#and their relationship is so good to analyze

[rametarin]

Also I'd like something clarified VERY FUCKING HARD

Calling something "actually just christofascism" is such a dodge to say, "you can't be part of our ideology because you have a bad take, and our ideology can't have bad takes. Bad takes means it's not our ideology" is just No True Scotsmanning, and it feeds into this idea the plan can't be lead to a wrong result, or it must not be the plan and other people may have just tried to institute "other disgusting plan"

No. TERF logic is ONLY different from Intersectional Feminist logic in that TERFs do not consider you a woman just by your self-identified gender, and treat being a woman as something static and biological, not a mutable fact. They otherwise maintain everything else about Class Struggle Theory, greviance studies, and the idea of Critical Gender Theory.

They still hold that we arbitrarily live under a "patriarchy" because, "the nature of conflict is one must oppress and the other be the oppressor- woman is inarguably oppressed because they aren't in control, and as the designated oppressed demographic, that makes their intrinsic relationship to men as one of oppressed to oppressor."

It is the nature of this absolutist "IF X IS Y THEN Y MEANS Z ABSOLUTELY" of Class Struggle Theory that is the problem. It is the "lens by which to analyze" (a stupid truism pretending to be anything scientific whatsoever) that is wrong. And it's the same lens they hold up to the issue of why BDSM is wrong.

These people believe that you cannot allow something to exist in fiction, because they believe culture is more or less monolithic and society is this hivemind of intellectual objects. If you let a bad object into this collection, you "taint" or "poison" what they think society is- which is the great big metaphoric monolith that we all draw our perceptions and understandings from. Which is asinine, because this is not how individual human beings work, this is how sycophants and people with broken social wiring try to emulate one another to fake understanding things, the way sociopaths try to mimic emotions and their appropriate use without actually feeling or understanding them.

So they dogmatically approach this idea of how culture absolutely works, and they tie it into the idea of policing it to keep it "healthy." They maintain this convenient top-down idea of authority and the idea good-authority still uses power to police the dangereous or bad stuff from people "for their own sake." And they believe NOTHING can exist in fiction that doesn't count as something "Society" (capital S), the embodiment of the collective of what is Right(tm) and Acceptable(tm). In short, they believe the fact rape fiction exists, is why some random person will just suddenly feel like raping another human being. Because, "that's part of our culture, he's just acting within how the media and literary culture of our people are told they are allowed to operate," look you in the eye when they say that, and say THAT is the reason why you shouldn't be allowed to write spicy fanfiction if you happen to like sexual assault themes.

They will act like your very input of spicy smut has poisoned the culture, like chat GPT learning to use slurs and inappropriately using them at every opportunity. They argue their censorship and policing are required to prevent sexual assault and rape by sanitizing "the culture".

Do you understand how draconian and collectivist and psychotic that is? Do you understand how it's similar, but SO VERY DIFFERENT in origin, source and scope from the justification theocratic authoritarians operate?

Calling it just "another form of christofascism" deflects the true horror of what is being done here, and fails to really address how horrifying the implications are to this ideology. Akin to seeing something like a movement in, I don't know, Southern India to oppress and deprive North India of civil rights, property and life, and calling that, "another form of White Supremacism." (I chose South doing it to the North for a reason- because calling it white supremacism when it is a different source to a similar outcome is what it has in common with calling godless Marxist philosophy operating like theocratic Christian authoritarianism, is just like when you use call a browner demographic white supremacist for acting in its own demographic interest over another demographic.)

terfs are incredible

> “it doesn’t matter if they consented, you’re a bad person if you get off to causing other people pain”

so you agree? you don’t actually care about consent and you just have moral standards for what people do? you don’t think their consent matters because they’re doing something you personally find gross? that’s what you’re saying there?

damn girl hows the christofascism taste

[highonakuweeds]

Who Says Money Can't Buy Happiness? (Part 6)

Sylus x right hand man!reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | ao3

Summary: You can't have just one peaceful day, huh? Something had to go wrong after a good morning.

After a week or so of doing what Dr. Zayne had prescribed of you, you woke up more refreshed now, which is a good thing. Before you had left his office, you’d taken a hold of his number so that he could monitor your pulse. You confessed to him that it wasn’t necessarily your heart, but the pulse points at your wrists, which is probably the reason why he chose to keep in touch in the first place. Well, either that, or that he knew that you were close with MC, so if she ever contacted you first, you could tell him how she was doing.

So, he added that before sleeping, it would be a good idea to calm yourself down with a good book, and drink some camomile tea to soothe your nerves. It had you sleeping like a baby, and when you woke up, you felt better than you did yesterday.

You picked up your phone in order to update the doctor.

you

thanks for the recommendation of the tea, dr

feel much better now lol

It didn’t take long for him to reply back.

MC’s boyfriend probs

Anytime.

Just keep on calming yourself down before sleeping.

you

🫡

May your relationship with MC flourish  :333

MC’s boyfriend probs

???

You glanced outside, the red moon of the forever night brighter than usual. Today felt like a good day to take a walk along the N109 Zone’s border. It was a good in-between of the unusual home you had at the gleaming mornings of your day job. Plus, what’s a little exercise before going to work—

Wait. It was your day-off today. 

You let out joyous laughter, laying back down as you stared at the small chandelier just above your bed. Could this day get any better?

—--

You raised your arms high into the air, a sigh of satisfaction coming out from your lips. It had been a while since you decided to take a walk along the border, and honestly, it’s been a while too long.

You started off your pace slow, small steps as breathed in the fresh air blowing from Linkon City. You couldn’t help yourself when a little giggle left you, feeling your heart float. You weren’t quite sure where this sudden burst of giddiness came from, but you welcomed it all the same; when working for the most infamous leader, moments like this are hard to come by.

With this rare instance of peace and tranquility, you could tell that your heart began to beat slower than normal, understanding that you were relaxed for the first time in a couple months or so. The feeling of actually having the chance to rest was too liberating to give up, so you forced yourself not to think about Sylus, or MC, or Aries, or anything that could possibly give you stress or anxiety.

The soft wind ran through your hair, making it sway towards the N109 Zone’s side of the border. You couldn’t care less, though; not with the morning light kissing your cheeks.

Of course, however, given your misfortune, you felt a wave of metaflux surge around you, making you groan. You hadn’t even brought your best day-to-day weapon today! All you had strapped to you (since it was strapped to you at all times) was the simple gun that the Association provided you, a little more than half the ammo right beside it, and a small dagger knife Sylus had gifted you a long time ago.

You let out a groan of annoyance the moment your wrist beeped a warning. You didn’t know how you managed to convince your boss, but you barely wore your Hunter’s Watch; your ‘intuition’ (analyzation of surroundings and calculating possible routes of danger) being accurate enough for Jenna to trust you to not wear it. 

A tick of your jaw clicked in your ear, mimicking the sound of your gun cocking. Your eyes sharpened, darting around everywhere to scan the area for Wanderers. They were near, and attracted to the scent of a human after possible days of not being fed. Or perhaps they were hungry for something else.

The bushes behind you ruffled, causing you to whip your head and aim barely beside the shrub before shooting, just in time as the Wanderer’s failed retreat. It hissed in pain at the bullets, but locked its glare at you, making you purse your lips. It was a Herte Knave, and this specific kind of Knave usually came in groups…

You shot another bullet at its other leg, causing its knees to buckle. Quickly, you shot at its companion’s feet, which was stepping on scrapped metal. It ricocheted into its body, right into its heart. With a cry, it fell, and your attention focused on assessing how many Wanderers were around you.

… 1 at your 12:00—the one you just weakened, 1 at your 10:00—the one you had shot twice, 2 at your 4:00, and 3 at your 8:00, one of them being an Advanced Knave.

You could handle this. 

You were quick to run towards the Wanderer at your 12:00, persuading the other Wanderers to follow suit. Since most of them—aside from the Advanced one—were melee, they took your bait, rushing towards you at full speed. You stepped on the Herte Knave below you, making it scream and squelch as the last of its life drained out of it. And just as the other Knaves were about to attack,

You swiftly move backwards, causing all 5 of them to collide with one another. In their dazed state—as quick as that was—you aimed at the Advanced Knave, easily dodging its ranged attacks. 

You targeted the Advanced Knave immediately, knowing that if you were close enough, most of its attacks would be rendered useless. With one hand, you carried the Hunter’s gun, and in the other, you unsheathed Sylus’ dagger, its beautiful Damascus Steel blade glinting before you sank it into the chest of the Wanderer, making it screech. You could hear the other Wanderers charging at you already, and you rolled your eyes at the nuisance. 

Your foot kicked the Wanderer down, effectively slipping the dagger out of its flesh cleanly. It stayed there as the monster struggled to get out of your weight on that foot, and you made sure to shoot it in its head before shooting the other Wanderers in their hearts. Some of them fell immediately, but the remaining two were resilient; it may be better to kill them with the dagger.

And so you did.

With a stomp to ensure that the Wanderer you had just killed with a headshot remained dead, you used that as leverage to speed up your sprint towards the two Knaves, dagger easily stabbing through their throats. As they fell down to their demise, your melee weapon was difficult to wrench out of one of their necks, leaving it there.

And with the final gush of their blood, the Wanderers were finally killed and dead for good, and you heaved in a sigh. Great, now you have to wash your dagger again. You kneeled down at the Herte Knave with the dagger in its neck, placing your gun back in its holster. Its tip felt hot against your thigh despite the thick elastic fabric distinguishing it from your bare skin. 

Then, out of nowhere, you felt a sharp pain slicing through your other thigh, making you let out a guttural scream. You turned towards the other Wanderer, whose sword was about to cleanly cut your leg in half vertically. It was quick when you stabbed it one more time in its heart, and it dropped slack, no more resistance in its bones. 

Fuck, you could barely even stand with how much pain you were in. you had no choice but to remove your shirt, using your already bloodied dagger to stab a hole into it, making you able to rip it into long strips. With careful and shaky hands, you wrapped it around your thigh, and you cursed when the wound was too big for your shirt to fully cover it. But this will have to do for now. Even if you could already see the blood seeping out of the makeshift bandage.

You didn’t even realize your eyes were tearing up until you tried to stand up. With a loud curse, your knees buckled, causing you to kneel once more. The impact of your knees hitting the hard ground traveled to your thigh, making you suck in a breath at the pain. You had to use something as a temporary cane… Ah, yes, the sword that sliced you in the first place would do.

You stood up with great effort, wincing and groaning throughout it. You placed the blunt end of the sword under your armpit as support, the tip of it digging into the dry dirt of the borders securely. 

How far was home from here again?

—--

You quietly (as quietly as a person with a severe wound could) entered through the staff door that was tucked away somewhere in the back of Sylus’ base. A lot of the people there looked at you, clearly and rightfully alarmed, but you raised a shaky hand, pinching your pointer and thumb and running it across your lips, telling them to not speak a word. 

They preferred you more than Sylus, anyway.

And with that, you were able to go to one of the vacant labs deep underground in Sylus’ base, immediately grabbing all of the tools needed to properly dress your wound. The staff knowing about your condition was inevitable, given they would notice the soiled shirt in the trash anyway. However, you did not want any of Sylus’ doctors to know; they reported everything to him. At least with the staff, you could plead to them to stay silent, but his doctors were relentless.

You sat down on one of the high tables, placing the leg with a wound on its thigh on a stool. The materials were right beside you, but you were just staring at the dripping blood pooling beneath your leg. You had to force yourself to not let any of your tears drip as your wound stung terribly, the flesh around it pulsating as your body desperately tried to fend off any potential infections from dressing the wound in unsanitary ‘bandages’. With shaky and slightly numb hands, you put on latex gloves. This shouldn’t hurt so much; you’ve been through worse. But you were usually under some kind of numbing agent, or under actual good hospital care provided by the Association. Nobody cared if you screamed until your lungs gave out.

But you couldn’t do that now.

Keep yourself quiet, keep yourself quiet, you chided, hissing when you began cleaning the wound, first with unscented, mild soap and water, and then Isopropyl alcohol. It solicited a small whimper from you, and you had to grab a towel from somewhere to bite down on it, muffling any slight noises you made. 

You took a deep breath, staring at the thread and needle in your hands. Could you really do this without anesthesia?

