#at which point he might be like. mildly upset about it but not much more then that. which is just a normal measured response.

[spacerockfloater]

Every time Team Black stans talk about Rhaenyra’s bastards and the Dragon Twins as if they’re blessings upon this earth, an angel loses its wings.

Like, okay. They’re children, I’m excusing all of them up to a certain point. But they’re some of the most vicious, aggressive, cowardly, snotty brats we’ve ever seen in this franchise and pretending that they’re not is so foul.

Lucerys is a hypocritical twat that bullied the boy he grew up with because he didn’t have a dragon, but then he’s totally okay hanging out with Rhaena who doesn’t have one either. And then he pulls out a knife and blinds Aemond for no fucking reason, after his gang attacked him first, and faces zero consequences for his actions. He eventually grows up to become an even worse person by literally laughing in his cousin’s face, whom he disabled. And then he tries to boss lord Borros around by telling him that he’s obligated to ally with Rhaenyra even if there isn’t anything in him for it.

Jacaerys is also very two faced for the exact same reasons as Lucerys, with the addition of having anger management issues. Like, remember how he beats the living shit out of his little brother when they’re training at the beach, kicks him to the ground and grabs him by the throat because he is upset their uncles are better warriors than them? That’s the good future king you’re all talking about? He is already obsessed with the idea of becoming king, to the point that his own mother has to remind him that she’s actually alive and well and he would have to wait a good fucking while before his dreams come true. That’s actually so sick on his behalf. Not to mention that he very likely married Sara Snow, betraying his fiancée, in order to gain the Starks’ help, which is very dishonourable. At least Lucerys told Borros he’s betrothed and refused to marry one of his daughters to get his support, I’ll give him that.

Baela is a deranged evil girl who was ready to throw hands on sight, too. And have we forgotten that she becomes a drunkard and whoremonger who spends her money gambling in the rat pits, the places where children fight one another in King’s Landing, once she grows up, or is it wrong only when Aegon II does it?

Rhaena is an aggressive coward who seems more preoccupied with the acquisition of a dragon than her mother’s death. She didn’t have the guts to go and claim Vhagar, but she feels powerful enough to confront Aemond when she has three people backing her up.

Finally, even without taking all of their problematic traits into account, these people are so severely uninteresting and unimpressive. Lucerys does not convince Borros to side with his mother and drops dead like a fly. Joffrey gets shrugged off by Syrax and plummets to his demise. Jacaerys is immediately killed during his embarrassing attempt to fight the Triarchy, not to mention that he was the reason his youngest half siblings were captured and nearly killed because he had the brilliant idea of sending them away. Baela loses the only dragon fight she was ever part of to Aegon II and Sunfyre who were very injured by a previous fight already! And Rhaena is just… there. Doing nothing. Never avenging her husband’s death, eventually marrying a Hightower. Yikes.

Are there much more ill behaved children in ASOIAF? Yeah, for sure, but we actually acknowledge that children like Aegon II and Joffrey Baratheon are pieces of shit. But if we could like, stop glorifying these four mediocre and borderline malicious kids solely because some of you feel the need to ride the dicks of everyone who is part of Rhaenyra’s crew, that would be great. They might be children, but they’re children with shady, putting it mildly, personalities, wielding new-clear weapons of mass destruction who actively participated in a war, especially Jacaerys and Baela. They sure were victims of the world they were raised in, but they were aggressors as well. And like, this is the ASOIAF universe, nearly all of our protagonists are children. We can’t constantly apply modern day morals and coddle them forever because “OMG, they are just babies!”, unless we are ready to apply the same logic on the Targtowers, who were basically the same age as Rhaenyra and Daemon’s children.

[snexy-the-snail]

You think you can write a short of Apollo nomming on Percy sometime after the biting incident? I’d really like to see that they’re on good terms and Percy deserves as many comfort spaces as he can get

Love the au you’ve built up, I might take some inspiration for my own writing. Thank you so much!🤗

OO please do take inspiration!! I am living on pure spite atm and would live to revive PJO vore!!! and Of course-)) 

It had been weeks after the biting incident, and even more since A schedule of being eaten or sat with had been put in place. As much as it was embarrassing the sleep was too good to be truly upset. It was still gross, and half the time he felt like kicking Hermes teeth when he made a weird joke or teased him, but things weren't horrible.  

Percy grimaces and stretches, trying to soothe the aches that came with practicing with the newcomers. Some of those wooden swords hurt, and the metal ones even more, thank you. He sighs glancing towards the beach wondering if that would take some of the odd aches away, it usually did, sometimes. Water healing got weird when it came to bodies, sicknesses and colds? Nothing. Cuts? Perfect, which seemed mildly unfair. He groans and leans again on a tree closing his eyes to soak up the warmth of the day. Maybe he should just go kill some monster, blow off some steam and get the adrenaline pumping.  

Perfect day for it after all, it was bright, sunny, and-  

He narrows his eyes cautiously glancing around the wood.  

"I know you're there." He calls out, scowling when nothing happens. So, he brought out Riptide. It had to be Apollo; the warmth was undeniable. He could've stabbed a tree in frustration when he didn't get a response.  

"What do you want to hear that I won't bite you again?" He snaps eyeing the trees like Apollo would morph out of one. That apparently was the issue considering the God appeared, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Serious? You were afraid I'd bite?" he asks with a scowl. Then again Triton had fully held him away like someone would with a naughty cat. Or a lizard- well Annabeth and a lizard at least.  

"Not afraid! Just- well biting usually means big ole' seaweed beard shows up and last time he was not happy about the whole, trying to get you to take a nap thing."  

Percy scoffs and caps his sword, pocketing it. "Well, you deserved it, I said no." He points out crossing his arms. At least Apollo had the decency to look somewhat ashamed.  

"I thought you were...ya know cranky?" The god says with a shrug, Percy very much scowling at the comment. Maybe he had been, but the fact Apollo was calling him out to that wasn't thrilling. "Or at least, Hermes says you're all squirmy and rude at first, so I thought it was just part of the process." Apollo continues not looking Percy in the eye.  

Of course. Percy let an exhausted sigh out a hand running through his hair. 12-year-old him would've flipped if this is what the future looked like. "I've seen you like, 5 times, and we don't have that whole directly related thing going on." He starts off. Sure, he had seen his dad about the same, but the sea god was *his* dad. Apollo might be his cousin or something, but he didn't *know* him like he did Hermes.  

"I've seen Hermes more than my own dad, talked with him too, so he's familiar I guess...I just... You're not."  

That didn't sound too brutal, did it? Oh. Apollo's gaze was hard, serious. It was weird considering he had only seen the god acting goofy half the time. He looked...godly almost. The silence was awkward, and Percy hated it, about to open his mouth to fill the silence but Apollo beat him to it.  

"I'd never hurt you. You know that right?"  

"What?"  

"I said I'd never hurt you. You're the reason half my kids are alive. They pray to me about you, about what you've done for them." Apollo continues with a bittersweet smile on his face. "And it kills me that you're not taking care of yourself. Hero of Olympus, title bearers of heroes of old, it doesn't matter. You're still just a kid under that."  

Percy swallows thickly not moving an inch as the god approached him, much like a stray horse, a warm hand settling on his shoulder. It was a different warmth than his dad's or Triton's. It was pure soul bringing warmth opposed to the gentle cooling his sea families brought.  

"Just a kid huh?" He laughs bitterly, closing his eyes, soaking in the soothing warmth. It washed over his soreness much like the waves did. The air feeling crisp in his lungs as he drew a breath. "Where was that thinking when I was 12."  

The silence that settled over them wasn't comfortable, though Apollo had a sorrowful expression on his face. "Gods don't change, not truly. But you, Percy Jackson, have certainly demanded we try."  

It was an honesty he swore he couldn't get from his father half the time...then again truth fell within Apollos domain. He wasn't sure why the sudden honesty, well partly. He crosses his arms and steps away from the warm weight on his shoulder. "Someone's gotta try for a better future." He grumbles.  

And it was getting better. From what he heard God spent more time with their kids than just eating them. He knew for sure Poseidon was, Nico literally had a room and Apollo dropped by fairly often to see his kids now. Especially Will.  

Apollo chuckles ruffling his hair with a grin. "You're a good kid, and I know Uncle P is proud of you." The god continues a fond look twinkling in his eyes.  

"Yeah, mmhm." He laughs barely trying to tame the wild mess that Apollo had created. He knew exactly what the God was seeking now but...funnily enough it was better, like a slow drawn-out permission. Comforting, like Hermes would do it. A small chat before getting to business.  

He was...feeling a bit drawn out and exhausted. The training took more out of him than he had been expecting. He sighs heavily leaning against a tree looking back to Apollo. The god stood there silently, his gaze watching him intently. Taking in each movement and any expression he made. Clearly waiting to see his response.  

"It's better." He says suddenly, hiding a smile when the god jolted at his voice, like he wasn't expecting it. "What is?"  

"This." He says gesturing vaguely. "Small talk, no taunting. I don't like cat and mouse games."  

"I wasn't- " 

"You are. You guys stand weird when you're thinking about it." Percy points out raising a brow. It was a stance, a slightly arched one, tense like a predator stalking its prey though, it felt...oddly relaxing.  

Apollo seemed stunned, before a rolling laugh poured from him. His eyes twinkle, his lips quirking upwards. "People should give you more credit. You're a rather observant little whirlpool."  

A scoff draws from him, rolling his eyes as he looked the god over. "It's more common sense. Any god I've seen always does that before they snag someone."  

