#as I don't really have anyone to throw one for me and no one to really invite

[imsofreakingtired]

I'm in love with your page like I genuinely check it multiple times a day to see if you've posted even though I have notifs on 😭😭😭

Please can we get Sevika!XReader! When sevika and reader have just started dating and sev finds out reader smokes and begs her to stop even though it's hypocritical because she chain smokes herself 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

ASDFGHJKL THANK YOUUU that literally made my day. hope you enjoyy

run away (from me)

content warning(s): smoking, some blood, mentions of addiction

"i cherish and want you, but there's still no answer i know you get it, so don't play hypocrite me collecting dust in the corner of the room it's not pretty, i don't want you to stay"

~~~

Your hands are shaking. All of you is shaking, actually. Breathing hard, you fold yourself tighter into the ledge you found between the stacked wooden crates in the alleyway of some dilapidated buildings. You’re not sure if people live there, but you’re certain they wouldn’t give two shits about some cigarette smoke wafting around. 

Cigarette between your lips, you flick angrily at the lighter. Either your hands are weak or this lighter you lifted from the pocket of that enforcer is a bum one, because all you’re seeing are little sparks. 

Finally, a flame. You light the cigarette. 

It had been a close chase. You’d managed to lead the goons onto your own turf, then lose them with several false turns. Not before they’d nicked you with their fuckass little pocket knives, though. 

You don’t want to think about that right now. They’re only flesh wounds, and you need to relax yourself before you look at them. 

Then a large shadow falls over you. 

“There you are.” 

You look up. Right at the strong features and vivid gray eyes that have held you in a chokehold since you first saw them, and took your breath away even now. 

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where the hell have you been?”

“Ha,” you say, flicking the ash onto the wooden box next to you. “Careful there, Vika, or it might sound like you actually care about me.” 

Sevika snorts. “Keep dreaming.”

The two of you have been seeing each other for little less than a month. 

Then Sevika sees the cigarette in your fingers. She looks quickly around to see if anyone is approaching, then crouches down beside you, frowning. “What are you doing here?” 

“I’m having a self-care day. Little meditation session.” 

She sees the blood staining your shirt, the telltale marks of a scuffle on your face. “Fuck. Are you hurt?” 

“Barely. Nicks and bumps.” 

She takes the cigarette out of your hand. 

“Hey!” 

“You shouldn’t smoke this shit,” she said, stubbing it out. “What are you on about? Let me look at you.” 

“That was my last cigarette,” you said, scowling. “You better make it up.” 

“You shouldn’t smoke at all. Not in this cesspool of fissure smoke. What’re you trying to do—kill yourself?”

“Oh. Deepest apologies. I didn’t realize you’re the only person in Zaun who is allowed to slowly destroy your lungs.” 

She raises an eyebrow. “You try being my age, growing up in the mines and breathing that shit night and day. Your lungs aren’t like that.”

“Sevika,” you say, letting the hint of a whine into your voice. You know it’s a gamble with her—whether she’s in the mood to humor you or not depends on the day, the weather, hell, the color of your shirt. But you really need that smoke. “Vika, I’ve had a shitty day. Gimme back the cigarette.” 

She looks at it, the burnt end, the dry marks of your lipstick. She puts it in her pocket. 

“Vika, I swear to God—” 

“How long have you been smoking?” She asks quietly. 

You shrug. “As long as every other undercity brat.”

“Come on, get up. You’re hurt.” 

“I can’t. I’m too tired. You just took away my only hope of revival.” 

She mutters something under her breath, you’re pretty sure you heard the word “insufferable.” Then she takes off her cloak, her mechanical arm gleaming in the late afternoon sun, and throws it around your shoulders. 

“Your ‘only hope of revival’?” She repeats to you, scooping you up in her arms. “What am I, nothing?” 

You wince slightly as she lifts you up, but it’s comforting to feel the solidity of her warm body, the muscles of her human arm flexing against your back. You wrap your arms around her neck. “You’re not too bad,” you admit. 

She gives a short chuckle. “You’ll see. Just see if I can’t make you feel ten times better than a lousy smoke.” 

“That’s a two-way deal,” you tell her, leaning your head on her shoulder. “You need to let me return the favor.” 

“Done.” 

~~~

thank you @prettyinpink69 for the request :)

[kiefbowl]

wait ok genuinely kind of interested in your opinion on porn now......... if only because those big 3 you mentioned are always the reasons i see people throwing out so id love to hear a deeper take than that

I'm genuinely surprised anyone could follow me and not know my stance on porn, but that's okay. simplified and in no particular order and in no means exhaustive:

porn creates perverse incentives

porn normalizes the purchase of women as sexual objects for men to use

porn is often called "rape on tape" by feminists, which I mostly agree with in the sense that if a woman would otherwise not have had sex except that she is being paid, then she is not consenting. you cannot purchase consent, the consent is not meaningful then.

additionally, you can not verify if you are watching people be raped in any other way. porn sites are filled with stolen videos, coerced videos, actual minors, aggressive rape that was filmed with or without the victim's knowledge, and other videos of this nature. there is no way to verify this at all from videos that are somehow not these things. things like "amateur" are often just marketing by the porn company or pimp, or they're stolen videos.

porn creates a social script for sex. this social script is least of all - boring and predictable. it also reinforces the long standing conservative gender understanding (see 2). porn also reinforces ideas of homophobia and racism under the guise of "taboo." porn is literally so conservative, but because it's considered "shocking" to "puritans" (religious men watch porn all the time), people talk like it's this liberal fantasy. porn is constantly reestablishing the status quo in the most perverse ways.