The first stitch that had penetrated you almost made you scream, your hand tensing against the needle driver. You bit down on the towel so hard you couldn’t feel any saliva in your mouth anymore. Push through.

You were glad that you were taught how to suture wounds by Sylus’ doctors long ago. It wasn’t mandatory at all, since you knew that Sylus would most probably just carry you to the nearest doctor that was available. But you insisted on learning, if ever something like this happens. If ever you planned on ‘escaping’ and suddenly found yourself injured.

The thought of you even considering escaping distracted you a little, as it made you giggle a bit. 5 years ago and you were still thinking of leaving such a luxurious place like this. 

You had 3 stitches tied and secured already. But with how big the slash was, you had assumed you needed… 8 more?

The more you worked against yourself, the more you could feel your stomach churn and your forehead dampen. The area burned white with how much it stung, especially after the endless amount of times you punctured yourself with the sharpest needle on Earth.

Well, it wasn’t. But it might as well be without anesthesia.

Finally, after a slow 10 minutes and painful trudges through the necessary procedure, it was stitched. Finally, it was stitched. 

The room was deathly silent, only making the ringing of your ears even more piercing. Your hand slipped slightly with how it was slowly losing its grip, but you managed to place a long strip of gauze over the now neat, clean wound, though slightly jagged from the Wanderer’s sword. Your mouth was dry, your tongue flat against the cloth in your mouth, and you bit down even harder.

Your blood soaked through the first piece of gauze too easily. Too quickly. With a muted curse, you placed another strip, but this time with more conviction; you were slowly regaining your grip.

And so, you grabbed the bandage, finally easily able to wrap it around your thigh. The process was slow, painstaking, and you wouldn’t have been able to deny the times you would force yourself to peel your eyes away from your wound to let your liquid pain drip down onto the cold lab table. 

Two more wrap-arounds and you were finished. Two more wrap-arounds and you were finished. Two more…

You swallowed thickly as you removed the towel in your mouth, sweat beading your forehead. The corners of your vision began to glitch, your physical exhaustion consuming you. But you had to push through; you were already done dressing your wound up. Quietly. Discreetly. Alone. 

It took you a while to clean everything up, to remove the smell of blood from the room. You had grabbed a broom to place under your armpit once more and walked towards your room, which took another 20 minutes. Luckily, throughout the way there, a couple of servants had helped you, though secretly. It was like they didn’t want you to know.

But there wasn’t really anything that could get past your eyes.

—--

The moment you opened the door to your room, you noticed a small plate of your favorite food on your nightstand, still clearly fresh. A smile placed itself on your face; of course the chef knew, too.

You sat down on your bed, the mattress dipping. You didn’t hesitate to take a bite of your food, sighing in pleasure when you tasted the familiar sense of warmth spreading around your body. You laid down to rest your back on the headrest, a hand going down to your bed. There was a file on it, something you didn’t notice through the daze of blood loss you just went through. 

You skimmed through it, right wrist beeping softly at the new information. So that’s what Sylus wanted to do…

Something uneasy and unsettling bubbled in your stomach. Not out of jealousy, though, no, totally not. But rather out of concern for MC’s health. How is Sylus so sure she can handle a mission like this?

You needed to reason out with him, surely.

…

Could you walk like this?

—--

The gunshot was what made you narrow your eyes, your hand hesitant on the door handle. Was there a special client he had to have taken care of in his bedroom ? You knew you shouldn’t doubt your boss as just his subordinate, but when have you ever actually taken that role as serious as that?

So, you opened the door, ready to dispose of a dead body despite your leg, when all of a sudden,

“Oh.” Your heart sank even if you had forced your body not to. Sylus was on top of MC in just his robe, pinning her wrists down. A pink cloud that had the words ”LOVE” written in it was right above them, making your mouth dry.

Sylus cocked his head ever so slightly when he heard your voice, and he raised a brow. “Darling, you should know when to knock.” There was that stupid teasing tone when he spoke, as if taunting you to go batshit crazy.

MC, who came to the conclusion that you two were probably an item of some sort (well, what should she have assumed when he called you darling?), looked rather distressed, immediately pushing Sylus off (or at least attempting to). “Wait! Wait, Nyx, this isn’t what it looks like! I-I needed to get a brooch so I could go to the next auctio—”

“I’m sorry for bothering you both,” your voice hung low with forced professionalism as you bowed your head softly, closing the door

Sylus’ grip weakened at your words, disappointed that you had submitted so easily to what was going on. MC wasn’t having it, though, so the moment she felt his grip against your wrists falter, she slipped away with agility, running towards the door whilst shouting your ‘name’. But it was too late; when she opened the door, you were already gone.

So after she closed the door again, she stood there, anger boiling under her skin. And before Sylus could even sneak in a snarky remark, she marched towards him, making him tilt his head. 

And to say that Sylus was caught off guard was an understatement.

MC’s slap barely made him turn his head, but it still stung nonetheless. He could tell she was fuming, especially since he’d never seen her this mad so far.

“You did not tell me Nyx was your lover .” She said in a low voice, as if restraining herself from doing anything bad. “Why do you treat her like she’s just one of your lowly workers?” Sylus opened his mouth to speak, but MC cut him off with a finger. “And why did you do something so suggestive when you had a girlfriend this entire time?”

“You were the one trying to look for the brooch in my bedroom.” He calmly stated, crossing his arms. “And she is not my lover.”

MC scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I only wanted to steal that damn brooch because I need it to go around the N109 Zone. Didn’t you tell me that yourself? Plus, you were the one insisting that I find it instead of just giving it to me. And I don’t believe she’s your lover. Your grip weakened when she came in. Surely that means something , right?”

Her grasp of the brooch tightened. “The auction isn’t that far from now, and as of the moment, I will go with you. That never changed. But,” she glanced at the door, pursing her lips. “Know your boundaries, Sylus.”

She left the room, pinning the brooch onto her shirt by herself before slamming the door, leaving Sylus in his bedroom, for once speechless.

—--

The tears that came from your eyes were not from the wound you had gotten an hour or three ago. Rather, it came from a more internal wound.

You clicked your tongue as tears dripped onto the dark hallway, MC’s voice quieting the more you walked away. The adrenaline of it all began to wear off, making you lose your balance slightly. You hugged the wall to your left with a thud, but it only hit your thigh, making you seethe in pain. Angry tears blurred your vision, but even with that, you were able to make out the two familiar figures, as well as their voices.

“(Name)!” Luke exclaimed, hooking your arm around his shoulders. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?” He pried you off of the wall, and you nodded your head, taking a deep breath. “I’m fine,” you replied, but the quiver in your voice gave you away.

Kieran glanced at the way you kept your left leg on your toes instead of flat against the floor. He was quick to do the same that Luke did with your other arm, essentially making the pressure against your leg alleviate just a bit. “But you don’t look fine. Is there something wrong with your leg—”

“I said I’m fine.” You snapped, taking a sharp inhale before speaking again to keep your composure. “I… I had a little fight with Wanderers a couple hours ago, and my leg is…”

“Bleeding?” Kieran asked you, making you narrow your eyes and tilt your head. “Well, technically. But what do you mean?”

“Well,” Luke stared at your left thigh. “It’s—It’s bleeding. Like seeping through your clothes.”

“What? ” You quickly glanced at your leg and realized that you probably pulled a couple of stitches, making you hiss at the realization. Fuck, that means you’d have to redo everything all over again. 

You bit your lip when the twins sat you down on your bed (you weren’t sure how you didn’t notice the walk there) before looking at them. “You two know how to suture, right?”

They nodded hesitantly, exchanging glances with each other. 

“Get the supplies, especially the anesthesia, or a number agent, no matter how mild it is. Please. ”

@readerxyourbabe

[keepmycandleburning]

IDK if this little section of the internet is just uncharacteristically hateful and negative and miserable lately or what. I've been lurking for like a year and posting since like 2 months ago, and it seems recent. I don't really feel like inserting myself into it anymore because it's not fun.

I loved HP as a kid probably like 9-12 y/o, at which time I picked up on something between Bellatrix & Voldemort due to the be quiet, Bella and the no higher pleasure lines. I reread the series for the first time as an adult in Oct-Nov 2023, and I was astonished at how much more I am able to pull from this text now. I came away with a much greater understanding of several things I'd missed as a kid. One of these is that it was very clear to me that Bellatrix & Voldemort were written to be at least sleeping together. VERY CLEAR. It was AFTER this point that I started being part of the fandom, and way after that I've seen people claiming their relationship ISN'T in the books. To me, this is really surprising, because when I've read the books as an adult, it's quite clear. Once I got into the fandom, I found that there are a huge number of people that agree with this interpretation of the text and find is equally obvious as I do.

However, despite the fact that I've seen a number of claims that they DON'T have any relationship in the books, I don't see people using text evidence to support this interpretation. In my personal opinion, this is probably because this is a very difficult argument to make based on the text. But if you think it can be done, instead of submitting negative anon messages without any text support, why don't you write a meta? If anyone would like to make a post going through all of the things people say are text evidence for Bellatrix/Voldemort and explaining why they're not the case, I would gladly read that out of genuine interest. Or, simply going through all the excerpts on their interpersonal relationship and explaining based on the text what sort of relationship you think they DO have.

I have seen countless people over the years analyze sections of text, lines between different characters, their attitudes toward each other, their various actions, and so on, and explain why this adds up to Bellatrix & Voldemort having some sort of relationship. I have NEVER yet seen someone who DOESN'T believe they had a relationship write a text analysis of their opinion. So I sincerely invite you to go through all the bits of text that Bellamort shippers say are canon evidence and explain why they're not—in individual instances and in total. Explain why = not just 'this is my alternative interpretation without text analysis' but *how you justify this being the case based on the text*. How do you justify ignoring how countless bits of the text can be interpreted all in this one way (Bellamort) and instead interpreting them all different ways? How do you explain what JKR was intending to say about Bellatrix & Voldemort's interpersonal relationship considering all their interactions both on- & off-page? WHY are they written the way they are if they don't have an intimate relationship? Or if you believe they're not written that way, again how can you justify this based on the text? If you need a list of text moments and existing 'Bellamort is canon' metas I can compile one.

I'm curious to see what you come up with, because I've never once seen this done—and because, as I've said, it's not an opinion that I personally believe to be supported by the text. If you can explain why it is supported by the text please do that and I'll consume it in good faith.

[moony-noo]

𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 (𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞) (angst?)

They say 'perfection doesn't exist', yet in your eyes, you felt like you had met the embodiement of the word "perfect".

Kazuha was a gentleman. He was good with kids, good with elders, good with everyone. He had a way with words, no matter if you were sad, anxious, angry or happy, enthusiastic, even cheerful after a successful achievement, he just knew the right things to say. And it made you absolutely sick— love-sick.

You quickly caught on your changing behavior the past few years. When he wasn't there, you'd think about him. Anything would remind you of Kazuha. Whether it was the color red, like his mesmerizing eyes, or the maple leaves pattern, like the ones on his clothes he so elegantly wore... He was everywhere, running endlessly in your mind. You could try all you wanted to convince yourself this was just because the two of you were spending a lot of time together since you were kids... But the simple fact that whenever you were only chatting with someone, and you'd always find a way to bring back his name in the conversation, was enough to prove you wrong. Your mouth was wording "Kazuha" like an enchantment that only you could not erase.

And it truly felt magical, when you came to realize the crush you had developed on your long-dated best-friend. Every touch, laughter, conversations, were embellished once your mind made you understand your true feelings. You were charmed by every aspect of him. Often staring at him, heart in your eyes, like he was a true beauty who had ascended from Heavens, in order to bring light in this so basic-life of yours.

But once your love had reached its peak, fear and anxiety didn't take long to set in...

Was it the same for him?

You started to wonder, did he see you the same way that you do?

Was he, too, feeling the butterflies down in his stomach when he'd see your silhouette in the alleys of Inazuma City?

Were you his everything like he was for you?

Every conversations was slowly becoming a source of research. You had started to analyze all his behaviours, gestures, words, trying to caught on anything that would at last give you a glimmer of hope that something could happen between you two. But it didn't. It never did.

Because Kazuha was good to everyone.

You were no exception, nor you had a slight of special treatment. A painful reality that you had only come to understand a few weeks ago, when he was about to leave for another journey of his. As usual, you'd embrace goodbyes, knowing that you'd write to each other most likely everyday... But you knew you'd only meet again Archons knew when, because he'd always do that. Not in a bad way of course, Kazuha was a wanderer. He couldn't stay in one place, while you, on the other side, grew too attached to your homeland, despite its past, to even think of leaving for more than two weeks.

