#anyway this doesn't change the outcome of the case and even if it has to be retried i dont think USAG's ''''''evidence'''''' will trump

[hookechoes]

I understand this person is a very well connected journalist so this probably has some merit to it, but it doesn't actually describe what happened. Like I have eight hundred questions immediately that this raises. Why didn't the USA officials say this in the first place? Who did they contact? Who were they supposed to contact? How did they get the wrong contact information - did USAG provide the wrong information on some form that CAS had to pull, like an In Case Of Arbitration form, or did CAS genuinely get it wrong? How much time was there between contacting the wrong people and the information getting to the right people? Like was it a matter of dialing the wrong department, say, and getting transferred to the right one fairly quickly, or did hours or days go by? Because Cecile was at the hearing and testified, so obviously the right people were notified at some point. And there were two separate delays, which gave everyone more time to correct their error (if indeed it actually happened).

EDIT also, USAG wasn't on a Side here. Cecile was a witness, if I understand correctly, and the case was the Romanian Federation vs. FIG; USOPC and USAG were interested parties according to the CAS media release. I understand why they believe they're fighting RGF, but there's an important distinction. RGF is not blaming Cecile for getting it in late, it is blaming the FIG for not following their own rules and allowing the inquiry to go through.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

One thing I do like about TOTJ's take on Dooku's fall is that it really highlights that the Dark Side makes you absolutely masochistic. (Mega long post ahead).

One thing TOTJ establishes is that Qui-Gon's death is absolutely on Dooku (no matter if the show itself doesn't seem to be aware of it).

His tone is concerned and his attitude sympathetic and supportive, but he knows. He knows it's a Sith Lord (he even knows Maul's name). He knows Qui-Gon almost died and is marching right into another trap, but he asks questions anyway and affects ignorance.

"I've been warning them about the coming darkness for years," he says, "never to be taken seriously." Using the Council's skepticism as an occasion to complain about how they didn't believe him while lying by omission is a great case of that hypocrisy Dooku loves denouncing in others. Dooku would rather Qui-Gon share his disillusionment with the Jedi than actually do anything to help Qui-Gon. The Council don't believe him? Okay, Dooku, but YOU DO. You can just tell him what's going on.

But he doesn't.

On some level, Dooku has to be aware of what's about to happen. Qui-Gon is walking into grave danger, and Dooku's response to that - before it happens, when there is still time to stop it - is to put the blame on the people who don't know shit while not doing shit himself. (Why can't Dooku be there to protect Qui-Gon, other than because he's already slavishly loyal to Sidious' plans?)

And this moment puts every subsequent action of Dooku's throughout the Prequels in perspective - particularly his relationships with Obi-Wan, Ventress and Yoda.

Dooku is a glutton for punishment.

I've written here about why I think the 'Box' from TCW 4x17 is meant to parallel Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's mission on Naboo. The dioxis, ventilation shafts, the catwalks and lightsabers, the ray shields, the fire pit... Dooku's idea of a test to find the best mercenaries around is to have them survive what killed Qui-Gon (what he allowed to happen).

During the challenge, it's pretty obvious he starts to suspect Hardeen is Obi-Wan.

Or at the very least, he's taking an interest in the man who supposedly killed Qui-Gon's own apprentice - Dooku's spiritual grandson (see RotS novelization), whom he's been trying very hard to either recruit or kill himself. And what does he do with that interest? Tries to push "Hardeen" to kill Eval in anger.

Dooku, who still mourns the Padawan he knowingly let walk away to his death, watches a pantomime of his Padawan's death, while putting in mortal danger all he has left of said apprentice. If he knows Hardeen is Obi-Wan (and it's pretty obvious that he does), he tries to get Obi-Wan to Fall (or potentially die) in a scenario reenacting Qui-Gon's death. If he doesn't know for sure, then he's encouraging his all but grandson's killer to win the tournament because he admires him (for killing someone Dooku wanted by his side).

Whatever the outcome, Dooku chooses to relive his guilt and chooses to make the same choice to kill his loved one all over again, even though we know he hates that he made this choice:

He misses Qui-Gon and needs him but tries to kill or destroy Obi-Wan, whom he needs and wants by his side. (I haven't counted just how many time he does try killing Obi-Wan in TCW while still expressing his indefectible admiration for him - it's frequent, the Box just stands out to me as one of the most noteworthy occasions.)

And he keeps doing stuff like that!! He keeps choosing the path that causes him the most pain. He does it with Sifo-Dyas, he does it with Yaddle, he does it with Yoda and he does it with Ventress.

Just look at him confronting Sidious about Qui-Gon's death:

He KNOWS following Sidious got Qui-Gon murdered and he KNOWS Sidious will continue to kill or order him to kill people close to him. And yet he's quick to reassure Sidious that this doesn't change anything. Securing his position with Sidious matters more than his rage and grief. The ONLY WAY this behavior makes sense is if Dooku is fully aware that he had a choice about Qui-Gon's fate, and decides that this is the path he's on now: Sidious might make him kill everyone he cares about, but he's going to do it. Every time, things will play out the same.

Sidious tells him to kill Ventress, his new apprentice? Sure, why not!

(And it's not even out of true loyalty for Sidious, because he constantly tries to double-cross him later on. It's pure self-destruction:)

He hates it, Sidious promises him more of it, and he goes along with it!

This is why Yaddle's attempts at bringing him back don't work, in my opinion:

"Whatever lies he's told you, whatever you have done, you can make up for it now by bringing him to justice." This might convince a man who is looking for atonement, except Dooku isn't. He is looking for punishment.

Killing or harming those close to him leaves him broken, furious or in pain? He'll just keep doing it.

Sidious offers him nothing more than agonizing slavery? He'll keep on kneeling.

That's when Yaddle literally offers him the Light - the light that is so much more powerful than the Dark that it has Sidious cowering, the light that can save him if he wants - Dooku just strikes her down, even though he was heartbroken over thinking he had killed her just a moment ago.

He chooses to kill her, regrets it and hates himself for it, and chooses to kill her again. HE KEEPS MAKING THE CHOICE THAT HE KNOWS WILL HURT.

His remedy to guilt is to pick a shovel, because by God if he hasn't hit rock bottom yet he's going to dig!

[sideprince]

Re-read this bit in Half-Blood Prince again and thinking about how blatantly it seems to be telling us that Harry is biased against Snape and our impression of him thus far has been clouded by seeing him through Harry's eyes (emphases mine):

‘The Dark Arts,’ said Snape, ‘are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible.’ Harry stared at Snape. It was surely one thing to respect the Dark Arts as a dangerous enemy, another to speak of them, as Snape was doing, with a loving caress in his voice? . . . ‘He tried to jinx me, in case you didn’t notice!’ fumed Harry. ‘I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn’t he use another guinea pig for a change? What’s Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defence? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that unfixed, indestructible stuff -‘ ‘Well,’ said Hermione, ‘I thought he sounded a bit like you.’ ‘Like me?’ ‘Yes, when you were telling us what it’s like to face Voldemort. You said it wasn’t just memorising a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts - well, wasn’t that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick-thinking?’ Harry was so disarmed that she had thought his words as well worth memorising as The Standard Book of Spells that he did not argue.

Half-Blood Prince, Ch. 9

There's a direct contrast being drawn from one scene to the next between Harry's perception of Snape and Hermione's less-biased, more critical one. Where Harry hears a "loving caress" for the dark arts in Snape's voice, Hermione hears the passionate, determined explanation that Harry gave a year earlier - one based in a firsthand understanding of what it takes to protect oneself from harm against dark magic.

This is also the first scene in this book where we see Snape teaching a class. The first time he shows up in the book is when he's entrusted by Tonks to deliver Harry safely to the Great Hall from the school gates. So the first encounter with Snape in HBP is as Harry's protector, be it begrudging or not, and the second is one where an immediate parallel is drawn after between him and Harry, Hermione questioning the latter's bias and hinting to the reader that judging him based on Harry's perception may not paint an accurate picture of Snape. Through the rest of the book we see Harry have an increasingly hostile relationship with Snape while developing a great fondness for the Half-Blood Prince, despite it also being Snape, only Harry doesn't know that, so he's able to see his humor and cleverness.

This theme is a dominant one throughout the book, though it doesn't become clear until the end when we find out Snape was the Half-Blood Prince, but by then our impression of the Prince is murky given the unexpectedly violent outcome of Harry trying out Sectumsempra (and it can be argued he's to blame for doing so against another person instead of finding out what the spell does in a safer way), and our impression of Snape is even worse given that he'd just killed Dumbledore. We don't find out until the next book that Snape had been fighting on the same side as Harry the whole time, risking - and eventually losing - his life for the same cause. In retrospect, Rowling (boo, hiss) spends a lot of time in HBP dropping breadcrumbs that Harry's impression of Snape - and thus the reader's - is affected by bias and thus inaccurate.

[allthegothihopgirls]

Hc that Jason really resonated with Frankenstein’s monster after he came back from the dead and his terrorization of Bruce is, in part, inspired by the monsters terrorization of Victor

ok i'm gonna preface this by saying what the fuck anon (/pos). i've been talking about this concept since it popped into my inbox i'm actually OBSESSED.

clawing at the insides of my enclosure foaming at the mouth etc etc

anyways, 1000% YES. the whole thing of jason being put back together not only at the hands of another, but also in a way which is so so unfamiliar to the him he knew before death, soooo extremely frankenstein's monster-coded.

both brought to life by impossible circumstances, and neither feel as though they own their autonomy. searching for some kind of redemption, needing to feel complete or avenged.

both having a sense of justice, shunned by society, one which doesn't earn them praise but instead punishment and disgust. both resenting the decisions of their creators/mentors. torn between worlds, neither of which they feel accepted in. oh my GOD.

i'm a huge fan of the whole idea of jason coming back and feeling displaced and in an entirely foreign body, and that's just oh so frankenstein's monster..

like IMAGINE that being his frame of reference for his feelings. put together what feels like piece by piece, messily, with only second-hand scraps. all with no regard for the person he was before, only with the intentions of being 'repurposed'.. AHHHHH

(as well as the fact that it's ALL mental for jason, he comes back 'perfect', unscathed and replenished. he has no physical justification for feeling the way he does, second-hand and hand-sewn. his feeling of 'monstrosity' stems from elsewhere; the feeling he gets walking around in this body which is simply not his, or the look in bruce's eyes when he sees him again for the first time, seeing a monster not a son.)

also the conscious knowing that his make-up is no longer his own, he's composed of parts which are unrecognisable to his old body, the one he owned and hand-carved through age. having to walk through days, feeling his actions as his own, but having a body which warps the intent behind them to all onlookers.

god imagine, blaming your creator for your fate, and needing the answers of your inadequacy to come from him himself.. and no other source can explain your imperfection in a way you can accept, it has to be him. jason NEEDS bruce's validation, to confirm or deny that he is irredeemable and a lost cause.

as much as i don't think jason would take pride in relating so much to frankenstein's monster, it's definitely a lingering thought in the back of his mind, something that determines his own story and outcomes.

he thinks of him when he loses control, and knows that he can't use it to justify the way he acted. he cannot tell the monster that his actions were okay, and that the people just did not understand, although as much as he wants to.. because he knows that isn't the case. he knows the monster was always a monster, and grows to feel the same way about himself.

he resents the way he acts, because all he sees is the monster. the one who acts according to his moral compass, but is always wrong. always clouded by his monstrosity. he decides he really should never trust himself or his intuition, because it's always disgusting and ugly, and even he'll be able to look back in retrospect and be repulsed by the way he carried himself, and not hate the way everyone punished him for it.

he wants so desperately to get himself back, morph back into the boy who knew his rights and wrongs and was never looked at funnily for acting how any normal person would. but the only part of his past self that still exists is in his mind, he wants to rip it out and show people that it's still him inside of there, but he simply can't do that.

his body changed without his permission, he never asked to be an abomination, a scientifical anomaly. he wants to scream about how it's not his fault, how he's not what the world paints him to be. how he can just be normal. but he's never really going to feel that way, as long as his mind and body remain two separate entities at war.

i feel like he clings onto the humanity of frankenstein's monster, and uses him as an anchor, something that shows him it's possible to remain acceptable and human.

i also think he analyses the character oh so deeply, to try and latch onto all the relatability he can find, the things he doesn't get from real people.

maybe he has a copy of the book, annotated in such a personal way. perhaps someone else stumbles upon it, and is just so distraught by the conclusions drawn from the scribbles and highlights, the way jason seems to view himself.

the way that although jason's always seen himself like the monster, unloveable and unacceptable, everyone else was always ready to accept him.

that maybe the real downfall of jason and frankenstein's monster is that the way they viewed themselves was too focused on the displacement they felt, assuming automatically that everyone else must feel the same way about them, if not worse. not taking the moment to let people learn to love them all over again.

anyways, unreliable narrators post resurrection!jason todd and frankenstein's monster, who were always seen with at least an ounce of humanity, but were both overridden by self-hatred and the disgust of their form, which led them to total exile and isolation.

