#because she's a symbol for something he hates and fears

[danlous]

2.07 made it more clear than ever that everyone in the story (except perhaps Madeleine) views Claudia as a symbol for something rather than really seeing her. The scene where Louis is dragging Claudia on the floor like a doll begging Lestat to look at their 'beautiful little daughter' is both heartbreaking and deeply unsettling. This young girl who Louis doesn't even know is given the impossible weight of being everything to Louis; his light and redemption, replacement for his sister, fulfilling his longing to have children and to take care of something, his friend and confidante, fixing his relationship with Lestat, proving that living as a vampire could be worth it, giving him happiness and purpose. She called Louis an angel and saw something good and beautiful in him when Louis himself felt there was none, so Louis desperately hopes that he can be her savior and she can be his.

For Lestat she's something that keeps Louis tied to him, and to the world and vampirism and existence itself. He spitefully tells Claudia to come home and make Louis happy - because it's her purpose. Lestat sees himself in Claudia and detests it, but as he says he also sees his best vampiric self in her and is proud of it. Louis and Lestat both love Claudia deeply but i think they also see her as a living physical symbol of their eternal connection to each other, their union and its breakdown, and all their shame and guilt. In the modern day Louis' house in Dubai is like a mausoleum built for the memory of Claudia - and himself.

In Paris she's forced to assume the role of a little girl over and over again, the audience loving her but only the image of her that doesn't really exist. To the coven she ends up meaning everything they despise and on her last day she's completely dehumanized. In the book Armand says "I never loved her. I didn't know how", and i think that's reflected in the show too. I don't think Armand felt much toward Claudia other than resentment and something almost like fear, and that's what allows him to kill her with such coldness. Claudia is a living obstacle to his relationship with Louis, and like Lestat i think he's uncomfortable with seeing himself and his trauma and pain in Claudia.

But i think above all Armand too sees her as the embodiment of the connection and love between Louis and Lestat. I think Armand views Claudia first and foremost as Lestat's child and an extension of him, particularly obvious from the scene where he calls her Claudia de Lioncourt, and he's reminded of Lestat every time he looks at her. It doesn't matter if Claudia was going to leave with Madeleine, even if she and Louis never met again. As long as Claudia exists Louis will never be fully his, because he's connected to Lestat through her and thus belongs to Lestat. Claudia must be destroyed so that connection can be severed

[uisceb]

Okay I want to talk about this moment between Morrible and Glinda for a sec because it adds such a wonderfully sinister layer to a scene that is otherwise a triumphant defining moment for Elphaba, and it sets up the dynamics for Part 2 so perfectly.

At this point, we are in the thick of “Defying Gravity.” Everyone’s attention is on Elphaba - and rightfully so, she’s up there declaring war on the Wizard, displaying incredible feats of magic, of course everyone’s attention is on her.

…Everyone, except Morrible.

Morrible has realized that Plan A was a bust, but rather than panicking, she’s already worked over Plans B through Z in her head and has realized that Glinda, not Elphaba, is actually the key figure here. Glinda is actually the best thing that could have happened to them.

Mind you, Morrible hates Glinda. She thinks Glinda is vapid and attention-seeking and completely without talent. It would be extremely easy for her to brand Glinda as an accomplice to Elphaba, have the guards drag her off, imprison her, never have to deal with her again, nice and neat.

Instead, while everyone else is focused on Elphaba, Morrible only has eyes for Glinda. She zeroes in on her, releases her, and comforts her, because she understands what no one else understands, which is that yes, that’s great that the Wizard now has an enemy to unify his people against, but they also need a symbol of hope, something that is the exact antithesis to Elphaba, something to keep everyone at extremes. 

The Wizard himself can’t really be a symbol of hope, because the key to his success is that he remains shrouded in mystery, and yes people think he’s wonderful, but there’s a level of uncertainty and intimidation to him. He is Oz the Great and Terrible, and everyone’s preeeeeetty sure he’s a good guy, but if you have someone like Elphaba out there - who Morrible knows from experience is very smart, very articulate, and has her own sort of magnetism - there’s a potential that she could turn at least enough people against the Wizard to make things very inconvenient.

So what they need, now that they have an enemy, is to have an equally magnetic figurehead representing the Wizard who embodies all these one-dimensional ideas of goodness, someone for the public to adore and fawn over so the association between Wizard and Goodness is crystal clear.

And by bringing Glinda along, Elphaba has unknowingly served that figurehead up on a platter.

Glinda is everything Elphaba isn’t, from personality, to appearance - Morrible has already set Elphaba up by calling her green skin an “outward manifestorium of her twisted nature,” which paves the way for Glinda, who is the perfect conventional beauty, to be an “outward manifestorium” of pure goodness. 

Morrible realizes they need these two lightning rods of Absolute Evil and Absolute Good in order to manipulate people - fear alone isn’t enough; the only way to effectively radicalize the populace is to make sure there is no gray area whatsoever, no room for question: you're either good, or you’re evil. And the Wizard alone isn’t a strong enough representation of “goodness” when by virtue of existing, he has to remain in the shadows. Glinda on the other hand? With her looks and her charm and her openness and her ability to expertly win over a crowd? Perfect for the role.

Now the tricky part for Morrible is taking into consideration that Glinda and Elphaba love each other. But we also know from earlier scenes that Morrible is a master at manipulating emotions. Right from the start when Elphaba is having trouble with her magic, Morrible casually brings up the “Animals should be seen and not heard” disturbance from class, spoon-feeding her just enough to get Elphaba upset, triggering her magic, after which Morrible makes sure to give her assurance and praise to keep Elphaba optimistic about her power.

She’s also aware that Glinda does have quite a bit of influence over Elphaba, because when Elphaba flees, Morrible immediately tasks her with winning her over, rather than simply relying on the guards or even going after Elphaba herself. She knows if anyone has a chance at roping Elphaba back in, it's Glinda.

Obviously, Glinda isn’t successful in getting her back, but while this puts a dent in Morrible’s plans to get control of Elphaba, it does give her an extra weak spot to exploit in Glinda.

So now, at the height of “Defying Gravity” when Elphaba has officially taken her stand against them, Morrible sees Glinda, and Glinda is at her most vulnerable, her most emotionally fragile. Not only is she heartbroken and in shock, she’s also just witnessed in real time exactly how easy it is to turn an entire nation against someone. She’s scared, she’s powerless. She’s just lost the love of her life her only friend, she has no one to turn to - Morrible has definitely picked up on the fact that even though Glinda has countless people who fawn over her, none of them can be considered a true friend except for Elphaba, which means Glinda is completely isolated. Glinda also has a very limited understanding of the bigger picture of what the Wizard is trying to accomplish, and because she’s never been a victim of the system the way Elphaba has, she is still desperately clinging to the idea that everything will be okay as long as she plays by the rules of the people in power.

She has been perfectly primed for Morrible to begin manipulating, not through violence or intimidation, but by offering her comfort when no one else would - when not even Glinda’s only friend would - when no one else is even paying attention to Glinda, because they have the very real and present threat of Elphaba quite literally hanging over them. In this moment, Morrible chooses Glinda, which Glinda has been striving for since the beginning. Elphaba has chosen her principles, the Wizard has chosen his enemy, but Morrible has chosen Glinda, and in this moment of being so alone and so afraid and so betrayed, that makes all the difference.

We also get kind of a parallel shot too - Elphaba really sealed her fate the second her hand closed around the broom. But here, Glinda seals her fate when she gives in and reciprocates Morrible’s hold on her.

THIS is the moment that sets us up for Part 2, with Elphaba and Glinda as our lightning rods for Absolute Evil and Absolute Good, but more to the point, it makes it clear that they’ve BOTH been used, they’ve BOTH played right into these respective roles Morrible and the Wizard need in order to be successful - even if it wasn’t how Morrible originally planned for things to go.

I just love it, because “Defying Gravity” is Elphaba’s song - it’s triumphant, and it’s heartbreaking, and it’s everything a defining moment should be for a character. But by injecting this little moment between Morrible and Glinda into the scene, we also get an underlying current of dread because we know we’re about to see the consequences of Elphaba’s defiance versus Glinda’s compliance and how both serve to benefit the Wizard/Morrible’s propaganda.

TL;DR - when I said "I want to talk about this scene between Morrible and Glinda for a sec" I clearly meant "I'm gonna write a whole essay. Like a nerd."

[himasgod]

Hi hi, i saw that requests are open so can i ask for Diasomnia reacting to reader being a dragon rider like the Targaryens please? Reader’s dragon is also super aggressive to anyone that isn’t her rider.

DIASOMNIA X READER

Where you are a dragon rider

Malleus literally blinks twice when he sees you flying in on a dragon just as big or even bigger than him.

I mean… how come he wasn't warned there was another powerful dragon in the region?!

He stands there, arms crossed, watching you land, your cape flapping and the dragon breathing fire as a warning.

"Interesting creature…"

…and you can't tell if he means you or the dragon.

He tries. He really does. He approaches you with all his fae princely elegance, but the dragon immediately blows smoke out of its nostrils.

"Don't worry. I'm used to being feared… though they don't usually bare their fangs so quickly."

A little offended, but even more intrigued

He's fascinated that you can control such a temperamental creature. He looks at you with respect and mild infatuation.

"Could it be that you can control this dragon too…?" he says, pointing at himself with a smile 💀💀

He's amused when the dragon roars at him if he tries to get too close to you.

"Are you that jealous, old friend? Can't you see I just want to talk to your rider?"

The best part is when you stroke his arm, easing the tension, and Malleus gives the dragon a triumphant look as if to say, "She's touching me, and you can't help it."

He's not bothered that the dragon doesn't want him around. In fact, he takes it as a romantic challenge.