So lately, you had been only receiving letters after letters, seeing him only when he'd come visit Inazuma— which was not very often. It was hard to admit, but truth was; he was slowly becoming an 'old-friend' of yours, and you hated it. This made you understand that... he didn't miss you the way that lovers do.

You already had feel the pain of toxic relationships, break-ups, rejections, but never unrequited love. Or at least, not as harmful as right now. And you'd say, this was another level of hurt. Having to say goodbye to something possibly beautiful before you could even taste it, was not as easy as people would think. This happiness you longed for with him, would only exist in your head, daydreaming. You loved him, but hated the counterparties this affection brought to you.

You already had thought of confessing to him at some point, despite being fully aware of the upcoming rejection. This sudden source of courage would emerge during relaxing moments, you two sitting under a tree, where peace would soothe your mind so well that anything that passed through it would just feel right to say out loud. But you never did. In your case, you felt like you coudn't stay friends with him, because the pain it brought to your heart was almost unbearable. But you knew he valued your friendship way too much to even think of putting an end on it, despite distancing from each other over the years. Pushing him away from you might hurt as much as loving him way more than you should have, but life always came to point that everything would change, and somehow, it was hard to accept it.

Maybe fate would bring you back to each other, and perhaps, some things might change again, but for now, 'old-friend', was the only suitable relationship for the both of you. Kazuha would travel everywhere, whenever he wanted, while sending letters to you here and there. While you, the heart aching at this long-dated friendship now fading away, would keep pursuing your goals, building a new life, writing back to him and thinking "maybe in another life".

Woohoo, my first post, and it's kinda depressing lmao. But I loved writing it to be honest. I know a lot of people (inculding me) often had to face (like 90% of the time on my part lmao) unrequited love, and I kinda wanted to show how it can feel like. Anyway, hope you've enjoyed, stay tuned for more ♥

[madlori]

A breakdown (no, not that kind)

So, in an effort to be clear-headed about the ship, I am here reporting a complete list of the scenes in which Tommy appears or is discussed in the context of his relationship with Buck. I'm not counting 7x03 as that was all pre-relationship (shoulder touch notwithstanding). Scenes in italics are ones in which Tommy is discussed or is present in the conversation but does not appear.

7x04

Buck visits Harbor Station

Sewer rescue (Eddie tells Buck about all the cool stuff he and Tommy have been doing)

Firehouse workout scene (Buck's angling to get an invite to basketball where he can see Tommy)

Basketball game

Tommy visits Buck's loft, first kiss

7x05

First date

Conversation with Maddie

Conversation with Eddie

Coffee date

7x06

Bachelor party

Hospital kiss

7x09

Medal ceremony

Conversation with Bobby (Tommy's good people)

7x10

Dinner scene

8x01

Birthday party scene

8x05

Tommy comes to the hospital for Buck's shoulder

Tommy and Buck at home before bed

Breakfast scene and discovering boils

Eddie comes over to look at the boils.

Waiting at the hospital for Denny

Cemetery

8x06

Miceli's anniversary date

Talking with Josh and Maddie

Final loft scene

Now.

This is not a lot of scenes. It's 24 scenes total. But what's even more telling is that 18 out of those 24 scenes are from the first two eps (when the relationship was being established) or the last two (when it was being dissolved, although that isn't apparent until the last scene).

So...six scenes in between. And that's counting one scene Tommy didn't appear in. Six scenes to carry the relationship between establishing it and breaking it down.

It felt like more, didn't it?

I can tell you why that is. Because the fandom took away from those scenes faaaaaar more than just the content of the scenes.

The birthday party scene was short, but from it the fandom inferred: Tommy is being incorporated into Eddie's life. He's maintaining contact with Chris and important enough to be included in this zoom call. He and Buck are relaxed and flirty with each other. There's some sexual sparks between them. Eddie's comfortable with the two of them.

The dinner scene was less than one minute, but from it the fandom inferred: They're cooking at home together. Buck's coming home to his person after a hard day. Tommy's opening up about his father, and their relationship isn't great. Tommy's asking about Buck and being concerned about his emotional state. Buck is listening intently to what Tommy's telling him. They have a close, settled rapport. Tommy's comfortable in Buck's kitchen. They're being flirty/naughty a bit and enjoying it. They have a healthy sexual relationship.

Tommy wasn't even there for Buck's conversation with Bobby, but from it the fandom inferred: Bobby approves of this relationship. He has seen how Buck has been while dating Tommy, and it's doing wonders for him. He hasn't had to talk about it with him or ask. He's used to seeing Buck to go Tommy overnight, motioning to the bag Buck is packing. He's happy they're dating and is all but giving his blessing for it to go on long term. Bobby is Buck's father figure, and Buck will take this as a confirmation that he's on the right path this time.

So these scenes are doing a lot of heavy lifting, but is the show doing that, or was it us?

Now, none of the inferences I just described are WRONG. Everything I just said is totally reasonable for the fandom to take from those scenes. But a casual viewer, or someone who didn't care about or like the relationship, wouldn't take that much from it. And how much we examined, analyzed and discusses every single scene in depth magnified its presence in our minds until the relationshp gains a weight in the storyline that really...isn't there as much as we thought it was.

It was NOT unreasonable or delusional of us to think this relationship was being positioned to be long term. If they had continued, if 8x06 had ended happily, that would be the first beat in the continuation. It wouldn't feel out of place that the intervening ten or so episodes only had like four scenes of them, because more would be coming, and for a potential LTR, it doesn't matter that much. So how much of that positioning was more about Tommy's identity as a character, his potential as a new member of the 118 firefam, his friendship with Eddie, him being a firefighter. The only one of those things that the show actually used was his friendship with Eddie.

It's a waste of potential. But I can't exactly call Buddie fans wrong when they say it was underdeveloped. It was developed GREAT...by us. It started real strong, trickled off, and then built up again just to end. 8x05 was by far their strongest episode, and if they'd done one or two more like that in the interim, with Tommy a much more present character, it would have been even clearer that he was to continue. But now...it just feels hollow.

I still don't know if they meant this to be a "starter" relationship all along (I still think you don't give the starter boyfriend the heroic rom-com hospital kiss, but it's clear by now I don't understand a lot of the writers' thinking) or if they were originally thinking long term and pivoted at some point. I'm frankly tired of theorizing about that. But it feels like season 7 was a lot more committed to the relationship than 8 was. The few scenes they had, had more import.

Anyway. I'm not casting any aspersions. If we read more into things than was intended, well, that's more or less the short definition of fandom.

It was fun while it lasted and I will always love the relationship, even if we never see it return.

[qqlettuce]

I'm someone that does my best to avoid all the fear mongering and hyperbole, generally I believe things turn out to not be "as bad" as we think it will be, as long as we make it through this bump, things can surely turn around right as they seemingly should, right? No matter how I try and rationalize this, every conceivable angle I look at it, and even after consulting with those much smarter than me, those who try to analyze everything through absolute objective fact: the reality is that this is fundamentally a people problem. if you're feeling confused and scared by those around you, not sure who you can trust, having your sense of unity and community completely shattered, your feelings are valid and you're not alone. I myself am the outlier in a second generation Mexican-American family that all chose to vote for Trump, and I caught myself beginning to second guess everyone in my community. I had to grapple with my own mother not wanting to vote to protect gay marriage, while I am currently in a gay relationship. people can pin the blame on the messaging of the Biden/Harris campaign, whether or not they focused on this particular issue too much or too little, whether or not Biden should've remained or dropped out sooner, whether or not a proper primary should've been held, what people they should've caucused with, none of it would've fucking mattered in the end because people, many of whom you probably trusted to stand up with you to reject fascism and bigotry, ultimately voted for it. this isn't like 2016 where you could make some sort of argument that people were making a desperate last ditch effort for change, unaware of what consequences lay ahead. Trump had his term. It was a disaster, it ended in an attempt to overthrow the nation, An event so sickening that it was certain his fate was sealed and he would never be president again. the cards were already on the table, and his second campaign was only fueled with more hatred, more outright bigotry and contempt for those who stand against him. gone were the feeble run of the mill republicans who reluctantly campaigned with him and in their place were unhinged loyalists and grifters who rode his platform to push their own flavors of fascism onto the masses. An entire social media platform was hijacked and used as a propaganda network for him, working closely with Elon Musk to ensure a constant stream of Trump content was flowing, while also securing a future position for him in his cabinet. This is only scratching the surface of the madness we witnessed, and again, in the end, people chose to ignore it and willingly cast a vote for Donald Trump because of vague fears about the economy or immigration. the more I look into it, it actually seems very possible that some scary shit can happen. An anti-vaxxer will now be in charge of the Department of Health, The Department of Education is going to be dismantled, Trump seems hellbent on mass deportation. Potentially instating THREE MORE conservative Supreme Court justices, total deregulation of the energy/manufacturing industry and scrapping green energy/climate change plans, destruction of women's reproductive rights and even LGBT rights. There is also no reason to trust Trump's word that he rejects Project 2025 either. And to top it off, it is believed his *brilliant* economic plan that so many people voted for him on will only increase prices of goods more. So I find it more important now than ever to find safety and community in each other. You deserve to know who your allies actually are, to know that you have people you know you can trust over these next four years. As an artist, I say that art is also an extension of people, so no, you are not allowed to separate art from their "politics". Do not let people shame you for being afraid. To gaslight you into thinking you have no right to push away those who just simply "voted differently" or have a "different opinion". Your right to exist and be yourself is not negotiable.

If you got conned again by Donald Trump or just straight up believe in everything he stands for, then you're a fucking idiot, it's as simple as that. Fuck you, stay away and you deserve whatever bullshit comes to you as a result of this.

[space-mermaid-writing]

Consort and King [IronStrange]

Summary: Anthony Stark, King of Midgard, needs a spouse. Whether he wants one or not. So he accepts an arranged marriage with the Prince of Kamar-Taj – a man he has never met in his life to the day they are standing in front of each other at the altar, speaking their vows. Is it possible that the feeling of duty grows into something more? Will their future be happy?

Relationship: Tony Stark / Stephen Strange

Tags: arranged marriage au, royal au, strangers to husbands, enemies to lovers, slow burn, idiots in love, fluff, hurt/comfort, miscommunication, all the good stuff

Author's note: Beta by @kvjjjjjj

Ko-fi | Read it on AO3 | Series Masterlist | Word count: 5.2k | Previous | Next (soon)

15 Dealing with the rogues

The portal took Stephen and the other masters to the underground catacombs beneath the temple, where the earlier explosion had been heard. They stepped right into what seemed to be the middle of a summoning.

There were lines and symbols drawn onto the ground and the rogues stood in a large circle, chanting in an ancient language. The black and purple smoke seemed to have originated here.

Whatever they were trying to accomplish, it couldn’t be anything good.

The sorcerer’s of Kamar-Taj immediately attacked; Stephen leading them, sending a powerful beam at one of the rogues. He threw the rogue off his feet. This broke the circle but the others continued their chanting.

It was clear that they were willing to pull through, no matter what.

“They are wearing the mark of the dark dimension!”

Stephen shifted his focus and he realized that the master was right: the rogues had purple glowing marks on their foreheads.

This was bad.

Analyzing the whole situation Stephen noticed that one of the rogue sorcerers standing in the circle had a book hovering in front of him. If Stephen had to bet, he’d say this was the stolen book from the library.

He gritted his teeth as he recognized the rogue's face: it was Kaecilius, a former student of the Ancient One.

And suddenly Stephen had no doubt who had plunged the black dagger into her chest.

Stephen gave the sorcerer closest to him a sign and they attacked Kaecilius together. The other sorcerer, a man around Stephen’s age wearing his brown hair in a ponytail, used a spell to hit the rogue right into his chest.

Kaecilius doubled over in pain.

At the same time, Stephen snagged the book through a small portal – a nifty trick he used to annoy Wong with.

As soon as he got the book in his hand and closed it, the chanting stopped as if a spell had been broken; and all heads turned to him. The marks on their foreheads remained, as well as the hostile look in their purple eyes. It warned Stephen that they would aim to get that book back at any price.