[kazzsk2]

Figuring out some oc lore stuff

Also wip

Anyways ima rant about my ocs

OKAY so I have two characters, both named Ying but ima only call the original Ying that (the one on the right) and the "new" Ying is gonna be called "G-hu" (One to the left)

Ying was the original, as stated before, and in her after story she has four kids. The problem I have is that I want the G-hu (an au Ying) and Ying to meet in a canon timeline

SOOO I changed some of the lore

Ying has two kids now, one son named Carius (name is very suseptible to change in the future) and a daughter she named after herself.

NOW in the new lore, Ying (who basically was born with the most op super powers like ever) had her son but the government threatened to take him away as any offspring with the same powers as Ying was considered a threat.

This isn't the case though as Carius doesn't develop the same powers as Ying, instead taking on more of his grandfather's powers. He's still super strong though so the government changes plan being like "if we let you keep your kid, then you must agree to this term that if you decide to go on some kind of uprising and destroying the planet Frieza style, then we take your kid."

She agrees (mainly because she knows how weak her children are in comparison to her as they are more human than they are eternal).

Then she has her daughter who's basically a carbon copy of younger her.

For example: THIS is younger Ying

And THIS is Ying G'Huang (her daughter)

Same person with the only difference being that G-Hu has a more masculine presenting body than Ying did at her age.

G-hu ends up with the same powers, same look, same immortallity curse (but Ying's is actually the eternal curse/not dying no matter the damage but its basically similar enough), basically Hakeem's (her father) genes didn't even give a fighting chance.

NOW with a child that actually could even rival Ying's power and strength, they implement a new rule (especially because the children want to become superheroes)

The rule is: Ying mustn't attack against the government or become a "threat" against the safety of the world, or her kids would be sent against her.

This is a problem as Ying has no way of dying, so she'd be forced in a battle against her own children knowing there's only one outcome.

Now the question is "why doesn't she just get her kids to join her?" Well then their getting rid of the kids.

If the plan of getting her children to turn against her and fight, then they'd just target the kids.

Now Ying could just destroy the planet, but as her kids are immortal and not eternal, they need the planet to survive. If she destroys it and all life on it, that includes her kids.

One way or another, she's forced to take out her children.

Sometimes I just sit down and think about how terrible my characters' lives are.

[the-magpie-collective]

[Part 3/3]: It gets worse

Part 2

Because yes, the writing gets worse.

First, it's very clearly implied that the pact has already been broken when Mizora first arrives in camp in Act 3. Mizora offers Wyll a new pact to both herself and Zariel: 'Option one. I show you the way to your father. I guarantee him no harm except that from you and your allies. And you pledge your soul to me and the archdevil Zariel in a pact eternal.' A warlock cannot have more than one pact in DnD, the mechanics do not allow for it, a soul cannot be forfeit twice. But then she goes on to state: 'Option two. I break your pact. You are freed from your duty but retain your devil form. Your father dies by his enemy's hand.' So his pact isn't broken? Which is it?

Why didn't they write something like, 'Or Option one. You rescind your request to have your pact broken, I offer an alternate boon, and you continue to pledge your soul to me.' Why would you ever write it like that if that Pact isn't broken? Why does Mizora need to break the Pact if it is? It makes no sense.

As if that isn't bad enough we come to my least favorite part: Addendum F.

Addendum F. 'The Absolute must be avenged for the soul-binder's detention at Moonrise. The soul-bearer retains his gifts until such time as the Absolute is slain.'

What?! What do you mean Mizora can just add on addendums willy-nilly to the Pact without even so much as needing to run it by Wyll first? How the fuck does this make any sense? If Mizora can just add whatever she wants to Wyll's pact then why would she ever actually break it? Why not have Wyll dress up as a clown every full moon and run around terrorizing children? Why not use Wyll's pact to make every single soul in Baldur's Gate forfeit to her? 

This addendum is so stupid. I hate it. The only reason for it to exist is so that the in game mechanics make sense and Wyll doesn't have to be respecced as something other than a warlock at the 11th hour. But if that's the case why not just add something into the six months clause? Easy fix to add 'Clause Z, Section Thirteen: 'If the soul-binder consents to separation, she will release the soul-bearer from all obligation and rescind all gifted powers within six months. Like really why? What possessed them to add this addendum? Why make it seem like Mizora can change the Pact at any time and for any reason? Were they so oblivious to their own writing that this is the only way they could think of to patch that potential plot hole?

I just can't.

This is Wyll's narrative Arc and the writing is so slap-dash. It doesn't make sense. The player feels like they have little to no choice in the outcome. Wyll has no choice in the outcome. The stakes feel pointless because there's no reason why breaking Wyll's pact should endanger his father. The path the player has to follow is inane. And when we get to the end we find out it was all pointless anyways because the pact is clearly whatever shit Mizora makes up on the spot that comes to her mind because that's the only way any of this makes sense. This is the level of writing I'd expect from a DM who suddenly needed to pull something out of their ass, not a team of writers who have had plenty of time to sit down and plot out a story.

In the story they built there's no point in Wyll struggling to escape. This isn't a 'well, Wyll's story was hastily rewritten' issue. This is a bad writing issue. No attention or care was paid towards making the narrative crux of Wyll's story actually make sense. No one bothered to make Mizora's pact make any sense. You cannot tell me there wasn't a planned ending for EA Wyll to break his pact; I won't believe you. The writers clearly just didn't care to make it make sense.

Mizora's Pact might just be the symptom, but it really shows how poorly Wyll's narrative arc was written.

[tobias-hankel]

❤️2023 Quan-Tea-Co Fics Recs🖤

The wonderful members of our discord server, Quan-Tea-Co, have written a lot of fanfics this year - this is the rec list!

🖤 SFW No Ship Fics

the friendship we have is a rare find by cherubcurls, Gen, In and out. “I've got this.” she affirmed to herself breathily, looking down at her hands that held two cups of coffee rather than one, still steaming, still fresh. Her heart swelled with affection. She grinned, “We've got this.” OR; Penelope and Spencer agree to meet up to have a study session before finals. A couple of things change and they end up not studying at all.

and i saw my life in photographs of faded memories by whateverislovely, Gen, Morgan reminds him just a little too much of the football players who bullied him relentlessly all through high school and even college. He’s big and imposing, with bulging muscles and a look on his face that says, Are you kidding me? when Hotch informs him that Spencer is the newest member of the BAU team. Five times Spencer misinterprets Morgan's intentions, and one time he's finally able to straighten things out.

where do we begin to get clean again by whateverislovely, Teen, Spencer often participates in toasts with the group using water or tea or potato chips instead of alcohol. This fic explores the events that may have led him to stop drinking.

silence like a cancer grows by whateverislovely, Teen, Diana doesn’t forgive Spencer for having her institutionalized… at least, not right away.

❤️Mature No Ship Fics

Surrender by @starzzyeyed, Mature, He doesn't want this, not really. He never wanted it. But he's in too deep now, and getting out seems less and less possible as the days trickle on, like sand through an hourglass. Or: An in depth look at Reid's addiction, and what it might have been like for him.

what’s this, the consequences of my actions? by cherubcurls, Mature, Because Spencer wasn’t used to safe. He needed adrenaline to pump through his veins and soften the blow for him to have a good day. His family never really liked how violent he was. OR; Spencer comes back home from a particularly horrible fight and his Dad is less than amused.

Solved Game by Boots17, Mature, Solved game: a game whose outcome can be correctly predicted from any position, assuming that the game is played perfectly. A season 12 canon divergence in which Mr. Scratch dies a little too early, Reid accepts the plea deal, and Cat Adams plays a very long game. Years later, the two finally get their rematch.

Ships are under the cut

🖤SFW Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid

A Gentle Touch Hurts So Much by ProfessorWorm, Gen, Spencer has unaddressed childhood fears dredged up by Aaron’s attempt to help him recover from his knee injury.

Day 4 - FFC - Second Love by a1_kitkat, Teen, Spencer never much cared for anniversaries, neither does Aaron… this time there’s an exception.

There Are Secrets That We Still Have Left To Find by @starzzyeyed, Not Rated, Spencer Reid is seven years old the first time he comes out to anyone. Three times Spencer comes out, across three different points in his life, all with three very different outcomes.

❤️NSFW/Mature Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid

Subscribed by AestheticTek and @goobzoop, Explicit, After stressful cases, Hotch finds that camming in lingerie helps him to decompress, while Reid happens to stumble upon the most attractive man that greatly resembles his biggest crush, his boss.

The Absence of Sound by BluePenguinLightning, Mature, The sudden onslaught of sounds startled Spencer Reid awake, not that he ever slept well anyway. He hadn’t slept well in two hundred and seventy-four days. In all honesty, he wasn’t even sure how he managed to make it that far. In which Reid somehow manages to survive a sadistic psychopath but that's only the beginning.

kill your indulgences by cherubcurls, Explicit, Hotch was his; his to keep, his to possess, his to feed on. “No,” he tried to mumble. As best as he could with his canines still firmly lodged onto his throat. “Mine.” OR; Hotch lets Spencer feed on him.

The Boy by house_of_lantis, Explicit, Lord Aaron Hotchner is one of the most ruthless rulers of the City. But despite his fearsome reputation, Lord Hotchner is respected by his people and beloved by those closest to him. He strives to bring order and justice to the City and to protect it from anyone who dared threaten it. Spencer is the newest addition to Aaron’s private harem, stolen from his previous master. Affectionately nicknamed the Boy, he is the exclusive body slave to Lord Hotchner and he learns to navigate the politics of the harem.

Hide and Seek by Highway58, Explicit, An Unsub fixates on the BAU Team, determined to make them his passion project. Spencer Reid is his ultimate target but in order to get to him, he has to go through the people he holds most dear in his life.