it's been demonstrated that people who are porn addicts very quickly escalate to more violent porn, and that this plays out in their sex lives with their (often vulnerable) sex partners.

the violence that happens in porn is real. the idea that it's a "fantasy" is marketing by porn website and pimps. if a man slaps a woman across the face, that really happened. why does it matter if she says "yes" to it - that's her "job" so how can she say no? (see 3 and also 4).

there is so much evidence and testimony by porn stars of the absolutely awful and terrifying conditions in which they work, even in the quote unquote "real" industry. drugs, alcohol, violence, coercion, exposure to STIs, homelessness, pimping, prostitution, mental illness, suicide, lack of benefits. It's bananas that anyone would be surprised by this when it's pointed out, we're talking about an industry that films sex on video. The majority of people in the sex industry want out. It ruins their lives, and once in it's very hard to leave and lead a normal life. The idea that the industry needs regulation to be "fixed" is bizarre and just seems like pimp and porn industry marketing to get people to look the other way.

Poverty creates porn. Social welfare for the poorest of our women would prevent them from entering the industry in the first place. Women go into porn out of need, not desire. social media pushes that porn stars loooove their jobs is 1. porn site and pimp propaganda 2. literally marketing because men want to believe this.

I am not religious, I don't believe in god. I love sex and masturbation. it's the most natural thing in the world and people don't actually need to "learn" how to do it - it's innate within us. Porn is just one more way to humiliate women in a misogynist society that requires women to be fearful of sex and rape constantly, and uneducated in their own sexual desires and boundaries.

[pinep-ne]

Mmm. I usually don't get into fandom drama because sometimes it's really just a waste of energy. But TikTok's got some... interesting people. I've noticed a pattern and I hope I have a place to speak on it.

I'm kind of sick of non-Americans/Southerners being blatantly and willingly uneducated towards, or even just entirely ignoring the political+societal themes of rdr2. It's literally the game man. I just think sometimes they really don't feel the weight of the topics they're throwing around.

Why are you calling Charles a "redneck" in a failed attempt to call him another slur, neither of which were you aware were derogatory, nor did you think to educate yourself on the significance of?? And then when people called you out and educated you, you throw out a meager apology with the words "I'm sorry if I offended anyone."

And then proceed to half-ass a google search, post it, and further prove your stupidity by saying "redneck isn't a slur, it's a derogatory term for Americans" which yes, it is— towards white, southern, lower-class Americans, with actual history tied to it. It's still derogatory, and Charles isn't white. And THEN when confronted about it even more, you throw your hands up and say "I just can't make jokes I guess." Like it was never a joke in the first place dude. You're just being racist (and accidentally classist?) on account of your illiteracy.

And this one was just a wild argument I had the other day— why are you calling Micah's racist remarks "not as black and white as that"??? He quite literally says a derogatory term within the first ten minutes of the game. There's a whole four minute youtube video of his racist actions. Joking or not, or whether you think his intentions were to 'rile people up', it's still discriminatory. Racism is often, if not always, as black and white as that. (no pun intended /srs)

Thinking otherwise, I'm tempted to believe, is your own projection. It shows a lot that you'd stretch so far to continuously deny and defend a continuously emphasized theme, that directly affects the characters as it has directly affected real people. Hell, even if it was vaguer than that. How much tolerance are you privileged with to brush off and prance around something that irrevocably damaged entire communities for centuries. Just because it's fiction? 'Cause it's not real? Because "it doesn't affect anyone"?

They also said "He can't be racist! He works with POC!"

???

I'm all for liking and appreciating whatever character you want— I'm not gonna spend my time leading all those horses to water— but snatching and running with the veil of fiction to dissolve the connotations and gravity of a very real thing, simply depicted within a story, just so you can slobber all over your favorite character, it's just undoubtedly shallow and disrespectful to the history and media that you claim to comprehend. You can't just create lines to read between and pull the "have some media literacy" card when someone calls out that you really never had such power in the first place. Like I said, do whatever you want with a character, but at the very least acknowledge every single part of them instead of brushing it off.

Ah anywho. I'm not a POC myself but I am Southern. Racism is still very present here and I felt it'd be important to me to speak up about it. If anyone's got perspective to offer, or they'd like to correct me on anything, I'm open. I think my prose may be a little too flowery to have gotten every point and logistic across, so there's always a chance of misinterpretation. Just let me know!

*** Hh and disclaimers because I'm afraid of misunderstandings. I know racism exists in places outside of the U.S., but the game is placed in America. It's in the context of discrimination against American POC, that some non-Americans tend to poorly gauge the difference and weight of. In neither of these instances were the people from the U.S. And as another thing, this isn't to ignore the treatment other characters receive regarding their culture or country (Sean, Javier, Charles, etc.) by folk who are not a part of it. It's just ignorance. The cycle sickens me. I just think in general if you're going to consume historical fiction and you're going to discuss it, at least understand the historical part. Don't be blissful x

[amoristt]