He wasn't being snagged per say, Apollo was working up to it which he'd gladly take. Gave him more time to calm his nerves. "Anyway, get it over with, I've got another lesson in like two hours." he says with a dramatic sigh.  

There was a pause before Apollo approached him cautiously, getting more confident when no teeth sunk into his arm this time. "I'm not gonna bite this time." Percy complains, half tempted to give a small shove.  

"Well forgive me for being cautious, I can't tell if you're just sassy or genuinely feral." The god shoots back before his hand settles on his shoulder, giving it a warm squeeze. Rather than his vision blurring and warm divine energy sinking into him, Apollos form twisted and grew right in front of him, his hand steadily covering his entire body.  

He hums, going limp once massive fingers curl over his body lifting him up in a loose fist. It was a lot warmer than he was expecting. The ocean felt cool, soothing like aloe over a sunburn, Hermes felt breezy almost, a rush under his skin. Apollo was warm. Like incredibly warm. It was..comfortable actually.  

"Still with me Perc?"  

He hadn't even realized he had closed his eyes until the god spoke, jolting out of his thought. "Mm? Yeah. You're just warm." He mumbles. He stifles a yawn, scowling instead. He grumbles under his breath when it's met with a soft chuckle.  

"I can still bite you." He warns, huffing as he'd brought up to the gods face, a cheeky smile spread across the lips. "So can I Mr. Piranha." Apollo teases, clacking his teeth together.  

If it had been 3 months ago the tease probably would've terrified him, but Percy was more than used to the jabs by now. He rolls his eyes instead, half heartily kicking the gods cheek, sticking his tongue out when Apollo took his foot between his lip. The god was having way too much fun with this.  

"Oh no I'm so terrified. Spare me." The monotone voice only seemed to spur more amusement from the god, a chuckle rumbling from him before his lips parted. The slick feeling of saliva soaking into him as he was eased further inside. Huh. It was more goopy sorta thick... Like honey almost. He must've made a face because a vibration of laughter ran through him. "Yeah, laugh it up, you have gross insides."  

He scoffs trying to remain aloof as he slipped further inside the gods tongue safeguarding him from scraping against the bottom teeth. "You know one of these days you should be less gross and just magic me inside. Dad said you guys do that too." He points out closing his eyes as he let the warmth roll over him. It was comforting, soothing his aches and pains in ways water did.  

The motions were familiar, his feet hitting the back of the gods throat, he tenses briefly, surprised when nothing happened. He cracks his eyes open a bit, waiting for a swallow to ripple over his feet but he sorta just laid there. He craned his neck the best he could, but he couldn't exactly see what expression was on the god's face. Fingers brushed against his head, like he was seconds from being pulled back out.  

"Are you...waiting?" he asks slowly, a tad stunned. He hadn't expected that. All because he tensed a bit? Huh...that was oddly thoughtful. "I'm fine, it just gets weird with the sensation of falling." he admits after a second. A hum rolls over him before the familiar grasp of muscles tugs him downwards. The pressure and squeezing are almost comforting at this point. He sighs heavily closing his eyes again, not that it mattered considering the surrounding innards glowed.  

The rippling of the muscles pulling him down was a motion that he had actually gotten used to. Mindlessly he counted the seconds, keeping his breathing as even as possible as he was squeezed and squished. The tight feeling at his feet giving way with the slight pressure.  

Instead of a drop he was expecting it was more of a slide, the thick goopy insides making him scrunch his face up. "Ugh, why are you so goopy?" He grumbles. He shifted upwards, trying to push against the plush muscle, his hands sinking into it like putty. Different for sure.  

"I'm not goopy! Literally none of my kids have ever complained."  

"It's literally like putty in here!"  

He makes face pulling his hand back, the thick mucus clinging to his hand as he did. "Actually at least putty doesn't stick to you." He grumbles, flopping back against the stomach, wall, grimacing when he sunk into the plush muscle.  

"I'm sorry next time I'll tidy up, put some air fresheners inside, maybe add a rug." Apollo scoffed, Percy smirking when he felt a few very pointed pokes targeting his back.  

"I feel like a rug would make this ten times worse." Percy laughs, closing his eyes with a sigh. He had two hours before his next lesson...that gave him some time for a night. "Might turning out the light? Man, you're like the worst to nap with." he teases, stretching out a bit. It was like being on a weird waterbed. He could get used to water, but this was like an oddly firm Jello. 

A dramatic sigh caused the muscles to ripple all around him, the light fading from a bright light to a softer glow. "My kids never complain." the god grumbles, though the fond tone indicated he wasn't truly upset.  

"Your kids sometimes actually glow in the dark, so doesn't surprise me- now shut it." Percy murmurs, not real heat in his voice as he relaxes further into the organ. It really was like sunbathing, a constant warmth enveloping him no matter how he moved or turned. His lips quirk up, more so when a steady pressure rubs against his back.  

So, Apollo wasn't as bad as he first had thought that was good to know. He could live with this.  

"Wake me up in two hours, I'm serious I have classes to teach." He grumbles, not even fighting the wave of exhaustion.  

"Mmhm, we'll see if you're up for it then."  

Percy scowls, letting an annoyed huff out. Well, there went the rest of his day. 

[jedidryad]

Something up, Luke?

The more time I spend working on piecing together Mara and Lando's misadventures and sham relationship, the more surprised I am that this conversation never took place while Luke and Lando were off on Lando's courting mission (aka his wife hunt). Lando must have been biting his tongue so hard...

“Something up Luke?”

“Why?” Luke glanced over from his place in the co pilot’s seat where he had been staring, brow furrowed, out the viewport.

“You’ve been extra quiet. Like something is bugging you.”

The younger man flinched ever so slightly, a reminder that he had not always been a mysterious Jedi Master, “I’m just wondering if you’ve told Mara about this new mission of yours?”

Lando shrugged, “haven’t seen her much lately. I think you’ve spent more time with her than I have.”

“That seems unlikely. I haven’t seen her since Almania.”

Lando refrained from pointing out that had only been a couple of months earlier.

“Why would I discuss it with her?” 

“You have a past.” Luke’s tone was mildly rebuking,  “she might appreciate the heads up before you show up married.”

“Nah that’s long over, whatever it was.”

“Whatever it was? What does that mean?”

“It means I was just along for the ride.”

“Ride?” Luke sounded offended.

“What? Does it bother you that Mara might have been looking for some casual fun?”

“No.” Luke caught his raised eyebrow,  “of course not. It just, just didn’t seem like her style.”

“Sounds to me like it bothers you. You should ask her about it.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“Kind of sounds like you’d like to make it your business.”

“If Mara wanted it to be my business, she’d have talked to me about it.”

“She didn’t?”

“No.”

“Not even when you asked?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“You didn’t?”

“No, it’s none of my business.”

“But you’re asking me now.”

“Well, now I know about your plan to get married. And I know Mara’s not big on surprises.”

Lando contemplated Luke for a moment, weighing his loyalties.

“She really didn’t tell you anything about us?”

“Not a word.” 

“And you really never thought to ask?”

“It’s not my business.” Luke was insistent enough that Lando fought hard to keep a straight face.

“Yes, you’ve said that, several times.” He took in his friend in silence a moment remembering the look on Mara’s face when Luke introduced her to Callista: a sort of frozen impassivity that revealed nothing of the frantic determination of the prior hour during which she’d altered hyperspace routes, and faced down armed Gamorreans to make sure the Jedi was safe.

Luke wore the same expression.

“So you think Mara would be upset that I’m hoping to marry someone else?”

“You were together a long time. I figured you’d wind up together.” If anything his face closed up further.

“Jade and me?” Lando laughed, "you think we made sense?

“You have connections in the same community. You know how to dance and which fork to use.”

“I do, but Jade’s not really all that into that.”

Luke blinked, “but you’ve spent years together.”

“Business. We had work together, a project that took a number of years. It was easier to let people think what they wanted.”

“She didn’t tell me that.”

“You already said you didn’t ask. She probably thought you didn’t care.”

Luke sucked in a breath and the impassivity seemed to drain out of his expression, leaving something unexpectedly agonized behind.

“Oh.”

“You really thought we were together?”

Luke nodded. 

Lando smirked, “she really let you think that.”

“She would,” Luke murmured. “If she didn’t want me to know, she wouldn’t share.”

Lando looked away so Luke couldn’t see him roll his eyes. Stars, he was even worse at this than Mara!

[eelfuneral]

Some of the discussion that happens within the Star Wars fandom, particularly discussion of the Jedi, can be really upsetting to observe if you have certain disabilities. In fact, I’m having a hard time even liking the Jedi right now because I can’t help but associate them with some really ableist takes that I’ve seen in their defense.

Let me explain: a lot of people with certain disabilities (such as autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and C-PTSD) deal with something called emotion dysregulation, which means that you feel emotions more intensely than the average person and that this strong emotional state sticks around for far longer than it should. When you have emotional regulation issues, an event that might make somebody else a bit sad or mildly frustrated has the ability to put you out of commission for hours or even an entire day. Emotion dysregulation is very stigmatized, even in people who go out of their way to avoid harming people or lashing out while dealing with an episode. People with this specific issue are often told that they are “dramatic”, “attention seeking”, or “future abusers” for what amounts to an automatic emotional response that a person cannot control. This constant pushback forms a metaphorical blister that can easily be popped back open when you see anything that reminds you of what caused it in the first place.

Now, let’s move on to the Jedi. While it can be argued that their teachings were intended to instruct people to reign in their BEHAVIOR as a result of their emotions, several lines in the fist six movies sound an awful lot like they are condemning having negative emotions at all. Yoda literally tells both Luke and Anakin that emotions like fear and anger BY THEMSELVES are of the Dark Side, and these lines were very difficult for a lot of people who have dealt with trauma, neurodivergence, or other issues that cause “big emotions”. These lines, intentionally or not, mirror a lot of the things that real people have said to those of us dealing with emotion dysregulation, and people have every right to talk about this in their own spaces unmolested.