Heathen by Highway58, Explicit, The dreams would not stop. Ever since the unexpected case in Las Vegas when he forced himself to confront his painful past, Spencer Reid had not been able to sleep. The visions haunted him relentlessly... he couldn't resist the need to forget it all. Something was happening to him. Something he'd been suppressing for most of his life, ever since that one moment in his childhood he couldn't--wouldn't--face. Soon, very soon... he wouldn't be able to resist his own biology. Even though he had no idea it was even part of him. He was just a Beta... right? Spencer Reid approaches a crossroads he never imagined he could face.

Ain't Always Gold by Highway58, Explicit, Omega Spencer gets knocked up by his Mate Aaron Hotchner in the wake of Emily's death and he doesn't know it until it's about to kill him.

Call Me Daddy by goobzoop, Explicit, Aaron teaches Spencer how to date, but it’s not women he’s making him better for. It’s himself.

Let Me Be Your Only Choice by TobiasHankel, Explicit, After Spencer is kidnapped by Hankel, the team expects to find the omega scared and possibly beaten. They didn’t expect to find Spencer next to a dead Alpha and dying from bond rejection. With limited options and a dying Spencer, Hotch is forced to make a decision that Spencer can’t even consent to in order to save his life.

Every Version of You by goobzoop, Explicit, Hotch's whole world comes crashing down the moment he witnesses his husband get injured right in front of him. Spencer makes it through, but the road to recovery is more difficult than he could have ever imagined. Or, amnesia fic!

A Fool There Was by reasonablerodents, Explicit, Hotch is using Spencer to take out his frustrations regarding his failing marriage. Spencer is so desperately in love with him that he’ll put up with anything- just as long as he can be close to Hotch.

Touch The Leather by reasonablerodents, Explicit, “Well, the problem with shoes is- um, they’re dirty, there’s a staggering amount of bacteria even on the cleanest ones, I don’t want…” He trails off again, swallowing hard. Or: Hotch wants Spencer to prove how much he loves him.

Room on the Third Floor by Matthew1972, Explicit, One minute Aaron Hotchner is walking free, contemplating a forever with Spencer… the next he gets snatched away. Locked up in a cage to the whims of an unsub unlike any other he's ever faced. A hunter and wildcat shifter trafficker. But then, his inner panther and human self alike refuse to be tamed and collared to live out his days as the wildcat alone. To be another victim sold. Will his defiance become his downfall? Or does Aaron get to return home to Spencer and see through on his proposal?

🖤SFW Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid

Maybe Someday Soon by @justjasper, Teen, "Derek talks about you." The Morgan women know that he's in love with Reid. They also know that he is absolutely clueless about it.

Washed Away by TobiasHankel, Teen, It had been over a year since Spencer Reid went missing after he was kidnapped by Tobias Hankel. He was presumed to be dead, but Morgan refused to believe it and move on. After a case takes the team back to the same state Spencer went missing in, Morgan might just get the answers he has been looking for.

❤️ NSFW/Mature Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid

Spun Hearts by JustJasper, Explicit, After a harrowing case Morgan needs control, and Reid needs a fix, and they wind up in bed. Reid sees this as a potential evolution of their relationship, but Morgan is adament that he's not gay. The path towards what they both want isn't a simple one, and a recurring case brings some painful things to bare as they both try to navigate what they are to each other.

When We're Together, Our Bodies They Start Fires by JustJasper, Explicit, 2x06, "The Boogey Man", Reid sits in a police station practicing trying to lockpick a pair of handcuffs with a paperclip. Some short time later, he misses a hangout with Morgan, who goes to check on him.

🖤 Other Ships

Home by KatrioneSpecterRossi, Explicit, Emily Prentiss/David Rossi, Usually when there's a disturbance in the middle of the night, it involves Emily waking up from a PTSD-induced nightmare with her gun pointing at her bed partner's head. This time when she wakes up, it's for a very different reason...that turns out being a great deal more fun.

Level Pegging by Starzzy, Explicit, Elle Greenaway/Spencer Reid, “I don’t need, or frankly have the time to have sex,” he manages at last, somehow forcing his feet to move and take him forwards to the coffee maker. He almost forgoes the sugar entirely, wanting the bitter taste to wake him up from this walking nightmare he seems to be living in right now. “All I’m saying is, you wouldn’t be my first,” Elle says as she comes up to stand next to him.

❤️ Crossovers

I Used to Dread the Thought of Falling Quickly by Chaotic_Librarian, Explicit, Supernatural, Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester, Spencer Reid/Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester, Spencer Reid/Dean Winchester, Spencer Reid/Sam Winchester, Spencer Reid knows how to stumble into odd situations. But being kidnapped and then promptly flirted with? Seduced? by two of the FBI's Most Wanted? That has to take the cake. That, however, won't stop him from falling in love.

Entertained by Chaotic_Librarian, Explicit, Supernatural, Spencer Reid/Sam Winchester, Sam's sitting on his bar stool on the miniature stage again, his guitar in his lap.  Another stool serving as his table with a half-drunk glass of whiskey, he looks out across the mediocre crowd.  Typical Wednesday. That's his preferred crowd, anyway.  Joanne managing the bar, Pauline working the floor, and him on the stage as cheap entertainment.  Strumming his guitar and singing country songs he learned by heart years ago.  Sometimes he'll do requests.  But not often.  Not a lot of Kansans approach the stage when he's playing.  They just let him do his thing.

I Must Admit that I was Reeling by Chaotic_Librarian, Explicit, Supernatural, Spencer Reid/Sam Winchester, Aaron Hotchner/Dean Winchester, Spencer goes way too far to get closure on his fling with Sam Winchester. Because it was just a fling, right? It's not like they're meant to be, right?

To Love And To Be Loved In Return by reasonablerodents and Starzzy, Mature, Grease (1978), Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia/Derek Morgan, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss, Aaron Hotchner accepted a long time ago that he was never going to be able to be his true self. Not only was it illegal, it was highly unlikely that he’d ever find someone willing to be in hiding with him for the rest of their lives, unless America got a whole lot more open and accepting. That all changes when Spencer Reid transfers to Oakdale to finish his senior year.

Thank you everyone for making such great works this last year! The Quan-Tea-Co server is open to new members as long as you are over 18 years old. Invite Link.

[changbinsboobs]

Hey, love your readings ! They have been so fun to read and so informative!! I was wondering if you could do one on what all of the dorm pairing think of each other? (e.g. what does chan think of IN and vice versa etc.)

I feel like living with somebody 1 on 1 can really change your opinion of someone lol (speaking from personal experience)

Anyway, thank you so much for your readings. I have really been enjoying them 💙

Thank you, u warm my heart💗🥰

I find the topic very interesting myself :) Enjoy💗

*For entertainment purposes only!

Skz dorm pairings' opinion on each other

Chan - Ace of Cups

Thinks of in that he's lovely and is a very giving and nurturing person. He thinks he's even cuter "up close".

I.N - 6 of Pentacles

Thinks of chan a bit of a "father figure" now that they are more close and personal. Not in a literal sense but rather chan's very...mhhh, provider-like. He thinks he has such qualities now even more than before.

Lee Know + Han - 3 of Swords, 7 of Swords

For those two sadly i got really bad cards, i think they might've recently had a fight or something. Lee know feels heartbroken and hurt by something han has done or the way han is. And Han on the other side feels plagued by guilt! I think he's unsure of something and his confusion is causing chaos around him, since decision made from an unstable state place - reap unstable outcomes. I think he feels really bad and wants to fix things and do better but he doesn't know how. Especially since he's trying to escape the pressure of those awful things he's feeling.

Changbin - 4 of Cups

I think he's kinda unsure how he feels about hyunjin after moving in with him. I think he has seen sides of him he hasn't seen that up close before and is now seeing him from a different light, thats causing him to evaluate his opinion on him. And also maybe his actions and behavior towards him in the future.

Hyunjin - Strength

Mh im not seeing so much of what hyunjin THINKS of changbin but rather how he feels. And im seeing he feels that Changbin is infuriating. Im pucking up on an agressive "tantrum" and idk who thats comming from. Theres a few possibilities.

1. Hyunjin wants to burst out and scream at changbin

2. Hyunjin gets so infuriated by changbin that he has burst out a few times and let his nerves take the best of him.

3. Changbin has burst out a few times whenever he gets stressed and gave hyunjin a tantrum over "nothing".

4. Or Changbin has been annoyed a few times either from stress or by hyunjin and hyunjin took that personally and got infuriated/triggered cuz he thought changbins having a tantrum at him over nothing, even if he didn't actually have a tantrum, but hyunjin just felt attacked.

All if those are possibilities and i hope maybe in a future reading we'll find out which one's the actual case.

Felix - The Sun

He thinks only good of seungmin and is enjoying his time and co-life with him very much!

Seungmin - 5 of Cups, King of Swords

I think he's not that happy with the living situation. Maybe not necessarily because of Felix, but rather he just wants a different living situation overall. I think he would much rather prefer living by himself and i believe he was hoping for an opportunity like that but either the team decided regardless, or the company decided for him - one way or the other, he feels like he lost an opportunity for a nice living situation and has to put up with the current conditions wether he likes it or not. I don't think he pays felix any mind as he's focus on the matter is elsewhere.

[max1461]

I've said this before but: as a strict consequentialist about ethics, I don't believe that voting matters because one's vote is almost sure to be inconsequential. This is not related to an larger sociopolitical convictions of mine, it's purely mathematical. People are already happy to acknowledge that (in the US, say) if you live in a state that always goes blue or always goes red, your vote doesn't actually have any effect. But this is true everywhere (except very small elections), it's just most obvious in these states.

Now, telling people to vote might well have an effect. If you have a large platform, and you say "go vote for candidate X!" and 1000 people do it, that might be enough to actually affect the outcome of an election. So I get why voting discourse is the way it is; advocating for others to vote is a very cheap action that might have a large effect size, so lots of people are going to do it. Turns out it can be rational to advocate for something that it is not in fact rational to do. This is pretty obvious if you think about it but for some reason people really don't like this idea.

Anyway, even though people know that their vote is not going to change the outcome of an election, they usually make one of two arguments that voting is rational, and these arguments are both bad.

The first is "if 1000 votes can have an effect, then one single vote must have 1/1000th of that effect, which is small but not zero!" or something like that. This follows from the false belief that effects are additive; i.e. that the effect of two actions is just the effect of one action "plus" the effect of the other. This is sort of patently nonsense because it's not clear what it means to "add effects" in the general case, but that's mostly a nitpick (people know roughly what they mean by "adding effects"). More important is that it's just wrong, and can be seen to be wrong by a variety of counterexamples. Like, to make up something really contrived just to illustrate the point: suppose you want to sit down on a stool. And there are no stools in town, but there are four stool-makers: three who make legs and one who makes seats. And none of them can build the stool on their own, each is only willing to make one part per stool. Maybe it's some sort of agreement to keep them all in business. Anyway, let's say you commission a stool, but the seat guy doesn't show, so you just end up with three stool legs. Does this allow you to "3/4ths take a seat"? Can you "take 3/4ths of a seat on this stool"? No, you can take zero seats on this stool, it's an incomplete stool. Effects are not additive! 1000 votes might sway an election, but that does not mean that any individual vote did so, and in particular if any one of those 1000 people chose not to vote it is very likely the election would have gone the same way!