This is so self indulgent but Kang dae-ho headcanons about him having a girlfriend that's muscular please! Like, stronger than him type muscular（＾ω＾）

dont ever be scared to be self-indulgent!!!!!!!!!! i LOVE this request bc i am currently in my Muscle(TM) era so this had me like 👉🏽👈🏽 im kinda relating it to real life bc my partner and his friends cant keep up with my leg day LOL

kang dae-ho with a muscular girlfriend

oh my god. this man would be crazy for a woman able to bench him. don't get him wrong- Dae-hoe loves to be the tough guy. the pride he feels from being a marine at his young age, and his passion to keep those around him safe ring true at all angles. he loves to be the protector, and he's got all these self-indulgent daydreams about being That Guy.

but. something about seeing you, with your pretty smile and even prettier laugh, start lifting weights he tops out at for a warm up? it does something to him. it really, really does. he kind of wants you to toss him over your shoulder and squat him.

some guys would be put off knowing their woman could give them as ass whooping, but not Dae-ho, because man does he love when you show it off. arm wrestles, pushup contests, anything. especially if it humbles some jackass. it makes him beam with joy watching his girlfriend kick ass. he's the cheerleader and you're the star quarterback.

he thinks that you're soooo freaking hot. like sometimes he looks at you and can't believe you give him the time of day, let alone let him hang around.

loves your gym outfits. specifically the baggy hoodie, shorts combo. when you send him pics and outfits of the day he eats it UP. thats his mf woman

knowing you're stronger than him doesn't ever stop him from playing tough guy, though. it's in his very DNA. he'd defend john cena if he could. some guy wont leave you alone? he's there ready to throw hands. someone's talking shit about his girl? hell no. meet him outside.

"don't fuck with me, my girlfriend will kick your ass"

you two meet at the gym, naturally. Dae-ho goes pretty regularly on his own but he's the 'head down, heaphones up' kind of gym rat so he never really gave mind to anyone else nearby him. honestly didn't even know you went to his gym until one fateful, fateful day. he's one part of a trio of buddies that day, spending more time chatting and goofing off than actually doing his sets. he's showboating, overloading his plates and damn near throwing his back out more than once. he loads a barbell up with 345lbs onto his shoulders and cranks out a single squat. then two. once he drops down for the third, he locks up. it's then he realizes how many leg days he's skipped. he can't bring himself up right. his friends aren't paying attention and he was an idiot who didn't have a spotter. his options are fall forward, and risk the bar hitting him in the head, or fall backwards and feel the embarrassment of a hundred eyes all on him at once. he's struggling to balance it, every muscle in his body tensing, when suddenly the bar is lifting. he lifts to his feet and there's a set of hands off to his left helping him set the barbell back onto the rack. expecting his friend, he turns and goes to chastise them for not paying attention and helping sooner, but then he see's... you. before he can apologize for talking to you like that, you're already smiling at him and teasing right back. maybe you shouldn't have loaded too much, huh? he's flushing bright red, stammering out a laugh and rubbing the back of his head. you're cute- and your voice is like honey to his ears. his friends are snickering from other machine, watching the entire ordeal, and he feels that flaming blush race down to his neck and chest. he doesn't know it quite yet, but he's smitten. he goes to start peeling the plates off the racked barbell but you stop him. and then, slack jawed and wide eyed, he watches you crank out an entire set. you heave the bar back onto the rack and then, he gets to watch you add MORE weight. he's not even trying to act like he isn't staring, completely gobsmacked. his friends are still horsing around elsewhere and he's stunned into place. you take a sip of water in-between sets and before you can put your headphones back on he can't stop himself from talking to you. he literally isn't even thinking when he catches your attention, feeling shy, but he can't help it. he has to talk to you- that was the coolest shit he's ever seen. its humbled him. changed him. he just watched you squat two of him over your shoulders like it was nothing. he can't even feel his pride take a hit either, he's entranced by you. you both have a great conversation and man, he knew you were cool before, but every time you open you're mouth it just gets better and better. he can't believe he's never noticed you until now. from that point on, he starts to notice whether you're there or not. and he goes crazy out of his way to talk to you- finding little reasons to chat. eventually you start seeking him out too. you ask him to be your spotter one day and he's pretty much head over heels after that. eventually you get each others numbers, then, he pulls the ultimate move. he invites you out to drinking with his friends and you show up but hey, check that out, looks like no one showed up but us! that totally wasn't planned at all, or anything. oh well! you two have a lovely evening together <3

[abbysgolf-club]

Heey - I saw your post about wanting new requests so here we go I guess, I hope you'd like to write this :3

So I'm thinking Vi x Reader where the reader is a total softie / sweetheart who also lives in zaun. She has a crush on vi and vi knows about it but never really requited it. Or so she thought - one night the reader gets hit on by some scetchy dudes, it doesn't End well and she gets hurt (if you feel comfortable writing this of course!!). Vi sees all of this, kinda saves the reader and realizes that she has a lot more feelings for this lil softie than she thought. Maybe with heavy making out in the End <3

s3xual assault themes (it doesn't happen), pet names (cupcake, baby etc), not proof read, kinda rushed sorry if it's bad 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

MDNI

You were sat in the bar, having your usual, a dirty dr pepper; minding your own business until you felt a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey there, pretty girl. Can i sit?" a man's voice rang through your ears, sending a shiver down your spine.

"go for it.." you muttered, sipping your drink and allowing him to sit next to you. It didn't take long for his hand to slither its way onto your leg. You didn't say anything at first out of fear, he might just be doing it in a friendly way?

You shuffled uncomfortably in your seat, trying to shake his hand off you. it didn't budge. "Hey, dude. do you mind..?" you asked him, kinda hoping he'd get the hint and get the fuck off you.