"In time, he'll accept it… just as I've accepted that my heart burns when I see you."

10/10 rizzler Malleus.

Sebek watches you descend from the sky with that imperial air, wrapped in fire, ash, and the wind blowing… and the first thing he thinks is:

“A WARRIOR WORTHY OF SERVING MY LORD MALLEUS!”

Seriously he's so impressed he's speechless for a few seconds.

Which, considering it's Sebek, is quite a feat.

The way you control that enormous beast with a single command, the way the dragon turns its head to follow your every step… it's terrifying, majestic, and wonderful for his sense of honor and discipline.

A flash of flame two feet away from him. Your dragon barks a warning that leaves him paralyzed, his hair standing on end and his pride trembling.

BUT… then he tries to get closer. Like a good bodyguard knight, he wants to make sure you're not a threat to Mal. He takes one step. Another. And then…

“U-UNACCEPTABLE!! HOW DARE THIS CREATURE THREATEN A FAITHFUL SERVANT OF MALLEUS-SAMA!?”

It takes him weeks to stop yelling at the dragon.

But he keeps trying. With his chest puffed out, he tries every diplomatic method he knows to get close without getting charred.

He speaks to it as if it were a troop:

“Listen to me, scaly creature! I seek no harm to your rider! I am here to protect her in the name of honor!”

He fails. Mostly.

The dragon hates him, especially because he screams so much and has such intense energy.

Still, Sebek respects you greatly. He says only someone with an unbreakable will and a soul forged in fire could tame such a beast. He even starts training harder to “be worthy of a dragon rider.”

Sometimes he gets jealous of the dragon tho.

“Why can that creature always be by her side and I can't?! It's not fair, damn it, it can't even speak like a decent knight!”

Over time, Sebek begins to see the dragon not just as an obstacle, but as a symbol of your power. And while he'll never bow his head to the creature, he will accept that it's part of your honor, your life, and your heart.

Silver sees you fly for the first time when he wakes up to the sound of wings. He looks up, half asleep… and gasps.

It's like seeing a dream. A colossal creature soaring through the sky with fire behind it, and you riding it like a goddess of war.

When you land and walk with that serene air, while your dragon protects your back like a jealous guardian, Silver feels something inside him…

as if he's recognized your soul before. As if he's already dreamed of you.

"You're like the legends my father told me when I was a child…"

He tries to get closer. With calm steps, without raising his voice, with soft eyes.

But your dragon doesn't allow it. He steps between you two, growls… and immediately throws a flame at the ground a few steps from Silver.

The funny thing is that Silver doesn't get angry. He just bows his head and apologizes, respectfully.

"I understand… you're looking out for her. And that's okay."

Of course, every time he sees you, your dragon watches him as if evaluating him. Silver stays still, let it smell him, doesn't defend himself. He's willing to slowly earn your trust.

In fact, there's a precious moment when Silver accidentally falls asleep near you, and your dragon… doesn't attack him.

He lets him be. He watches him, even shades him with one of his wings.

When you wake up and see that, you realize your dragon has silently accepted it.

If there's ever a battle, Silver is ready to fight by your side. He won't ride your dragon, because he respects the sacred bond you have, but he will walk in your shadow, sword in hand, confident that you and your creature are the closest he's ever come to the fantasy he dreamed of as a child.

Lilia sees the dragon snarling, breathing fire into the air, and you sitting on its back as if you were on your throne. And his first reaction is,

"How cute! Look at those sharp little teeth! And that temper! I love it! He does look like Malleus when he was still in his shell, baby boy~"

The dragon blows a flame at him, and Lilia… laughs.

“Ohhh, you sure know how to give a warm welcome! You're so polite!”

Unlike the others, he doesn't get offended or frustrated. he treats it like a game.

Sometimes he even brings the dragon fresh meat as an offering, though she only drops it from a safe distance.

“Now, now, don't be so cold. I promise I won't eat your rider… unless she wants it.”

Please tell me I didn't just write that.

But seriously, deep down, Lilia admires you greatly. Your bravery, your connection with a wild creature, your strength and grace… he finds it all fascinating. And yes, sometimes he casts flirtatious glances at you from afar while your dragon jealously watches

"Do I also have to win over your guardian to win you over, my dear?"

[shanastoryteller]

Sam seems convinced this is going to work, but Dean’s pretty sure it’s just a load of crap. Bobby’s even more convinced that it’s a whole lot of nothing, although he had admitted that he couldn’t read every symbol that Sam had added to this mess up devil’s trap. That didn’t mean it would work. It just meant that Sam had thrown everything he could think into it.

The real reason that Dean is going along with this, and probably Bobby is too, is because it means that Sam wouldn’t be alone after Dean is dragged to hell. Although standing in the middle of Bobby’s junkyard in a mess of spray paint isn’t exactly how he’d wanted to spend the last hour of his life.

“You really think Lilith is going to show?” he asks. He doesn’t know why she would. She just has to send the hellhounds, who’s howls and yips Dean has been hearing for days. And those things have never been stopped by any sort of devil’s trap.

“Yes,” Sam says, tense, not looking at him.

That’s another thing. For weeks Sam has barely looked at him, barely talked to him. Which sucks, because he’d really wanted to spend the last weeks of his life just looking and talking to and spending time with his brother, but Sam hadn’t been interested in that. At all.

He shares a look with Bobby, who just shrugs, hands tight on his shotgun.

Then the hellhounds come, just like he knew they would, no Lilith in sight. “Sammy,” he says, reaching out for his brother. Not because he thinks he can do anything, but because he wants to touch Sam one last time, one last memory to sustain him through hell.

Sam snaps out his hand and the hellhounds go skittering back, letting out pained yowls.

Dean stares, not understanding. “What did you – wait. You can see them?”

Only he should be able to see them. He’s the one that made the deal.

Sam still won’t look at him, damnit, even as Dean fists his hand in the back of his shirt. Sam's voice is low and pained when he says, “I’m sorry.”

Fear clenches in his gut. But before he do anything, there are demons surrounding the devil’s trap, appearing one by one in Bobby’s junkyard. They’d needed to take down his protections so Lilith could get in, but they hadn’t expected this. Of course she brought a freaking audience.

“Which one of you is Lilith?” he barks out, dragging Sam behind him. He refuses to let the last thing he sees be his brother hurt, or worse.

Dozens of demons stand there, human vessels with pitch black eyes. The hellhounds whimper and slink around them, but don’t seem interested in getting any closer. Dean can’t blame them.

Sam pries his hand off of him, stepping away before Dean can grab onto him again. He leaves the safety of the devil’s trap, which is fucking stupid. Dean’s lunging forward to stop him, but then there’s Bobby’s arm holding him back, face pale with a horror Dean doesn’t understand. He hadn’t looked like that even at Cold Oak, when they’d seen the gates open to hell.

The demons bow.

He blinks, not understanding what he’s seeing.

Sam is standing there in front of them, no protections, and they’re all bowing to him.

Except one.

Ruby is there, stupid red leather jacket and blonde hair and the smirk he hates so much. She walks around the demons up to Sam, who’s face is cold and expressionless. “She’s coming.”

“I know,” he says. “If this doesn’t work, I’m going to kill you.”

“Promise?” she returns. “If this doesn’t work, death will be a mercy.”

Dean tries to push Bobby off of him, to get in between Sam and this bitch, but he doesn’t let go.

Then there’s a little girl in a white dress, head tilted to the side. “Something here belongs to me.”

Ruby flinches, stepping just slightly behind Sam.

“Not you,” she sneers. “You haven’t belonged to me in a long time, I fear. You really think that this boy can save you?”

“Sam,” Ruby says.

He sighs, like this is a trial, and raises his hand.

Lilith’s sneer drops from her face. Her upper body yanks forward, but her legs won't move. “You bastard,” she snarls, raising her hand in return, but nothing happens.

For the first time, fear flickers across her face.

Ruby steps forward, her own terror swallowed up by arrogance, by delight.

Dean tries to move, but finds he’s just as frozen as Lilith, even more so. He can’t twitch a single muscle. Going by Bobby’s unnatural stillness next to him, he assumes he’s in the same boat.

“Samuel is the heir of the light bringer,” Ruby says. “He has taken his birthright. You can’t touch him.”

What’s she talking about? What birthright?

What has Sam done?

“No,” Lilith snarls. “He’s nothing more than one of Azazel’s experiments.”

“A night, a full day, and then morning,” Ruby says. “That’s what he was. Then he rose on the third day.” She shoots a mocking look his way. “If it weren’t for his brother, he would have died nothing more than a failed experiment. But he has risen.”

No. What does that mean? What’s she saying? He had just wanted Sammy back.

Did he do this? Is this his fault?

“Ruby,” Sam says, a note of warning in his voice.

“Right, right,” she sighs. Then, back to gleeful, “Her eyes.”

Sam’s finger twitches and Lilith’s eyes bleed black tears.

She screams, the sound even worse because her vessel is a child.

Ruby lists thing after thing, pulling out her fingernails, peeling her skin. Her blood is black, none of it red, and the injuries shouldn’t really be hurting her but they clearly are. Dean watches helplessly as Sam tortures Lilith at Ruby’s command, enacting one terrible thing against her after another.

Lilith lies there, moaning, limbs broken, body in pieces.

“That’s enough,” Sam says.

“Enough?” Ruby hisses, turning to face him. “You know what she did to me! She – she–”

Sam’s stoic mask breaks, creasing in sympathy. Dean would prefer it wasn’t for a demon, for Ruby, but at least he now recognizes his brother. He raises his free hand to her head, his touch an oddly gentle counterpoint to everything he’s done to Lilith. “I know. But it’s enough.”

Tears glint in her eyes, just for a second, then she swallows and nods, stepping away from Sam’s hand.