The second bad argument goes like "if everyone thought like you, nobody would vote, and that would be bad!". This also fails in a simple logical way and a deeper conceptual way. The logical failure is just that the antecedent of this conditional is not true, not everyone thinks like me. And in fact, my choice to vote or not in itself has no impact on whether others think like me. Thus "if everyone else thought like that it would be bad" might be true but is irrelevant, you can't conclude anything about whether I should vote or not from it. Conceptually, I think this arises from this sort of fallacious conception of oneself not as a particular individual but as a kind of abstract "average person". If I don't vote, and I'm the average person, that basically means the average person doesn't vote! Which would be bad! But of course you are not the "average person", you are you specifically. And you cannot control the average person's vote in any way. Instead, the blunt physical reality is that you have a small list of options in front of you: vote for candidate 1, vote for candidate 2, ..., vote for candidate n, and I'm sure you can agree that in actual reality no matter which one you pick the outcome of the election is not likely to be changed. Your vote doesn't matter!

Now, I should say at the end here that I do in fact vote. I vote because I have a sort of dorky civics enthusiast nature, and I find researching the candidates and voting in elections fun and edifying. I vote for my own purposes! But I don't believe that it affects the outcome of things, which it plainly mathematically does not. I have no further opinions on voting discourse.

[madlori]

The Claw is our master.

I've had a few folks in DMs ask me how/why/when my shipping did such a completey 180. It's a fair question. I am, after all, someone who spent the last 2 years fervently Buddie shipping, writing fic for them, doing the same hoping/analyzing/searching etc that everyone else (well...not exactly the same, I've always been skeptical of most of the theories and such because I don't believe in a production's ability to be that sneaky, covert or mischievous).

And yet, here I am. I can't really even pretend I'm still a Buddie shipper anymore. Initially I said sure, I still hope for it. I...can't in all honesty say that now. I've firmly decamped for BuckTommy Land. Is this a recipe for heartbreak if they eventually breakup? Sure, but that's always a risk. No more than shipping a non-canon pairing, anyway.

And there's nothing wrong with shipping a non-canon pairing. People do it every day. Hell, it's practically the backbone of fandom. Obsessing about ships being canon is a one-way ticket to dissatisfaction and sometimes total unraveling. I've seen it happen more times than I can count over 30 years in online fandoms.

But if that's the case, why didn't I stay on Team Buddie? Why did I defect so thoroughly that I'm at the point now where not only do I not think Buddie will ever happen, I don't want it to, because I now want to see something different from those two characters, something I believe we will actually get from the writers.

The answer to that question is: I have no idea.

People ask this like I'm somehow in control of it. I'm not. The Fandom Brain is like The Claw in Toy Story. The Claw is our Master. The Claw decided who will go and who will stay.

Fandom Brain is my master. It decides what I'm going to ship, what I'm going to be fannish about and what I'm not, and when I'm going to stop feeling fannish about something. I have zero say in the matter, I'm just along for the ride. At some point in every fandom I have ever been in, my Fandom Brain has, usually with no provocation, decided "Ok we're done with this fandom now." And nothing I can do will make that not true. I can't force it. I can't cajole it. It just is.

Similarly, Fandom Brain has decided "Welp, we're done with this pairing now. We like THIS pairing now. Proceed." Are there reasons? I'm sure there are.

Is it just that it's a canon pairing? Possibly. There is something very seductive about a canon pairing after so long of looking for crumbs and tiny hints where there (mostly) none to find. But I've shipped plenty of non-canon pairings before.

Is it that I prefer Tommy/Lou to Eddie/Ryan? Absolutely not. I love Eddie, always have. I admit to being slightly more of a Buck girlie, but that doesn't mean Eddie means nothing to me.

Is it the immediate gratification? Maybe. Is it just how the relationship's being written? Possibly. Is it just a mental adjustment for my belief that Buddie will never happen, and Eddie will always be straight? Likely. But that doesn't change the outcome.

So here I sit, just...yep. Sometimes it just be like that. I didn't choose this, it's just what my brain decided was going to work for me going forward. If this goes up in smoke, my brain will choose something else, whether it's to run back to Buddie, or be done with 9-1-1 entirely, or who knows what else?

The good news for any of you who follow my writing is that I'm still working on the next Husbros installment. That universe is removed enough from the canon that it almost feels separate to me now, and I'm still feeling connected to it. Yes, I've written a few short BT fics, but so far I've not had any lengthy or involved plot bunnies for it.

So there you have it. I didn't choose the thug life, the thug life chose me. I don't know if I'd have chosen this if I could, but tbh I'm having a pretty good time with it so far, so. That's probably a big part of the reason.

[heartfeltcierra]

Sabo X Female Insecure Plus Sized Reader

AN-I swear I love this man so much :'). This ended up being super long and super cheesy. Thank you @seafoamxshayde for helping me edit!

Masterlist

Word Count- 6.5k

Angst to Fluff

Warnings- Alcohol consumption, insecurities, self loathing, injury and mentions of blood

Spoiler Warnings- Marineford (Mention of character death) and minor Dressrosa spoilers.

 “Y/N you need to pick something to wear soon, we don’t have much time before the banquet starts.” You turn your head over to Koala, who has been scolding you for the past half hour.

 “I don’t think I’ll go. I’m not feeling well.” Your lie was not far from the truth. You felt fine physically, but mentally not so much. 

 “I’m not buying that crap Y/N. You are a part of the revolutionary army, you can’t just skip this” Koala walked over to your closet and started rummaging through it. “You're going if I have to drag you. Not even Sabo is fighting me about going. And you know how stubborn he is.” 

 Your ears perk up hearing his name. Sabo is the reason you don’t want to go in the first place. Not that its his fault, it’s your own stupid crush on him that’s holding you back. You know if you go, you’ll end up romanticizing something that won’t happen-ultimately breaking your own heart. Silly as it may sound, you're just protecting yourself.

 “Hellloooo, earth to Y/N.” Your attention pans back to Koala who had one of your dresses held up to her small frame. “I think this one is it. It’s cute, but very professional.” You look at how gigantic the dress looks compared to her. The sight made you sick to your stomach.

 “It doesn't matter because I’m not going.” You grab the blanket on your bed and throw it over yourself. Hopefully she got the message this time.

 “Fine. I’m laying this dress out in case you change your mind.” You hear her shuffle before your doors slam shut, leaving you in the silence of your room.

 It's been about 20 minutes since Koala left and all you’ve done is stare mindlessly at the ceiling. Occasionally you would think of Sabo. “I wonder what he is wearing tonight?” “   “I bet he is wearing his fancy cologne that smells like cedar and musk.”

 “Dammit Y/N, quit thinking about him for one second.” You smack your hands against your cheeks as you scold yourself. No matter how desperately you try, the chief of staff has made a home in your head and heart with no plans of leaving.

 You want to confess, you want to pour your heart out to him. But you are all too familiar with the outcome. You think of all the times as a little girl, where you’d confess to a boy only to be laughed at or how you were treated weird for liking someone. The dehumanizing experience of being an overweight girl. 

 Even after all the heartbreaks and unrequited love you experienced in your life, you still have an annoying small glimmer of hope. No matter how many times you tell yourself he would not want you, and no matter how many times you remind yourself you're not good enough for him- you still have a chance. Sometimes it felt like putting out a fire with gasoline. Maybe you should just tell him how you feel. The sooner your heart is broken, the quicker you can start healing it. 

 Knock Knock Knock 

 “I already told you Koala, I’m not going!” You yell from your bed. She is persistent as ever. Despite your yell, the doors open anyways. “Koala?” It’s hard to tell who it is considering the time of night and lack of light in your room. You hear a few heavy steps before the door shuts back. Your breath hitches in your throat along with a sense of unease.

 “Koala, if you're trying to scare me it's not funny. Cut it out!” The steps were slow and calculated. Like a lion approaching its prey. You begin to wonder if you're really being pranked or if you were actually under attack. You squint your eyes and see an outline of a tall shadow. Considering its size, there is no way its Koala. The steps come to a halt right in front of your bed. It stood for a few moments, like it was planning something. Your body is telling you to get up and fight, but you are frozen to the bed. You could feel a shift in the room and an unfamiliar weight on the end of the bed. You feel the bed dip with every movement of the shadow. It drew closer and closer. 

  You manage to whimper out as the shadow straddles your frame . Normally this would make you feel self conscious, in this case you were so scared it did not even matter. You could feel hot breath fan over you. It’s over now, you can’t have a broken heart if you're dead... At Least the shadow smells nice. Wait. You know this smell. 

 “BOO!” A small puff of fire revealed Sabo’s face. Your strength finds you again as you sling the laughing Blonde off of you. He landed right on the floor with a small “Ow”. You jump up from the bed, and  grab the closest thing you have as a weapon. A broom.

 “Sabo you little jerk.” You hold the broom ready to fight him. His laughing fit had stopped, he was now fixated on your movements. “You scared me.” 

 “You know Y/N, you're supposed to clean up the floor after you kill me. Not the other way around.” You could only roll your eyes as he smirked. 

 “Is that so huh? Any other last words you want to say before you die then Sabo?” You stood over him jabbing the end of the broom in his handsome face.

 “Why yes I do. That gown you're wearing is very cute, but not for the banquet .” You were unaware of your circumstance until he said that. You jump back into the bed and cover yourself up. Sabo pulled his body from the floor and sat at the edge of your bed. “I guess you're sparing me from certain death. Thank you Y/N.”

 “Haven’t you teased me enough Sabo?” You pull the blanket up to your chin and glare at the man. Sabo laughed and shook his head, confirming he was done. “Good. So what are you really here for?”

 “I was heading to my room to get ready for the said banquet tonight and met Koala. She seemed pretty worked up.” Sabo crossed his arms in a dissatisfied way. “She said you refused to go. She also mentioned you seemed gloomy. Is everything okay Y/N?” 

 “I’m fine. I apologize if I caused any concerns. I honestly just needed a moment to myself.” Your eyes met your lap. You want to come right out and say it, but you can’t. The words are there, but you won’t let them leave. 

 “Okay then. It’s settled.” Sabo stood up and stretched his arms. “As the chief of staff of the revolutionary army, I order you to get dressed and accompany me to the party.” The statement sends a shockwave through your body, but at the same time you shoot him a confused look. 

 “And If I refuse?” Your body is screaming to accept his offer, but your guarded heart is telling you otherwise.

 “I’ll fire you.” You know he was joking, but it didn’t stop you from throwing a pillow in his face.  “But in all seriousness I want you to come. It will be fun, I promise.” He was making it hard to say no, his soft smile had you hook, line and sinker.

 “Okay, I’ll get ready.” Sabo seems very pleased that you agreed. His eyes then start wandering around your bedroom before they lock on to your dress.

 “Is that the dress you're wearing?” He walked up to the dress and studied the fabric between his gloves fingers. 

 “Umm- yes why?” Sabo smiled and let the dress go. Did he not like it?

 “No reason, just curious.” The look on Sabo’s face concerns but excites you. That face is the one he has when he is plotting something. “I’ll leave you to it. I need to go get ready myself. I’ll wait for you in the corridor.” He winked and walked out of the room, leaving you in shock.