Kaecilius straightened up again, his attention now on Stephen as well. “Look at that! The lost prince has returned.,” he sneered and threw a lightning bolt at him.

Stephen couldn't activate a shield without putting the book down, so he jumped to the side, feeling the heat of the spell way too close for his liking.

For a moment he thought about storing the book in his personal pocket dimension just to keep his hands free. But he couldn’t take on Kaecilius and his zealots at the same time; even with the help of the other masters. They had to split the rogues up.

He weighed his options. He deemed Kaecilius the greater threat. Maybe he was biased, blinded by the image of the Ancient One lying dead on the ground in his mind.

This was personal.

He tossed the book to a younger master nearby; The last time Stephen had seen him before he left for Midgard, he had been wearing the red robes of an apprentice. Now he was wearing the colors of a master.

“Get that book away from here!”

The sorcerer nodded – his face stern – and with a swift motion he opened another portal.

Several sorcerers and rogues followed him, starting a chase. Stephen didn't have time to help him, he was busy dodging another attack from Kaecilius.

“It’s too late,” the rogue sorcerer taunted him. “The channel is already open. The power we draw from it is greater than you could ever imagine. Even your new piece of jewelry won't help you.” His purple blazing eyes darted to the necklace on Stephen's chest, hungrily. “But go ahead. Play with your new toy.”

Only the most powerful mages could actually use it. That was why the Ancient One had had to die.

Stephen summoned a golden mandala, which he threw at Kaecilius. The rogue swiped it away easily.

Both men didn’t hold back in the fight that followed. They threw spells at each other, blocking the other’s magic or redirecting it. More than once, a charge of magic slammed into one of the rock walls and caused the ground to shake.

Stephen noticed that Kaecilius moved mainly within the drawn summoning circle. And it seemed to enhance his magic even further. Like he had said: although the ritual had been interrupted, a channel remained open to the Dark Dimension.

Having this realization, Stephen quickly came up with a plan to get the rogue out of there. And he put this plan into action as soon as he saw an opportunity.

He dodged the falling debris caused by another quake. Using his slingring, he appeared right next to Kaecilius.

As the rogue whirled around to face him, Stephen opened another portal, directly behind him. Before Kaecilius was able to throw up a shield, Stephen hit him with a full blast. He didn't knock the rogue off his feet, but Kaecilius did stumble backwards through the circle.

Stephen followed him, not letting the rogue out of his eyes, and stepped on the roof of one of the temples, which were still surrounded by the black and purple smoke.

The new location up in the air didn’t stop them from continuing to fight. Kaecilius didn’t even bat an eye at it. Stephen simply put a spell on his boots to keep balance, before charging at the rogue.

_________________

Tony helped Wong and some of the other masters to clean up. Most of the damage had been done in the courtyards and between the temples. The sorcerers used magic to repair broken windows and balconies and to get rid of any quicksand.

Overall, it seemed like the attack had been a diversion. And a good one. Tony briefly wondered what kind of enemy Stephen was facing.

Since Tony couldn't contribute much to the repairs with no magic, he assisted a few injured sorcerers to get to the healers.

Suddenly he and Wong saw a flash of orange as a portal opened nearby. Several sorcerers and rogues were running through and past them.

Wong raised his hands for a spell, glancing at Tony, who had his hands on the hilt of his sword. Then he looked back at the sorcerers. He seemed undecided, weighing the potential danger against Stephen's silent plea to protect Tony's life.

The king took the decision away from him, sprinting ahead. “Let's get them!”

That was all the conviction Wong needed, and he quickly caught up to Tony's side. He created a magic rope, similar to the whips Stephen often used fighting, but this time with a knife at one end. He whirled it around and swung it in the direction of a rogue, stopping him from pursuing.

More people were portaling in and out and soon it was a mess to recognize who was a sorcerer of Kamar-Taj and who was a rogue without looking into their faces first; something that needed a few seconds which Tony did not always have in a fight.

Watching them, Tony quickly found that the rogues seemed to be chasing a young man who had an old book tucked under his arm.

Someone grabbed Tony’s arm, and he whirled around to shake off whoever it was – until he noticed it was Wong, who pulled him towards a bunch of portals.

“This way.”

They joined the chase to eliminate the hunters of the book.

Tony recognized the hallway they stepped into next. He had been here in the past two days, even though he wasn’t able to nail down which of the temple buildings it belonged to.

It didn’t matter anyway, because suddenly gravity shifted and the hallway seemed to rotate. Tony elbowed a rogue who staggered too close to him in the side, when the wall that had been to his left was now the new ground.

Man, magic was really annoying.

Tony used Whisperwind to deflect another attack from the rogue he had just elbowed. They had a buzz-cut and their slender form made it impossible to tell their gender. Tony struck their leg, made a lunge to the side and immediately struck them again at the shoulder.

Gravity shifted again. Tony lost his footing and stumbled over a chandelier and right into another portal.

He landed in snow, somewhere in the mountains. It was cold and windy. Tony hated it instantly, but looking up he saw the portal was too high in the air to get back.

He rolled out of the way when Wong came through. The sorcerer landed at his side with grace. He was probably used to these kinds of stunts.

Well, back to the chase.

Tony threw his blade the same time Wong threw his rope dart, both of them hitting different rogues that were still after the book guy. The young sorcerer had toppled to the ground – and he didn’t get back up. When he tried his leg gave in under him, preventing him from getting out of here.

Tony doubted it was his only injury.

The king engaged the rogues in a duel while Wong opened another portal under the young sorcerer with the book; and closed it as soon as he fell through with a yelp.

Now it was Tony and Wong against three rogues. Angrily, they turned towards them.

Tony had Wong's back while he continued to attack them from afar with Whisperwind.

He wasn't stupid enough to face magic without a shield of his own. Luckily, Wong provided one for both of them. Tony had already noticed after today that the sorcerer was a skilled fighter, and between the two of them, the rogues stood no chance.

After the last of the three bodies had hit the snow, he pulled his blade back onto the hilt.

“Can we get out of here?” He asked, freezing from the cold.

He was shivering from the weatherand sweating from the fight at the same time. His breath came in little puffs of white fog whenever he exhaled, and he barely felt his fingers anymore.

Used to the warm climate of Midgard, Tony was not a fan of these winter mountains. Especially when he wasn’t wearing any warm clothes.

Wong nodded and opened another portal. Tony was glad to step through it, and he saw they were back in the garden of the Sorcerer's Temples.

Apparently Wong had followed the sorcerer's magical signature with the book or something like that, because they found the man. His legs had failed him and he had sunk to the grass, leaning his back against a tree.

He panted heavily, his fingers raised for another spell. As soon as he saw Wong, he dropped his hands, relief visible on his face.

“You did good,” Wong reassured the young master as he stepped up to him. “I’m taking this from here.”

The young man nodded and handed him the book. “Thank you, Master Wong,” he sighed, closing his eyes for a second.

Wong hung the book on his belt before making it disappear with a gesture.

“Where did it go?” Tony asked because apparently this old looking book was important enough that people would kill for it.

Wong patted the space where it should be, and there was a surprising solid noise.

“I hid it from prying eyes.”

“Great.” Tony turned back to the injured sorcerer. “Let's bring him to the infirmary. Can you open another one of those magic circles?”

“It’s called a portal.” Wong rolled his eyes, but there was no bite in his voice.

“Of course. Whatever you say.” Tony helped the younger sorcerer onto his feet. The boy groaned in pain as soon as he moved his leg.

Tony put his arm around his shoulders, taking most of his weight.

“Thanks,” the sorcerer muttered. “I’m Aimar, by the way.”

"Tony." Aimar didn’t seem to be aware that he was talking to royalty. Tony helped him limp through the portal that Wong had opened. “Don’t worry, you will be back in shape in no time.”

Aimar hummed. “Did we win?”

“There may be some of them left, but we will get them. You rest.”

The sorcerer nodded.

Tony helped him sit down on an empty bed in the infirmary and Aimar passed out almost instantly. Tony waved over a healer before he and Wong went back outside; this time through the front door.

Just as he was about to descend the steps of the temple, he noticed a movement and looked up. Stopping in his tracks he stared as he saw Stephen fighting another sorcerer on the roof of a temple.

Kaecilius hurled a powerful spell at Stephen, some kind of purple beam. Tony didn’t see what Stephen did, but before the beam hit him, it exploded into hundreds of butterflies. They scattered in all directions.

“Wong!”

Wong, who was instructing some apprentices, whirled around, alarmed by the king’s worried voice. His eyes followed Tony’s pointing arm.

Stephen moved as if his shoulder was injured. His movements were no longer fluid, his face tense. He was biting back the pain.

Nevertheless, he returned the attack. Wind came up, roaring into an almost visible storm of yellow and orange, moving around them. Small, delicate swirls, that suddenly morphed into needles and attacked Kaecilius.

It cut his skin and he let out an angry cry that was heard even in the yards.

Tony hated not being able to do anything to help. Even though he had fought enough wars to know when to join a fight and when to trust others to win. Any interference from him would only hinder Stephen.

He sent a prayer to all known gods that his husband would return safely to his arms.

Stephen mustered up all his strength. He couldn’t just use raw power. Kaecilius simply had more of it.

But he could try the Sorcerer Supreme’s way.

Stephen closed his eyes for a moment. His fingers touched – as he had seen the Ancient One do so often – and he crossed his hands.

The Eye of Agamotto opened, glowing bright green.

Kaecilius laughed. This was Strange’s end. You needed years of training and studies to use the Eye without any consequences. Strange was a fool for trying to use it. It would be his downfall.

As soon as the Eye opened, Stephen felt its power. It was so much more than he had ever imagined. It was like embracing a wave while trying to redirect it with nothing but his bare hands.

His broken hands.

He could only hope it would not drown him.

It was dangerous to experiment with these kinds of powers; it was easy to be corrupted by them – or crushed by them.

At that moment Stephen didn’t care. Anger and grief clouded the rational part of his mind, letting him become careless.

It also allowed him to dig deeper into his own powers.

Kaecilius hurled a spell at him and Stephen wasn’t able to block it; his whole focus went into controlling the Eye. He did manage to stay on his feet, but still slid backwards. It hurt. He was bleeding from somewhere. But there was no time to dwell on it.

The green glowing necklace on his chest felt like a pool of lava. Stephen needed to draw from it without burning his hands. It was an impossible task.

He moved his fingers anyway; in a pattern he had once read about. A spell of banishment, forceful enough for a demon.

A memory of the Ancient One came into his mind. She smiled gently at him – patiently – whenever he had thrown a tantrum. And Stephen had thrown a lot of them when he first started to study magic.

A single tear ran down his cheek.

Another attack hit Stephen and he heard Kaecilius laughing. He clenched his teeth. By now he was standing up only by willpower alone.

“Faith is my sword, truth is my shield, knowledge my armor,” he murmured. It was something the Ancient One had taught him and he had internalized the words.

Everything hurt. Especially his heart.

Stephen's mind wandered to Tony; his brave, beautiful husband, who was still at the temples somewhere. Stephen would defend him, fight for him until his dying breath.

“Let’s see if you still laugh if you meet the demon you planned to summon in person,” Stephen growled through gritted teeth.

The faint green glow that had followed the movement of his fingers, finished its pattern and lit up brightly now.

Kaecilius’ laughter stopped abruptly. There was suddenly fear in his eyes upon realization.

Stephen had done it.

With a grunt he pushed the green magic at the rogue. Kaecilius tried to dodge it, but it was to no avail. The magic wrapped around him, held him tight and confined his movements as well as his voice. The magic had him in its grip and there was no escape.

The green got brighter and brighter until it exploded in a sphere of light, as the rogue sorcerer was catapulted from this world.

Stephen barely noticed it. The blast wave from the explosion had caught him and knocked him backwards off his feet. His focus was solely on controlling the Eye, which was why he lost grip of all the other spells - including the one on his boots that had been holding him on the roof.

And thus he fell.

Tony panicked because it was too fast and Stephen was diving head first. His movements were slow and staggered as he tried to perform a spell.

However, nothing happened – his magic failed him – and Stephen continued to fall, unhindered.

Suddenly, a golden glowing portal opened in front of him; its counterpart leading to Wong, who was controlling the spell. Stephen fell through it, hitting the ground at a shallow angle that abruptly ended his fall. He tumbled across the ground, rolling over several times before coming to a halt groaning.