He steps forward, crouching in front of Lilith. “You shouldn’t have come after my brother. Now we both have to live with the consequences.” His mouth twists. "So to speak."

Whatever she would have said in response is lost in her screams. Black smoke pours from her, then lights up, like a spark in steel wool, the fire moving through her reminding him almost of the Colt.

Lilith dies. Sam kills her, no Colt, no devil’s trap. Nothing but his own terrifying powers.

“Will you bow to me now?” he asks.

Ruby tears her eyes from Lilith’s corpse and her irritating fucking smirk slides back into place. “Now?” She steps closer, tilting her head back almost like she’s about to kiss him, then falls gracefully to her knees in front of him. It looks more like she’s about to give him a blowjob than a form of subservience, but he thinks that for a moment Sam almost seems amused. “I bowed to you first.”

“So you did,” he says softly. He raises his voice. “Move out. Casey. You know your job.”

“Yes, sire,” says one of the demons, voice almost familiar.

Then Sam’s walking away, Ruby just a step behind him. The other demons follow suit, the hellhounds not even glancing at Dean as they get caught up in the procession.

Sam still won’t look at him. He only sees the back of his brother’s head as he leaves him behind

The only demon left is Casey. He knows her, he recognizes her, the demon he’d been trapped with in that city full of sin, the one that Sam had shot and killed. He’d seen him kill her.

She gets to her feet, offering him a smile as she draws closer. “Hello, Dean. I bet you never thought you’d see me again.”

She steps right into the devil’s trap and presses a hand to him and Bobby each. As soon as she touches them, they’re able to move, darting away from her and leaving her stuck in the devil’s trap.

“What the hell was that?” he asks, wishing his voice wasn’t shaking, but he has more important things to worry about.

She turns to face them. “Samuel does not want you to die. He did what he had to do to ensure you wouldn’t.”

“The fuck you talking about?” Bobby asks gruffly.

“I told you back then I was ready to follow Sam,” she says, stepping out of the devil’s trap like it’s nothing, which she definitely shouldn’t be able to do. Bobby hadn't thought that this thing would be able to contain Lilith, but Casey’s nowhere near Lilith’s level. It should work on her just fine.

Bobby’s hand darts out, throwing holy water over her, but it doesn’t so much as steam.

She just looks amused. “That won’t work on me now. Neither will an exorcism, or any of the usual tricks. I have been purified.” She holds out her hand to Dean and it’s the Colt, the one that they’d lost when Bela sold it. “This is the only thing that will kill me now.”

“And you’re just handing it over?” Dean asks.

“I have my orders,” she says steadily. “Samuel wants you to have it.”

His entire body goes gold.

“What do you mean purified?” Bobby asks, shooting Dean a concerned look. “You’re a demon. Purifying you should kill you.”

“And was Lucifer a demon?” she asks. “I have taken the sacrament.”

Dean doesn’t know what that means, but Bobby’s expression shifts from disgust to shock to a horror filled curiosity. “You drank Sam’s blood?”

She did what?

“I have taken the sacrament,” she repeats, lifting her chin. “Samuel purified me.”

How the hell would Sam’s blood do that? Why had she drank it in the first place? She’s a demon, not a damn vampire. Dean pushes those questions aside and instead asks, “How are you even alive?”

��Samuel resurrected me,” she says. First he can kill demons, and now he can bring them back? “He knows we had a rapport and he thought it would be easier if it was me.”

“What would be easier?” he asks. His head is spinning and his heart hurts and he doesn’t understand anything that just happened. At least being dragged to hell would have been simpler.

She presses the Colt into his hands. “Samuel doesn’t want you to die. He knows this will be difficult for you, that you’ll make poor choices. I have my orders. I am to stay with you and keep you alive. We’re going to get to know each other very well, Dean.”

“Like hell,” he says gruffly, hand tightening as he takes the Colt and raises it to her head. “What’s to stop me from killing you?”

“The same thing that will stop you from killing Samuel,” she says and he flinches. “Nothing.”

He stares at her. He can’t bring himself to speak.

“You’ll have to hunt him down the old fashioned way,” she says casually. “But if you can find him, you can kill him. We’re all under orders not to touch you. Samuel won’t stop you if you want kill him. The same way I won’t stop you if you want to kill me.”

“Why?” he asks.

She shrugs. “It’s always been up to you, Dean. He trusts you. If you decide that he must die, then he’s willing to die.”

Dean sold his soul for him. He’s not going to fucking kill him.

But the Sam he sold his soul for wasn’t capable of doing that to Lilith. He wouldn’t have even wanted to be.

“What about your demon lover?” Dean asks, thinking of the priest that Casey had embraced and kissed, the demon she’d begged to spare Dean’s life before Sam had killed them both. “Sam bring him back too?”

Grief chases across her face before she smooths it away. “He will. If I am good, and obedient, and loyal, then Samuel will bring him back for me.”

Dean’s stomach rolls to hear Sam described like that, like some sort of tyrant or king. Like Dad. “You really believe that?”

Casey meets his gaze steadily as she echoes the words she’d said to him in that basement as she spoke of Lucifer, except now she’s talking about his brother. “I have faith.”

[sugar-grigri]

Pochita, if you can read, why don't you speak ?

Wouldn't it be humane to protect humanity and demonic to protect the underworld? And what if... it was actually the other way around.

The interweaving of questions and answers is exactly what this chapter does.

While Yoru sordidly states that children are nothing more than the property of their parents, the one who can't speak, instead of devouring a human as he did with all those demons, decides to go to the blood drive.

Pochita understood what the sign meant. He knows how to talk. But he'd rather hold up that sign and roar than make any demands.

Worse still, he does not decide to give any orders.

It's not words that symbolise order, it's that raised index finger that already in Roman times expressed command.

In the United States, arms are a constitutional right (as recently reiterated by the Supreme Court, which does not admit of any restrictions), a fundamental freedom but also a means of preserving one's freedom, allowing organised militias to fight and protect the State.

You can see how it's all a construction, the weapons are a technological creation, the State is an administrative and political creation.

And that's where things get interesting. First of all, this chapter is highly symbolic and has a very strong political message (oh my god, political interpretation in a manga, impossible..........)

Yoru has sliced off the index fingers of those who support the right to bear arms in the United States. Or campaign for that freedom. But what Yoru is doing. In fact, it's taking it away from them. How can I shoot without this index finger? You can't do it.

It's by taking weapons away from men that they actually regain their freedom.

But it goes even further than that. Why does Yoru sacrifice these fingers? Because it reinforces the fear of weapons. Let's say I point a gun at you (sorry). You'd be less scared if you were as armed as I am. Especially when you're trained, know how to defend yourself and aren't afraid to shoot.

Yoru makes those who thought they were invincible with weapons vulnerable. She strengthens the Gun Devil's power. She contracts with them through her sacrificed child.

Weapons,

freedom,

deprivation of childhood,

of loved ones,

obsession with a mentor,

To think that a god created them.

Remind you of anyone?

Infanticide is what makes you immortal.

The sacrificed demons become weapons, lost between humanity and the demons. Not being human, nor demon, because they have no parents. Even artificial weapons like Reze and Katana display these characteristics. Isn't loneliness one of the ingredients?

Humanity sacrifices its children. As Fujimoto confirmed, they were prepared to do it for eternal youth.

And now you're going to say to me. NOOOO! Yoru too! Just as Makima wouldn't hesitate to do. The demons are also ready to do it.

Yes, because they are influenced by men.

Yoru speaks, uniting with humanity to say horrible things. Whereas Pochita doesn't speak. Worse still, he has chosen not to speak. Worst of the worst, even worse. He'd rather be a dog than a human. That's his choice.

Pochita fights for those he loves, he doesn't sacrifice them.

The demon of birth, it swallows but can spit out. Suspending existence, giving it new life, denying none of it.

Wasn't Makima devoured by Denji proof of this?

Nayuta is the symbol of this rebirth. A perpetual love that surpasses hate.

Pochita loves demons. He also loves those who mean something to him, like Denji. But he also knows that when we become too human, we can end up sacrificing ourselves out of vanity rather than love.

Pochita has sacrificed himself for love, without expecting anything in return as he waits permanently for Denji's dreams.

He is also Denji's lock, preventing him from fully adapting to men.

That's why killing Black CSM was Denji's wish come true. Because Pochita is preventing Denji from becoming normal.

Because he wants to protect him from humanity. Pochita has never been for humanity.

He is simply the guardian of the underworld, all those demons whose existence he guards, a supreme mother. Humanity must endure in order to continue to be afraid. But if humanity is prepared to overcome the ultimate fear of losing its child, then fear is scorned.

So Pochita tried to wipe out the weapons' existence, to devour them. But they still existed. Why? Because they are already the result of infanticide.

being devoured by the demon of birth, mother of the underworld, actually reinforces their existence.

Being devoured by their mother is the reason for their nature.

Whereas weapons are beings born because their mother has killed them.

Denji is the result of the death of the Supreme Mother.

It's not a weapon.

He's a wall.

Hero of the underworld.

A hero of the underworld who has been fighting from the start for the victory of love, sacrificing himself for those he loves and not sacrificing them. So he asks for blood.

And I'm sorry. If weapons really are born like that, they have to look human, and I think this is the last possessed human.

Someone's been ringing the doorbell.....for 100 chapters… it's time to answer it, isn't it?

[beifong-brainrot]

Aang is great because almost every ship you can put him in instantly becomes top-tier.

Like:

Kataang- they literally make me cry every single time I think of them. Their love story is wonderful and genuinely heartwarming. It symbolises healing and peace for both of them and the literal world. He showed her the world and he's her biggest supporter and she always defends him and they find solace in each other because they understand what it's like to be the last of their respective kind. And they're each other's hope and just... ahhh. They're so much more than the vanilla hero gets the girl ship people paint it as. Haters stay mad or smth.