 You jump to your feet and hurry over to the dress. Maybe that glimmer of hope is more than a mere glimmer. You throw your nightgown off and onto the bed. You put the dress on and smooth it over your body. The only thing missing now was some jewelry. You walk over to the box you kept your valuables in. It's mainly filled with little trinkets you find when you are on a mission. You rummage until you find exactly what you're looking for. You pull out a simple pearl necklace with matching earrings. Sabo had bought them for you when he went to fishman island sometime ago. You hold the delicate pearls with a smitten grin. Maybe this was not just a friendly gift. You clasp the necklace on and place the earrings in. After applying some make up, you head out and towards the place Sabo said he would meet you.

  As you walk towards the corridor you regret not bringing a jacket. You could see every breath that left your lips. You could only hope Sabo wasn’t far behind. You perch yourself up on a brick pillar that connects between the corridor and the banquet venue. You watch as many familiar and unfamiliar faces walk by.  Sometimes you forget how many members there are in the revolutionary army. The welcome sound of ballroom music began to fill your ears. The melody was beautiful, you could only imagine dancing and falling in love while this played in the background. You close your eyes and enjoy the music. Your eyes open when the music ends. You heard the crowd clap before it went quiet again.  With the new found silence you can hear footsteps echoing in the corridor. You see Sabo come around the corner. You could only gawk at him. He was not wearing his signature hat and his blonde hair was slick back partially. He wore a black tuxedo with a vest that matches the color of your dress. “So that’s why he asked.” His eye met yours, he seemed to be gawking at you as well. You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks the closer he got. With every step he took, he captivated you more. And before you could burn the image into your head, he stood right in front of you. 

 “This looks familiar.” He reached out to grab the pearl necklace. “I knew it would look gorgeous on you.” He placed a chaste kiss on one of the pearls. The actions snatched any words from your tongue. You begin to wonder if Sabo wanted your heart to beat out of your chest and right into his hand.

 “Thank you.” You look away in hopes he doesn't catch on to your embarrassment, but the chuckle that left his lips told you it was too late.

 “We better get inside, I’m sure you're cold.” He held his arm out for you, which you gladly took.

 The venue was packed full. People were dancing,drinking and just overall having a good time. After all the hardships and battles, it's nice to have a night where everyone can relax and enjoy themselves. You notice a lot of eyes on you and Sabo as you walk further in. Some people looked happily at you, while others did not seem as thrilled. But none of that matters, right now you were happy to be by his side, even if it's just this one night.

 “Want to go dance?” Sabo leaned down to whisper in your ear. 

 “Umm, I don’t really know how.” Sabo seemed amused by your response. Most of your life has been on a battlefield, not a dance floor.

 “It’s okay, I will lead you.” His hand grabbed yours, giving a small squeeze of reassurance. You looked into his eyes, still a little hesitant. Your insecurities creeped in. Sabo would have to hold onto you in order to dance. The dance floor was filled with couples dancing. You see all the petite figures being held close, like they were made out of glass. They are so delicate compared to you. You look away from Sabo, who retaliates by grabbing your chin. “What’s going on in that pretty mind?”

 “I worry I’m not good enough.” You're not just talking about dancing. “Plus what if I trip and get hurt.”

 “Trust me when I say I’m good enough for the both of us. You know I used to be a noble, right?” Sabo grins and places a hand in the middle of your back, guiding you towards the dance floor. 

“And you're safe with me, always.” You can’t help but smile at his declaration.

 “I trust you then. Don’t disappoint me Mr. Chief of Staff.” You notice a small blush creep up on his cheeks. 

 “Trust me, I don’t plan to.” Sabo retorted. 

 “Hee Haw! I hope you are enjoying yourselves tonight!” You and Sabo turn towards the stage where Iva was speaking. They are always the life of the party.  “A party like this won’t happen again for a while so make the most of it! Drink and dance your worries away! But don’t get too crazy kids. Bye now~” Iva jumped from the stage signaling the band to start back up. 

 Sabo grabbed your left hand and guided it to his arm. After he placed it where he wanted it he held out his other hand for you to grab. Your shaky hand laces with his calmer one. You look him in his eyes as if to say “What now?”. Sabo smiled at you before leaning down.

 “Relax your body and give me control.” You nod, after a few deep breaths you  let yourself relax in Sabo’s strong hold.  “Good girl.” The pet name slid off his tongue so effortlessly. He is too suave for his own good sometimes. 

 The music filled the ballroom once more.  You and Sabo locked eyes and nodded at each other. He guided your body along with his. At first it was awkward for you, but as he swayed you around effortlessly the feeling vanished. That’s how good Sabo is. He's a smooth man with a velvet tongue. Why lie to yourself any longer, you were living out a dream with the man you've fallen for. All the pent up giddiness was starting to leak out as your lips curled into a genuine smile. You looked up at Sabo who had a smile on his face, one that made all the light in the room seem dull. You were sure of it now. Sabo liked you back. 

 The current melody ended, letting the band prepare for the next song.

 “The next song is going to be slower.” Sabo adjusted his hold on you again, one of his hands snaked around you. You fight back any negative thoughts and let yourself feel his warm touch. With his free hand he guided one of your hands so it rested on his shoulder. Happy with the placement he then grabbed your hand and laced it back with his. “One last thing, I need to be closer to me.” The hand that was wrapped around you pulled you closer to him. Your plush body was right up against him and you couldn’t be happier. 

 As Sabo said, the music was slower. It was a nice change of pace. Between the calmness of the melody and Sabo’s gentle sway, you were becoming tired. You lay your head against Sabo’s chest and close your eyes. 

 “Someone looks comfortable.” You open your eyes and pull away. You look up at him and apologize only for him to place a kiss on your forehead. He let go of your hand long enough to place your head back onto his warm chest. “Don’t apologize, I was just admiring how cute you are.” His actions and words were all the reassurance you needed.

  A new feeling bubbles in your chest. In the past falling in love was something that only brought you heartache. And you thought it would be the case with Sabo, but you are experiencing it. And it is absolutely beautiful. The music began to wind down, before coming to an end. 

 “Are you ready for a break?” You were unaware how tired you were until Sabo mentioned it. 

 “I am. If you want to go find us a table, I’ll go grab us something to drink.” You point towards the mini bar.  “Do you want anything in particular?” 

 “Not really. When you get back I have a surprise for you.” He winked before disappearing in the crowd. You could not help but wonder what the surprise could be? You shake your thoughts and navigate through the crowded room. 

  You walk up to the bartender and order two champagnes. The bartender poured the liquid into delicate glasses with ease. You grabbed the glasses and handled them with care. 

 “Is that for Koala and Sabo?” You turn around to face the voice that spoke. The woman before you had a forgettable name, but her attitude and love of Sabo was a different story. Anyone would be able to see that she only wants him for his rank and benefits. 

 “No, it's for me and Sabo. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get back to him.” You start to walk away before she grabs your hand. You turn around and give her a nasty look.

 “I guess you haven't heard.” Her words get you curious.

 “Haven’t heard what?” The woman pulls out a cigarette and places it between her lips. The fire from her lighter came to life. 

 “I guess they were hiding it from you. Sabo and Koala are getting engaged tonight.” A puff of smoke blows in your face. Your feet are frozen to the floor at her words. “I know it broke my heart too, but I think we both knew it was going to be him and her at the end of the day. I’ll admit they make a cute couple.” She pointed over to an area. You turn and see Sabo and Koala sitting at a table talking and smiling. Your eyes fixated on them. Engaged? “I have a surprise for you” You think about what Sabo said, so that was the surprise. 

 You picture them getting married. You standing alone while Sabo wrapped the same arms that once held you around Koala as he kissed her. All of this while you watched from the sidelines. Because that’s where the fat friend belongs. Tears began to form in your eyes.

 “And If you think I’m lying, look.” The woman points to the table they are at. You notice a small jewelry box in Sabo’s hand. Koala looks at it and smiles. You turn your head away, you could not handle watching what was about to happen.  All the joy and hope that had filled you was gone in an instant. Your insecurities came crashing down again. You lost, like you always do

 “I should have known it was too good to be true.” You drink down both glasses of champagne and place them on the bar counter. “I want an entire bottle of wine please.” The bartender curled a brow before walking behind the bar.

 “Will this d-” You snatch the wine from the man's hands before letting him finish. You say a quick thank you before storming out of the venue.

 You rush outside of the venue doors clutching the bottle. The chilly night air encased you once again. You know it had to be below freezing, but it's not like anything matters anymore. You walk until you find a bench beside a fountain. You take the cork out of the wine, the pressure causes it  to shoot up into the air. You hear a small splash and see it had landed in the fountain. “I guess I need to make a wish.” 

 “I wish… I wish someone would come and love me. The same way I love Sabo.” Hot tears ran down your cold face. “Please… just once I want to know what it’s like to be loved.” You throw your head back and gulp down some of the wine. The bitter taste was more than welcome. 

 ~Meanwhile in the venue~

 “She sure is taking a while, Sabo.” Koala looked amongst the sea of people, trying to find you.

 “I agree, I’m going to go see if I can find her.” Sabo stood up and used his height to his advantage. He scanned the ballroom and saw no sign of you. “I’ll be right back.” 

 Sabo walked up to the mini bar in hopes you were there. He sadly noticed an unpleasant familiar face. He tried to avoid her attention but it was too late.

 “Well if it isn’t Sabo. You sure do look handsome tonight. But you always do~” Sabo rolled his eyes. He had politely rejected her many times before, but right now he did not have any tolerance to deal with her. 

 “Listen, I’m looking for someone.” The woman smirked before cutting Sabo off.

 “I took care of her, she won’t get in our way the rest of the night.” She winked before taking a sip of her drink. “Sabo, you deserve someone thin and beautiful. Someone like me. I don’t know what that chubby thing could offer you.” That was the last straw.

 “I’d stop talking if I were you.” The rage in Sabo’s eyes had the woman frozen in her seat. “And for your information, Y/N is way more beautiful than you could ever imagine being. I don’t even remember your name, but my sweet Y/N’s I could say it until I lost my voice. Now you tell me where she is?”

 She did not speak a word. Instead she got up and ran away with tears in her eyes. Sabo smirked, it served her right. Hell hath no fury like Sabo, especially when someone talks bad about the woman he adores. 

 “Excuse me sir, I think I know where she went. But there is something you might want to know first.” The bartender flagged Sabo down. The bartender went over the conversation between you and the other woman. Sabo was enraged after hearing the whole story. No wonder you never came back, you are probably somewhere devastated and alone. The thought of that made his stomach twist. He needed to set things right and fast. “I think I saw her go out that door over there. And one more thing you might want to know sir. She downed two glasses of champagne and took a whole bottle of wine  with her. I’m sorry, I should have never given it to her.” Sabo’s eyes shot open at his words. 

 “SHE WHAT?” 

Outside the venue

 “WooooooooWW  *hic* I feel like I’m floating. Hheehehe~” You hold the over half empty bottle of wine up. Your face was hot despite the freezing temperature outside. “I’m *Hic* gonna have a hangover for weeeeekkss after this.” 

 You know this is not changing anything. You can’t stop Sabo and Koala from getting engaged, nor would you. You needed to be happy for them. They are both amazing people, so they deserve each other. No doubt she will ask you to be a bridesmaid, and you'll fulfill your duty to the bitter end. You will never have Sabo’s heart and you have no choice but to live with it. Your lip trembles as fresh tears roll down your flush cheeks. The half empty bottle in your hands falls to the ground breaking in front of you. Sobs wracked your body as your pain and heartache became too much to handle emotionally. 