"What's the matter baby? Are you being ungrateful?" he smirked, trailing his hand further up your thigh. "Tell me baby, tell me this is what you want."

You froze, unable to do anything. panicking, you chucked your drink on him, hoping he'd back up. spoiler alert, he didn't.

"Ooh, feisty. i like it." he chuckled, his voice low and sultry. "Give into me. You know you want to." his grip on your thigh tightening.

"Get off of me, please!" You tried to fight out of his grip, but failed. Tears formed in your eyes as he got closer and closer to what he wants, your protests, pleads and tears didn't stop him. If anything it pushed him to do it more.

"Dude, can't you see she doesn't want you near her!?" A familiar voice called out from a few feet away. "Get off of her." the voice continued, the person stepping closer. it was vi.

The guys hand stayed on your thigh, his grasp almost painful. "And who are you to stop me?" he challenged, allowing her to get closer and closer to the two of you.

Vi rolled her eyes, throwing a hit at the guy groping you. "You heard me. leave her alone, man" she raised her voice a little, getting up close and personal in the guys face. "Get out of here" she spat, raising her fist to punch the guy again. before she got the chance to get another hit, he scrambled off, his grip on your thigh finally leaving aswell as him.

Vi watched him leave, the look of frustration and anger leaving to become more of an empathetic look along with something else you couldn't quite put your finger on.

"You okay, cupcake? he didn't hurt you did he?" Her voice was soft and calm as she held your hand cautiously.

"I'm okay, just glad he left." you smiled softly, the feeling of that guys hand still lingering on your thigh. "Thank you." you blushed, you'd had a crush on Vi for as long as you could remember. Her saving you from a pervy guy added to that crush. dramatically.

"No worries cupcake, always here to help." She smirked, pulling you up out of your seat. "How 'bout we get out of here, yeah?" she asked, her hand interlocking with yours as she guided you out of the bar and into a dimly lit alleyway.

You followed her out into the alleyway, hugging her after she leaned up against the wall. "Woah cupcake, you all good?" her voice shocked, but comforting as she wrapped her arms around your waist, embracing the hug.

"Yeah.. thank you, for stopping that guy. who knows what coulda happened" you murmured into the crook of her neck, taking in her scent as you did.

"Don't worry about it, anyone woulda done the same." she hummed, trying to act nonchalant and not being too successful. Her face was a little pink and her voice a little wobbly.

Her hand reached up to your face to look at you before she pulled you into a soft kiss, gentle and loving.

You pulled back for a second, taking a breath before smashing your lips against hers. Your tongues exploring eschothers mouths. you couldn't believe this was happening.

[lexicorp]

Y'know, one thing that bothers me about the backstory information we get for the end of the war and Megatron in Earthspark; is /how/ he actually def acts from the cons.

Like, all we really see is how he was fighting them for the allspark in the battle scene, sneaking into Shockwaves lab to steal it, and how the cons behave towards him. Some cons outright call him a traitor, while others still were like "I'd never fight /you/ Megatron!" And it just makes comprehending what exactly went down between them so tricky.

It stands to reason that Megatron had gone behind their backs with his decision to side with Optimus. But why? Why didnt he just stand in front of his army, and /tell them/, "we're doing this now"? He was the leader, why couldn't he do that? Why /wouldn't/ he?

So then the thought trails to perhaps he'd decided that he wanted to quietly remove the allspark, lie and say the bots stole it when it vanished, and let it fade into the shadows in a safe place only Optimus was to know about. That seems like a decently plausible plan. So then in the scene with Shockwave on that theory, Megatron wasn't actually outwardly against them yet, but Shockwave knew. Shockwave already has a bit of his own history in lore of wanting to expand his power over the Cons in his own right, so I don't think it unreasonable for him to have kept a keen eye on Megatron's behavior. Hell, Shockwave had been planning a protoform army that Megs didn't seem to approve of. So maybe that timeline could have been how things went, with Megatron running off with the Allspark after locking the scientist away.

But then it still doesn't make sense. Cuz if we're going off the idea of the first plan, why wouldn't he have simply covered up Shockwaves absence and done it the quiet way instead of it leading to some huge battle? Clearly no one knew where shockwave was since he hadn't been freed beforehand by another con-- or maybe they did since in a deleted scene ravage was supposed to have gathered a remote to release him. Maybe that's why they deleted that scene tho. Who fucking knows. It's jank as hell.

So then Megatron must have already been openly with the bots in that scene, and snuck in due to insider knowledge to the location of Shockwaves secret lab. Okay sure. So then, who took charge after Megs disconnected? Starscream? But Shockwave had literal underground plans of his own. And Star's line of "witness the fall of Megatron!" Is just so funny to me thinking about the timeline shit. Cuz I process that line as "witness the mighty warlord falling from his throne to become a pitiful traitor to everything he created!", but it could just feel like some typical slag of the "Megatron has fallen, now I'm the new leader!" But then if Starscream had already appointed himself as leader by that point, then that'd seem odd in context, especially as it's worded differently. Were the cons all just flailing around disorganized? Some listening to Starscream, some to Shockwave, some to Soundwave?

There are not enough details touched on for my liking. Vague context that leads to more questions than what answers it gives.