Zukaang- the symbolism? They're the actual Ying and Yang of the show! The Rozin parallels? Them standing in a vortex of rainbow fire as two dragons (the blue one like Aang's tatoos facing zuko and the other one, red like Zuko's general colour scheme facing Aang) forming a heart shape around them? Zuko was literally searching for Aang and found his redemption in Aang and Aang made him a better person and Aang is literally the only person who genuinely experienced Fire Nation culture before the war and he clearly values it and he's helping Zuko bring peace to the world and the nation...

Taang- The og tomboy x soft boy dynamic. He's literally the person that helped her free herself from her parents and Air is the element of freedom? And she teaches him when to stand firm like the Earth? And I love when they do synchronised earthbending it's so satisfying and they work so well together. Toph having lost her face in one of Aang's nightmares is also a nice parallel to Ummi and Kuruk. (One caveat though: i hate taang being used as a "get Aang out of the way" side ship to Zutara)

Sokaang- they kinda come out of left field for me but the more I think about them the more obsessed I become. It's all about a teenage boy who has been forced into a role that demanded way too much of him finally learning to trust and rely on others. It's about Sokka finally living out the childhood that he was forced to grow out of. Sokka also has such a cute bond with Momo and more importantly, Appa, Aang's animal soulmate. The fics write themselves.

Sukaang- ok, I know Suki and Aang barely interacted in the show but like Hear me out.Suki is so connected to one of Aang's past lives. And she saved Appa, which would totally bond her and Aang (genuinely distressed that this was never discussed in canon). And they both value a sense of community so much, and Aang was one of the people who inspired Suki to leave Kyoshi to help others. Plus, there could be some amazing Rangshi parallels if Suki became Aang's bodyguard instead of Zuko's, which could be very plausible.

Azulaang- I adore this ship because I genuinely think Aang could really help Azula find her redemption. Hell, he was so nice to her in The Search and she literally killed him. Plus I've already laughed about how it would absolutely kill Ozai. The mental crisis Azula would go through due to fallingin love with Aang would be hilarious, and also the guilt over everything she's done, as Aang's kindness makes her realsie she was on the wrong side this whole time. He's one of the only people who can beat her at her prime and he doesn't seem to fear her at all, which is rare for her. Aang could give her the unconditional love she so desperately craves and needs.

Maiaang- genuinely adorable to me. Other than the obvious grumpy x sunshine trope, Maiaang has a lot of potential. Mai seems to genuinely like Aang in the comics, which is really cute. I also think Aang would be able to help Mai express her more positive emotions, other than just anger. Also something about the girl who was forced to remain silent and passive her whole life learning to finally let go and allow herself to just live with the help of probably one of the most active and expressive characters of the show has me by the throat. Plus, he got along great with her lil bro!

Tyaang- They're so similar and cute and bubbly! They'd have tons of fun together and I just know Ty Lee would teach Aang some gymnastics and he really enjoy it! I think he can also find Ty Lee's chiblocking very cool, since it is essentially a great way to deal with a conflict without causing permanent damage. Very airbendery. Speaking of which, Ty Lee is also very airbendry herself. I can genuinely see her finding herself in Air Nomad culture and be excited to help revive it.

Onjaang- i just find this ship so funny because imagine being a random schoolgirl in the fire nation and not only rizzing up a demigod but rizzing that demigod up successfully. This ship can also go so many ways depending on On Ji's reaction to that random cute guy who threw a cool dance party is actually the Avatar, so it's certainly interesting.

Yuaang- the ultimate cinnamon roll x cinnamon roll ship. But more than that, there's of course the Yue becoming the Moon Spirit and Aang getting lowkey possessed by the grieving Ocean Spirit. There's Yue appearing when Aang needed her most, while he's stranded in the middle of the ocean and helping him. They both understand sacrifice and responsibility, and maybe they could comfort each other through it. Also Aang being the bridge between the spirit worlds and Yue being a Spirit could lead to a very interesting romance, depending on how much the Avatar could interact with the Moon Spirit.

Jetaang- ok, Aang was just as infatuated with Jet as Katara was, right? And I think Aang was heavily affected by Jet's actions and behaviour. Also Aang really not wanting to hurt Jet while fighting him (twice!) was really cute. And Aang helping Jet snap out of the Dai Li brainwashing could be a really cool ship moment the more you think anout it.

Teoaang- Honestly their little one sided rivalry at the beginning of the episode was really cute. And I think there could be some interesting symbolism between them. Aang symbolising the old and Teo symbolising the new. They compliment each other like that. Teo comforting Aang by showing him that the critters of the temple are still alive and well is also sweet. And Aang admitting that Teo has the spirit of an airbender is so sweet.

Kuzaang- they're adorable. I loved the comic about them. Aang calling Kuzon "Hotman" is really funny. Aang helping Kuzon make a bigger flame with airbending is also really sweet. I especially like this ship in combination with Zukaang. It's such tasty symbolism.

Aang may just be the most shippable charater of this franchise, argue with the wall. He's so filled with love I have no choice but to multiship.

[birdhousesinyoursoul]

STOP MAKING THE LOSERS NORMAL. stop making beverly have a popular, “normal” fashion sense. stop making them fit in. stop. i do not want to hear it THEY ARE CALLED LOSERS FOR A REASON.

this is mostly about the kid losers but the adult losers ALSO ARE NOT NORMAL. NONE OF THEM ARE. In my mind beverlys fashion is so weird, so out of the ordinary and different that shes famous for it being interesting, not pretty or wearable, but something to put on display. (symbolizing ahem ahem)

richie is not a famous comedian that is only slightly different from any other comedian because hes inappropriate, hes WEIRD AND HE DOES WEIRD VOICES AND HE SAYS WEIRD THINGS and people are uncomfortable but theyre uncomfortable in an interested way. they want to see more. this man is so weird I have to see what happens next. and goddamnit how is he so paranormally good at this?

Ben is weird. he doesn’t talk much. people are scared of him since hes tall and strong and doesnt talk much. he is funny but people arent drawn to him. hes handsome in a slightly Different way. he doesnt show his personality a lot because hes uncomfortable with the rich, rude people hes always around. people love and hate him for the communications tower, but everyone can agree it’s unusual and its built in a strong but weird way. bill is famous and popular for his books but when people talk to him they are uncomfortable. he has an air of fear and held back horror. i mean, what else do you expect? he tries not to talk and he masks his personality with a friendly, quiet man, but people still find him off. they admire him but they dont like him. stan is admired but he is found weird, like the rest of his friends. he talks in a weird rhythm and the only person hes himself around is his wife. people dont like his humor and the way he thinks but they are around him because he is a coworker. hes fine with this, he has his wife

mike ❤️ ohhh mikey. my boy. he knows nobody and he knows everybody. no one bothers to talk to him but he knows about them through the people he Does talk to, and people find him weird for that too.

eddie is too scared to talk to people. he doesnt make eye contact and hes a generally jittery man. people understand that and they pity him. they see him as weak and small and Weird. but hes rich and an entrepreneur they suppose.

No matter what the losers do or are they are Losers. (and they always will be)

[mirixmoya]

my initial first-read thoughts for SOTR PART III: THE POSTER there will be MAJOR SPOILERS under the cut but pls enjoy :)

chapter 19;

haymitch thinking poorly about himself makes me so sad i can't believe he's gonna do that for the next 25 years

"will she be haunted by me for the rest of her life?" other way around actually!

haymitch tryna smart ass his way out of panache killing him... this man never never changes does he

chapter 20;

"i've killed someone. two someones. brutally. it was self-defense, so question, but i know i can never go back to five minutes ago." he's so young he's so sweet i could cry

"mamaw used to say you never really knew who'd swim in a flood." there is annie cresta everywhere for those with the eyes to see

mags and haymitch mental communication via sponsor gifts... haymitch and katniss mental communication via sponsor gifts... crazy stuff.

HAYMITCH AND MAYSILEE BROTHERSISTER

"my dreams are nothing i want to remember, full of people i must never forget. i visit death after death. it's a relief to be woken up." oh :(

katniss and haymitch both getting a lil deaf in their games #family

KATNISS MENTION WAHHH

"one of us has to be the worst victor in history. tear up their scripts, tear down their celebrations, set fire to the victor's village. refuse to play their game." do i believe that post-sotr is a genuine addict and a handful? yes ofc. do i think he's also keeping his promise to maysilee a little bit? also yes.

chapter 22

"just programmed to be walked all over, i guess" he's like a sad wet dog i see on the street and then worry about for the rest of my day

chapter 23;

reading these moments that were already kinda knew but also didn't really know is so surreal

MAYSILEE MY SWEET GIRL :(

"I just stare into those burning blue eyes, letting her know she's not dying alone. she's with family. she's with me." :((((((((

effie mention again!! it's so good to be alive!!

"proserpina wasn't born evil; she just had a lot of unlearning to do." the trinket sisters have this in common i fear

"it's okay to cry around mags" suzanne what if IM the one crying

chapter 24;

okay must assume at this point that The Raven references are building to something but they are still lowkey jarring for me idk

"neither of us are going home [...] these Games will have no victor" he's literally six months pregnant with katniss here.

that whole cliff sequence... chef's kiss

"I die happy." :(

chapter 25;

A WHAT SWALLOWS A WHAT

sepsis mention.

"nobody's here because everybody's dead." and this is just his life now. sick. sick to my stomach.

him always remembering to mention effie even tho she was only there for like 2 days... mhm hm okay.

he's already likening his victor's village house to a prison stfu

snow locking this traumatized teenage boy in this apartment, alone, with only shitty symbolism food, and making him watch a gory clip show of the past hunger games??? i need to kill this man immediately

LUCY GRAY MY BELOVED

EFFIE!!!!

her ass is always having to act normal while people are shooting guns about her ears i know effie just hates her fucking life.

haymitch describing himself as an animal NOOOOO

the world could literally be ending and nothing would stop these two idiots from bantering. i hate them. literally the plot of mockingjay (the movie).