 “You're a fool Y/N.*Hic* Thinking he was going to choose you.” You somehow manage to stand up, you wobble for a moment. You feel a sharp pain in your foot as you take a step. You peer down and notice you have stepped on the broken bottle. A small piece had gone through your shoe . You wince and almost lose your balance when you pull the glass out. It thankfully did not go deep, but you were still bleeding quite a bit. 

 The faint sounds of the venue's music filled your red ears. You remember how safe and warm you felt dancing with Sabo. And now here you are not even an hour later cold, drunk and emotionally vulnerable. 

 “Y/N dear, what are you doing out here?” You spin your head to see a concerned looking Iva. 

 “I just needed to get some air, I’m okay.” You sit back down on the bench and motion for them to join you. 

 “Oh honey you’ve been crying? What’s wrong?” Those two words, that’s all it takes for you to break down again.

 “Iva..” Your voice trembles along with your body. “Why am I always the one getting left behind?” You look at Iva through tear filled eyes. “Maybe if I wasn’t so fat and flawed things would have been different. *Hic*. I hate myself so much. Every time I look in the mirror and see my imperfect body and all the stretch marks, I understand why no one would want me. I’m a monster.” 

 “Sweetie don’t say all those nasty things about yourself.” Iva places her hand on your back and rubs it circles to soothe you. “Let’s get you back inside where it is warm.” 

 “Iva I have a favor to ask?” You grab Iva’s arm before they can get up.

 “Favors later dear, you're freezing.” Iva tries to help you up, but you refuse. 

 “Iva, please listen to me.” You swallow your pride and look up to Iva with pleading eyes. “Make me beautiful and thin please. You can do that right?” Iva’s eyes widened at your request. “Please use your power on me. I don’t care if it takes a few years or even half of my life, I just want to be pretty. I want to know what it’s like to love my body.  Iva please I’m begging you. I should have asked you sooner, maybe Sabo would have chosen me instead.” You see a few tears roll down Iva’s face.  

 “Y/N, my power does not work like that. I cannot make you something you already are.” Iva hugs your shivering body. “And besides I think he already chose you dear. Isn’t that right you little eavesdropper?.” Your eyes shot open to see Sabo standing right behind Iva. Sabo started to walk closer and closer causing Iva to step away. “I’ll leave you two alone. It seems you two love birds have a lot to talk about. ” There was nothing between him and you now. Your eyes meet his for a moment, but you avert them to the ground causing Sabo to let out a long sigh.

 “Look at me Y/N.” Sabo’s gloved hand gently tilts your chin up, giving you no choice but to face him. “I heard everything, and it breaks my heart that you think that way of yourself. But when I look at you… Why don’t you feel for yourself?” Sabo placed your hand on his chest, you could feel his heart racing under your palm. 

 “Sabo I don’t understand? You and Koala are..” You feel Sabo wipe a few stray tears from your face. 

 “That was a lie, that woman was toying with you in hopes to get to me. I’ll have someone take care of her later..” Sabo had a sadistic smirk. “Now Y/N, how much did you drink? Also why is your foot bleeding?” Sabo kneeled to the ground and inspected your foot.

 “Umm, alot.” You let out a nervous laugh. “ And I accidentally stepped on a piece of glass. It doesn’t hurt tho.” You watch as sabo pulls a handkerchief from his coat pocket. He then gently wraps it around your foot.

 “Yeah I’d say it doesn't hurt considering you're wasted.” You roll your eyes at Sabo before he slips your shoe back on. “Do you have a first aid kit in your room?” 

 “I do.” Sabo stood up and held his hand out for you to grab. You hesitate for a moment before taking it.

 “Good, I’ll patch you up better when I get you back to your room.” Sabo pulled you from the bench and went to pick you up, causing you to panic. 

 “Sabo don’t. You can’t.” I'm too heavy for you." You try to step away, but yelp when you feel the pain in your foot. Sabo reached out to hold you steady.

 “Too heavy for me? You wounded my pride Y/N.” Sabo pouts, taking full offense to your comment. “I won’t force you Y/N, especially if you're not comfortable with it. I just don’t want you to walk all the way back on your hurt foot if you don’t have to. And I assure you that you are not too heavy for me. But if you don’t want me to at least grab onto me for support.” Deep down you really want to be carried by him. But you know your body type and size isn’t ideal for carrying. You look at Sabo who flexes his arms to display his strength.. You know Sabo is strong, he has the muscles and abs to prove it. You’ve watched him do crazy things that are well beyond human limits. Such as destroying a literal colosseum when you were in Dressrosa. You remember the time when he reunited with Iva after they broke out of Impel Down. He picked them up and spun around like crazy. 

 “Okay, as long as you are sure.” You watch as Sabo’s face lights up. “Just be careful.”

 “Of course. Are you ready?” You nod your head and shut your eyes tight. You feel one of his arms rest behind your back and the other one behind your knees. You felt your knees go weak, giving Sabo the chance to scoop you up into his arms. “I’ve got you princess. You can open your eyes.” Your eyes open to see Sabo smiling down at you like a dork. You couldn't help but laugh at his expression. “What's got you laughing?” Sabo started walking, causing your hand to reach up and clutch his dress shirt.

 “You just seem to be enjoying this. I won’t lie, I am too. You're so warm.” Sabo pulls you even closer to his body.

 “I am enjoying this.” Sabo spun around causing you to giggle. You don’t know if it’s the fact he was holding you so close or if it's the wine. But you feel it’s time to properly confess. 

 “Sabo, I need to tell you something.” Sabo stopped walking and peered down at you. “I’ve been In love with you for a while now. I’m sure you already know. Even though I’m very drunk and I have cried a lot- I’ve had one of the best nights of my life. It’s okay if you are unsure or don’t feel the same. I’m sorry if I made things awkward” Sabo was sporting a very serious face, causing your anxiety to skyrocket. “Umm Sabo, are you good?” 

 “Yeah, I’m fine. You are just making it really hard for me not to kiss you.” Your entire face bursts with warmth. 

 “Why don’t you then.” You grab Sabo’s tie to make him look down at you.

 “Because you're drunk darling. Once you sober up I’ll give you as many as you can handle.” Sabo continues walking with a grin on his face.

 “*Hic* Fineee.” You pout about it, but you're thankful that Sabo is such a gentleman. 

 You and Sabo reach the lobby of the RA’s living quarters. You, Sabo, Koala and a few other RA members live on the main top floor. Sabo looks at the elevator and then at the stairs.

 “Is something wrong?” You poke his chest to get his attention.  

 “Do you remember when the elevator was down for a week?” You nod your head. How could you forget, it was hell having to climb up those 40 stories. “So during that time I learnt a cool little trick.” The elevator makes a ding and opens, but Sabo ignores it and walks over to the steps.

 “Sabo? What are you doing?” Sabo didn’t speak, but the look on his face said everything you need to know. He was about to do something reckless. “Sabo what are you planning?” 

 “Hold on tight Y/N.” You watch as his lower half turns into flames. You could feel the warmth from the flames on your cold skin. “Here we go!” You felt a rush of air before realizing you were flying up the steps. You hear Sabo laughing like the maniac he is, while you on the other hand were clinging on to him for dear life, muffling a scream in his shirt. You open your eyes enough to see that you're out of the stairwell and in the hallway. Sabo is still flying with you held close. And then all at once you halt. You open your eyes and realize you are right in front of your door.

 “Umm Y/N, you're choking me.” Sabo struggles to speak thanks to your hand being wrapped tightly around his tie. You let it go letting the poor man catch his breath. “Wow, that was fun.” 

 “Yeah maybe for YOU! I’m drunk, you know.” Your hand lightly smacks his chest.

 “I’m sorry. I got a little carried away.” You couldn’t stay mad at the apologetic smile he gave you.

 “I forgive you. Now I think I’m ready for bed. I already feel the hangover creeping up on me” Sabo leaned you over so you could turn your handle, only for it to not move. “Uh oh. I think I left my key in my room. I’m locked out.” 

 “No worries, you can sleep in my room.” Sabo started walking down the hallway without a second thought.. “I have a first aid kit too, so don’t worry.” You're kinda glad you locked your key up, now you get to see what his room looks like. Sabo stops at the very last door in the hall. “This is it, my key is my vest pocket.” 

 Your hand slides into the pocket to retrieve the key. Once Sabo got you close enough you inserted the key and let the door click open. Sabo kicked the door open the rest of the way and then closed it with his foot. His room smells like clean laundry with a hint of smoke. Sabo walked you over to the king sized bed that sat in the middle of the room. You're a little jealous, being chief of staff has its perks. He gently laid you down and took your shoes off.

 “Let me get that first aid kit.” Sabo walked over to a dresser and began rummaging through it. You let your eyes wander around the room. You noticed a rack that is full of his signature top hats and some of his overcoats. But what stood out the most was his brothers wanted posters hung up above his desk.  You know all about Luffy and his late brother Ace. You smile knowing how much he loves them Your attention turns back to Sabo as he held up the first aid kit proudly. “Aa ha, found it.” 

 Sabo walked over to the bed and sat down. He picked your foot up carefully and propped it on his knee.  He opened the first aid kit and pulled out some gauze and wound cleaner. 

 “This may sting a little.” He gently cleaned your wound causing you to wince in pain. “I’m sorry, I’m almost done.” He grabbed the gauze and began to secure it around your foot. “Alright all done.” Sabo got up from the bed and covered you up with a warm blanket.

 “Thank you. For everything.” You could feel your body starting to succumb to sleep. 

 “Your welcome sweet girl. No you better get some rest. I’ve got some work I need to finish up.” You nod your head and get in a comfortable position. “Sweet dreams.” Sabo gave your forehead a quick kiss before walking over to his desk. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The moment your eyes opened you could already feel your head splitting. “Note to self, never drink again.” You lift your body from the bed and inspect your surroundings. You know you're in Sabo’s room, but where is he?. You were beginning to think he  was gone to work already until you heard the loud snores coming from his desk. You got up and walked over to him, his blonde curls were ruffled and messy. The feather pen he held was still loosely clutched in his hand. You reach your hand out to wake him up and you notice something that stops your movements. On your right hand index finger was a ring. The heart shaped gem glistened with the morning sun that peaked through the window. 

 “Do you like it?” You were so enamored with the ring you failed to see Sabo wake up.

 “I love it. Sabo I'm at a loss for words.” He watches you  with a smile on his face. 

 “The gem is infused with a piece of my vivre card.” Sabo walked over to you and grabbed your hand. “Point your finger at me.”  The moment you pointed at him, the stone started to glow. “Now no matter where I am in the world, you'll always have a way to find me.” 

 “Sabo… Stop making me fall so in love with you.” Sabo didn’t say a word, instead he leaned down and pulled you into a breath snatching kiss. When you finally pull apart you're both gasping for air.

 “I could say the same to you.” Sabo pulled you into a hug, but the moment was ruined thanks to his transponder snail ringing.

 “Dammit.” Sabo growled as he picked up the transponder snail. “Sabo here.”

 “Sabo, come to my office as soon as possible.” Dragons gruff voice spoke on the other line. 

 “I'll be there right away.” Sabo hung up and let out a long sigh. “I better get going. Why don’t you take the day off to rest up.”

 “Is that a recommendation or an order?” You raise your brow to him. Sabo laughed before dragging  you back to his bed.