I think at least for my fic imma have it as a sorta mix where Megatron decided he was gonna dewit on his own and went behind their backs, he was caught fraternizing with the enemy, and when he tried to explain then his three main lads thought it was bullshit and were actually on the same page at least on the idea that they didn't wanna throw away their advantage and thought what Megatron was saying was dumb. And I bet Optimus and other bots were there during that confrontation so it just escalated into a full on battle where Megatron just left to stay with the bots. It could have also just been Star who initially found out that way and just relayed what happened to the others.

It still just seems so weird tho...so tbh i'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the matter.

Bro's fumbling-

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

hi!! just read that absolute masterpiece response you had to the anon asking about Xaden and Violet at the end of OS!! I almost want to save that post purely to check back when we finally get the fourth and fifth books to see how much you correctly predict!

also (not to request another essay, so feel free to ignore this if you don't want to) are there any other parallels you've seen with RY's other writing? I've seen parallel relationships (Tairn/Sgaeyl mirroring Violet/Xaden), but any other common themes/tropes that Yarros loves that you think could make it into books 4&5?

like i said, feel free to ignore if you don't want to reply!!

Oh thank you so much!! I've been wanting to make a post like this for agessssss so this is a perfect opportunity!! I love writing essays so don't even worry, LMFAO, anyone can request an essay at any time!!

The only way for me to do this is to spoil a significant amount of her contemporary romance b-plots, so I'm gonna put the theories ABOVE the cut, and then you can click see-more if you want the essay with the parallels. I will say, her b-plots are always kind of insane, and I think the spoilers don't detract from the love stories themselves. So unless you're hellbent on going in blind, I think it's fine? You'll still get the love stories.

Dain's dying for Xaden in book 4! This theory has spoilers from the Flight and Glory series (specifically books 1, 2, and 4, although the only one I'm really spoiling anything you can't gleam from the back cover is book 4)

This isn't a theory, this is just some spaghetti I'm throwing at the wall, but! Lilith wrote the book on Unnbriel that Papa Sorrengail saved for Vi in Deverelli. This one has spoilers from The Things We leave Unfinished.

Theory One: Dain's dying for Xaden in book 4.

Some housekeeping: Rebecca's Flight and Glory series is 5 interconnected standalones (meaning each book deals with a different couple in the same world. it would be like if FW was x and v, but IF was Immrick and OS was dain/sloane). Book one, Full Measures, is about Josh and Ember. Book Two, Eyes Turned Skyward, is about Paisely and Jagger (yes, terrible names, just hold my hand). The book 3 couple is irrelevant for my current purposes, but book 4, Hallowed Ground, comes back around to Josh and Ember as the "main couple". The couples are all part of one big friend group and together all the time. To be SO frank, Josh and Jagger feel like they each got half of Xaden's personality, and Ember and Paisley feel the same way when it comes to Violet. (Josh has the reformed bad boy thing going on, secrets, and the whole caretaker dom thing going on, while Jagger ALSO has the reformed bad boy thing, he's RICH, also has secrets, and the daddy and mommy issues 1-2 combo. They also both just talk like Xaden. I thought Jagger was a lot less Xaden-esque during the first 75% or so, and then there's a pivotal scene where he is so aggressively Xaden-coded I started jumping up and down. Ember's a history major mourning her dead father, while Paisley's a librarian mourning her dead sibling. Paisley also has a heart condition that's very debilitating for her, and results in her loved ones being seriously overbearing.)

Paisley and Jagger's story is the most important to my purposes here, so have a quick summary of the opening of Eyes Turned Skyward: The novel opens with Paisley in a relationship with Will. Will was Paisley's dead sister's best friend, and after her sister's death, Will and Paisley came together in their grief. Paisley's heart condition means that she has to seriously limit physical exertion, she wears an apple watch at all times to track her heart rate, and she can't live life like a "normal" person. A big part of this is that Will won't have sex with her because he's worried about her having a heart attack. No, I am not joking. @maethologies was the first recipient of this summary many moons ago, and she calls it the "my doctor said no sex" book. The pivotal thing here is that Paisley's doctor didn't ACTUALLY say no sex. Will's just being overprotective.

Does this remind anyone of anyone we know? Because Will's character reminds ME of one Dain Aetos!

Further Dain-isms: Jagger, Josh, and co. all hate Will because he went to West Point and is super cocky about it. Will is super devoted to the codex rules and regulations of flight school to the point he turns on his classmates (which you're not supposed to do! snitches get stitches!) for a traditional prank (also, fun fact, the commanding general of their flight school? Paisley's dad!). Throughout book 2, Will gets his karma for being overprotective with Paisley, and he slowly becomes less of a stick in the mud. He befriends Josh, Jagger, and co, and he's a reluctant member of the gang in book 3. Again, do y'all see what I see???

Now, a summary of the grander plot of Hallowed Ground: Book 3 (Beyond What Is Given) ends with Josh, Jagger, Will, and their fourth friend Grayson, graduating flight school and getting their duty stations. Josh, Jagger, and Will all stay together, and Josh and Jagger get deployed first. Will stays home and takes care of Paisley and Ember. At the end of Beyond What Is Given, Paisley and Jagger getting engaged and married just before Jagger gets deployed. Six weeks later, Will gets deployed and follows Jagger and Josh into Afghanistan. During his opening flight (like, LITERALLY his first day) Josh and Will are in one helicopter while Jagger's actively in combat. They realize Jagger's in danger, so they go to him and join the fight. They all get shot down by the Taliban, and Will ends up jumping in front of Jagger and saying that his wife needs him. Will dies FOR Jagger and asks him to keep taking care of Paisley.

