#any promo is good promo B)

[snogfairy]

spoiler based speculation ahead that's mostly just me losing my mind

okay so I just saw the review that basically confirms romance (shocking) but that also says "although they never kiss" which made me have multiple thoughts

no one was allowed to see the very last ep right?? not even media people??

so assuming [every] is actually real....,,,

it would happen in the last ep

the ep in which also, based on interviews, the relationship btw Azi and Crowley is fundamentally changed in ways that shape their future forever???(paraphrasing)

are u kidding me omg is it actually a kiss that changes things between them???!!! Or am I just being HARDCORE DELUSIONAL??

I was/am assuming it'd be sth capital b Bad or sth highly Plot (which it also probably will be but??)

or maybe sth happens that tears them apart involuntary and that's when they kiss (goodbye) (desperate)?????? I have to stop

ANYWAY

I DONT EVEN NEED A KISS I SWEAR BUT

B U T IF

[semi-automaticlonelyboy]

I cannot stand to be on twitter today bc they’re rehashing the “punk is about rebelling against what’s popular!!1!11!” debate like dawg,,, not only are you Wrong, the line is “redneck agenda” and maga is the same shit 💀 and oh, im sorry, the song AMERICAN IDIOT wasn’t political before this??? Media literacy is dead.

“But it was new year’s eve, we wanted to escape all that political nonsense!!”

You Cannot have green day on a broadcast where artists play an incredibly short set of their most well known songs in the small time they’re allotted and NOT expect them to whip out one of their MOST POPULAR SINGLES. It is also FUCKING GREEN DAY, a band who has Always been political from wayyy before american idiot’s release (she) to now (the american dream is killing me).

anyways stream the new album Saviors coming out january 19th 🤪

[softspiderling]

✦ . * ocean blue eyes pt. VI | r.c

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

author’s note: introducing yn’s finsta this time🤭 also a little spice? idk you tell me. anyways @zyafics and @ghostofwriting this is for you

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

liked by youruser, rafenjj, rafe247 and 1.311 others

rafeupdates Rafe at a LOEWE event with a fan

view all 219 comments

rafescameron god i’ve seen what you’ve done for others

rafeontopofme Alexa play that should be me by justin bieber

cameronsbby ummmm yn what are you doing here

➞ ynsunshine omg i thought i was seeing things

➞ jjsandrafes ??

➞ rafesgf wdym??

↳ cameronsbby she liked this post👀

↳ rafesgf HUH

↳ ynsunshine SHE UNLIKED IT AGAIN HELP WHAT

↳ kelleigh_leclerc thats crazy😭

↳ raferaferafe @.youruser explain yourself

↳ jjsandrafes NOT U TAGGING HER

rafe247 he looks so babey for a change

rafeonmymind i’ve always wanted to go wherever rafe went

liked by sarbear, jomby, topster and 129 others

nothisisyn mentally i’m here

view all 89 comments

sarbear aren’t you supposed to go into the interview like any second?

➞ nothisisyn what? no. what? no.

papajay if u mess up jimmy fallon i’ll never forgive u

➞ nothisisyn shut up, who asked you

↳ papajay feisty

↳ jomby 🤨

liked by youruser, rafe, jimmyfallon and 98.361 others

fallontonight @.youruser is here to perform her hit single “sunburn”, share her feelings about reaching 1 billion streams on spotify and what it’s like living in Chicago

view all 342 comments

youruser thanks for having me💙

ynalways I knew it

ynsunshine god she ate and she knew it

jimmyfallon such a humble guest

➞ youruser such a good host!!’

whationlylistentoyn she’s doing so much promo what is going on?🤨

➞ sunburninmiami new album???? SINGLE??? SONG???

obsessedwithyn this rafe guy is EVERYWHERE

liked by raferaferafe, raferforlifer, cameronz and 2.941 others

rafeupdates Rafe recently at a diner with family and friends in New York

view all 736 comments

rafe247 okay that’s sarah but who’s “friends”👀

rafesgf RAFE AND SARAH ARE SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER BUT WHO’S SITTING ACROSS FROM THEM

cameronsbaby this pic looks so sneaky😭

➞ rafeonmymind right like they can’t even eat in peace😭

raferforlyfer guys chill it’s probably like yn or john b, they were all just in New York for yn’s show

jjsandrafes oh to be on a fly on that wall

onlyrafes i wish i could randomly meet rafe at a diner ffs

ynsbaby my worlds are colliding if it’s really yn🥹

➞ jessicascorner they have been colliding for a while😭

↳ rafesgf HUH WDYM BY THAT

↳ jessicascorner i mean that sarah, rafe’s sister, has been yn’s guitarist for a while now so the world’s been colliding

➞ ynonly they’re so mother and father

↳ rafesgf are they dating????

↳ ynonly not as far as i know

────────────

Sarah’s phone:

liked by youruser, loewe, cleogriffith and 1.941.103 others

rafe LOEWE on my mind

view all 11.038 comments

kelleigh_leclerc omg the sparkly coat

➞ rafeslegacy it’s called fashion baby, look it up

cleogriffith I like it, Picasso

loewe Model material

❤️ liked by youruser

➞ raferforlyfer is loewe’s insta account run by a gen z’ler?😭

sarahcam looks good ig

cameronsbaby he looks so good😫😫😫

rafesgf Rafe in his active era

liked by youruser, loewe, sarahcam and 842.917 others

cleogriffith had the best time at loewe’s

view all 2.841 comments

youruser im in love

➞ cleogriffith 🤭

sarahcam AAAHHHH!!!!❤️

❤️ liked by cleogriffith

kiecarerra wow🤩

❤️ liked by cleogriffith

hereformisscleo weird way to propose but yes

loewe absolutely stunning!

➞ cleogriffith 🤍

obsessedwitchu imagine looking like that

popeheywardphotography my baby!!!❤️

➞ cleogriffith ily❤️

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

author’s note: 100 points for the person who guesses what’s going on with JJ

[dessarchive]

SCRIPTING IDEAS. FAME & K-POP EDITION.

- all artists are paid fairly.

- companies aren’t so strict.

- there are no company diets.

- soloists get more recognition.

- all artists are aloud to sing live.

- no ones music ever gets leaked.

- makeup artists are very creative.

- live connections are always good.

- artists don’t have to cover their tattoos.

- every member in a group is treated fairly.

- all line distribution and screen time is fair.

- k-pop is open to any ethnicity and gender.

- all artists have say over what they release.

- artists are not forced to get plastic surgery.

- it’s easier to make friends with other artists.

- you always have amazing photo-card poses.

- the ticketing system for concerts are always fair.

- nobody camps outside artists homes or company.

- no one ever gets tired of you or your group’s music.

- all members popularity is equal and there's no ranking.

- your members, staff, and fans respect your boundaries.

- you or you and your group own the rights to your music.

- there are never any internal conflicts within any company.

- artists can dress more freely and wear whatever they want.

- any artist or trainee is allowed to see their family more often.

- many famous celebrities and artists come to your events and tours.

- survival shows aren’t rigged and still end up with a good lineup.

- artists can be affectionate with each other without being shipped.

- you, along with your partner, always fit the met gala theme perfectly.

- vlive does get deleted but all of the groups that used vlive will move to weverse.

- you’re on the cover of many magazines proving your it girl/boy/person status.

- artists are never forced to do any type of fan service or aegyo if they don’t want to.

- all of the magazines that feature you or your group sell out in less than 20 minutes.

- artists are allowed to bring gifts home from fans and they’re never poisoned or corrupted.

- there are always after-parties after events or awards shows but it isn’t required to go to them.

- not only do your or your group’s title tracks always become popular but your b-sides do as well.

- artists can interact with others on or off camera and don’t get romantically shipped unless intended too.

- you can choose to have album promo parties or album release parties with select fans or friends.

- your album sells are always amazing and continue to increase more and more with each release.

- you always know what to answer when interviewers ask you a question and have amazing media training.

- you become nominated for half of the grammy categories many times throughout your or your groups career.

- you start and end the tours with all the members, staff, and dancers and no one is ever injured or sick during tour.

- your creative team is amazing and many people say you/your group have the best music videos and album designs in the industry.

- you always get invited to big events but you’re never obligated to go if you have something else scheduled or just don’t want to go.

- artists have a lot of freedom when it comes to what they post on social media and companies don’t monitor what they post unless it’s for a brand sponsorship.

- you raise standards that are nearly impossible for the industry to break and officially become the biggest and most successful group or artist in the world.

- during performances, no one can get hurt and no accidents happen. artists are always safe and no one can be attacked, get something thrown at them, or get injured on stage.

- companies don’t control what artists do with their hair, it’s fully their choice. artists can dye and/or bleach their hair however many times they want and it will never be damaged.

- in-ear monitors work flawlessly, fit perfectly, are comfortable, and never hurt artists ears or damage their hearing. they don’t overheat or experience delays, and they don't get tangled in hair.

- although covid doesn’t exist, concerts are still online while still being in-person allowing international fans or fans that didn’t get to buy tickets a chance to see the concert or performance.

- dating bans aren’t a thing and artists are allowed to date freely without getting kicked out of their company or group. companies are always supportive of artists relationships.

- all companies and staff care about their artists and always respect and protect them. all companies and staff are trustworthy and supportive and won’t share information about their artists personal life without their permission. all companies handle scandals well, no matter how big or small they are. all companies and staff are better educated and more diverse. overall companies treat their artists well and put their health and wellbeing first.

[guessthatrec-poll]

Welcome to the Guess That Rec tournament!

Do you like enemies-to-lovers? Non-stereotypical queer rep? A cyberpunk setting with dragons in space about friendship, family, and the dangers of capitalism?