Some of the defenses of the Jedi in the context of how they are instructed to deal with their emotions come off as dismissive at best and ableist at worst. Yes, if you dig through Star Wars canon enough, you can find portrayals of the Jedi and emotions that point to a more nuanced view where choices and actions are the source of evil rather than the emotions, but this does not change the fact that the Yoda lines and other emotionally repressive applications of the Jedi Code very much exist in parts of canon. A person who found the emotionally repressive variant of Jedi teachings to be upsetting due to a disability will likely feel as though you are trying to dismiss their feelings and belittle them if you “correct” them for “misinterpretation of the Jedi”. I get that it sucks to see people bash your blorbos, but if someone is doing it because they are dealing with something IRL like trauma or ableism, then it’s best not to engage and just let that person work through it.

I have also seen people who are defending the Jedi make statements that outright attack people for having intense emotions. I remember a take that basically said that you were a baby or a psychopath if you found the Jedi code regarding emotions to be “too hard”. I’ve seen people dismiss the trauma that Anakin went through and its possible effect on how he reacted to some aspects of the Jedi order in a way that mirrors the invalidation that those of us with emotional regulation issues have experienced for being “too much” for all of our lives. Yes, it is important to avoid harming others when you are in a bad place, and no Anakin was not a great person, but so many of these takes are devoid enough of nuance that they read as if they are just trashing people who have “too many”emotions.

Feel free to defend your favorite characters all that you would like, but please spare a thought for those of us who might not dig everything about them for reasons connected to disability and trauma. The Jedi aren’t real, but we very much are.

[paragonrobits]

No offense but your idea is way too needlessly dour for the Psychonauts universe, which is thematically about hope and forgiveness and understanding if you missed that part.

I suppose that's a fair point though I do have to contend that this is the setting with several characters who have fundamental details such as 'this antagonist was raised by psychic-hating parents who literally destroyed his psychic abilities by having him lobotomized' or 'this maternal and caring teacher was tormented by feeling the dying pain of the orphans she cared for as they burned to death' and so on. It might be argued that these don't count because they are largely backstory specific, and aren't usually shown on screen, but again, tragic stuff is not terribly unusual here.

Consequently, while a complete lack of reconciliation is a bit unusual by the standards of Psychonauts, it doesn't feel specifically dissonant; if anything I'd argue it makes a point about consequences. If you don't want your children hating you and cutting you entirely out of their lives, you probably shouldn't make them miserable or spend so much of your on screen time making the audience feel tremendous empathy for how upset the character's child feels at it.

I also honestly don't think Psychonauts is specifically about those themes per se. In terms of gameplay it's deliberately a psychedlic action platformer that uses the premise of mental worlds to engage in storytelling through the use of level design, and in terms of plot it has many different feels; at times its sad, and other times its far more comedic and even outright runs on black comedy (depending on whether or not you feel it counts if the characters in question are mental constructs or metaphorical entities, but we DO see the dark comedy in stuff like the cheerleader duo in the first game and their running plotline).

It IS true that the game deals heavily with reaching out to people and trying to help them, but its not exclusively about hope, forgiveness and understanding. Plenty of times characters wind up in situations where there's no magic cure all, no happy reconciliation and just a bunch of questions left unanswered or regrets. The second game shows this neatly with Augustus admitting that while he cares for Nona, he's deeply conflicted after having lived a lie most of his conscious life. Coach Oleander never reconciled with his father and just kind of has to live with his miserable memories and no real closure on whether his dad was as brutal as his memories say (as this isn't really explored in game, but the series bible found on-line, while having details contradictory to the second game, doesn't have anything to contradict the stuff with Oleander's father) and he just died while Oleander was away, and... that's it. He's dead, end of story, that's not going to go anywhere.

And sometimes that's pretty much it. Things break so badly they never get fixed and sometimes, its a waste of time even trying, so you just move on. Psychonauts often seems to deal with a mix of dark comedy and genuine narrative about people doing the best they can with what they have to deal with. So, assuming Donatella's behavior towards Raz doesn't change much, it's simply not surprising for his resentment to build and build until finally it blows up. (Which, to be plain, I find way more realistic and in some ways, more satisfying than something that leans towards the troubling moral of 'you need to reconcile with family no matter what', especially since he has no real particular reason to do so.)

Also, while off topic, 'if you missed that part' is needlessly passive aggressive and mildly insulting. If you're trying to persuade people towards your argument, its a really bad idea to insult them or at least make it sound like that. It will generally make people resent you and dismiss your argument out of hand. I don't know if persuading me towards your point was the intent of this message, but if it was, its going to be counterproductive more often than not.

[sspiderliliess]

skyline .

➝ jovier — newly established relationship

first little post of them two those two mildly based on a fanfic i’m working on. still feeling their vibes out, personalities are hard ❤️‍🩹

➝ rating — fluff, mild angst with comfort ig (?)

The flaring petals of forget-me-nots quivered. Their hues mirrored the sky back north, under which they were hastily plucked. In a rough bouquet, fuzzy dandelions sprouted up between the clusters. It was a stark shift—the soft blues to vivid yellows—though much like the sun glowing over empty horizon from its clear sky, it was a pleasant combination that seemed only right.

John’s fingers clutched the bundle enough to strangle the tender stems. Every so often, he’d mutter under his breath and loosen his grip, only for the process to repeat as he trudged down the shaded and winding pathway to camp. Each step closer to his destination made his muscles tense that much more as the thoughts raced his mind.

It hadn’t been too long ago since he’d shared such an intimate moment with Javier. A good one even if it tugged at the nerves, seeing him in his forlorn and troubled state brought John to long for another, just to see him happy again. He didn’t know why Javier had gotten so upset—he wasn’t always one to talk about such things—but he wanted to help. If a smile was truly contagious, between them, such a notion was proven.

But like too much whiskey still on the breath, the nauseas remnants of a place so vulnerable still kept its hold on the man, begging him to leave Javier to his own problems. They talked and they drank even before Abigail’s sudden death, and Javier had always been a good listener when it came to John’s relationship issues and especially during his mourning, but he couldn’t bring himself to always offer the same kinds of support despite a romance between the two having risen past its blooming dusk.

Nonetheless, like a thoroughbred to the finish line, John persisted in a need to win them both shared peace. Times were rough.

Times were rough.

When the curtain of tree limbs parted way to golden sun and camp tents perched about Clemens Point, the hum of familiar voices blending in with the twill of forest birds managed to both soothe and frazzle John. Karen’s sudden shout was followed by a couple guffaws, which made him jump; deep beneath the commotion, he could pick out the soft and distant melody of guitar strings.

They pulled him closer, if not by their cooing, then by the very threat of the regrets such hesitation might would bring. Standing there just at the edge of the clearing, bundle of florals in roughened hand, the man scurried off towards where the music resonated from. He hardly noticed his fingers tap against the paper in a heartfelt rhythm.

As he stopped next to the thin tree, he found Javier seated at the dock just above the murky waters. The sunset cast a tangerine veil upon the man and his guitar, lining raven hair with gold, illuminating honeyed skin. He was dusted with the lightest layer of dirt and marked with shiny scars which John’s eyes traced again for the millionth time.

He didn’t notice the steps he took nearer, a few feet from where the water climbed to shore. His fingers cooperatively loosened from the bouquet as if given instructions by the gentle plucks of the strings, but the tightness in the chest lingered. Absentmindedly, or perhaps a bit too present, he sighed.

Javier stopped playing and turned to look up at him, eyes wide before his expression softened unassuredly. “I didn’t notice you here. Where have you been?”

There it was—that haunting shiver in the chest. It visited John time and time again when he was to venture into more romantically motivated conversation with his longtime friend. Adjusting was hard, they both knew, but that mutual awareness didn’t always stop John from feeling the habitual reclusion he was so known for.

“I just…” he began, exhaling the air he’d held in. “I was up north. Found some nice flowers—that nice blue you like. Made me think of you, s’ here.”

He shoved the bundle of picked flowers at him, ears and face warmed with blood, though the pink tinge hardly showed through the evening’s ambience.

Javier looked down with furrowed brows at the bouquet, an examination drawn out and only adding to John’s discomfort. A minute passed and he released another held breath as Javier’s examination ended with a smile.

“Th… thank you,” he said. “You picked these all for me?”

John cleared his throat and shuffled to sit down next to him, eyes shifting between him and the crooked planks. “Well, I didn’t go up there for ‘em. Just wanted to see the mountains and hunt, y’know, where I ain’t freezin’ to death.”

The two sat in a brief silence, Javier’s eyes cast to the other side with a growing grin he tried to hide in vain. John caught a glimpse of it and scowled, nudging him with his elbow and prompting a laugh.

“So you stopped your hunting trip just to pick flowers for me?”

John’s scowl deepened. “No! I didn’t find nothin’ good and thought— Well, whatever.”

A flurry of giggles erupted from Javier, light and gentle, much like the flowers in his hand. He leaned into John’s shoulder and exhaled, still fiddling with the individual stems of the dandelions, which seemed to be a bit more sturdy.

“I like them a lot,” Javier whispered.

He looked up and pressed a soft, tentative kiss to John’s jaw, crinkling his nose at the prickly but familiar texture of his stubble.