He felt like he had just bruised everything for a second time today.

Tony ran over to him. “Stephen! Shit, are you okay? Talk to me!”

The sorcerer struggled to get to his feet; his legs trembled and gave way under the weight of his body when he tried to move.

Tony’s hands were all over Stephen, making sure he was alive.

“You’re alright! Everything’s fine.” Tony reassured Stephen as well as his own self. Seeing his husband fight – and almost falling to death – had shaken him more than he cared to admit.

“You’re not allowed to do these kinds of stunts again. You hear me? I don’t… I need you to be safe.” His voice was shaking.

“Is he gone?” Stephen asked, his voice rough.

“That other guy? Yes, he exploded or something like that. He is gone.”

Relieved, Stephen stopped trying to get up and rolled onto his back instead. He hissed in pain. “Can you… get a healer please?”

“Of course!” Tony turned around to pass the request to Wong – because there was no way he was leaving Stephen’s side.

Only, Wong was gone. Always a step ahead, the sorcerer had hurried inside the infirmary as soon as he had closed the portal behind Stephen.

Tony praised his quick thinking. Wong deserved a raise.

Stephen was on the verge of fainting, overwhelmed by the pain that seemed to get stronger the more the adrenaline was wearing off.

He didn't notice a rogue sorcerer creeping up, a black dagger in his hand.

Not all of them were neutralized yet. The rogues were defeated, their plan had failed; but that only made the remaining ones angrier.

It was easy to direct that anger onto Strange, who had stepped in to stop them. Who was wearing the Eye of Agamotto now.

Strange, who had left the temples a while ago to play consort.

Strange, who lay defenseless on the ground. Vulnerable.

The rogue saw his chance for a quick revenge. Even with Tony at the sorcerer’s side, he thought they would be an easy target. Tony's clothes were clearly not from Kamar-Taj, so he wasn’t a Master of the Mystic Arts.

Stephen didn’t notice the rogue sneaking up.

But Tony did. With a swift motion he drew Whisperwind and swung the blade at the rogue. “Don’t you dare touch him!” he spat angrily.

Tony had been trained in sword fighting since the age of nine, when he had been tall enough to hold a wooden weapon in his hands, and wield it. His movements were practiced and precise.

The rogue sorcerer was surprised by the fury that met him. He defended himself but he stood no real chance against the fierce husband.

A blade in his chest stopped the rogue’s beating heart.

Tony stepped to him and connected the sword back into one piece before he pulled out the blade, ignoring the blood dripping from it. His eyes darted around to see if anyone else was stupid enough to attack his Stephen.

There was no one.

“Tony..” Stephen coughed weakly and Tony was back at his side instantly.

“I’m here, Stephen.”

Finally, Wong was back, a healer hot on his heels. He was startled by the freshly dead rogue next to Stephen, but Tony gave him a look that reassured him.

Everything was under control.

Tony stayed at Stephen’s side while the healer moved faintly glowing fingers over the sorcerer’s body. Tony wasn’t sure what kind of magic he did, but Stephen exhaled deeply. His breathing seemed to come easier to him after that and he was in less pain. He was even able to sit up.

It didn’t stop Tony from fussing over his husband and he only stopped when Stephen took Tony’s hands into his.

“Tony,” he spoke softly and waited until Tony looked at him. “I’m fine.”

“You’re fine…” Tony echoed.

And it was the truth: by some miracle both men had survived.

Tony accepted a cup of water handed out by some apprentices in red robes and handed it straight to his husband. Stephen drank from it and then gave it back to Tony, wordlessly asking him to do the same.

They were still sitting on the ground near the infirmary. It wasn't even midday. That such an attack had happened in broad daylight was unusual. The attackers had used the cover of the fog, but they must have been very sure of their victory. Maybe overconfident.

Stephen looked at the place where the body of the Ancient One no longer lay, and he realized something. “She knew it.”

“Who?” Tony asked.

“The Ancient One. She must have known what would happen today. She wasn’t even surprised by the alarm. She probably even suspected she would die today, and I was the person she asked to see before she… I think she wanted to make sure I was happy in Midgard.”

Stephen looked at Tony, his eyes suddenly wet.

Tony put a sympathetic hand on his arm. He had known her only for a day, but that was enough to see what an incredible woman she had been. And she had clearly cared about Stephen a lot.

Tony briefly wondered why she had not tried to prevent her death if she had known. He couldn't imagine living with that kind of knowledge and still letting it happen.

He remembered Donna’s words about time magic.

And who knew… maybe the alternatives had been even worse…

“Luckily we had chosen now to visit,” he concluded his trail of thoughts. At least that had given Stephen the opportunity to speak to his mentor one last time.

The sorcerer made a noise that sounded somewhere between a hollow laugh and a painful sob. “There are no such things as coincidences. Everything happens for a reason.”

Tony didn’t fully agree with that. They had planned this trip and informed the Sorcerer Supreme, or really anyone, only after everything had been agreed on.

On the other hand… if Stephen hadn’t stepped in fighting that evil guy – who else would have? And would they have succeeded?

Wong stepped to their side. He had stayed close to him the whole time since the fight had started. Not only as Stephen's manservant but today,  as their guard and – most importantly – as Stephen’s friend.

“Stephen, The Council is meeting to decide how to proceed. They asked us to join them.” He turned his face to Tony. “As Stephen’s husband and ally of Kamar-Taj you are welcome as well.”

Stephen nodded and slowly got up to his feet. He briefly staggered when a wave of dizziness overtook for a moment, but he rejected Tony’s hand that tried to support him.

“I’m fine. Just magical exhaustion.”

Tony didn’t know anything about that. Sure, Stephen's exterior wounds seemed healed; mostly scratches and cracked skin from when he was rolling all over the ground. But he didn’t believe that deeper, internal injuries would heal just as quickly. Even with magic.

Tony was glad to be able to join the Council and keep an eye on Stephen. Although he would have understood if he had been excluded from what was clearly a discussion about internal affairs of the sorcerers.

Some might say it was way too early to deal with the political consequences; the damage caused by the attack was still being recorded. The bodies of the fallen were still being carried off the battlefields.

But this had been an act of war and war didn’t care about sensibility or anyone’s grief.

Tony wasn’t fully familiar with the command structure of the sorcerers, but he knew they were in a weaker position without their leader.

Wong led them to a nearby temple and into a smaller room. Several other men and women in robes of various colors had gathered there. They greeted the three men and introduced themselves to the King of Midgard.

Stephen removed the necklace from his neck and put it onto a pedestal that had the exact shape to hold it. Nobody else touched it.

Tony noticed someone had brought food. It was just a big bowl of rice – nobody had time to cook with the attack - but Tony was still thankful. Breakfast seemed like an eternity ago and everyone knew that council meetings could go on forever.

And really: it started with everyone present telling what had happened from their perspective. It helped to get the big picture; like pieces of a puzzle.

It took a long time and often the stories overlapped.

Stephen was the last to talk, as he reported how he managed to defeat the head of the attackers, Kaecilius.

For once, Tony leaned back and listened quietly. He only talked when he was asked to.

The council meeting was long and tedious. Some people were circling back multiple times to discuss why the incident had happened in the first place.

Tony was used to this; it was similar to holding a council with the nobles. And Stephen seemed to feel the same way, except he wasn’t shy about his opinion on that. There was a lot of eye rolling from his side and he took an active part in the discussion, although he no longer lived here. But he was still a sorcerer – the Ancient One had said he had a forever  place here – and he was also still their prince.

Then the question was raised who should become the next Sorcerer Supreme, and instantly silence fell.

Stephen looked at the others and needed a moment to realize all eyes were on him. He frowned.

“No.”

“It was supposed to be you,” an older sorcerer interjected. Tony had gotten to know him as Master Hamir. “You are one of the best candidates we have ever had.”

“I have other commitments,” Stephen interjected. “And I'm going to be king.”

“Not of Kamar-Taj. It's a technicality, but the law doesn't apply in this case,” Master Minoru interjected.

Stephen was truly surprised that all his arguments were discarded and instead he even received encouragement. He hadn't expected that; he had been gone for months and had not planned on coming back for anything more than a visit.

He looked at Tony as if asking him for backup. He had made a promise to Tony the day they had married. The day he had signed the wedding contracts.

But to his surprise, Tony sided with the sorcerers. “We could arrange around your new duties.”

“It would mean that I would mostly stay in Kamar-Taj,” Stephen pointed out.

“I know.” Tony stepped closer to his husband. Stephen flinched and it almost looked like he would draw back, but he didn’t move away, his feet planted in the ground. Gently, Tony took the scarred hands into his. “I don’t want to keep you from this. It’s important to you.”

He remembered the Ancient One’s words from yesterday – and oh god it was really only yesterday they had arrived in Kamar-Taj and met her. It felt like weeks ago.

Even if it meant making sacrifices and only getting a small part of Stephen; Tony wanted him to be happy.

The other masters listened in silence. This was now a discussion between husbands. And between the rulers of a kingdom.

Stephen realized just how serious Tony was. He didn’t know how he deserved this man.

When his parents had presented him the marriage proposal he had thought that this part of his life was done and over. But now Tony offered him a second chance.

Stephen knew what it meant for Midgard and its king: Stephen would barely be there, his attention always divided between two realms that weren’t even close to each other.

How often would they even be able to see each other?

It was a big decision to make and Stephen should take his time for it. But he knew what he wanted for his future; even more so after what Tony had just offered.

“You are right.” Stephen was suddenly clear on what to say. “But there’s one thing that you didn’t consider. The most important thing.” There was a smile on his lips. “I love you.”

Tony looked at him in awe, his mind blanking. He needed a second to find his words. “You… uh, really? You really mean that?”

“I truly do. There are other perfectly fine candidates and-…”

Tony pulled him into a kiss. It was a kiss that spoke of whispered confessions and shared dreams.

Stephen would stay at Tony’s side. He chose Tony.

Tony was enough for him.

He felt like the happiest man alive.

Tony only remembered there were other people in the room when someone cleared their throat. He didn’t care; kissing his husband wasn’t the worst he had been caught doing.

Stephen's cheeks, on the other hand, were tinted red. He stood up a bit straighter when he turned to the other masters, but he kept his fingers interlaced with Tony’s, who was outright beaming.

“I decline,” Stephen announced what they had come to realize was his final answer. “That doesn’t mean I won’t aid you if anything happens. Just not in the position as the Sorcerer Supreme. Instead I propose Loki, Prince of Asgard, for that.”

Now, those words surprised some of the sorcerers.

Some others didn’t seem shocked at all.

“We will consider it,” Master Hamir said.

And somehow that marked the end of this meeting.

_____________

Taglist: @goopierthenyou (tell me if you want to be added/removed)

[essayist-unexpectedly]

Love, Codependency, and the Accidental Toxicity of Mafuyu and Yuki

While Given is centred around Mafuyu and Uenoyama’s relationship, the lasting impacts of Mafuyu’s romance with Yuki are undeniable. The relationship between Yuki and Mafuyu was one from childhood that grew and evolved with them, eventually landing them in a romantic relationship. While some think that the two were made for each, one character being Hiiragi, a childhood friend who watched the duo evolve, however there can be another viewpoint to this. The other implication when reading Given can be the idea of codependency between Yuki and Mafuyu.

Codependency is defined as “excessive emotional or psychological reliance on a partner, typically one who requires support on account of an illness or addiction” by the Oxford Dictionary, as “a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person manifesting low self-esteem and a strong desire for approval has an unhealthy attachment to another person and places the needs of that person before his or her own” by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and finally as “a relationship is when each person involved is mentally, emotionally, physically, and/or spiritually reliant on the other” by the VeryWell Mind website. While all varying, these definitions all seem to agree that codependency is an unhealthy/excessive psychological reliance on another person, often with negative reasons and consequences. Going forward with this definition created from the previous definitions, it could be seen that Mafuyu and Yuki were codependent on each other, rather than just a one sided codependency, like some people experience.

One of the first hints to Yuki and Mafuyu being codependent comes from their constant being together. From the moment that they meet up until they go to different high schools, Mafuyu and Yuki are known to always be together. Even if the two weren’t directly interacting, they are consistently within each other's radius, easily within sight of each other. When appropriate, the duo would also be touching, leaning on each other, or holding each other, really whatever touch could happen in the moment. While the constant togetherness and touch may not seem too serious, it is important to remember that codependency is reliance on another person. Their consistency and wanting to be together constantly is possibly a subtle but real sign of codependency.