Well, this isn't any of those things! This is Guess That Rec, a tournament by the mod of @besttropeveershowdown where we'll be voting on media based entirely on bad, Booktok-style recommendations. Inspired by @guess-that-ship and this post, the rules of the tournament are simple: submit a recommendation for your favorite piece of media, and we'll vote on which ones we like best, BUT, here's the kicker: You may not mention anything about the actual plot of the story. Instead, we will be voting based on promo-post-style recommendations, which can include tropes, representation, setting, genre, very general theme, and anything else, as long as it doesn't describe anything that actually happens in the story!

Season 1 has come to a close, with rec 15 (Red vs. Blue) taking home the gold. Submissions for season 2 will be open on Saturday 5/3!

Example:

Do you want a high school story about a neurodivergent protagonist working through their trauma by going on adventures in the big city? Queer-coded side characters? Male characters breaking through their toxic masculinity and expressing their feelings? Wholesome sibling relationships?

Then you'll love Catcher in the Rye!

The tournament will work similarly to the way @guess-that-ship does. Each rec will be assigned a number for the poll with the rec itself going in the body of the post, and each round, there will be a poll pitting 2 recs against each other. Vote for whichever piece of media sounds most appealing based on the rec alone. At the end of each round, I will reveal the identity of the loser. Guessing what work each rec is for in the comments is encouraged!

THE RULES:

Any type of media is permitted. Both fiction and nonfiction are allowed, but everything must be presented as if it's fiction.

You may NOT mention anything to do with the actual plot or premise of the story. You may, however, mention:

Tropes (ex. enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, unreliable narrator)

Representation (ex. disabled protagonist, gay side character)

Character dynamics and relationships (ex. dysfunctional siblings, grumpy x sunshine lesbians)

Setting (ex. in space, in the Old West)

Genre and subgenre (ex. historical fiction, whodunnit, workplace comedy)

Comparisons to other media (ex. if you liked Avengers you'll love this, it's Twilight meets Hunger Games)

General themes (ex. love, grief, family)

General elements (ex. murders, adventures, road trips)

Anything else that has NOTHING TO DO with what the story is actually about!

3. You may NOT make anything up: everything must be technically true, or at least up for interpretation. So, in my Catcher in the Rye example, I can't say that there are "canonically gay characters" because there aren't, but I CAN say that there are queer-coded characters. Similarly, if there's a character in your piece of media who exhibits autistic traits but has never been confirmed autistic, you can't call them "autistic", but you can call them "autistic-coded" or mention their specific traits. The use of weasel words (ex. describing a mentally ill serial killer stereotype as "neurodivergent", or a gay villain as a "major queer character") is allowed and encouraged.

4. Do not include any identifying details (ex. title, character names, identifying place names) in your rec.

5. Funnier submissions will be given higher priority. Submissions are funnier if A) they're of media that most people have heard of, and B) they are technically true while not at all capturing the vibe of the media.

5a. Additionally, remember that this is meant to be BAD recs: don't just use this as an excuse to recommend your favorite media! If a Booktok-style rec actually provides a good picture of what your media is, consider either rewriting or not submitting it.

6. Should the same media be submitted by two different people with different recs, priority will generally be given to the first submission, unless a later submission was significantly funnier by the guidelines stipulated in rule #5.

7. There is no banned media: go nuts!

Tagging @tournament-announcer!

[sister-lucifer]

Taken To Another World 

⊹₊⟡⋆A Multifandom Fantasy AU Themed 5K Celebration Writing Challenge⊹₊⟡⋆

Special thanks to @ghostboneswrites2 for inspiring this! 

Interested? Keep reading! 

There will be two prompts for each genre; a pair for fluff, a pair for smut, a pair for angst, and a pair for horror. Each prompt comes with its own criteria, so read carefully! 

How To Participate: 

Reblog this post (for reach! thanks!) 

Pick a prompt (or multiple) 

Write your fic 

Post it and tag me (feel free to send it to me directly if I don’t see it!) 

Use the tag #lucifer’s 5k fantasy challenge 

The fandoms this challenge is open to are as follows: 

Obey Me!, Creepypasta, Marble Hornets, Batman (and all related media), Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (all parts), and any original characters/universes.

Don’t see your fandom? You’re still free to use these prompts (and please tag me if you do so I can see it,) but it unfortunately will not count as an entry for this challenge!

Rules: 

Feel free to pick multiple prompts, but you cannot enter more than one fic per prompt! 

The fics can be part of your own ongoing series, but they must be able to stand alone as their own piece without the additional context of the series 

Please state which prompt you chose somewhere on your post 

Feel free to cross post your work to another site such as Ao3, but please, do mention that it was part of my challenge 

Anyone can participate in this challenge, however I ask that minors stay away from the NSFW prompts 

You are free to bend the prompts as you wish, there is no mandatory time period or setting 

My inbox and messages are always open if you need to ask questions, consult me, or just want to discuss ideas!

The fics can be Character x Reader, Character x OC, or Character x Character; relationships can be platonic or romantic as you wish

Some prompts are written with pairs in mind; feel free to modify this to fit in as many characters as you’d like. Poly relationships included!

Absolutely NO incest OR pedophilia under any circumstances 

NO AI, NO using other people’s writing, and NO using a piece you’ve already written

Pay attention to the criteria! Prompt 1 will have a required quote, and Prompt 2 will have a required plot point/action

The Deadline is currently undecided. This will be updated soon 

Winners: 

I will choose up to 3 finalists for each prompt.  The finalists will be presented in a poll, and the readers will choose the winner. 

The winner of each prompt will get their own shoutout/promo post including an analysis of what I liked about their fic, & at least 3 fics I recommend from them and why. 

Does all that sound like fun? Good! Here’s your prompts:

Over The River, Through The Woods…

Fluff + Faeries

Prompt 1:  In a fit of rebellion, a naive royal flees from the castle and into the woods. They stumble upon a faerie who, against all they’ve ever been taught, seems rather…kind. 

Necessary Criteria: “Anyone can do a good thing if they try.” / “Well…how often do you try?”

Prompt 2: Fae don’t often leave their villages, except to gather. Unfortunately, one foolish faerie has found themself entangled in a trap left behind by a human hunter. Even worse, the human has returned to see what they’ve caught; although, they seem far more curious than hostile. 

Necessary Criteria: One of the characters teaches the other a new word in their native tongue. 

Magic Begins In Superstition, And Ends In Science…

Angst + Alchemy 

Prompt 1: The job of an alchemist’s apprentice is rarely an easy one. Magic is a fickle mistress, after all. When the apprentice’s companion tries to pull them away from their work, the argument gets heated, until the pressure becomes too much and causes an intense explosion…literally. 

Necessary Criteria: “You’re not even smart enough to understand what I do, and you think you get to tell me when to stop working?!”

Prompt 2: The alchemist’s work is starting to consume them. Blinded by their pursuit of knowledge, they recklessly decide to slip a bit of their newest experimental concoction into their companion’s meal without their knowledge. The alchemist convinces themselves this is all for the greater good, and surely nothing all that bad could happen, but soon comes to regret it. 

Necessary Criteria: A horrible transformation. 

The Tongue May Be Twice As Sharp And Thrice As Lethal As The Blade…

Smut + Swords 

Prompt 1: A rivalry between two swordsman gets a bit out of hand when the pair decide to make a salacious bet over a duel: whoever loses must play submissive to the other, starting from the moment they drop their sword. 

Necessary Criteria: “Don’t think I’ll surrender that easily.” / “Mm, I didn’t think you would…I like it so much more when you’re fiery.”

Prompt 2: A courageous knight rescues a royal from the clutches of peril, and their majesty simply can’t let their hero leave without thoroughly rewarding them for such bravery. 

Necessary Criteria: The pair narrowly avoid being caught in the act. 

Cursed Is The Man Who Dies, But The Evil Done By Him Survives…

Horror + Hexes

Prompt 1: Foolish explorers accidentally wander into a witch’s garden. One of them can’t resist plucking a berry from a bush, not giving it a second thought as they swallow it down, only for the horrific consequences of a curse to start taking form the next day. 

Necessary Criteria: “Please…you have to tell me you know how to make this stop.” 

Prompt 2: While treasure hoarding is generally frowned upon among honorable bounty hunters, some simply can’t kick the habit. This quickly proves to be a terrible mistake, though, as a cursed trinket starts to warp its owner’s mind and plunge them into a darkness that turns them on the one they love most. 

Necessary Criteria: Creative use of an everyday object as a weapon. 

Final Reminders:

Most importantly: Have Fun! 

Make sure to read the rules carefully! 

You’re always free to ask questions! 

Tag me in your entry + use the tag #lucifer’s 5k fantasy challenge! 

Happy Writing, everyone!

(even if you don’t plan to participate, please reblog and share this post so others will see it!)

[l0singsdogs]

promo time.

don't worry im alive ( jason todd & bruce wayne). completed. words: 3,482  chapters: 1/1 

Bruce Wayne always knew letting Jason go was the right thing to do — especially when his boy seemed to carry pain on his shoulders and the past in his smile. But like any father, he asked for one small thing: a single text message every year, just to let him know he was alive. Letting Jason go had been one of the hardest things Bruce had ever done. But he was a father — and even the worst of them make sacrifices.

opinion: Basically, where Bruce lets his son — aka Jason Todd — go and live his life. I’ve always believed Jason deserves something better in some way, and this is what came out of it. Something painful but with a beautiful ending. I’m seriously thinking about writing a part two, but I’m still debating it — maybe.