The gesture made John tense again if only for a second, and he shuffled to lean back onto one of the dock posts. Every now and then, his gaze would drift to the twinkle of sunlight on the rippling waters, the swaying leaves of trees on the bank, and then return to Javier’s peaceful features. Such a painting urged him to not recoil. “Breathe,” it could have said, and he did so.

“I wanted to give you somethin’ to smile about,” John cooed in his ear.

By now, his chest rose and fell with a pace more at ease, but a part of him wondered if Javier would notice the slight shake in his words. Being laughed at by the others could often rub him the wrong way; Javier’s sweetened laughter was always of good nature. Just the sound still playing in John’s ears was enough to wash away his distress, bit by bit, like the lapping waves on Clemens Point.

He ran a timid finger through the loose bangs framing Javier’s face. “You don’t have to talk… but you can.”

John watched him put the flowers down with a fading smile. It felt as though he’d lit a radiant candle only for a gust of wind he’d conjured to blow it out, and all he could do was either try to light it again or stumble in the dark.

“I talked with Dutch,” Javier stated. “I think a lot.”

John tilted his head and brushed the bangs closest to him behind Javier’s ear.

He gave a shy smile as he pressed his lips together. “I am okay. I don’t want to be wrong—“

“Who does?”

Javier laughed under his breath. “I don’t want to give in, give up… Be weak.”

He cocked his head to the side and fiddled with the flowers again. Before John could respond, however, he shook his head as if to dismiss the topic.

Although John accepted the closing with wavering suspicion, it never left. He continued to brush the pads of his fingers over Javier’s hair, letting it glide between them like velvet. It might’ve been a self-soothing pattern, as it was one he fell into often, but it seemed to comfort them both. He watched him, brow tensed, and finally said, “Play somethin’ for me.”

They stared at each other for a moment, the chatter of camp keeping the silence at bay. Javier fixed his posture and pulled his guitar into his lap, running a calloused digit against a string as he glanced up at John, who waited in patience.

A string was barely grazed, the sound near a whisper and unsteady. An introduction, perhaps. Slow and with a rhythm John knew almost as soon as it began, Javier played a bittersweet tune. They breathed in at reverberation, exhaled at the shift of notes.

This was their talk. This was their peace, their contagious smile. To not know the details of Javier’s complications would bug him later, but here, he was content.

Again, John gazed at the sunlit guitar and its owner. The glow, a gentle art, like shots shared between the two.

Like blue and yellow. Like sky and sun.

It felt only right.

[microwave-core]

Oh God it's more Headcanons

To prepare for XC3 (because the DLC drops at like 9pm for some reason) I wrote more headcanons, mainly because I didn't have a specific character in mind to drabble about.

Sonia my beloved. God, Galar has so many great characters and yet I just don’t have the time to write for all of them… even those with banger designs. Anyways, Sonia. Where to even start with her.

Her hair is a mess. Humidity is her worst enemy. She spends dozens of minutes a day attempting to detangle it when the weather goes to shit. She would be forever indebted to you if you brushed her hair for her. Please just be careful, she will complain if you tug too hard.

Also be careful if you sleep next to her at night, because you very well may end up choking on her hair. Even just cuddling is risky business. You are never safe, not even if you are the little spoon. But it’s worth it because Sonia runs very warm, so it’s always comfy to hold her or rest in her arms.

Speaking of hair, she wants to style yours. Doesn’t matter what kind of hair you’ve got, she’ll find a way. Straight or curly or coils or braids or what have you, she will play with it. Doesn’t matter how long it is either. If you ask for a specific style, she’ll do it, but at some point she will weave little hearts into it to match her own. Don’t ask how she does it, it’s a secret.

Anyways, enough about that. I am absolutely obsessed with the idea of a kid rocking up to get their first pokemon from the Professor and her wife and their adopted son assistant. She’s just… so powerful I love her so much. 

Hop loves you. He ships you so hard with Sonia it’s unreal. He is Galar’s best wingman and will do everything in his power to get you two alone together. You guys could literally be married already and he would still be trying to set you guys up. And Leon is no different. Sonia’s his best friend and she talks about you all the time. This guy knows how much Sonia loves you and wants nothing more than for you two to be happy together. Sometimes a family is just a professor, her wife, their assistant, and his brother.

Not enough content for Big Sis Plumeria. She’s gotta take care of basically all Team Skull because they would never get anything done without her around, so she’d be immensely grateful if you either helped corral them or help her relax after constantly chasing after them.

She’s very much an “asshole to the world, sweetheart to her girl” type of girlfriend, mixed in with some tough love. She would never raise her voice at you or seriously insult you, something she does often with the grunts. The most she’ll do is mildly insult you for doing something stupid (as in she would call you an “idiot” or something along those lines), but it’s always evident that she’s more concerned than upset.

As long as you're her girl, no one is going to mess with you. Especially if you have a storied history. Asshole ex? Shitty family members? Straight up enemies? You don’t have to worry about those people anymore. 

Oh also all of the Team Skull grunts look up to you and would literally die for you. You’re Big Sis Two, their third favorite person. Also, if anything happened to you on their watch, they would have to face Plumeria’s wrath, which might as well be worse then Guzma’s

Slightly older contest-star Shauna who, despite being pretty girl-crazy, attempts to navigate her first serious relationship. I realize that I like Shauna more than most people, but hear me out.

When she went on a journey through Kalos with her friends, like stated above, she was completely girl-crazy. Literally every girl she met was the absolute prettiest woman she had ever seen (especially Diantha). But she never ended up getting into a relationship, despite wishing otherwise.

When she meets you, she is absolutely smitten. When you’re just friends, she dreams about you every waking minute. She really, really wants to hold your hand and kiss you and go on cute little dates to restaurants and picnics and do contests together and go shopping together and and everything else girlfriends do. She is obsessed. 

But once you start dating her, she’s a mess. She has all these things she wants to do with you, but she doesn’t know how to go about doing any of them, so sometimes she comes off as a little awkward in the most endearing way possible. She’s a little clumsy and hesitant when initiating affection, but every little thing you do together makes her so happy. It’s got the energy of a cute high school romance, just two dumbasses in love with each other.

Also she’s super supportive of you. Like Marnie, she is your personal cheerleader. She’ll bring up your achievements to everyone she comes across because she needs everyone to know how great you are and how lucky she is to be dating you. Please be supportive of her in return, she would actually ascend to heaven if she saw you in the audience of one of her contests.

Zisu… big woman. I don’t even have words to describe this absolute unit of a woman. She is far too powerful to fully put into words. Her strength is seemingly unending. She canonically trains with pokemon with her bare hands and could absolutely fuck all of them up.

She can bench press your ass, no matter your size or stature. She’ll carry you anywhere you want whenever you want, she’ll get anything you need off of the top shelf, she will lift up anything you need for whatever reason, and she will give you a little kiss on the forehead because she loves you very much.

If you’re afraid of Pokemon (which is pretty likely given the time period), she will do whatever it takes to help you get over your fears. Zisu is all the protection you need in Hisui. No Pokemon will ever get past her. But she would also like to help you get more comfortable with them, if nothing more than for her peace of mind. She can’t be there all the time, given her position in Team Galaxy.

But if you have a strong team, she would love to train with you. If you managed to beat her, she would love you forever. She’s hella strong, so she finds you being stronger than her in one aspect incredibly attractive. And if you managed to beat her in hand to hand combat? She would never recover.

I think Larry is objectively the funniest gym leader, but I whole-heartedly believe Iono is right behind him. I just think she is a funny little guy with an absolutely banger design.

As the most popular streamer in Paldea (I think), people across the region are going to know that you're dating. There is nothing you can do to avoid it. And Iono doesn’t want to hide your relationship. She wants to show you off.

Showing up on stream at least a few times is a mandatory part of dating her. Both Iono and chat love when you’re there. Sometimes Iono will warn you about what she’s planning beforehand, but other times she’ll leave you in the dark. Don’t worry, though, she won’t ever do anything that will make you uncomfortable.

More importantly, when dating Iono, you get to see the normal her, without the energetic streamer persona. Not to say that she’s completely different on stream, she just amps everything up for the camera. Off camera, she just wants to lay down with you and chill out. Let her complain about the weird people in her chat while you hold her close, she desperately needs it.

Outside of that, this girl loves to gossip. Tell her all about the drama you're dealing with or about the people you just don’t like, she eats that shit up. Likewise, she’ll also “spill the tea” as the kids say. She’s got a lot of people and things to tell you about, both big and small. Just promise to not blab to others about those she complains about. She already has to deal with too much weird shit to have time to deal with additional drama from other people.

Flannery is, like, an og waifu, or something like that. Anyways I like her because her design is sick and so is her gym aesthetic (at least in oras). Girlypop is confident in her abilities but she also only has a vague idea of what she’s doing and is just trying her best.

Being a rookie gym leader is hard, even if she is highly skilled. More importantly, it’s stressful. Thankfully, Lavaridge has a hot spring, giving her a perfect way to relax at the end of the day, and she is borderline desperate for you to join her. Listen, she just radiates disaster lesbian. Being in your presence helps her unwind as is, so pairing you up with the hotspring makes her melt. 

She is very dedicated to her training and would love it if you were to join her sometime. Be warned, it gets uncomfortably hot and you will most likely regret it almost immediately, so be prepared. She doesn’t ask you to join her because she doesn’t want you to accidentally strain yourself due to how rigorous it gets, but she’d let you if you asked (after warning you of how difficult it would be, of course).

She seems like someone that would enjoy hiking. Conveniently, there is a volcano right nearby to track up. Flannery desperately wants you to come with her because it would give her a chance to share something she loves with someone she loves. Don’t worry about getting tired, she will carry you up the remainder of the track, no sweat. When you make it to the top (or just find a clearing to rest at), you get to gaze at the beautiful scenery with her. 