"i'm going to tell everyone you dressed me." and i'm expected to believe there's NOTHING going on between them???

this exchange is affectionate asf ohmygod

effie being given direct instructions from snow? possibly from the man himself?? oh im gonna have a field day with that one

"effie, to her credit, stands by me." TEARS. TEARS IN MY EYES. THIS LITERALLY BEING THEIR RELATIONSHIP IN A NUTSHELL.

"i won't hurt you." "i know that." ARE U KIDDING

"but they really are for a greater good. the hunger games." don't worry suzanne girl i've been there too. i love to ruin a nice hayffie moment with effie saying something horrible and inhuman.

mags in a wheelchair :(

"day 5 or 6? who knows? it's just one big, big, big day." literally effie trinket #1 fan alert

corioloanus snow i will literally shoot u with a gun

chapter 26;

haymitch literally being put in a cage and dangled for capitol amusement.... i don't wanna talk about it.

"the only person who keeps an eye on me is effie trinket." cried. cried very hard

the four tributes finishing their journey together suzanne why don't YOU just shoot ME with a gun.

"you can take several things from me--my ma, my brother, my love--that are the only things worth keeping." i am gonna throw up.

HANGING TREE :(

of all the way to kill haymitch's family suzanne chose the most devastating one. uh huh okay.

it's literally so over.

the dry cistern. how many times can i threaten to kms

burdock everdeen u are so loved by me. i would also leave my nice town family for ur broke ass and then be devastated beyond reason when you die tragically.

don't even get me started on the song choice... this book is wet enough already

"no one took more care banking a fire at night." Mrs. Abernathy i loveee u. i grew up in a house heated solely by fire, this is literally my Mom, i feel like i Know her, i was literally Raised by her.

HAYDOVE REUNION #GODISGOOD

nevermind.

chapter 27;

THE NIGHTMARES :(

"that i will never love anyone ever again. nevermore. because he will make sure they end up dying horrible deaths." i will be using this in all my future hayffie mockingjay effie-in-prison angst fics thank u very much

haymitch pushing everyone away to the point of throwing ROCKS at burdock and asterid??? i know he was sick to his stomach the first time he saw katniss on that train

i can't watch this poor young boy became an alcoholic in real time i really can't :(

snow losing lucy gray in the woods vs. haymitch looking for lenore dove in the woods. i see u suzanne.

lucy gray has a headstone this is incredible news

"it's effie trinket who finds me," and i knew she would!!!!

is she the stylist or the escort now? or both??

"you are capable of imagining a different future. and maybe it won't be realized today, maybe not in our lifetime. maybe it will take generations." that's right suzanne! remind the children that katniss was not a uniquely extraordinary revolutionary, she was simply a revolutionary who came in at the right time!

epilogue;

"i have to look after my family." the sob that just left my body was genuinely concerning.

i will never use sweetheart for effie again.

"i finally told our story" :(

KATNISS GAVE HIM THE GEESE!!!

"the capitol can never take lenore dove from me again. they never really did in the first place." haydove u were so beautiful and lovely it was a pleasure to get to know u

me, a hayffie girly, closing the last page on that epilogue: yeah :) i can work with that :)

not a single intelligent thought to be found this time. only a lot of incoherently rambling. i'm so excited to re-read it all again tomorrow.

[whetstonefires]

Honestly the most interesting thing about the Jiang interpersonal dynamics that is being totally slept on is how Jiang Fengmian's power as head of the family affects everyone, including him.

Yu Ziyuan knows Jiang Fengmian won't use his power against her unless he feels like he needs to, and that he doesn't fear her and isn't going to feel like he needs to act in self-defense unless she attempts significant physical harm, so short of that she can do whatever she likes against him, and he won't resist.

But if the collateral damage to the kids of her verbal attacks on him goes above a certain level, he says one word and she stops.

He just goes, 'wife.' ('My lady' but it's just a polite term for wife.) Sort of disapproving. Same kind of way he talks to Jiang Cheng when he acts like a shithead, but without the subsequent attempt at an ethics lesson.

And bam. Momentum halted. That line of attack is out of bounds. Nobody likes this, but good god it works.

And because they both know he ultimately has all the power, that Yu Ziyuan's lifestyle of privacy and doing exactly as she pleases at all times and so forth is all something that exists by Jiang Fengmian's generosity and sufferance, and she hates it, and he's not comfortable with it either, he sets that boundary really high, and she gets away with all kinds of cruelty because it's all stuff she's strictly allowed to do, entitled to do. So he'd be abusing his authority over her, by constraining her right to exercise her power within normative bounds over the people she outranks.

Even if she's using it harmfully and in a way directed by spite, these are her rights, she's not technically abusing her power, and her primary target in all the episodes he actually witnesses is him who outranks her; she's not being one of those mistresses.

So he'd be overstepping if he tried to constrain her, he'd be one of those husbands. Just like she always accuses him of.

(This is why she keeps insisting that she's also the master of jiang sect and he's 'forgetting' that in contexts where it doesn't make a huge amount of sense.)

Anyway, the fact that it's impossible to unpick where Jiang Fengmian's moral principles stop and his conflict-avoidance kicks in with this relationship is so much more interesting than the weirdly sexist readings I keep seeing, where it's all the conflict-avoidance and he's an unmanly loser who lets Yu Ziyuan bully him and his kids without ever standing up to her, for no good reason. When actually they have a really interesting and fantastically realistic toxic relationship.

He has a good reason! His reason is he's uncomfortable with the patriarchy! And guilty that his wife is miserable! And that he doesn't love her correctly! So he gives way as often as he can, trying to fix it!

But it doesn't fix it, because no amount of giving in to her gives her cause to trust him, and if she doesn't trust him and she knows that if he actually cares about an issue her ability to get her way will disappear, she can't feel secure about any of it. And therefore everything, especially Wei Wuxian the symbol of that fact, makes her angry and Want To Punish.

[lushaletta]

the lamb and her wolf / tom riddle

pairing: tom riddle x fem!reader

content: muggleborn!reader, tom is goin a lil mad

summary: have you fallen into the dark lord’s trap, or has he fallen into yours?

a/n: i wrote this at 4 in the morning so enjoy this stream of consciousness grumpy x sunshine esque tom riddle fanfiction or something.

⋆ ࣪.  ⁺⑅ ⋰˚ *.ﾟ .˳⁺⁎˚ ˚⁎⁺˳ . ༺ ˖࣪ ˖࣪ ∗

Tom is in a frenzy of sorts, he’s concluded.

Perhaps it is the sleepless nights and stressful days that cloud his weeks that are causing the weird feeling in his chest. Insomnia-induced hysteria.

There’s a flurry of thoughts swirling around his head recently. All with a common theme; you. The space in his brain that he typically reserved for Ancient Runes or Arithmancy was now composed of you, you, and only you.

It makes him sick to his stomach.

He’s unfocused. And he can’t be, because he’s supposed to be working on the secret that Salazar Slytherin hid in the deep crevices of Hogwarts some years ago.

His fingers tap on the book that he can’t seem to pay attention to as he tries to make sense of this. The disgusting, awful, pleasant fondness he feels for you. For a Muggleborn girl no less.

The only solution to his problem is to kill you. It wouldn’t be hard, he thinks. You’re small and meek and all too trusting of him. Like a lamb to the slaughter.

You are a symbol of everything he despises. Joy. Innocence. You are of the same kind as his worthless father. So why is it that he can’t bring himself to end you? To end your time together? He’s done it before. He’s done it plenty of times and without a second thought.

“Tom!” your horrible, beautiful voice cheers, snapping him out of his thoughts. Oh, great, he thinks. You plague his mind and now you bedevil his reality.

“Hello,” he says after a beat.

You ignore his bothered expression and smile. “I’ve brought snacks! You do like mince pie, don’t you?” He nods weakly. “Good, because my mam’s had some sent. She’s trying out a new recipe. Secret ingredient or something like that. I’m sure you haven’t eaten yet, with your inane study habits, I mean, do you ever have breaks?” You ramble on and he listens with fascination. How could you be talking to him so casually? So endearingly?

You’re far from done. “It doesn’t matter, though. You’ll have a break now. Go on, put your book away, would you?” He does as told. He’s not sure why. You take a seat at his table, fumbling with the paper bag you’ve brought. “Aha! Mince pie! One for each of us. Tell me if you like it, I’ll have Mam send some more. She’d be delighted.”

It’s at this point, where he’s chewing on warm minced pie and watching you do the same, nodding contentedly, that he wonders which life decisions he’d made led up to this. He’s the Dark Lord. A name that the world will soon fear. If all goes to plan, you’ll be reading in terror of all the vile things he’s done in the paper. You’ll be afraid of him, and he can’t help dread it. He dreads the thought of your heartbroken eyes as you realise what a wicked person you’d extended your kindness to.

It’s the frenzy again. What is he even thinking? He dreaded nothing. He looked at his plans with excitement.

“Tom? Hellooo,” you say, singsongingly. He didn’t even realise you’d been speaking. He glances up at you and imagines what you’d think of him once the truth comes out.

“Yes?”

“What do you think? About the pie, I mean.”

He clears his throat, fingers gripping the armrest of his seat. “Good. It’s good.” That draws another pretty smile out of you and he really hates the way it made him feel. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! Also, Tommy,” He quirks his brow. The nickname was a slip of the tongue. You’d never used it and it made you nervous, but he didn’t seem to mind so much. “Are you busy later? I need some help with Transfiguration.”