(The one thing I'm NOT mentioning there is that when Will does sacrifice himself for Jagger, Paisley's pregnant. I am NOT manifesting that for Violet.) (They actually name their kid after Will, which is kind of insane with the Dain implications. Dain Riorson-Sorrengail.)

Ever since I finished Hallowed Ground (so, July!) I've been convinced the final culmination of Dain's redemption arc was going to be dying for Xaden on Violet's behalf. I actually totally thought it was going to be in book 3 and not book 4, because it seemed like Rebecca thought Dain was redeemed even though the majority of fans disagreed. I've been a bit tongue-in-cheek about how much fan-interaction happened in Onyx Storm, but I definitely think the changes to Dain and Cat's characters especially were a result of Rebecca seeing how they were received by the readers and making corrections to their portrayal so that we see what she sees. Still, the parallels with Will are abundant. In his case, we meet him in book 2, but we immediately do not like him. He gets redeemed toward the end of book 2 and into book 3. By the time book 4 comes around, you're a fan! He's on the cusp of a new relationship with Paisley's best friend Morgan, and then....dead. Again....are we seeing the parallels here?

So, yeah! That's my take. Again, I actually thought this was happening in book 3, but I see why it didn't. I have NEVER enjoyed Dain as much as I did in Onyx Storm. Like, I feel bad about characterizing him how I usually do now. His death in OS would not have been impactful, whereas in book 4....

If you don't quite believe me about plot recycling from RY, the main romance plot line of Josh and Ember's first book Full Measures: falling in love -> she Knows he's keeping secrets (in this case, about his "occupation" as well as his past with her parent, but the secrets plotline is genuinely ALMOST every single book she's ever written, I am not joking, I CAN keep going) but she doesn't know enough to do anything about it except keep getting conned -> she learns enough! third act break up -> Iron Flame esque argument about secrets/asking questions/etc. -> make up!

And this isn't a critique from me: I've read sixteen of her books for a reason. There's something comforting in knowing exactly what you're going to get; however, I know exactly what I'm going to get.

THAT is the end of my more fleshed out theory. Now, Lilith time!

Theory 2: Lilith wrote Papa Sorrengail's book about Unnbriel:

I've been slowly re-reading (and highlighting and tabbing) Onyx Storm over the last few days, and yesterday, I read this line:

"My father's observations on the combative isle are sharp, almost clinical, but lack his usual insight. There's a marked difference between his book, written when he was 23 and straight out of the scribe quadrant, and the manuscript he left for me in his office." (Onyx Storm, chapter 28)

The epigraph for the chapter in question:

"There are times I look at Parapet, at the very act of Threshing, and marvel that dragons have not been to Unnbriel.... -Unnbriel: Isle of Dunne by Second Lieutenant Asher Daxton"

I said this in my other essay response, but Rebecca has two types of what I like to call "gotcha!" foreshadowing. Usually, she'll have a throwaway line somewhere that's REALLY easy to brush over, but it will either literally spell out a situation for later in the story, OR it exists to be proved false. I CAN grab examples, but this essay is already ridiculously long, so maybe another time if anyone doesn't believe me. In any case, I think this is the second type of foreshadowing. Rebecca goes out of her way to REPEATEDLY say dragons have not been to the isles, which really makes me think dragons have been to the isles.

Now, to compare and contrast with Rebecca's The Things We Leave Unfinished. I will say, this spoiler actually would impact your reading experience in that it's the big final reveal of the novel. However, a lot of you probably aren't going to read it anyway, so! I also actually think a LOT of Rebecca's works are better the second time around, and in this way the spoiler would make it more fun, as you better understand what's going on. So, you can take my word for it and stop here, OR you can keep reading.

A summary of the plot of The Things We Leave Unfinished:

The FMC of this novel's grandmother dies, leaving one unfinished novel she'd like finished after her death. This novel is the true love story of her grandmother's life. Through a deal with her agent, the MMC gets contacted to finish the novel for the FMCs grandmother. Half the book is the modern timeline of the FMC and MMC trying to finish the novel, and the other half is the historical timeline following the novel in question (book within a book!). As the novel progresses, you find out that the MMC keeps noting differences across Scarlet (the grandma's) body of work in terms of tone (sharpness!) and general story construction (insight!). (When I re-read that line about Vi's dad, I felt like someone walked over my grave.) Eventually, you learn that Scarlet actually died 70-odd years before the story begins, and that her sister is who the FMC thought was her grandma. Her grandma's sister is the one who finished her grandma's novel, then went on to write an entire body of work in her sister's name.

Now! Why would Lilith's work be in papa sorrengail's name? I don't actually know! Maybe since Dunne is an isle of warriors, he knew he needed His warrior to handle it for him. They're clearly obsessed with each other on a Riorgail level, and Xaden is immediately willing to fight on Vi's behalf on Unnbriel. I've said this offhandedly before, but the parallels between Lilith and Xaden are actually insane when you think about them. I also think this expands farther into the Dunne/Violet/Lilith/Theophanie nonsense I do NOT know enough to unpack right now. Anyway, I think that's it! I can try and pull the actual line from The Things We Leave Unfinished if anyone cares, because I'm pretty sure the phrasing is similar when the MMC figures out true authorship.

I said this above, but if anyone else has any other questions, feel free to ask!! I need to use my PhD in Yarrossian studies for something. I actually really wanted to compose a full list of my thoughts on her contemporaries/similarities/what I'd rec to the fourth wing girlies of the world, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. So if you're interested in that, let me know!