Okay I now realize that I didn’t do much outside of the first point to show how much of a disaster she is but she just like… is. I cannot explain it, that is just the vibe she has. So even if she seems confident and held together in your presence, she is screaming in her head because you’re so pretty and she loves you AAAAA.

Oh shit I forgot about Tymeand Ryme for the gilf section of the last headcanon post fuck. Uhhhhh, I like them in the same way as the other gilfs in that they’re cool but ultimately they are funny little grandmas, so here comes your grandma posting.

Like the others, Tyme would totally bake you cookies and while eating them would help you do math. I don’t care if you’re not taking some kind of math class or if you're a student at all, she is going to help you do math. Someone has to teach you how to do your taxes, right? If that is not enough to entice you, then perhaps you would like to see her very cool rock collection, because she would totally have one, and a big one at that. Unrelated, but if you give her any kind of rock she could identify it immediately and would also cherish it dearly.

Ryme is the cool grandma. She doesn’t have time to bake cookies (she isn’t very good at it), but she makes up for it in other ways. You want to see a band or artist live? Just tell her, she’ll find a way to get you to that concert. She’d also let you get away with a lot of things, letting you off easy where others would be upset. Like, if you got into a fight with someone, she would lightly scold you then immediately ask if you won. She’d be really proud if you did and would comfort you if you didn’t. Also teaches you how to rap, but that much should be obvious.

Hopefully this is the last of the grandma posting because if I do this again it means I forgot someone else and I don’t think I did. I guess if there’s one major appeal to the gilfs it’s the domesticity of them? Like, you get the ideal of living your life alongside one another for such a long time, which is the dream, really. Girl I don’t know I’m gonna get back to regular unhinged scenarios sorry about this.

One professor was not enough for one post apparently because I wanna talk about Professor Juniper, the original hot professor. Ever the reliable woman, she will do all she can to lend a hand should you need it, but in return you need to put up with her deciding to do things before confirming with the other people involved beforehand.

Unlike most professors, Juniper has another professor to rely on, that being the other Juniper, so she does have a bit more free time on her hands. That being said, she is often doing things for other people, so she is pretty much as busy as the others. But because she’s just helping out other people and not completing research, she is definitely more accessible. Not going to say that she would hold off on helping someone to come help you if you were to need it, but she would do that (assuming that what she was doing before wasn’t urgent).

She loves to travel around the region, and would love it if you joined her. It’s not really a date, but it’s good quality time. Most of it is taken up by her rambling about the Pokemon that can be found in the area. She would also love it if you lent her a hand in her research. It’s a fun and cute little bonding activity, and it means you can spend more time together afterwards.

Like Sonia, the idea of rocking up to a lab only to be met by the professor and her loving wife is a very powerful one, but Sonia remains more powerful. After all, Juniper doesn’t usually give kids their starters in person, nor does she have an assistant whom she and her wife can semi-adopt.

As a side note, I considered using her first name because she has one, but I don’t know if that is common knowledge. It pops up at the very beginning of B2W2, but I didn’t realize it was there until, like, two days ago. 

Oh my God I forgot about Professor Magnolia because she isn’t even on my list of characters. I am so upset. And no I’m not going to fix this my moving her up to be with Tyme and Ryme because I need it to be known that I fucked this up here’s your grandma posting again and if I mess this up for a fourth time I’m going to be so upset with myself.

Magnolia is just a chill grandma. She always has cookies in her kitchen to give to Sonia. I’m pretty sure they live together so it’s not like she’s visiting her, but she feels that her granddaughter should always have access to finely made cookies. If you were to come over, she would break them out along with tea and have a surprisingly intellectual conversation. She may have given the professor title to Sonia, but she continues to delve into research, if nothing to fulfill her own self-interest.

These visits are especially interesting if you were, say, dating Sonia. She would give you all kinds of stories from when she was growing up. They aren’t particularly embarrassing, per say, but they usually embarrass Sonia anyways. She’s happy that her granddaughter has found both a path in life and someone to spend it with. In general, she would be interested in you as a person. She wants to have a good relationship with her future granddaughter-in-law, after all!

I swear to God if I forget another grandma (besides Cogita because I already write about her plenty) I’m going to lose it.

Let’s end this one with Misty. She’s normally sweet and bright, but she has a tendency to get snappy when annoyed, which tends to leave a greater impression on people than her regular nature since she easily gets frustrated.

Like all gym leaders, she has lots of responsibilities and is busy and also has an affinity for the type she uses. This is especially true for her since most of her designs are just swimsuits (good for you girlie). She will take you on walks all over Cerulean, as well as swimming in the water surrounding it. It’s her happy place, and she gets really annoyed when people interrupt the tranquil moment.

Sorry to say that it usually falls to you to keep her temper down in those situations. Remind her that it’s probably just a challenger looking to continue their journey and that you’ll get to continue your little date when she’s done. She’s still going to be annoyed, but it’s hard for her to remain bitter when she knows she gets to spend more time with you soon.

At some point, she wants to leave Cerulean and its gym for a while in order to go on a journey of her own. When she does, she wants you to come with her. Nothing sounds better to her than getting lost (metaphorically, she can’t stand actually getting lost) in nature with you by her side. Hopefully you don’t have something that could fry her bike because that would be pretty unfortunate.

I would say her sisters are supportive but they aren’t really there enough to know much about you. Sorry Misty. It’s a shame that they’ve been on the same cruise for twenty years. Someone should really check in with them.

[bluegekk0]

Would Asta, Milo, or Lewk even see or know about the existence of WL? There really wouldn't be a reason why they would even visit her, and since fpk has bad memories associated with her he wouldn't talk about her. I would guess they would question her existence if they find out Holly has a different parent than the three of them.

Yeah you're right that FPK wouldn't really talk about her very often. He's not the only one who has bad memories associated with her, Grimm has some past with her but they don't like each other very much, Hornet never experienced much affection from her, and Holly finds it very upsetting that she urged another sibling of theirs to replace them and experience the same suffering they did. So there isn't really a reason to bring her up unless asked.

That being said, since he does visit her from time to time (out of courtesy, and because as much as she hurt him, he wouldn't want her to be all alone, especially since she does now make the effort to try and be more mindful of how he feels), they would be aware of her existence, especially Lewk. I do imagine he took the kids, or at the very least Lewk, to her mansion at least once, since WL was mildly curious about his offspring. Probably not more than that though, they're still all very young and the journey to the Gardens is quite risky, and like I said, FPK himself doesn't really visit her that often.

It's a bit of a change from how I wrote their relationship in the past, they were a lot more friendly before, but I much prefer this direction - as much as I want WL to be a nuanced character and don't see her as evil, FPK deserves to move on from that relationship, especially seeing how painful it was for him. So courtesy visits from time to time is as far as their interactions go at this point in the AU. Less friendly and more formal, which also fits WL and her character better.

So to the kids she's really nothing more than FPK's previous relationship, they might ask about her from time to time, Lewk is especially very curious and would want to ask questions, but with FPK's awkward answers I don't think he would be very pushy about it. Besides, they'd probably find her a bit scary hahah

[wildstar25]

Hello and happy one day until Halloween [:

I’ve been scrolling through your wol posting tag and I absolutely adore Arsay and her throuple with g’raha and y’shtola <3 I was curious, in your canon, what is Raha’s and Shtola’s relationship like without Arsay there and how has it changed over time? Would they count themselves as partners or just partners of Arsay?

Thank you so much for sharing your amazing gposes and artwork for your wol!! It has been a delight to look through. Have a great day [:

omg Thank you!!🥹 I love my catte throuple so much and it's so nice to hear other people like them and the posts I make about them too! That's a really good question. I can't seem to recall making a post about it since being caught up with the msq, so thank you for asking!

This ended up being quite long so I've place it under a read more haha apologies for rambling so much! As well, Happy halloween o/

Initially Shtola and Raha both considered themselves partners to Arsay first and foremost. They both cared for Arsay deeply and agreed to this poly situation because, after everything she's done for them, they wanted to do something for her that would make her happy. I also like to believe because they started off on the wrong foot, it took time for the two to build up trust in each other.

I have many side thoughts about how Raha held himself back while he lived out the persona of the Crystal Exarch, how his hesitance to the relationship caused Arsay to get upset, and how Y'shtola essentially saved the whole polycule very early on by telling the Exarch to get his head out of his ass stop living dishonestly and start thinking about what he really wants to do with his life. How that gave him the spark to think about the possibility of transferring his memories over to the version of himself on the source, since this version of him will never be free from the tower's grasp.

By the time everyone returns to the first, Raha and Shtola consider themselves trusted friends and deeply respect the importance they both have to Arsay. No words about it are exchanged, but there's a mutual understanding that for as long as this can go on for the three of them, it will. Shtola and Raha actually end up spending casual time together in the Rising Stones while Arsay is off doing warrior of light stuff. Turns out they actually have a lot to talk about together. Mostly about magical studies, but Y'shtola strikes me as someone who would be mildly curious to know of the event that took place in the timeline they erased, and Raha for sure would have loved to learn about Y'shtola's involvement in the warring triad stuff and the alexander raids. Plus they can theorize about history and mysteries of both the first and the source! By the time Endwalker starts, Arsay has noticed everyone seems a lot more comfortable with each other. She started asking to spend time all together more often then not. There was no real objections to this surprisingly. They all settle into a consistent dynamic around each other pretty naturally. If you were to ask Raha or Shtola how they defined their relationship at that point they would probably say they were just Arsay's partners and leave it at that. Ask Arsay and she might let slip how she caught the two snuggled up to each other while they were reading on the couch at her apartment.