He’s always busy. Well, he should be. He’s been slacking recently, too preoccupied with your freshly baked desserts and strawberry-smelling hair.

“I could make time for that,” he says decidedly.

Idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot.

You’re immediately on your feet, giddy like how he’d imagine a child to be upon receiving candy. “Thank you! Oh, you’re a lifesaver, truly!” you say, and suddenly a kiss is planted on his cheek.

A full stop. His world pauses and spins on its axis. Your lips felt good. Bad.

What an evil, evil wolf he was.

[leychin]

𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Could be seen as a continuation to All of It, but the idea came from @tenkomura, bc when am i ever not thinking about something she said

Maybe you hate your younger self for being so naive.

Perhaps its because you cling to the memories of before, when everything was so much simpler and All For One was commanding Shigaraki to act. When he messed up, or when you messed up, All For One simply caressed your heads in such a comforting way that the loss felt like nothing.

Oh, how you loved him. Everything was so much easier when it was him. Yes he was the future, yes you were the symbols of fear, but to you he was just Tomura. Its the silent understanding that you both had, that even though the entire world was against you and the cause it was okay because you were together.

He loved you, it didn't need to be said. Even when the league expanded, it was still just you and him. Not to say he doesnt care for the league, because that would be a lie. But the love he has for them pales in comparison to the love he holds for you in the crevices of his heart. Its heard in the blood pumping in his veins and its sung in the whispers of his calm breathing when he's with you.

But you're villains. Villains don't get an ounce of peace. So when the league has ended Overhaul's short lived reign, and everyone's stopped and caught their breath. You sit with him in silence on the side of a bare highway that you'd been walking.

Maybe its foolish, but you follow him like a dog. You watch as Shigaraki opens the case of quirk erasing bullets. He stares. Almost like he wants to test if it works.

You sit next to him, sat shoulder to shoulder now. He simply says "If I erased my quirk, we could be normal." And you don't need to be a genius to know what he means, he means if he didn't have decay he would have a home. If he didn't have decay he wouldn't be All for One's subject of interest, id he didn't have this damn quirk he could be normal with you.

Would there even be a you though?

"Hm, maybe." you supply "You wouldn't have met me though, and I would trade any chances of being normal if it meant i got to be with you." you say, and Shigaraki stills.

"I... I think I would too." he smiles, its a crackly smile that makes blood speck on his lips that you just want to kiss already.

"When this is all over, lets go on a date. Okay?" you ask, your eyes now gazing up at him with hope.

Shigaraki's eyes widen, and looks to the quirk erasing bullets and quickly shuts them. "You promise?" he asks almost eagerly, and you hold up your pinky "pinky swear!"

Oh you fools.

Which is what's left you to stare at Shigaraki's tube. His body floating in the liquid endlessly for whats felt like years, but you know its only been a month or two. You feel so naive for ever thinking it would just be over, because of course its never over.

He would be the new holder of all for one. Because fate stops for nothing and no one, not even love. You hate yourself for being naive enough to hope that you would ever get to love him peacefully. You hate him for not realizing when you did that All for One was using you both. You hate All for One for taking your lives away from you.

This would never be over, Shigaraki will never give pinky promise kisses again, and he'll never build redstone farms for you when you get too frustrated and rage quit. He's never going to reach out for you again, and you're going to spend the rest of your life reaching for someone who's never going to reach back.

You press your head to the glass and cry. The doctor is used to your sobs though ans has grown to ignoring them, which you suppose is a win. But it still doesn't soothe the ache in your chest as you wish for everything to be different, and you pray every night that this is a bad dream. You pray that this is a nightmare and that night Shigaraki did use that quirk erasing bullet. You pray for this to be a bad dream of his and he never developed decay.

Because you would never trade your life with Shigaraki for normalcy, but you love him too much to watch him do this. You wished he would trade you for normalcy because loving him through this and always is simply too much.

[ilikemangosalot]

Part two of the smc fanfic!!

I should seriously start giving titles 😓🙏🏼

Anyways enjoy, I rushed this a bit because I had no idea how to continue it off.

WARNING!!!! : gingerbrave getting wounded, Jam (a.k.a blood) Shadow Milk lowk insane.

🃏

“The trick isn’t making them laugh. The trick is keeping them laughing until the blade sinks in.”

Time had a strange way of stretching around Shadow Milk Cookie. He wasn’t sure if it had been weeks, months, or years since he re-entered their lives. All he knew was this: Y/N hadn’t kicked him out, and Gingerbrave hadn’t asked who he really was.

And wasn’t that the most delicious kind of tension?

He stayed in the shadows, a silhouette just out of reach. A jester without a stage, lurking like a bad punchline.

He would tell Gingerbrave bedtime stories—twisted tales about kingdoms that burned and heroes who lied.

“Why do your stories always end badly?” Gingerbrave asked once.

Shadow Milk Cookie smiled, his bells tinkling from his subtle movements.

“Because happy endings put the audience to sleep.”

Y/N watched all of it with a silent sort of fury. She had forgiven him just enough to let him stay, but not enough to trust him.

Sometimes, late at night, she’d find him sitting in the forge, eyes wide and glassy, speaking to no one.

“You’re talking to your reflection again,” she muttered, drying her hands.

He didn’t look at her. “At least it’s honest.”

“You’re spiraling.”

“I never stopped.”

She still remembered the day she saw the village burn. His laughter echoing through smoke, his silhouette outlined in flames like some hell-born ringmaster.

And the way her son had screamed—not in fear, but in confusion.

Like he recognized the monster.

And maybe he did.

Gingerbrave POV:

It began subtly.

He started having dreams.

A jester’s laugh.

A hand, too cold.

A voice whispering: “You died once already. Do you want to try again?”

He awoke sweating, shivering, and staring at the ceiling—remembering a crib he’d never slept in, a fire he’d never seen.

One night, he found Shadow Milk outside, spinning knives between his fingers like toys.

“Hey,” Gingerbrave said, hesitating. “Can I ask you something weird?”

The jester didn’t turn around.

“Only if you want a weirder answer.”

“Do you… know me from before?”

Shadow Milk’s fingers stopped. The knives vanished into smoke.

“Do you believe in reincarnation?”

Gingerbrave frowned. “I dunno. I think… sometimes I feel like I’ve done things before. Like I’ve lost people I never met.”

“That’s just growing up.”

“You’re dodging.”

He turned. His façade crumbled bit by bit, lips painted in a permanent smile.

“If I told you the truth, you’d never sleep again.”

“Try me.”

He didn’t answer.

Just reached forward, brushed a crumb from Gingerbrave’s cheek.

“You remind me of someone. He was fearless. Loud. Thought he could save the world.”

“What happened to him?”

Shadow Milk paused.

“He burned.”

🃏

Y/N heard the scream before the forge lanterns had time to flicker.

She ran out, axe in hand.

There stood Gingerbrave—shaking, jam on his arm. Shadow Milk beside him, breath ragged, eyes wild.

“What did you do?” she demanded.

“I didn’t—! He came too close, I—I didn’t mean to—!”

Gingerbrave backed away. “He changed. For a second. His face—he wasn’t him. He was—something else.”

Shadow Milk doubled over, laughter rising from his chest like bile.

“A round of applause, folks. The mask slips once, and suddenly the audience wants a refund.”

She struck him.

Not lightly.

Not symbolically.

With her full weight.

He crumpled.

Blood smeared the floor.

Gingerbrave screamed.

That night, she locked the forge doors. Kept Gingerbrave in her arms like a shield.

“I let him back in,” she whispered. “I should’ve known he never really left.”

But part of her wanted to run back out.

Part of her still loved what was left of Her.

And she hated herself for it.

🃏

Shadow Milk Cookie sat under the moon, fingers twitching with rhythm no music matched.

“Once upon a time,” he whispered to the wind, “there was a jester who killed his own ending. He rewrote the story. He tried to be good. But good was a lie. So he danced. Alone. Forever.”

Then, a voice behind him.

“You never finished that one.”

Y/N stood there, calmly as if nothing ever happened. As if he wasn't capable of doing anything to her to which she knew he wouldn't. Her axe nowhere in sight.

He looked at her—raw, paint smeared by blood, bells quiet.

“You’re still here,” he said.

“So are you.”

“You should’ve killed me.” he was aching.

“Maybe I still will.”

She sat beside him.

They didn’t touch.

Didn’t speak again.

Until, when he whispered:

“You were the only act worth repeating.”

🃏

[0zeeraa0bloodmoon0]

so before i watched nosferatu 2024 i was slightly "spoiled". thats ok. the movie has been put for a few weeks and im not the type of person to whine about spoilers when i didn't make an effort to avoid them. not to mention its a remake of a really old movie.

basically what i heard was that nosferatu is a story about childhood sexual trauma. i was like "ok. a bit of a cliche and over used theme. like 80% of non slasher horror films are about childhood trauma. but this is based on a really old film so ill give it a pass."

what i got from those spoilers is that the point of the story is that Ellen was sexually abused as a child. i also heard some people mention her father so i assumed it was by him.

then i watched the movie i got to the scene where she talks about her childhood and her father to Thomas and it made me think "this is it. this is the scene where she tells him about being sexually abused by her father".

she talked about him neglecting her and her feeling lonely which made me think that she might confess to being the one who initiated the sexual acts. this actually got my hopes up because that would have been much more interesting than her being a passive victim. and if Orlok was a metaphor/symbol of her trauma as i have come to expect and believe frim the "spoilers", than this would explain her love hate fear shame relationship with him. if shes the one who initiated it then that would make sense right?

but then however, the scene passed, and there was no mention of trauma beyond her mother's death and her father's neglect. i was like "ok. in a later scene then. for sure." but the movie ended, and i was left confused...

it made me wonder "who the hell were those people talking about?? who abused ellen as a child??" but then it hit me....

THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT FUCKING ORLOK

i could barely hold back a groan when i realized because seriously??? come on!

idk about you guys but i never really thought about Orlok as a person, with morality. to me he was always a symbol, a metaphor for something greater. not just some "creepy old guy who grooms Ellen and is a metaphor for other creepy old guys who groom people i guess?" the way so many people claim him to be. Orlok isn't just some dude who can groom people. hes an idea.

i hate this interpretation of the movie so much. because not only is it over done. not only is it overly simplistic. not only is it an insult to my and other people who think more deeply about this movie's intelligence.

but its also THE. MOST BORING. INTERPRETATION. that you could possibly come up with for this movie.

like its one thing that these people love feeling morally superior when they go on their little keyboard-warrior rants about how anyone who disagrees with this movie being about childhood trauma and god forbid they dare call it a romance are all disgusting, evil and sould be locked up and share a psychological profile with ted bundy (?????)

but they do all this, for an interpretation so painfully boring

just go watch a mervel movie or something jesus

(this post was made in a rush so its not the most eloquent expression of my thoughts, that would take hours to write, but i hope i got the point across anyway)

[sunshine-zenith]

A thought — Ballister and Ambrosius’s relationship probably wasn’t public in the movie until the end. They probably weren’t secretive about it, given how Todd (someone neither of them like or would confide in) was clearly antagonistic to Ambrosius after Ballister’s jailbreak, but even then that just might be because their connection was well known — they liked each other more than any of the knights liked them, most being neutral overall to Ambrosius and outright bullies to Ballister. No one in the public seems to know about them

Media perception is a reoccurring factor in the movie, with the opening scene giving exposition in the form of a news cast. During it, Ballister is shown to be controversial, with a there being a few comments questioning the Queen’s choices related to him. Ambrosius is also brought up as someone everyone’s looking forward to seeing officially knighted, with no one questioning his relationship with Ballister or even bringing it up

While everyone is fearing and hating Ballister after the Queen dies, Ambrosius is still popular among the masses — people stop him in the streets to get his autograph. Nimona, who admittedly probably didn’t do much digging into Ballister beyond the initial news reports on the Queen’s deaths, seemed surprised that Ballister and Ambrosius had a connection. She even had an “ohhhhhh” moment after picking up on their vibe the first time they saw each other post-arm chop (and yeah she initially calls Ambrosius Ballister’s nemesis, but she clearly clocks that something romantic was going on given the “arm chopping is not a love language!” comment). She also asks if he wants to die in a (literal) closet, which like. Y’all.

Before the Queen’s death, all their PDA is in private (on the catwalk) or subtly around other knights (helping each other put on their armor with lots of heart eyes and lingering hands). Otherwise, their interactions are those of Two People Who Are Close but aren’t necessarily explicitly romantic (Ambrosius wanting to throw hands on Ballister’s behalf, teasing each other, Ambrosius cheering with the crowd). Granted, there wasn’t a lot of screen time for them to just be happy before Everything Went Wrong.

We can’t really judge whether they were private from their interactions after the Queen’s death, since most are focused on a “so this traumatic thing happened and I don’t know where we stands right now” vibe or have them just fighting. The three times Ambrosius says he loves Ballister, one was just the two of them on the catwalk, one was in a mental rant and not actually out loud, and one was while they were trying to hide their identities. Ballister continues to defend Ambrosius, saying he’d believe them if they could just talk and that the arm thing is just “complicated,” “part of their training, up until Ambrosius outright tries to arrest them (which might as well be a breakup without saying “we’re breaking up”).

In the comic, the Director says she knew about their relationship and that she disapproved. Given how much she manipulates things, it wouldn’t surprise me if she knew in the movie, and encouraged them to downplay things at least — “you should keep your private lives private so you don’t taint your public images/yes we support you, obviously, but you’re here to protect the people, not show off to them/you don’t want to overshadow things with more controversy, wait a few years until after you’re knighted/what if this is just a phase, it would be a mess to clean up if you go public now/people will talk if they hear Gloreth’s only current descendant, a promising young man, is being courted by someone they aren’t certain about who comes from nothing and can’t pass your genes on/you have each other, shouldn’t that be enough?/etc.”

We don’t see them be in a relationship publicly until after the wall — the symbol of fear of the unknown, systematic abuse and oppression, refusal to learn and grow, and let’s be real homophobia/transphobia — comes down and the Director — the one going to murderous extremes out of fear of change — is dead

I dunno. This movie is a large celebration of being queer, but it’s also about how queer people are demonized by society to the point of everyone suffering. Ambrosius is the model minority everyone loves but no one knows because all eyes are on him; Ballister is both tokenized and targeted from the moment the public meets him, having to prove himself over and over until the public unquestionably turns on him entirely; and Nimona is called a monster for just being herself. All three already had to hide who they really were. I’m not 100% sure if Ballister and Ambrosius were out or not about being together, but it’s not a stretch to see, and it fits in with the themes/arcs of this movie

[raayllum]

Is there like‚ some kind of symbolism of Claudia fixing Callum's hair VS Rayla lovely touching it?

There's probably a whole mini meta just waiting in TDP about hair (how Soren parts his hair switching post-timeskip to reflect how he's literally switched sides; Claudia's moon symbolism hair, which I do have a meta for in my drafts rn) so to put it simply: yes, I think so!

Claudia cares a lot about appearances. This ties into how much she hates feeling judged ("you're doing it again prince judy-face!" / "here to judge me, captain true heart?"). She values things looking put together, largely because she puts more emphasis on things being Physically okay rather than considering someone's emotional state (i.e. overruling Viren and Soren in S2 and S4 respectively). We see this overtly in "Lost Child":

“You’re still here. Even though I’m…” She gestured at herself, to something beyond the soil-soaked boots and tearstained face: a total mess. [...] A moment later, she blinked into the pond; her reflection beamed up at her. Her eyes brighter, her face fuller, more color in her cheeks. Small changes, but still—There I am, she thought.

We also see this in show canon. She checks with the little leaf-cub creature in 6x04 that her new haircut suits her. She also reflects that maybe seeing the creature as parts is bad, implicitly, because the creature is so cute/adorable. (This is in stark contrast to Ezran who reflects a season earlier in 5x06 that sea slugs may look gross, but they have a rich inner life and he's regularly made friends with them. Post with that comparison here)

Another consistent facet of Claudia is that her compliments are sometimes not entirely compliments. This happens just once with Terry ("Claudia says that makes me weird, and wonderful, so...") as she more readily compliments him ("you saved the day!" / "goofy and glorious just like you!"), but it happens basically any of the few times she compliments/offers praise etc. to Callum in any manner.

It was completely ridiculous. Adorable. Did you just say adorable? Did I? (1x02)

That was very confident Callum. Oh, thanks. Even if your hair's a little messy. (2x02)

You didn't open it? Why would I do that? [The letter] is for you. Though I could've easily opened it and then resealed it with magic. Did you? Did I? We may never know. But no. No.

Yeah, you always were a very clever human, weren't you, Callum? (4x08)

Impressive, Callum. Somehow you learned primal magic. But dark magic will always have the edge. (7x07)

(AKA she giveth and she taketh away.)

So Claudia fixes Callum's hair. She compliments him, but also makes him more nervous. She adjusts his appearance to something she thinks is 'better' (cleaner). Absolutely none of it is malicious, but it does reaffirm that when crushing on her Callum never felt entirely comfortable around her despite being longtime friends, whereas even though Rayla can be much gruffer, Callum feels a lot more comfortable around her (even once he develops feelings) in general.

So there's the obvious level of comfort (Rayla) vs non-comfort (Claudia), as well as a longstanding childhood crush vs what has blossomed into more mature, enduring love of 3+ years as of the end of 7x09.

Claudia sees that his hair is messy and points it out; Rayla sees that his hair is messy and quietly fixes it herself, doing so simply and leaving Callum looking more relaxed than before, rather than less like in 2x02.

Rayla, as we know, doesn't really care about appearances. She routinely doesn't care about titles, she goes with what her gut tells her, and anytime she expresses distress over her appearance ("I'm a mess") it's scaffolded under "I'm showing weakness" rather "I look bad". There's a similar fear of judgement lurking underneath as Claudia's, but I don't think Rayla sees herself as a Good Person the same Claudia does, and therefore doesn't have the need to keep seeing herself that way in the same manner.

Either way, Callum is always Callum to her ("You're so gross" with a fond smile on her face; his scarf is smelly and he knows it and just smirks at her over it; "you're a good person, Callum, maybe the goodest," etc), and always her Callum — her heart, her home, her best friend and partner — and that's what the 7x09 scene is ultimately about, I think.

Do me the honour of letting me talk a bit about hair-touching and white streaks, though, for a second, when it comes to Claudia, Terry, Callum, and Rayla.

Because despite Claudia and Terry being very touchy-feely for 3.5/4 seasons, Terry never once touches Claudia's hair in quite the same manner or framing that we see in 7x09. He touches her hair, sure — he braids it for her and then later cuts it — but this is the closest we get to an adjustment, which is when he's bathing her and cleaning her up in 6x03.

Now, pushing the white hair and all its associations to get to Claudia, flesh and blood and very much still alive, underneath would be ripe enough as a symbolic examination, honestly. The reason why this feels so different to me than 7x09, I think then, is that there are two scenes 7x09 mirrors when it comes to someone touching Claudia's hair in the "facing the camera, strands on the face/cheek" directly shot.

And it's herself.