[theoneandonlyjamiestark]

INTRODUCTION

Before We get started. Yes. I'm a Stark. Adopted, of course. And even though I'm not biologically related to the Starks, many people have told me I take after their ego and sassiness.

Jamie Eliana Stark She/her Trans MTF Bisexual Adopted Daughter of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts 19 years old. [Mod is a minor so NSFW DNI] Marvel RP account

I may not be a true Stark, but I surely do act like one. I get told on countless occasions that I'm "Just like your father" whenever I'm being anywhere near sassy or rude to anyone. Sarcasm is not for the faint of heart I guess. I also am not as good at building techy stuff as many others in my family, but I can hack mainframes like its nobodies business. You could say its a gift of mine. I'm also good at codes. Me and Dad (Tony) sometimes work together on projects that he needs done quickly. Its kinda fun, having a dad who can match your sarcastic energy. Being a Stark also comes with a shit ton of publicity and responsibility. Many reporters, paparazzi and other people who pry into your personal life like they need to know what direction you walked at Eleven AM on December Twenty First 2021. Its dumb if you ask me, but publicity, like fashion shows, celebrity events or galas that we're invited to? Love those. I love the attention when its not weirdly invasive. Theres one word to describe our household, and that is Chaos. With Peter running around on the walls and everyone else just being the people they are, it can get pretty busy and chaotic. Especially when some people are trying to build stuff and they blow up. The rule here, basically is just, "Don't blow anything up". And unless Mom/Pepper is home, most things fly as long as, a) no one (is, might, already) died/die/dead, b) nothing explodes, c) it wont get you arrested. At least for the older lot its like that. Rules in the lab are the ones you definetly want to follow,. The rules in the lab are the strictest. You don't want any of that tech going haywire. Trust me. I've done it only once and its probably the worst thing I've done. But anyways. Wouldn't have it any other way. Listen here okay? I may not be the absolute smartest Stark when it comes to building tech or doing stuff like my Dad does, but I'm really battle smart. I have fight training from THE Natasha Romanoff herself. I'm an incredible hand to hand fighter, and so if you cross me I wont hesitate to show you who you're dealing with without mortally wounding you. I was told the government and police will get involved if I do that.... so its probably better I don't and stay out of the authorities grasp.

You hear this? FUCK stereotypes or like norms and stuff. I will dress, style my hair, or speak however I want. Of course I wont be rascist, homophobic, transphobic (why would I hate myself?), or anything like that to ANYONE. Its shocking how anyone is like that to anyone. Anyways. If you need me, I'm always here, just throw a message in my ask box!

Dad: Tony Stark @under0-0s Mom: Pepper Potts @pepper-potts-in-charge Siblings: @serenastark-official @playgirlgenius Friends: Feel free to send RP starters or rp ideas! Rps are always welcoem! Face Claim: Lucy Hale (Pretty little Liars) Oc Owned by: @thescarleteevee //This account is not run by a system alter btw! dividers by : @vg-k

[feroluce]

When talking about Boothill's drink order in 2.6, like. Hoyo could have just glossed it over and described it as "a few" or "several" drinks. They didn't bother to program in the actual glasses or anything- it's not like any of us were gonna count them and notice if they put in the wrong amount.

But they specifically chose the number seven, and if it IS just coincidence, it is a very very fun one.

Hsr is also known to make tarot card references- we had the online event shortly before Penacony's release, I'm pretty sure there's at least a couple simulated universe occurrences and a curio, and then Black Swan's Everything.

The Seven of Cups is a card about dreams and making choices when you have multiple options it front of you. It represents resisting self-deception and false dreams, and not letting yourself be charmed by hallucinations. It is a warning to carefully consider what is real vs what is not, which is very important in Penacony as a whole, being the land of sweet dreams, and it becomes relevant to Boothill later, when Primon starts to fuck with his head.

It can also represent someone who is "deep in their cups," which is a more polite way to refer to someone who uses alcohol as a coping mechanism to an unhealthy amount.

I hate that this could be a serious comment on Boothill being an alcoholic to cope with how much horrifying trauma he's experienced...and I have to discuss it looking at Primon's ridiculous fucking face fjkdslajldk

The overall message of the card is to stand fast, keep a clear head, and make your decision. Which suits Boothill beautifully even outside of this patch, since he is the very picture of ruthlessness and straightforwardness- he is able to see that bright clear line between action and result, and he follows it doggedly! Everything he does, he does wholeheartedly and decisively! And we see it especially well when he fights through the partial regression Primon leads him into!

Straight and clear and sure as a bullet, baby!!!

[brionysea]

for the record I'm keeping my #arcane and #arcane critical tags separate because 1) it's rude to go into a show's main tag to complain about it and 2) this way I can still go into the arcane tag on my own blog to enjoy season 1 stuff without being perpetually disappointed by season 2

[raileurta]

First up very cute and secondly idk who is Meteorfire but now I'm just thinking about him doing Steve Irwin stuff. Like him going up to dangerous humans and like gently doing the restraining hold grab thing and talking about why they're so deadly but also really cool.

===============================

Meteorfire: Today we got quite the treat we are going to be interacting with the Cade Yeager. Unless you have been to steal a human term been living under a rock then you know who he is. But for those few rockies he's a quite impressive human who's wielded the Excalibur, is the mate of Optimus yes that Optimus, a great medic, and expert in the battlefield.