The next sign is their general relationship with each other. The two were childhood friends to lovers, a trope that can be built on drama and love triangles, but in this case seemed to be a natural progression between the two characters. Yuki found Mafuyu when they were young children, likely around the age of 5, give or take a year. As the two grew up, they also grew together, becoming intertwined together, becoming inseparable. The duo were almost always together, and with that they also grew to have ‘complimentary’ personalities, as Mafuyu was a quiet and small presence while Yuki was a loud and massive personality. The duo seemed to mold themselves to fit into each other, creating a reliance for the other to be what they were not. One such way this would create a reliance is them needing each other to bounce off of. This is meant as in Mafuyu needing Yuki to speak for him and bring a sense of loudness, of life and excitement for him, while Yuki needed Mafuyu to provide a quiet and reliable space for him, someone to listen and be consistent. Not only do the two seem to have become what the other needed, but another part is their communication. The partners seem to have developed communication that didn’t always require speaking, at least when they were younger. The two seemed to be able to understand each other, understand what the other needed, and it made them even more suited for each other. Every factor of how the two were weaved together throughout their life contributed to the codependence that the two appear to share. It was the evolution from children to young teens together in such similar and at times lonely situations that caused them to grow so close, and likely so reliant on each other for a certain stability and love that they both needed, showcasing the psychological effects of codependency.

Another point towards their relationship being unhealthily dependent is Hiiragi’s view of their relationship. In some ways, Hiiragi seems to view the two as a perfect love story, perfect harmony, due to how they seem to compliment and grow with each other. In some ways, Hiiragi appears to consider Yuki and Mafuyu as perfect for each other. It was Hiiragi who, in the manga, called Yuki a “dominating and moody” person, while claiming Mafuyu to be “submissive and reserved” in terms of personality. It was observed by Hiiragi that Yuki seemed wholly and purely in love with Mafuyu. Through the chapters where Hiiragi narrates his own view on the two, there is a rose-tinted glasses look at the duo. Every character holds a bias when it comes to memories of Yuki as well as his relationship with Mafuyu, with mayhaps Shizusumi being the least biased of the old group. It is because of this bias though that Hiiragi’s view feels like he considers the two to be true love and harmony in romance, he idolised Yuki, and always cared for Mafuyu, making it difficult to point out any flaws in their relationship because of this care. It also seems that Hiiragi, likely accidentally, can be used to point out how close they were, and how reliant they were. Hiiragi stated that “Yuki needed Mafuyu, and Mafuyu needed Yuki” within episode 8 of the anime. The use of the word needed specifically is what matters so much. To claim that they needed each other, Hiiragi was admitting that it wasn’t as simple as them wanting to be together, it wasn’t as much of a choice or a want, but rather the word need has a more definitive feeling, they had to be together, never straying far or else they would suffer - which ended up being true. The truth of Hiiragi saying they needed each other was realised when Mafuyu went to a different high school and Yuki got a job, distancing them. And everything comes together during their fight, which Hiiragi and Shizusumi were witnesses to. This fight is another time where one can spot Hiiragi’s rose-tinted view of Mafuyu and Yuki’s relationship, as Hiiragi claims that the fight was a small, dumb fight, one that every couple experiences. The reason this is seen as optimistic at best is because it is clear to readers and watchers that the fight was big, it was yelling and it was mean - cemented by Mafuyu’s final sentence in the argument. Everything that Hiiragi says about Yuki and Mafuyu’s relationship feels like he was observing with rose-tinted glasses, keeping optimistic about it even as it became worse towards the end. The clear bias may mean this section shouldn’t exist, but it can also be seen as someone witnessing a codependent relationship and thinking all is perfect, when they are watching an active trainwreck. Hiiragi thinking about how the two were an opposites attract relationship, saying they needed each other, and downplaying their fight, all feels like him trying to make sense of what appeared to be his definition of a perfect relationship, and it was as if he himself could not see the codependency that someone reading or watching the series could see through him.

The fourth reason one can see them as codependent is Mafuyu's social life outside of Yuki. While yes, he also had Hiiragi and Shizusumi, it appears like he didn’t have anyone else, and even the other two were not as close to him as Yuki was. That statement isn’t meant to diminish Hiiragi, Shizusumi, and Mafuyu’s friendship, rather it is meant to lift the relationship between Yuki and Mafuyu as being on an entirely different level. It’s easily seen that Mafuyu does mainly socialise with Yuki and the other two, but more Yuki than anyone else. It feels like the two were together first, before anyone else could join, creating their little bubble of just Mafuyu and Yuki. Where this truly becomes a concern however is when one looks at Mafuyu’s social life outside of Yuki. As previously stated, at times it seems like Mafuyu felt a certain disconnect at times to Hiiragi and Shizusumi, and this suspicion is furthered by his complete shut down after Yuki’s death. While not everyone will be able to reach out and talk to others while going through grief, perhaps part of their cut off was not only Mafuyu’s depression but also him worrying that he was not close enough to the other two to be able to reach out. Ignoring that speculation, one can take into account the character page of Mafuyu, which states that he was never a part of any clubs or teams, meaning he never really branched out socially. While not much is explored about Mafuyu’s life before Uenoyama outside of what is with Yuki, this feels intentional to show that there wasn’t a lot for him outside of the other boy. The flashbacks seen in Mafuyu’s point of view are consistently with Yuki - their first meeting, their school days, dates, their fight, and finally, Yuki’s death. Nothing else seemed to truly exist, it was as if Mafuyu could ignore all others for Yuki, as he was his world. The lack of a social life can definitely be seen as a sense of reliance on Yuki, solidifying the idea of him being codependent on the other.

The second to last point within Strawberry Swing, specifically the fourth part being a supposed dream sequence that honestly feels like an actual connection to Yuki in the afterlife that Mafuyu has. This dream is where the two actually seem to say goodbye to each other, a certain feeling of peace and melancholy flowing from this section of the manga. Within part four of Strawberry Swing, Yuki and Mafuyu talk on a swing set, with Yuki telling Mafuyu that the redhead has to go, and Mafuyu then leaving. After this, Yuki states that there is a gaping hole within Mafuyu left behind from Yuki’s suicide, and while it may get smaller with time, it shall never be fully repaired, and Yuki would always reside in that hole, listening to Mafuyu as he sings. Overall, this section of the story is a beautiful look into Yuki’s mind on Mafuyu’s healing, and totally feels more like a spiritual encounter than just a dream thanks to the point of view appearing to be Yuki’s, and the outside look at Mafuyu and his grief. Its beauty is only enhanced by the tragedy that speaks within this section though, as it seems to admit that Mafuyu will never fully be able to move on from Yuki or heal from his death. That being said, grief is of course an extremely long process, and it isn’t a linear path to moving on or somehow getting rid of grief, that is simply not how it works. It is not the grief itself that is interesting in this section, but rather the way that Yuki swears to always be in Mafuyu’s heart. Even in death, Yuki will forever stay with Mafuyu, even if he isn’t alive or physically there. Not necessarily a sign of the two being codependent, but definitely an interesting aspect of the manga to consider when it comes to their relationship.

The final point is a line brought up in the Strawberry Swing story within Given. This line is said by Yuki’s mother, Saeko, who states that “Mafuyu… I selfishly believed… that you were that child’s anchor”. She believed that Mafuyu was Yuki’s anchor to the world, that he was the one who kept the other boy alive and stable, tethered to the world. There is also a line where she mentions how Yuki was “like his father”, who is either outright dead or at least implied to be dead, and this line also basically tells the audience it was suicide, and a mental disorder was likely passed down to Yuki from his father. It is made clear in Strawberry Swing that Saeko believed that Mafuyu would be able to keep Yuki alive and well, which isn’t something two children/teenagers should have to do for each other, which she even admits to, saying she was selfish in believing Mafuyu was his anchor and that it was wrong of her to think. This part screams of a mother who watched her son become extremely psychologically reliant on another boy, and only after his death is able to reflect and see how unhealthy it was for both of them. After all, the role of the anchor is extremely dangerous for both parties, as it puts so much pressure on the anchor to keep a good and stable presence, while it leaves the other person with one person who truly connects them to the world, rather than them feeling as though they have a full support system. These roles become even worse in the case of Mafuyu and Yuki, who are two teenage boys in love with mental health issues. They were not stable enough to be in the roles of anchor and tethered person, even if they wanted to be that for each other. So, while terrible for them, the anchor comment definitely implies that Yuki was extremely reliant on Mafuyu to keep him tethered to the world, keep him living, which is a sign of codependency.

In the end, there are codependent tendencies that seem to exist in Mafuyu and Yuki’s relationship. The two boys appeared to rely on each other mentally and socially, which can qualify people for a codependent relationship. While peers, especially Hiiragi, appeared to see them as two perfect halves of a whole, idolising the weaved together nature of Mafuyu and Yuki, it can easily be seen as a rose-tinted view to the duo’s relationship and end up revealing more negative than expected. The additional view of an adult, specifically Yuki’ mother, Saeko, seeing Mafuyu as an anchor for Yuki only enhances the idea of an imperfect and overly reliant relationship. Although it is painful to admit, there is little doubt that one can pick up on hints and read Yuki and Mafuyu as an accidentally toxic codependent relationship.

[wickmitz]

I decided to start talking about Wick and Rocky's relationship because I like their dynamics too, I like seeing Wick scared of Rocky and Rocky being aggressive with him, which is unusual because Rocky is rarely aggressive with anyone, but of course Wick is an exception to rule

Also my mini opinion about their possible relationship, I think that if Rocky didn't have to fight for his place, then he and Wick could become friends, or at least tolerate each other a little, I also see some superficial similarities, their gentlemanly and romantic natures, and their common love for explosions (remembering the quarrymen chapter), but this is my assumption, I think that I don't understand the characters' personalities well, so I can be wrong in this assumption, something like that. So, what do you think about their relationship?

for starters, i cannot thank you enough for this ask! as i’ve said previously, i have many thoughts on these two, so it’s nice to finally be able to share some of them. although given the extent to which i think about them, i apologize in advance if this is sloppy and sort of everywhere … while i’ll try to structure things the best i can, i cannot promise i’ll succeed! but hopefully this is an enjoyable reply nonetheless.

one of my favorite things about rocky and wick’s relationship is absolutely how aggressive rocky is towards the aristocrat ; he is prone to glares and cruel jokes and borderline hissing whenever the man is within his line of sight, or can be brought to a wailing-fit over the mere mention of his name from miss m’s mouth. there is a childishness to it, but a very prominent threat as well in spite of rocky’s usual incompetence. so he goes out of his way to posture around wick, readily lying and adorning himself with the gangster drapes he so badly wants to wear, in the hopes that it intimidates … will even badmouth wick’s family and make fun of his name and rock related obsession to mitzi, and so on so forth! yet all of this is very reminiscent of schoolyard bullying rather than anything too severe, though we as the audience understand rather quickly that rocky would bash wick’s head in with a tire iron if he could. ( translation : if it wouldn’t earn the tears or hate of a certain beloved mitzi may ) and it’s all very intense despite the absence of actual violence! and i understand why many fans see this as unusual for rocky and believe that it’s only wick who makes him act so aggressively, but i’d argue it isn’t really wick at all that prompts such scary reactions from him … and that rocky is a deeply angry character who’s a.) been boiling quietly for a long, long time and b.) has turned wick into a punching bag of sorts for this inner world of resentment and hurt. basically, when he’s judging the well-to-do or poking fun, his eyes don’t look at wick and actually acknowledge him as sedgewick sable ; instead this is a being, something vague and metaphorical, who threatens to upseat rocky’s permanence in the lackadaisy and steal away his savior, and he’s had a hand in the violinist’s misfortune for a long time.