"do you want to play with me, b?" (jason todd & bruce wayne). completed. words: 1,897  chapters: 1/1

Bruce Wayne hallucinates Jason sometimes. It happens in his worst moments — when fear toxin rushes through his veins, when battle overwhelms his senses, when the weight of the world feels too heavy on his shoulders. But he never expected to hallucinate Jason in his office, not when he thought his mind had stopped playing those cruel tricks. Yet, there Jason was, or at least the version Bruce's broken mind conjured. And Bruce couldn’t help but feel that familiar ache in his chest — a pain etched deep into his very soul. "Do you want to play with me, B?" his son asked. Bruce simply nodded, watching his little boy stand beside him, if only for a minute.

opinion: All I can say is that I got inspired by a Turkish drama (Yargi), where a character references his daughter in a horrible moment, and I thought to myself: Why not do that with Bruce? And this came out of it. I just like writing Bruce suffering — he deserves it.

when the masks fell. ( dickkory, timkon, jason todd x hapiness, batcat, stephcass). ongoing. words: 23,164 chapters: 5/? 

A world where there were no aliens, no metahumans, and no second chances at life. Where the Justice League didn’t exist, and heroes were nothing more than characters in movies. Where the Joker was just a playing card, and Batman was nothing more than a clever turn of phrase. Gotham was just another city. The police did their best to keep the streets safe. A world without heroes. Without vigilantes. It's a normal world. Or maybe the Batfamily had fallen into another universe—one where vigilantes, powers, and mutants were never real, where there were no secret identities, only family, goals, and dreams. Or perhaps, for just a fleeting moment, Bruce Wayne could dream of a normal life.

opinion: It came from things I saw and because I wanted something new. It’s the first thing I’m starting to write. But I love it because I’m having so much fun thinking about certain things. Obviously, we all want to see Dick Grayson as a world gymnastics champion.

good older brother. (dickkory) completed. words: 3,719 chapters: 1/1

Dick Grayson always liked the idea of being an older brother, but the downsides of it were something no one ever told him about. Or simply, a moment where Dick Grayson tries to have a date with Kory Anders without his younger brothers bothering him — and, of course, he clearly loses that battle. Or just a scene of Dick acting like the older brother while also trying to have a date with Kory at the same time.

opinion: A universe where I'll soon be posting more because I really like the idea of Bruce adopting everyone when they were younger. I love DickKory.

knightfall eternal ( dickkory background ) ongoing. words: 13,553  chapters: 4/? (very dark careful with the tags).

When Red Hood and Nightwing are sent on a mission to take down a new metahuman in Gotham City, they never expected to fall into another universe—one much darker, where the night has always ruled. It's a Gotham where the Dark Knight is more vengeful. A city where the light never seems to reign. Or simply a world where Jason Todd and Dick Grayson find themselves in a universe where Batman truly works alone. Where the Batfamily never existed. And maybe, just maybe, where Batman is far more terrifying than they ever thought possible. There was no life left in him. No humanity. Or a universe where Batman truly works alone. Where the Batfamily never existed. There was never a Robin. Batman lets himself be consumed by his inner beasts.

opnion: There’s not much to say — I just wanted something dark to write about, and this came out. Read at your own risk because this Batman has no humanity, like the vampires in TVD.

[narcissistcookbook]

vulnerable talk:

i have to get some pro-quality promo photos taken soon for my music career, for inclusion in some high profile places (maybe)

i've been putting this off for years and years because

B O D Y

I S S U E S

by which i mean, 1) i don't know how to look good, and 2) every picture taken is going to get a kneejerk reaction of revulsion from me

but i need them, and i need them to look good and professional.

does anyone have any tips for ways to approach this?

[grlsbstshot]

NEON LIGHTS

Pairing (Original Characters): Jameson Lucas (Aaron Pierre) x Imani St. Cirie (Megan thee Stallion)

Story Synopsis: 

R&B singer/songwriter, Jameson Lucas, is well known as a charming playboy. The latest in his line of ‘loved em and left em’ behavior? Imani St. Cirie, an emotive singer/songwriter herself. As common sense pulls them in opposite directions – friendships are tested, old flames resurface, and new opportunities threaten to tear them apart for good. In this industry, dreams can make or break you – but what happens when love becomes the gamble of a lifetime? Chapter I // Chapter II // Special Edition // Chapter III // Special Edition Pt. 2

Chapter Synopsis: Jameson flies to Italy to repair his relationship with Imani, while Genie gets closer to Ellington.

Warnings: smut (18+), toxic relationship, possessiveness, profanity, usage of the n-word (if you’re white and read it, you owe us $20), rough sex, p in v (naturally), oral (female receiving), squirting, creampie, aftercare – if we missed anything, let us know!

Word Count: 5.5k // Divider Template: @cafekitsune

Notes: The following characters are original creations. Their voice claims are Usher / Lucky Daye (Jameson) & Summer Walker / SZA (Imani). We have no affiliation to any of those artists.

There will be alternating POVs between our leads.

CHAPTER IV: Insane / Wasted

she couldn't help but look at the images again. jameson had the kind of smile that lit up his whole face -- that was when he was truly happy. and he was smiling hard as fuck in the pictures. her eyes flitted to sloane's form, the hand against jameson's arm and the way it curved around his waist. she would never admit it to another soul...but they looked nice together. there was no love lost between she and sloane but imani didn't hate her until this exact moment.

"stop looking." genie told her and immediately immediately shoved her phone under the pillow.

"i wasn't." she lied. "fuck jameson and that bitch."

it had been genie who told her about the pictures -- warning her before she did something stupid like text jameson and tell him that she missed him. it was small but she was grateful that her best friend hadn't tried to talk her into anything. she listened to her rant, agreed not to answer the phone for jameson, and immediately set about distracting her.

despite being in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, her mind had nothing but images of jameson. she'd had a spark of hope in her heart that they would possibly figure shit out this time around but it was so damn hard expecting him to do the right thing. listening to his excuses and reasons why it was everyone else's fault but his got exhausting and imani didn't want to hear that shit. she focused on the outfits that she and genie were pulling together for her italian promo tour.

jameson had even gone silent for damn near a day. no calls, no texts. even that pissed her the fuck off. almost as if the thought of him summoned the man, imani felt the phone under her pillow began to vibrate. somehow or another, she knew it was him. she and genie both knew and they ignored the vibrating echoing throughout the room.

a minute passed then genie's phone rang out loud, her gaze darted to imani's before she cleared her throat. "don't answer him, genie." imani said sternly, sitting up in bed. sure enough, she watched as genie swiped her finger across the screen and the phone went silent. for a minute or two, there was total silence between them...before the phone in the suite began to ring.

it felt like a scene out of a horror movie. he just wouldn't leave her alone and imani had had enough. she climbed from the bed and stomped her way through the suite. by the time she made it to the phone, she was practically breathing fire. "hello?!" she answered tersely, ready to curse jameson's ass out but she was greeted with the sound of a friendly front desk clerk.

"buonasera, signorina. i am most sorry to trouble you this evening but i am afraid we have a situation." the voice said, the english heavily accented with italian.

"oh. oh, i'm sorry." imani immediately apologized, guilt pushing her to say more but she was cut off.

"my manager would like to call la polizia but the signore asked for you personally and i thought we should be sure before we did so." the voice continued -- a woman from what imani could tell.

"i don't understand what you saying. call the police? for what?" confusion was written all over her face as imani brought her gaze up from the phone. genie came flying down the hall, phone against her ear and imani got distracted by her. she caught the words "you make my ass hurt!" from genie before the other girl was stomping past her and towards the front door.

"signorina?" "i'm sorry. what did you say?" "signore lucas says that you are expecting him but he cannot remember your room number. if he is inconveniencing you, we will have no problem calling la polizia." "call the cops on signore lucas. do what y’all need to do. i don’t care. thank you!”

imani hung the phone up, hands on her hip as she walked around the empty space. she had no idea where genie had gone but it was probably to save jameson from an italian jail. “that dumb ass nigga really flew his ass to rome.” she muttered to herself. washing her hands of jameson always seemed so complicated but as she decided to take a bath, it felt pretty damn easy.

the only reason genie answered the phone was because imani left the room. it was a betrayal of her best friend, sure, but she wanted to hear an explanation from jameson. probably more than imani did. there was love lost between she and sloane. jameson was practically her brother and she wanted to know what the fuck he was doing with the enemy -- even if he didn't know she was the enemy.

"imani doesn't want to--" "what floor?" "huh?" "what. floor. are. you. on?" jameson asked. "jamie, tell me you didn't come here." "you not gone tell me?" "no!" "okay. that's fine."

he went quiet for a moment before genie heard a knock on the other end of the phone. she heard him introduce himself to a stranger and then ask "is imani in there? she gasped out loud. "jameson, stop that! stop it! you're going to get in trouble."

he didn't say a word to her and she heard him continue to move from one door to the next, asking anybody who opened it the very same question: "is imani in there?"

"stop it!" "are you going to tell me?" "what floor are you on? i'll come get you, damn it." "fifth. i know she likes a view." "oh now you're interested in what she likes?" "i lost her once, genie. i'm not about to lose her again. especially over some shit that's a misunderstanding." "so you weren't on a date with sloane?" "of course not. c'mon. you know sloane! you know she--" "i do. i know her better than you do, jamie. it hurt imani to see those pictures. you weren't doing anything but you have to understand...she's in a very difficult situation with you. she wants to believe you but she's scared. and you don't make the shit any easier." "that's not what i'm trying to do. i--"

"excuse me, sir? are you a guest here?"

genie knew that was no good. she jumped up from her seat, moving through the suite. imani may not want to see him but something had to give before he caused a damn international incident. genie hustled past imani, not even realizing she was still on the phone or what the conversation was. her slippers practically hissed against the floor as she left the suite, took the elevator to the fifth floor, and got there just in time to see security grasping jameson's jacket. a concierge was with them and he seemed flustered by the situation.

jameson's phone was still at his ear but he wasn't talking to genie -- he was cursing. "you need to let my fucking jacket go. wrinkling my shit." he and imani were two peas in a damn pod. "i'm sorry. he's with me." genie did her best not to shout, getting a grasp of jameson's jacket herself. she pulled him in her direction, pleased to see that he stumbled toward her somewhat.