*Cuts to Meteorfire holding Cade*

Meteorfire: I like to make it a habit to mention in every of my episodes that not all humans are primitive savages. They are quite complex creatures with a wide range of emotions. Most of them are quite friendly but this is not to say to just grab any human you see. That's a good way to get yourself damaged.

*Holds up Cade's hand*

Meteorfire: Humans have quite the dexterous digits much more than the average cybertronian. Cade for example can easily manipulate the smallest wires into any position he wants when repairing a bot. He can also use those same digits to reach under your platting and rip-

Cade: Is he really going to keep talking like I'm not here?

The bot holding the camera: Yeah just go along with it it's part of the bit.

===============================

Meteorfire whispering: We got to be real quiet right now. Up a few clicks away is a dangerous adolescent femme human known as Miko nakadai.

*Camera pans over to Miko peacefully drawing in her sketchbook*

Meteorfire: She looks harmless right now but just wait until I restrain her.

*Meteorfire runs up quickly and pins her down gently*

Meteorfire: Wow easily there girl I ain't here to hurt you.

*Miko is thrashing violently, yelling insults, and trying to bite him*

Meteorfire: You see how I keep the head in place and her arms flat? I've got to make sure she doesn't hurt herself or me.

Meteorfire: A feral human will try to bite you and it will hurt if bitten in the right places, trust me.

Meteorfire: Miko is quite unique among humans in the sense that she attracts and seeks out unimaginable chaos.

Miko: HELL YEAH I DO NOW LET ME GO!

Meteorfire: This could be linked to how she conducts herself when confronted with danger.

Meteorfire: Miko shows little to no fear in extremely deadly scenarios. Even mouthing off to megatron to his face. Most will call it stupidity which has some marit but I call it courage.

Meteorfire: Don't think she's just all talk though, while Miko is not formally trained in combat she's still quite the formidable foe. Instead of the stress decreasing her mental capacities it will elevate them. If there's a way or a chance to get one over on you she will take it without hesitation.

Meteorfire: This is especially true in the apex armor. Bulkhead her guardian himself has even stated a good chunk of the reason he tries to keep Miko away from the armor is to protect others from her wrath.

Meteorfire: Despite being 15 Earth years old she's already offlined four bots-

Miko: Five bots!

Meteorfire: My bad. Offlined five bots already by her age. And given the chance will kill again.

Miko: =)

Meteorfire: She also is quite the sweet and loyal girl who will not hesitate to throw down with anyone she considers her friends or family.

Miko: Ugh don't go mushy on me! Keep talking about why I'm scary dude.

Meteorfire: I have also been provided curiosity to Bulkhead a slideshow of Miko's sweetest moments.

Miko: BULK YOU TRAITOR!!!

Meteorfire: On slide one we got Miko putting a blanket over a sleeping Jack Darby.

Miko: Nooooooooooooooo.

===============================

Imagine a Cybertronian being interested by humans, so they dedicated their life researching these mysterious, sentient organics.

They have became the Steve Irwin of Cybertronians.

Did you mean: Meteorfire? He literally checks all the boxes:

[X] silly goofy australian guy

[X] likes studying other life forms

[X] has a beloved tv show

I could definitely see him happily researching all life on earth, but focusing specifically on humans because they mirror a lot of cybertronian tendencies, be it self-customization, producing fuel for their young with their own bodies, or just the way they walk. He's fascinated by them and they make for very interesting segments on his show 😌

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Something I've seen a couple people saying is that they want to make sure that Laudna understands that she's not the only one who has been through trauma. But like. Laudna is not the only one who needs to learn that lesson. Actually, it's not even that Laudna needs to learn that she's not the only one that's been through trauma at all, because they're all very aware of what they've all been through. This became an inevitable confrontation when Laudna decided to let Delilah back in, though, and after rewatching the scene, I actually think the only people who managed this situation correctly were Imogen* and Ashton.

Orym and Laudna are both more focused on their own pasts with the sword and not thinking about each other. Orym should have talked to the group and come to a decision with them about using the sword and Laudna should have talked to him about it instead of trying to steal it.

*my feelings about this are still up in the air don't read into this too much

[pollen]

i've been diving a lot deeper into adhd symptoms and comorbidities and misdiagnoses and whenever i tell my boyfriend something i learned that sounds like me he responds with something like

[pa-pa-plasma]

i don't think i'll ever get over how people treat kids that aren't good in school as worthless no matter what. "oh it can't be that bad" my guy idk how to tell you this but the last time i went to a normal high school the principal called me into his office to brag about how he failed me in all of my classes before the semester was even finished & i should quit while i'm ahead cuz i'm too stupid ("officially" diagnosed as such by a school counselor & a psychiatrist!!) to succeed. & this is considered normal

[silusvesuius]

g*lmar rly has to be the best skajrim character on the real like even if you don't like him he just is . literally The best one i think......... on dat note i also imagine that he and ulfr*c despite being fairydust BFFs for lyfe genuinely have the worst communication skills ever seen

[haarute]

something i realized in the recent years is that while my mom is a very nice person and i can understand why she is the way that she is sometimes, she had a history of always dismissing and throwing away things that were important to me, and in hindsight that certainly had an effect on both my trust in her and how much i was willing to ever share, and also just turned me into a dumpster goblin because i just gave up on ever having nice things so why bother ever caring about my personal space at all ✌️ i'll just live in the filth because we'll never have anything better after all !!