 “There ya go. Does that answer your question?” You nod before curling into the warm covers. “Alright I better get going. Rest up. I’ll be back before you know it.  Sabo gave you one last kiss before leaving out the door.

"I can't wait to see you light up again" You peer down at the ring. You watch as the gem sparkled for a brief moment. A content smile formed on your lips.

"I really do love you Sabo."

End

[castleclerics]

winning, losing, timelines, and tying these ideas into the end of the show.

first this is insane:

both lucas and el waking up to someone telling them the same thing

and lucas coming out of the "WINNERS ONLY" door literally

and lucas and el both being "benchwarmers" then winning big out of nowhere. but then they don't really "win" bc el is still in the "circle" that brenner drew for her and doesn't want her to leave (making el go through a simulation of what didn't actually happen etc.) and lucas walks out and is disappointed to see the party after a dnd match instead of his game.

and then lucas being the imposter with the basketball team by pretending to be one of them the whole time/being the only one dressed differently. like el in nina pretending everything happened the way it did/her in lenora lying about what's happening and pretending everything is fine.

lucas here is similar to el wanting to fit in in the lab/lenora

?????? things to be different ???? now we have that chance ???? oh like el in nina ??? in a timeline that isn't the one the current el we are watching is from???? or like just shifting timelines in general in this show maybe in s5???? also i already was thinking about the possibility that brenner put el in nina to literally change the past/to combine timelines like maybe el doing what she did in nina had an effect on reality itself like i think that would be super interesting.

also "skip tonight" ?? "how much time did you skip?" like

also erica says "i'm 11" and she's a sub for her sibling so it seems like to me they're further hinting that el is a sub in nina ?? el taking place of her "twinner" and experiencing what that version of her experienced in a different timeline .

also have a post here about how el is a twin according to continuity that i think we should talk about more bc it's right there.

and the whole swapping places concept is so huge in this whole show and they include it in so many dynamics.

fred says about the game when he sees the tigers starting to fall behind: "looks like my headline has a shot" (different outcome/timeline) like the nina project failing/ending the way it did possibly changed the timelines in reality or something similar ?

there's also so much talk about moving dates or getting them like

like brenner with his whole arsenal of videotapes with so many dates and he captured "every success and every failure." like there's a specific tape or date of significance. and like i said here, maybe this date or tape didn't exist yet or something ?? and they have to obtain it in a way ?? birthdaygate or something of the sort methinks.......

also brenner telling el how superheroes and monsters are a thing of myth and fairytale and "reality, truth, is rarely so simple. people are not so easily defined."

(even though it's ironic bc it's coming from the true "monster" of the show) but it's true, reality is based somewhere in the middle of those two definitions. just like succeeding or failing at something. sometimes you don't fail or succeed but a secret third thing !!!!! and i'm betting that this:

is also in the same vein. but the interesting part is that hopper with this compromise still gets home late. it's like even a compromise/half win isn't always the case either. sometimes it's completely out of your control what happens.

ANYWAYS so this whole concept of someone "winning" but then not "truly" winning all reminds me of heroes. i'm starting to think the "we could be heroes just for one day" is more about being heroes in one timeline at the end of the show or something, bc obviously an ending where everything is perfect and they defeat the evil is not where it's going.

and how joyce closes the door in the last shot of s3 with the song playing, to me it feels like a representation of the end of the show, but also of the UD because i believe the UD is a once alive timeline that got cut off from continuing. maybe at the end they say goodbye to the place they lived their whole lives (their own timeline) and move on to a different one together where things are different but they're all alive and with e/o. they will be heroes and win but just literally for one day/momentarily because it's not going to be a normal win.

(i also have had this fucked up thought for a while that the UD is what remains after them losing the s5 battle and their battle takes place in the past but also the future somehow idk ignore me lmao)

anyways and the first time heroes plays in 1x03 is when you as a viewer see undeniable evidence that will is alive since joyce talked to him, but then you see his body and get confused. you don't know yet if will is really alive or not, you don't know what timeline you're in.

and joyce knows she just talked to will and saw a monster coming out of the wall, and mike knows he saw will's body. it's like two things are true at once.

"the shame was on the other side" and they cut from mike and karen's hug to jonathan and joyce's hug. i wonder if they'll realize theres nothing they can do to like. stop the parallel universes/outcomes and some characters will end up in different timelines than the others or something like either way the ending is going to be oh so bittersweet.

something that's always always caught my attention though is in 1x03 it cuts to black on the last word "day". but in 3x09 the line ends and then it fades to black from the empty byer's house. almost like slowly unveiling something/letting us see a tiny bit more. pulling back the curtain a teeeny tiny bit.

hopefully this was comprehensible since it's a little all over the place but this is my fav type of stuff to think about about this show heheh

[pumpkinstrawbrew]

❣️.ĐØ₥Ɇ₴₮ł₵₳₮Ɇ V₴ ₵₳₱₮ɄⱤɆ. ☠️

...

(i love playing with various branches of scarebat inside my head. even if it's one-note idea. but in this current bit, i was thinking about a core view on certain things, that most of their versions have in common. mainly the difference between jon's n' bruce's outlooks on how they picture 'ideal' encounter between one another. or more so, what the best outcome of it might be. what their 'great end game might look like.

bruce *for the most part* wants to believe in reabilitation. in a change for the better. it's possible to tame n' domesticate a wild crow. it might not change its habbits fully, but it's possible to make the bird less harmful *to smaller animals as they do feed on them* by keeping it happy and fed. by nurturing it into state, where it'll be mostly comfy with getting food by less extreme means. n' where it might trust you to not to harm it or stop giving it food. while, i view this set-up from a perspective of a shipper, i also can see gen approach here as well. mostly, bc i don't think that bruce would have ever left any of his *potentially ex* rogues fully unsurpivised. esp someone with history like crane's. batman is too much of a control freak to not peak into his villain's personal affairs, even if just to make sure, that they haven't went back to crime. him befriending / having a chance to impose influence on a troubled, malevolent 'crow via smth other, than use of force would have been a nice change of pace. batman is pragmatic, but i love how he doesn't ever fully dismiss the idea of 'what if', n' desire to see his rogues improving themselves. but at the same time, usually, he's the one who puts said crow back into cage *arkham*, so there is that too. he wants to do the right thing, but the bird keeps glaring at him through the narrow bars, bc it doesn't get why must it be caged for hurting n' killing other animals, when they *totally* picked on it first.

now, jon would have almost an oposite view of this, i imagine. where bruce can picture a second variant, another *brighter* path, crane kinda just cannot do the same. from his pov, there is no way for batman to ever become a villain. somebody who would team up with him. so they can't be 'together' this way. there is also no way for crane to ever get onto batman's level. esp bc he doesn't want *can't* change this drastically. therefore, the only way to keep the bat in his possession is to lock it up, trap it n' hold it in a little metalic box. hide it inside his basement, bc so many other people would love to have the bat too. he doesn't want to clip its wings, but part of him is paranoid enough to consider it. he has no idea how else to make a wild bat stay. it doesn't listen to him, like his birds do. but crane will take good care of it, anyway. make it dependent on him. caged by him, n' no one else can steal it away this time.

maybe, this reads as gibberish to some, but i really love how both bruce n' jonathan have animal analog / name in their aliases. bruce's is more apperent, bc well, batman lol. he even dress up as this. crane's case is more subtitle, but still, the scarecrow. even if he supposed to scare said birds away, he keeps them as pets as offten as we see bats hanging inside bruce's herocave lol. those animals also suit their personalities to a degree. the only other animal, that i can see crane as be a possum lol. sharp teeth, always hissing, long rat tail, but despite the ragged apperance, they are the only mamal that cannot get rabies bc of their body temperature, even tho by looking at it, you'd think that it surely would have that disease, haha. that's kinda very crane. he tends to subvert expectations, but in a strange ways.

an' well, where bruce can step down to extremes, n' i don't mean putting crane's scawny ass back into asylum, i mean also consider other methods of keeping him declawed. including trapping him inside his cave / basement. still, i feel like for jon's those said extremes are default line of thinking. socially inept, distrustful n' lonely, it would make sense for him to assume, that he can only co-exist with batman, if he will lock him up n' be the only one, who has a key to his prison. generally, it always seems that while jon's views on things n' his way of persiving / feeling affection are twisted, it's also pretty sad too. technically, he doesn't have any frame of referance here. of affection, that is returned n' not played as a joke at his expense. an' being humilated by the bat in such manner would sting way harder, than his high school crush rejecting him. he'd also would have that yandere u-turn. but not in like 'if i can't have you none one has'. more like 'i really want to have you, so i'd do every terrible thing in the book to make it possible'. well, almost 'every'. i feel like there be things, that jonathan *most versions of him, anyways* just kinda won't do. he does have some class, after all.

overall tho, i do love jon as that needy 'creep' archetype *which is pretty much a canon in old comics too*, who would kidnap / do awful things to a guy he likes, simply bc he has no idea what else he can do with him. at most times, he's that meme of 'idk how to hit on him, so he has to die'. meanwhile, bruce thinks that if you feed a stray bird enough, it might consider staying or well, not being as troublesome as it usually is.

in some timelines, this even might work out, who knows.

less so jonathan's side of things, since i feel like he would end up screwing his own plan over. i even have a lil drafty thing for a fic with similar premise, but it's for some other time. atm. just lil art, while i'm working on bigger things, haha. gotta store all these bits / concepts somewhere, so that i don't forget that they exist.)

[tamelee]

Hi… what do you think about people hating on naruto and saying that sasuke deserves better than naruto and that he doesn't love sasuke as deeply as sasuke does. And the way he talks in ch 698 like he doesn't want to come out. And he marries the first girl who chases after him to hide his sexuality like a closet gay behavior and live up to society's expectations (following according to his mother's word). Sasuke looked soo sad in Gaiden because Naruto had rejected his love for him. Some SNS shippers say that's why they hate Naruto.

I highly doubt you’re talking about SNS shippers/fans though. I have a feeling I know exactly what kind of stans these are because they’ll take every opportunity to hate on Naruto (and other characters as well). And if such people do claim they are then I’m pretty sure that the ‘🍥’ joining the ‘🍅’ is just in the bio for show. As if to say, ‘I ship SNS, therefore my unsolicited and biased criticism against Naruto is extra valid :)’ when it’s really not, (and vice versa) but I‘ll spare you the rant.

Using secondary source material (anything ’Boruto’) in order to invalidate main source material (’Naruto’ Manga) to then try and rationalize secondary source material-outcomes (the sequel) with assumptions to fill the gap in between these two (blank period) when it’s completely void of all previous logic in the first place, makes a well grounded argument in what way exactly?

In other words; why the hell would you look at the sequel and willing let that change your perspective as if it holds any merit to what we’ve already come to learn?

There is nothing wrong with a good hypothesizing session. I know from experience it can be somewhat soothing to rationalize a way towards something unwanted. In this case, it’s the sequel. ‘Gaiden’ is interesting for its own reasons. It’s sort of like, trying to come up with an explanation that makes an outcome seem a little less… bad. Which becomes easier because Naruto and Sasuke’s misery is fully on display. In the case of these haters though, they make it worse and just blame a character for a company’s money-grabbing decision. To let that be the deciding factor for them that fuels these unhinged claims about him being a bootlicker that acts through hatred or whatever strange mumbo-jumbo they also come up with. But anytime someone tries to make an argument about ‘Naruto’ and uses “because in ‘Boruto’…” you can already cast it aside as invalid.