obviously, rocky doesn’t think wick robbed him of his family twice over and made him homeless, but he is channeling the fear and anguish of those events into his loathing for wick, if that makes sense? it’s easier that way -- to finally have an outlet for everything bleeding inside of you, to be able to bite and claw at something without feeling conflicted or having to take personal accountability for your own mistakes … which is something that i think rocky does struggle with to a degree. he is sort of a finger pointer! his pain has to be worth something, it has to be for someone else ; spending years homeless and losing his last bit of family was for freckle, and the scrambling of his literal brain was for mitzi, and that means he can’t ever be angry with them! well, except that he is, somewhat, but he buries it deep down instead of feeling it. with freckle there is a sense of strain between them -- an air of ‘you owe me’ from rocky to freckle as he uses freckle to appease miss m, and he constantly pokes fun at his cousin too. it’s lighter than his jabs at wick, but there’s a constant pestering, a reminder of how good freckle has it : how he’s got the mom and the house and the job and the girl most notably. i don’t think rocky is intending to come across as mean, and to his credit he hardly does! but it’s rather clear to me that some part of him, some hidden and deeply hurt part, is rather indignant about taking the fall for freckle all those years ago. which he can’t understand, because how could he? he made that choice, he decided to take accountability for something he didn’t do because he loves freckle and knows it’d be so easy to believe this family tragedy was roark’s fault ; the devilish child he was, all troublesome and too broken to properly fit anywhere. so there is a disconnect born here, where rocky can’t comprehend that he’d be angry at freckle, so instead these not so great feelings are placed elsewhere and silently boil over time. and with mitzi … i don’t think he’s angry at her per se, but there is a frustrated and desperate chorus of : why him and why not me, when i’m the one out here dying for you? which is certainly unpleasant. of course, rather than allowing those feelings to be more aimed at miss m, whom he feels unloved by, he ( again! ) represses these emotions and allows them to fester into his greatest fears and fantastical complexes. i think there is a lot of other miscellaneous anger he could have towards others too … perhaps some part of him is sore upon seeing ivy’s normal lifestyle, watching her go to university and knowing that’s been taken from him. or an ache felt when hearing stories from zib and the band and how they used to travel successfully, living as nomads, and rocky is all too reminded of his similar lifestyle and how he couldn’t make it work as effortlessly. people with immense trauma are more prone to irrational anger and jealousy, to viewing everything around them as unfair and believing it’s even more unjust that so many people get to live comfortably while they’ve suffered. a situation that gets more messy when you’re someone like rocky, a man who’s willingly made choices that have harmed himself and wants to continue on with his smiling, bumbling fool of an act. he does not want to be angry, does not want to see it within himself, i think, which leads to an accidental increase of it.

all of this is to reiterate that wick is a scapegoat for rocky and nothing more. it’s why he’s rather hypocritical whenever it concerns the man. for example, it was stated by tracy that he looks down upon wick for his excessive presence at the bar, yet he appears to enjoy hanging out with zib -- who drinks just as often! he makes fun of how all wick ever talks about is rocks, when he himself is prone to poetry rambles that people find irritating or boring, and etc etc. this is also just a human nature thing, to critique someone you heavily dislike and even going as far as to belittle things you love or do in your own day to day because you just hate them that bad! but given rocky’s willingness to befriend anyone, it more so reeks of a dehumanization element. wick is every obstacle in his way, every divine force that threatens to send him packing again, so he is equal parts unnerved by wick’s presence and angry about it. it is mostly a fear response we are seeing, an emotion that’s morphed into long held resentment and anger. so his actions are extremely defensive, with him trying to push wick far away and keep him and mitzi separate, like some sort of animal attempting to ward off a threat that’s come too close to their home. despite the loaded animosity there, this hate has hardly reached its peak … but it shall only grow more intense as things continue onward i’m afraid, since as it stands ( in the comic at least ) rocky is at an all time low … and is ten times more desperate. i’d honestly say wick has become so warped in his mind’s eye that he can only strive towards ‘winning’ over the other man, because that’s all he can see anymore. i think mitzi implying that wick willingly helped her out, the intense head injury, and rocky’s fragile emotional state is exactly what pushes him towards premeditated murder in look-see. i don’t know how people perceive that arc, but to me it’s very clear that rocky actively sought to see the deaths of wes and fish that night. going as far as to lament that he’d be, “very disappointed if ( he ) dreamed them,” and purposefully luring the marigold duo away to have freckle pick them off. while you could argue that this was a smart move, in a gangster sort of sense, there’s still no denying that rocky is oddly chipper about the whole thing and is now seeking death out ; whereas before his methods of vengeance were just, well, ruining people’s livelihood but ultimately leaving them alive. this isn’t to discredit the fact that rocky is going through something! he is in a very muddled and dark place, mentally and physically, but even tracy has said that the head injury hasn’t changed rocky’s personality -- it’s only brought things to the surface.

source : q&a with tracy .

which, yeah! makes sense! head trauma can cause a person to become a wreck emotionally ( think mood swings, irritability, etc ) but it doesn’t completely morph someone either. personality changes may occur, but it’s not like you’re being rewritten entirely, you know? and given tracy’s old statement, it’s clear that ‘personality changes’ aren’t a side effect he’s suffering from. something that adds to my beginning statement, which is that rocky is a deeply angry and troubled person, more so than fans give him any credit for.

however, to touch upon your mini opinion about these two, i actually wholeheartedly agree that rocky and wick could become friends if circumstances were different. they do in fact have many superficial similarities, but one of the more prominent things they deeply share is never really belonging in the groups they frequent. this is more overt with rocky’s character, yet wick faces it too in subtle ways. the well-to-do crowd, seen through the investors, find the gentleman to be lacking in about every place imaginable ; to them he is an obsessive freak who cares too deeply for meager rocks, something they constantly mock him for, while he’s also being noticeably set apart from the rest of them … he seems younger than the investors, more excitable, passionate, and a little less experienced, and doesn’t seem to care for money or reputation as much as them either. there is a constant rubbing between him and them, where what he enjoys is seen as wrong, such as his love for the lackadaisy and his choice in paramor, a grieving widow with extremely dangerous ties. we also know that wick doesn’t have many friends at all, with the only two he has being lacy and church ( church is listed as such on his character profile, in a sort of tongue-in-cheek way ), both of whom work for or with him. they are obliged to hang around, and while they care in varying ways, they are prone to judging him just as much. honestly, it’s not shocking that wick seeks refuge at his chosen speakeasy! but even there he is rather distant from everyone else. he doesn’t speak to zib ever in the comics, nor seems all too close with viktor, ivy, or horatio … it is merely mitzi he is close to, even if he knows of the other people who work there. and, once again, wick very obviously doesn’t fit in. he is not gangster material, could never be an atlas may replacement, much less someone who could get his paws dirty in such an active way. so he has his feet in two different worlds and doesn’t know how to fit into either of them, or which one he actually wants to fit into more. i think in many ways rocky could relate -- these are two very lonely people who wish to belong somewhere and be accepted by some group or another but go about it in all the wrong ways. wick, who is too hesitant to fully commit to what he wants and is worse off for it, and then rocky, who obsessively throws himself against what he wants until he breaks every bone in his body. they also have explosives to bond over, lol, and other miscellaneous things like their taste in women i suppose … but this potential bond adds to the tragedy of lackadaisy, where we see two people who on every level should get along but we’re burdened with the knowledge that it’s an impossibility anyway, because there’s no removing the circumstance of which they’re in.

though i like to believe that despite wick’s fear of rocky, he maintains a kindness towards him regardless. i think his worries about rocky are rather surface level … he doesn’t know the boy at all, really, and thus can’t make heads or tails of him, hence him believing the lie in balderdash. so when i’m feeling particularly self indulgent, i like imagining a world where they’re forced together and sort of ‘stuck’ together ; to which rocky finally breaks and exposes his wounds to wick, in every sense of the word, and wick finally gets him. the aggression, the possessiveness of mitzi … it is all fear and desperation and a profound sadness, things he’d sympathize with. if rocky was able to explain that he loathes wick because if he saves the lackadaisy then mitzi won’t need him anymore and that it’s not fair that wick gets to so easily fix things when rocky would give his soul for his home, for her, and how wick could render every sacrifice he’s already made for naught by smoothing things over with some greenbacks and he can’t lose this, he just can’t --! … which, well, wick is too kind of a man to be able to do anything except feel awful, even though it’s not his fault at all. here we have two people who could coexist! and they should, since rocky logically can’t do every speakeasy job ( band member, rumrunner, mitzi’s shadow, also the guy who gets the money for the hooch ) by himself, just like how wick can’t save the lackadaisy with only his cash and limited booze stash. it’d be a joint cooperation, a collaboration between them, both equally important in the grand scheme of crime’s every turning wheel … but rocky’s rage and fear won’t let him see that, and likely never will. still, in scenarios where everything ends up alright for the lackadaisy and the people involved in it ( which is not how canon will go, by the way ), i fancy wick and rocky getting better within their relationship. rocky will always be prickly and quick to upset around the other man sadly, but perhaps he could see wick in a softer kind of light. or at least understand vaguely enough that he isn’t out to get rocky, so to speak. and then maybe wick learns that pancakes soothe rocky’s ire and poorly makes them anytime he wishes to talk to the man, and other fun things like that! but you should have more confidence in your character analysis skills, because you were spot on ( at least in my eyes ) about them potentially getting along if things were different. it’s certainly a fun aspect to play around with, and is important to note when discussing their relationship so you can fully understand just how warped rocky’s perspective on things are. and how unstable and traumatized he is too, of course </3 sidenote, but i also hope that throughout everything i’ve said here, or anything i’ve said before on my blog, that my love for rocky and my own sympathy for him comes across well enough. while he’s deeply flawed and i have no qualms discussing said flaws in depth, i also don’t think of him as some insane freak who’s evil at his core or anything like that. honestly, i adore analyzing him so much as a character because of how far down his issues go! he’s very well written, i’ll say, as is wick and many of the other characters, but i digress.

once more, thank you for the ask! i’ll end this here because i fear if i don’t i’ll start going in circles, since their relationship is so vast and very important for rocky in a character sense. hopefully i shed some more light on it though! i love these two to bits and pieces and i wouldn’t be half as invested in lackadaisy if their dynamic wasn’t so monumental -- at least to me.

[spacedlexi]

maybe if i just put these screenshots together youll understand why i think their relationship just Works so well as it pertains to the characters and themes of S4 in general

neither of them know what theyre doing, but theyre figuring it out Together. the old ways are dead. and together theyll build a new future thats worth fighting for

[ingravinoveritas]

So anna posted this picture just after the trailer the assembly got released abit it fairly obvious after the trailer showed the 1st question so is she trying to show ppl that michael happy in this photo like he smile like he happy or been made to look happy for the family photo

What ur thoughts on Al post

Ask from @kime11e, who also included a screenshot of the above comments:

(Grouping all of these together for ease of answering.)

So...whew. Of course this all had to happen on Wednesday as I was at one speaking engagement and traveling on the way to another one today. Let me just make sure I have the order of events down... - The trailer for The Assembly came out earlier in the day; - Anna then shared the above photos from the trip to Disneyland Paris; - An hour or so after that, she shared the trailer as an Insta story; - ...And then a few hours later we see that she's replied to the comment in the screenshot above.

Wow. It feels like an entire week (or month's) worth of content somehow happened in the space of a day. I will say that for me, again what this all comes down to is timing and/or PR. The trailer was released and soon all of social media was abuzz over that one particular question (It was rude! It was totally fine! Let's use this as another excuse to attack Michael! and so on...). Bear in mind that we (as of now) have no idea what Michael's answer is to that question, but that did not stop the almighty furor from the fans assuming that he must have been offended/uncomfortable/upset and so on, and this set off a wave of fresh speculation and discussion about Michael and AL's relationship.

...And just when all of this chatter is happening, AL posts the family photos. The reasons for this could be numerous, from damage control (again, without us knowing how he even responded to the question) to trying to (again) push the "happy family" image, to who knows what. Whatever the case may be, I really don't feel like the timing was a coincidence. Also again, I am baffled by her choice of caption: "We dragged him" immediately followed by the tag #itwashisidea. Two things that seem to contradict each other, leaving it unclear what the truth actually is. Was it actually Anna's idea, insisting on them going away on Michael's three days off, and using that tag as a deflection?

It becomes even more interesting when you realize that David and Georgia are currently in Disneyland as well (albeit in California, rather than Paris). Not long after AL posted the pictures, the discourse on social media immediately shifted to "Omg, are Michael and David and their families are on vacation together?" And just like that, the focus yet again shifted away from AL and back to Michael and David (as it always seems to do).