"we've had many complaints, signora." genie nodded her head, yanking jameson in her direction once again. security didn't let go and he didn't stumble this time. instead, jameson pulled his jacket from the other man's hand with the meanest mug on his face. genie knew he was about to say something stupid so she pinched his side before he could. "i understand." genie reassured the two men. "but he's with me. he's my brother. he's just...stupid."

the concierge and security guard glanced at each other -- almost as if they were trying to see if she was right about him. genie prayed jameson would stay quiet. she could feel his stare on the side of her face but kept her gaze on the guard. relief hit her hard with they nodded, a signal that she and jameson could leave. "thank you! thank you so much." genie said graciously, giving both men a smile. jameson let her lead him to the elevators -- her jacket still in his grasp until she pushed the button for the third floor.

finally, genie turned and met his gaze as the elevator doors closed. "hey, stupid."

the past twenty hours had been bullshit. that was the best way to sum it up: bullshit. he was sleep deprived, anxious, and annoyed as fuck but it was finally time to get this shit with imani settled. genie reluctantly lead him to their suite. when she swiped the keycard and pushed the door open, jameson didn't waste time stepping inside.

"hey." jameson turned to see that genie didn't follow him inside. "please get it right this time. i love you both. but i won't forgive you if you break her heart again." before jameson could reassure her, she shut the door and he was left alone with her words.

the suite was quiet, almost eerily so. maybe it was exhaustion settling in his bones but jameson was so damn tired of this shit. he was determined to get shit straight right then. jameson shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it across the back of a couch as he slowly made his way through the space.

his mouth opened to to call out for her but the way she was feeling meant that she might not answer. it wasn't until jameson heard water that he realized she was in the bathroom. he took a deep breath -- and then twisted the knob, surprised that it was unlocked. the further he moved into the room, the hotter it got.

then...there she was. soaking in warm water, covered in bubbles. her head rested against the rim of the tub. she turned her head, opened her eyes, and gave a little scream when she saw him standing there. for a moment, they simply stared at one another. her gaze swept his face, moving up to his hair -- or lack there of. he watched her eyes go wide before she pressed her lips together.

his gaze swept what he could see. her hair pulled up into a messy knot on top of her head. her hands and shoulders were clear of soapy bubbles but everything else was hidden. a wave of desire swept over him but jameson pushed it down -- ignored it and continued to move into the bathroom.

finally, they both found their voices at the exact same time.

"get out!" "i missed you."

imani blinked up at him before he saw the anger take over again. she opened her mouth to say something else but jameson spoke faster. "you got me on a plane halfway around the world, jetlagged as fucked. go ahead and yell. once you get it all out, we can talk about it." jameson took a seat on the floor next to the tub, leaning against the wall.

"i ain't got shit to say to you." "no? you don't want to call me a lying ass, cheating ass nigga? piece of shit? nothing?" "i don't expect you to do right. you never do." "i'm doing right now, imani. nothing happened with her." "i don't give a fuck." "yes you do. you love the fuck out of me. and i love the fuck out of you." "you--" "which is why...i would never fuck up like that again. i was in new york for an interview. sloane called. asked me to come by while she was working some deal. i did. we were there for all of ten minutes. i did nothing but talk about you. then we had lunch. then i left her at her hotel." "i don't care." "you do." "you can't tell me what the fuck i feel." "i can. because i know you."

her frustration built as he calmly refuted each retort. jameson could see it in her face. she was mad as fuck. she sat up straight, pressing her hands to the side of the tub and to get up and he stopped her by placing his hand on top of hers. "don't. finish your bath."

imani glared at him and pulled her hand away -- the movement was slow but full of resentment. it didn't matter that he had flown around the world with nothing in his hands. what mattered was that she was scared. she was angry. and it was his fault. for once, he was at a loss as to what to say to imani. she rose from the water anyway, stepping out of the tub and ignoring him as she wrapped herself in a robe.

jameson watched her silently before taking a deep breath. he got up from the floor and followed her out of the bathroom -- ready for round two.

"good...evening. it is evening in italy, right? the sun is still shining here."

ej answered the phone with a grin, pleased to hear from genie so soon even though he knew why she was calling. it was the first time he'd heard her voice over the phone and it made him smile to know that genie adesanya had called him.

"you tricked me." she said shortly, making him smile.

"no idea what you're talking about, baby. but since you called me -- i take it jamie made it safely." "this isn't about jamie! and stop calling me baby." "yes, ms. adesanya. if this isn't about jamie, what is it about?" "you! you tricked me. you made me tell you what hotel we were at." "jamie already knew! he told me." "liar. he didn't even know what floor we were on. he knocked on random people's doors asking for imani!"

she sounded as if she were pouting and the image of her doing so made ej grin. his best friend's shenanigans were only the cherry on top of the sundae. ej muted the phone, not wanting her to hear him laugh. the last thing he wanted was a lecture.

"okay. fine. i admit it. i tricked you. but i told you...that's my boy." "he almost ended up in an italian jail." "it's nothing. i got money. i coulda got my nigga out." "you're no help. you encourage his worse tendencies." "listen, i don't want him over there. i want him here. finishing his album. but he's stuck on mani. obsessed with the idea of getting it right with her. do i think it's possible? no. i think those two are too alike. something's gonna go wrong. but he's my best friend and i want to support him."

genie was silent for a moment before he heard her softly ask a question. "...you don't think they'll make it?"

ej winced, wishing he hadn't told her that. he didn't want to rain on her optimism. he liked how she seemed to see the best in everything and everybody. "i don't know, g. i hope so but i won't hold my breath over it."

"i think you're wrong." she said, her voice stronger than it had been before. "i think when you love like that -- truly and deeply -- there's nothing you wouldn't do to make it last. i believe him. he wants her back. and he's going to get her because she loves him too."

ej nodded even though she couldn't see him. "i want you to be right, baby." ej heard her snort before she spoke again. "i told you not to call me baby."

a grin spread across his lips as he nodded once again. "yes, ms. adesanya. now where are you? did our best friends kick you out of your room?"

she was flustered and annoyed with him but mostly with herself. having a reaction to jameson was never good. she tried so hard not to show him even a smidgen of feelings and failed every single time. fuck him! this was irritating. imani hadn't expected jameson to be in Italy, much less have the balls to come to her room. she came out of the bathroom looking for the genie and found the other woman gone. she couldn't help but feel somewhat betrayed.

"mani."

jameson followed behind her and imani redirected from the bedroom to the living room. the last thing they needed was to be in a room with a bed while she was naked. "i don't want to hear it, jamie." she said, suddenly exhausted. "we keep trying to make this work but maybe this isn't meant to be."

all they seemed to do was talk in circles, gas each other up, and then boom. reality came crashing down into their optimistic plans. she wasn't going to compete with a woman for jamie again. sloane could have him if she wanted him that damn bad.

"it's like you're not listening to me." jameson replied and imani realized it was true. she didn't want to hear it. she didn't want him to get her hopes up again. "i'm gonna make this shit work because all i've ever wanted is you. i got stupid and let my ego take over before. then i lost you. and i swear the past year has been so hard. i get my life from you, mani. this is where i want to be. don't shut me out. let me prove it."

she stood with her arms folded, glaring at him as he spoke. part of her melted -- just like she had before. she wanted him to fight for her. to prove that what she saw in him before their breakup had been real. but another part of her was sick of the rollercoaster. she wanted to get off it, would kill to be able to feel nothing when she saw him. there was so much she wanted to say but also nothing she could say at the same time.

"it can't be this easy all the time, jamie." she said softly, annoyed at the fact that he seemed to be able to unlock something in her. "you can't give me some bum ass speech every time and think everything is going to be okay because you love me. love isn't always enough and i'm tired of hearing it from you."

jameson moved closer to her, lifting his hands to show her that he was harmless -- as if that were fucking true. "i understand. so tell me. tell me what you need from me. what you need me to show you, baby? i'll do it. anything."

imani looked at him with distrust and confusion. he didn't touch her, he just...stood there with her. his hands were still up, making him appear as if he was trying to calm a scared, wounded animal. "put your hands down." she told him -- and was surprised by how quickly he did it. he didn't argue, he didn't make a joke. he just...did what she told him to. that was interesting. "tell me you're sorry. you said everything except that."

jameson's gaze softened as he nodded his head, realizing that he hadn't apologized for the misunderstanding or invading her privacy. "i'm sorry, baby. i'm so sorry. i shouldn't be here. i should have waited for you to come home. i should have been more considerate about how those pictures would make you feel. i'm sorry."

despite telling him that speeches wouldn't be enough -- imani knew she would relent. she didn't know if she was overreacting or not when it came to sloane. but even if she was...it felt good to hear him validate it. to tell her he was sorry for how he made her feel. instead of thanking him, imani let her gaze linger over his face. "you cut your hair."

jameson looked at her with surprise -- as if he hadn't expected her to acknowledge it right then. "yeah. i did."

"why?" imani asked him, fiddling with the tie that kept her robe closed tightly.

"i'm doing a movie. why do you ask? you like it?" "i guess. makes your ears look bigger." jameson laughed out loud, tsking softly. "okay, i deserved that."

imani gave a small smile, proud of herself for that the joke landed. she hadn't fully forgiven him but she could feel some of her agitation ease. whether that was a good thing or not -- she didn't know but of course, time would tell with jameson.

"...i'm still mad." imani told him, placing her hands against her hips. "don't think i'm not. or that you can just fly to me in the middle of the night and think i'll forgive you."