[end of endwalker 6.0 spoilers from this point]

The next shift between the two is while on the Ragnarok waiting for Arsay to regain consciousness. I have a particular scene in my head which i cant gpose out since I don't have access to the environment so here it is described: --

Y'shtola has placed herself against the wall of the ship, shifting from pose to pose doing her best to contain her nervous energy. They did all that they could to seal up as many of Arsay's wounds as possible. Still it was impossible to tell just how much blood Arsay had split prior to her arrival. What Y'shtola could see is that Arsay's aether was unbelievably weak, having been all but spent in a final clash with (presumably) Zenos. For all Y'shtola knew, Arsay's body arrived to them too late. Her head began to spiral at the thought. So much so that she had failed to notice G'raha had torn himself from Arsay's side to stand next to her. He looked at Y'shtola with a pitiful face, eyes puffy and red, lips pressed into a trembling frown. Neither of them had the wherewithal to speak at this point, and Y'shtola most certainly did not want to. Twelve forbid if a single being on that ship heard her voice shake or crack even the slightest. Instead, G'raha timidly put his hand around Y'shtola's and held it. It was a small gesture, something he'd often do whenever Arsay looked in need of support. It was a comfort to her, to hold hands with a loved one. The two stood together in silence. Their gazes fixed on to Arsay's motionless figure laying in the centre of the room. Y'shtola squeezed G'raha's hand ever so slightly. Holding on to someone you love was a great comfort indeed.

-- Perhaps its not an as romantically charged love, but its love! Shtola and Raha are part of Arsay's tribe and they've come to care deeply for each other. Again, I do not believe either would readily admit to those feelings publicly, but in private conversation with Arsay it's obvious how fond of each other they have become. (this is also when shtola and raha begin feeling more comfortable being intimate together with Arsay >w> she is notorious for doing everything for her partner and not really letting herself be focused on. The two of them work as a team to make sure arsay gets some attention *nods* )

And, imo?, their closeness is kinda backed up by the endwalker patch content where G'raha already knew where to find Y'shtola and did not hesitate to get her for the treasure hunt. And then many of the proceeding patches has Y'shtola saying in passing that she's been in constant communication with G'raha. okay yes im not delusional, I know they are brought up because of them having relevance to the things happening or being done in the plot but still! The way the dialogue is phrased I can't help but put my wolship glasses on lol. I figure Raha and Shtola keep pretty consistent contact even when they are busy doing their own thing, same as Arsay does with them. The most recent development for my wolship is that by 6.5, they are all pretty much married to each other. Unofficially, that is. No ceremony is held or anything of that vein. It was more that they all finally managed to say out loud how much they want to be in each other's lives no matter where the future takes them.

Eventually I picture the three of them getting a proper house together. Arsay surprises G'raha by importing a bunch of furnishings from the crystarium, and dedicates an entire room just for Y'shtola's book collection. She also brings back some flowers native to the Greatwoods for decoration. Until then though home is wherever they are together!

So yeah! thats the break down of grah and shtola part of graharshtola!

thank you for reading, asking the question, and sending such a sweet message about my blorbos. Hope you have a fantastic day <3

[aceinejghafa]

just finished a binge watch of shadow & bone season 2... have some thoughts!

(many many spoilers for every single episode, so I'm putting this under the cut)

generally: absolutely amazing. The incorporation of the crows & the relationships within the crows (cough WESPER WESPER WESPER cough) are especially well done.

however. I gotta say I'm mad about what happens to Alina. So much of the books is about how Alina doesn't want to be the one to fix Ravka—she doesn't want to be queen, she's only doing it because it needs to be done. look at this quote:

“They wanted a Grisha queen. Mal wanted a commoner queen. And what did I want? Peace for Ravka. A chance to sleep easy in my bed without fear. An end to the guilt and dread that I woke to every morning. There were old wants too, to be loved for who I was, not what I could do, to lie in a meadow with a boy’s arms around me and watch the wind move the clouds.”

She wants peace for Ravka, she doesn't want to spend her life ruling the country. That is so much of the point of Shadow and Bone — the happy ending isn't marrying a king and fixing the country; it's an ordinary life, full of ordinary things—if love can ever be called that. (interesting that nikolai was brought into that quote in the show. love that he's a hardcore malina shipper. actually I think I might like nikolai more in the show than in the books, which is saying something).

but ANYWAY the show just. destroyed alina's whole arc there. throughout the show, she's all "I need to fix Ravka" and she seems to want that responsibility, rather than just wanting it to actually get done.

and then the ending. using merzost to resurrect Mal. not losing her Sun Summoner powers (unless you count possibly trading them for Darkling powers, which I don't). MARRYING NIKOLAI. Mal becoming Sturmhond 2.0 is fun & all, and the show did lead up to it pretty well, but it's just not what book!Mal would have wanted. STOP HAVING A CRISIS OF PURPOSE AND LIVE AN ORDINARY LIFE FULL OF ORDINARY THINGS—

so yeah I might be mildly irritated by some parts of the show there

that being said—Nikolai is SO well done

I think I might've mentioned this earlier, but show Nikolai might just be better than book Nikolai (Nikolai in TGT, at least)

like... the whole love triangle situation was significantly better? Nikolai and Mal didn't hate each other—they actually had a pretty great friendship (and I'm guessing people are going to start shipping Nikolai/Mal/Alina a lot more sometime soon)? Nikolai didn't basically assault Alina? I'm actually really impressed since usually a show would Up The Drama, and this one didn't <3

Nikolai giving Alina the compass, which is associated with Mal's whole true north thing... and then Mal getting the compass in the end... actually pretty cool

the quote about hope being the wind in the sails! "when people say impossible, they usually mean improbable"! yes yes YES !!!

zoyalai hints <3 tbh I was hoping for more than that but I am obsessed with what I got <3

also! dominik being alive at the start! so we get to meet him! and get bits of backstory!

and then he died which. I was expecting. but also :(((((((((

speaking of dying.

DAVID AND GENYA OH MY GODS

kinda disappointed that they skipped the "I'm not ruined. I'm ruination" quote

but on the other hand! the I know metal speech! that was AMAZING <333333333 they are so soft

and then they. kill david off. and i CRY

THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN UNTIL ROW

so yeah upset about that but not really mad... denya is definitely one of the best ships in the show...

and then!!! the crows!!! the crows!!! the crows!!!

SO MUCH WESPER CONTENT. we are BLESSED guys. Jesper & Wylan having a one-night stand pre-canon??? then getting to know each other??? and having a more serious relationship??? amazing showstopping top-tier content

a bit worried about whatever happens in the soc spinoff when jesper finds out that wylan is a van eck—could be kinda painful

also I'm hoping they entirely skip jesper kissing kuwei, never really liked that bit in the books

"I kinda like your face" <<<< "maybe I liked your stupid face" but admittedly it's hard to do the book quote when you don't have the Kuwei tailoring plot

Wylan saving the day by knowing cool botanical facts <3 I love him so much guys

actually the whole thing with Sankta Neyar is fantastic? like WOW I was expecting to dislike any non-books content but I did NOT that thing was GREAT (and showed that there's a future for superpowerful Grisha that is not becoming the Darkling, which is excellent because it's TRUE).

Inej & Mal & Tolya & Tamar going off to hunt slavers together—some mixed feelings about that. I have faith that Inej & Kaz will meet up again in future seasons, but idk?

kinda weird how all those CK plot elements showed up... Kaz beats Pekka and makes him beg, but then Pekka just starts running Hellgate from inside? no real consequences? unsuccessful revenge? and all the plot from CK (fake plague, Alby) is used up already

so yeah that was annoying

but also the scene where Inej asks Kaz what he wants... and you can SEE the words You, Inej. You running through his head... and then he says "to die buried under a mountain of my own gold"... every time they quote the books I go FERAL and this is no exception

so basically I'm worried about what they'll do with the crows in possible later spinoffs/seasons but also I absolutely adore all the content they gave us <3

fun fact: I watched the whole show on 1.5x speed because I only had 5 and a half hours. I used subtitles so I could always understand what they were saying, the only weird thing was any shot of anyone walking ever. still worth it so that I could watch everything, though <3

[evillious-trash]

Kay more Ney and Clarith au thoughts cause people seemed decently interested and I love nothing more than rambling about stories I may not end up writing:

Ney goes to the Freezises instead of Allen because. Idk, maybe he's sick? Not super important.

She meets Clarith (separate from Michaela) and immediately likes her. Clarith is just mildly startled the Lucifenian envoy likes her so much, while Ney has decided that they are extremely similar and therefore must be friends (or whatever her fucked up version of friends is)

She then meets Michaela and absolutely hates her. Wants her dead. And as far away from Clarith as humanly possible.

While she's there, she's definitely going to start trying to get Clarith to leave Michaela, but she won't, which just endears her more. So Ney starts trying to be more like Michaela, so Clarith will want to hang out with her instead

The Green Hunting happens, and Ney kills Michaela, and eats her heart. She may have gotten her hands on the Glass of Conchita earlier, or she just might be that upset. Anyways, she eats the hearts and then bolts before she's discovered.

Of course she sends Clarith as many letters as she can during this time, and decides she loves her. So when she finds out Clarith's stuck in a prison, she breaks her out and hides her in her room in the palace.

Prim is just kinda meh about this whole thing. She doesn't want Ney forming big connections to people, but it's not like some random girl from a farming village can derail her whole scheme. Ney is very much not cutting any ties, so it's not a problem.

