale’s reaction.

Gale couldn’t help the way he stiffened. This perfect stranger had given him his own name. It was ridiculous, presumptuous, insane, and it had Gale’s dick twitching in his pants.

“How clever,” Gale drolled dryly, hoping he succeeded in keeping the amusement and desire out of his voice.

This man was precocious and all consuming in ways Gale had never experienced before.

“Oh yeah?” Bucky hedged, eyes going slightly hooded as he leaned back in his chair, thighs spreading impossibly wider, continuing to drink in the sight of him. “Bet you’d know all about being clever.”

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

FINAL PREDICTIONS

Here are my final predictions for where each character will end up as the series comes to an end! I mostly believe that things are going to be ending happily for everyone. This is at least somewhat informed by a September interview with Rashad where he said their goal was to give us an "incredibly satisfying" ending that will give the audience the feeling "that we are leaving all of these people right where they should be at the end of their journeys." (More recently, Rashad has been hyping the possibility of characters dying, but he's never actually said with 100% certainty that a main character would die.) I may be too optimistic here, but WE'LL SEE.

If anyone wants to discuss, my ask box is open! Tell me your predictions!

TK—quits his job, adopts Jonah, happily ever after with his husband and

Carlos—adopts Jonah, happily ever after with his family 🥰

I think during the final episode he will be helping out at dispatch in some way, but there probably won't be any additional major events for him to end the series with, aside from becoming a dad.

Owen—There are 2 possible options, but he leaves his job regardless.

Option #1: He takes the New York job as planned.

Option #2: He gets offered a similar job in Austin.

I’m leaning towards Option #2 at this point because it felt like they were setting him up to change his mind. However, I don't feel entirely confident.

Tommy—did not die at the end of episode 11, suits up for what she'll believe to be the last time to help out post-asteroid, but will discover by the end that miraculously her cancer isn’t as bad as the doctor thought and she’s going to be ok.

Maybe the scan was read wrong. Maybe it was just swelling and the swelling went down. Maybe she goes in for another check and her tumor shrunk. I don't know. But if she isn’t dead now, I really doubt they’re going to kill her at all. She basically already had a death scene, so I don’t think they would do what would amount to killing her off twice in the span of two episodes! I feel fairly confident about this.

I guess there's also the possibility that they'll leave it open, since Rashad did say that they left some doors open to continue. If that's the case, I imagine that they will leave us with Tommy at least doing well enough that we can imagine her cancer quickly goes into remission.

Judd—becomes captain of the 126 when Owen takes a new job.

Maybe there will be a mention about Grace coming home soon, or maybe that will be left open since they did have a slight hope for a season 6 renewal as they were finishing up. They wouldn’t have known whether Sierra would be able to be part of that at the time they were filming, so they might not have wanted to promise Grace's imminent return.

Mateo—2 options: he either dies or has an NDE. If he survives, he won't be deported.

Leaning towards NDE right now based on some things said in interviews and just the general feeling that it would be too depressing to kill him partway through the final episode.

If he survives, I feel pretty sure he won’t actually be deported, so that just leaves the question of how he gets out of that. One possibility is that he and Nancy get married (even though this definitely wouldn’t stop deportation in real life). It seems like they probably brought up Nancy’s opposition to marriage for a reason. That reason could have been to set up Nancy changing her mind after Mateo almost dies…I think this is possible, but I don’t know if it’s most likely. They also may have brought it up simply to answer potential viewer questions if the general audience started to wonder why they didn’t just get married to stop the deportation.

Another possibility could be that they decide not to go through with the deportation after Mateo and the rest of the 126 save the city. This is again not something that would likely happen in real life, but it seems like something that could happen in the Lone Star universe. I think this would probably be my preferred outcome.

Nancy—Potentially marrying Mateo, if not then probably happily ever after in a long-term relationship with Mateo and as a member of the 126.

Since we see Tommy in captain dress uniform in BTS, Nancy probably won't be captain anymore at the end of the series, but I assume she would be poised to take over for Tommy when Tommy eventually retires.

Or if Mateo dies, Nancy will have a bittersweet ending mourning the man she loves yet still being part of the 126.

Paul—maybe a little more with Jax and then a happy ending as part of the 126.

Marjan—I think Marjan basically already got her happy ending in episode 10 so probably there won’t be any major new developments with her. Like Paul, it will probably just be a happy ending as part of the 126.

[no-psi-nan]

hsfjdlshfks some disagreements with your disagreements (friendly) (philosopher discussion at the Greek forum style)

While the Hairo x Nendo bit was clearly labeled noncanon silliness, there WAS an entire chapter dedicated to "does Hairo is gay" that turned up ZERO evidence to the contrary. Also his primary gag is having his bare ass out. Hairo being gay is pretty heavily implied (in a bit of a homophobic way lbr) if not outright canon imo.

Yeah Saiki definitely does not want to deal with the idea of his dad being attracted to Teruhashi. And we all know he's king of denial and repression lol.

Not sure what you mean about Saiki's hypnosis, unless you're referring to that particular bit of canon-contradictory fanon that Saiki is using hypnosis to somehow change people's perceptions of him despite a) hypnosis being basically a simple illusion, and b) him not being able to use hypnosis on himself at all.