"i don't think that at all" jameson said softly as he took a step closer to her. imani didn't move away. instead, she dropped her hands, watching as he lifted his hand to press to her hip. "say you're sorry again." she demanded. he repeated the apology, leaning in to seal it with a kiss to her lips -- and imani allowed it. all of a sudden, she got an idea and knew he'd go along with it.

jameson breathed a sigh of relief when she let him kiss him. imani never did anything she didn't want to do. she couldn't be bullied or tricked -- she stood on shit. so jameson knew if she ever fully made up her mind to get rid of him? he was good as gone. he had spent a year trying to get back next to her. he wasn't going to lose that shot.

"eat my pussy"

imani spoke lowly but with conviction. jameson's gaze shot up to meet hers, wondering if he imagined she said the words. but he hadn't. she looked at him, brow raised as if she thought he'd have something to say in response. but he didn't. this is what she needed from him right then. she needed his devotion and his obedience. it wasn't like anything they had done before. usually, jameson was in control -- they both liked it that way. but he kind of liked this too.

jameson reached for the fuzzy tie keeping her robe closed. with one sharp tug, it fell open and exposed her body to him. he could hear his heart beat pounding in his ears as he took her in. her skin was smooth and soft. he could still smell the lavender of her bubble bath. pretty titties sat high with nipples already pointed. he hadn't even touched her yet and she was ready. it wasn't like he hadn't seen her undressed before. he'd had her spread open and calling his name a week ago but every time he got his hands on this girl, he lost his mind.

without hesitation, jameson fell to his knees and began to kiss at her thighs. by the time he lifted her leg and placed it over his shoulder, her hands had his ears in a tight grip. he leaned in, mouth open and ready to taste before he felt her jerk his head backward. she almost lost her footing but remained stable as she stopped him from tasting her. "beg me for it."

he didn't waste his time arguing about it. he did what she asked -- and begged. "mani, please. i need you. i sat on a plane for seventeen hours. i don't have shit to wear but what i have on...and i don't give a fuck about any of that. i just want you to cum on my face. i'll make it good for you, baby." he didn't know it worked until she carefully pushed his head forward and wordlessly gave him the go-ahead.

jameson ran his tongue along her lips and up, parting her already wet folds with his tongue. the first touch of his tongue made her let jolt against his shoulder but she didn't stop him. not even when he began to lick, spread, and slurp at what she let rain down into his mouth. jameson hummed softly and happily, his hands finally lifting to grasp her ass. she tasted like water to a man who had been dying of thirst. he wanted to touch her everywhere. imani used his ears, dragging his head back and forth when his tongue swiped against her clit. she whimpered, slumping forward as she ground her hips against his mouth. "g-go back. right there. y-yeah..." she stuttered. his gaze lifted to her face, watching as she nodded her head in time to the way he sucked at her clit. jameson's hands moved down her legs, pushing her to lean further against his face.

eager hands caressed her thigh as his tongue lapped at her juices eagerly. the sound of her heavy breathing mingled with moans filled the room. she arched her back to give him better access while stroking his ears lovingly.

he forgot that they were in the living room of a suite she shared with a woman they considered family. he forgot that she'd had him stressed him for almost twenty-four hours. he even forgot that the genie was coming back to the room soon. all he could see and think about was imani.

jameson wedged his tongue into her, angling it so that it thrust inside her pussy like his fingers would and was rewarded with a long moan from her. imani squirmed, the leg that kept her standing trembling and jameson braced it, taking enough control to angle the woman towards the couch. he did it without taking his tongue from her and was damn proud of himself.

his mouth closed around her clit as she fell to the couch and jameson didn't stop her as she lifted her other leg to his shoulder -- getting a better chance to ride his face. both her legs trembled as he finally pulled his hands from her legs and thrust his index and middle finger into her, twisting and squelching inside her wetness.

imani pulled at his ears so hard that jameson grunted against her, feeling the heat rising -- but he couldn't quite bring himself to give a shit. when she came, it was with a shout of his name and her thick thighs closing around his head. if she had killed him, he would have died happily.

he stroked her down from her release, kissing and petting at the wetness that she left between her thighs and against his face. imani let him, legs going weak as they fell open. for a moment, jameson just watched her try to catch her breath. he didn't get up, he didn't shove his dick in her mouth the way she liked him to. he just...waited. patience was a virtue and he felt like a fucking saint because it took her forever to come back to earth. he kissed her thighs, doing his best to take care of her. and then she spoke again -- her voice slurred with pleasure.

"take your clothes off."

once again, he followed the command with ease. he got up from the floor, kicking off his shoes as he dragged his tongue across his lips. his pants and boxer briefs followed. by the time he'd whipped his shirt over his head, she seemed to come to her senses.

"let me ride you."

she was still giving the commands but jameson noticed her tone go soft. he stood naked in front of her and her eyes were trained on his dick. the attention pleased him and made his length bob. "stop looking at me like that. my dick is already hard enough." he muttered, as she smiled brazenly. he fell to the couch next to her and watched as she climbed onto his lap...reverse cowgirl. she knew he never lasted long that way.

jameson snatched the robe from her body, tossing it across the room. he didn't want any distractions or anything hiding her from him.

her entire body still felt like electricity was running through it. jameson could talk a lot of shit but he always backed it up. that tongue of his was a killer and it never missed when he put it between her legs. if his dick hadn't looked so damn perfect when she told him to strip, she probably would have left him with blue balls. but why fight it? it was pleasure for them both. imani leaned forward, using the fancy coffee table in front of the couch as leverage. with one hand against the expensive oak table and the other around her body -- fingers wrapped around his dick, imani guided him to the right spot. as expected, jameson's groan was louder than her moan.

he slipped into her with ease, her shaking hands didn't have to do too much work. imani worked herself up and down his length, her head dropping to watch their bodies rock against one another. despite the tension between jameson's strong hands pressed to her hips, and circled her hips. he was slowly siphoning control from her and imani didn't want that.

she pushed against the coffee table, sending her body to press to his. the move worked. her back pressed to his chest and jameson immediately brought his hands from her hips to her breasts. imani rocked on his hips, ignoring the way he panted against her ear. his fingertips pinched and pulled at her nipples, his other hand moving to brush against her clit. imani slapped his hand away, turning her head to meet his gaze. "tell me this dick is mine."

he didn't hesitate. he repeated after her, hissing when she lifted her hips and then sent them back down again. his gaze went from her face to down their bodies, watching as he slipped in and out of her. "fuck, baby...it's yours. this your dick." he mumbled, "let me play with my pussy. please." jameson never begged. not usually. but she loved to hear the word 'please' falling from his mouth.

she increased her pace by planting her feet on the ground next to his. with her hands against his thighs, imani began to bounce on his lap. jameson lost sight of her breasts as she lifted up but his fingertips didn't lose muscle memory. they pulled and squeezed as she ride him recklessly. imani tightened over him, her draw dropping from how full she felt. from how good he felt hitting every single sensitive part inside her.

his hips met hers and their syncronized rocking turned into clashing. imani whimpered as jameson dropped his hand from her chest and pulled her leg higher. "fuck me hard." she panted, suddenly just as desperate as he was. their skin was hot against one another, friction in more ways than one. jameson grunted as he went deep -- she took all of him in with a sharp exhale. "fuck yes!" he cried out, feeling her walls squeeze around him. his forehead rested against the back of her neck as imani rode him. she could feel his heated pants against her skin and was shocked that she heard a whimper from the back of his throat.

"don't." she said harshly, shaking her head as she fought the release she felt building. "don't cum until i tell you to." this brought a growl from jameson's mouth. he let her leg go and tugged her back by her hair. imani cried out as he kept her stationary. the hand between her legs moved quickly, strumming at her clit until she squirmed and panted -- fighting off the release. imani shook her head, refusing to let go. jameson knew decided to play dirty.

he pinched her clit, satisfied when she yelped and tightened over his dick. he felt a rush of wet hit and gave a long moan of his own. she gushed around his length, squirting so quickly that neither of them knew what hit them. he kept fucking her, thrusting in and out as she yelled his name and came all over him...and herself...and the couch. she was breathless, disoriented as jameson released her hair. "say it." he muttered.

his hands were at her waist then, bending her forward and bouncing her hard. her eyes crossed and rolled before jameson slapped his hand against her thigh. "say it!" he grunted. imani finally remembered...he was waiting for her. she smiled, proud of herself that he got to suffer a little bit before she placed her hands over his own and used every last bit of energy she had to fuck his release from him. "you can cum, daddy. cum in me."

it took only a second for him to follow through. he reached up to cup her breast. her pussy clenched even tighter around him because of that. his fingers dug into her hips while he thrust harder into her warmth until finally...his entire body tensed. jameson kept her planted on his lap, rocking her back and forth as he finally came inside her with a strangled cry. for a few moments, they were both panting and moaning, lost in the pleasure that had consumed them. imani fell back against him as jameson's hands caressed her sides tenderly. they both started to come down from their high. imani reached for his hands, wrapping them around her body and jameson took the hint. he cuddled against her, stroking and soothing she relaxed more in his arms. the two didn't exchange words but imani knew the truth -- she was back on that rollercoaster ride with him.

she could hear him snoring. genie stared down at her phone with a grin. all she could see was ellington's chin. he had fallen asleep on facetime with her -- something he swore he wouldn't do but he did. he had made her promise not to go back to her shared suite with imani and he made sense. everybody knew how those two were. they'd probably be back in love for breakfast and then on the outs again by lunch but genie wanted them to have space to figure it out.

when she left the hotel bar, she went to the front desk and got her own room. it was much smaller than the suite but not short on comfort. so began her night with ellington. from ten pm (Italian time) until six am -- she had shared her time with ellington dupree. they talked about everything. music, her fashion career, their hobbies. not once did imani and jameson come up. not once did her father come up. it was a miracle.

ellington had never really been in her life. he was jamie's friend. she knew they were close. their bond was unmatched. but she had never gone out of her way to be ellington's friend. watching him doze on his couch while she ordered breakfast for herself indicated that they were...at least becoming friendly. he had a wicked sense of humor and genie was sure that she liked that.

suddenly, her smile dropped and she leaned away from the phone. she liked it. not him. right? she didn't like him. if he was jamie's friend -- practically like a brother -- then that meant they were a lot alike, right? she couldn't deal with a man like jameson. even if they weren't alike, dating within the friend group was messy. she had seen it first hand and didn't want to be apart of it. it took her a minute but she managed to force herself to hang up the phone.

so what she spent almost eight hours on the phone with a man. that didn't mean anything. it did not mean she had a crush on him.