SOREN: You saw what Dad turned Kasef into. What Dad turned into. Claudia, you're changing too. (3x07)

CLAUDIA: But... I'm still nice. I'm still me. (7x09)

In both instances, she's not willing to admit that Soren is right / that she's changed (or, arguably, that she needs to change just in the opposite direction). She touches it first as a sign of shame in the face of her brother's words, the first white streak in her dark hair. Then she touches one of the few dark streaks that remain, reassuring herself (because nobody else will or can at this point) that she's still the person she thinks of herself as, someone who's still nice ('good').

Callum, meanwhile, never touches his white streak. He wakes Rayla up in the middle of the night (which she takes much better than I would, I can say that much) and offers his scarf, asking if she trusts him. But Rayla notices his hair is a little askew, so she tidies it for him. And the whole time, his expression is completely open, smiling and trusting her in turn... even when she hasn't actually answered his question yet, and his expression softens even before she has too.

She doesn't tuck or hide it away. It's a part of him, and therefore a part she loves ("Everything"). And he knows it.

[thegingerwrites]

Marry Me

An obikin wedding ficlet during the Clone Wars based on this post:

Anidala's secret marriage is not a secret anymore. It comes out and despite Anakin and Padme's worst fears everyone is… okay with it? Obviously it isn't ideal that it happened in the first place but since it happened Anakin and Padme have been extremely professional. Anakin has grown and matured as a Jedi and a general. Padme has not let it interfere with her responsibilities in the Senate. There are a few technicalities to take care of in order to make sure that Anakin is no longer assigned to protect her on missions but otherwise, things are remarkably fine.

Ahsoka is actually the one to bring it up first (just like the comic) saying, "I can't believe you had a wedding on Naboo and didn't invite me."

"It was a secret! And I didn't even know you then."

"Yeah, but like, how much of wedding was it then? Was Padme's family there?"

"No, like I said: secret."

"And you didn't have anyone there."

"Just the officiant and the witness."

"You didn't even have Obi-Wan there."

"No, he definitely didn't make the invite list."

The Jedi don't do marriage but that doesn't mean they don't know about it. The topic comes up in galactic cultures courses. Younglings sometimes play at it in the creche. Way back in the archives there are some similar ceremonies in the Jedi tradition. So Ahsoka knows about weddings. They're kind of a childish fascination for some of the Jedi. The fact that she came so close to experiencing one first hand was cheated out of it by the war and her master is a pretty big deal.

"So it wasn't much of a wedding. You and Padme are both pretty dramatic, I'm surprised you were both so okay with not making a big deal out of it."

"Hey--"

"Especially when there was no reason to make it so secretive. Honestly, you two should do it again, the whole thing but actually celebrate it this time."

"Well, we're kind of in the middle of something here."

And that should be it but then Ahsoka mentions it to Rex. And then someone brings the idea up in front of Obi-Wan. Before long the idea comes before the Council and to everyone's surprise, they take it seriously. What if they could use a vow renewal to increase the Jedi's profile with the Republic at large. Symbolically uniting themselves with the Senate. Proving wrong the stereotype that they are dispassionate and unfeeling.

So they're doing this, the Jedi are planning a wedding.

They're doing it in the midst of fighting a war. Between missions, Anakin is shipped off to fittings and cake tastings and planning sessions that have the same level of solemnity as a strategy meeting. If they're doing this, going to all of this trouble, making a huge production, wasting time and resources, they're going to do it right.

Obi-Wan gets caught up in it too. Because he and Anakin are The Team, or they are well on their way to becoming it. They lead missions with the Open Circle Fleet. Their names are becoming known throughout the galaxy as they fight more battles, push back the Separatists, and bring what peace they can to planets everywhere. If this wedding is a matter of public image, and it is, people are going to expect, just as Ahsoka did, for Obi-Wan to be there at Anakin's side when it happens.

So when Anakin goes for his formal robes fitting, Obi-Wan goes too. Obi-Wan is there during the planning sessions or is commed in. He's basically Anakin's best man and so he is involved every step of the way.

And he hates it, at least at first. Not only is he incredibly hurt by the fact that Anakin got married in secret in the first place, now he gets to have it rubbed in his face in front of the entire galaxy. This is an insult and an embarrassment and Obi-Wan doesn't get to say that to anyone so he keeps it bottled up inside. The fact that Anakin is happy with Padme and gets to keep what he has with her is…a lot.

The wedding planning takes months and slowly, Obi-Wan warms up to the idea. When he does, it is that aspect that convinces him. Anakin is happy. Padme makes him happy. And after being at war for over a year, surely anything that makes Anakin happy it a good thing. Part of him wishes he could have been the one to make Anakin feel that way (happy that is. Padme makes Anakin happy in ways Obi-Wan could never. They are not--they could not--no. If this is what Anakin needs, Obi-wan should count himself lucky that Anakin never asked that of him.) but this is what Anakin has chosen and like it or not, Obi-Wan needs to get on board.

So then Obi-Wan gets into it. He is at every wedding planning meeting. He has opinions on everything. He is more organized than their official wedding planner. He talks Anakin's ear off about the details, the guest list, the colors, the order of ceremony.

And eventually Anakin has had enough. He shuts down whenever Obi-Wan tries to bring it up. He stops answering Obi-Wan's comm calls when he can be sure that Obi-Wan isn't in danger. He shows up late to his own rehearsal dinner.

Anakin should be happy. He knows this. He is on the brink of getting everything he wanted: the woman of his dreams, the promise of a family, and he gets to keep his place with the Jedi.

But he can't ignore the growing feeling that something is wrong. It feels perverse, that the more that everyone else looks forward to his wedding, the less he wants to go through with it. The first time that thought occurs to him, Anakin freezes. He goes completely still, utterly silent in the midst of a conversation with Padme and Obi-Wan, Mace Windu and their wedding planner. Anakin doesn't have to go through with this. He doesn't have to walk down the aisle or stand their at the head of the Senate Chamber. He could simply not do it.

Obi-Wan finds Anakin in the hangar bar at the Jedi temple, fiddling with something inconsequential on his starship. He is ostensibly working on his ship but really, he is playing around with the idea of getting in his ship and leaving the planet.

"Anakin, they're waiting for you," Obi-Wan says, as though Anakin doesn't know.

Anakin manages to look at him but he can't find the words he needs to explain himself. "I made a mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't do this."

Obi-Wan stands there in front of him, his hands folded in the sleeves of his robes, utterly calm. He doesn't panic, he doesn't over-react. In the face of Anakin's on-coming breakdown, he only seems to become more composed. "You're certain?"

"Of course, I'm not certain!" Anakin says. "All I know is I can't go out there again. I can't stand there in front of everyone and smile. I can't do it."

"Alright then."

"Alright?" Anakin feels like he is losing his mind. He has no idea what he wants from Obi-Wan. A lecture? Reassurance? Anger? Frustration? Comfort? But he is getting nothing from him.

"Well, the decision to get married in the first place was made in haste. It goes against conventional wisdom but I'm sure you can regret in haste as well."

Is that what Anakin is feeling? Regret? He doesn't regret falling in love with Padme. He doesn't regret the days he spent by the lakeside on Naboo. He doesn't regret the comfort his relationship has given him, the idea of someone to come home to.

But the idea of standing up in front of everyone and binding himself to Padme? The idea of Senate and the Jedi and the Galaxy at large watching as Anakin makes this decision even as he is making it for the second time? That makes Anakin's skin crawl.

Something about it feels wrong. And even if Anakin can't quite bring himself to call one of the tangled threads of emotion he is currently experiencing regret, that isn't a reason to go through with it.

Obi-Wan interrupts his thoughts by placing a hand on Anakin's shoulder. Anakin meant to snap back at him or banter with him, something, but he got caught up in the same thought spiral that has been dragging him down for weeks. "I agreed to stand beside you, Anakin. Not just for the wedding, though I will be there for you as well if you choose to let it take place. The fact is, I have been at your side for years now and I'm not sure there is anywhere else I would rather be. Choose to renew your vows or choose to run, I will stand by you." He closes his mouth and almost stops himself from continuing but then the thought forces its way out regardless. "I will have faith in whatever decision you choose to make."

Anakin is stricken. He almost would have preferred a lecture. This…this understanding from Obi-Wan is more moving than anything they have ever shared with each other. More honest and true. And on the cusp of making what feels in the Force like a life-altering decision-- although again, the marriage is already legal--it is overwhelming.

The force with which Anakin grabs Obi-Wan, wraps his arms around him and buries his face into is shoulder, makes Obi-Wan take a step back upon impact. But he holds him, takes Anakin into his arms too, and takes some of his weight as Anakin collapses into him.

"Thank you," Anakin says. It doesn't matter what, specifically, his gratitude is for. It is big and vast and Obi-Wan-shaped. Thank you for being at my side, thank you for not hating me, thank you for letting me make mistakes, thank you for helping me through them. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

"Of course, dear one."

Because Obi-Wan's love for him has always been an 'of course'. Even when neither of them could say it. Even when neither of them could locate the emotion in themselves and point at it. The love was there. Of course it was.

Anakin kisses Obi-Wan first. He pulls back enough to look Obi-Wan in the eye, steels himself and takes the plunge. Obi-Wan stiffens in surprise for the smallest moment before softening, accepting Anakin's kiss and returning it with his own affection. They push and pull and they do it together. And after so many weeks of a growing sense of wrongness this, finally, feels right.

"I should be marrying you tomorrow," Anakin says when they part. When he thinks about it, it feels like the two of them, far more than him and Padme, have been married for over a year now. "I wish I could."

Obi-Wan is quiet for a moment. The corners of his mouth lifted in a gentle smile, content enough in the Force that his presence there makes no ripples. "Well, we did go to all this trouble…"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you have several difficult conversations ahead of you but if it helps all of us save face--"

"You would marry me?"

"Darling, I think we've just established that for all intents and purposes, we already are."