It's not totally clear what level of devotion Teruhashi inspires but it seems to be, at minimum, parasocial relationship with a celebrity strength but instantly. Kuboyasu literally thought about tattooing her name on his arm despite showing very little interest in women in general.

I didn't say that Saiki instantly falls in love with Teruhashi upon losing his powers but that he becomes susceptible to her beauty. As much as he whines about his X-ray vision, he can still see perfectly fine for about 3 seconds, blink, and then see perfectly fine for another 3 seconds, and so on. He's had like 6 years to scrutinize Teruhashi but doesn't because he's just not very attracted to women, by his own admission. However, when he loses his powers, now he's staring at her for so long that she almost dies lmfao. The timing is suspicious! And remember that Teruhashi's effect seems to diminish the more a person hangs out with her personally — Saiki is THAT affected by her beauty while powerless even after being in her vicinity for 6 years and knowing her better than anyone else. It's not explicitly *canon* that powerless Saiki is weak to Teruhashi's beauty but it's not NOT canon.

I don't know that Teruhashi actually does a lot of good in the world. Sure, guys cheer up when they see her, but does that change their attitude towards the other people in their lives? It certainly isn't as peace-keeping a power as Teruhashi believes it is, if it drove those 2 guys to try killing Saiki. But Teruhashi only sees dudes smiling at her and not the cult meetings where they purge people they perceive as being too close to her, so her narration is very much unreliable when it comes to the effects of her powers.

Also a story prompt that occurred to me while originally writing this post: Saiki losing his vision during some act of heroism and terusai where Teruhashi has to completely change her perception of self-worth based on beauty since now it truly means nothing to Saiki, plus her learning to understand other people's needs as she tries to help Saiki with his newest disability.

I mean, this still doesn't eliminate the potential dubcon of her power over God/luck, but it comes pretty close and allows for a lot of character growth on her side lol.

I'm not a fan of soulmates in romantic fiction because it's basically arranged marriage with extra supernatural noncon/dubcon elements.

However, in the Saiki universe, the soulmate connection seems to lack pretty much all of those problematic elements.

We have to do a little extrapolating from what we see in canon since this aspect of Aiura's powers is not covered in detail, but:

Soulmates do not seem to be guaranteed to ever meet, considering the fact that Aiura specifically looked up her soulmate and that one guy who was linked to someone in a remote African village that would almost certainly never cross paths with him.

Being with your soulmate is completely optional, otherwise Aiura wouldn't bother providing relationship scoring and just tell each person to go find their soulmate. This allows for a lot of narrative opportunities to explore why someone would consciously choose to not be with their soulmate, and also opens up the door for polyamory.

Soulmates do not instantly fall in love, and are not forced to stay in love by any supernatural powers. Aiura didn't think anything of Saiki until he flawlessly saved Yumehara's life like 10x in a row, and Saiki certainly didn't fall for Aiura right away either. They fought over their values strongly enough that it would've been a breakup if they'd ever been together.

Soulmate status just seems to indicate particularly good chemistry, and like the rest of Aiura's powers, is purely informational and not determinative. Presumably soulmates have the highest possible compatibility scores, and it's kinda cool that it seems guaranteed there's at least 1 person out there who will jive with you, but also plenty of other people you can connect with to various degrees.

With Saiki and Aiura specifically, it's shown that Saiki can change the future Aiura sees as soon as he hears about it. It may even be possible for him to change the soulmate determination, and he certainly could've used Time Leap to fool Aiura into thinking someone else was her soulmate if he was really opposed to the concept. She had scryed it recently, so the butterfly effect shouldn't be a challenge.

But they do work so smoothly together with their powers complementing each other, and Saiki is kind of a lonely romantic tsundere at heart, so it makes sense that he would let the soulmate thing play out and yet test the connection by pushing Aiura away as much as possible.

Actually, considering that Saiki can't control people's actions directly (and that he sucks at trying to control people indirectly), the strongest noncon/dubcon force in the Saikiverse shockingly appears to be Teruhashi's beauty.

The only male character that doesn't seem at all affected by Teruhashi's powers is Hairo, most likely because of his heavily implied homosexuality. Women attracted to other women are also impacted by her power, as seen with Aiura.

While Saiki says that married people aren't affected by Teruhashi, Kuniharu does actually show several signs of being affected by Teruhashi, and so does Kumagoro.

All affected people instantly fall in love with her on sight, no exceptions.

Critical thinking ability appears to drop precipitously when it comes to her, with her fans accepting that she had a secret child with Saiki despite being in school with her every day and that she can just choose not to poop for a week. More effective mind control than anything Saiki can do tbh.

The instant Saiki loses some of his powers, he starts being affected by Teruhashi's beauty.

The narrative supports Saiki's theory that Teruhashi is literally favored by God and can affect reality just by hoping for something. The implication that God is (physically??) attracted to Teruhashi and does whatever she wants is.... yikes on several levels. If she asks for someone to love her, do they get a choice in the matter??

Anyways, there are way more elements of noncon/dubcon with Teruhashi ships than there are with actual canon soulmate mechanics in the Saikiverse and that's just such a wild choice by the author lol.

Truly subverting tropes!