[sugdendingle]

Everyone who watches 911 is entitled to have their opinions on the show. Good, bad, or indifferent. This goes the same for Buddie. But don't assume you can make posts talking about how "willfully delusional" you think people in your own fandom are simply because we're talking our cues from the show (and the people involved in it) and seeing the signs of Buddie canon without any push back.

I‘ve been watching this show for years and in my opinion we have never been closer to Buddie canon than we are now. This isn’t just fans seeing what we want to see this is everything that’s gone on with the show, it's creators, and cast since the promo for s7 started.

Before s7 even started Ryan and Oliver were doing tons of press together. There was more talk of Buddie than had ever been previously. We had Ryan and Oliver talking at the s7 premiere about how Buddie's relationship was changing and how they were going to be getting even closer.

During s7 we had more Buddie scenes than we had in recent seasons and not just like scenes of them working together but scenes that cemented their relationship and showed them becoming even closer than they'd been. Scenes like Eddie relying on Buck to help with Chris (multiple times during the season). Scenes like Buck talking about how worried he was about Eddie during the Kim stuff.

It's even more clear that Buddie canon is where things are headed when you look at how Tim chose to handle B/T vs Buddie in s7. If Tim was planning on making B/T a long term ship there were so so many times he could have done more to develop them and he didn't instead the development was put into Buddie.

704 was not about Buck trying to get T*mmy's attention it was about Buck having these big intense emotions he didn't know how to deal with or really understand (because they were about his best friend) and misplacing them onto T*mmy. If Buddie wasn't a part of the plan I don't believe Tim would have ever even included Eddie in that episode especially not the way he did. It would seriously be one of the stupidest moves the show could make. They know how much of their audience ships Buddie, hell people who don't even watch the show talk about Buddie.

Plus it's obvious that Buddie's karaoke scene in 706 was supposed to be a parallel to Maddie and Chim starting to realize their feelings for one another in 208 (when they did karaoke). But the karaoke scene was pulled once they were renewed for s8 when they likely decided to pause on Buddie happening and Eddie coming out until they had more time. Why else would they have them singing a karaoke duet to a love song (in Madney's wedding episode no less) if Buddie canon was never going to happen?

Then you had the very domestic scene in 707 with Buck commenting on Eddie's cologne and throwing food into his mouth. And zero mention of T*mmy in the entire episode. Then in 709 you had Buck looking at Eddie (not T*mmy) when he got his award. In 710 it was Eddie by Buck's side the whole time Bobby was at the hospital and the only scene B/T got was that dinner scene which didn't do one single thing to further develop that relationship.

Back to the bts of it all. Oliver liked and commented on Buddie stuff throughout s7. He also posted Ryan often on his stories. Most importantly he posted a pic of him and Ryan on the basketball court after the B/T kiss in 704. If I remember correctly after the B/T dinner scene in 710 he also posted something to do with Buddie too.

You also had Oliver saying in interviews that he sees what Buddie fans sees and we're not wrong. He also talked about Buddie as how it could work if it happens. Ryan also talked about Buddie happening and said it was baby steps for them to get there. Ryan also said in one interview (can't remember the exact wording) but it was something about who should lead like who should come out first and it was decided it was going to be Buck. But the way he worded it was very clear that both of them are supposed to come out not just one. Lou also talked about how it was originally going to be Eddie getting the queer storyline (with T*mmy) and instead they decided on it being Buck. Lou also talked early on about Buddie and B/T as T*mmy being someone that is basically getting Buck ready for Buddie.

I firmly believe that Oliver would not be interacting with Buddie stuff nor talking about Buddie as much as he has in interviews if he knew Buddie was never going to happen. He's said point blank before he stopped talking about Buddie in the past because he didn't want the fans to feel led on. I think this is part of why he hasn't really interacted with B/T shippers or anything much to do with that ship. He knows it's not meant to last and he doesn't want those fans to feel like he's lying to them.

I know people look at Ryan calling Eddie heterosexual during some of his s7 interviews as a sign that Buddie isn't going to happen but as soon as s7 was over and he had a couple of interviews he started using gender neutral phrasing and saying things like "partner". There was also an interview where he talked about how Buck is basically taking Shannon's place.

Now as we've started to get promo stuff for s8 a lot of the social media stuff has been revolving around Ryan and Oliver with it leaning more towards Ryan. This is similar to how it was for s7 only things were leaning more towards Oliver because of everything that took place with Buck. It's clear that Eddie is going to have a big storyline this season and it can't just be that he's missing Chris or going back to religion.

ABC and Tim know how popular Buddie is and they know how huge it will be for the show and their network to have Buddie go canon. It's why they're handling this very carefully. Honestly I don't think they would have even had Buck come out if they weren't at least considering Buddie because they would have known that the fans yelling for Buddie would only get louder once one of them was confirmed queer. And like I said earlier if they had no intention of Buddie they would have at the least been distancing Buck and Eddie and certainly wouldn't have made Buck's entire coming out episode all about him.

They also would have told the actors to limit talking about Buddie in interviews and the journalists wouldn't have been allowed to ask about Buddie. If you look back at previous seasons and the kind of interviews Ryan and Oliver had Buddie was rarely if ever talked about. That's because Fox did not want it to happen and networks can control what is talked about in official interviews. There's a reason Buddie was talked about so much during the s7 interviews. It's the same reason B/T has barely been talked about even though it should have been a much bigger deal being Buck's first relationship with a guy.

Oh also there was the person on twitter who claimed to have inside info for the show and proved that at different times during s7 with how they seemed to know stuff long before the episodes would air. They said that people behind the scenes had been trying to have Eddie come out in s5 and again in s7 it just hasn't worked out yet. This also fits with what Oliver said that Buck was originally supposed to come out in s4. This fits too with the shooting storyline and the panic attacks early on in s5. Buck would have had his bi awakening in s4 and maybe his feelings realization after the shooting. This would lead to Eddie having his queer awakening during the whole Ana storyline in s5. But Fox shut all of that down.

My point in all of this is that there's a lot of evidence to back up why Buddie fans are so sure about Buddie canon this time. More so than any other season. It's not just us seeing the show through our buddie tinted glasses. It's the most logical outcome at this point. Sure we could all be wrong and the show could leave us heartbroken but at the same time it's still fun to be excited and hopeful about the show.

Oh and one more thing. I get it if you don't like Eddie's mustache, we all have things we find attractive or don't for whatever reason. But continually comparing Eddie, a Mexican man who many lgbtq people relate to and see as queer coded, to characters you describe as "violent and abusive" or a "corrupt cop" just feels all kinds of wrong to me.

Again like I already stated above Buddie canon and Eddie being queer might not happen but there is plenty of evidence to back up why people see Eddie as a queer character. In some ways he's been far more queer coded than even Buck has been. To get upset at people for seeing the mustache as another sign of queer coding makes zero sense to me. You can think it looks unattractive but mustaches have a long history of symbolism in queer men's culture. This isn't just about thinking it looks like Freddie Mercury it's that mustaches (especially ones that look like Eddie's this season) have often by used by queer men as a signifier of their sexuality to other queer men. So the idea that the show is using it as an early sign to the audience that that's where they're taking his character isn't totally out of the realm of possibility.

You are free to disregard all of the facts I just pointed out. You are free to see the show how you want. But you're not free to insult the people in your own fandom and then act surprised when people don't want to follow you or even go so far as to block you because they're tired of the negativity. I mean we get enough of that from B*mmy stans we don't need it in our own fandom too.

If the fandom and the show is causing you to be unhappy it might be time to consider taking a break.

[thetownwecallhome]

Call Out Post

((OOC: Sorry tender lumplings for the impromptu callout. I genuinely don't like doing this at all but it's this person's fault for talking to me. Well @everythingjackskellington, here's your feature. Also delete your blog.

PLEASE don't buy from @everythingjackskellington. They are THEFT, an AI junkie and a SCAMMER.

They just recently dropped a promo ask in my box and I immediately recognized their art as being both AI and stolen in their collection on ViralStyle.

The moment I saw the "Ragdoll Coffee" insignia I recognized it as being that of Ellador's art from Redbubble. Buy her actual design here.

Given that I am A) a redbubble artist myself, and we have to sift through LOTS of art theft, including our own art being stolen, and B) have a sister who's been ripped off herself, I will not tolerate this. You are exploiting other artists and TNBC fans who don't know any better.

Please, everyone reading, do NOT buy TNBC fan merch that does not clearly have the artist's name attached. We get our work stolen enough for AI. Also I don't care if the above artwork you linked me with isn't AI. You stole it. You didn't make it.

Thief.

Do not buy this. If you have some time to kill while you're on vacay and/or wrapping xmas presents, see Hbomberguy's latest video on creator theft and plagiarism. It is worth you time and is a great example as to why I have no tolerance for this kind of thing.

The only silver lining, to spare you all from looking yourself and giving them anymore traction, was laughing at some of the clearly unthought out automated stuff they slapped Jack and Sally on. It'd be funny if you actually had any thought behind it, but again I know you didn't:

To the antiJallys/Sally-going-her-own-way-crowd, these would be funny if they weren't baseless generative crap. In fact, make your OWN gay sally designs outta this. I believe in you~

Well, you got the Blink182 lyrics right but wow you missed out on the one opportunity to spam Jack's face on something and needlessly swear. Good one, but I don't know why the Monster High logo is there.