Emotional manipulation time :D along with some hiding Clarith from literally everyone else with the help of Chartette, who somehow got roped into this shitshow.

Clarith is very much distraught and. Look. The only other person whose made an effort to be kind to her is right there. Very much her rebounding + Ney all but isolating her in the name if protecting her. They do get together, but they're not like. Happy. I mean Ney sorta is.

Revolution happens and Ney drags Clarith along with her to Marlon, only for her to find out about the whole Prim thing. Not the abuse part (that comes later) but the secret princess part, and she tries to convince Ney to tell someone about it.

It doesn't work, but Ney does threaten the Freezises into leaving Clarith alone. So. Yay?

I'm not really sure what would happen after this point lol, but it probably wouldn't be good

[joe-the-english-otter]

Cerebus The Aardvark: Issues #1-#100. My thoughts so far (Repost)

I'm gonna be reposting my thoughts on Cerebus The Aardvark onto Tumblr, mainly so it's easier to read and is much more accessible this way. This will be a three part saga, the next two parts will be posted over the next few days. I will also be putting caution warnings for specific things at some points in these posts, so if you see one that warns of content that might upset you, please do turn away.

(Originally posted to FA on January 9th 2023)

So, in late December, I discovered a now relatively obscure graphic novel series called; Cerebus The Aardvark. In a general sense, the series is about the life and times of an aardvark barbarian as he slowly climbs the ladder of power while everything collapses around him, sometimes very literally.

The series started in 1977 as a Conan The Barbarian parody and was an independently made and published series, made by a grand total of two-to-three people throughout it's near 26 year run, with the series ending on it's 300th issue. So you'd think a really long running and at times, very critically acclaimed, independent comic series would be talked more or at least be mildly well known, well I'll get to why it isn't later. First I'll give my thoughts on each major chapter/story arc of the series thus far:

Issues #1-#25: Fairly decent stuff, remains a parody of Conan for a good chunk of the first couple issues, along with parodies of other comic or fantasy characters of the time, such as; Elrod of Melvinbone, who is a light parody of Elric of Melnibone. Artemis Roach, A.K.A The Roach, who is used as a parody of whichever male DC/Marvel superhero is popular at the time.

Also introduced is Lord Julius, who is 100% written and drawn as Groucho Marx, though the character is portrayed as a comedic character, with a mind like a steeltrap and a skilled political master mind, which comes into play in the second story arc and throughout the rest of the story. This also introduces the trend of having parodies of various celebrities occasionally showing up and playing minor roles within the story as a whole. There are other characters that're introduced throughout the first arc, but most of them aren't hugely important to the story just yet, so I'll get to them when need be.

But yeah, it continues on it's parody path for quite a while as Cerebus goes from one-shot adventure to the next and we start to get an understanding of his character. He's not just your basic barbarian character-type, he is a full blown "Glorious-Bastard" type character (A Glorious Bastard, is basically a main character who has no redeeming qualities, at all, but you end up supporting them, because of them being surrounded by idiots, being stuck in a situation they can't escape from or you're awaiting to see their downfall. E.G. Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder) and as the series goes on, you slowly see how he gets corrupted almost completely by the want and need for gold.

Eventually the one-shot stories are phased out for an actual story that lays the ground work for the rest of the series, lots of world building and the start of character development.

Issues #26-#55: Honestly, some of the best stuff I've read. The writing and art style improve dramatically. This is where it turns from a straight forward parody, into a well crafted political drama and satire. It still has plenty of parody in it, but it definitely makes a shift towards the serious and it pays off, it's hear where we see the more "human" side of Cerebus, showing that he has complex emotions and is shown off when he finally find his love interest Jaka (Who was introduced towards the middle of the first arc) and the many people who're trying to take advantage of him as he becomes Prime Minister and trys to hold onto it when everything goes tits up.

This is where minor characters who were introduced early in the series get more fleshed out and given proper character arcs. Namely; Bran Mac Mufin, who was a throw away, off-screen warlord character, who turns out to be a civilized person and becomes a mysterious ally of Cerebus, talking about things to come in the most vague ways possible.

Another character that plays an important role in this arc, is Astoria, who basically tries to use Cerebus as a political puppet, but is unable to control him as she tries to use him for her own ends and to get back at Lord Julius (Who happenes to be her ex-husband). It should also be worth mentioning that Elrod and Roach occasionally show up throughout the series as comic relief, though they do both each play a somewhat important role in this arc as well.

Lots of tense moments, character drama and angry aardvark moments, highly recommended.

Issues #56-#100: This is where things take a darker tone for the series. The art style is still really fantastic and it continues to just get better. The writing can be very up and down in parts, it mainly starts to go down the closer it reaches issue #100. The character drama is still there, though it moves more into the religious area as Cerebus becomes Pope and abuses that power to it's most extreme lengths.

This is also where the character Adam Weisshaupt (who was introduced way early on and becomes Cerebus's political rival) becomes the series antagonist for the next couple issues, as he tries to control Cerebus as Prime Minister, but fails as Cerebus is made pope suddenly scrapping his plans and basically making Cerebus the most politically powerful person.

Obviously, this sudden rise in power makes Cerebus even more corrupt and his character is on the tight line between Glorious-Bastard and straight up villain throughout this arc and one particular moment really pushes it, though I'll mention that point shortly.

There's still a few more issues in this specific arc, so I haven't finished it just yet, but my thoughts thus far are; It's alright, there's some good moments, some bad moments and one really uncomfortable moment.

(Caution Warning: Character Sexual Assult Mention)

Right, now I'm going to talk about the thing most people will skip straight to; The controversy about the comics creator, Dave Sim. He is without question, an extreme sexist. For context (For what little I can give): The series started of as a Conan parody, so there was going to be the smallest amount of sexism in it, however the sexism really starts to ramp up as the series goes on and it really rears it's ugly head towards issue #100, when Cerebus basically rapes Astoria, after she threw her panties at him, implying that she was asking for it (Fucking ew).

Not only that, but the general treatment of female characters starts to get worse and worse, like, Astoria was initially written as a complex political chess master, whose trying to lead a political movemnt but over the course of a few issues, she becomes a generic feminist strawman, written from the perspective of someone who holds feminists in low regard.

Any other female characters who had any ounce of interesting developement, are watered down or are sidelined. The only female character that has some level of depth is Jaka and she's rarely seen throughout the series thus far.

Some of you are probably thinking at this point. Well that's bad sure, but that doesn't mean he's sexist. I'd like to refer you to two well written articles on Dave Sim: https://comicsalliance.com/tribute-dave-sim/

https://literatemachine.com/2020/08/28/cerebus-misogyny-and-madness/ There are spoilers in those articles for those that are still interested in reading Cerebus. I was warned beforehand about his sexism and how the last 100 or so issues of the complete 300 issue series, basically devolves into Dave Sim ranting about feminism and anything else that he doesn't agree with, framing it in the context of Cerebus The Aardvark.

I will continue reading the series as I'm already in too deep and I need to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. I will post the next update when I've finished issue #200.

Thank you for reading. If I'm factually wrong or have said something you disagree with, do let me know via a comment or DM me on either here or Twitter. Cheers.

[the-firebird69]

We are anticipating this week will be probably four or five large broken open on the west coast of Africa and one or two medium in Mexico maybe one large and globally it's not like 25% it'll increase because they will have fought and taken the stuff out by then we believe or they'll open more because they can't either way they will start changing it and during the week they will increase to probably 15% more which is a lot but they'll open a large one or two and it's going to speed up right now they have them cordoned off only but we can expect more rad probably two days at 0.5 rad

It's important

--right now the huge forces in the rings are diminishing it'll be cut in half in moments the fleet is still heating at the stone ship fleet of trump and they're more or less doomed out there. They are doing the wrong thing all the time his cities are cordoned off more right now it would take probably a third of his Force to break out of the cities and he's going to be stuck in there at some point the people doing it don't have that many ships but he can get them near Earth so it might actually be enough

--the bunkers all of them of trump are cordoned off and blocked those blocks are pretty big for them to break out they'd have to break out half of the people and a whole bunch of the stuff they could do it but they're not and they would just simply reinforce it but if they got it from both sides they could break out they don't seem to want to and he's not having them do it probably because they're not at the large ones yet and he wants to conserve he hasn't been expending that much yet

--the one with the pseudo empire is expensive but they haven't burned up as many troops as people think it's going mildly Wednesday started opening up the large it will heat up and there will be a lot of upset people these things are all happening pretty soon and according to the schedule of the revolutionary war reenactment these global events coincide with the events of the revolutionary war globally too most of them were confined some areas and it's the same analogy as with Massachusetts and we will review it most of it was in Europe.

---one of the biggest events was just formulated the other day no yes it was it was formulated on the first of August that's because Tommy F came up with it but now he's curious and says what the hell are those and they're on them and the pseudo empire and they're not fighting each other because they're right next door and uranium and they're in it and you don't seem to care about them because they're doing the job so he thinks it's an odd arrangement he thinks it's very odd and now they're looking blow they want to see what it is there's a lot of people interested and it's because of the symmetry that comes out on the scans when you look at the surface it's not really symmetrical. And when you look at other things you can see on the surface it's a it's not symmetrical and yeah this guy Dave has to go he's a f****** retard.

Thor Freya

Olympus

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

Liveblogging notes for ep. 12. I can't believe there's only two left.

Oh no, Chay, I know you're young but don't be like that.

Porsche is still in house uniform, so I guess he's still part of the security team, just not bodyguarding Kinn?