Connecting two unrelated idea’s doesn’t say nor prove anything. You can’t even disprove it either because the argument doesn’t make any sense.

So it’s also ironic to hate on Naruto using Ch. 698 as an excuse to say he ‘doesn’t love Sasuke as deeply as Sasuke does’, when it’s primarily Naruto trying to explain how deeply he loves Sasuke as best as he can lol. I’m not sure if I’m impressed by the creativity or just dumbfounded that someone can read Ch. 698 and then come to such an irrelevant conclusion as if it has anything to do with ‘coming out’. It’s like having a conversation with someone about a very specific type of bird when another person barges in to ask why they’re discussing how to create your own carrousel. And besides, Naruto may exaggerate his denial profusely when someone brings it up (which is by itself very telling), but he never was good at hiding how he felt about Sasuke or how far he’d go (literally the entire story), even threatening war on behalf of Sasuke, dragging Konoha in it, indicating revenge for Sasuke if he’s harmed when really it was just a matter of his own personal feelings. As… obviously Konoha couldn’t care less and in fact would most likely side against Naruto anyway. He’s already boldly shared his intimate thoughts with the entire world during the war though, didn’t he. He literally connected his Chakra with everyone and spilled his brainrot about him freely.

You can create your very own narrative towards the outcome that is ‘Boruto’ and make it as crazy as you want, but it will still be based on assumptions. In fact, go ahead and write that story if you must, they tried and failed with Hinata’s movie for a reason. I'm sure an SNS-fan can do a better job, in fact, they have.

The idea that Naruto would probably struggle to accept how he feels and what it means, could very well be true. It would definitely be conflicting with the role he is expected to play as Hokage and it’s also something I’m exploring in the story I’m writing. But, so would it be possible that Sasuke will struggle, because we haven’t forgotten that love caused him to experience the most horrible pain through betrayal, yes? Naruto does care about how he’s perceived and he is a people-pleaser that was on a journey to realize that there is a difference between the conditions he must meet in order to soothe his sense of feeling unworthy of love and the unconditional love Sasuke proved to hold for him, regardless of anything else. “Because I feel relieved just looking at you as it reminds me of the love I’ve lost”.

Acknowledging is one thing, accepting is a whole other and then taking the action-steps to pursue it freely would imo require another story which would’ve been a fitting follow-up after Ch. 699 if that was even possible in the first place for Kishimoto to do. But it’s not.

Stop for one second and think about the amount of value you put onto the money-grabbing shit-stain on the franchise that is ‘Boruto’ and whether you want that bullshit, no matter the label, to invalidate everything you’ve loved about it in the first place. Rationalizing something when the bridge toward it is missing completely and where the outcome isn’t followed by logic is just people inventing an explanation to justify their own unhappiness with something. Aka; their hatred for Naruto.

[egg-emperor]

WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY Y'ALL????

Eggman isn't the overly physically affectionate gushing and throwing arms around people type, it doesn't suit his demeanor and behavior and I'm glad to see that hasn't been suddenly forced with Sage. And that's even aside the way she's still actually not a physical being in the way she's a digital program so he'd surely just phase through her anyway since I'm pretty sure there isn't a solid physical sense of touch actually going on here between them, but again that's besides the point anyway-

This isn't over the top and uncomfortable OOC like in fanon. I like how it's a subtle and small gesture, with him extending his arm with hand out to her but looking away and forward. He's quiet, solemn, and reserved. His demeanor and body language is very important. He takes a breath that seems like a "sigh well, here goes" kind of way then mumbles it, not much, just small words of praise towards her doing the very things he created and praised her for before- doing what he wants her to and serving her purpose as his protector like she protected him in the fight, and calling her his daughter also has the same effect in encouraging her and he knows it, as well as how it's appealing to him for his pride as he said in the memo.

Also wow his bear paws are so fucking big do you see what I'm saying god damn lol I wanna hold them so bad too ahhgufdbkgshj 🥰 Speaking of, this is literally exactly how I imagine such gestures with him in my self sh!pp!ng too and I think anything different would be OOC, this is the way that works in any form I think

It's very important to acknowledge that he's not shy at all, that's the last word to describe him. He has the highest self esteem, self love, and confidence and it's all genuine. It's just that hyper affectionate super warm and mushy gushy-ness, be it through feelings, words, or actions isn't his thing. The most he's ever going to hype someone up close to it is in a performative manipulative way to urge them to continue doing what pleases him, and he forces it in some cases more than others, you get varying degrees.

But I like how it's on the more subtle side here a lot because it's even more telling of his true character. When he's acting like this it aligns with that reasoning again but with a new look at his style of showing it in a physical subtle manner, with his behavior being similar to the scene where she saved him in Cyber Space and said he was proud of her for it- only it was only through words then. We've now seen how he can show this verbally and physically and I like it a lot, it's the only way this can work and they did it. This is the best outcome.

Let me elaborate further; I truly believe that he doesn't know how to feel the typical conventional idea of "love" for anyone but himself because he is the biggest egotist and narcissist in all of existence and is extremely selfish and y'all seem to be forgetting what that entails for his behavior and personality feelings, and mindset with his self absorption and low empathy. There are no sudden exceptions to this, Sage is literally just another perfect example of it, nothing has changed with him.

The only way he can value anyone that isn't himself is in what they can do for him, what's in it for him is always his mindset, so it's the same thing of self praising, self serving, and self-centered, just being served through another person appealing to that through serving him, agreeing with his outlook, and having a willingness to serve and good use to him. And guess what? That's still the exact reasoning behind it with Sage. This is known and true in the prequel comic, memos, and Flynn's words and hasn't changed.

And why wouldn't he be pleased with her for this and praise her for it when it goes along the exact lines of that?

It's in character because Sage is the one giving some thing to him, protecting him, serving him, and showing loyalty, support, and respect for his desires. She does exactly what he wants as she's created for and is genuinely willing and enthusiastic about it unlike a lot of other creations of his. Eggman still hasn't done shit for Sage except praise her when she does what he wants but then becomes grumpy and snaps at her every time she does something he doesn't.

In fact he does it again in this scene too where he's seemingly really jealous and pissed when he notices her looking at Super Sonic with admiration lol

It's selfish on Eggman's side and selfless on Sage's side, so it works.

That's why I still wouldn't put the word "love" to Eggman's side of the dynamic because I feel it has connotations that don't accurately define his feelings. Though you could at least say he "loves" and "cares" for her "in his… own way" as Sonic put it, because there's actually selfish and unsettling reasons behind it as Flynn himself put it too. But it's not hyper affectionate, unconditional, or genuinely selfless like people are acting like it is. And it's so much more interesting that way and fun to analyze.

Eggman commending Sage for her work and for serving her purpose makes sense and is in character. It's nothing different to the reasons I said the standard base game ending was. The only difference is a hand hold presented in the best way. He finally has a creation genuinely enthusiastic and willing to serve him and being her creator and father gives him a lot of pride for being the one to create her and make her that way and his success and pride in doing so with the ways she benefits him and values his selfish desires are what his value is factually rooted in in the game.

So overall yeah, I really like how Eggman and Sage and their dynamic were handled in this update. They'll probably be a lot more in depth thoughts to come because I'm short on time right now, this is a mini essay in itself but l have tons more like always lol. But for now, since nobody seems to understand my take on their dynamic despite me just relaying what the game itself showed and repeating what Ian Flynn says, let me just remind you of my actual summarized take on how I see it is and how I cleared up misconceptions people have about my take on it here.

And everything we saw in this update aligns with and doesn't contradict any of what I've perceived and analyzed and discussed throughout my Sonic Frontiers tag on my blog! Very pleased. 👏

[justsomerandomplanet]

[ jjk 261 spoilers ]

just rambling thoughts about the chapter now that ive Actually read it (thank u tcb and also i wish ppl who post about leaks without tags a very can you Stop and tag thanks)

tldr; i dont hate the chapter, its an interesting one! feel free to discuss with me if u would like

I don't actually hate the chapter conceptually

Ideologically, Uraume has brought up the topic of being human and the fact to be strong/to defeat sukuna you must disregard that obsession of loneliness/humanity. I also think at the end of the day, it speaks a lot about how jujutsu society functions (in that it uses people regardless of respecting them as people, i.e. the star plasma vessels, children as sorcerers facing death constantly, etcetc).

Nevertheless, I do wonder why Yuta had to do it. At the end of the day I still believe Yuji will be the one to defeat Sukuna, you cannot tell me all that build up to him is for Nothing, but what point is there in bringing Yuta in that case? If he just does more damage and then dies (lol), like. What is there to it. Like in the perspective of the characters i get it, they don't know if they'll win or lose and they're gonna have to use every option they have, but simply on a readers perspective, it feels a bit redundant. I just feel there should be a way to incorporate this idea without it feeling like we'll get gojo v sukuna 2.0. Idk i just want yuji to beat sukuna like that first page was so cool :(!!!!

Anyway, the idea of bringing back Gojo similar to how "Toji" was revived in shibuya is also unbelievable bc Gojo himself is shown to still want to protect the kids. His ideology derives from making sure They Are Alive And Changing The System. Yes, I get it he is battle obsessed too (see the shinjuku battle) but it doesn't change he went out of his way to tell them not to look/follow him for what he's about to do with the higher ups. Theory wise, gojo being brought back like this is dull (but plausible i suppose) (also thinking about it would that Really be gojo? We saw that toji still didnt come back normal, and wasnt it stated that the toji that did come back was more of just the memories of the body rather than the person himself? Idk. Anyway)

Additionally, Yuta, altho caring for Gojo, is still falling back to the mentality that made Gojo alone (the "Strongest" vs Gojo Satoru). Yuta himself wanting to sacrifice his humanity so everything Gojo did wouldn't be moot while still using his body, which inherently disrespects him as a person, is a hyprocritical and flawed way of thinking that makes him interesting for me now lmao. He cares for him a lot, but he has to resort to it as a means to an end. Also I don't care if he dies, in fact the idea of him living while still in gojo is just weird tbh so i really dont see a way put of that? Im kinda just interested to see what happens tbh

I'll be real; I can see both points in how ppl think this is a cool chapter vs ppl thinking it sucks. It is surprising how very Neutral I am on this bc I personally feel like the explanations given made sense to me in the chapter.

I don't think this took away from Yuta's character, nor did it take away from what we've seen before; Yuta is not Yuuji. Yuta has shown that he can kill people. He only sparred Uro and Ryu bc of the rule to be able to transfer points. He admits that he "cheated" in the past month. Yuta is very aware of what decisions are wrong but still does them bc its for the best outcome, even if it means losing his own humanity. Yuta wants the best for Gojo but still looks at it in a flawed way. Yuta is unknowingly falling into Sukuna's/Uraume's ideology.

Yuuji is the only one so far in the series that continues to be filled with regret from killing and still wants to do better. He is forced to dissociate his self-identity to cope with his actions. He has said he would eat anything to defeat Sukuna, effectively throwing his humanity, but does not do so at the expense of other ppl (see Yuji's conversation with Higuruma before shinjuku). Yuji looked past Gojo's infinity so he could give encouragement, even tho everyone else was afraid. Yuji is the antithesis to Sukuna's view of the world

Yuta is not Yuji, and I think that's the point.

I don't think one is better than the other, I simply find this contrast to be interesting when u look at it in the grander theme of change and tradition within jujutsu society.