Also yes this person swears like a sailor and does just what I said. If you want Jack on a bunch of stuff that has nothing do with him...you should still flag this store and not buy from them. But here they are, regardless.

Oh, and nice Autism Speaks propaganda there.

[sgiandubh]

Oh my you have it all wrong (again) regarding Lee Schrager. In no way he met him after the birthday party in Miami! After that birthday party he went straight to NYC promoting LA. And wtf are you babbling about BCAC going on about a ballerina? The nonsense you spread - smh

Just take a good look back, or maybe just use BCAC's timelines, than it would have save you half an hour or more, and prevent you from making these mistakes.

He met Lee Scharger on December 5th 2022 after his first bottle signing in Miami December 3rd 2022, not after his birthday party with the guys in 2023. As said after the b-day he went to NYC for LA promo and right after that back to Belgium for TCND filming. No time for Mr. Schrager

If he had been smart he already participated at NYCWFF last year, but hey a comped vacay to Nevis was more important!

Get your facts straight before you start bullying other bloggers who do post facts.

Dear Get Your Facts Straight Anon,

I am not very sure what you do hope to achieve with this submission to my account. Because I am a Stupid, Stupid Shipper, I can only think of two possibilities:

A - you probably thought I was about to burst into tears, not publish a word, throw in the towel and disappear for ever from your obsessive screens. Something that would have perhaps ingratiated you to Marple until the end of time

OR

B- you probably thought I would publish it and look like a zero credibility, lying idiot and lose all my readers and throw in the towel and disappear for ever from your obsessive screens. Something that would have perhaps ingratiated you to Marple until the end of time.

Same objective. Placing people between a rock and a hard place. Killing them quickly and brutally with venomous words and be done with someone that you perpetually seem to choke on from June 2023 until the end of time.

At any rate you were wrong, 'Anon'. There are better, more civilized ways to correct people, there are more subtle ways to ridicule them. No doubt, this is what you tried to achieve, here. And well, there we are: you are still Anon and I am still owning my game. How about that, pumpkin?

The first post about Lee Schrager has been published by me exactly one (fucking) year ago: https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/730746701530431488/labor-of-love?source=share. During all this time, there have been zero comments or corrections about it (I have even blocked an Anti, @justagirlwithspirit, but NOT about that point). You waited. Fair enough. I owe you a corrigenda and I also owe @bat-cat-reader and all the people who commented under those posts about Schrager my deepest apologies. I have diligently scoured the socials, checked my archives, relistened to Mark Gillespie's podcast and no, I could not find any trace of a lunch with Lee Schrager end of April/early May 2023 (I arrived in this fandom on June 18th 2023, mind you - that does not excuse anything, but perhaps it could explain a bit).

You were correct to point out December 5th, 2022, as the day of 'a quiet Sunday night dinner' with S and the SS team. For anyone with a bit of time on their hands, this is obvious - why disingenuously deny?

For the life of me and with the best intentions in the world, I cannot remember how did I incorrectly connect those two episodes. I don't know what happened, how it happened and I feel quite angry at myself, to be honest. Again, you (all of you!) have my deepest apologies, knowing that it doesn't really change anything in the great scheme of things. It greatly pisses me off, surely. But it will not make me stop. You are not that powerful.

Your accuracy stops here, however. The ballerina (or 'dancer', as she called it) was something Marple heavily insisted upon, when she posted that footage from the restaurant where S was celebrating 'with the guys'. I hope you can read, Anon:

Perhaps it's her humor. Perhaps she has zero humor, as I tend to think. In any case, this kind of insinuation lacked class and taste. It was unnecessarily disparaging and could even be construed as downright cruel by some. But if three posts on the same totally irrelevant topic in the span of two hours and a half do not resonate as 'heavily insisting' with you, then I certainly can't help you see her intentions, here.

'If he had been smart, he would have already participated at NYCWFF last year, but hey a comped vacay to Nevis was more important!' Grammar will always betray you, 'Anon'. Always. But rest assured, your dirty little narcissistic secret is safe with me. I won't give you more time, nor space than basic ethics allow. The rest is your problem. It is absolutely clear the Nevis trip was not 'a comped vacay', as you so carelessly write. I have posted at length about this #ad hashtag, not once, but twice. In the hope you guys across the street would write less garbage about it - to no avail:

[October 25th, 2023: https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/732163733760163840/y-seguimos-para-bingo?source=share]

[October 29th, 2023: https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/732463933939728384/bigotry?source=share]

I am many things, Anon. I am a short-tempered woman and I take no prisoners. But I am no coward and I am no fool. I might sometimes mix up my 'timelines', but I am not a vile, obsessed troll, with a big grammar problem. Ask your Caporegime why did she insist I have no legal education, until the day I got angry enough to post one of my well, several diplomas from Paris? How is that called, Anon?

It's not just 'spreading nonsense', no. It's calumny.

Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

[stxrrynxghts]

Re-watching Star Plus Mahabharat (1/?)

DISCLAIMER: Whatever I say in this is about the CHARACTERS as per the way this SHOW showed them. The show=/= The Ved Vyasa Mahabharata. Don't want any more controversies, lmao. IF I mention any canon event, I will state IT. So pls, DNI if you can't handle a joke/criticism.

Starting with a shankh naad and the iconic promo woohooo

show start karte hi Arjun ke darshan ho gaye. WAAH. No but really. The face card is insane.

Why are their mukuts dangling tho o_O

Me thinking why is Satyavati shown as a main character since she is js there for the 1st quarter of the story, but then I realized that the entire reason all of this happens is because she was so manipulative during the Princess of Kashi portion, lol.

Krishna posing to give me a jaadu ki jhappi ToT

Okay, we are greeted by some classical music. I feel so peaceful.

ANDDD now that I have seen Shatanu and Satyavati, my mood is ruined.

Why are they having an affair tho

Shantanu not liking being a king and complaining. Funny how his descendants are going to have a blown war to GET this burden, LOL. #richpeopleproblems

ANDDD now we are going to be shown how ambition is bad.

Arre, why let poor Satya get all the blame? Where is her Daddy?

Satyavati: im greedy af, Shantanu: wanna be yours *puppy eyes*

Ladki ka chakkar, babu bhaiya, ladki ka chakkar

Krishna being happy in his lil garden uwu

Bhishma arriving with his superman style entry XDD

There was no need to put his feet in that kichad tho

Hastinapur ki praja being tortured by Bhima's future in-laws while Shantanu is busy doing aashiqui haha

Satyavati being rightfully shocked tbh

Ok but I thought Maharani, aka Queen, is a person who a) inherits the throne and rules in her own right, aka Queen REGNANT, or b) marries a King, aka Queen Consort??? What does that have to do with whether your son sits on the throne or not o_O

Not all of them assuming that they will have sons, what if you had daughters, Satyavati

OK BUT SOMEONE PLS WRITE AN AU WHERE SATYAVATI GIVES BIRTH ONLY TO GIRLS, I WANNA KNOW THE CHAOS THAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT PLS

Bhishma willingly signing on a slavery contract LOL

Ok but Im genuinely curious. How will Satyavati be a good queen tho? She is prolly not as well educated as princesses are, neither is she trained to be queen...

Bhishma: Make Vichitraveerya Great Again (except he was never gr8 to start with, lol)

I see, even Drupad's Father/Grandfather is fiery af. Runs in the blood, eh?

Okay but wait a sec. The Panchal King is right tho. Bhishma cannot interfere in the matters of their state, even if HIS prince is the one to do all the shit. He is a criminal, and he cannot violate the rules of other kingdoms!

Srsly, Bhishma time and again, in both canon and the show, gets his will done by the other Kingdoms, who do not oppose even if it's wrong because they know that they will be killed. Is he an unknown bully, by that standard?

Unnamed Panchal King, you are my fav from now on

Ok so, this is Prishata. Okay okay. Noice.

Vichitraveerya being cocky af. There are some things that Bhishma can't protect you from, like TB.

EW VICHITRAVEERYA SPAT ON HIM

bro clearly lacks etiquette and manners.

I'm sorry but Vichitraveerya really needs the belt treatment

Bhishma comparing Vichitraveerya to Hanuman o_O

Okay but PANCHAL cannot punish Vichitraveerya for committing crime on their land, but BHISHMA can abduct princesses from Kashi without their permission? Hypocrite much, eh?

Not Bhishma using his warrior skills so that the other kingdoms follow Hastinapur's bidding o_o

this is unfair af

poor Panchal tho, why are they being mistreated so much like can't even punish a criminal who burnt their fields

OH WOW, So not only has Bhishma entered Panchal to stop the justice system from carrying out justice, he also brought an entire army with him?!

I bet all my life savings that Shikhandi is Prishata's fav grandkid, lol

Amba doing the same crime that Vichitraveerya did XDDDD

NGL, but Amba's makeup is on point.

What is Shalva doing with Arjun's earrings and Dury's mukut

Vichitraveerya is so incompetent, GOD

Hm, Bhishma, I'm sure 99% royals drink, both male and female. Surely they must not be drunkards like your bro, tho.

um....Kuru and Panchal are enemies? Since when tho?

OH MAYBE ALL THE KURU PRINCES GO AND COMMIT CRIMES IN PANCHAL AND ESCAPE WITHOUT PUNISHMENT HMMMM

Krishna giving pottery class lmfao

Satyavati is that mom who thinks that her bahu will fix her son.

Bhishma going to interrupt a swayamavara and take the decision to marry on their own from 3 girls, LOL. How tf is this dharma?