As I said last time, this eavesdropping thing never ends well. I keep forgetting that this is Porsche's first-ever relationship, which might explain some of his paranoia. Kinn's lots of things and lots of them aren't nice, but he's not gonna cheat on you. (Even if the boys miss him, or at least his wallet.) And it turns out that Kinn has gone off alone to meet with a guy about actual mob business. Kinn arranged for Porsche's uncle to lose all his money to pressure Porsche to take the job way back in episode 1 so they wouldn't lose the house?

This is not particularly surprising to me, but it surprises the hell out of Porsche.

Talking about blood types with your torturer, not on my bingo card sorry. Pete you're gonna get tazed some more aren't you. (There's no way hedgehog is even in the book. Literally no one has a pet hedgehog.)

Porsche is pissed. Why was Korn so intent on hiring Porsche as to go to all this trouble? Kinn still doesn't know, was just following dad's orders. Wants to help so much. They're both upset.

Korn is back to doing pottery, so we're doing all kinds of early-season callbacks now. He already knows what Porsche wants to ask - but first he offers to answer a question he didn't even have, about the car crash? The driver of the other car was a friend of Korn's.

Korn claims to have covered up the crash to help his friend. To have forgotten the matter until Porsche turned up that night Kinn was attacked, then made the connection and tried to make up for what he had done by giving Porsche the job, that he didn't tell the truth because Porsche would not have accepted help.

This is complete nonsense, obviously, and it feels like a diversion. Why did Korn even bring the accident into it?

I think this is the first direct criticism Kinn has ever offered Korn. "Went too far" is putting it mildly, but you have to start somewhere.

Korn was right about one thing; Porsche does not, in fact, accept his help.

Vegas' hedgehog is sick. He leaves the key. Escape attempt #2? Nope, turns out that Pete can't leave the soggiest of wet cats sitting alone on the lawn to ugly cry about his dead pet. This is officially the weirdest pair I have encountered in my journeys through fiction.

Funeral for a hedgehog.

Pete looks like he doesn't know what to do with this information. Same, my guy, same. Gun, why would you have a child take care of hedgehogs? They are not even domesticated. Was the point just to get him used to everything he cares for dying? Because that is VERY messed up, I'm kinda impressed actually.

I don't know how the writers are doing this, what alchemy is going on here. I can't say I ship it, but this is compelling af.

HOLY SHIT PETE just fucking GOING for it?! Gonna fall for a monster, don't mess around I guess. Again with the dizzy camera movement, too. Remember when Pete was shy and kinda goofy?! Cause um... whew. No wonder he didn't want to kiss Porsche, boy's way too vanilla for him.

In a neck-snapping change of tone, the Kittisawats are back at home--and Kinn went with them. Good job, stand by your man. Learn to do laundry, god knows you gave the main house staff enough work. We've come a long way since episode 5, but Porsche is worried his rich boyfriend won't adjust well?

Porsche, remember that Kinn was miserable until you came along? That he would literally rather have stayed lost in the forest with you than go home? You can only get through so many days by means of functional alcoholism and rented sex; he'll be fine. And you were right, he is cute when he smiles.

Teh and Time came to visit? Oh my word, suddenly I am Concerned. Domestic shenanigans are ruined by Korn's arrival, with a picture of the other driver from the accident -- and the guy's address. Innnteresting play, Korn, very interesting. You are down to very few pieces now; what's the idea?

So they go to the address, and Porsche has a gun, and Kinn is offering to go with him because your first murder is a very emotional time for anybody I guess and he's willing to step up. (How many times has Kinn been given a photo and an address and a totally unspoken expectation by his father?). However, the guy's granddaughter is right there so... nah, not doing that.

Super-interesting use of mirrors in this bit? Like it's almost stepping the camera back from the sheer intimacy of it while Porsche breaks down crying.

Back to the bar, where it all started, for a fresh start. Porsche is smiling again, so that worked, and their song is playing. I'm a little worried about all the red light in that scene though.

Kim finally shows up at school and finds out that Chay ditched the whole thing, and is perturbed. Yeah, your actions have consequences, idiot. Chay meanwhile has read the manual: He is dying his hair blue and going out with friends to a bar he's too young for. (At least those friends know that Porsche will kill them if he finds out, although they might not realize that should be taken literally.)

Chay you are gonna get SO sick. Kid's already drunk for the first time, now you want to give him drugs? Not to worry, Kim materializes out of nowhere to slap the guy down. You two already broke up, how are you having a breakup fight now?

More food. That's right Kinn, tell him he's pretty. He is.

Deadbeat Uncle shows up out of nowhere? What the hell? Wants to send his regards to Korn and tell Porsche not to trust any of them, give Porsche a photo of his family that HAS KORN IN IT and ask for money?

[practically-an-x-man]

4, 16, 20

thank you bestie!!

4. Is there a film that you love except for the ending? What would you change about the ending?

Ugh, there's one at the back of my mind that I remember being so upset about, but I can't remember what it is now! I know it was something I watched recently, but I also might be thinking of a TV show or video game or something. I wish my brain had a search history.

I do get mildly annoyed by the ending of Ex Machina, though it's one of my all-time favorite movies overall. I like Ava's escape, but I don't understand how Caleb gets trapped, since he reversed the command so the doors unlock with a power outage. I've seen that movie several times, and even analyzed it almost shot-by-shot for a research project, but I don't see anything that suggests the code was switched back between Ava's release and her final escape.

Cabin in the Woods is a fantastic movie with what feels like an incredibly rushed ending. I liked the idea of "characters representing classic horror archetypes are put in an experiment to see how true they are" idea, and I can see how appeasing ancient gods could be an interesting morality-defying motive to spur the experiment into continuing, but it would be so much more interesting if the gods weren't real. Then it would be more a discussion of how far humankind will go for an unproven belief, to the point that it could even be an allegory for organized religion, but instead the gods are just real in the end and it cuts any possible symbolism to nothing. And the giant CGI hand bursting out of the ground kinda ruined it for me.

And Upgrade: there's a time and a place for the uncertain ending, but I don't even know what to think about that one. There's just... too much, I think. It's hard to describe, but it feels a little forced to me. Either his wife is alive and it kills the entire message the movie spent so long building, or she's dead and it's all an illusion fed by STEM, which again feels obvious after how much they stressed the impact of her death on Grey. I feel like it would've done better to have him "wake up" in the hospital, but without his wife present. It would make the ambiguity of the ending a little more truly ambiguous, instead of carving such hard lines. With an ambiguous ending like that, you kinda have to go all or nothing.

There's a lot of horror movies that fall into this category. I love the concept and 90% of the movie, but they end up amputating it right at the very end because they built so much story they can't keep up with it.

16. How do you feel about talking during movies being watched at home?

I don't mind, as long as it's 1. at home, not at the theaters and 2. the person stops when you ask them to stop. I'm all for a little discussion between scenes, especially when there's some cool effect or funny joke or something, but y'all better not be chattering through the important parts

20. What movies do you have on your current to-watch list?

I want to watch the new Indiana Jones movie, I'm still trying to coordinate with my dad and sister so we can all watch Guardians 3 (he doesn't want to watch it without her), and I've been meaning to watch more of David Cronenberg's movies since I have a project on him in my SFX class. Oh, and Repo! The Genetic Opera, since you mentioned it earlier

[weregreatatcrime]

Hey, given what you said about Casey finding Karai attractive, and how Casey is really good with Miwa, maybe Donnie would try to set the two up. After all, if Casey is seeing Karai, not only will he not have any more competition on the April front, but then Karai will improve emotionally too, so it’s a win-win. Of course, I don’t think that it’s going to WORK, at least not so easily, especially since Karai will probably see his attempts and be confused about what’s going on, but the idea would be pretty hilarious to see, especially with how Karai reacts.

HSKDFGSKGHS while I see your point I also know that Donnie has personally seen Karai climb up a wall and into the ceiling to avoid a mildly emotional conversation More Than Once

For one I hc Karai as very lesbian, if MAYBE a bit homoflexible. For two, she may Understand attraction with humans but holy shit is she not available for it. Not to mention Casey might have her admiration for being such an unmovable dumbass he should be long long dead but she is not into that. Changelings are very into Being Able To Murder Each Other and Casey's a lot but he's not that

Also, troll relationships aren't the same in the slightest to human relationships and are much less a casual thing considering they live for thousands and thousands of years. Changelings tend to take after them in that but also changelings just. Don't.

Plus changeling Karai is in that stage of realizing she HAS and recovering from trauma that relationships are just a bad, bad, bad idea especially with the new fact of Not Being Human Ever Again. She was willing to play around and date as a human both to help her cover and also just because humans uhhhhh how to put this. Experience Hormones. Changelings don't quite have hormones at all, and most of what they do have are more Random Violence and Paranoia. So the combination of it is just that Karai is not gonna even want a relationship with ANYONE until at the VERY least her own instincts and mind can remember her own damn species. Her entire already messed up life got flipped upside down and through a loopdeloop.

If it did happen, for pure considerations' sake, I think she'd beat up Casey on principle (he'd probably just be like "yeah that's fair" and take his licks) and then go stab Donnie Very Intentionally resulting in someone having to #1 find her because she disappeared afterwards and #2 have to give the murder sister a shaky lecture on "You can't just stab someone because they pissed you off" which will likely result in an argument of "I WENT FOR NONLETHAL IF ANOTHER CHANGELING TRIED SOME BULL LIKE THAT I WOULD KILL THEM" and a lot of screaming, hissing, and cranky baby Miwa who doesn't know what's going on besides "Karai is UPSET"

Thankfully, as the one closest to Karai and the one who best understands her thought process, Donatello would know very well how close to death he would come for trying anything like that lmfao