One other thing that is interesting about the caption is that one of my followers sent me the below screenshot via DM, which is of a tweet Michael wrote in 2020 for Lyra's birthday, and the similarities are quite striking:

The cadence of AL's caption and Michael's tweet could be a complete coincidence, but it's hard not to think that there is some PR aspect to this/that someone went to the trouble of echoing a previous tweet about the kids to reinforce a particular narrative.

In any case, I do think it is lovely to see Michael smiling, which he always does when the kids are there (in contrast, notably, to when we are talking about a picture of just him and AL). But what really struck me about all of this is the comment shown above, and Anna's response to it. The commenter added another response that is not shown, so I will include a screenshot of it now:

What's so interesting is that the commenter asked exactly the same question that Michael was asked in The Assembly trailer...and AL set a very specific tone in her response to that (and to this commenter).

I've been surprised to see people characterize her response as "chill," when there is really nothing chill about this at all. It's her typical passive-aggressive style, which we're all used to at this point, but it also reeks of insecurity. I have a hard time seeing how this makes her a "queen," as someone who is "unbothered" would not respond in the way that she did. Regardless of whether the commenter was asking sincerely or meant it as a dig, someone who genuinely felt confident and secure in their relationship wouldn't even respond to this comment at all. I'm also not sure what people expected her to say. Do we think she would be fully honest about her feelings or admit to any cracks in their relationship? Most people (famous and otherwise) would not, and certainly not on social media, either.

My feeling is that Anna was very bothered by this, and (again) tried to copy Georgia's snarky/quippy way of responding to comments, and likely did not at all expect that person to throw it right back at her. So why, then, bother responding at all? Why not just block the person, or ignore the comment entirely? Because from my perspective, it seems like all AL did was draw attention to it, and to the fact that it struck a nerve in her, which just does not seem to be a good look from any angle. And all of this coupled with the timing of the post directly after the release of the trailer really makes me wonder what, exactly, Michael said in his interview. We'll find out soon enough, though, since the show airs tomorrow.

That is my take on AL's post and all of the events of the past few days. As always, this is only my perspective, but I am glad to hear from my followers with your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree. Thanks for writing in! x

[transmascutena]

thinking about how akio sees his younger self in utena and wondering if there's any fondness there. doesn't change the horror of what he does to her obviously but i do wonder

[the-woker]

The whole Jason Todd is girl-coded debate thing admittedly just rubs me the wrong way.

I understand that there are people who consider gender as a concept and there are other people who consider gender to be something very real. Both are correct and very valid statements of expression, but someone who is genderless and has a heavy respect and fondness for the feminine and people with such experiences, I feel like what we are declaring 'girl-coded' should probably be a bit more analyzed and taken with more care.  

I have no ill-will to any of the people who post about this, they all seem like kind people, and everyone is entitled to their opinions and to posting them.  There is nothing wrong with projecting onto a character, identifying with their struggle and using that to cope with your trauma.  As someone who’s favorite character of all time is Jason Todd, and enjoys gender-weirdness,  and has been severely mistreated for being perceived as feminine before, I understand entirely. 

But there's a point when I can't help but feel uncomfortable with assigning being violent, a victim, “hysterical angry-like a girl”, expressing rage via screaming, and looking up to women in general as 'girl moments' and explicitly stating these as the reasons a male character is girl coded. And those have been the very specific points I have seen cited as what traits Jason has that make him "girl-coded."

I'm putting this all under a read more since this discussion is really not that deep, nor is it really relevant to the average Jason Todd tag surfer. It's just something I keep seeing talked about in the past few months.

Admittedly, just to begin with, the argument that what makes Jason ‘girl-coded’ is the fact that he is a victim in general, has strong connections with women, tends to like strong and muscular women, and has been vitriol in his screaming matches with other characters simply does not sit well with me as an explanation for what people are associating women with.  A female character can indeed do everything Jason did in a comic story, and I would enjoy it greatly, however staking these specific traits of his as the “feminine” ones is treading into a dangerous territory.

Especially since I’ve seen a few times now that people are claiming Jason and Batman’s fight in UTRH to be a Patriarchy metaphor and how Jason represents women’s struggles. The first problem I have with that claim, is very simply that Jason and Bruce’s fight is explicitly not about Bruce being a system that failed to protect Jason.

Nor is it about a pressure for Jason to return to conforming to Bruce and his rules.  Bruce wants him back with him, because Bruce loves Jason, but at no point does he attempt to force him to return to him, nor does he even force him to stop killing.  He certainly gets in the way and he prevents several of them, but when given the direct choice to either kill or force Jason to stop killing, he simply walks away and only intervenes after Jason attempts to kill Bruce himself. Calling this an analogy for women fighting against oppression by an organized system designed to exploit them, is not an apt metaphor, as likable and sympathetic as it is towards Jason, and I’d personally recommend avoiding it.

In general, on that topic.  The argument could be made for other male members of the Batfam (take Dick Grayson’s constant sexual harassment for being a ‘pretty boy’ for example.), but Jason is also simply just not a victim of the Patriarchy.

Unlike Stephanie Brown, Jason was accepted immediately by Bruce as Robin and as part of the family.  He was murdered by his mother for being an obstacle in her operation of stealing from starving people, and by a madman who killed him for being one of his nemeses.  His murder was upsetting but had nothing to do with him not presenting himself as society claimed he should, nor for not obeying said society's customs and arbitrary rules.

Under the Red Hood is a fascinating, engaging, philosophical, and extremely emotional piece of media and it’s a favorite for many people (including me) for a reason.  Highlighting Jason’s actions as being a ‘girl moment’ when he is intentionally trying to push past Bruce’s only boundary, however, is an uncomfortable idea to proclaim. Especially considering when and how Bruce tries to negotiate and reason with Jason. Jason quite literally holds their relationship, and his life, over Bruce in an attempt to get him to behave how he wants, claiming that he does so as an expression of femininity has horrible implications. Jason is entirely allowed to do what he wants (I enjoy it greatly. His violence is very sexy and honestly we should bring it back) but that is a gender neutral choice, and I wouldn’t say that this run nor his backstory have much in common with women’s struggles to label them as “clearly being such”.

Additionally, The narrative is also not portraying Jason as “hysterical”; this was his first proper return to comics after 20 years. The intention of the narrative is to challenge the morality of Batman and to open an in-universe line of discourse for a discussion that for years, has been, and still is relevant in the comic community.  

Jason’s death was notoriously the moment that Batman got closest to breaking his rule and so they brought Jason back to be the character who pushed him on why he maintained it.  They made Jason angry and violent to raise the stakes of what the Joker did to him, and to raise the question of if there was a crime so horrible that it was a moral failing to continue the pacifist approach to criminal reform.  Jason is being treated in a significantly kinder light than most of the characters we would traditionally see doing these actions.  We all agree Lock-up was a bad guy, we can agree that the League of Assassins is wrong, but we’re given a chance to take Jason at face value and are not immediately told how to feel despite the narrative showing us his violence in a raw and uncut way. Killing a bunch of drug dealers while rising in the ranks of the drug trade yourself is hardly a selfless act of good after all. 

Disclaimer 1:  I don’t think Jason is entirely wrong about many things.  But I simply do not believe Bruce “owes” him killing, and that it is wrong of Jason to demand this of him or anyone for that matter. Nobody owes you their innocence and you aren’t entitled to breaking anyone’s boundaries. 

Disclaimer 2:  I cannot stress enough how much I like Jason.  This post is not meant to make anyone feel bad, or make Jason seem like the “bad guy” of the fandom.  It’s simply a disservice to his character to write him off as nothing more than an angry victim and call it an expression of femininity, and a reminder to be a bit more careful when labeling and assigning traits. 

[namisweatheria]

I wish so badly that skypeia wasn't a nauseatingly racist narrative that purports the colonizer's fantasy whitewashed narrative of how they saved "savages" (THEY ACTUALLY USE THAT WORD!!!!!!!!) from themselves. The part where they bring CURES to disease instead of, you know, the intentional spread of it as biological warfare that actually happened, gets me so fucking mad every time. Or when the poor poor guilty old colonizer president feels so bad and tries to give some land back and they refuse because they're too mad. Something that has never ever happened anywhere ever. ITS UNBELIEVABLY CARTOONISHLY RACIST THE WHOLE THING.

Just like the million other offensive caricatures in one piece, they do not end up being as two dimensional as they originally appear, and they and their feelings are taken seriously by the narrative. An effective story that tugs on your heartstrings in it's culmination is eventually crafted, BUT HE HAS TO MAKE YOU SO SO MAD AND UNCOMFORTABLE FIRST. EVERY TIME. WHY.

[no-psi-nan]

The first chunk of this post addresses some of your points but to answer it more directly, you're confusing Teruhashi's canon character arc of ADMITTING she likes Saiki with a non-existent arc where she falls in love with who he truly is (which is impossible until he does a power reveal and starts being himself around her for real).

Teruhashi doesn't ever get to know the real Saiki, nor does anyone know him outside of the Psychickers and his family (relevant post).

She thinks he's a guy who sits quietly in the corner and only ever says "good grief". She doesn't know he's a sarcastic mfer who loves to talk back and snark, she doesn't know he spends his free time reading obscure books and playing shitty video games, she doesn't know he'd move heaven and earth to help a stranger and put his life on the line to help a friend.

Teruhashi actually hated the most "real" moment Saiki has been, when they're at the mall/arcade and Saiki smokes her at every single game mercilessly lmao (Saiki won't even let Kaido or Nendo win a game against him, he's extremely opposed to losing). Where's the evidence that Teruhashi would actually LIKE someone who backtalks her and challenges her assumptions? She sure was quick to put Imu in her place lol. And this issue even harkens back to Volume 0, where Saiki questions why girls keep falling in love with him when he's essentially masquerading as a lamp post.

I have a whole post about the karaoke scene specifically too and battled Tumblr to find it for you (I forgor how long ago I wrote this 😳)

So yeah, Teruhashi finally admits to herself that she's in love with a guy that she barely knows anything about, and yet in the final episodes she struggles to compliment him to his grandfather, which hurts his feelings hsfjdlshfks rip.

You'll have to excuse me for not thinking that this is the height of romance lol.

[marrfixated]

(More thoughts and drafting! Some weird formatting I know but it was all one block in my notes)

Emma is doing just fine. Average. It’s really not so bad.

She’s just been dealing with a lot of change. And with too many things not changing.

Which is… an odd thing to struggle with.

Because she likes change. Daunting challenges. The unpredictable. Doing new things every day and never being scared of them. And she likes independence.

She had thought so, at least.

After the show, she had been hit in the face with just how… isolated she was. She had only had two friends before the first season, but she had left them behind. Her mother wasn’t doing the best, and she didn’t have any nearby family.

She found herself laying in her bed in the middle of the day most of the time, scrolling through her contacts and old conversations.

Or scrolling through her comments on TikTok.

A few weeks ago, she had tried some stunt involving a motorcycle and an inflatable pool. She probably wouldn’t have messed it up if her hands weren’t trembling.

(She had forgot to check the breaks, and wasn’t sure if they were working.)

(They were.)

The blood dripping down her face and the gash in her lip didn’t sting as much as it did watching the video.

She looked ridiculous, and she probably always did. It was better when she had someone else to do it with. Maybe she was losing her touch.

She didn’t post the video.

She turned back to dancing instead, which did feel less embarassing, despite the constant mocking feedback. Sure, the jokes were “funny”, but she didn’t care about any of it. She didn’t feel the rush, she wasn’t planning every day, and she wasn’t known or loved for anything.

Except for what she lost.

And, the show, to an extent.

-Ugh, she misses the show. She shouldn’t, but as stupid as it sounds, she really did. She missed doing crazy things and talking to people. Having a chance of winning. Beating everyone. Being cheered on. It wasn’t always great, but at least it was something. She misses doing something.

And she really misses Bowie. She missed Bowie, but she knows better than anyone that she can’t go back to that. They just- have better things to do now. He probably does.

He’s got Raj- which is great! And she’s happy for him! She’s happy for everyone. For Wayne, however he’s doing, for Julia, despite everything.

And Caleb. For having Priya.

Emma is jealous that Bowie gets to have someone.

Emma is jealous that everyone else gets to have someone.

Emma is jealous that, unlike everyone else, winning the show probably wouldn’t have made her any happier.

She isn’t sure what would.