At least in the show, Bhishma is against this. In canon, he js justified his actions saying that this form of marriage (aka rakshasa vivaha) is upheld by saints o_O

Bhishma, I like you, but why do you so much questionable stuff in the first half of MB

[yuenthevoices]

Okay so I haven't seen Transformers One yet (just had midterms) but honestly from the bits i've seen of it - from movie clips on tiktok to some of the hilarious promo stuff they have Bee do - i'm ABSOLUTELY in love with it. some of my favorite stuff i've seen are the little, more niche details i don't see enough of that really show how much care has actually been put into the movie. don't worry, no spoilers for the actual movie - mostly about official promo clips and such.

for example, i saw a bit of an interview where it's said the animation team all grew up with transformers, and were even fighting to animate their favs. there was also another interview i saw where someone - i believe a story boarder/director - seemed genuinely pretty sad that they couldn't do the Megatron gladiator and Orion Pax archivist backstories because it would make the movie too long. like, there is just so much genuine love for the franchise that makes the movie so good and so interesting its crazy like ahduaogeuaisahe

alright alright so enough of my rant i know some of y'all are here for the x reader stuff soooo here's some TF One headcanons! also do keep in mind that this is from my very limited knowledge of the movie characters so prob oc? if they were to somehow meet humans

B-127 (Badassatron)

first off, he's such a silly guy and so adhd coded

but honestly, as a human, be just a bit careful around him, seeing as he accidentally knife-handed quite a few people, and some on purpose

he'd either be as clumsy as he is with his friends that he built, or would literally be too scared to get within touching distance of a human

if you want to get closer to him, honestly just listen to him - with some small input here and there to show you're listening - and he'd want to hang around you a lot more

really, just be nice, don't baby him, and let him yap as much as he wants - bonus points if you sometimes yap to him as well, i'm sure he'd be a great listening, with a lot of input from him, of course

Elita One

honestly, i wish i knew or could tell more about her, but any clips or trailers i've seen her in are pretty limited glimpses into her character

the trait i see the most from these glimpses however, is how she's ambitious and diligent

she'd probably respect you a great deal if you're as ambitious and diligent as she is, and would probably be a bit proud if you compliment her work ethic as well

i think she'd like someone who matches her, aiming for higher goals with the work and strength to prove it - especially since you're a human

bonus points if you can kick ass as well

D-16

similar case to Elita, except i think i have a bit more to go off of, considering how much he shows up in promo trailers and stuff

honestly, kinda hard for me to say?

again, i think he'd appreciate someone similar to him, considering how much time he spends with orion, it'd be a nice change of pace

someone who won't take bs, maybe a teeny bit of malicious compliance, and someone who doesn't try to hide their opinions

considering how mush shit miners seem to take from those who can transform, seeing someone else - especially some smaller, squisher being - being proactive and not taking shit, he'd probably be interested

Orion Pax

ok so only doing orion pax and not optimus prime because in total i've only seen like 3 clips of him as optimus soooo yea

i could see him with a jokester kind of person, but also with a more calm caretaker kind of person as well

being a jokester with him would be fun, and he'd probably have no problem with carrying you around to places for plans

being a calm caretaker would possibly be a little more stressful, but still fun with him nonetheless

either way, he'd still be somewhat careful, keeping in mind that he is much larger and sturdier than humans are

just don't play dead on him please, he'd genuinely freak out and run you over to D-16 and ask him what's wrong (D-16 probably won't find it nearly as funny lol)

[guessthatrec-poll]

Guess That Rec: Season 2!

Do you like unreliable narrators? Fluffy found families? Dystopias? Neurodivergent protagonists? Gaslighters, gatekeepers, and girlbosses, and a sequel that's just as good as the original?

Well, this isn't any of those things, either! (except for that last one, hopefully) This is Guess That Rec season 2, the second round of a tournament by the mod of @besttropeveershowdown where we'll be voting on media based entirely on bad, Booktok-style recommendations. Inspired by @guess-that-ship and this post, the rules of the tournament are simple: submit a recommendation for your favorite piece of media, and we'll vote on which ones we like best, BUT, here's the kicker: You may not mention anything about the actual plot of the story. Instead, we will be voting based on promo-post-style recommendations, which can include tropes, representation, setting, genre, very general theme, and anything else, as long as it doesn't describe anything that actually happens in the story!

Round 1 results and reveals are out, and can be found in the tag #rec revealed! Round 2 polls will be out on Saturday 6/7.

Example:

Do you want a high school story about a neurodivergent protagonist working through their trauma by going on adventures in the big city? Queer-coded side characters? Male characters breaking through their toxic masculinity and expressing their feelings? Wholesome sibling relationships?

Then you'll love Catcher in the Rye!

Same drill as last time: each rec will be assigned a random number and pitted against another rec, we'll vote for which one we think sounds better, and at the end of the matchup the winner will move on to the next round and the identity of the loser will be revealed.

THE RULES (rules that got recs rejected last time are in bold):

Any type of media is permitted. Both fiction and nonfiction are allowed, but everything must be presented as if it's fiction.

You may NOT mention anything to do with the actual plot or premise of the story. Generally speaking, if your rec includes the phrase "this story is about...", unless it's VERY general, it does not belong in this tournament! You may, however, mention:

Tropes (ex. enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, unreliable narrator)

Representation (ex. disabled protagonist, gay side character)

Character dynamics and relationships (ex. dysfunctional siblings, grumpy x sunshine lesbians)

Setting (ex. in space, in the Old West)

Genre and subgenre (ex. historical fiction, whodunnit, workplace comedy)

Comparisons to other media (ex. if you liked Avengers you'll love this, it's Twilight meets Hunger Games)

General themes (ex. love, grief, family)

General elements (ex. murders, adventures, road trips)

Anything else that has NOTHING TO DO with what the story is actually about!

3. You may NOT make anything up: everything must be technically true, or at least up for interpretation. So, in my Catcher in the Rye example, I can't say that there are "canonically gay characters" because there aren't, but I CAN say that there are queer-coded characters. Similarly, if there's a character in your piece of media who exhibits autistic traits but has never been confirmed autistic, you can't call them "autistic", but you can call them "autistic-coded" or mention their specific traits. The use of weasel words (ex. describing a mentally ill serial killer stereotype as "neurodivergent", or a gay villain as a "major queer character") is allowed and encouraged.

4. Do not include any identifying details (ex. title, character names, identifying place names) in your rec.

5. Funnier submissions will be given higher priority. Submissions are funnier if A) they're of media that most people have heard of, and B) they are technically true while not at all capturing the vibe of the media.

5a. Additionally, remember that this is meant to be BAD recs: don't just use this as an excuse to recommend your favorite media! If a Booktok-style rec actually provides a good picture of what your media is, consider either rewriting or not submitting it.

6. Should the same media be submitted by two different people with different recs, priority will generally be given to the first submission, unless a later submission was significantly funnier by the guidelines stipulated in rule #5.

7. There is no banned media: go nuts!

Additionally, for this round of the tournament, I will be allowing resubmissions as long as the new rec is sufficiently different from the one that was in last round. The full list of media that competed last time is here. (If you're new to the blog and you want to see the rec for a certain work, just search in the tag "#rec [number that the work is listed under]").

Tagging @tournament-announcer!

[scratchtovoid]

“Make it a son for a son”

There’s a new season two promo where we hear Matt saying Daemon’s infamous line for the first time. And it has me wanting to bring up something I see with the team black fandom.

(BOOK SPOILERS)

There’s an impulse within team black to distance the characters of team black but particularly Rhaenyra from B&C by presenting it as a rogue act committed by Daemon on his own.

Now, first the book does not tell us that. The book gives us little to go on beyond Daemon’s involvement and the obvious implication that Mysaria was his KL contact to set everything in motion.

The rest of the details are mostly speculation.

Rhaenyra’s involvement is limited to a letter from her husband promising that Luke would be avenged. We have no further details on what she knew or how she reacted. Which also gives the show lots of room to present Rhaenyra’s feelings about this revenge plot however they like.

But what I see often in this attempt to isolate B&C to a Daemon-plan not a team black plan, is a misunderstanding of Daemon as a character.

In a bid to defend Rhaenyra’s innocence in the act, Daemon can not just be the lone perpetrator, he is also the monster.

Except this is an intensely human act.

A personal attack.

He could have killed all of Aegon’s heirs in that moment. As well as TG’s two queens. That would be the political move. Taking out the other side purely for political gain regardless of the innocence of the children he attacked.

And this is where those arguments from even within team black fall flat to me.

Because this is not political. This is personal. This is a grieving parent and husband who has no control and could not prevent the initial attacks on his family.

It’s not only rage and revenge, it’s grief and guilt.

So when team black talks about this event and may even lean into the interpretation of Daemon being a monster. It actually takes away from the greater story of team black, part of what makes them unique in contrast to the greens.

The greens, and this looks to continue based on the promo which seems to suggest Otto wanting to use Jaehaerys’s funeral as a propaganda tool, are very politically driven.

Think about it, they’re acting on tradition, purposely wishing to limit the power of women. They use rumors at court as a weapon, look for deals to be made, deck their king out in symbols of legitimacy. They always have a political angle to the moves they make.

This does not mean they do not feel emotional! I’m not saying that. But team green always has this internal conflict of making the political move at the cost of the emotional gain.

And team black (but particularly Daemon) are the opposite. They will make politically bad moves to satisfy the emotional urge.

Look at Rhaenyra marrying Daemon in secret, yes there is a political angle, but ultimately that marriage was one for love. Or Rhaenyra imprisoning Coryls after turning on the dragonseeds.

And with B&C there is no political advantage! They gain nothing in terms of good will with the public or lords of the realm. They have no eliminated any threats. They actively let threats live!

So what am I getting at here?

I’m not justifying Daemon’s actions. But this is fiction. And sometimes I think it’s good to look at a story for more than just “right” and “wrong” or moral lessons.

I think GRRM asks such interesting character questions in the Dance.

What does it mean to do something in an act of pain that is clearly going to be detrimental to the other side?

What does it say about a person to do that?

I think team black specifically should be asking questions like that.